#was So specific and so Few that quite literally only 10 to 20% of others could even come close to measuring up

[sirenthatmakesyouwantcake]

these are my thoughts on interview with the vampire episode 5 season 2

I've heard a few things about this episode, I've been really wanting to watch it just havent had had the time yet. I've also heard that they don't actually unpack any of it.which seems pretty on brand for them

(6:10) Sometimes, ii think i have bad handwriting, but then there’s daniel’s, which makes my feel a lot better about my own

(7:52) definitely gay (8:11) definitely

This whole interview is just a who can be the sassiest and most insane old gay guy possible

(9:46) daniel is like that one fall out boy song, he spent an entire decade high and doesn't remember any of it (or that he is gay)

(10:04) i like how they had him standing at the window, it's a nice touch

(12:53) if i just found out that vampires are real, i think i would be pretty fucking afraide too

I've been painting my nails while watching and ended up skipping on of my nails

(13:35) that was perfect, it was so close to quoting the book, it was good enough that i even recognised it before i even looked up the first few pages

(16:03) I like this louis more than the other few, he’s so much more fun and happy instead of seeming like he only sort of wanted to be there.

(17:18) it's no wonder he doesn't remember the first interview, he looks like he could barely stand if he wanted to

(22:55) 70’s armand is millennial grey

(24:21) i think someone is a little jealous (another weirdly spelled word) ((25:19) and the other one is schizophrenia), i also think two someones need to go the marriage therapy

(26:16) well that took quite a turn, and i think its shows their relationship well, how even thought why both had just yelled at each other, armand still saved him right away, and then, though i haven't gotten there yet, i assume that armand made him forget how bad it hurt, (38:22), i take parts of that back, armand basically torched him, they really do need therapy, i'm surprised they didn't end up killing each other in the time between the interviews

(29:23) poor daniel got caught in the middle of their messed up relationship

(30:01) for some reason, i thought the guy in the bag was daniel, and somehow he was revived and turned into a vampire, i clearly didn't think this through much because now that i'm thinking about it again, there in no way that would have worked

Armand is supposed to look 17, he looks 20 or so, i know his actor is somewhere in his 20’s and he did play him well, i don't think they could have done the show the same way if he was played by a younger actor.

(38:22) about time

(45:31) louis is quite a jump scare when the rest of your room is dark and quite

(51:01) once again, not talking about the problems

OTHER

I really like how both daniel’s had similar voices, specifically the gravely (i think that's the right word) parts

Conclusion of this episode: maybe all four of them could use some therapy or atleast to talk to each other and work out their problems (the last part doesn't really apply to lestat, he was not part of the sort of ok guys, not good guys, i don't think any of them really qualify as good guys except daniel, he was just caught up in everything)

This episode really put their relationship through it but i think it may have helped parts of it as well, maybe if armand and louis could actually talk they could have a better relationship that isn't just hanging off a cliff

@certainunkownlove2 was telling me about this post and i think all of you need to read it, he is so wonderful for this

Thank you for reading, now it is time for me to rest (literally speaking, it's late and i'm tired)

other episodes

S2E1 S2E2 S2E3 S2E4 S2E6

[slavic-roots-western-mind]

Life in China Observations #4

It's been a while since I last did this, so let's go again!

Identity is complicated The question "where are you from" can be just as complicated as it is simple. For many people, their country of birth is where they're from, which is usually the case here. However, if you happen to be born in country A to parents from cultures B and C, immigrated and became a citizen of country D and now attend university in country E and are now on an exchange program in China, the question "where are you from" is not that easily answered. From what some of my friends told me, where you're from is actually the place where your dad was born in even though you may have been born in a different city which is a pretty interesting concept known as the "ancestral home" - 祖籍 (zǔjí) or 籍贯 (jígùan).

You have to make the first step I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but people are constantly doing something and unless you specifically and intentionally reach out and work on your friendship, you may end up drifting apart. Maybe this is a specific thing, but back home I could go a few weeks without really reaching out to my friends and then someone would suggest grabbing lunch together and it would be like no time had passed at all since we last saw each other. Here? Quite different.

Beauty and pop trends There are all sorts of weird and wonderful trends that you can come across in China. From using bread as a study tactic to decorating your workplace with banana plants, I feel like the more I assimilate here, the bigger the reverse culture shock will be when I go back home, and not just for me. dr.candiselin covers some of these trends on Instagram (not a promo post!), and I recommend checking out her content, it's quite brilliant.

Taobao You can buy anything on taobao. Literally. I saw someone selling a house there. I was previously a little shocked to see animals such as cats and bunnies being sold, but after seeing houses and cars being sold I honestly don't know what else is there to surprise me with.

Prepare in advance (foodwise) for the lunar new year During those 8-12ish days during the holdiays a lot of stores were closed. The convenience store outside my campus was open thank God, because otherwise I would have been living on instant porridge and instant soup which was my main food source 2 weeks prior due to being ill and there is only so much instant oatmeal that you can eat before slightly losing it.

Being ill is a nightmare And I mean the mandatory-bed-rest-no-going-out-for-at-least-5-days ill kind. You need to go to the hospital or a clinic to get a note to give to your school otherwise the day's you're absent will be counted, and once they reach a specific percentage you won't be allowed to take the exam (which can seriously mess with your grades, even more if you're there as an exchange student).

The weather can change at the blink of an eye I remember back in December the weather was in the negative digits and then suddenly the next day it was around 20 celcius?? The very next day it went to 3-4, and even now in March it's very all over the place. The weather forecast is not that useful because I'll leave the dorms wearing my coat in the morning only to return carrying my coat, jumper, long-sleeved shirt and wearing only my t-shirt.

More affordable beauty products I saw some products go for around $80 online?? And here on Taobao they cost under $10? I'm assuming it's the shipping costs that drive up the price so drastically, and now I'm pondering whether it would be cheaper to order online or to travel to China every couple of years just to stock up on beauty products.

[bonesandthebees]

If u wanna talk more about the tntduo detective au I am ALL ears 👀👀👀 but also totally understand if u wanna keep it a secret for now hehehe

honestly I have no idea where I'm going with it so I'll throw it to the wind and let you guys chew on it while I let it simmer lol

so basically I started watching true detective: night country the other night with my mom and I immediately got inspired (I have not seen the first season of true detective although I really want to watch it now and hopefully will soon). also, I've always had a fascination with the polar nights phenomena. I've gone on wikipedia binges before reading about Utquiagvik (the Alaskan town I'm fairly sure the town in true detective s4 is based off of) which experiences polar night for roughly two months or so, and I've also gotten a few videos in my Youtube recommended from a youtuber who lives in Svalbard which experiences polar night for nearly three months. so suffice to say the concept of a several month long night has intrigued me for a while, and finding a show literally set during that multi-month nighttime immediately piqued my interest.

and when I watch really fun things I usually get the urge to write something in the same genre. originally I thought about a crimeboys detective duo fic, but then I was like wait has anyone done tntduo as detective partners? because I know there's crimeboys detective fics out there but I don't know if I've seen many of them for tntduo. and I realized that would just be a very fun dynamic for the two of them.

so grizzled small town detective partners tntduo who bicker like an old married couple, seem to have a lot of shit in their past between them, work incredibly well together and bounce off of each other perfectly during investigations, and also have the kind of tension where no one else in the room with them can tell if they want to punch each other or make out just felt like the perfect vibe to dig into. all set against the backdrop of a frigid arctic circle town that's in the midst of a 2 month long night. and then someone gets murdered.

so this post doesn't get too long I'll talk more about the specifics of the au under the cut

so tbh this idea while it is tntduo /r, it wouldn't be that focused on that and more focused on the murder investigation going on. besides our two overly tired small town detectives that definitely aren't repressing any feelings towards each other, we have several other characters going about their lives as well! of course tommy is there. he's a junior officer who only joined the police force a year before the start of the story (also, yes I'm very acab when it comes to real life but I just wanna write one of those stereotypical murder investigation stories man).

anyway, tommy is only 20 and his dad, phil, was part of the force for most of tommy's life. once he turned 18 though phil quit because he'd always hated the institution of police (and government in general) (although like wilbur he was a detective) but wanted to have a stable job to keep his kid supported. phil was... not thrilled in tommy's career choice, but who is he to protest?

phil mentored wilbur during his early years in the force, and in turn wilbur mentors tommy. he's trying to teach him how to think like an investigator, and will often ask him questions to get his brain turning pieces of evidence over and try to get him to look at situations in different ways.

since quitting and getting that sweet sweet government retirement money, phil pretty much spends all his time at his bestie techno's place. techno is the town hermit who lives on the outskirts. he also breeds sled dogs (not formally he just has a lot of dogs since people need them in that kind of weather) and usually has 10 huskies at a time running around his cabin. techno might also be a retired eco-terrorist but wilbur knows not to ask too many questions about that and quackity is scared of techno so he's definitely not gonna bring it up.

niki is a phd student from germany working at the nearby arctic research station for her dissertation. she focuses a lot of her studies on climate change and all that. she and wilbur are best friends and has heard way too many drunken ramblings about quackity.

jack manifold is one of tommy's best friends and works at the oil fields that employ most of the town. he's trying to get placed onto a proper oil rig out in the ocean at some point since those jobs pay really well. he's friends with niki too, although his job and her research certainly cause a bit of contention between them.

tubbo is another best friend of tommy's. he's born and raised in the arctic town but he went off to a prestigious uni down south to get a nuclear engineering degree so he's not really around for the most part

sam oversees and manages all the oil pumps and makes sure things are running smoothly. and in turn, schlatt owns the oil fields. he and quackity have, uh, a history.

and lastly, ranboo is an intern at the research station that niki is doing her dissertation work at. they're also close friends with tommy, although wilbur and quackity both have only met them a few times. the whole story kicks off when they go missing one day, only to be found dead outside in the frigid temperatures within a few hours. that's when the mystery kicks off against the backdrop of a nearly three month long night :)

anyway I do have the overarching mystery figured out, but it's the actual specific plotting bit i'm struggling with. I really don't want to write the entire investigation but also I don't wanna just write a single scene bc theres so much going on in this universe I wanna show arghhhh. and also I love slowburn and I think the really weird tense dynamic tntduo have in this would be so intriguing with that layered on top of it. just arghhhh motivation and time.

hope you enjoyed learning about my brainrot over the past few days lol I already made a playlist for this fic even though I don't think I'm gonna write it it's so joever for me

[shadowsingercassia]

100 followers celebration!!

Firstly I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH!! 🥹💕

So since I have been writing so much angst, I will list some of my personal favorite fluff and smut drabble prompts (and writing them so feel free to send me the number of the prompt in my inbox with the character you want!) (You can also use them, just ask me first!)

You can send me aa many prompts as you'd like (personally I would prefer no more than three prompts at a time but it doesn't really matter!)

Fandoms I usually write for (and also will write for in these dribbles and in my fics):

Acotar 🩵

Throne of Glass 💚

A few extra fandoms I will write for (but only for these drabbles sorryy) because I think I should get out of my comfort zone:

Cruel Prince 💛

Aren Kertell from the Bridge Kingdom 🤍 (because I absolutely loved the Bridge Kingdom books and my man needs more fics about him)

Fourth Wing 🖤

Characters can be both female and male I don't mind it!

So, let's get into the prompts (quotes and prompts that just make my heart melt, some of them are quite long sorryyy):

Fluff:

1.A soft first kiss and then both character and reader are giggling and smiling uncontrollably

2. Character taking care of the reader's minor injury (ex. a tiny papercut) and making it a huge deal

3. Watching the stars with the other in comfortable silence and then one says "the stars are beautiful aren't they?" and the other replies with "they are," but they are looking at them.

4. Baking together

5. "You're adorable"

6. The one is sick and the other is denying them a kiss so they will pout and the other will give them a peck on the forehead

7. Cuddling with one another and one asks silly questions (riddle-like questions) and the other chuckles and tells them to go to sleep

8. Kissing the other all over their face

9. Dancing barefoot in the kitchen

10. Walking with their fingers entwined

11. A glass of wine after a hard day (either smiling at each other while wrapped in comfortable silence or while telling each other about their day)

12. Holding hands under the table in a meeting

13. Waking up next to each other and then giving lazy kisses

14. Character giving a piece of jewelry that maybe was their mother's or generally a person who they love

15. Reading date

16. Bringing coffee/tea to the other and the other being VERY specific about what type of coffee/tea (ex. EXACTLY one and a half tablespoons of sugar)

17. Reader being bloody, having just murdered someone in front of character and the other just says "You're beautiful"

18. Character going to the market and getting reader something they know they like

19. Playing the piano for one (most people might say this is inspired by throne of glass but actually it's just because i used to play the piano as a child and i need a fic like this)

20. 👆 Teaching the other how to play some basic things on the piano

21. Character bringing reader something that reminds the character of reader

22. Playing chess (with slightly twisted rules, ex. if one loses a piece they have to kiss the other)

23. "You have a beautiful smile"/"Your smile is my favorite sight in the world

24. Character obsessing over every little thing reader does

25. Reader/character staring at reader/character as the light of the setting sun hits their face

Smut:

26. Character is injured, badly and they are healing but they are also horny so they say to the reader "touch yourself for me"

27. "Show me how to touch you"

28. NEEDY character but them and the reader are literal enemies, so character touches themselves (from character's pov)

29. "Give me another one, darling, you can do it" (overstimulation)

30. Character with size kink

31. Nearly dying together and then just character coming into reader's room and confesses leading into character fucking reader

32. Eating you out very slowly and the moment reader's hands tangle into their hair, they just... lose control

33. Hate-fuck

34. Reunion fuck

35. Jealous fuck

36. "Keep reading, love" while fingering you in their lap

37. Reader riding character on the library chair

38. Sparring, one person pinning the other to the sparring mat and well you know the rest

39. Kissing your scars turning into something more heated

40. Only reader could make character kneel

41. "Can you help me with the dress" reader says and the character goes and helps "Up, character"

42. The classic "Shut up" "Make me"

43. Lazy morning sex (I want to write this so badly for some reason)

44. "Mm, how about you show me, then?"

