#anyway i hope you folks enjoy!!

[baekslight]

baekhyun + that cute move during r u ridin’? (part 3/?)

[starflungwaddledee]

some rather strong first impressions were made.

required reading for the magical "voice" headcanon and another for starstruck's signature in particular. asked by @trainerbob23 !

[noxious-fennec]

C!Q + vylette's fit from Jawbreaker

(aka an idea I've had for every conceivable holiday for months and decidedly couldn't put out on an appropriate date)

[andresylupin]

I had fun making a playlist last year, so I'm doing it again!

(songs info here:)

鳩間節 (Hatoma Bushi) is a japanese folk song from the Hatoma island. It's a very small island, culturally part of the Okinawa region, and this famous song describes how beautiful the Hatoma landscape is from the Nakamui forest, one of the highest points of the island where you can admire the comings and goings of the boats.

"Chant et Likembé" comes from the album "Chants de l'orée de la forêt", a 90s folk recording by Didier Demolin, which features music and chants from the Efe people. They are one of the pygmy groups living in the Ituri forest of Congo.

The Halluci Nation is a canadian band, who blends First Nations music with electro, dubstep, etc. They are very vocal politically, with songs actively speaking out about First Nations' plights. "Mother Mother" features other First Nations artists, and calls back to the relationship between land and people.

ዋሽንት (washint) is the amharic word for a traditional ethiopian flute. It is a very important instrument in ethiopian music, and shepherds and cattlemen use it daily to communicate with each other and call/direct their flock. The player here is Tasew Wendim, who founded the Moseb Cultural Music Band, which mixes ethiopian traditional music with ethiopian jazz and other music styles.

"Fulenn" was France's entry for Eurovision 2022, by britton artists Alvan and Ahez. The lyrics are entirely in britton, telling the story of a woman dancing with the devil in the forest without a care. Big pagan-electro vibes, and I genuinely it could have performed well, but Go_A had a similar number the year prior (also better imo, even if I think Fulenn is still a bop), and so we ended up on the bottom, saved only from last place by Germany.

Kulning is a type of herding call from Scandinavia, used mainly by women. While these voice techniques had originally a very mundane use, they seem to have acquired nowadays a very mystic aura, similarly to other kinds of nordic folk chants. This particular recording is from the album Lockrop & Vallatar, entirely composed of Swedish pastoral music.

Otyken is a Siberian indigenous group who, much like the others on this playlist, incorporates folk music and traditional instruments with modern styles. They apparently blew up on TikTok, but I'm not on there, so I feel lucky that I stumbled upon them, they're very cool! The song is named after a siberian forest spirit and mentions how sacred the forest can be.

手向 (Tamuke) is an old traditional japanese melody, that is played on a shakuhachi (traditional chinese/japanese flute), during funerals or commemorations. "Tamuke" means spiritual offering to the gods or the Buddha, and this piece represents a time of prayer, contemplation with the deceased.

So I'm aware this is not the most seamless playlist ever with these very different styles back to back, we are kinda playing whiplash haha!

But I actually really like how they all respond to each other in a way: flute pieces (washint and Tamuke), modern takes on folk music (Mother Mother, Kykakacha and Fulenn, although Fulenn feels a bit out of place politically lol), herding traditions (kulning and the washint again), deep bond with the land (Hatoma Bushi, Efe people, Kykakacha)... In the end all of them speak of one thing: in the forest we are not alone 🌲🌌

[culpeppercheckers721]

Alright since all of us Ben fans are still recovering from our lamentable defeat, and I thought this might be funny, I would like to humbly suggest to you all some of my own means of dealing which are working thus far, as well as a couple other things that have come to mind 🙂‍↕️

SELF-CARE FOR THE BENJI TALLMADGE TRUTHERS:

- Light a candle. Just do it. :))

- Unplug! Unwind! As @culperscomet suggested here, reconnect with nature!! (Though I am not advocating for the full-on “lay down and let the earth reclaim you” approach here 🤠)

- Do some Ben-inspired moodboards & collaging

- Draw a warm bath Mary Woodhull style, but just relax in lieu of shooting anybody in the ear

- Similarly, should you find yourself near a body of water, visit it, look at it, enjoy the wAvEs, though I doubt any of your respective bodies of water look as blue as Ben’s eyes, do they?

