#imagine if skulls was alternative rock

[stillavoidingbaddays]

Not my best work quality wise but I really like how these two work together :)

[xreaderdumpster]

Love the Remy content u been brewin up for us but what about nightcrawler or wolverine x goth!reader??

Hello hello, thank you! I love brewing some delicious head-canons. Because I’ve been a lil stuck lately, here’s both Nightcrawler AND Wolverine with a goth!Reader! Please enjoy ;w;

Nightcrawler-

Would be very into it especially if you’re the kind of goth that wears various crosses or rosary beads with an outfit!

I mean LOVES that kinda look! Those really intricate style cross necklaces with a gem in the middle? Oooooooo boy Kurt would love it! I can imagine he’d get a matching one he’d wear on his days off so he’d always have you with him.

Kurt likes long skirts, I think modesty would be key for him as he’s an ex-monk. However, he also gives me the vibe that he’d LOVE corsets.

Whether the corset is red and frilly across the torso, black and leather waist cinchers or anything in between, Kurt would love it!

I think if you’re a goth who wears makeup, I feel like he’d be fascinated at first but might get involved! Either trying to help you put it on or letting you put it on him!

Would absolutely freak out if you collect skulls and the like but wouldn’t say no to gothic architecture collected bits, silver jewellery or anything with bats!

Dates to gothic style churches and cathedrals are an absolute must! Whether it’s for religious reasons, architecture or just the quiet, he will enjoy every minute he’s with you!

Wolverine-

Unlike Remy and Kurt, unfortunately Logan doesn’t give me a goth partner vibe. Doesn’t mean he won’t EVER date a goth but he gives me a more general alternative or country girl vibe you know?

When he’s with a goth person though, I think he’d like corsets, fishnet stockings/gloves and those thick goth boots. The ones that make it easier for him to kiss a short partner or make him work if it makes his partner even taller than him.

Also probably would like them for the “step on me” aspect

Chokers too. Kind of a kink thing but also thinks chokers are flattering no matter a person's size! He would probably like trying them on himself too.

Definitely would be into goths who have weird collections though. Like skulls or taxidermy. Logan gives me those kinds of lil freaky vibes. Will help you add to the collection too!

Like with Remy, when you’re around Logan, please ensure any kind of goth style lipstick you’re wearing is smudge proof! This man likes kissing! Beware!

I think in terms of goth music, he’d be into dad style rock anyway (AC/DC, Rolling Stones, etc.) so would be open to goth style music! Not sure if this is a thing but also try some kind of gothic country music with him.

[secret-smut-sideblog]

Black Out Days

Gale x F! Tav

18+ chronic pain, drug use (weed), unintentional aphrodisiac (slutweed), groping, dry humping, breast worship (f!), fingering (f!), body caging, roughness, sub/dom, tenderness

Tav's pain rising to an unbearable level, she indulges in some found herbs to find relief. But her sanctuary is laced with some heated side effects...

Masterlist

-

"Please, please I've had enough." She moaned, head resting against cool river stones.

The pain had been spiking over the base of her skull all day in excruciating arcs. It was all she could do to keep her eyes open, force her face to be impassive.

Between every horrible thing that had been happening to them, her chronic pain was her own burden to bear. She hadn't told anyone besides Halsin, the sweet man helped her as much as he could with what was available.

Nothing made her feel worse than being a burden, so she trudged on in silence. Still the leader they needed. Gods only know how she ended up in that position in the first place.

Crouching at the riverside, she gripped at slick stones, whimpering. Finally letting go of her lovingly crafted mask of health. Wanting to slam her insolent head into the earth, but knew that would offer no relief.

Scrambling hands reached into her pack. At the goblin camp, she had pocketed a jar of promising looking herbs.

She brought the unsealed jar to her nose.

Musky, sweet, near sulphuric.

Yes, praise the Gods. Halfling weed.

Packing Halsins borrowed pipe, she leaned back on haunches, the new movement making her stomach spin threateningly. If she could stretch this supply out it could sustain her, at least until she could slip into to an apothecary.

Flicking her fingers, she brought a small flame to the bowl. Breathing in slowly.

As soon as the smoke met her lungs, a spreading warmth caressed up the back of her spine. Gentle fingers splaying up, cradling the base of her skull. The agony dulling into a veiled hissing. Still crouched in the grass, but far from where she sat.

Tears of relief fell down her face. Gods, she could breath again. Body pulled down deliciously yet so much lighter.

She sighed, leaning her head back. Taking a moment to get lost in the crisp night air, the sounds of moving water, insects calling for one another in the dark. Finally able to perceive more than her anguish.

Standing, she headed back towards the orange point of their campfire. Body awash in calm.

As she re-entered their little world a new sensation sidled up to her spreaded peace.

A soothing heat slipped down her front, pressing an insistent touch inside of her pelvis.

Oh.

Kneeling near the campfire, she examined the jar more thoroughly. Lifting the bottom, she found a small scuffed label written in scratchy hand.

Halfing Weed; Succubus Spittle 5%

Hissing a breath between her teeth, she closed her eyes in defeat. Fucking goblins.

Slick already pooling between her legs, she groaned in frustration. Of course her savior came with a demand.

Already, she knew this was not nearly enough to deter her from the alternative. But it didn't make it any less vexing.

Hips already rocking against nothing, she was infinitely thankful that the camp had turned in for the night. Even Astarion off hunting for a few hours, at least.

Especially him, she knew he had the skills she needed in this moment. But she didn't want to do that to him. From one veiled mask to another, she could tell he didn't want her that way.

Dizzy with heat, she rose to head to her tent. More than willing to deal with this desire alone. She had a sure hand and a vivid imagination, it would be an easy burden to bear.

Her infatuation with the wizard could be tonight's theater of the mind. Wide shoulders, soft brown eyes, hair that brushed against his clavicle. The veins in his forearms when he pushed up his sleeves, large hands twisting and pulling with blue magic.

She moaned, and clapped her hand over her mouth.

Reign yourself in, Tav. Gods.

As if summoning him from her salacious imagination, he emerged from his tent.

Drowsily greeting her, he wandered towards the water pump, kneeling next to it. Pulling the lever, he opened his mouth and started swallowing what of the divulge of water he could catch.

She stood stock still, watching this innocuous moment like a wolf watches a rabbit. The desire pooled in her pelvis boiling over.

Wiping his mouth, he rose back to feet. Seeming to fully see her then.

"Tav, you alright? You seem a little flushed, in a haunted type of way."

Gods forgive her for what she was about to do.

Taking his hand, she wordlessly pulled him into his tent.

"What-" Her body cut him off, pressing hard into his.

Running her hands up his taut back, she buried her face into his neck. The curve of his waist bending up into shoulders making her moan softly.

He was so warm, so solid against her pushing. Smelling of old books and leather. Her hand rising to tangle into his hair, tugging gently.

His body seemed to go weak then, gripping onto her for support.

"Tav, Gods..." He shivered.

His voice bringing her back to herself for a moment, she made to pull away. But his hands held her anchor to him.

"Please, don't stop." He pleaded.

Like a flint sparking, she dove back in. Hips fluid and insistent against his. Gathering his sleep shirt in her demanding hands. Pulling his head back to release his neck to her. Pulsing, biting, suckling into the soft flesh.

The herb removing all inhibition, she was a growling animal against him. Hands pinning and pulling, mouth hungry and salivating.

He fell to knees, and she followed him down. Straddling over his lap, licking an obscene line up his panting throat.

His length already a pillar pushing against her. Hands catching her writhing hips, pulling them flush to him.

Her head fell back then, the friction Gods sent. The slick already pooled in her underclothes welcoming him.

Something seemed to snap in him.

His hands wrenched her sleep shirt over her shoulders. Caging over her body, pushing her down on his bedroll.

"Yes," She moaned, falling open for him.

His mouth pushed into hers, gripping the back of her head.

