#gotta make everything cowboy flavored

[rurukatt]

"hey ruru, how's your brainrot?"

well thanks for asking! it's terminal

[hotvintagepoll]

Charlotte Greenwood (Oklahoma, The Gang's All Here)—gotta submit Queen of the Dancing Scrungle charlotte greenwood! she was a lovely very tall lady, but when she gets dancing you know there's gonna be some scrungle on the floor 2nite

James Cagney (Yankee Doodle Dandy, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Public Enemy, White Heat, The Strawberry Blonde)—Whaddya mean I've gotta SUBMIT Cagney? You look up scrungly in the dictionary and there's a picture of him RIGHT THERE. He IS the scrungle. -SHORT KING 5'4 3/4 (1.65m) I could put him in my pocket -When he rolls down his car window (in Mayor of Hell) sticks his head out and makes some snarky comment (which I didn't hear because I was way too distracted) it's like struck by lightning, let me tell you -His hair is so wavy and sometimes it falls over his forehead and then I die a little -He plays The Public Enemy number one, everyone thinks of this as "the one with the grapefruit scene" but it is SO SO much more than that, it's also the one where he wears little striped pajamas -Multilingual (Yes, I'm the same person who submitted EGR and listed this earlier. Yes, this is a big thing for me.) He spoke Yiddish, guys and you can hear him speak it in a movie (Taxi) AND when the Warner Bros. tried to discuss him without him knowing they used Yiddish not realizing he'd understand everything -He talks so fast. Like. Staccatto. It's so fascinating -Loved animals & owned CHOW CHOWS (that's a very scrungly dog, c'mon) -Plays Bottom in Midsummer Night's Dream, that's the guy who gets turned into a DONKEY, nobody else could've played it like he did -Messed with Warner Bros. all the time, threatened to quit, told them he was going to go be a doctor instead -He does this little nose scrunch thing oh my god -Boy Meets Girl is a supremely underrated screw ball comedy and he has lots of silly little outfits in it and acts ridiculous the entire time -Was fascinated by farming and just puttered around on his tractor, like he's just a little guy! -There's a movie where he has a silly little mustache (I haven't seen it yet though) -They've dressed him up as bellhops, sailorsn cowboys and itty bitty gangsters [in movies] and frankly that should be enough -His first show biz job was a female dancer on the chorus line

This is round 1 of the contest. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. If you're confused on what a scrungle is, or any of the rules of the contest, click here.

[additional submitted propaganda + scrungly videos under the cut]

Charlotte Greenwood:

James Cagney:

James Cagney is such a scrungler. He could dance, he could sing, he embodied the gangster role, he was a short king, he had curly hair, what more could you possibly want?? Something about his face just feels so Looney Toons to me. He's like a little bug and I'm observing him through my magnifying glass. I'm obsessed with his hair and his scrunging demeanor!!! He's the most guy to me of all time. I tried to draw him once and completely failed. You could crumple him up like a tissue and watch him float away in the breeze.

Fanvid

A second fanvid

A third fanvid

He is the SCRUNGLIEST of gangsters, it’s the role that made him famous, and by god that’s for good reason. He also plays a peculiar little guy in musicals and occasionally westerns, all with a particular flavor of scruffy city rat energy that you can’t help but adore!  

[talesfromsiteredacted]

Foundation Life is a Beach

343, being a concerned surrogate grandfather, decides his favorite grandkids need a little sun and fun. Dr. Gears and Dr. Clef tag along as "responsible supervision", although Clef seems to be more prone to shirking responsibilities. And 053 tries a snow cone for the first time with 999.

I wake up to my darling gently snoring and my cell ringing. Huh. Bit early for Iris to be calling, but it's my baby sis, of course I answer.

"Morning, sleepy head! Come down to 053's room, 343 has a nice surprise for us."

"Can I at least have breakfast first?"

"No time, breakfast will be provided. Well, brunch. It's 10ish. Oh, grab your swimsuit."

"Fine, give me fifteen minutes to get ready. Any other clues, or am I just meant to guess the test?"

"Sorry, 343 made me swear to keep it a surprise." I hang up, gently kiss my sweetheart, and get on with the day. A stop at my place, fluff and feed Liam, grab beach stuff, struggle into modest one piece with light dress over, add sandals and sun hat, off I go.

I reach 053's place, to see 343, 999, Iris, Dr. Gears, and Dr. Clef, all ready for surf and shore. Instead of his usual cowboy hat, Clef dons a straw version. Dr. Gears is in shorts and an MIT college shirt, with his lab coat on top. 999 has on floaties, which made me giggle. 343 is even in swim trunks and a light polo shirt. Iris opted for a light blue sundress, also with sun hat. 343 is handing out sunscreen, making Clef groan.

"Alto, skin cancer is not a joke. Just put on the suncream." Grumbling compliance. We head in after.

"Hi Evie! Ready for some fun?"

"Iris! And 343, and Auntie Rabbit, and 999... but who are the grownups?"

"I can explain, Evie. Remember our snow day? Even though we all kept our word, Doctor Clef found out, and asked if he could come on our next trip. Doctor Gears is here to keep Doctor Clef out of trouble." 343 knelt down, picked up Evie. "How does a trip to the ocean sound?"

"I dunno. What's it like?"

"Warm and sunny where we're going. The water is clear and clean, the sand is a pretty pink, and there's lots of room to play. Sound good?"

"Can 682 come?"

"Not sure that's such a good idea, Evie. He'd get sand in all his bits. Plus... not sure he can swim." Thank 343 Clef lies as naturally as he breathes, last thing we need is a big cranky lizard on the rampage.

"Oh. Okay. Can we send him some ice cream after?"

"That we can do, Evie." Dr. Gears replies. "Does he still like rocky road?" Evie nods. That settled, 343 waves his hands, and we're on the most stunning pink sand beach. It looks right out of a brochure. Evie looks out to the water.

"Is that the ocean? It looks pretty. Can I see it?" Iris walks her to the shoreline. Evie giggles as the waves wash over her toes. Meanwhile I help 343 with brunch set up. By the time everything is ready, 999 is helping Evie build a sand castle, mostly by gurgling and pushing wet piles of sand to her. Dr. Gears is nibbling a croissant and reading some files. Dr. Clef... is trying to surf with moderate success. Somehow even after a wipeout or two, his hat says on. Iris is sipping iced tea and watching Evie play with 999. By the time 2 pm hits my watch, it's hot. But... 343 as always thought ahead with a snowcone bar. Iris calls Evie up.

"Snowcone time, Evie! What flavor you want?"

"Cherry for me, and blue raspberry for 999." Iris hands out the frozen goodness.

"Snowcones? Haven't had one since I was a kid. Mind if I join you?" Clef goes for mango. Before long, we're all enjoying them. Gotta love the fringe benefits of this job, literally anything can happen.

[newmusicradionetwork]

Reigning SPBGMA Entertainer of the Year The Kody Norris Show’s New Album ‘RHINESTONE REVIVAL’ – Out Now!

Award-winning country & bluegrass group, The Kody Norris Show is excited to announce their highly anticipated album Rhinestone Revival is available now! This undeniable record delivers everything their devoted fans adore, and then some. Building upon their signature style, Rhinestone Revival showcases a dynamic collection of twelve exhilarating bluegrass tracks that will leave listeners craving more. Elevating the honky-tonk spirit to new heights, the inclusion of percussion adds an irresistible rhythm that guarantees a toe-tapping experience from start to finish, cementing the album’s place as a must-have for bluegrass enthusiasts. Of the twelve songs included on Rhinestone Revival, four are penned by frontman Kody Norris: “Baltimore I’m Leaving,” “Please Tell Me Why,” “Gotta Get My Baby Back,” and their latest single, “Fiddler’s Rock.” Last October, the first single “Mountain Rosalie” was released along with an accompanying lyric video seen here. New elements to Rhinestone Revival include a track sung by Kody’s fiddling “sweetie” Mary Rachel Nalley-Norris who steps out on “Endless Highway,” a tune Alison Krauss made popular in 1990. In addition, the band’s banjo ace Josiah Tyree takes the lead on their current single “I Call Her Sunshine.” Charlie Lowman rounds out the group keeping perfect time on bass. Like All Suited Up, the band’s Rebel Records debut which reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart, Rhinestone Revival is produced by Darin Aldridge who also plays mandolin on a number of tracks. Additional guests on the album include Darin’s wife Brooke Aldridge singing harmony vocals, Joe Mullins & The Radio Rambler’s Jason Barie providing second fiddle on a number of the album’s songs, percussionist Tony Creasman and David Johnson, whose wailing harmonica on “Otto Wood” gives the song a decidedly more country flavor. “We are so excited that our new album, Rhinestone Revival is available today,” share Kody Norris. “Rhinestone Revival is a virtual road trip of our musical expression and has something to offer every listener! Recording this project was a blast and we certainly hope you enjoy it!” Last night, The Kody Norris Show celebrated the release of Rhinestone Revival at their first-ever album release party at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville. The party was sponsored by Gus Arrendale and Springer Mountain Farms Chicken. Also, The Kody Norris Show will make their Ryman debut later this summer when they open for The Queen of Bluegrass Rhonda Vincent at Springer Mountain Farms Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman on July 13. “We would like to thank Mr. Gus Arrendale and Springer Mountain Farms Chicken for their support for our album release party,” shares Mary Rachel Nalley Norris. “It is always exciting to share new music with everyone and hope you get a copy of Rhinestone Revival. We are also excited to be opening for Rhonda Vincent at the Ryman on July 13!” To order/stream/ Rhinestone Revival, visit HERE. Rhinestone Revival Track List: Mountain Rosalie – Premiered by Bluegrass Today Baltimore I’m Leaving – Premiered by Whiskey Riff I Call Her Sunshine – Premiered by Cowboys & Indians Endless Highway – Premiered by Nashville Country Music Magazine Let All The Girls Know You’re A Cowboy – Premiered by Cowboys & Indians Petals in the Fall – Premiered by Center Stage Magazine Please Tell Me Why – Premiered by Canyon Star TV Fiddlers Rock – Premiered by The Hollywood Times My Home in Virginia – Premiered by The Music Universe Looking at the World Thru the Windshield – Premiered by Bluegrass Borderline Otto Wood – Premiered by M Music & Musicians Magazine Gotta Bring My Baby Back – Premiered by Bluegrass Today The Kody Norris Show’s Upcoming Tour Dates: JUL 13 – Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman / Nashville, Tenn. JUL 15 – Racoon Creek Bluegrass Festival / Dallas, Ga. JUL 22 – Backyard Breakdown / Mountain City, Tenn. JUL 29 – Backbone Bluegrass Festival / Strawberry Point, Iowa AUG 04 – Appalachian Fiddle & Bluegrass Festival / Wind Gap, Pa. AUG 05 – Roots of American Music Concert Series / Galax, Ky. AUG 12 – Bluegrass In The Park Folklife Festival / Henderson, Ky. AUG 19 – LarryFest / La Farge, Wis. AUG 22 – Wilson County Fair / Lebanon, Tenn. AUG 23 – Gypsy Hill Park Bluegrass Series / Staunton, Va. AUG 24 – Georgia Mountain Fair / Hiawassee, Ga. AUG 25 – Pickin’ In The Pasture / Lodi Center, N.Y. AUG 26 – Blistered Fingers Bluegrass Festival / Litchfield Plains, Maine SEP 08 – Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Celebration / Beaver Dam, Ky. SEP 09 – Cameron Bluegrass Festival / Cameron, Wis. SEP 10 – East Troy Bluegrass Festival / East Troy, Wis. SEP 14 – Dumplin Valley Bluegrass Festival / Kodak, Tenn. SEP 15 – Blazin’ Bluegrass Festival / Whitley City, Ky. SEP 16 – Mohican Bluegrass Festival / Glenmont, Ohio SEP 22 – Upperco Music Festival / Upperco, Md. SEP 23 – Upperco Music Festival / Upperco, Md. SEP 26 – International Bluegrass Music Association / Raleigh, N.C. SEP 27 – International Bluegrass Music Association / Raleigh, N.C. SEP 28 – International Bluegrass Music Association / Raleigh, N.C. SEP 29 – International Bluegrass Music Association / Raleigh, N.C. SEP 30 – Oakdale Bluegrass Festival / Glen Rose, Texas OCT 06 – Big Ben Bluegrass Festival / Alpine, Texas OCT 07 – Big Ben Bluegrass Festival / Alpine, Texas OCT 13 – Uncle Tommy’s Barn / Wayland, Ky. OCT 14 – Lester Flatt Celebration / Sparta, Tenn. OCT 20 – Outer Banks Music Festival / Outer Banks, N.C. NOV 10 – Mountaingrass / Beechworth Victoria Australia NOV 11 – Mountaingrass / Beechworth Victoria Australia NOV 12 – Mountaingrass / Beechworth Victoria Australia NOV 17 – Bluegrass Christmas In The Smokies / Gatlinburg, Tenn. NOV 18 – Town Center / Burnsville, N.C. DEC 09 – Kenbridge Community Center Auditorium / Kenbridge, Va. For more information, visit thekodynorrisshow.com. # # # Suggested post: .@KodyNorrisShow’s #RhinestoneRevival album is available now! Also to open for @RhondaVincent12 on July 13 at @TheRyman for #BluegrassNightsAtTheRyman. To purchase/stream: rebel-records.lnk.to/Rhinestone-Revival Read the full article

[gunslinginnhogtyin]

So what Roland was essentially saying or what Butch was mostly picking up on was the fact that he knew how to handle a gun… and a big one at that. Regardless as to how long the story is, he certainly hopes to hear it someday!

