#i can associate a song thats so spot on (or at least i believe so)

[stxrlighting]

twp takes place in 2015 so it’ll feature peak tumblr culture and big 1989 vibes

so this means style will be kitty anthem 🤓✍🏻

[staylavendertea]

young avengers characters and relationships as songs

billy kaplan : season of the witch by donovan and mr. sandman cover by joe p, it’s fun, there’s that groove, it’s witches and it’s dreams; a total billy kaplan jamming out in his room in his boyfriends too big shirt 10 at night moment with that magical and just like ,, witchy billy vibe i can’t explain through words that i love dearly, it also just gives me a connection between him and wanda i really love, the family witches between soul mother and soul son and that bass in mr sandman for some reason screams billy

teddy altman : space girl by frances forever need i say more, that song screams smiling golden tall boy theodore in overalls and sweaters, prince charming of space deserves the song space girl, the song is soft like teddy is, all hugs and kisses, that is until “stupid boyfriend putting himself into stupid danger all the stupid time” and “why do i try he never listens” “i heard that” “sure now he listens” then it becomes all hugs, kisses, bickering with the boyfriend, and threats of mauling people, but that’s for childrens crusade and family matters arc to tell

tommy shepherd : rebels by call me karizma but also steady, as she goes by the raconteurs mostly just for that guitar and music, i heavily head canon billy as the pianist and tommy as the guitar and bass player all the way and steady, as she goes screams tommy’s kind of music, the song rebels because that boy is the biggest rebel around and i wouldn’t be surprised if he was an arsonist

eli bradley : i just wanna shine by fitz and the tantrums i honestly had a bit of a hard time finding a song that really perfectly fit eli, but i think this one really hits the spot - eli is totally the boy that’s just trying his best and live up to his and everyone else’s expectations, i think he’s actually a softie and repressed nerd that believes heavily in doing what is right and i think that this song encompasses that, i really miss eli bradley thank you for coming to my tedtalk

cassie lang : blackbird by the beatles (cover by dodie) cassie gives me total adorable and soft but such a cool person dodie vibes, but i think the song blackbird fits cassie on so many levels, especially the lyrics as growing up after losing her dad, getting and learning to control her powers, and growing as a super hero she knows her dad would be so proud of, i love every single one of the young avengers but mygod cassie

nate richards : run boy run by woodkid and something better by hidinin i feel for nate, that poor kid literally is running away and trying to kill his future because he knows it’s a bad road and honestly he’s so brave for that and it’s all thanks to nate that we got all the young avengers in the first place so credit will be payed where credit is due, nate is really just a clumsy teenager thats a total nutcase and a bit clueless without that common sense sometimes that will think a pack sour troll gummies and a bottle of gateorade is a well rounded training diet but he’s also a descendent of sue and reed richards and what’s there to expect from child geniuses

kate bishop : love club by lorde and ribs by lorde i kinda just stumbled upon these honestly forgotten songs in my playlist and was pleasantly surprised how perfectly kate bishop these songs are, the lyrics most likely mean something else but i see the love club as the young avengers and “go get punched for the love club” just sounds like a kate bishop thing to say, these songs give me vibes of kate bishop in a rolled sleeves black and purple flannel and black jean shorts with scuffs and bandaids on her elbows and knees, probably also a developing black eye and bloody nose but lookin badass per usual

david alleyne : karma by ajr i picked this one for david because the second i heard it david was immediately the person i thought of when listening to it, i haven’t read many comics with david in them, i’m searching tho, but i am reading the current x factor and david just goes through a lot poor dude just wants to learn and help with what he can and i love him every moment for it

america chavez : a good song never dies by saint motel and dead girl in the pool by girl in red i honestly don’t know much about america besides some basic background stuff and some her character and personality since i haven’t been able to get my hands on some ya v2 issues besides what i’ve seen online but what i have seen of her i already love her and know she is so badass and a bit chaotic but in the best way possible from the little i do know about america’s character i think these songs just fits both the vibes of how she presents and holds herself but also her personality, america is a good song that just never dies are vibes i will happily live with

loki : run the world!!! by dayglow i haven’t really read much of loki in the comics, the versions of them i know the best being the actual norse myth god and movie loki and i know how the movies can be with their comic book characters, but from what ive heard about kid and teenager loki is that they’re a little punk and this song seems to just fit that perfectly

jonas : growing pains by coin i honestly didn’t know that there was more to jonas besides ya v1 and childrens crusade but now i’m intrigued, but this song just speaks jonas to me who i was also calling judas for like ten minutes without realizing i had a totally wrong name, but from what i read and his whole thing with cass, i think growing pains very much fits a mr. jonas

now for the relationships/ships - this post is so long i am so sorry for all the reading but i’m having fun -

david and tommy : affection by between friends im not even sure completely why but the music just screams david and tommy’s vibes, especially how tommy is usually head canonized in relationships, *chiefs kiss* of a song

nate and cassie and jonas : in the middle by dodie this song is literally the three of them, like perfectly, the lyrics fit to a t and it’s literal perfection for them

billy and teddy : pleaser by wallows for how much i love them i surprisingly had a hard time finding a song for them, i know at one time i heard and had a song that was perfect but i can’t remember it all, but i think pleaser fits just as nice, it fits their personalities and the music itself is the vibe they give off to me : imma make an edit from this post previously cause i’ve been thinking about and i would like to add the song leaves by joe p cause it just fits too well, especially when looking at billyteddy fan art whilst listening to it, it’s too good : HI THIS ANOTHER EDIT IMSORRY but it literally took weeks to remember but now i remember what the original song for them i had picked - electric love by borns - it also gives me billy lightning powers vibes and i do adore some billy lightning powers, i think it would be so cool to see them mixed in with his reality warping ones

eli and nate : talk too much by coin honestly it’s them, it’s a vibe they both argue and to each other, talk way too much, i’m calling it they kissed like at least once just to see how that would go - probably arguing who was the better boyfriend when they were both single

eli and kate : falling for u by peachy! and mxmtoon this song is very eli and kate for me, especially the beginning of their relationship not relationship, was that ever really established what was happening there ?? but this song fits perfectly amongst the bickering and racking numbers of how many times they’ve saved each other’s asses

kate and america : given it all by hayley kiyoko and midnight love by girl in red i love this ship and i have no idea if there was ever a thing happening between them or if it was pure fandom but it’s amazing and i love it, hayley kiyoko and girl in red is an of course and i think these songs speak them

- now just the young avengers as a group -

leaves by joe p a song that is totally just a hang out and drive all around all night as teenagers without a care in the world song and can totally see the gang jamming out to it

hey barbara by IV of spades this song literally speaks “hey did you watch that one beach episode” sunny and everyone vibing and hanging out, i can totally imagine tommy trying to get david to dance this and the attempts made is hilarious

teenagers and na na na by my chemical romance now last but certainly not least mcr because of course mcr, these kids can definitely be punks when they wanna be, especially when they’re mutant/alien/super hero teenagers that will literally do what they see fit, all in good manners of course

whhoooopp this was a lot longer than what i was initially expecting to make but after a few hours of song surfing and trying to make tumblr typing fonts work with me we’re finally here, this was just something fun for me since i associate music with everyone, but if you’ve read this far and wanna mention a song you think fits, totally put it out there, share the music !!

[opal-owl-flight]

What are your favorite Elliott headcannons? Of any variety 👀

Oh god. I have so many... both for vanilla SV and for Ascended/The Valley!! Ill. Do my best to remember... heres some from off the top of my head!!

