#i want to buy a bunch more cds too

[stormyrainyday]

man growing up without any privacy is a fucking trip what do you mean i'm scared my mom found my imagine dragons CD it's imagine dragons for fuck's sake why would i get in trouble for that

[killjoy-prince]

Manga and merch haul from today!!

[7ndipity]

How They Would Celebrate Their S/o’s Birthday

Ot7 x Reader

Summary: How they would celebrate their s/o’s birthday

Warnings: None

A/N: This one’s not a request, but I wanted to post smth cute today since it’s my birthday!🎉 I hope y'all like it! 😘

Masterlist

Requests are open

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Jin: He would want to spoil you in any way possible. Dinner at a fancy restaurant? Done! You’d rather just spend the day cuddling in bed? He’s there for that too! His gifts are a lil bit random, just like him, but their main goal is to make you smile every time you see them(like Hobi’s gold toilet brush, lol)

Yoongi: He would do something small and cute for you at home, catered to your preference(like how he got a stack of hotteoks as a cake for Jimin). He doesn’t necessarily give the most expensive gifts, but they’re always super thoughtful, like a special piece of jewelry or smth from when you were a kid.

Hobi: Oh, he is throwing you a party. Doesn’t matter how big, it could be a hundred people or just you and him, you are the most amazing person in the world to him, therefore you must be celebrated! He gives the most amazing gifts tho that are always super thoughtful(like when he made that cd for Jimin)

Namjoon: He would probably do something more subtle and lowkey, like cafe dates or shopping if you want. He’s more about spending quality time with you and making you feel special than anything else. His gifts are kinda the same vibe, usually something he’s noticed you eyeing but wouldn’t buy for yourself.

Jimin: I think he would stick to a nice cozy dinner at home; candles, soft music, just vibes. He might try to make you a cake himself, but probably also has a store-bought one as a backup. His gifts tend to vary, but they’re usually rather sentimental, referring to things from the early days of your relationship.

Taehyung: On the more elaborate side? He would plan a special weekend away together and get you a bunch of little gifts that would be clues to where you’re going. On the more chill side? He’d throw a tiny party for the two of you at home. As for gifts, he tends to be pretty classic with nice clothes or jewelry.

Jungkook: He would consider doing something more elaborate like a party, but would end up sticking with cooking a romantic dinner at home for just the two of you. His gifts tend to be either super silly or super sweet, depending on what he thinks you’ll appreciate more at the time, but they’re always super thought out. 💜

Taglist: @sopebubbles-replies @btsw1fe @this-must-be-my-tardis @whitefoxgirl @bethanysnow @coffeedepressionsoup @captainorange @k4ngelz

[alphajocklover]

I'm 23 and have been obsessed with body-building for years. I'm nowhere near big though. I'd love to be blown up into an absolutely massive freak. I wanna struggle to fit through door ways, I want furniture to bend under me. I want most guys I hit on to think I'm too big.

Please can you blow me up and grow me into the biggest bodybuilder possible.

It’s finally time for another one of my personal transformations. It’s been a little bit since I helped turn that guy into a bodybuilder jock with a supernova charged battery, but last time was so much fun I knew I had to do it again when the chance came up. I guess the only real question is what transformation method is right for you. I could always use the supernova battery again, or one of the other transformation methods I mentioned in my first personal transformation, but if I’m being honest part of the fun last time was sharing all the ways I could transform people. So how about we take a look at some of my newer transformation methods.

Your first choice is a CD. It’s a special video made for me by a local football coach who has recently introduced the Jock Studies program to his school. I reached out in the hope of getting an interview with him, and just got this in return. Not even a proper response. It’s… kind of an obvious trap too. I mean, I ask a bunch of people who are famous for turning people into submissive jocks to give me an interview, and they send me an unmarked CD? I mean, you can’t report on this kind of stuff like I do without someone trying to transform you eventually. I was actually kind of honored that they considered me enough trouble to target me… but not enough to actually watch the video. You can have the CD if you want. I’m absolutely certain you’d turn into a massive jock. Although you’d also be incredibly submissive to the coaches who made this, which might not be your jam. Let’s look at the others before you decide at least.

Your next option is a bit complicated. It’s a time machine, recently stolen from a group named the SAD (society against douchebags) by the Douchebag Revolution. I did a favor for them recently so they gave me this. Said they could trust me to use it responsibly. Well, sort of. The way they said it included a lot more ‘bros’ and ‘fuck yeahs’ but that was basically the gist. Anyways, we could use it to change you by changing your past. A little manipulation of your life and you could end up a bodybuilder. The thing is that time travel is… risky. Ever heard of the butterfly effect? That’s why I try to avoid time travel as much as possible. Too much can go wrong. Let’s move onto something else, since this one is so… unpredictable.

How about this one? It’s water from a familiar little town called Maxford, the one that turns anyone who enters it into a straight, conservative jock or bimbo. Turns out drinking water that’s bottled inside the town has similar effects. Turns you into your Maxford self for 24 hours. You wouldn’t believe what I had to go through to get this. Entering Maxford was an… interesting experience. Um, anyways, it might not be the best choice for you. It’s temporary, and it will turn you straight the entire time you’re a hunk. That can be fun to try, but I get the feeling you want something more permanent. Let’s look at something else

Finally is a specially made necklace, a gold chain with a miniature dumbbell pendant. It’s made by a jewelry store chain that might sound familiar to you if you’ve read some of my earlier stories: EB Jewelry. Normally these are pretty expensive, and you’d have to buy them directly from EB Jewelry, but there was a mistake with manufacturing and they ended up with a surplus of these things. I bought a ton of them and wouldn’t mind parting with one. Put it on and you’ll transform into a total bodybuilder jock. More than that, I can give you more than one. You can share them with your friends, make an entire group of bodybuilder jocks that barely fit through doors. Yeah, that one is definitely the best choice. Go ahead, try it on.

Fuck you look good. You seem quite a bit dimmer now, which is to be expected, but god you look like walking sex. Make sure to share those necklaces with your friends. Using more than one might have… side effects. Plus, the more huge jocks, the better.

[sirfrogsworth]

It was 1991. I was 10. And the other white kids at my Catholic elementary school started getting into rap. And I always thought if I did what my bullies did, they would bully me less. So I got a cassette tape of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch and the new "Hammer" album. He dropped the "MC" part of his name because he wanted to be taken more seriously as an artist and too many sketch comedy shows had made fun of parachute pants by that point.

So he was just Hammer.

Apparently I screwed up because they only liked the white rappers. Because they were all a bunch of little proto-racists. But that pretty much limited you to Marky Mark and Vanilla Ice. But I liked the way MC Hammer danced so I picked that out at the music shop.

Other things I tried to get on the good side of my bullies...

I learned how to play hockey (which I ended up really liking).

