#Ended up refreshing the 'My Mix' on youtube

[major-comet]

The Music in RvB: Restoration Kinda Sucks. Here's how I'd fix it.

I gave this as a presentation the other night after my first re-watch of the finale, and it was a major hit so I thought I would share it with other people who think too hard about Halo fanfiction.

Red VS Blue has some truly fantastic music in it's 21 year history, and I think that the music here was pretty weak. Obviously this post has major spoilers for RvB19 / Restoration, so be warned.

So, under the Read More is a typed up and fleshed out version of my powerpoint presentation where I will dive in and not just bitch about the musical choices, but explain how I would fix things. This is...really long, but I hope you all enjoy my thoughts :)

This will be best enjoyed if you listen to the songs I'm talking about as a refresher. For your convenience, I have input links to the songs on Youtube when necessary

So what's the problem?

Since the development of the finale overlapped with Rooster Teeth getting shut down, it's very likely that they had minimal funds. (EDIT: Yes, the finale itself was done by the time the announcement rolled around. However, the decision was almost certainly already in the works at WB. RT was shut down in part for financial reasons. It’s all connected.) I personally think this was part of why Burnie/RT was/were [reportedly] so insistent on using stock music for part of the season rather than a whole soundtrack done by Trocadero - I'm not sure they had the money to properly compensate for a full soundtrack. And maybe it was just a stupid / dick move, and had nothing to do with money at all, but that's what I choose to believe if only because it makes me feel slightly better about it.

This means that besides the stock music, the new score by Carl Thiel, the Zero song for that cameo, and Waning Moon (the Barenaked Ladies song), all we have are four re-used songs from earlier RvB - these songs being the Trocadero Grifball theme, I Say Ooh and Round One by Jeff Williams, and Vale Deah by Trocadero. There's also a David Levy composition in there somewhere according to the credits, R U Ready, but I have no idea what it is or where it plays. It's bothering the hell out of me because it does not appear to be a reused piece as far as I can tell - at least not reused from RvB. If anyone has any leads on this please reach out, because it seems crazy that there's one random possibly original David composition mixed in there. I've checked Apple Music and Soundcloud, nothing by that name.

In this very Meta focused film, neither of The Meta's themes play in any shape or form - [When] Your Middle Name is Danger by Trocadero or Plagam Extremam Infligere by Jeff Williams.

Nor do any of the character themes, really. Most of the series' iconic recurring tracks are completely absent. Tex's various themes, Carolina's theme - hell not even Blood Gulch Blues or the iconic intro music.

Were there any highlights?

Of course there were!

Considering I was going into the finale having only been spoiled on Vale Deah, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Jeff tracks! That was totally unexpected, and really lovely.

Speaking of, I thought the use of Vale Deah was a really lovely touch. Fun fact: that song was used for the end credits of the Season 1 DVD, so it really felt like a sweet full circle moment.

I think that using a Barenaked Ladies song for that very sweet scene of Caboose, Grif, and Simmons reminiscing about Blood Gulch by the fire was a very lovely choice, and quite honestly it was my favorite scene in the whole thing. The BNL have been close to RvB and RT since damn near the beginning, and it was very nice to hear them attached to the finale in that small way.

I should also point out that the composer for the season is Carl Thiel - known for his work on Hot Fuzz and the second and third Spy Kids movies. I think he did a totally fine job. I liked the bugles that were under Sarge's death, but the rest doesn't really stand out much. Perfectly serviceable.

So, now that that's out of the way, let's break down those four returning songs a bit more - shall we?

Grifball Official Theme - Trocadero

This was a really funny choice. It's such a quick bit, but I respect Burnie's dedication to get in one last Grifball joke. Obviously, I would have preferred to hear a different song for something else, but this was totally harmless.

Vale Deah - Trocadero

Lo-fi Hip-hop beats to get divorced to.

God that scene was heartbreaking. I love this song a lot - I think a lot of Trocadero's strongest stuff is the stuff that just feels kind of melancholy. It's something Nico does really well, and I think Vale Deah is one of my favorite examples of that. Like I said above, I think this song was used really well - if I had to pick a different track for that same scene I would probably choose Half Life. While it was written during the Blood Gulch era, it wasn't really used in the show until Seasons 12 and 13 - notably, a version of it plays under Kimball's rally speech to the troops after Doyle's death. I just really like it, tbh. There's absolutely other songs that could work, but I think having it be a BGC-era track served the scene really well.

I Say Ooh - Jeff Williams

My feelings about this are pretty similar to Grifball. It was cute, it was nice to hear, but I wish they had used a different Jeff track somewhere else. Ultimately, it's pretty harmless. It is kind of an odd choice though - I'm pretty sure Jeff didn't write it for RvB. This was a song that he composed that was used in two RT Shorts (live action sketches that RT used to do). I think it would have been nicer to use one of his RvB tracks for the introduction of Niner - could have been a cute spot to use a track like I Am The Best or Forge World or hell, Come on Carolina would have been cute.

Round One - Jeff Williams

...Actually, I have a lot to say about Round One, so let's get everything else out of the way first.

Other Scenes that *should* have had returning tracks before I talk about Round One for a billion years

Sarge's death should have been scored with a version of Rally (Sarge's Speech). My vision is a version of it that's just the string section - familiar, but not enough to be distracting, and absolutely soul crushing if you do recognize it.

The scene with Wash and Dr. Grey in the hospital needed a hint of what Nico so lovingly calls the "Wash Trauma Theme" - which is closely related to the Trocadero Meta theme, fun fact. I think Limited Duty from the scene in Season 16 where Carolina tells Wash about the brain damage could have worked pretty well there.

The scene at the end with Wash and Carolina talking about Doc and the Freelancers really needed something. I think one of the variations of the Shisno trilogy Carwash theme could have worked very well.

Obviously the big scene with Tucker and Sigma on the ship would have really benefited from [When] Your Middle Name is Danger or one of the many themes that incorporates it, but I'd also throw Soul Clef XI into the ring! I think it's so interesting that the work around they came up with for not being able to get Elijah Wood back was to have epsilon!Sigma take on a more Felix-y type of voice. Partly because Felix was an incredibly ambitious villain so he fits it pretty well, but more importantly that was a very smart voice to pick to fuck with Tucker in particular! I think that was really smart, and I think having some version of Felix's theme playing during that scene would have been really cool.

Bolt by Trocadero was never used in the series proper. However it was used in this ten year retrospective that they released alongside Season 10. I highly recommend giving it a watch, because watching it now that it's Over - RvB, RT, all of it - it's honestly kind of heart breaking. They're all filled with this deep optimism about the future of the company, and hindsight is a bitch on this one. They use it in a really sweet sequence at the end where they're showing a bunch of old photos. Anyways I think this should have played in the credits after Vale Deah finished. "We only want to have a good time."

Miscellaneous Trocadero Songs I would have liked to see them find a place for that I haven't already / will not mention elsewhere

Steady Ride (Gunmetal Green) - this is THE Grimmons song ever to me. I love it so much. Also fun fact: as of the interview Burnie did with Nico on the season 10 (I think?) dvd/bluray, this was Burnie's favorite Trocadero track. And you can tell when you watch the DVD cuts of the first 6-ish seasons - it plays all the time.

I like Good Fight a lot, not sure there was a great spot for it? but still would have been nice - It's used a few times as a Wash theme, I believe.

No One is my favorite Trocadero song and I wish it could've been there Somewhere. It was the elevator-music type song that played behind Vic in BG once or twice, I think was in the season 4 credits, and also played during the weapons demonstrations in the Meta VS Carolina Death Battle. I just like it a lot, lol.

Okay let's get back to Round One.

Why they shouldn't have used Round One for the big fight in RvB Restoration

AKA: The actual bulk of the presentation

Okay so we've got some pros and cons to this track. Starting with the Pros;

It's a song from an iconic scene - the 3v1 training room fight from Season 9

Tex and Maine are both in the fight

Was a great "Oh FUCK yeah" moment for the fans

Great track

Cons;

Not really a song for Carolina or the Meta (or y'know. Tucker. He's there too), and only kind of a song for Tex

Honestly the fight makes me think about York more than anyone else, since that's the fight where he gets hurt

Not a cool thematic moment besides just Tex being a badass

Started too late into the fight - it's sad that Carolina got a cool track when she (finally!) showed up, but Tex just got generic music. Show my girl some respect :(

So what would be better?

It has to be something that makes you think of at least one of the fighters. A track that's good for multiple would be better, but not required.

I think it should start when Tex first shows up, not when her armor changes. that’s a cool moment, but it still means most of the fight is working with Thiel’s score.

It should be something with a note of thematic relevance - for example, the big moment right at the end of the fight is Tex reminding epsilon!Sigma that she's not based on the Director's memories of her failure this time; she's based on the memories of Grif, Caboose, and Simmons. And she Always kicked their asses.

Still needs to be a big "Oh FUCK yeah" moment.

While incorporating Carolina's theme would be nice, I think it's more important to get at least one of the others - but we'll do our best here. I think this is moreso a Tex v meta!Tucker fight in my heart than it is a Carolina fight.

So let's look over a few options, shall we? These are in no particular order.

Spiral - Jeff Williams

This is the song that plays during the Season 9 car chase when Maine gets shot. It incorporates Carolina's theme, because in PFL her theme is never too far behind whenever a Maine/Meta song is playing, which has always been interesting to me. It has all that freaky choral stuff that Jeff loved to use, and generally is just a great track.

Fragments - Jeff Williams

This plays during the Freelancer break-in in Season 10, and it just rocks so hard. Anything from the break-in would be cool because that was the last time Tex, Carolina, and Maine/The Meta were all in the same place, and of course was when The Meta was properly created. I think it was so sad that they used the instrumental of Round One, because the vocals are part of what makes the Jeff era of RvB soundtracks so iconic, and god this song delivers! Also this song has a kickass trumpet solo at the end.

Slingshot (from the Death Battle) - Trocadero

Man this song rules. This of course plays in the Meta VS Carolina Death Battle from Season 14. It's a very different energy from the Jeff picks, but it rocks so fucking much. This is a fight between Carolina and The Meta, and would of course be a callback to a (marginally) more recent - and extremely popular - episode of the show. If you haven't watched the Death Battle in a while you really should, it still kicks just as much ass now as it did back when I was in high school.

Literally any other song from the 3v1 Training Room Fight - Jeff Williams

This includes;

Round One (feat Lamar Hall)

Just the Bullfight part

On Your Knees

I just think the instrumental to Round One is the weakest choice from this fight tbh! Bullfight is my favorite out of the three, because it sounds the most Tex-y. The guitars are very her, and it incorporates part of her Agent Tex motif. And On Your Knees would have had the biggest "Oh FUCK yeah" factor. But honestly even just using the version of Round One with the vocals would have been way better.

EDIT TO ADD: a quick note - while it’s listed in the credits as Round One/Bullfight, that’s just how the instrumental is packaged on the OST. As far as I could tell in my two watches of it, they never actually make it to the Bullfight part of the track.

A Girl Named Tex - Trocadero

hold on, walk with me on this one.

