#anyways I am a The Music Man stan

[thelastspeecher]

I've been meaning to make this post for a while and I'm finally getting around to it.

In my humblest of opinions, "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man is one of the finest musical songs in history. Does it have the most swelling melody, wild harmonies, and an insane finish? No, but a song doesn't need those to be good. And in fact, how good it is despite lacking those traits just further proves how well it was written.

The most distinctive aspect of the song, something that we see a lot in The Music Man, is that there isn't actually a huge amount of singing. It does have music the entire time; the orchestra is chugging along quite excellently. But most of the song is rapid-fire speaking in a slightly sing-song manner. Rhyming doesn't really kick in until near the end, when there's proper singing. This doesn't make the song less engaging, however. In my opinion, this makes the song more interesting. Sometimes, proper musical songs can be boring. If you've listened to enough of them, you can predict the melody or the lyrics. But you can't do that with "Ya Got Trouble", because it doesn't have rhyming or much melody.

Tied into the sing-song speaking is the fact that it is a very difficult piece to perform from a technical standpoint! The speaking has to be at a specific pace and tone that takes a LOT of work. I've heard the song a million times and even memorized much of the lyrics, but the only parts of the song I can reliably perform along with when listening are when it slows down. Harold Hill is talking FAST. But he also has to be CLEAR. Combining speed, enunciation, and acting takes practice and skill.

Despite the singing not kicking in until the end, there's still a sort-of chorus, and it's the part that people who've heard the song know best. "Trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool!" It's so dang memorable and distinctive. The wording in general is done so well. It really does come off as it's supposed to: a conman playing to his audience until he has them eating out of his hands.

In addition, while a lot of the song contains cultural references that can be difficult for modern-day audiences to catch (the musical was written in 1957 and takes place in 1912), the general message still comes across incredibly well. You don't need to have heard of "Captain Billy's Whiz Bang" before to understand that it's some joke book full of "inappropriate" content for kids, because the song provides the context. With how many specific cultural references there are in the song, it's no small feat that the song is still intelligible.

Finally, and I'll admit this is a bit of a personal thing here, but when the singing does kick in near the end it's in the classical musical style. Nothing against the sound of modern musicals, but I do so enjoy the classical style you hear in pieces like Annie Get Your Gun, The Music Man, and The Sound of Music. Timeless harmonies and melodies.

[cynthiav06]

Ok, so I am HOWLING with laughter.

So, have you heard? People are comparing Percy and Annabeth to................Odysseus and Penelope.

When I heard this, you don't know how funny it was to me. I almost choked on my spit. LMAOOOOOOOOOOO

Penelope would NEVER hit or insult Odysseus. She doesn't play mind games with him and they communicate properly.

Odysseus and Penelope are not toxic. Percabeth is.

Also, Rick Riordan is LEAGUES worse than Homer. Like, the guy cannot even compare to the ACTUAL GREEK POET.

And people are actually comparing the two.

Percy Jackson IS good at times, but it will NEVER compare to Homer's compositions. Literally never.

TBH that's just my personal opinion.

Also, Homer actually composed many of the Greek epics that we still read today.

I get why people would want to compare them, but there is no comparison, really. It's so fucking funny to me.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on Percabeth compared to Odysseus and Penelope?

That comparison alone has ruined the New Year for me. It's an insult to the Odyssey. Hell, it's an insult to the recently released Ithaca Saga of Epic the Musical.

But seriously, are these things actually being said? Cause that puts Percabeth stans from delusional category to brain dead.

Homer's Iliad and The Odyssey are one of history's most reputed myths of all time. And the primary source of Greek mythology for many people. I am certain Rick himself referred Homer's works for ideas and references. Even Riordan himself would be ashamed to compare his writing to Homer, in even the slightest manner.

Now to Odysseus and Penelope; the greatest couple of all time, truly and undeniably. The orignal eternal love. Even Hera, the goddess of marriage and family, considers Odysseus and Penelope's marriage bed sacred. Which Odysseus carved out of a living tree as a symbol of their undying love and so that it could never be moved.

Odysseus crawled through hell to get to Penelope and Telemachus. He survived and won the 10 year long Trojan war, defeated/ tricked a Cyclops, countless mythical monsters, Circe, Calypso, and even Zeus himself and at last Poseidon. That alone is beyond comprehension. Because Odysseus isn't a demigod or any specially blessed being. No, he is just an ordinary mortal, a genius mortal, one trained by the wisdom goddess but an ordinary mortal all the same. Yes, he is one of a kind genius, but these are literally eldritch creatures compared to him.

Let me put it this way, Odysseus is the OG Batman. He is who all smart fictional human characters aspire to be.

The Odyssey is literally about the all transcending power of human will. Of Odysseus's sheer fucking will to get back home, to his wife and son. That's it. A common desire of a common man, yet so miraculously burning and indomitable in Odysseus's mind that it alone outshines his extraordinary genius.

He quite literally died on his way there. Had to hitch a ride through the Underworld and then some.

Then he had to sacrifice his ENTIRE CREW, HIS FRIENDS, HIS COMRADES to get back to Ithaca. Mind you, Odysseus had the record of getting every single one of his 600 men alive out of Trojan War. The only one to have done so. And he had to lose some to the tragedies and then WILLINGLY SACRIFICE others to get back to Penelope.

I don't think there are words enough to encapsulate Odysseus's dedication.

Now Penelope. The thing is, she is just as bloody impressive. The Queen of Ithaca and a Spartan Princess, she is also one of a kind. Throughout Odysseus's departure and the suitors' invasion , not five, not ten, 108 SUITORS, Penelope held her own, keeping the castle, her son Telemachus and herself secure. All the while, raising Telemachus and running the kingdom on her own as well.

She tricked the suitors into an eternally futile game of trying to lift Odysseus's bow and shoot with it. Tricked them by telling them she was weaving Odysseus's shroud, which, when finished, would signify that she is picking a new husband. Each day, she would weave for all suitors to see, and each night, she would unravel the shroud. All in an attempt to stall. Among the many other ways, she did so. Including STEADFASTLY DENYING EACH AND EVERY SUITOR CONSTANTLY FOR YEARS AS THEY ASKED FOR HER HAND, NEVER ONCE LOSING HOPE OR FAITH IN ODYSSEUS.

When Odysseus returns, disguised as a beggar, she not only immediately recognizes him but subtly helps him in killing the suitors, which then Odysseus and Telemachus proceed to do.

All 108 suitors dead in a night. Add that to 600 men under Odysseus's command. 708 lives murdered and then some all for Odysseus and Penelope to reunite.

And this is me abridging the whole thing. Imagine the struggle, the suffering, the mental and physical trauma. 20 years straight. You can't fathom it.

I don't think I have words enough to state how repulsively disrespectfully wretched this comparison is. I would use an analogy, but it's so horrendous that I don't think there's one that suffices.

I literally have more than half the posts dedicated to dismantling the delusion of percabeth being a perfect ship, so I won't preach to the choir, but I mean Annabeth's fatal flaw is Hubris and Percy's is Personal Loyalty. Go figure.

If that isn't enough, Percy jumped in Tartarus for Annabeth. She fell, but Percy jumped, among the many other ways he has saved her from countless deaths. And Annabeth offers him what in return? It would have been alright if she gave him nothing in return, but somehow, the situation is EVEN WORSE.

Physical and mental demeaning. Toxic and controlling attitude and of course BLAMING HIM FOR GETTING KIDNAPPED AND HAVING HIS MEMORY WIPED BY A GODDESS. WOW, THAT SOUNDS SO SIMILAR TO PENELOPE AND ODYSSEUS.

Not to mention, Penelope accepted her husband, as he was. Even after being so completely changed by his tragic journey that he was quite literally NO LONGER HIMSELF.

And Percy when had to CHOKE AKHYLS WHO WAS DEFINITELY GOING TO KILL HIM AND ANNABETH, WAS KILLING HIM AND ANNABETH, OUT OF SELF DEFENSE AND SHE BLAMES HIM AND FORCES HIM TO PROMISE NOT TO USE HIS POWERS TO DEFEND HIMSELF???

WHAT THE FUCK??? And sure it would have been ignorable had it not had any long term effects. BUT NO PERCY ALMOST KILLS HIMSELF OUT OF KEEPING HIS PROMISE TO ANNABETH.

Call them whatever the hell you want but DON'T EVER COMPARE THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE.

PERCY DESERVES INFINITELY BETTER THAN ANNABETH. Enough said, really.

[stancestanomaly]

Horse Riding lesson! 🐴

Wrote a short scene for this cause my mind wouldn't stop replaying it over and over while I worked this.

-

Struggling against the rag that bound his hands behind his back, he tried to ignore the chuckle from the man who put him in this position. "Stanley! Y'know this was not what I was referring to when I asked for your assistance when learning to ride a horse!"

"Aww, sug'r~" Stan's throaty purr sent a wave of heat up Ford's spine. "This is gonna help ya, you hafta learn to stay on yer mount if ya gonna be ridin' it."

"Then why must I be in your lap, instead of practicing on an actual horse? And why do you insist on chewing on that?"

"Becuz darlin' it's like chewing gum in a way." Stan pinched the wheat between his teeth. "And the last time you tried to ride a horse, you ended up in the horse's trough. Remember?"

"Don't remind me," Ford groaned as another chuckle tumbled from his brother. "But I don't see how your argument counters, the fact that I can't practice on a real horse."

"N' all honesty, I'm all the practice yur gonna need. Y'know I got all the horsepower." He ran his hands up Ford's thighs as he moved to give his butt a squeeze. "I mean, I know yur buns do~"

"St-Stanely," Ford gritted his teeth, as blood rushed across his face.

"Wha? Ain't like I'm lyin', I can still hear yur pretty voice singin' my name as we fucked n' the barn." Caressing his twin's sides as the memory replayed.

"And I still remember all the prude language that left your mouth too," Ford grumbled at the strong hands that danced along his trunk and ushered forth another wave of satisfying warmth.

"N' I still remember how disheveled yur hair was while your face was redder than that time ma got mad at us for playin' in mud after she just washed our clothes."

"I also remember dad chasing us because they were our good clothes too," he smiled as the sound of Stan's laughter rang in the air, like music to his ears. He listened to the tune a little longer before he cleared his throat. "So about my lesson, are you gonna help me or not?"

"Sure am darlin'," Stan spat out the wheat before he leaned up to capture his brother's lips. Stan strummed Ford's cords, drawing out lustful melodic moans as he stuck his tongue into Ford's mouth. Joining in on the song libidinous desires. He bucked his hips to usher out another chorus of bubbling lust between them.

Pausing their record, Stan drew back to get a look at Ford as he panted through closed eyes with a cherry-red bridge stretching across his face. Admiring how the sunset streaming through the widow panted his brother's features.

"I say we take this to the bedroom," Stan purred, tightening his hold on his brother. He stood up from the couch, tossing his brother over his shoulder. "Alrighty cowboy, let's go give ya that lesson~" Smacking his brother's butt as he sauntered to their room.

"St-Stanley, w-wait, this isn't what I was referring to!" He squirmed, as he was carried out of the den, up the stairs, and down the hall toward their room.

"Stanleeeyyy!" Ford shouted as the bedroom door was shut and locked behind them.

-

Had a ton of fun writing that, lol. This is my second time drawing ranch life/cowboy 30!stans. (Honestly, I should draw them more often. Because Stan's with that hair is doing something for me🥵.) The first time I drew them was two years ago for another set of Halloween stancest drawings I did. The drawings. I had liked this au idea so much that I wrote a fic about it but never actually finished it😅 So maybe I'll do that sometime soon... Anyway, have some ranch life stancest! 🧡🤎

[therealcocoshady]

Dating Marshall Mathers HCs - Love languages edition

Author’s Note : Hey Stans 🥰. I am a sucker for Eminem Headcanons so I decided to give it a shot ☺️. Let me know what kind of HCs you’d like 👀. These HCs are based from the vibe I get from him, from his music, appearances or interviews - I might be wrong though, or you might disagree. Or not ? Either way, let me know what you think ❤️

Acts of service 

On some things, he is a bit old-fashioned and he will see some things as « his job ». He knows you can carry your bags or put that Ikea shelf together yourself. Doesn’t mean you have to. 

