#(idk i've never had subway)

[elkkiel]

catboy spotted in the wild

[organic-bloodbath]

Hiiiiiiii. Could you do a Salesman fic?

I would love to see one where his usual calm and powerful energy is lost around the reader, as he's just enamoured with her. Like no shame, he is down bad and the reader is just flustered and lowkey confused cause they haven't known each other for long.

Idk if this makes any sense to you (up to you if you make it smut i don't really mind)

Teach Ddakji to me

The Salesman x American!Reader

Summary: You play Ddakji with a man at a subway station, but the game brings you two much closer than either of you were prepared to.

A/N: I'm not sure how well i was able to follow the request of how he behaves around the reader but this is what i got ;-; hope you still like 🫶🏻 (i'm so deep in love with this psycho i've been giggling during every other paragraph)

Part 2

♡♡

You rushed down the stairs in the subway station, only one minute until your train was going to leave. You weren't going to make it, but you had to try.

The doors were closing right in front of you and you wanted to scream and let out several different curses, but you didn't want to draw attention on yourself. Your day at the college lectures had just ended and all you wanted to do was to get home, have a dinner and rest.

You heard noise behind a corner, as if someone was slamming something on the floor. You went to see what was going on out of curiosity.

Two men were standing there, the other one tall and dressed in a grey suit, the other one a lot shorter and dressed in a simple hoodie and loose jeans, a worn out cap covering his messy black hair. Suddenly, the man in the suit slapped the other so hard on the face that the man's head turned to the right.

They slammed blue and red squares on top of each other over and over again, and it ended in the man in the suit slapping the other almost every time. Once in a while he handed to the man what looked like a bill of money. You had never seen anything like that happen anywhere and were confused.

You got a notification on your phone, a text message from your classmate.

"Join us for studying and then a dinner? A new restaurant opened nearby, we'll go and try it tonight," she messaged.

"Another day, i don't feel like going out tonight," you replied, getting a thumbs up emoji as a respond.

You put your phone in your pocket and turned around, almost having a heart attack and jumping a step back when you saw the man in the suit standing mere inches away from you, looking down at you with a slight smirk.

"Enjoyed the show, i hope?" he asked and your eyes widened. Fuck, he had noticed you stalking the two of them.

"Yea, um, sure," you said awkwardly. "Though i didn't know what it was, really."

Seeing his face now closer and him staring at you with his dark eyes made your heart beating faster and it wasn't only because of him scaring you for appearing out of nowhere. He was extremely handsome and the way he looked at you made you blush.

"You haven't heard of Ddakji?" he asked, but didn't seem surprised since he figured you weren't local by the looks of you. "It's a Korean game, want me to show you?"

"Sure," you said, nothing else to do than wait anyway. The man took the squares in his hands and offered you to choose one. You took the red one.

He explained the rules to you, it was simple. You only had to hit your square on the blue one and make it turn around, the upper side facing the floor.

It sounded simple but you were hesitant if you were actually able to do it. You threw it on the floor, aiming at the blue square, but it didn't move even an inch in any direction. You let out a frustrated groan.

"It's okay, very few people succeed on their first try," he said in a comforting tone and took a step closer to you, standing right in front of you. "But do you know what losing means to you, hm?"

You had a very good guess after seeing him and the other man play just a while ago.

"You're gonna slap me?" you asked with a grimace.

He smiled. Without a word, you felt a painful sting on your left cheek when he slapped you, not going any easier on you just because you were a woman.

"Jesus Christ!" you gasped and held your hand on your cheek which was definitely going to have a red mark later. You had never been slapped on your face and it hurt more than you thought it would hurt.

"My turn then," he said and grabbed his blue square from the floor. He slammed it on top of your red square and it immediately jumped in the air and landed on its other side on the floor.

He looked at you with the same smirk again.

"So what happens when you win?" you asked, crossing your arms. If you continued this game much longer, your face would be completely covered in bruises and you'd have a lot of explaining to do to your classmates.

"I get to use your body again," he said with a confident tone.

You closed your eyes and prepared for another slap, hoping that it would be the other one this time because your left cheek still hurt. When you felt a touch on your left cheek, you automatically winced a little bit.

But it wasn't a slap, it was a tender kiss. You opened your eyes when he had already leaned away and you saw a glimpse of kindness in his eyes this time. You felt your cheeks warming up and tried to avoid eye contact for a moment.

"Your turn," he said.

Your hand was shaking when you lifted the red square from the floor. You wanted to succeed, you had never been good at losing in anything, it was always about to start to piss you off if you didn't start winning too.

"Do you want me to help you?" he asked. You looked at him and soon he was right behind you, keeping an eye contact with you when he put his left hand on your waist and his right one to hold your hand which was holding the square. "Is this okay?"

He didn't put too much pressure on holding you, making sure that you gave him a permission for that. You suddenly couldn't get words out of your mouth, so you just nodded and swallowed the lump in your throat. He held you tighter now and instructed how it was supposed to be done. You had to have more force when you would slam the square down.

"Spread your legs a little bit," he whispered.

"What?" you gasped in shock.

"To get a better and more firm position when you throw it," he explained, his breath hot in your ear.

"Oh," you said, cheeks burning even more. You hadn't realized you were standing almost like a stick. He guided your hand up in the air in a correct position.

"Remember to let go of it at the correct moment, i'm going to aim it for you, okay?" he said and you nodded, now much more nervous than you would have been if you did this alone.

With this help, the blue square flew into the air and landed on its other side easily. You were excited of the victory, even though it was for his help, and a wide smile spread on your face.

To be honest, for a second you wished you would have failed on purpose, just to get his hands on you again - you didn't even care if it was a slap, kiss or something else.

He let go of you and you turned around to face him, already missing his touch.

"There you go," he said with a proud expression on his face. "Now, you can choose what to do to me."

You didn't hesitate for even a second longer, you immediately slapped him on his left cheek as hard as you could. However, you knew you didn't have as much as strength in your body as he did, so the slap must have stinged a lot less. His head didn't move even an inch and he only smiled.

Right then, the train you had been waiting for arrived and you took your bag from the ground. You weren't going to miss this train just because of wanting to have another round of Ddakji with this stranger.

He offered you money, worth of 100 dollars, and put them in your hand, closing your fist around the bill. You were about to refuse but he wasn't having it.

"Treat yourself a nice dinner tonight," he said. When you didn't answer, he nodded towards the train which was about to leave soon, with or without you.

"Thank you," you said. "Um, bye."

You made it into the train just in time and when you looked back at the spot where that man had just been, he was already gone.

♡♡

The salesman didn't want you to leave. He was absolutely mesmerized by you, you were the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes on. Your perfume and the smell of your shampoo still lingered in his nose, even after you weren't there anymore.

He would have wanted to ask you to stay, but he couldn't find the correct words and you were in a hurry to catch your train.

He hadn't felt like this of a woman in a long time and he wanted to find you again. To hold you again.

He didn't understand how you could have made this big of an impact on him in only under 10 minutes, but all he knew was that he needed to get to know you better.

♡♡

The next day, you arrived to the class and sat next to your friend.

"Oh my god, what happened to your face?" she gasped in shock.

Yes, there was a visible red mark on your cheek and you didn't have anything at home to cover it. You didn't really use any makeup either except mascara.

"Oh um," you started, trying to find some excuse. "It's my allergies and acne." You didn't have any allergies and hadn't had acne since you were 15. But you couldn't tell her the truth, atleast now that you didn't have time to talk much since the class was about to start.

And what were you going to say to her? A stranger in the subway station slapped you and you enjoyed it?

The teacher arrived and the noise of the door slamming closed interrupted your friend who was about to say something to interview you further.

♡♡

You walked down the subway station stairs again on your way home, just like yesterday. You had your headphones on, listening to random metal songs on Spotify and were texting your mum who catched up with you twice a week how you were doing. You were supposed to have a video call later today but she apparently had to work extra tonight, she was a nurse.

When you had reached the bottom of the stairs, you bumped into something and almost tripped back but managed to keep your balance. You looked up and saw the same man in the suit as yesterday, staring down at you with a smile.

"Hello," he greeted, not moving anywhere.

"Hello," you repeated and lifted your eyebrows, taking of your headphones. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you," he said without thinking.

