#I was feeling kinda bleh the first couple of miles and then i was feeling good and then I checked my watch for the first time @8

[bsaka7]

HELLO??????

[blackcoffeeandblankpagess]

NOLA marathon recap!

-now that it’s over I know it all worked out but in retrospect new orleans was a horrible place to pick to run a marathon lol the race itself was great but it’s definitely a party city and especially because jared’s parents are here with us (and not running) it kinda felt like we were missing out on the full experience (for instance last night we were at a jazz club but had to leave early and didn’t get drinks, etc. but we still have 24 hours of fun!)

-I was STRESSIN about what to eat yesterday/this morning because I really did not practice that while training because I just wanted to live my life and not worry about eating a certain way for a long run every weekend (plus on a normal run its no biggie to stop to use the bathroom) so I was feeling very ahhhhh!!!! yesterday, again, also because jared’s parents were here and don’t understand my running related insanity like jared does lol

-so yesterday I ate: bagel w/ cc and strawberries, pineapple

-oyster/shrimp po boy (I mean we are in new orleans) with fries

-a glass of white wine, shared fancy brussel sprouts with the table, cacio e pepe pasta (which was basically like less creamy mac and cheese and I was worried might be a bad decision but oh well) and a couple bites of a dessert we all shared (only recording this for future marathon reference)

-generally I don’t eat before morning runs but when I have all the time in the world (aka over winter break) I like to eat breakfast, poop, and then run and that was always when I had my best runs, I felt conflicted over whether or not to get up early to eat before the race because even though technically I have eaten breakfast before runs I have never intentionally woken up early with the explicit goal of eating before a long run PLUS when I ate (5am) here it was 3am my (CA) time and I was v worried about not being able to poop and then having to run feeling bloated and bleh

-but I decided to eat oatmeal and I DID poop (aren’t you all glad to know?) and that was well and good

-I had been wavering between my race plan because half of me was like “find the 4 hour pacer and just run a little bit faster at the end and you will break four” since my nyc time was 4:12 and my main goal was to break 4 but THEN my ego jumped in (that’s always good!) and was like nah nah nah nah nah but I want to go FASTER. Honestly I had NO idea what pace I could maintain for 26.2. I have been running most of my runs VERY slowly (for me) at like 10-12min pace but then I also have runs where I’ve run 6-7-8 pace (although short distance) and felt good so I was like uh uh uh because I didn’t want to finish feeling like I had more in me but I DEFINITELY didn’t want to burn out SO I decided I would find the 3:50 pacer and run the first half with them and then reassess (also, I generally run a race pace about 30 seconds faster than my usual pace comfortably because adrenaline so even though I thought the 3:50 aka 8:46 pace might be a little bit pushing it I was like welp I can always pull back if it feels like too much in the beginning)

-anyway! got to the start, found the 3:50 pacer, decided I would glue myself to her hip forever.

-THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY DAY: I don’t know how many of you have heard but last week in oklahoma a driver hit a group of runners from a highschool xc team while they were on a run and killed 2 of them and injured 4 others, I read that headline the other day and was like holy shit. THEN! In the starting corral I was next to this guy and he asked me if I had heard about that and I was like actually yes and HE IS A RUNNER ON THAT XC TEAM AND HE SAID HE WAS THERE TODAY TO RUN IN MEMORY OF HIS TEAMMATES WHO WERE KILLED and I was like holy shit you are incredible and that’s amazing and also I’m so sorry that that reason for being here exists in the first place but like WHAT! small world

-anyway! the pacer’s name was kim and she was from new orleans and we talked a bunch and kinda formed a little 3:50 squad and all got to know eachother and it was GREAT I 100% plan to run with a pacer in the future it was a game changer and I honestly believe I owe my race to it. It forced me to hold back in the beginning and hang on at the end and took all of the thinking and calculations out of it because I knew if I just hung onto her I would get there in time

-the first half of the race was nice and in the downtown area but the second half was ROUGH. It was along the lake and it was WINDY AS SHIT! And there were a bunch of bridges and even though the rest of the course was flat they were...tough. Around 18 I was like ok starting to enter the pain cave and then at 20 I was like ahhhhhh

-But I had mentally prepared myself for the mental battle of the race *see alexi pappas quote on hand* and I told myself to just stop thinking and keep moving forward, before the race even started I knew my biggest challenge in this race would be my brain, not my fitness level

-But then at 21 I started to think about dropping off the pace group because another 5 miles at that pace just seemed so. hard. But I hung on

-And then at 22 I was like ok no I need to walk for a sec my stomach did NOT feel good, so I stopped to walk on a WINDY FKING BRIDGE and then I started dry heaving into the wind but had basically nothing in my stomach I guess and I was like well this is bad but I feel validated in my need to walk for a sec!

-Miles 22-24 were just fucking hard. I had a super bad cramp and was in the pain cave and honestly walked a fair bit and the whole time I was like bitch we are not having an nyc repeat!

-I knew that I had run the first 22 miles fast enough that if I just kept. moving. I would finish under 4. Even though my sub 3:50 ship had sailed I was like YOU HAVE COME TOO FAR TO LET THIS GET AWAY FROM YOU.

-I SHUFFLED mile 25 but I was like if you can just run, even your slowest possible pace, you will make it.

-And then there was a HUGE BRIDGE HILL that I had forgotten about just past 25 and I was like holy shitTtTtTt

-But then I had .7 to go and I KNEW I was going to make it

-And the whole time I was just like “Danielle just keep fucking moving. Just get there under 4 hours. You can take 500 years off of running after this. You can get a fancy drink with dinner tonight. Just keep fucking moving.”

-And I did just that

-As I approached the finish I looked at the seconds on my watch because I honestly felt like I had NOTHING left to give so I was like ok how close am I to the next minute and I was at like 3.52:20 or something and I was like oh we HAVE this

And then it was over! And I am so happy with the result! And I found jared and his parents and it was the best I could have asked for and honestly, I respect the marathon so much more. I feel like after nyc because my pacing screwed me over I was like pft I can run a WAY faster marathon if I’m just smart! I just didn’t run that one intelligently! (which like yes true BUT) but today I was like fuck no marathons are just HARD. That’s the tea!

So! 3:52. 20 minute PR. Honestly not the best training cycle. Can’t wait to see what I’m capable of when I really give it my all.

[erinhime83]

Since it’s been a day and my muse has shifted back into being interested in this story again (seriously, yesterday it did not want anything to do with WfS, which was annoying, because all I could think about Friday was potential details about the third, fourth, and fifth books. Nothing concrete – I have a plot for the third, and possibly for the fourth, but the fifth is just minor stuff right now), I figure it’s about time I do some sort of reflection on this damn thing. It’s not going to be very long (I think), because I’ve forgotten most of what I wanted to say about this because of course I have.

I had realized that I needed to do with story back when I was redoing ISoF, since this is the only story I’ve ever not won a NaNo with. Even though I didn’t finish the first version of ISoF, I still managed to get my 50,000 words in.  Here, I got something like 17,000 or 26,000, not sure. I had attempted to work on it right after I found out I was pregnant, and I got all depressed because I thought I couldn’t be creative anymore.  But in all honesty, this was actually a good thing, because the story I had was all shades of not going to work very well.  Which is sort of why I struggled with it to begin with.

I’m not sure why I didn’t think to try it sooner, other than my muse was on different stories before this. So when it somehow shifted to WfS to the point where I decided to tweek the first book a little, I instantly knew I had to attempt July camp with it.  And seriously, attempt.  Like, I got it in my head earlier that I should try to go back to how I used to be with writing, popping out book after book, and I wanted to see if I could do it in a NaNo month, since the schedule I had used for November with the girls was still in place.  And it worked!  It really worked!

RIiighht up until Covid decided to shut everything down and I absolutely panicked to the point where I couldn’t write anymore.  It didn’t help that I was plantsing the book, using the basic outline I had but also making it up as I went along.  I, like, lost steam right at the end there, so yeah.  I might have been able to continue with it if I had an idea of what I was doing.

And the same could be said about my April Camp attempt.  Sure, I had my tooth issue that made it impossible to write and then, since I had lost a couple of days, I just couldn’t continue.  Because I had no idea where I wanted to go with it (I have since figured it out potentially, and considering I do really want to get into the new Cosmic Dreamers, I may finish that one soonish). So even though I could have finished it later, I haven’t yet.

I did go into this one nervous as hell that something would happen and I wouldn’t be able to finish again.  Except this time, I did have a full outline, I wasn’t plantsing it, so I might have been able to finish it regardless.  But no. This time it went to @callistochan87.  So…I guess we gotta keep an eye on @anijeltaventry in November. Or if I want to write again.  (I feel bad being grateful that it was her and not me this time, and I feel like I might be able to since it was a crazy easy fix, she wasn’t in immense pain, and it sounds like her vision might not be completely damaged?  I hope).

In any case, its sort of funny how tweeking just a couple of thing from my original idea completely changed what I had planned, but also changed my view on this one.  Like I said, the original idea I had was garbage, and I never fully finished the outline because I couldn’t make it work very well.  I was bound and determined to bring the other Volturnians from the crossover story into this one, and once I determined it was simply not possible, everything fell into place.  I mean, just like the whole thing with Techna.  I want Techna to be a thing, but she doesn’t do much.  She’s really not useful in the story.  So when I did away from her, again, everything just fell into place.  More so than taking out the Volturnians.

And taking out the Volturnians was made possibly simply by creating Alan.  See, one of the reasons why my muse was on WfS in the first place was because I wanted to watch a couple DC films.  Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen are my favorite, since they focus on the Lois/Superman relationship, and obviously I am all about that.  And one of my favorite aspects of the new animate universes is that they always have Hal Jordan and Barry Allen be, like, BFFs IRL before the Justice League is formed.  So I was like, I should do that.  I should create a speedster character, and then have him be BFFs with Specter.

Except originally, Specter was an alien.  That’s actually why he looks so opposite of Greg, with the pale skin, pale hair, and pale eyes.  His species was supposed to be the anti-Volturnians.  Also, the idea behind Spectrum was that they were all blind, and were able to ‘see’ thanks to the bracelets, but they could only ‘see’ basic colors.  So if something was kinda red, they’d see it as straight red, that’s sort of thing.  Oh, and Specter was supposed to be the villain. 

Yep, what was supposed to happen was that he himself was going to arrest Greg for being a Volturnian on Earth.  And then Lane would convince Roselyn to take her to Volturnas to get him back.  And Miles was supposed to end up with Roselyn’s half-brother.  Yep. 

But giving Jordan a human BFF made me decide to make him human as well, and I think it works out so much better!  I mean, I didn’t know anything about Spectrum until I was literally writing about it, but now I had this world-building thing that I can expand on for the next book, so yay!  I was actually going to make it so he was blinded by the accident, but I sort of liked the idea of him being born blind, so the suddenly seeing thing would be more of a shock.  Plus, if he had been blinded, then really, he could just always use his powers and never tell anyone he was blind.  So...yeah.

(Also, I still love their names.  Like, literally, I named Jordan what I did because Green Lantern’s last name could be a first name.  Which is why it’s Jordan Halstrom.  So I had to do the same with Alan.  Alan Barnett instead of Barry Allen.  Also, the name Speedy comes from Green Arrow’s sidekick, which I always thought was a better name for Kid Flash then, you know, Kid Flash.)

Looking at what I had originally planned and how much I ended up like Livianus, I realize that I could have had Miles end up with him instead of Jordan.  I mean, I’m sort of mad at myself for deciding to make the rainbow superhero gay, but I randomly picked him instead of Alan. Which I think makes more sense. Alan is fricking nineteen.  Miles might be only twenty-three, but I think the press would have an absolute field day with that. At least with Jordan, there’s only a three year age gap there. >.<

Let’s see, I’m not sure if there’s really anything else to mention.  I mean, I sort of had fun at the beginning of the book, because it really looks like it’s going in a completely different direction than it took. But the thing is, when I was first planning WfS, I had two storylines I could have one with.  The first one is the one I wrote, where Greg is a superhero and blah blah blah.  The second storyline involved Greg being taken back to Volturnas when he was a teenager, and returning when they invade, and reuniting with Lane then.  And then he and Lane attempting to stop the invasion and stuff.

And I guess after doing WfS, I realized I could still use some of the ideas of the second storyline. Like where Greg is taken back to Volturnas and Lane sneaks on the ship to go back with him, and her becoming one of his concubines.  Sort of. So that’s where the whole plot of WCBH came into play.  But as a result of the first act, I know what I want to do with the third yet-to-be-named book. 

And also a Specter and Speedy prequel, and I’m like, damn, am I going to have time for all these books? Yeesh.  Like, the prequel will be weird because Lane and Greg wouldn’t be in it, Miles will be mentioned, and, oh yeah, it’ll be told from a guy perspective. >.<  But I still want to do it someday!  *cries*

I did like how there was only one day where I had to play catch up, which is actually unusual for me.  I always look at my days off when I’m not feeling writing a chapter and go ‘well, it’s easy to write a twofer or a chapter and a half those days!’, like I give myself an easy out.  BUT thanks to convincing @callistochan87 to review the chapter after she read it, it motivated me to not only put a chapter out, but having it done before she got on so she could have a chance to read it.  Which I severely miss.  I was seriously sad on Friday night knowing that was the last time she was going to do it. Unless she, like, decides not to write in November.  Then I could look forward to that then.  But I doubt it.  ;_;

I think the worst thing that came out of all this was, despite not thinking about it ALL DAY YESTERDAY, my muse decided last night to give me breakthrough with my idea of rewriting WfS where Greg didn’t ghost everyone when he decided to become Ultro.  Like, I love the idea, and I was struggling to make certain parts make sense, but now I really want to do it.  And the even worst bit is the back that my breakthrough makes it really stupidly easy just to go back, rewrite the first couple of chapters, and then just edit the rest of it.  So, like, now I really, really want to do it!  And I might! Because it means I don’t have to rewrite the series and be really annoyed that I can’t have Miles and Jordan together already.  :D

So yeah, that’s where I’m at at the moment.  Fun times with the muse.  Bleh.

Still, I know I’ll look back on this book and be happy with it (except for the fact that I’d have to go back and tweek some things thanks to the rewrite of WfS).  There were some things I struggled with, some ideas that I thought were stupid but had to use to move the plot forward.  But that’s the best thing about first drafts!  I can rework it all later to make more sense.  I’m so happy that I’ve gotten this one under wraps! It only took over three years to do. XD

Thank you so much, @callistochan87, not for taking one for the team, but rather motivating me to write this and keep going with it.  I know you think you didn’t do much, but just the fact that you were reading it helped so, so much, and that’s pretty true for all my stories!  So I’ll always thank you for that.  :D

I probably missed some things I wanted to say.  I always do, it seems.  ^^;

[nour386]

Ballad of the Past

My gift to @lyeox for the @pinesconessecrets 2019 event! I apologise for the wait. I hoe you enjoy your youtuber au.

(also on ao3!)

“It’s so beautiful.” Dipper’s fingers trembled as they neared the golden plaque. “If I were to die right now, I would have no regrets.”

“Hey! No dying yet. You still owe me dinner.” Wirt placed his hands on his hips. 

The pair stood in Dipper’s bedroom, hastily cleaned for their impromptu recording. Dipper had just received his 1 million subscriber award. The golden plaque had arrived that very morning, and every person and cryptid within a 3 mile radius was made well aware of its delivery. But in this present moment, Dipper was hoping to let his fans know how grateful he was for their help in reaching this milestone.

Dipper pressed his finger to his lips. “Hush, I’m celebrating.”

“This is what I have to deal with.” Wirt said. He turned to the camera at the foot of the bed and pointed to his boyfriend, who had started to weep over the golden plaque.

“I’d like to thank the academy,” Dipper sobbed.

“Okay, we’re going to cut recording for now. Dipper needs some time,” Wirt said. “See you guys in a few minutes. Or an hour if his uncle sees the gold plaque and tries to pawn it off.”

Wirt clicked off the recording and turned to his boyfriend. “Are you feeling okay?” “Yeah, yeah, I just need a second.” Dipper wiped his eyes.

“Oh my gosh, I thought you were just being dramatic.” Wirt withdrew a handkerchief from his pocket. He gently pressed it against Dipper’s cheek, wiping away his tears. 

“I’m fine.  No, really.” Dipper took the handkerchief and wiped his eyes. “I haven’t been able to cry properly for years.” “Yeah…that doesn’t sound anywhere near the definition of fine.” Wirt crossed his arms.

“Don’t get your antlers in a twist.” Dipper punched Wirt’s arm. 

“Rude!” Wirt gasped.

“Says the man who speaks in demonic tongues when he stubs his toe.” Dipper stuck out his tongue.

 Wirt stomped his foot. “Your cabinet is made of redwood! It hurts!”

“Well, good to know what the biggest weakness of a tree demon is.” Dipper rolled his eyes.

“I refuse to be insulted this way,” Wirt said.

“How would you prefer to be insulted then?” Dipper smirked.

“Not at all. Thank you very much.” Wirt sat down heavily on the bed, making Dipper jump.

“Guess these are sticks in the mud then.” Dipper tugged at Wirt’s antlers.

“That tears it.”

Wirt tackled Dipper onto the mattress. He mercilessly tickled the other boy, smirking wickedly as Dipper begged for mercy between giggles. Dipper tried to fight back, but Wirt was wiggly, like a palm in a hurricane.

“Uncle! Uncle!” Dipper cried between giggles.

Wirt stopped his assault, giving his boyfriend a chance to catch his breath. Dipper took  this moment to attack Wirt back. Reaching under his boyfriend's arm and tickling his sides. 

“That isn’t fair!” Wirt gasped. “You gave up.” “All’s fair in love and war,” Dipper grinned. He decided to grant Wirt some mercy and got off the bed. 

“That has to be illegal,” Wirt said after a few deep breaths.

“Under the Geneva Convention, probably, but in the Pines house hold it certainly isn’t.” Dipper stuck out his tongue.

“Ugh, my own boyfriend assaulting me in my time of need.” Wirt rolled over, turning his head away in faux disgust. “I knew I should have stayed in the forest.”

“Sour puss.” Dipper flicked Wirt’s ear before sitting back down onto the bed. 

He laid the plaque on his lap.  Inside the rectangular frame was the Youtube logo, a play button. Below were the words, warded to Cryptid Hunters Anonymous for passing 1,000,000 subscribers”. Not to mention the most important detail: it was entirely made of gold. Dipper gently ran his hand over it. The cool metal reflected his own teary eyed grin.

“So, do you have any plans for your big one mil commemorative video?” Wirt asked. He sat up and rested his chin on Dipper’s shoulder. “A special cryptid hunt? A behind the scenes tour?”

“Bleh, I’ve already shown my recording equipment. Although, I guess I could try an AMA for the multibear. He seemed to enjoy the interview last time.” Dipper furrowed his brow.

“What about unreleased hunts?” Wirt asked, wrapping his arms around Dipper’s waist.

“I already posted everything,” Dipper said. “Well...there is one. But, um...”

“Yes? What’s the problem? It can’t be the video, you’re a wonder on your laptop.” Wirt flourished his hand. “You colourised an old video that was dyed grey from those monochrome goblins.”

“It’s not that.  I did need to replace the camera after that one, though. And funnily enough, I also couldn't edit the footage whatsoever.” Dipper shrugged awkwardly. “I guess it’d be easier to show you. But you have to promise to not make fun of me.”

“Dipper, please. I would never. I’m a respectable tree monster.” Wirt nuzzled into Dipper’s neck. “Besides, I watched your earlier videos. I’ve seen you at your worst. How bad can  it be?”

Dipper brought his laptop to the bed. With a couple of clicks, he opened up the video he had hidden away from the public eye. He gave a heavy sigh as he sat back and cuddled up to Wirt.

“So, remember when we met up at that cafe on Fifth Street for the first time?” Dipper asked. “And how you said it was really lucky that I decided to sit next to you that day?”

“Yes, I remember Mabel waving to you from across the cafe and pushing us to spending the day together.” Wirt tapped his chin.

“It worked out, didn’t it?” Dipper grinned. “You even said yes to a date with me by the end of it.” 

“What could I say? You were adorable. Especially when you snuck looks at that script you wrote on a napkin,” Wirt teased. “Who even does that?”

“Someone worth dating, quite obviously.” Dipper raised his nose in pride.

“C’mon, start it up, Francis Ford Coppola.” Wirt nudged him with his elbow.

“Fine, fine.” Dipper reached forward and started up the video.

The screen was dim. A squelching noise came out of the laptop’s speakers as the image focused on the muddy ground. Leaves lay strewn all across the forest floor while Dipper detailed his goal for that day’s hunt. Mabel occasionally called out her opinions to ‘lessen the nerdiness,’ as she phrased it.

“It’s been raining really heavily for the past few days, so I decided to check out if this affect anything in the forest. I mean obviously it would, it’s not like rain was invented yesterday.”

He kept talking, leaves squelching underfoot as he walked.

“I know the gnomes are probably not too happy about this. They had an outdoor barbeque planned for today. They handed out invites and everything.” Dipper flashed a crudely drawn greeting card. It showed a crayon drawing of a short man with a pointy red hat and a white apron standing behind a smoking red barbeque. 

“But no one shows up to their barbeques!” Mabel’s distinctly cheerful could be heard behind the camera.

Dipper turned the camera to show his sister sticking out her tongue. “When the only thing on the menu is pinecone, roast pinecone, and pine cone steak, I doubt you’d have crowds flocking over.” 

“Maybe they’d have more people come if they didn’t kidnap people all the time,” Mabel teaseded. 

Dipper turned the camera around and continued his hike through the woods. He would occasionally stop to point out different tracks and markings he came across. Mabel would drop in a comment or two, often at her twin’s expense. After concluding that the venture was uneventful, the pair agreed to head back.

“Dipper, if it starts raining on me and my hair gets ruined. I will never forgive you,” Mabel said from off screen.

“Let me just check that next clearing.” 

“Fine, only because I know you need the exercise,” Mabel teased.

The camera was pointed at the clearing in question. It looked rather dark, much like the rest of the woods, thanks to the dark clouds above. As Dipper neared, a figure came into view, standing in the centre of the clearing.

“Hey, I see something over here!” Dipper cried, walking further into the clearing. 

Before him stood a wooden statue of a gnome no taller than his knee, including the hat. The statue’s face was caught half way through a scream of terror, mouth openwide, eyes half closed andarms raised defensively.

“Is it petrified?” Dipper tapped the statue with his finger. “It’s too detailed to be handmade.”

“Dipper, look out!” Mabel’s voice was distant.

Before he could realise what his sister meant, Dipper bumped into someone he hadn’t noticed. The camera fell to the ground, pointing upwards, showing a tall, shadowy figure with antlers that seemed to meld with the branches of the trees above. They stared Dipper down with shining eyes.

“Oh no, he’s hot,” Dipper muttered just before he was dragged out of shot. “Wait no the camera!”

“Camera later. Staying alive now!” Her voice faded out.

The creature looked down at the camera before the picture cut to black.

“And that was that,” Dipper said. He did jazz hands.

“That...oh, no.” Wirt rested his head in his hand. “Oh cheese and crackers. Please tell me I didn’t chase after you.”

“No, we got back to the Shack safely. The camera, on the other hand, showed up on our doorstep a week later, covered in oil with the SD card being the only thing still intact.” Dipper rubbed the back of his head. “This footage was kinda messed up, so I couldn’t really edit out that last comment at the end there. So I kinda shelved it.”

“Oh no. I can’t believe this is happening right now.” Wirt’s face was now completely buried in his hands. “Please just kill me now.” 

“Sorry, fresh out of holy water,” Dipper said. “So, um you wanna explain what was going on there?”

“Okay, so long story short, I was working off some steam and petrified a gnome in the woods.” Wirt had laid back on the bed.

“Wait, that was an actual gnome?” Dipper asked. “You just petrified someone?”

“He was a fairy dust dealer.” Wirt rolled his eyes. “It was a moral freebie.”

“Right.” Dipper didn’t sound convinced. “And why were you so peeved?” “Oh my gosh you would not believe.” Wirt sat up fingers rubbing his temples. “Alright so, the elves in the wood hold a poetry competition once every 5 years. So I enter, all wide-eyed and hopeful thinking that my poetry has a chance of making it in, right?” Dipper laid back, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend’s enthusiastic narration. A soft smile spread across his face as he leaned against Wirt.

Wirt started waving his arms as he spoke. “I walk up to the stage, my nerves making me feel sick after waiting 3 hours for my turn. I stand up with my ballad. I had spent months writing, re-writing, re-writing again and re-writing one more time for luck. Not to mention rehearsals. And then after sitting through the extravaganza of elvish poetry, which can last for days at a time, I leave the competition wish last place! The judges said my entry was ‘too short’.”

“What was an acceptable length? 2 weeks?” Dipper chuckled.

“Apparently! “ Wirt threw up his arms. “I thought for sure I would have scored higher than the one elf who just stood there and gave a failed improv routine. He didn’t even rhyme! Not even once! And he somehow left with third place.” 

Dipper leaned over and lightly pecked Wirt’s cheek. “I would have given you first place.”

“You’re my boyfriend. That would be cheating.”

“How about you read your poem to me and I’ll judge it,” Dipper said. 

“Interesting.” Wirt tapped his chin. “It would give me the opportunity to show off my prowess. Sure, why not. I’ll be back in a few.”

As he watched his boyfriend scurry out the door; Dipper smiled fondly. He grateful for that fateful day in the woods. And while he made himself comfortable in bed, he wondered if he could have poetry reading be his one million subscriber special. His fans were interested in his love life, so maybe a small preview wouldn’t hurt.

[negaifreak]

My Hero Academia: KARAOKE NIGHT - KYOKA & ROBBIE

The spinners stopped.

"And we've got Kyoka Jiro and Robbie Reyes!" Toru exclaimed as she saw the names the pointed were aimed towards, causing the two to perk up.

"Oh wow, the first couple of the night..." Mashirao noted with his hands at his hips. Kyoka blushed. It was weird to know that she was dating a member of Class B. Still, she was excited to be singing with him. She just wished her friends wouldn't constantly gush over it...

"Ooh, this is gonna be so cute~!" Mina squeaked as she hopped excitedly.

"Plus, you got Class A's best singer going for it!" Ochaco mentioned, flattering Kyoka as she blushed deeper.

"Hmph..." Neito scoffed, folding his arms over his chest, "Of course now I can't criticize Class A since Reyes' girlfriend will be on stage..." he muttered. Itsuka and Riri blinked in surprise before glancing over at Robbie.

"He's not wrong," he remarked with a simple shrug.

"Huh..." Kyoka sighed, standing up from her seat, "Let's just get this over with..." she grumbled, taking a microphone handed to her from Mina. Robbie followed suit and went over to the laptop with her to select their song.

"I do wonder what Jiro will pick if she's doing a duet with Reyes..." Momo noted curiously.

"Knowing Jiro, it's gotta be something punk... rocky or whatever..." Denki replied, placing his hand onto his cheek as he leaned against the couch.

"Go for it, Kyoka!" Natalie cheered as she cuddled up to Izuku, causing him to blush a mad red. The Earphone Jack Quirk user had yet to type anything into the search bar. She at least wanted to run her suggestion by her boyfriend first.

"So... you wanna go for something loud?" she asked quietly as he approached her.

"Hm..." Robbie hummed as he stared over at the empty search bar, "Why don't we try your song, Kyo?" he suggested. She blushed again.

"A-Are you sure?" she stuttered in question, fidgeting with her earlobe jacks, "I mean... it kinda confirms things..." she grumbled out of embarrassment.

"Only if you're sure," he retorted with a chuckle, causing her to perk up in surprise. A few seconds later, she let off a little smile.

"...Okay," she said, typing the song title into the search bar. After a few moments of preparation, the pair stood at the center of the room while Mina was at the ready by the laptop.

"All right, no wasting time!" the pink skinned girl rhymed somewhat, "Knock it outta the park, you two!" she exclaimed, pressing the play button.

"My heart's a stereo~..." Robbie began sweetly into the microphone, "It beats for you, so listen close~... Hear my thoughts in every note~..." he sang, causing most of the audience members to widen their eyes in surprise. This wasn't punk rock...

"Make me your radio~..." Kyoka continued, "Turn me up when you feel low~... This melody was meant for you~..." she echoed, glancing over at her boyfriend, "Just sing along to my stereo~..." she sang.

"Oh my..." Momo uttered in surprise, placing her hand over her mouth, "This certainly wasn't what I was expecting from Jiro..." she confessed as she blinked.

"I think it's because both she and Reyes like it," Shoto chimed in, catching her attention.

"I think so, too," Tsuyu agreed.

"If I was just another dusty record on the shelf, would you blow me off and play me like everybody else~?" Robbie sang in question, bobbing his head to the beat, "If I ask you to scratch my back, could you manage that~?" he continued, making his girlfriend giggle as he winked at her playfully, "Like it read well, check it Robbie, I can handle that~..." he sang, "Furthermore, I apologize for any skipping tracks~..." he kept going, "It's just the last girl that played me left a couple cracks~..." he remarked in song, causing Kyoka to arch an eyebrow playfully at him, "I used to used to used to used to, now I'm over that~..." he repeated, "'Cause holding grudges over love is ancient artifacts~..." he finished.

"If I could only find a note to make you understand, I'd sing it softly in your ear and grab you by the hand~..." Kyoka kept going as she danced to the beat, moving towards her boyfriend, "Keep it stuck inside your head, like your favorite tune~..." she echoed, leaning against his shoulder, "And know my heart's a stereo that only plays for you~..." she sang sweetly.

"AWWWWW~!" almost all of the girls cooed upon viewing the scene before them.

"Bleh..." Laura muttered in disgust, turning her head away.

"My heart's a stereo~! It beats for you, so listen close~! Hear my thoughts in every note~! Oh, oh~!" the pair sang together, with Robbie spinning Kyoka elegantly as if they were at a ball, "Make me your radio~! Turn me up when you feel low~! This melody was meant for you~... Just sing along to my stereo~!" they exclaimed.

"All right!" Eijiro yelled as he pumped his fist, "Now this is catchy!" he noted as he snapped his fingers.

"I never pegged Jiro to be the type to go for songs like this..." Minoru mentioned as he blinked.

"Nor Robbie..." Itsuka admitted.

"Hmph," Neito scoffed in disgust.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh to my stereo~..." the couple repeated, "Oh, oh, oh, oh so sing along to my stereo~..." they continued before Robbie broke away from his girlfriend,

"Let's go~!" he exclaimed, "If I was an old-school, fifty pound boom box, would you hold me on your shoulder, wherever you walk~?" he asked in song towards Kyoka, who perked up, "Would you turn my volume up in front of the cops~? And crank it higher every time they told you to stop~?" he continued to question through singing, causing some members of the audience to chuckle, especially as Kyoka playfully punched his shoulder, "And all I ask is that you don't get mad at me~... When you have to purchase mad D batteries~..." he kept going excitedly, "Appreciate every mix tape your friends make~... You never know we come and go like we're on the interstate~..." he finished, turning to his girlfriend.

"I think finally found a note to make you understand~... If you can hit it, sing along and take me by the hand~..." she sang into the microphone, "Keep myself inside your head, like your favorite tune~..." she kept going, spinning around before dipping herself backwards into her boyfriend's arms, "And know my heart's a stereo that only plays for you~..." she echoed romantically.

"Oooohhhh~..." the girls cooed again. Laura just growled and turned her head away. This was obviously getting too romantic for her tastes.

"My heart's a stereo~! It beats for you, so listen close~! Hear my thoughts in every note~! Oh, oh~!" the couple sang together, dancing with the beat, "Make me your radio~! Turn me up when you feel low~! This melody was meant for you~... Just sing along to my stereo~!" they echoed simultaneously, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh to my stereo~! Oh, oh, oh, oh so sing along to my stereo, let's go~!" they repeated.

"Woohoo!" Natalie exclaimed, "Go Kyoka!" she cheered as she waved her fist in the air excitedly.

"Yeah, show 'em who's the best!" Ochaco added as she pumped her own extremity. The Earphone Jack Quirk user smiled before taking a deep breath.

"I only pray you never leave me behind~..." she voiced beautifully.

"Never leave me~..." her boyfriend repeated, moving behind her.

"Because good music can be so hard to find~..." she kept going, blushing as he was getting closer to her.

"So hard to find~..." he repeated softly into her ear, tickling it with his breath.

"I take your hand and pull it closer to mine~...!" she began to echo, grabbing his hand with her own, "Thought love was dead, but now you're changing my mind~!" she exclaimed, suddenly turning around and playfully pecking him on the lips.

"Whoa!" Miles yelped, "That's cool!" he confessed, causing Riri to roll her eyes in annoyance. The two singers stared at each other longingly before continuing.

"My heart's a stereo~! It beats for you, so listen close~! Hear my thoughts in every note~! Oh, oh~!" they echoed perfectly, "Make me your radio~! Turn me up when you feel low~! This melody was meant for you~... Just sing along to my stereo~!" they sang, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh to my stereo~! Oh, oh, oh, oh so sing along to my stereo~!" they finished, breathing heavily afterwards out of exhaustion.

"WOOHOO!" Natalie cheered again as she and everyone else clapped in applause, "That was amazing, Kyoka!" she complimented.

"Might've not been punk rock, but it was the next best thing!" Toru mentioned cheekily.

"Nice going up there, Robbie!" Miles called out. Compliments were coming in from left and right from practically everyone.

"I guess it was fine..." Neito muttered. He obviously didn't want to pay many compliments to someone from Class A, but also didn't want to incur the wrath of his own classmate.

"Told you it'd be fine," Robbie remarked to his girlfriend, catching her attention as she laughed, turning and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You sure did, Hellfire..." she retorted, leaning up and kissing him passionately with closed eyes, while he did the same.

END

Next up will be an anonymous pick! Go ahead and give me some suggestions!

[reggies-rambles]

13th of September

Uni is busy and weather is still cruddy (though there were <i>some</i> nice days). Reggle is doing pretty good though. Haven’t ridden as much as I am wanting too, but end of semester is coming up soon so I’ll have more time to get him trucking then. For now, gotta get that study done and get that 80% average boiiii

Anyway, Reggie’s figured out haunches in/traverse all of a sudden. Not perfect, but its there. Really this shouldn’t surprise me cause he did the same thing when teaching it in-hand. Just wasn’t getting it, wasn’t getting it, wasn’t getting it, oh wait I get it. He’s interesting in that respect. I’ve been playing with it undersaddle a little bit and he definitely finds the right rein easier than the left. On the right, its a little harder to keep the correct bend, but as his hinds strength up that should disappear. He gets the concept and that’s all I care about for the moment. In fact, this is becoming his ‘go to thing’ when he gets confused with laterals lol Couple times when leg yielding he’d pop into traverse because he thought it was easier lol Hopefully that means teaching half-pass will not be too much of a struggle. 

I think the overall quality of his gaits have improved too. Walk is certainly better and I think the trot is coming along too. I haven’t done much/anything with the ‘fancy’ lengthen trot, I think he might be a little sore through his shoulder, but the overall quality of the gait feels better. I think anyway. Since I usually ride on my own I don’t have any video to compare with atm. Should en-devour to get some, but its probably better to learn off feel anyway. He’s certainly working up into the bridle more and doesn’t get so low anymore, so I’m taking that as improvement. 

Canter is getting better too, but going is slow. I try not to spend too much time on it cause he’s young, but canter is soemthing we are going to need in the future. Its more just corners and circles that are bleh. Like they can be done, but its not as pretty as I want it to be. Just typical young horse motorbiking stuff. Left lead has gotten heaps better than the first attempt, can usually manage at least one half-decent transition and he’s beginning to pick his shoulder up and bend. Right lead is very hit and miss. When he gets it right, its better than the left lead, but its much harder to get to that point. I think its mainly just a case of more miles and chipping away at it slowly. He just needs a lot of support and hand-holding atm, which is easier said than done when he’s leaning into the circle and you’re trying to sit straight lol. I did have to get after him a little bit with the whip today cause he started messing around in the transition and just running through my seat+legs, so he had bit of a buck and carry on about that but then afterwards he was much better. I think the buck was more of a ‘need to get my legs in order’ over anything else. He is a delicate petal, so a touch with the stick often gives a big response lol 

Overall he’s much more relaxed about the canter though. He doesn’t run when you bring him back to trot or get too uptight once you go sitting trot after canter. Still a little bit of wiggling, but if you just stay with him he settles right back down again. Like you can actually ask for more forward and he’ll give it rather than hollowing out, rushing and getting a little panicky. I think doing stretchy circles after canter helps with that, or at least continuing a little trot work before bringing him back to a walk/halt. Downwards transitions in general have improved heaps, not so much jolting to a stop, he is actually carrying the energy through a bit. Unless I forget and say ‘woah’ but that’s my fault :p Never hurts to have an emergency break lol. V had me take a big breath in and then out when going down a gait, and Reggie has actually picked up on it. The things they pay attention too is kinda amazing when you think about it. Needless to say, downwards transitions are actually not too horrible anymore, even my accidental canter-walk ones lol Upwards transistions are hit and miss. Like trot to canter is just no, walk to trot can be good and halt to walk are usually alright. Taking up a little extra contact has helped with this some as well as having in-front of the leg more, so I’m not having to ‘do’ as much to get a nicer transition than weeks previous, so I suppose that is good too.

Am looking forward to the warmer weather, I am a tiny bit sick of riding in the rain (though today was alright actually) and trekking through mud. Reggie has gotten a little spot of mud fever on his hinds which is annoying and his neck rug has rubbed out part of his mane ;-; Hopefully it will grow back soon, but that missing spot is making my running braids look very funny. His mane is so long it gets in the way when I ride, so I braid it to keep it out of the way, but because of that missing bit, I can’t braid the entire way down his neck and instead end up doing one ‘normal’ braid and then one ‘microbraid’ to get the rest of it out of the way. It does look pretty funny lol Anyway, nothing that can fix that but time.

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Tokyo Treat Oct 18

As an update from my last post, I pretty much stayed up last night and browsed Blippo.com. They have tons of products and yes, there was some heartbreak in them not having a couple things I would have really liked- but I still found a variety of things worth getting and in a couple of days I will be giving it a once over before I make my purchase!

Not related to Tokyo Treat, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

“Happy Halloween to our Tokyo Treat family! We love this season as the weather is finally starting to cool down, the leaves begin to change color, and of course, the ghouls appear! To celebrate this fun season we have curated a box full of seasonal Halloween limited-time items. Our hope is that the moment you open your box you are filled with Halloween cheer! So, we hope that you absolutely love this month’s Trick or Treat Tokyo Treat box! We plan on dressing up to enjoy this holiday, and we hope that you do the same What are you planning on being this Halloween? Whether it is a creepy creature, a ghastly ghoul, or a kawaii character, be sure to have a great time!“

For this month, our Lucky Treat stars the adorable Gudetama with some Pokemon on the side, while the prizes for the months contest includes some adorable Pikachu products.

There is also an article on Yokai, an adorable Kappa matching game, and an article on Dashi, a common stock used in a variety of Japanese cuisine.

Candy Apple DIY Kit

This is our DIY item, one I’ve had a couple of times already; kinda disappointing but at least it’s a good one. I already reviewed this so you can check that out here: https://cutiecrates.tumblr.com/post/160472604642/cutie-reviews-apple-soft-candy-diy

Takoyako Ramune

Yes, you read that right. I was praying to never see a “weird ramune“ again after the Christmas potato one.... this had me wishing for the potato. I’m sorry anyone I might have offended but I’m not a “weird drink“ type of gal >3<

So as the booklet says, this is the “Halloween Trick“ :P For anyone unfamiliar, Takoyaki are “fried octopus balls“. Basically, a ball of dough filled with a piece of octopus meat, onion, pickled vegetables, ginger, etc, then covered in delicious sauces. They’re kind of acquired to those outside of Japan, but it’s a very popular dish. 

Rating: ♥ 

Yeah... this was terrible x_x It smells really bad, but I was surprised to say the flavor tasted a lot lighter. I only took a tiny sip but that was enough for me... I ended up psyching myself out before I even managed to drink it so I sat with this thing for like 10-15 minutes. It tastes exactly like a thinned down version of the Mc Donalds sweet and sour sauce... which prior to this drink used to be my favorite from there. 

It’s probably still my favorite honestly. But if I had drank anymore, I’m not so sure about that.

Winnie The Pooh Cookies

Our first two items are these bags of adorable cookies x3 Both feature a colorful package and the adorable Winnie the Pooh characters and the phrase Happy Hunnyween, isn’t that precious~?

My favorite has always been Piglet, and my mom loves Eeyore, what about you guys?

The cookies came in 2 flavors, chocolate chip, and sweet honey. They have a very crumbly texture that kind of reminds me of softened graham cracker.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I’m rating them both together since they’re essentially the same thing but with a different flavor. They taste okay in terms of a cookie quality, nothing special but they’re not bad. The sweet honey one actually doesn’t taste like honey to me, but apples, which I thought was kind of tasty. The chocolate chip ones meanwhile, have a plainer taste and the chocolate chips are hardly noticeable.

If I had to choose one over the other, I’m not sure which one I'd pick. They seem a lot alike to me. These would be good if you like cookies that aren’t super-sweet or want a softish type of snack.

Tongari Corn & Shrimp Crackers & Pumpkin Wheat Puffs

I’ll be starting with the wheat puffs (the super obscure little yellow things on the plate. I’m sorry but I didn’t realize how invisible they looked in the picture when I took it...), my least favorite of the trio.

These are the share pack snack, made by Maeda (I assume from the link on the package), each pack is 39 calories and they are pumpkin-flavored puffs of wheat. They have a solid, but crumbly, powdered texture, and each bag includes a cute Halloween inspired drawing.

Rating: ♥

These aren’t very good, they remind me a lot of an egg yolk in terms of... everything. They don’t taste like pumpkin or wheat, I dislike them a lot and a part of me feels like these would be more suitable for younger children.

Our next item is the Shrimp Crackers by Calbee, the most common shrimp cracker I‘ve seen and had, but this time they included a fun Halloween design!

Each bag is 128 calories, and on the back of the bag they include a cute drawing depicting the “making of shrimp chips“.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I’m not big on seafood, so seafood-based snacks can either be a hit or miss with me. These I’ve had once or twice before, but I’m not entirely devoted to them. The more I eat the less intense the flavor is though, and they’re tolerable. I don’t dislike them. They’re a light crunch in terms of texture.

Our final item in this picture is the Tongari Corn, a very popular snack by House, which is basically the Japanese version of the American Bugles.

It’s also interesting to note that whoever writes these didn’t proof-read the “menu“ in the booklet because the information for the snack comes from last months box. The flavor is Salted Caramel, and the calorie count is 381. For the holiday there is a cute eye-mask you can cut out of the packaging too :D

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I like these way more than Bugles, and they’re salted with a light sweetness that tastes amazing. It doesn’t remind me of a caramel though. These are extremely addictive, especially if you enjoy a nice crunchy texture. Wrong information or not, these would be a great movie snack.

Poteko & Chupa Chups Lollipop

Poteko is nothing new in a long mile for this box, but this month we get a unique flavor Pumpkin Gratin. There was three bags available, each with a kawaii Halloween design.  

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I like Poteko enough as is, they have a light saltiness, the crunch is really good- but I was getting tired of them! We get them fairly frequently, but these ones have a unique flavoring to them. For most part they taste like normal Poteko, but there is a light difference to them, I’m not really sure if it reminds me of pumpkin or anything.

Our next item is the popular Halloween Chupa Chups lollipop. I’ve seen these pretty frequently (they even have big skulls decorated to make you can buy them in) but I never had one before, so this will be my first time trying it :P I waited until I was writing this to do so, and I am very excited!

According to the booklet, the skull is a sweet strawberry, while the sour element is the lime-flavored brain.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I was really surprised. The “strawberry hard candy“ actually tastes a bit like lime, while the “sour brains“ tastes like a slightly different lime, and it’s like a hard-soft candy you can bite into it right away. It wasn’t sour at all, which on one hand is a bit lame cause I like sour candy- but at the same time, it tastes delicious~

Roll Cake & Balance Mini-Cake Bar & Caramel Pudding Kit Kat

This box is a bit repetitive this month, because once again we’re looking at a Butter Cream Roll Cake, this is probably the third or fourth one I’ve gotten... but oddly this one is much smaller than usual. Er, ignoring the fact I bit it in half prior to taking the picture... 

I’m not going to bother rating this due to having done it so many times before. But I will say that it’s a lovely little cake, very soft with a light buttery flavor. It’s a nice alternative to those much bigger snack cakes if you feel bad about eating them.

Our next item is a Mini-Cake Bar, the Kinosei Health Snack of the month :3 Packed with over 10 vitamins, calcium, iron, and magnesium! It’s a very healthy snack at only 98 calories and would be a good choice in the morning or afternoon. 

The flavor for this one is Baked Cheesecake, and I know I had something like it before- but ‘m not sure if it was the same flavor or another one. It’s been a while.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Cheesecake is one of my most favorite foods, so I always look forward to trying cheesecake-flavored things. However, anytime there is something like that in one of these boxes, it always has a lemonish taste. I'm not sure if they include citrus or lemon in their cheesecakes, or if that’s just how my tongue interprets it. It’s pretty good though, and the texture is soft without being a crumbly mess.

The final item in this picture is a huge bag of delicious caramel pudding flavored kit-kats ♥ featured a super-cute Halloween design and “hand talk“ written on each package. Each pack is 63 calories.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

These taste AMAZING; definitely a must-try kit-kat out of every flavor made so far. They have a very strong scent and taste, and taste like creamy white chocolate (which for the record I don’t like too much) and caramel~

Sanrio Halloween Papiro

Our next item is this adorable box of chocolate rolls. Each is filled with chocolate cream, and there is a light almond flavor to them. The entire box calorie cost is 366, and each is individually wrapped in a bigger bag- I was very impressed by the fanciness.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

The outside doesn’t really taste like much, and what little I do taste of it kind of bleh. I’m not sure how to describe it, I guess it tastes like almond a little? The cream inside is about the same but lacks the bleh aspects, it’s also very soft an fluffy like a mousse.

Halloween Umaibo & Mochitaro Salt Rice Puffs

These are our final 2 items of the box, the Umaibo is an oldie but it’s my most favorite thing ever! Like in the Kawaii Box I recently reviewed, it’s Corn Potage flavored, which is the BEST Umaibo. Repetitive or not I would never turn down one of these!

Although now that I looked at it, I’m thinking maybe corn is a popular flavor in Japan around Halloween? Which would explain there was so much of it in this box, and the chosen Umaibo from the Kawaii Box. I feel a bit bad over saying it was a “missed opportunity“ now.

Anyway I don’t think it’s necessary to rate it considering I’ve praised it a million times by now.

The other item however, we have also had a few times; but the flavor always seems to be a bit different. It’s a rice puff, I’m not sure of the brand who makes these due to the vague packaging, but the images are always really cute to look at x3

Rating: ♥ ♥

Usually the flavor is pretty strong with these and they taste great, and I love rice; but this flavor actually kind of sucks. No offense anybody who likes these or its makers, but to me this only tasted like peanuts- and I HATE peanuts. I wasn’t surprised when I finished the bag and found at the very bottom 2 of them.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 3 out of 5. I liked how everything tasted -minus the drink and one food item- but 6 of the 14 items were repetitive. Yes, they were yummy, and if in the case of the Umaibo it shouldn’t be a big deal; but I really like getting to try new things and flavors, and that’s what I pay for. Even the DIY was a repeat and there’s a ton I’ve yet to experience, I wish they would throw in more detailed ones again like they did before.

Theme - 4 out of 5. 10 of the 14 items are decorated for the holiday, as is the booklet as usual. In a way I get the sense of the Holiday from the box.

Total Rank: 7 out of 10. I really liked the included items we got x3 everything was in great condition, no bumps or bruises, but I really wish there had been some more unique items in the box. Like out of everything here, only 3 things really stood out as unique to me. I feel like a few of the premium and classic box items should have been switched too, but that’s just me. 

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

1. Corn Umaibo - I’m biased but we all know that by now. I also just really like it’s fun packaging.

2. Tongari Corn - Now that I tried these I know why the Japanese love these so much! 

3. Caramel Pudding Kit Kat - I like Kit Kats anyway, but I don’t always eat them. But these I could see reaching for pretty frequently :P thank goodness we got such a big bag! I Recommend these.

4. Chupa Chups Lollipop - I was really surprised because it wasn’t really what I thought it would be, but I loved it!

5. Mini-Cake Bar - I love lemon flavors, sour or sweet. 

6. Sweet Honey Cookies - I’m not very big on honey actually, but I did like the apple taste they had. 

7. Butter Cream Roll Cake - Speaking of cream :P A very soft and gentle tasting cake. 

8. Papiro - I don’t like the outside very much but I’m obsessed with the soft cream on the inside~

9. Poteko - Nothing too special, but it was nice to see them in another flavor. 

10. Shrimp Crackers - Like I said, these could be a hit or miss in my opinion. Sometimes I like them and other times I get a bit grossed out by them. 

11. Chocolate Chip Cookies - They didn’t have much taste. 

12. Mochitaro Salt Rice Puffs - I hate peanuts, this wasn’t pleasant. But the texture is really good. 

13. Pumpkin Wheat Puffs - Just no.

14. Takoyaki Ramune - I actually psyched myself up so much that I cried a little (when I wasn’t nervous laughing) before trying this. I regret it entirely and had to shove a bunch of a nearby snack in my mouth to get rid of the flavor.

Well, that will be doing it for another review :3 this ended up being my midnight snack so I’m going to be brushing my teeth and going to bed now. I’m hoping to get the next review, October’s Doki Doki Crate up during the weekend, then I’ll be starting up the November boxes~!

Remember to open boxes of cuteness every day!

[ionlygobye]

All the gays. 1 - 30

1. describe your idea of a perfect date

I ain’t very high maintenance, so just classic dinner and/or movie. Really we can do anything together so long as we are just doing it together.

2. whats your “type”

Absolute nerds, to be hones.They have interests in a lot of cool things and it’s easier to connect than if it was some obscure music. It’s just nice to talk with them

3. do you want kids?

Not exactly. One, kids are kinda a handful, loud, annoying. I’m also not the most responsible of people, and I feel that I’d be as bad of a parents as mine were to me. So, it’d be bad on both sides

4. if you do, will you adopt or use some other form of child birth?

If I ever were to, it’d be adoption. And a teenager, cause they already have a sense of autonomy.

5. describe the cutest date you’ve ever been on

I think one of the best is a boy driving 100 miles so I could spend time with him to be at Disneyland. We had fun here, and loved the haunted mansion ride

6. describe your experience having sex for the first time (were you nervous? or was it easy peasy?)

I was nervous, the guy was pretty helpful, and it took forever wit little payoff. 

7. are you a morning time gay or night time gay?

Morning, which is a problem because most of my friends are not

8. opinion on nap dates?

Those sound nice, though I’ve never had one personally

9. opinion on brown eyes?

I do’t like my own, but almost everyone else I see with them makes it work

10. dog gay or cat gay?

Dog gay.

11. would you ever date someone who owned rodents or reptiles?

Of course, pets are pets. You wanna pet a doggo or a snek, it’s still a pet

12. whats a turn off you look for before you start officially dating someone

Any form of rudeness is an immediate turn off, I hate that kind of thing

13. what is a misconception you had about lgb people before you realized you were one?

That they were just..bad. I was young and stupid, and I didn’t realize I didn’t know why or how they were bad, I was just told they were

14. what is a piece of advice you would give to your younger self

No matter who you like, you’re not bad. Don’t let the words get to you

15. (if attracted to more than one gender) do you have different “types” for different genders?

N/A

16. who is an ex you regret?

I haven’t dated enough people for that

17. night club gay or cafe gay?

Cafe, nice and calm, and often free wifi

18. who is one person you would “go straight” for

Bleh. If I absolutely had to choose, I guess my one friend Alejandra, but like, that’s only cause she’s super nice rather than any sort of. Attraction. Again. Bleh.

19. video game gay, book gay, or movie gay?

I suppose if I have to choose, books. They’re a good form of escapism that can’t easily be taken away from you, let you imagine a world other than reality.

20. favourite gay ship (canon or not)

I am PJO trash, Solangelo all the way. And it does help that it is canon

21. favourite gay youtuber

I know most who know me would guess Thomas Sanders, but I’d have to go with brutalmoose. His sense of humor is just closer to mine.

22. have you ever unknowingly asked out a straight person?

Once. This really cute guy from my theatre class. He was a good guy, and let me down gentle, and we were good friends but it is. embarrassing,

23. have you ever been in love?

I am. Very much so,

24. have you ever been heartbroken?

A couple times., but I’m kinda glad about those. Each one was an opportunity to grow.

25. how do you determine if you want to be them or be with someone

To be them is to have their talents, to sing like them, perform like them, have friends like them. To be with them is to be fine being alone and doing nothing together, sometimes doing something, but not always.

26. favourite lgb musician/band

I don’t know any

27. what is a piece of advice you have for young / baby gays

Be careful. People are going to constantly tell you what you’re identity means. Only you can decide what that is.

28. are you out? if so how did you come out

I came out to immediate family in a letter, and then in an announcement at a graduation party

29. what is the most uncomfortable / strange coming out experience you have

The grad party took a lot of courage to build up. Some people seem to forget about it altogether. My family talks like I like girls all the time.

30. what is a piece of advice for people who may not be in a safe place to express their sexuality

You will find your place. For now, just hold on. Things will get better some day.

[defunctblogtobedeleted]

6/25/17, 5:30am - idk

Another long two weeks on the books. I really like this update schedule, it’s like just long enough that I don’t forget everything that happened lol.

 I had a really weird dream sometime this week. It was kind of amazing, so I feel like writing about it for a sec. I was on some like cobblestoney/brickey kind of streets. A little bit Doctor Who London meets Chapel Hill I suppose, and all around me people were starting to riot. I think it was a feminist riot like I had encouraged Cullen to do months ago, and people were starting to shoot at each other. I was like duck this and took off running, but as I made my way down these outdoor escalators by a target I got scooped up by a group of five girls. Each of them grabbed a hold of one of my limbs and held me down and the last had a bat and was ready to smash my junk to pieces. I was like crying or something screaming not to hit my balls because they were still fragile lmao. When all seemed lost and I was about to take a beating one of the girls got bit by a fucking zombie on the neck and started gushing blood. All the girls freaked and I knew it was my time to get the fuck out of there so I bolted like hell. I ended up finding a laundromat tucked into a corner of this outdoor mall and so I decided to build myself a barricade there. I let in a little girl and her family, and they helped me move the washers and dryers, stacking them up (I guess I was superhuman or they weighed like nothing) to build a giant barricade at the entrance. We were safe from the zombies for a while, but some government agency started taking them down outside. What looked like an enormous leech made its way inside, and I held it up to see that it had a big mouth and teeth in the center of its belly. One of the zombies tried to make a big enough crack in the washers to get in, and I held up the leech who ate the zombie whole. But the government or somebody was trying to get us to come out of our hiding spot, saying they only needed one of us. When the family decided they were going to get rid of me because they didn’t know me I decided that this was bullshit because it was MY hiding spot, and furiously threw the leech out of the place. It landed in the middle of a small platoon of guys and exploded, turning them all into zombies. Then I was like holy shit this got even weirder and I woke up lol.

____

So anyway, Sunday I managed to get a nap in before heading out to pick up frankie. we talked for a while while fonzi was getting ready and all headed out to this food truck rodeo. We had some of the most delicious shit. Not gonna elaborate too much, but there were these pork belly bun sandwiches that exploded with a crackling of meat flavor and rounded with the savoryness of the fat in every bite. Holy shit I could eat them like every day of my life lol. We spent a good couple hours there, started doing this meme where Fonzi decided that Frankie looked like a celebrity from new york because her hair is all blonde too now. Since Sean and Angel didn’t come to meet us, we decided to hang out at angel’s for a bit. Just chilled and talked for a while while we deliberated whether or not to go swimming. When we finally decided to it was sunset, so his pool was closed, and then we tried to go to my pool but it was padlocked. Pretty damn disappointing, but we walked around catching fireflies and listening to music, which was nice. I took frankie home, but missed a turn and then a road was closed so we ended up detouring through chapel hill, and I decided we needed to stop and take a walk through the arboretum. Ended up going to one of the little grassy openings and in this big oak(?) tree up above us the fireflies must have been mating. In that particular tree they lit up every couple of seconds, making it sparkle in the night. There were so many fireflies that it was like a constant twinkling, like moving christmas light strung up between the leaves. It was beautiful. But not romantic in any sense unfortunately. lmfaooo she called me out asking if I was going to try to make out with her while we walked into the garden and I tried to play it off coyly like “who me? You were the one who kissed me last I remember.” and she had forgotten about this time that I may have actually imagined in my head so who fucking knows. The long and short of it is it seems like there isn’t an ounce of me that she’s attracted to. So that might work really well if I randomly decide to take her up on her aloof offer to move in with her in Boston one day. Who knows. I stll don’t know what I want to do.

Mon - work. Tony told me at the last minute I wouldn’t have patients that weekend, so I had to work mon and weds and take a hit on tuesday to follow through on my date with Katy

Tuesday I kicked some fucking assssss in doubles. Carried my buddy Will hard to get some experience for BMR. And Katy came after she got off work! I got to introduce her to ashleigh, it was sick. I was so fucking happy to have her there and so excited to get laid and so tired from burning out from doubles that I got demolished in singles and took off. Butttt unfortunately katy wasn’t feeling well so she fell asleep on me like Immediately when we got home. Was nice cuddling up with her though. Was torn for a while because I felt like I should be trying to hang out with Ashleigh and Aaron instead. Decided not to because she wasn’t feeling well and I should try to make her feel better because I’m a sappy fuck.

weds - work

thurs - had another really low key day with Katy. kinda just hung out until she got off work and then we just slept again. Bleh.

Luckily since I got the weekend off, it left me free to see Tony and Morgan for their birthday!! It was a fucking awesome weekend, showed up just in time friday night to smoke and go to dinner with everybody. Everybody fucking cheered when I came in the door, it’s like nothing ever changes with us I love all of em so much. Finally got to meet Tony and Morgan’s S.O.’s, and I like them both a lot. Once we were all a little stoned and being a little awk Laura made this hilarious offhand remark “ok, welcome to the conference. These are your friends.” that both became a great in-joke and also made me feel less terrible for being socially inept when I got high as balls for the first time in forever lmfao. Dinner was insanely good, we got like a whole bunch of small dishes at this place Pasteur or something, ate family style and got to try so many different dishes. I remember steak tar tar and this rib that was like eating caveman bacon on a stick being incredible. Also fried pickles and all sorts of stuff. Had a couple beers there, went to a bar and bought tony a tequila shot, got home, pulled the liquor out of my car and everybody got toootally fucking wasted. I don’t remember all that much, a little bit of a nostalgia fest with Alex for a while. Tony made the clutchest move ever ordering us a pizza super late in the night. But not too much later after gorging myself I puked my guts out and crashed on an air mattress with Erica lol. Was probably drunk enough that I might have tried to make moves otherwise, even though she has a bf now apparently you know me -_- . She’s lookin suppper fit nowadays. I think she’s still uniquely the only girl I’ve rejected in my life. Back when I was just a pure little kid and didn’t want to do anything sexual without it being special yet. Fuckin weird typing that now lol it doesn’t sound like me at all.

Saturday was river day, bought some beer and hiked with it about a mile to this river and spent most of the day there smoking drinking and chatting. It was fucking gorgeous out there, and everyone looked great together laying around on this rock. Got to know Dana and her gf much better, and tony’s gf. I think I drank like 5 or 6 beers floating around in the river, it was a lot of fun trying to ford across (it had poured that morning so the water was flowing pretty fast) without spilling any beers lol. Towards the end of us hanging out in the lake me and Laura floated around in this raft morgan had brought, and alex was reeling us in and casting us back out again like he was our dad. Such an excellent day. Until then I hadn’t told anyone about my vasectomy because I didn’t want to take attention away from everyone else, seeing how it had become such a talking piece on our family vacation and how much of my conversation with frankie had revolved around it. But I mentioned it in the river and said that it was because once I found out it was reversible I felt like the onus of birth control shouldn’t be put on the woman. Everyone was just like “huh wow that’s fucking awesome I totally agree,” and I like swam away for a bit instead of discussing it further. But when we were hiking back up to our cars Mike told me “yknow you might’ve started like a revolution back there with the vasectomy thing.” I was pretty fucking drunk and a little high so I honestly wondered if he was just fucking with me for a second, but I really appreciate that he said that after all the shit I got from my family. So that was a long ass afternoon of being out in the sun, and everyone got exhausted and fought to stay up but seemed like after we got back at some point everyone took a turn of getting too high and getting zonked out on the couch. I took a nap in Tony’s bed until his dad got there and got to see him for a bit. More great food was cooked, but I felt bad that I was so tired because I kinda wanted to rage again, especially since some new people came to hang that night, but not people that I knew. As a present Tony got the fire pit from their old house, and it was really neat to have another fire and sit around it with everyone. Sunday Tony and Morgan and some people cooked an enormous breakfast for everyone. Hung out with Mike and Erica and all talked about how good we look now lol. Eventually we said our goodbyes, I stuck around after everyone had left to chill with Mike and Tony for a while because I had nothing to do back at home. Katy decided she didn’t want to chill. I had waited on my dad for a long time to see him for lunch and so I didn’t smoke too much but got a little inebriated and watched nearly a whole season of Silicon Valley with Mike and Tony and his gf and Mary.  Sun - came back at 4, got home at 7, idr that night. Mon - Stayed up until like 6am watching Doctor Who, had to go to chapel hill for a JKCF function at 9, barely slept at all but met some new cooke friends so that was cool. Went to raleigh w/ will to play melee, got suuuper fucked. Went 0-2 in singles AND doubles, the worst placing I’ve had in... well ever, but it’s been months since I’ve had one that bad. Tues - Had a redemption tournament at Geeksboro. Got second place, actually won a little money. Disappointed that I threw away a few games that might’ve given me first but had a lot of fun. Katy told me she was sick that morning, and since she had been no fun to hang out with the last week and she bailed on our plans for Sunday and that day I decided to break things off with her. She was confused and hurt, of course, but I was just like “this is bullshit you’re treating me like I’m not a friend” and we hashed things out about her worrying about me having too strong feelings and that we’d just be friends who have sex and watch cartoons and stuff. So we’ve still been snapping every day but I still haven’t seen her in a while. I’m glad we’re still friends though, I was feeling helllla fucking self conscious for a hot minute.

Weds - I hung out watching Doctor Who most of the day, but went out to the bar Ashleigh was working to hang out for a while. She introduced me to her friend who was kinda plastered and seemed like she was leaning for a kiss on our introductory hug. So I was like woooooooh baby I love gboro people I can’t believe I have to play catchup at fucking 11pm lmao. Chugged a few free beers for this Shocktop promotion, and since I hadn’t eaten anything I got just tipsy enough that I could flirt with her without feeling like a Total asshole. We were chatting about some music and stuff, went inside and danced for the tiniest bit, and then she basically kissed me three times. Nothing egregious or any tongue or anything because I was still wary of her being a little off her ass, but I realized I got a text from ashleigh saying “come talk to me.” I was like “oh what’s up?” and she said “well it doesn’t matter now, it’s just that she’s married, they’re in a rough spot but I didn’t realize it was That rough.” ha haaaaaaaaaaa goddamn just my luck lol. She ended up puking on the side of the bar, I made better friends of a few of the regulars and played pool with them, I hung out with Aaron when he showed up at the end of the night and got to hear about the drama between him and his old roommate, and I sang a bunch of karaoke. Another fucking wonderful night, fshoooo. Got a philly cheesesteak and passed out, was super hungover the next morning lmao.

Thurs - got off work early story of that girl that I posted Fri - work, getting ready for bmr, finally got my spare setup in the office at work I’m so fucking happy it doesn’t make enough noise that it disturbs the patients. I’m gonna be a god one day lolol.

Also just as a benchmark I’m 4 episodes into season 8 of doctor who now. Comin along nicely. Def the hardest I’ve binged on a show in a longggggggg time.

OH and last I learned how to solder on weds. Finally did the work on that controller mod and it fucking brokkkkeee kinda tragic, I had to throw out the guts of the controller that I learned to play the game on. I thought I was going to be fucked for a while, but luckily Will had my back and lent me one of his spares that works even better than the one I had before. Might have actually been lucky as fuck despite being out $50 on the microchips and soldering kit lmao.

Anyway my life is amazing, I’ve been doing personal finance numbers in my head a lot but I think that’s because I’m just reassuring myself that I don’t have to worry about money much anymore. Eating well, still not doing much french fries, trying to quit soda. Started doing pushups+situps+pullups before my showers, so maybe I’ll be a little fitter, even. Life’s pretty great. So fucking excited for BMR2 next weekend, hopefully I’m gonna kick some ass. Gonna be a muchhh nerdier update next time I get on here lol.

[theworstbob]

yellin’ at songs, 04.21.2007 + 04.22.2017

the songs that debuted on the billboard chart this week and ten years ago this week. today: songs i... like? that are... good? ???

4.21.2007

7) "What I've Done," Linkin Park

Ah, yes, the era of Sensitive Linkin Park. When Linkin Park replaced the teenage angst with, I guess, adult angst? What do we want to call this? Decidedly non-specific hand-wringing? "I did something bad!" Okay, what did you do? "A bad thing!" Yeah but we've all done bad things? "As long as we don't say what bad thing we did, you can relate your own dark secrets!" Oh okay cool thank you for the opportunity, Chester.

65) "Stolen," Dashboard Confessional

So here's how I justify being a little into this song after giving Big & Rich shit for making a "gosh, I sure love the woman I'm getting married to" song. One, I'm an emokid from way back, and this is that wuss-ass poetry shit I need, even if I wasn't that into it way back when. ("Don't Wait" wasn't really a jam, and it put me off purchasing Dusk & Summer, so.) I'll openly admit I'm predisposed to enjoy this song more. Two, I might be misinterpreting this song as being about a wedding, like I could actually be wrong about my interpretation, so it's more complex than the Big & Rich song where the dude literally says the preacher talked to Jesus. Three, "Lost in This Moment" is just about the moment. We don't know who any of those people are, short of the fact everyone's super into Jesus and the bride and groom love each other. Here, there's a clear setting (wedding reception at the end of summer), there's a small lyric thrown in there that lets you know, even at their own wedding, the couple feels mischievous, so they're more fully-realized people ("crash the best one/of the best ones"), and Dashboard Confessional takes the time to state that there's more to their love than this specific moment, that this is what they've been working for and what they want to be ("our dreams assured and we all/will sleep well, sleep well"). I never realized how into this song until I sat down and thought about it.

81) "Kiss the Girl," Ashley Tisdale

What in the absolute fuck did I just listen to. I don't think I've felt this way about a song since I heard "Pokemon Christmas Bash" for the first time.

83) "Diamonds," Fabolous ft./Young Jeezy

I don't wanna talk about this song, this song kinda blows, can we talk about "Breathe?" Can we talk about "Breathe," Fabolous' 2003 song that far outpaces most of the rest of his catalogue? "Breathe" is a fucking amazing song, and I have no idea where it came from. Does any artist have as glaring an outlier as Fabolous' "Breathe?" I'm struggling to come up with one. I'm just going to listen to "Kiss the Girl" and "Breathe" on repeat for the next few hours, BRB. "Secret Service me with some of that Lewinsky love." Absolutely not! Ugh, that's not even a hack line in 2017, that was hack in 2007, that would've been hack in 2002.

84) "Makes Me Wonder," Maroon 5

Like all Maroon 5 songs, this is acceptable.

91) "Release," Timbaland ft./Justin Timberlake

I didn't have to listen to this. I hadn't heard this song before, but I heard this song a thousand times before I sat down with it. I could have guessed. "This was gonna sound awfully loud and busy, Timbaland was gonna try to rap and bless his little heart, and it would be a party jam that I'm probably not qualified to discuss since I don't party." I could have written that and lied about having listened to this song, but I need to come by this displeasure honestly, for reasons.

94) "Find Out Who Your Friends Are," Tracy Lawrence

Four songs ago I was listening to "Kiss the Girl" and the world was a magical place where love was real. I want to go back. I want to go back to that land of awkward dancing and spunky pop guitar riffs. I hate this world where some fucking dude tells me if my truck breaks down someone, not necessarily him but someone, can fix it. Great. Great, OK. That's useful, I will do something with this information. Forgetting is doing something.

95) "Apologize," Timbaland ft./OneRepublic

I heard the original version of "Apologize" on Alternative Addiction in summer 2006 I think? And I loved that song, and I wanted more people to hear this song, because I thought it was really impressive. ...I don't want to say Monkey's Paw? But this feels like a wish made on a cursed monkey's paw. I didn't want it like this. Why would I ever want it like this. Why would I ever want this song to get big because Timbaland said, "Hey, I think I can add twelve different things to this, really take it over the top." Like, for me, this was the only thing I got between the release of "Apologize" and the release of OneRepublic's debut a year and a half later, was this nonsense, and you can't imagine my disappointment that this was the only new OneRepublic thing I had for a year and a half, especially since it turned out that OneRepublic was OneRepublic.

99) "When I See U," Fantasia

R&B isn't one of my main genres, as I'm sure you can tell, so I've largely missed out on the career arc of the last true American Idol, as it's taken place entirely on that chart. I clearly need to get reacquainted. R&B isn’t something I come to easily. I like songs that go 1000 miles an hour on a path to DIZZYING EMOTIONAL HIGHS and that’s not something R&B really does, it slowly burns until there’s a full-on fire, and the fire crackles gently but still has devastating power, and while I’m not here saying Fantasia did just that with this song, I’m saying there’s enough I love about this song that I’m sure I can find some song in Fantasia’s oeuvre which does the thing, ‘cuz man, this song almost did it for me. (How often do I pull “I’m not saying, I’m just saying” bullshit? I need to see if that’s a tic I should edit out. Fucking own an opinion, dude, jiminy.)

The Top 20 singles of 2007 through this week: 20) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 19) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 18) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 17) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 16) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 15) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 14) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 13) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 12) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 11) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 10) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 9) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 8) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 7) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 6) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 5) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 4) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 3) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 2) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) 1) "Kiss the Girl," by Ashley Tisdale (4.21.2007) Some tough cuts -- so long, "Get It Shawty," we knew you well -- but the cuts are only tough since 2007 really stepped up its game, and after next week, it'll have a fairly unfuckwitable Top 20. 2017 better respond well.

4.22.2017

2) "HUMBLE." by Kendrick Lamar

So, relative to the rest of Kendrick Lamar's catalogue, I understand why the Internet would be angry at this song, but relative to the world at large, this is kinda just not a great song? Even setting aside the lyrical content, this song is bleh, something that sounds more like a throwaway than even anything on untitled.unmastered. From a lyrical standpoint, it's misguided and has some bad opinions, but Kodak Black has a legitimate hit record and two other songs debuting this week, and XXXTENTACION is rising in popularity. This is a smart man doing something dumb. I dunno, I'm just not really in the business of punishing a dude for not being woke all the time. Insomnia is a disease, y'know? I don't think this song is worth getting angry at. It's worth a stern lecture, to be sure, but we need to fix the clear and present problems before we set our sights on what is merely problematic. It's a bad song. People make bad songs sometimes.

53) "Craving You," by Thomas Rhett ft./Maren Morris

...I hate how into this I am. I listened to the Static Version. Is that the reason this is such a jam? This is basically the best pop duet in years. (The term 'duet' is being used here loosely. Maren Morris harmonizes and at one point goes "yeah" real loud.) It's so good, I can't even use this as a launching pad for a complaint about bro country, though, of course, the reason it's so good is that it does away with any pretense of being a country song. Like this is bubblegum-ass pop right here. This track would have been right at home on E MO TION Side B. (Not on E MO TION proper, of course, that album is Perfect (and now that opinion is a matter of YAS record), but this kinda reminds me of something that would be on a more dramatic version of Side B.) And I 100% get behind it? I'm behind this! Why the fuck not!

59) "Everybody," by Logic

Y'know what, I said 2017 needed to step its game up, and by golly, here we are, with a Kendrick song (Kendrick's C-game being better than most dude's A-games; to use The Sopranos as a point of comparison, "HUMBLE." is basically Kendrick's "Columbus," not a great song but still a Kendrick song), it had something that came out of nowhere to be among my favorites for the year so far, and we have this, which is just delightful! Evidently, I should have heard of Logic by now, but this seems as good an introduction as any.

60) "You Look Good," by Lady Antebellum

MORE. HORNS. IN. COUNTY. MUSIC. So, okay, first of all, I gotta note, the producer of this song, busbee, once made a song with Girl's Generation, so finally I know of the link between country and K-pop, ok now HORNS. Imagine how unnecessary this track would be without horns, if this were another country song with nothing to say but "it's nice when things are nice!" This gives it a dirty edge, but it somehow never feels skeezy, which is a miracle, considering, y'know, the dudes in Lady Antebellum. It took a little over a year but hey! Someone in the pop/country game listened to Sturgill Simpson! Better late than never!

75) "Tin Man," by Miranda Lambert

it's miranda lambert singing a sad country song with a wizard of oz metaphor, of course i'm into it

81) "Subeme La Radio," by Enrique Iglesias ft./Descemer Bueno, Zion & Lennox

Maybe it's because, of the four so far, this is the only one by an artist I've heard before, but I was less enchanted by this Latin pop song than I have been by the others. Even that Romeo Santos thing had its charm! I disagree with his choice to sound the way he does, but it's a choice he made that I still remember so really how bad a choice could it have been? This doesn't sound like anyone made a choice. It sounded like Enrique Iglesias just heaved a sigh and said, "Guess the fellas upstairs are expecting something. I dunno, people still use radios? Let's make a song about how they should turn the volume up on their radios. I don't know what we'll do for people who listen at max volume, but now at least we have the idea for album song two." According to the only English translation I am going to look up, the lyrics for this song features the line, "Time goes slow/And I'm gonna die." That is so not the vibe I got from this song.

88) "First Day Out," by Tee Grizzley

I really loved the way this song moved, like, the way it would switch it up every half-minute or so but still felt consistent, never felt like a thousand things were happening at once, and I thought the dude kept up with what the track wanted to do quite nicely. I'm. I don't know if he's a good rapper? I mean I won't pretend to know my stuff, again, I am out of my depth just wading into criticism on a technical level, but it sounded like he was talking over a beat for most of the song, and I can't tell if that's a relaxed flow or if the dude was just talking. And I KNOW he's a shit lyricist. He rhymed "blessing" with "happened," and immediately after that rhymed "status" with "castle." Like I'd be down with free verse, I think the world is ready for free verse rap, but then there’s eight consecutive bars end with the n-word? Like man, I think there's a lot to work with, I kinda wanna see where your whole thing goes, but boy, you sure amn't well-worded!

91) "The One," by The Chainsmokers

Please don’t make me listen to The Chainsmokers. I love "Closer" like I love few things in life. I thought "Roses" was fun. I could do without all these other Chainsmokers songs. Stop letting the dude from The Chainsmokers sing. He can't do it! He is unable to do it! He should not be carrying emotional ballads about letting someone go! Please tell me I'm not going to listen to ten other Chainsmokers songs next week. Oh god please tell me I do -- it's bullshit, because I can't take a principled moral stance like I'm about to take with Kodak Black, there is no ethical reason to not listen to the Chainsmokers, I will have to listen to every Chainsmokers song that comes on the chart, and it's BULLSHIT, because somewhere along the line y'all decided "Closer" wasn't an outlier. We all listened to "Closer," and that told the Chainsmokers people liked it when they were sensitive, and now next week, I'm going to have to listen to ten shitty EDM sad boy tracks, and all the good vibes I was feeling for 2017 are out the window because I can't believe the world is going to put me through that. Tell me this is the only cut from the album I have to endure, for the love of whatever gods you worship, tell me that.

93) "Conscience," by Kodak Black ft./Future 94) "Drowning," by A Boogie Wit da Hoodie ft./Kodak Black

As previously stated, I'm not listening to this dude's songs because I think he's a terrible monster and do not wish to support him more than I already have.

96) "Heatstroke," by Calvin Harris ft./Young Thug, Pharrell Williams & Ariana Grande

and now THIS, somehow, is the best pop duet in years? how the fuck does a duet between young thug and ariana grande work. what dark fucking sorcery is this. calvin harris is 2/2 so far this year, and i just, it's so good! i don't get it! it's like when someone told me that peanut butter, sriracha, and green apple made a good sandwich. i didn't believe it, but i still tried it, and HOT DAMN THAT WAS A SANDWICH. there is no way all these people coming together should work, but here we are, it worked and i'm happy.

98) "How Not To," by Dan + Shay

even the music video for this song doesn't wanna listen to this song

100) "Human," by Rag'n'bone Man

So are Rag'n'bone Man and Kaleo gonna have to fight for the title of Gotye 2017? Or does Rag'n'bone Man recognize that having a name one can make sense of precludes him from consideration for Gotye 2017 and is content to let Kaleo ride with that title? I don't mind that there's two Gotyes, though, especially since this one's pretty dope. I knew this was gonna be cool when I saw "Fast Car" pop up in the recommended videos sidebar and it delivered on that promise. Hot damn, though, this was a fun week for 2017. Like, last week, "Swalla" did a second week in the Top 20, and this week, Rag'n'bone Man can't get in. Well met, friend.

Speaking of, I moved some things around in the 2017 Top 20 again because I haven’t had a decade to spend with these songs and figure out my relationship with them, I’m sort of judging what’s good and isn’t good as I go, and sometimes that means bouncing Ed Sheeran from the Top 20, y’know? 20) "Tin Man," by Miranda Lambert (4.22) 19) "Everyday," by Ariana Grande ft./Future (3.4) 18) "Everybody," by Logic (4.22) 17) "Guys My Age," by Hey Violet (2.11) 16) "Heatstroke," by Calvin Harris ft./Young Thug, Pharrell Williams & Ariana Grande (4.22) 15) "Yeah Boy," Kelsea Ballerini (3.4) 14) "You Look Good," by Lady Antebellum (4.22) 13) "Selfish," by Future ft./Rihanna (3.18) 12) "Slide," by Calvin Harris ft./Frank Ocean & Migos (3.18) 11) "Now & Later," by Sage the Gemini (2.25) 10) "It Ain't Me," by Kygo x Selena Gomez (3.4) 9) "Craving You," by Thomas Rhett ft./Maren Morris (4.22) 8) "That's What I Like," by Bruno Mars (3.4) 7) "The Heart Part 4," by Kendrick Lamar (4.15) 6) "Chanel," by Frank Ocean ft./A$AP Rocky (4.1) 5) "Run Up," by Major Lazer ft./PARTYNEXTDOOR & Nicki Minaj (2.18) 4) "Green Light," by Lorde (3.18) 3) "Despacito," by Luis Fonsi ft./Daddy Yankee (2.4) 2) "Issues," by Julia Michaels (2.11) 1) "iSpy," by KYLE ft./Lil Yachty (1.14) Fucking Thomas Rhett in the top ten, this week was amazing and the worst.

WHO WON THE WEEK? 2017 took 2007 to the cleaners. It’s the first time either year has had the best bunch AND best individual song in the same week, and somehow, it’s a Thomas Rhett joint. I like “Stolen” more than I remember and “When I See U” more than I thought, but the top five from 2017 this week, man. Solid group, that. The problem, of course, is that next week, 2007 delivers an unassailable classic and two of my favorite songs from the year. 2017 may win battles, but it’s not quite prepped for war. 2017: 2 2007: 2