#✕ ❝ how to know the wild flowers ❞ ⸢ meme ⸥

[workingwhileidream]

Okay Burrow's End had me thinking some thoughts... So here are my favorite Dimension 20 moments that rotate like a rotisserie chicken in my brain (in no particular order other than the order I thought if them).

- Riz goes into the butthole of the Corn Ooze Monster (Fantasy High). The first absolutely insane shenanigans move anyone makes on D20, setting the tone the show will have forever.

- Raphaniel kills Queen Pamelia (Ravening War). I think I saw Brennan's soul leave his body briefly when he got that How Do You Want To Do This from Matt. Time was an absolute flat circle that day.

- Hank convinces Brennan to let him role savvy instead of sneak (Mentopolis). Hank is one of the most famous content creators, having him on the show was phenomenal to begin with. Then right out of the gate, he pulls this move in his first episode. And it just works. Hilarious, instantly iconic.

- Jet Dies (A Crown of Candy). When Lapin dies, it is shocking but I wasn't attached to him as a character. Lapin was a bit antagonistic and his death happens early in the season. On the other hand, Jet is instantly likeable. Emily and Siobhan are amazing as siblings, their performances this campaign are some of my favorites. I have siblings and I am very close to them, so this hit me like a ton of bricks.

- The entire epilogue of Burrow's End. "Are you pitching and Air Bud ending?" is one of the instant hall of fame quotes from this show. I started crying I was laughing so hard.

- Ylfa's bottleneck and the TPK (Neverafter). There are so many close calls for total party kills in Dimension 20 history, but this is where it finally happens and it's only 3 episodes in. I was on edge, expecting another TPK at any turn, for the rest of the campaign.

- 3 nat one initiative rolls for the battle that literally opens the season (A Starstruck Odyssey). The beginning of a new season is always full of excitement. This season was extra special, having everyone back in the dome after the pandemic and the season being based off Brennan's Mom's comics. The zoom energy is still in the air and I still think about this season opener a lot.

- Mother Timothy Goose breaks Snow White's concentration with a cantrip (Neverafter). Only Ally Beardsley could and we all damn well know it. Still didn't stop me from being so far in disbelief that all I could do is laugh.

- Hob's "You will never know another lonely day" speech to Rue (A Court of Fey and Flowers). I will still cry about this if I think about it for too long. Rue and Hob's romance is the heart of this season to me. I won't be over it ever.

- Gertrude convinces Nyruth to give the Questing Queens very powerful boons after the Queens tried to rob them only a few hours earlier (Dungeons and Drag Queens). The fact that this season exists drives a level of serotonin into my brain that is unimaginable. This is the definition of a big swing and when Bob rolls well, Brennan has no other choice than to honor it. This is one of the moments I have made a meme of. I cannot wait for season 2.

- Wuuvy shows up to the duel and she did not come to play (A Court of Fey and Flowers). Aabria has talked about how Wuuvy is one of her favorite NPCs and I feel the same. Wuuvy and Rue's relationship has such a great arc and this moment is so pivotal.

- Fabian's no good very bad day (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). An iconic moment in D20 history that was truly wild to watch live. For everything to go so fantastically bad for Fabian and Lou was unprecedented. There is a reason why people still talk about this moment to this day.

- Amathar survives being pushed off the castle (A Crown of Candy). Brennan tried to kill Lou so many times in this campaign. I really thought Brennan had gotten him with this one, my stomach sunk. But Lou pulls it out and Amathar lives once again.

- Pib plays "Smoke on the Water" (Neverafter). "I stepped out to play 'Smoke on the Water' " is also a hall of fame quote to me. This list could be all Pib moments if I'm being honest, he's my favorite Zac character. And the fact that Zac doesn't roll well makes this moment funnier to me.

- Buddy Bear gets planted with the All Blossom (Dungeons and Drag Queens). Jujubee and Brennan owe me a therapy session for this one. I sobbed. My cat is my baby and I will be ruined the day she leaves me, so I get it. I really do.

- "Eat your dice, Brennan" (Fantasy High Sophomore Year). A great bit made physically possible by Siobhan. I hope Siobhan gives him gummy dice or something like that so that Brennan can continue to eat his dice for Junior Year.

- Orange Top Hat Fairy (Neverafter). It's a horror season and the cast is doing bits about how hot a mini is the entire finale and the Adventuring Party that followed. I felt the stress and off the walls energy through the screen. The Smooth Criminal pin was the first piece of Dimension 20 merch I bought.

- Viola's epic takedown of Phoebe (Burrow's End). Watching Rashawn absolutely crush it her first time in the dome was amazing. I loved Viola from the jump, her arc was so satisfying and fun to watch. Also the idea of a tiny stoat kicking a gun just the right way to get it to fire is hilarious. No notes other than please have Rashawn come back on every season she possibly can.

- Evan Kelmp warns the Rosemont student not to duel him (Misfits and Magic). Brennan's deadpan warning matched with the reactions of the other players and Aabria really make this scene. An underrated Brennan moment for sure.

- Stacey Fakename turns out to be real (Mentopolis). This was such a good reoccurring bit, so to have Stacey be real at the end of the story was too funny. In a season of bits, tropes, and puns - this one has the most payoff to me and is definitely my favorite.

[headspace-hotel]

i learn a staggering amount of things just being in nature and paying attention to what's going on. Things that are obvious are seldom written down so they can be found where people look. I get stressed out that people don't know things. It's dire that they have to be taught at all.

I'm watching everything prepare for winter. Well, not watching. I'm gathering seeds, preparing beds, labeling seed packets. The leaves are falling, the flowers are dying back.

I was surprised to see how long seeds will just hang out on withered plants, instead of being eaten or falling or blowing away. Acorns and nuts cover the forest floor. Hackberries cling to trees throughout winter. Seeds are produced in wild abundance.

It's difficult not to assign purpose to these things—the plants produce seeds and nuts so the birds and animals don't go hungry. It's discouraged to view nature as having some kind of purposeful agency.

The leaves cover the ground now in deep drifts. I learned that moths and butterflies sleep through winter in fallen leaves.

How did I not know that? How was this not important enough to be taught?

Homeowners seem to think of leaves as a nuisance. It's common practice to rake them into piles and burn them or bag them up to be sent to landfills. This is horrifyingly wasteful, on top of destroying the insects that hibernate in them. Fallen leaves are pure gold, a vital source of nourishment and insulation for the soil. Rotting leaves mulch and fertilize the forest floor.

Fallen leaves don't just nourish, they protect. I found the smaller of my tree seedlings covered by a thick layer of fallen leaves, shielded from an early frost. Farmer Family Friend advises mulching the baby trees for the winter to keep them safe from the extremes of the cold.

They are a near-perfect insulating and mulching material, but I rarely see people using them as such. "Use fallen leaves as mulch" is a Gardening Hack found on Pinterest, a novel trick.

It is discouraged to assign motive and purpose to natural processes, but it is devastating to accept the alternative—that something an organism does isn't "for" a purpose except the organism's own survival. Leaves fall because they can't withstand the winter cold, and it is more economical to enter a period of dormancy. We know this.

And yet. The horrors it has caused, for people to decide that the leaves are not for anything, that they only make a mess and can be burned or sent to a landfill (!!). We have to spread memes online telling everyone to leave alone their fallen leaves, because it's not common knowledge that the butterflies need them.

The harsh, competitive thinking about nature stops people from thinking of nature as the intricate system it is.

I was afraid that the frost last night killed my tiny tulip poplar. I found it safe and unharmed, covered by leaves blown all the way from the neighbor's yard—leaves from a mature tulip poplar tree, shielding the small one. I keep telling myself not to be fanciful, but my heart aches with something indescribable.