I had my parents get me a White Sox Starter hat. It had to be from that brand though. And despite being in St. Louis, it had to be the White Sox. For some reason it was cooler to root for a non-local team at the time. I guess that was the extent of edgy counterculture for 10 year olds.

I got shoes that had little air pumps in the tongue. You'd press a little basketball and it would inflate the top of your shoe.

Oh, and you had to get this Adidas jacket.

This was fun because it came in a bunch of colors but I got black just to be safe.

The Adidas jacket was my last attempt to get on the good side of my bullies. One of them took apart an ink pen and dropped it in my hood. I spent all day with it just jostling around and spreading ink everywhere. When I came home at night my mom noticed the entire hood was stained with ink. I cried my eyes out and she tried her best to clean it. And I think I got mad at her when she couldn't. I asked her to buy me a new jacket but I'm pretty sure they couldn't really afford to buy me that one to begin with. She assured me you couldn't even tell and no one would notice if I never used the hood. But the bully who did it knew and pointed it out the next day. And they all made fun of me for my ruined jacket.

I think it finally dawned on my tiny squishy brain that I would never appease these jerks no matter what I did. No matter how much I tried to fit in. And that's when I had the discussion with my parents to switch schools. They told me the only other option was public school. They worried there would be a lot more kids able to bully me. Because I was a weird kid and said weird things. But I wanted to try it. Plus, it probably saved them a bunch of money in tuition. My bullies all told me I was going to get stabbed because of the Black kids. But, in reality, it was the best decision I ever made.

It took me a little while to adjust. I had been so traumatized at my previous school that I had trouble controlling my emotions. So I would cry at the drop of a hat. And one of my teachers got upset with me because I'd cry if I got a bad grade or if I forgot my homework. One time my dog actually ate my homework and she didn't believe me and I cried, so my parents had to write a note for me.

But eventually I learned I was not actually a big weirdo as my bullies had said. I was funny. And I made people laugh. And they liked laughing. And it turns out, if you entertain people, they don't want to make fun of you anymore.

What was I talking about?

HAMMER!

Yes, that was my first CD.

And I liked 1 song on it.

Because Hammer got too serious and I wanted parachute pants.

[moonlit-escape]

˓˚ ｡⋆ 💗˚ Dante Mystreet headcanons !!

i love this lil stinker we're blue-haired buddies <3

5'8.5 (174cm)

hispanic

bisexual (woman leaning, for the most part of his life, but nowadays is finding himself more attracted to men than he was)

knows spanish, but only speaks it when he needs to (shopping, mostly)

he has curly hair idc idc

can't grow facial hair it looks ugly as hell when it's first coming in, so every time he tries he ends up immediately shaving it off

along with his peanut allergy, he also has a bunch of others, but he just ignores them all (he's like 'whatever, i have meds' and inhales half a jar of nutella before he throws up)

has adhd for Sure

baby brother friend of the group for sure (even with travis around. he's just the older twin, then)

genuinely wasn't even actually into Aphmau, he just has the younger brother instinct and wanted to annoy the shit outta Garroth and Laurance, bc that's one of the ways he shows affection and bonds

in the Mystreet universe, he is the inventor of the "oh Miku, we're really in it now" meme variant

which also means, yes, he liked The Good Place

i feel like he would like Kero Kero Bonito and Shawn Wasabi

LOVES giant fuckin lizards (Godzilla is one of his favourite movie series)

i cant decide whether he was a Naruto or a Dragon Ball Z kid...

likes pineapple on pizza (the entire household hates him.)

also likes mango in his tacos

he just really likes tropical fruits honestly

bananas can go to hell, though

peace tea drinker

gets cocha bread and melon pan confused all the time and is always momentarily disappointed whenever Nana bakes bread bc he was hoping for concha

THE number one Gene defender.

Gene was always really sweet and caring toward him, apart from the typical petty sibling arguments, and practically had to raise him, too; considering they didn't have a father or any other adult around besides their mom (and, on occasion, their uncle). so, it's no surprise he didn't know how Gene was in highschool

Gene took him to his first concert: a P!ATD concert. it was absolutely incredible and, although neither of them listen to them now, Dante still has the t-shirt and cd Gene bought for him. he sometimes uses the shirt as an extra pillow case

he's 100% the typa guy to buy his partner a bajillion things for valentine's day or just any type of holiday or anniversary. it's honestly lucky for all the girls he's dated that they haven't lasted that long.

he has a very, very cute and round, adoring face. he was a super cute baby, and he still is one now

[seat-safety-switch]

The world is changing now. Soon, it will leave me and all the knowledge I accumulated during my life behind. It's not too late for me to get into the permanent record, though, with this information about a long-lost art of car ownership. I speak, of course, of the car stereo installation.

Nowadays, car stereos are largely an extension of your phone. And why shouldn't they be? Your phone can access any music you desire, conjure up pornographic visions from the ether itself, and tell you how to get out of the corn maze that you and your borderline-sentient 1979 Firebird Formula have gotten stuck in during your latest secret-agent shenanigans. Car manufacturers make terrible stock stereos, and so it just makes sense for them to step aside and turn them into "big screen that phone makes go."

It is for this same reason that, before the ubiquitous smartphone era, we wanted to swap the stereos in our shit-box Hondas. In the late 90s and early 00s, new standards were coming out practically every weekend. You didn't want to be the dope with an AM/FM/Tape combo when it was possible to be the brave technologist who accidentally bought a stereo on sale that only understood uncompressed Mini-Discs and the Diamond Rio 600. You could go to the store and buy a "head unit" (car stereo dweeb speak for "car stereo") and jam it into the dashboard, yourself. Sure, there were semi-professional installers out there, usually working at that very same store. Those installers cost money, though, and surely you can connect between 15 and 200 wires together in a way that doesn't burn your car down, right?

Wiring a stereo wasn't really that hard. It was just one of those death-by-a-thousand-papercuts deals. You pull out the old stereo, a task which ranges between "annoying" and "holy shit I don't think my car will ever go together again." Then, you unplug it from the wiring harness. They call it a wiring harness, because you get whipped by it and still somehow enjoy the experience.

It's at this point that the driveway-installing amateurs are separated from the driveway-installing pros. A smart person gets a little plug-in wiring adapter that translates from the car's wiring to the stereo's wiring. Someone who forgot to buy the little wiring adapter from the stereo store, and doesn't want to go back there because their car is torn into a million pieces, decides to hack and slash, twisting and soldering the car into the stereo permanently. This works too, but it will be a problem in about two weeks, when the MP3-CD player you just spent your paycheque on becomes obsolete, and is replaced by a Tokyo-24-HotSauce-WMV-DVD player.

Now comes the harrowing. You have just made your car's stereo harness much, much longer, and also likely much fatter. You gotta cram that shit back in the hole it came out of, ideally without getting in the way of anything else inside the dashboard. This is the point at which you must decide whether you will spend eight more hours routing wires, potentially re-doing the wiring work you just completed, or explain to your significant other that the heater controls only go two-thirds of the way to "cool" now. You will pass through this crucible and emerge a stronger, angrier person. You will have opinions on electrical tape for the first time in your life. Your neighbours will call the cops to have you killed after you swear loudly enough to wake their babies. The cops will laugh as you nearly pass out from heat exhaustion underneath your dashboard.

