#Ready maker add music

[lonestarterri]

Ready maker add music

#Ready maker add music mac osx#

#Ready maker add music 720p#

#Ready maker add music upgrade#

#Ready maker add music professional#

It works across all your Apple devices, and gives you the power to save videos in 4K or 1080p60. IMovies is highly intuitive and easy to pick up. Nice extras include split-screen effects, 10 high-fidelity filters, green-screen effects and the ability to make Hollywood-style trailers.Īs it’s Apple, you can switch between your devices with impunity, using AirDrop and iCloud Drive, to create your final cut.

#Ready maker add music mac osx#

Particularly because there’s a good chance you don’t even need to download anything: all Mac OSX devices come pre-installed with iMovie, and it’s compatible with more powerful video editing software, such as Premiere ProĪll you have to do is drop in your clips, trim them to size and add in built-in music, effects and animated titles. It’s not the most feature-packed option on our list, but if you’re looking for a way to quickly and easily make edits and create great looking videos, it’s worth a look for sure. What iMovie offers in abundance is simplicity and speed. Their ubiquitous iMovie app does everything a video editor should do. There’s a reason why Apple’s free apps pepper this list they have a knack of creating brilliantly functional and easy-to-use apps that are loaded with original features.

#Ready maker add music upgrade#

Reasons to avoid…Īlthough the basic app is free, you do unfortunately need to upgrade to premium to access all of the tools and the full content library. Premiere Rush offers a good suite of basic features, as well as coming with Adobe integration and support. With the ability to resize to landscape, portrait, square and 4:5 you’ll be able to repurpose your video quickly and easy to the specs you need – and even share directly to Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook with a single click. Premiere Rush has been built with sharing in mind, making it easy to resize your videos for different social networking sites and share instantly. This lets you create impressive effects like picture-in-picture and split views with minimal effort and fuss. One feature that’s particularly cool is the app’s ability to handle multiple video tracks. (The app comes with thousands of royalty-free, original soundtracks, sound effects and loops to help you bring your videos to life.) You can sync your video to the beat of your chosen soundtrack and add all the usual finishing touches, like titles and transitions.

#Ready maker add music professional#

You can capture professional videos directly from the app with the built-in camera, and easily edit footage with drag and drop functionality. Adobe Premiere RushĪs you’d expect from an Adobe product, Premiere Rush has plenty of neat features. In some reviews, users reported that it can be glitchy at times. If we’re being critical, the app offers minimal control and no trimming option. The app also syncs footage to the beat of your soundtrack, and offers AI editing assistance. Take advantage of access to 100+ free songs, with Flashbacks and QuikStories create videos based on your latest footage. Quik is a great choice if you’re looking for a free app that’s packed with features.

#Ready maker add music 720p#

You can create HD 1080p or 720p videos in cinema, square or portrait formatting for social sharing and even save your draft projects for up to seven days.īest of all, it’s totally free to use. And with access to 100+ free songs, you can throw in the perfect soundtrack, soo! Not only can you trim, zoom and rotate photos and video clips, but you can also choose from 26 different themes and a range of fonts, filters and graphics. Quik also lets you add transitions and effects onto a maximum of 200 photos and video clips from your photo library or GoPro Plus. The app is super clever in the way it uses AI – it analyses your videos to detect colours and faces in order to frame your footage perfectly. The first of two video editing apps from GoPro, Quik promises ‘awesome edits made easy.’ And it’s fair to say it delivers.

[m0chisenpai]

Accessorize

˚｡⋆ lestat de lioncourt x black!fem!reader

in which Lestat and his little muse have a preshow ritual

Lestat picked you up in the beginning of his rise to fame. He heard you sing, and needed your voice. Over the screeching fans, he heard you sing to his song, and knew that your voice would be heard for centuries to come. The following day he would send one of his agents to pick you up from your hotel room. “Mr Lioncourt wants to negotiate a contract with you ma’am”

You were quick to deny it, but when they showed you the paperwork and pay you were going to receive, the thought of working for a tempered immortal that could snap you in half like a twig was the least of your worries.

They provide you with accommodations and cover all expenses to move you from your home state to California where he had already begun working on his next single.

You started working in back up vocals something you were already used to, but two recording sessions later and Lestat demanded your voice be on the song with him alone. He waved off the three singers demanding you were to stay. You could feel his eyes like a weight upon you as you read the lyrics in front of you over and over. Rock was the last thing you’d expect to do, could you even do it?

But you have little time to prepare before the sound engineers voice echoes in your ears, “whenever you’re ready!”

The song is something new, not necessarily metal or hard work. But you close your eyes and begin to hum lowly into the mic, whispering the lyrics into the mic until the song turns off. When you sang in the recording studio, his eyes remained on you unblinking.

Finally you break the silence speaking into the microphone for both men to hear. "Was that good for you, Mr. Lioncourt?" you tilted your head. He smirked pressing a ring clad finger to respond.

"Perfection, cherie" he can see the delicous shiver tingle down your spine. The song was a hit, no doubt the man was a musical genius, but he had to credit you as well, Your voice was the missing piece.

This new life was something new, something better. Who were you to deny it? You were making thrice more then you could ever in your life time. Add your new immortality? You were untouchable. You had an immortality lover, maker, companion, whatever he chose to label it by your side. Had Lestat known there was this new side to you with the Dark Gift he would have bestowed it upon you the year he began working with you.

You took to your thirst and instincts like a duck to water. Prowling the nights with your costar. Taking groupies back for meals. Walking red carpet appearances, and doing interviews in the most bold outfits.

You were made for this, made to be with him.

The tabloids and networks were reporting on the chemistry you two had stage. Were you a couple? No you were more than that. You and Lestat completed something in one another.

You sat beside him on the tour bus. It was designated just for you two and tinted windows protected you both. Your fingers scrolled on Instagram, reading the latest highlights and news from your last performance. In the high and rush of pre performance jitters, you bit him.

And the fans noticed it immediately as Lestat popped his jacket open proudly displaying it, and the smeared blood painting your lips making you look like a goddess on stage.

Tonight was an interview, and whoever it was peaked Lestat’s attention enough to get just the two of you on camera.

"It seems your previous work has begun to fade," Lestat sits up a bit on his elbows, his curly waves fall behind him. And he flashes you a fangy smirk. The bites you bestowed him have in fact begun to fade.

“Who are we to deny the people what they want,” you snicked, tossing your phone beside you.

Your crawl to him like the little minx you are are. Kissing your way up his stomach. Your first bite is just where his heart would be beating, and you take a small drink from the wound. You press kiss after kiss landing another biting right in his neck.

That's where you begin to feed, getting drunk off the ancient taste of him. He surrounds and intoxicates you. He’s panting and digging his nails into your hips, he always loved it when you fed from him.

When you are full you pull back, chest heaving and pupils wide like his own. You both would be late, using this time to satiate another hunger.

When you;ve arrived you are walking on cloud nine with your beloved, your manager in front of you both. Lestat holds your hand as you both enter the studio., guiding you like you are royalty.

Two seats are situated side by side but he immmediately pulls you atop his lap. Ignorong the staff member who fumbles to fix the set up.

Your nose crinkles at the chalice beside you. The blood smells foul. Lestat sees the distaste on your face, "my muse won't be drinking that."

A woman approaches him with a make up brush that he immediately moves away from.

“Do I look like I need you?” His sneer deterred the makeup woman immediately who moved to you.

“I touched up on the bus.” Your smile sends her away with blushing cheeks. They move to mic you both up, doing their best not to brush on the vampire. But their eyes do catch the fresh bite on his neck and the one just barely peaking on his chest.

“Can we uh…do you need to get that checked? Or covered?”

“Oh I think you know the answer to that,” you eye your work in pride, and Lestat smirks up at you. Perhaps he ought to give you a matching one.

[odd-im-o]

How to Create an Imaginary

*this guide has been created based on my own experiences and what has worked for me. it is purely a recommendation and should by no means be treated as the final say on imagimancy

*the items within this post have no set order. do whichever points you want, however you want, whenever you want and only IF you want!

*enjoy :D

There's many reasons someone may want to summon an imaginary. Maybe you had one as a child and miss them. Maybe you never quite figured out how to make one in the first place. Maybe the idea of having sentient thoughtforms and willos is a big commitment you're not ready to take yet.

Whatever the reason, I wanted to compile a guide of sorts outlining how to create your own!

What is an Imaginary?

An imaginary is a non- or partially-sentient being drawn from someone's imagination. This could be a fictional character, pet, companion, or anything else! These friends are typically constructed in ones mind and projected out into the real world. It's like a para outside of the paracosm, or an oc specifically designed to interact with you, the creator.

This guide will outline tips to create and maintain your own imaginary.

Choose a Type

Before you can summon an imaginary, you need to know what role your imaginary will play. Are they meant to be a pet, friend, caregiver, lover, or something else entirely? Are they human? Mythical? Something else? Will they be brain-made? Or maybe they're drawn from pre-existing media?

The limits are your own imagination. Choose what fits your own interests and needs.

Draw Inspiration

Your new imaginary may be born from your mind, but it's helpful to draw inspiration from other places. Maybe there's a character you want them to resemble, or a personality you find fitting with your own. Maybe you have an idea for an aesthetic or style your imaginary will take on.

Gather those inspirations and use them moving forward! Maybe make a folder in your phone filled with interesting images, write down what tickles your fancy, or make an collage online. Whatever the method, have fun with this step! It will help flesh out your imaginary.

Visualization

Once you've gathered ideas for your imaginary, it's time to start visualizing. This is, personally, the most difficult part. Your companion, afterall, doesn't actually exist quite yet. It's through your own mind that they will manifest, and that takes a bit of time and effort on your part.

One method of visualization is art. Draw what you want your imaginary to look like, or use picrews or other online-makers to create them. Make them a few times over, see what fits and what feels right, and eventually you should settle on something that's correct.

Another method is picturing. Turn on some music or ASMR you want to associate with your imaginary, close your eyes, and see what appears. Write down anything notable or simply observe. See what comes to mind.

Regardless of your method, at the end you should be able to picture the key traits of your imaginary. Don't worry if these traits change later on. Your imaginary is a being, afterall, and is subject to change. Just settle on what feels right and give your imaginary room to grow as they get settled.

Characterization

As you start to visualize your imaginary, their personality should start to shine through as well.

Observe your imaginary and see what personality traits begin to arise. How do they act? How do they speak? How do they interact with you? Interact with others?

Alternatively, make these choices for yourself! Do you want your imaginary to be friendly? Aggressive? Assertive? Are they an ally to you or a needed opposition?

Also take the time to flesh out your relationship with your imaginary. What role do they play in your life? How do they add to or subtract from your world? How do you two interact?

Once again, these answers may change as your imaginary grows, but begin to take notes of some key factors you notice or want within your imaginary.

Interaction

This is the fun one. While it is completely valid to not interact with your imaginaries, I personally find that interaction is what sets an imaginary apart from OCs or fictional character daydreaming.

That being said, your imaginaries aren't sentient and are somewhat controlled by you. Here's some tips for interacting with your imaginaries and helping to build a relationship between the two of you.

Schedule Interaction Time

I, personally, spend time with my imaginary every morning while I do my daily routine. It provides set-aside time for us to bond and helps to make sure I don't forget he exists.

Choosing a time to interact with your imaginary can really help to build a relationship and make sure they consistently appear. Maybe you talk with your imaginary during lunchbreaks everyday, or Saturday afternoons are always set aside for the two of you. Try not to let this get in the way of other relationships, though. Those are important. It's simply helpful to know that, say, while you do the dishes everyday, a friend will be sitting there to talk with you.

