#gee look at that cool flower

[toothandfeather]

I wonder...

[merwgue]

Why Feyre as High Lady Could Lead to the Night Court's Downfall (Or, How to Ruin a Court in 10 Easy Steps) comming from someone who is planning to study international relations and whos whole family is quite familiar with it:

Look, we all love Feyre. She's fierce, she's brave, and she can paint a mean flower. But let's be real: as High Lady of the Night Court, she's a Fucking diplomatic nightmare. If there were an award for "How to Piss Off Every High Lord and Their Neighboring Courts," she'd win it. Twice. Here's why Feyre's reign might just bring the Night Court crashing down faster than rhys can growl or cum to the image of his child

1. Explosive Temper and Poor Diplomacy Let’s talk about the High Lords meeting in A Court of Wings and Ruin. Remember that? Feyre’s blow-up at Beron wasn’t just a passionate defense—it was a major diplomatic fuck-up. Yes, Beron was being a total asshole, but diplomacy often means biting your tongue and playing the long game. Feyre's outburst could have easily cost them an alliance with the Autumn Court, potentially turning Beron into an outright enemy. With Hybern on the horizon, losing any potential allies could have been catastrophic. Instead of keeping things cool and trying to find common ground, she let her temper flare, risking everything Rhysand had worked for to keep the courts united. Feyre basically threw a damn match onto a pile of political dynamite.

2. Alienating Potential Allies Ah, the Summer Court fiasco. Remember when Feyre decided it was a good idea to steal from Tarquin? Not just any theft, but a "Hey, let's be friends—JK, I’m taking your most powerful magical artifact" kind of theft. Brilliant move. And then she had the nerve to act all shocked when Tarquin was pissed about it. "What do you mean you're mad I stole from you? We're supposed to be allies!" Gee, I wonder why Tarquin wasn’t thrilled about that little betrayal. It's like borrowing your friend's car and returning it on empty, with a dent in the side. And by "borrow," I mean grand theft auto. Feyre, maybe try not to screw over potential allies next time? Just a thought.

3. Emotional Decision-Making Feyre often lets her emotions drive her decisions. While being passionate isn't inherently bad, it becomes a problem when it overrides logic and strategy, especially in the high-stakes world of Prythian politics. The High Lords meeting is one instance, but it happens repeatedly. Her open hostility toward Tamlin, even if understandable on a personal level, didn't help the broader cause. By pushing him further away instead of seeking some form of truce, she risked driving him into Hybern's arms. A High Lady needs to think beyond personal grudges to what’s best for her people and her court, and Feyre struggles with that balance. You can't just say "screw it" and go off on people when the fate of your entire court is on the line.

4. Ignoring the Complexity of the Night Court And let's not forget the Night Court's lovely little secret: Hewn City. You know, that underground hellhole they basically keep under lock and key. Rhysand and Feyre are all "Oh, look at Velaris, it's so pretty and free!" Meanwhile, half their court is rotting in a glorified dungeon. And what's Feyre's big idea for dealing with Hewn City? Oh, right, pretend it doesn't exist. Smart. Because ignoring a potential uprising within your own court is definitely the way to keep things stable. It's like the French Revolution all over again—if the Night Court were France, then Feyre's approach is like Louis XVI ignoring the starving peasants while hosting extravagant parties. Eventually, ignoring the discontent and keeping people oppressed leads to revolution. Treating Hewn City like an inconvenient problem rather than addressing it is a recipe for disaster.

5. Undermining Rhysand’s Diplomacy Rhysand spent centuries mastering diplomacy—playing the long game, keeping everyone in check. And then comes Feyre, storming in like, "Oh, you spent centuries building these delicate alliances? Well, watch me fuck it up in five minutes." She's like that one friend who always says, "Hold my beer," right before doing something incredibly stupid. Rhys is trying to keep the court from crumbling, and Feyre's out there acting like diplomacy means "scream at the enemy until they go away." Newsflash: That’s not how this works. This isn't some street brawl where whoever yells the loudest wins. It's politics. You know, the art of not making enemies out of every living soul around you?

Conclusion Feyre's got the passion, the guts, and the fighting spirit of a warrior. But when it comes to actually leading a court? She’s like a bull in a china shop, if that bull also happened to have a grudge against every piece of porcelain in the room. Being High Lady isn’t about who's right in the heat of the moment; it's about playing the long game, keeping your people safe, and not, you know, burning bridges with every other court. If she keeps going down this path—alienating allies, ignoring the needs of half her own court, and letting emotions drive her decisions—the Night Court is in serious trouble. Feyre needs to understand that diplomacy isn’t about who can throw the best tantrum. It’s about avoiding a revolution and ensuring the stability of your people. Otherwise, the Night Court might fall not because of an external threat, but because its own leader is too busy screwing things up from the inside.

[supernova41st]

Hear me out... TF2 mercs with an easily flustered s/o, like so easily flustered even purring out petnames makes reader bright red and stammering like a school girl with a crush

Blush Crush! ᥫ᭡⋆࣪

Tf2 x Flustered!Reader

A/n: I know I made a poll and everything but this req was so cute I just had to make it!! I tried not to do the wattpad “her face was blushing bright red” stuff so I just said rosy a whole bunch. Enjoy!!

Warnings: None

Medic

❥ Definitely takes him some time to catch onto what’s happening.

❥ You had admired him from a distance since he seemed more attached to his projects than some lovey dovey crushes, but that didn’t stop you from yearning!

❥ Once it was your turn to take the Uber surgery your pulse had been rushing since you sat in that waiting room

“Let’s see.. your blood pressure is pretty good”

“Oh stopp! 🤭”

“..alright then”

❥ He did notice how rosy your skin gets when you’re in the same room, and whenever anyone mentioned his name.

❥ If he Ubers you you’re always on straight PANIC MODE.

‘gasp Oh my god. okay okay, is my stance good? Forget that-do I look good?? I don’t wanna die in front of him but I also don’t want to look stupid!! His eyes are practically glued to me right now! Oh, he’s dead.’

❥ Once he did catch up to what was happening he felt embarrassed himself for not noticing sooner since it seemed so obvious.

❥ Has no idea what to make of it, this guy spends his days experimenting on beheaded spies what do you want him to do?

❥ All of a sudden he was the one blushing and getting all flustered.

❥ He started avoiding eye contact while healing you, kicking the dirt all shyly 😭

❥ He’d deliver love notes via Archimedes, you can barely read it tho cuz he has that doctor hand writing <//3

Scout

❥ oh em gee 😒

❥ Don’t even get him started, he loves making you blush and giggle

❥ Scout is quite bold so as soon as he saw your face turn slightly rosy he became so flirty

❥ He’d do the classic lean against the wall type flirting before matches just to feed his ego before entering battle

“Yeah I’ve been hittin’ the gym recently, gotta get these babies ready for the summer”

“Oh wow! You’re so cool, Jeremy..”

❥ The rest of the team feels like a disappointed dad. “You could’ve done better” type shit

❥ Scout would steal your kills to look like he was “saving” you, you’re too flustered to notice

“Whew, you okay (Y/N)?”

“Oh my god, thank you Jeremy…”

❥ First date was at an arcade so that he could impress you with winning some claw machine prizes *he ended up losing 5x and you got him something instead

❥ Neither of you can get enough of each other, especially after dating. You two are always linking pinkies while the team goes over a plan of some sorts

❥ Y’all are that one hallway couple in high school.

“Alright team, we read- euah.. 😟”

“Sorry Engineer, just giving sum goodluck kisses”

“Eugh creepy, could you get neutered you dog?”

Engineer

❥ Engie does catch on to you being so flustered around him but he sorta doubts himself because he’s unsure if it’ll be a distraction from his work life.

