#messages was one of my faves in 2021

[librarisxng]

oceanfromtheblue keeps spoiling us with new music we don’t deserve him.

[gabrielokun]

Hi. You watch a lot of dramas/series. Do you have any favorites? If you do, what's your top 20 favorite Asian BL dramas/series?

Hi, anon)) thank you for asking. Sorry, it took a while) but I have to prepare a visual representation to compensate for the lack of writing skills))) english is hard T_T

anyway, here are some of my favorite things

Love by Chance (2018)

The show that started it all (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡ Yep, my first Bl therefore I just must include it. Is is a good show? - not really. BUT! AePete are my babies, I love them. Nobody does it like them ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡

2. My Only 12% (2022)

Childhood friends to lovers done right! My favorite show of the last year. It is a slooooow burn but it's so worth it! Very lively and real boys. great family and friend dynamics, kind of meh last story outside of CakeEwi but still…If you want some great friendship slowly blooming into romance this is the show

3. Kieta Hatsukoi (2021)

Super cute show. All characters are amazing, story well written, minimum hurt all the comfort. Good girl-not an enemy (im really easy too please ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀) xd)

4. 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii (2020)aka Cherry magic

JapBL are totally for me when they do fluff, (cause their angst is on a such level I need a lifetime to process it xd)

but this one is so fluffy (ฅ́ ˘ฅ̀)♡ They make me happy and I grateful for it

5. My Ride (2022)

Speaking of fluff °ʚ(´꒳`)ɞ° Other couples are kind of boring But! Mork's uncles, MorkTawan's adopted son (still a bit salty we didnt see him again, Tawan should've had more parenting time, he is clearly a great dad ଘ(੭◌ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚) natural growth of their friendship into love *_*. This one is good!

6.Color Rush (2020)

I love soulmates. Its short, simple story but with very interesting and original idea.

7. Hello Stranger (2020)

Such a simple story but the way it was done is amazing! Falling in love through web camera (੭ ˊ^ˋ)੭ ♡ Characters have such an incredible chemistry even tho they have minimum personal contact(kudos to actors they done well)))

I Will Knock You (2022)

Okay, yes age gap not for everyone. But again it was done very respectful. ૮₍ ´ ꒳ `₎ა I love love love Noey's ˖°.✧aesthetic✧˖°., his room is my fave ngl, i want everything he has))))I love this delusional king He was so sure Thi is into him from the second they met and i live for it.

9. Until We Meet Again (2019)

I love soulmates 2. I just love this show. Its gonna traumatize you and then comforts you with cutest fluffiest boys that going through it

10. Vice Versa (2022)

I didn't like it at first

Puen annoyed me too much ૮꒰˶> ༝ <˶ ꒱ა but then I binge rewatch it in one weekend and I just fall for it. Its so good))) I love soulmates 3 and it's super pretty. I love colors

11. About Youth (2022)

Show where I love main and second couple the same ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡ thats rare))) Again very simple story but told beautifly

12. HIStory2 Right or Wrong (2018)

Let's talk HIStory. They kind of getting worse imho. 4 and 5 were just fine. thats sucks ʚ₍ᐢ ›̥̥̥ ༝ ‹̥̥̥ ᐢ₎ɞ i still love them tho

HIStory2 Right or Wrong (2018) 13. HIStory3 Trapped (2019) and 14. HIStory2 Crossing the Line (2018)

are superior for me. but just watch any of them they all are worth your time

15. Our Dating Sim (2023)

Second chance romance done very very right!

16. Oxygen (2020)

Good fluffy fluff. P'Phu and his bunny are so precious. Main are cute and sweet and adorable. Ignore weird girl and doctor everything else is just so lovely

17. Light on Me (2021)

Love triangle done right. Good light fluffy show that did hurt so good (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

18. To My Star Season 2: Our Untold Stories (2022)

I love how they told this story

19. Not Me (2021)

its hard to explain how good this show is, its more serious than usual bls, great acting, amazing story, strong message told through not just cinematography but art and dance too. its truly great show

20. Triage (2022)

Time loops are fun

+ some honorable mentions

Ingredients (2020)

not a show))) just an add but damn. It such a feel good little comfort add Jeff and Gameplay have an amazing chemistry, simple slice of life stories but so good , mutual pining done so well

anything by strongberry, literally just go at their YT chanel and enjoy ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭ ੈ♡‧₊˚

emmmm that a long post sorry

[matan4il]

Hello!

I saw your post where you spoke about the 911's cast and writers being aware of Buddie, and the explicit support from some of the cast for Canon!Buddie.

I am quite new to the fandom and so I was wondering if there were any links you could source for this? I am genuinely curious :)

Funnily enough, I started 911 after loving LS, and saw a lot of buddie content on 911 blogs. I figured it was typical queerbaiting (tumblr 2012 era was ✨️ traumatising ✨️ and so resolved not to ship them.

But then I watched the show and yeah…there were definitely interesting choices made that make Buddie such an intricately beautiful ship. It's a slow burn to rival all slow burns :fire:

Needless to say, I'm now 100% on board!

Hi lovely Nonnie and welcome to the fandom! :D I hope you enjoy everything about it and I am so glad to hear you're on board! *hugs*

Okay, for links... TBH I mostly remember things as they happen, I'm less into saving links, but for you I made the effort, I traced my own steps (who knew I actually remembered where I yelled about certain things two and a half years ago? The power of Buddie), and found the source to the stuff I had in mind when I said Ryan, Oliver, JLH and Gavin have all shown support for Buddie. Her we go...

Let's start with Gavin! Obviously it was explained to him in age-appropriate terms, so take that into account, but still, look at how pure his response is (interview from Oct 2021):

And then they went and they filmed the lasagna scene in 601. You can't tell me that doesn't mean anything!

Now Oliver and Ryan have both expressed support for Buddie more than once, for example you can find my post showing how they were the ones who named our ship! In terms of official interviews, they've mostly given answers that are noncommittal but supportive, stuff along the lines of making sure they don't raise fans' expectations (in case it doesn't happen), but also letting us know they do like the enthusiasm for Buddie, and would be cool if 911 went that way. So most are kind of... let's say diplomatic. I will, however, throw in this live that Ryan did where at first, he had a few answers of that vanilla sort (encouraging the shippers, not promising anything, leaving room for Buddie to happen, but also leaving room for fans who don't want Buddie, and sort off summarizing with, "We'll see what Tim writes"). But then he got a question about Abby and I don't think he could help it, the Buddie shipper just jumped out of him, which I love. I edited and uploaded it to YouTube for you, since stupid Tumblr only allows me to directly upload one vid a post here:

Lastly, but maybe my personal fave, in May 2020, a gay fan of JLH uploaded to his personal IG account a video that he asked her to film with a message for his husband's bday. Here's the relevant part of the vid which I've edited and uploaded for you, where JLH is basically being all of us:

BTW, this is also a reply to the Nonnie who sent this ask:

I know about Ryan, Oliver and JLH but when did Gavin say anything about that?

I hope I managed to answer both of you! Have a great day, and as always, here's my ask tag.

[crowtrobotx]

I know this is out of the blue, but thank you so much for being a real one 👍✨️

Like I have nothing against people who see Heisenberg as a gay man, they’re entitled to think that. But I draw the hard line at people who feel the need to bash others just because their views don't align, and then when confronted use the piss poor "it's just a joke" or "it's just an observation" excuses. If you're going to be a bitch at least have the balls to own up to it.

Anyway, loved your work since 2021 and wishing you all the good vibes. 🤗

Oh my goodness, thank you!!! This is such a kind message and I appreciate you so much. ❤️ Good vibes right back at you. I’m glad that my rantings have resonated with folks because sometimes I wonder if *spongebob voice* I’M the maniac. Getting dragged into this stuff really makes me feel like it sometimes, haha.

Yes! To be clear I also truly do not care what your HC’s are! I love that there are people for whom gay Heisy is their thing and I hope they are having fun and keep making their art/fic/etc! Even if I really can’t stand the popular fanon ship I’m so glad it exists for folks who enjoy it and I am not going to spend my time posting about what I don’t like/agree with when they’re not hurting me and I can spend my time on stuff I do like!

And like. I know. I KNOW a lot of these people are teenagers. And I struggle sometimes because “do not fight literal children” is a rule I try to live by lmao but I also really don’t like seeing people target and mock folks for harmless fun. (It’s on sight if a 25+ year old starts putting this shit in the tags tho. I know they’re out there.)