I had a vision of Tex fighting meta!Tucker set to the "Yellow rose of Texas clad in black, lonely star tattooed upon her back. Double Tex she'll hit you like a truck. Double Tex and she'll mess you up." bit right after I watched 19 the first time and it's been haunting me ever since. (That bit starts at about 02:19)

This is her theme for the first chunk of the show - which just so happens to be the time period Grif, Simmons, and Caboose were primarily reminiscing about. It would have been cool as hell, and I can See the beginning of the fight in my head - the opening strums (what my brother so lovingly calls the Out of Mind music) when caboose is saying his line about how he brought back someone even worse than church, and then the fight starts! I can see it in my mind, it would have been so cool!

I just think there should have been more Blood Gulch era music in here.

100 Tex Battle - Jeff Williams

This doesn't get you any Meta points, but obviously it incorporates little bits of Tex's, and a lot of Carolina's theme. Twisting a Tex vs Carolina fight - obviously, Carolina vs all the Tex bots in Season 10 - into one where they're fighting alongside each other would have been really lovely and a cool full circle moment.

This song is really cool, it's such a good fight. I do think it maybe sounds a bit goofy at points for this fight, but still a cool option.

Okay so now let's go over my top three-ish picks

Ice Fight (or maybe the revelations suite?) - Jeff Williams

Jumping to the end of Season 8, we have a fight that involves Tex vs The Meta! And Wash, Doc, and all the Reds and Blues (barring Donut and Lopez. Hmm. Doesn't that sound familiar.) are there! Ice Fight rules so hard, it's so good.

And it has some of that narrative theming I was looking for! While yes, Tex does technically lose this fight - so does The Meta. And how does she lose it?

By going into the recovery unit.

The main reason I suggest the Suite instead of just Ice Fight is because I think having a touch of Red Vs Blue would have been really nice.

Mental Meta Metal - Jeff Williams

Genuinely my favorite track from season 10. If you let the song play the whole way through, it has Jeff's themes for The Meta, Carolina, and Tex in it. This plays the first time we see Maine in a fight in Season 10, and is also Sigma's first time in the field after we see him pondering Meta-stability in the classroom.

It incorporates elements from both Spiral and Plagam Extremam Infligere, which is kind of Jeff's theme for the Meta that he established back in Season 8. It also plays during the Freelancer Break-in when he's tossing Carolina off the cliff. The Latin on that translates to “to inflict an extreme blow”.

It also has a very strong statement of Carolina's theme, which could have been a great opportunity to bring her in with her theme!

Now, before I go over my final pick, let's go over what we need again;

We need a song with thematic relevance to the fight, that’s from an iconic scene, has a good energy to it, and would give fans a big “OH FUCK YEAH” moment.

Well, isn’t it obvious?

Agent Tex (/ Tex vs Tank / Hell's Angel) - Jeff Williams

The first instance of Jeff Williams’ Tex motif, later used in Hell’s Angel and Tex vs Tank, etc. I would add the opening strum commonly heard in the later iterations, but keep it generally the Agent Tex version which was used in the S8 Warehouse fight, as seen above.

This is like. The RvB scene ever. So many people saw this before they watched the show, and many more never even watched RvB - just this fight, since RT uploaded it separately from the episode because they knew it kicked so much ass. It also helped draw in folks who may have been fans of Monty Oum's other work. Fun fact: This was RT’s outro music for a really long time, too. So it really has history with the company.

Part of why I think this pick would work so well, beyond it just being Tex's theme for the Jeff Williams era, is that it would be so interesting in terms of narrative theming. The Season 8 warehouse fight was Tucker, Grif, Simmons, Sarge, and Caboose against Tex.

This whole sequence was Grif, Simmons, Caboose, Carolina, and Tex against Tucker.

This was one of the other scenes being reminisced about around the fire - you can see it as one of the clips shown during the scene. I think it would have been a really powerful moment, and a fantastic "FUCK YEAH" moment for everyone whose stuck around this long. This track is so good, and I really do think it would have been the perfect choice for this fight.

It's not even my favorite, if I was just choosing favorites I'd have picked Mental Meta Metal or A Girl Named Tex.

What have we learned? Why Were We Here?

Red vs Blue is a show with a lot of really fantastic music in it's book, and a really strong history of musical callbacks - particularly with the Meta's theme and how it's so closely tied to the motif Trocadero liked to use as "Wash Trauma" music. Making a clever callback to a song you've used before can help strengthen the thing you're trying to get across to your audience. I think it's somehing that Restoration really struggles with, which is pretty sad. But I hope you found my deep dive / analysis of what could have been interesting.

I'd really like to dive in and do a long reflection about the series as a whole, but as it stands this is around 3,000 words and if I get started on that, this post will never end. I'll probably work on that once i've actually Finished this rewatch.

Thank you for reading all of that!

[heretherebedork]

I am struggling with having so many shows giving me So Many Feels this week because all my anticipation is getting mixed up and it's weird to be thinking about how holy shit Wandee Goodday is TODAY but also having this pit in my stomach about the end of Only Boo tomorrow and how wondering how the show is going to give us these happy endings and then that same pit goes back to Wandee and five more episode dear lord and then it jumps to the final three episodes of My Stand In and the wonder about Tong's downfall and then I skitter back to Only Boo and Tae and Yos and what the fuck the show is going to do with them and then suddenly I'm thinking about Sunset Vibes and the question of fate and love and then lies and when Sam will be revealed (I think it will happen after romantic entanglement occurs) and then I find myself thinking about Wandee Goodday again wondering if Kao will get a romance or if having him looking for one at the start was just a tease for us and then I suddenly remember that We Are is just way too sweet and I start to wonder wtf is gonna happen for four more episode and also when ChainPun is gonna get the screentime they deserve and then I'm back to omfg today is Wandee Goodday and I go back to refreshing youtube.

[semi-sketchy]

Well, that's Sonic X finished. Yes I still really like the show.

Firstly, season 3 is a bit mixed. The first half it struggles a bit to find it's footing with the rhythmic "new planet, Metarex stole the egg but are still there for some reason, fight ensues". It gets pretty tedious. Honestly, at this point I was missing the human characters and their antics. Like Mr. Stewart shadowing everyone as if he was coy, Rouge having Topaz to bounce off of, Ella and Chuck... I wanted something to spice it up.

However, the second half, after the Emeralds get scattered again, it starts being less formulaic, having reveals and turns into some good entertainment.

Although, Eggman stuck out to me as being particularly not great this season. First half when he's causing trouble and such is fine, but then when he becomes a sort-of double agent and starts looking out for Sonic and his friends...I just didn't like that for Eggman. It was framed more as fatherly-oversight instead of Eggman perusing his best interests. It only happened a few times in season 1 and 2, so it was easier to overlook there, but it's prevalent enough in season 3 for me to take issue with it.

On the plus side, Shadow is actually enjoyable! I didn't care for how Shadow (or SA2 in general) were done in season 2, but I liked what they did with him here. He's kinda neutral, clashing with Sonic and trying to kill Cosmo, but at the end of the day his interests are still to stop the Metarex and save the universe. He's cold, but his actions show he does care, he just has his own way of doing things. Plus he is a bit of a showoff.

I still think season 1 overall is my favorite with 3 in the middle and lastly 2. Man the Discotek subtitles made season 2 worse...

I also went into this biased that the changes between the dub and sub were negligible. Perhaps because the dub isn't as fresh in my mind as when I formed that opinion, but the sub is definitely my preferred version now. I prefer the Japanese voice cast (I wish Cream could have an English VA as good as her Japanese X one, high pitched yet so soft spoken...it's so easy on the ears) and the music is so much better.

The biggest difference for me is Chris. I actually liked him. I can't exactly narrow down why, he used to annoy me, but that wasn't an issue this time. Maybe I've grown up, perhaps the writing frames him better in the sub, maybe it's this specific translation, I can't tell.

Are the dialogue changes that huge? No. Don't get me wrong, there is a difference, however the show's plot is still the same and understandable in the dub, which, makes sense. The story has to follow the animation. Like I said earlier, the translations between these two languages is somewhat subjective and sometimes sentences need to be shortened or made longer to fill the space. That's why plenty of lines carry the same or similar meaning but are said in a different way.

Yes, the writing is better in Japanese, hell everything is better in the Japanese version and I think that applies to season 3 the most. Could I recommend it over the dub? Easily. If possible, watch the original version. Although if you really can't stand subtitles and want the audio in English (or only have access to YouTube where the Japanese version doesn't have English subs), is the dub acceptable? Also yes, it'll do.

You do have to deal with the censorship in the dub, though I've been aware of it since I was a kid. The animation censorship is silly and stupid, but aside from Chris getting flung in season 2, I didn't think the cut scenes removed much of value. However, while I didn't like the beginning of an episode reusing the end of a previous one during bingeing, when coming back to watch more after a few days, it was a nice refresher. A reminder of a time when you had to wait a week to see what happened next instead of bingeing an entire season in a day. I liked it even though it isn't necessary in this day and age.

As said before, this was not my first time watching X in Japanese. I saw it several years ago and this series rewatch was moreso an excuse to say I finally used the Blu-rays I spent money on.

If I had to rate it, 8/10, maybe even an 8.5. Solid show where there's some very high highs and the lows are still quite enjoyable while the cast is mostly faithful to their game personalities. There's a reason this show has reigned supreme in the fandom for such a long time.

Coming off of Frontiers, it was a nice reminder that yeah, Sonic is still good.

Anyways, I guess next is Boom, although I rewatched it like a year or so ago when I bought the steelbook. I've seen it so many times, I've practically got the show memorized by now. Spoilers: I like it a lot.

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression Vol 18 - Making teru teru bōzu (2023/05/29)

(*Long post including:

•Kaoru's mixed feelings regarding Hanshin's winning streak.

•Making fun of Tasai

•Kaoru pulling a prank on Joe

•Kaoru's limited sewing and Home Economics ability*)

K: Hi, we are here with The Freedom of Expression, I'm Kaoru from Dir en grey.

J: And I'm Joe Yokomizo.

T: I'm Tasai from Tokyo Sports.

J: Ok, we're off!

K: Haha, you're suddenly full of energy. (*To Tasai*) Before coming on air he was almost sleeping, right?

J: No, I was just conserving my energy for the main show.

K: Weren't you just sleepy after eating too much?

J: Haha, no, but wasn't that bento curry incredible?!

K: Yeah, it was good.

T: It was.

J: According to you Tasai, it was some kind of luxury curry, right?

T: Yeah, I've heard about it.

J: I'd like it if we have that every time.

T, K: Haha

J: That would up the excitement.

T: You'd just get sleepy, Joe.

K: He's suddenly full of energy, until just now he was nodding off.

J: Haha, its my age, I cant help it! What about Tasai, changing his clothes before coming on air?!

T: I'm Link from The Legend of Zelda.

K: Hahaha

J: No, you look like some kind of assembly member trying to get elected or something. We just recorded the members only video, and he took it off after that. He just had a regular black t shirt on instead, so I thought he would wear that for the live broadcast. But then before we came on air, he was like, 'Right, time to get changed!'

T: Haha, what's wrong with it??

J: I really don't get why you would wear that. Anyway, here we are, live again after 2 months. Leader, do you remember where we were last time?

K: Fussa!

