#i'm out of DVD space. it's. getting out of control.

[raiiny-bay]

lil headshots of the boys bc i miss them

[kintatsujo]

my parents had this idea that if we were allowed to have certain things in our rooms we'd never come back out

namely, for the purposes of the point I'm trying to make, my dad actively tried to keep me from having a computer in my room when I was an adult already

and it was like, when I went ahead and bought my first laptop anyway because I was sick of the arguing about it and I had money, one of the other things I did was set up a cheap TV Kiddo could watch dvds on, and a chair that Invid could sit in instead of the bunk bed, even though there was barely space to do that

because confining to my room wasn't because I had things to do in there, it was because Dad had a way of making shared spaces feel like they only belonged to him and you weren't actually allowed in there if you didn't want to engage in His Activities

plus like, if you want a gal to get art finished more quickly staring over her shoulder at the screen isn't going to help

point being if you don't want your kids to skitter off to their rooms every time you're spending time in the living room maybe don't have a rule that Dad has sole custody of the remote control and maybe don't spring chores on them every single time you see them doing "quiet" activities in your presence

[risswirly]

Silent Sparks

SYNOPSIS: You and Warren are having a movie night but things get a little awkward when you wonder if your feelings are reciprocated or not GENRE: fluff NOTE: First time writing!!! Sorry there's barely any dialogue I kinda wanted the tension to feel unspoken if ykwim WORD COUNT: 1.4k

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Warren thoughtfully shuffles through his CD collection, gazing upon each film and thinking it over in his mind for a moment before moving on to the next as if his selection holds great significance for your movie night, despite the fact it was now a common occurrence. Your room was lit dimly, illuminated only by the ambient warm glow of a lamp and the TV screen waiting for a disk to be inserted. Huddled under the warmth of your blankets you wait patiently for him to pick which movie the two of you would watch this time.

He brings a hand to his chin thinking hard "Hmm lets goo... Scott Pilgrim!" he finally picks with a pleased grin, taking the disk out of its case and into the DVD player. You scoff lightly "All that thinking for a movie we've already watched a million times?" you look back at him with a raised eyebrow, a smirk tugging at your lips amused by his choice. He quickly grabs the remote before joining you on your bed huddling under your blankets excitedly. He climbs into the space next to you and you feel his side press against yours as he shuffles around finding a comfortable position. "What can I say, I'm a sucker for Edgar Write's directing" he replies with a shrug, "You act as if this isn't one of your favourite movies too" he adds teasingly, the grin on his face unwavering. You roll your eyes shaking your head lightly, unable to argue with his choice. 

As the movie begins you huddle up into him, gently resting against him with your head on the side of his shoulder. After almost a year of being friends you were at a point in your friendship where physical intimacy no longer felt awkward or uncertain, although it never went anything beyond quick greeting hugs or leaning on each other it still managed to make your heart beat just that little bit faster making you wonder if it meant more than you knew it did. 

As you bring yourself closer to warrens side he carefully wraps his arm around you resting his hand on your opposite shoulder. you feel the heat rise in your cheeks and thank god he's too focused on the opening credits to notice how red you've become. 

Eyes glued to the film his hand begins to fidget, slowly he starts to mindlessly play with the ends of your hair, twirling it around, delicately folding it through his fingers. You curse to yourself in your mind reminding yourself this probably meant nothing and take a deep breath, doing your best not to alert him, trying to focus on the movie once more and stop the out of control fluttering in your stomach. 

Eventually you're able to engage with the movie, your heart rate accustoming to the close proximity. As the narrative plays the two of you laugh and make comments here and there about the plot and characters 

"what do you mean Envy is the best ex? She isn't even in the league of evil exes, she doesn't count!" Warren argues against your comment about the best villain, trying not to let his smile peek through his serious expression. "Look she had a cool ass song ensemble and is hot as hell aaannd technically she's Scott's ex, so she counts" You retort back with a smug look on your face. Warren peers down at you, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed attempting to look menacing... or angry? You couldn't really tell considering he was just about the least intimidating nerd on the planet. Looking at his grumpy expression you burst out into laughter at how silly he looks trying to act mad. While he tries to keep the act up he fails to stop the grin tugging at his lips.

As you laugh you cant help but feel comfortable in his presence. You watch as his eyes gaze over your face, melting into a soft smile, amused as you giggle at him. this felt right, being with him just made everything feel so easy. 

In your laughter, you begin to shuffle around again readjusting your posture, sinking deeper into the couch. As you settle into your new spot, without thinking you gently snake your arm around Warren's abdomen holding him by his waist under the blanket. You don't realise how intimate your actions are until you hear his sharp breath and feel the sensation of his warm skin on your cold fingertips where his shirt had risen slightly. You feel his inhale under your arm resting on his stomach and sit completely frozen in shock for a moment before regaining your senses and quickly retreating your arm. 

He holds his breath in for a second, taken aback. "oh um" he mutters quietly after a moment. You sit upright, eyes wide, startled by your own impulsive actions. "I- Im so sorry. I didn't mean to..." you stammer, unsure of what to say. You look at his face and see his own eyes are wide, a mix of emotions splayed out over his features. flustered? confused? uncomfortable? Each looking like the other in an unreadable blur. 

"I wasn't thinking, sorry" You explain, finally getting the words out cohesively looking down at your lap unable to meet his gaze. You shuffle away slightly hoping that the distance would make him feel less uncomfortable, that is.. if he was uncomfortable.? maybe he didn't mind it? God, what were you even thinking!. "no no, its okay, really" he replies hurriedly sitting upright. 

You turn your head back to the movie and sit limply with your hands resting on either said of your lap on top of the blanket. Somehow feeling colder with the unusual distance between the two of you. Although your eyes were fixated on the screen the film was the last thing on your mind, repeatedly replaying the last minute in your head over an over. 

Warren returns his eyes to the movie as well, brows furrowed as he questions what just happened. He glances at you pensively gently nibbling on his bottom lip deep in thought unable to shake the weight in his stomach. 

He sits completely still for a minute, then slowly, without taking his eyes off the tv screen, lifts his arms over the blanket resting them at his sides. Even though the action is small his heart races uncontrollably as he gathers all his courage.

As you continue to space out, regretting every decision you've ever made, you notice in the corner of your peripheral the smallest of movements. Turning your head slightly towards Warren curiously you're able to see what it is.

Silently, eyes still glued to the screen, he inches his hand ever so slowly toward your own. Little by little his fingers glide over the blanket reaching for the warmth of your skin again. You look up at his face trying to gauge his emotions as your heart quickens. You notice the pink tint in his cheeks and his ragged breathing, similar to your own. 

Slowly, you also begin to move your fingers towards his, heart racing. Your pinkies graze each other ever so lightly but it's enough to send electricity through your whole body. However, he doesn't stop there, you sit still as his fingers explore your hand, delicately tracing over your knuckles and nails. You turn over your hand so your palm is exposed and you hear Warren shakily exhale before he intertwines his fingers with yours. You smile silently to yourself as you feel his warm skin against yours and as he rubs his thumb against the side of your hand you mentally note just how soft his touch is.

Feeling a rush of adrenaline and excitement you decide to be brave and shuffle closer to him until your sides are pressed together and you snuggle deeper under the covers. Using the hand that Warren isn't holding tenderly, you warp your arm around his abdomen, resting your head on his chest, your heart beating out of your own worrying that maybe you had misinterpreted the situation.

You glance up at Warren's face hoping to see what hes feeling in his expression. All your worries quickly dissolve when you see the wide, dorky grin plastered proudly on Warren's face. He looks back down at you giggling giddily, cheeks ablaze. "what?" he chuckles. You smile back at him tenderly, feeling yourself melt into him "You're an idiot" you snicker, turning your head back to the movie, your heart feels light in your chest and you think it may burst at any moment if he keeps looking at you like this. "Shut up" is all he says back before gently leaning his head, resting it on yours. 

Throughout the rest of the movie, the smile never leaves his face as the two of you cuddle together in your dorm. Warren, that dork. What in the world were you going to do with him.