The heat coming off of him was making her head spin. Intoxicating her body into liquid, crashing against him in waves. All smothered soft calls and silent demanding mouths.

Tangling into him like it was all she knew. All her body could know was getting as close as she could without being inside.

He hitched her leg up over his hip and ground down hard. Groaning in the back of his throat. Chest lit up purple, eyes glowing.

Concern arced through her stifling heat.

She cupped the sides of his face, bringing his eyes to hers.

The question in her eyes reached him. Hips still pistoning, he nodded.

"Please, I want to."

"Then take what you want." She gasped out, leading his head down.

He dove on her breast, licking her hard tip into his warm mouth.

"Fuck," She hissed, back arching.

She tried to reach for his sleep pants but his hand caught her wrist, forcing it above her head.

Pushing her underclothes down her hips, he rubbed hard against her clit. Blurring his hand.

Choking out a moan, she writhed helplessly. His body keeping her pinned and open. Splayed fully against him.

His mouth switched sides, taking up her soft untouched breast. The slurping suckle his tongue pulled against her peak making her mewl.

"Please, Gale. Inside." She pleaded, bucking her hips as much as his hold would allow.

He pushed two fingers inside her, moan muffled against her flesh.

"You're so wet," He groaned.

"You. All you." She moaned, sentences and their structures utterly lost.

But those words must have been more than enough. His fingers began slamming inside her, hooking towards her navel.

Her head fell back, gripping his head to her breast. The force of his fingers rocking her back and forth.

He was the tide and she a ship, unanchored and tossing through the waves.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" She whined as the pressure in her pelvis tilted up, threatening collapse.

He pulled her engorged peak between his teeth and she was thrown overboard.

Her legs arched up, clamping around his hips. Back bending, the force of the pleasure striking through her was near agony. Completely stealing her voice away, only gasping out choking silent cries. The herbs making her reach new heights, unwinding like a tapestry pulled. Clenching hard enough around his fingers to make him groan.

She collapsed under him, head lolling. Eyes glazed and rolling.

He pulled his fingers from her, licking them clean. Leaning down to nuzzle into her neck, his beard tickling her.

"You didn't-" She started weakly.

"With the state of the orb, I think it's in all of our best interests if I obstained."

"Besides," He hummed, kissing under her jaw. "Your pleasure has more than sustained me."

"Though I am curious, what brought on this most welcome intrusion?"

She hesitated. Not wanting another person, especially him, who has so much to hurdle over already, to worry about her.

"It's this... pain I have. I found some soothing herbs and they helped. A lot actually. But with other effects."

She pulled the small jar from her strewn trousers, handing it to him.

Immediately he flipped it over to examine the bottom, and she groaned in embarrassment.

"See, that's exactly what I didn't do."

Grabbing for her shirt she instead landed on his, pulling it over her head.

He smiled at her, eyes lit up with appreciative glint.

"Ah, of course it looks better on you."

"Cozy." She sighed, the velvet material warming her through. Sleeves swallowing her hands.

He reached inside her pocket and retrieved the pipe, sparking up his fingers and bringing it to his lips.

Seeing her shock, he smiled.

"You're not the only one fighting pain." He knocked his knuckles on the burned circle in his chest.

"Besides, you seemed to be in a peaceful state. I'd like to meet you there, if you'd allow me."

"Deal." She smiled, sliding on knees to sidle up close to him again. "But only if you let me stay the night."

"Oh, you drive a hard bargain." He smiled at her, scrunching up his nose in that playful way that made her heart gallop.

As soon as he breathed in, she held his chin in her fingers. Pulling his mouth to hers, breathing in the smoke as it left him.

Starting to relax, he pulled her down with him. Sighing contently as she snuggled into him.

"Oh, careful. I could get very used to this."

~

[ditzyredrobin]

Before and After

Chapter 1

For Whumptober 2024 Day 27, Before and After, Alternate universe

-

So, I guess I forgot to post this one here? Originally, this was just supposed to be one shot—Dick and Lazarus!Tim bonding but 4,613, chapter 2 is on the way. 😂

-

In a blink, the knife is out of his hand soaring across the living room, towards the intruder. All the while without dislodging the bottle from the fussy pup in his arms. After hours of crying—of soothing, and changing, and singing, and bouncing, and burping she had refused to go down until now and Tim was Exhausted™️.

If he didn’t know any better, he would have assumed the black and blue costumed vigilante was another assassin sent by the League—Nightwing moved with easy grace, easing his way through the window, movement flowing like water and air. But not even the best of the League had managed to crack his security without electrocuting the shit out of themselves.

The room was illuminated by Friends reruns and the Gotham skyline peaking in through the crack in the curtains.

Nightwing ducked and weaved, only narrowly missing a knife through the delt. He rolled back to his feet without a hitch, shocking blue eyes wide and wild with the whiteouts down. The knife stuck in the wall with a satisfying thunk.

Without missing a beat Tim uttered lowly, “Breaking and entering is punishable offense. At the very least it’s C felony, at least 10 years in prison, and upwards of a $250,000 fine.” Not that he could actually get a judge in Gotham to prosecute without a hefty bribe.

Nightwing held up his empty palms in surrender keeping his feet firmly planted. “I’m sorry, we haven’t heard from you and I wanted to check on you.”

Tim discretely adjusted the cashmere blanket across his lap over the pup with a silent prayer she didn’t wake up. “Well, you can tell everyone I’m fine. If I needed help, I would have asked.” He snarks, adding. “But I didn’t.”

I don’t need a keeper.

But that was the thing about bats—they had a tendency to be too nosey for their own good, to pick, and poke, and prod until you were on the verge of wanting to pull your hair out and scream.

Boundaries? I hardly know her.

If Nightwing noticed, he didn’t say anything, opting to remove his domino and tucking it away, his brows were furrowed.

Tim knew how he looked—gaunt, deep purple bags under his eyes, cheekbones sharper than they should be.

Welcome to being a single parent.

“I know you didn’t ask but it’s what family does. I want to help.” Dick sounded painfully desperate earning an eye roll. “No matter what you will always be my little brother.”

Tim scoffed, “If I needed help I would have asked.” What part of he’s fine was not getting through that thick skull of his? Maybe it’s just all the years of vigilante-related concussions. “Maybe in another life we were family but I’m not your brother, Dick,” not anymore , “you don’t even know me.”

Dick breathed a heavy sigh, moving around the overstuffed couch to sit. It took everything in Tim not to bare his teeth and growl. “Of course I know you, Tim. You will always be my little brother.”

“But I’m not!” Tim finally snapped, startling Amalia awake. Her little lip wobbled, her nose scrunched, and Tim went into oh shit mode. Her wails made his inside twist and churn with the need to fix it , as she shook her tiny fists in anger.

He set the empty bottle down and adjusted her so she was upright in his arms to burp her. “Shh, ya Rohee,” he crooned, patting her back.

My soul.

She was his everything—his sun, his moon, to the moon and to Saturn. The only good thing that came of his time with Ra’s after the Council of Spiders and the Pit.

He could feel Dick watching him but didn’t look up, opting to instead rock his infant. She was small, even for a babe of her age, he still had a hard time imagining her anything other than fragile.

He nuzzled her, her patch of almost black, whispy hair tickled his nose, purring softly. It was a little uneven with disuse but it soothed her enough to bring her wails down to whimpers. She smelled milky and soft and like his . He did his best to ignore the hint of spicy incense underlying in her scent from her other father.

She was his and no one else’s. It would change in a few months and maybe he would finally stop seeing him in the shadows.

There was no way she was going down now but he’d lost all hope of that when Dick disengaged his security and decided to sneak in (an issue he would be working on a patch for later).

His eyes felt hot but he ignored it. He didn’t need a nap anyways, right? He’d worked more on less after all. This should be cake , right?

