#6 and 7 were difficult to find. Wow.

[identifying-f1-in-posts]

[1] 29th September 2002 United States Grand Prix Post-race Parc Ferme

[2] 23rd June 2002 European Grand Prix Post-race Parc Ferme

[3] 24th September 2000 United States Grand Prix Post-race Parc Ferme

[4] 18th June 2000 Canadian Grand Prix Post-race Parc Ferme

[5] 2004 Chinese Grand Prix Post-race Parc Ferme

[6] 1st September 2002 Belgian Grand Prix Post-race Parc Ferme

[7] 31st August 2002 Belgian Grand Prix Post-qualifying Parc Ferme

[8] 29th September 2002 United States Grand Prix Post-race Parc Ferme

Rubens Barrichello + Michael Schumacher + Pit Hugs

[deliciousangelfestival]

Tears In His Ferrari - 11

Character: Bucky Barnes x Farmer!Reader

Summary: Bucky Barnes, used to a life of luxury, takes on farm challenges in a bet with his father. Mud-stained Ferraris and a rustic farmhouse lead to unexpected personal growth, guided by the stern mentorship of Y/N, a farmer making his city-boy life difficult.

Theme: Fluff, Slice of Life, Heart-Warming.

Main Masterlist || If you enjoy my work, please consider buying me a coffee on: Ko-fi 🙏🏻

Thank you to anyone who gave a like, reblog, and left a comment. It motivated me to write more. 

Chapters: Chp 1, Chp 2,Chp 3 , Chp 4 , Chp 5 , Chp 6 , Chp 7 , Chp 8 , Chp 9 , Chp 10, Chp 11 , Chp 12.

Bucky then found himself inundated with tags from numerous people: “#SaveBuckyFromY/N”, “KateBucky4ever”, and more.

Feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the online scrutiny, especially since he hadn’t even established a relationship with Kate, Bucky realized the weight of social media speculation.

"Bucky-" as Y/N began to speak, Bucky sensed the tension building within her. Before she could ask him anything, her phone rang, interrupting their conversation.

Reacting swiftly, Bucky urged, “Wait, don’t pick up the phone.”

However, it was too late.

“Hello?” Y/N answered, her expression turning serious as she engaged in the call.

Moments later, she visibly struggled to maintain her balance and leaned heavily against the nearby table. Reacting instinctively, Bucky hurried to her side, offering his support.

Guiding her to sit down, Bucky observed a vulnerability in Y/N that he hadn’t witnessed before, despite their months of companionship.

Letting out a weary sigh, Y/N confessed, “This thing still chases me wherever I go.”

Concern etched across his features, Bucky inquired softly, “Is it true?”

Y/N met his gaze and nodded solemnly. “Do you want to know why I disliked you the first time we met?”

Bucky attempted to lighten the mood with a jest, “You did? I didn’t notice.”

Y/N smiled stiffly, her expression betraying a mix of emotions. “You reminded me of my old self. Selfish and childish.”

Bucky’s brows furrowed in confusion. The Y/N he knew appeared aloof, but beneath her exterior, she always extended a helping hand whenever someone needed it.

“You?” Bucky exclaimed, genuinely surprised.

Y/N nodded, her gaze distant as she recounted her past. “I used to despise farm life. So, I ran away to the city.”

“No way,” Bucky responded, struggling to reconcile this revelation with the Y/N he knew.

“I took on any job I could find to survive,” Y/N continued. “Eventually, I landed a position in a small restaurant. The owner took me under his wing and taught me everything I know. After a year, he recommended me for a chef position on a cruise ship.”

“That’s where you met Paul?” Bucky interjected, connecting the dots.

Y/N nodded, a faint smile playing on her lips. “We were the youngest chefs on board, constantly underestimated by our senior colleagues. But we worked tirelessly to prove ourselves.”

Her smile faded as she delved deeper into her story. “Who would have thought that Paul was actually the son of the ship’s owner?”

Bucky nodded in understanding. Kate came from a wealthy family, and while he knew her mother, he was unaware of her father’s identity.

“Paul asked me to join him in opening a restaurant,” Y/N continued, her voice tinged with reminiscence. “I became his sous-chef.”

Bucky’s eyebrows furrowed in concern as he processed Y/N’s words. “Starlight restaurant?”

Y/N simply nodded in confirmation.

“Wow,” Bucky remarked, impressed. “It’s notoriously difficult to secure a reservation there.”

Y/N’s expression shifted, her eyes clouded with memories. “The restaurant was successful, but I grew exhausted and burned out,” she explained. “I couldn’t handle it, especially with Paul’s gambling addiction.”

The restaurant had flourished financially, but much of the income had been drained to cover Paul’s debts, leaving Y/N drained and depressed.

“So, I quit and returned to working on cruise ships,” she continued a tinge of regret in her voice. But even that decision proved a mistake, as she became increasingly depleted and devoid of the passion for cooking that once drove her.

Then came the fateful night of the accident. Paul, inebriated and reckless, had implored Y/N to drive him home. Despite her protests and her inability to operate the sports car, Paul had insisted.

The car veered off course, crashing into a tree. While Paul had sustained injuries, they hadn’t affected his culinary skills. It soon became apparent that the accident had been staged—a ploy for Paul to evade responsibility and declare bankruptcy for the restaurant.

Disgusted by Paul’s deceit, Y/N had returned home—a place she had once fled in search of escape. But upon her return, she realized just how much she had missed it. It was then that she resolved to stay and make amends as a dutiful daughter.

Bucky listened attentively, a mix of empathy and understanding in his gaze. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he reassured her sincerely.

Y/N met his gaze, her eyes reflecting a blend of surprise and gratitude. “You don’t know how much I needed to hear those words. I never expected to hear them from you.”

“Hey…” Bucky’s soft and comforting voice offered solace amid Y/N’s turmoil.

As their faces drew closer, a palpable tension crackled in the air, igniting a silent conversation between them. Y/N’s heart raced in anticipation, her mind swirling with the possibility of what might transpire between them. Is this really happening? she wondered, her breath catching in her throat as she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable.

But just as their lips hovered tantalizingly close, the spell was abruptly shattered by the intrusion of Samantha’s voice.

“Baby, are you okay?”

Startled, Bucky and Y/N quickly recoiled, putting a respectful distance between them as Samantha entered the room. The moment was lost, replaced by a wave of awkwardness that washed over them both.

Samantha’s eyes flickered over the scene, a discerning glint in her gaze. She approached her daughter, her expression a mix of concern and determination. “Don’t worry, baby,” she assured Y/N, her voice laced with unwavering resolve. “Mom will handle this. Nothing this skinny person said is true.”

Y/N’s brows furrowed in confusion and apprehension. “What are you going to do?” she inquired, her voice tinged with uncertainty as she awaited her mother’s response.

******

Kate, thoroughly enjoying her followers' flattering tweets and comments, lounged back in her chair with a satisfied smirk. "Hehehe."

Meanwhile, her assistant, feeling a bit groggy, couldn’t seem to sit still.

"Stop fidgeting," Kate commanded, her tone impatient as she continued scrolling through her phone.

"But she didn’t do anything wrong," her assistant pointed out, a hint of sympathy in their voice.

Rolling her eyes dismissively, Kate waved off the comment. She was too engrossed in the online attention to entertain any doubts or second thoughts.

However, her focus was abruptly interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She glanced at the caller ID and saw it was her estranged brother, Paul.

Kate's trembling fingers hesitated before accepting the call, her long, manicured nails glinting in the dim light as she whispered a tentative "Hi."

The voice on the other end was cold and devoid of any warmth one might expect from siblings. "Keep my name out of this," Paul commanded, his tone sharp and unforgiving.

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Kate watched as the call abruptly ended. It was a brief exchange, leaving her feeling pale and unsettled.

Despite being siblings, Kate and Paul had grown apart over the years, their relationship strained by their parent's divorce and Paul's withdrawal from social interactions following the accident.

As Kate tried to process the call, she was startled by a commotion from her rented house. Peeking cautiously through the curtains, she saw a sight that sent shockwaves through her. Quickly retreating from the window, she cowered in the safety of the shadows, her mind racing with fear and uncertainty.

"Get the car keys," she ordered her assistant, her voice tinged with urgency.

"What's going on?" her assistant pressed, confusion evident in their tone.

"Stop asking! Just do it!" Kate snapped, her patience wearing thin.

With a resigned sigh, her assistant rolled their eyes but complied with her request.

Peeking anxiously from behind the curtain, Kate's heart sank at the sight that greeted her. A crowd had gathered outside, wielding fiery torches and brandishing pitchforks.

It resembled a scene from a medieval village, and Kate couldn't shake the feeling that she was the target of their ire.

Voices clamored outside, demanding her presence. "Come out, come out! Where is the person who just slandered my daughter's name?" one voice shouted.

"Right. Come out and talk," another added, the tone laced with hostility.

Kate trembled with fear, her mind racing with panic.

"You want to go now?" her assistant asked, their concern palpable.

"Now!" Kate insisted, her voice quivering with anxiety.

As she hurriedly exited town, Kate swore to herself that she would never return. The events of that night had left her shaken to the core, and she had no intention of ever crossing paths with Bucky or anyone else from the town again.

********

Kate's message sat unread in Bucky's inbox, a stark reminder of her betrayal. He felt a pang of guilt as he reflected on how things had unfolded.

If he had been firmer in asking Kate to leave, Y/N wouldn't have been subjected to such humiliation.

Despite the turmoil, Bucky resolved to carry on with his daily routine. Tending to the crops and livestock provided a sense of normalcy amidst the chaos of recent events.

During lunchtime, he decided to visit Toby and his grandparents. As he arrived at the farmhouse, nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to encounter.

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[sunnysidewrites]

Demon prince!Seungcheol

Inspired by this prompt: “I’m a demon, not a hot water bottle. Stop cuddling me.” “But you’re so warm.” “Like hell. Fire, brimstone, eternal burning.” It had absolutely no effect whatsoever, and the demon sighed, wrapping one arm around the other. This is my re-debut (although not sure if this counts as a re-debut or if it's just a one-time thing) after nearly a 6-year hiatus and needless to say I am extremely nervous and excited!!! (talking in idol terms luv that) I am hoping that also means my writing quality has matured as well (I think??? or not but guess we will find out)! This is for everyone who knew me back then and is still around to see this play out! sorry if it's not the best i am EXTREMELY rusty but hope you enjoy lovelies <3333

wow omg it’s great to dive into writing after so long im getting emotional

you know the drill folks let’s get to it!!

Humans and demons have lived in co-existence for centuries and it’s more or less a chaotic neutral environment given the unique circumstances of these 2 different… races?

It can be difficult to distinguish the demons with the humans since they try to blend in seamlessly for their own sense of peace and security

Despite a big chunk of demons integrating with humans, there are still parts around the world, albeit small, where they have their own territory to control

They usually operate in more traditional political systems, such as still maintaining kings and queens

Humans can live there as well, but it is predominantly demons who are seen as the norm and the former as commoners/lower class

You happen to be one of the lowly commoners who have been working as a maid in the castle since you were young

you and Seungcheol, the Crown Prince, were actually kinda close as kids!!

you could tell all he wanted to do was let loose and have fun but was forced to follow the rules and take everything seriously 24/7

even as a 5 y/o you could see how much he yearned to be a regular kid but duty calls :”((

there were many times you hung out together in secrecy since you as a lowly maid could not be caught DEAD associating yourself with someone of such a high status

and add being human on top of that!! <3

But Seungcheol didn’t care you were literally his first and only friend at the time

Any time a guard looked for him, he and you would duck somewhere to hide together, stifling your smol little giggles im dead

As he grew up and more burdens were placed on his shoulders, you could no longer keep the same innocent, playful friendship between the two of you

Your interactions with him went from running around in the garden to stealing quick looks at each other when you passed by him in the hallways

He went from a happy lil child to a very assertive, stoic man who always picked his kingdom over anything

Despite his new persona, he would occasionally still show you very rare displays of fondness??

