#anyway it might just be because the workout i just did actually had legs

[butchlifeguard]

i think i accidentally ankle weighted myself wrt abs

[peachbottom]

Not Hungry

Authors Note: I actually kind of hate this but I spent some time on it so I might as well post it. I wrote this with a similar body type to mine in mind, though it can be pictured anyway you like it does hint at a midsize/chubby reader. Give me feedback if you feel like it. Much love xoxo

Summary: You are self conscious eating in front of people so you decide to wait until you get home to eat. But unfortunate weather has you stuck at Buckys apartment and he is determined to make sure you don’t go to sleep hungry.

Warnings: food, not eating, body image, insecurities, hints at mature themes, pet names, possibly disordered eating habits, barely edited, bad formatting (pls let me know if I missed any)

——————————————————————————

You and Bucky had been together for a little while now, about 6 months. You both agreed to take it slow due to your own situations.

You really did like Bucky, loved him even, but you still had your habits and behaviors that you used to mask your own anxieties.

For example, you don’t eat in front of people. Even Bucky, and not because you don’t trust him but because you get in your head.

You will eat food with him but never a full meal. Part of it is because you don’t want him to judge you for eating too much, too little, too fast, too slow, anything really. People have always had something to say about your body and appearance and you came up with this coping as a way to keep them from having more to judge.

It started in high school when girls would make comments that you eat too much or you always were hungry. That’s when you not only developed insecurities about your body but you’re eating as well. You would notice when you went out with friends they wouldn’t eat much and you didn’t want to be the one eating more than everyone else.

So whenever you were with Bucky he would always suggest getting food or having a snack. Who knew super soldiers that workout all the time eat so much. Your reaction to this was always say you’re not hungry, you ate before you came over, you didn’t feel good, you had a list of excuses. You never ate more than a couple bites or a small snack of anything. You would always wait to eat when you got home.

Thankfully your relationship was young and you were taking things slow, you had never spent more than a day together and never spent the night at each other’s places. That was until one night when it was quite stormy and dark.

…

You and Bucky were sitting in his apartment on his couch, you had your legs tucked under you and were snuggled up to his side, head on his chest, with his arm around you. You were very comfortable and very warm, your eyes started getting heavy and you felt truly at peace in his arms.

Bucky starts rubbing up and down your arm to get your attention, he turns his head away from the tv screen in front of you and looks down at your curled up form tucked into his side.

“Hey it’s getting kinda late, I would say maybe you would want to go home but I don’t like you going out in this weather. How would you feel about maybe staying the night?”

You reach out for your phone on the table in front of you to check the time. It’s 11pm and it’s storming out. Rain is coming down hard, wind whipping, and it’s freezing out, he has a point you don’t really want to go through the city in this weather at this time of night.

You think about what he said, about staying the night. It sounds so nice being able to fall asleep next to him, but you can’t help but think about the pain in your stomach. Your so hungry, and eating in front of him seems so embarrassing, especially to have to ask for food. You planned to just eat when you went home, when Buck had ordered food earlier he asked what you wanted you said you weren’t really hungry you had a late lunch. The truth was you were hungry and you forgot to eat before you came over, you figured it would be fine though because you could just wait until you got home. Now that won’t be until tomorrow morning.

“Yeah, I mean I would love to stay if it’s not too much of a hassle”

He smiles from ear to ear throwing his arms around you and pulling you into him.

“Oh yeah! I get my girl all night now”

You can’t help but laugh at his goofy reaction, he’s truly such a sweet soul. You are laying half in his lap as he gently kisses your head, turns you around and places you so your head is laying in his lap looking up at him.

“This is so exciting, this is our first time spending a night together. I’ll get you some clothes to change into and you can shower if you want, are you hungry because you haven’t eaten anything all day.”

You simply smile up at him as he softly tucks your hair behind your ear.

“I’m okay, I told you I had a late lunch. And im not ready to go to bed yet can we stay like this for a little longer”

Still playing with your hair and looking down at you with a sweet smile he responds. “I’d be happy to stay like this for the rest of our lives. But maybe you could eat something, even if you had a late lunch it’s been hours and i worry”

He moves his other hand to rest on your stomach, if he had tried to do that at the beginning of your relationship you would have freaked, but he’s showed you that he truly loves every part of you even the parts you are the most insecure about. You rest your hand over his on your belly to reassure him you are fine.

“I’m not hungry I’m fine.”

“But you don’t eat enough, I barely see you eat. Please just have at least a little bit for my peace of mind.”

Just as you go to open your mouth and speak you feel and hear your stomach make horrible noises as if screaming to take Bucky up on the offer of food. You just close your mouth and look away from Bucky feeling guilty for lying to his face and embarrassed for having your stomach be loud enough to drown out the television.

“Let’s go, come on im making you some dinner” He sits you up and stands in front of you with his hands out ready to take yours. You still can’t process what just happened, you are beyond embarrassed. So you look up stunned at not only his reaction but his persistence in wanting to care for you, you take both his hands and stand up.

He moves both your hands into one of his and walks you towards his kitchen island, where he pulls out a chair for you and motions for you to sit. He then rounds the counter and opens the fridge taking inventory.

“Okay so we could do spaghetti, Mac and cheese, a pb&j or a grilled cheese. Pick your poison baby” He lists off all the options and turns to look over his shoulder at you.

You look up from picking at your fingers and see him gazing back at you, waiting for an answer. “Umm whatever is easiest is fine, thank you” your response is quiet but he hears you and starts to take things out of the fridge.

As he makes you food he hums soft melodies of old songs from his childhood. Swiftly and easily moving throughout the kitchen without any hesitation or look of upset.

“Here you go doll, eat up please it’s made with extra love” he places the dish right in front of you and turns to grab you some water. On the plate in front of you is two grilled cheese sandwiches, cut into perfect triangles.

Bucky places water down next to you and then takes the seat beside you.

“Please eat” he says as he places a hand on your back rubbing up and down your spine.

“Why did you make me two, I don’t need that much.” You say in a slightly anxious way.

“Well because I didn’t know how much you wanted and I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable to ask for more if you wanted it, that’s all. Just eat what you want and leave what you don’t, it’s not big deal.”

You look at your plate, you are really hungry and it looks so good. You pick up a half and take a bite, it’s just as good as it looked. But you can’t help but feel awkward just having him watch you eat. “Will you eat too, I feel weird eating alone”

“Of course you don’t have to ask me twice I’m always ready to eat” so he picks up another half and takes a bite.

You both sit and eat in silence for a minute until he places a hand on your knee and asks you a question. “Why didn’t you just tell me you were hungry, earlier or now? I feel like your never hungry, or at least that’s what you tell me. What’s the matter baby, tell me”

You swallow the grilled cheese and take a sip of water to wash it down before speaking.

“I don’t know I feel weird asking for food, I mean I feel weird eating in front of people in general especially you. Your so..you know all muscles and hotness and I’m squishy, I guess I just didn’t want you to judge me.”

The hand in your knee grips a little tighter, “Oh baby no don’t think like that. First of all I think your all curves and hotness so don’t ever think I’ll judge you for what you look like or eat. I love you so much and I don’t want you to feel like you have to go hungry while your with me because you think I’ll judge you for eating. It doesn’t make any sense to me baby, you need to eat that’s what keeps you alive and healthy and full of energy.”

“It’s not that I don’t eat, I just don’t like eating in front of people. Maybe you think I’ll eat too much or that I don’t eat all super healthy food. People can be really mean, and I think I just developed ways to stay safe from judgment.”

He wraps his arms around you and kisses the top of your head, holding you close. “Oh honey, your always safe with me. You could tell me you wanted to eat six whole pizzas and I’d buy them for you, sit next to you and eat seven myself. You are never going to be judged by me, never I promise you. But you have to promise me that you will eat when your hungry because I worry. Can you do that?”

You lean back and look him in the eyes, nodding your head yes. “Yeah I can do that”

At this point you both finished your food and are ready to get settled in for the night. Bucky takes the dirty plate and puts it in the sink to take care of tomorrow.

You follow him to his room where he pulls out some clothes for you. He hands you a shirt and a pair of boxers then leads you to the bathroom.

“Here is all my shampoo and soapy stuff, and I there are some extra toothbrushes under the sink. Help yourself to whatever you need, and I’ll be just out there watching some tv.”

You offer him a warm smile and he leans in, grabs your jaw and places a soft kiss on your lips. He was such a good man and he did everything he could to make you comfortable. It’s like he was your saving grace ready to scrub away all the dirt and scuffs people had left on your shiny soul and bright heart. So that way he can show you how beautiful of a person you are under all the damage people have done.

While in the shower you can’t help but feel like a weight had been lifted off you after your conversation tonight. You know Bucky loves everything about you and it makes you feel like all the bad things people had ever said to you didn’t matter anymore. The one person that does matter is erasing all those negative things they ever planted in your mind.

You wash up and brush your teeth, then put on the clothes that Bucky let you borrow. The shirt hung loose over your body stopping just below your hips, the boxers were soft and comfortable.

You leave the bathroom and walk into the bedroom to see Bucky leaning back in the bed on his phone. He’s wearing a pair of shorts and no shirt, and boy does he look pretty.

“Did you have a nice shower doll?” He asks not looking your way, he then turns his head to look at you. “Oh don’t you look pretty in my clothes.”

You laugh and walk up to the edge of the bed, pull the blankets back and sit down. “Your crazy, James I swear”

“Oh first the clothes now calling me James, ughh you are doing something to me.”

You blush and look at him, both of you with goofy smiles on your face. You and him have never done anything like that before. (taking things slow, remember) So you knew he was mostly just trying to get you flustered, and it was working.

You both get fully under the blankets and snuggle up together, you being the little spoon. You were never a small girl but next to him you felt like it. It felt comfortable and safe, like you knew nothing bad could happen when he was by your side.

He rests his hand over yours on your stomach, giving it a slight rub. “Is your tummy nice and happy, she’s not hungry anymore?”

You laugh at his silly question but you know he’s serious and he really does care. “Yeah she’s good”

“Good, if my girl is happy then I’m happy. Good night my love sweet dreams.”

“Sweet dreams Bucky, I love you.”

That night you dreamt of grilled cheese, your sexy shirtless boyfriend and his caring heart. The best part is, when you wake up in the morning it’s all real and it’s all yours.

——————————————————————————

Masterlist

[lovesickgolbach]

Words I didn't say 3 || LN4

Description: Things were different this time around.

Pairings: Lando Norris x Verstappen!reader

Warnings: none! actually, my dutch might be a liiiiiittle off so sorry about that, at least i tried :)

A/N: hello! hi! my writing style has DRASTICALLY changed so this fic is like 10x better quality than the other two so... oops. Maybe i'll rewrite them one day, maybe not. we'll see.

but for now- enjoy and thank you for reading <3

Part 1 , Part 2

A week had gone by since you and Max had your falling out, he had texted you but you had ignored them all by leaving him on read or just archiving the chat so that his name wouldn’t be on your screen every time you opened your phone.

You were deeply hurt by Max’s actions, not just because of the yelling, but because he accused you of lying. It hurt because he was your twin brother, literally your other half, he was your best friend and you know everything about each other (yes, everything). How he could accuse you of lying to him so easily just baffles you.

The thing is— Max knows how you feel about your father, he knows why you never initiate any sort of communication from your side with him, even though he’s at nearly every race weekend. You’ve accepted the fact that Max will always worship your father and you respect his decision not to completely cut him off, but you spoke with him about this and he knows to keep Jos away from you.

You sit on Lando’s couch, swimming in your thoughts as you stare at a message from Kelly, this was the first text she has sent you all week, not wanting to get between you and your brother’s drama. You sigh, locking your phone and tossing it to the side.

“Hey,” Lando speaks up as he walks into the apartment, looking sweaty and disheveled from his workout. You had to physically restrain yourself from not jumping on top of him. Things have been mostly normal between the two of you, the only thing that’s changed is that you aren’t dating anymore. You don’t sleep in his bed, you don't kiss or have sex or cuddle when you watch movies. You’ve been sleeping in the guest room since that night you showed up at his doorstep in tears.

“Hey,” you respond, shooting him a soft smile. “How was the workout?” You question, watching him as he refills his water bottle and taking a few sips. “It was alright, fucking hot but it was alright.” He flops down next to you on the couch, letting out a huff of air.

“Heard anything from Max?” he questions, looking over at you. You roll your eyes, “What do you think? Even Kelly is texting me now. Says he’s been quiet,” You shrug, shifting to cross your legs. Lando looks over at you, “He was at the gym, when I got there. He looks like shit, honestly. He did try talking to me, but I ignored him. I was sure he was almost in tears when I walked off.” His expression is neutral as he speaks, wanting to gauge your answer.

“Good.” Is all you say in response. Yeah, you feel bad for making your brother (who doesn’t like to get emotional) cry, but he had yelled at you and sent you into a full blown panic attack. He deserved to be upset. He deserved to be worried.

“Y/N—” Lando starts, but you cut him off by lifting your hand to silence him. “I am planning on going back to his place anyway, tomorrow. He’ll survive one more night.”

Lando just nods, before getting up. “I’m going to hop in the shower. Do you… want to talk after I’m done?” he questions, you just nod, “Yeah, we should talk, properly, I guess.”

He nods silently before making his way over to his bedroom and closing the door.

You shouldn’t. You really shouldn’t.

But you do it anyway.

You jump up from the couch, running over to his room before opening the door, not bothering to knock. Lando lets out a surprised scream, standing in only his white boxers, trying to desperately cover himself up. “Y/N!? What are you—”

You cut him off with a kiss, smashing your lips together roughly, he instantly kisses back, his hands finding their way to your waist. You pull back after a moment, breathless and red-lipped from the kissing. You look into his eyes, those gentle blue-green eyes you fell in love with when you first looked at him.

