#It's also on Spotify in case that's easier for you

[capybaraonabicycle]

For one single cup of coffee (Jase/Natalie)

Written for @none-ofthisnonsense for the prompt 12: a kiss to distract the other from the first kiss prompts by @sasslett.

(I have decided to tag you, @none-ofthisnonsense, I hope that is alright. This scene is happening about 2 years prior to the plot of the musical, in case you are interested in reading it. So it should be spoiler-free except for maybe the first 10 minutes of the musical and later minor points. You can find the musical here for context if you like.)

Rating: Teen

Genre: Angst with a little fluff

Warnings: Dubiously consensual kissing in the way that Judith is using a false identity and they are both drunk, plus some swearing

Summary: At the end of their first date, Jase walks Judith Natalie to the door. Neither really want the evening to end but it's 4 am and they are trying to be reasonable. And then Jase finds a concerning message on Natalie's phone…

Words: ~2000

ao3

[ID: An unlocked phone lying on top a wooden table. end ID]

Jase was a gentleman. Of course he was, Judith knew him well enough after just one evening not to be surprised. No, not Judith, Natalie. She had almost messed up twice already - the first time not responding to him using 'her' name, the second stumbling over it when recounting a slightly tweaked story from childhood - she was better off reminding herself and using the name she had introduced herself with. Especially since he was just too sweet. He offered her his couch and when she refused - too many difficult thoughts and emotions in her head she had to work through before managing to smile at him across a breakfast table - he called her a cab and walked her to the door.

It was nice, not having to put her foot down to go home after the first date, not having to deal with expectations of any kind. But honestly, that was the tiniest tip of the iceberg of things that were nice and beautiful and scaringly perfect about everything that had happened this evening. Never in her life had she felt this close to a person she had just met - maybe she had never felt this close to anyone. Damn, those scientists really knew what they were doing, didn't they? But then there was obviously the question of what lay beneath the water surface, what was hiding behind this amazing evening, the net of lies she had spun more and more tightly around herself the longer the evening went on. The reason she had to go home now, much as she wanted to stay in this glimmering illusion, stay sitting on his carpet, stay in his life, stay Natalie Cook forever.

She stumbled a little when reaching for her shoes and his hand steadied her on the elbow, tender and kind and rather inefficiently as he was swaying as well. The two bottles of wine had not gone unnoticed.

"Whoops" she said and they giggled like preschoolers. He looked so beautiful when he laughed. Happy and soft and innocent. He didn't know the world like she did - she had learnt that tonight.

"You sure you'll make it home okay?" He asked, slightly slurring. "Should I come with?"

'No!' her mind screamed instinctively but she managed to laugh it off.

"I think that would rather defeat the purpose of sending me home, Jase" she said.

His eyes widened in shock immediately. "Oh, god, no! I didn't mean it like that! I would take the cab back after, of course."

"Don't be ridiculous" she chided him gently while trying to force her feet into the overly fancy date shoes. "That would only cost an unnecessary fortune."

"Not unnecessary" he murmured. When she stopped and looked at him questioningly, he elaborared: "We always laugh it off as long as nothing happens but once in danger we would easily spend a fortune to save another human's life, wouldn't we?"

He picked at his sleeves awkwardly while she stared at him. 

'He's too good' she thought. 'How did I end up on a date with someone like him?'

Well, she didn't, Natalie did. Natalie was the kind of girl who dated boys like Jase.

She cleared her throat. "Yeah, but if you come with me, you might be the one in danger on the way back. So, don't worry, I will be fine. The cab's gonna bring me right to my doorstep, nothing's gonna happen."

"I'll tell the driver to wait in front of the house until you're safe inside" Jase nodded resolutely, before instantly backtracking, "unless you think that's overstepping a line? Am I patronising you?"

She closed the strap on her shoe and put a hand on his arm reassuringly.

"Relax" she told him. "I think it's sweet."

"Good" he breathed out audibly.

A heavy silence settled over them and not for the first time this night she felt the urge to kiss him. Judging by the way his gaze flitted over her face, she wasn't the only one. Yes, this was a first date following a chance meeting. And yes, they were quite drunk. And yes, climbing into his bed was out of question, very probably for both of them. But a kiss? She would really, really like to kiss him.

She reached down and fixed her other shoe. Jase cleared his throat, taking a tiny step backwards.

"You got all your things?"

"What, are you asking whether I 'accidentally' planted a jacket I will have to retrieve to see you again?" she joked and he laughed.

"Now you make me regret asking."

"I could still lie and deny any jacket." It was meant as another joke but it closed up her throat when she was reminded of all the lies she had been telling tonight.

He still laughed. "Sorry to disappoint you, Natalie, but you are wearing your jacket. Unless you brought an extra one just for leaving here and quite honestly, that would be a little creepy."

"No creepy jackets, I promise." She raised her hands defensively, then patted her pockets to locate her keys and wallets. "Shit, my phone!"

"I'll go get it!" Jase retreated back into the flat before she could stop him.

"I think I left it on the carpet!" she called after him. "Might have disappeared under the couch, too!"

She heard him rummage around a little, then he shouted back. "Got it!"

A small pause, then: "God, it is late."

Then he fell quiet alltogether, even the rumbling of his moving around subsided. Her heart dropped. He had seen something. Gosh, she was so stupid! Why did she let him get her phone? Phones were the most treaterous objects you could posses. Worse than ID's, for sure. What to do? Well, there was only one thing: Play it cool and hope for the best.

When Jase returned with her phone he was looking sheepish, confirming her suspicion. She tried to keep it together, calm her breathing while he stepped closer. He didn't hand her the phone immediately, tapping it's rim in thought.

She reached out her hand. "Jase?"

"Oh, sorry" quickly, he handed her the phone, then he shook his head. "Sorry, I know, I shouldn't have snooped, just..."

"Yeah?" Her heart was hammering so loudly she was sure he had to hear it. He would know. He would find it all out now. That the woman who had bewitched him tonight did not exist. That she was nothing but a lie.

"You got a message" he said. "And it mentioned someone having met your mum."

"What?" it was simple to feign surprise because she didn't have to feign it. Who the hell had spoken to her mum and felt like telling her about it? "My mum? Are you sure?"

She switched on the screen, scanning the message. Oh, so some idiot she had been friends in school with. Whatever the hell did they think contacting her? She tried to funnel her anger into more confusion. "This can't be meant for me. Oh, yeah, Dana! I went to school with her. Probably mistook me for someone else or I don't know."

Jase seemed torn between looking at the screen himself or giving her privacy. Still, he couldn't help but point out: "I think she must have. Look, she's calling you 'J'. That's not your nickname, is it? At least you didn't tell me about it."

"Nah, they called me 'Nat' in school" she lied effortlessly, pocketing the phone so he'd stop staring at it. "Sometimes 'Cook'. Didn't like that one."

Lying had always come easy to her but now her heart was going like crazy. Because the doubts were coming in. Hadn't this been the moment? The hint from the universe to stop the charade, come clean, see how he reacted? This was obviously so much more than 'just one single cup of coffee' to escape reality for. But she couldn't, she couldn't see the disappointment in his face now, she couldn't let him go just yet. This was too good, she wanted, she needed more of it.

"I'm sorry, Natalie" Jase said and her heart skipped a beat. But then he continued: "I know your classmate didn't mean to hurt you but she really should have checked before. She... she does know about your mother, right?"

"I think so..." she trailed off like she was trying to remember. "It happened senior year. I kinda drew away from most classmates for a while."

His hand landed on her shoulder, light as a feather.

"I am so sorry" he repeated. "I can't imagine how horrible she must feel when she finds out the message reached you on accident. Not to excuse her, of course. Are you okay? You can still stay over, you know, I mean, in case you don't want to be alone tonight? I mean, I have a perfectly good couch."

And again she was reminded how kind he was, how caring. But she'd rather he didn't fixate on her presumably dead mum that much. Not at all if possible. Lest he started asking himself questions that would make him doubt the whole story. Unfortunately, he wasn't done obsessing over it yet. 

"She really should have payed more attention" he continued his rant. "How the hell do you mess up this badly? Isn't there someone she could have asked if she lost her contact details from school? She must be at least a little close to this 'J' person if she is calling them by a nickname, how did she mistake you for them? Do you have any idea who that is, by the way? Someone from your class?"

It was probably not exclusively rightful anger that drove him to focus on the message. There was definitely a part of him that was simply stalling, like they had both been doing tonight, not wanting to let her go just yet. She did not know what reason for his rambling excited her more, just that her excitement was mixed with the desperate wish to make him stop, make him forget all about the text, distract him. And really, in the end, it was to equal parts the excitement about him caring, the fear of him finding out and the fact that she had been thinking about this all night that made her reach for his shirt, pull him in and press their lips together. 

He was startled at first and it took him a second to catch on, but then he was kissing her back, his hands grabbing her upper arms like he needed something to ground him. His lips were as soft as they had looked, a little clumsy but very eager and it took her breath away. 

She forgot all about distracting him, forgot about Natalie completely, too. All that mattered was that Jase was here, kissing her and holding her like he never wanted to let go. 

When they drew back, they were both breathing heavily, his hands finally wandering down her arms to grasp her fingers. 

"Was that okay?" she whispered and he laughed. 

"I think I made that quite clear" he argued, then he kissed her again, short and sweet. "Very okay. I've been thinking about doing this all night if I'm being honest."

"Me too."

They kissed again and this time his hands tangled in her hair, pulling gently. She moaned into his mouth, pressing closer against his body. 

"You know" he drew back, panting, "it's not too late to send the cab away if that's what you want. I wanted to take things slow but honestly right now I can't remember why."

She laughed, patting his chest and stepping back. Much as she agreed with his reasoning, one of them had to be the responsible one. Plus, there was still the question of guilt to work through on her side. 

"We're both drunk, Jase" she said. "I can come back to stay over tomorrow."

She realised belatedly what she had said. "Oh, gosh, tomorrow's way too quick, isn't it?" 

He grabbed her hand again, shaking his head. 

"It's alright" he promised. "I am free after 2, if you like?"

"Starting at 2pm?" she teased. "That's quite a night you have planned."

It was adorable how his face wrinkled in embarrassment.

"Maybe we can finally go have a coffee?" he offered. "Hang out in the park? Keep the option available to come back here eventually?" 

She pressed his hand. "Sounds like the perfect day to me."