"Me? Why? How did you know i would be here?"

"I didn't. I only figured you might have the same daily routine and took a chance," he explained.

"Why did you want to see me?" you asked, confused but feeling butterflies in your stomach.

"I didn't have a chance to ask for your phone number yesterday," he said. "And i'd like to take you out."

"Take me out you mean murder or dinner?"

"The second option. I already finished the first task earlier," he said with a smile. Handsome and with a sense of humor.

"Fine, where did you plan to take me?"

"Anywhere you want. Are you hungry?"

"You don't even know my name," you pointed out.

"You can tell me your name and all about you on our date," he smiled.

"Aren't you straightforward," you chuckled. "Are you going to teach me Ddakji again?"

"If you wish so," he said.

You bit your lip, not sure if you should go somewhere with this stranger or not. You hadn't been asked for a dinner at a subway station before, though, so you could write it on your bucketlist and cross it out.

"Okay."

♡♡

He had taken you to a lovely dinner to enjoy local foods you had never eaten before. You rarely tried any new foods, always sticking on the ones you already knew you'd like, but now you had tried something different and loved it.

Now, you were in a park, nobody else in sight. It was already dark and you knew you had to go home soon if you wanted to get enough sleep.

You held the red square in your hand once again and aimed for slamming the blue around finally on your own.

Again, you weren't able to hit it. But you hadn't even tried properly and weren't mad about it.

"Damn it," you mumbled.

"You'll get there," he smirked, stepping closer to you.

He lifted your chin with his finger.

"Close your eyes."

You did as told and waited for the worst option, squeezing your eyes shut tightly.

You felt his lips press on yours, taking you into a slow kiss. He broke the kiss but didn't let go of your chin

"Do i have to play another round of Ddakji to do that again?"

You smiled and stepped on your tiptoes to reach him better, cupped his face and pulled him in a proper, deeper kiss. He instantly wrapped his arms around your waist to press your body against him tighter.

"Just so you know, i don't sleep with men on our first date," you said when the kiss was over, his hands wandering around your back they had almost reached your ass.

He moved his left hand to the back of your neck, keeping the right one on your lower back. He pushed his fingers through your hair, softly massaging your scalp.

"What is it about you that makes me so drawn to you?" he whispered, and you didn't know if the question was for you or just for himself. "Only two days and you've managed to make me absolutely addicted to you."

He pushed a strand of your hair behind your ear, and you felt blush creeping on its way to your cheeks.

He eventually walked you back home like a gentleman, not allowing you to walk anywhere at this hour. He had to make sure you got back home safely.

"Will i see you again tomorrow?" he asked before you managed to leave, gently holding your wrist.

"I have to study, i've fallen behind in couple of courses so i need to catch up," you said and his face fell a little bit. Surely he had other things to do in his life besides seeing you. "Are you free this weekend?"

His face lighted up again for your suggestion.

"For you, of course," he said and brought your hand towards his face, planting a kiss on your knuckles. "Goodnight, Y/N."

You went inside your apartment and silently closed the door, trying to do everything as quietly as you could, but then the lights were turned on.

"Okay who the HELL is that man, Y/N?!" your roommate shouted at you, making you jump and almost have a heart attack. It was so late you thought she was already sleeping, she was the type to be in bed by 8pm and asleep by 9pm.

"Um, well I-"

"That is the most gorgeous man i've ever seen," she said, still speaking loudly, and stepped closer to you and pointed you with her finger. "How couldn't you tell me you were dating a new man?"

"Well i only met him a while ago," you admitted.

"Still?!" she shouted. "You know i like boy talk and you never talk about your dating life! Oh my god, have you finally downloaded Tinder or something?"

"Ew, no," you shook your head.

"You're right, there's no way men THAT hot would still be on Tinder and not married," she said and then gasped. "Girl, he's not married, is he?"

"I sure hope he's not," you said and for a moment you were afraid he might be married. I mean, how could he still be single? Your friend always talked so much that you started to doubt everything you previously knew.

"Wait a minute, i'll get us some popcorn and then you're gonna spill everything," she said and without another word, she was already in the kitchen.

And you did tell her everything because my god you needed to talk to someone about him.

♡♡

A few days and several text conversations later, you were in his hotel room, and he pressed you against the wall, his right hand leaning on the wall right by your head.

He lifted your head by his forefinger on your chin to make you look straight into your eyes.

"How long are you going to stay in Korea?" he asked.

"What, are you going to ask me to move in with you or something? Plan a summer wedding?" you joked.

"If you want to," he said with a serious face and you truly wasn't sure if he was serious or joking. You hadn't yet found a difference between the two.

"Wait what?"

You hadn't dated any Korean men before so you weren't sure how fast they progressed in the dating life. Would it be normal to propose on the first week or ask to move in? Surely not.

He smiled. "I only ask because i don't want to have you only for a short while," he said and let his fingers wander around your shoulder, sending goosebumps all over your body.

"Well, i'll be here for atleast another 5 months," you told him and then pouted. "So, no summer wedding?"

"I'd have to buy a ring first," he smirked.

"It better be a real diamond too then," you chuckled, having seen the stacks of money he had carried with him, and pulled him into another kiss.

He was soon kissing your neck, leaving a mark on your skin, until your stomach growled and interrupted him.

"When was the last time you ate?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "I thought you had eaten before you came here."

"Well, it's been a while i suppose," you said, not really remembering anymore when the last time was.

He stepped away from you and pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"We're ordering food," he said. "What would you like to eat?"

He ordered Chinese food for you and ate it on the bed while watching some brainless comedy movie.

When the movie had ended, he went to the bathroom, leaving you to lay on the bed and making you to fall in your thoughts alone.

You had been in a relationship twice in your life, and in neither of them your relationship had moved on this fast. I mean, you weren't in an official relationship, you had been just barely hooking up, but the way he talked about you only knowing you for a few days wasn't something you had been used to at all.

In the U.S., it took guys several weeks to make any progress in relationships, atleast what you had seen and gone through.

Maybe you should slow down a little, take a step back and see what he really wants from you.

By the time he came back from the bathroom, you had fallen asleep. You looked so peaceful in your sleep, so beautiful even with your messy hair all over the pillow.

He came closer to you and pulled a blanket over you, the edge almost reaching your jaw. You stirred in your sleep, turning to lay on your side, but didn't show any signs of waking up.

He laid himself on the bed next to you and just looked at your sleeping figure for several minutes. He was afraid of getting attached to a woman so fast, in so little time, but he couldn't help it.

To him you were perfect, and he wanted to know everything about you that there was to know.

♡♡

A/N: If you want a part 2, please leave any requests you might have, i'm not sure where to go with this 🫶🏻❤️💙

[bluebellowl]

@meltedmilkteeth

Thank you!! They better! I've worked so hard for like two months now? Idk why but 3D art just sucks me in so hard, every time I open blender I'm in there till like 4 am

at anon Why. Why would you do that? It's just hurting their feelings and your foot. nobody wins.

at anon Really? Um.. thank you? It might be a skill issue there. I'm still learning how to do smooth 3D animation. But yeah Ingo also is animated using irl robots making him extra stiff. He was even more janky in the process.

@golden-buddle They respect and trust her and their platonic love goes deep! She's the one they come to when they have problems, mechanical or soul wise or just for maintanance.

Vincent and Aiden are newer additions so while they each specialise on one of the twins, making them close too, Elesa has been there from the start so their bond is the deepest with her.

@bananacreamphi Thanks! I did have fun making them noodles! Mmm blueberry noodles....

@lil-ms-dipst I've never played Lethal Company and I had to google it. So it's a survival horror game? Judging by their pokemon they both don't scare easily. Ingo has a ghost pokemon that haunts people and then eats their souls while Emmet has a gigantic spider!

I'm not sure how much of this game is skill and luck but at the skill part they'd ace this! Especially together. Nothing beats these perfectly synced nerves of steel!

at anon perhaps? I did have a similar journey so welcome aboard!! These two just fit together so well! Especially SB where you get to be buddies with a giant animatronic?? What submas fan wouldn't wanna be buddies with a giant subway boss animatronic?? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Oh dear looks like I lost one. I remember someone asking if I could show some funky animation mistakes bc they heard they tend to be hilarous. The absolutely are!! and I should certainly make a compilation post of some of them.

