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yvesdot · 14 days

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Well, this is new! I watched the entire VMAs (just about) for the first time ever, and here is my official writeup—less so for Dots (certainly not a public-facing project), more for all my friends I want to gossip with. Here’s everything I’m going to be talking about for the next few days that happened at the VMAs, with helpful links to all the available clips.

Before anything happened, Kendrick released a new song on Instagram. This immediately trended alongside the VMAs for the rest of the night.

Chappell Roan snapped at a photographer on the red carpet. It’s still frankly unclear to me what happened—in the video I’ve seen passed around, you hear a voice in the background say “shut the fuck up,” to which Chappell turns and retorts, “you shut the fuck up!” When they apparently protest, she shuts them down, saying, “not me, bitch!” It’s unclear whether the photographer in question was originally talking to her, or to another photographer, and also whether she was accusing him of saying anything to her. I’m not personally invested in finding out more.

Eminem opened by performing “Houdini” and “Someone Save Me;” I showed up halfway through with the volume on mute and had no idea why that man was wearing the world’s worst blonde wig. I do think the obvious visual reference to his original VMAs “Slim Shady” performance is genuinely cute. It is unbelievable he still rapped the “If I was to ask for Megan Thee Stallion if she would collab with me / Would I really have a shot at a feat [shot at her feet]?” lines with Megan Thee Stallion hosting.

Megan was adorable and an excellent host. She is so funny, so genuine, so easy to watch and so good at balancing being personable and competent. Honestly, she and Chappell gave some very similar energy tonight and it made me wonder if they know each other (I am not very aware of Chappell things—yet!) She was also, naturally, exceptionally well-dressed. The crowd absolutely loved her.

Taylor immediately won the “Best Collaboration” award for Fornite with Post Malone, which began a streak of 7 awards won that night, mostly for that one song, despite the fact that her latest album has been one of her worst-received by fans and critics alike. (This is not a comment on whether the songs on the album are good or not, just on the relative success in comparison with her past work and the reception of other projects nominated. It’s surprising.) Her seven awards were the aforementioned Best Collaboration, Song of Summer, Best Pop, Artist of the Year, Best Direction, Best Editing, and Video of the Year at the end of the night. This ties her with Beyonce for most VMAs ever won. She also claims a number of other records, but I am not going to list all that.

I will tell you that she opened this acceptance speech with “Waking up this morning in New York on September 11th, I’ve just been thinking about what happened 23 years ago; everyone who lost a loved one and everyone that we lost. That is the most important thing about today and everything that happens tonight falls behind that,” and then continued as if this had been a normal thing to say and/or she had not said it.

I’m still frustrated at the timing of her endorsement of Harris coincidentally last night. It feels too obviously set up to quell rising fan anger and ensure every award she won would be “untainted” by people’s criticisms of her.

Megan recreated the iconic Britney-with-a-snake look.

Sabrina Carpenter performed a lovely medley. She opened singing “Please Please Please” (with the “motherfucker!”) on a swing, descended to a couple of audio clips including the iconic Britney line about Titanic from her “Oops! I Did it Again” music video, performed “Taste” with an astronaut and an alien (she did kiss the femalien, though Britney Spears (!) commented she ought to have kissed a girl), and transitioned into “Espresso” with a few dozen astronaut backup dancers. I loved her outfit and especially the lipstick mark on her thigh (!!?!!), and I have to give her credit for doing this insane performance setup in front of both Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, about whom “Taste” was allegedly written.

Katy Perry accepted the previously-announced Video Vanguard Award and performed a medley of tracks—in order, “Dark Horse,” “E.T.,” new track “I’m His, He’s Mine” featuring Doechii, “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” “I Kissed a Girl” (rock version), “Firework,” and “Lifetimes.” You may notice that “Woman’s World” was nowhere on this list. Also, during their performance of “I’m His, He’s Mine,” Katy and Doechii scissored in a possible reference to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s 2021 Grammys performance of W.A.P., and MTV cut directly to Orlando Bloom in a likely reference to the Britney/Madonna/Christina VMAs kiss where they cut to Justin Timberlake.

In my opinion, it was a great performance from the choice of tracks to the aesthetic(s) to her voice. She clearly still has it! However, people audibly booed when her name was announced and several times as she gave her speech, which, side note, opened with ““I did that all too on the first day of my period, if you can believe it!” It didn’t help that she chose to—well, look, here’s the whole thing, bold by me.

Can you believe it? Thank you so much to MTV for believing in my weirdness from day one and for helping artists extend their worlds beyond a song. There are so many things that have to align to have a long and successful career as an artist. There are no decade-long accidents. (a long, meaningful pause, during which people booed) So I would like to acknowledge a few people: my team who have been with me for over 20 years, direct management, and my label Capitol Records.

Trust me, it takes a village of strong people, a lot of healthy discourse, and a lot of group chats. My parents and my family, the deepest roots I know. We don’t always agree, but what a lesson that those disagreements can still be full of love. Thank you to MySpace, Warped Tour, and all the bygone places where I found a voice, identity, and a community so early on. Thank you to the friends that were there when my Jetta was repossessed. My Katy Cats: You stood by me for a lifetime, and the LGBTQ community who I recognize I would not be here without and who show me that you can be both kind and [bleeped out—”cunt”?]. Thank you to Orlando for keeping me grounded, celebrated, and doing the dishes. And lastly for my Daisy [her daughter], the only flowers I’ll ever need.

I’m excited when I look around music today, and I see all the amazing young artists who are operating with confidence, agency, vulnerability and authenticity. I’ve heard a lot of “Do this, don’t say that, wear less, wear more now. Hey, don’t cut your hair.” One of the biggest reasons I’m standing here right now is I learned how to block out all the noise that every single artist in this industry has to constantly fight against, especially women. I just wanna say with my whole heart, do whatever it takes to stay true to yourself and true to your art. Turn off social media, safeguard your mental health, pause, touch grass. And do what you were born to do just like I was born to do this. 143 comes out September 20. I love you!

I probably don’t need to say it, but I find it incredibly upsetting and disappointing that she would frame the criticism of her, which has centered almost entirely on her working with Dr. Luke, someone whom numerous women have accused of being misogynist and generally abusive, as “noise that women artists have to deal with.”

Also, I don’t have video proof of this, but they played a truly bizarre intro to the award where they called her “the queen of camp” and said “she’s a mother and she IS mother” and I don’t know what to do about that. They did play the world’s briefest audio snippet of “Woman’s World” during that.

Chappell Roan performed “Good Luck Babe” and nothing else, which nonetheless seemed to quiet upset fans whose shows were canceled with little notice last week due to the “scheduling conflict” of Chappell deciding to do the VMAs. I wish the mixing had been better; I could barely hear her voice! But the aesthetic was lovely (very Dorian Electra “Man to Man”) and the set was extremely well-used. She definitely seems unused to performing in this more regimented style, but there’s an infinite amount of time for her to either get comfortable with it or adapt it more to her usual performance method of running all over the stage.

Tyla won Best Afrobeats for “Water,” obviously. Lil Nas X (presenting the award with Halle) could be heard saying “But we already knew, though, right?” as she approached the stage. She gave the world’s most diplomatic speech which acknowledged that African music is (obviously) more diverse than the label “Afrobeats.”

Megan delivered an incredible medley performance: “BOA,” a sample of “Wanna Be,” “B.A.S,” a sample of “RATTLE,” “HISS,” and “MAMUSHI”—with a surprise appearance by featured artist Yuki Chiba, in a cool hat! And may I just say, for all-around stage presence, choreography, vocals, delivery, everything, Megan stole the show 100%. And that’s with all the ridiculous censoring she had to do! If you are not into Megan, you need to be, now. She is the moment.

Benson Boone did a flip (1:29) while performing “Beautiful Things,” a song I found myself hearing for the second time ever. It is apparently the song of the summer to many people. That’s cool! I genuinely had never heard it in my life before this week. He’s clearly an exceptionally talented performer, so let’s see where he goes.

Sabrina Carpenter won “Song of the Year” for “Espresso” and seemed genuinely shocked, somehow.

Halsey did an absolutely gorgeous performance of “Ego,” a song I hadn’t heard before but found myself liking. I should get into Halsey!

Camila, the other half (?) of the Camila-Shawn-Sabrina love triangle, with an album which underperformed (especially in comparison to Sabrina’s), faked out the audience (including her ex and his sometime-other-girl!) by pretending to play “June Gloom,” the closer from the standard edition of the album about why he runs back to her if he really likes Sabrina so much, and then cutting the recording off to actually sing “GODSPEED,” the closer off the deluxe version—and the latest single, dropped only last week. Apparently it’s the first track she wrote for this era, after a breakup with an entirely different ex. Point being, I give her a lot of props for just how much that moment rocked.

I suppose as a professional I ought to say all this is only allegedly what the songs are about. But, you know, we know.

You know Glorilla rocked the house down. Having seen her in SF, I could tell just how much she’d improved since then, not just in her performing skills generally but in her confidence. You go, Glo.

Chappell Roan won “Best New Artist” in a moment everyone saw coming a mile away and read her acceptance speech from her diary. She’s so cute!

Video of the Year went to Taylor and she shouted out “my boyfriend, Travis Kelce,” in her speech. This is not news, but people screamed like it was? She also told people to vote. None of this is really important to me but you need to know that I went to r/GaylorSwift again after several months’ abstention as a result of the way people were talking about it. People chanted Taylor’s name. Also, Megan initially opened the little card upside down, which was adorable.

Best performances of the night: Katy Perry, Megan Thee Stallion, and Halsey.

Most deserved wins of the night:

Chappell Roan (Best New Artist)

“Espresso” (Song of the Year)

“Water” (Best Afrobeats)

“Mamushi” (Best Trending Video, though any pick might have been good)

“BOA” (Best Art Direction)

Biggest snubs of the night:

“Not Like Us” (Song of Summer, “Fortnight”)

“Paparazzi” (VMAs Most Iconic Performance, “Roar” — a case where any other pick would have been better)

Sabrina Carpenter (Artist of the Year, Taylor Swift)

Glorilla & Megan Thee Stallion’s “Wanna Be” (Best Collaboration, “Fortnight”)

Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter (Best Pop, Taylor Swift)

“Too Sweet” (Best Alternative, “Beautiful Things”)

“Von dutch” (Best Cinematography, “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”)

“Rush” by Troye Sivan and “greedy” by Tate Mcrae (Best Choreography, “Houdini”)

Additionally, “Espresso” was not nominated for Song of Summer (“Please Please Please” was), and Britney’s “Slave 4 U” was not nominated for VMAs Most Iconic Performance.

Here’s the full list of nominations and wins.

Here’s my compilation of favorite outfits. Katy Perry wore a QR code tramp stamp which led to preorders for her album.

Other thoughts:

LISA and Anitta and Rauw Alejandro’s performances were also great! I don’t know that this was the best intro to their songs (my stream was not excellent quality) but I’m glad I stuck around!

Ads for HIV medication and Kamala Harris played throughout the night. There was one ad of Camila’s “I LUV IT” playing while she did insane things and drank Bacardi that almost made me dislike the song.

Charli not being anywhere near this event was criminal. I know she has the Sweat tour to rehearse for (I’m going to see her! AHHHH!!!!) but I really felt her absence. People also expected Taylor and Ariana to perform, and neither of them did—Ariana wasn’t even present! Lady Gaga wasn’t, either, which is a possible reason “Paparazzi” didn’t win Most Iconic VMAs Performance; apparently the VMAs prefer to give awards to artists who are present so they can give a live speech. Meanwhile, they gave Artist of the Year to Taylor Swift for the second year in a row and didn’t air it because she was walking in and out. Make of that what you will.

I successfully predicted the results of 5 awards (Best New Artist: Chappell Roan, Best Afrobeats: Tyla, Best Direction: Fortnight, Best Editing: Fortnight, and Video of the Year: Fortnight). Next year I might just start gambling and put it all on TSwift; it seems an easy victory.