And in the end, you will be able to play an MP3 file from a burned CD. Congratulations. It was all worth it, until you go over a slight bump and the damn thing skips a bunch. I hear the new ones on the shelves now have a bigger anti-skip buffer. And those stock speakers, well, they sound like shit, now that you have this fancy new stereo blaring 64kbps Napster rips through it. Maybe pick up a new amplifier while you're at it, and an upgraded alternator to handle all that new current demand, and...

[mephinomaly]

[TL] BIOHAZARD/Chapter 1

[ This post uses Ois~su ♪ ]

Season: Winter

Time: Flashback. Middle of February, the first year of ES’s establishment

Location: RhythmLink Office

Rei: This is a grave set of circumstances.

Recently, there has been a considerable loss of UNDEAD fans.

Though we have been on the decline for some time, now the numbers are showing that too. In the number of people attending our lives, CD sales, merch items, and many more.

Kaoru: Eh, really?

That’s surprising~... From my personal experience, I feel like since Yumenosaki fans still get all excited at fan sign events and stuff.

I don’t think we’re losing customers per say, more that our clientele is changing, right? Now in ES, we take part in a lot of variety shows that even kids can enjoy.

Kids have to make do with allowance their parents give them, they can’t exactly fork out a bunch to buy live tickets and CDs—

So if you look at the overall, it just looks like sales are going down, right?

Koga: Eeh, even though you’re stupid rich, you still get how the average person lives.

Kaoru: Hey, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. My parents are pretty strict, you know.

Adonis: Fufu. The reality is, we’ve been in the business so long we’ve become numb to it.

If you are a child, the price for live tickets is most likely far too expensive for them.

If you pester your parents over it, they’ll just become more and more firm in their decision.

Kaoru: Yupyup. They’ll be like “I’m not buying you silly things like that, just google a picture of them!”

Adonis: Is that what your parents said to you?

Kaoru: Not those words exactly, but pretty much, yeah. When I told them I wanted to go to an idol training school, they gave me a lot of flak for it.

Rei: We’ve strayed a little off topic but- whilst what Kaoru-kun said is true, we cannot ignore that sales are floundering.

To put it bluntly, the current UNDEAD is on the wane.

Koga: That’s exactly why I was against it! Goin’ on those lively variety shows don’t suit our personas at all!

Wish we’d just stuck to making cool music ‘cos maybe then—

Adonis: But if that was the case, UNDEAD would have been overthrown at an earlier point for being idols that aren’t current nor can read the room.

No, it’s more than that, it’s because our senpais purposefully signed up for a variety show that would make Oogami seem like an idiot.

Rei: It is more that we simply wanted to do that work, that’s all. As Koga quite rightly said, we are responsible for the situation we are in.

Koga: D-damn. It’s pretty weird for you to be so upfront ‘bout your faults.

Rei: Well, there’s no use being obtuse about it. No matter what shameful behaviour I get up to nowadays, no-one will grow to hate me…♪

Kaoru: Ahaha. I normally hate that kind of arrogance~, but since it’s true it pisses me off even more ♪

There’s been times in the past where you’ve immediately gone “that’s my responsibility”. If there’s a problem with UNDEAD, it’s a problem for all of us. Don’t try to deal with it all on your own, ‘kay?

Adonis: I agree. There are times where Sakuma-senpai acts like that. But we are not children who cannot undertake responsibility.

Koga: Yeah yeah, whenever you pull shit like that it makes me seriously pissed~♪

Rei:Oh? So what I'm hearing is that you all hate me more than I thought you did...?

Kaoru: We’re lecturing you because we like you. If we hated you, we’d just ignore you.

Rei: Hm… Anyhow, to return to what we were talking about, the cause of this whole thing is because we were not clear in our attitude.

UNDEAD was originally a unit that sang exclusively about immoral and radical themes via rock ‘n roll.

However as of late, we have been taking part in variety programs that emphasise friendliness which goes in opposition to our true nature.

We’ve created an environment where people say “Oh? UNDEAD looks scary to approach but they're actually surprisingly easy to talk to?”

But because of that sort of work we’ve been able to expand our clientele…

Those who have loved UNDEAD since the beginning are probably feeling disillusioned.

Koga: Ain’t we got our priorities twisted? We shoulda payed more attention to the so-called hardcore fans.

-And not the new “oooh so cute” new fans who think they know us just from watchin’ those variety shows.

Rei: Well, both are just as important as the other.

Of course we must treasure those fans who have been with us since the beginning, however if we do not gain new fans, their interest will fizzle out like sparklers.

That is how it goes in the idol industry, nay, in all of the entertainment industry.

It’s not as simple as, if you work as hard as you can, you’ll succeed and everyone will love you for eternity.

[ ☆ ]

Prologue

Chapter 2

[yuikomorii]

Is it just me or is Diabolik Lovers losing the popularity it once had?…

// Uhm… that depends. Even if there are still some enthusiasts who would purchase any merch released by Rejet and support the franchise, the volume is obviously lower than in previous years. Nevertheless, they’re not doing that bad for now.

Most people found out about DL when they were still quite young, whether they were from the West or Japan. Teenagers often have more free time, which allows them to engage in whatever they want and create content as a result. But as you get older, your schedule will fill up faster. Many DL fans have begun attending college, landing jobs, or even starting families, making it difficult to maintain a fan account in these circumstances. After all, that isn't intended to be a top priority.

The year 2015 saw the peak of DL's popularity; it received a lot of love and fan support. However, after the release of LE, everything changed. That game got so many negative reactions to the point that fans started boycotting it. I’m sure not everyone meant that in an intentional way but due to the critics, which weren’t just “this game is bad” but rather “this game makes me feel sick/dizzy/too sad etc.”, a lot of people didn’t buy the game and were influenced to dislike it. It became the lowest ranked DL game ever and yeah, they lost plenty of fans with it. Rejet published CL in 2019, but although being more well-liked than LE, it didn't generate as much excitement as previous DL games did because a big number of fans still hadn’t returned.

Moreover, preferences change, opinions change and, most importantly, people change. Only because they liked something 10 years ago, there is no guarantee that they still like it 10 years later and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Otome games became more popular than in the past, therefore a bunch of new ones were released, which piqued the audience's curiosity. Otomate seems to lead with their games, since most of their characters are extremely loved and talked about both in Japan and the West right now and that honestly makes sense because people will undoubtedly be more interested in newer things.

Something seems to happen to Rejet because they got a lot of complaints from fans for: mixing up merchandise packaging, selling merchandise with flaws, delaying a number of things, messing up the voices in various CD dramas, and other things. They did, however, apologize, but I do agree that going through all of that must definitely be a bad experience.

