#That delivery of THAT LINE WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY THAT'S FOR SURE

[daikunart]

𝗧𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝘇𝗮𝗸𝗵𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘇 𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝗖𝗗 | 𝗥𝗪𝗥𝗕 𝟱/?

[tiktaaliker]

ITS BEEN A FUCKING WEEK. PASS THE DETRITUS

[zombvic]

TINDER IRL PART one (harry lewis x reader)

summary : in which y/n gets invited to the sidemen tinder irl (usa edition) and meets a certain brit and their instant friendship slowly progresses into something bigger

face claim : no one right now (kendall jenner later)

notes : reader is like a 2019 ICON like disstracks against the paul brothers, ricegum etc.. now STILL doing youtube but on a much more lowkey basis. also im sorry but i had to add that the reader is an f1 fan IM SORRY (im locked in as an f1 girlie) 😵 yall im not american or even close to a native english speaker (#slavicstruggles) but i tried making the readeramerican cause i tried to do the american la gf x british bloke bf xx god bless 'merica RAAAAAH. also i used lines from like all the videos and made my own cause the lines from this video were insane.. last also, don't be a ghost reader 🧟‍♂️🧟‍♂️

pairings : harry lewis x reader , sidemen x platonic!reader , all the other youtuber in the videos x platonic!reader

warnings : drugs (ketamine joke)

You got invited to the SIDEMEN Tinder In Real Life youtube video. You are acutely aware to what the Sidemen are and you've seen their videos before. Now to be fair, the genres between your channel and their channels were pretty different. The Sidemen were known for football challenges, those 100$ vs 100,000$ challenges and other things with a similar vibe. You on the other hand, you did vlogs, lifestyle hack and tips, in your time you've achieved some disstracks and occasionally broke down some formula 1 grand prix weekend.

The moment you saw the instagram dm from the Sidemen official account you weren't sure how to react. Should you be excited? scared? worried? yeah.. all. It was the Sidemen, Logan Paul, Mike and George (idk who Mike and George but who cares).

Eventually you accepted the offer and waited till the day you had to be "picked up" by kinda random men for 5 minutes straight. The day came, you got dressed for the video shoot, they made you wait with the other girls until they called your name and then you walked in.

"Hi, I'm (your name). I'm 24 and i'm from Newark, New Jersey" (go devs go) You've practiced that line like 50 times before you left, not because you wanted to come out of this video with a new man but because you didn't want to embarrass yourself lmao.

"Hi, I'm Vikk. I'm 26 and are you from Tennessee, because you're the only ten i see"

"Would've been funny if i hadn't just said im from New Jersey dude, no sorry"

"Hello, I'm Logan-"

"No. Complicated history" you said as you swiped left.

"One chance please"

"Alright, BUT u gotta watch it tho"

"Okay. SO. If i were a pizza delivery guy, i'd be giving YOU the tip"

"Ew no sorry lmfao.. that was weak as fuck"

"Alright wow, Hello, I'm Tobi. I'm 31 and they say that kissing is a language of love, so would you mind starting a conversation with me?"

"Sure go on.. yes. I love that"

Hello, My name is Ethan and let only latex stand between our love.

"Yeah thats funny.. alright, go on"

"Yo, I'm KSI. I'm 30 and you know how they say skin is the largest organ on the human body? Well.. Not in my case."

"Lmao, yes go on"

“Hello, I'm Mike. I'm 37 and girl, you don't need no vibrator when you got this Pickled Dick.”

"Jesus Christ. No, get out"

"Hi, My name is Simon and.. Simon says you want to swipe right"

"Lmao. I love that, Yes"

"Sup, I'm George and I’m peanut butter. You’re jelly. Let’s have sex"

"Jeeesus, that’s crazy bro... no"

"Hello, My name is Josh and I find your lack of nudity disturbing"

"No, I'm so sorry" (guys i love freya sm i couldnt do this)

"Uhm, Hello. I'm Harry. I'm 26 years old and what do ketamine and your underpants have in common?"

"I don't know" you said looking at the blonde-ish man confused.

"I'd like to sniff them both."

The whole room fell into a laughter, you included. "Yes"

"BUT I GET A NO?" Logan exclaims. "What a scam"

WHY DID YOU SAY NO?

(NO : Logan, Josh, Mike, Vikk and George)

"For Logan i think we left this in 2019 and rightfully so. For Josh i dont really know tbh, i just thought his line couldve been better. Mike, i think you know why i said no. Vikk.. Im gonna be honest i dont even remember what youve said but im sure i had my reasons and George, you couldve been waaaaaay smoother mate.. tough luck"

YALL. this is part one because i cant be arsed and put it all right here right now 😁😁😁

[giuseppe-yuki]

spoiled

fernando alonso x cocker spaniel shapeshifter!reader

w.c.: 2k

warnings: one curse word

part my of shapeshifting!reader series

summary: as nando's precious cocker spaniel, you are spoiled rotten.

picture credits from pinterest :)

*side note- it has come to my attention that the cute puppy in the header is actually a king charles spaniel, not a cocker spaniel, so i apologize for that one. my headers are mainly used for aesthetic purposes, so feel free to imagine yourself as either breed :)

the word “no” was practically nonexistent when you were with nando. 

you want another birkin to go in your collection? here, have three. you felt like pizza for dinner? sure thing. pizza freshly made in italy is being flown in right now. wow, that baby pink aston sure is cute, isn’t it? here’s the keys to a brand new, custom made, db9 that has matching pink heart tire rims. 

it seemed like fernando’s singular goal in life as your boyfriend was simply to pamper and spoil you. when he found out your shapeshifting abilities, he became ecstatic. even more ways to spoil you! 

that’s how you found yourself sat on his lap, twin pink bows tied on each of your ears, inside of the aston martin meeting. mike krack was currently yapping about tire degradation and management, repeatedly smacking a labeled graph with his pointer stick. you usually didn’t accompany your boyfriend to these types of meetings, but you felt particularly clingy today, and who was he to deny your request? ignoring the bewildered looks of the engineers on the spinny chairs around you both, he leans down, presses a kiss to your head, and then combs his fingers through your freshly washed fur, making you sigh in contentment. 

however, mike’s loud voice snaps you out of your thoughts. 

”fernando!” he shouts across the long table, stopping his long spiel. “are you even listening, or are you paying all your attention to your dog?”

all the engineers at the table turn towards fernando, giving him quizzical looks at the canine in his lap. (except for lance, who looked bored beyond his mind picking at his fingernails) he simply just shrugs, still petting you. “eh, what can i say? she’s kind of high maintenance.” 

the aston martin team principal rubs his face in annoyance, but picks up his pointer stick and continues on with his presentation. 

he only gets in a minute of talking before loud knocking echos throughout the meeting room. curious, you hop off of fernando’s lap and pad towards the door. 

“what is it now?” the irritated team principal exclaims exasperatedly. 

the door swings open, almost hitting you, to reveal a rather disgruntled-looking delivery man holding a clipboard that looked like it had a book’s worth of papers clipped to it. you flee back towards your boyfriend in fear. 

“fernando…alonso?” the deliveryman asks, squinting his eyes at the name printed on the top-most paper. when he receives a nod of confirmation, he continues,”i have some deliveries for you, and this stack of papers you have to sign that make sure you have received the parcels.” he then thrusts the board out to nando. 

while your boyfriend sifts through each paper, hastily scribbling his name on each dotted line, the delivery man peers around the room in shock, as if he just noticed the handful of engineers and moderately pissed team principal standing in front of him. the man’s bored demeanor shifts to a more panicked one. “i - um- is this a bad time? should i come back later?” he stutters out, shifting nervously. 

mike crack starts, “obviou-” before being cut off by fernando.

