#funny because the bio is talking specifically about nick.

[ratislatis]

icon i made for this novel’s spotify playlist

[its-an-obsession]

Who Did This To You?

Full Masterlist | Supernatural Masterlist

Summary: After a long and stressful hunt, all you wanted to do was take some time off at a local bar, primarily you and Dean rather than Sam. So, while Sam is at the motel, you and Dean decide to hang out at a bar in town. The two of you hang out for a while before it's time to head back to the motel. While Dean is in the restroom, you get an unwanted conversation from someone, but you can handle yourself, right?

A/N: Not sure if I like this that much, but I thought I'd post it anyway. Stay tuned for more imagines!! If you'd like to be a part of the tag list, there's a form in my bio you can fill out, or you can DM me!

Notes:

Y/N/N: Your Nick Name

Established a relationship

Not set during a specific season

Warnings:

Unwanted flirting (guy at the bar)

Dean Winchester x-reader

The music played in the background as everyone talked around Dean and me. We had mostly kept to ourselves, occasionally speaking with the people around us. Since we were never really in town for long periods of time, Dean and I thought it'd be funny to make up different stories.

For instance, this time, 'we' had just gotten married in Las Vegas, and we were doing a road trip across the United States. It was stupid, but it was always fun to make different lives that we might never have. "Wow, so, this trip must be fun," Maria said, the woman we met. I smiled and nodded my head.

Dean had his arm around my shoulder, leaning to the side to kiss me on the cheek. "You two are just adorable," Maria said, grinning. The two of us thanked her, telling a few more fake stories about how we had met. "Well, as much as we would love to talk more, we have to head home," Maria said.

She and her husband, Jeff, stood up from the table. "It was so nice meeting you two. Congratulations on the marriage," Jeff said. The nice woman winked at me before leaving the bar. Dean kept his arm over my shoulders. His smile never left his face as we sat there. He sighed and checked his watch.

"Shit. It's eleven-thirty," Dean said. He took his arm off my shoulders to have the last bit of his drink. I grabbed my purse from the chair beside me, putting my arm through the strap. "I'll be right back," Dean stood up, "You good to take the bill?"

I nodded. Dean winked at me and kissed me on the cheek, then headed to the restroom. I shook my head at his actions. The bartender stood to the side as she was tending to some other customers. I pulled out my wallet to close our tap.

We had kept it open for a bit since we had bought Maria and her husband a few drinks, with them doing the same for me and Dean. Lexi, the bartender, spotted me. She held up a finger to tell me she'd be right with me. I gave her a nod and leaned against the bar. I still had a few sips left of my drink.

The music had died down a bit as the night went on. Dean and I hadn't planned on staying out this late, but we had a long day, so it was worth it. Surprisingly, we hadn't drunk that much, mainly because we knew we had about a nine-hour drive the next day. I grabbed my phone to text Sam that we'd be over in a few.

He replied with a thumbs-up icon before telling me that he'd probably be asleep by the time we got to the room. I chuckled at his response, putting my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. "Well, hello," a man said, sliding to the spot beside me. I nodded at him and continued to wait for the bartender.

"Why're you here by yourself?" he asked. I was able to see him from the corner of my eye, noticing that he was already out of it. I looked over my shoulder at the bathroom door. Part of me hoped Dean would spot what was going on, but the other part of me hoped he wouldn't, knowing that he'd cause a whole scene.

"I'm not," I replied. As soon as I said that, I realized that answering his statement gave him even more reasons to continue. The man looked around to find whoever was with me. "Well, I don't see him," he said. "Well, he's in the restroom, so.." my sentence trailed.

I tried to fly down the bartender, but she was now talking to another customer. The man chuckled and turned to the side to get closer to me. I took the last sip of my drink, trying my best to hint that I wasn't interested. He sighed, reaching a finger for the loop of my belt. My hand put the glass down on the counter and tightly grasped his wrist.

He was taken aback by my reaction but gathered himself and tightly pulled my hand away from his. "I'm not interested," I said, "I've got a boyfriend." Now that he was closer, I could practically smell the strong scent of alcohol on him. I mean, we were in a bar, of course, but this was an unpleasant smell.

The man's grip grew tighter at my response. He flipped his hand so my forearm faced up. I looked him directly in the eye before stomping my foot onto his, thanking myself for choosing heavy boots. "Lexi!" I called the bartender. She turned to me with raised brows, her expression changing when she saw the man beside me.

Lexi walked over and glared at him. The people she was speaking to stepped to me, taking the unwanted man away. I thanked Lexi, giving her some money for our drinks tonight. She nodded her head after making sure I was alright. I glanced down at my arm, taking notice of the red marks already forming.

I quickly pulled the sleeve of my jacket down, covering my arm, just in time for Dean to step out of the restroom. I smiled at him as he approached me. "Ready?" he asked. I nodded. The two of us said goodbye to Lexi.

_________

(The Next Day)

I stood in front of the mirror in the motel, doing whatever I could to stop the red marks from becoming visible. But as expected, there wasn't much I could do. Rather than wearing the T-shirt I usually wore. I thought it was best to just keep the sweatshirt I had on yesterday.

The boys had already packed up and were in the car waiting. I told them that I was going to look through the room just in case we forgot anything. Since last night, I hadn't told Dean or Sam what happened, mainly because Dean would freak out and spend the day trying to track whoever that guy was.

I didn't want that, and I knew Sam wouldn't either. We knew how Dean got around things like this. Especially when it came to guys flirting with me. I grabbed my backpack and left the motel room, making sure that my sleeve wasn't pushed up by the backpack strap. "There she is," Dean cheered, gesturing to me with wide arms.

I smiled and got into the backseat. Dean got into the driver's seat while Sam, as usual, was in the front passenger seat. I set my backpack beside me. We were headed to Kentucky after getting a call from a friend of the Winchesters. As Dean was driving, I kept an eye on my arm, wanting to hide it at a good time whenever it began to bruise.

A couple hours passed, and it was time for lunch. We still had about two hours till we arrived at the motel. The three of us found a booth in the back of the diner. Typically, we'd try to find a secluded table in case anyone heard us. Sam pulled out his laptop.

During the whole drive here, Sam and I had been doing some research while Dean drove like usual. "I'm gonna head to the bathroom," Sam told us. We nodded and looked down at the menu. I kept glancing at my sleeve, worried that it would slip down.

I probably should've worn a better jacket, but I had limited choices. Every so often, I noticed Dean glance at me. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Nothing," I answered. He stared at me for a few seconds before scanning his eyes over the menu again. Dean didn't take long to figure out what he wanted for lunch.

"Y/N/N, I've known you and hunted with you long enough to know what's wrong with you," Dean said. He set the menu in the middle of the table, taking mine out of my hands. My boyfriend ignored my glare when he prevented me from choosing my lunch. "Nothing is wrong," I replied.

His unamused expression never dropped. Instead, Dean leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed. "Don't bullshit me," he said. "I'm not bullshitting you, Dean," I replied. Before the two of us continued, Sam came back over to the booth. Pam, our waitress, made her way over.

"Afternoon, sweethearts. What can I get ya'll?" she asked, holding a notepad in one hand and a pink pen in the other. We each told her what we wanted. She smiled and took the menus, turning around to the diner's bar. I caught Dean looking at me as Sam explained what we found.

About an hour passed, and we finished our lunch. Dean left the money at the table, including a tip for Pam. As I was walking out of the diner, Dean grabbed my wrist and pulled me aside. I hissed in pain and took my hand out of his grip. Dean's face turned to concern when he heard my reaction.

The last thing he wanted was to hear me wince from his touch. He told Sam that we'd be right there. He waited a second before turning back to me, wanting to know what the hell just happened. He knew me too well that everything was fine, especially from what we do.

Dean didn't waste a second. He pushed my sleeve down, revealing the hand-shaped marks. Dean looked at the marks and then up to me. "Dean, it's fine," I lightly pulled his hand away from mine, but he didn't back down.

He carefully held my hand, not wanting to let me go. "Who did this to you?" Dean asked, his voice slightly stern. I was glad that we weren't in Virginia anymore since I knew that Dean would leave the diner to go after you know who.