Butch watches curiously as the vampire goes on to explain what this frother he held did and then he demonstrates by using it on the very drink he’s making for him. The cowboy seems to be easily impressed by near everything this century had come up with, even the more useless things, so his eyes light up when he sees that it does exactly what Roland had said it would do.

“Wow, they gotta tool fer everythin’ these days, don’t they? That’s neat!” He briefly wonders what other tools the vampire used to make coffee. When did coffee become so complicated? Not that he’s complaining, of course. Especially when that glass is handed over and he gets a good taste of Roland’s creation.

Butch adjusts himself so he’s sitting normally once more and then takes a sip and then another… and then he takes a much larger drink just to really let the taste settle, letting out a nice satisfied sigh afterwards. Once he moves the glass, he’s got a nice frothy mustache on his upper lip.

“Mmmmm~” he hums in delight. “That’s…that’s fuckin’ GOOD! How’n the world ya learn t’make coffee like that!?” He’s genuinely impressed, staring down at the remainder of the liquid in the glass with a smile. It was just the right amount of bitter but it still had an interesting flavor enough to linger on his tastebuds long after he had taken a drink, enough to make him want more! “S’pose it’s gotta come with the job, huh? Heh. Well…you just got yerself a new customer, m’friend. And I ain’t jus’ sayin’ that ‘cause ya gotta pretty face. That’s definitely how ya sucker in new customers, ain’t it?” He teases, winking at the man behind the counter.

"I know I don't look the type." Roland chuckled. "I started out as a triage nurse before eventually becoming a sniper. A weird pipeline, i know--it's a long story."

He looked up as Butch leaned over to see what he was doing and ask his questions. Roland couldn't help laughing a little at the blonde's enthusiasm, genuinely amused and flattered by his interest. It was refreshing, and endearing. His coworkers shared another look.

"The syrup? It's toffee nut--it's a salty, nutty flavor. This," He held up the electric device with the whisk-tip in his hand, "--Is a frother. It makes microbubbles in the drink, making it lighter and creamier. And it'll help mix the syrup in with the espresso."

Lo and behold, when Roland put the frother into the espresso and turned it on, it only took a couple seconds for the dark liquid to seemingly double in volume, and turn a more golden brown shade. He reached for the other glass that he'd trapped the match under, and poured the espresso/toffee nut combo into it. Then, he offered the glass to Butch.

"There you are--tell me what you think."

[herstarburststories]

P and C

A/N: My piece for @jensengirl83‘s 200 Followers Challenge. Congrats again, hon!

Prompt: Oops, how did that get in there?

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Summary: Dean feels betrayed-- how could you bring the enemy home?

Warnings: implied smut, Dean being that dramatic dumbass we love

‘’I’m here with a bunch of food that will end up killing you…’’ You wore a large, worriless grin as you walked up the bunker's stairs, gesturing to Sam while you spoke, ‘’And some healthy stuff for you. Please, share with the rabbits.’’

Sam scoffed humorously, discrete mirth on his lips. Dean made his way to the kitchen, abandoning the reading work for the newest case to regain some stamina through food. You started to put the groceries away, humming one of your favorite Eric Clapton melodies. Traditional, domestic duties were properly wasted whenever you had the free time — a luxury to you when boredom was especially rare for a hunter.

‘’You are a lifesaver,” Dean stated, gaining a giggle in response. He rubbed his hands together, multiple bags opened in search of the pie which you promised to buy only to stop two seconds after. ‘’Cocaine.’’

You nodded, not bothering to look up after his right guess. Whatever song you sang, Dean always knew. A nerd for classic rock.  ‘’Good shot, cowboy.’’ 

“Just don't shoot the deputy.”

“Please, I shot the sheriff!”

The eldest Winchester chuckled, continuing his mission to find his favorite meal before burgers. Dean already had the ideal scenario in mind; a whole pie for himself — an apple one if he was lucky —, beer, and a Doctor Sexy marathon.

The Winchester's perfect illusion was cracked by the sight of a certain dessert. He was beyond choked by what could be found in his hands. Horrified, even. You, his own girlfriend, brought a cake into his home.

‘’Y/N, what is this?’’ Dean furrowed his eyebrows, opening the plastic seal of the dessert.

You weren’t sure why he was asking. Last time you checked, his secret sweet tooth liked chocolate. Besides, he didn't appear to be drunk. Your reply came out more like a question than anything else: ‘’A cake?’’

His eyes went wide. ‘’The one who shouldn’t be named!’’

‘’Harry Potter? And you said it was a nerd movie.’’ Sam raised his gaze from the book, watching the scene unfold from the security of the research table. His brother just rolled his eyes at him, too appalled by your crime to give Sammy a witty comeback.

You sighed. ‘’Dean, don’t be dramatic. I’ve seen you eating cake before. We even shared a sli — “

‘’It was a cheesecake, Y/N,’’ Dean interrupted before Sam could catch up on what you said, a flash of pink on his cheeks. You betrayed him enough with the cake instead. The hunter didn't need his little brother making fun of him because you both shared a slice of cheesecake once. Nonetheless, he continued, ‘’There is a huge difference.’’

Dear Chuck, you were about to punch him.

‘’You are right. Cake is better than cheesecake and pie.’’ In the moment the words leave your mouth, you know that Dean will make a big deal out of it. His list of priorities included Sam, you, Cass, the Impala and pie. It was very often in that order, except your position and Sam’s shifted depending on the day. 

But the look on his face was priceless. With his mouth dropped into a silent 'o' and stout shoulders raised, his green eyes clamped onto yours as if he was accusing you of murder.

Thing is, you had killed before. Everyone in that room had their share of deaths, usually in front of and for each other, and never glared at each other like Dean was. The Winchester felt betrayed by the love of his life.

He was in love with someone who liked cake better than pie.

‘’You gotta be kidding me.’’ Dean huffed, shaking his head in disbelief. How could the love of his life say things like that? An accidental gunshot of yours would hurt less; he should know that.

You shrugged. ‘’Cake is fluffier. And softer.’’

‘’Since when is this a good thing? We are talking about food, not a bed." He gesticulated his point with shaking fists, obviously exasperated. You had to bite your cheek inside to contain your laughter. "Pie is more consistent!’’

‘’It's a classy taste, Dean. Besides, cake has frosting!’’

‘’Pie doesn’t need frosting!’’

‘’Guys...’’ Sam tried to interject, but neither of you turned away.

“Cake is so good that there are a lot of kinds: cheesecake, cupcake. What other type of pie is popular other than the usual one?”

“A classic is a classic. It is still consumed all over the world without the fancy stuff. Like a real meal.”

‘’All I hear is old.” Dean gave you an indignant glare, but you keep going anyway, “Cake always has better chocolate than pie.’’

‘’Because pie goes good with fruits and any other flavor, and cake is only good with chocolate.’’

You crossed your arms, a cocky smile filling out your features. ‘’So, you admit that cake is good?’’

‘’You know what? We don’t we find out which one is better now?’’ Dean's suggestion was wrapped up in a daring veil, his true intention proven once he opened the plastic container only to grab a piece of cake and carefully smash it against your cheek. ‘’How does it taste, sweetheart?’’

You had two options: be mad at him or play his game and win.

As Dean wore that lopsided, signature grin while slowly rubbing the cake against your face, the decision was made for you.

‘’What is a good cake without some whipped cream, huh?’’ You smirked, grabbing the whipped cream bottle and spraying on him. With a mask of faux innocence, you asked, “Oops, how did that get in there?’’

Sam finally got up from the chair, slamming a book of Brazilian spells closed as he stalked towards the both of you. ��’You two, enough! You are acting like children, not two adults in a serious, mature relationship. You’ll end up enacting your weird kinks and leaving the mess for me to clean up, so cut it!’’

Everything is immediately engulfed by silence as Sam's steps making their way to his room along with his huffs. You and Dean looked at each other, shame and guilt spread across on your faces as if your dad had caught you stealing cookies before dinner. 

But it was Y/N /Y/L/N and Dean Winchester. Of course they burst into peals of laughter not even ten seconds after Sammy was gone. The younger Winchester could still hear the noise from the kitchen. He shook his head; you and Dean really were made for each other.

“I feel like I just got grounded by my mom.”

“Yeah, Sammy and his hair. Definitely maternal figure material right there.” Dean rolled his eyes and you chuckled. “You know, he isn't wrong about something.”

Arching your brows, your curiosity followed the green eyed hunter’s mischievous smirk. “What is it?”

He got a bit of whipped cream on his finger, wiping it on your cheek. God, you already knew where your 24/7 let's get to it boyfriend was going.

“We do have a few little kinks here and there.” Dean leaned in and licked the cream from your cheek.

“Ew, you weirdo!” You chuckled, slapping his chest playfully. “But this whipped cream could be useful...” You held the cake container, gaze drifting from it to Dean before gesturing to your pussy with the bottle. “Have your cake and eat it too, yeah?”

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, tongue pushing against his teeth as he grabbed your waist to pull you closer. “Pie and Cake. P and C. I like where this is going.”

“But first! Let's clean it up, okay?” With a quick peck on the tip of his nose, you pulled away. Dean groaned, but impatience was replaced by a silent contentment that spread through him. After all, the award would be totally worth it.

Precisely one minute passed peacefully: Dean cleaning up the floor and you keeping the groceries until you felt the little devil on your shoulder tickled you teasingly. You decided to play with fire a little more. What could happen?

‘’Hey, Dean.” You got a hmm mumble as response — a surefire signal for you to continue. “A birthday, we celebrate that with pie or cake?’’

Round two, here they go.

Feedback is magic! Leave a comment and reblog. Check my Masterlist. 

Dean's Sweetheart: @akshi8278 (DEAN’S TAGLIST OPEN)

Hunter: @demonhunterbarbie​ (SPN TAGLIST OPEN)

[funkypoacher]

Guns / Speech / Survival

It's been an age since I got to use this shitty banner! Thankies <3

10. What is your character’s tone of voice weapon of choice? Are they good in a fight, whether armed or not?

July’s weapon of choice is a shotgun. It’s what she’s got the most experience with, though that’s mostly down to the many hours she spent ‘practicing’ with ‘stable hands’ outback on her daddy’s ranch (she did manage to ding a couple of cans). July is NOT good in a fight, and is usually the first one to screech, scandalized, ‘a gun!’ when cowboys start brandishing their pea-shooters in a crowd.

11. Has your character ever killed anyone purely in cold blood?

Nope. That would be undemocratic.

12. What are your character’s opinions on war? Is it something necessary or barbaric, or both? Do they believe in noble conflict or the existence of “a good war?”

Depends on who’s doing the warring. July is staunchly supportive of the NCR, so if the NCR says they’ve gotta be at war, it must be true.

31. What is your character's tone of voice does your OC sound like? What is the tone of their voice, their cadence, and their vocabulary; are they particularly profane or eloquent? Are they funny, and if so, what’s their sense of humor? Are they long-winded or do they speak little, and if it’s the latter, is that only because they’re concise or is it because they have genuine trouble speaking?

As an educator, July loves giving a good lecture, but she doesn’t talk just for the sake of filling silence. You’ll get a whole allocution if it’s on a subject she’s familiar with; otherwise, she’ll start wallflowering, mortified of looking ignorant. Her voice is sweet and soft (and just shy of being whiny). Vocab-wise, she’s pretty sophisticated, using big words because that’s how she thinks important, educated people talk.

32. Is your character a good liar, or can they manipulate people well? Are they able to conceal what they mean or what they’re feeling, or are they an open book whether they mean to be or not?

Anyone who’s known July for five minutes can see she’s got her big heart and bigger blabber-mouth right on her sleeve. When she almost lies, she admits to it almost immediately. And that’s how she tricks people. She’s sincere and open, she lies and manipulates sparingly, but she does it well when she has to because no one sees it coming.

33. What is something that could be said to your character that would be unforgivable, either by someone in general or by someone specific? How would they respond?

With all her traveling, July has seen a lot, allowing her the ability to forgive and accept once she’s cooled down. But. But. Go after her beloved NCR, and you’ll regret it. It can’t be a half-assed besmirching or insult, though--it’s got to be a well-informed argument. There are gaps in July’s understanding--clear downfalls to the NCR’s methods that July basically refuses to acknowledge. But, when met with them, she goes into denial, clinging to the one thing she has true faith in: that the Republic is Just, Good, and All That Jazz.