J: That's right, we were in Fussa having a walk down Base Side Street. Tell us again what you thought of it.

K: It was fun. Its been a while since we were last on location.

J: Was that actually our first time on location for Niconama?

K: Uh, didn't we go to Kagurazaka?

J: Oh, did we?

T: Yeh, we went for a walk there...

Oh, that was for Youtube?

J: Right.

K: I don't think we went anywhere since then.

J: I was right! haha

T: But the blue sky in Fussa was great, right?

J: Oh yeh. Leader, did you end up buying anything?

K: Yeah, I bought some cargo pants.

J: Right, yeh. Have you been wearing them?

K: Yes, I have been.

J: Ohh. After we finished filming, me and Tasai ended up going for gyoza and beer near Fussa station.

K: Yeah, I had other business so I had to leave.

T: Yeah, I thought you would envy us, haha.

J: You sent him a photo!

K: Yeah, but I thought 'Chinese??' haha

J: Not American at all, right? We put so much emphasis on being next to the American base, but ended up eating Chinese food, haha.

K: It looked good though.

J: Yeah, it was. So, while we were in Fussa, we bought 5 cups to give away as presents to viewers. To enter the lottery to win one of them, please check out the show's blog, the deadline is 5/31 (Wed). There's the link. Oh, someone said they already entered!

T: Ah, thank you!

J: You still have time, so don't miss out. Ah, someone wrote, 'I hope I win!'. Oh, and 'Kaoru suits khaki with his brown hair'.

T: Yes, I thought he looks very cool like this.

K: No, I think this is cooler. (*Tasai's shirt*)

T: Haha, stop messing with me.

J: Leader, do you wanna wear that shirt?!

K: Hahaha

T: Come on, stop teasing me!

J: Would you dare wear that shirt?!

T: I'm gonna get mad in a minute!

K: Hahaha

J: I don't think I'd have the courage to wear that! Actually, lets ask the viewers, should we give this shirt away as a present?

T: Haha, I'll give it to them! If anyone wants it, they can have it!

J: 'Its refreshing on Tasai, its good'

T: Hey, see! The viewers are kind, its only you making fun of me, Joe.

J: Nahh...'Kaoru's hair colour looks brighter than at the lives'...'Kaoru suits khaki', look khaki is popular on Leader...'I w..w..want it!' Can we not do a last min survey on how many want it?

K: (*seeing a comment*) Ah yeh, its the colour of zunda! (*mashed soy beans*).

J: Of course it is! Should we put a survey out to see who wants it? If more people want it than dont want it, we could give it away as a present. Haha, 'Its like grass', 'Tasai san, melon juice', and someone said its like a frog. Ok, we will do a survey. Do you want Tasai's zunda shirt? It'll be unwashed. We'll send it complete with Tasai's smell.

T: This is embarrassing.

J: By the way, how much did you pay for that, Tasai?

T: I don't know I just bought it with one click.

J: Oh, on Amazon? You should at least shop on Zozotown.

T: Why?

J: I don't know, haha. Its more stylish. Ok, here's the survey. If we use Tasai's tshirt as a present would you like it, or dont you need it? 'Tasai's fragrance', 'Will Tasai sign it?'

T: No, I wil not, haha.

J: I wonder what the answer will be....

Ohhh! 56.2% don't need it. They are all still normal people!

T: Yeah, but 43.8% wanted it!

J: No, this result means the viewers are still normal, thank goodness. Imagine if more had wanted it. Thats a relief. Anyway, the cups are still up for grabs, so check out the blog before 5/31. So, today we are not here to talk about Tasai's shirt, or melons. Lets move onto baseball.

T: Hanshin are strong, right?

J: Aren't they winning too much?

K: Ahhh, its tough.

J: Why??

K: Its tough..

T: Yeh, why??

K: I've never experienced them winning this much!

J, T: Hahaha

K: I don't know how to respond to this. They've never had this many wins!

J: It feels wrong, right?

K: Yeah, but I don't know why.

T: Ohh, thats how it feels to win now?

K: Cause I end up thinking this is gonna be their peak.

J: For fans of a team who are in the habit of losing, its not a good sign.

K: Yeah, I get sad thinking about how it wont last.

T: You should be happy!

J: You can't enjoy it?

K: Yeh, well, everyday Im like 'Yess!' when they win, but then I think about it, and Im like, 'Oh no, they already peaked'.

T: But Hanshin have good pitchers this year, they are a good, strong team.

J: I usually know nothing about it, but I was staying in a hotel the other day for an event, and I got to the hotel, put the tv on, and this first thing that came on was the sports news. I saw that Hanshin were in the top spot with a 6 game difference, and I thought, wow!

T: What is it? 8 consecutive wins currently?

K: Yes, 8. Before this 8 consecutive wins they lost one game, but they had another 7 consecutive wins before that.

J: Omg

T: Isn't is an exciting month?!

K: Oh yeh, its been great. You know Die is a Giants fan, he was like, 'Tch, shit!!', and I'm like 'Good good', haha.

J: In the dressing room, right? Die' going 'Tch!' and you're going 'Yesss'!

K: Yeah, if he's like 'Aghh, no!', I'm like 'Niceee', hahaha.

T: Hanshin have won three games against the Giants, they showed just enough strength to win, especially with those pitchers.

J: Which Hanshin players are you rooting for?

K: Hmm, probably numbers 1 and 2, Tsukamoto and Nakano.

T: Then there is Murakami, and then the guy from Softbank...

K: Ōtake.

T: Yeh, Ōtake. His ERA is 0, with 6 wins and no losses.

K: Yeh, and recently, in the 7th innings of the game, a chance came while the score was even...

T: Yeh, it was 0-0.

K: Yeh, so a chance came and Ōtake was sent to the bench, because he wasn't breaking the tie. The next pitcher broke the tie, and Ōtake was spotted crying on the bench!

T: He was overjoyed.

J: It was that dramatic?!

T: Yeh, it made headlines. Overjoyed!

J: Well, Leader, since you are on tour, you won't have been going to the stadiums, right?

K: No, I havnt.

J: Ah, just on TV. Ah, comments saying 'It was cute', 'Crying!'...Please keep sending us your comments, and we may even have more random surveys too. For now the viewers don't seem to want Tasai's shirt.

T: No, but 43% did!

J: Haha, they were probably just being kind.

T: Haha, yeh.

J: Please send us your thoughts and questions in the comments, and if you are using twitter, you can use the tag TFOE. So, you already know, but the first part of this show is free, and the second part is for members only. If you join, you can watch this in the archives for a year, and you can also enjoy extra members only videos, so please use the link at the top of the screen, Leader, point to it! Thank you - to join, and enjoy the show to the end. Now, some people may be worried that we are going to spend the whole hour talking about baseball, but don't worry. That is not the case. We may touch on it occasionally, but its June soon and the rainy season is starting. Not quite yet in Kanto, but I think it might be there already in Okinawa and Kyushu. But since Hanshin are in great shape at the moment, you don't want it to rain, right, Leader?

K: Yeah, well there are a lot of interleage games...the dome stadiums are...huh? How many are domes?

T: Uhh, Softbank, Ham, Orixs...about 4.

K: Yeh, so I think it'll be ok even if it rains.

J: Do we need to change the plan for today's show then?? Can't you just pretend that the rain is gonna cause trouble? haha

K: Haha, Koshien isn't a dome though.

J: Right?! You don't want the team's flow to be broken by games postponed due to rain, right? Don't dampen our idea, Kaoru! Anyway, the plan for this week is us making Teru teru bōzus in the style of TFOE!! So that means, not the regular white type that everyone knows, but ones with a little more character, fitting with this show. We have some materials here in front of us, and Tasai, you have string, right? So the first half will be making characteristic teru teru bōzus, and in the second part we will do some psychopath quizzes. Its not only baseball today, we have loads. So as we have the goods here, we can continue talking while we are crafting.

T: Oh, someone just commented, 'There were Dir Teru teru bōzus before too, right?'

K: I think there were, yeh.

J: Well, this will be something to look forward to, as well as the psychopath quizzes. About that, of course we are each going to take a quiz to see which one of us is the biggest psychopath, but viewers can join in too, and test yourselves. I mean, I know a lot of you sad you didn't want Tasai's shirt, so you may not score too badly..

K: Haha, he's not gonna let this go.

T: Joe, Im gonna make you wear this.

J: No no, after the show, please. Hey, Leader should try it on!

T: No no no, you! haha

J: Ah, seriously? haha. Hey, but Leader, who do you think is the biggest psychopath?

K: Definitely Tasai.

J: Yeah.

T: Eh?! Why?!

J: You're a Tasaicopath.

T: I would say its you, Joe.

K: He is the type of guy who...*???*

K: Thats right!

T: Isnt that interesting, though?

K: Its something!

J: But based on these live broadcasts that we do, even the staff think there is something about you, Tasai.

T: Why?? haha

J: Maybe thats where the psychopath idea came from.

T: Haha, when I looked at the script, it says 'Talk about how wierd Tasai is'. Its all due to me!

K: Hahahaha

T: They didn't even write 'Tasai san', just 'Tasai'? They were commenting on how strange you are after filming last time.

K: This task is for Tasai then, really.

T: Ah, great.

J: Yes, it will reveal more of Tasai's uniqueness.

K: He needs time to think about his answers though.

J: Yes, so we will get these teru teru bōzus out of the way first. We can talk while we make, Hanshin talk or such.

K: Yes.

J: Leader, which materials will you choose?

K: I choose one of these?

J: Yeah, this is another good way of expressing personality. Ah, but yeh, no alcohol today.

T: I wanna have a drink while watching the baseball again on the show.

K: Yeah, I wanna do that again.

T: It'll be fun this year, at Koshien and such.

J: You know, if they win ...(*something about calling players over*) Will that happen this year?

T: Hmm

J: And with Tokyo Sports' connections...

you are a sports newspaper after all! Can't you do that?

T: Well, we do sometimes...but..

J: Ah, the fee?

T: Well, im not sure.

J: Send some of your chu-hi as a favour.

K: Tokyo Sports has its own chu-hi??

J: Yeh, they just released it.

T: Yeah, and its 13%

K: Oh, great!

J: Chu-hi from hell!

K: Bring some for me to try next time!

T: Well, there's none left in the office!

K: Its selling too well??

J: Or everyone at work is just stealing it?

T: Haha, yeh. Hiranabe had the lot!

J: No no, im sure it must be selling well. Hey, but 13% is impressive, right?

T: Only for serious drinkers, haha.

J: For sure. Are you trying to sell it as a set with the gyōza?

T: Yeah.

J: Ahh. Hey Leader, you chose some cute fabric.

K: Well, I don't know about that.

T: Joe, what will you go for?

J: Well, its me so I'll probably go for black. But it doesn't have to be just one colour. We can combine colours.

K: Yeah.

J: I'll have the yellow too. But as for Hanshin, they are not just winning by fluke are they?

K: No, they are a really strong team.

T: They are keeping it really cool. They are not just putting pedal to the metal and going all out. They are going quite steadily.

K: Yeah.

T: They do still have days where they lose, but their wins are steadily taking them higher.

J: You are not worried then, Leader?

