#clear skies 75

[skullytotheark]

Clear Skies 75

Setting: Different states of America

time setting: late 20th century, From 70s to 90s

Why I made it: Hehe creepypasta but oc au

Inspiration: 70s and 80s slasher mixed with creepypasta characters / creepypasta characters set in the 80s

goal: Possibly make an ARG series, But for now it’ll be in silly writing i do every now and then. Similar to creepy hornets

Description:

The Rot of the woods is slowly but surely making it’s way pass the treeline, The Horrible reality where monsters and things that go bump in the night are more common than you could ever imagine.. Deep in Montana and Colorado these nightmares hide within the woods, Awaiting for any lone hikers and the innocent to walk into their sight. For they hunt for sport and to survive…

Ever Since the start of the 70s, More and more of these creatures and psychopaths are beginning to crawl out from the bed to strike. Their goals and motives being a mystery to people like you and I… There’s only a burning ember of hope that there is good amongst the bad, But then again. who says they’re any better than those they fight??... Only god can save you from whatever is tapping at your window, The strange towering silhouette standing in the corner of your room or the sound of heavy footsteps heading straight for your bedroom door.

Welcome my dearest of friends and stalkers of the night!!!

Allow thy to introduce you to a World of many nightmares and terrors beyond your imaginations.

Clear Skies 75!

For a good while you've might've heard me just ramble or mention this AU in at least one or two of my posts, But Allow me to show you what I've been brewing for awhile!

For a good while I've been sitting in my little snowy room, Thinking of different scenarios and plotpoints involving these characters! Now personally I'm not ENTIRELY SURE, If I'll do as much "fanfics" or writing as much as I would do for Creepyhornets but You'll def probably see me write about this au Every now and then! I more or less really wanted to just, Have characters based off of some of the pastas or characters i've come to love growing up in this silly community!!

Introductions.

The Watchman.

"A Modern Tale for those who go wondering in these woods son. They say it's a Eldritch God of sorts or a "angry spirit"... Me?? I think it's a force of nature, Not something you can fight... But you'd have to adapt to.. trust me, I know..."

The great watchman! The Slenderman of this canon as you can tell and the main "big bad" of this canon, I more or less imagine that this entity is not your sterorypical slender that we're used to seeing in writings. Returning to the older versions such as the Operator and when Slender was simply a being of unknown nature and sudden movements...

"The Butcher"

"I had a run in with that fucking freak. Cackling and getting a kick out of my fear as he chased after me with a fucking machete.. One day he'll fucking learn what's it like when the roles change... One day..."

The Jeff The Killer stand in for this canon! More or less depicting him as a cruel but sloppy killer, Although he has a big reputation, He's a amature and a prime example of "human scum" in this canon. No goals or motives, doing it for the fun of it. Also im just thinking of naming him "Geoff" cuz it'd be a really funny bit imo

"The Pyromaniac"

"I remember when he was still young.. A cheerful little boy who still needed mommy to tie his shoe laces... But then things changed... He never got along with his stepdad... But then he went missing one day and.. I get a call that My husband was killed... Then I knew.. He wanted to get back at him for everything Frank had done to us... But it should have never ended like this.."

The Ticci Toby stand in for this universe!!!. Felix/Cody robinson is a child of abuse who is short tempered and rash, Often acting and thinking later. Although he's a valuable assest to The Watchman's following. Even though He hates it and wants to go home.

"Doll-Face"

"I still remember when "Bryan" took me up to that cabin... God I should've known I was just another lamb for the slaughter.. How did this end up like this Ma?..."

Doll-Face is of course the Masky inspired character! His story heavily follows the idea of "get away at the Cabin goes wrong and now all of my friends are trying to kill eachother" trope.

"Null"

"I'm alive... I shouldn't be but I am... After everything I've done.. I'll make things right this time... I'm so sorry Tommy.."

Null is a combination of both Hoody and Skully into one character! And is also the "Alex" of this scenario. Bryan's family was haunted by the watchman for generations, When he was older the entity began to pick away at his sanity and commanded a blood sacrifice for his family using 'it's children' for resources when building their cabin / property in the woods.

"The Stalker."

"I could've sworn, He was standing right at my bed when I was asleep. I don't know why but he was... He killed dad but... Why not me?... Was he... Taunting me?.."

And the final member of this cast [ATM] the Stalker! The eyeless Jack stand in for this series who draws heavy inspirtation from the og eyeless jack design. Atm I had the idea that he was a journalist in diguise pretending to be a demon of sorts who profits off of his crimes by taking photos of the aftermaths. Buttt I do also like the idea of him just being a demon. His story is still a WIP atm.

Until next time!

Sadly that is all the characters i have so far :(

But I do plan on making more characters such as Zalgo, Jane, Nina and a whole bunch more!! Ofc I plan on making a word doc for this au that'll have links to each of these characters butttt i gotta finish Stalker and "Geoff" before i do!

But until then keep an eye out on my tiktok *COUGH* Skullytotheark *COUGH* for a bunch of arrttt and wips of more characters!!!

See you all next time :)

[ghxstfacesgf]

Liquid Courage: Ethan Landry x fem!Reader

Warnings: none really, slightly heated at the end

Note: I have not written anything in forever so apologies in advance. This was just a thought that I let spiral. Requests open <3

Part two here

•

“I think it’s going to rain tonight,” you said to the group of girls gathered in Sam, Quinn, and Tara’s apartment.

“Clear skies and 75, y/n. But nice try!” Anika quipped as she tossed you a vibrant orange top. You playfully gagged and tossed it back in her direction. The girls had somehow roped you into attending some frat party tonight. The weather was your final plea to get out of it. Did you absolutely hate parties? No, but tonight you just weren’t in the mood. You had been practically drowning in schoolwork and your job. All you wanted to do was crawl into your fuzzy bedsheets but, your friends wouldn’t allow that. “Ethan will be there.”

You tossed a glare in Anika’s direction. She loved to tease you about the fluffy haired boy and his obvious crush on you. You couldn’t deny Ethan was cute. There was just something about his dorky persona paired with how painfully adorable he was. But, he was a horrible flirt. In fact, he froze when around you. He wasn’t exactly the type of guy you went for. So you left it be. It was only a silly crush anyway and Ethan clearly wasn’t planning on pursuing it.

Finally you decided on some cargo pants (your favorite pair) and a slightly cropped black top. As you made the walk to the party you thanked yourself for choosing comfortable shoes. Once you arrived, the smell of alcohol invaded your nose. It seemed that you all arrived late considering the drunken state of just about everyone else. Mindy and Anika split off quickly from the group, while you followed Tara into the kitchen to get a drink.

“This is exactly what you need,” Tara stated as she poured what appeared to be Malibu in your cup. She topped it off with some sprite and slide the cup to you. She knew that as soon as you had some alcohol in you, you’d enjoy yourself. God you hated how right she was.

You took a drink and your face immediately twisted, “Jesus Tara, is there any sprite in here at all?”

“A drop or two.” She winked and you laughed. That’s when you noticed a certain pair of brown eyes on you.

“Making me a drink T?” Chad slide in right next to Tara, his arm around her shoulders. She replied with some sarcastic comment before placing a kiss on his cheek. You were more interested in the boy straggling in behind Chad. Ethan’s eyes stayed on you. Did he not realize he was staring? He didn’t, not until your eyes met his. Those puppy dog eyes darted down immediately as he pretended to fix his polo shirt. The bright lights in the kitchen made it so you could see the red hue cover his cheeks. A small smile played on your lips as you brought your cup to them again. Almost without realizing it, you were walking towards Ethan.

“Enoying the party?”

“I am now,” Ethan replied, and you could immediately tell Chad had given him a shot or two. He wasn’t drunk, but definitely had enough liquid courage to be flirting with you right now. With eyebrows raised, you took a step closer.

“Is that so? What makes it so much better now, Landry?” You couldn’t help but notice how cute he looked all red-faced. His curls were all disheveled and a few stuck to his forehead from the heat. Maybe this party could be fun after all.

Ethan leaned in closer to you, partly because the music was so loud and partly because he wanted to smell your sweet vanilla perfume, “no particular reason.” The smirk that played on his lips and also his tone made butterflies erupt in your stomach. You’d never seen Ethan be flirty, especially with you. His eyes flashed to your lips for just a moment and you thought he was leaning it when out of nowhere, Chad appeared between you.

“Dude, come on! There’s a girl over here I’ve been hyping you up to!” A look of annoyance spread on Ethans face at Chad’s interruption. He let out a few protests before a drunken Chad lead him away. You on the other had were left slightly annoyed and wildly confused at what just happened. You were also confused at the slight twinge of jealousy you felt when you saw where Chad was leading Ethan to. A beautiful brunette girl whom you’ve never seen before. You downed one shot and then another before setting off to find at least one of your friends. You definitely needed to get drunk after that encounter.