Absolute gentleman. Contrary to what he says he has manners. He just doesn’t overdo it. 

He is pissed when you ask for someone else’s help instead of his 

« Why didn’t you ask me ? » 

Also annoyed when you don’t ask for anything at all 

That being said, he hates asking for help

As much as possible, he will do his best to make your life easier with small gestures like : 

Picking you up at the airport // Driving you to and from work if he can 

Having your favorite food delivered to you when he is not there and he knows you are too lazy/tired/sick to cook 

Taking care of you when you are sick, tired or simply having a bad day 

Making sure his pantry is stocked with your favorite drinks and beverages 

He enjoys helping you when you are cooking/cleaning… 

Once he is comfortable around your place he will even do it unprompted 

Gifts

Might be his least favorite love language 

He enjoys giving gifts far more than he likes receiving them 

He is very hard to shop for anyway 

What do you get for a man who has the means to get everything he wants for himself ?

He is grateful for gifts but he is not really the materialistic type 

He low-key doesn’t believe he deserves gifts anyway 

When he gives you a gift, you can expect it to be meaningful and thoughtful

He pays a lot of attention to details 

Or it can be something you mentioned you needed 

Big, expensive gifts are for special occasions

Just because he has the means doesn’t mean he will gift you a Chanel bag on a random Thursday. Sorry. 

When he splurges, he doesn’t half-ass it but it doesn’t happen too often either 

Before he buys you something expensive, you have to be together for a while

Trying to win a woman over by spending money on her ? Yeah, not for him. He is too scared of gold-diggers. 

Also, if you have a fight, he might try to suck up to you with a gift or a bouquet even though he is the first to criticize how shallow gifts can be 

When he is away and doesn’t see you for a while, he might arrange for a surprise delivery, to make you smile and also make sure you don’t forget about him (as if it were possible)

Physical touch 

He is a bit guarded at first, so much so that you start doubting that he actually likes you (« Surely, he would have made a move by now… » - nope that man is just slow)

If he actually likes you, he makes it a point to behave like a gentleman and he will try and pick the best time for a first kiss or even simply holding your hand for the first time 

Great kisser. 

Not a big fan of public displays of affection (for obvious reasons)

If the two of you are ever spotted together, people might mistake you for a member of his team because he will not even get caught holding your hand 

That’s partly because he values your privacy at least as much as his - he doesn’t want his girl to get harassed or bothered 

However, when it’s just the two of you, he is all over you 

Whenever the two of you spend time together, he enjoys having physical contact with you, even if it’s just holding your hand while watching a movie 

Definitely makes up for his busy schedule with physical touch. 

Quality time

Probably his love language of choice 

Overall, he is really mindful of your schedule and appreciates that you respect his 

If you don’t, it’s not going to work between the two of you anyway 

Most of the time, he is punctual and he will not show up late to one of your dates 

If it happens, he will profusely apologize and make it up to you 

Might get a little pissed if you do (but he knows that girls will be girls and you are most likely late because you wanted to be extra pretty for him) 

He has a hectic schedule but he if he loves you he will make time for you 

Him making time for you is actually one of the telltale signs he actually cares about you 

If you are as busy as him, he really appreciates that you manage to make time for him

No phones rule during your dates 

Like, seriously, it’s a huge red flag for him if his date spends too much time on her phone instead of enjoying the moment 

Speaking of phones… He doesn’t text you too much. Instead, he tries to find moments when he can call you and have an actual conversation. 

When you are talking, you have his full attention 

He pays attention to everything you say and and do, even when it doesn’t seem like it 

He remembers everything 

He enjoys hearing you talk about things you are passionate about

If it’s something he is not too familiar with, he asks questions and he might even make an effort to do some research of his own, just so he can keep up with you 

And in turn, he really appreciates if you do the same 

Doesn’t seem like it at first, but he actually enjoys a good conversation. Even if you’re gorgeous, if you’re not interesting… Hard pass. 

He also gets really talkative if he’s talking about a topic he is passionate about. Like hip-hop culture, pop culture, sports… He will talk your ears off. And he likes talking about it with you. 

Even better if you are able to have an actual debate with him. He might not agree with you but he respects someone who can stand their ground and have actual valid arguments. 

Because you might not be able to spend too much time together sometimes, he will do his best to make your dates special 

As your relationship evolves, he includes you in some more mundane activities, just to enjoy more of your company 

Don’t expect to spend too much time at the studio with him. He keeps his work and personal life separate. 

That being said, he might invite you to spend time with him there once or twice. And it means a lot. 

Words of affirmations 

We all know this man has a way with words 

When he praises you or compliments you, he means it 

A perk of dating a dictionary nerd : he chooses his words carefully 

Never a dull compliment 

He is a great motivator : when he encourages you and tells you you can do it, you actually start believing that you can 

He is good when It comes to giving words of affirmation but receiving them ? Nope. 

When you compliment him, he gets a bit awkward and doesn’t know how to react 

That being said, he enjoys it 

Compliments he enjoys the most are not necessarily the ones about his professional skills or physical appearance but genuinely about his character 

Any fan could tell him he is a great rapper or that he looks good. But having his girl tell him what an amazing person she thinks he is and being specific about it ? YES. 

Basically, just show him that you care about him (the real him) 

With how guarded he is, it might be some time before he actually says « I love you »

It might not come with a big declaration either. Just « I love you ». Simple. 

Definitely catches you off guard the first time he says it, with a super casual tone. 

However, when he says it, he means it 

He leaves you small notes, too 

[rosenclaws]

Like crazy fic idea right. So Wade takes Worst Logan to a concert he has backstage passes for cause Wade is 100% a superfan and bit of a groupie. The popstar knows Wade well cause they'd met a bunch of times, and they're all friendly . She always invites him backstage for free, and he pays anyway (we don't ask where the money is from). She sees Logan and she's interested in who he is cause she's never seen him at a show before and it's this like slow burn confusing love story that is almost impossible but perfect at the same time. She ends her tour with Jingle Ball and stays with Wade for a while, ending up getting to know Logan super well and they like fall for each other and she's confused cause he's so cold yet sweet and he's confused like 'why tf am I feeling like this for a soulless popstar'

I literally can't write fics cause I feel like I never can keep to a character well so I needed to drop this here

Oooo!! This is such a cute idea. Like Logan hates celebrity culture and stans and fans and shit and thinks its all stupid and he hates modern pop music bc he’s an old grumpy man while Wade lovesss the pop girlies and Logan does not want to go to this stupid concert but Laura also wants to go and he goes for her and its like the dad at the concert who doesnt know any songs and hates his life lmao

Wade ends up flexing his backstage passes and his friendship with you the popstar (he saved your life once and now yall are besties) and the moment Logan lays his eyes on you he is trying his best to stay his normal hardened self. While you clock the hot tall drink of water with the handsome face. He’s a bit of a dick at first but low key you like that he doesn’t give a fuck about your celebrity status. At least once you crash with Wade for a bit he starts to see you’re more than the glitter and lights. Its a lot of Logan trying to figure out his feelings because he’s so not falling in love with the cute singer and it doesn’t help when the paparazzi spot you and the wolverine together and blast headlines because logan does NOT have the patience or PR training to deal with this

this could be such a cute short series omgggg (perhaps i add it to my wips if ur okay with it 👀👀)

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

READ 70 PAGES OF THE GOOD OMENS BOOK WITH WHICH I HAVE HOMOEROTIC TENSION AS WE KNOW

WE ALL KNOW ABOUT THE HOMOEROTIC RIVALRY BETWEEN ME AND MY COPY OF THE GOOD OMENS BOOK. WE KNOW. IT STARES AT ME, I STARE BACK, IT DARES ME TO READ IT AND FALL IN LOVE WITH CROWLEY MORE, I REFUSE. WE PUT THE UST IN LUST ETC.

BUT TODAY/YESTERDAY (RIP SLEEP SCHEDULE) SINCE I WASNT ON TUMBLR, I READ TILL PAGE 70 OF THE BOOK (TILL THE PART CALLED WEDNESDAY) AND GOD FUCKING DAMN. I READ IT LISTENING TO AN AZIRAPHALE BOOKSHOP AMBIENCE AND WITH CHOPIN PLAYING AND CANDLES LIT. ANYWAY. THINGS THAT HAVE STUCK OUT TO ME:

Crowley. Just everything about Crowley. God I love him. I fucking love him. This is why I avoid reading the book. I'm such a slut for Crowley. It's manageable on the show when I know it's an actor. But WORDS CROWLEY? WORDS CROWLEY IS REAL. I AM SO IN LOVE.

Aziraphale has perfectly manicured hands. I'm pretty sure this has been mentioned three times in the first 70 pages. Three times at minimum. I forget how twink he is in the show (idk how) but man the book does NOT let you forget and I love that.

Crowley absent-mindedly sank a duck. Aziraphale called him my dear (fanfic authors everywhere: write that down write that motherfucking shit down it's better than porn). Crowley un-sunk the duck. The duck was cross.

CROWLEY DID I MENTIONED CROWLEY OH MY BABY FANCIED THE JAMES BOND DECALS HE WANTED TO LISTEN TO VIVALDI COZ THEY WERE SO STRESSED AFTER RECEIVING THE ANTICHRIST THEY LOVE GOLDEN GIRLS (I LOOKED IT UP AND OH CROWLEY) THEY DRANK FOR A WEEK AFTER SEEING THE SPANISH INQUISITION THEY OMG.

THE DRUNK SCENE. I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD THE DOLPHINS CONVERSATION. OMG THESE TWO FUCKING FOOLS I ADORE THEM.

Crowley IN THAT SCENE AND AZIRAPHALE IN THAT SCENE HOLY SHIT. CROWLEY JUST LISTING OFF ALL THE THINGS SHE KNOWS AZIRAPHALE LOVES.

AND OMG. The CONVOLUTED FUCKING METAPHOR CROWLEY COMES UP WITH INVOLVING A LITTLE BIRD FLYING TO THE ENDS OF THE UNIVERSE AND PECKING A MOUNTAIN AND COMING BACK AND DOING IT ON LOOP. FOR WHAT? JUST TO SAY THAT WHEN THE MOUNTAIN WAS GONE, HEAVEN WOULD STILL BE PLAYING THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

As usual just like me Crowley shot himself in the foot with that metaphor. Because AZIRAPHALE, THE LEGEND, STARTS SAYING THE BIRD MUST BE IMMORTAL FOR THAT, AND THEN SAYS NO ACTUALLY THE BIRD IS BEING CARRIED IN A SPACESHIP AND THE DESCENDANTS EMERGE FROM THE SPACESHIP and poor crowley is saying SO THE BIRD REACHES THE MOUNTAIN and azi excitedly says IN THE SPACESHIP and AAAAAAAAA-

Anyway right yes sorry what were we doing oh right the book.

Anathema is so adorable as a kid what a little brat holy shit I love her. I want to see all her homework written in Middle English. I want to know which teacher finally summoned the balls to correct it.

NEWT MON CHERI HE'S SO EXCITED ABOUT ONLY DESTROYING THE HOUSE'S POWER CIRCUIT WITH HIS EXPERIMENT. Because apparently last time he fucking caused a power outage in the whole block. Or county. We stan an optimist (no one talk to me about Crowley being an optimist I will go feral and rip your larynx out).

THE THIRD BABY DID NOT WIN PRIZES FOR TROPICAL FISH. THIS IS LIKE THE ENDING OF VILETTE WHEN CHARLOTTE BRONTE GOT GUILTTRIPPED BY HER DAD INTO WRITING IT AS AN OPEN ENDING BUT WE ALL KNOW IT'S A TRAGEDY FUCK ME.

CROWLEY THE PRAY THAT HE DOESN'T IT SOUNDS SO SUAVE IN THE SHOW BUT IN THE BOOK IT LITERALLY SAYS "AND FLEES". THE CHAOTIC ANXIOUS MOTHERFUCKER MAKES A RUN FOR IT.