Let me know if you want more of this sort of thing! I've done it for presidential debates in the past, too, though that was Patreon-exclusive. Heck, if I wasn't on hiatus, this might have been, too ^__^

#txt #vmas #2024 vmas

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doomed-era · 6 months

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..gaffen and zeldas horses pre and post cal (including hylia brainworms)? names + personalities perhabs

hehe oh this might be long. because I . uh

drew all of them.

gaffen has five horses so. full slots in-game yea. non-"special" horses are sneaky, cheese, and epona! the giant horse is named pumpkin, and the white horse is named cloud, however he does not really consider cloud his horse. he also did the epona thing </3 i am taking a little artistic license with the horses because I want there to be different heights + builds for them uh yea. i used to be really into horses growing up so its my right. horse isle 2 babeeyyyy

sneaky -- mare, skewbald, 14.5 hh. I would say she's probably descended from horses that were already running wild around hyrule from before the calamity. I'd say her build is similar to that of an american mustang for that reason (short, very hardy. tho tbf I really dont think a lot of feral horses WOULDNT be like this. im just. messing around) she's gaffen's first horse, and his favorite one.

she's about seven years old now? gaffen caught her when she was fairly young and very soon after he left the great plateau so she took to him very well. shes very gentle and intelligent, generally speaking doesn't know what to do around monsters. gaffen had to train her to not shy around them because she is not a fan and is kind of a coward </3 she knows a bunch of tricks like shaking hands and standing up on her hind legs, retrieving objects, and other stuff. she's very treat-oriented and will listen to anyone who gives her food. this actually led to a yiga kidnapping? once? yeah the yiga tried to steal her oops. her name is sneaky bc gaffen had to sneak up on her to catch her. very creative

epona -- mare, flaxen chestnut, 13.9 hh, about six years old. also descended from already-feral horses, though she may have a little farm horse that got free in there. she's the second horse gaffen registered!

epona started just. following gaffen one day. this is presumably because she was bored and smelled food on him. she's a very bold horse, and not afraid of a fight. she also gets bored really easily, so gaffen has taught her several tricks as well. she really likes people, and is the most vocal of gaffen's horses. gaffen named her after a story he heard about chosen heroes naming their horses epona, as he didn't know the story when he found sneaky.

cheese-- stallion, 15hh blue roan. he's descended from horses used by the hyrulean military. he's got a very long, pretty mane and is very well-built, similar to an andalusian.

cheese was named after his coat color and markings. he's around seven, and is gaffen's fourth horse. gaffen thought he looked like mold but the stable owner he tried to register him at (it was tasseren) said he wouldnt let gaffen name a horse mold. so he settled on cheese. cheese is generally a very sweet horse who loves attacking monsters. he's kind of annoying around people he doesn't know and will nibble on your clothes. but! he is a great jumper and people have asked gaffen if they could breed cheese with their mares once or twice. his favorite treat is apple horse treats that some stables will sell

pumpkin -- 23 hh mare, technically this coloration I dont THINK exists irl but the closest is probably a liver chestnut. she has the build of a shire more or less, and her bloodline is believed to be the result of an abandoned breeding project in the gerudo highlands.

pumpkin is AGGRESSIVE. towards horses, people, what have you. the problem is she's very attached to gaffen and gaffen as far as hes concerned thinks pumpkin can do no wrong. she runs over things with no remorse. its not like she wants to she just doesnt care. gaffen thinks she was the matriarch of her old herd. she's a very proud horse and refuses to do tricks but she is very affectionate towards gaffen and generally listens to him. her favorite treat is endura carrots. she is the fourth horse gaffen has registered and is around fourteen years old.

cloud-- 14.2 hh white stallion, around nine years old. my god I did not want to make him white I wanted to make him a grey or ivory or perlino but nooo. canonical pink nose which means he's probably white ew ew ew. anyway he is based on an arabian horse, however I gave him feathering, he's kinda fuzzier than an arabian and he probably has a mane more like an andalusian. i love andalusians. but he descended from a special breed of horses called the hyrulean imperial breed! they're a hotblooded breed known for their intelligence and grace.

cloud is the last horse gaffen registered, probably because it was so frustrating to catch him. unfortunately toffa was a LITTLE bit more picky in this au lets say. and didnt just look for a white horse but something with the breed characteristics of a a hyrulean imperial. so gaffen ended up catching several horses either sired by cloud or part of his herd that were a similar color. cloud, uh, well he hates everyone. he is wild as they come, very difficult to train, even for someone who likes training horses and had quite a bit of experience like gaffen did at the time. this was only exacerbated by hylia having recently popped into gaffen's head and insisting he give the horse to widget and train him properly, which only made him more angry at the horse. gaffen just. didnt really treat him well. to him, that is not his horse. cloud is a big fan of apples but he also likes sugar cubes-- basically anything sweet.

ok pre-calamity horses now

chestnut-- 15 hh mahogany bay gelding, 15 at the time of the calamity.

chestnut is a horse that gaffen got from his parents when he was thirteen. it took him a bit to get used to riding but once he understood it and began to bond with chestnut he fell in love with horses. they're better than dogs, obviously. chestnut was basically the perfect companion-- he was trained very well for his job before gaffen got him and had a gentle disposition. chestnut, unlike gaffen, seemed to enjoy the company of just about everyone, and most stables gaffen went to complimented him on how well-kept and good-natured chestnut was. when the calamity hit gaffen ordered the boy under him who was responsible for the horses to set chestnut and the other horses free. it's unknown if the horse survived.

lily -- 14.2 hh white mare, around 5 years old at the time of the calamity. I DO NOT KNOW WHY WE CAME UP WITH THE SAME NAME </3 she is a hyrulean imperial

widget did not like lily at first, and lily did not like her. though she was trained to be ridden without complaint by the royal family specifically the horse had a way of being annoying without technically going outside of the rules she was trained to follow. though some stablehands suggested she take some time to learn better riding habits widget didn't really care to do it as she had made up her mind that she didn't like horses and didn't want to put any effort into learning how to bond with hers. eventually, with some help from gaffen the Horse Obsessed Freak, widget does learn to like and work with lily and they get along fairly well.

#anyways. enjoy me tracing over pictures of horses i found on google.#i have a lot of trouble with horse anatomy they are Awful #but tbh I need to practice them #golden blood on his hands #asks

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spiri-a · 11 months

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[Podfic] The Selkie and his Boy

A Carry On podfic by @hushed-chorus for the @caught-on-tape-fest

Every year the Grimms spend a week vacationing by the seaside. One solstice morning, a 14-year-old Baz meets a strange but gorgeous boy called Simon. By the end of the day, he's hopelessly besotted. But Simon doesn't come back the next day. Or the day after. Or the day after that. Baz is left pining and dealing with a local seal that suddenly won't leave him alone. Now, exactly seven years later, Simon reappears and the two reconnect. And Baz learns that he's not the only one keeping secrets when Simon's sealskin goes missing.

Rated T / 2 hr 7 mins or 127 mins / 21,864 words

————————————————————————

My 3rd and final (and very close to the wire) podfic for the Caught On Tape Carry On Podfest! This is The Selkie and his Boy by hushed_chorus! This one's once more for Teen and Up Audiences, with each chapter around 20 mins long! Highly recommend if you want a beautifully sweet and heart-wrenchingly romantic beachside story!

My first time reading this fic was looking through the podfest catalog, and I just absolutely fell in love. I knew I had to do this one. The writing is just so good, and hushed_chorus does amazing things with their beachside setting, charming characters, and heartfelt storyline! All the sfx, including the various beach and cafe and underwater ambiances, were laborious but very much worth it!

Half proud of the cover! I was hoping to do something with both the boys in there, but in the end the seal underneath the starscape was much more within my abilities! I loved the little thing Simon has with stars, even though it's not very present in the story, so I tried to write the title in a constellation-style font! Not sure how well that turned out though!

Anyways okay okay that means I am officially done with the Caught On Tape Carry On Podfest! But despite that, I will never forget it. This podfest was the first time I've EVER posted Carry On related content, despite being in the fandom for over 2 years. I'm not big on writing (despite my best efforts) and I'm only kind of an artist, so I never felt I had anything to post. This podfest proved me wrong! It introduced me to the wonderful world of podficcing, which although I can't say for sure, I predict will be a frequent hobby of mine moving forward! Interacting with fellow Carry On fans in this fest, supporting them and (to my shock) being supported by them, has been a dream come true, and something lurker me would have fainted at! (I still need a second to recover from shock every single time I get an Ao3 notif) Anyways oops this has gone on WAY too long (I’m getting too sentimental since this is my last podfic 😭) basically the point is THANK YOU SO MUCH MODS DRE, KATI, AND JESS! This was such a wonderful ride and you guys are literally the most amazing people ever! Now without further ado please enjoy The Selkie and his Boy by hushed_chorus!

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chaotic-on-main · 1 year

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Summer Event! 💕

Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream,

Kitchen Sink option but make it a surprise!

Thank you for being so understanding & sweet, I get really anxious if you can't tell haha. You're a dear💕✨

Order up!! One matcha green tea cone with everything but the kitchen sink for Eri!!

Sky's Summer and 250 Follower Event!

☾ Pairings ➼ janitor!Levi Ackerman x fem!people-pleaser!Reader

☾ Content/Warnings ➼ modernAU, meet-cute(kinda?), familial trauma, hurt/comfort, fluff, accidental therapy (for me), corporate ick

☾ Author's Note ➼ Hi Eri!! Thank you so much for sending this request in. I was a little worried with the whole "make it a surprise" because I struggle with lack of structure BUT I'm so proud of how this came out. I couldn't stop writing, as you can see. This might be a little self-indulgent and I hope I got the emotions right since I struggle with them. I just want Levi to call me out on my shit, okay?? Anyways, I hope you enjoy!! love you k bye *smooches*

☾ Word Count ➼ ~7.6k (oops)

“Hi, you’re the new hire right? It’s nice to meet you, I’m Carol from a few rows down. Listen, I hate to do this to you since you’re so new but you’re the only one I can ask. Would you be able to do the data entry on the Sina job? I can’t stay past closing tonight due to my set plans and unfortunately it’s due tomorrow morning. Could you help me out? I’ll pay you back!”

The voice of your overly excited brunette coworker reverberates through your skull as you type away at your desk, the bright light of your monitor biting at your eyes just like the migraine you feel in the back of your head. You had a feeling that this is not the first time the people in the office have picked on the newcomers, and you bet it wouldn’t be the last. You chalk it up the fact that you were still in the office past seven in the evening doing someone else’s work because they dropped the stack of papers on your desk before you could say anything back, but you knew better. Damn your pathological people pleasing tendencies.

Your chair squeaks as you lean back in it, closing your eyes and pinching the bridge of your nose as you sigh heavily. It’s a handful of days into your first week and you’re already daydreaming about your next vacation. An office job was not your first go to, but as all struggling artists do, you needed this job to supplement your income until your art took off – if that ever happened.

Thoughts of how much longer you’d have to be here swirl through your mind when you’re interrupted by a loud thunk a few cubicles down. It startles you so much that you jump up as your eyes shoot open, hand over your heart in an attempt to calm it. You weren’t aware of anyone else in the building so you can’t help but think there might be a mass murderer just feet away from you. Steeling your resolve, you push yourself up from your chair and carefully peek over the half wall to see what had made that noise.

At first you don’t see anything as your eyes adjust from seeing nothing to the semi-lit office floor from the setting sun and dimmed overheads. Down the row, you see the back of a man in what you assume to be a gray janitor’s suit. An undercut peeks between short raven locks, neck lines sharp giving away to a clean cut. It doesn’t seem like he notices you’re there as his attention is focused on the waste basket in front of him.

You sit back down slowly, heaving a heavy sigh from relief that it was indeed not a mass murderer – well, that you know of. He didn’t seem threatening from far away at least. Your hands hover on the keyboard as you do your best to blink away the tired. Only a few more pages now, you reassure yourself.

An hour later, miraculously you find yourself down to the last page. The miscellaneous words and numbers swim off the page as you force yourself to focus. With the promise of a late night treat, you finally make it down to the last line. Just as you’re about to hit ‘enter’, something kicks the back of your chair causing you to yelp loudly and slam down on the keys harder than you meant.

“What are you still doing here?” A deep voice grumbles from behind you, making your ears twitch at the sudden volume difference. You twist around in your chair to see who the voice belongs to and you’re surprised to see it coming from the janitor you saw earlier. What’s even more surprising is how young he looks, and handsome to boot - despite the look he’s giving you. Stark gray-blue lidded eyes stare down at you as he scowls, eyebrows pinched together. He doesn’t look pleased.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m working on some…” Your voice falters when his expression turns into annoyance.

“You’re in my way.” He simply states as he leans against a vacuum you only now notice sitting under his arm. Was your focus so strong that you completely missed the sounds of him cleaning around you?

“Oh, uh. Yeah, let me get out of your way then.” You say timidly, pushing yourself out of the chair. You’re face to face with him at standing height, even in your work heels. This was a very intimidating man despite his short stature.

“I’m not going to clean with you breathing down my neck.” He grumbles, eyes narrowing at you like you asked him the most offensive question known to man. Your lips part as you struggle to find your words, but nothing comes out as you find yourself low-key panicking.

“I c-can just-”

“Just finish what you’re working on, I’ll just come back.” He rolls his eyes before walking away, leaving you and the vacuum illuminated by your computer screen. You ball your hands in fists to keep them from shaking.

Exhaling a weak breath, you sit back down and force yourself to focus on the last line of data instead of the glowering expression of your office’s janitor.

You slam your forehead into the vinyl coating of your desk, not hard enough to leave a bruise but enough to hear the echoes of contact through the whole floor. It’s nearing seven at night again and you’re still in office catching up on yet another coworker’s workload.

When they asked what plans you had tonight, you didn’t think that saying you were going home to watch TV would bite you in the ass. If you were completely honest, you had quietly hoped they might be asking if you wanted to go out for drinks with them. After all, they were the only ones that had really talked to you in the past few weeks but you’re starting to wonder if they were just trying to butter you up to get you to say yes to their requests.

