#and why do they make me so nostalgic for simple internet

[whatthefuckisasweep]

nobody told me the side affects of watching jake and amir is getting that banger milkman song stuck in your head which will inevitably be a problem in public spaces. curse you

[foxes-that-run]

Paper rings

Paper Rings is about love over wealth and luxury. Paper rings are simple and unglamorous, but also can be fragile. Paper being temporary and disposable. The song mixes good and bad to say that Taylor choses an imperfect life with this person. Taylor described it as not having modern influences when it does and being punk, a word that fits this song better than reputation but Taylor used in Time. It's was hinted at on Reputation which makes me wonder if it was a Reputation vault track. It copies the sound of Hilary Duff's 2015 Breathe In Breath Out which Taylor mentioned on Tumblr:

Paper Rings was hinted at in the Me! Lyric Video with a Paper Ring with two polaroids (it mentions photo frames) and has a Spotify Story:

"I wrote "Paper Rings' with this idea of throwback sounds. We didn't want to use any sounds that were very modern on this song. This song talks about true love, and if you really find true love, you probably don't really care what the symbolism of that love is. Material things wouldn't matter to you anymore if you found someone that you just wanted to live your life with. "

In the iHeartRadio Secret Session (Audio in the video above) Taylor said:

[...]"imagining that I was a wedding band at a reception, playing the love songs that the bride and groom wanted to hear in, like, 1978 or something. It's called 'Paper Rings.' The whole song is just basically reminiscing on fun memories. [...] there's some fun, kind of, punk, like inspired by punk girl groups and the way they used to sing, shouting them in a really unapologetic way. [...]

A 1978 Wedding Band is a very specific reference. So thinking of songs from 1978... This wedding blog lists a few like Just What I Needed – The Cars, released in 1978 and one (H tweet) and was also in The Wedding Singer. Blondie is a clear reference for the Lover aesthetic and the song. Blondie released One Way or Another in 1978. (Before the 1D cover). The Ramones Blitzkrieg Bop is an earlier influence for it.

...also did she say Punk? as in the 2023 Time Magazine:

When was it written

Like all of Lover it is copyright 2019 for its release. It was Easter egged in the Call It What You Want Lyric video on 2 November 2016 and in the Reputation magazine hinting pretty strongly that it was at least partly written with Reputation.

It was recorded at Conway, LA, & Metropolis in London. London Boy was also recorded in both. Taylor didn’t record reputation at Metropolis but KOMH and a few lover songs were at Conway.

Live performances

Paper Rings was a surprise song in Minneapolis on 23 June, 2023, the other surprise song was If this was a movie. Taylor also performed it as a mash up with Stay Stay Stay on 21 July, 2024. It was not played the few Lover promo shows.

Rings

The Spotify Visual features a huge ring, pearls and beehive. When talking about the song Taylor talked about not caring about a ring if you truly loved someone, and the lyrics 'I like shiny things, but I would marry you with paper rings'. So why this visual with a huge ring and perfect life? To me this is about giving those things up, which fits the 'unapologetic' punk feel. This idea is also in the LAWYMMD video. Maybe rejecting a proposal with a shiny ring for a more youthful love.

Lyrics

The moon is high Like your friends were the night that we first met Went home and tried to stalk you on the internet Now I've read all of the books beside your bed

In the iHeartRadio intro Taylor said the song was reminiscing on fun memories which these first verses are. These are the sections which match Breathe in Breathe out. which has lines that start with “I remember..” while Hilary was looking back on a lost love Taylor is reminiscing on a current love, it sounds both nostalgic and new.

Some fans do gymnastics to make them about a specific muse but they are very generic but I’ll add that Joe was not with friends at the Met Gala, he was with a costar that knew Taylor better.

The wine is cold Like the shoulder that I gave you in the street Cat and mouse for a month or two or three Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe

This verse continues the reminiscing, I like the use of cold shoulder and street compared to the intimacy of watching someone breathe. Also this line reminds me of the Hilary Duff song title.

Kiss me once 'cause you know I had a long night (Oh) Kiss me twice 'cause it's gonna be alright Three times 'cause I've waited my whole life (One, two, one, two, three, four)

This verse is the most like a wedding band, and one Taylor mentioned when talking about the song that Jack does the count in. Taylor has not used ‘be alright’ very much:

22 - Everything will be alright, if you keep me next to you

Shake it off - Saying, "It's gonna be alright."

Call it what you want - They took the crown, but it's alright

The Archer - But what if I'm alright, right, right, right here?

Death by a Thousand Cuts - I ask the traffic lights if it'll be alright

The 1 - And it's alright now

Fresh Out the Slammer - But it's gonna be alright, I did my time

I look through people's windows - Does it feel alright to not know me?

I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings Uh huh, that's right Darling, you're the one I want, and I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this

The refrain is where Taylor would chose a simple paper ring over a fancy ring or wedding. When talking about the song Taylor described this as the ring not mattering, but to me paper is more temporary, it’s not a wedding but a tentative commitment of sorts. Taylor also describes the relationship as non traditional with “this” an ill defined situationship.

Uh huh, that's right Darling, you're the one I want In paper rings, in picture frames, in dirty dreams Oh, you're the one I want

The one I want implies again there is someone Taylor is choosing this person over, she’s forgoing something shiny for this relationship. Yet the theme of reminiscing implies this is not a new relationship. Darling is not used a lot.

Picture frames are also uncommon in Taylor’s work, only HYGTG, Run and this song have a framed picture to mean a relationship. The Me! Lyric video had 2 Polaroids with the paper ring, very 1989/reputation-esque, one of her holding a cat and one with friends.

How You Get The Girl: With pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks

In the winter, in the icy outdoor pool When you jumped in first, I went in too I'm with you even if it makes me blue Which takes me back To the color that we painted your brother's wall

Taylor will follow this partner anywhere even when it’s not always easy or pleasant. More on the wall and icy pool below.

Honey, without all the exes, fights, and flaws We wouldn't be standing here so tall, so

In this verse their relationship has some history of "exes, fights, and flaws" they’ve overcome. Similar to “one I want” this is not a simple we met and went from friends to this, they have history.

Icy outdoor pool

I have a post on the icy pool. Which is something Harry has been known for (also in Hampstead Heath Pond) long before Joe did handy exposition for this. Taylor said on 2 June 2018 in Chicago ( Harry was in the City) "2 New Years Eve's ago I found myself in the midst of a very like incredible 3am moment where you think you are invincible and you end up like jumping in a pool in the winter and you feel super untouchable in that moment" Taylor Nation cut this part out.

The house Taylor rented in Hampstead in December 2016 has a pool and she included photos in the Rep Magazine. A post on that.

Blue Walls

I have a post on this blue wall line and that it is a metaphor for being emotionally isolated. She also referred to blue painted walls in:

Everything Has Changed - And all my walls stood tall, painted blue

The Lover photoshoot hints that it is metaphorical:

If you think these rep book photos are of Taylor actually painting a wall and not a photoshoot I have some ice to sell you.

I want to drive away with you I want your complications too I want your dreary Mondays Wrap your arms around me, baby boy

In the bridge Taylor tells how she wants good and bad, a similar idea to on New Years Day about wanting someone to clean up bottles after the party, or dreary Monday’s here. Again with complications, this is not a fresh relationship between 2 single people.

Drive is a Haylor theme also and this line reminds me of Style’s “let’s get out of the town” and finally taylor calls the muse “baby boy” .. perhaps she is singing about someone who’s ‘younger than her ex’s but acts like such a man, so.

[moon-fence]

Why do you like weirdcore so much? What's that special little thing that makes you feel that way towards it? /gen /nf

I was always a really big fan of late 90's and 2000's internet! The designs are really simple yet very nostalgic. Because of this reason I really liked webcore and the frutiger aero aesthetic. But weirdcore combines confusion, comfort, or eerie feelings with the old web. When I first saw a weirdcore edit, the concept of it really pleased me. After trying to make my own edits, I found it pretty enjoyable. Now I keep up with weirdcore since 2020 :)

In conclusion, the biggest reason I like it is probably nostalgia.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 03/01/2024

Never Gonna Give Up Mahjong

Season 3 Featured on: 2018.­Unregistered­HyperCam­2.­Full­Album.­XviD.­KfaD.­320­kbps­[CDRip]

Ripped by The Duane

For as much of a perceived SiIvaGunner loremaster as I may appear to be, I've expressed a few times that there are still several areas of the channel's legacy that I know very little about. Last month I talked about my unfamiliarity with the Touhou series despite its prominence and influence on the channel with rips like Imperial Touwer and Beautiful! ~ Curveball of Sean Kingston, and beyond that there's stuff like waterwraith pokos, a requested rip that opened me up to something I had...genuinely no idea about beforehand. Of these surprising new worlds I've been introduced to though, one thing truly shocked me more than any other - Why the Fuck do video games based on Mahjong just consistently have bangers?

Back way long ago during "Voiceless Week", I was requested to cover one of the song's arrangements called voiceless - simple ds series vol. 01 - the mahjong (¥1480). It was far from the first song ripped from its game, and it was a series of rips I was well aware existed, yet never gave any time - what could be so special about some DS Mahjong game music? As it turned out, the game just had an inherently super compelling, distinct, and flat-out BANGING sound to it, that just drew tons of rippers toward making things with its instrumentation. It reminded me of all the rips I'd already heard using the instrumentation of Pokémon's 4th-gen games, like yesterday's Bidoof's Big Band, yet now applied to a game I had next to no familiarity with.

Turns out, there's an entire small sub-community of Mahjong game fans out there, and that Mahjong games having fantastic soundtracks is far more common than I'd been led to believe. Never Gonna Give Up Mahjong is ripping a track from a *different* Nintendo DS Mahjong game, yet its sound is incredibly distinctive from the one I just described whilst still sounding fantastic. The rip's melody swap to Never Gonna Give You Up is a relatively subtle change all things considered, as the track's original percussion and beat is still being used, yet that one added accent just brings out the excellence of those pre-existing elements so much more. It gives the played out Rick Astley internet classic a whole new life, a funky, peppy feel to it, recognizable yet so different in tone.