His smile deepened in understanding, when there was a faint sound of a car horn to be heard from the street. 

"I think my cab's getting impatient" she remarked. 

"You should better leave before they wake up the entire building" he agreed, but they didn't let go off each other's hand. 

"One more kiss for the road?" she offered. 

"You got it." He leaned in, his breath ghosting over her mouth. "See you tomorrow, Natalie."

Thanks for reading!

[justiceamberheard]

''Who Trolled Amber'' podcast

The highlights of each episode from the podcast. You can listen to it on Spotify, Youtube etc. EPISODE 1.

The outcome of the trial definitely damaged #METOO movement;

There were 80k of anti Amber Heard tweets, more than anti JD tweets even though AH was the one who accused him of abuse;

There's no way it was all organic, they either bought bots or those were real people pretending to be JD's supporters;

According to Jennifer Robinson, one of AH lawyers from the UK trial, Amber'd never wanted to relieve what had happened to her during the relationship;

Jennifer thought it'd be easier to win the US than in the UK;

The information about bots were thrown out way before the trial hence Ron Shnell couldn't talk about in the courtroom; EPISODE 2.

According to Ron Shnell there was a bot campaign against AH but he wasn't 100% sure because the judge struck out that research;

Kathryn Arnold shared that AH wasn't allowed to be a part of Aquaman 2 promotion tour and was banned from posting anything Aquaman related;

KA also said that AH couldn't audition, no one would hire her and that the agents were told not to touch her[AH]; EPISODE 3

The podcast creators asked experts(Kai-Cheng Yang) to check the date that was given by Ron Shnell;

According to the data: many accounts with no followers had tweets with more than 5k retweets/likes; hundreds of identical tweets were posted in one day; many accounts liked 400k tweets; 10k of identical comments were left under AH youtube videos; many accounts change their tune(from right wing Chile politics) and out of nowhere started to post pro JD tweets; half oh the data/accounts/tweets were generated by inauthentic accounts and then the real accounts started to engage with those tweets etc. it all started in November 2020 when JD lost the UK case and was fired from Fantastic Beasts; EPISODE 4

Cameron Herrin case was mentioned, more specifically the sudden interest and pro CH posts on TikTok asking to reduce his sentence and that he is innocent. Most of the accounts that were spreading those posts were from Middle East; EPISODE 5

Some Arabic twitter accounts suddenly started to tweet Pro JD tweets in English during and after the US trial;

The friendship betweet Johnny Depp and prince Mohammed was mentioned(him financing JD directorial movie Modi); EPISODE 6

Adam Waldman worked for Lavrov as a consultant for years(2010-2017);

During the deposition Adam Waldman refused to answer more than 70 questions;

Alexi Mostrous tried contacting ''the internet journalists'' aka TUG and ThatBrianFella but they didn't answer; he also pointed out that the audios that were posted by ThatBrianFella were clearly edited(we know);

Mostrous also tried to call Adam Waldman but he didn't pick up the phone and 25 minutes later posted a tweet:

“He[Adam Waldman] attacked witnesses, he attacked us (legal team)..unlike anything I have ever seen from a lawyer” said Jennifer Robinson. ''Amber Heard wrote an Op-ed for Washington Post which is a very respected publication and Johnny Depp's name isn't in it. It told to survivors if this can be done to a woman whose actually well-known and well-established person in the industry, it's gonna be even worse for you.'' All-in-All, it's clear as day that Waldman was behind the bot campaign against Amber. We've known that but it's good that a popular podcast researched about it and shed a light on it. Plus it's always great to see JD fans being nervous and panicky.

[desire-mona]

dps boys hcs! this has been requested of me! lets make it modern bc thatll be fun

- todd absolutely DESPISES "booktok" and its addiction to smut. can go on a VERY long rant abt how only reading things with sex scenes is, in fact, a porn addiction.

- knox has tried on many occasions to become an influencer, failing every single time and blaming it on the algorithm or whaver

- neil, type of mother fucker to not be on social media like at all. has one private instagram that he posts on maybe twice a year, and has a tiktok only to watch the videos todd intermittently sends him.

- ^^^ followed immediately by a text saying "i sent you a tiktok go look at it" which always sparks a mini argument about whether or not its easier to just save the video and text it to him. goes nowhere every time.

- meeks has fashion taste that makes him look insufferable, band tee's and the worst jeans you ever did see, exclusively. also modern meeks would have clear glasses frames.

- saw someone say charlie would vape, id like to add to that. has a COLLECTION of elf bars, its vast, its colourful, it's annoying, it's turning his coughs wet.

- pitts was a fast fashion guy for a total of 6 months before finding out all the shit about how unethical the industry is. didnt get rid of any of those clothes bc thats wasteful but he IS fighting for his life whenever anyone looks at his wardrobe.

- cameron is a BIG analog horror fan, local 58, walten files, fnaf tapes, thats his jam. can we popularise cam being a big horror fan in general bc im so attached to that hc. horror cam i love u.

- all the boys have a life360 circle (enforced by cam and pitts due to charlie's horrendous reckless driving) and todd CONSTANTLY needs to be yelled at the charge his phone.

- neil's phone is ANCIENT, had the same one for nearly a decade, and its evident. has a bigass crack right down the middle, the back is shattered and held together with tape, a phone case, and a dream. theres marks from shit burning into the screen, most notably a rectangle in the bottom corner from the billions of facetime calls with todd that ultimately set his phone on fire every time.

- todd is secretly a grade A yapper but ONLY in digital form. his online presence is VAST, but impressively anonymous. has a very active substack, letterboxd, poetry tumblr, and even started his own blog. no, not a tumblr blog, a blog blog.

- charlie's car is decked out in the most idiotic add ons that you can think of. comically large mirror dice, a bumper sticker that says "honk if you want me bad", stupid car door lights that project a photo of jimmy fallon onto the ground when u open them, the whole 9 yards. took neil, pitts, and cameron 20 minutes to talk him out of getting flame decals (as a bit.)

- knox refuses to play any other videogame besides GTA, which he plays concerningly often. if ur having trouble reaching him then odds are hes on GTA. its the only hobby of his that his parents know about. christmas is tough for the overstreets.

- meeks is well aware of his general ☝️🤓 demeanour so he started making jokes about it before anyone else can. any time he says anything remotely smart sounding then he MUST do the voice and put up a finger. it became a force of habit and he did it while talking to a teacher once, he left the room mortified.

- pittsie lives on spotify, he has a playlist for every possible emotion, over 3k liked songs, and 200k+ minutes listened when wrapped season rolls around. additionally he does every spotify stat game available, and forced the boys to download a spotify activity widget thing. (WHAT DO YALL KNOW ABT AIRBUDS ‼️‼️ add me @ monahatesya xoxo)

- cam loves to make jokes about DARE and the "this is ur brain on drugs" ads but he is, in fact, the main demographic of said ads. said this before, saying it now, will most definitely say it again, he is beyond susceptible to peer pressure. marijuana isnt a gateway drug for everyone but it certainly is for him.

bonus! chris and keating! just for you!

- chris is avoiding the lesbian masterdoc purely out of fear. not out of fear of being gay, but out of fear of the sheer amount of subsequent other things she'll likely also have to find out about herself.

- keating spends an inordinate amount of time on youtube, which nobody actually expects. big video essay fan, imagine the shock from the boys when he pulls up youtube for a lesson and he's halfway thru the 4 hour iBinged iCarly video. was previously a james somerton fan but considering... the james somerton part.. hes now a defunctland loyalist.

[restlessmaknae]

the heart that wants to see you // hendery

➳ Characters: prince!Hendery x female!reader/you

➳ Genre: fantasy, magical kingdom au, magical school au, angst

➳ Words: 6k

➳ Warning: mentions of pressuring parents, emotional and physical abuse (on reader's parents' part)

➳ A/N: This is a spin-off for my Mark-centered story 'enchanted', but it can be read on its own. If you still want to know about reader (named Yoojung in 'enchanted') and Hendery's previous scenes, but don't want to read a whooping 19k for that, I've put together the briefing of their main scenes from the Mark fic.

Also, this story is dedicated to @dat-town. She's an inspiration for so many reasons, and not just because she inspired this story. Love you loooots! ❤️

➳ Spotify playlist

➳ NCT taglist: @s00buwu, @winterbeartaehyungbestboy, @sweetjaemss, @stories-inbetween-the-stars, @squiishymeow, @heyditseeey

5 months after the end of the yearly contest

You used to genuinely believe that once you would make it to the Four Kingdoms’ United School of Applied Elemental Magic after four absolutely insane weeks of learning how to tame all four elemental magic - water, air and earth apart from your fire powers - and passing all the rounds, you would be happy. On the other hand, it couldn’t have been further from the truth.

How you had passed the last round made it all seem futile, and you had this gawking guilt inside of you that somehow, you were here unfairly, you had just been lucky. Could it be considered luck though when each and every time you met Prince Minhyung in the corridor, and you didn’t see his friends from the contest, you were reminded why they weren’t here, why Prince Hendery wasn’t here?

You had a deal after all. The last round could have ended with two winners, but no, Hendery had to surrender before the time limit would be up, a few seconds before you could have both been given a pass. You could have both won. You could have both made it to the school. Sure, the judges would have had the chance to let either both of you win, one of you or neither of you since you hadn’t finished the battle within the given 15 minutes, but at least you would have had the chance.

Now, whenever you were reminded of Prince Hendery’s absence, you felt an avalanche of overwhelming emotions, and you couldn’t quite place them. He had explained that he had his reason for surrendering, but how could he have justified it? You had been so angry at him, you had been so frustrated at him because it had hurt your pride that he had let you win as if you had been a charity case, a mere consul and magic professor’s daughter, not royalty, and yet…

You found yourself missing him, his silly jokes, the way he could always light up the mood, the way his blossoming smile made your heart do somersaults, the way he had consoled you on the rooftop tower after the second round when you had thought that you had messed it up for good and you could have been eliminated, and you had missed his mere presence because now there was only a shadow of him beside Prince Minhyung whenever you were having lunch in the canteen. Your eyes were still searching for him in the corridors, in the training rooms, in the canteen, to no avail. He would not come back, you knew that.

And now, there was little to no chance of seeing him again because for the next 2 years, you would be staying at the wizardry school while he would be doing his duties in the Water Kingdom, and he had no reason to visit the school anymore.

