#I'm not even going to ramble about all the everything this time

[thetepes]

I feel like a lot of people don’t realize that most of the people in the Lily crit community are actually pretty forgiving and tolerant? Like I’ve seen you guys have pretty stark disagreements and be normal about it. You seem pretty chill about everything except CSA and bigotry which is very reasonable.

That's how I see us? I mean, we aren't a monolith. We have no leader, we don't even all have one place we talk. There have been fights and disagreements, but even after them we can shake it off and keep on keeping on. We're adults. That's how you adult. Shock of shocks, but not every minor social spat is worth a hate server and a callout post even if you can't talk it out.

We all have our tolerance levels, like mine is lower than let's say Liquid's. There have plenty of times Liquid has been very understanding and willing to see a more sympathetic side of things where I've said "No, fuck off. I refuse to give grace here, this is clearly malicious." and I think that's good!? We need people like Liquid and we need people like me because without one or the other you either become too forgiving or too unforgiving. Together we all strike a balance and together we all can see different perspectives giving us an edge up few other movements of this nature have and what ultimately leads them to failing while we're still here.

Us also being from all walks of life, countries, and nationalities helps in other ways too. We're a rare group of people who can bypass the social fears present online and point out behavior that's genuinely dangerous and unacceptable without being susceptible to buzzwords and we know better than to except these demented excuses. No. it's not inherently trans to be a groomer. No, it's not inherently lgbtq to be attracted to animals and children. No, it's not inherently anything ever for any reason to be racist, xenophobic, or any other damn thing. Being a minority of any stripe doesn't make what people like Lily and Patty are doing ok.

Hot take, but I'm perfectly willing to go "Hey, this person's apologized and they've changed their behavior so let's move on. We're done here." Issue is, Lily has never and will never do those things and she's done enough heinous shit where even if she did? It's too late.

If she, at the beginning, had said "I was wrong, I'm sorry. I'll change" then actually DONE THAT. Not carried on for years, making worse and worse and more hateful content - so many of us would not be here. Her past would have been resigned to a 15 page thread on Kiwifarms that hasnt been active in years like so many others, but she didn't do that.

So we're here. Talking about her and the other freaks like her now too. Sorry to ramble so much at you.

[paladinsbrainrot]

hello just wanted to say I think you’re really cool and I love your art!! I also LOVE romike too, super excited for their dynamic in s5

I’d love to hear your thoughts on them and if you have any predictions/theories/things you’d like to see with them next season :]

OHHHHH MY GOD thank you this is such an amazing question !!!! so sorry it took me so long to answer however i have very many Thoughts™

the idea of robin and mike being friends is soooo dear to me you don't even understand. romike has been on my mind since before s4 even came out #Tbh I just think that they are so similar and tethered and it's just so shocking that they haven't properly interacted yet!!!

obviously I think romike first came to fruition through the idea that robin would act like a gay mentor to mike and kind of guide him to realize his feelings for will, but they're so much more than this mentor/mentee relationship. not only would it be an interesting dynamic to explore as they have barely interacted, but they are literally both Anxiety As A Person and their personalities would compliment each other so well. mike's reluctance to open up to people & robin's willingness to ramble to anyone she meets? sign me up. both are bottling up their emotions in totally different ways. i would live for them awkwardly bumping into each other and mike finding her annoying at first but then realizing she is literally his carbon copy and that they are so much more alike than he first thought. (I would argue that they are literally madwheeler 2.0 sans the bitchiness.) them both bonding over the fact that they have trouble expressing their emotions and that they feel like outsiders????? them both realizing they are stuck in the same boat and using each other as an outlet to open up (+ it would be way easier for them to talk about these things because they aren't super close)????? hEllooooo duffers Are u seeing this?????? their dynamic would be so interesting if they don't write it I'm going to have to do it myself.

as for general predictions/theories..... oh boy I have Lots!!!!

