#& then the vibes. & then their main artist who they obsess over the most. & then a secondary niche artist they obsess over in a sorta

[saccharine-pink-lemonade]

its actually super important to realize that all the playlists I'm making are used for different purposes. like steph is a fiend like me (listens to music all the time) so hers goes in sections from sad to angry to upbeat. & babs isn't insane so she only listens to music when shes working on something with her hands (reshelving books, schoolwork, etc)

[clairerosetarot]

How can you Glow/ Level UP

Images from Artist Layla Essaydi. pile 1–>4

Hey y’all! I wanted to do this reading because I saw it was the second place winner in the poll so, here you go! Also I will get the 18+ reading that you guys asked for the most in my inbox to you very shorty!

Pile 1💸

The fool, The tower, The empress

You have to let go. You are straining yourselves pile 1, stop what to to control life and just let life happen to you. Tbh, even you obsessing over your looks (like reading this reading) isn’t good for you. You don’t need to change anything - especially because I’m getting that I lot of big changes are already coming for you.

You are going to step into a mor “queenly” energy soon and you wanna know how or why? It will flow naturally from you. It wont be fake or contrived. You’ll make your own beauty standards and adhere to them. People will be shocked by this seemingly overnight change but it will be all you, not any book or guide from someone else that your are following.

Pile 2 💸

Two of Cups, Nine of swords, The Emperor

Okay, i’m definitely seeing some stress here. Probably due to school, job or even love. I’m getting that you will glow up after you are done with whatever this is that is stressing you. Right now, I’m getting that this stress is showing on your face, unfortunately.

I think the best path to glowing up will come from the inside. When you get your school, job, or love troubles sorted, you will glow from within. Your glow up isn’t using specific products or dyeing your hair, its much deeper than that.

Pile 3💸

Ace of pentacles, The chariot, Four of swords

Ooooh, I see a vacay here for you! I see than you will glow up with traveling and becoming free. Your glow up vibe will be a relaxed hippie feminine sort of freedom. These are two really random references that just popped in my head but if you’ve ever seen the Amanda Byrnes film What A Girl Wants, I see you glowing up channeling that care free traveling vibe. The main character goes on a spontaneous trip to London and finds herself, love and family. It’s really cute and I see having a fun trip spontaneously like that could help you. The other reference is Dua Lipa, who was recently memes for constantly going on vacation.

That is a little extreme but you should definitely think about saving some coins to spend on a great relaxing vacation pile 3! Or just stay where you are but be more spontaneous, try that new ice cream shop you’ve been thinking about going into, walk around empty malls on a weekend, or go to that club you always thought was way too cool for you. You got this!

Pile 4 💸

King of cups, The fool, Seven of pentacles

I see experimenting with your looks being a big thing here. Wether it’s dying your brows, shaving your head, or getting that piercing. There is a temporary physical change you have been thinking of doing but are afraid of. This spread is telling you it’s okay to experiment with new things once in a while, especially if you have been looking the same for while. Spring cleaning also applies to yourself pile 3!

Another thing i’m also getting is maybe experimenting with a new skin care routine. I’m getting that y’all might have some skin issues and this could lead to trying new diets or products to combat that. One thing I suggest is going to Sephora and getting some skin care samples.

That’s all guys! Thanks for reading and remember if it doesn’t apply let it fly! ❤️‍🔥💸🌴

[cybertron-smash-or-pass]

A bit of a loaded question, I know, but do you have any TF ships you prefer and would like to share?

I need you to be aware that you're opening pandora's box here. The vibes range anywhere from "god this is hot" to "god this is cute" to "their dynamic is so fucking interesting and i want to study them under laboratory conditions" to "this hurts so much and I need the drama, I am CRYING" to smashing barbie dolls together. I have crackships you ain't even THOUGHT about. I throw ships at the wall just to see if they stick. I like a lot of ships. Arguably too damn many. So many that I'm putting this under a cut to spare people from the long post. So many that I have to sort them by continuity so you're not staring at an unorganized list longer than do you love the color of the sky.

TFA

shockbee I feel has a lot of the potential for shockwave fearing what happens when bee finds out he's not longarm. Like a lot of the scenes in auto boot camp read to me like shockwave really did want bee as an ally while he climbs the ranks, and there's some juicy potential for shocker starting out as just using him until he actually catches feelings. Especially in aus where bee really did join the elite guard. Like can you imagine the drama. The heartbreak. The trust issues. Bee realizing he never really knew the guy he could trust most. Wondering if he's even safe to be around. If anything was even real. Shockwave wondering the same things. Hhhhhhhhh.

I do enjoy shockblurr conceptually but I'm not crazy about how they're usually portrayed in the fandom bc I feel like we're all forgetting that shockwave is a ball of anxiety and murder, and Blurr is a straight laced fuckin nerd who can't shut his mouth. An overpowered, highly capable nerd, but a nerd still. I like what the artist katzske does with them a lot tho.

I'm also a blitzbee enjoyer but on a less "bee can fix him and itll be so sweet" level and more "god imagine how annoying they'd be together." Looney Tunes levels of fucking with people. Either that or bumblebee is just horny on main and really likes the thought of bagging a con, but then he goes and catches feelings.

prowlbulk owns my entire heart. They're so sweet on each other and prowl really respects and appreciates bulkhead way more than bulky's used to. And bulkhead admires so much of prowl's skill and perspective. They work so well together as a couple and it's fucking adorable. With a hint of tragedy bc. Well. You know.

Bulkbee is also incredibly cute bc I'm a sucker for besties that very slowly realize they love each other so much it makes them look stupid. Good in romantic or qpr flavors. Bee already climbs all over bulkhead like a squirrel, they're so fuckin affectionate and very very stupid in social settings.

I like Optimus and blackarachnia from a drama standpoint bc God. They are tragic. They are MESSY. I genuinely think there's no happy ending for them. The trust is gone. But they still miss each other so much and they just CANT move on, so they keep stringing each other along. They're just hurting themselves and each other every time one does anything nice for the other. It's the kinda shit that just slowly rips your heart out. OP please don't text your ex. OP pLEASE

Megop is a classic but I feel we as a fandom underutilize how much Optimus pisses off Megatron. He is an asshole cat knocking shit off the counter for attention. Megs lets him be worse when he is so so fucking tired of being good. He loves that he hates him and he hates that he loves him. Full on "my esteemed rival" "dearly detested." Fighting each other is cathartic and addictive. Megatron finds it infuriating but he can't deny how much he likes having a worthy opponent, how fitting it is that the cosmos sent him so deadly a nemesis, and yet how lame it is that he was so forgettable at first so now he feels dumb being mildly obsessed with him. Optimus is just glad he has someone who doesn't expect him to be perfect and nice and upstanding. He can vent out a lot of his less noble feelings or impulses that he's had completely repressed for ages. The pressure's off in a lot of ways. And I think in an enemies to lovers sense, watching them figure out how to make that setup and that very odd mutual desire to be in each other's lives into something healthier could be really compelling. Or tragic in a "why did I let myself need you? Why the fuck did I let myself need you?" way.

Beeprowl is funny but I only really like it in a "you annoy me SO MUCH let's make out about it" way. Nothing committed, just dispelling the tension without having to kill each other. It is just kinda nice seeing them have genuinely sweet moments though. Squidbob ass relationship.

Lugnut and Strika are the perfect Decepticon power couple and I love them so much. So very much. Lugnut loves his big terrifying wife capable of leveling cities, and she loves her sweet devoted husband who could throw her across the room. I think they break chairs over each other's heads for fun and have been trying to seduce Megatron into a threesome for ages.

Shockwave and Megatron are also incredibly good. The loyalty. The "I commit my whole existence to you. I am yours, in mind body and soul. I will go wherever you need me to, I will put myself in immeasurable danger for you, just please say I'm doing a good job" and "all my efforts would be lost without you. In a world where I have been vulnerable and terrified, where I have been stabbed in the back by people I thought I could wholly trust, I can look at you and know, unwaveringly, you won't do the same. I trust you completely." It's Delicious. It's absolutely codependent but god it's tasty.

Also honestly? Bulkhead and the constructicons could make a pretty cute throuple. He wants them to be better. They want him to be worse. He just wants them to do honest work and they want him to stop letting stuffy, elitist autobot society control him so much. They love each other, they're friends (even if the constructicons don't totally remember the first night they met him). And they really do enjoy each other's company. They're just guys being dudes. Just dudes being guys. Just guys being gays. (It's also just nice when bulkhead gets to be the smaller one, scrapper totally carries him around like a big ol' cat).