[meirimerens]

what's your time management mystery secret to excel at college, art, reading, cooking, working out, blogging, commuting, etc simultaneously?!. do you procrastinate never? ever need time to stare at a wall do nothing relax decompress?

I think I answered multiple asks that were just kind of parts of this one, I cannot for the life of me find them again so I'm just gonna possibly repeat myself etc

1) "excell at college"

I've had academic aptitudes/ease since I was little ("""""gifted kid""""") and they didn't disappear as an adult. My cursus demands a specific Eye (recognition), critical thinking, knowing to follow methodologies, and eventually yes some dates, this is a lot of stuff I've done my entire life and do like for fun, so I'm in my element. If I was in a scientific field I would be eating the dirt and barely scrapping passing grades. hence why I didn't choose one. The only real advice I have for this is a) TAKE NOTES BY HAND. I HELPS THE INFORMATION STAY IN YOUR BRAIN. AND ALLOWS FOR MORE FLUID ASSOCIATIONS ON THE PAGE. b) as soon as you can after the class, make worksheets of that class is done to TLDR it and keep the main things from. Small things you keep in a separate ring binder you can flip through. c) Do not go to class with 4hrs of sleep in the legs you will regret it. d) if you can, do Stuff from your cursus like. Outside of class. I need critical thinking for my classes -> I read and watch movies and go to the theater so I can use my Thinking muscles. I need greek for my greek class I read bilingual copies of greek plays to work out my Linguistic Pattern Noticing muscles. I need to describe artworks for class I go see artworks, in person or online, and think. Add: i will tell you I have multiple times exited a midterms telling to myself "I sucked so bad I'm gonna barely get a passing grade" and in the end it was more than fine. Idk how i do that.

2) "excell at [...] art"

Excelling at art is purely subjective and I feel like I've somewhat stagnated for a bit. The #realones know I used to be able to Churn Out 2 a week if not more, now it's a miracle if I put out 2 a month. I focus on one drawing at the time (or try to.....) and use my weekends and the one day every two week I have where I don't have class to work on them. Knowing I need to set time aside for them makes me want to be more diligent in my painting of them.

3) "... reading"

ALWAYS HAVE A BOOK IN YOUR BACKPACK OR WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE CARRYING!!!!!!! I'm not fucking around. I do most of my reading in the 30 minutes of subway I have every morning and 30 minutes back at night, and between classes. This of course will not work if you have to drive or walk the whole way to campus. But for me I can. Book in your backpack. Long line at the uni canteen? get some reading in. You arrive in front of the doors 5 minutes early and the prof is 5 minutes late? reading. Exam that takes an hours out of the 2 of the class and you finish early? Reading.

4) "... cooking"

One-pot meals. I'm so serious. It's the only thing I do. I have a youtube playlist full of "easy" "quick" whatever else recipes and I alternate depending on what I have in the pantry and want. I planned my meal for the week on the weekend and go grocery shopping on monday morning as I don't have classes. I am also lucky to live In The City so I can literally go grab an ingredience on my way home from school or at 8PM monday to friday.

5) "... working out"

Oh I've gone weeks without working out. Quite frankly. Weeks because I was stressed, because I had midterms, whatever. But when I do I a) do it at home. lol. I dont got Gym Time or Gym Money. b) work out quickly after lunch or dinner (not #optimal but idgafffff I just want to workout) c) do not do it for more than 30 minutes. lol. I don't got time for that. You find tonsss of "follow-along 10/15/20 minutes workout" videos on youtube you can follow in the comfort of your own home and you feel great afterwardssss

6) "... blogging"

Oh you're in my phone. That's the easiest thing of it all. Blogging and even when I'm studying at home my puter is just here.

7) "... commuting"

You just gotta wake up long enough before to catch the bus or the subway don't you. Like there's no secret to it. I never have to take a car to move around in the city, I'm subwaymaxxing, I have a bus to and from the countryside, just gotta wake up. Every day I thank the gods that I don't have to drive to go to college thank you goddesses of fate and chance for having me born here.

8) "Do [i] procrastinate ever"

You will never guess what I'm doing now. Basically on days where I don't have class that's what I'm doing. Sometimes so hard I drive myself crazy. Sometimes I'm stuck in immobility spirals, locked in my own mind screaming at myself to get a move on, unable to do so, and it drives me insane. Maybe he's born with it maybe it's executive dysfunction.

9) "ever need to stare at a wall do nothing decompress"

Every day. That's what the weekends are for, even more the weekends where I can go back to my countryside. Built for the isolated rural monastery's scriptorium, made to study in the city. Etc.

Another thing: I am quite often in genuine, physical pain from stress and strain (recurring headaches mostly), around end of semester exams I am absolutely out-of-my-mind stressed, but you don't see any of that, and when you do I get silly with it posting. I have bad days too 👍 like reallllll real bad lollll and I have to rawdog them all. At any given point there is always one part of the ~optimal~ human life I am neglecting (not enough rest <- typical; falling behind on my coursework; not keep up with my skincare so I get mad I break out; buying sandwiches instead of making the food i planned to; not drawing or writing which pisses me of; not going outside and taking the sun on enough;...)

you just don't see that lol

[lennadanvers]

Seven Minutes in Hell

Uni Student!Eddie x Asexual!Reader

A/N: One day left of the Ace Week and I finally finished this (kinda sorta, in the way that I can't and I won't keep adding to it, or editing it or rewriting it). I'm completely burned out, my back hurts and I lowkey hate how this turned out- there's so much dialogue and I read it so many times I just think it's bad now. However, since I put so much effort into it, and since I want Eddie to be with an ace reader, I'm posting it anyway. Please be nice, because I've been in a crisis for over a week and I will cry if you're mean. Also, this is terribly long compared with my usual works. Idk.

NOTE: The Reader is asexual. No, there is no use of the word "asexual" here, because it's not needed for a character to be ace. No, the Reader doesn't explain/teach to others what it means to be ace- they just voice their boundaries. Asexual is someone who feels little to no sexual attraction (and you can use it either as an umbrella term or a micro label- please investigate more if you feel like it! It's a very interesting topic and you can learn a lot!). Being asexual doesn't equal to being aromantic: an asexual can still feel romantic attraction. Also, asexuality looks different for everybody- some aces may be okay with kissing but not sex, for example. This Reader isn't okay with either. I hope you enjoy the fic! Happy Ace Week!!

Okay, this was a very bad idea and you should have realized sooner.

In your defense, life this far from your hometown is… different. Lonely. In Hawkins, everyone knew everyone. You had a safety net all the time. Maybe you weren’t friends with everybody- but you were friendly with most, at least.

Here, on the other hand, you are alone. Big city, small-town girl… a sad combination. You’re barely learning how to survive. None of the skills you had acquired at home are useful here. For God’s sake, you can’t even bike to the store- you have to take the subway.

One good thing about the city, though, is the variety. When you first came here, the thing that seemed the most exiting was how open people were about themselves.

They’re just not that friendly, though. No in a deeper level, at least. They are, however, very active. Lots of parties, concerts, bars and nights out. The girls in your dorm are unable to sleep during the night, apparently.

And if you want to fit in with them, you have to at least attend a party once in a while.

That’s what brought you here. You start to question if it’s worth it, though, when Lindsay- redhead, loud, flirty Lindsay- grabs you by the waist and starts dragging you across the room. She’s nice, but she’s… different. She goes out with a different boy every Friday, and brings another one to her dorm room every Saturday. It’s really not your business, and it seems to make her happy, so you simply steer away from her business.

It's not that it bothers you. You just don’t get it. Well, not in practice. In theory, it makes sense. But when you picture yourself in her place… It’s uncomfortable. Weird. Foreign. You’re happy she’s happy this way- it’s just not for you.

She doesn’t feel the same way.

You see the circle of people too late, take too long to come up with an excuse; and before you can stop her, she’s announced you’re playing Seven Minutes in Heaven.

You’ve never taken part in things like this. Never wanted to. Now everyone is looking at you, and you’re just too uncomfortable to run away, even if what you want the most is to disappear. Lindsay goes over the rules. You look around for a way out. Maybe a fire alarm will be waiting for you.