❥ After a few weeks he thought “Hey, why the hell not?”, with how hard you were crushing on him, he was sure that soon enough you’d guys be together

❥ He is quite old fashioned, he’s the type to show up to your door step with flowers and would ask to go out for milkshakes

❥ On your first date he got you a bouquet of flowers he sculpted from metal

“Aww you got me flowers? How sweet..”

“Sure did sugar, my love for you oughta wilt away once it does.”

“….”

“..you good?”

You died.

❥ At least you were able to give him his sunflowers. His favorite kind!!

❥ He’s happy he was able to build up the guts to put himself out there again, he adores you, thinks you’re cute for the most part but also charming in a way.

“So do the sentries build themselves or?”

“Nope, I just gotta be quick with buildin’ then between fights, keeps me sharp”

“You’re so amazing Engie! I could listen to you talk all day ༯”

❥ You’re lucky he finds your swooning cute, otherwise he’d probably build some sentries to make sure you weren’t watching him sleep at night.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

“An emergency contact…” Yuu scratches their head. “Well, there’s one adult who stands out. Someone who has welcomed me with open arms, listened to my needs, and someone I really look up to and trust. Headmage Crowley! Do you have Trein’s cell number?”

Not gonna lie, you had me bawling in the first half 😂

Enter; An Unkindness of Ravens.

Up until now, Crowley had been nodding enthusiastically to your every comment. Feathers fluffed, eyes shut, as he bathed in the unearned praise. You could almost see his ego inflating right before you.

One adult who stands out.

A smile formed.

Someone who has welcomed me with open arms...

It grew, elevating the apples of his cheeks.

... listened to my needs...

He was glowing with pride, the most excited you had ever witnessed him.

... and someone I really look up to and respect.

His face might actually rip in half.

The you had dropped the bomb, and Crowley's entire demeanor collapsed in on itself. His shattered smile landed atop of the heap.

“Wh-What?! Professor Trein…!!” he managed to stutter out. “Did I hear you correctly?!”

"Yeah," you replied calmly. "Professor Trein."

"Wh-What exactly makes him a standout?!" Crowley demanded. When you gave him a queer look, he quickly deflected. "N-Not that I am envious, of course! I am asking as his employer so that I may take student feedback into consideration when calculating end-of-the-year performance-based bonuses."

"He's done so much to look after me and all of his students,” you patiently explained. “Professor Trein chaperoned us to the City of Flowers and taught us about its history. He ensured our safety when there was trouble afoot and even shed a tear for our moral character. I also heard from Ace and Deuce that Professor Trein oversaw NRC when Charon invaded campus.

“He always makes time to speak one-on-one with his students even on matters outside of schoolwork. Professor Trein cares about us like we're his real children and grandchildren. I'd totally trust him as my emergency contact.

“Compared to that… I seem to vaguely remember a certain someone who shirks his responsibilities at every opportunity, wastes his time on walks and snacks instead of running the school, offloads his duties onto children, and ignores my SOS calls when I was being held hostage over winter break.”

“I wonder who it could be that you’re speaking off.”

“Gee, I wonder,” you said sarcastically, staring right at Crowley. “Sucks that we’ll never know. Anyway, do you have Professor Trein's number or not?"

"W-Well!!" Crowley bristled, disarmed by your demand. "It wouldn't be very professional of me to hand out my employees' contact information as though it were Halloween candy! It's strictly confidential, I'm afraid I cannot divulge it."

He folded his arms smugly, waiting for you to change your mind, to beg for his cell phone number instead.

"Aaah, I get it." You shrugged, cool as a cucumber. "That's okay, I can ask Professor Trein directly myself. It was worth a shot to ask you anyway, headmaster. See ya!"

With that, you turned and exited his office. No fanfare, no groveling. Just... nothing.

Crowley completely deflated, cradling his head in his hands. He teased out a whiny groan.

"For them to overlook their most generous headmaster in favor of Professor Trein... Ooooh, where did I go wrong with that child...?"

[abooklover]

Lines/things in the red white and royal blue movie that make me scream and laugh hysterically (bear with me cause there’s a lot):

‘an urge I currently share’ (Ellen)

‘Making it was one of the most depressing moments of my career and I once saw Mitch McConnell eating a banana’ (Zahra)

‘You can hate prince Henry all you want but the minute you see a camera you better act like the sun shines out of his ass and you have a vitamin d deficiency’ (made even funnier cause of how literally this turned out) - bonus ‘what if I set myself on fire’ (Alex), ‘we’d ship the ashes to Heathrow’ (Zahra)

‘That’s perfect, you can kill me and I won’t have to go’ (Henry)

‘That’s what makes you so charming. That and your eyelashes.’ (So fucking glad they included at least a reference to this. Taylor’s lashes were working fucking overtime in this movie.)

Henry’s text with the attachment and ‘but we were ever so careful, dear’ (One of my favourite texts in the book and I’m so glad it made it into the movie)

‘Can you think of anything more wasteful’ (Alex), ‘Perhaps this conversation’ (Henry)

Henry’s weird little attempt at dancing while chugging out of a champagne bottle with on fist pumping weakly into the air (he is so me it hurts)

‘He grabbed my hair in a way that made me understand the difference between rugby and football’ (Alex)

‘Princes aren’t allowed to be gay, you should know that’ (Nora)

Alex trying to look cool for when Henry walks into the red room (we love an awkward boy)

Alex and Henry jumping apart to do the most unnatural things (Alex inspecting flowers like it’s his job and Henry perusing the bookshelf) like the idiots they are when Amy walks in on them making out

‘Are you still…’ (Alex) ‘Like Stonehenge’ (Henry), ‘or Big Ben’ (Alex)

‘Henry and I are much happier against walls’ (Alex)

‘Are they known for their homosexual tendencies’ (Alex)

‘And I thought Alex Gabriel Claremont Diaz was a mouthful’ (Alex), ‘He is’ (Henry) - and the fucking looks that followed it (kill me now)

‘I went to an English boarding school dear, trust me you’re in good hands’ (Henry)

‘Once, unsuccessfully’ (Henry)

‘Oh gee kid I’m sorry to interrupt your process of becoming but you’re the one who decided to put your dick into the heir to the British throne’ (Zahra), ‘Technically I’m the spare’ (Henry), ‘Not talking to you sir’ (Zahra)

‘Every time I see you it takes another year off of my life’ (Zahra)

Alex’s ‘Noooo..’ and the little laugh he does

‘If I’d had more warning I could’ve made you a PowerPoint presentation’ (Ellen) - another incredible callback to the book

Oscar Diaz’s affectionate ‘you little shit’

‘I’ve been thinking’ (Alex), ‘I seriously doubt that’ (Henry) and Alex’s mimick of it (absolute gold)

‘Or find herself at the top of the staircase with Phillip around’ (Bea, you literally had no right)

Zahra’s face when Alex starts mooning over Henry after his speech, then Zahra saying ‘oh my god, I just have to do everything round here’ and do not get me started on her whole speech to Shaan (greatest thing ever)

‘You might be lousy at keeping secrets kiddo, but I’m not’ (Zahra), ‘Zahra, I could kiss you’ (Alex), ‘Touch me and die’ (Zahra)

‘They can’t keep you locked away forever’ (Alex), ‘We really need to get you a book on English history’ (Henry)

The way Stephen Fry says ‘homosexual’

‘You still haven’t noticed my tie’ and Henry’s little smile afterward (oh how far we’ve come)

BONUS: ‘Do you think anyone noticed?’ and Henry’s exasperated sigh afterward

[pygmi-says-hi]

I love your writing. It's amazing! If you haven't done so already, I'd like to hear your advice or tips on sentence flow and how to transition between character thoughts and whatnot (just flow in general) because I feel like that's what I struggle with when it comes to writing for me.