Who were you kidding though, you would have said yes anyways because the word ‘no’ didn’t exist in your vocabulary. You wish you weren’t so aware of that fact because not only are you stressed out, you’re full of self loathing. A groan escapes your lips.

“Still doing other people’s work?” You hear a familiar voice grumble from behind.

After lifting your head up from the cool desk, you swivel around in your chair to see the janitor – this time in dark blue. A white handkerchief wraps around his face, covering his mouth and nose so that all you see are his tired eyes. A same-colored bandana adorns his head with some of his bangs falling into his eyes. You bite your tongue to keep yourself from asking what the point of the bandana was if it didn’t keep his hair out of his face.

It takes you a moment to find your voice, partly from not using it for so long but also because of the steady unfriendly feeling radiating off him. He raises an eyebrow at you as you stare up at him almost dumbfounded.

“I- who said I was doing other people’s work?” You finally make out, voice trembling.

“You’re new, right? The office goons do that to every newbie that comes in.” He folds his arms over his chest and you see that his sleeves are rolled up to show his toned forearms, muscles popping up from the position they’re in. Your eyes flicker back up to his, blinking slowly.

“I’m sure but they needed the help, so...”

“Because they would rather slack off than do any work. They’re taking advantage of you and you’re falling for it? You’re an adult, right?” There isn’t malice in his words but they still sting.

“Of course I am! I work here, don’t I?” Your eyes widen in emphasis, sweeping your hands around you.

“Tch, that doesn’t make you an adult. I’ve been here for years and I’ve seen my fair share of children.” His scowl reappears at those words. You’ve never met someone so grumpy.

You close your mouth at that, not sure what else to say. He clicks his tongue and flips a small towel over his shoulder. Turning on his heel, he sets off down the aisle without another word, the sounds of his heavy boots getting quieter.

You don’t get done until 10:30 that night. On your way out, you pass by the janitor who was currently on the inside of the board meeting glass walls, wiping them down with what you suppose is glass cleaner. His eyes meet yours as you walk by and you offer a small wave and smile even though his short words still sting. You think he’s going to ignore you but instead, he gives you a curt nod.

The janitor’s words swim through your mind the next time you’re asked to stay behind to help out. You spent the last couple of weeks doing your best practicing in the shower on setting boundaries with your coworkers but when the person who came to you next was your supervisor, how could you say no.

You were in the middle of packing your bag while lost in thought of your weekend plans when she came to you. You’re thinking you might stop by the evening market by the river before heading home with some food from the local vendors when a finger taps on your shoulder followed by your name coming out in a honey-laced voice.

“Hey, I just wanted to stop by and commend you on being such a team player in the last month. It’s something we find rare in someone as young as you and of course we’re grateful.” Your red-haired boss beams down at you while she talks. The feeling of ice pricks in your veins at what you know was coming next.

“I’m really sorry to come to you so last minute and on a Friday no less, but because of your wonderful work ethic, you’re the only one I can trust to complete The Warrior Project. It’s been extremely slow going and we need it done by Monday. Do you think you can stay behind and help us out?” She offers you an apologetic smile, eyes boring into yours with sincerity.

You wished you could have said no but the words died before they made it out of your mouth, instead agreeing meekly with a fake smile.

So now here you sit at your desk with the dying rays of light rising higher against the back walls as the sun sets, fingers flying across the keyboard. You suppose you’ll have to stop by the late night convenience store on the way home for some dinner; your face scrunches up at the thought of your very limited choices.

“If you type any harder, you’ll break it.” You don’t bother to turn around at the voice, knowing damn well who it was.

“I’m sure they’ll get me another one. They need me to finish this, after all.” You mutter the last part under your breath. The smell of something sweet and tangy hits your nose and on contact, your stomach rumbles loudly.

Swiveling in your chair, you’re met with the janitor who’s simultaneously holding a feather duster as well as a bag of what looks like Chinese take-out. Your eyes widen at the sight, bouncing back and forth between the objects in his hand.

“Are you here to eat or dust?” You ask, finally looking up to his face. There’s no expression on his pretty face. You still haven’t gotten over how stunning he was, with his pointed nose and pouty bottom lip. Today he has his janitor uniform half on, the sleeves of the suit tied around his waist so that it’s only pants. Tucked in is a black t-shirt that shows more of his muscular arms. He’s not ripped by any means but it’s very obvious he exercises on his time off.

“I’m here to dust. This is for you to eat.” He says dryly, shoving the bag in your direction. Once again, you find your words stolen as you stare at the brown paper bag that sits curled in his pale fingers. Your eyes shift back and forth between his face and the food.

“F-for me? Why?”

“Whenever I see you here late, you never eat. You need to take better care of yourself.”

“I eat when I get home.” You retort back softly. A late night meal for you consists of a single serving bag of chips and whatever looked edible at the convenience store – but you wouldn’t tell him that.

“Just eat it.” He pushes it forward to you again, the warm smells of food wafting past your nose. It smelled like heaven.

“I- no. I can’t take that, it’s yours!” You wave your hands in front of your chest in a dismissive manner. A dark eyebrow shoots up his face.

“So she can say no.” He reaches over you and places the paper bag down on your desk. Along with the smells of delicious food, the scent of clean laundry and musky pine tickles your nose. It’s a very pleasant combination, and one you were not expecting. “Eat it, throw it away, I don’t care.” He says casually before turning around and walking off. Your hand reaches out in an attempt to stop him, but he’s long gone.

Twisting your chair around, you eye the paper bag for a moment before finally caving. Your stomach is about to eat itself and he had paid for it, so you don’t want to waste it. Why he would care enough about you to order food is a mystery, though.

Upon opening the contents, you’re greeted with a small foil dish with a plastic covering holding what you believe is orange chicken. A little white box off to the side contains sticky rice and in the little plastic package next to it holds some spring rolls – all still steaming hot and smelling wonderful.

You spend the next half hour scarfing down your dinner while thinking about how you’d pay the janitor back. The flush that started creeping up your cheeks at the end of your encounter with him stays even when you go to bed late that night.

The week after, you intentionally slow down on your daily work so that you had a reason to stay late and finish it. But much to your dismay, you don’t see the janitor anywhere. You’d leave each night a little embarrassed at yourself for being so excited for someone you’ve talked to a handful of times, but to your benefit you had a reason for your madness.

Finally, you gather enough courage to peep your head over your half-wall and grab your coworker’s attention – whose attention was on a mobile game in his hands and not on the spreadsheets in front of his face.

“Ryan?” You whisper-shout down. Your brunette coworker’s eyes shoot up to yours, almost in a panic.

“What? Is the boss lady making her rounds?” He asks back. You sweep your eyes around the office floor and finally find your supervisor who was currently in a meeting with other board members.

“She’s busy, you’re fine. I actually had a question?” You didn’t realize how soft you were speaking until he stood up to meet you, towering a good foot above you with his ear down to you.

“What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you knew when the janitor might be back? I haven’t seen him in a few days.” You subconsciously start picking at your nails – a nervous habit.

Ryan stares at you as he processes your words before throwing his head back in bellowing laughter. You’re quick to shush him and duck your head down from the glares aimed your way at such a loud disturbance.

“Not so loud!!” You whisper-shout again.

“I’m sorry, I’m just curious why you want to know? He doesn’t like anyone, and no one likes him.” He shrugs his shoulders. You so badly want to tell him to shut up and that you like him, but instead you settle on trying to get him to answer your question.

“Well, what’s his schedule?” You narrow your eyes in hopes of getting the message across that you were serious.

“Well, that’s the thing, he’s always working. Sometimes even on the weekends. From what I heard, his cleaning routes are the same every week. He doesn’t get to our floor until late in the week. He has a thing for cleaning, so I heard, and that’s why there’s only one janitor contracted. He’s so weird.” Ryan rolls his eyes as he rests his chin against the top of the wall.

“What’s his name?”

“Why do you care so much about the janitor?” It’s Ryan’s turn to narrow his eyes to you. You’re asking too many questions and he’s getting far too nosy about your business. It’s best to retreat for now.

“Uh, it’s nothing. Thank you.” You squeak before plopping yourself down at your chair and pretending to click around on your word documents until you no longer feel the pierce of your coworker’s stare.

So he’s always here, you think. You’re just missing him on your way down. You bite back a smile as you glance down to the clock at the bottom corner of your screen. The time reads 4:37pm and it’s a Thursday which meant that he would be around your floor this evening. Perfect. Your eyes sweep over to your bag in your excitement.

In the time it takes for you to wait for the gray-blue eyed janitor, you’ve finished half of the next day’s work. A part of you starts to wonder if he isn’t coming tonight, that it may be tomorrow instead, and weirdly you find yourself hoping one of your coworkers would ask you to help them out again so that you had a reason to stay.

“That’s so stupid.” You say out loud as you stir sugar into the black tea you had spent the last 5 minutes steeping. You’re standing in the office break room, lost in thought.

“I’m sure the mug doesn’t feel that way.” That voice makes your heart flutter, and you bite back the smile that threatens to curve into your face. Instead, you pinch your lips together and turn around.

The janitor is there alright, uniform zipped up tight as he holds a spray bottle and a rag. He’s leaning against the doorframe of the break room, arms folded across his chest. His black hair falls into his face, almost kissing the corners of his heavy-lidded eyes as they watch you intently.

“Ah, there you are!” You exclaim, pointing your spoon at him.

“Here I am.”

“I have something to give you as payback for dinner last week.” You muse, grinning at him. His eyes widened briefly before going back to normal.

“And why would you do that?”

“Because I’m grateful for it, dummy.” Carefully, you place your spoon next to your mug and walk towards him until you’re face to face. It takes him a moment to realize you were waiting for him to move, and carefully he backs away so that you have room to escape.

“Stay here, I’ll be right back.” You order before dashing off to your cubicle.

When you come back with the gift in hand, you see that the janitor hadn’t moved an inch. His intimidating eyes follow you as you stop in front of him, slightly breathless from speed walking back. An eyebrow raises at you as he waits for you to catch your breath.

“I-ah. Okay. So. I made these for you. I ended up having to make a fresh batch because I didn’t see you for a bit and I didn’t want to feed you stale cookies so. Anyways, here. Thank you for feeding me last week.” You beam up at him as you hold your hands out to show him your gift.

It’s a small plastic bag wrapped with a pastel bow. The contents of the bag include bite sized cookies that you spent all last night remaking in hopes you would see him again. They’re pale yellow in color, dusted with a light coat of cane sugar. His eyes widen again at your gesture, this time staying big as they stare at the bag in your hand like its gold.

“You… made these for me?” His voice is low.

“I did! I don’t know if you like sweets but these are my mother’s recipe and her cookies were never that sweet. Pretty much the sweetness comes from the sugar on top. The rest are just buttery goodness.” You gush as you stare off in thought, the happy memories of your mom making these cookies for you flooding your brain.

When your eyes fall back to the raven-haired man, you’re almost tempted to run away in embarrassment. His neutral expression stares back at you and you take a small step back.

“I’m sorry, this is probably weird. You don’t have to take them actually. In fact, I’ll just le-“

“No, you’re fine. I uh, I appreciate it.” He quickly reaches out and grabs the bag, the sound of crinkling plastic taking up space in the nearly empty mess room. You offer him a small smile, grateful that he accepted the gift. His eyes trail past you and onto the kitchen counter behind you. He purses his lips as he thinks but finally opens his mouth to speak.

“Pour that disgusting excuse for a tea out and follow me. Bring the mug.” He says tersely before turning on his heels and out the door. You blink hard a few times as your brain processes his words but quickly you find yourself dumping out the tea and chasing after him down the cubicle aisles.

Soon, you’re sitting on the ground with the janitor as he pours steaming amber liquid from the thermos he pulled out of his cleaning cart just mere moments ago. It splashes into the bottom of your mug and fills it quickly, then he hands it over to you as he starts speaking.

“So are you a workaholic or…” He gives you a side eye.

“I should be asking you that. I’ve been told you work practically every day, even on weekends.” You hold the mug by the handle as you stare down into the cup. “Is this…?”

“It’s tea and no I didn’t poison it.”

“What was wrong with the tea I had?”

“Stale tea leaves don’t make for a good cup of tea.” He states like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “No, I’m not a workaholic. I like to clean, and I get paid for it. Plus, I’m left alone. Usually.” He grumbles the last part, but you don’t detect any hostility in his voice.

“Well, I’m not either. A-a workaholic, I mean.”

“No, I suppose not. Just a people pleaser then?” His statement makes you splutter on the tea you had just sipped on. Despite it going almost everywhere, the bitter taste of the dark leaves bite at your taste buds. It’s unsweetened and you can’t keep the slight look of distaste off your face. Luckily, it’s covered up by the glare you shoot his way.

You don’t say anything back at that, knowing any denial would have been a lie but you didn’t want to confirm it either. However, you can’t hold back the annoyance that simmers in your chest at such a presumptuous statement, from someone you hardly know, no less.