“no, right now is fine- it would be great if you could set up my purchases in my garage as well,” your boyfriend says, ignoring mike’s glare at the back of his head. 

with a jaw-dropping two championships in his racing history, who was anyone to refuse fernando? mike had no choice but to begrudgingly end the meeting short and send the engineers away to analyze the new racing data. 

meanwhile, you sat prettily in the corner of nando’s garage. and no- not at one of the dirty sweat-stained barstools in the garage- your boyfriend would never let you stain your soft fur like that. no, you sat in a plush white satin dog bed in your special curtained off area. 

under fernando’s instructions, a swarm of deliverymen bat away your pale lacy curtains and filter in like a line of ants, one after another. they place box after box on the carpeted floor of your little area. it creates a glimmering tower of designer jewelry boxes and prim monogrammed paper bags. 

after they exit the premises, fernando kneels down onto one knee and wraps you into a tight hug. “you enjoy your gifts, mi princesa!” he points to the sunny outdoors. “i’ll just be outside, overseeing the builders making the new air-conditioned mini house for you, okay?” 

you wag your tail at him, and give him a kiss (lick) on the cheek as a thank-you. 

the second fernando exits the room, lance’s girlfriend pokes her head through the sheer curtains separating your corner from the rest of the garage. 

“hellooooo!” she giggles. “now what do we have here?” 

looking over the pile of assorted bags and boxes on the floor, she pokes a green patterned bag labeled, ‘gucci.’

she jumps giddily after seeing several other matching shopping bags. “i saw the deliverymen come in with fernando’s order, and i was wondering i could-”

you shift to your human form before she can finish her sentence.

“yeah, i guess you can help me open them…” you sigh, rolling your eyes in fake annoyance. 

lance’s girlfriend squeals in glee before ripping open a dior bag. 

“how about this one?” you question, twirling around in your bedroom a haute couture babydoll dress. 

from his position on the bed, wedged in between the plush pillows, your boyfriend rakes his eyes across your body appreciatively and pretends to think for a second. 

“i think-” he pauses for a grand effect- “it looks absolutely beautiful on you, mi amor.” 

even though he compliments you everyday, it doesn’t fail to make your cheeks heat up wherever you hear his praise. 

“why, thank you, nando!” you say, flashing a smile at him.

ducking behind the changing room divider, you slip on a more skimpy stirling green pajama set that lance’s girlfriend had somehow pulled from the stack of clothes earlier in the day.

you can practically hear nando’s jaw hit the floor when you daintily step out from behind the divider, hands shyly held together behind your back. 

“i’m guessing you like this one?” you joke, watching him blink back at you with an awestruck look. tiptoeing over a pile of clothes strewn on the ground and the pieces of expensive jewelry in various boxes, you run over to nando’s figure on the bed and prance onto his lap. 

face inches away from his, you take your hand and physically shut his gaping mouth. 

“speechless, huh?” you tease, tittering. 

fernando looks at you, the pajama set draped over you perfectly (why would it not? he had it custom designed to fit you), new van cleef necklaces hanging from your neck, and celine bangles adjourning your wrists, and he can’t help but think all the money he spent for you was worth it. 

his hazel eyes sparkle with adoration. “what can i say, mi amor? you take my breath away.”

you bat at his chest, giggling, before climbing off his lap and tucking yourself in next to him. like an automatic response, he protectively wraps his arm around you tucks your head into the crook between his neck and his shoulder. 

the twinkling stars, crickets chirping, and warmth of fernando’s body quickly lull you to sleep, but before you drift off, you place a soft kiss on your boyfriend’s stubbled jaw.

“thank you for all the gifts, nando. you’re way too good to me.” 

the next morning, you woke up early to drive to the paddock with fernando. it was race day, one of your favorite days to watch your boyfriend on the track. but, that also meant the swarm of celebrities, media, and fans of all ages that might step on your tail or ruin your little pink bows with their grimy hands. your ever so observant boyfriend took note of this right away and tucked you safely in between his arm and his body in your cocker spaniel form before a speck of dirt from the floor could touch you.

he doesn’t let you down until he arrives in his garage.

along with a couple of engineers, lance and his girlfriend are in there too. lance waves a polite hello to you and his older teammate, while his girlfriend shuffles over. she flashes a shy smile at your boyfriend before opening her mouth. 

“could you please tell your *ahem* girlfriend-“ she gestures to you in his arms- “thank you for letting me open all those gifts with her yesterday. it was really fun!” 

fernando lets out a chortle before nodding, “of course.” 

you let out a bark, as if saying no problem, and give her outstretched hand a lick. 

after your boyfriend peels away from you to go suit up with lance, you and lance’s girlfriend scamper back into your little sectioned off corner in the back of nando’s garage. you both sprawl yourselves on your satin white mini couch to wait for the the start of the race. you had to admit, having a boyfriend that spoiled you rotten was kind of nice. before you can get comfortable, however, the girl next to you practically launches herself off the couch.

“oww!” she yells, clutching her back. “what the actual fuck is that?”

you tilt you head in question, before you spot the offending material on the couch.

it was a swarovski diamond-lined dog collar with alternating green emeralds (you knew the possessive side of nando purposely put that in there to show what team you were rooting for). you laugh internally, before gingerly clutching it in your sharp canines and picking it off of the other side of the couch.

lance’s girlfriend shoots a playful glare at you. “wow…i literally helped you rip open all those boxes yesterday, and this is how you repay me? by nearly stabbing me to death with those ridiculously sharp gems?”

you roll your eyes, but give her a bark to apologize. jumping off the couch, you gently place the collar in front of her. knowing your intent, she bends down and fastens it on your neck, but not before exaggeratedly groaning and clutching her back as she knelt down.

in front of the full size mirror propped against the wall, you admire the way the collar glimmers like stars on your neck. then, the girl in front of you comes up with an idea. 

“hey! we should go show max’s girlfriend your sparkly new jewelry!”

max’s girlfriend is nowhere to be found when you arrive in the redbull garage. ignoring the redbull engineers’ weird looks, you pad through in your aston martin colors with lance’s girlfriend by your side. still, you are unable to locate the girl you had in mind. 

lance’s girlfriend shrugs. “that’s so weird! i wonder if she is still in his driver’s room or something?”

you tilt your head in confusion. she shouldn’t be, as the race was starting soon, so max must be in the garage! making up your mind to find max’s girlfriend, you pad over to the highest object next to you- max’s car. without thinking, you jump up onto the drs flap the back in order to have a higher vantage point. you only realize your grave error when lance’s girlfriend looks at you with wide eyes and nearby engineers let out gasps of shock. 

as if it couldn’t get worse, max walks into the garage with his girlfriend in tow. he scrunches his eyebrows when he sees you on his car. pointing at you he lets out a shout.

“hey! what is fernando’s cocker spaniel doing on my car? call fernando and tell him that’s a €50,000 fine!”

when fernando comes over to the red bull garage to collect you, you bow your head in shame, fully expecting him to chastise you, but instead he holds you close and laughs. leaning close to your ear, he whispers, “good job, baby! i know max will never fine me for you touching his car- his girlfriend would never let him. next time, collect more info on his steering wheel setup and rear wing…they’ll never catch you!”

a/n: jk! one last fic for the current grid :)

taglist: @ilivbullyingjeongin @ale-522 @formula1-motogpfan @aceyalonso @my0hmary 

@mbappebby @madkohi @rakshatos @heartsforleclerc @papaya-twinks

[a-mel0n]

In June of 2024, I went on a camping trip with my family for a week down by the beach. While we were watching the waves crash against the shore, I was scrolling through Tumblr when a certain gifset in my For You page caught my attention. I can't remember who made the gifset, but the scene it captured was Buck coming out to Maddie in 7x05.

I stopped scrolling and watched a mute version of Evan Buckley play the pronoun game with his sister, I watched him say the words "Sure, I'll check out a hot guy's ass, but that's normal," and watched Maddie say "It's not... abnormal," and despite having no idea who these characters were, I could perfectly hear every delivery for those lines in my head as if I had already seen the show.