AZIRAPHALE FUCKING GLOWERING AT CUSTOMERS AND SCARING THEM AWAY USING EVERY MEANS SHORT OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE IM DEAD THAT LITTLE BASTARD PEAK CROSS INTROVERT ELDRITCH MONSTER ENERGY.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR ADAM TO ENTER (WELL AS A NOT BABY) AHAH.

I HOPE WARLOCK IS OKAY.

CROWLEY BEING DESCRIBED AS A YOUNG MAN DOES THINGS TO ME. AS DO THE DARK HAIR AND GOOD CHEEKBONES. DON'T EVEN TALK ABOUT DOING WEIRD THINGS WITH HIS TONGUE. I AM A SLUT FOR HER. IT'S TIMES LIKE THIS I REMEMBER WHY IM GREYACE AND NOT ENTIRELY ASEXUAL. IT'S CROWLEY.

I LOVE THE SUBTLE JOKES LIKE I DON'T EVEN GET SOME BUT THE DRY TONE IS HILARIOUS. LIKE HOW BOTH WARLOCK'S HEAVENLY AND HELLISH TUTORS READ FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION. AND THE CUTTING COMMENTARY LIKE HOW THE DOWLINGS' SECRET AGENTS WERE TRAINED TO REACT TO WOMEN IN LONG ROBES. OR THE POLITICAL COMEDY WITH ALL THE CULTURAL ATTACHES AT ST JAMES. IT MAKES ME AMUSED EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NO CONTEXT. I WISH I UNDERSTOOD THEM MORE.

SORRY WHY AM I YELLING ABOUT THIS BEFORE 6 IN THE MORNING FUCK I FORGOT MY SLEEP MEDS NO WONDER IM STILL AWAKE AND HYPER ALSO CROWLEY ALSO AZI ALSO ADAM I HOPE MY LITTLE PLANTS MAKE IT.

WHEN IM DONE READING THE BOOK I WANNA REREAD IT OUT LOUD TO MY THREE LITTLE PLANTS TO MAKE THEM GROW HAPPY AND KNOW WHOM THEY WERE NAMED AFTER.

[smiieepy]

RANKING DORM SONGS NOW THAT THEY'RE ALL RELEASED (MY OPINIONS SOLELY BASED ON THE MUSIC, NOT MVS) !!!!!!

1. Diasomnia Dorm Song 「恣意天変」 / Arbitrary Natural Disaster

MY HEADPHONES DIED WHILE I WAS FINISHING UP LISTENING TO FAR OUT SO I COULDN'T LISTEN TO THIS WITH THEM BUT IT'S OKAY BECAUSE I'VE LOOPED IT SO MUCH ANYWAY BECAUSE I'M OBSESSED WITH MALLEUS' VOICE (no that's not the only reason, I will be elaborating)

as i will state many times in this post i am a sucker for a lot of things and one of them is choir and orchestra. the opening being the background choir singing already sealed the deal for me that i was going to love this. i wish i remember more musical terminology so i could really voice all of my feelings on this properly but alas... i think beginning and ending the song with the choir really set the tone for the... i forget the word but the genre??? the vibe??? like how do i say it's giving church choral hymn but in the best way???

i think the other three's (lilia, sebek, and silver) voices all blend together well, in a way that feels intentional versus merely indistinct. like, you can definitely tell who's singing what parts—sebek's voice has this strong, regal quality to it that i find really pleasant, silver's voice is brighter and contrasts the darker voices of the other's, and lilia's voice of course is distinct as always. it doesn't feel muddled, they're meant to sound like one/in unison as a buildup to malleus' entrance. then there's the brief silence before...

SUBEEEEETEEEE WOOOOOOOOOOO

i don't think you guys understand. i don't think you understand how deeply this impacted me. LITERAL CHILLS LOOPING THAT ONE BIT ON REPEAT (i'm sure most of you do understand the feeling i know i'm being melodramatic but still) TEARING MY HAIR OUT MALLEUS!!! OHHH YOUR VOICE. YOUR VOICE. IT WAS SO REGAL AND GRAND IN GLOMASQ AND FOR MY EARS TO BE BLESSED ONCE AGAIN IN THIS TIMELINE??? GLORY BE TO MALLEUS DRACONIA FUCKING AMEN!!!!!

his voice is just. so rich and decadent and and (searches up synonyms for "this was so good i don't think i'll ever recover") like i don't even mean this in a sexual way but i can't think of a more fitting word than fucking ORGASMIC. like it really is the feeling of ascending his voice is the trumpets of heaven finally greeting you after a grueling lifetime of goodness and purity i don't know what could top this?!?!?!? so sorry for this i just don't know how to describe how i feel about malleus' voice. kazuki kato the man you are.

back to talking about the music instead of just simping over malleus' voice! i really enjoy the syncopation right after that, like how the song is in common time but the chorus has that 1-2-3 1-2-3 after malleus' glorious ass fucking belt and then the others join him hhhhh i just really enjoy this one

i desperately wanted entanglement to be my favorite because octavinelle is my favorite dorm but shiitenpen just blew every other song out of the water for me (and the mv was my favorite too!). i know i made it sound like it's just because of malleus but it's truly not (even though his voice is admittedly a large part of that), the arrangement of the piece and the structure to put emphasis on the chorus while making the rest feel like a buildup but not underwhelming struck a perfect balance that i just!!! i can't breathe i love shiitenpen so much LONG LIVE MALLEUS DRACON—GUNSHOTS 💥💥💥

2. Octavinelle Dorm Song 「Entanglement」

THE SHOCK AND DEVASTATION I FELT WHEN LA VOLONTÉ WAS RELEASED INSTEAD OF THIS AND WE REALIZED IT WASN'T DORM ORDER. I LOVELEOVLOEVLEOEERGERHHEH!!!!!!!!!!!!

serious thoughts: jade's voice being so overpowering during the first chorus is funny and i'm only chill with it because i'm a jade stan and am fucking obsessed with jade's voice plus azul and floyd get solos elsewhere so it's forgivable imo. i really enjoy the personality in floyd's singing too, like you can definitely tell who's who in the trio but floyd especially you'll listen to the little inflections he adds and be like "yup, that's definitely him!"

i love that it's a jazzy song bc duh. what else would it be. and it was executed so well i would genuinely listen to this even if it wasn't a twst song it's so easy to tap your foot along to! and i know these aren't the only three instruments but bass + drums + piano — it's literally THEM!!!

also the bridge (i am also the biggest sucker for songs with bridges... sighs longingly... death of the bridge is real, guys)??? hello??? ate down??? left no crumbs??? azul's sort of hushed, secretive singing, then jade picking the energy back up and then floyd's growl scratched my brain so hard and then going back into the chorus AAAAHHHHHH!!!!! i have this thing for growls in singing so when i heard that you KNOW i went insane bouncing off the walls screaming tempted to convert back from jade to floyd stan again!!! the worms know what they want!!!

all in all octavinelle is my favorite dorm and i'm SO happy i wasn't disappointed by their song because if i was i would've been devastated but i never really had any doubt because c'mon. we SEE octavinelle. they have the class. the vibes. the fancy. they are THAT BITCH (my clear bias is showing). TLDR ENTANGLEMENT 🔛🔝

3. Ignihyde Dorm Song 「双絶アイオーン」 / SouZetsu Aion

I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO HATE THIS ONE HONESTLY BUT IT'S SUCH AN EARWORM IT'S BEEN STUCK IN MY HEAD EVER SINCE I HEARD IT!!!!!!! i normally don't like songs with such a techno feel but it was executed so well and the chorus has such MOVEMENT to it like i feel like bouncing i feel like jiving i am WIGGLING!!! and idia's "welcome to the underworld" bit I SCREAMED hearing how well it flowed into the whole song after just the glimpse from the preview???

i also enjoyed the harmony by ortho because maybe i'm just forgetting but i feel like some of the other songs could've had more harmonies in them??? like in obedience for example i feel like in the chorus they were all singing in unison and considering there are five of them it felt a little flat. i talk about this in my far out review but that one is an example of utilizing harmonies very well, and ofc i'm not expecting each song to be able to pull off such intense harmony, but i feel like certain songs had that aspect missing and i'm glad souzetsu aeon didn't lack in that department.

also saw in the comments of the video i was watching (shoutout to blume on youtube!!!) that there's a "third singer" which is og/dead ortho and idk if that's real or just a theory or something but that's so cool if it is and even if it's just pitching of the existing vocals and not intended i think I'll just think of it like that because that's super cool!

4. Scarabia Dorm Song 「Far-Out」

i'm really a sucker for anything utilizing the Arabic scale so you KNOW i ate this up and the chorus was so fun i adore it! since it just came out i don't have a lot of thoughts yet and will probably come back here to add more thoughts once i've listened a few more times! jamil's voice is so buttery smooth and kalim's has an enthusiastic energy perfectly befitting his character! another thing i thoroughly enjoy (as you may have begun picking up by now there's certain things that just scratch the itch in my brain) THE HARMONIES!!!!! i love it when harmonies aren't subtly hidden or shyly sung in the back but on par with the main vocal and this song integrates that so well without them being overpowering!

i also enjoy the background vocals, so even when they're holding their notes and not singing a lot of different words, there's still that urgent feeling brought with not just the instruments but the vocalizing! background vocals are just as important as main vocals and far out really displays that!

5. Pomefiore Dorm Song 「La volonté」

as a former orchestra kid i was freaking SUCTIONED by the usage of stringed instrumentals at the beginning and how it didn't just shift into a completely different vibe but was integrated into the rest of the song!!! i feel like it's a balance that often isn't struck for songs not of the classical genre but la volonté integrated the strings so wonderfully it made me so happy to hear!!!

i didn't like this song at first tbh but i think it was misdirected anger at the delayed release of entanglement because i actually really like this one i've realized once entanglement was released and my anger quelled! i really am just a sucker for the strings and how the piece has so much movement and the backing to the vocals has so much substance and energy and never falls into the trap of becoming flat and robotic.

can we talk about rook's voice? because HELLO SAILORRR 😻 oh and vil and epel are there too ig... (vil's angelic lalala at the end i'm ascending 🧘) I JUST LOVE POMEFIORE IT'S MY DORM!!!

6. Heartslabyul Dorm Song 「Obedience」

okay so. i like it and i don't know how it ended up so low? you can definitely tell which dorm it's supposed to be for but i think it's just a bit basic... "yes your majesty" goes hard and is iconic but i think in comparison to some of the other pieces, it really just did give average anime song vibes. while it followed the heartslabyul motif/vibe with the lyricism, i find it kind of forgettable otherwise. i think heartslabyul is a dorm which, like pomefiore, could've integrated stringed instruments into it to give it a more elegant feel but they went for a more modern, techno-y (sorta more ignihyde adjacent?) vibe for it that i don't think MISSED the mark per se, but it kinda just felt like it could've been better—untapped potential sort of thing. i still like the song, just not one of my favorites!

7. Savanaclaw Dorm Song 「DIADEM」

leona's voice jumpscared tf out of me when i first listened to this i did NOT know he could go that high was literally like "who's this bitch" lmao but anyway i feel like savanaclaw would probably be the hardest to come up with what kind of song it should be if that makes sense? so respect for all the efforts that went into this song because i feel like every other dorm has a distinct aesthetic that matches with some sort of musical genre and savanaclaw's aesthetic feels the least music-adjacent. as it turns out, i think diadem is the one song that i would listen to and feel a sort of disconnect from the dorm it's supposed to represent. every other song strongly gives me the vibes of their intended dorm, but for diadem if i picked up the song in the middle and listened it would only be by process of elimination that i would come to the conclusion that it's for savanaclaw. the beginning obviously gives savanaclaw vibes, but then it kind of just... falls off imo. many other songs utilize a drastic change from the initial few seconds for a sort of dramatic effect, like entanglement and la volonté, but diadem just feels like it fully strays away from the initial vibe.

don't take anything i've said about diadem personally if you like it because it's still a good song, i just really don't like it lmao.