34. How well does your character take care of themselves in the wilderness? Do they feel most at home in the wilderness, small settlements, or densely inhabited areas? Are there any particular reasons why that is?

July was raised in the Hub’s Heights, a very affluent neighborhood. So she’s used to buying what she wants and/or needs. But she’s also spent the last 11 years traveling the less populated areas of the NCR, educating smaller communities, so she’s familiar with roughing it. Eventually she comes to prefer a small cabin, far removed from dense populations, because people suck and it makes her sad (no spoilers, here).

35. What kind of diet does your character keep? Is it more indiscriminate, or picky or particular? Are they good cooks, whether in a kitchen or by a fire? Do they think of food as simple sustenance, or do they appreciate indulgent dishes and finer flavors? Do they have a favorite food?

For July, cooking and eating became a hugely social thing when traveling with her education mission. Either she’d eat with the families she was meeting, or cook for her small caravan of NCR companions. Because of this, it’s less about the eating, and more about the act of sharing and exchanging. July has eaten some truly horrible meals which she really didn’t mind because the social setting was amicable. That said, she’s actually a good cook, and likes sweet stuff. Sweet like her *sob*

36. What keeps your character going? What is the one thing that they have that could motivate them to keep persisting if they lost literally everything else?

OH MY GOD I SAID NO SPOILERS. When I figure out this answer, I’ll tell yah ;) Because July is in the process of being outright backstabbed by the NCR and she’s not having a fine time.

[pippuns]

Gotta ask, how did alwynn end up picking up some of his other classes? Sorry if you’ve answered this and I just haven’t seen it

Tyr’s got a knack for a bit of magic (not more than his physical skill tho) so he fell into rdm pretty well (learned the healing spells from his dad)

Drk happened as an impulsive decision, not something he’s really known for, after the vault. He appears to be a chill dude so like, if people found out about his Esteem and ya know everything that went with that, they’d be shocked he was falling apart at the seems for awhile.

Drg is his (and my) main. He originally picked up the spear and became an adventurer to help support his dad and some of the other refugees. (Though he couldn’t deny that he had a fierce wanderlust) The dead dad used to use a spear so it felt right in a sense to him.

I flip between wanting him a canon mch, (and I love making him look like a cowboy) and thinking that works better for another idea for a wol.

I haven’t picked it up yet bc it would mean starting from lvl 1 and I have a few other classes that I want to work on first, but I think he becomes a war at some point. Got a certain ghost to thank for that

I also just want to throw out that the whole light corruption mess is the reason he has a band on his right horn. It had gotten so bad that it started cracking his horns and that one was the most concerning. While I don’t think there is too much sensation in them, I think there is enough for them the hurt when badly damaged, kinda of like how it hurts if you like break a nail. He also got a few scales that turned white, mostly in places that are usually covered though.

I haven't answered it!! alwynn starts off as drg for obvious reasons, but they pick up drk after the bloody banquet and remain that for most of heavensward. after the vault they change over to pld since uhhhh survivors guilt :^)

they grabbed sam so they could blend in better while in doma but they're uh. well they're not very good at it. for shb i want to make them a reaper but i haven't done that questline yet so i haven't figured out how yet.

no magic classes bc pld magic phase is probably the extent of what they can do. i've thought about making mch one of their canon classes bc i really like the mch questline but i haven't decided yet. they're also technically a (ronkan flavored) warrior, but it feels disrespectful for them to use those abilities even if ardbert doesn't mind. the closest they'll ever be to a healer is clemency.

TYR LEARNING HEALING SPELLS FROM HIS DAD IS SO CUTE OMG... HOLDS HIM. and he got spears from his other dad??? i really love that awwhh

i think he deserves to look like a cowboy though. top tier aesthetics.

white scales are also top tier aesthetics!! and yeah while horns probably dont have as much sensation in them, if they get cracked like that it's bound to hurt like a bitch. did this effect his hearing at all?? since au ra apparently hear through horn vibrations

[daily-dose-of-imagines]

A little birthday present

*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*

@woah-there-cowboy-or-cowgirl asked:  hey hey heyyy~! So since my birthday is around this time, i was wondering if i could get a little something something with Aone, Tendou, and Tsukishima (separately) with a s/o who didn't tell them it's their birthday today and they had to find out through a friend why their s/o is acting so weird (oddly happy about everything-even though they are always happy with the boys dnxjksk-, treating themselves more than usual, stuff like that :)) then the day is almost over and now their s/o is sad cause the boys didn't say "happy birthday" (or something like that) and the boys are just like 👁👄👁 oh shoot... and then they have their own little way of celebrating? with a whole bunch of fluff? thank you guys and have a wonderful day! I hope you guys are well and healthy! (sorry if this was too specific, you can change whatever you think is best!)

*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*

Hi woah! Happy Birthday, whenever it is! I hope that will/did have a great birthday! I am so sorry this got out so late, but I sincerely hope that you enjoy this!

>Admin 𝕋

*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*

Tsukishima would immediately notice your happy attitude, and how you’re treating yourself to day

He would see all the things you were buying for yourself as you shopped with him

Tsukishima would have said something to you, but he didn’t want to spoil your mood, so he just let you do your thing, observing you as you went into each store with glee

Sometimes you would hint at something, that tsukishima didn’t quite understand

It was like it was on the tip of his tongue the whole time you were with him, but he just could never figure it out

And as the day went by, you became less enthusiastic and was starting to become more and more glum

This was also confusing to tsukishima

was it his fault that you becoming gloomy? He didn’t know

but right as we he was about to ask what was wrong, he got a call from Yamaguchi

Picking it up he said “What’s up, yamaguchi, I’m on a date right now with (y/n)”

“Oh that’s what I was calling you about! What did you get them for their birthday? I was thinking about getting--”

That is when it all made sense

Today

Today was (y/n)’s birthday

that’s why you wanted to go out today, specifically

that’s why you were all chirper and treating yourself to all kinds of things from different stores

“Hey Kei? You listening--”

“I gotta go” he hung up on his friend and gazed over to the nearby bench you were sitting at, your eyes clouded over with what tsukishima now knew was disappointment

He looked around, finding an ice cream stall situated nearby. And so, he did the one thing he thought would cheer you up just a little bit

Walking over, Tsuki bought your favorite flavor and went back to you quickly

You eyed him curiously as he gave you the ice cream

“What’s this about?”

“Happy birthday (y/n)” he said in his monotone voice, but deep inside he hoped that you weren’t too mad at him

You blinked a couple times then smiled at him, lifting some of the ice cream with a spoon and putting it on his nose, to his astonishment

You giggle then licked it off of him and told him, “You’re forgiven”

*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*

Aone would be sitting near a park with you, just enjoying your company

He would notice your more chirper mood, and how you were smiling more than usual

you were showing him things that you had gotten from your family

money, shoes, a necklace with your favorite stone on it

He didn’t know why you were given so many gifts all on one day

but he liked you happy and gleeful like this so he didn’t say anything (not that he says a lot to begin with)

As time went by, and he still didn’t say anything to you about the presents, and you started to become quieter

And he would ask you what was up, only for you to sigh and avoid his staring

“You forgot didn’t you” you would mutter and he would blink, not understanding what you meant

“What did I forget?”

“You forgot that my birthday was today” you would tell him, a little crease in between your eyebrows

He would gasp, his eyes would go wide and he would feel like the shittiest piece of shit to ever exist

“I’m--I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I am so good at remembering birthdays, why did I-” he was going full on panic mood and you were the one that had to calm him down

“It’s okay, it’s okay”

“I’m sorry. What do you want for your birthday, i’ll go get it right now” he said to you, getting up from the bench, but you shake your head and tell him once again that everything is fine

“I don’t need anything from you, you’re fine. Besides it wouldn’t be as special if you were to get me something and I knew about it” you tell him, and he sits back down

“(y/n)--”

“Aone, it’s okay, I see that you really did forget, and I’m not mad anymore” you would say to him, and hug his arm, trying to comfort him, and make sure that he doesn’t feel to quilty

“I’ll definitely get you something next year”

“yes yes”

*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*

Oh tendou

He would be too busy goofing off and playing around to notice your mood\

You had asked him if he wanted to hangout on a certain special day

And apparently he didn’t understand the “special” part because he decided to invite all of his other friends along with you both

You were upset at first, but he looked like he was having so much fun, so you decided not to say anything 

But, as much as you were happy about today of all days, Tendou wasn’t paying you any attention, and just fucking around with his friends

And as time went by, you became increasingly sad with how things were turning out, so

you decide to just go home, you didn’t even tell him that you left, you were too mad at him to say anything

And a couple hours later, when you were in the living room, reading a book, you heard the doorbell

Going over to see who it was, you sigh when you see it’s Tendou

Opening the door you glare at him

“Hey, why did go home, and why did you not say anything?” he would ask you, out of breath and sweaty

“Because, you jerk, you forgot it was my birthday today, decided to bring friends to our date and you also forgot that I was there with you” you would tell him in a deadpan tone, not happy at all

“It’s...your birthday? today?”

“Yes. It is.”

His eyes would be wide, and he would look around trying to figure out something

“Shit”

“Yes. Shit. I am going to close the door now” you would tell him, but just as you were closing it, he stopped it with his hand and came inside, hugging you closely

“I’m so sorry (y/n), i thought it was tomorrow, I thought we were just hanging out today. I didn’t know” he would tell you, hugging you a little tighter until he pulled back and started to fish something out of his pocket

It was a small necklace with a tiny blue gem in the middle of it

“i was planning on giving this to you tomorrow, thinking it was your birthday...tomorrow” he would chuckled at himself

He would loop it around your neck and then smile at you apologetically 

You would sigh and shake your head, then you would give him a small kiss on the lips and tell him “you want some snacks, you dunce?”

[the-light-finds-its-way]

Anthem-99

Guardians name: Anthem-99

Age: Unknown

Race: Exo

Call signs/alias: Cowboy

Pronouns: He/him

Class: Hunter

Preferred subclass(es): Solar, Arc

Ghost’s name: Hymn

Their Vanguard: Zavala, Ikora, Cayde-6

Fireteam name: Harbingers of Destiny

Fireteam teammates: Magnus, Dominus Ghaul, Anthem-99, Velliks, Gadrax, Kahun

Favorite legendary weapon: No Turning Back

Favorite exotic weapon: Trinity Ghoul

Favorite exotic armor: Young Ahamkara’s Spine

Favorite ornament armor set: 2019 Solstice armor

Favorite weapon ornament: Ashen Icon

What stats do they focus on: Mobility, Recovery

Are they offense, defence, or support: Offense

Do they prefer being close, mid, or long range: Long range

Do they lean more “Element of Surprise” or “Upfront and Aggressive”: Element of surprise

Strikes, Gambit, or Crucible: Gambit

Who was their mentor(if they had one. If it is a character you created, tell us about them!): Drifter

Who are they mentoring(if they are. If it is a character you created, tell us about them!): Crow

What ship do they have: Sails of Osiris

What is their Sparrow: Burnout

Favorite Ghost shell: Predator Sun shell

Favorite shader: Corrective // Protective

Favorite color: Leather brown

Favorite food: Pork

Favorite piece of Pre-Collapse tech(if they’ve seen any): Laptops

Favorite Pre-Collapse music(if they’ve heard any): Lil Nas X

Favorite place in The Last City(if it’s a place you created, give a little description!): Dravinn Alleyway. It’s where he found Crow after resurrection, and rescued him. The two hardly visit there, but when they do, they make sure they’re together and in the right mindset.

Favorite NPC(s): Crow, Saint-14, Osiris, Cayde-6, Ikora Rey, Amanda Holliday, Mithrax, Banshee-44

Favorite patrol location: Anywhere throughout The Last City

5 things your Guardian likes(can be anything): Crow, Mithrax, cowboy things, ramen, pork

Least favorite food: Steak

Least favorite shader: War Cult Rain

Least favorite patrol location: Anywhere on Europa. It gives Anthem creepy feelings about being an Exo, makes him feel lonely and abandoned, and like he wasn’t meant to last just as the Golden Age colony hadn’t. Yet somehow, he does survive...

Least favorite Pre-Collapse tech(if they’ve seen any): Bitcoin farming houses

Least favorite NPC(s): Mara Sov, Lakshmi-2

Least favorite weapon ornament: Author of Devestation

Least favorite ornament armor set: Seventh Seraph

Least favorite legendary weapon: Whispering Slab

Least favorite exotic weapon: MIDA Multi Tool

Least favorite exotic armor: St0mp-EE5

5 things your Guardian dislikes(this can be anything): Anyone hurting his boy Crow, not knowing where Crow is, not knowing if Crow is safe, worrying about Crow, anyone insulting Crow.