I really like prowl being torn between lockdown and jazz. They're the devil and angel on his shoulders. Lockdown tempting him into relapsing, feeling himself fall into old habits, forsaking everything he's learned about patience and respect and being conscientious of the world around him. Jazz picking him back up when he slips, making him WANT to keep being better. And prowl can't decide if he wants to be loved in spite of all his toxic traits or BECAUSE of them. It's got me in a chokehold, your honor.

Megastar is fun in tfa because 1. It's implied Megatron never actually abused starscream while they were on the same side (the first thing starscream says after waking up from being shot is "YOU DARE STRIKE ME, MEGATRON?" which reads to me like this is a new development). Megs doesn't actually hurt anyone working for him other than Sumdac, who he fucking hates (at least not on-screen), and the only reason he was as aggro to starscream post-revival was because he knew screamer is the reason he spent all that fucking time as just a severed head. He used to actually trust him, sort of, even if he was a scheming, sycophantic little weasel. And 2. It's pretty obvious they have history together. I genuinely truly believe they were exes and Starscream only planted a bomb on him because he couldn't be fucking normal about the divorce. You look at how they bitch at each other in deep space and then immediately fall into what is most likely their old dynamic of getting things done and shooting the shit and tell me they never had an intense romantic stint that went horribly wrong. Starscream calls him Meggy in his internal logs for fucks sake.

Oh also sumdac x megatron. It started as a crackship of mine but I really love the idea of sumdac feeling legitimately guilty for taking Megatron apart and unknowingly violating him the way he did, even if Megatron is terrible. Like the dynamic of "you lied to me" "if I told you who I really was, I would be dead. I don't owe you the truth when you held me captive. I was vulnerable. I was TERRIFIED. I did what I had to in order to keep myself safe. And you come to ME with accusations of doing you wrong? When YOU held all the power? And then when I'd taken back the power you left me without, made you feel what I felt, I'm a monster?" "I never meant to hurt you" "Well you did. And now you know just how much damage you did." Like it's such an interesting angle, ESPECIALLY when you consider that sumdac probably grew to legitimately care about Megatron while he was in his lab. He wanted to do right by him. He wanted to see him restored and thriving. He was his robot buddy that made a birthday gift for his kid once. Some part of him probably misses him after he's gone, some part of him probably feels guilty too, even through all the rage and hurt and fear and betrayal. That's complicated feelings!! That's juicy!!!!!

I like the thought of Shockwave and Optimus but that's mostly for sexy reasons. Something about a big, smooth talking, scary cryptid monster, very well spoken and elegant, seducing Good, Upstanding Autobot Optimus to The Dark Side. This is mostly because Optimus is a huge nerd and so is Shockwave. I think Shockwave could potentially pique his interest with uncensored versions of the history Optimus is already a huge dweeb about, and seal the deal with a few gentle touches and honeyed words. From Optimus's perspective this is Very Obviously a Honeypot Trap but the trouble is Shockwave is very hot and very sweet on him and starting to seem less and less evil so he's not sure how long he can keep his guard up when the temptation is this strong. He has a duty to fight Decepticons and shut out their lies but man. He's so tired. And Shockwave's berth is very warm. There is something satisfying about seeing him choose to be selfish after nearly a whole show of him taking the high road. (It's even better if he gets attached when eventually Shockwave's Cool Sexy Collected vibes falter and he sees how much of an anxious, panicky dork he actually is)

Ratchet x Arcee are also very very cute together. Old married dorks. Ratchet's so soft with her and he wants her to be okay. She genuinely likes him and he makes the nightmare she's subjected herself to bearable. "Don't call me sir, I work for a living!" They're both horrifically traumatized, they understand each other on a level most bots can't, and they can ground each other when it gets bad. God. You know they're slow dancing in the kitchen together. You know they're sickeningly domestic with each other. They are holding hands in the park on a comically small bench on earth right as we SPEAK.

I also just kind of like the idea of team prime being a polycule (other than ratchet, who is just watching the young bots having relationship drama and rolling his optics (the age gap and mentor role make me personally a little uncomfortable but I have nothing against people who do include him, they're all adults, its chill)). I like the thought of these losers getting home after a long day and collapsing into a cuddle pile, either on the couch or on the floor. They all love each other so much already, I think they should kiss about it, but they're super repressed so it's So Very Shy and Cautious and Sweet.

The same goes for the Decepticons but more in a "cons are pretty casual about sex anyway, they're in close proximity, and they tolerate each other at least so nearly everyone has a fuck buds setup with each other" way. I feel like the autobots are super repressed in that regard so the cons started leaning into being sluts to stick it to the mech along with all the other freaks shit they're cool with. God help Blackarachnia, she goes from Autobot repression to all her coworkers being sluts on main and she Does Not Know what to do about that (also it would make a lot of sense if that's why she started leaning into the femme fatale thing so hard)

TFP

Optiratch my beloved. Gay old men who would do anything for each other, even when they really don't agree on how to proceed. They're best friends, they're husbands, they're crushing on each other and they think it's unrequited, they just started dating, they've been married for eons. All of it works soooo well. They know each other well enough that they can communicate by just kinda grunting in specific ways. I need them to hold hands SO bad.

Megop is also Very Good here. Literally the most divorced robots to ever exist. Megatron NEEDS Optimus back and Optimus still holds a torch for megs, but it's so fucking funny because they're clearly on fundamentally different levels of "I miss you." Like Optimus is kinda sad and he does want the old Megatronus back, but Megatron does these whole fuckin elaborate stunts to get Optimus to pay attention to him again and then locks himself in his room with a pint of ice cream and dark energon to cry about him. Mans is NOT coping. Alternatively, Optimus is coping just as poorly on the inside and he really does still love Megatron just as much but he knows that's a selfish desire that he quiets with everything else he sacrifices about himself in the name of being a good leader. Least repressed Optimus.

Bulkhead and wheeljack should get to kiss on the mouth I think. If Arcee can call Wheeljack Bulkhead's boyfriend, and bulkhead does not deny it, logic dictates they should in fact French kiss sloppy style for a whole minute on live TV. It can happen. Only on the hub.

KOBD are adorable together, they are so unhinged and stupid and they love each other so much. Like the team rocket of the nemesis. Breakdown loves his husband soooo much and knockout misses him so bad when Silas gets him. And you KNOW they're freaks bc knockout is totally convinced that breakdown would've loved seeing how he torments Silas in bd's body. He's probably right about it too.

I also wholly support Ms. June Darby for trying to seduce Optimus. Me too girl, get that robo ass. Go get jack a new cooler dad. It's also very cute to imagine Optimus, the bigass 30 foot robot, the stoic leader of the Autobots who keeps stonefaced through just about anything, flustered and crushing on a very small and very flirty human.

For some reason the show was kind of trying to tease Bulkhead x Arcee for exactly one episode and then never again and like. Look. I understand it was a forced het ship that was there to distract people from how gay they accidentally made the show. I know it'd probably just be Arcee rebounding after losing Cliffjumper. But I think them having a fwb type relationship while she works through her feelings could be interesting. Though this could just be because Bulkhead is big sweet and comforting and him holding anyone and making them feel safe while they're Going Through it is enough to get me saying God I Wish That Were Me.

Bumblebee and Smokescreen appeal to me in the same way seemingly very hetero frat bros who are apparently a very sweet and affectionate gay couple do. It's an inherently funny irony and also theyre just both cute himbos.

TFP Megastar is horrifically unhealthy in general and there is absolutely no way in hell it could work out. Not pre-war, not post-megs-redemption, nada. Which is why it has my brain in a chokehold. This is one of the ships I like because it's fascinating and because god it HURTS. Like I have my gripes with how the show portrayed the abuse overall but there were some things they were cooking with. Starscream being an obvious victim but then turning around and inflicting it on everyone around him? Girl no, the cycle of violence and abuse!!!! Girl no, you're refusing to do the complex emotional work of accepting that what happened to you wasnt okay and thus you carry out the behaviors you've gaslit yourself into thinking are normal!!!!!! Girl no, society has failed you and you have no support systems to help you break the cycles, but you also simply refuse to try in the first place because your pride wouldn't allow it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The cortical psychic patch was literally my fave showcase of their dynamic in the whole show. "I don't want to play this game anymore!" Like jfc ouch. Also the thought of post redemption Megatron lamenting how he treated Starscream, not having considered the damage he's done to him before now. Trying to make it right and only making it all worse by inserting himself into Starscream's life again and realizing how badly he's broken him, how fucked it is that Starscream seems to revere him after EVERYTHING. God. GOD. I'm in agony.