You ended up finding Anika and Mindy and decided on being a third wheel for the remainder of the night. It sure beats third wheeling with Chad and Tara, who were still with Ethan. The brunette lingered around him for the rest of the night as well. And as the night progressed she became more touchy. First his shoulder, then his arm, then his chest. And with every advancement you downed another shot provided by Anika. She asked you a few times what was bothering you and you wouldn’t dare tell her that you’re actually jealous over Ethan Landry. Denying your feelings had gotten you far enough. She could guess though, following your heated gaze over to Ethan and the brunette girl.

Finally, she was tired of your sulking and dragged you out to dance. Mindy didn’t mind as she herself was too high to move off the couch and she knew you and Anika had been close friends for years. You both pushed past the people around you, giggling out apologies. She grabbed your hand and you two began to dance. You’d almost forgotten about Ethan until your eyes glanced over and met his. He was staring right at you and this time, his eyes didn’t divert. In face they were darker now. The brunette girl still hung close to him talking about some nonsense that was he was not paying attention to. His eyes remained on you and only you. “Stop looking,” Anika scolded, spinning you around so now your back was to Ethan. A devilish grin grew on her face. “I knew you liked him, I KNEW!”

“I do NOT like him.” You said sternly, still swaying your hips to the music. Anika rolled her eyes. “Y/n.” “Anika.” “Y/n.” “Anika.” “Y/n.” “Anika! I do not like Ethan Landry!” Anika stopped dancing, her eyes flickering from you and then past you. You turned to see none other than the topic of conversation right behind you. When did he get there? Ethan chewed on the inside of his cheek, his eyes on the floor. You felt your stomach drop. He looked like you just murdered his puppy and you felt horrible.

“Ethan, I-“ you started towards him and he took a step back. He lifted his hand in the air before mumbling, “it’s all good y/n.” And with that he turned disappeared into the crowd. Great. You didn’t know what was going on with you. Maybe it was the liquor, but you couldn’t blame it on that completely. You’d been struggling with your feelings for awhile. In an attempt to save yourself from Anika’s “I told you so” speech you had hurt Ethan. All you wanted in that moment was to explain.

You searched the crowd and asked multiple people if they’d seen Ethan. You finally found Chad and he let you know that he’d seen Ethan rush upstairs. You followed. Just about every door upstairs seems to be locked until you got to the one at the end of the hall. You opened it slowly, not sure exactly what you’d see. You were relieved to find Ethan sitting on the bed, head in his hands. “Hey E…”

His head shot up at the sound of your voice. You could’ve crumbled right there at the sight of him. “Hey! S-sorry I ran off I just had headache. Never letting Chad make my drinks again,” he laughed shaking his head. You sat down on the mattress next to him. Allowing the alcohol you’d consumed earlier take over you started, “Ethan I was lying. I do like you.” You could heard his breath hitch, relieved and confused by your words. “You don’t have to say that to make me feel better, y/n.” He shook his head and started to stand up. You grabbed his arm to stop him. His was lot more muscular than you thought. Damn those butterflies again.

“I’m not just saying that. I like you, E. I like that you get all nervous around me.” You removed your hand. His eyes flickered down to you as he was still standing. “I don’t know what’s going on with me tonight but, what happened in the kitchen and on the dance floor…” you buried your head in your hands and sighed before looking up at him again, hands brushing your hair back. Suddenly, you were the one who felt nervous. The way he looked at you and you swear you saw a small smirk. The same one from the kitchen earlier. “Maybe I should just go, you obviously wanted to be alone and we’re both a bit intoxicated-“

You were abruptly cut off by Ethans lips on yours, pushing you both down on the bed. His lips tasted like a mixture of tequila and mint. The kiss was hungry and fast paced, you almost felt like you couldn’t breathe. You reciprocated, tugging at the curls at the nape of his neck. Desperately trying to bring him closer to you. Your bodies intertwined perfectly imperfectly, a mess of hands grasping at each other’s bodies. He pulled away slightly, his eyes dark like before. You’d never seen Ethan like this before but you certainly weren’t complaining. He examined you like the for a moment. Desperate for him. “Is this okay?” He asked breathily and you nodded, afraid to let any words out in that moment. His lips were on yours again and then they travelled down to your neck. “I like you too, by the way,” he mumbled into your neck. You giggled at the muffled sound before flipping over that you were on top of him now. “You’re such a dork, Landry,” you said in almost a whisper before leaning down slowly. He gulped, thinking of all the times he’d dreamt about this moment. You brought his hands up to cup your waist. Ethan’s grip immediately tightened before your lips met once again. This time it was slower, more passionate. And just as you both wanted more, the door swung open.

“Ethan! We gotta go, cops!” Chad shouted hastily before realizing Ethan wasn’t alone. “Oh shit… y/n? You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!” Ethan grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at Chad. “Shut up dude!”

Chad dodged the pillow and tried to calm him laughter down. “Well, lovebirds we have to go. Y/n the girls are looking for you.”

You sighed as Chad left the room. “Well we better go, I don’t really feel like getting arrested tonight,” you mumbled giving Ethan a small peck on the lips before hopping off him.

“I’ll take my chances. This is worth it.” Ethan grabbed your hips pulling you onto him again, smiling. The way that smile almost had you convinced.

“We can’t make out in jail, E.” You gave him one last passionate kiss, “we can resume this later.” And with that you practically pulled him out of the room and then the house. You met up with the group later and tried hard to avoid Anika’s incriminating gaze.

The party was most definitely worth it.

[amongusmpreg]

Why are you so cheesy pilled

ok, well honestly this is something i’ve been meaning to get off my chest.

1. Meeting your soulmate

2. Going to your friend's weddings

3. Stargazing

4. Food

5. Going to every country

6. Nice smelling candles

7. Music

8. Concerts

9. The people that love you.

10. Snowball fights

11. Going to the beach

12. Sunsets

13. Sunrises

14. Hiking in Forests

15. Dogs and Cats and Pets

16. New movies

17. Old movies

18. Going to the drive in theatre

19. Walking through local markets

20. Your favorite artists next song

21. Drawing

22. Sculpting your own pots

23. Birthdays

24. Inside jokes with your friends

25. That special persons laugh

26. Warm houses on cold days

27. Bonfires with smores

28. Reconnecting with old friends

29. Smelling flowers

30. Soft plushies

31. The smell of fresh baked cookies

32. Kareoke

33. Sleepovers

34. Your favorite videogame

35. Learning a new language

36. Long walks on the beach

37. Seeing every ocean

38. Squishy bunnies

39. Going to the store to smell perfumes

40. Long hot showers

41. Tea/ coffee

42. Seeing rainbows

43. Helping wounded animals

44. Bath bombs

45. Cleaning the Earth

46. Getting married

47. Going to see brodway shows

48. The sound of rain

49. Long car rides

50. Going on a train

51. Memes

52. Going to the zoo

53. Looking at funny art

54. The smell of old books

55. Butterflies

56. Collecting shells

57. Color

58. Sending letters

59. Surprise parties

60. Warm sheets

61. Reading

62. Swimming in the pool at night

63. Going to diners with friends

64. Early morning runs

65. Looking at old photos

66. Going to a museum

67. Soft sweaters

68. Glitter

69. Going to the aquarium

70. Hugs

71. Making snow angels

72. Holidays

73. Home cooked meals

74. Roller coasters

75. Decorating for parties

76. Playing pranks on friends

77. Dancing

78. Singing in the shower

79. Seeing your favorite animal in person

80. Meeting your hero

81. Bubble wrap

82. Ice water on hot days

83. Poetry

84. Trying on funny clothes

85. Hanging out with friends

86. City skylines

87. Wearing your favorite color

88. Beautiful wildlife

89. Collecting stickers

90. Making some ones day

91. Laughing so hard you can't breath

92. Warm blankets fresh from the dryer

93. Sewing

94. Seeing the future

95. Late night convos

96. Rewatching your favorite show

97. Blowing Bubblegum

98. Boardgames

99. Sitting out in the rain

100. Bubbles

101. Cooking new thing

102. Bob Ross tutorials

103. Picnics

104. Tire swings

105. Old architecture

106. Reading books

107. Growing your own food

108. Clear skies

109. Baking things you love

110. Finding new hobbies

Wowwwww, you meow like a cat! That means you are one, right? Shut the fuck up. If you really want to be put on a leash and treated like a domestic animal then that’s called a fetish, not “quirky” or “cute”. What part of you seriously thinks that any part of acting like a feline establishes a reputation of appreciation? Is it your lack of any defining aspect of personality that urges you to resort to shitty representations of cats to create an illusion of meaning in your worthless life? Wearing “cat ears” in the shape of headbands further notes the complete absence of human attribution to your false sense of personality, such as intelligence or charisma in any form or shape. Where do you think this mindset’s gonna lead you? You think you’re funny, random, quirky even? What makes you think that acting like a fucking cat will make a goddamn hyena laugh? I, personally, feel extremely sympathetic towards you as your only escape from the worthless thing you call your existence is to pretend to be an animal. But it’s not a worthy choice to assert this horrifying fact as a dominant trait, mainly because personality traits require an initial personality to lay their foundation on. You’re not worthy of anybody’s time, so go fuck off, “cat-girl”.

[jpitha]

Aliens are Gardenworlders / Humans are Space Orcs crossover: Humans take risks that might cause other sapients to be concerned for our wellbeing. What about people who are into Extreme Sports?