Compared to many of the other Hypercam-themed rips such as YACKER TOILET, it doesn't feel like the rip is exactly celebrating or relishing in its original track's cheesiness, or to make you nostalgic for an older period of internet life. Its hard to describe, but Never Gonna Give Up Mahjong works so well for me specifically because I'd never gotten anywhere close to hearing its original source material, making this rip simply feel like a stylish, out-there reimagining of Never Gonna Give You Up, one that reminds you of how good the tune is. And even now that I know where that original piece came from, now that I KNOW that "Mahjong Bangers" is a very real thing, I still believe The Duane did a bang-up job making a melody swap this theoretically simple truly feel...sparkly. And just like Beautiful! ~ Curveball of Sean Kingston, its the underappreciated gems like this that so easily slip between the cracks, that I end up really cherishing.

[90s-2000s-barbie]

Hello, Megan! How are you doing? I was wondering if you have any tips for someone wanting to start a 90s/2000s collection like yours.

Where do you shop? How long did it take to accumulate your collection?

Last question might be weird but do you sleep in the room in the photos? The reason I ask is because I want to make my room look like that but I'm a little worried about what people will think...

Hi! This is a great questions and literally anyone can do it and affordable! So I’ve been collecting my whole life but I started going super into it in 2009. Not only do I collect nostalgia, I collect about anything I would see and like, antiques, records vintage clothes, toys, ex. What started my interest is I just saw something a couple antiques i wanted at goodwill and passed it up and I would never live it down. I will forever remember is and kick myself in the ass for it. I said that’s it, I’m not regretting leaving something so cool behind in fear of being judged.

Even though I started in 2009, I will admit, no one has to break bank to start collecting. The best place to start is goodwill, local thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales. I don’t pay much for anything I own in my collection. One time I thrifted an entire huge box full of vintage McDonald’s toys for $2! It’s very simple to do. Some garage sales, people were so tired of selling, they would tell me to have things for free! Like I’m doing them a favor getting rid of the items. lol u really don’t need to spend much.

I started collecting by going to my local goodwill every week and I’d find a cart FULL of 90’s -2000’s finds and I’d spend like max, $50 for my entire cart and I’d find the coolest stuff, toys, clothes, books, ex.

I leave no stones unturned. Some people hid things at goodwill and wait for the color tag to go on sale so look everywhere! I would go by myself and look for a few hours and pick out everything old, and decide at the end what I LOVE and put back things that I just don’t. I’d find cool 2000’s clothes hidden in the kids clothes! I found a vintage adult sized Powerpuff girls sweater in the kids! People hide stuff everywhere and workers also put things in wrong spots just cause it’s got cartoons on them. lol

So the photos of my room is right before I moved into my own house but YES. I slept in that room for years and everyone that walked in thought it was cool! Now I have childhood friends sending me photos of it and asking why my room is all over the internet! lol 😂 I had 2 beds so I could have my best friends over and have cool sleep overs, all my friends, guys and girls loved it and even my boyfriend loved it when we first started dating. My mom loved it cause it reminded her of when me and my sister were kids. She would come up and hang out with me and we would watch Britney and Backstreet Boys videos. I say, do things FOR YOU. If people aren’t supportive, then that’s there problem. As long as ur responsible and not harming anyone or anything, then there is nothing wrong with u doing what makes u happy! ❤️ If u have anything ur really into, the fashion or toys, ask any questions u want, fill free to ask. Something I always do with everything, is pick something up, look for a year. Sometimes older stuff didn’t always have a year on it. Now they always have years.

Also I don’t make YouTube videos anymore but I do have one thrift haul on my YouTube channel Nostalgic Studioz. Can kinda see what I found going to one goodwill! One store is all it takes. lol

Thanks so much for the ask! I love talking about my hobbies and I hope this helps u too! ❤️❤️

Here is one flea market haul and there is that box I spent 2 dollars on to the right. lol I bought all of this in one place, one day at the local flea market. Ohio’s biggest flea market is like 30 mins away and it’s my FAVORITE place in the world. It’s opened all year around and it’s like a giant garage sale.

[thundergirl007]

feeling nostalgic for TAG

going through and reading those thunderbirds fanfictions i saved because i started getting nostalgic whilst saving them and decided to actually read some of them tonight and yeah i’m kinda teary and nostalgic

so here’s the thing. Thunderbirds was my first internet experience, really. I found Thunderbirds fanfiction on ff.net totally by accident sometime in 2013 and was enamoured and inspired to write my own fanfiction. I was a teenager, my fics were cringy, i deleted 3 of them out of embarrassment years ago. However I have kept a few on my fanfiction profile if people are interested. I was very into Tracy sister stories so. Whoops.

Then around the time of TAG 2015 getting announced I joined tumblr. I remember creating my account AROUND Thunderbirds. I think there was lenleg and danielstss (??) and laylaanne and artisticrainey and politelyscribblingaway (now reallyhardy!) and ladygrimblossom.

Looking in my archive i feel quite embarassed that some of my interactions were quite reactionary. Not in a hostile way as such, but as an example, i wondered why it took Scott 10 seconds to notice a suit missing in one episode and when discussion offered some reasons i was pretty rude in me “calling bullshit”. I was a very emotionally charged 16 year old when i joined and fam i am sorry for some of the tones in which i wrote posts. It was the first time i experienced blogging like this. Sorry that you all had to deal with that 🥺

It makes me really sad to go through my archive to my earliest posts (oh god i was an eager beaver back then but cringe culture is dead i am glad i was so into it) and notice how many of those blogs are deactivated. Like, i know some of them simply changed blog names (i know that lenleg and reallyhardydraws are two people still around) but the others i mentioned had a profound impact on my fandom experience and i’m sad that I can’t find them on here to tell them that.

SO i just wanted to give a very late, nostalgic shoutout to some of my favourite early TAG community peeps here on tumblr all the way back in 2015 (it’s an AGE ago my goodness). I do hope the people that i can’t tag eventually see this post because I really hope you’re all well and happy, and at the very least if you are still on here (i haven’t changed my username lmao XD) i’d love to know who you are now so i can update my memory a little XD.

- @reallyhardy. i know you’re still around, not exactly TAG, but i still love seeing your work. Especially when I compare it to your work back then! It reminds me of such a simple time in my life and I thank you for it. Your art is still one of my favourite chill and cool depictions of the Boys TM ever!

- @lenle-g. same here, I know you’re still here. Loved your art AND your writing (the goose fic. legendary). You were so nice to see on my dashboard and even though i don’t think i considered anyone a real “fandom friend” bc i was young and naive but i think it was so nice to chat headcanons and stuff back in the day!

- @artisticrainey. Tumblr says you’re not here, but I was rereading your Butterflies series tonight and it was the thing that compelled me to make this post because i remember so much of YOU back then. You were such a staple - your writing AND art were incredible, I still recognise your style when I go through my archive. I do hope you see this because you did a few of my prompts (the boys learning to drive!! was definitely one of them!! i was on holiday when you tagged me in it and i REMEMBER)

- Balek (on ff.net - not sure if they’re on here?). You wrote some of the funniest banter between the bros on ff.net that i’ve ever read and i love rereading them. They always do make me smile :D

- @ladygrimblossom. A peep that i remember being involved in all the discussions. My archive is full of reblog chains featuring BOTH of us. I remember one of my most validating (feeling) moments was when i wondered why Scott, described as a “level headed” brother, stopped what he was doing in a high rise rescue to call Alan during Space Race. And you agreed with me. Taking my point further bc i was like 16 and articulating myself badly XD

- @laylaanne. I know you’re still around too, but same again. I just remember you being a big contributor to fandom discussion and in jokes and it makes me happy.

- @doyouheartheangrymen. here’s the thing, i typed that out and i’m JUST now, after 7 years, realising that it is supposed to be read as “do you hear the angry men” when i have been reading it as “do you heart the angry men” (adding an extra t for some reason lmao.

- @duchessnibenhu-ofpyromania. A fandom peep that again i remember interacting a lot with in discussions. I remember we shared an ikea dresser (i have replaced mine now 😥) and we’ve visited each other’s animal crossing islands!

- @daniellestitt. Someone else that was absolutely here posting meme-y content like this and you know what, i agree. In trash we trust, may he rule over us all.

- @thunderbirdgordon. I remember really liking your art style!! I thought you drew the boys really well and i really loved seeing you on my dash :D

ok so i think that’s everyone. Well that’s not true, i’ve probably forgotten someone. But all the same - to anyone that was around on tumblr in the TAG fandom from 2015-2017 during my formative years...

thank you for such a good time. Thunderbirds is my comfort fandom and whilst i don’t interact much nowadays, i would like to change that. I truly loved all my time in the fandom and I hope that everyone is happy and well. Feel free to shoot me a message if you see this post, i’d love to chat with more people!

[dont-call-me-algernon]

For the Pokemon ask do Exp. Share, Master Ball, and then whichever gen is your favorite and whichever type is your favorite!

Exp. Share: Your first Pokémon game & when you played it

Ruby version for the gba (actually played on my DS lite tho). I did some math and iirc I was like 12/13 at the time. There's actually a funny anecdote about how I got into pokemon in the first place – I was at summer camp and there was this kid one or two years older than me who had brought his gameboy and spent every lunch break playing pokemon Ruby. He was kind of the “cool kid” so everyone naturally gravitated around him. One day me and a couple others went up to him and asked him if he could show us what he was playing. Fast forward two days later and I was pestering my parents for a pokemon game. One of the best decisions I've ever made, honestly asdfghjk

Hoenn still has a very special place in my heart for that very reason and some of my all-time favourite 'mons are from gen III!

Master ball: favourite legendary

Ho-oh, Latias and Latios

I don't have much to say about Ho-oh, other than I've always really liked how it it looked and, since I was too young to play Gold when it came out, when I finally got my hands on HG I literally rushed it until I could finally get my hands on it.

Latias and Latios, on the other hand, I like both the design, their unique typing, and the lore around them (they're twins, how cute is that??). I think that, despite blue being my favourite colour, I like Latias a little bit more? But they're so similar that picking just one didn't feel right, so yeah.