“Beats being disliked by everyone.” You mutter finally, setting your mug on the floor next to you. Your eyes drift to the floor-to-ceiling window you were both sitting in front of. The last dreg of golden sunlight warms your face as you stare out into the bustling city as they prepare for the evening.

“You say that like it should bother me.”

“Shouldn’t it though?”

“Why would it?”

“Don’t you want people to like you?” You whisper softly, dragging your gaze over to his face. There’s no readable expression on his face as he sips his tea out of the top of his thermos lid. He’s holding it in a way you’ve never seen before – long fingers gripping the metal from the top rim and tilting it back into his mouth.

“I don’t give a shit if they like me or not.” He says finally as he gives you a side eye.

You’re not sure if your surprise at his callous attitude is warranted or not. Your interactions with him have been few and far in between but that night he got you dinner, you thought maybe he was a little more caring than that.

“Why do you care if people like you anyway?” He leans back on a hand, his other cradling his cup.

“I just- well. I don’t know.” You say simply. You do know.

“I read this thing about people-pleasers. It said that they’re great manipulators. They bend and break just so that others tolerate and like them, pretending to be something they’re not. Are you trying to get something out of it?”

Your eyes snap to his, feeling the heat behind your stare at his insinuation. Where did he get off calling you a manipulator? A pretender? Despite the subtle rage dancing in your eyes, you give him a smile and push yourself off the ground, grabbing your mug on your way up.

“Thank you for the tea. I really must be going now.” You say politely, voice coming out higher than you meant.

“Tch.” Is all you get back.

With that, you turn on your heel and head back to the break room to pour your tea out and rinse the mug, leaving it out on the rack to dry. You’re quick to gather your things before practically running down the aisles to the elevator, down to the front door, and towards home. A lump in your throat stays even after your shower and still when you lie down for the night.

After your last encounter with the janitor, you find that you’re rushing home as soon as you can. You aren’t necessarily mad at him for telling you a hard truth, but the rumination of having someone being annoyed at you doesn’t go away.

Your evasive tactics work for a while. Your office was in between projects and jobs so no one had come to you for help for anything. But of course that didn’t stay that way for long and your luck would run out as it always had as the quarter was about to close. Your supervisor came to you early on a rainy Tuesday morning to tell you that some freak accident had happened to the last reports which made the data you spent days organizing completely disappear.

You don’t know what was more frustrating: the fact that your hard work from the last week had completely vanished or the fact that no one in the office offered to give a helping hand when you needed it the most.

Your supervisor apologized and said the entries needed to be done by the next morning so they could be submitted in time for the quarter review. With a forced smile and false-positive voice, you agreed and got started on it right away.

This was about 12 hours ago.

The only thing that brings you solace is the knowledge that the janitor was not due for your floor for a couple days so at least you could work on it without worrying about running into him. And thankfully for you since you were semi-prepared for being held back, you ordered pizza for dinner before the front doors locked for the evening.

For some reason, you find yourself sitting on the floor in the same spot you had shared bitter tea with the janitor. You’re lying on your back with your phone hovering as you scroll on it mindlessly, a more than half filled pizza box next to you with the lid propped open slightly. There’s a vacation photo that pops up from one of your acquaintances that makes your chest tighten from envy.

“You’re in my way, brat.” A voice from above rings out. It startles you so much that your fingers loosen on your phone, and it comes smacking into your face with a loud slap. Your eyes scrunch shut from the stinging pain radiating from your nose as you groan softly.

You sit up from your position, making sure to grab your phone before it falls on the ground, and turn to narrow your eyes at the perpetually scowling janitor. You hear a subtle pop in your back as you do.

“What are you doing here?” Your voice comes out more accusatory than you meant, and you end up clearing your throat before giving him a forced smile.

“I’m working. That’s more than I can say for you.”

“You’re not supposed to be on this floor today.”

“Says who?” An eyebrow quirks at your statement.

The words die on your tongue because even you knew that one person’s word was not enough to be reliable. You reach over to close the pizza box and gather your things to leave. He doesn’t say anything and only stares while you push yourself up onto your feet.

“I’ll just get out of your way, then.” You mumble, bending down to grab the pizza box in one hand and your empty cup in the other. As you brush past him, you can’t help but wonder if he’s still mad at you, though you can’t logically find a reason why he would be mad in the first place. And if he was, then what did you do? These thoughts are jarred as a vibration in your back pocket alerts you to a notification. Upon more buzzes and the start of your soft ringtone, you realize it’s a phone call.

Stepping over to the nearest desk, you set your stuff down and pull out your phone. On the screen is the caller ID for your mom, her faux-happy face staring straight at you as the lights around it pulse. You don’t fight the grimace that etches into your features. Hitting the green button, you regret it immediately.

“Hi mom!” You exclaim, forcing another smile on your lips.

“There you are! I really thought you had died on us.”

“Of course, I’m not dead. Just busy!” You state happily, turning around to face the windows again. A relieved sigh escapes when you notice the janitor is no longer standing where he was.

“You should call us more. You know I was talking to our neighbor about you recently! Remember Donna and her kids? Apparently her youngest just got engaged. And it got me thinking…” Your mother’s words trail off as your eyes glaze over. Your pulse is steadily picking up speed with every word, and you grip the edge of the desk tightly to keep yourself grounded.

“Anyways, both of your sisters are coming to visit with their little families. When are you planning to come by? It would be nice to have everyone home again. Maybe this time with a man on your arm?”

“Oh, I don’t know, mom. I just started here, so getting the time off will be a little hard to do right away. But I will ask my supervisor, and see? I want to see everyone too.” Your voice wavers a little as the muscles in your face start to hurt from your smile.

“Your grandmother is asking about you, you know. I had to come up with some excuse about why you’re so far away, and single no less.”

“I’m working on it. I’ll give her a call soon.” Tears prick in the corners of your eyes.

“Well, I’m sure you are, honey. Oh, your little sister is calling, I need to go. Please call us more!” And just like that, the line goes silent as she hangs up.

“I’ll call tomorrow, I guess.” You whisper down at the blank screen. Setting your phone down, you press the heels of your palms into your eyes to get rid of the wetness that threatens to overflow. You practically feel your heart beating right out of your chest as your mom’s words float around your head.

“I see where it comes from now.” The janitor’s deep voice comes from the right of you. When you pull your hands away to look at him, he’s holding out a steaming mug to you. Hesitantly, you take it. The color of the liquid is lighter in color and smells slightly floral. A mile’s difference from the last thing he shared with you.

“Where what comes from?” You mutter before bringing the cup to your lips. It’s hot but not unbearably so. The taste is gentle and has a touch of sweetness to it. It’s pleasant, and not something you were expecting.

“Your people-pleasing tendencies.” He leans against the half wall next to him as he eyes you.

“Please do enlighten me, as I’m not sure what you’re getting at.” You reply back in a monotone voice. You were tired in more ways than one. Slaving away at this project that you were only 80% done with. Staying late, lack of sleep, and now your mother calling. You were tired and you can’t mask anymore.

“Let me guess.” He raises his hand and taps a finger against his chin in thought. “Middle child. Your parents always apologized for what you lacked. Always felt like you had to put in extra effort to be seen and walking on eggshells so that when you are seen, no one pulls away. You’re starving for real, positive attention.” Again, none of his words come out malicious but they really sting. This man hardly knows you and yet he’s spreading your entire childhood out like it was nothing.

You’re tired.

“Yeah. Exactly that. And it’s infuriating. Not to drag on my sisters because they’re doing their best and they have the same parents I have but it’s like…” You take another sip of the honey liquid before continuing, feeling the heat of not only the tea but also anger burning in your chest. Your eyes drift back to the front window.

“I can’t stop myself from doing above and beyond on the off chance I might be liked and appreciated. I’m putting in all this hard work and still it doesn’t matter. I’m just so tired.”

The sun is all but gone and is replaced by the city lights that illuminate the indigo sky above. The janitor stays quiet through all of this as he takes in your words. You’ve never told anyone any of this before, and part of you feels liberated. The other part feels guilty for putting something so heavy on someone who probably doesn’t even care.

“So, what if it doesn’t matter? Why are you putting so many expectations on yourself? You’re just one person.” He stands up from the wall and walks around it so that he’s face to face with you. His arms are folded across his chest again as he eyes you warily before continuing.

“I spend everyday cleaning after you shits and no one sees that. And yet, what I do matters because otherwise this place would be a shithole. You do not have to bend over backwards so people can see your accomplishments, they still exist whether they see it or not. But, say they approve of your help, then what?”

“What do-” Your fingers grip tight on the handle of your mug.

“They say thank you for doing what they asked you to do, then what? Do you keep up with their demands?”

“If I have to.”

“And what do you gain from that outside of exhaustion?”

You want to lie so bad. You want to say that you get a lot of enjoyment from making others happy. That you gain happiness for making others smile because you did what they ask of you. But you realize that putting yourself out there for the sake of others is wearing you down. And you aren’t actually happy.

“I don’t.” Your voice cracks and when you blink next, your sight is blurry.

“That’s what I’m saying. You bend and you bend for these short bursts of attention but you don’t need it. The only thing that should matter to you is your wellbeing. The rest comes after.” His voice retains the same dryness as it had before, but there’s an unmistaken lilt of tenderness.

You look away from his gaze and wipe the corners of your eyes with the back of your hand as you take a shaky breath.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but why do you care so much about me?” You offer him a small smile to hopefully deter any ill will that statement could bring up.

“Tch, don’t get me wrong, you’re still annoying. But, I can’t stand watching people tear themselves down for the sake of others. You’re here to live for yourself, not for them.” His steely eyes roll to the ceiling before landing back on you.

“Right. Well. I’ll keep that in mind.” You smile at him, a genuine one that squeezes your eyes closed. “Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, even if your words are a little rough.” He huffs at that then nods curtly, tapping his foot on the ground.

“On that note, I need to-“

“Will you stay with me?” Your words come out faster than you can stop yourself. A sudden burst of warmth blooms into your face. “I-I mean, if you want. I just have this pizza left and-“

“Do you want me to stay?” He stares hard at you as he reads your reaction. You have a feeling he’s testing you.

Do you want that?

Yes, you do.

“Please stay?”

He considers you for a moment before relaxing, his arms falling to his sides.

“Okay.”

Once again, you find yourself on the floor with the janitor, knees tucked into your chest as you’re lost in thought. He sits a few feet away, slowly chewing on a just heated up piece of pizza while he stares out into the night. Your eyes never leave his face, watching the way his long eyelashes tickle his cheekbones and the way his hair falls in his face. You notice the dark circles that bruise the underside of his eyes.

“Do you ever take time off?” You ask softly.

“I never needed to.”

“You look really tired.”

“That’s just my face.” You laugh at that and he gives you a side eye. He wasn’t expecting that from you.

“Where would you go if you ever took time off?” You ask despite the fact he might ignore you as he didn’t seem the type to indulge such stupid questions, but he surprises you.

“Home.” He says without skipping a beat.

“Home? Really? Are you not home that often that you miss it more or something?”

“It’s quiet and all of my things are there. Where else would I go?” He stares at you with a perturbed expression. His dry voice adds to his comment and you find it very endearing. You think you see his lip twitch, but it might have been your imagination.

“What about you?”

Leaning back on your hands, you stretch your legs out with a soft groan and stare out the window. By this time, it’s well into 9pm and you still have work to do. But with the janitor staring at you, you find yourself pushing the thought of work away for now.

“Don’t laugh. But I really want to experience a day in that park off of Centennial. I heard it’s really nice in the afternoon because of the trees and little river that cuts through it. I would love to just sit out on a blanket and draw for a bit.” You say wistfully. You can already feel the heat of the sun against your skin.

“You’re an artist?”

“Yeah, struggling and starving as most are. But I draw when I can.”

He hums softly. “That sounds like a good day.” He says, wiping his hands on the towel that was tied to his utility belt around his waist.

You beam over to him at that. You again think to yourself of why people don’t like him. He was blunt and a little tactless, but he was caring and empathetic. Something you wouldn’t see from the outside. You liked him for just being himself with you.

Realization dawns on you at what his words meant earlier. Just being you was enough. You matter.

“Thank you.” You say simply, a toothy grin pointed his way.

A month passes and you find yourself steadily settling more into your job. You haven’t seen the janitor much since that one night. When you got home after that conversation, you made a promise you would only do things that you wanted to do for the sake of yourself and not others. The next time your coworker came to you for help, you were able to put your foot down and tell them no. Your voice and hands shook the whole time, but since then you haven’t been bothered. Unfortunately, you helped your supervisor when asked but you are proud of the progress that you made with your boundaries.

And now, here you are on a blanket in Centennial Park on a Thursday, lying on your stomach with your sketchbook propped open in front as you pop grapes into your mouth. There’s dark charcoal smudged along the side of your hands but you can’t find yourself caring as you finish a hooded eye with a flourish. It’s a nice day with a light breeze that helps keep you cool and soft music flows through your ears from your earphones, quiet enough so that you can be aware of your surroundings.

