#are u in a neon cult

[cozytownz]

I will take all your coffee and your coffee colored drawing materials

what’s the villain backstory here anon buddy what’s your agenda

[neolando]

before every test i write 127 on my hand for good luck, im on this neo shit til i did

[one-hell-of-otaku-is-here]

My thoughts on NGE SERIES (before dwelling into movies)

Congratulations?? Oh, that's great. I am so happy for Shinji bit like wtf are we going to do with whole Human instrumentality project hahaha. This amime series just won reward for most wtf ending ever no wonder it isn't ending I can't imagine what kids felt back them before movie came out. Still have it 9/10 on Mal I really related to some of these characters (I just love this deep stuff and ofc there's Kawoshin aaaa). I am gonna get into movie and other alternate versions - this show is nuts in more than one way and it has me in itc clutches... and I iust cant accept ending where everyone becomes one like wtf I probably like movie's ending better... ofc I am also gonna watch theories videos because I am stupid, and I need other lenses to explain this mess

[jennay]

Misunderstood

Request:

I wanna request rory culkin in lords of chaos being in his record shop and seeing a not so normal customer for such a shop, he sees a pretty girl wearing her pretty mini sundress having her cute makeup and hair done, she looks all dolled-up ykyk. she basically goes there to buy something for her brother but she's so not into it, she so shy and "scared" to go there but she eventually does it and like euro kinda finds it adorable even tho everyone there is teasing her (AH IDK IF THAT MAKES SENSE LMAO, I just need fluff and cuteness and yk maybe a little spicy teasing IDK HEHEHE! hope u have a great day!!!)

Master List

An: I Hope this is what you wanted!

Words: 1700

Warnings: None. Maybe shit talking?

Shivers ran down your spine as you walked down the dark, dirty street. Why your brother thought it was a good idea to send you to this part of town was beyond you. You understood his foot was broken and needed someone to run errands for him, but you didn't belong with the people he associated with. You weren't into death metal, didn't wear all black, and you definitely didn't rage against the machine. You were quite the opposite. You enjoyed your colorful wardrobe and bubbly music and were more of a rule follower. You NEVER got in trouble or put yourself in a bad situation.

You had heard rumors about the record store and its owner. Some said he was a cult leader who performed rituals in the basement. Others said he was a serial killer who lured unsuspecting customers into his trap. Others said he was a vampire who fed on the blood of young girls like you. He wasn't twenty-five, but innocent people's blood kept him youthful.

Of course, you didn't believe those stories, but you still felt uneasy as you approached the store. It looked like a rundown shack, with faded posters and graffiti covering the windows. The neon sign flickered and buzzed, spelling out "Rock 'n' Roll Heaven." You wondered if that was meant to be ironic or ominous.

You pushed open the door and stepped inside. The smell of dust and mold hit you like a wave. You saw rows of shelves filled with records, tapes, and magazines. You also saw posters of rock stars and bands, some of who you recognized and others you didn't. The place was dimly lit by a few lamps and a jukebox that played an old song you couldn't name. Where the hell did you step into?

You walked along the aisles, scanning the labels and covers. You could feel a few different sets of eyes on you, and you tried to keep your head down but glanced up a few times with an awkward smile, hoping they didn't come toward you.

One man stood at the counter pretending to read a magazine, but his eyes would flick to you. He'd nudge his buddy and whisper something you couldn't hear, making you anxious.

"Sweetheart. I think you stepped into the wrong place." One of them says, staring at you. "You need to go to the record store on Broadwater. They have all that bubble gum pop shit you're probably looking for." You notice his piercing blue eyes carving into your soul, and you try to look away, but it's a trance. His long black hair hangs in his face, and deep down inside, you want to remark how he should stop wearing women's clothing and grow up, but the rumor of him eating people comes back to your mind, and you keep your mouth shut.

You find the name of the band your brother had mentioned, and there are several different pieces of vinyl, each from a different year. Why didn't he tell you the name?

"Do you not talk?" Another one calls from the counter.

You look up at him again, blushing, "I do. I'm just looking for something, and I'll be out of here." Your eyes return to the records, and you grab the newest one. Your brother was a collector, and it was more than likely he wanted the more recent item.

You hear his footsteps walking around the counter, and just to your luck, the bigger one is coming toward you. The one who looks like he might attack you.

He walks up to you with a smirk on his face, holding a cigarette in his hand. He blows smoke in your direction, making you cough. He looks at the record you're holding and snorts. "You're kidding me. You're buying this crap?" He grabs the record from your hand and examines it. "This is their latest album. It's garbage. They sold out to the mainstream. They lost their edge. They used to be good back in the day." He points to another record on the shelf. "This is their first album. This is where it all started. This is real music." He hands it to you and takes back the one you had chosen. "Trust me, kid. You'll thank me later." He winks at you and returns to the counter, leaving you speechless and confused.

Kid? You weren't a child.

You cautiously walk to the counter, noticing two of the three men sitting in the corner watching some gory horror movie, and you do your best not to make a face at it.

You try to play it cool like you weren't in your favorite red and white sundress that you'd just bought, you weren't wearing the cutest sandals you'd ever seen, or you didn't get dolled up for the day knowing where you were going.

You tried to ignore the stares and whispers of the other customers, who looked at you like you were an alien. But you knew you couldn't fool anyone.

"You're brave walking in here looking like that. You look like you got lost on your way to the Barbie convention." He sounds playful, but you'd be lying if you said it didn't hurt your feelings.

You bite your lip, wishing he would just tell you how much you owe him, but he seems amused with you and taking his time. He grabs the record with a smirk and taps on the cash register.

He looks at you with a mock surprise and says, "That'll be a hundred bucks, please." He chuckles and adds, "Just kidding. It's only twenty. But I'll take a hundred if you want to tip me for my excellent service." He winks at you and holds his hand, waiting for your payment.

Your eyes deaden at his joke; you don't find him amusing. He hands you the record, still smiling as you walk away from him.

"Hey, I'm gonna take a smoke break." He tells the others and follows behind you. Was he following you?

Part of Euronymous felt guilty for the way he was acting. He didn't want to admit it, but that was his best attempt at flirting, and he failed miserably. "Hey, wait up." He says, catching you before you cross the street.

You stop, looking back for a second before you sigh and drop your shoulders, "Why so you can continue to be an asshole to me?"

He runs his fingers through his hair, holding his cigarette to his lips. "I wasn't. I didn't…Look, I think your style's cool. I, uh, I don't know how to talk to pretty girls." He admits.

Your brows scrunch together with confusion; you aren't sure what his game plan is. "I'm not really into Satanists or cult leaders, so you don't have to waste your time apologizing to me or trying to make me feel better about myself. I think you're tacky, just like your store."

He looks hurt by your words, but he doesn't give up. "Well, I'm neither of those things." He pulls his cigarette from his lips, "This is weird and I know this is weird, because I'm weird, but, let me at least walk you to your car. It's getting late and I'd feel like a shithead if something happened to you."

You hesitate, not sure if you should trust him or not. He doesn't look like a bad guy, just a misunderstood one. But you've heard stories about people like him, who pretend to be friendly and turn out to be monsters. You don't want to be another victim. "I'm walking to my brother's house, and I'd prefer you not to know where I stay." You tell him, but part of you wants to take his offer. It's creepy at night, and you have no way to protect yourself if something was to happen.

He remains quiet, watching you rethink what you just told him. Why did you tell him that? He could easily follow you and find out where you live. You curse yourself for being so stupid. "If I let you walk me home, promise not to stalk me?" You ask him, hoping he's not lying.

