#I also had a ton of fun adding filters

[greeneyeofenvy]

finished piece

For now.

I love the atmosphere for this ngl, and the colors (using color balance bc I don’t want to buy ibis prime)

[boyswhowawa]

Artisaint [Dancing's Done]

(trigger warning, stylized blood and violence)

Played around a bit

Had a lot of fun making this piece, ajds;lkfja;sldkfjakl;skdfj, took me a bit over 3 hours...

some more fun stuff under the cut >:D (chat about process/alternative color one/song pairing)

First things first, this piece pairs well with this song, to me;

"People like you and me were born to run" my brain went "ough that's them alright" "Where we goin' when the dancin's done" and I was like "well yeah they're doomed to eternity aren't they... there's nowhere TO go" "Take me to the edge of afterlife" and I was like, very literal with this one i was like "oh yeah neither of them can ENTER the afterlife, they're stuck on the edge"

and also just, the song slaps ngl ajs;fdklajdf;la

and also also

alt colors version !

one where Saint is more blue to match, and Arti is more red to match, pretty simple, but I like both versions a lot, ajsdf;laks

The first one isn't evven their natural colors, it's just done for fun and such, and I thought those colors looked good for the piece, but then I wanted an alt wehre they were more red and I ended up liking it ! so I am sharing both

OKAY PROCESS LET'S GO

The initial sketch of course

it was at this point I went "oh god is this too much for me?" "hey, it's okay Foxes, you just gotta try, okay?" and so I did

Saint and Arti<3 I did arti first, then saint, and I had a ton of fun figuring out how to do them, I wanted to limit the amount of colors I was allowed to use for them, 3 base colors for the body, then eyes I could do whatever (which was mostly for Arti)

It made me really think hard about what I wanted to do, and I'm really happy with how they came out

so close......

this is when I finished the void worm! I learned my program had filters so I went kinda crazy using them on this piece, asjd;flkajdsf;al

for the arti half, i was basically just using the sketch as a rough guide, and I was doing it one layer at a time

the second layer of pink on the right done

the second layer of pink on the left done

this centipede wasn't in the sketch at all!! but I thought adding it would help with the variety of things there, and with the balance of the piece, originally it was just gonna be another spear there

left side all pinked up

and right side all pinked up!!

I really loved how it all looked, it was super fun playing with those colors, and I'm DEFINITELY doing something like this again sometime

did some filter wrok, and boom, it was done!

it was a blast to work on, and I hope y'all enjoy it >:D

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (22/12/24)

Couple days late, cause my routine last week was all outta whack, but it's finally here. TONS of stuff end this week which didnd't help either. At least next week will be a lot lighter since so much ended and a lot of stuff will be on break as well

Blue - Finale/Completed

Anime

Mecha-Ude Ep12 (Finale)

That was certainly alright. I had the show as a 7 early on but as it kept going I decided it would prob be a 6. Went into the finale with that mindset but the first half was actually a lot better than what I expected, so I almost raised it but in the end it wasn't enough to make up for rest

It's very much a budget trigger show, I mean, it even has a Sawano ost lmao. Even the basis of the plot is the same as KLK, sentient alien species that fuses with humans to unleash their true powers come to earth with their own agenda 🤔 Ofc, even outside of that the animation style they went for and even the humour was very reminiscent of trigger but they unquestionably lacked the sauce and the polish. I said ep 1 was very impressive, even if they didn't have any mind blowing sakuga, and the first half of the finale was the same. However, through the rest of the show that wasn't the case and while some of the fights had some creative camera work, the animation itself wasn't anything special

Also, it apparently was supposed to be a 2 cour show, which makes a lot of sense and I can absolutely believe. There were a buncha charas in the op that barely got screentime, despite clearly having being meant to and they got introduced rapid fire in the last few episodes just to not let their designs go to waste, I guess. They also introduced a whole new faction and even showed the mcs going into the mecha world in the credits so.. The show would've been a lot better if it was allowed to be 2 cour as well, but despite that I think they did a decent enough job with what they had. Starting to ramble so I'll stop here but TL;DR is: Not something I'd recommend but certainly not a bad watch. Being a "budget trigger show" already makes it a lot better than a lot of the stuff that comes out every season

Dandadan Ep12 (Finale)

The anime designs never did grow on me but at the end of the day this was basically as good as an adaptation as we could've gotten. The sakuga scenes we got were amazing but even the general animation was really great and on point, like with the Okarun and Momo bickering scenes. That, combined with the great seiyuu performances really elevated it above being a serviceable adaptation. The original content they added like the can can scene in ep 5(?) and most of ep 8 was great as well. Makes you wonder why they decided to end the season where they did instead of making original content for the second half of the finale but oh well. Which, speaking of, there's been a S2 confirmed for july next year already so that's fun

But yeah, this is like, one of those situations where it's so good I don't have much to say other than, they cooked. The music, voice performances, character acting, animation, aesthetic, directing, it was all great. They really did cook (tho I will say those green filter scenes during the nessie fight were absolutely murdering my eyes argh)

The Idolmaster Shiny Colours S2 Ep12 (Finale)

After S1 I wasn't expecting much but this turned out a lot better (gave it a 7 instead of 6). I felt like the CG improved quite a bit but even outside of that, not having to introduce so many girls meant they had more time to explore other stuff which gave us those dramatic episodes with each of the unites. I feel like noctchil didn't have enough screentime but that might just be my bias talking

Surprisingly, there was no S3 announced. Before S1 was even over, the second had already been announced so that's weird. There's 2 more units in the game that weren't in the anime at all, but there was no tease or anything in the finale and there've been no news otherwise so... I could totally understand them not doing another season if these 2 didn't do well (I wouldn't know cause I haven't been paying attention to that) but if they do end up doing it, I will certainly be there to support my girlies

Magilumiere Co. Ltd. Ep12 (Finale)

I was going back and forth between a 6 and 7 for a while but ended up going with the lower score for the lackluster animation. I should've expected it when I saw JC Staff, but the pvs looked good so I, foolishly, had hope... It was a serviceable adaptation, which is the problem. It was serviceable and nothing else. While the art was good (Akane's eyes really stood out to me), the animation was the barest of minimums and they stuck to the source material pretty closely. Seeing some of the extra chaps and even vol bonus after the ED was a fun little bonus tho. They actually had one bit of original content, right on the finale with the kaii mutating into that giant monster that wasn't in the manga whatsoever. I'm p sure it was only done as a way to pad out the finale a bit more to reach a better ending point tho

Now, as you can see below, it got a second season announced. I would've never guessed this was going to happen so I was very surprised to see it. I doubt it'll be any better than this season, but as long as they keep the same quality I won't complain too much. The manga is ending soon too so it makes me curious as to if they'll adapt the whole thing, but they'd need at least 2 more cours, if not 3, after S2 so I really doubt it

You are Ms. Servant Ep12 (Finale)

I decided to watch this show just cause it had two things I like a lot which is maids and kuuderes, or so I thought at first. It did have a maid and she was indeed kuu but she slowly melted over the show, as I should've expected from a slice of life like this. I don't have much to say about it really. I was going back and forth between 6 and 7 and decided that the finale would help me choose. When I saw that scene below I was like "damn ok that's a ballsy move, it deserves the 7 now" and then the scene right after nullifies it so that's how we ended up here The show wasn't bad but there was also not much to write home about. The art was very pretty at times and the animation was what you'd expect from a slice of life comedy like this (or maybe a bit above average). I wish Yuki didn't become so goofy so fast but that's just personal preference. The voice performances were good (ueda reina really was in a lot of my shows this season huh), but without any stand out ones I'd like to say that I recommend the show if you likes maids, but starting from ep 3 she starts going to school too, which was a total necessity or they'd run out of stuff to do I know, so she isn't in maid mode for a lot of the show tbh

Blue Exorcist: Beyond the Snow Arc Ep12 (Finale)

Same old, same old. There isn't much to say really. Animation continues to be solid despite not being nearly as good as it used to be. The Shura arc was a lot shorter than I expected tho. I knew there were a lot of lore drops coming this season and was looking forward to them and they certainly didn't disappoint. It is crazy how much Yukio has fallen tho, but I'm sure he'll get back on track. It's kinda annoying that these are treated as different seasons, when it's not even split cour, but oh well. I'll be looking forward to seeing/learning more about the mom next month 👍

Manga

Tokyo Underworld Ch97 (Finale)

Honestly I don't have a lot to say about this. It wasn't good enough to warrant me talking about this or that but also not bad enough for me to bitch about like some other series. It was just unimpressive from start to finish

I went in thinking it was gonna be a death game like DR but I was wrong. The idea with the enemies being "historical figures" with specific death triggers was cool but never explored too much. The art was unimpressive and the paneling was weak. The story was very convoluted and felt rushed at the end, prob cause they told them to wrap it up after the battle royale arc I assume. Again, I just don't have a lot to say really so I'll leave it at that

Shuumatsu no Valkyrie Ch95

This fight is finally over and like the kids say, it's peak. Okita fighting was the thing I was looking forward to the most since the names were revealed at the start of the series and they certainly didn't disappoint. Considering the score at the start of the fight I predicted that Okita would win just to not make the plot too predictable afterwards. However I changed my mind during the fight, they introduced another plot by teasing some stuff with Odin and Siegfried, and with how balanced the fight was I thought that there would be the chance for a tie, which wouldn't change the current score and therefore pigeonhole the rest of the story Spoilers: Just like I predicted Okita did end up winning, and the score is now tied once again leaving the result for the next fight up in the air completely. However, considering how the fight went I still think it'll be a "tie" with Okita dying at some point, despite winning the fight itself

Also it's been a pain being so behind with the english TLs, yeah I could read it in other languages but it'd feel weird considering I've been doing it in en for years, hopefully they manage to do the next one after but this is what you have to put with with fanlations

[the-scaredy-crow]

Get to Know Your Moots Writeblr Interview

Template

Thank you for the tag @ceph-the-ghost-writer ! It's been like over a month, but I finally got a chance to work on this.

I'm leaving an open tag since it has been so long. If you see this, don't be scared to jump on and tag me in your post so I can read it!

~

Remember, folks; if any of the questions don’t spark joy, just delete ‘em. If someone tags you and this feels like a chore, don’t do it! This is for fun!

On the Tumblr Writing Community

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr?

I've had this account for years, probably since I was 16 at least? Maybe longer? I only recently gathered the courage to start posting here, so I've been more active in Writeblr since around the beginning of 2024.

What led you to create it?

I created my account for the sense of community and belonging I found on here. I grew up in a tiny town, where I never really got to be myself. Even when I was writing, I either had to filter myself a ton or never let my work see the light of day. This seemed like a place I could be myself and be surrounded by people like me.

What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community?

The community aspect of it all, 100%. I've never had so many people who care about the same things as me and who are so completely themselves. It's so refreshing.

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?

I am super anxious, especially about social stuff, so if I come off as cold or distant or anything, I really don't mean to.

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?

More mutuals, always more mutuals! I also love seeing rambles about whatever y’all are obsessed with lately!

What tips/advice do you have for someone who made a Writeblr today?

Be yourself! Don't be afraid to reblog, like, and follow. Everyone I know loves that type of stuff, and even though it's scary to put yourself out there, it is the only way you will get to meet the amazing people on here.

WIP it Good

Which Works-in-Progress (WIPs) or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

I am in the process of rewriting/finishing the first draft of Kindling Bones. My brain has been filling in a bunch of gaps and adding to it a lot lately, so I’m just trying to keep up.

How long have you been working on them?

I started Kindling Bones in 2022 (maybe?), but I really started focusing on it after I finished the first draft of a story I lost the spark for. I’ll eventually get back to that one I think.

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?

Kindling Bones was a mash-up of a couple ideas. Originally, it was a story of a hero-turned-villain desperate for revenge after his family was caught in the middle of a hero’s mission. I think it was partly inspired by one of my old WIPs. Somewhere along the way, it turned into a battered hero who loses everything holding onto his new life as desperately as a starved dog and finally learning to heal. I honestly forgot Rhys was supposed to be a villain!

