#also yeah its nearing 4:30

[milkweedman]

Genuinely spending 2 hours a day just prepping the fiber, RIP

To be fair at least a third of that time is pushing the executive function button so I can start the next nest. They're unfortunately one of those activities that has enough steps that each one feels like it's own separate thing, so I have to Start Task each damn time. So there's a 5-10 minute cooldown between them.

Got 9 nests, I think (on top), middle is some fleece that's already had a lot of locks picked out so it's kind of jumbled, bottom is combing waste.

[violentdelightsandviolentends]

Western Nights.

You don't expect to bump into your dad's best friend Javier in a church basement on the outskirts of town. You also didn't expect to fall in love with him. Life seems to be full of surprises - and Javier was the biggest surprise of all.

Pairing - Dad'sBestFriend!Javier Peña x Female Reader

Age Rating - 18+

Word Count - 3.6k

Warnings - cursing. sexual content at the end. talk and themes of PTSD. brief mention of domestic abuse. several mentions of panic attacks. age gap (but all very legal and consensual). smut in future chapters.

Author's Note - it's finally here!! i've had this idea for so long and i'm so glad to finally put pen to paper. the dads best friend trope is one of my biggest weaknesses and javier peña is my favourite character ever, so naturally this was born. this fic will tackle some topics that may be a little tough for some people, so make sure to read the warnings!! can't wait to get this up on its feet and running, and for javi and peaches story to develop <3

as always, reblogs, comments and feedback (even anonymous feedback!) are immensely appreciated!! <3

Masterlist. Requests.

Series Masterlist. The Playlist.

Healing isn't linear. Recovery is a journey. This is a choice I have to make. No one else can make it for me.

You're repeating reassurances to yourself in your mind as you descend the stairs to the basement.

It's dimly lit, and it takes your eyes a minute to adjust. When they do, you're able to make out an old, heavy, oak wood lectern at the front of the room. Rows of flimsy plastic chairs are set almost as an audience, and tables line the edges. The carpet is worn, beige, and stained, the entire space smelling like must and bad coffee. You wonder how many girls like you have stepped foot in here in the past.

You pull the sleeves of your sweater down over your wrists and stick to the back wall, willing yourself to become invisible. Watching as people mill in slowly, you take a deep, steadying breath. In for 4. Hold for 4. Out for 6.

"Hi!" a middle aged, dyed blonde, motherly woman screeches at you. The cadence of her voice makes you jump.

"Sorry, sweetpea! Didn't mean to scare you," she looks you up and down before continuing. "You're new here, ain't ya?"

Her southern accent, albeit very high pitched, is somewhat comforting. It's something familiar in this room full of the unknown.

"Yeah," you just about manage to choke out.

She surveys you again, this time with no judgment. You realise she's just trying to figure you out, as you are her.

"If you need anything, just come find me. I'm Primrose."

You smile gently at the floral moniker, and decide that Primrose might be some much needed support. Her motherly aura was calming you ever so slightly.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, if we could all talk a seat, that'd be fantastic."

A tall, curly haired man - who can't be more than 30 - wearing a name tag sticker that reads 'Tobias' has taken his place behind the lectern, gesturing at everyone to sit down. You pick a chair near the back, slouching down and ducking your head.

"Wonderful. Hi, everyone."

A chorus of hellos echoes around the room, everyone clearly used to this routine.

"For anyone who's new here, I'm Tobias, but everyone calls me Tobi. I've been a Priest for the last five years, and I've been running this group for the last two. Usually, how it works is that we get a few people to come up and speak through their experiences."

Your chest tightens, and you have to remind yourself to keep breathing. As if he sees your panic, Tobi continues.

"Most people find that being able to talk freely and without judgment is a useful coping mechanism. PTSD is complex, and it isn't something that can ever be fully 'cured' - but we can find ways to make things easier. You're in a room full of ladies and gentlemen that might not understand your experience, but definitely understand your feelings."

He catches your eyes across the depth of the room and smiles gently. You muster up the strength to smile back cautiously, and he nods before speaking again.

"Some just come here to listen. Others find it beneficial to talk. No one is going to pressure you, judge you, or scald you. This is a safe space. Share as much or as little as you'd like. Okay?"

Everyone nods and murmurs in agreement. Tobi seems to have a way of reassuring the entire room without really trying. He's calming, tender hearted, genuine. You like him already.

"Who wants to start?"

Primrose shoots up out of her chair on the front row and makes her way to the front. Tobi squeezes her shoulder as she passes, and she beams at him.

"Hi, y'all! I'm Primrose."

The room is clearly familiar with the blonde ball of excitement. Everyone yells greetings at her, her energy almost infectious.

"Most of you know my story, but just in case you don't -"

Her eyes flit to you briefly, and she smiles. You half smile back, relaxing slightly.

"I was in a marriage where I suffered domestic abuse. He used to hit me, manipulate me, call me names. You think it, he did it."

She takes a breath, putting the smile back on her face where it's faltered.

"I have some news to share. I'm engaged!"

A few people jump out of their seats to hug her, congratulating her with pats on the back and yelled excitement.

"Thank y'all, thank y'all! I couldn't wait to tell you guys. I just... I never thought that I could ever be happy again. I certainly never thought that I'd ever find the courage to be with another man, after everything. But I've found someone amazing. And he treats me like a queen. So, to anyone who's new here - it is possible. I promise you. Y'all better help me pick out a dress!"

The room erupts into applause, and Primrose smiles so bright you're surprised the lights don't shatter.

After Primrose, an elderly man named Walter takes the stage. He explains his experience in the military, and the trauma and violence he witnessed for years. You learn that he's a recovering alcoholic, who wasn't had a drink for 9 years. He shakes slightly where he stands, leaning against the cane in his hand. You can tell he's lived through hell.

Finally, after Walter, Tobi stands at the lectern. He's the sole survivor of a car accident that killed his two best friends. After struggling to cope, he turned to God, and became a Priest to better help people just like him in his community. He speaks with such ease, such grace. A wave of calm sweeps over the room as everyone listens intently.

He checks the brown leather strapped watch on his right wrist before clicking his tongue.

"Well, folks, that's all the time we have for today! Feel free to stick around and chat to each other, as always. There's coffee and cookies on the table, and Janet made some of her famous honey loaf too. Thanks for coming. Same time next week?"

Everyone agrees in shouts and thumbs up directed towards the front. Slowly, people rise, stacking their chairs away before making their way over to the table where the coffee sits next to the styrofoam cups.

You remain seated for a little longer, catching your breath. Your teeth are digging into your bottom lip, knawing at it anxiously. You suddenly taste pennies, and lick up the blood quickly with your tongue.

Standing up shakily, you fold your chair at its hinges and add it to the stack at the front of the room. A yawn overtakes you, tiredness suddenly settling into your bones.

Coffee. You need coffee.

You make your way over to the tables, timidly smiling at Primrose as she shows off her ring to a small group of people. Just as you reach over and grab an empty cup, you become suddenly aware of a presence behind you.

"Don't drink that."

A warm, rich, booming voice hits your ears. The large, looming presence comes a little closer, towering over you.

"Trust me, honey. It's the worst coffee you'll ever taste in your life."

You know that voice, it's familiar timbre.

Javier Peña.

You turn around to be met with the sight of him peering down at you intently. He's wearing a flannel and blue jeans, heavy boots on his feet. He smells like musk, sandalwood, and the Texan heat.

God, he looks good. He's strikingly handsome. Objectively attractive. Everyone in your town agrees that Javier Peña is one beautiful man.

And seemingly unattainable. Since leaving Lorraine at the altar years ago, no one has heard any word of Javier so much as dating.

"Such a waste," your mom always says. "Gorgeous man like that. He could have anyone he wants!"

And it's true. Chocolate hair, broad shoulders, strong thighs. The man is a heartthrob.

A heartthrob with a secret, apparently.

"Javier?" you question. "What are you doing here?"

It's now you realise that he's here. At the meeting. You've done such a good job of keeping your head down, going relatively unnoticed. And now, staring down at you, is your dad's best friend. So much for covert.

He must see the realisation on your face. Or maybe he notices the way your breathing quickens. Either way, he places a warm palm on your shoulder, looking at you carefully.

"Hey. It's okay," he reassures. "I won't tell if you won't."

You nod meekly, trying to stay calm. In for 4, hold for 4, out for 6.

The basement suddenly feels too small, too dark, too stuffy. The carpet is too scratchy, the chairs too hard, the table too white. You need to get out before your chest caves in.

"You know, if you still want coffee, there's a diner like ten minutes from here. They do really good pie," Javier tells you, distracting you from your impending panic attack.

You take a breath and nod.

"Yeah. Okay. I like pie."

"Come on," he encourages, gesturing at you to lead the way. "Walk with me."

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

You and Javier walk steadily side by side in silence, fingers occasionally accidentally brushing each other. After it happens twice, you decide to put your hands in your pockets the rest of the way, ignoring the warmth that radiates off him.

You eventually arrive at Cherry Pie Diner. The neon sign is blinding, shades of bright pink, yellow and blue flashing and flickering. Inside, the white overhead lights illuminate classic red leather booth seats and waitresses in pinafore aprons.

"Here we are. When you go in, ask for JoJo. She'll take care of you," he winks.

You stand stuck in your place on the sidewalk for a minute, processing his words.

"You're not coming in?"

He seems taken aback by your question. Now he's the one processing.

"You... uh - you want me to?"

"I, uh, yeah. I mean... if you're not busy... I just, uh - nevermind. Sorry. Forget I said anything."

"I didn't want to overstep, you know, it, uh- But if it's okay with you... I could do with some coffee."

Javier smiles at you gently, gauging your reaction. When you smile back hesitantly, he pushes open the door to the diner, gesturing at you to head inside.

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

"What looks good, honey?"

You raise your eyes from the menu you were staring at intently to quirk your brow at Javier.

"Hmm?"

"I asked if anything looked good," he repeats kindly.

"I, um, I'm not sure. What do you recommend?"

"The peach pie," he says without hesitation.

The quick response makes you laugh, the melody of it tugging at Javier's heart strings. He realises, sadly, that he hasn't heard that sound in a hell of a long time.

"Listen, I know it's not anyone's go to," he justifies, "but it's honestly the best thing on the menu. There's nothin' like it."

"Okay," you say with complete certainty. "Peach pie it is."

JoJo is a bubbly, Southern woman with rosy cheeks and a smile that never seems to falter. She takes your orders happily, flirting with Javier like you weren't sat watching, confusion and awkwardness plastered across your face.

"You two seem close," you approach gently, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, I know her husband. JoJo's been serving me here for at least 10 years. Peach pie, every time," he laughs.

"I'm usually a cherry pie girl. Maybe you'll convert me."

You both sip steadily at your coffees, humming in contentment at your first bites of pie. Halfway through your slice, you break the silence.

"Okay, fine. This might be the best pie I've ever had."

"I told you," he smirks. "I'll never lead you wrong, honey. Promise. Not where pie is concerned, anyway."

You finish off your slices in comfortable quiet, neither of you quite sure what to say next.

"So, uh... about tonight..." you begin nervously.

"I won't tell anyone I saw you, cariño. I swear."

You breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Javi. Really."

Javi. The nickname so rarely used, it makes his heart stutter for a second.

"You're... you're not gonna ask what I was doing at that meeting?"

He tilts his head slightly, gazing at you carefully before replying.

"If you wanted to tell me, you would. I'm not gonna push you. These things take time."

He smiles like he knows. You think, maybe, he does.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, sweetheart."

A breath. In for 4, hold for 4, out for 6.

"Was that your first meeting too?"

He shakes his head, soft curls rippling.

"I've been going for a few months. I sneak out of town every week, so I'm pretty sure Chucho thinks I'm having a secret love affair. He doesn't ask questions."

You both laugh, and JoJo's head whips up, her curiosity peaked. She's never heard Javier laugh like this. Sure, he chuckles at her jokes, but the sound doesn't usually reach the corners of the room like that.

"He'd probably love it if you were, you know. Your love life is often a topic of conversation in my house, among many others in our neighbourhood."

He scoffs, and kicks your foot under the table teasingly.

"Man, nothing happens in that damn town, does it?"

"Nothing at all. Think we're overdue a secret love affair from you, Mr Peña. It might liven things up a little."

"Shut it, you," he chuckles, rolling his eyes.

You pull the sleeves of your sweater back down over your wrists again.

"I haven't seen you in a while. Think my dad is starting to get worried, you know."

A deep crease appears between his brows abruptly, hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah. I've just been busy, I guess. Tryna sort my shit out," he snickers dryly, no real humour in it.

"So did you do it?"

"Hmm?"

"Sort your shit out?"

Now he laughs genuinely, bright smile gracing his cheeks.

"Absolutely fucking not."

"Man, I know the feeling," you reassure.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Your breathing speeds up slightly, eyes darting around the room. Javier notices, reaching across the booth to grab your hand. He intertwines his fingers with yours, thumb rubbing comforting patterns on your skin. You take a deep breath. In for 4, hold for 4, out for 6.

"I feel like... like I'm... uh...," he nods at you reassuringly, squeezing your hand a little tighter. "I feel like I'm drowning. I'm barely keeping my head above water at any given moment. And I'm tired, Javi. Fuck, I'm tired."

A warm, salty tear escapes you, running down your cheek. Javi leans forward and brushes it away with his thumb, big brown eyes never leaving yours.

"It's okay, cariño. You're okay," he murmurs. "I get it. God, I get it."

"You do?" you sniffle.

"I do," he confirms. "More than you could ever know. And I know how lonely it feels. But I promise you, sweetheart. You're not alone. Not anymore."