Regular vanilla SV:

- sometimes. When hes hit by a strong wave of inspiration while on his nature walks. He just starts speaking some poetry under his breath...escalating louder as the inspiration swells. I think the villagers think hes gone crazy whenever theyre around to witness it

- his laugh!! Its deep and rumbly...he kind of vibrates when he does, and his shoulders shake... if he laughs hard enough he starts to snort. Hes embarrassed about that tho

- hes so easilly flustered. He gives compliments to his s/o a lot, but the moment they say anything back, hes a stuttering red mess

- he goes beach combing sometimes! Or a lot when he has his writers block. Nature truly inspires✨if not at the beach, hes in the forest doing quite the same... (I think this is where he meets Leah too!)

- he has a hoard of shells hidden somewhere. (I literally wooed him with pretty shells before I started using the wiki akdnkd) he gets VERY excited about ocean life!! And I think hes gotten some good knowledge about what you can find on the beach. Hes done his research on whats edible and whats not

- he gets creeped out by Too Many Crabs In One Place though. They haunt him in his sleep with their constant clicking

- he hums softly when hes in a good mood. If hes happy enough he bursts into song! And boy does he have a good voice!! Hes a theater kid dont @ me

- when he feels incredibly affectionate, hed give his s/o a squeezing hug while rambling happily about them. He gives a lot of physical affection in general bec ffs this man’s been living alone for a long ass time and he craves it

- after reading some of his dialogue, I have come to the conclusion that at least, in the beginning of the player’s interactions with him, hes actually not quite confident with his skill (at least when speaking about it with other people). Got this from the way he constantly apologizes whenever he says something poetic (“sorry if thats not very interesting to you.”)

- and as the days go on he becomes more confident bec he reads the player’s interactions with him as them believing in him!! Hes always been put down for following his passion, this means a whole lot for him...and if the farmer has any other creative passions, he fully supports them back!! They get inspired off of each other,,💜

- did I mention that he leaves little poems for his s/o to find around the house? And the way he smiles and chuckles whenever he hears them react to them,,, hes such a sappy, loving man

- gives the softest kisses and the biggest, warmest hugs,,, and he does it frequently. If his s/o is busy, he usually resorts to just gazing at them lovingly,,

- hes such. A sweet dad. Thinking about it makes me melt. Always telling them stories (lots of legends in Ascended) and/or roleplayijg with the kids,,, he also takes part in most of their games! He pretends not to see them when they hide in an obvious spot when playing hide-and-seek

- he also likes to watch the rain with them. Doesnt matter if hes in the middle of a household chore. If he sees his kids watching the rain, He Will Stop To Watch The Rain

OKAY SO THATS A LOT ALREADY BUT I HAVE SOME THATS SPECIFIC TO ASCENDED/THE VALLEY TOO HUZZAH:

- youd think he has water powers bec he lives near the ocean and all that. Nah son. He has the same creator power as Kalu has (I mean hes a writer ffs he creates all the time. He just doesnt bring them to existence bec of additional background story reasons)

- he doesnt have the gremlin tendencies but his wife does. By pure association he has learned to Love The Shinies

- he helps Kalu take care of herself bec she has a bit of a struggle with thinking for herself. She takes care of him back with his bad eating habits and all that (taken from “Ive been taking better care of myself now that were together...” line)

- Kalu makes a lot of soft chirring/purring noises when shes happy...Eli adores this and found himself imitating the noise whenever they cuddle!!💜

- he sees Kalu create a cute soul and he immediately wants to adopt them

- Ho Boy Does He Love To Fly. Everywhere. Even if its a short distance away. Kalu always tells him to not overuse his wing cloak but hes so happy with finally getting one again that he just. Doesnt listen

- Kalu’s basically the “mother of all” the souls she created. Eli has taken it upon himself to be a good dad to them too!! And most of her created kids absolutely love him back!!

- especially the sun god Cas. Hes the one who actually kept pushing the two together until they realized their feelings for each other!

- he adores the bards! I mean obviously, since hes a poet himself. But he had wanted to be one before! He eventually decided against it because he realized that he wanted to settle down and that it was kind of a lonely life...

- the first time he saw Ember (first kid) breathe fire he panicked bec “do babies work like that??” Help him

- hes so happy that Ember followed in his footsteps in being a poet!! He supports her passions greatly and p much cried when she recited her first poem to him (dont worry he loves the second kid too. I just dont have that much going for them yet)

[brittsekland]

Interview with Topper Headon, February 1980.

Turn off your mind, lie back on the couch and relax. We're going to have an association test. What do you think of when I say the Clash? Running battles with the grey forces of government? Three cord supercharged thrashes vilifying unemployment and public housing vegetation? Seething hordes of punks dancing themselves into a frenzy? Wrong. Times have changed. Punk is now locked as firmly into the past as hippies were in the sixties. Safety pins and bondage trousers are as passe as headbands and peace signs. The bands that characterized an era have disappeared. The Sex Pistols destroyed themselves, the Damned are a self-parody, which leaves the Clash. After an impressive first album and a fair second effort, their third a double recaptures the drive and energy of the first. The Clash have esestablished them-selves as the most talented band to emerge from the much vaunted new wave.