“This is not me fully forgiving you… we need to— we need to discuss a few things still, but this is me telling you I still love you, I still want to be with you and— and I do love you, I still love you, I never stopped, Lando, But if— if we want us to work out, we can’t hide anymore, I don’t want to hide anymore. I want to kiss you in the paddock and sit in your garage, I want to hold your hand in public, I want to be known as your girlfriend.” Your words come out shaky, a few tears running down your face.

Lando nods rapidly, “Yes, yes anything you want, baby, anything. I won’t lose you again, I won’t. I’m so sorry, so so sorry.” He pulls you into a tight hug which you reciprocate immediately. You feel so safe with him. Your heart is his, it always has been.

“Do you… want to join me in the shower?” Lando asks, unsure of where your boundaries are set at this point in time. It’s not like he’s never seen you naked so you shrug, before pulling your top off.

“Why not,” You smile, taking his hand and dragging him into the bathroom.

–

The next day, Lando drives you back to your brother's place, parking in the driveway. You turn to him, kissing his cheek softly. “I think it’s better if i do this alone, okay? I will text you.”

Lando nods, giving you a reassuring smile. “You can do this, I love you.”

“I love you too.” You kiss him again quickly before walking to the front door and letting yourself in. Before you can even step a foot into the house you are nearly tackled to the ground by a little figure.

“Y/N!!!!!!” The little girl screeches, trying to practically climb her way up into your arms. “Hey sweet P!” You plaster on a smile, picking her up and hugging her tightly. God, you loved this little girl so much. “Missed you,” She mumbles into your neck and you can't help the sting you feel in your chest. You didn't think about her when you left, usually she would see you at least once or twice every week, your chest stings thinking about how she was probably waiting for you to visit but you never came.

“I missed you too,” You kiss her cheek as you make your way to the living room, where you found your brother, yelling into his headphones at whoever he was playing with.

You move so that you're in his field of vision, still cradling P against your chest. His head snaps up when he sees you.

“Y/N…” Max looks surprised to see you.

You place P down gently, “Go play upstairs and I will come play with you okay?” You smile brightly at the little girl who nods vigorously, making a beeline for the stairs.

“Do not run up the stairs Penelope!” Max yells after her, turning back to you before placing his controller down.

"Y/N…” He starts again but you shake your head, effectively cutting him off. “I do not want your excuses. Ik verdiende niet wat je me hebt aangedaan.” I did not deserve what you did to me.

Max looks down at his hands. “Jij bezit my niet,” You don't own me. You growled, feeling the same kind of anger you felt just a week prior. “You are my brother and that is it, I can do with my life what I want. You don't get to yell at me like Dad used to, you don't get to yell at me and expect me to just—” you vaguely gesture with your hands, “— crack and tell you everything.”

“En Max, hoe durf je me te beschuldigen van liegen!” And Max, how dare you accuse me of lying! Your voice came out as a low, calm growl. You take a deep breath, trying not to fucking combust on the spot.

Max is silent, but nods.

“Did you… did you… did you…have a panic attack? When you left?” He asks after a beat of silence, his eyes brimmed with tears. You know your brother isn't a crier, so this is hurting him just as much as it's hurting you. It’s gone too far.

"Yeah... I went straight to Lando's... I couldn't—" You shut your eyes, squeezing them together in an attempt to stop the tears. It's all become too much. It's all been blown way out of proportion.

You let your boyfriend and Max’s best friend get in the way of your relationship you have with your brother. The special bond you two had, has been damaged because of some stupid boy. You both were blinded, Max was blinded by his protectiveness of you and you were blinded by your loyalty to Lando.

You sigh, moving across the room to sit down next to him. You lay your head on his shoulder. “Why did you say I lied to you… I have never ever lied to you, Max.” Your voice was laced with pure hurt, your heart breaking from the beginning just thinking of Max accusing you of lying.

“I was just angry, Y/N. He promised to not hurt you and he did, he did hurt you and I was just so fucking angry, I could not believe you were defending him…”

Silence fell upon the room again, the only sound that could be heard was the rhythmic sniffling coming from you and Max. He laid his head against yours.

“Je leek zoveel op papa op dat moment. It was so scary, Max.” You looked so much like Dad in that moment. You let out a sob that you've been trying to suppress. Your brothers’ arm wraps around your shoulder's protectively.

“Het spijt me, Y/N, vergeef me alsjeblieft,” I am so sorry, Y/N, please forgive me. Max looks over to you, and all you can do is nod. It wouldn't help anyone if you just stayed angry, and you were exhausted anyways.

You just wanted things to go back to normal.

And slowly but surely they did, you had eventually moved back in with Lando, your relationship had slowly but surely gotten back to where it was, perhaps even better than it was. Max had been trying his best to not be overbearing, giving you space and trying not to play the role of an overprotective brother who gives his sister no freedom.

There was definitely still some tension between Max and Lando, Max still didn't fully trust him with you after everything, but things were different now. The public knew about your relationship now, girls no longer flung themselves at your boyfriend, touching him and feeling him up and down at every opportunity thinking he’s single. Lando had been working on proving himself, that he’s changed, that he's loyal to you and only you.

Things were different this time around.

Things have been good.

Things will get even better.

You can't wait to see what the future holds.

[forestshadow-wolf]

question/statement regarding wing!au

The wings are biological- it’s almost like losing a limb right?? So when Simon loses both of his- is there phantom pain? Like he’ll be on the field one day and think he still has them because he feel the weight (it’s his vest) and like Gaz has to remind him “nah mate- sorry it’s your vest again”

OR OR he’s having a nightmare and feels shooting pain in the back and can like feel the weight shift and it’s hurts??

this is so amputee coded but I didn’t know another way to describe what I’m saying lol

love this AU

I talked about pantom pains here (reblog of the first post) but I didn't really go in depth

To preface I am not an amputee, so I might be pulling stuff outta my ass

Anyway, yes wings are a biological limb, so he does get phantom limb syndrome, and thus phantom pains.

It used to be an actual problem when he was on the field. The problem wasn't so much forgetting that he couldn't fly, since he's had decades to get used to having one wing. It's more so that he thought he has more mass, sometimes.

Additionally he used his wing to beat at enemy soldiers when in the field, and sometimes he would try to do that, forgetting thay he couldn't.

He did find a solution to this where he had price order him a custom made vest, that's got two steel balls inserted into the fabric right where his wing joints are. It's very uncomfortable, but necessary if he wants to avoid unwarented injury while on the field.

He also had a habit of not taking care of his remaining wing, which contributes to his pains. He'd use his wing to cover fellow soldiers during gunfights, and as a battering a battering ram. He also never took care of them when he molted, never brushed his feathers out.

He also can't wear his vest while on base, so... that's a problem, but less risky, so he hasn't tried to find a solution for.

As for phantom pains? It's an almost daily occurrence. He wakes up from nightmare of explosions, bulltets, and having his wings torn up. And it sends him realing from his bed with pain in his back that's so severe that it shoots down his legs.

Sometimes he's training recruits and he'll feel his "wing" flap, and it makes the muscles in his back seize up, but he has to just grit his teeth and deal with it.

There are some workouts that he can't do because it causes debilitating pain that leaves him almost bed ridden for days in end.

Price tries to help, but Ghosy ignores all attempts

[fuctacles]

#5 late bloomers two for the WIP ask game please!

Soon after I wrote Late Bloomers, I started writing part two but cut it short to post it and give it closure. There is, though, an overgrowth attached at the bottom, with the beginnings of their actual date:

"I'm prepared for running, but I am not prepared for running, you know?" Eddie says when they leave the house, giving the pavement ahead a look of animosity. The horizon was mocking him, whatever distance Stephanie had in store for him already felt like too much. He's gonna make an ass of himself and go into cardiac arrest two houses from here. Thank gods Stephanie seemed to like her men pathetic.  "Good thing I did an extra lap this morning, then," she smiles at him. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle with you," she says and winks.  He's gonna die of cardiac arrest one way or another, isn't he? "Uh-huh, thanks." "You need to warm up before running anyway, especially if you're just starting," she says, her limbs already flying into motion. "Repeat after me?" He looks around self-consciously.  "Right here?" "Yeah?" she looks up from where she started making dips. "You getting shy on me?" "No? Yes? It just feels weird," he mutters. "You'll get used to it," she says, and oh how Eddie wants to get used to it. "Whoever's looking right now, sitting on their ass, should be jealous. I'm getting my morning workout with a cute man next to me. And what are they doing?" Eddie could tease her about that life coach mindset but focuses on the important part instead. "You think I'm cute?" She smiles wide. "The cutest. Now focus on me and repeat what I do."

If you ever told him he would be doing stretches in his front yard at ass-o-clock in the morning because a hot lady asked him to, he'd laugh right in your face. But priorities shift, people change, and atoms keep multiplying. Or maybe he just got possessed or something. He wouldn't be the one calling an exorcist if all demons looked like Stephanie, though. They face each other, which makes him less self-conscious about any neighbors that might be watching (he's sure he'll see photos in the group chat later though, courtesy of Jeff) and she keeps eye contact while giving him simple instructions and fixing his posture now and then.  "How are you feeling?" she asks after a few exercises. He shakes his limbs to get a feel of them. "Weird? I can feel muscles I didn't know I had. Like, I'm weirdly aware of my body now." He makes a face. "That's normal," she tells him. "Nothing hurts though?" "Everything hurts," he corrects. "Good." Her smile is a little evil and it makes his stomach muscles twist. He bites his lip, willing his body to calm the fuck down. When she holds out her hand he instinctively grabs it. "Okay, let's go." Eddie frowns as he follows her onto the pavement and to the right. "Are we not running?" "Do you want to?" she raises an eyebrow at him. "Not really," he says quickly. "Then we won't. I don't want you coughing your lungs out on our first date." She squeezes his hand. "We'll take a brisk walk to the cafe I like, and then go to the park to wind down. That okay?" "Brisk walk," Eddie repeats under his breath, still in disbelief, that he's into a sports person. "What was that?" Stephanie asks, a hint of warning in her voice.  "I said it's a great plan," he smiles charmingly. "Good," she says and it goes straight to the horny part of his brain. "Let's put these long legs of yours to use, then," she says before pulling him along to match her pace.  He might not be coughing his lungs out but he'll certainly feel them up in his throat. Turns out the cafe isn't that far though, just out of the living area, where the busy streets start. He's a little out of breath by then and takes a seat on one of the armchairs like it's his last place of rest. Stephanie gets him a glass of water before asking for his order. "Should I get something healthy?" he asks with a scrunch of his nose, eyeing the menu above the counter. "I draw the line at oatmeal shakes." Stephanie laughs, squeezing his hand. She barely let it go since they started walking. "You can get whatever you want. You deserve a treat. That, and some calorie replenishment." "I like the sound of that," he admits, letting his eyes roam back to the coffee section. He doesn't go out often so he kind of blanks at what to order. "Uh, just an oat milk coffee with some caramel syrup, I guess?" Then, he remembers something. "Shit, I don't have anything on me," he realizes. He didn't even grab his keys, assuming Gareth would be there to open for him when Jeff leaves for work. Phone and wallet seemed redundant when going for a run. He's about to spiral about how shitty date he is when Stephanie shakes her head and pats his hand before getting up.  "I'll pay, I'm the one who invited you anyway. You'll get the next one." He settles back down. He'll get the next one. He hasn't been on a date in ages, but he doesn't remember anyone ever so boldly assuming there's gonna be a next date. It made his nerves settle, knowing there's next time.

[dewdroppdraws]

Hi I’m new to tumblr so I’m not sure how you normally post on here but I wanted to try posting some sketches of earth from tsams! I’m not the best with anatomy so I won’t lie I did trace over some photos (REAL PHOTOS NOT ART) I found on Pinterest and modified the proportions to fit my design, but I’m trying to improve lol. For now I just rlly wanted to flesh out my design for earth which I couldn’t do while my anatomy looked like crap 😭 all the full body ones I used references for but the one in the right corner was all me so I’ve got that to my name at least 💪 I’ll include my “reference” pictures as well :> and below the pics is an explanation of the design because I love to gush about this kind of thing. Fair warning, it’s pretty long LMAO

Hehe now it’s time for me to gush about my lil design 😈

So the first major difference you probably noticed (aside from body shape) is the very fluffy clothing I have her in. The leg warmers and… fingerless gloves? Leg warmers that she put on her arms? Idk what the arm ones are called but yk what I’m talking about lol. When I first noticed earths little rainbow headband my brain immediately said “80’s workout videos”. The big hair, the rainbow headband, it just immediately jumped ot at me and stuck. I decided to give her oversized leg warmers in that same rainbow pattern because it made me sad that her actual design doesn’t have the rainbow anywhere else. It’s funky and I like it what can I say.

Next I decided I really wanted her to wear thigh-highs. I personally love thigh-highs and also it gave me an excuse not to think about her leg mechanics. I tend to draw Sun and Moon like ball joint dolls, but it gets a lil funky to draw when they are bending their limbs so having a fluffy excuse to hide them was ideal lol. I decided to go with the bold choice of putting thigh highs and leg warmers on her, which I don’t regret even tho it probably seems like a lot. I might change a few things about her later down the line since these were just basic sketches so don’t worry if you hate it.

I gave her shorts because a skirt just didn’t feel right for her. I feel like a daycare attendant would be very active, even if earth tends to sit with the quieter kids, and a skirt would be very awkward to climb around in. I figured shorts would be good. I drew them like jean shorts since that was the original intention but they could be cloth rather than denim gimme time to think about it 💀

I had a lot of trouble decided whether the thingies on her shoulders were stand-alone or like pieces of hair she keeps up front (probably attached cuz she’s a robot) I decided on making them attached to the bigger floor of hair cuz I thought it looked cutest on the pic with her shoulders up and in front of her face lol.