Still, it’s extremely weird because they always defend themselves with “it’s just a joke/it’s not that deep” or “oh my god no one is stopping you from liking x why are you so pressed 🙄 i can’t believe you’re letting my nasty opinions bother you just because i put them right where you can see them with the intent of insulting you.” 💀💀💀 Like what could possibly be the point of doing this if not to, at the very least, actively try to dissuade people you don’t like from engaging with the community? Obviously no one can stop me but if I know that there are dickbags out there who are going to vaguepost and make fun of me when I do, I don’t care how confident and thick skinned you are (and I am very,) it’s still going to sting!

People are not bothered because they’re disconnected from reality and think they’re really married to a pixel man, they’re upset because life is hard enough and you come into your hobby space to have a good time and then find lame ass idiots infesting it. I also think the whole “ohhh my god why are you so upset he’s/she’s not real!!” is a blatant attempt to discredit the hurt parties by once again insinuating that they are “crazy” which once again conveniently ignores multiple realities, chiefly that 1) most people are not upset by a simple opinion that their fave wouldn’t fuck them IRL, they are upset at the blatant meanness of the person making the accusations and 2) even if they are genuinely hurt by the thought because it’s a coping mechanism for them, why does that make it okay for you target them? What gives you the right to harass and mock people who are not bothering you? Do these people think they’re doing these folks a ‘favor’ by forcing them to contend with what they perceive to be some kind of delusion? Shut the hell up. Why do people decide it is their god given right to hold strangers on the internet accountable for psychological “problems” that they’ve completely made up.

Anyway SORRY I have a serious problem shutting the fuck up lol. I have never been good at phrasing my thoughts in a coherent way especially when I’m grumpy. I am very glad my little circle is full of awesome, open minded and levelheaded folks and not gatekeepers/weirdos (derogatory) who have decided that diversity of opinion in fandom is bad actually and that women and femmes specifically are enemy number one.

[baifengxis]

What are some of your fave cdramas that you would highly rec? I’m looking for something to watch and I would be grateful if you can share some. Thank you!!

Oh, thanks so much for this question, I love recommending cdramas haha!

LEGEND OF FEI [2020] Gotta start with the obvious, because I'll recommend this drama forever even to everyone who has started and can't get into it, I'll always be like, please try again lol It's feminist, fun, feel-good but with very nicely done heavy moments every few episodes, important messages about life and about becoming who you want to be, it has my, at this point, favorite cdrama ship ever, yunfei my beloved!! relationship goals! friendships, funny dynamics, siblings, AMAZING characters and...so much more, I won't continue because I'll never stop lmao

UNEXPECTED [2018] Such an underrated Drama! I don't know why it's so underrated, especially because it's made by the same writer as a very popular drama (The Romance of Tiger and Rose) and the stories are very similar, which I know can be boring but they also have differences that make each drama unique, there's just the same premise of a writer traveling into their own story.

I'VE FALLEN FOR YOU [2020] The perfect rom-com historical drama, with a very fun plot and with plot twists you don't expect, such good characters and two amazing ships! Comfort drama for sure!

THE LOVE BY HYPNOTIC [2019] If you love palace romance, arranged marriage turned true love, a few crazy (but very entertaining) villains and a love story for the ages! Even though it has some very heavy moments, it's one of my comfort dramas as well, because it also includes some VERY FUNNY moments, like I just love dramas that can somehow balance comedy, romance and serious moments so well!

THE QUEEN OF ATTACK [2021] There's so many short dramas nowadays and 80% of them have the same plot of someone traveling into a story lol and yes, this is one of them BUT it's such a good drama like it's insane, I'll wish forever it was a normal length one, but it's still so good, the episodes are 9-10 mins each but there are two seasons, and the episodes have been combined, so eventually it's like having a normal drama with 12 normal length episodes (6 for s1 and 6 for s2). It's so worth it and the two actors are so talented and have such good chemistry, plus the story is unique too, yes this premise has been done many times but I think they still made it so unique and different from others.

THE STARRY LOVE [2023] A recent drama and quite popular, but I'll still recommend it always. Other than the last episode that was a bit disappointing and rushed (still a happy-ish ending though), it's my favorite Xianxia and it was just so good, the story, the cinematography, THE OST, the actors, the ships, the friendships, the sisters, ALL THE WOMEN, youqin literally making all other MLs take notes from him on how to be the best ml out there, so many reasons to watch this drama, just ignore the last part and pretend we saw what they forgot to show us lol

LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY [2022] Where do I even begin??? (This is the first Zhao Lusi drama i recommend in this list, but I just wanna mention, I recommend almost all of them.) Anyway, LLTG is by far my favorite political drama, and non wuxia/xianxia historical cdrama. It's so different and unique, there's literally nothing like it. It's a slow paced drama, with very long scenes (you might only have 3-4 scenes in one episode for example) and it's the reason why It got me a while to get to it, but now I'M SO IN LOVE WITH IT!!! There is not an episode I don't enjoy, it's pure art. Cheng Shao Shang is one of my favorite girls ever and her and Ling Buyi???? I'D DIE FOR THEIR LOVE. Their chemistry is so so so good, now Zhao Lusi can have chemistry with a tree, it's true but still, one of the best cdrama ships out there. Even though I never truly watched classic cdramas like Nirvana on Fire and those "older" ones, I think LLTG somehow is the closest to those except it also loves its characters and focuses on romance more than any older political cdrama did but it works so so well.

LIGHTER AND PRINCESS [2022] Favorite modern drama! I gotta be honest I'm not verrrryyyy into modern cdramas, I like a few, even love some, but generally it's hard to find a modern cdrama I'll go crazy over...but L&P changed that. Or well, it's still hard, maybe even harder now, to find something that tops it, but L&P is just so so good. Again, a quite popular drama, maybe it doesn't need the recommendation, but I have to mention it anyway 'cause it's my baby and I just cannot make a favorite cdramas list without it! Some reasons to watch: One of the best love stories out there, with such good angst and just everything you need on a ship, two main characters so unique that you'll definitely relate to (at least in some aspects), one of the best OSTS ever, perfect cinematography, directing and writing and one of my favorite endings on any show ever!

Some more dramas I recommend but I won't dig deeper (I talked a lot already):

Couple of Mirrors [2021]

Who Rules The World [2022]

Love Between Fairy and Devil [2022]

Young Blood [2019 - S2 starts tomorrow!]

Wait, My Youth [2019]

Zhaoyao/The Legends [2019]

Arsenal Military Academy [2019]

There's probably more but I think that's good for now, I hope I helped you find something to watch and I'm always here for more recs if you want :P <3

[jacaranda-bloom]

Five Fave Fics

The always lovely @haztobegood tagged me to share my Five Fave Fics - thank you so much! This is always really hard because my favourites oscillate depending on my mood and how recently I’ve written them, but here’s how I’m feeling it at the moment...

🍁 Man, Deconstructed | 14k | Explicit | I think this one will always be high up on my list of fave’s. It’s just the right length to read in one sitting, the characters are so earnest and adorable, and the secondhand embarrassment just gets me every single time. 

Where a well-meaning best mate, a sculpture-worthy arse, and a heaping dose of misunderstanding combine to create sheer and utter chaos, and also, maybe, the best thing Harry’s ever found.

🍁 The Future Is Now | 16k | Explicit | Another short one that always makes me smile. Louis is charmingly oblivious to what the universe (or rather the fortune telling machine) is trying to reveal to him about his best mate. He eventually gets there, of course, but the road he travels and the scenarios he has to navigate are deliciously infuriating and that just makes the ending even more satisfying.

Where Louis follows the fortunes five times to seek out his true love, and the one time he realises that what he's been searching for might've been right in front of him all along.

🍁 In A Twinkling | 90k | Explicit | Ahhhh my 2021 Advent Fic. It never ceases to amaze me how the underlying messages in this fic crept up and whacked me over the head. I still remember calling my sister mid-meltdown when people started commenting about Louis’ journey of self-discovery and how much it resonated with them. It had started as a quick romp of a thing, and then ended up consuming me in the best possible way. I’ll forever be grateful for the ride the readers took me on with this one, for how they embraced the characters, and for giving me the most wonderful Christmas Present that lasted the whole of December. 