His voice is like warm honey, soothing and golden. It melts into you, releases some of the tension from your shoulders. The tightness in your chest loosens slightly, and you take a deep breath. You find the courage to look at him again, and find that he hasn't taken his eyes off you once. His gaze is like an anchor, tethering you to reality. You surprise yourself by not wanting to shy away from the intensity of it. No, you want more.

Javier lets go of your hand to trace his fingertips up your forearm. He draws patterns carefully, as if he's learning every inch of you, committing you to memory. Like he isn't sure when he'll get to touch you like this again. If he'll get to touch you like this again.

You're still looking at each other, neither of you gathering the courage to look away. It's as if Javi is reading the words off the very surface of your soul. You're not sure you've ever felt so understood in your life. It terrifies you.

Without thinking, you grab a hold of Javier's hand and raise it to your lips, kissing each of his knuckles gently. The tenderness makes his heart ache.

"Hermosa," he sighs almost wistfully.

The sound of his voice snaps you back to the present moment.

"I'm sorry," you stutter, letting go of him. "Fuck, Javi, sorry. I don't - oh, I... fuck."

"Why do you do it?" he asks.

"Do... do what?"

"Apologise for everything. Every other word out of your mouth is 'sorry'," he chuckles affectionately.

"Sorry," you mumble without thinking. You pause, registering your words. The two of you break out into laughter, clutching at your stomachs.

"Are you?"

"Am I...?"

"Are you sorry? Or do you just say it because you think people want to hear it? You can't apologise for your entire existence, cariño."

You look into those warm, chocolate eyes, and realise he's read you for filth. He's right.

"I'm not sorry," you whisper.

He quirks a brow and nods attentively, urging you to continue.

"For... for what I just did. I'm not sorry."

You're praying that he understands what you're trying to say. I'm not sorry for my tender gesture. I'm not sorry for this connection we've made. I'm not sorry for my soft heart.

"I'm not either," he replies, barely above a murmur. You hear him, clear as day.

You reach out, this time, and interlock your fingers with his across the table. His large hand envelopes yours, and he squeezes. It effects you more than it probably should.

JoJo drops a plate behind the counter, the red and white china shattering across the checkerboard floor. The smash snaps you both out of the moment, making you jump. Your heart kicks into overdrive, battering against your ribcage.

"Hermosa, it's alright. Just a plate."

You hear him, but your nervous system doesn't seem to want to cooperate. Your breaths become laboured and frantic, and your hold on Javi's hand tightens almost painfully.

"Come on, Peaches, let's get out of here. It's getting late."

Javier stands from his bench seat and pulls you up with him, never once removing his fingers from where they're locked with yours. He shoots a smile over to JoJo, who returns it with glee. The two of you walk across the parking lot, hand in hand, illuminated by the neon light of the diner's sign. The colours dance across Javier's cheekbones, reflecting off the brush of his mustache, painting the rich brown warmth of his hair. He's never looked more handsome.

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

"Peaches."

"Hmm?" Javier asks from where he's leaning against the side of your car, back in the church parking lot.

"You called me Peaches. In the diner."

He nods, smirk etched on his streetlit face.

"Because of the pie."

"Because of the pie," he echoes.

"I like it," you confess quietly. "Peaches."

Javier pushes off the vehicle and stands, towering over you. Without a second thought, he brushes a thumb over your cheekbone in a featherlight touch.

"Sweet like peaches," he murmurs. "Too fuckin' sweet for a world like this one."

You look up at him, breath catching in your throat when you meet his eyes. He's gazing at you with adoration. With tenderness. With so much softness. Your knees go weak with the weight of it all.

It hits you, suddenly. The realisation.

You want to kiss him.

You want to kiss Javier Peña.

You want to kiss him more than you've ever wanted to kiss anyone in your entire life.

You're stood in the parking lot of a church on the outskirts of town with your dad's best friend and you're feeling the closest thing to happy you've felt in months.

You take a step forward, closing the gap between you. The warmth radiating from the older man settles itself in your bones, shielding you from the chill of the night. Just as you tilt your face up towards his, your phone buzzes.

Jumping apart as if you've been caught, you check your messages with shaky hands.

"It's my mom. She thinks I'm with a friend, so she's just checking in. She doesn't like it when I drive in the dark."

The mention of your mother snaps Javier out of his peachy haze.

"You should get back, cariño. It's late. Sorry for keeping you."

"Now who's apologising for no reason?"

He laughs, and you feel like you've won a gold medal. An achievement in its own right.

You climb into the drivers seat of your car, starting up the engine. Just as you're about to leave, Javi taps on the window. You roll it down.

"Same time next week, Peaches?"

"Same time next week, Javi."

You drive away with a smile on your face and a warmth in your stomach, the taste of peach still lingering on your lips. You notice that Javier drives behind you steadily, following you carefully to make sure you get home safe.

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

You're staring at the ceiling.

You're plagued by insomnia.

According to the Internet, it goes hand in hand with your PTSD. You make a mental note to work up the courage to ask Tobi about it in the next meeting.

You lie in bed, watching as the sunlight slowly illuminates the room. Usually, you'll make a cup of tea, read a book, watch a TV show. Pace around the room like a caged animal. Count sheep. Do yoga. Listen to music.

Tonight, you take a different approach.

Tonight, you slip a hand under the waistband of your underwear, and replay the way Javi murmured your name in the diner on repeat.

It does the trick.

@frogers @farintonorth @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog @pedrobaby @grace46 @harriedandharassed

[stone-stars]

Transcript:

Zirk: But I know this much, Mom, I-- I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna make it real. I've got a couple leads, I've got more knowledge than I've ever had, I learned a lot while I was away. I think I know how to make the All-Cure Elixir. It's gonna take a lot of work, like you said, and… I don't know if I can do it on my own, but I also don't know if I can trust you to help me. Caldwell: Um, while I'm working on this, I think that the way that this kind of-- the way that this looks visually is I'm… basically crafting like a metal music cylinder. [Murph: Mm!] 'Cause I feel like one of the things that this needs in addition to like, the complex spell work to cure wounds but also hold a body in stasis, kind of using some of Fia's time magic, is some sort of like… beacon. And I think that, as opposed to like the single chime of a bell, it needs almost like-- a song. And as I'm like tinkering with this I turn to Hank and I say-- Zirk: Hank, that song you sang about Ill Luck Henry. That-- that was like a sea shanty, right? Henry: Yeah, yeah that's right. Zirk: Do you know any other sea shanties? I just need something that could maybe… help a soul find its way back. Caldwell: Zirk reaches into his pocket. And he pulls out a golden cylinder with little notches on it. And around that cylinder is wrapped a scroll with the instructions on it for how to replicate the Revivify spell. He presses it into Henry's hands, and then puts Fia's hands on top of that. Henry: Hey. You're the doctor, buddy. What are ya-- What are we gonna do with this? This-- Fia: Mister Zirk-- Zirk: Sometimes-- Fia: Mister Zirk we can handle her. We really can. Zirk: Sometimes you think that you're the ending of the equation, but in reality you're just the messenger. You're just there to get it to the right hands. It's been an honor being a Third Mate. Murph: So, Fia, Zirk gave you the stuff for Revivify. This is a near impossible task, the spell has not been cast in forever, normally this would be a DC 30, the DC for something that's near impossible, but since Zirk took it down 5 levels from level 9 to level 4, we'll take 5 off of it and make it a DC 25 arcana check. Emily: I got a fucking 27 right off the fucking bat. [Everyone laughs in relief.] Emily: Oh I didn't even [rolls] technically a 28. Murph: A 28. Caldwell: Oh, yeah. [Sighs in relief] Okay. Okay. Murph: Um, you see Fia goes over, reads-- reads the um, spell that Zirk has put together. Um, and for the first time since Old Zelbuldar was banished, a Revivify spell is cast. Um, you guys see Zirk on the ground, whose body has frozen… Zirk as you died, you felt like-- as if you had like hypothermia. You felt like, a warmth, and you just went to sleep, and then all of a sudden [gasps] you come back. [Zirk coughs. He continues gasping and coughing as Fia talks.] Emily: You wake up to me crying just being like-- Fia, distraught: It should've been you casting this spell. Why is it me? It should've been you, you did all this fucking work, for what? Me to waltz in and fucking do it? Henry: It works! Hey, it works! Fia: It should have been fucking you! It should have been fucking you! Henry: Hey-- Open you-- Open your eyes, Fia. Fia: What? Henry: It-- you did it Zirk. The All-Cure. [Fia breathes heavily, relieved.] Zirk, weakly: They should call you… Doctor Fia. [Henry and Fia laugh.] Fia: I am not accredited. [Caldwell and Murph laugh.]

[jaslan4f1]

Love at 300 km/h Part 3

Masterlist

Warnings: friends to lover kinda thing, fluff & angst

Notes: english is not my native language so this may contain consistency errors, i would really appreciate the corrections but please, be kind. feedback is also appreciated ♡

Summary: You and Lando are close but neither of you tried being more than friends. What happens when you both finally realize that love is right infront of you?

As the plane landed all Lando could think about was asking about the Pierre situation. He wanted to hear it from you. He wanted to know the truth. He took out his phone and started texting you.

Lando: Can I come over, just landed btw?

Y/N: Sure thing. See you soon :)

After 30 minutes you heard a knock on your apartment. You opened the door and saw an exhausted version of Lando. “Hey come on in“ you said and made space so that he could pass you. You closed the door and followed Lando into your tiny living room. You looked at him and saw that he wanted to say something. “Look Y/n I wanna be honest with you.“ Lando begin speaking and both of you said on your couch. “If we’re going to cross that line and risk our friendship I want that we know everything about each other. No secrets, okay?“ you looked at him and nod. “Okay, because I can’t lose you, you are to important for me. I need you in my life. And I need to know the truth about you and Pierre“ he breathed out. Your eyes grew wide and you stopped breathing. Pierre how the hell did he know about Pierre? “Lando how did you“ you started “Does it matter? Y/n my heart calls your name, if I’m not near you its hard for me to breath but for god sake I need to know what happened with him and you.“ he shouted.

> 4 month ago <

Lando, the F1 grid and you were in a club and celebrated the end of the weekend. Lando was djing and you were on the dance floor enjoying yourself. You danced with Daniel and joked with him about Lando. “Yeah I don’t know why he did it.“ you shouted in his ear because of the loud music. Suddenly you felt someone tap your shoulder. You turned around. “Piiiieeeerrrreee Gaaaaassssllllyyy“ you and Daniel screamed. Pierre laughed and leaned in “Can I get you a drink?“. You accepted Pierres offer and drank many shoots with him. All you could remember was waking up in his hotel room, in his bed, naked. “Fuck“ you commented. A voice from the bathroom ended your thoughts how you ended up here and with who. “That’s exactly what we did“ he laughed. You slept with Pierre Gasly, shit. You both agreed to pretend that it never happened. 1 month later you were at a club in Monaco and Lando couldn’t come and pick you up. So you called Pierre because no one else picked up. After he brought you home you invited him in and one thing lead to another. Pierre and you agreed to become friends with benefits because you actually enjoyed speaking with him and the sex with him was just a bonus. After a while you realised that your feelings for Lando were becoming stronger so you ended it. Both of you agreed that you were better of as friends and that you that there where no feelings involved. That’s what you thought because Pierre actually had involved feelings for you.

> back to present <

“Y/n did you fuck Pierre? Talk to me“ he whispered. Tears stared forming in your eyes. “Fuck yes I did. And I know that you both don’t get along that well and I know I probably ruined it between us. I am just a human I make mistakes to Lando ok! I ended it because…“ you stopped. “Because of what?“ You stood up and stopped looking into his eyes. “Because of what Y/N?“ He asked again. You turned to him and looked at him. You opened your mouth and closed it again. “Y/n I swear to god. Because of what“ he raised his voice. You remained silent. “If you don’t talk then I will walk out of that door“ he stood up and walked to your front door. Lando was just seconds away from opening the door. “Because I have hella feelings for you and I’m only a fool for you“ you cried out. Lando turned around, looked at you and then walked to you and crashed his lips on yours. The kiss was far away from what you imagined it to be, but in a positive way. Feeling his soft lips on your was magically. After a few seconds you stopped kissing him. “I will tell you everything but you must know that I never had feelings for him. You’re the one that my heart wants since it saw you.“ You whispered and laid your forehead on his. Lando had mixed feelings. Lando adored you, he loved kissing you. Of course he believed you but he didn’t trusted Pierre and his actions. What if he still wanted you, would you choose him? But at the same time Lando was sad that you weren’t honest with him.

[leclerdelune]

Macau GP 70th Anniversary

YOU. YEAH YOU READING THIS. This is me trying to pursued you to go watch the Macau GP this weekend. This track is historic and legendary. And one of the most fun and dangerous street circuits (imo) with tight corners and varying elevations. It is still the oldest (active) street circuit that still holds F3 (+other races) and isn't part of the F1 World Championship (the other being New Zealand🤝)

Since it’s the 70th anniversary and they are holding two wholeass race weekends with a BANGER entry list this year (full list at the end of the post), so why not take a trip down memory lane and talk about some iconic races and drivers throughout the years. [LONG POST, just saying][Also, surprises underneath]

Macau Grand Prix, Guia Circuit (or Circuito da Guia)—a circuit that spans 6.120km, with different elevations over 30 meters top to bottom (in non-metric terms: 2 small pine trees, or 2 volleyball courts for all non-metric people out there👍). Top speed: 260km/h for an F3 car, which is already a handful. This circuit has had little to no changes since the beginning of its grand opening. While this track serves as a stepping stone for drivers, it remains an independent circuit and race of its own. Though still having an affiliate with the FIA.

Although the first race event began in 1954, they didn’t introduce F3 until 1983. Which they had a strong start for F3 with the likes of Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger, respectively taking first and third place.

A few years later; Eddie Irvine, Damon Hill, Jean Alesi also left their marks on this race track.