45. "Just... fuck me like you mean it. Pretend." "Oh, darling, I don't have to pretend with you." (The pretend part always reminds me of Kai and Paedyn)

46. Reader being on top and taking control because why not?

47. 👆 "I'm supposed to be pleasuring you"

48. Under the stars (this idea has been stuck in my head)

49. On the piano (but the lid is closed don't worry)

50. Reader having to seduce the character as part of their mission

Whoever thought there would be no angst... think twice.

(Claim your free tissues)

Now...

ANGST:

51. "You've changed so much"

52. "Why didn't you answer my letters?" "You sent me letters?"

53. Death (not specifying who, but I have the ideas in my mind so...)

54. Neglectful relationship

55. One getting the blame for something the other had done so they would take the punishment to protect the other and then the other is forced to watch

56. "No, no, no, no- stay with- stay with me! Please! Stay with me!" "It's alright... everything will be fine..." "Please, stay with me! Dont- don't close your eyes, damn it don't close your eyes-"

57. Bringing them flowers (but with a twist)

58. Both are in their knees, foreheads pressed against one another, character's hands cupping reader's face and reader's hands are grabbing character's wrists (angst twist after (i want to write this so badly!!))

59. Screaming their name while badly injured

60. Character/reader thinking they're not good enough for character/reader so they try to go away but the other begs them to stay

61. Hallucinating them

62. Character/reader insecure about their scars

63. "You lied to me!" And then the other looking down like REALLY guilty "Look at me, look me in the eye and tell me it was all a lie. That your love was a lie"

64. "And you want to know the worst part of this? I still love you"

65. "What happened, what did they do to you?" "Please, don't make me tell you"

66. "It hurts-"

67. "Tell me where it hurts"

68. Character/reader finding character/reader crying (they see them cry for the first time)

69. "Show me how to love you"

70. Death version two (I had two ideas with this)

~

Thats it, so feel free to mix and match prompts from different categories!! (Also I made the angst a bit less because I mostly want to focus on the fluff and smut and take a small break from all the angst (although I'm still editing two angst fics))

Also this will be a separate masterlist that I will post later and update it as I write!

Prompts that are crossed like this means that I have already written them

Love, Cassia ❤️

[wonjinburger]

writing prompt #04

bumping into each other as solo travelers ; park sunghoon

태양보다 찬란한 . . . 그게 바로 나

INFO : : park sunghoon x reader / romcom

wc : <1600

notes : this was lowkey rushed bcs i had an idea at 12am but i had to go sleep but i couldn't risk losing the idea

20 JANUARY 2023 : :

2:04 - it's currently 2am and i've just landed in paris, and i'm now heading to my hotel room to take a long ass nap.

13:12 - jk the nap lasted from around 11 hours. now it's 1pm and i'm going to go out for lunch. i've heard a lot of good word about a specific cafe so i'm gonna go try it out!

13:37 - the weirdest things just happened what the fuck? i bumped into this guy, who was really hot btw, by accident. obviously i apologized for it like a normal person but he just scoffed at me and left?? thanks for that random stranger.

23 JANUARY 2023 : :

12:02 - i just had a quick snack and i'm currently on the train to versailles, i wanted to have a quick look at all the beautiful architecture. i find versailles to be such a romantic and beautiful place lol

12:28 - i've arrived at versailles! i have a tour booked for today at 1pm, so i guess i'll walk around versailles for now.

13:13 - no fucking way, the guy i bumped into a few days ago is here too, like, in the same tour group as me. i said hi and he basically looked at me weird and left me standing. thank god idk this guy and i'll never see him again, he seems like an ass.

14 APRIL 2023 : :

10:16 - hi journal, today i'm in the netherlands, i heard about the keukenhof tulip garden and of course i had to come here. i just had breakfast at the hotel i'm staying in and i'm about to head out to the garden to see all the pretty flowers!

11:11 - THE GARDEN IS SO PRETTY OMG BUT THAT EXPERIENCE WAS LOWKEY RUINED. by who you may ask? by FUCKING FRANCE DUDE?? WHY IS HE EVERYWHERE???? like i was taking photos of the pretty flowers and boom, suddenly i see him through the lens of my camera, please get this guy out of my life

11 MAY 2023 : :

00:01 - i have finally done one of the things off my bucket list, and that is to visit switzerland! i always saw tiktoks and photos of the amazing view and obviously i had to come see for myself, but it's 12am rn and i am really tired so i'm gonna go sleep, then i'll explore in the morning

11:42 - okay i woke up a few minutes ago which is quite late, but i'm gonna go down to the hotel's cafeteria and have some brunch before i explore the town

4:51 - hi this isn't funny anymore, i literally just set foot into an eatery near one of the places i was visiting and i see france dude, AGAIN. can he just get out of my life atp please, i'm so sick of seeing his annoying (but ig good-looking) face. AND WHY IS THE ONLY AVAILABLE SEAT LIKE NEXT TO HIS TABLE???

-- (☆)

i'm going back home to korea today, i think i've been travelling way too much, so i'm going to go home and rest up and spend time with my family and some friends.

i boarded the plane and by that point it was 11pm and i was honestly drained. i spent a whole day exploring the more nature-y side of switzerland and the view definitely did not disappoint.

i sat myself down in my assigned seat and was so ready to fall asleep at this point. a guy walked over and sat next to me, and i bet you won't be able to figure out who was gonna be my plane seatmate for almost 12 hours. yeah it was france guy. he seemed pretty surprised to see me too i think.

after he sat himself down next to me, he looked at me, maybe i was staring too hard.. "hey" i looked at him, question marks practically all over my forehead. "can you stop staring at me" i scoffed at him, this guy is ridiculous!

the plane took off a few minutes later and i was starting to doze off, and unfortunately for me i left my neck pillow in my luggage by accident, so my head was dropping left and right.

i suddenly woke up and it felt like i was lying against something? i sat upright to see what i had been sleeping on, and it was france dude? he woke up when he felt me getting up. "you're finally up, my shoulder feels like it's about to dislocate"

'okay sorry for accidentally sleeping on your shoulder but like, rude much'

"oh shit, i'm so sorry. i left my neck pillow in my luggage and i think i just passed out suddenly" he scoffed and i was so close to losing my shit not gonna lie. but the next moment, he handed me his neck pillow and i looked at him while holding the neck pillow. "just use it, i'd rather you use my stuff than you use me" damn okay stranger. "oh, thanks?" and soon he attempted to go back to sleep.

it was currently 8:59am, which meant we still had probably less than 2 hours left of this plane ride, and i was thanking heavens because 12 hours next to this guy would've been hell if i weren't fast asleep.

france guy was moving around in his seat and i assumed he couldn't fall back asleep. i tapped on his shoulders a little to get his attention "hey, you can have your neck pillow back, seems like you can't sleep, and i'm pretty energized right now" he looked at me and sighed "it's fine, i'll just give up on going back to sleep".

after that it was pure silence. and i couldn't stand it so of course i had to open my big ass mouth.

"so.. you travel a lot?" he nodded his gaze fixed on his phone. "alone?" he nodded again still focusing on his screen. damn talking to this guy is so hard. let's bring up the past! "you remember the first time we met?" he finally looked at me. "we've met?" are you fucking serious right now.

"i bumped into you on accident in paris back in january?" he thought about it for a second before replying. "oh! i remember now, you bumped into me and almost spilt your hot coffee all over me" "hey! it almost spilt on me too okay, and i apologized for it" he shrugged it off and went back on his phone.

"you know, i kept seeing you around while i was travelling and at some point i thought you were stalking me" he looked back at me again, his eyebrows furrowed this time. "what the fuck why would i stalk you, i don't even know you?" "it happens sometimes" "hey, for all i know you could be the one stalking me right now" i was taken aback, speechless, i can't handle this guy oh my god.

"you know, your looks and personality clash a lot" he gave me a look that said 'wtf do you mean'. "you're a good-looking guy, like, i'd definitely date you if your personality was nicer" he stared at me for a while and chuckled a little. "for your information i have a great personality" "it sure doesn't seem that way" he scoffed and put his phone down before looking me in the eyes.

"i'm nice to people i'm close to, last i checked, we don't even know each other." "maybe we can change that" he looked shocked by what i said. honestly i'm shocked too, but i mean, he's pretty hot, it would be a wasted chance.

"you want us to get close?" i nodded. "you're ridiculous lady" i rested my head in the palm of my hands as i kept eye contact with him "it's y/n, lee y/n. and you are?" he looked at me in disbelief for a while. "i can't believe this is happening." he let out a deep and heavy sigh before introducing himself. "i'm park sunghoon."

"nice to meet you sunghoon. oh, i was gonna ask if you were korean, but your name just confirmed it for me" "are you heading home right now?" i nodded to his question. "homesick?" he asked, and i nodded. it seemed like he was feeling homesick too. "maybe we should hangout sometime while we're in korea" i blurted out suddenly, to my surprise he didn't oppose of this idea.

i then pushed my phone towards him, "can i have your number then?" he looked at my phone, then at me. "are you hitting on me?" i don't know, was i? i mean, i am interested in him, so i guess? "yeah i am, so what do you say, can i have your number? and maybe we can go out sometime and maybe even travel together?" he stared at me in shock, but his reply lowkey shocked me too.

"sure, let's go on a date soon"

[annierosaart]

Ask game:

Fandom: RWBY 3, 19; Arknights 13, 15, 16.

Ship: FiaExu 10, 16; TexLapp 1, 9

Character: Exusiai 5, 7; Gavial 17, 20

Forgot to answer, my bad!

RWBY:

3 - ...which scene I would like to erase from the universe and why.

Weiss getting stabbed so Jaune could unlock his semblance. Yeah.

19 - ...one behind-the-scenes trivia fact I've learned somewhere and my thoughts on it.

from the Volume 9 commentary. get this shit away from me.

Arknights: (presume when i say fanon, i mean the queerer part of it, not the very reddit part)

13 - ...which canon or popular fanon relationship I can't stand or feel 'meh' about and why.

i've talked about how on the best of days i'm neutral towards FiaMos, and usually just don't like it, but here's a 'hot' take specifically for the side of the fandom i'm in:

PL just. does not read as a polycule to me. for various reasons i won't get into, you can DM me about it, but i'm really just meh on it, they don't feel close in that way.

also despite loving Mumu, SaMuel as an actual thing just doesn't do much for me, soz.

15 - ...which character I would choose for the chopping block if I knew the writers wanted to kill someone.

I think one that has the potential to end up being a meaningful death would be Hoshiguma or Swire. Note that I don't dislike them, far from it, I just think the death of either would shake things up for the LGD gang's dynamics in a compelling way.

16 - ...which character's death would (or did) make me rage-quit.

knowing Outcast's fate has made it difficult for me to start catching up on Act 2, haha. but not enough to rage-quit. if i had to say... Blaze. her hypothetically dying at this point would be for cheap shock value alone.

FiaExu:

10 - ...rate the level of stupid they reach in their pining.

on a scale of "regular" to "no media literacy" in stupid... burns ramen in the microwave. hopelessly pining, thinking the other has no interest in them, when it's mutual, extremely so. like lovers exchanging sexually charged letters in the 1800s.

16 - ...three of my fic recs for this ship. And (in the event that I've written something for them) one of my fics involving them that I'm most proud of.

brother there's barely that many to begin with. but!

Birdhouse In Your Soul by burstfoot on Ao3 (and tumblr! hi @burstfoot)

The movie was a pretense to curl up on the couch with you. by inRemote on Ao3 and tumblr as well, made for me as a gift!

aaand the Arknights Drabble Collection by wolfgirlsmooches, the FiaExu sections :3

... aand of course, the one I'm most proud of?

Night Running BAYBEEEEEEE

TexLapp:

1 - ...about my absolute favorite of their scenes and why I love it so much.

a tie between the sexually charged chocolate feeding (for obvious reasons) and the truck scene. the truck scene has a place in my heart specifically because it is the most direct homage Arknights has made to Yakuza/Lika A Dragon, specifically to Majima's various truck stunts!

9 - ...what my ideal endgame for them is.

what Kiryu and Majima end up having: a bittersweet, tenuous rivalry that at the same time is lined by an understanding that only they are allowed to kill each other, no one else.

Exusiai:

5 - ...if I feel like the writers mistreat them or if the story would be better if they were taken down a peg.

please for the love of god let her participate in laterano events i'm begging on my knees it's literally her place of birth

7 - ...the scene that I think adds depth to their character or the relationship this character has with someone.

2-7 after. despite an earlier comment of Exusiai's showing she still has a lot to learn about Infected, this is one of the first... and also few examples we get of a Sankta directly sympathizing with others.

other examples of this always come from Ezell and herself, which I think is no coincidence.

the anime emphasizes this further by having her get mad on the Infected's behalf

Gavial:

17 - ...how well they'd do if they got dropped in a horror movie.

gavial is half serious, half gag character. that gag half protects her from any serious harm a horror movie villain could do to her.

20 - ...my queer headcanon for them. Unless they're canonically queer, in which case whether or not I think they're good representation or kinda badly explored.

Bisexual, demiromantic!

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Wilfred Reilly

Published: Nov 10, 2023

When your enemies tell you their goals, believe them.