His brows raised when I hadn't answered his question. "Who did this to you?" he repeated. "It was a guy at the bar. It's fine," I replied. I took my hand out of his grip. Dean looked at me and sighed as he put two and two together, turning to the side (GIF Above).

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, looking back at me. "I didn't want you to worry," I replied. Dean sighed, again, and took my hands into his. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head, bringing me in for a hug. "I'm sorry," Dean said. "I'm okay, I'm okay," I repeated.

Taglist: @nix-rose @nyotamalfoy

[lunaslethifold]

A Summer in Ottery St. Catchpole: Part 2 (George Weasley x Potter!Reader)

Pairing: George Weasley x Female!Potter!Reader

Series Synopsis: Y/N Potter used to have a huge crush on George Weasley. She could hardly even function around him. Now fresh out of a long relationship, she can say with confidence that those feelings she harbored for years are gone. George, on the other hand, had barely even acknowledged her existence. But now that Y/N is more comfortable around him, he starts to see the real her. George starts to see her in a new light. Boy, is that bad news for him.

Warnings: none, I think. (let me know if I missed any!)

Word Count: ~2.8k

Find the other works in this series in my masterlist (pinned and linked in my bio :))

A/N: Thank you all so much for the support on this series! If anyone’s wondering, I have about 7 parts planned for this series. I’m very excited to continue it and thank you so much for your nice messages! I apologize if there are any delays for me releasing parts, it’s because I have a lot of work to do :( Anyways, enjoy and let me know what you think! Sorry for any grammar mistakes!

Y/N and Fred were bored. Very bored. So much so, in fact, that Y/N was going through her trunk. For fun. Fred was sat on the bed, watching her. How could they be so bored so early in the morning? There was no reason to be up, yet here they were.

“You know…” Y/N started, surveying the books she just pulled out of her trunk. “I could use a new muggle book to read. I’ve already read all these twice over,” she said, tossing them carelessly back in. “Maybe I’ll ask Hermione if she’s got any.”

Fred sat up and grinned. “Or…” he said, letting the anticipation grow for a second. “We could go find some new ones from the shop in the village.”

Y/N stood up from her spot, a new light in her eye at the opportunity to do something fun. “Fred, that sounds like a wonderful idea.”

-

Somehow the whole gang was roped into joining their trip to town. Fred invited George, for obvious reasons. Then, Y/N thought Hermione might want to visit the bookshop as well. Ginny overheard and was happy to accompany her friends. The five of them ran into Ron, who was holding a pair of gardening gloves that were missing 3 fingers. He had told the group not to ask, and so they didn’t, instead inviting him to find a replacement at one of the local shops, albeit with a little laughter. And wherever Ron went, Harry followed. 

By mid morning the seven of them had begun the short trek to town. Y/N seemed to already be cured of her boredom, as she was laughing loudly with Ginny and Harry. Ron and Hermione led the group, the former of the two still a bit embarrassed by his glove situation, and the latter excited at the prospect of new reading material. Y/N walked a little bit behind them, with Harry and Ginny on either side of her. Fred and George were at the back, talking about who knows what.

Suddenly, Y/N stopped in her tracks, pointing at the large tree that was a few yards away from them. She glanced at the two people beside her, and then took off running towards it. Harry and Ginny yelled something at her, before running after her. The three of them began to race up the tree, stopping only to yell at each other. Ron and Hermione hadn’t stopped walking towards their destination. Fred let out a light chuckle at their antics before also continuing on. But George didn’t. Fred looked to his side, about to say something to his twin, only to find he wasn’t standing there. He turned around and saw George watching the tree intently. Fred walked back to him.

“Oi, mate, you alright?” Fred said to George.

George didn’t look at him. His eyes were still trained in the direction of Y/N. “Does Y/N seem… different to you?” George said, breaking the silence.

“Different?” Fred replied, a little puzzled. “No.” George finally turned to look at him as Harry, Ginny, and Y/N began to climb down from the branches of the tree. He saw that Fred looked like he was contemplating saying something.

“What is it?” George asked, now curious to know what his brother wasn’t telling him. 

Fred looked around to see if anyone was within earshot. Ron and Hermione were already far ahead past the hill, while the other three were starting to climb up it. He lowered his voice. “Alright, I’m only telling you this because it’s in the past now, and I never keep anything from you. But you can’t tell anyone, alright?” Fred said with a serious look on his face. George nodded sincerely. “Well…” George leaned in. “Y/N used to fancy you, so she didn’t feel comfortable around you. But now she’s over it, so I reckon she’s acting more normal,” he said, shrugging. 

George gaped at Fred. Did she really have a crush on him? If he would have known… 

If he would have known, what? George shook his head. Snap out of it, he thought. You just think she’s pretty, that’s all. And she’s nice. And funny...

George remembered Fred was looking at him. “Y/N Potter? Had a crush? On me?”

“No, I’m talking to the tree,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Yes, you. Well, now that you’re seeing the real her, maybe you can be friends.” Fred began to walk up the hill, clearly ready to join the others.

“Yeah… friends.”

- 

A relaxing tune played as the nice smell of fresh paper filled the air. Y/N, Harry, Fred, and George were scouting out the horror section of the bookshop. Ginny had followed Hermione to the romance shelves and Ron was poking around the knick knacks at the front of the shop. 

George was still reeling from the piece of information that Fred had given him earlier in the day. He was trying to act casual, but he felt as if he was hyper aware of everything Y/N said or did. The heart in his chest seemed to race whenever she looked at or talked to him. 

Y/N had a deep, contemplative expression on her face. It was almost comical. Her hand reached out and she nicked one of the books off the shelf. “Look Harry, this book is about me,” she said, trying to contain her laughter. She shoved the cover in front of them. It was titled The Babysitter.

“Wha-” Harry sputtered for a moment. “You’re only one year older than me-” 

Y/N broke into quiet laughter at Harry’s reaction. Fred, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care about how much noise he was making and began to laugh loudly. George chuckled too, and one could even see Harry trying to cover up a smile. Several heads turned their way. George couldn’t help but grin at Y/N’s joyful expression. 

“That was incredibly lame, Y/N,” Fred said through his laughter.

She giggled and said, “Maybe, yes, but at least I’ll never be as lame as you.” For some reason, George found this incredibly funny and laughed even more.

As they quieted down, people stopped looking at them. Except for one boy standing nearby. He was a muggle, probably, and George wouldn’t have noticed him if it weren’t for Y/N. The boy’s eyes seemed to be trained specifically on her. His grin faltered slightly. And the worst part? Y/N noticed he was looking at her. She looked up at him and met his eyes. Her lips turned up in a half smile at him. The boy smiled back at her. George panicked for a second before quickly picking up a random book off the shelf.

“Hey, Y/N look at this one,” he said, stepping in front of her, effectively blocking Y/N from the view of the muggle. What are you doing?!, he thought, suddenly a little embarrassed. She smiled at him and leaned over to see what he was holding. All ill feelings he had seemed to wash away as he looked at her. George was holding the book upside down, sure, but it seemed to distract Y/N enough as she gently took the book out of his hands and began to read the back. 

“You know what, this actually does look interesting. I think I’ll take it,” she said, grinning at him. “Thanks, George.” He swelled with pride as she added it to the other two books in the basket that was hanging on her arm. “Cmon, let's go see if Hermione’s done.” He smiled at his sheer dumb luck and followed after her.

-

Y/N was having a pretty good day. She was spending time with her friends, eating candy from the local sweets shop, and had three new books in her bag. She felt like this was a day to remember, a stark contrast to how she had felt in the morning. Everyone was lounging around in the square of the town, looking at the windows of shops or the vendors on the street.

Y/N had her arms linked with Hermione's and Ginny's as they merrily walked to a nearby flower cart. She stopped to examine and smell her favorite flower. 

"Why don't you take it?" the woman who was selling them said.

"Oh, I couldn't-" Y/N started, surprised at the offer.