His laughter rings in your ears, "I won't stalk you. Between my band and owning the shop, I don't have time to stalk anyone plus, if you want to see me, you know where I work." He playfully winks. "Come on, let's go. I promise I'll behave." He smiles at you with a charming grin that makes your heart flutter. You wonder if he's as bad as you thought or just a lonely soul looking for company. You decide to give, hoping you won't regret it later.

You make small talk, asking him about his band. He tells you that his band is called Mayhem and plays black metal, an extreme and controversial music genre.

"I'm glad you came in today. I know it can be a bit over the top, and I'd be lying if I said we weren't being judgemental dicks." He laughs, his eyes dart to you nervously, waiting for your response, but you continue to watch the sidewalk. "I hope part of you doesn't believe I'm what everyone says."

You tilt your head up, looking at him with curiosity. You wonder why your opinion would matter. "I think you're misunderstood but you kind of like it that way."

He shrugs and takes a drag from his cigarette. "I do enjoy being a rebel and an outcast. I like making people uncomfortable it's entertaining to see how fearful people are." He exhales the smoke and looks at you with a smirk. "But maybe I also like surprising people and showing them that I'm not a monster. Maybe I like being normal and human."

"You know, nice doesn't look bad on you. You should try it more often." You're able to genuinely smile at him this time. "Well," You say, stopping in front of the apartment doors. "This is it." You don't know how to end this interaction. It's not like this was a date or a friendship.

He nods, "Alright, I'll see you around?"

You shrug with a playful smile as you open the door, "Maybe."

He throws his hands in the air as he walks away from you, "I'll take it!" He says, his voice full of excitement. He looks back at you and gives you a thumbs-up, making you laugh, and he disappears into the night, leaving you with a story to amuse your brother with and a memory that might make you return to the 'scariest' record store in town.

[encrucijada]

HAZE DOGS — a wip by ester cuervos

【 genre & categroy: horror, low fantasy, adult 】

【 pov: 2nd person retrospective 】

【 what if princess mononoke, the hunt from the magnus archives, and night in the woods had a baby. guy too scared for horror keeps writing it. great news for all the girls (gender neutral) who've ever wanted to go apeshit!! i'm technically catholic so i'm allowed to bastardise catholicism 】

【 cw: cults, blood and gore, religious blasphemy, cannibalism, harm to animals 】

【 tone & themes: feminine horror, corruption, bottled rage, divinity, unhinged, atmospheric, eerie, immortality/mortality 】

a b o u t : an isolated town is haunted by otherworldly canines incapable of dying. when connor hidalgo mejía comes back to life after being sacrificed by her old classmates, the town finds a temporary solution to their problem that will keep more people from dying: they offer connor and only connor to the animals. with her boyfriend's mother at the head, connor becomes the reluctant but not entirely unwilling idol of worship of a cult that begins to form around her. the people of her town really believe she can somehow free them of this haunting. but aurora vidal isn't the only one pulling the strings for power. everyone wants a piece of connor's divinity, a god is easy to manipulate when she's actually just a nineteen-year-old girl who up until last month only had two concerns: make it to tomorrow and get to know her estranged brother. the temporary solution starts to feel like a permanent one with connor soon not being able to find peace in life or in death.

another story about a girl in a white dress getting sacrificed... except she's wearing cool alternative clothes on top of that white dress. also the dark academia plot of "person we all hate died under mysterious circumstances" except this time the person keeps coming back to life, worse each time.

c h a r a c t e r s :

connor hidalgo mejía. she/they. embodies the energy of the "alt friend" from 00s teen movies. would have bitten you to win an argument even before things got freaky. what if jesus was a dog.

ángel quijada vidal. he/they. connor's boyfriend. dark academia protagonist who got lost and ended up in a horror movie. ignoring social cues on purpose because he thinks they're stupid.

delilah estévez herrera. she/her. connor's best friend. literally the prettiest person in the room at all times. not joining your cult bestie sick aesthetic tho. borrowing her from my buddy jude <3

acacia quijada vidal. she/her. connor's frenemy. would befriend you and then vaguepost about you online. ángel's sister. youngest sister syndrome. dead blue eyes.

aurora vidal ochoa. she/her. ángel's mum. gaslight gatekeep girlboss. woke up and decided to become a cult leader. marisa coulter energy (derogatory).

benjy hidalgo mejía. he/him. connor's brother, apparently. has the energy of the bum older brother with a shitty band and a warning sign of his door you'd find in a 90s movie.

zagreus. he/it. pubby :3 nothing weird going on here i prommy.

aesthetic: a foggy open field, coyote howls in the dead of night, wiping blood from your mouth, maximalist teen girl bedrooms, light reflecting off of animal eyes, an empty dilapidated church, bite marks on your shoulder, tall grass swaying in the breeze, an abandoned fountain filled with greenish water, broken statues, taxidermy animals, the rattle of a dog's chain, crackling television signal, cloudy weather and the smell of ozone before a storm, glitter makeup rolling down your cheeks, music so loud others hear it on your headphones, a lake with party trash floating on the surface, your fanciest clothes splattered with blood, the cold smoothness of fine jewellery, low quality camera footage, a trail of kisses down your spine, teeth that are too sharp, halos made with neon bracelets, cupping your cheeks with bloodied hands, curling up under the covers in bed when it's cold

snippet!!!

“Cool, right?” you asked your reflection, answered yourself with a smile that cut your purple mouth in two with white teeth.

You grabbed your keys.

Benjy was in the living room. He still occupied space like he was a guest instead of a resident, you looked at him and tried to find yourself on his face, on his shoulders, his hair, his hands. But other than the brown of your skin and his skin, you couldn’t, the only thing you shared that your mum had too were the freckles, but what did that prove? If that was proof of kin then Ángel would be your brother, Acacia your sister, Dafne a quarter of something with the smattered speckles on the bridge of their nose.

“Where the fuck are you going?”

He was your brother enough to talk like he’d known all nineteen years of your life.

You stopped in front of the television, a horror movie screaming behind you, blood and guts and bad sound effects of tearing skin, someone’s burbly wail from a cut throat.

“Vidal party.”

“What’s a Vidal? Am I supposed to know what that is?”

“They own like half the town, huge house, can’t miss it.”

“And they invited the likes of you?”

[mabelstone]

hello babie

little angst fic in light of the new matt pics? gruffy stubborn horknee matt? a little christmas miracle?

love u miss u

hi sugarpie miss u more

hope this suffices <3 i couldn't think of a 'christmas miracle' i am sorry xx maybe i'll write a soft christmas fic after this

18+ ofc, you know me by now

Nobody Compares to You

matt stone x reader

word count: 2.1k

***

Being with a prolific near-billionaire with a ridiculously successful TV show and a close-to cult following has its downsides. The copious amounts of groupies, stalkers, etc, etc. Not to mention that he's the textbook definition of a workaholic, which often meant you would go days without seeing each other due to your conflicting work schedules, despite sharing the same bed each night.

You knew this going into your relationship with him and you swore you wouldn't have it any other way.

That was until you found out about the new hire at South Park Studios. A painfully beautiful, bubbly young woman around your age, funny and oh, so intelligent. To your dismay, everyone in the studio had grown very fond of her, including your beloved boyfriend. The part he failed to mention was that she was now his personal assistant, hence why she would text him at inappropriate hours and was practically glued to him each time you visited him at work on one of your days off.

You could look past the groupies and die hard fans as you knew they wouldn't ever stand a chance. But a young woman so full of life, someone who made Matt cackle the way only you and his friends could unearthed something deep inside you. An unmistakable hatred for this girl, though she hadn't done anything wrong, per se. This created a rift in your relationship with him, and though you wanted to blame her, it was painfully clear that it was your doing.

One day you'd surprised him with lunch, taking in a container of his absolute favourite meal that you'd slaved over all morning.