I am assuming that you mean transitioning from dialogue/commentary to exposition paragraphs? that's what I'll go with pls tell me if I'm wrong!!!

lemme write an example:

'she'd never seen such a magnificent flower before - the petals were a silvery velvet that glistened in the dawn sunlight. It reminded her of her mother's skirts. A sense of warm nostalgia swept over her at the memory of the flowing fabric that swayed around Mother's ankles.

the rest of the field contained similarly beautiful flora, varying in size from thimble to elephant ear.'

-

The pink is a character opinion/thought, and the white is the exposition and objective description. when a paragraph is narrated by a character, it reads best to mix them together. When you chunk it like this:

'she'd never seen such a magnificent flower before. It reminded her of her mother's skirts. A sense of warm nostalgia swept over her at the memory of the flowing fabric that swayed around Mother's ankles.

the petals were a silvery velvet that glistened in the dawn sunlight. the rest of the field contained similarly beautiful flora, varying in size from thimble to elephant ear.'

and the expo/narration are kept separate, it's harder to visualize the connection between observation and the reactive thought.

tip 1: keep similar sentences together.

In the above example, I grouped the character's observation of the flower together with the actual description of it.

After, I grouped the memory of the mother's skirts with the emotion.

Finally, the next paragraph was still describing the foliage (aka tying in the initial description), though removed from the narration and still progresses throughout the scene.

does that make sense?

no?

lemme try again guys I got this.

When you transition from 'thought' to 'sight', it might look a little daunting. you'd think "gee I just spent an entire page describing an intense traumatic mental spiral. how do I transition to writing about the room they're in?"

Pick the similar attributes. The middle of the Venn diagram. Okay, character is having a panic attack. It's intense, it's descriptive, there's a lot of inner dialogue. Now, we have to describe the aftermath in relation to the state of the bedroom.

pull them out slowly. If a character is deep in reverie, describe the room how it feels to them. This is a slow transition out of 'me my mine everything about my opinion' description, to 'this is how it is cold turkey' description (plot development).

Example:

(panic attack, oh my god we're dying the world is ending I can't breathe help aahhh)

he shivered. The floorboards had grown cold since the episode started. A cool breeze slithered through the room, chilling him further. leftover adrenaline raised gooseflesh on his arms.

This is entirely objective. no opinion was inserted, but there was the stimulus and physical reaction to the surroundings. this still draws in the character-focused analysis without getting stuck in his head.

2. great sentences think alike. I sometimes feel that my transitions are chunky and not very smooth. Pick common themes to tie them together. "Oh okay, her skirt is blue, it's blue like cornflowers, cornflowers were anna's favorite, now i'm thinking of anna, she'd love it here. where is here? here is in a farmhouse kitchen with...." boom. I made a domino effect from the starting description (blue skirt) to the final destination/scene progression (farmhouse desc).

3. know when you've beat the dead horse. If you've been circling the drain over one thought or milked all the setting adjectives possible for one area, move on. when a scene/dialogue is sufficiently described, the readers are ready for a break.

does that help a little bit?

there was a second part to the request, right? sentence flow? cool beans.

Sentence flow is actually a really cool concept that if you master, you can add so much depth to your writing (i'll def make a part 2 post, stay tuned!).

If you structure a sentence really long and fast without the punctuation and it's just going and going and going oh no-

you start to feel anxious, right? when's it gonna end? what's the kicker? the tension is building and building....

Sentences are short. thin, staccato. not a lot of meat. no meat, maybe. just. bare. bones.

punching, intense, hard thoughts. a shocking discovery, your character doesn't have the processing capacity to think eloquently.

maybe they disobey grammar rules. fuck grammar rules. don't actually tho because you guys lowkey suck at grammar and i'm angry. no don't point out my bad punctuation i'm the teacher here.

point is, the flow of the sentence dictates the reaction. Shakespeare uses this with meter. when the meter is disrupted, it means something bad has happened. In Romeo and Juliet, every time a lie is told, the meter shifts out of iambic pentameter. it's like a 'heads up, something's wrong' to the audience.

USE THIS!!

also - read your story out loud. writers have a tendency to write how they talk. I am a comma fiend because I go off on so many anecdotes I pause all the time while I talk. When I read it out loud and take the necessary pauses though, I want to vomit.

If it's smut I can see how this might be hard for you, but another good idea is to hit hard the grammar rules. If there's a bunch of commas - read the sentence and enunciate the commas. that's how it will read to your audience.

common problems with sentence flow.

feeling long and heavy. if you're describing the action and you feel like you're being swamped in adverbs, take a look at your passive and active voice. passive: "The ball was kicked by Anna." active: "Anna kicked the ball." if your sentences are long and dragged down with adverbs, you're probably really passive.

too much information, not enough words. Thesaurus!! if you've been puzzling over a paragraph and it turns out all you needed were some synonyms, pull out a thesaurus! and a dictionary because remember: similar is not the same. just because a word has similar meanings doesn't mean there aren't special addendums to each.

lost in the sauce. where are we? what's happening? who are you? i'm hungry. too many succulent words! your sentences so big backed they out-backed Outback. long, frivolous words and ten-mile high stacks of adjectives only work sometimes and infrequently. otherwise you spend so much time describing the thing, we forget what the thing actually is.

losing the motivator. why are you writing this sentence/paragraph? what purpose is it supposed to be serving? keep that in mind so you don't lose track and if you do, it'll be easier to get back on it.

repetitive meter. the sentences follow the same pattern, like this one. almost like they're in a loop, circling forever. there's no escaping, you'll like read this till you die.

did you see the pattern? it starts to make you dizzy after a while, doesn't it? This is a common problem and fairly easy to break out of. Just chop up the sentences and glue them together.

*ahem* like so:

The sentences follow the same pattern, like this one. Almost like they're circling in a loop forever. There's no escaping. You'll read like this till you die.

same words, with some added/subtracted punctuation. If that doesn't work, rearrange the order, add in some new verbs or adjectives, maybe add a few filler sentences to space the pattern out.

that's all folks, i hope that answered your question, if not feel free to say so! I'm not offended.

xox keep writing!

[tripleglitchwriting]

Ignition (Short 1)

CW: mostly fluff, mentions of war (both human and cybertronian)

Because I accidentally set the poll to a week rather than a day, I’m going to bridge the gap with a short story.

This is set shortly after part 4 because I like writing dialogue.

After the initial heart attack that was the last 48 hours or so, you began to feel more comfortable with this giant alien. He was kind, which was something you figured out after he saved your life, and he assured you he wasn’t going to kill you.

Now you were cupped in his hands while he walked back to this pod of his.

“So, what’s this pod thing we’re going to? Is it like a space ship?”

“Escape pod.” Ratchet remembered the crash. Well, he remembered what he could of it. Suddenly an old worry popped into his head.

“Right, right, escape pod.”

“Your injury, it wasn’t from… the crash, was it?”

“Oh, no, I fell down a cliff. It sounds stupid when I say it out loud.” Ratchet stifled an ex-vent of relief. “I was on a hike but I got lost, and then I started to panic because I don’t know how to survive in the wild, and then I panicked too hard and tripped in the worst spot imaginable.”

“You went out into an unknown area with no experience on how to survive there or any contingency plan if things went wrong?” He said with a mix of worry and vague frustration.

“Well there was a path… but there was also cool flowers off the path, and then I saw a rare bird, and then the path was gone. I really don’t know why I thought it would be a good idea to come out here, I should have known better. I was doing fine at home I just… I don’t know.”