"Please, what's one flower? Plus, it would look lovely tucked behind your ear," she said, smiling warmly.

"Thank you very much," Y/N said, smiling back. She followed her advice and carefully placed it on her ear. 

She almost skipped away, feeling like her day was just made 10 times better. She joined Hermione and Ginny on a bench nearby, basking in the sun that shone on her face. It was a bit cloudy that day, but the spot they were at had the perfect amount of sunshine on it. 

The three girls chatted there for a few minutes, before a loud roar of thunder could be heard from above. Within a matter of seconds a downpour of rain began, and everyone was scrambling for cover. They took cover at a cafe nearby, where they found the rest of the gang. Harry, Ron, and Fred were sat in a booth and Hermione and Ginny squeezed in next to them. George was standing nearby, eying the summer rain through the window.

"I reckon I'll get us some drinks, yeah?" Y/N said, surveying her friends. She made her way to the counter where a longer than usual line was beginning to form, likely due to the amount of people trying to escape the rain. She stood near the counter, reading the menu written in chalk on the blackboards. She decided what to order and joined the end of the line. Someone took their place after her and tapped her shoulder. Y/N whipped around, a little startled. Her eyes met a boy whose face she oddly recognized, but couldn’t place her finger on it.

“Hey there,” he said, smiling at her.

Y/N smiled back politely. “Umm, hello!”

“I recognized you from the bookshop. Do you read horror often?” the boy said. That’s where she recognized him from! Earlier at the bookshop, when she was browsing the horror section with her friends, they had exchanged smiles. 

“Oh, I remember now. Yeah, I’d say I enjoy it from time to time,” Y/N replied.  

“You like horror books and you’re in my favorite coffee shop? A girl after my own heart,” he said. Y/N let out a small laugh. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Y/N Potter.”

He stuck out his hand. “Michael Smith.” She took his hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

-

When the rain had started, George was with Fred, Ron, and Harry. Fred and Ron were arguing about something in Ron’s shopping bag, and Harry was laughing at them. George was leaning on the alley wall, only partly listening to what they were saying. Normally he would’ve found it hilarious, but something else was in the back of his mind. It was like a looming cloud; everytime George stepped into the sunlight, it made its way back to him, invading his thoughts. 

Sensing that the conversation would not be ending anytime soon, George slowly let his mind wander. He thought about earlier in the day, when Fred had revealed Y/N’s secret to him. How long had she fancied him for? When did she “get over,” as Fred had said, her crush on him? Probably after Kenneth, George thought. That was when the change began. He thought back to that day, when she had bounded up to him and Fred in the corridor. Y/N had looked so excited at the idea of going with him. Okay, maybe there was something behind how she looked at him. How could he have been so blind to her feelings? I mean, she spent almost every bloody summer with us, he thought. Fred called his name and brought him back to reality. Snap out of it, George thought to himself. Why are you even worried about this anyways? It’s not like there’s any reason to dwell on it.

Just then the sound of thunder filled the air and a summer shower started. The four of them pulled out of the alleyway and into the nearest shop. Soon, Hermione, Ginny, and Y/N came in. Everyone except George and Y/N were sat in a booth. He stood nearby, looking out the window. 

George always liked the rain. For some, it ruined their day. But not for him. It was loud and spontaneous. It came out of nowhere and was basically unpredictable. A recipe for disaster. But not for George. It was calming, in a sense. He liked to look out the window and watch the droplets hit the pavement or soak into the dirt outside. 

So, yeah, he was a fan of the rain. But as he noticed Y/N waiting in line, he wished he had paid less attention to the weather outside and more attention to what was happening inside. He registered that Y/N was going to get them drinks. He had never really noticed it before, but now that he thought about it, it seemed that Y/N always knew what everyone’s order would be. George wondered if she made an effort to remember, or if it was just accidental. Either way, the thought brought a wide smile to his face. It warmed his heart that she so subtly showed she cared in small ways. But, when he looked up from the window he saw something that left an unsavory taste in his mouth. 

Y/N was standing in line, talking to a muggle. And not just any muggle, mind you, but the same muggle that was trying to look at her in the bookshop. George clenched his jaw as a scowl made its way to his face. There was just something about the way he was looking at her. Or maybe, the way that he had shook her hand. It made his blood absolutely boil. He saw Y/N laugh at something he said and George forced himself to tear his gaze away from them and to his shoes. His arms seemed to cross in annoyance on their own.

“Oi! What’s got your boxers in a bunch, George?” a voice brought him out of his fit. It was Fred, who had a lopsided grin on his face, with a hint of concern behind it that only certain people could recognize.

George plastered a half smile onto his face and said, “Nothing.” Fred sent him a questioning look, but hummed in acknowledgement. George tried to shake off the lingering, icky feeling that he felt. What was that feeling, anyways? He stood still for a moment, mulling it over, before he realized. Oh no, was George jealous? No, there was no way. He couldn’t be… could he? It’s just that she’s been around for so long, it’s natural that he’d be protective. Unless…

No, no, no. C’mon, it was out of the realm of possibilities. But the truth was that what he felt was undeniable. It was jealousy. 

But why? Why was he jealous of seeing Y/N talk with that boy who was so obviously interested in her? There was only one possibility that came to mind. Do I… fancy Y/N?, he thought to himself, biting his lip in thought. He shook his head lightly. It couldn’t be. But then why was he acting this way? He was having an internal battle in his brain.

 Bloody hell, he thought, I guess I do fancy Y/N. It was a wild thought, really. This girl who he had known since he was twelve quickly and suddenly captured his attention. 

George took a second to bask in the feeling of his revelation. A giddy smile made its way to his face. It was freeing almost, admitting to himself that he had a crush. He sighed and shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. At that moment, Y/N began to make her way over to them, balancing two drink holders in her arms. She set them down on the booth table, and began to pass them out to everyone. Choruses of “thanks” could be heard. 

Finally, she pulled the last cup out and walked over to George. She handed it to him, with a dazzling smile on her face. Well, dazzling to George at least. It was probably just a friendly one to her.

“Here you go, just the way you like it,” she said, before pulling up a chair to the booth. George’s cheeks heated up as he gazed at her. She was so beautiful, even here after a day of walking around in town. 

Maybe, just maybe, he could buck up the courage to ask her out.

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! 

[la5t-res0rt]

this was written several weeks ago in response to asks i was receiving i am posting it now it is very long the longest i have ever made and it is not very well edited but here it is in this final essay i talk about how shitty rae is about black people in her writing as well as just me talking about how her writing sucks in general lets begin

hello everyone 

as you may know i have received a lot of anons in the last week or so about issues of racism in the beetlejuice community both just generally speaking and also within specific spaces 

i was very frustrated to not be getting the answers i wanted because i typically do not talk about what i do not see but in an effort to be better about discourse i went looking through discourse from before my time in the fandom and i also received some receipts and information from my followers and from some friends

keep in mind that the voices and thoughts of bipoc are not only incredibly important at all times but in this circumstance it is important that if a bipoc has something to add you listen and learn and be better

i admit that when this happened i wasnt aware of the extent of what occurred and im angry at myself for not doing more at that time and i want to work harder to make sure something like this doesnt go unnoticed again

im a hesitant to talk about months old discourse because i have been criticized for bringing up quote old new unquote but this is very important and i am willing to face whatever comes from to me

lets talk about this

content from our local racist idiot that may be months old but its important

putting my thoughts under a cut to spare the dash but before i begin obviously this is awful

lets fucking unpack this folks

right out the gate op states that she supports artistic freedom but then within a couple words she goes against that statement

being entirely canon compliant isnt artistic freedom and even so if this person has so much respect for canon they wouldnt be out here erasing lydias obvious disgust for beetlejuice in the movie or ignoring lydias age for the sake of shipping that shit isnt canon either 

also we love the quick jab at the musical there hilarious we love it dont we because god forbid a licensed and successful branch on a media have any standing in this conversation but whatever

now lets scroll down and talk about the term racebending

the term racebending was coined around 2009 in response to the avatar the last airbender movie a film in which the east asian races of the characters were erased by casting white actors in the three leading roles of aang sokka and katara 