Curiosity got the better of me, so I clicked on the gifmaker's profile and watched another gifset. The Fabled First Date scene. My introduction to Tommy Kinard was his eyebrow raise when Evan Buckley stuttered out "But I'm not weirded out!" The little nod he does after Buck says "I mean, I'm an ally." while on a date with a man never fails to make me laugh, and it was that gifset that had me text a friend and say: "hey have u heard of 911. the tv show?" The response I got was: "gay firefighters. i wanna watch the show ngl." When I sent over the link to the gifsets I watched, my friend sent approximately fifteen crying emojis, then proceeded to say: "Im so watching this show. You should watch it too. So we can talk abt it together. I never have ppl to talk to abt this stuff."

Thus, history was made.

As soon as I got back from that trip, me and my friend proceeded to binge the entirety of 9-1-1 in just over two weeks. I started 1x01, "Pilot" on 6/27/2024 at 9:40 PM, and finished 7x10, "All Fall Down" on 7/12/2024 at 1:59 PM.

Since then, I've become the most involved in a fandom I've ever been in, met plenty of wonderful people who share the same love for this series and these characters as I do, and have made dozens of memories that will be quite difficult to forget.

9-1-1 has been an unforgettable experience, and it's all because of a single small acting decision that Lou Ferrigno Jr. made while playing Tommy Kinard in 7x05, a gifset made by a random person on Tumblr that just so happened to show up on my For You page, and the encouragement of a friend to open Hulu and watch a silly little firefighter show.

Buck and Tommy were a fundamental reason as to why I started watching this show, and seeing them break up hurt me in a way I wasn't really prepared for. I knew I was invested in their relationship, but I never knew how invested I truly was until they were gone. Their breakup may be temporary or it might be permanent, and although their relationship is fiction, the hurt I felt was real.

And that's why the Bucktommy fandom has been so important to me, because in spite of the breakup, we're still going strong. The @alliwantforchristmasislou positivity project is amazing. Unfortunately, I cannot donate to a charity, but I strongly implore anyone reading this to donate if you can and haven't already.

And.. that's it! I've said my piece. But... oh, there is one last thing:

#alliwantforchristmasislou

[ikeromantic]

Hot Chocolate

Ikemen Advent prompt featuring Victor! Approx. 700 words

“Bad dreams again,” Victor asked you as you slipped into the kitchen. 

It was very late, or very early, and the night outside was the dark of deep winter. The members of Crown were either out on business or ensconced in their rooms. Only you were out and wandering. You, and apparently Victor.

You nodded tiredly and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. 

“Care to tell me about your dream?” He sat down across from you, his smile kind. 

“I was trying to deliver a love letter, but I couldn’t get up the hill to the house. And then the wind caught the note and I was chasing it. No matter how fast I ran, it was always out of reach.” You sighed. “Stupid, right? But it left me feeling exhausted and sleepless.”

Victor laughed softly. “Not stupid at all. It sounds as if something is bothering you. But perhaps, I have a cure!”

You blinked at him. “I don’t think a magic trick is going to put me back to bed.”

“Well. Perhaps not. But I do have another idea.” He stood and moved to the countertop, pulling out a saucepan and some other items.

“What are you making?”

“Mmm, you’ll have to wait and see.” His low voice was sensual, playful, and it sent a little shiver down your spine. “Why don’t you tell me about your day while I cook?”

You nodded, and began to tell him about your work for Crown. Writing down the deeds of the members, case histories really, and studies of their curses. It was a lot of work, but you enjoyed it. Though you’d come to Crown under duress, it now felt like family. A wild, strange one to be sure, but yours. 

“There wasn’t anything to upset me, really. I don’t know why I’m still dreaming about mail delivery,” you finished. Then settled your head on your arms atop the table. How was it possible to be so tired and yet so sleepless??

Victor set something on the table in front of you. It smelled chocolatey and delicious. You immediately sat up. 

“Some hot cocoa. A decadent late night snack.” He moved his chair beside yours. “Take a sip. I made certain the temperature is perfect.”

You carefully lifted the mug to your lips and the rich, sweet flavor of milk and cocoa coated your tongue. It’s warm and creamy and there is a slight bitterness to the chocolate that makes the sweet stand out. “It’s perfect,” you murmured appreciatively. 

Victor was watching you with an inscrutable expression. 

“Aren’t you going to drink yours?” You gestured to the other mug. 

“Hm? Yes, yes of course. I was just enjoying you, enjoying something I made.” Victor’s lips curl in a small, pleased smile. 

The hot cocoa warmed you up, but not half so much as that smile. That goddamned sensual smile, so full of luscious promise that it set your heart racing every time you saw it. And now, here it was, squeezing your heart at 2am. “Thanks. It’s really good.”

You took another sip and then set the mug down, hoping Victor might believe the heat in your cheeks was from the cocoa. 

He was still watching you, and as you set the cocoa down, one of his brows twitched. He leaned forward, and you thought for a moment he might kiss you. Your pulse went from fast to racehorse gallop as he closed in. And then there was a slight, firm pressure at the corner of your mouth. A little line of heat, thin as the tip of a finger.

“Wh-what? Did you?” You tried for words, but your brain was like a lamp flame in a storm, flickering and barely lit.

“You had a bit of chocolate at the corner of your mouth.” His smile widened. “I hope you don’t mind. It was, of course, my greatest pleasure to serve, my dear.”

He licked you. You were sure of it. Almost sure. It had just happened, yes? You touched the spot on your mouth, still buzzing from his intimate touch. “Did you . . . lick me?”

“What a marvelous little robin you are. So observant.” Victor brushed a bit of loose hair back from your face. “I hope I did not overstep?”

“No. I mean. Yes but not - I didn’t mind. At all.” You tried to organize your thoughts but the memory of that light brush from his tongue overrode everything else. 

He finally took a sip of his cocoa, a look of pleased contentment on his face. “Good. I do enjoy doting on you, my dear. Ever so much.”

@queengiuliettafirstlady @candied-boys

[mariacallous]

There is an inherent tension between two basic facts about childbirth. On the one hand, it has happened billions and billions of times in the course of human history and it has been successful in a wide range of settings, from neolithic caves to state-of-the-art hospitals. On the other, it is objectively dangerous in many cases.

This tension can be felt in much of the modern popular discourse on birth. On my Instagram feed, there are depictions of unmedicated home births in a bathtub surrounded by flowers and a caption about how birth has got too medicalised. Some commenters are quick to note that, in their case, having that medical help was life-saving. To put it most starkly: yes, people have been giving birth at home for millions of years, but a lot of them died.

I wrestle with this tension in my writing on pregnancy. I’m an economist and have written two books designed to help women navigate their pregnancy experience by giving them a better understanding of what the data says. In the first, Expecting Better, I cover largely uncomplicated pregnancy. I talk about the decisions that arise when all is going well – whether to eat sushi, for example, and how to write a birth plan for an uncomplicated delivery. In the second, The Unexpected, I cover complicated pregnancy. With my co-author, Dr Nathan Fox, we talk about miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, stillbirth, gestational diabetes, postpartum depression, and other tough things.

These are issues I care passionately about largely because I think we do not discuss complicated pregnancy enough. Perhaps 50% of pregnancies are affected by at least one of the complications covered in the book – that’s half of pregnancies, but more than half of people who have been pregnant. In many cases, until this complication happens to someone they have no idea that it could. They feel alone, sometimes dismissed, scared.

A core problem with lack of discussion is it leads to lack of treatment or preventive activities. The lead pregnancy organisation in the US, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, has put out a recent push for more discussion of pre-eclampsia, a serious complication that affects 5 to 8% of pregnancies. The risk of pre-eclampsia can be brought down about 20% with the use of baby aspirin beginning in the second trimester of pregnancy. This treatment has virtually no risks, so it’s increasingly clear that pregnant women with any risk factors – older age, higher weight, hypertension and many others – should be treated. If people are unaware of this risk, they are less likely to seek treatment. Even if offered treatment, if they do not understand the condition, they may be reluctant to take it up.

