#I am many things but original in my playlists is not one of those things

[buttercups-song]

*sadly adds tom odell and hozier to my new jayvik playlist*

[wishfulsketching]

What a year, huh.

I'm not going to talk about how everything is going to shit in the real world, that's not what this post is about.

I can remember that before Gotham, I had a bit of trouble trying to get inspired about art. I did end up doing a lot of original art due to that, tho. Gotham was the nice return to a hyperfixation that got me back to creating, which felt like a saving grace tbh. I draw A LOT, you may have noticed. I thank my ADHD for that. So, when I'm unable draw I do struggle spending my time in any meaningful way.

I also started reading again this year. Murderbot Diaries got me by the throat, I love those books so much. I've also liked T. Kingfisher's books so far, haven't read that many yet, tho. I also read in english, not the translated versions, so it's a nice way to "use" my english skills.

I finally started needle felting this Christmas! I've been meaning to do it for yearsss. Bunnydog was my ever first attempt, Slowpoke was my second.

Arcane season 2. Woohee, I had totally forgotten when it was going to drop! It was a good thing tho, I was saved from a lot of painful waiting around, hah. I might've chickened out of the Zaundads fandom back in the day but it's so much more chill now. Well, kind of. I do see people complain a bit in the tags. Plus I bet it's a lot worse in other sites. ANYWAY!

I feel like that in this short time after season 2, I've gotten better at art and got my groove fully back. I am so grateful for people who just keep being so nice and support me here adsfsdfo! I said it back in 2021/2022 I think but I'll say it again: zaundads fandom has been one of the nicest fandom I've been part of. (I have to mention tho, so is riddlebird fandom)

I'm still a bit overwhelmed with all the attention I'm getting, I admit, but I am also so happy I get to share my unhinged love for this stupid little man.

My next year will start with job hunting and balancing my mental health (I've been "in recovery" for years, it's gonna be a adjustment to start working. I am still very much struggling but not as much so I have to find a job that doesn't kill me in a month lol).I've also made one new years resolution which is that I will more actively display and live my preferred identity and not just go "eh whatever, I know how I actually feel like so". Not gonna be easy because I get embarrassed about everything and will want to backpedal so hard at the start but uhhh...I'll try not to? Eh.

Yea. So a lot of new things for the next year and I already feel tired. But hopeful!

I'll end this post by randomly sharing my fave CJU gameplays because his gameplay vids always help me to relax:

I couldn't find the playlist so here's PART 2 and PART 3. I really love the story in this one.

A game I expected nothing from and now rewatch this playthrough ever so often. PLAYLIST

Love the game, love the commentary, love the vibes! PLAYLIST

[rederiss]

Now I’m in YOUR ask box to tell u that I think Jeremy Knox would love lorde. Especially melodrama , but all her albums really

Crazy how you mentioned Melodrama when Green Light and Liability is in my Jeremy Knox playlist. Speaking of Green Light, that song is in New Girl where two characters get together, and the WAY they get together is exactly how I want Jeremy and Jean to get together. (Iykyk, if you don’t know, then go watch it and you’ll see what I mean).

Listening to the whole album and it really shows the different parts of Jeremy pretty well imo. So, like fuck yes? Bet you weren’t expecting a yap session, but you’re getting one.

Green Light: This is a song about the desire to move on after a painful breakup, which instantly makes me think of Leo and how Jeremy keeps going back to him. The chorus itself is very much reflective of this. “Cause honey, I’ll come get my things, but I can’t let go/I’m waiting for it, that green light, I want it/Oh, I wish I could get my things and just let go/I’m waiting for it that green light, I want it”

Sober: Uh. (Coughs) This should be the song that plays during the orgy. I said it. Okay, seriously, this song is so sensual that I really think could apply for any of his hookups. “King and Queen of the weekend/Aint a pill that could touch our rush/When you dream with a fever/Bet you wish you could touch our rush” Then later with the outro “Midnight, we’re fadin’/Til daylight, we’re jaded/We know that it’s over/In the morning, you’ll be dancing with us” Crazy Crazy if this song was during that scene

Homemade Dynamite: This would be the song I’d suggest for Jeremy’s hookups. Also very sensual and kinda hot, if I do say so. This song goes very well with the whole “I’ve picked up more people at bars by having a lighter handy” line. Low-key the same exact vibes going on between those two songs.

SIDE NOTE: These three songs are insane together, and I am sure Lorde did that on purpose. Even putting Green Light in the mix really really shows a progression of Jeremy. Then you go to the next song, which… haha yeah..

Liability: The reason why I put this song on his playlist is because of how his family and his hookups make him feel. “They say, “You’re a little much for me/You’re a liability/You’re a little much for me”/ So they pull back, make other plans/ I understand, I’m a liability/ Get you wild, make you leave/I’m a little much for… everyone” Then the bridge immediately after the chorus “The truth is I am a toy that people enjoy/Til all of the tricks don’t work anymore/and they are bored of me” The chorus and the bridge just reflects what people are doing to Jeremy

Sober II: Dare I say, the aftermath when Jeremy finds out about Noah. While the first Sober feels like a high, this one feels like the come down of that. (Okay, so I listened to Sober first, then immediately went back to this song… Both songs fit pretty well with most likely the worst night Jeremy had in his life) Specifically, what gets me is the refrain in this song that feels so antagonistic to me “We told you this was melodrama/You wanted something that we offer” Over and over which can. Reflect the aftermath and him realizing what he just done.

Liability (Reprise): Was going to skip over this one, but god.. I fear this is Jeremy’s response to the original Liability.

Perfect Places: Dare I say, this gotta be a Jeremy Anthem (I got too many of those, but this is Lorde’s version) reminds me of his coping mechanism or his need to escape from his reality. “Every night, I love and die/Feel the party to my bones/Watch the wasters blow the speakers/Spill my guts breath the outdoor light/Its just another graceless night/I hate the headlines and the weather” While this song can apply to Jeremy’s old ways, I also think it applies to his current ways. The song as a whole is about escaping, which is what he does every time he has sex.

Unmentioned songs: The Louvre, Supercut, and Writer in the Dark. Still trying to make out these songs. I have thoughts what they could be in relation to Jeremy. They aren’t as glaringly obvious as the rest of the album. Supercut, I have the most thoughts on which could reflect his ideal relationship based on other relationships.

Obsessed with this album and you are correct, this is VERY Jeremy.

[mandacantu]

10 Reasons Why I Actually Loved The Crow Remake

FKA Twigs - I'm not going to sit here and pretend I am not a huge twigs fan, because I love anything she touches and especially her music. This was her first time as a leading lady and I thought she did a good job. I do think there were some points where her line reading could have been a little more fast paced in some spots, but overall, I think she was captivating, eloquent and emotional. And wow, so many stunning visuals that we got of her from this movie!

2. We didn't have to see depictions of brutal and violent deaths of women in this film. I didn't want to spend too many of my thoughts on comparisons to the original The Crow, but one thing I noticed was that I didn't have to endure the violent and sexually abusive death of Shelly or any other woman in this movie. I do like the original movie but never cared for the way they went all in on Shelly's death. In this remake, we still see Shelly die but we don't have to endure gratuitous SA scenes whilst losing the leading lady. I appreciated that and was able to relax more, honestly.

3. The villain had actual motivation for killing and being a villain. There was some decent backstory and character development for the villain and that is something that I always appreciate. Some of my favorite pieces of media (like Spirited Away and Knives Out) do well to at least give the villain a story or a reason for being bad. I think it adds depth to the story and for me, helps immerse me into the plot more.

4. It felt like a comic book come to life. From the color grading and palette to the way scenes were cut and moved from one to the next, it felt like I was flipping through a comic book. There were moments that were very whimsical in depictions of love and then very gritty scenes. The contrast in some of those scenes felt similar to flipping a page in a comic.

5. It was very romantic and spent a lot of time focusing on their love story. I thought their love was believable and felt like that whirlwind kind of love where you just want to party and kiss all night. It gave me a reason to care about both of the characters and it gave Shelly a place in the spotlight where she becomes so much more than just a symbol of loss for character development. Focusing on their love and giving us some romance was a timeless decision and puts their love story up there with Romeo and Juliet or Christian and Sateen.

6. Soundtrack was amazing! If you are into some new wave, some goth tunes and some dance tracks, this is the playlist for you. Beyond just the soundtrack, it was truly a different experience to see it synced up to parts of the movie as intended. The intro was amazing, I thought it was like a James Bond meets Underworld mixed with some NIN music video sprinkled in there. The folks who worked on the score deserve a standing ovation. There were moments where I was tearing up because of how well the music paired with the scene. Most memorable and moving was Joy Division's Disorder when they bust out of rehab together and a perfectly placed Boadicea by Enya. There were so many other good ones too, I'm seriously considering seeing it again just for the mini music videos you get from the film.

7. It was aesthetically pleasing. And I'm not just talking about the eye candy that was Bill Skarsgård, though lets give him his flowers for being a true Mr. Fanservice! The actual visuals were beautiful. I loved the cinematography and color choices. It was truly a feast for the eyes. Just take a look at this beautiful gif set by pizgif!

8. I could easily see a story about grief and the longing for justice for loved ones. I thought it was a good story and as I watched it, I thought to myself that the person who wrote the original comic must have gone through an immense loss. It wasn't until I looked it up that it seems to be confirmed that The Crow was inspired by such loss. The moodiness of the movie itself added to the weight of the tragic storyline. In that, I liked that it takes a while for Eric to become The Crow. Losing someone you love transforms you and in this sense, the movie is all about that transformation and pain and longing.

9. I liked the ending. I don't want to say too much to spoil it, but I enjoyed the different ending and I was definitely teary eyed and sniffling as I left the theater.

10. It was goth as fuck. I think goth can be a multitude of styles and honestly shouldn't be something that has a gatekeeper. This was emo-boy-goth, it was e-boy-tiktok-hottie-goth, it was goth in a different flavor. I think folks are quick to see this new Eric not dressed like a new-wave-leather-daddy-goth as decidedly not dark enough. To quote a favorite musician, he was "goth as fuck, even when [he's] not in black, gothic is the pain you feel and not the clothes that's on your back."

Closing thoughts: A lot of the negative criticism is coming from men or diehard fans of the 1994 movie, so I am not surprised. This rendition felt like the same story, just done differently and with more emphasis on the love story than the revenge plot. There is nothing wrong with that and nothing wrong with a gothic romance heavy action flick.

This was intended to be a different version of The Crow and that isn't a bad thing. I personally think that if they had done the styling to be an exact replica of Brandon Lee's rendition then the movie would still get tons of hate, if not more. It was a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation for sure. I'm glad they took a risk and deviated from the '94 version.

We have been doing remakes since the creation of art. It has always been common to hear that the new movie coming out is actually a retelling of this classic tale or continuation of that scary story. Remakes are not a new concept and some of them do well to tell the same story in a different way. We are in the day and age where there isn't really an original idea anymore, anyway. In a world full of countless retellings of Batman/Joker and Spiderman movies, why not remake The Crow? I say fire it up!

I think they do a good job to pave the way for others to retell this love story in the same vein as The Joker and Harley Quinn. Hell, I would say to keep going, next let's see a remake where The Crow is about two badass lesbians. (I might have gotten too peppered up watching the movie, it was hot.)

P.S. I loved that there were little things like Eric wearing Shelly's jacket later in the movie. I feel like a lot of critics saw him wearing this jacket and were quick to bash the costume design too, but this is the kind of attention to detail that made their love believable to me. And I thought he looked cute as hell in it.

Okay, the end.

[fayewoodss]

gautism demons

he has previously mentioned listening to music while riding a bike is something he did a lot.

(last year i think is when he did it a lot [iirc he implied it] and if you want more demons it helped him quiet his thoughts and feelings around what happened in march and his worries about “what’s next?” and “do i quit content creation?”)

anyway back to the original point: he uses music and audio books to stim a lot, and dream has noticed this and he keeps a special playlist for when george is in the car (headcannon on real people sue me!), especially on long drives to help make george more comfortable because he (canon) doesn’t like long drives.

sorry for the essay, you don’t have to post this

You never have to apologize for gautism essays!!! I love love love hearing everybody's thoughts.

I actually talked a bit about George and the sensory experience of biking and listening to music here, so I love that we can elaborate more on it.

I love seeing how it was likely therapeutic and stimulatory for him, so I can agree with the theory that it helped him through March and moving forward. He's not the best at expressing and sharing his emotions, so it makes sense he would turn to introspective forms of processing, paired with some sort of stimulation to keep focused and regulated.

Going back to auditory stimming, his main music taste is rap, trap, hip hop, and hyper pop, which are all very high energy and upbeat in sound. This can be overstimulating to some, but also the complexity of high stimulation music can have the opposite effect as it can engage other senses beyond out hearing. For a lot of autistic people who auditory stim, music becomes more of a full body feeling and experience than just a sound or a song. (I am one of those as I stim a lot to music, especially theatre music.) We have so many examples of George dancing and emoting, but when he is caught on video at a party or anywhere with loud music, he's usually one of the only people to be reacting to the music with more intensity and sensation. I think about the Instagram story from Komanche where literally everyone at that house party was standing around barely moving and George was jumping and twirling and all over the place while shouting. We fan also see this in Argentina in the bus ride where George is very hyped up over the music playing, exaggeratedly so compared to Gia, Sapnap, etc.

(I don't have the Instagram video, but I found these gifs in my camera roll. Also please note the way he looks at everyone in the kitchen, almost hoping they're getting into the music/event with him. Ough, let me explode,,,)

Interestingly enough, this year his top songs were mostly from Brakence and the majority of them dealt with themes that were depressing and/or emotionally intense. There were some great analyses on his music taste and what it could say about him, but the few accounts that had made big analytical posts have been deactivated. (Call that a golocide.) I think @/asoftliquidtongue did an analysis of his music, but I would have to find it. Though he's obviously not married to many genres or artists because he's stated several times he will play a song he likes and just let youtube music recommend and play things at random. He fascinates ms...

And yes, the audiobooks! Whereas music seems to be more for excited and happy stimming, I could see him using audiobooks and podcasts for more calm regulatory stimming. Listening to Harry Potter on long bus rides to and from school, every year of secondary school, is so interesting. He's always been more introverted, but riding the same route at the same times five days a week to school, you think he'd have the opportunity to try to socialize and get to know people, or find a friend to sit with. But as far as we know he plugged himself into his book and stayed within his head. Also with he way George sometimes drops knowing new random little facts, or alluding to something he watched or read, he could be spending a lot of time with audiobooks, podcasts, articles, video essays, etc.

I like the idea of Dream knowing what music George likes and what books he likes to listen, too. Not only for long drives, but even just in general since George has talked about car sickness and often seems tired and uncomfortable as a passenger. Dream already adjusted his Tesla the instant George came to Florida since the breaks were making him sick, so him keeping a playlist that he enjoys and stims to, and even one they could enjoy together, is so so perfect.

[fieldsofred]

hey i hope u know how much fun im having reading itaot... any time theres an update, or when you post a snippet, or when im just feeling like it and casually reread the whole thing, im like rolling around in bed (or kicking my feet, if at the office) having the time of my life. i visited my family for the holidays and forced my mom to listen to a whole ass retelling lmao. my boss thinks ive started seeing someone because shes been seeing me giggle secretively at my phone more than usual. all in all, 100/10, having the time of my life here.

also out of curiosity, can you share with us the inspiration behind the title? or is it something of a future plot spoiler?

Hey i hope you know that im giggling and kicking my feet and screaming

It took me forever to answer this because I have no words (which is rare for me, i usually have too many words).

I also have a secret relationship (the comments on itaot) that has me hiding my phone screen and smiling uncontrollably at work

1000/10. i adore you. i hope your mom liked your retelling <3

But genuinely, thank you for telling me this. I cannot explain how much light this brings to my day. This made my entire week. This makes me want to keep writing for the rest for the rest of my life. You have no idea the power you hold over me.

I hope you keep enjoying it as much as I am <3333

The title! I cannot explain how much i've been dreading that question. lol. okay,

short answer: its a lyric from harder to breathe by maroon 5. no deep meaning. no connection to the story.

long answer: Is There Anyone Out There? was never supposed to matter to me.

I've been writing fanfic and original stuff for an audience of one (me) for about a decade (im 23). I've never had the courage to post anything before but Ive always had the desire.

I started reading dc fanfic about six months ago and really fell in love with the fandom and the characters. I was a lurker. And then I read a jaytim fanfic with the most atrocious characterizations I have ever seen (in my personal opinion). I said 'jesus christ, i can do better than that' and started writing my own in like, idk, december i think. and then it started to occupy a little more brain space and writing time.

I remember genuinely thinking 'fuck it' when i decided to post the first several chapters at once. I didn't proof read them the way I should have and i didn't have a good solid story outline in place. I was just like, whatever. i'll give it a shot. I didn't think anyone was going to like it. Honestly, I didn't think anyone was going to even see it. I genuinely put itaot on the internet with the expectation of literally nothing happening.

ao3 said: your work must have a title.

I have a whole playlist called mom rock that was the music my mom would play in the car on the way to school or what have you. she loved maroon 5, specifically the songs about jane album. I don't love maroon 5, but I was listening to my mom rock playlist. and Harder To Breathe was playing.

Is there anyone out there,

Cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe

The rest of the song makes no sense and I hold no love for it. It means literally nothing to me. Just a song off of a cd my mom used to play in the truck.

But Tim, you might have noticed, feels his anxiety in his chest. Those feelings are my feelings. That sudden tightness, the weight, the suffocating in the middle of a hallway for no reason? That's all me babe

I was like, yeah, sure, that'll do. And named it is there anyone out there?

With hindsight, I might have named it something different. If I knew how much I would grow to love the story, how much it would matter to me, maybe I would have thought about the title a little bit longer.

I have miles and miles of google docs full of stories that matter to me. I have an original work that ive been working on since like 2018 that is my heart and soul in written form.

itaot wasn't supposed to matter. It was a chance to dip my toes into posting without any consequences because, who cares?

Me. I care. I care so deeply. I cannot emphasis the value that this fic holds in my life. The people that it's allowed me to interact with have been a blessing. The community that i've stumbled into is an honor to be apart of. Specifically, this ask is going to live with me for the rest of my life.

There's a phrase thats used in Ted Lasso: It's the hope that kills you

I have dreamt of being a real author my entire life. The whole time, its been a tiny thought in the back of my head, always paired with silly girl, that'll never happen!

And then I put a little fanfic that I wasn't emotionally attached to on the internet. And then I got emotionally attached to it. and then you said i'm having the time of my life and I know what that feels like to read something that makes me giggle and smile and roll around like that. that makes me feel

So now I have to live with the knowledge that the thing I accidently got so, so deeply attached to is named after a fucking maroon 5 song. and also has the power to kill me.

And now you get to know, too <3

[killerandhealerqueen]

Get to Know Your Tumblr Mutuals

Thank you for the tag @ahhhnorealnamesallowed! Always fun to do these

What's the origin of your username?

I had a different username before this one, the-sassiest-trixster, because I was really into Supernatural and Gabriel was one of my favorite characters. But then...then came along Killer and Healer and just...completely changed everything. Like no, I'm serious, I don't think I've ever been this attached to a drama/characters before. And this drama just...sparked my brain into creating as much content as I did/do. And all of my friends/mutuals called me the killer and healer queen so I just...made that my username

OTP(s) + shipname:

So...my top ship obviously is Yuezhi from Killer and Healer, but I do love YaoYutong/BaiZhan from S.C.I. (they were the ones who actually got me into cdramas). I also love

junchun (Killer and Healer)

gahan (The Devil Judge)

suitang (Sleuth of Ming Dynasty)

dushen (Under the Skin)

dingzhi (Sleuth of Ming Dynasty)

And many many more

Favourite colour:

Green (any shade)

Song stuck in my head:

Currently on a vocaloid kick, so right now it's My Crush is a Monster Boy but I've also recently been listening to the White Cat Legend playlist and all of those songs bring back the joy that I felt watching that drama...I need to rewatch it

Weirdest habit/trait:

I remember random things really well; like at work I can pick up people's voices over the radio and know who's talking without looking at our CFS (calls for service) log. I also remember things after only seeing them once/reading about them once (whenever my detectives talk about a certain case I'm like "oh the one--" and they're like yeah while my partner (if she's with me) is like o.0 like how the fuck do you remember that

Hobbies:

Hula

If you work, what's your profession?

I'm a crime scene technician

If you could have any job you wish what would you have?

The job I have now is my dream job so like...I'm pretty happy

Something you're good at:

Writing/singing/dancing hula

Something you hate:

When people don't use fucking common sense...pisses me the fuck off

Something you forget:

Anything I put down if it doesn't have a set place to live <- amen bitch

Your love language:

Gift giving and quality time. I love just spending time with my friends, like I remember in college my friend and I were on a skype call and we were doing our thing and like it was just perfect. We talked every now and then but it was just nice. Also gift giving. I love giving gifts to people; like if I see something that reminds me of them, I'm going to buy it (if the price isn't unreasonable)

Favourite movies/shows:

There's too many...

Men In Black (trilogy)

Sound of Music

The Mentalist

Hawaii Five-0

CSI: Miami

Will Trent

High Potential

And so many more

Favourite food:

Pad Thai

Fried Rice

Seaweed soup

Sushi

Poké

Chinese (i love chinese food, and it's not just because i'm chinese)

And so much more

Favourite animal:

I love a lot of animals, but I'd have to say peacocks and snow leopards

What were you like as a child?

Quiet, shy, very creative...basically me now (I am a bit more extroverted but for the most part I just tend to keep to myself unless I'm comfortable with you)

Favourite subject in school:

English, Science

Least favourite subject:

MATH

What's your best character trait?

Idk?????

What's your worst character trait?

Sometimes the things I saw can come off really blunt/rude; I also jump to the worst conclusions over the smallest things

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be?

$50.00 more an hour at work, just because <- oh amen

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet?

I think I'd want to see my great-grandma again...just show her the person I am today

No pressure tagging: @theotherwhybietoldmeso @clawbehavior @mishathewtf @okifyouinsist @hyperbolicgrinch @nineninepetals @seonghwacore @kpopfantasywriter and anyone else who wants to play

[swaps55]

ok I'm rattling the bars of my enclosure listening to your Mezzo playlist and I'm so impressed with your song choices 😭 they fit the chapters SO WELL --- currently obsessed with looking too closely & soldier. I would love to hear about how you choose songs for opus / how they factor into your writing process! You're super cool btw :-)

Ahhhhh, thank you!!

The actual playlist component of Opus is so very self-indulgent, and given it is purely a bonus layer of Opus that no one is obligated to explore, it's a little embarrassing how much time I devote to it, lol. It is purely for my personal satisfaction, so that anyone listens to any of it is a huge and deeply appreciated bonus.

The song factor does factor deeply in the writing process. These are the 'rules.'

Every chapter is paired with a specific song.

Every chapter title is inspired by a lyric from that song, and lyrics that tie into the chapter are used as a header.

Lyrics from the song are in some way reflected within/throughout the chapter.

Song selection starts with the outline. In fact, the only reason I really have an outline at all is so I can pick out songs (and sometimes the song is the only thing I really know about a given chapter). Sometimes those songs get swapped out, though you'd be surprised how often they don't, and I inevitably add more (I don't want to know how many songs will ultimately be on the Mezzo playlist). I already know several that will will be on the ME3 fic soundtrack, including the reconciliation song and the endgame song. I am SO PUMPED about both.

Each song has to fit into the overall soundtrack. Certain songs that would fit a chapter well don't work for the soundtrack because the vibe isn't right. Cantata's soundtrack is very hopeful and honest, while Mezzo is much darker and unhappy. There is absolutely no expertise involved - I am not at all educated on genres and musical theory, so it's all just what feels right to me.

How do I pick them: Lot of different ways. Before Spotify turned everything over to AI, I found a lot of music I loved through Discover Weekly, Song Radios (find a song you like, go to the "Song Radio" to find similar music), Blends with friends, artist mixes, etc. It's been a lot harder to find new music on Spotify since their AI bullshit. A lot of Mezzo songs came as recs from friends. Looking Too Closely was one of several that I was introduced to by a dear friend of mine who has since passed away.

It's agony when I need to split a chapter unexpectedly, because needing to go find a new song disrupts everything. For example: Gravity and Truth Like Blood were originally one chapter; the theme was how Kaidan, Sam, and EDI are all struggling to face/express their true selves. Being forced to split it really bummed me out, even though I was ultimately very happy with the song choice for Gravity.

Sometimes integrating the song is effortless. Saturn, from The Courage of Stars in Fugue, felt like it was predestined. Sometimes it's much harder. Bury Me Low from Never the Dark was the right song for the chapter, but man I had a hell of a time getting it into the prose the way I wanted.

A lot goes into it. I take it very seriously, even though none of it is necessary to enjoy what you read. But music makes us all feel things, and so do stories. It's all art, and I love being able to combine those two things with Opus.

Right now, this playlist is what I am listening to while I write, and it contains a lot of songs I would love to get on Mezzo's soundtrack even though there won't be room for them all. And one or two might be glimpses into the ME3 fic. :)

[tavyliasin]

Writer Interview Tag

I was tagged by @redroomroaving and once I'd finished feeling about a hundred emotions from reading I managed to follow it up.

I definitely got a little personal as well, and I know I’m prone to rambling so I’ll pop the questions and answers below the cut. A mild CW for discussion of physical pain and some very very light mentions of mental health. Tagging @morb-untamed @sweetmage @dmbakura @hydropyro @ineadhyn @nicocoer @wixed to do this if you would like to, but there is absolutely no pressure to talk about yourselves or in any personal detail. And anyone else reading this who I missed tagging (I forget names and tags so often, forgive me) please feel free to use me as your tag-in and let me know so I can read your answers too.

When did you start writing?

I have no idea, truly. Stories and reading were a big part of my life since before I could read, and as soon as I could read independently I devoured books and imagined stories in quiet moments. There are a few things I’ve worked on under another name, another identity, but no massive published works. A couple of unfinished SFW fanfics, and some larger original projects that remain on hiatus. As for writing smut and spice and taking fanfic more seriously? That all started in September 2023, and has just grown from there. I was hesitant at first, and you’ll see that in my early author notes, but from there I feel I’ve truly grown in my style and skill, as well as my creativity and ability to delve into character details and kink alike.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

Since writing more, I’ve become a terrible reader. I can’t really focus on it for long because my brain goes into ADHD rebellion and says “no, no, we don’t want to read story we want to create story” which is endlessly frustrating when I have stacks of unread books and a ton of fics earmarked by very talented authors. I will say there is a particular thing many may notice in my works – when writing, I very rarely refer to genitalia in direct terms. It’s just a personal preference when writing, you won’t find the word “cock” in any of my works, but contrary to how it might sound I have absolutely no issue with reading it in the works of others. I am an odd creature, I freely admit that. So…yes, there are themes, pairings, styles, and vocabulary features that I enjoy reading but do not write myself.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I don’t hear comparisons really, and I don’t aim to emulate anyone either, though I will admit I try to keep just a few little moments of humour or sly winks to the audience in similar ways to Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. Just those quick lines or cutaways that for a moment join reader and author in a little shared joke.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I can only really write comfortably in one place, at my PC. I have 3 screens set up around my seat, which is actually the end seat of a reclining sofa, so I have a heated pad behind my back to reduce pain. I have a mini fridge with drinks on the table beside me with the side screen that has Discord on it at all times, my larger screen (the TV) sometimes has character images for reference or notes or just Spotify up so I can swap songs and playlists quickly. The last screen is in front of me on a table that goes over my footrest, and my keyboard is on a lap desk over my legs. 

I’ll almost always have my headphones on, and a small fan when it gets too warm. Sometimes I do end up a little chaotic with snacks in reach and meds also on the table so I don’t have to have anyone fetch them for me.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

It can’t be controlled. The muse is as fickle as it is demanding, when it’s there it wants everything all at once, and when it’s gone?... It leaves a devastating emptiness that honestly I struggle with at times. Even right now, tonight I planned to write, but when I finally got the free time and got set up…nothing feels appealing to try. So I’m doing this instead, and not forcing it. 

There are things I try at times, and things I recommend, too. First? Before you start writing, tend to your basic needs. Do you need a drink? Food? Relevant medication? A nap? A talk with a friend? A bit of fresh air or physical movement? If one of these needs hasn’t been met, it’ll likely soon become an obstacle to your writing. I like to have a drink and snack ready and with me when I start so it’s there as and when I might need it, and I do rely on caffeine like a stereotypically unmedicated ADHD author…

Second, set the mood. It can help for some people to have this routine, to get their playlist going, to be in the right place, to have the things that set a whole zone and bubble. For a while, I had a specific hat I would wear when writing for another project. I could tell myself “I am putting the hat on now, so I will focus and do this thing” and in some way it trained me to write more. I know others who have done things like always listening to a specific genre of music to write, so now when they hear that genre they get the urge to write. Third is take a shower. Nothing gives me more ideas than a good shower, and I even bought a waterproof notepad and pencil set so I can make those notes whilst in there and not fret about forgetting an idea. Other than that, I recommend going back to the thing that inspired you to write. Play the game or watch scenes with the characters you want to write about, find their voices and mindsets. You can also close your eyes and imagine the scene like a play – put the characters on your stage at the start of the scene and watch what they do in the scenario. Let them show you how they react. Some people also do well to write out a plan or bulletpoints, but I find personally this can bite me in the ass because the process of writing can often stray from my original plan. Which isn’t a bad thing, but it can feel frustrating that I didn’t use ideas that I was initially passionate about.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Ah here it is. Whilst I could go quite simply with the kinks that I keep utilising that don’t surprise me in the slightest – I know well that I enjoy writing a spicy shifting of power balance between strong-minded characters, as well as a lot of BDSM kink – there are deeper parts to this. Identity. That’s a theme that keeps rearing its head beneath a lot of works, and you’ll find it most noticeable in how I write both Haarlep and He Who Was, but it tends to worm its way into other things too. It…did not surprise me, though, because it’s something I have struggled with over this past year within myself.

I created this name, this identity, as a way to be comfortable in sharing kink fiction and spicy works without it being easily identifiable under my actual name. I still don’t like to be too personal, or share my face or real name under this one, because I would rather keep a few close friends and family out of sight of my fandom thirsting. I’m certain a lot of us are the same – it isn’t really about shame but knowing that I, and they, would likely not be comfortable discussing this level of subject matter. I’ve relaxed a little over time, and have no doubt that a few may have worked out who I am and simply kept it quiet which I appreciate endlessly, just as I appreciate that those who do know both of my identities have never shared that information or made it public. I’m happy to meet people in person, just not to have my self online shared with my other self, as I’m sure you can understand. Anyway, I digress…

Something that the keen-eyed accomplice might have noticed in me is a shift in my speech. I used a few more mannerisms and speech patterns, particularly terms of endearment, under this name when I began. It was a way to separate the self, as well as to engage with a different audience in a different way. I explained it to the few who knew both early on as “same person, different font”, because I don’t change who I am just a few parts of how I speak or interact…but I’ve dropped a lot of the endearments now. Partly because there were more than a few who expressed they were uncomfortable with this in conversation – which I fully respect and understand – so it was easier to just drop them entirely rather than double checking or switching vocabulary between people and servers. But it has also fallen away a little as I have become more comfortable with both sides of myself, allowing them to integrate again more, and I owe a good amount of that to being able to meet fandom friends in person and find that they didn’t turn away from knowing all of me and instead have become even better friends. 

So…yes, the theme of names and identity keeps popping up. The power of names, the importance of identity, how one can hold on to one’s sense of self when it feels as if it is wavering, or when a role must be played. It’s little wonder I was so strongly drawn to so many favourites. Another recurring theme, of course, is pain. Physical. Whilst this is often in the form of kink and pain play, I’ve written a few pieces where it has been a point that is not about the sexual and positive side. I am in pain. 24/7. Without end. It will not get better. It has been this way for over 10 years. The level of the pain is “I cannot walk more than 10 metres before it is too much”, and “I have to drastically reduce and monitor my physical activity to prevent pain getting worse”, so I feel very intimately familiar with pain. You’ll find it in my writing as visceral and detailed descriptions of the sensations, because I’ve felt every one of them and might just be feeling them in that moment as I write. 

I’m going to keep trying to write short comfort pieces, too. Because as I once wrote as a dialogue line for Halsin, when Tav asked how he always seemed to know the right thing to say:  

“Sometimes we say the things we need to hear the most.” 

What is your reason for writing?

Every reason ever. There’s…not a lot I can do in this body. So many hopes and dreams and even careers I’ve had to leave behind, through the struggles of mental and physical health. Whilst the former is far better, the latter is the issue… But writing is something I can do with little physical effort. If I’m in pain, I can take my medication and absorb into fiction. 

I started writing smut as a challenge, but also as a way to tell a story I was becoming rather attached to. My main longfic was one born from playing the game, and wondering about telling the story between the lines, giving reason to the choice the player character was making under my instruction. Since then, it has grown to be so much more.

I’d love to sit here and tell you “I only write for myself, I don’t need external validation” but that…would be a half-truth at best. I write because I love sharing these stories, I love that they can reach out and touch hearts and minds in ways I might never know, but I adore when someone does send back their echo across the vast void between us to say “I enjoyed this” or “this story made me feel something”. That’s…it’s everything to know I have some value. Which sounds a lot like I’m pinning my self-worth on feedback or kudos, and whilst I can’t deny that’s a hard habit to break, I do know it isn’t everything. I just want it to still be something. To know I can do more than just…exist. 

Truly if you were to ask me what I feel the purpose is to my entire life, it would be “to leave each corner of the world I touch a little brighter and better than it was before I got there”, and whilst I know that’s impossible to do all the time I still want to try. And writing? Sharing stories? That’s leaving a positive mark, giving someone enjoyment in their day – yes, even sexually, with the kinky and sexy writing. That is still a positive to someone’s day, an indulgence, something that lifts them and certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

If I can do more than that with emotional writing, with comfort pieces, with cathartic moments and with stories that have more meaning behind the words…all the better.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

The best are the ones that pull out favourite lines or moments, but honestly every single comment means the world to me. An incoherent keysmash, a simple “I loved this”, even those are such a boost particularly on a hard day. 

Readers, please know how much it helps. Even a click on the kudos as an anonymous guest, it’s…it lets us know we aren’t just shouting into the void. It tells us those Hits are not people just opening up the fic then closing it because they hated it. It means the whole world to know we’ve done something that you enjoyed, in whatever way that was.

I’ll also say that some of the ones that have meant the most and have stuck with me are comments on the more personal pieces, like with The Love of Loviatar – the Abdirak x Reader fic where I play a little with worlds colliding to allow a reader character who experiences chronic pain (remarkably similar to my own, don’t think about that too hard) to have that moment with Abdirak who validates and appreciates them exactly how they are. Gentle care mixed with BDSM, trading the bad pain for the good pain, the pain that is welcome and has purpose, a little fantasy of enjoying what the body can do rather than being trapped by what it cannot… Every time I get a comment there, I damn near cry. Or just openly cry. They mean so much. I know how much Abdirak can mean to us, and I am so glad I can reach you all. 

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I…well… To be thought of at all is an honour. I’m shocked any time I encounter someone who has read my works, despite logically knowing I have a good number of readers from the numbers alone. I just…don’t look at those numbers often, it’s not good for me. 

I’d like readers to know I care about them. Every last one. To know I would love to tell all the stories they want to read, and that I fully welcome their messages, comments, and even friendship when we share social spaces. There’s something special about the connections we can make in unexpected places, and I’m just delighted to be here sharing stories with you all. 

I don’t need high respect, endless adoration, or some kind of pedestal. I’m a human, unfortunately – squishy and fallible and flawed and suffering and there is still beauty and worth to me even when I don’t see it myself. Just saying that last part louder for everyone else who has loud negative thoughts of themselves. It’s ok for you to see my flaws, and it’s ok for us all to have love for one another despite those flaws. Love in the platonic sense, of course – there are levels of connections we make with people from a distant echo of a brief exchange of words to the direct warmth of a friendship. It’s as important to not underestimate the value as it is important to not overestimate our closeness to people we don’t truly know.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I am beginning to believe it is the wild ideas I have for crackship pairings and turning them into something serious and meaningful. I love taking an unlikely coupling then finding what makes them actually genuinely work. 

I’m also getting quite confident in sensual writing as well as kink, in the particular style that I have for it. I know well that it isn’t to everyone’s tastes, but those who do enjoy my style and method will always have something in the buffet of fic to fill their plate.

I really hope to transfer this to my original work when I get it finished, as I feel like just maybe I might have a niche of style that isn’t as often seen in published works. Then again, I’m not exactly devouring raunchy original fiction so perhaps I’m entirely mistaken and would get ripped to shreds by critics of the genre. Who knows? But I will try to get published when it’s done. I hope a few of you might even read it someday.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

Ahh definitely both. I have written characters and pairings I’m not personally into that much, though sometimes (Yurgir) I have found myself enjoying the character after writing with them. It’s a fun little quirk, I start writing something thinking “am I into this?” and realise later “oops new kink acquired” or “ahh ok I see why people like [character] so much now.” 

I do really love writing requests or rare pairings/characters that readers haven’t seen before or are excited to see more of. I hope to keep doing a mix of that and the characters/pairings that I love most myself. If there’s something you’d like to see, I’m more than happy to take suggestions – there are a few kinks, characters, and tropes that I have a hard “nope” line on (not kink shaming, just personal comfort levels – I love that you can enjoy those things elsewhere I am just not the chef to cook that dish for you) but otherwise I love wild ideas and writing something that someone explicitly wants to read~

How do you feel about your own writing?

I really struggle with this one, but I think many of us do. I go from feeling confident that people enjoy what I’ve written and that I have this skill to bring worlds and characters to life with mere words on a page, yet other times? I will freely admit some works of mine take longer because I just hit this point where I just cannot tell if it’s any good. I know intellectually that I have the same style, tropes, stories, kinks that people like and enjoy, but as I’m sat there staring at it I’m questioning everything because I’m just not feeling it. That seems pretty natural, I think, that we are the worst critics of our own works because we’ve read them so many times or thought far too hard about every word and line… But I tend to solve this with an external view. Beta Readers have saved works from near extinction by checking it over, telling me what does need fixing, and reminding me that actually the rest of it is just fine I’m simply overthinking it all because my mind is struggling with something else like fatigue or pain or just a low kind of day.

So… Overall, writing has been a new life for me. Particularly in this last year, trying something new – expanding into NSFW fanfic has found me countless new connections, friends, experiences I wouldn’t have had otherwise and a real feeling of accomplishment and validation that just wasn’t happening in WIPs that were taking too long and getting no feedback at all. 

Writing isn’t just something I do, it’s inextricably a part of who I am, and in its own way it continues to shape exactly what “who I am” can mean.

And I am grateful to every single one of you who has shared this journey with me so far. I cannot wait to see how far we can go together~

[spacey-llama]

RIGHT ABOUT NOW! THE rockafeller skank lore BROTHER! CHECK IT OUT NOW! THE rockafeller skank lore BROTHER! (requested by @peter-griffin-mpreg-the-second)

I actually actively am a fan of this guy he is one of my (many) Just Dance blorbos. He’s so! Special to me! ALSO, this one is definitely more like a smattering of headcanons than like... a consistent lore thing for him.

Preface (mostly for the person who requested him): As a fellow Rockafeller Skank fan, I’ve seen your posts and your headcanons are super awesome and cool (I love to see people thinking different thoughts about the same character, it’s so fun)! Mine are. Way different! I came up with a lot of this months ago! If you don’t like them that is so okay and valid :)

So! This is DJ Rock-A-Fella AKA Rocky! He's a dorky highschooler that DJs in his free time. Also, he goes to Woodcrown High School in Dancity. Originally, though, he's from Cyberfunk :)

If anyone's throwing a house party, you just KNOW he's going to show up with all his equipment and be like "Hi, what's up, this music sucks, I'm plugging my stuff in."

He's like one of those guys that has to play a guitar at every party, except instead of playing "Wonderwall," he's making a mashup of "It's Raining Men" and "Holding Out For A Hero." No one expects it to be good, but he's amazing. It's his passion!

Currently, Rocky's dating D.A.N.C.E (who I call Julie). They've been together since middle school. They did one slow dance together on a whim at a school dance (it was kind of awkward) and Julie asked, "Hey, do you wanna, like, date?"

And he went, "Sure."

And they've been together ever since. She's a cheerleader! I imagine they go on little arcade dates and she absolutely DESTROYS him at like... Mortal Kombat.

I don't know! To me, he's just this little nerd with really good music taste.

Bonus headcanons!

He collects TokiDoki Unicornos! Rocky and Julie have matching Unicorno keychains :)

He owns at least three Domo t-shirts.

Julie's been trying to teach him how to rollerblade, and it hasn't been going well.

Under that beanie is a buzz cut (and fun fact, in his map you can briefly see that his hair is blue!)

But yeah! That's kind of what I have for him? I adore him so much.

EXTRA BONUS! Because you caught me on a character I really loooove, here's a playlist I made for him forever ago :D

[300iqprower]

I'm using the ask meme to make you talk about Alvaldi <3

*eye twitch*

Favorite thing about them: BIG LADY WITH EVEN BIGGER SWORD

Least fav thing about them: Up in the air if the story they're in will ever even be a thing that is written. Also commission prices.

Favorite line: You think you're so funny don't you. Fine here's several.

"Never listen to what anyone says. You have so much promise. I have seen the mark you will leave upon this world...and it is glorious."

"There are no gods but those we make - For we are not made in his image, but him in ours."

"If this be the will of the gods… the order of the world… Then damn the lot of them! I’ll tear the whole of it asunder, and break the cycle!"

And my actual absolute favorite: "God was. I am."

"In the Bible, the Torah, the Quran, and in all other texts of the Creator large and small, there are but two words that signify their will. In the tales of Olympus and the Popol Vuh, in the words of the Warlpiri and the khipu of Incans, two simple words exist that signify an origin to us all, be it one or many, be it Odin or Ọlọrun, the words exist that signify our transience, our powerlessness, and our expectation of what it to become of us all. "God Is." ...and so, I Am as well."

BrOTP: Ava/Greed but like in the "warrior's bond" sense.

OTP: Oh idk maybe the person who she literally grafted to her soul? It's Cairn.

nOTP: LIterally anyone but Cairn, Ava, Zeal, or Daveigh.

Random Headcanon: If she were a regular human in a modern AU or something, she'd be an underground MMA champion, toph style.

THERE ARE NO UNPOPULAR OPINIONS LIKE 3 PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS CHARACTER

My playlist for them is literally several hundred songs long. We'll keep it simple with this.

I dont HAVE an image of her specifically but the first visual inspo i ever found for her was The Red Knight by Ami Thompson

[itwoodbeprefect]

shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up. then copy/paste this ask to your favorite mutuals

hello friend. ❤ i think you sent this to me in april of 2024 so surely finding it in my drafts and actually responding to it in january 2025 is, like, normal. and stuff.

to make things better and/or worse, i'm going to be incapable of keeping this short. this is from my playlist just called "thai", which i need to start splitting up in some way that makes sense, rather than throwing everything in a pile, but i haven't done that yet, so it has 219 songs in it, nearly all of which are there due to some sense of emotional attachment:

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สะมะกึ๊กสะมะกั๊ก (stuckling) - earth & mix ft. jennie panhan

fjdkfd okay, look. we're starting off strong with a song i skip half the time it comes on, but it stays on the list because it does also make me go <3 when i'm reminded of it. this is the OST for ossan's love thailand and it's very nearly unlistenable to me and i deeply love it. the MV is very loud chaos in its purest form (i thought that was true about the peaceful property MV and in hindsight that was SO wrong. the peaceful property MV is goofy in its own way but it's almost demure next to this). bonus points for featuring jennie panhan! i don't know how this series will turn out yet (it's a remake of a japanese property, a type of history on which gmmtv (the company behind this) has a mixed record so far) but GOD am i happy to see that they're finally letting earth (the one in front of the pool table) play a role that lets him be the useless immature babygirl object of everyone's affections, instead of a stoic forest ranger (a tale of 1000 stars) or "almost 40" at 29 (moonlight chicken (i am. still not over that. i may never be.)), because he's GOOD at goofy comedy! jojo tichakorn did not make mama gogo (yet another series) to prove this but he did, inadvertently, prove this! also, there's literally never a bad time to watch mix sahaphap on screen because he's always great. also also. a gmmtv series with an actor who is (actually!) 46 as third billed and an official part of the central love triangle shenanigans? yes, please, thank you. most of this paragraph is not directly relevant to this song but to me it is, because these are the thoughts i have when i hit skip. (actually, one thought that's truly about the song: this has an E rating on spotify, which is incredibly funny to me, because the english subtitles on youtube don't have a single thing even close to a curse word in them, but apparently the thai original may be more rude? or spotify is being weird, which is also possible.)

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เพื่อชีวิตกู / peua chiwit koo - TaitosmitH

taitosmith!!! one of the first times i listened to them i put on a random album and most new thai song lyrics are way too much for me at once to catch more than a sentence fragment here and there, but then at some point i snapped to attention when it was, like, wait. are they singing that someone doesn't want to be a man? and they were. i love their songs, and i love the music videos they make for them, i love how often those MVs actually add layers or tell their own stories. they have a huge number of songs about class struggle, poverty, getting painted as a criminal, problems endemic to thai society (and many societies, but they're very clear about their roots). the MV for กี่ฤดู (kii reudoo, "how many seasons") tells a much smaller story but caught me at the exact right time to have me sobbing for a bit. and then there's one song that had me squinting at the title going ? is this called "helmet"? that can't be right. but it was! that's what it's called! so i was like, okay, this is a song about. wearing a helmet, i guess. but then the lyrics go something like, wearing a helmet isn't cool, i want to go really fast and smash my head into the pavement, it's my business if i want to take this risk. but then the MV was released (fairly recently, this is one of their newest songs) and in it a guy goes on a sort of vigilante spree to force people into wearing helmets and avenge his family member(? or friend?) who was killed by reckless drivers, and also there's a chance that at the end he's a ghost? which, just. i do enjoy a poppy catchy love song, but goddamn, the journey that one single song can take you on.

-

เจ็บก็สิอดเอา (stay strong) - MANG bamm

love this one, it's great! in the MV mang (from bamm. mang is her name, bamm is the group she's usually in) stands in the middle of a field in a giant hat and a beautiful dress and high heeled boots and it's honestly pretty impressive she doesn't fall over. it also stars daou and offroad (actors, singers (though not here), etc.; currently stuck on my radar because they're the leads in century of love, which is stuck in my head) playing characters seemingly called daou and offroad (it's on daou's namecard at the start, and near the end he's crying over offroad's actual instagram handle. choices.) who meet and start dating and break up because they have to follow their dreams (that's those few lines of on screen dialogue in thai in the second half somewhere. offroad saying that) and so during the entire video the village is performing a traditional healing method on daou (they're not preparing to burn the man! they're helping him with his broken heart), except then they keep piling more and more improbable things on the fire, and it's a very understated kind of comedy and i'm incredibly here for it. it took me a second watch to realize that at 2:30 daou is absolutely about to burn down the whole music building because it reminds him of meeting offroad, and it's only mang's wise guidance (she shakes her head) that keeps him from going to prison i guess. i unironically love every single thing about this.

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แพ้คำว่ารัก / pae kam waa rak - calories blah blah

the title means something like "losing to the word love". we're staying daou pittaya adjacent somehow, because this song is here because he did a cover of it. i'm in love with the band name but i don't really know them. i'm pretty sure daou sang this on an episode of a tv show that seems to be about singers covering other people's songs (i'm right. it's here), and another one he did was รอพี่ก่อน / roh pi korn, which has one of my favorite (of many, by now) moments where i misunderstood what the lyrics of a thai song were doing, because the song is called, essentially, "wait for me", and it's about how he doesn't have money right now but he'll hurry up to get it and then he will, or so i blindly assumed, hurry to his lover. because at some point he sings something about a car, and a train, and a plane. except then it clicked that in between the car and the train he sings about a refrigerator, and for a while there i was having lovely whimsical visions of paddling down a river using a fridge as a boat (?? how else are you going to use a fridge as transport?), but actually. he's singing that once he's rich he'll pay for the car, and the fridge, and the train, and the plane. some of which seem like more realistic goals than others, but hey, go for it.

-

แม่เกี่ยว / mae kiauw - palmy

you know what. i actually genuinely don't have a long story about this one, not even something that's vaguely related around two corners. i have zero memory of how this even ended up on my list (spotify recommendation? maybe??? i don't really know palmy beyond this one song, though i keep meaning to more seriously explore), i just know i really really like the sound of it! i've been listening to this one a lot.

-

and finally! i don't think i'll be sending asks but i will tag some people: @redgoldblue (you may have forgotten by now that you ever did this, so that could be the perfect time to do it again, if you want), @theartichokesarepurple, @littlestarsailor, @spaceradars, @batvreason, and anyone else who wants. all of this with no pressure of course, only if you feel like it!

[pearl-kite]

Hi I know this is out of nowhere and sorry if you answered it before. Also totally ok if you don’t want to answer

But your blog got me super interested in the redacted asmr thing

I did some research and you seem to know a lot about so do you know if there’s any like, chronological order I should watch them?

Love your blog!

Absolutely no worries! I like getting stuff to respond to, it's the opposite of a bother <3

So Redacted Audio, formerly Redacted ASMR, is a channel on youtube with a, quite frankly, massive amount of audio, and since it's been running for over 4 years now it can be a LOT to sort through. Fortunately, he's done a really good job curating and organizing playlists for the different speaker-characters.

Everything is within the same universe, and many of the characters have interacted with each other. The context is that the location is a fictional city named Dahlia set somewhere in California, which is a "cornerstone" city for magical society. The best way to get a solid rundown on magic and the setting is to listen through the Freelancer Season 1 playlist.

This one is already arranged in chronological order* and also has the benefit of giving a sampler of sorts for a wider variety of speakers. One thing to be aware of ahead of time: While this was actively being published, Erik hadn't decided who the listener-character (nicknamed Freelancer) would be romancing, so it starts off with a lot of potential toward all of them except Caelum. As it went, there were polls in the discord server that he used to run, and popular consensus eventually narrowed it down to Gavin. The first time I listened was after all of that, and I was more fond of Damien, but I'm personally pleased with Gavin now, and this playlist has been one of my favorites to just revisit if I'm bored.

*Well, mostly. There was a point where the channel got a strike for some of the audios being too spicy and he removed and/or edited some of them to try to avoid being demonetized. The first Gavin audio is one of the ones that got edited, and #3 on the playlist accidentally got relocated. It's been a long time, but I think it was originally after what's now #6, the second Caelum audio.

Aside from that one as a good introduction to the channel as a whole, there are some "main" characters that have had the most attention.

One is a group of wolf shifters: David, the current head of the pack (Chronological for his listener. A lot of people aren't super fond of the earliest ones for him, #3-5, because the character evolved a bit and they aren't really representative any longer) Asher, his second Milo, another pack member, which is absolutely underselling him, he's one of my favorites

There are a couple of vampires: Vincent, the OG for the channel Sam, a common favorite who's listener is a member of David's pack

While most of the playlists are specific to character, there are a few thematic ones as well, all of which are chronological within themselves. Now, chronology with respect to each other can start to get a bit confusing, because of how long it's taken for some of them to play out.

If you want to get a feel for the characters before worrying too much about timeline, I'd listen through most playlists as they're arranged with one main caveat:

When you hit the audios titled Inversion, give those a pause until you've listened to more speakers. Inversion was a huge crossover he did that has 10+ speakers involved.

A personal favorite has been Vega. I'm actually super not fond of the first audio he's in, which is also in the Freelance list, so I skip that one when I relisten. The first one in this list is that one with the Freelancer, but the second and onward has a demon listener nicknamed Warden. We just got an update on his story today/last night and I've been a little unwell about it 🙃

I am realizing I could go on and on and on and I kind of have, so I'm going to stop there. Hopefully that's enough to dip your toes in. I'll gladly help out with any follow-up questions, too :3

[sparrowswritingnest]

Welcome to my Madness!

Hey there! I'm Sparrow! This blog is dedicated to my many many original characters.

My Main blog is @sparrowatheart ! I am an adult, and I use they/them pronouns!

Most of what you will find here is organized by hashtags. A lot of the content is me just seeing something that reminds me of a character of mine and resharing it.

Please feel free to send asks for specific characters, or even interact with them in a roleplay style! Some even have their own blogs!

My Pirates and Merfolk - @wanderingtheseas

My Doctor Who OCs - @calicospider

Winter Heart, my main Marvel OC - @winter-clue-heart

The Sanctum Street gang - @sanctumstreet

Teagan, my Dreamlight Valley OC - @dreamlightruler

My Toontown OCs - @toontastictoons

My Star Wars OCs - @asparkinthestars

My cog OCs (also Toontown) - @cogscore-competencies

My Epic The Musical OCs (Mostly Kharmion) - @greek-sunflower

My Twisted Fairytale Folks - @stories-between-pages

There's one other blog that I am not going to tag but might pop up. The themes aren't for everyone.

Rules for this blog:

This blog may not be 100% SFW all the time. You may encounter some spice here and there. Some spice is okay (I'm an adult I can handle it) just don't go overboard and respect boundaries!

Keep in mind I am a real person, not just a group of characters. Please respect that!

A lot of my OCs have set ships, but I do like trying AUs and such, so don't be afraid to ask about things!

I ADORE fanart or any creations involving my OCs as long as they are respectful! Most of them have "drawing inspiration" in their Pinterest Boards so you can see how I picture drawing them!

I myself am open to chatting with people, but I can be a bit socially awkward at times. Please be patient with me!

If you want to see more of my art, check out the #Sparrowatheartart (I will sometimes do art trades, but I have yet to open any commissions.)

If you want to see more in general of my characters, check out the #Sparrowatheartoc

I have also listed a few of my OCs on my Unvale page which is super fun because there's even a Trivia section where the answers for daily questions go!

I have cosplayed many of my characters, but obviously not all! Some of them I actually cannot cosplay. But if you want to see more of my Cosplay, check out the #SparrowatheartCosplay

If you want to read some of my writing, check out #Sparrowatheartwrites

Each of my OCs also have Pinterest boards. I have been working on getting all the boards onto an account focused on my characters but the progress has been slow.

I also have Spotify Playlists for a good chunk of my OCs, so you can also check those out!

I feel mentioning my Art Fight page is also a good idea here! 2024 was my first year doing it!

[rockinlibrarian]

My Current (again) Hyperfixation: The Legion Soundtrack

I read like three posts in a row-- and left an encouraging comment on one saying much the same thing-- saying GEEK OUT OVER WHAT YOU WANT TO GEEK OUT OVER UNABASHEDLY, PUT THAT LOVE IN THE WORLD EVEN IF ONLY YOU APPRECIATE IT-- just as "David Redux" was playing on my computer. Again. Because I have been hyperfixating on the Legion soundtrack for the past two-ish weeks and playing my playlist on repeat. In this case it was actually just part of my "Psychedelic and Prog Rock" playlist because I've been trying to branch out, but still, I feel the need to gush, but I've been RESTRAINING MYSELF BECAUSE WHO REALLY CARES... but this is a sign, isn't it? So allow me...

*ahem* Those of you who have been following me for any amount of time are probably aware that I'm a fan of the FX show from 2017-2019, Legion, a highly-mindtrippy, oft-problematic, X-Men spinoff about mentally-ill superpowered folks, for which I have written the vast majority of my fanfic. I first checked it out because showrunner Noah Hawley (whose Fargo I'd loved) crossed with the X-Men?! I stayed around because PSYCHEDELIC TRIPPINESS. Which includes the soundtrack. And honestly, maybe it's the soundtrack I love most of all.

There are two, possibly three, parts here. The needle-drops are A-PLUS, perfectly used in the storytelling, and just generally good songs, most of the time (yeah, a few I don't like. But then, sometimes that's what you need to tell the story). A lot of them are genuinely psychedelic or at least prog-rock, but even the ones that aren't are USED psychedelically: ironic in tone, simply capturing an odd fleeting emotional state, whatever. There are some well-known songs like "Speak To Me/Breathe" (more about the Pink Floyd connection in a bit), and a lot of rarer songs from lesser-known artists that I am ETERNALLY GRATEFUL to music supervisor Maggie Phillips for introducing me to. I ended up buying albums from The Beta Band and Secret Machines because of songs used in this show.

I feel like a lot of people had this reaction when "Undiscovered Firsts" by Feist played in Chapter Four of Legion, but this is one I immediately tracked down to purchase, like, after that episode. It might have been later than that. But it's definitely the first Legion-prompted music I purchased at SOME point:

Yeah, looking at the comment section of that youtube video, it's pretty much all "Legion sent me here!"

But the needle-drop I've been most obsessed with during this current binge is Radiohead's "The Daily Mail":

It is constantly in my head and I don't mind at all. It captures my underlying emotions lately (and I didn't even realize this until rewatching Chapter Five with closed-captions-- rewatching the show is another way I've tried to branch out from JUST relistening to my playlist over and over-- but the lyrics are eerily timely, too). It builds, and then it's over too soon, and I feel the need to start it from the beginning.

Here's a Spotify playlist I used for reference when building my own collection:

There are two three reasons I made my own playlist on my own computer out of my own collection. Probably the most important one that just occurred to me is because then I'm not reliant on Spotify. I own this music dangit! I can listen without commercials or supporting shady streaming services! Anyway, another is because there are a few songs on here I WOULD rather not listen to, thanks, why should I force myself? Thirdly, and originally most importantly before I remembered the "not reliant on Spotify" thing, is it only includes "songs," not OST instrumental background music, which is necessary!

I mean listen to this:

That's basically the main musical theme of the series and sums up what it's all like and is also gorgeous.

Score writer Jeff Russo has stated many times in interviews that Pink Floyd is one of his biggest influences in general, and that he specifically leaned into that influence in the music for Legion. Well, whaddya know, my second-favorite band!--and for that matter, there's Beatles influence in there, too. Actually in the comments of the link I put to "David Redux" above, somebody said "This is literally I Want You(She’s so heavy) like just straight up that song." ...yeah so? No seriously it's not JUST straight up "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," but the influence is clearly there. There are definite bits of the score you can point to and say "Ah! Pink Floyd!" about, too, but mostly it's less blatant. But still-- the FEELING is there, that eerie, dreamy, sometimes disturbing feeling.

--Slight tangent about Pink Floyd and psychedelic music in general. It CAN be disturbing, and that's the POINT. It shakes you out of your comfort zone. Now, when I was a teenager and first getting into "Classic Rock," I HATED Pink Floyd. Not just meh, not just didn't care for, ACTIVELY HATED. And I was like, "Yeah, sorry, no way this is EVER going to grow on me." And I don't think it ever DID grow on me-- it just immediately flipped a switch-- from UTTER LOATHING to me buying a copy of Wish You Were Here at the used CD store and thinking, in that moment, oh darn, I think Pink Floyd has suddenly become my second-favorite band. Now, I wrote a whole long thing about my feelings about psychedelic music about 2/3s of the way into this article, so I'll leave you with the link and get back to the Legion soundtrack.

The Floyd influence extends across ALL of Legion, actually, not just the background music. The show's heroine is named after founding Floyd member Syd Barrett (who, notably for purposes of this show, had quit the band due to mental illness). I already mentioned the "Speak to Me/Breathe" needle-drop, and in Season Three there was a literal performance of "Mother":

Admittedly, I have the original Floyd track on my playlist, not this performance.

But that brings us to the third part of the Legion music story: a lot of songs actually PERFORMED for the show. Often IN the show. Usually by the characters themselves, though once the band Superorganism actually appeared in the show to accost one of the characters with a performance of their song "Something for Your M.I.N.D.":

In what is one of my favorite episodes of television ever, Chapter Seven (which when I opened up IMDB just now to make sure I was spelling Maggie Phillips' last name correctly, I noticed is ranked as the top episode there, 9.3 stars out of 10), Oliver Bird (whom you've probably heard me mention because he's one of my favorite characters ever--my third-favorite in this show only because the Loudermilks exist) conducts/wills into existence an eerie arrangement of "Bolero" that scores the frickin' amazing climax of the episode (cw for some creepy body horror and a bit o' gore if you watch this whole video):

Oh oh oh the most amazing thing I've ever seen on TV is this mind-battle of "Behind Blue Eyes" from Chapter 19:

But we were talking about the MUSIC, not so much the SHOW, and one of the other aspects of Performed for the Show is a whole series of covers Russo and showrunner Hawley recorded together as, technically, needle-drops, but often incorporating themes from the score, like the intro to their "Cornflake Girl":

This makes for really unique covers that sometimes sound completely unlike the originals but actually are really friggin' good in and of themselves. I think my favorite is their "Fly Like an Eagle" which is WAY un-Steve-Miller-Band:

Note that the intro is blatantly the intro to Pink Floyd's "Echoes"!

Which is how I managed to branch out to my full "Psych and Prog Rock" playlist in the end-- "ooo, I really want to listen to 'Echoes' now"!

OKAY. RIGHT. So if anybody else gets hyperfixated on psychedelic music, let me know, because it's such a weird thing to hyperfixate on. But never mind. I HAVE NOW SHARED WITH YOU SOME AWESOMENESS. LISTEN WELL.

[aeligsido]

Ask gale hour! ✧*｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و✧*｡

🌵 ⇢ share the link to a playlist you love

🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

🐇 ⇢ do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or a mix of both? 

📚 ⇢ what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app? 

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

HELL YEAH!! 〜⁠(⁠꒪⁠꒳⁠꒪⁠)⁠〜 Thanks for the ask love ❤️

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🌵 ⇢ share the link to a playlist you love

Alas! I am one of those people who does not have playlists. Maybe I'm the only one idk. Playlists are just not my thing sidjjdd.

Although my to-go music to listen to when writing is this one compilation.

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🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

Hmmmmm I will give it a six because in general I enjoy editing, but it also depends how long I've been working on it. Like, the longer and more recent I've been working on it, the more painful it will be for me because I will be bored/annoyed/find it not good enough/etc. If it has been a hot moment™, I will just sit down and enjoy what I wrote and edit bit by bit (I usually don't do a lot of editing, honestly, like a reread to catch as many spelling errors & co I can, maybe change a few phrasings here and there, but that's about it in general).

So, in general, I'm pretty okay with editing!

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🐇 ⇢ do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or a mix of both? 

Original characters all the way! I love OC so much. I have so many of them. Ask me about them any time and I will not shut up lmao.

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📚 ⇢ what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app? 

Already answered here!

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🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

Hmmmm I very rarely hate a character so it's a bit hard for me lmao. What can I say, I'm easy to please.

(like, I hate Snape in general but it's more because of his fandom and the narrative around him than the character himself, if it makes sense)

You know what, I'm going to go with a character I don't exactly hate but to which I'm pretty indifferent to (and getting more and more annoyed at every time I see him rip).

So let's go for Crocodile!

1) I really like his mafia look, it suits him and his storyline and it makes him pretty different from the other characters in general

2) he's a serious and down-to-earth dude in a Looney Toon cartoon and I love that for him

3) he keeps getting stuck in situations™ and I keep laughing at him. Thank you, Crocodile.

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writer ask game.