Eventually, as the pup calmed down, Tim dared to glance up at his unwanted visitor. There was a complicated expression that Tim couldn’t quite discern despite all of his training. “You don’t know what I’ve been through. I don’t even know who I am.”

For a long moment, Dick sat with that, a complex flurry of emotions crossed his face before settling on something soft. A fondness, watching the small pup in his arms. “You have a baby?” Talk about understatement of the century.

Tim rolled his eyes, continuing to pat the pups baby. “Yes, last time I checked I did, in fact, have a baby. I have the stretch marks to prove it. You want to see?”

Dick shook his head, “That isn’t what I meant. I just…How old is she? What’s her name?” He sat forward with his elbows on his knees.

Tim had to think for a long moment, back tracking the dates. The escape had been four days following her birth, still sore and as unsteady on his legs like a newborn fawn. There hadn’t been a choice—it was escape or lose Amalia. She had been born weak, words like failure to thrive had been tossed around. Ra’s Al Guhl was gifted with another disappointing heir.

“Well, Timothy, we’ll just have to try again, won’t we? Surely you won’t disappoint your Alpha a second time.” The or else was implied.

He had still been on his back, bleeding from the long birth. His milk supply hadn’t come in and the tiny pup wailed across the room with the wet nurse.

“Tim?” Dick sounded concerned, snapping him back into the present. His grip on Amalia tightened just a hair, her warm weight against his shoulder grounding.

“Amalia,” he said remembering the question. “Her name is Amalia and she’s-“ If he had been in Gotham for nearly a month, days before being found out and the trek from the Cradle to Gotham had taken around two weeks… “Her birthday is July 19th.” He said instead.

Fresh out of the Pit, time was hazy, seasons and dates made little impact on his life and Gotham’s perpetually gray skies.

Dick had a worried look on his face. “What about her other the father?”

“Dead.” Tim said succinctly.

That he made sure of.

Dick made a soft noise of acknowledgement, continuing to watch the baby with a fondness in his eyes. He didn’t push the matter. “She’s beautiful. You did so well.” He croons softly, “I’m sure it was hard for you.” He didn’t know the half of it.

“It was hard,” Tim admitted softly, basking in the Alpha’s praise. Finally, Amalia burped. “I had a few people that helped—Talia and an assassin I saved after-“ before he died, after the Pit, and before Amalia. “After. They made it easier but Talia wasn’t around often. I don’t think she was overly fond of what he was doing.”

“What about the assassin?”

Tim bit his lip, his eyes felt hot. “I don’t feel her bond anymore.” There was a bone deep ache without her. Whether she had cut it herself to save him, or really hadn’t made it out after Ra’s death, was all up in the air. “I’ve looked for her but-“

“But she’s part of the League.” Dick filled in and Tim nodded. He was quiet for a long moment before promising, “We’ll find her.”

Tim looked up from the pup quickly, “What?”

“We’ll find her.” Dick repeated with all of the seriousness in the world. “For you. I promise.”

Tim held his eye for a long moment, gauging the whether or not believe his words but Dick’s resolve never faltered. He felt his pulse pick up and a bright blip of emotion he didn’t want to think about. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. What about Batman? He doubt he’ll be a fan of having a member of the League in Gotham.”

“I’ll handle Bruce.” Dick promised. “Just focus on you and your pup. We will find her.”

Tim bit his lip nodding once. He didn’t trust it but maybe… maybe just this once he would try.

[rimouskis]

omg now all i want to know is everything about your music taste. what do u like. how do u curate playlists or do u listen only straight thru albums? if you had to pick your five favorite genres and one song from each genre, what songs and genres would u pick? what genre do you feel like u listen to the least? the most ? what's the three most fascinating albums you've ever listened to. i need to know 🫧🎶

I sincerely believe the question is more “what DON’T I like”!

Alright this is a fun way to spend my Friday night in after walking 8 miles today and then doing dinner with friends ahahah so 1. Thank you for this and 2. Let’s go through this point by point:

1. What do I like? Man… I like a lot of music. I’ve gone through phases in my life: I was raised on my dad’s love of 80s/90s rock (think INXS, U2, Melissa Etheridge, Peter Gabriel), I discovered KISS FM in middle school and was a fiend for Top 50 pop then (the pussycat dolls were my everything back then lol isn’t it hilarious that I didn’t figure out I was gay until my 20s. also timbaland was consistently on my favorite songs.)

then in seventh grade I did a heel turn and got really into metal after my older cousin lent me his iPod at thanksgiving (I really liked Disturbed’s album Ten Thousand Fists)... then within the same year I did an even MORE hilarious, second heel turn and discovered K-pop, which I lived & breathed for like two years (my favorite band was SHINee; I still sometimes pop into the K-pop world to sample what’s coming out these days, though I don’t know the new generation of bands well).

THEN in high school the indie alt pop phenomenon hit and I was all in on the bands of the time… bastille, alt j, the 1975 (before they really blew up, #hipster), glass animals, lorde, walk the moon, chvrches, x ambassadors, the naked and the famous, halsey, grouplove, milky chance… like, if it was on tumblr, I was listening to it, hahaha.

Then in college I got really into alternative music, like chelsea wolfe and susanne sundfør and son lux and ms mr.

In adulthood I find that all this musical influence has meant that I like all kinds of music. I like trashy pop country. I like heavy rock. I like top 50 pop. I like rap. I like hyperpop. I like 80s synth pop. I like indie folk. I like it all, man. I have been in a pretty heavy rock era for the last, like… four, five years, though, so I think I probably primarily register as a rock listener, and if we were to get even more granular, I really love guitar-forward rock.

2. I’m a HUGE user of playlists. Spotify is the only streaming service I pay for, and I’ll pay for it for many many years, I imagine, haha.

I have over 100 playlists on there and really enjoy curating them as a little art form for myself. I rarely listen to albums, which I kind of think is too bad, because I DO think the album ~as a cohesive piece of art~ is kind of becoming a lost art in the age of streaming, and I’m not helping the cause at all.

But, on the flip side, playlist curation is a really enjoyable form of curatorial art, imo, and I deeply love and appreciate it. I love making playlists for anything and everything. One of my favorite playlist I’ve ever made is actually a reylo playlist, lol. I also made a killer Batman playlist after seeing rpattz’s batman, and I have some good old check please playlists as well. Fun fun stuff.

3. This is HARD but okay, I can do this…

Alt/indie rock: “Change For You” by Friday Pilots Club

Pop punk: “Why Do I?” By Set It Off

Electronic: “Fake” by Mystery Skulls (BUT A VERY VERY VERY CLOSE SECOND IS “DANCEFLOOR” by NOISY and Charlotte Plank)

Folk: “Leaf Off/The Cave” by José González

Rock: “Thrown Away” by VAST

Since three of those are rock/rockish offshoots (I am who I am, sorry), I’ll give you a few more divergent others:

rap would be “Boss Bitch” by Doja Cat OR “Von den fernen Bergen” by Ali As

house would be “Derezzed” by Daft Punk

disco would be “You Win Again” by The Bee Gees [my dad loves disco lol so… so do I]

country would be any and all Orville Peck [though normally my country tastes veer WAY WAY WAY trashy country pop lol sorry but it’s catchy]

and my pop pick is obviously Most Perfect Pop Song Of All Time, “Lonely Dancers” by Conan Gray

4. The genre I listen the least to is R&B, probably. I wasn’t raised listening to it and I’ve never really gained a taste for it, even though other genres I wasn’t raised listening to (country and rap, for example) DID grow on me. That being said, I really enjoy THEY., who is technically categorized as R&B.

Like I said earlier, I was really raised on rock music and I think that foundationally I am just a Rock Music Kinda Gal. I love guitars so much, man. But a close second is probably pop. Just as I was created to love guitars, so too was I created to love synths.

