#and this video is so gd boring

[mymegumi]

my bf fell asleep watching an astronomy video and its like actually giving me a headache

[the-hottest-band-tournament]

Round 8 of The Hottest 80s Band Tournament

Guns N’Roses 

Defeated opponents: ZZ Top, Pantera, A-Ha, The Go Go’s, Fleetwood Mac, Mötley Crüe, Hanoi Rocks

Formed in: 1985

Genres: Hard rock 

Lineup: Axl Rose- vocals 

Slash- lead guitar

Izzy Stradlin- rhythmic guitar

Duff McKagan- bass

Steven Adler- drums 

Albums from the 80s: 

Appetite for destruction (1987)

G N’ R Lies (1988)

Propaganda: “The sluttiest a man can do is be in the Guns’N Roses’s original lineup” 

“Watch this video and tell me slash doesn't have pretty boy babygirl swag”

“Whoo! Time for more Guns N’ Roses propaganda (and by that I mean an excuse to gush about Steven Adler, one of my favorite drummers/people ever)

First off, look at him. This is, and so cannot stress this enough, one of the cutest people I’ve ever seen. Ever. Look at him! (And also, he’s a drummer so he’s fun-size - he is 5’7 at most and at least some of you reading could pick him up)

And he’s one of the greatest and most fun drummers to ever live. I’ve heard maybe 3 other drummers who are as fun to listen to and who have as good of a feel for matching the actual emotion of a song (harder to explain with drumming, but even though they’re both love songs, wouldn’t do the same solos for Patience and Sweet Child o Mine - it’s the same deal here). The demo for Back Off Bitch runs laps around the full version and half of that is because of him.

Izzy Stradlin himself has said that he gave early Guns N’ Roses their feel and that things got weird and “nothing worked” without him (I swear to god that’s a direct quote). You know how hard it is to get a guitarist or singer to recognize and actually admit that? And he’s never made a bad song or sounded boring, and that’s really rare for 80s-era hard rock drummers. Even Tommy Lee’s had his weird songs and I can’t say the same here.

And some bonus propaganda before I write another five paragraphs”

Queen

Defeated opponents: Green Day, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Psychedelic Furs, R.E.M., Duran Duran, INXS, Depeche Mode

Formed in: 1970

Genres: rock, glam-rock, hard rock, pop-rock, pop, disco

Lineup: Freddie Mercury- vocals 

Brian May- guitar 

John Deacon- bass 

Roger Taylor- drums 

Albums from the 80s: 

The Game (1980)

Hot Space (1982)

Flash Gordon (1982)

The Works (1984)

A Kind Of Magic (1986)

The Miracle (1989)

Propaganda: “HAVE YOU SEEEEN THEMMMM???? these men never lost their looks as they aged. smoking hot 20 somethings to smoking hot 40 somethings. in their own words, "we was glam" and "we were all stunning". all four had impeccable style choices 99% of the time, from leather jackets and wraps to monochrome to undone blazers and ties to brightly coloured /everything/. Deacon changed his hair style every few years and even in just tshirts and booty shorts, never missed. Roger had a sleazy mullet and sunglasses for what felt like forever, hot Persian dad, did not miss. Brian forgot how to fully button shirts. bell bottoms. same hair for 50 years. no misses. even after Freddie got sick and started wearing makeup and had to grow a beard to cover up, MAN NEVER FUCKIN MISSED. he was beautiful to the day he died. and thats not even touching on the leather daddy look from the early 80s.king shit. we love wrinkles and laugh lines in this gd house. if they don't sweep I’m blowing this whole website up we was glam”

“a few years back i was obsessed with these guys and i would find it hard to not have a crush on all of them. in the 80s especially Brian was GORGEOUS.. BEAUTIFUL”

Visual propaganda for Guns N’Roses:

Additional propaganda here and here

Visual propaganda for Queen:

[anderswasrightt]

i am so gd bored and i have no idea what i wanna do 😭😭😭 i have no art ideas, no attention span for reading, don't even wanna scroll through tumblr or fb, no attention span for tv or movies, i don't wanna play video games, i'm just sitting here listening to music and staring at my pc screen. this is so unbearable lmaooo. should i just force myself to do something? maybe i'll start to enjoy it. or maybe it'll just pass the time until i figure out something to do or it's time for something else to happen.

[soupbitch-moneybitch]

for the tiny crossover of people who love ofmd and also race cars:

i mentioned this in a discord i'm in, but i am not a sports person at all, and i am ESPECIALLY not a race car person, except my partner has a tendency to periodically get really into a specific topic (fungi, the atomic bomb, ebola, etc), and by extension, bc i love him and love listening to him, i tend to learn things about these things by extension

which is all to say, i am now kind of disgustingly familiar with formula 1 race car driving?? to the point that i have opinions on the teams, and have favorite drivers, and know a bunch of the history and stuff. it fundamentally clashes with almost ever facet of my personality, yet i have watched almost every race this season live

the POINT tho, and also the critical problem, is that formula 1 racing--more so than any other race car competitions--lends itself SO FUCKING WELL to a blackbonnet au

if you don't know (-god i wish that were me pic-) formula 1 racing is international, and the teams are all from different countries, and so are the drivers, so you have all kinds of nationalities up in there. and there's a shitton of nepotism, and generational racers, and buying their way in, and all that sort of stuff, which ofc makes me think of like

ed, being this formula 1 driver who is one of the only drivers to start from the bottom and work his way up on skill alone, and he's about to break the record for number of world championships, but he's so fucking BORED with the whole thing, bc he has no competition anymore. he wins every race, no one even comes close, it's just the same day in and day out

ENTER

stede. mb his dad/family owns a team, or are big sponsors, so everyone assumes he got his place bc of daddy's money, esp bc he wasn't known in the racing circuit prior to formula 1, so ed doesn't pay any attention to this dude at all, besides a brief "oh cool, another kiwi #respect"

right up until stede beats him in a race

and suddenly there's real competition again. and they are stuck doing press together bc they always get podiums together after every grand prix, and they go out celebrating together in whatever random country they're in that week, but mb stede has never been much of a partier, and ed was over it years ago, so they come up with their own celebration rituals, that are just them hanging out and watching tv at the hotel, or playing racing video games, or whatever the fuck. and obviously they start to fall for each other, which causes all kinds of drama, bc izzy, ed's team lead, is like "don't let this poncy fuck get in your head!" and the fans are divided on whether they ship ed and stede, or if they hate stede for coming after ed's record breaking win, or if they LOVE stede for coming after ed's record breaking win, and it's just a huge clusterfuck of drama that makes it really hard to develop a real relationship during, esp considering that they hop countries literally every two weeks

and ofc it has to come down to the wire. they have an equal number of points at the final grand prix, so whichever one of them wins that race wins the championship. what will happen??? i dunno, but whatever it is, they'll fuck about it afterward for sure

it fits together like a gd puzzle. the story writes itself. but am i rly gonna be that person? am i rly gonna have to be a person who writes fanfiction about fucking RACE CARS???

this is ruining my life

[muppetminge]

i don't as such care much for the concept of pride month, but since i happen to not have much going in june i will take this as an excuse to watch a bunch a lesbian films. in theory, this could be 30 - in practice, it almost definitely won't be. i will 100 % get bored and stop at some point. anyway i want to find like actually good lesbian movies - which might be an oxymoron, but anyway - this means i'll only be watching woman-directed movies, preferably lesbian-directed but i'm aware i probably won't get to be that picky </3.

movies watched:

1. The Watermelon Woman (1996), dir. Cheryl Dunye. "all you do since you don't have a girlfriend is watch those boring old films" well, screw you too, tam. so happy to start off the month with something that's actually good. thank you cheryl <3 speaking of, this woman is so fucking hot it's bullshit. also i do need her earrings like asap but that's another topic. forever saddened by the death of video stores... where am i supposed to go to meet hot lesbians now? netflix? it's bullshit, man.

I don't think there's any part of this I don't find incredibly compelling. It's really funny, and just generally so charming and, well, human. the narrative of building your own history really resonates, and honestly cheryl gets it across incredibly.