Choose Points in Space

When interacting with your imaginary, try choosing points in the world around you where they appear. Maybe you have a dragon sitting on your shoulder, or a giant crouched outside your window, or a fairy flying just ahead of you. Even if you can't literally see your companion, imagine where they would be while you interact.

Chat with your Imaginary

Talking with your imaginary is a great form of interaction. I personally will talk out loud and give my imaginary time to respond. Another method is to have a mental conversation between the two of you.

At the start, it may feel a little awkward and forced. You may be choosing what your imaginary says and how they respond. But keep with it. Over time the communication should begin to feel more natural.

Forming Habits

Once the hardest parts are done, your only other job is to form habits. Choose moments when you want your imaginary to appear and regularly summon them then. Get used to interacting with them consistently. Observe the way they change and grow as the two of you get to know each other.

Ultimately, if your imaginary doesn't stick around, don't fret! It's totally okay for them to fade. But with a bit of time and effort, you can have an imaginary that sticks with you for a long time :)

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

Season 1 episode 2 [... After the Phantoms of Your Former Self] - part 3/3

- Love how Grace knows it's not just a case of a baby crying, she knows her brother, she knows her brother is different, she knows he baby could very well be in danger. That's sibling and maternal instincts in one.

[Louis] "'I had him in my arms... And I was ready to tear into him. I'm never gon' get control over it.' [Lestat] 'You've been skipping meals lately. Don't think I haven't noticed.'" - notice how Lestat immediately cares for Louis, worries about him, and tries to comfort him, only for Louis, Saint Louis, to reject the gesture of comfort because he thinks in his self-hatred that he doesn't deserve it? And also notice how pretty a crier Jacob is. Ahem. Who said that.

[Lestat] "'If you love your family, as I know you do, spare them all the pain that you are causing them.' [Louis] 'I ain't gon' have a family of my own, am I? No sons, no daughters.' [Lestat] 'I'm your family, Louis.' [Louis] 'You should just throw me in the incinerator and make another one.' [Lestat] 'And what a waste that would be. I have two centuries walked this Earth and can report: you have no twin. No one as angry, as stubborn, as unaccommodating, as maddening...' [Louis] 'Sounds like trash to me.' [Lestat] '... as loving, as dedicated, as thoughtful, as imperfectly perfect as you've become. You're a challenge every sunset, Saint Louis, and I'd have it no other way.'"

HI EXCUSE ME WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO PLAY WITH MY HEART LIKE THAT. No because it's Louis' dream of having a family (Claudiaaaaaaa - also give Lestat like a century or two more and he'll give you exactly that) meeting Louis' depression and self-hatred, meeting Lestat's need to be love, meeting Lestat's absolute, deep love for Louis. They're not speaking the same language still, but they've found a middle ground, and when they do strike the middle ground, it's sparks and magic. Aaaah, it is maddening! They are maddening. I don't even remember what I wanted to say, I'm just sobbing in my cup of tea.

Wait, no I remember. EXCUSE ME. Louis' hopelessly fond smile when Lestat shows the tuxedos and says "I've been neglectful of our romance" (currently sobbing even more) reminded me. Awards for Jacob to go that soft after being that down. Back to the previous exchange. It's about how soft Lestat's voice goes when he tells Louis he'd have him no other way, and it's about how Louis finally lets Lestat comforts him and how he softens, relaxes and calms down gradually as Lestat keeps talking and petting him. *screams* Need I add more? No? Carrying on.

- [Louis] "He had a way about him, those first few years, Lestat. Preternaturally charming, occasionally thoughtful. He was my murdered, my mentor, my lover, and my maker... all of those things at once. He didn't choose me to be his doormat. I knew he enjoyed it when I fought back, but there was present a kind of worship on my part. The earth beneath me always felt liquid."

*screams some more* Was the romantic background music really necessary? We get it. You loved him, you still love him but this time with both eyes open even though you're still in denial, he's the love of your life, we get iiiiiiiiiit. Daniel's fond but amused little smirk gets me. Boy knows vampire's pining. Boy knows vampire's dumb. Boy knows story's not that simple. Changing subject, petition to get the word "preternatural" BANNED please. That's one word I'm not happy to have learned. Even in French we just stick to "surnaturel" (supernatural). Also according to Collins Dictionary, the use of the word "preternatural" was kinda low until the late 70s- early 80s when it exploded. Wonder what happened then to change the trend. What a mystery. Guess we'll never know.

- ghghhghe THE OPERA SCENE. I had forgotten the opera scene. The scheme to get Louis into the room (role-playing as Lestat's valet, hello social commentary). Louis sitting there "simmering in his indignation", and Jacob's masterful acting with the jaw and fists clenching, the steely eyes fixed straight ahead. And then Lestat coming in with the hammer, voice soft and gaze downcasted, timid and apprehensive:

[Lestat] "There is one thing about being a vampire that I most fear above all else... and that is loneliness. You can't imagine the emptiness... a void stretching out for decades at a time. You take this feeling away from me, Louis. We must stay together and take precaution and never part."

I NEED A MINUTE, GEEZ. To comment again on the timeline change from late 18th century to 1910s, it actually adds to Lestat's character. In the books, when Lestat meets Louis, he hasn't been a vampire for more than 15 years, iirc he was brought into the Blood in 1780 and arrived in New Orleans in 1791, after spending some years traveling with Gabrielle, a few months at best sleeping in the sand and then a few days with Marius (dates are vague at best). So he hasn't known true loneliness so far when he turns Louis. Whereas here, he's gone through the entire 19th century alone. He actually knows loneliness, both the human kind that he knew in the book, and the vampire kind. It adds weight to his fear of being alone, and to how he clings to Louis even to the point of doing horrifying things to keep him with him. Is it emotional manipulation? Yeah, def. Mais on n'en est plus à ça prés avec eux (best translation I can come up with is: but we're already way past that with them; the French expression is much more evocative, it kind of means "yeah, but, with them, emotional abuse is the least of our worries, something like that).

The hand caress, be right back, need to set myself on fire.

[Louis] "And music, that was where Lestat separated man from food" - music is the language of the soul. (Rockstar Lestat wheeeeeeeen)

[Louis] "Music pierced his damned soul. And any humans who were involved with the creation of it existed on an elevated plane in his eyes. I was moved to see he too had his human attachments. And this woman sang for us, it seemed, articulating the difficult love we often had trouble expressing ourselves."

No but it's the way Louis' voice is just so full of love here, so soft and fond and reminiscing, as if he doesn't even realise how tenderly he's speaking of Lestat a century later, while 1917's Louis' face is equally as soft and fond and gazing tenderly at Lestat as Lestat's singing to himself. *scream cont'd*

Lestat reacting to the tenor's false notes: absolute ear Lestat. (tho tbh even I can hear how horrendous the tenor sounds, and I know next to nothing about music technicality - but I did went to the opera last week for the first time in several years and the tenor was fantastic)

[Louis] "The hunt was on" - yes please.

[Louis] "This poor soul was someone's son, someone's brother, and he was to be slaughtered for what? A false note?" - aw, Louis' humanity. Baby you're too good.

Hi, excuse me again, Lestat speaking Italian? Sam speaking Italian???? SO FUCKING GOOD. Petition to have Sam speak Italian again in season 3, and even more languages. Wanna hear him speak Greek and Arabic please oh my vampire gods make it happen.

[Louis] "'Why do you do this, Lestat?' [Lestat] 'Well, I like to do it. I enjoy it.' [Louis] 'Well, I don't. You don't have to humiliate him.' [Lestat] 'Well I don't say that you have to enjoy it! Kill them swiftly if you have to, but DO IT! Embrace what you are! You are a killer, Louis!'"

Was tempted to put all of Lestat's line in all caps, because man the shift from gallant speaking Lestat to losing-his-shit-ROARING Lestat was something. Oh, and here's the main current issues as of 1917 between them. And while they're having their little domestic squabble, a man's bleeding on the poor rug that didn't ask for it. The rug, that is. Not the man.

[Louis] "I was in denial. For in bringing death, Lestat was an artist. He had cut the man tenderly so that he could not call for help, but also so that his death was slow, meditative. And I felt a charge, witnessing it."

Listen, Lestat's an artist, period. A diva and a drama queen with several truckloads of issues, but a true artist. And again Louis' voice go soft, contemplative, tender, reminiscing about Lestat. Also, Louis, mate, the denial has been going on for more than a century at this point and not just about the subject of death and killing. Sorry to burst your bubble. Oh, and Daniel looking down, a bit disappointed I feel? as Louis describes Lestat killing, shows that Daniel's in on it too.

- [Louis] "I try to have a human dish once a week" - sorry, what? Big canon change, as far as I understood from the books, vampires can't eat or drink human food, their system isn't designed for it anymore.

Alright, do we think Alice is a construct of Daniel's mind through Armand's mind games, or do we think she's real? Haven't entirely followed the fandom's theories on this own. Do we think that Armand did stalk and traumatise Daniel for a decade after the botched '73 interview but didn't go full Devil's Minion? Or do we think he left him alone after the six days of torture? Guess season 3 will tell us. But the fact that this important little scene, of the dessert and the first proposal, happens in Paris, a city that's important to Armand... Sus, I say. Aw, Danny's a sad boy. Love Louis' face as Daniel finished talking, gives cred to the idea that these are fabricated memories. The face says "man, I'm reading your thoughts as you're speaking, and something here's fishy, something doesn't make sense, but you know what, right now I have enough on my plate with my own bullshit, can't deal with yours". Let's table it for now (that's my own "disregard", lmao). Should add screencaps to these reviews, the final image here, the long dinner table, the grey and brown coloring, the two men sitting on opposite side, that's right out of a painting. Someone who did Art History, analyse that final image.

Ooooh, I think next episode was one of my favorite, with Antoinette, Jonah, and almoooost Claudia.

episode 1 | part 1 | part 2 | episode 3 | episode 4 | episode 5 | episode 6 | episode 7

[sparklyeevee]

If you're nocturnal and live with diurnal people, I strongly recommend taking on as many kitchen chores as your time and capacities reasonably allow. Washing and putting away dishes, wiping down counters, prep the coffee maker/make sure Keurig is filled and doesn't have an old pod in/rinse out and fill the kettle, getting leftovers thrown away or put in the fridge, heck, maybe even making some lunches, if that's something any of your cohabitants would find helpful and be comfortable with. You do want to ask about lunches though, whereas the rest of this you can just quietly... do. Check levels of staple items (flour, sugar, tea and coffee, condiments, pet food, dish soap, trash bags, zip locs) and add them to wherever you keep track of groceries. Take out kitchen trash, recycling, and critically, if you have municipal food waste collection (or an outdoor compost bin), food waste. Check and replace fly paper and bug traps, if you have them.

This is mostly for if you don't have an out of the house job, but even if you do, cohabitants who have Feelings about you "sleeping all day" may have fewer of them if there's tangible evidence of your making yourself useful.

Tasks that would ideally get done every day can maybe actually get done every day, or at least more often.

No one has to be weird about whose "fault" dishes in the sink are if you just deal with them. And your housemate who can't stand there being anything dirty in the sink won't resentfully, noisily wash them while muttering imprecations at 7am when you're trying to sleep and they should be getting ready for work. And everyone else can just get their dishes to the kitchen and not have to feel weird about that either, which may reduce the amount of hiding six gross coffee mugs in their room going on.