"Oh, thank you, gorgeous," he'd kissed you tenderly, though his words to follow suggested he wouldn't be eating it any time soon. "I wish you'd called... Belle and I just got Chinese, I'm stuffed."

Your smile faltered, peering over at the twiggy blonde tapping away at her laptop with her long, neon orange nails. "I wanted to surprise you. My mistake."

Belle looked up intermittently with an unreadable expression, "yeah, so sorry. What was your name, again?"

"Y/N," you shot her a fake smile that was about as friendly as a kick to the jaw. He mustn't talk about me often. "Ah," was all you could muster, a pang of disappointment flooding your veins.

"I'm sorry," he frowned lightly, a gentle hand taking yours. "I'll have it for dinner! You know me so well."

"So you'll be staying late again?"

"At this rate, it's a safe bet," he smiled sympathetically. He looked tired, no surprise. You sometimes selfishly wished that he'd get a bad cold or something so he'd be forced to stay home with you. "I'm really sorry."

"Meeting in five, Matt," Belle spoke up, her tone a lot friendlier than it was with you.

"I'll get out of your hair then." You didn't say bye, instead speed walked to your car, fuelled by your rage toward his assistant.

Matt: Not even going to say goodbye to me?

Matt: This isn't my fault

You: i just didn't know you were having lunch dates with your assistant

You cursed yourself straight after your message sent, realising just how ridiculous you sounded. Like a jealous teenage girl.

Matt: Lunch date? You mean having lunch with your coworker is now considered a date?

You: does she even know you have a girlfriend?

Matt: Do I really have to share my personal life with my assistant? She does, yes. What has gotten into you?

You: she gets to spend every minute of every day with you

Matt: So this is about her? Don't be so jealous, this is a work relationship.

Matt: Gotta go.

Your eyes blurred with tears as you drove home in silence, your jaw ticking in frustration. You couldn't help but wonder if you were in the wrong. Surely he would have had to pick her as his assistant, right? Why couldn't he have picked a man. Or, as awful as it sounds, a girl who wasn't so attractive. Or maybe a girl who wouldn't have graduated the same year as you.

He got home at 11pm, a bit earlier than you had anticipated. You couldn't sleep though, your mind running wild at the possibilities. With all the time spent with her and away from you, would he fall for her? Would he stop loving you? Was she planning to whisk him away from you? Was your little argument today just pushing him further into her arms?

He walked into your bedroom and didn't say a word. He walked straight into the ensuite and locked the door before you had a chance to speak, closing your mouth immediately.

When he came out, he looked visibly more relaxed, newly grown out curls dripping beads of water onto his skin. He sat in front of you on the bed, only a towel keeping him decent.

"Care to tell me what that was earlier?" His voice was stern, eyebrows slightly raised.

"You tell me," you tone was unwavering as well, arms folded across your chest.

"I wish I could," he huffed, the frustration clearly creeping back. "I can see that you're jealous. But I think theres a bit more to it, isn't there?"

"I miss you."

"Of course I miss you too. But I have to go to work. I can't control the hours!" He raised his voice slightly. Maybe there was more to this for him, too.

"We haven't had sex in two weeks, Matt," you sighed, looking toward the ceiling as that awful, sad feeling reared its ugly head again. "You used to want it- need it, every second day, at least."

"We haven't had time!" He sighed now, running a hand over his face. "I've had to... deal with it myself."

"Does your assistant have to be there for that too? Does she add it into your calendar?" You bit, meeting his eyeline again, that now had narrowed on you, angry brows knotted together.

"You are a brat, you know that?" He spat, appearing as if he were about to double over in anger.

"I'm a brat, huh?" You laughed humourlessly, shaking your head at him. "I spent all morning cooking for you. Every day I do all the cleaning after I've been working all day. I iron your clothes for the next day and have them ready for you every night before I even think to do anything for myself. Before I even have dinner!"

He just stared back, not interjecting for a change. His expression softened as he let you get it all out.

"I have done that for you for four years now! Four years! But I'm a brat, huh? All because I miss you and yes, I'm upset that you have a pretty new assistant. I'm upset that she spends all day with you, gets to have lunch and sometimes dinner with you. She gets to eat and laugh with you, all the while I come home to our house alone. I go to sleep alone and wake up alone. Do you know the things I would do to have lunch with you just once a week? The fact that I'm even explaining myself is ridiculous, I-"

Your rambling was cut short but warm lips pressing gently against yours. Your hands instantly found damp curls, fighting the urge to cry at the fact he was finally at your fingertips, and not when he was snoring beside you in the small hours. He was finally there, finally, you had his undivided attention.

His fingers quickly hooked into your panties, pulling them off in one autonomous motion. He wasted no time disconnecting your lips, positioning himself between your thighs. His warm tongue flitting over your clit sent a shockwave of electricity through your body, a sharp gasp from your lips piercing the overwhelming tension in the room. You grabbed a fistful of his hair without a second thought, grinding down onto that beautiful face. The coarseness of his beard scratched your inner thighs, sending a chill down your spine. With your eyes screwed shut, you moaned his name just as you had imagined for nights on end, his own groan vibrating against your core. You opened your eyes when you thought he'd pulled out your vibrator, soon realised it was just his phone buzzing somewhere on the bed spread. He didn't slow his motions, continuing to lick dizzying stripes across your clit. You felt around for his phone, wishing you hadn't when you saw her caller ID on the screen.

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Mm, what?" His voice was muffled against you, only pulling away when you pulled your hips away. "Oh, come on. I can't control when she calls me, babe. It's probably something really important."

You realised you weren't angry at him, but absolutely livid with her. You just had a gut feeling about her. You knew girls like her, you could tell from he minute you laid eyes on here. She just wanted to climb the hierarchal ladder that was your beloved boyfriend. Unfortunately he was going to have to figure that out on his own. You couldn't help but give him the cold shoulder that night.

***

Things had slightly improved between the two of you. You'd been intimate more frequently, things often getting so steamy that one time he'd bent you over the kitchen counter, resulting in very burnt chicken for dinner.

For the sake of your own sanity, you'd stopped torturing yourself with your imagination over his beautiful assistant. He loved you, he was as faithful as they come.

Matt: I'll be home in 30 xx

He'd messaged you that two hours ago. You were worried you'd have to start calling police stations, but he finally responded to your missed calls with another text.

Matt: Long story. Talk soon.

He returned home an hour later, the door slamming behind him. You startled from where you sitting on the couch, having stress drank through half a bottle of red wine at this stage. He scooped you up from your position on the couch, eliciting a loud squeal of surprise from you, followed by the thunk of your wine glass hitting the carpet, effectively painting the rug crimson.

"Don't worry about it," he breathed against your skin. "Missed you," he trailed kisses along your jaw and neck, your breath hitching when he would hit your sweet spots.

"Mm- what happened at work? Where were you?" You grabbed his jaw in an attempt to slow him to no avail. He continued to carry you to the bedroom, physically in front of you, but mentally somewhere deep between your thighs.

"Don't worry about it," he echoed, placing you down onto the bed. You felt a little worried - he only got like this if something really stressful happened. He was usually great at talking about his feelings, especially when something happened at work.

He continued to kiss down your body, trying to strip your clothes with such haste you could barely keep up.

"Babe- stop. Stop." You huffed, finally getting a grip on his tireless wrists. "What happened? Were you with her?"

Then he came back into his body, eyes narrowing on yours. "We're seriously still on this?" He groaned, sitting back on his knees. "I fired her."

"Fired her?!" You couldn't hide the surprise in your tone, but masked the happiness very well. "Why? I thought she was a hoot, no?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now," he sighed. Catching your expression, he realised you weren't going to let up until you had the full story. "Jesus- okay, she tried to make a move on me. Happy? You were right." He rolled his eyes.