That’s when you see him. A curious pair of puppy eyes, a wild mane of hair and an unmistakable rockstar vibe.

Eddie Munson.

This has to be a nightmare. You remember him from Hawkins High- how could you not? He was always so loud an opinionated, so funny and charming, so… So different from everyone else. It was hard not to notice him in the hallways, but that wasn’t the reason you were always looking for him. See, he had- still has, now that you’re face to face again- something that draws you to him. Something in his smile, in the way he moves his hands, so confident, so in display, like the world is a stage and he’s the main character.

And you’ve always felt like the audience, an external observer, the witness to other people’s stories.

Until now, that Eddie Munson is in the same city- the same party, the same room, the same group of people- as you, far away from the hellhole that is Hawkins. Until now, that he’s staring at you, just as surprised, but a little less terrified. Until now, that Eddie looks like he’s expecting something from you. You’re sure your clueless expression is what makes him smile shily and look down at the floor, where an empty beer bottle points straight at you.

Dread washes over you as people start to cheer. Eddie chuckles and stands up. Lindsay grabs you by the arm- who knew that a girl this petite could be so strong? – and drags you to an empty closet.

Only when the door slams behind you, muffling out the music and noise from the party, you realize what happened.

You’re alone, in the dark, with Eddie Munson.

Trapped in a tiny space for the next eternity (seven minutes). And he’s cute, taller than you remember, and he smells nice. And he’s probably expecting something from you. Something like a kiss. Or more.

And you, for the love of God, do not want a kiss. You want him to be pretty and funny and at a safe distance from you.

The silence is overwhelming, his breathing too close for your liking. That’s the only excuse you can find for what you blurt out next.

“I absolutely do not wanna kiss you!”

The silence turns heavier. You press your hands against your mouth, but it’s too late. Maybe it’s a good thing it’s dark in the tiny closet, because at least he can’t see your horrified face. You hear a scoff and what sound like his feet shuffling to the side.

“Of course you don’t. You’re way too out of my reach, yeah? Were you hoping to be paired up with one of those pretty boys?”

His voice is harsh.

You had seen him argue with Jason Carver before. You had seen him mad, frustrated and mocking. None of those times did he sound quite like this. Never had such an edge. If the lights were on, you worry you’d see a sparkle of hurt in his eyes.

Maybe that’s why you start to explain yourself, panic taking over.

“No! No, that’s… That’s not what I meant at all! I just do not wanna kiss!”

Eddie’s laugh is sarcastic and dark.

“Yeah, I figured that much. Well, guess what? I didn’t wanna kiss you either!”

He sounds angrier now. It’s easy to picture him with his arms crossed.

“Really?”

When the only reply is silence, you know you should have shut the hell up. Or at least you could have tried to not sound so relieved. You cringe.

“Wait, that’s not what I meant either. I-”

“Listen, I have no intention of kissing someone who doesn’t want to kiss me. So why don’t we just wait in silence until the time is up?”

You remember his frown when the jocks made fun of him at gym class. Eddie looked miserable half of the time at school. Now he’s left school, moved away from Hawkins, and you’re making him miserable all over again. Even if you really don’t mean to.

The guilt makes you start whispering.

“Anyone. Ever. I don’t want to kiss anyone. Not now. Certainly not any of them. It’s just that Lindsay forced me to play! I didn’t even want to be here in the first place. Trust me, Eddie, if I wanted to be locked in a tiny closet with any guy at this party it would be you, but I don’t! I just really, really don’t want a kiss- I don’t want anyone to touch me, actually… I’m sorry- I bet you wanted to have fun here and I ended up ruining your chance. Listen, I’ll just walk out of here and tell them I feel sick or something, and they’ll have to give you another chance-”

Before you get the chance to embarrass yourself further, Eddie interrupts you.

“Hey, hey, wait a second there.”

You can feel his eyes on you. That’s the only thing that stops you from yapping to death. You wait, but he takes too long to speak.

“I’m sorry if you thought-”

“I never wanted to make you uncomfortable!”

He cuts your apology short yet again.

“I just thought… I recognized you. From Hawkins. Class of ’89, right? I remember you. I just…”

Eddie clears his throat. You take a deep breath because he sounds softer now. He starts talking again and it’s like listening to a cartoon character- fast and disorganized. Cute.

“I just… I thought you were kinda pretty- back then! You were always smiling, and you used to carry around some of my favorite books. I- it’s not like I like you, I… It’s-it’s been a long time, and… I saw you in here. And you look just as beautiful, you know? I’m never lucky like this. Then the bottle landed on you- I thought I had a chance, after all the years of pini- It’s okay, though, I understand! I bet you have better things to worry about, huh? I bet you’re busy publishing novels or something, right? I remember your poem, the one you read on the talent show- I really liked it!”

Somewhere between pretty and beautiful, Eddie started leaning against the wall. His shoulder is warm against yours. You really don’t mean to, but a giggle escapes you.

“Oh, and now it’s me who can’t shut up. I really should have learned by now. I always end up getting in trouble like this. Do you think I could finish all the oxygen here if I keep talking? I could die of suffocation. That would save me the embarrassment of having to see your face when your friend opens the door. Would you do me a favor and forget any of this happened? I really don’t want you to remember how much of a loser I am...”

You’re laughing now. Eddie’s head thumps against the wall next to you and you decide to stop him.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no way. I don’t think I can forget how you think I’m pretty and beautiful…”

Eddie is groaning, and probably shaking his head too- his hair tickles the side of your arm.

“Also, if you died of suffocation now you wouldn’t know that I thought you were pretty too. Back then, I mean. Oh, and you were never a loser. I always thought you were very smart- with all the ways you found to get back at Carver and his clique. Also, it’d be a shame to deprive the world of your music! I remember you at the talent show too.”

His voice sounds muffled. Is he hiding his face in his hands?

“Stop making fun of me!”

It’s not an accusation. It’s whinier and more playful. It helps you relax a little.

“Are you kidding? I’d never make fun of you! I’ve actually always liked you, Eddie.”

You’d swear his breath just hitched.

“Are you serious?”

Lucky you, the darkness won’t let him see the way you’re blushing. You shrug, trying to look nonchalant even if he doesn’t see you.

“Well, yeah.”

He’s quiet for a moment.

“Listen, I think we started with the wrong foot here. Why don’t we… Would you like to… I don’t know, maybe sometime we could-”

A beam of blinding light and awfully loud music interrupts him.

Oh, God.

“Time’s up, lovebirds! Ooh, look at you! Girl, you’re red as a cherry! What were you guys up to, all cozy in here?”

Lindsay is smiling at you, and you want to disappear again. You don’t dare take a look at Eddie; you just push past her, out into the party. You just want to get away. You need to get out of this house; out of the city, maybe- run away from the stupidity.

Stupid Lindsay.

Stupid game.

Stupid kisses.

Stupid expectations.

Stupid yo-

Someone takes a hold of your wrist and brings your escape to an end. Shit.

“Hey, hold on! Wait up!”

You really don’t want to turn around. You really, really don’t want to see his round, starry eyes up this close. You really, really, really don’t want to know how far you’ve embarrassed yourself in front of Eddie. No, you want to pretend you never saw him here. No, the last time you saw Eddie Munson was graduation. He was happy, had that stupidly cute smile of his, and then you never heard anything from him-

“Hey, I’m sorry- oh, God, you said you didn’t want to be touched. I’m sorry!”

He lets go of your wrist as if it was hurting him. His voice is a little too loud now that you’re out of the house. But it’s still gentle and nervous. You take a deep breath and turn around. At least you can’t make this worse, can you?

“I didn’t mean it that way, Eddie.”

“You didn’t…? Oh! Oh, no, you didn’t! No, I see, I- I know. Okay!”

Eddie closes his eyes and scrunches his nose, his head falling backwards. It’s a cute face, even if he looks completely humiliated right now. Something that makes no sense to you.

“Listen, I… Would you like to hang out sometime?”

It’s a simple question. That doesn’t stop you from blinking three times before replying with another question.

“Are you asking me out on a date?”

Eddie’s eyes open like a cartoon character’s.