Get you standing (if that's a thing you do), off the computer, and doing tasks with your hands for a little bit every day. Good time to listen to audiobooks, podcasts, or music too.

Now if you ask everyone to please check their rooms for forks, teaspoons, cereal bowls, whatever dish type you are somehow always out of, it's very obviously "so I can wash them" and maybe it feels less accusatory.

The kitchen is the first or second place most people go when they wake up, and if it's clean, tidy, and usable, they'll be happier and less stressed and then everyone is less cranky. Serious benefit for domestic tranquility.

You can gradually impose your own notions of how the dishes should be organized in the cupboards.

Stealth cleaning! You're like a brownie!

No one will "while you're at it" you, get up in your business, or try to turn just doing the damn dishes into "Oooh, let's do a big clean and reorganize the house!" if they're asleep.

Hey, you're in the kitchen anyway, may as well eat, hydrate, wash your water bottle, or whichever kitchen-based self care task you struggle with.

Doesn't always work, but claims that you're making "too much noise" by just existing while people are asleep may clear up if you're doing something of obvious benefit to the complainers.

You can deal with your own Gross Bedroom Mugs and Questionable Leftovers unobserved.

[queeniecook]

Tis The Season - Part 3

Vera started school. I was not ready, but she was. She wanted to go and meet kids her age - to make friends.

She brought home a class project, Pak and I helped her with it. I loved every minute of it. Even Apollo was there, granted he was on the tablet. But he was still there.

"I think you'll get an A on this. Dare I say, an A+." I told Vera after we got it all put together.

"I think you're a little biased, Mom." Vera told me.

How did she already know what bias means?

"I gave her a word of the day calendar." Pak explained, like he was reading my thoughts.

I caught Salem sitting in our Kava bowl like Cleo used to do. I cried.

Then I hugged him and he thought I was nuts, I'm sure. But to his credit, he didn't try to escape from me.

Pak noticed I was emotional and tried to cheer me up.

He did a very good job of it, may I add.

One early Saturday morning I caught Apollo sleeping on the couch beside Vera, who was watching old Saturday morning cartoons on boomerang. At least she didn't try to kick him off. Or leave. I took that as progress.

Vera made her first friend at school. A boy named Dominic. He seemed nice. I was glad to see her making friends.

I came home from a public appearance one night and found Vera dancing to Christmas music. Maybe it was the juice from the party, but I decided to dance with her. We had a good time. I was really feeling the Holiday spirit. Or maybe I was just feeling the spirit I drank.

We discovered that Sabrina wasn't pregnant. I was relieved. Vera, not so much.

"We've got to make you look all handsome to go see Sabrina." I heard Vera tell Salem, while brushing him. She was playing matchmaker. Or kitten maker.

"Now Salem, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. You just rest, my handsome little fuzzball." I told him. Yes, I was trying to counteract my daughter's plan.

She wasn't giving up though. Stubbornness seems to be a family trait. "You just go up to her, tell her she's pretty. Compliment her fur. And then do whatever it is that you cats do so I can have kittens."

<-previous / next ->

[freakingoutthesquares]

Beginner's Fuck Words: Chris Roberts, Photographer: Phil Ward Taken from Melody Maker, 19 March 1994 Transcription: Acrylic Afternoons

For some, it was dark and grubby. For others, Blakean and euphoric. The loss of virginity is an event (or not) which most recall as imperfect but momentous, or at least crap but interesting.

Bob Mortimer cites an overwhelming sense of "I am about to do it, I am doing it, I have done it." Jo Brand remembers her head banging against the base of the toilet. "She was very into the Bay City Rollers," sighs Terry Hall (though not of Jo Brand), "which put me off a bit. But not enough." Jarvis Cocker didn't tell anyone about it for five years, fearing the secret might lose its magic.

We know all this because Pulp, right now Britain's most stimulating pop group, have made a half-hour film interviewing various surprisingly candid quasi-names (Justine Frischman, John Peel, Pam Hogg, Alison Steadman, etc) about their sexual awakening. The film premiered at the ICA last week and is a funny and touching - as the phrase goes - catalyst for discussion and irreverent nostalgia.

It also ties in (sort of) with Pulp's new single, "Do You Remember The First Time?", which revisits the bravado of "Lipgloss" and "Razzmatazz" and is in every way irresistible. After years of bruised suburban sonatas, Pulp - suddenly hailed across the media as sex gods and glam messiahs - are ready to be defiled by popular acclaim.

Talk about sex? Pulp have already done that more times than the average women's glossy. Yet when you ask Pulp if they sometimes think everything's been done before, guitarist/violinist Russell says, "The ancient Greeks were saying that as well, weren't they?" and mainman Jarvis says, "That would be a very defeatist attitude. Even if every experience in life has been had by someone before, it's not been had by you. Unless you believe in reincarnation, which I'm not that bothered about myself." 

"We tried to make an accessible film," begins bassist Steve. "The tone of it's light, watchable, funny. We've discouraged the tabloids - there are enough quotes to bury everyone on it, taken out of context, so we've been quite careful there."

"As it stands," adds Jarvis, "anyone could watch it, even people who might find our music distasteful. I'm not obsessed with sex, don't get me wrong. It's just that so often it gets written about in an idealised way or a 'Carry On' nudge-nudge way. Then again, I don't think it would be so great if it was more open, like I imagine Norway to be, where they discuss it over the breakfast table."

"There is a lot to be said for English restraint," muses Russell. "The fact that something is forbidden makes it more exciting.

"Ah, but that's when you get your suspenders on and your orange in your mouth," interrupts Jarvis. There is some confusion.

"No, not you personally Russell; I mean that bloke. They only do that cos you have to lock yourself away in private. If it wasn't 'bad' they wouldn't be drawn to that twisted sexuality."

"There's a frisson to the whole thing," continues Russell. "So when you do break it down it seems to mean something and it's not just something you do as a matter of course. I was on a train once with this German girl and she just got changed in front of me, and, well, it didn't turn me on... I felt really insulted by it, to tell you the truth. I thought: I'm a man..."

"Maybe she was trying to tell you something," suggests Jarvis.

"No, well, she wasn't, that was the thing. It was..." Russell tails off.

Was this in England or in Germany?

"It was in the former Yugoslavia."

What comes across repeatedly in the filmed interviews is the sense of relief everyone felt from adolescent peer pressure to have "done it".

"We found quite a difference between men and women," observes Jarvis, "in that men would be more inclined to brag off about it, the thing that 'I've pulled'. Whereas a girl wouldn't run around school going 'I've had a shag'. I'm not saying that's right. I think it probably isn't, but..."

I'm certain it isn't. Women talk in much earthier terms.

"I don't know," considers keyboardist Candida. "I think women want the romantic thing more than men do. But that doesn't mean they get it. I mean, yes, women talking about men can be really... joky."

"Men talk about women on a superficial level," says Steve. "They don't say: but does she love you?"

"There's all this laddishness, which is nonsense," says Russell. "And lads know it's nonsense but it's fun, like talking about cars and football."

Candida tells a story.

"My cousin was showing me round her house last night, and there's a boy living there, and on his wall he had five pictures of cars. I've never seen that before. No pictures of women or anything. Just cars."

"I always know when my girlfriend and her friend are talking about men in the kitchen," says Russell. "You hear the noise of geese cackling."

"A lot of men do think differently to before," reflects Candida. "That comedienne Jo Brand, she's all right, but she can be just too nasty to men sometimes, I think. It's just as bad as some awful big fat boozy men going on about women. Which you don't get any more on telly. But you do get a lot of women on telly being horrible about men."

"It just sets up a 'versus' situation again, doesn't it?" says Jarvis. "You're either on one side or the other. Still. It wouldn't do for us all to be the same, would it?"

"Good God no!" we all chime.

Pulp recently finished recording what they regard as their "first album proper" with producer to the stars Ed Buller.

"For the entirety of the Eighties we had to have a whip-round to spend 15 hours in the back of a cold transit van to play to 12 people", chuckles Russell. "Don't let anyone romanticise it, it's a load of rubbish, best off out of it."

"You'd get up in the morning," remembers drummer Nick, "feeling like you'd been shat out of a horse. Or something."

Jarvis surprises me by claiming The Velvet Underground are a bigger influence on him than Barry White, and he never records while naked.

"It's usually me, but not me as I would go down to the shops. But still me."

Pulp are enjoying their long overdue lift-off.

"It's a bit sad if you get too blasé about things; cynicism cuts down your opportunities. It's the same with sex, of course. I mean you have to have a certain degree of excitement just to... get it on."

Bang a gong. Let's.

[sonicasura]

Ok I put some more thought into Raz's pokemon team, with a little more thought on the circus theme

Chimchar: The first pokemon he finds and befriends, his starter, represents Acrobats. Is nicknamed Char, he's a little bit of a fist thrower at times as he's ready to fight for his friend.

Spheal/Abra: The second and third pokemon that Raz he met and befriended, Abra represents magicians and Spheal is ball and seal that some circuses have. Nicknamed Spoons and Rolly. Spoons tends to be rather aloof at time and spends most of his time napping, Rolly is an excitable pokemon no matter what could happen.

Impidimp: The fourth Pokémon that Raz befriended, will eventually become the Strongman of the group. He's Nicknamed Gremlin, he's so mischievous that it tends to backfire on him generally because Char usually reins him in with a smack to the head.

Phanpy: Fifth pokemon that Raz befriends, he's the elephant that circuses used to have. Nicknamed Tank. The one Pokémon that keep on protecting his friends even if he's on his last legs and past that.

Noibat: Sixth and final pokemon that Raz befriends and adds to the team, he's the music maker of group. His nicknamed is Beats. Despite the noise that he makes Beats is actually quite shy often trying to hide from humans he doesn't know or trust.

That's a pretty solid team in all honesty. I can just see the circus motif being pointed out especially when Impidimp evolves into Grimmsnarl down the line. Also Raz would accidentally evolve Spoons into Alakazam as he finds something that acts similar to the Link Cord item.

[abusivelittlebunny]

Can't stop thinking of this fic idea I had for Logan x Donald that's making me so soft it hurts....

Falling in and out of Love

Basically Logan and Donald settle down in a little house on the edge of a small town in Canada, to raise Laura. Logan is sure it's only temporary at first, he only started fucking Donald a couple of months ago "out of accident" as he claims ("Accident? Did you fall and land dick first in his ass?" Is what Logan's few friends ask him); they're not in a relationship. They're not. Donald just took it upon himself to help them find a place and move in too and share a bed with Logan; and Logan would love to kick him out or kill him (or so he claims) but the bad thing is, Donald is much better at the whole playing house than he is. Donald gets Laura into the local school with extra classes to catch up with her peers and get a good education, and he gets Logan a surprisingly well enough paying job as a driver in this new town ("Did you suck or threaten the guy who'd be my boss?" Logan sneers and Donald just coos "Shut the fuck up, you ungrateful dick." And adds a little kiss on his cheek). Besides that Donald is better at upkeeping the house and he's... a fantastic cook. Logan hates to admit it but it's true.

It's not some gourmet culinary shit but food that warms your soul and is always seasoned right; hell, even coffee tastes better when Donald makes it even though it's just the same instant powder and hot water. Laura, who's been their grumpy edgy princess this whole time warms up to Donald surprisingly fast from all those delicious home-made casseroles, muffins, fried chicken, pancakes and waffles he makes that are just mind-numbingly good. He got the waffle-maker from the house of a guy he was hired to beat some money out of (because of course HE couldn't be fucked to get a normal job, no, he's now working for some agency to be a little reinforcer and hit-man for hire with his other mercenary dogs following loyally behind him). He was so happy when he brought it home too, beaming like the sun and squealing like some little girl about how happy he was that now he could make Laura some killer waffles. Logan first rolled his eyes but those waffles WERE fucking spectacular.