Speaking of starscream in the cycle of abuse, KOSS has postcanon potential. (Post Predacons Rising, rid does not exist 😌) Like. They've proven they feel some type of way about each other. "I've always admired your lustrous finish." "😏" But Knockout was the first person in starscream's life to set a boundary in a healthy way. And when starscream inevitably ignores those boundaries and knockout leaves, you know how much it fucking hurts starscream to realize how badly he fucked up. But of course, the pride. He can't apologize. Can't admit he's the reason knockout betrayed him. So he'll choke back the tears. He'll try to, anyway. But he can't stop the agony in his voice while he feebly spits out "Fine! I hope Unicron eats you too!!" You know the second they shut the door on him, the waterworks started, and so did the closest thing to self reflection Starscream's ever done. He Has the Potential to be Better with Knockout, but he NEEDS to put in the work, and the suspense of wondering if he WILL fucks my whole shit up.

Rescue Bots

It is so close to canon that blades and bumblebee are boyfriends. Hell I believe it pretty much IS canon. He loves that bug so much. He gets jealous when he hangs out with Dani and not him. He hugs him for a photo the first chance he gets. And since we know blades is confirmed as being into dudes, I think we all know what they were getting at. TFP bumblebee has an anxious twink boyfriend that lives in Maine and we have no idea whatsoever if the rest of team prime knows.

Graham and boulder pine for each other like you would not believe. Once again, pretty much canon. You can't just have boulder keep telling Graham "well I like you just how you are" when Graham's trying to impress a girl and expect me to not think he has a big stupid gay crush on his best friend. They love each other so much as partners and as friends, I know damn well they'd be SICKENINGLY cute together as boyfriends. They'd probably try to stealth it at first bc a human and a giant robot alien in love? What'll the others think?? Gotta keep it secret. Sneaking off into the woods so Boulder can work on his "art projects" but in fact they are kissing. They're not as slick as they think they are, Chief Burns 100% picks up what's going on but he lets them think they're sneaky. Nobody actually has any problems with it other than Kade making fun of them a little but don't worry that's just him projecting.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Heatwave and Kade are the worst fucking tsunderes about crushing on each other. Between heatwave refusing to let down the brooding tough guy persona and kade being so insistent on staying hyper masculine (to the point where mild internalized homophobia is inevitable), neither of them can just be honest about how much they mean to each other and they gotta resort to getting each other's attention by being mean in very low stakes ways. I am drowning, there is no sign of land, you are coming down with me, hand in unloveable hand, except they're not drowning and they're just dunking each other in a kiddie pool repeatedly.

Heatwave and quickshadow are fun for similar reasons but with less shit lord pranks and/or lowbrow bitching, and more classy verbal sniping and sparring with each other because heatwave thinks it's hot when quickshadow kicks his ass. They're insufferably competitive and I think that could be very fun and incredibly messy, especially since they both need to learn how to communicate. Very bisexual, they are forced to share the brain cell, 10/10

I also just enjoy the idea of all the bots being in a polycule the same way I like the idea for TFA's team prime. They're very sweet together and they clearly care about each other a lot. Its just kind of nice when they all hold hands together, you feel me? They're sneaking off to kiss in the bunker bc they don't know if the humans know dudes can like other dudes. They are also not as subtle as they think they are.

Oh also doc Greene and chief burns dated once when they were teenagers and it didn't work out but they stayed besties, nobody can change my mind on this.

Beast Wars

Dinobot and Megatron are exes, 100%. Dinobot is probably the only being in the known universe that Megatron actually kind of cares about other than himself and his rubber duck. Otherwise he wouldn't keep trying to fucking clone him to make a version that will never leave him. There's also some implications here and there that Megatron really did want the world to be better for Predacons (along with the desire for power, anyway) and that preds are genuinely treated unfairly, so there's a pretty compelling angle of dinobot having been drawn to megatron because he saw someone with noble goals and a way to fix their fucked up world before becoming disillusioned with the dishonorable tyrant he turned out to be.

Dinobot and Optimus are also very good together bc it really truly feels like Dinobot finally found the guy with honor he thought he saw in Megatron. And he's infuriating half the time because he isn't nearly as bloodthirsty as he's used to, but GODDAMN does he make him Feel Things. The entire episode Gorilla Warfare has me obsessed with them. The bitching. Dinobot freaking the fuck out and Optimus tenderly removing the seed pod stuck to the back of his neck that was freaking him out and only laughing at him a little. Dinobot constantly trying to choose violence. The stupid smile when Optimus also chooses violence and Dinobot realizes he fucked up. THE BEDSIDE VIGIL. "It was my shift" AND YOU KNOW THEY WEREN'T TAKING SHIFTS. THE FLOWER ON THE BEDSIDE TABLE. "it is good to have you back." "Back home or back to normal?" "...both." THEY'RE HOMOSEXUAL, YOUR HONOR.

Dinobot (shit maybe I just really like dinobot) with Rattrap is good for similar reasons but the vibes are totally different. DoOp is all soft and sweet and patient and light ribbing, Dinotrap is talking shit at each other as a love language. Dinobot is a good guy but he's also, fundamentally, a bitch. Rattrap has proven he can match his freak by bitching right back. They love each other by pretending to hate each other. To the point where if Rattrap doesn't hear any comebacks he genuinely starts worrying because "oh, we aren't playing the game, why aren't you playing, are you okay?" They have so many soft tender moments where they prove they actually love each other. Their last conversation is talking shit!!!! "You're just a slag spouting saurian, but it's nice to know where you stand." "Upwind of you for preference, rodent." They loved each other!!!!!! Rattrap is fucked up over losing him!!!!!!!!!!! It's bittersweet, it's tragic, it hurts so bad and I love them so much!!!! They're stupid your honor!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a much sillier side, I do love Rattrap x Rhinox. Rattrap kissed that man twice. On the mouth. On screen. Annoying little gremlin who goes "nyehhhh" x big stoic dude who goes "hn." And they're both tech guys so they probably work on projects together a lot. And they all survive and are fine bc beast machines isnt real 💖

I have my problems with Silverbolt in general but I cannot deny that he and Blackarachnia are pretty damn cute together. He loves his girlfriend, they trash her shitty ex together, she loves that he doesn't try to change her. She gets to be the bad girl and the sweet knight in shining armor still loves her. "Dark poison of my heart" like c'mon.

Airazor and Tigatron are also pretty cute AND they have the honor of being the first canon gay couple in the tf franchise bc of the Japanese dub, which made Airazor a dude but left the romance unchanged (the Japanese dub was also just generally fuckin insane tho so it's not all that shocking).

Waspinator and Terrorsaur are boyfriends for real and for canon, John hasbro told me himself.

RiD 2001

I ship skybyte with that one girl that lives in a state of constant talking-car-based torment. Why? Because when I watched rid with my roommate we had a running joke that eventually they'd meet and have a whole robotfucker romcom arc and it kinda just stuck. This is my only rid ship and I will not be taking criticism on it.

Cyberverse

Bumblebee, Hot Rod and Cheetor are in a polycule together and nobody can tell me they aren't. Just how it's gotta be.

I want Perceptor and Dead End to kiss so badly. They're technically canon already given how hard the creators ship them. They hold hands your honor. "only a bolthead would go out there... UGH I'm such a BOLTHEAD" HES IN LOVE YOUR HONOR.

Hot Rod and Soundwave are great as enemies to lovers, they're so annoying 💖. I feel like they'd start playing gay chicken and be married with three kids wondering when the other guy is gonna back out.

SHOCKWAVE AND WHEELJACK OH MY GOD. fellas is it gay to program your drones which are just tiny versions of your own altmode to dance funny to Tetris music specifically because it makes your lame ass boyfriend laugh and then keep that function eons after you break up and still remember exactly what the command is? Fellas is it gay to get kidnapped by your ex and then get really excited about all the cool shit he's been making while you were separated? I wish they could've gotten a happy ending man, they could've been so cute together.

I don't ship it romantically but I believe in Grimlock & Arcee qpr. They love each other so so much they would've readily died for each other. I love their dynamic, they're insane 💖

Same goes for Shadowstriker and Soundwave tbh. Decepticon besties, and Shadowstriker being aro kinda just feels right. I like to think they cuddle and talk shit about Shockwave while Sounders blasts heavy metal. They play cod as the most insufferable duo.

Megop in cyberverse is so good because it really feels like they Had a relationship but it was unstable and moved too fast and they just assumed they were on the same page about things without communicating properly until suddenly they were in serious disagreement, and TRIED to work it out in a mature way but they were simply Doomed From the Start. And then it culminates in a whole fucking war but it rages so long, and they are so tired of fighting, and they realize they want to try again because nobody was really to blame for how things ended because they both handled it poorly. I wish they got that chance to try again properly. I wish when Optimus retired to just fuck around and vibe, he could've taken Megatron with him. I wish they could've fallen in love all over again.

