#i am unsung

[staygoldpbj]

i think we all got over the ending of little brother wayyyyy too fast

[dancedance-resolution]

Pwp jingled your bells… what the FUCK-

OKAY SO WHAT HAPPENED WAS i was born a baltimore catholic and guess who else was born a baltimore catholic? jacksfilms. (i am not doxxing him, this is public information on his wikipedia and videos lol). and because all baltimore catholics know each other to some degree, i closely knew some of his close family members and as such watched his videos regularly for a hot minute. NOW. for years he's been making dumb little royalty free christmas songs every holiday season, and one of said royalty free christmas songs consists of just one repeated lyric: "jingle my bells, baby"

so camera cuts to me, a horny little freak obsessed with supercorp who has also been mentally workshopping how well christmas string lights could work as cuffs in a pinch (for unrelated reasons), and the second i hear this lyric one fateful day in december 2021 i'm like oh. this is so fucking kara danvers.

and thus this fic was born. the working title was/is "jingle your bells" and i fear that may be the finished title if i ever finish this work lol </3. it was initially intended to be a 2021 holiday gift to coffeeshiib [if you're reading this, hi, i hope you're doing well, friend :)] but alas, here we are.

beneath the cut is an excerpt of the outline (CONTAINS SPOILERS bc i'm afraid i may never finish it oops) (also yes oops x2 i've been working on this fic for 3 years and still only have an outline):

Lena 3rd person POV

SC are visiting Sam's house for the holidays - Dansen are there + Sam is dating Sloane from Happiest Season??

Everyone is a little tipsy and somehow Lena ends up tits out (menopause hot flash + fireplace + alcohol flush -> leads to shedding of clothing??)

Blah blah blah they're horny and Alex bullies Kara for being too touchy, they are relegated to the guest room.

Kara's fucking her but Lena's not keeping her hands to herself as instructed (??). Kara spots string of Christmas lights. Cuffs ensue.

[redacted outline but the gist is they bump uglies]

As she comes down from her orgasm, Kara kisses her way up Lena's abdomen and makes a bad pun -> "okay but I'm pretty good at this Christmas spirit thing for a Jew, eh? jingling your bells while you're all tied up like a pretty little presen-- Lena groans and end fic question mark?

[thebreakfastgenie]

Nocturne was recorded as an instrumental but at one time it had lyrics. There's a demo of it with lyrics. I like the instrumental but I'm kind of obsessed with these lyrics:

When it rains I watch the window Golden dreams Wash down the willow Where are my Mardi Gras memories? Under silver seas Long cold nights Change my reflection Unsung songs Show my direction Where are my make believe victories? Under silver seas Ships pass over my head Purple and blue, yellow and red White sails catching the breeze Sailing on silver seas Ships pass over my head Purple and blue, yellow and red White sails catching the breeze Sailing on silver seas Once I lived You might remember Born in May Died in September Where are my carousel fantasies? Under silver seas

[topoet]

Ugly U

This mp3 collection spans decades, styles, languages & countries for a perfect compilation. Filed under “U” for The Ugly Ducklings: The Ugly Ducklings (1998 CD reissue) a mid 60’s Canadian garage-band out of  Toronto that made ripples on Ontario charts & some Canada wide. I don’t recall hearing them back one day though but tracked them down via iTunes. A solid pop band with good songs, great…

[paulawithsharks]

im not going to name names but a certain artist is a champ for having to read through the awful drivel of a certain author and illustrating it so beautifully. truly an unsung hero and i wish their art wasnt being paired with some of the most god awful writing ive ever had the displeasure to read

[spectatingspectacle]

The song doesn't have a name yet

Lyrics aren't sung, but I wrote some anyways, you can sing along once you've learned the melody if you want :)

Right by your side I'll follow

And down the river we'll both go

Nestled within a plum bloom

Listen to the howling of the moon

You know I'll never leave your side

So let me hold you through the night

Right by your side I'll follow

Right through the stars we'll both go

Curled up in a rose bloom

Can you hear the calls of the moon?

Although we may never see the light

Could you please hold me through the night?

[dont-touch-my-soup]

“Do you remember me?”

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CW: captivity, traumatic memories

Kell pressed his back against the wall as a group of dancers squeezed past him through the narrow corridor. He hated the chaos right before a performance was about to start, but it was a welcome distraction of all the emotions tying a knot in the pit of his stomach.

For a whole week he’d thought about the possibility of getting Jinn out of here.

For a whole week he’d tried to talk to Jinn about it and then didn’t.

For a whole week he’d laid awake at night imagining every scenario, going over every possible outcome, thinking about all the things that could go wrong, and every single time he came to the same conclusion: Oryn would find out. And Kell couldn’t even imagine what he’d do to them after another escape attempt.

Still, his stomach felt like lead thinking about what could have been. What if it had worked out? What if the Varsennan would have kept his word? What if Jinn really could have escaped? What if …?

Someone bumped into him, and it was enough to startle him from his spiralling thoughts.

He took a deep breath. He had to stop thinking so much. It was too late now anyway. It was better to concentrate on tonight. He was still on thin ice so he had to put every effort in making his performance flawless.

Again, someone pushed past him and when a hand brushed his, something small and flat was pressed into his palm. He drew his hand back, but the person had already vanished. Kell scanned the crowd for a few seconds, but he came up empty.

Hesitantly he opened his palm and saw the outline of a carefully folded sheet of paper. His hands shook as he unfolded it, quickly glancing if anyone was watching him.

The light was almost too dim to decipher the letters forming his sister’s name. He probably would have failed if he didn’t know it better than his own. His heart stopped and when it started again it was beating so hard, he felt sick. Something that appeared to be an address was scribbled under her name, but his vision blurred before he could continue to read and his mind repeated her name again and again and again.

Sabea.

She was alive.

A hand landed on his shoulder and Kell crumpled the note up in his hand as he whipped around. Oryn’s eyes pierced right through him and Kell’s whole body went numb.

“Come,” Oryn said in a dangerously calm voice.

The single word was enough to knock every tiny bit of hope and relief he’d just felt out of him. The trembling in his hands became worse, and his mind futilely tried to form a coherent thought.

“What about the …?” Kell started, as his eyes darted through the room in a desperate attempt to find a way to escape.

“Shut up and follow me right now.” Oryn’s voice was sharp enough to make him flinch.

Kell’s heart was racing in his chest and the paper in his hand burned against his skin. He was sure Oryn must know about it. But he hadn’t taken it away. He hadn’t even mentioned it.

So, Kell squeezed his hand so fiercely he expected the paper to crumble into dust.

Heavy silence had replaced the animated buzzing of the other singers. Kell felt their eyes on him, and not for the first time he hoped someone would do something, say something, anything. But they kept silent. Which was for the best. They couldn’t help him anyway. Still, somehow deep down it hurt. Even after all that time.

Finally, his eyes found Robin. Her eyes were glowing with thinly veiled anger and for the first time Kell felt like her fury wasn’t directed at him.

He couldn’t feel his feet under his body but somehow, he was following Oryn all the way to his study. The whole time he thought about all the things he did and didn’t do but he couldn’t come up with something so serious Oryn would call him just before the show would start.

He was still thinking about it when Oryn opened the door to his study, and it was like Kell’s entire world tipped upside down.

“No,” he said, toneless. “No.” He tried to step back, but Oryn was already expecting it.

“No, please,” he whispered, as Oryn pushed him ahead of him into the room.

The figure standing at the fire turned around and Kell felt like he was going to faint.

The air was too thin. Coldness circulated through his body until he could barely feel a thing.

He balled his hands into fists so hard they were trembling. The crumpled paper in his right hand crinkled faintly and he hoped no one else had heard it over the roaring of the fire.

Kell could feel their eyes like knives on his body. The burn scar on his collarbone was itching, but Kell resisted the urge to move.

“His hair grew out,” the General said. He didn’t sound happy about it. He had always made sure they cut Kell’s hair as short as possible. Kell’s sight grew hazy.

“It was a lot of work to get it nice,” Oryn said. “Next time at least use scissors.”

“Nothing is decided yet. First, I want to hear him sing.”

He was coming closer. His eyes seemed to bore right through him.

Kell flinched when there suddenly was a hand on his chin forcing his face up.

His eyes hushed over the General’s face and immediately settled on the window behind him. Tears were swelling up in his eyes. He knew he could see them. He would be so pleased about them. But Kell couldn’t force them back.

“Do you remember me?” the General asked.

Fire was eating through Kell’s lungs as he struggled to move his tongue. It took him several tries before he managed to speak. “Yes, sir,” he said barely louder than a breath of air. 

The General hummed. “What did you do to him? I have never seen him so well-behaved, so tame.” 

His thumb stroked over Kell’s forehead and Kell could hear his own heartbeat in his ears as he pressed his eyes shut. From the outside it must look like an almost affectionate gesture, but Kell knew him well enough to not confuse it with kindness and when he breathed, he smelled blood and wine and for a moment he was back in the General’s camp looking into lifeless eyes while his legs were shaking with the need to run.

His fingertips tingled in anticipation as he silently begged him not to invade his mind.

Please don’t do it. Please don’t do it. Please don’t do it.

“I don’t have any magic like you do,” Oryn said, his voice distant. “I have to rely on my talents. Maybe sometimes they work better than magic.”

The General abruptly let go of him.

Kell looked down. His hands were shaking so badly he feared he’d lose the note still in his hand. He felt like floating. Everything seemed the same, but it had been like this too often for him to just believe it. Reality was a fragile thing in the presence of the General.  

“It took me so long to teach him and now you are going to take him and destroy everything I’ve worked for.”

The General laughed. “You always knew that I’d might want him back. And I think you destroyed him enough,” he said, his voice holding a sharp edge of anger as he took Kell’s left wrist in his hand and examined the bandage on his hand.

“You gave him to me because he didn’t obey you anymore,” Oryn objected. “You couldn’t control him, but he was too valuable to kill off.”

“So tell me how you control him,” the General demanded as he plucked at the bandage. Kell had to grit his teeth against the pain.

“It’s easy,” Oryn said. “He’d do anything in order to protect his little friend.” He smiled and Kell had never hated him more than in this precise moment. “Do you want me to fetch him for you? You’ll absolutely love him.”

Kell felt ice cold as his world crumbled around him. He wanted to scream, to beg, to fight but he knew it would do nothing to protect Jinn. It was better not to talk, not to move, not to feel.

“I’ll meet him after tonight’s show,” the General said, never letting his eyes off Kell, and the words felt like poison eating through Kell’s skin. 

Suddenly Kell wished he could kill them both. Fury burned through his stomach, and he lowered his head to hide the flaring anger on his face. 

He would never let the General take Jinn.

He would rather die.

_________________  

Thank you for reading! @whumpzone @jo-doe-seeking-inspo @whump-cravings @tears-and-lilies @imagination1reality0 @suspicious-whumping-egg @i-can-even-burn-salad @siren-of-agony @villainsvictim (please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed!)    

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[michelangelo-sky]

Chapter 15, or the art of a grand finale

No one is reckless enough to challenge the hero, not when he has the entire Imperial military might on his side.

No one apart from her, that is.

“Tell me, what do you see, Grand Admiral?”

“A list of quite talented warriors and tacticians.” His voice remains calm, tone dry and the matter of fact, as if they’re talking about something as self-evident and trivial as weather.

“And all would’ve had problems getting to these appointments in a normal world.”

“Which, perhaps, is more of a testament to the fact that using the word normal to describe it, is a contradiction in terms.”

Leia swallows her irritation. Thrawn either doesn’t get her veiled hint, or pretends not to. Well, luckily for them both, she has never been the one to hide under polite ambiguity of diplomatic protocol if a situation calls for a direct question.

“You are an Emperor in all but name!”

She doesn’t mean for it to come out as an almost cry, really doesn’t, but the invisible cold hand twisting her stomach with fear is there again. She feels a sting of irrational disappointment, too. How could she have missed it? Such an amateur mistake… And why, why in the name of stars does it feel personal, a bitter taste in her mouth has nothing to do with the implications for the New Republic, but everything  to do with a sense of being blindsided by… an adversary? An ally? Well, whatever he is to her.

“Supreme Commander, rather, but I would caution against putting labels on things.”

“How would you call it then?”

She crosses her arms over chest.

“A temporary tactical position.”

“There is nothing more permanent than temporary, Grand Admiral.”

[starw1sh]

dndads season 2 is going to end with a self sacrifice of sorts isn't it? I am nervous

[theinfinitedivides]

Tanhaji and Udaybhan were flirting with each other during Shankara Re Shankara and that's canon

[pearatwar]

mfs will call it eternal torment (i just so happen to be mfs)

[maispourqouuui]

those people who comment on wherever (Tumblr TikTok Pinterest etc.) with polite, well-worded paragraphs of helpful information, thank you so much

your comments are eloquent and kind along with delivering or reminding of information that is sometimes akin to what one may call a "hard truth".

if you get any hate comment replies, it is pretty much 100% guaranteed that the concerned hater is unreasonable

we all know that sometimes there are truths that are "unkind" but necessary, and you, those people who comment on wherever with polite well-worded paragraphs of helpful info, are very adept at getting those truths across as polite and gentle as possible (not that every person needs politeness and gentleness)

[bizlybebo]

today i was asked to name the ilium (largest pelvic bone) and i said ‘the iliad’ and nobody laughed at my joke

[offtopicstevie]

Authors who put their long ass reader insert fics behind a read more when I dive into the tags I am kissing you on the mouth

[posts-i-saw-on-reddit]

I saw this post on reddit (without reblog, but it's necessary)

[daincrediblegg]

no you know what I'm going to scream about the stuff I talked about in the tags of this post publicly

I'm tired of the well-meaning "don't feel bad if your work only gets 20 notes your genius is what counts and do it for you!" bullshit. I've had a good handful of friends who have straight up DEACTIVATED in recent months because their work was not getting reblogged AT ALL. No, it wasn't from lack of not being well-liked, no it wasn't from lack of trying to make sure it was getting out there to the people they knew would engage with it. It was because no matter how much they were praised privately for their work, when push came to shove, absolutely NOBODY reblogged it and gave it the audience that it was due, and I'm tired of people shoving the "unsung genius" narrative as an excuse for it. Nothing excuses that. And the boop event really proved that.

because I know given the opportunity, indiscriminately pressing a button (sometimes 10 thousand times, as I did) is not beyond this website's capability. y'all loved doing that. and look at what it wrought. nothing but love and affection and happiness. just from a couple of quick clicks of a little paw button. sure. nobody knew who you booped but the other person (which is how likes used to work on this website, btw). there was an element of anonymity to it. but that is kind of the core of this website that no other social media platform still has: the ability to be anonymous. and hyper-curating a blog on here like you might on twitter or instagram to project an image is simply not viable. and hey. you wanna know a secret: literally nobody cares what you post or whether it goes with the "theme" of your blog or not. yeah. I know. CRAZY concept in this day and age. but literally. I myself have reblogged things that have had nothing to do with whatever I am currently fixated by and you know what happened to my follower count? not a damn thing. in fact, I actively try to reblog things specifically BECAUSE it's my friends who made them (even though I'm not always good at KEEPING UP WITH HOW MUCH THEY POST @prismatica-the-strange will NEVER GO UNRECOGNIZED by me).

And you know what fucking sucks? I have to deal with this too. surprise right? you ever wonder why I reblog fics or art I post like 20 times the day that I post them? do you ever wonder why I ask about tag lists and beg for asks all the time? IT'S BECAUSE EVEN I GET LIKE. 5 LIKES ON THE THINGS I POST. AND THE REST OF THE REBLOGS ARE MINE SO I CAN MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SEE WHAT I MAKE GET TO SEE IT. and I say that knowing that I'm certainly not an unpopular blog, or an unpopular writer. I know that people love the stories that I create. Hell, half of the people that I've talked to about lady terror have told me that they consider her to be canon (AND EVEN SOME!! THOUGHT SHE WAS!!! WITHOUT EVEN HAVING WATCHED THE SHOW! WHICH IS STILL SO SO WILD TO ME!!!) But especially in the last 4 years (which really dates this phenomenon), my posts, no matter how well received they've been amongst people I've talked to about them directly, I still go into the notes and at least half (often more than half) are MY reblogs to make sure people saw what I posted. and it happens every single time, and I can't tell you how much it crushes me considering that it used to be that I would be able to post it only once, and people would reblog it sometimes even HUNDREDS of times.

It's not about popularity. it never has been. it's not about anxiety. or shifting website cultures. even if you lurk, the simple fact is, that if you want people to keep making what you love. you have to reblog. your theme won't suffer because you reblogged a fanfiction that you really admire. your posting won't be ruined because you reblogged some fanart from someone in a different fandom. really. I promise. and if people do unfollow you for that? who needs em. followers come and go but you should NEVER have to cater to them. on this website it has ALWAYS been the other way around. lean into it. make it yours. put stuff you ACTUALLY WANT to be seen and that you love and appreciate on your blog. no matter how old it is, how new it is, no matter how niche or off-theme it is.

so please. if you really want to show your appreciation for someone's work? you reblog. it's really as easy as that. check the tags. add some when you reblog if you like. but please for the love of god reblog. it's as easy as booping and even more rewarding for the people who you reblog from. if you want to let someone know that their work is genius and appreciate it? show it. reblog. then DM them if you're too nervous to say what you want to say but not in a public forum. but for christ's sake. REBLOG.