Your Guardian has to rest. What is their living space like: A high-tech, sleek, cybernetic apartment with very updated appliances and everything. All technology is very modern, and never out of date.

Does your Guardian have any casual wear?(Y'all remember Polyvore? The website URSTYLE works very similar if that helps!):

What hobbies and/or skills does you Guardian have: Sniping, eyesight, aim for skills. Hobbies would be gambling, mutual barfights for bets, training others.

What would your Guardian’s lore book be called: A Crow’s Anthem

Where was your Guardian reborn?(If you created the location, give us a little description!): Europa, in the midst of the collapsed cities. He was revived within the rubble, with no idea where he was or why he was there. The city was calm, minus the buildings smoking a bit. Nobody was there except for himself.

What were they wearing when they were reborn: A thick winter jacket with fur lining and the hood up, thick pants with the same fur, tall cowboy boots, a pick and rope, goggles.

What was their reaction to being reborn: Confusion, calm, and a swarm of questions.

What was their reaction to their first rez: Awe and amazement

After being reborn, did they meet friendlies first or hostiles: Hostiles

Who was the first other Guardian they met?(Same thing! If you made them, give a little description!): Drifter

Did your Guardian get reborn with, or find, any indication of their past life? If so what do they have/found: Anthem found many indicators of his past life within the rubble of the Europa colony. He found a broken datapad in his hands when he was revived, and carried it, then fixed it up to read what data was inside. It was mostly his past self documenting how he’d become an Exo to escape being stuck in a woman’s body named Marie. Anthem didn’t want to live as her anymore, so he’d killed her off to be reborn as Anthem-1 instead. The entries didn’t contain much beyond that basic information.

How did your Guardian get their name(if they didn’t rez with past life momentos): N/A

Going back to your Guardian’s lore book, what would be some some quotes or passages from their book: “Drifter once told me that everyone’s got a bullet with their name on it somewhere in the universe. Your sis tries comin’ now? Well... a bullet ain’t gotta hit its target to do its job.” “When yer too old t’hold the torch, pass it on. Someone else can--should take it instead.”

Does your Guardian have a significant other: Mithrax. They’re dating and deeply in love.

Did your Guardian go explore first before going to The Last City? If so, where to: Drifter took Anthem away from The Last City at first when he found the man on the fallen city of Europa, fearing cities would trigger the man, so the Hunter spent some weeks exploring the mountains and various parts of nature on Earth which were relatively harmless, just to show him there isn't much to fear. Drifter would never show it, but he pitied the man.

What was their reaction to first seeing The Last City: Awe and wonder. It wasn't like the fallen one on Europa, but rather filled with life. It was astounding, and assuring, showing Anthem that himself and Drifter weren't the only people in the universe. There are so many more than just them. Even Exos! He isn't alone, and never will be.

Is your Guardian a part of a clan: Mithrax's House of Light

Does your Guardian’s clan have a back story? If so, what is it?(if you want to or able to share): N/A

If your Guardian would have a quote as a flavor text for a weapon and/or piece of armor, what would they be: "Hold the line in yer sights. Snipe 'em by surprise. Leave before they know yer there."

If your Guardian has had any interactions with any civilians (The Last City/The Farm), Eliksni, Cabal, Vex, Hive, Taken, Scorn, Rouge Lightbearers, or Iron Lords/War Lords(if your Guardian is an Old Light) tell us about it!: Anthem gets along well with the Eliksni. He spends a lot of time gambling on the Tangled Shore during his free time, and is well-known by Spider, whether for better or worse. Anthem appreciates the Eliksni, and they get along mutually.

Does your Guardian have any unconventional allies or connections(By Vanguard standards): The Spider's forces. Anthem was sort of drawn in against his will for his poker face and gambling skills, but the alliance between himself and the Shore's kingpin is mutually beneficial for both of them.

How does your Guardian feel about themselves or others using Stasis: Anthem believes Stasis can be useful if the person themselves is trustworthy with it. He's aware some Guardians would certainly abuse it, and thus, Stasis must be trained with and used cautiously. But as for himself, Anthem would prefer to only use it in a pinch.

Did they run The Last Wish raid? How did they react to seeing a live Ahamkara a.k.a Riven: N/A

Did they run The Deep Stone Crypt raid? How did they react to the Crypt and seeing Exo Eliskni: N/A

Is your Guardian from D1? How did they react to seeing Taniks alive once again: Anthem isn't from D1, but he's annoyed to see Taniks alive AGAIN. He's not sure what to do about this guy. He's more immortal than the Exo himself. There's no escaping Tankis, and the best bet is to run until he catches up with Anthem again.

Where did they go and what did they do during The Red War: Anthem fought as best he could, but mostly provided assistance to Magnus, the hero, however possible. Anthem also helped evacuate citizens and Guardians to safety, acted as a lookout for Cabal who were on Ghaul's side, and relayed information day and night.

Here are some characters that are either polarizing or have created a strong enough mass emotion within the community. What opinion does your Guardian hold on each of them(These are only a handful of characters!)>>>

Osiris, First Warlock Vanguard, originally exiled: Anthem thinks Osiris is arrogant and needs to step down from his podium. He slowly is doing this, however, and Anthem is glad to see that change.

Eris Morn, Bane of the Swarm: Anthem pities her, but will never show that. He knows Eris doesn't need nor want pity. She's strong, independent, and capable. He admires her persistence, and is inspired to continue himself by this.

Cayde-6, Sixth Hunter Vanguard: Anthem sees Cayde as a child who needs rearing sometimes. He trusts Cayde to grow on his own, won't interfere unless that's absolutely necessary, but he still tries to make sure Cayde just doesn't ruin his life for something stupid. Anthem cares about him deeply.

Ikora Rey, Second Warlock Vanguard: She's a cherished friend to Anthem, someone he trusts wholeheartedly and can confide in, so he does. She responds the same way to him.

Commander Zavala, Second Titan Vanguard: An authority figure, but not HIS authority figure. Anthem is above the law. This man doesn't control him. But nonetheless, Anthem does what he can to assure he remains in Zavala's good graces.

Saint-14, legendary Titan, First Titan Vanguard: Anthem respects him deeply, admires him, aspires to be even a fraction as amazing as Saint. He hasn't told Saint this, but with how he acts around the Titan, it's quite obvious.

Lord Saladin, Iron Banner handler, One of the last remaining Iron Lords: Anthem will participate in his games, but he doesn't trust Saladin. Not at all.

Lord Shaxx, Crucible handler, Hero of Twilight Gap, living megaphone: An admirable man who Anthem also looks up to. Anthem wants to be as self-confident as Shaxx.

The Crow, New Light, Ex-Enforcer to The Spider: Anthem's son, his everything, his precious boy. Anthem rescued Crow from The Last City streets, and began raising him as a Hunter. He views the young Guardian as his son, and himself as his father. Crow sees the same relationship, and both care deeply beyond measure about one another.

The Spider, The Shore’s Only Law, founder of “House” Spider: An ally to Anthem, though reluctantly. Both know not to cross one another, and both fear what'll happen if one does this. But they are on mutual terms. Thus, there isn't much to fear except a deal gone wrong by either man.

Uldren Sov, Prince of the Reef, Master of Crows: A cursed and corrupted man who had the Darkness presiding over him. Anthem didn't trust Uldren, he wouldn't, but he wanted to save him so bad. He's happy the Light did instead where he couldn't.

Mara Sov, Queen of the Reef, Queen of the Awoken, Ex-Kell of Wolves: Fuck no. She is the reason Uldren was corrupted and wound up in the Prison of Elders. Mara screwed over her people for her own selfish reasons, and Anthem has absolutely no respect for her whatsoever. Never will.

Variks, the Loyal, founder of House Judgement: Another ancient man who has gone through too much. Anthem sees him as a wise leader, and seeks to learn from Variks.

Mithrax, the Forsaken, Kell of Light, founder of House Light: Boyfriend, lover, everything amazing. Crow brought Anthem and Mithrax together over their love for him. Mithrax is the world to Anthem.

The Exo Stranger/Elizabeth “Elsie” Bray, Granddaughter of Clovis I and Sister to Ana Bray: A trusted ally, and someone Anthem can and does put his trust in wholeheartedly. He believes her cause is just, and will help her with it.

Eramis, of House Salvation, Kell of Darkness: She can stay a frozen husk and shatter for all he cares.

Empress Caiatl of the Cabal Imperial Empire: Can be trusted, but Anthem is still a little wary of her to be honest.

Taniks the Scarred, the Perfected, the Abomination, the Shadow Thief: Kill! Him! Get! Him! Away!!!!

The Darkness is fast approaching. How is your Guardian handling it: Anthem is bracing himself mentally for it. He's not sure how it'll affect him, but if his duty is to protect humankind, he'll face the Darkness head on regardless, for everyone else's sake.

And finally, does your Guardian have any advice for any New Lights: "Stay with the Light. Once you master it, you can face the Darkness. But ONLY then."

[zmediaoutlet]

in support of Black Lives Matter, @azothel donated $50, and requested ‘jealous Sam with implied Dean/John.’ Thank you for donating!

to get your own personalized fic, please see this post. (no longer taking prompts)

Summer in Arizona. Sam thinks it might actually be hell. He’s laying spread eagle on his bed, stripped down to t-shirt and boxers, and this absolute dump of a motel only has an evaporative cooler and so the whole place smells like wet dust. He’s got his eyes closed, concentrated on not moving, and if he doesn’t move then he can pretend like it’s damp instead of sticky--cool, instead of muggy--but unfortunately it doesn’t stop his ears from working, because Dean’s on the phone with Dad. Again.

“Yessir,” Dean says, quiet. Corded phone up near the door and he’s got it pulled all the way over by the mini-fridge. Like if he’s far enough away somehow Sam won’t notice. “Yeah, we got it taken care of. When do you think you’ll--”

Be back, cut off. That’s what Dean always wants--Dad, back, the three of them faking at happy families. Sam opens his eyes and looks at the ceiling fan, slow its only speed. They aren’t exactly a Norman Rockwell painting. Sam doesn’t know why Dean pretends otherwise.

“Yeah,” Dean says, soft, and it’s nasty the way Sam’s gut immediately takes a downward turn. He draws up on his elbows, looking past the screen into the tiny kitchenette. Dean, leaning against the wall with his shoulders hunched in, the cord tangled in his fingers. Chick from a movie talking to her crush, Sam thinks, and his second thought is--worse. “Yeah, Dad. See you.”

He hangs up and sighs. When he turns around he’s surprised for some reason, seeing Sam watching him. “Dad’s gonna be another week,” Dean says, and wipes his forehead with the back of his arm. He’s still wearing jeans, and that Ozzy tour t-shirt they found at the thrift mart. Overdressed, to Sam’s mind. Dean flaps his shirt, his white belly showing. “How do people live here. It’s so frickin’ hot, man.”

“Yeah,” Sam says, sounding braindead. How do they live.

They weren’t supposed to be here. California, Dad had promised, and Dean lit up with talking about going to the beach, cool breezes and girls in bikinis. Of course, when they stalled out here with five hundred miles to go, because Dad caught wind of weird deaths in the Chiricahua Mountains, Dean didn’t complain a peep. He went out with Dad one night--left Sam alone, in this same dumpy motel, to stew and worry--and then he came back by himself the next morning, fretful but loyal. Told Sam, Dad’s got it covered, don’t worry. Like that was what Sam was worried about. Dean had a bruise, on his shoulder, when he came back. Sam laid awake, wondering--knowing. Knowing. He’s always known.

The motel has a pool, if you can call it that. A crappy small kidney bean with no shade, carved out of bleached-white kool deck. It gets locked up at night but they figured out pretty quick that the motel manager’s a drunk and doesn’t give a damn what they do, and so it’s something to occupy them at night--a padlock Sam could’ve picked when he was nine, a six pack of beer they share because Dean can actually get it legally, now. “Not as fun that way,” Dean says, shrugging. Sam rolls his eyes and shoves water at his face, which makes Dean splutter predictable as ever--which makes him dive for Sam, predictable as ever--which means they wrestle, trying to dunk each other, and Sam’s got new height but Dean’s got more experience, and Sam wants to win but--but Dean’s skin is slick-silk, even in the over-chlorinated water, and he’s warm and weightless, and whoever wins Sam’s held right up close against his body and has Dean laughing and right here, right here, with him and nowhere else.

Nobody comes out this way. Not this time of year. There’s a tired hispanic family that checks in, one night, and they have a pretty daughter maybe Sam’s age--who smiles at Dean, shy but interested, and Dean grins at her, blows her a kiss, until her dad sees and she gets berated in a quiet barrage of Spanish. “Dude, I am an international man of mystery,” Dean says, and Sam rolls his eyes and says, “Okay, Austin Powers,” and that was--shit, a mistake, because he knows that instantly Dean’s going to do his terrible Mike Myers impression--but then the phone rings in their room, and Dean’s face changes instantly, and he disappears inside while Sam bangs his head back against the stucco. He doesn’t need to hear to know Dean’s saying, obedient, yessir. Sam looks out at the fire-colored sunset and wonders, bitter, if Dean’s dick gets hard every time he does.

Sick. Not that Sam has room to throw stones. When they finally drag themselves out of the pool--one a.m., four beers under Dean’s belt and two under Sam’s--half the time Dean’ll just change right there, in the kitchenette on, making a puddle on the linoleum. “Dude,” Sam will always say, throwing up hands like it’s gross--because he knows he’s supposed to find it gross--and Dean always says, “Like you don’t love it,” smug. They hardly go out in the day, too damn hot, and so he’s pale, pale, everywhere, his back and the pretty curve of his ass and his legs, bowed out at the knee where Sam knows he’d fit, where he’d slide his hips between them and it’d feel--right. Cowboy legs, Dad called ‘em once, kind of drunk, and Dean had immediately darted a look at Sam and his ears had gone bright red--and Sam had looked away, thinking, yeah. Made for riding.

Seriously, sick. Sicker that he bets he wasn’t the only one in the room having that thought. Sicker, that when Dean tugs up dry boxers and turns around, Sam doesn’t look away fast enough, and Dean sees him and his face does--some strange thing, something Sam doesn’t know how to interpret. His amulet swings in the middle of his pale chest and Sam wants to get up, grab him by it, pull him in. Ask him--why not Sam? Why, if it was going to be anyone--

“Dude, earth to Samuel,” Dean says, and Sam blinks and refocuses. Dean frowns at him, kinda smiling-kinda not. “You gonna sleep in your wet trunks? Get a move on, weirdo.”

“You’re weird,” Sam says, automatic and dumb, and Dean rolls his eyes, throws himself back onto his own bed. Sam looks at him--his knees, spread--his nipples getting hard in the damp cool air--and then looks away. He has to, because if he doesn’t then he has to do something, and he just doesn’t know what to do.

Dad swings by--middle of the night, the next night. Sam’s asleep until the door opens, and then his eyes slam open at the wall away from the door, listening to the low conversation happening behind his back. Everything okay? Yeah, kiddo. Just needed a resupply. Salt and a few other things. Gotta head back into the mountains but I think I’ve about got it cleaned out. Can I help? No--this is a stealth mission, can’t risk it. I’m just taking a shower before I head out. Wanted to stop by and make sure you boys were okay. We’re okay, Dad. Do you...

The bathroom door closes, very quietly. Sam breathes, twice, and sits up, and the room’s empty. He looks at the bathroom door, and the water rushes on, and he can’t hear talking--it’s not Dean sitting on the toilet giving a debrief while Dad cleans up blood and guts, not like they’ve done before--and it takes Sam a minute to realize that he’s chubbing up, his mouth dry because he’s just staring at the pale pink paintjob, and he’s imagining--cowboy legs. Fuck.

They don’t try to wake Sam up, before Dad leaves. The room door closes and Dean fixes up the locks again, and when Sam turns over he’s got his forehead pressed against the paint, his hair still wet and his boxers barely tugged on, and Sam--jesus, how’s he supposed to take it? There’s an engine sound--the peel-out of tires on gravel. Dad’s gone, again. “Good visit?” Sam says, and Dean jumps, looks at Sam over his shoulder.

“Shit, dude, nearly gave me a heart attack,” Dean says. Frowns, after a second. “You woke up?”

“I’ve been here the whole time, Dean,” Sam says, and Dean’s frown gets deeper before his eyes go wide. It’d be kind of funny if Sam weren’t pissed. “Like--I’m not deaf, you know?”

Dean doesn’t say anything. Sam gets up, crosses the room, and Dean doesn’t say anything still until Sam’s right in front of him--both of them in their bare feet and Sam’s got half an inch on him, even if he’s still trying to get the muscle--and Dean says finally, “Sammy, what--” but it’s a little late because Sam’s got his hands on Dean’s arms--damp, warm--and presses him back, against the door.

This close, Sam can see a red mark--a circle, on Dean’s shoulder where normally it’d be covered by a t-shirt--and he thinks, sudden sick certainty, that soon it’ll turn into a bruise. “You let him,” Sam says, and Dean looks--actually panicked. Sam squeezes his arms, rocks him a little against the door. “You let him.”

He does. Eager, like a puppy thrilled that its master came home. Dean stares back and forth between Sam’s eyes, mouth half-open waiting for an excuse to come--but there’s no excuse, they both know it, because Sam’s not deaf and he’s not blind and Dean was just in the shower, too, and there’s a mark on his shoulder, and Sam leans forward in raw stupid hope and kisses Dean. Clumsy--too much force, and their teeth clack--but he pushes in, pins their hips together, holds Dean tight, and realigns their mouths right and licks in. Dean breathes shock, doesn’t participate, and Sam tastes inside--beer, but--whiskey, too--and they haven’t had whiskey, not for weeks, and that means--that means--

Dean flinches--licks at him, too--gets his hands up and pushes at Sam’s ribs and breaks their mouths apart. Sam pants at him, an inch away. Dean’s eyes are bright, wide, his lips wet. “Sammy, what are you doing?” he says, like that’s not fucking obvious.

Sam licks his lips, tastes that phantom flavor. He lets Dean’s arms go and slides down his sides, to his hips, and presses forward until his knee’s between Dean’s knees--that open space. Space that’s maybe already been filled tonight, and the thought makes Sam’s gut lurch. Sloppy seconds. “You gonna let me, too?” he says. Dean’s hand splays against his stomach, holding, while his face goes slowly and deeply red. Sam ducks in, kisses his mouth soft and brief. Dean inhales sharp and his face, when Sam pulls back again, looks somehow dazed. Like soft isn’t what he expected. “We’re supposed to take care of each other. You and me.”

“Sam,” Dean says, rougher, and Sam cups his face in both hands and kisses him, soft, and again, and on the third Dean makes a weird small noise and holds Sam’s waist, fingers digging in, clutching and desperate. Yes, Sam thinks, groaning--yes, Dean touching him--yes, he thinks, at the car driving off into the night--because he’s Dean’s but Dean is his, and maybe with this, finally, he won’t be anyone else’s.

[writerofshit]

Secret Santa:X

(This is half headcanon, half fic, all fun times and emotions)

(Shoutout to the Penthouse discord server for help on some of the gifts, would have been lost without you)

The last Christmas they have in the penthouse, Ryan brings up Secret Santa again. It’s partly a joke, partly a nod to the nostalgia that’s been eating at all of them the last few months. He brings it up when they’re all gathered in the living room, watching Gavin try and prove his stealth abilities in Hitman.

(“Just because you can be stealthy in a video game doesn’t mean I’m letting you come with me.” Jack had said at the beginning of it all.

“If I get silent assassin you have to take me!”

“This is your fourth run through!”)

Anyhow, Ryan brings it up, all nonchalant. “Remember that year we did Secret Santa?”

“No?” Jeremy says honestly.

“Before your time.” Michael says with a smile, patting him on the head.

“It was fun. We should do it again.”

(”Goddamnit!” On screen, Gavin dies again.)

The next day they have a meeting of all the ‘movers and shakers’, as Geoff has taken to calling them. He announces that Secret Santa is yet again a thing, and no, Matt, you can’t get out of it. There’s no budget, because they all have access to more money than they know what to do with.

They throw eleven names in a hat and go from there. Geoff calls first pick because he’s an asshole like that, and his choice picks next, so on and so forth.

 “Just get your shit done by Christmas, and we’ll do it then.”

--

Geoff pulls Gavin, and only panics a little.

The kid has everything he could ever want, what’s he really supposed to do? He considers what he might need, ends up crossing ‘bulletproof vest and a helmet’ off the list because it feels a little impersonal. He could do liquor of some sort, but he suspects there will be enough of that floating around on Christmas day.

He considers a camera, knows Gavin is into that kind of shit, but he’s lost a lot of knowledge in that department over the years. The only person who knows enough is Gavin himself, and that kind of defeats the point.

He ends up going for a new pair of gold shades, because the old ones are pretty worn out after six-plus years, and he’s almost positive Gavin has lost them. (Probably in Ryan’s room, but that’s neither here nor there) He gets a pair that have diamonds along the arms, and even though they’re ridiculously expensive he thinks it’s worth it.

Gavin adores them, has them on within 30 seconds of unwrapping them. He pokes himself in the eye, and that feels like a bonus to Geoff.

--

Gavin pulls Trevor, and while he plays it off at first “Oh, this will be easy, I got this person for sure!” he absolutely has no idea what to do.

 There’s a weird bit of time where he tries to get to know Trevor better. He learns absolutely nothing new, despite following the guy for almost a week.

There’s a night he lays in bed with Ryan, bitching about this whole thing. “What the hell do I do? This was terrible for me last time, why would you suggest this?”

He ends up calling Barbara from the Roosters to try and figure out something, who promptly makes fun of him for not knowing anything about the guy he’s worked with for years. She does give one bit of new information, so he goes with it.

He gives Trevor tickets to the next Motocross event, because it’s apparently something he’s into. He throws in a NASA t-shirt as a joke, a nod to the world Trevor left behind.

Both items go over well, Trevor immediately pulling the shirt on over what he’s already wearing. He won’t shut up about Motocross for the rest of the day, either.

--

Trevor pulls Ryan, which he’s immediately terrified of.

 He knows Ryan well enough to know that there won’t be any serious repercussions if he fucks it up, he won’t get gutted over a poor gift choice. But he also knows he’ll get that weird stare Ryan does when he’s pretending to consider whether or not to hurt someone. Plus he won’t live it down from the rest of the crew.

At first he goes to Gavin for help, because apparently nobody is taking the ‘secret’ part seriously. Gavin absolutely refuses to help him, mostly for the laughs. He knows Gavin’s getting a kick out of watching him squirm over this, which is so unfair. Then he asks Jack for help, who just shrugs. 

“You’re a smart guy, Trevor, you’ll figure something out.”

He does, sort of. He gives Ryan a 24 pack of diet coke (because what else?) and an actually beautiful rainbow knife. It seems pretty heavy duty, and he knows its right up his alley. He also throws in some earplugs as a joke.

 “So you can tune out Gav’s idiocy whenever you need.”

“Come on, Trevor. I’ve had years of practice at that. The knife is gorgeous though.”

--

Ryan pulls Alfredo, and he’s not too worried about it.

Alfredo’s their go-to sniper these days, and a new sniper rifle seems pretty obvious. Maybe a gift card to Ammunation or something? It does feel a little lackluster, even to him, so he brings it up to Gavin one night, while Gav is still debating t-shirts from Amazon.

“That’s a bit boring, isn’t it?”

“You’re buying a NASA shirt for an ex-aerospace engineer. I’m gonna need you to rethink your stance on this one.”

“Nah. You gotta do something better for Fredo, he deserves it.”

Which. alright, then what the fuck is he supposed to do? He gets his answer the next week when he sees Alfredo on a motorcycle for the first time.

“I’m going to teach you how to actually ride that thing.” Which is good, a chance to catch up and hang out. Bad, because Ryan’s method of teaching is ‘learn by doing’ and does in fact result in shouting.

Ryan still gives him the sniper rifle, which he is far more excited about.

--

Alfredo pulls Fiona, and it’s the first time he marginally regrets joining the crew.

He’s got no fucking idea what she’d like, what gift she’d appreciate and not hit him over. He tries to be casual about asking around, hoping someone might have better insight. The rest of the crew catches on immediately, and they flood him with false information.

“She loves chocolate. Favorite Halloween candy, in fact!” Michael tells him, but the grin he has says otherwise.

“She mentioned something about wanting to learn a new language.” Jack says seriously.

“Get her an English to French dictionary, she’ll love it.” Gavin tacks on.

“French, yep. She definitely wants to learn that one.”

Lindsay is the only one who actually helps him. “She’s been known to enjoy a drink or two.”

By sheer luck he happens to walk into one of the thousand arguments Fiona has with Michael over the whole ‘Halloween candy’ debacle, and he knows immediately that's a bad route to go down.

He ends up making a gift basket full of liquor mini’s and various candies. He makes sure not to include any chocolates, and throws some extra blowpops in, just to be safe.

Thankfully, she does appreciate the thought he put in, and she says she’ll only share with Alfredo since everyone else is an asshole.

--

Fiona pulls Lindsay, and it’s not hard to figure out what she’ll like.

 She considers something chaotic, the two of them wreaking havoc on the city together. It makes sense. She also thinks about organizing a ‘girls day’, getting all the ladies of the crew together to go out and fuck some shit up. There’s a lot of logistics involved in that one, including convincing some of them to be out in the field like that.

It crosses her mind to bring Lindsay to a shelter to play with cats, because if there’s one thing Lindsay likes more than chaos, it’s cats. That’s also a bit of a logistical nightmare, not to mention the strength it would take to pry her away.

In the end she goes with cat merch. It’s a basket full of goodies, including a mug with a cat holding a bi-pride flag, a dress with various cartoon cats on it, and a cat necklace that has her birthstone as the body.