You would sometimes randomly find gifts on your bed with a note and well it doesn’t take a genius to know who it’s from

“I swiped the last cookie for you before Penny stole it and I know you would become a demon yourself if someone took your sweets”

“I noticed your uniform was ragged and a little ripped so here’s a new set. be more careful or our next encounter won’t be as pleasant”

“Here’s an extra blanket loser don’t freeze to death on me”

Your heart feels warm knowing that he still shows you his softer side to you while he’s practically a statue to everyone else

Now you were both in your mid-twenties and he’s been busier than ever with political meetings and social gatherings

You were his main maid since out of all of the staff, you were the only one who could really put up with his absurd requests and got along with him in a manner no other maid could, even the older ladies

There were times he summoned you to his headquarters for the sole reason of wanting some company

He would bring up some dumb question and you would be like no offense but this is kinda useless

But little did you know he would do that intentionally to see you crack a little smile, maybe even a laugh in there since he’s been seeing you look more despondent lately

“Even though we can’t run around the palace like how we did as kids, I’m still here. I’m the same Seungcheol – well, actually not really but I still look out for your wellbeing”

“Thanks, not-the-same-Seungcheol”

It’s rumored that the Crown Prince is coming of age to take over the throne soon, but before doing so he needs to find a bride yes it’s one of those tropes ok deal with it

You’re cleaning the hallways one day with some other maids and you can’t help but overhear their gossip

“Did you hear Prince Seungcheol is now engaged??? I think it was just last week”

Your ears perk up and your scrubbing slows down slightly so you can focus on their conversation

“Yeah, I heard the woman is a princess from some neighboring kingdom… It’s really hitting soon that he’ll be the new king”

“I don’t know how long she is going to last… he’s so cold and doesn’t seem to care about anyone. but what can you expect from a demon?” 

They both giggle and move to another room to continue cleaning and you can’t help but feel fired up from the way they were talking about him as if they knew anything about him

Sure, he was not really the friendliest and was very brutally honest with his curt words but it didn’t make him a bad person

Your heart aches after hearing the news and you recall a past talk you had with Seungcheol when you were younger

“Do you believe in love?” you asked him, the both of you lying down on the grass while looking up at the vibrantly blue sky

“Pshh, not really. Father always said marriage is for the people, not for love”

“But shouldn’t you love someone in order to marry them? you will be spending the rest of your life with them”

“I don’t think that is what he wants from me. I would be letting him down”

“Is that what you really want, though? to be stuck with someone you have no feelings for?”

he sighs deeply and looks down. “Well, I guess not… I do care a lot for someone”

your heart dropped. guess he already has his eyes set on someone else. “o-oh, well that wouldn’t be fair to you or to them right?”

he shakes his head, quickly glancing at you before looking away. “but it wouldn’t work out anyway. I wouldn’t want to drag them into the mess of my world. I want them to be free of what I go through. I just hope they know I’ll always care for them from afar.”

You shake your head out of a daze, painfully reminded of how raw that moment still feels

I wonder if he still cares for that person he mentioned, you think to yourself as you continue scrubbing the tiles. But what does it matter now that his future is sealed with someone else?

Shortly after that day, it was formally announced to the kingdom that the Crown Prince and the soon-to-be Crown Princess will be holding a wedding ceremony in just a short few weeks

On the outside, you smile politely and clap your hands but it takes every fiber of your being to not want to fling the door to your cramped bedroom and collapse on your bed and spill the tears you were desperately attempting to hold in 

As you stared at him and his fiancee out the balcony waving to everyone, you swear you thought you saw him give you a forlorn look that lasted for a millisecond before he returned to his usual expressionless state

From that moment on, you barely saw Seungcheol at all

This man was constantly getting pulled in all different directions, especially with the royal wedding around the corner

The night before his big day, he summons you to his room again and your mind is buzzing with loads of thoughts of what he could possibly want to talk to you about

You cautiously enter and close the door slowly before turning back towards him

He looks more disheveled than usual, his hair tousled, his usual prince attire crinkled and slightly unbuttoned

“You look stressed, what's wrong??”

He closes his eyes and sighs for a moment before slowly opening them again and says while still not making eye contact with you, “I… I feel like I’ll have so many regrets once tomorrow comes”

You’re like why is that??

“Do you remember me mentioning I cared a lot about someone back then?”

Your heart drops to your stomach. “Yes… why?” thanks for the reminder

“I keep thinking about them… and all of these what-ifs. I know I can’t do anything about it, but–”

“Of course you can do something about it! I know you’re a stickler for the rules, but if the cost is your happiness, is it really well worth it?”

He shakes his head, looking even more troubled than before. “I can’t risk putting them in that position. Yet I… I want to,” he articulates slowly, as if it’s only dawning on him now that he’s finally learned what he truly feels

You feel as if the waves of heartache and anguish are drowning you but you try to be strong for him and present a smile if not for him, then for yourself

“I think you know what you need to do, Seungcheol”

And with those words, you quietly bow out and make your way to your room

The next morning, you wake up with puffy eyes from crying all night and begrudgingly get out of bed to get ready for the busy day ahead

After a hectic morning and afternoon, the ceremony finally begins

The moment we’re all waiting for is “Speak now or forever hold your peace”

And the most baffling thing happens because it’s not you who speaks up, not some secret lover, not some random citizen in the audience

but it’s Seungcheol himself

“Wait – I don’t think I can go through with this”

SCANDALOUSSSS

That’s right, he causes a whole uproar and everyone is like what tf is he talking about?!?!?

You are unfazed to a certain degree due to the conversation you had with him last night but you’re still confused on where this is going to go

Never in a million years would you have imagined for him to say his next words

“I’m in love with someone else: Y/N”

And all the maids around you gasp like WHAT. IS. HE. TALKING. ABOUT.

You aren’t sure whether to feel mortified or happy but whatever it is, all eyes are now on you

The current King is like MISTER?? WITH A H U M A N????

“I know it’s never been done before, having a demon and a human marry each other. but I’m tired of always having to do the right thing and for once, I want to do something that is right but for myself”

You’re looking at him in complete bewilderment and disbelief like you were talking about me this whole time??!!

“If we can prove that humans and demons can come together, it’ll be a huge stepping stone politically for everyone involved. I can’t change how I feel about her but I can change our worlds with her by my side”

He makes his way towards you and grabs your hand and this time he does not break eye contact even once

“I want to be with y/n, and no one else”

You’re melting like putty in his arms it’s honestly really sweet!!!

The King eventually caves in although he’s obviously not happy with all of their efforts wasted but he’s cool enough to welcome in this new change

Everyone’s reactions are pretty mixed understandably but they don’t seem like they hate it which is probably the best reaction you’re gonna get

“You’re not asking for my hand in marriage are you?? bc that’s a little too quick on a first date”

He shrugs and nonchalantly says, “Not until you’re ready” JESUSLFSJDS

The rest of the day is a whirlwind of crazy events that you get caught up in as the Crown Prince’s new lover now 

By the time it’s time for bed, he summons you for the last time as you being a maid and not as a Girlfriend

Well turns out he’s actually a big baby and the whole time he tried to conceal his feelings for you all he wanted was for you to be by his side pshh lame amiright

“You sure move fast with wanting me to be in your bed already and we haven’t even gone on an actual date yet”

“Shut up and just lay beside me”

After you turn off the lights and get under the covers, you can’t help but notice he’s extremely hot (literally and physically) and considering it’s 20 degrees you’re taking all of that warmth

Of course, Seungcheol tries to make it a big deal and get you off of him even tho he secretly enjoys it

“I’m a demon, not a hot water bottle. Stop cuddling me.”

“But you’re so warm.”

“Like hell. Fire, brimstone, eternal burning” 

Like that was gonna stop you who does he think he is for putting you through all of this and at the very least not giving you some cuddles???

He sighs and wraps one arm around the other after he notices your breathing slowing down

“I don’t have to care about you from afar anymore,” he murmurs, brushing your hair out of your face before also slowly losing consciousness

[cosmerelists]

Favorite Boardgames of Each Order of the Knights Radiant

It’s Radiant Boardgame Night on Roshar! What would be the favorite boardgame of each Order of the Knights Radiant?

1. Bondsmiths: Connect Four

It’s a game about forging connections! 

Stormfather: Yes, Dalinar, allow the red pieces to fall into place! Complete the line! Forge the bond!

Sibling: Use your wily human ways to be victorious, Navani!! Go diagonal or something!

Dalinar: They certainly are...invested in this game.

Navani: Just so long as the Stormfather doesn’t blow over the board when I win.

Navani: ...Again.

Stormfather: I’m very invested in connecting!!

2. Dustbringers: Jenga

With their surges of Division and Abrasian, the Dustbringers have powers that could be called...destructive. I think they’d enjoy Jenga. 

Malata: Ha, ha! I have made the tower CRUMBLE

Ral-na: You are aware, of course, that per the rules, this means you have lost the game.

Malata: Wait, we’re playing by the rules? 

3. Truthwatchers: Clue

The Truthwatchers believe in finding and sharing the truth. Like...the truth of who murdered Mr. Body this time!

Renarin: It was Mr. Green in the Library with the Wrench!

Rlain: You won AGAIN?!

Stump: You’re not using your future sight or something, are you kid?

Rlain: You know Renarin wouldn’t do that.

Stump (muttering): Just think it’s weird that I never win.

Renarin: That might be because you always accuse Colonel Mustard.

Stump: That mustache is DEFINITELY hiding something!

4. Skybreakers: Monopoly

The Skybreakers believe in obeying the law, no matter what. And if there’s a game that people don’t normally follow the actual rules for, it’s this one. The Skybreakers? They’d play it “right.”

Szeth: The other knights speak of something called “House Rules” for this game.

Nale: “House rules” are not rules at all, but merely inventions of unreliable human actors who wish the game to be “shorter” or “more fun.”

Nale: We will NOT continue the game until SOMEBODY buys this property at auction.

Joret: Personally, I LOVE not having fun!

Cali (muttering): Kiss-ass. 

5. Lightweavers: Pictionary 

With their artistic skills, Pictionary would surely be a delight for the Lightweavers.

Beryl: It’s an apple!

Shallan: Shhh...hang on...I’m not done...

Vathah: Come on, come on, that’s already the best drawn apple we’ve ever seen, etc.

Shallan: Aaand done!

Gaz: Time’s up.

Ishnah: It’s still tied.

Ishnah: Mostly because we’re all drawing only one picture per round.

Shallan: Maybe timed games aren’t really for us...

6. Willshapers: Mousetrap

The Willshapers love two things: building and freeing those who have been unjustly imprisoned.

Eshonai: Wait, you said this game was about freedom, but it seems that I will be trying to trap you in a mouse jail?

Venli: Shhh...I’m putting the final touches on my mousetrap! Ha! It looks AMAZING

Eshonai: Are we trying to keep ourselves free by imprisoning others? Is that..okay?

Venli: Don’t think too hard about it.

7. Elsecallers: Scrabble 

The Elsecallers are thoughtful, scholarly, and logical. I think they’d enjoy transforming a bunch of disparate letters into words!

Jasnah: Ah, I seem to have another 7-letter word. Amusingly, it is “radiant.”

Jasnah: And over here I can make “crab,” which is not bad with the “b” counting twice on the triple letter score.

Jasnah: Looks like Side A is currently winning.

Jasnah: ...

Jasnah: Sometimes I wish there were other Elsecallers. 

8. Stonewards: Risk

The Stonewards tend to be soldiers and to enjoy warfare, weaponry, and challenges. They can make do in difficult circumstances. It seems like they’d enjoy a good game of Risk!

 Zu: I shall reinforce Greenland! That is where my troops are most needed!

Badali: Wow, another game heading into its third hour!

Badali: Take two people who are both stubborn and good at strategy...

Zu: And you have great fun all afternoon?

Badali: That’s what I was going to say!

9. Edgedancers: Pandemic

The Edgedancers are healers and helpers, those who listen to people who may otherwise be ignored and remember those who may be forgotten. I think a lovely cooperative game, and one in which you work together to heal the world, would be great for them.

Lift: I did it! I discovered one of the cures!

Godeke: Great job, kid!