Their lastest album, London Calling, displays considerable evolution since early days of the band. The songs are more reflective and melodic. Songwriters Joe Strummer and Mick Jones contribute heavily but to a large extent the dexterity and adaptbility of drummer Topper Headon has enabled the Clash to develop their musicality. Topper is, perhaps, the most accomplished musician of the four-man band. His early training with a variety of different music forms from traditional jazz to soul, has provided a firm foundation for Strummer and Jones. Topper provides the matrix from which the rest of the band work. Topper believes the Clash have survived because they have staying power, because they haven't been afraid of changing and because they weren't hesitant to branch out when they grew tired of playing frenetic chords. "We've remained true to what we originally believed in," declares Topper. " We still enjoy playing our own songs. We're not going through any set patterns. The basic idea has been to remain true to what we believe in and not allow ourselves to be dictated to by the industry and become CBS puppets." They've done a deft job of staying ahead of big business machines. "We refuse to do Top of the Pops for example, even when the single came in at 29. CBS started to put pressure on us to do it. They tell us we won't have a hit single, and we say, so what? Who needs it? We wanted our double album to go out for £5 when everybody else's albums go out for a lot more. We had to fight battles to get a cheap record out. Obviously that's not in record company interests. They told us it was impossible. Maybe that's why we've stayed together; we keep setting ourselves impossible tasks. It gives us drive. Even on tour, the Clash are determined to keep prices down which certainly affects the bands take home pay. But money isn't what they want most. "What we want is for the kids to be able to see us," Topper says. Their attitude to irrates businessmen. "If anybody does something like sneak a video of us on television, we'd split up. And CBS know we mean business. We owe them so much money they can't afford for that to happen." The Clash are a refreshing contrast to the kind of bands that do anything to get their name on the dotted line. From the beginning it's been a complete turnaround from the usual state of affairs that exist between band and record company. The companies have been chasing the Clash. Topper joined the Clash between their first and second albums. Previously he was playing with a soul band that regularly toured Germany and British airforce bases. Regularly earning £50 weekly, Headon took a cut in pay to work with the Clash. "I knew at once that it was the gig I'd been looking for. Everything came quite naturally. By the time Topper joined the Clash, he was beginning to think he'd never pass an audition. Not many bands were signed before the British punk explosion. "They'd form a band for somebody from out-of-work musicians who had been thrown out of other bands. They knew the ropes, so they wouldn't kick up a fuss because they knew they were dispensable. Every time I went along for an audition, I was constantly beaten by drummers who had played for name bands and had 'experience'. It just went on and on like that." Topper had been playing drums since he was 13. Drumming was a habit he picked up when he had a broken leg which halted a promising football career. His dad spotted a second-hand kit in the local paper and bought it. By 14 Headon was regularly playing with a traditional jazz band. "For some reason bands were always short of drummers..." As far as tutoring, Topper never got past the introduction in the books. Paradiddles and triple paradiddles were as far as he got. Eventually Headon bought a Premier kit: "At that time it was the cheapest pro kit you could get. You could go into any music store and get one. Everyone stocked spares and fittings. That was one of the reasons why I bought a Premier. I'm still sold on silver kits because they look great under the lights." A few days before his first tour with the Clash he took possession of a silver Pearl kit, which he still uses. After a bit of chopping and changing of toms, he's wound up with a 24" x 17" bass drum, 14" x 10" top tom tom, 16" x 10" and 18" x 10" floor toms, and a Ludwig Black Beauty snare drum. All the cymbals are Zildjian - two pairs of 15" Heavy Rock hi hats, a 16" crash, an 18" crash, a 21" Rock ride, a 19" Rock crash, and a 20" Rock crash, plus a little Zildjian splash cymbal attachted to the top of the bass drum which he claims is driving the rest of the band mad. All the stands are Premier Lokfast Trilok stands. "I go for a real solid kit," claims Topper, "that's why I chose Pearl and Premier. They're really solid and serviceable, no frills on them. You get a good feeling when you sit behind them because they're so workmanlike. You think, 'Great, I ain't gonna knock these over.' I use rubber mats to secure the kit on the riser." "Although I have the kit basically the same most of the time, I do like to change it around occasionally. If I started to use wooden blocks on the riser then I'd be stuck with one position, and that can be limiting." When it became evident that the Clash were here to stay, Topper got the chance of a new kit, which he tried but didn't rate as much. However, he did take Pearl up on the offer of a recover and recon. He expects to have his present kit for at least another five or six years, providing it dosen't get dropped or broken. Another complaint from Topper is lack of service and spares outside London: "We've got a flight case which is like a miniature drum shop, it carries everything down to cymbal felts and spare lugs for the bass drum. We always take it with us on the road and keep it stocked up. "I begin a tour with everything I conceivably need, and gradually I get rid of things I don't need, so the kit gets smaller as the tour goes on. Once the hi hat busted, the spring went right inside, and it was impossible to fix up. It was a Saturday night when we discovered it, and we had a show on Sunday. Luckily, we were able to borrow a high hat stand from the support band." Topper is a man dedicated to acoustic drums. He regards synthisized drums as irrelevant: "They were alright for two weeks, then the novelty wore off. Personally I'm exploring different areas, like percussion. I even use finger cymbals on one track of London Calling. But thats the way to go - into acoustic percussion. There's so much scope there that I don't know why synthisized drums were invented in the first place." Miking up for a gig is a lot similar to miking up for the studio. Topper uses two overhead cymbal mikes, and two mikes for the double hi hat set up he uses. The toms are all miked from the top, and the snare drum is miked from beneath. He keeps both heads on and never keeps anything inside the shells. Topper uses very little damping live. What damping there is, is usually on the bass drum, and always external. All damping is with gaffer tape. Topper prefers AKG mikes, but on tour they vary depending on which PA hire company is being used. "I can go into the studio and get a good drum sound in an hour," continues Topper. Listen to the latest LP London Calling and you'll hear what he means. "The first time I went into the studio I was pretty green but I learnt from it. For London Calling I went straight in and knew exactly what to do. Everybody goes into the studio much more relaxed now. I use AKG mikes and everything is miked from the top except for the snare. Again I use double heads to get the boom sound, and I use room mikes to pick up the spillage, to make it sound more live without going over the top. The set up is exactly the same as I have live, really, except I don't use a bit of damping." The biggest problem with putting out the new album were recording costs. The Clash figure that the longer they spent in the studio, the more it would cost, the more money CBS would have to put up, and consequently they'd have a greater hold over the band. The Clash even put up some of the money themselves. Eventually they had the tape and told CBS: "You can have it if you meet our conditions." Topper admits that there are some mistakes on the album, and more than a few drum errors. That's the price to pay for the energy captured on the vinyl. London Calling was recorded in a month, with Guy Stevens producing. That's how it's going to be in the future, Topper maintains. The second album, Give Em Enough Rope, was not as successful as either the first or the third records, and Topper blames producer Sandy Pearlman for this. "He made it quite dull," Topper says. "He was a dull person to work with. We wanted a producer, CBS gave us a list of producers and his name was on the top. We listened to stuff he'd done with heavy metal bands, and we thought it was rubbish, but it was the production we were interested in. We wanted to get a good sound, and one complaint against the first album was that it sounded too thin. So we wanted some production that would stand up to time. So we got Pearlman. But he took so long to do it, with his perfectionism, that the prevalent feeling in the studio by the time he'd finished was boredom. When I think about recording that album I cringe." Problems don't end in the recording studio for the Clash. For a good few years now they've had constant trouble with local councils who insist on banning their gigs for fear of trouble. The whole surge of reaction against punk bands from "The Establishment" began with the infamous Sex Pistols. The daily newspapers portrayed the Clash as wreckers of society. "We're still getting that sort of prejudice," explains Topper. "We've had 16 gigs booked at various Mecca places, and then about 12 pulled out. You have to completely re-route the tour." The Hammersmith Palais cancelled a concert there because they said there were too many mirrors in the place to safely allow Clash fans in. "But our fans don't smash things anymore. They do if they're told what to do, like sit down in this seat and be a good boy. That's why out of all the gigs on our British tour only have two seats in them." Harassment from local villages takes other forms. The obligatory visit from the fire inspector often results in strict demands being laid down: "He says take that backdrop down, so we take the backdrop down, and he says erect more crash barriers, so we put up more crash barriers, he says this stage has to be rebuilt here, and you need more security. We just laugh at him and do anything he wants. Nothing can stop us playing. But they make life difficult." As time progresses, however, the Clash are becoming more acceptable, though not more respectable, Topper hopes. He makes the point that the Clash have to pay for all the damage that's caused, so why should they promote vandalism? Surprisingly, Topper found that the audiences in America weren't so much different to the British fans. The punk thing is really only just beginning to happen across the pond: "They're still into safety pins," declares Topper. "It's the same as the White Riot tour here, when there were about 300 or 400 fans dancing down the front with the rest there out of curiosity. But we sold out 25 of our 28 gigs there, and that was in 3,000 and 4,000 seater auditoriums. The States is so big. LA was just a load of old hippies lazing around getting stoned in the sun. I liked Chicago best, with all the blues clubs. But we should do well over there because the USA has all the same problems as Britain except they're magnified. They have all the slums and the poverty and more of a racial problem too." Highlighting social problems is one of the bands strong points. They should have plenty to write about in America. The Clash are political, and very definitely anti-National Front. Topper's favourite drummers come from America, such as Harvey Mason and Steve Gadd. His favourite British drummer is Terry Williams, who plays for Rockpile. Musically, his tastes are strictly black; James Brown, Otis Redding and lots of reggae, particularly the Mighty Diamonds. America looks tripe for the Clash. They've toured there twice and soon they should start to take off now that punk has spread. The Americans have been fairly slow catching on to what the 76' British New Wave was all about - perhaps they've been too wealthy for too long. With a new recession biting home, maybe the Clash will take on new relevance to downtrodden, unemployed kids in America. Topper himself represents a new establishment of musicians in Britain that once would have been unthinkable. Two years ago the Clash were vilified as not being "real" musicians. Their drive, talent and staying power has proved the cynics wrong. In general, the Clash have proved themselves to be dedicated professonials with firm ideals at heart. In particular, Topper Headon spearheads the drumming new wave with a forceful and accomplished style that can't be dismissed.