Was it betrayal? Was it pity? Was it just him being absolutely stupid?

Call it however you want, but like the bruises that you got when you were carelessly practising, knowing fully well that you could literally get burnt, it fucking hurt. Because you let him in, and he left you right there, all alone, within the walls of your carefully crafted fort.

10 months after the end of the yearly contest

One thing that was easier after the contest had come to an end was to get along with others who had made it with you to study at the school. You could laugh along with Seunghun’s joke instead of seeing a powerful rival in him, you could accept the fact that Xiaoting was genuinely kind to you, not just trying to poke at you with her flawless attitude, and you could finally lean into the reassurance that you would spend 2 years with these people, and no one was at the risk of elimination anymore.

So you and Chaeyoung spent more time together than before even though you were assigned single rooms once the term started, hence you weren’t roommates anymore. Prince Minhyung also stayed his humble, boyish self, and even though he had to go back to the palace from time to time to take care of some duties - attend ceremonies, consul meetings and formal events between royalty -, he wasn’t given any special treatment because he was a prince, and he spent most of his time with you and Chaeyoung.

More precisely, he spent most of his time with Chaeyoung because the two had gradually grown closer since the school started, and you didn’t like third wheeling, so you didn’t bother them when you felt like they wanted some privacy to themselves. Oftentimes, you escaped to the rooftop tower, or squeezed your frustration into practising even more - a coping mechanism that you had grown fond of, too bad it didn’t make you feel better all the time. It was a distraction of some sort, though.

That’s when and where you met Kim Jiwoong, one of the most promising wizards in training of the Fire Kingdom who was in his second year of studies after successfully passing all the rounds in the previous yearly contest. Even though you had never met him before, both of you coming from the Fire Kingdom meant that you had a mutual understanding of your powers, the strengths and weaknesses you had with other elemental powers, and the pressure to do well at the wizardry school.

Like the elements themselves, the families of the Fire Kingdom were the most intense, the most pressuring and the most vicious. The royal family also ruled with iron fists, and there were no exceptions to any of their rules. That’s what you liked the most about your own kingdom, yet, that was also what made it difficult to not feel so worthless when you made a mistake. Having someone older than you (even by just a year), someone from your own kingdom, help you train was an excellent opportunity to improve, and you were both fine with silence as well, so he was the perfect training partner, really.

Months passed by, and the brewing rage inside of you calmed down, you tamed it into a sleeping volcano instead of one that could erupt anytime. You were doing well at school, your teachers praised you, your parents were proud of you, and these were what you focused on instead of the ache in your heart. You almost convinced yourself that it was alright, you couldn’t be swayed by the idea of meeting Prince Hendery again because why would you, it was merely an unrealistically hopeful (or fearful) scenario in your head?

Then, he showed up unannounced at the gate of the school, and when you, Prince Minhyung and Chaeyoung met him in the corridors, your heart betrayed you as it started thumping vehemently. That traitor.

“Hendery!” Minhyung exclaimed giddily and did their signature handshake with the boy before hugging him briefly. Chaeyoung was next, she also let him hug her while exchanging a few words with the boy, but when it was your turn, your legs froze, your mind blank.

Prince Hendery didn’t seem fazed by your reaction, instead, he acted as casually as he usually did, yet, that just bugged you even more. When he hugged you, it felt so out of place, his warm touch not easing the pain of the thorns that were searing your heart at the thought of the boy.

“I’ve missed you,” he murmured into the embrace, and it didn’t slip your attention that he toned down his loud voice, so that only you could hear him.

‘I’ve missed you, too,’ was what you really wanted to say, yet be it your pride or your agony, you didn’t let the words roll off your tongue. Instead, you mumbled something akin to:

“It’s good to see you.”

Hendery let go of you, and the moment he did so, your heart churned. It reminded you of the moment you had shared on the rooftop tower after the second round. When you had almost been eliminated because you had messed up the exercise in front of the judges. You had been so used to blaming and punishing yourself for all the mistakes you had done, that it had come as a second nature to do so by that point. So when the boy had tried to console you, to protect you from your own guilt, you had tried to send him away. ‘How dare he comfort you when you deserve to feel this way’, was what you had thought, and you had managed to push him away, but only until he had caught your arms and put his arms around you.

For the briefest of a moment, something akin to hurt flashed in his orbs too, and you wondered if he was replaying the same scene in his head. Then, the moment was gone, his frown was replaced by his trademark wide smile, and he asked you all what you were up to.

“What brings you here?” Chaeyoung inquired after you all said a few words about your first year at school, and how it was crazy that it was almost coming to an end. Meaning that it was almost a year ago that you had first met.

“I’m here to pass the list of applicants from our own kingdom for this year’s contest to the office. So I’m really just coming and going, but it’s great that I didn’t have to find you for myself because we bumped into each other like this,” he explained as he flashed a content grin, and you wished it had been so easy for you to smile like this. To smile at all.

“It is great,” Minhyung hollered excitedly, and asked about Hendery’s friend, Xiaojun, who had also been a part of the contest until the third round. Talking about the contest came so easily to him just as well as to Hendery.

You hated how it seemed to have such a different effect on you. You were convinced you were over this, the blaming, the frustration, the angst, the second-guessing, and now here was Prince Hendery, and despite dreaming about this moment no matter how much you would have absolutely denied daydreaming about it, your heart was bleeding as if the wound had never healed.

You could see from the corner of your eyes how Chaeyoung nudged Minhyung in the side, and they started talking about having to go somewhere. You knew where this was going, but before you could excuse yourself alongside them, it was just the two of you with Hendery in the corridor, the sounds of your friends’ chatting fading in the background.

You looked up at the boy expectantly, all wide eyes, long limbs, silly little messy locks that covered his left eye almost entirely, ones that you were itching to put aside, but the weight of reality was heavier than your own inner desires, so you resisted doing so. The boy didn’t seem different than the last time you had seen him, but it was probably because he wasn’t in a fancy royal attire, more like a casual one with a satin shirt and cotton pants, paired with dress shoes, all in the many shades of blue, the representative colour for the Water Kingdom.

You stood there in your burgundy inflammable jacket and sport pants, on your way to practise in the Fire Kingdom’s own school attire, and the distance between you two had never seemed wider. He had never seemed more out of reach than now, only an arm length away from you.

“Shouldn’t you be going around with a bodyguard or something?”

“He’s waiting for me at the gates. We deemed that it would be safe within these walls,” Hendery explained with a shrug of his shoulders before inquiring. “Why? Are you worried about me?” He leaned down, leaning closer to you, and you rolled your eyes at his question. Like in old times, you thought to yourself, but you immediately tossed the thought aside. Nothing was like how it used to be before.

“I was just suddenly reminded of the incidence with you and Jaeeon,” you answered truthfully, thinking back to that time when the senate head’s son had punched the prince in the face when most of Prince Hendery and Prince Minhyung’s friends had still been in the competition. Jaeeon had thought it had been because of discrimination, and even though the boy had denied it, saying that one of your friends - Dayoung - had been eliminated already, he hadn’t punched back when Jaeeon had thrown a punch at him. Previously, you had asked him not to cause more trouble because his presence in the competition as a prince had already drawn unwanted attention. He had listened, but oh, how you wished he hadn’t.

“He’s been disqualified either way, so I don’t have anything to worry about anymore,” he pointed out flippantly, and you didn’t have it in you to say anything more on the topic. Truthfully, you wanted nothing else to say to him, but you let a few seconds of silence pass by - expectant, maybe - before you actually announced your intention.

“I think they’re already waiting for you, so I won’t hold you up,” you excused yourself with a bob of your head, ready to turn around to head to the training room.

However, before you could have gotten further away from the boy, he called after you, and fell in step with you, making you halt beside him if you didn’t want him to follow you.

“What?” You laced your arms in front of your chest defensively, looking up at him challengingly.

“I just… Are you still angry with me about the final round? You don’t seem like… like yourself,” he blurted out finally, and his realisation pained you more than if he had been oblivious to it all like how he had been oblivious to a lot of different things.

You held your chin up high, all the emotions of the past year flowing through you like an unstoppable tide, striking out at anyone and everyone. You felt all that confusion, disappointment, guilt and anger dance in your veins, wild and free, and you didn’t put a stop to them. You let them out, you let them burn through your body, to come out in an answer you wouldn’t have said so if you had held yourself back.

“I’ve changed, Hendery. If you hadn’t wanted me to, maybe you should have let the judges decide whom they want to pass instead of surrendering at the last minute, but oh, you just had to play the hero” you replied, cold and strong.

“I did it for you,” he justified, desperate and soft.

You let out a small huff of air before turning on your heel, and this time, Hendery didn’t follow you. Maybe he realised he had made the wrong choice the last time you had met.

2 years after the end of the yearly contest

Everything was white, blue, burgundy, green, white, blue, burgundy, green…

Everything was in the colours of the four kingdoms - the impossibly vivid green plants, the sea-like deep-blue ornaments, the burgundy flames of the candles dancing within glass walls, the white of the drink that was passed around to guests, and you weren’t even sure what was in it -, and it made your head spin. If it wasn’t already dizzying just how many people were in the hall of the Four Kingdoms’ United School of Applied Elemental Magic when you were used to seeing only a few dozens of students and professors alike, the colours definitely didn’t ease your discomfort. Much like the fact that your parents were there.

It was your graduation though. Everyone was celebrating that these 2 years were finally over, that this day would happen only once, and that now you were a much more valuable part of society. Some of you would become advisers for your respective kingdom’s royal families, consuls in the senate or professors in training at the school. Prince Minhyung, for one, would go back to the Air Kingdom, but now not just as a prince, but also as an adviser at the palace. Chaeyoung would join the senate just like her parents had done so. Yeonjun - who re-dyed his hair to a new shade of blue for this day - would join the royal palace in the Water Kingdom - his own kingdom - as a tutor for a princess, so he would not only teach her magic alongside her other tutor but also teach her how to fight since he seemed to be particularly good at that. Serim from the Earth Kingdom would help rebuild a a few towns of the kingdom that had been destroyed by a fire, and afterwards, he would continue helping out in development projects - both with magic and both with his leadership skills -, while Yeoreum had become interested in magical medicine, so she would train to become a magical healer in the Earth Kingdom.