K: Agh, well they are too strong! It wouldn't be so bad if they were just a little bit strong, but at this rate, they are gonna plummet eventually.

J: They are doing too well?

T: This year their pitchers are too good.

J: Plus if they have few injuries, that helps.

K: Yeah, but it is a bit scary.

J: Its scary seeing the team so strong?

T: Yeah, cause they are used to losing.

J: Its not impossible for them to continue this winning streak though?

K: No, its not.

J: And the players are young, right?

K: Yeah. They are the youngest team out of the 12 main teams.

J: Oh so they wont tire out as easily? Or is that not the case? The older players dont tire out more quickly?

K: Well, I expect they do, but they know how to play to their strengths.

J: Ah, yeah, they have the experience.

K: We cant really know how they do it.

J: Yeah. You know, I can't even remember how to make teru teru bōzus.

K: Me neither.

J: The staff made some earlier, oh those look good. These really show your personality. Ah, I think I'll use some of that foil too. We also have these sticky-on eyes here too....So the team are young...but hey, a team in good condition will be noticed, right?

K: Yeah

J: So the other teams will....Oh Leader, you are approaching this task really freely again. *looking at Kaoru making a triangle shape*

T: I think Yokohama and the Giants are the teams to be wary of.

J: Ah, rival teams, yeh?

T: Yeah. Yakult has a lot of injured players.

J: Oh! Yakult are no competition.

K: They lost 10 games in a row.

J: Really? Wow. What about the Pacific League?

T: Lotte are winning there.

J: Really??

T: Yeah, Yoshii san is their new manager.

J: Yoshii of the Kintetsu Buffalos?

K: Yeh yeh yeh.

T: He was with Kintetsu, Yakult, Mets...

J: Oh yeh, he used to be with Mets too!...Leader, you do know we are supposed to be making teru teru bōzu, right? That's an interesting shape, haha.

T: *holding up bright green string* I'm not letting anyone have this. This is mine.

K: Hahaha.

J: Yeh, don't worry, we don't need it.

T: Haha

J: We really don't, haha.

T: Oh, that hurts, haha.

J: I wonder if the viewers know how to make these.

T: Shall we do a survey?

J: Yeah, have you ever made a teru teru bōzu? A simple question like that?

T: Yeah, we don't want to make it too hard for the staff.

J: What if we annoy them too much? haha. Ahh, this is difficult.

T: Yeah.

J: I've only ever thought about making these with paper. Ok, please answer the survey, 'Have you ever made a teru teru bōzu?' Yes, or no. Surely most people have, right?

T: I don't think I ever have.

J: Really?? Leader, have you?

K: I have at school.

J: What did you hope for when you made it?

K: Well, it was just part of a lesson at school.

J: Oh, like as an art project? Ok, lets look at the result of this survey. Oh, 96.4% have made one before.

T: Oh, that's quite a lot.

J: 3.6% haven't so there are still some who haven't. I see.... Are teru teru bōzus only in Japan, do other countries have them? I've never seen them overseas.

T: I think we need some more questions or comments. This is getting too serious. Ask some simple things to Kaoru.

J: Yep, we'll pick them up. Ah, we are already over 20mins....'What is teru teru bōzu in English?' Hm, what is it?

T: Isn't it Sunny Sunny Boy?

J: Ah, that sounds about right! Haha, Sunny Sunny Boy.

T: It sounds like a song lyric, haha. 'Are you good at sewing?'

K: Uh, no, i don't sew.

J: Oh, apparently teru teru bōzus came from China originally.... 'Kaoru, what were your grades like for Home Economics at school?'

K: I don't remember Home Economics.

J: We did do that at school though, right?....'Have you ever made your own clothes?'

K: Made on my own? No, I don't think I have.

T: 'Can you sew on a button yourself?'

K: Have I ever sewed on a button?

T: Yeah, like these on your sleeve.

K: Ohhh, I actually have done that before, at school!

J: In Home Economics?

K: Yes.

T: But not since becoming an adult?

K: No.

J: 'Didn't you used to go to Yuzawaya a lot?'

K: What's Yuzawaya? Oh, that store that sells fabric rolls and stuff? Yeh, I used to go with the costume designer to choose fabric.

T: 'You used to make costumes too, right?'

K: No, I don't think I did.

J: Did you say that in an interview once? Ok, so we are still taking questions... Agh!!! What was that?! An elastic band?? That gave me a shock!! (*Kaoru deliberately twisted up some elastic bands and rubbed them on Joe's arm, pulling the hairs, I guess*)

T: This one (Kaoru) is the psychopath!

J: Right?!

K: Hahaha (*does it again*)

J: Agh, that stings! I thought it was *??????*

K: Hahaha

J: That gave me a shock! What a total prankster!

T: Yeah, haha.

J: 'Prankster Kaoru', right?! Ah, that was a shock, I gotta watch out from now on....'Cute', haha.

T: *reading a comment* Have you eaten Tenmusu on tour, Kaoru?

K: Yeah, I'm gradually able to tolerate shrimp.

T: Even though you hated it so much?

K: Yeh, but actually, after that tenmusu I tried ebichiri (shrimp in chilli sauce) in a bento or something, and I couldn't tolerate that.

J: Ahh, I see. It depends what you have it with.

K: I don't know what it is really.

J: But you are slowly getting used to it? Hey, we should do an episode trying different shrimp foods sometime.

K: Noo, if we are gonna do that we might as well do it with food that actually tastes good.

T: Someone asked, 'Did you both go to the Zepp Haneda shows?' We did!

J: Yep. Tasai, you went on the first of the two days, didn't you? I went on Tuesday.

T: Well, we can't really say anything about it since the tour isn't finished yet.

K: Haha, he said you went on the first day, and he went on Tuesday. What does that mean?? haha.

J: Two days being the first day and Tuesday, haha. I mean I went on the second day.

T: It was good though.

J:....Tasai, what are you doing?

T: Making a teru teru bōzu.

J: Ehh?

T: Someone wrote 'scribbling noise', haha. You already made the body, Kaoru? That's quick!

J: These are like works of art we're making. Someone asked, 'Are you using the green string?'

T: Yeh, this string is mine.

J: Haha, don't worry. You can take it home if you want....'A curse ritual', haha, right...'zubōteruteru', 'Tasaicopath is showing'. Leader, yours is looking great.

T: Yeah.

J: Its really artistic. You guys are doing well, I'm struggling.

T: Is it ok if we finish these in the first part?

J: Yeh, its fine. Cause we have the psychopath tests in the second part.

T: We made that Christmas Tree together before too, didn't we?

J: Yeah, that was great. I think that was a pretty unique creation.

K: Yeah.

J: As usual I can't remember anything specific about it though.

K: Hahaha

J: Yeh, I bet you don't remember either!

K: I do remember! We used it for the karuta too.

J: Ah, I'm forgetting everything these days. Well, we are still making these, but its just about at the 30min mark, so we will have to end the first part of the show. We will move on to the members only content next, where you can enjoy seeing us taking psychopath tests. Here's how you can watch the second part. The first part of this show is free for anyone to watch, but the second part is for members only. So you have to be a member if you want to watch to the end. If you become a member, you can watch the live broadcasts in the archive as much as you like for one year, and we will also release another members only video in a few days. We always try out interesting things in these videos, the one we recorded today is really funny, right? One staff member said their stomach hurt from laughing.

T: Really?

J: Yeah, so please check that out. Ok, here's how to join. There should be a blue link at the top of your screen now. Leader, point to it! Thank you, even while holding the glue, haha. If you click this link, you will get this page asking you to choose your payment method. Choose, your method, click proceed, enter your details, and then you are good to go. If you haven't yet joined, please do so to enjoy the show fully. Ok, Leader, do you have any announcements?

K: Uh, we have lives in Osaka and Nagoya next week, no this week. Nagoya is fan club only, but I think there might still be some tickets left for Osaka, so please come along if you can.

J: Ok, time to end this part. The screen will change for a minute, but the members part will start soon, so just wait there. Ok, see you soon for more TFOE! Bye!

[stoopid-turtle]

My Turtle Origin Story

Hi. I'm a rando on the internet. I make stuff up for fun and giggles. Nothing I say is real. Everything is fake. I'm fake. I bet you're fake. Fakity fake-fake.

Here's the intro post for this whole thing.

That being said, I got into The Untamed after reading MDZS last year. I'd never watched a c-drama before, though my wife and I have watched some k-dramas and j-dramas before. I was fascinated by a BL adaption in a country where gay relationships are censored.

I'm a nerd at heart, so I wanted to learn more about just...what this was about. How did this get made? Was it just for $$$? Did the people behind it take it seriously or was it a big joke? A cash-grab on a wildly popular web-novel? How was it received? How on earth was it discussed when the main relationship is a gay romance?

So I started watching the behind the scenes footage (bts) and interviews. And reading a bunch. And watching more. And reading more. Basically, I immersed myself into the swamp trying to figure this whole thing out.

My big fear going in was that there'd be a bunch of no-homo stuff in the bts. That nobody took it seriously. That the male actors were icked out by the minimal amount of subtext they did.

So I found it refreshing from the start to see that wasn't the vibe behind the scenes. Honestly, it reminded me a lot like the vibe with Xena. Back in the 1990s, an explicit lesbian couple just wasn't a thing on TV. The network wouldn't allow it.

So the show got as close as they possibly could with what ended up being referred to as "subtext". Xena went way further than The Untamed (Xena and Gabrielle are canon soulmates who have multiple kisses and swear a life commitment to each other). But behind the scenes was a cast and crew who genuinely wanted to show as much of the romance as possible. Who wanted to push the envelope as far as they could go. After a couple seasons, with the actresses' chemistry, they knew it was an epic love story, and they treated it as such.

Were there jokes? Yeah. The actresses had a running joke of flubbing a scene by saying "Now come here for a cuddle". There's a fantastic outtake of Lucy Lawless jokingly going in for a kiss at the end of a scene. But it wasn't a mocking atmosphere. It was sincerely felt and experienced, and it meant a lot to little gay me to see that in Xena. It felt similar to see the same spirit in the Untamed background. Much like Xena (the show) included an episode where she commissions Sappho to write a love poem for Gabrielle, The Untamed snuck in little hints with chickens and historical gay erotica. They took it as far as they feasibly could without the two male leads actually physically interacting much. (I'm putting aside the whole mess where they tried to make WQ a love interest)

There was an immediate difference between Xena and the Untamed behind the scenes, though. The actresses in Xena were close friends. They attended each other's wedding. Had great chemistry. But nobody ever thought they were a real couple, for various reasons. There is 0 chance they are or were ever a couple. Even with all the gay jokes behind the scenes, it's obvious.

As soon as I started looking up TU bts, Youtube started recommending this mysterious bjyx stuff to me.

"Aha!" I thought. "Is this what they call 'fanservice'?"

(I'm sorry. I know I'm not funny)

Okay, so I've been in fandom before with fictional characters. I've always been aware of real-person fiction and had mixed feelings about it. I've also known that some bands do gay fanservice and that BL live-action stuff often comes with fanservice. I'd never really seen it, though.

