#I Too Am A Lake Effect Kid

[coldilikeit]

Yandere Batfam x Camp half-blood (Neglected reader)

DC x Pjo

I got this idea from another Tumblr post and I'm pretty new so, ion know how to tag and stuff, pls tell me

______________

"So... My mom just disappeared?" A little 6 year old (Name) asks Alfred about her mom

Alfred turned back like he was reminiscing "The Gala was for three nights, the first night she mesmerized all, the second night she befriended everyone, the third night she slept with your father"

.....

"then she disappeared, then you were dropped on our little doorstep! We were skeptical at first then we DNA tested you, you're Bruce's kid so you are the Wayne Manor's baby! And you and your Daddy are one big happy family"

That was lie. That a big lie

You know Alfred was just trying to make you feel better

It wasn't working.

________________________

You feel like shit, they look so fucking happy, for years and years have passed, your 12 now for God sake

Every year a new family photo was taken and as the years pass more and more people are added to the photos

And the phrase "the more the merrier was always said to you" like they were trying to drill it into your head, but it seemed like every year, you were being pushed farther and farther back into the photos till you're barely noticeable

It sucks at home and it sucks at school, at home at least you only had Damian to worry about, he would torture and bully you, remind you of how unloved and unwanted you were here, but at school?

It was everyone.

It doesn't help how you're unable to focus that much either, always getting called by teachers when you're not paying attention, and then them ridiculing you

Also, with the fact that your entire family are vigilantes except you.

Except you, you tried, and you were good at it, the problem was, why did it seem like a lot of villains were after you

So you were stuck at the manor

"hello" a woman inside the Manor spoke

This shocked you, she looked too old to be another kid adopted by that... But you can't be too sure

"new kid?" You asked

She seemed taken aback, but then it was like a veil was lifted and she transformed into this ew

Wtf did she just turn into?

Suddenly she had this donkey leg and snake tongue and fire for hair, her eyes slit and she hissed at you

Then she attacked

"OH WHAT THE FUCK"

With no weapon and no Alfred in hand, you ran

She ran after you and lit the hallways on fire in the process

You ran fast and far, to the outskirts of the mansion and straight into the garden, now when you thought your day could not get ANYMORE weirder, a voice calls out in the bushes

"I knew it! I knew you were a half-blood!I wasn't sure, but now I am!" You turn around and see a full ass tree transform into a beautiful lady

You're sure that Gotham Prep once talked about the side effects of drugs, and even if you haven't taken any drugs, you feel the side effects

"don't be scared, I'm a nymph! Me and my friends will help you run away from the empousa!" She grabbed me and threw me in the lake

A hand grabs you and pulls you further underwater, as much as you struggled, the hand kept pulling you and pulling you till your deep and then changed direction

Like you guys were heading somewhere, it felt like days, the hands alternating, first hands were blue and the lady whom the hands belonged too sounded worried, second hands were green, the lady was surprised

Third hand was light bluish purple, she expressed concern and kept pulling

The last hand was of human skin tone, pulling you up to shore

"Sir Chiron! There's a camper! The Naiads bought her here! Sir Chiron!"

He turns to look at you a bit worried, he looked from 13-14

He said "My name is Percy Jackson, and yours?"

_________________

Empousa: haha an unsuspecting demigod!

(Name) thinking that Bruce adopted another one: new kid?

Empousa: :o

_______________

Who do y'all think (Name)'s mom is?

Also the lack of Batfam dialogue is meant to represent their neglectful behavior, too bad their not gonna have a kid to return to

[decadentwerewolfdreamer]

Heatwave- JH86 QH43

prompt: Quinn Hughes x Zegras sister! reader Jack Hughes x Zegras Sister! reader, friends to lovers, trouple, slightly angst

Chapter 1: Home, but not the same

wc: 1k

nda: hello to everyone, its my first story, if you’re interested i’ll post the second chapter tomorrow

“So sis, when is your flight?”

Trevor’s voice is relaxed, that same easygoing tone he has during the offseason—no stress, no training, no schedule. He’s probably sunbathing or messing around by the lake with Jack, completely carefree. You roll your eyes, adjusting your oversized black sunglasses as the airport buzzes around you.

“Hello to you too, dear menace of a brother. My flight takes off in five minutes, I’ll land in four hours. I’m still hungover, so please, please, no loud welcoming.” Your voice is rough, the effects of last night’s party still lingering. Your head pounds slightly, your throat dry, the taste of stale liquor still faint on your tongue.

Trevor laughs on the other end, loud and full of amusement. “Yeah, gotcha, sis. See you at the airport. Love you.”

You sink back into your seat, letting out a breath. “Love you too, Trev.”

You and Trevor have always been close. He’s your big brother, your protector, always on your right side. If there was ever a safety net in your life, it was him. But four years ago, you decided you needed a change—needed to breathe. So you left, studied abroad in Europe, let distance do its thing.

You still remember the night you told Trevor you were leaving. He had laughed at first, like it was some kind of joke. Then, when he realized you were serious, the smile disappeared.

“You’re really leaving? Just like that?”

“It’s not like that, Trev. I just—” You had hesitated, gripping your phone so tightly your knuckles turned white. “I need something new. I feel like… if I stay, I’ll never figure out who I am.”

Trevor had been silent for a long time, and that silence had cut deeper than any words could.

“I just don’t get why you have to go so far to do that.”

You didn’t either. Not really. But you had left anyway.

And now, standing in the airport, about to see him again for the first time in four years, you wonder if he ever really forgave you for it.

Since then, your bond has survived on late-night calls and scattered texts. You weren’t there when he got drafted. He wasn’t there when you graduated. You both pretended it didn’t hurt, but it did. The last time Trevor saw you, you were just a kid—eager, naive, unprepared for what the world had in store for you.

Now? You’re different.

Your hair is longer, a shade between blonde and chocolate, falling effortlessly over your shoulders. Your body tells its own story now, decorated with ink—some tattoos marking milestones, others just because they fit your aesthetic. University. Travel. Late nights and reckless decisions. Your stomach is flatter, your body more defined, the hours in the gym evident in the way your muscles move beneath your skin.

And then, the finishing touch—the silver and diamond grillz on your upper teeth, cold against your tongue.

Trevor is going to lose his mind when he sees you.

The flight is a blur. You spend most of it asleep, head resting against the cool window, trying to shake off the exhaustion from last night. At some point, a flight attendant gently taps your leg to wake you. She’s pretty, a polite smile on her lips as she tells you the plane has landed. You nod, mumbling a tired “thank you,” stretching out your sore muscles before grabbing your duffel bag from the overhead compartment.

It’s filled with bikinis, sundresses, and heels—all the essentials for a summer at the lake house.

The Hughes brothers have always been part of your life. Jack has been Trevor’s best friend since they were kids, recruited together for the USNTDP, inseparable ever since. Even after Trevor was drafted by the Ducks and Jack by the Devils, their bond never changed. Every offseason, they’d retreat to the lake house—a place Jack and his brothers, Quinn and Luke, had bought together with their million-dollar contracts.

The Hughes brothers have always been obsessed with the lake house. It’s their escape, their home away from the chaos of the season.

You always got along with them. Quinn, the oldest, was the responsible one. Jack? A menace, the definition of a frat boy, just like Trevor. And Luke—the youngest, still finding his place among them.

But it’s been years since you’ve seen them.

Your phone vibrates in your hand.

“Trev? Are you outside?”

“Yes, little sis, I’m waiting to see your beautiful, pretty face—which, by the way, I have no idea what looks like anymore.”

You smirk, stepping out into the warm air, the sun kissing your skin as you scan the parking lot. “You, on the other hand, probably look exactly the same, Zegras.”

And then you see him.

Trevor is leaning against a sleek black Mercedes SUV, phone still in hand. He looks just like you remember—tall, effortlessly cool, that same cocky grin he always wears. But when he turns and finally lays eyes on you, the grin disappears.

His jaw drops.

Lips parting, his eyes widen in pure disbelief as he takes you in from head to toe.

You can’t help but laugh. Yeah, that’s the reaction I was expecting.

You don’t hesitate—you walk straight up to him and throw yourself into his arms.

The hug feels like home.

Trevor doesn’t hesitate either. His arms wrap tightly around your waist, lifting you off the ground with ease as he spins you in the air. You giggle, pressing your face into his shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of vanilla tobacco and mint.

“Oh my God, sis, I’ve missed you. You can’t even understand how much,” he murmurs, his voice softer now, genuine.

Your fingers clutch the back of his shirt. “Missed you too, Trev. Like crazy.”

He finally sets you down, but the moment he pulls back to really look at you, he shakes his head, running a hand through his hair.

“Jesus, you have more ink than me, lil’ sis. But damn, you look stunning—literally, if you weren’t my sister…”

You roll your eyes and punch his arm. “You’re disgusting.”

Trevor just smirks, tossing your bag into the SUV before climbing into the driver’s seat.

As you settle in beside him, he starts the engine and glances at you. “So, ready for a legendary summer?”

You tilt your head, a smirk tugging at your lips. “How are the Hughes brothers?”

“They’re good—happy to be in the offseason, just like me.” He pauses for a second, then huffs out a laugh. “But they’re gonna lose their minds when they see you now.”

You chuckle, leaning back against the seat.

Jack was always trouble. He was the type to push buttons, to drag you into chaos. And Quinn? Well… Quinn had always been the quiet one. Observant. Level-headed. Mature. You wonder if that’s changed. You wonder if he’s changed.

“Well, Trev,” you murmur, reaching for the volume knob and turning the music up, letting the beat fill the car.

“I guess we’ll see.”

The summer at the lake house has officially begun.