“Shit! You don’t do that either? I’m really sorry. Fuck, I’m an asshole, and I should leave you alone. I’m so sorry. I promise you’ll never see me again…!”

In his rush to give you space, he ends up tripping over his own feet and falling on his ass. You try to catch him by the arm, but he’s too heavy and you end up falling too.

It’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

A laugh makes its way out of your chest and it’s impossible to stop it.

“Oh, God…! Are you… okay, Eddie?”

He’s staring at you as if you were crazy. Fair, because you probably are.

“I didn’t mean to laugh,” but you’re still laughing, “I’m sorry. I guess we’re both sorry, huh?”

The giggles keep coming out.

“Yes… I’d like to hang out sometime.”

His head snaps to you.

“Really?”

You do your best to get the laugh under control.

“Really.”

“Okay, then.”

Now he’s taking your hand and lifting you to your feet. It’s a simple movement, fast and soft; but not faster than your ability to blush. At least you’re not laughing anymore. Eddie is closer now than he was in the closet, his chin a couple inches away from your eyes. He smells like wood and blankets: warm and cozy. It’s easy to forget the party behind you, the loud music and cold air disappearing into his eyes.

“So… No kisses, then? Of any kind? Or is it like touching?”

You find yourself whispering too.

“Just no kisses on the mouth.”

“Great.”

Suddenly, coming to this stupid party doesn’t seem that terrible of an idea, because Eddie Munson is kissing your forehead. And it’s ridiculous, silly and amazing. He’s also blushing, eyes crinkling at the sides and a round, shy smile reflecting yours.

“Just so you know, that counts as our first kiss.”

“First? That implies more than one. Someone’s very confident.”

“Well, the night is young and you look like you have some time to spare. What do you say we get out of here? I could introduce you to the best milkshakes in the city.”

“…I’d actually love that.”

This time it’s you who grabs his hand. Eddie grins, and he looks just like the boy who stood on tables back at Hawkins High: young, brave, ready for adventure.

“I shall show thee the path, milady.”

He bows and you laugh. Walking away from the party and the rest of the world is easy. Comfortable. Natural. The way heaven must feel like, if you had to describe it.

[glowstickspinalfluid]

sanitizing octoling!ingo options:

• goes wandering around starting area of the metro again for some peace and quiet. comes back and someone else is getting blendered in central station so he sort of surrenders to getting sanitized to avoid any worse fate.

-(this requires kamabo co to operate by removing subjects' memories then immediately releasing them into the metro without regard for any other test subjects already in the metro.)

-(this subsequently requires tartar to believe any collaboration between test subjects not to be a threat. seems unlikely.)

• ingo runs out of membucks, fails, gets sanitized, and is placed as an assistant to c. q. cumber due to previously demonstrated affinity for running subways despite memory loss.

-(this requires ingo to mess up tremendously. yeah you have to give your babies the L sometimes but we don't have an in-canon solid frame of reference for how hard the tests in the metro and idk how cracked he would be at fighting at this point. i by all accounts am not that good at splatoon and ive still never had to go into debt with pearl but also the player is supposed to win. games have to be fun.)

-(this also requires tartar deciding of his own free will to put some rando sanitized octoling on the metro in full view of the normal denizens of the deepsea with no extenuating circumstances)

• gets sanitized on purpose??? just goes i don't wanna go to the promised land and chase the happiness promised to me in the memories i have recovered. i would like to stay here and do trains because it feels familiar and i could help many people reach promised land.

-(sorta feels like he just quits. i could wear him down to that point, but given my own personal tied-to-the-dragons headcanon i have for the twins, doing that could require more deviation from how i think the metro and kamabo work than i would like)

-(tartar would also have to be like. yeah ok. then get him sanitized and put on the metro. would he do that? idk)

i cannot leave him not fully sanitized. for one i love making characters evil with mind control and second he can't have the parallel to his role in pla of guiding the player character to their goals without being sanitized because i don't think tartar would let test subjects run around like that

if you have any suggestions for other ways to sanitize ingo or opinions on what decisions either ingo or tartar would make that would be absolutely awesome and i would love to hear them. i've been stuck on this for weeks :(

[greatwesternrailway]

I made Eras Tour bracelets of all the times Taylor Swift references trains in her songs. The colours are inspired by different trains and railway liveries. Excessive details under the cut:

"You know that my train could take you home" from Willow. Inspired by Great Western Railway's Intercity Express Trains. It's the train I catch most often, it's my train!

"I knew you, stepping on the last train" from Cardigan. Inspired by the subway cars in New York City, which I think of as having blue seats but it seems yellow/orange is just as (or more?) common. Idk I've never been to New York, my whole knowledge of the subway comes from Broad City and pictures of dogs in Ikea bags.

"I jump from the train, I ride off alone" from The Archer. Inspired by ye olde American locomotives like the Union Pacific No. 119. This lyric evokes Wild West imagery for me and this type of engine is what my British brain thinks of as a "cowboy train".

"Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train" from The Last Great American Dynasty. Inspired by the steam locomotives used in the 1940s by the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, which is what Rebekah Harkness would have rode up on. Sadly I couldn't find a good colour image of one, so I leaned into it and chose a greyscale colour palette. As it happens the engines were almost certainly black anyway so it's fine.

"Silence, the train runs off its tracks" from Sad Beautiful Tragic. Inspired by my boy Thomas the Tank Engine. There are a lot of derailments on the Island of Sodor, the Fat Controller should probably have been sacked.

"Northbound I got carried away, as you boarded your train south" from I Look in People's Windows. Inspired by the London Underground map. I didn't have any brown beads so the Bakerloo line has been reassigned orange.

"We wait for trains that just aren't coming" from New Romantics. Inspired by the British Rail Class 195 trains created for Arriva Rail North, the network so incompetent that even the Tories had to re-nationalise it. Those trains just weren't coming.

"You took the night train for a reason" from Champagne Problems. Inspired by the British Rail Mark 5 coaches used on the Caledonian Sleeper Service.

"Some trains you can't catch again, you've gotta leave it as it was" from Tim McGraw - Acoustic Demo. This is a deep cut that I expect even a lot of Swifties wouldn't necessarily know, but I've always loved this lyric. It totally recontextualises the song and ironically is a much more adult sentiment than the lyrics of the final recording. Inspired by the livery of Anglia Railways, which are the trains of my childhood. Anglia Railways has been sold and rebranded several times since then, so they are quite literally the trains I can't catch again.

I imagine that Taylor Swift has not been on a train in many years, for obvious reasons. However I appreciate her continued use of train imagery in her songs and I hope she never ever stops :)

[jolyne-best-jojo]

After sleeping on the JJK ending l honestly still can't believe GeGe made a character as good as Gojo and then fucked up the ending that bad.

You create this really fun and interesting character who's goofy but cares a lot about his students like making them play a sport instead of individual battles after an attack on the school. A guy who wants to create a better world but doesn't hesitate to send his students into dangerous shit in hopes of letting them grow and become strong to help create that better world and someone so selfless that he prioritising saving lives over taking out the villains which directly leads to him being captured and when he's freed he actively asks what happened to the people he was protecting.

When Gojo comes back from being trapped and instead of giving him some character development with the entire month there was before the Sukuna fight GeGe basically just skips straight to it. Like wtf? I want to know how Gojo feels about how him holding back his domain led to the death of one of his students, the traumatisation of another, a third getting burned severely, a fourth losing their arm and a fifth losing their body to Sukuna alongside one of his friends dying. How does he feel about Maki reaching her potential and reaching Toji, the man who beat Gojo so bad at 16 that he was forced to learn reverse techniques, level? What about Kashimo? Both he and Gojo are the strongest of their eras yet the pair never talk about how it feels to be the strongest. And then instead of this we just skip to the big fight which ends with Gojo getting killed off-screen and then being insulted by his friends. Like wtf was up with Nanami saying Gojo didn't care about protecting people or continuing sorcery and cared more about fighting? Because that just isn't what you read in the text of the show when he promises Megumi he'll try to save Yuji's life after being asked, monologuing about wanting to train stronger sorcerers to restart the shitty world of Jujutsu society and holding back his domain to 0.2 seconds to save innocents in the subway leading to his trapping.