And last but not least, maybe some people are just not active right now. It’s still summer for most of us, so a lot of individuals will most likely choose to enjoy it rather than spend all of their time online. Many of my friends have temporarily stepped away from Tumblr, but they will return as soon as they feel like it. Remember guys: fan accounts should be just for fun and leisure, not something that forces you not to have a social life.

[thedevilsoftruth]

I know this isn't what I usually post but I just want to take a second and say thank you to The Downward Spiral and Trent Reznor.

I wasn't born during the time this album was released, I'm gen z but my parents, teachers, and most adults I know love this album and have memories from when it was released. It's funny how that works, isn't it? How can a band be this big? It just goes to show just how influential NIN really is, and how much of an impact they had on people as they were releasing music.

My first ever experience with Nine Inch Nails was when I was eleven or twelve. We didn't have wifi in our house and I was listening to the radio when my parents weren't in the house. I remember closer coming on and immediately feeling a sense of pure dread. I was terrified of that track, I thought it was the scariest song ever. Even through the censored chorus, I could piece together what Trent was saying and I was... angry? I called my dad and I was screaming, " I CANT BELIEVE THEY WOULD PLAY THIS ON THE RADIO. THIS IS SOME DIRTY STUFF!! HES SAYING I WANNA EFF YOU LIKE AN ANIMAL. " But even though I was so angry I was also curious. I wondered what the name of the song was and I wanted to listen to it again. I never found out and it never came back to me. Until 2022.

In 2022 my uncle was driving me somewhere when I heard that song on the radio again. And again another time in the car. I went home, went to YouTube and searched it up and ended up on really liking it. Beginning of last year I HATED NIN. Absolutely despised them. Couldn't listen to them, they were too loud for me and I just had a burning hatred for them for some reason. But I got sick one day and was reading a bunch of Moon Knight comics in bed and listening to YouTube music when Scantified from PHM came on. And I was In love.

The smooth, sexiness of that funky bass line, the alluring element of Trent's voice, all mingled together and penetrating my virgin ears. Scantified was really the song that got me into NIN. I enjoyed closer but I LOVED Scantified. The same night I went and listened to PHM twice. Head like a hole, ring finger, the only time, terrible lie. Those were the songs that had me awesturck. I kept thinking, " somebody made this. This is real. " It was just too good to be true. The whole album had me awestruck. It was unlike anything I'd ever listened to before. I liked Depeche Mode, The Police, She Wants Revenge and Prince. But nothing. Nothing ever came close to listening to PHM for the first time.

And it just got better as I listened to even more of this band. The fragile was the second album I ever truly liked by NIN. I loved it so much I asked my father to buy me the CD for it and PHM on my birthday last year. In fact I loved the fragile more than I loved PHM. And then late November of last year is when I really gave The Downward Spiral a listen.

I came back right where I started. In the car, with the radio playing. Except this time I was flipping through the CDs my aunt had. That was when I saw a CD that stood out to me. It was sliver with a white spiral printed onto it. I looked down and saw a familiar logo printed onto it. I didn't recognize the CD.

" Nine inch nails? Which album is this? I didn't know you liked them. " I asked my aunt. She had a huge grin on her face and then told me to put it in. And from that moment on, my taste in music was completely changed.

From the second I heard the very first second of Mr Self Destruct, I knew I was in for a ride. What is that loud noise? Is someone being beat? And then we go straight into all of these loud, complex noises I can't even describe. With all these textures and layers, Trent's kind of quiet, but angry voice throught the song mingled with all this loudness going on in the background is just... Art. And then it gets quiet. And it jumps back into that madness.

But I think out of all the songs on this album, the ones that stood out to me the most were Reptile and Ruiner. Reptile... I just can't even describe why I love so much. I love ruiner because of its kickass solo and it's pure madness and hatred, but reptile. Reptile is the missing piece of the puzzle that was the story this album tell you. I could talk about the story of this concept album, but thats a whole different conversation for another time. There's something about Reptile that you can't find anywhere. Reptile is dark, sexy, confusing, seemingly quiet ( according to my aunt ) and just... When you hear i youre like, " what the fuck is this? What hell is going on. " But in a good way. In the nicest way possible. There's a certain heaviness of this song, and I'd argue that while it's not they're angriest it's probably one of their heaviest. And not just like metal heaviest, I really don't know how to describe it. The guitar riffs in this song, especially after Trent says, " get it " and " devils speak of the way in which shell manifest" I think I just actually ascend each time I hear it.

It actually feels illegal listening to The Downward Spiral. It feels illegal listening to Nine Inch Nails in general because of how good they are. Trent Reznor is actually the greatest musician of all time-- hell, the greatest producer of all time. Like how can someone just be this good? He's such an amazing person too.

The Downward Spiral is my friend in my time of need. It's the guy who I look to whenever I'm sad and need to let out my anger. I can't listen to it all the way through without becoming depressed-- but this album hit home for me. I remember Trent saying one time somewhere that he dosent know how to write lyrics. That's just crazy in my eyes because he writes things that are actually real. Each time I listen to The Downward Spiral I feel like I'm being sung my entire life and everything I've ever struggled with.

To finish off this post, thank you Trent. Thank you for the wonderful decades that you've been producing music and changing lives. And happy late birthday to The Downward Spiral. Can't believe I missed the birthday of one of my favorite albums of all time.

[wolfstrong]

I said goodbye to my beautiful 2005 Honda element today my first car which i got back in high school. It left me with 211k miles on it and a busted catalytic converter. I’m not a car head in the slightest but I loved that car with my whole heart. They will never make a car as cool as the Honda element and it’ll probably be the best car I’ll ever drive, my first love. The seats in the back go all the way down and are good enough to sleep on, but they can also be fully removed then you got more then enough space to help move furniture. The perfect compact SUV really embodying the sport and utility. I had so many amazing times in that car. It got me to high school senior year and it got me to class every day of college and then it got me to work. I had countless fast food meals in there with my friends. I can’t imagine how many times that things been through the drive through and how many paper straws were discarded onto the floor. At some points there would be so many empty cups and soda cans they would roll around the back when I took a turn. But I never let her get too dirty, I always took her to the wash and took extra care on vacuuming the inside. Id let people trash the inside because I wanted it to be a fun environment. The times when I’d park her in some random lot and me and my friends would listen to the radio and drink. I had my first date in that car. All the CDs and hours of radio I listened to in there. I took that car on a road trip and slept in the back of it. I’ll never forget the time me and my friend drove her an hour and a half up a mountain, got to the top and realized we were completely out of gas and in a national park with no gas stations, so we had to coast all the way back down the mountain in neutral. I never got into a car accident, not so much as a fender bender. My car always kept me safe. No blind spot detection, no back up mirror, no lane drift awareness. Just me my car and my guardian angels. I remember when I first got her I actually bought her from a teacher I’d had from first through eighth grade. When I was test driving it with my family my brother tried to get in the car and slipped out for some reason and fell ass first onto the cement. My brothers best friend used to date the daughter of the cars owner and he said they had sex in that thing all the time. I felt the sexual energy from my car the whole time I had it. Never got to have sex in the back of my car, my one regret. I traded it in when buying my new car which got me 550 dollars off. I was going to try and sell it myself but it needed a lot of maintenance. I was able to get rid of it 3 days before the registration was due. I test drove tons of cars. I couldn’t decide if I wanted something similar to my Honda or something new and nice. I went for something new and nice. I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money to essentially have the same thing. My new car is a 2023 VW Taos. It cost me half the savings I’ve been building up since high school. But it’s all mine and I’m proud to own it. I want to keep it really nice. No more throwing the straw wrappers on the floor and spilt drinks. I think I’m going to get seat covers and weather proof floor mats and tinted windows. I want to take it to the car wash all the time and I wish I had a garage to keep it in. I thought it would hurt more to give away my Honda. I thought I couldn’t stand to drive a car that doesn’t have a cd player or a turn key start or no touch screen. But I feel good. I feel good about all the time I spent with my Honda and I’m really really excited about my new car. If there’s a heaven and I’m able to get there me and my Honda will be reunited like old friends. Sometimes driving her with the windows down and my CDs playing was the best feeling in the whole world.