[yourlocaltreesimp]

*insert And Another One meme*

Can I. Request a yandere chain with a reader who gifts them flowers just because they can? Or like, them just subtly courting the chain for a change? (minus wind, who they just flat out spoils because he's babey even though he's a gremlin)

And when I say court, I mean like in ways that they're probably not familiar with? Like, the reader makes up a bs excuse about needing their help to see if they can still sing because then rusty, and then singing love songs to them but it's in a language they can't recognize?

Or like, doing tasks for them? Basically acts of service, since that's an old way of courting from my country that can be easily mistaken for them being helpful, but they're just generally more careful and going above and beyond what's asked for them?

- altumsomnum (forgot to add it in the other asks lmao)

Ofc, ofc I think I miss understood the prompt, but take this in case!

TW:ok well there’s some obsession and yandere as expected, blood mentione

Oh how the mighty fall

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

You’d recently found yourself in quite the predicament. Not necessarily a bad one… Just, odd. Long letters of prose and poetry sealed with royal blue wax from Warriors carefully dancing around his plans to stab the others and run off with you. Quiet afternoons curled up as Sky plays you music keeping you safe and distracted as the others slit the throat of the merchant that insulted you. Ranting to Four about whatever interest snagged your mind, he’d listen for hours at your every beck and call, no matter if the sentiment wasn’t returned. Strolling around villages with Time, knowing you’re safest at his side though you didn’t know how deep their feelings went, they’d do anything at your order. Twilight teaching you how to ride a horse, sharing what knowledge he knew you’d benefit from but also so you wouldn’t be near the fight. Fresh hot meals and deserts from Wild, with some added ingredients to let you sleep so they deal with business. Reading with Hyrule in a calm clearing, uninterrupted by the others but he knows the more time you spend together, the easier it’ll be when he steals you away. Sparring with Legend, finally free to move and fight as the others do as he gauges your strength to see how hard you can fight back.

You supposed the real question was why? You didn’t do anything odd or particularly of note. In comparison to the other options they had (there were none, as if anyone could pretend they held light to your sheer divinity) you felt dim by comparison. Sure, you wanted their affection (you already had them, so much blood has been spilled in your name, their reason for living is found within your company) but between yourself and the incarnation of a goddess fool to think she’s worthy of comparison you didn’t know what prompted their behaviour. It was only until you caught a passing conversation from a village girl to her friend that you realised your fatal mistake. This wasn’t Earth. Looking back on your behaviours you felt embarrassed. You’d spent hours reading and writing poetry with Warriors when you found his passion in it. You didn’t question the blush on his cheeks when you read his poetry on love- you knew he loved the romance novels. You asked Sky to play his harp when you were doing chores and even got in the habit of singing softly when you found yourself willing. You turned a blind eye to the look of sheer endearment and adoration when you looked up from whatever you busied yourself with. You’d listened to Four go on and on about the Minish after he found their numbers dwindled in the future. He’d cried, you held him, he went on and on about each and every tiny detail of his journey, pouring his heart out in a way that he was only ever used to doing when split. You welcomed him with open arms the next time he asked if you could talk. You ran whatever errands with Time that he asked, knowing his aversion to such large crowds with no company. You thought the silent agreement to stick with one another in busy cities was forged in the mistrust of the environment you found yourself surrounded with, not out of any further attraction. You entertained the idea of learning to ride a horse to get closer with the group, bridge the gap the lay between you. You didn’t catch Twilight as he noted how quickly you caught on, how easily you’d adapt to Ordon, especially with your compassion. You helped Wild with the cooking mainly because you wanted to be useful, but from what you’ve seen, he always managed to make simple tasks entertaining. He, meanwhile, was falling over himself at the fact that someone is willing to help him, let alone out of the goodness of their heart, let alone you who he’d lay down lives for. Reading with Rulie so you could learn a little more about their lives and culture as he saw you preparing to live out the rest of your days in the Hyrules. Asking Leg for help fighting because you knew he’d be the only one who wouldn’t hold back, while he enjoyed being closer with you, having the excuse to finally be near you without any glares. Looking back, you see why they acted as they did.

BONUS:

In long and short, the chain did a lot for you, for your affections. And it really began to bother you that they never accepted anything in return. They never took thanks, for it is what was ‘expected’ of courting, and yet you felt as if there was more to be done. And so, you decided on a plan. You’d simply have to be stubborn. It was rewarding to see blushes tinting their cheeks as they read the letters you’d written for them in turn. Watching their eyes light up as you goth them all jewellery, tokens that they treasured more than anything Hylia had given them. Finding excuses to take them all on dates and seeing their hearts squeeze.

[unicyclehippo]

one word prompt: lavender

i shouldve brought flowers right?? that would have been polite shit

oooooh it's THAT sort of dinner date

Irritation prickled at the back of Imogen's eyes. She closed them. Imagined irritation and the cruelty that followed it as a vile little bug, imagined plucking out of her brain and squishing it, crushing it in the fist she clenched tight at her side. She wiped her hand on her jeans and messaged Fearne back.

i dont think so, she said, entirely sincere. Laudna was truly unlike anyone she had ever met before, in a way Imogen didn't have the words for. She could say the woman was kind - but Orym was kind, so that wasn't what set her apart. She could say the woman was clever and beautiful - but Fearne was those things as well, and Imogen didn't feel this way about Fearne. Imogen thought that the truth might be very simple - whatever was different about Laudna was different in Imogen as well. Some lonely part of her mind that she had ignored forever was suddenly loud - and she liked it. She liked what it said, how it talked. She liked being able to hear her own thoughts after a lifetime being bombarded with everyone else's. So no, it wasn't a date. Not the way Fearne was suggesting. It was just that Laudna - Doctor Bradbury - was kind and clever and beautiful and she listened to Imogen so intently that Imogen could finally hear herself and someone like that deserved flowers.

She didn't tell Fearne that, of course.

are you at her place yet?

not yet. close, maybe five mins? why? gonna dotdash me a bunch?

no silly just look for a garden its free cant be assed to find the meme but just know. itsfreerealestate.meme

i dont think thats a real image format

no it is

ok.

plus!! it's sooo romantic to give a girl just one flower it tells her that she's Singular & beautiful

it tells her that you plucked it out of some random person's yard.

and you did that just for Her c'est tres romantique

so if someone turned up on Your doorstep with one flower they yanked outta someones yard you'd fall head over heels for them

There was a strangely long pause before Fearne replied to Imogen's teasing. When the reply finally came, it was heavy with amusement.

i thought you said it wasn't like that

Imogen scowled down at her phone. She could practically see the coy upturn of Fearne's lip, the mischievous sparkle in her eye like she knew the punchline to the joke life was playing on you and found it funny too.

The screen of her phone went blank and black. In the reflection, she saw her own face - the scowl, the permanent frown creasing between her brows, and somehting new. A hint of colour in her cheeks. It was easier to look into the dull reflection than it had been at Fearne's apartment. Her apartment was so bright. There had been no way to avoid seeing herself, to avoid that pang of discomfort - of irritation. But her phone screen was smudged from handling and the dim light of the train and it was small enough that it couldn't show all her face at once. Imogen tilted it so all she could see was the new spots of colour high on her cheeks.

It wasn't a dinner date. She knew that for sure.

Did she want it to be?