The situation quickly changed from a temporary arrangement to a weirdly comfortable and domestic one: Logan woke up every day to Donald nuzzling against his jaw, peppering him with sleepy kisses and rubbing at his morning wood. If Logan was too sleepy still to roll over and fit himself between Donald's thighs to lazily rut into him eased by the plentiful mess he left in his hole the night before, Donald would just get under the covers and blow him expertly, swallowing his load down and kissing up his torso afterwards, planting a cheeky kiss to Logan's lips that always made him grimace before getting out of bed and pulling on some sweatpants to go down and make breakfast while Logan went off to shower and get ready for work. He'd always come downstairs to see Donald in his cute little apron swaying his hips to some old country music that made Logan roll his eyes but the moment he'd sit down at the table Donald would pour him his coffee and give him a warm plate of buttered toast, scrambled eggs and bacon. Sometimes he switched the menu up, but the breakfast was always filling but not weighing him down. Laura would come downstairs, eager to receive her portion and Donald's sweet treat of the day, be it waffles, pancakes, cookies or muffins, that even Logan couldn't deny himself a couple of.

Donald was just... like a perfect old-school housewife from the movies, keeping his and Laura's spirits up in the early morning and packing them both lunches to take in to school or work, with plenty of fruit and veggies to keep them healthy. Donald had work start later in the day so he sent them on their way with a kiss to Laura's forehead and another kiss on Logan's lips right outside the door so the nosy neighbors could get an eyeful as Donald purred "have a nice day, honey♡". Not what they expected of the tatted up mercenary with the robot arm for certain, but Logan did have people in the grocery store tell him what a lovely family he has while he was struggling to find everything Donald wrote up on his shopping list. After work he'd come home to Donald cooking dinner with Laura studying and doing her homework at the dining table so Donald could ask her about her schoolwork and even help out, and Logan would just sit near on the sofa, watching with utter peace before they sat down to have dinner together. He never really thought he'd have this, this domestic bliss, watching his ...daughter and his.... well. Partner? It seemed they involuntarily slipped into something like that. But watching them talk and laugh and share a really fucking good meal and afterwards curl up on the couch and watch a movie or anything really that was on the TV before Laura headed off to bed with a yawned good night to them both.

And then it was just him and Donald snuggled up, quiet for a while, before Donald kissed his neck and whispered "I missed you today," and then he'd kiss back instead of admitting that he missed him too and before long they were fucking hot and heavy on the couch (sometimes slipping down onto the floor) with Donald's arms and legs wrapped around him tight enough to bruise but Logan gripped him with just as much need. Donald would give out those sweet little noises of his and gasp for more more always more, but try to keep it quiet in case Laura was still awake. It felt good, crashing down between Donald's thighs after a long day and rut out the daily pent up frustrations, but what he really liked was after that, after he let Donald go to take a shower while he washed the dishes, after that, when he was warm and relaxed and done with every chore of the day and he went up to their room, and changed for bed, and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth while watching his pretty boy clean his pretty body before helping him towel off between kisses and then. Then. When they had nothing else on their mind but feeling each other and they could take their time as they stumbled into bed to fuck to their heart's delight. When he didn't feel rushed by his own needs so he could eat Donald out until he was a shaking whimpering mess, or when he could let his boy take control and tie him to the bed and ride him to heaven and back or when they just took their time touching and kissing and... Logan didn't want to use the phrase "making love" but that was exactly what it was. And Donald wasn't the type to be up for any of that sappy shit before, but things were different now, and even if they ended up fucking hard and brutal and nasty four times in a row, they always made time for a final soft and loving round where they ended up falling asleep tangled in each other with Logan's cock still lodged in Donald's warmth.

But then one day, maybe six or eight months after they moved in, Logan came home to Donald not being home. He didn’t think much of it, Donald sometimes arrived home late, blaming work, sometimes even arriving in the early morning if a job proved to be needing it. Logan just heated up the leftover pasta bake they had and fed Laura and himself before plopping down to watch TV. Laura watched it too for a while but headed off to bed earlier. It wasn't the same without Donald constantly commenting to what was on the screen. He initially thought he'd wait for Donald to come home but after midnight he thought he might as well do all that waiting in bed.

But Donald didn't show up, not even in the morning. It didn't taste as good when he made his own buttered toast and coffee, and he could see Laura looking around for Donald before resigning to Logan's scrambled eggs, which were nowhere near as good as Donald's. They were just eggs, and she could make do for a day, no? He gave her some money to buy lunch, but ready made sandwiches seemed like crap after Donald's carefully created homemade packed lunches of joy. Nevermind. They still had the leftover casserole for dinner at least, and Logan wrapped up the last piece for when Donald comes home. But he didn't come home again that night and Logan packed that piece up for Laura to take in for lunch the next morning.

Laura didn't say anything just munched on her overcooked egg on toast. Logan thought about where Donald could be all day through, the bastard left no messages, and he even attempted to call him at his lunch break, but there was no answer. He knew there was no reason to be frustrated about the situation but when he got home late that night and he was met with Laura asking what's for dinner all he could do is sigh and curse Pierce while dialing up the local pizza joint. He thought of Donald coming home late that night, and how he'd be grumpy fuck with that blond bastard for just taking off without a single message and how Donald would have to be sucking his dick nonstop for a week if he wanted Logan's forgiveness and how good it will feel to have him grovel and whine for cuddles at night which Logan will only give if he's in a generous mood. He went to bed warmed by these spiteful thoughts.

But he felt like a failed parent when all he could offer up for next morning's breakfast was leftover pizza; but at least Laura didn't complain openly, she must have seen the toll Donald being gone took on him. He attempted to cook that night. Strong emphasis on attempt because Donald really made baking a casserole look easy when it was really not and they had to end up scavenging through the half-over-, half-undercooked pasta bake Logan could come up with. Laura ended up sneaking a bag of tortilla chips to her room that they'd only ever open for movie nights and retired early saying she has a lot of studying to do. They all knew Laura liked to study right there where they were, but without Donald, Logan wasn't that great a company. He blamed having a rough day at work on smashing that awful casserole against the wall that he had to clean up for two solid hours, but Laura didn't say anything when she saw the stain on the wallpaper or the bits in the trash the next morning.

The fourth morning with no Donald. Logan drank himself to the floor after the casserole incident the night before so with his pounding headache all he could manage was coffee and butter sort of smeared on toast. Laura saw how he looked like a sack of wet shit ran over by a truck and attempted to cook an egg which resulted in an abstract sunny side up that made her finally ask "When is he coming back?" To which Logan could only groan, "I don't know, kid. I really don't know." The night before, when he was fucking raging at his own incompetence he thought if Donald walked through the door now, he'd punch his lights out for being gone without a single call or message. Beat him to a pulp and then fuck him so hard he'd beg for him to stop with tears. But after that day, where he left six messages on Donald's phone and bought ready-made meals and cans of soup to make dinner out of and watch Laura eat with no joy whatsoever and a very pitying look thrown at his direction, he went to bed thinking he'd do anything to wake up to Donald in bed with him. He wouldn't be mad. He'd just ask him not to do it again.

But he didn't. Fifth morning without Donald left him feeling heavy like a stone as he made sunny side up eggs and buttered toast for breakfast. Laura wrinkled her nose when she bit into hers and the yolk spilled out. "He always makes it just right so it doesn't get all runny." She muttered to which Logan replied after taking a sip of his coffee that seemed too fucking bitter that morning with, "Well, he's not here, is he?" Laura didn't say anything else. When it was just the two of them, it was very quiet. Donald previously joked that it was because they were so fucking similar, that if they had nothing to say they just didn't fucking say a thing. When Donald was around though, they could talk like a normal fucking family. Family? What family? They were not a family. Laura was just fucking grown out of his DNA and Pierce was a fucking enemy of his before they stumbled into a fuckbuddy relationship and since Logan killed Donald's previous boss, he wouldn't be getting paid for capturing him so he just stuck around for some dick. Logan was only filling his head with those stupid old movies Donald loved to watch where the mommy and daddy were living in domestic bliss taking care of their child and he projected that fairy tale nuclear family idea onto their fucked up situation. His dinner was beer and macaroni salad from the gas station he brought home after he volunteered for an extra late shift just so he wouldn't have to face Laura that night, but checking the trash at least he knew she ate one of the pre-packaged sandwiches he got her for dinner.

Sixth morning Logan woke up to Laura crunching down on cereal at the breakfast table. He not only overslept, but he never made it to his bedroom (his bed felt too cold without Donald and he thought he was going slightly crazy being there but not feeling Donald's body in his arms). He only had time to pour some coffee into his thermos and Laura handed him a mugful of cereal to eat while he drove her to school. "Where did you get this?" Logan asked while driving, the cereal in the mug surprisingly not a bad idea, and Laura just shrugged.

"You always give me too much money for lunch. I had extra to buy some cereal and snacks on my way back from school."

Logan sighed, "That's for you to save up and buy yourself something nice." Laura frowned at that.

"But that's what I did."

"No, I don’t mean food. I buy you food. That's for me to do."

"Why?"

Because I'm your father and I need to take care of you even if I'm bad at it, is what Logan wanted to say but the words stuck in his throat. "Just because. I'll buy you cereal and whatever you like just... write me a list, okay?"

Laura sighed, and it would have been so much like Logan if not for the dramatic eyeroll, which was so much like Pierce it made Logan's heart clench.

On his lunch break he didn't have the patience for his coworkers; usually they tried to make friends, banter, joke about with him, they've been teasing him too lately for being a sour cunt because his "he-missus" was gone on a work trip, but he couldn't be bothered to deal with them right now, even if they didn't mean any harm, so he went into town to grab a bite at a good enough diner, the one he went to with Pierce and Laura the first night they arrived in the town, tired and hungry. Then the food felt like fucking heaven, but then again, he got spoiled on Donald's cooking since.

When he went in to order himself a burger he didn't expect to see Laura sitting in a booth doing her school work with Pierce's sunglasses perched on her head with a half eaten burger and milkshake by her side. Logan walked over to her, and when she finally noticed him, she looked like she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Logan just sat opposite of her in the booth and corrected himself to the waitress saying he'll dine in instead of take away, "And, I'll be paying for my daughter's meal as well, okay?" And the lady just nodded, but when he turned back to Laura, the sunglasses on her head were pulled down to cover her eyes.

"I told you I'll pay for your food." Logan sighed but Laura just looked away, out the window, taking sips of her milkshake. She usually preferred the chocolate one but now she was drinking strawberry, Donald's favorite.

"You are. You gave me money for it this morning. The school cafeteria just sucks."

"Don't you still have classes?"

"Not for another hour. I still can't take some classes together with the others because I'm too behind. But Miss Bundy said I'm catching up quick in the afternoons."

"That's good to hear." It was really Donald's merit for helping Laura study normally every day after school; Logan wasn't good at that stuff. "I'm sorry I can't help you like he does."

Laura shrugged, knowing instantly who Logan was referring to. "It's not like he's a hyper genius or something. Sometimes I tell him stuff he didn't know or at least pretends he didn't to make me feel smarter. But it's still nice. Even when he curses out my math homework and he asks me to explain it because he's too dumb for it." She hid her smile in her palm, resting her chin on it and gazing out the window to avoid Logan's gaze. "It's fun with him."