2. Pariah (2011), dir. Dee Ress. i didn't vibe with this one as much, but i guess that's my own fault considering i knew very well going into this that i don't particularly like coming-of-age movies. the soundtrack hit most of the time, even if the soundscape in general was a bit flat for my taste. it's a very dark movie. like, physically. i couldn't see shit half the time. also not really a fan of the camerawork throughout most of it. it's a nice-looking film if it's your kind of taste - unfortunately i am too kitsch to really appreciate it :/ i thought scene near the end with lee and her dad on the roof was really nice. also found kim wayans' character really compelling

3. La Belle Saison (2015), dir. Catherine Corsini. not projecting but also delphine i feel you so hard. is this representation because if so i don't mind it... (except the part where you're actually getting some but whatever). desperately making me feel like i should wear more tank tops. anyway delphine was really in a headlock with every single one of her principles toward the end huh. i get the dilemma though her riding tractors is basically public service (to Me because it's incredibly hot). i'm not even gonna be an ass about it like i genuinely just really liked this.

4. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), dir. Jaime Babbit. "1-2-3-4, inverts we won't be no more!" obviously i've watched this a million times before. did take this as an excuse to watch the extended edition and like just saying ms babbit if you want to extend even more you're more than welcome to it <3 gonna be careful about mentioning natasha here because i love her and chances are i won't be able to shut up again but gd people really do underestimate how fucking funny she is… i've personal beef with clea for having basically the same haircut i had for a long while and making it look so much better. only realized on this watch that melanie lynskey's playing hilary. incredible. anyway i genuinely don't know what more anyone could possibly want in a movie. it's so hot. like all movies should look like this - let those colors pop for a change! one of the best soundtracks of the last thirty years and i'm so serious about that.

i think this was probably the first genuinely good lesbian movie i saw as a teenager desperately searching for something to relate to. it still grips me from the very first scene even now. i do think the stars aligned to make this work. it's so funny and it's such a great satire.

5. リズと青い鳥 / Liz and the Blue Bird (2018), dir. Naoko Yamada. shit, dude. first of all this is so so pretty. it makes me insane how much care and effort they'll put into like a background shot of a shelf or something... and all the watercolor... gorgeous. like just the opening shot with all flowers and the colors that are just popping right out at you... in general just really effective visual communication, especially on rewatches i'd imagine (after having seen the final hug scene). i remember when i went to high school one of my classmates was so incredibly musically talented it was genuinely a bit infuriating and i was so shocked she didn't go on to study music 'cause i would have if i'd been able to get in lmao. anyway this was really sweet. the last third is so incredible. when they finally play it, damn... genuinely like goosebumps. and then it somehow kept going? i feel like it's still settling while i'm writing this but i feel like i'm probably going to watch again at some point.

6. I Can't Think Straight (2008), dir. Shamim Sarif. (quote?) cut to waters novel. cut to k.d. lang cd. one wonders. this having a lower average than imagine me & you if anything really shows that reviews are bullshit. loved the music. loved lisa ray's character being half a second from jumping leyla at all times. loved zina; wish she'd had more scenes. loved leyla's dad being an insurance salesman; life insurance even. sells itself. when the ladies finally did jump each other it was with zero hesitation and i fuck with that so hard. this movie is so funny i don't care. bonus the ladies are very very hot. you can't fault a movie from 2008 for being incredibly 2008. here's to leyla for one day achieving the honor of being tala's fifth fiance(e). truly gettin' it all.

7. Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (2019), dir. Céline Sciamma. writing this on the eighth with an officially broken streak :( it Will happen again. this is indeed the first time i've watched this because i am to my core a contrarian bitch and seeing everyone freak out about this did Not make me want to watch it. now i have, and like... it's alright, yeah. didn't love love it. it's probably too long for what it's got going on. i loved héloïse; she was great. there's some really powerful scenes in here, the bonfire scene especially. i really liked how blue the ocean was; i hate this tendency of (especially) period pieces washing out everything to a ridiculous degree. i know some people are like insane about this movie and i'm happy for them but i can't relate unfortunately.

i did think briefly at the start that it was gonna be about croquis, and i really wish it had been, ngl.

8. Carmen y Lola (2018), dir. Arantxa Echevarría. 'ya te he olvidado' yeah babe sure looks it. had a certain interest in this going into it for very elaborate personal reasons. it's a lot better than the synopsis makes it sound. lola searching 'lesbianas madrid' like i feel you girl, been there!!! speaking of i was def convinced lola was a lesbian which feels like so rare in such a 'mainstream' movie lmao so well done. very believable. and like my girl was so so persistent you gotta give her that like she really went for it. can't blame her i'd be so into carmen too so like. her voice made me wanna die. so hot. (sí también es que el acento madrileño me pone un poquito pero,,,,). it really went insane at the end like damn. i was not expecting the ending tho like i really thought carmen was gonna be annoying about it. do i even have to save that i really liked this? because surprisingly i really really did. i can't help but feel it's getting rewatched a ton some time lmaooo.

9. 漂浪青春 / Drifting Flowers (2008), dir. Zero Chou. can't believe someone in the reviews of this stole my joke three years ago. speaking of reviews don't look at them because of course people have to be so so annoying about this. as usual. anyway. i was so drawn in by this you wouldn't belive!! i don't even know what to say... this is for all us if these walls could talk babes btw. loved the scene where one of the characters blatantly walked by posters and posters of one of chou's other movies. show off.

diego!!! <3<3<3 every single character is lovely but diego made me wanna *** ngl. it did hit very close to home, thanks for asking. realised in her part that i probably chose the wrong day to watch this but that's on me lmao. this would have broken me if i had watched it as a teenager lowkey. does it come across in this that i really like interconnecting vignettes? because i do, and this is really well-executed. hope you'll watch it and also that you'll find less spotty subtitles than i did if you do lmao.

it's a very genuine movie; i don't mean that in a condescending way, because it's also very much a well-made movie, but it's a movie that so clearly has a lot to say, and i appreciated all of it. perhaps this is also why i was so surprised at the reviews, because it really resonated with me. i know i've already pointed out diego a lot, but all three parts were incredible and they really held each other up. i don't think any of them would feel as complete without the other parts. in an odd way it stands like a shining light in the darkness.

10. Addicted to Fresno (2015), dir. Jaime Babbit. "(lesbians are poor. ..)" confirmed babbit apologist sorry :/ anyway i'm not gonna compare this to cheerleader i wouldn't want to try to follow that either. it's a fun movie! i laughed a ton. my lyonne obsession is well-documented so i'm not even gonna touch on that lmao. that being said martha is exactly the kind of lesbian i want to see more of (no projection here. obviously). i'm bound to be all over anything with these themes; lo and behold indeed i was. i stand by this being really well-executed, y'all just didn't get what she was trying to do <3 you could argue some tonal difficulties, but honestly i'm not going to. it worked. it's a bit quiet, but i can see that adding to the whole point of being stuck. some surprise appearances to delight

11. Saving Face (2004), dir. Alice Wu. first of all gd will's mom has got it going on. anyway i wanted a fun romcom and i got a fun romcom so i'm not complaining! i will say that i think this is the genre at its best. like romcoms often risk coming across as a bit clinical i feel, a bit empty, but this is just so warm. i adored hwei-lan (not just because she's hot but let me reiterate that she's so unbelievably hot; i get that boy so much, i really do), she's so funny. i love circular storytelling, and i think the end was done really well. the scene after that during the credits is exactly how i want my movies to end actually, i want my face to hurt smiling. don't you? wil is an absolutely idiot. i cannot blame her for a single thing. also i get you babe, i can't stand for dancers either. i feel like this is close to being one of most just plain fun movies i've watched so far.