[shewritesinblackink]

Barney's daughter - The Expendables fanfiction

Wanted to try something new so decided to write for the Expendables fabase. I find it rather hard to find fanfictions in this universe so i decided to do it myself but here are a few that i really liked:

links: read this on ao3

masterlist

Resume: For twenty-seven years, Barney had lived without knowing he had a kid. Until the day she came to him, being her only family left alive. With just a duffle bag and a crumpled letter from her mother. 

The night sky hung heavy, the dark clouds hiding the moon from the city. She had payed and exited the taxi a few streets over, not wanting to arrive too soon. Not wanting to draw attention. If she was being honest to herself, she was giving herself an out, grasping for a few more minutes to change her mind and walk back in the other direction. Finding him had been easy, but deciding whether or not she was ready to meet him took her months.

She had read the letter her mother had written before she left her alone in that big scary world. The paper tingled against her skin in her pocket. She didn’t know if she was supposed to, but she figured whatever she had to tell him via the letter was as much her business as it was his. She was his daughter after all, and she had never met him. Her mother had told her they didn’t need him. But the little girl in her had wanted to scream that she needed a father. She always had. She had wanted to tell her so many things and in the end she did not. Keeping her mouth shut and her thoughts to herself was something she had grown used to. Something about it was even written in the damn letter. It made her roll her eyes.

The letter had felt so pathetically written, as if asking him not to reject her, or judge her. Painting her as a freak, a weird girl who used silence as her way of dealing with the world. And violence as her coping mechanism, but that her mother hadn’t been fully aware of how far it went. She never saw the big bruises on her skin, she only saw what her daughter was willing to show her. A few split lips and bruised cheeks. A nasty scar on her jaw. Violence was in her blood, she couldn’t escape it but she could hide it.

She moved slowly in the dark streets, her scribbled on Converse silent on the asphalt. The duffle bag slung over her shoulder, heavy from all the CDs and books. More entertainment content than actual clothes. A rusty beaten-up metal box hidden between her t-shirts and her service gun. Her hand in her pocket unintentionally closed on the letter, ruffling the paper, marking it with crippling lines like old fragile skin. It was dirty from the dust of the journey. One plane, two buses, one train and one taxi. A few fast food to eat on the go, because she couldn’t be bothered with eating real meals. She hated to eat. Had always been like that. And it got worse when she joined the army. Crossed two states and had to sleep in a train station once because a hotel would have been a waste of money. She could’ve landed directly in New Orlean from the base she had been deployed to, but she had some paperworks to sign and the apartment to sell, where she used to live. When her mom was still alive. She realized it wasn’t that far from where he was. With a painful throb of her heart, a cold iron fist gripped her insides– she wanted to throw up. She realized she could’ve come to visit him earlier. At least get a quick look at the myth he had been in her child’s mind.

All her life her mother had insisted none of them needed a man or his money. And it was partially true; her mother’s job had been enough to pay the bills and put food on the table, but they couldn’t afford a new car, nor could they go on vacation or buy a new tv without reducing other expanses. As soon as she had been old enough to get a job, she did. Half the money she made was used to help around at home. The other half was saved and spent on tattoos. That too, was a coping mechanism. Like a drug.

She had worked in a bunch of different places, mostly grocery stores, car wash or gas stations. Once she had turned eighteen it all changed. She left for the army. Spent years away in dusty and dry foreign countries with strangers that ended up being as close as family can get. Found family they say, but it didn’t quite feel like it to her. She had always, even before the army, felt different. Not like others. She could feel it so deeply sometimes it hurt. It made her feel lonely, because no one else seemed to be like her– to feel like her. She knew she was fucked up from the love she didn’t receive growing up. From her “bad friends” as her mom used to say. She even wrote a few words about it in the letter, asking him to keep an eye on her and her whereabouts. Pathetic. She wasn't a kid anymore. 

The bright neon sign was the first thing she saw against the black sky. The yellow and red glow blinking in a small puddle of rain at her feet. Laughter escaped the open door, some shadows dancing in the orange light coming from inside. Her steps faltered, coming to a slower pace and then to a halt. A weird feeling made its way inside her, gnawing at her stomach like a dog gnawing on a chew toy. She wasn't so sure this was a good idea anymore. She had spent the whole journey to New Orlean wondering what his reaction was going to be. She had first gone to a bar her mother had told her she would surely find him at. But she didn’t. She didn’t have to search long though, one simple question to the man owning the place, some doe-eye and a nice smile and she had her next destination delivered on a silver plate. Thoughts of living alone crossed her mind. No relatives, no friends, no family. She could live like that, it was quite peaceful. And peace she seeked. But something pushed her forward, her feets moving on their own toward the light. Like a ghost crossing to the afterlife.

She had hoped to find him alone, but her hopes were soon crushed to the ground as more laughter escaped the room. She took a few more steps, hesitation written all over her body. One hand clutching the crumpled paper in her pocket. That damn letter was burning her skin like acid. She didn’t want to give it to him. She thought what her mother had written was humiliating. She wasn’t excited about how he would react. Maybe he would throw the thing away and tell her to fuck off. She was twenty-seven for fuck’s sake, who was she to expect a warm welcome from a complete stranger? And if that was his reaction, honestly she wouldn’t fight it. She’d leave the state entirely and would never come back.

Once she walked closer to the glowing sign reading “Tool’s” she had a peek inside the room. Motorcycles were parked in front, and some more shiny-colored and brand-new ones were parked inside far from the door. It smelled of gasoline and beers. And something else she couldn’t quite tell. She spotted a few men inside, seated or pacing around the room. Green bottles of beers and empty pizza boxes were sprawled on the small makeshift table, surrounded by a few seats.