Her phone screen lit up. Despite herself, Imogen smirked down at Fearne's message.

i want a full debrief when u get home ESPECIALLY if u end up "debriefing"

//

It was a short stroll from the train station to Laudna's apartment. The hill was steep but it was worth the climb when Imogen turned back to face the way she'd come, hands on her hips as she tried to catch her breath, and saw the view. The sky was dull and grey, clouds packed tight together like thin sardines. In between, there were tiny streaks of blue but they were disappearing even as Imogen watched. The sea, though. The sea was wild. They probably didn't have long before the wind that was whipping it into a frenzy hit Emon, bringing with it a decent storm front if she had to guess, but Imogen wasn't afraid; it was awe that held her still. For a moment, she wasn't Doctor Imogen Temult, modern-day archaologist - she was Imogen, a woman standing on the cliffs, watching the churning of the waves and seeing a goddess, her fury, in that power. Stampedes of seafoam horses thundered ahead of the blue-black waves that bore them up onto the rocky shoreline. Ships began to hurry back to the port, appearing and disappearing between the climbing, curling waves. It was reassuring, in a way. Imogen hitched a smile, felt a little of her tension fade. No matter how badly the night went, she had her feet planted solidly on the ground.

Imogen turned and kept walking. The wind began to pick up. A fluttering of purple caught her attention - a different colour to her hair - and she turned to see two large grey-green lavender bushes, shivering in the worsening wind. Imogen stepped toward them and from her belt she took her pocket knife and snipped a few of the flowers, the perfect ones. She tucked them carefully beneath her jacket and hurried past the last few remaining houses that kept her from Laudna.

The gate creaked.

A little ache throbbed behind her eye. This was stupid. The flowers. She shouldn't have taken them.

Imogen dragged in a deep breath. Planted her feet. And knocked on Laudna's door.

[domiforpresident]

Random Shuriri hc's

Riri definitely forces Shuri to make tik toks with her. Specifically dances. Riri teaches Shuri the dance beforehand and then makes her do it 1000 time's with her once she knows it.

In the house they both love being comfortable. Shuri is most likely always wearing sweatpants and a plain tee-shirt. Riri on the other hand wears her sports bra and some short boxers, and if her hair isn't in braids she lets her curls down. The first time Shuri saw Riri dressed like that she was literally acting like a cat in heat.

Shuri starts using aave after dating Riri for a while. It catches Riri completely off guard.

They play games together. Specifically smash bros, cod and saints row. Riri screams loud as hell when she dies in a game. Shuri is definitely the sore loser out of the two, while Riri rubs it in her face that she lost.

"Maybe you'll win next time baby" Riri said showing fake sympathy teasing Shuri.

"I wanna play again you cheated" Shuri pouted.

"Ima just beat yo ass again but ok" Riri said while starting the game back up.

Shuri is a wild sleeper. It's not her fault though she grew up having a big ass bed to herself. Shuri also talks in her sleep. When she first spent the night in Riris dorm, Riri tried to tell her about it the next morning but Shuri didn't believe her.

Riri loves cuddling. She would jump in Shuris skin if she could. She likes being the big spoon so she can touch and feel all over Shuri, and play in her hair. Riri loves playing in Shuris hair, she usually does it until Shuri falls asleep.

Riri uses baby pictures of shuri as her own personal memes.

Riri: *sends picture of Shuri at 5 years old*

Shuri: how the hell did you get that Riri....?

Riri: Don’t worry bout all that.

Riri could say that her head hurts and Shuri would be outside her dorm room in less than 30 minutes. She's extremely over protective over Riri, and wants to make sure she's ok at all times.

Riri smokes but Shuri doesn't. One time Shuri was all up on Riri while she was smoking and got contact high. Shuri is paranoid when high so she kept yelling about how someone was coming to get her and how her face was melting off.

Shuri loves laying on Riris ass. She Just puts her whole head on it like it's a pillow. It became a regular thing in their relationship at some point so Riri doesn't even flinch when she does it.

Riris love language is physical touch so she's always touching Shuri, whether it be them holding hands or Riri kissing all over Shuris face randomly. Shuris love language is quality time so she practically wants to do everything with Riri. She even follows her into the bathroom.

"I'll be right back ima use the bathroom"

"Why can't I come with you?"

"Shuri I'm not bout to play with you."

"So you said you hate me and want me to die?" Shuri said while following Riri to the bathroom anyways.

When Shuri is driving she puts her hand behind the head of Riri’s seat. When Riri is driving she puts her hand on Shuris thigh.

They send each other funny videos while sitting right next to each other. Then they'll look at one another and laugh at the video together.

Whever they get in an argument Riri plays birthday sex by Jeremih and dances like she’s in a 90s rnb music video while playfully serenading Shuri. Shuri finds it so funny and breaks so quickly.

They're both the jealous type. Shuri gets jealous when women get too friendly with Riri and it drives her insane. Riri tries to tell Shuri they're just being cordial. Riri on the other hand gets jealous over little things like Shuri laughing at someone's joke a little too hard for her liking. Shuri knows when Riri is starting to feel jealous because Riri gives her the stankest face ever.

*Shuri laughing at someone's joke*

"It wasn’t that damn funny Shuri."

Riri buys Shuri an "I love my Girlfriend" shirt as a joke but Shuri actually wears it whenever she isn't with Riri.

They have matching tattoos. It's 2 flowers intertwined with their initials underneath it.

[tadpole-apocalypse]

OC MEME

tagged by @vspin. Thank you fren!

name: Morgan. Just Morgan.

nickname(s): someone probably called her freckles a few times?

pronouns: she/her

star sign: not applicable

height: I hadn't thought about it honestly...a little bit shorter than Astarion since that tends to be how I draw them.

orientation: Pansexual, but prefers men due to them being a forbidden fruit for most of her early life.

race: Human. Probably.

romancing: Astarion and Halsin

fave fruit: Pears

fave season: Winter, less work to do and more time to play in the snow!

fave flower: She doesn't know much about flowers, but she likes the white ones that look like bells.

fave scent: Fresh bread. It's nostalgic for her, she was tasked with being the Baker Mother's assistant and helped with making everyone's daily bread. She likes walking through food markets near her shop in Baldur's Gate to smell all the fresh pastries and bread products.

coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: hot chocolate because caffeine sets off her wild magic, but she'd really prefer a nice sweet wine.

average sleep hours: normal human sleep hours

dogs or cats: No, her and her Vampire lover have normal pets, like a brain that is also a Kitty and 4 undead ghoul servants they named Gortash, Ketheric, Orin and Brain.

dream trip: She'd like to see another big city someday! She likes the bustle of the crowds, the local marketplace and food scene, various festivals for all sorts of holidays she never knew of, for races she is still learning about.

amount of blankets: Everyone who sleeps loves many blankets, this is known, and her boyfriend generates no body heat and actually steals all of hers. I feel like the blanket situation during most of the early acts is pretty poor, they probably have something basic to keep off the worst of the chill but nothing cozy until they get to the city proper. Then the Elfsong Tavern has all these thick, furred blankets and she just cocoons herself and hisses when Astarion tries to touch her with his ice cold hands.

random fact(s):

(stealing your fact about languages >:3c) Morgan's native tongue is an obscure dialect of Elvish that is spoken mostly by Feywild Eladrin. I feel like she should have an unusual accent because of this but I kind of just like, write her with a valley girl accent because that's how I talk, lol.

her wild magic is very active and tends to surge in response to her emotions. She's learned to control her emotional responses pretty well and is a fairly zen person overall. She took up meditation after accidentally setting loose a couple of cambions in the marketplace during a heated haggle. Oxus is who suggested and taught her the techniques! Then during the events of the game, she starts joining Halsin in his morning meditations, which is how they start to grow close.

tagging @withersily, @collegeoflore, @eeblingtheshade, @grandmother-goblin, @thebearmuse and @bl3ss3dbyt1amat or like, anyone else that wants to do this ofc!