5. What makes an album “fascinating”? 🤔 I think this is hard, because first and foremost I am not an album listener, but also I don’t think I examine my music through a critical lens of fascination. I usually operate on a pure “how-much-straight-up-dopamine-is-being-poured-into-my-system?” scale when it comes to music, haha. Like, I’m not even primarily a listener of lyrics. I pay attention to the music first.

That being said…

Album 01 is going to be “Strange Trails” by Lord Huron. To be very, very annoying: I was into Lord Huron since their first album, and when they blew up due to a song from "Strange Trails" getting included in the TV show 13 Reasons Why, I was very annoyed because I think their sonic output shifted, and for the worse.

Anyways, I maintain that their first two albums are as close to perfect as albums get, and “Strange Trails” is what I find to be their strongest narrative album. There’s a whole storyline through the album that follows a fictional character Ben, the frontman, created. There was a comic book to accompany the album too, and I think the storyline is very lovely and I love some tragic love and magic wrapped into my music:) My favorite song off of “Strange Trails” is “Fool for Love.”

Album 02 is going to be “Bad Blood” by Bastille, which I also find to be Bastille’s finest work. Dan Smith wrote all these songs by himself in his den and—I really believe—perfectly embodied and channeled the sound of the 2010s indie moment. The entire album is so strong, and not only is it so strong that it doesn’t have any skips… even the EXTENDED version, “All This Bad Blood,” has no skips. Whatever Dan was fermenting in the lead up to “Bad Blood”’s release, it was pure gold. Nothing else quite captures the feeling of it being 2012 as much as this album. My favorite song off off “Bad Blood” is “Icarus” <3

Album 03 is going to be “Dream Machine” by Des Rocs. Des is on a one-man cocaine-fueled mission from God to bring back hard glam rock and I sincerely could not support his mission more. He constantly churns out bangers (his EPs “Martyr Parade” and “Let the Vultures In” are also worth checking out) but I found his songwriting to be simply ~exceptional~ on “Dream Machine.” I think he’s wonderful at writing evocative, classic-rock inspired lyrics that read as poetry to me:) From “Natural Born Thriller”:

Roll, thunder, roll / Riding like a freight train down on the tip of your tongue

Rattle in your bones / Shockwave ripping through the sky, in and out of your lungs

Love, lock and load / Fire in your eyes and you’re ready when the fever gonna come

Way down the road / Big wheels turning to the rhythm of the blood-red sun

Half a man and half apocalypse / The chase, the thrill, that you cannot resist

Day and night, every time / That one there is a natural-born thriller

Like MAN... that’s poetry in action to me. That’s just good writing. I also find the lyrics and storytelling of “In the Night” fantastic, and “Dream Machine” is such a perfect tone-setting, atmosphere-building track for that album to open on. It’s just one of the best constructed albums I’ve heard, full of bangers. My favorite song off it is probably “Natural Born Thriller.”

Damn that took me like two hours to get through, mostly because I got to experience the joy of scrolling through all my music and painfully selecting a few. This was delightful. Thank you, anon!

[lilmissnatcat24]

Turn Left Ch 29- 4 Minutes by Madonna ft. Justin Timberlake

Shepard, Garrus, Wrex, and Liara fight to escape the warehouse with the rachni. Enemies are closer to Shepard than she first thought. (CW: gore)

Relationship: Femshep/Garrus Vakarian

Archive Warnings in author's note

Additional tags: enemies to friends to lovers, slow burn, slow build, alternate universe- canon divergence, detective noir, sex club, anonymous sex, canon temporary character death, murder mystery, drug use, dom garrus vakarian, whump, smut, heavy angst, alien sex, dual pov, an overly sexual elcor named candy, earthborn, ruthless, fake/pretend relationship, dead dove: do not eat, identity porn, minor character death

Detective AU mixed with identity porn mixed with so much whump my fingers are bleeding

(or, start from the beginning here)

lil text blurb:

Sixty seconds. This was okay, right? There were a million things Shepard could get done in sixty seconds. She could lace up her shoes. She could down a small container of carryout fries. She could braid her hair once down the back of her skull. She could get herself off-- twice, if she set her vibrator into maximum override mode. 

What she pointedly could not do was escape a warehouse with noxious gas threatening to gas them all out. Say what you want, but she was no miracle worker. She considered laying down on the ground in a fetal position and rocking back and forth. She also considered fishing out the one little last bit of sand she carried on her-- she wasn’t going to forget it like the last major assault she was apart of when she needed it the most-- and snorting it, rubbing her fingertips in her gums for that last little bit of high right before she died. She also considered grabbing Vakarian by the carapace and bringing her lips to his. Not that she imagined what it would be like kissing turians with all of her free time or anything; call it more of a scientific curiosity. 

Luck would have it, however, that for once she wasn’t the one who had to think quickly on their feet. “See that porthole to your right?” the voice in her comms, Nihlus, said firmly. “Blow it out. It’ll be a squeeze, especially for the krogan, but you’ll all fit.” 

“And if I don’t?” Wrex asked. 

“Well, it was nice knowing you then, Wrex my boy.” Wrex responded to that with a guttural yell, his head glowing blue before making contact with the porthole, shards of glass flying out onto the street below. “It’s a drop. Sorry if you break your ankles, but I think you’d rather a little sprain than suffocate to death.” 

[sunflower-ozzy-online]

A Wyll to Live

1st chapter of

Where There's a Wyll There's a Way - Masterlist

Wyll (Baldur's Gate) /Reader - Enver Gortash/Reader (more a warning than a promise)

Additional Tags: Arranged Marriage - Angst

You're raised to marry Wyll as you're also a duke/ duchess When Wyll is essentially disowned your marriage is called off. Years later your hand is promised to Gortash in a way to legitimize his Archduke standing and to save your land from the absolute.

Baldurs Gate Act one-three spoilers (NOT KIDDING)

You always knew this was where your road was leading. From the day you could understand what responsibility was you knew your responsibility was to be married off to protect your family's status and land holdings. There weren't many families at or above the duke level in Baldur's Gate, but as long as you didn't marry too far below your status you would be assured a secure future. You had hoped you would be able to choose your future spouse, even if you were handed a limited list to choose from. Unfortunately, life had shuffled the cards life had dealt to you when you were a young adult. So now you were heading to Wrym’s Rock in a small carriage that holds all the belongings you were allowed to bring with you.

You have only met your betrothed once after your parents discussed it with him and his advisors. They had talked for hours and had struck a reasonable deal. He was grimy and pompous but reasonably attractive. The way he looked at you unsettled you, sending a warning signal to the back of your skull and down your spine. Nothing you haven't been coached to ignore in company. Of course, when you met him his arch-duke status wasn't confirmed yet. The coronation was happening soon after you arrived at the fortress.

You looked across at your guardian for this trip, their face blank as they went over whatever paper they had in their hands. It wasn't a long trip from your town To Wyrm’s Rock. You had planned to spend the trip conversing with your parents for the last time as a family unit but they decided that with the absolute forces on the loose, it was better not to risk all riding together. You saw the sense in their decision but that did not mean it didn't hurt.

The carriage jolted to a stop like it did anytime there was something in the road. As you looked out the window to check for trouble you saw the stone roads and buildings you used to associate with childhood innocence and joy. Now all you see is the way they fall apart, suspicious-looking puddles, and worried citizens. Citizens you would be complicit in neglecting, policing, and taxing now. You couldn't bring yourself to make eye contact with them, not from above them in your lavish carriage, provided for you by Gortash. It broke your heart to be reminded of the spoiled memories you had spent surrounded by them. You closed the curtain and went back to picking at the seats. The carriage started moving again as the interruption was removed from your path. You knew you would be approaching the bridge to Wyrm’s rock soon. Wanting to savor the last few moments of freedom you closed your eyes and allowed yourself to imagine an alternate life.