And you, you decided to stay here to train as a professor. Not only because you had been prompted by Jiwoong who had also stayed at the school a year prior after his graduation, but also because you had grown fond of this building, more of a home to you than your own home in the Fire Kingdom. This way, you wouldn’t even have to see your parents more than it would be necessary, and as sad as it sounded, you felt more at home without them than with them.

Your choices after graduation were announced when you were called to take your certificate from your professors, and a member of the royal family, the senate or a future tutor - depending on your choice - also handed you a paper with your offer as a symbolic gesture. You took it from Jiwoong, for instance, while Yeonjun took his from Prince Hendery since he would be joining his kingdom.

It had been more than a year since you had last seen the prince, and despite the bitter ending of your last conversation, you only felt uncomfortable by his presence because others were around, including your parents, and you would hate to appear anything less than perfect in front of them.

However, everything became a bit too much after a while - all the colours, all the noises, all the fake smiles -, so you excused yourself, taking your bouquet of flowers (gifted by your parents), your certificate and your offer to your room, the one that you would be leaving a day later, only to get a different one in the professors’ ward a week later. You put everything down with a sigh, and turned on your heel to go back to the hall, only to change your mind at the top of the stairs.

You did a full 180, and headed upstairs instead. The walk up to the rooftop tower was more than familiar by now, and you welcomed the same kind of reassurance as you always did here when you stepped above the threshold. Taking in a few deep breaths, you let your eyes linger on the different buildings of the school, content with your choice of staying here. Two years ago, you had been determined to get into the school, and now, you deliberately made the choice to stay here. Who would have thought?

“I had a feeling that you would be up here,” said an all too familiar voice as you were deep in thought. You would have lied if you hadn’t thought about turning back at the sound of him coming onto the rooftop, but you decided otherwise.

“Old habits die hard, I guess,” you shrugged casually, hoping that the light breeze of this summer night would carry your lies as smoothly as the petals from the nearby tree.

There were a few seconds of silence that stretched between you two while Hendery walked up to you and halted beside you. You kept your eyes on the horizon, on the way the tall gates of the school kept out all the hustle-bustle of the Circle, the circle-shaped governmental capital of the Four Kingdoms where the senate also resided, on the way the sky and the far-away sea became one and the same in the distance, on the way light and the dark existed beside each other.

Everything co-existed peacefully beside each other, and yet, it never felt more wrong to stand beside Prince Hendery than now.

“Congratulations on your graduation! I hope you will enjoy teaching the future generations of wizards here,” the young prince broke the silence, and his voice was cheery. As if he had no care in the world.

“Thank you,” you bobbed your head as you turned towards him, letting your eyes focus on him this time, on the deep shade of blue of his uniform, on the way the belt around his cotton pants highlighted his slender build, on the way his hair seemed sparkling under the light of the torches nearby, on the genuine care in his eyes.

Truth is, you had missed him, but you told yourself that you would miss him even more if you had more to remember about him. As if that one month with him hadn’t been enough, now you would have more memories to torture yourself with. However, you decided to give him one chance, just one more chance to explain himself before you would go back inside your walls, in the lonely yet safe home they had created for you.

“But it could have been both of us, you know. Graduating together and such,” you pointed out honestly. The prince’s features hardened hearing your words, but you didn’t want to back away now. Not anymore. “Won’t you tell me why you actually surrendered at the last minute?”

“Does it matter anymore?”

“It does!” You exclaimed, your frustration lashing out on him. You didn’t even want to keep the hurt from your voice, you had to know it, you had to know it now or else, when else might you have the chance for it? “You don’t know how many times it crossed my mind that you might have pitied me, you might have wanted me to pass because I’m just a charity case for you-”

“A charity case? No, god, no,” Hendery cut you off immediately, shaking his head fervently. You had never seen him so confused before, alas, you had only been spending a month together. However, back then, each and every day together had felt like an eternity - for better or for worse -, and it hurt to realise now that it had been only a month, and yet… how much you had let yourself fall for him, how much you had let him in…

“I… I thought you had a feeling why,” he started cautiously, but when you just rolled your eyes at his cryptic words, he continued. “One of the judges in the final round had been tutoring me and my siblings at the palace before. I had a feeling that he would convince the other judges to let only me pass if I didn’t surrender. I didn’t want to take your chance or risk taking it. Besides, I wanted you to make it because I didn’t want you to go back home, I didn’t want you to face your parents after being eliminated. After what you told me about them on the rooftop, I couldn’t have just let it happen.”

It felt like the air was punched out of your lungs, your body filled with tremors. Your heart didn’t beat faster, but it beat heavier as if it had a weight to carry between two heartbeats. Now you weren’t dizzy because of the colours around, but because of all the emotions inside of you, of everything that suddenly came over you like an avalanche.

You knew exactly what you had said at the rooftop, but even then, when he had hugged you, you had thought it was out of pity. Because he had felt sorry that he couldn’t have done anything about your father who had punished you physically and emotionally when you had not been as good as he had wanted during practices - sometimes he had not given you dinner, sometimes he had hurt you physically, sometimes he had burned marks into your skin to make you remember, at least for a few days, what you could receive if you didn’t live up to his expectations. He could have done so because your mother had been living in the Circle, not at your house in the Fire Kingdom, because the senate was closer to her this way.

On the other hand, with the weight of the whole contest, of the chance of making it into the Four Kingdoms’ United School of Applied Elemental Magic with only a handful of other wizards, it couldn’t have been just pity. There had been too much at stake.

“I… but why? Why did I matter so much to you?” You asked in disbelief, your voice trembling by the end. He made it really difficult not to cry, but you couldn’t cry. You weren’t that weak.

Hendery smiled a bitter smile, one that you rarely saw on him, so rarely that you could have convinced yourself it didn’t exist, and let out a sigh before he let out a giggle. You furrowed your eyebrows, totally confused, and he sure took his time with the answer.

“I know you will probably say that I’m crazy, but I guess I can’t get any crazier in your eyes than I am now, so I guess I can tell you that I fell for you. It might have been just a month, but if I had ever felt like I loved someone, it would have been then, with you,” he confessed, his words carrying his usual carefree tone, but there was an underlying layer there, a kind of affection you had purposefully wanted to avoid acknowledging.

Even if you had been meaning to say a million different things, nothing came out. You had your answer now, and you couldn’t believe that you had been hating him for his choice when he had truly wanted the best for you all along. Not out of pity or hurt, but because he had loved you. Love… such an unfamiliar concept to you, love in its most selfless, most innocent form, love in smiles, in hugs, in jokes and in making choices for you that would serve you the best… this kind of love, you had never known before.

Or maybe just for a short while, and it was gone now, turned to ash, becoming one with the past.

Hendery might have taken your silence as disapproval because his bitter smile turned into a shadow of itself, a mere reminder of a smile.

“I know we would never work out either way, we’re from two different kingdoms after all, we wouldn’t even manage to see each other much because you know, I live in the palace in the Water Kingdom, and you were here and will continue to be here. But it was worth it for me, making that choice 2 years ago, so you could have this kind of future for yourself, and trust me, I’m the happiest that I could see you graduate today,” he continued talking, and it was so him, to want to fill the silence with his monologues, that with the knowledge of why he had made that choice back then, you found yourself closing the distance and throwing your arms around his frame.

“Thank you,” you whispered into the crook of his neck, the words you couldn’t have brought yourself to tell him all this time, and you felt the moment the boy believed you, the moment he eased into your embrace.

“Anytime,” he answered easily, loudly, proudly, and it hurt for you to realise that you knew, that you knew that he would have done this for you over and over again, anytime he had the chance.

And then, it hurt even more to realise that you knew, that you knew that he was right, and you two would never work out.

Just for this moment though, you let your walls down after those 2 years, and you let him in before you would let him go eventually because he was him and you were you, and your paths might have crossed, but they would not continue together.

4 years after the end of the yearly contest

Everything was blue and red; ocean-blue, cherry red, midnight-blue, wine red, and the list went on and on. There was such a wide array of colours that it was a surprise that everything seemed to blend in well despite the striking difference between the two colours.

You looked around expectantly, feeling uncharacteristically nervous because you had no idea how the day would unfold. Even though you had been to Prince Minhyung and Chaeyoung’s wedding the year before, it was different this time. They had held their wedding in the Air Kingdom, and everything had been pure, innocent, vivid white, the whole nation had been celebrating because it had been out of love. Not to mention that the kingdom had been lucky to welcome such a kind-hearted and determined young lady into the royal family who would be willing to make a change - to provide more chances for magical education for the less privileged, to give equal chances to women in higher-up roles and to promote more collaboration between the four kingdoms.

This time though, it was a princess from your kingdom who would get married to a prince in the Water Kingdom, and even though all that crossed your mind was ‘why, why, why not me?’, you pushed the thoughts away because you were happy, you were truly happy.

“Are you ready to go in?” Jiwoong inquired quietly as he stepped up to you after finishing his conversation with a consul nearby, his eyes gentle and intent on yours. Your features immediately softened, your lips curling upwards. Despite his cold demeanour, he had a heart of gold, and you weren’t surprised that all the girls at the Four Kingdoms’ United School of Applied Elemental Magic were swooning after him.

“Sure, let’s go!” You bobbed your head, and when he held out his arm, you linked yours with his as you stepped into one of the halls of the palace. You had never been to the Water Kingdom’s palace before, you had no reason to, but it was magnificent in its own way, and it felt like being underwater, surrounded by crystal clear water, away from the brightness of the outside world. As the sun shone through the giant glass windows, it really felt like it broke through the surface of water, dim and faraway, like a dream, like something out of reach.

When you stepped into the finely decorated hall, there were even more people, and rounds of polite greetings and introductions were obligatory. All kinds of wizards were here from the four kingdoms, and you caught sight of a few of your old classmates, including Prince Minhyung and now Princess Chaeyoung who were deep in talks with someone important-looking, so you waved in their direction before taking your designated seats with Jiwoong.

He didn’t let go of your arm even after you sat down, and when the ceremony started, he squeezed your hand gently, glancing sideways to see if you were doing okay. You turned your head to look at him, and when your gazes linked, you mouthed to him:

“I’m fine,” you reassured him when Prince Hendery and Princess Ahyun from the Fire Kingdom walked in. Theirs would be the first cross kingdom wedding of the decade because mostly wizards from the same kingdom - like Prince Minhyung and Chaeyoung - and royalty from the same kingdom - like Prince Kun and Princess Sujeong from the Earth Kingdom - tied the knot as it was the norm, but the Fire and Water Kingdom had a pretty intense trade argument last year that they wanted to cover up with this wedding.