Lorain: It’s no nice to play this game without a worldwide pandemic actually going on, huh?

Godeke: What, uh, made you say that?

Lorain: You know,  I have no idea!

10. Windrunners: Chess

I know chess may sound like an Elsecaller game, but hear me out. The Windrunners are all about military ranks, and in chess all the pieces represent a rank. The Windrunners believe in protecting the weak--like the king piece. Sometimes they have to accept that they can’t protect everyone, like when they must sacrifice pawns. They’re good at working in tandem, and chess is about getting disparate pieces to work together. So Chess seems like something they’d enjoy...with maybe a few exceptions.

Kaladin: Well, this game gets one thing right.

Teft: That it takes a squad to protect a man?

Skar: That the ardents go their own way?

Sigzil: Bishops.

Skar: Whatever.

Moash: That everyone is forced to protect the king, even though he is demonstrably the weakest and most useless piece?

Lyn: That any pawn can attain ultimate power?

Kaladin: No. 

Kaladin: It gets horses right.

Kaladin: Why are they the only piece that consists of a giant, creepy head?

Kaladin: Why are they big as the castle?

Kaladin: Why the hell do they move like that?!

Kaladin: This is a game about how terrifying and creepy horses are.

Teft: Maaaaybe that’s enough chess for today.

Kaladin (whispering): No one gets me like chess does. 

[iamnmbr3]

Since you’re on the character asks and your thoughts are enjoyable to read maybe pick one of the non-Harry try-wizard tournament champions? I like them pretty evenly so your thoughts on any of them would be cool to hear, so pick your favourite/whoever you have most to say about/roll a dice to decide at your discretion?

What a lovely ask! You're so kind. I'm going to go with Fleur Delacour.

How I feel about this character

The way she showed her devotion to Bill at the end of book 6? Absolutely iconic. Best written intentionally romantic moment in the whole series. Hands down. No contest. The way she handled that dragon? Immaculate. The judges were just mean and veelaphobic and also JKR is super weird about her female characters.

Also kudos to her for being the only character when Harry got picked as a Champion in book 4 to be like 'no this is ridiculous he's too young.' Yeah she was a little harsh about it maybe. But wow. One of the only responsible adults in the whole series. Child me was like 'omg she's so mean' but now I'm like 'you go girl.' She should've been there to roast all of Dumbledore's questionable decisions. Can you imagine. Dumbledore: Don't worry. I have a plan. Fleur: Eez eet child endangerment again?

I genuinely enjoy her as a character and also find the way her identity as a part human who is fetishized to some extent and viewed as Other but not demonized in the way werewolves or half giants or half trolls are in her world to be fascinating fodder for a lot of interesting character work.

Also, I always have a soft spot for characters who I feel the narrative is actively telling me to dislike. I prefer stories that let the reader come to their own conclusions. As soon as I feel the story is too forcefully and artificially shoving down my throat "you must like this character" or "you must dislike this other character,” especially when it's not justified by what we actually see in the text, then I kind of want to do the opposite. So if you think my girl Fleur did something rude no she didn't or if she did that was her emotional support rude comment and she deserved to go off.

For real though. She put up with so much hate from Molly and the whole Weasley family for literally no reason. She deserved to be a little snarky. Ginny is so mean to her for literally no reason and the narrative wants us to laugh along and cheer on this immature, unkind highschool meangirl behavior as though it's some epic #girlboss moment when it's just mean. And Fleur's parents meanwhile are absolutely lovely (probably because Fleur covered for her in-laws and didn't tell her parents how she had been treated lest her full Veela grandmother show up and start throwing fireballs at them all).

You go Fleur. You never did anything wrong in your life. Ever.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

I love her with Bill. I think Bill and Fleur are by far the best handled canon romance in the series. (Well, best handled intentionally canon romance - we all know JKR wrote a 7 book drarry epic but that was an accident lolol). They are so sweet together and so devoted to each other - despite any obstacles (including unsupportive family members). And they really compliment each other so well and just yeah. It's so sweet.

On a semi-crack level I do also like the idea of Fleur/Luna though because they both can be very blunt and directly state difficult truths in a way that can make others uncomfortable or seem rude. They do this in very different ways and also have very different outlooks but I think it makes them interestingly complimentary. And they'd both be confident and self assured enough to handle each other and not take offense. I feel like Fleur and Luna flirting would be so hilariously direct and entertaining. (Though it'd probably have to be postwar as. I think Fleur would be likely to scoff at Crumple-Horned Snorkacks).

I can also totally picture a Bill/Fleur/Luna poly relationship. I feel like it'd end up being improbably chill and functional somehow despite the big personalities. The three would probably be off living their best lives and eating metaphorical popcorn while all the other characters spent years having epic relationship drama.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

I want to see her and Charlie hanging out so badly. After seeing her take on that dragon Charlie was probably pulling all kinds of shenanigans to get her together with one of his siblings because he doesn't want to get married but also oh merlin he needs this woman to be part of his family. Give me the Charlie and Fleur epic friendship and dragon taming duo.

My unpopular opinion about this character

I don't think Bill was attracted to her because he likes "glamour." I think he saw her as the brave, loving, and intelligent person that she is.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I wish other characters had apologized to her and stopped mocking her and treating her horribly.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

April 2023 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Bed Friend (Sat YT, GaGa & iQIYI uncut) ep 9 of 10 - My biggest concern is that Uea left his sister in that house with a known abuser. Meanwhile, the office teasing was cute. I’m thinking that the final two episodes were mostly added to deal with the backstory resolution of the family drama, and to add a sappy proposal thing. I’m not necessarily mad about it, but I do think there’s probably would’ve been a better tighter story at 8 episodes. 

Future (Thai Sun YouTube & Gaga) ep 4 of 5 - There is nothing to this show but softness. Also we visited my old exclamation to the BL gods: please don’t make them act crying. It’s so difficult to watch. That said I still love this  stupid show.

Pastsenger (Thai Weds Gaga) 6 of 12 eps - Wow. Sides kissing. Brave high school kid! Also mains. Wait. What is happening? 

A Boss and a Babe (Fri YouTube) ep 7 of 12 - Having a rich boyfriend sure is clutch. Boss is smart to ingratiate himself with his boyfriend’s gaming team. Also there is no doubt that they are complete and total boyfriends, the most boyfriendly boyfriends ever. 

Tin Tam Jai (Tues Gaga & iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - I’m pretty much fast forwarding anything to do with the main couple I just find them so boring. Although my beloved side dishes have disappeared. So I guess I am watching it for the faen fatal? 

Chains of Heart (Sat iQIYI) ep 9 of 10 - Whatever. Good sex scene tho. Bummer about the, ya know, story. 

The Promise (Thai Weds YT) ep 6 of 10 - ON HIATUS UNTIL APRIL 19.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - It’s just the best. It’s so sweet. Yutaka’s little smile because the kid likes him and wants to cook with him is probably the warmest most endearing thing ever to happen in JBL. 

Unintentional Love Story (Korea Thurs iQIYI) 9-10 fin - sorry I won’t have a chance to watch this until early next week but I promise to post about it! 

The Eighth Sense (Korea Weds Viki) eps 5-6 of 10 - Hyung mistakes made by constantly acting EXACTLY like bf in front of their friends is very cute. I don’t have much to say a this time. Narrative and characterization is unfolding as expected, staying tense as we get little nuggets of backstory. Lines will be crossed, one way or another. The trot part was VERY funny. Also we got us a on screen rep of a fairygodBLer. These two kiss well but all I can see when they do is how much pain is incoming. I don’t know what was up with the ending but we do have 4 more to go, so I don’t think we are actually in an H3:MODC situation. 

My Story (Pinoy Sat YouTube) - It’s a bit frenetic, camp, crazy, and outrageous, but I’m not mad about any of that because it’s classic Pinoy BL. So I think I’ll keep watching. This is the same characters as My Day. Which means they did break up the main couple from that series. So if that’s going to traumatize you, be aware. There are a lot of storylines going on. And I’m just not sure BL from the Philippines can handle this much at once, they may have bitten of more BL than they can chew. 

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) - Japan is so weird. I mean that in a good way (but also sometimes in a bad way). Also sometimes just weird. Also embarrassing and cringe. I’m going to watch it but I don’t like it very much. 

It’s Airing But ...

Love Syndrome (Thai Sat WeTV) stopped at ep 2 of 12 - I’m just not into any aspect of it (except Lee Long Shi and I can watch him in Tin Tem Jai) - saving to binge if the end is solid.

Venus in the Sky (Sat YouTube) pilot/tester?) 0 of 10 - not entirely sure what’s up with this one distribution-wise, but the pilot was cute, classic university-set pulp. I hope it happens because the leads are cute with good chemsitry and I thought it was fun. However, it totally holds together as it’s own little short story too.

Make a Wish (Thai Weds ?) from WaGa Creative staring Fluke Natouch (OhmFluke UWMA etc...) & Judo (The Miracle Of Teddy Bear) in a medical-fantasy. About a doctor who sees ghosts and a deity who resides in a Bodhi tree that earns merits whenever he fulfills a wish based on a y-novel by Sammon (Manner of Death, Triage). Same as above.

In Case You Missed it

Cafe In Love 10 eps finished its run.

Destiny Seeker 10 eps also finished its run.

A First Love Story is on Gaga now. It’s my favorite BL short ever made, check it out. It’s wonderful.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting:

04.18 Step By Step (Thai WeTV & Gaga) - 10 eps office age gap, I am all in! 

04.19 The Promise is back!

Finishing: Bed Friend, Chains, Future

I might start watching Destiny Seeker or Cafe in Love, or both.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

En of Love franchise leaning into its brand (Future the series)

I love their friendship and their bromances and this was an adorable moment ... but now I want these two to lead out a BL together. 

I love an “accidental” outing (both Boss & Babe). 

Calling out tropes and characterization, as ya do.

Passing along the familial obligation of care. 

 (all Bed Friend) 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? Block B’s Very Good, I TOLD you I’ve been dipping into the well a lot recently. I really miss Kpop’s 2nd gen insanity phase. 

[jpitha]

Just a Little Further 14

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Here I am, standing outside the door to Captain Q'ari's cabin. What am I doing? It's early still, and I don't think she's a late riser, so she's probably awake. But still.

You fear to find out that I'm right and she thinks you a God.

Well yes, of course I do. I don't want to be a God.

And yet. Here we are, with Godhood thrust upon you. Take the power offered, revel in it. They think you a God? Fine. Be a God.

Me help me (heh), that is staring to make sense.

Good.

I stand there arguing with myself and the door opens. Captain Selem Q'ari is standing there, fur brushed until it shone, uniform pressed sharply. This is the first time I stand so close to her, I smell a clean scent too. Is she wearing perfume?

She can't help herself. She is trying to impress you.

"Captain." I say. She is startled and jumps back. "Ho-Lieu-Melody. Good Morning. I apologize, you started me."

Hmm, she was going to go with Holy One before she caught herself. Interesting.

"Captain...Do you think I am holy?"

Wow, I just came right out and said it didn't I?

She swallows, clearly nervous. Taking a deep breath she calms herself. "Melody, it was how I was raised. Not many K'laxi still follow the Old Ways as closely, but a lot of us know the basics, and the high holy days are still celebrated as regular holidays. Parties with friends, days off work, that kind of thing. The greater meaning is mostly lost of everyone, but they still celebrate. Yes. Ancestors protect me, I think you - what you have become - is Holy."

"Am I Tep’ra’fel?" I ask.

She looks as if I have slapped her. "You haven't given me an order, I don't know."

I sigh. "S̷̩̊͑ë̸̳́l̵̺̪̈́̎è̷̮̼͠m̷̻͋̕. Go into your quarters and show me the scent you applied. I like it."

She pivots on the balls of her feet, and goes into her quarters. Within a moment, she returns with a small brown cylinder. Wordlessly she hands it to me with tears streaming from her eyes. I take it and look down. There's a drawing of a forest and in the raised and rounded K'laxi script it says "forest dreams." Huh, I can read K'laxi now too. I hand it back to her.

"So then." I say. "The undeniable eh?"

She nods.