You were unaware the carriage had pulled to a smooth stop until the door was pulled open, the carriage filled with the smell of the ocean with a distinct undertone of piss. You gathered yourself and stepped out of the carriage. Immediately you saw a big clunking figure, taller than any being you knew of that could fit in that lanky armor. You had always felt uneasy when confronted by helmeted authority but something about them was even more off than your typical shiny-armed anonymous knight. It seemed to be staring right at you without seeing you. You could never tell exactly where they were looking but no matter where you were, if you were in their vicinity you felt their eyes on you. Your advisor addressed them and the fists for you as servants collected your things. You were not surprised Gortash was not present to greet you, he had not seemed the type to make anything in life more comfortable for others. One of the Wyrm's staff came out and brought you through the fortress. You were led to the top, you had heard rumors Gortash was living on the top floor of the fortress. It seemed that you would also be occupying this floor as your guide led you to one of the rooms.

You were to stay in this room at least until your wedding tomorrow. She told you that your luggage would be brought up after you as well as delivered the invitation to your fiance's coronation. God was it gaudy. Was gold ink really necessary for a simple invitation? The flowy script could have fooled you into thinking it was for your wedding instead. You had not seen a single wedding announcement but you had seen his face plastered all over the city announcing his coronation as arch-duke from the second you got within the vicinity of Baldur's gate. Self-absorption was not rare in your social circles by any means, you did tend to not surround yourself with them.

You had to remind yourself that that was when you had prospects and suitors. Now you have only one and his face was in the back of the piece of paper you held in your hand.

The coronation was later today and you had a few hours before your presence was required. Having planned for a face-to-face meeting with Gortash you were already made up and corseted. That meant most of the preparation work for later was taken care of. You spent the rest of your free time roaming around your room. When you dared to look outside you noticed steel watchers stationed at the end of the hall by the stairs. For your safety or to keep you on the premises you were not entirely sure. You slowly and quietly closed the heavy door and turned back to the already familiar and boring room.

The sheets were obviously picked by Gortash, paying no mind to your tastes or opinions; they were black and embroidered with fake gold thread. They looked scratchy and rough, the look of them valued over their comfort. None of your things had been moved into your room an hour later. Maybe they were being moved into your future room? To save the workers some time. Were you to wear your travel clothes to the coronation? You doubted that they would meet the status of Mr. Arch-duke but you would rather wear them than be stuffed inside whatever he would prefer.

Thirty minutes before the coronation was due to start there was a knock on your door. It opened with a loud creak and there stood a group of women and a large dress bag. They gathered around you undressing you and taking you in before putting you in the hidden dress. When you were finally finished and allowed to look at yourself you saw the absolute abomination they had tied you into. You would put money on the fact that this dress was made with the exact same fabric your bedding was made of. It was itchy and scratchy and you hated it. It was too far big and stiff to be useful in anything other than standing at someone's side as a trophy. Yet that was all you were today. Someone to stand beside a man, and make him look better. That was what your life would be reduced to. For your people, you would go through with this.

The thought of the carnage caused by the Absolute wrecking the people in your town would be the sole thing pushing you through this marriage. You had a chance to protect them, to do something for them for the betterment of their lives, and that was what you were going to do. You were going to be married off eventually. What better reason for a political marriage than to protect people? Well, besides love. That was out of the picture now though. He left and left you behind in the dust with no explanation. You had finally brushed the dirt off and you were not going to look back.

Next

Masterlist

[dnpanimationstudioclone]

Sam's Bedroom Discussion🛌

Sam's old room was def really interesting and memorable. With the spider web bedframe, the Chinese Lamp and all the music stuff she had. Ngl alot of it felt pretty punk and alternative rock which isn't bad. It def gave off vibes of someone who's serious and into different, obscure and usually darker things. But for my Sam I wanted to push her more to tradtional goth and also give off a kinda lighter side in terms of personality.

This is my Sam🦇

Made her walls a lighter but still neutral shade of purple to contrast with the floor. Also I can imagine her parents only let her have the walls in a light shade as really dark rooms can end up absorbing heat and don't want her to accidentally overheat.

Added more green as it's a part of my Sam's palette more and because it's good with purple and red. It also shows her love for ghosts and nature more💚

I added a lot of antique Victorian furniture and decor I imagine Sam would've restored and/or repaint to fit her tastes more. Very gothic and also eco friendly to use and restore older things.

My Sam LOVES ghosts so I added more ghost things in her bedroom such as a the lights, the books on ghosts and other cryptid related stuff, Ghostbusters picture and Ouija board👻👻👻

Added plants and other nature themes things for our nature lover Sam. By her window there's a venus flytrap(OG Sam actually had a pet flytrap in her greenhouse) a cactus in a Día de los Muertos skull pot and a pearl plant in a cauldron pot, like a bubbling cauldron. Beside those are purple leaf plant, African violets and a succulent. I was def going for plants that'd fit with Sam's gothic aesthetic and personality.

Gave her a coffin shaped Shelf. At the bottom, added a variety of books to show her love for the dark and macabre such as ghosts, vampires cryptids, Jewish Mythology, Occult and Junji Ito. The book that says “Hidden Worlds”, was inspired by a suggestion @a-sterling-rose​ made in reference for the unknown realms. I added a Junji Ito manga as it's said OG Sam was into anime and I can imagine horror anime and manga such as Junji Ito's work would be right up her alley.

In the middle crystals(Onyx and Amethyst), a chest with a Tree Of Life symbol on it and a geode. Crystals and gems r often used for protection against dark forces. I can imagine in the chest perhaps more stuff for spirit protection related things or something. The Tree Of Life is a religious symbol used in many religions, including Judaism and can symbolize many things such as infinite knowledge and even the afterlife and connection between earth and Heaven

On the top, Tarot cards, a crystal ball, Ouija Board and the little statue on the top shelf’s a Golem, a being of Jewish folklore(She totally made it herself out of clay). @wsoupofpain​ helped show me what to put on its head, it means "death" in its dormant form. I also was pushing to show more of her Jewish heritage in her room✡️

And on top of the shelf a gargoyle.

Made her window frames black and theater style dark red curtains.

Added fleur de lis symbols on her bed frame. Also added webbing on her pillows and darker parts on her bed sheets. Also on her frame a spider plant in a spider themed pot. Some version she had a canopy but I didn't want it to block the other details and when I tried it, everything felt smaller to me.

Replaced the skull doll she had for a bat plushy I headcanon her Bubbe(Grandma) made for her🦇💖 My Sam's fav animals r def bats.

Added cute bat slippers which she also had in canon beside her bed.

Gave her a nightstand, with a Tiffany lamp. To show she's in a well off fam, perhaps something thatd been in the family for a bit and cause it reminded me of a tree.

Added a vanity with a little stool. Girl deserves a station to apply her gothic charm on. Added a candelabra, a jewelry case, a mortar and pestle(for DIY facial and other beauty treatments) and skull makeup brush. And beside the vanity a Bat Jewelry holder, for some of her necklaces and chokers. Some of them Jewish symbols such as a Star of David, a blue evil eye and a Hamsa Hand🧿✡️

Above her vanity I added framed vintage horror movie posters. Dracula, Ghostbusters and Friday The 13th. @mylifeisweirdok suggested the vintage idea!

Replaced her British Flag tapestry for a moon cycle tapestry. The night in general and the moon's very popular in gothic culture but also plays a special symbol in Judaism. The Jewish Calendar following Lunar months and even having a monthly minor-holiday celebrating the arrival of a new moon. Rosh Chodesh🌔 a minor-holiday which also is very special for Jewish woman, the holiday being a reward for the woman who refused to surrender their jewelry for the creation of the Golden Calf idol. The moon has also often been associated with feminine energy and cyclical change.

Gave her a Victorian style floral carpet.