Where Louis’ Nan just wants him to be happy, to settle down with a nice boy, and bring him around for Christmas. Louis is too busy with his career to bother about relationships, but in an attempt to appease his Nan, he sends her photoshopped pictures of him and his pretend boyfriend, Harry. The fact that the man in the pictures is none other than Harry Styles, world famous Gucci model—and recurrent star of Louis’ fantasies—is irrelevant. It’s not like their paths will ever cross… So it comes as somewhat of a surprise when Louis returns home for Christmas and walks into his Nan’s sitting room only to find the real-life Harry Styles happily chatting away with the grey-haired ladies of his Nan’s Crochet Circle.

🍁 No Going Back | 56k | Explicit | This one will likely make any faves list of mine for a long time to come. This was the fic where I felt I found my writing style and really hit my stride. The setting on an isolated island off the bottom of Australia where they were caretakers for a lighthouse just really landed with me. But it wouldn’t have been half the fic it was without being able to work with an amazing collaborator to create the separate travel blog, which was such a treat! 

Where one choice - a left instead of a right, a go instead of a stop, a yes instead of a no - can change the future forever and that sometimes, taking that leap of faith, is worth the risk.

🍁 If You’re Out There (I’ll Find You Somehow) | 56k | Explicit | I know hybrid fics aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but this fic was where I felt like I really started to push the boat out and be braver with my writing. The amount of world building that went into this story was overwhelming at times, but is probably also where I found the passion for it that has continued up until this day. Creating an entirely new society, with many of the same problems we have in our own world, just revealed through a different lens was so rewarding for me. Anyway, I adore this fic and I will love it until the end of time.

History teaches us many things. It allows us to learn from the mistakes and achievements of our past, it colours our present, and guides and influences our future.

Sometimes change comes quickly, barrelling on and sweeping up everything in its path.

Sometimes change comes more slowly, one tentative step at a time, barely making a ripple in the fabric of society.

Sometimes change needs an army, a force so powerful it overwhelms all who try to stand in its way.

But sometimes, all it takes is one man, whose love for another is so pure, so enduring, and so powerful that it can rise up and triumph against all the odds.

This is the story of how one man’s love changed the world.

I’ll tag @allwaswell16 @disgruntledkittenface @lululawrence @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed @evilovesyou @neondiamond @parmahamlarrie and @fallinglikethis if you’d like to do this and haven’t already xx

[420pogpills]

top 10 eurovision entries - the legendary list as decided by me

i've been watching eurovision since i was a baby, i grew up with this stuff and i freaking love it so i thought lemme share the songs that just absolutely topped it for me 😌 very hard to narrow it down but i did my best so LET'S GO~

disclaimer: this is purely my opinion so plz don't get pissed at me because i decided these based on most memorable FOR ME, rather than best song/best voice etc

10. ruslana - wild dances (ukraine, 2004)

this was such a memorable one for me, it was around these years when i really started looking forward to eurovision and this one is just epic in my eyes.

9. måneskin - zitti e buoni (italy, 2021)

i don't think i need to explain why this one was legendary. it just was - everything about it, everything about them. 10/10 deserved win.

8. we are the winners - lt united (lithuania, 2006)

YES i am biased because i am lithuanian but i'm sorry this performance cracks me up every time i remember it - not to mention this was our highest performing entry ever 😂 just good vibes all around

7. sunstroke project & olia tira - run away (moldova, 2010)

sorry but this one was SO fun, and the saxophone guy will always be legendary

6. soldi - mahmood (italy, 2019)

oh this one was a cultural reset for me, i still have this song in my spotify and will always do the clap - epic song!

5. manizha - russian woman (russia, 2021)

i'm a biiiiig big fan of this one. especially for the message. in russia, only 10 percent of women who suffer domestic abuse report it to the police - because the laws there state that your abuser cannot be arrested unless the abuse is bad enough to warrant hospitalisation. just one of many many examples of how women are dehumanised in countries like russia - and i love and admire all the women who stand up and try to put the message out there.

4. only teardrops - emmelie de forest (denmark, 2013)

this one was a game changer to me - the voice, the staging, the fairy core... everything about this song and performance was 10 out of 10 and deserved that win

3. loreen - euphoria (sweden, 2012)

loreen is definitely the queen of eurovision for me.. this song, this performance - everything about it was incredible and totally deserved the win.

2. alexander rybak - fairytale (norway, 2009)

this song had everyone going feral - me included. easily one of the biggest and bestest bops to come out of eurovision. alexander but his whole rybussy into this one

1. verka serduchka - dancing lasha tumbai (ukraine, 2007)

nothing needs to be said. if you disagree - you are wrong ❤️

+ PLUS: some honorary shoutouts to some of my other faves -

lordi - hard rock hallelujah (finland, 2006)

netta - toy (isreal, 2018)

eleni foureira - fuego (cyprus, 2018)

conchita wurst - rise like a phoenix (austria, 2014)

go_a - shum (ukraine, 2021)

[frozencapybara]

It’s EUROVISON 2024 AW YEAH, time for semifinal 1! (which was yesterday, I'm just getting around to posting)

My rankings for Semifinal 1, best to worst: Croatia & Ireland (tied); Finland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Slovenia, Serbia, everyone else

And all seven qualified! That never happens. Even better, there weren’t any acts i couldn’t stand - nobody ranked lower than “eh, it’s fine”. That’ll probably change with semi 2 but I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

Notes on all the acts behind the readmore:

Note that all this is based purely on the semifinal broadcast and zero research, just initial thoughts.

Cyprus (qualified): I understand you don’t want your backup dancers to upstage your outfit, but please consider something a bit more than “what I could grab off Target’s discount rack”? Overall a decent if not memorable entry.

Serbia (qualified): I’m not usually a fan of ballads, but this isn’t bad, and the Hot Topic On a Rock (affectionate) staging put it a cut above the usual.

Lithuania (qualified): Outfits from the Talking Heads Factory Outlet on Arrakis (affectionate). Slightly 80s new wave vibes, in a good way. Not my absolute top choice, but I would absolutely not be mad if this wins.

Ireland (qualified): OH SHIT THIS SLAPS SO HARD. Love a good scream session. Top pick. Very likely to be my “I’m super mad this only got two votes” entry.

Ukraine (qualified): Ukraine loves them a mid-song rap breakdown, which isn’t always my fave but much like in 2021, they make it work for them. Singer has a heck of a vocal range. Won’t be mad if it wins.

Poland (did not qualify): Good staging, mid song. Singer keeps saying she built this tower, which seems somewhat disrespectful to the stagecraft crew. Unless she did help, in which case I retract my objection.

Croatia (qualified): OH SHIT THIS SLAPS SO HARD. I was expecting Peak Eurovision Nonsense out of Croatia, but this just straight up slaps. I’m bad at predicting but I honestly hope this has a chance in the finals.

Iceland (did not qualify): Iceland heard they were gonna be in Sweden and sent the ABBA they had at home. It’s a perfectly cromulent example of what it is, but I’m not vibing with it.

Slovenia (qualified): Reminds me of Loreen, but not in a bad way. Tick off your “sheer bodysuit” bingo square. Overall a good pick.

Finland (qualified): Most Peak Eurovision Nonsense of the semifinal. Love it.

Moldova (did not qualify): Look it’s fine, but I have expectations for Moldova based on past performances and this did not meet them. Also a huge waste of a violin solo.

Azerbaijan (did not qualify): If you told me Azerbaijan was going to bring a ballad to Eurovision, this is exactly what I would have expected. It’s fine, but I’m not sad it didn’t advance.

Australia (did not qualify): I kept going back and forth on this one. On the one hand, it gave big Prime-Time TV Appropriate Message energy. On the other hand, didgeridoo? Overall, not mad it didn’t advance. Especially since Australia will never win Eurovision (sorry Australians, you know it’s true tho) so if they’re going to take a finals slot they better bring it.

Portugal (qualified): As ballads go, it’s decent. It is still a ballad. Points for not being in English.

Luxembourg (qualified): I don’t think this will win the final, but it does have a shot at taking the obligatory “conventionally attractive young woman shaking her ass to a pop song” vote (not derogatory, just, it’s a specific eurovision category). I don’t hate it, it’s a bop, I prefer Cyprus’s song in that category but Luxembourg’s staging is better.