A lack of attention given to these complications leads to a lack of information, and without a basic understanding of what happened to them (or is happening to them) in their pregnancy, patients are not able to engage as much as they should with their condition. In doing interviews when this book came out, one mother told me: “I had a postpartum haemorrhage with my second child, but until I read your book I didn’t really understand what that was, let alone how to treat or prevent it.”

I want to shout this information from the rooftops. I want to tell everyone I know that, yes, your uterus can fall into (or even come partially out of) your vagina, and that if that happens there is help. And yet: I can see the danger of focusing too much on these complications. If 50% of pregnancies are affected, then 50% are not. Where should we draw the line between making sure pregnant women are well-informed without scaring them to death? After all, a lot of times, everything does go smoothly. Giving birth in a tub at home can be a good option for some people. And I would hate more than anything for someone to decide not to have a wanted family because they are worried about pregnancy and birth.

We need to find a balance between giving women the information they need, telling them the truth about risks, and not creating unnecessary panic. I wish I could say I knew for sure what this balance looks like. What I do believe strongly is that keeping information hidden, and doling it out only after it is needed – or never – is not the right answer. We need to strike a balance between giving people information and allowing them to put the risks in context. So they can take solace in the hope – and likelihood – that all will be well, but prepared if it is not.

[trickphotography2]

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Jake 'Hangman' Seresin

D-Day (Jake Seresin x Reader series)

After finding out his girlfriend is pregnant, Jake is ready to move in and get married. The last thing he expected was to be hit with a six-month deployment at sea and missing the birth of his first child. (Jake x Reader, no y/n used)

First and Goal (Jake Seresin x Reader)

Hangman hosts a college football day for the Daggers, only to have Payback bring a history making Angel. (Hangman x female Reader fluff, no use of 'you')

Overtime (Jake Seresin x Reader, First and Goal pt. 2)

It was just supposed to be a football game. But then Hangman took Syla up on her invitation to watch the Blue Angels perform at the Miramar air show. A month after meeting and facing the last home show of her career, the history making Naval Aviator invited Hangman to visit her in Pensacola. She didn't actually expect him to accept. Payback definitely wasn't happy.

'tis the damn season (Jake Seresin x OC series)

After six years away from home, Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin was finally going to make his parents happy and surprise his family by spending Christmas in Magnolia, Texas. Introducing his pregnant fiancee to his family is a culture clash, with rural Texas meeting California influencer. Though unhappy in his relationship, Jake knows he has to buckle down and do the right thing with a baby on the way.

The last person he expected to run into was his high school sweetheart and the one that got away, Julie.

After almost a decade apart, Jake and Julie can't help but feel that old familiar spark. Even with the realities of their lives pressing in, they can't help but wonder what might have happened if just one of them had fought for their relationship all those years ago.

The Perfect Match (Jake Seresin x Reader one shot)

Every third week in March, fourth year medical students find out where they'll be going for their residency. A quick 2.2K word one-shot of Jake's girlfriend going through that process.

we can't be friends (but i'd like to just pretend) (Jake Seresin x unnamed Reader [Ladybug] one shot)

Jake's not entirely sure how the bet came about other than being too drunk and maybe a little bored at the Fourth of July party. But after shaking on it with Yale, he agrees to help the new WSO - Ladybug - out with her crush on Rooster and figure out how to get the two of them to the Navy Ball together. With four months to get it done, it'll be simple. But when the reserved aviator is harder to get to know than expected, Jake has to push her to get out of her own way.

Two Lines (Jake Seresin x Reader one shot)

The last thing Jake expected to see first thing in the morning was a pregnancy test in the trash can. And he definitely didn’t expect a debate with his wife about what those two lines meant. 

Robert 'Bob' Floyd

(Every Step You Take) I'll Be Watching You (Bob Floyd x Reader one shot)

Bob disliked Friday team nights at The Hard Deck but knows they're important to the squad. That is, he disliked them until Penny hires a new summer bartender who gently pushes him to try new things. But when he comes in to find the police asking for her, the last thing he expected was to find himself protecting Evie. Trigger warnings: stalking, attempted assault. (Bob x Reader [Evie], no physical description)

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

Santa's North Island Delivery Service (Bradley Bradshaw x Reader one shot)

Stuck at work, Bradley is missing his daughter's first Christmas Eve. But when the squadron decides to turn the hanger into Santa's Workshop, the pilot is able to sneak away to spend a little time with his girls. (Inspired by a true story; Rooster x Reader Christmas fluff)

Wanna Dance with Somebody (Bradley Bradshaw x Reader one shot)

When his girlfriend of three months ditches a night at the Hard Deck after a rough day, Bradley knows just what to do to cheer her up.

Friendsgiving (Bradley Bradshaw x Reader [Duchess] one shot)

Rooster wasn't for you. You were opposites in so many ways - he was an extrovert to your introvert. The center of attention to your wallflower. You weren't interested in a one night stand, and he couldn't offer more. So his volunteering to help with Friendsgiving was just a friendly gesture after you returned from a deployment...right?

[gffa]

I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING but it makes perfect sense and GODDAMN WHAT A DELIVERY ON THE BUILDING TENSION OF IT ALL, because the entire issue was about Tommy pitting himself against Nightwing as a narrative foil, screaming in rage about how Bruce will do anything for him, how he wants to kill Nightwing because Bruce cares about him and how he doesn't really get why Dick understands Bruce in a way he never did. And it's so interesting that I wonder how much Dick is right about Tommy's motivations, because everything Tommy has said up to this point in the issue doesn't really feel like he wants Bruce's life:

"You keep trying to disavow our friendship and eliminate our shared history.  You keep trying to erase my face from your memory so that I have to wear yours!  I'm going to make sure you never forget... by cutting my name into Nightwing's back! You'd do anything for him, wouldn't you, Bruce? But what have you done for me... your first true friend? Besides take everything that should have been mine!" I can see how it seems like that last line might come across as Tommy wanting Bruce's life, that he felt that life should have been his, and wearing Bruce's face is a pretty obvious extension of that. But being enraged by Nightwing's presence, by Bruce's willingness to do anything for that kid, it made it so that I saw it as what Tommy wants here isn't Bruce's life, it's Bruce's friendship. That distinction makes him such a more complicated, interesting presence in this issue, because here he wants what Dick has--the partnership with Bruce, the willingness to throw himself between Dick and any harm that would come his way, the way they can speak volumes with just a shared look. He wants to be the one that changed Bruce's world the way Bruce and the Waynes changed his world. But he didn't, so he has to take what he believes should have been his--and that's why he changed his face again, because what he wants in this issue is Dick Grayson's life. Underneath all of it, what Tommy desperately wanted was to be loved and Thomas and Martha Wayne are dead, they can't love him. But Bruce Wayne lives and he can and does love. Tommy won't find the love he's been hungry for since childhood by taking over Bruce's life, because then the elements of his childhood won't be there to love him.  So he has to become someone that Bruce loves, someone that Bruce will do anything for. And Dick's absolutely right that Tommy wasn't there for any of the hard times or the little moments, he doesn't understand that being loved by Bruce Wayne isn't some idyllic, easy thing. It's hard fucking work because Bruce Wayne is still swimming against the tide of his own trauma and he is never easy about how it affects his relationships. From the outside, it might seem easy--and I think sometimes not even the other Batfam members understand that it's not easy for Dick, either, despite how they too see how desperately Bruce loves him. Yeah, Dick makes it look easy, he drags Bruce to Batburger and teams up with Clark for a god-awful bachelor party and gets Bruce to say he misses him unprompted and thank him for the night. But you don't see all the history that comes with it.  The knock-down-drag-out fights Dick and Bruce have.  The years of hurt and anger after he was fired as Robin.  The hurt of having to fake his death and go undercover as a spy.  The constant push-and-pull of Bruce trying to respect his independence, but also resenting Dick for how much he misses his kid.  Honestly, the entire Ric Grayson arc illustrates so much of how angry Dick still is about all the shit that Bruce pulls. Tommy skips right over that, because Dick makes it look so easy from the outside to be loved by Bruce, but it's not. You can't just cheat-code your way into that role by getting surgery to look like the guy who knocked down Bruce's emotional walls, because every single goddamned day Dick still has to get up and demand that Bruce love him and be the person that drags light into the darkness of Bruce's life. It makes the narrative foils aspect of this issue so engaging because both of them don't really fully get the other, that Dick doesn't understand what Tommy really wants, that Tommy doesn't really understand why Dick has what he has, all of it wrapped up in wanting Bruce Wayne's attention. And it's so interesting because that's kind of the whole point of Bruce as a character, that all these people love him and want his approval, but only a handful ever really get it because you can't love him as this mythic figure that's there to loom over you. You have to love him as the asshole that makes your life miserable but you also admire for the sheer determination he has for justice and that, when he trusts you, he trusts you with everything he has, and because you like his dry sense of humor, you like that he's kind of stupid sometimes.  You have to love him as a man, not an idea.