[blizzardsuplex]

Sunday Six (x2) + Last Lines Meme

(CW: ficlet has passing reference to physical domestic abuse)

Tagged by @naritaren and @fang-revives and @shes-a-voodoo-child. I didn't have anything I was in the process of writing so instead I asked @sequentialprophet for a bunch of flowers and wrote a (mostly) complete ficlet instead. Under the cut, etc.

Purple lilac -> first feelings of love || Bluebell -> constancy || lime -> conjugal love

When he was maybe 7 or 8, his mom took him with her to the supermarket (for once they actually did need milk). As she counted out coins at checkout, he'd browsed the newsstand offerings: the broadsheets themselves with their pages large enough to billow like a real cape when you held it behind you, the thin and rough feel of comic books, tabloids with loudly colored headlines he was apparently too young to read—not that he was much interested in anything but the pictures.

Surrounded by roughage, the actual magazine at the back shone even more in comparison. With clumsy hands he'd taken it off the rack, observed the glossy front cover from behind the thin plastic wrapping, top to bottom. In vogue: the boho wedding; under that soft purples are in!; under that the real star of the show, a pretty brunette in a loose white dress and pale purple flowers that he thought he knew but just couldn’t recall the name of woven through the waves of her hair.

"Planning to get married soon?" His mother from over his shoulder. 

"Not yet," he'd replied with the solemnity of a child who regularly saw things he didn't really understand. "I don't love anyone."

"Not anyone?"

Apparently he’d had no time for games. "Not like how dad loves you or you love dad."

She'd had to lean forward to read the words, too; the bruising around her eye wasn't visible thanks to time and makeup, but he knew it still bothered her. With his answer, though, she abruptly straightened. "You don't have to be just like us," she'd said, looking down at him with a smile that made him feel weird. "You don't have to get married at all if you don't want to. Now," she then said before he could ask what was wrong, turning, "let's bring the milk home before it goes bad, okay?"

Years later that memory came back. Rolling onto his back in what always felt like someone else's bed, he'd stared down at the floral pattern on the bedsheets he'd kicked off himself in his restlessness (a bad idea; the AC was as usual cranked all the way down). "Lilacs."

"I think those are bluebells, actually," yawned the woman lying beside him. "The saleslady said that. Don't you remember picking it out with me?"

He sidestepped the question. "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No. Don't worry." She threw an arm across his ribs, murmured against his neck. "You okay?" Her hot breath felt like a predator's finally catching up to their prey.

Yet he'd wanted to say something then anyway, to explain his thoughts or crack a dumb joke or simply ask do you even like bluebells? I don’t actually know. Instead, he'd done what he found himself doing constantly in this marriage: keep the truth in. Nod. Pretend to sleep and instead wonder if he'd been a sucker for always wanting this and still wanting it.

But that was now the past, no matter how clearly he could still remember it. In the present, the warm, muggy air smells bright with citrus flowers.

"Hey." A familiar hand passes several times in front of his face. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing much," he replies, flexing the toes of his bare feet. It took him a while to warm up to it, but the feeling of crushed grass and sun-warmed dirt on his soles is grounding. The presence of the other person, though, is that twicefold, her fishtail solid gold braid in the sun.

As they stare up at the wild lime tree they'd gotten out of the car for in full bloom, the sound of the highway and airport and the world beyond this random idle plot of land seems so distant. "Just grateful about how everything's turned out." "That's good," his wife says—and means, and he knows she (like him with her) will always mean. "Actually, so was I.”

[universeislove]

Need danmei recommendations

I finally hit the wall when I'm not sure what I could read next and enjoy it, so I need some recommendations.

Here is a list of my favorites:

1. Are You Addicted?

2.The Founder of Diabolism

3. Heaven Official’s Blessing

4. The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

5. My Little Poplar

6. Wu Chang Jie

7. Guardian

8. Faraway Wanderers

9. The Legendary Master’s Wife

10. Copper Coins

11. A Certain Someone

12. Agreement of being gay for 30 days

13. Global Examination

14. Lovely Allergen

15. Fanservice Paradox

16. Thousand Autumns

17. Quickly Wear the Face of the Devil

18. Sha Po Lang

19. Assistant Architect

20. Golden Stage

21. My Husband is Suffering from a Terminal Illness

22. The Wrong Way to a Demon Sect Leader

23. Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

24. Mr. Melancholy Wants to Live a Peaceful Life

25. The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

26. Little Mushroom

27. Restricted Area

28. Accidental Mark

29. Yu Wu

30. Black-bellied vs. Black-bellied: Ultimate Showdown

31. Four O’Clock Flower

32. This Omega is Sweet and Wild

33. How To Say I Love You

34. Mistakenly Saving the Villain

35. Accidentally Married a Man Full of Vinegar

36. After I Possessed the Tmall Genie of the Shool Adonis

37. Your Memes Are Better Looking Than You

38. Bite Your Fingertips

39. How to Survive as a Villain

40. Stray

41. The Disabled Tyrant's Pet Palm Fish

42. Everyone Knows I'm a Good Person

43. Qiang Jin Jiu

44. Don't You Like Me

45. Stone Age Husband Raising Journal

46. I've Liked Your Boyfriend for a Long Time

47. I Only Like Your Made-up Persona

49. The Prince Can Always Hear The Secret Servant Chanting The Qingxin Mantra Before Going To Bed

49. How Are You Guys Getting Boyfriends While Gaming

50. Silent Reading

I would like something in the same vibe as any of these, please 🙏

[wildmousesword]

What I think the LU boys Pinterest feed would look like:

Sky:

•Birds

•Cute things to buy for a loved one

• Bracelets (idk why I feel like he’s a bracelet guy)

Four:

•DIY things (all of them include moss and he’s never made any of them just wished)

•Books u should read (obv Vio needs his books)

•Anger Management exercises (we all know who this is for)

•Cute things to make for ur friends (Reds love language is gifts all the way)

Time:

• The boys had to make an account for him has never used it since

Twilight:

•Cats

•dogs

•horses

•that’s it just those three

Wind:

•cool ships (be didn’t get what he was searching for)

•memes (obv the most 2 year old ass memes like skibidi toilet or whatever)

Legend:

•gay memes

•how to dress queer

•homosexual jokes

•I’m gay

Hyrule:

•”why doesn’t this din darn cave have wifi”

• If he did have wifi his feed would be little nooks and cranny decorated for fairy’s and little guys like making small rooms and decorating them like a tree house

Warriors:

•how to flirt 101

•pick up lines

•how to have rizz

•cool hair

•cool scarfs

Wild:

•cooking recipes

•flowers

•surprisingly peaceful until u scroll down for like a minute and u start seeing things u wish u could un see

[nuevo-city]

can i have. oc infodump please im genuinely so curious

HI HI OKAY HI.

some background info on this world; ~700-1000 years in the future. cyberpunk dystopia. almost all of the world is a desert, with only one city of mutated humans remaining. nuevo. these humans main survival adaptation is their ability to survive the slight remaining radiation from the nuclear apocalypse that happened, as well as their ability to drink saltwater, but they have powers too. the city has been divided into three “levels”, all built vertically on top of each other.

the lower levels are a cyberpunk undercity type place, with crime both violent and harmless running wild due to the lack of the hero society’s influence here (i’ll talk about them in a seperate post, but unfortunately to convey it simply, imagine the heroes from mha if they were basically the fbi and the cia at the same time and also even more corrupt and like. paying off the villains to kill people)

. the middle levels are basically solarpunk aesthetic with none of the e benefits of solarpunk, vaguely-futuristic nyc. think spider-verse earth 1610 for what daily life is like, just a lot more future-y.

upper levels are where the hero society mainly influences, the city in the sky. the RICH people live here. generally if you’re up here you’ve got ties to the hero society or the government, or you just work here and live in the middle levels.