Bonus already-qualified songs:

UK: Homoerotic boxing match in zero-G is a staging choice and I’m here for it. Too bad the song doesn’t live up to it. It’s fine.

Germany: Staging: [this is fine dot gif]. Song: I have never heard a song be more Eurovision Bait (derogatory) in my life. Boring. Try harder Germany, I know you can do it.

Sweden: Bland white boys in the Borg cube. The lyrics are “she’s unforgettable” which is ironic as I’ve already forgotten the song.

[futurewife]

Yo, that reverse au thing, cable fighting and the keychain of you gets bloodied and he gets all huffy over it because his little wife ain't supposed to be like that

Also, Cable while not totally good with the internet would absolutely find art of you to look at when he's alone. Man doesn't need help but sometimes his mind wanders... you'd be so good to him if you weren't just a pretty lady in that show he loves

me reading "2021" knowing I had this sitting in my askbox for THREE fucking yearssss 😭😭💀💀💀 I'm so sorry anon if this gave you the impression that I didn't care or didn't enjoy your input. This is actually one of my fave creative inputs of all time. I thought somewhere along the line I was going to draw artwork related to this ask but never got around to it, and kept it in the askbox. Maybe one day still. Hahaha.

Okay saying that, I love this idea so much. Yes yes yes he is EXACTLY like that in a world where I'm the f/o. Anytime someone sends me a message that's like Cable is sooo obsessed with you you're such a pretty little thing to him my ego shoots through the roof and I feel so giddy and validated HAHAHAA!! My selfship confirming buzzwords!!

He would splash out on keychains/stickers and other small kinds of merch he could tote around easily, or attach to weapons and stuff. He would be so honest and proud about it and no-one could make him feel ashamed or embarrassed about it >:| he takes his fave girl, best girl very seriously. I can hear him huff and grumble in annoyance cause YEAH!!! You got my wife dirty! And after exacting vengeance (lol) he goes home and carefully handwashes me in keychain form. Big hands in a tiny sink. 🥺

lewd below cut

Cable stumbling across lewd fanarts of me and part of him arcing up a little bit at someone else thinking about and drawing me like that (disrespecting his wife. how dare they lol) but at the same time finding it incredibly arousing hahaha. He feels a little guilty about it after he finishes, really he wishes I was real so not only could he love on me physically but also do all the gentle taking care of me stuff too like snuggling.

[officialtayley]

God you're far more patient than me, Ash. Like...are anon messages to a Tayley stan blog the best place for discourse, maybe yes maybe no, it's a good conversation to me have but jeeeeez. Always jarring seeing people find ways to excuse and justify themselves not condemning little war crimes lmao.

So, to mix it up a little, please feel free to answer all or some (or simply none of the following haha if you've answered them before or just don't want to):

🪄

1) When did you first become aware of Paramore?

2) When did you first see Paramore live/how many times have you?

3) What other artists/bands do you listen to a lot? Maybe...top 5 (no particular order)

4) Do you have any pets? Talk about them (if you want)

5) What was the last new-to-you film, TV show and book you watched/read?

6) What was your favourite moment from running this blog before their relationship was official? I wasn't here then but reading Kels' archive makes me so jealous of how fun and mad it all seemed whenever a new scrap of content arrived haha.

7) If you woke up tomorrow looking like Hayley and couldn't dye your hair (except to refresh it), which hair era would you want?

8) If you had half an hour with Hayley, what would you want to talk about?

That's all I can think of but hopefully it'll give you SOMETHING different to talk/think about!! 🫡🌻

i was saving this so now i shall answer :) the questions were very fun to answer i loved this so much, thank you!! 🖤

1) 2007! that is how long i have been a fan too :)

2) 27th september 2013. overall i have seen them live 4 times! i also saw halfnoise in 2017 and met zac

3) seventeen, jungkook, iu, eminem, billie eilish. honourable mention to taeyeon tho!

4) i don't have any pets. i had a dog (german shepherd) called sam, we had him before i was born so when i came along he was super protective, when i was baby he was always by my crib and stuff and as i was growing up if i needed help when walking or walking down the stairs at our back door (they had no railing) he'd always stand by my side so i could hold him, and then as i grew up too he always slept in my room or on my bed. he passed though in 2005 or 2006? so sad i miss him he was the best. i had another dog after that (yorkshire terrier) and i called him marmite but he was too hyperactive and aggressive so we ended up having to give him to a friend.

5) um..... i don't know. i watched barbie but that was new to everyone. vincenzo (kdrama) is the only thing that comes to mind since i only got into kdramas last year and it came out in 2021. some other things, not new to me but hey i wanna share, little women (kdrama), extraordinary attorney woo (kdrama) and a business proposal (kdrama), the first two were so incredible, the last one was silly but it was a fun time.

6) my fave moment.... the date at the gallery in oct 2018. also LA nov 2018. it was a party over here it was so fun each time. obvs they were dating then but majority of the fanbase still hating tayley shippers and that's what tayley were up to..... incredible time.

7) self titled. granted her personal life was a mess but she went thru 2726267227 hair styles and colours and i think it would be fun

8) hm.... well id like to tell her about finding paramore in 2007 during the literal worst year is my whole life and how it really helped me as a 10 year have something to turn to when i was going through something very traumatic. id also like to pick her brain over some lyrics on ffv so i can understand them properly finally, and hm..... idk what else

[johannesviii]

Top 10 Personal Favorite Hit Songs from 2022

Another pretty decent year for pop music ; a very slow one, with a lot of trash, but the good stuff was so good making a top 10 took me ages, unlike 2021 where it was way easier. Outside of the top 100, some incredible stuff dropped this year too, so yeah - even if the charts don't always reflect it, music as a whole is currently very interesting to follow.

Disclaimers / Rules:

I’m using both the year-end top 100 lists from the US and from France while making these lists. There’s songs that charted in my country way higher than they did in the US, or even earlier or later, so that might get surprising at times.

No song that I already put on a previous list is elligible.

No old hit song that is re-charting due to a holiday or a trend is elligible either.

Of course there will probably be stuff in French somewhere on this post. We suck. I know. It’s my list. Deal with it.

My musical tastes have always been terrible.

I have sound-to-color synesthesia which justifies nothing but might explain why I have trouble describing some songs in other terms than visual ones.

So. Uh. Again, again. How was your 2022??

Still didn't catch covid but I did catch a very nasty cold a month ago. Still drawing and writing a lot, and also spending more and more time customising my clothes with dumb patches and embroidered messages and stuff.

I went to a LOT of concerts this year, and they were all fantastic for completely different reasons! I'm so glad I finally have the budget to do this without feeling guilty or cutting down some more vital stuff. So yeah. I went to see My Chemical Romance, The Soft Moon, Sigur Ros, Placebo and Enter Shikari. Before that the last concert I had attended was VNV Nation all the way back in 2019!

Speaking of which, let’s start with the good or interesting albums that came out in 2022 or in late 2021, and this is going to be pretty long.

Albums

I have to mention that I tried to get into Ghost this year. It's definitely not for me apart from a couple of songs, but also, Impera was pretty bad. Probably wasn't a good idea to start listening to these guys in their current era.

I also have to mention that I've been thoroughly disappointed by Mainstream Sellout, because I'm one of those weirdos who actually liked Tickets to my Downfall by Machine Gun Kelly. But yeah, the guy became self-aware, and that's the worst thing that could possibly happen. Awful. Emo Girl is unintentionally funny, though.

Not sure this counts as an "album" since it's an EP, and a five minutes-long one at that, but Snake Eyes by 100 Gecs made me even more excited for their new album in 2023.

Electric Callboy's Tekkno is dumb and funny in all the right ways and I'm glad they got so much positive attention out of it. That's trolling with actual effort and passion put into it and it's kind of a lost art form at this point. The music videos are amazing too.

Rakshak by Bloodywood is exactly the kind of thing Nu Metal needed to move forward and I love the fact that energy came from India, of all places. A lot of fresh ideas, generally interesting topics and politics ; I'm sold. This is great. More, please.

Muna by uh Muna didn't leave much of an impression on me at first but I kept thinking about it and I eventually came back to it to relisten to it several times later in the year. I'm not sure what it means. Probably something good, though. Maybe it will be one of my faves of the year in retrospect..? Also it's very gay, which never hurts.