“Does your kind usually do things like this?”

“No, not really. Just me.”

“I see. Are you… no offense, but are you the dominant species on this planet?”

“What? I mean, I guess, we’re the only ones that can talk and all. That we know of. Actually, it would probably be a shock to the world if they found out about you. Knowing us we’d probably start attacking or something.”

“Attack? Why would you do that?”

“Well, I mean, I wouldn’t, but I’ve taken enough history classes to know as a whole we can be… violent. I hope no one else saw you crash, things could get nasty if they see you as a threat.”

“Thats… quite primitive.”

“Oh, gee thanks.”

“No offense.”

“Probably should have led with that.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” Ratchet hummed to himself for a second, and then he began to think out loud. “If they do find me at least I’ll be able to get away…”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well- I- I wouldn’t think your technology is exactly…”

“Not up to par with your superior standards? Well don’t worry about that. We have weapons that can wipe out the world in a span of hours. Every country has their hand over the big red launch button, and if they see you as too much to handle, somebody is going to get blown up.”

“What? That’s- that’s crazy! You mean to say your leaders would sacrifice… how ever many there are of you in a given area just to take me out?”

“They probably wouldn’t do straight to the nuclear option for one of you, but if there were more and they were killing people, then probably yeah. If things work like they do in the movies that is.” Ratchet paused, about to make some snide remark about the primitive violence of the human race, but he stopped when he remembered the history of his own people.

“…I’ll keep myself hidden then.”

“Oh, um, good. I wasn’t really expecting you to accept that so fast.”

“If my own history were any different I might not have.” He sank deeper into thought. “Doe, is there a medical station anywhere near here I can drop you off at?”

“Wait, I thought we were going to your pod?”

“We are, I just… I got caught up in healing you and… look, I’ll be honest, I don’t want you to get hurt. How many of you are there on this planet?”

“I- I don’t know, 7, maybe 8 billion?”

“Billio- scrap.”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s fine, it’s nothing. Let’s just… talk about something else.”

“Well, alright I guess.” After you said that, both you and Ratchet stayed silent for an agonizingly awkward minute. You felt the sway of him walking waft through your entire body, a feeling you haven’t even began to get used to. He seemed largely unaware of this, at least to your knowledge, and instead looked forward with a serious expression.

“How about we talk about… the weather. It certainly is sunny today! And there are… uh, a couple clouds… wait, no that’s just a weird tree.”

“You aren’t great at small talk.”

“How about you try then?”

“…no.”

“Oh I see how it is. Fine, you’ll just have to deal with my terrible communication skills.” You took a deep breath, preparing to go on a rant about whatever was on your mind.

“Oh please don’t.”

“Unless you’re going to say something I will.”

“Alright, alright. What do you want me to talk about?”

“That’s up to you, conversation expert.” You smiled smugly up at him. He huffed in return.

For the next five minutes he talked about his life up to this point. His friends, his enemies, glossing over assumedly painful details. In your mind a picture started to form about all of this. He wasn’t just an alien, he was a person. A person with real relationships, real love and loss, real war, real family. You felt silly having not seen it before.

A friend. You’d like to think that’s what you were now, though it was tough to tell based on the way he acted. You wondered who all of his other friends could be, where they were, and you even went as far as to silently wish them well.

Arriving back at the pod, hopping off the hand of a giant alien that saved you from dying the woods, you realized this may have been more than you bargained for.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This is the classiest hacienda style mansion I've ever seen. It's in Los Angeles, California and if you can spare $15.5M it can be yours. Built in 1924, 7bds, 7.5ba, 1.04 acres of land.

The entrance hall. That molding isn't wood, it's like a sculpted plaster.

This sitting room is stunning. Look at the artwork on the beams. Beautiful windows and doors let just enough sunlight in, and that fireplace matches the molding. This home is quality.

This wood doorway matches the ceiling beams. The details in this home are amazing.

Absolutely delightful sunroom that they have set up as a cool office. Love the Mediterranean light fixture.

Beautiful wood walled library. Look at the gold ceiling and that light fixture.

The dining room has a beautiful ceiling, wainscoting, and big windows to the garden. You can see the fountain in the smaller window.

The everyday dining room opens to the patio and look at the built-in planter.

Light, airy kitchen. The lighting choices in this house are superb.

Gracefully curving stairs in a rounded stairwell with lovely stained glass windows.

What a pretty color scheme in the primary bedroom. It's certainly a huge room.

Sitting area opens to a patio.

What a fabulous vintage bath. The tile is so beautiful. Everything looks original.

Large secondary bedroom has doors that open to a balcony.

And, look at this marble bath. Just incredible.

If wasn't for the sofas this would look like a real theater.

Sunken bar open to the pool. I know it doesn't rain much in California, but gee, if it does, that banquette is going to get wet and everything.

This is magnificent.

What a property.

The Mexican tiles are amazing. I bet they're handmade.

Fabulous pond.

The grounds alone are stunning.

Plus, there's a modern studio/library.

Nice sauna, too.

Such attention to detail- look at the clay flower pots going up the stairs.

Outdoor space similar to the glass-enclosed sunroom. Look at the light posts.

Gated entrance with earns lining the wall.

[eanul-rmbl]

Dog days and puppy love : Part 1

Hypnos x Y/N

wc : 1.1k+

warning : she/her pronouns. no beta. (I'll be doing the beta once all parts are added, so I can have a full clean/revised version!)

I might actually finish this one guys. It's gonna have eight parts total, all with 1k words (à peu près). but anyway! Hypnos gets a crush on Zagreus' friend under the heat of summer. Pure fluff!

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.

.

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The dead-of-summer heat was enough to make Hypnos pass out. In fact, he wanted to pass out immediately right then and there. He was, however, walking in the middle of a slightly crowded poorly-shaded sidewalk. Up ahead, he heard a familiar voice of laziness; it was Zagreus’ voice. Casual. Familiar. Bored out of his mind.

It was difficult to see, as the sunlight and heat seemed to work in tandem to blind Hypnos. That, and the fact that flesh-melting warmth was always both the best weather to nap in, and the worst weather to actually live in. They yelled at him to sleep and he blinked, head down in a funny attempt to hide himself from the sun.

As Hypnos walked up to Zagreus, he noticed an extra pair of shoes nearby.

Looking up, he met a pair of crystalline eyes that shimmered as the owner of said eyes laughed whole-heartedly. Her hair shone against blinding the summer light, almost threatening to blind Hypnos, himself. Yet, this light of her was soft, gentle and cooling. She graced his ears with laughter that was heavy and earthy, real and grounding.

He wondered if she was a hallucination from sun poisoning as she seized in laughter.

It echoed across Hypnos’ ears long after she stopped to look at him. He stared, dumbfounded and struck, as she gave him one of the most sincere smiles he had ever seen. A smile that described Hey, I've got you. You're in good hands. One that accepted him. One that understood him.

Hypnos stumbled to speak once he finally heard the silence.

“Oh, u-uhm! Hello there!” His voice was shaky and he was fresh from being shaken out of his own thoughts. He rubbed the back of his neck and tried looking elsewhere. He'd tried the sky. It was too vast a nothing to look at something. And it burned his retinas. He'd try the surrounding flora, yet, as if a moth to a flame, Hypnos had kept blinking and persistently always found his eyes on her own.

He smiled nervously. Luckily, Zagreus came to the rescue.

“I just realized I hadn't introduced the two of you yet,” he started, gesturing her to Hypnos. “(Y/N), this is Hypnos. Hypnos, (Y/N).”

She gave Hypnos another short smile and he grinned. Gosh, he was too tired for this absolute gem of a person.. She reached out to shake his hand. He grasped it with hesitancy.