But the most iconic moment came in 1990. The battle of Schumacher vs Hakkinen. The beginning of their motor rivalry.

Schumi took first place while Mika unfortunately crashed out at the back of Schumi’s car.

Jenson Button (a literal child) in 1999, second place. God works hard but those mechanics work even harder

In 2003-2004, both Lewis and Nico took part, whilst Lewis took pole and they both showed great results in qualifying. Neither of them went on to podium in both years.

2005: baby Seb starting to shine through and took third at the main race, just behind Kubica

They put a baby in a fast car

2009: Daniel, Valtteri, and Jules took the challenge. Jules started near the back end of the grid but was steady racing and finished 10th. Valtteri started 4th, had the opportunity to be on podium until he got a puncture on the last lap that saw him finish fifth. Daniel-not the best start- clipped the wall and punctured his left rear, carried on a little bit more until he crashed out of the race :( can’t find any video cuz apparently no one cared enough about 2009

2011: Valtteri’s third year in a row; the previous got him third place but this one he retired the car on lap 4 due to an accident. Kmag, da Costa, Carlos participated but all in all, half the grid retired in the end.

Pre-mustache Bottas and baby redbull Carlos

Bloop! 2014: a wild baby Max appears! Boy had good results in qualifying, placing him third, but in the quali race he lost control and crashed. Main race-7th. Nick Cassidy, Nicki Latifi, Antonio Giovinazzi, Alex Palou finished 3rd, 5th, 12th and 16th. Unfortunately, Antonio Fuoco and Estie Bestie retired :(

Yes, Max did get the fastest lap

2015: Everybody’s favourite! Charles Leclerc has entered the ring. Charlie’s aggressive attack led him to second place and on that podium. Giovinazzi-4th, Lance Stroll-8th, Nick Cassidy-12th and following close behind, my boy, Alexander Albon-13th

The race was that good even FIA had to post it on their channel lol

The infamous onboard camera

2016: we see the introduction of George Russell, Landon Norris, Callum Ilott, Guanyu Zhou and Ticktum (But we’re not gonna talk about him🤭). It was an okay race, António Félix da Costa took first (came 9th in the recent WEC👏) and Nikita crashed.

That year gave us baby Lando and baby George who took his first pole *surprise🎉*

2017: A fucking great racing year, Lando came second due to Habsburg and Sette Câmara crashing out in the final corner. It’s Mick’s first year, though not the best result but did manage to snatch the fastest lap 💨

2018: it was a scary ass race and I remember standing in front of the TV just watching this. Lisboa corner is famously know for a lot of accidents, Sophia Flörsch made contact with another that send her airborne and crashed into the barriers and fractured her vertebrae. Final standing: Mick-5th, Ilott-7th, Schwartzman-9th, Zhou-11th, Vesti-15th

I’m not gonna post the video, you can go look it up if you’re interested

2019: a lot more familiar faces: Richard Verschoor, Jüri Vips (yeah that one), Logan Sargeant, Callum Ilott came back for another year, Liam Lawson with his bestie Yuki Tsunoda, Enzo Fittipaldi, Max Fewtrell🫡, David Schumacher, Felipe Drugovich, Schwartzman’s second attempt and Sophia Flörsch

3 years of absence and we are back! 2023!

This year there’s two whole weekends, from 11-12th November and 16-19th November. And they’ve a banger list of drivers like Bianca Bustamante for F4 and Richard Verschoor taking another stab at it.

Macau F4 race is happening on the 11-12th:

F4 is happening the week after on 16-19th

The FIA is streaming F3 on the YouTube channel (streaming f3 not f4🥲…go watch motor gp too it’s on the same day) but you could probably watch it on other streaming platforms too (you know the ones👀👀)

If you haven’t seen the Macau GP before…give it a go! It’s brilliant!

*side note: if Fernando or Lewis ever retires from f1 and have nothing else to do…I’d like to see them tackle this track (again for Lewis) maybe not f3, maybe something like GT cup or something. It would be verrrry interesting👀

[drowninginthoughts27]

7/9 Early Word Count: 1060

@jegulus-microfic

“James, what the fuck! It’s only 4:30 in the morning!” Regulus groans, shoving his head into his pillow.

“I’m going for a run, I'll be back by the time you wake up again, don’t worry,” James gently whispers

“Yeah but it’s so early, you usually don’t leave till closer to 5 am,” he groans, eyes pressed firmly shut.

“Yes but today is special, I wanted to get out of the house earlier,” He kisses Regulus quickly on the crown of his head and slips out the bedroom door before Regulus can process any of what James just said.

Quite frankly, he’s too tired to bother doing much thinking. So he nestles back into the covers and falls asleep rather quickly.

———

James has been working his ass off trying to organize this surprise for Regulus. Lots of planning and communication had to go into this to make everything absolutely perfect.

You see Regulus has wanted a pet cat for about as long as Regulus knew they existed. Even before James had met Regulus, Sirius would go on long tangents about how badly Regulus wanted a cat. But despite all this he’s never had one of his own.

Walburga didn’t approve of pets. To her Sirius and Regulus were close enough. And then Regulus had college. Working himself to the brink of exhaustion nearly every day to pass all his classes with picture perfect marks.

But with Regulus having just gotten his degree he now has much more time on his hands. Hence it being the perfect time for James and Regulus to start a new chapter of their life; getting a cat together.

James had been researching for a while now, longer than they had even been dating if he’s being honest. But recently he’s been looking more and more for the perfect cat for the two of them.

He knew Regulus would want to adopt a cat. Both of them really weren’t a huge fan of buying one through a breeder. James also knew Regulus wanted an older cat, one that wasn’t as welcome in its former home. One Regulus could relate to a bit more on that matter.

So James has spent almost all of the free time he had apart from Regulus researching cat adoption centers. He had narrowed it down to a local rescue center near where they lived. And he had reached out asking about the cat that had been in the facility’s care the longest.

That’s how he had ended up with a small female calico, 4 years in age. The poor cat had been between several houses, none of it the cat's fault at all.

He had arranged for the cat to be dropped off at 5:30 that evening. He had also decided to hold off on naming it; Regulus would want to do that.

But in preparation for the cat's arrival he has to buy the necessary supplies. He couldn’t have bought them earlier or Regulus would have gotten suspicious. So instead he opted to go out and buy everything after his morning run.

Thankfully there’s a pet store near their home. It’s at the end of the route he takes on his morning runs so it works out pretty well.

It opens at 7 in the morning. So hopefully he can get there after his run and be home at a bit before 8; about the same time as he normally would be.

———

It’s 5:28 now, the woman with the cat should be here shortly.

James had hidden all the cat supplies in his office before he went to go wake Regulus up.

He had gotten a litter box, food and water dishes, a variety of different cat toys, multiple cat beds (he didn’t know which one the beds she would prefer), and a plethora of other things necessary for cat parenting. He had even stood in the cat food aisle for a solid 15 minutes before an employee had helped him out, recommending a few different brands of food.

There’s a knock on the front door causing Regulus to look up from the book he had previously been reading.

“Who’s that?” He questions, shifting over from his spot on the couch to peer toward the general direction of the entrance way.

It takes James an immense amount of self control to contain his own excitement. He struggles profusely not to smile like a little kid on Christmas Day, but that’s what this all feels like to him. He’s very obviously extraordinarily giddy.

James gets up from his spot next to Regulus, shrugging in an attempt to appear nonchalant as he walks over to the door.

Sure enough there's a lady standing on the other side of the threshold. A cat carrier in one hand and a clipboard with paperwork clipped to it in the other.

“Regulus, sweetie,” he calls, “Come here, I have a surprise for you.”

Stepping out from the living rooms moment later, Regulus stops dead in his tracks. A distant look on his face and his skin getting increasingly more pale. For a second James worries that he fucked up immensely.

But all of those concerns are almost instantly dissolved as Regulus runs over to hug him rather suddenly. Burying his face in the crook of James’ neck.

“You got us a cat?” He mumbles

“Yup, I got us a cat. Well more like I got you a cat,” James chuckles.

Regulus looks up to acknowledge the lady and more importantly the cat.

With a smile on her face the lady speaks up, “Alright, so we just need to sign a bit more paperwork and then you guys should be good to go!” She says rather cheerily.

“Okay that sounds great! Come in, Come in!” James responds, ushering her into the house and into the kitchen.

———

The lady had just left and the cat has been let out of its carrier to start exploring its new forever home. Regulus remains seated at the kitchen counter and watches in awe as the cat slink curiously around the living room. Occasionally stopping to look into other rooms.

“So what are you gonna name her?”James asks, breaking the pleasant few moments of silence.

Without hesitation Regulus responds, a warm glow in his eyes, “I think the name Ophelia would suit her, don’t you?”

[mg549]

2018 vs 2023 gc2b binder comparison: is the quality really worse?

tldr: no

so, id heard that gc2b's quality had declined to the point of their binders being unsafe, but i was needing a new one (since my old one was getting pretty worn after 5 years of wearing it nearly everyday and not following proper care of it either) and i would always rather replace an item with the exact same one than try something new. i was also Curious about the claims being circulated online! so i bought a new one, and. they are functionally exactly the same.

but there have been a few minor changes! but none that would affect quality now or in the long run.

the paler binder on the left was recieved 8/30/18 and is a size 2xl. the more saturated binder on the right was recieved 4/19/23 and is a size 3xl. i will refer to them as "18" and "23"!

so lets start off with patterning! 23 has a slightly longer length than 18 (likely just bc i went up a size), and the neck is slightly more V-shaped compared to the very round U neckline of 18. the neckline and the straps also appear much smaller, but im pretty sure that's just because 18 has gotten very stretched out over the past 5 years of near-daily use.

the outer fabric on 23 is also much more saturated. when i first recieved it it was practically a bright yellow! but after a few washes its muted out to a more neutral skin tone shade. 18 was more saturated when first recieved, but was never as bright as 23 was when i first got it. after a few washes tho 23 looks about the same as 18 when new, so maybe earlier binders came pre-washed (either by gc2b or the fabric suppliers), or the fabric source for the outer shell changed to a supplier with a different dyeing process. 23's color might wash out a little quicker than 18's did. either way, the fabric is the exact same type and weave. 18 is much more stretchy than 23 is currently, but that is definitely caused by wear, and 23 will stretch out in time as well.

next, lets compare the fabric and stitching of the binding area! 23 is on the left, 18 on the right. the fabric is exactly the same! the stitch used is also exactly the same, but 23 has a slightly larger stitch width, which shouldn't affect quality and may be caused by being a size larger than 18. the thread is slightly lighter in color.

comparing the side seams, the patterning, fabric, and stitch patterns are all the same. again, the stitch width on 23 is slightly larger but otherwise the same.

heres a closer look at the straps (18 on left, 23 on right). in this picture you can see the knit of the fabric, and they are indeed exactly the same!

also of note, the first year of owning the 2018 binder, the stretch knit fabric on the outside of one of the straps started to tear away from the seam. a quick handstitched repair fixed it and it has held ever since! seam rips can happen even from the "good" years of gc2b, bc its a knit fabric with a lot of stress being put on it. i would still say the quality is very good! the fact that the repair held and no other issues occured is a testament to that. any fabric garment is liable to wear, which is something to keep in mind when purchasing a binder!

so yeah! 2023 gc2b binders are of the exact same quality of 2018 gc2b binders. im confident that the new one will last me another 5 years!

#notsponsored

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

I was kind of thinking of something, randomly, concerning TOY STORY 5. Perhaps the most questionable upcoming Pixar film, and animated sequel period.

And this kinda ties in with the whole news swirl about Disney execs mandating Pixar to tone down all the directors' personal quirks in upcoming features...

I think about how Pixar is sometimes presented, aesthetically. That star ball that first appeared in their debut project, the 1986 short film LUXO JR., seems to dominate their name. Red, yellow, blue, loud primary colors.

Almost synonymous, and not so much the individual aesthetics of the films themselves. I feel I see this in the parks, social media stuff, etc. As if a Pixar film is a genre: Kooky "What if?" premises, tearjerker moments, cuddly characters, "relatable" for "all". That new live-action/hybrid movie IF seems to strive to be "like" a "Pixar film", and I've seen plenty of other animated films try to do this too. It's like how "Disney animated movie" is sometimes pigeonholed as "fairy tale princess musical/once upon a time".

Someone on twitter also put it best, when describing why a film like TURNING RED was a welcome change of pace... Pixar was, for the longest time, films for dads, by dads. And yeah, that tracks. John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, Brad Bird... The directors whose original films are often considered the "true" Pixar films, the foundational films at that... They're dads, and their lives as dads absolutely informs many of those pictures.

And you look at TOY STORY 3 and TOY STORY 4 in comparison to their relatively looser, even somewhat '90s edgier predecessors...

... They reflect Lasseter/Stanton/Docter/Unkrich in their near-middle age. Those films are visually a lot more vibrant, warmer, and while still very humorous throughout, they have a cozier vibe that's absolutely SMOTHERED in emotion, big damn goodbyes, sauteed in those signature Pixar cry juices. "When She Loved Me", but the whole damn movie. The young and edgy energy of those guys in their 20s and 30s vs. a more mature adult phase. I feel you can see this in their other films made during the 2010s, like INSIDE OUT.

And the 11-year gap between TOY STORY 2 and TOY STORY 3 really cements that, for good reason. Time passing and real life essentially informed the story, and it was the just-right mixture that really hit it with audiences. The story wisely played up that cozy nostalgia, the weepies one would get when the baby birds finally leave the nest... and the filmmakers gave the gang the proper send-off. But because of how it wore its heart on its sleeve, for some, TOY STORY 3 seemed like the perfect ending even though it definitely left things open for future adventures with Woody and Buzz and Bonnie's toys.