Favourite pokemon of my favorite gen (gen III)

Flygon

My boy. My son. Absolute peak design. Jokes aside, this is very much a case of "I don't know why I like this specific 'mon so much, but I do". I guess I just find its design very unique for a dragon type and very pleasant to look at, not to mention the fact that I've grown even more attached to it ever since having it on my main team last time I re-played B2W2, a couple years ago. It looks friendly and I want to be its friend :)

Favourite pokemon of my favourite type (flying)

You know, up until a few months ago I would have said fire was my favourite type without a doubt. But lately I just sort of realised that in terms of sheer numbers there are actually more flying type 'mons I like using than fire types, so flying it is! I narrowed it down to these three:

Talonflame, Altaria, Wattrel

Using talonflame a lot is legit one of the few memories I have retained of my pokemon X playthrough (the other is a random shiny Sylveon I got from wonder trade that basically became my ace). The design is simple, but imo it works well for what it's trying to represent. Then again, I might be biased because I've always liked 'mons that are basically "what if this real-life animal had a cool elemental power?" 😂

Altaria is one of those nostalgic faves that bring me back to my early days as a pokemon fan. I vividly remember seeing the Altaria in Winona's team and being like "WHAT IS THAT I WANT THAT". Except it was my very first pokemon game, kid me had no concept of how evolution worked just yet and also had very limited access to the internet. I don't know how it dawned on me that I had to catch a Swablu and train it in order to get one, but I do know that I was ecstatic when I finally did!

Another new entry from SV, I was so excited to see this little guy leaked. I've seen a lot of people online complain that Wattrel is just some bird, which I guess it's true, but I happen to like just some bird. Plus, flying-electric is a very cool type combination that makes it and its evolution a lot of fun to battle with too. I went with Wattrel instead of Kilowattrel simply because, visually, I like the small guy a little bit more.

Thank you for the ask, this was lots of fun!

[haootia]

watching mind field episode about fear and thinking about . petscop. if you have seen the episode you may already know what im getting at but for those of you who arent also currently on a vsauce rewatch marathon: they put michael "vsauce" stevens in a chair and classical condition him into being afraid of a picture of a pink square. and that itself is kind of superficially/memey "petscopcore" bc petscop contains not only a lot of geometric shapes and colors but also themes of coercion & experimentation, but it made me think more broadly about how the work as a whole is able to make us the audience have those really strong emotions, including fear, towards very simple icons/symbols. and of course this is why petscop massively outpaces most web horror [interscript note: i never watched valle verde or crow 64 and i have only watched incomplete bits and pieces of ai builds / sheriff domestic / diminish so i cant comment on the "tgif genre" or other directly post-petscop works] because it ties its dread and scariness into things that are Not Scary. there are no jumpscares or hyper realistic blood and the typical "horror" moments (that's a dead kid / i'll shoot her in the head / dog monologue / hurts me when playstation on) are presented really quite casually and non-graphically.

petscop is very Eerie and Dread-inducing but it's not (& not trying to be) actively frightening, which is really good, because it is damn hard to make a non-playable recap of a video game frightening. there are too many layers of removal, it's too cheesy, at least for an adult audience or an audience with any prior experience with horror. when i was a kid sure i got freaked as hell reading ( / listening to yuriofwind narrate) haunted pokemon game creepypastas (even when the narration was full of "lol, this is lame" asides) but once i got older it stopped eliciting such a response. i reread a bunch of them recently and my main commentary (both internally and in discord chat to my fishfriend) was mostly "the grammar in this is distractingly bad" and, more importantly, "the bare bones of this premise might have been interesting somewhere else, but this is not it." godzilla nes has endured slightly better because it has an underlayer of "the game knows something it shouldn't" that provides the real meat of the horror, and the creepy body horror screenshots are interesting but not really frightening. it's still not great, btw, most creepypastas aren't, but i can enjoy it in a silly nostalgic way that at least puts it on a higher shelf than pokemon lost silver or whatever.

in the time between first reading a bunch of creepypasta wiki slop and first watching petscop, i experienced like, actual trauma. this particular incident was very much not an inherent part of growing up , but i think "having something really scary happen to you irl" Is a life transition you can expect to happen sometime between like eight and sixteen. and this event is a pretty dramatic perspective shifter. before it happened i was able to be legitimately thrilled and scared by pokemon creepypasta and afterwards. i wasnt. it was definitely not an immediate switch and between age 10 and 13 especially i struggled with nightmares and extreme anxiety over a lot of really lame spooky internet content which i sought out for blah blah blah reasons. ok this isnt about me, its about petscop, ostensibly. the point im trying to make is that petscop gets Scarier with age. if i had seen petscop when i was eight years old i would have found it first and foremost Way Too Long And Boring and secondly Not Very Scary. there's no blood and no monsters and no ~watch out or it might get you too!!~ so who even gives a fuck, right.

and of course this beautifully represents the themes of the work itself. children do not understand the world the way adults do, they don't understand "reality" and all the secret rules that adults (generally) agree on, and sometimes they don't realize when bad things are happening, or why the things that are happening Are Bad. the protagonist of petscop is literally an adult looking back on their childhood through layers of other people's perspectives, and through (somewhat strange and magical) context is able to see things that weren't there before. if the horror was immediate and upfront, it wouldn't be interesting. if Everything was as in-your-face as "that's a dead kid" petscop would kind of just be a slideshow of childhood traumas, which is definitely Sad and Uncomfortable but not really Scary. so the horrors are disguised by symbols. things the audience doesn't already know about. "rebirthing" (the exact implications of which rely on the audience knowing about external, real-world events), "tool", "machine", "pieces", the needles piano, A / B / NLM "phases", even graves and "coffins" are icons that mean things beyond just "a place where a dead body is". it's a story you have to decipher, it takes actual Effort beyond just looking at a scary image manip. (further commentary on the horror youtuber petscop explanation industrial complex may be provided at a later date; for now i'll just say that anyone who attempts to produce a definitive "externalized" explanation of the story is not only missing the point but actively rejecting it. petscop is literally a story about putting the pieces together yourself.) and through that effort you condition yourself to see certain things as scary.

the amount of symbols in petscop means that there's not one thing i can point to as its "pink square", something that is associated one to one with Fear. and the emotions petscop runs with are a lot more complicated than the adrenaline-based fear response they gave michael vsauce stevens for tv. but god damn if by the end it hasn't constructed a symbolic language that can make me feel a deep and immediate emotional reaction to a red triangle. or eyebrows, or daisies, or like, the platonic Concept of a car? it's good. it's good storytelling. mother horse eyes also kind of pulls this in the last couple chapters to contribute to the final emotional impact but i don't think it's as fundamental a part of the story as it is in petscop. also of course homestuck does this like crazy but it's not (nominally) a horror story and also doesn't benefit from having a definite point-of-view protagonist who is learning to interpret the symbols simultaneously or in parallel with the audience. that's key to good writing in my opinion, btw, that the protagonist should either be on the same footing as or just slightly one step ahead of the audience. if the protagonist is way behind the audience it turns into a frustrating Yelling At The Screen Experience and if they're way ahead it makes everything seem completely arbitrary (see hbomberguy sherlock video for more). people may frame this as the protagonist being an "idiot" or a "genius" but i don't think that's actually the distinction that matters, it's specifically about how much information the character has from out-of-text sources, not really their ability to put it together in a rational or intelligent way. and now we're onto a completely different topic so im going to cut the post off now before i spend the rest of my life talking about the nature of storytelling or whatever, slowly withering away from starvation until i'm just a shriveled husk holding an iphone

[slayerzach]

Well hello there fellow beings on the internet, it's your favorite friendly internet neighbor, Zach here. Or you can call me Killer, or even my new e-name, Slayer

Oh, you don't recognize me? Well that's because this is an all new blog.

For those unaware, I used to run a blog of a very similar name on this platform, but I quit posting two years ago now(as of writing this), and made my goodbye post in June of last year(again, as of writing this), and I swore off tumblr for good.

And I still am mostly off this platform, however, I decided I want to begin posting my little cringey fics for all the world to see

Why am I starting a new blog? I want to start completely fresh and leave the old one as an archive as I intended. It feels wrong to just leave something sitting for so long and then suddenly just going "hey guys, you missed me?" It just doesn't feel right.

I also just want to move on from my old self. I was a lot younger than I am now and there has been a lot of maturity that has happened in the years since that blog, and I want this to be the real landmarking of how I have grown as a person and I have changed.

Is my content changing? Pretty much, no, not at all. My content is going to be about whatever I'm hyperfixating on, and my content surrounding it, be it my fanfictions, or anything I want. Because this blog, like my last, is going to be me posting about whatever the fuck I want. Doesn't even have to be about my hyperfixations, if I feel like posting something for whatever reason, I will! Expect the unexpected.

Here's just a simple rule:if you don't like what you see, move the fuck on. Scroll past me, it's not that hard. Block me if you so feel the need to. I don't care. Just don't spew hatred bullshit on this blog, or I will just outright ignore you. If you're not here to be nice and make friends, then you're not welcome on this page.

My inbox is always open and available for anyone to send anything, be it asks or messages. Please, I love making new friends, feel free to talk to me! I may not respond right away, but I will get back to you as soon as possible!

I am a very busy person so my uploads will be very sporadic and far and few between. Like my inbox, if I don't see something right away, doesn't mean I won't ever.

And that's the general gist of this blog. Basically, this blog is all about me and what I want to post about. If you don't like me, then oh well, tough shit buddy, this is MY blog you're on >:)

So, some things about me!

I am a big dork who loves to geek out on whatever I want to. Some of these things include TVDU, Pokemon, MLP, Charmed, Supernatural, COD Zombies,Red Dead Redemption, and so so much more. Content on all of these will fluctuate depending on whatever my brain decides to do. As I said before, expect the unexpected.

I love to write(duh), play and also suck at various video games, reading, and music.

My OC's include Oliver Thompson, William "Willy" Marshall, James "Jimmy" Sullivan, Theodore "Teddy" Barlos, Johnathon Wretzky, and Sarah Marston. Info on them will be posted accordingly

I love retro, vintage, and other nostalgic things, history, stuffed animals, men's fashion (and by that I mean nice coats and such, not supreme or gucci you fuckface lol), and just the general beauties of life and the world around us!