Overall Thoughts:

it's a very close tie between entanglement, shiitenpen, and souzetsu aeon but i think i'm happy with the placement i've given them. the three are honestly tied in my head, but i'm ranking with a "if i HAD to choose" attitude. they all have their own strengths and i think all of the songs are well produced, even the ones i ranked lowly! i feel like my top three are the songs that had the most distinctive vibes to them that SCREAMED the dorm they represent—like the difference between passing and exceeding.

if you've made it this far through my horrible grammar + internet speak + sentence structure let me know what you think! i'm really curious to hear about others' favorites and how they'd rank the songs because i genuinely can see how a song i ranked low like diadem could be someone else's favorite—they're all so well done!

[fairy-princette]

i gave your name as my emergency phone call

AO3 link | 1 2 (you are here) 3 4 5 6

Stan receives a postcard from his twin brother - who he's not seen in a decade - asking for his help. But like with everything else in his life, he runs into some trouble on his way there

2. in the name of someone i no longer know

“Pines!”

Stanley tilted his head up from where he was lying on the metal bench - not the best place he’d slept but certainly not the worst. A uniformed officer was glaring at him through the holding cell bars.

“It’s your lucky day - you’ve made bail.” He pulled out a ring of keys, unlocking the cell door and stepping away for Stan to walk in front of him. They headed to the front desk where he was given his personal items along with a stack of paperwork, including the details of his court date and chit for the Stanmobile stating it was to remain in the - in Stan’s opinion - questionable care of the Nevada state police department.

“If you’re keeping my car how am I meant to get anywhere? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“Guess you’re going to have to ask your pal. He’s the one that paid your bail.” The officer jerked his chin to the lone figure in the waiting area, a man in a plaid shirt and round glasses, who was very pointedly not looking at them.

Stan clicked his tongue and hoisted his duffle over his shoulder, heading towards the stranger.

The man looked up as he approached and stood, offering his hand. “Well hi there, I’m Fiddleford, Fiddleford McGucket, I’m a friend of Ford’s. And you must be Stanley. Y’all really are a pair of peas in a pod, ain’t ya.”

Stan shook the hand, which has a surprising amount of strength behind it considering the man looked like he was made of uncooked spaghetti.

“Folks just call me Stan. It’s good to meet you Fiddleford - thanks for the bail.”

“Ah well, it’s Ford you should be thanking, it’s his grant money. Said he’d be claiming it on expenses anyway. I’m sorry it took so long to get here - I ain’t used to driving so far and had to stop for a kip at a motel, but now there’s the two of us we can be taking turns. Speaking of, better skedaddle on back before Ford manages to pull out his hair from the stress.”

———

Fiddleford glanced over at the man sitting across from him in the truck’s cab. The early-afternoon Nevada sun beat down on them through the windows as they drove down the highway and quiet music crackled from the radio, filling the silence. Stanley was sat with his arms across his chest, looking like he was trying to take up as little space as possible in the truck.

“There’s some tapes in that there glove compartment if you want to have a nosey - might be better than the radio with the reception we’ve got here.”

Stan gave a nod of acknowledgment before digging through the glove compartment, making quiet humming noises as he read their titles.

Fiddleford went back to focusing on the road until he heard the riffling noises stop. He glanced over again and saw Stan holding a piece of paper.

“This your kid?”

“That’s- yeah, that’s my son Tate.” Fiddleford didn’t even need to look to know what the photo was. It had been taken at Tate’s fifth birthday last year. He was grinning up at the camera with chocolate smeared around his mouth, which was missing a front tooth, and was wearing a party hat that had slipped down to cover his eyes. He’d taken a full week off from his work with Ford to spend time with Tate. The party had been filled with screaming children and balloons and Emma-May had a whole stack of photos from the day.

“He’s a cute kid.”“Yeah, he is. He’d shot up like a weed the last time I saw him, and lost two more teeth. Though one of them was from falling over a branch when he was out exploring the duck pond at the park.”

“Sounds like me and Ford when we were kids, out exploring and getting into mischief.” Fiddleford caught the man’s wistful smile out of the corner of his eye. “He doesn’t stay with you at Gravity Falls?”

“No, no. He lives with his mum out in California. We’re, um, we’re actually in the middle of a divorce right now. I was away too much working with Ford, and then when I did visit I wasn’t there mentally, y’know? Still just planning the stages of my experiments rather than being there for my family. It wasn’t fair on Tate, and it wasn’t fair on Emma-May, leaving her to raise him on her own, especially when she has her own research to do.” Fiddleford shook his head, clearing his thoughts. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, you’re basically a complete stranger.”

“I have been told I’m a good listener. And sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger - doesn’t matter what a stranger thinks about you. They don’t know you, so they can’t really judge I guess.”

“Now ain’t that the truth. Those’re some wise words you’ve got there.”“Ah, probably just something I heard somewhere. I’m not really one for all that smart stuff.”

“Now don’t be talkin’ ‘bout yourself like that - there’s more’n one way to be smart and it’s not all in books. Look at Stanford - that man knows everything there is to know about quantum physics and anomalous evolution, but trying to get him to read a room or play an instrument? He couldn’t be more lost. Sometimes I think he ain’t got the good sense God gave a rock.”

Stanley gave a noncommittal grunt. “Well either way, I’m sorry about your wife. It’s not easy losing family.”

They continued driving on in silence for a few more miles as Stan continued to rootle through the glove compartment as the radio reception faded out to static.

“Speaking of opening up to strangers,” Fiddle ford broke the silence again, “Now I know this ain’t none of my business, but what was it you were in jail for? Stanford only said it was for speeding, but last time I checked that wasn’t worth a court order.”

“You drove ten hours here to get and paid for my bail - even if wasn’t your money. I reckon if it was going to be anyone’s business it’d be your’s. The speeding’s just what I got pulled over for. Turns out cops aren’t too happy about folks driving about with fake plates on their car or a fake name on their license. Technically counts as driving without a license apparently. Guess I’m lucky they didn’t find all my outstanding warrants or they probably wouldn’t have let you bail me out.”

By the end of Stanley’s explanation Fiddleford had given up on even pretending to watch the road, almost completely turned in his seat to gape at his passenger. Eventually Stan paused in his tape search and smirked over at Fiddleford. “Take it from someone who just got done for reckless driving - you really should keep your eye on the road.”

The engineer flushed and spun his head back towards the windshield. “Those uh, those outstanding warrants. Anything I should be concerned about?”

“Nah, not unless you got some secret riches I can con you out of.”

———

The afternoon sun began to lower in the sky and the Nevada scrubland grew greener as they reached Oregon. After hours on the road Stan had insisted he take over driving, and Fiddleford was now sat on his opposite side in the passenger street, a road map folded out in front of him.

“Any ideas what we’re driving into when we get there? Ford’s postcard was pretty bare bones.” ‘Bare bones’ was putting it pretty lightly - just the phrase ‘please come’ followed by an address and phone number.

Fiddleford took off his glasses, wiping them on the edge of his shirt before placing them back on his face. “It’s a bit… complicated. How familiar are you with Ford’s work?”

“Considering this is the first time he’s contacted me in ten years, let’s got with ‘not at all’.”

“To cut a very long story short, Ford was out in Gravity Falls researching the anomalies, tryin’ to work out what was attracting them. He met this… person who said they could help in with his research-”

“And let me guess, he wasn’t totally on the straight and narrow?”“Ain’t that the half of it. This guy, Bill, gave him blueprints for making a portal between universes-”

“You’re kidding, right? What is this, some kind of comic book plot? You’re all mad scientists working in some secret underground lab?” Fiddleford’s silence spoke volumes to him. “Sure, of course, Ford’s built himself a secret underground lab to build a portal to another dimension. Why not. Does it have a secret door? I bet it’s got a secret door.”

“A secret door to a secret elevator with a secret code. At that point I’m pretty sure it was just for the drama. Anyway, that’s when Ford called me in to help on the engineering side, got it up in no time. Things went wrong with the portal, I left the project, and I told Ford if he had even a lick of sense he’d destroy the thing. That was a few weeks back and seems he’s come around - he wants it destroyed and for it never to be rebuilt. I’m thinking this is where you come into it. The plans for how to build it are in his journals and Ford-”

“Ford would never destroy his own work,” Stan sighed, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. “So he, what, wants me to destroy it instead? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“No. He said that you travel a lot. He wants you to take his journal as far away from Gravity Falls as you can.”

Stan slammed on the breaks.

“Ten years and he- No. He can’t- I can’t-”

He tugged at his seatbelt, frantically clawing at the release button and swinging the door open, walking out into the sparse trees surrounding the road. He was vaguely aware of the sound of the other man turning off the truck and clambering out after him, but little penetrated through the noise of static filling his head. Ten years. Ten years. And the only reason Ford had deigned to contact him - not even with a phone call, but a bloody postcard no less - wasn’t just to ask a favour but to make sure he was as far away from him as possible for the rest of forever.

He marched through the trees, small branches catching at him, creating scratches across his arms, but he paid them no mind.

“Stanley! Stanley, where are you going?” “I don’t know!”

“Stanley, please at least come back to the truck! You can’t just walk off into the forest, it’s not safe!”

Stanley felt a hand on his shoulder and he whipped around to catch the arm, grabbing the other man’s wrist.

“Did he ever tell you why we don’t speak?”“What?”

“Stanford. Did he ever tell you why he’s not spoken to me in a decade?”

“No. I’m sorry Stanley, before yesterday I didn’t even know you existed.”

Stan let out a barking laugh. “Of course, typical Sixer. Why deal with your problems when you can ignore them instead.” Stanley dropped Fiddleford’s arm, the fight draining out of him, and slumped against a nearby tree. “We were seventeen, in high school. He’d made this fancy machine and some folks from this fancy university were coming to see it. We always said it was the two of us against the world and here he was planning to abandon me. I was upset and scared so I went to the school in the night to see what all the fuss was about. There it was, spinning away like nothing was wrong, and I just-” He let out a sigh. “I punched the table. Not the machine or nothing, I wasn’t trying to break it, I just slammed my hand on the table and a screw fell out. I put it back in and the thing was still spinning away so I thought it was fine.

“Turns out it wasn’t fine and that one little screw falling out had broke the whole thing. The university folks weren’t interested in him anymore and it was all my fault.” Stan slid down the trunk of the tree to sit in a pile of dead pine needles, his arms curled around his legs. “Nobody would believe it was an accident, especially not Ford. Of course I had to be jealous, of course I had to have been sabotaging it, of course I had to screw it up, just like I do with everything else.” Fiddleford sat down quietly next to him.

“Pa kicked me out that same night. Ford might think I ruined his life but from where I’m sat he’s doing pretty great. He still went to college, he’s still doing his research, he’s got his own home with his own secret base. He still has a family. What’ve I got? Not even a high school diploma, a list of states I’m blacklisted from, more failed businesses than I can shake a stick at, and a twenty year old El Diablo that I have to fucking live in. Except I don’t even have that anymore because I was trying to get to Ford so bad that it’s impounded. And now, the first time he talks to me in ten years and it’s only because he wants a favour and then for me to get the hell out of his life good. Because what? I owe him? I’ve not paid enough for one mistake I made as a kid ten years ago?” Stan wiped the back of his arm across his face, wiping off the tears staining his face.

“Here.” Fiddleford produced a handkerchief from a pocket, proferring it to him.

“Nerd.” He rubbed his eyes with the cloth. “Thanks.”

“Your pa better hope I never meet him or I’m punching him the face.”

Stanley let out a wet laugh. “Ol’ Filbrick’s built like, well a brick shit house, I’d like to see you try.”

“Hey, I might not look much but I grew up on a farm. I’ve wrestled pigs before, you know.”

“Yeah, and how much of that you been doing since college.”

“I concede your point. I’ll build a robot to punch him in the face for me. That way I won’t even have to meet him.”

“Now that I really would like to see.”

They sat in silence as dusk began to fall.

“Thanks for listening to me. I don’t have a whole lot of folks to talk to, living on the road and all.”

“I’m happy to. You know, a wise man once told me it’s a lot easier to talk to strangers anyway. Although, with how much soul-bearing we’ve been doing today I reckon we’ve got to at least be acquaintances by now, whaddya think?”

Stan let out a thin laugh. “I could have space for an acquaintance, yeah.”

Stanley watched as Fiddleford picked at the pine needles on the ground, similar to how he’d been with his glasses earlier.

“I know it doesn’t excuse what he’s done, but Ford’s not in his right mind right now. That guy, Bill? He’s not really a guy so much as a demon from a nightmare realm that possesses Ford every time he goes to sleep. Last time I saw him he looked like he’d barely slept in a week, and hadn’t showered in longer. When he made that postcard plan of this, he probably wasn’t all there. Now I’m not saying he don’t at least owe you an apology, but maybe take his behaviour with a pinch of salt.”

Stan sat staring up at the stars through the tree branches for a moment. “I should probably be more surprised at the whole ‘demon’ thing, but if anyone was going to accidentally make a deal with a demon it would be Ford. He really is the most stupid genius sometimes. And the very least I’m going to do is say that to his face. Come on.”

Stanley groaned as he stood, offering his hand to Fiddleford and pulling him. “Thanks. I’m driving the rest of the way though. You must be tired and I know the roads here better.”

———

Fiddleford drove them along the highway as Stan got comfortable in the passenger seat, his jacket thrown over him like as blanket. Just as he was starting to dose off Fiddleford heard him mumble “Don’t see why you need to hide the book anyway. Just rip out the pages with the plans. Stupid genius.”

[skepticdoe]

You’ll never guess who’s back, ANYHOW

Okay I am totally 100% hearing you out on trapeze artist kenny, so now I graciously request your role assignments of sp characters in a circus au 🙏🙏

HIII always grateful to see your asks!!

okay so I had to search up circus rolls so I’m going off of this one reddit post I found

this post may be a bit long (when isn’t it lmaoo)

Ringmaster: Cartman. -> he would immediately assign himself this position but he would mysteriously get a lot of funding so no one has the guts to overthrow him. Is your stereotypical neglectful ringleader who acts like a tyrant. I’ve also decided to add Wendy as his co-ringmaster or assistant because she’d be the one keeping him in check and managing basically everything while Cartman manages finance. He hates working alongside her but she’s a key worker for his circus and she’s GOOD at her job so he can’t really do anything. Always rips on her though.

Strongman: okay. LISTEN. I’m going to put Gregory here. He’s a blond British political man. His hair also looks like a stereotypical Ken doll. He’d be the generic strong blond who bends iron bars and the crowd goes wild.

Contortionist: Tweek seems like the type to freak other kids out with his hyper mobility and the ability to bend his fingers all the way back. He’d make a mean contortionist except for when he’s having a bad day and can’t fathom the thought of being stuck in a small cube

Ariel Artist/trapeze artist: as mentioned before, Kenny is THE perfect fit for this. He’s got a knack for shooting himself out of canons and walking precariously on thin rope. I just feel like he’d be a really loose limbed guy. All his fears disappeared years ago, his deaths making him reckless.

Acrobats: I feel like the girls (Heidi, Bebe and Red) would be the acrobats. They would have colour coordinated fits and would already have a history of gymnastics. Bebe would also be on silks.

Fire Performer/knife throwing: Kyle immediately came to mind because I feel like he’d have a stick up his ass about safety and then the dude goes on to shove swords of fire down his throat. Also red hair equals fire OBVIOUSLY 🙄

Manipulator (aka the juggler, plate spinner, hat tricks): Butters because can you imagine him on a tricycle juggling with balls and clown face paint? Because I certainly can and Cartman gets a lot of amusement out of it (sorry butters)

Fortune Teller: Henrietta. No further notes.

Animal tamer: Good ol’ animal lover enthusiast Stan. He’d be dangerously protective over his animals and would shoot down any of Cartmans performance plans that would put the animals at risk.

Stilts: Craig. No reason why just, Craig.

Musician: Jimmy. Cartman attempted to make Jimmy a ‘freak’ for the circus but his music is just that good

Magician: Clyde would be those dorky magicians who’s embarrassed himself several times before but he’s getting better. The crowd always thinks his fails are a part of the act so it works

Horses/Extreme Dressage: Tolkein would still manage to stay elegant while working in a circus. He’s just like that. He also LOVES his horse.

If this is a stendy au, Stan would be jealous and HATE Gregory’s flirting with Wendy because he knows that Gregory knows how attractive he himself is and being a strongman and all and Stan is stuck being a vegan animal trainer :,)

Knowing Cartman he probably has a ‘freaks’ section but I honestly don’t even want to go into that because we all know it’s full of minorities 😓

This is honestly really messy and really bad because I just discovered several of these circus roles in the last five minutes. I tried to match the characters to their job as best as I could but honestly I can’t say I’m super satisfied (not the worst I still like a few roles) 💔

anyways thanks for reading this far and I super duper appreciate this ask and don’t hesitate to send through any more!!

let me know your thoughts

[lovlilais]

꒰ঌ ૮ ོ .• ༝ •.   ོ𑁬  ໒꒱ 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐 ˑ˚₊·𝄠

〞　　୨୧　˖ hello, my name is alaia ! i go by aia, lai, laia– that’s just about it. i'm a black multicultural jamaican, i'm 18 as of now and will turn 19 in july. i go by she/her, my ig handle is @/buhnii. the account is private but that's just me being secretive, idk why im acting as if im an undercover agent but if your acc doesn't look like a shifting one i won't accept the request </3

〞　　୨୧　˖ i am not really new to shiftblr, i've been scrolling here and there not talking to anyone but one of my bestfriends inspired me to make this account. i'm familiar with shifting and have been since october 2020 so if anything we are on this journey together.

〞　　୨୧　˖ if you guys do care abt this sort of thing i'm a cancer, intp-t. and, ontop of everything else and i do have social anxiety, so i really do run the opposite direction from this sort of thing..? i prefer to stay in my inner circle so lets not be too surprised if this blog looks dry every now and then but i will try to be more active!

꒰ঌ ૮ ོ .• ༝ •.   ོ𑁬  ໒꒱ 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒓𝒔 ˑ˚₊·𝄠

☆⠀𝜗𝜚⠀( 𝟏 ) stray kids co-ed group dr - 𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐳𝐢𝐫𝐞

☆⠀𝜗𝜚⠀( 𝟐 ) enhypen 10th member dr - 𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐬𝐚𝐞𝐝

☆⠀𝜗𝜚⠀( 𝟑 ) own gg dr (syreni) - 𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐠𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐦

☆⠀𝜗𝜚⠀( 𝟒 ) ateez co-ed dr - 𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐣𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐞𝐝

☆⠀𝜗𝜚⠀( 𝟓 ) seventeen co-ed dr - 𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢 𝐬𝐚𝐞𝐝

꒰ঌ ૮ ོ .• ༝ •.   ོ𑁬  ໒꒱ 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 ˑ˚₊·𝄠

〞　　୨୧　˖ i have ALOT of scripts yall so that's only a main list, the others are; a bts co-ed dr (a wip), a love island dr (a wip), a ceo x assistant dr (another wip..), a marvel dr (a classic! another wip) like you see where im going with this??

〞　　୨୧　˖ i cant lie though i do have two more up my sleeve (blame 1 on ria) and as of for the other?? my only issue is that the movie didn't even come OUT YET..like i had a dream on it- yeah anyways we'll see on the second one

꒰ঌ ૮ ོ .• ༝ •.   ོ𑁬  ໒꒱ 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓/𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 ˑ˚₊·𝄠

〞　　୨୧　˖ i love writing but i have trouble doing so, love traveling, baking, watching movies, the color pink, daydreaming, music, flowers, games, drawing, sleeping, astrology, tarot card readings, talking, edits, editing, gummy candies, cookies and cream ice cream, etc..?

〞　　୨୧　˖ i tend to like scorpios too much like its a sickness, it's a disease, i need to be freed 😭. im not that into zodiac signs (lie one) but im wary of some (true)

〞　　୨୧　˖ dni if you're an anti-shifter (ofc duh), supports isr**l, under 17, a jamaican man, critique ppl's realities, homophobic, biphobic, anything phobic. you're an anti for groups i stan (katseye, enha, skz, svt, ateez), im not with it.. some of you lot do too much. if you're the type of person who blocks ppl for having the same s/o block me ig?? other than that..yea!

HOPE WE CAN BE FRIENDS 🩷

inspired by @rieluvism and this cutie @luninewnk

[lighthailstorm]

let's talk k-pop

i know i talk a lot on this here website about western artists, so i thought it was time to speak about my k-poppers.

warnings:

i like boy groups a lot more than i like girl groups (i'm sorry 😭 it's just the way it is)

i hate using the terms "bias" or "bias wrecker" cuz i find it cringe so instead i'm just gonna say they're my favorites

i find most all fan names cringe so i do not refer to myself as them, i'm just a fan

i would describe myself as a casual fan, meaning i do not know every single detail about these peoples lives, so if someone's controversial..oops i probably didn't know

since i'm a casual fan, i have not listened to every single release from my top 5 groups or solo artists, so my apologies that my playlists don't have every single song on it.

top 5 groups:

ATEEZ

favorite album: THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL (2023)

top 5 favorite songs: HALAZIA, Guerilla, Wake Up, Cyberpunk, Silver Light

i like all of them but my fav has to be Jongho (my vocal king)

i have 2 playlists for them. one that's just my fav songs from them so far and one that has the set list from their 'towards the light: will to power' tour (which i did in fact see).

ENHYPEN

favorite album: ROMANCE : UNTOLD -daydream- (2024)

top 5 favorite songs: Moonstruck, Teeth, Fatal Trouble, Brought The Heat Back, Daydream

if u know me in real life, u know my fav is Sunoo. like i love that man DOWN (but honestly i love the entire maknae line)

i have one playlist for my favorite songs from them but i honestly think this might be my favorite group at the moment

LE SSERAFIM

favorite album: CRAZY (2024)

top 5 favorite songs: Blue Flame, ANTIFRAGILE, CRAZY, Ash, FEARLESS

chaewon (a.k.a. miss bob) has been my girl from day one (but i honestly love all of them)

i have one playlist for them with my favorite songs on them

NCT 127

first of all, we don't talk about thou who shall not be named

favorite album: Ay-Yo - The 4th Album Repackage (2023)

top 5 favorite songs: Ay-Yo, Walk, FOOL, Favorite (Vampire), Fact Check

mark is my real life husband (source: trust me, bro)

i have one playlist for them with all my fav songs

STRAY KIDS

favorite album: HOP (2024)

top 5 favorite songs: HALLUCINATION (I.N), JJAM, MEGAVERSE, Easy, S-Class

ok i have 3 favs here bcs i'm indecisive: felix, i.n, & changbin (love them down)

i have 2 playlists for them: one for my fav songs and the other for the dominATE tour setlist that i am going to see this summer

other boy groups i enjoy

(not those already mentioned in my top 5 in general)

TOMORROW X TOGETHER

top 5 favorite songs: Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock), Back for More (with Anitta), Sugar Rush Ride, Chasing That Feeling, Frost

i'm a yeonjun stan through and through (but i also have a special place in my heart for heuning kai)

i have the one playlist for them of all my fav songs

WAY V

top 5 favorite songs: Nectar, She A Wolf, Bad Alive, Love Talk, Moonwalk

my love of ten knows no bounds (i also love lucas and i miss him)

i have one playlist for them of all my fav songs

NCT DREAM

favorite album: DREAMSCAPE (2024) (no idea why ppl hated this so much)

i hate to say it, i hope i don't sound ridiculous but my fav is still mark

i have one playlist for them

Honorable Mentions: EXO (fav song: Monster, fav member: Chen), BTS (fav song: I Need U, fav members: RM, Jimin, J-Hope; a separate playlist for them does in fact exist), THE BOYZ (fav song: WATCH IT)

other girl groups i enjoy

(once again, not the ones i already mentioned)

XG

i can already hear the screaming from here 💀. yes, i know that XG is not technically k-pop because they don't sing/rap in korean and they are from Japan. Understood. But they follow the k-pop formula, are based in South Korea, and perform on South Korean music shows. So stop the madness, I'm putting them under k-pop. Anyways...

top 5 favorite songs: TGIF, WOKE UP, HOWLING, LEFT RIGHT, Mascara

JURIN, my queen

all my favorite songs on one playlist

AESPA

top 5 favorite songs: Supernova, Armageddon, Whiplash, Drama, Savage

i love my girl ningning

i have one playlist for them with all my fav songs

NMIXX

favorite songs: Soñar (Breaker), See that?, DICE, Love Me Like This, O.O

if there are no lily supporters, i am dead

no dedicated playlist but they show up a lot in my fourth gen girl group playlist

IVE

top 5 fav songs: I AM, 90s Kitsch, LOVE DIVE, After LIKE, Accendio

gonna be honest idk all their names 💀 but i do enjoy seeing wonyoung

i don't have a dedicated playlist for them but they do take up a lot of space in my fifth gen girlies playlist

Honorable Mentions: New Jeans (fav song: Supernatural, made a shared playlist for them with illit cuz the vibes feel similar to me) , Kiss of Life (fav songs: Midas Touch, fav member: haneul, i do in fact have a separate playlist for them), & babymonster (fav song: CLIK CLAK, fav member: Ahyeon)

TOP 5 SOLOISTS

TAEMIN

ooh i love this man DOWN

fav album: Press It (2016)

top 5 fav songs: MOVE, WANT, Guilty, Sexy In The Air, Criminal

i ofc have a dedicated playlist of all my favorite songs so far

if i had 5 million dollars on hand i would have seen him in concert when he was in nyc but unfortunately we don't live in a perfect world

CHUNG HA

one thing about my girl Chung Ha, is she's gonna serve every. single. time. have i listened to an entire album? no. does she have a dedicated playlist? no. do i love her all the same? yes, yes i do.

top 5 fav songs: I'm Ready, Stay Tonight, Bicycle, STRESS, EENIE MEENIE (Feat. Hongjoong of ATEEZ)

TEN

i could never be normal about him. i haven't listened to all of STUNNER yet, but trust it is first on my list.

top 5 fav songs: Birthday, Nightwalker, STUNNER, Shadow, BAMBOLA

edit: listened to the new album and he slayed so hard that i was forced to make a playlist for him

LISA

do i love everything about the new album? no. did her raps eat like she thought they did? no. were all of her songs good? no, i think everyone made a mistake. but it was fun. and even tho she loves to put in box braids for some reason, i love my girl.

top 5 songs: LALISA, New Woman (feat. ROSALÍA), Rockstar, Born Again (feat. Doja Cat & RAYE), MONEY

MARK

now i know he hasn't even dropped his first album yet but based off what he already put out, i can just tell he's gonna eat.

my favs so far: Fraktsiya (ft. Lee Young Ji), +82 Pressin' (ft. HAECHAN), Golden Hour, 200 - Minhyung's Version, Child

honorable mentions: JENNIE (the entire Ruby album ATE) , J-Hope (fav song: ARSON) , Jungkook (fav song: Standing Next to You ft. USHER), RM (right place, wrong person was super good)

[storkmuffin]

I'm as interested in the business of Ateez (and KQ) as I am taken by the guys themselves. I suspect that this is because I personally don't get a whole lot out of shipping any particular pairing (...yet, can never say never, since I did not expect the Lego live to be so kinky but it so was). Every now and then I just dig around on the internet for coverage of Ateez from the past, and I found this one!

Dong-A is one of the major print news outlets, and this one particular freelance reporter, Ms Hyejin Yoon, identifies her self as being in her early 40s as of 2023 and being all about Ateez (after 20+ years of being an Idol Stan).

The headline is worth examining: "How many Current Idol Names Do you know? " The byline reads: "An Idol Stan of 20+ years. They say, does being a Stan feed you, but I will say that at least it makes me have friendly conversations with my teenaged child while we eat together. "

This defensiveness of women, where she has this nasty voice in her heard that asks her, "Does Liking That Band Feed You Your Daily Bread" when it's about Idols who cater to female tastes being the first thing that pops out is painful to witness, though I should be used to it by now. I dare one singular man who likes a golfer, a baseball or basketball player enough to own merch, to attack himself in this way! Anyway.

A few interesting things!

In 2023, Ateez was already performing gangbusters (they sold literally 1,000,000 albums but nobody in KOrea had ever heard of them at home, such that K- Atiny called themselves 한줌단 (Team Barely A Handful).

For this K-Atiny, she thought that the songs that really show what Ateez is all about are "Say My Name" and "Hala Hala."

As of 2023, the overall size of the Kpop market was bigger, but it was also becoming A League Of their Own - which is a phrase Koreans use for, Lacks Mass Appeal and Fame. Music shows were only achieving 1% of viewing audience capture.

Debuting is difficult but life is harder after debut. The year that Ateez debuted (2018) no fewer than 60 (!!) groups debuted with them.

The full article in Korean, under the cut:

에이티즈’ 알아?”

요즘 뭐 하고 살길래 연락 한 통 없느냐는 질문을 들을 때마다 덕질하느라 바쁘다며 내 최애 그룹 에이티즈를 아느냐고 물어본다. 이 질문에 30·40대 대부분은 모른다고 답한다. 아이돌을 좋아하는 초등학생이나 10·20대는 좀 낫다. 꼭 팬이 아니더라도 에이티즈가 라이브 실력과 마라 맛 퍼포먼스로 유명한 건 안다. 아예 아이돌에 관심 없다면 인기리에 종영한 드라마 ‘재벌집 막내아들’ 엔딩곡 ‘GRAVITY(그래비티)’를 에이티즈 메인보컬이 불렀다고 설명해준다.

40대 초반의 나는 여러 아이돌을 거쳐 2년 전부터 8인조 보이 그룹 에이티즈에 푹 빠져 있다. 독기 넘치는 무대 위 모습과 초등학생 무리 같은 무해한 평소 모습의 갭 차이가 매력적이다. 팬클럽 ‘에이티니’에 가입하고 지난해 10월 잠실 실내체육관에서 열린 콘서트에도 다녀왔다. 2018년 데뷔한 에이티즈는 4세대 아이돌을 언급할 때 빠지지 않는 그룹 중 하나다. 지난해 여름 발표한 ‘더 월드 에피소드 1: 무브먼트’를 통해 음악방송 6관왕과 ‘빌보드 200’ 3위, 첫 밀리언셀러 달성이라는 자체 최고 성과를 기록했다. 지난해 12월 30일 발표한 첫 싱글앨범 ‘스핀 오프: 프롬 더 위트니스’는 ‘빌보드 200’ 7위로 진입했으며 타이틀곡 ‘HALAZIA(할라지아)’는 발매 직후 29개국 아이튠즈 톱 송 차트 1위를 차지했다.

눈부시게 성장 중이지만 여전히 에이티즈는 배가 고프다. 국내보다 해외 인기가 훨씬 높다 보니 아이돌 팬이 모이는 각종 인터넷 커뮤니티에서 한국 에이티니는 ‘한줌단’(팬이 한 줌 정도밖에 안 된다는 의미) 취급을 받기도 한다. 주변의 십중팔구는 그룹명도 모르지만 음반 100만 장을 파는 에이티즈를 어디서부터 어떻게 설명해야 할까.

NCT·스트레이 키즈·투바투와 god·소녀시대의 차이는?

에이티즈를 가장 잘 드러내는 근본 곡은 ‘Say My Name’과 ‘HALA HALA(할라할라)’다. 데뷔 3개월여 만에 낸 두 번째 미니앨범의 타이틀곡 ‘Say My Name’에서는 ‘네가 내 이름을 불러주면 어느새 먼 곳을 향해 더 Fly high’ 한다며 ‘내 이름은 이름은 A to the Z. 나를 불러줘’라고 노래한다.

일찍이 김춘수 시인은 “내가 그의 이름을 불러주었을 때 / 그는 나에게로 와서 / 꽃이 되었다”고 노래했다. 아이돌 홍수 시대에는 멤버 개인은커녕 그룹명 알리기도 쉽지 않다. 톱 아이돌 그룹 ‘투모로우바이투게더(TXT·투바투)’ ‘Stray Kids(스트레이 키즈)’ ‘NCT’는 국내외에서 엄청난 사랑을 받고 있지만 ‘god’나 ‘소녀시대’ 같은 국민 아이돌과는 결이 다르다. ‘방탄소년단 동생 그룹’이란 양날의 검이 주는 부담감을 스스로 뛰어넘은 투바투를 ‘티엑스티’로 부르는 사람이 있을 것이며 무한 개방, 무한 확장을 키워드로 하는 NCT U와 NCT 127, NCT DREAM의 차이를 모르는 사람도 있을 것이다. 지난해 ‘빌보드 200’ 1위를 두 번 기록한 스트레이 키즈의 경우 2009년 소속사 선배 원더걸스가 미국에서 맨땅에 헤딩할 때보다 훨씬 높은 성과를 이뤘지만 아직은 국내에서 원더걸스의 인지도는 못 넘었다.

아이돌 시장이 규모는 커졌지만 그들만의 리그화하고 있다. 요즘 음악방송 평균 시청률은 대부분 1% 미만이다. 알아들을 수 없는 음악에 누가 누군지 모르겠다며 채널을 돌린 적이 있다면 아이와 한 번만이라도 제대로 보길 바란다. 자세히 보아야 예쁘다. 오래 보아야 사랑스럽다. 한바탕 몰아친 트로트 열풍도 관심 없는 이에겐 피로하긴 마찬가지였다.

특히 ‘요즘 아이돌’ ‘K-팝 스타’로 뭉뚱그려 부르기엔 이 어린 직업인들이 더 어릴 때부터 흘린 피, 땀, 눈물이 아깝다. 일하며 아이돌을 가까이에서 살필 기회가 많았다. 밤낮 상관없이 높은 텐션으로 카메라 앞에서 웃었지만, 대부분은 한두 시간씩 쪽잠을 자고 배달 음식으로 식사하거나 그나마도 다이어트하는 경우가 수두룩했다. 그래도 “무대에 설 때 행복하다”며 눈을 반짝였다. 그 모습에 감탄하면서도 자식을 낳으면 아이돌은 시키지 말아야겠다고 생각했다. 물론 내가 말리지 않아도 아이돌로 데뷔하기란 쉽지 않다. 데뷔 후 성공하기는 더 어렵다. 에이티즈가 데뷔한 2018년만 해도 유닛을 포함해 총 60개의 그룹이 세상에 나왔다.

화려한 무대 아래 뜨기 위한 물밑 발길질

그나마 대형 기획사 아이돌은 사정이 조금 낫다. 대형 기획사는 연습생으로 발탁되고 최종 데뷔조까지 확정되는 과정이 촘촘한 대신 풍부한 자본과 인력, 패밀리 팬덤을 바탕으로 한발 앞선 채 출발할 수 있다. 새해 첫날 블랙핑크 이후 7년 만의 걸그룹 ‘BABYMONSTER(베이비몬스터)’ 론칭 소식을 알린 YG의 경우 다음 날 주가까지 상승할 만큼 큰 화제가 됐다. 화제성에 노래와 안무, 콘셉트까지 뒷받침된다면 하이브 산하 레이블 어도어 소속의 걸 그룹 ‘뉴진스’처럼 데뷔 2개월 만에 손익분기점을 넘기는 기적도 가능하다.

중소 기획사는 이름을 알리려면 방법을 강구해야 한다. 중소 기획사 연습생이 주로 찾는 지름길은 오디션 프로그램이다. 악마의 편집, 부정 투표 등으로 인기가 한풀 꺾이긴 했지만 2021년 엠넷 ‘걸스플래닛999: 소녀대전’에서 선발되어 데뷔한 케플러의 성공은 왜 아직도 오디션 프로그램이 제작되는지 보여준다. 9인조 한중일 합작 프로젝트 걸 그룹인 케플러는 최근 발표된 일본 ‘오리콘 연간 랭킹 2022’ 아티스트별 세일즈 부문에서 신인 랭킹 1위를 차지했다.

이미 데뷔한 그룹도 저마다의 간절한 이유로 서바이벌 프로그램에 출연한다. 2017년 데뷔한 더보이즈는 엠넷 서바이벌 ‘로드 투 킹덤’(2020)에서 우승하고 ‘킹덤: 레전더리 워’(2021)에서 준우승하며 성장에 가속도가 붙었다. 올 2월 첫 전파를 타는 JTBC ‘피크타임’은 아예 ‘망한 아이돌’ 꼬리표를 단 그룹들이 팀 대결을 벌인다. 우승 그룹에게는 슈퍼주니어 규현, 하이라이트 이기광 등 아이돌 선배부터 SM의 퍼포먼스 디렉터 심재원, 프로듀서 라이언 전 등의 조언을 통해 글로벌 보이 그룹으로 재탄생할 수 있는 인생 역전의 기회가 주어진다.

기회는 왔을 때 무조건 잡아야 한다. 국내든, 해외든 어디라도 먼저 터진 곳에서 파이를 키우고 그 화제성으로 다른 쪽 파이를 키우면 된다. 애초 에이티즈가 해외를 공략해 태어난 그룹은 아니다. 전원 한국인으로 팀을 이루고 유학생 출신의 외국어 담당 멤버가 없는 것만 봐도 알 수 있다. 그저 실력을 먼저 알아본 해외에서 조금 더 크게 투어를 돌고 열심히 벌어 다시 좋은 음악을 만들 뿐이다. 그래서 에이티즈는 짧고 굵게 국내 활동을 마치고 올 2월 유럽 투어를 떠난다. 해외 팬들의 넘치는 사랑 듬뿍 받고 얼른 ‘내한’하길 기다리면서 덕질에 쓸 총알을 열심히 모아야겠다. 부디 다음 컴백 때는 에이티즈를 아느냐는 내 질문에 안다는 ‘머글’(‘해리 포터’ 시리즈에서 마법사가 아닌 일반 인간을 가리키는 말에서 유래한 일반인을 뜻하는 덕후 용어)이 늘어나기를 바라면서.

[joseimukeaddict]

Haikyuu and Public Transportation Headcanons: Date Tech

So I had planned to finish this like a month ago but then I got stuck and then finals hit and now I may be pulling an all-night to finish my final project for art… and yeah, I really do only post whenever I’m stressed out of my mind 🙃. Anyways I’m trying sth new and am linking some good causes below if you guys want to support someone in need ⬇️ ⬇️⬇️ Also at the bottom are my headcanons for the other teams.

Third Years

Yasushi Kamasaki - Bro is the most normal guy on the subway ever like actually I got stuck on him for WEEKS bc I couldn't think of anything; every once in a while he has payment problems with his phone not scanning but other than that riding the bus and subway is just riding public transportation for him; he gets his driver's license and a car pretty quick too and bro would never get on the subway again if his car didn't have limited capacity (it's not like he hates the subway or anything) (I'm so sorry to any Kamasaki stans I cannot get a read on this guy)

Kaname Moniwa - Always been a bus kid, has his bag in his lap to not take up space; gets slightly motion sick on longer rides; eyes glued to the phone on rides so not to accidentally make contact with random passengers

Takehito Sasaya - Prefers the train; honestly, I see him riding the train often on the way to a date with his girlfriend (who will be his future wife, I can’t believe someone actually gets canonically hitched in Haikyuu AND WITH KIDS, damn the sacrifices you have to make to be a main character 😔); stander on the train even when his gf is with him but it’s annoying bc of the height difference so she needs to pull him down into a seat (this man is a girl dad, he listens to his future wife)

Second Years

Mai Nametsu - Travels either on bus or train with a small group of friends except for mornings when she comes in early to prep the gym before practice; always works on something when she’s alone like notes for practice or homework (my girl gives such diligent worker vibes); public transportation has always been convenient for her so if she gets a driver’s license, she’ll still use public transport if she can

Takanobu Aone - poor lonely boy on the train who people won’t sit next to 😭 (actually from Haikyuu-Bu!!); he’s very punctual and has a very predictable schedule so eventually the people who always ride the same train car as he will realize he’s not scary and some grannies will end up sitting next to him later on, not much of a talker but a great listener and they’ll offer him candies; I don’t care if this is not canon but he’s a sitter because the train car heights are too short for him to feel comfortable standing

Kenji Futakuchi - sits at the end of the seats right by the door so he can immediately get out of the train car because he has no patience for slow people; wants to nap on the train but the train seats are so uncomfortable so he just ends up scrolling on his phone the whole time, which just makes him more tired and cranky; actually prefers riding with friends since he won’t have to be on his phone but man will not make conversation himself and will just half-heartily listen, unless he’s with Aone, in that case, Futakuchi needs to talk or else it’s going to be a silent train ride

Yutaka Obara - Power naps at the back of the bus, waking up just in time to rush to the doors to get off at his stop; doesn't like the subways much because it's always crowded whenever he has to get on one and he hates the feeling of being packed like a sardine; loves a long-distance bullet train ride, especially if he can get some extra leg room, then he can stretch out and watch the world go by

Tarō Onagawa - One of the few kids who get driven by their parents ( helicopter mother) so riding the subway for the first time was kinda special for them; a little wary of all the strangers in close distance at first but the headphones and music combo makes the experience so much better on the subway than car; I see the guy never getting his license when he grows up and gets a job that allows him to make great use of public transport

First Years

Kanji Koganegawa - chronically barely makes it onto the ride and thus rarely gets to sit (it's fine bc he's too tall to sit comfortably anyway); gets his jacket caught in the doors after barely making it too so after tugging for a bit, he gives up and waits for the next stop; even when the ride is completely packed, he really likes looking out the window so at least one perk of being this tall is there's rarely anyone blocking his view

Jingo Fukiage - Rides the bus but stands since he's also too tall for the seats to sit comfortably; similar to Aone, people didn't really sit near him until they realized he just had a resting blank face, and Fukiage definitely noticed this happening but just didn't do anything because he has no idea how to respond; if someone asks him for directions he blanks on response until a minute later when his brain has finally booted up and he can give an articulated response

Kōsuke Sakunami - He cannot ride public transportation with anyone from his team, because 1) the train is almost always packed and he has to be squished like a sardine, and 2) his dignity when his face is squashed between the wall and Koganegawa's chest, which isn't helped by the fact that Koganegawa keeps asking if Sakunami is okay when Sakunami can't even move his mouth without fear of biting the inside of his cheek; the slipperiest traveler in the subway, he can squeeze in between and around half a train car's length of people and slip onto and off a train as the train doors are closing; he ends up getting his license but chooses instead to carpool since he was kinda lonely and now it feels weird to travel anywhere without Koganegawa’s insistent yapping

——

Bonus:

Takurō Oiwake has a car, which cannot be any smaller than mid-sized if not an entire truck. This man has ridden public transport a total of 3 times in his life because his family can fix their own cars.

———

Palestinian Relief:

Just by sharing the links you can help!

⬇️⬇️⬇️

^ Vetted by Operation Olive Branch (#26)

Less than $800 away from their goal!!! 99% of the way through ➡️ @hayanahed

—

^ Vetted by @/90-ghost

Almost a quarter of the way there! A fellow college student 💪💪 ➡️ @asmaamajed2

—

^ Vetted by @/gazavetters

Just over 30%! The family is trying to get to Egypt and rebuild their lives! ➡️ @familgazaamal1

———

Other Teams: Nekoma, Seijoh, Karasuno

——

Yea I need to get back to lineart, next one is either the owls or foxes, I'll decide when it comes to it. Remember to pretend these headcanons don't exist if you don't like them, and stay safe everyone!

[eye-prophet]

Rating TMA entities on how likely I am to serve them/become an avatar

The Buried: 6/10

I think it would be fun to just let the ground eat me as a way to get out of situations

I can't sleep without a weighter blanket and whenever possible wear heavy jackets

Seems a bit boring

Don't want to end up with dirt in places dirt shouldn't be :(

The Corruption: 7/10

One of my dream jobs is to become a rotting corpse in the woods

To be loved is to be consumed and all that

Not a big fan of bugs

Unless it's Jane Prentiss and she's asking to put worms in me, then I'm becoming an avatar so quick

The Dark: 3/10

Emo

Kinda like seeing so

There is a small chance of me being able to stand creepily in dark corners to scare people in the middle of the night and that seems fun

The Desolation: 8/10

I have a certain liking towards fire and burning things

Destruction can be sexy and I think I could pull it off

If I am made out of wax, can I reshape myself

I love warmth so now I won't even need a jacket to do so

Don't want to accidentally burn a cat or something

The End: 8/10

My fascination with death is quite large

Not really scared of death

Prophetic dreams about when people die interest me

Emo²

Just one chance Oliver please🙏🙏

Don't want to live too long (it's said that Oliver would live like a looong time plus Nathaniel became near immortal and I don't want that)

The Eye: 100/10

Autism ²

I could learn so much about my hyperfixations and special interests

I would have so much eye references for drawing

I'm nosy and this gives me material to chat about w/ my best friend

Aesthetically pleasing

Eating disorder? More like eating dis order (bites into trauma)

I want to be fully seen and known by my god

Can feed by consuming things about my special interests

I want that eye man.

The Flesh: 2/10

Shape-shifting my flesh to fit me

Not a fan of raw meat texture

Not my cup of tea

The Hunt: 5/10

Gives something to do

Motivation inator 3000

Furry

Don't want to actually go out of my way to hunt people, information would be fine tho I think

I'm already prone to addiction, don't want to be addicted to hunting

The Lonely: 8/10

I could change nothing about me and still manage to serve it

I self isolated to a very unhealthy degree

I prefer away from people that around others

It's too cold for my liking, if it was warmer I'd be more likely to serve it if it was warmer

I need to shit talk with my friends every once in a while

The Slaughter: 7/10

Music that has a physical affect

I feel like it's nice to just lose it every once in a while and get into a few fights

One of my other dream jobs is to be like Alfred grifter whom I stan🙏

Musical legend but an urban legend

Don't want my anger issues to become ²

Not all violence in fun :(

The Spiral: 9/10

Insanity doesn't just run on my mother's side of the family, it gallops like a race horse

Seems fun

All the colors of the distortion corridors seem so yummy

I want to fuck with people's minds a bit

I want the gender on my wiki to say 'no' too

I get to fuck around

I'm pretty sure I'm going insane already anyway

I probably get to see shrimp colors

I want Michael and Helen.

If Michael or Helen ask I'm entering any door they want.

Loss of identity sucks a bit

The Stranger: 6/10

Discomfort the comforted and comfort the discomforted thing

Love uncanny valley

Genuently seems interesting to not be known

I think it'd be fun to preform in a supernatural circus

I want to be known tho

I want to keep my skin like it is :(

The Vast: 9/10

Open spaces<3

Insignificance in comparison to the wider narrative? Sign me the fuck up

I can fly (kinda)

I get to throw people off things

I get the fairchild money

Offers freedom

I like heights in a way they make my stomach drop

My vestibular system is kinda bad so I don't want to throw up as I fall through the vast

The Web: 2/10

I could be like spider-man

If annabelle cane asks, 100/10 am I serving the Web

Not a fan of spiders

Don't want to manipulate people too much and stuff

The Extinction: 3/10

I might be radioactive a bit anyway so

The end of the world is gonna come no matter what

I don't think I'd have to do anything?

Can you even be an avatar of it???

Teenage existential crisis core

Anyway if I was in the TMA universe I'd like 100% serve something or be an avatar. I'm too curious and I think it'd be fun. Plus I'd be able to feel others fear so I could make the 'I'm an empath' jokes

[syoul]

FAN CONTENT : 　 no. 1 junnipurr ! on youtube.

[ INTRO ] 　 today is february 13th, which means it’s our favourite pocket sized lyricist and producer’s birthday! to celebrate, i’ve decided to compile a few moments of kj that live in my head rent free 🫶🫶 this can be seen a continuation to my “my viewers’ favourite kj moments” vid! 

[ ROBOTIC VOICE OVER ] 　 i really just wanted to talk more about kj’s talents as a writer and producer. like, i get why oliver said he’d want to perform a lobotomy on kj. i do too tbh.

exhibit a: our beginning. the group’s debut album was worked on by all the members but kj wrote and composed basically all of our beginning by himself and it fucking wrecks me everytime like???? AND IT'S ONLY A B-SIDE???? oh to be loved by this man… their two title songs already had me interested but from the moment i heard that song i just had to stan. 

exhibit b: his skills have been recognized not only by bang chan, but woozi of svt as well and even other senior producers in the industry. his knowledge and ear for music can only be described as unrivaled in the industry. i mean, we’re talking about someone who ENJOYS music theory and does it for fun. no sane person does that. 

but anyways, enough of my rambles. enjoy!

　　 SEOJUN’S SOLO LATE-NIGHT VLIVE. 

[ CONTEXT ] 　 a fellow yu challenged seojun to make a song using only the word “taco”, which he took seriously. 

seojun eyes flick across his computer screen set up behind the camera, mouse clicks and the occasional typing on his keyboard filling the room. brows furrowed, he stretches his arms above his head and sighs at the way his back pops.  

“aish yunies,” he says, a teasing but also annoyed tone in his voice. he runs his tongue over his teeth and sucks in a breath.  [ he’s so hot when frustrated. sue me. ]  “i’m not too sure about this one.” 

“this part here works—” he makes a click on the mouse and the start of a song starts to play. “—but i can’t get the rest to line up nicely.”  

he turns in his chair, moving closer to face the camera, and shakes his head. adjusting the baseball cap on his head, seojun opens his phone and scrolls through the comments. 

“‘the great seojun has finally been defeated’ yah! i haven’t given up yet.”

he scratches his neck and leans back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling and letting out a deep sigh.  [ this isn’t a png, guys. my man was tired 😭 ]  he stares at his phone again. 

“do you guys think kai-yah will answer me if i call him?” he stands up out of his chair and paces around the room to stretch his legs before squatting down to look into the camera, holding his phone up to show the time. “it’s three am right now but i bet he’s still up.”  [ boy 🤨 ] 

seojun sits back down and scrolls before ringing up kj with the phone on speaker. after the third ring, the man of the hour picks up. 

“hello?” kj says quietly, audibly tired.  [ his voice is so 😓 you don’t understand ] 

“kaiyangi~” seojun coos sweetly into the phone, “i’m live right now.” 

“oh.” there’s some shuffling heard over the phone. “hyung, it’s a quarter past three.” 

“yeah and?” seojun says blankly. “did i wake you?” 

kj responds with a loud sigh and seojun laughs. 

“no… i was still up.”  [ someone please get these guys some melatonin… ] 

“do you think you can help me with something really quick?” the older asks, setting down the phone and turning to his computer. 

[ insert seojun explaining the problem at 2x speed. i have no idea what he’s yapping about even after translations 💀 ] 

there’s a moment of silence after seojun is done before kj chimes in with a small, “ah, i see.” 

“i’ve been working on this for two hours.”  [ never thought i’d see seojun get stumped on a track until this live 🫢 ]  a slight whine seeps into the leader’s voice. “yunies keep teasing me and saying to give up.”

“you should give up. go to sleep.”  

“yah! that’ the exact opposite of what you’re supposed to say,” seojun pouts, nose scrunched for a brief moment. “where’s my ‘you can do this, hyung! i believe in you! fighting!’?” [ his impression of kj kills me everytime 😭 ]

“not here, that's for sure.” 

the older slumps in his seat with an annoyed whine, taking off his cap and running a hand through his hair again, as kj chuckles in the background. 

“you’re such a child, hyung.” there’s a moment of pause before he speaks up again, “have you tried…”

[ insert kj talking about more music knowledge that hurts my brain at 2x speed. god i wish is was musically gifted. ]

“ah,” seojun drawls out, fingers working fast along the keyboard. pressing play once again, he listens to the adjusted sound and leans back with a smile before pausing it and grabbing for his phone again. 

“it sounds way better, kai-yah,” he says with a large grin on his face, “thank you, jun number two.” 

“mhm, anytime,” kj responds softly. “can i ask what this is even for, hyung?” 

“oh. a yu challenged me to make a song using only the word taco,” he answers with a smile still on his face. shuffling can be heard again through the other end of the phone. seojun sits up straighter and raises an eyebrow at the delayed response. 

“hello? kaiyangi? kai-yah? my favourite child?” 

“go to sleep, seojun hyung,” kj sighs, exasperated. “you’re delirious. i’m hanging up.”

“what? wait no don’t go just yet. keep me company for a bit longer my sweet apple tart, my baby hone-” the end tone beeps before seojun it enveloped in silence again. 

he looks at the phone as if it had offended him and cursed his bloodline and slowly raises his head back to stare dead on into the stream camera. 

“he actually did it.” 

　　 CODE NAME: SO(U)L  — EP. ???  [ i forgot sorry 😭😭 ] 

normal – korean 　 italics – english 　 bold – other specified language

oliver is busy talking to the camera during his one-on-one interview when seojun quietly comes up beside him in frame, hands slowly sneaking up to unbutton the other’s shirt. 

“and that’s wh- yah!” oliver swats at seojun’s hand; the leader had managed to undo two, revealing the then blonde’s collarbones and just above when his pecs start. “stop that!” 

“hot sexy guy oliver in the house!” seojun shouts before running off, leaving the older of the two shaking his head with a sigh and redoing his shirt. 

“that guy i swear,” he tsked, looking at the camera sternly. oliver goes to say something else but is cut off by another voice.

“ah men.” the camera quickly pans to the side. kj is sitting in one of the dressing chairs, the stylist fiddling with his hair ducking her head into her arm with laughter as he catches the camera from the mirror’s reflection. “this is why you don’t trust them.”  [ 💀💀 ]

“you are a man!” oliver retorts with a laugh. 

“yeah, and i don’t trust myself either.” he raises a brow. “your point is?” 

oliver shakes his head with a sigh and a tired look to the camera. 

“gong kaijun, everyone.”

　　 ISEUL’S 26TH BIRTHDAY LIVE 

“yo wait, hyung,” ryo says through a mouthful of cake, nudging iseul with his elbow as mars tries to frantically save the younger’s image, “hyung, how old are you now?” 

“aish this kid,” he mutters. “i’m twenty six now.” 

“wow, hyung’s half fifty two,” kj mumbles to himself, head angled downwards as he pokes at a piece of cake on his plate with his fork. “he’ll have to be put in a nursing home soon.”  [ i snorted so hard at this 🖐️😭 ]

seven barks out a loud laugh, slapping a hand over his mouth  [ someone save him ] and ducking his face out of the frame, and ryo joins in soon after. kj looks up, confusion written on his face.

“oh, i said that out loud, didn’t i?” 

“you’re going to be the end of me.” with a roll of the eyes, iseul hits the back of kj’s head lightly with a scowl.  

“i mean…” the younger takes on a thoughtful look, index finger tapping his chin, “as long as you put me in the will…”

[ iseul looks so done this poor poor guy 😔 ] 

　　 MULTILINGUAL BADASSERY W/ FO SQUAD

“i’m curious.” lou looks up from the tablet in his hand. “what language do you guys use in the dorms?” 

oliver, mars, and kj all hum in understanding. 

“one of your members, ryo?” oliver nods. “is japanese and you—“ lou gestures to kj. “—and mars are chinese or half chinese. 

“you, kj, and oliver are also fluent in english. do you guys all only talk in korean or does it depend on the member?” 

“well,” oliver sighs, brows furrowed and rubbing his chin, “gosh man.” 

“it’s hard to explain, but we usually talk in korean. sometimes english too. all of us can understand it to various levels,” kj chuckles. 

“he speaks six,” mars says, patting kj on the arm. “kai is very smart.” 

“you speak six languages?” one of the hosts states at kj with his mouth agape as the other laughs. 

“mhm,” kj says with a nod, “but i’m only fluent in four.” 

“‘bUt i’M oNLy fLuEnT In FoUR’ bro what?”  [ #literallyme when kj said that 😭 ]  ous tosses his hands and leans back in his seat. “don’t even play that game with me right now.”

oliver throws his head back with a cackle and kj laughs into his hands. 

“i usually respond in the language that the person started the conversation with,” he says, fanning his face to calm down. “like, if mars talks to me in chinese, i’ll respond in chinese.”  [ we love a guy who can communicate ] 

“how does your brain function, what?” ous covers his mouth and sighs. “holy man…” 

[ i didn’t include this part in the clip (because it would be almost the entire interview if i did-) but kj later says he tries to pick up on different languages on tour to talk to yunies 🥹😓😓 so technically, he knows more than just six. ]

[ ROBOTIC VOICE OVER ] 　 there were so many more i wanted to include but then this video would be an hour long 💀💀 anyways, in conclusion, stan kj, stan syoul, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR WORLD PRODUCER!! 

[panicatthecourtx]

THAT'S IT. I'M REQUESTING:

24

go buckwild, rant free like the wind bestie

24. Free slot.

Oh man, well. Bestie, idk- I spew half my existence to yall anyway 😭😭 but oki- down below!

As per discord- what got me into south park?

- I am so fr, with my memory I don't really recall the EXACT reason? I know as a kid my family watched the show and they'd let me watch with them (is that good parenting for a less than 11 y/o doubt but w/e). We routinely did the tree-fiddy joke and still do, and I have vague memories of listening to chef's chocolate salty balls 💀💀.

Based on an old yearbook I started to watch SP regularly when I was 11/12? and around 13 I started to roleplay adventure time on Twitter so, I THINK at age 14/15 is when I got a Tumblr and started to actually see fanart- which at that time it was like...2010, so the main popular ship was Style and they were my OTP. I didn't really engage with the fandom much until 2015 after I graduated HS, but I will say the fandom definitely made me fall more in love with the show. I enjoy spewing, clearly, but in contrast I love seeing others POV too. I always struggle making friends and still do- so I find the fandom atmosphere very-- comforting? And most people I've met via South Park have been super kind and just cool, so it makes me excited/happy to be around this atmosphere.

So, I think just natural circumstances got me INTO the show, but the fandom is by far the reason I stayed and came back(I didn't rejoin Tumblr until last year after a bit of a break). It's still been a nice place, and I get excited when people like/reblog my silly HCs(I don't expect anyone to agree with me but it's rly nice when they do). So, it's definitely just a show that makes me happy and comfortable and I feel less alone watching it and interacting with people. It's definitely my favorite thing i think, and the show just being silly helps too.

- For another spew since you want me to go wild, I will rant about someone other than Tweek. And since I wrote Steek, I've been thinking of my man Staniel a lot more. I looove that pathetic little smelly dude. But I think the reason he's my favorite out of Stan's gang is simialr to why I like Tweek. Stan is INSANELY relatable to me.

Im not a POS and use Chat GPT ever to do anything, but particularly i think like.. pre-season 15?? Stan in particular. When he's going through that period where he's changing/growing and feels distant from his friends and views the world as an outwardly negative atmosphere. The REASON I relate to that is, for Courtney lore dump mildly, around his same age (10ish-13) is when I was getting bullied really badly and told quite literally to kms- so it really just gave me a negative world view. Seeing that in Stan was comforting in a way, and I know SP made it jokey in the sense of its "literal shit" but the fact that made me feel LESS ALONE feeling that way towards the world.

I also simiallry to Tweek, have a not great relationship with my dad so ofc Stan is the same- so i understand him on that front too. While I don't agree with everything Stan does, like he does have an ego and frequently does things to make himself look better, but overall I feel as if he's also someone who has mental health issues (kinda canon) and masks it HARD by trying to be cool and popular, but in reality he's a nerd who likes Warhammer, music, and animals. Idk man, i just relate to him in a deep way simialar to Tweek. Craig is my second favorite but in terms of personality, I just relate to stan far more.