It’s beautiful, and Lindsay just about cries. She too, immediately changes into her new clothing, and she drinks everything out of the mug for at least a month.

--

Lindsay pulls Matt, and at first she panics.

She knows him fairly well, but like... He’s a real weirdo, what’s she supposed to do with that? She wonders what games he could use, if there’s anything he hasn’t bought himself.

Her confusion lasts until she mentions it to Michael. (Only after he let it slip who he’d picked.)

“Are you fucking kidding me? Matt’s the easiest goddamn one!”

“Bullshit! Name one thing you know about M.att B.ragg!”

“He eats like shit! Give him a box of donuts and he’ll lose his fuckin mind.”

Her response of  “Oh my god.” is barely heard.

She spends a week trying out different recipes, much to Ryan’s delight. He’s happy to play taste-tester while she finds the perfect flavor combination.

She winds up going with a double chocolate espresso concoction. Matt is, of course, super stoked about his cupcakes, and damn near has to fight Ryan off to protect them.

--

Matt pulls Jeremy, which is pretty much a slam dunk.

Whiskey is the obvious choice, one he’ll absolutely go with, thank you very much. Who said taking the easy way out never got you anywhere?

And it would have, if it weren’t for Geoff.

There’s a debate that happens about a week before Christmas, something about the necessity of going to the liquor store. Michael and Jeremy are firmly pro-trip, and Geoff just wants them to “stay home and do some goddamn work. Besides, it’s not like half of you guys aren’t buying each other liquor anyway. In a week I’m sure we’ll be fully stocked.”

Which, alright. Fuck Matt then, huh? He’d genuinely thought it was a good idea, a mix of thoughtful and practical.

He decides to pair the whiskey with- well, it’s kind of a joke gift, but at least he won’t be accused of only buying liquor.

He commissions a customized cowboy hat. Half purple half orange, split right down the middle. There’s a neon yellow buckle on it, and it’s the ugliest thing Matt has ever seen in his life.

Jeremy loves it though, thinks it’s goddamn perfect. He wears it for the rest of the day, and for the next heist.

(Michael is less enthused.)

--

Jeremy pulls Michael, and that-

That’s harder than it should be.

He and Michael have been doing this... Whatever the fuck it is for over six months now, and they haven’t goddamn talked about. Not really. They’ve had moments,sure, here and there when they’re both drunk and thinking far too much about it. Reminding each other that they’re happy, that this is a good time, wouldn’t change it for the world-

But there’s still nights they sleep alone and they don’t talk about why. They still don’t really mention it to anyone else, even if they all know. Jeremy still doesn’t know how to answer when someone asks what the deal is with him and Michael.

So it’s hard, right, to come up with a relationship- appropriate gift. Too jokey and he’ll feel bad. Too serious isn’t their style at all. Plus like… how’s he supposed to do that in front of everybody? Just because they know there’s something there doesn’t mean they need to put on a show.

He settles on the obvious, nice bottle of tequila and a couple of shot glasses. It’s not exactly personal, but it’s good enough to show the room.

Later, in a quiet moment they can steal away, Jeremy offers to take him out the next night.

“We’ll do the bar thing, just you and me. My treat.”

“Oh yeah? You’re buying my drinks all night?” Michael asks him with a sly grin.

“I uh- I’ll get your drinks for as long as you’ll have me.” and it doesn’t come out exactly right, but they both know what he means by it.

Earns him a smile and a sweet kiss, and that alone is worth it.

--

Michael pulls Jack, and he runs through a few options.

He considers buying her furniture, because he knows she'll need it when they all finally do move out. But Jack has a good head on her shoulders and probably already has that shit on lock.

He looks into custom shelving, for all the knick knacks she's collected over the years. He could get it designed in colors she'd like and shell out extra for lighting and all that shit. But she doesn't have a new place yet, as far as he knows, so that's kind of a bust.

He could give her what amounts to a gift certificate, an offer to pay for whatever she wants made, but that seems kind of… Empty?

There's the age old alcohol gift, but that's been done before, and is probably being done by almost everyone else.

He mentions to Lindsay how weirdly difficult it is to buy something for Jack, get’s zero advice but somehow helps her figure out the whole Matt mystery.

In the end he decides to help her out and piss her off, a little bit of a win-win kinda thing. He buys her a couple of new shirts, bold and flowery and almost as bad as Jeremy’s Rimmy Tim shtick. He hates them but he knows she loves them, so it’s worth it.

He tells her it’s because her old shirts gotta be falling out of fashion, an opinion she is not happy about.

But it’s fine, because he also gets her tickets to fucking Disney World, of all places. He even offers to go with her, which she absolutely takes him up on.

It’s more fun than he expects, and it’s a really good chance to actually spend some time with her. He hadn’t realized it had been so long.

--

Jack pulls Geoff, which.

It’s no secret that Geoff is a sentimental bastard when it comes to the crew. It’s exactly why he’d spent months talking to her about the possibility of selling the penthouse, trying to figure out exactly how everyone would react, trying to figure out how he would react to not having them all so close anymore. She spent countless nights listening to him wonder what it meant that he wanted his own space.

Objectively, he was probably a bad person but his love and fierce loyalty to the crew made up for that, in some ways, right? So how can he kick them out, how can he do this to them, he’s being selfish-

And she had just explained to him that he had to do what was right for him. That it was understandable. That he was right, they could all use the opportunity to be a little more independent. She was looking forward to having her own space, and in time the rest of them would too.

So when she pulls Geoff’s name, she knows she’s gotta lean into that a bit. She could get him some books, some puzzles maybe. He’d mentioned off-hand that he missed having the space for them, because the kitchen table was always covered in some sort of crew shenanigans.

She does get him those, because she knows they’ll get some use.

But the big thing is the collage.

She’s had pictures of the crew on her phone for years, dating all the way back to her and Geoff in a shitty apartment. She’s got some of Ray, curled up on the couch with a DS in his hand. Gavin and Michael wrestling one drunken night. Ryan, nodded off on the couch after a heist, face paint still on and a complete mess. Jeremy trying to teach Matt something resembling self-defense. Lindsay cuddling a stray cat she had taken in. Trevor and Alfredo in matching clothes, playing up the ‘twin’ joke that had been going around. Fiona in that bright yellow suit, modeling for her Instagram.

There’s one she gets at the last minute, gets somebody from the support team to take right before their latest heist. It’s all eleven of them, full heist get-up, masks and obnoxious fashion choices and guns tucked here and there. They’re in the boardroom, running through it one more time before they take off, and in retrospect, it’s probably the last time they’ll do that in that room.

She sets that one in the middle, surrounded by all of these moments from the last 12 years.

“For your new place, when you find it.” Jack says.

It’s beautiful, and it makes Geoff cry. It brings some sniffles from a lot of them, even if they all deny it.

Leaving the penthouse isn’t the easiest thing for any of them, but it’s the right move. After all, they’re still a family.

[ithinkilikeit-reactions]

2019 favorite songs (Female version)

A/N: This is all my personal opinions and these are the songs that stood out to me this year and are the most memorable for me. Also this post will be long

Top 10 for those who don’t want to see the rest

1. Deja Vu - Dreamcatcher

2. No - CLC

3. Piri - Dreamcatcher

4. Bon Bon Chocolat - Everglow

5. Me & You - EXID

6. Goblin - Sulli

7. Adios - Everglow

8. Feel Special - Twice

9. Spark - Taeyeon

10. Flower Shower - Hyuna

January

“Gotta Go” - Chungha

Is this a song list without this song? No. Chung Ha really reached iconic levels with this one. I also know the full choreo, it’s simple but still very intricate and beautiful. Nice one Chungha. 

“No” - CLC

Definitely in the top 10. I love No with my whole chest. CLC have been in my top girl groups for a long time and this song is everything. My mom even knows the lyrics for how much I play it. I also love the album. 

February

“Piri” - Dreamcatcher 

This song really put Dreamcatcher more on the map for me. I always liked them but this one sparked my interest more. Another in my top 10. Should have been their first win. 

“Senorita” - (G)i-dle

First (G)i-dle song I really love. I know a lot of people don’t like it but I have had the chorus stuck in my head multiple times and the “vu vu vu vuvu vu vu vuvu” part is great to annoy your friends with.

“Dalla Dalla” - Itzy 

An iconic debut, but not my favorite of this year. Dalla Dalla is incredibly iconic and my non kpop listening friends like it. 

March

“Spring” - Bom 

The queen’s return. She’s beautiful, she’s stunning, she’s spring and she’s back. Park Bom is a beautiful strong woman and we love her in this household. 

“Bon Bon Chocolat” - Everglow

MY FAVORITE FEMALE DEBUT THIS YEAR. I LOVE EVERGLOW AND STILL BOP TO THIS DAILY. One of my favorite choreographies and I love it. Top 10 for sure. 

“Woowa” - DIA

I hated this song at first lmao. But now I love it. The choreo is so fun and the beat makes me want to jump around. One of my shower songs. 

April 

“Violeta” - Iz*one

Amazing video, choreo and song. I hope Iz*one return fast and stronger than ever. I miss Nako. 

“Kill this love” - Blackpink

Another song I didn’t like at first. But it fastly grew on me. I love Lisa and Jennie’s part after the first chorus. Also the styling in the main dance scene is *chef’s kiss* 

“Fancy” - Twice 

My grandma likes this song and so do I therefore, on the list. Fancy is iconic and the girls of Twice seem to constantly be outdoing themselves. 

May

“The fifth season” - Oh My Girl

Oh My Girl are just made of magic aren’t they? This song is so sweet and beautiful omg. Like Seunghee’s vocals are mesmerizing and stunning. 

“Picky Picky” - Weki Meki 

This song is so much fun! I love the mv aesthetic and the song is just a total bop. The choreo is fun and all the girls of Weki Meki are so talented and beautiful. 

“Me & You” - EXID

EXID are queens, I love them so much and the news of Hani and Jeonghwa leaving the company made my heart drop out of my ass. But they are still in EXID and that’s a relief and I was worried for a sec. But this song is fun, the choreo is fun and the album is amazing. I love EXID. Top 10. 

“Thinkin’ bout you” - Katie

No gif for the song sadly

But Katie has such a soothing voice and I really like this song and the aesthetic. 

“No One (Ft. B.I)” - Lee Hi

The song before the shit hit the fan so to speak. I love this song more than anything. I think it’s nice to hear Lee Hi’s voice like this. 

June

“Fun!” - Fromis_9 

FUN. Look this song can be annoying if you aren’t in the mood but it’s also so FUN. Anyways Fromis_9 are rookies to look out for. I adore them. 

“Snapping.” - Chung Ha

Snapping is also iconic and I love this song so much. Chungha is so stunning and beautiful. Also choreo queen. 

“Goblin” - Sulli 

This song produced one of my favorite lyrics. “Don’t be afraid. I just want to tell you hi.” I’m going to be honest, I am not a big f(x) stan and didn’t really know Sulli before this song. But I really loved this song when I saw it for the first time. Rest well beautiful peach ♥ Top 10

July

“Icy” - Itzy 

HEY hey HEY.... YAaaaa. Icy is so much fun and I love the choreo. All I have to say. 

August

“Adios” - Everglow

Another one of the top 10. Have I mentioned I love Everglow? This song is so intense and I love the choreography. Everglow are choreography queens. 

September

“Workaholic” - Bolbbalgan4

Workaholic is such a relatable song. I like this song  alot and the mv is hysterical and also relatable. I really like Bol4 ♥

“Deja Vu” - Dreamcatcher

I have raved about this song. I ordered the Dreamcatcher album for this. I love it with everything in me. The story and the song I- why haven’t Dreamcatcher won an award. Top 10 and maybe #1. 

“Feel Special” - Twice 

A song that I can bop to and cry to, my favorite type of song. Twice have become one of my favorite girl groups of all time this year and I have a deep admiration for them, especially knowing the shit they go through. Top 10

October

“Re_Vive.”- Brown Eyed Girls

Heck yes, I know this just a a revival album. But it’s so good. The mv’s and the songs are amazing, the vocals and rap are god tier. 

“Spark” - Taeyeon 

Another one for the top 10. I adore Taeyeon and this song is beautiful and the album is amazing. Taeyeon is amazing and such a strong woman. 

November

“Flower Shower” - Hyuna 

I missed Hyuna so much. It’s so refreshing to me to see Hyuna like this. her true self. She looks so happy and beautiful and I love it. top 10. 

“Dumb” - Bvndit

I wasn’t really impressed by this song at first and now I love it? It’s so fun and definitely a mood. 

“Hip” - Mamamoo

I’m gonna be honest. This is my least favorite Mamamoo song. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Mamamoo bring the flavor and are so insanely talented. None of their songs are bad. 

“Come see me” - AOA

Yeehaw cowboys and cowgirls. AOA made the comeback we all needed and they are better than ever. I was worried because of the missing members but that was no reason but they proved to be still superior. 