NOW. this is my precious son leo grayson arnaud. vigilante name red noise. bisexual transmasc disaster/professional enabler older brother/part time wannabe wine aunt. he is sad and pathetic and here for a bad time, not a long time. (*cough cough* leo-grayson-arnaud.carrd.co check it out if it still works)

he’s a vigilante!!! he’s awesome!!!! he’s a boyfailure!!!!!! he’s cool as fuck!!!!!!

some info: he’s deaf! his powers let him control sound waves, so he uses them to be really fucking loud so he can utilize noise to electricity to electrocute people with the power of punk rock, but uh…. (garfield meme here) you are not immune to power drawbacks. safe to say, he’s lost most of his hearing. he was also raised the cyberpunk equivalent of a catholic lol? but it’s more akin to like,,, the legal religion from the silt verses than anything. he’s also got an AWESOME boyfriend

(the cowgirl in the second image is @the-lonelyshepherd’s oc shay. if you’re reading this and don’t know her, check her out!!! she’s cool and shep’s stories are so awesome)

this is sam pines. my BOY. fellow disaster tboy, professional hunter noceda relater-to. absolute poor little meow meow. he’d probably like mother mother but he doesn’t even HAVE a mother mother, carrion bird motif, “my guilt does not purify me” ass.

(the flower clasp is only part of his design while he’s in the cult.)

anyway he’s a born and raised lower level kid. he was abandoned by his mother (DO NOT THINK SHE WAS BAD FOR THIS. it was her only option) and grew up in the foster system until he was nine. at that age he was roped into a cult known as the sentinels. (ill go more in depth with them in another post too) they promised him food and shelter, and he needed it, so he took it. over time he was made to be a soldier for them.

he’s basically a prophet for the sentinels? of sorts. it’s very confusing and strange because it’s a Cult and that’s how they are but yeah. he does get out eventually but it’s more “outcast as a heretic and hunted down and almost killed and then saved by the leader because she thinks he’ll be useful if he still has some devotion left”

bonus info: he’d probably like will wood and jhariah tbh. he lost an arm to his own powers (if i had a nickel for every time power drawbacks showed up in my main ocs if have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice). he feeds stray cats. he falls asleep in the weirdest positions. chronic pain haver (the haverrrrr). all i can think of as basic info rn but im working on making full refs and posts for the rest of the team

[parti-poppers]

what are your fav fukalen headcannons that you have?

Oh lord you don’t even know

I have far too many and I physically can’t pick favorites, so I present you; Pop’s Fukalen Headcanon Masterlist (that hasn’t been updated in a good while)

-They get into dumb stupid trouble a lot, Len cuz he’s overly confident, stubborn and stupid, and Fukase because he’s an agent of chaos

-They casually bully (not really, just tease) each other a lot

-They don’t really need to communicate to cause havoc, they just sorta catch each others dumbass brain waves

-Though Luka is the main English tutor for the Kagamines, Fukase also helps Len with his English a lot

-After Fukase has helped Len with English so much, it became a habit for Fukase to speak English to Len so that he could hear it more and learn, so though it’s not actually necessary it has become natural for them to have conversations where Len speaks Japanese and Fukase speaks English

-Fukase’s kinda jealous of Len’s dance skills but refuses to admit it, instead just saying Len’s a show off (he’s not wrong)

-They’re both gamers and play together a lot, though Fukase leans more towards shooters and Len’s a bit of a rhythm game fanatic

-They played Portal 2 together which consisted of Fukase carrying and Len fucking around bc he wasn’t built for puzzle games

-Fukase says project diva is dumb and not even a good game because he generally doesn’t like rhythm games as he tends to suck at them, but he’s secretly a hardcore project diva fan and plays it a lot

-Similarly, he complains about Sekai being cashgrab trash and just another shitty gacha game but he’s mildly addicted

-Oh and his fave module is Len’s Trickster one because then they have a matching cane and hat vibe goin’ on

-Sometimes when they’re in group chat with friends Fukase and Len will argue, and Fukase will say something like “shut up bb”, earning something like a “lmao you calling him baby that’s kinda gay” from the others, and the response is usually something along the lines of “YOU ALL KNOW ITS SHORT FOR BANANA BOY SHUT THE HELL UP”

-Len makes fun of Fukase’s overly complicated design a lot but had an edgy phase where he thought it was the peek of fashion and secretly wanted to look like him

-Len really likes Fukase’s lower range (especially when paired with his softer voice), but keeps that secret locked up and kept away from everyone and anyone

-Len assumed for ages that Fukase wore eyeliner until he did his makeup once and told him to take it off and Fukase was like “what eyeliner” and Len was like “you’re not wearing eyeliner???”

-Fukase gets super easily cold which is why he wears so many layers, meanwhile Len is that kid that walks around in a t-shirt and shorts all year around, a bit of a living heater if you will. It can either be optimal for cuddling or make it impossible, depends

-They use a lot of different nicknames for each other depending on context- usually Fukase might call Len “Banana Boy”, “Blondie”, “Twink” or “Dumbass” and Len might call Fukase “Clown” “Fuckass” “Fuka” or “Kase”. You’ll probably never catch Fukase saying “Babe” (Banana Boy > BB > Baby/Babe)or Len saying “Fukafuka” (fluffy/soft) out in the open tho

-Fukase and Flower are best friends, and Flower has a habit of giving people nicknames based on flowers. Fukase sorta picked up on this, occasionally calling Len “Buttercup”

-Every time someone asks Fukase how his face got scarred he comes up with the most wild and shocking story he can think of on the spot to get a reaction out of whoever is asking, but none of these manage to shock Len anymore because he’s heard every single one Fukase has managed to conjure up

-Fukase has multiple sorted reference, meme, quote, and random picture folders so he can send whatever he deems perfect in any given situation at any given time. Depending on context Len will more often than not know “oh this person said this, so Fuka is gonna send/show this specific thing in three, two, one- there it is”

-Whenever Len comes over to Fukase he will prioritize saying hi to Point before Fukase. Fukase‘s kinda accepted that Len likes Point more than him

-The way Len treats Point compared to the way Fukase does is night and day- Len holds it like a newborn child talking to the it like it’s a puppy, while Fuka be out here dragging it by a limb sayin “ya stinky”

-Point is their unofficial child probably

-Len likes a lot of Fukase’s original English songs, but knows his own English isn’t the best, at least not compared to Fukase’s, so he only ever jams to them and sings along in private

-Though he makes fun of it a lot, Fukase thinks Len’s English is kinda endearing, but he keeps that to himself

-Fukase has the weird ability to making insults sound like compliments, and compliments sound like insults, and Len is sick of it cuz it makes him very confused and annoyed

-Fukase speaks fluent sarcasm, meanwhile Len’s brain sometimes just short circuits and he can’t pick up on sarcasm whatsoever

-Fukase is a smartass with dumbass energy and Len is a dumbass who tries to have smartass energy (in contrast to Rin, who fully embraces her dumbassness and dumbass energy and thinks Len should too. He insists he isn’t as dumb as her and she’s like “bro you’re literally my reflection”)

-Len legit has a big ego (some describe him as mildly narcissistic) while, Fukase is just great at faking confidence and actually doesn’t think very highly of himself, though Len insists he absolutely should

-Fukase likes cracking self deprecating jokes. He does that more than your average person due to his secretly low confidence

-Len, due to his higher than average confidence, usually doesn’t find self deprecating jokes funny cuz he doesn’t relate to them, and it often takes him a second to get them. Sometimes, if he notices his friends making a lot of them, he’ll get kinda worried and be like “damn you need therapy or smthn?”