As much as you would have liked to hate how this turned out for the prince - having to marry for his country, rather than for his feelings -, his smile seemed genuine, really genuine, and Princess Ahyun was a fierce yet just princess, so you couldn’t look at them with hurt or fury or disgust. You were just there, watching the events unfold, and when it was time to congratulate the couple, you didn’t shy away from it.

“Thank you for coming! I wasn’t sure how busy you would be beside your duties at the school, so I’m really glad you guys are here,” Prince Hendery beamed with his trademark wide smile when it was your turn to walk up to them. His smile didn’t falter when he caught sight of your hand in Jiwoong’s hand even though you hadn’t met him since your graduation, so you had not told him about Jiwoong. Maybe Prince Minhyung had told him, or maybe he had just heard about it somewhere when he had come by the school, and you hadn’t crossed paths.

“Of course, we came,” you replied honestly, and you were so genuine, it almost hurt because you looked at him, and he was so different yet so similar to the boy you had met 4 years ago, and the one you had last seen 2 years ago. Maybe he was even taller, he was definitely broader and stronger, but there was still that mischievous glint in his eyes and his smile, oh, his smile was the same!

It made you wonder what would have happened if you had been born as a princess, not as someone outside a royal family, if you had met under different circumstances, or if you had just been in a different universe, not having to worry about titles and contests and magical powers. Despite the time spent apart, despite the distance between you two, you had never stopped wondering about the what ifs; you had merely let them pass by reality like the scenery surrounding a building or the negative thoughts you had learned to silence beside Jiwoong.

“Congratulations on your marriage!” Jiwoong’s deep voice brought you back to reality as he held out your gift to the newlyweds, and the princess took it with a polite smile, thanking you for visiting. However, you didn’t have much time to yourselves because you were ushered to move on, but when you locked eyes with Hendery, his lips pulled into an even wider smile, you had a feeling that he was feeling the same way: bittersweet, grateful, but most of all: at ease.

You would forever be grateful for him because he had shown you that you could be loved, genuinely loved, and it was why you had been willing to let Jiwoong in when the time had come. Hendery made you believe that you could be loved, but it was Jiwoong who made you believe that you could love someone else with all your heart. Hendery might have wanted the best for you, but no one would understand you as much as Jiwoong - someone who came from the same kingdom, had the same powers and had a similar childhood. Hendery made you see who you really were under the surface, but Jiwoong helped you become a better person, a more authentic version of yourself.

The past and the present, your first and current love, the old version of you and your current you collided in that moment, and as Jiwoong guided you through the crowd, you let it go, you let it get lost in the sea of time, in all the reds and blues of the night.

A/N: Thank you for reading my story until the end! I hope you enjoyed this story of mine. Let me know what you think.

@dat-town this is for your information, but when I told you, this reminded me of something we've seen together after wrapping it up, I meant 'my precious' because their love story seemed cute and fun in 'enchanted', but it turned angstier when the boy made a decision that the girl didn't appreciate just like in the movie. Plus, I would bet all my money that you knew who was THE cameo when you saw Jiwoong's name haha. Also, the possible other spin-off that came to my mind when I wrote this was the wizard tutor!Yeonjun x princess one, and I purposefully didn't write anything about them in the last scene because who knows whether I actually end up writing it, and if I do write it, what kind of love story they might have hihi

Either way, I genuinely hope you enjoyed it all, love you again and again ❤️

P.S.: title is taken from 'Horizon' by WayV

If you want to read more stories of mine, let it be for NCT or for other artists, consider signing up for my taglist here.

Hope you have a lovely day/night! Take care! ❤️

[linwelinwrites]

Writing resources

Since there's so much awesome content on this site to stop reblogging stuff, I'm going to keep this post pinned and updated with the actual content I want this blog to be about: free resources for writers.

You can search my blog using the search box above, too! You'll find:

Resources I've compiled and/or put together myself, under #linwelin's resources.

Posts about my own writing under #linwelin writes.

Resources I've found and reblogged under #writing resources.

Tips on specific subjects under #writing tips.

General advice on the craft of writing under #writing advice.

But just in case you'd rather read it like this, here are links to the resources I've posted myself:

Using Google Docs to write fiction. Includes: why I like using GDocs, an illustrated guide on its best features and their applications for writers, how I organise my files, a handy template I call my "Writing Desk", to keep everything easily accessible, and a guide on how to use and tweak that template to your liking.

How to customise your Google Docs and Sheets so they look exactly how you like them—including a pseudo-dark-theme that's easier on the eyes.

A spreadsheet to organise big projects. A template for you to copy, and a guide on how to use and modify it to help manage those WIPs that are way too big to keep in one file and you have no clue how to tackle.

Word finders and tools for writers. Dictionaries, thesaurus, word finders, slang, and phrases. Also, some handy info on how to add custom search engines to your Chrome browser to save a lot of time. It's a game-changer, trust me.

Naming resources. All sorts of sites to find the perfect name for your characters. Real world, fantasy names, all the types of filters and browsing options you could want: origin, initial, rarity, meaning, association, theme, etc.

Writing playlists. My list of Spotify playlists specifically made for writing. It's constantly updated because I'm a playlist dragon, by which I mean I hoard too many of them and I still feel like I don't have enough, I constantly tweak and rearrange them, and they're my precious babies. You'll find a playlist for every mood, mostly instrumental to avoid distractions.

[duckyfruitbat]

YoHoHo, It's a New Era of Pirating

I'm sure a lot of us have been ruminating on this lately, but first I want to draw some parallels.

Picture it, the year is 2005 and you are watching a movie you picked out with your grandma at blockbuster during your weekend visit to give your parents a god damned break from your bullshit. Relatable so far yes? You pop that disk in and sit down as grandma makes the popcorn and an odd little PSA comes up between the previews. It's the infamous pirating PSA that compares downloading films to car jacking. So what do you do? You download copious amounts of pirated music onto the computer under your fathers supervision of course, still pretty relatable right?

You have entered the world of media piracy my friend, an old tradition with a rich culture and history. The early 2000's were some wild times, piracy was at its peak, the internet was a lawless land, and the 2008 housing bubble was just around the corner, truly a glorious time.

Now needless to say, publishing companies hated piracy and were desperately trying to curb it but only through legislation through a government that didn't really care. It was already hard enough to catch one pirate so why waste resources to crack down on it. There was an attempted crackdown by the publishers but that completely failed, one infamous case was a grandma who didn't even have a computer.

This age of piracy was only stopped when Itunes and Netflix made their way online. That was only because everything was on these two websites and later also Hulu. The only people who continued to pirate were kids who didn't have money and anime fans. There were two specialized websites just for them.

Everything was going smoothly, until we get to today, now every studio has at least one streaming service and even then there is no guarantee that their own shows would even be up and they're all owned by the same five corporations. Discovery got in trouble not too long ago for deleting their own shows from their own streaming service. Disney still has a backlog to upload onto Disney+, and there are many exclusives between each site. It's very similar to what cable and satellite television was, gotta pay over a hundred dollars and you don't even watch half the channels. These streaming services are getting too specialized, sure it makes business sense especially when you already have a large library or you're just Disney, but when there are obscure TV channels trying to get their own service, you know something's wrong.

Somehow the music industry didn't go the same path, yes Spotify has its problems, especially for musicians, but it is far better than purchasing entire albums or the old piracy methods that always put your computer at risk.

The obvious consequence of all this is that piracy is once again going up once again. Why? Because it is far easier to pirate than it is to figure out which steaming service that Disney owned show you want to watch is on. The only reason Itunes and Netflix originally won was because it was more convenient to actually pay for the things you wanted to see and not have to worry about malware. That's a lesson that these corporations could benefit from again, but they are if anything stubborn.

Now because of the stubbornness of these corporations I will have a lot to talk about, specifically with all sorts of pirating methods, and some fun stories. I already talked about Tengen and their massive swinging balls of steel as they walked into the patent office to steal from Nintendo, but there is so much more. So plenty of legally dubious fun to be had!

[skhardwarevers1]

Okay I know I just went over this earlier and a did make a tutorial on TikTok but I feel like saying it here,

burning CDS is easy as FUCK

Or, a little explanation on how I make custom CDs

disclaimer: I use windows so if you use anything else I’m so sorry

I’ll add pictures to go along with this later!!!

things you absolutely NEED

a computer/laptop

(If said computer/laptop doesn’t have a built in disc drive) an external disc drive (there are pretty good ones for like 20-25 dollars!!)

CDs/DVDs obviously (either R or RW, the only difference is that you can rewrite RW CDs and DVDs)

also! DVDs obviously hold picture and video as well as audio, so do what you want with those

Technically step one

if you thrifted CDs like I did, or found really old ones in a box in your home somewhere, MAKE SURE THEY ARE EMPTY!!! If you want to keep the stuff on them, there’s an option to rip them in windows media player legacy (which is what I use to burn them as well)

then to erase it, open file explorer, click on the CD/DVD in your disc drive, click the three dots on the toolbar and select “Erase this disc” (this usually doesn’t take too long)

Actual Step One

if you want to make a mixtape, make a Spotify playlist of all the songs you want and copy the link to it (or any other platform, I just find it easier to make a Spotify playlist because I can download it), if you’re just doing an album then get the link of that album instead (make sure both of them can actually fit on the CD you have! Mine can hold like…74 minutes of music)

then use this handy little Spotify downloader to download a zip file of all the songs (sometimes it messes up and will exclude some, make sure to double check they’re all in there…if not you can download them individually too)

Step Two

in your files, open up the zip file of all the music, select them all, and copy them to music (there’s a whole section for it that media player uses, trust me you’ll see it)

then open windows media player legacy and double check it’s in there—usually it’s gathered by artist

step two and a half

Okay so most of the time I go to organize -> settings -> privacy -> and uncheck all the top boxes. You don’t have to, I just do that…idk why I just have.

Step Three (the easy part)

first make sure the CD is set as an audio CD (and also that it’s actually in the disc drive), and click the burn tab

drag all the songs you want on the CD into the burn list, and reorder them however you’d like! There are options to shuffle them and organize them specific ways if you’d like. Once you have everything all set you can click start burn and all you have to do is wait! It’ll eject once it’s done

Step 4 (optional)

If you have a jewel case, you can print or draw your own custom covers and backs!!!! You can also draw on CDs with a sharpie marker if you’d like. Just remember that slim cases have different sizing than standard cases. There’s also stickers for CDs that cover the fronts of them(? Or so I’ve been told…)

Step 5

make sure the CD actually works, try playing it on a different device if you can, and enjoy!!!