And that's not mentioning GeGe having Gojo hype up Sukuna as being super strong and how he might have lost even if Sukuna didn't Megumi's technique instead of, idk, caring about the fact his students are now gonna have to face Sukuna? I've seen some people try to claim that him mentioning how he's taken care of Megumi finding out about his dad even if Gojo himself dies but that offhand comment isn't really enough for me, he doesn't give a single thought to Yuta, Yuji or Maki as the three have to face the strongest sorcerer there is when it'd be interesting to see what he thinks of them at the end of everything.

And then there's the bait, holy shit, what was the point of Yujo? You have Yuta defile Gojo's body by putting his own brain into it, have him fight Sukuna, land Gojo's ultimate move, have it do basically no fucking damage because Yuta's inexperienced (just firing a red at a blue to make an impromptu purple was enough to take out Sukuna's arm and that was the first time Gojo ever tried that), then he just falls down because his body control technique is burnt out from using domain expansion and after that they set up Kenjaku having had a way to not have to deal with this problem and never mention Yuta again until the fight's over. What a stellar display of capitalism using characters popularity to make money while giving no respect to the character Yujo is.

And then Gojo isn't mentioned again until two letters given to Megumi and Nobara which gives basically no development to their relationships with Gojo, especially Nobara given her letter is about some new detail we didn't know about her (no relationship with her mum) and then she just rips the letter up. And then at the very last chapter we get a conversation flashback between Gojo and Yuji about how Gojo thinks one day his students will forget him and Yuji tells him he'd never forget Gojo with Gojo replying "Haven't we had enough Gojo Saturo" no GeGe, we haven't, because you haven't given him a proper arc.

Gojo's arc is about the question of "is he the strongest because he's Gojo Saturo or is the Gojo Saturo because he's the strongest" a question some people think is about whether his skill is what made him the strongest or if it was just the powers he got at birth. But what it's really about is is being the strongest just one part of Gojo or is Gojo just the strongest. And this is never really properly addressed, the only way it really is points towards Gojo just being the strongest because that's what is said about him by his students, another school's student and one of his colleagues that he's the strongest, after he dies fighting Sukuna his corpse is used as a means to keep fighting Sukuna and no one ever really honours all Gojo's done for them. Meanwhile Sukuna gets to have this whole conclusion where he decides that him losing means his ideals were wrong and that in the next life he'd follow a different path. Some people have tried to say this is fair as Sukuna's the main villain and Gojo's a side character but Gojo isn't just a side character, he's JJK's most popular character, some of the main JJK memes involve him (Nah, I'd Win, Throughout Heaven and Earth I alone am the honoured one) and he's basically the face of the show given sales dropped after his death and it just sucks so much to see such a good character not get a proper conclusion.

[the-thunderbolts-real]

idk if any of you guys would like any of these(i know some of you wont💔 the problems with listening to neurodivergent teenager music 💔💔💔) bc like. Idk. Buuuuuttttt some of my fav songs that r like eh kinda ok idk runs away in fear but yeah!!! Bc yrah!!! Im vool like that 💪😼

Also john i dont want your opinion. Keep it to yourself. Youre gonna be mean, i can smell it. Im ok with the others having like things 2 say but you are a no cause yeah. Grr. TEEHEE ANYWAYS SO SORRY FOR THE ONE BILLION SONGS i just am extra silly rn!!! Dont... dont mind that most of them r ricky jamaraz he makes a ton of cool stuff....... Uhhhhhhhhhhhh byeah. I have others but i feel like theyre too..... explosion of noise and stuff.... to have a chance of yall liking it....... 😔 (femtanyl, other such breakcore type shtuff)

Uhhhhhhh

Yeah!!!

OHHH ALSO bob whars ur flavorite musical mines beetlejuice cause im just cool like that ig teeheeeeeee GOD i love it sm but whats urs teehee

(mayhaps i shall show my plush horse named bobby who likes busting it down sexual style and is also goated with the sauce)

Well I wasn't GONNA say anything, but YOU had to be the jackass.

Ignore him. I know, like, one or two of these songs. Mostly the Ricky Jamaraz stuff. Not bad taste.

favorite musical? uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... i guess i like Les Mis... I've only seen the Beetlejuice movie, y'know. My mom was a fan of Tim Burton...

[finnickodaiir]

🔥 thoughts on anything joever related? i feel like some of the fandom hasn't responded to it well over the past year

Let's see, I've gotten whiplash from how quickly the fandom reaction went from "My parents 😭... love is dead, I'll never listen to Rep or Lover ever again, "to "Joe was a piece of shit who cheated and then gaslighted her into thinking she was being paranoid!! He also looked down on her! He was basically John Mayer 2.0"...... like 1. You don't know these people. These aren't characters that you can just make headcanons about based on what you think happened. Also 2. Literally, the only official statement we got said that they weren't compatible anymore and had grown apart.

Also, I just think all of the joebless jokes are very childish and annoying. I remember seeing a Reddit post where people were calling him jobless for taking the subway... you all have clearly never been to a big city, because everyone knows that in a city as big as London, the subway is like the quickest way to get around town (and celebrities can just be more lowkey in London in comparison to the US).

I don't think there's anything wrong with Taylor writing about her life experiences, but I do hate how the fandom is basically treating TTPD as a tabloid release and how they can't wait to see Joe get dissed... like, did you all forget Blank Space and the circumstances that led to that song being created? Or what Taylor said about paternity tests of her songs during the Rep Era?

Basically, I think the fandom needs to stop keeping tabs of her exes and bringing them up, and idk just apply the songs to their life experiences and favorite characters.

(Send me a 🔥 + a topic)

[purplesurveys]

1990

What do you usually order from Subway/Togo’s/another sandwich place? I just buy from like the same banh mi shop every time I want a sandwich lol; I get a classic banh mi from them. In general though I rarely seek out sandwiches because...idk, I find them too big and most of the time too messy to eat as well.

Have you ever talked about your period with a guy? Were they okay with it, or grossed out? It's very likely that I have. Most likely they were okay with it – I would have remembered them if they were grossed out by it.

Have you ever been to small/church/bible group/study (forced to or wanted to)? I've never been to Bible study and thank fuck I was never forced to join. My family are practicing Catholics, though, so we go to church every Sunday and I also attended Catholic school for 14 years. As an atheist, I got good at tuning everything out at some point.

In-N-Out, ever been there? If not, what’s a good burger place around your town? I've never been. But for burgers, I'd recommend Sweet Ecstasy.

How many people do you know with the name Ashley/Ashlee? Zero.

Have you ever been to an asian (any type) market? If so, what is the closest one to you? I dunno if this question is relevant to me because I'm Asian, live in Asia, and have easy access to Asian stuff at any market or grocery any time I want.

What would you do if the person you have feelings for showed up at your door? I'd just give a very basic "What are you doing here?"

What did your last text message say? Can't be bothered to check.

How many people have texted you today? Did you reply to all of them? Around 5? Yes, I did.

When was the last time you drank something with alcohol? I had a sangria with my late lunch earlier this afternoon.

Have you ever slept with a member of the opposite sex without having sex? I don't think this has happened.

Will you talk to the person you like tonight? Nope.

How would you feel if your significant other had tattoos?

Do you actually eat breakfast lunch and dinner everyday? I just eat dinner. HOWEVER, the main difference from last year is that I eat in tiny bursts throughout the day now (like a pastry, or a slice of cake, or a doughnut) then have dinner as my one main meal.

When the depression hit me like a truck in 2024 I really would just wait for dinner to eat – I'm so glad I'm out of that jungle now.

Is there something else you should be doing? I really should be planning my outfit and freebies for Hobi's concert the following weekend, lol.

Was your last text message from someone of the opposite sex?

If you could have a free plane ticket to anywhere, where would you choose to go? I'd love to go back to Fukuoka. For how much I dreaded the trip (since I went there with workmates), I actually really loved and enjoyed Fukuoka as a place.

What’s the approximate total cost of the clothes you’re wearing? Idk, I wanna guess maybe 2k? It's not much – it's just a vest and vintage cargo pants.

Where was the last place on your body that you felt physical pain? My shoulders are a little sore today.

Has someone of the opposite sex made you smile recently? No.