I think that the writers are leaning more towards a rowill focus than a romike one this season so I don't think we will see as much as them as I would hope for. BUT this post gives me the idea that we will get a bunch of romikewill scenes on the farm with maybe a dash of one-on-one romike content sprinkled in there for the wellbeing of the people (the people being me and the other two romike fans on this app). as much as I love romike I think will and robin are the characters who Need to talk to each other the most because they're both still closeted. though as I said before I pray that the duffers will realize the potential that romike has as well 🙏

so I've basically done a whole lot of rambling and haven't even answered your question so I'm just gonna get straight to what I want for them this szn if this were my perfect world 🎉

I have this one recurring dream that mainly only exists because of a fic I wrote an extremely long time ago but basicalllyyy the essence of it was that mike and el were in this weird phase in their relationship where they were distant, awkward, and were almost uncomfortable around each other? so mike, incredibly frustrated and fed up with this, starts acting moody and withdrawn from everyone else. also bc this is s5 lets just add the fact that his sister is missing, he just got beat up by the school bullies, and maybe he and will got into the painting fight or something. so just imagine mike being almost reclusive and reserved on the farm set. maybe robin notices his lack of exuberance (that's probably not the right word but whatever) and decides to take matters into her own hands. she asks what his deal is and if he's doing all right with everything going on. mike pretends he's super annoyed by her because of all the questions she asks him but maybe she makes some offhand remark about how they're stuck on this stupid farm and it'll only get worse if he keeps acting like this. (and also, they have bigger issues to worry about!) so mike, quickly realizing that robin is literally the only person on this farm that is there for him to talk to, opens up to her a little reluctantly about everything going on with him. it's important that this is a slow process and that he doesn't dump everything on her at once. maybe he says that he doesn't know what he's doing with his and el's relationship and how will's not talking to him and that he feels he keeps screwing things up with the people he cares about the most. insert moment of robin being robin and clearing up the air, relieving the tension off mike's shoulders, and also giving him some very valuable advice!! obviously there's much more here to explore upon but the general gist of it is that they become much closer after this. robin learns that she can open up to mike too, about how some "person" that she's interested in is giving her mixed signals and how she is actually very scared about the end of the world but feels like she has to deflect everything with humour. they learn they are able to confide in each other and boom romike world domination!!!

I kind of what them to be like a mix of steve & robin and mike & nancy and mike & max, if that makes sense. like steve and robin's closeness, mike and nancy's worry about each other, and mike and max's bickering and (loving) malice. Idk mike is very irritable and snarky and robin is very direct and straightforward and also very tentative so I think their dynamic would just feel natural and compliment each of their personalities!!

I also think their dynamic could be veryyy beneficial to discovering the key to destroying vecna once and for all !!! these two are arguably the smartest characters on the show and work in very like minded ways. robin figured out when blue meets yellow in the west (cough) and that music is the key to getting out of vecna's mindscapes. mike has had wayyy too many clutch moments during the show that I can't mention here otherwise this post would get too long, but you get the point. putting both of their brains together might help our characters figure out how to end this battle. this script that maya hawke posted a while back that features both of mike and robin's names makes me very hopeful that this will be a possibility in s5. (potential st5 spoilers incoming ->) my current running Theory is that mike and robin discover that the military or hnl (is it still running in s5? idk) are running experiments on kids again and use the mccorkle farm and subsequent tunnels underneath to help the kids escape. (mayhaps this is how derek ends up on the farm after being spotted with the military??? idk.)

I am trying not to get my hopes up about robin and mike being spotted at hawkins lab together (potentially with el and will too 👀) but I have a feeling that this is related to whatever was going on in the tunnels. I have No Clue about what is going down at hawkins lab but one can only hope that they are there because the gang realized they needed two of the smartest people as well as the two strongest/most powerful to figure out the situation with the gates. great minds think alike or something like that!!!