Replaced her Chinese lamp with a Medeival Chandelier. The candles along with the ones by the vanity aren't real and in fact solar powered. To avoid fire danger🔥

Gave her glow in the dark ghost strung lights. Great for a scary ambience in the nighttime👻

Also I can imagine she has a little crafts closet full of art stuff and other stuff she's found like from junkyards, forests etc to make something out of it and perhaps somewhere stored a scythe .

Danny-WHERE DID YOU GET A SCYTHE!?

Sam-From the Farmers Market. It was surprisingly cheaper than the produce.

What do you think? What do u think of OG Sam's room? I'd love to know?

[birdyverdie]

What is your favourite bird?

Oh my !! What a loaded question to wake up to!!

The truth is that I genuinely don't have a single favorite, I have so many that I adore! I ended up rambling, so here's a looong list ;;

I think, if I must choose a single favorite bird, it would be a red-headed woodpecker. Only because I had a childhood plushie of one. I loved it to bits. Her name was "Arbolita" (little tree in Spanish) and I'd carry her everywhere. But I have so many favorites that I have because they're cool as hell or because of sentimentality.

(Fun fact! Did yall know that woodpecker's tongue wrap around their skull when they're hammering into the tree to prevent them getting a concussion? Imagine that.)

Barn Owls! As a kid I watched Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'hoole and adored barn owls so much, my first research project was about them!

Also they're not as pretty sounding as you think they may be. I got to visit a pair when I volunteered at a Raptor center, scared me half to death!

But fuuuckkk I adore Quetzals! My dad told me a story about them and it stuck with me all these years. How the Mayans and Aztecs coveted the acquisition of Quetzal feathers! It was like a source of prestige and importance for them, because they believed that their God, Quetzalcoatl, had some sort of connection to the Quetzal. (I don't remember if these birds were Quetzalcoatl's manifestation or messengers. I last heard this story about 7 years ago.) Anyways, these feathers were so important that it was illegal to kill the birds, they were only to be collected through natural shedding, or else the punishment was death. From what I also remember, it was thought that Montezuma's treasure--treasure that the Spanish conquistadors were after--was believed to not be gold, like the Spanish thought, but rather these feathers!

I don't know how much of it is historically accurate, but that bird is very important culturally to me as both a connection to Mexico and as a bond with my dad.

But oh!! I'm such a fan of Emperor Penguins! Especially the chicks! They're so cute I wanna squeeze them so much! There's a playlist that I've collected that's mostly the BBC: Snow Chick segment of a nature documentary, but also includes other random penguin videos. My favorite video about the baby emperor penguins is the one where a tiny Adelie penguin protects a group of Emperor chicks from a Giant Petrel.

(Btw do you guys remember Happy Feet? What the hell even was that bit of psychological-torture-through-boredom segment of the movie?? It feels like a fever dream.)

Cedar Waxwings! Goofy birds, don't drink and fly!

These birds don't really migrate, so sometimes they eat berries that have been left over on the tree from a long time ago, to the point that the berries ferment! And since these birds love berries...well sometimes they get drunk

!The concept is silly, i mean, imagine drunk birds! But it is dangerous for them because sometimes they pass out and predators get to them, or alternatively they bonk themselves on buildings. So while goofy, I always keep an eye out for them in my area. I've already had to house 3 of them for an afternoon until they're better ahah ;;;

Bearded Vultures! (Alternatively called Bone Vultures) they're super cool. Their diet consists mostly of animal bones. They grab the larger bones, fly hiiiigh up into the sky, and drop them down below on rocks to help crack them open to eat the bone marrow inside. Their feathers are also white, and contrary to popular belief, no they do not dye their feathers red with blood, just with iron-rich clay or red dust from their environment :P

The redder the feathers, the sexier for their mates!

The Kakapo! A species of parrots found in New Zealand! They're mostly terrestrial birds, and can't really fly, they mostly just use their wings to balance themselves on trees when they're eating berries. They're also endangered and there's current conservation efforts to protect them so that's cool as hell! They're also the largest parrots in the world. Kinda the size of your forearm (and much much thicker) :D!

Shrikes! They're the equivalent of a lot of rage in a tiny little body. They're known as butcherbirds, for the brutal way they store and showcase their kills. They ambush their prey and then impale them in branches or sometimes barbed wire. It's meant to store their food and also be a territorial display for other males. Though for females, it showcases their powress and attracts them!

(This one is a Southern Grey Shrike, which is part of the shrike family except that "grey shrikes" kinda became a subspecies.)

I'm a huge lover of cocktails! One of my pet birds, her name is Maggie, is a cinnamon cockatiel that I adore so much!! She has such a strong personality, all my other pet birds follow her lead because she's been with us the longest (over 12 years! She's an old lady! I love her sm <3!!)

(Terrible picture quality! Can't take one rn since I'm not at home. asdfghjkl)

I also have another pet bird whose name is Avalon and he's a little beast of a menace. He's a Quaker Parrot and is as loud and destructive as you can imagine! But he's adorable, and I hold him like a little plushie sometimes. He can say a few words! Like "pollito" (little chicken) "Avalon", "good boy", "pajarraco" (funny Spanish way of saying parrot), and unfortunately, by my dad's consistency: "pinche pájaro", which means 'fucking bird'. I'm currently in the process of teaching him recall, as in, he flies around and then comes to me when I stick my finger out and tell him to come. All of my birds are allowed to fly around the house, so that means that unfortunately I get wacked in the face when a bird tries to land on me and inevitably misses my shoulder.

(Eepy birdy....)

Honorable mentions because I belatedly realized that you can't post more than 10 pictures on tumblr:

Harpy Eagle (please look up a picture of them they're HUGE.)

Red Cardinal and Blue Jays ( the original red vs. blue).

Mourning doves.

Eurasian magpies.

Long-tailed tit. (They're so cute! Snowball bird!)

Bleeding heart dove.

Great eared nightjar. (Dragon looking bird....)

Painted Bunting (my dream is to see one of these in the wild! They live where I'm at but I've never seen one!)

Grackles.

Rock pigeons.

Crows and Ravens (of course! I have a flock of crows I'm currently befriending heehee)

And so so many more. Honestly, I genuinely don't think there's a single bird out there that I'd dislike. I think they're all awesome and cool and AAAAA <3333

Thanks for the ask! Hope you don't mind I rambled sjkahdhaja

[hatsexpert]

The Marlow Leather Top Hat and Skull Top Hat in Contemporary Culture

The Allure of the Marlow Leather Top Hat and Skull Top Hat: A Fusion of Tradition and Bold Statements

Introduction

In the ever-evolving world of fashion, certain accessories manage to capture the imagination and hold onto their appeal through time. Two such iconic pieces are the Marlow Leather Top Hat and the Skull Top Hat. Both hats possess unique characteristics and an undeniable presence, making them standout choices for those looking to make a statement. This article delves into the history, design features, and contemporary relevance of these two distinctive hats, exploring how they blend tradition with bold, modern flair.

The Marlow Leather Top Hat: A Timeless Classic

Historical Roots

The Marlow Leather Top Hat is steeped in history, dating back to the early 19th century when top hats were a symbol of sophistication and social status. Originally made from silk, the top hat evolved over time, with leather versions emerging as durable and stylish alternatives. The Marlow Leather Top Hat embodies the elegance and structure of traditional top hats while incorporating the ruggedness and unique texture of leather.

Design Features

Leather as a material brings durability and a unique patina that develops over time, giving each hat a one-of-a-kind appearance. The craftsmanship involved in creating a Marlow Leather Top Hat is meticulous, ensuring a perfect blend of traditional design and contemporary execution.

Versatility and Styling

The hat’s unique texture and classic design make it a favorite among those who appreciate high-quality accessories that stand the test of time. Its ability to adapt to various styles and settings is a testament to its enduring appeal.