Two of the men went silent when they turned and saw the young woman entering the shop. The white floor shone under her muddy-dirty shoes. Her breathing was even and silent as the music filled her ears but she could feel her lungs starting to close up. She tried to focus on the song. It was an old rock blues. She recognized it easily because one of her brothers in arms had a small MP3 player constantly blaring his rock songs when they would be in their tents cleaning their gear and weapons. And this one was almost always on repeat.

The ongoing conversation stopped when everyone noticed her standing in the middle of the shop. A man with long dark and white hair, probably in his fifties, was the first to talk to her. His voice was warm and gentle when he said, “Sorry miss, the shop is closed. But come back tomorrow.” He threw her a charming, wide smile. Y/n didn’t move, only scanning the room with her eyes until they landed on one man in particular. She didn’t have any recent picture but she could swear it was him. She would’ve recognized it anywhere. For good measures she took the old faded photo from her back pocket. While she glanced between him and the pic, the other men in the shop moved to stand closer to the two eldest. Like would a pack of wolves, ready to protect their own.

She dropped her bag on the tiled white floor and took a deep breath before asking, “Barney Ross?”

The man could’ve been the brother or cousin of the first who had spoken, except he had shorter hair and a less friendly face. He nodded slightly, wondering why this young woman was looking for him. It wasn’t for a job, that much he was sure of. Except if she was rich and needed the service of mercenaries.

“Who’s asking?” Deep grave voice, not letting out a single emotion. Almost like a robot. As a response she clenched her fist around the letter before taking it out of her pocket and handing it to him silently. She didn’t know if she was supposed to walk over to him but she didn’t get the chance to, for one of the other men still standing in the room took it from her and gave it to Barney.

Looking around the shop, she could now spot some pictures on the far wall, a dart target with darts and blades still in it and a few posters of vintage cars. If the music wasn’t still playing, she would’ve felt even more uncomfortable than she already did. They were staring at her like preys eyeing their dinner. She was a deer in the middle of the road. But she knew to stand her ground. She just patiently waited for his reaction, watching his every move. 

Barney opened the envelope, noticing with a raised eyebrow that it was not sealed. Shoving her hands in her pants pockets, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, waiting. Everything was silent outside the shop. So silent that for one second she wondered if she wasn’t dreaming all this. Maybe she’ll wake up all tangled in her bedsheets in her hot apartment two states over. Or on base somewhere on the globe. Maybe she would go on with her day as usual, her mind wondering what it would be like to come to New Orlean and meet the legend, her father. But soft thunder echoed in the night outside, and the lights in the shops winked in fear– or delight. The scent of rain made its way to her nostrils, helping her to relax a little. This wasn’t a life or death situation, she was fine. She focused on her breathing.

She closed her eyes tightly, slightly frowning to shake the thoughts trying to crawl in her mind away. She wasn’t in some too-realistic dream induced by drugs or the lack of sleep of the nights before. She tapped lightly her foot on the floor, closed her hands in tight fists as if measuring the degree of realness of everything around her. The soft hum of the neon sign above the door, the music being turned down slightly to allow conversation to happen more calmly. Verifying even if she was real in all of this madness. Pinching herself. And she was. She didn’t know if she felt disappointed that she had finally stopped chewing over the idea of paying him a visit and the fact that she actually acted on it. Or if it was just too damn hot and humid in this foreign city, and she was so exhausted her brain only half-registered what was going on around her. She needed to sleep.

The seconds ticked by on the clock on the wall and he was still reading the buttery-yellow letter. His fingers crumpling the paper again, his eyes scanning the page line after line without emitting a single sound. He didn’t even glance up to her to check if she was still here. He knew she was. A frown appeared on his forehead and she cursed herself, her mind double talking, saying she shouldn’t have come but also yes! you did the right thing! She wanted to sit down but no one moved, no one offered her a chair. She looked at the floor quickly, realizing she was putting dirty footprints on the white shiny tiles. Half-apologies almost left her lips but she kept them sealed in time. She wasn’t good at interactions. 

Her palms started to become sweaty, hidden away in her cargo pants pockets. Hiding the nervousness-induced fidgeting. Picking at the skin around her nails, even though she swore to herself she would stop. She failed miserably every time she was nervous. And the meds didn’t help.

The air was suffocating her and she wanted to take off her sweater jacket but she remembered she might not smell of roses after multiple days traveling in buses and trains. A blink of the light above and her mind played a trick on her. What if he thinks I came only to get money and leave ? It could happen if his reaction was not what she had imagined. The air seemed to buzz around them when he exhaled loudly and ran a hand down his face. Okay, he’s not happy. This isn’t going to be a warm welcome. More like a cold Goodbye. Chewing on her bottom lip like she was seventeen again, she lifted her head up and looked him in the eyes.

“So you’re Marlene’s kid?”

She noded. He sighted.

“And so you’re… Is she certain?”

Again, a nod.

The hand that held the letter faltered to his side, limp as if he was suddenly empty of all energy. He exchanged a look with the other eldest, the one with the long hair and the cowboy hat. “What is it?” A man with a pleasant British accent asked, twirling a silvery blade between his fingers. She admired the dexterity with which he toyed the thing. The explanations had taken longer than what she had imagined. Mainly because she had to explain everything three times for the guys who were overprotective and wanted more details. She didn’t know how strong their bond was, but she had a vague idea that they shared almost everything. If I put my life in your hands, and you put yours in mine, we got no secrets for each other. The words echoed in her mind, dazzling and dangerous at the border of her sanity and ptsd.

She fought hard to block the flashes of memories flooding her mind. She couldn’t afford to appear like a crazy woman, it was too soon to reveal how the world had damaged her. But maybe they could guess, have a glimpse through the cracks on her body, the scars littering her skin. If only she was not wearing long sleeves and a pair of pants.

They all sat on the chairs around the two little makeshift tables. Slices of pizza long forgotten, now cold, half-drunk beers now warm enough to be disgusting. Barney had been silent for the most part, only asking a few questions. She would've preferred to meet him in a one-on-one setting. It was one of the most awkward experiences she had had the pleasure to live, to meet a father she had never met, in front of his close friends she had also never met. And she could only imagine how he was feeling. How were his colleagues going to react to the fact that their boss had a one night stand more than twenty years ago, and that that memorable night had gifted him with a child he had no idea existed until an hour ago. Apparently they were all as shocked as the not-so-new father.

The night promised to be long.