Now you were beaming. You thought you'd be more upset, but his obvious disgust debunked that thought immediately. "Say that last part again."

"You were right," he rolled his eyes again, playfully this time. "Now take off your clothes."

"Yes, sir!" You laughed too, stripping off your clothes so fast, you'd miss it if you blinked. Immediately, he was on top of you, a growing hard on pressing into your thigh.

"Nobody compares to you," he mumbled against your lips, stripping his boxers without taking his eyes off you, drinking you in. "Nobody."

His words warmed you to your core, words you didn't know you needed to hear. Despite the intensity leading up to this moment, he slid himself in slowly, stretching and filling you inch by glorious inch. You arched your back into the feeling, bare chests rubbing against one another.

"I love you," you breathed, grinding gently into him, both of your hips connecting in slow synchronicity. His warm arms surrounding you, pulling you impossibly closer.

"I love you," he kissed you slowly, "so, so much."

You felt more connected than you had in weeks, months, even. And in that moment, you too though, nobody compares to you.

you know me by now. no proof reading sozzy and this ending sucks balls... but its dry out here

[abisbookshelf]

100+ songs that remind me of kiribaku/bakushima: the ship between eijiro kirishima + katsuki bakugo from my hero academia (anime)

best friend - rex orange county

sunflower - rex orange county

just a friend - jordi

pluto projector - rex orange county

i love you so - the walters

falling for ya - from the "teen beach movie" - grace phipps

line without a hook - ricky montgomery

mr. loverman - ricky montgomery

the only exception - paramore

devil town - cavetown

falling for u - peachy! & mxmtoon

best friend - laufey

let me down slowly - alec benjamin

anxiety - blackbear & FRND

training wheels - melanie martinez

like or like like - miniature tigers

would you be so kind - dodie

i like me better - lauv

nothing - bruno major

paper rings - taylor swift

puppy princess - hot freaks

i wanna be your boyfriend - hot freaks

let's fall in love for the night - FINNEAS

every summertime - NIKI

cloud 9 - beach bunny

wish you were gay - billie eilish

wish you were sober - conan gray

the king - conan gray

sports - beach bunny

say you won't let go - james arthur

fight or flight - conan gray

are you bored yet? - wallows & clairo

heather - conan gray

cruel summer - taylor swift

comfort crowd - conan gray

lemon boy - cavetown

apocalypse - cigarettes after sex

can i call you tonight? - dayglow

this is home - cavetown

everybody talks - neon trees

someone to you - BANNERS

i love you - billie eilish

this side of paradise - coyote theory

mystery of love - sufjan stevens

always forever - cults

silence - marshmello & khalid

safe & sound (taylor's version) - taylor swift, joy williams & john paul white

safe and sound - capital cities

sweet tooth - cavetown

astronomy - conan gray

me and my husband - mitski

my love mine all mine - mitski

as the world caves in - sarah cothran

strawberries & cigarettes - troye sivan

pierre - ryn weaver

eyes closed - ed sheeran

perfect - ed sheeran

photograph - ed sheeran

can't help falling in love - elvis presley

talk to me - cavetown

we fell in love in october - girl in red

hey there delilah - plain white t's

crush culture - conan gray

for him. - troye sivan & allday

make you mine - PUBLIC

loving is easy - rex orange county & benny sings

i hear a symphony - cody fry

daylight - taylor swift

wildest dreams (taylor's version) - taylor swift

juliet - cavetown

this is what falling in love feels like - JVKE

this is what heartbreak feels like - JVKE

what was i made for? - from "barbie" - billie eilish

reflections - the neighbourhood

oh no! - MARINA

cabo - ricky montgomery

partners in crime - set it off & ash costello

it took me by surprise - maria mena

seventeen - MARINA

this december - ricky montgomery

never ever getting rid of me - waitress original broadway cast

guys dont like me - it boys!

deja vu - olivia rodrigo

drivers license - olivia rodrigo

1 step forward, 3 steps back - olivia rodrigo

bad idea right? - olivia rodrigo

teenage dream - olivia rodrigo

meant to be yours - ryan mccartan, barrett wilbert weed & michelle duffy

verbatim - mother mother

lovers rock - TV girl

lover - taylor swift

freaks - surf curse

electric love - BØRNS

sure thing - miguel

ribs - lorde

sofia - clairo

boys will be bugs - cavetown

i wanna be your girlfriend - girl in red

people watching - conan gray

as the world caves in - matt maltese

two birds - regina spektor

i can't handle change - roar

cardigan - taylor swift

pretty boy - the neighbourhood

cigarette daydreams - cage the elephant

history hates lovers - oublaire

numb little bug - em beihold

where's my love - SYML

dark red - steve lacy

heart to heart - mac demarco

chamber of reflection - mac demarco

for the first time - mac demarco

my kind of woman - mac demarco

kids - current joys

christmas kids - roar

10 things i hate about you - leah kate

boyfriend - dove cameron

my blood - twenty one pilots

my blood - ellie goulding

drumming song - florence + the machine

you belong with me (taylor's version) - taylor swift

sparks fly (taylor's version) - taylor swift

enchanted (taylor's version) - taylor swift

i knew you were trouble (taylor's version) - taylor swift

all too well (10 minute version - taylor's version) - taylor swift

don't blame me - taylor swift

gorgeous - taylor swift

bags - clairo

open arms - SZA & travis scott

all i wanted - paramore

the great war - taylor swift

i wanna be yours - arctic monkeys

afterglow - taylor swift

you get me so high - the neighbourhood

runaway runaway - lullaby layla & keevin

the night we met - lord huron

watercolor eyes - from "euphoria" - lana del rey

late night talking - harry styles

shameless - camila cabello

those eyes - new west

here with me - d4vd

golden hour - JVKE

what a time - julia michaels & niall horan

we belong together - ritchie valens

can't take my eyes off you - frankie valli

i like you (a happier song) - post malone & doja cat

sweater weather - the neighbourhood

K. - cigarettes after sex

out of my league - fitz and the tantrums

until i found you - stephen sanchez & em beihold

loverboy - a-wall

set fire to the rain - adele

mrs magic - strawberry guy

je te laisserai des mots - patrick watson

rises the moon - liana flores

last dance - scratch massive & maud geffray

crush - cigarettes after sex

trust fund baby - why don't we

hooked - why don't we

jenny (i wanna ruin our friendship) - studio killers

not another song about love - hollywood ending

the red means i love you - madds buckley

i won't say (i'm in love) - disney cast from "hercules"

first love/late spring - mitski

love grows (where my rosemary goes) - edison lighthouse

stereo hearts - gym class heroes & adam levine

did i mention - cast from "descendants"

bad romance - lady gaga

sunsetz - cigarettes after sex

still into you - paramore

i kissed a boy - jupither

bang bang (new version) - K'NAAN & adam levine

dress - taylor swift

midnight rain - taylor swift

baby i'm yours - arctic monkeys

falling - chase atlantic

say yes to heaven - lana del rey

cry - cigarettes after sex

sweet - cigarettes after sex

my type - saint motel

they don't know about us - one direction

something just like this - the chainsmokers & coldplay

no one compares to you - jack & jack

yellow hearts - ant saunders

if we have each other - alec benjamin

hey stupid, i love you - JP saxe

if i saw him, i'd still kiss him - mccafferty

i love you like an alcoholic - the taxpayers

i am falling for you - loving caliber

dream boy - waterparks

disaster - conan gray

@ my worst - blackbear

golden - harry styles

start a riot - BANNERS

i love you - woodkid

maniac - conan gray

there is more in the spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/08jACx5UDxnojbTv4I5NR0

if you have any other recommendations for songs please let me know and they will go straight into the playlist. also, please don't be disrespectful and this is a reminder that these are my opinions, i hope that you enjoy the playlist!! ❤️🧡💋

[jacenotjason]

*slowly appears from the void*

Would it be alright, if I requested some Fun Facts about Ma? I am so very curious and I wanna hear all the things about the characters-

Hey how did you do that? Ma facts? Oh sure >:D *throws goldfish into the void*

Funfacts n notso funfacts round with Ma!

