#currently hyped about making this square

[hookedatweiss]

How to Crochet a Retro Daisy Granny Square Pattern

by Pattern Princess

https://patternprincess.com/how-to-crochet-a-retro-daisy-granny-square-pattern/

[goldensunset]

so i guess it didn’t occur to me but like. Yeah. even if the app is offline and only provides theater mode that’s still a real canon kingdom hearts entry. those cutscenes are part of the story. and that app is the official means by which those cutscenes are accessible. there’s youtube of course but that’s all the work of fans… without the uxdr app square enix is currently straight up not offering an actual official way to experience this story anymore. which is. really low. nintendo type move. and like. bad for an overarching story that relies on this and is only going to do so more and more…

i’m betting on this being the first symptom of square enix doing something new with this story in the future but for the time being it’s like. man that really reflects poorly… not that it’s even that irrational to take down an app that’s been dead for years now but what it does is bring to light how ridiculous it is that square enix hasn’t done anything else in that time. no announcement of a remake or other new means of making uxdr available, no warning about the app being removed, etc

not to sound like one of the mobile game saga haters but in the end. when you get practical with it. it really is unprofessional and far-fetched for game developers to expect the masses to get into a story that’s only accessible through a gallery of cutscenes on a mobile app. like i understand there are always gonna be casual fans who aren’t interested in every last side game ever (even if they’re wrong) but in general stuff like bbs and ddd or whatever we’re good at appealing to broader audiences. i think square enix really needs to face the reality that people want real and playable games and the rabid passion of us tumblr weirdos who will gladly watch hours of cutscenes isn’t enough to float their boat

like khux has been around for so long you’d think they’d have realized ‘hmm the cute little online pc/mobile game we made got popular and we expanded the lore a lot hmmmm maybe we should reconsider our initial choice if confining it to the realm of a cute little online pc/mobile game.’ it hurts my heart to hear people dissing the mobile games bc it’s done from ignorance of how good they are but i’m not mad at those people. they’re judging a book by its cover but like yeah some books have unappealing covers. i get it. not everyone will immediately see the hype. the khux superfan in me says skill issue they should try harder. the pragmatic person who wants the series to survive says square enix you gotta do something to appeal to the broader audience

and like only offering the thing in a mediocre form is bad enough but it’s even worse now if they don’t even let you have the thing at all. now it really is up to the fans to preserve this work of art? a set of crucial support beams for the entire mythos’ lore is being curated by youtubers doing this entirely out of passion? and square enix doesn’t see a problem with that? mannnn if you want to be taken seriously as a storyteller. provide access to your stories. ideally make it a good and widely popular type of access but at least do something. nintendo type of move smh . as long as they don’t go full nintendo and start striking down people who upload it online

[saintmagx]

Chamber of Horrors 😈

Grayson Waller x reader

an: just came across Grayson Waller on Chamber of Horrors with Scarlett and Shotzi and it gave me some inspo 👻 IF YOU HAVENT WATCHED IT, YOU SHOULD! He is literally polite, respectful, funny and hella scared. This story doesn’t follow the video exactly because my memory is bad and I started writing this so long ago I forgot so much stuff, plus trying to rewrite a video is kinda hard 🫣

‼️ Warning: swearing, bad story telling, cringe writing, not proof read, just rambles no actual good storyline‼️

“Our final guest of the night is the current WWE Woman’s Champion y/n!” Kayla says excitedly.

Walking out into the cozy studio my nerves settle slightly, I’ve never been on the bump before, nor had any kind of chat show interview before, so I’m a little overwhelmed. I make my way over to the other guests Scarlett and Shotzi and sit down next to them.

“So welcome to your first ever bump appearance, how has it taken us this long to get you here?” Kayla asks.

“Honestl-”

Cut off before I could even answer, a strong accent fills the studio, Grayson who was also a guest - who was joining us via video chat - had to pipe up - it’s what he does best.

“Let me answer that.”

“You see, yn wouldn’t come on the show unless yours truly was also a guest. I mean can you blame her, who wouldn’t want to be on the same show as the Aussie icon.”

“Ah yes Grayson of course, every time they asked me to come on the show I would say unless you have thee Grayson Waller on your show, I ain’t interested.”

He smiles and slightly chuckles, unable to retaliate.

We continue to hype up the next PLE. Shotzi and Scarlett then go onto speak about the release of more episodes of Chamber of Horrors.

“Yn we would love to have you as a guest on the next season! It would be so fun.” Scarlett suggests.

“Absolutely not.” I say - little too quickly.

“I might come across as someone who is tough but deep down I’m scared of most things. And being in an area that is high on the paranormal activity is a definite no for me.”

“We would be there, nothing would happen to you. It’s completely safe.” Shotzi tries her best to convince me to appear in the show, but her words fill me with little confidence.

“I’ll go on if you do yn.” Grayson declares.

“What?”

“If you do the show, I’ll do it with you. Moral support and all that. Plus if you get too scared you can always hold my hand.” His signature smirk creeping onto his face.

Feeling like my back was against the wall I agree to appear and anyway they might not ask me to be on it for a long time and we might not even go to somewhere that is extremely haunted. I was unfortunately wrong on both fronts.

The call to appear on an episode of Chamber of Horrors came all too quickly. It was decided that we would go and see Bloody Mary in New Orleans, which involved a seance and an independent ghost hunt around the haunted house.

Sitting around the table in a circle, Bloody Mary describes how the evening will go and says a few incantations to start of the seance.

“First we will go around the table and introduce ourselves to the spirits. Squeezing from left to right on our hands.” She tells the table.

She introduces herself then squeezes my left hand. My turn I guess

“My name is yn.” I then squeeze Grayson hand for him to start

“My name is Grayson Waller, Maddison square garden main eventer.”

“I’m Shotzi”

“I’m Scarlett”

We continue to hold hands until Bloody Mary continues. She introduces us to a doll named Henry. Scarlett picks him up and places him onto a clearly uncomfortable Graysons lap.

“He likes the ladies, he’s a bit of a flirt.” Bloody Mary explains to us.

“Aw yes lad! We could be brothers.” Grayson says, “however I have to move you closer to Shotzi and Scarlett, can’t have you making moves on people you shouldn’t be.”

I look at Grayson confused, why would he say that?

“So is it true someone at this table hasn’t seen a horror film.” Bloody Mary questions. Looking around the table I find it hard to believe. Shotzi and Scarlett are literally horror queens and I’ve dabbled in horror movies myself, like who hasn’t. That only leaves Grayson…

“You haven’t seen a single horror movie? Like ever?” I quiz Grayson.

“Nope, I just like laughing. Why would I watch something that would make me scared?”

Stunned.

“The fact you haven’t seen the all time classics, I’m shocked. We have to change that.”

With a playful glint in his eyes he reply’s “are you asking me on a date? I mean I suppose if you were there to hold my hand I wouldn’t mind watching a scary film.”

And that right there is the famous Grayson Waller charm. I roll my eyes and laugh off his flirtation.

“I’ll ask theory to show you some of the classics. It’s gonna change your life.”

“I’d rather you show me them. I think I’d appreciate them more with you.”

He smiles slightly and shifts his attention back to Bloody Mary. Not noticing how his response had affected me.

The part I had been least looking forward to, the ghost hunt. We had been given free rein around the house to look and interact with any spirits we may encounter.

There had been a few words here and there but nothing that was concrete evidence that the spirts were among us. It could all be explained or passed off as a coincidence until I heard Scarlett and Grayson in the bathroom.

“Shotzi, yn come here quick.”

We entered the bathroom and were met with both Scarlett and Graysom standing in the bathtub. We join them without question and wait.

“Can you tell us your name” Scarlett asks the spirits

“Zach”

“Zach is there anyone else here with you?” She continues

“No”

“Killed her.”

“Sorry”

Scared, I find myself gravitating towards Grayson who instinctively grabs my hand. I’m not sure if he sensed my fear or if he too was scared however in that moment we were a comfort for each other.

“Killed who?” Shotzi asks this time. However there is no reply.