Chapter 2 : https://www.tumblr.com/decadentwerewolfdreamer/777927270922895360/heatwave-jh86-qh43

chapter 3: https://www.tumblr.com/decadentwerewolfdreamer/778560081877991424/heatwave-jh86-qh43

chapter 4: https://www.tumblr.com/decadentwerewolfdreamer/780171862711975936/heatwave-jh86-qh43

[thekidsarentalright]

‼️ Attention Fob Fan Reading This ‼️

A few weeks ago, I posted the fourth annual fob census asking you all to answer a bunch of evil questions regarding fall out boy, and after getting 1.3k (!!!!!) responses, the results are finally in (below the 'keep reading'). I wanted to quickly say thank you to everybody who participated in this, it's so fun to do every year and it makes me so happy to see so many others enjoy it too!! Without further adieu, here are the results:

Disclaimers: Quickly I just wanted to warn that this is a long post- it's worth reading, the results are very interesting! But it's also a lot to get through, be prepared for that! Secondly, tumblr loves to destroy image quality- click on the image to see it better!

Question 1:

For the first question, you were simply asked what era you became a fan. The top 3 results were, as shown: 1. Save Rock And Roll Era (345 Responses) 2. American Beauty/American Psycho Era (268 Responses) 3. During The Hiatus (132 Responses) Not much to say about this one, every year the results are very similar. Most interesting is that over 100 people have become a fan in the last year!

Question 2:

The second question asked you for your favorite era, and the results were, as shown: 1. So Much (For) Stardust Era (550 Responses) 2. Infinity On High Era (191 Responses) 3. Save Rock And Roll Era (170 Responses) The impact of the newest era is clearly seen in this question! Some could say it's recency bias, only time will tell, but regardless smfs era absolutely dominates as peoples favorite!

Question 3:

Question three asked what your favorite album was, and this was one where I was incredibly interested to see if so much (for) stardust shook things up that much... And as shown in the top responses, it did not! 1. Folie A Deux (550 Responses) 2. Infinity On High (270 Responses) 3. From Under The Cork Tree (153 Responses) Last year, the order of the results was exactly the same. As I believe it has been every year... Folie is unbeatable

Question 4:

The next question asked for you to objectively say which fob album is the best, to see if the responses between favorite and best differed, and as you can see, they did: 1. So Much (For) Stardust (457 Responses) 2. Folie A Deux (389 Responses) 3. Infinity On High (297 Responses) It's so interesting to me to see that so many people believe stardust to be fob's best album, but even then do not consider it to be their favorite.

Question 5:

Now that we've gotten the favorite/best albums out of the way, it's time for least favorite/worst, with these being your least favorite fob albums: 1. Take This To Your Grave (375 Responses) 2. American Beauty/American Psycho (371 Responses) 3. Mania (308 Responses) Most interesting about these results, to me, are how much the top three responses sweep in comparison to the rest. While for the last two questions, the results were more spread, these are much more unanimous.

Question 6:

Question six asked for the objective worst fob album, and you responded as so: 1. Take This To Your Grave (517 Responses) 2. Mania (347 Responses) 3. American Beauty/American Psycho (328 Responses) All I have to add here is that the responses are even More unanimous... Tttyg sweep ig! fdjsnf

Question 7:

Going away from albums, the next question asked for your favorite EP, and you all responded as such: 1. Lake Effect Kid (404 Responses) 2. My Heart Will Always Be The B-Side To My Tongue (374 Responses) 3. Pax AM Days (337 Responses) Last year, lake effect kid was second and my heart was first- always very interesting to see how things shift, even slightly!

Question 8:

The next question had you saying your favorite album cover art, and you all decided these are the best covers: 1. Infinity On High (664 Responses) 2. Folie A Deux (195 Responses) 3. From Under The Cork Tree (176 Responses) I was very interesting to see where smfs would land, with it falling in the bottom half, not disrupting the top three at all. However, folie moved up a spot, swapping with futct. Ioh reigns supreme though!

Question 9:

These results came out identical to last year, but here are the top first fob songs you all heard: 1. Sugar, We're Goin' Down (347 Responses) 2. My Songs Know (171 Responses) 3. Dance, Dance (134 Responses) 4. Thnks Fr Th Mmrs (132 Responses) 5. Centuries (91 Responses)

Question 10:

Question 10 asked for your favorite fob song, a very subjective question that garnered many different responses, these came out on top: 1. Headfirst Slide (105 Responses) 2. Disloyal Order (73 Responses) 3. Hum Hallelujah (69 Responses)(nice) 4. Ginasfs (65 Responses) 5. 27 (55 Responses) I have many thoughts about these results and don't want to ramble too much, but will say, most interesting: This is the first time disloyal order isn't first for this question. A big change, I think!

Question 11:

We know now your subjective fav songs, but what about objective best? You all said: 1. So Much (For) Stardust (244 Responses) 2. Headfirst Slide (136 Responses) 3. Love From The Other Side (83 Responses) 4. What A Catch, Donnie (70 Responses) 5. Hum Hallelujah = Disloyal Order (66 Responses) Once again, lots of thoughts! We have our first tie, both smfs the song and album sweeping, and disloyal order once again Not topping the list! Huge changes!

Question 12:

This question is always the one i get the most excited about each year. It's also the one that gets the most varied responses, but these came out in the top: 1. Sunshine Riptide (56 Responses) 2. "From Now On We Are Enemies" (49 Responses) 3. You're Crashing, But You're No Wave (47 Responses) 4. Rat A Tat (40 Responses) 5. It's Not A Side Effect = Heaven's Gate This question changed a lot from last year, with sunshine riptide moving up three spots, and rat a tat, it's not a side effect, and heaven's gate showing up when they didn't before!

Question 13:

With underrated songs come overrated ones, and you all said these were the most overrated: 1. Centuries (330 Responses) 2. Sugar, We're Goin' Down (96 Responses) 3. My Songs Know (87 Responses) 4. Bang The Doldrums (67 Responses) 5. Immortals (62 Responses) Most of note- Bang the doldrums is here, when it simultaneously was voted pretty highly as a favorite song!

Question 14:

This was the first time I asked the question of what your favorite fob cover is, and you all decided these are the best three: 1. Love Will Tear Us Apart (297 Responses) 2. Beat It (278 Responses) 3. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (224)

Question 15:

Asking which song has the best lyrics is another one of my favorites to see, and this year you all said: 1. Hum Hallelujah (172 Responses) 2. So Much (For) Stardust (75 Responses) 3. You're Crashing, But You're No Wave (72 Responses) 4. Ginasfs (70 Responses) 5. Disloyal Order (67 Responses) It's not surprise these results are very similar to best song, and it's very deserved! These songs are on top every year, save for smfs being newly one of their best written songs!

Question 16:

This question asked how many times you've seen fob live, and the results are as shown: 1. 1-3 Times (780 Responses) 2. Haven't Seem Them Live Yet (353 Responses) 3. 4-6 Times (138 Responses) 4. 7-9 Times (42 Responses) 5. 10+ Times (37 Responses) Last year, a majority of people said they hadn't seen them live, so it makes me really happy to see now, a majority has! And i hope those that haven't get to soon!

Question 17:

Continuing with the tour theme, specific to this year, I asked what your favorite medley song was, and you all said: 1. Spotlight (New Regrets) (272 Responses) 2. I've Got A Dark Alley (165 Responses) 3. What A Catch, Donnie (146 Responses) 4. WAMS (133 Responses) 5. Get Busy Living (117 Responses) Seeing spotlight sweep made me happy, as it genuinely was the craziest moment. All of these were crazy, and so special- seeing each medley song get so much love just shows it <3

Question 18:

Now continuing with tourdust questions, I asked for your fav 8 ball song, here were your top 5: 1. Pavlove (372 Responses) 2. Ginasfs (184 Responses) 3. Bang The Doldrums (144 Responses) 4. "From Now On We Are Enemies" (80 Responses) 5. 27 (69 Responses) Similarly to before, each of these was so crazy and special, it's great to see they all got love. Pavlove swept massively, tho, as deserved i think

Question 19:

I think it goes without saying that each band member is loved and very important, but we all have our #1 babygirl, and here's who you all said was yours: 1. Patrick (676 Responses) 2. Pete (402 Responses) 3. Joe (160 Responses) 4. Andy (112 Responses) All i have to say is... kill that thing patrick <3

Question 20:

Our next miscellaneous question asks for your fav music video, and this year you all said these were your favorites: 1. A Little Less Sixteen Candles (275 Responses) 2. Dance, Dance (109 Responses) 3. Hold Me Like A Grudge (89 Responses) 4. America's Suitehearts = Miss Missing You (74 Responses) 5. I Don't Care (67 Responses) I was curious to see if a stardust mv would make it in, and was glad to see grudge did! Otherwise, very similar results to last year. Old favs die hard i suppose <3

Question 21:

Here, I asked for your favorite band that isn't fob but is related/adjacent to fob, and you all said: 1. My Chemical Romance (576 Responses) 2. Paramore (302 Responses) 3. I Don't Know How But They Found Me (88 Responses) 4. Cobra Starship = Green Day (75 Responses) 5. Gym Class Heroes (58 Responses) Not much changed from last year, other than green day getting more love, which is interesting to see! (Also, wanted to note that i did forget to include panic!... however less than 10 people wrote them in as an 'other', so results were not affected by that oversight!)

Question 22:

These last questions are all this or that style ones, with our first pairing being disloyal order and hum hallelujah: 1. Disloyal Order (762 Responses) 2. Hum Hallelujah (588 Responses) Interestingly, last year this match-up was a solid tie. Clearly, opinions have changed to make disloyal order sweep!

Question 23:

Our second this or that pit snitches and talkers vs you're crashing: 1. You're Crashing (808 Responses) 2. Snitches And Talkers (542 Responses) These were the top two underrated songs last year, so it's interesting to see which one is truly preferred!

Question 24:

Our last this or that, and last question, put centuries and my songs head to head: 1. My Songs Know (977 Responses) 2. Centuries (373 Responses) All the commentary I will provide is saying: is centuries even overrated anymore with it getting destroyed like this.... fkjdsnfks

And with that, the 2024 fob census comes to a close! If you've read this far or, really, participated at all in this in any way, I want to say thank you again! and that I hope you had fun with it, and that these results were interesting to look through! Also, will throw out there, I worked very hard on this and would appreciate a rb if you read all the way through it! <3 If you have any questions about any data or questions, want to see more in depth results or commentary or analysis from me, feel free to shoot me an ask/dm! See you next year for year 5! :-3

[degenerata69]

Months before leaving for university, Gi-hun and Sang-Woo were drinking Soju and smoking cigars in a park, talking about their future and aspirations.