this is more leaning towards romikewill territory but Idk I would just liveeeee for a scene of robin picking up on the labyrinthine circumstance that is will & mike's relationship and teasing mike about it !!! and in return I would like a Lot of mike teasing robin about vickie. I think (key word Think) vickie is on the farm with them so I need lots of scenes of robin not so subtly flirting with vickie and vickie flirting back and giggling like a maniac and mike noticing out of the corner of his eye and smiling. i want him to go up to robin later and just whisper shout that vickie is soooo into her. something similar happening with byler and robin noticing would also be very plausible. i just think it would be so sweet for mike and robin to see themselves in their friends and the people around them to help guide them towards their self-acceptance arcs, and learn that there is some hope for them after all ☹️ the only thing I don't want to see is only one of them being used just to further the romantic advances in the other's story. like I don't want the only reason robin interacts with will and mike in s5 to be to help guide byler towards e/o or for mike to do the same thing with rovickie!! it's important that they both realize that having queer friends is just as significant, and that they both are able to confide in each other about their struggles and worries, whether it's about their relationship or not.

there was also this one leak from early 2024 (another leak warning if you haven't clicked off this post already) that stated that mike and robin had a few scenes together because mike was worried about will, and robin was worried about vickie, and bonded because of this. I think this is a much more plausible way for them to start talking to each other than that scenario I mentioned earlier lol. I really hope that vickie is related to derek or the turnbows in some capacity; it would make her such less of a random character and also give robin a reason to be worried about her (and would also tie into them helping derek escape and the fact that he's on the farm with the rest of them). romike confiding in each other about the fact that they feel like they are useless/can't save the people they love AUGHHHH give it to me now . (edit: the leak is mentioned somewhere in this post you just may have to dig for it)

this post is very long and a total incoherent ramble so I am Very sorry but unfortunately I will never be normal about romike a day in my life. @willelworld (my lovely fellow romike enthusiast!) made a very great point in this post that I would like to end off with because it just sums up what is so perfect about them:

I really hope that my favourite adhd losers will be able to bond over their social incompetencies and sexualities and suppressed emotions and so much more in st5!!!! they just have such best friend material so I hope the duffers do not waste this absolute perfect opportunity to write a queerplatonic friendship ^_^

[rekino2114]

Valentines prompt 5. a heartfelt love letter 🩷

This, of course, is going to a request for our best Spooky girl. In danganronpa despair time~ Veronika grebenshchikova, I feel she'd be the most interesting for this given her personality and interests. It'd probably be the most unique love letter in existence.

Veronika writing you a love letter

Valentine's prompts #5

Prompt list

Pairing:Veronika grebenshchikova x gn reader

A/n:I actually thought about making an actual letter on canva for this but it was to short and I was too lazy

Tw:a bit of talk about self-harm

Dear y/n

First of all, I am so sorry for leaving this in your dorm without permission, I know you said you don't mind, but I'm still sorry, I promise i didn't touch anything but I did leave another thing with this letter I'll give you some clues it's cute fluffy and may or may not be possessed by the spirit of a dead child....I know it's not that in theme for valentine's day but it was so adorable I couldn't not get it.

And before you freak out, this letter is written in red ink, not blood, turns out you can't write a full letter in blood, it's way too liquid, and also you'd need a ton of it.........so if you see me with a bandage around my finger You know why.

I know I'm sorry, but I thought it would have been so romantic to write my love for you in my own blood. It would have been like a sign that our love will be eternal, not that it already isn't. I would gladly rip my heart out and give it to you just to show you that it beats only for you if I could survive without it, like a zombie or like corpse bride I love that movie...........I just got the best idea for a couple cosplay.

Looks like I'm rambling even in a letter, sorry, but you do always say you love when I ramble about stuff I like, even with how gorey and creepy it may be, you still listen with so much interest, that's one of the many things I love about you.

And that's why I'm writing this in the first place, to tell you all the things I love about you, well not really I would need way more than a piece of paper to list all of them, your smile, your hair, your face, your screams, your laughter, your voice,your blood, your eyes, your inside (granted I've never seen them but I bet they look just as amazing as the rest of you)

The point is I love literally everything about you and just wanted to put it to paper on valentine's day, I assume you're already my valentine probably, is that how it works? Does it come in the package once you start dating? We become each other's valentines for all the following valentine's days? Anyway, still I love you and just wanted you to know that you're the love of my life and I wouldn't change that for the world.