Oh also Slipstream and Windblade being lesbian enemies to lovers bait was Fucking Phenomenal and I Love it So Much. They're smug and terrible and I want them to make out. They can make each other worse 💖

G1

I have not seen that much of g1 but I do know a few things are absolute truth.

Soundwave is gay for Megatron. This is arguably reciprocated.

Shockwave is gay for Megatron. This is not reciprocated but it is taken advantage of.

Starscream vacillates between gay for Megatron and trying to kill him. Megatron seems to reciprocate but only a little bit. Enough to keep him alive because he's cute. But megs also gets a lot of cuteness aggression so he feels the need to chuck starscream against the wall every now and then.

Powerglide and Astoria are tied for the pinnacle of robot on human romance in the entire tf franchise with Tracks and Raul, and if none of them come back in ANY tf media, I will riot.

Cliffjumper and Mirage have fucked at least once.

Wheeljack and Ratchet are gay married.

Optimus is bisexual and he loves elita-1 but there is something distinctly homoerotic going on with Megatron.

Conclusion

I like when the robots kiss <3

[beauty-beast-week]

TL;DR: let’s be friends y’all

This event was organized by @firawren for largely selfish reasons. For one thing, I wanted to have more BatB fic, art, and other goodies to eat up, and now I do!

But secondly, I wanted to foster more community amongst this fandom. I think this event has shown that there are actually a lot more people who are into Disney’s Beauty and the Beast than you might have thought (than I thought at least!), yet we’re not at all united as a fandom community. There are a few little pockets of friends, but I don’t know most of you. Most people only know a handful of others, if any. And I think that’s sad.

Would you join me in making an effort to be more connected to one another? To show ongoing interest in each other’s works, to lift each other up and motivate each other to keep creating, to just chat and laugh and share joy over our shared obsession with this beautiful story?

I know of three Discord communities for BatB fans that we can try using!

Beauty and the Beast Lovers is the most inclusive server, in my experience. However, there are several minors there, which some adults aren’t comfortable with, just as a heads up.

The Enchanted Rose is a smaller, closer-knit group, but also allows all folks to join, including minors.

The most creation-focused server is Frozen Hearts Worth Melting. It’s 18+ and specifically for BatB (and Frozen) fanfic writers and artists, with a very supportive, inclusive, fanwork-positive vibe. DM moderator @loonysama on Discord or Tumblr if you want to join us there.

Beyond Discord, let’s continue to connect and support each other here on Tumblr! I for one am always happy to chat about BatB and/or my work on my main account @firawren.

And if anyone has any other suggestions of how we can be more united and supportive in this fandom, add your thoughts to this post!

Thanks friends!

[manuellarts]

thank you for fueling my artist duo obsession bias, much appreciated.

in terms of romantic partners, what kind of person would compliment them? i personally had the thought that someone more mature and non-judgmental would fit deidara (seeing as he had a meltdown over someone not even bothering to address his art with any emotion and giving off a judgmental vibe), and someone more patient and open/honest in communication would fit sasori, but everyone has their headcanons for a reason, lol.

in terms of something like friends, what kind of person do you think could be considered more than an acquaintance to them? sasori seems like the type to not really have the space for that, and deidara is sociable but he doesn't seem to talk much about himself outside of art (a bit cautious and guarded, as one would expect of a ninja), so it seems he doesn't trust all that easily either.

Of course ! And thank you for giving me the opportunity to yap about them ahhaha 😭

I absolutely agree with you ! Deidara would need someone more mature, calm, level-headed, and that definitely doesn't blow up as fast as he does. Otherwise, not only are they in for catastrophes, but I don't see deidara even feeling anything deep towards someone who might be similar to him in terms of personality and behavior. Dei is definitely very sensitive and his sense of self distorted, heavily relying on his artist self to define who he is. A romantic partner would need to be someone mature and steady enough to also help dei find out who he really is beneath all of this, allow him to feel safe enough to show his vulnerabilities.

As for sasori, I also agree in that regard. He would definitely need someone who is clear with their communication. Not necessarily calm and mature as Sasori, but calm enough so he doesn't lose patience. Seeing that Sasori heavily suffered from Chiyo's lies, and tested her for the truth several times but never got it, he wouldn't withstand a single lie. A romantic partner would need to be truthful and communicate at all times, even if he wouldn't respect this himself. It would probably take some time for him to be as open. Like I said before, this is all opening vulnerabilities that he might not be willing to risk.

As for friends, I agree. I don't think Sasori even feels the need to have friends whatsoever. I'd describe him as a hermit, just doing his own thing and not even feeling the need to socialize. If anything, it would drain him.

Meanwhile, I see Deidara having lots of acquaintances, but the main condition for someone to be seen as a friend, is for his art to be accepted and understood. Once that is done, BOOM. Friend acquired. I think he'd need people to mirror his energy. Vibe on the same frequency as him. But just as you said, most of the time it'd be very surface level. I don't see him being able to trust much, if at all. I see his heart as very fragile, as his clay statues. Easy to break, prone to explode at any moment. His heart is well guarded and he avoids any topic that may reveal too much about him. He avoids speaking about himself and skillfully diverts the attention to someone else if the subject seems too invasive. He gives the impression that people know a lot about him, and that he only talks about himself, while in reality, no one really knows much about him. A very paradoxical thing, because he'd constantly be around people, but never speak anything too substantial about himself. Nothing that could reveal a deeper side to him.

[weirdstuffinthewoods]

Music in I Saw the TV Glow

Possible spoilers ahead so read at your own discretion (I’m bad at determining how much information is too much)

I’m a firm believer that one of the most important facets of I Saw the TV Glow is its soundtrack. I don’t know if Schoenbrun has an uncanny ability to track down music that perfectly encapsulates the feeling of teenage ennui or if they’ve just got really great taste. Seeing this in a (mercifully silent) movie theater really let the soundtrack form an immersive layer around me, and the moment the first notes hit, I was 15 again. Unsure of myself, extroverted on the outside but barely connected to my insides, and feeling like I was just playing a role I’d molded from what I assumed people wanted of me. The dreamy, atmospheric chords that wound around soft lofi voices with only a guitar or a keyboard called to the part of me that wanted to connect but didn’t know how.

There’s something to be said about the order of songs on the soundtrack, although it’s been awhile since I listened to an official soundtrack that was a compilation rather than a score so maybe changing the track order isn’t as radical as it feels. For now, I’m just going to talk about a couple of songs, although I’m sure as I listen obsessively to the rest, I’ll have way more to talk about.

Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl by yeule

We start with the opening credits song that haunts my TikTok fyp, Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl. This is a cover of the original sung by Broken Social Scene. The original has a whisper quality- repeating lyrics over a simple acoustic melody with strings rising in the background as the refrain starts. It feels like a girls’ garage band of the grungy 90s, almost the vibe we need but not quite.

The covering artist, yeule, is a nonbinary Singaporean who is said to “…incorporate elements of ambient, glitch, and Asian post-pop…” (Wikipedia) which makes this version much better suited to an analog horror about 90s TV nostalgia. In yeule’s version, the same acoustic melody opens to a new beat made up of interchanging robotic and static tones, while in the background, strings wait for their chance to swell in the space between the verse and refrain. It sounds like an android is slowly waking up to be this jaded pop singer who’s just existing at this point, not living. The lyrics are the same as the original, and speak of someone that’s changed, either the singer or maybe a friend that left them behind.

You used to be one of the rotten ones and I liked you for that.

Now you’re all gone, got your makeup on and you’re not coming back.

Bleaching your teeth, smiling flash, talkin’ trash under your breath.

Park that car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor, dream about me.

In the context of the film, it feels like the crisis of identity both main characters face. This isn’t my home, you’re not my dad. The memories don’t feel like they’re yours, they belong to someone else. You’re different now, but also you know you were different then, and you’re only different now because you’re hiding in a disguise you hate. And, at least in Owen’s case (depending on your interpretation of the film’s ending), you’re not coming back. You’ll just dream about the person you know you are because you’re too far into the mask to find them again.

The bass joins in on the refrain and the ambience grows with glitch noises interspersed throughout. A strange sort of beauty begins to show and blooms when the drums kick into the chorus. You’re a teen again. It’s raining, you’re like Owen in the car, stretched across the backseat and staring at the ceiling, full of a feeling you can’t name that’s so much more than just being bored.