In orbit around the Garden World:

"Welcome to our home! I know a few humans who came to live here had...trouble after a few months, but you've said that you have no problem entertaining yourself and should be able to find plenty of enriching activities while here!"

"Thank you so much for approving my relocation, it really means a lot to me!"

"Um...what are you doing? You seem to be putting on an armored pressure suit"

"Oh this? I'm going to go skydiving to make it home. Don't you find landing just so..so boring?"

"You're going to do WHAT? No! you can't! We're still in orbit!"

"No worries, I have my ablative shield/surfboard here!" He holds out a massive, heavy looking oblong board with hundreds of little matte black squares on the bottom. "I'll ride the ionosphere until I'm under Mach 3, pop a drogue to steady myself, and then when I'm going a nice, sedate terminal velocity, I'll pop my regular chute and land."

"THAT'S INSANE"

"Nah, it's all good look!" He gestures around his suit "I have my main, my backup, my emergency, and I'm wearing another one under the suit. I have two knives to cut lines if needed, and the board has a chute too, it won't even land hard!"

"B-b-but"

"Don't worry! Humans have been skydiving forever. Even before we went to space, we had folks who would ride balloons as high as they could go and then jump out. This is only an extension of that."

"Y-y-you can't"

"Nowhere says I can't. I talked with the ship, they're going to pop the ventral airlock when I give the go-ahead. The puff of air will push me clear and I can begin my fall"

"WHAT? THEY WON'T LET YOU"

"Who says I won't?" The Ship said "If this human wants to become a fiery meteorite in the skies above the planet I'm not going to stop them."

"I told you both, It'll be fine. Okay, I'm off! See you on the ground suckers!!!!"

As the airlock closes, the alien says to the ship "Is he going to die?"

"Oh, absolutely. From this though? eh, 75% chance of surviving."

"....fucking humans..."

[azdmathings]

Most of the country is still locked in winter with it snow, ice and cold but here in Arizona it is 75 and clear blue skies. Perfect time for the start of Spring Training, Yeah, you know what that means

The Boys Are Back In Town!

So Grab Hold of Your Bats and Balls Boys Cause it's a All Baseball Weekend!

[cheolcor3]

WELCOME TO SEARCH...

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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Bangchan ㅤ Lee Know ㅤ Yuncheol ㅤ Changbin Hyunjinㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

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──⟡⋆ HEADING - YUNCHEOL

!! BASIC INFORMATION !!

STAGE NAME — Yuncheol | 윤철 BIRTH NAME — Choi Yuncheol | 최윤철 ENGLISH NAME — Jack Choi NICKNAMES — yun, yunyun, choicheol, choil, yunnie (exclusive only to i.n), c.c (pronounced ceecee) BIRTHDAY — January 18, 1999 ZODIAC — Aquarius | Rabbit BIRTHPLACE — Gwangju, Korea ETHNICITY — Korean NATIONALITY — Korean FAMILY — Mother, Father and Younger Sister LANGUAGES — 100% Korean (native), 90% Cantonese, 75% Mandarin, 50% English, 50% Japanese

!! PHYSICAL !!

HEIGHT — 177cm | 5'9" WEIGHT — 55kg | 121lb BLOOD TYPE — O PIERCINGS — 1x lobe piercing TATTOOS — None

!! CLAIMS !!

FACE CLAIM — Ji Changmin (The Boyz) VOCAL CLAIM — Ji Changmin (The Boyz) DANCE CLAIM — Ji Changmin (The Boyz)

!! PERSONALITY !!

MBTI — INTJ MBTI TYPE — Sometimes referred to as the "Architect" or the "Strategist," people with an INTJ personality are highly analytical, creative, and logical. POSITIVE TRAITS — ambitious, goal-oriented. attentive NEGATIVE TRAITS — internalised misogyny, Overly protective of himself and those he holds close, Lost in his own head. HABITS — Forgets his glasses everywhere, Smoking, Scribbling small poems everywhere, Nightmares even in small naps. PHOBIAS — Claustrophobia ( fear of closed spaces ), Nyctophobia ( fear of the dark ) MEDICAL CONDITIONS — Migraines, C-ptsd, Arthritis. Breathing issues, slight Astigmatism. ALLERGIES — N/A LIKES — Reading & Writing Poetry, clear empty night skies, DISLIKES — Haunted Houses,

!! STATICS !!

DANCE — 8/10 VOCAL — 7/10 RAP — 6/10 STAGE PRESENCE — 8/10 VARIETY — 7/10 SONGWRITING — 8.5/10 PRODUCING — 5/10 CHREOGRAPHY — 8.5/10 ACTING — 6/10

!! CAREER !!

PROFESSION — Idol GROUP — Stray Kids LABEL — JYP ENTERTAINMENT TRAINING PERIOD — 4 years POSITION — Lead Dancer, Sub Vocalist UNIT — dance racha SKZOO ANIMAL - Animal -> Cheetah , Name -> YunChi REPRESENTATIVE EMOJI — 🐆 INDIVIDUAL FANDOM — N/A SPOTIFY — N/A SIGNATURE —

[h0pelezromantic]

Enough is Enough

Written by Essafa

9 November 2023

Today marked the 34 days of Israel occupation against Palestine. Every minute, every second is uncertain for them. Not once getting better, not once the bombs stop. Each corridor or even place that is supposed to be a shelter for them to find protection isn’t safe anymore. Israel bombed every possible place and things just to hide behind the “Hamas is hiding in there” “Hamas using Palestinian as a human shield” –Hamas this, Hamas that. The pathetic part is that Israel can’t prove any “death” of Hamas and even located them. 

Thousands of innocent souls have been martyred–unborn babies, babies, children, women, elderly. As per today, Palestinian death toll  reached 10,569 with mostly children and thousands still missing. Hundreds of images and videos show the cruelty and inhumane act of Israel–and most countries haven’t condemned their action. Yet, they condemned what Hamas did on 7th of October which was the result of what Israel did for the past 50 years. Imagine you’re protecting your own country from the oppressor called a terrorist, while the oppressor is a so-called hero. How is that even possible? 

Now we get to the point of life where everything is not the same anymore and won’t be the same anymore–as it should be. We get to live life as comfortably as possible–at the same time, Palestinians are living a nightmare; the sound of bird chirping turns to sound of raining bombs, blue clear skies now filled with dust, homes turns into rubble with thousands of people under it, and the ones still alive wondering when their turn to take their last breath. However, Palestinians are a proof of believers–we’re here slowly losing hope in the world but they still stand strong and encourage us. Indeed, we do live in an unfair world. 

I never imagined that we’re witnessing and experiencing dystopian life. We’re actually witnessing live of genocide and ethnic cleansing against Palestinian. We’re witnessing how history repeats itself where clearly “Never Again” is just a phrase. I believe we are educated enough to know what happened during World War II–the Holocaust-the Nakba. I believe we are educated enough to differentiate a war and genocide. I believe that no human being wants to experience what the Palestinian experiencing right now and of course for the past 75 years. Only people that are sick in the head approve–agree to the carpet bombing of Palestine. 

I and each one of you who still have the sense of humanity won’t let Israel get to act whatever they want. We will try our best effort to stop the genocide against Palestinians. We still and will stand strong like the Palestinians did for the past 75 years. We won’t give up–we won’t stay silent–we will and always speak the truth. We hear you Palestinians. We hear you. Hundreds of thousands of us will stand by you. We are your hope. We are your voice. You will be free, you will be free. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. 

To whoever read this, please spread more awareness. Don’t stop talking about Palestine. Call your representative, voice the truth, demand an immediate ceasefire. Do everything in your power to talk the truth–Palestine. Don’t ever stop. Spread every small detail of what's happening in Palestine.

[pilvimarja]

🔥= smutty ‼️= read the warnings 😭 = emotional ❣️= fluffy and sweet ✅️ = completed

55 and 75 by metemcephalon, explicit, bottom Maverick ❣️✅️

They aviate through the clear skies and grey clouds of life together, but they move slower now.

Push It Real Good by Fopperies, explicit 🔥‼️✅️

Maverick has to help Bradley when he's hit by a (vague) curse.

With These Drums And These Guitars by Lake, teen, Band AU 😭❣️

Maverick, the rock band, is in need of a new drummer. Bradley doesn't expect much when he auditions, even if his dad was one of the founding members.

Mommy Knows Best by FuddleWuddle, explicit, omegaverse, bottom Maverick 🔥‼️‼️‼️✅️

Mav keeps hearing Bradley say something he probably shouldn't when his 'girlfriends' are round. When the third one breaks up with him because of what he says, Mav steps in to help. Because Mommy knows best, after all.

At Your Bark And Call by Comrad, explicit 🔥‼️

Rooster really should learn to ask for things more often. Maverick really should know better than to let his doofy bloodhound on the couch.

[rjjameshiii]

RJ's Platinum Collection #8: SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated!