"What does that mean for the mission?" I say.

It means whatever you want it to mean. You are Empress. You are undeniable.

"You are a Builder." She whispers. "The mission is whatever you wish it to be, Builder."

Oh for the love of. "Captain Q'ari, you are still the Officer in Command of this mission. Even with my... elevated status you are still in Command."

Just order her to be Captain.

I can do that?

You're the Empress. How many different ways do we have to explain it? You can do whatever you want.

"Selem. Would it make your life easier if I ordered you to continue to be Captain? If I told you as a Tep’ra’fel, as your... Empress, to be in charge of the exploration mission?"

She whispered, "Empress?" She shuddered. I couldn't tell if it was in pleasure or pain. "I can't be above you."

She's right you know.

I said quiet, you.

I'm just saying.

This is exhausting. "Okay then. S̷̩̊͑ë̸̳́l̵̺̪̈́̎è̷̮̼͠m̷̻͋̕ Q'ari, Captain of the exploration Starjumper FarReach and the Officer in Charge of the mission. I, in my role as The Builder Melody and Empress of the Holy Imperial Systems order you to continue your mission. When necessary, you may issue Lieutenant Melody Mullen orders that facilitate that mission."

She relaxed visibly at the order. With an exhale she said "Thank you Lieutenant. I apologize for being... difficult, but I appreciate you accommodating me."

"Of course, Captain. I am happy that we were able to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement."

Empress of the Holy Imperial Systems?

Old Title. Sounds like it's just come back into fashion.

She stares at me a moment. "M-Melody, you said you were "Empress of the Holy Imperial Systems. What's that?"

"The Nano machines - the Nantes - tell me that I'm the current Empress of the empire that's over on this side of the galaxy. What's left of it at least. As far as we know, all that's left is this starbase and the destroyed one."

It was five hundred and fifty five gates with planets, starbases and over 30 client sapient species.

"In the Old Days, it was pretty big, apparently."

She turns her head. "And you are its head now?"

I shrug. "The nano machines say so. I don't know though. I guess if I want to be, I just have to declare it."

And have the force to keep it.

I turned and left her quarters. I don't know what else to do, so I go to the dining hall. It's nearly breakfast and I'm starving. Even an Empress needs to eat apparently.

I really didn't want to just order everyone to be normal. I can't say I didn't think of it at least a little bit though.

Most Empresses that we have memories of do it. It's completely normal.

Most?

There are a few who reveled in being worshipped. They did not want people to be normal around them.

Wait, you said the Empresses we have memories of. Are my memories being recorded too?

Of course they are, Empress. You are a Builder, and Empress. Your memories are being recorded to the nanites in your body so that when you pass, your memories remain. Your edicts remain. You remain.

But there hasn't been an Empress in thousands of years as near as we can tell?

No system is perfect. The rebellion must have been swift and complete. we imagine the previous empress was not well liked.

But you don't know?

One has to touch a directory stone to complete the upload. In the past it has been part of a yearly celebration of the Empire and the Gates. The previous Empress didn't get a chance to touch the gates during the rebellion, so we don't know what happened.

The other system, the Wilds of Besmara was almost completely destroyed. The planet was cracked in half and the starbase there almost dead and cold. Some kind of field enveloped us and we were starting to get pulled in. You don't recall this?

We had just been introduced to you as the Empress, we were not fully online at that point. One moment.

I get an odd feeling. I think the Nanites are trying to access my memories in real-time. It's like I'm reliving the whole frightening situation.

Ah. Yes.

Well? What happened?

We do not know. The last time we were uploaded, the Wilds were a prosperous, thriving system. The planet was known to house fully a billion sapients and was very productive.

We should find out what happened, and see if there are people still there and if they need help.

Now, you're thinking like an Empress.

Ugh. We probably should go back and see what happened. Maybe I can sponsor a trip with one of the ships docked and have them go look.

While I sit at the table arguing with myself, Ava walks in. "Oh, good morning... Melody, did you sleep well?"

I'll take it. At least she didn't launch into calling me Holy One right away. "Good morning Ava, I slept all right, how about you?"

She took a pastry from the plate on the table and sat down. "Wasn't bad really, though I imagine you're undergoing a lot more stress than I am." She takes a bite and while chewing, weighs something in her mind. I can see she's going to ask me something she's interested in after she swallows. Probably what it's like being an Empress or something similar.

She doesn't know you're an Empress yet.

Details.

"So Melody, what's it like?"

Told you.

"What's what like?"

She gestured. "Suddenly getting the knowledge to speak every language and having everyone on the station think that you're a Builder - whatever they were - and then, the robe and the wings and the crown! It was wild looking. You were looking positively radiant out there."

Wait. What?

"You thought I looked... good?" I did not expect this.

"Oh my God, yes." Ava laughed. "You looked so powerful, so beautiful." She blushed slightly when she said it. "Everyone was afraid of you! Us over on FarReach were frightened a little bit too, I'll admit. I swear once Captain Q'ari realized what was going on, she practically started shaking. But you? You were making it work. Frankly, I'm jealous. Next time we find a directory stone, I want to touch it."

You know, we are going to need more Builders. She sounds like an ideal candidate.

Shh, not right now.

"Actually Melody, do you know anything more about who you are than you did yesterday? Like, are you a religious head or just someone known as a Builder, or what?"

I can feel the nanites staring at me mentally.

Tell her. The K'laxi already suspect and Captain Q'ari knows.

"Yes. I did learn more." I say quietly. "But rather than repeat myself, I'll tell everyone after breakfast."

"Oh." She seems disappointed. "Okay, I'll wait. Thanks, Melody."

Why is she disappointed?

She's attracted to you, she wants to spend more time with just the two of you.

What.

Come now, even with the increases to your perception and body language processing you are telling us you can't see it? She is practically shouting it.

"So hey Ava, I'm going to have to go out into the Starbase later, do you want to be in the team that comes along next time?"

Her face lights up like a summer dawn. It was exactly the right thing to say.

"I would love to Melody. Thank you so much for inviting me. Are we going to wear pressure suits?"

"Not this time I think." I say carefully. "I have something else in mind."

Everyone trickles in and breakfast is served. It's pretty light and simple today. Captain Q'ari looks much better after I ordered her to be normal and it feels like any other morning.

Almost.

After we clear our plates and get one more cup of coffee. I stand. "Everyone? With the Captain's permission, I'd like to say something."

Captain Q'ari looks over at me and flicks her ears but her body language says that of course it's fine. I still need her to say it though, she is still the Captain.

"Of Course Mel-Lieutenant Mullen. Please, you have our attention."

I take a deep breath, hold it for a two count, and let it out through my nose. Here goes.

"Yesterday, you noticed my... outburst after the security forces tried to break up that religious congregation. The singers are a member of a church that has congregations all over this starbase that worship the Builders and pray for their return."

"Yesterday, as far as they are concerned, their prayers have been answered."

Murmurs and questioning noises from the crew. The K'laxi members are split evenly with looking fascinated like Dr Irenimum, and rapturous, like Captain Q'ari.

The humans mostly look confused. Ava is excited though.

"As near as I am able to tell from the nano machines - the Nanites - inside me, Humans, or at least a recent offshoot of us, ruled this side of the galaxy. The Nanites give people who possess them increased abilities. According to Dr Irenimum, I am healthier than I have ever been, may live much much longer than by default, and have a greater ability to read people and body language, in addition to understanding every language spoken to me so far."

Kieran nods.

"But, there is something else you should know. The Nanites I have are a special variety. I am in possession of the Nanites that the Empress of the Holy Imperal Systems would have. I am, as far as I am able to figure out, their Empress."

Now, there's noise from the crew. FarReach is first able to talk over the din. "Melody, you're telling me, telling us that you're an Empress now? You're in charge of this Starbase?"

I nod. "Originally, I was in charge of five hundred and fifty five gates and all the systems, starbases and sapients contained within."

Omar is next. "Wait you were in charge? or the Previous Empresses was in charge?"

I make a pained face. "This is where it gets weird." I start.

"Gets weird?" Gene says.

I nodded. "Gets weirder Gene, thank you." The Nanites contain the recorded memories and... feelings of the previous empresses. The Empress is supposed to touch the directory stone once a year or so and her memories and feelings are... backed up to the stone so that if the empire falls - like it did - and another human touches the stone - like I did - the nanites reactivate and restore from backup basically. They tell me I'm still me and will remain me, but now I am also the Empress."

"Was that why you were able to cow that whole crowd, and knew the words to say"? I saw that they were doing a call and response with you." Ava says. I can see she's drinking me in. This is a little weird.

"Yes. The Nanites told me what to say, took over temporarily really. I didn't want them to rip that Aviens to shreds, but that... was what happened. I feel bad about it."

You are the Empress. The crowd did as you commanded. There is no feeling bad when people follow your orders.

"What about the language?" Fer'resi asks. "The translator that they gave us?"

"Oh! I almost forgot about that. Omar, can you go grab it off my workstation and bring it down here. Don't activate it please."

Wait, did I use my asking voice or ordering voice? I can't tell. Omar gets up and goes to get it regardless.

Mei'la looks at me oddly. I can't tell if she's from a religious family or not. "Melody, do the Nanites tell you anything about us?" Religious then.

"Yes actually. One of the last memories that they have is about your killing your overseers and closing your Gate permanently."

Mei'la's face runs between looking pleased that they overthrew their masters but also looks shocked. "But, we didn't go to space for a thousand years after the religion that talks about the Gates was founded."

Dr Irenimum adds "Maybe they stole a Builder craft to do it, and then landed or crashed on K'laxi and without the ability to repair it..." He shrugged.

"Okay then, what about the big question?" Mitchel says. "What about Earth?"

"The Nanites say that a splinter group of builders rebelled and closed and locked their Gate a long time ago They suspected that those splinter Builders even destroyed their Gate.. The Nanites were just as surprised to find us as we them."

Mitchel whistles low "Wow. Then it must be at least 15 to 20 thousand years ago. Maybe longer. How long have these folks been operating without an Empress? Would they even want one if you came back?"

The splinter Builders closed their Gate millennia before the K'laxi rebellion. The two events did not happen close together.

The Nanites say the humans left millennia before the K'laxi closed their gate. In fact, the Empress previous to me was on her way to personally open the gate when the memories stop. Captain Q'ari how old is your religion?"

She stops and thinks, avoiding my gaze. "No more than one thousand of our years, I'd say." So two thousand of ours. Just then Omar returns. "Here you go, Your liege" he says, bowing dramatically and extra silly, while presenting me with the translator on a napkin.

I giggle. What I am saying is pretty silly when taken out of context. I hold the translator and concentrate.

"Melody, your'e glowing!" Mei says, surprised. Ava looks and says "And you have a... crown? on your head?"

As if from nowhere, a breeze blows up around me and my uniform rustles. If I had long hair, it would probably be blowing dramatically at this point but my short spiky hair just flutters. I guess I could have just continued to poke and prod at it at my station like I was going to, but I need my worry confirmed. I'm pretty sure that given all the other things I can do, I can do this too. I try and... look inside the translator.

Hmm. It is a translator, but no software is loaded. Instead, malware was installed - poorly we might add - to try and render the wearer more pliant.

"It is as I had worried." I said to everyone. "This translator was a trap. Anyone who tried it was going to have some - frankly poor quality - malware installed either on their systems or themselves."

"On themselves?" Gene asks.

With glowing eyes, I look up at Gene. He shrinks back reflexively. "Sorry Melody, I guess if something can be installed on you, it could be done to us."

Fer'resi shakes his head sadly. "No, no translation help then. I guess we will have to do it ourselves."

Of course you don't have to do it on your own. You're the Empress. Make them give the correct software to your linguist.

"No Fer'resi. I don't think we'll have to do it ourselves." I put the translator down on the table. "Ava, Fer'resi, Mei'la, come. Let's go and pay the administration offices a visit."

"Of course Melody!" Ava practically jumps out of her chair. "Do we need our pressure suits or just our uniforms?"

I look at the three of them. "No, I will take care of it." With a thought, I realize how they should look. How they're supposed to look. The Nanites surround them in a grey fog, completely obscuring them for a moment. After a very short time, they reappear.