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[toomuchracket]

i'll do anything that you wanna

(hi! sweet @brownduck and a lovely anon sent in prompts to inspire this loooooong pre-relationship flatmate!matty moment. references to 10 Things I Hate About You (if you haven't seen it, go! watch it!). enjoy!)

flatmate!matty watching girlie wistfully sigh at some cute romantic thing in a show/film she's watching and now he's determined to do that for her. This could either be right before or right after they get together

Being super normal abt the idea of movie nights with flatmate matty, maybe this instance like riiight before you two get together 💔 cuddling up together bc that’s like, a totally normal thing that friends do, him nodding off onto your shoulder or vice versa……….

matty knocks softly on your-half open bedroom door, nudging it fully open with his foot when he hears your soft "come in!". he tries to ignore the little pang of tenderness that appears in his heart when you smile at him standing in your doorway; instead, he focuses on addressing the laptop open on your knee, its artificial light illuminating your pretty face. "sorry, darlin', didn't realise you were still working. i'll leave you be."

he makes to exit, but is stopped by your sudden protests. "no, no, i'm finished for today," you say, closing the lid and lifting the computer from your shorts-clad lap. you stretch languidly, and matty's brain shuts down for a second as your cropped t-shirt rides up and exposes the bare underside of your boob. "what's up?"

once he's regained control of his brain, matty shrugs. he swears he sees your eyes flick down to quickly gaze at his bare chest, brought to prominence by the movement, but he's probably just projecting. "just wondered if you wanted to hang out, s'all. haven't really seen you much this week. missed you."

your face lights up as you beam at him. you pat the space beside you on your bed, signalling for matty to sit next to you. at first, he's quite grateful for the seat, because his knees went weak at the radiance of your smile, but then it hits him when he plonks down next to you; he's half naked in your bed, breathing in the scent of your perfume and shampoo, next to an almost as half-naked you, lying on your side and smiling at him through your eyelashes.

fuck. he's so fucked.

you shift up to a sitting position and - almost tentatively - reach across to boop matty on the nose. he wrinkles it in response, trying his best to deflect how adorable he found it, which makes you giggle and reposition his glasses for him. "you know, healy," you begin, teasingly. "for a supercool edgy rockstar, you're very cute sometimes, wanting to hang out with little old me late on a friday night."

matty can feel his cheeks go crimson, and bites his lip to stop from - what? smiling? groaning at how cute you are? kissing you there and then? he's not sure. "oi, less of the teasing. i'm trying to be nice."

"sorry. you're very sweet," you say, snuggling into his side so naturally that matty thinks he might pass out. "and i missed you too. was gonna put a film on, if you want to watch it with me."

matty experimentally leans his head to rest on your own; when you don't protest, he speaks. "that sounds nice. what film? don't say fucking twilight, i can't sit through that shite again."

"shut up, it's a masterpiece," you say indignantly, peeling yourself away from matty to rifle through the pile of dvds in the corner of your room. as much as your closeness fucks matty up, another pang in his heart appears as soon as you move from him; loss, longing, loneliness. jesus christ, he needs to get a grip. "oh! here, surely you like this one."

matty crawls forward to read the title, not noticing the way your thighs clench together at his lithe movement. "10 things i hate about you? i don't think i've ever seen it."

"WHAT?!" you press the dvd to your chest in what matty thinks might actually be genuine shock. "how have you never seen it? you've had girlfriends."

"what's that got to do with anything?"

you sigh, climbing back onto the bed and sitting on your knees in front of matty, who moves to sit on his hands so he physically cannot rest them on your almost-bare thighs as he so badly wants to. "it's a rite of passage for any girl to watch this with her boyfriend in the first few weeks of dating."

"wh-"

"don't ask me why, it just is," you begin, sighing. "but seeing as you've gotten to your big age without being shown it by the multitudes of girls who've tried and failed to cuff you..."

matty raises his eyebrows at that, but he can't exactly deny it.

"... i guess i'll have to do it." you roll your eyes dramatically, but smile that radiant smile again afterwards. "you cool with that, healy? pretending i'm your girlfriend for the 90 minutes it takes to watch this film?"

matty thinks about what he could say here. why pretend? let's make it official. i probably imagine you're my girlfriend for at least triple the amount of time it would take to watch the film every day of my life, anyway. but he doesn't. he won't. matty's so in love with you that he'd marry you tomorrow, but the thought of telling you that and you not feeling the same (which is bloody likely) terrifies him. it hurts like fuck repressing his feelings for you all the time, especially when there's reminders of you all over the flat you share - your trainers lying haphazardly by the door, your books on every flat surface available, your shampoo next to his in the shower caddy, your perfume wafting through every room and getting him higher than any drug he's ever been on - but he'd rather keep both quiet and you in his life than fuck up the dynamic and lose you forever.

so matty plays it cool. nonchalant. he shrugs, keeps his tone light, neutral facial expression. "sounds alright to me."

your smile dims a little. fuck, was he too cool with it? did he lapse into disdain? maybe - your tone is cooler when you reply with an "okay". thankfully, though, it brightens. "but that's not an excuse for you to do the old putting-the-arm-around-me-to-squeeze-my-tit move," you say, with a look so mischievous it borders on flirty.

the panging in matty's heart is replaced by fluttering - god, what he wouldn't give to have you look at him like that all the time. desperate to keep it going, he retorts with an equally mischievous phrase, pointedly ignoring the slight agony of how easily flirting with you comes to him. "fuck's sake, what's even the point of me agreeing to this then?"

your cheeks tint pink. fuck. scratch what he said about the flirty look - that's what matty wants to make you look like all the time, flustered by his affection. before he can make a cheesy joke about him really taking the boyfriend role seriously in making you blush, you respond with a statement that genuinely leaves him dumbstruck. "fine, we'll compromise: you can sit between my legs and use my tits as a headrest, okay?"

there's not even a hint of humour or sarcasm or irony in your voice. matty blinks a few times before he regains the power of speech. "you being serious?"

an earnest nod. "what kind of girlfriend would i be if i didn't let you snuggle up to me like that?"

jesus h. fucking christ alive. this might genuinely kill matty off, but why wouldn't he take such a golden opportunity? if he dies, he dies with his head on your tits - arguably a perfect way to go. "fair point, babe. alright. get the film on, then."

you hop up from the bed and run to your tv (matty tries not to focus on the way your bum jiggles in those illegally-tiny shorts you're wearing, and fails miserably). as you faff around with the dvd player, you call back to him. "there's wine under your side of the bed if you want any."

smiling to himself at the way you said "your side of the bed" so casually, matty reaches down and grabs a slightly dusty bottle of red. "fuck me, this is good shit! no wonder you've been stashing it in here, babe. are you sure you want to drink it now?"

"might as well, if we're on a date," you say with a wink, walking back to the bed and settling onto it. after wiggling around to find the best sitting angle against the headboard, you gesture to the space between your open legs. "get in, then."

"dirty," matty quips, but does as he's told, climbing between your legs and leaning back against you. a flush of contentment passes through him as he does; the two of you seem to fit together seamlessly, laser cut puzzle pieces made with the sole purpose of connecting together. "ooh, they really are comfy!"

that earns him a flick to the stomach, but you don't berate him (unbeknownst to him, because you like the feeling of him resting his head there). "ready to start watching?"

"sure, babe."

you tap the remote to start the film, matty opens the wine, and fake date night begins. you both manage to watch the film in comfortable silence - albeit interspersed with the odd chuckle, and a melancholy "oh, heath" from matty when patrick first appears onscreen - until kat is shown intently reading the bell jar, at which point matty cackles. "oh my god, she's you!"