(HERES THE AU!)

Fun Facts

She’d pierce more of her if she could, but.. ya can’t really pierce a bird? If i drew her in a human au she’d have WAY MORE piercings!

SHE CAN FLY! She just doesnt like to lol

Her hair isn’t naturally that neon rainbow, its black underneath! She regularly bleaches and dyes, usually in the company of others bc its always funner, and you need someone to check the back!

Ma is a mix of birds, but she’s mostly eagle!! Thats where she gets her big ol talons!

Her talons are really sharp! She always tells ppl to mind them when they’re close. (Aa i can imagine her saying that actually “I’m so happy you decided to-, watch the talons, sugar- come over today”)

She has a leather bag with spikes that says “PUNK MOM” in bright green, its her ma bag >:D she carry’s snacks, first aid utensils, and medication! Mostly anxiety medicine or pain meds.

She is the tallest neighbor, beating Barnaby by about half a foot

She went to Mother Mary’s School for Problematic Boys, after she came out. She was sent at 17

She met Barnaby there ^ she was astonished by how brainwashed Barnaby was, since he was sent there so young he was so accustomed to all the teachings. Poppy decided she wouldn’t just escape, she’d take Barnaby with her!

In the school, everyone went by their last names. (Adults called the kids “Son ____” and kids called the adults “Mother ____” and “Father ____”, kids call each other “Brother ____”. They thought they were a big family, basically. Its a very stereotypical cult.) which explains why Barnaby doesn’t know her deadname! He called her “Brother Partridge”, when they escaped they traded their real names, and ofc ma said to call her Poppy

Poppy calls her parents every year or so, (“just makin’ sure they’re still bigoted. Aha, just kiddin’, I don’t have to check.”)

I like to think Ma has a southern accent. I don’t actually know where she would’ve developed it, but it fits with the mom vibe ok?

She’s horrible at baking, but AWESOME AT COOKING. Like go to her house every thanksgiving. Not even, go for dinner she’ll happily cook you some heaven sent meal im serious.

Poppy was originally going to be completely greyscale, no neon whatsoever. I changed it bc it looked way too gloomy and.. bad.

Poppy would happily say yes to a “Hey Mister*” (*teens standing outside a store and asking adults to buy them alcohol/cigarettes. This literally never works, but Ma would get u some as long as u promised to be safe, and might even make u party at her house)

Not-So Fun Facts

Ok some context for this one: Barnaby was going to be killed by the cult. Before a sacrifice or killing someone that stepped out of line (thats what Barnaby did) they down a cup of wine to cleanse themselves before taking a life. Poppy knew they’d kill Barnaby and poisoned the wine. She pretended to drink it as everyone else did, and bit her tongue as she waited for it to work. If it took even just a few more seconds to kick in, Barnaby would’ve been killed

The poison wasn’t lethal, in Poppy’s words, “they’ll shit weird for a week and vomit more then a tween with bulimia, but they’ll live.”

If it wasn’t obvious her parents are transphobic

I don’t have a lot of notso funfacts for Ma.. shes doin ok <3

[jullinh4x]

Meet me!

A little about me (This post will be pinned to the profile!)

Name: Júlia (But you can call me Juh)

Fav Games:

Sonic The Hedgehog, Mega Man, Roblox, Minecraft, DDLC (Doki Doki Literature Club), Skullgirls, Gacha Club (and the others) SSS (Sakura School Simulator) FNF (Friday Night Funkin') Super Mombo Guest, AHIT (A Hat In Time) BBU (Billie Bust Up) FNAF (Five Night's At Freddy's) COTL (Cult Of The Lamb) Cuphead, BATIM (Bendy and The Ink Machine) Yandere Simulator

Fav Shows:

Murder Drones, MMFC (Mega Man Fully Charged) Sonic Boom, Sonic Prime, DEPP (Dead End Paranormal Park) Aggretsuko, TADC (The Amazing Digital Circus) Robot Trains, The Cuphead Show, Fundamental Paper Education

Fav Animes:

KNY (Kimetsu no Yaiba/Demon Slayer) TPN (The Promised Neverland) Junji Ito (Collection and Maniac) PPGZ (The Powerpuff Girls Z) HXH (HunterXHunter) Mega Man NT Warrior, Sailor Moon, Sonic X, Neon Genisis Evangelion

Fav Series:

Monkie Kid, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Amazing Spiderman, TMNT (2012 and 2018)

Fav Movies:

Spider Man (Tobey, Andrew and Tom) Frozen (1 and 2) The Meg (1) Godzilla(2014) Godzilla: King Of Monsters, Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken, ROTTMNT: The Movie

Fav Songs:

(I have a lot but I'll say the ones I most like)

Desire (Do As Infinity)

Bad Apple(nomico)

Night Dancer(imase)

Going Under(Evanescence)

Burning(Yeah Yeah Yeahs)

Fav Shipps:

Wave Man × Fire Man, Aki × Ashley, Suna × Bert, Elecman × Wood Man, Splash Woman × Bubble Man, Sayori × MC(Main Character) Mary Jane × Peter Parker, Uzi × N, Sonic × Amy, Filia × Painwheel, Eliza × Black Dalhia, Ms.Fortune × Minette, Cerebella × Feng, Peacock × Marie, Nezuko × Zenitsu, Tanjiro × Kanao, Inosuke × Aoi, Shinobu × Tomioka, Sanemi × Kanae, Jax × Ragatha, Caine × Moon, Kinger × Quennie

Like:

Games, Series, Movies, Fandoms, Draw, My Country, Geography, Sciences, English, Music, Urban Legends, Shipps,

Dislikes:

Math, Bad things, Scorpions, Fake News, Pedophile, Homophobia, Racism, Prejudice, Xenophobia, Proshipp, NSFW

Social media:

Reddit: u/CursedMegaMan

Discord: julli4x#2643

BandLab: jullinh4x_

Tiktok: itz_julia100

Instagram: julli4x_jullinh4x

Instagram: cursed.aki.light

Project Z: Julli4x

Tumblr: @jullinh4x

Tumblr: @tcrincorrectquotes

Tumblr: @silly-teachers-ask

Twitter/X: Juh_Julli4x

That was it, I hope you like me (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

[de-constructmybones]

RULES: PICK A SONG FOR EACH LETTER IN YOUR URL

Thank you all for the tags: @thiamsxbitch @luckyvd @wolfboy88 @mmoosen. It made me feel really special. <3

I have a long username so this is gonna be long:

D: Don't look at me - Poorstacy

E: Exit Wounds - Bad Omens

-

C: Castle Of Glass - Linkin Park

O: Obey - Bring Me The Horizon ft. Yungblud

N: Never Let Me Down Again - Depeche Mode

S: Sing To Me - Missio

T: (Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Öyster Cult

R: Run - Joji

U: Unstoppable - Motionless In White

C: Chlorine - Twenty One Pilots

T: Time To Give - White Lies

M: Millenia - Crown The Empire

Y: You Never Know - Beartooth

B: Be Nice To Me - The Front Bottoms

O: Overdose - The Word Alive

N: Naivety - A Day To Remember

E: Everybody Talks - Neon Trees

S: Stuck Between - Dutch Criminal Record

Tags: @dapplepersiflage @chasing-chimeras @emostudent @idkthisusernameistken @hemlocksandfoxgloves and anyone who wants to join. :)