The last thing I want to say is....thank you, just thank you for being in my life, I know we already talked about this and you don't like me to bring this up since it's in the past but I've stopped with the cuts ever since I met you and I think that just shows how great you are, you've helped me past the worst stage of my life and I genuinely could never thank you enough for that, every time I look at the scars I just smile and thank you, because you did that, you helped me move past that and you deserve the world for it, but my love will have to do.

Wow, it's been a while since I got this emotional over anything, but I guess that's kind of the point of valentine's day, to show the person you love just how much you love them, and i hope you felt that in this letter.

So let me say this one last time here, thank you darling, I love you with all of my heart ❤️

Veronika grebenshchikova

P.s:don't think you're getting out of horror movie night just because it's a holiday. You'd be surprised at how many horror movies there are about valentine's day or love in general, I'll wait for you in my dorm in a couple hours darling~

[grim333z]

Bandages~

Ftm!Carl x Ftm! reader 

[ this was intended to be ftm reader but honestly it works for anyone really.]

{Tw: mentions of unsafe binding, scars, gender dysphoria}

"Don't believe what they say

We're dead flies in the summertime

They leave us all behind

With duct-tape scars on my honey"

"hey,?" Rings out from the entryway, the quiet gentle tick of the latch hooking as the door closes, its the Grimes boy, you'd seen him around every so often, preferring to bury yourself in your studies rather than engage with any of the other teenagers in the area. "Hm?" You hum as a gentle response, watching his figure soon appear across the counter to you. 

"Can I help..?" You query, looking at him looking uncomfortably out of place, he'd been in the infirmary for a gunshot wound not long back, way back when Denise hadn't got a clue to even start training someone, letting you linger but not touch. Being fascinated by everything she did, but being shut down after asking any questions, distracting her from her work unintentionally.

"Is Denise here?" He glances around with his one none bandaged eye, before his gaze falls back on you again,  you shake your head in response, shutting the book in front of you. 

"She isn't here, is there anything I can help with...?"  Your eyes focused on him, as he looks down at the floor in front of his feet, you can practically smell the embarrassment radiating off him, like he's only in their for a really stupid reason. "I just, needed some bandages...please" He hums quietly, glancing at the storage cupboard, "Why?" You huff in response, garnering a look of confusion from the boy; who'd now clearly never been challenged for needing medical supplies,

"For my eye...?"He hums, to which you nod in response, letting him wander over to the cupboard grabbing a bandage which was far to long and far to wide to wrap a couple times around his head, while the bandages that he usually needed sat unacknowledged beside the one he'd picked up. "Wrong one, you need the one to the right," He turns to look at you, the roll sitting limp in his palm, "What, oh.. right" He responds picking up the right one.

"Unless you need the other one, but if you did it wouldn't be for your eye... too long to wide to sit comfortably on your face." You ramble, looking at him. Watching him debate about which one's he actually needs. "You can tell me you know..?" You breathe, trying to coax whatever it is out of him. 

"I just, I just need these okay.." He says shovelling the roll into his pocket before making a B-line to the door. "What for." You say, not letting up, "I have to tell Denise, and she'll get an answer out of you anyway." 

"Just drop it." You say, watching him glare at you, before the pale white roll falls from his hands, slipping out his grip accidentally. He bends down to pick the thing up, wincing on his way down ."I didn't mean actuall- are you alright...?" You ask... as he attempts to straighten out in front of you. "m'fine, just some side pain, its nothing." He brushes you off. 

"Side pain?" You ask, feeling the curiosity rise within you, the un-satiable need for explanations, and there really was no Denise to take this patient from you, she was out. 

"Rib pain..?" He breaths, like he almost doesen't want you to hear. 

"You're not..?" You question, glancing at the bandages in his hands before back up to his face as he nods. "Ah...Right, you're... ok I get it, just... you're in pain?" Letting your feet fall against the floor as you walk around the kitchen island to stand in front of him, watching him nod. 