“Nice to meet you, Hypnos,” she said gently. Her hand was so soft. So soft. Soft as silk, or as flower petals. Well, soft or pleasant. It was difficult to tell. Either way, Hypnos found great difficulty letting go.

He stumbled to rub the back of his neck once more.

“Oh! Gee, nice to meet you too!” he said.

“Say, I've seen you before, haven't I?” She did?? Did she??? Hypnos would have remembered someone like her. Eyes like hers. Laughter like hers. “Don't you, like, work for Zagreus’ dad or something? I frequent the flower shop nearby.”

Oh. By the time his shift ends, he's barely awake to register anyone.

Hypnos’ shoulders slumped a little. He grinned tiredly.

“Oh, well, you see, I'm,” he gestured exaggeratedly towards himself with both palms pointed to his bosom. “..usually half dead after my shifts, so, I wouldn't recall!”

Then she laughed.

The edges of her shining eyes crinkled and her eyes squinted and it was melodious and she laughed. It was a laughter of wonder, borne of a good heart and well intentions. It was carefree and didn't care if it was too loud, too wide or too much of anything.

In fact, it was everything to Hypnos.

She spoke some words of agreement.

Zagreus grinned lazily, pointing a playful elbow to Hypnos’ side. Hypnos responded in a chuckle and a grin. “Mate's usually always either half dead, or half asleep. Works long hours, see.”

She gasped exaggeratedly. “A hard worker! Marry me, here and now! Zagreus just got boring!”

The aforementioned Zagreus scoffed playfully. “Hey now,” he cried in overplayed fashion.

“We're divorced now. Get the papers. I'm marrying Hypnos.”

Hypnos laughed nervously.

Then, something caught her eye.

“Oh!” she exclaimed, seizing up a little in shock before relaxing right away and squatting down.

Hypnos stared.

“What is it, mate?” Zagreus asked, scrolling through his phone lazily. He chuckled at something he saw and showed it to Hypnos. It was another overused internet meme, one of a man sprinkling salt, or whatever it was, on top of whatever the other thing was. Hypnos chuckled lightly, though he couldn't find the humor in it.

Suddenly,

“Zagreus, lookit here!!” (Y/N) quickly shot up from the ground, seemingly out of nowhere. Hypnos found himself almost falling over, as he hadn't realized that he leaned over her earlier to look at Zagreus' phone. “Oh, sorry man.”

“What!” Hypnos quickly shook his head. No, no, nonono! It's fine! I'm fine!” he nearly exclaimed, likewise shaking his hands in a defensive motion.

She grinned proudly at him, eyes shut tight. Lifting her hand, she revealed a green bug on a green leaf. “Lookit. Moth caterpillar.”

Hypnos stared, right in front of her. Zagreus gagged, off to the side.

She sighed, petting the thing with her index finger like it was the most precious thing in the world. Like it and her shared some deep memory together. Like she understood it, like she accepted it.

Like she was enthralled by it.

“I love moths,” she whispered, looking at nobody in particular. “Something about looking for the light in the dark. Something about their fuzzy, cozy cuteness.”

Hypnos only nodded.

She smiled one of those smiles. Empathetic. Kind. Gentle. Rare from the public, and yet all too common when coming from her, from the looks of it. She turned to put the caterpillar onto a bush in the shade. Before returning to both Hypnos and Zagreus.

“You done with that, er, thing, mate?” Zagreus prompted, glancing away from his phone for the first time in ages.

By the time their conversation was over, Hypnos just realized that he barely spoke for more than half of it. It was a big step for someone who's been told he couldn't shut up by those around him for pretty much his entire life.

Mostly, he remembered her eyes. Her laughter. Her jokes.

Her smile.

It enchanted him. Hypnos sighed as her and Zagreus went about their day. Hypnos turned to whatever it was he was doing beforehand.

Perhaps he'd remember if he slept on it. So that's what he was going to do.

Perhaps he'd even dream of her.

[nikkiiiscute]

One Headcanon for everyone one in the neighborhood! (Except for u Home D:<)

Note that this is when everyone was still alive / human sooooo yeah.

🍎Wallace would sometimes weirdly talk to the puppets and would call them by his friends' real names. Example : "Julia's hair is soft today, Right Barnabus?... Yeah she's like a.. Hair master, hehehehe" "Said something about my hair? uhhhh.. Dory (Dory is a nickname for devil dorelaine) said not to touch the puppets during lunch... Hello? Wally?"

🐶Barnabus likes to have an airhorn to sneakily sneak up and it's kinda like this, "BWAAAAAHH!! hahahaha, I'm never getting tired of Aira" "*huff huff* First.. YOU KNOW I CAN'T STAND NOISE!!! Second... You.. Named your airhorn Aira? Third... Your paying for my book.. Do you have a 50? Thank you." "Aaalright alright sorry, Ayy how ya doin lil buddy?... Ehh.. Wally?"

🌸Julia would often give people nicknames that are fun (and may or may not be from Jonas (Jonesy) heres a look. "Hiya Bya! Sup Franko! You too Eeedee! Hello Popsie, good day to ya! Lookin good Barney! Howdy Howdy! Oh hi walls, Said something about my hair? uhhhh.. Dory said not to touch the puppets during lunch... Hello? Wally?"

☀️Byeol / Sally will come up with episode concepts with sammy Julia as they got a good story to tell and would show it to Dorelaine as an Episode Proposal kinda like this, "Ronald Dorelaine, What do you think of our most Astounding, Most Remarkable episode?" "Hope ya like it Dory! I like a new side character move in :>" "Oh just in time! What is your Creative Brain thinking about this Spectacular Script huh Wallace?"

🦋Frank will always have a book or two during Lunch Breaks so they can keep up with entomology / lepidoptorology while on the job, Why not we take a look? "Hiya darling, What's the new topic? Is it okay if I can see?" "It's about Chimeras, It's a rare thing with butterflies that can give them Asymmetrical Wings and yes dear, you can see the pages" "How you two lovebirds doin?" "Hiya Howdy, Doing great. Say, Do you know any sneak peaks for the new episode?" "Nada, But I got one more readin' buddy! Say, How'd ya like to know things about my favorite bug? ay Wally? "

✉️Eddie is clumsy in work, It's obvious that Byeol added this trait cuz he would ACTUALLY trip on set. Here's a nice preview. "Hiya Frank! I got the package ya- AAGH!! oof!... I'm A -Okay!" "CUUUUTTT!!! Eddie, You really need to stop being a klutz or else it will fuse into your characte- Ohhhh! That needs to be written down, this WILL be added to your character! Now I'll just ask Dorelaine for approval" "Aaand there's my clumsiness fused into Mr. Dear. Which is actually kinda cool. Ya hands still sweating Wally?"

🐛Howard is the person that prepares the sets and Eddie helps out, I feel like Howard would be indecisive about how the layout of it should be, Heres a snippet. "Gee.. I-I dunno if the flowers should be pansies or marigolds..Uhhhh I think both! then it'll be the main focu- THAGHH!! I CAN'T THINK OF A LAYOUT!!" "Ay! ay! Calm down Howdy! ya just need some brain rest and actual rest, Ya stayed up 'till 4! I think the 'Bodeguero' thing is getting to ya head. So, Whaddya say?" "uhhh, Sure thing barn. EDDIE!! TELL DORY THAT I NEED A BREAK!! AND TELL DORY MS. PERDIZ'S NOT FEELIN' WELL AIGHT!?" "Got that covered!" "*heavy exhale*... Oh howdy - do lil guy.. Didn't notice ya Walls"

🐦Poppy is prolly the one with the sewing / repair puppets as she can do the job either at Home or Work cuz she's convalescent like my mom. So she's rarely in the Poppy suit and Voice Acting, That's why Partridge is rarely seen. Last part I swear. "Hello dearies, I'm back from my doctor's appointment." "Hiya mothe- I mean! Ms. Perdiz! How's your stomach doin?" "Doing well dearie! now, you said something about Mr. Darling puppet having a tear? Hello? dearie are you okay? Mr. Darryl? Wallace?"