Now, they're in Royal Blue outfits, cut smartly, and fitting perfectly. They're like the ships uniform, but a little more elaborate. They have orange yellow piping and little bits and extras here and there.

I changed my own uniform too. Also Royal blue with orange yellow accents, but more... Imperial. My crown of light and fog is colored to match and I find that I'm wearing wings made of the same light and fog material - it must be Nanites doing it. Remembering Ava's words, I gave myself better shoes with a bit of a heel and my uniform is very slightly lower cut. There's more than one kind of intimidation apparently. Without waiting to see if they are following me, I stride towards the airlock. "FarReach, record our exit." I say. "We are paying a visit to the administrative offices. No weapons this time."

"Okay Melody, is has been so logged. Good luck?"

"For them maybe. I don't need luck." I catch myself just a moment before it's too late. "But I appreciate your sentiment. Thank you FarReach."

Part 15

[kayleigh-83]

Thanks for tagging me @eulaliasims

1. What’s your favourite sims death? Never thought about having a favourite, maybe the cowplant? Or maybe when death results from something usually mundane like hail or lightning (I’ve had that one).

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? Mainly Maxis match, but I think of my style as like 90% MM and 10% semi-realistic (more on the BB side) because I do find the occasional thing that fits in with my style from that aesthetic. And I feel like my style is somewhere between the true Maxis match and the cartoony style.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? No? Seems odd!

4. Do you use move objects? Constantly, it’s on more than it’s off. I have an alias set up in my cheat file.

5. Favorite mod? Wow that’s a hard one to narrow down, so I’m gonna choose a few. Based on what has the biggest and most widespread effects, I’d say ACR, Community Lot time, and the whole Traits system (that’s cheating since it’s a million mods but I don’t care lol)

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? Would have been the very first pack, so University I guess! When the games came out I was living at home still and my mom played too, so we always got them relatively soon. Uni came out a month or so before my birthday so I suspect I probably got it as a gift that year.

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? LIVE as in LIVING, @eulaliasims is 1000% correct.

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? So not counting born in game? Sort of a tie but I’ve always been very fond of Joshua and Roxanne Lewis, they were two of Brightmaple’s founders - the first ones I thought up, and first ones I created.

9. Have you made a simself? Yes, in my old neighbourhood, I was a vampire along with the Sim version of my cousin. We lived in a huge Victorian mansion I built where I sent all the vampires in the hood to live.

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? Brooding, couch potato, good, loves the heat, hopeless romantic

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? Don’t really have one I guess.

12. Favorite EA hair? Also don’t really have one lol.

13. Favorite life stage? Probably adult because the most happens, but I also really enjoy toddler which is a hot take in most circles.

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? Both! The building is fun and a creative outlet for me, but I do it so I can create more immersive and enjoyable worlds to play in too.

15. Are you a CC creator? Yes but on and off, I do it purely for fun and primarily for things I want in my game. So I take long breaks of making nothing at all, when I’m not in the mood.

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? I wouldn’t really say so? I do chat with people from time to time and have lots of great acquaintances on here! I find it to be a generally very nice community. But I usually find online friendship difficult since I find it harder to read people purely through text with no baseline for knowing them irl, for things like tone of voice/mannerisms/body language and just general vibe.

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4) Well I think it’s pretty obvious TS2 has ruined all other games for me (not just other Sims games either).

18. Do you have any sims merch? nope

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? Actually yes! For speed builds.

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? Gotten more Maxis match in terms of aesthetic, if you scroll back to like, pre-2017 on my blog you can see that for sure. For play style it’s a lot more structured - pure rotational so ages sync, more wants based, paying a lot more attention to their personalities etc.

21. What’s your Origin ID? I’ve been playing with either the RPC Launcher or a no-CD crack since the day I switched to the UC, so although I do have an Origin ID I’ve literally used it probably twice ever. So no idea!

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? There’s too many to pick!

23. How long have you had a simblr? My very first Simblr post was July 31, 2016. Before that I had a bit of a hiatus from playing for a few years, and before that I was on Livejournal/Dreamwidth.

24. How do you edit your pictures? My photo editing program (PSP8) is literally from the era of TS2 itself, which seems appropriate. It’s always worked perfectly well for me - I downloaded Photoshop a couple times but always found doing the same actions clunky and unfamiliar, so I stick with what I know. I adjust curves, saturation, and add a very slight (probably imperceptible) bloom effect. Then I crop in, and I resize by width - meaning my pics are always the same width, but the height varies slightly. I prioritize getting everything into the frame that I want, and don’t really care if the heights are different.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? If I were making up hypothetical TS2 EP’s? I wouldn’t have minded something like Superstar from the Sims 1, having my Sims become famous (if it was done more like OFB/hands on style rather than “off to work in a carpool for the day” style) would have been pretty fun.

26. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? That’s really tough to pick. Probably Seasons (such world building!), Freetime (the hobbies system adds so much depth for me!) or Open For Business (my whole hood has no EA careers and only businesses sooo...) or Pets?? I love my Sims having pets. They’re all so good!

I’m seeing this going around, so please allow me to tag @you if you haven’t been yet and wanna do this!

[jamiesfootball]

Tagged by @jamietarttdodododododo who used my own ask against me but let's do this!

1.How many stories did you post?

Five!

2. Which ones were your favorites?

Oh God You're Gonna Get It (You Have Not Been Given Love). That is my biggest pet project and the one that gets the majority of my energy.

Also, all of them.

But also that one.

3. Which one was the most satisfying to write?

In wanting to not answer every question with OGYGGI(YHNBGL), I'm going to say Low Battery. While I am enjoying the challenge of writing the core story from a static pov, I love digging into what's going on in Jamie's head at the same time. Possibility this will happen again? Very high.

4. The most difficult?

I think The Vacant House Behind Our Home. Since it is a different genre entirely from the show itself, it's tricky to find the correct balance of tone. I also think there's an added difficulty of knowing that since it is so niche, the audience for it is naturally going to be limited. I still love it though

5. Rec something that you're proud of.

Again, bringing some variety to the table - I really like how somebody's hands who felt like mine turned out. It's much shorter than I usually write, and I wrote and published all in one sitting. That said, I've gotten such lovely comments about it. I'm really happy with it.

6. Wow us with whatever big thing you might want to work on next!

More! Fucking! Chapters!

7. Show us that word count stat!

Posted to AO3? 29,355 words

Not posted? For Ted Lasso, I have written 197,454 words. I am still writing more tonight and I'm going to see if I can crack 200,000.

Tagging @altschmerzes and @abubblingcandle next to celebrate their year's worth of cool stuff!

[adventuretolkienlover]

*drops pile of questions like a stack of heavy books* I COME BEARING INSPIRATION! (feel free to skip some if you get overwhelmed)

1. Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

6. Do you have your work beta'd? How important is this to your process?

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

8. Do you prefer the beginning, middle, or end of a story?

10. Cltr+f "blinks" on your WIP & copy paste the first sentence/paragraph that comes up

12. How does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

13. What’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

14. How do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

18. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

19. What is the most-used tag on your ao3?

20. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

21. Would you ever collaborate with another writer for a story?

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

23. Best writing advice for other writers?

24. Worst writing advice anyone ever gave you?

25. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

27. What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

29. What’s your revision or editing process like?

31. Do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?

33. Do you want to be published some day? (As the author of an original work)

34. Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

35. What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain? 

38. Would you ever write commissions?

39. Share a snippet from a WIP.

40. If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

41. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

46. How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

47. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

48. What do you look for in a beta?

49. Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

51. What’s your total AO3 word count?

52. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

54. What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

55. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

56. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

57. Do you prefer editing as you write, or waiting until it’s finished? 

58. What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? (Brainstorming, outlining, writing, editing, etc) 

60. Have you had a writer you admire comment on your fic? What was that like?

61. Why do you continue writing fics?

62. Thoughts on cliffhangers?

65. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

67. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas?

68. What, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

70. When asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

71. When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

72. What order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

73. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?

75. What scene in your current fic took the longest to write? What was difficult about it? 

76. Did you have any ideas that didn’t make the final cut of your current fic?

77. Do you have a favorite scene you’ve written from your current fic?

*GASP* 😱🤩😁

Awesome! Thanks! Wow, okay. You know what? I'm gonna be a mad woman and answer ALL OF THEM. Eheheheheheh. Let's go! Under the cut since this thing is LOOOOOOOOOONG.

1. Do I prefer one-shots or multiple chapter fic's? Hm. Hard to say. Although, I do enjoy connecting plots and references in multiple chapter fics. So I'm gonna go with that one.

3) Describe the writing process. Well, first I make a scene map. It's a jist of what will happen of the course of the story as a whole. It keeps everything inline and easy to rearrange if something doesn't work or won't make sense. Then I just wing it and add the action and dialogue. I've found that it works really well!

4) Where do I find inspo? EVERYWHERE! Disney movies and life experience especially. I love classic adventure films/comedies. But for the more emotional bits I sometimes struggle. So then I'll turn to book and movies with more emotional plots. Or I'll just try my best to imagine the emotions the characters are going through. I especially like writing about domestic family life and love. And I find a lot of inspiration from those kinds of stories. Especially since my fic is basically the Brotherhood and Vat7k merged. I haven't got to those parts yet, but I will!

6) Do I beta my work? Nope. Haha. Well, sometimes. My little brother actually enjoys hearing my stories. So I'll read him a chapter sometimes. And my mom likes to listen too. So that counts I guess. They give me good feedback. And I have a friend that reads it after I published it and they give me good feedback as well.

7) Everyone's it seems! You get to hear all their thoughts. It just depends on which one is talking at the moment. Or what's going on.

8) Do I enjoy the beginning, middle, or end of a story? End! Because that's were everything is wrapped up and makes sense! Although, if the ending is poorly done, it will irk me to no end.

10) Er, yeah. I'm writing this on my phone. I don't think it can do that. Sorry.

12) Well, I makes me a little sad when I don't. But it makes sense too since I don't have a very well known fic and since it takes me a while to update. So I understand.

13) NONE OF THEM!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Lol. Yeah, I figured that actually when I write, that it I focused too much on the rules and tips, it actually caused me writers block and became less fun for me.. So I just throw caution to the wind and run with whatever idea I got!

14) How do I write emotional scene? With lot of crying. From me... And preferably with some tissues beside me. Haha. Anyway, jokes aside. I'm not to sure. It seems to be a hit and miss for me. Sometimes I've got big moving scenes that will make you ball. And other times it's like "He was sad." :/

16) Ooh! I do have one actually! It will probably be in the distant future. But it's a modern version of my fic and it involves aliens, unstable government projects, an awesome foster family, and a ranch! It's super cool! In case your wondering, SPOILER ALERT! The aliens are where Varian got his Moon powers and how Ulla disappeared.

17) When does writing become difficult. Writer's block is definitely one. But burnout? Burnout is the worst! *Insert Ben Schwartz yelling "THE WOOOORST!"*

18) That's interesting actually because sometimes I do and I'll leave them to write later. I have a bunch like that! I helps me keep track of everything I want to write. But I don't lable them too far into the fic. It's mostly one shots I do this with.

19) I don't have ao3. But most used tag here is Alchemy Bros!

20) There's a lot of sadness. I know that sounds bad, but I'm writing a continuation of a role play I followed and that eventually ended on a cliffhanger. Before that, the characters went through lot of trauma and the story I'm writing is basically the whole family healing together. Which is very sweet I think. Of course there will be action though! And fun!

21) Would I ever collaborate? Not sure how to do that. But, I usually prefer to work on my own. I like being able to adjust things to how I like it. And while I'm sure a collaboration would be fun, I like to keep the story mostly in my hands. So I don't think it would be a good idea.

22) Anything heavily adult. Never ever. I hate heavy gore, smut, and swearing. Nothing like that will ever be in my fics. Even if a character gets a severe injury, it will only be vaguely mentioned.

23) Best writing advice? If you need a break, take a gosh dang break! I have to learn this myself. But it is effective. If you tired and you body telling you rest, do it!