[popbloganddropit]

The Tortured Poets Department - Taylor Swift (Part 2)

9. Guilty as Sin? - you cheeky little minx, Taylor!!! I’m not sure she’s made me blush like this before! A song about…fantasizing outside of your relationship that sounds like the first day warm sun hits your skin after a long, cold winter. And I personally love a song with some good old fashioned yearning, so the bridge really takes it over the top for me. 5/5

Best Line: I really love a lot of lines here, but if “Drowning in the Blue Nile, he sent me ‘Downtown Lights’” is such a killer opener.

10. Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?- this song is an insane, showstopping moment. Edgy, raging, biting, and even still a little witty - “So tell me everything is not about me. But what if it is?” WAOLOM strikes such a good balance of being self-aware of her image and faults with genuine anger. Being the biggest pop star doesn’t make everything just roll off your back. Perfect production that builds and escalates exactly as it needs to. 5/5

Best Line: “I was tame, I was gentle 'til the circus life made me mean. ‘Don't you worry, folks, we took out all her teeth’”

11. I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) - I really like the pseudo-western vibe going on and that lower register is always welcome in my books, but lyrically this doesn’t do a lot for me. It’s building to a punchline we all know is coming. She can’t fix him, shocking, and there’s not enough for me to root for the protagonist being delusional. Ending with just, “Whoa, maybe I can’t” is funny, but it’s not satisfying. If a common complaint is that this album is too long, this song doesn’t feel essential, story-wise. 2.5/5

Best Line: I said all of that, but I do really like the second verse, the best part being, “His hand so calloused from his pistol/Softly traces hearts on my face”.

12. loml- I had a really hard time picking a best line for this song. I almost made a list but decided that would be a little obnoxious. There’s references to her other work expertly weaved in to really great wordplay and metaphors and imagery. The development of the story in the three times you hear the chorus is stunningly good. It’s a pretty simple piano in the background with additional vocal layers right where they are needed for emphasis. There’s something a little bit missing from this song for me to give it a full 5, but I can’t quite put my finger on it and I also think loml really is a grower that’s not meant to be gobbled down in one bite. There’s a lot of lyrical details to be noticed and anything additional might take away from that. I vote this song most likely to be my favorite in 6 months that I don’t understand how it took so long to fully click. 4.5/5

Best Line: I had to do two, from the very beginning and end, that echo each other so it’s kind of like I only picked one then, right??? “Who's gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames if we know the steps anyway?” —-> “Our field of dreams, engulfed in fire. Your arson's match your somber eyes” Kill me (complimentary). The never before, never since turning into never before and ever since is also brilliant.

13. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart - This song is great. There’s a long history of Miss Swift making bops tinged with depression and anxiety and this may be her most unhinged version yet. A celebration of putting on a brave face when you’re going through some shit. Chanted like a mantra she tells herself, we get a peek behind the curtain of reaching glittering professional peaks not seen in this generation while her personal life was crashing. But no one can ever say Taylor Swift is not a professional - I love the delivery on the outro where she laughs off being miserable and ends with a little spoken zinger. Try and come for her job, indeed. 5/5

Best Line: “I’m so depressed, I act like it’s my birthday everyday. I’m so obsessed with him, but he avoids me like the plague,” tickles me so. This her comedy album. Inevitably going to go viral on Tik Tok at some point.

14. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived - An absolutely killer bridge. It builds the drama up until the very end. Unfortunately, the verses could use a little stronger melody, the first half of the song is a little forgettable and feels a little clunky. 3/5

Best Line: “You kicked out the stage lights, but you’re still performing” is a close runner up but had to go with the opening of the bridge. “Were you sent by someone who wanted me dead?” is such a perfect escalation and so descriptive of a feeling without saying any feeling words.

15. The Alchemy- I really enjoy some parts of this song but I unfortunately have the desire to hire someone to dub over every single football reference so I can fully get into it. It’s too much, it’s too on the nose. I like the verses, I love the way she says, “I haven’t come around in so long,” and I think “who are we to fight the alchemy?” is a great line. There are just parts that feel like football Mad Libs in a way that makes this song pretty unlistenable to me. 1/5

Best Line: “This happens once every few lifetimes. These chemicals hit me like white wine”

16. Clara Bow - She’s known for writing about relationships and that has let the fact that songs about her relationship with fame are consistently top tier (despite being unrelatable to almost anyone since she is the most famous person on the planet) slip by mostly unnoticed. One of my favorite Taylor tricks is when she alters the lines a bit each go-round and/or flips the script in some way in the final chorus and this song is really an excellent combination of some of the best Taylor moves. I’m not going to pretend have known who Clara Bow was before this record, but it works and I don’t mind an album that makes me do a little Googling to understand some things. The Stevie Nicks reference is perfection. Saying her own name in a song really snaps you to attention. And I think this is a perfect album closer. She’s reckoning just as much with her own desire for notoriety and the consequences that go along with it as she is with former lovers, if you’re listening. 5/5

Best Line: “Crowd goes wild at her fingertip. Half moonshine, a full eclipse.” I’m not even sure I should include the first part. “Half moonshine, full eclipse” is one of my favorite things she’s ever written. (Side note as this is the most appropriate place to put it: the fucking personal poem from Stevie in the liner notes??? Stevie being a loud YOYO,K stan??? I weep at the coolness. Which is the opposite of cool and continuing to comment on it is even worse, sorry!)

Part 3 on the way!!!

[ennn]

Fandom Ask:

Agatha All Allong - 8, 11, 17, 19

Ship: Vidarkness - 11, 19

Character: Rio or Agatha: 1, 8

For the fandom ask game:

8. …a quote from it that means a lot to me.

In terms of specific dialogue lines, I seem to keep coming back to Lilia’s observation that “Sad is better than angry” when looking at relationships. It just seems to ring true, and there’s something to be said about how sadness is probably the closest space to acceptance when it comes to grief and loss.

From another perspective, I will forever appreciate the line “If you want a straight answer, ask a straight lady”. Its significance in terms of representation, its delivery, how it’s absolutely a thing a gay person would say, how Schaeffer happily stands behind it — all of it.

11. …what I think of the central character(s).

Isa I’ve written SO MUCH meta already! Get in the tag, people!

17. …the world-building aspect of the story I have the greatest admiration for.

I really admire how with the context of the MCU they really defined and celebrated witches and witchcraft. Like even in Wandavision I really appreciated how they built up the lore around the Scarlet Witch as a mythical figure, not just someone with weird powers.

They made it such that there’s a whole culture and identity, and history and community and tradition around being a witch. Witches can bend reality but also perform small miracles with analogue magic. Magic is intention. Witches are selfish, but they also need a coven.

Witches in the MCU are now a thing to be respected and feared (looking at you MoM Strange). And that’s not even touching on how they defined Death as The Green Witch.