Logan swallowed thickly. "I know, babygirl."

"I miss him." Laura sounded very small then.

"I know." Me too.

"Do you think he'll come back soon?" Laura bit at the nail of her thumb. If Donald was here, he'd tut at her playfully and tell her she shouldn't ruin her nails like that. She did it before, in the beginning, but stopped the habit after Donald painted her nails fun colors she liked. He really had a knick for this parenting thing unlike Logan.

"That, I don't know." Logan looked outside too, all of a sudden unable to look at the orange lenses of the sunglasses. Pierce had a couple of the same pair stashes all over because he hated losing them, so no wonder Laura decided to nick one.

"Do you think he'll come back at all?" Laura muttered, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Maybe he got tired of us."

"I don't think so." Logan tried to reassure her, but hearing her so sad also broke his heart.

"Then maybe he's dead."

Logan didn't say anything. Maybe he was. He could very well be. Logan killed mercenaries like Donald without a thought in packs before. The fact that he didn't end up killing Donald when they first met in itself was a miracle but Donald and his kind knew the work they were getting themselves into paid so well because they could die any day easily. Maybe someone like Logan, or some rival gang took it upon themselves to off Donald who was in their way, an everyday occurrence on the job for them and Donald's current employer couldn't be fucked to send a message to his pet soldiers' families that hey, you just lost the love of your life and the closest thing your child has to a parent besides you, you, who is an utter shit at parenting on your own. Donald could be lying in bits in a warehouse, his blood already dry on the concrete and if his boss is gracious enough he'll have his and his coworkers' bodies scraped up and thrown in the river, if not blow the whole place up to give them an unmarked mass grave.

Meanwhile Logan is left here in fucking agony watching their daughter try to hide her tears behind Pierce's sunglasses and seem strong when the family she thought she could have after a nightmare of a childhood got ripped away from her and stomped upon.

"He could be." Logan finally said, clearing his throat to not seem too choked up about it, and Laura turned to him, looking fucking furious.

"How could you say that?!"

Logan didn't expect the outrage at all, "What? You said it first, I just said he could be-,"

"No! You should say he's not and that he'll come home!"

"That's only in those fucking cheesy movies-," Logan tried to wave her off but that just angered her more.

"No it isn't! If you love someone you should have hope! You should have hope he's alive and that he comes back! You should be telling me it's okay and everything will be okay!" She lost her battle with trying to hold her tears back as she slammed her hands on the table but Logan himself was too fucking heartbroken as well not to yell back.

"But I can't fucking tell you that because I don't think that! I could fucking lie if that's what you want but the reality is he could be gutted in some ditch never to be heard of again by now! And no amount of love will make me think everything will be fine because that's not how the world works!"

Laura stood up and screamed profanities at him in Spanish that Logan had only a vague idea of what they could mean before she took her notebook and bag and stormed out of the diner. Logan tried to shout after her, but she was gone. Better that way. Logan truly didn't know how he could've remedy the situation. He slumped down back into his booth just as his plate of food arrived, which he asked the waitress to wrap up together with the rest of Laura's food for take away. He didn't have the stomach to eat lunch and ended up eating it instead for dinner, leaving Laura's portion at her door that night, because she refused to come out and talk to him.

Logan didn't drink that night, just took Donald's hoodie out of the closet, the one he slept in when he wasn't naked, and he burrowed his face in it, inhaling the familiar scent as he laid in the bed that felt too big and empty now. Usually he was grumbling about Pierce hogging up all the space and how they needed a bigger bed but not now. Now he sniffed at the collar of the hoodie and wished for Pierce's body wrapped around his, cuddling close with his warm breath against his lips and his eyes sleepily blinking up at him as he grinned and said something coy. He faintly realized that he hasn't gotten off since the last morning that he saw Donald.

That day Pierce woke him with his warm wet mouth around his cock, sucking slowly, his head bobbing beneath the blanket, taking his time to lick and suck on his balls too and humm as he deepthroated Logan's thick shaft, nuzzling against his crotch. Logan pet his hair sleepily before turning over, to fuck Pierce's skull into the mattress the way he liked, humping his face shallowly because Pierce could take a throat-fucking so well. He spilled down his throat when he should've pulled out and fucked Donald's tight ass until he was unable to fucking walk, not just dump a load into his mouth like a lazy pig that could only enjoy a blowjob but was too tired to ruin his partner's sweet spot. He shouldn't have bothered showering, he should've been bending Donald over the kitchen counter and rutting into that sweet fucking cunt of his, making him cry out and cum over and over again, have him scratch the wooden surface to shreds. Instead of going to work he should've been eating Donald out until he was a sopping wet fucking mess, whining for his cock, and then he should've sucked on his perfect fucking tits until they were fucking bloodshot and unbearably tender. Then he'd have fucked him against the wall so hard, in thar brutal savage pace Donald likes and he'd have played along with Donald's fucking daddy kink and asked him if he likes daddy's cock deep in his little womb breeding him up? Then after sex, when they'd be sharing a cigar while still naked and sticky, he would have asked if Donald wants more kids? If they should get married and adopt another one or two they could raise as their own? If Donald could be a stay at home parent or just find a less dangerous fucking job so Logan wouldn't be worrying about him so fucking much.

That's what he would've done if he knew he wouldn't be seeing Donald again if he doesn't play his cards right.

Because here he was now, ruining his own orgasm that he built up with his coarse hand, which he no longer had a taste for and he just groaned into the hoodie that he wrapped around Donald's pillow so he could hold it through the night: utterly miserable.

Laura said that if you love someone you should have hope. He didn't know how Laura knew that Logan loved Donald even before he himself knew that, but as he dozed off, he found himself chuckling bitterly at that sentence and his last thought was hoping that Donald comes through the door that night and cuddles him to sleep like he used to do.

Seventh morning without Donald he found himself strangely calm. Like he made peace with his situation. Or he just got tired fighting it and resigned himself to losing with dignity. He played one of Donald's old country songs he loved so much and he hummed along it while he made himself coffee and poured Laura cereal, and on a second thought, himself as well. When Laura, who came downstairs determined to not speak to him and remain angry, stared at him in disbelief, he just shrugged.

"Don't tell him I like this sugary shit when he comes back. He'll start putting me on a fucking diet."

"He won't come back." She muttered, but Logan just shook his head and looked at her reassuringly.

"You don't know that. He could be coming back today."

"How do you know that?'

"I don't." Logan lifted his bowl and downed the rest of his cereal how Donald would with his sweet porridges that drove Logan insane before. When he was done he looked back to Laura who didn't miss the source of the habit. "But that doesn't stop me from hoping."

The stars that appeared in Laura's eyes were priceless, truly. She bit her lip and didn't say anything, but when they walked through the door towards the car she took his hand like a child and Logan squeezed it. They weren't good at words, the two of them, but they could still tell each other what they mean without it. In the car, Logan played the rest of Donald's country Playlist, and Laura wore his sunglasses openly through the ride before they arrived to her school.

"Bye, dad. Love you." She said quickly as she closed the door and rushed off before Logan could fully comprehend it, but then he was late for work twenty minutes trying to comprehend it without crying on the side of the road.

At work he engaged in conversation one of his coworkers, which surprised everybody, and asked him about easy to make home-cooked recipes. He made a list and went to the store after, and worked hard but patiently on that cheesy broccoli pasta. He may had to redo it twice, but he didn't give up. It paid off in the end by the look on Laura's face. She had seconds.

"Alright, I'm gonna put the rest away for if he showes up tonight, if not, you can take it for lunch tomorrow, deal?" Logan asked nonchalantly, and Laura nodded with a hopeful smile.

They sat down and watched an old western movie, one of Donald's favorites after dinner, something they haven't done in a week now, and Logan watched with a small smile a Laura's yawns turned bigger and more frequent until she completely dozed off leaning against his side. He gently scooped her up and off the couch after turning the TV off, and took her to her bedroom where he tucked her into bed gently. He kissed her little forehead and whispered a "Goodnight, kiddo," before he turned to leave, but stopped as an insistent hand tugged on his sleeve.

"You'll wake me up if mommy gets home, right?" Laura asked with a sleepy kitten yawn, looking adorably soft. "Promise me."

"I promise. Sleep now, love." He didn't question why Pierce was now mommy in her mind but he didn't think he'd mind.

"Okay, goodnight, daddy." Laura closed her eyes, and Logan swallowed thickly; he didn't know if his heart could take being called dad by his daughter twice the same day when she has never done it before. Nor did she call Pierce mommy or anything like it before.

"Goodnight, Laura." He whispered before planting another little kiss on her forehead, getting up slowly and shutting the door quietly as he left.

He wiped at his wet eyes as he went downstairs to wash up, a smile still stuck on his face, and he thought about how he should learn how to make Laura some pancakes just as the front door opened.

It felt so surreal now, seeing Pierce walk through the door, like it was a dream come to life. Logan was stuck standing there like he just saw a fucking ghost as Pierce tiredly shrugged down his bag and coat; he looked like he's truly been through it; his one whole arm was in a cast in a sling wrapped around his neck, his trousers and shirt weren't ones he's ever worn before and were probably bought recently but they were still caked in dirt and blood. His prosthetic hand was missing two fingers and his hair looked damp with sweat, matted with even more blood. He had bandages around his neck and shoulder with a dark purple bruise fading around his right cheekbone and his split lip bled as he grinned wide at the sight of Logan. He was still so beautiful.

"Honey, I'm home. Did you miss me?"

Instead of answering, Logan found himself crossing the distance to the door in record speed and pressing Donald's sore and broken body against it forcefully, not caring about the soft gasp of pain leaving his lips because he was crashing his own against them immediately. It was always Donald who was desperate before, not to say he wasn't now, but Logan could easily outmatch him at the moment, kissing him like he was trying to devour him alive, wrapping his hands around him until Donald cried out in pain.

"Fuck, I have a couple fractures ribs, go easy on me, big guy."

"You're never leaving ever again." Logan growled against his mouth, keeping Donald's jaw in his hand to make him focus. "I don't give a fuck what your boss says, I don't give a fuck how much money he offers. You're never leaving my sight again-"

"I can't even go to the store? Or the bathroom?" Donald's chuckle was cut short by Logan's glare. "Alright, okay, alright, I'm not gonna leave, I promise. This was just... a major shitshow, okay? I didn't expect to be gone this long at all. I've already packed my boys up and told them we quit. My unit is going where I'm going. This shit we've been through, I'm telling you-,"

"You can tell me later." Logan took Pierce by the hand, dragging him through the living room and up the stairs.

"Right, I need a shower, good call-,"

"No, you need to say hi to our daughter first."

"Our... daughter?" Donald stopped in his tracks just as they reached Laura's door, his eyes so big and shocked by Logan's words. One of them was bloodshot.

"She asked me to wake her up when mommy arrives back home. She made me promise." Logan watched as Pierce's eyes softened and welled up with warm tears, his laugh sounding like diamonds as he sobbed into it. Logan pulled him close by the back of his neck, planting a kiss to his temple before looking him in the eye, "She missed you a lot. I missed you a lot."

"Careful, I'll think you're in love with me or something," Pierce's smile was so fucking bright Logan had to kiss it again. And again.

"Think later, say hi to Laura now, you dumb cunt."

Pierce giggled and kissed back before opening the door. His "Hi, baby," was so soft and sweet, Laura only sighed at it first, turning in her sleep until Donald sat down on the edge of her bed and gently cooed her awake with light pecks to her cheek. "Laura, sweetheart. Mommy's home."