“Hey Zach can you say hello to Grayson?” She continues

In a mimicking tone

“Hi Grayson”

The mood is slightly lifted and I can’t help but chuckle this spirit has went from confessing to horrific crimes to making fun of Grayson and I’m here for it.

Unamused Grayson replies “oh, you think you’re funny do you?” The spirit did indeed think it was funny.

We move to a different room due to the activity in the bathroom dying down. The room we enter is a playroom, legend says that the small cupboard is where a small child still plays. We decide to have a game of rock paper scissors to see who will go in the cupboard. Shotzi is our first, then Scarlett.

“Can’t you just go in the cupboard? I think I would die of fear if I had to go in.” I say pleading with Grayson.

“Sorry love, fairs fair. Ready?” He replies.

Rock, paper, scissors shoot. I went with paper and Grayson well he went with rock. With a smug look I go stand next to Scarlett and Shotzi awaiting for Grayson to climb into the small cupboard.

“I’m literally in skinny jeans, I can’t do this.” He complains while backing into the small enclosed space. Not even a minute later he is screaming and scrambling to get out of the cupboard.

“Something touched me. Something touched my leg.”

“What?” We all ask.

“When I was in there I felt something grab and pull my leg.” He reiterates.

Finding his way next to me, he slides his hand into mine, again to find comfort. I squeeze his hand as a reassurance that everything was going to be okay. Looking down at me I can see the appreciation in his eyes.

Scarlett sits on the floor and asks the spirits some final questions - much to our dislike.

“Do you like Grayson?”

“No”

Grayson on hearing this throws a little tantrum

“I’m here, I’m trying to learn, I’m being respectful” before he can continue the spirt cuts him off

“Nerd”

The mood once again has been lifted at the expense of Grayson.

Shotzi continues to question the spirit.

“What about yn? Do you like her?”

“Yes”

“Pretty”

“You’re damn right she’s pretty. But ima have you ask you to back off mr ghost, she’s off limits.” Grayson replies

Shotzi and Scarlett share a knowing glance while i remain calm and composed- on the outside that is. On the inside im screaming.

That has got to be the most frightening experience of my life. The cameras have stopped rolling and we are standing in front of the Bloody Mary’s ready to part ways.

“Okay, I’ll admit it was kinda fun, however under no circumstances will I ever come back on your show.” I tell them.

They both laugh and tell me I’m a baby.

“I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight.”

Grayson jumps in “oh I don’t mind helping you out there. I can think of a few ways to help you sleep.”

Scarlett and Shotzi dismiss themselves sensing we need some time alone.

“What’s with the heavy flirting? You’ve been at it all night?” I question.

“Well what normally happens when a guy flirts with a girl?.”

“You’re not just any guy though, you’re Grayson Waller. Serial romancer.”

Slight offended he replies “I thought my actions would have been louder than my words? I like you yn, I like you a whole fucking lot. My mind, body and soul is captivated only by you.”

Silenced by his confession in struggle to think of the right words to say. I want to tell him I feel the same. I want to tell him how my every fibre and being yearns for him. Slowly I see the hope in his eyes fade as I’m taking too long to reply.

“Listen if you don’t feel the same way just say it I need to”

Before he could finish his sentence my lips meet his. He returns my kiss with a need and passion I’d only ever read in books. This is what he needed, this is what we both needed. Each other. Pulling away our foreheads rest on each other while catching our breath.

“How about a nightmare on elm street? A classic franchise to break that horror movie virginity of yours.”

He chuckles “as long as you’ll be there, I’ll watch anything.”

I honestly dunno what this turned into but here we are…….if you would like tagged in any of my stories let me know and I’ll add you to the list.

Tagged:

@jeysbae

@blueflowermentality

@co-sharkie

[major-toast]

Rosekiller Band AU // nsfw

Currently thinking about a rosekiller band AU, but they've recently broken up and are rather petty about it.

Evan has shaved off his blonde locks, knowing fully well how much Barty had liked them, but he doesn't much care. Especially not when Barty is standing only a few feet away from him, belting into the microphone with his pale skin and wretched tattoos gleaming ominously in the harsh green light of the spotlight above.

He's shirtless - because, of course, he is -, and sporting a new set of hickeys Evan cannot remember placing there. And how can he? After all, it hasn't been him, who made out with their lead singer only minutes before their gig. Looking at them alone makes his stomach churn in anger.

He really is a massive cunt, that Crouch. There is no denying that.

For the duration of their entire set, they are shooting hateful glances at one another; the tension palpable on everyone's tongue and skin. 

Smirking at him deviously, Barty doesn't refrain from playing with the crowd, hyping them up and flirting with everyone that catches his bastard-blue eyes. Evan wants to look away, but he can't. And Barty knows it too.

He leans down, grabs Sirius fucking Black out of all people by the chin, and shoves his tongue deep down his throat. Evan almost breaks his drumstick then.

Moron.

In retaliation, he starts messing with the rhythm, going sometimes faster and sometimes slower. Usually, the two of them are in cadence, being able to rely on one another, but no more. Growing bolder and much more creative with his fill-ins, he draws attention to himself, something he is sure Barty would hate. 

His head whipping around, he glares at Evan, a muscle feathering in his jaw. Evan shrugs it off, a mocking smile on his lips as he crashes the cymbals even louder. Barty picks up on his game rather quickly. Gripping into the neck of his guitar, he starts up a riff, one that wasn't planned. Scoffing, Evan matches him.

They build up on one another, trying to one-up each other, until their is no rhythm left. Regardless, the crowd still eats it up. Cheering and hollering, they urge them on. The adrenaline rush Evan feels then, it almost makes him forget about the need to punch that cocky fuck squarely across the face - or pierce his idiot skull with one of his sticks.

Inside the dressing room is where the tension comes crashing down on them like the outer shell of a volcano exploding. A hate-fuck long overdue.

"What the hell were you playing at, huh?" Barty snarls, shoving Evan into the door as he's just closed it.

"Oh, don't come crying to me now", Evan returns with a sneer, his blood already boiling inside his veins. "If it weren't for you and your constant need to stick your cock in-between someone's legs, we wouldn't have started late, and none of this would have happened!"

"You know as well as I do, that's not what I fucking meant, Rosier! If you got a problem with me, don't be such a pussy and spit it right out!"

Then, Barty huffs, his eyes narrowing as his lips curl into a sardonic smile. "Of course, you don't have the balls to do it."

"SHUT UP!"

Pushing him back, Evan is now the one to pin him towards the lockers, his expression one of blistering fury. Still, the smile doesn't leave Barty's lips. Evan wants to kiss that stupid grin right off him.

So, that's what he does.

It's harsh, ungentle. Teeth crashing and tongues curling. Barty's hands find his hips, fisting the loose fabric hanging there. Knowing no better, Evan grips the back of his neck until his nails start drawing blood. He wants him to hurt.

"Knew you wanted me", Barty pants as they part briefly.

His hair is dishevelled and his eyes half-lidded. Flushed and heaving with desire, the blood running down his neck mixes beautifully with red splotches of his skin. Evan hates him.

Before he can snark something back, Barty has already pushed him onto one of the benches, his head hitting the wood with a dull thump. Without hesitation, he crawls on top of him, sneering down at him as his hands pin his bare throat to the seat.

Trapped, Evan can only stare back in defiance, too angry to say anything. But as Barty's hand ghost over his body, lower and lower, until they've slipped underneath his pants, an involuntary shiver escapes him.

Barty smiles cruelly. "I could smell you're dripping cunt all night. What, Rosie? So wet and just for me?"

"You probably mistook it for your own cock, Crouch!" Evan bites back, fighting a moan as the other one presses down his finger on his clit already sore from want. "You're such a fucking whore, you cannot last a minute without fucking someone. That's how desperate you are!"

"Oh, I am desperate", Barty agrees easily. "Always desperate. Especially, for you. I can never not be hard when you're around. Now spread your legs, angel. You've been empty for too long, and it shows."

"I-" But the snarky remark dies within his throat.

He really is a massive cunt. But as long as it's Evan, whose legs he's in between, he doesn't much care.