-Len sometimes aggressively delivers compliments to Fukase, or whoever he thinks needs them

-Fukase’s terrible at accepting compliments

-Len straight up started giving Fukase self love classes to teach him real confidence

-He also gives Fukase dance lessons, but Fukase usually doesn’t learn much because Len’s too busy showing off. They have fun tho

-Fukase really like when Len has his hair down

-Len’s kind of a mess in the kitchen, so when they have to prepare something themselves Fukase usually does it for the both of them

-When they’re out together they like to get milkshakes/smoothies. If both are almost broke and they gotta share, they compromise and get the banana and strawberry drink. While their fave flavors in general are banana for Len and strawberry for Fukase, they both have come to enjoy the banana and strawberry combo. Sometimes they lie to each other abt being broke just to order it and share

-Len says Wi-Fi Imagination Wild Boy is “their song” but Fukase likes to pretend it doesn’t exist and never happened out of embarrassment

-Len likes having one hand on each side of Fukase’s face because the difference in skin texture on each side feels funny. Fukase says it’s weird that he likes doing that, but doesn’t stop him from squishing his face

-Fukase always ponders how the Cryptons have perfect skin, or well, at least he knows Len does- perfect nails too, great for head scratches

-While Fuka is normally not the biggest fan of surprise physical contact, it’s kinda become a habit of Len to just randomly scratch his head or run his hand through his hair. This is an exception. If you comment on it tho, Fukase will suddenly start acting annoyed by it and smack Len’s hand away. Len teases him a bit for liking it

-Len absolutely adores how fluffy and messy Fukase’s hair is

-Fukase has his reasons for keeping his arm bandages, maybe health, convenience, not wanting to freak people out- but one is because he has a habit of picking at the skin there, which Len is trying to get him to stop doing

-Fukase’s arm picking worries Len, so sometimes he changes Fukase’s bandages for him just to make sure he won’t do it

-Len’s a trans guy and Fukase is one of the few people Len’s comfortable not binding his chest in front of, other than the other Cryptons and Piko (bc Piko’s his best friend)

-Fuka barely needs any sleep getting like 4 hours on average, while is a professional honk mimimier who likes getting his 8 hours of beauty sleep

-Because of Len’s habit of sleeping like a baby and the fact that he’s usually busy as fuck, Fukase always lets him sleep in when they have sleepovers at his place, not having the heart to wake him up

-When they have sleepovers they always end up having an argument a little while after Len starts showing signs of being tired. These basically consist of Len saying “if I go to bed now I know you’re just gonna stay up all night, get your ass to bed now or I’m staying up and annoying you while sleep deprived” and Fukase saying “you look like you’re gonna pass out and you know damn well I won’t be able to sleep for a while, go to bed or I’m carrying your sleepy ass over there“. Which of them wins varies

-Though they both frequently tease each other and are okay with teasing/being teased about pretty much anything, they also know exactly when they’re crossing a line or pushing certain buttons. Sometimes they’ll push the others buttons just a little or see how far they can go, but they always know when to stop and when the other isn’t cool with it anymore

-Fukase adores the horror genre as a whole, while Len’s more easily freaked out but pretends like he has no fear- so, when they’re for example picking out a movie to watch, Fukase might wanna watch a horror movie and Len will be like “Pft of course no problem I’m not a wimp” but then later in the middle of the movie they’ll have to pause and chill together for a bit because Fukase’s like “dude you look like you’re gonna cry maybe let’s not, want some hot coco?”

-Fukase and Len once started talking about some English tv show and after it came up in conversation Len confessed that he had a hard time following without Japanese subtitles, especially when he wants to sing along to the songs. This lead Fuka to say he could help him if there was anything he needed clarified when watching it, which lead to them watching the show together. Now they’ve developed a habit of watching stuff together so Fukase can help translate and clarify, even though Len doesn’t need it much anymore

-While Len loves doing concerts and performances, he gets very homesick and missed his friends since he’s so social. He’ll text people non stop, though he’s sometimes worried that it gets a little annoying- but Fukase doesn’t mind at all. Len always somehow gives him the ability to watch them live from his home and tells him about how it is and that he misses him, and since Fukase doesn’t have a sleep schedule it usually works wherever Len is. Len also hooked him up with some real nice glowsticks that he furiously waved around when watching

-Since Fukase and especially Len are both pretty dang successful and feel like can’t really comfortably talk about their insecurities or negative feelings regarding their loid status in front of less successful loids, like Piko or Lui, they kinda just talk about it to each other. They bond over it- knowing Piko has it worse, Fuka isn’t as bothered much by his licensing, but is ashamed that his VP doesn’t care for him. And Len, tho almost always feeling like he’s the best he could be, sometimes feels inferior to Rin when remembering that he’s just kind of an add on to her

-Len has little to no insecurities regarding his looks, though he spent like his eye color very much, partially bc he’s often made to wear brighter green or blue contacts for promo stuff. Fukase thinks this is bullshit and Len’s eyes are pretty as hell

-Fukase is disabled, hence the cane, and doesn’t typically mind it too much because it lets him skip out on a lot of stuff in PE and other such things. His one complaint is that he can’t really carry Len bc of his balance, but Len insists it’s ok

-While being a bit of a twig and not a fan of exercise, but he does have a bit of upper body mass because he plays drums and has used crutches/wheelchairs at several points in life. Len’s the more athletic of the two tho and likes to brag about

-Len has dog energy and Fukase has cat energy

-Len bought Fukase a pair of those headphones with cat ears on them. Fukase said it was stupid, asked why he spent money on them and claimed he’d never wear them, but he often uses them at home

-They’ve faked a proposal for free food

-Len kinda doesn’t really know what exactly Fukase is or how he works but also doesn’t really care

-Fukase loves showing Len games that are actually horror games but don’t seem like it at first. Len always gets suspicion and Fukase always goes “nonono this ones’s fine it’s not scary at all I promise” and Len always falls for it

-After Len complained about it enough he finally manages to get Fukase to eat three meals a day (or at least try to). Fukase forgets to every now and again but Len’s usually there to remind him

-Despite the fact that nothing seems to make Len insecure ever, there was one time his perfect skin had a pimple and he refused to come out of his room for almost anything. Fukase had to sit outside his room and convince him it really wasn’t that bad on three separate occasions

-One time when Len and Rin were hanging out with Miku and some popular friends after a concert Fukase borrowed Flower’s motorbike to pick Len up so he’d seem cool. Was very effective on Len but the others were like “lmao you two are dorks” and “Wait is Fukase even allowed to drive that”

-Their friends were genuinely very surprised to find out that they liked each other because they both had this very tsundere-esque, mean, teasing and pulling no punches way of interacting so everyone figured they really disliked each other (both of them were surprised to find that the other liked them back too)

-When Fukase and Moke, who were the last members to join the friend group, first met Len, Fukase really disliked him while Moke adored him. This was in big part because Fukase knew Len’s celebrity image as an arrogant, self obsessed, annoying asshole, and Moke, being very into otaku culture, was a big fan who idolizes him and found his celebrity image to be talented and charming. However, when they actually got to know him, the script completely flipped and Fukase now finds him dumb, but charming, while Moke just finds him unbearable

[senditothemoonn]

Obligatory fruk for 6, 18, 19, 21 <3

Ask meme !