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

Kindling Bones takes up so much of my brain currently. I see Spyder and Achy Bones in every cat I want so desperately to adopt. Rhys and Adam will not leave my brain alone with all their angst and fluff.

When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?

Uhhhhhhhh (I turn red and break down into a stuttering mess).

I don't talk about my writing to anyone except on here. It's usually a vague "fantasy, murder, that type of stuff" if I accidentally do mention it. Or just an “I haven’t really been writing lately.”

What do you want to say (if it’s different from what you do say)?

I want to tell them about how I write stories driven by characters, stories that I crave and that I hope others can look at and say, "hey, there's me". I want to go on an on about the stupid little gay people I write. I want to grab their shoulders and shake them and say "I write everything my heart tells me. I write love."

Let’s Rotate Blorbos

Name any characters you created.

My first gay character will probably never see the light of day. His name was Jackson, and he was just a side character, but he took up all of my brain. (Looking back, his story was terrible and I'm glad to have abandoned it, but I am grateful he existed for where he got me)

My current favorite is probably Katzyr, Viktor, or any character from Damsel Not in Distress, though they haven't seen much spotlight.

Who’s the most unhinged?

That's a toss-up. Katzyr definitely has his quirks and is the biggest loose-cannon I currently have. I also have one who is literally losing his mind. And there's the MC from the first wip I ever finished a first draft of, who got more unhinged throughout his story (I might go back to that story, but I wrote it under my old pen name, so maybe not).

Who comes the most naturally for you to write?

The characters in my wip, Damsel not in Distress, are easy to write because I focused so much on their characterization when plotting the story. The first character I wrote who falls under the asexual umbrella is my beautiful graysexual detective, Evan from Memento Mirror. He probably comes pretty naturally for me since I'm ace, and he opened the floodgates for so many more a-spec characters.

Do you ever cringe at them?

Not much honestly. Sometimes at the stupid mistakes and misunderstandings?

How much control do you feel you have over your characters?

My OCs are usually the type to write themselves and not leave me alone about it. I do a lot of work building them up in the beginning, but eventually they just take over my brain whenever they please and tell me how things are going to go.

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters?

Yes!! I would love to answer questions about my characters! Literally ask them through whatever means you want, and I will do my best to answer.

On Writeblr Engagement

What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account?

I'll admit, I'm pretty click-happy. If I see a profile recommended that looks interesting, I do a bit of surfing then follow. I mostly go by vibes, but I also follow if the WIPs are cool! If there’s a queer WIP, I am probably going to follow :)

What makes you decide against following?

I 100% don't follow- and will probably block- anyone hateful. I’m also really careful about cybersecurity (it’s a big part of my job and one of the fields I study) so I will definitely avoid any accounts that seem fake.

Do you interact with non-mutuals often?

I try to; I'll reblog any post that inspires me, but I usually only see the stuff from my mutuals and others I follow.

Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

OMG yes! I was at the library a while ago waiting for my sister, and I was like oh, I can look for that book that's been plaguing me. After like fifteen minutes of searching the internet with vague descriptions, I realized it wasn't published yet... I was looking for a book from someone I follow on here. So yeah, I definitely think about your OCs/stories.

*If you have a story that's published or coming up, lmk so I can check it out!*

[linuxgamenews]

Discover The Jackbox Megapicker for Endless Fun

The Jackbox Megapicker due to release soon for the celebrated game franchise on Linux, Steam Deck, Mac, and Windows PC. Thanks to the ongoing creativity of Jackbox Games. The latest The Jackbox Party Pack 10 release is available for Steam and Humble Store. Over the past decade, the developer has had the pleasure of creating tons of titles and becoming a part of your lives. Having been there for your icebreaker moments, your laugh out loud sessions, and even those times you just needed to distract your weird uncle. Hence The Jackbox Megapicker announcement. With over 50 games in the collection, the developers heard from many of you that it can be a hassle to switch between packs to find the title you want. And also what some players have been saying on social media. Doing so in feedback surveys and even in handwritten notes: “It’s the only annoying thing about Jackbox at parties. Having a unified picker that recognizes purchases would be great.” “I think it’d be awesome if they had a single Jackbox launcher that all the Party Packs added into, so I don’t have to remember which pack has which title and go through the hassle of switching.”

The Jackbox Megapicker big question:

"How has Jackbox released seven party packs without a unified combo-pack launcher?" Well, the developer is listening. Introducing The Jackbox Megapicker. This free product is exclusive to Steam and lets you view your entire library, sort and filter your favorite titles, and quickly launch an evening of fun. No more flipping through different packs to find what you’re looking for. The Jackbox Megapicker will be released in July 2024, so mark your calendars. Stay tuned for more information on the official website, follow us on social media, or join our Reddit AMA on r/jackboxgames with the team around launch time. This new feature is a big change for Linux and Steam Deck. Due to make those nights even smoother and more fun. All due to the player feedback and support over the years. The Jackbox Party Pack 10 the latest release is available on Linux, Steam Deck, Mac, and Windows PC. Doing so via Steam and Humble Store. Priced at $34.99 USD / £29.49 / 34,99€.

[boymeetswerewolf]

I love your art! It’s so high quality. What program(s) do you use to achieve that effect? And what tips do you have for aspiring artists wanting to reach such levels themselves?

Hi Anon!

Thanks a lot for the lovely compliment.

I mostly create my art using a technique called overpainting where I paint over reference images. I have an art background (took art at school and at college), but it was focused on abstract art so my experience with realistic proportions is exceedingly terrible and I've just never had the patience or put in the time to learn proportions from scratch. I've always admired artists who put in the time and effort to learn how to do that!

As for what programs I use, I tend to stick with Photoshop since that's what I was trained on and am most familiar with. I use a combination of brushes, filters and textures to give my art the look that it has. I tend to work at a resolution of about 3000px for height or width (whichever is the largest for the layout I'm going with) and a fixed brush size so that I can add a lot of detail and that it looks consistent throughout the piece. I also use tons of layers so that the lining, shading, colouring and any extra adjustments are all separate from each other and easily changeable. My PSD file usually averages between 300mb to 400mb in size because of all the layers.

The tool I probably use most outside of Photoshop is Color Cop. I'm partially colourblind, so when I want to use specific colours I need the hex codes or RGB codes otherwise it takes me ages to get the colours to blend right.

Below are some progress examples (from the "Sacrifice" theme for Sterek Week '23) of how I usually start out when I'm creating something. I go hunting for images and make a collage/edit of what I'd more or less like the finished piece to look like. Usually during this part I also play a lot with different ideas to see what works best. (Sometimes the final result ends up looking how I wanted, sometimes it takes on a life of its own and goes in a completely different direction!) The "Sacrifice" piece is made up of a promo shot of Stiles from Season 6 and a screenshot of Derek from Season 3 (I think). The background is made up of official images from Stranger Things that I blended together and added colour filters to.

Once that's done I start painting with pencil brushes to get the lines, then follow up with texturing and shading. I like to use a soft neutral colour like a beige as a base canvas so that I can paint with black as well as white. Lastly I'll paint in the colours and then finish off the piece by cleaning up the linework and by adding filters to adjust contrast/balance or colouring. Occasionally I've worked "backwards" by roughing painting the shading and some of the colours out first before adding linework.

As for specific tips, I think mindset and believing in yourself is important. It's very easy to get overwhelmed in the beginning, so don't compare yourself to others. If your art makes you feel something, then you're on the right track. Regardless of whether or not you work professionally as an artist, if you express yourself creatively in a visual medium - whether it's an oil painting or making lewd doodles in a sketchbook - then, in my opinion, you are an artist.

Once you're over that hurdle, the next part is just to keep at it. I hate using the word "practice", so I'm rather going to say keep making art consistently, and - most importantly - have fun while you're doing it. If it's fun, you're more likely to stick with it and improve. If you're trying to go in a specific direction with your art, I think there are two important areas to focus on: expanding your creativity and your familiarity with the tools you use. The latter especially will make your life a lot easier.

For me, being familiar with Photoshop is what allows me to make digital art the way I do. I've used it for a long time so I know a lot of tricks and shortcuts to help me achieve what I'm going for. This goes for any program you choose to use, though. And you don't have to limit yourself to one. Play around with different tools and programs and see what works the best for you. The internet is also a fantastic (and often free) resource, and YouTube especially has a lot of tutorials that can help you get started or help you build on your existing skills.

To expand your creativity with regards to your art, I recommend studying other artists - and not just one specific kind of artist either. Look at the old masters, look at modern art, look at fan artists, look at photographers and cinematographers. (And, of course, Mother Nature - the greatest artist of all.) Look at how they use composition, how they use colour, how they use lighting and shading. Try and incorporate some of those aspects into your own work and see what works for you.

TL;DR - Experiment and play… and most importantly, have fun!

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

~ Bren

[vincaminor42]

Stupid craft project I spent most of the other day doing: attempting to make walnut ink

Been wanting to try this for years, and finally decided to do it then cause ink made with walnuts gathered during an eclipse sounds kinda metal, lol

First up, walk up the street to where there used to be a ton of big black walnut trees - most of them died off for some reason in the last few years, but there was at least one still there with bunches of nuts under it. Took a big bucket & gloves and grabbed a few dozen

Back home, after watching what I could of the eclipse through the cloud cover, I shucked the walnuts, putting the husks in an old pot and the actual nuts in a bag (dunno what I’ll do with them, black walnuts are near impossible to crack and these likely aren’t good anyway - I’d give them to the squirrels but based on the rogue walnut saplings all over the yard they’d just bury and forget about them). Also very important to wear gloves during this part, both cause it can stain you skin and walnut husks have some toxic stuff in them that can irritate skin. Accidentally tore the tip of the thumb on of the rubber gloves off at one point, my nail is still slightly stained brown from it

Now we cover the husks with water and simmer on the stove for like 3-4 hours, stirring every now and then. I used the wooden spoon to kinda chop them up into goo, which I don’t think is necessary but made it easier to stir

After they finished simmering it was time to drain out the solids. I have cheesecloth somewhere, but didn’t want to waste it on this goop, so I chopped the corner off an old fitted sheet I’ve been using bits of for scrap fabric

Let that drip filter for a couple hours, then wrung the remaining liquid out of the mush by hand, doing about a handful at a time in some more cloth (again, with gloves; I went through so many pairs of rubber gloves during this project). When finished I had a decent amount of ink back in the pot, and a bowl of weird brown oblongs that kinda looked like something very big had a poo

Simmered the ink again for another hour to concentrate the pigment, then added some vinegar to prevent mold growth

Did some rough doodles with a brush to see how it turned out - it’s a nice dark brown shade, I think

All in all a fun experiment, but I don’t know if I’d do it again - it’s a lot of work for a bottle of ink

[minty-plumbob]

thank you @akitasimblr for tagging me! <3

1. What’s your favourite sims death? electrocution - it's so exaggerated lol

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? maxis match

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? nope!

4. Do you use move objects? sometimes! especially if I want an object in the corner of a room

5. Favorite mod? mc command center <3

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? get to work

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? I think I switch between them?? I mostly pronounce it like LIV mode (in the sims 3 I call the modes: sim, buy, and build...)

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? I had this one vampire sim that lived in a underground mansion. she maxed a ton of skills and aspirations which was fun!

9. Have you made a simself? I tried! but she looked like someone else lol

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? art lover, geek, perfectionist

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? cheese hair <3

12. Favorite EA hair? the laundry day hairstyle with the clip in the back!

13. Favorite life stage? hmm probably young adult - it feels like a fresh start. elder is a close second since I end up attached to them, and I feel like they had a nice(-ish) life

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? I enjoy the gameplay! I like building and adding builds to make the neighborhoods more fun/cute

15. Are you a CC creator? technically lol! but I definitely like playing the game more than creating cc

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? yes! luckily! I have so many lovely mutuals <3

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4) 3 for nostalgia and how comfortable it is for me. but I really love all of the games (I still want to get used to the sims 1)

18. Do you have any sims merch? nope!

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? no, I think I would be stressed to update it...