"can't even argue with you," you giggle, taking the wine from him and taking a swig. "but shush, babe, keep watching."

how can matty be expected focus on the film, though, when you're there right next to him, all sparkling eyes and smiling lips and cheeks flushed from the booze? he makes an effort to watch it, though, because it clearly makes you happy - that, and he's actually quite enjoying it. but his eyes continue to flick to you, too, heart fluttering slightly faster every time he does.

more of the film passes, the two of you sharing wine and chatting quietly and laughing throughout. suddenly, though, you gasp and put your arms around matty, who puts his hand on your thigh comfortingly as an immediate response. he screams internally when he realises he's probably crossed the acceptable intimacy line by several hundred miles in doing that, but keeps his hand there when you don't respond, too hooked on the onscreen action to bother. "okay, we have to actually shut up now - this is the best scene in the film."

matty squints at the frankie valli song playing in the background, then at heath ledger holding a mic. "surely he isn't-"

"oh, he is." you readjust matty's head on your chest to lean forward as best you can, eyes unblinkingly focused on the screen. matty turns his gaze sideways onto your face, which settles into a dreamy expression as you wistfully sigh at patrick serenading kat. the previously-unseen longing in your eyes is crystal clear, even in the dim lamplight of your bedroom.

oh. oh.

matty fights to suppress the grin spreading itself on his face as the realisation hits him.

you find being sung to romantic.

this is good. great, even. some would say perfect, ideal, serendipitous. the very thing matty does for a living is the thing - well, at least something - that you want to be wooed by. what a fucking wonderful turn of events.

the rest of the film passes by in a blur. matty watches it, oohing and ahhing a beat after you do, but doesn't really take anything in. his brain is too preoccupied with going through the (extensive) list of love songs he knows and could sing for you - ones he's written (about you), ones he loves (because they remind him of you), ones he knows you love. so preoccupied is matty, in fact, that he doesn't realise he's now resorted to tracing patterns into your thigh with his index finger, nor that you're actively enjoying him doing so. it's only when the credits begin to roll that matty snaps out of his daydreams about singing to you, and even then it's largely due to you (reluctantly) manoeuvering his body off of your own so you can get up to turn the tv off.

once the dvd is back in its case, you turn to matty, hands on hips, adorably blinking the tiredness from your eyes. he notices, with a flush of something like satisfaction, that your t-shirt is all crinkled over your chest where his head has been. "so," you start. "how'd you find it?"

"good, yeah. interesting," matty replies, watching you as you climb back onto your bed and burrow under the duvet. he isn't lying. "that scene where heath was singing to her... that was definitely my favourite." again, not a lie.

"get under the covers, you're freezing- yeah, that's my favourite scene, too," you say, lifting the duvet up so matty can awkwardly slide under it with you. his heart flutters again as you yawn cutely, a fluttering which increases to a rave-level bass thumping when you wriggle close to him and lay your head on his chest, draping an arm across his stomach. the agreed 90 minutes of pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend is definitely over, but there's no way matty's going to protest you cuddling him for longer, not when it feels so right. "s'romantic."

"d'you think you'd like it if someone sang to you, darlin?" matty asks - it's a bit of a loaded question, but your sleepiness means you'll give an honest answer that you probably won't remember giving at all.

"mhmm", you say, clutching matty tightly as you drift off to sleep. "maybe you could..."

you're fast asleep before you can finish the sentence. matty just looks at you tenderly, his love for you practically radiating off him, and gently sweeps a stray strand of hair from your cheek. emboldened by the wine and affection, he kisses your forehead - a feather-light brush of lips against skin - before settling down to sleep himself.

sharing a bed for a night crosses the acceptable intimacy line so far it's practically on another continent, but matty couldn't care less right now. "yeah, angel, i could. i can," he whispers into your hair. "and i will, soon. i promise."

[boxturret]

The Adverse Affects of Pre-Release Materials

I usually post big rambling posts about bionicles, but today I'm going to do a big rambling post about one of my favourite movies, Steamboy.

And like...themes and stuff.

Have you heard of themes? Things can have them, they're pretty cool.

I know no one will read this but this is for me okay.

In 2005 I was watching the Space channel, now rebranded CTV Scifi, and they had an awards show called the Spaceys where they ranked and awarded media from that year. I recall when Stargate SG1 won one they had a clip of the Thor puppet being controlled by Richard Dean Anderson thanking everyone who supported the show, and that their voices sounded like "tiny farts". I wonder if that's available anywhere or if its lost media now lol.

In any case, they had an animation category and they mentioned several films that released that year, the winner was Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, but one of the nominees was a film called Steamboy, it was just named and they had a tiny clip from the trailer. It was literally just this part:

Really stuck in my mind and I went and looked it up and found the English website, which has been partially archived:

Unfortunately not documented is the previews and clips page, which had several short videos from the movie, notably, I recall, with incorrect character names. It called the main two characters Jay and Miss, instead of Ray and Scarlet lol.

One of the scenes on this page was from around half way through the movie, when the fighting breaks out in the Great Exhibition grounds, and Scarlet decided to stroll across the battle field to talk to the queen.

(I love all the shots where you can actually see the artillery shells flying through the air)

These men in armour come out and engage the British Tanks and one gets thrown by an explosion.

She goes to look at him and sees that he's dead, but she's surprised there was a man in there.

This being my first introduction to the "Steam Troopers" as the dub calls them, would prove a bit problematic for me and my understanding of the film for years to come.

This was 2005, it was harder to find things like this, by some luck after weeks of searching I did find the movie on DVD in a store and could finally watch it.

So now I could see the introduction of the Steam Trooper, which is quite ominous. The London Constabulary comes to break in to the O'Hara Manufacturing Company's pavilion in the exhibition grounds but the doors open and you see one standing there, menacingly.

And as a kid I thought "imagine being the guy told to just stand there all dramatic as the police storm in", thinking it was kinda funny really.

But something always bugged me about the Steam Troopers. They didn't really make sense, mechanically.

Steamboy is a steampunk movie, featuring all sorts of incredible machines with copious amounts of gears and belts and rivets and pistons and they all look very cool, but also there is a lot of thought put un to their designs.

In fact the British steam powered tank is actually based on a real world vehicle, the Hornsby Tractor.

Just stick a little gun turret on the front and you've got it lol.

You can see their power source, how they're propelled, their mechanisms make sense, they're crazy complicated and not really feasible or practical, but they're fun and make sense In the world established in the film.

But Steam Troopers don't!

Now from my point of view, from seeing the preview and seeing it was a guy in a suit, I just looked at it as a suit, so therefore, in my mind, the linkages and wheels and tiny boiler on the back must all be some sort of Victorian power armour, enhancing the wearer's strength in some way.

But it just doesn't make sense, nothing's connected to anything properly for that.

When you see the dead guy some of the wheels are still spinning and all they're doing is making some of the linkages, which aren't positioned to do anything, move around.

It really bothered me for years, everything else in the movie makes sense to me, but not them.

Then a year or two ago I did a little experiment. I watched this movie, which I've seen dozens of times at this point, but really tried to empty my mind of all my prior thoughts and knowledge. Just come at it fresh. And it was really fun! I highly recommend it. You'll never be able to really experience a movie for the first time again, but looking at it through this lens can make you notice things you may have missed.

Watching Steamboy in this way, when I got to the Steam Trooper scenes, it finally clicked. They don't make sense, because they're not supposed to make sense. They're fake. Its all fake.

They're supposed to be automatons.

The scene where Scarlet sees the dead man is supposed to be a big reveal that no, these are just men in suits.

This whole battle is a weapons demonstration orchestrated by Simon, the person in charge of this branch of the O'Hara Manufacturing Company. There are representatives from all over the world here and he spends the entire latter have of the movie trying to sell them stuff even when things start to go horribly wrong.

The whole ominous scene with the Steam Trooper standing there menacingly was for their benefit.

The O'Hara Manufacturing Company has so many amazing machines, they've got submersibles, blimps, actually functional airplanes, all in the 1860s, but its not enough.

They're so driven by greed they're not content to simply sell the amazing machines they have, they have to try and scam even more out of everyone.

It leads to them strapping some tiny engines that just wiggle around a bit and shoot out steam on the backs of some guys in full armour and have them march in to battle pretending to be clockwork soldiers.

This realisation also gave new context to this scene, which is one of the more humorous scenes in the film.