whenever the term racebending is used in a negative light it is almost always a case of whitewashing like casting scarlett johansen in ghost in the shell or the casting of white actors of the prince of persia sands of time instead of iranian ones

this kind of racebending erases minorities from beeing seen in media and is wrong

all that being said however racebending has also been noted to have very positive after effects like the 1997 adaptation of cinderella or casting samuel jackson as nick fury in the marvel movies nick fury was originally a white guy can you even imagine

i read this piece from an academic that said quote writers can change the race and cultural specificity of central characters or pull a secondary character of color from the margins transforming them into the central protagonist unquote

racebending like the kind that rae is so heated about is the kind of creative freedom that leads to more representation of bipoc in media which will never be a bad thing ever no matter how pissy you get about it

designing a version of a character as a poc isnt serving to make them necessarily better it serves to give new perspective and perhaps the opportunity to connect even more deeply with a character it doesnt marginalize or erase white people it can uplift poc and if you think uplifting poc is wrong because it tears down white people or whatever youre a fucking moron and you need to get out of your podunk white folk town and see the real world

the numbers of times a bipoc particularly a bipoc that is also lgbt+ has been represented in media are dwarfed by what i as a white dude have seen myself represented in media is and that isnt okay that isnt equality and its something that should change not only in mainstream media but in fandom spaces as well

lets move down a bit further to the part about bullying straight people which is hilarious and lets also talk about the term fetishistic as well lets start with that

this person literally writes explicit pornography of a minor and an adult are we really going to let someone like that dictate what is and what isnt fetishistic

similarly to doing a positive racebend situation people may project lgbt+ headcanons on a character because its part of who they are and it helps them feel closer to the character and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that

depicting lgbt+ subject matter on existing characters isnt an inherently fetishistic action generally things only really become fetishistic when the media is being crafted and hyped by people who are outside of lgbt+ community for example how young teens used to flip a tit about yaoi or how chasers fetishize trans people

but drawing a character with top surgery scars or headcanoning them as trans is harmless and its just another way to interpret a character literally anone could be trans unless if their character bio says theyre cis and most of them dont go that deep so it really is open to interpretation and on the whole most creators encourage this sort of exploration because it is a good thing to get healthy representation out in the world

as for it being used to bully straights thats just funny i dont have anything else on that like if youre straight and you feel threatened and bullied because of someone headcanoning someone as anything that isnt cishet youre a fucking idiot and a weak baby idiot at that like the real world must fucking suck for you because lgbt+ people are everywhere and statistically a big chunk of your favorite characters arent cishet sorry be mad about it

lets roll down a bit further about the big meat of the issue which was when several artists were drawing interpretations of lydia as a black girl which i loved but clearly this person didnt love it because they have a very narrow and very racist and problematic view of what it means to be a black person

and before i move forward i must reiderate that i am a white person and you should listen to the thoughts of poc people like @fright-of-their-lives​ or @gender-chaotic it is not my place to explain what the black experience is like and it certainly isnt this persons either

implying that the story of a black person isnt worth telling unless if the character faces struggles like racism and prejudice is downright moronic 

why use the word kissable to describe a black persons lips now thats what i call fetishistic and its to another extreme if youre talking about a black version of lydia on top of that

the author of this post says herself that shes white so clearly shes the person whos an authority on the black experience and what it means to be a black person right am i reading that right or am i having a fucking conniption

how about allowing black characters to exist without having to struggle why cant a black version of lydia just be a goth teenager with a ghost problem who likes photography and is also black like she doesnt have to move to a hick town and get abused by racist folks she doesnt have to go through any more shit than she already goes through and if you honestly think thats the only way to tell a black persons story you need to get your brain cleaned

you know nothing about the complexities about being a black person and i dont either but you know wh odo black people who are doing black versions of canon characters they fucking know 

lets squiggle down just a bit further 

so the writer has issues with giving characters traits like a broad nose or larger lips if theyre a woman but if theyre a man suddenly its totally okay to go all ryan murphy ahs coven papa legba appropriation when approaching character design like are you fucking stupid do you hear yourself is that really how you see black men like what the fuck is wrong with you

none of the shit youre spewing takes bravery it takes ignorance and supreme levels of stupidity

do you really think you with your fic where a black lgbt+ woman is tortured and abused where you use the n word with a hard r to refer to her like that shits not okay its fucking depraved and yeah we know you love being shitty but like christ on a bike thats so much 

can we also talk about this

what the fuck is this fetishistic bull roar garbage calling this black character beyonce dressing her up in quote fuck me heels unquote are you are you seriously gonna write this and say its a shining example of how to write a black character youre basically saying ope here she is shes a sex icon haha im so progressive and i clealry understand the black experience hahahaha fuck you oh my god

on top of that theres a point where this character is only referred to as curly hair or the fact that the n word is used in the fic with the hard r like thats hands down not okay for you to use especially not in a manner like this jesus christ

oop heres a little more a sampling for you of the hell i am enduring in reading this drivel

oh boy lets put a leash on the angry black woman character lets put her in a leash and have the man imply hes a master like are you kidding me are you for real and what the fuck is with calling her shit like j lo and beyonce do you actually think thats clever at all are you just thinking of any poc that comes into your head for this 

also lydia fucking tells this girl that she shouldnt have lost her temper like she got fucking leashed im so tired why is this writing so problematic and also so bad

hold up before i lose my head lets look at some of her own comments on the matter of this character and what happens to her

hi hello youre just casually tossing the word lynch out there in the wide open world as if thats not a problem that is still real like are you fucking unhinged there have been multiple cases of this exact thing happening in our firepit of a country in the last five months alone like how can you still have shit like this up for people to read how can you be proud of work like this in this climate

and also what the fuck is that last bit 

what the actual fuck

i dont speak for black people as a white person but you do!? im sorry i had to get my punctuation out for that because wow thats fucking asinine just because one black person read your fic and didnt find the torture and abuse of your one black character abhorrant doesnt mean that the vast majority of people not only in the fandom but in the human population with decency are going to think its okay because its not 

i started this post hoping to be level headed and professional but jesus fucking christ this woman is something else white nationalism is alive and well folks and its name is rae

if you defend this woman you defend some truly abhorrant raecism

editors notes 

in order to get some perspective on these issues more fully some of the writing by the author was examined and on the whole it was pretty unreadable but i want to just call back to the very beginning of this essay where the person in question talked about holding canon in high regard but then in their writing they just go around giving people magic and shit and ignoring the end of the movie entirely like are you canon compliant or nah 

the writing doesnt even read like beetlejuice fanfic it reads as self indulgent fiction you could easily change the names and its just a bad fanfic from 2007

also can we talk about writing the lesbian character as an angry man hater like its 2020 dude and als olets touch on that girl on girl pandering while beetlejuice is just there like here we go fetishizing again wee

i cant find a way to work this into this already massive post but

im going to throw up

okay so thats a lot we have covered a lot today and im sure my ask box will regret it but this definitely should have been more picked apart when it happened

please feel free to add more to this i would love more perspectives than just my own.

[survivor-sanity-blog]

Survivor 38 First Impressions: Kama Tribe

Hello all! This week, I’m wrapping up my first impressions of the 38 cast. Once again, I’m writing these as I go through the bios provided on CBS, as well as Josh Wigler’s preseason interviews off of RHAP. Next week is the big week!

Joe Anglim: 

I don’t know how Joe is gonna do this season. I think people know he’s a threat. This is his third time, and people know how he plays at this point. I think the smart thing for the rest of his tribe to do would be to knock him out right away. He’s been pegged as the golden boy for two seasons now, and probably will here too. I’m not sure how his ego is gonna hold up; I think he could get in his head, and he’ll try to take advantage of everyone on his tribe. It’ll probably be similar to a Malcolm situation; get knocked out early. I just don’t think it’s something he’ll be able to escape, no matter how much he changes his strategy. The only way he could do well is if his tribe fell for his magic. Prediction: Premerge.