12. Kyss mig (2011), dir. Alexandra-Therese Keining. gd i so want all my lesbian movies to start with a straight sex scene, don't you? coming to you with the exact opposite mood of that from yesterday. everyone in this is horrible. mia and frida's relationship is not believable at all to me sorry. i barely believe that these two even like each other if i'm being honest. it's not the first movie here where the romance comes a bit from nowhere (namely portrait, which made up for it with some level of charm, and belle saison, which i just liked enough otherwise to excuse it) but here i'm definitely gonna blame it for it because it's got nothing else going on, either. to be entirely fair, it was very optimistic going into this with my dislike of 'scandi dramas', especially of the swedish variety, but fuuuuck, i was so bored i'm sorry. it's soooo slow. i actually quite liked elin but she was there for like five seconds - and good for her, because damn you deserve better babe... both of the main women kind of suck lmao but at least frida sucks in a fun way most of the time, so she's excused. i don't know if i'm supposed to feel bad for tim (probably! knowing the genre, knowing swedes, knowing movies), but he's such an asshole. i genuinely think mia should have killed him. i can't blame mia for sucking; her dad's a major asshole, i'm sure she's had it rough. i'm sure if you like this sort of movies it's alright. it's not badly made by any account, i just really didn't like it. it has its audience. definitely a new low so far. the one good thing about this was that it really made me appreciate being a lesbian; those scenes with mia and tim genuinely looked like my personal hell. if i was mia i'd jump the first girl who looked at me too, ngl. the ending did make up for a few things, all things considered. i watched a not insignificant part of this without subtitles (because they would not workkkk) and i'm so brave for that tbh

13. Kokon (2020), dir. Leonie Krippendorff. proof that i should probably do more research before watching stuff (never going to happen though; no fun) because i did not realise this would be this much of a coming-of-age story. like literally hitting all the points. anyway it didn't do much for me. i really don't want to be mean here because it's obviously a very well-made film, and i get the intention, but... i was so fucking bored you would not believe. like i was less actively annoyed by this than kyss mig, but way more bored. it's not a very long movie, but it sure feels like it! anyway, if you're watching for the rep, you can skip this one; it's not really the main part of the movie, which is fine - comparatively, pariah had much more of a lesbian focus. this one really is just coming-of-age. something something you know you're in berlin when the whitest girl you've ever seen is swearing on the qur'an. i'm so glad i'm not a teenager - and what a joy to be getting further and further away every day <33

14. Desert Hearts (1985), dir. Donna Deitch. first of all the soundtracks is lovely (and it's a well-documented fact that mona will forgive everything for a good soundtrack). second of all i want to watch this again. like, immediately, right now. i'm gonna watch this so much i fear it's not even funny. ignore the 80s hair; we're in the 50s. one of the better romances yet. the lesbian-english teacher hypothesis proving true time and time again... incredible. cay is so funny. like the way the camera pans over to her in the bed in the hotel room scene... cinema! i was fucking done lmao. it's all just very lovely.

15. Go Fish (1994), dir. Rose Troche. well, we had to go here at some point. it's a very jazzy movie; take that however you wish. i have my criticisms, but also you can't blame a 90s movie for being too 90s (which in truth is what a lot of it boils down to). max' narrations were without a doubt my favorite part, the start especially so. there's more lesbians in one 80 minute movie than i've even crossed paths with, ever. cutting your fingernails before a date counts as foreplay in my book.

16. Joven y alocada (2012), dir. Marialy Rivas. i just know the progressive profesoras are going wild over this. huge respect to chileans for seeing a word and deciding fuck that shit and dropping half of it. top five accent ngl. also polola... also credit for starting a movie in the most uncomfortable way possible. anyway i am so not the target audience for this it's not even funny. it's well-composed, the style is great, entirely well-done, did not care for it. i only finished because i couldn't get the last-moment replacement to work and i didn't have time to watch anything else lmao. i have a lot of respect for rivas (hence me watching this) but... yeah. also really getting confirmed that i am very fine with lesbian sex scenes but straight sex scenes are horrrrrible.. nice reminder of the lesbianism i guess! i will be singing yo no te pido la luuuuna the rest of the night though. non voglio mica la luna...

17. Les Rendez-vous d'Anna (1978), dir. Chantal Akerman. an excuse to cross some akerman off my watchlist? you could call it that. i have a ton of respect for her. she's a very interesting person, i think. an interesting movie, too, all things considered. i'm very much drawn to the fastpaced and erratic truth be told, which this is like the polar opposite of, but it's got its point. i really liked the part with her mother. that was probably the high point of this. i didn't really care for either of the guys, like, at all, but it is what it is. still gathering my thoughts, i feel. not sure i'm entirely in the right space to really appreciate this.

18. Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (2011), dir. Madeleine Olnek. "...I did wonder about the gills". oh, this is how you make a movie. (was smiling and/or laughing from beginning to end). question: can this be replicated in real life. like can i just go find the nearest hot stationery clerk or how does this work.

19. Mädchen in Uniform (1931), dir. Leontine Sagan. all impact aside, this is a lot more fun than i'd thought. obviously i've been putting this off for a while now considering i hadn't seen it til now, but i really did enjoy it. i feel like it's rare seeing girls just having fun like this. as a young girl i was very into this old book series (incidentally from my mother's childhood) about some girls at a boarding school; entirely irrelevant to every and anything here, but watching this gave me the same vibe throughout much of it.

20. سكر بنات / Caramel (2007), dir. Nadine Labaki. absolutely adore this one description i found that says rima is struggling with her attraction to women - lmao where?? the most she struggles in this movie is the coerced leg wax lmao. otherwise it's basically all very sensual hair washing, gd bless. she's also very hot btw i do need to mention that. i see you all going crazy over labaki and you're not wrong but gd man... anyway, sensual hairwashing aside, the straight girls are alright too. seriously, this is actually very good. even though rima's the lesbian the most homoerotic part of this is layale very aggresively waxing of her lover's wife.

21. Een vrouw als Eva (1979), dir. Nouchka van Brakel. after a hundred minutes still not convinced this is a real language. anyway, i don't even know what to say. fuck, dude. gd. you could argue dated, but fuck it's rare to see a movie like this treat its lesbian protagonist with this much sympathy, even today. there's a lot to say, but in my mind this is what i keep coming back to. it's in the little things. at no point does this feel perfomative to me, either. a few asides: the beginning of this movie was very extremely effective at showing how utterly miserable eve was lmao. ad is a giant asshole; eve not slapping him is a testament to this poor woman's patience.

22. 蝴蝶 / Butterfly (2004), dir. Mak Yan-Yan. between the marianne faithful, patti smith and janis joplin i can't be entirely sure jin's place isn't actually mine also fuck josie ho is gorgeous. i almost didn't watch this (length) but gdddd i'm so glad i did. it took a bit for me to get into, but by the time it ended i had to just sit for a moment. it's breathtaking, honestly. i don't know what it is - maybe it's the timelessness? the way everything weaves in and out of each other constantly, like it's all happening at the same time. i don't know. it's so gorgeous, though.

23. Viola di mare (2009), dir. Donatella Maiorca. ah, sicilia, amore mio <3 anyway what the fuck. i think that's my main impression for the moment. gd. supposedly based of a real story, i really do think it's told well for the most part. i mean, gd, it would have been so easy to focus on all the surrounding, but the love really is palpable i gotta be honest. making me sigh and swoon over here... if more people were like angela, like first of all that would rule, but also lesbian movies would be sooo short. she's damn persistent lmao love her <3 definitely worth watching, but like do not read up on a single thing beforehand.

24. The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995), dir. Maria Maggenti. "Is this another one?" sometimes you really just do wanna watch two girls having fun. american high schools in media always throws me a bit because i genuinely can't tell how much is artistic exaggeration and how much is just you guys living like that. seems sick. if i still went to the hairdresser i'd show her a picture of randy in this. not getting over vicky's husband getting physical with a literal seventeen year old lmaoo go home dude! it's all very cute, genuinely. by my count this brings the jopling counter up to three. bonus for the bratmobile.

25. I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987), dir. Patricia Rozema. i'm really glad this is the one i'm the ending this on. gddddddddd i loved this so much. to quote polly herself: it's so... nice! oh, polly... <3 seeing a quirky weird girl represented so well is like seeing a shooting star.

all in all: this has been... really fun, actually. i don't know that i was counting on that. i did not in fact get bored and stop. i'm willing to concede that the amount of actually, genuinely good lesbian movies might in fact be a positive integer after all. definitely a much more fun way to spend pride month than engaging in nonsensical discourse. happy july! <3

[chowtrolls]

How Do Trolls Learn Language?