Step “what if I don’t have a CD player?”

well I’m gonna tell you you probably do and just don’t know it! do you have a DVD player laying around your house? That’s a CD player! do you have an old ass computer that would suck with burning the CDs itself but still has a disc drive an everything? That’s a CD Player!

do you have a shitty old karaoke machine? Chances are it has a spot for CDs! THATS A CD PLAYER!

Of course you can get a new one if none of these are functional devices for you or you just don’t have them, but I just wanted to point out that a lot of things can be used to play CDs

or you can help me bring back Walkmans and discmans….if you’re listening to music on the go…./silly

Also! Some cars have spots to play CDs in them!! Your CD doesn’t have to be limited to your home!!!

also also, I’m 70% sure that a lot of game consoles can play DVDs but not CDs. Saying thing incase the information is valuable for someone who wants to watch a good movie on DVD or something….

[movedtohypnocus]

howdy heres a decent post about how to find new music to listen to, from an autistic person who literally needs music to function most times 💪

spotify based since that is what i use

first off, Discover Weekly (updates Mondays) and Release Radar (updates Fridays) are pretty good if you arent looking for music quickly. i prefer Discover Weekly bc it usually is from artists ive never listened to.

BUT if you are anything like me and kind of need music daily, and/or feel like everything is getting stale to listen to and just is not stimulating enough, theres quite a few things you can do (:

i primarily use Chosic, since it kinda has a bunch of different shit to use n look at

if it feels too overwhelming, what you can do is stick with "Music Genre Finder" and "Similar Songs Finder"

even though it might sometimes ask on some pages, you do NOT have to sign into Spotify for this site if you dont want to (:

using this banger as my control song

Music Genre Finder

figuring out what genres and sub-genres you listen to the most is about to become your best friend ok

pretty much just toss in a bunch of songs you enjoy and take note of the genres and sub-genres. i recommend making playlists of songs with similar or same genres (and also bc its fun)

this one is the most basic, but is a good starting point to help you go down your rabbit hole

Similar Songs Finder

same concept; throw in songs you want more of. i do one song at a time but you can do multiple

theres also this (v), so have fun with that B)

i recommend taking a look at the advanced settings, but for the sake of keeping this post as comprehensive as possible, im going to stick to the basics.

clicking generate will pull up a list of songs similar to your input, available as both Spotify and YouTube playlists to save if you so choose

to make this easier, you can also analyze the playlist songs directly from here; just middle click the buttons to open a new tab so you dont lose this page

Moving on from Chosic to other methods lol

PANTHER. Panther is sooo good imo

this one is artist-based, and sometimes the song previews it gives do not load, but you can simply look them up to listen for yourself in that case.

i will use I Met a Yeti as an example

very simple; i recommend going into this website with lowered volume because sometimes the audio is loud and crunchy; it will sound better on Spotify though

Create Similar Playlist

this is a feature that is already in Spotify, and it is again, very basic.

right clicking on a playlist ofc pulls up a neat lil menu

this one isnt that great, but it works better with the more songs you have on it from different artists.

often times it will add songs you already have saved, but otherwise its kinda okay

Enchance

again, a built-in Spotify feature, however this one might not be for everyone as i believe this is an experimental feature that not everybody has at the moment. still, if you do have it, i absolutely recommend it

basically what it does is add ~100 songs to your Liked Playlist, spaced out every two songs (they are not permanently saved if that annoys you; they go away after turning off this feature)

update 11/11/23

Enhance is out now i think? however it's only for created playlists and not your liked playlist. it still works the same but adds less music. more music gets suggested though when you save them

the Panther site had some issues loading for a while, but it's working again (it may have just been me. idk)

this is all i have for now lol. if you have any questions lemme know (:

hope this helps!

[backagainpodcast]

Hello! I absolutely love BABA, it is everything I need in a comfort media, especially during exam season. Do you have any advice for people looking into writing podcasts? Like audio editing programs or writing tips or anything else that's come up in your process? If you do, thanks so much! But regardless, I adore this podcast and I hope you're having a wonderful day!

hello! thank you so much for listening, and I really really hope your exams go well <<33

My writing advice is the kind that I feel like deserves to get me shook, but it's the truest I know --- write a lot, write every day or as often as you can manage it, write like it is the thing that you must do to keep you alive. Write like it's at the top of your to-do list, write knowing that as long as you write something that day, whatever else happens, it can be enough. Choose a word count and try to reach it every day. Choose a duration of time and make sure you set it aside. Just --- write. Note the things that are important to you and mean the most to you, and you'll never run out of ways to talk about them.

When I am drafting, I aim for 500 words a day (but please god find what works for you don't take this as anything other than an example.) Sometimes I kick and scream to that point and don't go any further. Oftentimes, after 500, the words are loose enough that I can keep going. Stack 'em up. The more you have, the less each one matters. The longer you get into the habit of hitting a word count, the easier it is to do!!

From the podcasting side of things, I have no idea what I'm doing, ever, which means that I am NOT the best person to get good advice from, but I CAN tell you how to duct-tape a podcast together. My tips---

Take the time to learn how to use Audacity (or whatever audio editing software you'd like -- audacity is just FREE, we LOVE) get yourself a mic that fits in your budget (my blue yeti has been going solid for years and years and has survived several moves!), and get talkin'.

Likewise, take your time editing. Get a sense of how much you can reasonably do between episodes, and don't overwork yourself. It's better to have a consistent schedule for releases than a sporadic one, even if that means episodes are farther apart :) BABA comes out twice a month and I could not consistently do any more without losing my mind. Maybe that's not the case for you, but figure it out!!

Uh --- I use Anchor, which is now "Spotify for Podcasters," because, again, it's free. Freemusicarchive.org is where BABA's theme music (Nightingales by Pierce Murphy) comes from, and just do some googling about what each attribution right means so you're respecting people's wishes.

I also cannot recommend enough writing the whole season before you start recording. Editing and recording and editing episodes is enough every two weeks -- I couldn't imagine also having to write the episode on top of that :')

(But again -- maybe you're different!! Maybe it's no problem for you! The biggest thing is figuring out how you can stretch and how you cannot and adapting.)

But I think the biggest thing is having a story that you want to tell and that excites you, if no one else. It's going to be a lot of talking to yourself in empty rooms and listening to yourself through headphones and the only way to get through is to love something about it :')

I finally must encourage you to take all of this with a grain of salt, as I'm just Some Guy with no real qualifications except that I snuck in the back door and no one kicked me out fast enough. But that is the glorious thing about audio drama!!! Anyone can make anything!!!

Good luck, good luck, and always reach back out if there's something more substantial I can help you with :)

Very best, always,

Abigail <3

[auxiliarydetective]

We've done it!

Or, more accurately, you've done it! Thanks to you, my fellow Tumblrinas, I've actually managed to hit 200 followers!

I never thought I would get this far, but I'm eternally grateful for all the love you've given me, and I can't wait to share many more brainrots with you!

In tune with that, I've decided: Why not let you look even further into my mind? I've given you lots of writing, but why not provide some visuals? And so, in thinking about what I wanted to do for my 200 followers celebration, I came up with...

⁕ Evie's Mind Palace Festival! ⁕

(Placing a cut so this doesn't get too long ^^)

As depicted in this lovely graphic above, I'm going to be focusing on my OCs' fashion for this little event. But not just that! I'll get to the bonuses later :)

For now, text version! Because Tumblr likes not loading images and some people may not be able to view the image

↬ Step 1: Pick an OC of your choice! From my OCs, that is. Hope that was clear. Anyone from the list. I'll even throw in a little bonus and say that unintroduced OCs are allowed! That means the ones on this list AND ones I may have rambled to to you in a chat we've had.

↬ Step 2: Pick an occasion prompt! The prompts are as follows:

Casual (aka everyday wear, aka their basic character design or an alternate outfit or it)

Formal

Training/Athletic

Battle (this may overlap with either 1. or 3. for some characters, but let's assume they actually get geared up for battle)

Hot weather (your typical summer clothes)

Cold weather (sweaters, winter coats, you name it)

Swimwear

Canon event (may overlap with some other categories, but I made this a separate thing for the lore opportunities it provides) - Make sure to specify what canon event you want!

Stealing clothes - You can include who the character should steal from in your ask, otherwise I will pick the victim myself.

Holiday-themed - Pick your holiday! Any holiday counts.

Fandombend - Pick your fandom! (This will probably come with some headcanons on what the OC would be like in the new fandom)

Inspired by a song - Please, pick a song! Preferably from the OC's playlist. I should have a playlist for almost every OC. Hop into the "#playlist" tag on my blog to find them and, if they're not posted over there anywhere, tap on any playlist that's there, let it take you to my Spotify profile, and hop into the "Character Playlists" folder!

↬ Step 3: If you want, pick an extra prompt! Your options are:

Historical - Please specify your time frame! You don't necessarily have to, but I tend to be an indecisive little gremlin, so it would make things a little easier if you could pick ^^"

Fantasy (This, of course, makes little sense if the OC is already in a fantasy setting)

Sci-fi (Once again, this makes little sense if the OC is already in a sci-fi setting)

Steampunk

Cultural - Please pick a culture for me to take inspiration from! It doesn't have to be a real-life culture. For example, you could pick Japan for some kimono art or you could pick the Kuja from One Piece!

Color prompt - Pick your color! I ask that you do keep it at one color so that I have some more freedom, and I won't take specific hex codes either because those specific hex codes might clash with the OC's color palette

Prompt of your choice - This can be literally anything! Yes, also an occasion, in which case it would replace your original occasion prompt. I just didn't have the space to add in all occasions known to man, so if you have another idea, this is where to put it.

↬ Step 4: Send your ask! Done!

Once you've sent your ask, please keep in mind that it might take me a while to answer it. I'll then make a collage/moodboard and get the ask posted. Maybe, I'll also draw your prompt, depending on if I have the energy and/or time for it. If I plan on doing that, I'll let you know in the post and tag you once I have the drawing finished! I may also be swayed into adding a little fic snippet to the answer, if I do feel so inclined. Maybe a song to match the vibes? It'll be a little surprise!