On TikTok, this song has become associated with a trend of kids, all much younger than me, sharing their stories of transness that was rejected by the people in their lives. A lot of them have detransitioned for safety and comfort, what little they can find by pretending it was a phase. It’s what drew me to this film, because the piece reflected their state of just physically existing in a world they don’t feel is theirs. For a lot of them, this film gave them hope or gave them new determination to make space for themselves, and I love that about it.

Another Season by Frances Quinlan

Immediately after this, we jump to the closing credits song that plays to a theater full of sobbing patrons who got it and laughing patrons who didn’t, Another Season. The jump is jarring, especially when you’re driving away from the theater in a throat-closing rush of tears (ie: me) and you’re brought straight from the introduction of this neon haze that is the suburbs to this fuzzy, pink screen that watches you come to terms with what you’ve just seen. The static breaks to silence except for a soft, melancholy acoustic melody. A soft voice speaks as if to a friend, and the chorus repeats, “If this isn’t over, what else could take shape? How will you remember it?” In the moment, especially post-there is still time, it feels like a call to action as you leave the theater crying. What could happen next? How are you going to remember your life? There are definitely multiple interpretations to this film, but I wanted to feel hope at the end, so for me, putting this song over the credits felt like Jane saying, “yes, it’s scary, and I’m leaving you to wonder what happened to Owen, but what we aren’t going to do is wonder what’s going to happen to you because there is still time.”

There’s so much more to look at in the choice of music and its juxtaposition with the visuals, but I’m going to leave this here for now with the opening and closing. Suffice to say, go see this movie. Support indie film, make the journey, it’ll be worth it if this resonated with you (but also why did you read this?? I’m sure there’s at least one mild spoiler in here).

[fertabranche]

Trying to list off the r1999 references I can find.

I’m only doing the very beginning in this post so I think it’s a lot of things people already know, but if I don’t do this in order I will simply perish so here we go

Prologue : This is Tomorrow

Part One : Rock 'n' Roll Radio

• This Is Tomorrow

The prologue title is a reference to a contemporary art exhibition that took place in 1956. From what I understand, its purpose was to update the definition of art by challenging the prejudices of the institutions of the time, for instance by using pop culture symbols, this kind of stuff. It would later be regarded as the precursor of the British Pop Art movement, one of the main aesthetic movements of the 60s, which is therefore also relevant in the prologue.

I’ve already written a post about this, but I feel like this title choice is more than an artistic reference, it also makes sense thematically. Later on in the chapter, the Sixties are described as such:

Thanks to our 20/20 hindsight vision we know this is meant to be read in a tragic irony kind of way. The title reads the same to me: there will never be a tomorrow long enough for progress to take root in a world where the Storm is still raging, and in that sense the game began painting that picture here.

• Rock 'n' Roll Radio

This is the title of the prologue's first part. I think it’s named after the song "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" (1980) by the Ramones. From what I understand, it’s as much of a love letter to rock music from the era Regulus was from as it is a warning about the threat nostalgia can pose to creativity.

Once again, it kind of reads as tragic irony given how it’s the second time they’ve been in the 60s. This is worse than nostalgia they’re literally stuck in the past lmao.

The Great Gatsby

Now that the titles are out of the way: the story opens up with the last lines from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The game does not include the first sentence of the quote, but I’ve chosen to use a slightly longer version here because that’s how it makes the most sense to me.

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter-tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning——

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

I have not read the book, so I’m not fully confident trying to analyze it, but from what I understand, the green light is a motif throughout the novel that symbolizes longing. (Or the American Dream, but I don’t think that line of interpretation is terribly relevant in the prologue.)

To be super brief and include as little spoilers as possible, the book tells the story of a man named Gatsby, who grew up in poverty and decided to reinvent himself as a rich man in hope of winning back over a woman he once loved. Though he is known to throw lavish parties, one of the key points of the novel is apparently when the narrator finds him outside of one, staring across the bay at a green light coming from the end of that woman’s deck. This obsession eventually ends in tragedy.

As highlighted in the end quote, this is the story of a man forever stuck in the present, between a past he can never forget nor escape, and an illusionary future he can never quite reach. Just like with the other two references, I think R1999 is quoting this half literally, since the characters share similar issues with the flow of time, but like, for real this time.

What I do find interesting here is that from what I could research, I don’t think the quote is meant to be read as a wholly nihilistic take on the purpose of the human condition? There’s also a little bit of an implied admiration for the resilience synonymous with such cyclicality.

And I do find that sense of neutrality kind of accurate to the vibe of the game? Life sucks, but they beat on quite beautifully, don’t they? :,)

Newton Street

Granted this one may be a reach, but I do find it a little too convenient that we meet Mr.Apple on Newton Street of all places. I could write an entire other post on the references to Isaac Newton in his profile, but since that aspect of his character has never been discussed in the main story, I don’t think it’s relevant here.

Regulus’ Record Collection

In the first part, we get two peeks into her record collection. I don’t think they are all meant to be real records, and it’s kind of way too pixelated to see anyway, but I’m pretty sure I see Please Please Me (1963) and perhaps Rubber Soul (1965) by the Beatles on the right side of her office, though I might just be losing it from staring at pixels for too long.

On the wall of the other picture, I think there’s Please Please Me again, My Generation (1965) by The Who, December’s Children (1965) by The Rolling Stones, and potentially an upside down Aladdin Sane by David Bowie even though it was only released in 1973?

EDIT : here is a great post detailing her collection even more!

Sixties Fashion

Another area I’m definitely not an expert in, so take everything with a grain of salt but I unfortunately cannot shut my mouth.

Idk how much I should source this, but basically, Regulus’ clothes are super inspired by the fashion trends of the Sixties. For example, from what I’ve read, one of the most popular looks of the era for women was what was apparently called a mini dress with "go go boots" (low heeled mid calf white boots), which is pretty much what she’s wearing right? Similarly, the 60s were apparently the era where sunglasses truly became fashion accessories, as it’s when plastic became more mainstream to use than metal, which allowed a lot more freedom of design.

I also read a bunch of articles to try to see if her accessories had any historical significance: this article on chiffon scarves throughout history explains they were mainly used in the 60s to "coordinate with an outfit", but could have bold prints, just like hers does. This one on knee high socks in the 60s, says that they apparently became quite popular because of the mini dresses, in order to still provide coverage. This one was about the newsboy cap, which was apparently very trendy amongst young women back then. And finally, this one explains that backpacks became popular among young people in the sixties, as it’s around when they were modernized for day to day use by becoming smaller and lighter.

I did fail to identify what kind of jackets she is wearing though, it kind of looks like some kind of motorbike jacket on the left and perhaps a type of rain coat on the right? In which case, both were popular at the time as motorbikes were an integral part of the counter culture of the era, and raincoats were apparently a fashion trend for women back then.

Radio Pirate

I feel like this is a pretty well known fact by now but I’m including it in order to be thorough: there is a historical reason as to why Regulus is calling herself a pirate.

In the Sixties, the growing interest for pop and rock music was not catered to by the official radio stations just yet, so what we call "pirate radios" started broadcasting it from offshore ships. This was technically not illegal as they were in international waters, but was still kind of frowned upon because they didn’t observe copyrights law and stuff like that?

And that’s exactly what Regulus is doing when the Manus attacks her in the prologue.

Okay that’s it for this part. I’ll cover part 2 in another post if I have the energy, hope I didn’t make mistakes o777

[anxioustential]

For the assumption game: you are good at acquiring trip souvenirs that don’t suck. And you’re a mom friend who always has things that other people need in your bag (alternatively you never carry a bag but still mom friend vibes)

CLOCKED ME...I am 100% the mom friend (which is funnier when you consider that I was the absolute baby of my social circle and family growing up, but you bet I was still fiercely caretaking my much older friends) I'm that person packing an extra liter of water and sunscreen on hikes for everyone else, my older sister used to call my tote the marry poppins bag because I lugged around every random thing she might need because she was hopeless, I will handle all the stressful travel logistics and carry special snacks to perk you up, shucking off my jacket asap to hand over when someone looks cold, I am bringing an extra battery pack for your phone and aggressively making you lunch/dinner/insisting you let me feed you if you express even the slightest hint at being peckish.

and yes I spend so much time hunting down cool souvenirs (my favorites are interesting local food products, regional textiles/cool vintage clothing and ceramics from local artists) but my main trip souvenir is I am obsessed with finding the most beautiful unique postcards (funky cool illustrations, local tiny letter press etc.) since I usually send dozens of postcards per trip to peeps!

[pinktinselmonstrosity]

everything i read in march!

spring has well and truly sprung, and all i want to do atm is sit outside in the sun and read! alas, it's actually quite cold and i have a job 😔 but i have still been doing a lot of reading so let's get into it! Reviews under the cut as always

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

I read Parable of the Sower for a class last year and was obsessed with it, so was happy to finally get around to reading the sequel. I don't think I have adequate words to describe these books; they are horrible to read, but also incredible, and also important and prescient, and also very compelling and very human. It was genuinely hard to read about the community Lauren had strived so hard to build being destroyed like that, to see this incredibly strong character debased and abused. From a storytelling standpoint I understand why it was necessary but. Jesus christ. Jawdropping in so many ways. Everyone should read these books!

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

I bought the very last copy of this book from a bookshop when it went super viral, and it took me this long to get around to reading it lol. For such a short book it was kind of crazy how many times my opinion on it changed! I will start by saying that while I enjoyed it, I do think it was overhyped. It's very high concept, and while I eventually got my head around what was going on I think (as usual) I would have preferred a longer, more in-depth novel to really dig into all the world building and character arcs. It's a love story told through letters between two enemy combatants, and I did find myself, in the middle of the book, really invested in the characters and their relationship, but the ending once again felt rushed and under-explained due to the length of the book. I think it was good for a novella, but I just don't vibe with novellas I guess!

All Fours by Miranda July

Another really really overhyped book! If you've paid any attention to publishing in the past year then you'll have heard about this book, and how it's the best, sexiest, most shocking and important story ever put to paper. It's about an artist who leaves her family behind for a road trip to New York from LA to find herself - except she stops in a town only 30 mins away from her house and starts a tortured affair with a local rental car driver. What pissed me off the most about this book was the main character; I found her incredibly annoying and pretentious, full of contradictions in the least interesting way, and at no point did I root for her. She's an 'artist', and her art is very important to her. What kind of art does she make? It is literally never described! She just goes to her office and 'works' and goes on and on about how important her work is and how it makes her better and more thoughtful than other people, but the author literally never explains what she actually does. It's hard to get the sense that this is something important when the author couldn't be bothered to describe it! She's explicitly bisexual, has had deep sexual experiences with women in the past, and seems very self-realised about her sexuality at the start of the book, but then she has a sexual awakening with a woman that changes everything. Of course people who are very self-knowing can still find things out about themselves, but everything about this character was just completely inconsistent. The most hyped parts of the book, the sex scenes, fell short of the mark for me, relying too heavily on being shocking rather than actually having any substance. Overall I was really disappointed with it considering all the hype. Save your money and time, don't read this.

The Golden Raven by Nora Sakavic

I was so excited for this and it did not disappoint!! While I think it's probably the weakest of the series so far in terms of plot development (it felt a bit all over the place sometimes) I still hugely enjoyed it. Would I recommend it to someone who isn't already deeply invested in this world and these characters? No, probably not, but maybe you should read AFTG so you can get on my level.

The Prey by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

I bought this from a local bookshop that specialises in crime novels, so I was, understandably, expecting a crime novel. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be a genuinely terrifying horror novel! I love horror and do not scare easy, but I was home alone one night and decided not to read any that night because it was too scary. Really good supernatural crime story but seriously, read with your back to the wall.

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

I'd read another of Locke's books (Heaven, My Home) and I was really confused at first because the protagonist seemed really similar, and then I checked and actually that one was a sequel to this one lol. Both books follow a black Texas Ranger investigating race-related murders in small Texan towns, so they are quite easy to mix up. I think that Heaven, My Home probably has a stronger plot - the murder in this one was solved less by actual investigation and more by Ranger Darren Matthews just stumbling upon the answers, which is a pet peeve of mine in crime novels - but I do really like her storybuilding and will definitely look out for more of her books in the future.

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum

My friend lent me this and I ended up really enjoying it. It follows a woman trying to run an independent bookshop in Seoul, as well as her employees and some of her customers, who are all wrestling with the expectations of society and what it means to be happy. Work/life balance is really the main theme, with multiple characters dealing with leaving their full-time jobs to pursue things that make them happy but are seen as less valid by society. It felt really important for where I am in my life right now and is one of those books I will probably think about for a long time. I kind of don't want to give it back to my friend! Might try to buy my own copy.

Currently Reading + On My Radar

I finished Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop last night (2nd April, so I'm counting it as a March read) and haven't started anything new yet. I'm kind of in the mood for non-fiction, probably something history related; I recently watched this incredible documentary about the mutiny on the Bounty, and it's got me in the mood for history. Apart from that, I don't know! Just going to work on getting my TBR pile down, because it's taking up almost an entire bookshelf 🥲 as always, if you made it this far please chat to me about books! What are you reading, what do you want to read, have you read any of the books on this list and what did you think? Ily ❤️

[airenyah]

diff anon but about joong giving disaster bi vibes i actually think he has adhd? i absolutely dont mean it in any disrespectful way, my family has aspergers and adhd and im pretty sure im also in a spectrum and its one the first things i noticed. the ways his attention goes everywhere, being a bit clumsy, a lot of emotional posts on his main is exactly what adhd people do often and i feel very familiar with it.

but do you know theres rumor est and joong are secretly dating? i saw one of the accounts who believed that and it was like listening to a psychiatric patient sorry

even dunk was getting weird accusation that hes dating one of his close male friends whos gay because they hang out frequently and went to vacation together

yeah i mean that is also a possibility 🤷‍♀️

but tbh, an actor's sexuality, whether he's neurodivergent or not etc etc... those are all things i don't really care to speculate about? especially not in public. bc like... i don't know them. i only know what they want me to know. i only know what they put out in public. and for the most part, those i'm a fan of (whether it's thai ql stars or in other fandoms) don't even know i exist and if they do, they likely don't remember me. and i just feel weird speculating about these kinds of personal things. at the end of the day i'm here for their art and when it comes to thai bl stars specifically i'm here for the entertainement they provide outside their artistic performances. their personal lives are relevant to me only if i by some miracle got to know them personally, but as long as there is no mutal personal relationship i'm not gonna go and pry

and yeah, i'm aware of the joongest rumors. and like, sure, it's a possibility but there is just as much of a chance that they are not. and their fall-out could have been about something else entirely. just bc two people get into a fight doesn't mean any romance needs to be involved. i wish certain fans would get that into their heads

besides, we're not gonna know until the spill the beans themselves and until then, i really don't care. i just wish the best for them

i'm not aromantic but wow am i tired of society's obsession with these two spend a lot of time together that means they must be dating!!!! if "hanging out frequently" and "going on vacation together" is all it takes to be dating then wow, the amount of people i'd be currently be in a relationship with... in fact, i am in a relationship with them. the relationship is called "friendship". i'm so tired

anyway rant over

[obstinaterixatrix]

I read all of The Honest Life of a Game Studio and now I am obsessed do you have recs for anything like it.

I wish. I FUCKING WISH. but it’s really one of a kind. higefusa really just wrote mundane slice of life office drama with the level of detail that could only be provided by a gamer who has worked in the industry AND he threw in some life or death stakes as a treat. how often do we get an incredibly normal office worker stuck in time prison??? and it’s ONE ARC??? not often enough.

none of these are gonna be just like game-ya but in terms of romances with attention to detail for industry/niche fields… ok all of these are gonna be kind of weird so bear with me.

double section is a BL about an auditor for an insurance company and an insurance salesman, I wouldn’t necessarily give it a blanket rec but I liked how Passionate the main characters were about audits and workplace regulations. a lot of heated drama for the most normal office setting possible. in the author’s note the artist talks about interviewing health insurance salesmen.

ginmokusei is more of a conventional BL but it’s about a guy who inherited his grandpa’s tailor shop and an ex maître d who shows up and demands to help him before he goes bankrupt. there’s a little bit about branding and marketing and bank loans. what has Always Stayed With Me is when the love interest basically goes like ‘you’re using all these flashy ads and being really pushy with discounts. are you selling beef bowls.’ every time I pass a clothes shop that goes really flashy with the discount banners I think ‘are they selling beef bowls…’

panel x magic. okay I said it was going to be weird. so this yuri is about a recent graduate who applies for office jobs and ends up doing image editing for… I guess a brothel? it doesn’t go into critiques of the sex industry, but I thought it was interesting how it takes a really logistical perspective in terms of marketing, advertising, and image manipulation… one of the chapters has the main character going like ‘oh god I’m trying to edit this risqué photo by making the thighs thinner and giving the face a glow-up but I keep making the model look like a weird alien this looks like something from a photo booth’ and gets advice from her coworkers like ‘hey why don’t you look up makeup tutorials to get a sense of what to touch up.’ hasn’t been translated in a while but it kind of hits that… really in-depth look at the logistics of a job.