And that's about all you need to know about me! I'd love to see you around!

[whatmakesitunique]

How I Made 2 Million Dollars From Dropshipping using ProductDyno To Grow My Sales

The simplest way to sell digital products on a platform or commit to dropshipping easily has to be ProductDyno, which made me easily over 2 million dollars in revenue without me barely lifting a finger

Do you wanna know how to start?

Well, its quite simple. Or at least that's what ProductDyno makes it.

I'm going to show you what you need to grow your sales using Product Dyno

What is Dropshipping?

Well to answer your question, Dropshipping is just like selling products online, but you do not have any of the products yourself. Once you receive an order from your shop, you go to a seller or manufacturer who sells the same exact product for much cheaper and ships it to the customer directly.

Pretty neat, right?

There’s no major sorting work needed, a major backend to see who bought your items, etc.

So essentially all you’re doing is creating a website that is unique and stands out from others, choosing a product that you think people would want, and showing off that product on social media like Instagram, Tiktok, and Youtube.

What you show the consumer and the way you show it to them matters a lot.

You cannot just say, oh.. Look at my product, go buy it.

NO.

Instead, learning how to catch the customers eye and making them invested in your product will help you out a lot.

What type of product should I sell?

There are two different types of products you can sell.

You can sell a physical product like a retro camera that can capture nostalgic film.

Or, a lamp that shows a sunset.

You can also sell a digital product, like an e book, a course, an editing pack, video game mod, etc.

How should I set up my website? And which platform should I use to set it up?

This is one of the biggest mistakes I see new dropshippers who are just starting out doing.

If you do this, trust me; you are setting yourself up for failure.

This mistake is using Shopify

Remember, Dropshipping is one of the latest and greatest ways to accumulate online wealth.

However, there is some saturation, or in simpler terms, a good amount of competition

In order to get past your competition, you need to make sure you stand out and look different then other dropshippers and their products

The way you show the product to the consumer is everything.

All businesses set up on Shopify look exactly the same

They are just clones of each other, with the same web design, same template logo, same use of contrast colors.

If a consumer looks at your website and sees the same exact template that they have seen a million times, They are not going to want to buy your product.

So trust me when I say this;

Shopify is just a little trial website which from if your lucky, can only make maybe around a couple hundred a month

Why you need ProductDyno:

If you want to take dropshipping seriously as a way to get a lot of money and get paid real numbers, you need to invest your website and product into ProductDyno.

ProductDyno is a cloud-based platform that allows people to easily sell and deliver digital products

It is pretty much the solution to your dropshipping brand’s platform and also allows a versatile range of uses for entrepreneurs and small business owners who could also use a website to get on the internet.

The platform is designed to be user-friendly, allowing users to set up their product pages and sales funnels in a matter of minutes, without any coding or technical skills required.

With Product Dyno, users can sell an unlimited number of products and manage all of their customer information in one place.

The platform integrates with popular payment gateways such as PayPal and Stripe, allowing users to process payments and manage their transactions easily.

Additionally, Product Dyno provides a secure delivery system for digital products, ensuring that customers receive their purchases promptly and safely.

The platform also includes advanced features such as upsells and downsells, as well as the ability to create and manage memberships and subscriptions.

This makes it possible for users to offer a variety of pricing options to their customers and maximize their revenue.

Product Dyno also provides detailed analytics and reporting, allowing users to track their sales and performance, and make informed decisions about their business.

Why not Shopify?

ProductDyno offers several advantages over Shopify for selling digital products.

Firstly, ProductDyno is specifically designed for digital product sales, whereas Shopify is a more general e-commerce platform that has a wider range of use cases

This means that ProductDyno provides a more focused and streamlined experience for selling digital products, with features such as secure digital delivery and advanced sales funnel options.

Another advantage of ProductDyno is its ease of use. The platform has a user-friendly interface and does not require any coding or technical skills, making it accessible for individuals with little to no technical background.

In contrast, Shopify can be more complex, with a steeper learning curve, especially for those unfamiliar with e-commerce platforms.

In conclusion, ProductDyno is an all-in-one platform that provides a simple and effective solution for selling digital products online. With its user-friendly interface and advanced features, it is an ideal solution for entrepreneurs and small business owners looking to expand their online presence and increase their revenue. And in general, if you are looking towards escaping the 9–5 and journeying towards financial freedom, start dropshipping now.

Learn More About ProductDyno Here:

https://paykstrt.com/17037/130587

Socials:

[soju-thebottle]

Twitter ~ A Hwi fanfiction

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Summary: Being in a long distance relationship with a Kpop idol can be hard sometimes. Today, you miss him more than you usually do but here’s the catch, you’re waiting for him to post on Twitter as he promised you something special….

Type: Soft, kind of cliche, Genderless Y/N, Bf goal Hwi, social media au, long-distance relationship, idol life, music.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ✜ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s Saturday, just after noon, you’re right in the middle of the vacation and have nothing to do. You spoke with your boyfriend for a bit this morning but not that much because he had a big schedule, as usual. You understood, being in a relationship with an Idol isn’t as cool as it may seem. Hwi is the best guy but sometimes you wish that you weren’t a long distance couple that has to go through the social status of your boyfriend.

However, he told you he was going to post a pic on twitter today, “A special tweet for my special girl” or at least that’s what he said. You were waiting for it with excitement, knowing that even if Hwi’s fangirls got that one, you have like ten times more pictures of him so one more is nothing but a blessing to you. But you couldn’t stop wondering what was going to be special with that one tho.

Since he didn’t post for a long time, and that today you were quite in a bad mood, you decided to just lay on your bed, full covers on and you’d watch Hwi’s last interview. You missed him today, I mean way more than you usually did. Nostalgic of the times you actually could be in his arms, as many times as you have fingers since you two lived far away, you just couldn’t stop the spleen from hitting you hard. So you decided to send him a simple text, craving for a bit of attention.

From you: Hiii baby, today I miss you more than usual, when are you planning to post that pic? I wanna see your face 🫣

And then you waited, he probably couldn’t answer either because he’d be on his studio writing the next banger or on a set somewhere for the new comeback.

As you started to loose your hope to see an answer from him anytime soon, you received a notification. One that made your day…

Hwi posted.

You jumped on your phone, going to Twitter as fast as you could, you needed to see this picture, needed.

When you finally saw it, you started to sob, Hwi was the best at giving you hidden messages through his posts.

On the tweet, the caption said:

You must listen to this song. What an amazing day THX, I love you ❤️ . Song recommendation: All day - GIRIBOY

You knew that beside the part about the day, everything was about you and that’s why you were sobbing, Hwi always knew what to say to make you feel great.

As he said in his tweet, you took your laptop and went to Spotify in order to put the music. Music was always a way for you and Hwi to connect, beside the fact that he’s a musician, it’s also and mostly because that’s how he confessed his love for you (with the music: Sorry I love you by Stray Kids) and obviously you answered with another song (Fall in love with you by BoyWithUke) so it kinda became your thing. And you often talk through songs.

As soon as the music started you searched the lyrics on internet, you weren’t the best at Korean so it was needed.

At the time you were reading the lines :

“All day long with you, hugging each other so tightly
our ribs almost break
I want to have you soon
What should I do?”

You heard your phone ringing, it was pretty much unexpected and you weren’t in a good mood and you were honestly looking like a mess since you cried for at least two hours, so you weren’t going to answer but curiosity made you look at who was calling. If you weren’t answering, at least you should know who called, right?

When you see the Id you answered as fast as you could.

“You called? You called me, omg !”

Yes, it is Hwi, he decided to FaceTime you as soon as he saw that you liked his tweet.

“Of course I called you baby, look at you all sad and crying. Ugh, I hate to see you like that and to know that I can not hug you. Please stop crying.

-I…I..I can’t, I was just so sad and then I needed you and I thought you wouldn’t see my text and I cried and then you tweeted and i love you, I love you so so so much.

-it’s okay baby, I’m here, I love you, I’m here, I’m here look. Okay? No problems. We have the whole night baby, don’t worry, I’m here and I love you. “

You slowly stopped your sobbing, he is here, he loves you and he is on a call with you. He called you as soon as he saw your text, he really loves you.

“You’re so beautiful, ugh so bad you can’t really see your face, the mirrors will never reflect the whole beauty of your face and I’m so sad for that.

-Stop lying you dumbass. I cried, I look like a mess, my hair is ugly and my face is red and puffy and ewks ! My face is just Ewks!

-Tsk! You think I’m lying? Me? Your handsome Idol boyfriend? Lying to you? Tsk. I could never. I swear for real. Tstststs, stop trying to deny your beauty. I know you need some comfort so go put on the sweatshirt I send you last week, it should be here now is it?

-OMG ! THAT WAS THE MAIL I GOT ?? WHY DIDN’T YOU USED YOUR REAL NAME I DIDN’T EVEN OPENED IT !!

-Ahh… Baby, you’re such a mess, I love you. Bahahah. Anyway, GO PUT ON MY SWEATSHIRT. I kinda want to see you in it.

-You do huh…”

You make a sly face, the mood changed in about 2 seconds and from crying you went to teasing. That’s how much Hwi helps you in life.

“Yay! That’s the Y/n I like, that’s the Y/n I wanna see. Go baby ! Go baby! Go!

-Shut up you stupid”

But he got you here, you’re smiling, he make you smile.

A bit of time passed, you had to put on his sweatshirt, a white one, with the olympic logo on it, you saw it in one of his interview and you remember telling him about it for almost a week. And he send it to you, it’s now on your back. It smells like him, a wood like with a touch of citrus, the bestest smell ever. His smell.

“Okay, so now that you look even more pretty, and emphasis on the pretty, with my sweatshirt on you. I planned a karaoke night, eheh!”

And that’s actually when you notice that he is in his studio, with his little lights and his Pokemon legos, that you bought together, you got a piplup, your favourite.

“Omg, no. You know so damn well that I don’t like to sing in front of you! You’re an Idol bro? I…

-Don’t call me bro, and stop trying to convince me, it won’t work. Now since All day is still playing background, by the way, happy to know that you understood my message “ he winks to you “let’s start with this one!”