And for a little while, some short films and TV specials filled that gap quite nicely. Short little adventures, and the characters being fun and funny for a little while. TOY STORY OF TERROR! is the best of those, in my opinion. Felt much more '90s TOY STORY, a straightforward story that didn't have a mini-goodbye in it or some massive emotional moment. Halloween aesthetics, nighttime motel setting, horror movie homages. Good stuff! TOY STORY THAT TIME FORGOT, by contrast, kinda goes for that at the end when the Battlesaurs are being played with. Which makes sense, really, it was a Christmas special.

TOY STORY 4 arrived nine years after TOY STORY 3, and is much similar in tone and quite similar visually. It's still pretty, vibrant, and sunny, and it still reflects that "we're much older now" vibe. More sentimental, packed with those big emotional moments and an ending that Tom Hanks and Tim Allen reportedly couldn't bring themselves to record their voices for. A big goodbye, but this time, for Woody. I think for some people, that felt like overkill after how emotionally heavy Part Tre was... when TOY STORY 4 could've just been a feature-length TOY STORY OF TERROR!-type adventure... Which, funnily enough, it was going to be at one point... Upon its announcement in 2014... One iteration was a peculiarly weird story about one of Bonnie's cousins swapping the heads of Woody and Buzz. Sounded very experimental and different, a complete 180 from the tone of TOY STORY 3. This is probably what was being worked on for a 2017 release, but after a lot of writer changes and delays, it became TOY STORY 3 Redux with Woody saying goodbye to his lifelong friends and going off with Bo Peep. I personally quite like the film, myself, so this is more an observation than a knock. It ended Pixar's 2010s the way TOY STORY 3 started them.

So with that, I feel a lot of the reactions to TOY STORY 5's announcement a year ago (in addition to reminders that it's in the works) stem from the thought that we're going to get - 7 years after TOY STORY 4 - yet another movie like this. How many more goodbyes can there be? How many more losses? How many more hyper-emotional adventures? The ongoing "we say goodbye to our kids"/"softer middle age" era of the old Pixar guard, many of which are off doing other things now. It's really only Docter and, to a lesser extent, Stanton, nowadays. The last two of "Team TOY STORY", as I like to call them - because Brad Bird came to Pixar after the fact, and was the only outsider for a while who got to direct features.

But what if... What if TOY STORY 5 wasn't that? And it theoretically goes back to the core essence of the original? You look at the original TOY STORY, released in 1995 and its 1999 sequel, and you compare them to 3 & 4... What if TOY STORY 5 circled back to that kind of simpler buddy comedy adventure? With less of that cozy vibe and more '90s in presentation? With all the clever wordplay and character stuff? That doesn't have to be a bad thing. The original TOY STORY may not have the goodbyes and "feels" of TS3/4, but it launched everything for a reason: It's still a rock-solid, sharply-written buddy comedy in the vein of the films that inspired it, like THE ODD COUPLE and MIDNIGHT RUN. That's what helped it stick out in a sea of Disney musicals and the imitators. Maybe just that, TOY STORY as it is on the tin, works out? It'd be like their ABBEY ROAD, in a way. No tricks or gimmicks, it's just straight up TOY STORY. Could be a fresh new way to revisit those characters and not have to "top" the endings of 3 & 4. Maybe it could even be a midquel set in between 1 & 2, or 2 & 3, or 3 & 4. How Woody and Buzz are back together remains to be seen, unless the movie follows two plots and they never meet up. Or do very briefly. I dunno, Bonnie and her family go on vacation and they cross paths for a moment and have a brief "old pals" hug? Again, we'll see...

Either that, or they could straight up SPIDER-VERSE/PUSS IN BOOTS 2-style reinvent the whole thing in a wild, dynamic new way... So that it doesn't feel like a stale chestnut, a moldy oldie anymore.

But we'll see. This is from big bad Disney after all, and that new interview seems to indicate one thing... And maybe at D23 in August, we'll hear something about its storyline. It is certainly one I'm keeping my eye on, though...

[greatwyrmgold]

Oshi no Ko is a lot like Mushoku Tensei, in that I would have dropped both series immediately due to their protagonists embodying some of my pet peeve tropes, but people keep saying they're good, so I want to give them a fair shake.

Yeah, no, that was my one concise, well-composed statement for the post. Everything else is just rambling about random thoughts. Keep reading if you want to see another perspective on OnK or like reading what I write, I guess.

Cream of the Crop

I get why the anime combined the first several manga chapters into a feature-length Episode 1; the alternative would be to spend 3-4 episodes building up something that would be twisted away in episode 4/5. But it feels like several distinct episodes in the lives of its main characters, connected primarily by the fact that it's the same person doing them.

The most obvious instance of this is how Ruby's past life is explored near the end of the episode, instead of at the beginning when said past life was introduced. It works, I guess, but...I think introducing, explaining, and resolving her issues around dancing in one chunk with no breaks works better when that chunk is a discrete manga chapter and not ten minutes of a feature-length anime episode. I can't help but wonder whether the story could have been restructured a bit in the screenplay stage.

The author clearly put a lot of research into the idol industry, and while he respects the idols, he absolutely does not respect the industry. Which is the proper distribution of respect in most industries, I feel.

It's interesting to contrast how Aquamarine and Ruby react to their respective reincarnations, how their very different apparent personalities are a straightforward result of taking advantage of a second chance at life after very different first chances. Maybe I'll write a full post about that.

The sound design in this show is great. The scene where Aquamarine and Ruby attend their mom's concert gave me the same kind of anxiety as a hundred people cheering in a small concrete room while loud music plays would in real life. (Though I could pause the noise and type something in the other tab, so it wasn't quite that bad overall.)

Crop of the Cream

I read the manga, since it was also available on the website where I...um, legally accessed the Kaguya-sama manga. I don't remember exactly why I stopped, beyond the overt-wish-fulfillment vibes and not having heard as many people insist that it's great.

I really like how the theme of deception is introduced in the anime's opening lines. It sounds like it's one of those "This is a word of fiction, any similarities to real people are a coincidence" disclaimers, but it's actually the start of a thesis statement!

Over the course of one scene, our protagonist: gets called a lolicon without denying it, tells a 12-year-old patient that he can't marry her because "he'd be good as dead socially" (and not any of the other reasons), offers to consider it when she's 16, doesn't deny that he'd date another 16-year-old if she asked, and gets called a lolicon again without denying it. It would be one thing if he was a high school senior, but he's a doctor who completed his residency, so he's probably at least 30. Ew.

The manager desperately hoping that Ai is 20 weeks constipated and not 20 weeks pregnant is pretty funny.

I'm the kind of person who will probably put way too much thought into the metaphysical implications of one of AI's twins being the reincarnation of someone who died years ago, and the other being the reincarnation of someone who died late in the third trimester. (Oh, um, spoilers; the Mushoku Tensei comparison isn't just because I find the protagonists aggravating.)

On the positive side, those implications probably contribute to the show feeling less aggressively pro-life than you'd expect from a series whose inciting incident (point of attack?) is a teenaged idol deciding to have kids even though it could ruin her career and reputation. The fetuses don't have souls even days/hours before they're born (after all, Aquamarine's soul is still in the doctor), and the possibility of terminating the pregnancy is floated quite neutrally.

It would have been easy to have the doctor...what's the silliest way to phrase this?...qualify for reincarnation after an appointment with Truck-kun. However, the author instead decided to have his death be part of an event that's actually relevant to the rest of the plot. Nice storytelling efficiency.

"Oh, right, there's another person who lives with us." The doctor clearly wasn't an only child in his past life.

One point of contrast between Oshi no Ko and Mushoku Tensei: Aquamarine is not perversely joyous about seeing his new mom's boobs. Rudeus is happy to be breast-fed, Aquamarine prefers the bottle.

(Which is as good a time to remark that, even though the doctor was worse than I remembered, he matured a lot when he turned into a baby. Or at least he toned down his worst habits.)

Judging by how well Aquamarine and Ruby sit when watching Ai perform on TV, they're probably six months old by that point. Which means that Ai's break from idol-ing was a bit less than a year long, and that she had half a year to remember that Ruby is in the pink onesie and Aquamarine is in the blue one. (Ai forgetting their names was a bit less silly when her kids were printed in shades of gray.)

This is contrasted with the fact that some background dialogue implies that Ai's idol group has only been on hiatus for six months or so, which in turn implies that the author either doesn't know or doesn't care that newborns can't sit up unsupported like that, even if they have the memories of a grown-up. (They don't have the muscles to support their heads, let alone their whole bodies.)

Yeah, the doctor was definitely a big brother before he got reincarnated.

Also, since you can see it: The fact that Aquamarine and Dummy Ruby each have a star in one eye (with Ai having a star in each) is a great character design detail. And while we're here, baby Ruby stealing her mom's phone to get into flame wars on Twitter is hilarious. (I hope she used her past life's account and not her mom's...)

Is it weird that I find newborn Aquamarine and Ruby talking more plausible than them sitting up or walking around? I have no idea if baby vocal cords are physically capable of making intelligible words.

"Aquamarine claiming to be a divine messenger? Nah, that's crazy, I don't believe in that stuff. Ruby claiming to be an incarnation of the goddess Amaterasu? Oh shit, that's definitely a thing." (Ruby must just be a better actress.)

Ruby's got the right idea. Or...well, part of the right idea, the liver thing is just absurd. But speaking of AI's salary, the 208,000¥ she got as net pay is not much to live on! According to the first source I found, the cost of living for a single person in Tokyo is about 143,000¥ without rent, with rent for a single-person apartment being at least 60,000¥. So her pay would cover Ai's basic expenses, if she didn't also have kids.

It seems like she's living with her manager and his wife (so said wife can be a live-in babysitter on top of her other duties), which complicates things a little. But yeah, no wonder she's worried about being able to send her kids to a good school. (And not buying ice cream won't help.)

Ai coming across a tweet complimenting her on the genuine smile she had when she saw her kids in the concert audience, and taking that as a lesson for making her smiles look more genuine in the future...that's her in a nutshell, isn't it? She wants to be the best idol she can, and she'll fake sincerity as hard as she needs to do it.

I can't tell how much of the over-the-top formality in Aquamarine's apology is in the original Japanese and how much is a result of trying to translate a level of grammatical politeness that English doesn't support, but it's funny either way.

Starting to remember that, as much as the doctor had a few really egregious moments (like the bit where he implied he'd be fine getting engaged to a 12-year-old if it wouldn't ruin his social life), the thing that bugged me/reminded me of Mushoku Tensei was less the perv stuff and more the adulation. I can only take so many scenes where characters remark on how Aquamarine is acting weirdly mature, only to praise him for being a genius, before I complain about it in the stream-of-consciousness log I have open in the other tab. Especially when one of them ended with a director going "I want to hire you as an actor, small child I just met. Take my business card." Kudos to Aquamarine for pointing out that he should probably give it to someone old enough to sign a contract. (If you gave your business card to an actual toddler, he's more likely to eat than to call you.)

Kana's attitude is weird for a kid, in ways that can't be encapsulated by any single screencap. It's probably a side effect of being a professional actress for a substantial fraction of her life, but I would be very amused if she (and every other child character with a meaningful role) was another reincarnee who remembers her past life.

I can't decide if Kana freaking out at how good Aquamarine was at acting for a "creepy child" role (when he wasn't even trying) is another instance of ego-stroking, or if it's a joke about how Aqua is just a creepy little dude. Sadly, it feels more like the former. The focus of the scene is on "Aquamarine is a good actor and Kana feels shamed next to him," not "Ha ha, Aqua's creepy".

One last point about Kana's bit: I find it hilarious that she assumes his legal name of "Aquamarine" is just a stage name. I mean, yes, that's fair. Aquamarine is a silly name, possibly sillier in Japanese than in English. Yet that's the name Ai chose for her son.

Aquamarine checking up on the state of his prior life's missing person report is a neat plot beat. It's also the only reason we know his doctor name (Gorou Amemiya). I wonder if it'll go anywhere.

Ruby wanting to hide details of her past life from Aquamarine feels like some pointless secret-hiding drama. Like, how is any of it going to be relevant ever?

Ruby expressing her grief by getting into more flame wars on Twitter was...a mixture of emotions. Sad. Poignant. Funny. Yeah, I said it, a preschooler sending violently angry tweets at people criticizing her dead mom is funny.

I like this line.

[dark-night-star-light]

Spirit Animals: Immortal Guardians (Reread pt. 9)

DISCLAIMER: WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BOOKS ONE THROUGH SEVEN IN FIRST SERIES, BOOKS ONE THROUGH THREE, TALES OF THE GREAT BEASTS, AND TALES OF THE FALLEN BEASTS.

Masterpost

Chapter 1

“If only she could turn right around and go home” (1). Interesting first line . . .

“I wish I had a spirit animal, Kaiina thought. Then I’d always have company . . . ” (2). That’s . . . actually a good reason, wow.

“‘How could I have summoned Dinesh?’ Kaiina asked in wonder. ‘And why to me?’” (5). Yeah, is it, like, random . . . or . . . ?

Woah, Zerif speaks the local languages . . . ?

“ . . . but this one was white . . . ” (7). Has Kaiina never heard of a polar bear before? Don’t they teach her about these things???

“The polar bear and the boar had spread out” (8). Okay, so she does know what a polar bear is.

“ . . . saw two more tattoos appear on the man’s chest: an eagle and a ram” (10). Uh . . . when does he take Arax??? That wasn’t in Tales of the Fallen Beasts . . . 

Chapter 2

“But now Myriam was too busy playing host to worry about that - the ibis kept busy greeting each newly arriving bird . . . ” (13). Oh, that’s so cool. 

“ . . . Myriam had spent the day following them around, keeping tabs on which was the most beautiful” (13). That’s so funny. I imagine the peacocks being like, What is this thing following us around?