The Skull Top Hat: Bold and Edgy

Origins and Evolution

The Skull Top Hat represents a bold departure from traditional headwear, embodying a rebellious and edgy spirit. This hat typically features a skull motif, either as an intricate design on the hat itself or as an adornment, such as a skull-shaped brooch or pin. The Skull Top Hat draws inspiration from gothic, punk, and alternative fashion, making it a favorite among those looking to make a striking statement.

Design Features

The Skull Top Hat often combines the classic structure of a top hat with dark, edgy elements. The crown is typically tall and straight, similar to traditional top hats, but the embellishments set it apart. Skulls, spikes, and other gothic motifs are common, giving the hat a distinctive and bold look.

Styling and Occasions

The Skull Top Hat is perfect for those who enjoy alternative fashion and want to make a bold statement. It pairs well with gothic and punk outfits, adding an element of intrigue and edginess. For a gothic-inspired look, wear it with a black velvet coat, lace-up boots, and dark makeup. For a punk aesthetic, pair it with a leather jacket, ripped jeans, and combat boots.

The Skull Hat is also popular at themed events, such as Halloween parties, gothic festivals, and steampunk conventions. Its unique design makes it a standout piece, allowing wearers to express their individuality and bold fashion sense.

Contemporary Relevance

Fashion and Subculture

Both the Marlow Leather Top Hat and the Skull Top Hat have found a place in contemporary fashion and subcultures. The Marlow Leather Top Hat is cherished by those who appreciate vintage and steampunk aesthetics, while the Skull Top Hat is embraced by the gothic, punk, and alternative fashion scenes.

These hats have transcended their historical and cultural origins, becoming symbols of individuality and personal expression. In a world where fashion trends come and go, the Marlow Leather Top Hat and Skull Top Hat offer timeless appeal and a distinctive edge.

Celebrity Endorsements

Celebrities and fashion icons have also played a role in popularizing these hats. From steampunk enthusiasts to rock stars, many have been seen sporting these distinctive headpieces, further cementing their place in modern fashion.

For instance, Johnny Depp’s portrayal of the Mad Hatter in “Alice in Wonderland” brought renewed attention to quirky and extravagant hats, while musicians like Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper have frequently worn skull-themed accessories, including Skull Top Hats, during performances.

Craftsmanship and Customization

Customization is also a key aspect, allowing wearers to personalize their hats according to their tastes. From selecting specific types of leather and choosing unique embellishments to adding personal touches like initials or special designs, customization options make these hats truly unique.

Conclusion

The Marlow Leather Top Hat and the Skull Top Hat represent two distinct yet equally captivating styles in the world of headwear. The Marlow Leather Top Hat combines timeless elegance with modern durability, making it a versatile choice for various occasions. Meanwhile, the Skull Top Hat offers a bold, edgy statement, perfect for those who embrace alternative fashion and want to stand out.

Both hats embody a blend of tradition and modernity, appealing to fashion enthusiasts who value quality craftsmanship and unique design. Whether you’re drawn to the classic sophistication of the Marlow Steampunk Hat or the rebellious spirit of the Skull Top Hat, these accessories offer a way to express your individuality and style. As fashion continues to evolve, these iconic hats remain timeless symbols of elegance, boldness, and personal expression.

[sskk-ao3feed]

I Can Feel Your Voice

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/a8AMJmU by Panda_nicecream Atsushi should have known that Dazai's band would be filled with... interesting individuals. From the fiery orange haired guitarist to the cold, closed off black haired kid, Atsushi knows he's going to be in for a ride. Can Atsushi overcome his stage fright when he's trying to make music with a group of idiots with the thickest skulls imaginable? And ugh, why do all the hot bassists have to be assholes? Words: 1138, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Akutagawa Ryuunosuke (Bungou Stray Dogs), Nakajima Atsushi (Bungou Stray Dogs), Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs), Dazai Osamu (Bungou Stray Dogs), Akutagawa Gin Relationships: Akutagawa Ryuunosuke/Nakajima Atsushi (Bungou Stray Dogs), Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs), Akutagawa Gin & Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, Dazai Osamu & Nakajima Atsushi (Bungou Stray Dogs), Akutagawa Ryuunosuke & Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs), Akutagawa Ryuunosuke & Dazai Osamu (Bungou Stray Dogs) Additional Tags: Mutual Pining, Enemies to Lovers, Sort Of, they're not rlly enemies atsushi is just petty asf, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Band Fic, Alternate Universe - College/University, College, the age gap is less but chuuya/dazai are older, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Found Family, why is found family not a tag HELLO, please give atsushi some confidence, shin soukoku, Soukoku | Double Black (Bungou Stray Dogs), Mafia Soukoku | Double Black (Bungou Stray Dogs), How Do I Tag, My First Fanfic, My First AO3 Post, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Pining, Plot, Plotty, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Not Beta Read, please someone be my beta read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/a8AMJmU

[catenary-chad]

my take on train money (caveat: I am a huge revisionist on many things in the name of being truer to real train economics)

I treat the rail systems as similar to how older heavy industry or government jobs tend to work- often prone to holding onto people for a LONG time, relatively open to retraining them to other tasks because they’re familiar with the specific intricacies of the company/industry. Irl rail is often this way, and Stex itself as an institution is bizarrely similar (at least in the past, people on the alumni podcast have called it a “government job”)

Engines tend to symbolize leadership and managers, coaches pink collar workers, and freight blue collar ones. The leader/follower thing is based on how Michal Fraley described the dynamics of skating in trains and how some people were better/more comfortable at one or the other. Freight rail’s fortunes otherwise closely parallel heavy industry and it’s infamously heavily unionized so it makes sense for them to parallel those workers. Freight being shown as poor irks me because rail freight is a very profitable industry and just doesn’t care to spend on appearances because it’s not as public facing. They’re more like skilled trades who don’t care about appearances because they’ll get dirty anyways and take a certain weird “masculine pride” in not caring about appearance and being “fussy like that”. Stuff like unreasonable working hours and unsafe conditions are the major modern labor issues in that sphere, especially in the US. Freight trains are lower priority than passenger trains for good reason- they mostly serve less time-sensitive industries these days and a load of rocks or iron being several hours late isn’t an issue vs passengers. You see more fast perishable goods transported by rail in passenger-heavy countries and areas where freight HAS to move fast to fit in the schedule and it’s more practical to move stuff like milk or fruit that way.

Passenger trains as pink collar isn’t as clean of a comparison since actual workers on those trains are often as highly unionized as freight and highly paid. But I think there’s a compelling thread in how passenger rail is rarely profitable (I’ve heard $30k net for a fully loaded passenger train vs $500k net for an oil train in the northwestern US, and this doesn’t count infrastructure expenses) and has to be heavily subsidized because many societies would collapse without it, much akin to caring jobs and much of “women’s work”. It’s also inherently far more public-facing and service-oriented and has to maintain at least some standard of cleanliness, quality, and comfort because of its human cargo. There’s also a very boomer “I hate my wife” vibe to how people talk about faster passenger trains “keeping freight trains in line” schedule wise.

Man that was long. Anyways I think Greaseball paying off Slick or Caboose makes sense since replica Greaseball feels very Electro Motor Diesel-coded and that company was a subsidiary of General Motors for years and used many auto industry-like strategies, making him a good standin for it. Caboose being aligned with trucking early on is my fav direction, and I think Slick would be more compelling if auto-aligned too. Alternatively I just like to stick Moloch in as a representative of that industry because it’s hilarious to imagine a guy in a cow skull mask bribing sleazy trains. Electra cheating against a steam engine is just stupid given the material realities of both forms of traction as early as the turn of the century and I maintain that they would be a neutral character who maybe gets pissed at Rusty for genuinely thinking he threw the race on purpose.