6. How do they make up/apologize after an argument?

Sex. Sometimes cake and flowers. Mostly sex.

18. How do they care for each other when one of them is wounded/sick?

Francis (the mom friend) likes to fuss and fret especially because Arthur is the type of person to keep going even when he’s literally about to collapse. Then there's Fran, the dramatic ass bitch who will whimper and moan at the slightest sore throat, though I think he and Arthur are very similar in that if he were badly injured/sick, he'd put on a brave face and that's when Arthur really starts to worry. If Fran is complaining then Arthur will play along, give him some soup (that he has to promise him he didn't make himself) but when he hears the dreaded ‘I'm fine’ he goes into concerned father mode.

19. Do they wear each other’s clothes/jewelry?

They both have such a distinct style, I can't see their wardrobes ever converging much. Arthur would die before wearing the floral abominations that Francis parades around in, and likewise Francis wouldn't be seen dead in any of Arthur's frumpy old cardigans. That being said, Fran wears the hell out of those baggy cardigans when he is home alone and misses his husband.

21. Do they enjoy domestic life?

I think they would both have a little trouble adjusting, though that isn't to say they wouldn't enjoy it. Fran is a promiscuous party girl at heart but I can see him settling down with the right person eventually. For Arthur its more difficult because sometimes I feel like he came out of the womb wearing a Marks and Spencers dressing gown and grandpa slippers but at the same time, I know he was just as wild as Francis and so settling down would be quite a shock for them but sometimes it's nice just to fall asleep on the sofa together in front of the TV and I think they’d enjoy that after all the crazy shit they’ve been through ❤️

[sotc]

11, 15 and 18 for tomaj! (and mátyás if it applies ☺️☺️)

TOMAJ -- ASK MEME

11. What physical attribute does your muse find most attractive?

A smile! It's the first thing he catches about someone and sparks his interest. Tomaj is endlessly charmed despite himself (and his better judgement) by a nice smile. And Mat has a very slight and natural upturn of his lips that Tomaj swears the man knows how to weaponize against him 😑

And as a bonus I'd say a snatched waist on a man (MAT'S) does drive him wild lol.

15. Does your muse like receiving gifts from a potential partner? If so, what?

He appreciates a thoughtful gesture like that but he does not expect it from a potential partner after all his failed romances nor does he find it necessary (some self-worth issues there for sure lol). He holds himself to a different standard, however, taking after his father and some cultural courting traditions within his village. So when he's actually seeing Mat and they're together? He brings the man flowers after work to surprise him, he crafts a lovespoon as a grand declaration of his affection towards Mat, etc etc.

18. Does your muse find the idea of a secret admirer charming or off-putting?

Offputting. LOL. He does not have the time nor the patience for someone to be playing coy with him. Being upfront and honest with your intention is always the way to go with him. The man is a lil romantic in a lot of ways but a secret admirer is NOT one of those things he finds cute lmao.

[eulaliasims]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last ten people who reblogged something from you! Get to know your mutuals & followers!! <3

Oh no, I'm so late answering this! My inbox vanishes entirely from my memory the second the notification disappears. 😭 But I always think of this as the gratitude exercise meme and it's great--thank you, R! <3 I know I lose track sometimes, but I do genuinely appreciate it when people tag me or send these things to me. Ok:

1: crab crab crab crab hand crab

I don't know why my brain loves this so much, but it does.

2: jewelry (I am a vain magpie)

3: air conditioning, lmao. It's not even June yet and I'm already thinking about how grateful I will be to have air conditioning.

4: going on nature walks and learning to identify more plants and birds. Lately I've found Jack-in-the-Pulpit flowers, orchids, and some sort of wild blueberry! (And a garter snake! Love to see random snakes.)

5: sunny babies:

[atopvisenyashill]

apart from our fashion girlie sansa who else would slay at the met gala?

ROOSE BOLTON

RENLY BARATHEON

Tywin but he’s like an evil white Law you know, he’s not there as a celebrity, he designed his family’s entire wardrobe tho and they are all on theme every year and they all match, like Zendaya and Law always match.

Given the flower approach to the theme most people took this year, I do think the Tyrells would excel here. We know it’s not Olenna designing their outfits bc all the flowers annoy her, so I bet it’s Alerie, probably with input from Margaery, and there is something I find kind of adorable about that. I bet Mace wears something really basic, while Garlan & Willas go more Dan Levy “well done but still technically a suit” looks while Loras does something wild.

Theon Greyjoy!!! He is NOT afraid to accessorize!!!

Ned Stark but he’d be like quietly fashionable, like remember Darren Criss’ camp look that was definitely striking but not so Loud? like that.

Arianne and Lady Nym would tag team it and look really good

RHAENYRA. She’s serious about staying on theme, she makes like 40 “society if people were turned away for not staying on theme” memes every year. Jacaerys looks good and on theme too, obviously, no one ever has any idea what Daemon is doing but he definitely did something.

Alicent Hightower, she’s serious about met gala dresses being a place to Tell A Story, she always does deep archival work.

I think Shireen would love to explain the theme and how someone’s outfit interacts with it to Davos & Patchface. Davos doesn’t really follow but he DOES start incorporating jewelry into his fits bc Shireen complained that not enough people wear a nice broach or headpiece.

[therecordconnection]

Ranting and Raving: "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter

Have you ever just been out in the world, minding your business, only to hear a song out in the wild for the first time and it just grabs you in a chokehold? For me, “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter is one of those songs. It’s one of those pop songs that just makes you turn your ear towards a speaker and ask, “Oh. What is this?” I heard it for the first time in a store (rhymes with Schmarget) and then proceeded to listen to it about eighty more times after that. A great pop song will make you do that and this one is one of the best of the year so far. I mean it.

I knew who Sabrina Carpenter was before this song (I mostly live under a rock, but I still be knowing things from time to time) but I’m obviously not her target demographic and nothing she had done before really gripped me the way this has. Everything about “Espresso” is perfect and I’m ready to do what this series does best: annoy you with many MANY words about a song I love. If you want a silly review of this song in a TL;DR single sentence, I would say, “I don’t drink coffee... but this song must be what having a caffeine addiction feels like!”

The first thing that truly gripped me about this song is just how FUN it is! There’s so much magic packed into three and a half minutes and it serves as a perfect reminder of why I love and enjoy pop music when it gets it as right as a Starbucks barista who has my usual order down to a science. It’s upbeat, it’s catchy as hell, the lyrics are fun to sing along to. What more do you need? This isn’t a song that re-invents the wheel and that’s because it knows it doesn’t have to. Like her reference to Nintendo in the chorus (“Switch it up like Nintendo”) the primary concern is about whether the song is fun to listen to and if it’s something you’ll want to hear again and again and not get bored of. In a way, this song is like the Super Mario World of pop music; a song that provides comfort and fun and it doesn’t require a lot of knowledge and skill in order to enjoy. Anybody can pick it up, start playing, and have a good time with it.

Which means a lot these days.

At the time of this writing, everybody and their favorite wine aunt is currently dissecting Taylor Swift’s newest album, The Tortured Poets Department, searching for hidden meanings and clues and signs about her relationships between her and Matty Healy from The 1975 or British actor Joe Alwyn (take your pick). I didn’t hate TTPD, but the album also didn’t do much for me because it’s so deep within the Taylor Discographic Universe (the TDU) that unless you have a decade of lore explained to you, those songs lose a lot of appeal and power. It’s like watching Avengers: Infinity War when all I’ve ever watched is Iron Man. Taylor isn’t the only one that’s been suffering from this. Ariana Grande’s newest album Eternal Sunshine comes with the baggage of that whole thing that happened between her and that dude who played Spongebob on Broadway or something. The most I’ve ever heard about “The Boy Is Mine” in terms of discourse are all the jokes and memes about how she’s singing about a guy who weirdly looks exactly like her brother and spent years being an adult man playing Spongebob on stage. Even Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” the biggest song of last year, loses some of its impact if you’re like me and couldn’t give a shit about Liam Hemsworth or the emotional roller coaster story of her relationship with him. 