“She gathered lichen and wedged it into the narrow black crack, wetting the patch with pond water” (14). Isn’t the Evertree in the middle of Nilo??? It’s near a pond???

“ . . . The tree was dying” (15). I genuinely forgot why it’s dying. I know it’s something to do with the Wyrm, but I don’t remember how.

Chapter 3

“In Zhong, she’s perfected a serene smile, warm enough to honor the person’s interest but chilly enough to discourage handshakes and questions” (16). Parallels to Meilin’s very first chapter in Wild Born?

“Lately Jhi had started to take Meilin to task whenever she slipped into rudeness. It was very annoying” (17). See, this is the dynamic the Bile robbed us of in the first arc.

“Essix the Falcon is not a messenger pigeon! Essix eats messenger pigeons for breakfast!” (18). Why didn’t Rollan just send a messenger pigeon? 

 “ . . . and I’m not asking this lightly. But you must come to Greenhaven as soon as you can . . . ” (19). This does not sound like Rollan at all.

Rollan signs his letter “Your Rollan” and then in the immediate next paragraph, Meilin refers to him as her “friend”. 

Abeke has gotten even more muscular! Slay!

“But Meilin knew what her friend would really want her opinion on. ‘I like your new skinnier braids’ . . . ” (20). When has Abeke ever shown interest in hairstyles, though???

“‘Oh no! What have we done?’” (21). This quote is so weird??? I don’t know, it just feels off.

So far, the vibe in general feels weird . . . 

“ . . . Abeke said, looking at Kovo with something almost like sympathy” (23). Why, though??? Why is she sympathetic?

“‘You’re polite as always, Takoda,’ Rollan said to the boy, a complicated expression on his face” (24)). I feel like I remember Rollan being suspicious of Takoda . . . is that what this is???

Kovo drawing the Wyrm symbol on a landscape??? What is the landscape, though??? I don’t remember this . . .

Chapter 4

“‘I came down here to study while we were training’” (29). Literally when??? When did Meilin ever go to the library???

“The tortoise blinked its rheumy eyes at them and yawned” (30). I wonder if Meilin ever thought of the tortoise as being slow, like she did with Jhi.

“‘ . . . the Lost Lands is contained in here’” (33). Stetriol also had a nickname??? Eura’s the only one without a nickname, now . . . 

“At the elbow, where the living tendril ended, the knob of it throbbed and shifted, curling into new visions of the same shape” (38). So it’s in a spiral shape even as it squirms up? That’s odd.

Chapter 5

“ . . . and now he was going to lose the people he loved most in the world because of it” (39). Is he??? Also, awwww, that’s cute (that he thinks of them as the people he lives most in the world). 

“He felt his face twist into a humiliated scowl” (39). Oh my god, he’s becoming Meilin.

“Rollan wouldn’t give up. He threw his arms around his friend. ‘You’ve been disgusting ever since we’ve known you’” (40). It’s so awesome that I can actually see the character growth from the last arc. 

“‘Rollan and Abeke are our best trackers. . . ’” (42). Getting the feeling that I missed something? Rollan can track? 

“Meilin and Rollan were staring at each other with moony longing . . . ” (42). Why do they do this in front of other people???

“With one move, she’d told him she wasn’t scared of his sickness” (42). Personally, I think that moment is far superior to Meilin and Rollan staring at each other.

Chapter 6

“Takoda had spent his life in sandals, and now he was wearing a pair of heavy boots he’d borrowed from Conor” (44). I feel like I remember Takoda living somewhere else before the monastery??? Did he really wear sandals? Or did he go bare foot before that?

“He probably wouldn’t say no if they asked him to be a Greencloak someday” (45). Kovo would, though, lol.

“It was a moment that would forever be seared in Takoda’s memory . . . Takoda couldn’t imagine a spirit animal relationship more different from his own” (46). Funny, because Meilin’s relationship was pretty similar to Takoda’s during the first arc.

“ . . . the Great Beast that had nearly conquered the world - stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the leader of the Greencloaks” (48). Symbolizing the new relationship that the Greencloaks forged with the Great Beasts in general?

“If only he and Kovo knew more than ten symbols, he could explain the danger” (50). He can explain the danger anyway, right? Kovo understands Common.

I forgot whether Kovo recognizes this place or not.

“‘Kovo saved your life’” (53). Okay, so Kovo killed Briggan, who bonded to Conor, who killed Kovo, who then saved his life. Parallels???

“It was like the earth itself had a mouth, open and hungry, waiting for prey to fall in” (54). If they’re in the mountains between Zhong and Eura, how do they get to Nilo, where the Evertree is? Because this is where they fall, right?

I do not remember Kovo and the others fighting over the door??? Huh.

“Calmly, as easily as if it had been made of wet paper, Kovo reached up and plucked off his collar” (59). So ominous.

Chapter 7

“‘. . . and we’ll stop in and say hello to all the shop owners you stole from back in the day’” (60). Okay, I need Rollan to go back to that Valdez guy and push him around a bit. Just a bit.

“ . . . memories of the handsome blond boy resurfaced in unexpected moments” (62). First Shane reference in second arc!

“‘Many of the people of Northern Amaya are nomadic, following the herds throughout the year . . . ’” (63). Rollan doesn’t sound like Rollan at all.

“‘Where to?’ Rollan asked. ‘Anywhere!’ ‘No seriously, where to?’” (64). It feels like they swapped Rollan and Abeke’s personalities? I kind of like it, though. More foil theory fodder.

Rollan caused a stampede??? Wow, I clearly remember close to nothing from this book.

This whole scene is very . . . different??? In a good way, though. There isn’t much Rollan and Abeke friendship in the first arc, so now that they’re alone, it feels strange. But I like it.

Chapter 8

“‘Meilin,’ Conor said in low tones. He placed a tentative hand on her back. ‘I’m as angry as you are . . . ’” (73). Conor and Meilin friendship is all but nonexistent in the first arc, but it feels like they made up for that in the second arc.

“‘King. Worthless,’ Takoda translated” (76). King??? Who’s the king? What king??? Is it Takoda?

“‘I have to tell you that I miss him’” (76). Doesn’t putting your spirit animal in passive make you stronger to some extent? They fought off the “bonding sickness” from the staff at the end of the last arc that way.

“Stop it, Meilin. Terror is your enemy” (79). Giving major first-book-Meilin energy.

Chapter 9

“‘You have more in common with Kovo than you think’” (82). Conor getting mad!

“ . . . the torchlight seemed to have the monster dazzled” (83). The Many’s weakness being light is not something I remember. 

“ . . . a spiral, just like the one on Zerif’s forehead . . . ” (84). I wonder if Conor thought that Zerif would eventually become one of these things.

“The light bomb seemed to affect the ghoulish creatures much more strongly . . . ” (87). I wonder if the Wyrm itself is sensitive to light? Or Zerif?

“Then Takoda gasped, like he’d been punched, and in a flash Kovo became a tattoo on the boy’s neck” (88). Why does it hurt for Takoda to take Kovo into passive state? Did Kovo want it to hurt? Can he do that?

“Although she closed her eyes to slits, they streamed tears, even in the dim light” (88). Oh, so it’s just because the Many are Sadreans, not because they’re Many. 

“‘It’s okay,’ came a voice Conor knew as well as his own” (89). Aw, Conor-Meilin moment(?)!

“‘You’ve come to stop the Wyrm . . . ’” (91). Why does Xanthe think that? Was there a prophecy or something?

Chapter 10

I kind of wonder if the city or tribe you’re from is like a last name in Erdas. They say “Abeke of Okaihee” and “Rollan of Concorba” as someone would say a full name.

“Abeke longed to see her father and sister again” (96). Why??? They are literally so abusive . . . this is just one thing about this series I’ll never accept.

“‘I’ve never seen a horse take such an instant disliking to someone’” (98). Rollan’s horse rivalry saga continues. 

“ . . . The leopard lay down in the earth, head resting on her paws, and started up at him” (98). Wasn’t it mentioned that Uraza didn’t really approve of Tellun in The Evertree? Also, in Tales of the Great Beasts, she never, ever bows down before Tellun. Neither do the other Great Beasts . . . ?

“‘You make him sound so serious.’ Anda laughed. ‘I just think of him as my elk. And I’m his boy’” (99). I still think it was definitely a choice to have a leader of the Great Beasts. I also like Anda’s attitude toward Tellun. Less awed, more of a “oh, yeah, ha ha, that happened” type. 

“‘My elk is silly most of the time; I’m not sure why he’s being so serious today . . . ’ . . . ‘Why didn’t you ever tell me you were that important?’” (99). This line makes no sense. Anda knows that the elk he summoned is Tellun, but didn’t realize he was important? What exactly did Tellun tell him?

“Though she and her family had worked through their differences . . . ” (100). When??? It went straight from Abeke’s father saying he didn’t care about her at all to Abeke and her family “making up” at the end of The Evertree. 

“‘They could gossip in the woman’s tent and sip herbal teas together’” (101). Oh, he’s a sexist. Also, if he believes so much in gender roles, how come Anda told Abeke that the men would have loved to go hunting with her? Wouldn’t they have scorned her just like her father?

“‘ . . . I’m closer to my family now than I ever was before I left Okaihee . . . ’” (102). That’s unfortunate. She’s closer, or she’s just learned to put up with their abuse?

“At the sight of his son’s crying, Anda’s father’s face tightened into a frown” (103). Presenting, the manliest masculine manly man, who can’t handle the sight of a guy crying.

Chapter 11

“ . . . Xanthe looked even more like the strange beings that had attacked them . . . ” (105). Can’t tell if Conor is trying to say Xanthe looks like the monsters, or that the monsters look human. 

“ . . . Meilin allowed Xanthe to help her to her feet” (105). She what???

“ . . . the rising air smelled vaguely like the hot stones his mother had once used to warm his bed . . . ” (107). All I could think about reading this was that one scene from the Shadow and Bone show.

“Conor smiled as he imagined [Meilin’s] outraged expression” (108). Conor and Meilin’s relationship is peaking in this series. Said this before, I think, but there are no good Conor-Meilin moments in the first book. At all (in my humble opinion).

“‘Are you scared of heights, Meilin?’” (111). I don’t remember this at all??? I think she was scared of spiders because of the Drina situation and the Webmother, but heights???

“ . . . it seemed some Sadreans had spirit animals, too” (113). Right, but before the Second Devourer War, they would’ve had bonding sickness, right??? Right??? Because they didn’t have access to the Nectar??? Plot hole???

“‘Our man of mystery,’ Meilin said in amazement as she watched Takoda stride forward and introduce himself to the nearby Sadreans. ‘Shy with us and assertive with everyone else’” (114). Yeah, why’s that??? Just pointing it out doesn’t change the fact that it makes no sense.

“‘I’m not afraid of heights, you dummy’” (115). Oh my god, this is too funny.

“By the time they’d stepped onto the city’s rock floor, Conor and Meilin were breathless with laughter” (115). That’s so cute . . . they’re acting twelve again!

This trap system is really cool, it just needs some archers and it’s good to go.

My guess: the screamers fail somehow, and that’s how they get attacked by the Many (I seriously don’t remember anything about this plotline). 

“‘This shows the founding of Erdas’ . . . ‘ . . . become the civilization known as the Hellans’” (121). Where did the Hellans come from??? How do you “found” a whole world???

“ . . . Briggan and Jhi and Uraza were pictured near one another, friends even way back then” (122). Where’s Essix? Also, it’s funny, because in Tales of the Great Beasts, Uraza insults dogs and glorifies cats. Kind of want to know Great Beast Uraza and Great Beast Briggan’s relationship.

“‘He told the Hellans about the danger of the Wyrm and gave us our task . . . ’” (123). Right, but doesn’t Kovo hate humans?

“ . . . ‘the Evertree’s roots withered, and the Wyrm’s egg dropped . . . new roots began to grow where the old had been . . . much weaker than before . . . the fall cracked the egg, allowing small gray parasites . . . to spill out’” (123). I think it’s so interesting how they managed to make the original series’ climax be the cause of this new problem.

Ooooooookay, I was wrong. The screamers did work. 

“His body broke into shudders, and he couldn't make it stop” (126). Conor had a panic attack?

Chapter 12

“Aynar had mapped them a trail that would lead back to the Tellun’s Pride II . . . ” (132). Wait, so, Tellun literally gets stolen in the time it takes to go back the same way they came? Wow. That’s . . . sad.

“‘Anda is scratching the leader of the Great Beasts’” (133). How come nobody had this reaction with the Four Fallen? I mean some did, but Rollan was all “oh yeah, I summoned a Great Beast”, like he wasn’t in awe or anything???

“‘It’s confusing to me, too. It’s Tellun, but he’s not using his boomy voice’” (134). Again, Essix wanting to follow Tellun is so weird. Like, I just think the idea of a leader of the Great Beasts is a stupid idea in general, but whatever.

How did Rollan not see anything in the north, when an attack came so soon after?

“‘But I think he can communicate freely with any animal he meets’” (138). So, Tellun can: turn a desert into a lush forest in a matter of minutes, communicate with any animal he meets, and invoke awe. Is it just me, or are his powers all over the place?

“‘My father and I only started to understand each other recently, but our love was there all along’” (138). Okay, that’s it. Did they just refer to the relationship between Abeke and her father as “loving”?

“He dreamed of Artica, of balancing on an ice floe with Meilin . . . ” (141). Is this a reference to the fact that Fire and Ice is the first book in the series with major Rollan-Meilin moments?

“He recognized this awful pain. Rollan had felt it once before, under a bloodred sky at the end of the world” (142). Wasn’t that bonding sickness caused by the Staff of Cycles? And the bonding sickness is gone now, right???

Ohhhhh, so the bonding sickness comes from the Evertree being sick, and the Evertree is sick again . . . so . . . there’s bonding sickness again???