► Rules:

Be nice! It's not hard, and it's basically all I ask.

This is the one time you might not want to shower me in asks because these asks might take a bit to answer. I'm not putting a cap on how many asks per person you're allowed to send, just maybe be mindful of how long they take to answer and space them out over the time of the event.

I'll be accepting asks from the time that this is posted until March 17th. The event ends with the strike of midnight starting the next day. Whenever that may be in your time zone. As long as it's still 23:59 on March 17th somewhere around the world, send in your ask. I might also extend the event if asks keep coming in and I have the energy to keep going.

↬ Additional info for mutuals: You get to ask for crossovers! Just pick one of my OCs and one of yours and I'll try my best to draw them. I might bother you for references though, so be prepared! It doesn't matter how long we've been mutuals for! It could've been five minutes, you're still allowed to send in crossover asks. As long as we're mutuals, let's say, at the time that the ask is answered, it's all good. In practice, that means that you just need to be following me to be able to send in a crossover request. If you ask nicely and maybe say something about why you'd think why our two children would go well together and we share a fandom, it's very unlikely that I'll deny your request and won't follow you back.

Also, if you've ever wanted to say something about my OCs and/or me and my blog, this might be the perfect time for you to do it.

Okay, that's it for now! Love you, everyone! Here's to more fandom-y shenanigans!

Also, behold my new non-OC post divider! It features a lineart sketch of my blog icon in the middle! The icon was designed by @benevolenterrancy pretty much exactly two years ago when they realized my old icon was not, in fact, a unicorn. I still go full-on heart-eyes mode whenever I see my icon, so I figured it was time to remind everyone of the amazing artist that created it <3

Taglist: @starcrossedjedis @oneirataxia-girl @daughter-of-melpomene @fluffle-system @wheresmybloodynauglamir @supermarine-silvally @nanukanal @cody-helix02 (I believe this is the first time I've ever used my full taglist, aka the basic taglist plus everyone from fandom-specific taglists - wowie!) - Let me know if you'd like to be added or removed, for specific fandoms or the general list!

[thatstonedwriter]

Trip Out w/ Me

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A/N: I love this prompt so much, and I may turn this into a Headcanon Set involving more characters. Post is named after my "getting high" spotify playlist. I also made this from a platonic perspective, but it could be perceived as romantic, if you squint.

Contents; mentions of substances, platonic relationships, swearing, gender neutral reader

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was a pleasant surprise when Loona asked if she could join you for one of your sessions. To make sure you're both comfortable, you go out and make sure you have all the necessary supplies. There's more planning that goes into it than some may think..

For the set up, you've got a small speaker playing some trippy music, or maybe a small T.V or computer to watch something on. There's a light projector with patterns that dance across the walls- or maybe some fairy lights. You can never go wrong with fairy lights. You've got your vape pen, edibles, bong, etc. (whatever you're down to use). Of course, you can't forget your beverages of choice. Gotta stay hydrated, after all. Whatever your preferred set up/environment, you're now prepped for a fucking awesome sesh.

Now, there are many different kinds of high, especially depending on what strain you use. Regardless, Loona appreciates the relaxed atmosphere. Whether your high involves laying in bed and watching movies, hyperfixating on something, or just laying on the floor and listening to music, Loona is down for pretty much anything. With you, she doesn't need to worry about making a good impression or masking.

Munchies can be a bitch, so if Loona isn't smoking or drinking, she'll be happy to be your designated driver. Y'all could go through some fast food place or go to a sit-down restaurant, it doesn't matter. If both of you are inebriated, then it gives you an excuse to order food for delivery. Eliminates the need to go anywhere and you don't have to interact with more people than necessary. Win-win.

It's easier to laugh at shit when you're high. It's great. Especially since Loona's laugh is so loud. It's that kind of laugh where you're on the floor, gripping your sides, tears welling in your eyes. It's the kind of laugh that's contagious, that makes you feel free.

On the flip side, however.. if either of you get a little too high and the anxiety starts to kick in, it's important to have a contingency plan. Noise cancelling headphones, soft blankets, a jacket, water, and lots of hugs/cuddles (if physicality helps).

I strongly believe that Loona's favorite part of any sesh would include the "making a pillow-fort and watching something" segment. Not to get angsty, but she's never had a concrete sense of safety, stability, or comfort (except for some moments with Blitz). That's why she appreciates these sessions so much.

Personally, I think weed makes us more genuine/honest, and I think Loona would be anxious about that at first. What if it brings out the worst in her? This could all go horribly wrong.. But it doesn't, much to her surprise. There may be a point where you both trauma dump or have deep talks, which makes Loona feel seen for the first time... ever, really. To be honest, she'd probably end up sleeping over.

Loona loves having you in her life. Not only can you provide a safe, relaxed environment for her to exist in, you're just one of her favorite people. Don't be surprised if she asks to hang out more often. Whether if its a trip to the dispensary, getting high in one of your rooms, or just existing together, Loona couldn't ask for a better person to be around.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Ending Note; Don't drive while under the influence of any substances. Your tolerance level doesn't matter. Safety is the most important thing when it comes to enjoying yourself in these situations. Know your limits, know your environment, and know the substance. There are more cases of drugs being laced with fentanyl so make sure your sources/dispensaries are reliable. Do your own research, and know what works best for you. Be safe y'all.

[stemms]

As much as I’ve always admired the sheer creativity and kind attitude of the DSMP fandom, it’s nearly impossible to overlook the weird™ behaviour, regarding c!Primers in particular, and although it has been said countless times before me, I’d like to throw in my two cents. 

The uncomfortable and frankly gross phenomenon of Bowspam, coined by Poppytwt, which portrays a romantic and sexual relationship between c!Tommy and c!Dream, is the reason I made this post in the first place. Unfortunately, some content featuring c!Prime is rather predatory, which contradicts the original source and the whole point of their dynamic. For example, if you type “Discduo” in the Spotify search bar, you’ll most likely find multiple “Discduo / Bowspam” playlists instead, which is obviously very gross, and appears as if the latter was still normalised to some extent. As much as this tag is disturbing in general, the more details you learn about it, the more problematic it seems. 

Originally, Tadca was nothing but a collection of warnings, so that those who felt uncomfortable with abusive content, could simply block it, but Poppytwt claimed the tag, and that’s when things got actually weird™. It happened because some artists drew a couple of weird™ comics by pure accident, and it was used as a proof that all c!Prime enjoyers ship them. Andy never intended for Tadca to be twisted into something so heinous, and for this exact reason, he asked everyone to stop using the tag because of harassment, yet strangely enough, he was the one receiving harassment for something completely out of his control. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an exceptional case, as many other c!Prime enjoyers received death threats and harassment from c!Dream apologists, just for authentically depicting an abusive dynamic; pretending that c!Prime was paedophilic, and sending tons of harassment was easier than admitting that their fave wasn’t as good as they wanted to believe. Weirdly enough, Bowspam enjoyers never faced as much harassment as c!Primers, even though their content fully matched that definition. Plus, c!Trinity also received a good share of criticism because some people believed that it was a second wave of Tadca, except c!Punz got involved in it too. 

Furthermore, it’s important to note that the c!Prime dynamic offers real-life abuse victims a voice, and it’s utterly disrespectful to sexualise it, as it may discourage them from speaking out about their situation because of a fear of being misunderstood, due to constant victim blaming in the fandom, and a misconception that any kind of abuse outside of family, is sexual. Fiction does have an important impact on real life, and unfortunately, some people forget about that completely. We should also remember that while creating c!Prime content might help some people cope with trauma and is often inspired by their own experiences, some people still choose to be weird about it, which I find extremely disrespectful.

[unwilling-souls-if]

i've been having an itch to write an if game, do you have any tips? i feel like its a very bad idea to jump straight in head first yk?

Ooh 👀 Well, I don't think I'm the most qualified but I can share my experience! I discovered choicescript a few years ago and that's the only coding format I know (Twine makes me cry), but I've only started writing with it like ~2 years ago, and I did jump straight in.

It was, in fact, a bad idea lol 😭 This will be quite rambly so I'll put in under a cut!

I'd say first thing to do is not start out with the project you have in mind if you're not familiar with the format, because it might burn you out or you won't necessarilly find it easy to put it together. Play around with things, write even only a few random scenes, just to taste the waters. I lost interest in my first WIP because i sucked at writing and coding it and it made me lose motivation!

Also, if you're using choicescript, there's the COG forum to help with some specifics code lines! I personnally don't like the forum but you don't need an account to read it and there's a search option. That's a nice resort if you struggle. Reading the wiki and their introduction first is what I did so I had a (very fragile and wonky) base, and then I added to it depending on what I needed.

Also I started writing by following the kinda old instructions of choicescript, aka in a note logiciel on my computer, where lines went on forever 😭It was a pain, so I use CS-IDE now, it makes coding and testing much easier. Basically play around and find what works the best for you. If something doesn't work even after you use it for a bit, it may be worth to find another app/editor/organisation. Personally I write scenes in another app, when's there's a choice to make I outline the possible options and then I copy and paste it in CS-IDE to code.

If you want to use Twine, there are a lot of very talented authors that put up lists of ressources and help! I think you can find them easily on Tumblr. And the IF community is pretty nice, and most people are okay to give out help if you ask for it. Lots of supports around here.

And also, there's the basic advice for all kind of writers. Don't give into pressure, it's okay if things aren't perfect. If a choice branching gives you trouble, you can always leave a placeholder and come back after. Bugs are really common, and most readers understand it.

Honestly it's easier when you have fun with it. I like putting choices that don't do much but give a little insight about characters. I like writing prompts on Tumblr because I can write characters that don't appear for a while. When I get unmotivated I go on Pinterest or Spotify to make boards or playlists. I have lists of fun facts. I think that's why it's best to have a sort of "test" project, so that the struggle can be contained at least a bit and then you can have fun with the story you like most and whose characters you know best.

It'll flow easier. And if doesn't work out, you can give it a rest, revive it later or start anew with another story.

Well, that was a lot of words for not much! i'm half-dead right now, but maybe I'll reblog it later with some links if someone wants to?