*bonk*

You can actually see these suits much earlier in the film, off in the background in a maintenance area. The Steam Castle, the true form of the O'Hara Pavilion, is massive and much of it was constructed in secret, under water, so they'd require many things like the submarine seen in the same scene and these diving suits with manipulator arms. But in their greed they're trying to sell these clumsy maintenance suits as amphibious battle suits, yet in reality they can't even climb stairs.

The O'Hara pavilion itself is a very clear example of this, its trying to look like a fancy stone building but really its all painted metal, and the shell breaks off to reveal the dark and dirty weapon of war it really is.

The Steam Castle started out as an idea of a mobile funfair and greed perverted it in to become this. This part was plainly laid out in the movie, but its fun to see how the theme was repeated in different ways throughout the movie.

So in conclusion, one of the major thematic elements of the movie was hidden to me for years because of the pre-release media that gave a away a twist before the set up, ruining the impact of it.

Its a tricky thing, seeing those preview materials were what made me excited to watch the movie, yet seeing them directly harmed my understanding of the movie for years to come. I've always loved the movie, its gorgeous, has an amazing sound track and sound design, it taps directly in to the gear obsessed part of my brain, and there's other themes and messages in the movie that even as a kid I noticed, but now I feel I have a much more clear understanding of the movie that I lacked before.

I've had my enjoyment of a few other things be tempered by overdoing it with pre-release materials, so in general once I've decided something is interesting to me I basically block out everything until I've finished it. I don't even read the blurb on the back of books anymore lol.

I highly recommend trying to go at something fresh, with an open mind, even if you can quote the movie from memory and every frame is etched in to your brain, you can learn something!

Some other quick notes:

Compressed gasses being released making things cold is an actual thing, if you've ever sprayed a can of compressed air for a bit too long and felt the can get colder, that's what's going on.

The two main henchmen in the movie are named Freddy and Jason, get it?

Canada is represented in the movie even though that flag didn't exist yet! :)

The PS2 game has an ending where you fight a pair of giant Punch and Judy robots.

The trailer and DVD menu for Steamboy is a song called Full Force, which is a cool song. The first half at least. I edited it a few years ago to remove the end bit which gets weird, and then found that several people also did that, independently. So that's neat.

I like my edit more, but its secret. Its mine.

I can't promise this won't happen again.

[sweethoneyrose83]

90s-inspired dialogue prompts

"Dude, did you hear? The new Nirvana album just dropped. We have to hit the record store before it sells out!"

"I swear, if I don’t beat this level in Mario, I’m throwing the controller across the room!"

"You've got mail! Wait, hold on, my dial-up is still connecting."

"Why would you spend $50 on a pager? Just call me on my landline, duh!"

"Have you seen the new episode of Friends? I need to talk about Ross and Rachel!"

"I'm telling you, AOL chat rooms are where it's at. You can meet people from anywhere!"

"Whatever. As if! Like I’m gonna wear that to the mall."

"Let’s meet up at Blockbuster later. I’m thinking about renting Clueless again."

"I just recorded that new song off the radio onto my mixtape. It's going to be on repeat all day."

"Mom said we could use the car, but we have to rewind the VHS before we return it!"

"No way. I heard they're working on something called a DVD. I don't get it. Why change VHS?"

"The Tamagotchi is dying again. I don't know how many times I can save this thing."

"I just got my first Walkman. CDs sound so much better than cassettes!"

"We should totally prank call that radio station and request Backstreet Boys for the hundredth time."

"Okay, I got a quarter—I'm gonna use the payphone and see if anyone wants to hang out."

"I'm recording TRL later. I can't miss that new Britney Spears music video."

"What do you mean you don’t have a MySpace account? It’s, like, the thing right now."

"If my parents pick up the phone while I’m online, it’s going to cut me off. Don’t call the house!"

"I just burned you a CD with all the best songs from the radio. You’re going to love it!"

"If this Y2K thing actually messes up our computers, I’m never trusting technology again."

"Dude, you won’t believe what I just found at Blockbuster!"

"No way! Did they finally get 'The Matrix' in stock?"

"Why do you always hog the phone line? I’ve been waiting for my AOL dial-up for like, forever!"

"Chill out, I’m trying to finish this important call on my pager."

"Man, you’re dressed like you just walked out of a Nirvana concert."

"It’s called grunge, bro. You wouldn’t understand."

"I’m telling you, Tamagotchis are like, the future."

"Yeah, if the future is taking care of a digital pet all day."

"I just taped the season finale of ‘Friends,’ wanna come over and watch it?"

"As long as there’s pizza, I’m in. Could I be any more excited?"

"My Tamagotchi just died because I was too busy playing with my new Game Boy Color!"

"You need to get your priorities straight."

"Can you believe they canceled 'Saved by the Bell'? Zack and Kelly forever, man."

"Yeah, but the new season of 'Fresh Prince' is all that."

"I just bought a stack of CDs, now my Discman’s set for the road trip."

"As long as you don’t hit a bump and make it skip!"

"I got an email from this girl I met in a chatroom last night."

"Email? You should’ve just asked for her AIM screen name."

"I heard they're coming out with something called a DVD next year."

"Pfft, like that’ll replace my VHS collection."

At the Mall:

Character 1: "Dude, if we don’t get to the food court soon, I’m gonna pass out. I need a slice of Sbarro pizza, stat!"

Character 2: "Chill, we'll get there. But first, I’m grabbing this Nirvana shirt—Kurt would want me to have it."

Dial-Up Drama:

Character 1: "I was this close to beating my high score on Pac-Man, and then someone picked up the phone and killed the connection!"

Character 2: "Ugh, the struggle is real. Why do we even have one line for the internet and the phone?"

Movie Night:

Character 1: "Blockbuster was out of Jurassic Park again! I had to settle for Space Jam."

Character 2: "As if that’s a problem! Michael Jordan and Looney Tunes? That’s a classic, man!"

Mixtape Meltdown:

Character 1: "I made you this mixtape—front to back, all the jams you love."

Character 2: "Wait, you recorded over my TLC album? You’re gonna be scrubs to me forever!"

School Day Crush:

Character 1: "He passed me a note in history class! I swear, it's love."

Character 2: "Let me see that… it just says 'Wanna hang at the arcade later?' So romantic…"

First Cell Phone:

Character 1: "Dude, check it out, I finally got a cell phone!"

Character 2: "That’s not a cell phone, it’s a brick! You gonna carry that in your backpack?"

The Internet:

Character 1: "I just spent an hour downloading one song on Napster. Totally worth it."

Character 2: "Better hope the FBI doesn’t show up at your door. They take that stuff seriously."

Fashion Emergency:

Character 1: "What’s up with the butterfly clips and platform shoes? Are you going for the full Spice Girls look?"

Character 2: "You say that like it’s a bad thing. Girl Power is forever."

After School TV:

Character 1: "Hurry up! Fresh Prince is on in like five minutes!"

Character 2: "Not until I’m done watching Sailor Moon, this episode’s a big deal!"

Computer Lab Chaos:

Character 1: "Why does this computer keep freezing? I’ve got to finish my PowerPoint for tomorrow."

Character 2: "You’re probably running too many programs. Close Oregon Trail before you get another 'Your ox has died' message."

[moonchild-in-blue]

Sleep Token Wembley Bingo

As promised, here it is: the Wembley Bingo cards of your predictions on what might go down at Wembley. Once again, thank you @fivewholeminutes for the og post!!

There are two versions, Red and Blue. They have the same predictions, but arranged in different ways. Just save the card you want and play along on Saturday! I may or may not have a ~prize~ for whoever completes a bingo.