❌ Samuel is dead, He has no info on him. We are so sorry.

[world-class-pizza-pals]

You should definitely use your clone oc’s that would be so cool, fucked up clones are so cool)

[And now with the permission of the faker himself-]

[A green hand shoots out from a nearby crevice, grabbing Coneboy and yanking him in- Wait. There was never a secret here, where are they...]

WHAA-

[Its dark.]

{🍕} Hey, hey kiddo! Calm down, gee-

WHO ARE YOU?! WHERE AM I-?!

{🍕} Just a little hidey place. Speaking of hide..

[The owner of the green hand walked under a hanging lightbulb, revealing himself to be a .... Strange pizzahead clone.]

{🍕} Yo.

HUH-?!

[Coneboy was scared- why did this man seem so familiar?! Like someone he had lost?]

{🍕} Ah shit. Rainbow, I spooked the kid.

{🌈} Jesus christ, Charteuse- Cant you not scare every kid you come across?!

{🍼} DUMBY IDIOT!!!!

{🌈} Baby, thats mean.

{🍕} I feel so hurt.

{🍼} BLLEHHHH!!!!!

{🎭} Well, well, what have we here..?

{🍕} .... Sinsy.

{🎭} Char.

[The group of clones slowly revealed themselces, one by one. There was a rainbow pepperman who had a smaller, more normal pepperman atop his head. A lanky noisette that resembled a butterfly. Two noises, one of which had an abundance of eyes, especially on his cape - the other who looked like.. a completely normal noise. Then a red pizzard, then a small peppino clone covered in flowers.]

[Coneboy was horribly overwhelmed by the influx of characters.]

[meringuecream7]

A Lovable Hummingbird in 100 Years || Chapter 11: Writing a Song in the Park

It had been days since Brenda did not come back. George was still concerned about his wife’s departure. He sent Susie to school and sat down on his chair.

  Gee, he said to himself as he placed a picture of his wife in a pretty, crimson dress and hat. I can’t imagine if Brenda left me like forever.

  Suddenly, the mailbox has a letter inside. George quickly went outside and opened the mailbox’s door. He quickly took out a letter, shut the mailbox’s door, and went back to his house. The envelope has a lipstick kiss stain and a calligraphed writing of his name on it. George opened the letter and read it:

‘Dear George, I hope you took good care of Susie. I’ve done a few shows in every capital of the country for days, and this time, I’ll take a break. Meet me at the pier. Tomorrow, I’m going to the theater with your sister and the band she attended. - Hope it suits you well, Brenda’

George hugged the letter and sighed lovingly. Then he began to feel concerned. If I left the house, Susie wouldn’t know where I was, he thought. But Brenda invited me to the pier. She looked nice in that red dress. If only I wrote a song about– wait.

He glances at his guitar. This gives him an idea. That’s it! he thought. I’ll just look at some nicely delightful things that remind me of her. Then I’ll come back at 15:00.

  With that, he grabbed his guitar, put it in a special case, and carried it on his back. George puts on his boater hat, makes a beeline through the door, and notices a piece of paper and a pen lying down on the table. He goes back to pick them up.

Can’t forget those, he said to himself as he picked them up, folded the paper, put them in his vest pocket, darted for the exit, and shut the door behind him.

While he was on his way to Central Park, George could see some flowers on their flowerpots on the houses. This reminded him of his childhood.

Poppy and I were running down the sidewalk and squabbling over each other, he thought. Poppy held out a notebook and began bragging about me being in love with Brenda. So she scanned some things for some delightful thoughts of Brenda; blossoms and clouds. Well, I think that it was one year. And the cool summer breeze and the leaves of a clover thing took us ten years. Maybe I should rewrite them by memory. Poppy took her notebook with her.

When he reached Central Park, he spotted the tree he saw when he was a child and sat down underneath it. He opened his guitar case and held the guitar safely in his hands. He then took the pen and paper out of his vest pocket and unfolded the paper.

The tune shall be B minor, he thought as he wrote down some notes on the paper.

He then strummed on his guitar and beautifully sang the said lyrics on the paper he wrote on. Then he heard a couple on the bench say:

“Is that the man who is singing a song for his lover?”

“He’s definitely crazy.”

“And indeed mad about her.”

But George ignored them for a moment. He kept on singing and strumming. Finally, he heard a word of the couple.

Maybe that’s what they kept on calling me when I was a kid, he thought. Crazy and mad.

He then wrote down on the piece of paper with a hint of key change.

‘They call me crazy, they call me mad,’ he wrote down.

He then enters a world of thought. What rhymes with ‘mad’? he asked himself.

Then, he saw a woman take out some money, place it on his guitar case, and leave. George dropped the guitar and looked behind the tree to watch her leave.

Brenda? he thought.

Then he looked at the money she had dropped and picked it up.

“$3 and 50 cents,” he read as he sashed them in his vest pocket.

  She was all that I had, he thought to himself. Wait. ‘Had'! ‘Had’ rhymes with ‘mad’!

  George then wrote down ‘The day you left me, you were all that I had’ in the paper. He picked up the guitar, put it in its case, picked it up, folded the paper, sashed it in his vest pocket with the pen – along with the money, and began to wait, feeling a little bit concerned.

When he reached the pier, he could see his wife, laying her hands on the balcony. He set his guitar case aside and went to Brenda.

  “Hello, George,” she chuckled. “I’m so glad you came back.”

  “Hi, honey,” George laughed. “It’s kinda weird when you had a day off.”

  “I know. I have been doing a few shows in every capital of the country, but I’m gonna finish the whole 50 states of America. And that one will be the final one: New York. But, I wanna take a break. Dancing all day gives me hard work.”

  She held out her hand to George. “Wanna dance for a moment? I haven't danced with you for days.”

  George nodded and began to dance with her. They shimmied, swayed, and tapped to the rhythm of the music.

  “I’ve never danced with you for days!” George exclaimed as he twirled Brenda around.

  They danced all the way through until they stopped. “Dancing with you is a lot of fun,” cooed Brenda as she held George’s hands.

“I know,” George replied. “It had been days since you left for the shows.”

Brenda smiled and leaned in for a kiss. George looked at the clock. It was almost 15:00!

  “Uh, Brenda?” he asked.

  “Yes?” Brenda responded. “What do you need? I’m  all ears.”

  “Well...” George began as he took a deep breath and said at the speed of a hummingbird (which Poppy did when she and George were children). “I’m returning home so please let me know when you reach the theater with my sister and her crew. Love ya. Byee!”

  With that, he grabbed his guitar case and sped off. Brenda looked at him, smiled, and blew a kiss, which George reached out his hand and pretended to grab it.

When he returned home, George placed his guitar case on the doorframe, took out the pen and paper, and began writing ‘But I remember the smile you gave and the bad days became brighter, I hope the best though we’re not together’ until Susie comes back home. She looks at her father holding the song and curiously tilts her head.

  “Whatcha writin’, Daddy?” she asked as she pointed to the piece of paper.

  George hid the song behind his back and replied, “I wrote a song. For your mother. You can start changing your clothes now, I’m making dinner soon.”

  Susie skipped upstairs to change her clothes while George went to the kitchen to make carrot soup. He knows the recipe by looking at the book but thinking of Brenda distracts him.