24) I can't think of anytime I've actually got bad writing advice. At least, nothing comes to mind.

25) Any of them really.

27) Writing romance. That is the hardest thing ever! I'm way better at platonic relationships and family bonds. Romance can sometimes be just to cringy to me.😅

29) I pretty much just read it through and if I see something I don't like, I just fix it. If it's a big thing though, it off to the scene map to switch things around again! Or cut things out if necessary.

31) Characters or plot? Hm... That's an interesting one. I can't really say because the thing is when I get a really good idea, it just kind explodes in my mind! I know what characters are going to be what and what will happen. But maybe when it's not like that, I guess you could say it's the Characters. Like, if I'm coming up with an Au, I'll usually figure out who I want where and then I'll figure out the plot. I'm not sure if this all makes sense. I'm flying by the seat of my pants right now.😂

33) Do I want my work published? YES YES YES YES!!! AJAJSHSHDGDHDKAKA! I planning on becoming a script writer someday! I love writing scripts for TV shows and movies! Book writing is fun too though and I might do that as well.

34) Hopefully happy with plenty of work published. And having made lots of people's lives better and more exciting.😁

35) Don't forget what type of villain you have. It's so easy it seems for people to forget. Do you want one that we will sympathize with? Make them sympathetic. Don't make him a horrible person and then expect us to feel bad for them. You want us to hate them? Then don't make the likeable! It's crazy how many times I've seen this.

38) Nope! Don't take commissions. Don't take requests. I got a very busy life and that would probably send me straight over the edge! Haha!

39) WIP snippet? Of course! Here! Not the best, but I've got one!

40) Oh gosh. Nobody's done that. I would be thrilled! But thanks to burnout, I'm only two chapters into the fic so there wouldn't be much to draw. Lol! But I would love to see art of future chapters I have planned. Lots of family fluff and action scenes! I guess if I had to choose a scene from a chapter I already have, then maybe the one we're Ulla has finally been taken outside the library by Varian and his friends and they're all looking out over Corona from the grassy base of the mountain. It's a very peaceful scene. Not too much happens, but it's calm.

41) I reread constantly! I several favorites that I like to read all the time!

46) Definitely emotional and action driven. There's no in-between. Either we're sobbing or diving head long in the fray!

47) My process. Number 1. Write fic. Number 2. Proof read. Number 3. Post. Number 4. Edit because I realized that I was so tired out that misspelled ten words, completely looked over a gaping plot hole, and forgot to add the chapter links. In short, I'm pretty chaotic!

48) Don't know. Never looked into one.

49) Nobody reads my stuff enough to warrant a bad review. 🤣🥲 But yeah. I'd probably handle it pretty well though!

51) Don't have an account! Probably won't ever either! I prefer it here. On cozy Tumblr.😊

52) I always respond to comments! Why? Well, sometimes I leave comments and people don't answer. I understand of course. People get busy, or are to tired. Everyone deals with that. But of course, it always makes me just a bit sad because I like talking to people. I don't want anyone to feel that way! Everyone is welcome! I'll be happy to talk to you. No matter what!

54) Writing practice! It helps for someday when I'll be publishing my stuff!

55) Definitely Hugo! I love him and connect with him a lot too. I especially like the version of him from the roleplay I followed. In my opinion, he was one of the best versions I've seen of him. Not overly sexualized or vulgar. And much more empathetic. That's why I'm continuing his story!

56) I love the fact I can use symbolism or deeper meaning's in my writing. Little things that seem un-important. But really mean everything. And I hope that as more people read my work, they'll get to see it more.

57) I prefer editing as I write. But sometimes I go over the top and tire myself out. So I need to learn to rein it in and relax. Gotta to remember to not sweat the small stuff.

58) The brainstorming! Coming up with world building and epic action movie style scenes to take place is my jam!

60) I do actually! My friend @cassandrium360 is amazing and read their stuff before befriending them! Afterwards, they told me to let them know when I new chapter was coming out so I could show them everytime! I was ecstatic! And it's been that way ever since! I love them to pieces!

61) Because I like sharing with people! That's it really.

62) Cliffhangers? Hate them. I hate them with a passion. It's one of my pet peeves. So many good shows and movies are ruined by the them. They're almost as bad as a sloppy ending.

65) The finale of my story should epic! And I also look forward to maybe doing some animatics based on certain chapters. I'm not too good yet. But I'm gonna get there!

67) I like prompts sometimes. I prefer to find them myself. But I will ask every once in a while. If I'm particular uninspired.

68) Listen to music. I can imagine whole movies and animations to one song. It's something I've been able to do since I was little. And it helped me in the long run with my writing!

70) I get a little embarrassed. But I think that's because I'm shy. I'm much more comfortable on here actually!

71) Once again, the scene map saves lives! If you want to know how to do one, just send my message and I'll show you!

72) Beginning to end! Start to finish. I hate writing things out of order.

73) It's definitely different from most Varian and the Seven Kingdoms fics. The most notable thing is that there's no Varigo. Varian and Hugo are in a healthy brotherly relationship. And in fact, Hugo is practically adopted by Ulla and Quirin. Also, instead of Nuru and Yong, I have two characters from the roleplay Jacky and Belle in their place. Nuru and Yong weren't included in the roleplay very much, so I decided not to use them. And instead say that they left earlier in the journey to go home. Since they had found whatever they were looking for. Jacky and Belle are super fun actually and I love them. Great characters!

75) The chapter I'm on now. It's been almost a whole fricken year! And it's 95% finished! And YET, I'm still struggling.😭 Oh well.🤷 I'll get there!

76) I remember one thing I thought about this one thing were Hugo's birth dad Alec*, who is a horrible person and tried to to take him out, tried to kidnap him and Varian and the family would have to rescue him! It didn't make the cut though and now I have a new villain. Alec will still be there, but not as the kidnapper. *Alec is another character from the roleplay*

77) Yes! The one we're Ulla finally get out of library! It's in the first chapter and it's very sweet. Plenty of hugs and comfort.

WOW!✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

I did it! Alright. Time to pass out. Thanks for the ask! Bye! *faints*🤣

[waywardsou2]

Oh this is fun! Imma tag my writer friends at the end because this is going to be so interesting!

Here we go!

14...wow that is a lot more than I thought (how many of those are unfinished tho lol)

I tired getting into real whump like going deep into it and actually formulating it well, which...I tried but it didn't last too long

Deadpool and Wolverine is where most of my interest was based for a while in terms of writing. But more recently it's become Arcane

Only 3, my writing goes through fluctuations depending on the hyper fixation so I haven't had much difference in fandoms recently

5. DeadClaws was a big one for me for a while but Jayvik has stolen my heart most recently

6. Bucky Barnes was a big one for me even though I never ended up writing much for him. And now recently Jayce and Viktor (obviously)

7. Yes, Arcane was a new one for me. I don't count Deadpool and Wolverine because that is technically Marvel

8. So far my fic You and Me and The Music I make which is almost finished has meant the most to me to write. It's been a hug comfort honestly

9. Again, You and Me and The Music I make has made me extremely happy, it's all fluff which is something I never do. It has been so uplifiting

10. Welp I have a habit of not finishing my works (so many WIPs collecting dust right now) but when I finished You and Me and The Music I make I know I'll feel so amazing about it

11. I feel like my Summer of Bad Batch prompt challenge works were the hardest mainly because the hyper fixation died half way through which made it difficult for me to continue, but I did get it done in the end

12. Probably my one-shot series, because it was just shit posts here and there of smut. So it wasn't anything that big

13. Shortest was: My post movie head canon one, mainly because it was two chapters and it was just very basic

Longest was: Was Lost but never gone which was one 5 chapters (incomplete) at 15k words already

14. None just my general playlist but when I started You and Me and the Music I make I made a playlist specifically for that ship with songs that were actually included in the fic

15. The Sun will Set on Another Day and I will Still Sit in my Cage, which is super fucking long but it felt right? Idk it was just stupid for me to try and figure out how to name this one I ended up going with a fallout boy song title (LMAO)

16. "Fuck you" "Do it yourself, coward" was pretty funny but I also like You and Me and The Music I make, just coz it's sorta romantic? And I'm a sucker for romance

17. Tbh none of my opening lines particularly stand out to me...I find it hard to write good eye catchers, I mainly focus on the body content but since I'm in love with You and Me and The Music I make I'll have to pick that one

Viktor tuned out the methodical tapping of his shoes and cane working in tandem across the polished floors, he was well adjusted to the sound by now. The day was at its end and his bones had begun to creak. The hallways felt cavernous in the black with him unable to see the expanse of the celling or the depth of the hall. It only stretched out into more darkness.

It think it's nice and descriptive, sets the tone

18. I haven't finished any of my workssss I don't really have one

Their presence was the only thing that brought the other peace.

That's all I've got really

19. ...I suck at writing dialogue...so this was a struggle

“Just hold onto me, I won’t let you fall, and if you need to stop we will. Just…try this for me?”

^^^ This was just really sweet, it was so caring and kind in context. Litteral tooth rotting fluff

20. I thought this was pretty funny but I'm not really a comedian

"I will slice your dick off if you don't stop" "Oh kinky" "Fuck you"

21. In Lost but never gone the characters kinda ended up writing themselves. It was very interesting, enjoyable, but definitely an experience

22. I sometimes write in a dedicated notebook if I don't have my laptop on me. But I only use word and them I post on AO3 afterwards

23. Just the brainstorming stage for all of my works, when the idea pops into my head and I realise I can write it

24. No? Do people do that lol

25. I don't really have anything in particular I do. I usually just stop writing and switch to art for a while (I don't always have a choice) and then come back to writing when I feel the inspo again. It's weird

26. Yeah I made some art, though it wasn't very good

27. I took part in 3, I only completed one all the way to the end and abandoned the other two. I also created my own but I haven't participated in that

28. My friend DM and Emrys for being my biggest inspiration and supporters, for giving me ideas and being my beta readers. I would also thank a few of my discord servers for entertaining my bullshit

29. I want to finish You and Me and The Music I make because I genuinely think that will be the only WIP I can finish lol

30. More Jayvik fics...pfft that's literally it. I love them so much I want to keep writing for them

As for my writing friends

@desired-misery @bunnwis @emrys-study @fionajames @kybercrystals94

A slightly revised version of last year's questions! Two ways to play: Reblog and have your followers send you numbers, or answer the whole list!

How many fics have you worked on since January?

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year?

What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.)

How many fandoms did you write for this year?

What ships captured your heart?

What characters captured your heart?

Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year?

What fic meant the most to you to write?

What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

What fic was the most difficult to write?

What fic was the easiest to write?

What were your shortest and longest fics posted this year?

What were your go-to writing songs?

What was the hardest fic to title?

What's your favorite title of the year?

Share your favorite opening line

Share your favorite ending line

Share your favorite piece of dialogue

Share your funniest line

What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand?

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

How did you recharge between fics?

Did you create fanworks other than fic?

How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!)

If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

What's left on your to-do list for 2024?

What would you like to write next year?

[welcometotheslipstream]

Dub's 2024 fav albums

No preamble needed, this is Dub, these are my fav albums of 2024.

12 Dave Harrington - Skull Dream

Dave is a great guitarist and makes instrumental jams at the Venn diagram nexus of ambient, post rock, and modern composition - some breathtaking, some groovy, some shootout at the OK Corral.

11 The Armed - Live at Metro

This Detroit weedhead body building hardcore/noise band put out an album about being rockstar idols and then put on the most memorable and visceral live performance I have experienced and then released the recording of that show on Bandcamp and YouTube, with a too good for this band rhythm section, and played aforementioned meta idolize-me haha-no-but-really songs while literally walking and standing atop their fans as they held their dirty boots like a 2010 Alice Glass except crossfit. Pure joy.

Also - I held the guys’ boots and I would do it again.

10 Nala Sinephro - Endlessness

Nala owns the “ambient jazz/jazz ambient” genre with such poise and vision, extending the electronic element of her sound, using bass pads and modular synth (the most esoteric wtf is happening instrument imo) as jazz instruments, it’s Wow.