"You could be bruising your ribs. Especially if you're going out on runs with it on, How long...?" You hum, as he pauses for a moment to think before responding, "A couple years." Your eyes widen.. "Years..?" blinking at him for a moment before continuing "Without a break?" 

He nods, a faint look of guilt crossing his face, "Its, just not safe. I'm gonna say take a break, hell stop using them, we have some sports tape you could try, its kinda fiddly but its less pressure on the ribs if you wanna give it a go..." His eyes look up at you, intrigued by your suggestion, 

"Sports tape?" He questions, making eye contact for the first time, slightly confused on why you haven't bombarded him with questions, just taken the information and offered help. 

"Kt tape, people use it to like support muscles after sustaining injury's in sport, Denise always puts it on the lists for run's since someone's always pulling something when on runs or working on something." he nods in response to your words, mulling them over in his mind.

"Doesn't it just work like bandages though...?" You feel his gaze on you as you head to the cupboard to grab a decent size roll of pale flesh tone KT tape, "Nope, it doesn't compress...? it kind of just moves it, to look flatter... so there's no pressure on the ribs. Its a little fiddly, but once you've got it, it'll stay there for a bit then you change it." He look perplexed at the small roll in your hands, nervously chewing his bottom lip. 

"Uh, right, thanks" He quietly accepts the roll, heading for the door. "I'll give it a go..."

"You sure you don't wanna try it in the bathroom, you know in case you need any help" You hum as you resume your seat in front at the counter, Carl stammers unsure on how to respond, seeming eager to escape this incredibly awkward situation, however deep down knowing he's more than likely got no fucking clue where to start. "I don't-" He stumbles over his words, unsure on which option is gonna work out most in his favour.

"I won't do anything you're uncomfortable with. I'm a doctor not a creep." Your fingers idly trace the raised letters on the cover of the incredibly worn medical textbook in front of you, noting the distinct look of hesitation plastered across his face. "hm?" He poses the sound like its a question but you aren't entirely sure what he's trying to ask. "I'm- I mean I don't really know what- how to... you know" he sucks in a deep breath, feigning composure.

You click your tongue, before signalling him towards you. Standing up to find a pair of scissors, watching his awkward form linger where you once stood, upon your return, he passes the roll over, watching you cut off a decent strip and round the edges, doing that three more times before passing them too him, "You just kind of" You hum making the motion he'd need to follow, a confused but almost understanding look on his face. "It'll be weird at first, Just give it a go...?" 

"uh yeah, I- uh still haven't got a clue." He stammers holding the strips you'd cut off like they're inches away from exploding, "I can do it for you, you just don't seem the most comfortable right now, let alone-" He nods, before you can finish talking.

"It's fine, just get it over with" He rambles.

Sliding his Shirt down, running the pale palms of his hands down the front of his shirt. You watch as his eyebrows wrinkle before softening before looking up at you with a gentle momentary smile on his face, hardly even their. "Thanks.." He breaths, looking in the mirror as you collect the backs off the tape and throw them into the small trash bin beside the toilet, nodding "It's fine, dude I get it." He looks at you in confusion before clocking your words, smiling at you before walking out. Leaving you to clean up, which you didn't really mind, there wasn't really much else to do. 

Over time he develops the habit of coming to you to change it, trusting you more than himself to apply it right. 

He stands in front of you, gently tracing the buds of his finger tips around the edges of the fresh tape, looking at himself in the mirror, "They're not to tight are they?" You query, noting him fussing over them longer than usual, he shakes his head, blue eye tracing his own bare pale torso in the mirror, "Are you okay...?" You whisper, receiving a hum in response. Passing over the grey button-up he'd come to the infirmary in, slipping it on loosely, he hesitates glancing at you. "I- thanks for doing this for me... I really appreciate it" He hums, unsure where to look though his gaze always seems to land on your lips, only for a brief moment though you're so sure of it, "It's fine honestly, isn't much else to do around he-" You ramble being cut off by his lips against yours, feeling his arms either side of you as he braces himself, it's messy and clumsy like he's really acted on impulse here, though it doesn't lack emotion, you can tell whatever has brought this on has been building for some time... Though when he pulls away he looks thoroughly ridden with guilt, fingers fumbling to  button up his shirt as he fiddles with his free hand to get the door open. Leaving you left confused, leaning against the cool granite counter in the bathroom,  blinking at the empty space where he was just stood. 