I'm somewhat conflicted about Being Funny in a Foreign Language by The 1975. Objectively, it's probably their best album ; it's straightforward, it's very well produced, it has a couple of bangers. Subjectively, I'm not even sure I'd place it above Notes on a Conditional Form, which if you recall was a GIGANTIC MESS, just because the highs of this mess were stratospheric compared to the ones the new album has. Still really good, but I miss the chaos.

Death's Dynamic Shroud's Dark Life has SO MANY different ideas going in so many different directions it's kind of a miracle that the album stays so coherent. The colors and the textures are sometimes so complex and layered that just listening to them to try to pick them apart becomes a stim to me. Beautiful.

I only found this album last month but Dimensional Bleed by Holy Fawn is one of the best post rock things I've ever heard since Sigur Ros stopped releasing new music

Exister by The Soft Moon comes so close to being my album of the year. SO close. Among all the musicians trying to become the new Trent Reznor, this guy's the only credible candidate for me, just because he's not afraid to try really weird shit. When I saw him live in October, the last thing he played had a castanets solo over huge electronic beats. And it went hard as hell! I sincerely hope his future stuff will be even better. I'm sold.

But uh. Guys. I'm sorry.

I'm so predictable. Never Let Me Go, Placebo's comeback album, is my favorite album of the year. Of course, when one of my favorite bands ever decided to release new music after nearly ten years of nothing, I was thrilled, but also worried it would disappoint me. The first singles were amazing, but what if? What if the rest of the album wasn't as good? And yet, by the time it was over, I was trying to determine if it was my third or fourth fave album in their discography. Even now, I'd only put Meds and Sleeping With Ghosts above this one. It's distinctly them, but full of new and interesting ideas. I'm beyond happy things turned out so well.

Unelligible Songs

There's a TON of them! Because that year was very good! This is kind of a non-hits rec list of sorts, but you know the drill.

Should I start with some Gecs? I feel like I should start with some Gecs. So here's Doritos and Fritos, Hey Big Man and Torture Me. You're welcome.

While we're at it, if you've never watched any of the recent Electric Callboy music videos, your day is about to get slightly better. I suggest Pump It and Spaceman. Also both are actually good songs on top of being funny.

I might have trashtalked Ghost's new album earlier but Spillways is like Poison 2.0. That's a compliment by the way

I've not always enjoyed what these guys made post-Hot Fuss, but Boy by the Killers should definitely have been a hit.

What I Want by Muna also has this "should have been a huge hit" aura. I'm feeling every line of this chorus in my bones. Best song about delayed adolescence for queer people

Are we making a list of songs that should have been hits? Let me add Metric with What feels like eternity, then

However, American Teenager by Ethel Cain might still have a slight chance of becoming a hit song in the future. I want to believe

Hey do you want some cringe. Cause here's Slaughterhouse by Motionless In White oops

JEZEBEEEEEEEEEEL IF YOU'RE THE HUNTER THEN I'M THE PREYYYYYY

At this point I'm pretty sure I've listened to Precious Hearts by The Birthday Massacre for about six hours over the course of 2022 but since I'm an old idiot who only listens to music through .mp3 files and doesn't use spotify I have no way to check

My very first contact with Bloodywood was Dana Dan, and what a first impression that was. Turn the subtitles on, by the way.

Go_A dropped an absolute banger called Kalyna at the very start of the Ukraine war and it might just be their best track so far.

I am legally obligated to mention The Foundations of Decay by My Chemical Romance. Is it their best song? Hell no. Is it mixed like shit? Yes. Is it way to long? Absolutely. Do I enjoy it? Immensely. Also it had no music video and no promotion. What a power move

Nurture by Porter Robinson, which I mentioned last year as one of my favorite albums in a year full of incredible ones, was still one of my most listened-to albums of 2022, so it feels right to mention a song he released outside of any album this year (Everything Goes On).

Avantasia is back, with a..... an album I didn't like very much, oops, but damn, The Moonflower Society is one of their best songs ever. Long live ridiculous over-the-top power metal with super-serious poetry as lyrics.

Born Yesterday by Quadeca sounds like Sigur Ros trying to make a radio-friendly song, and it sounds absolutely immaculate. Also it's about someone who killed himself just before his birthday and his ghosts deeply regrets that decision

This is not the end by Gareth Emery might be standard EDM, but it's also genuinely comforting to hear these lyrics

I need to put a break here otherwise Tumblr won't let me post this thing. Are you still there? Ok good.

El Alma Que Te Trajo (Safety Trance ft. Arca). Send tweet

It's kind of funny that emo came back a couple of years ago through 8-o-8's and sad rappers with face tattoos. It's even funnier that I genuinely enjoyed some of their stuff. It's even-even funnier that some of them are straight-up doing pop punk stuff now. All of this to say that I love Girl Next Door by Lil Lotus

If you've followed anything in the metal scene this year you already know that Lorna Shore absolutely killed it in 2022. Hell yeah let's put some melodies in deathcore, I'm all for it. Anyway Sun//Eater is great

I should probably recommend some cool music that cool people like before I humiliate myself further by recommending more edgy shit, so this is the perfect time to say that Judgment Bolt, Neon Memories and Messe de E-102 are now permanently etched somewhere in my brain. Seriously please listen to Darklife by Death's Dynamic Shroud if you have the slightest, smallest interest in electronic music I beg you

Ok back to the cringe. Speaking of neons, here's Neon Grave by Dayseeker. I've never liked a song by these guys before so this was a bit of a surprise for me

Also I've listened to it again and again but I still want to cry every time I hear This is what you wanted by Placebo. Not sure why it's my absolute favorite track on an album full of fantastic tracks. Not sure what it says about me. Not sure I want to know

I think I mentioned an Enter Shikari concert. Not sure I can call myself a fan yet, but I spent an ungodly amount of hours listening to their old and new stuff in 2022. Turns out one of my favorite songs they ever made is one of the newest ones, The Void Stares Back. This is exactly the kind of surreal and borderline apocalyptic lyrics I need in my life. I even bought a t-shirt saying "I'm the child with the telescope eyes" at that concert oops

Oh Caroline is one of the best songs The 1975 ever made and, like all my fave songs from that band, it's deeply awkward and embarrassing. It's a guy begging his ex to come back and it gets humiliating. Perfection. Thank you

Just when you thought this list couldn't get worse I'm about to confess I love The Boy in the Black Dress by Yungblud. Can't get the image of a teenager trying to remove his nail polish with his teeth after a teacher told him he looked girly out of my head now. God I love narrative songs so much

We've reached the terminal velocity of musical cringe so here's sTraNgeRs by Bring Me The Horizon because OF FUCKING COURSE I love sTraNgeRs by Bring Me The Horizon. You must be new here. WE'RE DYING TO LIVE AND WE'RE LIVING TO DIIIIIIIIIIE

Also I'm not going to recommend too many the Soft Moon songs but Become the Lies is now a classic for me only six months after it came out, and I've been obsessed with Him (ft Fish Narc, who kills it as the evil twin of the narrator) to the point of making fanart of the mental amv I have for it. Might even upload it after finishing this post, I'm not sure.

Honorable Mentions

Tití me preguntó (Bad Bunny) - I swear I had this song playing in my brain for days and I'm not even sure I like it.

Jour meilleur (Orelsan) - I'm usually not the biggest fan of the guy, but this one is really nice.

As it was (Harry Styles) - Perfectly serviceable little pop tune.

Where are you now (Lost Frequencies) - A great earworm.

Enemy (Imagine Dragons) - Listen. It's bad. But I can't get over the fact that an overly-hated band made a song where the chorus literally screams "EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY ENEMYYYY", it's so much fun to sing along with it

Shivers (Ed Sheeran) - Do I really like Ed Sheeran now. Is this my life. Is this what growing old feels like

Belly Dancer (Imanbek & BYOR) - I'm going to the gym now and this is on their playlist. It's completely brainless but it had a serious chance to end on my actual top ten at some point. I physically can't listen to it without at the very least tapping my foot on the floor.

One Right Now (Post Malone & The Weeknd) - This WAS on my list at some point but I ended up cutting it. Nobody seems to like this song, and I love it for all the wrong reasons. Namely, the fact that a duet between two male singers talking about someone cheating on them sounds like they cheated on each other. And I think that's unintentional comedy gold.