9 Bibio - Phantom Brickworks II

Like if Basinski’s Lamentations was glistening and bright instead of overwhelmingly depressing; loops and samples, Brian Eno style ambient, foggy and also shimmering.

8 Shellac - To All Trains

Steve Albini’s last piece of art, he died just before the tour, and I didn’t realize he was hilarious. I laugh out loud at Scabby the Rat, but I almost cry at Wednesday. Lyrics of I Don't Fear Hell include “I don’t fear hell. Their baseball team is undefeated….. Leap in my grave like the arms of a lover…. If there’s a hell I’m gonna know everyone”. It’s straight eerie that he put this out before he bought it.

RIPIH, praise Satan.

7 Cowboy Sadness - Selected Jambient Works Vol 1

Name says it all, desert ambient, wide open spaces, the sound a tumbleweed hears, a road trip through spectacular and desolate scenery.

6 Ben Frost - Scope Neglect

The most difficult listen on this list, the singular crunchy noisy swirly analog ambient musician uses metal guitar chugs as his raw material and it’s entirely unique, frankly bludgeoning, and unavoidably immersive.

5 Charli xcx - BRAT

No caption needed, these are certified fucking bangers and I have heard it said this is the album and aesthetic that made the “indie sleaze” resurgence instantly irrelevant, Satan be praised.

[find it on spotify]

4 Four Tet - Three

Three times a day is about how often I play this. The expert down tempo electronic album that gave us a Porcelain for the 2000s (referring specifically to the song Three Drums).

3 Fabiano do Nascimiento AND (and!!) Sam Gendel - The Room

Someone hacked my brain and put these two masters of their instruments together. Hell fucking yes and their energy together is precise and loose and perfect.

2 Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere

Weedhead proggy death metal EPIC. The album also known as Blood Floyd by those who know. Tangerine Dream does a celebrity shot for fucks sake. Attention to detail is mind blowing. There's a million micro moments on this thing. Were Nathan Explosion rather than Robin Pecknold to take a band holiday and earn his English degree, he’d growl lyrics like “All life is suffering that basks in nothingness” instead of listing the murder paraphernalia of a vengeful mermaid, but it’d sound pretty similar.  No one in here will listen to this all the way through but that is what it demands.

Do yourself a favor, Satan be praised.

1 Alex G - I Saw the TV Glow original score

Forty seven times a day is how often I play this one. The movie was POLarizing, the score is NOT. It is an instant classic score, it makes the movie what it is, and yes it sounds like Alex G with added “vhs-cd generation” and “Buffy’s on TV” energy. AOTY

[find it on spotify]

[loveisanimaginarydagger3000]

Hello. Hola. Bonjour. Hallo. Buonasera. Welcome back to question time with me, your awfully funny and drop dead gorgeous just -☕️

I think we can all agree we were very impressed with our lil cutie pie of a contestant over here. Especially with their football knowledge. I personally wouldn’t have had a clue on some of those questions. But now we must move on to our next round.

Which is of course our animal round. There are going to be 10 questions one of which will include our bonus point, so I guess technically there could be 11 questions if you’re counting, and the bonus point is worth 2 points this round so there’s a total of 12 points at stake. Let’s get started.

Speaking of points I made a mathematical error in our recap. Our contestant has 16 out of a possible 20 points. Now I never said I was good at maths but that is quite the blunder. Anyway back to the questions!

Question one! What is the world’s biggest fish?

Onto number two. Bombus is the Latin term for which type of invertebrate?

Question 3. What group of animals is collectively known as a parliament?

Okay, next question is! What is the world’s most venomous fish?

Question 5, halfway there. Which insect has the largest brain relative to body size?

So how are we feeling so far audience? Are we placing bets on whether us at the question time headquarters can outsmart our lovely participant or our we the ones being played? You tell us but for now onto question 6.

Which animal never sleeps?

Question 7 is …. Which birds can fly backwards?

Question number 8 for you today is. What substance are sharks skeletons made out of?

Second to last question. Which flightless bird is the emblem of New Zealand?

And for our final question. What is the loudest animal in the world? And for those bonus points can you tell us how many decibels of sound they produce?

Wow I’m not going to lie I think this is quite a difficult round unless you are really into nature and animals and all of that. Or it could just be me and this is all well known stuff. I’m glad I’ve got someone in my ear telling me what answers you’ve got wrong and what you’ve got right! But we will have to find that out in our next catch up. For anyone playing at home how many points are you currently on?

Now that’s all for now. You’ve been wonderful. And I’m your host -☕️

Ayyy our amazing host is back! I was feeling confident for this round but i’ve just quickly skim read the questions and now i’m not so confident 😭

1) I feel like this was a trick question cause I wanted to say Blue Whale but that’s a mammal. So it is probably the biggest shark instead which I think is a whale shark? 🦈

2) I wanna say bee but I didn’t know they didn’t have spines😭

3) It’s gotta be some sort of posh british animal for that but idk😭 Foxes seem majestic in a way?

4) Pufferfish? I have no idea

5)what are these questions 😭 Um ants?

6) I wanna say sharks but I think they have rest periods although it’s not technically sleeping I don’t think? It’s not the same as human sleep it’s different cause they have to stay alert

7) Hummingbirds! I know this cause my gran loves them😅

8) I know this one randomly, sharks don’t have bones so i’m pretty sure it’s cartilage

9) Kiwi! 🥝

10) my dad when he snores😭 No it must be something big so maybe a blue whale? Hmm i’ll say 222 decibels cause it’s a cool number

I think i’ve done awful this round but it’s ok, my sports knowledge is carrying me 😅

Thank you host <3

[hyperfashionist]

A Spoiltastic Journey

through the Entire Space: 1999 Canon

up to “Odysseus Wept”

Story 1: Eternity Unleashed

Chapter 7 of 12

It's time for some spoily commentary on Chapter 7 of Eternity Unleashed!

Spoilers under the cut. You have been warned.

Back to Chapter 6 of this story

Forth to Chapter 8 of this story

Back to original post on this story

Return to Series Preface

Forth to Story 2: The Touch of Venus

Chapter Seven of Eternity Unleashed: A Spoiler-Filled Commentary

Previously it was mentioned that all societal institutions had fallen unnoticed into attrition. In Chapter 7 we learn that basic yet not-strictly-essential infrastructure such as street cleaning is a thing of the past, and the only currency is stories.

---

Observation: Stories are, of course, simulations, with all risk removed; narratives of a time when something was at stake. Notably, what stories are explicitly mentioned seem to be historical re-enactments rather than intentionally fictional narratives.

Essentially, Progrons are a society of WoW addicts. It's rather difficult to argue that they shouldn't be, since no physical harm can come to them, and they have no apparent spirituality or aspiration to anything higher than the immediate experience of embodiment.

This seems pitiable to us, but why should we assume that Progrons have what we might loosely describe as souls, just because they're intelligent bipeds? Or perhaps there was a time when they thought they did, and that was what Xmonolor's principles were trying to stamp out. Or not, but Progron society threw the baby out with the bathwater.

---

There are teams of state agents being sent out into the provinces to impose immortality treatment on noncompliant citizens, and it turns out that the pushback on this enforcement has brought some provincial towns to a state of "near civil war".

---

Observation: We weren’t hearing about this dissent until now, but it makes sense that, if the desert is where counterculture is located (after all, that's why Bexan raised his invalid daughter in the desert), all the resistance would also come from the desert. 

Observation: News is apparently being communicated by word of mouth (we have seen messages delivered in person, never over any kind of network channel); the knowledge state of every character throughout the story so far supports the idea that Progron doesn’t have the communications systems you’d expect. One wonders how they have the informational infrastructure to carry out research if that's the case.

---

Talian doesn’t know what Balor’s plan is, he just follows him around, not getting it. Balor explains that everyone’s got to Learn and they are gonna Learn good and hard tonight.

The latest hit show is basically a torture porn in which the actor always reconstitutes at the end, because immortality/invulnerability.

---

Observation: Again, you’d think the popularity of shows like these would contradict Balor’s conclusions, otherwise what actor from this allegedly hedonistic and pain-averse society would have the endurance to go through that process for eight shows a week? 

---

Anyway, there follows a farcical scene in which the audience of this show get sliced up by “telves” - bladed weapons - wielded by “black-garbed followers of Balor”, of whom there seems to be no shortage.

Pause for Reflection

The world of Progron has adequately suspended my disbelief until now, but it’s started to lose me here.

To be fair, the slice'n'dice scene is not any sillier - maybe less silly - than a lot of scenes of its ilk, which are very difficult to write well. 

However, this is also the point at which I started actively disliking, rather than just tolerating, the experience of reading this story. I'm simply not finding anything to engage me. The narrative is written with a cold detachment which probably represents Balor's haughty worldview, so it makes sense on paper, but is not actually interesting. I'm not rooting for Balor; Talian is nothing more than a gormless henchman; the people of Progron must be well past their natural lifespan by now so I don’t care what happens to them. I *guess* the worst that could happen is an eternity of being continuously attacked by Balor's followers and regenerating only to experience it again. But that's the Progrons' problem, not mine.

Don't misunderstand me: I’m only about halfway through this story, so I’m not giving it a thumbs down or anything before I even finish it. I’m just reporting my emotional response at what is supposed to be the/a climax of the story. 

But Anyway

But anyway, Balor’s mega violence That’ll Teach You program gets rolled out throughout the capital city and outwards through the wider inhabited areas. He starts with the capital, Mente, and is following that with thirty more cities.

In the next scene, a group of friends are LARPing in the desert (so I infer the rollout in the cities is completed and the program is reaching the more remote areas). These LARPers marvel in admiration of the approaching army, which they mistake for a group of performers. This provides one of perhaps two brief expressions of positive emotion in the story so far (the previous one being Milsa's glowing response to Balor's conversation). We actually read some dialogue spoken by them, rather than just having their reactions reported to us. The effect is to make it mildly regrettable when the LARPers get sliced and diced too. 

Apparently the trick, with an invulnerable population, is to keep doing it repeatedly and often enough that people don’t have time to recover. The actor in the show where the first attack took place would end in a “nearly liquid” state and recover before the audience’s eyes as part of the performance, so recovery is very quick.

---

Observation: If people are being attacked with hand-held bladed weapons, Balor must have a hell of a lot of followers with almost tireless strength to keep attacking quickly and repeatedly enough to overpower this many victims. 

Observation: A number of things that seemed contradictory are starting to make sense now. It makes sense that Balor's followers would be recruited from the performers: they have the discipline to endure pain eight shows a week, and are probably very physically fit. They also probably have built up considerable resentment against the audiences that objectify and exploit them in this way. Since there are no consumer or luxury goods being produced, these actors’ fame isn’t going to be rewarded with money, as there's nothing special to buy with it. They’re considered more sexually desirable, but that’s just more objectification. The performers probably lack any theoretical framework, or even much self-awareness, about their own resentment; but they are clearly mad as hell and unwilling to take it any more.

---

Back on the state immortality rollout: a mob of townsfolk, led by the "town leader" plus deputy, show up in the desert and corner a couple who are snuggling in the evening after a hard day’s work.

This couple's snuggling provides the third brief expression of positive emotion in the story so far; and with it, a moment of mild suspense.

The couple have refused the immortality treatment, the mob wants to impose it. The woman pleads to be allowed to wait til after her baby is born. The response is “we don’t need no stinkin’ babies” and the agents kill the guy and forcibly administer the treatment, which has the effect of expelling the fetus.

The rationale for imposing the immortality treatment - which imposition Balor wouldn't, apparently, personally have endorsed - is that if there are any mortals, nobody can tell who’s immortal.

---

Observation: I assume they’re just being totalitarian: by definition, they don’t care if the mortals come to harm given that they're killing them for noncompliance, and there presumably is no healthcare or education sector left for the state to care about. Yeah, Progron seems to be institutionally cool with mindless violence.

---

Anyway, the woman awakens to find her husband dismembered and her fetus placed on top of his remains, still in its birth sac. She starts a huge fire and immolates herself, but she can’t die. 

Quelle surprise, big reveal, amazement shock horror: the woman is Milsa. 

I saw that one coming (am I a genius or what); but I do slightly care what happens to Milsa, at least compared to any of the other characters. So, though I wouldn't exactly say things are looking up, I will at least live to read another day.

Questions

Q: So Milsa’s moved in with a bunch of hippies while she was off in Nepal finding herself; and Talian doesn’t (I assume) know about it. No communication *at all*. For how long? People have been immortal for yonks by now, yet Milsa can't be one of them, because she was able to conceive. Whereas Balor says the people of Progron have been immortal for too long to give them the benefit of the doubt that the obsession with hedonism is just a phase - Milsa is still in her childbearing years. So it can't have been that long after all.

Q: If force *is* still psychologically threatening, as we’re shown in Balor’s decisive initial experiment, how is Balor the first person to discover this and act on it? Wouldn’t the state be way ahead of him, considering how controlling they are?

Q: How, furthermore, is the state able to motivate a bunch of agents to get up in the morning and police the population, if, before this point, nobody has thought to ask whether force still has meaningful effects on either the agents or the population? As far as anybody knew until then, force didn't do anything. So policing must be entirely by consent. The town leaders who attack Milsa’s family seem to be craven rule-followers, so maybe it just doesn't occur to them to do anything else. 

Gender Balance

Not Specified

The "most popular entertainers", whom Balor "disappeared" without anybody noticing

Balor's scouts, out checking on the state of the planet

Cast of Gash, the stage show attacked by Balor's followers

Mengas, the town leader who attacks Milsa and Calad

Mob of 40 townspeople in the attack led by Mengas and Jeffa

Milsa and Calad's child-to-be

NB running total = 20

Female

Gelta, a stripper, one of Balor's followers, who enables an attack on her audience

F running total = 13

Male

Premer of Gruyorg, a historical martyr

Benemat, who plays Premer on stage

Audience member whose arm is severed by one of Balor's gang

Yetcha, Lumat, and an unnamed third LARPer in the desert

Balor's black-garbed followers who carry out his attacks, referred to as "men" by Lumat

Calad, mortal husband of Milsa

Jeffa, the assistant town leader

M running total = 26

Back to Chapter 6 of this story

Forth to Chapter 8 of this story

Back to original post on this story

Return to Series Preface

Forth to Story 2: The Touch of Venus

[akashirl]

1. (most prominent quirk [it was hard picking just one]) his eyes mirror his emotions perfectly. he did not grow up being a very expressive person overall but his eyes speak for him. they soften when he's feeling vulnerable or charmed, and his gaze hardens when he's feeling conflicted. his eyes can tell stories.

as for me, he often mentions my smile. i think he took a special liking to my dimples...

2. the gym / basketball court. it's where we met, it's where we're together most of the time, it holds a special place in our hearts.

3. (⸝⸝๑ _๑⸝⸝⸝) it's still a bit early for that...we're high schoolers...

4. he'd be the vocalist and i'd be a guitarist (frerard who.)...

5. it was so difficult for me to say those words for the first time because of something that happened to me in the past -- and due to how strong the words are. sei says them more often, and it melts my heart everytime.

6. he does! he communicates his care for me on the court, by offering me tips / fixing my posture / engaging in duo plays with me when passing me the ball...he also always makes sure that i'm feeling alright, due to how rocky my mental state is; making sure that i take care of myself, take my medicine on time, all that...

7. i have. saying "interesting" often and caring about grammar when texting are some of the habits i have picked up...

8. i wouldn't have to say anything. he would find me anyway.

9. both! dancing in the kitchen sounds cozy and intimate but honestly i would really like to go to a karaoke bar. sei is an extremely good singer so he wouldn't have a problem with it either.

10. pumpkin bread with nuts and hazelnut milk...

11. in public, we call eachother by our names (i call him "captain" too). in private, we use pet names...

12. well, i know for a fact that sei wants to become a profession athlete but we're still in process of getting there...(his father wants him to inherit the family's business). but our main goal for now is just become public about our relationship...

13. when we were playing against eachother during practice and he pulled an ankle breaker on me and i fell on my ass. that was crazy. but also "wow, i need to marry him."

14. he has disassociative personality disorder and has an alter (the fandom calls him "bokushi". i call him "aka-chan"). i'm with both of them, but sometimes it's difficult to get through aka-chan's hard shell. i know it's all new to him though, and he needs time to reflect on his feelings...

15. he's good at redirecting my focus from the bad thoughts. and no, it's not just because i find him utterly hypnotizing. he reassures me that everything is alright and encourages me to view the situation differently. and of course, suggests that we play a bit of 1v1.

16. the first song that came up was "amor de ganga" which is our main song, strangely. needless to say that it fits us like a glove...

17. let's just say that red is my favorite color.

18. we're somewhere in the middle. we've been close for a long time but my heart still flutters and my cheeks still flush whenever i see him. the sparkle in our eyes isn't dimming at all...

19. a portrait he keeps in his pocket of us when we were younger and everything was alright...

20. probably someone stubborn, whose feet are never really touching the ground, has an "unique fashion sense", hardworking...a little silly, always flustered..."once, we were having a matching during our first year in the basketball team and he scored a three-pointer. but guess what? it was an own goal." he still teases me about it till this day.

Selfship Ask Game

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷

What would your f/o(s) say your most endearing quirk is? What would you say their most endearing quirk is?

Do you and your f/o(s) have a special place that you go to be alone together? Does this place hold a specific treasured memory?

Are you and your f/o(s) interested in marriage? If you're already married, who proposed and how?

If you and your f/o(s) were in a band, which band members would you be? (lead singer, drummer, guitarist, etc.)

Who says "I love you" most often?

Does your f/o(s) have a way of saying/showing they love you that is specific to them?

Have you picked up any of your f/o's habits or sayings?

If your f/o(s) had to find you quickly in a large crowd, what would they shout in order to get your attention? What would you shout in order to get their attention?

Would you and your f/o(s) rather spend your evening dancing together in the kitchen or out at a karaoke bar?

What would your f/o(s) order for you at a bakery or café to surprise you with later?

Do you and your f/o(s) use pet names or terms of endearment, or do you only call each other by name?

Do you and your f/o(s) have any dream goals to achieve together?

Was there a specific moment with your f/o(s) where you thought, "Yeah, this is who I want to be with forever"?

If your f/o(s) have an alternate version of themself (such as an evil clone), do you/would you have any romantic interest in that version of them?

If you needed a distraction to get out of your thoughts, how would your f/o(s) humor you?

Pick a random playlist and hit shuffle. The song you get is your selfship's theme song. How well does it fit?

Have you changed any of your preferences or opinions of anything at all because of your f/o(s)?

Would you say you and your f/o(s) are still in your "honeymoon phase", or are you more of an "old married couple", or somewhere in the middle?

If you had to be away from each other for a long period of time, what item would your f/o(s) stare at longingly in the middle of the night while thinking of you? (ex: locket, framed photo, a sentimental gift from you, an article of your clothing or accessory, etc)

How would your f/o(s) describe you to someone who hasn't met you? What memory of you would they readily share in conversation?

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷

[vitaminwaterreviews]

Sugar - Shine

I’m not too sure what to think about this album. Parts of it felt kind of SNSD, but most of all it just felt … old? Or maybe boring? Not old in the kind-of-endearing retro way, but old in the just … really boring way. Then other parts felt weird, and also not weird in a good way, but weird in an annoying way. It was synthy, but not Gee synthy; more like … boring synthy. The average score is 6.2 which is fair enough, it really wasn’t bad as an album, and I did learn from it. But ultimately I probably won’t save a single song from this album – not that I could anyway, they aren’t on Spotify haha

I just wanna say, it was surprisingly difficult to find this album. Not only was it not on Spotify, it looked at first like it wasn’t on YouTube either! But I found a playlist. This album apparently didn’t chart in Korea, sooo make of that what you will.

Let’s Feel The Music

Alright, nice disco feel

I’m gonna be comparing this album to SNSD because I just listened to a ton of SNSD yesterday

And this does actually feel like something that SNSD might release – not as a title, but as a b-side. And this is a b-side for this album, so maybe that bodes well

Nothing too interesting musically yet. I’ve heard a bunch of songs with similar vibes

(Now all we need is some unnamed male rapper to make an appearance!)

Bridge slows down for a few precious seconds, just to immediately speed right back up to where we were

Could’ve used a bit more dramatic effect personally

6/10

Summer Sunset

Oh this is interesting

Unnamed male vocalist, appears a decent amount in harmonies but doesn’t seem to have his own lines

This seems less SNSD to me. It’s a bit lower-energy, if SNSD did this song then it would be Louder

Actually, just having the male vocalist there for the harmonies is a pretty cool addition, more songs should try that

6/10

Shine

Kind of an artsy MV in the intro at least

Unfortunately this song appears to be a slow jam

I love the aesthetic though. White background and outfits with bits of saturated color around the environment

Oh ok, this isn’t like, true slow jam, it’s more slow jam plus

The vocals sound kind of jpop to me

The instrumental / dance break was kinda fun

I’m starting to buy into the chorus, the “lalala” section really helped

Oh god the outro though with those smiles

7/10, why not

Hang on one sec I have a sudden urge to watch the Cherry Bomb dance practice

Okay I’m back

두번째 사랑 (Second Love)

Oh that’s interesting, we don’t usually hear songs about second loves

Unfortunately this song is in a very similar slightly-upbeat-rnb synthy space as the rest of the album

This synth feels like it’s trying to put me to sleep haha

Yeah sorry but I just could not get into this song because of that

5/10

Unpretty

Slow intro, group chorus

The default sound of this album is like, “music to listen to while lying down in a meadow on a sunny day” and unfortunately that type of music happens to put me to sleep

5/10

Hold on Harry Kane just scored against North Macedonia let me go watch the replay

Wow that was a terrible goal, very much worth putting off the next song

Just For My Love

How much are we gonna skirt with slow jam vibes without actually having a proper slow jam?

What even is the name of this genre? Is it just like, early 2000’s pop?

The guitar at least is cute

The outro is nice too

6/10

레인보우 (Rainbow)

The thing is – could we have gone from this album to SNSD in 3 years? Yes, absolutely. Gee is not a million miles away from this album, and Into The New World was apparently pitched for M.I.L.K., so this sound definitely carries over

Wow, random electric guitar hit

Also I do appreciate the piano, vocal harmonies too

6/10

선물 (Gift)

Is it finally slow jam time?

The electric piano suggests it

The violins suggest it

The drums suggest it

The vocals suggest it

Well, you know what they say. If it sounds like a slow jam, and it sounds like a slow jam, it’s probably a slow jam

Actually though I kinda like this. It feels way prettier than the other slow jams we’ve heard. Maybe meadow jams are more my thing

Oh that ending totally got me

6/10

비치 (Beach)

Spoken intro, very quiet, not quite whispered

And now it’s all bouncy and synthy

Some horns here and there, alright

Kind of excited for the chorus if they stick around

Lol

Okay, I like it, it’s not bad at least

Very curious about the lyrics, let’s see what we can find

Okay, I see

Wtf with the harmonies

Y’know what? This is good

8/10

굿나잇 (Goodnight)

Wait this isn’t the last song on the album, why are they telling me goodnight?

Bells? Chimes? Harmonies? What is this, christmas music?

And then, as is par for the course on this album, it suddenly gets groovy

Group chorus, very SM

That’s something I’ll have to do, go back and figure out when all the group choruses started

Honestly I should’ve been paying attention to that from the start, silly me

6/10

Winter Dream

More christmas music then?

This one definitely sounds – oh they’re literally sampling Jingle Bells haha

And now it gets all excited

“Everybody scream” followed by cheers haha

Why does this sound so AKB to me

Idk why but these synths really annoy me haha

I do hear the guitars, not a big fan of the instrumentation in general though

Like this sounds Nothing like a winter dream

This group chanting part is kind of fun, not sure if that’s the chorus or what

7/10 I guess?

From Sugar

Ending on a slow jam, fineee

Does make me wonder if it’s a fan song

And also if the members have writing credits

Wikipedia doesn’t have an individual page for this album unfortunately

6/10, not bad