Over the past three weeks, a lot of crazy sh** has been said about the Jews. Following the October 7 onset of hostilities between the nation of Israel and the terrorist group Hamas (sometimes billed as the “nation of Palestine”), a group of tens of thousands of recent migrants to Australia, university students, and others gathered in scenic downtown Sydney and quite literally chanted “Gas the Jews!” At 30–40 other large rallies, including this one in my hometown of Chicago, the cris de coeur were the just slightly less radical “From the river to the sea!” — a call for the elimination of the Jewish state of Israel — and “What is the solution? Intifada! Revolution!”

As has been documented to death by now, some 34 prominent student organizations (bizarrely including Amnesty International) at America’s third-best university, Harvard, signed on to a petition that assigned the “apartheid” state of Israel 100 percent of the blame for the current war — and indeed for the Hamas atrocities that began it. At another college, New York City’s Cooper Union, a group of Jewish students was apparently trapped inside a small campus library for hours by a braying pro-Palestinian mob. And so on.

In response to such open and gleeful hatred, more than a few conventional liberals — from comedienne Amy Schumer to the admittedly more heterodox Bill Maher — seem to have had their eyes fully opened as to who their keffiyeh-wearing “allies” truly are . . . at least when it comes specifically to Jewish people. But there is a deeper point, rarely made outside of the hard right, that lurks just beyond the mainstream’s discovery of rampant hard-left antisemitism: The same campus radicals and general hipster fauna quite regularly say worse things about a whole range of other groups than they do about Jews.

Whites — regular ol’ Caucasian Americans — represent probably the largest and most obvious such target group. As right-leaning but quite popular figures, such as the various Daily Wire personalities, are beginning to note, open hatred of white people has become something of a pillar of modern leftism. A Google search for the phrase “the problem is white men” turns up an astonishing 2,140,000,000 mostly on-point (at least as per the first 20 pages) results — including such gems as the former CNN feature piece titled “There’s Nothing More Frightening in America Today Than an Angry White Man.”

Quite prominent figures regularly say completely insane things about the suntan-challenged. Tenured Rutgers University academic “Professor Crunk” — still flatteringly described on the place’s website as an “unapologetic Black feminist” focused on “accelerating the pace of change” — recently described all Caucasians as villainous monsters on national television, and argued frankly for “taking the motherf***ers out.”

Around the same time, massively popular Wild ’N Out TV host Nick Cannon received considerable heat for some antisemitic comments he made on the air . . . but essentially none for saying that white people are “savages” and “a little less” than black people and other so-called people of color. Far further toward the true fringe, of course, the recently released written manifesto of Nashville’s Covenant Christian school shooter focused largely on hate for the white national majority. The shooter at one point actually noted “white privilege” as a motivating factor behind her murder spree.

Speaking as a conservative black man, I will note that whites hardly stand alone as a target group for modern leftist rhetoric. A few high-school scuffles aside, almost literally the only people ever to call me a “n*****” or a “coon” have been left-bloc activists — mostly white — accusing me of somehow betraying my tribe. More prominent black conservatives, such as Larry Elder, have faced Chappelle’s Show–level accusations of being “black white supremacists” and “black faces of white supremacy.” A short list of other groups that fairly regularly experience get-on-the-train-style rhetoric might include the rich (“Billionaires Shouldn’t Exist”), gender-critical women (“Punch/Kill TERFS!”), practicing traditional Christians, and in some real sense all non-Indigenous Westerners (“Decolonize NOW!”).

I recommend a radical approach to all of this facially vile speech: Sane, armed conservatives should believe what the speakers are saying, and take it seriously. At present, pervasive upper-middle-class postmodernism has significantly influenced even the Western Right, to such an extent that we regularly see serious editorialists and TV men treating things like a full soccer stadium chanting “Kill the Boer . . . kill the white farmer . . . bang bang!!!” as some sort of amusing metaphor — perhaps referencing South Africa’s ongoing spate of lawsuits over land rights.

Against this tortured reading, I — not being an idiot — suggest an alternative explanation: When intelligent adult humans say that they do not like whites, or Jews, or wealthy blacks, and want to kill them, I propose that they mean they do not like whites, or Jews, or wealthy blacks, and want to kill them. When citizens say that all American whites are privileged lairds who should lose most of the positions they currently hold, or that minorities can never be effectively racist (unless they’re conservative), or that “the only cure for past discrimination is present discrimination,” or that we need a federal Department of Antiracism with the ability to regulate every business in the U.S., or that borrowing ideas from other cultures should be socially toxic or even illegal, or that “colonizers” should be killed . . . they mean it.

So, what to do about all of this, once it is taken seriously? A simple answer would seem to be: React the way that any sane person would to an opponent saying that they hate or wish to kill him. In the wake of the pro-Hamas statements emanating not merely from Harvard but also quite a few other universities following the atrocities of October 7, many donors closed their wallets for good or emphatically threatened to — and this makes hard sense as a form of punishment. At least a dozen major firms are publicly refusing to hire students from any of the Harvard 34, and — whether you approve of this development or not — we seem to be moving toward a sort of “mutually assured destruction” re: cancel culture, which should eventually result in true free speech for all or a return to some damned manners.

All of this (and quite a bit more that is yet to come) is good, proper, and sorely overdue. A third or so of the country has been telling us exactly who they are for the past 50 years. It is long past time that we started listening to them — and responding appropriately.

==

When intelligent adult humans say that they do not like whites, or Jews, or wealthy blacks, and want to kill them, I propose that they mean they do not like whites, or Jews, or wealthy blacks, and want to kill them.

I've been saying for years: believe them when they tell you what they're up to.

There's a tendency for well-meaning people of good conscience to reinterpret the claims and demands of radical activists through their own liberal values.

Someone who agrees that racist and/or violent police officers should be identified and fired is susceptible to taking the demand for "defund the police," and moderating that into, well, they just mean put on more social workers, or maybe they could shoot them in the leg, or why are police spending so much time in predominantly black neighborhoods, all of which are stupid, cost innocent lives, and aren't what affected communities even want. Even though the activist means what they mean and screams it unapologetically.

This is comparable to religious moderates who temper their own scripture. Jesus doesn't really mean to kill your disobedient children, it's... just a metaphor? Jihad isn't really a call to war, it's just... a deep personal struggle?

This is understandable, because reasonable people don't want to be associated with insane ideas. But it doesn't change the scripture or what the fanatics want. The activists are still going to do what they're going to do, and you're going to look foolish or dishonest for saying otherwise.

It's far better to disassociate yourself from the tribalism entirely and instead say, "this is what I mean." You might get some flack from your "tribe" for not supporting them or falling into lockstep, but you'll at least be true to yourself. And maybe learn whether the tribalism was a good idea at all.

Of course, this is more difficult with religion, since what you mean is largely irrelevant to what your god wants and betrays the human-made nature of the religion and the god. That won't stop we non-believers from noticing and pointing it out, though.

Believe them when they tell you what they're up to. And then decide if you want to be a part of that.

[bratshaws]

goodness gracious 77. brb x oc

a/n: WE ARE ENTERING A NEW ERA GUYS!!! WOOOOOOOOO god IDK IF I SHOULD BE AS EXCITED AS I AM RN (jk yes i should) also I never moved in with anyone so.........uh yeah, if something is off then, you guys can tell me hah

check out the fic's playlist made by the sweet @wiipes !!

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: fluff??, Bea's brothers (esp Michael ) being a gd menace

chapters:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28/29/30/31/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42/43/44

45/46/47/48/49/50/51/52/53/54/55/56/57/58/59/60/61/62/63/64

65/66/67/68/69/70/71/72/73/74/75/76

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!!)

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2 @emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @kulicny @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads

-

It took her a few calls to Gabriella, after looking at some more houses themselves, for her to contact the person responsible for that specific place. And within a few minutes, literally less than fifteen, they got their new place. It’d be free by the time their own leases were done with, just like they planned to and they couldn’t even believe it.

That house was within their budget and it was amazing to look at. Mediterranean-esque architecture in tones of terracotta and brownish yellow, with a big driveway- and a garage - that could fit two big cars there easily. And a pool. They got a pool! How hard is it to find a good house,with a good price with a pool?? Not even her parents had a pool! Not to mention the backyard was really big as well, with a patio that could fit quite a few people - especially when it came to her family.

Both Bea and Rooster couldn’t contain their smiles, high fiving each other and then Rooster engulfed her in a bear hug without any means of letting go. The lady responsible for the house was also very happy when she found out it’d be their first house together and said that they were just a cute couple of newlyweds. Neither of them corrected her, but both of them seemed to get sheepish when she said so.

Three bedrooms with a master suite that had a balcony that looked over the backyard and had a beautiful ocean view - not front beach propriety but definitely good enough for them. They were allowed to take Jolene on the visit, the pitbull confused as to why this brand new place was so empty, but her paws clicked on the wooden floors all the way to the grassy backyard. It wouldn’t be surprising when she immediately dropped on a sunny spot and there she stayed during the whole visitation, only getting up to get back inside the Bronco.

She was so happy she completely ignored how her phone kept buzzing and pinging with messages, breaking the lip lock she and Rooster shared to tilt her head to her phone on the nightstand, “Just a second,Roos.” he moaned in disappointment, keeping his face on the crook of her neck and his arms around her waist as she stretched herself the best she could to grab her still buzzing phone.

There were a few messages there: one from Shells in all caps about how she ‘NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT MOVING IN WITH ROOSTER!!!’, one from Marcus letting her know the photos would be done by the end of the month and he’d send her some and the last ones…were from Michael. Her brother wasn’t one to send messages, he preferred calling or having a face to face conversation, so to her it was odd that he did. She noticed most of her siblings rarely texted, but especially Leo and Michael.

That was when his name, and picture, appeared on the screen, “Sorry Roos, Michael is calling.” she says, but doesn’t move his head away when he props his chin between her breasts, stretching the shirt on her bust, “Hello?”

“Hello sister, care to say why you are not at your house right now?”

Beatrice’s eyebrows furrowed, “How do you know I’m not at my house?”

“Because I’m standing in front of it like a goddamn idiot, knocking on the door and pressing the doorbell to receive no answer? Plus there’s no car in your driveway.”

“Wait, you are in Cali?”

“Yes. Didn’t anyone tell you I moved back?”

Beatrice’s eyes widened, pushing herself to a sitting position and in turn making her tall boyfriend roll to the side to give her space, “Moved back? Why? I thought you liked New York?”

“Eh, I felt like it. Plus a friend of mine offered me a job here so…I’m back home.”

“But why are you in front of my house??”

“Sheesh, can't I visit my little sister? Where are you anyway?” Beatrice opened her mouth to answer, but Michael cut her off “Ohhh, are you with Bradley, sis? I’m sooooorryyyy, I didn’t want to break you little romantic moment!”

“Michael-” her older brother, a man who was forty one years old, proceeded to make kissy sounds over the phone, much to his sister’s clear unimpressive reaction, “I stay with Brad sometimes, yes, that’s why I’m here.”

“Ohhhh, how romantic. Look at you, being married before marriage.” she didn’t know if Brad heard what he said or if her sudden intake of air made him suspicious but Michael joking about it was…clearly making something inside her turn, “Listen, Gui is helping me out with some stuff, moving shit around. I’ll see you later. Love you!!” 

“I love you too.” she hangs up the phone, seeing Rooster was now sitting against his headboard with his arms crossed and his lips tilted in a smirk, “Michael moved back to Cali.” he arches his eyebrows with surprise, “I never think he’d leave New York…but again, knowing him I shouldn’t be surprised.” he was too electric to stay in one place for too long and he was in New York for almost twenty years now.

“And he showed up at your place?” she nods, pushing herself to sit next to him against the headboard, placing her phone on top of her thighs and sighing softly, “It’s not so bad, is it? Having him back?”

“Oh no, it’s not. Michael is…a bit weird but he’s not a bad guy, you know?” she grins, her shoulders relaxing as she breathes out. Her mind going back to the new information they got earlier that day, her smile widening, “We really got a place. And it’s a pretty one.”

Bradley nods, “And it’s big.” their voices were breathy, almost dreamlike intonation because neither could really believe it was already done. He looked around his apartment, he spent quite some time there but he was happy to have a house once again, he liked this but he preferred the space a house would have. 

He’d have this week and the next one to arrange everything for the move, since half of the things came with the apartment he’d have just a few things to take care of. Imagining both of them carrying their things into the new house was probably one of his favorite things to think about right now.

It was exciting! And he knew it was a step in the right direction. He knew that this is what he wanted, and what she wanted too. It was soon compared to other people’s relationships, yes, but it felt right. “I have no idea where he’s living now, he said Gui came over to help him with the move.” Bea’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts, turning his head towards her with his eyebrow up, “God, can you imagine if he suddenly becomes my neighbor? Or…sort of neighbor since I won’t live there soon enough?”

He chuckles, leaning closer to kiss her cheek and pulling back his phone when he felt it buzzing in his back pocket, “I think we’ll figure out soon enough.” he looks down at the screen to check what it was, “Ah, Payback is asking if I want to play football with them.”

“When?”

“In a few minutes.” he smiles, “It’s been a while since we did.”

Beatrice looks back at the phone then at him, “Well, you should go.” she grins, pressing their shoulders together, “It’ll be fun! I can be your personal cheerleader.” she said it as a joke, obviously, but Rooster’s eyes left the phone’s screen to languidly rake down the side of her body, clearly imagining such a thing with a little smirk on his face.

“Is that a promise?” His voice sounded so much deeper than normal, almost like it was coming from the depths of his chest, heavy with the obvious innuendo within each syllable. Beatrice’s cheeks turned red, laughing softly before she pushed herself off the bed, Rooster’s eyes still following her as she walked into the bathroom, “You didn’t answer!” he calls by the time she disappears inside, only seeing a glimpse of her hair moving and the soft sound of her laughter.