[lovebassett]

If You Asked Him

Or where Joshua knows the answer to nearly every question but when it comes to the girl he's fallen for, he wouldnt know.

Pair: joshua bassett x reader (f-implied)

Warnings: fluff

Side(s): new years was almost 3 weeks ago but that’s okay!!! I hope you enjoy :-)

Masterlist

//

If you asked him to tell you his favorite color, he'd tell you, "Yellow, of course." If you asked him his favorite thing to do, he'd tell you, "Performing on stage. No doubt about it." If you asked him if he liked a certain person who always seemed to make his heart race, he wouldnt know.

Joshua always had an answer to nearly every question, but this question, he could never answer without having doubt behind his words. He liked being around y/n, he liked how his family got along with her.

Josh always associated y/n with his childhood because they’ve known each other since they were little. Y/n reminds him of being young and little. But Josh wasnt little anymore. He was 19 years old. It wasn’t long before he and y/n started liking people and everything was okay for a while. Everything was fine. But, whenever he’s around her, he can’t help but feel his whole body go numb. He liked her so much it made his body feel numb.

And it had spilled out while debating with himself one day. He liked y/n. Whenever he wasnt around her, he had this urge to be with her. He wasnt himself when she wasn’t around. He denied every claim about her, but each time he was confronted, it felt harder and harder to say no. His mind would wonder about her. Did he like her? No, we're just friends. Were they really just friends? Yes, to her at least.

He knew y/n was oblivious, but did she really not notice all of those times they'd flirt? Him constantly trying to be around her?

Thats all he could think about on New Year’s Eve, until his phone buzzed, pulling him away from his thoughts. He picked it up and saw it was a text from his sister telling him to go down there and enjoy the party, not just sit up in his room. But he didnt want to. They had invited family and friends. He was down there for a while and nearly everyone was here, except the short girl he had spent a long time getting ready for.

He thought about texting her but decided against it. If she comes, she comes. If she doesn’t, then she doesnt, he told himself. He turned his head towards the door when he heard a knock on it.

"Can I come in," he heard the voice he had been waiting to hear all night. A smile spread across his lips as he quickly  walked over to open the door for her.

"Hey Josh," she said smiling while leaning up to hug him.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, "Happy new years eve, y/n."

If it was up to him, he would’ve held on forever but she pulled away.

“I’m sorry I’m late, my parents were being dicks again. As usual, their fights just had to revolve around me, so it was sort of hard to leave.”

"Don’t even worry about, I didn’t even realize what time it was. Come, sit," he blurted out before sitting on his bed and gesturing towards the spot next to him. She giggled as she watched his cheeks turn a light red, she walked over and sat next to him, closer than usual.

"So, what are you doing up here, why arent you down there?"

I was waiting for you.

"I didnt feel well so I came up for a bit."

She nodded and looked around the room for a moment before returning her gaze to him.

"Can you believe its the last day of 2019. Gosh, its weird to think that tomorrow will be a new year, a whole new decade," she told him while standing up and looking at his awards and trophies before turning back to him.

“Yeah, it’s crazy. It’s been a hell of a ride. It was a pretty good decade, though, not even gonna complain. Really good year too.”

"Exactly, so, because of that, we are not gonna spend the last day up here in your room, we are going to go and spend time with family and friends. Enjoy their company," she said while grabbing his hand and pulling him up, "Got it?"

He smiled down at her serious, demanding face, "Got it."

She laughed and pulled him out of the room, leading him downstairs.

Once they reached the last step she leaned over to his ear and whispered, "Go have fun."

She turned to walk away before turning towards him once more and whispering, "And meet me in the kitchen for the countdown."

With that she left to his sister, not looking back once. He stared at her as she walked away. His lips tugged into a smile, yeah, he loved her. This feeling is definitely not a “like.”

There was 7 minutes left of the day, the year, the decade. His mind shortly wandered off towards all the amazing things that have happened in that year. His show, his music, his career had just taken off. And y/n was by his side, through all of it.

He remembers the first time after the show premiered that he was spotted in public and he was with y/n. It was a group of about 4 girls and he thought they were absolutely beautiful, and he realized that he was going to be approached and sought after by more beautiful girls (and guys), hopefully. But even then, y/n stood out, she was still the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes on.

He looked down at his phone, 5 minutes.

He heard light clicks from heels and the smile that was previously on his face, returned. He turned his head as she ran in from around the corner into his arms.

"Hey! Everything okay," he asked.

She smiled, "Everything’s fine, I just wanted to hug you for the last time, until next year."

He stared at her, eyebrows raised. He playfully rolled his eyes and sighed, "You can laugh."

Thats all it took for her to begin laughing at her own joke that Josh still hadnt found funny. But he laughed anyways because he loved seeing her happy. He looked down at his watch, 4 minutes.

Now or never, right?

"Y/n. I have something to tell you," she stopped laughing and nodded. He took her hands and gently rubbed her skin with his thumb.

He took a deep breath, "I’ve spent this past decade with you by my side. And I can’t tell you how much that means to me. Y’know, its never a dull moment with you around, and you know that I’m not very good with words, that’s why I write so many songs. And most of them have been about you, they’ve always been about you because its always been you. You have no idea how long I’ve been feeling this way and I don’t want to pressure you because you mean the world to me. You mean more to me than I can even put into words. But I can’t pretend anymore, I can’t deny having feelings for you, when I do. I-I love you.”

Her eyes widened as his did. He had meant to say I like you, but the wrong word came out. His heartbeat sped up even more than it had previously. Why did he say it? Another question he couldnt answer. His fear slowly washed away as he noticed a small smile begin to form on her perfectly shaped lips.

“10, 9, 8…”

They both heard everyone in the living room begin the countdown, but still they did not move. He counted down in his head as he heard the others say the final seconds of the year.

“Happy new year!”

As if on cue, y/n cupped Josh’s face with her small hands and brought his lips to hers, his arms quickly wrapping around her waist. They heard the cheers but kept their lips locked. They pulled away slowly, but their foreheads stayed connected.

"Happy new year, y/n."

"I love you too.”

As if he already couldn’t stop smiling, he pulled her to his chest and kissed her forehead. Finally.

If you asked him to tell you his favorite color, he'd tell you, "Yellow, of course." If you asked him his favorite thing to do, he'd tell you, "Performing on stage. No doubt about it." If you asked him if he loved a certain person who always seemed to make his heart race, he'd tell you, "With all my heart."

//

[not-my-givenchy]

Tragic Fate pt. 4 (Tony Stark x Reader)

Summary: Saying you and Tony Stark had a tumultuous relationship was the understatement of the Century, but no one can discount the love you shared and the good you provided to each others lives.

A/N: This features a young Tony Stark, before his parent’s death, and WELL before the avengers. Here is what I think is going to be the last installment. If anyone wants to request a scene between Tony and the reader let me know tho, I’m always open to suggestions!

Word Count: 3,860

Warnings: mild cursing...alcohol use

Part 1|| Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4

The sun had long set, and you tiptoed back to your desk desperate to avoid your associate Mark. It was already well past midnight, and all you wanted was to be curled in bed. Investment banking was exactly as you imagined it would be, boring and time consuming. 

“Y/N!” Mark’s door was closed, but his shout always managed to find you. 

In an attempt to quell your annoyance you take a deep breathe before pushing your head through the door. The city lights poured in through the window behind his desk practically blinding you. Mark was a large man only 2 years your senior, but the rigors of the job were already taking there toll on him. His hooded eyes remained fixed on the papers before him even after you had fully entered the room. 

Desperate to end the encounter as soon as possible you let out a meager cough. “Hi, I heard you call me?” 

“Yes, I want Ryan to sit in on the pitch tomorrow, so leave the Mitsui files on his desk before you leave.” He flipped through the papers still not looking up. 