Onto her chest plate thing, I was considering making it an actual shirt but decided against it. I wanted her to have a crop top bc I love crop tops so I just made it so her chest area was painted like a shirt, and then her middle area was back to her “skin” color, so it’s almost like a crop top but not really…?

Last but not least is her face, I also made that her “skin” color and just put the blue and green as her cheeks! I thought it looked cutest that way. She also has heterochromia cuz when a character has two main colors I really enjoy putting them on opposite sides as often as possible haha. So her green cheek has her blue eye and her blue cheek has her green eye. I know her original model has two blue eyes but this was what I went with.

Anyways that was super long and I’m super nervous about posting this so I’m just gonna hit post and if I find a typo or decide my lil explanation was 4 paragraphs too many I’ll fix it later. Have a nice day whoever is still reading this! :>

[nahisummerhold]

Reality vs Technology

@daily-writing-challenge - Aug 2024 - Day 3 - Fatality

Stepping into the dojo, Dinaine owned, Nahi kicked off her shoes, stretching her toes out on the warm butter colored wooden floor, and dropped her bag. Turning to the altar next to the entryway she picked up a candle with her right arm as her left was in the splint she hid, or removed, at ToA and tipped it so the wick would light from the main display. Placing it on a shelf one removed from the Light representation she knelt and focused on the symbol. This was the closest thing to worship the performer ever did but the Lightforged trainer said that no negative energy was to be brought into her space and more than once had just looked at Nahilvi and sent her right back to the altar. It had taken her a great deal of time to learn how to actually let go of anything that traveled with her so she could just focus on the lessons. 

A bouncer at one of the rougher clubs Nahi sang at, the gorgeous (of course she was) fighter and Nahi sat after hours one night at a diner eating the staple of all bar workers, breakfast at 3 am, and over egg whites, spinach and toast the Sin’dorei had agreed to come and check out the workouts the trainer ran during the days. She was promised a good way to stay in shape, so she had expected some sort of yoga or barre class she went to when she took the time. Walking in to see the Lightforged with her arms wrapped around a Shal’dorei’s neck and the man smacking his hand against her forearm. With a nod to Nahi, Dina released the man who shook his head good naturedly, and looked at the performers feet, “Shoes off.” 

Since then Nahi was here at least once a week, in the weeks between Wings & Metal and ToA it had been almost daily even with her healing arm, or maybe because of it. There were many things that she could still practice, like her kicks against the wooden dummy or heavy bag. Being in a space where she was not allowed to carry the turmoil with her was good for her heart, and her body.

Rising she pushed open the inner doors and stopped, a fire red haired gnome ran across the room to slam into her with a hug around Nahi’s legs. “You did it! You came! You are the best!” 

Teebi was not one given to such enthusiasm normally, so Nahi patted her shoulder and looked up into Dina’s pale yellow eyes and the woman just shrugged. “I got your message,” she was going to come to the dojo anyway but she didn’t say that. In her normal way of trying to make sure people knew that they were appreciated, she would never dismiss the personal note from the inventor. 

“I did it!” Teebi released her legs and danced in a little circle hopping up and down. Looking over Nahi and frowning at the splint she considered for a moment, “It won’t matter. You are already dressed too, perfect.” 

For the last year the gnome had come to the gym for research, she said. Never taking a class herself, just taking notes and later taking pictures and vids of the different people there with their permission. Nahi had been a often used model, but try as she might she could never get the gnome to tell her what she was doing, just getting a hand wave and a ‘wait and see’.

Another few bounces and “I did it. I did it… I DID IT!” Before Teebi ran off to the space infront of Dina where a holo projector sat. “Come on silly bones!” 

Nahilvi moved along in the wake of happiness left behind the gnome, if Nahi had used one of her glitter kisses on the smaller woman she could not have sparkled more. She had been sent a black outfit with weird green lines on it with the message, it was a little weird but a confident air was all she needed to make it more of a fashion statement on the streets of Dalaran. “I am coming! Sheesh let a girl get past the door.” The tone was absolutely teasing, she loved this energy, it was like watching performers on the stage again. 

“Getttttt over here!” Teebi patted the holo machine, “You have to see it! I finished the GAME!” Teebi then dipped her head and looked up at the Lightforged who leaned casually against the wall, “Uhm, training program.”  

Another glance to Dina just got earned a noncommittal shrug. “A game?”

The gnome nodded her head excitedly not correcting Nahi. “Come on let’s get you hooked up,” she said and began bending over the machine doing come engineering magic or something. Real magic, what engineers did, Nahi didn’t truly grasp the essence of either not having a gift for either. Bending her shoulders forward with a look of ‘What the fuck?’ to the towering Lightforeged, Nahi stepped up and Teebi turned, “Ready?” “Sure?” She said with a hint of trepidation. Moving into a spot on the floor Teebi pointed at and blinking at the little woman. With a push of a button a projection of Dina appeared right before Nahi, “Watch.” The image began to do fighting moves that the fighter was skilled in, it was amazing. Stepping to the side some to check out how real it was made it flicker out. “No, no! Get back.” Nahi stepped back to the indicated place like a good little soldier, “Alright!” She held her hands up infront of her in submission. “What is it really? Do you just use this to show other people how to fight? Doesn’t seem like a game.” With all the talk of the Radiant Song and the echoes so many people were experiencing, fighting did seem like much of a game to her. Teebi put gloves on her hands, careful with her mended left, it was no longer broken but still weak and Iren didn’t want to actually take the chance of her hurting it again. so she wore the splint as prescribed by the healer. “Just.. UGH.. stop it!” Frustration filled the gnome’s voice. “Practice, training, fun, they don’t have to be separate okay? Even the old, grumpy statue thinks it is cool.” A small chuckle escaped and Dina lifted a single brow.. Man how did people do that? It was so expressive and Nahi could not do it at all. Statue, Teebi called her trainer that because she was bronze in color and stood still often as she observed her students. “Alright, I really want to see what else this cool thing can do.” “Hit it!” Teebi said and Nahi looked at her blankly. The gnome mimicked a punch, “Hit it.. You know? Like you come here to learn? HIT IT!” Looking to the image once more with a puzzled look, Nahi squared up and threw a small punch and the holo flinched. “HIT IT!!!” Teebi yelled at her louder. Shifting her stance just slightly she settled her weight into her hips and tightened her core then threw a well aimed jab. The Dina she was facing brought her hands up defensively and bounced, the holo even had the sound of hooves shifting on a wood floor, then she dipped just slightly to the side to evade the strike. “KICK IT!” 

Without a pause this time she kicked out for a lower leg, Dina strongly suggested her students try and not kick much higher so they did not leave their plant leg vulnerable, the suggestion usually coming with their leg being swept from under them to set them on ass or back. The program moved back and then countered, making Nahi scramble to block contact. It was an image so it couldn't hurt her but its form was perfect. “Whoa…” “KEEP GOING!” The gnome was beginning to sound like one of those Army trainers soldiers complained about but Nahi responded and began sparring with the holo. There was a good exchange and Nahi had began to break into a sweat, really devoting her attention to the movements. Her bare feet shifted as she closed her stance to keep her weight squared and she threw a few more punches, sending the power all the way from her back leg, muscles tightening from thigh through to her forearm fist tight but not clenched. All her attacks were countered and the draenei would go on the offensive making duck to the sides, weaving and looking for an opening to come in and catch a vulnerable liver shot. A short kick gave her room to move in again, blocking it with a short swing of her shin in a protective arc, there was no contact but the immersion was so complete she convinced herself there was weight behind it and began a string of driving movements of her knee towards fake Dina’s thighs which two of the three ‘landed’ and a robotic voice called “Break.” Her training gave way to it immediately, protecting herself through the retreat in space, not all Dina taught them was ‘gym muscle’ as she called it. If Nahi was ever in a real fight hand to hand she could at least defend herself. 

With a deep breath she rolled her shoulders to let her spine straighten from the curvature making her body smaller created. “Well done.” Dinaine said, her honeyed voice full of amusement and a hint of pride. “Really Nahi, that was one of the highest levels Teebi’s… training program… has. A few of the others could only get through the mid point.” 

“I told you she could, told you,” the gnome held her hand out and Dina placed a gold in it. 

“You bet against me?” Nahi laughed.

Dina shrugged, “It is a machine, one programmed well though, you are flesh and minds can wander or mistakes are easy to make, even for the best fighters. Your movements are becoming as ingrained to you as your dance moves are, maybe more so as you no longer have to listen to music here to find those patterns combat itself creates.” 

A frown was covered as she wiped her face with a towel Teebi threw at her. “I find music everywhere, just because others can’t hear it doesn’t mean I do not have it in me.” 

“Truth, but the music you are creating when you spar adjusts for the unexpected of opposition.” She hadn’t really realized that stubbornly clinging to a point just to defend a position that you had started to see was actually the weakest side until you argued with a woman that had lived over ten thousand years, so Nahi did not continue that tack.

“This is pretty awesome Teebi, well worth all the pictures you took of…” her eyes narrowed and she looked at the machine. “Wait…” 

Teebi grinned and made an adjustment and the holo became an image of herself but she was in one of Nahi’s more relaxed streetwear looks, patterned loose green pants, a yellow tank cut to expose her midsection, of course, rainbow splattered trainers but her head was covered in a scarf to keep her hair out of her face, something she did often in the dojo. “Holy fuck…” 

Dina spoke slowly, “Language, we guard our tongues in here.”

In her first few months here Nahi would have rolled her eyes but now too much respect and the lessons of the dojo had been instilled along with fighting discipline. “That kicks a.. Butt Teebi.”

“RIGHT????” The gnome took her hands and they bounced in a circle together this time as Nahi would not deny the little woman her celebration. “Now.. do it again! I want it to beat you.” “Pffft, as if…” it probably would but it was programmed to reality, as she now expected it was, there was always a chance. Now, Nahi knew what to expect in the game itself and she was quick to get ready, Teebie changed the image and it was Dina once more, maybe that is just what this level was? She could ask later for now she had an opponent. When she stepped up, the holo bowed to her and Nahi returned it automatically, maybe she had become as programmed as the game was, but maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. This time when they settled in and exchanged the first attempts Nahi broke out a move Dina had just recent taught her. Stepping close and dipping a shoulder to the side to keep the holo from defending infighting effectively, she kicked her feet in quick successions towards the ankles of the larger opponent. The image had to shuffle back to protect herself from being taken out by being tripped, and when her weight shifted back just enough to be off center Nahi, lowered her body more and then exploded her fist upwards directly into where the trainer’s jawline was. Stumbling back the holo did a weaving little movement and as it began to sink to its knees, the machine did not call a break this time and Nahi advanced but when the womanlike figure pitched forward the box called out… FATALITY!

[tears0fsatan]

For your event could you do "aw did you miss me." Headcanons for Beelzebub, Levi, and Simeon, with male reader who has just gotten back from a two day business trip with Lucifer?

✦ ⊹ ˚˖ warnings... gn!reader (no pronouns used), this is so stupidly sweet watch out u might get a cavity, can be read as romantic or platonic, includes cuddles snuggles and more cuddles lol.

 :¨·.·¨ ♥︎  a.n... hello fruity five i am alive!! i know i pinky promised i'd post this a few days ago but im struggling with a lot at the moment. i apologise, sometimes life just feels like it's constantly moving forward and never gives me time to breathe. anw i digress, this was super fun n cute to make thank u for sending it in darling <33 i altered the quote a bit for all of them i hope u don't mind honey!

LEVIATHAN !

g*d forbid you find out about how he spent most of the time you were away in the entrance hall, ready for your return

he genuinely considered bringing his favourite ruri-chan blanket down and sleeping in front of the door (luckily for everybody, mammon and satan were able to convince him from doing that and alls well ends well)

kept moaning about how you were gone for too long so much so that even beelzebub nearly lost his shit

the moment you stepped foot through the door, leviathan was the first to run towards you

the type to hoard you in his room until he feels like you're actually back

hope you're strong because he will just. hold onto you. and he won't let go.

he'll keep his arms wrapped around your waist while his legs drag across the floor if you're walking to get something from across the room

if you say you want to go outside he'll look at you with them big ol' beady serpent eyes lol

he refuses to play games unless he's sitting on your lap or vice versa

“noooooo, mcccc, pleaseee.” leviathan whined, tugging on your sleeve with so much force it had you falling back down to his lap.

“levi, i was gone for two days. you’re acting like i left you to fend for yourself in the woods for months.” you said, exasperated. you wanted to be annoyed, but the view of leviathan whining has your heart stuttering.

“but, but….!” his voice trailed off, knowing that he had nothing to say that could validate his argument, not that he really needed to anyways.

“wow, seems like someone really missed me, hm?” you cooed, to which the demon responded with incoherent stuttering and a splotchy red face. his reaction only made you want to tease him more.