December

“Psycho” - Red Velvet

I have one question, WHAT THE HELL WERE ZIMZALABIM AND UMPAH UMPA WHEN THEY HAD THIS UP THEIR SLEEVE. I really like Red Velvet and the last 2 comebacks had been thoroughly disappointing in my opinion (my opinion isn’t law, don’t get offended) Psycho is so good, it’s amazing I adore it. 

[goldenworldsabound]

Philly’s playlist has 25 songs in it because I love him! Every day is an exercise in not adding more LHFEHJ

Some explanations under the cut!

Control ft Nick Nikon

The theme of the song is working through difficulty and being stronger than it, in a way, and it's got good vibes and feels very Philly. Like each challenge just makes me strong fuck you vibes. "No peace without violence" speaks to me as a lyric here because Philly wants peace to a degree but he has to kill a lot of people to get there due to having a huge bounty on his head (which he sort of deserves but you know).

Regardless (from Cannon Busters)

It's the end credits. It's also got fairly applicable lyrics. Self explanatory, However,

Even though, we been down this road

And I know it's far from flawless

You'll be comin' home regardless

Relationships take work and ours is no exception. Sort of reference to the time we spent apart and how we always come back together, after anything that separates us.

Weapon

This song makes me feel VERY STRONG and like we're kicking ass together. We're both really fucking dangerous.

When they say I'm a machine gun

I take it as a compliment

Honey, you should know

I can be your weapon

It kinda fits either of us honestly, we're both really protective and will do anything to protect the other person

Help I'm Alive

This songs seems both ironic and appropriate for immortals. Really like all of these lyrics are applicable for the idea of like, we're alive, our hearts won't stop beating because we can't die, but if we're together it's okay you know? But there's also a freneticness to be alive.

If you're still alive

My regrets are few

If my life is mine

What shouldn't I do?

I get wherever I'm going

I get whatever I need

While my blood's still flowing

And my heart's still beating like a hammer

Beating like a hammer

Patience Gets Us Nowhere Fast

To me this song speaks to how Philly especially feels when he meets me and his world starts to change. Life feels a bit more worth living. "Even the sunlight doesn't feel this good." There's a lot of like, let's be together, let's take a chance, let's do it! And it kinda speaks to the way we're both hesitant but really want this love thing.

I want it all and nothing less

I want it all, I want the best for us

I'm telling you to trust

The world you see is on our side

Take a chance and take a ride with me

From sea to shining sea

Like it's just so soft and sweet and it feels like Philly's inner monologue to me ;w;

Trampoline (with ZAYN)

This song just feels super Philly to me. I've talked about it before but this song is angst material. It's just. Big oof but also perfect. It's not really about our relationship but just about him.

Wait if I'm on fire

How am I so deep in love?

When I dream of dying

I never feel so loved

The idea that he dreams about dying because he dies all the time. The fact that he likely has trauma over this, and how it must've fucked him up pretty bad. It's just. Hngh.

Regain Control

It's the right time (to rise up to the top)

Prime time (cause we can't get enough)

And fight for (this city that we made)

To take back (the power that you crave)

This song is just like COOL VIBES very fight-y vibes and the lyrics match that. It's really easy to imagine fighting side by side to this song. Additionally it has angst that can kind of reference the time in our relationship where he got me my immortal - that caused me to leave him for a bit as I grappled with it. See the following lyrics: Can't get enough

Of your love

But to save you now, I gotta give it up

Give it up, give it up

Baby Come Back

Sort of a joke song but also it's got the twangy cowboy outlaw vibes to it. Also this line specifically, "She's so cute, and really cool" it's just like, Philly trying to describe me and like he's just struck for words FWEJKFHWJE the rest of the lyrics don't necessarily apply but the vibes are good.

4 Wheels 9 Lives

No lyrics, but this song slaps and it's also just very Cannon Busters vibes. Very cowboy outlaw on the road kinda vibes. Easy to imagine lots of shenanigans with him and I and this plays in the background.

Get Free

This song just screams Philly going absolutely bonkers driving around just doing whatever he wants having a good time but also like an existential crisis HFJWEHFJE classic right. There's not a lot to the lyrics but like, "Drive you around the corner"  and "She never loved (x3) why should anyone?" just feel very Philly to me idk. It's very upbeat song.

Save Me From Myself

This song is a little angsty but it has good vibes. It makes me think of a vulnerable late night chat by the fire out at night. But still covering up the hurt with jokes and other deflections.

Still it's 48 hours without rest

Burning sensation in my chest

Never would admit that I'm depressed

'Cause I was raised to take the bitter with a twist

and also

The pain is real, my laughter is pretend

So I light the matches, ready to forget

There's also a lot in the verses about sparking up the fire and that sort of thing hence the particular imagine. And sort of asking for help and acceptance but continuing to deflect.

Don't Let Me Go

This has very similar vibes to the above. Like being vulnerable with some deflections in place. Also a little sexy.

And it's all about the way you feel

When you first take off your heels,

And then your clothes;

Don't let me go.

And when all has come and made its deal,

And then everything get's real,

And i'm still froze...

Don't let me go.

Vulnerability in two flavors - the physical layers of clothing, and this repeated line throughout the entire song of "don't let me go". His emotional vulnerability. My emotional vulnerability. All the things coming together.

RBB (Really Bad Boy)

...what can I say, he's a really bad boy LKFWEHFJKW. It's fun and it's sexy and that's it that's all I have for you it gives me a lot of images of him smirking and giving me naughty glances and being a flirty lad.

Rescue Me

We really out here rescuing each other all the damn time. It's pretty straightforward.

Would you rescue me? Would you get my back?

Would you take my call when I start to crack?

Would you rescue me? Uh

Would you rescue me?

Would you rescue me when I'm by myself?

When I need your love, if I need your help

Would you rescue me? Uh

Would you rescue me?

Circles

This is very much about like, the circles we run around each other before we get together. We both kind of cycle through like, should I try to make this work? And wanting distance because we can feel we're falling in love but don't know how the other person feels. So we circle that way. I realize that's not exactly what the lyrics are about but the vibe it gives off works for that even though the lyrics aren't an exact match.

Lightspeed (IMLAY remix)

This gives me really big feelings like. It's a very intense song but like it's like man things are fucked up but maybe we can fix it if we work together.

We're moving faster than light while

We're dealing with these demons inside so

Where are the ones who made us now!?

Maybe we got to do better

Maybe we've got to do it together and

Maybe we lost our way somehow

And maybe maybe means never

"Where are the ones who made us now" to me is just like...we were made immortal by sorcerers and magic that seems to have disappeared from the world, but also like...the world that continues to hunt us and has forced us to keep running, you know? and the we've got to do it together is just like ;w; us coming together and working to make life worth living and all...hngh...it touches my heart a lot and also it's a really good song with good energy.

Never Game Over

Ride I'm gonna ride the lightning

Danger feel the danger rising

Never it's never game over

Wild I am a wild eyed thriller

Dragon I'm a dragon killer

Never it's never game over

It is LITERALLY never game over for us cause we keep coming back to life. We always find a way to win against every single bad odd. Also a fucking bop to imagine fight scenes to.

Reckless Tongue

The wording and tone in this just scream Philly.

I've got a reckless tongue

What are you bothering me for

It's gonna look bad on you

I've got a big old gun

What are you laughing at me for

It's gonna look bad on, you

It's also kind of about trying to flirt with a girl but being interrupted and failing and getting frustrated and it very much just...it feels Philly.

Legend

I'm a living legend

You ain't heard yet? You not get the message?

From the moment that I step in it, I get a couple weapons

Yeah, I turn into a beast when I'm repping

Again, just flawless lyrics for Philly being a cocky shit.

Ride It

...this song is just very sexy okay...>///>

People = Shit (Richard Cheese cover)

Okay but like I don't know the original song at all but the loung cover of it IS HILARIOUS to imagine like Philly wandering around a bar starting fights and killing people. Like a musical number! It would be great.

Paralyzer

Well, I'm not paralyzed

But, I seem to be struck by you

I wanna make you move

Because you're standing still

If your body matches

What your eyes can do

You'll probably move right through

Me on my way to you

I really catch him off guard. The lyrics aren't a perfect match, but the way he just is totally struck by me over and over...I can keep of with him, he thinks I'm gorgeous all of that is like lightning to him.

Ain't No Rest For The Wicked

Okay definitely added this at least partially for the aesthetic. Like it just has cowboy outlaw vibes. And of course the lyrics, "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" are extremely pertinent right? It's a bit ironic because the full lyric is, "ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good". Which we never will. So it's the kinda thing we say with a wry smirk before killing someone you know feel?

Trouble

Trouble on my left, trouble on my right

I've been facing trouble almost all my life

My sweet love, won't you pull me through?

Everywhere I look I catch a glimpse of you

I said it was love and I did it for life

Did-did it for you

Hoo boy this is just big Us. Like yeah we're surrounded by trouble nonstop but we get through it with each other!

Black and Gold

This song gives me mega feelings about the time Philly and I spend apart after he gets me turned immortal to save my life.

'Cause if you're not really here

Then the stars don't even matter

Now I'm filled to the top with fear

That it's all just a bunch of matter

'Cause if you're not really here

I don't want to be either

I wanna be next to you

Black and gold, black and gold, black and gold

Like oof just both of feeling like...what's the point in this immortality if we aren't together? But unwilling to reach out because we're afraid. Because that would be a huge step for how bad of terms we left on.

Additionally the song has really big vibes for stargazing which is definitely a thing for us, particularly when we're apart.

[buzzdixonwriter]

Colonialism

You back into things sometimes.

One of my many guilty pleasures is old school pulp, which I first encountered with the Doc Savage reprints in the 1960s, then old anthologies, then back issues at conventions, and now thanks to the Internet, an almost limitless supply.

And to be utterly frankly, a lot of the appeal lays in the campiness of the covers and interior art -- brass plated damsels fighting alien monsters, bare chested heroes combatting insidious hordes, etc., etc., and of course, etc.

Once past age 12, I never took these covers or the covers of modern pulps such as James Bond, Mike Hammer, or Modesty Blaise seriously; they were just good, campy fun.

While my main focus remained on the sci-fi pulps, I also kept an eye on crime and mystery pulps, war stories, and what are sometimes called “sweaties”, i.e., men’s adventure magazines.

Despite the differences in the titles and genres, certain themes seemed to pop up again and again.

Scantily clad ladies, typically in some form of distress, though on occasion dishing out as good if not better than they got.

Well, the pulps that drew my attention were the pups made for a primarily male audience (though even in the 1930s and 40s there were large numbers of female readers and writers in the sci-fi genre).  Small wonder I was drawn to certain types of eye candy; I had been culturally programmed that way.

That’s a topic well worthy of a post or two on its own, so I’m putting gender issues / the patriarchy / the male gaze aside for the moment.

What I’m more interested in focusing on is the second most popular characters to appear on the covers (and in the stories as well).

The Other.

The Other comes in all shapes / sizes / ethnicities.  Tall and short, scrawny and beefy, light or dark, you name it, they’ve got a flavor for you.

“Injuns” and aliens, Mongols and mafiosi, Africans and anarchists.

Whoever they were ”they ain’t us!”

Certain types of stories lend themselves easily to depicting the villainous Other.

Westerns, where irate natives can always be counted on to launch an attack.

War stories, where the hero (with or without an army to help him) battles countless numbers of enemies en masse.

Adventure stories, where the hero intrudes in some other culture and shows them the error of their ways.

Detective stories, where the Other might be a single sinister mastermind but still represents an existentialist threat.

And my beloved sci-fi stories?

Why, we fans told ourselves our stories were better than that!  We didn’t wallow in old world bigotry, demonizing blacks and browns and other non-whites because of their skins.

Oh, no:  We demonized green skinned aliens.

Now I know some of you are sputtering “But-but-but you wrote for GI Joe!”

Boy howdy, are you correct.

And boy howdy, did we ever exploit the Other with that show.

I never got a chance to do it, but I pitched -- and had Hasbro accept -- a story that would have been about the way I envisioned Cobra to have formed and been organized, and would focus on what motivated them.

They were pretty simplistic greedheads in the original series, but I felt the rank and file needed to be fighting for a purpose, something higher to spire to that mere dominance and wealth.

I never got to do “The Most Dangerous Man In The World” but I was trying to break out of the mold. 

For the most part, our stories fit right into the old trope of The Other.

Ours were mostly about the evil Other trying to do something nefarious against our innocent guys, but there’s an obverse narrative other stories follow, in which our guys go inflict themselves on The Other until our guys either come away with a treasure (rightfully belonging to The Other but, hey, they really don’t deserve it so we’re entitled to take it from them), or hammer The Other into submission so they will become good ersatz copies of us (only not so uppity as to demand equal rights or respect or protection under law).

These are all earmarks of a very Western (in the sense of Europe and America…with Australia and New Zealand thrown in) sin:  Colonialism.

Now, before going further let’s get out terms straight.

There’s all sorts of different forms of colonialism, and some of them can be totally benign -- say a small group of merchants and traders from one country travel to a foreign land and set up a community there where they deal honorably and fairly with the native population.

The transplanted merchants are a “colony” in the strictest sense of the term, but they coexist peacefully in a symbiotic relationship with the host culture and both sides benefit, neither at the expense of the other.

Oh, would that they could all be like that…

Another form of colonialism -- and one we Americans are overly familiar with even though there are all sorts of variants on this basic idea -- is the kind where one culture invades the territory of another and immediately begins operating in a deliberately disruptive nature to the native population.

They seek to enslave & exploit or, failing that, expel or eradicate the natives through any means possible.

It’s the story of Columbus and the conquistadors and the pilgrims and the frontiersmen and the pioneers and the forty-niners and the cowboys and the robber barons.

It’s the story where different groups are deliberately kept separate from one another by the power structure in place, for fear they will band together and usurp said power structure (unless, of course, they band together to kelp make one of ours their leader, and build a grand new empire just for him).

It’s the story where our guys never need make a serious attempt to understand the point of view of The Other, because they are just strawmen to mow down, sexy lamps to take home.

I think my taste in sci-fi and modern pulp writing in general started to change around the mid-1970s.

Being in the army quickly cleared me of a lot of preconceptions I had about what our military did and how they did it.

The easy-peasy moral conflicts of spy novels and international thrillers seem rather thin and phony compared to the real life complexities of national and global politics.

Long before John Wick I was decrying a type of story I referred to as “You killed my dog so you must die.”  Some bad guy (typically The Other) does a bad thing and so the good guy (one of ours -- yea!) must punish him.

Make him hurt.

Make him whimper

Make him crawl.

Make him suffer.

The real world ain’t like that.

Fu Machu falls to Ho Chi Minh.

As entertaining as the fantasy of humiliating and annihilating our enemies may be…we gotta come to terms with them, we gotta learn to live with them.

That’s why my favorite sci-fi stories now are less about conflict and more about comprehension.

It’s better to understand than to stand over.

. . .

The colonial style of storytelling as the dominant form of story telling is fairly recent, dating only from the end of the medieval period in Europe and the rise of the so-called age of exploration.

This is not to say colonial story telling didn’t exist before them -- look at what Caesar wrote, or check out Joshua and Judges in the Old Testament -- but prior to the colonial age it wasn’t the dominant form of storytelling.

Most ancient stories involve characters who, regardless of political or social standing, recognize one another as human beings.

And when gods or monsters appear, they are usually symbols of far greater / larger forces & fates, not beasts to be subdued or slain.

Medieval literature is filled with glorious combat and conflict, but again, it’s the conflict of equals and for motives and rationales that can easily be understood.

It was only when the European nations began deliberately invading and conquering / dominating foreign lands that colonialism became the dominant form of storytelling.

It had to:  How else could a culture justify its swinish behavior against fellow human beings?

Even to this day, much (if not most) popular fiction reflects the values of colonialism.

Heroes rarely change.

Cultures even less.

We’ve kept The Other at arms length with popular fiction and media, sometimes cleverly hiding it, sometimes cleverly justifying it, but we’ve had this underlying current for hundreds of years.

Ultimately, it hasn’t served us well.  

It traps us in simplistic good vs evil / us vs them narratives that fail to take into account the complex nature of human society and relationships.

It gives us pat answers instead of probing questions.

It is zero sum storytelling: The pie is only so big, there can’t be more, and if the hero doesn’t get it all, he loses.  (John D. MacDonald summed up this philosophy in the title of one of his books:  The Girl, The Gold Watch, And Everything.)

It’s possible to break out of that mind set -- The Venture Brothers animated series brilliant manages to combine old school pulp tropes with a very modern, very perceptive deconstruction of the form -- but as posted elsewhere, imitation is the sincerity form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness, so while I certainly applaud The Venture Brothers I don’t want to encourage others to follow in their footsteps.

Because they won’t.

They’ll pretend they will, but they’ll veer off course and back into the old Colonialism mindset.

We need to break out, break free.

Here in the U.S. it’s African-American History Month.

The African-American experience is far from the Colonialism that marks most white / Western / Christian storytelling (and by storytelling I include history and journalism as well as fiction; in fact, anything and everything that tells a narrative).

It’s a good time to open our eyes, to see the world around us not afresh, but for the first time.

Remove the blinders. 

I said sometimes you back into things.

Getting a clearer view of the world I’m in didn’t come from a straightforward examination.

It came from a counter-intuitive place, it found its way back to the beginning not by accepting what others said was the true narrative, but by following individual threads.

It came from Buck Rogers and the Beat Generation and Scrooge McDuck and the sexual revolution and Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance and the civil rights era and Dangerous Visions and the Jesus Movement and Catch-22 and the Merry Pranksters.

It came from old friends, some of whom inspired me, some of whom disappointed me, and yet the disappointments probably led to a deeper, more penetrating insight into the nature of the problem.

This Colonialism era must come to a close.

It can no longer sustain itself, not in the world we inhabit today.

It requires a new breed of storytellers -- writers and artists and poets and journalists who can offer 

It’s not a world that puts up barriers by race or gender, ethnicity or orientation, ability or age.

There’s ample opportunity for open minds.

All it asks of us is a new soul.

  © Buzz Dixon

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

the larger courier six verse, media influences

tagged by @sybil-writes ty

the bibliography for this thing is extensive. my taste is wide and omnivorous. i try to drop what i was thinking about when i wrote a particular bit into the author’s notes, and i think i’ve credited all the direct references, but I consume a lot of dystopia and post-apoc media and harder scifi/fantasy with rules, and i don’t keep an accurate running list of shit I like, so i’m certainly not going to get everything in one post. this is mostly me looking at the very limited number of books i have with me and frantically looking at wiki lists like “yes read that liked that stole that”. if i link everything i will die. if you have trouble finding a specific thing lmk tho. this feels real goddamn pretentious like Ah Yes Look At The Media I Have Consumed but here goes 

music: one of these days I will drop links to the network of playlists I have for these kids, but they’re all of Spotify and not super accessible. Danger Days, a post-apoc desert graffiti/neon/cars album by My Chemical Romance. the soft, nonsense love songs off Pretty. Odd by P!ATD. the poppy but sad neon bullshit of Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die also a P!ATD production. Wasteland, Baby! by Hozier, specifically Talk and Dinner & Diatribes. Halsey’s cover of I Walk The Line, Rihanna’s Desperado. Everything by Orville Peck but mostly Roses Are Falling and Take You Back (The Iron Hoof Cattle Call). Instrumental stuff: the opening to Silverado, the Billy the Kid musical, bits of Lawrence of Arabia. It’s Been A Long, Long Time. Fitz & The Tantrums’ Get Away. Mother Mother’s album O My Heart. Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach. 

filme: 

the Dollars trilogy ofc

the sheer bullshit nonsense of Wild Wild West and Blazing Saddles and Turbokid. 

a lot of the interaction between many characters in a tight space from Stagecoach. my dad really loves John Wayne, so I am constantly thinking about Monument Valley even though that’s nowhere near the Mojave. honestly whenever i’m thinking about how to describe landscapes I’m thinking about The Searchers, even though I have a lot of problems with that film. 

the colorful nonsense future of The Fifth Element. 

the gritty self-surgery and prospecting of Prospect (2018). 

SO much Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, for space western flavor and the same sort of analog-cassette-future. u kno how everything in Star Wars looks like it’s been there forever? the absolute opposite of a slick Apple future? that. 

god I wish Firefly was...good

Akira, bc every time I think about motorcycles the Akira motorcycle slide gif plays in my head. 

speaking of which probably a decent chunk of Adventure Time, esp the Super Porp episode. 

a smidge of how a platonic trio works from Samurai Champloo. 

anything with a big sprawling market and a chase scene, even though the only things I can think of are Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and the first Indiana Jones. oh Skyfall also

the set dressing from Tank Girl

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. look I just really like airships and retrofuturisum but art deco

honestly a lot of Ghibli- the aviation fantasy of Porco Rosso, the gardens from Castle In The Sky, a lot of Sophie Hatter energy from Howl’s Moving Castle, the underground bits in Nausicca, the otherworldly sea from Ponyo (except the Fallout sea is probably much emptier). the lovely homey-ness and gadgetry of Sherlock Hound. 

almost certainly some Metropolis for how I think about cities

thinking a lot about The Incredibles and earlier James Bond movies recently for that sort of sleek but still small physical gadget spycraft 60s bullshit

the team and found family dynamics in Leverage

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. the more recent film which I have stolen ENTIRELY too much of the Angel + Blondie + Six dynamic from 

mad max: all of them, to some extent, but a lot of Fury Road. I have a theory about how the Dollars films take place in reverse order, bc of how they feel next to the Mad Max films. The first Mad Max film is about a specific person in a specific place and time doing really specific things. it feels like a movie made off the info of someone who was there. GBU also feels like that- it’s really place-specific in a way? The second Mad Max film is a little hazier, and focuses on mostly people trying to accomplish a goal. For A Few Dollars More also feels a little hazier, like it’s a little more metaphorical/a morality tale and it’s being told by someone heavily embellishing secondhand events. the third Mad Max movie is just over the top nonsense. feral children living in the wreckage of an old plane escaping in a working plane? sure. why the fuck not. For A Fistful Of Dollars also feels like this. of COURSE this big bad gunslinger drifts into town and escapes in a coffin and invents the bulletproof vest. why the fuck not. 

books: i like shit that goes beyond the wander/scrounge/defend trio of verbs. 

the trying to wrap your life around a huge unknowable event from Roadside Picnic, 

too much Le Guin and Butler to really fit here, 

god if anything i write ever has a tenth of the flavor of Kill Six Billion Demons i’ll be happy, 

the postwar feel of Vonnegut and Heller,

Margaret Atwood’s biopunk Oryx and Crake trilogy 

the incredibly sad decaying biopunk/mutation/last days novelette The Drowned World by JG Ballard. 

the space-opera political machinations from the Ancillary trilogy by Ann Leckie. 

World War Z’s accounts of survivors has always felt like reading terminal entries from Fallout games. 

Philip Reeve’s Fever Crumb trilogy, for its interpretation of high-tech artifacts and archaeological reinterpretation of those artifacts. 

Tales of the Bounty Hunters. Tales from Jabba’s Palace. 

A Canticle for Leibowitz of COURSE. 

the original three books in the METRO (2033, 2034, 2035) trilogy, for their tight dense locations and resource management and life-threatening travel/exploration. 

the Family Trade comic by Jordan & Ryan, for setting and intrigue and a very unorthodox power source  

Elizabeth Bear’s short story And The Deep Blue Sea, about a different kind of courier. 

how Gibson’s The Sprawl trilogy (a trilogy i have MANY opinions about, not all of them positive) does worldbuilding when it implies a vast sprawling richly imagined world with casual in-universe references that you can extrapolate a lot from.  

The Gernsback Continuum, for making me think about stranded architectural bits that survived

a little bit of the Empress’ energy from Cavendish’s The Blazing World. 

the short story The Rational Ship by Caro Clarke, about a ship that runs on orgasms, from the EXTREMELY out of print Memories and Visions: Women’s Fantasy and Science Fiction edited by Susanna J. Sturgis. i’ve scanned it in as a pdf and will send it to anyone who asks. the stories in this volume are WILDLY varying in quality and terf-yness. i would not buy this book on purpose. 

i think each separate Vault storyline is a tiny separate Lost World story, so just pick your favorite and insert it here. 

Westerfeld’s Leviathan trilogy was FORMATIVE for baby me. biopunk! big trans energy! SKY WHALES 

fucking hate  Paolo Bacigalupi for what he does to his female characters but Ship Breaker was good from what I remember of it

there are three very oblique Sherlock Holmes references in “blow a kiss, fire a gun” for my own amusement. 

Fallout scifi seems to be very Verne and Wells and Burroughs derived? a lot of very pulpy  “pseudojournalistic realism to tell an adventure story with little basis in reality.” or “hey look at this COMPLETE NOVEL i found in a bottle by the sea OR locked in my weird great-uncle’s things, i shall retell it to you here” 

idk i think The Road and the Hunger Games have so profoundly shaped the state of the genre, there’s probably at least a little bit of both these things in here even if I didn’t particularly like either of them. There’s also a lot of super bleak post-war stuff I read but am not necessarily incorporating, like Nevill Shute’s On The Beach. probably some Dune in here too if i’m being totally honest. why have a desert if there’s not going to be a giant worm, Fallout: New Vegas???

jesus i gotta read more lady authors. there are probably way more that i’m not remembering bc almost all the books i own are in a storage unit seven hours away that i haven’t touched in three years. there are probably way more comics also. 

OH not a book but the decaying-rich-people-paradise of Bioshock. pity how they never made a third game