He waited a bit before he tossed the phone to the side, walking up to the bathroom door where he leaned his shoulder against, watching Beatrice fixing her hair while looking in the mirror, watching his own reflection with a tilt of his head, “Aren’t you going to answer me? It was a genuine question.” her eyes rolled with a smile, followed by the subtle shake of her head, “You can’t do that, because now I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Beatrice just looks over her shoulder, smiles then gives him an innocent shrug, “Maybe it’ll be something to think about when we…christen the new house.” she bites her lower lip after saying it, watching by the reflection on the mirror how his eyes darkened and his form went completely rigid, only moving to step closer to her and to hug her from behind.

“Evil woman.” he coos against her ear, pressing her back flush against his front, loving how her smile immediately widened and she stopped combing her fingers through her hair, “Now I’ll never stop thinking about it.” Beatrice chuckles quietly, a little humming sound that sounded as sweetly as her giggles, “But I love you because of that.”

“Just because of that?”

“Well, it is one of the many reasons.”he says, kissing the curve of her jaw soundly, “But I’d like to have you there too. It’ll give me a moral boost.” she laughs again, lifting her hand to rub the side of his face, about to walk away but his arms around her waist prevented it.

“Roos.” she says while giggling, his arms having an iron grip around her body, she could feel him lifting her off the floor little by little, “You have to let me go.” but of course he didn’t, because why would he? Beatrice shrieked when her legs were in the air, holding tightly on Rooster’s arms to keep herself stable and not tumble forward, “Brad!”

“He said in a few hours.” was his only reasoning, dropping her back on the bed and crawling on top of her, “Which means we’ll have to celebrate how we just got ourselves a place of our own.” her cheeks reddened, by both reasons, leaning her head up to meet his lips halfway in a deep kiss that brought a soft sigh out of her. He pulls back only to lock the door and then return to his previous position on top of her.

Ever since last night, because everything was very intense and a lot of feelings were involved, something changed. Neither of them could say why, but something changed, like their connection got stronger than before. “Mm, Roos.” she calls his name in a soft whisper, arching her back just enough for his large hands to slide under her shirt and travel all the way up to the clasps of her dark red bra, fingertips barely touching the laced elastic, “I thought you said Payback told you to go there in a few minutes?”

“He can endure a bit of lateness on my part.” he answers with his lips touching the side of her neck ,”I’m sure he’ll understand.”

–

Watching Rooster running around in those jorts and shirtless was quickly becoming one of her favorite things. Not that what he did normally wasn’t her favorite already, but it brought many memories of watching him from afar like a lovestruck teenager. She’s on the seating area outside the Hard Deck, with Penny and Shells on another seat and, surprisingly but not really, Evelyn with her legs crossed by the knee on the one farthest away from them.

Every once in a while Rooster would turn his head towards her, smile and point as if to tell her to ‘pay attention’ before he got the ball. Beatrice only smiled alongside him, leaning on her hand with hearts in her eyes, watching her amazing, handsome and absolutely lovely boyfriend run around the beach with his friends.

She was so focused on Rooster she couldn’t see Shell’s shifty eyes moving to her, nor when she traded places with her aunt to sit right next to Beatrice, who suddenly felt a warmth by her side and looked to Shells with surprise, “Were you planning on, I don’t know, letting us know you were going to move in with Rooster?” oh. Oh she never replied to Shells. And her friend’s unimpressed stare was enough for her.

“Oh,I just…well, we wanted to keep it a secret until we settled everything.” she replied in an apologetic tone, smiling sheepishly at Shells’ narrowed gaze, “I was going to tell you guys,I swear…and well, now that we got the house I think it’s fair that everyone should know.”

“You guys already got a house?” Penny leans forward from behind her niece, gently pushing the pouting blonde back to the seat, “Congratulations Bea! When are you guys moving in?”

“In a few weeks,” Beatrice replies, interlacing her hands in between her thighs and inhaling with a smile,”It’s a really nice place, my cousin Gabriella helped us find it.” 

“You know what that means right?” Shells finally comes back, her lips no longer in an angry pout, “Housewarming party!”

While it was a great idea, Beatrice isn’t sure if she’d be able to do that. Especially since they were going to organize the furniture around the house and the house was very spacious. They’d only be able to actually furnish it completely in a few more months. She tells Shells that, but her friend just waved her hand as if she said something nonsensical, “Oh please, we’ll bring stuff and whatever, it’ll be fun!”

“I think Beatrice should be the one that decides that.” comes Evelyn’s calm voice from behind the brunette, her brown eyed gaze following Jake’s form as he ran on the beach, even with the sunglasses on her face it was easy to see she was admiring him. Penny agrees, which makes Shells return to her pouting and cross her arms, falling back against the seat’s back cushions.

“I’ll prepare something when we get it all done.” Beatrice tells her friend, patting her knuckles comfortingly, “I promise.” which she would, she just was enjoying the high of knowing she’d be moving in with her boyfriend in a matter of weeks and they’d be together and…well…something else might happen after, hopefully.

She didn’t see it, but Penny’s eyes were on her. Penny talked to Maverick after Rooster let him know he and Beatrice were going to live together, Pete looked ready to cry in front of his girlfriend, words going one hundred miles per minute saying how he was right and that they’d get married soon. He could feel it. Which at first Penny didn’t believe, not that much at least, until she saw the two lovebirds again that afternoon.

There was something really precious about the two, something so genuine Penny couldn’t really deny that she could see working. She only hoped the best for them and that they enjoyed their time together before and after they tied the knot. And that there was not hurry in doing so either.

Beatrice excused herself to go inside the bar to get some water, humming all the way up and making her way to the employees’ only fridge, grabbing a water bottle. She brings the bottle to her lips, but pauses when she hears three very distinct male voices, each one deeper than the other. 

Furrowing her eyebrows, she walks to the double doors, hearing the voices getting louder and louder, holding the door handle and opening it at the same time someone did, which jolted her arm, the door staying in the same spot. Now that she was closer, she could easily identify who it was outside. She gave one more tug, but this time there was nothing - nor anyone - holding it back on the outside.

Beatrice’s green eyes met six more within the same shade range, going from lighter to darker, all of them staring down at her, “....hi, guys!” She squeaks out a greeting as she looks at her three older brothers, Michael in the middle with Leonardo on his left and Guillermo on his right, looking like Matryoshkas dolls because of their height.

“Little Bitty!” Michael tosses his arms up in a greeting, watching his sister close the door behind her before he gives her a bear hug that lifts Beatrice from the floor, “I’m so glad you are here! I wanted to see you!” Beatrice laughs nervously, shifting her eyes to Leonardo in exasperation, her brother just offered her an apologetic smile, “I felt, why not visit my little sister and treat her with something? Like lunch?”

“It’s three in the afternoon Michael.” Guillermo’s deep deadpanned voice said from his right, huge tattooed arms crossing over his shoulder, stretching the black shirt he was wearing. Michael rolled his eyes, but his smile remained when he placed Beatrice back down, combing a few strands of brown hair that got wild because of him picking her up.

“Ignore him.” He says with his hands on his hips, looking up at the bar with his lips pursed in an impressed expression, “So this is the Hard Deck, mighty nice I gotta say.” he hums, walking past Guillermo to walk around the area the best he could, lifting one hand to shield his eyes from the sun even if he had his sunglasses on, “Nice view too, lovely beach. Oh, hey! Someone is playing football!”

Beatrice avoids her oldest brother’s stare, only giving Leonardo another look but he just shook his head not knowing how to help, “Well, ah,” Beatrice meets Michael’s body, seeing that his favored attire was a white shirt unbuttoned to the middle of his chest - exposing the massive forest of chest hair - and three golden chains on his neck, the one closes to his collarbones had a small cross dangling from it, “Those are um, Brad and his friends, they usually play–”

“No way, Brad is there? Shut the fuck up,” Beatrice could only watch with wide eyes as Michael dropped from the sidewalk to the sand, turning her head when she sees Guillermo’s massive form following him in silence. Beatrice turns to Leonardo, giving him a questioning look yet again, mouthing ‘what is going on??’

“Listen I didn’t know you’d be here!” Leonardo whisper shouts, following his sister on the sand, both of them trying to keep up with the two oldest Schiavoni brothers, “I just told Mike you worked here, he was the one who brought us all along!” Beatrice makes a distraught noise, speeding up her step before the two of them could reach the seating area behind the bar.

She stops in front of Guillermo and Michael, the youngest of the two still grinning and looking like he just won the lottery, “You guys ah…c-can’t do um…that.” Michael’s eyebrows furrowed while Guillermo remained the same stone faced individual as before.

“Why not? Is it illegal or something?”

Was it illegal? The bar is closed and this was a beach, it wasn’t like Penny would call the cops on them because of that…right? She had no clue, oh shit what does she do? She hates how her brothers just show up out of nowhere, she hates it! “...no…?” Her unsure reply didn’t help, because both of them stepped forward and Beatrice squeaked, trying to hold them back the best she could, but Michael just laughed, patting her head and walking around her so her arms only remained on Guillermo…who was literally dragging her along as he walked.

“Bea.” her oldest brother calls, gently picking her under the arms to lift her up and put her aside, “Don’t do that, you might fall and get hurt.” his sister let out another desperate noise, looking from them to Leo then to the seating area where the other women weren’t aware of what was happening.

If she was fast…she could warn Penny. So she tried to run all the way back before her brothers reached the group of pilots, almost tripping over herself and finally arriving at the group of females she left behind. Beatrice held the back of a seat, heaving out her breaths “P-Penny, this sounds crazy but my brothers are here.” she says in one single breath, to which her boss looks in her direction with her brows furrowed in confusion, “A-And they want to play with the guys i-is that okay?”

Penny blinked at Beatrice, digesting the brunette’s words and laughing softly, “Yes, of course Bea. I only own the area from this spot backwards. There’s nothing wrong about it…they just need to tell the others and you know, make them aware.”

Oh.

Oh that was a lot better than she thought.

“Oh, ah, okay!I-I will!” Beatrice rushes back onto the beach, where Michael,Guillermo and Leo were currently watching the game. She meets Pete’s eyes from across the beach, he was on the side watching this whole game happen without playing this time. He uncrosses his arms when he sees she’s not alone there, giving one quick look at the pilots before he makes his way over. “H-Hi Pete.” she says softly, ‘Um, these are my brothers, they uh…want to play??”

Pete turned his head to the three men, the tallest of them all he knew. He showed up at the Hard Deck months ago and he had that disagreement with Beatrice, “Oh, really?” he has no idea if it’d be a good idea, especially with the tallest and biggest of them all, he towered pretty much every one of the boys, “Well, give me a second to call them.” Mav put his fingers inside his mouth and whistled, halting the game and waving them all over.

Bradley was the first one to arrive, seeing Beatrice and immediately thinking something had happened, “Bradley!” he didn’t even notice Michael was right there before he was greeted by a heavy slap in between his shoulder blades, the impact so hard he coughed out his breath in surprise, “Good to see you man!”

“G-good to see you too, Michael.” he coughs, smiling weakly before his eyes greet a nervous and apologetic Leonardo and a neutral eyed Guillermo who just kept his gaze on him the entire time, “I had no idea you guys were planning on coming over.”

“I wanted to see Little Bitty over there,” Michael juts his thumb toward Beatrice, then puts his hands on his hips, “Had no idea she’d be here right now nor there’d be a game, so I thought, why not just join?” his sister only had an aggravated expression, bringing up her fingers to rub the bridge of her nose, “Me and Gui? We were great football players. What position were you again Gui?”

Guillermo’s eyes move briefly to his brother, before returning to Bradley’s “Quarterback.”

“Yeah! And I was a linebacker!” Michael tosses a quick glance towards Leonardo, who just seemed like he didn’t want to be there, “Leo here wasn’t a footballer guy but he’s pretty good, ain’tcha bro?” Leonardo nods, still wishing he was anywhere but there. “So what do you say?”

Bradley however doesn’t say anything, it’s Payback who once he hears about it said that ‘the more the merrier!’ earning a bright grin from Michael and a subtle eyebrow raise from Guillermo. Leonardo questions if he should join or not, especially when the only two women from the group step back, “Jesus fuck.” he murmurs, giving Beatrice a look, “I don’t have a choice do I?”

The brunette looks to where Michael and Guillermo were, there was enough body hair in both of them to make a furcoat and they were…a lot bigger than the other pilots, maybe not as marble cut defined but definitely muscular, ‘I don’t think so Leo.” she shrugs with an apologetic look, “Do you want me to stay close? In case you need help?”

“Hrrm, just tell Cyn and Bibi I love them,” he groans, pulling out his Metallica shirt and shoes, tossing it to where his brothers’ left theirs, “Wish me luck.”

Bea gave him a double thumbs up, her eyes turning back to Bradley who stayed behind as the two men introduced themselves better to the ones left, “Brad,” he snaps his head down at her, his sunglasses over his eyes, “Guillermo is big but he’s kinda slow if you run to the left, also…both of them like brute force so someone…might…well…not be standing up for too long.” she winces, “So please be careful.”

“I will baby, don’t worry.” he leans down to kiss her lips, pecking them twice, “For good luck.” he lifts his sunglasses just enough to wink down at her, dropping them as he makes his way over to the group once more.

Beatrice smiles diminutively, but she is worried, “God, please don’t let them break them all too much, we just got a house to live together.” she mutters, clasping her hands in a prayer and closing her eyes, “Especially because of how Guillermo is.” She opens her eyes only to see her oldest brother rolling his massive shoulders and neck, his eyebrows low and jaw set tight.