[wumblr]

ruminating on the confluence of features that prevent people from getting into new music... people do rely on trusted friends to tell them what's cool instead of figuring it out for themselves. most people rely on hearing it from multiple people at once and calling it "buzz," and that's not so much a result of influencer marketing as the original cause of it, but it's nevertheless incredibly susceptible to covert marketing manipulation. labels benefit from recycling old music that they still hold one of the copyrights to. monopolizing the industry with a few huge names collimates profits towards the most amenable contracts (again, for the label) and of course i do understand why swarming toward bigger names is more fun, because there are more people there

radio frequency allocation has long since been chopped up and sold off to uh, several churches (who mostly hold AM talk radio, so that's irrelevant) and a handful of radio station holding companies, so it's trivial to buy airplay for payola when you can book the whole country in one perfunctory email, to a company your label established a relationship with long ago because it's been the only game in town (and who even still listens to radio anyway, besides the workforce where devices aren't allowed, arguably a larger portion of the music-listening public than streaming subscribers)

and just down at the base of it, liking music is made out of familiarity. you like what you've spent time with, so it's simply more difficult to find likeable new music instead of putting the same old favored tracks on repeat. i just did this with jill scott's debut album, had it playing in my car for solidly six weeks until i got a new kali uchis cd (who i already know and like). because fundamentally it was unobjectionable, relatable, and easy to listen to (unlike, i hate to say it, miseducation of lauryn hill, which was an extremely difficult listen that i could only stomach about twice because she was trying to play israel/palestine bothsidesism long before anybody else). and that's part of the problem too -- nobody wants to get into an artist of their own volition only to be slapped with an unacceptable controversy

on top of that, most of the time it's a slog through a neverending stream of mediocrity to find something good, overlooking mediocre lyrics to focus on good production or vice versa. even at best, your local "music guy" is always getting there from the "similar artists" feature on any number of services. and even beyond that, when you really get down to brass tacks and follow a bunch of music publications on RSS, you spend a lot of time scrolling past an unappealing headline and thumbnail going "ugh, who?" until somebody gets two articles published about them and thus seems familiar. and even still, knowing all this, i'm going "WHAT do i have to do to cultivate a following willing to be the first like on a soundcloud link" and trying to sidestep the problem by reblogging somebody else's post of the same link, thus gifting it the illusion of review by two separate parties, which still doesn't work because nobody comes to the infinite scroll website to stop scrolling and listen. extremely dismal state of affairs for the information superhighway and i haven't even touched on the death of piracy

[otakween]

Digimon Tamers - Volume 2

It turns out this series is super out of print and rare. My library only has the first 2 volumes, so I'll be reading the rest after this one online (if you want to buy it it's like $80-$100 per volume!) It's a little bit of a relief honestly, because the volume that I got from the library is pretty crusty and battered. I think I saw some dried shredded cheese on some of the pages 🤢 Really shows who the audience is.

Ch. 8

This manhua has really bad continuity and no sense of space. Characters will just pop out of nowhere. Culumon is the worst offender, but in this chapter there were a bunch of dramatic scenes between Rika and Renamon and then it just randomly turned out that Takato and Jian were watching the whole time but not saying anything? Riiiight.

I was really confused at the end and thought that Yamaki was saying he created a digimon but it was actually a really clumsy flashback to the original digimon programmers. Confusing panels...

Ch 9

Wow, the Devas arc already, it obviously felt like it took a lot longer to get here in the anime. I wonder if they'll do all the Devas or condense them/do some off screen?

At least one thing that's nice about this manga is that I can take in the Devas designs without them jumping around too much.

Ch. 10

Some of these jokes are flying over my head. Takato tries to name his group of friends "team rock" and he mentions "a skinny guy on TV who talks about the power of positive thinking." I wish they would cut out the unfunny, outdated material and just tell the damn story >:/

Worst boys Hirokazu and Kenta show up to reestablish themselves as part of the party...yaaay

Didn't realize that MegaloGrowmon was called WarGrowlmon in the dub. I guess it is kind of nice to keep the naming conventions more consistent. "Megalo" is sort of a weird prefix (megalomania?)

Ch. 11

I'm still obsessed with Jian's computer that can read trading cards as if they were CD-ROMs. I wish that technology existed!

Two perfect evolutions in one chapter? Pretty rushed but okay...they still looked cool. (Taomon and Rapidmon). I think the Wonderswan card game rot my brain a little cuz when I saw Rapidmon I was thinking about all the option cards I could use with him.

Ch. 12

Other than my fave Antylamon, I think Indramon is the most memorable of all the devas. His design is really unique, he's massive, and he kicks the shit outta Impmon. I like his emo hair too lol

When they realize that Hirokazu's homemade blue card works I'm surprised they didn't move onto a counterfeit card making scheme after that. I just it only works if it was made with pure intentions or something.

Ch. 13

Why is Juri's dub name "Jeri" when "Julie" was right there?

Damn, they really killed any suspense with Makuramon's intro there. In the anime he's presented as a kid at first but here they showed him as a kid but then slapped the name tag "Makuramon" right next to him...

They skipped a bunch because Juri just magically knows that Guilmon exists. They showed Hirokazu and Kenta meeting him, but not her. Oh well, I guess.

Ch. 14

Calling Juri, Hirokazu and Kenta "groupies" is pretty funny, not gonna lie. So accurate.

I like that they're clearly ID-ing each deva as its corresponding zodiac animal. I think there was a little bit of that in the anime, but not as spelled out as it is here. Usually I don't like to be spoon fed, but there's something satisfying about them saying "that's the boar, that's the monkey, etc."

[ashfae]

Sorry if this is a silly question. But I thought you're the person I should ask this to. I feel like, past the teenage and college ages, I don't ever see pictures or videos or stories about friend groups or couples doing the kind of unabashedly cute, dumb stuff together like you see with teenagers and stuff. Stuff like cuddling and holding hands +other physical contact (for friends) or all descending on a convenience store together or playing silly jokes on each other or doing something stupid with household objects because you want to see how it goes/why not. Do people stop doing that because of social norms or thinking it's embarrassing or weird? Or do they still do that?

(basically am I doomed to never have some experiences because I never dated and was a loser in high school)