[emostudent]

RULES: PICK A SONG FOR EACH LETTER IN YOUR URL

tagged by @thiamsxbitch 🩷

E: Enter Sandman - Metallica

M: Moneytalks - AC/DC

O: Oh No! - Marina

S: Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd

T: Then Came the Last Days of May - Blue Öyster Cult

U: Underwater - Mika

D: (Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Öyster Cult

E: Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode

N: Neon Knights - Black Sabbath

T: Traveling Riverside Blues - Led Zeppelin

@sadieshavingsex @elisastales @emozionidinchiostro @sammysdemonblood @self-loathing-angel-of-thursday2 @babygirldilf @isthisanything @amaranthhiding @unitedfandomsoftheworld @seccendedos @manicmoonbug @ihaveacorgi @pipperdaper @highcoltage

[playedbetter]

Jean-Paul Valley & Azrael | Apex Verse Info

Behold an information post for JPV & Azrael’s crossover verse with apex legends, cause boy have my thoughts about this have gotten out of control. The info is under the cut cause this ended up being 2000+ words.

This is subject to change as I learn more about the lore of the game, think of new things, and as events occur that I feel are worth mentioning. If/when I edit this post I will include ‘patch’ notes at the bottom of the post.

Also, please take the TWs in the tags seriously as this post does go over a lot of the childhood and cult abuse which they have gone through along with themes of violence, death, and mental illness.

Without further ado, here is the info:

Background

Jean-Paul originally is from Gaea, having lived in a version of Gotham City (here leaning more into neon noir than gothic, with it’s corruption coming from top execs and the like draining the city of it’s resources leaving the poor of the city to fend for themselves.)

His early life was spent alone or under the care of his tutor for the most part, because as far as he was away his father was a respectable mercenary frequently busy with work thanks to the politically unstable-ness of the outlands. They did not attend public school, instead being taught by a private tutor his father hired.

Unknowingly to JPV they were a member of The Order of St. Dumas who in addition to their warped teachings about the universe was also mentally abusing, brainwashing, and grooming JPV to become the next Azrael, resulting in JPV developing OSDD-1b and the beginnings of Azrael forming. JP would be unaware of this for years to come.

In his spare time they developed an interest in technology and how it works, specifically computers. On the rare times that his father was present the man did encourage this interest and exploring it, secretly hoping it would lead JP away from the order.

This lead him to attending Gotham U as a young adult, majoring in computer science. He really did love the program and was planning a future career as a Computer Systems Analyst.

They did notice in this time that he had periods of time where he;d just end up staring off into space, or missing what people were saying to him, or just feeling a disconnect with his body, but he dismissed those things as just stress from uni.

He couldn’t examine his life too closely, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to, they just couldn’t. Any mental road that started going that direction just left him feeling disoriented, anxious, or sick. So he just didn’t.

At least not until his father arrived at his back door, bleeding out in a strange costume. His father, Jean-Paul Ludovic Valley Sr. was the Azrael before JP, the personal assassin of The Order of St. Dumas. His father gave him a number to call for body removal, spoke of a secretive place on Psamathe away from it’s civilization, and of JP’s inheritance before dying in JP’s arms.

Not sure what else to do he called the number, which resulted in strange people coming and taking the body away without a word. Even now he has no idea what ended up happening to his father’s body.

He also received his inheritance, it was enough money to do pretty much anything he wanted. However, the mystery over what his father spoke of, and what had happened that lead to his death meant that he departed Gotham and Gaea to investigate.

Searching the recesses of Psamathe eventually lead him to Nomoz and to The Order of St. Dumas who were quick to activate the brainwashing they had done to him as a child and unleash Azrael.

Azrael was born of internalizing the Order’s teachings as a survival method, and due to just how intense their brainwashing and abuse was. Now in the hands of The Order of St. Dumas that brainwashing was only strengthened and he quickly was ready to be their assassin.

The stress on both Azrael, and internally Jean-Paul along with further brainwashing lead to them fracturing more, however the headmates who formed from this have not made themself(s) known to JP or Azrael.

This all however did reveal a few truths of their past namely; Their body had been genetically engineered by the Order to be an ideal fighter.

 It did eventually become apparent that Jean-Paul was still around, and the attempts to wipe out his identity completely had not worked, so the Order begrudgingly had to just deal with it, and make sure that JP would never begin to feel empowered enough to leave, get help, or stop Azrael from carrying out his tasks and duties.

So long as he behaved and obeyed his superiors, he was safe. That was his world now.

Azrael was sent on many different missions to benefit The Order of St. Dumas, assassinating their enemies and rivals, stealing things of use to them, and investigating things of interest to them. In this he honed his skills and found some sense of fulfillment. In his mind he was following holy orders after all, and what else is an angel to do?

The leash on both of them got a little longer, a little less tight as it became clear to the Order that both JP and Azrael would stay on their own. They could be allowed to spend an afternoon doing what they wanted before carrying out a mission if the timeline worked out. They didn’t just have to be on standby unless on a mission.

There still was a leash though, JP still had to live in their sanctuary and couldn’t regularly have conversation with outsiders. Azrael didn’t even bother to see how far the rope around his neck went, they didn’t care to, staying right by their commanders side.

They could live with this...

Something changed tough. The Order saw an opportunity to fill their coffers and increase their standing with the Syndicate. Having Azrael compete in the Apex Games and letting the Syndicate know that they could call in a favor or two to get rid of one or two people, something they’ll keep in their back pocket for sure.

Both JP and Azrael were rather confused when they were given the order, but could do little to argue against it. Winning funds for the Order, and gaining some glory for them, was a reasonable enough goal they guessed? They had to accept it.

So soon they were sent off to join the ranks of the Apex Legends, the leash around their neck gaining even more slack thanks to the circumstances, but the dangers of disobeying the Order ever present.

The Order of St. Dumas

The Order of St. Dumas is a christian cult which started after the crusades on earth. They were slow to move off of earth when space travel started to become available however eventually realized that any luxury or glory they could find for the their sect would be on other planets.

They’ve operated in the shadows, trying to gather strength and sway like what they once ad in the very very old days. And given just how wide the universe had became, there were plenty of dark corners to dig their claws into and establish a good foothold.

As war gripped the universe they did their best to stay out of it, it could could pull too many of their secrets into the light, and they wanted to hedge their bets given just how much was at stake. So each time a war was over and a winner was clear they spent a lot of time kissing ass and making connections with the winners.

They established their main base/sanctuary on Psamathe for the comfort and convenience of the richest and most powerful members of the Order. Placing it far enough out of the way that they could be reasonably assured that they would not be bothered.

Azrael & The Order

Since the Order’s creation they have had an assassin whom they call Azrael, the angel of death. The first few were zealots who had joined the Order of their freewill, but as the Order closed itself off it became a hereditary role, and that meant that each first born son of the last Azrael had to be made into an ideal assassin and weapon, which quickly turned them towards abusing and brainwashing their future Azrael’s.

As time progressed their methods for indoctrination and the creation of Azrael became more and more refined, starting to pick out the partners for their Azrael’s to have better control over the next generation. Learning more of psychology and mental tricks to use to help weaken the child’s willpower. And drugs and genetic enhancements to make their body more dangerous.

Publicly Available Information

Jean-Paul/Azrael was publicly announced when they joined the games as such:

“Jean-Paul Valley, better known as Azrael, is a warrior on a holy mission. Having originally came from a small religious group known as The Order of St. Dumas. He’s joined the games thanks to what he’d call a divine calling. Wielding flame and blade he is a dangerous and unique Legend to face on the battlegrounds.”