Achieved on 8/21/2022 at 9:11 AM

I was a huge SpongeBob fan when I was a kid, and so naturally I was a big fan of the original Battle for Bikini Bottom. Where a lot of licensed games from my childhood are mediocre to bad looking back on them, BFBB is still a genuinely good platformer and a very fun experience. So when they released the Rehydrated edition in all its updated colors and graphics, you bet your yellow sponge ass I was getting that platinum.

Battle for Bikini Bottom is exactly what it says on the tin: Plankton made evil robots, the robots are out of control and terrorizing the city, it's up to SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy to save the day. You do that by fighting robots while also completing missions and challenges that earn you Golden Spatulas, which you can use to progress to new areas. You need 75 Golden Spatulas in order to enter the Final Boss arena, but there are a total of 100 spatulas in the game, and you need all 100 for the trophy.

Like Jak & Daxter, I knew how to get everything done, so I wanted to try to fully complete each level before moving on to the next one - starting with the tutorial inside of SpongeBob's pineapple.

1/33: Time For Tutorial - Collect everything inside of SpongeBob's house.

Going outside to the first section of Bikini Bottom, you have access to three levels - Jellyfish Fields, Downtown Bikini Bottom, and Goo Lagoon. All three of these levels are fantastic and super fun to play.

I had no choice but to start with Jellyfish Fields since the other two levels are locked until you get a certain number of Spatulas. While playing, I found 15 of Patrick's missing socks, of which you need to collect 80 in order to get 100% of the game.

2/33: Sock Getter - Find 15 of Patrick's socks.

Continuing on I beat the main mission of Jellyfish Fields, then moved on to Downtown Bikini Bottom, and finally Goo Lagoon before defeating the gigantic Robot Sandy in the Poseidom.

3/33: Jellyfish Jam - Defeat King Jellyfish.

4/33: Spatula Seeker - Collect 10 Golden Spatulas.

5/33: Jellyfishing - Complete Squidward's mission in Jellyfish Fields.

6/33: Uptown and Downtown - Complete Mrs. Puff's mission in Downtown Bikini Bottom.

7/33: Sponge Smasher - Defeat 100 robots as SpongeBob.

8/33: Super Spatula Seeker - Collect 25 Golden Spatulas.

9/33: Surf's Up! - Complete all the main missions in Goo Lagoon.

10/33: Sweet Victory - Defeat Robot Sandy in the Poseidom.

The second section of Bikini Bottom gives you access to the Mermalair, Sand Mountain, and Rock Bottom. While I love Sand Mountain and Rock Bottom, I always found the Mermalair to be a weaker level (not as bad as later, but weaker). So I decided to complete the main missions of Rock Bottom first, then Sand Mountain, and finally the Mermalair.

Side note, it took me 32 tries to complete the rolling ball puzzle in the Mermalair. There is a REASON that everyone who plays this game hates that mission.

Anyways, after finishing all three of those levels I fought Robot Patrick in the Industrial Park and got access to the final area of Bikini Bottom.

11/33: Sock Concert - Find 40 of Patrick's socks.

12/33: Squirrel Smasher - Defeat 100 robots as Sandy.

13/33: Hit Rock Bottom - Finish the main missions of Rock Bottom.

14/33: Are You Ready Now? - Talk to Squidward 10 times as SpongeBob.

15/33: Life's As Extreme As You Wanna Make It! - Clear all of the ski slopes in Sand Mountain.

16/33: Ultra Spatula Seeker - Collect 50 Golden Spatulas.

17/33: Keep It Rolling - Complete the Rolling Ball puzzle in the Mermalair.

18/33: Shrimp Catcher - Defeat Prawn in the Mermalair.

19/33: Toxic Terror - Defeat Robo-Patrick in the Industrial Park.

Area 3 gives you access to the Kelp Forest, the Flying Dutchman's Graveyard, and SpongeBob's Dream. I really dislike the first two levels so I got them out of the way first, but SpongeBob's Dream is probably the best level in the game - and also the hardest.

20/33: Hello, Bikini Bottom! - Find all of the hidden Golden Spatulas in Bikini Bottom.

21/33: Star Smasher - Defeat 100 robots as Patrick.

22/33: Kelp Forest of Fear - Find all of the lost campers in the Kelp Forest.

23/33: Robot Encyclopedia - Defeat at least one type of every robot in the campaign.

24/33: Mega Spatula Seeker - Collect 75 Golden Spatulas.

25/33: Ship Shape - Reclaim the Flying Dutchman's ship in the Flying Dutchman's Graveyard.

26/33: Shanghaied - Defeat the Flying Dutchman.

27/33: Sock Opera - Find all 80 of Patrick's socks.

28/33: Sleepy Time - Find all the Golden Spatulas in SpongeBob's Dream.

Once I had all nine main levels finished, I actually needed to spend some time collecting shiny objects (the game's version of currency) to give to Mr. Krabs in exchange for Golden Spatulas. After I did that, I had 98/100 spatulas, and it was time to go face the final boss - the giant Robot SpongeBob.

29/33: SpongeBob Vs. SpongeBob! - Defeat SpongeBot SteelPants in the Chum Bucket Lab.

Oh, but that's not actually the final boss. The real final boss is Robot Plankton, and to defeat HIM you need to complete a lot of parkour and puzzle solving while inside of Robot SpongeBob's head. Defeating him will get you all three remaining trophies, and the Battle for Bikini Bottom platinum!

30/33: 100% SpongeBob - Get 100% completion.

31/33: Super Ultra Mega Spatula Seeker - Collect all 100 Golden Spatulas.

32/33: The Small Does Not Rule - Defeat Robo-Plankton.

33/33: Neptune's Spatula - Get all of the other trophies in the game.

I don't have any fancy review words to say. Just play this game and get this platinum. It's easy but a lot of fun!

Rating: 10/10

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 21/09/2024 (The Weeknd, Tate McRae, Chappell Roan, Teddy Swims, Playboi Carti)

For a fourth week straight, Sabrina Carpenter is at #1 on the UK Singles Chart with “Taste”, and it seems like everyone on the pop music roster has returned this week. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: language, brief discussion of Palestine, allegations, queerphobia

Rundown

As always, we start the episode with our notable dropouts, those being songs exiting the UK Top 75 - which is what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid farewell to: “Red Wine Supernova” by Chappell Roan (I’ll explain why towards the end), “Houdini” by Eminem, “Pink Skies” by Zach Bryan, “Like a Prayer” by Madonna, “i like the way you kiss me” by Artemas and “The Man Who Can’t be Moved” by The Script. It’s not that large a list of songs, but these are all pretty big hits during the past year, this is almost a clear-out week of some summer tracks.

As for what takes those songs’ places, well, we have plenty of new arrivals to fill that void but there are also some notable gains, and returns, for that regard, with “Fortnight” by Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone back briefly at #75 from when it dropped out to #76 last week (“Gata Only” has company, I see), and a much more interesting re-entry with Charli xcx bringing “Talk talk” back to #24. The song peaked at #47 on album release week, but with the Brat remix compilation announcement, Charli released alongside it a new, mediocre version of this track featuring Troye Sivan - who’s credited by the Official Charts Company, for once - and Dua Lipa - who’s not credited by anywhere. As for the gains, we see solid boosts forEDM to-be-hits “TOO COOL TO BE CARELESS” by PAWSA at #66, “Cry Baby” by Clean Bandit, Anne-Marie and David Guetta at #51 and bizarrely enough, the song I literally nearly forgot to review until the episode was finished last week has scooted up to the top 40 - “Embrace It” by Ndotz is at #36 because, sure, I get the appeal. Other than JADE’s “Angel of My Dreams” at #19, however, much of what we need to talk about in the top 40 is relegated to tracks debuting there this week.

As for our top five, “Die with a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars continues a rise at #5, but the rest should all be standard: Sabrina Carpenter has “Please Please Please” at #4 and “Espresso” at #3, Chappell Roan has “Good Luck, Babe!” at #2 and of course, Sabrina also has “Taste” at the very top. Now there are many… interesting debuts up and down the charts, mostly in the top 40, but we start with, well, maybe the least coherent.

New Entries

#72 - “KEEP UP” - Odetari

Produced by Odetari

Okay… so, this might require some explanation. Odetari is a rap-singer from Texas who has been carving out a place online, particularly TikTok, through his success in bringing some underground hyperpop-adjacent trends into a more mainstream place. Alongside other acts like 9lives and 6arelyhuman, who, trust me, have names just as alien to me as they are you, his work encompasses distorted club beats using a similar bitcrushed technique to “hexd” or “surge” music, rapping like a digicore artist over Jersey club, and generally, being high-pitched and annoying. Bizarrely, he’s been popping up mostly on the US dance charts for a year or so now, and has attracted an audience that probably belongs in some form to the “scene revival”, with his woozy, punched-up rave beats and Auto-Tuned vocal fitting right into that sound. “KEEP UP” has crossed over to a more general audience to give him a breakthrough outside of his demographic, so part of me was hoping he did something a bit different in this one. Uh, no.

This is far from a bad thing necessarily for as much as I feel like I’m some boomer trying to hear most of this guy’s material, there’s something about this track in particular I actually really enjoy, and I think it may just be up to the fact that it is so relentlessly catchy. The self-produced saw sounds straight out of the NES, sure, but it’s overwhelmed by the punchy hardcore kicks, which soon evolve into a drum pattern so distorted it becomes a bitcrushed mesh alongside Mr. Odetari’s hook which has already made itself home in my head. Genuinely, it’s an annoyingly catchy, stuttering hook that has such a good first half to the main melodic idea that it doesn’t matter that the second half of the phrase trails off into barely-words bullshit. It’s nothing new, it’s just addictive, and I think I understand the virality now, even if I get the feeling that I don’t fully “get it”. As for the lyrics, Odetari is genuinely not saying anything. There is no lyrical conceit or motif to the song, and I am absolutely confident in saying that I’m not missing anything in that regard, as the verses, similarly full of vocal manipulating and stuttering ad-libs crowding the mix, sound like loose freestyles he decorated with production to fit in with the one good idea he had: the undeniable chorus. I also enjoy how this is one of few songs to do the cheap, TikTok-variety slowed-down outro with tact and reason: the transition is solid and exciting, the synths take on a new, eerie tone with the pace shift, and the third verse - or I suppose, bridge - is the most focused on the song, being a whole lot of flexing but more cohesive than anything else he has going for him. So, yeah, oddly enough, I really enjoy this, though I don’t think I’m fully there into delving into the Odetari back catalogue. If you can call having barely two years worth of singles and EPs a back catalogue.

#59 - “Disco” - Surf Curse

Produced by Jarvis Taveniere

Surf Curse are, fittingly, a surf punk band from Nevada whose back catalogue has been bubbling under for years now: they seem to have very little success, even now signed to a major label, with their new output but every so often, their years-old songs will get a viral buzz and streaming traction, with some popping up on the charts. I actually covered them way back in 2021 when this happened for the first time with “Freaks”, a song that was originally released all the way back in 2013, but hey, it’s been three years since, I’m sure that people have caught onto their newer work and no, this “new” song is five years old and has already sold 95,000 copies overall. I liked “Freaks” for as much as the Nick Rattigan-fronted band could get me to like a lo-fi indie snippet that didn’t have much to it, so I was honestly hoping to get a refresher on these guys that involved actually fully-fledged songs. This is closer, even if it’s barely longer than “Freaks”, mostly because of a more professional mix, though still with some imperfect lo-fi elements that punch it up a tad, though the song is still barely there. The lyrics about seeing a girl at the disco and being in adoration about the way she dances are… unbefitting and ultimately not interestingly phrased, the stop-and-start rhythm in the chorus’ end is not that inspired, almost expected, and the main riff just reminds me of “Freaks” again, which the entire song resembles quite a lot, and maybe a bit of early Vampire Weekend. Some of the lyrics come off as somewhat obsessed or creepy, especially given the allegations that followed the year after this song’s release, but it doesn’t have the rougher, darker edges of “Freaks”, which I relistened to and still enjoy, to integrate that into its appeal. I have heard better in indie surf-rock, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that the least interesting of it is what ends up charting. I guess it’s okay, but it’s definitely not original or even likeable.

#47 - “Tony Soprano 3” - Nines

Produced by RQ1of1 and JC3

UK rapper Nines is back with an album on the 27th, and what better way to announce a forthcoming project than with completing the trilogy of his “Tony Soprano” series of freestyle-liked tracks just meant to serve as Nines talking his shit to convince you to care about the project on the way. The last installment peaked at #10 but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t upped the quality with this latest edition and… well, the spoken part at the start seems to indicate this forthcoming record is his last, but other than that, there’s absolutely nothing of interest here. Nines is sloppy as always, with a vocal mix that is obsessed with stuttering and other effects that seem completely unnecessary for a song that should be about bars, of which Nines has very little, over this basic trap beat that admittedly has a nicer loop this time. There are sone nice references and I do respect ending the track by calling out social media for allegedly shadow-banning his account after he showed support for Palestine, but considering the rest of the track is about how he thinks he’s the GOAT and this is tacked on clumsily to the end, it instead appears somewhat self-serving, unfortunately. Overall, like I say about most of Nines’ tracks that end up charting, I don’t think it’s much of note at all, but this one is perfectly serviceable outside of odd production choices, which is more than Nines sometimes provides so that’s something, surely.

#32 - “ALL RED” - Playboi Carti

Produced by F1LTHY, Lukrative, Lucian, Ojivolta and Twisco

Atlanta legend and trap pioneer Future has just released his rawer, messier set of hype anthems, MIXTAPE PLUTO, which may have an impact next week but more importantly for us today, makes this lead single from Playboi Carti nearly entirely obsolete. Carti has been teasing singles for the entire year and a bit from an upcoming release, I AM MUSIC, but much of this has been on YouTube and other platforms instead of the major streaming services, whether that be for sample clearance, label nonsense, general “mystery” or because the guy hates his fans, probably a mix of all of the above. A lot of those newer songs and leaks have featured Mr. Carter experimenting with his voice in strange ways, but primarily using his newer, deeper voice he introduced on “FE!N” last year, to mostly boring results outside of “2024” (released in 2023), I like that one, though that features a mix. There is something really funny to me, therefore, that after a mish-mash of genuine experimentation and unwarranted hype and acclaim from fans and industry alike, that his proper lead single is just a Future impression on a F1LTHY beat. The beat’s obviously hard-hitting enough with his twisting synth loops and bass-heavy menace that comes naturally with F1LTHY territory though with six producers credited here, two of which being the very creative Ojivolta, I did expect more detail or at least some progression here beyond just plugging some new synth flares in and out. Carti is in typical lyrical territory, though I don’t think I understand the main conceit of the chorus that his neck tattoo is shutting anybody up, exactly, because if anything, the Satanic imagery is what gets people talking about the mysterious and violent “red” aesthetic Carti’s been working with since he discovered rage beats. He does end up sounding more distinct from Future on the one verse, but by that point it’s just a middling Whole Lotta Red leftover. I can’t call it bad because there is energy and intensity here to justify its existence, I just feel like it could have been much more.

#28 - “Bad Dreams” - Teddy Swims

Produced by Julian Bunetta, Matt Zara and John Ryan

Colour me surprised that Teddy Swims is sticking around. “Lose Control” seemed out of nowhere but is one of the biggest songs of the decade so far, despite sounding like pretty much nothing out, and “The Door” is the kind of follow-up that he probably needed to show an upbeat side, so I was interested in this newest single, not from his breakthrough album, that might just be the deal-maker - or deal-breaker - for if Mr. Swims can continue his hit-making career past that one good year, as this was released last Friday and didn’t have the slow burn of the others. Given the high debut, I have a feeling the Swimster does fill a void and will be here to stay, but as to how I feel about the song, I am somewhat disappointed in the producers going for a more typical, 2020s subdued indie-pop guitar lead and tone amidst the more classic soul groove, because whilst it mixes the guy better into his closest contemporaries on the charts - he’s closer to Sabrina Carpenter of all people than anything - it also takes some of the loveable bombast from his prior hits out of the occasion, with the malformed post-chorus, consisting of a weak “woo”, rising strings, and stray claps accompanying some brief phrases that feel more like vocal riffs than a fully-written conclusion to the chorus, wherein he longs for his partner not to leave him because without them, he gets “bad dreams” - probably more so referring to how distraught his mental health can be without relying on someone else. Obviously, he sounds great, though he has some room to belt here and shows some restraint, which could be odd for that kind of content that almost comes across as begging, so I feel like even his vocal performance is slightly underwhelming here… which sums up the song in general. It’s fine, it’ll be successful, but it also doesn’t seem like the most memorable third act to me.

#21 - “Pink Pony Club” - Chappell Roan

Produced by Dan Nigro

We switched out our Pokémon, so to speak, with “Red Wine Supernova” and thanks to the three-song rule, Chappell Roan’s fourth-biggest song currently has dropped out from the top 40 and been replaced with the third. OCC are ridiculous, but to be fair, this rule was built to prevent album bombs, not the - somewhat unforeseeable - case that an artist would have an entire album be full of sleeper hits that have been out for at least a year but seem to all have a domino effect on each other until she’s one of the year’s biggest new stars. Those following this year would know I’m still somewhat torn on Chappell’s hits thus far, not really fully convinced by them outside of “HOT TO GO!”, and honestly mostly for somewhat nitpicky reasons, songs just not connecting nearly as much as they should for me due to lyrical gripes or structural oddities that put me off from the entire package and I’m glad that we finally have one that’s a bit simpler to explain: I think it’s boring. With that said, I really enjoy the idea of the lyrical narrative here, functioning as the clearest example of her album’s story regarding the young queer girl in Middle America - Tennesee in this song’s case - longing for the fictional, openly gay nightclub “the Pink Pony Club”. Her attendance would disappoint her mother but might be worth it for the joy and self-realisation, and she eventually progresses into actually being at the club and promising that her hometown still means a lot to her.

Now, like all Chappell Roan hits, here comes the “but”: I don’t actually like the way the lyrics progress with little variety that changes tenses but doesn’t have a meaningful impact on the content despite her journey, there’s not much nuance to how Tennessee is depicted outside of just the generic hometown she loves but has to get out of. More detail to why either Tennessee or Santa Monica actually matter, or if there are any specific areas outside of the fictional club that stand out to her journey, justifying why Tennessee still matters and not just her mother’s love. It relies in part to a sociopolitical content that it barely discusses, and it extends its length with an incessantly catchy and incredibly well-performed chorus but one that fails to have more of a gut-punch impact like it could, alongside solos that more often than they should go for warping down instead of soaring like they should when working in an 80s synthpop and AOR framework. The staccato string and synth stabs in the pre-chorus are cool enough but the mix stays too minimal with its gated drums to really have that full feeling, to make the club actually seem like either a dream or alien to the Tennessee girl. It even fades out like a classic 80s song, which is just a cop-out nowadays, and whilst I do have these specific problems… the main thing they all contribute is taking my interest out of vocals and drums that I otherwise would really love, making a song that, to me, is kind of a bore. I know I’m not making any friends by being consistently critical of Chappell Roan on Tumblr of all places, but I’m sorry, she still doesn’t excite me the way she has many others.

#14 - “It’s ok I’m ok” - Tate McRae

Produced by ILYA

I won’t even try and resist the easy joke of Ms. McRae outright stating what could well be my opinion of the song and her artistry in the title of the track. Thankfully, I don’t really agree with that statement - last year’s Tate McRae album was far from OK, more just outright garbage, but this one could be better. As in, this song really could be better, it’s not enjoyable at all. I’m nicer to late 2000s and early 2010s crunk-influenced pop but the mix emphasises this thin high-frequency DJ Mustard synth before emphasising an even more annoying sound, a clambering drum loop that completely demolishes the mix outside of Tate McRae herself, who was clearly listening to Ciara because she’s whispering incoherently about relationships, except without her Petey Pablo. It’d be The Kid LAROI, by the way, which should show how far we’ve fallen as a society. This half-rap chorus is honestly kind of pathetic in its attempt to sound carelessly “cool”, mostly because of the layers of background vocal riffing that refute that, and I genuinely could not make out half of the second verse so I’m not sure if I should even be trying to dig into the kiss-off where McRae - lying to herself, presumably - allows her partner’s new girlfriend to just take him because she’s TOTALLY over it. It’s not a bad idea for a song, I could see these lyrics working, maybe in a peppier context, but this production’s too dire outside of a genuinely nice atmosphere in the echo-drenched, sprawling outro, which really just sums up and repeats the song’s main conceit in less time than the rest of this mediocrity. Once again with McRae, I think I’ll pass. Also, Ryan Tedder is a co-writer, do not think you are safe on this one, Mr. OneRepublic, I’m actually pinning most of the blame on you just because I know your track record.

#12 - “Dancing in the Flames” - The Weeknd

Produced by The Weeknd, Max Martin, Oscar Holter

The Weeknd is back… but he’s also seemingly going away for a long time. Abel Tesfaye is finishing his trilogy that started with 2020’s After Hours, continued with 2022’s Dawn FM and now concludes with 2024’s Hurry Up Tomorrow out later this year. At a concert in Brazil, the singer teased a multiple of songs, including a Playboi Carti collaboration that has gone pretty viral but naturally in the era of TikTok slow-burn marketing, and the fact that Carti doing a normal, respectful and successful rollout for an important release, like The Weeknd has a track record of doing, is unheard of, that one will hate until the album, and for now, we get the Max Martin lead single because… who else? The two never miss together in making something that will most likely be a hit but I understand how one could be tired of the 80s synthpop pastiche by now and whilst this is anecdotal, I do feel like there was significantly less hype, at least from what I’ve seen, about not necessarily the album, which is still exciting for everyone, but this song in particular, which is yet another one of those pastiches. It’s got the same gated drum effect though they feel a bit thin outside of the fills, it’s got the same cute synths but with a much wonkier lead this time around, and whilst Abel will always sound great on record, he also phones that chorus in a tad, and it sounds especially so in the droll verses, with his now signature “Hey!” added in seemingly as a reminder that yup, this is the “Blinding Lights” guy. I don’t know about this one, it just seems like a mediocre rendition of something he’s done before that also misunderstands part of his appeal, with poetic but unsubstantial lovelorn lyrics that hint towards being more about his relationship with the music-listening audience given the reference to his “final odyssey”. It does intrigue me to where that outro is leading on the album, with the pattering out of the song into a darker atmosphere that will give this overly light and fluffy song some more balance, but other than that, I don’t care about this one way or the other.

Conclusion

That seems to kind of just be the theme of the episode: a lot of generally okay songs but mostly filling in for what I’ve already heard before. We really have three unique songs then a set of reruns, like the network ran out of new shows midway through the primetime block. Embarrassingly enough, Odetari runs away with the only song I even like here, “KEEP UP”, as the Best of the Week, whilst Tate McRae takes Worst of the Week for “It’s ok I’m ok” - though it may not sound like it in my review, “Disco” by Surf Curse was awfully close as the Dishonourable Mention, what a lazy and off-putting song. As for what's on the horizon, I could hazard a guess that Future and maybe Katy Perry land a song each, but it's a long shot regarding everything else. For now, thank you for reading, rest in peace to Tito Jackson, and I'll see you next week!

[wanderingmind867]

I've got a new idea that I'm very proud of! It's an idea for either a tv show or a series of TV Movies released every Christmas. It's about the goings on at a bar/restaurant/lounge every Christmas. I came up with this prompt all on my own after listening to a lot of Christmas music. I did use AI to bounce my ideas off of it, however. Whether it's a TV series or merely a series of TV Movies released every new Christmas season, one thing is clear: the show is only ever set during winter/christmas.

The Bar where the show is set is like a mix of a rustic old ski lodge and of an old cosmopolitan cocktail lounge from the 1940s. It's got a very old timey feel, at any rate.

This idea could be viewed as similar to shows like The Love Boat. An anthology series, but with a few characters connecting all the stories to each other. On the Love Boat, the crew of the ship were the characters who tied everything together. Here, it's the bar's staff who tie all the stories together. At least one staff member shows up during each of the 3-4 stories told in one episode.

Since I just brought them up, let's discuss the bar's staff:

First, there's the bar's owner (I don't have a name for him yet). He's an old man who always seems to know just what to do to boost his patrons spirits during the holiday season. He's also got a bit of an aura of mystery to him, mostly because it's implied he has some sort of history with Santa. Whether they be Best Friends, Distant Relatives or something in between, it's clear he's got some sort of connection to Santa and the North Pole.

I want him to be like Ricardo Montalban on Fantasy Island, this older man with an aura of mystery surrounding him. Personally, I like conclusive answers though. So I'll probably address the mystery at some point (after a season or two, or during the third or fourth special). I'm leaning towards the relatives ideas, personally. I think it's a clever idea for how they might know each other.

Also at the bar is a somewhat washed up old lounge singer (don't have a name for him yet either). 70-75 years old at the beginning of our series, he's been working for this bar since sometime in the late 90s (let's say he joined the staff around 1996 or so). He always wanted to make it big and be a successor to his idols Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, etc. But sadly, this never quite worked out as planned. He was sometimes able to book some small gigs, but he could never afford to play any big venues.

At some point in his 30s, he falls into a deep depression because of this. For almost 9 years, he wouldn't perform his music anymore. It's only because he happened to stop in at this bar for his 46th birthday that he's performing again. He fell in love with the atmosphere at the bar and with the feelings of love and camaraderie displayed there. He loved it so much he asked if he could perform at the bar, acting as a form of In-house entertainment. The bar's owner said he liked the idea a lot, and he's been working here ever since. In fact, his 30th anniversary of working for the bar is slowly approaching.

[pagerunner-j]

I have had a miserable couple of weeks, but today? It’s 75 degrees, clear skies, light breeze, I’ve got one of these, and things are, at this particular moment, lovely.

(Also, locals or determined geoguessers can probably tell where I am. But fuck it. ;)

[bluenews]

10TH - 16TH JUNE 2024.

THE HEADLINES

OFF THE RAILS: TRACK LINE CLOSURES AT BLUE HARBOR STATION

Due to maintenance work on the lines, the train journeys from Blue Harbor to Chicago and Rockford via Naperville are expected to be canceled or experience severe delays from Monday 10th June 2024 — Friday 28th June 2024. The maintenance work is reported to be at the lines near the Weaver Ridge area. For anyone affected by this, please contact the ticket office asap.

BLUE HARBOR-WOOD — IS BH THE NEW LA?

Numerous reports of various celebrity sightings have had locals and tourists alike partaking in ‘celebrity spotting’ the local hotspots and the upmarket neighborhood of Oak Gardens. Whether it be due to any participation in upcoming Pride events, or perhaps debating a move to a slower-paced life, here at Blue Harbor, we welcome all with open arms. 

WEEKLY FORECAST

Despite the hot weather, clear skies aren’t set to last with only two bright sunny days being Friday and Sunday. Scattered thunderstorms expected on Thursday with a estimated humidity of 54% so we advise you prepare yourselves for the weather accordingly! Things should stay dry the rest of the week, with the summer weather prepared to stay Sunday onwards!

Monday — 75°F / 51°F — sunny with clouds

Tuesday — 80°F / 64°F — sunny with clouds

Wednesday — 91°F / 69°F — sunny with clouds

Thursday — 92°F / 70°F  — scattered thunderstorms

Friday — 90°F / 65°F — sunny

Saturday — 90°F / 70°F — sunny with clouds

Sunday — 96°F / 76°F  — sunny

TOWN HAPPENINGS

As June continues, as do the Pride celebrations, with the Mayor’s office reporting the official parade date will be released this week as they finalize the last of the paperwork and permits needed. It’s not too late for any local businesses to partake as needed! Following activities and deals are listed below:

Aurora is having 2 for 1 deals on their Pride Collection Cocktails, until the end of June!

Enjoy-Mint! Across town for this week only, there is a 50% sale off all mint flavored, scented and colored items including: Assembly Depot, Caffélicious, Carnal Knowledge, Chilled Creamery, Crystal Clear, Earthwave and Honey Bee Tea! The perfect treat for all those who appreciate the acquired taste of mint! 

For one night only, on Wednesday 12th June, Margz and Margz are serving Pepperoni! First come, first served. Limited slices available! 

COMMUNITY BOARD

The following open starters could use a little love!

Lisha Katz @ Caffélicious!

[kokorowoutsu]

-- Willow: Tidbits

Willow was born in the Glimwood Tangle near Ballonlea.

She takes after looks on Leon's side but there are traits of Ashe if one looks close enough, especially her blue-green eyes. If her father is the sun, her mother is the moon, then she is their little wandering star.

Her first pokemon and partner is Larvae the Larvesta.

She's the opposite of Ashe -- she loves spicy food and chocolate, which her mother despises.

She was born under Aries skies.

She is 75% human and 25% fae.

She's more familiar with her mother's side of the family, but recent efforts have landed her spending time with her father's side as well as her many honorary aunts and uncles.

Willow has a lot of extended family both on paternal and maternal, but she has only had the chance to meet a few of them.

Her godparents are the current reigning Sorcerer Supreme, Donovan Bonhomme, and his wife, Gym Leader of Lavaridge Town, Flannery Burnes-Bonhomme. They are close friends of Ashe and Leon's, and are called Papa Donnie and Mama Flanna respectively.

Willo'w favorite show is PokeGeographic.

As far as anyone knows, Willow is a healthy child.

Like her mother, she can talk to pokemon with PokeSpeech. She can hear them as clear as day.

She attends a private school instead of Blueberry Academy. Her mother didn't want her to go through the same trauma she had when she was her age. The school is run by her godfather's godfather, James Xavier, who has been personally working with her to catch up academically.

Willow is fluent in Fae and Unovan/Galarian, but she is also learning Alolan on the side.

She likes to play tag and hide and seek, and has shown a interest in PokeSports thanks to her aunt, Blackburn, and cousin, Grusha.

She vibes with Team Valor.

[nidhi-writes]

Chinnanjiru Nilave (Ponniyin Selvan Fanfic)

Chapter - 1

It has been said that when the greatest of great emperors fell the seas rose and engulfed the land and its wealth. Some say that all the wealth has been sucked into the earth which was disheartened by the loss of her emperor. Loss of culture, loss of language. Blood covered the grounds like a river.  When two brothers fought within themselves and failed to see their mother is dying cause they forget to think about her. Dynasty doesn't end it always continues one way or another.

That is what MegaPunal an isolated village that is up on the hill in the south of now Tamilnadu holds many secrets and urban legends stories that many believe and some just see them as made up by their ancestors to keep the wealth out of the forest that surrounds the village.

It is said that time and life merge at the center of the hill, many archeologists tried to find the point to prove the theory but none could complete the research cause one way or another they fail. It is believed that this place was once built by one of the kingdoms of Tamil but none can come to a conclusion about which kingdom it is, as the place has no evidence but only scriptures that say it is.

'Amalan' was once a renowned archeologist now a madman, that's what people call him in his village where he had spent solid 50 years. His own son 'Varun' named him Mad cause he can't stop talking about the Tamil empire that ruled and made sure to develop the land. But still took care of him as a baby cause he loved him. His house is filled with all types of books and items he found throughout his life. As he is 75+ and currently just blabbers about Chola and lost jewel which doesn't help his case. As his only son passed away in the landslide that happened a few years back, his grandson hated his grandfather more, he believed it is because of his grandfather's Madness and dementia with nonsense blabbering his father was caught up in the landslide. If not for him his father wouldn't have left the safe home to try to find the Oldman.

His grandson whose name is 'Akilan' doesn't have a great relationship with his grandfather nor connect with the village. As they are currently under massive debt and the only thing they have is the house and the land that leads to the woods behind their house which would go for a massive amount that could be able to solve their problems, but no his old man will not and would not sell the place, and after his death, the property would go to his granddaughter who is just merely 17 and having a hard time coping with life. This made Akilan more angry and hateful cause the so-called granddaughter he adored doesn't even share the same blood as him and other family members.

'Nila' is just like the name she is the moon that shines on MegaPunal, the village people adore this beauty with brains. It is said that the place was once filled with Gandharva Kannigal and the village people now believe that she is really part of the said beauties once ruled here. She grew up in a safe environment with parents who took her in as if she is their own. Her relationship with her 'brother' was never an easy ride cause every now and then he would make sure to let her know that she will never be part of this family nor does she deserves it. Yes, you heard right when she was born her birth parents left her in the woods and it is her grandpa who found her and brought her in

17 years back

As the winds grew colder and the skies turned darker, it is so clear the rain is just a few minutes away. In the middle of calm and chilly woods, an old man in his late 50s walking around and trying to find something with a piece of paper he held. This a normal day for him to walk around the woods and mark them and take notes, nobody is sure on what exactly he is marking and taking notes for. As he is about to leave for the day when a wail of cries made him search for the source from where it was coming. At first, he thought that it was an injured animal but it doesn't sound like that. As he kept walking the cries became louder, and that's when he came across a bundle that is wrapped in dull-colored cotton clothes. Inside it was a baby girl who looked not even a day old. He is astonished to find someone would leave a baby out here without any protection. He took the baby in his arms and rocked, the movements made the baby stop her crying and opened her eyes. That's when his eyes went big, the eyes that looked back at him is like an ocean that a moon would bathe, this baby is not only beautiful but held some aura around her. He is so captivated and couldn't help but feel a connection towards the baby like he needs to protect her. That's when 'Nila' became part of this family and her parents loved her, but her brother didn't feel the same love, all he saw was a baby who took away his parents. Who took everything from him. Moreover, they gave the family heirloom which was always passed to the firstborn son to her. Every time he looks at the ring that shines on her finger he wants to cut open her hand. This orphan had taken everything from him for that he always hate her.

Current day

As every day Nila had done with her studies and currently getting ready to leave for her dance class, as in this small town there is only so much you can do. It was her long-time wish to just leave everything here and go outside to see the world. Her parents did take her and her brother on vacation when they were much younger but it all stopped when their family hit rock bottom which is filled with multiple debts, as her mother 'Azhagi' (Beauty) fell ill and her father spent almost all savings to make her live but she couldn't be saved. At first, they started selling some antiques and he was doing odd jobs to bring in some money but nothing lasted forever. Many had suggested to go find jobs outside the village but her father couldn't leave his father. But the same thing caused his death. One day he went in search of his father who was recently diagnosed with dementia on a rainy day, just like that a landslide happened and his body is forever buried within the land he walked once.

She wants to leave the damn village as well but same like her father she couldn't leave her Thatha. If not for him she wouldn't be alive today, She knew that they can live a pretty well life if they could sell their property but she knew how much it meant for her grandpa. So she made sure to keep this until they can find a way. Even though she is just 17, she runs the house now as her brother who just drowns upon drinks after drinks to come out of the sorrows that haunt him. She made herself some tea and also prepared to give her grandpa some. As she went in to check on the Oldman who she hates but loves so much he is nowhere to be seen. This is the third time in two weeks. Every time she made sure to lock all the doors and plead with her brother to keep an eye while she was studying as she couldn't do at that time, he escaped or more like her brother doesn't care to check up on their grandpa.

'Thatha!' She started shouting to see if she gets any answers. Normally he would be walking around the woods. She takes her mobile just in case along with her bag which she carries to her dance school.

Nila POV

'Oh my gosh! not again!' I sighed, I saw Ramu who is our neighbor currently doing some work outside.

'Ramu Mama! Thatha va Patheengala'(Ramu Uncle, did you see grandpa?)' I asked to which he smiled and nodded. He points to the woods as usual. You see nobody could stop that old man, every time someone did they got nice beatings from his stick, so they all stopped.

I exhaled and started walking into the woods which is also our property, normally nobody comes here without our permission. I walked the usual route my grandpa would take. Nobody knows why he went here and what he is searching for. Every time I ask he would say something like a riddle 'To place the jewel back in its place'. At first, my brother thought he literally talking about a jewel and wants to find it before Grandpa loses it. But that's not the case.

I started shouting for my grandpa, normally I would have found him by now, totally my luck just got really great, I am hell going to miss my class. I tried calling his phone but to my surprise, it says not reachable.

I am going to kill my old man when I find him.

'Thatha!!' I shouted and ran through the woods to get the tracks to find my grandfather who lost his mind. Seems he is punishing me and making me do cardio at this time of the day.

'Thatha! Enga iruke? Iruta poguthu!'(Grandpa! Where are you? It's going to be dark soon!) My throat became raspy by all the shouting. As I was about to turn right I heard some steps coming from behind me. Those don't sound like my grandpa.

I went in behind the trees to find out who or what it is. Nobody is supposed to be here, this is private property. My old man surely planning to get me killed.

I shook my head thinking I was hallucinating and turned my back to continue the search but as I was about to cut into another path a hand grabbed mine but I used my other arm to hit whoever that Mother F***er is that, cause hell that's not my Thatha!

I sure heard a crack and a figure fell down holding their nose and howling in pain. I came to my senses and saw a boy around my age with great luscious hair breathing heavily while holding his nose, his eyes shot to mine, and anger flashed through them.

I quickly grab something for self-defense, I ain't gonna let someone harm me.

'Who are you!? This is private property! Leave or I'll call the cops!' I stood straight and took out my phone to dial 100.

'என்ன உளறுகிறாய்! '(What nonsense you are talking!) His choice of language made me look for a minute, It's Tamil but it's kinda different. But I continue to try for the emergency numbers but damn no signal nothing! He rubbed his nose and I can now see his face. Damn he is good looking

'Thatha' I shouted again, now I am getting scared.

'என் கணையாழி உன்னிடம் எப்படி வந்தது'(How did you get my Finger ring?) He asked pointing to my finger. I looked at my ring and back at him. What the hell he smoked? This is my family heirloom.

'Yours?! What did you smoke!? Just leave from here and I won't call the cops on you' I said and tried to move away.

'என்ன மொழியில் பேசுகுகிறாய் நீ? நீ எந்த நாட்டை சேர்ந்தவள்!'('What language are you speaking? What country are you from?') His question again made me raise my eyebrows. Ok, somebody is pranking me or else someone just escaped an asylum. He still holds his nose which says I did punch him good.

'நான் பேசியது ஆங்கிலம்! மற்றும் நான் தமிழ்நாட்டை சேர்ந்தவள்' (I just spoke in English and I am from TamilNadu) I smiled and replied to go with a flow. But his expressions are hard and he let his hand fall down, and blood started pouring out of his nose. Oh my god! not now. I am really allergic to gruesome blood and I can't stand them. I started getting light-headed.

'Oh, my god. you are bleeding!' I said and touched his nose, but he didn't wince just watching my movements like a hawk watching its prey.  I turned my finger to see them smeared with his blood, whoops wrong move my head went blank and all I saw was him trying to catch me from falling on. I am really going to kill my grandpa if I die and I went off.

Stranger POV

As usual, he strolls down the wood to haunt some deer as it's been so long since he has done anything alone. As he rides his horse slowly he is caught by someone yelling in the distance. His eyebrows are furrowed and went in the direction he heard the voice. Something in him just wants to see the face of the voice which felt like honey.

Nobody comes here and let alone a girl whose voice told him should be young. Why would she be here at this time?

As he went near he slowly got off his horse and walked tiptoe to not make any sudden noises, he saw a figure currently hiding at the back of the tree. Skin like milk and hair like darkest black hiding from something. Maybe some are trying to misbehave, As a prince he wants to make sure his people are safe.  Before he could think of anything the figure started to leave in the opposite direction. He hurried and captured her hand hoping to calm her down, but before he could react a hand smacked right in his nose.

Normally he won't feel much pain as trains every day and it's part of his life as a warrior but this sudden attack made him howl in pain, His softness went away and coldness filled his eyes. Standing before him was a young girl around his age and she looked odd as if she is not part of his kingdom.

A noise from her mouth made no sense and the actions she did made him think that she maybe went mad.

'என்ன உளறுகிறாய்!' (What nonsense you are talking!)' He repied to whatever she is saying hoping to find the answers.

'Thatha' she shouted again. He looked around to see if someone is coming but no one is there, but something caught his eye and he couldn't believe it. On the finger of the young maiden who is standing before him is his ring. How in the world is possible

'என் கணையாழி உன்னிடம் எப்படி வந்தது'(How did you get my Finger ring?) He asked pointing to her finger.

'Yours?! What did you smoke!? Just leave from here and I won't call the cops on you' again her blabbering made no sense to him. He suspected her to be a spy or acting like a mad woman to flee from somewhere

'என்ன மொழியில் பேசுகுகிறாய் நீ? நீ எந்த நாட்டை சேர்ந்தவள்!'('What language are you speaking? What country are you from?') His question again made her raise the eyeborws.

'நான் பேசியது ஆங்கிலம்! மற்றும் நான் தமிழ்நாட்டை சேர்ந்தவள்' (I just spoke in English and I am from TamilNadu) Her words made me stop thinking. She can speak Tamil and she says she is from Tamil Nadu! maybe she is a Pandiyan Spy but she doesn't look like one. I let go of my nose which is currently bleeding to get more answers from her but before I could speak she raised her hands to touch my nose. I stopped to see what she is doing.

'Oh, my god. you are bleeding!' She again blabbered and touched the blood, a small smile that itched its way in to face as I see the girl before me act like I am a nobody. But before I ask her she fell down and I hurried to catch her.

A girl who punched the Crown Prince of Chola Kingdom, Who doesn't act scared or shy before him. Who is brave enough to talk back at him even if it's just a blabbering? A small smile never left his face as he carried her back without looking away from her face. Even with the blood running down his face he didn't feel pain instead he felt calm and complete.

Maybe after all the Jewel has finally been placed where it is meant to be

Male Chorus :  (Background)

Kaaneero neer kaan Chola vetri vazh ondrai kaaneero Or alagiya poovae Selluthiyoo Malaridu po sagi

(Veera Raja Veera song - PS2)

_____________________________________________________________

I really enjoyed writing this chapter as this is the easiest one I ever felt while writing.

And those who guessed whether this is Aditha Karikalan's story then yes you are right it is! As the name suggests. I am so thrilled to be part of this journey and excited for what the future will reveal to our beloved ones.

Stay tuned, more to come.

Let me know your thought on this chapter.

[nickgerlich]

Here Comes The Sun

When opportunity knocks, it behooves you to answer the door, and answer it fast. Opportunity seldom knocks twice, and if you miss it, then it’s on you. And if you are a company, you best be ever mindful of what’s going on around you and who or what may be knocking, ready to seize the moment.

Like Frito Lay's SunChips and Moon Pie are doing right now, leaning into the upcoming total solar eclipse that will occur early afternoon of Monday 8th April. With brand names referencing celestial bodies, this is a no-brainer. But come Tuesday the 9th, the party will be over until 2044, when the next total solar eclipse is visible in the US.

SunChips is selling a limited edition Pineapple Habanero and Black Bean Spicy Gouda chip, and have partnered with astronaut Kellie Gerardi for the promotion. Moon Pie, reprising its effort from the 2017 eclipse, has gone all out with their boxed Survival Kit that includes four Moon Pies and two pairs of eclipse viewing glasses.

And as you might expect, both are pulling out all the stops on social media.

This is classic marketing opportunism, and it’s fun. No one is trying to capitalize on a bad thing, and all the other brands that do not have a celestial connection will have to sit this one out. Opportunity, in this case, came knocking for a select few, and only two answered the door.

Of course, there is some risk inherent, because all of that merchandise will be extremely dated on Tuesday. The shelf life is short, and while it might be possible that some collectors might clamor for unsold Moon Pie Survival Kit boxes if only because it is dated, I could see these things winding up at Big Lots and Ollie’s in a week or so.

Along the path of totality, hotels have been reserved for years. Even campgrounds are full up. But, as we know all too well, Mother Nature might not cooperate. We need clear skies for these kinds of things to happen, and the farther east and north you go along the arc of totality, the more those odds shrink, based on historic data.

As for Amarillo and Canyon, we will be at 87% totality, and of the cities on or near totality, have among the highest percentage of available sunlight year round (Lubbock and Midland are very similar too, all of us between 73% and 75%, and in the Top 15 of the nation). We might not have totality here, but the odds are more in our favor to see the event. Oh, and the event lasts only for about four minutes, so there’s little margin for error. Even Andy Warhol had 11 minutes more.

I am bummed that I have a campus class that morning at 9:30, and I can’t just cancel it for an eclipse. But…I could hop in my van at 10:45 and drive toward Dallas like a mad man, probably getting close to Vernon at the precise moment. I can reschedule office hours, because with the next total eclipse not happening for 20 years, I would be 85, and who knows what I’ll be able to do then.

Or just stay in Canyon and be happy with 87%. It will still make for some amazing photos. And while the special SunChip flavor doesn’t sound all that appealing to me, I would be happy to bring along some Moon Pies wherever I happen to be. The marketer in me is all too happy to throw some props to the companies answering opportunity. It’s a lesson we should all be remembering.

Dr “Everything Under The Sun Is In Tune” Gerlich

Audio Blog