Here’s the Google Docs Link, I think it’s much easier to read on GD! 

Before I go on a hugeass long winded ramble, I want to clarify my qualifications so you know I’m not just talking out my ass. I have a degree in Middle Childhood Education, specifically in Language Arts! I also have certifications in teaching English as a second language and in reading intervention. Essentially, I am qualified to provide individualized instruction for students K-12 who may have delays in literacy, or have a reading disability of some sort. When I write this, please know I’ve thought about this SO MUCH. Phonics & language development are actually faucets of education that I not only highly value, but adore! 

Enough tooting my own horn. You get the gist. 

Language is developed in children by developing their phonological awareness, going up a ladder and ending with phonemic awareness. Phonological Awareness is the ability and awareness of sounds in a spoken language (ex: /cat/ rhymes with /bat/. If I replace c with r, the word is now /rat/). Phonemic Awareness is the understanding that letters make sounds, and how to manipulate them (I know /cat/ is sounded out by saying /cuh/ /ah/ /tuh/. The first sound of /cat/ is /cuh/. C can make /k/ or /s/ sounds.). Now, I could spend literally hours telling you the steps and processes. If you WANT to know more- you can look up how decoding, blending, and fluency lead up the ladder steps to phonemic awareness. But I don’t want to bore you. And I know you’re probably confused, isn’t this about aliens?? Yes! Hold on!!

Language is developed SOCIALLY! Primarily by PARENTS! And secondarily by SCHOOLS!!!! I know, I know, who woulda thunk schools had a purpose? Children who are read to by their parents have a higher rate of fluency & literacy. And in schools, if anyone can recall, you might’ve done some now silly activities like…”A is for Apple, B is for Ball,” maybe a word wall if you were lucky, sounding out syllables, “I before C except after E”, “When Two vowels go walking the first one does the talking..” so on and so forth. Those were necessary skills for developing your language skills. You didn’t wake up one day and just KNOW how to read. It took literal decades of your life. It took decades of conversations with peers, with friends, with adults in your life, reading books and watching movies, listening to adults converse, reading signs on the streets without realizing it…even now, you’re still learning! Even now, you’re still utilizing the phonemic & phonological awareness skills you learned over decades of being a social creature on Earth!!

When I make you read this word, it might be the first time you’ve seen it, it might not. Humor me. 

PHANTASMAGORIA 

As a human being with some experience in the English Language, you might know how to work your way through it. /PH/ makes an /f/ sound, right? So you know it starts with /f/. You know /ant/ and /mag/, and can blend the word into /phan/-/tas/-/mag/-/or/-/ia/. Those are all skills you learned socially. Somewhere along your life, you picked up the information that /ph/ makes /f/, and that O when paired with an R makes an /or/ sound. These tiny little aspects of your knowledge were developed socially. Via conversations. Listening. Talking to adults as a child. Talking to classmates as a student. Reading books. Watching video game streamers. Listening to music. Singing. Eavesdropping on your mom while she was on the phone. But mostly…Talking, talking, talking! Baby, language is a socially developed construct!  

So how the fuck do trolls learn language?

Trolls don’t officially have schoolfeeding (or so I was told.) On top of that, trolls are primarily raised by lusii, semi-sentient animals that haven’t all been shown as capable of language. Some may speak telepathically! But how can an entire race of aliens learn to speak the same languages if only a tiny fraction of them actually had parents who spoke to them? Trolls might’ve had jades in the caverns speak to them as grubs but, if we use human child development as our baseline, we know that isn’t nearly long enough to develop any true sense of phonological awareness. 

While my qualifications are primarily in teaching English, I know full well that literacy is similar amongst every language, every community. It’s a socially taught concept. And if we turn our gaze to animals, you’ll see it's much the same! Think of a litter of puppies. They don’t speak a literal language- but they have a body language. They learn through play with their littermates and interactions with the dogs around them what is and isn’t acceptable, and how things are said in their own language. A puppy learns from watching its mom play bow. 

Because trolls aren’t inherently social, and because their parental figures often can’t read themselves, I propose the idea that trolls are born knowing language. Or, well, hatched. 

We know, looking at the animal kingdom, that not all things a creature does is language-based or even socially learned. For example, how do puppies know to bite? They don’t learn it from mom or their litter, it’s an instinct. They’re born knowing how to do that. Human babies are born with a lot of instincts they can’t utilize until later in life, but every baby’s first instinct is to cry. The baby has no idea what crying will lead to- and ultimately later will learn- but in the first few moments of life, a baby cries. It doesn’t know why. It just cries. A puppy just bites. A baby bird just opens its mouth. A newborn foal just stands. And I believe that a troll, once it reaches pupation, just speaks. You could argue that humans are also born with the instinct to learn language, but…if left WITHOUT verbal language right from birth, a human being just won’t speak. My theory is, even without verbal language, a troll WOULD. Or at the very least, a troll could pick up verbal language much faster. 

I don’t think a newly pupated toddler troll knows what physics is and could explain what the fourth state of matter is. But I do think they’re made knowing a certain pool of words. It could be that as grubs, their lusii CAN communicate with them- so they’re pupated knowing basic words their lusii spoke to them as grubs. Language here is still a socially developed skill, but not entirely dependent on such. A troll living in a city with advertisements and signs everywhere, with music playing constantly, with the chatter of adults and older trolls all around, might have more developed language skills than a troll who lives in the country. But ultimately they both can still speak, and hold a conversation! I think lowbloods in tight-knit communities would have higher literacy levels, and if we follow the headcanon of Fleet Academies, then highbloods in those settings might as well. Jades typically are raised together, too. 

And, furthermore, my final point here is that trolls are developed to pick up on language much easier than a human might be. This would probably be the absolute best way of explaining it. That language, to trolls, is an instinct, and something that they as an alien race are highly capable of building off of. They are just hatched knowing language, and knowing how to develop it. Trolls never have to DEVELOP the sense of metacognition. They are hatched with it. A troll doesn’t have to develop phonological awareness. They’re hatched with the fully developed ability to hear, identify, and manipulate sounds in a spoken language. They never have a period of having to learn the language they’re being spoken- they are hatched knowing it. 

An unfortunately unsatisfactory answer, right? 

This will still keep me up at night until I can create a more solid concept. However, there truly is no way I can properly explain the intricacies of this without word vomiting phonological concepts on you. Trolls are hatched with a higher capacity for fluency in language. Since societal conversations and norms aren’t heavily relied upon in trollian society, concepts such as prosody aren’t as focused upon. If Alternia has one main universal language, it would mean trolls have less to learn- however, as a human, I struggle to see how trolls can have one language without a plethora of regional dialects, as we have in the United States. 

By never having to develop a sense of metacognition, by starting their language development halfway up the ladder by knowing language from the start, by perhaps not having to go through Piaget’s developmental stages as slowly as humans do, trolls perhaps have a higher capacity for learning in general. This might be a survival skill- they live in such a hostile society that it might be necessary for them to have a higher language level. Perhaps there are colonies or planets run by trolls who DO teach socially, and they have an even higher rate of fluency and literacy. 

That’s the fun part about aliens, right? 

You can kinda do whatever you want with them! :)

[sanstropfremir]

Just watched the new Taeyong music video and it's. So much. There's so much going on. It's nice that sm did something a little different but it's a lot, esp. combined with the song. Shoutout to greasy gamer god tho. What are your thoughts on it in case you've watched it?

it sure is A Lot!!! i think there's a lot of joy in it and it's super clear that there was a vision that had zero interest in being factual (the knight being from the year 1800 cracked me UP slkfjglkdfjglksdfjg) and instead reveled in the spectacle of it all, which i will always appreciate. the styling is so interesting and taeyong has historically had a pretty good fashion eye, but it's most the 'character' outfits that stand out like mr knight and yetti. we never actually saw anything that was that interesting in the actual stage styling which was a big disappointment for me. i think it's likely that it was more a practical issue bc a lot of the outfits from both the mv and the concept photos were big on silhouette and those can be hard to dance in, but imo that doesnt mean the promo outfits gotta be boring typical hiphop-esque fare. you can do better.

personally it wasn't a super successful debut for me bc i don't really buy taeyong as a soloist in the same way as gd or dawn, who are very much what this debut is modelled off of. maybe it's bc both dawn and gd actually push/ed beyond convention with their styling even for promotions, or maybe its bc dawn is leagues ahead of taeyong as a dancer, idk. there's something about it that just doesn't click for me as something that was truly 'taeyong', yanno?