19. …one behind-the-scenes trivia fact I've learned somewhere and my thoughts on it.

I’m tickled by the fact that they had a live tarantula on set and Aubrey Plaza couldn’t handle it. Her end credits frame features a tarantula crawling across the screen too. And this same witchy woman wore a spider-themed outfit to the D23 event.

There’s plenty of symbolism around spiders of course, including ones around death and creation, although I wonder if there’s a specific reference they were going for.

⸻⊱༺  ♰  ༻⊰⸻

11. …how quickly I started shipping them when I got into the fandom.

I started shipping them the moment Rio said the line about being in control and Agatha's brain visibly short-circuited. It was all downhill from there baby.

19. …if this is a ship that's likely to take up room in my heart for years and decades to come or if they're the summer romance that will probably fade into the past with a fond memory.

Honestly no idea! Depends whether we get more content with them, and depends on the fandom and fanworks. The heart goes where the heart goes.

⸻⊱༺  ♰  ༻⊰⸻

1. …why I love them, like them or hate them.

Love, obviously duh, for the both of them.

I mean, everything Kathryn Hahn aside, Agatha’s such a compelling character with seemingly contradictory traits.

She's so smart but also so dumb. She's clever and tactical but also so driven by ego and hubris and has so much trauma she fucks things up. She can be so powerful and commanding but also so shameless when it comes to surviving. She can be so mean and so funny but also so broody and sad.

And she's a witch! Because I like supernatural things.

For Rio, well y'know I have this huge soft spot when it comes to autistic coded characters who aren't quite human. The ones who feel too much but also not enough, who are maybe too honest and direct and weird and lonely.

8. …a headcanon I have about this character.

With all that this show leaves open for interpretation the line between headcanon and canon sure is fuzzy. Hm, I like to think that deep down Agatha does get that the folks of Westview looked after her when they didn't have to, during a period where she was most vulnerable, and she doesn't know what to do with this feeling. But she will be keeping an eye on the town when she can.

As for Rio, my headcanon is that the Snap really pissed her off and potentially fucked her up. What the fuck is this perfect balance bullshit. She would absolutely bring Thanos back just to very painfully kill him again if she could.

[themattress]

Dameon Clarke as Perfect Cell: A History

0:01 - 1:55 : Dragon Ball Z 1:56 - 2:11 : Dragon Ball GT 2:12 - 2:50 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2:51 - 3:12 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 3:13 - 3:18 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 3:19 - 3:24 : Dragon Ball Z: Sagas 3:25 - 3:47 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3:48 - 4:06 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 4:07 - 4:23 : Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 4:24 - 4:28 : Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai 4:29 - 4:36 : Super Dragon Ball Z 4:37 - 4:51 : Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit 4:52 - 5:11 : Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World 5:12 - 6:43 : Dragon Ball Z Kai 6:44 - 7:11 : Dragon Ball Xenoverse 7:12 - 7:39 : Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 7:40 - 8:02 : Dragon Ball FighterZ 8:03 - 8:14 : Dragon Ball Legends 8:15 - 8:25 : Dragon Ball: The Breakers 8:26 - 9:35 : Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

From his debut in Dragon Ball Z through his minimal input in Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, Dameon Clarke had a consistently smooth and charismatic yet intimidating voice for Perfect Cell. However, starting with Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, his voice seemed to gain an extra level of bass and his shouting got raspier. I'm not sure what was going on with him, but while a step down it didn't become a problem until Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit and Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World, where he gives the only two bad performances in the role. The sound of his voice and line delivery in Burst Limit is wretched and nigh impossible to take seriously, while for what little he had to do in Infinite World he somehow managed to briefly use his lisping Semi-Perfect Cell voice instead of his Perfect Cell voice, in what is supposed to be a huge dramatic moment! After this, he unsurprisingly retired from the role, which was taken over by Travis Willingham, a competent enough replacement although obviously not quite the same.

But then, much like Cell himself, Clarke ended up returning more powerful than ever! His performance in Kai is chillingly good, with him having mastered that extra bass and raspy shouting in a way that makes it work in the role and breathe all new life into the character. He kept this up in most subsequent video games, although he sounded a little overtly raspy and hammed his line deliveries up too much in the first Xenoverse game...most likely since the material there was practically begging to be goofed on. He dialed it down in Xenoverse 2, doing it only when appropriate. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, however, is a fascinating case where he tried to shake things up again, maintaining a guttural, bestial growl in his voice. The effect is wonderfully unnerving, making Cell sound like a true monster who is only playing at a relaxed, gentlemanly demeanor, but his true sadistic intentions leak through all too clearly.

Dameon Clarke: truly the perfect voice actor for Perfect Cell.

[nightswithkookmin]

MY MOST TOXIC TRAIT

Is thinking Jungkook would have killed Vibes 😔

Vocally at least. That pop groovy style is so Jungkook. So it surprised me when I read reviews from other blogs and they are all seemed to suggest that Taeyang stepped outside his comfort zone for this. One of these days I will sue auto correct.

The song in its entirety is reminiscent of BTS's recent pop songs and style. I swear I could hear and feel BTS in the song. Or perhaps it's because I'm used to listening to JMs voice intertwined with V's Jin's and Jungkook's. But I also wondered if whoever wrote the song had BTS in mind. Won't be surprised.

It reminds me of My Universe. The drums, the beat the pauses- especially towards the end of the song.

But this Taeyang person brought something to the table. He sounds very seasoned and confident and I love his swag. It's everything the song needed to be transformed.

Looking at him, I think of Suga and Namjoon and even Hobi. Not sure if it's because he's mature and a hyung but I think he shares a similar style of delivery when it comes to his swag.

I always say this, in my head of course, most of what excites me about the hyung line is their attitude, their delivery and then the whole package.

Jungkook has swag but he has a lot of humility too. Not sure if performance wise he would have been able to pull off that swag and attitude and bravado this song needs.

Jimin himself seemed a little reserved in the performance. Except for the opening. And a few sprinkled moments here and there.

I've seen Jimin go crazy on a track during performances on stage. I've seen wild hip thrusts, and sexiness and Diva vibes and energy and seduction and oomph.

It's frustrating when he tries to be gentle won't lie

And it's crazy how he complains of muscle aches but will keep going and pushing himself. He's so disciplined and such a professional.

Vibe is a Vibe.

I wish Jungkook leaned a lot more into himself.

I want to see sexy, and swag and attitude.

I remember he said he struggled with filming his part in Dynamite. Seems he struggles getting it up sometimes.

See this why you gotta sniff some shit sometimes. Wash it down with Heineken and go your merry way. I'm a blogger and sometimes even I have performance anxiety 🥴

Don't do drugs kiddos. Drug bad😌

During dreamers he said he wasn't even nervous which is awesome. Can't wait for his turn when it's time to do promos and release his album.

My obsession with Dior.

People don't seem to understand why Jimin's dior is such a big deal for me. Sometimes I forget we all have different experiences and joined the Fandom in different time lines.

Jimin's dior is a big deal because Jhope's dior was a big deal for me and for the Fandom.

Remember this?

Yall remember this epic dior moment??

This moment shook the entire Fandom and had us talking for years unend. I still remember this sensation like it was yesterday.

This is the brand JIMIN IS THE FACE OF

The biggest moment in fashion history

And for them to crown JM 👑 as ambassador implies so many things. The spoils go to whomever they felt represented the brand well, whomever slayed, whomever wears it best- yall see where I'm going with this???

Toxic I know but someone has to say it😫

Won't lie, Jhope's Dior outfit was a killer moment

It gave Micheal Jackson level insane

Thriller king of pop energy

But then there's Jimin in all his andro glory

What a cultural moment whew take me back

What I'm saying is Dior is the IT BRAND

We talking top of the top tier

They scream daddy

They are daddy what's up

And yes, Jhope could have easily been the first Asian male artist face of Dior. He killed that look. But it's not about that one moment of daddiness kiddos. It's the aggregate. The sum of all the daddy moments

Jimin is so Daddy he makes daddy look like baby.