You’ve been at the park for so long that you’re almost done with your drawing and you’re thinking you should have brought a book to read when something kicks your foot. It makes you jump and your head twists behind you to see who or what it was. You assume it’s a child that kicked their ball too far as that happened earlier, but instead you scrunch your eyes to make sense of the figure in front of you.

Your eyes trail up to find it's a man dressed in dark jeans and a t-shirt, with a pair of oversized headphones circling his neck and sunglasses covering his eyes. The shades are dark but you can only assume he’s staring down at you. In his hands are two hot to-go cups.

“Can I help you?” You ask up to the mystery man, not hiding the annoyance in your tone.

“So she does take a day off. It’s nice to see you away from the computer screen.” The voice is familiar and you find yourself scrambling up to your feet, staring at him hard. He’s the same height as you and you notice his lips are all too familiar. They’re the same ones belonging to the drawing you just finished.

“You’re the janitor! What are you doing here?” Your annoyance quickly changes into surprise.

“Took the day off and I’m meeting a friend.” He raises one of the cups which you assume must be his friend’s. “And you can just call me Levi, by the way.” He grumbles the last bit. You only now realize you never asked for his name in any of the interactions you’ve had with him. Your face flares in embarrassment.

“I- yeah. I’m sorry, that’s so rude of me to have never asked.” You tell him your name as well but he just nods.

“I know who you are, and it’s fine.” He shrugs, tone dry as ever.

“You know my name? But how?” You don’t remember telling him your name. Nor has he ever been around to hear it be said. You raise an eyebrow at him.

“You have a plaque on your desk.”

“Oh. Yeah, that’s fair.” You run a hand through your hair as you laugh at that. You don’t notice the way his eyes flicker from your sweet face to the sketch behind you on the ground. He huffs softly at that.

“Well, I can’t keep them waiting so. I guess I’ll see you when I see you.” He murmurs before turning on his heel in the opposite direction.

“Wait, Levi!” You yell, taking a few steps towards him. His head tilts back in your direction so that you see his blue-gray eyes side-eying you from behind his sunglasses.

“What?”

“Would you like to get some tea with me sometime?” You ask quickly. Your voice wavers slightly with anxiety as you shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

“Are you sure you don’t have other people’s work to complete first?” You laugh at that.

“No. I don’t think that will be a problem.” The sides of his mouth twitches.

“Then sure. Only if you bring your mom’s cookies again.” He raises his cup at you before turning his back to you and walking down the hill.

You sit back down with a grin, staring down at your finished sketch of Levi leaning against the doorframe of the break room.

Doing things for yourself has never felt so good.

I'm adding my taglist to this bc I'm actually quite proud of this one?

-> taglist: @averysmolbear @humanitys-strongest-bamf @youre-ackermine @notgoodforlife @roseofdarknessblog @missamity @levis-squishy-cheeks @icansmellsouls @dkbktk420 @elnyrae @romantichomicide95 @sckerman @secretmoneybearvoid @apolloshaiku @sujiroses @jadam724 @kamyru @highgoon69 @missyasma @nube55 @svftackerman

The link to my taglist is in my pinned post on my blog!!

#sky's summer event #levi ackerman #levi ackerman x reader #levi x reader #x reader #attack on titan #aot #shingeki no kyojin #snk #modern au #asks #answered #cw parental trauma #janitor!levi ackerman #janitor!levi #hurt/comfort #fluff #eri.moots

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delta-orionis · 4 months

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Tuesday Again No Problem 5/14/24

Oops! All Rain World!

Listening

While browsing the Rain World mods page, I found a mod that adds threat music to areas in the game that don't normally have it; they're created by the artist Roasted:

youtube

I've been listening to them a bunch. When I get the chance I look forward to downloading the mod and seeing how they sound in-game.

Watching

Not much, honestly. I've been mostly re-watching old commentary youtuber videos that I don't feel like remarking upon. (Honestly it's just background noise for while I play Rain World or crochet...)

Instead I'll link my favorite short video from this week:

youtube

Playing

I've been messing around in Rain World's Expedition mode again. I started a new run as Monk but eventually abandoned it when I realized how insurmountably difficult the challenges that involved killing enemies would be. I then switched over to Survivor and I'm doing decently well now.

Making

I continue to tinker with Rain World mods. This week I've been mostly playing around with the in-game dev tools. Changing palettes, adding and removing items and enemies, etc...

I haven't actually made much of anything yet, but I did mess around with palette swapping things in Five Pebbles' General Systems Bus to fit TSAC. I might start editing the actual room layout once I become more familiar with the level editor.

I also added some stars to TSAC's chamber, which seemed appropriate.

I have an idea for a unique Memory Conflux room that I'd like to make in the level editor, so I think I'm going to work on that next. I imagine that is going to be a lot of trial and error.

In other news, I'm almost done with my Looks to the Moon amigurumi! I just want to add a few more details and finish weaving in any loose ends. Then I'll try to get around to taking some pictures of both her and Five Pebbles in proper lighting.

I also started on an amigurumi for Three Stars Above Clouds, because they're my OC and I can render them in yarn form if I want, dammit.

The stars are a little wonky but they were the best I could do... I considered embroidering them but it looked awful (I don't know how to embroider), so I crocheted some tiny stars and sewed them on instead.

I'll have to check, but I think I have all of the right colors of yarn for Seven Red Suns, so maybe I'll give making them a go later. I'll have to think about it.

---

As always, thank you for reading. See you next week!

#tuesdayposting

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bobbys-not-that-small · 9 months

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LW&Co Series Commentary - Ep 8: "Not The Eternal"

Here's the rewatch commentary that no one asked for! Take a shot every time I say "erasure". Context: my 2nd time watching the show, but first time post reading the books

Part: one, two, three, four & five, six, seven, eight

The last part!! Hope these weren’t too completely out-of-context, but it’s just an excuse for you to rewatch the show ;)

They really used the hell out of the ghost lamps for cinematic shots huh? Also it's literally probably the same single prop for all of them, so where's its credits then?

They must be FREEZING, at night, dripping wet, Lucy's literally in a dress with no jacket

"This doesn't feel like winning" oof really giving those death-wish Lockwood TEG vibes

Also just want to point out here in the last installment Lockwood's funny rectangular tie

OH MY GOSH YEAH little Lockwood pre LW&Co and George but also post-Jess?? BOY NEEDS A HUG

Why is it always "I forgive you" and never "Grenadier Guard or Policeman?"

Joplin's glittery silver scarf looks a bit like a silver net - wonder if it offers any ghost protection?

Joplin: "I need you" - exactly what George just needs one of the others to say to him 😭

I love that it's implied that Kipps is really really good at tailing people without them noticing (I guess this is book canon too, Mr fence-painter extraordinaire)

The catafalque is sooooo creepy but also kind of cool

YESS KIPPS but also no wonder he's terrified, he's starting to lose his sight (oops, beat George to it!)

Lucy: "stop glowing so much! that was to the skull btw" Lockwood: " yeah no kidding, I got that one"

In the first shot where Kat and Bobby square up to fight Lockwood, you can't see Bobby's rapier so it looks like he's just brought his fists to a swordfight hahaha

He does look suitably smol in that bit though, I approve (anyway he's not THAT small after all)

HI NED

REMEMBER, JUST RECKLESS ENOUGH, OK? *cue me sobbing*

Winkman's so funny "wait guys before we fight them I need to take off my jacket so I can fight them in my tank top and be all cool”

YES BOBBY!!! <3

NO BOBBY!!!!

Kipps hun, ru crying?

YES KAT

Oh wait guys, pay attention, we're about to be ROBBED of the no glasses George looking moment

ALSO Joplin and George glasses-less fight erasure

ALIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Oof good evil lighting on Lou (Joplin)

The Lucy/George friendship is the best (see La Belle Dame from TEG)

Lockwood's responses are literally me every time the Golden Blade shows up. He's just a less iconic version of Sir Rupert Gale - where's the unbearable aftershave and gaudy tweed suit? *Lockwood voice* BoRiNg!

Lol Kipps in the bag

I don't like the artistic choice of the "looking into the bone glass" SFX, but I do think it's cool to have Lucy falling and hanging from the skull

George saves the day obviously

Kipps: "...guys.... nice wholesome moment... still in the bag here..."

Lucy: "this is not how you die" Lockwood: "how do you know?" Lucy: "because... we won't let you" IS THE HESISTATION BECAUSE SHE'S JUST SEEN THAT VISION OF FROZEN GHOST TOUCHED LOCKWOOD?!?!?! DONT HURT ME LIKE THAT

Kipps, my burnt out early 20s beloved <3

Stupid time to point this out but I kind of hate-love the little trouser stirrups of the Fittes uniforms

Barnes: "you guys are being suspiciously compliant but for once I'm going to ignore it"

Obviously the room! And Lockwood in orange socks (or are they pink? I guess I’ll never know)

K bye, hope you enjoyed!

#WE WERE ROBBED #how exactly would they open s2???#lockwood and co #lockwood and co spoilers #bobby talks #lockwood and co rewatch

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sea-owl · 2 years

Note

Do you think the Bridgerton storylines and relationships would have been different if The Bridgertons weren't a titled family, or rich but the spouses were?

Weirdly had this thought after watching the latest Magic Mike movie 😅 that somehow led to me wondering about Bridgerton and the divide between the wealthy and poor.

Current thoughts: ok so let's go Modern Au, because icbf with the regency rules and proprietry.

Bridgertons are like Modern Au Weasley family/ Cheaper by the dozen vibes.

Simon: Still the son of a Duke, canon backstory with Anthony being his best mate. They met at a fancy boarding school but Ant was a scholarship kid. In attempt to escape his Aunt's matchmaking schemes, he propses a fake relationship with the waitress he'd just witnessed sucker punch a rowdy customer. Unaware of just how inevitable their meeting truly was.

Kate: known cold stone Heiress to her late Father's company. An active workaholic who is always triggered into fight mode by that 'Bridgerton bastard' who works for her good Friend Simon (cbf thinking of proper roles rn😂😅)

Sophie: After her dad died, she's surprised to learn he named her his official heir despite her illegitimacy and only left a stipend for her step family in his will. Forced to go into hiding after multiple murder attempts, she has a fateful encounter with a struggling art student and becomes his unwilling muse.

Penelope: The Featheringtons are high class old money folk, but Pen is desperate to escape the suffocating lifestyle she's been born into. She wants to branch out make a name for herself with her own hard done work to thank not some dead ancestors lucky gamble in investment and business. Thank the gods for the charming bartender who's become the listening ear she's desperately needed all her life.

Phillip: Mostly similar cannon backstory. Except the children are his brothers and they do indeed need a nanny. Eloise didn't even know what she applied for. All she knew was she'd get a free room(no dorm expenses) free food (no meal expenses) and no transport fees (uni was only a 40 minute walk!). What a deal, and it'll keep Anthony off her case about finances!! How hard of a babysitting job could it be?

As far as I got, but would love to hear if you or anyone else has any other thoughts to share or add 😁😁

Magic Mike, lmao. I should probably watch that series if it's giving people ideas. But yeah I do think it would definitley change some dynamics espcially since three, four if we count the tv series, of the spouses came from not okay money situations.

Saphne: So for this I can still see it going as a mutually beneficial fake relationship for both. Hear me out, sex historian Daphne. It's a newer field and newly graduated Daphne is working to help get it off the ground with social media, but she doesn't have much time due to her long hours as a waitress. In comes Simon, her brother's best friend, who allows her the chance to help boost her following. Everyone would be curious about Simon Basset's new boo, and Simon will get his aunt off his back about finding love. Anthony orinally doesn't want his sister in the limelight like that but he does eventually consent when Daphne starts pulling in numbers and can leave her waitress jobs where a bunch of creaps like to come. Oops they fell in love.

Kathony: I can see this going one of two ways, the first being something similar that anon wrote, or mistress Anthony. Anthony works with Simon in his law firm, with hopes to open up his own practice one day, but that's a far off dream with seven siblings, five who are helping with the bills, and a mother to help support. Kate's frustrated with her job as the heiress to her father's company. She's needs a release. That lawyer Simon keeps sending looks handsome enough and one hate sex night later Anthony is now Kate's mistress. There's no way this is gonna backfire on either of them right?

Benophie: Hear me out, makeup artist Benedict. His true talent lies in painting, but that doesn't pay the bills. He's good with a brush, and once in a while, he gets to have fun with special effects makeup. Sophie is being paraded around as the new Pennwood heiress, despite her suspicious birth. Her stepmother is doing everything in her power to have the media downplay Sophie and her ability to be the heiress to Pennwood by getting every makeup artist to purposely make Sophie look horrible. Having enough Sophie calls her friends for a makeup artist her stepmother hasn't sunk her claws in. Enter Benedict. Benedict works his magic and makes Sophie look fabulous for her next interview. Sophie has found her new makeup artist, and Benedict has found his new muse.