The rest of the day you spend spaced out staring at the words in the notes Denise gave you to study; which in all reality were just a distraction to keep you out of her way. Eyes going over the words over and over without them ever actually being absorbed. This spaced out state doesn't seem to dissipate on the walk home either, until you spot him, knees drawn to his chest atop the gazebo he usually sat with Enid on, however this time he was alone. 

"Carl?" You pause your movements yelling up to him, just faintly you see his eye widen as it clicks in his brain who you are. "Uhm...uh shit- I uh.." He stammers, meanwhile you're climbing up to sit with him, hearing the apologies start the moment you take seat beside him "I uh I'm sorry I just don't know what I was thinking... I just, I'm so-" He stumbles being cut off as you pull his face towards you, looking into his eye, the warmth of his face radiating into the palms of your hands "Carl, Dude" He blinks at you, chewing the dry skin in the corner of his mouth; radiating some uncomfortable almost fear. "You never gave me a chance to respond, you just took off...I didn't mind it..." You whisper, watching his gaze fade into something more relaxed. "Really?" His words are filled to the brim with uncertainty, the gentle almost child like uncertainty faintly lingering in each of his words. "Really." You whisper, brushing some of his loose hair behind his ear. The faint pink edges of his lips raise slightly, illuminated by the subtle blue glow from the moon. 

[inktr0vert]

hi! i just saw your recent ask from Birdie about commissions. i wanted to 1) tell you how proud it made me feel to see you be so candid about your mental health & 2) echo her sentiment that i would love to commission a piece from you someday if you were ever in the headspace to do so. you are so incredibly talented.

in the same way that i’ve spent thousands of dollars on art in the form of tattoos, your art is beautiful and valuable enough to spend money on. i’m not saying this to try to, like, persuade you to ever take commissions. i just felt the need to verbally express how floored i am by your art. my tattoo artist occasionally needs to be shaken/reminded how incredible she is sometimes, and i feel like you can just never hear it enough, especially when you’re struggling.

i profoundly relate to your struggles with bipolar/simply just existing. i see you. & i just wanted to be another voice temporarily speaking over the deafening bad thoughts in your mind.

if you ever want to scream into the abyss at a bipolar stranger on the internet, my DMs are always open 🖤

i hope you’re having a good day

Hi there :)

1--I am tired of feeling ashamed for being me. Fuck shame. I think that's why I still act like I'm 13--that's the last time I felt unashamed of everything I am. So I'm done feeling bad for who I am. *I* think I'm pretty fucking cool. So does my husband and my beautiful kiddo. So yeah. Fuck shame <3

In regards towards my mental health vs shame, I had an epiphany:

There is nothing wrong with me.

And the world is wrong for telling me otherwise.

We are all different. And that's not always a bad thing.

2--With all of this self-discovery shit, I'm realizing that I am worthy of so much more than I let myself believe. That I have allowed others to convince me that I am a nuisance, that I am incompetent, that I do not deserve love, praise, or that I shouldn't even be allowed to exist. By the by, someone telling you that you aren't worthy of being alive feels pretty shitty. Don't let those people in your life. Run away. Run away and warn the others, jesus fucking christ.

ANWAYS. I think I may work towards commissions.

I always thought it sounded fun, tried it out, but I pressure myself too much--what if they don't like it? what if they don't want to pay that much? what if my art is trashfire kindling and everyone that's ever complimented my art is a dirty dirty liar that wants to see me fall flat on my face?

And most importantly: What if it's not perfect? What if the eyes are off, or the anatomy is 'wrong', or it's not the EXACT thing I pictured it to be in my mind?

Newer motto (still under construction): Fuck perfectionism. What a stupid cage to lock yourself into. Working on unshackling myself. Have been KINDLY (*this is important) reminding myself whenever my thoughts head down that path to redirect back towards the joyous parts of creativity. And it's been going pretty good. Slow, but making progress.