Bad habit (Steve Lacy) - The very last cut I had to make. It's a wonderful song, and I simply adore its vibe, but I tend to lose some interest after 2:20 for some reason. No idea why.

Pretty sure there's nobody still reading this post. Which might be good because there's one deeply humiliating pick on this top ten. Let's do this

THE ACTUAL TOP TEN LIST

10 - Santé (Stromae)

US: Not on the list / FR: #90

I still can't believe this idiot climbed his way out of depression and burnout just to tell every emergency worker to join a union. What a king. Legends only

Also I seriously considered putting it at the top of this list in very early 2022 if the year turned out to be mediocre. I never expected it to be placed so low in the end. That's a good thing, by the way

9 - Break my soul (Beyoncé)

US: #38 / FR: Not on the list

So uh. As far as I know there's still no music video for this one, which is kind of a power move in this day and age, not gonna lie. But yeah. You know me. Can't resist a eurodance diva. And Beyoncé as a eurodance diva is all I ever wanted and more. What the hell happened this year, music-wise, seriously

8 - J'la connais, pt. 1 (Emkal)

US: Not on the list / FR: #89

Okay, the autotune is a bit grating. Doesn't matter.

Look, I usually dislike this kind of songs and singers always talking about girls cheating on them and stuff. But no, this dude right there is singing about people telling him his girlfriend is going to cheat on him, and he basically tells them he trusts her more than them ("Cette fille, j'la connais, eh, mais toi, tu es qui ? On se connaît ?" ("I know that girl, eh - but you? who are you again?"). Very refreshing. Well played, sir.

7 - Thunder (Gabry Ponte)

US: Not on the list / FR: #59

BEHOLD. THERE IS NOW A GOOD SONG CALLED "THUNDER" ON THE CHARTS. AND IT'S COMPLETELY BRAINLESS.

So uh, this one also plays at the gym. It's just some very basic and very commercial EDM. For some reason, it kinda sounds like a pirate song to me, the kind of thing you'd drink to on an adventure or something like that. There's not a lot that can be said about it. The colors are especially trippy, though.

Does it look like I'm stalling for time? Uh, maybe I am.

Oh god, here comes the really embarrassing part.

6 - Bad habits (Ed Sheeran ft Bring Me The Horizon)

US: #13 / FR: #53

So uh. This was in my honorable mentions last year:

And it was slowly exiting the charts when this new version dropped all of a sudden in mid-February, with way more guitars and bombast, and of course Oli Sykes screaming his head out at the end. And it climbed up the charts all over again.

And since I'm a major sucker with no taste, of course I loved it.

Doesn't make up for the fact the lyrics are still very vague and Ed Sheeran is still Ed Sheeran, but clearly that wasn't enough to keep this version of the song off my list. It's enough to make me question my choices, though. Steve Lacy should probably be there instead.

Eh. Too late now.

5 - Numb Little Bug (Em Behold)

US: #32 / FR: Not on the list

I initially put this one higher ; I'm not tired of it or anything, it's just that I don't listen to it as often as some things above it. And it got popular through TikTok, too - I'd ask if the kids are okay, but we all know the answer to that question, I think. I can't get over how brutal these lyrics are for what's essentially a cute pop song. And yeah, that's a huge mood. Do you ever get a little bit tired of life? Yes! Quite often actually! Glad we're all on the same page, at least. It's somewhat comforting.

Imagine how bleak and scary that song would be if it was more serious and less upbeat, though.

Oh. Oh shit.

4 - L'Enfer (Stromae)

US: Not on the list / FR: #46

Guess we don't have to imagine. Guess it already exists. Guess it's on the French year-end chart. And it's absolutely terrifying.

Look, I'm glad Stromae is back. I'm glad he feels better. But uh- yeah. This track is genuinely hard to listen to. I'm pretty sure it's objectively better than the three songs I placed above it, but yeah.

J'ai parfois eu des pensées suicidaires, et j'en suis peu fier (I've had suicidal thoughts at times and I'm not proud of it) On croit parfois que c'est la seule manière de les faire taire (Sometimes you think that's the only way to shut them up) Ces pensées qui me font vivre un enfer (These thoughts that make my life hell)

Yeah.

3 - About Damn Time (Lizzo)

US: #12 / FR: Not on the list

I had a hard time deciding where to rank this song between #3 and #2. Maybe I should say it's a tie. It changes day to day with my mood, really.

But yeah, thank you Lizzo for being a combo breaker in this short series of songs about addiction and depression and death! This one is impossible to resist. You hear it and you just have to move or tap your feet and smile. And-

I'm way too fine to be this stressed, yeah Oh, I'm not the girl I was or used to be, uh Bitch, I might be better

Favorite lyrics of the year? I don't know. Maybe. Amazing, in any case. Thank you for this gift, madam.

2 - That's What I Want (Lil Nas X)

US: #14 / FR: Not on the list

Aaaaaaaaand back to the sadness. Well, not really. The song itself is pretty upbeat. In any case, you've probably seen that one coming from a mile away because of my 2021 Unelligible Songs list:

And yeah! It's elligible at last! I'm so, so happy. And I want Lil Nas X to find love and be happy too. Montero was gay as hell, Industry Baby was a victory lap, but this one? This one is the guy bearing his soul and you can feel it even through the impeccable production and pop sensibilities. Cry your heart out to this upbeat tune, my friend, it's gonna be okay. And we love you.

1 - Meet Me At Our Spot (The Anxiety)

US: #74 / FR: Not on the list

I think I've listened to this one more than any other song this year and yet I'm still not entirely sure why I love it so much, especially considering it took literal months to grow on me. I can't even describe its vibe. Is it melancholy? No, it's too happy. Is it happy then? No, it's too tired. But it has energy, too. Is it romantic? Not really. What is it?

One thing's for sure, whichever vibe it is, I got lost in it for hours, to the point of creating entire scenes set to it in my mind. Which led to drawings. Which led to me inventing characters completely disconnected from the song and writing a story where the initial scene I visualised is only a small one in the grand scheme of things.

There's magic in this song's vibe, and I've been on a quest to transcribe it, and I will probably fail. In the meantime, thank you for meeting me at this spot. It's been a wild ride. See you next year!

[sitp-recs]

I posted 4,396 times in 2022

958 posts created (22%)

3,438 posts reblogged (78%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@the-starryknight

@sitp-recs

@stavromulabetaaa

@lqtraintracks

@ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm

I tagged 3,753 of my posts in 2022

Only 15% of my posts had no tags

#asks - 561 posts

#anon - 336 posts

#drarry recs - 231 posts

#drarry art - 205 posts

#fave - 151 posts

#drarry - 121 posts

#to read - 108 posts

#ask game - 93 posts

#drarrymicrofic - 91 posts

#signal boost - 76 posts

Longest Tag: 116 characters

#interacting with adults at that age could have gone terribly wrong but i was lucky to find good people along the way

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Hey! Can you please rec some fics by authors with the most unique, beautiful writing style? I’ve read some works of fandom legends like tepre, aideomai etc, maybe there are writers that are not so widely known but very talented nonetheless? Thanks 💓

Hi anon! We are blessed with so many talented authors in this fandom it blows my mind every time I think about it. As someone who knows very little about writing styles, my opinion here is 100% subjective and largely influenced by the fics that came to my mind when I read your ask. I’ll linked them below, together with the authors’ AO3. Enjoy!

@blamebrampton | AO3 | My rec

@corvuscrowned | AO3 | My rec

@drarrytrash | AO3 | My rec

Frayach | AO3 | My rec

@graymatters | AO3 | My rec

@harryromper | AO3 | My rec

@jackvbriefs | AO3 | My rec

Omi_Ohmy | AO3 | My rec

@potteresque-ire | AO3 | My rec

RurouniHime | AO3 | My rec

Seefin (orphaned their works) | My rec

@shealwaysreads | AO3 | My rec

@tackytigerfic | AO3 | My rec

@the-starryknight | AO3 | My rec

thistle_verse | AO3 | My rec

@vivantesopales | AO3 | My rec

And whoever wrote Emerald in the Sky - are you on this list MA???? Let me love you!