Chapter 13

“[Kovo] roared” (147). Why’s he just roaring at the Sadreans??? Is he good?

“Each of the elders came forward and did the same, choosing a different part of Kovo to honor . . . ” (148). I do not remember this ritual . . . at all.

“Immediately Jhi was covered in color . . . She looked delighted by it” (148). The elders: *doing an ancient ritual* Jhi: Play time!

“Xanthe scrutinized the panda’s belly, then she, too, threw her arms around Jhi” (149). But she just met Jhi???

“‘This isn’t precisely what I’d call a feast, not exactly,’ Conor said . . . ” (149). Conor being rude? No way . . .

“ . . . or, more distantly, her mother” (152). Her mother died giving birth to her, though???

Huh, Meilin also had a dream about Rollan and her rotting bond.

Jhi can stop noise???

“They’d gotten the high-speed summoning down to a science . . . ” (155). How high-speed, though?

“ . . . Conor managed a wicked grin” (157). Who is this guy?

Wow, Meilin be using the Many like a surfboard.

“ . . . he took her trembling frame fully in his arms” (165). I can’t get a handle on Takoda despite reading a whole-ass chapter from his perspective.

KOVO IS JEALOUS???

“‘Give her a second!’ Takoda snapped” (165). Honestly, yeah.

“His eyes were a bit too wild. His smile was a bit too stretched” (170). Did the Wyrm change him physically besides the parasite, though?

Chapter 14

“ . . . cruel Gerathon was the one who most often stalked his dreams” (171). Why??? Shouldn’t it be Kovo?

“Gone were the days of allowing Zerif to call the first shot; Abeke gave no warning before letting her arrow fly” (172). Parallels to shooting Zerif in Against the Tide? Also, when had she ever let Zerif call the first shot?

“Anda had started to flee . . . ” (173). So he’s flight out of fight-or-flight.

“‘Tell me, plainsboy, you only just summoned the Great Elk. Have you mastered his dormant state?’” (176). Okay, but Tellun died first, meaning that he was reborn first. So shouldn’t Anda have had enough time??? To learn? In Tales of the Fallen Beasts, Dawson summons Rumfuss into passive, so . . . that means that Anda should’ve also had enough time to learn to summon Tellun. Also, it’s up to the spirit animal, so Tellun can just go into passive if he chooses???

 “ . . . the mysterious figure wore a long, stiff crimson cloak. Even if there hadn’t been a hood hanging low over his head, a curious mask - a single white plate, like one huge scale of a reptile - covered his features. The stranger stride forward fearlessly, the fingers of one leather-gloved hand flexing and unflexing” (179). I love the Redcloaks’ outfit, actually. I love how it manages to cover every part of the body, the body, the face, the hair, and the hands. Also, the masks are supposed to be reminiscent of their spirit animal, right? So how come Shane’s isn’t a crocodile???

“But with one long stride, the red-cloaked stranger was in front of Abeke” (180). Awwwww.

Okay: unpopular opinion (probably . . . ): I don’t like that Anda lost his spirit animal. I think that Shane should’ve showed up earlier to help save Tellun, then disappeared as usual. Anda would’ve joined Rollan and Abeke and it would’ve helped us flesh out Tellun and his powers more. But now, all that’s left are broken relationships.

I get that it was to set up a sense of failure and hopelessness, but instead, the failure could’ve maybe come from letting Anda get so hurt?

Final thoughts and rating:

I really liked the description of Sadre. It was done pretty well. The colors made it seem so foreign, and I like that. The newer Conor-Meilin bond is so good. I don’t remember a single moment in the first series where they had such a moment. I did like Xanthe as a character. Rollan and Abeke’s relationship is amazing in this book as well. Conor getting angry and being rude in some places was something I enjoyed personally, because it shows his development from the last series. Kovo returning, and this time being on the side of the protagonists was an amazing direction to take the story, because it explains how complicated the first arc really was. I really like how mistrustful-but-grudgingly-playing-nice relationship between the group and Kovo was cemented, as well. 

Rollan didn’t really feel like Rollan for parts of the book, and while I get that it’s because he matured, it’s possible to mature a character and still have them be recognizable. I thought Anda losing Tellun was straight up unnecessary. We could’ve finally learned about Tellun’s powers, but instead Tellun gets taken and we don’t. I still don’t understand how the Sadreans had spirit animals without getting the bonding sickness, since they didn’t have access to Nectar. I absolutely despised the way they’ve glorified Abeke’s relationship to her father, and especially after she’d come such a long way to understand that family sometimes wasn’t biological. I also didn’t like that this arc wasn’t even a little foreshadowed in the first arc, though that’s a more minor thing. 

Rating: 9/10

[5hrignold]

lsp episodes ranked by how much they make me want to punch myself in the face out of how upset i am that i cant hug and hold her for 4 hours straight

bad timing is the big one. the entire premise of that episode is basically “what if lsp finally found someone who really likes her and she connects with but it was her fault she lost him” and i love it. it consumes my mind that she could’ve had it all right there. and i really think the cherry on top is the way at the end she begs for bonnie to erase her memory of the whole thing. literally who wouldn’t do the same thing. i would

be sweet is rlly good because it has sweet pea and Also because it addresses that yeah lsp is now on good terms with her parents and doing things for herself and doing well but she still isn’t happy. she still feels alone and disconnected from other people and she regrets choices she’s made that make her feel like she isn’t worth good things other people have. it matters a lot to me because that specific thing of hers pretty much is never brought up any other time ever except in this episode so it’s special. also the part near the end where she sings the little lullaby to sweet pea Aaaaaaa. ya! her soft voice is my fav thing eever 😊😊😊

slime central is another one where it kinda revolves around her self esteem being put into a blender on highest speed lol. her idea of perfect is skating with her friends and having a boyfriend Basically. and that just gets taken away with her, she’s rejected and called terrible and humiliated. and yet after that she’s still herself because like. she has to be. the 2 biggest moments in that ep is when she falls over and everyone in booing and she’s just laying on her back in the dark looking absolutely mortified and after they get kicked out where she’s crying about never fitting in

I KNOW loyalty to the king is not an lsp episode but what there IS of her is really good. just that one scene of her wanting to be whatever the nice king finds most convenient for him and straight up PUNCHING HERSELF to force her body to be smooth.. Its a lot. its a good chunk of her character summarised like yea that 30 second scene is literally her

the monster is super important because it’s the 2nd super lsp centric episode and it does a good job summarising what she goes through throughout the series. trouble in lumpy space is like a basic introduction of her life in the most neutral “nothing has happened yet” state and this episode shows what happens afterwards and how it makes her feel. she craves the feeling of being in control of her life but it’s either not getting that or upsetting her parents so that’s already like. she’s in a bit of an emotional corner. so she runs away and is met with nothing but what feels like just more punishment for just wanting to prove to herself that she can do things on her own. also this episode im PRESUMING is where she discovers her love and deep connection to animals!! which is absolutely one of my favourite aspects of her so fuckin awefomeee

the prince who wanted everything is really really good bc it’s an entire episode basically of her venting her feelings through her fionna and cake fanfic of her oc. it’s mostly reflective of her feelings towards finn, how he was the one who made her really realise her worth, but also stuff about how she prefers to do things that make her feel good and free in the moment, and how she views her parents, even if just internally. also people take the line about lumpy space prince only being able to date “someone who is so much like me she doesn’t even exist” as another like ohh classic self absorbed lsp Moment haha! but i really really like it bc it resonates with me lowkey . lol

princess day is another one that revolves around her guilt for acting the way she does and it being all she knows how to be. from the very start of the episode her mere presence is seen as an offense and an insult to everyone around eachother and so, having not much else to do in that position, she lashes out on breakfast princess. which AGAINNN again is very much a summary of her entire character. people hate her no matter what so she resorts to doing all she knows - being loud and assertive to make people respect her at the very least. this episode is also super special bc it shows us the exact moment her and marcy meet !!! in my mind she’s kinda the first to person to really listen to what lsp has to say, and her troubles and stuff, and she genuinely enjoys her company and lsp is absolutely flattered by how fondly marcy treats her and frankly never stopped being super cautious of it for a while until she Knew she really likes her

summer showers is kind of a blur to me but it is super good. i really like viola and her dynamic with lsp in this episode is cute. we get a whole scene where lsp just ends up venting to viola pretty much completely on accident while trying to tell her how to get the raindrops just perfectly right, because everything in the play has to be top tier since it’s very important to her. this episode gives another peek into how much of a little nerd lsp is which NO ONE talks about. she loves writing, she loves acting things out and being super dramatic and getting really into playing characters, she gets invested in silly things, she’s like best friends with turtle princess for crying out loud. she is cringe!!!!! and it’s adorable and wonderful of her!!!

i talked about trouble in lumpy space before so continuing. i do like that basically her first act in the show is screwing something up completely on accident without her being able to control it (her ability to float suddenly disappearing and that resulting in her biting finn). it’s really really good lol. i love this episode so dearly for 2 huge reasons ; it’s the most we see of early seasons lsp, and it establishes what her life was like before she started being more independent. the people she knew, where she went and how her people view her, her relationship with her parents and her friends and stuff. i feel like without all the stuff we learn about lumpy space in this episode there’d be WAY less to lsp. im just extremely grateful for it because the damn place pretty much never appears again in the entire series apart from the happy place thing in elements and lsp’s scene in the come along with me ending sequence

the creeps, again, not at all An Lsp Episode, BUT it does have a scene that reveals some stuff about her that’s important, which is her inability to really commit to relationships without being afraid. she objects to talking about why she broke up with brad at first but while finn is talking to bonnie she just completely falls apart to the pressure (which is absolutely nothing) and breaks out rambling about how much she regrets it and how she thought all you needed to do to be a good girlfriend was to look pretty. which lfhfhfbfdbdbfbfbfbbfbf. my Girl…………….my poor girl

i dont really have anything to say about from bad to worse lol. she’s cute in it! the way she snatches the instructions immediately and pouts at everyone while doing so and the way she shoves everyone aside talking about how she should go first… So good. also she looks so fucking good with wings can we talk ab that maybe some time

gotcha is like Maybe perhaps my favourite out of all of these. and it’s probably because while a lot of these make me sad with the stuff they all imply about lsp and her insecurities, this one makes me SO happy. how she is at the beginning, how confident she is waltzing toward the treehouse talking about how finn won’t be able to resist her because of how beautiful she is, the way she makes the treehouse cozy for herself without anyone’s permission, her friendship with turtle princess sprinkled throughout the episode, the part with finn tucking her in, THE WHOLE PART WITH HIM SAVING HER SND THEN TELLING HER SHE DOESNT NEED TO BE PRETTY PHYSICALLY FOR PEOPLE TO LOVE HER. AHHHHHH . Good Episode. GOOD. Episode.

sorry for the tone change but as for those last three episodes i really dont have much to say like at all. absolutely all she is in them is a device used for a joke. WHICH IM FINE WITH. ADVENTURE TIME IS A KIDS SHOW AND AN OFTEN LIGHTHEARTED ONE AT THAT I DONT CARE. sorry this description really makes it seem like i dislike how she is in these eps. idk if you could tell but i fucking love lsp always. she could do the most heinous things and id defend her and adore her for it always. she has never done a single thing i dislike NOT an exagggerarion. at all. /srs there ill even say that if it makes you believe just how much i love her. space girl help me

[zincbot]

And sending this separate so the reply isn’t too beefy but like you can answer any of the ones you rly vibe with about yourself because fuck yeah tell us about yourself give us the hot goss

dhhdhdhhd okay sid just for u ilu. here's some hot goss abt me

7. earbuds or headphones?

headphones 100% of the time and when i say 100% i mean i bring headphones with me every time i leave the house and also around the house. and i've been doing this since middle school. What If I Want To Listen To Something?!? Okay??!

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

i mix it up a lot. today? blueberries + banana yogurt. yesterday? cinnamon chex. i usually stay in the breakfast foods umbrella. i have breakfast every day because if i don't i start killing people

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

black nike air monarchs. every single day. all season.

28. five songs to describe you?

hmmm in descending order of importance (the bottom like 3-4 change all the time i bet)

autoclave by the mountain goats

waves by hi i'm case

watch the world unfold by gaelynn lea

the boxer by simon and garfunkel

virtute at rest by john k samson

30. places that you find sacred?

water! flowing water specifically. old trees sometimes but they gotta be near at least a creek.

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

i'm the biggest lemon meringue pie fan in the world maybe. my stepmother just made a homemade one for my brother's birthday and it wasn't even set all the way but it was the best thing i've ever tasted

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

one of my go-to jackets is a leather jacket that says "god bless america" on the back. and i'm not even american its just funny. (my other standard jacket is a letterman) but i desperately desire a bomber as well waa

47. favorite type of cheese?

blue :]

53. what is the current state of your hands?

eczema finger ]:

95. favorite app on your phone?

discord. my friends are there!

96. desktop background?

it's from the game OneShot! (a game I love supremely. and had recently played when I decided I wanted a desktop bg for the first time in my adult life)

[namboobieslover]

Kintsugi: the beauty of broken things || MYG

Chapter 3

Summary: Yoongi and Minnie have been friends for quite some time now, almost... 15 years? 15 years since they ran into each other in that music classroom by an unlucky (or not) mistake. They've grown close, but both of them have strong characters and insecurities that will have to be put aside when Minnie falls into her own lie, risking her job in the process. They have 3 days to feel comfortable and make everyone believe their role as the young engaged couple or she is fucked :[

Pairing: musical producer! Yoongi x lab tech/science nerdy! f reader au; non-idol! BTS members make a brief appearance

Genre: fluff, angst, kinda slow burn (?), best friends to fake couple au, constant unresolved sexual tension, two idiots too proud to openly speak but pinning each other

Warnings: use of bad language, mentions of insecurities/low self-esteem, anxiety, trauma; light use of weed, little smut if you scrutinize, SFW

Masterlist: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // ...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 3: We on, baby.