This was going to be insane and she was hating it already.

[creativenicocorner]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by nobody! I saw this and felt like doing it to get back in the writing groove of things and maybe procrastinate just a teeny bit ♡

Tagging @babblish @dreamcrow @niemalsetwas @mangatxt @plantpretender and anyone else who would like to!! Also no hard feelings if you don't feel like doing this

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

32 and counting!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

605,281 and counting!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I used to do a LOT of Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons) but a few things happened in the show / movie that made me feel... idk, I'm on a bit of a break for the time being. I also write a couple of Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game) fics to explore my silly DnD OCs While my current writing obsessions being Discworld - Terry Pratchett and モブサイコ100 | Mob Psycho 100 

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Unbecoming 2 Electric Boogaloo (ToA)

Terpsichore - The Comedy of the Danse Macabre - ACT I (ToA)

Cold Green Tea and Colder Feet (mp100)

We'll Meet Again (ToA)

A Study of Avium and Apium (ToA)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do!! I try to respond to all comments!! I can't always promise my response will be prompt, and sometimes I get in my own head and feel...worried? As if my response will somehow sway someone to not want to keep reading? But that's a me thing I'm working through Long answer short: Yes! I do respond to comments!! I adore them and they make me so very very happy!! Honestly a comment can be such a game changer, and a relief to my heart and I just HAVE to express my gratitude for taking the time to tell me such nice words!! I'll always try to respond to them!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm I have yet to finish the fic with the angstiest ending planned. I don't tend to write angst unless there is an ending that has some level of hope and happiness in it - for now.

But yeah, I suppose Unbecoming 2 Electric Boogaloo and The Last Changeling will eventually have some pretty angsty endings.

As well as several fics within the The Collected Tellings of Shigir and Other Changeling Folktales series which can be quite grim.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Another tricky question!! The majority my fics tend to have a happy ending planned despite the highs and lows I hope I manage to put my readers through.

Bit of a cop out answer I know, but it is what it is lol

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've only had that happen to me once lol. Once so far and for the silliest reason that left me just shaking my head for the most part

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! Not as often as my other stuff though. Hmm quite a bit of orgasm control I suppose.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

IVE WRITTEN ONE CROSSOVER AND ITS MY FAVORITE AND I HOPE THE STARS ALIGN FOR ME TO FINISH IT!!!

A Funny Old World MY BELOVED!!! It is essentially the Discworld and Mp100 crossover fic no one asked for hahaha

Quite literally "Reigen Arataka 🤝 Moist von Lipwig" the fic

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that...I'm aware of...

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again not that I'm aware of...and no one has yet to approach me to do so. Though sometimes I think of translating it myself into Italian.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! It was a great time with @megan0013 on the 23rd chapter of their fic Fallout where we combined the Fallout story with my made up Changeling Folktales.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I'm too bisexual for this question, I have, like, a fat stack of ships I adore. But of the ones I've written (in no specific order of importance) I really love Adora Belle and Moist, Serizawa and Reigen, Barbara and Strickler, Mort and Ysabell, Polly and Mal, and the list just goes on haha

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I don't think I appreciate the defeatist tone of this question haha. I'm sure I'll finish all of them...eventually. Some go in hibernation a little longer than others, that I won't lie. Hmm though, I'm going to be honest with myself the Terpsichore series seems to be the loftiest of goals at the moment. Who even knows when I'll finally finish it...but, like I said, I'd like to hold out hope that, someday it'll get done lol

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I'm quite good at keeping characters in character, and my writing 'voice' is quite charming sometimes. I've also been told I'm quite good at writing cozy comfort fics. I hope, one day, I'll be able to add horror and suspense to the list of writing strengths.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Making things concise, I think. Sweet short and to the point. I'd love to get better at suspense and horror, just making readers sweat - you know?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Oh man I have a lot of Thoughts about this actually XPP here's hoping they make sense!!

Depends on the characters, and what language they are speaking and what language the characters know beyond what they are speaking.

I viscerally do not appreciate it when, okay... here's an example: Character A and Character B are both speaking Italian, because the characters are Italian - so even though the fic and author is writing in English we ALL know that Character A and Character B are speaking Italian - so why add in an English dialogue bits of actual Italian?? We all know they are speaking Italian to begin with!! UNLESS, for instance, Character B for a moment spoke in a regional dialect which is different than the standard language.

I tend to call this the "Silenzio Bruno!" situation. Why are you having a character who is supposedly already speaking in a language suddenly say something of that language. It shouldn't be "Silenzio Bruno!" but "Quiet Bruno!" though in some cases I get it...and who knows maybe it'll perk up the interest of people and kids to learn other languages but oof does it rub me the wrong way sometimes

Wait hmmm perhaps thats too confusing

OKAY

EXAMPLE: In Glow Worms I have Serizawa as half Brazilian (there's in fact a huge Brazilian population within Japan! As well as a huge Japanese population within Brazil! Here are two fascinating video essays on the subject if interested [X] [X]).

When Serizawa is speaking with Reigen it is clear and obvious they would speak Japanese amongst themselves and around them, I wouldn't include actual Japanese unless it's a word that I can't really translate well, or is very clearly specific within the Japanese language (the difference between writing 'screen door' and 'shoji door' - both doors, but evoke different specific things). However, when Serizawa speaks with his mother there are often times Portuguese would crop up - an indicator that Serizawa is no longer speaking Japanese in that moment, or phrase or sentence.

The same can be said with Moist von Lipwig, and when he's speaking Morporkian vs Überwaldian. It is agreed that everyone tends to speak Morporkian to some degree as a defect-o Lingua Franca Quirma, and when they're not they're very clearly not!

NOW! In those moments when characters are speaking another language I prefer either it's something that can be figured out via context clues, or a translation is provided either in a footnote or by the character(s) themselves. This is something I feel more confident with if a character is speaking Italian, because then I don't have to worry about translator engines not translating something properly lol But I try to be as respectful and accurate as possible, and if I can't then I wouldn't attempt it and describe in the text that Character A and Character B are speaking another language amongst themselves.

OR (and this is something else I'm doing in Glow Worms) I'll describe a character speaking another language, and another character acts as translator - this is something I always adored in Discworld when characters interact with The Librarian as well as Death of Rats.

Which, again, I try to approach as respectfully as possible. Language is important!! It's a culture and a thought process! And should always be treated with respect

WHEW! I hope this all made sense!!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Trollhunters!

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I don't know about Favorite, but there are several that I'm very proud of myself with...

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Stupid Kid [working title] series, Hand Rolled, The Runaway's Gamble, AU REVOIR, to name a few. Several Trollhunter fics (especially Terpsichore, sometimes I look back on that and go "Wow I really wrote All of THAT?!")

And most recently: Glow Worms or rather: In the Depths of the Safflower Hills a fic that honestly? I find myself going back and rereading what I've written and posted more than once! And has helped me grow as a writer I think  

Welp! ___〆(・∀・) That's it for me folks! Thank you so VERY much for your interest, and I look forward to seeing your answers as well!

Best wishes! Nico ♡

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 20/04/2024 (Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa, Perrie Edwards)

Hozier sticks to a second week at #1 on the UK Singles Chart with “Too Sweet” and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we start with our notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75 - which is what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we actually have a bit of a massacre so we must bid adieu to: “7 Minute Drill” by J. Cole (that one we literally say farewell to, it’s been deleted), “Cinderella” by Future and Metro Boomin featuring Travis Scott, “Make You Mine” by Madison Beer, “CARNIVAL” by Hitler and Goebbels featuring Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti, “Made for Me” by Muni Long, “bye” and “yes, and?” by Ariana Grande, “Would You (go to bed with me?)” by Campbell and Alcemist, assisted by a remix with Caity Baser, “Baby Shark” by Pinkfong, yes, really, “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift and finally, even though we all know it’ll be back, “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers.

It actually turns out that the most interesting stories here outside of the top 10 and new tracks… are the returning entries, because there are quite a few, they’re quite high and also quite - at least tangentially - related to a cultural event. Firstly, we have the release of a biopic revolving around the late singer Amy Winehouse who has captivated audiences long after death and the recent release of Back to Black, as well as its soundtrack, mostly a compilation of Winehouse’s songs and her influences, has propelled the studio album of the same name to #22 on the album chart whilst giving some of her legacy catalogue a solid boost. The song of the same name, “Back to Black”, had several initial runs from 2007 to 2008, peaking at “only” #25, but returned with stride after her passing to find a new peak of #8 in 2011. At #1 that week was “She Makes Me Wanna” by JLS featuring Dev. The charts don’t always reflect what music actually stands the test of time, let’s just say that. Today, it’s at #51. An even more storied chart run comes in at #44 with “Valerie” by Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse. Ronson’s version largely eclipsed the original Zutons version released the year before. The Liverpool indie rock outfit peaked at #9 with their version, whilst Nelly Furtado’s “Maneater” topped the charts, but by the time Ronson and Winehouse came along, the chart was instead reigned by Sugababes with “About You Now”, which halted “Valerie” from hitting #1. Similarly to “Back to Black”, it did return to the chart after her passing though not very high, so I assume that it must have some degree of prominence in the biopic, I’ve yet to see it.

As for our two other re-entries, they somehow have even more chart history dragged into them, so bear with me. Paul Simon wrote “The Sound of Silence” and recorded the track as a member of Simon & Garfunkel in 1964, and despite this being the most prominent and successful version, hitting #1 Stateside, it somehow never once appeared on the UK Singles Chart in any form until long after, specifically in 1966 when an Irish pop group The Bachelors covered it, basically taking any steam off of the original by peaking at #3. The Spencer Davis Group’s “Somebody Help Me” was #1 at the time. It wouldn’t appear on the charts again until damn near half a century later in 2012, when viral acoustic singer Kina Grannis took it to #93. However, and I really wish I couldn’t say this, the most successful cover may be from nu metal band Disturbed, who reached mainstream success worldwide by covering the track in 2016, by then it had been thoroughly memed to death as well as being a long-term pop staple, yet it still worked. Their mediocre version peaked at #29 and now it’s back at #47 because of an inexplicable, practically unlistenable house remix by Australian DJ CYRIL that Paul Simon could probably sue for murder. I didn’t like the Disturbed version, but this is a new level of groanworthy.

As for our final re-entry, we should look towards the album charts, wherein Oasis’ 1994 debut Definitely Maybe is actually down a full positions, lower than other Oasis albums. The irony in that is that it’s the iconic Britpop band’s 20th anniversary this past week, with them releasing special physical editions of their debut single “Supersonic” to mark the occasion. It never really peaked that high to begin with, only at #31, but it did stick around and return for several runs for basically most of the 1990s, only to return once again this week as our highest re-entry at #42.

The gains are a lot less interesting but there are still a handful of notable boosts, namely “Jump” by Tyla, Gunna and Skillibeng up to #38, “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan at #33, “I Don’t Wanna Wait” by David Guetta and OneRepublic at #25 (Jesus Christ), and finally, “Hell n Back” by Bakar nearing its old peak at #21.

This week, our top five on the UK Singles Chart consists of: “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” by Beyoncé holding at #5, “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims floating at #4, “i like the way you kiss me” by Artemas smooching its way up to #3, Benjamin of Boontown is at #2 with “Beautiful Things” and of course, Hozier still at #1. Now, there’s actually quite a lot to discuss in our new entries, despite the fact that Taylor is still a week away yet, in fact this might end up the more interesting week because no-one is dropping the same day as her. So let’s review them, shall we?

New Entries

#49 - “We Still Don’t Trust You” - Future and Metro Boomin featuring The Weeknd

Produced by Metro Boomin, Peter Lee Johnson and MIKE DEAN

Yup, all of our new entries are within the top 50 this week, and most of them well into the highest reaches of the chart. Given Taylor only has three songs coming next week, I’m pretty excited for a from-the-top shake-up that won’t be immediately torn down… at least until the temporary Eurovision blockade, but we’ll deal with that when it comes to it. For now, I had only heard one of the songs debuting this week before today, and it was this one, the intro and title track to the second of the Future-Metro collaboration tapes, which debuted at #11 on the albums chart this week. Not every track hits on this second album, but if you remember what I thought about the first album, you’d recall I preferred the hazier, more melodically-focused pop-trap that was prevalent through the middle section, and this new record is essentially an extended version of just that with a triumphant victory lap full of bangers on the back-half bonus disc to balance things out. Future is a lot more emotive, Metro is delivering beautiful cloudy soundscapes, and the hooks are catchier than ever, though it’s not nearly as immediate so I understand that it performed less successfully even if it is a damn shame. It also means we only have the first track here, which is barely even a song ultimately, more so an extended, hallucinatory introduction blending punchy synthpop drums with garbled psuedo-hooks about freaky girls from Future, a looming falsetto from The Weeknd over a borderline nu-disco groove and semi-verses that don’t really form into a complete song. In the album context, this is a brilliant introduction to where the album will take you: a late-night drive taking your mind off “the hoes” so to speak. As a charting single by itself, it’s honestly just weird. Other than being the intro to an album most people I imagine didn’t finish all the way through, I don’t understand why “All to Myself” didn’t take this one’s place. I guess it didn’t have the video treatment but regardless, weird single to push, even if it’s a great moment.

#46 - “KiKi (What Would Drizzy Say?)” - D-Block Europe

Produced by Eight8, Harry Beech and Ari Beats

Well, Drake’s in the news thanks to all the dissing back and forth so being the young brilliant entrepreneurs they are, DBE pushed out a song with him in the title, in a vague reference to Drake’s own “What Would Pluto Do” but a much less vague, openly cheap interpolation of Drake’s “In My Feelings”, and the chart history did not stop with our re-entries as if there’s a coherent theme with some of these new tracks, it’s egregious referencing. “In My Feelings” samples a plethora of tracks in the first place, but none as explicitly as DBE have riffed from it here. The original spent four weeks at #1, but I don’t see Young Adz’s nasal auto-croon rendition getting any higher than #46. I actually feel kind of relieved with this because this is back to the stupid, barely functioning DBE of old (and by old, I mean the late 2010s), with a terrible bass mastering job, overly loud flutes that nearly drown out Adz himself attempting to sing his way out of his lack of content, in the same melody as Drake’s chorus until he just starts talking instead midway through. Some of the 2020s improvements are actually present here though; Youthful Advertisements has much tighter rhyme schemes once he actually starts rapping, and they aren’t as audibly out of tune or beat with everything else as they probably would be if they tried this out when the original was big. He also puts a shell in his back like he’s a turtle, tells the girl to close her mouth and leads into Dirtbike Lb’s small contribution, a brief, half-dead and wordy verse that still washes Adz: this is what I’ve come to expect from the duo. There’s not much of an attempt at wordplay but cool turns of phrase that kind of imply he thinks Hermés is the name of the crocodile they killed to make the bag and not just the brand name… they’re good enough. This is good fun.

#41 - “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” - Shaboozey

Produced by Nevin and Sean Cook

Okay, if we’re going to sample egregiously, this is how we do it: not trying to play it off as a completely new song but not serving in the exact same lane and purpose as the original. Instead, let’s make unabashed re-recordings and reimaginings that don’t necessarily modernise or improve the song, and don’t set out to, instead crafting a different experience from the same fundamentals. Now I don’t like the original 2004 track “Tipsy” by J-Kwon mostly because of, well, J-Kwon being useless, but there’s a great hook to it, especially the radio edit, and the beat making up nearly entirely of weird sound effects over a distorted clap sample is pretty clever. The original “Tipsy” peaked at #4 for two weeks, whilst “Lola’s Theme” by the Shapeshifters was #1, and later The Streets’ “Dry Your Eyes”. Shaboozey, a singer featured on Beyoncé’s latest pivot, has taken advantage of that extra traction to completely reimagine the chorus of “Tipsy” and its general conceit of having fun at a gathering to take your mind off problems, especially with girls… but there’s a lot of depth added through the extra populist twist thanks to the financial troubles referenced in the verses, and some particularly really smart intricacies like turning the counting gimmick into counting the rounds of drinks at the bar. He recontextualises a basically meaningless gimmick into something that is a lot more resonant, and that’s really special. Sonically, it feels like a bit more organic stomp-clap soarer, and isn’t really all that special, but the inspired interpolation of “Tipsy”, alongside some great strings in the post-chorus, makes this what it is, and it doesn’t run out of tricks. The shift to a rap flow in the second verse to continue the momentum is brilliant, the spoken backing vocals amidst the multi-tracked crowd hook, which I almost wish was even louder, is a fun idea… and that’s before that final chorus where it breaks down and becomes a true drink-a-long. Sure, this may be a reimagined version of a song I don’t like really at all, but it goes far beyond just that and creates a new experience not just as a cover but as a separate entity entirely that embraces and benefits from its referencing. This is how you do sampling in pop, it’s excellent. I hope this is a smash.

#35 - “These Words” - Badger and Natasha Bedingfield

Produced by Badger

Alright, once again, we have a sample, this time with Natasha Bedingfield’s “These Words”, that other song you might remember from the album that parents “Unwritten”. What you may not remember is that whilst this hasn’t had nearly as much longevity as the title track, it actually peaked much higher, debuting at #1 and topping the charts for two weeks in 2004. This is in spite of it being complete garbage. I like meta narratives in pop music when done well and outside of its camp, it can be genuinely difficult to get through the jerky, dated production and somewhat embarrassing performance, especially lyrically, from Bedingfield. I understand the appeal, and the writing isn’t really a deal-breaker usually, but it’s especially striking to me when the actual music behind her quest to find the best words for her love song… just plainly sucks. Come 2024 and enter UK garage producer Badger, who remixes the track, crediting Bedingfield on streaming but for whatever reason not on the Official Charts page, and I have to say, completely stripping this catchy hook outside of its tedious context is another inspired reimagining, mostly because it turns the “I love you, I love you” refrain into a muffled, glitchy funfest over some of the most detailed, hyperactive 2-step drums I’ve heard on the charts in a while, alongside a hazier synthscape that really shines against the rawer vocal from Bedingfield. Once again, modern artists turn a song from the 2000s I never really liked into a completely different experience, in this case completely removing you from Bedingfield’s narrative to fully envelop you in the euphoric end goal she hints towards in the original. Hope this takes off too.

#31 - “Tell Ur Girlfriend” - Lay Bankz

Produced by Johnny Goldstein

Speaking of taking off, it seems we finally have the inevitable breakout single for Lay Bankz. I’ve been paying attention to her casual flexing and dismissal of pretty much anything else over firy, fast-paced Philly club bangers for a while now, probably since I discovered “Na Na Na”, and it did seem like TikTok would grant her an easy hit any moment now. She finally got it with “Tell Ur Girlfriend” and here, if you don’t remember the specific production elements of its original material, you might not recognise this has yet another interpolation. I wasn’t a fan of Ginuwine’s 1996 track “Pony” for a long time because I felt its dissonance harmed its ability to be a sex jam but… let’s be real, rarely do sex jams actually succeed without being in some way disruptive due to awkward lyrics or stagnant beats. Once I learned to shut up and appreciate Timbaland’s vocoder burping that calls itself a bassline, all was right in my world. It peaked at #16 over here in 1997 and did have a shelf life extending to an EDM remix peaking at #39 in 2015. Bankz and Goldstein don’t really make much use of “Pony”’s fundamentals rhythm or melody-wise, outside of that out of place vocoder burp that is repurposed as a measure-demarcating stab over a comically jerky, sing-songy synth that slows down the pace enough for a 2-step-influenced 2000s throwback, Destiny’s Child-esque, not to rap but closer to R&B. Bankz surprises me to a degree with just how effortlessly she swaps between faster jabs to the smooth choruses, and it almost makes me forget that this is a song about mutual cheating. Does it justify that? No. And who cares? They’re having toxic fun over the Ginuwine “Pony” vocal burp and some of the ugliest synths to hit the top 40 in years, this is not morally righteous in any regard. It’s just pure, sweaty, regretful fun and does not waste any of its two-minute runtime trying to justify itself, and given this whole song is a sarcastic power move about how they should probably tell their partners they’re sleeping with each other, I don’t think she cares in the slightest.

#10 - “Forget About Us” - Perrie

Produced by Steve Solomon and Andrew Goldstein

Okay, the samplefest ended up going pretty fantastically, so I have some hopes for the trio of pop girlies we have lined up all debuting in the top 10, starting with the solo debut from Perrie Edwards of the former girl group Little Mix. She’s always been one of the most prominent vocal talents in the group, so regardless of if the song actually works, there’s going to be power here, and that’s guaranteed, even with an Ed Sheeran writing credit and a compressed to Hell and back mix. In this soarer, Perrie’s ex has become a successful singer after the breakup and Perrie is begging for them to never forget about what they lost in the relationship, especially given how neither seem all that over this relationship and its fallout. There’s a propelling pop rock drive to this, even if the lack of electric grit may harm it a tad, not letting it get into truly bitter territory… which might actually be for the best. Ms. Edwards sounds great belting here but there is a level of restraint in all the acoustic swell that might sing closer to the desperate content, acknowledging the flaws in the relationship and that it is over, but that it should, please, stick to them as a memory. A less kind approach may have flattened its overall sincerity, so even if sonically, I’m not over the Moon about this, I can recognise that this is a tightly-written, excellently performed little pop rock jam that will serve as a good introduction to the solo career. I just want to hear where it goes next.

#9 - “Illusion” - Dua Lipa

Produced by Kevin Parker and Danny L Harle

Okay, Dua, let’s be straightforward. Mixing PC Music’s wildcard Danny L Harle with Tame Impala should lead to much more interesting music than what we’ve heard from Radical Optimism - a disgraceful album title - so far, and I won’t lie and say what has been put out post-”Houdini” hasn’t been somewhat disappointing. I was hoping that “Illusion” could take a bit of a different step, tap into some less recognisable territory for Dua, and whilst it may not have done that exactly, it’s definitely much more interesting. Harle and Parker go for a much tighter house groove here, with elevated pianos, chips of percussion that end up much more minimal under the looming vocal loops and progressive electronic synth beeping, maybe much less impactful than you’d expect. So where’s that in the content? Well, Dua sings about disappointment, playing off a façade placed up by this guy who’s just not impressing her at all, as she’s growing up from just being reckless with her lovers. It’s in the same vein as “Training Season” but with a more unique and honestly more fitting soundscape for that kind of romantic disillusionment, especially given a major conceit of the bridge is that she’s still going to dance all night with that illusion, she still gives in despite her best interests. It also has a ridiculous synth solo slabbed right in for no reason. Genius. Inspiring.

#6 - “Espresso” - Sabrina Carpenter

Produced by Julian Bunetta

I really have not been going into Sabrina Carpenter singles that chart with high expectations or really any expectation that I’ll enjoy it, and she keeps proving me wrong, but not in the way that say Dua just did. No, Ms. Carpenter shares more in common with D-Block Europe in that the appeal, at least for me, comes in the lack of subtlety and disregard for functioning outside of existing pop tropes, whilst still thoroughly embarrassing her public image, cycling around enough for me to be unironically on board. Like “Nonsense” was a plain rip-off that ended up surviving beyond the genuine article on comedy alone, and “Feather” is as light as possible, no pun intended, yet still pinches at you with its infestation of hooks, “Espresso” is emphatically stupid. “Switch it up like Nintendo”? “My give-a-fucks are on vacation”? “I know I Mountain Dew it for ya”? “MOUNTAIN DEW IT FOR YA”? It reminds me all too much of Selena Gomez’s nu-disco embarrassment “Love On”, but instead of selling the cringe with sheer forcefulness, which did surprisingly work for the incredibly limited vocalist Selena is, Sabrina plays the guitar licks and downright invasive pre-chorus synths off with utter, robotic dismissal. Sure, there’s vocal riffing and harmonising, but the main vocal line in the chorus is a multi-tracked, reverb-drenched, Melodyne-controlled nursery rhyme, and it doesn’t escape that lane for nearly all of its three minutes. There are spoken word interludes where she acknowledges the stupidity of the song and its content, but it’s always breezy and lacking in the cringe that would come with it if she cared much at all. The deadpan “Yes” ad-libs in the pre-chorus, and the detail put into the production, are what really sell this to me though. It’s orchestrated to make it seem like she doesn’t care, but there is an entire team twisting the knobs to turn that faux carelessness to a seamless radio edit… and well, they need a raise. She’s done it again. This is ridiculous.

Conclusion

She doesn’t get the Best of the Week though because that, far and above, goes to Shaboozey for “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, and the Honourable Mention… well, I can’t give out a Worst of the Week at all here. Or even a Dishonourable Mention. Sure, Perrie’s song is a bit generic and maybe my enjoyment of the DBE track is purely for the comedy factor, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my time with them, so I’m just going to tie the Honourable Mention between “These Words” by Badger and well, “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, which is shaping up to thankfully be huge. As for what’s on the horizon… Taylor Swift and Drake. It’s back to the big leagues in the next episode but for now, thank you for reading, long live Cola Boyy, and I’ll see you next week!

[chirpsythismorning]

Predictions for Songs That May (or May Not) Be Used to Promote the Final Season of Stranger Things!

While in the process of making my ST5 Vision playlist (with up to 200 songs), I noticed I was subconsciously making categories. And one of the categories I found myself getting especially fixated on, was one for songs that I could actually see being used, in either the official trailer for s5, or some other form of promotion, whether that be a teaser, sneak peak, or even just a simple 10 second clip of all the main characters dramatically looking up at the camera.

As I continue to stress myself out over the near endless possibilities for this playlist, I wanted to share a few songs here right now which I think, with (some) good reason, could end up being used to promote the show, ie. what Separate Ways was for the official s4 trailer.

Now, I want to make clear that I'm just theorizing here. This is all educated guesses at best. Don't take my word for it and please refrain from getting bitter in the case that you dislike one or more of the songs. If you must know I predicted exactly ONE song that ended up featuring in s4 (Object of My Desire), despite only having like 20 songs on my 'ST4 Vision' playlist (and despite not even taking it that seriously last time), so please give me some credit here! TBH I myself don't even like all these, but I'm still willing to consider them after researching through all the options that are out there.

I also want to add that most of these songs require some imagination. I think it's likely that whatever song(s) they do end up choosing, they'll most likely be modified to sound slightly different than the original. It all depends on the vibe they want to go for. And while we wait for the final season, i figure it might be fun to see if we can guess some of the DNA for s5 by doing stuff like this, which is why I wanted to share!

Keeping all of this in mind, here are my predictions!

The Final Countdown (1986) Europe

Likelihood Rating: 9/10

Yep. I'm starting with the most obvious. Sue me. Honestly though, I don't really have any strong opinions about this one. Like, it fits. It's 'the final countdown' aka the final season. This song is most often used in intense environments, like sporting events, etc.. So there is this element of appeal in that it could be quite fitting for an official trailer, let alone a final season trailer. I have said in the past that lyrically there is some potential endgame byler coding in these lyrics, meaning this song would be fitting not only because of it's literal title, but also in a way that could foreshadow what may end up happening in the show itself (wouldn't be the first time). There's this mention of 'we're leaving together', 'missing her so,' as well as something a little more specific, '-- still we stand tall, cause maybe they'll see us, and welcome us all'. I could genuinely imagine this being used to foreshadow Mike and Will leaving for the city (together) at the end of the show, missing El who stays, and the audience maybe (hopefully) accepting that as a satisfying ending (also a Separate Ways parallel: here we stand vs. and still we stand tall).