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? since I started with sims 3 I was used to alpha cc! in the sims 4 I started with alpha cc but there wasn't a lot at the time. I ended up liking how sims 4 looks eventually lol! I've also gotten more used to the cas controls :^)

21. What’s your Origin ID? my username that I created when I was either 10 or 12, for minecraft <3

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? luumia (for default skins) and simmandy (especially for eyes!)

23. How long have you had a simblr? since may last year

24. How do you edit your pictures? I use reshade and crop the screenies. for notifications I crop them, open the image I want to put the notification on in krita, and then apply a layer filter with stroke (dodge light, and 25% opacity).

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? more single and group activities (golf/miniature golf, arcade machines, drums/bass/electric guitar, gambling, etc.)

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? I really love get together still! clubs will always be a favorite of mine

i'll tag~ @beetlemp3 @introvertedfox @gloomlet @simadelics @pixelfruitcake @moonfromearth (feel free to ignore~ 🌻)

[quagmatastic]

Built a new tank the other day. Full of tannins.

I love you axolotl who I haven't named yet bc I'm incredibly indecisive and also bad at naming!

This little guy, in the short time I've had em, has already grown back the missing stump to almost the same size as the other one!

I had a TON of fun building this tank. I used some rock tiles I found for super cheap at the home depot that I really liked, gonna go back for more, simply bc it's so good. I built this tank out of loose stuff and plants that I had hanging around. Fun thrifted pillowcase turned table cloth, clear vinyl, atop of cinderblocks atop some old leftover wooden flooring planks and scrap wood on top of the blocks. Had to use a couple of shims to level it, but I got it there in the end! Rocks are the last of a bag of rocks I had for a different project, as well as the last of my 50lb bag of silica sand. Wood, decor, plants, lights, filter, all are either leftover scraps or clippings from other tanks. The tank itself I got off the classifieds, simply bc it was such a unique color! Not painted plastic, that color is straight from the manufacturer! No idea who makes them, though. Used filter media from their old tank to help kickstart that nitrate cycle.

I had to put this fella in there after my other one, Fermi, confirmed himself to be male and began trying to sex up this one, who is half his size. I only have the two axolotls, and the small one was a rescue I got at an auction (long story). Had em both in there (after a two week quarantine), to observe their interactions and learn more about em, but I don't want a million babies, so it's seperate tanks now. I had to nuke their old tank due to excessive black hair algae, and they shared the new one. Wanna see what it looks like?

This is Fermi, in there, and you can see where the freshly added nerite snail has been! I've been slowly growing out the plants in there. Fun axolotl tip: they love hides! My favorite hide method, and one I've always wanted to try, is terracotta pots that I've smashed in half. Available in a variety of sizes, they make for great naturalistic feeling, easy to decorate, cute, and durable, hides! They're great temperature sinks, leopard geckos, bearded dragons, skinks, it makes for great basking or hiding or cooling off, great moist hide, or dry if you need that.

Unnamed (already growing back their gill stubs) (left), and Fermi (glowing green eyes and vacant mind)

Unnamed (left). Fermi (right). Both are side eying the camera. Neither knows what taxes are.

Unnamed, showing off their regrown arm (the one on the viewers right), with fully functional fingers and all! The little missing bites from their tail have filled in. You can even see where the gills have started growing back (the sharply tapered, thin, and narrow part of the tips). The whole time that arm was growing back, they swam lopsided. Unnamed is a wild type morph, no GFP (green florescent protein) and adorable as all get out!

[post-punk-revival]

Sites I've gotten way too much fun out as a person whose special interest is music:

Sort Your Music -- pick one of your Spotify playlists and rank the songs by a number of factors like popularity or BPM or happiness. I had a lot of fun with my main playlist seeing what the most obscure or lowest BPM etc. songs I have are.

Whisperify -- fun quiz game where you can pick one of your playlists (I play it with my Wrapped every year) and it'll play five seconds of a song which you then have to guess. Originally it was required to follow the creator on Twitter to use, don't know if it still is, but I just followed and then unfollowed and it let me use it permanently. Also I've since deleted my Twitter account and it doesn't care.

How Bad Is Your Spotify? -- AI that analyzes your listening stats and absolutely roasts you with some really funny and specific descriptions of your music taste. It always says your music is bad so don't be offended.

(↑ This is true)

Skiley -- really really fun Spotify-based... thing? It has a lot of cool stuff you can do with it that I haven't even tried all of yet. It shows you your listening stats like all those Spotify stat websites, but it also: 1. Shows what song you're currently listening to, its genre, album, release year, and you can look at other people's comments and the lyrics. 2. Lets you do a ton of playlist actions, like creating new ones filtered by genre/decade/etc., completely shuffle the order, remove songs you accidentally added twice, add every song in the playlist to your Liked, and other stuff. 3. Has a few music discovery features, like creating what's basically a second Discover Weekly, or finding songs with "similar audio properties" to your favorite songs.

Every Noise at Once/The Sounds of Spotify -- y'all, this website is AMAZING. For music nerds at least, or anyone else who needs their addiction fueled. I've spent hours here and through it added at least 350 songs to my library. The main page has what's basically a word cloud of music genres: every genre currently categorized by the Spotify metadata. This isn't just rock and pop. This is medieval rock and electropowerpop. They all link to individual genre pages with multiple playlists; a general one, an introduction to the genre, currently popular music, lesser known artists, and songs released last year. Each playlist also has a ton of links to playlists for similar and related genres -- for example, the vaporwave playlist also links to dreampunk and future funk. These aren't short 15-track playlists, by the way. The medieval rock one has 257 songs. And most are constantly updating. Just looking at the medieval rock playlist to see the song count I saw there was a song added an hour ago. This is literally my favorite website on the Internet.

As you can see by the scrollbars this is a very small section of the main page of this site.

[twofrontteethstillcrooked]

Suptober 31 Oct.: Costume

When Dean hesitated, Cas added, "I don't have any party food on hand, but I do have a pot of homemade vegetable soup we could heat up." As if to emphasize the point, a sharp breeze bore down on them, and both he and Dean shivered.

deancas ust, full au, no hooky-spooks, human cas + real toddler jack

Extra thank you’s and a million full sized candy bars of her choosing to @winchester-reload for all the wonderful prompts and running Suptober once again! It’s been a ton of fun. 🧡 Happy Halloween, everybody! 🎃

Unlike the woods, Dean's porch was neither lovely nor deep and was in fact currently festooned with about 900 feet of orange and black crepe paper, but it was mostly dark, despite the orange and purple twinkle light filtering through from inside his living room, and it would suffice. He sat heavily on the swing he'd installed a few months ago and focused on the bass thump of whatever monstrosity Ash was spinning. Occasionally someone would make a spooky howl or send up a cheer, probably when someone else drank something that might have been on fire. 

Dean was glad the party was a rager. He just didn't actually want to attend it. Out on the porch it was him, the crepe paper jiggling in a damp wind, and a half dozen plastic skeletons hanging off of the gutters. Respite.

Something was picking its way up the shadowy walk to the porch steps. Dean crept over to say hi. Before it reached the stairs, the creature let out a pitiful cry; Dean's arm hair literally stood on end. The wail was so much that of a child, he felt his heart crack open.

"Dean?" a deep voice asked.

Dean almost tripped over his own stack of pumpkins. "Cas?" He flailed around for the flashlight on his belt and clicked it on.

"Hello, Dean." Cas waved as the narrow spotlight fell upon him. He stood at the bottom of the steps holding an unhappy bundle. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Sitting the flashlight upright on top of the banister, Dean clomped down the stairs, buoyed by pure relief. "Heya, Cas. No problem." 

In the skittering moonlight he could see Cas was, predictably, still wearing his usual: trench coat, loose tie, suit almost a whole size too baggy. At the comic book store Dean owned, Cas was known as an unintentionally consummate Constantine cosplayer. Dean's business partner Charlie had informed them recently that Cas's shtick was additionally cool because kids today – she used air quotes – loved Columbo. Cas didn't seem any more aware of who Columbo was than he ever had Constantine, but he didn't also didn't seem to mind.

Tonight, he had an accessory.

"Hi there," Dean said to the toddler in Cas's arms. 

The little ladybug, maybe two years old, rubbed his eye with his knuckles and scowled at Dean. 

"This is Jack, my godson." Cas wiped a few lingering tears off of Jack's face gently. He lowered his voice to say, "His daycare class didn't take a nap today because they had a Halloween party."

"Oh, buddy," Dean said, rubbing Jack's velvety back. "That's rough." 

Jack peeked at him and finally started to give him the smallest of smiles.

Dean smiled back. And smiled at Cas, whose return smile, though tired, was the best thing Dean had seen all week. 

Of course, it was only Monday. But Cas was pretty much always the best thing Dean laid eyes on. Dean hadn't been able to figure out where the line was – Cas had become a loyal customer, and wasn't there something a bit skeevy about using that pond to fish in? And he immediately corrected it in his head, 'cause Cas wasn't just a customer. He was a friend. He'd spent as much time in the shop's reading nook talking to Dean about any and everything for the last year as Lisa or Benny or Jo had, and smelled better and was nicer to look at and was all around funnier than the three of them combined.

No offense, Dean thought, remembering that those friends, as well as four dozen others, were somewhere in his house, crunching monster munch and slurping up a thousand dollars' worth of poison apple punch.

"Your firefighter gear seems to still fit," Cas said.

Dean looked down at himself, the turnout coat and pants dusty with past soot and current cobwebs, the yellow-toed boots he'd only worn half a year before early retirement.

"Does it provoke any nostalgia?" Cas asked, tone respectful and curious.

"Nah." Dean took off his heavy helmet and scratched his fingernails over his sweaty scalp. Ahhh. "I mean, honestly – some days I miss being a big damn hero, yeah." He noticed that Jack was suddenly fascinated by the helmet. "But the time was right for me to go, so. I went." He held out the helmet and Jack's eyes grew even bigger. "You wanna try it on?"

Jack nodded, and sat up in Cas's arms a bit more. Dean put the helmet on his head carefully but didn't release it. Jack's entire skull was covered down to his shoulders. The toddler started giggling and it damn near made an echo, the helmet was so much bigger than he was. Dean whisked it back off of him and Jack squealed. 

Cas bounced Jack once and Jack collapsed in more giggles on his chest. 

"Uh oh," Dean said, "I think the slap happies have arrived."

"Oh yes," Cas said. "We are familiar with that this time of night." His tone was wry but his eyes were merry. 

Dean couldn't look away. His stomach fluttered at the realization that Cas wasn't looking away either. 

"Oh, hey. I haven't even invited you guys in." Dean glanced up the stairs. A lot of people were leaning against his living room windows, and someone had changed the orange twinkle lights to a disco setting – blink blink, blinkblinkblink. He recognized the opening chords to "Bela Lugosi's Dead" so at least Ash's taste had improved. Another thought occurred. "It might not be overly, um. Kid friendly."

Cas chuckled. "That's okay. We just wanted to stop by and say Happy Halloween." 

"Hoppy Hallofeen," Jack mimicked in his tiny voice.

"I didn't realize trick or treating ended so early," Cas said. "We were going to visit a few houses but I think it's just as well we've almost missed the time frame." 

"Would you mind the company?" Dean startled himself by asking. He gave a small cough. "I know a couple of places near here that are a sure thing even this late."

Cas looked at him like he was offering to pay for Jack's college tuition or something. He tipped his head. "Aren't you the host of this party?" He pointed up the steps.

"Yeah, but Sam'll take care of things. It's his house too." 