Still, what I could see in the videos wasn't THAT fanservice-y. A lot of bickering. Singing. Fighting. Lewd jokes. Making faces at each other. Completely nonsensical conversations. Not a lot of, like, handholding or kissing stuff like I'd expect from fanservice.

At the same time, the videos seemed to make wild leaps sometimes in showing that these two - GG and DD - were a thing. Much like the Xena actresses joked with each other about their characters being a couple, GG and DD and others joked about WWX and LWJ being a couple. Sometimes the videos seemed to conflate moments like that--clear jokes--with actual coupleness.

So I kinda dismissed them at first. I mean, it's part of fandom. Some people get into it. Not for me.

But I was still interested in the actors. I wondered how they got the roles. What they thought of them. What they thought about the gay elements.

So, again, reading and whatnot.

It's impossible to read about this stuff without coming across bjyx and turtles. That's where most of the background is discussed in English, honestly. So I read that. Usually kinda putting aside whatever they were trying to imply. Just trying to figure out more about the political situation. The vibe of the actors.

But as I watched and read, these bjyx candies

just

kept

coming.

Some easily dismissed. Some kinda compelling if you squint. Some that required some thought.

I watched a bunch of DD's other stuff (I guess my bias is for him? I adored DD from the start). Took note of his, um, clear lack of interest in women. I mean, yeah, as an idol, I'm sure he didn't want to cause a scandal by acting too familiar. But he seemed even more standoffish than that warranted. It was often commented on by...well, everybody around him.

And then I hit a bts scene that left me gawking. I said I wouldn't link the bts, so I'll just describe this scene. I've only come across it twice in two different bts compilations with slightly different translations, but the gist is the same.

GG and DD are in Cloud Recesses clothes. They're on a brightly lit green screen stage. The camera is shaky and the sound isn't super-great. (I've watched this so many times, I don't even need to look at the video to write down the interaction. I have it memorized)

DD: So flirty. (The translator notes that he's using northern slang here and I think that it came across differently to GG than he intended)

GG: *sarcastic thumbs up as if to say, "Um, rude, but ok"*

DD: You don't like it? *a moment* So beautiful. (the translator notes that this literally means "fairy-like")

GG: *a little swoon. then he stops* No, this word doesn't fit.

DD: Why doesn't it fit?

GG: It just doesn't fit WWX.

DD: I'm not talking about WWX. I'm talking about XZ.

GG: *shy smile with adorable nose crinkle*

DD: So beautiful.

Okay, I was floored. There went my whole, "joking about the role" ambiguity. DD was just straight-up flirting and GG was just straight-up accepting and enjoying it.

That kinda rearranged my brain.

Okay, so they were flirting with each other. But fanservice, right? Maybe the bts were staged?

So I read some more about the context of the releases and the boys' reactions to some of those releases. And I read more about what CP fanservice typically entails (shared endorsements, overt physical interaction, an abrupt ending when promo was done).

None of these matched up with what I was watching.

But still.

Like, seriously?

A huge TV hit based on a BL series, and the main leads are actually dating? That's...that's a story. That's the plot for a book. It's not something that really happens. Come on, now.

Then I came across the other candy that left me gawking. Old cow eats young grass.

I'm not gonna link. If you know, you know.

That's not even fanservice. That's just a couple bickering with each other.

Once I turned that corner, looking at the array of candies...even with the ones I don't take seriously, it just became...well, there's this thing about preponderance of evidence at a certain point. It doesn't mean any one candy is absolutely true. But it definitely indicates a more general truth. BJYXSZD

This is all fiction, though, and I'm a stoopid turtle.

Onward to the next post: Consuming Candies Pt 1: DD and GG are le Gay

[ithinkabouttzu]

Take all the time you need <333 for my ship request, id like a male ship with the pacific please! i'm filipina, 5'6''-7 range, a Leo sun, Taurus moon and Cancer rising. Im in my last year of college in liberal studies. I love to watch tv, youtube videos, read, write fics and poetry, draw and paint. Im listening to a lot of emo/punk rock music, but right now its goth rock music ! I squeeze in kpop music here and there; my fave kpop groups are blackpink, twice, (g)i-dle and red velvet! My fashion is a mix of grunge/punk and goth (its mostly all black and dark colours at this point) Im currently saving money for the TWICE concert right now so Im working really hard. I'm kind of introverted and sarcastic most of the time. I have faded copper red hair cos my jet black roots are growing. I used to wear euphoria themed makeup but its kind of altered to a new style due to my dark phase lol. I also love learning French, Portuguese and Tagalog whenever I can bc I would love to travel one day. I hope this is ok!! <3

Yes thank you sm for the request lovely!! 💗

I ship you with…

Eugene Sledge!

Song recommendation: Only - LeeHi

-Okay cute couple alert 🚨🚨🚨🚨‼️

- hear me out, but y’all would be like adorable and y’all’s looks would compliment each other so nicely omg 😫

- Black Cat gf and Golden Retriever bf type couple fr

- Right off the bat I think he would find you so pretty! Like he would be so nervous to come up to you because you’re like super cool and edgy and he’d be scared to mess something up or embarrass himself LOL

- He LOVES how different your style is from his! Like you’re so different from the basic girls he sees everyday so you would be honestly so refreshing to admire for him LOL

- One day he’d be just like looking around, and he’d find your drawings, and he find would them so pretty! I think he would be fascinated at how good you are at drawing

- I think he would find you so damn cool in general! Like you can speak multiple languages, you can draw amazing, your gorg, and you’re a good writer. (his dream girl omg)

- He would love your painting SOOO much, and everytime you draw something new he wants to be one of the first people to see it (he’s a supportive bae) like he honestly thinks you’re good at everything tbh.

- He’d like your sarcastic humor A BUNCH, he’s not very good at sarcasm but he likes to hear it from you, also he doesn’t like when anyone else is sarcastic BUT you (snafu’s jealous LMAO 😭)

- What a cute introverted couple AHHH i’m shipping so hard

- One date night, y’all had the idea to like draw each other which is so cute tbh, but like you actually draw him so well and it looks realistic while his on the other hand is literally a stick figure LOL (it’s the thought that counts though)

- He would be such a thoughtful and sweet boyfriend though 🥺, like if you’ve been wanting something for a long time ( like those twice tickets for example) He would def by those tickets for you to go to and he’s just so cute omg 😭

- Or like if you wanted a certain type of filipino meal he would try to make it for you and surprise you with it, he would get all the ingredients and he so serious on cooking the best meal ever, dude turns into Gordon Ramsey for a bit LOL

- Omg i could see y’all just traveling together and getting to learn all these different cultures and customs y’all would have so much fun

- Also I could just see you trying to teach him some french, bc like he thinks the language is so beautiful, and he is so attentive when you teach him and ends calling you little pet names in french

- goth rock might not be his fav but he’s def into listening to it when hes with you, he really doesn’t mind if it means you enjoy it

- canon: one time, he tried to write a romantic poem for you on valentine’s day, and failed horribly 😭 but it was so cute because you could tell he tried hard on it, even though it was adorable and it surely made your heart melt

- Y’all would have the cutest little stay - in date nights omg, I think gene would set everything up, snacks and all. you guys would be like watching your fav tv shows with some of the best cuddles EVER

- But overall y’all would be such a cute couple and i think y’all would get along like so gooddddd 😫 y’all would even each other out so nicely and yalls relationship would be so smooth and steady!!

Thank you again for your request and I hope you like it 🤞🏼💗!!!

[tonispencerart]

When Art Goes 'Wrong' Part Two

Once I had done all of the wooden slices properly primed with PVA glue and gesso (lightly sanding with sandpaper in between each layer. I used two layers of PVA glue and three layers of gesso) I realised that I had basically forgotten how to mix and paint skin tones in acrylic paint. So, while the final layer of gesso was drying, I opened up my laptop and went straight to YouTube. I kind of love YouTube. You can learn all kinds of stuff on YouTube. Knowing this, I went looking for videos on how to mix skin tones with acrylic paint. I used a page of my sketchbook and gave myself a crash course in skin tones. It was amazing how much I'd forgotten but it all came back again soon enough.

And really, you don't need much, which is nice! Actually, that's true for most art, in my opinion. I have a limited paint selection because so much can be done with only a few colours. My main acrylic palette has the following colours: Red (usually a Primary red or the closest to it) Yellow Yellow Ochre Blue (typically an Ultramarine or Primary blue) Burnt Sienna Burnt Umber Black White You'll notice there's a black. While I would normally mix my own black paint, having a tube of black paint (I think it's a Lamp Black, but I'm not sure) can be useful. I almost never use black paint straight from the tube, though. I add in other colours to brighten it and make it pop and more interesting. And you can mix skin tones with them. With this new/re-learned knowledge, I grabbed a reference image and started mixing up paint. About those reference images... I learned the hard way to have far more than you think you need because, if you're like me, you'll definitely ruin them. Lots of them. So I quickly got into the habit of printing multiple copies of them. I cut one of them out and stuck it to my handy lightpad. I love this thing, too. I'm not always confident with sketching before painting, especially if it's a portrait where the need for accuracy is essential. My sketching and pencil skills go right out of the window then! I traced the image, making note of the values and where they were, flipped my tracing, and traced it again. I could then use this to rub on the other side of it with a pencil - hard - so that the image transferred to the wood. If I remember to, I flip the image before printing it, but sometimes I forget about this step. It looks a bit like this...

Once I refreshed my memory of mixing skin tones in acrylic paint, I started painting a wee portrait of Henry Creel on a wooden slice that had been prepped with my new best friend Gesso. And then it was time to mix the skin tones. This took far longer than I expected. But, with an extra reference image that I could mess up and ruin as much as I wanted/needed to, I made enough paint in each of the values I needed, according to the reference image. By the end of it, the image was mostly made of splodges of paint! It was useless as a reference image by that point, but it looked cool - in a weird way.

And it was going fine, even if some of it kind of scared me a bit. I had to keep telling myself to Just Trust The Process. But I enjoyed it and liked what I was painting for most of it... I got to this point, which, to my mind, was almost finished. And I was preparing to call the whole experiment a success.

And then I ruined EVERYTHING. I was trying to work out if it was dry enough for me to add the final touches. I poked it. And smudged it.

I then said several bad words, threw it into a box and told it, finally, to b**ger off, and went to bed mad as heck. And then realised it was about two in the morning...

I still haven't finished it, by the way... I'm still mad at it.