Aubry Bracco: 

I think Aubry stands a good chance of going well. I think her character was super big during both of her other seasons, but not significant enough for people to remember her level of threat. I think that she’s gonna have a super good social game, as usual, and she’ll want to play with people as much as they’ll want to play with her. She could definitely make it far, so I’m excited to see her dynamic. I think she and Joe will go separate ways, and she’ll probably work with her tribe to try and get Joe out. That would be the smart thing to do, at least. I think she could do well, but I’m not sure if she’ll make it as far as she has in the past. She’ll definitely make the merge, though, I predict. Prediction: Merge

Victoria Baamonde: 

She’s super cute, she’s been a fan since she was 6. SHE MATCHED WITH COCHRAN ON TINDER. She reminds me of myself, she’s a legit fan! She said she’s most like Malcolm Freberg, but made into a joke instead of making it a basic answer, which I appreciate. She’s inspiring me to want to apply. She has a ton of personality: good personality! Lots of self awareness, she’s not annoying either. I think she’s going to do well, as long as she doesn’t come off as a threat. I think that could be the thing that gets her, if she comes off as super strong. I think she’s gonna be able to keep her strategy under wraps, even though she said she wants to be memorable. I hope that she keeps the memorability until after the merge. I also hope she doesn’t pick fights with anyone, or engage in fights. I could see that happening potentially, but I highly doubt it. I think she can do well. Prediction: Merge

Ron Clark: 

He kind of seems confused based on his bio! He describes himself as a “mean girl” and a “sore, sore, sore loser”. He also seems super quirky, based off of his hobbies. He’s also from the south. He’s a fifth grade teacher?! He teaches at a school named about himself. It’s Hogwarts themed. He’s seeming super friendly, actually now. I feel like he’s gonna come off as nice, and then succeed at being deceptive. He said he’s like Spencer, and I can see that. I can see him being like Mike White from 37. He did a lot of research in the specific dynamics of each challenge; he’s neurotic (just like everyone else). I’m getting a lot of mixed signals from him. Is he sweet, nice? Or is he an aggressive “mean girl”? I think, if he can pace himself in the game, he could make it to the merge. If he gets carried away and takes the role of leader, which I think he knows better than to do, that’d be his downfall. Prediction: Merge.

Julia Carter: 

She’s funny! I like her a lot. I think she’s gonna be super likeable. She says she’s like Jeremy, which is a little unoriginal, but if he’s actually like him, she’ll do well. I think she’s generally pretty happy, seems pretty positive, but not in an annoying way. I think she’s gonna be good at talking to people; she’ll probably be able to get into an alliance real fast, and make good connections. I can also see her being a little deceptive; I think that she’ll be able to be really strategic, and not mess it up with neuroticism. I hope she does well! I think she can make it far. Prediction: Final 6.

Eric Hafemann: 

Fan! He’s been applying for a while. He seems pretty casual, though. His interview is pretty boring. He seems very casual and low-key. He describes himself as like Tony, which I don’t think is accurate. He’s too chill. He’s losing me, I can’t really pay attention to what he’s saying. I think, while he comes off as boring in his interview, his casual demeanor will help him on the island. He’ll probably be super likeable, and become a threat. Hopefully he doesn’t shoot to be the leader, because I could see that being his downfall. I don’t think he will, though. Prediction: Merge

Aurora McCreary: 

I like her a lot! She’s got a fun personality, and she seems like she’s super self aware. She’s owning that she’s argumentative, and blunt I think. She’s gonna be a bit of a Corinne I think, she’s gonna be super straightforward, and be herself, which means she’s probably gonna be aggressive. I think she should have put Corinne down as player she was most like. She did describe herself as Tyson/Ciara though, and I think those are good picks for her based off of what she’s saying in her interview. She graduated early from college, she’s smart. She said her downfall will be if she gets emotionally involved; I think, if she aligns with Julie, it could create a Corinne/Dawn duplicate. I like her a lot, but I don’t think she’ll do well. I can see her making it to final 8 at the furthest. Prediction: Merge

Julie Rosenberg: 

She describes herself as “very neurotic”. That’s concerning! The fact that she’s a fan will do that for her. She says she’s like Cirie socially, but also says she’s like Dawn; It’s an interesting pick! Definitely not one people think of, so I think it must be telling for her personality. That also worries me. She’s got a good personality though, her interview is interesting to listen to. I think people could find her annoying, if her neuroticism combines with her “Dawn” elements. She could be in trouble in that circumstance, and unfortunately I think that’s very likely. I think she’s gonna try and make a big move to early, and panic about it. Prediction: Premerge.

Gavin Whitson: 

Declared himself a superfan! He said he’s most like Keith Nale; that’s an odd pic for sure, but a reach for the fans! He got married two days before flying out here?! He seems like a charismatic character for sure. He’s from Tennessee, and has a thick accent, which adds to his TV character. I hope he’s not impulsive! I don’t think he’ll be neurotic like the rest of the cast, I think he’ll be a pretty chill character who can make some good alliances. Maybe it’s the recency bias, but I think he could be a lesser Nick from 37. I think he’s gonna be super likeable, and probably make it far if he doesn’t make a random mistake early on. Prediction: Final 6

[crowsister-archive]

What's your favourite fandom? What do you want to make but not have time for? Do you have a go-to comfort trope?

I don’t so much have a favorite fandom as I have favorite playgrounds.

…fuck that was an incredibly Selina Kyle thing to say. (I was a Catwoman fan first, Batman came later)

This got really rambly, so put things under the cut so I don’t take up too much of people’s dashboards.

Right now, I’ve been nestled into a large cacophony of DC and Marvel comics, partially because I’m playing Meddling Metas (the tabletop that Ada’s from and that @superkamigodespurrdragonofmars is running) and partially because there are so many interpretations of characters and that’s fucking fascinating for me.

Like right now, I’ve been doing this experiment in playing Avengers Academy. Because it’s the most high key 2013 thing I’ve seen, all it’s missing is Homestuck and OFF references. The characterizations of various Marvel characters is so odd and I mean odd in the most fond way possible. I can send Nebula, galactic assassin and daughter of Thanos, to go graffiti her name on Nick Fury’s office. The main three students, the Harry Potter-esque “Founding Three” is Tony Stark, Janet van Dyne, and Loki. It has an energy that’s very similar to whenever I go and read Golden-Silver Age DC comics. Watching the Fire Emblem-like social interactions is the highlight of the game because everyone has the same animations and the dialogue is just so. So. 2013. I can’t really pin it down other than that timestamp.

On the DC end of things, I’ve been having a blast catching up on @chrisdee‘s Cat Tale’s series. I wasn’t expecting to like Doris as much as I do, but she’s an intensely fun character that stands up against Dee’s fun characterization of Catwoman. Is there a Doris fanclub? I want in. The Russia thing was, to paraphrase Dee’s Kyle, “my kink”.

Other than that, current fandoms I’ve been having fun interacting with have been ROTTMNT (though on a much more laid back basis than a couple months ago due to accidentally pushing myself too hard with socializing on that front) and GW2. With Fortuna coming out today, I might delve back into Warframe fic-writing. Maybe.

Second question, big thing I wanna do but don’t have time for. The projects I have don’t necessarily have time concerns so much as it’s energy. 

Low-Key is going to be an on-going project for the next several years, because I’ve got the next “book” in the Rogue Hero trilogy (Hackity-Hack, Cold Front, and [CENSORED]) planned, along with Interlude: Key Distribution, the next duo part of Low-Key (which I’ll name drop as An Opportunaty to Learn. It’s all set in Atlantis and it heavily features La’gann because man, does that boy need fic in his tag that actually has him as a main character), then an interlude for Theo’s origin story, then Network Takeover, and then the planned pay off to the Pen Pals subplot (the Arbitrator stuff name-dropped from time to time). Then there’s a whole other “book” and an interlude that’s gotta do with one of Theo’s bio-family coming up and that whole thing shaking the setting I’ve got going over there (long story short in a confusing manner, Theo’s gonna get some good volunteer work done and Leonard’s gonna be in hysterics).