And then he started to sing, he sang the all night to be honest and you joined him at less than two songs. But you will never forget how he looked at you while singing

“I love you so much so much so much I love you so much so much so much so I love you” from All day.

Since that Phone call, you decided that All day was now your song, the song of you and Hwi. And that’s how you fall asleep, still on FaceTime with Hwi still singing ballads to make you sleep, he looked at you sleeping like the stalker he was, and you were still in his hoodie, dreaming about the next time you’ll be able to see him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ✜ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you liked it!!

You can request a story if you’d like !! With any tnx, skz, cravity, Enhypen and bts members you’d like or ship !!

Have a good day/ night / anything

[gurengui]

➳ dong sicheng as your boyfriend:

a/n: this man has my heart.

how i miss this golden boy <//3

i feel like we all know how fluffy and soft and gentle he's gonna be around his s/o right?

he can't help it though he has too many feelings and too little of ideas on how to express them

so he would try and ask the internet (or kun but shhh you don't have to know that) for first date ideas, a few cheesy pick up lines, some gentleman etiquettes etc because he really wants you to have a good time, with him :'))

i know winwin comes off as very shy and soft spoken and reserved but outta all wayv members: his love language seems the MOST varied to me 💫

like it could be words of affirmation or simple phrases like 'sleep early' 'you're doing great' 'you look good' 👌🏼

or acts of service like helping you adjust your clothes or closing the curtains or giving you an umbrella when its raining or fixing your hair or waiting for you to tie your shoelaces (ノ・ω・)ノ

also sending random pictures of himself, his day, his surroundings, his view to you 📸

you're always his best view though ksjdkssjsn

looking into your eyes at any moment and blinking once slowly in assurance !!

then smiling bashfully hhhhhh

that's his way of letting you know that he's here, with you, for you :D

HEAR ME OUT HERE. pace yourself 🫂

he will not. like picking flowers out by himself so he'll definitely go the extra mile to grow them for you ฅ( ̳• ◡ • ̳)ฅ

will definitely have a the biggest proudest smugest smile on his face while giving the entire pot to you 🪴

"why?" you ask him, "why not a bouquet? or corsage? or just a flower?"

"because you deserve much more than just dying flowers :]"

yeah....just yeah....i'm at my limit 🗯

over the course of time your living space is going to turn into a jungle cause of all the plants he's gonna grow for you :'))

he's also protective of you and shows it, both in public and private no 'shy sicheng' there no sir ‼️

will also lowkey love to discreetly match things with you, you get him something he will find it cute and wear it (´･ᴗ･`)

would love building snowmen with you, those are memories he definitely wants to make with you ☃️

so whenever it snows it'll be your tradition to do so (as friends or partners or lovers!!)

anything with snow and you bundled up in layers looking all cutesy he is all in for ❄

not one for skinship but he will absentmindedly lock pinkies with you 👀

may also just press a tiny kiss to your forehead as and when you sleep

(that will ofcourse, turn into in a habit)

i swear this guy will care for you in ways which once you notice you will feel your heart physically go lubb-dubb 💓

he'll also be over the moon excited to take you to his childhood home 🤧

will definitely take walks with you around the neighbourhood and tell you stories filled with his nostalgic memories 🥺

sidenote though i absolutely love seeing him thrive the way he does in china, his confidence really shines through :,)))

that genre of winwin will always be my favorite ⭐

[onestowatch]

19 LGBTQIA+ Artists You Need to Listen to This PRIDE

PRIDE is all about self-empowerment and self-determination. It’s about not just being comfortable with who you are but showing the world that there is pride to be found in being unapologetically you. And that’s why, this PRIDE, we wanted to shine a light on a small handful of our favorite LGBTQIA+ artists. Ranging from rapturous hyperpop, revelatory bossa nova meditations, romantic rave music, and everywhere in between, these are 19 LGBTQIA+ artists who deserve a spot on your PRIDE playlist and every playlist for that matter. 

girl in red

In her debut single, “i wanna be your girlfriend,” a teenage girl in red unapologetically sings of young queer love over a mesh of lofi production and jangly instrumentation that would come to define much of the bedroom pop genre. It is a standout moment of unrelenting honesty, and a serenely simple three-minute confession that would go on to strike a chord with millions who were afraid of what it meant to be something more than friends. Now, a few years later and following the release of her critically-acclaimed debut album, if i could make it go quiet, Ulven still writes with that same emotional honesty, putting forth every ounce of herself for the world to see. 

Meet Me @ The Altar

“the little lonely black alt girl i was in the 00s is living rn, she never even dared to hope she might see this 💖💖,” reads the top comment on Meet Me @ The Altar’s music video for their single “Garden.” It is a sentiment shared by much of the rising band’s fanbase, who are used to the mainstream alternative scene championing cis white males. Existing in the space between pop-punk and hardcore, Meet Me @ The Altar exists to challenge the notion that queer women of color don’t have a place in punk. And after penning a record deal with Fueled By Ramen, home to the likes of Paramore, Panic! at the Disco, and nearly every pop-punk band that made up your middle school playlist, chances are this is just the beginning for our new favorite punks.

THE BLOSSOM

For Lily Lizotte, better known as THE BLOSSOM, music exists as the synthesis and subsequent recontextualization of a host of past experiences. From the sound of their dad belting away in his home studio to stumbling upon niche Internet subgenres, THE BLOSSOM transforms all this and more into a sound that is instantly recognizable but impossible to perfectly place. The culmination of this host of influences takes sweeping sonic form on their debut EP, ‘97 BLOSSOM, a perfectly imperfect introduction to one of the most fascinating rising artists of recent memory.

BIMINI

You may recognize BIMINI as Bimini Bon-Boulash, the runner-up on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. And now you should familiarize yourself with Bimini, brit-pop extraordinaire. Releasing their debut single “God Save This Queen” earlier this June, Bimini deftly channels late ‘90s brit-pop and punk to deliver a single that has us absolutely living for the ensuing chaos. Serving up multiple looks throughout its eye-catching music video, “God Save This Queen” is not just a non-binary anthem but a veritable 2021 lookbook.

Hope Tala

With a sound that falls somewhere between turn-of-the-century R&B and bossa nova, Hope Tala’s music is expectedly a dream given sonic form. Perhaps that’s why much of the UK singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist’s music is able to so deftly weave imagery of love, heartache, and teenage fistfights into tightknit tracks that feel simultaneously transcendental and deeply personal. And with the release of her 2020 EP, Girl Eats the Sun, Hope Tala poses one all-important question, “Why have a life if you’re not going to do something crazy and make a difference in the world?” 

chloe moriondo

For much of chloe moriondo’s avid fanbase, watching her transform from budding ukulele sensation to pop-punk phenom very much meant watching her grow up. Getting her start on YouTube, moriondo's fanbase witnessed her evolve as both an artist and person. Coming out in the aptly titled “a ramble about self identity, growth, and being a lesbian,” to be a fan of the artist often feels like trading secrets with a close personal friend. It is a sentiment that rings all the more true upon delving into her debut album, Blood Bunny. Grappling with coming-of-age at the axis of empathic pop and euphoric pop-punk, Blood Bunny sees moriondo taking yet another impressive step forward.

Godford

Little is known about Godford beyond what can be garnered from a handful of interviews online and his succinct Spotify bio, and chances are he’s happier that way. The anonymous DJ and producer aims to make non-binary music that exists outside of the confines of genres, overly-simplified classifications, and even himself. What is important are the emotions his music hold and what his listeners take away. Fusing romanticism and rave in his debut album, Godford: Non Binary Place, the anonymous artist does just that. He provides a space that exists simultaneously everywhere and nowhere, like an ephemeral night spent out on the dancefloor with a stranger or close friend.

Joy Oladokun

Joy Oladokun is at the core of her music. It may at first glance appear to be a painfully obvious statement, but as her sincere songwriting seeps into every corner of your soul, it is a notion that becomes undeniable. In her major label debut, in defense of my own happiness, Oladokun writes with an unabashed authenticity, never turning a blind eye to the world around her. These shared reflections and recollections of life are often heartbreaking and uplifting in the same breath, but in their candidness, we can begin to piece together what it means to be human, imperfections and all.  

Allison Ponthier

Allison Ponthier may only have a handful of singles to her name, but her unmatched potential is clear as day. Raised in the outskirts of Dallas, Texas, Ponthier’s moving songwriting and emphatic vocal prowess speak to her country roots. Pair that country sensibility with some of the most pristine pop songwriting we have heard in quite some time, and you begin to understand just how exciting Ponthier is as a rising artist. With only two singles to date, there’s not much else we can say beyond do yourself a favor and play “Cowboy” on repeat.

Rina Sawayama

It feels like no hyperbole to call Rina Sawayama an inevitable pop icon. First garnering critical acclaim with singles like “Cherry” and her 2017 debut EP RINA, the Japanese-British singer-songwriter staked her name on her immaculate ability to capture all the glamour and larger-than-life appeal of early ‘00s pop. Building on what was a nostalgic yet forward-thinking vision, Sawayama returned with her 2020 eponymous full-length debut. From nu-metal, club beats, to veritable pop anthems, SAWAYAMA emerged as a genre-defying showcase of an avant-garde pop star.

Arlo Parks

Listening to Arlo Parks’ music is akin to sipping on a hot cup of chamomile tea as you watch the world slowly pass by your living room window. It is a testament to the British poet and singer-songwriter’s subtle yet beautiful way with words, the way in which each lyric serves as a glance into a tightly-held memory or passing observation. These poetic musings come to life in her debut album, Collapsed In Sunbeams, which layers lyrical revelations over some of the most tender R&B of recent memory. Parks’ is more than a must-listen; she feels like the birth of a new wave.

Claud

Claud has spent the past few years making a name for themselves in the indie pop world, and the culmination of it all arrives in their debut album, Super Monster. The acclaimed album sees Claud reckoning with coming-of-age and love with an irresistible charm. Pair that with a penchant for grounded, affective songwriting and infectious, dreamlike melodies and you have one of the best debuts of recent memory. In case you somehow need any further convincing that Claud is one to watch, Super Monster marks the debut release from Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records.