Sam was in there somewhere dressed like a pirate for the third year in a row.

"I thought he moved out ahead of the wedding." Cas adjusted Jack to his other hip.

Dean sighed. "Yeah, he has, technically. But the wedding might not happen."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I put my RSVP in the mail Saturday." Cas's eyebrows drooped with concern.

"Sam invited you?" Dean smiled involuntarily at that. "Nice."

"He's become a good friend too. I always look forward to our book discussions at the shop. But I didn't know there were…problems between him and Eileen."

Dean shook his head. "Well, there aren't, really." He swallowed down that needling, hollow feeling that rattled around in his chest every time he thought about Sam and Eileen being on the other side of town, in their own little world, doing their own things. As far as Dean was concerned Sam wasn't old enough to buy beer yet, or vote, or join the military, or have a mortgage payment, much less a wife or, potentially, some day, a kid of his own. He shook his head again. "They're fine." 

Cas gave him a long look with soft eyes. "You're welcome to join Jack and me tonight, if you'd like." He looked down at Jack, who was half asleep, clutching onto Cas's coat lapel like a baby monkey. "Though I imagine it'd be best if we skipped the candy grab." 

When Dean hesitated, Cas added, "I don't have any party food on hand, but I do have a pot of homemade vegetable soup we could heat up." As if to emphasize the point, a sharp breeze bore down on them, and both he and Dean shivered.

Dean made an executive decision. "That sounds great. Are you parked down the street?"

"No, we walked over."

"Wait, how far away do you live?"

Cas looked away for a second and seemed to have to tap some inner strength. "I live over on Elmwood."

"Dude," Dean said, eyes popping. "That's not even half a mile away. You've lived half a mile away this whole time we've known each other?"

The apples of Cas's cheeks were pink. Dean tried not to be gleeful or lewd about it inside his own head.

"We've never…" Cas cleared his throat. "We always meet up at the shop, so. I didn't want to outstay my welcome."

"First of all, come to the shop any time. All day, every day. You could do your work from home stuff there, if you wanted. I'm not gonna mind, and neither would Charlie. Secondly, we live like nine blocks apart. This whole thing where we've been doing classic-movie marathons over text is finito effective immediately; we're doing the next one in person, for pity's sake." Dean flailed his hands and huffed for emphasis. 

Cas bit his lip for a second. "All right." He squared himself. "Well. Soup."

They'd traveled a few blocks when Cas said, "You know, you're still a big damn hero as far as I'm concerned. You run a shop that's a safe space for everyone who's in it, which is children a lot of the time. I've seen you call in favors from all sorts of people to help customers who're having a hard time with any number of things – paying rent or having enough to eat or dealing with rotten families. Or just needing their car's oil changed." He waited, like he thought Dean might respond.

Dean wanted to, but his throat hurt too badly. Under a street light he paused and Cas paused beside him.

"It's just a little shop that sells comics and old records and posters of Wonder Woman," Dean said finally.

Cas looked at him with the utmost kindness in his eyes. "You know it's more than that."

Dean wiped the corner of his eye with the back of his hand. "Sometimes it's a place for nerds to argue who would win, Thorn versus Hulk." 

Jack perked up and started making growling noises and beating his fists on Cas's shoulder. 

"That's right," Dean encouraged. "Hulk smash!"

"RRRRRRrrrrr," Jack said.

Cas gave them both tolerant looks. Jack hid his face in Cas's chest, giggling.

They kept walking. Another block, and Dean was able to say quietly, "Thanks, Cas."

"You're welcome." Cas bumped into him. Probably by accident. After five more minutes he stopped in front of a small brick house with an autumn leaf wreath on the door, a light-up jack o'lantern in the window, and a swing on the porch. "We're home," he said, glancing at Dean.

The phrasing rattled around in Dean's brain for a moment, but he found himself once again unable to look away from Cas. 

Oh, he thought. Yes, we're home.

[usuallydeepcoffee]

4, 11, and 21 for choosing violence!

4. what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

lol, I don't remember the exact post, but I do remember that it was well after a year since Endgame had come out and this person was still whining about Steve, using all the marvel shows to point out endgame (and marvel's) hypocrisy. Probably are still doing that now. Hate watching at its finest with a good dose of not being able to let go (ironic, considering they were dragging Steve for... not being able to let go?)

11. number of fandom-related words you've filtered

On tumblr, not that many (people with shitty takes usually don't have the good taste of tagging them appropriately, so I've given up): I've had to add anti-peggy recently, because I've had to read with my own eyes that Peggy abused Steve and like, we're not doing this 4 years after endgame, nope.

I used to filter a lot on ao3, before they added the exclude feature; lmao I had a ton of "not XXX friendly" and "sub/bottom!b*cky (and T0ny, when I was still foolishly holding out hope that the st0ny fandom would come around and learn to like Steve), for the reasons mentioned in the previous ask; that and "XX needs a hug" because they always ended up being overly indulgent towards that character, which. If it ain't Steve, I don't care. No hugs for you (I'm kidding).

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

Idk if this counts but... I think especially with the latest releases, people are overhyping marvel phases 1-3. The first Avengers movie was a nice and fun movie, groundbreaking for 2012, but it's not as perfect as the fans (mainly the ones that are unhappy with the most recent releases) seem to remember. I've seen people complain about phase 4 becoming too quippy and -really? So you've never seen a movie with Iron-man in it?

Like, the truth is that they always had their flaws, with the writing, (Bruce falling on Nat's boobs? The whole "I'm a monster too"?), with the pacing, with the balancing of the characters, but the more time passes and the more content we get, the more people idealise "the good ol' times".

IMHO projects like Shang Chi and Moon Knight were quality content: Oscar Isaacs' acting was top tier and Shang Chi's father made a compelling, complex villain (Also the score for Shang Chi. Oh my god)

I get some of the criticism, but the first marvel movies had their flaws as well and they're not as unthouchable as people think.

(Except the captain America movies of corse 😇)

choose violence ask game

[rowansparrow]

Juke Box Hero: A Rose Story

This is SO STUPID LMAO But I hope you guys like it anyway. I’m back on my bullshit and I am here to provide you with a little story based off THIS POST. Anon, thank you for your service, because this was very, very fun. 

This snippet takes place during Chapter Seven of BAON, during the flashback when Reader is meeting Rex for the first time and Rose and Co. are stuck cleaning up the barracks. You don’t necessarily have to have read it for this to make sense, but the right context might be neat. 

Also, for timeline purposes/in BAON, Tup and Dogma technically never met Rose, as they weren’t part of the 501st before he died, but I’m including them in this because I make the rules and I wanted to. 

Also Denal’s here because I think he’s a funky dude and deserves more content.

The clones deserve to dance and have fun and who’s gonna write them doing that if it ain’t me? 

Rating: Mature-ish? There are some dirty jokes and swearing but mostly it’s Just fun shenanigans with Rose and Bros. 

(Also I spent a TON of time picking everyone’s songs so pls tell me what you think of my selections lmao).

I’m tagging everyone from the BAON tag list in case you’re interested. Enjoy!

In retrospect, perhaps Rose should have put a stop to the loth cat situation – or as Hardcase called it, Operation: P.U.S.S.Y. He claimed it was an abbreviation for “Petting Unusually Sweet Strays, Yeah!”

“You have to call it something else.” Rose had said at the time, staring at the loth cat cradled protectively in Hardcase’s arms.

“But you’re not saying no?” Hardcase prompted eagerly, already bouncing lightly on his heels.

“Just…” Rose pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just… clean up after it? And if it breaks anything, it’s on you, and for the love of Force, don’t get caught.”

Now, as the Lieutenant surveyed the disarray that had befallen the barracks, and the company of very disgruntled subordinates, he was reconsidering his earlier leniency.

“I feel as the acting SIC, you’re the one who should be taking the flak for this, not the entire company.” Jesse grumbled, glaring at Lieutenant Rose over his shoulder as he scrubbed at the floor of the barracks.

“Don’t look at me. I’m not the one who brought a pregnant loth-cat into the barracks in the first place.” Rose replied, straightening up for a moment where he’d been hunched over, his back cracking as he moved.

“Well, you didn’t fight me very hard on it!” Hardcase protested. “And I didn’t know Beans was pregnant at the time! I didn’t even know she was a girl!”

His explanation only earned him several slugs to the arm from nearby vode.

“And just because I’m second-in-command does not make me exempt from the Captain’s wrath.” Rose added. “You didn’t get the dressing-down, you just have to carry out the punishment with me.”

“Hang on, I thought we agreed the cat’s name was going to be Road Rash?” Coric asked.

“That’s unladylike.” Said Denal. “And rude. She can’t help her scars.”

“And Beans is ladylike?” Jesse raised an eyebrow.

“She likes it! And her kits looked like beans when they came out too!”

Rose shook his head fondly at his men as they bickered. At least they weren’t complaining anymore.

In truth, he was surprised the situation had been managed as long as it had been. They’d lasted almost a full three weeks without anyone figuring out they were hiding a cat in the barracks. Of course, the kittens made it much harder, and they could only hide them in overturned helmets during inspections for so many days before the helmets started to mewl.

And once Beans threw a tantrum over not having her kits with her, it was game over. She’d knocked over an entire can of armor paint in her wrath, and blue pawprints and large paint puddles coated the durasteel of the barracks, and a few of the bunks had claw and bite marks in the fabric.

“It’ll take us an hour, maybe more, to clean this whole mess up.” Fives complained, looking around the barracks forlornly. He had a nasty scratch just under his eye from finally snatching Beans up in her rampage. “Kriff. I was excited to go out tonight.”

“Not to mention after we finish here the Captain said we had to go take over latrine and canteen detail from other battalions.”

“Then I guess you better get scrubbing.” Kix said absently, thumbing through medical requisition forms on his datapad and sitting cross-legged on one of the few bunks that didn’t have blue paw prints streaked across it.

“Why aren’t you helping? You’re part of the company too.” Echo said. “Fives and I are ARC troopers, if anyone here should be exempt from company-wide punishments, it’s us.”

“I’m not helping because I didn’t participate.” Kix replied, not looking up from his ‘pad.

“The kark you didn’t, you delivered the kits!” Fives snapped.

“Well, Captain Rex didn’t catch me, so.”

“That’s because you went and hid in the medbay and didn’t warn the rest of us he was coming.” Tup muttered under his breath.

“Not true. I sent Jesse a comm.” Kix said, finally looking up only to shrug and return to his work. “Which he didn’t check, and that’s not my fault.”

“It doesn’t matter who was involved and who wasn’t involved.” Dogma piped up. “Clearly, because if it did, I wouldn’t be here either.”

“We know.” Said Jesse and Fives in unison.

Rose sighed, his eyes drifting forlornly to his bunk. He spotted his footlocker sticking halfway out from underneath the durasteel, and he lit up. He opened it quickly, pulling out a beat-up radio he’d gotten at a market stall during one of his first deployments. He’d had to trade a droid popper and half his rations for it – Rex had not been pleased about it when he found out – but it was worth the two-day latrine rotation he’d gotten as punishment.

He’d already downloaded several songs off the HoloNet, along with a few channel recordings of past BoloBall games. Even if he knew who won them, it was still something to listen to on long stints on cruisers.

“What’cha doing, Lieutenant?” Tup asked, peeking around the corner as Rose straightened back up, fumbling with the little radio for a moment and propping it up on one of the bunks so the music could fill the whole room.

“No. NO! No.” Jesse jabbed a finger at the Lieutenant as he saw him set up the radio. “No. Absolutely not. I have had enough of your osik-brained, Force-forsaken, whack-ass music to last me a lifetime.”

Kix chuckled, rolling his eyes at the other trooper. “You listen exclusively to electronic dance music. Even when we aren’t at 79s. You have no room to talk.”