  If I can’t stop thinking about Brenda, the soup will be a disaster, thought George as he cut the carrots and put them in a pot of boiling water.

  He then stirred the carrots, added olive oil, and made the broth smoother so that the carrot soup would be more delicious. After adding pepper, a hint of salt, and all of the creamy stirs, the soup is ready. George brought the soup to the table and called Susie – who was in her regular clothing – for dinner. He and his daughter sat down at the table and began to eat the soup.

  “So,” George began, “did you do something new at school?”

  “Well, yes,” replied Susie. “I made a new friend named Dave. Dave Clover. He’s bullied by three of the students and his cousin came to protect him. When it was recess session, I accidentally bumped into him. That’s how I met him.”

  She finished her soup and wiped her face with a napkin. “The soup is tasty.”

  “Thanks,” said George as he picked up the bowls to wash them. “Why don’t you study your book report?”

  Susie nodded, took her book with her, and went upstairs. George went to the kitchen sink to wash the bowls while thinking to himself.

  I feel... he thought.

  But Susie interrupted his thoughts by asking, “Who is Charlotte?”

  “Oh, uh,” stammered George as he came up with an answer he could think of. “She’s a spider who makes friends with Wilbur.”

  “Oh.” Susie then smiled. “Okay.”

  Then she went back upstairs to her room, while George kept cleaning the house while humming the song he had written. When he was finished, he went upstairs to check on Susie, whose head was on the pages. She fell into a deep slumber. George put his hand over his mouth to stifle a giggle, put the blanket over her, and planted a gentle kiss her cheek. Then it reminded him of something.

I slept while working on the song when I was a child, he thought. Now I remember how this part of my childhood was like...

  He yawned a long yawn. It was too late to finish his sentence. Then, the mailbox was full with one letter. George opened the mailbox’s door, grabbed the letter, and shut the mailbox’s door. He then opened the letter. It was from his mother – Adele. The letter said:

‘Dear George, I have some gruesome news and some delightful news to tell you. The gruesome news is your father died in World War I before you raised a child with your darling wife. And the delightful news is that your sister is now a jazz club member! I hope that you’re still safe. - Love, Adele.’

George felt sad about his father’s death. But he remembered Brenda’s smile like the lyric he wrote.

Let’s remember that smile turning the bad days brighter ones, he said to himself as he went back to his home.

He still felt heavy-hearted about his father’s death, but remembers Brenda’s smile anyway.

Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14

[cbsghostsmetasandtrevor]

CBS Ghosts - Viking Funeral - The Reveal of a Body Part 1

Spoiler May Appear.

I love how Mark just slides by the whole awkward encounter from before and starts explaining some of their process.

Naturally, Jay has been summoned from the kitchen (?) I presume, and is like "Damn this whole thing is so costly" - gee Jay, maybe you should've ran some numbers before deciding to do this.

I love how you he leads them to the hole, before being like "look what we found".

Like he really wanted them to see it for the reveal rather than just telling them. Like he isn't sure how to tell them that there's human remains on their property.

LMAO Mark looks like he's having fun with this reveal.

Like he's already thinking Sam's a wack Job, and now he finds human remains... and he's just "isn't this fun."

OOOOH I love this.

So we can obviously assume that Pete, Trevor, Alberta and Sass followed Sam out the door to find out what happened. But we don't see them until this moment!

They're all standing there, together and surprised. And I love the juxtaposition from the three livings to the ghosts.

I wonder if before Thor says "hey that's me" if one of the other ghosts thought it could be one of them? Or a secret ghost.

LMAO - Thor's like So Happy - HEY THAT"S ME. And Sam's slow look at him is like "holy shit - a ghost = a body - how did I not realize that?"

It's so revealing because I think it's the first time she's connected that they used to have bodies and be alive.

It's interesting that Sass is like "You sure that's you?"

As if Thor hasn't been there for a thousand years and would KNOW where he died.

What's interesting is how he happily describes the saddest thing I've ever thought about with regards to ghosts' afterlives - watching his body decay all alone over 100s of years. HOLY SHIT. That's depressing.

I do like the looks on the other ghosts' faces.

Flower is looking sad and concerned.

Pete's shaking his head.

Sass looks like he's realizing something for the first time about his best friend.

Alberta's got a concerned/grossed out look on her face.

and Trevor also looks saddened. He's almost got his hand over his heart.

All of them are like "That's so sad"

and Thor is *grinning*.

I can't believe that Thor thought it was 'pretty cool', but I suppose that's how he deals with it.

thanks for reading :)

Feel free to chat.

[ckret2]

show about a war between two magic horse nations (unicorns vs pegasus maybe) full of tons of drama and tragedy between the characters but the actual war is fought with like glitter bombs and rainbow lasers.

FASCINATING concept, but no that'd never make it on TV in the 80s because the producers would be like "well girls like unicorns AND pegasi, they wouldn't know who's the bad guy" and "little girls don't like war stories, do they?" Unicorn Vs Pegasus War is like Steven Universe or Netflix She-Ra levels of narrative complexity. For a girly 80s shows you gotta dial it back, gotta drain out the depth, gotta make it palatable not to 5-year-old girls but to the mothers of 5-year-old girls that the producers dread receiving an angry letter from.

We have clear unambiguous good guys and clear unambiguous villains, the heroes are fighting for causes like Colors and Friendship and Sharing, and the only times the hero/villain lines are blurred are when a villain goes "gee, now I understand, nothing is more important than telling your friends you care!" and becomes a good guy.

There's like ten good guys and two bad guys tops, to make them easy to keep up with, and the good guys are Things The Production Company Thinks Little Girls Probably Like (ponies, teddy bears, princesses) and the bad guys are Things Little Girls Probably Don't Like (weird short balding guys, balls of brown fuzz, a single inexplicably cool-looking goth girl that the 8-year-old queer girls immediately fall in love with).

The good guys are bright, pretty, and cute, and the villains are grey and purple, MAYBE dark red, and acid green if they're doing magic. Acceptable hero aesthetics: hearts, clouds, stars, rainbows, smiley faces, pink things, jewels but only in a cute way not a luxurious way. Villain aesthetics: broken hearts, pointy things, shadows, fangs, and desolate gray wastelands with no hope or life that will haunt you for years.

The good guys' combat capabilities are usually defensive magic focused on shielding people, creating barriers to bad guys, and mystically repairing damage. The bad guys' combat capabilities are almost always dependent upon trickery, kidnapping, theft, and property damage, rather than actual physical violence. Nobody gets hurt, unless the bad guys accidentally injure themselves (played for laughs).

The heroes always clearly unambiguously win with no tragedy or sadness and they all like each other, unless two need to develop a short-lived rivalry to learn an Important Lesson about being nice to your friends. Bad guys are petty, mean, and bully each other, except for maybe one stupid good-natured henchman who doesn't realize he's a bad guy. Conflicts are quickly-resolved, black-and-white, and typically low-stakes. (If they're high-stakes, it's in an abstract way, like "if we don't stop him no more flowers will bloom!" and not "he's going to murder somebody.") Movies can have an actual scary villain but ongoing series must have recurring comedically ineffective villains, and also even the scary villains have goofy motives like "wants to destroy friendship" or "just, like, super selfish and bad at sharing."

This—this is the essence of the girly 80s cartoon. This is my target.

I'm not saying this how to make a good girly cartoon. I'm not saying a good girly cartoon shouldn't have narrative complexity, high stakes, or interesting character depth. I'm saying that ain't how the 80s did it, and THAT'S the genre I'm parodying.