UMI

Equally as inspired by R&B and neo-soul as she is by her generation’s penchant for blurring genre lines, UMI and her music exist as a form of spiritual healing. Half-Black and half-Japanese, her work explores everything from identity to self-introspection, such as on the aptly-titled Introspection. It is a fondness for self-exploration that UMI delves headfirst into on her 2019 EP Love Language, a sublime blend of identity struggles, love, and anime that tackles the issue of always feeling like an other, never Black or Japanese enough.

Joesef

Sad boy summer. It’s the simplest way to being explaining Joesef’s serene albeit somber sound. Emerging out of Glasgow, the quickly rising star often wears his still bleeding heart on his sleeve, even when the underlying sonics seem to be moving onto greener pastures. It is an exquisite balancing act that comes to life on his 2020 EP, Does It Make You Feel Good?. Blending elements of soft-spoken R&B, jazz, and ethereal pop, Joesef sets himself apart as an artist whose influences and appeal know no bounds.

Serena Isioma

At the top of the year, we named Serena Isioma one of our top artists to watch in the year to come, and for good reason. The self-proclaimed “nonbinary rock star” experienced a breakout moment with “Sensitive,” a track that is difficult to perfectly encapsulate but think along the lines of fusing modern-day R&B and woozy indie-pop with reckless abandon, and you’ll be about halfway there. It was an impressive standout track that was only buoyed by a pair of EPs, Sensitive and The Leo Sun Sets, in 2020, officially cementing Isioma as an artist like no other.

Khai Dreams

Khai Dreams’ music is effortlessly easygoing. With its straightforward guitar lines and understated production, every track from the Pacific Northwest singer-songwriter flows out as naturally as breathing. Maybe it’s that laid-back approach that begins to explains Khai Dreams’ universal appeal and millions of monthly listeners, despite releasing most of his music independently. A hallmark of the DIY generation and its massive homebrewed potential, it would be a crying shame if you didn’t let Khai Dream’s serene meditations transport you somewhere far from here.

Frances Forever

Like much of their Gen Z cohorts, Frances Forever’s exponential rise was not the result of a well-executed marketing plan but by the pure chance of a single song finding a home online. The song in question, “Space Girl,” was originally part of NPR’s Tiny Desk Content before soon blowing up on TikTok, and it’s not hard to see why. Short, sweet, and to the point, “Space Girl” is a saccharine love letter to that bubbly feeling of floating on cloud nine. Now signed to Mom+Pop and with their debut EP, Paranoia Party, due out later this year, this is the perfect time to get familiar with Frances Forever.

Dorian Electra

Unapologetically playing with gender norms and stereotypes while seeing just how far they can push the limits of pop, Dorian Electra has long maintained a cult following in the world of experimental, highly addictive hyperpop. And it’s not hard to see why. Having collaborated with the likes of Charli XCX, 100 gecs, Village People, Pussy Riot, Rebecca Black, and more, Electra’s music ranges from off-the-rails hyperpop to introspective pop slow burns. All of this and more reaches a fever pitch in their 2020 album My Agenda, a devious showcasing of one of pop’s most explosive figures.

MAY-A

Maya Cumming, professionally known as MAY-A, is no stranger to the hustle it takes to make it in the music industry. The Australian artist got her start entering numerous singing competitions in her hometown of Byron Bay and started busking on the streets at the tender age of 11. Now, she has a breakout single under her belt in the form of “Apricots,” an anthemic indie-pop ode to queer love. And since that breakout moment, MAY-A has continued to release impressive single after single—the latest being the collaborative “American Dream.”

[btswishes]

Love me for who I am now

Bucky x Reader ( Chapter 1 )

Part1 / Next 

Summary: You apply for the Stark internship and end up getting it, so now you have 5 months to make a good impression to continue working with the Avengers.

A/N: This is my first Marvel fic and I am taking it as a challenge. It is opposite of what my account was made, but here I go. Sorry for any mistakes made, hope you enjoy it even a tiny bit.

Word count:  3,281

Warmings: fights, harsh language, not part of the original MCU 

Y/N- Your name Y/L/N:  Your Last Name

                                   --------------------------------------

  Through sleepless nights and dark circles, books and pens, through months of work you reached your goal. The moment you received the acceptance letter from Stark University you almost flew out the window without a fear in your mind. This was it!

  Time had passed since that moment, but it is still engraved in your mind- a memory keeping you strong during the hard midterms and piles of work, even the small glimmers of regret. Trying your best wasn’t an option, you could do only that and no less. It was no easy task, lost social life as much as you tried to keep it. You were really lucky you had good friends that understood and supported you. University wasn’t easy for anyone making this one even tougher. People of all ages, backgrounds and cultures were piled up with you in this building. The best of the best as the slogan said, the ones that proved themselves and emerged victorious.

  When you were young ,you used to spend a lot of time with your uncle at his places outside the country. He would introduce you to his work colleagues and things you had never seen before. There was a time where you would spend months on end with him. Not many memories were left from those moments in your head. At one point you spend a few years with him, your mother thought it would be good experience for you and it turned out to be nothing but the truth-at least you hoped so. You learned a lot from him and his friends, it felt like each spend day would offer you more knowledge in areas you never knew of. Computer work, ways of thinking and so much more that had become second nature to you.

  The sky was tinted in a wash of oranges, reds and yellows bleeding one into the other, swirling around the sun emitting them. The day was ending, but you found yourself filling up an application in the library, covered by the silence and smell of exam worry.

  Sponsored and founded by the one and only Tony Stark, this establishment offered an internship. Being part of the Avengers, Tony didn’t let just anyone from the students attending in, even if they were the best labeled by the school. It had been a year and a half since you started pushing yourself harder to be able to apply and there was nothing that could stop you. Pressing your finger over the enter button was very nerve wrecking yet simple. Even if it didn’t work out this year, you planned to do it again and again ,till he had no other choice but give you a chance.

  Usually F.R.I.D.A.Y. went over everything and left only the applications worth going over by Tony himself or Pepper. The next 5 weeks for you were very stressful, but there was nothing more you could do but wait and focus on your own work. The first person you wanted to tell about this was your uncle. He went to work in some distant place where they had no internet so you switched to mail. Not as much paper under his name passed through your hands, as he had stopped answering you. You missed him, but the muddy childhood memories kind of compensated for that.

“Did you send it in?” the phone muffled a bit the sweet voice coming from the speaker 

“Yeah, a few days ago actually.” You answered with a gentle sigh

“And no answer yet?” the girl’s pitch rose at the end of the sentence, amazed at that what she just heard

“I know, I know. Think about it though Nea. Who knows how many applications get submitted. Someone has to brush through them after all.” defending the situation was a form of coping for you, made you feel hopeful.

“So you are trying to tell me Tony Stark’s interface or whatever it’s called, can’t sort them out in a couple of hours? Come on Y/N! You and I both know you are trying to make yourself feel better.” The small pause made you anxious over what Nea said “Listen.” A breathy start of the sentence “ I don’t mean to brag, but I think I am one of the people who know exactly how much you deserve this. You were never the studious type, plus that you were gone for years on end with that mysterious uncle of yours. I never expected you to suddenly go for Stark University. Your dream changed you, from this quiet kid to crazy ol’ you right now on the call with me.I ain’t letting you bust yourself up over this just because it didn’t happen the first time around-”

                Ding ding

  Nea’s deep speech was cut off before she could unleash herself completely, by the slight ring of your phone’s notification.

“Who tf has the audacity to text while the great me is giving this legendary –“

                Ding!

  The second time the sound sung out made her choke up with anger, you could almost see the fumes coming out of the phone.

“WHO IS IT!” a loud hiss pierced your ear

“Maybe if you gave me a minute I could answer your question.” Pulling the call down, your finger ran over the screen to the email, making your notification lamp blink like a car. Almost instantly it opened before your eyes and you gasped. The action made you swallow suddenly and cough out a bit ,giving poor Nea an idea about the level of shock you were in.

“What?What? You can’t just almost die and not tell me what is going on.” She proceeded with a not so tasteful interrogation.

“I-…they accepted my application…” at the end a small smile flowed over your lips contorting the sound coming out

“Stop!?” she choked up as well “You gotta be fucking with me!? No fucking way this is real!”

“I am honest. It says here that they liked my skill set, my grades and the way of thinking I presented in my essay. I got the spot Nea! I fucking did it!” you threw the phone on the bed letting it bounce as you started dancing.

“Of course you did! I told you! You will be working with THE AVENGERSSSS!” at some point it sounded like your best friend was more excited than you “When do you start?”

“Well…” taking a second to calm down and re-establish contact with your phone, you looked up the schedule that came attached with the email “…ok…so it says here that I will be starting on Monday so~ in 2 days? “

“So soon! Any requirements for the job miss Avenger’s sidekick?” and the teasing begins

“A list, surprisingly.” Rolling onto your back, you held the screen away and above your face, scrolling past “ I guess my first job will be with Dr. Banner in the lab. Apparently I will be given some sort of assignments throughout the 5 months work span. I will be monitored by Dr. Bruce Banner and the grading, I guess if you can call It that ,will be done by Tony Stark himself.”

“Basically Hulk will be your babysitter.” once this girl starts teasing she never stops even in amazing situations such as this one, good thing you loved her “That sounds so cool though! You will be able to meet Captain America and Black Widow~! I am so jelly of you I swear! When you leave work make sure to wait for someone from the group to walk by, omgggg I am fangirling so much right now.What if you go to dinners with them!?AAAAA!”

“Fun thing about that.” Your eyes landed on the last paragraph of the email “It says here that I am supposed to move into the compound and stay there till further notice. The whole idea is that if I do things well I will get a permanent job. Weird…” you hummed

“Weird !? How? That is so cool! Who knows you might even become an Avenger! You will be living with them anyways.” at this point Nea was either not breathing or hyperventilating so fast you couldn’t hear it

“Don’t be ridiculous.” your attention landed once more on the thought process you had a moment ago “I don’t get one thing. They say here that my PE grades combined with my IT and overall studies make me a great candidate, but I don’t remember sports being a requirement at all, or even providing them in the first place. Does it mean that if my grades were low in that department I wouldn’t have gotten the spot?”