“This is better than that.” Rose promised, dialing up the volume. “This is the kind of stuff you’d find on the jukebox at Dex’s Diner.” He grinned. Dex was personal friends with General Kenobi, and was one of the few Coruscant establishments that was friendly to clones, as long as they behaved themselves. Rose had gone there with his brothers a handful of times, and even Anakin had dragged his Padawan Ahsoka, Rose, and Rex along once.

“You have a radio?” Dogma frowned. “Isn’t that contraband, sir?”

“Relax, it’s an old prewar-era radio, it’s not hurting anything.” Fives drawled, knocking Dogma lightly on the shoulder. “What’re you gonna play, sir?”

“Let’s see…” Rose filtered through his downloads, and grinned wider, pressing play.

Immediately, soft music rang through the barracks, and Jesse smacked his head against the bunk, groaning loudly.

“I’m begging you, Lieutenant.” Jesse said. “I’m begging.”

Rose was already swaying his hips, bending over to grab Jesse by the chin.

“On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair, warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air.” Rose serenaded him.

Jesse swatted Rose’s hand away, and Rose turned, swinging around on the side of the bunk and pointing to Fives this time. “Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light. My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim, I had to stop for the night.”

Fives grinned, joining in even as he stumbled slightly over the words.

“There she stood in the doorway. I heard the mission bell and I was thinking to myself, this could be Heaven or this could be Hell.”

Kix was drumming his fingers on his datapad, nodding along and singing under his breath.

“Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way. There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say…”

“This is too slow.” Echo griped, rising to his feet and stepping over Dogma, who was still stubbornly scrubbing away at the barrack floors and refusing to engage even as the rest of the clones began quietly singing along with the chorus.

The ARC Trooper fiddled with the dial for a moment, scrolling through Rose’s music and selecting another song, already grinning as the chanting started through the speakers and eventually rippled through the ranks of the 501st.

“STOP.” Jesse barked, trying to kick Fives as the other ARC trooper hopped to his feet, stomping his feet and chanting along. “STOP, I HATE THIS ONE!”

Rose and Hardcase were chanting too, and Coric had started clapping his hands on an overturned bucket, a few shinies clapping their hands together as Echo shook his ass, kama swaying as he climbed up onto a nearby table. He scooped up a mop, pulling the handle to his mouth.

“I can’t stop this feeling, deep inside of me.” He pointed to Kix, grinding against the handle. “Girl, you just don’t realize what you do to me.”

Kix gave him the finger, and Echo pointed to Fives, who was still chanting with the others but was now holding up his helmet, recording the whole thing. Echo amped up his performance.

“When you hold me in your arms so tight, you let me know everything’s alright. I’m hooked on a feeling!”

Tup whooped from where he’d moved to sit on one of the bunks. Dogma shot him a nasty look, which he ignored in favor of watching Echo strut on the table.

“I’m high on believing that you’re in love with me. Lips as sweet as candy, its taste is on my mind. Girl you got me thirsty for another cup of wine.”

“Wait, wait, wait, I have a good one.” Fives shoved his helmet at Hardcase, letting him take over recording as he scrambled to the radio, quickly turning the dial once again and elbowing Echo off the table as fast, loud, angry guitars shredded through the barracks.

Jesse seemed to perk up just slightly, and any of the 501st troopers who were still trying to actually clean – save for Dogma – had abandoned their supplies and had elected to dance instead, crowding the table and forming a makeshift mosh pit.

Fives was nothing if not a showman, and when he snatched the mop from Echo, he performed.

“When I get high, I get high on speed. Top fuel funny car’s a drug for me, my heart! My heart! Kickstart my heart!”

He stomped his foot hard on the table, flipping his head back and running one hand messily through his hair.

“Always got the cops coming after me, custom-built bike doing 103, my heart! My heart! Kickstart my heart!”

Rose laughed, watching as Fives looked at the helmet Hardcase was hoisting up over the crowd, singing into the camera and rolling his shoulders back.

“Ooh, are ya ready, girls? Ooh, are you ready now? Woah, yeah! Kickstart my heart, baby give it a start. Woah, yeah! Baby! Kickstart my heart, hope it never stops. Woah, yeah, baby yeah!”

The clones joined him for the chorus, and then Fives dropped to his knees like he’d seen rockers do on the HoloNet, high fiving the nearest vode. Dogma was still stubbornly trying to clean up the barracks, but had moved on to one of the far corners, only giving the rest of his battalion the occasional side-eye.

“Skydive naked from an aeroplane, or a lady with a body from outer space, my heart. My heart! Kickstart my heart.” He wiggled his hips as he straightened back up, biting his lip through a grin and dropping his hand to his hips and shaking his fist obscenely, as though he was jerking himself off.

“Say I got trouble, trouble in my eyes, I’m just looking for another good time, my heart. My heart! Kickstart my heart!”

Before Fives could do something else profane – or possibly attempt to crowd-surf and give Rose a handful of incident reports to fill out, the music suddenly shifted, and all heads turned to the radio.

Kix was smirking. He’d divested himself of the top half of his armor, instead electing to shimmy his way up onto the table in just the upper half of his blacks and lower armor plates. Fives exited, rejoining the crowd as Kix leveled a sultry look at the camera for just a moment before turning his back on the crowd.

“Clean shirt, new shoes, and I don’t know where I am goin’ to. Silk suit, black tie, I don’t need a reason why.”

He spun quickly, switching his grip on the mop handle as though he was holding a woman in his arms, dipping it low towards the crowd as he sang.

“They come a runnin’ just as fast as they can, ‘cos every girl’s crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man.”

Fives and Echo were howling with laughter, and Hardcase wolf-whistled loud enough that Rose’s ears rang. Even Jesse had finally joined in, nodding his head along to the music and trying to bite back a grin. Tup had left the crowd to instead attempt to pull Dogma in, and Denal had rounded up a few newer members and was trying to push them closer to the front.

Kix unzipped the top half of his blacks, doing a slow strip-tease in time with the music.

“Gold watch, diamond ring, I ain’t missin’, not a single thing. And cufflinks, stickpin, when I step out I’mma do you in.” Kix shrugged out of his blacks and rolled his hips along the mop handle, dropping his ass low and slowly dragging himself back up, grinding against the handle.

“They come a runnin’ just as fast as they can, ‘cos every girl’s crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man.”

Fives actually pretended to faint, falling backwards into Echo, who was laughing so hard that he fell over with him.

“ALRIGHT!” Dogma shouted over the music, elbowing his way through the crowd with Tup following anxiously behind him. Dogma firmly stopped the music, hands on his hips as he turned to face the rest of his brothers, who’d begun to boo.

“We have orders,” Dogma reminded them. “This is a punishment, not a party. When we finish here, we’re supposed to clean the shower block, and then we’re supposed to report to the mess hall and take over the canteen cleanup shifts.”

“We know the orders, Dogma.” Rose said, putting a hand on the younger trooper’s shoulder. “There’s no harm in having fun while you work.”

“I’m the only one still working.” Dogma grumbled.

“Alright, alright, we’ll turn it low for now, and we’ll finish up in here, then we can bring the radio with us when we move to the refreshers and canteen. Fair?” He asked, turning to the rest of the men. There were a few muttered responses, and Rose raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, I couldn’t quite make that out.” He said. “We are cleaning this mess up, correct gentlemen?”

“Sir yes sir!” They all answered quickly, hurrying back to work.

Rose chuckled, shifting the music to something a little calmer, the gentle piano wafting through the barracks as they continued to clean up.

Denal’s head perked up as soon as he heard the piano start, and while he didn’t climb up onto the table like his brothers had, he smiled to himself, turning back towards the spot he was scrubbing and singing to the durasteel floor.

“I'm sailing away. Set an open course for the Virgin Sea.”

Echo hummed, closing his eyes and rocking back on his heels for a moment, listening to his older vod croon.

“'Cause I've got to be free. Free to face the life that's ahead of me.” Denal continued, his voice soft but steady. “On board I'm the captain, so climb aboard. We'll search for tomorrow on every shore and I'll try, oh Lord I'll try… to carry on.”

Somebody whistled, a few scattered claps ringing through the barracks. Coric picked up where Denal left off.

“I look to the sea, reflections in the waves spark my memory. Some happy some sad.” He sang. “I think of childhood friends, and the dreams we had.”

Tup glanced to Dogma, who was practically seething as he scrubbed at the same spot on the floor that he’d been working on for the past several minutes. “You like this song, don’t you, Dogma?”

“No I don’t. Shut up.”

“Join in. They won’t mind.” Tup encouraged.

“No.”

“We live happily forever, so the story goes. But somehow we missed out on that pot of gold.” Sang Coric. “But we'll try best that we can to carry on!”

The music picked up, and Jesse shot Rose a look.

“This is a deceptively fast song.” He said.

“It sneaks up on ya.” Rose chuckled.

The barracks devolved into chaos once again, the clones all screaming along to the lyrics, even the ones who didn’t know the words picked it up quickly, encouraged by their brothers.

Despite the distractions, they finally finished cleaning the barracks, and Rose plucked the radio from where he’d stashed it, leading the way down the hallway towards the refreshers. The 501st were especially rowdy in the quiet halls – most of the barracks were empty, the clones who weren’t being punished for loth-cat related shenanigans were taking advantage of the shore leave.

When they opened the door to the shower block, they encountered a few members of the 212th already in there, cleaning up.

“Pack it in, lads.” Rose announced. “We’re taking over for you.”

“What? Why?” Boil asked, leaning on a mop and raising an eyebrow. “Did you get in trouble?”

“Yes.” Hardcase replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“All of you?” Waxer poked his head out from inside one of the refresher stalls, Crys and Wooley pausing from where they were wiping down countertops.

“Yeah, it’s Hardcase’s fault. As usual.” Jesse said, strolling over to Boil and plucking the mop from his hands. “We’re supposed to take over your shifts.”

“Good, I was hoping to get to 79’s tonight before last call. I hear they’ve got purple spotchka.” Boil said excitedly, glancing at Waxer over his shoulder.

“We can help you finish.” Waxer said, immediately raining on his brother’s parade. “There isn’t much left to do anyway.”

“You sure?” Rose asked. “It’s technically a punishment -.”

“Nah, it’s fine, there really isn’t much left, aside from the toilets.” He grinned. “But you boys can handle those.”

“Fair enough.” Rose chuckled, nodding over his shoulder to his men. Fives, Echo, Jesse, and Hardcase were in a heated four-way battle of rock, flimsi, cutters in order to determine who had to clean the toilets first.

“What’s that?” One trooper Rose didn’t recognize asked, pointing to his hand.

“It’s a radio!” Rose said cheerfully. “I’m err… technically not supposed to have it. But we’ve been listening to music while we worked.” He set it up on the countertop. “Do you have a favorite song…?”

“Spitter.” The 212th trooper supplied helpfully.

“Spitter.” Rose repeated, chuckling to himself and wondering how the hell he’d earned that name. “Do you have a favorite song?”

“I don’t know the name of it.” The trooper admitted shyly. “But – but it’s the one they play on the hits channel all the time. I hear it playing in the admiral’s quarters on the Negotiator all the time.”

“I know that one!” Waxer said excitedly, nodding to Rose. “It’s the one Commander Cody likes. You were playing it in the hangar a few weeks ago when our flight detail overlapped.”

“I remember.” Rose smiled, and turned the song on.

Immediately, every head, including Dogma’s, perked up at the familiar tune. Fives clapped his hands together, getting them started.

“When I wake up, well I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man who wakes up next to you.”

The younger trooper, Spitter, lit up and followed it up.

“When I go out, yeah I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man who goes along with you.”

Waxer elbowed Boil, trying to get him to join in, but the other trooper shook his head and crossed his arms, rolling his eyes even as Waxer sang.

“If I get drunk, well I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you.”

Their voices carried through the refresher’s tiled walls, and Jesse picked up where Waxer left off.

“And if I haver, yeah I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man who’s havering to you.”

When the chorus rolled around, everyone joined in, their voices bouncing off the walls around them.