In any case, have a lovely day 🌼

[the-milk-anon]

hi there

i’m milk 🥛

art by @54prowl

disclaimer anyone under the age of 18 who follows me will be blocked to prevent this please put your age (or an indicator like '20s' or 'early 30s') in your bio

all pronouns go - i really don’t care about the pronouns people use for me so feel free to surprise me

this blog is where i unleash my most unhinged self so apologies in advance

you’ll mostly find recommendations for various fics, art and other stuff (incl nsfw content) here since i haven’t posted any original content as of now (and prob never will lol)

here’s my recommendations masterpost (link) 📝

i also created a simp tier list (link) so you get an idea of which characters you’ll find here

to make it a little easier for you to find stuff i post/reblog here’s a list of all the tags i use (link) 🔖

any and all questions are welcome so feel free to spam my inbox whenever you want

also a quick heads-up - i don’t censor swear words (i’m european after all lol) and i enjoy dark humor so please keep that in mind ⚠️

this blog is a safe space for members of the lgbtq+ community, people of color, people with mental illness and other minorities 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️✊🏾

regardless of that please call me out in case i post things that are hurtful/problematic in any way or if i forget to add trigger warnings to my posts

some general info

23 y/o |  ☉ pisces  ☽ aquarius  asc libra | mbti: intj-t | 5w6 | asexual

my favorite anime

my hero academia | jujutsu kaisen | the apothecary diaries | food wars | attack on titan

i’m a gamer at heart so here are some of my favorite games 🎮

genshin impact | skyrim | baldur's gate 3 | satisfactory | the sims | dead by daylight | astroneer

i also love listening to music (very original ik) 🎧

these are the genres i enjoy listening to the most:

phonk | synth-pop | alternative/indie | soundtracks (movies, shows and games)

here’s my spotify (link) if you’re interested

random info

cat person | i love thunderstorms | french fries instantly restore my hp | you’ll never see me without monster | i tested positive for resting bitch face syndrome 

i also wanna mention some of my triggers - i try to avoid content that includes these but i’m always open to questions about them

heavy alcohol usage | smoking of any kind | drug usage (esp weed)

[glassmarcus]

Hi-Fi Rush: Directed by Edgar Wright

*Played in February 2023, Written in January 2024

Hi-Fi Rush is the dream of every rhythmically inclined dork made manifest. It’s the bored kid in the back of the class tapping their pencil to the ticking of a clock. It's the tired adult trying to get through their dull chores by folding laundry in tune to whatever is blasting on their Spotify playlist. It's the gym bro who does his curls on a perfect 4 count. Hi-Fi rush is every single Anime AMV you've ever watched. Hi-Fi Rush is Baby Driver, but a video game, and not starring any sex offenders. Even if you haven't outwardly said it, if you can relate to any of the above, you have been wanting a game like Hi-Fi Rush for a while. This is not to say that it’s the only game where you do your actions to the beat of the music. BPM is a shooter with the same concept. Crypt of the Necrodancer is a Dungeon Crawler with this concept. What sets Hi-Fi rush apart is that it applies it to a genre that’s not already saturated in the market.

Hi-Fi is a character action game where everything is synced to the beat of the background music. Every attack you do, every movement you make happens on beat. The enemies and environments adhere to this same rule. Your button presses don't have to be in rhythm, but it will feel better if you do and you'll be rewarded for playing this way. Hi-Fi Rush is a rhythm game masquerading as an action game, but that just makes it a better action game rather that an abomination trying to fasten two incongruent ideas together.

I've come to realize the true form of the character action genre action after playing Hi-fi Rush: A series over the top dancing games. All your moves have a set time they take. You need to be confident in execution. You need to understand the rhythm of your partner or in this case your enemy. I know it's a cliche at this point, but fighting really is like dancing. Trust me, I started dancing earlier this year and the only reason I’m any good at it is because I studied martial arts for 9 years prior. Every beat has you doing a motion even if it doesn't seem that way. It's like you're using moves and each move takes up a set count and has to be done with the correct set up. You need to understand what your partner is doing in order to get the juiciest combos. It isn't that much different from other character action games. But in Hi-Fi you are rewarded for being on rhythm and it's feasible to do so because everything is.

All enemies in these games have a timing to their attacks that you have to study in order to match to so you can counter effectively. Hi-Fi heavily decreases the study period, and due to that, it's easier to understand the mechanics of the game. The enemies follow the same rhythm as you, so you always know your cue and it's up to you to nail your part. You know when you should parry, when you should dodge, or when you should attack because those things always happen on the beat. It gives you a bit of foresight and lends an air of predictability for what's to come. When Hi-Fi Rush throws 12 enemies at me at once, I don't freak out. I just get through the song. If I stay on rhythm the moves will come to me. The rhythm tethers you to a place of comfort among the chaos. And once you reach the end and see how that platoon of hilarious robots didn't stand a chance against you, you start to feel like a fucking rock star.

Making you feel like a rock start is Hi-Fi Rush’s Greatest Strength. It doesn’t just do that by having your main character swing at goons with his guitar. The cast plays a huge role in that as well. What would a rock star be without a band? Throughout the game you meet endearing characters that not only introduce fun character dynamics, but also add flavor and volume to the gameplay. This supporting cast act as assist that you can summon for brief attacks. By the end of the game you have 3 other band members, each that attack on beat with their own weapons and seamlessly flow in and out of your attacks. Once you get comfortable with using the assist action and switching between party members, you aren’t only the lead musician, you’re the conductor. And your audience just so happens to be a horde of robots trying to kill you. But I’ve learned to appreciate my fans all the same. The enemy variety in the game always keeps you on your toes. They all need to be handled in a different way and that can make it pretty hard to stay on rhythm, but all the more satisfying when you do. The same can be said even more so for the boss fights as they are all multi phase gauntlets that result in a clash of egos as if it was some wild artist collab.

The goal of each fight you do in Hi-Fi Rush is to pull off the hottest jam session you can do with your band. That’s what makes the ranking system make sense in this game. Usually I end up ignoring the ranking systems in these games because they expect way more than what I’m willing to put in and I don’t have it in me to play perfect. Hi-Fi Rush doesn’t expect perfection. This ranking system is unique in that instead of expecting the player to get through the encounter without getting hit, it expects the player to stay on rhythm. You can get hit as much as you can without dying. What matters is staying on beat, which is something I want to do anyway as it feels great. I’m more intrinsically pushed to get better ranks on these missions because it demands I play in the way that is the most fun. I feel the same way about Astral Chain, where variety in what you do is graded rather than how perfect the encounter was. Pulling off varied moves in that game is when it’s the most fun, so having the system be like this makes sense. The ranking in Hi-Fi Rush clicks with me in a similar way. I’m not gonna S rank everything still because these levels are too long, but I’m more likely to do that here than in Devil May Cry.

I want to take this a moment in this last paragraph to mention that everything else within Hi-Fi is stellar as well. The characters are A+ and writing is exactly what it needs to be. The humor always landed for me and the emotional moments in the plot were some of my highlights of 2023 for gaming. Of course the music rules the whole way through and is used better than any game has ever used music because of how it's integrated into the gameplay and story. Everything in this game is polished and it's stuffed full of bonus content. There's an elaborate training room, accessibility options up the wazoo, an additional soundtrack made to be copyright proof that's just as good as the normal soundtrack. The only actual issues I’d say the game has is the level design, in that there is too much of it. It’s good and the set pieces are fun, but it's not enough to justify the amount of platforming you are doing. The horizontal movement in your normal jump is so trash that jumping on things never actually feels good to do. I'd be a way bigger fan of this game if your jump had a decent arc or if those parts were you had to platform were decreased by 50%. Which is insane considering I'm already a huge fan of this game. I’m glad that there is still room for improvement. I want this to be a franchise or at least have it inspire similar games with different music genres. A funk based Hi-Fi rush would own so hard I can't stand it not being a real thing.

[absyntthe]

People you want to get to know tag game

Was tagged by @layalu :3

Last Song: I've been listening to a lot of video game soundtracks. I think the very last thing I listened to was Bismarck's theme from FFXIV. I think it's really neat that the boss themes in FFXIV aren't what you'd expect from boss music. Bismarck had no right to be that groovy btw. I don't know if that's the case across the rest of the Final Fantasy series as I've only played 14 & uhh Kingdom Hearts idk if that counts lol. I also have been listening to a Resident Evil Chill playlist on Spotify.

Favorite Color: You cannot ask an artist this. You just can't. I love all colors idk if that's a cop out LOL. It's probably easier for me to tell you the colors I don't like.

Last Movie/Show: I don't watch a whole lot of stuff. I think the last movie I watched was My Big Fat Greek Wedding with my one IRL. And the last show I watched was The Walking Dead with an internet friend. I kind of view watching shows and movies as a group activity I suppose? It's hard for me to sit down and watch something all the way through on my own, which is wild because I used to binge TV shows on my own when I was a teen. Plugging my Letterbox'd.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: Maybe I'm just an indecisive person because I can't answer this one either. I think right now I prefer savory or spicy more. I eat way too many sweets and I need to cut down on that but they're the only easily-grabbable snack foods we have in the house rn 😩

Relationship Status: In a relationship.

Last Thing I Googled: Urth's Fount boss guide. It's an FFXIV base game boss and I am queueing up for it atm (been waiting for AN HOUR because it's dead content). I need it for my Wondrous Tails quest book tho 😩 As I was writing this post one of the DPS's gave up waiting...I will never forget u queue friend

Current Obsession: FFXIV i dunno if you can tell... 👉👈 I'm still sporadically playing Palia (and running a blog for it) My Dragon Age playthrough with the bf is kind of on hold because we're obsessed with/playing different games atm

Last Book: I've been trying to read more this year because after college I just don't read books anymore :( I'm currently reading Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar. I'm not religious by any means but I've found myself scrolling through Fundiesnark content and researching fundamentalist religions and cults the past few years. (they're scary)

Looking Forward To: I started up my rock-tumbling hobby again, so I'm looking forward to Wednesday when I get to check them! They will more than likely need to go through stage 1 again but it's cool checking on them and recognizing the rocks through each cycle. Also looking forward to TWD: The Ones Who Live in February, and D&D kicking back up with my group on Saturday.

Tag nine people whose answers you are interested in!

I get so nervous about tagging people. If we're mutuals consider yourself tagged.

Totally forgot to add a blank, here it is:

Last Song:

Favorite Color:

Last Movie/Show:

Sweet/Spicy/Savory:

Relationship Status:

Last Thing I Googled:

Current Obsession:

Last Book:

Looking Forward To: