#I'm also thinking about waltzes i love waltz music so much its so fun

[helloidkwhatimdoing-0]

Okay im going to sleep now but im having a lot of thoughts also so prepare for like a trillion tags on this one

[thisismeracing]

ok so since i had dance practice today

mick and hamilton!reader would absolutely be the types to dance in the kitchen

waltzing would be their sleepy, i want to touch you but also dance but also im dead on my feet but still want to dance

and since salsa requires more energy to at would be their we’re making lunch but the food needs to sit in the pan for a bit and we have the space and time to be wrapped up in each other dance

i think they wouldnt dance in public at first cause they want this to just be their thing before its something the world knows

but one day on the paddock someone accidentally connects to a bluetooth speaker and one of their salsa songs come son and before anyone knows it mick has pulled hamilton reader close and they are in their own world salsa-ing around

everyone is like where is this music coming from and why is it so loud??? and then they turn their heads towards them two and they just watch in stunned silence and adoration

lewis is a smiling wideeeeeeee cause thats his sister!!!!! and her man treats her so welllllll

[sidebar: lewis was the one to teach hamilton!reader the waltz, but reader and mick learned the salsa by themselves]

the engineer’s phone who was desperately trying to disconnect let the song run cause they arent going to take away this moment from them

and at the end the surrounding garages give a round of applause

(maybe lewis pulls him aside later and jokingly, but not really, and gives him his blessing and he better see a ring on his sisters ring soon. mick totally isnt shitting bricks when he says that and then reader, unknowingly saves him from her brother to take him away cause its time to go home)

☕️

first of all, it's so cool you dance!!! I love it <3

second, yes, hamilton!reader and mick would totally dance, they have their own playlist after all, we should expect something like this from these two. They would waltz to the piano version of King of my heart, Mick just got home from sim work, and Yn is super tired and had just gotten home too, she's putting something together for dinner, and their shared playlist just ended, so now Spotify is playing similar stuff, and for some reason, it started playing the piano version of their song. Mick, who had just reached the kitchen door, hugged her tight, kissing her temple, and relaxing with her scent and touch. It was seconds, and they were still hugging so one of them casually started to move, and the other followed, and then they were just quietly dancing in each other's arms.

It would take a bit for them to get the hang of Salsa, but it was so much fun to learn with each other. They would share some tutorials, and their algorithm would help by suggesting salsa songs and TikToks. She would make fun of him, but also encourage him - get this right and I'm kissing you on the lips, one step wrong the kiss is on the cheek, and so on, all while in the kitchen. Some days they would move the sessions to the living room, dragging the coffee table to the corner of the room, and just having their fun. Angie would bark here and there especially when they would laugh, she would love to watch those two.

OMG OMG But the look they would share the second the music started playing, silently deciding if they would dance to this or just pretend it wasn't happening, but then Mick was grabbing her hand, and it started small, just one foot here, other there, but then you were dancing for real, and the whole time they were smiling at each other, eyes never leaving the other.

Lewis is the proud brother, and he would totally snap a small video of it (that thing about having a shared folder with Gina), whereas he's also the protective brother so yeah, he would tell how happier reader seems to be and how Yn happy means he's happy too, and meanwhile Mick is just nodding unaware of this is going, sipping his coffee, and watching Lewis go through his salad, at this point, Lewis is more talking than eating his food. And then boom, he asks when he'll be seeing a ring on her finger, and Mick chokes on his coffee, gulps at the tricky situation, and before he can confess to Lewis that he, in fact, got his mom's ring just a few weeks back, but he would probably wait a bit, Yn barges into the room laughing with Bono and Mick breaths in relief.

Side note: I am in love with all your hamilton!reader thots <3 the way you got them is just *chef kiss*

King of My Heart Masterlist

[lepoppeta]

REVIEWING MAINLINE POKEMON GAMES (Gen3 - Gen9)

I'm bored - let's review my favourite game franchise! I wrote this in a bit of a whirlwind, so please excuse any typos or odd wording! If I find anything I will fix it as time goes on.

I will not be including Legends Arcues or Let's Go! in this line-up.

WARNING: I rag on Gen4 (DPP and HGSS) a fair amount in this review. If you have a lot of love and nostalgia for Gen4, that's great! I'm not attacking you personally! Please don't spend your time writing angry paragraphs in the comments about why I'm wrong! You will not change my mind!

#1. BLACK / WHITE - Unova is probably my favourite region (which hurts to say; I'm a Hoenn girl, born and bred). It has so many of my favourite Pokemon in its 'dex (Chandelure, Krookodile, Volcarona, need I go on?); it has one of my favourite rivals (Bianca); it presents an interesting, open-ended moral dilemma within the Pokemon universe that doesn't really have a good answer; it has great music; it has a ton of memorable characters.

Also - unlimited TMs? Uhh... yes please! Gen5 introduced something that took some of the hoarding anxiety out of Pokemon and I will forever sing its praises for that.

Weird side note, but I loved the UI for BW; that weird monochrome high-tech display with the futuristic computer-like noises whenever you pressed a button or touched the screen really 'scratched my brain good', y'know?

#2. X / Y - If Unova is my favourite region, then Gen6 has to be my favourite generation from a mechanical perspective. I love both Pokemon Amie and the Super Training functions, both for their game-breaking, anime-esque battle mechanics and also because I was able to understand and actually access competitive battling for the first time due to the continuation of Gen5's unlimited TM system and the Super Training App's progress bar.

Mega Evolution will always be my favourite battle mechanic - the idea was so cool when it was first announced and I had a ton of fun with it while playing for the first time. It's so badass. And you know what? I really don't mind the change to the EXP Share. I got used to it very quickly and even when I had it turned out I still found the game to be a bit difficult in some places.

Also... don't hate me... but I kind of like Lysandre as a villain. I know, I know, many people don't, but I have a soft spot for antagonists whose whole mantra seems to be 'good intentions but they went too far'. Team Flare themselves are kind cringe though, I won't lie.

#3. EMERALD - I am so, so thankful Emerald was my first ever Pokemon game. I'm so thankful that I chose Mudkip as my starter; I couldn't have asked for a better partner as I fumbled through the game for the first time at the tender age of 9.

Emerald holds so many dear memories for me. It's soundtrack is, in my humble opinion, the best GameFreak has produced, from the beautiful, waltzing Surf theme to the encroaching terror of Victory Road. Steven was also my very first fictional crush and remains as such (sue me).

I will admit that where Emerald (and Hoenn in general) looses out is that, outside of Steven Stone (and possibly also Norman), none of the boss characters feel particularly memorable. Emerald also simply suffers from the lack of QOL improvements that later generations have. Strangely, I find it much faster to play than any of the Gen4 games.

#4. SWORD / SHIELD - This game used to rank much lower, but I've grown to appreciate it a lot more within the past few months.

I will be honest: I like it less for what it is as a product and more for how creative it's caused me to be when thinking about worldbuilding within the Pokemon universe. The Gym Challenge narrative switch-up was an interesting and refreshing shake-up for the series; the rivals and boss characters were memorable. The Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLCs are also great fun.

SWSH introduced the Box Link, which has been the best change the series has made alongside unlimited-use TMs and the Ride Pager in Gen7.

That being said, SWSH also half-removes the unlimited TM mechanic, which was frustrating. I'm also not a big fan of raid-style fights in any video game - I find them to be very stressful and needlessly hard. Gigantamaxing I also found to be a really weak battle mechanic. SWSH also has the weakest starter set for me. Inteleon is my favourite, of course, but it's the best of a bad lot.

#5. OMEGARUBY / ALPHASAPPHIRE - In my opinion this is the best remake that GameFreak has done (outside of two glaring issues). The characters have had a much-needed redesign; dialogue and story beats have been updated; the feel of the original game is still there alongside the QOL improvements from XY and Gen6 as a whole.

The aforementioned 'glaring issues' are as follows: the Battle Frontier is missing, and the fact that the games are based off of Ruby and Sapphire and not Emerald. And no, that isn't just the nostalgia talking; plenty of other people I've noticed have made similar comments about this game and also BDSP (which we'll get to later)

I wouldn't be so bothered by the Battle Frontier being gone (because the original RS didn't have it either) if GameFreak hadn't decided to put that little sign near the Battle Maison that said "Battle Frontier under construction". It felt like a nasty cop-out and it actually put me off of replaying the game for years, right up until I successfully Nuzlocked it.

#6. SCARLET / VIOLET - I have so many mixed feelings about this game that it pretty much ranks exactly in the middle of all of the games I've played. SV is plagued by its countless bugs and poorly executed open world, but its characters and story shine so brightly that it very nearly balances things out (the battle themes also slap). SV was also the first time where I felt like the main game was long enough and had enough resources to where I could truly experiment with my team; I rotated a selection of monsters out pretty much throughout the whole game, and I really appreciate SV for giving me that freedom.

Outside of the bugs, I also find the online raid battles to be stupidly difficult; I nearly drove myself to tears because of the Samurott raid that I'd worked so hard for and got nothing out of. I'm a very casual player for Pokemon, so it really bugged me that one of the few times I actually tried to do something a bit more competitively inclined of my own accord I was shot down repeatedly by an AI that was basically built to cheat.

This game also proved to me that GameFreak can't do a fully-open world properly, and I'm dreading the possibility of the next mainline game also being open world (and before you say anything - no, PLA is not open-world, it's open-pocket, and I wish that was the route that GameFreak went with because it worked so much better). I heard many people get irritated by SWSH heavily railroading you, but the game's environment was rich and beautiful despite its linearity. SV is big in a way that allows for GameFreak to boast about how big their dick game is and then not do anything with it: towns are separated by endless stretches of bland grass and rock; the towns themselves are lifeless props without any buildings to explore or interesting people to talk to; storefronts are reduced to a menu screen instead of having actual interiors.

Another irritation I have is that the game was marketed in a way that made it out to be that the player could do anything in any order they wanted, which ended up being untrue; Gyms and wild Pokemon don't level scale based on the number of Badges you have and one of the Titans (which, might I add, are just re-flavoured Totem Pokemon) is completely blocked off unless you've obtained the Herba Mystica that allows you to surf first.

Also that sandwich game looks atrocious. It's useful, sure, but... eugh.

#7. BLACK2 / WHITE2 - I've heard many people praise the ever-loving snot out of this game for being 'the best underrated Pokemon game ever made', but just like with HGSS... I'll have to disagree, if only from a personal basis. In my opinion, Black and White didn't need a sequel, and although this game isn't bad, it isn't exactly great.

I found B2W2 to be a regression of its predecessor. It turns a thought-provoking moral dilemma into the same-old 'I will wake this legendary Pokemon and unleash havoc upon the world and its idiots for wronging me'; Ghetsis is just a copy-paste of Cyrus to me. Too many times I found myself being railroaded by annoying extra content (Join Avenue, the Film Studio, etc.).

I also found the game to be a complete and total slog. BW is pretty grind-heavy, don't get me wrong, but it saves the majority of its heavy-handed level curves for the post game, where you don't have to feel as pressured by it.

GameFreak also completely got rid of Route 10, which had my favourite route track on it. That's just a personal gripe, though.

#8. PLATINUM - This was my first ever Nintendo DS game and also the first game I ever watched a walkthrough for on YouTube (shout-out to Marriland - you were a huge part of my childhood), so it holds some room in my heart, and it definitely ranks the highest out of all of the Gen4 games on this list. Unfortunately, like Emerald, it suffers from pre-Gen5 syndrome with a lack of QOL improvements (although it was a massive step up from the mess that was DP), and, like all Gen4 games, it's slow as hell.

I also ranked this game pretty low purely because of petty reasons. See, people talk about 'Gen Wunners' being annoying, but since I've never played Gen1-2 or have befriended people that have (I think I'm a little too young), I've never really had that problem. That being said, I think people who had Gen4 be their introduction to Pokemon are just as if not more annoying. I think it's got something to do with the fact that DP and Platinum had a lot of players that weren't Pokemon fans; I remember having friends in school that owned a copy of one of those three games and they'd never touched a Pokemon game before that and they wouldn't end up buying another game after. Platinum I think deserves the praise, but I'm not sure that the other Gen4 games do.

#9. SUN / MOON - Like SV, I have mixed feelings about the entirety of Gen7, but the negatives tend to outweigh the positives more often than not. The game isn't glitchy, but it's bogged down by numerous cutscenes and its inability to render a battle scene that contains more than one monster per side (something that Gen6 also struggles with). The Super Training app was also removed and the game suffers from having too many Alolan monsters be rare or inaccessible until very late in the game - something it shares with Johto.

The Z-move gimmick also feels like it was done it bad faith, especially after GameFreak started writing mega-evolution descriptions depicting the monsters in question to be in intense pain after XY and ORAS introduced the mechanic as something that could only be achieved by having a close bond between monster and trainer.

However, I do like the interesting take on the Gym system in this generation. The Totem monsters were genuinely challenging to fight, as well as other boss trainers.

#10. RUBY / SAPPHIRE - I don't have much to say about this once since it's just a worse Emerald, but there's still something I find about it to be oddly comforting.

#11. FIRERED / LEAFGREEN - I like Kanto's Pokedex quite a lot, but there's just something about it that I don't find particularly memorable and consider to be a bit of a chore (maybe because I've tried to Nuzlocke it too many times...?) I do appreciate it being a lot more interconnected than any other region listed, allowing more freedom concerning which Gyms to face next.

#12. ULTRASUN / ULTRAMOON - While the Ultra games fixed many issues concerning the accessibility of certain monsters and also introduced the Beach Point system, it also added even more cutscenes and, in my opinion, made the story worse; I loved having Lusamine be this batshit loony villainess, and yet that was recinded in favor of her having good intentions but getting too caught up in her goals to notice her declining behavior. Normally I like this sort of villain, but when we got the deliciously unhinged Lusamine as a first pass... I honestly liked that better. This feels like a cop-out.

This game, much like B2W2, is a total slog to get through. It feels immensly slow - it's the DP of the 3DS games.

#13. BRILLIANTDIAMOND / SHININGPEARL - This game leaves such a sour taste in my mouth. It really feels like GameFreak went: "Here's your Diamond and Pearl remake, are you fucking happy now?". It isn't like ORAS where the characters were revamped and QOL improvements from the rest of Gen8 were implemented; it's more like FRLG where the game is the same and all it received a fresh coat of paint, and even then I felt like FRLG was treated with more love and care than BDSP was.

There were improvements though, such as the ability to outright buy certain TMs from the Department Store and the wonderfully revamped Grand Unerground (I will admit I've had a lot of fun with the wild encounters there), but there's so much of this game that feels like getting spat in the face.

#14. HEARTGOLD / SOULSILVER - The game annoys the shit out of me because so many people seem to love it and I just... can't. Too much wasn't changed for ease of play - the level curve for wild Pokemon is far too low and the level curve from the E4 onwards is far too high. There aren't a lot of Johto Pokemon that are good, although there aren't many Johto Pokemon to begin with. The additions of some Gen4 evolutions helped a little, but some are blocked off until the post game (Honchkrow, Mismagius) and some are straight-up imposible (Magnezone) to acquire, which is very strange to me. Johto in general (and this matches up with BDSP's problem of being a remake but not adding in QOL improvements) is weirdly distributed, with Johto-introduced Pokemon such as Houndoom and Steelix only being available in the post-game, which I feel like defeats their purpose.

While by far the best-looking of the pixelated Pokemon games, it's as cumbersome as the rest of Gen4. And then there's that stupid Voltorb Flip game...

#15. DIAMOND / PEARL - There's not much I can say here, so I'll just sum it up by saying that Platinum is the only version of Sinnoh you really need to worry about. That being said, we wouldn't have Platinum without having DP, so... credit where credit is due?

[rabbitechoes]

every month I'm gonna try to post reviews of three albums from years past!! this week i wrote about the first ever gay country album: Lavender Country by Lavender Country!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

Lavender Country - Lavender Country

◇ release date: Apr. 13, 1973 ◇ genres: progressive country, singer-songwriter

The perception of country music has been forever damaged for several reasons over the last three decades in particular. Growing up in the South, I had always viewed contemporary country music as nothing more than drinking songs, songs about big ol’ trucks, and songs with sentiments like “'Cause we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way.” However, exploring the genre for myself and finding artists who buck those trends has made me view country music much more fondly, albeit in a warts-and-all sort of way. Country music has such a rich, complex history and few records represent that more than 1972’s Lavender Country. It feels like an album that shouldn’t exist like it’s too good to be true. This staunchly queer country album that came out in the early 1970s and was funded by the Gay Community Social Services of Seattle that still sounds razor-sharp to this day. Well, it’s real and it’s one of the most important albums in country music history.

Lavender Country, 1970s 

What I love most about Lavender Country is that it doesn’t offer a sanitized example of queerness. It’s raunchy, angry, and uncompromising. There’s no shame anywhere across the record. If you can’t handle it, get the fuck out. I adore the opener “Come Out Singing” because it sort of tricks you into thinking it’s a standard celebratory song with that jaunty piano and the first verse, and in a way it is, but it quickly turns more risqué after each subsequent verse. Patrick Haggerty, the band’s main songwriter and lead guitarist, sings of how his lover’s “body odor lingers” and how much he loves his “ticklin’ beard.” It’s just wallowing in the jubilation and excitement of queer love, pointing out things that usually aren’t touched on in gay love songs like this. It’s unashamed and it feels so refreshing even by today’s standards.  

Haggerty’s lyricism here isn’t all fun and games by any means. “Waltzing Will Trilogy” looks at three different, horrifying stories of violence and cruelty gay men suffered at the hands of institutions at the time. “Back in the Closet Again” was the first song Haggerty wrote for the project and it details his frustrations with gay rights not being an important issue even in progressive movements. It’s got a lot of bite to it as he sings about his desire for a unified civil rights revolution, but it’s also very funny. The lyrics, “Carbine rifles trimmed with lace / Them campy Gay guerillas knew no fear” always make me laugh. Even in its most fiery moments, there’s an undeniable charm to these songs.

The album’s, almost inarguable, centerpiece is “Cryin’ These Cocksucking Tears.” That title grabs you almost instantly, it surely did me. Haggerty lays out his frustrations with straight men, calling out their sexism and their superficial accomplishments that don’t impress him in the slightest. It’s catty, but a joy to listen to. One of the finest songs on the record. As is the closing title track which acts as an invitation to “come out and make yourselves to home.” It’s a pretty uplifting closer and it shows the rich community behind this record. Even with the album’s primary focus on issues harming the queer community at the time, there is that sense of togetherness beneath it all. Willing to welcome in any newcomers as well.

Lavender Country, 2010s

Lavender Country isn’t a perfect record by any means. A lot of the arrangements don’t do much for me and some things can be quite dated by today’s standards, but it’s hard to hold that stuff against it. It’s an important artifact, showing the attitudes of a lot of queer people during the turbulent time that was the late 60s and early 70s. This album was released not too many years after the Stonewall riots in New York City. The fact that it’s a country album is just the cherry on top. Even in the decades following with artists like k.d. lang, Brandi Carlile, Orville Peck, and Adeem the Artist (among others) occupying the country space, being queer and making country music still feels like a unique thing. I’m endlessly fascinated by it though. Gay country music will forever be badass. Despite the irreparable damage that has been done to the genre’s image in the last thirty years or so, country music will always be for everyone.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ thanks for reading <3

psssst. i made a discord server called Cosmiacord ... if u wanna join and have fun, talk about music, play fortnite, or whatever here's the invite :3 https://discord.gg/rsHMenTU

[theskyblog]

My favorite song from every album I've listened to as of 12/1/2023

Alapalooza Weird one to start with, it's hard to form a concrete opinion on a project I listened to with little to no care haha. I'm hesitant to call it my favorite but I really do like Young, Dumb & Ugly. It's kind of like a Good & Evil situation where my favorite song down the line ends up being the one I listened to the least when I initially discovered the album (Who You Are)

Scorpion Queen Your Name is one of my favorite songs ever made no questions asked. Still has some amateur-ish singing, but I empathize with that too much to get mad at it lol. I love this song, other songs are also great but this is the highlight. Also works well on the album that it got inserted into

Twin Fantasy Beach Life-in-Death is so damn good. What a track man, instantly quotable in so many ways, the song is a journey within itself. I remember when I had that week long phase of being super into this album, this song was the main catalyst. Drawing the cover and writing down the lyrics in my sophomore year art class on the tablets

The Big Day lol. Hot Shower is obviously super fun and quotable, but I don't like DaBaby's verse, which I know is backwards from what most people think. Do You Remember is also great, but All Day Long is my favorite. Cuz I listen to the big day all day long!!

Cojum Dip Nowadays it's probably Cell, but I have to go with Moon Waltz. My most listened to song last year, it's a perfect ballad that really deserves its spot of the album. I wish people didn't think it was the only good song though

Jinx The whole reason I love this album is because I listen to it in full, and thus blur the lines between tracks, making this a pretty tricky one. Maybe Ghostride

Ice Melt This album isn't as much as just one long song for me so this feels more fair. Trophy, probably. I think the one kid I hung out with freshman year liked that one, and we stopped talking because he got banned off discord. Anyway this one goes out to him

i think you think too much of me the only song I ever cared about was XO lol. it's a 10/10 song, regardless of it being on a 3/10 album

Aim and Ignite While kind of the black sheep of the album, it has to be The Gambler right? I would never put it on in a playlist, but what it does for me can't be done by anything else. Everyone always has a bias towards media that currently suits where they are in life, and the fact that this song is able to do so much for me while having literally nothing to do with me, is awesome. Not to say I don't like stuff that doesn't relate to me, but usually it needs to in order to hit quite this close to home

Now, Not Yet it's ARROW BABYYYY I love this song to death. Where would we be without arrowI discovered this song from it being used in an old Geometry Dash level https://youtu.be/tqhHj77kN2o?si=uePJzqrmzPyl-9Uw and really wanted to listen to the album. It might've been the first thing I listened to on my own, so it's important to me, even if I don't love the actual album lol

Sports If This Is It is an expertly crafted song. This is where Huey Lewis' 80's style music is at its best, sprawling vocals, slightly cheesey, and about love. Thank you huey

theskyblog was then shot dead, unable to finish this list.

[webcomixwastaken]

Everyone I watched Tick Tick Boom last night on a total whim, just expecting to have some mild fun smirking at the Broadway references and cameos but...

I loved it.

I really loved it.

Like, even more than the original show which I've been singing to for maaaaaany years (I have even used two different songs from it for auditions!!)

I'm so overwhelmed by how much this movie hit me so hard in the heart, the feels, right in the gooey! Especially at age 31 (#finallylearningaboutcomix) when Larson's artistic anxiety still resonates strongly with me but I am already over the fact that my own Superbia (Bear Book, which I worked on for 7 years man) probably ain't it and what I need to do is keep writing the next thing, and the next thing, and the next. And keep putting yourself out there, keep taking the risks, keep laying out your soul on the table for people to poke and prod at because that's what being a writer is.

I can't stop thinking about it and why I think it just works so well:

Choosing to write a story about Larson's life around the actual Tick Tick Boom show was a smart move because it highlighted the strengths of both mediums, theatre and film: big heightened emotions for the former and the detailed intimate moments for the latter. It's a movie musical about writing a musical and it feels appropriately like BOTH things, something I think makes stage to screen adaptations work the best. Like with "Swimming" (loved the tiles turning into staff), "Sunday" (which was always meant to be a loving pastiche of Sondheim anyway) and the way they built the first emotional climax around "Come to Your Senses". I'm so relieved that they made sure Alexandra Shipp sang most of it instead of Vanessa Hudgens. No shade to Vanessa -- I'm so pleased to see her back in musicals!! -- but because you know, it is Susan's big song and she deserves to be the star of it.

...also because I watched Princess Switch 3 the night before and that movie is delightfully bad. Vanessa Hudgens is having the time of her life and my god that fictional country does not care at all about energy consumption, at least not during the month of December.

Speaking of actors, the casting was just lovely. I am always delighted to see Robin de Jesus (and now time for a brag that I met him stage door for In the Heights in 2009 and made him laugh by telling him he was amazing on Legally Brown lol uh huh yep be jealous) and Andrew Garfield was excellent! I don't think I'm raring to see him in more musicals the way I felt about Josh Groban after Great Comet, but he did wonderfully on this one and the fact that HE LOOKS SO MUCH LIKE JONATHAN LARSON IT'S SCARY was something I couldn't really get over for the first 5 minutes.

And compared to RENT, TTB handles the themes of how chasing art and dreams affects your relationships as well as the backdrop of the AIDS pandemic far better. RENT has aged extremely poorly and the enormous cast of characters make it hard to flesh any of them out so most of them remain very caricaturesque for the duration of the musical. In TTB you really only have Jon, Michael and Susan but even then, the real focus is on JON's relationships with the other two which stems from the fact that it started out as a one man show anyway. But this means that there's definitely enough space, enough attention to develop him and construct a true arc where he has goals, flaws, epiphanies and transformations that are shown and developed within two hours. The midpoint conflicts are properly resolved by the end of the film and it's way more satisfying than trying to make us forget about it due to the magical powah of Musetta's Waltz on electric guitar. My flatmate pointed out that RENT also suffers from being stuck as a 90s retelling of La Boheme instead of its own story, so that's there too.

SPOILER And/but being a theatre kid, there's the bittersweet realisation that time genuinely was ticking for Larson because we know how the rest of the 90s went for him. RENT is so obviously a rough draft that he fully intended to work on more ("Your Eyes" is by far the worst song and clearly a placeholder; I wish the team that produced it for Broadway hadn't been so precious about the show and done major tweaks) and thinking of what other things he could have written does fill me with sorrow. END SPOILER

But Tick Tick Boom is also better than RENT -- and a product of its time 30 years later in 2021 -- by not villainising the characters who decide to give up the bohemian artist's dream for whatever. It gently grimaces at the tiny cutting remarks of those who don't ~understand~ what it's like to make art, but no longer mocks those who value having support and stability. It recognises that the hustle does grind you down in mind and body, does damage the other aspects of your life, and can make you feel so small and worthless so if you can find fulfillment elsewhere, you are not bad for choosing that instead. Which also makes the determination to plough on so admirable and worth it. Everyone finds their own way. And someone else's is not necessarily the easier or better way. It's just... a way.

Anyway.

I loved Tick Tick Boom. It's on Netflix. Go watch it. Thanks LMM and the Dear Evan Hansen guy. I'm legit impressed.

I'm looking forward to watching it again, and I hope the OST blows up on Spotify.

[vinnival]

It's me again. May I get Auditor x Reader. Where is the reader on the side of Hank, Deimos, Sanford. (Damn, it seems to me too many requests from me, I hope you are not tired. I just can not read anyone else but you)

IM SO HONORED AHHHH JEJEFHFH I LOVE UUU WIEJWHWH also I think its super cool that ur russian. Russians are so intimidating at first but then they're actually cool and fun to be around !!!! Enjoy <3

This is a complete 180 from last night's fic KSHSJS

Temperament

You were with the main 3 when they went on the mission to Auditor's warehouse, once again attempting to take him down

It was here where you first met him

You helped out just fine, finally being able to push to where Auditor's top protectors were (along with him)

He noticed you immediately

"Ah, so a new one has joined their side?"

You glared up at him while the MAGs standing a ways ahead of you were getting ready to attack

"What does it matter?"

"Hush, hush, I'm simply noting a new- rather interesting- strong enemy."

He called you interesting ooooo ooo oooooooo

Every confrontation after this involved him smoothly sliding flirtatious lines towards you

Deimos was apalled

"So he finds you attractive specifically? Aww :("

"How the fuck did you say that sad face out loud"

He's tried to get you to join his side, offering many different alluring things to you to win your devotion

You don't give in

This makes him more interested in you

Its a constant cycle

He actually had the chance to kill you once, you were literally in his clutches, staring directly into his eyes

When you once again refused to take up his offer, he could've just stolen you and locked you up, but he released you

You kept wondering why he did that but then realized

Does he LIKE this enemy dynamic between you two??

You're always stuck thinking about him and Hank is annoyed about it

He signed to you one day, "Get over him, it's like you're in love."

You nearly fell out of your seat, "IN LOVE?! NO"

You can tell he rolled his eyes, but he left you alone

He managed to catch you off guard another time, but he dragged you to a different area in the warehouse much to your dismay

"Finally gonna hold me hostage, huh?" You snarked, they yanked you back on to your feet immediately after

You didn't know where from- but CLASSICAL MUSIC started playing from somewhere in the expansive room

You nearly groaned

This bitch gonna WALTZ WITH YOU?

He did.

You just went with it because you eyed a couple of MAGs standing in the corners of the room

Auditor constantly threw compliments at you

You tried sneering at them, throwing rude remarks right back at him

But eventually you just gave up

They let you go once again and you returned to base, dazed

Everyone was worried about you

Something in you started to convince you to join Auditor but you'd never tell the other 3

;)

[poppy-metal]

poppy please help me. im about to write a novel in your inbox, sorry in advance. the urge to write an entirely sfw fic with not a hint of spice but is weirdly hot is so.... so strong. lemme just pitch this to you because i can't get it out of my head.

okay so a classical music playlist for the story.

bakugou and reader both being from high-class families. very pride and prejudice esque where manners and the way you carry yourself is important. and the story begins with them meeting. and reader thinks that bakugou is rough and far too haughty and proud like he thinks he's above everyone because he has money. n reader is proper but likes what she likes and who she likes. they don't get along at all, finding themselves at odds in the way passive-aggressive victorian age people are.

overtime they meet again and again with an extreme distaste for each other and bakugou finds himself oddly intrigued with her but she wants nothing to do with him. so they stay at odds through the story like this until they're made to dance with each other one evening at a party.

and the penultimate scene in the fic is a ballroom dance where they spin around, waltzing to Canon in D Major, P.37. and it's just them and their thoughts about each other, replaying the times they'd met and interacted and slowly realizing that they're in love with each other.

n reader has a moment where she realizes that bakugou's hand is holding her's as if it's glass. like she'll shatter if he moves too suddenly. and even though it's calloused, she finds that there is something soft about it. and his grip on her waist is so gentle, like he's hovering above it, barely touching the middle of her back. she finds herself wanting him to pull her close, to feel the weight and heat of his palm through her dress.

he's so rough in manner and closed off, but as they dance and look into each other's eyes she finds that he has this unexpected softness to him. a gentle type of grace that she hadn't noticed before as they watch each other spin in a delicate balance. all those years of classical dance finally being of use in each other's arms because neither of them is clumsy and they're so in step despite never having been on the same page before.

n bakugou softens at the edges, straight neck slowly relaxing as he dances with her in slow step with the music. and he can't help but notice how beautiful she looks like this. the gentle curve of her cheek when she glances to the side or the slight crane in her neck as she looks up at him. bakugou can feel her fingers on his shoulder, how gently they rest on the fabric, so delicate and comforting. and she's so warm that he can feel it radiating off of her, even through each step and spin. and her hand is so small in his and it's ironic because he is worried that he might break it, break her somehow. and he can't deny how beautiful she looks in the dress she wore tonight, revealing her collarbones in a ladylike fashion. and he's worried that he'll slip up because reader's dress keeps hitting his legs where it collects gracefully at her ankles with each step.

and this dance shouldn't be fun, but it is. they're both straight-faced, watching each other with a hand on his shoulder as they both spin and fall deeper and deeper into each other. until the dance comes to an end and they realize that they're both in love with each other.

god, just a whole classical playlist where these feelings and the subtle appreciation they have for each other comes to gentle fruition with this song. a soft realization that they are in love.

help me. can u tell i'm in love with him?

Cal i am listening to the song rn as i type this and im so SOFT BECAUSE!! !!!!! can u imagine, the slow progression in the shift of his face, as this song progresses. please the notes are so gentle....can imagine the realization dawning slowly n he's looking at you and you're looking back. his eyes are soft in wonderment. adoration. he adores you. so much. n he's flitting through all the times in his head where you'd argued with eachother, that time you pushed him in a lake, that time when you both purposefully kept stepping on eachothers toes when you were practicing this very dance, but then there's also that time you both sat quietly under a willow tree and n he's remembering how the sun looked when it hit your face, drenched in soft glow. he remembers begrudgingly admitting to himself then that you were beautiful. you always had been but he hadn't let himself see beyond his disdain for you to really...grasp it. but he did then, even if he folded that thought away and tucked it into a corner of his mind where he was never supposed to open it again. but its all out in the open now.

n as the song comes to an end he's looking at you like you put the stars in the sky, and without realizing his thumb has moved to stroke your hip where one of his hands lie. his defenses aren't even up at the moment and neither are yours. when his lips part, the words slip out of them like honey, he hadn't even realized he was going to say them: "you're beautiful, y/n" you could steal all the suns light with your warmth alone.

he says it so tenderly and with conviction, his adams apple bobbing, eyes scanning your face, that you swallow too. the urge to make a sarcastic remark should be on the tip of your tongue, it usually always is, but it's nowhere to be found. just pure and utter, something. (Love, its love) his confession tugs your own from your lips, "so are you" said so quietly but genuinely. and the way his hand squeezes your hip, you swear you can feel it like liquid fire on your skin underneath the dress.

Its intimate the way you both slow your dance to a stop, other couples swirling around you like snowflakes. his eyes drop to your lips, and yours part , body going hot and molten the when his eyes dip lower, lower still. He swallows again, hand spasms against you, he feels too many things at once. "Y/n...I-"

"Can i have this dance?" You both start at the sudden interruption. Blinking as if coming up from a heady dream you look at....izuku.

[huntingingoodwill]

hellOoooOoo carmen :)

i just got a tommy hc OK SO everyone is at party at the garrison celebrating something and everyone is there. tommy is just drinking and watching everything and reader is dancing with john and its not slow dancing but its like they are still infront of each other with hands on waist and all that right ANYWAYS and everyone having fun and then reader goes to get a drink, bickers w tommy until eventually annoying his enough to dance AND THIS IK ITS CLICHE BUT the music is slower? and THEN she drags him to dance but like not infront of everyone and they have like a moment and everything. and the t e n s i o n. is HIGH but in a good way and in the background its just john and arthur exchanging money bc they made a bet and ada and polly and just smirking like “HA we knew this was gonna happen” also imagine if tommy and reader were like friends but theres something there UGH THIS MAN im down bad. ans then hes all giddy for the rest of night although he tried to hide it.

im writing this while im in a car and im now car sick BUT ITS OK

send me hcs :))

hello razzmatazz :) always a pleasure to talk to u thank you so much for the hcs!!

i'm writing a john thing that takes place at a garrison party rn, i know it's not a brand new setting but i saw this and i was like. raz and carmen big brain moment?

reader is pals with all the shelbys, but they always goof around with john bc they're close buds, so of course they'd party together! the og party rockers. they'd purposely waltz around stiffly, mechanically stomping, and you can hear their laughter from anywhere in the pub. would definitely do the thing where reader balances on john's toes and he leads her around the floor, waddling like penguins. besties.

tommy's eyes are fixed on reader. he's acting chill, maybe a little amused, but he's a littttle jealous. why is she having fun with other people >:( i'm fun >:( that should be me >:(

some very childish arguments ensue when they go to see tom. "why are you sitting alone? square" "i'm not a square." "wanna dance?" "no" "why, too square?" "...let's go then" (i know square wasn't used as an insult in the 20s but let's... not think about that)

they slow dance, he spins her around, puts on the moves. to show he's a better dancer than john. duh.

i love the tense dancing trope. i wrote fact or a weapon ii for a reason. i was considering having them meet at uni. but no. dancing and bickering. supreme.

e v e r y b o d y is watching. the shelbys peeking out the windows of their private room, dancers glancing over each other's shoulders to watch them, the bartenders whispering and giggling to each other. the private room is as loud as the betting shop but reader and tom don't notice. they're in The Moment. finn's subtly running around the pub pocketing bets from other blinders. tommy goes back to the private room later and everyone's wink wink nudge nudge-ing and he masks his embarrassment with mumbled "fuck off"s. never been happier though.

next time send me hcs while out of a moving vehicle!! take care of yourself bestie. i can write and read in cars- i don't really get carsick. i could be an uber driver's secretary.

[missblissy]

HERES MAH TWO CENTS ON ALASTOR

1. He only knows swing dance. Like that's the only ballroom dance he knows which he does well don't get me wrong - but he doesn't know waltz, tango and so on. While he only knows one that doesn't mean he won't learn the others like a duck out of water after a few minutes of teaching him the basic steps, that man can freestyle and improvise like a figurative muthafucka!

2. This mans attention goes brrrrr. Since he gets bored easily he makes multiple projects only to either abandon all of them or only finish one (am I hardcore projecting? No tf you mean–)

3. Circlin back to the second point he learns all the hobbies and retains none. He gets into paper making, book-binding, and calligraphy, a bit on leather craft with the intention of making his own grimoires. Buuut like most of the time he overestimates his patience and attention so that ends up under the desk. Alternatively he puts it in his drawer and forgets its existence as soon as it's out of sight.

(Ha I'm not calling out myself ha ha help)

Final point!

4: Contradictory to Alastor's overall presentation as a neat gentleman (the word 'neat' is on thin fuckin ice my man can't even tailor his suit back together or tie his hair back) he has scratchy ineligble handwriting. Its like Morse code decided to hook up with slashes for the night and we end up with something that looks like a doctors prescription done on gun point. (This is my personal favourite, I like handwriting I think it says alot about a person.)

Oooooo 7.5/10 nonny. Personally, I think Alastor does have some hobbies he sticks to forever, and he does them perfectly. Like cooking, stitching, writing, music, and my personal fave, radio mechanics (like how to build and fix them), and a few others I won't name. I can TOTALLY see him constantly trying new things though, only to abandon them halfway through because he got bored, or because he wasn't perfect at it. I like to think that Alastor is a perfectionist and hones his craft until it's second-hand nature to him, the ones that he keeps that is xD

Though I have to say I think Alastor can dance many dances of all kinds but that's just because I feel like he also did a little musical work as well, like in theaters and such just for fun. Musical acting is something that would always keep him on his toes, he'd never know what to expect next, he enjoys the stage and it fills his ego to have all those people clap for him. BUT THAT'S JUST ME LOL I can def see him avoiding dances he doesn't know just because he doesn't want to look stupid doing it.

I also am a believer that Alastor has many styles of handwriting, much like we all do. I have my natural written pattern which is TRASH but fast. Alastor's natural handwriting is def messy, but this man also has times when he can do some lovely cursive, seeing as in history that most people from his time were still writing in cursive. THAT DOESN'T MEAN ANYONE CAN READ IT. Yes, It's lovely, loopy, feminine and it seems like a girl wrote it with lots of T's and Dot's crossed with a little curl. But Can you read that shit? Because I'VE TRIED READING HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS WRITTEN FROM THE 20s AND YEAH THAT SHIT LOOKS PRETTY AS FUCK BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO READ IT.

[scary-lasagna]

Im like right on the due date lol Can I get a match-up for creepypasta? And if you allow can you add nsfw to it? 🤣

My appearance: I'm about 5'4 and im pear shaped, I have hazel eyes, and strawberry/ blond/brown hair (I dye it a lot the last color I had was red and when I was going back to my normal color it left a pinkish red undertone to it), I'm ghostly pale, I have slight bit of freckles on my cheeks, I'm a tad bit chubby but oh well that just make me soft to hug, you'll usually catch me in a tye dye jacket with peace signs on it

My personality: I'm known to be subtly chaotic, I make jokes at the worst times and sometimes they can be mean without me meaning to be mean, I lack a filter so I can sometimes be to straightforward, im imaginative I express things through either music writing or art, i love animals more the people most of the time, im very stubborn, I can either be the mom friend or the friend that's feral, im not the best with words I usually show my feelings through actions

My likes: I love tarot, I'm into astrology (im a libra/scorpio cusp), I love animals I have a pet hedgehog, I enjoy doing art, I love music (est 40s through 90s music), I like musicals, I enjoy dancing with a partner (I only really know how to waltz but I like it), i love naps especially when its raining, I like neck kisses, I enjoy cuddling, im a theater kid so I also love acting

My dislikes: i hate being ignored, drunks, my anxiety disorder, a lot of food I have a sensory problem so a lot of different foods freak me out, out of nowhere calls, when someone tests me

Sexuality: im pansexual but I lean more towards men and I'm open minded so im not opposed to polyamorous relationships as long as its close-knit (as in we all love each other not just us loving one person)

Extra: my dream date is being at a gas station at 2 AM in the morning sitting in the corner drinking slushies and having deep discussions. I have ADD, generalized anxiety disorder and depression. I'm a bit obsessive and possesvie due to being from a divorced family (dad cheated on mom ect.). Im definitely a switch in bed. I'm not energetic but I enjoy energetic peoples company. I'm known to have a bit of a hipster aesthetic.

NSFW info:im a try everything at least once unless its something im very uncomfortable with. Im a switch. I don't mind bdsm. I do like pet play and I'm also known to be a bit of a mommy ngl.

I match you with: Laughing Jack!

In honesty, Laughing Jack didn't like you when he first set eyes upon you. The beginning of your relationship was quite rough. He disliked your loud colors, and the subtle way you accidentally insulted him while joking around with the clown.

But he kept finding excuses to be around you. He had to take the long way, through the lounge area of the manor, and pass you to get to the back door. It was good exercise, that's all. And it was absolutely insulting to think that he asked you to step to the side JUST so he could catch a glimpse of eye contact. Preposterous.

He started liking your colors, and your love for animals, and especially the way he always found you by the large window in the game room whenever it was raining. Jack started to realize that you two had more much more in common than he originally thought, and he wanted your acquaintance to eventually blossom into a friendship.

The gaze from his muted gray eyes started lingering on you whenever you were conversing, and one day he even brought an animal from home to watch you smile. (Snuggles the two-headed lizard adored your tye-dye very much).

He asked you on a date, and unfortunately it went completely haywire. Nothing was prepared at dinner, the theatre closed early due to a water leak, so you two resorted to drinking slushies on a gas station curb and counting red cars that passed by.

Jack definitely has that chaotic, slightly unhinged behavior that completes the balance of two dangerously insane feral creatures. Jack is a huge fucking instigator, and will usually be the one to propose something dangerous because it will be 'fun'.

Jack suffers from abandonment issues, depression, touch starvation, the whole shebang. He will gladly accept your possessivness. In fact, one might just say he thrives off of it.

[pmaxshay]

Masterlist

Rain // HS

Sunday mornings were always quiet. At least for the past couple of weeks they had been.

Haley, mine and Harry's 3 year old, was sat, cross-legged on the rug with all of her toys splayed out around her. I could hear faint gurgles and noises coming from her direction, which let me know she was being kept out of trouble. I piicked up a cloth from the sink and started wiping down the countertops in the kitchen. The hum of the radio filled the space as I made my way round the room. Throwing the cloth into the washing machine after I'd finished.

I could hear the plods of Harry's feet coming down the stairs. He must've finished cleaning the bathroom.

“Y/N? Love?" Harry called.

"Yeah?"

"Bathrooms done!" the footsteps grew closer before he was stood in front of the breakfast counter. A triumphant look on his face. I spun around and smirked at his expression.

"Is it done, done? Or Harry done?" I questioned. Folding my arms over my chest. Harry scowled at my questioning.

"Uhhm... first of all how dare you. Secondly, I think you'll find it to be quite satisfactory, actually!" one of his hands had now found its way to his hip. I couldn't help but laugh at how sassy he looked in this moment. It reminded me of his 'Kiwi' pose.

"Okay okay. I'll have to take your word for it H because I just have way too much to do today."

Harry had now made his way over to where I stood, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin against my shoulder.

"It's Sunday love. Sundays are made for doing nothing." he hummed.

“That may be so but this house is a mess."

“Y/N. Look around. It is spotless as always. You just hate sitting still." he let go of my waist and poked me lightly in the hip. I jumped back at his action. I reached over and picked up Haley's cutlery, from breakfast, to throw into the dishwasher. Pointing the fork in Harry's direction.

"You think you have me pegged Styles." Harry smirked before letting a chuckle escape his lips. He nodded excitedly before grabbing my waist again and spinning me around. I couldn't help but yelp at this sudden move. He held me, before starting to sway to the music playing from the radio. Little hums and harmonies left his lips as we waltzed around the kitchen.

Suddenly, Haley cried out.

Harry dropped his hands from my waist. Both of us running around to check on her.

Haley was stood at the window, face pressed up against the glass. The sight was incredibly funny to both myself and Harry. Little giggles shared between the two of us.

"What is it bub?" Harry cooed. Walking over to where Haley stood, kneeling down and placing his hand on her back. Haley pointed towards the sky. It had started to rain. Small droplets had formed on the window but it steadily got heavier. Causing puddles to form on the patio outside.

"Aaah it's raining! Your favourite !" Harry beamed.

There was something about rain that fascinated Haley. The first time we got caught in a torrential downpour she couldn't stop laughing. She loved it.

“I wonder if Mummy could pause what she's doing and come and play outside with us?" Harry whispered into Haley's ear. Haley lifted her head towards me, looking at me with those adorable green eyes. She definitely inherited that from her father. Eyes like butter wouldn't melt.

I stood a couple feet away from them both. Lifting my hand to my chin, scratching it as if I was thinking.

"I guess I could take a break for a little while." Haley squealed and ran towards me. I lifted her up and held her against my hip. Wandering off to get her changed into something more appropriate.

The rain continued to pour down, water running down the guttering into the drains below.

Harry and Haley were running around the patio, chasing each other. Puddles of water splashing around them. Both were drenched from head to toe but neither cared. I stopped to take a photo of the two of them. Moments like these are incredibly special. Harry is so busy usually so I want to remember these moments. Plus, it would be a good photo to send to everyone.

"Y/N? You gonna stand there looking pretty or are you gonna come and have some fun?" Harry exclaimed. I chuckled and made my way over to the two of them. However, the patio was incredibly slippy and my wellies gave way underneath me. I landed with a thud. The shock causing me to freeze. Harry stopped playing and ran right over to me. Checking I was okay, clearly holding back laughter. I couldn't help but laugh myself. What a sight it must've been. Me, sprawled out on the patio, absolutely drenched. Harry knelt beside me, also drenched.

And Haley. Who was now cautiously plodding her way over to check I was okay. Tilting her body and head sideways to look at me. Small murmurs left her lips, as if she was checking I was okay.

"Oh bub. Mummy's okay! See I'm fine sweet pea!" I reached out my arms for her to give me hug, chuckles still erupting from myself and Harry.

"Mummy is a tough cookie Hal." Harry stated. I loved when he called her Hal. Nicknames have always been apart of my love language so it warms my heart to know she already has one of her own.

Haley crawled into my lap and shuffled so that she was sat between my legs. Both of us stretching out our legs. Harry moved over so that he was closer. Putting his arm around my back. We stayed like that for a while. Just enjoying being with each other.

"We should probably go in and get dried off. We're gonna catch colds." I mumbled. I didn't want this moment to end but also didn't want us all to be sick. Harry nods, reaching out and pulling Haley into his arms. I picked myself up of the ground an followed them back into the house.

“I don't just have one child. I have two." I said to myself, as Harry was stripping Haley of her clothes. Both giggling as he chased her up the stairs.

[realife-mermaid]

Reading Update: Winter Books

Alriiiiiiiiight we're getting to the ending of this year so I'm just trying to meet my genre reading goals since I already met the number/goodreads goal. Also, I’m doing a bingo thing so that’s gonna be another post!

Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley - 3.5 stars. I waffled a lot on the rating. In the one hand, I loved the magic in the world and the romance was very well built up. On the other hand, the last third was not very well done IMO. Too many big speeches and villain exposition and not enough action.

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochran - 4.5 stars. This was sooooo much fun. I liked the central romance a lot and I liked all the supporting characters. It was a Little weird about bisexuals in a way I personally find annoying - they just don’t exist in this world except to be the butt if biphobic jokes that let you know the villain is Super Totally Evil - but otherwise I loved it a lot. There’s been some criticism wrt the south Asian rep that I also think is very true but I’d rather just point you in the direction of a review from a South Asian person instead of trying to explain that myself.

The Tea Dragon Society - 5 stars. Cute art style, vibrant colors, whimsical character design, and an adorable story. I loved this a whole lot, so adorable.

The Old Guard: Force Multiplies by Greg Rucka - 3 stars. Wasn’t long enough, and left me with a lot of questions. Also not enough character focus on anyone but Andy. I did like the twist with Copley and the scenes with Nicky/Joe talking to him but otherwise it felt very unfinished.

The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rhashid Khalidi - 5 stars. This was a little work of genius tbh. It was easy to understand (dense obviously, but well written) and I thought well balanced in its argument between laying out historical fact, anecdotes, and personal history. There was also a decent amount of criticism of Palestinian leadership which I wasn’t expected bc some of the reviews made it seem like there was no criticism of Palestine whatsoever. But that’s the thing - there’s NOT criticism of Palestine because it’s not them that are the problem as a people. Blame is placed at the feet of leaders who their people feel have let them down, and of course on their oppressors. It was illuminating and terrifying, giving a human face to a lot of academics and history being thrown at you.

The Hellion’s Waltz by Olivia Wilde - 2.5 stars feels too harsh but 3 feels too high. I just could not get into this book at all. The characters didn’t feel real, the chemistry was nonexistent, and it just dragged. I couldn’t even get invested in the music aspect and I love music plots. Eh. Disappointing.

No Matter the Wreckage by Sarah Kay - 4.5 stars. I bought this FOREVER AGO bc I’ve loved her spoken word poetry since I was like, 15 I think and I finally goddamn read it and I adored it. Sarah just has a way with imagery; her poems are always so pretty and flow so beautifully even when she’s talking about something serious. And the way the poems were organized is very good as well.

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado - 3.5 stars. Very mixed feelings. On the one hand, the story was well written and I liked most of the plot. On the other hand, the Puerto Rican rep sort of sucked? Charlie mentions being white “technically” but then says she’s a brown Latina. Maybe it was a clumsy attempt at talking about Latino identity, but no boricua I’ve ever met who isn’t white has ever called themselves “technically” white. She also gets weird about not being able to speak Spanish and that exhausted me. Why is this the only rep Latinos ever get surrounding identity? This “not a real Latino” thing is just not a problem that happens in any meaningful way in real life for Brown Latinos*. Plus, it had the dreaded Shitty YA Bestie trope and that annoyed the Crap out of me.

Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth by Warsaw Shire - 5 stars. It’s not just that she knows how to hit you with a line right where it’s meant to. It’s that she knows how to build up to it. She crafts a story, short and brutal, with her words before she delivers the perfect guy punch ending. I’m definitely going to buy everything she’s written that I can get my hands on.

*Im talking about specifically Brown Latinos, or Mixed-With-White Latinos. Obviously this is a more complicated and different conversation for Asian Latinos, Indigenous Latinos, and Black Latinos. But someone who has the same skin tone and background as Eva Longoria, Raquel Castro, etc is just not going to run into this issue from the Latino community. From gringos I would say this is an actual issue but from the Community?? You’d think it was the most pressing issue if you went by the amount of times it happens in fiction.*

Rereads: 0

New Books: 8

Goodreads Goal: 81/49

[kileyrose-2003]

Rebecca characters finding you singing and dancing in the kitchen:

A/N: Hello lovelies! I hope you all are doing well. I'm going to cut straight to the chase on this one. This is for my dear friend @merci-bitch Love you hun! I hope you enjoy these :) Stay safe lovelies and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Rose

Rose is a very intense person

And very intimidating not only due to her energy but also her height

She's over 6 ft

And hates most things deemed rube

The True Knot usually eat dinners together in groups

Rose can't really be bothered with cooking because in her head, why bother when you can have steam?

So you do most of the cooking

It was your turn to cook and as you were cooking you realized you didn't have the one thing you needed, so you sent Rose out to grab what you needed

"Darling, I'm ba-"

Rose froze when she seen you dancing all about

Her cheeks growing red at the way your hips swayed to the beat

She smiled at the way your way voice harmonized to the 70s vinyls slowly humming in the background

And the way you spun around, your skirt poofing up slightly up from the air, made her chuckle

You instantly became embarrassed but Rose just grinned

She has a soft spot for you

You'd be quick to finish up dinner

Because later on the two of you are going to have some "fun"

Riza

Riza is kinda the same as Rose

You'd be the one to do more of the housework in your relationship

Riza hates most things deemed "domestic"

She's a working woman and she's proud

I do headcanon Riza is a feminist and I have a theory as to why I do

But that's a conversation/topic for when I eventually do dive deeper into her character and her psych

Anyways, back on track

Instead of the cockiness Rose has

Riza is a tease

She knows she's hot and she loves to flaunt it

She had a long day at work

Maybe had to kill a person or two

And she came home finding you in the kitchen

Your hips swaying

Humming the words to the beat

Your smile

It makes her heart skips a beat

She's mesmerized by the pure glint of happiness in your eyes

You got a little embarassed, knowing she seen you dance but she grins

It's a shit eating grin

But it is fully out of love

She'd snake her hand around your waist

Place kisses on your neck

"Why stop? I was enjoying the show."

She'd show you her version of fun too

Kathleen

If I'm being honest here

I think Kathleen would be the one in your relationship that you would be more likely to walk in on dancing

And if for some reason it was you she walked in on she wouldn't think twice on it

She'd jump in and dance right with you

Have a good drink or two

Smother you in affection

She's a party girl at heart

And she knows how to dance

Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango

You name it

She can do it

Kathleen's the one who leads most of the time when the two of you dance

Sometimes it's slow and it ends in the two of you snogging on the sofa

Other times it fast paced and ends in you both laughing

A relationship with Kathleen is not usually a serious one but she does love you

Jenny

Like Kathleen, Jenny likes to have a good time

So she's another one I don't think would have a problem jumping right in, dancing with you

She does prefer slow dancing though because she likes to wrap her arms around you

Besides the way she carries herself, which is very proud and full of elegance

She's very clingy to who she deems as "hers" which sometimes confuses people but from how long and how much time you've spent together, you understand her

I do think deep down Jenny does have some small, but very hard to cope with, insecurities she's never really dealt with properly

Some people may just brush it off as me

But if you do look hard enough, it is there

There's so much more that lies beneath the surface when it comes to her

So she needs small moments like this to pull her back to reality and her emotions

Because she's not as in tune with emotions as she thinks she is

She confuses them

But her love for you is something she is not confused on

She also likes giving a little bit more than a kiss or two later on some occasions

But like Riza she does enjoy a good tease

So she would pick on you a little bit before she'd jump right in

Because you would be the more shy one in the relationship

And nothing makes her smile more than seeing your cheeks flush red, knowing she's made you blush

But she is tactful in the way she does it

Placing a little kiss on your cheek afterwards

"Oh I'm just teasing darling."

Is a common way of her brushing it off

And as much as it annoys you, you wouldn't trade it for anything

Dinah

Now I don't want to say Dinah is the what some would call "baby" of the Rebecca characters in these headcanons

But dear lord

This girl needs a hug

She's definitely the more innocent and sweeter of the bunch

And even as much as Dinah's gone through, I do think she's clung onto some of the culture and traditions her family has taught her

She does try to do most of the cooking and such in your relationship

But there are times where you do it

It's rare but it does happen

She doesn't really know what to think when she sees you dancing

At first her eyes draw to your hips

But then she blushes

Immediately embarrassed by her actions

But you notice and laugh, trying to not make her feel as bad

And some occasions, you'll maybe even try to coax her into dancing with you

It's rare when it happens

But her smile when you do achieve it

It's just so precious

Dinah barely smiles after everything with her son

So to get to see her smile and laugh

Maybe even give her a kiss

It's worth its weight in gold to you

Rebecca

I'm going to be blunt on this one

This is Rebecca we're talking about here

If the two of you are dating, she's watching you like from the door way two minutes straight before she makes her presence known

And you KNOW she's going to be dancing with you once you know she's there

She'd kick her shoes off

Put her hair down

"Orchestra music, really? Come on! We need something a more upbeat."

*insert loudest pop song you know here*

Before you know it you'd be getting dragged by the arms to a more open space of the house

"Becca-"

"Rebecca. My name is Rebecca and I'd love to keep it that way."

You immediately flush with embarrassment but she brushes it off with a quick kiss to the cheek

The two of you would dance until your feet hurt

But the pain is worth the time spent worth her

Ilsa

Ilsa is a very serious person

Somewhat intense too

At least with things that she's very passionate about

It's only natural with the job she has

She never really puts her guard down

So in the rare time you two have together, it's your job to try and get her guard down

She got stuck late at work and it was a pretty rough day for her

So you turned on the stereo and started making her favorite meal

It wasn't even intentionally meant to be a cute or romantic gesture at first

You really just thought you were home alone making dinner

Spinning all about as you sauteed vegetables in a pan

Loudly singing to your favorite song

You couldn't have a care in the world

And then you heard Ilsa laugh and you froze

You immediately straightened your face and shut the music off

You were expecting her to come home in a bad mood and wanting quiet

The two of you locked eyes for a moment as if having a staring contest

But slowly she began to smile and she walked towards you

Wrapping her arms around your neck

"You're too damn cute. You know that right?"

You smile sheepishly and she pulls you into a kiss that leaves the two of you gasping for breath and she gently tugs on your hand, before shutting the stove top off

"What about dinner?"

"That can wait. For right now, I want you and only you."

It's the little things make her day

[theintentioncraft]

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES - When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag up to 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours.

I've been tagged by @lordbelacqua (thank you Dea! <3) to talk about Backlead aka: that one Masriel fic I wrote where I got massively carried away...

Rambling/essay under the cut - fair warning, it's a long one!

Okay so first of all just a little disclaimer that Backlead did not follow my usual writing process - the idea was 110% borne out of self-indulgence and it was also both my first foray into HDM fanfic and my return to fanfic as a whole after a long hiatus from writing, so for me this was really a chance to just get back into the swing of things. Everything from Heavenly Guard through to Swansong and all of my current WIPs follow a more structured process and I'm happy to discuss any of them in a separate post!

PLANNING: I tend to find with my fics that I either have a nice little timeline of events planned out pre-writing or I have a very specific event in my head and I just take that and see how things unravel from there and Backlead was 100% the latter.

All I had in my head initially was the ballroom dance scene and so a lot of my admittedly-minimal planning was around the technicalities of that particular section, as well as some of the more general details e.g Marisa's outfit, the setting of the ball, etc. Planning the dance was the most fun part because it was a chance for me to put a lot of my dance knowledge to good use and think up something that fits the back-and-forth way in which Marisa and Asriel frequently navigate their encounters. In a way though I'm actually very glad that a lot of this fic Just Happened instead of being planned out, sometimes it's nice to just run away with an idea!

MUSIC: This gets its own section because this is one of the most important things in my process. Every single fic I write is written to various pieces of music that just help me to put myself in the right headspace for whatever I'm writing at the time - sometimes its just a single piece of music (I wrote Swansong in one hour with just one track from the Unforgotten - a TV show in the UK for those of you not familiar with it - soundtrack on repeat) and sometimes its entire playlists. I do love geeking out about my music choices for fic writing so happy to talk more in a separate post about music for some of my other fics if anyone's curious!

For Backlead I found a couple of playlist-vids from the lovely raviolae on youtube that really worked wonders for my writing. This comes with a disclaimer that I did not necessarily attribute any of these specific songs to either dance scene and I wanted to leave that open for people's imagination - but it's still brilliant vibes for thinking about two once-lovers-now-enemies trying to one-up each other whilst ignoring how much they still find each other attractive.

The two playlist-vids in question are here: you're stuck on the dance floor with your rival and find out they're an annoyingly good dancer and you're dancing with your rival and both of you want to lead

WRITING: First step every time is to figure out who's POV I'm going to cover because that makes a major difference in the way I'm going to write. Characterisation is the big thing for me and there's nothing I love more than to really get inside a character's head and basically think like them, and figure out what makes them tick and how they'll react to the story I'm putting them in. With my initial idea for Backlead being basically about the subtle power dynamics of a ballroom dance, Marisa felt like the natural go-to for this one and I found it much easier in this instance to write in her headspace than in Asriel's.

I wrote this fic in a very out-of-order fashion. The first dance (the slower, waltz-style dance) was the first part I finished, then I did as hinted at above get very carried away and move onto the section in the hallway, then I went right to the start and covered the entire section leading up to that first dance. Then I revisited the hallway scene because I wanted to rework it (the initial version was planned to be more explicit and involved less dialogue - but I wasn't comfortable with writing out the former at that time and the latter got changed by way of me having a sudden burst of dialogue-themed inspiration). The second, more set piece style dance came last in terms of the 'major events' that I wrote purely because I spent a lot of time racking with my dance knowledge to try and make it work in a way that didn't feel forced.

My final major writing stage is to write the 'transitions' between each major part - small pieces where nothing particularly noteworthy happens but it helps the fic to flow from one conversation/event to the next and also sometimes allows me to sneak in a bit of characterisation that I couldn't fit in elsewhere.

Along the way I often leave sentences half-finished with a bracket indicator so I know to go back to it later or I make little notes if I've added something in that needs explaining earlier in the fic, and I make sure to sort those parts out before I jump to the self review/beta reader stage. A couple of examples are below:

Although sometimes this method does also annoy future me too 😂:

SELF REVIEW/BETA REVIEW: Whenever I finish a fic, it gets put away for a day or two and I stop thinking about it completely - if I'm using a beta reader (usually @thatlavanderbard but I sometimes enlist help from friends on discord), I'll send them a copy of my draft at this point so they can start going through and leaving comments for me to work on, but the idea is that when I go back to my work a few days later I'm looking at it with semi-fresh eyes and can properly sift through each sentence to make sure things make sense.

When I'm self-reviewing I generally tend to follow this order of operations: spelling/grammar check (via docs') -> flow check (making sure any deliberate time skips/POV changes/etc in my fic flow smoothly from one part to the next) -> address beta reader comments (because they almost always pick up on things I myself would've picked up on anyway) -> general detailed final read through to make sure I'm happy with every single line and it all makes sense.

Backlead didn't get a full beta read because I had hit a point with it where I just wanted it up ASAP and my impatience got the better of me, but the rest of the above self-review stages still happened and I still spent a fair few evenings going through it properly and also running the occasional sentence or two by some helpful discord friends if I didn't like the way it flowed but couldn't quite figure out how to remedy it!

POSTING: First step was to reset my AO3 password because I forgot it yet again whoops

On a more serious note this part is pretty straightforward - once I'm ready to post a new fic I generally just go on autopilot for this part of the process (other than when I get to 'additional tags' and immediately get brain freeze...). As soon as it's up on AO3 I swing by here to make a post about it, then swing by discord to drop the link to friends who may be interested in reading it and then I normally nervously scuttle away from my notifications for a while out of fear that people hate it lmao.

That last part was especially true for Backlead because of it being my first trip into HDM fanfic and I always get extra nervous when posting my first fanfic for a new show/game/etc. Thankfully I got quite a few nice comments both on here and on discord that provided good motivation to stick around and post a few more things!

I always panic when asked to tag people lmao but I'll tag @fortheloveofwii for any part of the Onward, Onward series, @lyracordelia for any chapter in Hiraeth or the fic as a whole, and @glassrunner for this absolutely gorgeous gifset of beautiful game soundtracks. Please don't feel like you have to do this if you don't want to though!

[yamaita]

˚₊·➷ About : Prince Akaashi wasn't very fond of the castle's banquets and would much rather spend his evening locked inside his room to read books. But for this particular evening he decided to stay close to the food table where he meets a young lady, bonding over how delicious the cake was, Akaashi doesn't think banquets are all that bad.

˚₊·➷ Genre : FLUFF! Royalty AU!

˚₊·➷ wc : 1.4k

˚₊·➷ a/n : This piece was heavily inspired from Jimin's theme from BTS world, cake waltz was absolutely beautiful I just had to write about it 🥺 also I listened to it over and over while writing 😂 a-also I think the banner looks pretty 👉👈

The atmosphere of tonight's banquet was lively, everyone was talking amongst themselves as the orchestra played light music in the background. Akaashi's eyes lazily scan the room as nothing catches his eyes, sighing to himself he heads over to the food table, at least he can distract himself with food he thought.

"Akaashi! Nice party you have here!" He heard someone say, he looks to his right seeing his mighty friend, Bokuto. A prince from the neighboring kingdom, a close friend of his. "It's as nice as it gets, it's the same old routine," He said, taking a spoonful of mashed potatoes, Bokuto does the same. "Well! Maybe tonight's your lucky night? Besides there's plenty of beautiful girls lined up to have you as their prince!" He said, Akaashi didn't know whether that was supposed to cheer him up.

"Oh! By the way, is Prince Kuroo and Kenma coming tonight?" Bokuto asked, "Yeah, they're just running late.. as always," Akaashi rolled his eyes, the ambience didn't seem to change. The crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceilings of their ballroom, the classical music, even the same white coloured tunic that he wears. Same old boring routine, nothing ever happens nor catches his attention. "Hm, say Akaashi, what if you finally find that special someone?" Bokuto absentmindedly asked, "I can't say for sure since, I haven't found them," He said, placing the plate of food down on the table.

As Akaashi looked over the table, there was plenty of cake, ranging from at least 3-6 inches, they were decorated so eloquently, as if it wasn't really for eating but for display. He might as well take the first piece, taking the knife that laid beside the cake, he takes a pretty good chunk of cake. "I'll be back Akaashi, I think Kuroo and Kenma are right outside," Bokuto pats Akaashi shoulder before heading outside the ballroom, leaving Akaashi alone once again.

"So many cakes to choose from, ah! This one looks good," Akaashi looks up as he sees a young lady, nothing like before. She was wearing a light blue dress, layered with petticoats underneath. Akaashi's breath was clearly taken away by her beauty, he had met plenty of women before but it seems like she was the first one he actually seemed to like. Akaashi just had to know her more, "The red velvet is surely the best one out here," He said, pointing his fork towards the freshly cut cake. "Is that so?" You said, tapping your chin. "Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to try," Shrugging as you cut a piece, the cake was perfect, it was soft and moist.

"Well, it's delightful," You said, the raspberry icing really made its way to your taste buds as Akaashi was relieved at your choice of cake. "Shall we taste more cake?" He offered, he certainly did not think this is how his night was gonna go but he didn't complain. "Oh! Shall we try the strawberry shortcake next?" You said, looking at the delectable cake that was standing high and proud. It was topped with white icing, strawberries decorated all around it with occasional strawberry syrup drizzle on the side.

Akaashi didn't answer as he took the knife, slicing her a piece, and then one for him. One bite of the cake and he was hooked, much like you. "It tastes great doesn't it?" You said, your eyes glistening with delight. Akaashi couldn't help but smile, "Yes, yes it does," The peaceful atmosphere you two were in was wrecked as Bokuto, Kuroo alongside Kenma walked back inside the ballroom. "Akaashi! Hey hey hey! I see you're talking to a lady," Bokuto said, wiggling his eyebrows. You've placed your plate of cake down to give the three men a curtsy bow, as they did the same.

"Sorry we were late, some errands in the castle," Kuroo huffed, clearly exhausted from the ride to Akaashi's. "Don't worry, the night had just begun," Akaashi said, reassuring his friend. The music had suddenly switched up, from a lively waltz to a slow and romantic piece. Akaashi's hand itched to grab yours, wanting to dance this waltz with you, he supposed it would be rude to just grab you and force you to dance so he does what any normal person would do, ask you to dance.

As your eyes watched the couple's dance in the middle of the room, Akaashi's figure had blocked it. His white silk gloved hand reaches out to you, "Will you dance this waltz with me?" He asked, clearly flustered. His friends on the side? Shocked. You didn't really believe that the prince would ask you to dance, slowly taking his hand in yours, he pulled you up, carefully placing his right hand onto your waist as the left handled your left hand.

Everyone had moved aside for the prince and his partner, now all the attention was on you two. His movements were slow, easy to follow. "You're a great dancer," He said, "Why thank you," You smiled, the king was probably already making the engagement arrangements. You could hear his friends cheering and howling behind you as Akaashi's ears turn pink, "D-Don't mind them," He stuttered, pretty embarrassed as he twirls you around, catching you again.

Your mind couldn't help but drift off to the cake you had just eaten, "What do you say after this dance let's eat more cake?" You asked, Akaashi seemed fond of that idea. "Yeah, let's do that," He said, the music fading as he lets go of your hand and waist. The normal conversations started to rise again, with the occasional 'Is she gonna be the new queen?' or 'Is that the Prince's date?'

As you two headed back you could see Bokuto's smile, it was wide and ever happy. "Yo! Nice dancing," He said, slapping Akaashi's back, for a prince, Bokuto seems like a chill one. "Nice going prince charming, sweep me off my feet!" Kuroo said, mimicking a fainting motion. "Haha very funny guys," Akaashi rolled his eyes at his friend's antics. "We just came back to grab a piece of cake, I couldn't help it," You laughed, "If you want I could have someone deliver you cake everyday," Akaashi joked but he seemed pretty serious for a joke.

"Hm, not a bad deal prince," You said, "It'd be nicer if the prince delivered it in person, I get to see your face everyday," You smiled, "Yeah Akaashi! It's not like you do much everyday," Bokuto nudged Akaashi, "Very well, I'll have the most delicious cake ready everyday for you. But, I don't even know your name," He said, realizing he never asked you your name. Chuckling, "It's Y/N, Y/N L/N," You said, "What a beautiful name," Akaashi whispered. Bokuto and Kuroo looked at each other, nudging Kenma as he played with whatever device he brought.

"He's absolutely smitten!" Bokuto whispered to Kuroo, "Yeah! It's the first time I've seen him like this!" Kuroo replied.

The time seemed to have slipped by as you and Akaashi had a wonderful time talking. Checking the clock it had already struck midnight, "Oh, I must go," You hurriedly said, not wanting to get in trouble with your parents. "This early?" Akaashi asked, holding your hand. "S–Sorry Prince Akaashi, but I must go," You sighed, disappointed that you can't keep talking with him. But you had your hopes in the cake he promised everyday.

"Can I at least see you off?" Akaashi asked, fiddling with his fingers, "Of course," You held his hand as you two walked out the room, Bokuto and Kuroo waved at you goodbye. "It's been fun Prince Akaashi, but I'm afraid this is how far you can go," You said letting go of his hand. "I guess it cannot be helped," He said, trying not to show his disappointment. You decided to surprise him by giving him a kiss on the cheek, "I bid you a good night!" You said, running off down the stairs, you couldn't believe you just stole a kiss from the prince.

Akaashi stood there, dumbfounded as he caressed the cheek you had kissed, your lips still lingering. "Have a good night," He said to no one as you've left, "Well well, I think Prince Akaashi just found his princess," Kuroo snorted, slinging his arm around Akaashi's shoulder. "It seems like I have, what a peculiar girl," He said, he was definitely looking forward to tomorrow, he wants to host another ball tomorrow. Just so he can have his cake waltz with you.

⁀➷ Love, Kae