279 notes - Posted July 26, 2022

#4

shit-recs

Fill this out pls

287 notes - Posted January 30, 2022

#3

Did you see the update from GallaPlacidia (her email newsletter) that she’s deleting all her fics and podfics 10/1? I mostly most Good Omens stuff so I doubt my followers have read her stuff. I just want to pass along the word so people could download if they want to save her works. They’re all so good! I’ve always loved your posts and you seem to have a wide audience so figured I’d reach out to you, if you’d like to share the info. And if anyone has suggestions on how to save her podfics that would be helpful! I listen to them on my phone and have no idea how to download them. 🤪

Oh no, that’s heartbreaking news! I don’t receive her newsletter so I had no idea. How sad, I know lots of people love her work and will be truly devastated 😰😰 thanks for reaching out and sharing this, I am definitely saving my favourites and I hope everyone has the chance to do the same. Oh and good question about podfics, I’ve never downloaded any either but maybe my followers have some tips to share? Thanks again for this message, I think I’ll pin it for the time being so more people can see the news. Have a lovely week!

GallaPlacidia’s AO3

The GallaPod

@geesenoises has kindly put an archive of GP’s works together, you can access it HERE!

330 notes - Posted August 28, 2022

#2

Happy New Year! Surprising absolutely no one I wasn’t able to finish this in time for NYE, oops!(And that’s why ‘stop procrastinating’ is on my resolutions list 😂). This post probably has tons of typos still so please bear with me, I promise I’ll be back later to correct them!

Simply put, 2021 was a train wreck - I struggled in many ways and decided to take a step back in some regards, including fandom. It’s been a bumpy road but despite the low amount of recs this blog has survived and there were definitely some things to celebrate, too! Once I stopped making reclists I got more free time to read, and I’m proud to say I’ve read a lot. I haven’t felt very confident about my reccing lately, but as I went through my bookmarks and noticed how much I read last year I thought why not spread a bit of love for these works?

Without further ado here are my favorite reads of 2021 featuring Drarry, rare pairs and some gorgeous artworks. This is not intended to be an ultimate list - the works below were chosen solely based on my personal preferences and they reflect very little of what’s been made last year, and what a year it was! Between brilliant microfics, Tumblr drabbles, top notch quality fests, there’s some amazing and varied content to be explored all around. I hope you guys enjoy these works as much as I did, and don’t forget to leave kudos and comments!

The Drarry fandom gave me so much last year; it was there to mend my heart and help me bounce back when I needed it the most. Even the smaller things can make a huge difference in the big picture, and I’m immensely grateful to those who have somehow been a part of it. I wanna give a special shoutout to my friends for your endless love, patience and support. Here’s to a gentler 2022! See you soon ❤️

Drarry:

Phoenix in the Fire by @fw00shy (Explicit, 1.4k)

Their first time was an accident. "Sex pollen," Draco claims, though everyone knows it was too much Ogden's after Puddlemere beat the Tornados 240-230.

This is truly a masterclass in short form, I think I hadn’t read a short fic so gorgeously written since Still Life. Fwoosh took my breath away with the precise choice of words, the subtle way the scenes blend into each other, the sinful smut full of sharp want, the smooth pacing and fabulous dialogue including delicious dirty talk and beautiful punchlines.

The Long Fall by @tackytigerfic (Mature, 3.6k)

It's supposed to be a simple house renovation, and maybe it's just the paint fumes, but Harry is feeling dizzy around Draco Malfoy. And what's the real meaning of family, anyway?

One of my favorite comfort fics, I’ve reread this more times than I can count. Tacky captures romance, wistful pining and the sense of belonging like no one else, I was moved by this devastatingly realistic portrait of married and parenting life. Sensitive, brutally honest and so very tender, this story hits right in the feels - it’s a pleasure to follow every exciting step of this big adventure Harry and Draco get to share.

Two Starts, One Finish by @lqtraintracks (Explicit, 5.4k)

I feel him before I see him. Nobody stands this close to me while I’m playing, and I’m about to turn to tell him so when he says, “You’re a tough bloke to track down,” and then leans against my baby grand.

When I first read this fic I did it three times in a row. I was so charmed and moved by this particular brand of angst: the gentle wistfulness of Draco’s voice, his yearning for Harry, their quiet domestic life and their intense chemistry made my heart burst. Lqt develops their emotional arc through the passage of time with precision and heart - nothing feels rushed, dragged or unimportant. One of the most romantic fics I’ve read this year.

Inside These Walls by @jackvbriefs (Mature, 5.6k)

The year before Draco moves to Los Angeles, Harry Potter disappears. Draco doesn't mean to find him. He's just doing his job.

This fic has one of my favorite premises ever, so creative! The roller blade magic blew my mind and I was obsessed with the intriguing atmosphere and the tension build up. Delicious eerie vibes mixed with an unusual setting, a dark mystery surrounding Harry’s job and his oh so casual sexy display of power, yes please. This suspense is a feast to the senses and will leave you at the edge of your seat until the last line, craving for more.

heavy by @onbeinganangel (Explicit, 6.5k)

Potter isn’t nearly as slick as he thinks he is, is all Draco can think about through the alcohol haze and the dizzying atmosphere of the club. He really, really isn’t. Potter is across the club, surrounded by his usual entourage, looking at Draco when he thinks Draco isn’t looking back.

There’s something to be said about a BDSM fic featured on this reclist as I rarely read this kind of smut. Trust Mari to turn my world upside down with one of the most touching love stories ever. This conflicted Draco and his devotion to Harry -subverting the D/s dynamics we usually see- caught me off guard and made my heart ache for this hot, tenderly vulnerable and unapologetic kink exploration delight.

The Other Cottage by @corvuscrowned (Teen and Up, 6.5k)

If Pansy wasn’t shagging Ginny Weasley, Draco would never have been dragged to Luna’s ridiculous Halloween party in the first place - meaning he wouldn't be sitting in the corner of the room with Harry Potter all night.

One word: chills! Yet another mind blowing suspense, this fic gave me palpitations - the smooth and clever narrative builds a disturbing atmosphere, the creepy sense of unease looming over our heads while watching a tender romance unfold. Crazy, right? Such skill! Really creative concept and a jaw dropping ending, this one is a banger.

A Grey Shrike Alighted upon my Wishbone by @opalesqueopioid (Explicit, 7k)

Cursed to forget everything about Harry Potter, Draco has to kill if he wants a cure.

Gosh, this stunning fic wrecked my heart and soul with its quiet devastation, gorgeous prose and brilliant execution of a quite unique suds concept. Draco’s sharp personality took my breath away and I was equally undone by Harry’s sweet longing, the back-and-forth banter and the raw, inevitable heartbreak. Here’s a poignant portrait of a collapsing relationship, the best pick for angsty days.

Merlin's Kitchen by @writcraft (Explicit, 12k)

Merlin’s Kitchen is a shit nightclub but having sex with Harry Potter might improve things.

Everything by Writcraft has the heart kick factor for me, as if especially crafted to meet my tastes. This sexy clubbing fic has a delicious lively pub atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re right there, watching a carefree and smooth Harry charm Draco with his openness, and be charmed back. Fabulous characterization and gorgeous dialogue, with a mature tone that gives it a thrilling sense of intimacy and promise.

The Virtues of Hygiene and the Binary of Labour by @piarelei (Explicit, 14k)

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487 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

It’s fascinating how some people dismiss smut as something frivolous, vain, lacking substance and therefore value. To be clear, sex is not (and should never be seen as) mandatory in fic, and I feel heartbroken that some authors think they need to include it in order to have their work read or appreciated.

But in my opinion PWPs can be just as deep, nuanced, evocative and narratively powerful as any other story. In fact, they make for excellent character studies and can get you inside a character’s mind in a very particular way. And smut scenes in long fics can be just as useful as narrative tools, often translating dynamics too complex to be explored otherwise. Plus, they’re great for sad horny nights 😔🙌

1,849 notes - Posted March 31, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[seijorhi]

rhi i have been rereading your fics literally everyday since 2021…

you have changed my life fr. like you write the characters so so so fucking well. i feel like its kind of difficult to connect to other people’s version of a certain character but somehow you’re always spot on with my idea of these characters. you are my fav tumblr author and i adore your fics like precious jewels. i hope you’re having an amazing weekend. sending much love <33

FAVE AUTHOR??? AH MY LOVE YOU'RE SO SWEET VJHFHDJKJHVFDJS

i feel like most of my readers come and go, with very few sticking around for the long haul so getting a message like this makes me so soft and happy?? i love you.

i'm extremely critical of my own writing, but i like to think that if nothing else, characterisation is my strong point. it's hard when you're balancing characters who in canon are generally good people (at least in haikyuu's case. tokrev.... it depends ghfjdkjhfjds) with a much darker take without completely removing them from who they are at their core. but it's also one of my fave things about writing dark fics haha.

but it is nice to hear that you guys are on board with it!