Polin: Penelope is from old money, and she hates it. She feels trapped and suffocating from all the rules she has to follow. She wants to leave and make something of her own. Her friend Colin, who she met in a writer's group, jokes she can write a tell all book. That earns him a sock in the arm from Penelope, who refuses to become a stereotype. Colin wants to see the world one day. Travel to far off places, explore the culture, and most importantly, try the food. Penelope thinks he has what it takes to be a travel writer. He's shared what he wrote when in his journal during the rare family outing to the beach, and it almost felt like you were there. Well Penelope has more money than she knows what to do with and knows about running a blog. She might not what to do with herself but she can help somebody else. Who knows maybe she'll get some inspiration. Hey Colin, how would you feel about a trip to the Mediterranean?

Philoise: Throw them in the plot of the Nanny, and there's the modern philoise au. But on a serious note, Eloise doesn't even know what she applied for, all she knew is that the benefits were perfect. Needing a nanny for the weekend, Phillip hires Eloise on a test run. Her methods are unconventional, but Oliver and Amanda haven't scared her off. Phillip would almost dare to say they like her, and Phillip might like her too.

And that's all I got for now too. Lovelies join in if you want!

#bridgerton #kathony #benophie #polin #saphne #philoise

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jmdbjk · 2 years

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I see it all.

Jimin solos. Jimin antis. Jimin mantis.

Jungkook solos. Jungkook antis. Jungkook mantis.

Taikookers under the guise of any of the above.

That’s already seven types of undesirable people in the fandom.

Those kinds of people work against what BTS is about. They undermine the work of the artist they supposedly support by trying to isolate them, expressing unfair expectations onto them and making wild assumptions about circumstances and situations, and about what the members desire and even who they are as individuals. All in the name of “supporting” them. No one wants that kind of support.

Antis are just miserable people trying to take out their misery on others.

I could really care less about any of these types. I’ve said it before: I ignore them. They don’t exist to me. I don’t seek them out. I don’t engage with them. But they will spend their time trying to engage with me. I don’t know why it’s important to them. Maybe I should be flattered? I’m mostly puzzled.

If YOU believe something... then go believe it and shout it out to the world from your own blog. But if YOU bring your ass to MY blog, trying to call me out on something, be prepared.

And then they deleted all their replies because oops, they had to start admitting that they indeed did not know everything, softening their stance and started backtracking. But here are a couple of follow up answers to their now deleted posts:

I tried to keep all these screenshots in order but some of them were awkwardly cropped so I had to go back and retake them that’s why the timestamps are not exactly right.

So according to this person, opinions can’t be made solely from the past. I totally agree with that. But also according to this person, the past cannot be taken into account about what you think about something, only the present is relevant. Which is foolish.

This person obviously was just trolling and ran across that one blog post of mine because they did not know anything about me or what I write here.

Also, when you come to someone else’s blog to engage, it’s probably best if your user name doesn’t smack of solo like “only jm”. Clearly a Jimin solo and a Jungkook/jikook hater. I’ve seen this one in the comments of other bloggers.

This Jimin solo did not acknowledge the fact it was Jimin who jumped into JK’s comments. Jimin said, “eat well, babe.” Jimin said, “I will be back after work.” Jimin said, “I want to tie your hair back.” And more.

Anyway. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. But there is so much Jimin going on right now with his album coming up it would be more supportive to hype his work instead of trying to tear down his love for Jungkook when you see something you don’t agree with. Am I right?

#solos go fuck yourselves #jimin face #jungkook #jimin #jimin x jungkook #tumblr community guidelines encourages healthy debate!#public debate takes balls #jack come back #also its not THAT serious is it?#i try to keep it happy here but sometimes the fun police show up

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nonsensical-pixels · 2 years

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pleasantview reborn: the lotharios

i recently realised that i've hit round 4 in my pleasantview reborn save but never actually introduced any of the families... oops! time to remedy that... starting with the iconic lothario family at 165 sim lane!

i use @skittlessims' gc pleasantview sims, so a lot of my sims are going to look very different!

family bio:

The Lotharios are a reclusive, enigmatic bunch. Old money might have given Don and Cassandra a good start to family life, but was it enough to give them a happy marriage? Will Fabio finally crack under the pressure society has placed on him, the eldest heir to the Goth-Lothario fortune? Will Idalia grow up to be a perfectionist gentlelady like her mother, or a sailor of the seven seas? And through all of this, will Nadia get a good shot at a drama-free childhood? Rumours abound of the disagreements going on in the Lothario clan, and none of them are pretty.

Don Lothario

Once upon a time, Don's life was so full of ladies, the only reprieve he got was sleep. Now that he's gotten older and mellowed, though, all he's seeing are the consequences of his own actions. Namely, the many angry ex-lovers he spies whenever he takes his kids grocery shopping.

Cassandra Goth-Lothario

Quiet and mysterious, Cassandra has always been far more sophisticated and intelligent than her years. A doting, if strict, mother to her children, and an enigmatic figure in the science community she's soon to inherit, there is only one thing that Cassandra can't seem to solve: her husband's wandering eye.

Fabio Lothario

Handsome and polite, Fabio grew up in the stifling Goth-Lothario clan, constantly being reminded of his duties as the only Lothario son. He likes beans and would like to start a farm one day, though parental pressure to carry on the Lothario legacy threatens that dream.

Idalia Lothario

The social norms imposed on the Lothario siblings from birth seem to have had no effect on Idalia, the eldest daughter of Pleasantview's most notorious power couple. While as artistic and refined as her mother, and as attractive as her father, she seems to have inherited a penchant for the criminal from some long-lost Goth ancestor.

Nadia Lothario

Shy and nature-loving, Nadia keeps carefully to the Goth tradition of mystery. She has few friends and prefers her mother's plants to parties.

Baxter (Cat)

Baxter’s quite a curious kitty, though not the smartest. His loyalty to his longtime owner, Cassandra Goth, is infamous in Pleasantview.

don's family tree:

cassandra's family tree:

more on the extended goth-lothario family will come when i start playing the next household!

#my sims #sims 2 #ts2 #sim bios #sims family tree #sims 2 screenshots #ts2 screenshots #sims 2 simblr #ts2 simblr #sims 2 pleasantview #sims 2 premades #don lothario #cassandra goth #fabio lothario #idalia lothario #nadia lothario #baxter the cat #household: lothario #pleasantview reborn

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caubri · 27 days

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✧･ﾟ:RAVENWOOD LEGACY CHALLENGE:･ﾟ✧

When I was a kid I mainly played 2 games; Wizard101 and The Sims 4. So let’s mix the two!

Each generation is inspired by the seven schools from Wizard101. Unfortunately this will not be Base-Game Compatible but all pack requirements are listed next to their respective generation.

I'm not a writer so please excuse the quality of my writing <3

BASIC RULES:

Have fun! If there’s a rule that’s holding you back from having fun with your game, pretend it’s not there! (This is meant to expand your gameplay, NOT limit you.)

Match your sims wardrobe to the colours listed under each generation

Add any extra lore you’d like to. The more the merrier :D

The challenge is completed once every Generation 7 goal has been completed.

If you play this challenge, and you’d like me or others to see it, add #RavenwoodLegacy to your posts!

GENERATION 1: FIRE requires Lovestruck, Cats & Dogs

“If the mind is like a candle, the Heart is like the sun.” - Kingsisle

You’re quick to anger but you have a great passion for the loves of your life. They tend to walk a fine line so be careful, because those passionate flames could one day burn and consume you. Being completely obsessed with all things romance, you’re looking for the one that will match all the characters you’ve been writing about in your romance novels. To most people, your standards are impossible. Although you’ve dated many, you never end up settling down with anyone. On the plus side, your many dates make great writing inspiration.

Traits: Romantic, Hot-headed, Self-Assured

Aspiration: Romantic Explorer

Career: Writer: Author (Specializes in Romance Novels)

Rules:

Master Writer Career and complete Romantic Explorer Aspiration

Master Romance and Writing Skill

Adopt a Cat or Fox

Never keep a partner for longer than two sim weeks

All partners must be met through Cupid’s Corner

Next Generation Heir can only live with you, not the other parent

Associated Colours: Red, Orange, Yellow

Name Ideas (From W101): Dalia, Ashley, Bernie

GENERATION 2: ICE requires Seasons, City Living, Get Together, Nifty Knitting, Spa Day

“...with Persistence, Victory is assured.” - Kingsisle

“Slow and steady wins the race.” they say. Or at least you do. You grew up in a semi-broken household. One of your parents drove the other away shortly after you were born but that didn’t mean you had issues knowing what real love was. You didn’t realise until you were older that your parent’s standards weren’t actually that crazy. Your highschool sweetheart made you discover that whatever that was written in your parent’s romance novels can actually exist in real life. Even though you have it all, you can always be better. Whether it’s painting, skating, or knitting, you can never be less than great.

Traits: Perfectionist, High Maintenance, Loyal

Aspiration: Renaissance Sim

Career: Painter: Patron of the Arts

Rules:

Master Painter Career and Complete Renaissance Sim Aspiration

Master Painting and Fitness Skills

Have a hobby of Skating

Complete Snow Globe Collection

Marry your high school sweetheart (only remarry if your spouse dies)

Be the leader of a club and attend meetings weekly (ex. Book Club)

Take up Knitting as an elder

Associated Colours: Blue, White, Dark Purple

Name Ideas (From W101): Lydia, Kelvin

GENERATION 3: STORM requires Get To Work, Crystal Creations, Get Together

“That which can be imagined, can be achieved.” - Kingsisle

Growing up around an artist, you got to embrace your creative side at a young age. As an adult, you used your creative prowess to carry you through your career as a scientist. “Eureka!” To you, your career is like catching lightning in a bottle but to others… you may be a tad bit insane. Whenever you’re not in the lab, you express that spark with your crystal collecting. (You may have stolen a few from some co-workers… oops) And just between us… You dance in your bedroom when no one is watching.

Traits: Creative, Ambitious, Dance Machine

Aspiration: Crystal Crafter

Career: Scientist

Rules:

Master Scientist Career and Crystal Crafter Aspiration

Master Logic and Gemology Skill

Have a hobby of Dancing

Complete Crystals and Metals Collection

Have multiple children (a non-heir child must have a daughter)

Associated Colours: Purple, Yellow, Dark Green

Name Ideas (From W101): Halston, Torrence

GENERATION 4: MYTH requires Discover University, Realm of Magic, Kids Room Stuff

“To control the Future, one must look to the Past.” - Kingsisle

Your imagination is everything. Nothing means more to you than the power of your mind. Many people described your parents as crazy and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. You value your relationships with animals and robots over other sims. Or at least you thought you did until you met your niece. After that you realized maybe having a family wouldn’t be so bad. As you were researching spellcasters in the Magic Realm of Glimmerbrook, you met someone who caught your eye. As a young adult you built yourself a robot without realizing that said robot would become your best(robot)man at your wedding.

Traits: Erratic, Genius, Jealous

Aspiration: Spellcraft and Sorcery

Career: Engineer: Mechanical Engineer

Rules:

Master Engineer Career and Spellcraft and Sorcery Aspiration

Master Robotics Skill

As a child, complete the Voidcritter Collection

(optional) Get a degree in Physics (must live in a dorm)

Marry a spellcaster, and become a spellcaster

Build and befriend Servo

Be your niece’s godparent

Associated Colours: Yellow, Blue, Black

Name Ideas (From W101): Cyrus, Ivan

GENERATION 5: LIFE requires Eco Lifestyle, Cottage Living

“As we have been Created, so must we Create.” - Kingsisle

Your entire life has been about growth. You grew your love for music since you were a kid, and as an adult you grew your plants and watched your animals grow right in your backyard. Your music breathes life and spirit into your green-filled home. As a child you were just as nurtured by your parents as your farm is by you. You wish to do the same for your children.

Traits: Good, Music Lover, Green Fiend

Aspiration: Country Caretaker

Career: Gardener: Botanist (optional)

Rules:

Master Gardener Career (optional) and Country Caretaker Aspiration

Master Gardening and a music skill of your choice

Have the next gen-heir be born in the last half of the Adult Life Stage

Attend the Finchwick Fair occasionally

Always have a Cow or Cowplant on your lot

Associated Colours: Green, Brown, Gold

Name Ideas (From W101): Linda, Blossom, Sylvia

GENERATION 6: DEATH requires Vampires, Cats and Dogs, Get Famous, Any pack including apartments

“Timor mortis conturbat me.” (The Fear of Death Confounds Me) - Kingsisle

Your earliest memory was listening to your parents singing and playing their favourite instrument. They passed away when you were decently young. As soon as they passed you moved out on your own into an apartment, adopted a cat and tried to get your life on track. You did some odd-jobs here and there to make ends meet as you could only handle having a part-time job. You visited your Parents’ graves in Forgotten Hollow and discovered the existence of vampires. This discovery seemed to give you a purpose in life, a way to potentially cheat death unlike your parents.