Laura finally blinked her eyes open and when she caught sight of Pierce she threw her arms around him immediately, squeezing him hard, but Donald only laughed, even if in pain.

Maybe if he was a better father, Logan would've told Laura to go back to sleep, it was late after all but instead he let her drag the both of them down by their hands to show Pierce "the delicious dinner daddy made" which made Donald fucking squeal and look at him with fucking heart eyes.

Laura forced Donald to eat the portion they left for him while she talked about their week without him, and Donald had to admit that was some good food. She was like a completely new child, you couldn't stop her from talking your ear off until she broke off in yawns again, sleepiness finding her once more, and she held onto Logan's and Donald's hands again as this time they were the ones guiding her back to bed.

"You're not gonna leave again, right?" Laura yawned once she was tucked into bed once more.

"No, baby, I won't. I promise." He wiggled his robotic hand's remaining digits. "I'd make it a pinky one, but some son of a gun crushed it. But I'll be busy staying at home and getting better and then I'll make a new one and then I'll make it into a pinky promise, okay?"

"Mhm, okay," Laura closed her eyes as Donald kissed her forehead and whispered, "goodnight, mommy. Love you."

"Love you too, babygirl." Donald's voice broke adorably and he sniffed back some tears before they could erupt as he made his way to the door.

Logan couldn't stop smiling at him even as Donald rolled his eyes at his smug expression, and bid Laura goodnight again before closing the door behind themselves.

"Fucking hell." Pierce whispered to himself before chuckling and dropping his forehead on Logan's shoulder. "We're parents."

"Yep." Logan chuckled back, rubbing his hands over Donald's back and kissing his neck.

"Never would've thought... but... it's nice. Real nice."

"It is."

"You like it too?" Donald peered up at him with a tired but hopeful smile. "This arrangement?"

"Yeah, I think I do." Logan smirked as he added, "For a while. Maybe longer, if I do."

"You remembered that one?" Donald laughed with big eyes and snuggled further into Logan's embrace.

"How could I forget that country shit you play daily?" Logan teased, dragging Donald along to their bedroom without breaking their embrace, stepping together like fucking penguins and it made Pierce giggle. "Besides, Laura wanted me to play it a couple times while you were gone."

"Aww, my baby got my good taste," Pierce grinned up at Logan as he shoved him gently down on the bed so he could help him undress. He really let himself become a pillow princess out of exhaustion, barely moving on his own as Logan removed his clothes.

"So it's over?" Logan asked after a minute of comfortable silence as he peeled Donald's undershirt off of him.

"Yeah. Done deal. The bag? Filled it up with a bit of extra cash I borrowed for my troubles. They won't come looking for it, trust me. I made sure," Donald had that smile on that told him he probably killed most if not all of his bosses. He sighed as Logan started taking his trousers off and leaned back to raise his hips. His torso was littered with red and purple bruises. "It wasn't a good one. The company and the job. I lost one too many good men. Besides, it'll be a pain in the ass to repair my arm without use of the other so I need to find a good mechanic. Fucking animal tried to crush it to bits."

"I'll help. Just tell me what to do." Logan hummed as he threw Donald's clothes in the laundry basket. He frowned as he realized something. "No underwear?"

"It's a bit more complicated than repairing a car, Logan." Pierce massaged his nosebridge, wincing at the cut on it.

"Can't be harder than your fucking five star pasta bake. Come on. Just tell me what to do and let me help." Logan walked back to the bed, watching Pierce's beautiful body beneath him and thumbed at the bruises on his thighs. They had a sort of fingerprint quality to them. "Where did your underwear go?"

Donald snorted, "Don't know if you noticed, but most of the clothes I left in are gone. Got fucking ruined. I got the new ones at a gas station. Long story."

Logan quirked an eyebrow and fit his hands on the marks, spreading Donald's thighs and making him wince as he lifted his hips.

"Love the enthusiasm, honey, but I do need a shower first." Pierce bit his lip and caught Logan's hand before it could reach his ass. "Let me clean up, okay?"

"Did someone fuck you?" Logan asked bluntly, and everything was still for a minute.

Donald swallowed heavily before managing a weak chuckle. "My boss wasn't very happy when he heard I have a hubby and kid at home that I want to return to."

Logan's jaw clenched at the implication and he placed Donald's hips back down, leaning over him to kiss his face all over while growing, "I'll fucking tear him to pieces, I'll fucking rip him to shreds-,"

"It's okay, hon, I took care of it, okay? Most of them anyway. Left some for you to have fun with, though, because I'm such a good wife." Pierce cooed, raining his own kisses onto Logan, sighing into their embrace. "I'm just a bit sore now, so we gotta put that fun on hold for a minute, yeah? I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Those fuckers do though. I'll hunt down every last one of them." Logan growled into their kiss, and Donald wrapped his legs around him, purring.

"Such a good hubby you are, you know that? Makes me think you might actually love me, or something," Pierce chuckled, but Logan could hear the hope in his voice.

"Well. I did keep hope that you'd come back and I could tell you all the things I still wanted to do with you." Logan gave a small smile and Donald nudged him with a bratty impatient whine.

"Like what, like what?"

Logan got back up cheekily and headed to the joined bathroom as he called back, "I'll tell you tomorrow, let's get you cleaned up first."

"Tomorrow?! Come on, I almost died several times, Wolvie!"

Logan came back with a warm wet towel and a bar of soap and shrugged, "But you'll be here tomorrow, so it can wait until then. You'll be here, won't you?"

Pierce pouted as Logan begun cleaning him gently, "I won't be able to sleep if you don't tell me now," he said that but he yawned bigger and bigger as Logan rubbed his aching body.

"I wouldn't trust that." Logan hummed as he cleaned finally between Donald's thighs, careful not to hurt him too much as he dipped in and Pierce bit his lip.

"Can you at least give me a hint?"

"It's about our future." Logan took Pierce by the legs and pulled his body closer, so his butt was right at the edge of the bed. Logan kneeled down in front of it and said, "This was also something I wanted to do to you."

Pierce didn't get the chance to ask what because Logan's tongue found its way into Donald's sweet tight hole he loved so much. Pierce was whining and gasping and trying to claw at his hair with his metal hand as Logan ate him out, slow and deep and sloppy, the way he knew Pierce would go insane from and get a beard burn. He made him cum like that, in a fairly short amount of time. He remembered just how Donald liked it, where his sweet spot was, and he licked his cum up from his belly and fed it to Pierce in a filthy kiss.

"Your turn, your turn-," Donald whispered coyly as he licked the remainder off his tongue, "I'll suck it, let me-,"

"You're tired, you need to get some rest," Logan tried to chide him, but Donald nipped at his jaw.

"What I need is my husband's big fucking cock in my mouth," Donald whined, licking at the shell of Logan's ear. "I've been craving to suck you off all fucking week. Craved you in my ass too, but those bastards ripped me up too bad for that now. Give me this at least."

"You want it? You want me to be your husband? Want me to marry you?" Logan moaned and grinded his erection against Donald's hip, still confined in his boxers, chuckling at Donald's eager nodding. "You wanna marry me, baby?"

"Yes, please," Donald gasped into their wet kiss, tugging on his lower lip with his teeth and groaning, "I wanna be your wife so bad, wanna be yours, all yours, daddy."

"Yeah? You are," Logan hastily kicked off his underwear and straddled Donald's chest, feeding him his cock. He kept Donald to a moderate pace by his hair, the slutty little thing not minding his injuries and trying to throat him down all the way. He pet his face with his other hand and Donald looked up at him with those beautiful eyes of his and those pink lips stretched around his cock, and Logan thought he was the luckiest fucking man alive. "My pretty little wife. How gorgeous you are. And all mine."

Pierce moaned his confirmation around his cock as he swallowed him deep and it didn't take long before Logan found himself on the edge of his climax, but pulled out instead of cumming down Donald's throat. He was met with a bratty whine right until he started jerking himself hastily and then Pierce opened his mouth wide, sticking his tongue out, and looking up at Logan with those fucking eyes that made Logan cum so hard. He painted Donald's darling face with it, covering him in thick plentiful ropes, the fruit of being pent up for a week, and even leaving a generous amount disposed on Pierce's pink tongue which he swallowed diligently.

"Fuck, you did miss me," Donald chuckled, licking at his lips before Logan took the towel to clean him up. "What a fat fucking load. Your right hand wasn't a good enough company? Neither the girls in town?"

"Why would I need any of those when I have a wife at home who takes care of me?" Logan leaned back down and kissed Pierce on the mouth, something he never willingly did after a blowjob and it made Donald giggle and wrap him in a tight hug.

"You mean it?" Pierce asked later in the evening, once Logan was already half asleep against his back. "The stuff about marriage?"

"Why did you think I was saying I wanted to talk about out future?" Logan sleepily grumbled and kissed Donald's nape. "Sleep now, we'll talk about it more tomorrow."

"Okay, g'night," Pierce snuggled in closer, and after a couple minutes added with a barely audible whisper. "Love you."

Logan smiled, "Love you too."

[wileyfern]

Blue is Starting a Club!

It’s that time again! I’m getting ready for a new generation and am in need of sims. This gen will follow Blue who needs to complete the Leader of the Pack aspiration and I am looking for sims who want to join the club! I am not sure how many sims I am wanting I will figure this out later!

Guidelines for Sims:

ya or older I don’t care

occults are welcome

for cc: no alpha hair please! but alphaish clothes and skin details are fine

you can use as much cc as you want in everyday cat but every other category please use light cc if you can :)

i have the 5 traits mod so lmk if you want to add 2 more traits to your sim

add some likes and dislikes

feel free to give the sim skills as well

zodiac sign and myers-briggs personality if you want totally up to you! ( i have zodiac mod and ks personality mod so i can add both into the game but not necessary)

please tag me when submitting a sim so I can see them thank you!

Deadline: December 10th

(if you want to submit a sim and need more time lmk this is a rough guess of when I will want sims by but it might be pushed out further)

About Blue under the cut and feel free to ask me any questions you may have!

he/him

bicurious

traits: outgoing, bro, art lover, slob, active

grew up on a farm so he’s a hard worker

he’s a spellcaster with a bonus gift to be closer with nature

loves animals!

blue is his favorite color lol totally wild right

likes electronica and rock music

only child

very smart but doesn’t always apply himself

adventurous & athletic

was on the football team

leo

ENTP

has strong alien bloodline

little bit of a trouble maker as a teen

was part of the womp jocks in high school

loves working out (gotta stay in shape grrrr)

If you want to see more about Blue as a toddler and kid check “*blue” tag

[tzila-opal]

I was gonna be SO ready for rokunamishi week- and then Tears of the Kingdom came out 🤣 So have this thing I cobbled together between customers at work lol, and we'll see how the rest of the week goes

RokuNamiShi Week Day 1 Revival | Memories

-

I have to.

Xion-

No!

Naminé and Roxas stalk anxiously through the battlefield hand-in-hand. It's over now, and heartless leave no bodies, but the evidence remains- burn marks, gouges in the rock. And at the center, a giant armored figure she only recognizes from the others' memories.

"Xion!" Roxas cries out, breaking out into a run. Naminé follows, hand still gripped tightly in his.

"Xion, it's okay now, it's over. You can come back." Roxas's voice is tight with fear. Naminé can imagine why- the last time he saw her in this form he had to kill her. His wide eyes turn on her, "What's going on? Does she know who we are?"

The giant armor hasn't reacted at all, just standing still. Naminé reaches out with her magic.