Ohh anon, I am a good person to ask this to and have such a positive answer. Yes, people still do that. Not all of them but yes it's out there. Yes. Have some stories/favourite memories of mine: New Year's Eve. We were all twentysomethingish and doing a small silly party at a friend's house. Friend's roommate was off with his girlfriend (both also very good friends of ours). We decided to prank him. So when midnight hit that NYE we were at the grocery store (ahh, America, where nothing ever closes ever) buying a ton of post-it notes and sparkly markers and things. We wrote really random silly messages on them and hid them EVERYWHERE in his room. Evrywhere. Under the mattress. Inside his CD cases. Inside shirt pockets. Inside his CD-ROM drive. Geek quotes, compliments, random philisophical questions, whatever. He was still finding them a year later. (side note: on one note I thought I'd put a random Bible verse. Didn't look it up, just went "Uhhh, Revelations because it's weird, 4:6 because they're random numbers, why not." It ended up on the curtains facing the window. Person looked it up and the verse said "And before them stretched a great sea of glass." I don't think my subconscious knew that) Anyway. Emigrated to Scotland at 24 to go to grad school, leaving all my friends behind. Yeowtch. Made new friends. @amuseoffyre and @arianaderalte, with whom I stayed up all night watching anime and talking about completley ridiculous things. Ariana and I pranked each other by sneaking small chocolate bars in each others' backpacks now and then. Fyre would percolate ideas and history at us until we fell off our chairs laughing (Twenty years later on she still does this and I still love it). Ariana had a small Totoro named Sauron-chan, and once when he was left at my house I took him on An Adventure with tons of photos of his hijinks before returning him to her. Oh, and more. @mywingsareonwheels held a readthrough, inviting a bunch of their friends from around the country to come and sit in a circle in a room and read King Lear. I was Cordelia. (I eventually married the person who was cast as the Duke of Albany, incidently.) I remember our Fool singing some of his lines overdramatically to the tune of Once In Royal David's City. There were other things with that group as years went on, and then group holidays, renting a mansion in the Highlands for a week and doing plays, cooking a feast for each other, lying around with half of us drunk and the other half teetotal talking about whatever, playing board games, arguing about cheese. There was a swimming pool and one night I brought a bunch of balloons with LED lights in them and we swam in the dark by their light. Readthrough weekends where we did all the Shakespeare history plays in one long weekend, or all the Jane Austen audio plays. There's been schisms in the group but my god there's been fun too. Even during lockdown, @mywingsareonwheels organized readthroughs that we did over zoom, and every weekend we watch something.

Regarding my partner formerly the Duke of Albany....I hadn't ever dated much, to be honest. I was romantic and fell in smit every ten minutes but didn't want to do anything with sex unless it was with someone who actually had a romantic interest in me and vice-versa, which no one ever did, so...just didn't do much with any of it, to be honest. So I didn't have much experience. When we started dating I was 24. We had our first kiss in a frikking train station. (sorry, train people, but it was chaste). We held hands all over the city. We laughed. We kept turning to each other and saying "This is fun. Why did no one ever tell me this could be fun? I thought it was supposed to be all serious and intense and difficult, but this is easy!" And it was and it stayed fun. We got to do all the silly smitten things I'd never gotten to do as a teen/college student and assumed I just wouldn't experience ever. I realized I loved them and it was going to work when we were in a pub where it was too loud to talk and he invented finger breakdancing, which I don't think I can describe. We got married a year later which is how I ended up living here permanently. We're still silly at each other. It's still fun. I'm in my mid-40s now. I still have friends where I can headbutt their arm in frustration and they'll pet my hair, where I can make ridiculous faces at them, who don't mind that at the drop of a hat I will burst into song. Who will sing "Oh Hamster Tree" by Clive Barker with me in four-part harmony. Yes, yes to all of it, you can find people who will do that. And honestly, fandom's not a bad place to look for them. It's full of outsiders, and outsiders already know that they're not going to fit The Mold, and sometimes we just accept that and sometimes we embrace it and sometimes we celebrate it. Long story short: yes. Look for the people you can be silly with, and who will make it safe for you to be silly with them. They're out there and my god they're the best friends you will ever have.

As for the people who are too embarassed or wedded to social norms? For the former, encourage them to feel safe if you and they can. For the latter, leave them to it. The game they're trying to win is exhausting and impossible and you're better off out of it. Look for the ones who are kind and laugh a lot. Who encourage benevolent conspiracy rather than things that are 'funny' at someone else's expense. Who protect each others' weak points and respect your boundaries. It's not too late. Yes.

[faithfromanewperspective]

was just thinking about how easy it is to compare the current president of Israel (whose name I don’t even remember) to hitler. it fits the way we think, doesn’t it, foreign people do bad things, what we see as familiar is good. but then the more I think about it, about how this whole thing has been set up and the extent (which I have to learn more about exactly still) to which usamerica is driving a literal genocide then the person I’ve gotta do that comparing to is actually… joe biden??? like that’s such a curveball in our brains we never expected but if you trace the power structures, yes there’s a fair deal of being a puppet going on but only because he never stands up against it. because he doesn’t actually care to stop it. and actually how fucked up is it that we’re literally talking about how the best thing is to continue voting for him for president because the other guy is worse like ??? none of us expected it of usamerica. we respected that country. we still respect its people and hang out with them every day

but like. let that sink in for a second. the guy encouraging and allowing a genocide is the better of two options?? if that’s the case I’m sorry but the civilians really don’t have any power. I’m sorry but if that’s the standards we have we have to start imagining better. this is like when your parent asks you if you want to wear a red shirt or a blue shirt but you never got the option to wear a dress instead or simply no shirt at all. it’s the illusion of choice. and as a world how do we turn a blind eye to this?? how do we not call out our dear cousin usamerica who is clearly in a bad state right now? whose leadership desperately needs to do better especially if they’re going to be in a position of leadership in the world as the power structures would have that they are?

because people live and breathe economy I was thinking, what if the rest of us simply boycott usamerica like we boycott Israel?? that would send the global economy to shambles. and I know it’s not gonna happen all of a sudden (so no need to hurriedly account for all the people that would get hurt) but what if we did? simply stop buying and consuming things that come out of America?

now I’m probably one of the biggest and most long-standing swifties you’ll meet (tumblr doesn’t count it’s an echo chamber) but could I? could I simply hold off listening to the tortured poets department when it comes out and stick to her older stuff I already own on cd’s and the like? Taylor doesn’t need my money or my numbers next to her songs and I’m going to be missing a lot if I do this but when this is over, her music will still be there. My favourite author is American. that one might be harder since I really want to read the second sword catcher book (I’m not worried about twp since it’s not coming out til 2026). I know a bunch of technology comes out of usamerica but I don’t need to update any of my devices and if I do there’s probably other brands I can buy from. I think because my iTunes is Australian I might be okay with it?? but I’m trying to transition away from it and buy more cds anyway. And I don’t watch tv, I rarely watch movies now so I could probably forgo that too.

I was actually just thinking about how there are so many songs out there I probably won’t get to listen to. what if, in boycotting some this is my chance to broaden my horizons? and I will preface with the fact that I know many non American artists do live and record in LA: im not gonna boycott them for that. In fact I’ll support their music because I want them to come home. and I might make an exception for green day and good charlotte for generally protesting much about usamerica?? but tell me guys, what do you think?? is this feasible? I might actually do it. I’ll make an exception for tumblr probably and use meta social media to the minimum (maybe I should for tumblr too and google). but also. is this racist?? is it going to do any harm?? because damn it I want to support the people. I want to support marginalised groups and native americans but I also want to be part of a boycott that’s meaningful rather than a token gesture. and I know the usamericans of us can’t do this, but please if I do it see it as me supporting your rights to having your opinions heard on a political level because I come from a country that isn’t great colonialism wise but at least we have that and I can’t imagine not having it