I’m gonna finish Mean, but cute, but progress on that is slow because right now it’s mostly my vent fic for “Things Mare wants to do in Meddling Metas, but cannot because Stage Fright”. It’s also a neat playground for some magic mechanics that I’ve been working on for a bit that might feature in Low-Key because DC is a lazy bitch and doesn’t actually HAVE an established magic system that SON OF A BITCH COMPANY. It’s also a place where I get to write a Catwoman-esque character and honestly, that is so utterly my Thing that it’s not even funny. Astraia is a walking, talking example of all of the things that go into my character design process and it’s not even funny. Okay it’s a little funny considering she was an accidental creation.

Other than that, I don’t have any huge dream projects that’d require more time. If I had more money, I’d go and commission so many artists. So many. I’ve got a spreadsheet of artists and their commission posts and what I’d want to commission them for. Fuckit, lemme shill a few of them.

For Low-Key, I’d commission filibusterfrog because their lines and colors match a lot of what’s going on in my head as I go into Theo-mode for narration. It’s actually frog’s indirect fault that Theo’s theme color went from green to blue: a lot of frog’s art that feature’s blue kinda vibrates with a Theo energy? I don’t know how to describe it other than that. Like I’m a noted Blue Bitch when it comes to colors, but Theo was very strongly gonna be green until I saw some of frog’s magic scar pictures. I think it was specifically the Cold variant of Chaos Bolt?

For Meddling Metas, my go-to artist is hyperbali. Kyla has really great lines, colors, and a very wonderful sense of pulling together outfits. Their picture they did of Ada? Is amazing and I love it to BITS.

For Mean, but cute, I’d go with either frog again or Floh. Floh’s got a really nice lineless style that I super love and could see being very good for Astraia. Her tarot cards are also super legit and something I’ve been tempted to grab for a specific Meddling Metas character.

Now, go-to comfort trope. In general, I am a huge Romance fan, like I will go into Character x Reader tags because there’s such a plethora of content that’s constantly put out that fits that. More specifically, I will always, always enjoy Found Family (sighs deeply, motioning at Low-Key) and Mutual Pining (SIGHS LOUDER, MOTIONS AT UNRELEASED LOW-KEY CONTENT). In general, the easy way to tell is if I write it as a celebrated thing (like the grumpy pants dad nature of Leonard in Low-Key or the sci-fi nature of Theo’s magic as examples), I most likely deeply enjoy it. Something else I deeply enjoy reading too is reading about a character working through childhood trauma inflicted on them by their parents. When done well, it’s a really comforting experience because I can point at them and go “I can do it too”.

[sinceileftyoublog]

The Versions of Shannon Lay

Photo by Denée Segall

BY JORDAN MAINZER

The story of how LA-based folk singer-songwriter Shannon Lay came to commit to music full-time is legendary. It’s akin to Radiohead seeing Jeff Buckley live leading to Thom Yorke’s heartbreaking performance on “Fake Plastic Trees”, but this time, it’s a different kind of inspirational folk luminary. Lay watched Jessica Pratt’s quiet, contemplative, yet all-encompassing music dominate a room; if there’s a demand for it, she, too, could do it, she thought after watching Pratt’s set. Lay decided to quit her job of 7 years at a vintage shop in August of 2017, the month being the namesake of her best album to date and one of the finest of 2019.

August exemplifies so much that Lay does well. The surprisingly linear spontaneity of opener “Death Up Close”--which starts with a misstep and eventually features a Mikal Cronin saxophone solo--is contrasted by the flaneur of “Nowhere”, an ode to enjoying the circular journey without an end, where her voice travels in the opposite direction of the song’s lilting melody. “Will I ever see through?” Lay asks, but not too bothered, layered over drums and hand claps. She sees the humor and delight in the smallest moments: Gorgeous and simple standout “Shuffling Stoned” is a scene in a record store in New York City, a customer buying weed from his dealer as small spider crawls on his stack of records. Many people would want the spider killed, but Lay sees it as no less a sign of life than anybody else. Most remarkable is “November”, dedicated to the woman left behind, Molly Drake, the mother of the late Nick. “Molly did you feel the sting / Of November songs gone quiet,” she asks, again not expecting an answer but knowing that asking the question, embodying another’s state of mind, is what’s important. 

Live last month at Lincoln Hall opening for Cronin, Lay and her band members (Denée Segall, Sofia Arreguin, and Shelby Jacobson) were effortlessly good. August songs like “Sea Came to Shore”, in studio just guitar and violin plucks, were much more forceful on stage, while old favorites like “Parked” allowed Lay to show off her finger-picking and English folk chops. The band ended their set with an a capella, almost unrecognizable version of Italo house classic “Everybody Everybody” by Black Box, further cementing Lay’s ability to adapt material to suit her style. The audience, even one prepared for the hell-raiser to follow, loved it. It makes sense; if anybody has experience slaying in front of all types of crowds, it’s Lay, who also plays in Ty Segall’s Freedom Band. She’s thankfully unafraid to call out talkers when necessary, as she told me over the phone earlier this year. “Nick Drake quit halfway through his first tour because people were talking during his set,” she reminded me. “People [who talk] don’t have empathy...they’ve never been up on stage,” she added. Ever the wise reader of people, but one too thankful to let it get to her too much, Lay moves on.

During our interview, Lay shared the stories behind some of the songs, videos, and lines from August, as well as explained her inspiration from The Simpsons, true crime, and Nick Drake and Karen Dalton. Read our conversation, edited for length and clarity, below. 

at Lincoln Hall

Since I Left You: A lot of the context of the album you’ve shared in other interviews or through the bio. Is there something else the listener might not pick up in terms of how August is unique as compared to your past releases?

Shannon Lay: I wanted this one to be overtly positive. Not as moody as my last ones. I think that was the main difference that I felt--this undercurrent of joy I had never really had making a record. There was always a heartache involved or a brooding of the state of the world. Now, more than ever, I feel like you gotta do what you want to do. Being able to experience and appreciate that and encouraging other people to do that too.

SILY: Did doing music full-time help you think about things in new ways?

SL: Yeah, for sure. It kind of freed up so much brain space that was taken up by the usual life stuff. It was cool to put all of my energy into one thing I cared about so much. It was a really amazing experience I had never really had.

SILY: What was your job?

SL: I was working at a vintage store called Squaresville. It was a great little store. I grew up there, working there from 19-26. Really formative years of my life. The store bought clothes from the public, so there were all these new faces coming in. The staff would have been an amazing sitcom. Everyone was just the most incredible character. It was a ton of fun. My boss at the time was just so supportive--always let me go on tour and come back. She was a huge reason I was able to do this in the first place.

SILY: That’s nice to hear. A lot of the time when you hear about these types of stories, it’s about escaping some sort of soul-sucking desk job.

SL: I was very lucky. I had a cool environment to be in.

SILY: Do you still keep up with them?

SL: Yeah, for sure!

SILY: The first song on the record--does that start with a recorded misstep?

SL: Yeah, it was a total accident. As we were going through the tape, I just fell in love with that moment. The song comes in so quick, it was kind of a “Roll it!” moment, and then the record just goes.

SILY: So it was something you just heard and were like, “We should keep that in”?

SL: Totally. When we were doing the mastering, they had taken it out, since they thought it was a mistake--we were like, “Put it back in! Put it back in!”

SILY: Where did you get the idea for the video for “Death Up Close”?

SL: Me and the director, Matt Yoka, we had been talking about that idea for a year. We finally had just enough money to pull it off. Matt’s the best in the sense that when he gets an idea in his head, he’s going to make it happen no matter what, so we just had the most fun ever. We built all of it. Everybody was so nice. Most of the people were just volunteering. The concept behind it was mainly the idea of having a safe space in your mind that’s never changing no matter how much you change. For me, that’s obviously The Simpsons, my total safe haven, end all be all childhood memory show, and something I still watch every day. It was amazing to become yellow.

SILY: Is there a specific line or joke from The Simpsons that you think about all the time?