“But I would walk five hundred miles, and I would walk five hundred more, just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door.”

“When I’m working,” Kix began, offering a hand to Wooley and giving him a playful spin. “Yes I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man who’s working hard for you.”

“And when the money comes in for the work I do, I’ll pass almost every penny on to you.” Wooley laughed, shoving Kix away with a grin.

“When I come home,” Tup piped up quickly, before someone else could. “Oh, I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man who comes back home to you.”

“And if I grow old,” Crys smirked, shaking his shoulders at Fives, who punched him playfully in the arms and joined in, singing the line in unison. “Well, I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man who’s growing old with you.”

The chorus returned, and they sang with even more feeling than before, dancing and tossing their heads back, shouting along to the words and nearly drowning out the music itself as they sang.

As the final verse approached, Waxer sidled up next to Boil, giving him a hopeful look. His brother sighed, scrubbing a hand bitterly over his face and reluctantly joined in.

“When I’m lonely, well I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man who’s lonely without you.” He sang.

“And when I’m dreaming,” Echo called. “Well I know I’m gonna dream, I’m gonna dream about the time when I’m with you.”

“And when I go out, well I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man who goes along with you.” Fives followed.

“And when I come home, yes I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man who comes back home with you.” Denal said.

Tup took a deep breath, preparing to finish off the verse, but he was cut off.

“I’m gonna be the man who’s coming home,” Dogma’s voice was shaky as all eyes turned to him, and he finished in a squeak. “With you.”

The room erupted in cheers, Fives catching Dogma under his arm and giving him a noogie as the chorus rang out once again, everyone shouting along to the lyrics together.

When the song ended, and the cleanup was done, the 212th parted ways with the 501st, the brothers patting one another on the back and jeering affectionately at one another now that the song and dance was done.

“If you finish with everything before final call, catch up with us at 79’s.” Boil called over his shoulder. “We can give the vode there a run for their money with our rendition of that song.”

“Count on it.” Rose chuckled, giving the other company a little salute before leading his men on towards the canteen.

The canteen, blessedly, was empty, and most of it was already clean. All they really had to do was wipe everything down, mop, and then make sure the kitchen was well-prepped for the next day.

“I didn’t know you had it in ya, Dogma.” Echo said affectionately, knocking his younger vod playfully in the shoulder as they walked.

“Let’s just get this over with.” Dogma muttered, his ears burning as he pushed into the canteen, grabbing the cleaning supplies from the nearby supply closet.

“Who’s turn was it for a solo?” Fives asked, watching as Rose started to set up the radio above one of the food windows so it could project into the entire cafeteria.

“I think Dogma should go.” Kix grinned. “Now that we know he’s got some pipes.”

“Absolutely not.” Dogma said immediately, not looking up from where he was wiping down tables.

“I can go first?” Tup offered, raising his hand sheepishly. Dogma shot him another stern look, but Tup was already wandering over to the radio, moving the dial and tentatively pressing play.

Upbeat music filled the canteen, and the other troopers cheered as Fives ushered Tup over to the nearest table, boosting him up on top of it and then thrusting a mop into his hands. Hardcase was already fumbling with the helmet again, trying to get a recording as Tup tapped his foot along with the beat, nodding his head as he found his rhythm.

“I get up in the evening, and I ain’t got nothing to say. I come home in the morning, I go to bed feeling the same way.”

Fives was leading other troopers in pounding the surrounding tables in time with the drumbeats while Echo was leading another group to clap in time.

“I ain’t nothing but tired! Man, I’m just tired and bored with myself.” Tup flashed the camera a grin, reaching up and pulling his hair tie out, shaking his wild curls loose around his head. “Hey there baby, I could use just a little help.”

Jesse whistled, and Dogma had stopped cleaning and was watching his brother, the slightest smile pulling at his lips.

“You can’t start a fire, can’t start a fire without a spark. This gun’s for hire, even if we’re just dancing in the dark.”

Tup shook his hair out of his eyes, tossing his head back and jerking his hips.

“Messages keep getting clearer, radio’s on and I’m moving ‘round my place. I check my look in the mirror, wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face!”

He swayed his hips again, and Hardcase shoved the camera at Kix instead so he could join in the clapping.

“Man, I ain’t getting nowhere, I’m just living in a dump like this. There’s something happening somewhere, baby I just know that there is.”

He hopped off the table, instead taking Dogma’s hand and dragging him towards the makeshift stage.

“You can’t start a fire, you can’t start a fire without a spark. This gun’s for hire, even if we’re just dancing in the dark.”

He pushed the mop into Dogma’s hands instead, beaming at him as he scurried off the table, sprinting over to the radio and quickly changing the song.

Immediately, slow guitar started but quickly escalated into heavy drums and fast riffs. Dogma’s cheeks turned a darker shade, and he looked frantically to Tup, trying to climb back down off the stage.

“No, no, come on!” Fives shouted, trying to body block Dogma from getting down. “Come on, you got this!”

The lyrics began, and Dogma sang along, his mouth barely moving, voice almost imperceptible.

“Another head hangs lowly, child is slowly taken… and the violence caused such silence, who are we mistaken?”

“Come on!” Tup called to him. “You LOVE this song! Let ‘em hear it!”

Dogma grit his teeth, his voice gaining strength. “But you see, it’s not me, it’s not my family, in your head, in your head they are fighting.”

He stomped his foot on the table, practically snarling out the words. “With their tanks, and their bombs, and their bombs, and their guns, in your head, in your head they are crying.”

He threw his head back, and for not the first time that night, the radio was drowned out by cheers.

“In your head! In your head! Zombie, Zombie, Zombie. What’s in your head? In your head? Zombie, Zombie, Zombie!”

Dogma climbed off the table quickly, his ears and cheeks burning but a small smile was on his face, even as he was smothered by Hardcase, Fives, Tup, and Echo swarming him with hugs and rubbing his head affectionately.

Jesse climbed up onto the table next, picking up the discarded mop and clearing his throat.

“I would just like to dedicate this song to the gorgeous woman I picked up at 79s last week.” He drawled, nodding once to Kix, who was hovering knowingly by the radio. He nodded once to the helmet, which was now stationed on a nearby table, still recording. “Darling, you had the best pair of tits I have ever seen in my entire life, and you had the mouth of an angel and the coochie of a devil.”

Fives whistled, and Coric snickered. Rose rolled his eyes.

“So, babygirl, this one is for you.”

Kix turned on the radio, and Jesse grinned.

“Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame. Darling, you give love a bad name.”

Guitar rang out through the mess hall, and Jesse bit his lip, rolling his hips as he leaned slightly off the edge of the table.

“An angel’s smile is what you sell, you promised me heaven then put me through hell. Chains of love got a hold on me, when passion’s a prison, you can’t break free.”

He dropped into a crouch, singing directly into the camera.

“Whoa, you’re a loaded gun, whoa, there’s nowhere to run, no one can save me, the damage is done!”

He jumped to his feet, the table shaking under him as he landed.

“Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame. You give love a bad name. I play my part and you play your game, you give love a bad name!” He turned his back on the crowd, dropping low again and slowly rising, shaking his ass. “Yeah you give love…”

He looked over his shoulder, tossing the camera a wink. “…a bad name.”

The music changed abruptly, and for a moment Jesse looked pissed. “What the hell, ‘Case?”

But his expression shifted as Hardcase rushed to the table, pushing his brother out of the way and taking the mop from him. The crowd cheered all over again as Jesse climbed down, brothers slapping him on the shoulders as Hardcase’s song started up.

“We finish strong, right vode?” He asked cheekily.

“We still have to finish cleaning!” Dogma called back.

Hardcase only smirked in response, and sang quickly to keep up with the lightning fast lyrics.

“Backstroking lover always hiding ‘neath the cover, can I talk to you, my daddy say. He said, you ain’t seen nothing ‘til you’re down on a muff and then you’re sure to be a-changin’ your ways.”

He cupped his codpiece, bucking his hips forward into his own hand.

“I met a cheerleader, was a real young bleeder, all the times I can reminisce. ‘Cos the best things of lovin’ with her sister and her cousin only started with a little kiss, like this!”

He swung his arms wide, shaking his ass in time with the music and stuck his tongue out, having the time of his life.

“See-saw swingin’ with the boys in the school and your feet flyin’ up in the air. Singin’ hey diddle diddle with your kitty in the middle of the swing like you didn’t care.”

He walked backwards along the table, rolling his shoulders back as he moved.

“So I took a big chance at the high school dance with a missy who was ready to play. Wasn’t me she was foolin’ ‘cos she knew what she was doin’, and I know love is here to stay when she told me to walk this way!”

The rest of the 501st joined in with him, repeating the chorus of “Walk this way! Walk this way! Walk this way!” over and over again, Hardcase taking over again as the next verse began.

“School girl sweetie was the sassy kinda classy, little skirt’s climbing way up her knees. There was three young ladies in the school gym locker when I noticed they was lookin’ at me.”

He ran his hands along his thigh, mimicking raising a skirt.

“I was a high school loser, never made it with a lady ‘til the boys told me something I missed. Then my next-door neighbor with a daughter had a favor so I gave her just a little kiss, like this!”

“Do you think he has any idea what he’s singing about?” Kix asked Rose, leaning back against the counter and chuckling.

He watched as Hardcase went back to grabbing his own crotch, dry-humping the air and hummed.

“I’d say most likely.”

“See-saw swingin’ with the boys in the school and your feet flyin’ up in the air. Singin’ hey diddle diddle with your kitty in the middle of the swing like you didn’t care.”

Hardcase grinned, and to both Kix and Rose’s utter chagrin, Hardcase actually did dive off the makeshift stage and attempt to crowd surf.

“So I took a big chance at the high school dance with a missy who was ready to play. Wasn’t me she was foolin’ ‘cos she knew what she was doin’, and I know love is here to stay when she told me to walk this way!”

“I’m not patching you up!” Kix shouted over the roar of the music. Rose chuckled, turning the volume nod down as the rest of the 501st shouted in protest.

“Alright, that’s enough for now.” The Lieutenant said, taking control once more. “We can listen to it quietly in the background, but we really do need to wrap up cleaning.”

“Why? Got a date tonight?” Jesse asked with a raised eyebrow. Rose punched him lightly in the arm, and they got back to work once again.

They worked in relative silence, the occasional voice humming or singing along to the music, but they remained productive right up until one of the final songs Rose had downloaded cut through the speaker. The piano wasn’t as rich-sounding as it was through a regular speaker, but even through the tinny cadence of the beat-up radio, every single trooper in the canteen bolted upright, eyebrows raised. Rose smiled knowingly, and turned up the volume once again.

Fives beamed, sitting down on top of one of the tables and laying back, one leg bent and the other stretched flat, a hand behind his head as he sang up at the ceiling.

“Just a small-town girl, living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going anywhere.”

Jesse leaned back against the wall on the other side of the canteen, closing his eyes as he joined in.

“Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit. He took the midnight train going anywhere.”

Echo kept mopping, but was grinning as he picked up the next line. “A singer in a smoky room, the smell of wine and cheap perfume.”

Kix grinned. “For a smile, they can share the night, it goes on, and on, and on, and on.”

The rest of the 501st joined in together, their voices carrying in perfect harmony.

“Strangers, waiting. Up and down the boulevard, their shadows searching in the night. Streetlight people, living just to find emotion, hiding somewhere in the -.”

“Night!” Hardcase shouted, straining every muscle in his chest and neck as he struggled to reach the high note.

Tup picked up the next verse, climbing onto one of the tables and dragging Dogma up with him once again.

“Working hard to get my fill, everybody wants the thrill. Paying anything to roll the dice just one more time.”

Dogma smiled, nodding his head along to the music. “Some will win, some will lose.”

Tup threw his arm around his brother, and the two of them sang together. “Some were born to sing the blues!”

Rose’s voice carried from over by the radio. “Oh the movie never ends, it goes on and on, and on and on!”

“Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard, their shadows searching in the night. Streetlight people, living just to find emotion, hiding somewhere in the -.”

“NIGHT!” This time, it was Dogma, of all people, who rang out with the high note, and the explosion of shouts and cheers was deafening. They were screaming along to the lyrics, dancing and jumping and shouting and swaying in time with the song.

“Don’t stop believin’! Hold on to that feeling. Streetlight people! Don’t stop believin’, hold on-”

“WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!”

The booming voice was so powerful, it could be heard even over the shouts of all the clones. Echo was closest to the radio, and quickly shut it off as the song and dance stopped immediately, every clone scrambling to stand at attention.

The Jedi that filled the doorway was massive, an imposing shadow in the entrance to the canteen. He zeroed in on Tup and Dogma, who had been standing closest to the entrance, and stormed towards them.

“Who is your commanding officer?!”

“Me, sir.”

The Besalisk Jedi turned, spinning on Rose immediately. He stalked over to the Lieutenant, jabbing a meaty finger into his chest, hard enough to send him stumbling backwards.

“What is the meaning of this?” He snarled.

“Sir, we were assigned cleaning detail.” He explained. “We were just finishing up.”

The Jedi bared his teeth. “Doesn’t look like much cleaning was taking place to me.”

He surveyed the rest of the troopers, but turned his head back to Rose.

“What is your designation?”

“CT-7673.” Rose recited immediately, keeping his back ramrod straight at attention, even though the Jedi was deep in his personal space. He knew this man. General Krell had quite the reputation through the GAR, and Rose had no clue what he was doing outside of the Jedi Temple this late at night.

“Who is your commanding officer?”

“Captain Rex, sir.”

“Not a clone! Is there a malfunction in your design?!” The Jedi bellowed. A few feet behind him, Hardcase flinched at the sudden loud sound, but Rose held still. “Your general, CT-7673! Who is your Commanding Officer!?”

“General Skywalker, sir.” Rose said instead. The canteen was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

He turned his head, noticing the little radio on the table and picked it up, the device small in his massive hands, raising an eyebrow at Rose. “Contraband, disturbance of the peace, behavior unbecoming of an officer, insubordination.” He hissed. “That’s plenty of grounds for a court martial, Lieutenant.”

“Sir.” Fives spoke up, taking a step towards them. “Proper chain of command designates General Skywalker as the one to hand down a court martial order, sir.”

He narrowed his eyes, his voice dripping with contempt. “With all due respect, sir, you do not command this battalion, and cannot order a court martial on the Lieutenant.”

“Fives.” Rose snapped, whipping his head around to face Fives. “Stand down. Now.”

The ARC Trooper shrank back, his hands curled into fists at his sides, and the General turned back to Rose.

“Be that as it may,” he began icily. “You can rest assured this breach of conduct will not go unreported.”

“Yes sir.” Rose replied stiffly.

General Krell pulled back at last, surveying the battalion. “I want this canteen spotless, and not a word out of you in the meantime!” He ordered. “And I don’t think you’ll be needing this anymore.”

With one quick motion, he smashed the radio in his hands. Rose heard a soft, hurt sound somewhere behind him, but ignored it. He didn’t look away from the General.

“Dismissed.” Krell growled, turning and stalking towards the doors. “And as for you,” He turned, jabbing one large finger at Fives. “I’ll be mentioning you in my report as well. Pray our paths do not cross again, clone.”

And with those words, he left the canteen.

Rose relaxed, but only minimally so. The silence hung heavy over the 501st, and everyone quietly shuffled back to work.

Rose gripped the mop handle tightly as he worked, his knuckles turning white. His chest burned, a tight, constricting feeling wrapped around his insides. It was a feeling he’d never felt before – anger, sadness, humiliation, resignation – all rolled into one hateful ball, coiled in his gut.

“Finished with the kitchen, sir.” Came Tup’s small voice. He’d put his hair back up, the tight bun back to regulation standards. Dogma was standing stiff beside him, still not entirely relaxed yet. “And the um – the canteen area’s just about wrapped up as well.”

“Very good.” Rose said with a small nod. “I’ll report back to Captain Rex, let him know we’ve finished for the night.”

“Sorry about your radio, sir.” Hardcase murmured, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s alright, ‘Case.” Rose smiled, but his eyes were sad. “It was – it was old, anyway. Just a silly thing.”

Fives bristled, his jaw setting as he tossed the bucket he’d been holding back into the supply closet with far more force than necessary.

“We aren’t supposed to leave base for the rest of the night, right?” Denal asked, arms folded across his chest as they finished the last of the cleanup. “Guess we could play Sabacc or something back in the barracks?”

There were a few murmured agreements, and the 501st shuffled back towards the barracks. Rose was still thinking about the General, and had a bitter taste in his mouth. They hadn’t been doing anything wrong, really.

Was it such a crime to enjoy oneself? To simply exist?

Fives and Echo fell into step on either side of Rose, the ARC Troopers bracketing their Lieutenant. “I bet Echo and I could rebuild the radio.” Fives offered. “Might take a little bit, but even if we can’t, Kix is real good at bartering stuff down in the markets. Remember when he got us those HoloDisc movies for just a tube of bacta?”

“We could find another radio for you?” Echo suggested hopefully. “Or maybe,” he lowered his voice slightly. “Maybe Y/N could find you one?”

“Let it go.” Rose said, picking up the pace and pulling away from the ARC Troopers. They reentered the now far tidier barracks, and Rose gravitated back to his footlocker, starting to close it up and push it back under his bed. The metal clacked slightly against the edge of the bunk, and he paused, the tinny sound echoing in his ears.

He knocked the footlocker against the bunk again, listening to the little noise again.

Kark it. He was more than just a mindless flesh-droid. He was a person. A human being. And he liked music.

And he wasn’t about to let anybody take that away from him.

“I never got to do a song.” He announced, straightening up and putting his hands on his hips.

“You can’t be serious, sir.” Dogma said, shaking his head at him. “Haven’t we gotten in enough trouble?”

“I’m sure the General’s slithered back to the Temple by now, where he belongs.” Jesse replied, turning back to the Lieutenant. “We don’t have a radio anymore, sir.”

“We don’t need one.” Rose said, pulling his footlocker back out and propping up one leg on it. He tapped his foot against the metal, the rhythm settling, nodding his head along. He took a deep breath.

“Standing in the rain, with his head hung low. Couldn't get a ticket, it was a sold out show.”

Fives recognized the song, and started tapping his foot along, drumming his hands on an overturned weapons crate.

“Heard the roar of the crowd, he could picture the scene. Put his ear to the wall, then like a distant scream.” Rose climbed up onto the table. “He heard one guitar!”

Jesse slammed a bucket from earlier down against the supports of a bunk, the loud clang mimicking the strum of a guitar.

“Just blew him away. He saw stars in his eyes, and the very next day, bought a beat up six string in a secondhand store. Didn’t know how to play it, but he knew for sure, that one guitar!”

Another clang, this time from Kix repeating Jesse’s motion, and Echo, Denal, Coric and Fives were all drumming on overturned buckets and crates.

“Felt good in his hands! Didn’t take long to understand, just one guitar, slung way down low, was a one way ticket, only one way to go.”

Tup and Hardcase had picked up a brush – typically used for scrubbing their blasters and armor down – and were knocking it against the durasteel wall. Dogma had rounded up the others, a look of sheer determination on his face as they clamored around the bunks and tables, smacking their fists in rhythm with anything they could get their hands on.

“So he started rockin', ain't never gonna stop. Gotta keep on rockin', someday gonna make it to the top!”

Rose stomped his feet, and the rest of the 501st joined him for the chorus.

“And be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes. He's a juke box hero!”

“He took one guitar,” Rose sang, while the rest of the battalion echoed “juke box hero, stars in his eyes” around him. “Juke box hero, he’ll come alive tonight.”

The singing quieted down, listening for a moment to see if anyone was coming, and Rose grinned, starting again and pitching his voice low.

“In a town without a name, in a heavy downpour, thought he passed his own shadow, by the backstage door.”

The clones took position, preparing to resume their makeshift instruments as Rose picked up in volume.

“Like a trip through the past, to that day in the rain. And that one guitar, made his whole life change! Now he needs to keep on rockin', he just can't stop! Gotta keep on rockin', that boy has got to stay on top!”

Once again, shouts rang out as his brothers joined him for the chorus, their voices louder and more determined than ever, refusing to be silenced.

“And be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes. He's a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes. Yeah, juke box hero, stars in his eyes. With that one guitar, he'll come alive, come alive tonight.”

As they finished the song, Rose panted softly, glancing down at his commlink again. He decided he was going to go off base after all. He wanted to see you, and nobody, not his Captain’s orders, and definitely not some karking General like Krell, was going to stop him.

“Dismissed.” He said curtly, and took off out the door without another word.

~

SONGS USED (because they’re all bangers and you should listen to them): 

The 501st (introduction): Hotel California Echo: Hooked on a Feeling  Fives: Kickstart My Heart Kix: Sharp Dressed Man Jesse: You Give Love a Bad Name Coric and Denal: Come Sail Away Dogma: Zombie Tup: Dancing in the Dark Hardcase: Walk This Way The 212th and 501st: I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) The 501st (Canteen finale): Don’t Stop Believin’ Rose and the 501st: Juke Box Hero

TAG LIST (Aka everyone on the tag list for BAON):  @fat-zygerrian @ladydiomede @pro-fangirls-unsocial-life @threevie @cheesemachine44 @bubblyacey @fivedicksinatrenchcoat @loverofclones @starwarsgarbage @hockeyjedi13 @crazygirlwithasword @dar-manda-rjct @gotomarvelgal @baba-fett @whore4rex @bubblegumcat229 @generalcannoli @hellothere501stlover @in-the-crosshairs @vaderthepotater @for-the-love-of-clones @babyhowzer @imrealatedtothe501st @chewychewyque @bobafettuccini @baba-fett-writes @chromia7567 @coffeeandtodd @thedomesticatednerd @kirinpl @djarrex @a-c-lee @embarrassedauthornerd @kaorikoizumi @the-girl-of-rain-and-shadows @sammi9498 @theroguesully @salaminus

[tomorrowz-child]

Blog Post 8: I love AR

Recently in class we had a guest lecturer by the name of Brandon Schuster. He runs a small marketing firm called: “Navigate Social.” Ostensibly, he is also an alumni of my University. In his presentation he went over the different styles of new media that people have been using with our recent advancements in technology. One form that I loved was the use of augmented reality. So augmented reality has been around for years. I was actually introduced to it with Nintendo’s 3DS handheld gaming system. That was way back in 2011 when I was only 14 years old in 8th grade. It blew my freaking mind. 

Lemme back up here for a second, so augmented reality is something that doesn’t engulf you into another world like say, virtual reality. Augmented reality doesn’t take us anywhere, instead, as the name implies, it takes our reality and adds something fantastical to it. For instance take those snapchat filters that turns us into puppy dogs. That’s augmented reality. It’s taking an effect and applying to your face and making it appear like you are something other than what we know to be our “real” reality. Another great example is Pokémon Go. That was a big deal the summer it came out back in 2016, some say it brought about world piece for one whole summer. But that’s a story. Anyway, I’m a huge Nintendo fan, and Pokémon is my favorite of their franchises. So being able to catch pokémon in the real world, and for them to go even further to let me see the pokémon I was catching and then interact and take pictures with the one’s I caught was a huge game changer. 

Now how can you advertise with it? Remember the snapchat filters I mention? Well, those filters are sometimes ads for movies, TV shows, video games, etc. There has been tons of neat filter that can turn you into Pennywise from IT, Bugs Bunny from the Looney Tunes, and even a Harry Potter sorting hat filter that tells what Hogwarts house you belong in. It doesn’t stop there, there’s been AR that helps you picture how a piece of furniture will fit in your house by digitally placing a model of it in the area. I believe AR gives people the ability to interact with your brand in the form of entertainment. By putting a smile on a person’s face you will increase the repour between you and your customer. Aside from that it’s just a super fun way to advertise. 