Can your significant other/crush sing?

What do you want/need right now? My money back. The salon I went to has shit payment methods and ended up charging me twice. I need to go back tomorrow to ask for half that money back, but until I don't have it I will feel stressed lmao.

How much does the last person you texted really know about you?

Who was the last person you apologized to? What did you apologize for? I said sorry to the hair salon people because I plugged my phone in one of their outlets to charge, lmao.

What are the initials of the person you have feelings for?

Did you straighten your hair today? Quite the opposite, I had it curled a little bit. Just because.

Is it okay to like someone else, if you already have a boyfriend/girlfriend? ?

Would you spend the night in a haunted house? Probably not.

Look in a mirror. Are you 100% happy with what you see? Why/why not? Tonight I am hahaha, since I had my hair re-dyed and curled today and it looks very well done :)

Will tomorrow be better than today? No clue, tbh.

What are you listening to right now? Just the aircon running.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My sister, I think.

Do you still whip out the Nintendo on random occasions? Like, our Switch? Sure.

Can you honestly tell the difference between DiGiorno and delivery pizza? What is DiGiorno.

[worryingthing]

tyn 2/10

The subway was extremely messed up this morning, but because of that I was late to work (nbd, I arrive half an hour before everyone else, also I did not get this week's building code at the time, so I would have had to stand there and wait had I been on time) there was no line for a croissant from Bourke Street Bakery. They have probably the best Pain au Chocolat I've ever had (outside the ones I had in Montreal as a kid when we visited), but the regular croissant is also stellar. As a true Taurus, I can bear the miseries of overlit banal office work if I have pastry.

Because the R was running on a Saturday schedule (?????) I took the M, which means transferring at 53rd. The escalator at mid platform is broken, and I accidentally walked all the way up it last week, resulting in barely being able to breathe at the end (it's like four stories, I am old and post-covid have asthma now). So now there are hundreds of people in line for the other, working, escalator and right in between is the elevator. I have never used a subway elevator, but this is also the first time in my life experiencing a physical disability. So I squeezed into the elevator, and it was fine. I think A LOT about accessibility since joining Access Oasis, a local community garden founded by a friend that has a mission to create an accessible outdoor space. It's done wonders for me as an audhd person to find community and understanding with others who have experiences similar to my own. Also digging in dirt is just, really, really good for you! I love plants. But yes, the angriest I get is usually about how inaccessible the subway is for anyone who would require a mobility aid. It makes me so angry, and so sad, but also in the last few years both of my home stations (previously Brooklyn, now Queens) have gotten upgraded with elevators. They're in process, and it's only two sets of stairs, but it still means more life for the people who need it. Change is slow!! Every station should be ADA approved already, but it's happening.

Oh and because I took the M and transferred at 53rd, there's a corridor you pass through to get to the 6. Many days there's a man standing in there preaching about God to 100s of in transit New Yorkers who are probably, like me, thinking "fuck my life, fuck this job, fuck the MTA" while a man shouts at us to thank Jesus for our lives. BUT he was not there today, and I will take that as the win it was. Sometimes I do begrudge him that he's right I should be thankful for my life but also fuck off.

Things are really wonderful with my friendships, community, and relationship and I'm not sure I've ever experienced that or felt so at ease and comfortable. It's really wonderful.

I'm back working at the last temp gig I had. I had been looking for work the entirety of November, December, and January. It was terrible, probably the lowest I've felt since I got out of my last relationship. But now the sun is setting after 5, and being busy and tired and active is good for me. But I'm here because the person who is normally here is sick. They do not know when he's coming back, but they like me and say I do good work. I don't really want to work in an office or open/sort/send out mail for an office of 200 people. But I want a work/life balance, and I would really, really like to have health insurance. Idk, it's an upswing and I needed it and I'll take it.

PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT TO SPRING TRAINING TODAY!!! T O D A Y!!! FOOTBALL IS OVER, BASEBALL IS NIGH!!!! The golden period is coming (longer light, games on most nights, listening to radio broadcasts of games, going to the Coney Island Cyclones Pride Night every summer!!) During my worst periods of deep depression/suicidal ideation I would try to keep a mental list of names to stay alive for and things to look forward to. It helps and it works, and then I started to try and think of three things I was thankful for daily and one thing I am looking forward to (usually watching movies with friends or whatever plan). Anyway I went long and it's time for lunch, and I THINK it's sunny today? Blessed.

[skitskatdacat63]

Would you mind if I asked for any classical recs. I started listening to Bartok and something clicked (also because I like hearing you talk 🗣️ )

- Penalanon

Aaahhh omg penalanon hiiii!! 🥺 so glad you liked Bartók! That's on such the deep end of classical honestly so I'm rly so glad to hear you like his work! Alright sry in advance if any of these are basic bcs im not sure what you've listened to before. But here you go, in no particular order

1812 Overture - Tchaikovsky

Okay hear me out ik this is pretty basic but I love this recording so so much, I listen to it constantly. Tho it's especially fun to listen to when I'm drawing something Napoleonic, it's very fitting

Marche Slave - Tchaikovsky

Another Tchaikovsky piece! I just really like this one :)

Piano Concerto No.2 - Rachmaninoff

Most beautiful piano concerto of all time?? Perhaps. I just love this one, and the story behind it is very sweet to me(Rachmaninoff was very depressed but his therapist helped him get back to composing, and he dedicated this piece to him)

Rite of Spring - Stravinsky

If you liked Bartók, you'll definitely like Stravinsky!!

Firebird - Stravinsky

Also must link this hilarious vid that I always think of every time I listen to this piece

Gayaneh - Khachaturian

My fav ballet EVERRRR. Okay bear with me, I know it's two and a half hours long, but I listen to it constantly

The Planets Suite - Holst

You've prob heard these before but ahhhh one of my favorite pieces, it never gets old. They are all so unique, and I love how you can tell how much they inspired modern film scores like Star Wars

La Follia - Vivaldi

My fav Vivaldi piece other than Four Seasons(not linnking it here bcs I think most people have def heard it, but go listen to it again ofc dklaskjl.) But man Vivaldi always goes off so hard

String Quartet No.8 - Shostakovich

I linked this in my prev music reccs but I'm not sure if you listened to it so I will again!!

Symphony No.5 - Shostakovich

I love Shostakvich so much waahhhhh, his life makes me sad :( But he's one of the reasons I got more into classical music!

Symphony No.7 - Shostakovich

The story behind this one is so sad to me :( It was a song of resistance for the people of Leningrad while they were being seiged in WWII. Also I love how the conducter in this vid literally looks exactly like young Shostakovich

Battle on The Ice - Prokofiev

such a sick piece

Dance of the Knights - Prokofiev

Symphony No.2 - Weill

I randomly heard this at a classical concert, and I've been in love with it every since!

Masquerade Suite - Khachaturian

Gnossienne No.1-6 - Satie

I can't link all of them so just start with the one I linked!!

New World Symphony - Dvorjak

I love the fourth movement especially, there's parts that sound like Jaws and Star Wars

Danse Macabre - Saint-Saëns

The Swan - Saint-Saëns

This song is what I imagine falling in love feels like. It always makes me teary eyed. Also Vienna has stars like the hollywood stars in some subway station, and I took pics of both Saint-Saëns and Debussy when I saw them, and two people I was with had no idea who they were SOBBB

Raindrop Prelude - Chopin

Arabesque - Debussy

I'd recc Clair de Lune but I'm sure you've heard it, so here is another Debussy piece :)

Miserere mei, Deus - Allegri 

IDK I LIKE CHOIR MUSIC BE QUIET

Lacrimosa - Mozart

You've def heard this before but GOD it makes me cry every time, soooooo iconic

Funeral March (Orchestral Version) - Mendelssohn

There's such a cool video of this as an actual march but it's for Thatcher's funeral ugh, so here's the orchestral version too

[unforth]

At my brother's wedding last night and my cousin's son (first cousin once removed I think???) is there. And like, my dad's from California and only he moved east to New York so I virtually never see my uncles or cousins, and the last time I saw this kid he was, idk, 4? And now he's 18 or 19.