Ryan was a little Mark in the making always sucking up and undermining your work. “Oh,” you paused to debate the risk of arguing, “I was hoping to sit in on the pitch…seeing as I’ve been the lead analyst on it since the beginning—.”

Mark’s eyes narrowed as he looked up. “Ryan has been here longer,” waving you from the room, “I’ve made up my mind.” 

“Sir, if I may—,” you began. 

“No, you may not.” His deep voice filled the office and with a huff he turned his focus back to the papers before him. 

You had already committed to fighting for the case, so you stood your ground. With a deep breathe in you rolled your shoulders back. “Ryan and I actually started on the same day, so if your decision is going to be based on seniority then I would like to remind you that I am senior to him on the Mitsui case.” Your voice matched the ferocity that Mark’s had. 

Mark’s hands folded and he leaned onto his elbows. His bloodshot eyes inspecting you, and his mouth twisted into a tight smirk before addressing you. “Well, I need you working on the Franklin report.” He leaned back in his chair laughing lowly. “If you can manage to finish it prior to the meeting, then I’ll consider allowing you in on the pitch.” He emphasized. 

The Franklin project had only been announced this morning, meaning it would take months of collaboration before it could be drafted. “Mark, you know that’s impossible.” 

“Well I guess you should cancel your plans tonight then.” His smirk was sinister, and you knew he was giving you an impossible task to keep you from the Mitsui meeting.

Turning on your heels, you swallowed your discontent and left the office before you could say something vulgar. Knowing your half mug of coffee wouldn’t be enough, you made your way back to the break room. Two other analysts stood blocking the cherished coffee machine gaping at the news. Not having time for pleasantries, you tried to nudge your way between them. 

“It’s crazy right,” one of them directed at you. 

You raised your eyebrows in hopes that your absence of a response would speed up the conversation. 

Josh, at least thats what you think his name is, motioned to the T.V. “The Starks…they’re dead.” 

Burning coffee caught in your throat, causing you to spit it all over your mouth. “What?” You coughed now fully focused on the breaking news before you. 

The newscaster was somber; your mind blurred, and you begged yourself to focus on the words coming out of her mouth. But you couldn’t pull your focus from the firefighter shuffling around a smoking car in the distance. Soon the camera panned from the police shuffling under the caution tape to the coroners van replacing the ambulance. When it cut back to the young reporter you finally made out her words. “At this time we can confirm that Howard and Maria Stark have died as the result of a tragic—.” 

Shaking your head back to your now empty mug you told yourself. The coffee pot shook in your hand as you refilled your mug unable to shake the reoccurring what if scenarios flashing through your mind.

“Are you ok?” The analyst asked motioning towards your shaking hand. 

“Um yea,” you chuckled awkwardly, “I must’ve had one too many cups.”

He nodded before turning back to the news. You took that as your opening to escape, and rushed back to your desk. Deep breathes you reminded yourself shakily. But your hands wouldn’t stop shaking making it near impossible to start the Franklin report. Trying to rub the pain from your face with clammy hands you thought back to the last time you had seen Tony. It had been a little over a year.

—————————————

Your eyes searched the crowd before you. Felix was throwing an end of the semester bash and you desperately wanted to thank him for the free booze. Being with Tony had taught you how to get along with the 1%, and much to Jennifer’s delight you and Felix had finally grown close. It also helped that Felix was often in Jennifer’s room every time you found yourself there crying over your now ex. Plus, being in an arguable unhealthy relationship had opened your eyes to how amazing Felix was for your best friend. So when you finally spotted him in the sweaty room you were quick to run into his open arms.

“Felix!” You shouted into his shoulder over the thumping music. 

Your feet lifted from the ground as he shook you side to side. “Ravishing as always!” He shouted back. “Where is my love?” He exaggerated placing you back on the ground.

“Jenny!” You squealed with wide eyes. 

“Oh this just won’t work.” He tsked looking around. 

Your eyes met as the lightbulb when off in your head, “shoulders!” 

“Genius!” Felix shouted while kneeling down dramatically. It must’ve been a sight, you were both absolutely trashed, but somehow you managed to make it on his shoulders without falling. Felix pushed his way through the crowd as the two of you shouted your friends name. 

Yet to recognize anyone in the crowd, you soon realized how dangerously close your head was to the swinging chandelier. The heads were all one mass blur, and you lifted your hands and vigorously rubbed your eyes to try and focus. Felix stopped abruptly causing you to sway backwards and without your hands bracing on his shoulders there was a split second where you believed that you were going down. But Felix was one step ahead and had already begun to drop to a knee so you could slip off safely. Before you could look past to see why your quest had stopped abruptly, Felix moved to block your path. Your nose crashed into his broad shoulders and you cursed at the stinging pain.

“Felix,” You drawled trying to get his attention, but it was clear that he did not want you to see who he was talking too.

Despite his complaints, a hand managed to shove him aside, and suddenly you were face to face with the devil himself. He eyes were glossed over, and he ran a sweaty hand through his damp hair.

“Isn’t this a treat!” His eyes glistened with mischief as he tried to get you to smirk back. 

Protectively, Felix’s arm snaked around your shoulder. “I’m gonna find Jenny-fur—,” he slurred trying to offer you an out. 

You nodded approvingly and moved so that his arm fell from his shoulders. You weren’t going to let your history ruin your night of fun. 

 “Just shout if you need me.” Felix’s eyes threatening Tony before finally heading out. 

Tony’s hands managed to find your own, and your heart fluttered at the simple touch. The dance floor, Felix’s living room, was packed with sweaty bodies and you were slowly pushed together. Breathless, you leaned into his chest. Finals were over might as well allow yourself a little treat. And you danced. After that, the night became a blur. Tony bullied his way to the pong table. Your combined enthusiasm making up for your combined lack of skill. Soon he was cheering drink in your ear and you obliged chugging the sour beer down before slamming the cup onto the table. 

 You smacked the ball back into his hand. “It’s fine, we got this!” You cheered.

Neither of you had successfully landed a shot, and you went first hoping to break the streak. The ball slipped easily from your fingers before soaring into the air. Tony grabbed your arm, but the ball bounced off of a rim before landing on the ground. Your opponent laughed, and waited for Tony to miss as well. However, with a stroke of luck, Tony’s ball managed to find the target and plinked softly into the warm beer. Throwing your hands into the air, you jumped on Tony’s back hooting and hollering. That was the only success you had, and the game finished quickly but you were officially smashed. Suddenly the song switched, and Tony’s eyes lit up.  

His hands shook your shoulders. “You hear this shit!” 

With that, you both made your way to the dance floor. Together you jumped in the air and screamed the lyrics back and forth. The majority of the dance floor was drunk friends half crying half dancing, and the other half was comprised of couples eating each others faces. Meanwhile, Tony and you were busy making fools of yourselves and having a blast. When the song switched to another one you were equally as fond of, you grabbed Tony’s hand and tugged him with you towards the speaker.

“Lift me up!” You begged. 

His eyes twinkled and he grabbed your waist, hoisting you above his head. While you were in the air, your foot got tangled around something, but you were too busy laughing to notice. That is until Tony placed you on the ground and the music was cut. Looking down at the cord now tangled around your foot your eyes widened. With a hand covering your mouth your cheeks flushed red. Luckily this was common, so your penance was already on its way. Felix charged through the crowd bottle in hand — it was a crude mixture of punch and various types of alcohol. Around you everyone was chanting “redeem yourself”. 

Felix’s gaze was of devilish delight, and he thrust the bottle into your outstretched hands. The crowd silenced at the raise of his hand. “Y/N Y/L/N! You have committed the greatest sin, do you wish to redeem yourself?” Felix boomed through the now silent house. 