I think there’s more I’m not remembering at the moment, at one point I think sundry made a joke about rating office romances by how much office work is shown. there’s a couple ones that *kinda* fit but not really… wait. wait wait wait. WAIT. oh my god it has such a h•rny title. okay. so I’m being 100% sincere when I say that the main story for hammered and pounded is a BL with interesting office politics. it’s also incredibly h•rny, but game-ya gets pretty h•rny so whatever. but yeah there’s a whole subplot where the love interest, who works in sales, has actually always wanted to work in R&D, and it becomes A Whole Thing where the head of R&D is in conflict with the head of sales over whether or not a transfer is gonna happen and there’s no romance involved with the conflict it’s all office politics

and in a similar vein, to your right, you will see my boyfriend is about a guy who’s working as a tour guide in kyoto and at the artist talks about how she used to work as a tour guide. I think it’s fun, though I have my qualms. the main character does do studying about how to be an effective tour guide and goes from being like ‘ugh I’m saying all the facts but no one’s listening’ to ‘haha check out this extremely long name of the temple we’re about to see! make sure to remember it, it’ll be the password for getting off the bus ;D’

I have another category of vaguely similar vibes of genre bending mundane office work + fantastical situations

tokusatsu gagaga is a gen series that’s a BIG fave of mine, the main character is an OL who loves tokusatsu so she imagines a lot of scenarios with that sort of vibe. it’s not diagetic, but it’s really fun when it’s stuff like ‘I’M AT KARAOKE WITH MY COWORKERS BUT I CAN’T OUT MYSELF AS A TOKUSATSU OTAKU THIS IS JUST LIKE BEING ATTACKED BY A KARAOKE-THEMED MONSTER EMERJASON HELP ME!!!!’ the eng tl hasn’t been updated in a while but there’s a live action adaption that’s really good

magilumiere co. ltd. is a gen series that’s basically ‘what if magical girls were like… sanitation workers for monsters’ so it’s a lot of company logistics in a fantastical setting. I don’t think I got that far into it before getting distracted, but it was interesting (though perhaps overly generous/idealistic about start-ups as a concept).

[posttexasstressdisorder]

About That Radio Thing...

A Sort-of MasterPost in Zenith Mid-Century Industrial Design

Every once in awhile I get bitter about what I had thought was gonna be my "happy fun retirement project", because I ended up having to give them all up. I took a lot of really good photos of them in the process of selling them on eBay for literal pennies compared to the dollars I'd spent on them. So at least there's the pictures, and the knowledge.

I'm talkin' about my radios. Radio, real AM Radio used to be so incredible, before it became hate-radio. It was how I heard EVERYTHING first!

The year is 1971. I'm a musical-obsessive 12 year old and hearing Lennon's "Power To The People" come over the airwaves for literally the first time, along with everyone else! It felt incredible! It was how we all connected to the big energy of our time. In a way, it was our internet.

After my sweetie died I wanted to collect radios that I liked, radios with a certain kind of industrial-streamlined deco vibe, and boy I collected. In the span of a couple of years I managed to find/buy a large collection of Zenith radios in particular, along with a few choice others.

The main object of my obsession was the industrial design of most Zenith radios from 1939-1953, the work of one Robert Davol Budlong. His designs speak to me. Seeing the evolution of style from between those two dates is impressive.

So I was all set to enjoy being an old radio guy. Until I wasn't.

There are a lot of reasons the radio collecting thing just decidedly became NOT what I was going to do. First was finding out a lot of the "old radio enthusiasts" are mostly old nazi shits.

I had been excited about living just down the street from a "museum/club" building, but after I actually tried to interact a few times, that pretty much came crashing to a halt.

There was one younger guy who seemed OK, but as for any other interactions, not really. And it coincided with my financial downward spiral in such a way that I had to start selling off what had at least occupied my grieving mind (and eyes).

Eye candy becomes expendable when shit gets real. I ended up having to sell most of the radios. I kept one console, and a couple of small transistors. So I kinda had to grieve not only my sweetie, but the "eye candy" that had occupied me since she died.

Oh, and somehow in the shuffle of this shitshow of life this past 10 years, I once managed to leave the lock unlocked on my (supposedly secure and guarded) storage unit, and thirty of my prize radios and record players were literally wheeled out and stolen. About $2k worth.

And now, I'm too broke to collect a goddamn thing.

But at least I still have the pictures.

That's what started this. Every once in awhile I want to see them. It makes me happy to see all that amazing Budlong design again. Of the ones that worked, I can remember what each one sounded like. I also collected ads for certain models, catalog pages that they were part of, etc. There are posts about that, as well.

So I thought I'd just put all the links to the main radio posts I've made over the last few years, making this a Radio Masterpost of sorts.

Lots of mid-century industrial design eye candy. Yer welcome. Alternately, go to my page and just search "Zenith" or "radio", "radio ads", "catalog", "radio advertising" etc. I don't do the tag thing much, but the search works pretty good on my page, actually.

So yeah, the love affair with radios will stay mine, but it's bittersweet.

AND NOTE: THEY ARE ALL GONE, VERY SOLD. ANY EBAY LINKS ARE LONG, LONG DEAD.

Just search my blogpage to see some more. I'll try to gather all the various links together here.

Here's one last one for today. Another of Zenith's unicorns, the T545: Combination radio and 45-rpm-only record changer, in all its original bakelite splendour. This is another rare bird that, sadly, I only owned for a few months before having to give it up again. I hope the new owner has done the electronic/mechanical restore to it and that lit lives on. To have found one with absolutely no real damage to the bakelite, and brights that are BRIGHT, it's really rare! Feast your eyes.

[nekoart753]

Absurdity of my spiritual journey, from emo messiah to actual Messiah

Note that I am not trying to convert anyone. Just sharing as someone who is raised Catholic, struggled with mental health and all sorts of escapism.

Strengthening your faith doesn’t always come from fire-and-brimstone sermons or dramatic altar calls. Sometimes, it comes from crying in your room while imagining Andy Biersack hugging you because you never got the genuinely loving kind from your strict Asian household.

At first, I idolized Andy like crazy. His songs about not fitting in and standing strong despite the world trying to crush you hit. It wasn’t as explosively angry as most pop punk, but it still had that “don’t let them control you” vibe. I had spent years with angrier emo/pop punk, and while I don't think they are inherently bad when it was thw inly thing I absorbed I became emotionally unstable, prone to tantrums over little disagreements, and had the "the world hates me, I hate the world, so I'm angry and rebelling" kind of mindset.

I still listen to the louder, angrier stuffs tho, just knowing better when I need them to resonate with how I feel, and when to finally switch to something less intense to listen to for balancing my mood.

Though to this day I am still with my family that I deep toxic and restrictive, so when I discovered BVB and learned about Andy I held onto his message like it was scripture. He became this symbol of strength, freedom, and self-worth. Things I desperately wanted and I deemed more balanced than the explosive pop punks and metals I'm used to because BVB doesn't sound as angry yet loudly speaks about "having your own principles, don't let the world/ anyone opress you".

But that parasocial high didn’t last forever.

The more I dug into his past and public persona, the more red flags I saw... Past mid-show tantrums and fighting hecklers/haters, ego issues/main character syndrome, obsession with revenge, and now this subtle “I’m better than all of you” energy that gave me the ick. It hurt. Letting go of that ideal felt like losing a safe space where I got comfort from. And for a while, I felt empty. Like, if not him, then what do I anchor myself to?

That’s when I found God again.

For the first time in a long while, I wasn’t scared of reality. I didn’t need to numb myself with delusions or rage at the world to feel strong. I could breathe knowing my worth isn’t built on idols, aesthetics, or being "better than the world,” but on something eternal.

I still listen to BVB tho. Loving an artist’s work doesn’t mean you have to blindly follow/agree with them. You can take the lessons and leave the poison. For me, reconnecting with God gave me the clarity to do that. I can take the insighful values from BVB/Andy, and leave out the ones I don't find helpful.

Not everyone’s journey is spiritual, and that’s okay. But we all need something solid and unchanging to hold onto when life shakes us. For me it is Jesus, for others it might be different religious/spiritual belief, or philosophy.

It is up to each person, I am not trying to tell people how to live life. Just make sure it’s something that lifts you up and can count on no matter how hard life gets. Something that doesn't feel like an emotional crutch, but empowering and safe to fall back on anytime you're struggling.