So yeah! Rambling coming to a close. Thank you for being another positive voice in my head to help fight away the void that other's have created. And for being that for a fellow tattoo artist as well <3

I think I should create a discord group called "screaming into the void" and invite all of you wonderful humans that have invited me for private sessions to join. We can all caterwaul into the abyss together XD

I hope you are having a good day as well. Be kind to yourself <3

[somerandomcryptid]

Is anyone else going insane about how in Sam's second stream when Sam and Dream are talking about all of Sam's crimes, Sam leaves out the whole locking Dream in prison and letting him be tortured, and when Dream points it out Sam responds with "locking you in prison is not something people hate me for" and Dream snaps back "I hate you for that". Forever going insane about that moment.

The blatant just not even considering Dream's emotions as a factor or the fact he is part of people ughgh I just think about those lines sometimes

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

pray for me please

[kyouka-supremacy]

Well.

[dootznbootz]

With how I'm planning my fics, since Menelaus and Agamemnon spend some years at Tyndarius' palace, I kind of have them all be childhood friends in a way before Agamemnon and Menelaus take back their kingdom (Aga is around 19, Menelaus 15 when they leave. 5-6 years later they get married.) With how their marriages work out when talking about "Old times", Odysseus is the "odd one out" as he was the only one who didn't grow up alongside them. The poor guy is left out.

Odysseus: "Wait, why is everyone laughing? What does that mean? I don't get it." Penelope: "Well you see-" Goes on about a silly story but the inside joke is dumb. "...You probably would've had to have been there to get it" Odysseus:

[sskk-manifesto]

!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[earl-grey-crow]

.

[manasurge]

bleh

[magentagalaxies]

1 & 2 :-p

thank you!!

"1. Song of the year" and "2. Album of the Year" are such a tossup for me bc there are so many songs i've listened to that have defined specific moments this year and also 2024 has been such a good year for new music??? like idk how so many of my favorite artists' album cycles somehow happened to sync but i'm genuinely considering making a post ranking every new release i listened to in 2024 bc i have a lot of thoughts. anyway all this to say in my attempt to choose one album and one song i accidentally chose 3 albums lmao enjoy

Song(s) of the year: "Midwest Indigo" and "Oldies Station" by twenty one pilots

i have a complicated relationship to the band twenty one pilots. they were THAT band for my angsty 13-year-old self and while i still feel a lot of nostalgia for their early work, i haven't considered anything they've done a "favorite of the year" since middle school. that is until their 2024 album "clancy"

the trouble with the angsty bands you attach to in middle school is sometimes as you grow up, the music doesn't grow along with you. but jfc if "blurryface" was the perfect album for me leaving behind my childhood and becoming a teenager, "clancy" feels tailor-made for all those complex emotions of a final semester of college.

"midwest indigo" is a song about anxiety and seasonal depression, sure, but it's told in such a mundane and relatable way (it's literally just that feeling of "FUCK it's so cold out here. FUCK why isn't my friend texting me back it's been 2 minutes. FUCK my therapist just rescheduled again." but none of these things are the end of the world, you just keep going.) also the instrumental is so tight and it's very fun to loudly sing along to in the car

"oldies station" on the other hand is the only time twenty one pilots has made me cry since i was a preteen. (or should i say "times" bc i swear i teared up the first like 20 times i heard this song). it's such a hopeful song about mental health but never in a way that feels like it's bullshitting you. it's not "everything is going to be fine and perfect forever", it's "yeah your mental illness might never go away but you learn to manage it even if your progress isn't always liner. and someday you'll be at a red light and your favorite song will be considered oldies and you'll have one of those moments like i'm so glad i stayed alive to see this" fuck i'm tearing up just writing about it lmao.

it just felt really special to see this band i kind of "outgrew" suddenly meet me exactly where i'm at, bc i've made a lot of progress on my mental health in the past 2 years and had plenty of "oldies station" moments, while also dealing with trying not to fall apart over "midwest indigo" type stress. i don't expect everyone to have the same emotional connection i do to these songs but they are some of my favorites of 2024