Gi-Hun asks him why he never had a girlfriend in all these years, given that he is such a great guy.

Sang-Woo brushed it off. He hasn't found "the one" yet.

Then, out of the blue, Sang-Woo asks:

"What do you think about homosexuals?"

"Well, they are like anyone else, you know, love is a beautiful thing, and people find it, even in the most unexpected places, as long that they are happy, it's good"

"Would you date a homosexual?" Sang-Woo asks, inhaling nervously at the cigarette in his hand.

Gi-Hun seems to be taken back by this. He hasn't questioned his sexuality, and he has been lucky with women for all this time, and he wants to have a family one day, so he gives it a thought.

"Well, at long as they are pretty." He laughs, grabbing Sang-Woo by the shoulder, while the younger one looks down at the floor.

"Am I pretty, Hyung?" He asks, fidgeting at the cigarette nervously.

"What type of question is that?"—Sang-Woo's heart sank, he should have stayed quiet, but his anguish is soon broken by the man who caused it.

"You are the most beautiful man I've seen in my life, such a pretty face. You'd be such a great model. I'm sure once you are in SNU, you'd find a SNU girl who meets your expectations"

Sang-Woo felt relief; Gi-Hun didn't get the hint. And while he hoped to come clean about his feelings before leaving, maybe it was best to keep it hidden, he knew Gi-hun wanted a family; he couldn't provide that, he couldn't steal that for him. He'd get over his feelings and focus only on his success.

"Yes, a girl..." responded Sang-Woo, meeting Gi-hun eyes.

"A SNU girl."

"Yeah, that."

They kept drinking, enjoying each other's company, and the view the lake in front gave them.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"Wait a minute..." Gi-hun says outloud, finally connecting the dots, Sang-Woo looked like a deer. He wanted to run, scream, tell him it was all a misunderstanding. Instead, he was kept in place, looking at him quietly, like he always did.

"You..? me...? But... but I am... I'm not like you... I'm such, I don't know, average. You deserve great things"

Sang-Woo's face was red, but he was determined, he fucked up and couldn't back from it now, might as well just take his shot, feel at least for one time in his life, how it feels to be loved.

He gently grabbed his friend's jaw and pressed his lips against the eldest.

It was soft, warm, and so addicting. They stayed like it for a few seconds. Their eyes met, both unsure of what they should do now.

"Hyung, I don't want your life to stop because of me. You deserve to be happy, you deserve to have a wife, and you deserve kids of your own. I can't give you that."

Gi-Hun was still in shock. He still couldn't believe he'd cause such an effect on the pride of Ssangmun-dong.

"I don't want you to ruin yourself because of me, you are destined for greatness, I am not great"

"Don't say that. You are too harsh on yourself. You are better than you think, trust me."

They drank again. They both knew that even though their feelings were mutual, they had different aspirations in life that were not compatible.

"Well, you are leaving in a few months. What do you think if we make some fond memories in the meantime? Then, we'd go in our ways. You'd conquer the world, and I'd be a regular guy. " Gi-Hun proposes, brushing Sang-Woo's hair.

Sang-Woo gave him a sweet smile, something he didn’t do often, melting his heart.

They leaned on each other again, meeting their lips, this might not last forever, but at this moment, they couldn't perceive time. They were happy and in love. It is all that matters

[bloominglegumes]

judging earthspark s3

contains spoilers!!!

(my own opinion + not that serious :))

not in order bc i sketch-wrote these down while watching first but guys im so im so .head in hands

-15 pts for the character development, relationships, ideas, etc set up in s1 that were thrown out in s2 and s3. war trauma, immigrant experience, ghost aftermath, individuality, healing process, autobot guilt, byebye. so much character assassination still happening

+1 for following through i guess

+1 shockwave 'all are dead' comic cover reference and having him react to it

+5 every appearance of frenzy and laserbeak. theyre professional hecklers i love them

-1 bc of how the art direction was already established having 2d handdrawn effects but obv their animation has been toned down, there are quite a few instances of 3d smoke made to look like 2d shading which is not necessarily bad on its own but doesnt feel like it fits here

+1 rage virus had nice potential for bringing simmering resentments to surface,, wish the show delved deeper into the characters thoughts + fallout

-1 megatron's va sounds like he was given direction to hold back somehow on his delivery ?? idk it just feels like forced gentleness compared to earlier performance like his lines don't fit him

-2 animation lacking feeling of weight, movements are stiff, unnatural esp for huge guys made of metal. how in the world did twitch push megatron over

-2 fight choreo is more generic and plain,, characters tend to fight in similar ways when they wouldnt, considering different sizes, abilities, personalities etc,, everyone is just tossing each other around

-2 teasing us with breakbee and then actually setting it on fire and then killing bumblebee's personality too and while we're here thrash and mo as well

+1 escape room ep overall was kinda fun. i like the idea of leaning into twitchs big sister role but like u dont have to water down the others when highlighting one character?? the maltos are kids, but theyre not like.stupid

+1 optimus pushing megatron down to protect him and megs glancing down where optimus' hand is on him. someone in story room is pushing megop

+1 prowl being a skilled Hater on entrance

+1 "organics" (derogatory)

-1 optimus tells prowl that the war is over in defence of megatron but literally theyre fighting decepticons again two seconds later so make up your mind earthspark

-5 what are the autobots and decepticons even fighting for at this point? let's shoot them into space so we don't have to worry about that conflict anymore except megatron but he's our friend so don't think about that trust us this is earthspark our show was formed on the basis of being the aftermath of the war hasbro im going to kill you

+1 constructicon mention

+3 prowl being huggable and pickuppable (+1 optimus, +1 elita, +1 arcee)

+1 "terran thrash" "terran nightshade" "stygi-terran" "clan malto" can't tell me thats not objectively cute

+5 blaster feature

+2 megop being deeply embarrassing about robby's weird girlfriend

+5 dramatic megop fight. intense music, personal arguments, falling through the ice sinking to the bottom of the lake together, if i'm going down you're coming with me etc i love it

-1 grimmy not having a single speaking line?? am i tripping

+1 thrash throwing the hat perfectly onto prowls antler tip

-2 duller lighting and colours overall </3 my guy was seriously looking grey in ep 6..,.

+1 "romantic entanglements have hobbled many a soldier. ask optimus." thank u es writers

+1 "there are no implications. there are only facts." banger

+1 multiple pronouns used for the shapeshifting quintesson i just thought it was fun

-1 thrash's character being largely reduced to That One Kid

-1 might just be me but the whole plot with the fake girlfriend was just weird as hell ?? what purpose does it have in robby's character development,,,

-1 dot and alex being less compelling as caring responsible parents. like they're still nice,, but the way they've been written just feels less careful

-1 that movie and confession scene sorry i know it was on purpose but i could not handle the secondhand embarrassment

+1 mole-bots tbh i thought they were going to pull scraplets but they were fun

-4 starscream neglect. where is the justice. nothing but a silhouette all season and then finally all he does is go crazy and get pulled back to jail??wtf

+1 quintesson ship entrance

-1 generic character body language/performance

+1 weird al yankovic going so hard

+1 saving civilians

-2 quintus powers being suddenly able to save the day when they need it because plot

-2 how the chaos terrans are not written

-1 environments are sometimes not that fitting for the action taking place there?? like for the final fight i know theyd need a lot of space for the titan but seriously just a green grassy field and blue sky come on?? give us some artistry,..,.

-1 slightly weird voice effects for quintesson characters but that might just be me

+1 sharkticon pit plucked right out of g1 movie i love it

+1 mo being so polite "mr optimus" "ms elita" "mr prowl sir" sweetheart

+5 what the fuck do you mean "i appreciate you, megatron"

+1 hard confirmation prowl is a hugger

+1 epic titan fusion

+1 prowl being nice. dialogue with bee in that scene felt kind of in your face but it was cute

-1 arresting starscream. girlie was probably starving in there

+1 "little bird"

+1 i'm just happy to have an animated prowl having so much relevance to the main story again.tfa prowl i miss u every day

-2 tarantulas never being seen nor heard from ever again. he had an awesome design, fantastic voice acting, super well written just for hasbro to be cowards

-1 again for just dropping pretty big story points from season 1 for unclear reasons. like i said,, current state of earthspark works fine as a kid's show alone but after how mature and well-handled season 1 was it feels like watching the tv spinoff series to the actual thing. sorry but like zero integrity to the shows basis and values and what the original writing had set up for the world and the characters

[colonelpancakes]

Watching The Dragon Prince Season Six Part Nine: Stardust! The time has come to see if Rayla will make it out of this season with the most parents. I hope so

Under the cut as per the usual!

Hey, the quote from the beginning of episode one! I wonder if we’ll find out more about him and that other Startouch elf given that he’s quoting them now.

Ohhh. Okay. I was entirely convinced that the quasar diamond was another fake. Whoops

Oh, Claudia, honey… 🥺

Skafjlk Something about Aaravos just suddenly showing up next to Claudia so that he can shush her is so funny to me. I think it might be Terry’s face.

HUH? EXCUSE ME??? That was not something I expected. Aaravos has a kid?? Hello?

Darling!!! Oh, honey. She looks so sweet!!! I love her already.

I am also already feeling immense dread because Aaravos is talking about her in the past tense and she isn’t here in present day. “Had a daughter” oh god. Something bad is going to happen to the baby isn’t it. I am not ready.

Sweethearttttt. Oh my god, the way that you can hear the love in Aaravos’s voice as he talks about her… It’s not an emotion don't think I could have pictured on him before this episode but it's so tangible, the voice acting in this episode is incredible. This episode is going to murder me isn’t it.

Also, I like how the terms he's using to describe her could also easily apply to Claudia whom he's trying to get to empathize with him. To connect her own love for her father to his love for his daughter.

Okay, this might be me reading into it but. The way his daughter's hands are held in this picture looks a lot like the way I flap my hands when I stim. Is Aaravos’s daughter maybe neurodivergent? Either way, I love her already, she’s so sweet.

Give Aaravos’s VA an award. The RANGE this man has, spanning from threatening to playful to right here where it’s so soft and sad and full of love for his daughter.

Also, the adoraburrs!!! Look at her!!!

…I am remembering vividly that response from the writers when someone asked if the Startouch child in the intro was a younger Aaravos and they responded that the child was Leola. Oh no. And again, the fact that Aaravos is talking about Leola only in the past tense… I am not ready for this episode oh no. NOTHING HAS EVEN HAPPENED YET AND I’M ABOUT TO CRY.

Also, the animators always do such an amazing job with Aaravos’s expressions. I just. Oh…

Callum, buddy, I don't think you're helping.

Oh, Rayla, honey… I might be wrong but I think that’s the first time Rayla has actually verbally acknowledged Runaan and Ethari as her parents. I know she’s called them her family before but I don’t think she’s called them her parents.

“Those coins will guide you. Each coin contains a fragment of a soul. On the other side, the rest of the soul longs to be whole again, for it cannot pass into death incomplete.”

I like the clarification of what the coins actually do to a person and why they’re worse than death. Because they don’t allow the spirit to achieve peace by passing on or allow them to continue their life, they trap them in between life and death. I also really like that they’re bringing back the stuff from Through the Moon.

Callum… I love them so much oh my gosh. He’s so nervous for her…

They're so sweet, I love them!!!

Ough and the fact that, to get her family back, Rayla has to dive into the lake despite her fear of the water.

OHH NOO I am getting Through the Moon flashbacks, Runaan??? Buddy?? I wonder if it’s a side effect of being in the coin? Are Rayla’s bio parents gonna be like that too?

While the corruption obviously isn’t great, I must say, I like the curly hair on Runaan.

RUNAAN. NO. No killing Rayla. Bad Runaan.

Rayla, honey...

Petition to give Rayla a break.

Oh, they’re dancing. Interesting. Maybe it's some kind of trance that Rayla needs to break them out of? Like there's a different challenge for each soul that she needs to overcome? I don't know, something definitely feels off.

Ohh… The way Claudia looks up at him, she's so enraptured in the story.

Baby!!! Baby girl!!

OH??? It looks like each side unlocks a different arcanum and a different version of the book, intriguing…

I wonder if there’s something particularly special written in the book or if it’s just a tome of knowledge of the arcanums. Rayla did originally think the cube was a piece from a children’s game, maybe in a way, she was right.

SKjafslkjf. Leolaaa. I love mustache Aaravos so much. And it’s so humanizing seeing such a different side of him. To have a moment where he’s not some all-knowing mysterious arch-mage but just a father with a young daughter who likes to poke fun at him sometimes.

Oh no!! Kiddo!

Aaravos being so gentle with the little kid…

Ohh Aaravos definitely knows whoever took Leola and by the look of it, he does not like them very much.

Also, I’m curious who the golden dragon was, that’s an interesting detail.

Continued in reblogs!

[thechillsquid]

Blind Eyes Au- Demon Stuff

Okay, so like, I am hyped cause folk wanna hear more of this shit so here we go!

So in a sense the summer precedes in an adjacent manner to canon, but ya know, Fidds and Bill hang out around the shack most the time as well otherwise they’re at the bunker which Fidds has been using as a sorta base of operations so him and Stan don’t gotta drag some shit in and outta the shack that would possibly attract unwanted attention

Fidds adjusts easily to the kids being around and certainly knows how to handle them better than Stan does, and the kids like him well enough cause he’s kinda a lunatic but less in a blunt criminal manner (I mean sure the kids come around to Stan and become mini criminals by the end of the summer, but they did discuss whether or not to dip out the window and report Stan to the FBI when they first got there soooo)

And admittedly, while Fidds has a much closer relationship to Tate in this au, just cause he’s got his head on right and kinda realizes yeeeesssh I did kinda sorta make a robot to go on a rampage after the divorce and that’s probably not healthy at all—

Certainly Fidds and his ex-wife did some talking behind the scenes, and while it’s unlikely he’d gain custody officially, cause you know, giant death robots, Tate probably started visiting in his later teen years and eventually settled down in Gravity Falls later on after moving about for a bit

Which speaking of Tate, techncially speaking Bill is his kinda sorta step-father? They don’t talk like at all but they got a mutual respect thing going on and probably just like sit and fish sometimes, which leads to Bill rambling about random bullshit while Tates just nodding along, and that’s kinda that

So you know what, yeah if Bill’s not around the shack, not with Fidds or Stan, he’s probably at the lake just hanging out with his ‘stepson’ which is oddly kinda weirdly wholesome now that I think about it?

Like Bill really changes in the 30 year timespan working on the portal and I’m not sure whether or not to just jump about that timeline to showcase how exactly that builds or whether to make Blind Eyes a multi-chapter, multi-work based thing

Meh, either way Bill certainly has chilled out in the sense of malicious chaos, though the guys still a complete and utter freak; dude really got treated like just another person and it made him realize how much he actually kinda liked that rather than straight up worship/fear and he kinda actually started hanging out with his henchmanics when not on earth (aka when things get a bit much and he’s gotta unwind or when he gets really fucking bored) and actually becomes friends with the group

Its kinda weird the snowball effect of that, like all these weirdos in the nightmare realm are used to instability and running amok and then their boss comes back and instead of the usual unhinged rants and low key threats of killing any of them if they step out of line, he very slowly but surely just starts… actually hanging out and talking with them? And its kinda weird? But they’ve all just been burning themselves out and it’s like, huh, this isn’t… that bad? Like yes, they’re still a bunch of intergalatical criminals but how long can you stand always having to go go go?

Like just that sounds tiring, and well, Bill was the first one to realize how fucking tired he was of it, like it takes a couple fucking decades for him to even say nice things to Stan or Fidds openly, but he gets there and it’s weird but it’s not too shabby

So like when the kids show up for that summer? Bill has no clue what to do with them, he’s glad they’re aren’t like babies and can actually move around and think, but he also doesn’t know how to act around them

He’s gotten used to the shack and the shack has used to him and now when he walks in there’s two tiny Pines there and the one kid reminds him of Ford and sure he’s figured awhile back that he really hurt that guy but it’s not like he can find the guy cause he’s been just running about the multiverse and—

Then he just has to walk away and take a breather. He hates emotions, has gotten used to expressing them, but now the kids remind him how much is actually at stake now. Goes became somewhat of a background thought and Bill realizes fiercely that he’s done what he always does when things go wrong, pushes it to the back of his mind and try to forget

This playing house with Fidds and Stan has been occupying his thoughts and keeping his mind away from Ford and all That. So yeah, he avoids the kids for a bit when they first arrive until Stan corners the weirdo and tell him to fucking buck up or stay in the bunker cause so help him he wants these kids to feel welcome and Bill slinking around like a nervous Hide-Behind isn’t helping

As time goes on he starts helping the kids out with their mysteries (aka I’m something with bigger teeth than the fuckers out here and if something tries anything it’ll be the last thing they do) and eventually he gets comfortable hanging around the shack

Progress keeps on with the portal and sure he suspects the kids might know he’s not exactly human but that’s fine because for now they seem to trust that he won’t hurt anyone (that he cares about at least; Gideon finds himself getting chased by a terrifyingly large wolf with glowing yellow eyes when starts trying to flirt with Mabel until Stan gets onto Bill about taking away his fun. If anyone’s going to torment the little weirdo it’ll be Stan)

And then Gideon summons Bill, the kids start having suspicions, and the triangle fuck avoids them again for the next few weeks until the kids track him down and demand answers

He gives the most watered down, vague answers, but for once it’s not all lies so that’s got to count for something

The portal opening throws a whole new shift to things and that in itself forces the bastard to think and think hard about what he really wants now after the one goal he’s been working towards for so long has been completed

He probably tries to drink his problems away and ends up crawling through one of the shack windows to raid the kitchen, him and Ford probably end up staring at each other and Bill almost gets shot trying to drunk ramble apologies

Its a total trainwreck

[dark-elf-writes]

Takeshi was always drawn towards rivers and lakes. Always drawn towards freshwater and the depths below. Sure the ocean is also appealing, but he prefers the lakes and rivers because their depths, whilst deep, are still knowable. There's an end and a beginning after all. (Zora have returned to the sea and live in the depths, but at heart they and their descendants will always yearn for the fresh waters of the land.)

Ryohei and Kyoko always dealt with the heat far better than most. They could stay in hot springs or saunas for hours without becoming exhausted and barely able to move, and they never experienced heat stroke in their life. (Gorons might reside within volcanos and in caves now, but those they see as brothers tend to pick up on their heat resistance after a couple of generations. A heat resistance that will always follow them, for they are Gorons in all but blood.)

Hibari always felt more at home the higher up he is. The cold barely bothers him, and as much as he stays in Namimori, he will always take a week to himself to climb the highest of mountains, all to see how small the world looks. (The Rito now reside on the Sky Islands, but their land locked descendants still yearn to fly.)

Haru, Nagi and Mukuro always feel more at home in forests and deep woods than anything else. It's a shame that Nagi and Mukuro barely have the chance to go to said locations though. Meanwhile, Haru has a dear friend in the woods. One guarding a particular sword. (Those taken in by Kokiri will always retain the effects. They will always favor nature, and this will affect their descendants. And Skull Kid is grateful to have a friend.)

Hana's maternal family was always female predominant. Her mother even makes jokes about their basically being zero males in her bloodline and her mother's mother's bloodlines. (The Gerudo genes are, very strong.)

Hayato, despite disliking it, was always offered help and assistance by people with white hair. They also offered him shelter, but understood when he was too wary to take up the offer. For the Sheikah know how deep paranoia can affect their descendants.

I am foaming at the mouth like yes yes this is perfect yes

Also this throws a hilarious light on Hibari bonding with Hibird. One that Link (who has never been afraid of Hibari and is the only one who can stand against him in a fight before flames were even known) once he starts to Remember things he’s never seen never lets Hibari forget.

[thisaintascenereviews]

Fall Out Boy Ranked: 2025 Edition

Fall Out Boy is my favorite band, and you know something I haven’t done in maybe a decade or so? A ranked episode with them! I ranked their discography many years ago, and I had a different perspective on their music back then. Over the past decade, I’ve been at odds with the pop-punk scene. Whether it’s the misogyny that ran rampant in the early 00s, or the predators that ran rampant in the mid-2010s, the pop-punk scene has only now started to get better. Fans are holding these artists responsible for their actions, and the bands themselves are becoming more diverse, unique, and interesting. It isn’t just the same runaround of four pasty and skinny white guys whining about how their girlfriends broke up with them. I’ve reexamined a lot of albums from my adolescence and from the past decade, and I’ve been able to look at them in a new light. A lot of albums are a product of their time, but context matters, especially if something was “acceptable then” but not anymore. When it comes to Fall Out Boy, I’ve grown to love and appreciate all of their albums in some way, shape, and form. I went through a period where I wasn’t a fan of their first couple of albums, but I also went through a period where I wasn’t crazy about their last few albums, either, but all of these albums are interesting in their own way. I wanted to rank them again, because it’s been so long since I’ve done that. I think it would be fun to look at their albums again, both because I haven’t done this in awhile, but I also don’t really have anything new to talk about. Not much has come out in the last couple of weeks, so I’m able to rest easy and listen to whatever I want.

Before we start off with the list properly, I wanted to mention a couple of things. I won’t be talking about any EPs, so their acoustic EP, the PAX AM Days EP, and the Lake Effect Kid EPs aren’t going to be talked about. They’re great little doses of their music, but I don’t need to talk about them. I also won’t be talking about their “debut” album from 2002, entitled An Evening Out With Your Girlfriend, because that’s an unauthorized album that was put out without their consent. It was mainly put out to capitalize on the success of Take This To Your Grave, but that’s neither here nor there. We’ll just be strictly talking about everything from Take This To Your Grave to So Much (For) Stardust, so strap in, folks (I also wanted to omit their greatest hits albums, because why would I talk about those). It’s going to be a wild right down memory lane. I’m excited to talk about these records for the first time in a long while, because Fall Out Boy is the first band I fell in love with growing up. I had listened to stuff before, but nothing hit me as hard as Fall Out Boy did. I’ll save my nostalgia for later on, because I can talk about the records themselves, but Fall Out Boy is a band that means the world to me. I grew up with this band, and as I got older, so did they. Their music changed and grew just as I did, so I love it when that can happen. The bands you love grow with you, and you can watch their growth along with yours at the same time. I also wouldn’t say that I dislike any of their music, so there’s nothing here that I’m going to say is bad, mid, or anything like that. All of these albums are solid in their own way, especially having plenty of time to sit with these. 9. Make America Psycho Again (2015)

Like I just said, there’s nothing outright bad in their discography, but I would easily say my least favorite record from them is their 2015 remix album, Make America Psycho Again. That title hasn’t aged well for obvious reasons, but this album was a cool idea. Fall Out Boy was fresh off the heels of American Beauty / American Psycho, and they remixed the whole album to feature rappers on each song, as well as tweak the production ever so slightly so it has a hip-hop / R&B sound to it. Honestly, it’s a cool idea, but too bad the rappers they picked make this album dated as all get out. None of them are outright awful, but who remembers OG Maco? How about Azealia Banks? I thought not, but you did have Migos, Juicy J, Big K.R.I.T., and Black Thought on songs, too, so the album isn’t half bad. Mostly everybody is fine here, but I think the production is the best part. Fans hated this thing when it came out, but I thought it was a very neat idea that no other rock band has really done since. The production is the best part of it, but it’s not an album I would necessarily go to bat for, especially these days, but it’s not half bad. 8. M A N I A (2018)

I hate to put 2018’s M A N I A so low, because this is a really good record, but the more that I think about it, the more it should be towards the bottom of the list. I was a staunch defender of this album when it came out, and I still think it’s a good (almost great) album today, but I do admit that it has some problems. For starters, this album is their most self-indulgent, mainly for Patrick Stump and his love for pop music. This album went very hard into pop, but it also had some cool experiments within Afrobeat, doo-wop, soul, R&B, and more traditional pop-rock. A lot of fans argued that the band “sold out” with this one, even more than their last two albums, but you could make the argument that they did in 2008 with Folie A Deux. This record has some of my favorite hooks from the band, including “Wilson (Expensive Mistakes),” “Bishops Knife Trick,” “Hold Me Tight Or Don’t,” “Champion,” and “The Last Of The Real Ones.” It’s clear, however, that their creative juices were starting to run dry. Pete Wentz’s lyrics weren’t on their A-game here, but there’s nothing outright awful. Maybe “Young & Menace” is a pretty weird song that I still enjoy, despite going into this strange EDM / dubstep kind of thing, but it’s an album that showed the band experimenting more. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, because people wanted the band to do something different, but when they do, they complain that they want the older stuff again. They were never going to do that, but they made a compromise for So Much (For) Stardust, their comeback album, and fans still hated it, so what can you do? 7. Save Rock & Roll (2013)

Fall Out Boy’s 2013 comeback album was an event. You just had to be there. It was such an exciting time to be a fan, because they first denied any rumors of them coming back, only to randomly say “psych” and drop a new song with the announcement of a new album. “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘Em Up)” is one of my favorite Fall Out Boy songs, and the rest of the album is quite good, too, but it’s definitely a product of its time. You could argue that most of their albums are, but this one is very much a product of 2013, because some of the sounds are very much something you would have heard in that time. A few of the guests are artists that were popular in that time, such as Big Sean and Foxes, but Courtney Love and Elton John being on the album is really cool. This record has some of my favorite songs from the band, but in terms of a comeback album, you can tell that they were having a bit of an identity crisis still and testing the waters for what worked. The album shows the band very refreshed and energized, but each song has its own feel. It’s not a bad thing at all, as the album is very memorable, but it does feel like a collection of ideas that came from different places as opposed to a unified vision that they had. 6. American Beauty / American Psycho (2015)

The band’s second album post-hiatus is a bit better, because it has more of unifying sound, but they really leaned into what worked. This record is known for the songs “Centuries” and “Immortals,” but like Save Rock & Roll, it’s a product of its time by having a sound that a band like Imagine Dragons popularized just a couple of years beforehand. They brought back a modern-day “arena-rock” sound by having huge hooks, big riffs, and lyrics about being determined and being champions (which they would have a song literally with that name a few years later). This record has lyrics about being “remembered for centuries” and “being immortal,” so there’s a loose theme of being remembered. I would also argue that the band helped to kickstart a trend, for better or worse, in pop music, where artists would interpolate popular songs, lyrics, or melodies to complement their own songs. “Centuries” is a good example of this, because it features an interpolation of “Tom’s Diner” by Suzanne Vega, versus an outright sample. “Uma Thurman” features an interpolation of The Munsters TV show theme, and that little surf-rock riff is so awesome. I always love hearing that song mainly for that part specifically. It seems like that’s been a trend for artists to do now, but it usually doesn’t end very well. American Beauty / American Psycho shows the band firing on all cylinders again, as well as having a loose theme, versus just sticking ideas to the wall to see what sticks. Sure, this album is also of its time, but I would argue it’s held up well. The songs are catchy, the vocals are great, and while Wentz’s lyrics lean into overly inspirational, cliché, and bland, there are some worthwhile moments in there that keep me coming back. 5. From Under The Cork Tree (2005)

Their sophomore album, From Under The Cork Tree, turns 20 this year. That’s another big milestone, and this is also the album that broke them out into the mainstream. They signed with Island after their debut came out, and they put this out in conjunction with Fueled By Ramen. This is the record that started it all for them, minus their debut, but this album has their two biggest hits – “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” and “Dance, Dance.” This album isn’t quite my favorite, though, but it’s because this album has a transitional energy behind it. It reminds me a lot of Save Rock & Roll, where they had their feet in two different doors. They had foot in the door of pop-punk and another in pop-rock. They wanted to stay within both worlds, but they couldn’t find a happy medium between the two. It works well, and there are a ton of songs on that album that I really love, but it feels a bit rough around in the edges in spots. They want to be more of a catchier and pop-focused band, but they don’t want to fully commit. The balance worked, because those two songs did very well and brought them a lot of attention, so I can’t fault them for that. I still enjoy this album quite a bit, so it’s worth hearing, nonetheless, but this is my least favorite in terms of their early material. That might be a hot take, just because of how popular this album was, but I still enjoy it.

Take This To Your Grave (2003)

Take This To Your Grave, their debut album, is a record that I’ve had a complicated relationship with. I went from loving it a decade ago to not being crazy about it about five years ago to loving it again. I didn’t really love the subtle misogyny that some of the lyrics have on it, but context matters, and you have to understand that the scene was rampant with that at the time. That doesn’t excuse it, but these guys were in their late teens when this record came out, so it makes sense that the immaturity is there. It actually makes the album a bit more charming and endearing, and the language used isn’t that bad, so it doesn’t make me cringe as much anymore. Some of it still hasn’t aged very well, but at the same time, the songs are iconic and catchy. This is a pretty scrappy and rough around the edges record, especially Patrick’s vocals coming into their own. I’ve said it before, but this album sounds like a hardcore record trapped in a pop-punk record’s body. It has the makings of a hardcore record, but it has a catchy pop-punk sound. It makes sense, too, because the band started in the hardcore scene. I’ve grown to really love this album now, especially after going back to it many times over the last handful of years, so it’s easily one of my top favorites from the band now. 3. So Much (For) Stardust (2023)

I’ve made it no secret that I love Fall Out Boy’s second comeback album, 2023’s So Much (For) Stardust. It’s crazy to think that this album turned two this year. I can’t believe it’s been out for a couple of years already, but I was extremely excited for it. It absolutely delivered, as this record was a nice compromise between their pre-hiatus stuff and their post-hiatus stuff, along with adding some new ideas to the fold. There’s a definite pop-punk and emo sound here of the first two albums, but you can hear the echoes of Infinity On High and Folie A Deux, as well as the more contemporary sounds of their post-hiatus material. There are some traces of funk and disco here, too, which is a lot of fun. I’ve talked about this album many times over, but it was my album of the year for 2023. I wouldn’t have put it there for no reason, but this record absolutely exceeded my expectations. For being my favorite band, I was hoping this would be good. It’s not just good, but it’s great. The band truly feels like they’re firing on all cylinders, whether it’s Pete’s lyrics being some of his best in years, the instrumentation being really solid, and Patrick’s vocals sounding out of this world. It’s not an album that I totally expected, but I love that. 2. Folie A Deux (2008) I just wrote a lengthy piece on this record, so I won’t talk about 2008’s Folie A Deux too much, but I love this record. This album is easily my second favorite of their discography, because of how this record defined my taste. I feel as though this album influenced a lot of other bands from the era, especially the neon pop-punk bands of the mid-00s and early 2010s. It influenced myself, too, because I really enjoy catchy, fun, energetic, and pop-focused stuff, especially in the pop-punk and alternative vein. Those are the types of pop-punk bands I enjoyed the most, and even now, those are types of bands I like in the genre. State Champs, in particular, is a band that I feel as though has picked up the mantle of having a strong pop-focused pop-punk sound. Fall Out Boy went fully pop-rock with this one, and despite the fan backlash, it works wonderfully. This album is extremely catchy, fun, energetic, and infectious. It has some of the band’s best hooks, best vocal performances, and best riffs. The lyrics are great, too, and the band took a risk with the lyrics being less personal and more about the world at large. I really do not get why fans disliked this album originally, maybe the pop-focused sound, but even then, it doesn’t sound too far different from a lot of other bands at the time. A lot of the neon pop-punk bands that were popular at the same time as this record coming out were even more pop-focused than this record, so what gives? I’m glad it’s getting the flowers it deserves, but even so, it shouldn’t have gotten that backlash to begin with.

Infinity On High (2007)

Infinity On High is my favorite Fall Out Boy album. I’ve talked about it a million times, so I won’t say much of anything here. Although, if you are new, I’ll say a little something. This is the album that got me into music, so I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for this record. This album has my all time favorite Fall Out Boy songs on it, although every album has some of my favorites on them, but this has the best of the best. This is one of those albums that I can listen to and immediately be taken back to that time in my life. I remember when I got it, when I first listened to it, and I remember spending a lot of mornings in 8th grade listening to it on my old CD player before school. I have memories playing this album over and over again, but I’ve grown to love and appreciate this album in different ways over the last 18 years that it’s been out. This is easily my favorite album from them, but it’s the album that made me fall in love with music.

[respectthepetty]

GMMTV 2024 Part 1 - Hot Tops

I did this last year, so I guess I'll do it this year too even though I'm salty like the Great Lakes in Utah about not getting JoongDunk, release dates for the remaining 2023 shows, nor Midnight Museum 2. Even though I have questions like if High School Fremeny is gonna be queer and why GMMTV is determined to make Earth seem old (Ossan's Love, really?!), there was a lot that I liked about this lineup like . . .

#1 - ON SALE Peaceful Property

I don't know if this show is a BL or not or what its name is, but I don't care. I'm gonna watch the hell out of it regardless. After enjoying New in The Warp Effect act wild, then Tay in Midnight Museum (thug tears!) be unhinged, I'm excited to see them play to those strengths in the Thai edition of one of my favorite shows, Los Espookys, because we have the rich kid who needs the help of the poor ghost hunters. It looks like a funny (and heartwarming) take on los espookys, so I'll be scared, but it has color coding which makes it a HOT TOP for me. - For the Heart

#2 - Wandee Goodday

Great was queer in Manner of Death. It was canon to me, so I followed him to Catch Me Baby where he clearly wasn't queer, but NetJames as the support were, so it was a win. So I'll be damn sure to follow this fine man on this wild adventure with Inn where he is playing an actual queer. Like he knows "he is queer and is already having casual sex with a guy" queer. It also features THOR, DRAKE and POND, while being directed by GOLF with the possibility of color coding, so who am I to argue with perfection. - For the Kinks

#3 - My Golden Blood

I don't like vampires, but I love camp, and nothing gets campier than this pilot trailer even if was unintentional. I laughed so many times during it that I'm going to treat this as a comedy whether it is or not. It had Neo and Mond while also saving some space for potential "older" vampires to show up (Papang anyone?). Fluke Gawin continues to take one for the team, yet stays winning, so thank this babygirl for his service, while Joss serves body. Amen. - For the Laughs

#4 - The Trainee

Everyone looks miserable in corporate America Thailand, which is realistic because it is soul-sucking and never-ending, but OffGun are getting to play adults AGAIN, and like I wrote last year - They are Kelly Clarkson. Even at their worst, they are better than every one else, performance-wise, and they have View, Piploy, and Sea with his beautiful side profile as supports. Because it is an office BL, I'm already rooting for it, and it features Gun crying which is only rivaled by Khaotung tearing up, meaning it's marvelous. - For the Adults

#5 - Kidnap

Both Ohms are in it with Title and a newbie, but I'm only showing up 42% for them and 58% for PAPANG! That's it! That's the reason. - For the PAPANG!

Honorable Mention - Pluto

It's really shitty of me to put a picture of the bully, played by THOR (again!), as the image for this when it is a GL, but the entire reason it isn't even ranked is because . . .

WHAT WAS IT ABOUT?!

There are twins? One gets in a car accident with her husband right after the wedding or on the way to the wedding? The other twins takes her place to figure out what happened? But falls back in love with her bestie? Or were they already in love? Or did the chick actually love the other twin? Make it make sense, Mary! All I truly understood was Thor & Baseball Bat. Everything else was confetti. - For the ???

Everything Else

As usual, I'm showing up for everything queer, so even if I'm not looking forward to them I'll watch them.

But Ossans' Love . . . really, GMMTV? *eye roll for making me sit through it again in another language*

[denny-the-catcher]

been training my mum to recognise fall out boy albums (she can already recognise all of mcr’s albums)

so far she thinks every song fall out boy has ever written is on infinity on high, has no idea evening out, tttyg and srar even exist and if i mention cork tree she acts surprised so yeah progress

the code names for the albums (god forbid she says the actual name)

the pink one: evening out with your girlfriend (she has no idea it even exists but i try)

the blue one: take this to your grave

the theatre: from under the cork tree

the sheep: infinity on high

the bear(s): folie a deux

the kids: save rock and roll (she always forgets about this)

the american flag: american beauty/american psycho

the purple one: mania

the dog: so much (for) stardust

extra: the tennis guy (pax am days) (no she does not remember this i just asked)

i didn’t even try with lake effect kid, my heart will always be the b-side to my tongue and the two greatest hits too much effort she’s kinda hopeless

[darkvioletcloud]

Louisa is real, guys!! Look, she's been there since the beginning!

Just kidding, I came up with her skills and backstory, all below the cut.

Trigger warnings for brief descriptions of violence, abuse, suicide and depression, all that stuff. Nothing we haven't seen in Fear & Hunger, though I am a bit afraid I may have gone too far in certain places. I apologize if anything comes across as insensitive or offensive.

Skills:

Keen Eye (Passive)

Louisa has a higher chance of finding better items when scavenging, and sometimes finds an extra item.

Disable and Run (30 Mind)

A punch to the torso of humanoid enemies initiates an automatic run from battle while also doing a decent amount of damage. When back on the overworld, the enemy in question will be stunned for an extended period of time, allowing the party to start an escape.

Maternal Embrace (35 Mind)

Sometimes a hug and a shoulder to cry on is what someone needs. Hug a party member in the overworld to restore their mind and heal certain status effects. Reduces Louisa’s mind due to having to process and worry about the issues the hug recipient tells her about.

Home Cooking (Passive)

Unlocks recipes for Mind and Body-restoring food Louisa learned from her Vatican-born Nonna. Nothing is as calming and healing as a home cooked meal!

Focaccia Bread

Biscotti

Mushroom Risotto

Passionate Guard (25 Mind)

Take the hit meant for another party member. You take less damage, but the mental strain and anxiety from this attack will wear down on you.

Not sure how balanced these would be, and I didn't think of what the stats for the Home Cooking foods would be. It's just an idea!

(The following sections would be in a scenario where all contestants are playable, as it references having Tanaka as a party member, just a heads-up! Please also heed the trigger warnings.)

Initial Interaction and Recruitment

Louisa can be found at the train at first and doesn’t seem too upset about the train not working, despite saying she was meant to meet up with her parents at the Prehevil downtown station. She says it’s fine and that she’ll manage, and not to worry about her. She’s fine on her own. She’ll give the player some biscotti and wish them well.

If you return to the lake on the evening of the first day, Louisa will be standing on the shore and a cutscene will initiate. The player will ask if Louisa is having trouble finding her way downtown, and she says she’s right where she needs to be. She takes a gun out and the player can either attack her right away or ask what she’s doing. Attacking her initiates a battle where she won’t fight back, instead each of her turns will prompt dialogue of her saying that she’s going to be with her son very soon, and asks for you to make it quick. Looting her will give you her belt, a photograph of her with a man and a teenager, and another helping of biscotti.

If the player talks to her instead, she holds the gun and says she came to Prehevil to die. She wanted to die by the lakeside where she used to sit and read as a child. She laments about how she couldn’t protect her son from her husband and is as bad as he is, letting Leon be hurt, and how she was destined to be a terrible mother.

The player can talk her down and take the gun away from her. This can prompt another opportunity to kill her, or to recruit her. The player can give her a hug and, depending on the character, can comfort her in different ways.

If the player doesn’t prevent her from committing suicide, she’ll shoot herself in the head from under the chin and collapse. She can be looted for her belt, biscotti, and the photograph. Daan’s medical diagnosis will comment on how her breathing isn’t the typical agonal breathing. Not sawing off her head will lead to her body disappearing by the next morning, only reappearing in the chapel of the third day.

Moonscorching

Entering the chapel on the third day shows Louisa collapsed on the floor. Half of her face has been blown apart and by her side is a fallen cherub’s body, which she pets on occasion during the cutscene. Louisa will talk about how her first child was a little girl, saying “She was so quiet”, with the implication being she delivered a stillbirth. She says how she killed her daughter. She doesn’t know how, but it was her fault, it was all her fault. She rambles on about how she’s the reason Leon died and how she killed him by letting him leave to go to war.

Despite dialogue being initiated, nothing can stop Louisa from Moonscorching. She cries about how happiness always slips through her fingers right when she grasps it, and Alll-mer has forsaken her despite her faith. She asks you if she’s suffered enough, if she can finally be at peace. She’ll turn into Compassion, and each line of dialogue states how she already feels like she’s happy, as she can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s finally over, and she’s honored that someone is helping her for once.

As A Party Member

If interacting with a certain bookshelf in the bookstore, Louisa can pick up a book and say she had her eye on that particular one for a while. If Tanaka is in the party, he’ll ask her what it’s about, and she’ll stumble on her words and say it’s a romance about a Bohemian girl that gets caught up with a warrior from Edo and that it’s just a silly book for ladies. Tanaka presses further and it’s let slip that the book contains quite a bit of erotica.

In response to O’saa’s comment about escapism, Louisa will say that he’s right and mumble about how that’s the reason she didn’t go on to do anything in her life. If she didn’t indulge so much in fantasy, she could’ve done something with her life and go on to pursue higher education. If Abella is in the party, she’ll say there’s nothing wrong with indulgence, and how escapism doesn’t stop a person from learning. She’ll also say it’s never too late for Louisa to pursue her passions.

If Tanaka and Marcoh are at the train and practicing boxing, Louisa will be watching. If interacted with, she talks about how she’d like to join them and learn some self defense, but she’s too nervous to ask.

An interaction with Marcoh would prompt them to discuss food together, with him saying that a lot of the recipes she knows are Vatican in origin. She enthusiastically admits she’s half Vatican on her father’s side, and she learned a lot of her recipes from her Nonna.

If both Louisa and Henryk are saved and Louisa isn’t recruited, and neither are moved to PRHVL Bop, she’ll be found helping him prepare food outside the train.

As A Playable Character

Marina will call Louisa “the snoring lady” when she first wakes up, and Louisa can apologize and say she hopes she wasn’t too loud.

When entering the train again after the initial outside interaction, Louisa can converse with Caligura in a unique encounter, where the flavor text states that he puts Louisa on edge. His frown and posture are all too familiar to her, and if he’s pestered too much and leaves, Louisa will instantly feel relieved. If interacting with Marina right after, the player can tell her that Louisa is afraid of Caligura.

Character History

The soothing sound of the railtracks... You are not used to such a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.

You can't help but let your mind wander. You reminisce about what has led you to this point in life…

You were born in Prehevil with the Soul of the Enduring, raised under an Alll-mer roof and went to an all-girls school. There was always a rift between you and the others. You were the weird girl, always the odd one left out. While the others braided each other’s hair and chatted amongst each other, you sat by your lonesome and devoured books.

A target had been painted on your back at some point. One of the girls had spread a rumor about you, and your isolation grew. As you walked home one day, you were stopped by a boy a year older than you, a boyfriend of one of the girls who looked down upon you.

One thing led to another, and the boy initiated a fight. A cowardly move, a bigger boy attacking a girl like you, yet you had to defend yourself somehow…

Hit him and run

You ended up socking him in the chest. Wherever you punched him, it must have messed him up.

The boy collapsed on the ground with the wind knocked out of him. While he wheezed and caught his breath, you ran off back home.

(Gain Disable and Run.)

Fight back

Though his fist cracked against your face, you spat your blood back at him and fought back.

It was a tough fight, and by all accounts, you lost, judging by all the bruises.

However, you gained a reputation that day - you weren’t afraid to get your hands dirty.

Not to mention, you figured out you were pretty good at throwing a punch or two.

(Gain Bare-Fisted Proficiency)

Your mother was reasonably upset as you came home with your school uniform all torn up and your face covered in blood. As she bandaged you up, your father praised you for standing up for yourself.

The fight made you a social pariah. You graduated the private school friendless and alone, but with the reputation of being not someone to mess with. You bulked up a bit and gained weight, both in fat and in muscle. Everyone called you ugly, and you believed it.

Your parents took you to Vatican City the summer before you entered high school, to celebrate your achievements. After all, that’s where your father was from. You met your grandparents for the first time. They lived in a cute area near the local bookstore.

Your parents were going out one day for a date between the two of them, leaving you to either entertain yourself, or to stay with your Nonna, who wanted your help with making dinner.

Go to the bookstore

Staying home would be like staying with strangers. Who knew if your grandparents even liked you? Would they find you to be an unlikable freak as well?

You went to the bookstore and spent the day peeking through fiction and nonfiction alike. You wrapped yourself up in a book of poetry, and ended up purchasing that, alongside a book on Alll-mer with an interesting cover.

(Gain New Poems of Love and Torment and Skin Bible - Alll-mer)

Cook with Nonna

You decide to cook with your grandmother. Though you were never much of a chef before, you caught on quite easily, and passion sparked within you.

The two of you spent the day preparing freshly-baked cookies, homemade bread, and a risotto for dinner, complete with mushrooms picked out of the garden.

As you sat at the dinner table with your parents, you told them how much you enjoyed cooking, and asked if you could help with dinner more often.

(Gain skill Home Cooking and book Recipes of the 15th Century Vol. 1)

You slipped back into isolation in high school. The first half was full of more bullying, now made worse due to the school being co-ed. More often than not, you came home bruised and bloodied.

You skipped class a lot and spent time hanging around coffee shops and stores, always with a novel in hand. On some days, you’d read by the lake, your favorite place. You neglected your schoolwork in favor of staying safe, and in that meantime, you got through quite a number of books.

One day when you were 15, a young man caught your eye. Tall, dark-haired, with a charming grin and dressed up so nicely. He smiled at you and approached you at the coffee shop, asking you what you were reading.

The man swept you up in a heart-fluttering haze. He bought you a drink and chatted with you. For the first time, you found a friend.

You skipped school more often to see him. You two would hide in the park to kiss and fool around. He’d curl your hair around his finger and say how beautiful you were. He promised that when you graduated, he would marry you right away.

And you did. When you were 18 and he was 24, the two of you married at a small chapel, surrounded by your families and his friends. He said you could live your life however you wanted. You wanted nothing more than to live happily with him. And so, you settled into the life of a housewife.

You moved away from Prehevil to start a new life. The two of you tried building your family right away. It was hard, but a few years in, you found yourself expecting. It was truly a blessing from Alll-mer.

You couldn’t wait to welcome the new addition to your family. Really, you could do without the nausea, the lightheadedness, anemia…

She arrived early. She was like a doll in your arms. Completely still. She never had a chance to take a breath.

You blamed yourself.

You fell into a depression. Your husband was caring and concerned, as he always was. The two of you tried again. Maybe this was a test from Alll-mer, to see if you truly cared about your family. And of course you did!

Finally, the two of you were blessed with a child. You named him Leon. You cried over even the littlest sounds he would make. Your family was complete.

Leon was all smiles as he grew. The boy radiated positivity and happiness. You were there to see every milestone of his.

Your husband was delighted at first, but as the years went on, something changed within him. He didn’t smile at you as he did before. His temper shortened. You tried to satisfy him as best you could, but you weren’t trying hard enough.

Leon knew something was wrong, and you knew that he knew, yet you still put on a false smile and told him mama and papa were okay.

As Leon grew, he became the exact opposite as how you grew up. He was studious, friendly, and outgoing. He stayed out late with friends and came home with stories of what he learned in school, and how fascinated the subjects were.

You knew why he stayed out, though. If he was home, he risked being struck by your husband. If you intervened, you would be hurt as well. With Leon out of the house, you took the brunt of the abuse.

One evening, as you were cleaning and your husband was reading the paper, Leon came home giggling and hazy-eyed. He had been out partying with his friends. He stumbled into the living room, right in front of your husband. Your husband shot out of his seat and grabbed Leon by the collar, shaking him and spitting at him. At one point, Leon was struck in the head with your husband’s pistol, splitting the skin open.

You knew that once he was done with Leon, your husband would turn on you next. It was your fault Leon was like this, after all.

Slip away while your husband isn’t looking

You left the room and locked yourself in the bathroom as you heard your baby boy cry out in pain from your husband’s actions.

You prayed to Alll-mer to grant mercy to Leon, yet you ask for no forgiveness for yourself. You’re a coward, after all.

Soon, all went quiet, save for the occasional hiccups and sobs from Leon.

(Gain Escape Plan)

Defend your son

You put yourself in between your husband and Leon. With tears in your eyes, you chastised the man you once loved, a man who had been gone for so long and was never to return.

Leon watched as your husband struck you and slammed you against the wall.

You felt no pain. You didn’t care if you broke your nose or lost a tooth, just as long as Leon was safe. Besides, you were used to this. It had been a while, but this wasn’t anything you weren’t familiar with.

(Gain Passionate Guard)

Your life was never the same after that incident. Your husband was a monster in the home. Leon didn’t come home on some nights. Your eyes glazed over as you tried escaping into the books you once loved, but the words would fall on tear-filled eyes.

Leon left home one day, enlisted in the army to defend against the Bremen Empire. The day he left, you gave him a hug and a kiss and sent him on his way with fresh focaccia and biscotti. He smiled back at you, with that loving, silly smile that he had back when he was young and innocent. For a moment, everything felt okay.

Leon never came home.

It was just you and your husband. Leon’s funeral ended with your husband screeching at you about how it was your fault the two of you didn’t have kids anymore. You didn’t process his words.

Finally, there came a day when you had enough. As you bandaged up a cut on your arm, you made a plan. A train to Prehevil left your town in the middle of the night. You would pack your bags in secret and leave. Make your way to your hometown and find peace there. Nothing left to live for anyway. You were not going to live a life suffering at the hands of a monster.

You were going to live with your parents again, yes, that was the excuse. Maybe you could see them once more…

You packed a change of clothes and a photo of your family, your last memory of Leon, smiling brightly at the camera.

There was still space left in your bag once you finished. What would go in it?