And sometimes, God (ort the universe, fate, whatever you believe in) works in mysterious ways. Who would've thought it'd be an ex-Catholic rockstar that leads me back to my Catholic faith 😂

[br1ghtestlight]

and would u believe me if i had personality breakdowns for them too.......

pink (he/she/they) they're a lot more ditzy and lighthearted than purple she just wants to be friends w/ everyone, loves makeup and fashion too though :) definitely looks up to purple a lot as an older sister (by maybe..... five minutes??) their dynamic is kinda like two oldest teenage sisters in the loud house. she's leni. Just living life one day at a time #queen maybe he'll be a makeup artist or something

red (she/her) - aggressive but not mean just really protective!! definitely the most athletic of the siblings and is on like two different sports teams (soccer and basketball ?? maybe). short tempered tho 🙁 its hard to hold down a job bcuz she doesn't put up with people's bullshit, she'd probably do well in politics lmao

orange (he/him) - he was born with an intellectual & physical disability and was very sick as a kid (mostly stayed in the hospital getting heart surgery or whatever) so his family is slightly overprotective of him. they kinda take turns hanging out with him bcuz it isnt really SAFE for him to be alone and bcuz he also doesn't like to be alone (they take turns as in monday is blue's day, tuesday is red's day etc etc and they all do an activity with him and just hang out. their parents obviously did most of the childcare when they were younger and they still have saturday but yknow..... jobs). outside of that he's very funny and adventurous, i think ideally he'd be going cliff diving every weekend but he's mostly just the class clown and he's very good at making his siblings laugh

yellow (he/they) - gay best friend.....?? he's a really sweet and supportive guy and LIVES to hype other people up. super friendly and outgoing. he has a job at like a clothing store in some botique mall. he's so brave bcuz he's like one of the only people in their family who isnt unemployed 🙏 BREADWINNER KING

green (he/him) - introverted and nerdy but he gets confused a lot 😭has like three separate chronic illnesses. reads and sleeps most of the time but he's a sweetie tbh

blue (they/them) - the main character of my Heart <3 (and one of nine actual main characters) not gonna go into their whole character here obvs but they're like the anxious/safe kid and they work at a grocery store. the responsible eldest daughter type vibes despite not being the eldest or a daughter

purple (she/her) - wants to be the most famous influencer in kenya. kinda a diva and obsesses over her appearance. definitely the most popular of the siblings when they were in school in school But she uses her influence for good..... mostly. definitely annoys blue once or twice about using starr for connections, which is not happening in this or any universe <3

they were raised to be very close and protective of each other and their relationship as siblings so they all get along pretty well apart from petty fights like you stole my hairdryer etc whatever. and they all still live together in a Big ass house like theyre fucking cartoon characters. but big families are much more common in objects so its not really that big of a deal, and blue is (mostly) happy to live with them........... Its Complicated

[zylian]

I have this au I really really really love and its become my comfort au at this point.

it’s just lifesteal as graffiti artists in a huge city living life that slowly see each others art around and end up trying to search for the other unconsciously.

Like they start becoming fans of the other, start rivalries despite the other not knowing, putting their art right beside the other, seeking out certain times when the art show up… stuff like that!

I’ve had many ideas revolving around people, like Red hunting down graffiti artists cause he wants specific styles on his buildings, Bacon mains social media posts of new art and Terrain being the main paint supplier. Slowly they all start connecting yknow

—— Slice of life vibes ! ——

Lately it’s mainly Zam & Spoke being the *hot topic* of graffiti artists in there city at the moment but they don’t know who the other is and it makes them want to know the other.

Spoke REALLY wants to find Zam but Zam gets scared cause Spokes publicly known but he’s not, he’s more underground.

Zam hangs down low with Subz while Spoke proudly prances around the city with Mapicc in tow.

Zam mains 3d styles especially in corners, it grabs a lot of attention. Those are quite rare to find of his but they are a lot of peoples favourite, he occasionally does throw-ups/posters and he also does many tags that are found EVERYWHERE. If one disappears, two more show up. His is usually “PZ” with a yellow blob that has a black smile with a large crown over both. It’s found in so many secret spots and corners, no one has seen this guy making them but his art is super recognizable.

Spoke occasionally does throw-ups, he gets commissioned a lot to do pieces and blockbusters around buildings but his main is wildstyle. Taking over a huge wall, usually writing his whole name out or random words hes obsessed with at that time. He always starts by marking an entire wall covering them in tiny spots, he claims it helps him envision his new design. Crazy enough instead of his letters being crazy colours it’s his backgrounds and they POP. So much so that others have to focus on the colours in the back to even read out what the black letters say.

Zams heavily intimidated by everything so he can’t paint in the day yet, he goes through the night running around with Subz, placing their art beside each other’s. Subz’s style is heaven, getting to impossible spots to place his mark and Zam gets to witness it happen. Subz barely gets traction cause of it but the ones that are found make rounds in the community.

Zam had one day unknowingly put a tag over Mapiccs throw-up, a lot of rumours started of Mapicc taking offence (not really) so Mapicc tries to track down Zam. Mapicc asked Spoke if he knew Zam and unintentionally got dragged into the rabbit hole of Spokes plan. The plan to find Zam as Spoke had over time become really fond of Zams style.

So Mapicc & Spoke travel at night in hopes to somehow stumble upon Zam & Subz.

They ponder during the day living life and at night scurry around the bright city lights, silly stuff.

Through their adventures Zam & Subz find out who Mapicc & Spoke are in daily life as those guys don’t hide their face. It prompts Zam to make it a game to see how long they could go without being discovered.

So while Zams making his piece, Subz would be the look out. They drop clues in their art, even going so far to try and befriend them without them knowing. Starting off with a mediator and of course that has to be Parrot. Parrots well known at the skate parks and surprisingly has the most connections.

It’s how they get introduced and being subjected to everyone’s thoughts

——

It’s fun, silly & wacky!

Mapicc trying to hone his style along the way and Zam somehow trying his best not to get discovered by Spoke while making new friends (plus dragging his abandoned building buddy Subz with him)

!!!!!

[silvernyxchariot]

Since this is Tumblr, I shall ✨️yap✨️.

Template by @/miss.ariamm, tiktok

I had to take a moment to remember stuff because "It's just a game. I'm not going to remember something irrelevant like this." And I still don't remember, my answer will probably change in, like, June-July time.

[From left to right, top to bottom]

1 downloaded the game for him: Xavier/Sylus I argue both for Xavier and Sylus because I got Xavier in this quiz when I first got curious about LaDS and when I asked Bestie, he said he thought Sylus would be my favorite. It really wasn’t that hard to convince me to start playing Love and Deepspace. You (/nbh) didn’t have to be so rude and bitchy about it.

2 who I mained first: Rafayel Rafayel over Xavier because Xavier was an autopilot choice as I started navigating the game, not a conscious “I really like this character and want to get to know him more” choice.

3 almost switched to..: Caleb The tortured soul in a sexy meat suit and whiny-desperate thing almost got to me. But I pity him more than anything. Please ✋🙄, he’s also not scary with or without the Torring Chip. Calling him a “yandere” is an insult to yandere.

4 who I related to most: Dragon!Sylus

5 who I stayed for: Sylus/Rafayel "I'm not going to cherry-pick you, God of the Sea, a whiny artist, a cold-hearted assassin, lover boy. Every face, every mask you wear is Rafayel, my Rafayel." Rafayel may have lost his crown, but I do not love him any less.

6 if they was real I will choose him: Sylus But of the five, Xavier, Zayne, and Caleb are the three I would most likely encounter in real life.

7 not my type but I adore him: Zayne Mama, nanay, lola, and all the aunties around the block thought Zayne would be my type. But the way I act is so similar to Zayne, a group chat even told me, “You give Zayne vibes.” I think we’d just be twins or blood siblings, wherein I’m the gay-unicorn-disappointment to our parents. Ain't no way you'd get us mixed up. I, in fact, would walk into his room, stare him down, knock something over, and leave the door open as I retreat back into the hallway while maintaining eye contact.

8 fav another version of him: Sylus in Innocent Birdcage For the Bad Ending, I felt only melancholy. Less painful heartbreak that would bring one to tears like in Abyssal Sovereign, but more sorrowful acceptance that this would be MC/the player’s and Sylus’s life, over and over again.

9 My MC and the man who won my heart The part where it asks, "who won my heart?"⬇️

I'm sorry, but at the end of the day, I can only see these as just pixels and computer programming made for fun, maybe a little bit of comfort when feeling unloved–interpret this last half however you wish. I interpret, "who won my heart," as if asking me if I am obsessed with these characters beyond the delusions of my 22 year old self–I was incredibly toxic back then; it wasn't healthy for anyone involved. And to that, I say, "Not so much that I would send death threats and harassment notes to a fictional character and get my gaming account banned. 🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼" My frontal lobe is developed, I promise.

If you are or encounter one of those players, just letting you know, I'm never letting that go. Because jokes on them, immediately after Rafayel’s birthday, we get a FREE Sylus five-star card. 😂😂😂😂