Word count: 2816

I wake up with a pounding headache as soon as I open my eyes in the morning.

-When will I learn to stop drinking? - I fumble to myself while holding my head between my hands.

Takes me more than it should but I finally get up, my reflection in the bathroom mirror remembering the bad choices of last night.

After a long shower, I feel again like a human being. After brushing my teeth the unsettling feeling in my stomach is gone.

I don't have much time to get ready, so I pick whatever clothing looks comfier and I start my way to the bus stop.

The trip gives me a few minutes to check my smartphone, answering some unread messages from family and friends but especially Yoongi.

The day goes slow, really slow. My eyes hurt when looking at the little samples through the microscope but the silence in the lab is exquisite. 1-1 in cons vs pros.

Even though my mind is a little foggy, it's a good evening. I'm able to keep a stable medium for the cells to grow and it seems like the replication of the environment is going as it should. Also, the culture I did to explore the possibilities of a virus as a treatment is growing nicely. My research is on the right path.

I finish around 9:30 pm thanks to all my good achievements and I'm really hungry.

The place I’ve chosen to order tonight's dinner it's the one with vegetarian burgers near my job; a lot of time has passed since the last time I ate here. I pick my favourite (the delicious plant-based), for Yoongi the one with veal and lastly, a portion of potatoes to share.

-Hi Minnie, how are you today? -the grandma who owns this place asks me- I haven't seen you for a long time; where have you been?

-I've been busy with work lately; my routine has been hectic.

-It's noticeable; you have lost weight and it is unusual to see you with eye bags. Aren’t you resting enough?

-More or less; it's a temporary situation. Hopefully next week things will come to their normal rhythm. But I really missed your food Mrs Lee -I speak honestly while pouting- You are the closest thing to my mother's food in this city.

-And you are my favourite client so please, come visit more even if it's just to have a coffee. I find all your science things interesting, as does my Sandra.

-How is she?

-She is studying every chance she has; your notes have helped her greatly. She also told me that you are available to answer her doubts.

-Yeah of course. It's an honour to be able to help another woman to infiltrate this amazing world that science is. Sadly there are fewer of us than it should be.

-I appreciate that so much… -she gets a little emotional at my words.

-What about you? How is it going with the knee replacement?

-Rest of my body it's still old but that knee seems like it has its own life. My younger grandson, Taeyang, says that I have become a transformer.

After a little more catch-up talk while food is in the making, I start my way to Yoongi’s apartment; 10 minutes away from here.

The walk is nice and feels super fast while listening to my favourite songs. Lately, that has been Namjoon 's latest álbum, Indigo. I swear, that man is a poet hiding behind his hip-hop style and a smoking hot body that seems little when he has a clumsy day. The lyricism of his songs makes my heart flutter and I'll never get tired of telling him.

One good thing about Yoongi's work is the fact that I'm able to meet new artists he is friends with, and learn about other cultures, influences and styles. He always introduces me to them and usually, it is really easy to be part of their little musician group even if I'm not that well instructed in that area. The group we all have is "pussycians" since half of those boys are afraid to let people get to know them (strangely that doesn't apply to one-night stands and I lectured them about it) and I'm a girl + a bunch of musicians boys. As you can tell, the last idea wasn’t mine but from Kim Seokjin, the older of us.

With "Still life" at its maximum level, I finally reach my best friend's door. I struggle a little but when I'm about to open it, it does by itself showing a dishevelled Yoongi. He scares me and I can't hear a word of what he is saying with the earphones on.

-Holy crap Yoongi, you scared me to death -I struggle to say still agitated while taking them off - one day you'll be the reason I end up with a heart attack.

-You were noisy; it's not my fault. You didn't listen because of the music. You'll be deaf before turning thirty if you don't stop using the highest level.

-Don’t you feel like, sometimes, with some songs, listening to them doesn't feel enough to you? Like… I wish every single note were able to enter my brain and scratch it internally till I can't think any more.

-Umm… I guess -he agrees with me a little confused, but entertained.

I enter his house with him closing the front door after me. I go directly to the small table that sits near the sofa; the usual place we eat instead of the main table.

-Which song was that good? -my friend asks while tearing the sleep away from his eyes.

-Namjoon's "Still Life". His latest álbum is incredible; you have hard competition, boy.

-Indigo is cool, but maybe I'm a little more into J-hope's "Jack in the Box". Kinda old school hip-hop, dark, rock vibes… but that's on my taste.

-Same but reverse for me, so I get you. I really like Hobi's main songs and even the intro with all the Pandora thingy or Equal Sign, but it doesn't exactly match my taste as a general artwork.

I unpack the food while talking about it and its smell makes my stomach roar.

-Is this from Mrs Lee's place? -Yoongi asks, finally awakened.

-Yeah. Told me to send you greetings in her name.

-Oh, she is so nice… Is her knee okay?

-Perfect. Little Tae told her that she is now half transformer.

-That kid is my favourite Mrs Lee grandchildren.

-Mine has to be Sandra.

-Of course you love her; she is a little you. Maybe not like you exactly; Sandra is less annoying.

He says that with a serious face, but after feeling my death glare, he can't help but smile arrogantly looking at his burger.

-I'm so glad I spilt on your food; I knew that sooner or later it would be handy and deserved.

-Don't worry honey boo-boo, nothing you do can disgust me -he answers mockingly knowing that I didn't commit such an act.

The rest of the dinner is chill. Some dating show on the TV and a light conversation about our jobs.

Once we finish the delicious food he offers me some dessert but I refuse. A little liquor some friend gifted him? Not that much. But it's understandable; it is a sweet creamy one that tastes heavenly.

-So…going straight to the point: let's talk about the plan.

-Well damn -I say almost choking on the drink- what do you wanna start with?

-Maybe…nicknames? That seems to be easiest between today's tasks -he says looking in a notepad.

-Is that a list?

-Of course. When we talked about it I took notes before forgetting due to alcohol.

-Let me see it.

"Free Minnie"

-I will ignore that name but you are an idiot Yoongles.

-○—○—○—○—○—○—○—○—○—○—○—○

"Free Minnie"

☆ 2-part plan

Day 1:

✅️ Partying together and pretending to be a couple.

✅️ Wearing clothes the other likes.

✅️ Getting used to holding hands and side hugging.

✅️ Getting comfortable being close to each other.

Day 2:

☑️  Accord lovey-dovey nicknames

☑️  Comfortably hug each other/being near/share the same vital space.

☑️  Practice:

Introducing each other

"Love story"

Pecks (????)  🤮🤮

-^---^---^---^---^---^---^---^---^---^---^---^---^

-Yeah, the nickname issue seems like the best fit for an appetiser. Do you have something in mind? -I answer kinda surpassed by all the tasks for today.

-For me or you?

-Whatever.

-What about calling you “my little pumpkin”?

-Are you kidding?

-No… Isn’t that what partners call each other? Some girls I dated read romance books where they talk like that.

-Well, I don't know. I never had that kind of relationship.

-Me neither.

We erupt in laughter. None of us has ever had a relationship that serious, meaning this stuff is new to us.

-Let’s start with me -I offer as an ice-breaker- I don’t know about what other people like, or you, but I’m not into clinging words. Pumpkin… is too much. I guess the better option is something on the classical side: honey, sweetheart or even Minnie since nobody calls me like that in my working environment. ‘’Babe’’ is acceptable if we feel comfortable enough with it.

-I’m not an affectionate person in speaking terms so…that’s perfect for me, honey.

I feel a slight shiver running down my body.

-Ugh, that felt weird without the sarcastic tone.

-To me too -he laughs- but we have to get used to it in less than 24 hours. Do you want another glass?

Then I realise that my drink is long finished. This liquor is truly dangerous.

-Yeah, this is delicious.

-It was a gift from one of Jimin’s travels. From the northwestern part of Spain if I’m not wrong.

-I envy him so much… he is always travelling.

-That day will come for us too, I’m sure -he declares while handing me the now filled (to the top) vase. He served himself some whiskey.

-You better be right Min Yoongi -I menace while gulping some of the hot liquid- Now… What about you? What are your chosen nicknames?

-It would be incredible if you called me “sexy monster” or something similar. That has one hundred per cent of probabilities to erase any type of doubt.

-If I ever get so drunk that the only option to get me sober is making me puke, repeat that phrase word by word, it will work.

He smacks my arm jokingly.

-Now, on a serious note… I like when you call me Yoongs, Yoongles or Yoon. And that also feels personal, don’t you think?

-Can do the work.

-I feel comfortable with babe or honey/handsome. But not baby; that’s a little cringe.

-I agree. I hate that.

-What’s the worst nickname someone has called you?

-Like… ever?

-Yeah.

-You are not ready for that, and I’m not drunk enough to say it out loud. Ask me later -I answer flustered with a playful wink.

-Don’t worry I won’t forget. Also… you tend to match inversely your lack of shyness with the alcohol level in your blood. This is going to be a fun night.

-Bla, bla, bla. Let’s keep going.

I take a bathroom rest that also allows me to change my contact lenses to the glasses. I don’t feel comfortable wearing them in public, so every day I deal with changing between both at my desk at the office of the lab, all to fulfil my work protocols and also my social anxiety. A routine I got during the pandemic time with the struggle of getting fog in the glasses due to the mask when sudden changes of temperature happen (such as entering a place, the bus…).

-I’m back, babe -I announce funnily stumbling a little with the rug’s verge. Seems like alcohol is silently doing its work- Let’s talk about how you fell in love with me.

He chokes on his drink.

-Yoongles, I was talking about the false love story.

-I know, I know. My brain is working a little slower than usual and it has a lot of things to process.

-I was thinking that keeping it real is the best. The easier, the better. You know how they say that the best lies contain some truth behind them. We can just keep the original first meeting and the school years like they were, but makeup something about college years.

-Like what?

-Aren’t you going to add something?

-Liberal arts -he excuses himself and shrugs- You are the brains, I’m the unpolluted taste. That’s how we always work, sweetheart.

I roll my eyes.

-We can explain that in the urge to reduce expenses, we decided to become flatmates. Living 24/7 made us realise that we are perfect for each other and it was difficult, but we took the step a year after. How many years are socially accepted to date before getting engaged?

-Two? -he answers, as lost as me.

-Maybe… four?

-Isn’t that a lot if we had met in high school?

-That’s true.

-What about three?

-Three is it. Who decided to take the first step in the process from friends to lovers?

-Maybe you? You have 0 patience and probably your colleagues know it… Honey.

-Yeah, sounds like me -I have to admit.

-About establishing a relationship… that fits me better. You are impatient but insecure; you would have a hard time getting the confidence. Same for the engagement?

-First of all: I’m not that insecure -I start getting kind of riled up- Second-

-Before you continue, let me ask you something. For how long have you owned those glasses?

-Mmm… around two years I think.

-Then, how is this one the first time I see you with them?

I don’t have to answer that because he knows.

-If not that, then answer the following: what do you think about yourself? Do you consider yourself pretty?

Is this what a deer caught in the headlights feels like? How can be asking this so suddenly while keeping the calm front that characterizes him? He is so annoying.

-That’s what I thought -it angers me a little to see how sure he is about that premise- Do you want a refill?

I was so nervous that once again I had finished my drink.

-I think I’m ready to try something stronger -I challenge him.

-We on, baby.

A/N: Sorry I've been missing but uni has me on constant house arrest omg. These ones are shorter but we are getting there. Hope you like it and hope you have a good night/evening... Feel free to give some feedback :)

[relative-dimension]

Dr Who Reviews, Daily.

Hi, and welcome to whatever the fuck this is!

The plan for this blog is to watch and review every dr who episode, in order, and rank them all on my Totally Objective Scale of Doctor Who Quality (TOSDWQ or something for short. No don’t say that actually. That just sounds bad).

I’m hoping to get through the entire classic show (including specials, shorts, and the films, that’s 701 episodes, which will take me up to October 2024) but I do also have plotted out a vague plan to do the wilderness years content, the new show, SJA, Torchwood, and Class, which will take me to almost exactly three years from now. What with A-Levels, uni, and having an entire life, that probably won’t happen, but it’s nice to pretend to have a plan at least.

Explanation of my Totally Objective Scale of Doctor Who Quality under the cut:

All episodes are ranked on 6 different scales of 1-5, with a total score out of 30. The criterea are as follows:

Point 1 - “Is it an entertaining watch?” - the fun factor, or, how much did I actually enjoy the experience of the episode. This is where I would give my score out of 5 for the whole thing overall, factoring in points that will come into question for the other categories

Point 2 - “Does the production hold up?” - do the effects look like absolute ass? Is that clearly cardboard wall wobbling when an actor so much as breathes near it? Is half the cast in yellowface? This isn’t really about any sort of “objective” scale (I hate objectivity) but more a measure of how distracted I actually was by dated production values, because sometimes something looks like shit but I like it anyway (see: most model work tbh I will appreciate a good model before I complain about it not being 100% realistic)

Point 3 - “Does it use its time well?” - the pacing of Classic Who episodes is never great, is it? Sometimes nothing happens for half an hour. Sometimes too much happens and nothing gets enough focus. Sometimes the cliffhanger is a dramatic shot of some floor tiles. There’s so many ways that Doctor Who fucks this up, it’s honestly incredible.

Point 4 - “Are the characters consistent and well-used” - Doctor Who is a show in which writers always fail to use their main cast properly. Sometimes they’re too focused on their own OCs to give any of the regulars something to do, sometimes it’s just that someone gets locked in the Tardis and does nothing for almost the whole episode, and sometimes William Hartnell was unwell and they had to scatter his lines through the other characters. This one will be one of the more variable as to what I focus on, because sometimes a character being absent means more time for the others, and sometimes it’s obvious that the writer just had no idea what to do with them.