"The memories are there, she's just… not reading them."

"What do we do?"

Naminé walks forward, tilting her chin up with determination, "We remind her."

"It's us," she starts, "Naminé, and Roxas. Your friends." She takes a deep breath, "Do you remember when we met? It was in a little white room with pictures on the walls, and I told you about who you were. You were so sad, and a little scared, but… brave, too. So brave. You asked me to take care of Roxas when you were gone. You've been friends as long as you've been alive."

Roxas picks up her thread, "You probably don't remember the first time we met. I barely do. But… I remember the first time I saw your face. You were…" he shakes his head, "I took you up to the clocktower to have ice cream with our friend Axel. We did that every day, went up to the tower to have sea salt ice cream."

"You went away, for a while, we all did," Naminé continued delicately- focusing on the painful parts of her life wouldn't help bring her back. "But you came back because Axel was in danger." Naminé herself wasn't there for this, but Kairi was, and Naminé within her. "You shook off the deepest darkness to protect him, because that's how much you care about your friends."

The form in front of her seems to almost flicker, and she swears she sees- Ventus? Or maybe it's Sora- but before she can figure it out it's gone, and the impassive armor figure remains.

"What was that?"

Naminé squeezes his hand reassuringly, "I think she's trying to find herself. Keep going."

Roxas frowns in concentration for a moment, then, "The first time we kissed was on the clock tower. It was just the two of us, and we'd seen Riku and Kairi do it and were curious. It took a while to decide we liked it."

"The first time we kissed," Naminé adds softly, "was on the beach at Destiny Islands. I was drawing a picture of you and you came over and asked me if that was really how I saw you." Honestly Naminé hadn't thought the drawing was especially remarkable, but apparently Xion had, because, "And then you kissed me. I asked you, 'What about Roxas', and you said, 'He loves you too.'"

The figure flickers again, and this time she's sure of it- she's seeing double, another Roxas- but almost as quickly it's gone again.

"We got an apartment together in Twilight Town," Roxas pushes on, a fond note in his voice, "a little place with drawings all over the walls and an ice cream maker and seashells- Seashells!" He starts, and then starts digging in his pockets- and pulls out two sparkling shells. Naminé smiles- of course he just has some laying around in his pockets.

He places one into the armored giant's gauntlet and holds on, pressing it between their palms- and hands the other over for Naminé to do the same on the other side.

"Your name is Xion, and you love seashells."

"Your favorite color is magenta, and even though we live in a town of perpetual twilight, you prefer sunrises."

"You like music, and dancing in the rain."

"You love your home, and your friends."

"And you love us."

Naminé has to close her eyes to hold back the tears as she softly echoes, "And you love us."

"We love you too."

"Please, come back to us."

They wait, and wait, and nothing changes, and Naminé can't bear to open her eyes, and Roxas murmurs so quietly it's almost a whisper, a desperate plea- "Who else will I have ice cream with?"

And then there's a light through her closed eyelids, and the hand in hers is no longer large and metal but soft and warm.

"Xion!" She thinks maybe they cry it out at the same time, but it doesn't matter, because suddenly they're hugging and crying and murmuring words of relief, of love.

Roxas is the first to pull back, and there's a bit of anger in his expression, "Why would you do that? You-"

"We could've lost you."

"I did it because I knew that wouldn't happen," Xion grabs their hands again, a mirror of their earlier position, "Not as long as I have you to bring me home."

[drawingpad-studios]

Final designs are not finished but, after some thought, I thought I might as well get started constructing the game so...

📣"As Thin As Paper" production has been officially started

I decided to use Roblox Studios instead of the originally chosen RPG Maker, because; 1)I don't want to possibly get sued for using a "Roblox IP" on a game outside of Roblox[Most likely over thinking this, but I'm not about to catch a suit by early adulthood] and 2) I already had it and it's free compared to the ~100 dollars for something I don't already have.

Anyways, production of the game will hopefully basically go like this before the Beta or Demo comes out:

Stage 1:(where I am at now, as of posting this) recreating the SPR map, trying to get it as one to one as I can get it. Along with also tweaking a few things about the appearance to the style I think the game was going for, which to my understanding is like Super Paper Mario(which is just multiple dyaramas if it was a game) but made of cardboard instead of paper.(which is technically the same thing but one is thicc-er). So basically I just need to add outlines and make it look, you know, like cardboard or something.

Stage 2:add wear and tear. evidence of the area was in a sort of "Violent" and "Apocalyptic" state for a while now. Along with changing the sky to night and adding atmosphere.

Stage 3:work on the characters(tried doing this as Stage one, with Game Hopper/Protagonist, but the 2d rig I tried flopped and I will need to adjust a few things and maybe switch to 3d or something, idk) and add the behaviors of the characters

Stage 4:do some clean-up and work on a few cutscenes before it becomes Beta or Demo ready. So that there's a little taste for y'all to try while the game gets actually finished up. This will also be where I'll be adding the sounds and "music".

There are a few stages after 4 to get the game done but that's basically the idea of what will be happening from now until the Beta or Demo comes out for y'all's to try. Rough guideline sketches before the finer detail line art, basically, y'ah know.

[spinef0ryou]

In Flames’ latest interview with Metal Hammer magazine, words by Matt Mills. Transcript under the cut.

“‘This is the In Flames we love!’”

"’This song feels like they're waving to their older fans saying, 'We haven't forgotten about you.’’"

"’After a dozen long years I can finally pick up a new In Flames album.’”

These, plus thousands more comments of relief and adulation, await when you look up in Flames' blistering State Of Slow Decay on YouTube. The lead single from the Gothenburg five-piece's impending 14th album, Foregone, was the first wholly melodeath music they'd released in 22 years. It also marked the ceasefire in the war between the band and their oldest fans, who for the same span of time had craved completely different things.

In the early 2000s, In Flames ditched the growls and guitar harmonies of the genre they'd helped define, replacing them with nu metal melodies and electronics. And they've been steadfast in their refusal to cave in to pressure and turn back. However, when Hammer sits down with frontman Anders Fridén and guitarist Björn Gelotte in the lobby of their rather fancy London hotel, something unprecedented happens: the singer admits the band's latest material has been lacking.

"I feel that some of our mixes have been too laidback," Anders reflects, talking with a stern honesty he maintains throughout our conversation. "We didn't realise it back then. When we had this break during the pandemic, me and Björn talked about what we wanted to do. The first thing we both said - and the first thing that Howard [Benson, In Flames' producer] said to us - is that we should bring the guitar and drums back to the forefront. We want to make In Flames more 'metal, whatever that means, production-wise. We had a lot of great songs on the last few albums, but they could have had a bit more punch and attitude."

Purists will doubtlessly roll their eyes at anything less than In Flames totally disowning their post-melodeath era. However, Foregone does much more than simply add "punch and attitude" to the band's production. It gives their songwriting an overdue boot up the arse as well. Composed of both the savagery that defined their earliest years and the arena-ready hooks they've specialised in since, Foregone is In Flames best album in at least two decades. Every member of the band has their abilities tested from the off, as State... plummets from pounding chords to a flurry of high-speed drumming and intricate fretwork. Then Anders' roars cut in, before the single's latter half flaunts his clean singing with a fist-pumping chorus.

And that's just the first song. Meet Your Maker continues apace with its thrash metal opening, pairing open-string chugs with double-kick percussion, while The Great Deceiver ignites flashbacks to classics such as The Jester Race with its harmonic guitar leads. Even when Bleeding Out and Pure Light Of Mind lean nearer to modern In Flames with their electronic undercurrents, Howard's production emphasises the drums to keep the grit under Foregone's fingernails.

"We haven't just looked back and made The Jester Race Part 2, because that would be stupid," Anders explains. "It wouldn't be true to that album and we're not the same people as we were back then. So, we're keeping all of those roots with us but still looking forward to the future."

The question is: why now? In Flames began to fob melodeath off as far back as 2000, when they started emphasising keyboards and grooving percussion on Clayman. Since then, further forays from their signature sound have turned acclaim into backlash, with the reviews mixed at best. Hammer wrote that 2014's Siren Charms was "happy to knock out the same mid-paced riffs and safe verse-chorus structures that could be airlifted from any In Flames album since Reroute To Remain,”, while last album I, The Mask was described as "a cynical attempt to appease the radio-pluggers.”

But then the pandemic happened. By the time the work went into lockdown in March 2020, in Flames had been touring I, The Mask for more than a year - and finally felt stable. Between that album and its predecessor, Battles, the entire rhythm section had shifted. Bryce Paul replaced bassist Peter Iwers at the suggestion of his chum, In Flames drummer Joe Rickard - then Joe left citing back problems and had ex-Chiodos member Tanner Wayne fill his shoes. After that, ex-Megadeth guitarist Chris Broderick joined the band in place of Niclas Engelin just two days before the I, The Mask shows started in America.

Björn - as equally no-nonsense as his bandmate - remembers, "Niclas sent us a text saying that he just couldn't do it, basically from his hospital bed. He either burnt out or hit a wall somewhere." Why was he in the hospital? "You'd have to ask him." (Hammer approached Niclas for a comment but he did not respond.)

He continues, "The day or two leading up to the tour, we got quite a lot of submissions from guitarists that were available. As soon as Chris's name popped up, we were like, he’s one of the best guitar players we know, and we've known him for 20 years.' When we toured with Jag Panzer (in 2002], he was the guy who was playing guitar all day, working out, running up and down the stairs - not a partier and super-focused on music. He had to learn 25 songs in a day, but to him it was a fun challenge."

Although Chris didn't contribute more than a handful of solos to Foregone, he still played a pivotal part during his rookie year. "Watching his playing has changed the way I live," says Björn, before laughing: "I practise way more now; Anders is probably super-annoyed about it. It's never been more fun to be in this band.”

When the pandemic struck, In Flames were in New Zealand. Their shows there were cancelled, forcing them home without playing a second of music. Björn felt the frustration immediately. "For me, being onstage has always been the highlight," he explains. "We had the next year and a half already lined up, then the pandemic came.”

For Anders, it bubbled up more gradually. "For three weeks I was walking around in my pyjamas," he laughs. "I felt really calm. But in Sweden, we didn't have the full lockdown. Then, when things started reopening, we got Omicron. It was like being shown the best dinner you could ever have, then having it taken away before you can eat it." With the duo leading In Flames songwriting charge (as has been the way since founder and co-composer Jesper Strömblad left the band in 2010), that agitation manifests on Foregone. Not only is the music louder, faster and nastier than anything In Flames have released in decades, the lyrics lament how fucked we all are. State of Slow Decay rages over ever-widening political divides driven by social media algorithms. ‘I hear forgive and forget, but I see there's no way,’ Anders sings.

Meanwhile, the words to The Great Deceiver were written at the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Anders asks, as he puts it, "What the fuck are we doing to ourselves?" with lines such as 'Times are changing for the worse! We are doomed, we are cursed!' The chorus - ‘Bend the truth to fit your opinion..' - also swipes at misinformation.

Despite the speculation of many a pundit, Anders and Björn insist their newfound aggression has nothing to do with The Halo Effect showing up and stealing headlines.

The freshly formed quintet are a collective of ex-In Flames members, including Niclas Engelin and Dark Tranquillity singer Mikael Stanne, who have returned to the 90’s Gothenburg melodeath sound. In the process, they beat their old bandmates to the punch by just a year.

"I've never listened to them,” Anders states, uncharacteristically briefly.

Bjorn has. "The one song I have heard, I thought it was Dark Tranquillity,” he says. "It sounded, production-wise, awesome and obviously had Mikael on there."