I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire (1941) The Ink Spots

Likelihood Rating: 2/10

Yep. I'm going from the most obvious to the most obscure. Sue me. To be fair, I don't think this song is that obscure (you might even recognize it from angsty s4 Will Byers edits: here and here to name a couple). And although it is very old and therefore would not necessarily fit with the 80's vibe specifically, Stranger Things is no stranger to featuring songs that came out well before the setting of the show. In fact, almost every season, we get at least one major oldie. And so, I guess if I had to choose my prediction for the oldie to feature in s5, it would be this one! It should be noted that the preview Tumblr offers for this song does not do it justice (nor do the other previews listed here for that matter), so definitely listen to the whole thing before giving it your full consideration. I do think that the s5 promo version would indeed be modified quite a bit to match the vibe they want to go for. What made me sort of instantly transfixed by this song in particular, is that it sounds and carries itself like a love song, and that's because it is a love song, no doubt. But because of the lyrics, it also feels like it could be framed in an eery way (I've Got Five On It from Us comes to mind). I think by fully embracing the apocalyptic-toned lyrics, while also embracing the romantic-toned ones, they could invoke a really incredible feeling out of the audience. Now, when it comes to the lyrics, that's what really got me intrigued. "I don't want to set the world on fire" reminds me of the expectations for Will's character going into ST5, with much of the GA being convinced that Mike not loving him back is going to result in this villain arc for him, which will inevitably end with Will sacrificing himself (also Will Byers fireball homage). But the truth for Will, and just like the song also argues, is much less stereotypically violent and a lot more surprisingly pure. The truth is that Will, 'just wants to start the flame in Mike's heart'!! And so we've got flame in heart crumbs, with a dash of end of world crumbs? Sign me tf up.

Mad World (1883) Tears For Fears

Likelihood Rating: 6/10 -

I feel like we need at least one Tears For Fears song in Stranger Things. Although I'm convinced (delusional) that Everybody Wants to Rule the World will feature near the end of the series during a happy moment, solely because of how much that s2 behind the scenes video has changed the brain chemistry of the entire fandom, to the point where a lot of us have been convinced it was used in the show at one point. But for the sake of this list, I think song(s) used to promote s5 before it premieres, are going to be less 'uplifting good', and instead more 'eery good'. We're still in hopeless, assumed failed mission territory and so 'No tomorrow. No tomorrow' is quite fitting. While there is hope going into the final season (we've been reassured the ending is beautiful) there's still a battle ahead in the mean time. Unless they plan to change our relation to that song, from aww to OH SHIT (which they definitely could...), I do think Mad World sort of fits the bill in respects to the impending doom a little more than EWRW, which feels more victorious in comparison. Lyrically, Mad World reminds me of Henry's villain monologue at the end of Vol. 1. I also think it's a good example of a song that has some lyrics that fit very well, while other lyrics don't fit as much. And that's okay. In the past, there has been songs used for ST promo, and even in the show itself, that followed a similar criteria, where they even tweaked/removed parts of songs that didn't match the message they wanted to convey. So keep this in mind as the list goes, because I do think a lot of layers go into their final decision for song choices, especially in regards to promotional picks. And so in this case, I guess you can't go wrong with a birthdaygate easter egg either...

Crazy Train (1980) Ozzy Osbourne

Likelihood Rating: 5/10

This song is extremely well known, and I do think it has the range to mesh well accompanying badass frames of the characters fighting and surviving in the trailer for the final season, as it has been used a lot from this sort of hyped up lens before (fingers crossed Megamind is on the ST5 inspo board!). Lyrically, we've got 'mental wounds not healing, life's a bitter shame, I'm going off the rails on a crazy train'. 'Mental wounds not healing', could parallel to what was going on with El at the end of s3 and throughout s4, with her powers not working bc of the memories she was suppressing, and it could also be related to Max ending up in a coma at the end of s4 at the hands of Venca, with her going into s5 somewhere in between life and death. 'Life's a bitter shame', pretty much sums up a lot of what the characters were feeling in s4 (also Heroes crumbs mayhaps?). 'I'm going off the rails on a crazy train,'... I shouldn't even have to acknowledge the implications of them using this song, or any song that includes the word Crazy in the title for that matter, as the official song for the season... and so, I wont. TBH I feel like this song is a little too similar to Separate Ways, and so maybe it wouldn't get picked based on that reason alone? Or maybe the exact opposite? Maybe it would get picked for that very reason? Regardless, I could see it.

Have You Ever Seen The Rain (1970) Creedance Clearwater Revival

Liklihood Rating: 3/10

This is another example of a song that would need to be modified quite a bit in order for it to work with the vibe of the final season. However, I do think there is quite a bit here to work with. 'Someone told me long ago, there's a calm before the storm, I know, it's been coming for some time'. Those lyrics alongside some eery s5 frames, like, it works. And they feel deeper than just the literal storm itself, as everything likely to go down in s5, has indeed 'been coming for some time'... Also, if I'm being totally honest, any songs I can find that involve storms or thunder or rain, I'm there! And so this is just one in particular that stood out to me. This emphasis on rain pouring tremendously, while the sun shines brightly... I love it. Also we know songs by Creedance Clearwater Revival are very very capable of being covered and changed to something more creepy, Bad Moon Rising ring any bells?

Somebody to Love (1967) Jefferson Airplane

Likelihood Rating: 3/10

Now, ST has used a song by Jefferson Airplane before (White Rabbit), which is from the same album as this song Somebody to Love here. Although I don't necessarily think that alone rules out this song being a possibility, I still felt like it was worth mentioning. Lyrically, we've got, "When the truth is found to be lies. And all the joy within you dies. Don't you want somebody to love? Don't you need somebody to love? Wouldn't you love somebody to love? You better find somebody to love." This could fit very well with what's going on with El towards Mike in s3-4. Though I think she already knows the truth, which is that his monologue wasn't romantic and that he's sort of stringing her along with this falsehood, this song captures an emotion that I think is present with her still, and will be until they finally end things romantically. I also think the audience still hasn't realized the truth themselves, seeing as most of them assumed she loved the monologue. It's almost like the audience would also be discovering the truth aka the lie, and so if a song like this were to be incorporated in some type of promo, it could be interesting... El also very much deserves someone to love her the way she wants to be loved. Whenever someone finds themself in relationship, where they're giving 70% and the other is giving 30%, it might be time for the person putting in more to let go and remind themselves they deserve somebody to love them, truly. And this could also apply to every character on the show, as most songs used in promo apply to more than just one character. However, I do think the initial lyric at the start of this song definitely applies to El and her relationship with Mike, along with her desire to love someone and for them to love her back equally. Oh and also "when the garden flowers, baby are dead, yes and your mind, your mind is so full of red"...

Smalltown Boy (1984) Bronski Beat

Likelihood Rating: 1/10

I don't want to hear about how unrealistic it is, it's called manifestation. We all know Smalltown Boy is the very first song on Mike's official Spotify playlist, and so there has been a lot of hype in the byler community that it could potentially feature in the final season, aka the same season Mike's feelings for Will are anticipated to be revealed. To be fair, You Spin Me Round featured in s4 (at Rink-O-Mania where Mike was being an absolute gay disaster bc of Will) and was also on Mike's playlist, along with Mad World which I also listed as a prediction for s5 promo. Even still, personally, I can't really imagine this song in the show itself, as like non-diegetic nor diegetic sound. I could however imagine it being used outside of the show for some kind of promotion. I know all the Netflix socials release more than just teasers and trailers, but also like small snippets of promo, for example the one with the main party all looking up at the camera dramatically for ST4 promo. I could totally see a short clip of s5 Mike looking up at the camera all worried, and accompanied by that notable Smalltown Boy (Bronski) beat.

Should I Stay or Should I Go (1982) The Clash

Likelihood Rating: 7/10

Even though I try to not dwell too much over songs that have already been on the show, I feel like this is one of the clear exceptions. Should I Stay or Should I Go had so much importance early on, like it was literally the Running Up that Hill of the first season. And so if we're going to see a lot of things coming full circle, with us getting some big questions answered related to Will and the Upside Down, I think it's possible and even likely we could hear it on the show again. There's a bunch of popular theories that Will could get Vecna'd based on a decent amount of substantial evidence, meaning we could hear this song play on the show again in attempts to save him... However, it's probably not likely to play out exactly like this, since we know Vecna/Henry needs Will and doesn't want him dead (as far as we know at least). I do think it could also be used as promo for s5. There's one TikTok edit in particular that made me realize how awesome something like this could look. It would feel very much like we're back to s1 vibes if they used this song, and I think that since they've admitted to going back to their roots, it's definitely a possibility we'll hear it again. (Also another iconic s5 concept edit from this user bc they’re a legend!)

Down Under (1981) Men At Work

Likelihood Rating: 2/10

This is probably my most unique prediction of all, because although there aren't a lot of lyrics to go off of here, we don't really need a laundry list of lyrics, as it first and foremost depends on the style of promo the song would be used in. The title itself could parallel to the Upside Down, aka 'Down Under'. Lyrically, we've got, '--Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder? You better run, you better take cover'. It doesn't take a lot to recognize this fits pretty well with what we're going to presumably be thrown into at the start of s5. I do think this would be another case of them having to edit the original drastically in order for it to work. But again, I could really imagine it working well for promo that's smaller in length. And if given really eery, edgy modifications in the ST version, I could honestly see it being pretty epic too. A lot of people know this song from other entertainment over the years, so it would be instantly recognizable, but also unique and engaging enough to impress viewers. Underground is another song from this album that feels slightly Upside Down coded, though not as well known so probably not as ideal for promo purposes. (Double also, Men At Work have a couple extremely Mike Wheeler coded songs, including, but not limited to: Who Can It Be Now and Man with Two Hearts)

AND that's all for now!

I'm curious to know if any of you can imagine one or more of these songs featuring on the show in some way? Or if there's any other songs you can think of that might work for s5 promotional purpose? So please don't hesitate to share! I would love more inspiration!

It's been a lot of fun making this playlist, especially knowing there's at least a small possibility in guessing some of the DNA of the final season in doing so. I feel like with previous seasons, it wasn't as easy to guess the music that might feature because there was just such a broad understanding of what was to come. Though, with this being the last time around, there's just so much to go off of in terms of the expected tone, especially with the whole 'end of the world' aspect.

As of now, I'm not sure if or when I'll ever post the ST5 vision playlist. I could see myself being able to release it in chunks, like I did here first with songs that I could see being used in s5 promotion. Some of the categories include themes involving catastrophic weather conditions/war, doors and/or locks, hearts, unrequited love, sleepless nights, magic/powers, etc. are just some of the few categories I have going on. If there's any in particular you're interested in hearing next, don't hesitate to ask!

[themoonofblueside]

wanted to vent on this site as this is the only place i can look after years and still find a post about this.

whatever devastation thousands are going through can be blamed on the government.

in hatay, which is estimated to have the most death toll, the rescue packs arrived at the city 20 hours after the earthquake. In that time, rescue teams from japan arrived to turkey. why? Because the newly made airport collapsed since it was built on a dried lake. Because the newly made highroad had huge cracks on it, making it impossible to use as the pavement was on agricultural ground. 2 hospitals, one of them a public one, collapsed. The building of AFAD, the government based natural disaster management and rescue organization, collapsed. Everything this government prided themselves on collapsed in such a way that it locked a whole city from the inside.

There are videos of people walking around the city, unable to get anyone out of the ruins because there are so few of them that were not under the ruins.

The armed forces, who have been a huge help is not assigned for rescue. Only 3500 are working for 10 cities with over 8500 collapsed buildings- and i need you to understand that Turkey has enough armed forces to last a lifetime, and Hatay is literally the border city between Turkey and Syria, which means that they have a fuckton of bases and stocks to save people. Why are they sitting around, you may ask? Well, because there was an attempted coup in 2016, which exposed that the military was infiltrated with terrorist organisations that the same government supported and were friends with for years at a time, so now the president is too scared that the armed forces would gain trust and support from the public were they to hand out help.

It is quite literally the coldest week of the year with multiple snow storms to the point that even cities near the sea have snow, and the southern east of the country(where the earthquake happened) is known for its burning summers and freezing winters.

I do not know how to express that everything they have done fucked themselves and fucked thousands of people over for multiple times. The same government has been getting taxes specifically to prevent earthquake disaster after the 1999 earthquake, and they've done nothing. We had several big earthquakes since then, and everytime people asked "where did our money go?" and it was silence.

The situation in hatay and kahramanmaraş and every other city is horrible, but we can't even say that this is going to be the biggest disaster we'll ever see, because scientists have been warning us that there will be an Istanbul earthquake before 2030. Istanbul, which is a city with thousands of years of culture, history, language and people, Istanbul which is built on a fault line, Istanbul, the most crowded city of Europe(the whole Europe!!!!!!!!!!) with only legal numbers(as you may know, turkey is hosting more than 5 million refugees).

[marvel-ous-m]

WIP Wednes-eekend: Summer Challenge Edition  

tagged by @devondespresso 💕💖💞 Thanks for the tag, friend! How did you know I desperately needed this as inspiration?! Lol.

The Rules

Post the file names of up to 5 of your WIPs for people to send you asks

Post a snippet of one of those WIPs

When people send you an ask with the name of one of your WIPs, write 3 lines of that WIP.

(Optional) Post the lines you wrote.

You can send multiple requests especially since this is going on through the weekend!