Point 5 - “Is there anything actually going on under the surface” - science fiction is always political in some way, but watching certain episodes of Doctor Who you wouldn’t fucking know it. Baseline is a 2 or 3, where there isn’t really anything that interesting going on but I could read something in there if I tried. A 1 must be that they’re actively trying to be as apolitical or stupid as possible, and while removing politics is in itself a political statement, I still think they should be punished for it.

Point 6 - “Does it avoid being a bit dodge with its politics” - this one exists because the week I was coming up with these ideas was also the week that @polaritypod (hi i love u guys) refused to review The Talons of Weng-Chiang and I thought about it and was like. Yeah you can’t really talk about Doctor Who without thinking about how bad some of it is to us. And while I’m not going to just ignore the cultural context that something was produced in, I do think an “and we do condemn! wholeheartedly!” approach is important. Just because it was the 1960s doesnt mean it’s suddenly fine. This is also the segment where I’ll ramble on the most, sometimes because I think there’s something happening but can’t quite put it into words, sometimes because it’s just that bad. And no, this category won’t be going away if I get to the new series. The 11th Doctor sexually assaulted a lesbian I’m not going to ignore it just because it was 2013 and not 1973.

I’ll also have a very loose tagging system going: season number, doctor & companions, if its got daleks or whatever, if it has a particular trope (historical, base under siege, etc) and what score bracket it falls into (going up in 5s)

[somesortofidiot]

Ranking the First of October songs

Because Andrew Huang showed that someone else had ranked them, and I desperately feel the need to formally disagree by ranting about them for a while.

I'm putting my money where my mouth is by actually ranking all of them myself. For context, Andrew's tweet: https://twitter.com/andrewhuang/status/1611052440630992896 It would take me much too long to explain my disagreements with the original ranking, and I think the replies show enough examples that I don't think starting off with my own rants here would be justified. Instead, they'll be sprinkled throughout where I think they should be. If something doesn't seem to have an explanation for its ranking I've probably slotted it in after realising it should've been lower down.

Unfortunately, something has to go into last place as the worst FoO song. Fortunately, The 11th Song exists to make that choice much easier. This isn't to say it's a horrendously written song and that it brings active distaste towards the rest of the album or anything - it's just that it didn't need to be there and nothing would really be missed without it. How on Earth did it get placed at 24th? Same goes for the weird tacked-on ending of Ben Wyatt with the electronica that just had to go somewhere. (I know my writing here may come across as brutally harsh, and that's because it should - just in a joking way. They're good songs, but something has to go in last.)

That starts off this list:

#41: The 11th Song

And now, all of the songs that weren't written with a 4 minute time constraint worsened by Pro Tools crashing halfway through the recording.

It's genuinely difficult to put these into a formal order because I think they're all fantastic in their own unique ways. There's also no list that can appease absolutely everyone, and I'll probably disagree with myself by the time I've finished writing this - but it has to be finished at some point or I could keep debating everything forever. Frankly, the more I stare at this song list, the more I despair at what I'm doing and the impossibility of it all.

#40: Two Friends #39: Don't Go to My House #38: We Didn't Have Time to Get Lyrics on This One #37: Things to Do

Largely from the first album, with the first two being somewhat rushed ("somewhat" as if they weren't written back to back in incredibly short timespans). Rob and Andrew have improved at their speedy songwriting immensely with each passing year, and these were right at the start of it. Lyrics were also rushed for this first album (but let's not forget that they had two fewer hours for it too), and that definitely had its effects on Things to Do - they work, but honestly not much more than that. The same can be said for #38, but hit even worse by the time they had left - at least Two Friends and Don't Go to My House came pretty naturally to Rob. Spoilers for Playdead's Inside should probably go here for a similar reason, but the rest of its musical writing do bring it up a bit. Nowhere near as high as the original ranking at 11th, but better than the high 30s.

Past this point, it's brutally painful to rank them, because a lot of songs need to be placed lower down in order for others to be higher up. (Also - reasoning and actual ranking becomes basically arbitrary because seriously it's impossible to do this well.)

#36: Apology Melody #35: Coffee! Yeah!

Another case for the lyrics in these putting them lower down, I think. Apology Melody gets put lower due to its more minimal arrangement and emptiness. It works for the song, and I don't think it should've been done much differently if at all - it just ends up lower down because I don't think it's as good as the rest of them.

#34: October 1 #33: Possible Band Names #32: Ben Wyatt #31: Spoilers for Playdead's Inside

Again, lyrics let these down. October 1's repetition is fun but grows comparatively bland; Possible Band Names is chill and nice but otherwise somewhat boring; and Ben Wyatt, while being a pretty good song, is let down by its ending. Spoilers for Playdead's Inside now sits at the low 30s.

#30: First of October #29: It's Halloween #28: Jangly Bones #27: Riff Lord #26: Climb That Mountain! #25: Feels So Right

For First of October and Climb That Mountain!: Death to C major. (Not really, otherwise the other C major pieces would've gone down here - I just can't really think of good reasoning. They don't spark as much in me as some of the others. Climb That Mountain! gets put higher because that modulation brings out something more.) As much as I'd like to put Jangly Bones and Riff Lord higher, I don't feel like I can or should, but maybe by the end I'll think differently. Riff Lord also feels incredibly like Rob with the soloing - as he put it, pick a scale and just move up and down it. I'm pretty sure he's already used some of those lines in a different song/thing with Jessica Burdeaux, and that's outside of Djazz too. (Not that that's a bad thing necessarily - just that I recognise it maybe a little too well.) Feels So Right is quite fun, but also what's weezer

#24: Woo! #23: Rollerbladin' #22: Thirty-First of October #21: Trick or Treat #20: I Am Not Afraid

Woo! is short, fun, and great all around, and I have no complaints about it. Nonetheless, it's here because it has to go somewhere and the other songs do more (both figuratively with the ideas and arrangements as well as literally with being more than 37 seconds long). Rollerbladin' is the same - well-written, but I think the others do more.

#19: Temporary #18: Headless #17: Greg! #16: Don't Go #15: Valerie

Midwest emo isn't really my thing but I do still find it enjoyable. Temporary is incredibly well-written and I can't fault it. Headless is solid, Greg! is just pure fun, and Don't Go and Valerie are the sweet acoustic songs of the first two albums. They had to go somewhere.

#14: Grandad's Dinner Party #13: Spooky Time #12: Never Say Goodbye #11: Lonely Angel

So the sweet songs get beaten by Primus and the lead song of CHAOS. (I probably could've switched those around and it'd still be completely fair in my eyes; I just thought about them first and so they get put a little lower because this is basically a gigantic ramble post I'm poorly disguising as thoughtful discourse.) Never Say Goodbye and Lonely Angel are fantastic songs, and their placement is pretty much only decided by the bees that invaded in the bridge of Never Say Goodbye.

#10: Left My Pants in Chicago #9: Ravioli #8: Always #7: Good Enough #6: Do You Want To?

Now we're getting to the undeniably iconic songs of the albums. I just put them in their respective slots because they're where I felt like putting them and frankly, it was already entirely arbitrary and opinion-based after I listed the first few, so does it really matter where these ones go? They're fantastic, and that's all that matters.

#5: Bookmobile #4: Lonely Angel #3: Love to Say I Love You #2: Miracle #1: Find The Way

The cream of the crop and the end of this gigantic list and blog. I think Find The Way beats out Miracle just by the slightest of margins with the absolute quality of the arranging and everything that went into it. I think this also makes a little too clear my bias for the latest album, but so be it. It's my list, and that's all that matters to me.

Big ranking for easy visibility and sharing I guess:

#41: The 11th Song #40: Two Friends #39: Don't Go to My House #38: We Didn't Have Time to Get Lyrics on This One #37: Things to Do #36: Apology Melody #35: Coffee! Yeah! #34: October 1 #33: Possible Band Names #32: Ben Wyatt #31: Spoilers for Playdead's Inside #30: First of October #29: It's Halloween #28: Jangly Bones #27: Riff Lord #26: Climb That Mountain! #25: Feels So Right #24: Woo! #23: Rollerbladin' #22: Thirty-First of October #21: Trick or Treat #20: I Am Not Afraid #19: Temporary #18: Headless #17: Greg! #16: Don't Go #15: Valerie #14: Grandad's Dinner Party #13: Spooky Time #12: Never Say Goodbye #11: Lonely Angel #10: Left My Pants in Chicago #9: Ravioli #8: Always #7: Good Enough #6: Do You Want To? #5: Bookmobile #4: Lonely Angel #3: Love to Say I Love You #2: Miracle #1: Find The Way

If you've made it to the end of this: thanks for reading! I hope you haven't lost too many brain cells from this. I might use tumblr some more for random rants a bit like this, so if you think you might enjoy reading some music nonsense then maybe give this account a follow. (Do I sound enough like an influencer yet for this to work?)

[theofficersacademy]

                                  Julius   Sophia   Julia   Tharja                                   Marianne   Nino   Phina   Felix                                  Sara   Eliwood   Ephidel   Hilda

TEAM TAG: #KEflood2023 BASE CAMP PROGRESS: 0%

Water... clear, aquamarine water as far as the eye can see. . .

The very tip of scattered buildings peek through, the only evidence that once there would have been earth underfoot. Stone arches covered in moss and algae and small trees form the occasional short walkway, though it soon becomes clear that your main mode of transportation will have to involve more than just a little swimming.

On the plus side, the bright sky overhead provides a balmy warmth, enough to dry off in short enough fashion. Mind you - that’s all you get. Night never seems to come, no matter how long it feels like you’ve been here.

Welp! Whatever the case, your first priority should probably be to finagle some manner of base camp, as well as rations, right?

Places of Interest

the “Chapel” - one of very few rooms not completely or partially submerged, though its stained glass windows have seen better days. It sits atop a black stone tower whose many levels reach to depths you can barely make out. . .

the Study - another space not submerged, albeit it clearly was at some point. All of the books here are waterlogged and illegible or in a language you can’t read. Also it seems some critters have beaten you to the punch and made nests of their own in this cozy (if potentially moldy) room.

the Abyss - a deep dark fissure visible near to your eventual base camp. How deep does it go? Deeper than you can currently manage, that’s for sure. (That said, if you were considering throwing a certain shell of a man into it, well... It’s so dark there isn’t much to see, you see...)

NPCs of Note

Blank - a hooded figure occasionally spied in the distance quietly rowing along in their scull. If approached, they are reticent to speak; they don’t remember much, after all, not even their own name and much less what happened to this place. They will, however, offer survival tips if prompted, such as the fact that the water here doesn’t need to be boiled before drinking. Yeah. Definitely doesn’t. For sure. For them, anyway. (YMMV)

Tasks

Setting up base camp - every 1 post = 1% of progress, capping at 20% - requires 1 plank or sheet of cloth per post

Scavenging/Foraging - Receive 1 random resource (plank of wood, sheet of cloth, bundle of herbs/edible (?) plants) per post

Diving  - every 1 post = 1d10 - roll of 1-3: roll 1d20. 1-19 grants 1d10 tokens -- ping Key for a nat 20  - roll of 4-7: roll 1d20. 1-19 grants 1d10 tokens - you get to meet some of The Flood’s locals! -- sometimes these are cute seals, otters, and so on - ping Key for a nat 20 - roll of 8-10: more locals! -- and sometimes they’re hungry, territorial creatures who’d rather fight you. -1HP to all in thread, but +1 resource (animal trimmings)

Fishing - receive 1 fish of varying size per post -- roll 1d5: 1&2= small, 3&4= medium, 5=large --- 30% chance of injury upon catching a large 

Hunting - receive 1 bird per post -- roll 1d5: 1-4= seagull size, 5=turkey size

PLEASE READ BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

What to Expect

Unlike recent lore events, Keras Kai Elephas will be mostly in the hands of the players. There will be a series of tasks in need of completing each week, but the players will determine HOW those tasks are completed. Resources will be granted based on post count, word count, number of muses in a single thread, and/or other mechanics, so the focus will be on generating your own content and developing relationships between your muses. However, we do encourage short, meaningful posts. Direct interaction > internal monologue.

A dedicated notetaker (or notetakers) will need to keep notes on what happens in each thread in your team, as well as track whatever counter a specific task requires. New events will happen each week depending on what your team did the previous week, and some tasks may not have immediate pay-offs. Follow your inspiration, but if you have questions about what is or isn’t allowed, feel free to ping a mod.

Lastly, every weekend until the finale, there will be a condensed, two-day mini game that will allow your team to gather a larger number of materials. This is an efficient way to stockpile resources or achieve certain goals, but in order for your muse to enter, they must have written at least two posts that week assisting another muse with a task.

Task threads do not have to be completed by the following week, but will no longer grant resources for posts unless otherwise specified. All members have permission to nudge their teammates to post if they feel like someone is taking more time than they should.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I only thread with my teammates?

Any threads taking place within the dream featuring the Flood can only be written with your teammates.

These aren’t the only threads I can do, right?

Of course not! These are just prompts to help give some ideas of possibilities. You’re always free and encouraged to make up your own threads, and feel free to ping Mod Key to propose a task idea for resources.

How do I claim the resources?

In order to qualify for your earnings, the thread must clearly allude to the listed task and feature the task being completed. Your team’s appointed tracker will be keeping tabs on your totals.

Can I only do one task?

Nope, you can do as many as you’d like with as many different partners as you’d like! You can do the same task with more than one person and still contribute toward the resource goal. Bear in mind, however, that this is a month-long event.

What if my partner leaves or drops a resource gathering thread?

If the dropped thread has at least 2 notes (not counting likes, only reblogs with replies in them) and you have hit at least 400 words on your end, you may still claim the resources. This only applies in the event your partner drops out completely.