[married-2-the-music]

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: Girls Generation / SNSD (Part TWO)

Here are my credentials: So, I’m absolutely a fan of Girls’ Generation, although I’m in that weird space where I’m more than a casual one yet not quite a SONE (a full fan), but just like with Sunmi, I have a feeling that this deep dive will make me one. I’ve heard almost all of their title tracks, and a decent amount of b-sides, but since they have over 100 songs, I’m sure I’ll find some new ones to love too. I’m also a fan of both Taeyeon and Tiffany’s solo careers.

I’m going to take a quick intermission to discuss some of SNSD’s Japanese releases here, which I don’t normally do. Mr Taxi, with its heavy autotune and electronic background, reminds me of a female version of SHINee’s Ring Ding Dong. One of the things I enjoy the most here (besides the roller disco, of course) is that the chorus is given space to breathe when they could’ve cut it for time. Time Machine is a sadder, slower song, and in lesser hands, it could be a snooze fest, but Girls’ Generation’s great voices turn it into a bonafide power ballad.

Paparazzi, as mentioned before, feels like it arrives on a red carpet rather than simply starts with its “ooh la la la”, which is perhaps fitting for a song about fame that features a snippet from Singing In The Rain. This one is probably my favorite of their songs in Japanese; it definitely takes inspiration from disco in the best way, and had me shaking my shoulders and wanting to get a pair of cat-eye sunglasses. Flower Power too is disco, but with a darker synth spin that feels more distinctly Japanese action movie.

Love & Girls takes after SNSD’s cutesier early discography with its colorful styling, poppy background, free-wheeling anti-drop summer chorus, sharp whistles, and peppy ad libs. Beep Beep too follows this thread, but I was won over, as I often am, with its catchy inclusion of several different languages (Italian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and English) and fun comic book style illustrations. I also quite like its bridge and last chorus.

So, back to the Korean releases! Catch Me If You Can follows in the footsteps of The Boys and especially Run Devil Run. It has a surprisingly youthful and bubbly pre-chorus, that’s unfortunately followed by the mother of all anti–drops. Unlike in the other songs of theirs that have used one, though, Catch Me If You Can doesn’t do anything interesting with it, and ends up feeling like a dozen other songs. The post-chorus does help it, but overall the track feels incomplete.

PARTY sees Girls’ Generation dipping their toes into a summer fun track, which is new territory for their singles. It’s a little toothless when compared to such iconic and important tracks like Gee, I’ve Got A Boy, or Oh, but it’s still a fun time and it’s a nice break to see them looking so happy. It’s not ending up on my Top 10 list, but I’m not going to skip it if it comes up on shuffle.

Opposite from Genie, which I assumed was much later in their careers, I’d assumed that Lion Heart had been much earlier than 2015, though I’m not sure why. This time, they draw inspiration from doo wop, and turn it into a satire of midcentury love-at-first-sight rom coms. Besides the (as always) great clothes, the MV got some good chuckles out of me with its ridiculousness, over-the-top sound effects, and 60’s dance moves that look right out of a Get Smart episode.

You Think is about as different from Lion Heart as it’s possible to get, with a far more “girl crush” image and a hip-hop beat mixed with synthpop. Funnily enough, I’d actually heard this song’s chorus before (“you think you’re real cool?” “You’re NOT!”), but I didn’t know it was an SNSD song, so that was a nice surprise. It veers a little close to an anti-drop, but thankfully avoids it by the skin of its teeth.

From the Lion Heart album, I really liked the venture into chill bossa nova in One Afternoon, the appropriately vaudeville-style flair and sudden speed-up in Show Girls (which was my hidden gem), the synthy fun of Fire Alarm, and the background guitar in Green Light.

Holiday starts with a guitar riff and an energy that doesn’t slow down to catch its breath until its 3-and-a-half minutes are over. It’s a lot of fun, and immediately makes you want to get up and dance with your closest friends, and besides that, feels like a nice summer vacation for Girls’ Generation too; a new and improved version of Party with a sunny beat straight off a Broadway stage. I enjoyed it much more than I expected to, truth be told, and it went right into my music library.

All Night is the second single from the album, and, although it’s also a dancefloor track, it takes a more minimalistic, sleek approach. The chorus, though I did like it, felt a bit out of left field to me with its tempo change, and the rap likewise didn’t quite fit, but overall I liked this one too, especially the bridge. It’s always a pleasure to see drag queens covered in sparkles on my screen, alright?

From Holiday Night, though I did like the dancefloor citypop of Fan, the expert mix of happy and sad in One Last Time, and the jazzy flair of Love Is Bitter, you can’t do much better for a hidden gem than the confident, movie-soundtrack worthy, anthemic Girls Are Back, which I think perfectly captures the magic of SNSD. Can you really beat “we’re gonna break some hearts tonight, we’re gonna make some noise tonight?” Nope.

Lil’ Touch isn’t exactly a Girls’ Generation song, as it was released with only five of the members, but it’s basically considered one, so I included it. As their discography goes, it’s not the most unique, but it’s still quite solid. Part of that is due to the girls’ vocals, of course, which elevate whatever material they have, but the chorus is genuinely catchy and got stuck in my head. I think that if it wasn’t up against such heavy hitters in their other singles, it would be more highly regarded.

Besides Lil’ Touch, Forever 1 arrives both five years after SNSD’s last comeback and exactly fifteen after their debut with Into The New World, and arrive it does. This was the song that made me a fan of Girls Generation, and for good reason. From the “we’re not stopping!” to the utterly, delightfully sappy profession of love both to their fans and to each other to the “I will love you in my next life”, Forever 1 is a gleeful celebration of friendship and a decade and a half spent in an industry almost impossible to succeed in. Really, it’s everything I love about k-pop in one song, so how could I not love it?

From Forever 1, the album, I wasn’t sure what to choose as a hidden gem. There’s the nostalgic Seventeen, the fast-paced beat of Villain, the chill synths of Paper Plane, and the constant genre shifting of You Better Run (which harkens back to I Got A Boy). It’s a very strong return. Lucky Like That wasn’t technically a single but BTS footage was released as a special video to mark Girls’ Generation’s 16th anniversary. It’s a pretty standard pop song, truth be told, but with the video, it's undeniably charming and made me feel undeniably nostalgic. It was great to see them all smile and have fun performing together, and I wish more groups would have videos like this. I saved it for last, and it was a great place to end.

My Top 5 songs are Into The New World, Hoot, Lion Heart, Top Secret, and Girls Are Back with Show Girls, Love Is Bitter, and Goodbye as honorable mentions. Girls Generation gets a 9.25 out of 10 from me, which I’m not surprised about. There’s a reason I wanted this to be my first review of the new year, and it wasn’t just because they’re a huge group, but also because I had a feeling it would be a lot of fun.

(Please enjoy this photo of the girls celebrating Tiffany’s birthday a couple years ago!) Next time, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming with a one-week boy group. I’m excited about this one, so I’ll see you then! Tchüss!

[csmeanerr]

i have a confession to make: i absolutely HATE humanoid cs! as if the anthro shit monsters werent bland enough, now i gotta see humanoid species #1,000,000 where the defining characteristic is that theyre robot sex slaves/have animal ears/wear thigh highs and have deer legs/are computer viruses, and the worst part is that they flood the cs forum!

oh gee willikers, your species is just normal ass people with angel wings and fruit on their head? sign me the fuck up!!

at least some of the animal ones try to look cool, it seems like the humanoid cs just fart out some anime girl cosplay they saw on instagram and make it into a $600 ultra rare legendary traited limited subspecies flower fairy cs

kill me

i feel the same way but that's definitely a personal preference since furry species can be any kind of animal while humanoid have to adhere to a humanoid shape so it's often yawn