Also feel free to send as many as you want, im gonna devote my free time to this anyway so your just directing the adhd energy to a specific section

WIPs

I REALLY need to focus on my untitled Baker!Steve/TattooArtist!Eddie enemies-to-lovers fic (mostly because it's already been a year in the making and I just... do not spend as much time on it as I should). However! I also know I will hate myself if I only work on that sooooooo I will add three other tiny wips I have.

Untitled Baker!Steve TattooArtist!Eddie Fic

5 Times Steve feels the effects of the last four years (and one time he helps someone cope)

Untitled: Steve and (now famous) Eddie take a ten year dating break

My next update to Librarian!Eddie and Teacher!Steve

WIP Snippet from Baker!Steve/TattooArtist!Eddie (chap. 2/10 currently written, 20 planned) under the cut.

Steve blinked, finally putting two and two together. “You’re Corroded Coffin?”

The man winked, then bowed extravagantly. “I am the owner, yes. Eddie Munson, in the flesh.”

“Jesus, you even sound like you’re from a shitty metal band.” Steve rolled his eyes, then dumped his dustpan in the garbage and started to take his apron off.

“Whoa- hey, shitty? I’ll have you know, metal music is the foundation of the music we know today. We wouldn’t have musicians like Gerard Way or Taylor Swift if it weren’t for shitty metal bands.” Eddie squinted at him, tilting his head slightly. “What’s your deal, anyways? You could at least say thank you, you know.”

Steve let out a surprised laugh, hanging his apron and turning to Eddie. “Thank you?! For what?”

“All of your extra business today! I got a ton of customers coming in with your cute little cake boxes. I’m sure quite a few of my clients came by after their appointments, too. I know it’s a pretty popular area, but that much foot traffic is rare for a weekday. So, you should be thanking me, I got you some extra sales today.” Eddie smiled at him, teeth bared and shoulders squared, the epitome of confidence.

Steve decided right then and there- he hated this guy.

Quite literally tagging anyone who wants to participate, please just tag me so I can see your updates!

[thetragicallynerdy]

hiya!

just stumbled over the soft ask game and thought tis might be fun. 1, 5 and 10 if ye dinnae mind c:

have a great day, night ... evening!

toodles

Hello pal!! Oooh awesome thank you!

1) your favourite playlist (made by yourself or someone else)

Oh my god I have so many favourite playlists XD I'm going to do top 5, because otherwise I'll be here all day. All but one I think are made by me, or by me and a pal collaboratively. (Because I like my own playlists so much lmao)

Okay to preface this - 1) most of my playlists are made for a specific fic I'm writing, 2) I am literally in love with almost every playlist I make so this was hard to narrow down, 3) most of them are sad ok?? I like sad music so be warned XD

and the counting of teeth (by myself and lovewithagirl, for our very fucking sad Jim/Ed OFMD WIP)

dust and bones, copper and blood (by myself, for the witch Clayton UnDeadwood au that's still in the works)

wish i knew how to quit you (by myself, for the nemesis au, a very sad very long Aly/Clayton UnDeadwood WIP - a lot of this was also suggested by various folks over on the udw server)

honey don't feed it (by myself, for the UnDeadwood shifter fic by the same name)

ready to be heartbroken (by myself, for the modern au Jim/Ed OFMD WIP)

There are SO many other ones I really love - there's a eastern canada themed one for the lighthouse au, a paranormal romance one I did not create that I fucking adore, etc. But those are the top ones XD

5) Five TV shows that cheer you up

I already answered this in another ask, but here's five MORE tv shows that cheer me up sjskskj

Slings and Arrows - another Very Canadian show about the theatre. Absolutely hilarious. Essential as someone who grew up in a theatre town.

Leverage (and Redemption) - I just love them so much!

Jing: King of Bandits - one of the only animes that I would still watch these days. I fucking adore it so much. My fav anime (and manga) series of all time for sure.

Miami Vice - Yes, the 80s one. Don't @ me okay I love it even if it's terrible, I went through a huge Miami Vice stage in my teens/early 20s. (My dad and I used to watch it together, and then I stole all his seasons to take with me to University lol)

Parks and Rec - I haven't watched it in a while but it's still SUCH a funny show.

10) Something you’ve created in the last year that you’re proud of (a playlist, a piece of art, some writing, a craft hobby, a social media account, etc)

Oh this is a really lovely question! A few things spring to mind.

I have an art piece that I made this year that was actually acquisitioned by one of my very small local museums. It's a piece that I'm super proud of, and it feels really neat that it's in a museum now! On a related note, I also started an art account earlier this year, which was a really big step for me art-wise. It's been fun, even if I'm really bad at updating.

Honestly I'm also super proud of a bunch of my fanfics that I've written this year! It feels like a bit more of a haphazard writing year, and I've been having trouble writing consistent fics lately, but I'm still proud of it :)

Thanks for the ask friend!! I hope you're having a wonderful evening!!

[ilaiyayaya]

I LOVE CONSUMING MEDIA!!mediarahan

Dam I just realized I've been on a stuff watching fiend the last couple of days, like normally on average I watch like, maybe 2 full anime per month, if even that, and like, 1 normal person movie (debatable) per like, 1 or 2 years (I watch very few films), but I've watched way more in the last 3 days alone than in some entire years. I've watched like, 2 movies (which is a BIG number) and like, 7 anime (counting individual seasons separately), and I have like 3 more anime started (that I will NOT finish for a long time because too long :pensive:). I've been reasonably productive too, I've just actually used my non-productive time watching stuff instead of the usual spending 10 hours trying to decide what to do with my life.

I watched mooovie, movie good, movie cool, I watched Wild Zero, a trans classic the only thing I knew about it beforehand was the iconic scene, and pretty much the only thing I know after is the iconic scene and like, the word fuck! It wasn't bad at all but like, there was too much going on I could not at all keep up with it, which to be fair I was watching it only like 20% conscious but I think even if I was fully aware I still would barely know what was going on. Like I could probably kinda give a plot synopsis if someone forced me to at two gunpoints but it probably wouldn't be very accurate, but like Guitar Wolf is kinda a funny existence. I felt like I needed to watch it at least once, like I hear about it all the time, for the obvious reasons but also just because of it being a fun movie, and it was, it was fun I enjoyed it, definitely worth watching even if the plot was a bit everywhere, would recommend.

I HAVE WATCHED FREDDY GOT FINGERED TWICE IN THE LAST 24 HOURS, I HAVE INADVERTENTLY STARTED A DOMINO OF EVERYONE IN A DISCORD GROUP CHAT ASKING "can I see it too? :taps_fingers_together: I HAVE HAD TO SIT THROUGH THIS FILM TWICE IN LESS THAN 1 FULL 24 HOUR PERIOD AND IT IS ENTIRELY MY OWN FUCKING FAULT!

I traumatized someone :) it's fine tho they deserved it, he uhh idk he probably did something to deserve it at some point. Genuinely one of the worst movies I have ever watched, but like in a way that's kinda fascinating and like interesting and kinda worth it despite it being horrible and awful and arguably traumatizing and bad and generally just not a good thing to watch. Like it's horrible in such a specific way where it kinda integer underflows into being fascinating and great and fantastic and one of my favorite movies but also easily my least favorite movie and I hate it and it's awful and I would never recommend anyone ever watch despite that I have convinced several people to watch it over the years, in most cases literally by telling them NOT to watch it, which I actually should've known would just do the opposite, like I literally sometimes recommend people to watch stuff by telling them not to watch it cuz i know that'll make them watch it out of spite BUT LIKE THIS IS THE ONE EXCEPTION TO THAT I LIKE ACTUALLY MEAN IT WITH THIS ONE!!! I have like no way of describing my feelings on that movie, aside from just, I hate it, it creates a feeling no other piece of media can or ever will, and I also don't want any other piece of media too because it's overall a not fantastic feeling but also it is nonetheless unique. My friend said after watching it that he "reached a zen" after finishing it, like it just does that, it just incites feelings nothing else can, for better or worse, mostly, entirely for worse tho. It's not quite as enriching or valuable as Kony 2020 IT'S NOT ON YOUTUBE ANYMORE IT'S GONE NOOOO KONY 2020 IS SO GOOD IT'S A CLASSIC! ICONIC!! good thing I have it saved as an mp4, now I can forever watch it and nobody else ever can, only me >:). I watch Red Letter Media like, super infrequently, like maybe one video per 3 years, but like their video on Freddy Got Fazbear'd is the only breakdown of that film that I agree with at all, like it's pretty much just an hour of them saying "things happened" and that really is the only way to describe the movie, things happen, and those things are awful, but like in a cool way, but also not in a cool way, rather an awful way, but like, in a cool way, in a unique way. Don't even watch the movie just watch that video there's not any extra value anyone could get from the movie itself

ANIME ANIME ANIME FOMO FOMO FOMO I need to get away from that fucking movie as quickly as possible I LOVE IKA MUSUME IT'S SO GOOD IT'S SO CUTE!!!! Very-Azumanga Daioh-core, but more my sense of humor, more unhinged, less slow, more Azumanga Daioh-YTP-core than actual Azumanga Daioh-core. But like I like it's really fun, it's funny, it's cute, I really like the characters and it works as an extremely good palette-cleanser after watching trauma film! Easily the best part of it are the characters, like I don't think there's a single character I dislike, even the types of characters I don't usually like, like Kuroko, I hate Kuroko, fuck Kuroko, but like the Kuroko-like character in Ika Musume was like, my 2nd favorite character, Sanae is great coughs up a little blood. Nagisa is definitely my favorite, her fear of Ika is so over the top, it's really unfortunate that she has like, no screentime in the 2nd season, like she's involved in maybe 2 bits for the entire season, and they're really good bits, but they're so few and far between. The top MIT graduates are also really good, every single bit with them is so fucking stupid, also I was watching the dub for most of it but occasionally switched to sub for certain episodes and I was very surprised that three stooges is what they're actually called even in japanese, but yea they're funny I like when the old one hits his special volleyball and breaks his hand. They graduated at the top of their class, they're top MIT graduates... Ika Musume is pretty good I like it it's pretty great I have thoughts about it and words to say about it, yeagh AW FUCK MASSIVE MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO JUST SAY SQUID PUNS THROUGH THIS ENTIRE SECTION IT WOULD'VE BEEN SO FITTING well too late now too eepy to put any actual effort into bits zzzzzzz

rember when squid girl was in splatoon? i rember. good times. what if i removed the entire freddy fingor section and also removed that film from my memory can i do that why do i rember that movie but not like, 2/3rds of my life the human brain fucking SUCKS!

I- I watched more stuff too, I just forgor some of it, I could just look at my list of things I watch but that's cheating. I watched most of Girls Band Cry but like, that's not finished yet so I didn't actually watch all of it and therefore I can't talk about cute band yuri yet. I rewatched Smiling Friends and the first like, 10 episodes of Gravity Falls but those aren't real they're fictional, fictional media isn't real I can only talk about nonfiction, like Ika Musume. I also watched, I watched uhhh

[thecassadilla]

20 Questions for Writers

Late as per usual, but thank you for the tag @loonysama! 💕

How many works do you have on AO3? 56

What's your total AO3 word count? 555,291

What fandoms do you write for? These days, pretty much only Frozen/Kristanna. Within the last few years, I've written a few Tangled fics, but it's been quite a while since I've been inspired to write any new Rapunzel/Eugene fics. I'd love to dip my toe into writing some other pairings (looking at you, Penelope/Colin - the urge to write for this pair is so strong that it's actually eating me alive) but I've been lacking inspiration lately. If anyone has some inspiration (and time) to spare, please send it my way XD

What are your top five fics by kudos?

Change of Pace (Anna/Kristoff) - 273 kudos

Still Falling For You (Anna/Kristoff) - 148 kudos

In a Crowd of Thousands (Anna/Kristoff) - 79 kudos

A Scarf to Keep Him Warm (Rapunzel/Eugene) - 66 kudos

Positive (Rapunzel/Eugene) - 65 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes, always - even if it takes me a few weeks/months to get to them.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Angsty endings aren't really my thing, so I don't believe I can answer this question lol.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Oof, this is a tough one because all of my fics end happily. I don't think I can answer this question either lol.

8. Do you get hate on fics? I have, though not often or recently. I did get a couple of hate comments on Change of Pace back when I was updating regularly, but other than that and some comments on a few old fics on ffn, I don't really get hate (thankfully).

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do! I primarily write fluffy, intimate, lovey-dovey smut that I *sincerely* hope comes across as sexy.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I don't write crossovers, sadly.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? I don't believe so - at least, I hope not.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not to my knowledge.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic? I have, but they've never been published anywhere.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship? Kristanna!

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? All of my WIPs will eventually be finished! Even if it takes me literal years.

16. What are your writing strengths? I think my strengths are that I'm very detail-oriented and that I have a really wide/varied vocabulary.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Does "actually sitting down and writing" count as an answer? 🙈 In all seriousness, I struggle most with characterization and plotting long fics so that they don't become boring (why is it so difficult to build fics around the specific scenes in my head?!)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for fic? I think it's fine, depending on the context. Randomly switching to dialogue in another language for no reason and with no explanation/translation is a little odd to me, but other than that I think it's perfectly fine.

19. First fandom you wrote for? I'd rather not say 🙈

20. Favourite fic you've written? Hmm, this is another tough one and I feel like my favorite shifts from day to day (if I can say I have a favorite at all, that is). For now, I'll say my favorite is Two of Hearts. I'm really proud of that fic and I loved the way I was able to convey the emotions/feelings, the intimacy, and of course, the smut.

Thank you again for tagging me @loonysama! 💕 Tagging anyone else who wants to participate!!