Album of the year: Stick Season by Noah Kahan

ok this section is gonna be shorter bc i'm being more general but basically even tho it didn't come out in 2024 i listened to stick season (specifically the "we'll all be here forever" version with the bonus tracks) in full for the first time on january 9th 2024 and i have been obsessed ever since. literally 21 of the top 22 songs on my wrapped are every track from this album. i went as "noah kahan" for my halloween costume. i went through a phase where i would sing along to the entire album at least once a day

stick season is actually pretty different than my usual music taste (i don't tend to like more acoustic production and there's a huge country influence in a lot of the songs) but its songs are each so well written, both with poetic lyrics and strong hooks, and even tho it's not a "concept album" with a specific story the whole album has such a cohesive theme and sense of place that by the end of the "we'll all be here forever" version it feels like you just watched a movie. highly recommend

also i find it very sweet that of my top 2 albums, "clancy" is an album i can bond over with my dad (he's honestly a bigger twenty one pilots fan than i am, he got into them when i was in middle school and he keeps up with their music much more than i do) and "stick season" is an album i bond over with my mom (she got into noah kahan a few months before i did and there were times when i'd call her while at college and we'd just go off on a tangent about how good the album is)

anyway honorable mention to MOUTH CONGRESS's "Valley of Song" i honestly wouldn't say it defined 2024 for me quite as much as 2023 bc so far most of my associations with it are seeing it come together before the release, but it's definitely among my top albums that released this year, give it a listen if you haven't already

anyway thank you for the ask!!

End of year ask prompt

[brittlebutch]

it's actually so fascinating to me that Brennan has created a character that maintains a pretty relaxed and mild-mannered demeanor and has said multiple times that the absolute Core of her is "FEAR" and how often we see this Fear manifest specifically in Avoidance; it really nails a relationship to that mentality where your brain fully Stops recognizing the emotion properly out of like, sheer self-defense from the stress of having to carry it all the time

I think this is also perfectly showcased in the way we tend to see Tula swing so suddenly from 'level and steady' to 'snarling Panic' and then back again - Just because your brain has detached itself from the Conscious Recognition of the emotion doesn't mean it can Actually stop itself from experiencing it. So the Fear is always there and always acting as a stressor, but because of that inability to Identify it there's no way to recognize or address it before that final straw hits and your bodymind jumps Straight into Full Meltdown Mode; but then once again, once you drop even a Little bit below that Peak Terror your brain ceases to process the emotion; it's like the most exhausting form of Poor Object Permanence in the world

And even if Tula is aware of this happening to her, that doesn't really make it any easier to deal with / address. Even if you're able to spot the symptoms Around the emotion -- chest pain, irritation, nausea, whatever -- because the Emotion Itself is basically impossible to find, you can't really Successfully Pin Down what the problem is OR a way to cope with it. If you can't figure out That You Are Anxious, then figuring out What Is Making You Anxious is impossible, which makes Find A Way To Make Peace With That incomprehensible. That's where the Avoidance comes in: you can no longer identify what might be a Dangerous Situation, which means that Anything New has a big potential to be Really Bad in a variety of ways (ranging "I don't Feel Good" to "Fully Lashing Out bc you've entered Fight/Flight and can't get out of it" to "Actual Outside Danger This Time") and that means the Only Way you know how to be Safe is to just Avoid Doing Anything New and Only stick to Familiar Situations, because anything unfamiliar is a monster of a gamble you don't know how to prepare for or cope with

[eggmeralda]

do you ever feel casually suicidal? like you're not depressed or anything you're doing fine but also it feels like a convenient option

[silverselfshippingchaos]

ash and s.ugiura do get engaged someday, and it's always so heartwarming thinking about s.ugiura visiting his sister before he pops the question. him by her grave with a soft smile on his face, telling her about how he's never been happier, how he knows that this girl is his soulmate.

back when she was alive, she had that line about how sometimes she worries about her little bro. but she doesn't have to worry anymore. he's so happy.