[snake-and-mouse]

What's your Top 5 shows of 2021-current?

Alright this feels like having to write a fucking dissertation and I'm really bad at picking faves but I'm gunna try not to overthink it 😂 let's go with finished shows I've seen all of to make it a little easier, and I haven't included shows like the untamed and word of honor cuz there's the whole novel vs adaptation thing muddying the water lol, and let's be honest mxtx owns my ass so that's always a given when asking my favourites

Cherry magic. This one is non-negotiable. Cherry magic will always be my favourite forever eternal comfort watch. I literally watch it whenever I need a pick me up and my mood completely turns around the moment I get to see Adachi walk into that office and eat shit again ❤

Not me. It has it's flaws but the twins will always have a special place in my heart (derogatory) and I honestly don't think I will ever go that batshit over a ship the way I did for danyok. Plus the gender vibes? IMPECCABLE. I literally got new glasses because White and I totally copy some of their outfits.

Kinnporsche. Do I even need to say it? This will become an actual essay if I try and explain.

Hospital playlist. Very very straight media for my tastes but it's so wholesome and feelsy and it genuinely makes me tear up, not to mention the "playlist" is genuinely SO GOOD.

Old fashioned cupcake. A new favourite but definitely a forever fave. So comforting and post quarantine it has SO many messages people need to hear. Plus I started eating strawberry pancakes for breakfast thanks to this show and that's like a holy grail.

Honourable mention for extraordinary attorney woo which I will most likely decide is a top 5 or 10 once it's finished lol

[bookshelfdreams]

I posted 2,492 times in 2022

That's 419 more posts than 2021!

422 posts created (17%)

2,070 posts reblogged (83%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@swords-n-spindles

@mikimeiko

@bookshelfdreams

@snake-snack-stede

@knowlesian

I tagged 2,449 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#our flag means death - 1,010 posts

#esc - 340 posts

#message - 101 posts

#crafts - 101 posts

#thoughts - 74 posts

#ofmd reader - 68 posts

#german stuff - 51 posts

#!!!! - 47 posts

#anonymaus - 41 posts

#fic - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#baby. theres spinning wheels for over 1000€ what makes you think you're gonna be met with thousands of ppl starved for things they can buy

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

random ofmd thought: I love that Stede is so cringe.

He's just. Awkward. Ridiculous. Unapologetically weird at all times and he never gets any cooler. Every episode has at least one Stede moment that causes me physical pain and I love that.

Because usually, if a character is this embarrassing, their arc is about learning to be less so, to be like anyone else, to be more normal, and Stede never does. He learns to be more confident, yes, but he never stops unapologetically being his awkward self, and that's so good to see? He's fine the way he is? He doesn't have to become less himself, he just has to learn how to own it better and that's so healing to see

2,133 notes - Posted May 14, 2022

#4

ofmd reader

aka Holy Shit Everyone In This Fandom Is The Smartest Person On Earth

aka a collection of my favourite meta, feel free to add your own faves!

(note that most of these don't actually have titles, I just tried my best to sum up the contents)

✬ On masculinity in ofmd by @edwardsilkheart

✬ The different genres various characters are in, and how they clash and synthesize by @fuckyeahisawthat (THIS is required reading and the reason this show works so well, all these different & contrasting flavours combined into something truly delicious. If you read nothing else on this list, read this)

✬ yk that Stede didn't actually have an evil plan to leave Ed all along right by @polyamoryprincess (on what really happened in Stede's head that night)

✬ these two posts by @mikimeiko about Ed and the mortifying ordeal of being known

✬ How does Ed like his eggs? by @forpiratereasons (on mirroring, learning how to be yourself and self-acceptance as the path to true love)

✬ Listen, I know everyone and their mother disliked Ed without the beard but I actually loved it. by @ruletogether

✬ Izzy Hands and the tenderness of violence, directed at him but not perpetuated by him by @ellicler with additional tags from @knowlesian

✬ Another one about Izzy, internalized homophobia, and subtextual queerness by @knowlesian

✬ The thing that ACTUALLY made Stede run away by @quillyfied

✬ Ed and the language of face-touching by @amuseoffyre

✬ anachronistinc costume design as a sotrytelling device by @ambassadorquark

✬ The Bathtub Scene (analyzing Ed's body language) by @orangechickenpillow plus this follow-up. I also recommend their post on clothes sharing

✬ beard media by @all-chickens-are-trans

4,851 notes - Posted April 11, 2022

#3

Crocheted Important Blue Internet Checkmark. Because why the fuck not.

(Pattern under the cut)

See the full post

4,982 notes - Posted November 11, 2022

#2

A brief conversation I had with @mikimeiko on their lovely meta about the motive of loss and abandonment made me think about miscommunication some more, and how horrible Calico Jack was to Stede.

When Stede meets Calico Jack for the first time this is what he says to him:

Who's the big gal?

Off to a terrible start, and it only goes downhill from there.

As others have pointed out, this is a very mean thing to say in general and absolutely unacceptable to say to a queer man in particular, and Ed knows that. He's trying to do damage control

See the full post

7,364 notes - Posted April 13, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

oh but I adore how everyone in this stupid pirate show is just a guy

I haven't seen ppl talk about it much but. the absolute lack of shredded abs. people show tummy and cleavage and there's not the barest hint of muscle definition anywhere

obviously some of them are very fit but it never leaves "works a physically demanding job and happens to be naturally thin" territory

and guys are fat! guys have bellies and rounded shoulders and chubby cheeks and imperfect teeth and thinning hair and are styled weirdly (that's a whole different post but the crew especially look so unprofessional styled it's great)

and they are still all hot! they are hot and desirable and find each other hot and desirable and I love that

I love to see it! nobody in this show looks like they had a personal trainer. and not just the side characters, not just a token fat guy - obv Taika Waititi is the most beautiful man you've ever seen and that little bit of tummy pudge spilling out of his crop top made us all lose our collective minds. but it's everyone else too; and it's not the extend of it either. no other show would have let black pete within 10 feet of a romance arc, much less been this sweet and sincere about it

this show is so comfortable with the human body in all it's glorious imperfection and I am in love with it

29,716 notes - Posted April 3, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[northerngoshawk]

📥, 😈, 👩‍🏭? for the fanfic asks yes

thanks for the ask peaches!

📥 What is your fave fic to receive comments/messages on?

honestly, if you had asked me this a year ago, i would've said my Katara-centric fic teach me how to live my life (because I can't remember how). it was definitely a fic that's close to my heart, and it always makes me so... happy, i guess is the word, that this fic makes others feel seen and heard. that was the very reason i wrote that fic, and i'm glad people enjoy it 🥺

now? i would have to say maybe The Dishonored Blade. it's a fic that i definitely know no one (except for me) wanted to read, and that's why i wrote it. and even though i knew no one would read it... for some reason, i remember feeling really proud of myself for writing it. but since no one ever read it or left comments/kudos, it just slowly faded into the background as an "oh yeah, i did write that" fic.

it wasn't until @chocomd's absolutely amazing comment that i stepped back and really appreciated what i've written. in her comment, choco said that it was probably my best writing yet, and honestly? i'd have to agree with her. not only for the characterizations of Aang and Zuko, but also the way the themes had been entwined so naturally into this story that it almost feels unreal to me. like, i can't believe i wrote that.

lowkey do wish i had more engagement on that fic, but as far as what kind of fic it is, i'm just happy i even got engagement 🤷‍♀️

😈 Is there anything you enjoy doing that you think your readers hate?

killing Aang, or at least maiming him. over and over and over again

which, spoiler, may or may not be the plotline of a fic idea

👩‍🏭 If one of your fics was going to get you arrested, which one and why?

uhhhhh definitely one of my whump/mcd fics. there are several.

the most likely one i can think of is No Air, which i wrote for whumptober 2021 prompt: choking.

but again. there are several.

fanfic ask game (the movie, the sequel)