- TREAT 🤪 YOURSELF 🤪 ( interpret that however you want)

- Bask in Seth pictures… they can improve everything

- Which leads me to my next point, actually rewatch some Turn to properly appreciate his beauty some more, if you require any suggestions the first episode that comes to me is S1E2 (Who By Fire), in which Ben is absolutely gorgeous; although he’s having dinner with Simcoe who looks like a feral poodle at the time, even on my first watch of the show that scene had me losing it because god. I wanna be under that table. Don’t you? Ben is delicious.

To some of my fellow Ben fans who I have briefly discussed this with: @honorhearted @culperscomet @cacaobeans

We will cope. We are coping. ☺️

[wexhappyxfew]

Paulina and Hambone 😭🙌

I need them 🙏

PAULI AND HAMBONE ARE SO SPECIAL TO ME!!!!!!! (you don't understand ive been itching to write them and just haven't had time and now i feel the need to write them so HERE IS A SNIPPET!!!!!!)

(i think we all need a little more howard 'hambone' hamilton in our lives, right?)

"What's that?" Hambone asked, nodding to the letter in her hand. Albeit, the letter was in fact more of a statement - a broad generalization, a solid 'goodbye', a 'no longer want to be seen with you', a rather heartfelt and truthful 'we're through'. She didn't know how else to put it, but it certainly was something she felt ready to discuss with someone quite yet - even the Silver Bullets crew - especially someone, like Hambone, that she'd just met. It was humiliating enough that she still was holding onto this letter like she was going back to home, to him, after all this. "Uh…." Paulina started, staring at the letter 'Dear Pauli' - still with that stupid nickname she'd asked him to quit calling her. That was reserved for her parents - not him. Especially not him. Especially now, after wanting to break this off. After everything. "A letter." she supplemented, folding it quickly between her calloused fingers, ignoring the bubble of emotion inside her as she looked upwards at Hambone again, sticking the crumpled letter in her pocket and smiling. Picking up her drink she nodded, took back a sip and sighed. "Not the best type of letter." she offered, watching his gaze as he carefully seemed to watch her back, "But. A letter. Can't complain." Hambone continued to sit there quietly for a moment, the ruckus and loud-mouthed cackles behind them mixing with the hum of music and glass clinks. It almost felt comical. None of the men owed the women anything - Birdie had told them she'd learned that the hard way. But going out of their way to bridge the gap? Paulina looked at Hambone again - perfectly gelled and styled hair (enough to match that of Douglass), those golden teeth, that….squirrel on his upper lip he called a mustache. Paulina stopped her train of thought. She'd just met the guy - he was that one Lieutenant's bombardier right? Brady? "I'm sorry," Hambone said quickly with a nod, fingers nervously tapping on the beer glass as he shook his head, shooting a smile on his face, "I shouldn't have asked. First impressions, amiright?" Paulina watched him, the corner of her lip perking upward. Emotion swelled in her thoughts, throughout her mind as she thought of first impressions. Meeting Dean, that first night together, all those promises, those broken words. Sitting in front of a bombardier from the Midwest with whom she'd just met, but almost felt more respected by than the person who had said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Swallowing she looked to Hambone again. "No, no, don't worry," she said, waving him off, offering a smile and twiddling her fingers together in her lap, "If you don't mind distracting me, I'd love to hear why you're called Hambone and not Handsome, huh?" Alright, that was pretty bad, but he had a face, that's all she could think. A chuckle escaped Hambone's lips as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs as he sipped his drink, a grin riding his lips as she sat there, smirking. A little bold, a little punchy - if Dean were here she'd rub it in his face - look, a guy can talk to me without sounding like an asshole, is that so hard? "So curious to know, huh?" he asked her, before nodding, "Gotta name?" Paulina watched him, her eyes softening - she felt them soften - and nodded. "Paulina Stagliano. From Philly." she offered, "But my friends call me Pauli."