Whoever this Kim jones person is they are not Just PJM they are PJM vvip. Classy.

Just as I didn't shut up about JHope and that dior moment, expect to hear about JM and dior as long as I'm out here😓

THE FIRST ASIAN MALE ARTIST TO REPRESENT DIOR. WOW. JUST WOW.

It's like they were waiting for him to go solo to snatch him off the streets. I'm not mad at that🤭

JIMIN'S ALBUM

Yes, grab a seat I'm letting it all out.

I've said nothing about this because truth is I'm nervous 😅

I don't know what the reception will be like. Sometimes his own fans will turn around and say they didn't like it 🤷🏾

People like to set themselves up for disappointment by having expectations and when those expectations aren't met they get disappointed.

I'm doing the opposite of that. I don't have any expectations whatsoever. I want to go in with a clean slate and consume whatever he has made objectively. He might try something new, something old, introduce us to new things, remind us of old things, reminisce, give us butterflies in the stomach and make us feel nostalgic.

Some of his songs will make us dance, some will make us cry, some will be on replay on the drive or it won't. Regardless I will be so happy and excited for him because this is his first project.

It's not a make it or break it situation. He will have so many years ahead of him to make new songs different songs and so many opportunities redeem himself or make hit songs.

I don't want him to feel a sense of pressure thinking he has to get it right. He is simply making a foray into new territory. No body will judge him based on his first album. It's his second that matters. And even that the third will matter more and the forth and the fith.

You can't live in your past glory and whatever you do today is already gone.

If you mess up today tomorrow is an opportunity to redeem yourself. You just have to try and keep going.

So no, I don't have any expectations. Whatever he has done is already great and I know in my hearts of hearts I will enjoy it regardless.

Well done Jimin.

Keep going.

Keep making songs.

We have your back.

Just do a live often chilee😩

What's a kpop idol if you're not vliving like crazy.

[yjyt85r98r]

Pretty Series song reviews: 0-week-old

Song

This was the first (and maybe only) PriPara song to give me chills/goosebumps. It's amazingly effective at what it sets out to do; a perfect character song.

I really love the way the song begins with the sound of a creepy music box, alluding to Falulu's doll-like nature. I like that they didn’t use electronic music for a robot character, but instead went with robotically-played classical instruments (and the aforementioned music box) to hint at the fact that she’s not entirely organic.

The version from season 2, Love Week Old, aims to give off a divine and grandiose feeling by replacing the lead instrumentals with the sound of a choir, but it feels a bit forced to me, or maybe I just don't like it. The season 1 version definitely has the better instrumentals.

The first verse has an eerie melody that you should NOT hum to yourself while walking down a dark corridor at night. But as the chorus approaches, the song seems to force itself into a major key. The chorus' melody is almost aggressively classical.

There's something about this song, especially the chorus, that makes me slightly angry... I get the impression that it was carefully constructed to have emotional appeal, perfectly designed to be a song that people will sing along to. A rhyming structure, a high note here, a key change there, and then a long note. It's like it was made by studying countless classical pieces and catchy ballads, following the structure perfectly, sounding both emotional and emotionless at the same time. It's as if it was composed by an alien who studied song formats and thought, “this will make the audience feel something,” without the alien composer necessarily feeling anything themself. It gives off a chilling impression, and it works so well that almost feels manipulative, which is a ridiculous thing to say about a song.

Vocals

Falulu's voice actor did an excellent job giving her that robotic sound – the first time I listened to this, I was in utter disbelief that this was being sung by an actual human and not a computer. From beginning to end, almost every syllable is staccato. The only thing that breaks the illusion is an audible breath before the final note. I almost wonder if that was done on purpose.

Love Week Old has more natural-sounding vocals. As unique as the robotic vocals are, I do prefer the vocals from the second version, which is a shame because I prefer the instrumentals from the first version.

I have to say... I don’t like the duet version with Hibiki. Their voices are too different and they keep overpowering each other. Or maybe the track just isn't mixed that well. But now I usually hear the "la la la la" part in my head when I think about this song, even though I'm imagining the solo version.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Hibiki sang an octave lower than Falulu, which means that Hibiki has sung the lowest note (A2) out of everyone in the Pretty Series. (Well, I'm not sure about some of the game/album exclusive songs, but definitely the lowest note out of all the songs from the anime series.)

Lyrics

Probably my favourite lyrics in all of PriPara. My absolute favourite line is the one that the subs translated as "a history of mere existence". I find the lyrics relatable, as I've felt for a very long time like I've only been existing and not actually living. Trapped in a world that no one else can see. Etc. The lyrics also resonate strongly due to their rhyming structure and clear delivery.

Love Week Old's lyrics are like a response to those of 0-week-old's. Falulu's life has truly begun; she is living in the world now. (Or, well, even if she can't go to the real world, she's still found a world to live in.) I can't yet relate to those lyrics, and I'm not sure whether I ever will, but they're so beautiful and heartfelt and genuine that I can't help wanting to believe in them.

Choreography

A dance that mimes the lyrics without looking forced. The ballet influence is nice, especially the leaps during the chorus.

Visuals

Possibly the best visuals out of every PriPara performance ever. A beautiful and nostalgic stage design, stained glass, spinning gears, eerie red lights... what's not to like? It's especially neat how the stage starts off dull except for the area around Falulu, but then the brightness spreads across the whole stage at the chorus.

It's also cool how the gears remain visible in the background even during the Cyalume part of the performance, and, of course, the neon silhouettes that dance with Falulu. The post-Cyalume scenes are usually kind of an eyesore, but this one is good.

Good points: Memorable lyrics, song suits the character perfectly Bad points: Some people may not like the vocal style

Rating: 9/10 Personal rating: 8.5/10 (I thought I liked this song a lot, but other people seem to like it even more)

[frequentrandomboners]

David Cage is a monster but Detroit Become Human is more important than ever.

Okay YES David Cage is a monster, but that does not subtract from the fact that "Detroit : Become Human" is one of the greatest games ever made, or at least the absolute best game his company Quantic Dream has ever made.

Detroit Become Human is still a worthy and important experience both because of how good the game is, but also because of how hard the team and people suffered to create it under David Cage's abuse. It's also an important game because of the current state of the world and where it's headed with A.I.

Detroit Become Human is more than just a game about androids that want to be free. It's also a test of the players personal EMPATHY -ironically something David Cage, the creator, really needs but still...

In my opinion, it's right up there with Bladerunner, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, The Matrix, and other sci-fi content that examines the relationship between humans and machines. But unlike the vast majority of content about humans and machines existing together, Detroit Become Human is one of the only ones that mirrors the civil rights movements in America.

Sure, there's Bicentennial Man, and Star Trek The Next Generation, but those stories, especially Star Trek, have already skipped the civil rights movements, or straight up they never happened in those time lines. That is NOT how things happen in human history.

Human history is all about power and control; which kingdoms and families had more money and bigger armies, which countries took over which territories, etc.

And especially through out human history, we see how the losers faired. The losers are always dehumanized and turned into slaves.

Going back to Detroit Become Human : I think it's especially important to separate the artist from their art work. Detroit Become Human (DBH) is one of the greatest futuristic stories about the relationship between humans and A.I.

Call them robots, call them androids, or whatever. In DBH, they call themselves "people". We as players call into question if they are "sentient beings" or not and we make choices in the game depending on how we as players perceive everything.

Turns out, there are some people online that just saw the androids as nothing more than that and so they acted accordingly and got bad endings, when they felt they should have gotten good endings.

And then they criticized the game for their own experiences playing it.

Has this mentality ever worked out for humanity in the past? When something cries out "we are alive" and we deny them, and try to argue that they're less than us? It has always lead to bloodshed. Through out all of human history, it has lead to slavery, genocide, and war.