“I guess people of science aren’t that flexible. Who cares anyways! You got in, no ifs and buts. I am telling you, at this point you could be an Avenger.” poor girl began thinking of names and suit designs for you “ Hurry up and pack those bags before I drop by with take away, so we can gossip over Steve Rogers’s abs.”

“Um…don’t get me wrong he is super hot, I just see the Cap more like an older brother figure than anything.” It was true, you looked up to him since the first time you studied about the Civil War. Fearless, gave his life in a way for his people, astonishing man over all.

“Hey! Let me drool over him! You were always more of a Winter Soldier fan anyways.” Nea pouted audibly . Her words made some lone memory pop up in your head, but it was as murky as the rest. “I don’t know why I am interested in him. Somehow his look is very nostalgic and rugged. Anyways. ”you shook your head out of the mental image of the soldier “I will go pack up, tell my parents and fix up all my documents. Probably find some stuff from former Stark employees online. I want to have a bit of an idea of what he expects and what I am getting myself into.”

“Fine fine, you could have just said you like troubled guys. You were the one who was happy Loki got a second chance after all. I will be over in like 3 hours.” She informed you

“Hey! He deserved to redeem himself, he was used!” a firm Loki supporter as always “Ok then, see ya.”

   Hanging up the call you placed your phone to charge and rolled off your bed. The email gave vague information about what you needed, but clothing wise you would still be able to come home and get stuff if you had to. What was on top of your priorities were papers, documents, all your research materials and tech. Those things had to be organized no matter what ,since they got you this far in the first place.

  Nae came over as planned and you two had a nice sleepover talking about you know who. The night came and left, letting the morning find you in your bed at 11am. Your forearm rested on top of your forehead in a relaxed manner, letting enough space for an exhale to linger in the air in front of you. Your mind was going over everything that was about to happen to you. It was one of your dreams, you worked for it nonstop day in day out, so why were you so worried about meeting the rest of the Avengers? Maybe it was just anxiety or fear of the unknown, yeah made sense.

  All you did during the day was make lists for every piece of tech you were binging with yourself. Things seemed to be in order, but worry kept nibbling on your bones. The moment of truth finally rolled up and so did your suitcase in front of your house. Nea came to send you off as she promised.

“Sweetie, make sure to call us every day. Eat well, don’t overwork yourself and-“ your mom went off with caution about anything and everything that came to mind

“Mom, you know I am going 3 blocks down from here right? Plus I can come home at any time I want to. I am not moving to Mars or getting arrested.” You smirked the panic away from her, giving them a big hug.

“Call me or text me when you get there.” Nea pulled you in, whispering in your ear as quietly as possible “And don’t forget to sneak me a booty pick of good ol’Cap. You know what they say-”

“That is America’s ass.” Your voice came out in a mocking tone

“That i-…let me at least finish it by myself! Geez!” she pushed you towards the door “Ok ok, go now before you spoil me something else” her arms crossed in front of her chest

  The walk wasn’t that long, you were too invested in your own thoughts to notice when the time and distance had passed. The glistening windows of the compound building shined into your eyes. Your lungs filled up with a breath that they kept in for a moment, before releasing it back in the outside world. Pulling out the documents you stepped in. The fresh smelling air hit you making you close one eye for a second.

People were walking around you fast and concentrated. Some looked in a hurry, others were on break with a cup of coffee and a strain-leaving expression.

 Your feet, as slightly shaky as they were, took you right up to the front desk were a lady with a dark rich red colored uniform looked at you. She flashed a professional smile, her eyes asking for your purpose.

“Um, hello. My name is Y/N -Y/L/N.” she saw the logo on your papers and gasped

“You must be the new intern Mr. Stark told us about.” She signed something and reached out “Can you give me your hand for a second.” Your fingers didn’t go past the surface of the desk when she pocked your skin. Pulling in your extremity, your palm wrapped around the spot that began to sting a bit “Don’t worry about it. This is your identification pass. Fancy, no?” she smiled winking. Her body stood up as she pointed at the elevator far in the back of the foyer.

  Instructions were given with each step of the way, calming your nerves a bit. The moment you found yourself inside the elevator she pulled your hand to the sensor on the wall next to the buttons.

Recognized: Code 2514. Welcome Miss Y/N  

 Your head shot up when F.R.I.D.Y.’s voice echoed in the small space. The women smiled giving you a small nod and stepped out of the vicinity. Once her body was outside ,the doors slid closed. Over them glowed a protective blue light layering over the material like a soft veil.

 It felt like you weren’t moving an inch. Your body flinched when the sun stung at your eyes from the window. Your gaze landed over the view of the city, as you went higher and higher, ascending into the clouds  The blues and yellows were covering the inside of the elevator, such vibrant and lovely colors warming your body. For a moment your heart felt heavy- lost memory tugged onto it again. An often occurrence lately, yet you kept brushing off as deja vu. 

Floor 134. Welcome to the Avenger’s compound Miss Y/N

“134!?” the numbers cracked out with your voice. The interface made you turn towards the opposite opening doors revealing a room as big as a hall, if not almost a stadium. The ceiling was high being the lid to this round area. Your heart beat increased pumping blood to your body, dilating your pupils at least twice their original size. It look amazing, almost like you had just entered heaven. The walls were white, the furniture was perfectly placed and cream colored. Stepping outside you jumped at the sound of the elevator doors closing behind you. 

“Wow” escaped your lips, your hand pulling the suitcase closer. So this was the common room or the shared space. The windows were so big they were practically a wall of their own. The bright rays were making themselves at home giving the white paint a new color with each passing minute. The ceilings were probably the equivalent of 3 floors in height. There was this weird feeling of home inside, a bit of isolation maybe mixed in. 

“Miss Y/N?” your head swung to the side when you recognized that shy but bright smile. Throwing the papers on top of your suitcase, you extended your arm at the man.

“Ah.” Good thing your mind automatically responds politely to people without you giving it much thought “Dr. Banner. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance.” you shook his hand gently a couple of times and let go ,finding the papers and showing them to him “My name is Y/N-Y/L/N.” gentle bow and a smile followed the words skillfully chosen

“Welcome Welcome. Tony is out right now so I might be the only one actively walking around the compound. Well…”he scratched the back of his neck, lightly hunching over with a sheepish smile “I am one of the people you will be working under anyways, so I guess it is good that I came to get you. I would love to show you the lab, but I am sure you would like to set up your things first.” You nodded and he showed you to your room. The corridor had 3 tall doors scattered on the walls, all looking modern and elegant.

“This is the side where usually we have our female members. Natasha and Wanda will be your nextdoor neighbors. Hope it won’t be any trouble.” Bruce looked at you ,when an aggressive shake took over your neck

“No, no. Not at all sir. I am very grateful to have such amazing heroes next to me. As a matter of fact won’t they be troubled with me here?” and here came the normal anxiety that you had for everything

“I am sure they will like you. Don’t worry about it.” Bruce stepped next to the door and waved you over “You don’t have a key or a door handle as a matter of fact. Tony’s idea, don’t ask. If you got up here on your own I assume he made the girls downstairs give you an identification implant. That is basically your entrance for everything here. Kind of an Avengers thing.” You nodded and him wiggling his fingers like a spell. Placing your hand on the door like he told you activated F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Recognized: Y/N. Access and ownership granted.

  The metal frame slid open and you found yourself standing before a big room. It was nicely furnished. The desk was big enough for you to work on it and have everything around. Bookshelves empty and ready to be used on your left and a large bed on your right flush against the wall. The window was once more its own wall right in front of you standing behind the desk. The bathroom door was opening a space before the shelf the same color as the paint in the common room.

“I will let you set up. If you need anything F.R.I.D.A.Y. is always here. The room is interactive, you can ask exactly what works under the interface’s control. The door is one.Take your time.”he was on his way out “Would you like some coffee or tea?”

“I would like some tea, thank you very much.” Bruce flashed you a smile “F.R.I.D.A.Y. the door please.”

Door closed 

  Done as said and requested, clicking behind you. 

Would you like an extensive list of my functions as an assistant?

“Please do.”

[linuxruntime]

hi please infodump about technology and old web stuff ty

OIGHFJFF hello!!! I'm... I don't know what to say I feel like I've got to sort of like. be given something to talk about but I guess I can start off by how I initially got interested in these things! this post will be very long and I've tried to format it the best I can BUT here it is:

so to start off things my mom always noted about me that I was naturally inclined towards computers. I kind of learned how to type from a very young age too because she had me by her old pc (it was a win 95 plus) and had word open and just told me to write things. it was fun and epic as fuck but FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD. I kind of just left it open one day and it was open for daaays so the computer just... overheated to death though. this sound (skip to 0:36) is super nostalgic to me. makes me go back to when we didn't even have internet and we got internet connectivity by like... 2009 AFAIK. yahoo messenger and windows live messenger were still a thing!!! before the former shut down and the latter was (don't remember this clearly) integrated with Skype technologies around the time Microsoft bought out Skype and then it was done for after a year or so of this happening.

but fast forward to about 2012-2013. you're me and you're 10 years old, and you find a LOT of content about old pcs. mainly how they looked and sounded like, as well as people absolutely going batshit on command prompt and deleting everything (these are called destruction videos). sort of everything led to another and I found a channel that exists up to this day that was focused around viruses! and even until now I'm still very interested in them. my primary interest in computers (and extending to phones as well) is how the insides work. it's super interesting to be picking apart the 'brain' of a machine you basically feed it commands to execute... and of course the process is literally done in the blink of an eye. nothing we would ever properly notice (unless for x y z reasons your machine is slowing down)

moving on from this talk I'd like to talk about a really famous and notorious virus, the loveletter worm! also commonly called ILOVEYOU, it was written in visual basic script (vbs) and caused a lot of destruction. its primary way of appealing and spreading quick is because of its nature, like it kind of takes advantage of the user emotionally (social engineering) like. oh you got a love letter! (except it's a worm!)

how do you not know that? windows automatically hides file extensions unless a user disables the option from file explorer (I can't. remember it entirely rn I'm not even on pc but this is a thing, in older windows versions it was in folder options), so an unsuspecting user wouldn't know this is a vbs file and instead would think it's a text file, as it appeared to be when you'd download it from Microsoft Outlook.