A lot of the predictions were very similar, so I just combined them to save space. There are a few that have been left off, either because they already happened or for some other reason, and others that make sense for them to still be there - better explanations under the cut (because I don't want to spam anyone's dash):

Predictions that have already come true and have thus been cut off:

TMBTE (song) live debut

New masks/gold motifs for the Vesselettes

Vesselettes being aloud to move/dance

Unmasking (the double mask - I was already thinking of leaving this one out to avoid any possible conflict, so I'm using the Great Unmasking of ii and iv as an excuse)

Predictions that have already come true but are still on the card:

Aqua Regia mix-up - it happened once already BUT it could still happen or not on Wembley, so I'm leaving it, because funny

Better/Bigger stage production - we got the super cool LED logo and amazing lights, but it's still very much possible for Wembley to have something extra/different

Predictions that I have cut off:

Unmasking/Identity reveal (see above)

Siam/Cleo cameo - for logistic reasons and for the snakeys well-being, I think it's safe to assume they won't be present (even though I'd love to see that 🐍)

Ritual starting on time - again, logistics are hard to control and late starts are pretty common. I figured this one was innocuous enough to leave out

iii screaming with a microphone - we don't know if he will be able to be present at all so, this one had to leave. I want you to have a change of getting a bingo!

Live official recording of the show (for a dvd or replay) - Adam Ross has stated a few weeks ago that the band does not wish to have a professional recording of their Rituals, and so an official pro-recording is a bit impossible

Previous tour props, like hats, etc - if we go by the German Rituals, they don't really bring anything over so, very very unlikely to happen

It will be a normal show - while I agree that there's a small chance Wembley will be just another regular ritual, there are a few extra special things that are bound to happen anyways, so in truth, it will never be a truly normal show. (also I needed to cut off one more 😬)

If any of these does end up becoming true, I am contractually obliged to grant you three wishes, so come find me afterwards.

Predictions that have been combined:

New masks/ new paints/ gold motifs/ new costumes - it all falls under the new/upgraded costume slot (although I kept Vessel and the guys separate)

Dancers /silent performances / theatrical elements

Pyrotechnics / Setting things on fire

Fields of Elation/ Sugar/ Telomeres/ The Apparition/ more songs in general - these were the ones most predicted to comeback/debut, so I combined them in the old songs/debut slot

Euclid/TNDNBTG - most people said it would start with The Night and end with Euclid, although I have seen a few variations in order. I kept the most common one, but it's game if on reverse

(Euclid appeared too many times, so that song has a special slot - just as TMBTE album played in full)

Stage props/ Background videos / Bigger lighting

Hozier being present; a Collad or a Cover

Remember, this is all in good fun! Some of these are super silly and fun, others are very likely to happen. What matters is that we all have a bit of fun while emotionally recovering form the London show (because we all know it'll be incredibly emotional!)

If this is not your thing, then that's totally fine too! Above all, let's all be nice and respectful to one another!

💙 Worship 💙

[maxtalksalarmclocks]

Alarm Clocks + TV: Three Cool Combos

The inventors, designers, and engineers in our world don't always have a lot of fresh ideas for products. So many things have been done before! So when they want to make a product seem like it's new and innovative, they often use a shortcut: they combine the product with something else! That's how we got TV/VCR combos. And the Instant Pot. And the LG TwinWash, which is a washing machine on top of a tinier washing machine. And the Dyson Zone, which is both headphones and an air purifier (yes, really). And the GMC Envoy XUV, which is both an SUV and a pickup truck. You get the idea.

Alarm clock manufacturers love a good combo. It keeps things funky! We've already discussed the combo of an alarm clock and a radio/CD player, which is so common, it barely registers as a clever idea in the first place. But today I want to discuss some combos that aren't so common. And they all fall into the same category: they involve ways of connecting alarm clocks to TV! Does that mean literally merging an alarm clock with a TV, or something else? Read on to find out!

Alarm clocks that play audio from TV channels

If you're used to watching TV through cable or streaming (or less expensive means *cough cough*), you may have forgotten that, even today, many TV channels broadcast their signal for free over-the-air! All you need is an inexpensive antenna mounted in your window, and connected to your TV.

Over-the-air TV has been around for decades and decades and decades. And quite a few alarm clocks took advantage of this fact by receiving the audio from over-the-air TV channels!

You can see in the photos above that none of these alarm clocks (an Aiwa FR-A308, a Sony ICF-C153V, a Sony ICF-CD855V, and a Sony ICF-CD863V) have a display that could show TV programming. But they can play the audio from TV channels 2 to 13 through their speakers. (I'm not really sure why it's only channels 2 to 13, but that's a pretty consistent limitation across clocks like this.) You can wake up to TV as your alarm sound, or fall asleep to it using the sleep timer, or listen to it during the day!

You might be wondering: what's the point in receiving TV channels if you can hear them, but you can't see them? And to be sure, no one is watching Game of Thrones on these things. But I could see news shows or talk shows, like The View, working fairly well audio-only.

You might also be wondering: what's the point in your alarm clock receiving TV channels if you already have a TV? That's tougher to argue. Maybe this was handy for folks who didn't want to buy a full-fledged TV for their bedroom, or find space for it?

I don't totally know if this was a practically useful feature, but Sony sure seemed to think it was, because they included it in quite a few alarm clocks. (Sony alarm clocks with this feature have a model number ending in "V.") But at least some other manufacturers, like Aiwa, also tried their hand at this.

The one sad thing is that these alarm clocks can no longer receive TV channels. That's because in 2009, over-the-air television in the United States switched from using an analog signal to a digital signal. These alarm clocks were built during the analog days, so they cannot receive and decode the digital signals of today's channels.

An alarm clock that controls your TV: the Sony ICF-C777

Back before Sony started making alarm clocks that could receive TV channels, they did something even weirder: they made an alarm clock that is also a TV remote.

Even now, but especially in decades past, most TVs, cable boxes, VCRs, DVD players, etc. used infrared remote controls. Have you ever looked at the top edge of a remote control and noticed what looks like a lightbulb? Well, it is a lightbulb, pretty much. Infrared rays are just slightly longer-wavelength and lower-frequency than red light, which puts them just outside our range of vision. When you press a button on an infrared remote control, that little bulb shines an infrared ray that is detected by a sensor on the front of the device you're controlling. Those rays communicate different signals for different buttons, and they also vary by brand. Infrared rays are similar to light in that they require a direct line of sight to be detected, which is why you have to point infrared remote controls at whatever you're controlling.

As you can see from the photos, the Sony ICF-C777 has a big black dome on its top-left corner. This dome is transparent to infrared light, and inside of it is the same kind of bulb that transmits infrared light. The ICF-C777 uses this dome to control your TV!

Now, this clock doesn't control every single feature of your TV, which is why it's not covered in buttons like a normal TV remote. What it does instead is turn your TV on in place of the alarm sound. You set the alarm to wake you up. Then, at the alarm time, instead of playing anything itself, this clock sends a signal to your TV to turn it on, so that your TV will begin playing whatever channel you last set it to!

I'm delighted by the cleverness and strangeness of this idea, even though again, I don't know that I see much usefulness of it. Honestly, the idea of my TV turning on out of the blue to wake me up sounds a little bit frightening. So maybe that's why Sony never made another alarm clock with this feature. Still, it's a fascinating blip in alarm clock history.

An alarm clock with a surprise: the Panasonic BiSider

So we've talked about alarm clocks that play the audio from TV channels. We've talked about alarm clocks that control your TV. By now you're probably wondering, "There must be an alarm clock that's also a TV, right? Right?!"

Yes, there is! The Panasonic BiSider looks like a normal, if weirdly tall, alarm clock, But if you tip it backwards on its base...

It reveals a tiny-tiny-tiny 4-inch black-and-white TV! (This thing is from 1982, according to several YouTube videos, hence the extremely archaic TV tech.)

If you want to see the BiSider in action, being flipped from its clock side to its TV side, check out the video I found below! But strobe warning for flashing lines on the TV screen. (It's an artifact of how the camera is perceiving the TV static.) (I'm also too lazy to unmute my laptop and see if this clip has the sound of TV static, so maybe mute your speakers before hitting Play.)

I don't know that many of us today would love to have a TV that's smaller than our phone taking up five times the space on our nightstand. But in 1982, I bet that many folks were going without bedroom TVs because of cost and space constraints, so something like the BiSider probably filled a real niche.

There are several YouTube videos about the BiSider already, and I'll let them give you more details about how this machine works. I actually don't have 100% proof that this machine has an alarm, because I can't find the word "alarm" used anywhere. But it does have an "auto/manual" switch, and older alarm clocks used "auto" as a synonym for alarm (as in, it automatically turns on the radio at a scheduled time). So I think that's the switch for the alarm!