Granted, you can still listen to all of these things with their real world inspirations and contexts removed and get just as much, if not more, out of that, but there’s just something really refreshing about being able to enjoy a song without needing an entire “____ iceberg explained” video in order to truly “get it.” I got “Espresso” immediately and the only real world context I can gather is that she probably wrote this song about one or many dudes that have been “down bad” for her. I shudder to think which niche micro-celebrities with the over-inflated attitude that comes with the phrase “I have a post that got over 10,000 notes on Tumblr” have said or done while attempting to shoot their poorly aimed shot with her.

That’s a good place to start talking about the lyrics to the song, which are all about her being playful with a guy and basking in how he is absolutely obsessed and crazy with her. More important than the words themselves is how Sabrina delivers them. There’s a really great balancing act where it’s just the right level of confidence and the belief that you’re hot shit, without going overboard into arrogance. She maintains a constant level of playfulness throughout the entire song and it’s great! It starts as soon as the second line of the chorus hits at the beginning of the song: “Is it that sweet? I guess so.” 

There’s also the line that begins the second verse: “I'm working late 'cause I'm a singer.” I absolutely adore the way she says that line. Every. Single. Time. Again, it’s just the right amount of playful and sarcastic. I can picture the conversation that line would be featured in if anybody she’s dated within the last three years has foolishly asked her if she’s busy tonight.

“Wyd tonight, babe? 😜” “I’m working late.” “What?? Why? 🥺” “...‘cause I’m a singer.”

That line reads like she’s had to answer that question one too many times to one too many idiots. Whether it’s studio time or live performance, singers be working at night. Duh. It’s such a fun line and it gets stuck in your head. You wait for it each time you listen and I can’t imagine the feeling of being in a whole stadium full of people all singing that line together. It’s such a delicate tightrope being walked so damn well, especially since it can go sour so fast if you perform it the wrong way. The following line, “Oh, he looks so cute wrapped around my finger” keeps that playfulness while also making you feel a little bad for the guy. I say a little bad because it’s very obvious who has the power and control in this:

I can't relate to desperation My give-a-fucks are on vacation And I got this one boy and he won't stop calling When they act this way, I know I got 'em

We’ve all known someone who is casually seeing someone and they’re just way crazier about the person they’re seeing than the other is for them. That’s not to say she doesn’t sound invested in this guy during the song, but you get the feeling one of them knows it’s a fun little fling and the other is starting to get obsessed and isn’t seeing things that way. 

It’s not hard to see why he’s getting addicted. I’m hooked on this song the same way dude is hooked on Sabrina. This song has this utterly hypnotic quality to it and at the 1:09 mark when you start hearing “Yes” after every line it reflects getting that hit, that thing you want once you’re addicted and craving more. “Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya” (Yes). “I know I Mountain Dew it for ya” (Yes). “That morning coffee, brewed it for ya” (Yes). It’s a small detail, but I always try to stress that the small details matter and always add up to something bigger. The more you listen, the more you get hooked on her the same way the guy in the song is getting hooked.

Now that I’ve mentioned it, can we talk about that Mountain Dew line? I’m sure some people think it’s a stupid and bad line, but those people are absolutely wrong. It's silly on the surface but works well as a clever double entendre ("I mount and do it for ya"). There’s four lines in this song that I could see somebody writing off as “bad lyrics.” The list includes:

“That’s that me espresso” (A little clunky, but does what it needs to do in order to set up a good metaphor for being the thing someone is addicted to)

“Move it up, down, left, right, oh / Switch it up like Nintendo” (Sounds like a joke bar your friend would spit in the car while making a joke about bad rappers who think they’re geniuses)

“My honeybee, come and get this pollen” (This wouldn’t sound out of place if it was said at the end of a James Bond film)

“I know I Mountain Dew it for ya” (This has definitely been said by a man who thinks he’s a sex god but only lasts the amount of time it takes to microwave a Hot Pocket)

The reason I put all of these lines in an organized list is to show one other thing this song does right: This is a silly song and it basks in the fact that it’s a silly and fun little song.

There’s a quick moment at 2:16, where Sabrina just says the word “stupid” before the song launches into the chorus again. I imagine that’s at the expense of the guy in the song, but I also treat it as her wink-and-nod to me that she’s aware this whole song is just silly, innocent fun and that I too should treat it as such. It doesn’t take anything away from the song, not one bit. If anything, it keeps it light and enhances everything it does right. If Taylor had said “I know I Mountain Dew it for ya” at ANY point during TTPD’s runtime, the masses would’ve erupted with laughter, scorn, and enough posts that you’d never hear the end of it. It works for Sabrina because a lot of her music is more upbeat than Taylor’s recent stuff has been and silly lines like that are quickly becoming her bread and butter. One of the biggest charms about her biggest hit from last year (“Nonsense”) is that it ends with literal nonsense bars that have nothing to do with the rest of the song: “This song catchier than chickenpox is / I bet your house is where my other sock is / Woke up this morning, thought I’d write a pop hit, ha-ha / How quickly can you take your clothes off? Pop quiz.” She’s taken that joke further by making up different stupid and silly outros every night she performs it just to get a laugh out of the audience. My personal favorite one: "This crowd is giving me all the endorphins / I wish someone would rearrange my organs / Philly is the city I was born in". 

The last thing we need to talk about is the absolutely gorgeous and wonderful music video she made for this. It’s a rare Dave Meyers W in this day and age, as he’s responsible for two of the absolute worst videos I’ve seen this decade: Ed Sheeran's "Bad Habits" and the Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa collab "Sweetest Pie." That said, when he’s good, he’s GOOD and it makes you forget every bad video he’s ever made (which is more than just the two I mentioned...)

The cinematography is gorgeous, the choreography is great, Sabrina looks utterly stunning and living her summer beach movie fantasies. Those shots of her doing sixties dances on a surfboard are fantastic and look like they’re straight out of a beach movie from that decade. The whole video has a sixties beach movie look to it, from Sabrina’s outfits all the way to the overall look and glow of the setting. Everything you imagine about a perfect summer is captured beautifully in this video. It’s a fun video that reflects the song in all the best ways. If pop music is escapism and is something designed to take you to another world for a short time, this song and video do just that. We’re all better for it.

Pop songs can be totally serious works of art, but “Espresso” proves they don’t always have to be. Sometimes a song can just be light and fun. “Espresso” knows what it is and it’s excited to be that for you. If you want to start buying stock in songs that might get the illustrious and coveted “Song of the Summer” status, I’m telling you to invest and put all of your money in this song right now because we’re going to the moon and beyond with it. The video for the song ends with Sabrina getting arrested for stealing a guy’s credit card and throwing him overboard at the beginning, with the final shot being the cop car she’s in having a speaker on top playing a little snippet of what will supposedly be Sabrina’s next song. Whatever she ends up doing next, I’m here for it. “Espresso” made me a fan and I’m excited to see whatever else she’s got because this song is everything I love about pop music packed neatly into three and a half minutes. This image from Twitter (Formerly Twitter) user @___bodacious sums up my feelings on Miss. Carpenter really well: