#classic low Se moment

[oiblackestsheep]

ENFJ: *walks into closed screen door* who put this here??

INTP: Uh, I did. So the bugs don’t get in

ENFJ: Well now I’m not gettin’ in either!

[comesatimecomesashadow]

el perdedor *ೃ༄

pairing *ೃ༄ shadow the hedgehog x latina reader

fic type *ೃ༄ one-shot / fluff

cw *ೃ༄ machismo (ew), nothing else !

summary *ೃ༄ shadow's infatuation with your culture.

note *ೃ༄ i kept it pretty low-key because theres so many different cultures within latam mb if i got some things wrong TwT

masterlist *ೃ༄

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ There are many things Shadow finds interesting/endearing about your nature & culture. Speaking for us as a whole, we latinas are usually raised in machista households (and while that may not be a good thing), that means that the women in our culture are raised as caregivers/nurturers. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ For Shadow, this is uncharted territory since he’s only ever known hardship, pain and suffering. So when you opened up the doors of your home to him and allowed him into your life? He was more than nervous about it (though he didn’t show it). He did get used to it and gradually fell in love with the way you treated others and cared for them even if you didn’t know them. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ When you call him pet names in spanish or just code switch between english & spanish, you better believe he’s not listening to anything that’s coming out of your mouth (he’s too busy hearing the way you roll your r’s and stress certain syllables). Shadow (with his big brain) does end up learning Spanish phrases from you (the bad words too) & you better believe that he’s using it in his daily life. 

“Es que mira, vos no entendes que así no se..” It had been about fifteen minutes since you were on the phone with your mom. It was supposed to be a simple call to catch up but somehow it turned into you lecturing her — Not that he was complaining. Shadow looked at you pacing around the living room, listening to every word that came out of your mouth. Even the cuss words sounded pretty coming from your mouth. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Whether it be eating the classic latam struggle meal: huevo con salchicha/chorizo, or eating tamales on christmas, one of his favorite things about your culture is the food. If you give him Baho (nicaraguan girlies wya) or carne con papa (cubanas rise up), he’s eating it all up and asking for seconds. He admires the way that food is typically made to share with others in your culture. There is never a dull moment with him at the kitchen table, that’s for sure. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ When you’re so willing to pet through his quills and hug him close to you, even with others being present, he’s a little nervous about it since he’s not used to others seeing him so completely in love (& accepting of your affection). Sonic would be confused as hell when he witnesses Shadow and you exchanging words in spanish when y’all thought no one was listening. 

“When did you learn spanish??” Sonic asked while you were in the kitchen preparing cups of coffee for the four of you. Shadow only scoffed and crossed his arms. “Hmph. If you must know, I just picked it up.” Now it was Sonic who crossed his arms in disbelief. “Really?” Shadow nodded. “You should hear her on the phone.” 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ At family gatherings, everybody is all over him. I’m talking Tias, Tios, cousins (especially the younger ones), grandparents- hell, everyone wants to know what the hedgehog means to you. You have to usher him away from all of them before they begin interrogating and basically stealing him away from you. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ He both loves and hates when you pull him onto the dancefloor at parties. He loves it because it’s a rather intimate thing to dance salsa/bachata with you BUT he hates it because he feels like everyone's watching the two of you (which they are). He liked it when you taught him how to dance, frankly you thought he wouldn’t be able to due to his height, but surprisingly enough, when he takes the lead, it makes up for his height — or lack thereof. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ He loves watching La Rosa De Guadalupe reruns with you especially the ones with the emo teens. I’m not even going to lie, I can see him totally tearing up at emotional scenes and talking at the TV like he can actually talk to the characters. It’s an amazing thing when you see him absolutely distraught at the romance triangles and the drama in Rosario Tijeras or El Señor de Los Cielos. 

“She was absolutely right in killing that man, I would have done the same.” Shadow nodded in approval with his arms crossed as he watched Rosario off one of her enemies yet again. “Sometimes I think you get too invested in these..” you chuckled a little. “Amor, please.” Shadow only rolled his eyes. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ And of course, our holidays. If you celebrate Dia de Los Muertos, he finds it a sentimental thing to remember loved ones and put things that they liked onto their Ofrendas. When you suggested he put Maria on the Ofrenda, he was a little lost but after participating in it, he appreciated the gesture and the love and care that went into remembering loved ones in your culture. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ He absolutely adores spanish music. From reggaeton, to salsa, to bachata, to rancheras — He loves them all. Especially the duet bachata ones! (they’re the most dramatic ones + he gets to sing them with you so it’s a win win). While Shadow is definitely a closed off hedgehog, he warms up to you and holds your culture to your heart. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ It's because of that, that he’s also ready to defend you when he sees the machismo in your culture. He dismantles your way of thinking (when it comes to social expectations in your family/culture) and helps you gain confidence in who you are. He never wants to reduce you to an object to be owned or a prize to be won. 

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ If you’re expected to serve him plates of food at gatherings, he’s coming with you and sticking to you like glue. He loves it when you dote on him, but not when it's forced or expected of you to do so. Overall, he’d be the best lover & I wish he was real.

[defire]

Back to the Dregs Part 9

Part 1 Next

Content: forced to watch, ptsd triggered, manhandling, humiliation, suicidal ideation, mild gaslighting, memories of child abuse

It was Morgan. His mouth opened slightly as he looked at Michael's wincing, bruised face close up, glancing at the bruises on his chest and arms momentarily.

"Michael..." He said.

Michael was still out of breath from repressing groans of pain and hyperventilating.

He focused his gaze on Morgan.

Michael had thought Morgan had peaked and failed in the looks department, but at twenty-five, Morgan looked sharper, tougher, and stronger than ever. Looking at him for the first time in four years, Michael now remembered just how much he hated him.

He watched Morgan's typically-unreadable face. He was mouthing something. Michael couldn't read it. "Sorry"? That couldn't be it. All he could se when he looked at Morgan was the memory of the hard grip on his arm and throat, holding him to the floor as Mr. Huer burnt the soles of his feet with a poker.

He'd screamed at Morgan to let him up, but no, Morgan was a good boy for his daddy. Michael found a snarl spreading over his face.

"Morgan..." He growled.

"Hey, ashtray." Morgan's frown became a sneer.

Michael's heart thudded and he jerked forward at the laptop, screaming, "I'll kill you, Morgan! I will crawl out of this hole and kill you! I will kill you for what you did to me!"

Morgan's sneer faltered slightly.

Then he swallowed, smiled again, and said one of his classic asshole-Morgan lines.

"Will you, though?" And cut off the damn call.

Michael sat back, dazed, half numb from hyperventilating. Pulses of pain still stabbed up at every little gasp in, and his arms burned at every single mark.

They covered both arms like hives.

People were around him again. He was scared, but so out of it that his body wasn't responding. Someone touched the wound on his leg and he was back with a wince.

He jerked his head around to see Jordie and Chris. Chris was standing, so Jordie had poked him.

"What was that, Michael?" Pete said sternly. "Do you not want to be rescued?"

Michael didn't answer.

"Also," Jordie grabbed him by the hair on the top of his scalp and yanked his head back so he was looking at Pete. "Son of a bitch gave away our location."

Michael glared at Pete.

"So are you going to kill me now?" He tried to look brave, but he swallowed.

"I wouldn't have to kill you if you didn't blow your chances with Morgan Huer."

Michael gritted his teeth. He was still fuming. Ashtray. Of all things. Nothing could be a more concrete way of saying "I did nothing wrong, and you are worthless."

"Cooperate, Michael." Pete said. "And we won't have to kill you yet."

Jordie let go of his hair.

Michael forced himself to focus outside of his own mental mess. Pete was scowling at him, but the others were looking at each other, meaning they weren't surprised by Pete's declaration. They believed they still needed him.

"Alright, then can I... please... have some painkiller or something." Michael said in a low tone. "My leg is killing me, man."

"I wouldn't have had to shoot you if you didn't try to run." Pete said. "So no. No painkillers."

Michael ground his teeth, biting back angry retorts. His skin burned harder, hotter. It felt like being punished, and his arms testified against him.

Shame. It made him want to kill himself. It was crushing. And it emanated from the burns on his arms. He didn't even feel worthy to speak. All he wanted was his fucking shirt.

And it was shredded.

Chris did most of the work getting Michael back to bed, Jordie taking the other side.

He didn't hurt Michael on the way back. He seemed to have forgotten his grudge for the moment. As the ypulled him to the bed, Michael struggled, trying to lay on his back.

"Face-down, Michael, come on," Chris urged. "I still have to tend to your wound."

"Don't fucking touch me." Michael said raggedly.

"Don't put your hands on me."

"Don't be an idiot." Jordie shoved him, forcing him down.

Michael landed chest-first on the solid mattress with a grunt.

"Michael, it'll be easier for you if you just let me treat you." Chris said.

"Ugh, don't threaten me," Michael moaned. "Just let me die. If it's all the same."

He heard the two of them whispering and then Jordie left. His spine prickled with anxiety. Then the door closed, leaving Michael alone with Chris.

Michael braced himself, fingers clawing into palms at his back. It's always the soft ones that do it. The soft ones are the real predators.

"Look, whatever you're goign to do to me, I-I'm not interested," He tried not to sound like he was begging. "Just..." He took a breath, as another shudder of pain went up his body.

"I'm not gonna do anything to you." Chris said. "Sorry for freaking out back there. I thought you had something in your sleeves."

Michael didn't answer.

"Here, I know it's hot, but..." Chris picked up the blanket from the ground. "Want this? I can cover you up."

"I can do my leg." Michael ground out, trying to ignore the kind offering. "Just free my hands. I'm going to get nerve damage if you keep doing this to me."

"I can't let you do your own leg." Chris said.

"You afraid I'm going to kill you the moment I get my hands free?"

"I can't, alright?" Chris huffed. "Now it's me or nothing, alright? Please just calm down for a minute."

Michael crushed down the nausea, the rage, the pain, and finally the fear, till all he was left with was the gaping hole of shame that he was.

"You care?" He rasped.

"Yeah, unfortunately."

"Then, can I have a shirt?" Michael's voice broke on the last word, a sob racking his aching body.

"...Yeah, I'll find you one."

"With long sleeves."

"Sure." Chris said. "You, uh... You wanna talk about it?"

"No."

Chris sighed.

"Okay fine. And... uh..." He was digging around in his pockets, voice lowering to a whisper. "Can you... swallow without water?"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Chris's heavy fingers crossed Michael's vision as he set something down in front of his face.

"It's, uh... Codeine."

"I thought... Pete said..." Michael looked at him out of the corner of his vision.

Chris sent him an anxious smile.

"Please... don't let on."

"Oh. Got it." Michael said.

"I'll be right back, okay? Don't move."

As if I could, Michael thought, planting his mouth over the pill in the bed and doing his best to swallow it.

Chris had come back with a hoodie and t-shirt, which he set beside the bed as he went to work on the entry wound in Michael's calf.

"It's okay," Chris said again.

"It's really not," Michael muttered.

"Okay, you can roll over." Chris said.

Squishing onto his hands was going to make those bruises so much worse.

"Chris, give me a break, I'm not going to hurt you... I'm not stupid enough to try to run." Michael gritted his teeth, hating that he was begging again. "Just cut loose my hands, man."

Chris sighed.

"If you do run, they'll kill you. You know that, right?"

Michael groaned.

"I'm not that stupid. Just cut the zip tie, man."

He pressed his face into the mattress as the sound of a pocket knife clicking open sent another jolt of panic through his brain, making the back of his neck itch nad sting again like that day in the phone booth. The zip tie pressed in against his bruised wrists, hard, then popped open with a jolt that made him hiss in mixed pain and relief.

He rolled over heavily, gently massaging around the bruises that were only going to get worse when they put the manacle back on.

Michael pulled on the clothes Chris had brought as Chris watched anxiously. The moment he did, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. His arms were covered.

The stitches hardly hurt at all as Chris closed the exit wound. But his leg kept twitching all the way up his thigh.

"See, there, it's not so bad," Chris was saying.

"I knew a lady that used to say that all the time," Michael said.

"Yeah?" Chris hummed.

"Yeah. My first foster mom." Michael said. "Her husband would come home from work, he had these fits, you know? Sometimes he was in a mood. He'd shove the closest thing across the room and stomp away, leaving her to pick up the pieces."

Chris threw him a frown, but didn't reply, though he seemed a bit more hurried.

"She'd make a show of dusting off the kid and standing them up. Then she'd say 'that wasn't so bad, was it?'" Michael glanced at Chris, then back at the ceiling. "Everybody, me included, wished she would've just left him."

Chris cleared his throat.

"Well, there you are." He patted the wound mindlessly, though Michael didn't feel it too much. "All good."

He walked up closer to Michael's head, hesitated, then asked,

"What was that on your neck? Was that a surgical scar?"

Michael swallowed, then got up on his elbows with a grunt.

"I noticed you didn't mention it to the others."

"No," Chris didn't look at him.

"Thank you." Michael said. "It's just another bad memory."

"It felt like letters." Chris said.

They were.

[Fyi this story is going to gradually get more intense, as you do, but the tags may not reflect that since they're so generalized. I'll do my best to tag it but yeah, it's going to get more and more intejse.]

@fleur-a-whump @watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees @whumped-by-glitter @whump-writings @mimostic @tildeathiwillwrite

Taglist:

[atommadly]

𝐀 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐋

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 | Harry Wells x Reader

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 | some angst, fluff

𝘖𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘌𝘷𝘦, 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘱, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘮?

Masterlist

Christmas Eve at STAR Labs was unusually peaceful. For once, the world seemed to be taking a break—no metas wreaking havoc, no supervillains to thwart. Just a rare, quiet evening for Team Flash.

The lab was decorated in bright, cheerful lights and a slightly mismatched assortment of ornaments. Cisco sat by the main computer, his feet propped up on the desk as he scrolled through a playlist of Christmas classics. As the opening notes of “Jingle Bell Rock” played, he grinned to himself, humming along.

“Guys, this is the Christmas vibe. You’re welcome,” Cisco declared proudly, pointing a finger to emphasize his DJ skills.

Across the room, Caitlin waved a hand over the punch bowl, using just a touch of her Killer Frost abilities to chill the drinks. She looked up with a satisfied smile. “Perfect. Frosty-approved beverages.”

Nearby, Barry stood next to Iris, their hands intertwined as they watched the festive scene unfold. Their shared smiles radiated warmth, and for once, it felt like the whole team could breathe.

And then there was Harry—standing awkwardly near the lab’s doorway, arms crossed, a perpetual scowl on his face. He looked out of place amidst all the holiday cheer, like a dark cloud threatening a sunny day. It wasn’t that he hated Christmas, per se, but he had always found the fuss about it… unnecessary. Loud. Messy. A distraction.

Cisco, of course, wasn’t about to let him sulk in peace.

“Harry!” Cisco spun around dramatically, arms wide. “Stop being the Grinch you clearly are and get your scrooge-y butt over here!”

Harry grumbled under his breath—something about “childish nonsense” and “a waste of valuable time”—but it was so low and gravelly that no one could really understand him.

You couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped your lips. From where you stood near the center console, you shot Cisco a playful look. “Cisco, leave him alone. Not everyone needs to be in the holiday spirit to appreciate the night.”

Cisco threw his hands up in exaggerated surrender. “Fine, fine! But, mark my words, one day even Harry Wells will admit that Christmas is awesome.”

Harry shot you a sideways glance as you smiled warmly at him—a look that lingered just a beat too long. “It’s a distraction,” he muttered, his voice clipped, though not unkind. “A waste of perfectly good working hours.”

“That’s what you always say,” you teased gently, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “But maybe tonight you could just… try. It’s Christmas Eve, Harry. Even geniuses need a break.”

Harry’s gaze flicked away sharply, as if he were trying to dodge something unspoken between you. He didn’t answer, but you didn’t mind. You’d grown used to his walls—his gruff demeanor, his insistence on pushing everyone away, including you.

And yet, you couldn’t help the way your heart fluttered every time he was near. From the moment you met him, you’d been drawn to his brilliance, his strength, and yes, even his rough edges. You understood him more than most people ever tried to, and despite the distance he put between you, you still cared.

“Come on, Harry,” you coaxed lightly. “Just one drink. Maybe some food. Then I promise you can go back to whatever important work you’re pretending to focus on.”

That earned you a quick, unamused glare. “I don’t pretend to work.”

You laughed softly, and for a second—just a second—you thought you saw the corner of his mouth twitch upward. But if it had, it was gone in a flash.

Barry picked up a glass and tapped it gently with a spoon, the clear chime ringing through the Cortex. The chatter died down, and all eyes turned to him. Smiling warmly, he lifted his glass, ready to deliver a toast.

“This year hasn’t been easy,” he began, his voice steady but full of emotion. “But no matter what we’ve faced—no matter how hard things got—we overcame it because of this family. Our family. Together, we faced every challenge, and together, we came out stronger.”

You smiled softly, looking around at the faces of your team—your family. Caitlin gave a small nod of agreement, her glass in hand, and Cisco grinned, clearly ready to follow up Barry’s heartfelt words with a joke. For a moment, everything felt perfect.

But then—

The blaring sound of alarms shattered the peace. The Cortex erupted into chaos as red lights flashed overhead. Everyone froze for half a second before panic set in, the festive warmth replaced by sudden dread.

“What the hell is that?” Iris asked urgently, her voice rising over the noise as she turned toward Cisco and Harry, who were both hunched over the computers.

“An energy surge!” Cisco shouted back, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he tried to regain control of the systems. “I don’t know where it’s coming from, but everything’s in overdrive—systems are maxed out! I can’t stop it!”

“Where’s the source?” you asked quickly, stepping closer to Cisco as your heartbeat picked up speed.

Harry’s head shot up, his face unusually pale as realization dawned on him. “It’s coming from my workshop.”

Cisco snapped his gaze toward him, his expression equal parts alarmed and incredulous. “Wait—your workshop? Isn’t that where you’ve been messing with that meta’s helmet? The one who could control emotions?”

Harry clenched his jaw. “Yes.”

Cisco’s voice rose in pitch. “Harry, are you serious? That thing’s unstable!”

“I know that,” Harry snapped, already turning on his heel to sprint toward the workshop. “It’s going to explode!”

He broke into a run.

Without hesitation, you bolted after him, adrenaline pounding through your veins. Cisco’s voice crackled through the intercom as he worked furiously from the Cortex.

“I’ll try to stabilize it from here—no promises!” Cisco called, his voice laced with panic.

“Barry, get everyone out of the building!” Harry’s voice rang down the corridor as he sprinted.

Behind you, you could hear Barry’s faint reply, no doubt zipping into action as he sped Caitlin and Iris to safety.

When you reached Harry’s workshop, the door was already ajar. The moment you stepped inside, the hum of energy was deafening. In the center of the room, on one of Harry’s workbenches, the meta-human’s helmet sat sparking violently, arcs of energy crackling like a miniature storm around it. The metal was glowing a dangerous red, brighter with every passing second.

Harry skidded to a stop, eyes fixed on the device. “Dammit!”

“How do we stop it?” you asked breathlessly, coming up behind him.

Harry’s hands hovered over the workbench, his mind racing through calculations as the energy pulse continued to grow. “We can’t! It’s already too far gone—it’s destabilizing!”

The glow intensified, and you flinched as a spark shot out, narrowly missing Harry’s face. “Then what do we do?” you pressed, trying to keep your voice steady despite the panic clawing at your chest.

Harry turned toward you sharply, his expression grave. “Get back. Now.”

Before you could argue, the helmet gave off an ear-piercing whine, the energy swirling faster like a vortex about to burst. Harry’s eyes widened.

“Get down!” he shouted.

Before you could react, Harry grabbed your arm and shoved you forcefully into the hallway. You stumbled, the air leaving your lungs as you hit the wall just outside the workshop.

“Harry!” you screamed, but your voice was drowned out by the sound of the explosion.

Harry didn’t remember what had happened after the explosion, but when he came to, he found himself standing at the entrance of the Cortex. Confusion clouded his mind as he blinked rapidly, trying to piece together the last thing he could recall. Hadn’t there been an explosion? How was the building still intact?

He took an uncertain step into the room—and froze.

There was Cisco, feet kicked up on the desk, casually scrolling through his playlist. “Guys, this is the Christmas vibe,” Cisco announced proudly, pointing at the speakers just as the opening notes of Jingle Bell Rock began to play.

Harry turned sharply, his gaze landing on Caitlin. She was exactly where she’d been before—using her Killer Frost powers to chill the punch. “Perfect. Frosty-approved beverages,” she said with a satisfied smile.

Harry’s breath caught in his throat. He’d seen this already. Every movement. Every word.

Wait… hadn’t this happened before?

“What the h…” he murmured, his voice barely audible as dread began to creep in.

“Harry!” Cisco exclaimed, his voice full of that same playful mockery as earlier. “Stop being the Grinch you clearly are and get your scrooge-y butt over here!”

Harry froze again, staring. Those words—he knew them. He knew them exactly. Every syllable, every inflection, as if Cisco were reading from a script.

Before Harry could process it, you glanced up at him, offering the same warm smile he’d seen just moments—no, hours—ago. “Cisco, leave him alone,” you said gently, your tone identical. “Not everyone needs to be in the holiday spirit.”

The exact same words. Down to the pause in your voice.

“Impossible,” Harry whispered under his breath, hands trembling slightly as he looked around the Cortex. It was all the same. Every detail. Every action. He could already predict what would happen next.

You frowned slightly, tilting your head with a concerned look. “Harry? Are you okay?”

He stared at you, his heart pounding in his chest. For a moment, he didn’t respond—how could he? He felt like he was drowning, caught in a current he couldn’t explain. Finally, after what felt like forever, he forced himself to nod stiffly.

“Fine,” he muttered hoarsely, though his mind was anything but. Did I dream it? Am I imagining this?

But deep down, a sinking feeling told him that something was very, very wrong.

When the explosion happened again and Harry woke up once more at the entrance of the Cortex—everything unfolding with the exact same movements, the exact same words—he knew without a doubt that something was terribly wrong.

He was stuck in a time loop.

From there, the time loop spiraled. Each one was nearly identical:

Cisco’s teasing.

Your gentle defense of Harry.

The same explosion—no matter what Harry did, the device overloaded.

The first few loops left him frustrated, pacing the lab as he tried to understand the anomaly. “This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening.”

By the fourth loop, Harry began to unravel, his voice sharper each time:

“Why is this happening to me?!”

“Don’t you see? We’ve done this before—over and over again!”

“I don’t have time for your jokes, Cisco!”

You were the only one who noticed something was wrong. Cisco brushed it off, teasing Harry about being a Grinch as usual, but the moment Harry snapped at him—his tone sharp, uncharacteristically biting—you knew something was off. Without hesitation, you took his arm and led him away from the Cortex, down one of STAR Labs’ quieter hallways to talk in private.

Harry was tense, his frustration evident in every movement, his shoulders tight as if bracing for an invisible weight. What struck you most, though, was the way he had spoken—at the same time as Cisco and Caitlin, repeating their words with uncanny precision. It wasn’t normal, and it wasn’t Harry’s usual brand of grumpy.

“Okay,” you said, crossing your arms as you stopped in front of him. “Tell me everything. What’s going on?”

Harry let out a long, frustrated sigh, dragging a hand roughly through his hair. He looked tired, like someone who hadn’t slept in days—no, weeks. His jaw clenched, and his eyes darted away, as though avoiding yours would make the conversation disappear.

“Nothing,” he snapped, his voice clipped and cold. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just have work to do.”

You flinched slightly at his harsh tone, but it wasn’t the first time Harry Wells had tried to push you away. He’d always been guarded, quick to close himself off the moment you got too close. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. It stung, like always, to be shut out so forcefully.

Still, you weren’t going to give up. Not this time. You saw the way his hands trembled, the shadows under his eyes. Harry wasn’t fine. And when Harry wasn’t fine, you weren’t fine either. Despite every wall he built, despite the countless times he had pushed you away, you cared about him. Maybe you always had.

“Don’t lie to me, Harry,” you said softly, but firmly. “Something’s bothering you. I can see it. Tell me what it is.”

Harry froze, his gaze locking onto yours for the first time since you pulled him aside. He didn’t speak right away; instead, he just studied you, his blue eyes sharp and searching, as though weighing his options. You didn’t look away, didn’t waver under his scrutiny.

The silence stretched, heavy with unspoken words. Finally, Harry exhaled, a sound full of exhaustion and resignation. You were the first person to deviate from the script he’d been living over and over again—the only one who had noticed anything was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, you were his chance to fix it.

He gave in. “You wouldn’t believe me,” he muttered.

“Try me,” you replied, unwavering.

Harry hesitated for only a second longer before deciding to risk it. “I’m stuck,” he admitted, his voice low but urgent. “In a loop. A time loop. I’ve been living this day—this exact day—over and over and over again. The explosion, the Cortex, everything. I’ve tried to stop it. I’ve tried to change it. But nothing works.” He laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “And every time, I end up right back here. Back at the start. Watching you all say the same things. Do the same things. Like a goddamn broken record.”

The words came spilling out, a mix of anger, hopelessness, and desperation. He looked at you, waiting for the disbelief to hit—for you to roll your eyes or dismiss him as crazy.

But you didn’t.

You didn’t even hesitate. Instead, you nodded, your expression calm and resolute. “Okay. So what do we do?”

Harry froze, looking at you as if he hadn’t quite heard you right. “Wait… you believe me?”

“Yes, Harry,” you replied firmly, your tone leaving no room for doubt. “Something’s clearly wrong. I don’t know how, but we’re going to get you out of this loop.”

For the first time in what felt like forever, Harry felt a flicker of hope. But that small victory was short-lived.

The familiar hum of an energy spike began to vibrate through the walls, and before either of you could act, the Cortex alarms blared in warning. Harry paled, cursing under his breath.

“No, no, no—not again.”

The explosion hit, and just like that, everything vanished.

When Harry woke up once more at the entrance of the Cortex, standing at the exact same spot as before, he didn’t hesitate. He knew the routine now—Cisco on the desk, Caitlin chilling drinks, Jingle Bell Rock blasting from the speakers. But this time, he didn’t let it play out.

Without waiting for Cisco’s usual quip, Harry turned on his heel and strode straight to where you were.

“Harry?” you asked, confused as he grabbed your wrist and pulled you toward the hallway with urgency. “What’s going on?”

He stopped only when you were out of earshot of the others, his eyes blazing with frustration. “It’s happening again,” he said quickly. “The loop. I don’t have time to wait for you to notice—I need to tell you everything now.”

You blinked at him, startled by how intense he looked, how tired. “Harry, slow down—what do you mean ‘again’?”

“There’s no time,” he snapped, though his tone was edged more with desperation than anger. “That damn explosion—it’s going to happen. I’ve seen it. Over and over. I need you to trust me, again, and help me stop it before it’s too late.”

You studied him for a moment, the urgency in his voice breaking through your initial confusion. He looked like a man at the edge of his sanity, raw and frayed. And though you didn’t yet fully understand, you trusted him—just as you had before.

“Okay,” you said, placing a steadying hand on his arm. “Tell me everything. What do we do?”

You tried to help Harry, but nothing worked. The loops repeated over and over, and no matter how many times Harry told you everything or how hard you tried to help him, the explosion still happened, resetting everything back to the start.

In the first loop, the two of you tried to reroute the helmet’s energy source. It didn’t work. In the second, you tried to destroy the helmet entirely. The blast still came. By the third loop, Harry’s frustration reached a boiling point. He couldn’t think, couldn’t focus, and in your concern for him, you tried to get him to talk about what he was feeling.

“Harry, stop. Just stop. You need to calm down—talk to me.”

“Talk to you?!” he snapped harshly, whirling around to glare at you. “How is talking going to solve this? I don’t have time for—” He cut himself off, running a hand through his hair, too frayed to finish. “Just leave me alone. I’ll handle this.”

He pushed you away again. It stung, even though you were used to him being guarded.

By the fourth loop, Harry was desperate. He was losing faith that anything could be fixed. When you pushed him to talk again, to trust you, his control finally snapped.

“Stop trying to fix me,” he shouted, his voice echoing through the cold halls of STAR Labs. “You don’t understand—you can’t understand! You’re wasting your time!”

The sharpness in his tone felt like a physical blow. For the first time, you couldn’t hide the tears that welled up in your eyes. Harry froze, his anger evaporating as quickly as it had come, replaced by horror at what he’d just done.

“Wait—Y/N, I didn’t…”

But it was too late. The explosion reset the loop.

In the fifth loop, the regret weighed heavy on him. As the events repeated—Cisco’s jokes, Caitlin’s chilling drinks, the music—Harry couldn’t stop thinking about the hurt he’d caused you. He realized how much you had always been there for him, how hard you were fighting for him now, even when he didn’t deserve it.

By the sixth loop, Harry came to a conclusion: there was no solution to the time loop. If he couldn’t stop it, then he would at least stop fighting it. Instead, he decided to use the time to get to know you, to try to make up for all the times he’d pushed you away.

“Y/N,” he said quietly, pulling you aside before the alarms could blare again. His tone was different this time—gentler. “Come with me.”

“To where?” you asked, surprised by his change in demeanor.

He sighed, almost shy. “It doesn’t matter. Just… let’s take a minute.”

In the seventh loop, he offered you a drink, pouring two glasses of Caitlin’s “Frost-approved” punch.

“Harry Wells, drinking punch? Who are you?” you teased, smiling despite the circumstances.

“Don’t get used to it,” he grumbled, though there was a faint smile on his lips.

In the eighth loop, you sat together in a quiet corner of STAR Labs, talking for hours. He listened to you laugh, really listened, as you shared stories about your past, your dreams, your hopes.

“You’re not as much of a Grinch as Cisco thinks,” you teased after a particularly heartfelt moment.

Harry gave a small, genuine chuckle. “Don’t tell him that. I’ve worked hard on my reputation.”

In the ninth loop, he pulled you into a funny dance in the middle of the Cortex. The Christmas lights twinkled softly around you as Jingle Bell Rock played faintly in the background.

“You don’t strike me as a dancer,” you said, trying not to trip over your own feet.

“I’m not,” he admitted gruffly, his hands careful as they held yours. “But for you, I’ll make an exception.”

With each loop, Harry found himself lowering his walls piece by piece. The more he learned about you, the harder it became to ignore what he was feeling—the realization that he’d been pushing you away not out of indifference, but out of fear.

Fear that he wasn’t enough. Fear that he would mess things up. Fear that he would hurt you.

By the tenth loop, he wasn’t trying to fight the reset anymore. He wasn’t sure what was going to break the cycle, but he knew one thing for certain: you had become his constant.

During yet another loop, Harry had had enough. He was exhausted from reliving the same moments over and over again. He found himself in his workshop, staring at the emotion helmet, the source of all his frustration.

“You okay?” you asked gently, stepping into the room and noticing his slumped posture.

“I’m tired of reliving the same day,” he replied, his voice tight with exhaustion.

“What do you mean?” you asked, confused, unable to recall the time loops.

He sighed, his shoulders sagging. “It’s not important, you won’t remember anyway.” He paused for a moment, before turning to face you. His eyes softened, and a hint of regret crossed his features. “I just… I wanted to tell you I’m sorry for how I treated you. I was afraid I wouldn’t measure up. But the truth is… I love you, Y/N.”

Before you could even respond, he stood up, cupped your face in his hands, and kissed you, his lips warm and tender against yours. For a moment, time seemed to stop, his kiss a gentle reminder of everything he had been holding back.

He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable explosion of the helmet, knowing it was coming. But instead, a strange clicking noise filled the room, and the explosion never came.

His eyes snapped open in disbelief, first meeting yours, then darting over to the helmet. He stared, wide-eyed, as it flickered, no longer threatening to explode.

“I did it…” he whispered, his voice trembling. He had broken the loop. And as the realization dawned on him, he understood that the key to breaking the cycle had always been his emotions, his feelings for you.

You watched him, confused yet elated by his confession and the kiss. “Come on, let’s go celebrate Christmas with the others.”

Harry smiled at you, his heart lighter than it had been in what felt like forever. He took your hand, letting you guide him back to the Cortex. The familiar sounds of Christmas music filled the air as “Jingle Bell Rock” faded into “Last Christmas.”

Happy, Harry joined the festivities, his hand firmly in yours. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he was no longer trapped in the loop. Instead, he was free—free to be with you, and finally free to love you as you deserved.

Main Taglist : @gabriella-aesthetic

[cipheramnesia]

Hiii beautiful Cipher!

Recently we were able to watch Nope and absolutely loved it!! Her at home we have a couple of roommates who are not really into horror but Nope worked for them as it is a horror that feels like a western/sci-fi.

So we come to you asking for recommendations on horror movies that work that way.

Nope is kind of a tough act to follow, because it's one of those movies that hits on all levels - story, subtext, character, plot, cinematography. You name it, and Nope knocked it out of the park. So, tempered expectations, there's nothing else which will hit quite the same, I think.

Two movies I think are quite good and complimentary are Prey and Tremors. Tremors in particular comes pretty close to the same scifi western monster movie vibe of Nope, including a pretty similar pace and similar plot beats. While it doesn't quite aim as high as Nope, it's a classic of the horror genre for a good reason, and a whole lot of fun. It leans more into humor, although it's firmly a horror movie. If you or your friends somehow never heard of it, and you don't have "hard out" triggers, my advice is go in fully blind because much like Nope it has a lot of enjoyable twists. Some triggers I'd add would be animal death (sheep), fear of heights, child in danger, and obviously fear of earthquakes or similar.

Prey was all over Tumblr so I don't think I need to add a whole lot. It's one of the movies in the Predator series, and easily one of the best. The original Predator could also work to compliment Nope, but I think Prey fits it better. Watch it in the Comanche dub obviously. It's more of a departure from being directly a Western movie but syncs up enough to fit the vibe and it's likely to find a similar positive reception with anyone who enjoyed Nope thanks to the way it balances character, story, and action while using a deft but light touch with the horror element. This is one that's not really much for twists and turns so ahead and go nuts at doesthedogdie.com if you wanna.

A few others that mash-up horror, science fiction, and western movie tropes or themes, but which don't compliment Nope as well, are Pitch Black, Turbo Kid, and Prisoners Of The Ghostland. Pitch Black is from back in Vin Diesel's early days, and feels like something right in between Aliens and Firefly. It's a low stakes, mid-budget monster movie that doesn't reinvent anything but makes for a fun ride. Turbo Kid is a retro 80s movie more than western per se, which imho leans too hard on the style and not enough on the characters, but it's full of weird mechanical devices and showdowns and standoffs. Prisoners of the Ghostland is something fully different than Nope, but it mashes up the western and samurai genres along with post apocalypse themes and an overall dreamy surrealism that puts it more in line with Mad God. But it sure is scifi western horror, kind of. Content warning: Nicholas Cage.

If we get a little further outside the western area, there's definitely some other films that are a good follow up for Nope. Immediately to mind is the spectacular scifi horror movie Attack the Block. It's another great movie to in blind on if you can, not so much for specific plot twists, as purely the story unfolding is so good and so fun that getting to enjoy it unspoiled is deeply satisfying. It's a fantastic bit of humans versus aliens that illustrates how to masterfully take a very conventional story and tell it in a way so unique that it feels new each time you watch it.

Related and tangential to the western movie is the apocalypse road trip movie, aka the Mad Max genre. One of my favorites is the little seen 80s movie but released in the 90s Highway To Hell. It's a curious bit of film with some bits that aged poorly, but for the most part it's surprisingly smart and chock full of iconic moments, including racing the devil for a soul. More recently I would suggest the Wyrmwood movies (Road of the Dead and Apocalypse), as absolutely balls out zombie movies like nothing you've seen, unless you like Z Nation, but even then they're still unique. In particular Wyrmwood Apocalypse has some of the western movie vibes, but it's uniquely bizarre in execution.

Lastly I wanna give a shout-out to Red Hill, which is not science fiction or horror, but is a banger of a modern day western movie, particularly with how it tricks the viewer into the idea that it's heading one way and then, well... something quite a bit else.

[jacquelinemerritt]

Queer Media Review: But I’m A Cheerleader (1999)

Originally posted September 16th, 2016

A tonally mismatched, endearing cult classic.

This review is part of a weekly series of pieces on queer and trans media. See them all here!

Jamie Babbit’s1 first feature film, But I’m A Cheerleader, has, in the years following its release, become something of a classic piece of queer representative media. It frequently tops recommendation lists of films about queer people that don’t end in tragedy (lists that are far shorter than they have any right to be), and it is a film I have heard described as “quintessentially lesbian.”

This film’s status as an iconic lesbian film baffles me. Cheerleader is not a bad film, per se, but it is, in almost every way possible, a sleazy teen comedy that attempts to mine humor out of an incredibly traumatic and horrifying scenario (namely, being sent off to a gay conversion camp). That designation isn’t inherently negative; the same can be said of the original American Pie and John Tucker Must Die, and both of those films are entertaining because they revel in just how sleazy they can be. If But I’m A Cheerleader had committed to reveling in the sleaziness of turning the trauma of conversion therapy in a light comedy, then it might have succeeded on those (less than savory terms.

But Cheerleader is caught in between two worlds. At its core, it’s a film that wants to be a down to earth romance about good people finding love in a dark situation, but that core is constantly at odds with the low-brow humor and unintelligent satire that fills nearly every scene. It never attempts to examine the absurdity inherent to its scenario, and the only clear statement it makes about conversion therapy is that it’s ineffective, which is as obvious a statement on the matter as a film could make. The film also has a wildly inconsistent visual language2, frequently switching between bland stationary shots and handheld tracking shots for no apparent reason, only to return to its bland cinematography a moment later.

And yet, despite all of those flaws, I still rather enjoyed watching Cheerleader. Even with all the poorly designed sleaze surrounding it, the emotional core of Cheerleader is damn compelling, presenting us with a slowly budding romance between two highly likable characters.

That solid emotional core is established early-on through Megan (Natasha Lyonne, of Orange is the New Black fame), a very sympathetic protagonist who is confused about her own sexuality. She frequently fantasizes about her fellow cheerleaders while making out with her boyfriend, and she has a picture of a bikini clad woman in her locker, contrasted with her friend whose locker is adorned with a male model. When she’s ambushed by her friends and parents (in one of the few good uses of visual storytelling, I might add), she’s completely blindsided by them, and she quickly submits to their demands that she attend conversion therapy, despite her beliefs that none of the “evidence” presented was abnormal or confirmed her supposed “homosexuality.”

Megan’s cluelessness and empathy make her romance with Graham (Clea DuVall), another attendee at the conversion therapy camp, all the more believable, as their coupling is treated as a subtle slow, burn. We see them holding hands and touching each other, carefully avoiding the watchful gaze of Mary Brown (Cathy Moriarty), the camp’s strict headmistress. There’s a clear understanding of the danger of their budding relationship in the film, as when Graham deflects suspicion off of their rebellion by claiming to have a crush on Joel (Joel Michaely), a gay Jewish man also attending the camp, Megan is never shown to be jealous of the affection he’s receiving (she even takes a chance to stare flirtatiously at Graham while she’s holding hands with Joel).

The film also does challenge one idea, and that’s the idea that gender expression and fulfillment of gender roles are connected to or determinate of sexuality, though it does so with mixed results. Early on, there’s a scene where the characters must all think about and confess what the “root” of their homosexuality is, and one of the men at the camp claims that his mother allowing him to wear her pumps was the single experience in his life that led to his same-gender attraction. The film wants to paint this as the ridiculous connection that it is, but its strength is lost because so many of the film’s jokes rely on the association between gay men and femininity.3

The film is more successful in challenging stereotypes about sexuality and gender when the masculine presenting Jan (Katrina Phillips) storms out of a group therapy session, upset that her love of softball and unconventional looks have led to her attending the camp despite the fact that she has always been fully and exclusively attracted to men. Her rejection of the camp’s attempt to foist femininity onto her rings true thanks to Phillips’ compelling performance and the film’s lack of insistence that masculinity in women is in any way indicative of same-gender attraction (an acknowledgement that is present in the film’s title).

The ending of the film, despite being rather annoyingly cutesy, is fairly compelling as well, setting up a scenario in which one of the members of the lead couple is about to “graduate” from the camp, and the other must fulfill a wish the graduating partner made in order to convince her to run away with her. It’s an incredibly sweet gesture, and their relationship is given a satisfying conclusion, capping off the film with passionate kisses and annoyingly chipper music. That this scene works despite its presentation is a testament to Babbit’s strength as a director (of actors) and Natasha Lyonne’s strength as an actress, as the two of them sell the emotion of the scene that would otherwise be drowned out by a bad pop musical score.

Such a tonally conflicted, endearing scene is arguably the perfect ending to this film.

Rating: 3.5/5

But I’m A Cheerleader can be rented and purchased on iTunes or streamed via Xfinity.

Critical Eye Criticism is the work of Jacqueline Merritt, a trans woman, filmmaker, and critic. You can support her continued film criticism addiction on Patreon.

1While Babbit hasn’t directed many features of significant acclaim since But I’m A Cheerleader, she has gone on to become a rather prolific TV comedy director, specializing in smaller, character-driven comedies such as Gilmore Girls (for which she directed eighteen episodes), Malcolm in the Middle, and more recently working on hit comedies like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Silicon Valley (she even directed one of the best episodes of Supergirl’s first season!) All of this to say, she’s got a rather impressive body of work behind her, and it would not be surprising if her name were to show up on a highly successful feature comedy sometime in the near future.

2Bonus points if you caught the reference.

3These jokes are made in spite of the film’s inclusion of Dolph (Dante Basco), a varsity wrestler whose masculinity is never in question, and Larry (Richard Moll), an “ex-ex-gay” who looks like a lumberjack right down to the flannel.

[dragonsongmakhali]

10 fandoms, 10 characters, 10 tags:

Basic rules: choose 10 fandoms that you are part of/support, and choose a favorite character from each of those. Then, tag ten folks!

Tagged by: @jigschosai @sealrock @reikatsukihana and @sasslett! Thank y'all :'D

This is not ordered by how much I'm into them, they're just in whatever order came to mind :) I will caution that I don't tend to choose favorite characters, I'm more of an OC maker. Feeling chatty, so I'm putting the actual list under a cut. You're welcome.

1. FFXIV : Pretty self-explanatory for the xiv sideblog. Since I'm not as in to the MSQ, I don't think I actually have a favorite character (which I know is illegal, I'm sorry :<). I really love seeing what the community does with the characters, though!

2. Halo : The storyline went to hell long ago, but I do still adore the original trilogy and constantly mine it for gpose captions. It was basically what I lived off of in high school. If I had a tumblr back then, I'd have been insufferable. Favorite character is easily Rtas 'Vadum.

3. WoW : Kind of. Asterisk. I really only know Classic, and even then, I'm way more Horde than I am Alliance. I have approximate knowledge of many things. No favorite there either - I'm all about the world and making OCs. We have two concurrent WoW tabletop games running at the moment, so this is where most of my headspace is. Their shared timeline is different from the canon, so I'm not really in the fandom per se.

4. Mass Effect : Alien dating sim, my beloved. I even enjoyed Andromeda (jump jets implemented perfectly, fun combat, the Jardaan reminded me of Forerunners). If you ask me to choose a favorite, I'll cry. How is a mother supposed to choose between her two sons (Legion and Grunt)? Drack also gets an honorary mention for his 100s of low res pictures of guns email.

5. Elder Scrolls : Mostly Skyrim, some Oblivion. I know, I'm one of those fans. Anyway, I've probably played over 1k hours of Skyrim by this point and yet. And yet! I don't have a favorite. The entirety of the Companions? I just wish that the faction questlines in Skyrim weren't "you killed 3 wolves and have been here a week. You lead us all now", but it does give me good scaffolding which. As an OC fiend. Grabby hands.

6. The World Ends With You : This game made me good at calculus in high school. My favorite character from here is Sho Minamimoto, and I was a completely normal teenager who dealt with that by doing calculus problems for fun. Turns out, the trick to get good at math is repetition.

7. Pokémon : Probably my earliest fandom. Still play the games now and again, just got Legends Arceus (super late, I know), and that's been a lot of fun. My favorite character from the franchise is Sinnoh's Rock type leader, Roark. I had a long-running sideblog dedicated to the Sinnoh region because gen IV is my favorite in general! It's inactive at the moment.

8. Guild Wars : 2, to be more precise. I started playing about a month after release, and since it's f2p, I still drop in from time to time. Like every MMO, I have no favorites. I really love playing Sylvari, though! (The glow!! The nightmare!! The [[Heart of Thorns spoiler!!]] They're just so neat)

9. Star Trek : we're now getting into "shows I watched and didn't hate" because I'm definitely not in the 'fandom' for Trek. We've been going through the old series as a way to wind down before bed, starting with TNG. We're on Enterprise now, and I'm sad that it got canceled. Still will probably have a better ending than Voyager. I don't have a favorite, but I can tell you that the writers' collective favorite must be either Seven of Nine or Data.

10. Uh. Various anime? I can't say I've recently loved any particular series to the point of fandom, but as a whole, I've been a weeb since I was in middle school. "Recent" series that I've enjoyed have included Mob Psycho and Love is War. Coincidentally, they both saved the most banger opening for their third season.

We had to stretch a little bit, but we made it to ten! Proud of this community (this community is my brain desperately trying to remember 10 things I like)

Have no idea who's been tagged in this, so if you've done this, please ignore! Or reblog it again!

@miqojak @airis-ray @wilanserulia @ahollowgrave @blackestnight @starstrider @iron-sparrow @sumifinalfourteen @jump-n-dive @otherworldseekers

[inkwell-intermission]

13 and 20 :3

13: worst blorboficiation

I don't know honestly, maybe Clover tbh? I see why he's so popular sometimes but at the same time, he has so little canon content. He's not even featured as much or more than like, Eggs and Biscuits. TIDOMS gives him a little more, but I just don't think he's drastically more interesting than the rest of the felt or even most of the Felt. He's just one of the guys I like and I don't like him any more than I do most of the Felt. I also think that is at the expense of more interesting characters that get comparatively ignored. I want to talk about Stitch or Quarters or Matchsticks, their powers are more interesting!

20: part of canon you found tedious or boring

I don't even think this is an unpopular opinion per se, but I think the parts where Slick has Die's doll are relatively of low consequence and tedious. It's classic bullshit, it's fine, and it isn't overly long, but I prefer how time travel was handled in TIDOMS a LOT more, it's more interesting by a long shot! And I imagine that kind of experience isn't unusual for any of the Felt, let alone Crowbar, so the total mundanity of Crowbar running into himself really makes me smile. I like a lot of the rest of the more tedious bits because they make me smile and give me fun character moments, like Deuce and Doze, but the kind of boring way Slick pops places and shoots people is meh. The Die takedown and his thoughts about Snowman are the exemptions

[atplblog]

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[thefillingstation1]

Traditional Sweets with a Modern Twist: Discover the Benefits of Besan Ke Laddoo

In a world where culinary trends are constantly evolving, there’s something comforting about traditional sweets that have been passed down through generations. Among these, Besan ke Laddoo holds a special place in Indian households. This delightful treat, made from roasted chickpea flour (besan), ghee, and sugar, is not only rich in flavor but also offers numerous health benefits. With the growing interest in healthy eating, Besan ke Laddoo is making a comeback, often with a modern twist. In this blog, we’ll explore the benefits of Besan ke Laddoo and how this traditional sweet is being reinvented for today’s palate.

The History and Tradition of Besan ke Laddoo

Before diving into the benefits of Besan ke Laddoo, let’s take a moment to appreciate its rich history. Besan ke Laddoo is a traditional Indian sweet that has been enjoyed for centuries. Originating from the northern regions of India, this sweet is often prepared during festivals, religious ceremonies, and special occasions. Its simple yet satisfying taste has made it a staple in Indian households.

Traditionally, Besan ke Laddoo is made by roasting chickpea flour in ghee until it turns golden brown and releases a nutty aroma. The roasted flour is then mixed with sugar and shaped into small, round laddoos. These laddoos are often garnished with nuts like almonds, pistachios, or cashews, adding a crunchy texture to the soft and melt-in-your-mouth treat.

Nutritional Benefits of Besan ke Laddoo

One of the main reasons Besan ke Laddoo has stood the test of time is its nutritional value. Despite being a sweet treat, Besan ke Laddoo offers several health benefits, making it a guilt-free indulgence when enjoyed in moderation.

High Protein Content: One of the significant benefits of Besan ke Laddoo is its high protein content. Chickpea flour is rich in protein, which is essential for muscle growth, tissue repair, and overall body function. For vegetarians and vegans, Besan ke Laddoo is an excellent source of plant-based protein.

Rich in Fiber: Besan ke Laddoo is also a good source of dietary fiber. Fiber aids in digestion, helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and promotes a feeling of fullness, which can prevent overeating. This makes Besan ke Laddoo a great option for those looking to manage their weight.

Low Glycemic Index: The glycemic index (GI) of chickpea flour is relatively low, meaning it doesn’t cause a rapid spike in blood sugar levels. This is particularly beneficial for individuals with diabetes or those looking to maintain steady energy levels throughout the day.

Source of Healthy Fats: Ghee, a key ingredient in Besan ke Laddoo, is a source of healthy fats that are easily digestible and provide sustained energy. Ghee also contains butyrate, a fatty acid that supports gut health and has anti-inflammatory properties.

Vitamins and Minerals: Besan ke Laddoo is rich in essential vitamins and minerals such as iron, magnesium, and folate. These nutrients are vital for maintaining overall health, including immune function, bone health, and the production of red blood cells.

Modern Twists on Traditional Besan ke Laddoo

While the traditional recipe for Besan ke Laddoo is beloved by many, contemporary chefs and home cooks are finding new ways to reinvent this classic sweet. Here are some modern twists on Besan ke Laddoo that not only enhance its flavor but also add additional health benefits.

Sugar Substitutes: One of the most popular modern adaptations of Besan ke Laddoo is the use of natural sweeteners instead of refined sugar. Ingredients like jaggery, honey, or coconut sugar can be used to sweeten the laddoos, making them a healthier option for those looking to reduce their refined sugar intake. Jaggery, in particular, is rich in iron and can help boost hemoglobin levels.

Incorporating Superfoods: Another trend in modern Besan ke Laddoo recipes is the inclusion of superfoods like chia seeds, flaxseeds, or quinoa. These ingredients not only add a nutritional boost but also introduce new textures and flavors to the laddoos. For instance, adding chia seeds provides extra fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for heart health.

Vegan Variations: For those following a vegan diet, traditional Besan ke Laddoo can be modified by using plant-based oils like coconut oil instead of ghee. Coconut oil adds a subtle flavor and maintains the laddoo’s soft texture. Additionally, coconut oil is known for its medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are easily converted into energy by the body.

Infusing Flavors: To give Besan ke Laddoo a modern twist, try infusing the laddoos with different flavors. Adding ingredients like cardamom, saffron, or even a hint of cocoa powder can elevate the taste profile of the laddoos. Cardamom, in particular, adds a fragrant aroma and has digestive benefits, while saffron is known for its antioxidant properties.

Nut and Seed Mixes: While traditional Besan ke Laddoo often includes a simple garnish of nuts, modern versions can incorporate a variety of nuts and seeds directly into the laddoo mixture. Almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds can all be added to enhance the nutritional content and add a satisfying crunch to each bite.

Portion Control and Packaging: In today’s health-conscious world, portion control is key. Modern versions of Besan ke Laddoo are often made smaller, making them perfect for a quick, guilt-free snack. Additionally, these laddoos can be packaged individually or in small boxes, making them an ideal gift or a convenient on-the-go treat.

The Cultural Significance of Besan ke Laddoo

Beyond its nutritional benefits and delicious taste, Besan ke Laddoo holds cultural significance in Indian society. It is often associated with festivals, celebrations, and rituals, making it more than just a sweet treat. Besan ke Laddoo is commonly prepared during Diwali, Raksha Bandhan, and Ganesh Chaturthi, symbolizing joy, prosperity, and the sharing of good fortune.

In many households, the preparation of Besan ke Laddoo is a cherished tradition passed down through generations. The process of roasting the besan, mixing it with ghee, and shaping the laddoos is often done together as a family, creating bonds and memories that last a lifetime.

How to Make Traditional Besan ke Laddoo at Home

If you’re inspired to try making Besan ke Laddoo at home, here’s a simple recipe to get you started:

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpea flour (besan)

1/2 cup ghee

1/2 cup powdered sugar (or jaggery/coconut sugar)

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

2 tbsp chopped nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews)

Instructions:

Heat the ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.

Add the chickpea flour and roast it, stirring continuously, until it turns golden brown and emits a nutty aroma. This process may take around 10-15 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.

Once slightly cooled, add the powdered sugar and cardamom powder to the roasted flour. Mix well.

Add the chopped nuts and combine until the mixture is uniform.

While the mixture is still warm, take small portions and shape them into round laddoos.

Allow the laddoos to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.

Conclusion

The benefits of Besan ke Laddoo extend far beyond its delightful taste. This traditional sweet, with its high protein content, fiber, and essential vitamins, offers a nutritious option for those looking to satisfy their sweet tooth without compromising on health. With modern twists that include sugar substitutes, superfoods, and vegan alternatives, Besan ke Laddoo continues to evolve, appealing to a new generation of health-conscious individuals. Whether you enjoy it in its classic form or try a contemporary variation, Besan ke Laddoo remains a beloved treat that combines the best of tradition and modern nutrition.

[drumsxun]

Drumming Up the Energy: A Day at 4th Wall Studios (week 4-8)

After successfully completing the vocal and backing track recordings, it was time to turn our attention to the drums. To ensure we captured the best possible sound, we decided to head to the renowned 4th Wall Studios for the drum recording session.

The Studio Experience

Stepping into 4th Wall Studios was like entering a musician's paradise. The studio was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and had a vibe that was perfect for recording drums. The large live room provided plenty of space for the drummer to move around and there were a variety of drums to choose from.

Gear Selection

This was the drum kit that we used on that day. we had the choice of either this or the red DW drum kit but we realised that the Yamaha live customs have a much more powerful sound.

Drums: Yamaha Live Custom Hybrid Oak

Sound Characteristics:

Warm and full-bodied: The oak component of the shell contributes to a rich, warm tone.

Powerful and projecting: The maple component adds depth and projection to the sound.

Sensitive and responsive: The drums are highly responsive to the drummer's touch, making them ideal for a wide range of playing styles.

Snare: Gretsch Brooklyn 14x6.5

Sound Characteristics:

Bright and articulate: The Brooklyn 14x6.5 has a crisp, articulate tone that is ideal for cutting through a mix.

Sensitive: The snare is highly responsive to the drummer's touch, allowing for a wide range of dynamics.

Cymbals: ALL MEINL <3

Hi Hats: 14" Pure Alloy Medium Hi Hat

Crashes: 17" Byzance Medium Thin Crash and 18" Byzance Medium Crash

Ride: 21" Byzance Brilliant Serpents Ride Cymbal

Splash: 10" Byzance Dual Splash

MICROPHONES

TOMS: SE V BEAT 1

SNARE: SHURE BETA 57A(TOP), TELEFUNKEN M81-SH(BOT)

KICK: SHURE BETA 52A

OVERHEADS: RODE NT5

ROOM MIC: AKG C451B

HI HAT: SM7B

Toms

SE V BEAT 1: These are dynamic microphones designed specifically for toms. They offer a balanced sound with good sensitivity and rejection of unwanted noise.

Snare

Shure Beta 57A (top): A classic choice for snare drums, the Beta 57A provides a bright, articulate sound with excellent transient response.

Telefunken M81-SH (bottom): This condenser microphone adds depth and warmth to the bottom of the snare, providing a more balanced sound.

Kick

Shure Beta 52A: A go-to microphone for kick drums, the Beta 52A is designed to capture the low-frequency punch and attack of the kick.

Overheads

Rode NT5: These small-diaphragm condenser microphones are popular for overhead recording, offering a detailed and accurate representation of the drum kit's overall sound.

Room Mic

AKG C451B: A large-diaphragm condenser microphone, the C451B is often used as a room mic to capture the ambient sound of the drums and add depth to the recording.

Hi-Hat

SM7B: While not as common for hi-hats, the SM7B can provide a focused and detailed sound, especially for close-miking.

Meet The Drummer: BOM BOM LOW

He has such a deep pocket and his drumming is so thunderous and powerful that it literally sounds *BOMB*. Someone who I really look up to.

The Recording Process

The drum recording process was a meticulous one. We spent time setting up the drum kit, tuning the drums, and selecting the right microphones. Once everything was in place, the drummer began playing. The energy in the studio was palpable as we captured the raw power and dynamics of the drums.

Challenges and Triumphs

As with any recording session, there were challenges to overcome. We had to experiment with different microphone placements to capture the desired sound and ensure that the drums didn't bleed into other tracks. However, through careful planning and experimentation, we were able to achieve a fantastic drum sound.

Reflections

As a drummer myself, I am intrigued by how Bom was able to record a perfect take the moment they started the first take and how tight he was with the click track. My role as an intern in this session was mainly to assist in setting up the drums and placing the right microphones at the respective drums and tearing down after the session but I have learned so much from just seeing how the directors work and the professionals just show up and made things work somehow.

[julianerui]

When I refer to songs I’ve liked, they are not the soundtrack of my life. I first heard music as a child, like every child, in the humming of my parents. My father used to sing “Kråkevisa”, a song that is intriguing, but also sad, because a crow is killed. But every part of it is used, because the crow is so big that its beak becomes a boat. The moral is: When you kill other animals, it has to be for a reason.

When I sang this same song to my child, he refused to listen to it, he got angry, and he said “it was the crow that killed the man”. Since we humans made up the song, we should have it back, he meant. Another lullaby I loved, Blåmann bukken min, is about a boy that waits for his goat to come back from the forest. It’s evening and he remembers everything he loves about the goat. This song my son also refused to listen to, he said it was the same verse over and over again. Only sadness. I made a poem out of this in Snurr mi eng. 

I listened to children’s songs, pop music, musicals, classical music and everything from early on. But I fell in love with music in a new way, or found my older self in it, when I was 16 and listened to Tori Amos. The first song I heard of her was “Jackie’s Strength”. It was an aha moment, “wow, this is poetry”. 

My favorite album was her first, Little Earthquakes, with a mix of angry songs and sore songs, like “Winter”, and the grand finale, Little Earthquakes. I’ve always loved the piano on that song, even more on the live version, where she plays like she will never stop, and her voice almost cracks several times, and reaches high and low, “doesn’t take much to rip us into pieces”. Many of her songs have a wildness in them. I saw a parody of her one time, and from then on I knew that all good artists can be made fun of. This includes poets. 

Tor Amos’ father was a priest. My father is not, but my grandfather was. He also loved poetry. I looked in some old parish magazines where he was a chaplain before he was a parish priest. And I found he wrote about why it was important to come to church, in sum: It is better for every part of your life from here on to eternity. He could be really stern, writes about fearing the lord and loving him in the same sentence. I can’t remember that my grandparents tried to convince us to be religious. But this was around 1970, before my time, and in the role of a priest, not a grandfather. Also, I found something which I’ve titled “Presten følger med”: 

“Om å slakte gris. På den korte tiden jeg har vært her, har jeg opplevd det triste syn å se folk slakte gris på blanke søndag formiddag. På vei til gudstjenestene har jeg opplevd dette tre ganger. Det er en skam for bygden vår. Selv om folk ikke har respekt for guds bud, men tvertimot viser en suveren forakt for det, så bør man kunne forlange at man viser naboene såpass respekt at man lar griseslaktingen være på en søndag. Det gjelder forøvrig bråtebrenning og alt annet unødvendig søndagsarbeid.” 

This is kind of funny, the admonishing tone, but also sad, because to slaughter a pig, it must have looked awful? Did it scream? I don’t know. This was another time, I’ve never seen that. I know my grandfather was liked as a priest, and even seen as liberal, which at that time meant things like he would let people marry although this was not their first marriage. Had he lived now, maybe he wouldn’t even be a Christian. Everything is so bound to time and place and the story of the society you grow up in.

[wjddhdmlepdlxm23]

정오의데이트 어플 후기 채팅 만남 사이트 앱 리

정오의데이트 어플 후기 채팅 만남 사이트 앱 리

정오의데이트 어플 후기 채팅 만남 사이트 앱 리

정오의데이트 어플 후기 채팅 만남 사이트 앱 리

정오의데이트 어플 후기 채팅 만남 사이트 앱 리

정오의데이트 어플 후기 채팅 만남 사이트 앱 리

정오의데이트 어플 후기 채팅 만남 사이트 앱 리

Originally, he is not a very good defensive player by objective standards, but in the national team, where the 2nd line is overflowing but the 3rd line is poor, there is no midfielder other than Hwang In-beom who can play a box-to-box role that can show vigorous activity and participation in defense. He is emerging as a box-to-box central midfielder in the third line. However, in this position, the weakness of the game due to physical and physical problems, especially the pass miss, is being criticized more and more.

This is a matter of his own ability, but it is somewhat unfair, and if he is left out, the problem of the national team's participation in defense becomes very serious. Lee Jae-seong has good activity and defensive ability, but his main job is a side attack and second-line offensive midfielder, and Lee Kang-in is a fairly classic attack type, so his defense is even worse. At least, Ju Se-jong is better at distributing the ball, but his defense power is also followed by a question mark, and Baek Seung-ho is on the third line in his team, but he is still immature in terms of positioning and experience when defending, so it is uneasy to trust and entrust him to the national team. . After Ki Sung-yong's retirement and Jang Hyeon-soo's exit in 2019, the national team's third-line professional midfielder is Jung Woo-young. Jung Woo-young has excellent defense and plays well when the opponent's pressure is weak or almost absent, but his feet are slow, so the coverage is narrow and the opponent's pressure is low. When this gets stronger, the build-up becomes unstable, making it too vulnerable to the opponent's pressure. Because of this, Hwang In-beom, who is actively participating in the defense, has no choice but to relieve the pressure by taking on the box-to-box role.[19]

Wearing clothes that don't fit you can cause a drop in form, and due to the nature of domestic soccer fans, the box-to-box type tends to be undervalued compared to players who are good at passing and kicking, and get criticized for their size. The older midfielder is essential for a stable midfield.[20][21] It is because it can energize the team with the cover of empty space and the amount of activity. This is the reason why Bento cannot easily serve Hwang In-beom, but nevertheless, his skills in this role are not too good, so the player himself is in a very dangerous situation at the moment.

In the East Asian Cup, I played in the second line Mezzala instead of the third line box-to-buck, and my performance has definitely improved. There were still some pass misses, but other indicators such as pass success rate and shooting improved significantly. It was a tournament that showed that the role Hwang In-beom is playing in the current national team is not the best for him, and it was a tournament that showed that no matter how active he is and how good he is in defense, he has to use it aggressively to show his true worth. In fact, the problem of using Hwang In-beom is the problem of the national team squad itself, as mentioned above. The second-line resources and aggressive midfielders are overflowing, but the defensive midfielder who protects the four-back in the third line, shows vigorous activity, or takes care of the build-up is currently [22]

If you look at the play in the Russian league, it also shows that the offensive role is more suitable. Even though the level of the Russian league is not low, after joining the ball game, he quickly became the main player and accumulated attack points and is active. In any case, the sluggishness at Bentu seems to be the result of wearing clothes that do not fit well due to various circumstances.[23]

[chrancecriber]

1.FM - Chillout Lounge Radio (February 06, 2023)

23:58 Gelka Feat. Phoenix Pearle - Million Nights 23:54 Petit Biscuit - Sunset Lover 23:48 Gary B - Set Me Free 23:43 Sinan - 99 Reasonsfeat. Omenzeter 23:39 Jjos - Back To Me 23:33 Timewarp Inc - Epic Tones Feat Rxn (Sundayman Remix) 23:29 Cafe Easy - Summerbreeze 23:23 Bedroom Surfer - Make It Happen - Meet Her At Costa Del Sol Mix 23:19 Vio Beach - Piano Chillout (Ambient Dream Mix) 23:13 Klangstein - Deep Dive (Original Mix) 23:08 Peter Pearson - It's In The Stars (Original Mix) 23:03 Various - The Cure (Sunshine Mix) 22:57 Blank & Jones With Jason Caesar - Hideaway 22:52 3 Liquid Hz - Metropolitan 22:46 Citrus Jam - Nice Holiday 22:41 Solid Gold - Save A Prayer (Nick Tatler & Phil Blohm Instrumental) 22:36 Sunyata Project Feat. Miyabi - Inner Lights 22:30 Frank Borell - Somber Moods 22:23 Laid Back - Sunshine Reggae (Peter Visti's & Stella Polaris Remix) 22:19 Riccardo Eberspacher - I Feel Love 22:13 Manoa - Jumaira Drive 22:05 Deep-dive-corp. - Relaxer 21:58 Phil Mison - Lula 21:51 Space Manoeuvres - The Seventh Planet (Leama & Moor Mix) 21:44 Rediophonic - Desert Wind 21:35 Tactful - No Fear 21:31 Vanilla - Dreamcatcher 21:26 Sleepingroom Armada - Hope (Feat Inocencia Comas) (Easy Erotic Groove Lounge Mix) 21:21 Triangle Sun - Beautiful 21:14 Jean Martin - In My Dreams (Extended Remix) 21:10 Chillwave - Massage Del Mar (Beach Cafe Mix) 21:04 Cafe Americaine - Kashmir Wanderer (Nylons Cut) 20:58 Freemasons - Love On My Mind 20:52 Hirudo - Spy From Cairo (Classic Instrumental Mix) 20:49 Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar 20:44 Lemon Sol - Beautiful Morning (Piano Cafe Chillout To Ibiza Del Mar) 20:39 Fresh Moods - Solarcell 20:35 Vibrasphere - Tierra Azul (Omnimotion Feat. Krister Linder Remix) 20:29 San Martino - Es Cavalett (Piano Dream Mix) 20:24 07 - Paradise Circus 20:19 Solanos - Shameless 20:14 Coastline - Adriatic Sea (Dj Lounge Del Mar Vs. Milews Ambience Mix) 20:08 Cdm - Many Rivers To Cross 20:01 Magic Waves Feat. Mirjam - Tonight 19:55 Lounge Aura - Something (Geronimo Chillout Mix) 19:51 Bop - Enjoy The Moment (Unquote Remix) 19:47 Alex Cortiz - Smooth 19:43 Five Seasons - In Your Town 19:38 Gelka Feat. Phoenix Pearle - Being You 19:30 Deep-dive-corp. - Bassic (Flow Mix) 19:24 Kitty The Bill - Cabriolet Tour 19:20 Jjos - Body & Soul 19:13 Chicane - Saltwater (The Thrillseekers Remix) 19:07 Cats Love Dogs - Sunpearls (Paradise Lounge) 19:03 Kalabi - Clear Skies 18:58 Purplastic - Nathalia (Ambient Mix) 18:54 The Angelica Project - Another Skin 18:46 Dr Drummer - Galactica Soul 18:42 Re:locate Vs Robert Nickson - Resource (Rechill) 18:38 Alex Cortiz - Fingerprints 18:32 Peter Pearson - Smooth Talking (Moonrise) 18:27 Bright And Beautiful - Night Rains (Sound Of Ibiza Mix) 18:19 Lux - So La Ra Dsa 18:14 Jjos - Falling 18:08 Va - Red Muladhara 18:03 Jazz L'amour - Summer Dreams - See The Light Mix 17:57 4tunes - Where Are You Now (Feat. Hed) 17:52 Chris Coco Mts Afterlief - Home 17:45 Chilloutlounge - Allstars 17:38 Chicane - Low Sun 17:33 Noel - Chalito - Ibiza Chillhouse Lounge Mix 17:27 James Bright - Be 17:21 De Clive-lowe, Mark - Day By Day 17:16 Sofa Sweeper - Voice Of Core 17:08 Matenda - Orphean Layback Remix 17:03 Alessandro Boschi - Sentosa 16:57 Lullaby Lounge - Chill Del La Mer (Blank Cafe Relax Mix) 16:50 Sin Plomo & Torsten Stenzel - Sweet Suffering 16:45 Blue Six - Love Yourself 16:39 Pusteblume - Cold As Ice (Beautiful Chillout Mix) 16:33 Ypey - Love In Spain 16:27 Koru - I Believe 16:23 Alex Cortiz - Glamourgirl 16:18 Mastermind - Empty Road 16:13 Moon De Lounge - La Mer Se Calme ( Mounier Oriental Sunset Dub Mix) 16:07 Miraflores - Waves Of Love 16:01 Frank Borell - Wake Up In Paradise 15:56 Ling Ludd - Waterfront Dub 15:52 The Avener & Mazzy Star - Fade Into You (The Avener Rework) 15:48 A$ap Rocky - L$d 15:44 Collective Sound Members - Journey To A Dream (Original) 15:39 Karminsky Experience Inc - Departures 15:33 Jo Manji - Lazy Loungin 15:29 For - For Want Of Her 15:25 Jeff Woodal - Silver Birch 15:20 Noise Boyz - Honeytrap (Keys & Trumpet Mix) 15:10 Mysticage - The Lips Of The Sun (Original) 15:07 Claes Rosen & Natalie Peris - Stay 15:03 York Ft Asheni - Iceflowers 14:58 Tranquillo - Elaborated Compassion 14:53 Heso - Never Ending Time 14:47 Tosca - Mango Di Bango 14:42 Mahoroba - Faire On Tour (Jazzmatic Lounge Mix) 14:37 Rhodescreen - Peace System (Original Mix) 14:32 Jjos - Breathe 14:27 Esteban Garcia Vs. Subworks - Runnin (Jazzy Dub Mix) 14:22 Juan Belda & Carlo Galimberti - Wine Sessions 14:17 Manoa - Repeat It In Slow Motion (Trippin Clouds Mix) 14:10 Noel - Hold Me (Relax Lounge Cafe Chillout Mix) 14:04 Man In The Moon Feat.debora Vilchez - Fragil 13:59 Un Homme Et Une Femme - Une Rose Pour Emily (Cafe Hotel French Del Mar Mix) 13:53 Pilgrims Of The Wind - Nothing Can Pull Us Apart 13:48 Thomas Lemmer - I Like It 13:41 Jerome Isma-ae - Underwater Love 13:37 Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line 13:33 Faith Hill - Love Ain't Like That 13:27 Remote - Postcard 13:23 Morcheeba - Under The Ice 13:18 Gold Lounge - Only A Dream 13:13 Blank & Jones - Desire 13:08 Soleil Fisher - Beautiful Nights In Ibiza (Tribute To Cafe Del Mar Mix) 13:01 Roger Sanchez - Lost (Ibizarees The Unforgotten Mix) 12:56 Flume Feat. Andrew Wyatt - Some Minds 12:51 Melibea - Jam In Dawn 12:48 Adrien Aubrun - My Last Poem 12:43 Ku You - 40 Degrees 12:38 Air - La Femme D'argent 12:30 Kosta Rodriguez - Blue Grass 12:24 Henderson - Rain (Desansis Chill Out Mix) 12:15 Joey Fehrenbach - Grandfather 12:11 Fragile State - Every Day A Story 12:05 Visit Venus - Home 11:57 Nore Elle - Desert Storm 11:51 Farbor Resande Mac - Stockholmsnatt 11:48 Mystique - Essences (Rico Van Basten Chill Mix) 11:43 Aaron Bass - On The Beach 11:38 Jjos - Lonely (Feat. María La Caria) Manu López-saxo (Lounge Mix) 11:32 Ralph Hildenbeutel - Hommage A Noir 11:27 Nimino - The Back Of Your Hands (Ft. Ashe) 11:21 Steven Solveig - Boa Noite 11:14 Dj Disse - Walk On The Wild Side 11:08 Avalona - Empty Streets 11:04 Conjure One - Make A Wish 10:57 Sly - Like Love (Original Mix) 10:52 Noel - Chalito (Ibiza Chillhouse Lounge Mix) 10:46 Peter Linski Experience - Everything Flows 10:42 Out Of Sight - Comfort (Afterlife Mix) 10:38 Flamingo - My Friend (Mercer & Gissal Chilled Version) 10:33 Autopilot - Seen It All 10:29 Monique Bon - La Musique 10:23 Kaxamalka - True Vibe 10:17 Jjos - Foolish Game (Feat. Deary's) (Evolution Vocal Mix) 10:12 Sunsea - Light The Fire (Chillout Mix) 10:07 Shivana Faction - Talking In Whispers 09:59 Groove Armada - Inside My Mind 09:52 Fenomenon - Pacific Memories 09:47 Dab - Pure Joy 09:40 Kosta Rodriguez - Purple Sky 09:35 Ringo Orenji - Mikan 09:30 Ac - Meditarrean Sundance 09:26 Verbal Kint Feat. Judie Jay - Break My Dreams (Original Live Mix) 09:21 Bay Area - Santa Monica Blvd (No 17 Mix) 09:16 Gary B - Love Rain Down 09:10 Dj Milews - Children (Ambient Del Mar Winter Cafe Mix) 09:04 Lemonjazz - Gypsy Woman (Erotic Bedroom Affairs Lounge Chill Mix) 08:57 More Than Ever People - Levita 08:52 Mark's & Henry's - The Making 08:48 Shakes Seven - Best Friends 08:44 Elmara - Training 08:35 Toka Kakabadze - Urban 08:30 Jeff Woodal - Your Love (The Dark) 08:27 Vibraphile - Waiting For You (Instrumental) 08:20 Madonna - Secret (Difrankz' 2003 Confidential Chill Out Mix) 08:16 Air - Lost Message 08:13 K Vassiliadis Ft Marien - Den Efiges Lepto (Dub Mix) 08:11 Isan - No. 1 (Lent Et Douloureux) 08:04 Synthetic Substance - Unreal 08:01 Michael Hummer - Coffee 07:57 Jupiter Jack - Blank Space 07:50 Moon De Lounge - Melodia Amore - Buddha Lounge Bar Chillout Mix 07:44 Pep Llado Feat. Antonio Martin - Vai Vedere 07:41 Sunlounger - Balearic Breakfast(Chill) 07:35 Ohm-g - Relax 2 The Max 07:28 Deep-dive-corp. - The Island 07:23 Limelight - Oxygene 4 07:18 Strange Voices - All Right For Now (3 Times Infinity Mix) 07:14 A$ap Rocky - L$d 07:08 Blue Chakra - Free From You (Half Tempo Long Chill Mix) 07:03 Maricopa - Sun Scope 06:57 Orange Music - Islandlover (Monotonic Trip Mix) 06:51 Sweet Velvet - Recalling The Rising Sun 06:47 Moon Tribe - Moon Tribe 06:41 Pacator - Tränen (Marcielo Ambient Mix Instrumental) 06:35 Bright And Beautiful - Night Rains - Sound Of Ibiza Mix 06:33 William Orbit - Love My Way 06:26 Nautic - Freedom Of The Floor (Open Space Remix) 06:19 Schwarz & Funk - Night Over Bangkok 06:16 Emapea - Laka 06:10 Rae & Christian - Still Here 06:06 Flume Feat. Andrew Wyatt - Some Minds 06:01 Guss - Milesing 05:54 Aurosonic, Denis Karpinskiy & Kate Louise Smith - They Wait For Us (Chill Out Mix) 05:48 Lenny Mac Dowell - Zanzibar Feeling 05:44 Saigenji - No Meio Da Chuva 05:39 Sunset People - Summer Madness (White Sand Cut) 05:36 Starlive Cafe - Playa Del Mar (Chillout Mix) 05:31 Sleepingroom Armada - Hope - Easy Erotic Groove Lounge Mix 05:25 Mamani - Glowing Desert (Aloe Trumpet Mix) 05:20 Afterlife & Kid Stone - Sleazebag 05:15 Sofa Sweeper - The Sad Side Of The Street (Mellow Guitar Mix) 05:11 Afterlife - Espalmador 05:06 Alex Baratini - My Play (Chill Out Mix) 05:02 Brooke - 1 Want To Know What Love Is (Balearic Hypno Dub) 04:58 Ben Leela - Dreaming A Dream 04:53 Omnimotion - Cozy Life 04:49 Chris Malinchak - So Good To Me 04:43 Vargo - The Moment 04:40 Tall Paul Vs Inxs - Precious Heart 04:35 Ziller - Pearl & Dean 04:29 Blank & Jones Feat. Cathy Battistessa - Miracle Man (Beached Mix) 04:24 Smooth Deluxe - Ibiza Sundown (Cafe Buddah Mix) 04:20 Noise Boyz - With My Own Eyes (Keys Of Da Sea Mix) 04:15 Sunsea - Light The Fire 04:10 Mandrave & Miyagi - Asian Lights 04:06 Fidelity - You Don't Know 04:00 Leaking Shell - After Hour 03:53 The Man Behind C. Feat.debora Vilchez - Fluye 03:47 Joey Fehrenbach - Edison Cylinder 03:42 L'art Mystique - Le Jardin Secret 03:37 Pensees - She 03:32 Listening Deluxe - Guitar Dreams (Short Aqua) 03:26 Simon Bareilles - The Sound Of Silence (Feat. Sara Keys) 03:21 Ohm-g & Bruno - Jungle Light 03:16 Scott Simmons - Children (Mediterr-asian Chill Mix) 03:13 Nouvelle Vague - Love Will Tear Us Apart 03:07 Gary B - Set Me Free 03:00 Dj Lounge Del Mar - Sentosa Beach Cafe - Tribute To Cafe Del Mar Guitar Mix 02:57 Gabriel Le Mar - Seaside (Original Vrsion) 02:54 Oh Wonder - Technicolour Beat 02:51 Afterlife - How Does It Feel 02:45 Night Traffic - Rain 02:39 Guenter Haas - Ai Fu Lin 02:31 Milews - Miami Beach View - Sunset Del Mar Cafe Lounge Mix 02:25 Madonna - Frozen 02:22 Synthetic Substance - Eternity 02:17 Triangle Sun - Beautiful 02:12 Digby Jones - Pina Colada 02:08 Synkro - Memories Of Love 02:03 Dreamscape - Electric Emotion 01:58 Manoa - Walk This Way 01:52 Steen Thottrup - El Alba 01:48 Andras & Oscar - (I Know) What You Want 01:44 Airstream - Electra 01:39 Merge Of Equals - Clear Blue Sky (Original Mix) 01:34 The Fray - How To Save A Life 01:29 Sangar - My Breeze 01:25 Marc C. Griso - Sex, The First Time 01:17 Universe Music - Guitar Beach Lounge 01:13 Erotic Lounge Deluxe - Gimme The Night 01:07 Jjos & Fede Garcia - Foolish Game (Feat Deary's) 01:01 Lux - Head Centre 01:00 Costes - Stéphane Pompougnac - Green Tree 00:55 Coyoteeve Feat Saro - Tribastone 00:48 Rue Du Soleil - Essential Feelings 00:42 Aural Float - Still Here 00:36 Good Chillaz - No Motion (Jazz Relax Mix) 00:30 Sven Andersson Iii - Journey To Your Soul (Cosmic Cycle Buddha Lounge Bar Mix) 00:24 Sine - Morning 00:20 Camille - In A Manner Of Speaking 00:13 Salt Tank - Sargasso Sea 00:06 Rollercone - Daydreaming 00:02 The Weeknd - Earned It

[tomi0524]

一 本 一 横 顔 ／ 414本目 Chotto ima kara omoeba fushigide hende natsukashī ka na yande ita mon ne kokoro toka karada toka janaku tatte ita pojishon ga -fū ni tada nagasarete inryoku toka karuku natteta f#kan (f#kan) de mitara uchū (sora) o hakana-ge ni uite iru watashi kizutsuke tari kizutsui tari ushinattari ushinawa se tari zenbu nakunarunara zenbu ato sukoshinara nanika hitotsu dakede īkara ataete watashi ni shunkan o ※ soba ni ite anatanara soba ni ite anata janakya iya kisu o sh#te anatanara kisu o sh#te anata janakya iya※ tsuranuite yuraginagara demo itsunohika kiete iku nonara tsuranuite kamawanaikara itsunohika 2-ri tomoni kiete iku nonara (rappu) Take the time to kurosu your eyes The sky is dark-fū wa tsumetai The time has kamu Every torēsu is gōn w z a low whisper arai iki tobidasu suna ni kaita mirai darenimo kesenai zea’ s a pureisu in my herutsu Looking fō a majikku kiss retto’ s go out ando fīru the night We could dream this night away (serifu) As long as we live Shaking in the u~indo To the last gasp ima kara demo osokunai ka na ima kara demo arukeru ka na ima kara demo tsukureru ka na shif#ku no shunkan (Toki) ga tsudzure ora re irodora rete iku (※ kurikaeshi) anata to watashi no kizukiageta suna no shiro demonai shindererashiro demonai kioku no shiro o mitsukemashita kono basho de korekara 1-ri sugoshimasu kono chikyū (hoshi) no saigo o tsugeru kanenone (ne) ga nari hibiku made soba ni ite anatanara soba ni ite anata janakya iya OH ~ menī CLASSIC MOMENTS OH ~ menī CLASSIC MOMENTS OH ~ menī CLASSIC MOMENTS OH ~ menī CLASSIC MOMENTS OH ~ menī CLASSIC MOMENTS Find more lyrics at myjpop.jspinyin.net #煙草 #女性 #globe #illustration https://www.instagram.com/p/CoAOIYsPpkQ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[kiachiako]

before your eyes | j.jh

pairing | jaehyun x female!reader

synopsis | being the new muse to a mysterious artist was never on your winter agenda, but chance encounters might be your new favorite thing.

content | artist!jaehyun, au, fluff

wc | 1.7k

song | pink + white — frank ocean

a/n | first post :)) v self indulgent

…

— December 20.

Art makes people feel things.

You stand stoic in front of a glaring canvas, your hand swirling a blood-red wine as your mouth twitches from its bitter taste.

There are few things that truly make you feel.

You stare at the painting in front of you with an expressionless mien, eyes trained on the intricate scene unveiled before you as you raises your glass once more.

In reality, the piece makes you unsettled in a way that you've never experienced before. Your surroundings become too crisp, too saturated, too lonely. The low chatter of the exhibition opening grows abnormally piercing, and you can feel the heartbeat in your ears and the organs within your ribcage. It's as if you're discovering a new emotion for the first time, your mind withering under the pointed gazes of acrylic figures.

Your wine tremors in its vessel.

Before you can turn away — you feel as if you'll be physically drained of your consciousness if you stand before such a gut-wrenching piece any longer — a figure steps up quietly beside you. You glance at him, eyes lingering on the side of his face a bit longer than intended as his view stays trained on the art before them.

"It's quite captivating, isn't it," he starts, startling you for a moment before nodding to the painting. He still doesn't look at you.

You give a small hum in agreement, hesitant about how to reply to this stranger. It isn't everyday that another decides to approach you so unprompted, let alone one with a gaze that seems to pull people in with unwavering confidence.

"What do you think the artist is trying to express?" he whispers, tilting his head towards you as if keeping a horrid secret from the rest of the gallery viewers. You hesitate slightly before replying.

"I think... I think they're trying to convey the tragedy of life itself," you say hesitantly, the man next to raising his eyebrows slightly at your word choice. "Or rather, the tragedy that is one's inner child. It's like the artist is trying to show a person's true form, especially through the painting's illusions and how they're employed. The mirror on the side? It's like," you gulp as you glance across the painting's aesthetic order once again, "the reflection represents the feeling of being emotionally and physically unattached, especially because the viewer can see images portrayed outside the figures' view in the mirror."

The man remains silent.

It's a long, awkward silence, although the smalltalk and stifled hum of classical music trapses on in the background. You watch with intrigue as he pulls a thin sticky note and gold-plated pen out of his suit jacket's pocket. Using his palm as a flat surface, he slowly spells out a short message on the paper before handing it to you.

Your eyes scan over its contents:

Stranger —

I've been looking for a "muse," per se.

I find you interesting. I have a feeling that we could help each other.

Up for it?

Café Fledermaus, 1048 5th Avenue. DEC 23rd, 3pm.

— J.

You mull over its words, head clouded in confusion.

Muse? For what? Isn't it dangerous to meet with strangers?

But every friend starts as a stranger. Maybe just this once...

As you stand frozen, the man next to you observes the small description plaque next to the painting in front of him; a small smile graces his face as he scans over his own name.

You look up to question him, but there's no man beside you anymore.

Just like that, he's gone.

— December 23.

Curiosity is an awful thing.

It's 2:42 pm on a misty, dark Sunday afternoon, and you hover in the foyer of your apartment with your shoes dangling precariously between your fingers; the shining Mary Janes define the line between said curiosity and the growing urge to run back to bed and binge old Wes Anderson films.

Your studio roommate urges you to go with a push, pointed to the front door with frustration.

"Trust me. I haven't seen you talk to a single new person in like, what, 3 months?" the exasperated girl asks, waving her hands around in emphasis. "I know you don't like the process of getting to know people — it took two years for you to even tell me where your hometown is — but meeting a stranger in a crowded café can't be that bad. Just go for it, you've literally got nothing to lose."

With hesitancy in your every movement, you takes your roommate's words to heart and offer a shaky smile, reaching for the doorknob before a change of mind occurs.

Just do it. He wants you as a muse? Do it.

Before the devil on your shoulder can stop you, you force yourself outside. The harsh breeze nips at your skin and swirls around your purse, picking up your hair in the wade. You tighten your scarf with the chill as you walk away from your brownstone.

At exactly five past three, you're hit with the strong aroma of French espresso and golden warmth as you step inside the timely café. Your eyes scan the gold sprinkled room in search of a not-so-familiar face.

You catch sight of him a minute later, his gaze trained out the third floor window into bustling 5th Avenue. He looks as if he were a wax figure encapsulating the 1900s in modern form, complete with tussled hair and a tweed suit jacket thrown over his shoulders. His lips are stained crimson, the culprit being a cherry lollipop situated between his pointer and middle finger.

You make your way past busy waiters and parting guests, fur coats and newspaper boy hats joining you in their flurrying journey across the shop.

The man who's called you here glances up as you slide into the seat across from him, swirling his lollipop in black coffee until the candied stick is drenched in caffeine.

"So," he starts, leaning forward in his seat and taking a sip of the inky liquid, "you came."

You nod slowly.

Noting your silence, the man continues.

"I'm just going to get straight to the point. I'm an artist — type not relevant — and my creative fund has been spent to its demise. I need inspiration in the form of my favorite subject: human nature." He grins, pointing his lollipop at you. "And you, dear, are the perfect candidate."

You stare at him.

"I can see that you're not much of a talker either, but we can work around that," he offers, clapping his hands together. "I want an acquaintanceship in which we don't have to tell each other anything. Hell, you can even lie to me about yourself if you really want to."

You perk up at that sentence.

"Nothing personal?" You speak up for the first time to him.

"Nothing personal," he confirms. "I'll do it too."

"So I just... no name? Or do I lie about that as well? I'm a bit confused."

He smiles before looking down.

"It's better for us to be dishonest with each other," the man replies. "I don't like attachment."

Ouch...

...wait.

Isn't that a good thing?

You scold yourself mentally as you looks out of the window. This is the most ideal "friendship" that could exist for your personality, yet something in you hesitates to agree to his proposition face to face. Sure, you could be the inspiration for an artist — and that in itself is utterly fascinating — and you could utilize these interactions for your own good, but in the long term, wouldn't this be detrimental to your own mentality?

After a few seconds of pure silence, you decide that you're willing to take that risk and find out.

"I'll do it," you say finally, looking back at him.

The man across from you lets a brilliant grin overtake his face, holding out his hand for you to shake. You return it with a smile of your own, your figures leaning over the coffee table in tandem.

It's only as the two of you stand outside the café and brave the cold, a cigarette clamped tightly between his almost-blue fingers, does he ask for your name. He turns to you again as you stare out into the cracked cement streets of the city, your clutch held tensely in front of you.

"You don't have to tell me the truth," he starts, blowing out a ring of smoke, "but what should I call you?"

You realize only then that you've never properly addressed each other in your two times of meeting. Contemplating whether to tell him your real name or not, you decide on the former. After all, if you're going to lie a hell of a lot from here on, at least there will be one truth in your relationship.

"Y/N," you say softly. "You can call me Y/N."

"Well, Y/N. You," the man replies, "you can call me Jae."

— March 22.

"I told you already. I'm the daughter of a gallery curator," you laugh out, recognizing that the man next to you always nods incredulously at what you says - even if it's the cold, hard truth. You've somehow found a way to forge a deeper connection than what both of you intended. Both of your eyes shine differently now when you tell a fib to each other, a glimmer that you've been taught to recognize through shared, magical stories and fantastical adventures; they all lead to one laying on the ground in laughter and stitches or a playful shove to the arm ("Pirates? Now you're just pushing it, Jae! I'll let you go just this once," you said when the two of you had found yourselves on a small cargo ship headed away from the coast, accidentally of course).

So now, as the two of you sit on a blanket overlooking the sunset from a hidden hiking trail, you can only find joy in each other's company without the stress of other things in your lives weighing you down. You can get out of your head for a bit, picking daisies from the grass as Jae paints on your left arm with gleaming white paint. There's no baggage weighing you down, not when you have each other to tell your problems to without the consequence of consequences.

Whatever this man had seen in you in the gallery was a strange twist of nature; it could have gone terribly wrong or stunningly right like all little chances in life.

But of course, no one will know unless they try, right?

...

xoxo

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