[theflixdiaryproject]

"you shake even the best of the people.. and burn the hair in their nose." - Havaldar Hatela

Hero (Salman Khan), a cheerful delivery man for A-Z company, accidentally uncovers a drug smuggling operation. after reporting it to his boss Khanna, things go awry, and police officer Vishal (Arbaaz Khan) gets entangled in the chaos. following a shooting incident, Vishal receives a heart transplant from Hero, who tragically dies. Hero’s ghost appears to Vishal, demanding revenge on his murderer Khanna.

read my review below (may contain spoilers):

rewatched February 23rd, 2022 on netflix

the Khan siblings - Salman, Arbaaz, and Sohail - bring a very personal touch to the movie. the whole thing has a homemade vibe, like a project done for fun. it’s not a masterpiece, but it has a charm that’s hard to ignore. I can tell they are enjoying themselves, which makes it kind of enjoyable to watch, even if it’s not perfect. this movie is not the kind where you need to think. it’s just pure comedy and randomness, so you should switch your brain off and just go with the flow. honestly, some parts are so bad, they end up being good. it’s the kind of silly fun that doesn’t take itself too seriously, which can be refreshing if you’re in the right mood. however, Salman Khan’s performance is hit-or-miss for me here. it feels like he’s trying too hard to channel Jim Carrey’s energy, but it doesn’t always land. the strange noises and exaggerated expressions are more cringy than funny, at least for me.

but on the other hand, the music in this movie is absolutely top-tier. songs like ��Hello Brother” and “Teri Chunnariya” are catchy and memorable. I still remember how my parents used to play them on cassette mix-tapes back in the day - even on youtube now! the songs still stick in our heads for decades. Rani Mukerji is another bright spot. she’s cute and lively, bringing a certain warmth to her character. it’s not groundbreaking, but it works, and I find her very likeable. the movie knows how to use her charm without overdoing it. I also remember being quite impressed with Arbaaz Khan’s entrance the first time I watched this. the way the movie sets him up as this heroic, gallant figure is almost like Tom Cruise, but it works for the drama. watching it again, though, I was like what the heck was I thinking back then? but, well, I was a pre-puberty kid, so of course I have childish view about what I want in my dream man. still, it has a nostalgic value for me. overall, Hello Brother is not a masterpiece, but it doesn’t try to be one. it’s silly, goofy, and full of moments that make you smile if you don’t take it too seriously. for me, it’s the definition of a watchable movie; fun in its own weird way, but not something I’d call great.

final verdict: I think it was okay/watchable

maturity rating: 10+ genre: action, comedy, fantasy, romance duration: 2h 19m (139 mins) country of origin: India language: Hindi screenplay: Sohail Khan major cast: Salman Khan, Rani Mukerji, Arbaaz Khan, Johny Lever

[dyandyan0]

starting new 08.26.2024

i start grad school tomorrow. i move to a new place for the third time in 5 years on sunday. i decided to make this blog because i have so many thoughts and stories to share that i always intend to write out, but i'm either too lazy to actually physically write them down or avoid writing it on my phone because i think the notes app just looks boring and i don't like typing on that small screen. but, it's 2 am and i had the sudden urge to make a tumblr to resolve this problem. this urge was triggered by me looking back at old "favorited" videos on my youtube channel that i've owned for about 13+ years. looking at content that i was inspired by when i was just an early preteen actually inspired me to get back on tumblr at my current age and start creating and sharing my life in a way that felt rewarding and... aesthetically pleasing to me on here. i also started scrapbooking recently, and have met more people that inspired to me to be more mindful and expressive, which led to me wanting to share on here also. writing in a blog also just seems a lot more intentional and less like i'm forcing my spam account followers to read my trauma dumps or random yaps on ig.

anyways, i start grad school tomorrow. i've been working in my hometown since i graduated from cpp back in the fall. living at home again since covid restrictions were lifted back in 2021 has actually been pretty healing. i liked my work while i was here, and most of the people i met there were actually super cool and made me feel welcome and good about myself. when i was sad, i was able to be so in the comfort of my own home. when i was happy, i was able to hang out with my friends from home within a moment's notice. i also got to save money and feel like my life had somewhat of a structure and destination for about 8 months.

at this point, memories of undergrad are starting to become scattered. i feel like i've lived 20 lives since i graduated high school. over the years, i traveled around all of southern california, and every location is attached to a different memory. some with friends, some with family, some with ex-lovers. they all signal a mix of emotions, mostly nostalgic and bittersweet. i spent the weekend in oc where i'm set to move, and on saturday i visited csuf for the first time. it was refreshing to be on a campus that wasn't cpp's ngl. but when i left the campus i ended up in the costa mesa area at ikea. the only time i had been to that ikea was on a date with a guy i used to see. it was actually a pretty funny memory, and was one of many positive memories with that person. after that, i drove my friend back to his place. on the way there, i passed the santa ana observatory. i saw tv girl back in fall of 2021 there with my ex. i had gotten the tickets for him as a gift, and as a little celebration for us since he was visiting home for the first time since moving. he moved all the way up north, and things were immediately very difficult for us once he left. i remember the concert finally feeling like a relief from the stress and anxiety of the distance. passing by the venue again felt bittersweet. sunday i went to the irvine spectrum center with my mom. i've been there many times over the years, but i remember the first time going there i went with my friend lisa, her boyfriend at the time, and their friend anthony. i was 18 at the time, and it was my first summer where i was actually allowed out of town to go to other cities with my friends. i remember going to all these new places during this summer, right before i was about to move out alone for the first time in the fall, and feeling like my life was finally starting.

walking around that mall and being revisited by that first memory there and how i felt seemed somewhat melancholic. if you had told me half the things that have happened since that time i wouldn't have believed you. but it was lk symbolic in my hyperactive mind that i was there again right before moving and attending a new school. despite whatever may have happened between the first time i went to that mall and now, i feel like i have to be grateful for the memories and experiences that ended up shaping me and bringing me to where i am today. i'm hoping to enter this new stage of my life with the same resiliency that i've shown in the past. the past two years have been so indescribably difficult. at times i feel like i just suffered in silence. but i feel more confident finally feeling that there is at least a small part of me that is slowly feeling like myself again and just happy to be alive, happy to have loved and to be loved.

i hope to update this blog often, and if you read all of this then i hope you have a good day :)

[catscratch231]

So this morning, I had a dream about being in the first Jurassic Park movie. mind you, I've never seen the whole movie and only a few clips. But I listened to this fan series on YouTube last night, and it more than likely was the cause of the whole dream.

So it was when dinosaurs got loose. There was a train going into a tunnel but stopped outside of it, and let's say that the guy who went into the tunnel was attacked by a raptor. His last moments were recorded on a wireless earbud, and it was of the of the night before, which showed me and my brother talking and laughing in his home eating dinner. It was so sad.

Next thing I know, I wake up. But I'm still dreaming. My parents weren't my parents! But they were better than my own. My dad was a dragon, and my mom was a dragon neko mix. We set up a safe space for eggs to hatch by setting up a tent while we as a family were in a separate tent. Then suddenly a lot of people start to set up camp in the same area as us, some even move the egg tent and a fat lady goes in and almost crushes the eggs. Luckily, the eggs had already hatched, and there were three dragon kittens.

Then, somehow, I ended up with Marge Simpson and Maggie in my dream. I told Marge to go get refreshed while I held Maggie.

I end up going through a few doors that lead to a mall, and Maggie is now a black kitten in my arms. We look at different stores and end up in a candy store. I don't get anything at first because I didn't have any money on me. Then a guy says he'll pay for whatever I picked. I choose a big KitKat that broke into those smaller ones. He pays and I thank him. I end up going back so that I can give Maggie back to a now refreshed Marge.

And then I'm back at 5he place where my dragon dad, dragon neko mom, and dragon big sister are.

Then I woke up.

I think I need to look up all the most memorable things from this dream.

Also, my brain has a thing with dragons.

I've had dreams in dreams before, so this is completely normal for me.

[musicarenagh]

Money and Trust: Exploring the Themes of 'Hand In My Pocket' by DSP Band "Hand In My Pocket" by Down South Pepper Band (DSP Band) is something different from the ordinary, diving deep into the everyday struggles we face with money and trust. Picture yourself in the Norwegian village of Kvalsund, where the DSP Band brews up their unique blend of blues, rockabilly, and alt-country. From the get-go, you're hit with Rune Nyby's soulful vocals leading the charge, backed by Per Øyvind Mathisen's bass and electric guitar, Lars Rune Rebbestad's acoustic lead guitar, and Eivind Kløverød's drums. It's a full-on musical experience that grabs your attention and doesn't let go. The lyrics of "Hand In My Pocket" is about the paranoia and tension that money can bring into relationships. Rune Nyby's vocals lay it all bare, while the instruments add layers of emotion and intensity to the mix. [caption id="attachment_53927" align="alignnone" width="2000"] What really makes this song stand out is its honesty[/caption] What really makes this song stand out is its honesty. There's no fancy tricks or auto-tuning here, just raw emotion laid out for everyone to hear. It's refreshing to hear a band that's not afraid to keep it real. But beyond the music, "Hand In My Pocket" is a reflection of our own struggles with money and trust. It's a reminder that even in the closest relationships, there can be tension and doubt lurking beneath the surface. It's about the highs and lows, the doubts and fears, and ultimately, the hope that things will work out in the end. So next time you're feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders, give this song a listen—it just might help you make sense of it all. Watch Hand in my Pocket below https://youtu.be/EAFU6aEGuZc Follow Down South Pepper band on Facebook Twitter Spotify Youtube Instagram

[anitosoul]

tripreport.020: THE VAST

isolation in expanse 🧑‍🚀

Key Inspirations

Arca (Music artist)

Koreless (Music artist)

DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ (Music artist)

Specifically the song “Being Alone” (Song)

Space visualizers (YouTube video)

The Met Surrealist exhibit (Art exhibit)

Jon Watts – Spider-Man: No Way Home (Film)

Christopher Nolan – Interstellar (Film)

Night on Earth – “Dark Seas” (TV Show)

Doss’s opening DJ set for Arca (DJ set)

100 Gecs (Music artist)

Playboi Carti (Music artist)

The weird purgatory between Christmas and New Years (Time)

THE VAST Tracklist Act I: entropy

The Hellp – 4up7up

100 Gecs – mememe

Trippie Redd, Playboi Carti – Miss the Rage

Headband Andy – I must apologize – Remix

Slikback, FlexFab – Raw

underscores – Where did you fall

Danny L Harle, DJ Mayhem – All Night

Anz – Unravel in the Designated Zone

Louke Man – Took a Turn

poolsideconvo – anybody else but u

DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ – Being Alone

Carlos Niño – Esssssssence

Koreless – Joy Squad

Oli XL – Go Oli Go!

THE VAST Tracklist Act II: ether

Doss – Softpretty

AceMo – Through the Pressure

Jacques Greene – Serenity

Oli XL – Cartoon Smile

Loop 7 – The Theme – Lamento

CFCF – Marigold Mix

Jesper Ryom – Apolune

Maddy Maia, Tottie – Spirit

DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ – We Go On

Magdalena Bay – You Lose!

Harvey Sutherland – Priestess

808 State – Pacific State

Koreless – Shellshock

asc – lose ya

THE VAST Tracklist Act III: abyss

DJ FLP – Close the Door

Erika de Casier – Drama

Arca – Luna Llena

Sega Bodega – Only Seeing God When I Come

DreamWeaver – Altered Reality

Yu Su – Klein

CFCF – Nostalgic Body

PHD & The Funky Technicians – Above & Beyond

Dirty Bird – Midnight

Winslow – Snooze Button Roller

No Rome – Secret Beach

SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE – RAPID & COMPLETE RECOVERY

Virgil Abloh, serpentwithfeet – Delicate Limbs

1995 epilepsy – get 2 kno

Returning to NYC after Thanksgiving was a weird experience. I had extended my time in Tulsa so I was gone for about three weeks, which was the longest I had been away from NYC since moving back in May. As my plane descended over Manhattan, it felt like flying into the city for the first time. Something just felt…different. Maybe it was because it was getting cold and the days were becoming shorter. I reminded myself that I had a lot to look forward to, though, like concerts and holidays. 