[happi-tree]

⚔️👑 shield and scepter 👑⚔️

Howdy, y'all! So my wonderful mutual @raemeh did this really cool fanart of my royalty Swiftli au (the fic for which can be found here), and I had some little design ideas about them in my wips, so I thought I'd post the two of them here! Thank you so much to everyone who's enjoyed it <333

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Ok y'all it's time to join the party (very late) on my latest deep obsession, which THIS TIME I am going to allow myself to pursue instead of killing the joy (because of how intense it can get) and share with you!!

And that obsession is Epic: The Musical.

Holy smokes man this thing has remolded my brain, it just somehow hits all of those things which I desperately love in media

Firstly. The music is absolutely exquisite. And not even in the ways you'd normally think! Like--there's such wonderfully detailed soundscaping! The musical follows Odysseus on his journey home, and the songs themselves contain beautifully done effects that basically make the listening experience into a movie in your head. Monsters, crashing oceans, the underworld itself--and not only is this included in non-muscial sound design, it's incorporated into the music itself. The realm of the wind gods uses flutes as the main instrument--because it's a WIND instrument I'm losing my mind

PLUS there's the additional elements of musical "Easter eggs," thematic connections, leitmotifs, instrumentation identification, musical callbacks and even foreshadowing like come ONNNNN it's so well done

All of this with the added bonus that the songs, while cohesive, do not all sound the same, and do not feel like normal musical theater songs. They are the perfect mix between modern music, orchestral arrangements, and a musical theater jam, because they are 1. SUPER great to belt along to, 2. Very much linked together (as explained above) and 3. Very unlike the standard, vocal-focused empty pop sound we're used to (theater) while keeping the innovative, ear-wormy, modern (pop) beat that often feels out of place in theater!

And lyrically this musical is super strong. I spent a ton more time on the music (and will likely write more at length later) because that is what got me obsessed with it, but there's also much to praise lyrically! Unlike most modern "non-theater" musicals, while you can tell at places that it has been influenced by (the ever-present) Lin-Manuel Miranda, it feels authentically unique and independent. So many songs have genuinely profound lines (check out Just a Man, the second song in the saga) and the pop elements never lend themselves to empty repetition. Everything sung or said has a purpose, which I am obsessed with. Yes king go off give us everything

Finally (for now) there's just the genuine love that the creator(s) have for this musical. Jay Rivera-Herrans is the brain behind it (he wrote the entire musical over several years) and like...just look at what he shares about it on his Instagram. He gets so EXCITED!! And not like PR excitement, this is like legit "I'm making silly noises because I can't contain myself" excitement!!! He reminds me of me in that sense because he has SO much love and passion for what he does and the nuance in it and the people who enjoy his work, and he shares that in an unfiltered, real, authentic way, and we need to see more of that in the world.

Anyway, if you haven't heard of it and are now interested, it's pretty easy to catch up--there are 5 of the 9 sagas out right now, but only half of the songs, and Spotify has a playlist or two that has them all in order. It's only an hour and eight minutes worth of listening and I have just listened to it through twice in two days; it really does not get old. And then if you go to Jay's Instagram the rabbit hole is deep!! And he explains a lot of the lore and symbolism and intentionality/Easter eggs in the musical!! I went through all of the content he posted, pretty much...

So there's my official hawking of Epic (if only I had gotten in on this earlier!! The "Get in the Water" song that was trending a while ago?? That's from this!!) and you should go listen to it!!!!

[ineffable-doll]

"It’s Not Too Bad When You Get Used to It" by IneffableDoll

T, 8 chapters

CHAPTER 1: 3.3k

Following Armageddon’s failure, Aziraphale and Crowley perform the bodyswap, prepared to be captured by Heaven and Hell. But after both factions fail to show up the next day, the angel and demon must pretend to be the other for much longer than anticipated… Hilarity ensues, feelings are felt, and no one anticipated so much breakfast being involved. But that’s ineffability for you. * Prewritten; will update every three days until completion. Come back on December 29th to binge!

A silly romp of Aziraphale and Crowley poorly playacting as each other, with fluff and feels because I can't help myself. Queerplatonic, aroace, lots of banter and humor! Book vibes and characterization with season one canon.

[tinylongwing]

Hey it's that time of year where I crave some good spooks and am currently in deep need of horror art inspo while I plan and work on a project for October (well, if a commission doesn't get in the way - it might become December horror lmfao).

Anyway, please share your favorite horror artists and imagery with me! In return I promise payoff when everything gets posted. Especially looking for recs involving cosmic horror (but not so much like, actual Cthulhu), weird/surreal horror, body horror, but anything that's your fave.

[wundrousarts]

I was going to save this until I reread Hollowpox, but that last ask reminded me that I should share this here, so I present:

Musings on Maud: Why is she considered so powerful, how does this affect her dynamic with Squall, and why is he so scared of her?

(Bonus: How can I connect it to Silverborn?)

Two disclaimers: I haven't reread Hollowpox in ages, so if there's anything that could prove or disprove stuff in this post, send it my way. Honestly send any discussion my way. I love discussing theories. Second, this was originally a reply to a Reddit comment on a post, to which you can find here. The comment discussed Maud being a signatory for a Squall safeguard, so since this comment is copied verbatim, it references that.

---

If it’s not outright stated, it’s at least heavily implied that Squall helped create/build up the Republic. It’s only existed for about 90 years, and Squall has been exiled for about 100. He mentions in Hollowpox how he knows that Maud’s plan is to take over Nevermoor/The Free State, because the Republic took over the other states in the realm and he “helped them do it.” However, unless Maud is immortal and also 100 years old, she is not the one who started the Republic from the side of the Republic. Also, no clue how long it’s been around, but Squall Industries has likely been around for awhile as well (this is how he gets his connections and power in the Republic), with Squall just constantly grandfathering himself in with the vampire trick or something.

Interestingly, Squall says two things in this scene (Chapter 34 of Hollowpox) that stick out to me:

“I made the so-called Hollowpox,” he raised his voice above hers, “because I was asked to. Because I was compensated handsomely for it. And because when the most powerful person in the realm asks for a favour, even I don’t refuse.

And

“But you’re a Wundersmith.” Morrigan was utterly baffled. “Why can’t you just stop them if they’re such a problem? I don’t understand!” “Do you THINK I HAVEN’T—“ Squall shouted, then cut himself off abruptly.

He also mentions how the Hollowpox was initially meant for the Republic, but Maud snuck in an infected otter across the border into Nevermoor— “That was never part of our deal.”

There’s definitely a business relationship between the two of them of likely consistent deals, one favor for another, quid pro quo. However, we also see that Squall can’t really go against her, something he seems to have tried before. Two chapters before this scene (Chapter 32), has this moment:

“Yes, shush. Maud said the Wintersea Party might help if there was a squid crow po.” “Quid pro quo?” “Right, one of those. She said they won’t do something for nothing, but if we could convince Prime Minister Steed to meet with her, just to have a conversation, then she would try to convince her party to share their cure.”

While it could be easily explained as part of her job, Maud seems to get most of her power and do things by extracting deals from other people. Maybe she’s knackless, or maybe she has some sort of connection to Puppeteering or a knack related to that. Not Mesmerism, but something that allows her to be persuasive, manipulative, convince people of things, and get them to do what she wants. A sort of parallel or companion to Squall’s connection with Puppeteering that we see in Wundersmith.

It’s interesting that when we first meet Maud, there is this exchange directly after she tells Mog that the Wintersea Republic would only agree to help the Free State if there was some sort of deal:

“But they’re your party,” Morrigan pointed out. “Aren’t you the one with the power? Maud stiffened slightly and cast her a wary, calculating look.

And then soon later she says this:

“Even if I could persuade my party to do the right thing – and I’m not saying I won’t try – there’s no guarantee Steed and his government would come to the table.”

The whole exchange seems very manipulative, like, “oh, I’d LOVE to talk and get this figured out, but I can’t…” There’s a big focus on conversation. Maud is wary when Mog mentions power— she thinks she means a magical power, something secret that gives her an advantage, when really she just means politically— so I wonder if she was worried for a moment that Mog realized she had some sort of coercive power.

I wonder what exactly her power is that makes Squall so scared of her, and why it possibly makes it so that he can’t fight make and overthrow her. Aside from their business relationship, which allows Squall access to Wunder and being a Wundersmith, there’s this other layer as well.

As for safeguard: I don’t know if Maud would be a signatory for a Squall safeguard, as that seems to just be for Wunsoc students, but I think that whatever their deal is and whatever her power is allows her to keep him in check. Jess said that we will learn more about safeguards in Silverborn, and I think it would be interesting if Mog learns more about them from Squall instead of Jupiter— and maybe it does end up being similar to whatever he has going on with Maud, who knows! I don’t really have any safeguard theories myself, but I will keep an eye out for what you add to your comment.

A Silverborn “silver” side note: A “silver tongue” means that someone is persuasive when they speak….. perhaps this idea, theme, power, etc. will be expanded upon in the future 🤔

[hypewinter]

Guess what y'all. I'm doing another Theme of the Week! I know it's ah *cough cough* been a while since I said I would do another one but I have a good reason for the delay!

.... Ok I have no reason but nevertheless it's Theme of the Week time baby!

[tenacquity]

me: ( ‾́ ∀ ‾́ ) !!!! ryunosuke "stfu sit down and pay attention" naruhodo let's go ! （ꉺᗜꉺ）

[kasieli]

somewhere in the shadows | chapter one

Some initial A/N: Hello my near and dear friends! Welp, here it is — my new spark of creativity. I’ve been playing Hogwarts Legacy and there was just a sudden urge to write a fanfic, ya know, so here I am. I have more detailed and important author’s notes at the end, but I just wanted to paste a little blurb here. Anyways, please enjoy this short and sweet introductory chapter! (And once again please make sure you read my other notes at the end!)

***

Eleanor Laverne learned first hand that pleasant morning that there were, indeed, 142 stairwells in Hogwarts castle. Even though she woke up at the crack of dawn to brew some tea and prepare herself in her overwhelmingly blue common room, she felt like a first year frantically dashing through all the hallways and corridors and stairwells in the maze that was her new school.

Wonderful — her first day, and she’d show up to class after it already finished with her legs feeling like pudding.

To be fair, it was technically her first year here — she was just starting on the fifth year curriculum. Still, she was sure that someone of her 16-year-old stature looked quite appalling racing through the halls in comparison to that of a puny first year. Well…on the bright side, at least she could out run them and their short, stubby legs.

She glanced around, positively sure she passed the same portrait of a lady in an impossibly puffy pink dress who was, at this point, snickering at her valiant efforts of getting spectacularly lost. The watch on her wrist read 8:13, her first class began at 8:15, and at this point, she might as well have admitted her defeat on getting to class on time. After all, she had absolutely no clue where in the castle she was. She could have been on the opposite side of the school for all she knew.

She must’ve been rushing forward with her head on a swivel for a moment too long because she abruptly met something before her with a thunk. In doing so, all of the books that were, moments ago, held safely in her grip, splattered gracefully over the stone floor.

Splendid. 

She was already late — she didn’t need obstacles, either.

But the obstacle turned out to be another person as she heard a surprised, “oof!” and the sound of footsteps plummeting forward.

She shook the dizziness from her head and steadied herself, only to find a brunette boy peering over at her with a wince. “What was that for?” he asked, and she wanted to laugh as if her sprinting spree was intentional.

“Sorry,” she grumbled, bending over to reach for the book closest to her. 

8:14. Bloody hell. On her first day.

“Wait,” the boy began slowly as she heard the click of his shoes against the floor nearing her. “You’re the new fifth year, aren’t you?”

His statement beckoned her gaze, and she soon found herself gaping at this obstacle-turned-boy who happened to be a Slytherin student with quite possibly the sweetest face she’d ever seen. She didn’t believe in stereotypes but…for a Slytherin…he looked too…nice.

He reached out to hand her a few books he managed to pick up before someone called, “Seb! Come here! Defence Against the Dark Arts is about to start!”

She didn’t think her eyes could get any wider.

Defence Against the Dark Arts! That was the class she was looking for! Meaning…this lovely-looking Slytherin student that so happily picked up books for her after she nearly knocked him flat on his nose…was her classmate. What a truly memorable first impression — on her hands and knees picking up books and papers because she couldn’t simply watch where she was going.

“I suppose this is your class, too,” he said, offering her a hand to get up. She took it without any thought and stilled at the difference between his warm touch and the cold marble floor.

“It is.” She quickly released his hand and brushed off her robes.

He chuckled, and she noticed a sprinkle of freckles over his cheeks as he smiled. “Got a tad lost, did you?” 

“Perhaps,” she huffed, “let’s go.”

His bright smile was disarming. “After you.”

Never, in her whole life, would she ever expect to feel glad for nearly running someone over. But here she was, her heart racing at a surprising speed perhaps by her brisk morning jog or by downright embarrassing herself in front of her new charmingly freckled classmate, letting out a satisfied sigh as she found her very first victory this morning.

She checked her watch. 

8:15. Brilliant.

She was on time.

***

A/N: Alright folks, strap in because you’re in for a ride. I’m just kidding, but there are quite a few creative liberties that I have chosen to take, one of which is age. I have chosen to have Sebastian and Anne get held back a year before starting Hogwarts due to their parent’s death, while also raising the default age by 1 — so first years would enter around 12, and 7th years would be 18-19 by the time they graduate. (To be honest, having a 15 year old take something as life altering as the O.W.L.S seems crazy to me). Also, the way Hogwarts Legacy modeled their characters makes it seem like they’re at least 17-18, so, you know, with my unbridled creative liberty, I did just that. 

This makes Seb 17 at the beginning of the year, while most of the other students are 16. I don’t know their actual birthdays, but I imagine Sebastian to be 18 before the term ends, and the MC 17. Listen, I know it’s completely wrong, but just bear with me for the sake of this story.

Other things to note: this goes pretty much in line with the main plot of the game, and, because of that, I’ll probably skip writing scenes like the beginning dragon attack, etc. etc. but it will be referenced. Also, I know that this technically takes place in the late 1800s but this is a fan fiction and I know nothing of the wizarding world (or anything, really) in the late 1800s, so most likely it’ll read like the current writing it is and there may be contraptions or what not in this fanfic that might not have even existed in the 1800s. I dunno.

Lastly, Sebastian and the MC have so much witty banter between one another, and if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I love witty banter. Plus, I think that there are some options that could have been taken towards the end that could have…(positively?) affected the ending of his relationship questline. At the end of the day, I am truly just imagining an alternative ending and what could have happened, had they given Sebastian a different path. Plus, you know, some innocent romance, too, because why the hell not. Don’t tell me you didn’t ship your MC with him. He’s so flirty! Also, if you would like me to post this anywhere else like fanfic or wattpad, let me know! Anyways, I’ll stop rambling now. Thank you for reading and see you next time! Xoxo ~Cass

[angelicamerlinbarnes]

#diegowealreadyhaveachildyoucantadoptanotheronewithoutaskingme #fiveslikeaferalcatwegottaintroducethemslowlysotheydontmurdereachother #whyareyouhandingmefullysignedadoptionpapersdiegodidyoufakemysignatureonsomethingohmygod #imtellingfivetomurderyoufirst #itwasyourstupididea #alsohihonwelcometothefamily

[ghostzzy]

anyway it kinda sorta feels like my life is just now starting.