Here’s some links of my favorite examples of AR on the Nintendo 3DS and Pokemon Go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh-YrWvdUCs&ab_channel=Nintendo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7nwr6sA6Es&ab_channel=TechCrunch

[songbirdsingingthings]

Traditions - Shouto Todoroki x Reader

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS, THEY BELONG TO KOHEI HORIKOSHI

DAY THREE OF 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS - 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS MASTERLIST - MAIN MASTERLIST

What were you supposed to get the boy who could have anything he wanted? That was the question that had been plaguing your mind for the entirety of November and now December. Shouto Todoroki, your loving and caring boyfriend, was the hardest person you had ever shopped for in your life. Even Momo was easier to shop for - she actually really liked homemade baked goods since when she’s training she has to eat a ton of processed stuff. You were currently at the mall, picking up things for the rest of your friends with Shouto, while also trying to scope out what interests him in certain stores.

“So who’s next?” He asks as you scroll through the list on your phone.

“Hmm… I think Midoriya.” You respond, looking around to see all of the stores surrounding you. A certain one grasps your attention with the bright yellow, blue, and red colors. Shouto follows your gaze and he gives you a small smile as it lands on the huge All Might themed store.

“Well you're definitely gonna find something in there.” He chuckles, gently tugging your hand as the two of you walk towards the door.

You had finally left the mall with several bags being carried by the both of you, but you still had no clue what to get for your boyfriend. After Shouto dropped off the bags in your door and gave you a quick kiss goodbye - he apparently had some important business to attend to - you decided enough was enough. You scroll through the contacts on your phone to find Fuyumi, Shouto’s older sister, and press the call button. You’re only able to hold it to your ear for a few seconds before she answers.

“Y/N! How are you?” Fuyumi’s sweet voice filtered through your phone.

“I’m good, how are you?” You ask politely, making your way to sit down on your bed. 

“Fine, just doing some stuff around the house. I’m glad you called though, I haven’t been able to talk with you for a while.” You heard some clinks and clatters in the background and quickly assumed she was doing the dishes.

“Oh, no problem! I actually have a question if you’re not too busy.” You say, letting your shoulder press your phone to your ear so you could start taking all of your purchases out of their bags.

“I’ve got time, shoot away!” She says cheerily, causing a smile to grace your face.

“It’s about Shouto-”

“What about Shouto?” A deep but happy voice piped up through your phone.

“Hi Natsuo!” You greet, smoothing the blouse you got for Ochaco out.

“Hey kiddo! What’s up?” You could almost feel his wide grin radiating through your screen.

“Was asking Fuyumi a question, but you can answer it as well. I wanted to know what kind of stuff you and Shouto did when you were younger around the holidays to get an idea of what he likes to do. I was trying to find something to get him for Christmas, but I feel like if he wanted anything he would have already gotten it, so I want to do something with him.”

“Uhmm…” You hear both of them exchange awkward words, so you pipe up instead.

“I mean my brother and I would have gingerbread house competitions, go ice skating, and have movie marathons, but I don’t really know if that’s something Shouto would be into .” You say, opening the last of your bags which contained a snow globe with a polar bear cub in it for Koda.

“Y/N, uh… Shouto’s never really done any of that before.” Natsuo says. You frown a bit, but shake your head.

“Oh - is there anything your family does especially for the holidays? I mean I know your dynamic is a bit… different than others, but I’m sure you found a way to celebrate...right?” You asked warily.

“That’s a really sweet thought but umm… Dad didn’t really let us mingle, so he’s never experienced any usual holiday activities. I mean he celebrated with us, don’t get me wrong, but we never really got to do fun things as siblings.” Your jaw drops. You remember playing with your brother in the snow being one of the happiest memories during the holidays and you can’t believe Endeavor didn’t grant Shouto that. All of a sudden, a lightbulb seemed to come to life above your head and a grin replaced your frown.

“Thank you! Thank you so much for telling me, I know what to do!” You exclaim, clasping your hands together. You bid adieu to your boyfriend’s siblings and immediately start planning.

“Y/N, I don’t understand what’s going on. Why did you call me out here?” All bundled up in a puffy jacket that made him look even cuter than ever, snow pants, and a pompom beanie. Shouto looks at you with a raised eyebrow. 

“We are going to have the best day ever.” You state, grabbing his gloved hands in yours. “We’re going to make a snowman, then we’re gonna bake some cookies, maybe make some hot cocoa, and watch some Christmas movies.”

“W-what?” He manages, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

“Merry Christmas! I was trying to think of something to get you, but I kept coming up with blanks. So, I figured we should celebrate our first Christmas together by implementing some solid traditions.” You saw his shocked expression turn into one of somewhat embarrassment as he looked to the side.

“Y/N, your idea sounds great, but I’ve never done those activities before. What happens if I mess them up?” Concern flickers across his eyes, but you give him a reassuring smile and cup his cheek with your mittened hand.

“It’s perfectly fine if you ‘mess them up’, even though I’m sure you won’t. These activities are specifically designed to be fun, stress free things to do, okay?” Shouto nods and gives you a small smile. You give him a quick kiss and your day of fun begins.

Building a snowman was certainly a feat. You had to teach Shouto how to roll the snow to create bigger bases than the average snowball, which completely enthralled him. It was cute to see him so excited about how the snow managed to get that big, and he even put a little spin on the snowman, creating a “frozen pond” right next to him and an ice fishing rod so that he could go fishing.

Next was the cookies. Even though he really hadn’t cooked that much in his life, like many things, your boyfriend picked it up quite quickly. The two of you would perform a quiet dance in the kitchen, dropping two sticks of butter in one bowl and pouring a cup of sugar in another. What Shouto didn’t know, however, was flour’s tendency to create a mini explosion. His face when it poofed up in his face was priceless. You laughed so hard your stomach hurt which only made Shouto take some more flour and throw it on you so you were matching.

Finally, you made it to the end of the day. Both of you were cuddled up on your bed in your dorm watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Your back was pressed up against his chest and his arms were around yours, his left hand drawing soft lines on your skin, heat following his finger tips. You were so happy. Shouto really looked just ecstatic for the entire day, enjoying every activity you came up and even adding his own personal spin to them. You were so engrossed in those happy memories from earlier in the day that you didn’t hear Shouto say your name.

“Y/N,” he says in a velvety voice, shaking you a little to gain your attention.

“Hmm?” You hum in response, telling him that you were listening.

“I have something for you.” You turn around to look at him and you gasp with delight. In his hands dangled the daintiest little locket you had ever seen. It was a pretty silver oval with the tiniest little hinge on its side.

“May I?” You ask, motioning to open it. He gives you a soft smile and nods. You open it very carefully and you melt at what you see inside. It was your initials next to his with a heart outline.

“I know you don’t like obvious jewelry so I didn’t go for the heart locket, but I still wanted to get the meaning across. Do you like-” You cut him off with a searing kiss. You cup both of his cheeks in your hands and press him close to you.

“I love it, Sho. Thank you so, so much.” He grins at you and opens the clasp.

“Do you want me to put it on for you?” He asks. You nod quickly and turn your head back around. His hand sweeps your hair to one side and swings the necklace around your neck so that the clasp was in the back. His fingers danced lightly across the back of your neck, sending a tingle down your spine. He closes the little clasp and smooths it out. You reach up to touch the little locket and smile, turning back around to look at him.

“To new traditions,” you toast, arms wrapping around his neck.

“To new traditions.”

[maybeacrowdedmind]

My Headcanoned Autistic Characters Part 2:

Let Part 2 of characters I've headcanoned as autistic commence!

Starfire - Teen Titans:

I recently started watching Teen Titans because I'm a big fan of DC Comics. As soon as she came onscreen and began speaking and interacting with the other members of the team, I was convinced. Starfire is autistic to me. Her inability to immediately understand what people mean is one of the biggest factors, and the fact that the way she shows comfort and kindness are through doing things that provide her comfort is another. Finally, for me, the way Starfire speaks is incredibly similar to mine. Starfire speaks formally, which is something I do all the time. In fact, when I first got diagnosed as autistic (I was nine, which is super young for a girl), I was speaking to the psychiatrist in such a formal and proper manner that he was initially under the assumption that I was either born/lived in England, or that I had an English nanny. My way of speaking and the formal vocabulary I have are a lot less noticeable now that I'm older, but hearing a nine year old speak like a professor was a huge tipoff to the doctor who gave me my diagnosis. So, to see Starfire have a speech pattern nearly identical to mine was big. That, coupled with her lack of understanding social cues, lead me to see her as autistic. A bonus to this headcanon is the fact that like Parker, Starfire has people she is close with who don't shame her for being different than they are, and do their best to communicate with her in a way that fits her needs.

Malia Tate/Hale* - Teen Wolf:

*Quick disclaimer: I am only on the second season of Teen Wolf, so technically I haven't seen Malia's character onscreen yet. However, I have seen a lot of spoilers for the show since I knew about it long before I actually ad a way to watch it, and I have seen a ton of scenes featuring Malia in screencaps of the show, and totally see her as autistic. With that in mind, read on.

Malia is shown to be an extremely honest and blunt person; she has no filter when it comes to speaking the truth, and doesn't understand why things are the way they are, especially if they don't make sense to her. I am not wholly convinced that she and I are not the same person in terms of those traits. I, like Malia, speak bluntly; I constantly have to be reminded that some things are meant to be handled delicately, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a black and white thinker in terms of what is logical and what makes sense to me. Malia is also shown to be very absolute and loyal, and cannot stand it when people bend the truth or lie to her in order to keep her safe. I am one of those people who would rather hear something hard and truthful than something that is easier but not completely honest. Malia doesn't see the point in sugarcoating, and to me, these facets of her personality are very alike to mine as an autistic person.

Vilde - Skam:

Let me first say that I love Skam with my whole heart. I'm on season four (I love Sana's character) and the show has not once let me down. Every character is vastly different from one another, which keeps it from becoming boring, so if you haven't seen it, I recommend watching it. Vilde is a character I have adored from the beginning as she is incredibly fun to watch onscreen, and is not without deeper layers than a fun party girl. To me, she is also autistic, and my basis for this is largely founded on her fixation with russ time, her moments of slight insensitivity, her questions that are not ones people are "supposed to ask", and her interactions with the people around her. Her goal in regards to russ is a single-minded one, and her hyper-fixation and focus on achieving this goal have a lot in common with me when I'm focusing on a task that has great importance to me. Vilde also has a tendency to get a little too focused on her goals, occasionally forgetting that the people around her have their own things as well. She also asks questions that are usually not asked by people out of social decorum, and has brought the conversation to a standstill after doing so (if I had a dollar for every time I've done that...), such as asking Sana about her hijab and whether or not she (Sana) is allowed to be part of a russ bus due to her religion in a manner that is awkward and slightly off-putting (even though it wasn't her intention), or asking if Noora is a lesbian because if she doesn't want to hook up with one of the boys, she must be. In regards to her interactions with others, people often label Vilde as being too innocent to understand or know things about people and the world (like Eskild being gay or William not having interest in her, but in Noora), despite the fact that she is aware of both. Vilde is smarter than people give her credit for, which Sana makes note of when telling Noora that Vilde is who she would take with her to battle. As an autistic person, I have often been treated as though I am incapable of understanding deep topics and am underestimated in my ability to be aware of what others are talking about or mean. Vilde is not naïve like people assume she is, which is something I find I have in common with her.

That's part two, and I hope you have enjoyed this post as well as part one! If you have any characters you’ve headcanoned as autistic, let me know in the replies. I’d love to see other characters people relate to. Also, if you could please check out the post I made in regards to my sister and the fundraising she’s doing for a service dog and reblog it, that would be greatly appreciated.