SL: The one that comes to mind is such a weird deep cut. There are tons of them. [laughs] There’s one where George Bush moves into the Simpsons’ neighborhood...this is not funny to anybody...there’s one point where Bart comes over and George Bush yells to Barbara Bush, “Bart’s here, we gotta get him out of here,” or something, and she’s just like, “I’m making pies, it’ll be a while!” That’s the joke that I think of. [laughs] There’s so many. I also love the one where Lisa starts to play hockey and Marge has Milhouse’s teeth from the show before. I’m just like, “Stop showin’ us those.”

SILY: There are so many good Easter Eggs.

SL: Yeah, totally.

SILY: What was the story behind your video for “Nowhere”?

SL: I did that one with my house mate Chris [Slater]. He’s a great director. We just used our phones for that one. I found an 8 MM app that was available. We just went around our neighborhood taking some footage, and he put his editing magic on it. I really like the way that one came out. It was a cool visual moment.

I wish music videos had more of an impact, but I think they’ve become this weird thing. You remember back in the day, Making the Video, and they had a yacht, and it was this huge thing...the new Missy Elliott video totally harks back to it, like she has different looks and different dancers.

SILY: The song “November” references Nick Drake’s mother. You see a lot of songs about a prolific or important singer-songwriter who left too soon. Why did you decide to explore the perspective of his mom?

SL: I guess sort of the fact that he did live at home. It was just a normal night that he went to sleep, woke up, had a bowl of cereal, and took one too many pills. I just imagine his mom waking up in the morning and feeling this silence in the house. It just must have been such a crazy moment. I don’t think it was any secret he had some emotional problem, but you never expect anything like that to happen. Putting myself in her shoes for a minute, and feeling such a strong presence leave the world, it must have been really emotional and intense. At the same time, what he left behind was incredible. He’ll live forever. He’s more alive now than he’s ever been because of how many people have discovered his music. I was thinking about the inherent sadness of losing a loved one, especially someone where everyone outside of them could see their potential, but maybe they’re struggling. It’s a whole thing. [laughs]

SILY: I love the story behind “Shuffling Stone”. Do you like spiders?

SL: I do love spiders. Not when they’re on me, but I do like spiders.

SILY: “Something On Your Mind” was released before this record was even announced. Had you always planned on putting it on the record?

SL: I didn’t, but it just became clear to me that it sums up what I’m trying to portray and how I’m feeling. The amount of people who don’t know who Karen Dalton is--I’d love to spread more awareness of her. I discovered that song relatively recently and it really hit me, so I started playing it live, acoustic guitar and vocals. Whenever someone did know that song, they’d be like, “Dude, thank you so much for playing that song. I love that song.” I think it’s that kind of a tune. If you have a relationship with it, it’s incredibly special, and to discover it is a really beautiful thing. I hope it points people in her direction.

SILY: What made you want to sign with Sub Pop?

SL: When we first finished the record, I kind of did an email blast and sent the record to all the labels we like. Sub Pop got back so fast and were so stoked. I was surprised because they don’t strike me as an overtly folk label, but that was exciting to me to, to be like, “Hell yeah, let’s bring a new perspective to this established, wonderful thing.” Then I met some people from there, and they were the most wonderful people. I’ve never really experienced the resources they have before. There’s a social media guy, and a PR girl. Everybody is working so hard in their specialized zones. It’s amazing to experience and be a part of. They just seemed so down to earth while also being very professional and serious at the same time. They’re awesome.

SILY: They are pretty stylistically diverse even if they haven’t done much folk. Your sound fits just because of that.

SL: Totally, yeah. It opens a lot of doors in my mind of what I could do.

SILY: I read one review that said Jessica Pratt inspired you to dedicate all your time to music.

SL: The first time that I saw her play, I was super deep in the rock scene. I had always been in really loud bands, considering that people want to see that kind of music. I saw her open for Kevin Morby in LA, and the whole room was silent, and she was just captivating everyone. It was incredible to watch. I immediately went home and booked my first solo show. I had no idea people wanted this kind of music, and I had been making that kind of music, so let’s see what happens, let me book a show. She was totally the catalyst for that. I was so in awe of the simplicity and the beauty of what she was bringing to the table. Music like what she makes has a lasting power and timelessness where you can be anyone and anywhere in the world and people will be captivated. It’s amazing.

SILY: Is it hard for you to switch back and forth between your solo shows and playing in bands?

SL: It’s kind of easy. It’s a matter of mindset and what alcohol you’re consuming. [laughs] I always go tequila for the loud shows, wine for the quiet shows. We’re saying the same things, but in very different ways. It’s kind of nice to have both perspectives.

SILY: What’s the story behind the cover art for the new record?

SL: The guy who took the photo, Matt Reamer, mentioned he wanted to do more portrait photography. He had always a lot of live stuff. We took photos, and as I was going through them, I came across that photo. I love how ambiguous it is. I could be thinking about anything in that photo. It’s whatever you want it to be. I had the idea of getting people to do different versions of it, and it became this cool, unique thing of these different perspectives and the evolution of me in the past year. I’ve been doing a ton of cleaning house, checking in, and learning new things about myself and not taking myself too seriously. It’s been a hell of a journey, and seeing these four versions of me felt really appropriate for the record.

SILY: Are you the type of songwriter who’s always working on new songs?

SL: I’ve been kind of stuck lately, because I’ve had a lot of stuff to work on, but there’s always a ton of voice memos on my phone, little snippets I work on in the car. I look forward to when I have a block of time where I can sit down. I’ve written quite a bit of the next record, but I probably have 5-6 songs to go. I’m excited to get back into it.

SILY: Is there anything you’ve been listening to, watching, or reading lately that’s caught your attention?

SL: I just watched Euphoria. That was really good. It really inspired my eyeliner game. I’m always listening to a lot of true crime. I’m a big true crime buff. It fascinates me--the extremity of people’s actions. That’s what that song “Wild” is about on August--the things we’re capable of.

SILY: That line, “We are kind things capable of the most evil,” is very fitting. You kind of nail nature versus nurture in just that line.

SL: Yeah, totally. It’s wild. [laughs] The age old question.

SILY: Are you a Forensic Files fan?

SL: I am! Whenever I’m in a hotel room, I know it’s gonna be on, and I’m stoked.

SILY: My girlfriend and I struggle to find new episodes. It’s always our “before bed” show, and we’ll start one and midway through be like, “Wait, we’ve seen this one.”

SL: Have you ever listened to a podcast called Small Town Dicks? It’s the voice of Lisa Simpson, Yeardley Smith, and she has this podcast. It’s amazing because it sounds like Lisa Simpson doing a true crime podcast, but it’s also amazing stories.

Album score: 8.5/10

[deadly-algebra]

Yo yo, saw you followed and I followed back, I suck at human basics but thanks for following, my blog is a royal mess that has no theme so hope you don't mind it. Let's see... What about to give me a brief bio of you? Anything you wanna share, feel free to make it public or not, I have no shame in showing my real face (avatar is me) and my real name as nick and I never use anon so go wild!

Sorry for answering this so late!!

I love your blog, and mine doesn’t have a theme either so it is a-okay! 

And hmmm, a bio about me...

I’ll just give a little rundown and I might end up going into too much detail! 

Well, my name is Eli, I’m 21, I live in North Carolina, I’m a medical student, a total math and science nerd, and I love all of my f/os. (ps I now have a link in my bio to my f/o list! and I will be updating it with platonic ships as well very soon)

I enjoy writing, sleeping even though I’m an insomniac, meeting new people regardless of my anxiety, and obsessing over fictional characters. 

I am a terrible procrastinator. 

I am pretty handy with physical things, so I am decent with making things. I do a lot of cosplay commissions for horns, armor, wig styling, and props! That being said, I don’t have an artistic bone in my body when it comes to actually painting on a canvas. I can paint on objects pretty well, but my ‘doodles’ look like a kindergartener threw up on a pencil. That was a terrible simile, but you get my point. And no that’s not even one of those things where I actually have decent art but I say that I just have no interest in pursuing art and it isn’t my strong suit. That ALSO being said, I love commissioning artists! Because I can’t make art! But I love art!