Stock up on medicine (Gain 2x Blue Vials and 2x Cloth Fragments)

Find something to read (Gain Alchemillia Vol. 1)

Find some extra cash (Gain Lucky Coin x1 and Shillings x10)

Your plan was to slip out in the night as your husband fell asleep. You steeled yourself and slipped out of bed.

Your husband hadn’t fallen asleep. He sat up and asked what you were doing.

You may have slowly failed school, but you weren’t stupid. You had his gun, smuggled under your pillow while he was showering.

You felt sick as you pointed the gun at him and told your husband you were done with him. He was not the man you fell for, and you were not the naive little girl that he once thought you were.

With a final goodbye, you left, and caught the train right before it left the station.

If you were going to go out, it was going to be on your own terms. As you rested your head against the window, you thought about the lake, your special little place. It would be a nice, relaxing spot, yes, to spend your final moments…

B Ending

How funny, you came to Prehevil to die, and yet you ended up being the only one to leave. The light at the end of the tunnel remained forever just out of grasp, and you still remained crawling towards it.

You couldn’t bear to live after everything you had done. You, sinful and stained, attempted once more to commit the unspeakable.

The gods laugh at you. Your attempt failed and you were hospitalized for months. Half of your face was mangled and scarred, your hands lost some motor function, and you began your long journey of recovery and rehabilitation. No matter how hard it would be, you would push yourself through it. The technology that helped save you fascinated you the entire way through.

The regrets of your past haunted you. You realized you never blossomed, remaining in a cocoon sewn shut by the life imposed by your husband and your lack of ambition.

You went back to school. A woman at your age, learning with children that your son should have been in the ranks of. If he couldn’t bloom, then you would, in his place.

You found your passion for science and emerging technologies. Not just passion, but skill and intuition. You used that passion to fuel yourself through this education, tutoring your fellow students and helping the next generation, while also doing for yourself what you should have done long ago.

[ricks-fallen-angel]

Snowfall used to be such a big part of my town’s winter culture. We used to open the back door and need to use a yard stick to measure the wall of the snow built up against it, there were yearly reminders on how to tell when the lake was frozen enough to skate on, the possibility of a white Christmas was about 50/50, we’d have frequent delayed openings from school because 6 inches of snow wasn’t enough to stop the day, though just as often we’d have an emergency shortened day because the storm would pick up so suddenly that they had to send us home before it got too bad, a major town fundraiser was selling T-shirts at the school that had snowflakes and said “we’re going home early”, it was a frequent prank to run to the window and shout “it’s snowing!” when the snow hadn’t started yet but we’d all look every time because it was not a matter of if it would snow that day but when it would snow, when I was a kid my dad taught me to shovel every 60 minutes in a storm he would always say “anyone who questions why you shovel an inch every hour instead of waiting for the storm to end has never had to shovel 3ft of snow”, just as you’d thought the snow might melt away another snowfall would hit

I was born in the 90s and these days my town gets maybe one or two real snowfalls a year, sure we get dusting in between, but nothing like the snow we used to get. I was always so focused on the big picture effects of climate change, I was and am so scared of the large scale global consequences, but I had never stopped to think about what it meant on a personal level, the cultural changes it would bring with it. There’s worse effects of climate change out there, and there’s worse effects of a lack of snow (like droughts, environmental impacts…), but sometimes I need a moment to just mourn the cultural loss. One day I’ll raise my kids in this town, but it won’t really be the same place if they’re up on that mountain without any snow

[thekidsarentalright]

oooohhhh now that you're doing the census again...do you think fob is going to release music this year or is it too soon ????

hmmm i think about this a Lot tbh and think it Might be too soon this year, just based off of a lot of things theyve said since mania came out, really, but specifically about their process on stardust of really taking their time with it and waiting for true inspiration to strike before they make things, and can only assume the next album will be the same. If they release anything, it might be an EP like lake effect kid, since they Have had a trend post-h of releasing something like that after a main album (pax am days after srar, make america psycho again after abap, lake effect kid after mania) but ig we'll just have to wait and see!! that all being said btw i do 100% believe theyre probably working on/writing the next album right now, whether they know it yet or not kfsjnfd

[inkheartedwanderer]

hold the sun || r.b.

robin x fem!reader (obvs!)

content:  fluff! a lil bit insecure robin (blink and you’ll miss it) and that’s all i believe. happy pride everyone! i’m a bit late, but i want guys to know this is a safe place for you. i see you, i hear you and i love you. 

this one didn’t turn out exactly how i wanted it to, but hope i made robin some justice, she’s my favourite girl and i want to start writing for her too.

word count: 1.1k

In the quiet of a particularly hot summer afternoon, the only things you can hear are the water of the lake softly kissing the shore a few feet ahead of you, the shrill singing of cicadas, and Robin's low, mindless humming.

The sunlight paints swirls on the back of your closed eyelids, it makes the skin on your cheeks tingle, and you know you’re probably going to get sunburnt, but you can’t be bothered to get up, walk all the way back to the car and try to find your yellow hat.

You don’t want to move. Robin’s leg is casually thrown over yours as the girl lies by your side on the blanket, and you would feel embarrassed about how fast your heart is racing if your brain didn’t feel so mushy right now. 

You’re not even sure she’s doing it on purpose. Shielding your face from the sun with your arm, you open one eye, nose scrunched up, and sneak a peek at Robin. 

She looks lovely in her navy blue swimsuit, the one she bought the day you two decided to go shopping after work.

Her hair, still damp from your swim at the lake after lunch, shines like gold in the daylight and sticks to her bare shoulder and back creating patterns you feel the sudden urge to trace with your finger. You don’t. Instead, you settle for looking at her as discreetly as you can. 

Freckled nose and long lashes, a slight tan from all the afternoons you've spent just like this one, far away enough from Hawkins, in your secret spot by Lake Jordan. Remnants of her mascara smudged around her eyes. Fingernails painted red.

She’s drawing something on her sketchpad, her strokes short and certain, lips pursed in concentration; absentmindedly singing a The Cure tune under her breath.

It’s funny, you think. 

A few weeks ago you didn’t even know her name, didn’t even know she existed. She was just another number in Hawkins High’s demographics, and you were just one of the unfortunate few who would spend two endless, sticky-hot summer months working a shitty part-time job instead of going on holiday. 

At The Palace Arcade, no less.

It smells like old candy and stale popcorn, chlorine and sunscreen. The carpet is old and tacky and it has stains that won’t go away. Kids go in droves to find respite from the burning midday heat and scream and scream until you get a headache.

You don’t make enough money, that’s for sure. But having met Robin one cloudy day while you were both on your respective lunch breaks makes it well worth it.

“You’re staring.”

Caught.

You blush furiously and look away, your so face hot from the sun and the embarrassment that you don’t dare to make eye contact. “Am not.”

“Are too.” She puts her pencil and sketchbook away and chuckles under her breath. “It’s fine, I get it, I would stare at myself too.”

She’s bluffing, and you both know it -she can be as insecure as any teenage girl in this day and age, but her boldness has caught you by surprise. You stammer. “Yeah… Whatever, Buckley.”

Robin’s amused smile turns soft when she notices the red on your cheeks. She leans forward and the fleeting feathery feeling of her lips on the corner of yours only makes your heartbeat pick up.

It’s curious, the effect she has on you still, even after so many nights spent together stargazing, so many afternoons at the Lake, so many stolen kisses in the water, and in your car, and behind the building where you both work, when it’s dark and empty.

You blame the butterflies in your chest for the way turn you turn your head and chase after her mouth, one hand reaching out to rest on the crook of her neck and pull her closer to you. She tastes sweet, like the watermelon ice pops you had after lunch and her vanilla chapstick; and the tips of her hair, lightened by the sun, tickle your face.

Robin sighs a happy sigh and rests her head on your shoulder. 

The silence that follows it’s comfortable, easy. Things are easy with Robin. Her breath is warm where it touches your skin, and you’re almost certain you’re breathing in synch. Your hand finds hers blindly, knuckles brushing against each other, 

“I don’t mind you staring.” She says, at last, her voice barely a whisper.

You humph. “I wasn-”

“It makes me feel pretty.” If her boldness was surprising, the badly-hidden shyness in her voice is downright shocking.

You twist your head to look at her, bewildered. Her face is hidden between your arm and the blanket, which surely can’t be comfortable and which makes you pout. Your free hand finds her chin and you softly pull to make her look at you.

“Aw, Robs. But you are pretty.”

It’s her turn to blush. “Am I?”

“Yeah. Beautiful, I’d say.”

“Shut up.” You giggle when she does, snort when she hits you, jokingly, on your shoulder.

You and Robin lean forward at the same time, both eager to close the gap between you again. She kisses you firmly, like she has something to prove. You kiss her back hoping you can prove to her how much this, her means to you.

Breathless when you finally pull away, you lie down again, a dopey smile making its way across your face. Robin smirks and goes back to her sketchbook. 

“Can I see?” You ask, the side of your face pressed against the soft fabric of the blanket, one eye squinted to shield it, once again, from the light.

“Hmm?” The girl hums, lost in thought and concentration.

“The picture.”

“Oh.” Robin shows you. Your own face greets you, laughing, eyes half closed. It’s a rough sketch and you don’t think your haircut is exactly like that, but it’s obviously you and you look so happy and so beautiful. “Wow, Robs. It’s great.”

She brushes her hair away from her face -you swear it shines on its own, a golden crown, a halo, and then she kisses your nose. “It’s not great.”

You smile. “It’s perfect.”

                                                           🌷 🌷 🌷

a/n: this definitely didn’t take me 2 weeks to write and i’m definitely not having the worst block rn :( i hope it’s not to bad. 

likes, reblogs, comments, anything is welcome!

[heartbreakfeelsogood-moved]

lake effect kid ep is like track 1: when this song is on i am from chicago even if i’m not from chicago track 2: i may not be from chicago but that city gave me my favorite band that saved my life in many ways and this song is so moving that i kinda feel like i owe chicago everything too track 3: this should’ve been on mania without a chicago mention so the chicago mention seems super obsessive because mania is super obsessive and woah calm down there buddy chicago isn’t going anywhere