[vonpharma]

w[h]ip wednesday: blocked by sicktember edition

welcome to whip wednesday! did you know the sicktember mods blocked me despite me being an avid fan of theirs for years, contributing 60 works and over 190k words, and hyping up their event in my social circles the whole time? i still do not know why this happened! i am pretty sure it's because i posted some very lukewarm critique about how the event was being run, on my personal blog where they had to go digging to find it.

i'm obviously heartbroken and pretty stressed about that but i've got a whole spreadsheet of planning done and a shit ton of fills ready to go so whatever. highly recommend not supporting the event this year or for the foreseeable future (there's talks of a new mod. if you're reading this, wanna unblock me?) because i'm starting to think the event runners might just be mean!

do, however, lavish me with praise. i will be writing sickfic until the end of the fucking universe, and when the new sickfic event makes their grand debut i will be kissing their feet.

here's some franmaya from my day 4!

With a confirmation of their reservation—curious, Franziska’s twisting expression seems to say, why would one need a reservation for a botanical garden?—the single employee standing stationary heaves the lock off the gates. They part as if heralding the arrival of something far grander than two young prodigies celebrating an anniversary—not even a proper one, something far more juvenile. Still, Maya feels nothing short of royal as she’s entering the sprawling, lush grounds—and the wonder sewn into every square of Franziska’s face tells her she’s not alone.

“Maya,” Franziska says, wandering toward the boundless stretch of camellia bushes, “what did you… the whole place is…”

“Empty?” Maya grins. “Yeah, happy anniversary, babe. Go wild.”

And Franziska looks at her like she’s hung the stars. How long Maya has waited for that look.

Because Franziska is rich. Loaded, even. There was so little you could buy for the woman who could buy herself anything, especially on Maya’s comparatively meager income. Her only saving grace was in the fact that Franziska was a workaholic to a fault who rarely thought of leisure, or pleasure, or earthly desires—so much so that the religious acolyte from the mountain commune was somehow less detached from those pleasures than she. Maya couldn’t often pay, but she could conceptualize.

This time, though. A year’s worth of saving, and planning, and praying… and finally, with all her ducks in a line, Maya was able to find a gift befitting of the wonderful creature who’d allowed her a space in their shared life. A few hours in the moonlight, wandering around the emerald sprawl of the biggest botanical garden in all of SoCal, with no one to bother them but the bugs chirping in the thicket.

A Franziskan paradise. A perfect night. Or it would be, if not for…

Another muffled sneeze escapes into the collar of her winter jacket, and it takes all of Maya’s willpower not to groan in sore irritation on the tail end of it. They’re starting to hurt, now, barreling through her with little regard for the shredded state of her throat or the date with the pretty girl she is currently trying to go on. It’s been relentless ever since last night, and Maya had hoped and prayed to Mystic Ami herself that she not be sick on her two-year anniversary that she’d spent ages arranging. As fate would have it, though, even Mystic Ami could not cure the common cold.

(Despite what the dusty tomes buried in the archives back home said….)

Luckily, even overdoting Franziska seems far too distracted right about now to notice that’s what’s happening. If this were any other situation, Maya’s sure Franziska’s searing blues would lock onto her like a vulture that’s just spotted a bloating corpse. Thankfully, the flowers are very distracting.

“It’s all…” Franziska is powerwalking from bush to bush in an erratic, excitable zigzag. “Maya Fey, is this whole garden nothing but camellias?”

“I dunno babe,” Maya sniffles once, twice, “you’re the expert. You tell me.”

Coming to a slow halt, Franziska allows herself to look out across the expanse—flowers as far as the eye can see, still in full bloom despite the bite of winter. In all colours, in all sizes, lit only by the far-off insomnia of the city, the moonlight peeking through the cloudy skies.

“I just—” Franziska turns back to Maya, glowing brightest of all, “—can’t believe the variety here, look at all this…”

Maya wanders closer to her side, feeling sunlit despite the chills that are quickly growing harder to ignore. Franziska kneels down to graze a gloved thumb across a velvety red petal, and Maya squats far less elegantly beside her, tilting her head awkwardly back in an attempt to keep her nose from running. 

“I can’t believe it,” Franziska marvels, “Maya, this is quite literally a historical specimen. You’ve brought me to the home of the oldest camellia in all of Southern California.”

“Yo, for real?” Maya stares at the flower, completely unremarkable to her own untrained eye. “Did this bitch know the dinosaurs?”

“No, nothing like that…” Franziska chuckles, continuing to cradle the flower in her hands as though it is the most precious thing in the world. “They’re Asian in origin. This one in particular is one of a kind, having traveled here from Japan in the 1800s.”

“Woah. Just like me for real.”

As she says it, Maya presses her cheek against Franziska’s own, that brand of endearing obnoxiousness that the two of them loved so much. Their hair bunches and tangles in between them, but Franziska leans into her beloved rather than away.

“I didn’t know winter flowers were a thing,” Maya lies, prompting her girlfriend to spring back to her feet, gesticulating vastly and passionately with her arms. 

“Oh, they’re some of the loveliest flowers in existence!” God, she’s so cute when she’s infodumping. “Camellias are some of my favourite of all, in fact I’d even heard of the breadth of this collection of them before coming to the states! It’s comprehensive reputation is largely the work of a single German botanist who traveled here in 1878, so naturally I was already in the know…”

Ever the savant, she carries on. Maya thinks she could listen to a phonebook being read, so long as it was drenched in Franziska’s wonderful, captivating, rounded accent.

[rebirthgarments]

July 1st- Virtual Fundraiser Dance Party and Auction for Palestinian disabled mom Nara!

Put on your swimsuit and Zoom from your bathtub, shower, a body of water, or from the comfort of your bed for Nara’s Virtual “Pool” Party - a 2 hour virtual accessible dance party hosted by Sky from Rebirth Garments on July 1 from 7-9pm CDT ! Get tickets + bid on the auction at givebutter.com/naraparty

Nara is a 33 year old disabled mom who has MS + Pancreatic Cancer due to complications from a white phosphorus attack in 2008. Her and her husband have 7 + 13 year old kids who are obsessed with my dog and make songs and drawings about her. This party/auction is to raise money for ongoing survival funds while the border is closed. They are currently all very sick due to contaminated water, and need to be able to buy clean water and fresh vegetables.

More party info: Dance to beats from DJ @QueerShoulders Featuring selections from past @RebirthGarments fashion performances. We will be hyping up Nara’s fundraiser while talking about all 64 art pieces + services in our auction that you can bid on!

bid at givebutter.com/c/naraparty/auction

Access Info/ Access Doula’s: Audio Description: @moira670 Sound Description: @xxAlexaDexaxx and @TSuhh Zoom Support: @invalid_input404 Auto Captions available! It will be hosted on Zoom, get a ticket to get the details! All ticket money goes towards Nara’s family because our DJ + Access doula’s are all volunteers!

$0+ up sliding scale tickets! Feel free to also send dough-nations to the link too!

[image description: A digital drawing of @DianeDianeChery , @Cqqchifruit , Van and Sky of @RebirthGarments in a bathtub with big bubbles all around them and a giant rubber ducky inflatable! They are all wearing different kinds of Rebirth Garments swimsuits with black and white triangle print and neon trims. The background is of aqua square tiles. A drawing of Nara, a 33 year old mom wearing a purple and black hijab and oxygen device, by @K8deciccio is in the foreground in the right corner. Text reads: “‘Pool’ party Nara’s Virtual Accessible Fund-raizer Bathtub Party and Auction! get tickets & bid! givebutter.com/naraparty July 1 from 7-9 pm CDT” the text is in purple bubbles and there is a QR code that goes to the link in a bubble]

[ms-m-astrologer]

Transiting Mars stations retrograde

Timeline (current events in bold)

Friday, October 4, 2024, 04:40 UT - transiting Mars enters pre-retrograde shadow, 17°01’ Cancer

Monday, November 4, 04:10 UT - transiting Mars enters Leo

Friday, December 6, 23:33 UT - transiting Mars stations retrograde, 6°10’ Leo

Monday, January 6, 2025, 20:45 UT - transiting Mars retrogrades back into Cancer

Monday, February 24, 02:00 UT - transiting Mars stations direct, 17°01’ Cancer

Friday, April 18, 04:22 UT - transiting Mars re-enters Leo

Friday, May 2, 2025, 06:06 UT - transiting Mars exits post-retrograde shadow, 6°10’ Leo

***+++===+++***

JFC, sometimes these blog posts write themselves. On November 4, Mars entered Leo; on November 5, the majority of US voters elected the DonVict to the presidency; and on November 6, women began to read/hear the charming phase “Your body, my choice.” Ladies and gentlemen, behold an amok Mars in Leo. (Also, let me point out that the DonVict’s natal Mars is in Leo.)

About the only comfort I’m getting out of the situation is that, once Mars stations retrograde, all the aspects are difficult. Dare we hope, consequences? Some of those aspects indicate a sexual turning-off…. For those of us who aren’t incels, let’s look at Mars’ areas for hints about what to work on:

Physical fitness and strength - the wrong reasons for being a gym rat might include “vanity.” Or, we’re being lazy about exercise. We could be fooling ourselves about how strong and fit we actually are - being flattered into smugness.

Energy levels - Leo tends to be “on” all the time. Everyone needs a little time to relax and be “off.” Running ourselves into exhaustion is unhealthy.

Sexuality - can get a little competitive. Can be selfish - “my passion, my needs; you’re just in the supporting cast.” Sex as dominance and “winning.”

How we go after what we want - Mars in Leo sees itself as a knight in shining armor, galloping off on some noble quest. It’s very direct and doesn’t “do” strategies or subtleties. There’s potential for self-delusion, for believing our own hype.

The following aspects aren’t the “nicest” - remember that with Mars it’s always helpful to have a good physical outlet. We should also be extra careful about our personal safety during the next month. Don’t let cockiness or laziness influence you into making bad decisions.

Thursday, December 12 - Sunday, December 15:

Mars Rx/Leo opposite Venus/Aquarius, 5°58’

Mars Rx/Leo (5°58’) sesquiquad Sun/Sagittarius (20°58’)

Mars Rx/Leo inconjunct Pallas/Capricorn, 5°42’

This is about as obvious as it could be: Mars is passionately hot; Venus is ice cold. The Sun (moralistic ego?) is trying to mediate but only makes things worse with bad timing. Pallas sometimes shows gender neutrality or complexity. Could be some rationalizations going on when people aren’t responsive.

Friday, December 20 - Tuesday, December 24:

Mars Rx/Leo opposite Ceres/Aquarius, 4°51’

Mars Rx/Leo inconjunct Sun/Capricorn, 3°53’

Pre-holiday family drama. In the wake of the wretched US election, we’ve read all kinds of “feature stories” about fractured families canceling Thanksgiving plans. Looks like the fractures remain unhealed for Christmas. Have a good “Plan B.”

Saturday, December 29 - Mars Rx/Leo (2°31’) sesquiquad Mercury/Sagittarius (17°31’). Mouthy, lippy (as my parents would call it), deliberately blurting out the most hateful and hurtful things we can. Sour grapes. Someone’s “truth” outrages us.

Thursday, January 2 - Saturday, January 4:

Mars Rx/Leo opposite Pluto/Aquarius, 1°08’

Mars Rx/Leo square Vesta/Scorpio, 0°40’

The second of three Mars-Pluto oppositions; the first one was back on November 3, with Mars at 29°+ Cancer and Pluto at 29°+ Capricorn. This is essentially a Fixed sign t-square, with Vesta squaring both ends of the Mars-Pluto opposition, indicative of a problem of long standing (Fixed signs) which we have failed to address. Weaponizing sex is one possibility here. There’s a Tumblr post about N!¢k Fuen+es going around, discussing “men who fixate on power and fear because it’s quite literally all they have.” Why is that all they have? Another way this could play out is, we’re so intently focused on one thing that we completely ignore something important.

(The NF link, from my main blog. Focus on the part ending with “a villain was born.” As a commenter said, meanness breeds meanness.)

[butchsophiewalten]

notable things from the update so far:

- the camera screen above shows the same area as "birthday" picture from charles's page

- the one below shows the lobby in front of the much-hyped poker maze (i think?)

- white box thing (?) in the right bottom corner

- name tag/plate behind the drink cup with "Bunny" and the letters C and H (i assume), which could hint at both CHris and CHarles. i want to lean towards charles since he is rumored to play a big role in twf4 but chris is always hiding around the corner here so anything is possible.

- the fact that we now have a security guard character, with the setup very much reminiscent of the classic FNAF security office (the plushie, the posters, the drink) which is clearly the afformentioned "CH-" character

- lots of questions about the yellow poster with the uhhh drumstick things on the far right of the screen.

Lol, a lot of this is basically what I was going to say in a post this morning!

For anyone who didn't see last night: the main page of Findjackwalten updated!

On it we see this:

With the top left screen playing a filtered version of the minisode from last month.

You're right that the top right screen is showing the same room as on the /0714-74 page!

We're also seen this room one other time, in Martin's twitter banner from June of last year:

Looking at the map of Bon's Burgers we get from the Bon's Burgers Commercial, I think its safe to say the hallway in these images is "Corridor A"

The location visible on the bottom screen we're also seen before, in a teaser provided by Martin to Instagram user Waltenews:

As well as in Martin's current Twitter banner:

But a problem I'm running into here is that I have no idea where this room is. Identifying features I'm looking for on the Bon's Burgers map is a med-large square or rectangular room with a door to the right side of the wall, and a table opposite the door (not completely necessary to be there -- the table may just not be marked on the map). The only room I think even resembles this in layout is the Employee area leading into the Backstage, which makes no sense because this room is obviously public-facing.

The only real clue I can gather is that this room appears to have a door in it with a sign hung on it, one that I would have to assume reads something like "Employees Only", considering it appears to be a metal door with handle instead of an open curtain like we've seen for public areas?

If that is an employee door, this could possibly be Corridor B?? even though I doubt it. The only thing that leads me to say that is the door layout being roughly correct, if we assume the curtained door leads to the censored area on the Bon's Burgers map? It being the location of the poker maze doesn't make no sense, but the room's layout isn't exactly consistent with anything we can see on the Bon's Burgers map, so it confuses me. Maybe there's something obvious I'm missing here.

About our mystery "CH" security guard character here, if we're meant to interpret the presence of the minisode on the screen as indication that the Local 57 spotlight on the mystery of Bon's Burgers already exists and has aired/is airing, then Charles would be long dead already. Which I think gives us a good idea of who this CH actually is...

Which begs the question as to why there's security cameras monitoring the inside of Bon's Burgers even after the restaurant's closure, if that really is what we're meant to glean from this. It also makes me wonder where this office building is, if the Bon's Burgers building is shut down and unused, and we've never seen or heard of this room in K-9 before. Maybe it's in the warehouse we've heard of? Or even some unknown 4th location?

This weird white box in the corner is interesting to me, too. Whatever it is, it's being obscured here on purpose. This corner of the image is the only one to have this weird shadowy vignette.

This yellow poster on the side is really killing me, too. Especially in how the "drumsticks" so obviously have Something written on them that is just illegible.

Lots and lots of interesting stuff happening in this FJW update...

[obihiro-division]

"Fear is temporary. Regret is permanent.”  -Dan Skinner

Introduction

Hisoka Tetsumasu is the leader of the Obihiro division rap battle team, Veiled Vanguard. He is widely known by his old nickname, now stage name N. Although he is recognized today in the world of zoology as a man dedicated to breeding race and show horses in Japan, the shadow behind him details a long history of crime. The most significant of his old ventures cemented him as one of the first men to establish a black market on illegal hypnosis microphones. Now several years later, he reemerges back into the public eye, albeit unwillingly.

While most people may describe Hisoka as a strong, silent man who spares only a few words to his colleagues, Hisoka's true personality shows when he is isolated with his horses. That is a surprisingly soft, timid man who is absolutely obsessed with horses. While the circumstances that have led him to the northern part of Japan was unfavorable to say the least, Hisoka has been quite content raising horses for both racers, hobbyists, and even rich and famous people. This led to his connection with the Kamiyama family, the father of said family being a huge fan of the horses Hisoka and his colleagues raise.

Hisoka has been antagonizing the Chuohku government for years now, but with this sudden summons by the Chuohku officials, the man is doomed to sing and dance for his captors hoping he can find another way out from the mountain of damages and debt he has left in his wake.

Appearance

Currently Hisoka sports a head of long red hair that obscures a portion of his old tattoo; A dragon that wraps around the length of his right arm and up around the right side of his head. His eyes are a sunny yellow color.

Typically he sports a black, white, and pea green tracksuit, with the team's symbol on the front as a logo. The jacket of his tracksuit is typically unzipped and shrugged off his shoulders to show off his black turtleneck underneath. For footwear, he dons a pair of black combat boots. He also wears gloves, both to cover the end of his tattoo on his right hand and also for his work.

Hypnosis Microphone

Originally Hisoka had no talent when it came to wielding a real hypnosis microphone, which led to his making of faulty, weak hypnosis microphones. However after his life had been turned around and getting thrown into the D.R.B., his microphone actually takes form! Hisoka’s mic takes the form of a grey amethyst microphone with a silver horseshoe arching over the head of the square mic. Instead of being on a stand as most amethyst microphones typically are, it appears to be handheld. His speakers take the form of an abstract chandelier, with the main body acting as the main speaker. The branches of the speaker alternate between ordinary candle holders, to hands which wriggle and move around behind him (something he is having difficulty getting used to).

His rap ability “NULL” completely nullifies his opponent’s ability. This ability is dampened by the fact Hisoka is seemingly unable to use this ability on command, rather it is dependant on his emotions.

Hisoka’s gravelly voice makes for an intimidating factor. His chances for actually utilizing this effectively is dampened by his anxiety. While in the past he might have been able to egotistically sing about himself, a good majority of his tracks these days start with him repeating phrases as a way to hype himself up. But as soon as he can rid himself of his anxiety, he is surprisingly capable of returning to his old self, with a new appreciation of his teammates supporting him.

Entomology

Hisoka - Written as “scarlet”, “think”, and “song”. 

Tetsumasu - His last name literally translates to “iron growth” or “iron expansion”.

Trivia

Hisoka is right handed.

He loves horses and nearly all forms of racing but despises police officers, detectives, and anyone else that may pry into his life.

His favorite food is carrots while he hates red meat and brussel sprouts.

Surprisingly, Hisoka used to live a very reckless and dangerous life in his past dabbling in an array of violent and addictive habits. This was all dropped after his life was literally and figuratively destroyed by ████.

Due to the trauma he suffered at the hands of ████ Hisoka has severe PTSD. He has difficulties sleeping and can be irritable in stressful situations (no doubt something that’s going to increase).

Hisoka used to be a researcher that worked under Rei Amayado when the war had technically ended. Hisoka however chose to betray him and steal from Rei to establish his black market business after being influenced by his brother. Hisoka lives under the assumption Rei may be trying to hunt him down, although it’s unknown what the conman really thinks of Hisoka.

He owes a lot to the Rikiya family, especially to Toshiko Rikiya as she was the one who helped him recover and get him connected with the owners of Spur Stud Ranch.

[the-bejeesus]

People need to stop blaming the fact that One Piece isn't nearly as popular in the US as other long running shows like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto on the 4KidsTV dub. Yes the 4KidsTV dub was bad, yes it made it look like a show for little kids. But it aired for just 3 years, and wasn't even viewed by that many people. After all, it wasn't popular. It'd be a setback for sure, but over 16 years later, there's no way this is still the root cause, when shows like My Hero Academia can skyrocket in popularity in a fraction of the time. The newer quality dub is the only dub that's been marketed for a decade and a half, with episodes in sub on Crunchyroll on the day of airing.

The fault isn't the show being too long or the animation or the pacing or any of that. These are problems that every other country has to overcome in selling One Piece. The fault is in Crunchyroll's marketing. While some people point out that "Film Red ads were at Times Square" or "They're showing Episode 1000 at the expo!" there's not much Crunchyroll actually does to encourage new audience members. Yes, the dub is caught up more or less, adapting the most current arc. But that's only if you're buying them on Microsoft Store for $30 for 12 episodes. If that sounds like a scam to you, you have to wait a couple of weeks for it to show up on FUNimation or Crunchyroll, the niche streaming services for dedicated anime fans. If you don't want to subscribe to tons of streaming services and just want to use the most popular ones, it's on Netflix too, but only up to Enies Lobby, it doesn't even cover the first 500 episodes of a 1000+ episode show. A bit odd for a platform that is trying to hype up their live action adaptation of the series, but streaming licenses can be tricky and expensive, at least they have the show at all, as it wasn't even on Netflix in the US for a long time. Hulu fairs a bit better with 457 episodes, though dub is the only option (this was NOT how hulu was with One Piece just 6 years ago, btw. It changes all the time how much sub or dub they have). Don't even get me started on Amazon Prime. It's not even about the $2 per episode, the navigation is horrific. I couldn't even tell you what episodes they have. There's like 3 Season 10s and a Season 11, and all of them have the most random ass selection of episodes. Like straight up, it needs fixed cause idk what the hell's going on. Even if $2/episode was a reasonable price, I'm too scared to buy it. I'm afraid it's not gonna even be the episodes I ordered. If you'd rather just catch the latest episodes on TV, they're on Toonami, the channel that only airs from midnight to 3am. A pretty late schedule for normal people, and even if you can catch them, they're nearly 350 episodes behind there. It actually would have been even more behind, as it was cancelled for quite awhile. But to make up for lost time, they skipped 134 episodes. Those unaired episodes are some of the most iconic, high-rated, and important story arcs of the entire series. And don't expect to catch re-airings, this ain't DBZ Kai on NickToons. You can also collect the series on DVD/BD. But that's gonna cost you $44 for 12 episodes. And don't expect to pick it up at a Wal-Mart or Target. Maybe a Best Buy if you live somewhere busy, but even that's not guaranteed. 9 times out of 10 you gotta deliberately buy that online. Might as well buy two shelves from amazon while you're at it because that my friend is 64 DVD sized boxes you're going to be purchasing, assuming you're buying the Voyage sets. With the Collection sets you can collect the series in just 32 DVD sized boxes, because the Collection sets are literally two Voyage sets for the price of one.

Compare this to Dragon Ball Z. People my age grew up catching episodes frequently on NickToons or Toonami. Many I know started in their teens watching Dragon Ball Super on Hulu. You can catch the whole series dubbed and subbed on Crunchyroll. If you wanted to own Dragon Ball Z, you can get the Orange Brick DVDs, the Dragon Box DVDs, the DBZ Kai DVDs, the Blu-Rays, the Level Sets (jk they discontinued), the DBZ Kai Blu-Rays, the 30th Anniversary Blu-Rays, the steelbook Blu-Rays. Wal-Mart has Blu-Ray Orange Brick sets where you can buy 3 seasons for $30 dollars, that's 1/3rd of the show for the price of 12 niche anime episodes. You can also buy the manga by the volume, by the box set, in a big-print omnibus set, (partially) in a full color set, or online. And while games like Dragon Ball Z Kakarot are still getting fresh dubs, high-budget One Piece games like One Piece Odyssey or One Piece World Seeker are Japanese subbed only, with not so much as an English dub update in sight. Most Dragon Ball movies are available in dub, and even come in 2 or 4-movie Blu-Ray bundles. One Piece only has 6 of their 14 movies dubbed, with only 6 TV Specials dubbed as well.

My point is that the most approachable way to get into One Piece is the same way it was 16 years ago; piracy. It's not kaizoku-fansubs or kissmanga like it was back in the day, but things haven't changed much. Most fans ik don't catch the latest 12 dubbed episodes on FUNimation, they watch them on 9anime. They don't purchase 4 box sets of manga that are all nearly worth $200, they see fanscans of the colored manga on mangasee. With this kind of fanbase, One Piece is always going to stay within the "Film Red grosses $12M at US box office" range of popularity. To get to the "Dragon Ball Super: Heroes grosses $38M at box office" ball-park, you gotta reach out to the audiences who just want to watch some TV and don't want to have to do some digging. Even the 4KidsTV dub knew this. It wasn't very popular, but by airing at day time and having plenty of commercials, and just being on a channel kids tune into, it would at least catch the accidental attention of people every now and then. Sometimes I have to wonder if Crunchyroll even wants to push One Piece as a flagship series, or if it'd rather just be known for more trending anime like Chainsaw Man and Demon Slayer.

[altocat]

Why participate in closed betta and play the game at all if you think it's dumb Square Enix making a dumb bait game with dumb story and dumb ruins and dumb lore? There are so many games other than dumb ff7

I.... Don't understand what you're trying to say here.

I'm pretty open to whatever they have planned, so long that it's consistent with other Compilation entries. That's kind of why I'm simultaneously both very hyped and very concerned about the story. It's new lore, and very important for later entries in the series. So I think being critical is essential in order to do justice to the stories that come later, especially when you explore Square's history of mixed sequels and retcons. If it's good, I'll be the first one to praise it. If it's bad, I'll be ready to rip it a new one. That's kind of the gist of critiquing.

As for there being other games....yeah? I play other games too. This happens to currently be a FF7 centric blog. So I'm not sure what you were expecting.

[writermuses]

Hello darlings!

I'm still alive/here. I know I owe all the things and I appreciate you all following my "queue that" rule because I haven't been on my computer to write let alone draft. In case you're wondering what I've been up to I'll give you a bulleted list of the teacher life near D.C. under the read more.

🩵 Natty

Here's some chaos:

My student pulled the fire alarm and rather than addressing that for the felony it is, kiddo is on a 1 month suspension (you get 45 days for fighting) Worth noting this student was previously expelled 2 years ago for a gun situation.

We've had 2 mob fights at my school and another at the next closest high school (they also had a stabbing and the response was "well at least it wasn't our school on the news this time")

I've had more meetings than there were days of the week and worked past 5 nearly every day (we love unpaid work... i'm talking like full time job hours of unpaid labor)

My school has gone through more than 12 principals in my 6 years here and the new one has given me 9 blocks of classes to have my students research, make posters, assemble 550 meal kits, complete a reflection, and present a summary (to whom? idk bro) All while never answering my emails... in case you're wondering it costs 20k to get the groceries for this task alone. As of right now I have 3 students that can build the 550 meal kits. We have 2 80 minute blocks to build them all or our low income families have nothing to eat over spring break 👍

Our bell schedule is changing so that we'll have 3 lunches with students required to be in the cafeteria, instead of 2 where they're in our classrooms. This will end all in school clubs (RIP Four Square Club 😢 ) and we need 350 more chairs in the cafeteria 😂 fyi I had to have 3 students standing per block for 4 weeks because we couldn't get desks and chairs for my classes of 33. When I got desks they gave me elementary cubby desks. (I teach HS. The average 'kid' is like 5'5 hahaha)

The students booed the new principal so loudly at the pep rally that I could hear it with earplugs in and she didn't send their bitch asses back to class. She said, "Hmm, I think I hear some boos? Wouldn't be the first time, won't be the last."

Here's some cute shit:

My nearly non-verbal gem of a human told me a joke: Why did the sun go to class? To get a little brighter!

That same student: His current hyperfixation is roasting my lack of an immune system. He calls me his weakest superhero 😂

In a room full of extremely politically divergent teenagers, they almost unanimously agreed that a person facing criminal charges shouldn't be allowed to run for office and then had civil discourse about it.

The hype of my Afghani students getting to teach their class the Arabic alphabet when we started our new module. (Also their hype over the teachers showing up to their club's fundraiser)

A parent made shirts for the seniors on our 🏀 team (just 4 boys). They got to pick their favorite and most impactful teacher and she wanted each one to have a different teacher wearing theirs but 2 of them insisted it be me and wouldn't budge 😭 (also one of them interviewed to play ball overseas so 🤞 for him)

A parent made the staff valentines day cupcakes

A student in culinary arts gave me a banging cinnamon roll the size of my head

A quiet student from last year came by to tell me he bowled nearly 300 and made brownies- they were not pot brownies, I took the risk and it was worth it 😂

2 of my kids with over 100 absences showed up this week! They won't pass but 👍 nice to know they're like alive

[averyhollow]

@bromelads is amazing. I can’t say enough in praise of the kindness, patience, love, good will, and thought that are going into this conversation and spreadsheet; and I hope it’s genuinely appreciated by those it’s in reply to.

I think my main takeaway is that I have no common ground with a lot of people who consider themselves “Izzy critical” or anti-Izzy, and can’t say I think we care about the same things. I think that’s a good realization for me to come to and one that’ll hopefully make it so much easier for me to focus on letting what I see as inflexible assertions stemming from respectability politics and/or paternalistic racism, float on by.

Looking through the responses from “Izzy critical”, and feeling the comments so far are reaffirming positions I believe flatten BIPOC characters due to their inflexibility; and that I think are prevalent not only out of a desire to center the voices of BIPOC, but out of a desire to have a Right Answer that’s coupled with bias towards certain characters and ships.

The more I look at the arguments being made, the more I see them as the liberal/leftist counterparts to socially conservative justifications for excluding BIPOC from certain roles; or (likely unintentional) smokescreens for infantilization, sanitization, respectability politics, and dehumanization (e.g., the idea that interpreting Ed as having “anger issues” is a microagression in and of itself has some pretty fucked up implications to me). It’s not the differences in opinions and interpretations themselves that are the problem for me. It’s the insistence on making blanket statements about which ones do, or don’t, inherently reflect racist bias or reinforce racist narratives.

I think there are a number of reasons most of the headcanon and interpretations discussed should leave room for agreement to disagree that don’t involve calling the interpretations in question microaggressions in and of themselves. But that space so often isn’t there. I feel like it’s not conversation at this point. I’m not sure I can even envision what my ideal recommendations for actionable items might be in the current environment, since I think the ship has sailed on suggestions like:

maybe don’t respond to individual fanworks, but instead comment on trends and issues you notice in your own space, and tag in a way that’s easy to find for those willing to look

if responding to something/someone directly, approach with the intent of getting your perspective and counterarguments understood, and not with the intent of getting them agreed with

if responding to someone directly, keep the same energy you would for the cast, crew, and creators of the show when/if they make similar points

consider if something happened onscreen that didn’t sit right with you and you’re making authoritative claims about how it’s meant to be interpreted in order to square your love of the show with something you find problematic, and consider how your relationship to the show might change if you’re wrong about the intent

ask people about their specific reasoning for an interpretation instead of making blanket denouncements of certain interpretations

don’t outsource responsibility for your personal views to some mythical monolithic BIPOC community

if you’re white, ask yourself if you engage with and hype up the opinions and meta of BIPOC whose interpretations you don’t agree with entirely, or at all. If not, why?

if you’re white, are you about to say something that you’re willing to stand by and defend regardless of the race of who you’re replying to or if contradicting opinions from BIPOC are presented? Or are you going to bounce the moment you’re openly confronted with a situation where no matter what position you espouse, you’re gonna have to take responsibility for holding a position BIPOC disagree with and are made uncomfortable by?

or any number of other ideas I have that are rooted in an opinion that it’s unhelpful and tokenizing to make blanket statements intended to spin objective truths from subjective material.

So I think all I can, or want, to do at this point is focus on my own engagement patterns and work on being more considerate about when and how I engage in, and disengage from, arguments. Will also continue to vent frustrations with other BIPOC who love my grumpy gremlin, are neutral about him, or otherwise find themselves exhausted, frustrated, or erased by posts advising that EdIzzy is an inherently racist and abusive ship, or that the ship name BlackBonnet is offensive to Black fans.

[styrmwb]

Favorite Final Fantasy Music (FFXIV - Endwalker)

This was a hard list. This might be the hardest list out of all of them, actually. This is the (currently) most recent expansion of FFXIV, meaning it's the last part of my XIV favorite song lists. I love the Endwalker OST. I think overall, it has the highest number of tracks I absolutely love. The base game, the raids, the side content, it's all so strong, and I firmly believe there is not a single bad track in the entire list, only songs that I don't personally vibe with, and even then it's like, not even that much lmao.

The hardest part of this list was thinking what I didn't feel right including; a part of me as I'm writing this is thinking "fuck it dude top 20 let's do it", but I'm gonna hold strong and say: I love Pandaemonium. I love the remixes, I love the medleys and covers. I want to make this list a little varied! So I'm trying not to go too ham. (also there's no official youtube uploads of these yet so let's hope square doesn't kill these links!)

5. Finality This right here? This spot was the reason this list was so hard. The next 4 songs were locks, but I was like "what song hit me enough that it lands right above honorable mentions?" And after several listenings of every song you see on this page, this was the guy that did it. This is the final dungeon boss theme for this expansion, and that intro? Sold me. I know whenever I hear this song, I am getting ready for a fight for the literal end of the world. This song SOUNDS like the apocalypse. I love the heavy hits, especially the use of bass drum (like the opening bass drum roll??? fuck dude). I love how sorrowful the orchestra sounds, yet still loud to give you that sense of intensity. Not to mention, the choir version of Footfalls? My god man, this is a banger, but less in the sense that you're dancing along to it, and more to the sense that it gets you pumped the fuck up every time you hear it.

4. With Hearts Aligned I couldn't not put something from the final trial. It's an amazing fight. But I felt bad choosing The Final Day, cause, while glorious, it is ultimately a medley of songs from past expansions (which to be fair, is why it fucks).

This, is Endwalker specific. And not only is this Endwalker specific, this is generally considered to not be The Endsinger's final boss theme, but your final boss theme. Your friends all praying for you, the guitar shredding like the intro cutscene, the strings rising the song further, and to top it all off in the intro? The Maker's Ruin. The Theme From Phase 1 Of The Ultima Weapon. You're hyped at this point. You're powerful, you're undefeatable, your friends are giving the coolest fucking power of friendship speech you've ever fucking heard, and then the vocals come in. Everyone's favorite part of Footfalls finally shows its head of "yeah, this is the main song this is from." Singing about our song of hope, which, as far as I'm concerned? Is you. On wings of hope, you rise up through the night, higher (oh higher!), carrying our song, cradled fast within your arms, that it's chorus might ring for all (side note: this is also all the achievement names for the msq). This song is hype incarnate. This song is you conquering over despair, and bringing light to the entire universe. This. Is. Your. Song.

3. Flow Together Before any of the patch content came out, this was my favorite song. If this didn't exist, The Ewer Brimmeth would be right here, but this is my absolute favorite version of this melody. This is the fight against Venat (Hydaelyn), but also the final credits song. It's honestly beautiful. The vocals give it that elegance perfect for the person who's Basically your mom, but the band gives it a roughness befitting a sparring match between two Azems. My absolute favorite part starts after the song gets a little heavier, beginning at "Deep dark, far away~". The lyrics here are so meaningful, the guitar is beautiful, and the melody itself brings me to tears; it goes into this wonderful electric/acoustic type solo, and then doubles down. It takes all the same strengths as the part before it, and increases it (I know there's an official music term for this but I can't think of it and I'm too busy tearing up to google it!!!). Listening to the lyrics itself, which applies to normal Flow (same song with no band), it means so much for the meeting between you and Hydaelyn, or Venat in this case. She's talking to you. She's asking you what your journey's been like. She's telling you she's watched and listened to you all this time, and saying how you can rest. And I'm sure this meaning can be turned into anything, but that's what I get out of it, and it's what hits me the hardest (I am literally choking up writing this; the chokehold this goddamned song has on me I swear to god).

2. White Stone Black We're exiting the emotional Styrm-won't-stop-crying corner, and entering the realm of hell and demons, the castle of bangers. Pandaemonium has my favorite soundtrack out of any one section in the entire game. Literally every song in this raid fucks (even Scream and I don't even really care for that song!), and if I didn't have self restraint this whole list would have been Top 5 Pandaemonium Songs.

Anyways, to this one specifically: not enough people get to experience this wonder, because it is locked behind savage content, being Phase 2 of the final boss in the second set of fights. The phase begins with a horrific transformation, and the song itself is this intense droning synth on top of these heavy guitars, adding onto the creepiness and intensity, the main Shadows Withal melody previously used in Embers and generally associated with Lahabrea (cause it was his facility) turning into this terrifying chanting chorus (Silence.... holding us to violence. Violence... swearing us to silence.); Then the bop starts. The percussion ramps up, there's this really cool trancy noise in the background (that low key reminds me of super monkey ball), and the song gets heavier and more chaotic with all of the instruments and layers happening at once. The main meat of the lyrics also start at this point, with that heavily filtered screaming creating another layer of intensity and terror. This whole song represents this fight perfectly with the horror vibe and chaotic instrumentation (did you know a synonym for chaos is pandaemonium (did you know this bit also works for FFI and II)). There's also the peak of the song, when the less demonic voices take up the lyrics, and this is really where the dance floor energy creates itself (if you look up the Fortnite dance Infectious, I am always doing that in my mind to this song). it's an earworm, it's a head banger, it's creepy and terrifying, it's an absolutely beautiful mess of a song and I am so glad it's getting a Primals cover.

1. Hic Svnt Leones What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets! But enough talk, have at you!

I'll start this by talking about the main Pandaemonium motif. I was originally disappointed it wasn't the classic tune used in II and IX, but it has really grown on me, especially because this raid series is its own entity. XIV doesn't always have to be a theme park (although I do love when it is don't get me wrong). It's normally creepy, ghostly, and very befitting of the horror gothic death castle that is this raid. Love the arrangement, and the notes hit JUST right. You enter the raid, you do the first 3 fights, and you're expecting this really heavy classical (is it baroque? is that the genre?) vibe for the entire raid series cause that's the vibe it gives off!

Then you get to surf rock Dracula. And you remember "Oh yeah I'm playing Final Fantasy XIV!". Hic Svnt Leones is my absolute favorite version of the Pandaemonium motif (but believe me, Ancient Shackles and Athena are CLOSE FUCKING SECONDS), and my favorite song in Endwalker period. Taking that amazing melody, with the amazing combination of guitar and organ creating this classical/modern fusion that exemplifies what makes XIV's soundtrack so unique and awesome. The lyrics with the filter and again, the melody, are addicting, and extremely fun to sing alongside to. And then you realize what you're singing along to? It's talking about death, violence, murder, demonic creatures and rats and rot and blood and all sorts of horrific topics, about how you're gonna lose your mind and break your soul and your bones are gonna burn AND IT ALL SETS THE ATMOSPHERE FUCKING PERFECTLY! YOU'RE FIGHTING ANCIENT TERRORS DRACULA IN THE DEMON CREATION CASTLE OF COURSE IT'S GONNA BE SINGING DEATH AT YOU! The lyrics go so raw: "Here in the valley your death casts no shadow"? God Fucking Damn. The "ooooo ooo" in the chorus is super strange, but I also love it? Continuing that really weird surf rock vibe this song has for some reason?? But then also going right into the haunts of the damned with the really deep choir, and then the raspy, rotten, creepy voice whispering about how it's gonna open you up and reveal the black inside and it's just. Fuck man. This song fucks. The melody is amazing, the atmosphere is perfectly horrifying, the lyrics go hard, and I could honestly listen to this song, not to mention this entire raid, for hours.

Honorable mentions go to the entire soundtrack, but more specifically: Footfalls, The Ewer Brimmeth, The Labyrinth, Divine Words, Vibrant Voices, On Blade's Edge, Home Beyond the Horizon, Garlemald Express, As The Sky Burns, Sky Unsundered, Miracle Works, Your Answer, Close in the Distance, The Final Day, Carrots of Happiness, Where Daemons Abide, Ancient Shackles, One Among Wonders, Radiance, In The Balance, Hippo Ridin', Embers, Rhythm of the Realm, Dedicated to Moonlight, Dreamwalker, One Amongst The Weary, Fleeting Moment; Athena, The Tireless One; Myths of the Realm, and finally, all of the remixes and covers: The Day Will Come, Tower of Zot, Welcome to Our Town!, Troian Beauty, Battle 2, Battle With The Four Fiends, Forged in Crimson, Voidcast Savior, Ultima's Perfection, Crimson Rise, The Final Battle (FFIV), and The Red Wings.

i really did try to keep that list reasonable but jesus fuck the music team was on some shit this expansion

[simiansmoke]

@badonkeykong

DK felt most at home and most like himself when he was spending time with other him. They had very similar interests and viewpoints but their tastes were different enough for their personalities to mesh perfectly. One of their favorite activities to do together was wrestling. The ape was well aware of his own strength and being that his counterpart was also him in a way, he knew his strength too. It would never get too serious of course and they were the perfect fighting match.

However, it wasn't uncommon for them to get carried away, especially DK. When he got hyped up, his instincts would lead his actions, however playful they're meant to be. This happened to be one of those instances, he pulls a move his look alike had pulled with him many times before. The bite. The other ape freezes just like he expects him to though he doesn't expect to receive that look.

If it were anyone else, he might think they're just pulling that face to get out of their wrestling match but he knows the look in his eyes all too well. Cute aggression makes him want to chomp harder, a primal thrill making him enjoy the dominant position he's in but instead, after a moment of hesitance, his jaws release his counterpart and he moves off of him. He scratches the side of his head sheepishly, trying to play it off.

"W-What's with the puppy dog eyes? You can't trick me into feeling bad..." Too late. The pang of guilt is felt in his chest.

-------------

To say they didn't have a lot in common was proving that the observer was blinded with some sort of confirmation bias. That or they just didn't have eyes. There was just something he got out of spending time with...well, his own self, that seemed to escape him with everyone else. Maybe he's just a narcissist? Wouldn't be the end of the world.

Either way, scuffles shared with his other self were particularly fun. Mainly because losing didn't even mean anything bad since at least one of him ended up winning. That means he was always the winner! To some degree.

"You little bitch, get over here!" He laughed, sinking down into his weight before springing back up after a few hearty wiggles and launched himself at his brown-furred opponent. Squaring up practically chest to chest with the other Kong, DK about winds up to give the backside of the other's head a particularly potent upslap, but is stopped mid swing with teeth sinking into his shoulder to interrupt the swing at the source.

Immediately, DK freezes. The bite isn't particularly sharp as much as it's stopping him, and it stops him a little too much by no means of its own. Like a younger Kong with its neck scruffed and carried away, he feels his limbs go limp and he sags down under the other's weight as his breath catches in his throat and everything stops.

There's nothing around him but dark jungle and stone walls. A maw much larger than the one currently clamped in place is heaving heavy, heated loads of hatred-tinged breath into puncture wounds. The pop of bone-...an unimaginable pain pursued by the task of setting an arm back in its socket. He quivered in the anti-anticipation of. Once he comes to to see his arm free and the look of confusion on both his face and his other's, DK frowned and shook out his fur as he turned to start looking for his exit route.

"...it's nothing. This is stupid. I'm out."

[zoeology31]

The MLB season is well underway and I’m back into the seasonal swing of baseballposting! The Twins have invented new and unusual ways of being confusing and frustrating this year, so let’s not talk about that. Instead, here is a complete team of all my favorite non-Twins current players.

C: Salvador Pérez Holds the single season home run record for a catcher, was an integral part of both Royals World Series runs, and balled out in the WBC this year. Probably not a Hall of Famer, but my perception of his ability is certainly skewed by the fact that he wrecks the Twins every year.

1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. How is this guy still only 24??? A true generational talent (literally) and he knows it. One of the most fun power hitters to watch in MLB, and his other tools are a lot better than most in that profile. Also mad respect for his eternal hatred of the Yankees, I live vicariously through that.

2B: José Altuve A really stand-up guy and the beloved face of a franchise that’s been through a lot, only some of its own making. A ridiculously consistent .300 hitter, now with some leadoff home run power too, and even has an outside shot at 3,000 hits. I’d love to see him get there, he deserves it.

3B: Eugenio Suárez Good vibes only! I love his energy, I feel like he contributes so much to the Mariners’ great team culture. A true TTO player and has probably one of the lesser known 49-homer seasons, definitely underrated overall. Also, really good hair.

SS: Francisco Lindor My favorite player on Cleveland and I am very glad he’s elsewhere now so I can root for him wholeheartedly. Super well rounded player with a ton of baseball style and personal style. Another guy who balled out in the WBC, his inside-the-park home run was absolutely electric.

LF: Randy Arozarena Big Game Randy! It was crazy watching his run in the 2020 playoffs, and then he went and became a Mexican folk hero. The man is pure concentrated highlight reel, from stealing home in the 2021 ALDS to the crazy catches in the WBC, and with plenty of swagger to boot.

CF: Julio Rodríguez New face of baseball, anyone? He’s really got it all: talent, charisma, looks, athleticism, youthful energy, ambition, team loyalty, branding. Plus showing out at the Home Run Derby, challenging Mike Trout’s rookie records, and breaking the playoff drought. Yeah, he’s got a bright future with those Mariners.

RF: Juan Soto A ridiculously min-maxed combo of power and plate discipline that makes his numbers seem unreal. Super fun to watch at the plate with the swag and the patented shuffle. Plus he's got the Narratives of being forged on a World Series winner and traded to a superteam in his prime.

DH: Yordan Álvarez Just ridiculously good. Hits for unbelievable power and solid average, and already has a laundry list of all-time iconic moments. A historic walkoff and a World Series winning home run in the same postseason, and that's not even the year he won ALCS MVP.

SP: Max Scherzer A consistently great pitcher who finally stopped being underrated as a centerpiece of a great Nationals team with a storybook World Series run. Classic super intense SP but in a fun way and not an asshole way. Also a players' union leader for years, we love a workers’ rights king.

SP: Shohei Ohtani Top 20 hitter. Top 10 pitcher. No comparison. He’s also a superstar in Japan to a magnitude baseball hasn’t seen in the US in decades, and lives up to the hype with charisma, leadership, and the clutch gene. Also him closing out the WBC by striking out Mike Trout was so freaking badass.

SP: Framber Valdez A model of consistency for pitching, with a distinctive skillset and also fashion sense. The most square shaped man in baseball. He’s gone from an inspirational backstory to a true Cy Young caliber pitcher and an absolute stopper in the playoffs, also proof that Therapy Works.

SP: Sandy Alcántara A throwback to the days when they let pitchers throw until their arms fell off, except his doesn’t, and he’s still elite. There’s something so satisfying about complete games, and he’s the guy for ‘em. Also a great leader for Miami’s young rising pitching staff.

SP: Luis Castillo An underrated guy who’s very good at what he does and a giant slayer against tough lineups. The perfect ace for one of baseball’s best pitching staffs, with his immediate commitment to the team and the Mariners’ culture. Also his strikeout fist pump is super cute.

RP: Edwin Díaz Just absolutely dominant last year, completing his redemption arc under the NYC spotlights. His entrance song and the hype around it has done wonders for growing the game and kickstarting an incredibly fun trend. Super passionate and upbeat guy too, wishing him the best in his recovery.

RP: Andrés Muñoz Oh look, another Mariner! I love guys who throw heat and are effective with it. Super young guy with a ton of potential, would love to see him and Duran battling it out for reliever of the year for years to come.

RP: Emmanuel Clase I can somewhat respect the game of a division rival, and Clase is as good as it gets. Any AL Central team that goes into the 9th trailing knows the game is already over. He’s Mariano Rivera-esque with that dominant cutter, and his save in the All-Star Game was absolutely electric.

RP: Devin Williams If you throw the best pitch of its kind in baseball and have a cool name for it, you’re automatically so badass. He’s pretty underrated being on the same team as Josh Hader for 2.5 years, but as the primary closer and with a handful of accolades already, I expect that to change.