Traits: Loner, Cat Lover, Self-Absorbed

Aspiration: Master Vampire

Career: Any Part-Time Job

Rules:

Master A Part-Time Career and Master Vampire Aspiration

Master Pipe Organ and Vampire Lore Skill

Start a part-time job as a teenager and keep it until you retire

Keep your cat alive as long as possible using Healthy Treats

Get your spouse to eat Ambrosia at least once (if they’re not a vampire)

Live in an apartment for most of your life

Associated Colours: Black, Red, White

Name Ideas (From W101): Malistaire, Malorn, Mortis, Dworgyn

GENERATION 7: BALANCE requires Discover University, Cats and Dogs, Spa Day, Strangerville, For Rent

“Eye of Newt, and Toe of Frog, Wool of Bat, Tongue of Dog.” - Kingsisle

You believe that every part of you was once a part of the generations before you. You’re like a perfect blend of them all. It’s as if you’ve stolen little bits of everyone and turned it into one unique being. The good parts and the bad. You’re just as smart as your ancestors but also just as crazy. You do good deeds during the day by bringing justice to criminals, while committing your own crimes at night… But it balances out, right?

Traits: Generous, Paranoid, Kleptomaniac

Aspiration: Inner Peace

Career: Law: Judge

Rules:

Master Law Career and Inner Peace Aspiration

(optional) Get a degree in History

Master Wellness and Research and Debate Skill

Have a Dog

Must have a Son and Daughter (keep going till you have it)

Associated Colours: Brown, Red, Orange

Name Ideas (From W101): Arthur, Niles, Alhazred

created by @caubri

If you run into any issues involving the writing of this challenge, let me know so i can fix it, as I have not gotten a chance to fully play test this yet.

#ravenwoodlegacy #ravenwoodlegacychallenge #the sims 4 #legacy challenge #the sims #sims challenge #sims 4 legacy challenge #caubri

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spookyserenades · 11 months

Note

Soooo I'm back and i wrote an essay:

Chapter 10

I love the Scooby Doo gang a lot. How Namjoon is eager to learn and help. Also the fact that it brings them together without too many fights 😂

The brewery scene was hot and unexpected. I'm saying unexpected because i kinda hoped she'd go over to the waiter and everyone will be Uhm Ma'am sit yo ass down. But i liked it nonetheless with killer teddy bear being all mrrr. Also, Hobi and miss gorl Alice i see you and you need to either get to it and make us super jealous or nothing at all😭

The surprises for Namjoon and Jimin were so sweet they warmed my heart. The lengths she'll go for them is unimaginable. Like she could've just been like yep there you go a house and food do your thing, but no, she has a big heart.

Now the 3 events. Liked Hobi's, but I'm a lot more inclined towards Yoongi's and Tae's. The fact that be only has eyes for her my love🥹 I want one pls! And then Tae's i get on another level. As an artist myself, i tend to paint people i love a lot, to get the appreciation back is absolutely ecstatic. Also very touchy touchy sir i see you too👀

And then the cliffhanger, bad Dana. Very bad.

Chapter 11

I need to know how the fight went down between them 3. Like air, Dana, I'm telling you! Poor Hobi, he probably thought he's getting kicked out 🥺

Kookie kookie kookie, you are more smitten than we thought you were. Hiding it under the I needed to scent, oh Jin will be a pain. Shut up you lil bastard 😏

And the scenting? I was so giddy...give us more pretty please ☺️

WE HAVE MORE HORSES! Are we also getting a y/n ride scene? It doesn't have to be a horse tho 👀

OMG good job Hannah! Oh i'm happy she is getting a better life. Can't wait to meet her. 🤭🫢😧😐😒Scrap that! Hannah is competition.

Oop jumpscare! Yoongi baby you are wearing JK's personality and that doesn't suit you.

Oh babies🥺🥺🥺

Oh what? Question mark? The bar is...what? Very cryptic. Ok.. Yoongi you locked the door you didn't make the room soundproof. Did they talk about sharing her between themselves? Cuz I'd like to read that as well 😏

Ooop like a sack of potatoes. Uuuuu, are we ever honna see y/n extra super drunk like at that bar?

NOOOO FUCK! YOU ARE SO EVIL WOMAN WHYYYYY?😭😭😭😭

Hiii love nice to hear from you again!! Hope you're well, I can't wait to discuss your thoughts about the last two chapters with you! 💞💞

Chapter Ten -

fdsjfdsjf the Scooby Doo gang I love that!!! MC, Joonie, and Jeongguk make quite the little paranormal investigation squad, I'm definitely looking forward to writing some more adventures the trio will go on with their ghostbusting interests. AHH and the brewery scene was so fun, they hybrids getting to go out and have a good time with MC and Alice was really exciting for me to write. I did play with the idea of MC flirting with the waiter as well, but in the end I wanted to display some of Taehyung's growing possessiveness. Besides-- MC definitely has her hands full with the seven of them! As for Hoseok and Alice *evil laughter* 💀 there are some plot lines that I have planned surrounding those two... we're just going to have to wait and see how it pans out (and how MC will react to it!!!)

MC is just ahhh I want her to adopt me fhdksf like her gift giving skills are unmatched. She really wants all of the hybrids to feel at home and like they have their own belongings, spaces, etc. that make their lives more happy and comfortable. She really really cares for them all 🥺

Hehehe the three events~ for Hoseok's track meet, it was a sort of supportive bestie vibe, whereas Yoongi's and Tae's had a bit more of a romantic feel to them. Tae.. my goodness he probably sees MC as his muse or something, because she's the one who encouraged her to participating in the photography club in the first place. I hope he continues to take pics of her and make friends in the club, as well. He's such a sweet boy, he definitely could use some buddies.

rjGFJDGHD BAD DANA!! I can't help myself with the cliffhangers hehe I'm sorry love!!! 🤭

Chapter Eleven -

So the little spat between Hoseok and Jeongguk... We've seen Hoseok's sort of jokester personality, and I really think he wasn't trying to start anything, but with Jeongguk already on edge needing to scent her again, things got a little heated between those two. Joon, not wanting to upset MC like he had during The Incident (with Tae), played the part of peacemaker, which I think shows how willing he is to change and grow for MC. I think you're right, Hoseok was probably entertaining the idea that MC would be angry enough at him to "kick him out", but MC would never. 😭

AHH and Jeongguk. What a tease!!! I definitely think that he is starting to grow more fond of MC, even though he is a bit reluctant to show it. For some reason, too, he seems to sense how fond Seokjin is of MC, so often brings up his own concern for MC and covers it up by blaming Seokjin hehe....

I do plan on having some horseback riding scenes!! Of course, with our cowboy Jimin, maybe we'll get to see him teach MC how to ride also I see what you did there wink wonk ;)

Hannah!! Good news for her, good news for Seokjin, but MC is already feeling a little jealous. I wonder how things will go down when MC takes Seokjin to meet up with Hannah...

Yoongi being a little impatient and brisk with MC made me upset, too, especially since he's always been one of the softer ones with her. That's probably why MC could sense something was wrong. As for them talking about sharing her, that's certainly a drabble idea, but also, I'm toying with the idea of having it sort of an unspoken agreement between all of the hybrids... we'll see how I decide in the future!!!

SO! When I finally get around to all of the prequels, I plan on having that scene with MC at the bar with Yoongi. Something to look forward to in the future-- his prequel, Fire, Walk with Me. ❤️‍🔥

fjkdszkjfzsjd SORRY FOR BEING EVIL!!! But also thank you for sending me all of your lovely thoughts. Sending you hugs, bestie!! 😘

#asks #trouvaille #dana's thoughts

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breakingblorbos · 5 months

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Pinned Post/Blog Info!

Hiya!! Welcome to my BrBa & BCS focused blog! 👋🏼😊 The primary purpose of this pinned post is to give some info about me, my blog, and what you can expect to find on it. Everything below the cut is not required reading to follow or interact; merely just additional info if you are interested, or if you want to make requests. The only thing I require you to read is the following disclaimer:

This is an 18+ blog ran by an adult. You will find NSFT art/fic, dark and potentially upsetting themes, as is common for the BrBa/BCS universe. And I make very thirsty comments & posts about my blorbos, so just keep that in mind. However!! I am not going to restrict anyone from following/interacting with my blog. Use your own discretion and awareness. That's your responsibility, not mine. Anything that needs a content warning will be tagged appropriately, of course.

🌌About Me!🪐

Basic info - You can call me either Orion or Riley! I'm 25, neurodivergent, trans masc & nonbinary, and bisexual. Pronouns are he/him and they/them. I do also live in New Mexico (born and raised babyy!), which makes the shows that much more special to me!! I'm very friendly and open, but also very shy, so I tend to not reach out to folks even when I want to talk to them (which, honestly, is most of y'all. Oops.) If you ever do feel compelled to chat with me, please don't hesitate! I'm super excited to talk about BrBa/BCS with literally anybody!

I'm a writer, but I struggle hard with getting anything actually published on here or AO3. I try to write but it's not nearly consistent enough to ever expect anything from me. I'm working towards getting better at this! My main hurdle to overcome is my perfectionism and my fear of rejection (RSD).

I have a lot of interests, being autistic, so the only important one to list here is obviously Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul. You can certainly ask about my other interests, and I'll be happy to tell you more! I like to keep my special interests all separate on their own dedicated blogs, so that was the main motivation behind creating this one. Which leads me to the next section:

☣️About This Blog!⚗️

Most of the content is gonna be reblogs from others: fanart, fics, writings, memes, shitposts, etc. I myself am not an artist and cannot contribute with art even though I wish I could, but I may sometimes write little drabbles, oneshots, and universe willing, fic chapters for my ships/blorbos (more info on that below ↓). If you want to see something in particular, you're more than welcome to submit a request! I think I have a lot more motivation to write when I get specifically asked to write something, perhaps?

My main blorbos: (red shows the character currently occupying my braincell the most rn)

🥊Tuco Salamanca

🐍Nacho Varga (and by extension, Vaas Montenegro. I simply love MM.)

💀Marco & Leonel Salamanca

❤️‍🩹Jesse Pinkman

🎭Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill

Of course, I adore all the characters (except Walt ofc) and they're all very special to me!! But these seven men listed above have an absolute chokehold on my brain at any given time lmao, so they will be featured prominently in this blog.

My fave ships:

Default ship is character x reader

Vaacho (Vaas x Nacho)

Lacho (Nacho x Lalo)

Beef Sandwich (Nacho x Twins) I fucking love this ship name holy shit

Tucho (Tuco x Nacho)

McWexler (Kim x Jimmy)

Jesse x Jane

Jesse x Andrea

Jesse x happiness (this is a joke, but also not. Man deserves it.)

📨Requests!📝

My asks are always open for questions, requests, or really anything! I love sending/receiving asks and interacting with this fandom! If you're interested in requesting a writing from me, first read this list of what I will and won't write before you submit your request:

Yes, no problem!

Vast majority of ships

Smut/Explicit/PWP

Headcanons

AUs

Oneshots

Drabble

Reader Inserts

Gender Swaps

Fluff

Hurt/Comfort

Angst

Violence/Gore

Dubcon

Toxic Relationship

Most Kinks & Fetishes

Please ask first!

Fandom Crossovers (mostly just to ensure I know the fandom)

Consensual Noncon (depends on character)

No, I will not!

In/ce/st Ships (i.e. twincest, cousins)

Explicit content involving underage characters

Ageplay (calling a character daddy doesn't count lol)

Extreme Kinks, such as s/ca/t, v/or/e, n/ecr/o, etc.

Keep in mind that I reserve the right to deny your request for any reason, including no reason at all! 9 times out of 10 this won't be necessary, but if you're rude or demanding non-jokingly, I won't write for you! Just be chill and it'll be Saul Goodman! :)

Also I don't have a Masterlist to link here, because I've never posted anything ever! It's all just vibing in my Google Docs while I polish and tweak until the end of time! Fun! :D /s

So, yeah, I suppose that's the long and the short of it. I didn't expect for this to be so long, but I have a tendency to just keep adding details to things! Good for writing; not great for writing a blog intro. I'll edit as needed over time, though. Thanks for reading if you got this far! Seriously, props to you. Here's a cookie mwah 🤲🏼🍪

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borisbubbles · 1 year

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Eurovision 2023 PRESHOW - Part 4: Acts I can Respect, I guess.

Some songs aren’t for me. But they still bring something new or different to the table and I can respect that. Here are five songs on the cusp between almost good and almost meh.

25. GEORGIA Iru - “Echo” Semi 2, #slot11

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Iru set a weird new standard for eurofandom cabin fever when they concluded that Georgia were GIVING OFF WINNER vibes based A FUCKING PHOTOGRAPH.

OMG SO FIERCE SHE’S GONNA SLAY -- really stupid people.

Fortunately, “Echo” soon released and instantly erased this nonsense 🙂. And let “nonsense” be the ideal word to describe “Echo” with. Dear Georgia, the fuck’s this chorus?

Days in a row I'm thinking, I know I've got a big faith My love is my crown Will be better way Will be better day now It is not a secret

Eurovision is no stranger to word salads, especially from Georgia, but “Echo” is a word casserole. It follows the Barkerian approach of throwing logic out of the window and treating words as merely another layer of sound. You cannot PRETEND to have meaning and also do this, sorry that doesn’t work! Come back when ur sober...x.