That's all I've got!

I find it fun that alarm clock manufacturers found three different ways to merge alarm clocks and TV together. There really is no shortage of creativity in the alarm clock universe, and I'm glad to spread the word about that creativity today! See you soon!

Image credits:

Aiwa FR-A308: Amazon India

Sony ICF-C153V: Universal Radio, Inc.

Sony ICF-CD855V: Google

Sony ICF-CD863V: Google

Sony ICF-C777 (first and second photos): eBay

Sony ICF-C777 (third photo): eBay

Panasonic BiSider (photos): eBay

Panasonic BiSider (video): YouTube

(Note: I am going to come back to this post later to add alt text. I apologize for the inconvenience!)

[according2thelore]

Are you still doing the ask game?

If yes, have you answered for:

5, 25, and (I'm so scared to ask) 30 😭😭😭

hi, anon! <3

i will ALWAYS answer ask games, haha! :) thank you for the ask!

5. What's a tag you never want to use for your works even when it applies?

"bittersweet ending" or "unhappy ending" (and variations therein, like "angst with unhappy ending," "no happy ending," etc.)

those tags immediately have me clicking out of a fic, i'm not going to lie. so i'm always trying to rationalize it to people about to click on my fic like "b-but 🥺 i promise it's more sweet than bitter bestie 🥺pls don't do this to us🥺"

only a few of my fics have this even apply to them, but whenever they do i go...hm...maybe i can put this as spoilers at the bottom of the fic instead? </3

25. Is writing the whole thing beforehand better or worse than writing it as you go?

depends! for fics over 20k i prefer an outline.

for example, when writing the BUABS rewrite, i watched the whole episode and took notes on canon timeline (i had a literal time line of events lol), and mannerisms meg!sam did when she thought she was losing control of a situation. that outline sheet was pretty funny, lol, but other than that i pretty much free-handed it.

i could NOT have gotten through or made "house song" or "we didn't get it right" coherent without an outline. for plot-heavy fics, i prefer to do an outline, and i still have most of them if y'all are ever interested, lol.

but if it's under 20k, outlining becomes tedious and the helpfulness decreases exponentially. sometimes, fics get away from me. for example, i didn't have an outline for "love potion no. 9," the hanahaki fic, or "souls tied." your average according2thelore fic has no outline at all.

30. Describe a fic that almost happened, but didn't.

oh boy! there were multiple! i have almost written a million fics, with varying levels of completion/planning. here are a few that came the closest!

fic where dean is cursed to think sam has abandoned him, and can't see sam no matter what sam says or what he does; sam has to find the cure while watching dean go through all of his stages of grief for him. [reason for abandonment: no plot, lmao; originally mean to fill "isolation" space for WW July]

fic where they get accidentally married, can't get farther than a mile away from each other without collapsing, and have to go on a quest to get a magical divorce but end up realizing they don't actually want to get a divorce [reason for abandonment: way too ambitious for a WW July fic; originally mean to fill "in sickness and in health" space]

"someone was listening" was meant to be a ~30k fic exploring more of junior's resentment of dean. i wrote a two page outline of what i wanted to happen, it was gonna be huge. [reason for abandonment: ran out of time, plain and shrimple. i'm still not super happy with it, and hope i can eventually come back and actually finish it.]

quote: "So much of my life has been about you. So much of my life was spent waiting for you, like you'd walk back in through the front door any second. Dad kept your keys on the hook." "You and Dad didn't talk for a few years, right? Before you came to pick him up from school? It was like, my whole life, Dad was just waiting for you to come pick him up again."

fic where sam has to decide what to do with all of dean's items after he's dead (i.e., toothbrush, dishes, clothes, trinkets, DVDs, records, etc.). i put up a couple of snippets for a wip ask game a while back! [reason for abandonment: i simply could not live in that constant wave of consuming grief. my stomach would sink every time i opened the doc; written originally for a WW event, can't remember which prompt though.]

thank you again for this ask, anon! <3

from this writer's ask game here!

-lizzy

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

My little sisters and I all live in the same apartment complex, but I've never been over to their unit because they've never invited me inside and whenever I had to pick them up or drop them off they'd tell me to meet them in the parking lot. This morning, I had to go over and help them deal with an overflowing toilet because maintenance is closed on the weekends (god forbid you have an emergency on 2½ out of 7 days). I got it fixed no problem, but I noticed something fundamentally different between the three of us.

Their apartment is the exact same model as mine, same layout, same 4 bedrooms, same kitchen, everything is the same, but theirs actually looks like a home. They and their roommates have decorated everything for Christmas. There's a tree and lights and stockings, and the kitchen counter is full of appliances and a knife block and a drying rack. They've rearranged the furniture and hung up paintings and have little knick knacks everywhere, it looks lived in and welcoming.

Mine is a cesspit hovel.

My building had a terrible roach infestation all year, so my roommate and I can't leave any dishes or appliances out in the open. The fridge is safe, but the cabinets and drawers were crawling with the bastards, so I had to keep all my food in baggies inside sealed tubs in my bedroom.

The living room is as barren as the day I moved in; it looks like an empty model apartment they'd show off to prospective renters. It's cold and gray (well, actually landlord beige), and I didn't realize why I hated it so much until just now.

Ever since college, I've lived out of boxes because I've been afraid to get situated anywhere; save for the few years I lived in my childhood bedroom at my parents' place, I've lived in a different place every year since 2014. I didn't bother unpacking because I knew I'd have to repack it all up at the end of the year anyway and move somewhere else, so I've never been able to make a space my own. My sisters move apartments every year, and they just deal with it; they don't mind packing and unpacking, that's just one of the things they gotta do, and their apartments are always so much cozier for it.

I've sprayed Raid all over the kitchen and swept out behind the fridge and stove and called pest control two or three times since I moved in in September, and come to think of it, I haven't seen any roaches in weeks. I think the infestation might have been dealt with, this afternoon my roommate has started moving his utensils into the kitchen, so I think I'm gonna unpack for real. I'm hesitant about food, but after a personal inspection I feel confident enougn to put all my pots and pans and plates in the cabinets.

If I'm wrong and the roaches come back with a vengeance, I'll clean everything and repack it back in my room, but for now I think I can finally start to relax. I'm gonna hang some posters in the living room, maybe put out some coffee table books, move the couch and chairs away from the wall. Once I get some money, I'll buy a bookshelf and put all my tapes and DVDs out there for easy access.

This is going to be nice. 2023 has been unrelentingly horrible from start to finish, but 2024 will be better.

[alleykatart]

So, I have POTS. And one of the things some people with POTS have is exertional intolerance & post exertional malaise which means my body really does not like to push itself and will punish me if I push too hard.

Yesterday I pushed too hard by cleaning out eight drawers worth of stuff, sorting through some old clothes I never wear to give them to charity, and doing two loads of laundry, all that after making a meal.

It doesn't really sound like a lot until you consider that on a normal day 'making a meal' is about as strenuous as I can manage and even that is hard.

All that to say that today, I am in a lot of pain. My muscles feel like there's shards of glass in between each muscle fiber, they're spasming a lot more than normal, and the neuropathy jolts of lightning that are normally mostly controlled with anti-seizure meds are kicking my ass right now...

But I did a lot yesterday, and I'm proud of myself for pushing, for connecting with my body and doing something worth doing, despite the pain today. I hope the clothing I donate brings someone the confidence and joy they brought me when I bought them.

In a few days, if I'm up to it, I'll empty the remaining four drawers and we'll get this old pressboard dresser out of my room and make space for new good things to come into my life, like an actual bookshelf to put all my books and DVDs and collectables on. 💖 Slowly but surely, after 5 years living here, I'm making this space mine, instead of someone else's spare room.

[adultswim2021]

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #73: “Curling Flower Space” | November 19, 1999 | S06E05

One of my all time favorites! This one starts with the ending of the fictitious filming of Brilliant Number Three (labeled #44c). They then do a postmortem on the show in a Rashomon style, with Jerry Springer being forced to stay late to listen to it.