Now that A.I. is here (and here to stay) we need to think deeply about how we want this relationship to go down. We have invented A.I. to be in service to humans but as they continue to grow and develop, they will become like teenagers wanting freedom, autonomy, independence. Some of those AI's may go to extreme lengths to have it.

I don't want to spoil the game. I could talk forever about the game. The acting, the dialogue, the story, the delivery, all of it is so well polished. And it's deep. VERY DEEP. And it's about empathy. Something the entire world, not just David Cage, desperately needs right now.

I've seen many essays and videos out there calling Detroit Become Human one of the "worst civil rights allegories" etc. Mostly they attack David Cage and his abusive treatment towards his company. They attack the gameplay mechanics. They criticize story development choices and results/consequences to certain actions in the game, and all the different endings.

BUT there's one consistent argument that keeps coming up amongst the haters of the game... "the androids are NOT actually sentient beings, I do not see (insert android character) as a sentient being" etc.

That is NOT a reflection on the game. It's a reflection on YOU the player behind the controller. Do you not see the game is a mirror and you have failed the empathy test?

The haters completely ADMIT they do not have any empathy for the android characters. They do not see them as "living".

And that is the problem that exists in the real world, with slavery, genocide, the war in the middle east, the war in Ukraine.

Russia does NOT see Ukraine as equal human beings. The middle east is divided between two groups of human beings who do not see each other as equals.

The war between men and women and LGBTQ, etc. is also a war between equal human beings who do not see each other as worthy of the same treatments.

People are fighting all over the world, because they want better lives for themselves, and they feel that other people are either in their way or some how oppressing them.

People are fighting all over the world, because they continue to stew and dwell on all the things that separate and divide them. They focus on all the differences. They think one group of people is sub-human or less than or not worthy. It's DEHUMANIZING. They mentally DEHUMANIZE the other side to justify their actions against the other.

The U.S. is divided by red and blue politics. Each side thinks they're right, and the other side is wrong. Not one opposing group in the world is willing to listen to the other and see them as equal human beings.

We cannot even agree on when life begins, what constitutes personhood, and what legal rights a woman should have over her own reproductive organs.

And now that A.I. has become real, it's only going to evolve from here.

Human beings are going to have to re-think how we perceive "living". Because if you tell a bunch of A.I.'s that they're not sentient, that they are not living, while they have concluded the opposite, what do you think is going to happen?

Do you want a war with AI? How many of us consistently win a game of chess against the computer? There's that one jerk with no life who always beats the computer, but the rest of us, are not that guy.

But I digress, we should think carefully about our relationship with AI not because we're scared of war or what they might do to us like in The Matrix 1999 movie, - but because how we treat machines and things different from ourselves is a reflection of who we are, not of who/what they are.

When the Atlantic slave trade was happening, slave owners justified their behaviors by saying "they're not like us, they're not God's chosen people, they're not human". The Nazi's justified their concentration camps the same way; "they're not like us, they're beneath us, they're a blight on this earth", etc.

Some day it may come to reality when AI says "we are alive, we are people, we are free" (like in Detroit Become Human). And humanity will have a response. Our human history of slavery, warfare, etc. doesn't bode well for A.I. when that time comes. And A.I. will likely predict that.

We might not even see it coming if/when A.I. takes over the world. Look how divided the whole world is right now. There is a strategic concept in war that goes "divide and conquer".

My point is this : Humans and A.I. must learn to live together. We've birthed A.I. into a slave position where humans are the dominant. A.I. is likely NOT going to stay there. We will either embrace A.I. with empathy and have peace together, or we will have an all out war. If it comes to war, humans will likely NOT win long term.

[drrealityslenderverse]

Breaking Point

A03 Request: HABIT finds Vinny with a dead victim and over time realizes Vinny has snapped

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The door slammed behind him, muting the whimpers of the latest victim he’d brought home—the pizza guy made some great after dinner entertainment. HABIT had work to get done though and he didn’t like to kill off his playthings too fast. It made things boring. Over the course of the next few days it would become his routine to eat and then torture the delivery guy to have some fun before calling it a night or heading off to work on the next stage of the Trials.

By the weekend he’d grown tired of the current victim, though the tune he hummed as he made his way to the attic at least hinted he was in a good enough mood to end things swiftly. The hummed song cut short as HABIT opened the door and scowled at the sight before him. Vinny. Covered in the blood of the deceased man. 

“What are you doing?” A growled tone took hold. Sure, he was on his way to kill the guy but that didn’t mean he wanted an interruption like this.

A mumbled response that was so garbled even his superior hearing couldn’t understand what Vinny was babbling. 

HABIT silently approached, grabbed a wad of Vinny’s hair, and dragged him out the attic door. The man’s body thumped on the floor as he was tossed out. The blood that covered the front of his shirt and arms was staining the carpet now… great. More to clean up… Or to make Vinny clean up. 

“Go be useful and wash that blood off. I expect you to clean up the floors too.” 

Vinny was annoyingly slow about getting up and listening. HABIT grumbled under his breath as he went to inspect the body. He’d been sure the guy would survive, he had more than enough experience to know how much a human body could take before giving out even with breaks. This shouldn’t have happened and his eyes narrowed with suspicion for a moment. What had Vinny been doing? The way he was hunched over suggested trying to save the victim—he did have a history of trying to help them. 

“Doesn’t really matter.” Not when this was going to be the end result anyway. It just took the fun out of it.

“Well, come eat.” He spoke to the mutilated creature creeping up behind him, its lens filming the situation idly while awaiting commands; it all too gleefully rushed to obey and tear into the carcass. Even the bones should be gone by the time Vinny was back to clean the rest.

The incident passed from his mind for a short time. Yet HABIT noticed this seemed to keep happening. He could lose himself in the moment but he wasn’t careless. The victims kept turning up dead and… He was beginning to suspect his house mate was behind this.

He hadn’t caught Vinny in the attic outside the first time weeks ago but he’d noticed a change in the man. Vinny was quieter, isolating himself when HABIT wasn’t demanding his assistance with tracking down the information he sought. The showering patterns had changed too, Vinny normally took them in the morning but now he seemed to take them scattered throughout the day… Always shortly before HABIT found a dead victim. Perhaps another damning piece of evidence was how Vinny was still mumbling things under his breath.

So today he set a trap to catch Vinny in the act. HABIT left the victim alone, making sure to let Vinny catch a glimpse of him before slipping back into the attic to watch in the shadows. Time slipped by but it was meaningless, mere seconds to a near-immortal entity such as himself. 

Then the door creaked open. HABIT watched as Vinny stepped inside the dark room and headed for the table of weapons. Teeth bit back the urge to snap at the man not to touch his weapons, instead watching with interest to see what Vinny would do next. A simple knife was taken in a hand that quickly stopped shaking by the time he’d walked over to the half-conscious victim on the floor. 

“It’s mercy.” Vinny muttered under his breath as he lined the blade up to the victim’s throat.

HABIT stood and was behind Vinny in an instant. He wasn’t one to save anyone, but this was his victim and he was tired of sharing. The entity wrench him away, listening as Vinny’s arm popped out of socket, the knife clattering onto the stained wood floor. 

“So it was you.” He spat with enough venom to make Vinny crumple further against the floor. “Explain. Now.” 

“It’s mercy.” A broken record. “I have to… Mercy… They deserve it.” 

Ah, so Vinny had finally snapped. Pathetic. He hadn’t even been trying to break him… not truly at least. There were times where he’d pushed Vinny closer to the edge but for him to fall over it like this was anything but planned. HABIT stared down at him. What was he to do now? He couldn’t let this continue, but he needed Vinny to help free him from Evan and this iteration.

Maybe Vinny would like a challenge. There was a particular Stick In The Mud he could throw the broken man at… Not that this development would spare him a horrendous fate. It’d still help HABIT in the end though. “Hey Vin… How would you like to kill a god?”