what loveletter would do -and made it one of the most destructive viruses with over a million computers infected and probably I think billions in damage- was when executed, it would overwrite all files with a copy of itself. so like... you would lose important data (didn't overwrite .exes afaik, just images and text files etc), which at the time was a Very Bad Thing. still is if you get a nasty ransomware. it was also very simple code wise if I remember correctly, which was a reason why there were so many variants of this.

overall I feel like old school viruses have more personality to them. like there was only one recent virus that did have attributes (mostly destructive ones but there were also annoying but harmless viruses) pertaining to old school viruses BUT as of late, especially with how bitcoin has become very lucrative and mainstream like an 'untapped' gold mine (bitcoin farmers die challenge), most viruses fall under the ransomware category, where all your files (not critical ones) are encrypted and under X amount of time you'll need to pay Y amount of btc to a specific wallet, unless you wanna lose your files. one in specific was so bad (I think it was wannacry? I cannot remember for the life of me) that Microsoft, a few years prior to ending Windows XP updates as it'd reached end of service, put out an update/security patch for said operating system. that's obviously like... big news, but also shows the magnitude of the problem.

um that's all I had to say personally!!! if you do want to check out videos not only about viruses and stuff but also computers in general I would suggest Enderman (has really cool experiments like installing windows on a RAM (that later cannot be booted from because... it gets wiped after a shutdown)), Flytech Videos (I suggest the Microsoft edge protocol series, as well as the fork bomb + regedit vid where they delete each major directory at the time and see the results) and all time favorite, and the channel that jump started my interest when I was in elementary school, danooct1 :)

thanks for asking and I hope this was cohesive!!

[ladecena]

I Love You ❤️

           Strong wind makes her long wavy black hair go in different direction, the blazing sun that shines through her beautiful face making her eyes brighter than anything you will ever see, and when the rain showers her at times where she wants to be alone actually made her happy and alive again it’s like washing all her worries, pain and miseries and making them a lesson that thought her to be strong and beautiful on her own.

           Walking a long road on a sunny day is refreshing wearing a comfy shirt, jeans and some nice comfortable shoes unlike others who prefer dresses and high heels, having my hair braided left and right. The pathway I’m walking right now is the same pathway me and my friends always walk to, nothing changes there are still benches to sit to when you are tired the street food corner that is still within sight if you sit in one of the benches. laughing with them is one of the memories I have the most.

           “where already on our second year and we are also together in the same class right?” her friend asked her, they were around 14 years old and on their second year of high school around this time they are still careless, innocent and pure to know the difficulties the world have.

           Walking again on the never-ending corridor of her alma mater, the table they always passed by after greeting the kind guard who where always sitting there, the small basketball court that serves as a temporary court for every student, the canteen monitored by hot-tempered but still always smiling lady’s behind the counter and also the giant tree on the middle where you can eat and also a hangout place together with her friends because of the concrete table and benches.

           “Kim?” a manly voice calls out that momentarily cut-off her being nostalgic and reminiscence all the emotions that she let out in this place

           “Hi, Pastor? I’m glad to see you again” she said smiling at the now grey haired but still strong and resilient looking man who show and guide them all through their walk on the path that they choose.

           “Hello Kim, I see you haven’t really change, lets meet the principal?” she nods and let him walk ahead of her. Nothing really changes in this campus, Kim taught to herself all the stairs, railings, door rooms, and the paints also remains.

           Kim graduated on a nice and outstanding university she even reached her dreams. Having work to support her parents and that work is a part of what she dreamed to be that’s why she was being encouraged to give inspiration to the students who are currently attending her alma mater.

           “Ma’am Carina said there is someone who would accompany me on the day” she’s thinking about who it would be the principal is talking about. Kim was just wearing simple clothes she was comfortable with because it’s just a meeting. Going down to the same staircase she walked by earlier and onto the last step she bumps into someone.

           “Kim?” a voice she hardly hears after graduating on her high school days makes her eyes wider and urge her to look at the male who owns the usual comforting voice it’s warm and inviting, and she loves it the most. Looking up at him he doesn’t seems to change at all he is much taller just right for her to hear his heartbeat every time she would have the chance to lean on his wide shoulder, to hug her and can comfort her anytime. His Brown eyes are firm, steady and prepared to embrace Kim when she falls to take care of her and warm her with love. Smiling at her he really doesn’t change.

           “Paul!” Kim exclaimed her excitement is noticeable “how are you?” she added

           “I’m great, I’ve become who I want to be” he says still smiling at her “how about you?”

           “Still the same, but I also reach the one who I want to be am” Kim says smiling and looking up on him. “So, you are the one ma’am Carina was talking about I guess?”

           “Oh! So, you’re going to be a speaker also? That’s great!”

           Paul ask Kim if she have time and invited her to eat out also for them to have a little chat about what happened in their separate lives after graduating. So, Kim decided to sit on one of the benches in the new canteen that was made before they graduated because Paul is having a meeting with ma’am Carina like she did earlier.

           Blushing and talking to herself.

           “What did you just do!” she scream silently to herself. Ah! It is still refreshing to sit here, it’s a shame we didn’t get to eat and sit here for a long time.

           “Kim!? You’re also late? That’s new” Pamela one of her friend who has a perfect attendance on being late  

             “Yeah! I think my alarm broke” Kim sadly said

             Laughing silently “That’s alright, at least you get to see your crush first thing in the morning. Look!” Pamela teases her while patting her back

              Putting her chin on her hand she whispers “In front of him and even I just see a glimpse of him I’m always blushing, I’m such a Wimp”

 Taking a glance of the guy sitting two table from us but still I know who, I blush again. He looks like he wakes up late and because he lives far away, I think the traffic got him.

             “Kim! Come on I’m finished talking with ma’am” slowly walking to me his smile made me broke from remembering from past. “we should go now?” he asks sitting beside me.

           “Yes! Sure, Let’s go?” walking out and passing the things where I remember most of my happy, sad, exciting, and scarry moments of my life, I’m sure I’ll come back again.

           “You’re driving a car? That’s cool” I say while blushing Paul replied a “Yup” and open the passengers sit for me. I do also have a car but I’m glad I didn’t bring it here and just walk if ever I wouldn’t have a chance to see him this handsome.

           A beautiful place where we sit under a large and fertile tree grasses that you’ll feel on your heel there is also a stone passage you can walk, and yellow lights are spread around the place so when it’s already dark you can still be able to see the one you were with. Sitting across each other is a better way for the two of us to have a clear talk, and its way better for me if we are across each other, I can stealth a look and focus on him.

           “The place is really beautiful, where’d you know this place?” I ask smiling mischievously at him

           “Yeah? Thanks too google” Paul says making the two of us laugh, internet and social media really makes living easier and more convenient for everyone.

           “So, you’re already a Pilot?” I ask him after we calmed down and for us to have a conversation while waiting for the food

           “Unfortunately, but still I’m late at finishing my course” he said staring at me after he look at the stars who are present tonight

           “For 2 years, right? I admire you for continuing your studies. Well, you’re one of the brightest students in our batch” I said to him while also admiring him, he doesn’t really change at all

           “Your still the same, always giving me compliments.” He smiles at me that made me also smile at him.

           As our dinner arrives which is a creamy flavor white sauce pasta that tingle my taste buds and just perfectly creamy that I like, stake that is juicy, tender, and loaded with flavor and lastly a wine that is bright and has a youthful color that perfectly match for Paul while I choose to drink cucumber juice with lemon that I love the most.

           Looks like we made it

           Look how far we’ve come, my baby

             This place we are eating have a live Band not the rock one but the calming one that made this place even more perfect. Most of the guest who where also eating are slowly standing walking on the middle stage part to dance, there are married, teens which are only friends but also couples.

           We might a took the long way

           We knew we’d get there someday

           “Can I have this dance?” walking over me and offering his hands to me looking up at him and placing my hand on his hand and walking through to get on to the center his big, warm and comforting hand guide me all trough our walk

           They said, “I bet they’ll never make it”

But just look at us holding on

We’re still together, still going strong

 “I’m thinking are you always going to be my first dance?” I ask teasing him

He nods his head smile at me and says, “can’t I?” squinting my eyes I placed my hands on his neck and he pulls me close enough for the both of us and for the sake of my heart, I guess?

           You’re still the one I run to

The one that I belong to

You’re still the one I want for life

             He places both his hands on my waist “The last time I held you like this you’re waist still have some fats, but now look at you, you really did change” he says to me I don’t know if his mocking me or complimenting me

You’re still the one that I love

The only one I dream of

You’re still the one I kiss goodnight

           “I’ll take that as a compliment” and we laugh. Like we are young again still in our teenage year full of life, carelessness, innocence and being pure to have any Idea that we would become like this one day.

           I’m so glad we made it

Look how far we’ve come, my baby

 Our day ended with him bringing me home wishing for us to meet again, and for us to convey what we want to say to the current young ones our Alma Mater are protecting and guiding through their journey as an individual.

Casual short sleeve blue summer dress just above her knees and wearing a glass looking 2-inch ankle strap heals finish with a simple make-up and a single half side braided hair Kim walked down on the stage after she finished delivering her encouragement and for Paul to deliver his massage as Paul where speaking a calm and refreshing wind blows making him and her smiling admiringly at each other.

Kim sees again the younger version of herself and Paul that are on the process of making what they are together now has been fulfilled, how the way they see, cherished and care for each other.  

Kim sees the struggles, hardship, and obstacle that they experienced and experiencing up until now. Most especially appearing before her eyes how they manage to overcome their struggles, surpass all the hardship and be successful through all the obstacle laid out for them.

“I hope that all of you even though you struggle like Kim and stop studying for a while like me still dreams and achieve what we both of us have and will just be making.” Paul ends his message smiling at Kim.

Walking again up on the stage with Paul helping Kim by holding her hands. The event speaker congratulates all the student and give acknowledgements to both Paul and Kim.

Kim trusts Paul and Paul believes to Kim, he completes her the most and she fill’s him love that he believes no one could ever give to him. Paul is her longtime crush, and he loves Kim endlessly.

“Once again let’s give our thanks’ to Mr. and Mrs. Cruz for sharing such a wonderful and inspiring message”

- YellowStrawberry💛

June 13, 2021