I have zero social skills and am probably one of the most awkward people you will ever meet. But I also don’t bite and my messages are always open if anyone wants to talk, rp, or gush about f/os! I’m kinda funny sometimes but I am also really awkward. I can be super outgoing once I feel more comfortable with a situation. 

I am a dancer, and my favorite dance is Lindy Hop. I’ve only been doing Lindy for about a year and a half, but it has quickly grown into one of my favorite passions. Along with Lindy, I also do Argentine Tango, bachata, salsa, collegiate shag, solo jazz, and balboa. 

I was a gymnast for 12 years but I got too tall and it fucked my body over, so I quit, though I have severe joint damage now. The only perk to this is that I’m pretty damn flexible ;))))))

I don’t know what else to say, but if you or anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask! 

[humanoid-lovers]

The emphasis here is FUN. If you're like me, you own a hundred back issues of Shop Notes, Wood, and have shelves full of books on specific topics from Framing to Finishes. Most of these articles you skim, get inspired with techniques and design elements, and apply those to your own projects. After spending a few days with this book, I get the feeling that Nick understands how woodworkers and tinkerers consume books, and wanted to make something that would suit them. Go to Amazon

It has a nice variation of woodworking I honestly held off buying this, because I thought it would be more comedy/coffee table than woodworking. I was wrong! It has a nice variation of woodworking, comedy and general lifestyle. It would totally work as a coffee table book, but it's equally, if not more so, a great cover to cover read. The level of woodworking knowledge is very broad - for the beginners it covers tools and simple projects, for advanced, it has some wonderful stories about master woodworkers/artist/teachers and some more advanced projects. Go to Amazon

Inspiration, Fun, and Philosophy for Woodworkers Everywhere I'm a huge fan of Nick Offerman from his Ron Swanson character on Parks and Recreation. It turns out that Ron Swanson has a lot of Nick Offerman in him. You can almost hear Ron Swanson narrate this book in your head. This book is an inspirational dream for the weekend warrior and amateur woodworker who loves turning chunks of wood into beautiful and useful things. It's like shop talk with your Dad. This is not a technical tome or instructive manual, but it has lots of technical stuff in it along with some decent instruction, common sense wisdom and some very funny stories. This is about one man's passion for wood craft and his desire to share that passion with others of like mind and spirit. There are guest chapters by master woodworkers along with cool projects of all sorts and skill levels by members of the Offerman wood shop, and even some great recipes for your next cookout. This book could be subtitled "The Joy of Working Wood." Go to Amazon

Enjoyable read Great book that starts with a brief Nick Offerman bio and then moves on to recommended tools for a shop, explaination of wood grain and such, and projects throughout. This is more about the love of woodworking than a how-to, but it's written in Nick Offerman's voice, so it's as entertaining as it is educational. Go to Amazon

Lacking some of the essentials I was looking for starting out in woodworking Well this is definitely not my favorite woodworking book. As a beginner, I was looking for something fun and educational at the same time but was disappointed. For me, I was looking for helpful technique and what tools are good and getting started. The first few chapters were nice in describing wood with the texture and elements of how to respect what you are working with but I think Mr.Offerman lost me on describing expensive tools and vague descriptions of some of the work being done. Some of that falls on me as well as I wanted to deal more with hand tools than a full blown mechanized woodworking shop so alas I cannot give this book a total thrashing. Go to Amazon

Good read if you're into wood or want to be Well written, clever, informative book on woodworking and, to a lesser extent, life. The humor ranges from sophisticated to forced and puerile, but overall it adds to the enjoyment. When discussing techniques and projects most terms are explained, but not always. A glossary would be a big help, as would more consistent photo captioning. Go to Amazon

Offerman is ok. Diy stuff not so much If you are buying this for the Offerman commentary then it's great. If you are buying it to learn about woodworking - it's terrible, find another resource. Go to Amazon

Successful Christmas gift for a woodworker Good Clean Fun was bought for the Secret Santa Exchange at my Woodworkers Club Christmas party. The person who choose the package was a little underwhelmed at first but the more he leafed through it the more interested he became. At the end of the party there was a group clustered around looking at the book. Several remarked that they would like to read it. Go to Amazon

Read this book A disappointment. This is such a fun read. I got it for my woodworking husband ... Great coffee table book he was so happy!! Nick Offerman is one of his long ... Five Stars Great read! Good clean fun Four Stars Buy It, you won't regret it

[humanoid-lovers]

The emphasis here is FUN. If you're like me, you own a hundred back issues of Shop Notes, Wood, and have shelves full of books on specific topics from Framing to Finishes. Most of these articles you skim, get inspired with techniques and design elements, and apply those to your own projects. After spending a few days with this book, I get the feeling that Nick understands how woodworkers and tinkerers consume books, and wanted to make something that would suit them. Go to Amazon

It has a nice variation of woodworking I honestly held off buying this, because I thought it would be more comedy/coffee table than woodworking. I was wrong! It has a nice variation of woodworking, comedy and general lifestyle. It would totally work as a coffee table book, but it's equally, if not more so, a great cover to cover read. The level of woodworking knowledge is very broad - for the beginners it covers tools and simple projects, for advanced, it has some wonderful stories about master woodworkers/artist/teachers and some more advanced projects. Go to Amazon

Inspiration, Fun, and Philosophy for Woodworkers Everywhere I'm a huge fan of Nick Offerman from his Ron Swanson character on Parks and Recreation. It turns out that Ron Swanson has a lot of Nick Offerman in him. You can almost hear Ron Swanson narrate this book in your head. This book is an inspirational dream for the weekend warrior and amateur woodworker who loves turning chunks of wood into beautiful and useful things. It's like shop talk with your Dad. This is not a technical tome or instructive manual, but it has lots of technical stuff in it along with some decent instruction, common sense wisdom and some very funny stories. This is about one man's passion for wood craft and his desire to share that passion with others of like mind and spirit. There are guest chapters by master woodworkers along with cool projects of all sorts and skill levels by members of the Offerman wood shop, and even some great recipes for your next cookout. This book could be subtitled "The Joy of Working Wood." Go to Amazon

Irony... This book is great if you enjoy Nick Offerman's humor and can relate a little to craftsmanship (especially woodworking.) Anyone interested in creating things from wood from the master to the student can enjoy shoving their nose into these pages. My only issue with this book is the quality of print. Idk if i got a bad copy or if some pennies were saved in the manufacturing end of this book, but if you press to hard on the ink it will smear. It won't smear to the point were a reread will be an issue but just enough to annoy you from time to time. I find this defect very ironic since Nick emphasizes so heav Go to Amazon

Enjoyable read Great book that starts with a brief Nick Offerman bio and then moves on to recommended tools for a shop, explaination of wood grain and such, and projects throughout. This is more about the love of woodworking than a how-to, but it's written in Nick Offerman's voice, so it's as entertaining as it is educational. Go to Amazon

This will make you want to wash your face with sandpaper un an attempt to be as manly as Nick Offerman. This is the third Nick Offerman book I've read, and I still finding myself consulting with both Merriam and Webster to determine the denotation of Offerman's immense lexicon. This book is a great addition to his magnum opera, with his wordplay creating a deep desire to go play with my wood in the backyard. Go to Amazon

A fun and informative book I got this book for my woodworking son for Christmas. I looked through it when I got it to make sure it was something he would like. Nick Offerman is a TV star he likes, and I really couldn't put the book down. Go to Amazon

Offerman never ceases to create an enthusiastic and enjoyable read. Another incredible book by Nick Offerman! I own all three of his books and, being a woodworker myself, I'd have to say I enjoyed this one most of all. He is not only an avid learner as you see in his autobiography, Paddle Your Own Canoe, but he is also a great teacher. Not to mention the fact that literally ever page is written as if he were saying it out loud to you - you can almost hear almost hear his baritone growl. Great book to pique your interest in woodworking. Go to Amazon

Five Stars Four Stars Five Stars Loved it like a puppy on Christmas morning. Nick Offerman delivers. Four Stars ... -- Even if you don't build any of the beautiful projects. Five Stars Great Book Great book