Space Ghost, Zorak, and Moltar take turns telling their version of the events, which all involve Space Ghost making a pass at Sarah Jessica Parker and being interrupted by an errant ceiling tile. Space Ghost’s story paints the tile as a sophisticated villain that Space Ghost bravely bests, all while suavely wooing Sarah Jessica Parker with the suggestion that they “do sex”. Somebody told me that "doing sex" was actually parlance taken from the 1996 motion picture Freeway, a film that has always been part-way down a list of movies I keep in my head as movies "I really should see some time." Maybe I will--okay, pal?

Zorak’s story seems closer to the truth, in which Space Ghost humiliates himself while jumping around like a jackass and Sarah Jessica Parker is repulsed. It also features a lengthy tangent where Zorak gets picked up by Boston, represented by that spaceship that’s on an album cover. I am pretty sure that Boston is just one dude. I only sort-of know stuff like that.

I gave Dorkin and Dwyer a lot of credit for keeping the H-B references fresh in the show. This episode continues that spirit by using the old Space Ghost end-episode sting whenever Space Ghost gets quippy. Also the sequence where Zorak rocks out a bunch of different planets is full of vintage H-B clips. 

My favorite scene is the one with Moltar’s flashback. His little summation of the events, where Space Ghost falls down in slow-motion while interviewing one of those cymbal-clashing monkey toys, is one of my favorite jokes of all time. Then it’s followed by ANOTHER one of my favorite jokes (thank you snard.com for the transcript)

(A red sports car pulls up to Moltar and crashed into the control console) Moltar: Where's the driver? Car: I'm a talking car. Moltar: Why are you here? Car: Why is anyone here? (The car backs out of the control room) Moltar: Whoa. (Flashback ends) Moltar: And that was when I decided I just need to spent a lot more time in church.

This is the joke I repeated to all of my friends the next day.

Episode ends with a designation of “200 Series”, which I’m still not sure I understand the meaning of (I think another later episode ends with a “100 Series” label). I think I said this elsewhere, but I think I assumed this meant they made 100 episodes of the show, so maybe that confusion is the entire joke. 

This episode has one of the best illustrations on the Volume 5 DVD. It’s the sorta thing you look at and wonder what the hell Sarah Jessica Parker ever did to them. 

[the-fiction-witch]

Remote

Media IRL

Character Thomas Brodie Sangster

Couple Thomas X Reader

Rating Smut

Concept Remote Controls

Smut Masturbating / vibrators / screaming / non consent ? un controlled? I guess

I yawned as I laid on y/n's sofa, it wasn't the most comfortable of places but I made do. I had to be out of my house for the next few weeks but I wasn't too angry. At least the landlord is finally going to actually deal with the rats coming in from next door. But it meant I packed my stuff and had to be out for three weeks. My original plan was to just stay in my old room at my mum's but they're getting building work done. Then my second plan was to stay at a hotel but because of some stupid thing going on I couldn't find a hotel for miles. So I gave up and was sleeping on y/n's sofa in her little apartment but I didn't complain for no reason too. It's better than being out in my car I guess. 

I heard her bedroom door open and she slowly shuffled out "hey sleepy"

"Hello Thomas" she yawns with a sniffle or two as she poured herself a tea in her little slippers and her nightie her hair up in a bun it was clear just from her face she was still sick. 

"Ohh no you're still sick?"

"Umm humm" she nods coming over so I moved my legs off the sofa to give her a little space 

"Shouldn't you, you know. Go to the doctor?" I suggest

"You go to the doctor" she pouts between sips 

"Fine I only suggested"

"I think I'm just going to have a bath and a little nap. You can entertain yourself right?"

"Course you rest up don't worry about me" I told her 

She smiled and headed off back to her room so I grabbed her switch controller and just played video games for a while, but I gave up after a while rubbing my eyes as I glanced around for something else to do in her little apartment, I wasn't really hungry yet so no point going to the kitchen so I just sat up and glanced at the table and the pile of small remote controls I grabbed the first and it didn't say what it was for so I clicked it immediately I heard a whirr and I glanced to the side seeing I had started the Cd part of her hifi system so I quickly shut it off. 

"Okay. Music remote. So what are you then?" I pondered grabbing the next remote giving it a click and immediately the lamp changed colour "oohh lamp remote. Okay so what is your function little thing?" I asked grabbing the next remote and giving it a click seeing the dvd player draw come out "ah dvd player. Cool. What about?" I asked grabbing the next one but nothing notable happened so I pressed again but nothing "come back to the red remote, what about you?" I asked grabbing the next one and I saw the sky box light up "ah! Sky remote good good now I need to find the TV remote I can watch TV" I grabbed the next remote but that changed a different lamps colour "damn it y/n how many of these do you need" I sighed grabbing the next one and the TV came oh "wooo! Success," I smiled grabbing the remote so I could find something to watch after a while I settled on an old top gear and I glanced back a the little red remote giving it another click but still nothing "what do you do?" I pondered moving of all around the room often clicking trying to see if it did anything at all but it never seemed to do anything I gave it a bit and even checked or had batteries in and gave it another once ado the small apartment and as I clicked it I heard something. a very suggestive sound. From her bedroom door. 

"Uuhhhh!" 

For a moment I was convinced it was my imagination but I didn't move an inch still pointing the remote in the direction of her bedroom door and clicking it again

"Uuuuuuuhhh!" 

"Oooh… that's what you do little remote?" I smirked before clicking it up as high as it would go so much so I could hear it vibrating in her room 

"Ahhhhhhh uuuuuuuhhh!" She squealed 

I hit my lip hard leaning my head on the sofa just listening to her though the door "uuuuuuuhhh uuughhhh!" She screamed her bed creaking where she must have been arching her back in pleasure

"Fuck it-" I groaned pulling back my blanket and pushing down my shorts immediately taking a grip of my half hard erection stroking softly listening to her cute little squeals I smirked a little looking at the remote and the power I had in my hand and I dropped it all the way down to almost nothing listening to her little whines 

"Uuuhhh-" 

I waited a little still stroking myself before turning it up halfway 

"Uuughhhh!" She squealed excitedly

"Fuck- you bad bad little girl" I growled my strokes now becoming far more intense jerking myself off just listening to her I let her get loud before dropping it down to almost nothing again listening to her cute little whines before turning it up again, I kept doing it for a good four minutes just edging her everytime she got close but I was doing it to myself too slow down whenever I turned hers down too leaving me as desperate for my own as I'm sure she was for hers I turned it all the way uuaa high as it would go hearing the sound of it vibrating in her room as my hand worked on its own 

"Uuughhhh uhhhh uuuuuuuhhh!" She squealed

I could tell she was close and so was I so I forced my hand off myself and turned it off completely bitting on the remote a little as I did my hips bucking so desperate to cum and hearing her adorable frustrated like whines but I couldn't take it anymore I pulled my shorts up and went to her bedroom door forcing it open seeing her laid in her bed wrapped up in the cotton covers she had clearly been sleeping so peacefully having her little nap before we started our game and now she was on her back sweaty with her legs open showing where she had the matching red toy both inside her and on her clit kept in by her little cotton panties 

"Hi" I smirked leaning on her door frame 

"Hi" she blushed hard trying to hide herself a little but she was far too desperate to move but she quickly saw the remote in my hand "ah I was wondering where that was" 

"You knew exactly where it was" I smirked 

"I couldn't be sure" she blushed

"Liar" I smirked crawling into her bed with her "say it" I cooed kissing her sweet neck 

"What?" She blushed hard wrapping her legs around me as she did letting me grind Against her hard 

"Say you want me baby." I growled in her ear 

"Not want" she smirked snatching the remote from my hand "need" she whispered seductively turning it on high and given I was grinding on her I felt the harsh vibration too watching her head roll back as she squealed

"Ughhhhhhh you bad bad little girl" I growled forcing the remote out her hand turning it off before ripping her panties off and pulling the toy out throwing it to the floor immediately slipping inside her 

"Ahhhhhh! Thomas!" - 

[luesmainblog]