"It really came as a surprise,” Anders adds, "but it's fine. They can do whatever they want. It doesn't affect our music. People ask us, 'Is there competition?' but this isn't the Eurovision Song Contest."

As apathetic as the singer claims to be, he also says he can't imagine touring with them any time soon: "Never say never, but I don't see it right now. We'd have to be talking first."

Even though they were second out of the gate, In Flames returning to their roots has finally put the band and their OG fans back on the same page. If the deluge of loving comments that's followed each of Foregone's singles didn't telegraph that enough, then their Brixton Academy concert (see p.98) hours after our conversation does. Before the band bust out State..., Anders vows to his onlookers that the band will "never take you for granted again" - something he also said during the band's recent US tour. And, between songs that span from 1994 debut Lunar Strain through to the forthcoming Foregone, he frequently stands still, in awe of such a rabid audience.

Björn is all smiles, the pit rages so hard that it's rumoured someone's broken their shoulder, and the night crescendos with a venue-wide singalong to Take This Life.

"I think, in 10 years' time, Foregone will be an In Flames classic,” Anders concludes at the end of our chat. And, while Björn can't predict what In Flames will do next, he knows this album and this line-up have set the stage for a boundless future.

"The members that we have now, their skillset is not at all limiting" he says. "Now we can do crazy stuff with people that really love to show off. It makes me very much look forward to what's to come."

FOREGONE IS OUT ON FEBRUARY 10 VIA NUCLEAR BLAST. THEY PLAY BLOODSTOCK ON AUGUST 13

[nanase-haru]

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{A.M.V.} Free!! x Uta no Prince-sama / Mamoru Miyano (Inspired): “Canon” (Second opening theme of Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 2000%) {In that series, Miyano voices “Tokiya Ichinose”. This is not sung by “Tokiya” technically, but might give Tokiya’s image.} I used Miyano’s inspiration to make a Free!! A.M.V.! {It is my very first for this fandom, though I watched as it aired!}

Series: Free!! (C) Kyo-Ani “Canon” (C) Broccoli-Games / ELEMENTSGARDEN {Note: This is a FAN-work}

Characters/Pairs Featured: - RinHaru {Rin x Haru} - Rintori / NitoRin / RinAi {Rin x Aiichirou Nitori} - Ai x Rin x Haru as poly-ship or open relationships; (implied by the end) Feel free to view your preference!

My Commentary:

I would like to propose a Concept - Haru, Rin and Ai all have MULTIPLE HANDS. (This A.M.V. showcases the dynamics / story progression of all three; each of Haru and Ai with Rin, briefly, all acknowledging each other) Contains spoilers for: Free!! Seasons 1 & 2; {Rin; Haru; Ai scenes} “The Final Stroke” Part 2 start; but nothing specific from Final Stroke’s ending {Yet?}. (TFS Part 1 shows only in ‘scenic’ scene.) Others appear as support.

(Though I admit I am personally biased towards RinAi fandom-wise, I’ve also enjoyed the canon dynamic between Rin and Haru.) However, this work was partly made / inspired by an old mutual; this mutual really loved Rin+Haru dynamic too, so this is made in support! {They also like everyone as friends, as do I.} I’m not able to make much for this fandom usually (in the past, I did briefly rp {role-play} Ai, but do not actively write fic or anything much outside rp) but for the most part, this A.M.V. was very fun to make! Happy 10~ years anniversary to Free!! Time Spent: - About an hour and 30 min on the 1st verse + chorus. - Almost 4 and a half hours / a whole evening on the rest. - I am not even kidding when I say this thing must have crashed my editor (Windows Movie Maker... it’s an older version, sigh) at least x30+~50 times while attempting to finish Nitori’s scenes timing and the ending. As a result, this is technically a “first draft” (I know ending’s bit rushed, but I tried!) until I can go back and add in more timings and scene cuts! (Someday!...) - My editor tends to crash pretty frequently if I attempt 50+ clips; sometmes even after 20~ clips or so. This one has just about 40 clips, with bonus KyoAni’s own timings helping to smooth out the rest! - Sub-titles cannot be included at this time; I apologize! (However, lyric{s} below the ‘read more’!) It is recommended you view them in full (or in sections) before watching! - If you watch, I’d really love to hear your thoughts; I put a lot of effort in!

Summary:

“I only swim FREE!.” - Haru

... DO YOU?

“I feel so useless.” - Ai

“A sight you’ve never seen before...”

{Lyric[s] Preview!}:

Distant feelings on a {‘SILENT’} hill, … all of my love… (Get ready!)

“Do not tremble in this cruel world…” Through the kiss of a song, better than thousands of words

We can give something up ({I} swear to you) Just to live in this moment (Hold my hand) For your sake and for mine, we’re ready to take off now…together!

“SO, let’s GO!”

Your beloved voice becomes a powerful impulse That makes dreams reality As our heartbeats synchronize… Ah, exceeding even miracles, (Feel your song!) Up among the stars, (Feel my song!) Until that dream Reaches the unseeable FUTURE, I’ll PLAY this song! {“Free”}

I was scared of truth’s LIGHT…

(Lyric{s} via Uta-pri Wikia!)

“Canon” (description via Wiki): {no, not the fandom term.} In music, a canon is a contrapuntal (counterpoint-based) compositional technique that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e.g., quarter rest, one measure, etc.). The initial melody is called the leader (or dux), while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower (or comes). The follower must imitate the leader, either as an exact replication of its rhythms Rand intervals or some transformation thereof. Repeating canons in which all voices are musically identical are called rounds. (For the meaning behind the title / theme!) {In the A.M.V., I semi-relate (if vaguely) this theme to all three characters; plus, more directly, make the comparison to Haru + Free!! AND Relay Medleys.} (There is vague inspiration from the original Uta-pri as well, but not intended directly comparable.)

The final chorus of the A.M.V. is one I had in mind ever since first hearing this song way back around Apr 2k13, when the second part of Uta-pri aired. It may be slightly more modified in a “final” version, but for the most part!...

Lyric[s]:

Distant {“Haruka”} feelings on a silent hill, all of my love… (Get ready!) [Haru <-> Rin] (+Haru; specifically...) “Do not tremble in this cruel world…” Through the kiss of a “song”, better than thousands of words We can give something up (I swear to you) Just to live in this moment (Hold my hand) For your sake and for mine, we’re ready to take off now…together! “So, let’s go!” Your beloved voice becomes a powerful impulse That makes dreams reality As our heartbeats synchronize… Ah, exceeding even miracles, (Feel your song!) Up among the stars, (Feel my song!) Until that dream Reaches the unseeable future, I’ll play this song! I was scared of truth’s light... [Ai -> Rin] Even at this great a DISTANCE, it’s too DAZZLING An unspeakable LONELINESS (No more crying) Thirsting for an impossible cure (Save my heart) [Ai <-> Rin] Since I met you, I’ve sworn to start living! The overlapping melodies of your voice seem to scorch my heart Resonating dreams echoing for eternity Like a sense of déjà vu, I knew today (Feel your love) A bloom of hope (Feel my love) An infinite rainbow Now our feelings are merging as we become one [Ai <-> Rin <-> Haru] The stars are waiting for the sky, they want to become a dream(?) The day will come when they bloom like a flower, and a rainbow awaits us on that day We’re ready to take off now…together! “So, let’s go!” Your beloved voice becomes a powerful impulse That makes dreams reality As our heartbeats synchronize… Ah, exceeding even miracles, (Feel your song!) Up among the stars, (Feel my song!) Until that dream Reaches the unseeable future, I’ll play this song! Feelings tied together on a shining hill…

[spacesave-game]

SpaceSave is now 5!

Please, try to enjoy this anniversary art.

So, yeah - my first game - SpaceSave - was released on this day, half a decade ago. You probably don’t know what I’m talking about, in that case - welcome! I hope you’ll bear with my ramblings and shilling attempts.

What can I say - as mentioned before, this is my first game. It’s ugly as sin, janky(and only partially because of RPG Maker) and edgy. Patches could only do so much. But, it was, ultimately, my debut title, one I’ve spent a little over 2 years developing and so - it’s hard to me not to have fondness for this messy, little game. I’ve learnt a lot during its development and it gave me a ground work for my other games, which share a lot of the same DNA and design elements - counsciously implemented or not...

Still, I’m glad there are people who played and enjoyed the game. It’s nice to see someone else who can vibe with the work, even if it’s far for perfect. And I hope more people will happen to experience it too, especially since for a long time I’ve been planning a new version or even a remaster, with the main goal to greatly update the visuals, add original music and improve some more... notorious elements. I think the game is very playable in its current state, on the latest version 1.4 , but it could certainly benefit from this “ultimate polish”.

I’ve been promising it for years at this point and I know it’s a long time coming, but just this year I’ve managed to finish my second big game - SUNSET RAIN - and I am now in process of translating it to English. It will take at least half a year, or even more time, but after that - I guess it will be a good time for me to finally return to this violent, "semi-surreal” cosmic horror story, starring kids, aliens and bad humour. Hopefully, this will finally bring you a definitive edition of SpaceSave - one, I think, I’m finally ready to make, with my current dev experience.

Anyway, this is getting a little long-winded. I want to thank everyone who’ve played SpaceSave and I hope you enjoyed your time with it! And if you didnt... give it a try, if you want! It’s been five years but it’s never too late!

DOWNLOAD SPACESAVE HERE FOR FREE:

https://sadpinkstar.itch.io/spacesave

CHECK OUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF MY OTHER GAME:

https://sunset-rain-game.tumblr.com/

[sariastrategos]

I sell fireworks for a living and on New Years Eve we were open from 9am - 10pm, as one of the managers I was there the entire time. It was a long day, lots of customers, managing staff, dealing with issues, restock, your retail nightmare but overall the customers were actually really great.

At the end of the night the other manager, our assistant manager and I all tried to count the tills as fast as possible so we could make it home in time but we didn’t get out until just after 11 (tills didn’t add up until we found some bills that had slid behind the tray).

Our AM is also a good friend of ours (I’m lucky to work with two close friends) and offered to drive us home. Cue us ripping down the highway just riding the line of legal to make it to our homes in time and we make it to mine first with literally four minutes to spare.

I hurriedly tell them to get in my house right now, we’re celebrating together and then they can go home. We scramble out of the car and practically run to my house where we encounter my wife just getting to the bottom of the stairs, minutes to go. We run in, wine glasses are grabbed and hastily poured, my mother in law throws hats on us and noise makers are pushed into our hands. We made it, ready, decorated and with sparkling wine in hand (driver had gingerale, don’t worry) and all count down the last fifteen seconds we had left.

We got to zero, my wife grabs and kisses me while music plays and everyone cheers the end of 2022, noise makers going wild. We all clink glasses and have our first sip of 2023.

Despite working a more than thirteen hour day and being bone-deep tired I rang in the new year with my friends and family surrounding me and my wife by my side. I was asleep on the couch by one.

As I sit here remembering it all today I know how incredibly lucky I am to have so many wonderful people in my life to have made such a harried last minute celebration something truly spectacular.

The people on this site too, whether I’ve interacted with you actively or not, please know you’ve all also given me a lot of joy this passed year. It’s been a rough one for me but you’ve all at some point brought me happiness and brightened up my life just by being here and being you, so thank you everyone.

I hope you all have a very happy new year and that 2023 treats you kinder than the last year did.

@mimicryoctopus my wonderful wife who had chicken wings waiting for me, I love you baby!