Anyway, he pulls me aside and goes, "your brother told me you speak Japanese...and translated some manga?" So I explain the reality of my rather mediocre language skills that my brother has apparently massively over represented, and I mention that I did translate 9 vols of One Piece back in the day, and he pulls out his phone and he's like "you're gonna think I'm crazy, but..." and shows me his Shonen Jump app where he's caught up on One Piece.

And I'm like. My dude. I don't think you're crazy, I'm jealous, I fucking WISH I was caught up on One Piece.

Him: oh thank God I'm not the only weeb in the family.

And look. I'm not a weeb, not really, not anymore, not since like 2007. Which coincidentally is the last time I saw him, a couple months before I went to Japan. But for my 19 year old cousin looking for some goddamn validation??

Me: I've been a weeaboo since before you were *born*.

Anyway. It was nice. And his reaction to the BL aspect of my fandom life was great (very no judgement but full nope-topus).

My brother had a nice wedding, too. Him and my new sis in law!

(While I was typing this someone drove by playing Africa so loud I could hear every word. We're on the NINTH FLOOR. It is 7 in the morning. Oh, New York, never change. This is up there with the guy on the subway last night who was chugging corn straight from the can.)

[solarpunkani]

So the way cities are designed is nasty and not really good for anybody. Do you have any resources or ideas on how this can actually, realistically change? I mean, we can't just tear down cities and rebuild them better. Is the way forward just adding more beneficial stuff to the existing, less-than-ideal cities, and then building the new cities with people and nature in mind?

Hey!

Yknow, I thought I had a tag for this, but either I forgot what tag it was or things just haven't come out of queue yet because I'm not seeing much on my blog. I feel like I've seen specific posts about making things more accessible--I tend to see this line of thought be referred to as Walkable Cities or Accessible Cities--but I can't think of any off the top of my head at the moment.

To the best of my understanding, as someone who isn't a city planner or anything along those lines, I would think the solution would be along what you suggested; adding more beneficial structures--which may include rebuilding certain things/sections but I don't thiiiink would involve the entire demolition of a building--to preexisting cities and then building the new cities with these principles in mind.

What needs to be changed will be on different levels depending on how old the city is, how it was planned out before, and whats causing issues vs what needs to be improved. There's definitely a lot of talk about needing more bike lanes and sidewalks in the US, and how sparsely everything is placed in a lot of cities without a way to really access them. I think the closest I've ever been to being in a truly walkable city was my college campus, and not only was that not the whole city but just the campus, but I also didn't really have the leg strength to walk or bike the wholething. Even still, things were close enough together that walking or biking was feasible for a lot of people--and there was a robust bus system that was free for students as long as they had an ID (though most drivers didn't ID people who looked like students, or if you were being picked up on campus).

From there I guess I'd love if something similar was implemented in other places. Free (or at least very low cost, but preferrably free) and robust bus systems, bike lanes, wide sidewalks, and things made in more of a 'hub' kind of planning instead of having everything super spaced out. With lots of green spaces interspersed throughout, like small but frequent parks that people can go to hang out with lots of benches and flowers and such. Maybe a lot of the housing set-ups would be sort of like apartments on top of stores? Close to campus, there was a mini Target and several other stores in a plaza-like block that actually all had 5 levels of apartments on top of them--you needed a special key fob to get into the elevators to access them, so it wasn't like anyone going to Target could end up at your apartment door. This could be a good way to have more structures in less space, in a way? Granted, I never lived in those units, so IDK if the quality of life was different in any way...

I feel like I've seen videos and posts discussing how one city started slowly phasing things in and out to become increasingly more walkable over the years? Maybe in Spain or something? I can't find it at the moment, however. From what I remember, they started slowly phasing cars out of certain areas of the town, instead adding more bike lanes and plazas and benches and housing until eventually basically everything was accessible by walking, biking, or taking a transit system.

I've touched this point already, but I feel that transit systems would be one of the most important parts of making a city truly accessible--but that the transit system may look different depending on where you are. New York, for example, has the subway system that from what I know (I've never taken the New York Subway I haven't been there since I was 8) is extremely efficient in getting people around--could likely use some improvements, but is definitely a good model to look at. For places where subways aren't suitable--I know Florida would deal with lots of flooding issues, trying to dig and implement a subway system--an increasingly robust bus system or even something like a monorail system like my city (sort of) has would be excellent.

Now there's definitely something to said about accessibility into buildings itself. Sometimes ramps are constructed improperly, so those would need to be fixed. I can also see there being issues with doorways and stairs and such in older buildings--though even in those cases, many buildings get revamped with elevators and wider entrances. There's probably tons of other accessibility issues that I don't even realize, because though I try to keep these things in mind, I do ultimately live life as an abled person right now.

Though another point I do also remember being brought up is the height of landscaping, especially near crosswalks and such, causing problems with accessibility for children, shorter people, the elderly, etc. Also that trailing, low-hanging plants can also cause issues by getting stuck in wheelchairs and such. These would also have to be kept in mind when considering green spaces and accessibility.

This post is getting long and ultimately I don't really know what I'm talking about in the slightest. But I do hope this was at least a little helpful!

[princess-of-the-corner]

I wanna start by saying I'm not trying to start a fight, but you saying that Chloe had some kind of mental break or dissociative episode in Queen Wasp as a way to excuse the train incident has always felt like a bit of a reach

Idk if you've ever had a dissociative episode or mental breakdown or anything like that, and I'm not demanding you share if you have, but I have, and the way we see Chloe act in Queen Wasp is not how someone who is dissociating would act in my experience

She's too cognizant

After snapping, transforming, and running, Chloe has the presence of mind to stop on the closest vantage point she could find, look around for an idea of how to prove herself, focus on the subway, come up with the idea to stage a crash, dial Nadja Chamak's number to tell her about the train so there are cameras present, and stop and paralyze the driver before trying to stop the train

There was a time when I was dissociating after a massive fight with my parents and walking through my neighborhood, and I came to a cross light.

I remember seeing that I couldn't go straight across bc of the red light, and seeing that a car was coming down the street, but I kept walking straight.

The car was too far away to be dangerous to me, but they did slam their brakes and honk.

I didn't register any of that, I just kept walking. I didn't even realize what had happened until hours after I had gotten back home and calmed down.

That's not what happened to Chloé in Queen Wasp. She wasn't thinking clearly bc she was rightfully upset and hurt and acting impulsively, but it wasn't a mental break

BUDDY

Okay okay okay we're just gonna.

Firstly: Different experiences and different words for different things!

Yes, some people's breakdowns are the type of disassociation where they're not aware they're just in full zombie mode.

Other people's breakdowns are organized and focused and seemingly aware! They're still not quite in the right state of mind! But they do things that are a little off and they wouldn't usually because they think it'll make them feel better!

This isn't a disassociation state, this is more like a manic episode. Like, I'm not saying that this is genuinely a manic episode for Chloé because I am not an expert and I don't know if she hits more checks for that sort of disorder and it's a very short episode as far as we can tell while a proper episode would be a longer period of time. It's just the best word I can find to describe this type of breakdown But I have 100% seen and experienced both the 'zombie mode' and the 'oh let's do something about this!!' breakdown.

And yes, in the real world, an episode like this wouldn't result directly to 'fake a train accident', it does result in extremely poor decisionmaking as they ride it out. Things like impulsively chopping off hair, spending money they can't afford to, taking risks in sexual situations, etc. But in a kids show with superheroes, that is 100% on the table.

Again: I am not an expert, but Chloé was going through some hell and I've seen people snap in that sort of way where, were they a cartoon character, could end up in that situation.

Secondly:

You make it sound like I'm just excusing it like 'haha whatever it's chill'. Which, to be fair, Canon did that! The train thing is just never brought up again and she never faces any consequences for it so Canon thinks it's fine!

But even if she is in the most manic or dissassociative or whatever state? She is still responsible for what happens when she comes down from it. And yeah in a fictional world like this you can handwave that action when everyone ends up fine instead of having her go to jail or some shit.

Thirdly:

We aren't talking about how this incident should be ignored. We're talking about how this is considered the worst thing that Chloé has done, and proof that she's 'evil', but it was something done while not only not in the right state of mind, but something that never intended to harm anyone, didn't end up harming anyone, and also did in fact get brushed off by the rest of the cast.