The Order of St. Dumas is known to be a small Christian sect who rarely if ever accept new members. It’s members list is private and little is known about their traditions or practices. Most assume they just have a few fringe beliefs that lead to being an off-shoot of Catholicism.

Digging through his social media, public records, and interviews can reveal the following

He once attended Gotham U majoring in Computer Science before leaving in his first year for unknown reasons.

They were privately trained. Unknown where.

They seem to follow a form of Christianity which on the surface seems similar to Catholic Christianity

He is single

They do not fill out a lot of information on social media or use it much, really only to share stuff related to the games and the ever so occasionally picture of interesting places he has came across.

He is familiar with Psamathe given his reactions during games set in Olympus.

Things that are not publicly known

The Order of St. Dumas is an abusive cult which tampers with events through conspiracy and assassination to benefit themselves. And that Azrael is their assassin and a victim of them

That Jean-Paul and Azrael are not the same person, but instead two people in a system with each other.

For that matter any of their mental health issues. While of course it’s been impossible to hide all their symptoms it has never been publicly addressed and the notice telling ones have been as well hidden as they possibly can be.

That there have been any prior Azraels.

They are not public about being queer in any way.

Apex Games Kit

Unless something goes terribly wrong Azrael is always the one fronting while on the battlegrounds of the game. Azrael is an Offensive Legend with the following abilities

Grappling Hook - Tactical

A grappling hook that when activated pulls him quickly towards where he targeted it, it is built into his gauntlets. This is meant to give him the ability to catch up to people or reach them if the have the high ground. In game it would have no effect if they targeted a person with it, however in writing it would have the sort of effects you would expect.

Death’s Blessing - Passive

For each killing blow he gets with a melee attack his damage increases and he receives a short (1-3 second) regeneration effect to his health. This means they ramp up significantly in danger the longer he is been in the match and able to get kills.

Angel’s Wraith - Ultimate

Azrael unsheathes the sword on his back and lights it ablaze. In this state any melee damage they deal leaves a damage tick on it’s victim and after getting a kill from either melee damage or fire tick damage he receives a short speed buff.

The effects of death’s blessing are still in effect and fire tick kills also activate it’s effects.

Melee

He uses retractable blades from his gauntlets instead of punches or kicks unless otherwise stated.

Other Differences

Azrael is familiar with what we would call modern technology but what would be terribly out of date by the standards of this universe. So he can handle guns, phone calls, email, and stuff like that but more advance things like how the shields work he doesn’t understand.

Jean-Paul has never adopted his cat Georgie due to still being with the Order.

They are still in deep with The Order of St. Dumas and since becoming aware of them, have never been able to leave them. As such they are both in far worse mental state than they are in other verses. Though they have still manged to figure out that they are plural just to avoid confusion in writing.

They lack most of his canon connections due to the impossibility of making any of them make any sense in this setting. Should a batfam rper ever wanna rp in this verse with me this can be subject to change.

[ayasfits]

Marc Jacobs Fall 2022

42 looks - showing 10

My first review! I was scrolling Instagram and when u have a clothing-filled explore page, you know a few Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid fan pages are gonna pop up. That’s when I first noticed their uhh… bangs. Honest to god love Marc Jacobs, so I had faith. A quick search of the pictures gave me enough to say. 

The beloved Marc Jacobs platforms lives on! Worn with white socks, but… you wouldn’t notice them first in this textured filled runway consisting but not limited to: vinyl, rubber, chunky knits, all American denim, glittery fabrics, and my favourite: tin foil hats. 

A childhood cool thing! If you were one to tie your GAP sweatshirt around your waist, Marc Jacob’s collection would’ve certainly made you cool. It was seen regularly not just on the waist but on the neck. 

Itty bitty encrusted bras - aka one of my favourite micro trends (thanks to our girl HB) - were shown, and they were well… certainly itty bitty.

The slouchy ness of the all the looks gave me a Maison Margiela / Rick Owens vibes mixed with colour filled Marc Jacobs realness. LOVE that green dress - it's giving me neon pop Tiana. We even see a slouchy bag reminiscent of the now cult favourite Jodie bag by Bottega Veneta. It’s called The Sack. ok.

Final note:

When you’ve seen other Marc Jacobs runways, it may seem simplistic and modern. BUT it’s a Marc Jacobs simplistic and modern so do that as you will. Not the most over the top thing but honestly I think they did a solid job.

[its-perfectly-abnormal]

i was tagged by @princereece for this! (thank u king sorry it has taken me a while to get to these)

i’m supposed to spell out my url in song titles and then tag other people with amount of letters in it, but my url is so long that i simply am not going to do that <3 anyways strap in

if we were vampire by baggio and hannah kol

tongues and teeth by the crane wives

strawberry by andrew montana

pomegranate seeds by julian moon

everybody talks by neon trees

ready or not by bridget mendler

from the gallows by i don't know how but they found me

cult leader by king mala

the horror and the wild by the amazing devil

line without a hook by ricky montgomery

you're mine by phantogram

august by taylor swift

breakfast by dove cameron

necromancin dancin by bear ghost

oleander by mother mother

meet me in the woods by lord huron

almost (sweet music) by hozier

library magic by the head and the heart

god this took a while, anyways i'll tag @tinyychickens @elidelochaned @redheadhatchet @raphaellalacognizi @wenightmareyou @lola-owl @bookofmirth @itsjustascratch

[karoldobosz]

ZAND Performs at Cardiff's The Moon

27/10/2023 Article & Photography: Karol Dobosz

With the support of two-piece act fakeyourdeath, London-based singer-songwriter ZAND christened Cardiff venue The Moon with a unique blend of sex-positive anthems and self-proclaimed ‘sewer-pop’. 

Black and neon green was the dress-code in Cardiff bar and music venue The Moon on Friday when ZANDarrived to perform for a crowd of die-hard fans. A small, yet cult-like gathering of people made their way into the building to hear the opening act, fakeyourdeath, introduce themselves with a fiery performance. Uninhibited by the limited space, the lead-singer—Candi Underwood, dominated the stage in a performance one audience member described as ‘’destined for a sold-out venue.’’  Sharp industrial percussion cut the air over electronic, post-apocalyptic instrumentals, and the audience appeared in nothing short of a trance. Transitioning between vulnerable-sounding melodies and punch-your-face screams, the irreverent beast of a performance allowed for a release of energy and aggression for concert-goers. 

Once the Brighton-duo had taken their final bows and left the stage for a well-deserved break, the star of the show, a slightly lethargic and quietly charismatic ZAND emerged, met with a greeting of whoops and screams from local fans. After a short prologue and a short introduction setting the scene for the rest of the night, they worked their way through a set of some of their greatest hits, including ‘Religion’, ‘Boys Like U’, and ‘Luci.’ After completing the set list, they were urged back onto the stage by a room of fans eager for an encore, which came in the form of a slow, acoustic confessional ballad titled ‘Battery Acid.’ Despite being a change in tempo, this track seemed to resonate with a large portion of the audience, with some being moved to tears while singing along, iPhone flashlights in-hand.

Having bumped into ZAND outside of the venue prior to the show, I knew they were tired after a week of non-stop touring, Cardiff being their final show before going back to London to rest and continue working on new music. Their onstage persona was a stark contrast to the friendly face I met outside, and it was hard to believe that this larger-than-life figure before me was the same person who recognised me by name from having engaged with their live-streams and social-media content in the year leading up to this night. Having spoken to a few audience members, there was a positive atmosphere at the show, with a few describing it as a ‘safe space.’ Xiva from Newport described ZAND as a ‘breath of fresh air’ and praised how down-to-earth and friendly they were when interacting with fans, making each conversation count.