That first weekend back, I had tickets to see 100 gecs. I ended up going with the partner of one of my friends from high school who I met in November when they visited and came to the PQ party. The concert was amazing and the chaos of it brought back a taste of the boundless energy from earlier in the year. Afterwards, we ended up walking all the way from Terminal 5 down Manhattan back to my apartment, talking about life and witnessing the spectrum of human experience pass us by as we drifted through the varied vibes of each Manhattan neighborhood. Getting to connect with someone I didn’t know that well so easily was refreshing and made me excited for the future. Still, there was a feeling of surrealness to everything, like I had entered into some sort of alternate reality. I was working fully remotely at this point, so my office became the various cafes or hotel lobbies in a 1-mile vicinity of my apartment. The lack of familiarity in anything I was doing was bizarre, and I wasn’t sure what else to do besides go along with it.

A few days after that concert, Arca randomly had a DJ set at a small bar close to my apartment. I’ve been training for a marathon, so despite running 12 miles right before, I decided I didn’t want to miss it and checked it out with a friend. It was an interesting experience, given it was on a Monday, I was physically exhausted, and the music was less than accessible. Doss started off the night with a fun set, and afterwards Arca went b2b with Shayne Oliver, the founder of Hood By Air. They absolutely blasted their tracks, doubling the speed to 200+ bpm, setting extremely short loops, and blowing out the speakers, trading sound quality for sheer volume. It was a mix of Latin and hip-hop but didn’t have any sort of natural flow like most DJ sets. Sonically, something about the set deeply intrigued me, but it mostly just added to the surreality I found myself in.

My birthday was the weekend after and I was looking forward to celebrating. I didn’t realize, though, that most of my close friends were already going to be home for the holidays by that time. There were murmurs of the “Omicron variant,” which seemed to be spreading in NYC but the impact of its manifestation wasn’t fully clear yet. I had tickets to Playboi Carti the Friday before my birthday, but the friend I was going to go with didn’t want to risk getting COVID as they were flying home the next day, which I understood. I ended up going alone, and it was yet another surreal experience. I was surrounded by teenagers in the pit as they moshed to the songs played in the interim before Carti went on. I felt like I was one of the oldest people in the pit, and being there alone made it even weirder–not bad, just kind of absurd. When Carti went on, though, none of that mattered anymore. It was arguably one of the greatest concert experiences I’ve had in my life. It was definitely top 5, up there with Frank Ocean, Kanye, Dead & Company, and FKA twigs. 

The whole experience was articulated perfectly by this white dad who brought his pre-teen son to the show and called it an anti-concert.

Afterwards, I didn’t want to have my birthday hit while I was in an Uber or something, so I walked over to this bar literally called “That Bar” and had some questionable (creepy) locals try to involve me in their conversation about dating younger women with a 20 year age gap. I was turning 25, so I didn’t have much input to offer. Once again, surreal.

On my actual birthday, my mom was in the city. There were some factors that made this emotionally complicated for me, but I got brunch with her and the people she was visiting with and then decided I would spend the day to myself. I had tickets to see AceMoMA and other Nowadays DJs at a fundraiser for Good Room, but it got postponed due to the Omicron variant. It was cold and rainy that day even though the day before was weirdly sunny and in the 60s, so to make the most of the day I went to the Met, a place I knew I could spend hours inside. 

I walked through the cultural exhibits, listening to tracks off LTJ Bukem’s Earth collections of chill drum and bass. Eventually, I got to the surrealist exhibit. I listened to Agor by Koreless for the first time, and I was fully immersed. The music was extremely trippy and matched the visuals in the exhibit perfectly; it was an overwhelming sensory experience. Afterwards, I left the museum, appreciative of the day but ultimately still in a very weird headspace. I was reflecting on what it meant to be alone, especially in a world with the dual stressors of COVID and climate change–the fact that everything was getting canceled brought back difficult memories of March 2020, and the constant shifts in weather felt like a tangible impending crisis. As I did earlier in the month, I tried to just roll with it. 

I had tickets to see Spider-Man: No Way Home, so I attempted to get myself in a mindset for enjoying a fun movie. I don’t want to include any spoilers, but the movie ended up being pretty emotional and I was a wreck afterwards. The impressions I had back in July about nothing being promised were eating at me. I called my mom as I left the theater, realizing how foolish it would be for me to give up an opportunity to spend time with her. 

My mom came over to my apartment and for the first time I could see how she’s aged. I noticed the wrinkles forming on her face, the strands of her hair turning grey. As a kid, she would rub Vick’s vapor rub on my forehead when I didn’t feel well, and she did the same for me on my 25th birthday. The difference, though, was that it wasn’t in my childhood home, it was in my own apartment in downtown Manhattan. 

I recalled that my mom told me when I was a kid, I said I was going to be a doctor and live in NYC with a dog. While it hasn’t fully panned out that way (yet! I will have a dog at some point, doubtful about the doctor part), I couldn’t help but think about how surreal this was for her, too. She spent the night in my apartment, and I set her up in my bed and said goodnight as I went to go sleep on my couch. It was in that moment on my 25th birthday, tucking my mother into bed in my own apartment, that I felt I transitioned into adulthood.

The rest of the month wasn’t any less surreal. My sister and mom visited for the week of Christmas, and on the day my sister arrived I tested positive for COVID. We were left to quarantine in my small apartment, and somehow my mom and sister didn’t test positive afterwards. I spent a lot of time that week mixing with the music that I had been listening to. I was finally able to express the weirdness I had been feeling all month. 

The surreality culminated on a random night when I decided to go over to a friend’s apartment and play him the mixes. We listened to them alongside a spaceship visualizer, and it was awesome. That night I realized that December’s theme is THE VAST, split into a trilogy. All month I felt like Matthew McConaughey’s character in Interstellar or Sandra Bullock’s character in Gravity, floating aimlessly in space and left to reflect on the memories of life on earth. That same solitude in the vastness of space was related to the vastness of the ocean, floating at sea. 

There was one missing aspect, though, which is represented by the ?-side of the mix, entropy. It’s the chaos, the absurdity, the confusion–accepting that sometimes things don’t make sense, and laughing through it anyways.

Visuals to go with Act I: entropy

Visuals to go with Act II: ether

If you have Netflix, Act III: abyss we discovered that it syncs up perfectly with this episode of Night on Earth: “Dark Seas.”

I found that this month broadly wraps up all of the themes I’ve felt over the course of this year and serves as a worthy conclusion to this series. If you’ve read any of this, I hope you’ve found a part of it you’ve connected with, or at the very least found a song or two that you enjoy. 

Have a wonderful 2022. 

Peace, Michael

[louanja]

I was tagged by the lovely @scorpio-skies ty! ♥ Rules are shuffle your playlist and list the first 10 songs so let’s see what’s in ma jukebox tonight!

1. Just Got Paid - Sigala, Ella Eyre, Meghan Trainor

2. Electricity - Silk City, Dua Lipa, ft. Diplo, Mark Ronson

3. bad guy - Billie Eilish

4. POP/STARS - K/DA

5. Centuries - Fall Out Boy

6. Warriors - Imagine Dragons

7. Happier - Marshmello ft. Bastille

8. Guy Fawkes vs Che Guevara - Epic Rap Battles of History (lol)

9. LSD - Thunderclouds - Sia, Diplo, Labrinth

10.  Ooh La La - Goldfrapp

[jgoddesstarot]

Pick-A-Pile: How Will You & Your Future Spouse Spend Sunday Mornings? 💋 (18+ only)

🚨🚨Minors (anyone under 18) DO NOT INTERACT WITH THIS POST - KEEP SCROLLING🚨🚨

👑Check out my masterlist to see all of my pick-a-card readings😊

🔮Disclaimer: This reading is for entertainment purposes only. Tarot readings are based upon my intuitive interpretation of the cards and about possibilities based on your current energy. Energy is forever changing and nothing is set in stone. Always remember, you have your own free will to make whatever decision you feel is best.

🔮 How to select a pile: Close your eyes, focus on the question in your mind, and take three deep breaths--slowly inhaling & exhaling. Open your eyes after the third exhale and let your eyes scan the images again until they land (or keep being drawn to) one. It's OK to pick multiple piles.

🔮How I read: I use a mix of tarot cards, oracle cards, along with my intuitive abilities of claircognizance, clairaudience, and clairsentience.

🔮Pile 1:

You and your future spouse (fs) are going to let it flow on Sunday mornings. I see Sundays snuggled in bed, sipping coffee, lazy sex, and slow & sloppy blow jobs👅😋. There will be alot of mutual of oral satisfaction happening between you and your fs as you enjoy this relaxing time together after a hectic week.

Some one here (either you or your fs) like to mix food & sex. I see Hershey's chocolate sauce being drizzled on various body parts and sensually licked off😏

Even when you two have kids, I see you being able to schedule and carve out sexy time together in private.

🔮Pile 2:

Fresh air, farmer's markets, and a relaxing drive along a scenic country road is how you and your future spouse (fs) like to spend your Sunday mornings. I'm getting exhibitionist vibes from this pile.

Trying knew places to eat and being out in places you usually don't have time to go during your busy week is what you all like to do.

Discovering new things together is something you and your fs enjoy, and sex on a lovely blanket in an open field surrounded by nature is a favorite way for you two to end your jaunts on Sunday mornings.

Slow, mesmerizing strokes with the feminine on top is what I see. She knows how to ride😌 and the masculine in this connection always enjoys her toe-curling techniques.

Both you and your fs are refreshed and rejuvenated after your jaunts on Sunday mornings😁

🔮Pile 3:

You are my most traditional pile. I feel you and your future spouse (fs) are religious and go to Sunday service (i.e. Catholic Mass or Protestant Service) on Sunday mornings. This doesn’t feel forced, this feels like you two were raised in certain faiths and continue to honor your beliefs into marriage.

I see alot of order and structure with this dynamic, but it's mutual. Therefore you and your fs wake up early on Sunday mornings (like 5am) for pillow talk & to discuss the plan for the day. (For some who picked this pile, I'm sensing one of you could be in the military 🪖).

Well, while discussing your plans, this is when you get your sexy time in😏. Since traditional is what I see, I see the masculine giving the feminine some oral sex first to get her in the mood, then climbing on top of her for missionary position.

Oh, don't mistake it, you and your fs have and intense (but discreet & proper😌) sex life. Both parties orgasm because your fs has an amazing stroke game🙂

After a few quick kisses, you both proceed to shower, wake up the kids, and get ready for church ⛪ 😇

🌟 I hope this reading resonated with you! Please reblog & let me (and others know) what pile or piles resonated with you!🌟

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Donations appreciated😊

Paid Readings

[xxsycamore]

I’m dumb, I’m sorry!!! On my Theo/Isaac request, it was meant to be with a female reader/MC. Sorry for the confusion. Thank you again!!!

catherinec35 asked: May I please request Ikemen Vampire’s Isaac and Theo for prompt # 28 (both), with dialog # 30 please? I kind of see it as the wishful thinking 3rd ending to the 12 Flavors of Love event they did forever ago, if you have trouble with a starting point. Thank you so much!!