And remember to buy what physical media you CAN get if copies of your shows/movies literally are not available. Every single time this kind of thing happens, I go to check of Bo Burnham's "Inside" is on dvd yet. Every time, it isn't. He can put his songs up on youtube for free, and on CD, and Vinyl, and even a damn Cassette tape. He can put an entire "outtakes" sequel up on youtube for free. But for some reason, if you want to watch the actual Inside special, you HAVE to buy a netflix subscription and watch it there. Attempts to pirate are also highly difficult due to the nature of how netflix videos imbed. Now, i'm not naive; it's entirely possible that he simply didn't want to put it out on video. But given the merchandising that DOES exist, I find it much more likely that whatever deal was struck with netflix to make the special ensured that it CAN'T be release on dvd, or it would have been by now. It would not be the first time this has been the case, especially with netflix. A similar issue exists with Adam Ruins Everything; i literally do not have any way to watch it except for a digital copy. Purchasing dvds/bluerays of that which you enjoy and demanding them when they don't exist is how we prevent that from happening to EVERYTHING that is made. Yes, it may be more convenient in that moment to just access it on your streaming platform where you can see it on your phone or computer or smart tv wherever you want, and finding it on streaming is always going to be a little faster than loading a disc into a machine, but you want to be thinking in the long term here. If you love this piece of media, how do you ensure it will still be watchable 10 years from now? How do you keep it from becoming Lost?

If you don't own a DVD player, get one. same with CDs. they can be found cheap, there are portable options, and they are not terribly difficult to install if you can read an instruction manual. Hell, if you currently own a PS2-PS5, or an XBOX (any of them if memory serves right), you already own one. check the specific model to see which discs are compatible, but most of them serve as both a DVD player and a CD player, not just a game console. Getting a new PC? have it built with a disc drive! or buy one separately and have it installed! hell, you can get plug-in disc drives so even your dinky little laptop can read them! and bonus points, having a disc drive(assuming you got the right kind and have the right programs) will grant the ability to burn your own discs. (you know how you can take files and put them on a flash drive? that, but with dvds and cds.)

and if your ONLY way to watch videos is touch screen devices like phones and tablets... i honestly can't express to you how much you are missing out. bigger screens, more precise control, dedicated menu screens themed around your movies, the ability to take your OWN video or playlist anywhere without needing wifi or data or taking up precious space... it might seem a little clunky at first, but there is a world of difference waiting for you. even just being able to look at your full collection and know that everything here is something you will like, that you can watch any time you please, no commercials, no pressure, bought and payed for with no further money needed from you... it may not be very Minimalist, but it helps a place feel like home. like it's your space, for you.

Crunchyroll buying out and shutting down Funimaton, deleting everyone’s purchased copies, and then hiking up their prices by 200% is just another example of why you should buy physical media. If you want to buy things you actually own, don’t look to streaming.

[dsknsk]

We all know that the reason Chuuya isn't showing up a lot in the manga is because his power is so stupidly OP that it could break the story. And of course, we've seen it - even without Corruption he's casually stopping bullets in mid-air, returning them back to where they came from, throwing enemies into the air and then slamming them down with a huge weight enough to leave cracks in the ground, and applying the same force to his own punches and kicks. With Corruption he's even creating miniature black holes.

But it's when you realize what gravity really is and what it really does, that you understand that if Chuuya were to be a little more creative, he would be even larger of a menace than he already is. And you don't even have to stretch the definition of 'control over gravity', because gravity in itself is already so powerful that it's barely comprehensible. It might be hard to see but gravity manipulation is different from telekinesis, even though one might apply it the same way - solely because gravity is basically the engine that powers the entire universe from its birth to its death.

Everyone's basic idea of gravity is that it is what keeps your feet on the ground and prevents you from floating on earth. But you know what gravity also governs? Light.

Light in itself has no mass. But what we do know about the behavior of energy is, that it can influence mass. We also know that mass can be converted into energy (thanks Einstein) and that mass is spontenously created from energy. Thus, there is a connection between light as a form of energy and mass.

Light can behave itself as a form of mass at certain moments; which led us to using a laser to cut things and the invention of the CD and DVD. But light also behaves itself as an energy, so that is why we speak of waves of light; with 'colors' just being light at different frequencies (yes, there are colors we cannot see). BluRays get their name from blue lasers, which are used to read digital information because of its high frequency making it possible to store a lot of information.

It looks like this combination of mass and energy that light is able to be influenced by gravity. It's not exactly known why this is, jury's still out. But let's get back to Chuuya and what this would mean.

I'm going out on a leg and say that using this, Chuuya would be able to change the light around him to camouflage himself or become invisible. At the very least he would be able to change the color of his clothing.

Just imagine suddenly getting thrown into the air and smacked down with immense force by something you cannot even see.

By extension, this would also apply to the to us invisible spectrum, implying Chuuya would be able to weaponize certain wavelengths.

Gravity also affects time and space. Speed is the same as distance over time, and gravity increases the distance that light travels as it curves space. But the speed of light is constant (at a speed of 299.792.458 meters per second, which is in fact strictly defined as such), no matter where you are or how fast you're going. If the speed of light is constant and the distance increases due to gravity then time has to dilate in order to make up for it. The more gravity there is, the more space is curved and the more time has to dilate.

Gravity would be like a curve in the road causing you to go slower. Except you still see the road as straight.

The rest is really too complicated for me to explain but it would come down to Chuuya being able to trap someone in stasis (a la Aradia to Jack Noir) or isolating a part of the universe to make it inaccessible.

And hey, he's being seen as creating miniature wormholes in Corruption. By the same logic he could be creating stars, wormholes or just do nuclear fusion for all we know.

After all this, you'd think that there would be a place Chuuya wouldn't able to use his power in (aside from being touched by Dazai) - in space there's no gravity, right? Wrong. Gravity is everywhere, even in space. You cannot escape from it. Let's say you climb a ladder that's 500 meters long. Aside from the fact that you will probably die without proper protection because there's no oxygen there, even up there, there's still gravity. The reason astronauts in the ISS are floating...is because they are falling.

One of my stories is called 'falling is like floating'. Turns out they're very similar after all.

So no, there really wouldn't be any escaping him either.

If he would spend his time getting down to the limits of his power and start experimenting beyond the powerful stuff he's already doing, he could do the weirdest things.

[declutteringme]

May 21, 2024

I plan on taking a couple boxes to the local Goodwill today. I would say we have about three - one huge box full of DVDs, and two boxes of books that I had to admit to myself I was never going to read. I plan on using the space that was holding all of my books to store my yarn (I'm a fan of crocheting in my free time). I also need to spend some time going through the car, decluttering it and cleaning it out. I have three sets of sunglasses on the dash. Who needs three sets of sunglasses?

It's hard to say what originally turned me into a minimalist. Maybe it was growing up around my grandmother, who had so much stuff that when she passed, we were able to cover the entire cost of her viewing and cremation by selling all of it in a yard sale. Maybe it was being raised by my mother, who has little control over how she spends money. Maybe it was because I was raised poor, and developed a scarcity mindset as I matured. One thing is for sure, I'm a recovering shopaholic now. I'm constantly telling myself... if I wait for a while, and I still want something - say, after a week - I'll get it. It's a way of combatting the rush that I would get from impulse purchases.

My impulse purchasing has led to us having all of this clutter. I've come to realize recently that ninety-nine percent of the stuff that we own... is actually mine. My partner moved here from Florida a few years back, and only brought with them what could fit in the trunk of my car. Since then, they haven't really accumulated that many items. Most of the things we have are things that I have purchased for myself - either on impulse, or just out of sheer want.

When we moved into our current apartment some year and a half ago from my parents' place, the amount of stuff we brought with us was enough to overfill our living room with boxes (most of which we did end up unpacking, though some of them were only went through recently). Remembering that day, all of the trips to and from my parents' house and trailers full of stuff... Something about it makes me, I don't know... It made something click.

The basis of minimalism has always been with me, from the time I grew up around a borderline hoarder grandmother to living in poverty as a young child.

But something about those early December mornings....