[themishfittoy]

A take I said in a gc but Rob and Eddie have unbearably bad adhd sometimes, and shit used to crawl Steve up a gd wall.

Robin would do that shit where she would only eat one kind of food for weeks on end so they’d like end up going to a diner almost everyday- “Robin I can MAKE YOU FOOD AT MY HOUSE?” “BUT I DONT WANT YOUR HOUSE FOOD STEVE I WOULD RATHER EAT NOTHING” - and Steve would relent and take her to the stupid diner again. Eddie and Robin both can’t sleep without sound in the background, having sleepovers together would be a pain at first because Steve is so used to hearing a pin drop quietness at his house that he’d toss and turn but then it became routine to pick a movie to fall asleep too and waking up in the middle of the night to turn the tv off. Steve didn’t get why they would become so fixated on something, what happened to enjoying something a normal amount but then he would see something in a store or something would remind him of whatever Eddie or Rob have been fixating on and so he accidentally makes it worse. “Hey I know you’ve been really into Jim Henson Eddie and I saw this magazine that had a spread on the dark crystal” “Rob I found this care bear at the store and I could have sworn it was one you didn’t have yet”. And ofc Rob and Eddie have the attention spans of squirrels and they can’t remember shit on good days but they do really well with sticky notes, so he writes them notes to keep in the van or behind the counter at family video. He makes sure to keep pads everywhere necessary, and because in times of dire need where Eddie or Robin will be bored out of their minds atleast Eddie can have something to draw on and Robin can make little paper cranes so they don’t explode with understimulation.

[basicallyblank]

Where to start?

Firstly, why was McCabe on the bench for so long?

Secondly, finding it hard to rate Stina right now. So many chances that should’ve been finished by her that just weren’t.

Thirdly, getting irritated at these Tik Tok children posting videos about how the final goal wasn’t due to a lapse of concentration. It was. By saying that, I am not saying Leah isn’t an incredible footballer; she is. One of the best. She had a few seconds when she wasn’t in the best position, dropped her guard for a few seconds and Kerr managed to find a goal, which is expected from Kerr. It happens in football, and if we can’t say that then what can we say? The women’s game should be scrutinised in the same way the men’s is, if that had been any men’s defender we would’ve said ‘god he could’ve been in a better position there and stopped that’ - why shouldn’t we be allowed to do that for the women too? That’s where these youngsters are causing the narrow-minded idiots to have things to say - like ‘sure you can’t even say anything bad about their football because they get too emotional’. Leah doesn’t want that, nor do the other women’s players; they want to be judged on their football, they want people to take an interest in the tactics, positioning, and marking - they just don’t want videos of themselves on TT with their shirt lifted and some grim song put over the top of it. She accepted responsibility for the goal, not the match and that’s what they’re failing to see. The multiple missed opportunities weren’t her fault, so by saying that the equaliser could’ve been prevented isn’t blaming the result on her; and she will know and expect that. These children need to stop before they ruin the women’s game before it’s even gotten off the ground.

Fourthly, it is so clear how much we are missing Beth and Viv, we need another striker asap to fill that void if we want to be serious contenders for the title.

Fifthly, and most importantly, it shows how much the women’s game needs stability. It can’t be ‘we’ll play in a ground with a few thousand this week’ and then ‘let’s play in a ground with 40 odd thousand this week.’ It puts unfair pressure on the players, as they feel they have a responsibility to give those fans a reason to return. You could tell today, even in the arrival videos, that the girls were less relaxed and more nervous than they have been previously.

Lastly, aside from that one goal, how incredibly did Leah mark Kerr? Literally gave her no room for anything. Hurtig was equally incredible. Does kind of feel like a huge step backwards for the team, especially with the United win putting them 2nd on GD with the same number of games played, but we move. Onwards and upwards 👆

Well, I’ve bored you for long enough - I’m out 🎤

Totally agree on the McCabe point, bringing her on earlier could have changed the game . Stinas finishing has been dodgy recently, but she still delivers sometimes so we’ll see ig…

We’re definitely missing Viv and Beth, I was very apprehensive about going into this game without them, and I definitely think we would’ve got a goal or two with them on, as Jonas said, we need a ‘prolific’ goal scorer

Leah had a mostly good game ! Kerr could’ve easily been shooting/scoring a lot easier if Leah hadn’t marked her as well as she did, the last minute goal was Leah’s fault, but the loss in general wasn’t. It was the end of the game, and all the players looked exhausted and probably wanted the game to end.

I think we also would’ve had a better time if we used players from the bench, as that’s what they’re there for, in the last half an hour we could’ve had mana on, gio ect, just to replace the tired legs as stina looked exhausted

Hopefully this doesn’t cost us too much

[syoddeye]

re (or i guess re re re) the ask you answered with mwiv predictions, the one thing i'm most (morbidly) curious about from any prospective future game(s) is wtf they could possibly be planning to do with makarov from this point on??

specifically his death bcs this might sound weird, but he's in kind of the same situation soap was? in that the character & plotline large parts of his story & especially the end of it was super reliant on has been completely deleted, so… i really can't even imagine where they could be going with this

their handling of makarov as a whole has been soo underwhelming (how tf do you make one of THE most iconic video game villains of all time so gd boring 😭) that i rly can't imagine it will be anything other than super annoying. judging by how they went about rewriting soap's death to fit the new timeline, they'll probably just have this whole plot end with him getting hit by a completely unrelated bus offscreen or something lol

at this point, my only hope is that they somehow manage to find some reason to incorporate the 09 game's 1st person pov scene of being interrogated by an angry price 🤞

hi hi. i wish i knew. i can’t speak on the og makarov, but i find reboot mak underwhelming too.

which is a pity because from the start, they introduce him as a puppetmaster, with all of his planning and management of konni from the gulag. (evil type As, am i right? i am half-joking.) he has potential, but all i’m getting is pithy one-liners and a dude that seems way too hands-on for my liking. not that he should be at a desk or wholly removed from the action, but what’s the point of having hundreds of people at your disposal, people who seem to revere you as an almost religious icon, if you’re going to be boots on the ground all the time? ANYWAY. that’s just me.

i DO think he’ll have a more meaningful death than soap. 1) because with any hope activision/infinity ward listened to *some* criticism and decided major character deaths going forward need razzle dazzle. 2) narratively, i feel like they'll give players the satisfaction of stomping him like a bug and then grinding him into the pavement. and not just the players, but the remaining members of 141. 

if they incorporate a 1st person pov of price interrogating the player, i will not be held responsible for the shrieking you hear from the center of the united states or the absolutely disgusting fic that will flow from my keyboard.

[topconfessions]

So did you see the video from GD talking about the past year and future plans? I know the comeback plans caught everyone's attention but I'm stuck on his words about how he wasn't happy not being able to perform and meet fans and how he has "spent [his] days doing what [he] can from where [he] stands" and the almost sarcastic way he mentioned working out and being very healthy.

It almost sounds to me like someone at YG did not want BB out in public, but at the same time that doesn't really make sense. Still Life did incredibly well on the charts and the korean public loved it. I can understand before the release being a bit cautious what with all the scandals in previous years but after? When it was confirmed they would be welcomed back? Why not put them out there to try and rehab their image a bit?

It's just so weird unless the reasoning was one of the members refused. And the only one I can think of that might do that is TOP. Daesung has mentioned wanting to return and sing for fans, Taeyang is actually making a comeback with the BTS guy, and GD has talked about preparing an album. That leaves TOP as the only active member of BB that could be a holdout.