But what about the rest of the song? I suppose there is an interesting structure here where “Echo” just discards a beginning and ending, and just jumps into three minutes of straight action. Breaking conventional norms! The interest is fully academic though because it just doesn’t work. If you’re thrust into the action immediately and unprepared as a first time viewer, nothing is going to fucking stick, innit?

Like yeah, I know. This is Georgia and they’re a bit different than most other countries and we’re expect to believe they’re MASTERING the avant garde genre after delighting us with “Midnight Gold” and “Visionary Dream”... and yet I’m not buying into it this year. “Echo” is no less of a sham than “Jezinky” or “Secreto del Aqua” (or, dare I say, that other Blanca Paloma song?) in that it just showboats baseline artistry + power vocals while neglecting to deliver the base product of a good song - and they get away with ALL of it because Iru is a woman!

In terms of personal enjoyment, Georgia probably should have been a part of the last update (Iru’s virtually tied with Alika), but eh. “Echo” is a lot of things (at once.), but it’s not BORING. It tries to bring something different to the table and I can respect the attempt. The result’s just... kinda stupid and nonsensical, that’s all. 🤷‍♀️

Odds at Eurovision - Georgia

“Echo” is one of several borderlines in semi 2, so it really depends on how well Georgia stage it and how awful the other BLs are.

The main hurdle they face is general appeal. “Echo” lacks a clear beginning or end, let alone a base fucking narrative which makes it very difficult to get into. The only trump card Georgia have are Iru’s vocals, but what advantage would this screaming woman have over an Alika or a Diljá? a draw in the middle of the favourite (and directly after the criminally underrated Slovene entry) won’t do them much favours either.

It all boils down to how well Georgia get their artistic vision across and this has been tried and ruled to be televote repellent for the past seven contests.

If Georgia do qualify, it would be a good indicator that there is some mass appeal there and, I could see “Echo” getting a midtable result with moderately positive acclaim from both vote bases.

I do NOT believe Georgia are coming top 10 though. 🙂 12th is their celing, sorry to disappoint you now BUT IT’ S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD TO GET USED TO DISAPPOINTMENT ONCE SHE DOES WORSE THAN THAT IN LIVERPOOL.

Qualifier Tier: C Projected placement: 7th-14th (Semi),

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24. DENMARK Reiley - “Breaking my heart” Semi 2, slot #01

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This lil’ fucker is twenty-five.

Weeerq?

This seems like a good point to eliminate Reiley. You know my taste by now, and are fully aware that “K-pop loving twink” is NOT a flavour I particularly like or care for, in any medium or universe.

However, I don’t really mind Reiley at all oops. Should I? I know people loved that uncanny valley rock song and that awkward marriage duet, but when I heard the Danish hopefuls (only once, I assure you) I was surprised to like the TikTok twink the most. And then he won, HOORAY!

Unfortunately we’re sort of in the ReDDI zone here where I liked Reiley the most at DMGP and wanted him to win... but DMGP is always kinda shit, so once he won and one has to compare “Breaking my heart” to songs that are actually, you know, better than “just okay”, he immediately dropped to upper yellow and stayed there forevermore.

For me personally the big dealbreaker isn’t so much the K-pop inspired music or the twinkishness or the fact that he’s a fucking INFLUENCER with a clearly fake follower count - it’s the fucking aggro autotune. the “IF WE COULD GO BACK TO THE START”s of “Breaking my heart” should have been THE slope I could have slid down into embracing a Danish entry just this once (in a similar way to how allowing “Ciutoooo tuuuuto” to dwell rent-free in my brain made me enjoy “Stay” way more than I should), but the robot voice ruins it for me. You sir, are no Olson brother. 😌

Odds at Eurovision - Denmark

Another one of those Semi 2 borderline qualifiers, eh? Well, I’m tempted to say Denmark make it through in their usual 10th place since at Eurovision there’s always a place for upbeat bouncy pop (and also, semi 2 is generally just kinda miserable) and Reiley does have a (clearly fake but still) large enough follower count.

However, Denmark are on first and this may be just my wrong impression, but I think “Breaking my heart” is a shittttt opener. Semi 2 doesn’t exactly have good opening material in its first half, but i would have let Belgium kick it off, surely? Semi 2 has a slow start and by being a fairly meh first act Reiley is in part responsible FOR the early show lethargy.

If Denmark do qualify, I think they’ll get a lowish result in the Grand Final. Unless they get massive traction from juries in a Lake Malawi sort of way (which I doubt because “Breakin’ my heart” is sadly, not very catchy), I’d guesstimate they’ll come crashing into a bottom 5 position.

Qualifier Tier: C+ Projected placement: 8th-12th (semi), 23rd-26th (Grand Final)

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23. SPAIN Blanca Paloma - “Eaea” Autoqualifier

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I am going to regret this, am I not? 🙄😣

So yeah, Spain’s entry is fine. I HATED that Blanca won with such overwhelming force, beating Nochentera and Arcadia (two of the best, if not the two best acts of the NF season), but w/e I’m over it. I don’t think anyone can deny that Blanca Paloma is a visionary artist with a clear understanding of both visual spectacle and musical fusion. She manages to really NAIL a flamenco punk vocal (arguably one of the three best vocalists in the year, the other two being Gustaph and Andrejs from Sudden Lights) and supports it with an act that is a feast for the eyes.

In sum, Everything about “Eaea” is great!

Except for the fucking song.

Ya see, Spain’s really in the same ballpark as Georgia for me: Their song is basically a bunch of nonsense that should be deemed unviable on the spot through sheer logic, but is revered by the fandom through a combination of latent misandry and stockholm syndrome. “Eaea is at least more of a song than than “Echo” is - its lyrics make sense and the song follows a clear narrative. Hence the Reiley-sized gap between them on the ranking.

However, “Eaea” has a different Big Problem in that it builds promise right at the start, and then seemingly devolves into a two-minute vocal masturbation exercise, and that’s where it loses me. I LIKE the flamenco vocals, but I don’t like the way it is used in the song. It’s exhausting. The music plays second fiddle to the vocals and I feel like it should be the other way around! I really don’t fucking CARE about the Where I Ams of this world, sorry, never have, never shall!

So what do I fucking do with an act that I enjoy looking at and DON’T enjoy listening to? I suppose I use them as the dividing line between what I like and what I don’t like, I guess? Everything else about Spain is great this year, so idk, maybe I’ll like it at the end?

Basically, I need more time to ruminate over where I like “Eaea” or not, and in what capacity. I don’t fucking know right now, and thinking about it (and the reaction of the Spaintard when they stumble across this post) ages me. I’ve decded that I’ll give an answer after Blanca’s ESC journey has been completed, so I’ll just dump her here and you’ll just have to deal. :-)

Which brings me to:

Odds at Eurovision - SPAIN

To be fair, when Eaea first won I thought it would be the usual overrated Spanish entry that would flop at ESC. Like genuinely, mid-table? Honestly, I feel like that could have been the result in a competitive year.

However, I have to retract my words here. As more entries poured in and the year became progressively less competitive, it also became clear to me that Spain will indeed do very well in Liverpool. For the gripes that I have about her song, Blanca has consistently been excellent live in both vocals and acting. As the days pass, the more convinced I am she will be able to bluff her way into the hearts of juries and televoters and eke out another top five for Spain.

I doubt she wins though, which is what the Blancaheads would like you to believe. On paper, Spain is a dark horse contender, the most likely winner after Finland and Sweden, but let’s be fair, it really just is Sweden or Finland, with zero chance of anyone else? It’s looking more and more like a Loreen coronation to a point I want to vomit one could even argue Käärijä is a Dark Horse to win it now.

But yeah, I no longer believe she’s midtable anymore, and I will be very angry with myself if she does flop (she won’t) for not sticking to my first impression. 🙂

Cool electric guitar though. 🙂

Projected Placement: 2nd-5th (prediction: 3rd)

22. GERMANY Lord of the Lost - “Blood and glitter” Autoqualifier

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Okay, so Lord of the Lost are the first act on this ranking that I will say I ~like~, but only just. 🙂

Let’s start with the good bits. CAMPY SCHLAGER METAL YESSSS 😍 INSTANTLY MEMORABLE VISUAL SPECTACLE YESSSS 😍 ENERGY SPIKES DURING A BORINGDULL LIVE SHOW YESSSS 😍

Added bonus: Germany FINALLY selecting something entertaining and non-conformist in forever. Bag that safe and insipid era!!!

Now, the not good bits. Which us honestly just one big thing: “Blood and glitter” is not very exciting. DESPITE BEING WHAT IT IS.

I feel like there are several smaller reasons why it doesn’t excite me as much: The cadence of the verses is arrhythmic and disturbs the flow they’re going for, and while Lord of the Lost went far enough on their campy gore for a shitshow like Unser Lied, I don’t think they go far enough for Eurovision (at least not yet). I’m taking about both music AND staging btw.

The biggest killer for me though is that I feel like “Blood and glitter” just lasts too fucking long. Around the halfway point Lord of the Lost just start to repeat the chorus in different music styles and that makes the second half tedious and, dare I say it, kinda boring? It’s like the end of Return of the King, except the Fellowship are all Orcs.

Overall though, I do feel like Germany show promise and I like them... but they have a long road ahead if they want to rise on this ranking come May. 😶

Odds at Eurovision - Germany

This one’s easy: midtable result at best, probably in the third quadrant of the scoreboard. If the Unser Lied vote was any indicator, we’re in for a very low jury and high-ish televote.

I do NOT buy that the televote by itself will be enough to carry Germany into the top 10, which is a take I’ve heard from others. Like, they’ll get points, enough to avoid the bottom five, but surely we should realize by now that Käärijâ will receive the bulk of the metalheads’ votes, followed distantly by Voyager. Lord of the Lost’s tally will be whatever crumbs those two didn’t eat. (like Finland’s TV for instance).

Germany need to make Blood and Glitter more exciting through its staging, but I also don’t trust ARD at all. Germany have had too many outright failures as of late. Which may be Germany’s biggest hurdle overall. When most people expect you to be bad, it’s a LOT of work to convince them you’re worthy of being given a chance, regardless of whether you are or not.

And a song with six final choruses may not be the best at achieving that lofty goal.

Projected placement: 14th-20th

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21. AZERBAIJAN TuralTuranX - “Tell me more” Semi 1, slot #12

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WEIRDO TWINBEASTS <3333

After last year’s Nadir debacle I promised myself to hate Azerbaijan’s crap no matter what!!

Once they announced their act, a pair emaciated gremlin twinks with a stage name straight from MySpace, I convinced myself they would be shit and I would HATE them!

And yet, “Tell me more” released and against every impulse, I liked it almost immediately! Socially awkward and yet touchingly naive, it’s a song that lights up like Napolean Dynamite. It feels like a very fitting choice for a contest set in the same city that produced The Beatles. 😁

Out of the many things you can say about Azerbaijan at ESC, their most prominent trait has always been the steady stream of Swedish McSongs performed by jazz singers who clearly despised the experience.

It is refreshing to have that very same country send an awkward, unpretentious self-composed Britrock song by two young men that actually seem to embrace the experience for once. Tural and Turan not only attended a few of the preparties (which the Azerbaijani NEVER do), they actually joined the afterparty in Amsterdam as well, where they -to my delight- appeared to deliberately avoid Ell -who was also present :/ - before mingling with the fans. Clearly Tural and Turan are guys willing to live their best live, and I support it.

So why rank them only 21st in spite of the praise? Well, BECAUSE I HAVE SMELLED BLOOD. 😈😈😈😈

Odds at Eurovision - AZERBAIJAN

We’re finally getting it: The rare Azerbaijani NQ, and I’m SO excited for it. Yes, it of course is going to happen when Azer are sending their most risky, quirky and authentic entry in years, that’s just how the universe works. It is unfortunate whenever daring and originality are rewarded with failure, but guess what - recompense for last year, bitches.

The Nadir tomfoolery was inexcusable (Andrea was ROBBED!) and we’re owned payment in the form of a cold hard NQ.

In that regard, I absolutely believe Tural and Turan will deliver because (1) awkward twinbeasts (2) “Tell Me More” is already strange and unvoteable in itself (3) they’re up right after Loreen. Three strikes and ur OWT.

Like realistically, I could see Azer finish ahead Ireland and Netherlands... and maybe Shitzerland in the televote. But who is going to pick up their phone for a despised jury pet? The Brits who cannot vote in semi 1 anyway? Latvia?

The cherry on the sundae: I honestly do believe “Tell Me More” would be Q with juries, or even Q *thanks to* the juries, if juries were to play a part in the semfinal. But they won’t, so OOPS can’t resort to your old tactics this time around Azer! Too bad! So sad! 🙂

Projected placement: 11th-15th (Semifinal)

THE RANKING:

Part 1: The BAD entries (Switzerland / Croatia / Israel / Greece) Part 2: the IRRELEVANT entries (Ireland / Albania / Netherlands / San Marino) Part 3: The Borewhores (Estonia / Ukraine / Cyprus / Italy) next up, entries I enjoy! Hooray!

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