This was the first time you were the one in need of redemption, and you tried to swallow your laughter knowing Felix took redemption seriously. Instead you nodded vigorously before bending to one knee. The drink smelled foul, but it was already emptying into your stomach.  Around you everyone was hooting still chanting “redeem yourself,” and you couldn’t let them down. So you chugged desperately trying to empty the bottle in record time. Felix pulled you to your feet as you finished the last drop. 

He turned towards the crowd. “Do the people find this display sufficient?” He boomed. The partygoers hollered in response; satisfied, Felix fixed the speaker. The sound nearly blew out your eardrums, for you had forgotten how close you were to them. Standing in front of you, Felix looked at Tony’s arm around your shoulder and raised his brows. 

“I’m going to join Jennifer in the basement if you want to join.” He was sweet to offer you an out. 

“Oh Felix, thank you soooo much.” Your pulled him into a tight hug again. “I’m having a blast though, so I’ll find y’all later tonight ok.”

Felix winked before turning back from where he came. The basement was usually where the rich kids did their drugs, and you didn’t have a rich relative to bail you out so you were quick to avoid it. 

Tony’s arm snaked around your waist and pulled you close to his side. “Can we go somewhere else?” His lips dangerously close to your ear. 

Feeling his breathe on your ear, you leaned your back into his chest and nodded silently. His hands shifted to give your shoulders a light squeeze. Slowly, you turned to him and realized just how close you had become. The taste left in your mouth from the drink was foul, and too subconscious of your breath you just smiled up at the boy in front of you. Smiling, Tony tapped your nose playfully before interlocking your hands together. He was quick to pull you out of the sweaty room and towards the back door. 

“Tony,” you complained, “it’s December…and I’m drunk…and I don’t have my coat…and it’s cold.” You pouted planting your feet and pulling back on his arm. 

Tony spun on his heels; wordlessly, he pulled you in the other direction. It wasn’t until you were half way up the stairs that you realized where he was taking you. The hallway was empty, and the party roared below you. Soon enough, Tony was pushing his head into a bedroom. 

“All clear,” he whispered pushing his way in. 

Soon enough you were both laying side by side on the bed moving no further. His hand was intertwined with yours and your shoulders just barely brushed. Neither of you dared to speak, both staring absentmindedly at the ceiling. You had spent the night successfully ignoring the hurt pulling at your chest, but now it had returned. You tried to focus on the low thump of the music downstairs, hoping it would sober you up. The rising tempo matched that of your beating heart. The rational part of your brain begged you to stand and walk out on Tony. This was your chance to close the door on that chapter of your life and leave him questioning everything. Your brain replayed every photo of Tony’s hands on other women. However, your heart would take control and replace those with the memories of his hands on you, cherishing your body, worshiping your folds, and pressing his lips against every inch of you. You squeezed your eyes shut, wanting to shut it all off for a moment.

As if Tony could sense your qualms he interrupted your thoughts, “have you decided where you’re going to law school?”

Your eyes opened and you let out a deep sigh, “I’m not applying. I think I’m going to take a gap year or two.” 

You felt Tony shift beside you. Suddenly, you cursed yourself for not lying, but this was your Tony—he would’ve known. 

“Hey,” he whispered reaching over to stroke your cheek. It was a soft gesture and he turned to his side to better look at you. 

Turning to face him, you tried to ignore the way your heart swelled.

His eyes searched yours. “If it’s about money I can help.” He whispered. 

Your heart broke at the offer, “Tony I can’t take anymore of your money—.”

“Yes you can.” He rubbed his thumb across your cheek. “Please…let me.” His voice was desperate. The money his way of keeping you in his life. Now unable to meet his eyes, you looked down at your hands. They laid awkwardly between your chest and his. “It’s not even about money.” You whisper was uncertain. 

His eyes explored your face pausing for you to explain. 

When you realized he wouldn’t move on without one you sighed. “I’ve already been offered a job.” 

His face scrunched, “doing what?” His thumb still stroked your cheek. 

“Investment banking.” As soon as you said your new reality you couldn’t help but laugh. “God, I’m going to turn into those people I hate.” 

“Well that depends,” he smiled, “what company are you selling your soul too?” 

“Goldman Sachs,” you both laughed in response before growing quiet His fingers slowly brushed down your shoulder and down your arm leaving goosebumps behind. When he finally had your hand wrapped in his own, warmth spread through your body. His heartbroken eyes were downcast, staring at your intertwined hands. Maybe it was the questionable amount of alcohol in your system, but you couldn’t stop yourself from leaning closer. Your chest pressed softly against his, and your lips met the corner of his mouth leaving the vague memory of a kiss. Your eyes searched for his, and when they met his begged you to initiate contact. So you did—you ignored everything in your brain screaming stop. Running your fingers through his hair, you pulled him in. The kiss was slow, and your lips were a whisper of secrets against his. Neither of you tried to deepen it and make it something that it wasn’t. Soon enough, you pulled away wanting to cry, wishing you could let it all out, but there was nothing left. Tony’s eyes were understanding, and you couldn’t dare to meet them. So you rested your head against his rising chest letting his arms pull you close.

“Thank you…for helping with tuition—one day I’ll pay you back,” you whispered. 

“You already have.” His lips brushed against your forehead.

Before you knew it, the two of you had drifted into sleep.

Sunlight poured into the room, and your head bounded aggressively making it impossible to open your eyes fully. The bed was still warm beside you, but Tony was long gone. You knew it was for the best, last night had been your last hurrah with him. You wanted to remember it like—blissful. If it weren’t for the hangover brewing in your body, you would have felt completely content in that moment.

—————————————

The smell of coffee filled your nose, and lulled you from your hazy sleep. After rubbing the tired from your eyes, you took in your surroundings. The lumpy surface leaving knots in your back was far from your comfortable bed, and the room was far too florescent to be your bedroom. The sound of the coffee maker in the corner meant you had fallen asleep in the break room again. Your dear roommate and friend Felix hovered above you with a steaming mug of coffee. His eyes were playful waiting for you to make space for him.

“Long night,” he joked gesturing to your coffee stained blouse. 

Seeing the large stain officially brought you back to reality. “Shit!” Your eyes widened as you frantically jumped up. “What time is it?” 

“I think it’s almost 7:30,” he threw himself beside you on the couch. 

You grabbed his wrist to look at his watch. “Shit shit shit. Do you think I have time to run home and change before 8?” Your voice was frantic.

“Mmm, I thought you’d say that. Soooo…” He smirked while reaching down to grab a plastic bag.

Your hands grabbed it, and peering in you saw it had a fresh set of clothes. “Thank you so much Felix!” You jumped up from the couch clutching the bag desperate to change out of yesterdays outfit. But you needed caffeine first. 

“So do you want to talk about it?” He called from the couch. 

Peering up from behind your fresh cup of coffee, “about?” You questioned innocently. 

Silently, he placed his mug on the table before him. Crossing his legs, he gave you time to rethink your answer. “Have you seen the news at all? Or did you really just cram over reports all night.” 

“Oh the news,” you took a long sip of coffee, “yea I saw it break last night.”

“And?” He waited. 

“And what?”

“Are you ok?” 

You rolled your eyes, “I mean yes it’s sad.” 

Felix just raised his brows. “You dated their son for almost three years.”

“That’s a stretch,” you coughed, “I would argue we only actually dated for like a week max.”

“Y/N stop deflecting.” He looked like a worried mother, and if you weren’t trying to avoid the conversation you would have taken the time to make fun of him.

Instead, you finished your coffee and turned quickly towards the door. “Thanks for the clothes, wish me luck.” You shouted running out of the break room before he could say more.

Once in the bathroom you hurried to make yourself presentable. Happy enough, you walked out hoping that Felix had gone back to his desk so you could sip one more cup of coffee in peace before the big pitch. However, once the door closed behind you Felix emerged. He shoved the break room phone into your hands and whispered Tony’s name before making his way to the coffee maker. Your eyes shot daggers at him, and you vowed to get him back. Luckily, he didn’t pick up, and you were able to get by with leaving a voicemail. After smacking Felix’s arm and taking his coffee, you made your way to Mark’s office.

Typically, after spending the night on the break room couch you would have dreaded the buzz of your day. But today you were grateful for the busy day, and the look of shock on Mark’s face when you handed him the finished Franklin report provided you more adrenaline than coffee ever could. You rode that wave right into the pitch, and when Mark let you speak you didn’t let him down. The meeting went until lunch, which normally you would have hated because you now were behind on your other reports, but you were still buzzing. 

The last person finally left the conference room, and you quickly made a beeline towards your desk. Of course, Mark had to stop you. His hand wrapped around your arm, and you tried not to spit on him as you turned around. “Good work in there.” His hand fell back to his side. “If you keep it up, I might just recommend you for the promotion to the new Japan office.” His smile was huge, this successful pitch helped his career more than yours. 

Your heart swelled. “Really? Thank you Mark!” That promotion was huge—even though you didn’t particularly like Investment Banking—it meant a higher paycheck and almost guaranteed you’d make associate in one year instead of two. 

With a smile and a nod, he dismissed you from the room. Your practically danced towards your desk thinking about where you could drag Felix for lunch to celebrate. Quickly, you grabbed your bag and waved to the secretary making your way towards the elevator where Felix waited. 

“Ms. Y/L/N!” The secretary called after you. 

You turned and smiled, she was a small polite woman. Normally, the secretary would wait until after your lunch to relay any news, but she was new, so you made your way over to her desk.

“You have a phone call.” She paused, uncertain, and looked down at her notepad. “A…um…Mr. Stark.” Her eyes widened in realization. 

Well, there goes your peaceful lunch.

[baconpal]

so heres the long super paper mario post

strap in for why super paper mario is fucking bizarre and why that’s pretty much awesome

gonna be a good amounts of spoilers, so if you’re on desktop then hit that read more, and if your on mobile, then here’s your punishment for using this god awful app

super paper mario is a game that is incredibly difficult to put into words, but it leaves such a powerful, lasting impression on me and i can’t come to say anything first other than I love it so much, and if you havent played the game, please just go do it now, even if you have to pirate or emulate or something, just let yourself play this game. It’s one of those games that I really feel I can just recommend to anybody

it’s difficult to think of where to start with dissecting this thing so i’ll just start with the art since lookin at things is pretty easy

ART/WORLD DESIGN

every world in SPM is completely unique, not just in what type of environment, but it’s art style, and this is premised with the fact that none of these worlds are capable of existing together and are completely separate, and NOT part of a cohesive universe (LOOKIN AT YOU ODYSSEY I STILL THINK YOU LOOK STUPID)

The hub and the first 2 worlds are mostly just slight variants on the same general style of simplistic shapes and colors, with world 1 delving into more linework type aesthetics, and 2 focusing more on impressions and silhouettes, 

world 3 changes this completely with what is obviously an 8 bit kind of style, but instead of jarring over sized pixels, the world is composed of detailed tiles arranged to look like pixel art that imply a more real world, and not a gamey one, 

world 4 focuses on patterns and big patches of color to give the impression of the vast emptiness of both space and the surface of a barren planet, before giving you the “Whoa Zone”, with a striking mix of wire frame and futuristic UI style to it

world 5 takes the idea of nature being crude and simplistic and humanity being sharp, angular, and extreme and flips that on its head, with humanity and the space they occupy being these absolute memes with no sense of depth, and the plant life existing in a system of clean cut caves with futuristic technology and elegant historic values

world 6 simplifies a kind of colored Japanese painting aesthetic, down to the funny cylindrical cloud clusters and brushstroke trees

world 7 depicts what is essentially hell (yes there’s hell in this game keep your pants on) as a squarish blur of bright greens and warm reds and purples, and depicts heaven as fluffy land of clouds and Greek temples

and lastly, world 8 is inverted greyscale, where light is black and darkness is white, its simplistic and striking and i couldn’t think of a better style for the final area of a game so focused on the concept of light and dark

MUSIC

I’ll just try and keep it simple, the musics fucking cash money

The game makes great use of motifs when it needs to, where specific themes and instruments are used in other songs to suggest relationships and put battles and travels into perspective

And when it ISNT doing that, it’s just fucking funky stuff, with a weird trend of BOING and PLOP and SPLISH noises in the percussion because fuck you i guess

There’s a lot of good songs that do lots of interesting things, any of the like 5 final battle songs are great things to point to, but i’ll just go ahead and say the main theme of world 8 “Castle Bleck” is one of my favorites that isn’t super highly rated. It brings in the types of instruments that have been associated with the villain the entire game, but also throws in 2 very important things; a sudden triumphant burst of almost JRPG styled chiptune that pushes away the constantly building tension, which is then followed by the sound of a clock ticking, which is a musical motif only present in the songs “Memory” and “Promise” which is played whenever the memories of the player’s little guide thing and the main villain’s past lives together are alluded to. This one song holds a lot of weight, as well as simply being a fucking cool song.

GAMEPLAY

This is, sadly, the one place I’ll not mince any words and say the gameplay is not amazing by any standard, it’s pretty much a classic mario game if it had RPG stats, items, and random abilities granted through the character and partner systems. The 3D flipping mechanic is nothing astounding, though it is very interesting to see how worlds are constructed

One of the biggest flaws people will mark the game for in its gameplay is that it’s tedious, and while I have to agree, that’s because I’ve already played the game before, and the tedium only comes from not being completely invested in the experience anymore. I’ll get some specific examples in a bit, but there’s a few cases of “tedium” that i believe are 100% intentional and drive the story in an interesting way

STORY/WRITING/GAME DESIGN

Thats a fuckin broad section, but its pretty much everything else i have to say on the game, and where the most spoilers and random praise is gonna be

I’m not actually gonna talk about the whole story, more just the strong parts of it, under the assumption you’ve already played it or understand a story as simple as “villain wants to destroy world, hero wants that to not happen”

The writing and characters are just flawless, everyone is fun to be around, especially the bad guys, who you see more antics of than your own party. There’s goofy running plotlines about O’chunks and mimi essentially getting grounded and being forced to write essays about why they fucked up at beating mario, and big stinky brother dimentio teasting and bullying them and sneaking them out to do his bidding when The big Count Bleck is away

The game is full of referential humor to not just mario itself but all kinds of games, there’s skeletons in hell who are clearly just Marios from the mainline games who died in stupid ways, there’s an actual dragon quest turn based boss battle in hell too, and chapter 3 has an otaku villain who tried to get with peach in a simulated visual novel

but the humor exists not just in references, but in simple good scenarios, with things like “Having a game show in a bathroom when everyone's life is at stake” and “locating an ancient manuscript to use as toilet paper” or “flying through black holes to find a convenience store” and things of that nature

It also interacts with the players emotions in many interesting ways, one of the more lauded being chapter 2-3, where mario is forced into working off a massive debt of fictional money, and is required to do hard, boring labor. There isn’t anyway to avoid doing both the hitting a block 100 times and the running on a treadmill for a few minutes thing, but the constant feeling of “there has to be a faster way to do this” drives the player to prod around, find the secrets, and slowly discover how to break the system wide open and get to the end, and i love it for that

This entire game is some sort of bait and switch, to put it simply, while it’s already a bit of a departure from both mario itself and the paper series, the first 5 worlds are pretty fucking tame stuff, other than the void, which is a giant black and purple spot that sits in the sky, always, every single world has the void growing in its sky, and it does grow, every chapter it gets bigger and bigger and takes up the sky, but where this truly culminates into the “switch” part is chapter 6, which starts itself by presenting you with the most TEDIUS sounding chapter possible, fight 100 enemies in a row, and nothing else, and for 25 straight fights, that is all it is, so you’ve locked yourself into it at this point, you know whats up, but the void in the background begins to grow to the point of being the entire fucking background, and every enemy you face speaks as if they know they’re all going to die, and by the 30th fight, one of the villains comes to stall for time as the void completely swallows the world, and the party is sent back to the hub. When they decide to go back in to world 6, its empty, the entire world is a white void with a single black line making up the ground, and colorless destroyed structures occasionally peaking out of the ground.

and you walk on this white void for so long and you just feel nothing but regret and fear and no matter how fast you make yourself go you feel like you’ll never find anything, but you do eventually get your plot item and escape

then, Dimentio, one of the villains you’ve seen the least of, appears in the hub world, the safest place in the universe, and kills mario

he just fucking kills him

he puts mario in a box and fills the box with explosions and mario fucking dies and goes to hell because fuck you mario

then you go through all of chapter 7 just to escape hell (called the Underwhere cus how could we possibly be allowed to take hell seriously) and join up with your full party before confronting the final world, which i’ve already stated i just love the design off

the game just takes the comfortable ride you’re on and throws it into the fucking sun and burns you alive and i love it so much, even the very end of the game doesnt let up, where the main villain is overtaken by that absolute madman Dimentio (Whose name is a play on both Dimension and dementia), who clearly was powerful enough to have done the whole “ending of the world” himself, but did it this way for the theatrics of it

there’s a lot i could still say about the game, but this post is absolute rambling and its 2 in the morning but as usual, i just wanted to shit my thoughts onto the internet to people could maybe learn somethin about either the game or me and how i think and look at and respond to stuff, and as always, anybody who read this whole thing is cool and i love you a whole heck of a lot

[thegeminisage]

Jace, Magnus, Raph :D

THATS SO MANY THANK U

JACE:

favorite thing about them: everyone likes to sort of categorize jace as this mostly douchey guy but he’s actually kind of Softe if you dig a little and like not to be basic but i like that about him

least favorite thing about them: WHY YOU ALWAYS LYIIIN

favorite line: “dazzle me” @cathy not one word

brOTP: JACE AND ALEC…give me more of that good parabatai shit…….my other favorite thing about jace is it’s implied he knew alec was in love with him for a long timeor at the very LEAST since alec’s bad reaction in 1.04 and he played dumb (partially because he hates talking about feelings yes but also) for alec’s benefit. just not to make things weird. it would have been easy to make him be weird about it. straight guys are assholes. but he wasnt and thats real nice.

OTP: he’d be miserable without clary to the point where he still wanted to smash even when he thought they were related, so

nOTP: jace and alec. STRICTLY platonic on jace’s end! it’s not necessarily that i think it’s ~problematic~ god knows you couldnt pay me to touch that discourse i just think the dynamic is much richer and deeper when it’s a one-sided romance and jace was still cool about it. idk i find that totally refreshing and fascinating and like a pretty new take, at least to me personally. why ruin it by turning it into run-of-the-mill slash? (i say this as someone who writes a lot of run-of-the-mill slash, don’t send me mean messages) 

random headcanon: he likes [REDACTED], which technically was cathy’s headcanon first

unpopular opinion: he’s never done anything wrong in his life ever…look i know he has but like leave him alone?? idek why i feel so strongly about this he isn’t my favorite character i don’t stan him i’m not super invested in him…i just don’t think he’s done anything wrong, aside from the fact that he lies a lot. i was totally siding with him over alec during their season 1 tiffs.

song i associate with them: natalia kills - kill my boyfriend :)

favorite picture of them: sorry but i dont really have one

MAGNUS:

favorite thing about them: his body language! he’s like always on the go, all his lil flourishes, how expressive he is–expression-wise and with his body language. he uses his hands to talk and since warlocks use their hands for magic that’s like an awesome character detail. my second favorite thing is how fucking cool he is. i love when he does magic. he’s so cool oh my god he’s like the HEIGHT of cool

least favorite thing about them: not to be problematic but he’s a little TOO perfect. let him fuck up once in awhile! so far all we’ve gotten was the seelie queen thing and that was half alec’s fault

favorite line: “i’m the high warlock of brooklyn” YOU TELL EM MAGNUS

brOTP: MAGNUS AND RAPHAEL IS CANONICAL ACE/BI SOLIDARITY AND I’M SO HERE FOR IT

OTP: well obviously magnus and alec

nOTP: i dont really?? see him shipped with anyone else??? i guess my notp is imm*rtal h*bands…alec would absolutely hate being immortal, whether by magic or being turned. he would HATE it. i have a series of fanfictions outlines to explain my feelings on this matter more thoroughly someday

random headcanon: i made a gifset about it on my other blog (you can see it at /post/172404479554/ if you know the url) but i think maybe he doesn’t always like being a warlock. like, the magic is great! he loves his people! he loves being able to do cool stuff! but his parents basically died because of it (trying not to be too spoilery, sorry coralie), and being immortal when you have to watch people die is hard. he’s pretty sensitive about his cat eyes, maybe in a way that’s more worried about what other people will think than someone who dislikes himself? i feel like maybe he used to dislike himself a lot more intensely and sort of had a long time to unlearn it and now most of the time it’s fine but he just still has his bad days and tender spots. i feel strongly anough this, clearly

unpopular opinion: again im gonna have to go with being anti imm*rtal h*bands…i mean obviously people can write what they want & no skin off my nose but i wish it wasnt QUITE so popular bc its hard to find fic i like w/o it

song i associate with them: man i have a really great one for alec like that could kinda be malec but not a magnus-only one sorry

favorite picture of them: literally any picture with cat eyes i love his cat eyes so much

RAPHAEL:

favorite thing about them: CANONICAL ASEXUAL!!!!!! i can’t tell you how much that means to me. it’s a first for me! i watched this whole show for raphael. second favorite thing: he’s still religious. that’s real brave imo

least favorite thing about them: WHY DID HE DO THAT…i cant say what he did on coralie’s post i already said a magnus spoiler but i cant believe he DID THAT im heartbroken for him and so angry at him what an idiot why didn’t he ask for help

favorite line: number one winner is the entire scene about the stars with rosa but close runner up is whenever he speaks spanish. not because it’s sexy or whatever but because he almost exclusively does it when he’s trying to be intimidating. literally i have a gif of him going “adios >:)” when he’s about to commit murder

brOTP: if i had an entire show about magnus and raphael i would be happy. alec who? but raphael and rosa kills me too

OTP: raphael and izzy, come on, come on, show, i’m begging you! simon who? this is where it’s at! i can’t believe she talked about his asexuality like it was a perk rather than a hurdle. i get weepy when i think about it for too long

nOTP: please for the love of god stop shipping with him with simon

random headcanon: dislikes kissing. i may be projecting a bit here ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ at least i finally have a character i can project on!

unpopular opinion: rizzy isn’t predatory on either side they both did that and they both owned up to it and got better stop trying to paint one of them like a creeper and the other like some precious innocent victim

song i associate with them: every single song i put on the ace playlist i made the other night

favorite picture of them: i made a gifset of him with the ace colors and that’s my favorite one. it’s at /post/172511018559/ on my other blog if you know the url

(send me characters!!)