NOTE TO EDITOR: This was a fun story but at times difficult to write as I don’t have experience in this area of writing, plus I was weary of writing too much when there was so much to talk about, and therefore had to condense the main idea down. My photographs are very limited as it was difficult in low-light while also paying attention to the event.

[mariacallous]

A key part of a foreign-policy reporter’s job is to attend networking events to hobnob with diplomats and policymakers and get a pulse on behind-the-scenes Washington. Which is how I found myself in the dimly lit basement of the Finnish Embassy, holding a canned gin drink, and save for a small hand towel, entirely naked.

Welcome to the—pun very much intended—hottest ticket in town on the Beltway insider party circuit: the Finnish Diplomatic Sauna Society.

For the better part of 15 years, the Finnish Embassy here has leveraged the steamiest side of Scandinavian soft power to convene all of the city’s policy movers and shakers—the Pentagon officials, the congressional aides, the diplomats, the think tankers, and, when they’re really desperate, even the occasional Foreign Policy reporter—for an evening of policy shop talk and chit-chatting. All at around 180 degrees Fahrenheit in a special-purpose, steam-filled, wood-paneled room at the embassy.

Foreign embassies in Washington hold glitzy and glamorous gatherings all the time—to commemorate national holidays, toast incoming dignitaries, and help build up the embassies’ connections and networks in the sprawl of national security. But the Diplomatic Sauna Society stands apart from the rest and has taken on a cult following around the Beltway since it came into its current form in 2008, making it something of a soft-power coup for the Scandinavian embassy.

“When I mentioned I was coming, all my coworkers were asking how they could get an invite,” said a congressional aide who went.

“Honestly, the weirdest and coolest thing I’ve done for work,” said a former Pentagon official who has two tours of the Diplomatic Sauna Society under his belt and is hoping to be deployed for a third.

It may even be a point of envy for the other embassies in town. “When I talk to the Norwegians and ask where their sauna is, they get a little prickly about it,” said another congressional aide who’s been.

Joining the Diplomatic Sauna Society inducts you into a long-standing and storied Finnish tradition of mixing the high-heat therapeutic practice with diplomacy. It’s a tradition that helped Finland steer clear of falling under the Soviet orbit during the Cold War, a tradition that may have helped usher in Namibia’s independence, and a tradition that prompted George H.W. Bush to jump completely naked into the Baltic Sea during a pivotal trip to Europe. (More on that in a bit.)

The evening begins in the main hall of the ultramodern embassy, adorned with sleek wood paneling and an industrial design, where all the newly invited sauna society members exchange pleasantries over drinks.

From there, the party moves to the embassy’s basement, boasting an equally modern and stylish bar with a giant neon “Sauna” sign behind it for some more drinks. Then, the men and women split up to partake in the evening’s main event in separate batches. The sauna-ing begins.

The whole evening has a relaxed atmosphere, something of a rarity in the buttoned-up world of Washington’s diplomatic scene. Swimsuits or towels are optional, whatever people are most comfortable with. Most opt for the Finnish way, i.e., none of the above.

The elixir of choice is the Long Drink, an iconic Finnish gin mixed drink that’s basically a Tom Collins in a can, but way better, because it’s being sipped in a sauna with newfound sauna friends. The chatter drifts between the work, the personal, and the inevitable “Wait, why doesn’t everyone have saunas? This is great” line of conversation.

Whenever the steam dissipates too much, a ladle of water is poured onto a pile of smoldering stones in the corner to revive the heat. The conversations ebb and flow with the steam.

For the non-Finns, the sauna is a special and unique experience. For Finns, it’s equally special, though not unique at all. “The sauna, it’s very integrated into our Finnish culture, so for us, it’s very normal,” said Pasi Rajala, the press counselor at the Finnish Embassy and host of the Diplomatic Sauna Society events. “I’m personally surprised by how excited Americans are by this. Here in the U.S., there’s a lot of interest and curiosity for it.”

If saunas are a ubiquitous part of Finnish culture at home, they also represent a potent tool of diplomacy abroad. Each and every one of Finland’s embassies and consulates abroad come equipped with a sauna, and Finnish diplomats have arranged their own Diplomatic Sauna Society circuits in Berlin, Brussels, London, and Tokyo, Rajala said.

The Finnish military has always followed suit, too. Name a conflict where Finland deployed its forces for peacekeeping missions, and chances are there was a sauna in tow, irrespective of the climate.

In the 1950s, Finnish peacekeepers deployed to the Sinai Peninsula jury-rigged a sauna on an abandoned Egyptian military transport platform using telephone poles that the Israelis left behind. Finnish peacekeepers built saunas for their mission in the Golan Heights as part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon in the 1980s and 1990s and made sure that the Israeli and Syrian ambassadors had access to them as they wished. Finnish troops involved in the NATO mission in Kosovo in the 2000s built more than 20 saunas on their base.

The sauna has also been used to great effect in high-wire diplomatic negotiations. Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president, helped lay the groundwork for Namibia’s independence in the 1970s and 1980s during his time as a top U.N. envoy by cultivating ties with Namibian freedom fighters invited to his sauna. (Ahtisaari would later earn a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to resolve conflicts in Namibia, Indonesia, Kosovo, and Iraq.)

Urho Kekkonen, Finland’s longest-serving president, was said to have sweated his Soviet counterparts into submission in his sauna, keeping Finland’s fraught balance of neutrality during the Cold War in place. It was in the sauna that Kekkonen reportedly broached the idea to his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, of Finland joining the European Free Trade Association, a forerunner to its European Union membership, thereby cementing its Western orientation with the unlikely blessing of the Soviets. (Vyacheslav Molotov, a top henchman for former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, sharply criticized Khrushchev for getting naked with a foreigner—and non-communist, to boot—Finnish government archives unearthed in 2001 revealed. Khrushchev had him sacked.)

Then there was that time when then-Vice President George H.W. Bush reportedly jumped nude into the Baltic Sea after a sauna excursion with his hosts during a 1983 visit to Helsinki. It was during that trip that Bush opened a new channel of communication with the Finns, and the Finns, highly versed in Soviet affairs, informed Bush that he and President Ronald Reagan may want to invest in getting to know a rising star in the Soviet Union named Mikhail Gorbachev.

Let’s just boil it all down to the power of the sauna.

The world of diplomacy is full of stodgy pomp and circumstance, buttoned-up exchanges, and stilted communiques. But talking points and stuffy formality don’t hold up well when you’re sweating, drinking, and sitting naked in a hot, dark room with your opposite number, and maybe that’s what makes the sauna sizzle in the world of diplomacy.

Pertti Torstila, a senior Finnish diplomat at the time, summed it up nicely in his 2010 speech to the 15th annual International Sauna Congress in Tokyo. (Yes, that’s a real thing.)

“In sauna all are equals,” Torstila said. “There are no superpowers or minipowers in a sauna, no superiors or servants. You don’t keep your politics up your sleeve when you are not wearing sleeves. If you discuss and agree on something when you are all naked, it’s difficult afterwards not to keep your word. … Networking in the nude is an absolutely moral good.”

As the nude networking event wound down on this particular evening back in Washington, Rajala reconvened the whole group (now fully clothed) to induct new members into the society. Each new participant received an official “Sauna Diploma” certificate that awards full membership into the Diplomatic Sauna Society “with all of the rights and privileges thereto” and lauds them for their sisu (grit) for networking in the (mostly) nude. The diploma has a reminder on it about the evening’s discussions staying off the record: “What is said in sauna stays in sauna.”

Soon, senior defense officials at NATO could be receiving their own version of the diploma. Finland on Tuesday made history when it formally joined NATO as the 31st member of the military alliance. And, true to form, NATO headquarters just installed its own sauna.