That's very good news that he is attempting to take care of himself. Wasn't he looking unwell during moett during? (you guys remember the tour I'm talking about, when he was very thin and frail. the bloody flash drive album). An anon previously submitted that she felt taeyang's x jimin vibe was boring. I'll say that still life bored me to tears although I recognize how beautiful it is.

they were already over it, the members, regardless of what they say or what GD says, they were done with BB and still was probably they're unofficial goodbye song, the fact they filmed it separately and didn't even try to get together? yeah, lmfao. they already individually moved on and were on their way out of there. You can't make idols rehab their image if they don't want to. TOP's image has been miraculously saved by pushing his wine venture out there and getting extremely lucky with his connections to do the space trip this year.

SO I think a few or one refused. plus you know they all left YG (although YB is under the blk label) and only GD is left so that says something.

as always, like I've said, top should have man up and left YG when he was trying his acting career. All of that mess could have been avoided IF he were to be the only one who refused, which I don't believe is the case although I can see him doing something like that. don't overstay you're welcome and make things more difficult.

[marvel-m-lee]

Jay's Makeup Giggles

I actually like his fic a lot for the most part. I haven't felt so gd bout righting a fic in a while lol- though it's weird at the start, I promise it does actually get better.

Prompt: by @secretly-tword-obsessed - Lee Jay

Words: 2222

Warning: language, teasing, fluff.

-Big Mouth!

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

It was a casual day. Only it wasn't. I lied. Jay was now hiding somewhere in Nicks house, giggling nervously, awaiting for one of his friends to find him.

It had started off a normal day, Andrew and Jessi were going to come over to Nicks and Jay just stayed the night. Nicks parents loved him so they never really minded.

"So, Nick, Jay? What time are Andrew and Jessi coming round?" Nicks mum asked, everyone sitting around the breakfast tabled eating.

"Any time, but knowing them probably 11 or 12" Nick answered.

Both of Nicks parents looked at each other with lust, his father slightly whispered something rather a little too loud making all but the two lovers uncomfortable. Well and Jay- but that's just Jay for ya.

"Please don't say that when they're here-"

"Nicky, I perfectly normal -and healthy! To make love in the morning. Your mother and I would do it all hours of the day if you kids weren't around and we had no jobs-"

"That's enough dad!" Nick sighed, putting down his cutlery and feeling incredibly embarrassed.

Later Nick and Jay were getting ready when the door rang, alerting them that Andrew and Jessi were here. Nick ran down, Jay following after and let the two in the house.

"Hey Andrew! Hey Jessi!" Jay happily yelled, giving the two a hug.

"Hey Jay" Jessi chuckled, patting jays back.

"Okay, alright! Let's go upstairs and play some video games!" Nick said, the four ran upstairs and played video games.

Yeah, all rather casual for the most part. They played videogames, had lunch, played more video games- them jessi decided to scroll on her phone for a bit.

"Come on Jessi girl, let's do something fun!" Connie begged, watching ad the girl scrolled through Instagram posts of mini make up tutorials and clothing outfits.

"Connie I'm bored too, but the boys just wanna play videogames and I just wanna scroll through my phone" Jessi didn't once take her eyes off her phone.

"Come on!!!- oh I have an idea!!! We could convince them to let us do their make up!?" Connie's eyes shone brightly, as thiugh she'd just had the best idea.

Jessi thought for a moment, about to agree because that could actually be pretty fun, but she soon remembered she hadn't brought the little make up she had.

"We can't, I didn't bring any make up" she sighed, looking back at her phone.

Connie's expression changed from excitement, to disappointment ment, to yet more excitement in a matter of seconds.

"Check your bag!"

"What?"

"You packed some from the time you went on that horrific date-" An uncomfortable shiver went down Connie's spine, the same for Jessi's.

"Yeah- it was pretty shit..."

"Yeah... anyway go check if you still have it!"

Jessi jumped off the bed and went to grab her bag, Nick looked over to check if she was alright but soon realised she was fine.

Annoyingly that made him loose the game. "ha! Another win for the Jay Hammer! Thats what my pillow calls me" Jay winked but the other two grimisted at the thought of Jay fucking a pillow-

"Hey guys?" Jessie asked, picking something up and nor letting any of them see.

"Yeah Jessi?"

"Wanna do something fun?"

"She wants to fuck! She definitely wants you to pounds her" Maury chanted, excitement radiations off him. Andrew tried to ignore him.

"Uh.. sure Jessi, what?" Andrew asked, confused but wanting to see if Maury was right. Obviously he wasn't. But still, hope. 🤞

Jessi pulled out her make up and smiled evil-y as the lights flickered and the boys all screamed.

Very over dramatic indeed.

"What the hell jusy happened to the lights?" Andrew asked, looking up.

"Probably a fuise"

"Did anyone else hear that demonic laughter?" Nick asked.

"Me again, haha- MAHAHAHA" The lights flickered again as Jay laughed manicly, everyone else screaming. The next minute it was like nothing happened.

"Okay- anyway- Jessi you can't be serious? That's... make ups for girls" Andrew said, threatened by ruining his masculinity.

"Yes I'm serious! Plus, make ups for everyone. All it does is make your features show more"

"Jessi- I just don't think... make ups for me? Ya know?"

"Oh whatever Andrew, Nick? Jay? You two aren't afraid of make up right?" She asked, not wanting to convince Andrew.

"Uh... Jessi I just don't know-"

"I will!" Jay jumped up and off the bed, jumping up and down with his hand in the air like a child.

"Yes Jay!"

Jay and Jessi were both excited to do the make up, Nick and Andrew both shrugged as they continued playing their video game. Though it was better cause Jay would always win.

"Okay Jay, sit up here" Jessi said, patting the edge of the bed as she put her stuff down and grabbed a rather large make up brush.

Jay sat down and swung his legs like a five year old, he was more than happy to do this- for whatever reason. He sat patiently as he waited for Jessi to get ready.

Jessi had put some sort of powder on the brush and asked Jay to look at her, she gently held his chin in her hand and dusted the brush on his face, asking Connie if she was doing it right.

Suddenly though, Jay jumped upwards with a little squeak, everyone stopped and looked over at him.

"You okay Jay?" Nick asked, Jay went a little red and nodded, suddenly quiet. Andrew and Nick looked at one another, asking what the hell just happened, Jessi just asked for Jay to sit down again so she could keep going.

Reluctantly, Jay sat back down and waited. He tried to hold it in but he couldn't help as the brush dusted his cheek once more. Suddenly, light, bubbly, childish giggles splattered out of his mouth, giggling away as the brush tickled his skin.

He tried to twitch away but also tried to stay still, trying to mask was something he did rarely, if ever, but was trying so hard to at this moment.

"Jay? Everything okay?" Jessi asked, stopping the brush and taking it away. Jay's giggles didn't stop though, so he tried to rub them away which just messed with the powder slightly.

"Is- is he okay?" Andrew asked, yet again pausing the game.

"I dont know-"

Nick tapped Jay's shoulder, making him jump. For some, stupid, random reason whenever Jay was lightly tickled he'd become incredibly sensitive, not that he wasn't already, no. Jay was probably one of the most ticklish people in the world but would usually run and hide so his friends never found out.

"Woah- hey, Jay?" Jay stopped rubbing as the sensation went away, his face was going red as he realised most, if not all of his closest friends were in the same room, without him being able to run, as he was lightly tickled.

"Oh my god the boys ticklish-" Maury and Connie both exclaimed, now visible to all the children rather than just their kid.

"Aw, that's so cute!" Connie exclaimed, grabbing him and ticking under his chin, starting up a whole new bundle of giggles as he turned away.

"No! No-" Jay denied, still giggling like the five year old he was.

"Wait seriously?" Andrew exclaimed, jumping off the bed. Out of all of them Andrew was one of the most ticklish, but it wadnt a surprise, let alone new news. Jay on the other hand jumped at the slightest touch.

"How did we never realise?" Nick asked, rather surprised yet somehow not at all.

"Let's tickle him till he cries!" Maury yelled, wiggling his fingers at the boy who just giggled before he was even touched.

He shook his head, "g-guys! I-iheim not even ticklish!"

Jessi couldn't help but smile, Jay trying to ignore the fact of how ticklish he was was adorable to say the least. Especially as he was already giggling at the slight thoughts of being tickled.

"Aren't you a cutie!" Connie said again, tickling his chin, ears and neck making him squeal and step back into the bed. He tried to run away the sensations but couldn't stop the giggles or smirks growing on all his friends faces.

"N-no- really guys- ihihim n-neheot ticklish!"

"How about we test that theory?" Andrew said.

As soon as Jay heard that his eyes went wide and he ran. Probably faster than Usain Bolt.

So that's where we are, Jay hiding from his friends as the image of their wiggling hands corrupted his mindz reluctantly giggling. Jay slammed his hand over his mouth and shut his eyes tight, pretending he wasn't there.

Jay didn't hate tickling, he actually enjoyed it. His brothers would tickle him to tears and although they thought they were annoying him, Jay treasured the moments. His parents would do the same when he was much smaller, tickle him slightly and hear his childish giggles.

The thought of his friends tickling him? It was terrifying buy also exciting. He couldn't bring himself to let them though, so he hid away.

It had been 10 minutes, his giggles would stop and go all over again and he was surprised he wasn't found yet.

Only then did he hear people walking down the hall, calling out his name.

"Jayyyy? Where are you~" Andrew called out, the teasing didn't help. He flushed red and hid deeper in his hands, curling up.

"Jay, we're gonna find you" He heard Nick call.

"Come out~" Jessi couldn't help but laugh, imagining her friend in the exact position he was in.

The footsteps passed the cupboard but stopped soon after, Jay had accidentally let out a rather loud giggle after holding his breath. Once more his breathing stopped and so did everything else.

In a slash of a second, the door opened and Jay was thrown over some hairy monsters shoulder, squealing and yelling. Pounding his back.

"This kid is strong" Maury said, but soon gave Jay a poke on his side and he once more turned to a puddle of giggles. Jay was thrown on Nicks bed and the door was locked.

Jay curled into a ball and squeezed his eyes tight, giggling hysterically already.

"Oh my god he's worse than Andrew!" Jessi called out.

"Hey!"

"We haven't even touched him yet" Nick laughed, then going to poke Jay's side as he squealed.

"Jay~ are you sure you're not ticklish?" Nick teased, poking his side over and over abd Jay frantically tossed and turned, laughing now.

"NAHAHAGAHANOOOOO" He shook his head and squealed as the pokes became faster as faster.

Andrew them fluttered some fingers around his neck, giggles splattered out along with reluctant laughter.

"NAHAHA!! PLEASEEEEEE" Jay battered their hands away, begging as the sensations became stronger.

"Oh my fuck, you got him begging already?!" Maury cheered the kids on. Nick looked at Andrew and Jessi and the three decided to climb on the bed.

Nick said just below Jay's hips but not on his thighs, Jessi sat on his angles and Andrew used all his strength to lift up the boys arms exposing his armpits and sat on his wrists as he clashed around.

"All spread out just for us" Andrew teased, dragging his hands lightly down Jay's arms as he tossed and turned, giggling eyes squeezed shut after feeling the horror of being so exposed.

"Nahahaha!! A-andreewwww" Jay begged but soon he felt hands on his calves, Jessi's fingers slightly being dragged upwards. Jay couldn't help but bash his feet.

"Now, Jay? Are you ticklish?" Jay didnt care, he somehow thought that they'd believe him if he stood ground. Even if he was a giggling puddle.

"NooAh!?" He jumped as he felt Jessie flutter under his knees.

"Weak spot guys" she called out, then moved her hands and squeezed his kneecaps.

Jay shook and squealed then, bashing all he could to get out. His knees were definitely a weak spot, he couldn't handle the torture. And it had only just begun.

His friends all laughed at his situation and actions, then everyone dived in. Andrew scratched at his hollows, Nick squeezed his sides and hips, making him buck. Occasionally spidering his ribs which made his giggles bubble up again. And Jessi kept changing from squeezing his knees to his thighs.

Jay couldn't handle it all, not at one anyway. He shook and squeaked, a bright red happy face but begged abd begged.

"STAPPPPPPOP PLEASE STAPPPPHAHMMM" He spluttered out, his face was so red and he couldn't help the tears that formed through laughter over a party few minutes.

Everyone let up abd laughed with him as he crawled into a happy giggly little ball. Maury poked his side one last time for good measure with made him yell but they all just laughed.

"Aw, Jay's a ticklish like boy" Jessi teased. Jay hugged himself, drowning and his own laughter for a few minutes.

"Ya know we would have stopped if you asked?" Nick teased, jumping back on the bed witb Andrew to play again.

Jay went red again. They were right, he'd never actually asked them to stop, and he loved it so much. Everyone went back to doing their own thing and Jay just giggled. Fuck.

[saturnstomars]

HEYY WASSUP 🍓 also recommend some comedy specials to me I'm bored and I have a month off with literally nothing to do

so the fact that u asked me to recommend comedy specials to u alr puts u high on my list of ppl that r cool so gd for u. also everytime i see u talk abt smth new whether its a book movie tv show wtvr its always smth cool so congrats on having rly great taste. also ur so funny?? maybe its j cuz we havent rly talked in a while (other than in asks) but every time i talk to u i always end up laughing cuz ur j such a fun person to have conversations with. also for comedy specials:

john mulaney - the top part

bo burnham - words words words 

jenny slate - stage fright 

taylor tomlinson - quarter life crisis 

pete davidson - alive from new york 

john mulaney + nick kroll - oh hello on broadway

not a special but the please don't destroy guys make funnt videos

hope this helps and have gd day/night bestie ily <33

MUTUALS SEND ME A 🍓 AND ILL COMPLIMENT U!

[draw-you-coward]

what i do when i hate my art

or, when i get frustrated at how bad something looks and give up. this is a MAJOR problem for me, and i want to offer tips besides “don’t compare yourself to other people” and “practice uwu”

- the problem here is that your visual skill exceeds your technical skill. you can look better than you can draw.

- it may actually give you motivation to look at your own improvement! it may not. in my case, it doesn’t

Steps

- look at your art! analyze what exactly you don’t like. if there are many things, make a list. this is a very important step!! if you can recognize something is wrong, try and pinpoint what that is. hone that eye of yours!

- then pick one. “i don’t like how i draw arms” for example

- focus on that one thing and only that one thing. nevermind other anatomy, colour, line quality, brush strokes, edge work, composition, environments, whatever. you know what you always have ?  time

- this is the study phase. it can be as short or as long as you like. go on youtube, pinterest, google images, quickposes, whatever helps you, and focus on drawing as many gd arms as you can. make it fun for yourself. listen to music or podcasts if it helps! connect them to a silly comic-y multi-armed monster!

- they don’t need to look good. in fact, tell yourself this: i am going to draw arms, and they are going to be bad. they’re going to be hideous. because you know what? they are

- but better to ruin a million disembodied arms on a page then one arm in a drawing you want to be proud of.

- basically, make art that doesn’t matter

- stop if you get bored or tired. no, it doesn’t matter how long it took. there is no invisible clock timing your progress

- “it’s been half an hour/a day/a week and i’m tired of drawing arms” you say. ok. so do something else! you don’t have to grind anything you don’t want to

“Something Else” includes:

- critique and paintover your own or other people’s artworks (obviously don’t show them or post it). this is a very common art exercise. as a challenge, try to do it to artists you admire!

- look at an art piece that has a quality you want to emulate (for ex, good arms). try to copy that quality from a blank canvas - no tracing. you don’t have to do the rest of the art piece! just the arms.

- contrarily, look at an art piece or photograph you like! try to recreate it from the ground up: sketch > colours > render or whatnot (maybe you just one layer no sketch paint like a daredevil. whatever works for you!). this will force you to recreate, not just copy

- draw/paint when you get an instinct to. tell yourself at the very least if it’s bad, you’re capturing the spirit of it so you don’t forget it for later. you’ll be surprised at how freeing yourself of expectations improves your work

that’s all i can think of so far! if this doesn’t work for you that’s unfortunate, and you may want to browse youtube/another social media’s collection of “how 2 improve confidence in art/why do i hate my art” videos and see if they help. if this did work for you i’m so glad!! either way, happy arting everyone <3

[notepadsandtealeaves]

Tim Drake x GN!Reader in: And Now You Know (So Please Never Ask Again)

12 Days of Batmas || Day 4—Wrapping Presents

↞ previous: day 3: mall madness || getting lost in the mall

|| ao3 version | 12 days m.list | batboys tag | main blog ||

|| dames day 4 | dick day 4 | jay day 4 ||

“‘Aww come on babe, how bad can it beeee?”

…the answer to that foolish question has turned out to be ‘Pretty damn bad’…

He doesn’t fail often, but when he does it’s usually in the most ridiculous way possible…

↠ Requested By: Not a soul lol ↠ Reader Gender: Neutral ↠ Content Type: SFW fluff ((but my blog’s 18+ if minors want to consume my sfw stuff while still respecting my wishes of them staying out of this space, they can head over to my AO3)) ↠ CWs: None. ↠ Betas? Nah, we don’t do that here. ↠ Total WC: 1k~

Headcanon || WC: ~700

🌟 The king of gift boxes/bags.

🌟 Look, he gets that tearing the wrapping paper off (or gently removing and preserving the integrity of it, if you’re that way inclined) of a gift is half the fun, but…

🌟 …he’s terrible at wrapping stuff.

🌟 Don’t worry, he’s fully aware of how ridiculous that is as:

First and foremost, he’s a gd Bat. He can hit a target the size of a penny on the other side of the room with Kobe-like precision, never mind the hand-eye coordination needed to wield a bo staff half as well he does.

Secondly, he plays so many video games that said hand-eye coordination has been further honed into a fine point.

And finally—he’s a grown ass adult.

By his estimation all of these factors should allow for him to wrap a fucking present and not have it look like something an enthusiastic toddler cobbled together and yet…

🌟 Look, he’s trying his best here, but– He’s just bad at it, guys. Like really, really bad and it doesn’t make any sense and it annoys him to no end but there doesn’t seem to be anything for it.

Somehow he always manages to cut the wrapping paper either too damn small or comically large.

Tape. So much tape all over the place.

The creases are never straight and he always manages to wrinkle or tear (usually both) the wrapping paper.

Also papercuts are a thing that almost always happens and though he has been in far worse pain, there’s just something special about the stinging throb of a papercut that makes him want to avoid the things at all costs.

🌟 He’s asked Alfie for lessons, but they didn’t stick for whatever reason.

He’s briefly contemplated asking his brothers and-or Bruce for help but ultimately decided that the resulting, incessant teasing wouldn’t be worth it, like at all.

🌟 Also high-key blames the whole thing on the biologicals’ janky parenting. They were so obsessed with him being a little genius that they didn’t do normal kid stuff with him.

There was no sitting around drinking coco and wrapping presents in the Drake household.

Any and all gifts were wrapped by professionals and placed (by their maid) under their immaculately trimmed tree (which was also decorated by professionals).

For Tim the holidays felt real mass produced before Alfred and the rest came along, but I digress so let’s move on…

🌟 He has also contemplated letting Amazon/store workers wrap his gifts for him, but that feels like cheating for some reason?

Yes, he’s well aware that this makes no sense, but it’s how he feels in his heart of hearts lmao.

((Definitely has everything to do with what was mentioned above))

Though if it’s for something more upscale—like a wedding, for example—he’ll cave and let a professional handle it.

🌟 So yeah, boxes and bags are his jam, and he always picks out really cute, hella expensive ones.

You’re never gonna get something with a basic pattern, or more boring yet, a flat solid color. He always makes sure to get something that matches your tastes and-or the occasion.

And he always makes sure to get all the fixings to go in the bags. Tbh by the time he’s done with the things they look like something out of a Hallmark display case.

But uhh… We’re… we’re not gonna talk about that time that he tried to make you a bag by hand (per Dick’s pestering). Let’s just say that level of DIY/arts and crafts projects aren’t his thing and move on lol.

🌟 If you’re one of those people (like me) who don’t really care for all the frills then he honestly may love you just that little bit more.

Do you know how many times he’s wanted to just slap a bow on a gift and call it a damn day?

Spoiler: It’s Every. Fucking. Time.

🌟 So in conclusion:

🌟 ((Is this meme even still relevant? Idk, I’m too old to care, tbh, and Drake’s face in the second pic still makes me chuckle so…))

And Now You Know (So Please Never Ask Again) || WC: ~400

“‘Aww come on babe, how bad can it beeee?’ Pfft.”

You snort at the mocking approximation of your voice. You do not sound like that—or at least you don’t think you do. Either way, the answer to that foolish question has turned out to be ‘Pretty damn bad’, but before you can comment Tim’s defeated sigh crescendos into a frustrated growl.

He tosses the tape he’d been battling with for the past minute aside with enough force that it bounces off of the table to land amongst the pile of discarded wads of wrapping paper with a dull clatter. You’re fairly certain that the thin plastic casing is cracked now, but given that the edge had gotten stuck to the roll (and is now subsequently lost to you for all time) you figure it doesn’t matter overmuch. 

When he told you that he wasn’t the best at wrapping gifts you were inclined to believe him—after all, Tim’s honest to the point of self-deprecation when it comes to his shortcomings—but you honestly hadn’t thought that he would be this bad. In fact you didn’t know that it was humanly possible to be this level of terrible at something so simple, and yet you’ve got several mangled rolls of paper, an entire bag’s worth of crushed bows, and several bandaged fingers that tell the harrowing tale.

You open your arms to him then, and though he’s low-key glaring and high-key pouting the whole time he settles into your warmth just the same. As you run your fingers through his messy mop of curls you feel him relaxing by increments until he’s all but boneless against you. Between the lulling, repetitive motion and the metronome of your heartbeat it comes as no surprise that Tim literally falls asleep on you, not that you mind one bit. His weight is a welcome one, grounding and secure.

Eventually you’re going to have to package your gifts one way or another, but that’s Future You’s problem. For now you’re more than content to give in to the slumber that tugs at the edges of your consciousness. You pull your man impossibly closer, sighing in the way of the terminally lovesick when he squeezes you in kind, and allow yourself to drift away…

Up Next:

🌟 Day 5: Live Petty or Die Hard || Ugly Sweaters

“Tim, baby, is it really that serious?”

He looks away from his soldering work just long enough to give you a look that says, ‘Yes, darling, it really, really is’…

He can be petty as hell, sure, but you kinda-sorta love him for it.

© notepadsandtealeaves, 2020 || Please do not repost, translate, or otherwise alter or distribute my works without my express permission. And for the love of god keep it away from Youtube and TikTok lol…

[chumchunom]

OMGGG lemme get into this gamegate gig!

im a huge video game lover but bc theyre so gd expensive where i live so i mostly watch other people play HHHHH (like DBD, phasmo and any other horror games)

but i do play a few games myself:

1. HADES: its a roguelike which means in order to progress, youll have to die a lot BUT i highly recommend. It is super fun and the story, writing, characterizations, combat system are super good!!

2. GENSHIN IMPACT: is a gacha game so if you know... you know... looks amazing, IS very fun for the first coupe of months but after that it becomes a bit repetitive and pretty boring imo but theres something that will not let you quit the game once you play it so if you wanna play.... good luck charlie! (i have a love-hate relationship with this game)

3. PERSONA 4 GOLDEN: its a JRPG so if youre not familiar with the genre then youll might not enjoy it plus it has a time mechanic that can be pretty overwhelming if youre not used to it. BUT it has a very interesting story, a murder mystery, a very fun cast and good music so i highly recommend! Oh and its best to go into it blind so you wont spoil yourself of the story obvi hehe.

and i also play roblox here and there when im bored so teehee ^-^