BEELZEBUB !

deadass nearly squeezed you to death when you walked through the door

he was so excited to see you that he even dropped all the burgers in his arms just so he could hold you

he doesn't say much, simply basks in your presence that he'd been deprived of for what seemed like forever

he's not usually the clingy type but for the first few days of you being back he'll hover around you

he doesn't necessarily cling onto you like levi does, but he'll follow you around the house

... you found yourself sleeping in his bed for a week because you caved into his kicked puppy look

he would bring an abundant of food up to his room (where he's held you captive)

shares his snack stash with you, even lets you have the last piece of his favourite spicy screaming gummy snake

gets super flustered when you cheer him on during his workout

“beel, darling… what do you mean by this?” you shifted your gaze from the heap of snacks the demon dumped on your lap to beelzebubs face.

beelzebub huffed with his chin resting on your shoulder, his eyes drifting from the snacks and making eye contact with you. it was almost like a lightbulb lit up in your mind and you subconsciously let out a small, “ah!”

you ripped open the bag that sat on top of the pile, taking out three fingers worth of treats and fed it to the demon. he had his mouth open, drool just barely seeping out from the corners of his mouth, and the corners of his eyes were crinkled.

the moment the fiery gummy touched his tongue, beelzebub’s expression changed into one of pure bliss.

you couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the happy and content demon, the words, “aw, did someone miss me that much?” followed your actions. beelzebub didn’t even try to deny it, merely nodding half heartedly before opening his mouth wide, ready for another treat.

SIMEON !

the moment your foot touches the purgatory hall, simeon's got his arms wrapped around you

he does the cliche 'sweeps you off your feet and spins you around' LMFAOOOO (he's an author, what can you expect)

once he sets you down he wastes no time in peppering your face with kisses, making sure he doesn't miss a single spot

he's prepared an assortment of little tasty treats just for you (felt bad that he couldn't share with luke but made a promise he would treat him next time)

once he has you all to himself, he'll make you tell him all about the trip, no matter how many times you try to remind him it was purely a business trip

he listens attentively, the look on his face tells you that he's hanging onto every little detail, regardless of how boring and mundane it was

has the biggest smile you've ever seen on his face the entire time

you catch him staring at you a lot, even more so than usual

if you mention you missed a certain devildom dish, he'd whip up a plate for you immediately

simeon’s eyes are bright and utterly smitten while they take in your appearance. it almost seems as though he's so entranced by you that he pays no heed to the words that come out of your mouth, which you find a little funny seeing as he's the one who told you to tell him all about your little adventure.

you smile softly, a smile that he reciprocates with one of his own without realising.

"-en... a giant ugly squid bursted through the sky and attacked lucifer and i." you finish off the ridiculous story, waiting to see if your angel would take the bait or prove your suspicions.

the angel covers his mouth with the hand he was leaning against and lets out a small giggle.

"mc... i'm sure that squids don't appear out of thin air in the human realm." to your surprise, simeon's expression returns to the one from earlier, easily disproving your thoughts. "i was hanging on your every word." his words are so suave you can't help but let out a laugh.

"haha! looks like you really missed me, huh?" you joke, but simeon just gives you another soft smile and nudges the plate of treats towards you. you want to joke around more, but the sincerity in his gaze stops you, so you choose to finish the story properly, knowing that the angel was paying attention to every word you uttered.

© 2022 TEARS0FSATAN. please don’t repost, modify or translate my works anywhere!

[sailor-tri]

in one of hecate's cases, there is a victim who was a ballerina. the crime is not even related to ballet at all, the victim's professional is just a fact that is there – and hecate sees their past self in her for some reason. they can't really put their finger on why, they don't even look alike. maybe it's because the way she was murdered is similar to the way hecate themself died, – but they haven't died, they repeat to themselves, it didn't happen, I never died. maybe it's just the ballet. when they read the autopsy report where all the additional injuries, even not the ones that caused death are described – when their eyes stumble upon a sentence about bruised feet, they visibly cringe.

after they are already work on the case for some time, they can't stop thinking about the victim even after they rest after long days of trials and investigations. they stretch in front of the mirror. they look at their chest, imagining it pierced through. by their murderer or by their mother's betrayal? it doesn't matter, anyway. that child is gone. them as a prosecutor is gone, too. that foolish person frantically running away from their past. they carry a lot of corpses in themselves, don't they?

but... they stare at their legs, that can still stretch widely all across the floor, that bend all the way to their back and can walk with their toes curled in again, if they tried. some skills you're taught as a child are stored in your muscle memory, you don't do them as well as you did anymore, but you carry them with you as a gift or a curse from your distant past. and the memories of grueling workouts, dark evenings and late nights in the training room are still fresh, once you try to reach for them. this person they were is far from dead. even that desire they had.. to be noticed, to be loved, to be worth something... if they try to reach for it deep inside their cold ribs, it's probably still there. it never really leaves once it was embedded in you since your earliest days with icy looks and absence.

what was her mother like? – hecate wonders, pulling out their file on the victim again. they could probably easily find her through their shared last name, if they tried. it's silly, it really is, – but hecate feels like they need to talk. they might have to advocate for the her, that girl. they suddenly actually feel like being a lawyer today.

WHOAAA 🫨😮

This makes me want to draw..

Omg thank you so much for this

[bluejay-writes]

Heaven is a Misnomer - Chapter 10

Fandom: Shall We Date?: Obey Me! Rating: Teen Chapter 10 Wordcount: 3074 Characters/Relationships: Jake (Exchange student OC) / Raphael Summary: Jake learns some things about Raphael, and invites him to movie night at Azrael's.

Author Note: I am strongly considering discontinuing the full-text chapters on Tumblr. (Yes, because of the AI garbage.) If you're actually reading it here and not on AO3, send me an ask or reblog with commentary or leave a message somehow about it, k?

You can also read this on AO3, if that's your jam!

First Chapter || Prev Chapter || Next Chapter > (Next Tuesday!)

Chapter 10: I did it for you.

When Jake and Bunny got to the gym, someone was busily pedaling a stationary bike in the machine room. Jake was curious, but he didn’t automatically feel terrified, so it wasn’t Michael, and he decided to leave whoever it was to their workouts. Besides, if it was Fen or Gabriel, they might get spooked by Jake and Bunny barging in where they were working out, and the last thing Jake wanted was to spook someone out of taking care of themselves.

He’d shed the hoodie before they left, knowing that he’d be way too warm in it. The Celestial Realm’s ‘perfect 75 degree weather’ was actually a touch warm for jogging outdoors, given that he came from a cold weather climate. So there he was, in his demon-approved workout wear, stretching carefully before doing lunges with Bunny. It was leg day, after all.

That was the perfect time for the person on the bike to decide they were warmed up enough to come lift. Bunny glanced up and smiled at whoever it was who came in. Jake could hear them racking a few weights onto a bar, but decided not to be nosy, and just finished out his stretching routine. His politeness and commitment to privacy meant that he had no idea who was behind him when Bunny suggested they start with some lateral lunges - for stability, she said. That made sense to Jake, and it’s the same thing they started with last week.

Halfway through the set, Bunny’s phone starts ringing, and she grumbles, but moves smoothly from her lunge over to the shelf she’d set her phone on. While this is happening, a sharp gasp rings out from behind them, and the heart-stopping sound of a barbell hitting the floor and bouncing just that little bit causes Jake to turn around mid lunge in a panic, half to his feet when he realizes the person behind him lifting was none other than Raphael.

In what felt like a fraction of a second, Jake was in front of Raphael, checking him over top to bottom and then carefully looking at his hands to make sure that he’s okay, muttering quietly the entire time, mostly to himself except that he’s admonishing Raphael while he does it.

“You really should have someone spotting for you when you’re lifting like this, Raph. What if no one was here and you hurt yourself with that drop? You lift as much as Bunny does, with this body of yours, you can’t let it get hurt just because you’re a compulsive loner!”

Raphael caught both of Jake’s fluttering concerned hands in his own, and Jake froze and looked up at him, eyes wide. Why was this damned angel so tall, anyway? Like, Jake was tall to start with but Raphael made him feel short. Sure, it was only like two inches, but that was plenty when they were this close.

“I’m fine.” was all he said, and Jake realized what he’d been doing and how close he was to the discipline angel, pulling his hands away and backing up a few steps to give Raphael some space. Oh. Oh no, I even nicknamed him. Angels don’t like that. Go ahead, dig yourself deeper, Jakey.

Before either of them could say anything else, Bunny walked between them.

“Aya needs my help with something, so I am going to go check up on her. Jake, I’ll just do squats later, you should spot for this idiot before he hurts himself.” The gruffness of her tone did not match her usual chipper nature, and both Jake and Raphael turned concerned looks on her as she left the gym.

“Well.” Jake said into the silence that reigned after her departure. “That just happened.”

“It did.” Raphael said, and Jake realized his cheeks were slightly pink. “She’s not wrong. And neither were you. I should have had someone spotting for me. I know better, I just…” He trailed off, and Jake wondered what he was thinking that would make him lift like that without help.

“Listen.” Jake said quietly, as if a normal volume might change the situation too much. “I can’t spot you for what you’re lifting, I’m not strong enough. But I spot Bunny for 200s, if that’s okay? Smaller weight, more reps?”

“Yeah.” Raphael said, matching his volume. “I could do that.” After a moment, he took the extra plates off of his bar, carefully checking them for damage before racking them.

“Actually, if you’re spotting, can we do bench?”

“So.” Raphael said, once they were settled into a routine. “I didn’t take you for a lifter.”

“I’m not.” Jake said, plainly. “Bunny asked me to spot for her right after the program started, and she’s been training me ever since I agreed the once. It’s actually been good for my anxiety. I feel safer, for whatever reason.”

“You can fight back, if you’re stronger.” Raphael said, and Jake sensed that he was saying it with understanding, not just theory. Moments later, he confirmed that with what he said next. “I used to be really afraid of almost everything. Then I started training, and it got better, knowing if I needed to, I was strong enough, fast enough. That I could protect myself. Now, it’s just habit.”

“But you’re the angel of discipline.” Jake said, confused. “Aren’t you like, the strongest?”

Raphael laughed, a mocking bark of a laugh that Jake wasn’t expecting. “That’s my title. Mostly, I like to rain spears down on people. It’s fun, and I’m more than a little bit deadly with one. But I’m not the strongest by far. I’m just Michael’s attack dog. The one he sends out if he needs something… handled.”

Jake shivered. He understood that laugh a bit, now. But it made him a little more uncomfortable with Raphael living next door.

“So you moved in next to me in case I needed that extra bit of discipline.” He said, eyes firmly on the bar, and not meeting Raphael’s.

“No.” Raphael said, racking the bar and sitting up so he could meet Jake’s eye. “That’s not it at all. I asked Michael to let me handle the exchange program because I was worried about you.”

“Me?”

Raphael looked away for a moment, his cheeks darkening just slightly, before meeting his eyes again. Jake didn’t know how to take that at all.

“You, especially. But everyone else, as well. Michael has… a temper. A need to control. And you were pushing his buttons constantly. And as a normal human, he can’t force a covenant to make you toe the line.”

“Azrael said something similar.” Jake said, nodding.

“I knew, if I offered to handle it, he’d relax. So… I’m handling it. Which mostly means just being around in case anyone needs anything. The most it is for me is a smaller room for a year. I can cope.”

Jake chuckled. “Well, if you ever need more space to relax or work on classwork, I have way more space than I need, just knock.”

“Jake, thank you.” Raphael said softly, as they got back to the hallway that led to their rooms. “I really appreciate you being willing to spot me.”

“Anytime, Raphael. Seriously, I actually enjoy spotting for you strong folks. It inspires me.”

They parted ways, and Jake took himself through the shower, spending far too long thinking about a certain ash-blonde angel.

Jake was bouncing around his room, gathering things he’d need for the movie night they’d planned. It was the sort of low-key fun that he and Nia always had, and he was pleased to have made a few good friends here in the Celestial Realm so that they could spend one of their rare off-nights doing this.

“Jake?” Raphael’s voice called from his doorway, and he turned to see the angel, leaning casually on the doorframe.

“Hey Raph.” Jake said, and winced as he saw the light pink appear on Raphael’s cheeks. “Sorry. Raphael. What can I do for you?”

“Well.” He said quietly. “You don’t have to stop calling me that. Just… I won’t be able to respond to it in front of Michael, okay?”

“Really?” Jake grinned, his entire face lighting up. “Thank you.” He couldn’t really explain just how much that meant to him, but he hoped that Raphael understood. Either way… that was two angels who accepted his nicknames. Out of three angels he’d reasonably call his friends, that felt monumental.

“Yes, really. Also, I… got this for you.” Raphael was holding a hoodie that did the same gradient from blue to gold that the undersides of his usual angel attire did. “I’ve only worn it a few times, but I thought you might enjoy having a hoodie that didn’t require you to make sweater paws just to function.”

Jake could tell that his cheeks were red, because they felt like they were on fire. So did his ears. He walked over and took the hoodie from Raphael, immediately exchanging it for the oversized purple monstrosity he’d gotten from Bunny. It was impossibly soft, and while still a little bit large for him, it was in the “this is my boyfriend’s” way, and not in the “I stole this from a giant” way. Aaaaand Jake had probably better not think of it in the stealing clothes from his boyfriend way either. Friend, though… friend was good.

“Thank you.” he said, eyes shining as he looked up at Raphael after half-zipping the hoodie. “It’s incredibly soft.” He paused a moment, and then followed his heart. “You wouldn’t want to come to movie night in Azrael’s room tonight, would you?” Jake was still rather surprised that she even left her room for classes. Suddenly, Jake wondered when she did her angel of death bit, if she was always in her room. Well. He could ask her later.

“Am I invited?” Raphael said, looking a little bit stunned, which given his propensity for non-expression meant that he was very stunned.

“Of course! Movie night was my idea, so it’s my party. We’re just having it at Azrael’s room because she’s a hermit who doesn’t like to leave her room unless someone insists that she must.”

“Fair.” He said, his expression once more neutral. “I’d be happy to come along.”

Jake was excited to get to spend more time with his new friends. It was ostensibly movie night but he had a feeling they’d probably end up playing a game or something that allowed them to chat more, once the movie was over. Hopefully bringing Raphael along wouldn’t be a problem, but he’d smooth it over if it was. They all seemed like they’d get along just fine if Michael weren’t involved, anyway.

Jake swanned into Azrael’s room like he owned the place, Raphael trailing after him a bit like a lost puppy. Bunny and Aya were already there with Azrael and Feniel. There was one spot left on the couch for Jake, they clearly hadn’t been expecting him to bring along a wayward Angel of Discipline.

“Hey, fam! I invited Raphael to join me!” he said, plopping down next to Feniel. Aya and Azrael were in the lounge chairs, with Bunny holding down the floor next to Aya’s chair, since she took up the whole couch by herself if she sat there, and she was perfectly happy with a pillow and the floor.

Raphael took one look at the way the room was arrayed, and settled himself on the floor in front of Jake, leaning against his legs. Jake knew he was blushing, but luckily Raphael was looking the other way, so he would never know.

Azrael was the first to recover, and she just laughed. “Trust the wayward Human to bring their own plus one. It’s fine though, Shiny turned us down, she’s working on a paper tonight that she failed to work on for the last three weeks. Her loss, we’re watching Howl’s Moving Castle tonight.”

Jake grinned. This was one of Nia’s favorites, he’d have to message her about it. He pulled out his phone, and once he’d messaged her, his phone beeped with three incoming messages.

“Oh, better put that on silent.” He said, somewhat breathily at the messages in front of him.

Aya > Jake: Nice new threads - steal them from your boyfriend?

Feniel > Jake: Raphael? Really? How’d you tear him away from his Michael worship?

Raphael > Jake: Please do tell me if I am being too familiar. I wanted to follow Yboun’dih’s lead in sitting on the floor, and I thought you’d be most comfortable with me in your space, when compared to Feniel and Azrael.

Azrael had turned the lights off with voice commands (a neat bit of tech, but also somewhat creepy) so Jake knew he couldn’t respond on his phone, so he did the best he could otherwise. A wink to Aya, a shrug to Fen, and a reassuring shoulder squeeze for Raphael.

The movies had been wonderful. And, if he was being honest with himself, it was mostly because Raphael had actually relaxed against him after the first half hour or so rather than being mister tense. It was also because Jake felt like he was actually relaxing with friends for the first time in months, but he’d also come to terms with his situation. He had a massive crush on Raphael. Spotting for him in the gym gave him time to really get a sense for the angel, and what he’d learned… well, there was one good thing about being trapped in the Celestial Realm for the rest of this year. And it was the eye candy that was his dorm neighbor.

Jake startled when his phone made a little chirp. He hadn’t put it on silent yet. That was step one. Step two was checking his messages. Oh! Nia.

Nia > Jake: Hey, Jakey, you awake? Jake > Nia: Nia. It’s like 4am there, what are you doing awake? Nia > Jake: It’s 2 there, I could be asking the same thing. Jake > Nia: I just got home from movie night. Unintentional double feature because Azrael found out that Raph hadn’t seen Spirited Away, so… Nia > Jake: That’s a tragedy! Jake > Nia: Agreed. Anyway, why are you texting me at 4am? Nia > Jake: I made a pact with Beel.

Jake blinked. That’s a second pact. And not with the boy she’s interested in. Either of them. Or, was she interested in this one too? Beel seemed like a boy Bunny, maybe a hungrier one, but. A real himbo, from what Nia’s said. He didn’t disapprove, even if it wasn’t up to him.

Jake > Nia: Whoa. Two pacts! Nia > Jake: Yeah.

Should he say it? He had to say it.

Jake > Nia: And you’re still the legal owner of your soul, I hope. Nia > Jake: Of course I am, I honestly just agreed to go out to basically every human-safe Devildom restaurant. Jake > Nia: You agreed to endless dates as an exchange for protection from Mr. Beefy? Nia > Jake: I mean… yeah, that’s a pretty good description.

That was one hell of a deal, really. But… Well, Nia was telling him about her relationship things, even if Pacts were like the ultimate platonic commitment and not romantic like his realizations for the evening. He should still share with her even though he knew it would probably keep her from going back to sleep properly.

Jake > Nia: Well, my crush gave me one of his hoodies, so… Nia > Jake: Your crush?! How long were you going to hold out on telling me about him? Jake > Nia: I thought you’d have guessed by now.

Even as he pushed send, Jake knew it wasn’t entirely fair. Even he had only really realized it today. But he also knew how easy it was for his bestie to read him, often before he figured things out himself. She’d clocked the fact that he was gay months before he admitted it to himself. He could see the same in her, it’s why they were so close. Lucikly, they’d never had crushes on the same boy before, so that helped keep them from having petty fights. But if she was going to date every single demon, well, it was only a matter of time before they saw eye to eye on hotness. Mammon was an absolute snack.

Nia > Jake: You talk about Azrael and Feniel enough, but one’s a girl and the other you sa

Jake stared at his phone when the incomplete message popped in. Then, Nia started and stopped typing probably a dozen times before her next message came through.

Nia > Jake: HOLY SHIT IS IT RAPHAEL?!

Jake laughed so loud he had to smother his own face in his pillow to avoid waking Raphael nextdoor.

Jake > Nia: Shh, keep it down, you’ll wake the neighbors.

His phone buzzed as he was sending that message, and what he received made him laugh again, but tamer.

Raphael > Jake: Everything okay in there? Jake > Raphael: Sorry if I woke you, texting with my devildom friend. Raphael > Jake: You didn’t wake me. You and she should probably get some sleep though. Jake > Raphael: You too. Thanks again for the hoodie.

Right. Right. Stop flirting. Back to Nia.

Jake > Nia: I say, and then wake my neighbor laughing anyway. Jake > Nia: But yes. He’s so hot. And nice. And I’m pretty sure he fumbled his lift because of my spandex ass earlier. Nia > Jake: OMG what?! Jake > Nia: Aya loaned me workout clothes so I’d stop working out in jeans. Nia > Jake: And…? Jake > Nia: It’s leg day. Nia > Jake: And he fumbled a lift? Boy was checking you out! Jake > Nia: I thought so too. But he was so smooth about it, and he’s Michael’s right hand man, so… Nia > Jake: Oooooooof. Yeah. okay. Jake > Nia: I shall admire him from a respectable distance and enjoy the hell out of this hoodie. Nia > Jake: That sounds like a great plan. I am gonna… sleep. Nia > Jake: Oh right!!! I made cookies with Beel and Luke, btw. So expect a delivery #soon. Jake > Nia: 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

Jake set his device aside, making sure it was plugged in properly, and crawled into bed. Pajamas and Raphael’s hoodie? Absolutely. He slipped the eye mask that Azrael had gifted him over his eyes to keep the perpetual sun out, curled up, and slipped off to sleep with thoughts full of cute boys and impending cookies.

[fitgothgirl]

I keep not updating because it's just felt like more and more of a weight the longer I go since the stuff I'd update about just keeps accumulating/progressing. But I'm just going to triage some things since updating on everything has apparently become a barrier lol.

Dealing with my four infections (quadfection?) is wrapping up soon; I've been on a total of five antibiotics for over three weeks straight, but I'm down to my last one and it finishes on Saturday. Been worried about how fucked my system is after all these since I've never been on antibiotics for this long, let alone five different ones (or even more than ONE), but I'm trying really hard to help out my gut microbiome. It's expensive but I've been having a kombucha basically everyday, and I've gotten some prebiotic sodas as well. Also I usually have a Greek yogurt everyday, and just am generally trying to eat well with lots of fiber and water.

Weight loss/fitness gains have been on pause during this, or technically even longer since the 10 days prior to all this was when I was in Costa Rica. Rest is good for all the fighting/healing my body has been doing with the quadfection though. When I got back I did lift a few times since I wanted to get back at it after the vacation and it was before the infections/antibiotics were getting piled on, but then I had a 2-week break from lifting until the day before yesterday. In between though I DID do a Zumba class, which was hard and I'm sure I looked like a fool but it was fun haha (gotta start somewhere!). The class was later in the evening so even though Zumba is popular, there were maybe only 10 people in that class, if that, so that was nice. I always need more cardio and just generally want to incorporate more complex/dynamic movement in my workouts because solely lifting can be kinda like tunnel vision for your muscles. I want more "real" movement, stuff you actually do in life, stuff that uses multiple body areas, etc.

Anyway, not feeling down on myself about the break or anything, my body needs it and it's been good to reassess things now that I've been a Gym Person for over 6 months. A little shake up might be good as I get back into things soon here. Even with the break, I've been trying to at least get in walks; I haven't been successful with my step goal most days and walking is just so good for everything... We're at the time of year where the season changes from day-to-day lol so when it's been nicer out I've been trying to jump on those days (rain is back now through the weekend though).

One thing I didn't even plan to work on but have just naturally fallen into since coming home is my sleep hygiene. Since Costa Rica is 2 hours ahead of my time zone, not only did I lose a couple hours of sleep, but everyday we were up somewhat early on top of that. And so when we got home, I woke up earlier than usual before work (i.e. not one minute before I'm supposed to log on lol), and I've just been keeping it going since then. I don't start work until 8:30am and I've now been waking up anywhere from 7am-8am. This is crazy for me since I've never been even close to a morning person, but the vacation gave me a bit of a leg up and I've just been riding the wave. I'm really enjoying the calm start before work, and going out and getting some morning sunlight in my backyard at least for a few minutes (Andrew Huberman fan here lol). I've even done some little dynamic warm-ups while getting that morning sun, like knee raises, jumping jacks, arm circles, etc. And all this sleep hygiene stuff means I've been going to bed earlier too.

Yesterday was really nice so I got out for a walk. The last year or so, I haven't been taking pictures as much on walks/hikes, mainly due to just trying to be in the moment. But I don't want to never take pictures again lol so yesterday I made a point to take a few. It's the wonderful time of year where everything is green and it makes me feel like we're in Scotland or something haha; albeit a nice summer day if it were Scotland. It's normal for Californian hills/fields to be "golden" for like 9 months of the year and it's even a symbol of the state, but I just love the green. 🥲 But yeah I specifically thought "I'm going to take pics to share with my fellow tumblerinas" so I was thinking of you guys when I took these. 😆😋

Bottom left is a plane-shaped kite and his idol, a real plane 🥺 lol

[stargazer-sims]

Beautiful

Takahiro: Fox? I thought you were coming to join me in the bath.

Fox: Sorry. Yeah, I'm coming. I guess I got lost in my head for a few minutes.

Takahiro: About what? Are you okay?

Fox: I'm all right. I was thinking about my doctor's appointment this morning.

Takahiro: I'm sorry, I completely forgot that was today. Was it bad? Should I have gone with you?

Fox: No. I told you that you didn't have to take time off work to come with me. It was just my regular checkup. I'm feeling good and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary on any of my tests. It's just...

Takahiro: What?

Fox: Dr. Thomas says I need to lose weight.

Takahiro: I think you look good as you are.

Fox: He's concerned about insulin resistance. Too much fat around the midsection isn’t good. He says it could make my medication less effective.

Takahiro: Oh.

Fox: That's not really what's bothering me, though. It was something else he said.

Takahiro: What was it?

Fox: I don't think he meant to be insulting, but he made a comment about how it'd be great for me to get back to being as slim and good-looking as I was in my twenties. You know I was never actually slim, but... It's probably ridiculous, but I can't get that out of my head. I mean, he’s not wrong. I may not have been the poster boy for fitness in my twenties, but my body wasn’t totally unattractive. At least I didn't have an ugly belly then.

Takahiro: Look at me, Fox. Listen carefully. There is nothing ugly about you. Not your belly or anything about your body.

Fox: But, the scars...

Takahiro: No. Those aren't ugly either. You know the scar on your leg? That reminds me of how we met.

Fox: I guess I've never thought of it that way.

Takahiro: And this scar on your belly reminds me of our children. How could I ever see it as not beautiful?

Fox: But—

Takahiro: You don't think my scar from Matsu is ugly, do you?

Fox: No, of course not. Yours is barely visible, though. Not like mine.

Takahiro: It's only more visible on you because your skin is so pale, but that's beautiful too. You know, the day we met, I'd never seen anyone who looked like you before. Not in real life, anyway, and I thought you were the most exotic person I'd ever seen. I still think so.

Fox: Really?

Takahiro: How do you say it? The novelty is never going to wear off.

Fox: Same for me. I'll never get tired of looking at you.

Takahiro: Remember when you told me you had freckles everywhere?

Fox: Yeah, in the hospital, just after we met. You kept calling them 'sparkles'

Takahiro: My English was so bad then.

Fox: It was better than my Japanese.

Takahiro: I'm not sure I believed you about your freckles until I saw them for myself.

Fox: I remember, you were helping me put a pillow under my foot and you got really fascinated by the fact that I have freckles on my toes.

Takahiro: That must've seemed silly to you.

Fox: I thought it was cute.

Takahiro: I'm still fascinated by your freckles. I love them, and your pretty eyes, and your orange hair.

Fox: Ginger.

Takahiro: Ginger hair. I always forget that one.

Fox: I think you did that on purpose.

Takahiro: Maybe. But the point is, you're perfect to me just as you are. Freckles, ginger hair, cute belly, scars... everything. If your doctor says you need to lose weight for health reasons, that's one thing, but you don't need to change anything about yourself to be beautiful.

Fox: Thank you. That helps.

Takahiro: You're welcome.

Fox: I still need to lose weight, though. For health reasons.

Takahiro: I know a certain exercise you might enjoy, if you want to start right now.

Fox: What about the bath?

Takahiro: It can wait. Unless you want to start our workout there?

Fox: No, you’re right. The bath can wait.

Takahiro: Good, because suddenly I don’t know if I can.

Fox: So, I’m that much of a turn-on?

Takahiro: Well, if you insist on walking around in front of me in nothing but your underpants, what can you expect?

Fox: *laughing* Look who’s talking. But, about the weight loss thing… We really do need to take it seriously at some point.

Takahiro: Let's talk to Victor tomorrow. If anyone knows about being healthy and getting fit, it's him. I'm sure he can help you.

Fox: Okay.

Takahiro: Okay, so we agree on a plan. Time for talking is over for a while. Now I'm going to show you how beautiful I think you are, and we don't need talking for that.

[ohanny]

since be on cloud gave me absolutely nothing (you know, on top of kind of serving me everything hahaha) i shall pitch my own show:

us as a bright, happy marketing guy (maybe he works in the same company nodt and perth are having their office romance in) who enjoys nice things. these nice things include good food, sleeping in and hot men. the human embodiment of #treatyourself. tried yoga once for the aesthetic, deemed it too much actual effort and considers drunk dancing with his friends on a saturday night his only form of exercise. jj as the personal trainer with a heart of gold who genuinely just loves his job. he is a gym bro to end all gym bros. his clients range from frail grandmas to professional athletes and they all love him and his eclectic collection of wildly patterned workout pants. if you miss a session, he's highly likely to show up at your door with a homemade soup because surely the only reason you missed out on dem gainz is because you are deathly ill. ta as us' intern and work bestie who enjoys going to the gym a normal amount. so basically he really likes the effect his abs have on all genders but also likes the fancy lunches us drags him to and thus needs constant maintenance. one day, for whatever reason, us goes to the gym to pick ta up and sees the love of his life gym god of epic hotness. he immediately corners ta all "where the fuck have you been hiding that and also how do i get his number, i bet he could bench press me, damn" and ta just laughs like "1. he could defo bench press you and 2. lol he basically lives at the gym, good luck trying to get him out of it." naturally this is when us, consumed by thirst and destiny, decides the best course of action is to hire jj as his personal trainer as a way to get into those grandma's brocade couch floral pants. it's not like he will need more than the trial session to achieve that anyway, right?

WRONG. us did not take into account how oblivious and professional jj would be. he shows up to the trial session in light makeup, hair fluffed, charm dialed up to 11 and wearing short shorts that show a lot of thigh and gets nothing but a fitness plan and complimentary diet advice. at that point it becomes a matter of pride. us will bag this gym god even if it kills him. which it very well might because oh god, muscles he didn't even know he had are aching and when he mentioned he wanted to work on his ass *wink wink* he expected more hands on inspection in the showers and less stairmaster. ta of course finds us' despair utterly hilarious but it crosses over to sad when us deflates onto his work desk one day with a whisper of "well, i guess he's straight." and ta isn't one to assume anything but be for real. he has been a gym bro since his teens and has never seen a straight gym bro who a) never mentions any attraction to a woman, even in a totally respectful way and b) unironically listens to barbie girl while doing bicep curls in leopard print yoga pants. "i will talk to him" ta promises and us whines out a "nooo, i don't wanna seem desperate" and dude. ta is not sure what about showing up to an arm day in a crop top and waist chain screams not-desperate but oh well. so next day ta confronts jj while they are working out, asking his gym buddy to please either let us down gently or do something about it and jj... is confused. the sweet oblivious dumdum genuinely had no idea us was even remotely interested. " but he never said anything!" "how much do you think a person can struggle with their squats?" ta hisses. "good form is important! they can be trickier than one might think!" jj whisper screams, offended. ta bangs his head against the weight rack, wishing it would somehow final destination him because how!?!?!?! after having a mental breakdown while jj somehow still goes on to finish his leg press set, ta takes a deep breath and spells out exactly how pathetically interested us is. "so if you want a fun night or a boyfriend or whatever, he's in. just ask him out for dinner or something." "i would rather cook for him myself" jj sniffs. "easier to keep track of macros." personally, ta thinks it would be easier not to be friends with either one of these idiots. but because he is a good person, all he does is sigh and say "you do that" and already mentally braces himself for the upcoming outfit crisis us will make him suffer through. TLDR: us as a dramatic hoe, jj as a gym himbo and ta is the one with the braincell that enables the two idiots to fall in love

[destinygoldenstar]

Ranking Every Just Dance 2023 Map For New Years

So. New years have arrived. To think I have 75 followers now. That’s insane. You guys are awesome. 

I guess I should do something for New Years, huh?

Let’s see...

Oh! I know!

I’m gonna rank every level from Just Dance 2023!

Why am I doing this?

2023.

That’s the only reason.

Okay, for a bit of my background on the game franchise, I’m not a hardcore Just Dance stan, and I am a bad dancer. At least, I was told that by my oh so nice friends ( /j )

However, I remember a lot of fun times I had with the games. One of my friends birthday parties was a dance party with one of the games. In my middle school gym classes around the end of the year, Just Dance was an option to play for the class, and I ALWAYS chose that. We had four people do a dance at a time on the Wii as a little competition. I never won once :(

And even at my senior high school holiday party, we had one of these sessions...

Dancing to the dreaded Rasputin.

That had me drained of energy the rest of the week. That map HAUNTS MY DREAMS.

In terms of myself OWNING a Just Dance Game though... I never did. Yeah, despite my fun, I didn’t own a game myself.

UNTIL this very Christmas, where I got 2023 as a gift from my parents. 

I LOVE this game, needless to say. I didn’t even know they were still making Just Dance games since like, 2016, so I was in LOVE with the evolution of the gameplay. And the song choices? MWAH. MY CUP OF TEA RIGHT HERE.

This might be one of my favorite Just Dance games I’ve ever played. (Which is not a high bar, so don’t get mad at me)

I actually made this game my new workout routine. I DESPERATELY need exercise for my weak nerd arms, especially for a community performer who can’t help with stage work even if I tried. So this game is gonna be my fun workout routine every day. A gym? What’s that? (I’m still healthy either way, so leave me alone)

And, well, from this being fresh in my mind, and 2023 in the title, I decided to make this my New Years gift to you all to celebrate 2023.

I bet none of you asked for this.

Keep in mind, I am NOT a good dancer, and from my background of Just Dance, I don’t have a lot of knowledge on what makes a Just Dance map good or not. This is just gonna be based on my enjoyment of these maps. I could love a map that’s poor quality by Just Dance standards. Idk, I wouldn’t know.

ALSO, if you’re gonna ask about the rules of the ALT versions... 

I will NOT be ranking ANY of the ones with the actual human coaches.

Those are all TRASH in case you’re wondering. I hate them. They take away from the creativity and magic of Just Dance maps by having them be real backgrounds for me, and I don’t like it when game developers exploit real people for profit. 

So I’m just gonna ban those from my mind.

Then there’s the issue of the versions of the maps, one regular and one extreme... I would say I’d only rank the maps separately if they are different from each other enough, but... I can’t determine that.

So I’m just gonna talk about the maps I want to talk about.

If I don’t mention one, I apologize in advance.

So, let’s get this train wreck started...

X Tier

48:

Zooby Doo

I hate Zooby Doo. 

Before the dance even started I knew I’d hate this map. 

This is baby game bait, and it nauseates me that executives forced this on talented choreographers who worked on this game. The entire map screams, ‘this is for babies, and absolutely no one else’

The song is awful. Must I say more?

The backgrounds are awful. I don’t understand why they’re all inflatables.

The coaches are awful. ONE OF THEM IS NAMED ‘DOODOO’...

...

ANYWAY, the coaches are awful. The designs are really bad with no coherences whatsoever, and the inflatables they’re wearing is so distracting and limits leg movement.

Oh, and it’s a duo map. I don’t like duo maps. I think they rely too heavily on using a partner, which if you’re doing it solo, you basically cannot do the dance. Even the best maps suffer from being duo maps because of this. 

And I might, MIGHT have forgiven it all if the dance was at least fun.

It’s not. 

There is little to NO choreo at all here. It’s just flailing around to obnoxious music. And when you’re just dying for the map to end, it K E E P S  G O I N G.

I am never touching this map ever again.

47:

Stay (Inflatable Version)

...no.

46:

Top Of The World

I like the song.

And that song deserves SO MUCH BETTER.

This in my eyes is only a commercial for a Paddington ripoff. 

Actually, if it was Paddington, I think the map would've been so much better. Mostly because I could follow a bear as a dance coach better than a crocodile, which has little limbs and a big tail! 

(Also why is the croc sad at the start? That’s never explained)

This dance is easy, and yet it still feels impossible to do because the coach is so unreliable. 

And the backgrounds are... not good. Apparently this map REALLY hates color. NOT EVEN FOR THE WRISTBAND THAT’S MEANT TO GUIDE THE PLAYER.

You know, this is a commercial for a CHILDRENS MOVIE, and yet you provide NO COLOR.

That’s absurd to me.

Or, I don’t know how children’s entertainment becomes successful for children.

45:

Danger High Voltage (16 Bit Version)

How do you RUIN the concept of a 16 bit map?

This is how!

Destroy the energy of the original.

Make the 16 bit backgrounds inconsistent and hard to follow.

Make your coach fart to remove enemies.

Make your coach DAB.

Did you know that in one of my middle school community productions? We all had to do a dance battle in a superhero themed show in front of several people, and at the end, we were all supposed to strike a superhero pose.

Then, the directors decided to YEET that idea in favor of the entire stage DABBING. Because ‘it's trendy’.

I hated dabbing ever since.

And I hate it when directors use ‘it’s trendy’ as an excuse.

The dancing really kills any potential this map really had, and the moments I pointed out already destroy it. It’s above the others for at least being a dance I can follow.

Ok Tier

44:

Walking On Sunshine

This is not in the bottom tier because the song is actually kinda catchy.

Other than that, this map is NOT GOOD.

I don’t usually mind coach switches because they’re used in clever ways and aren’t just thrown in there. Here though, there is SO MANY switching coaches that it feels nauseating more than anything else. 

And I can tell this is borrowing nostalgia from previous games due to the intro yeeting out a coach for a worse designed version of them. And when half of them are doing their own collective dance, and the other half are doing their own unique one, how am I supposed to understand what to do besides flail about? THE DIRECTIONS DON’T HELP EITHER.

The stick person idea is okay on paper, but is executed terribly. These aren’t stick figures being stick figures, these are knockoffs of previous maps, like I said. And they’re doing a bad job at such.

43:

Stay

There’s only one reason this map is this low.

I HATE this song!

I can’t stand this song.

The censors being incredibly distracting in the map and wherever is the LEAST of it’s problems. I even hate the uncensored version of this song. I think it’s obnoxious and devoid of substance besides trying to win a world record of ‘how much can we cuss in our chorus?’ 

And I don’t even hate songs automatically for cussing. Welcome To The Internet is one of the best songs of all time if you’d ask me.

I’m not even one of those ‘new generation music is bad’ people. But I feel like those kind of people point to this song specifically to make their claim.

That’s the only reason why I’m not playing this map again other than to make this list. Because I don’t like the song.

The map otherwise is okay though. 

The coach looks nice, I think the city background is pretty and I like the defiance of gravity. I think it could have a Spiderverse-esque feel if it went above and beyond with the concept.

Man, those elements just get overshadowed by a terrible song choice though.

42:

Dynamite

Why does this map feel so dirty?

I get the lyric is ‘Funk and Soul’

Yet to me it sounds like ‘F**king Soul’

One of the dancers lift a finger at one point, and they’re in the back so it makes me think it’s a middle finger.

And at the end that same dancer does a pose you see in a lot of sex stuff.

That’s the most interesting thing about this map. The rest of the map did not do it for me. 

The song is... fine.

The choreo is... fine. Though this is the Extreme level, and it wasn’t very hard for me.

The background is... fine. Though they spin the camera around the bar at one point that makes me feel sick. Especially when they show all that junk food afterwards. Unlike a map like Wannabe where the bright colors are controlled with a mundane background without the flare, this map is all bright colors, no exception. This map kinda gave me a seizure. Especially when there’s WAY too much going on.

If you can get behind that, it’s an... okay map. But I don’t think I’m gonna play it again.

41: 

Drivers License

I think this one is either you like it or you don’t.

I don’t.

I don’t like this song. That’s fully personal taste for me. And the map nothing to help me get invested in it. It’s so slow and boring, and the choreo is aggressively repetitive. 

I think this is meant to be an emotional one, yet it’s clearly trying to hard. The entire focus is on these silhouettes of the couple and the coach looking oh so sad the whole time. If the coach is sad, why would I want to dance, you know?

At least I don’t feel sick dancing to this one.

40:

If You Wanna Party

I think this one does get a LITTLE too much flack. The choreo is actually pretty fun to dance to when you actually play it, and for that alone, I do find myself coming back to it. 

Especially Jack Rose’s solo bit. Jack Rose is best coach. I don’t care what anyone says.

What really is the issue here is the song. The song did not do much for me. I don’t find myself listening to this song outside of the map. I am NOT one of those ‘new generation songs suck’ people, I just choose which songs I like and which ones I don’t. I think that’s for a lot of people.

Plus I think the song is pretty nostalgia heavy with these past game maps floating in the background. Personally, I think it would’ve been better to use examples from the first three games or so than what appear to be maps from later in the series. That’s just me tho, and I think it would’ve felt like a better celebration of the franchise than what we got.

I do come back to this one for the choreo, but I personally would’ve been okay with the story mode ending with Majesty.

39:

Telephone (Runaway Version)

I have never been more disappointed with an ALT than this.

You guys probably already know where the original Telephone map is on the list.

For now though, this one is... not great.

First off, they’re seated the whole time.

Second, it’s a duo map, which I don’t like those.

Third, this choreo drains all the energy from the song. There is next to nothing interesting happening to me. I guess the coach’s enthusiasm is enough to save it, and I love the song either way, and I can appreciate the INTENTION of a seated performance, but I expected such a better ALT to Telephone than this.

Why couldn’t we get an Extreme Level of this song?!

38:

Million Dollar Baby

I almost mistaken this one for the real people dance. But TECHNICALLY no.

It’s Ava Max dance coaching her own song with some pretty diamonds everywhere. Pretty pretty.

Whoop dee doo. Moving on.

Good Tier

37:

We Don’t Talk About Bruno

I didn’t know where to place this tbh. I’m still questioning why this exists.

But it has it’s moments. I like how close it resembles the movie version and makes it feel like you’re interacting with the people around you. 

The background characters though... yikes.

And I like the choreo on the bridge solo with Mirabel.

I have nothing else to add, just... why?

36:

Sissy That Walk

The placement is simple: This is just not my thing. But it is well made, and I like the coach singing as well and even being ooped by the censors. Not much else to say.

35:

Heat Waves

I actually find this map kinda wholesome. You know, for a robot map and easy choreo and a song I don’t care for. I dunno, this robot coach is adorable, and there’s nothing really bad about this one.

But the choreo does limit the player a little bit, especially when the robot spins it’s arms. Humans don’t have that joint capability sillyheads!

34: 

Disco Inferno

This one has some value to it for sure. It has a bit of the charm of Magic, just with a devil instead of an angel. It’s not as good as Magic though, and it’s very... twentieth century. (I never heard of this song before, so I don’t know when it was made)

33:

Playground

Here’s a TOTALLY unpopular opinion...

Arcane is AMAZING.

I don’t talk about it on my blog because it contains certain subjects I fear I won’t be able to talk about without offending someone. Kinda like when I review Dhar Mann. However, it’s easily one of the best quality shows of the DECADE. And we’re only at 2023! And I doubt it’s gonna change!

So of COURSE this amazing show was gonna get a Just Dance map. It just makes sense...

And it’s... okay?

I heard a lot of people say Enemy would’ve been better, and... yeah. But Playground is a good song too. I think our love for Enemy overshadows the rest of the good songs in Arcane quite a bit tbh.

I come back to this one quite a bit more than the others I talked about before actually, which is why it’s higher.

Plus the backgrounds are beautiful and the dance resembles Arcane pretty well. I didn’t even expect there to be any of the psychosis scribbles, but I’m glad they added that there.

My biggest gripe with this though is that this should NOT have been an easy level. Arcane is an INSANE show that is FAR from easy to understand. I think to represent the show, the map should’ve been at least a Hard difficulty. 

That would’ve definitely suited Jinx and let her go WILD with this dance. It IS Jinx after all, she would never take things so easy, let alone have her choreo be this repetitive with it’s chorus. 

Or it could’ve had an Extreme ALT with Vi in it at least. That would’ve been AMAZING. 

Yeah I know it’s a commercial for a show like it was for the crocodile map but... come on. There’s a clear difference in potential here. An Extreme ALT to Playground would make you so much money Just Dance! At least I would’ve played it.

32:

More (Seraphine Version)

This is just more More.

*Cue laugh track*

Let me rephrase that.

This is just More but with Seraphine and easier choreo, and more of a stray from the music video it’s based on, which is fine, I’m glad they tried something different.

Unfortunately, the different they came up with isn’t as interesting as the original More to me. It’s just a ton of blue backgrounds, and Seraphine. Though to be fair, Seraphine alone makes this ALT worth it.

31:

Majesty

I’m sorry. This is one of the goofier ones for me.

But I do have to give the song a LOT of credit for it’s style. Replicating ALL of the story mode’s dancers styles into one is genuinely challenging, and I have to give my props to the battle style of it all.

That said, there’s a few things holding it back for me.

I think this kind of level was missed potential. Basically, when the coaches change up all the time, you only get to pick based off of the first coaches and then you go with whoever is on the side of the map. This makes it difficult for people to pick if they want to dance to the Good or Evil of the dance’s story. This is especially the case for Jack Rose, who switches sides halfway through. Yet you only get to dance with him if you pick Evil. But picking Evil also means you have to dance as these boring raven minion things for fifty percent of the song.

The song itself is also... not my cup of tea. I’m sorry, but I can’t get into it.

This makes the entire dance goofy for me, but I guess since it’s a dance battle, that’s the point. But idk, the heart kiss in the direction part (why you blowing a kiss to an evil witch?) And the way Mihaly just shows up in the crowd WATCHING from the sidelines and letting Sara do all the work.

I feel like if they used a different song and you got to choose which of ALL the coaches present you could play as, this could’ve been a masterpiece. But as is, it’s far from that.

30:

Woman

I can actually get behind this map.

And I don’t even like the song that much.

But for what the dance is, it’s actually kinda easy to get into. I like the coach’s designs and I think the choreo, while easy, is still fine to get into. I was expecting this dance to be so much more aggressively sexual given the song it’s attached to, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

There’s not much to say about this one. It’s good. The song just isn’t for me.

29:

Watch Out For This

I have no excuse.

This, quality wise, should not be this high. The choreo and coach designs are hilariously awful. And the song is... geez.

But that’s why I love it. This is THE guilty pleasure map. This is ironic enjoyment. I have a good time with this map and how stupid it is. It’s not well made together, but all it’s faults laugh in its face and come together to make something special.

Everything is SPECTCULARLY mediocre at best.

28:

Radioactive

Yes. I like Radioactive. I think this dance style is very creative and a GREAT arm workout, which is what I’m looking for.

Do not let this fool you. This is a HARD dance to do. That difficulty rating is a lie.

I like how their arms manipulate the backgrounds around them, and the song is... not my favorite from Imagine Dragons. But I don’t hate the song, so I can live with it. Personally, I would’ve gone with Natural.

However, I think this dance is pretty underrated.

27:

Therefore I Am

I don’t really like how the background has the lyrics of the song. It’s annoying, and it also shoves the song’s censors in your face. Which is a shame because otherwise, I wouldn’t have noticed it because I thought the censors were well handled.

This choreo is actually pretty cool to dance to otherwise. And the background is neatly stylized.

And yes, I also looked at Happier Than Ever from 2022. That one is ten times a better Billie Eilish Just Dance map in every single way.

26: 

Can’t Stop The Feeling

This map is THE intro to the game. And it shows. Honestly this song is SO dance worthy that I find it very hard to believe it took THIS long for it to get in a game. (Or was it used in a previous game? Idk, let me know)

I know I said I hated the game using real people, but here it’s fine with me because it’s only in an intro and Sara gets an Alter Ego when she steps into the Danceverse. (I love Sara’s coach design btw) The Danceverse itself is so much fun and the song accompanies that very well. 

Especially when these dimensions are filled with cameos of previous Just Dance games that I know nothing about. (There was a level that took place in a laundry room?)

That’s really what’s holding it back for me. That and the choreo, being easy and all, is nothing special. I think this map is made for nostalgia bait for hardcore Just Dance fans. For casual players like me, I don’t think it’s gonna do much. But it’s fun.

AND THAT ENDING THO-

25:

Good Ones

Good choreo.

Good background.

Good coach.

A little repetitive but it’s all good.

Would’ve been great if it was longer.

It’s a Good One.

*Cue laugh track*

24:

Toxic (Extreme)

Yeah I’m sorry, this Extreme level didn’t do much for me. This is one instance where I feel like the two levels are different enough to be ranked separately. However, I DO prefer the ‘easier’ version of the map to this. 

This one is less creative to me. I get it’s meant to be more ‘dangerous’ with the lasers, but that’s about it. It’s definitely an Extreme level, don’t get me wrong, the rating isn’t a lie, but I don’t care. 

There’s not much story to this map whereas the easier version did. This is just ‘sneak past the lasers’

And there is WAY too much spinning in this choreo, which is crazy of a complaint because of how creative some of these spins are. But they get overshadowed when nearly every part of the song has spinning to it. 

This level, to me, is just ‘More Toxic’

*cue laugh track*

23:

Wouldn’t It Be Nice

This map is SO ADORABLE OMG

But sadly this is only a cover of the song :(

Really though, I love the use of claymation to put this together. Just Dance didn’t have to do this, but they did. 

This, and Pinocchio. Must be the year for claymation.

The dance is so adorable and wholesome, and the backgrounds are so cute that they interact with the song. I like the cat is in the background at one point to foreshadow the ending. Which... WOW.

But sadly it’s a duo map so it loses points for me.

Also I can’t tell if this map hates badgers or they’re just discriminative towards the third wheel of every friend group. Which is occasionally me :(

 Super Tier

22:

Danger! High Voltage

Now THIS is what we call, JUST THROW EVERYTHING OFF THE WALL AND HOPE IT STICKS

And I think with the song, this was the right map to do that. I never even heard of this song before this game, and I don’t think I’d listen to it 24/7, but it’s an okay song.

What really sells this map is the coaches and their wild crazy energy. This dance is just one big punk competition on two people trying to best each other, and that’s literally the context of the map. 

This one, to me, is the ‘let’s pray to god no one’s watching you dance this’ map. Because they’d question what the heck is going on. 

That said, it’s still a duo map. I don’t really like the duo maps. I would do the ALT, but... we talked about it.

21: 

I Knew You Were Trouble

Would’ve been higher if the choreo wasn’t so repetitive. (How is this not ranked easy?)

But I do like the song, and I think the map tells the story very well. Plus I enjoy the cosplay in it.

20:

Boy With Luv (Extreme Version)

I don’t have much to say about this besides... solid. Very solid. The song just isn’t my thing. But it’s still a very well put together map.

19:

Boy With Luv

Same thing. I just like the miniature aesthetic more. 

18:

As It Was

Great visuals. Chill song but it’s fine. And there’s some relaly neat choreo here like kneeling on the floor in a jump. Love that move actually.

WHY IS THERE A RANDOM PLANE ENGINE IN THE MIDDLE-

17:

More

Here’s something that’s totally not unpopular of an opinion, but I LOVE K/DA songs.

Yeah I know, the unfollow button is right there. 

I’ve seen several of the music videos of them, and I listen to a few of the songs on loop.

But I will admit, More is one of my weaker K/DA songs if I were to rank them. That’s why this is one of the weaker Extreme levels for me.

With that said, I don’t think non-K/DA fans know how much effort was put into this map. The backgrounds, the choreo, the costumes, and even the twist at the last chorus, ALL stem from the music video. And yet it doesn’t feel unnatural to me. Honestly, I condemn them for sticking to the spirit of the music video. Right down to SEREPHINE! *fangirl squeal*

If I had any gripes with it, I think the models they used on the girls don’t work for me too well, as their faces are way too wide for the models in the video that I’m used to. Their costumes also aren’t anything special (though that’s not Just Dance’s fault) And again, this is far from my favorite song from K/DA.

I know I said I didn’t play the previous Just Dance games so often, but I did see a ranking video of 2022, saw Pop Stars was a map, and I checked it out. While I think that map clearly favored Akali when the video it’s based on gave all the girls time to shine (and More seemed to fix that as every girl has a solo bit) I do think I like PopStars as a Just Dance map MORE than... well, MORE, because PopStars is one of my favorite K/DA songs next to Villain, I think the models and costumes are better, and it feels less... busy. And even if they favor Akali in the map, it’s not very hard to see why.

That’s just a me thing tho.

16:

Woman (All Mother Version)

Now THIS is an ALT. 

I think the song fits the All Mother so much better than the regular coaches, and she mops the floor with the song’s style. And the choreo here is a lot more fun than the original.

Huh. I prefer an ALT over the original. How about that?

15:

Sweet But Psycho

RASPUTIN, YOU DREADED NIGHTMARE.

Despite that, this map is real pretty. This is definitely one of the more chaotic maps, but I think it works in it’s favor. And the costume of the coach and the rose petals?! WOW.

With that said, this choreo is repetitive. Nearly every chorus is the same. Right down to the verses as well.

It’s a well put together map though, but KEEP RASPUTIN AWAY FROM ME.

14:

Psycho

This one is definitely something special. I think the map utilizes the song to the max. I love the castle going out of sorts as the song goes on, you know, actually UNDERSTANDING what the phrase psycho means! (Sorry Sweet but Psycho)

I also LOVE the costumes of these coaches.

So why is this not any higher?

The choreo.

I’m SORRY. But this isn’t very strong choreo for me. There’s some bits I liked but others I found goofy, like the part where they hold each other and just bop for no reason. I don’t mind goofy choreo if it’s a goofy map, but this is designed to be a more sophisticated map. 

And also, Extreme level? No. This was NOT very hard of a dance for me. This feels more like a Hard bordering Medium for me.

If it lived up to the Extreme level label, maybe this’d be higher.

13:

Anything I Do

This song is SO EXHAUSTING.

And that’s a good thing.

I love the style and feel of this map, especially for a song I’ve never heard before. If it weren’t for the slow mo of the dancers in the background and the excessive dropping, which gets old pretty quick and becomes predictable, this could’ve easily made the next tier up.

Perfect Tier

12:

Magic

This is going to sound INCREDIBLY stupid, but...

This map, to me, is CRAZY underrated.

Technically, it’s not the most complicated choreo in the world and is definitely repetitive. (a lot of the easy levels are, to be fair)

However, everything else about the map makes me so giddy whenever I play it. I come back to this level so many times because it’s such a feel good map. The coach is gorgeous, the stars and rainbows help the magic feel, the song itself is magic *cue laugh track*

And the lights around the last third are a very sweet edition.

This is one of my cooldown maps after a workout honestly. Quality wise compared to the others, I shouldn’t love this one as much as I do, but I do anyway. It’s my ranking.

(Also this coach is my avatar)

11:

Rather Be

This one is REALLY underrated. If you were to ask me which of the story mode’s dance style I fall in line the most with, it’s Mihaly. 

I can definitely get behind their choreo and the map itself is TOTALLY my style. You know how many times I’ve escaped reality with earbuds and go to magical places? 

My college hates earbuds for some reason :(

My biggest gripe is that for a song about going off to imaginary places, they use the same examples every time. I think there’s a bit of wasted potential there. But the world we got is still nice to look at.

This map also has a panda, which reminds me of my sibling, and they never wanna dance with me, so this song is the best way I can dance with them.

Great map that deserves more attention.

10:

Toxic

Is this a remaster? 

This is too good for a remaster. I love the secret agent story behind it and the plane background. I love how the coach is disguised for most of the dance, which makes her red spy costume all the more eye catching. I love the choreo for this one, I love how two guys in the VIP section are taking a bath together and yet Just Dance thinks ‘sex’ deserves to be censored, I love how the third chorus has the dancing make her DODGE LASERS, and I love how the pilot dude is okay with this spy flying the plane in the end. I dunno, he’s just like ‘Eh, I’ve been kidnapped and tied up, but she’s hot, so I’ll gladly lose my career and put my passengers in danger.’

I guess the only thing is that the coach is sliding across the scene the whole time and it looks a bit silly.

Great map tho.

9:

Love Me Land

The biggest problem with this map is that it’s too short.

Mostly because the song is too short.

This song is so groovy and fun with excellent choreography that is my jam to dance to. The coach is HOT. The lighting is fantastic. The map, while only one room, utilizes it to the fullest. It’s just a GREAT MAP...

AND IT’S TOO SHORT.

If it was a longer map, this could’ve easily been higher.

8:

Witch

A deliciously villain song. Or dance in this case.

The choreo is repetitive, but I think it works for the witch character, who just wants to control the other dancers to her movements. And there’s still some really impressive parts as well, my favorite part with the arches moving like ticks on clocks.

Great map.

7:

Physical

You know when I said I played this game for a workout?

Well this map seemed to have that in mind.

I LOVE the map just for that. The warmup stretches at the start? THAT GOLD MOVE WHEN YOU GET ON THE FLOOR?! The coach being an energetic queen? The people dancing with her? 

This is SO CLOSE to making the top tier. The only thing holding it back is that the choreo in the chorus gets repetitive. It’s fun choreo, but it unfortunately bugs me using it in every chorus with little to no alteration. If it wasn’t for that, it would be top tier.

With that said, I still love this map. Again, the energy is through the roof. It’s been awhile since I heard the song, but I’m glad it’s in the game because it really makes you want to dance. I love the mall background as well, as the interactions with the people in it makes the entire place feel alive, even the colors that get added as you dance are you kidding me?! And I don’t even like malls.

Really, if I were to do the game for the sole purpose of working out, this one is gonna be one of my first picks. 

YEAH Tier

6:

Physical (Extreme Version)

The issue I had with the original is gone. And the choreo is harder. 

This is basically if the original had no problems and made it to this tier. All the love I had for the original applies here for the most part, except here it’s completely solo designed specifically for workout purposes.

But I am NOT doing that split at the end. You can’t make me.

Now all we need is an Extreme Version to Locked Out Of Heaven and Rather Be.

LESS Zooby Doo Just Dance. Give us what we want!

5:

Locked Out Of Heaven

Jack Rose is best coach.

At first, this looks like a regular good level, but actually experiencing the map itself is on another level. 

A wannabe dancer being in the show of an oppressive figure who disapproves of their dancing pride is an okay idea for like, a story. But this is a Just Dance map, the simplicity of that story makes it so much deeper. Especially when we actually get to dance with them as though we’re cheering them on.

I love how the witch is constantly in the background to show that she’s watching him. I love the mic thing he has to dance with. (I actually danced to this with a broomstick) I love how that doesn’t get in the way of the choreo.

Said choreo is excellent. It’s nothing extreme, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s a dance to let loose to and imagine yourself in another world where you’re loved and seen, just like the coach imagines. 

The only gripe is the word ‘Sex’ being censored for no reason. 

I can get past the censors in the game, I know they’re necessary, and they don’t distract me in most maps because the focus is the dance. This is an exception though. ‘Sex’ is not a bad word.

Danger High Voltage had ‘hell’ in it, and no one censored that. That’s bs to me.

Really, that gripe only makes me want to sing to the map when I play it, and I think that makes the experience with the map better for me, so... what could I complain?

Let me know, is Jack Rose in any other Just Dance games? Is he basically the Bruno Mars dancer?

4:

Numb

An artist painting their brains out of a numb state of creativity.

Incredible.

I ADORE this map’s art direction with the pastels. And yet somehow none of it feels like too much. Given the map’s context, too much is kinda what it’s going for. 

The coach is phenomenal as well, in both versions of themselves. With the colored version it’s a little hard to see their arms with the sleeves, but I think that’s the point. This choreo wants you to let it all loose.

The way the dance transitions to black and white to all these rapid colors, to the glass shards making both sides collide so seamlessly?!

If I was more familiar with the song, this could’ve made top three.

3:

Bring Me To Life

Did this have to HIT as hard as it did? No. But it did anyway.

This map is phenomenal in so many ways. And I do not usually say that about the duo maps. It makes the Gold Move hard to do without a partner, and with someone like me, doing the Gold Move even with a partner would be... impossible.

That’s the ONLY issue though. The rest of the map is near PERFECT. 

I grew up with Evanescence music, and this is my favorite song of theirs. This map not only dances to the song, but they TELL A STORY using the song as well!

These doll coaches are out of time in their happy little clock tower, and though they want to be saved and live longer, the tower’s destroyed, and they themselves have to accept their own demise. 

That is HEAVY for Just Dance. And yet it portrays it subtly enough that it does not feel like it’s trying too hard (unlike some other maps).

The choreo also tells this story, with the split being them reaching out to the 4th wall with the ‘save me’ lyric accompanying it. The solo parts of each dancer having the other one reaching out to them. The end part being a hug as they vanish?! 

The costumes of the coaches, the tower, the clock background, it’s all phenomenal with it’s atmosphere. It sets the rest of the dance and hooks you in as you just immerse yourself in the dance.

This song deserved an ALT for the people doing the dance solo.

2:

Wannabe

So... I have a few things to say about this one.

First, the song. Before Just Dance, I’ve NEVER heard this song before. But now that I have heard it... YEAH!

I listen to this song on loop now, and currently am as I’m writing this.

And the backgrounds? YEAH!

Are they borrowing from Spiderverse? Not very likely, but still, this map just POPS in the color department and somehow does not feel busy. I don’t know how you pull that off. (Maybe it’s the city background looking mundane on purpose to make this comic book world come to life?)

I dance to this one multiple times JUST so I can catch every detail of the map. And I still don’t think I scratched the surface. The colored sound wave on the speakers? The comic book transitions to different areas of the city? The speech bubbles displaying the lyrics? The effort and creativity is off the roof! I’m scared to take my eyes off the map for even a second because I feel like I missed something.

And it’s not like the dance is lacking either. This is probably my favorite Extreme level choreo of the entire game. I am dead serious. I’m a bad dancer, and yet I want to learn this dance better, especially cosplay as these coaches. 

Easy Top Tier map for me. I was caught by surprise for sure.

1:

Telephone

You knew this one would be #1 before you even clicked on the post.

You were just here to see how I ranked the other maps.

Every other ranking I’ve seen has this at either number 1 or number 2, and the ones who put it at number 2 only did so because they had some sort of bias towards their number 1.

After playing it myself...

They weren’t wrong.

They are absolutely right.

EVERYTHING about this map is complete and utter PERFECTION.

I don’t even know where to begin!

First off, the song. This is one of my favorite Lady Gaga songs. I could not be happier seeing this song in the game this time. And I didn’t even anticipate the map to be my favorite at first. 

Second, the aesthetic. Genius. For those who don’t know, there’s an extended cut of the song, which is mostly just talking and less song. Basically, it tells the story of a party fanatic getting bailed out of prison and being on the run. Welp, apply it as the aesthetic to the Just Dance map and give us one of the best costumes for a coach of the game! (I love this outfit to death)

Third, the choreo. It’s just Medium level, and yet it has as much energy and pizazz as an Extreme level, without even being an Extreme level. The stomping everywhere, the hand motions, crouching down with sass, the other criminal girls yanking your coach with strings, the upper body only part with the phone and banging at the cell wall?! And so many other moments tat would take forever to mention. Suffice to say, I love Lady Gaga maps. Even before I even got the game, I always wanted to do the Lady Gaga maps.

And what do you know? The coaches from those maps return here and get a bit of the song to themselves! What more do you want? This feels like a tribute to her work for the franchise. And yet these cameos don’t overshadow the main coach of the dance or the others. They’re a part of the map’s story as well. They’re ALL in that prison!

(There’s also the bridge with their mugshots)

This song is on all my playlists in Just Dance, and will probably continue to be on them. I love Telephone that much, for even more reasons than I can give detail to. (The end where they basically just say ‘That’s it, I’m out’? Are you kidding me?!)

There you go, that’s my ranking. Don’t ask me to do the other games.

And Happy New Year and Happy 2023!

[keefwho]

March 11 - 2024 Monday

11:02pm

6.5/10

This morning I woke up with tummy troubles. I still went through with shaving my legs/face so that I can be super groomed for tomorrow's haircut. A decent amount of time was spent in the bathroom this morning, probably on account of the pizza and ramen I ate yesterday combined with some drinking. All I could eat for breakfast was a soup in the box.

I started work late and skipped warmups. I just worked on the current commission today. After work I did half my usual treadmill workout which was fine considering how little I'd eaten and how I still felt. I read the chapter on Acceptance in my ACT book again while walking. I took some time to bake myself in the shower and watch a little youtube. For lunch I made stew but I didn't brown it enough and added too many potatoes/water so it came out kinda bland and in large quantity but I ate it all anyways. I was SUPER full. The coke I had after hit hard because I really just needed water. I hung out in Bramble's server during work but wasn't really in a big social mood. I'm still glad I hung out there even if I wasn't really clicking with anyone at that moment. I left after doing today's request, working on a pic of Adora for an hour, and doing a little bit of Plaz's world. I updated him letting him know it is still happening just very slowly.

I took some time to just chill after work. I watching a very fascinating Cities Skylines 2 detailing video and then tried meditating on defusion for a little bit. I was doing the leaves on a stream exercise while laying my head in my arms and listening to water ambience. I was realizing the traditional version of the exercise where the leaves float downstream give me the impression that I'm meant to be getting rid of thoughts by putting them in the river. But defusion is never about deleting thoughts, its about seeing them as just thoughts. So I did a slightly different version where I imagined myself on a bridge above a still pond with every thought I had being represented by a leaf falling into the water but otherwise staying there. I gotta say I wasn't very successful in defusion "clicking" with me today but I knew it helped to try anyways.

I joined Daisy in Just Dance and SLAYED today. I did much better than usual and maybe it's because I was moreso having fun letting my motions be fluid rather than trying too hard to copy the moves and compensate for mistakes. Also changed my profile to a DOG but I might put it back to Hoss Delgado.

After her shower she read me a Monster High chapter in bed. I made another custom Connections puzzle for her to solve today thinking it was good but it was actually too hard for her. I think the terms I used were too generic to pinpoint any right off the bat which is usually a trait of a good puzzle. She did really well with today's actual connections and wordle though. Then I played a good amount of Kingdom Hearts 2 for her and did the whole Traverse Town tournament bit.

~~~

Today I was meant to be thinking about the topic of acceptance again. It's weird because the whole chapter covers specific kinds of trauma that I don't identify with but someone I know does. It makes me wish I could somehow use this knowledge and the understanding I do have to help out somehow. Not that I'm out here trying to magically fix something so complicated but I think I understand some of the topic and thats a good thing. Other than that, I think I did a decent job keeping myself on track today and accepting tonight for what it was. I understand that I can tend to reject good times simply because they make me think of the potential abandonment that will seemingly nullify it all. While that could happen, nothing would be "null" if it did. And it's much better and more helpful to be hopeful that everything will turn out okay in the end. I know it's not smart to be blinded by positivity but I do need to push myself from having a negative view of things to at least neutral. It'll help me appreciate the good things in my life while they're happening more often. It'll build me up.

3 things that made me happy today:

Watching otter stream with Bramble and friends during work.

Doing good in Just Dance.

Getting lost in Kingdom Hearts 2 for Daisy.

[sassypotatoe1]

Okay so learn from me! I did an exercise class last Tuesday, fine I was a bit sore, so I did another one last Thursday thinking getting my muscles moving would help. It did not, and I tweaked my knee ligaments. Fine, it didn't hurt too bad it should be fine by this Tuesday.

Wrong. We had kickboxing conditioning. High kicks and some pulled knee ligaments are not a good combination. Come yesterday and I can't get out of my car without standing in a weird position until the pain passes for like a minute. Bending my leg hurts. I'm starting to consider that I might actually have a fracture in my knee, or like bursitis or something.

So I go to the pharmacy to pick up my adhd meds and I grab a knee brace, like one of those cheap elastic ones with plastic boning in the side, just for the compression and to help with the pain. I can walk normally and get out of the car, but now my other side's hip hurts like a motherfucker because for an entire day that leg was carrying all my weight.

I'm also suspicious of how much better my knee feels after like 3 hours of wearing the brace. I'm wearing it again today to make sure it gets better completely, so I don't make it worse again next week when I get back to working out. I'm also getting medical paranoia about blood clots but that's a nonissue.

Anyway listen to your body, don't push yourself when you're in pain, use mobility aids and support and allow for proper recovery between workout sessions. If a joint is easily prone to injury wear at least neoprene sleeve braces to workouts. That is all.