Thank you for this wonderful idea and for providing with screenshots in your original ask! ❤ I can't tell you enough how much fun I had with this request - to the point where the pre-smut part got quite long, haha! This event really was forever ago but thank god it's available on youtube so I could refresh my memory. For those of you that aren't familiar with the event - you can still read the fic just fine <3 Thank you for requesting and I'm sorry that it took me so long to finish it! I hope you enjoy ❤

—𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯!

► SYNOPSIS:

An unfortunate turn of events sees Isaac and Theo under the influence of aphrodisiac, pining for MC. They decide to settle it with a cook off. And MC wishes they'd settle it in the most straightforward way possible, instead.

▍theo x mc x isaac

▍rating: E

▍tags: Threesome - F/M/M; Aphrodisiacs; Rivalry; Bad Cooking; Some Humor; Biting; Marking; Blood Drinking; Vampire Bites; Vaginal Fingering; Spitroasting; Blow Jobs; Vaginal Sex; Dirty Talk; Praise Kink; Kissing; Making Out; Double Penetration in One Hole; Creampie; Comeplay; Come Sharing; Come Eating; Aftercare; Post-Coital Cuddling; i'm leaving it to you to decide whether they're dating or not

▍wordcount: 2,113

▍masterlist

Written as a part of VISIONS OF TEMPTATION 2021 hosted by me here.

event masterlist

DAY 28 - Spitroasting | Double penetration + “Why don’t you two settle it with a competition and I can be the judge?”

"Oh, that's right! Why don't you two settle it with a competition and I can be the judge?"

MC's eyes dart between Isaac and Theo, a rush of hope moving through her that the idea could actually save her in this situation. The situation being, having both Isaac and Theodorus under the influence of a strong aphrodisiac that was accidentally mixed in their blanc. She's had better days.

Thank God, there are angels like Vincent around when she needs it the most. The blond easily finds a solution to keep the two occupied until the aphrodisiac wears off - by suggesting they do a cook off, to see who makes the best dessert for MC.

As soon as he sees his idea flourishing in MC's favor, Vincent gives her the thumbs-up and sees himself out of the room. MC would come to regret letting him do, or at least that's what her gut feeling is telling her.

Her gut is also telling her that at least one good thing will come out of this competition, as she feels genuine excitement to see - and taste - what they come up with.

The task at hand makes a good job of keeping them occupied and MC can have a breather, with only few occasional handsy acts that she swiftly escapes from, protesting that they'd get flour all over her. It ends with her picked up and placed by Theo on the kitchen counter so she can "observe them better" and MC comes to terms with that, just for the time being…

The truth is, she would gladly get as straightforward with this as possible. They're horny. A serious competition in this state is only going to make them suffer more. And why suffer? When they can all shake their hands and fall in bed together and-

Maybe she is horny, too.

But also, well, maybe there is some comedic value to watching them do what they do. It's not everyday that she sees these two keeping themselves busy in the kitchen. A little more, yes, a little more of that won't hurt anybody. Hopefully.

Soon enough, it becomes taste-testing time. Isaac helps her off the counter (despite her assuring him that she doesn't need help with that) and pulls out a chair for her to sit. She complies quietly, all too busy eyeing the two plates in front of her. An apple pie and a pile of fluffy pancakes, their respective makers very, very easily able to tell apart.

"What are you waiting for, Hondje? Dig in."

Theo's trademark impatience plus bossiness is watered down this time by a softer tone, alluring her to cease making him wait any longer. At her other side, however, Isaac clicks his tongue as an announcement of his own patience having just snapped, as he forks a piece of his pie and lifts it towards MC's mouth. He holds her chin in place, gently.

"H-here, let me do it for you, if you're going to make me wait any longer!"

As he catches her in a gasp, the fork easily finds its way into her mouth. There is no room for scolding, because her mouth explodes with the rich flavor of the pie. A perfect crust, a soft sweet center… no, that's not it. It's simply not sweet at all. The taste is…very interesting. Not exactly salty, not the consistency she'd expect… an enigma of an apple pie. She recalls him making strict calculations of the ingredients earlier, putting in some thermal techniques that are simply ahead of their time. Their time as in, right here, 19th century Paris, but maybe, also, ahead of the 21st century culinary as well… Poor Isaac must understand that cooking is not entirely a science.

"Ah-ah! If he can do that, so can I. Open up, Hondje."

Without having time to react to the full 180-degree turn, another fork is lifted towards her mouth, and she tries eyeing Theo angrily so he can get the hint that doing that would do him no good for the competition. How is she going to judge the two deserts justly if she has them both in her mouth at the same time? This damned aphrodisiac, she swears, it has melted their brains away.

The soft, fluffy pancake adds to the flavor in her mouth, catching her closing her eyes for a second so she can savor the taste better. Similarly to Isaac's creation, it tricks her into thinking it's good at first. It lasts even less this time. Theo's sugary delight knocks out the lack of sweetness in Isaac's pie, but it does so drastically. While chewing she throws a look at the counter. The syrup bottle is half empty and she only restocked it this morning. Of course Theo drowned the pancakes in sweetness as per his own sick preferences. She should've known…

This is getting harder and harder.

After taking two or three more torturous bites of each, on their own this time and with quick cleansings of her palate inbetween, she starts to feel like a professional degustator, all eyes on her.

It's not a matter of who is better anymore. It's a matter of who is less disastrous.

Slamming her fists on the table, she lifts her head to meet their gazes and declares…

"Both! Both are good. I can't decide. It's a tie."

Shoving her face into her hands as if to hide from their gazes, MC prays they don't start arguing again. Anything but that, please, please…

"Now what, Hondje? Do we have another competition?"

He says it sarcastically, but to both their surprise Isaac steps in, catching her wrists as to make her stop hiding her face away. MC looks into his eyes that are almost pleading for her, painfully so.

"Theo, I think it's only fair we choose the competition this time."

"Hoh? That's more like it. Are you thinking the same thing as me?"

MC gulps down, gaze shifting between the two men as they smile in unison.

"Let's see which one pleasures you better in bed."

I hope Vincent doesn't ask what happened, MC thinks as she lets herself being walked backwards into bed and then put on top of the sheets. The man above her never ceases the kiss, even for a second, as layers after layers of clothing are being peeled of her.

A second after the sound of the door locking from the inside is heard, the other man joins in bed as well.

MC manages to prop herself to a sitting position despite Isaac trying to pin her down, and in that time, Theo crawls on the bed right behind her. She can feel his naked chest as her own upper half get completely stripped, and she gasps when Theo latches his mouth into her neck. He is not breaking the skin with his fangs, not yet, but MC can hear his muted needy moans.

She reaches one hand around, to wrap around Theo and urge him further, petting his head while at it.

"C'mon Theo, what are you waiting for? Take a bite."

Mimicking his bossy tone from earlier in the kitchen, MC's cunning little smile soon disappears from her lips as Theo's fangs pierce her. Pleasure start hitting her in waves, resembling a stormy ocean akin to the one in Theo's blue eyes. It's maddening.

"Y-you too, Isaac."

Extending a hand, she welcomes in her embrace the man who stood up to get rid of his clothes more effectively. In the next second, he already nips on her neck, aiming for the opposite side of where Theo still fervently sucks.

Instead of gripping the sheets - as seeing that this doesn't provide any grounding relief for the building pleasure - MC instead takes a hand from each, nails digging in them as she guides, in an attempt to make them touch her.

They don't need another push, as one's fingers quickly find her swollen clit to rub, another's prodding at her leaking opening. They work her to a fast approaching orgasm, getting her cum all over their hands on the spot as they share and snack on her blood in the meantime.

She finds herself flipped over on her belly, trembling hands and knees supported by the two as they manhandle her in the position they desire.

Although the decision who gets her mouth and who gets her pussy isn't an easy one, Theo throws in a comment of how he prefers her mouth anyway because of how well he's trained it to take his cock. MC's cheek flush red, despite the already sinful situation she's got herself in, being exposed as his little well-trained slut is embarrassing on a whole new level…

"Oh well? You have no idea just how much MC loves when I full her up with my cum…"

If Theo's words had painted her face red, then Isaac's see her paling like a ghost. He also supports his statement by thrusting his cock to the hilt inside her in a single smooth thrust.

"Ah!"

MC falls into ecstasy and with that also inlove with how things play out. She receives Isaac's delicious hot, pulsating length inside her soon enough before she resorts to begging, and thankfully without having to step in as a mediator about who should get the honor to fuck her. First.

Theo has been waiting just for a lovely gasp like that to slip his own hardness inside her mouth. A soft moan leaves his lips, as he remembers to take it easy on her, carefully tucking all the stray strands of hair behind her ears.

"Look at my good little Knabbeltje, taking it so good from both ends. Good girl."

MC swallows hard around Theo, barely sparing a thought about whether she'd somehow gotten high on the aphrodisiac coursing in their saliva earlier on. She almost refuses to believe that it all feels so good she feels herself leaking down Isaac's cock.

"I'm close."

Hearing that Theo's reaching his limit, her automatic response is to put even more effort sucking him off, but is stopped by Isaac.

"MC, Theo, wait. We…we ended up in a tie, didn't we? I thought it's only fair that we, uh, do it both inside you. O-only if you can take it, though! I mean, if you want to!"

Theo is already chuckling at her when she looks up to meet his gaze, and she answers with the same, cock withdrawn from her mouth now. The two men carefully shift her in a way she's sandwiched between their bodies again, this time with Isaac seated behind her.

"Let me take a good look at you, Hondje. Beautiful."

Shamelessly, Theo parts her labia to reveal better the place where she and Isaac are connected, glistening with her juices. He licks his lips as if making plans for later, but before MC can ask him about it, he claims her lips in a kiss.

She feels him prodding at her soon enough, going very slow, to make sure her hole is relaxed enough to accommodate his thick girth together with Isaac's. It works out just fine in the end, with many soft words exchanged and kisses rained on her shoulders, nape, cheeks, mouth.

MC wants to get taken care of like this forever; to feel so full and content, and warm from the inside… the slide is slow, and they don't reach deep in their fight for dominance, but they gradually grow accommodated to a pace. One thrusts in, the other thrusts out. They all know it's not going to last long but god does it feel heavenly while it lasts.

Hot spurts of cum fill her up and in the symphony of groans and moans she loses track of their individual orgasms, joining them as if in order to be the pit where the euphoria melts into one.

The aftercare is a bliss.

Isaac's soft caresses combined with Theo's unending string of praises, only half of them in a language she can comprehend as she lies on the cool sheets in a puddle.

Just one sensation can get pull her out of the trance…

"T-Theo! Don't you have shame??"

Lifting her head to gaze between her legs, she sees that Theo's "cleaning" is not involving the damp cloth anymore. He swirls his tongue in the hot concoction of their shared cum with no intention of leaving until he's licked it all off.

Isaac echoes MC's words, adding that even when sobered up from the 'love potion' he is the same. Theo only scoffs, flashing a devilish grin glistening with juices.

"What? You thought I only prefer my pancakes flooded with syrup?"

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