Greaseball is a well-paid PR guy for UP. Electra is a government worker constantly groveling for grants and funding and realistically, their glamor is skin-deep and a PR thing with weird parallels to respectability politics because electric trains are so associated with dirty and pedestrian public transport. The Components are their wider team. Momma/Poppa make more sense as high-maintenance out of touch celebrities than Electra. Don’t even start me on how Rusty could “just get a job” because mechanically functional small steam engines are very desirable to tourist railroads. The intricacies of how I think the social dynamics of traction SHOULD work based on reality are a separate rabbit hole.

tl;dr I treat them like embodiments of various industries ala political cartoons and treat them as employees of them. Electra would ironically not be rich and I could go on and on about how much their framing pisses me off for weirdly serious train reasons. But I think Purse would be the type to take a sketchy briefcase full of cash somewhere because I see him as some kind of mail car and those often carried high-value things. Electra can and would buy a croissant if they could actually eat one. I think they would hate AirBnB for political reasons because electric trains are actually the least tech bro thing there is but that’s also a whole separate rabbit hole.

I was thinking(crazy right) in Starlight Express money seems to have actual value to the characters as evidenced by Slick and Bv being motivated by money to crash trains, the existence of my glorious king Purse in the first place, and the components bringing up Electra is rich in the beginning of AC/DC, among other things.. Realistically what do the trains use money on?I mean I guess like oil or whatever they need, repairs, a new paint job maybe, but like what else… Unseriously too, like imagine Electra and the components buying a train air bnb or like a train croissant🤤 I’m sure someone else has brought this up but like what do you think they use money for be it serious or not 😭

[anatomic-adoration]

6/23/23

I made this blog with the intention of joining the studyblr community, but it doesn't hurt to throw some personal journaling in too.

It was warm today, sunny too, so I grabbed my most comfortable boots and headed out on one of my not so famous "adventures." It started off normal, of course, walking past the various bars and statues scattered throughout the college town. They were never my thing, but I've grown somewhat fond of the familiar territory. It's nice that there's plenty of things to use as landmarks since I can't find my way anywhere without a GPS. I gave the nose of the university's opossum mascot statue a rub for luck, then diverged from the sidewalk in favor of the "scenic" route.

It was peaceful, just enjoying the sunshine that peaked through the trees and climbing over rocks and run down fences. Rubbing the opossum's nose must've worked, because right by one of the fences was a dead bunny! The poor thing was half eaten and covered in those really pretty flies that have an iridescent green body. I took a picture and wished it a good afterlife. or reincarnation? or at least some peace in its eternal rest.

But none of that was new. The reason I felt the need to write this down is the woods spit me out right next to a bunch of cool stores I've never seen before. One of them was a coffee shop I'd never heard of, so I figured I'd give it a try.

The place was cooler than I could've imagined- alternative music was playing over the speakers, skull decor, and almost all the drinks had silly edgy names to match the aesthetic. I ordered a tea called "The Cure" (lemon, ginger, and just a hint of mint mixed together with some honey), then decided to do a little people watching while I waited for it to cool.

It was by no means crowded, but it was still fascinating to see that literally everyone there had an alternative look. There was an incredibly fun mixture of subcultures, but I found myself coming back again and again to this one punk looking guy there.

His hair was a grayish colour and he had a collection of piercings that complemented his jacket, which had a bunch of patches and some metal embellishments, including spikes. He was clearly pretty tall too; his chair looked tiny by comparison, and his legs didn't fit well under the table, leaving them pressed against the wood above them. Despite his obvious size and style, he still looked nervous to be there.

I know anyone can have anxiety, but there was something about seeing a man who would be labeled "trouble" by the average person being in such an uncomfortable state himself. I know it sounds mean, but the stark contrast was kind of amusing. I'd love to know how aware he is of the irony.

He noticed my staring, and I guess it made him uncomfortable because he rushed out pretty soon after catching on. As I drank my tea, I couldn't stop dwelling on the situation. I wish I could say I'm sorry; I never mean to stare for too long, but when something catches my eye it just... happens.

C'est la vie. I'll probably go back to the coffee shop again to try their other drinks, maybe a pastry too, so there's still a chance I'll see him again. Maybe I'll work up the nerve to apologize at this hypothetical next time.

Back to studying for the time being.

[dangeroustimemachinehologram]

Are alternative theories of human history true?

The origin of humanity and civilization has long been shrouded in mystery and controversy. Again and again, there is speculation that there once was an ancient civilization on Earth that possessed such knowledge in the field of astronomy and mathematics that it is difficult to imagine today. While modern science claims that human civilization is only 5,000 to 10,000 years old and that we evolved from great apes through natural selection, mounting evidence suggests that this theory may be fundamentally wrong.

One of the most convincing alternative theories of human history is that an advanced human civilization existed on Earth millions of years ago. This theory is explained in the book "Forbidden Archeology". It is a controversial publication by Nora Scott, Catherine Acholonu, and Michael Cremo, published in 1993. This book presents many controversial theories about human history and evolution. This publication presents abundant evidence of human remains and artifacts that date back millions of years, challenging the basic scientific understanding of human evolution.

The evidence presented in Forbidden Archeology includes artifacts and remains found in layers that are millions of years old, such as human footprints alongside those of dinosaurs, and anatomically modern human remains found in coal and Cambrian rocks. Cremo and Thompson argue that these findings have been systematically ignored or suppressed by the scientific community due to prejudice against the dominant version of human evolution. As they state in the book, "scientific evidence of a human presence millions of years ago is disregarded because it goes against the dominant paradigm of human evolution."

The authors of the book argue that there is evidence of advanced technology in prehistoric times, and that some archaeological discoveries indicate that man may have existed on Earth much earlier than currently accepted scientific theory. The controversial theories presented in the book include: the hypothesis of the existence of human civilization on Earth tens of thousands of years ago, the traces of which were deliberately destroyed by the authorities, as well as the theory of the influence of extraterrestrials on the development of humanity.

In the publication, they provide evidence of advanced humanoid beings on Earth millions of years ago, challenging mainstream scientific understanding of human evolution. Evidence for these ancient creatures, Cremo says, includes artifacts, ruins and remains found in layers from millions of years ago, such as anatomically modern human skulls found in tertiary sediments, as well as ancient cities and structures that testify to advanced technology.

Most scientists believe that humans evolved from apes. But evidence shows that advanced human-like beings existed on Earth millions of years ago. The evidence presented in these books raises serious questions about the accepted scientific understanding of human history and evolution. Had an advanced human civilization existed on Earth millions of years ago, it would have fundamentally changed our understanding of human history and our place in the world. This would mean that the scientific community has greatly underestimated the true history of human civilization and that our understanding of human evolution is fundamentally wrong.

Another theory presented in various books is that ancient civilizations had advanced knowledge of astronomy, mathematics and architecture. There have even been suggestions that the Great Pyramid of Giza was an ancient power station. In addition, theories have been put forward many times that ancient civilizations were advanced in astronomy, mathematics, and architecture.

In The Power Plant of Giza, Christopher Dunn provides evidence that the Great Pyramid of Giza was an ancient power plant. He claims that the pyramid's precise alignment, internal passages, and unusual features are evidence that it functioned as an energy machine. Dunn states that the Great Pyramid was not a tomb but an energy machine, a power plant that converted the energy of the Earth's rotation into electrical energy.

Ancient civilizations were also, according to these theories, advanced in astronomy, mathematics and architecture. Phillips argues that many ancient cultures such as the Mayans, Egyptians, and Chinese had advanced understandings of astronomy and mathematics, as evidenced by their accurate calendars, complex mathematical systems, and precise architectural alignment.

The evidence presented in these books suggests that ancient civilizations possessed a level of knowledge and technology far beyond what mainstream archeology traditionally attributes to them. From sophisticated astronomical observations to advanced mathematical knowledge, all indicate that ancient civilizations were not primitive but highly advanced. This refutes the idea that ancient civilizations were simply primitive cultures that evolved slowly over time, and instead suggests that they possessed advanced knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

Another theory that has gained popularity in recent years is that ancient civilizations were visited and perhaps even influenced by extraterrestrials. This theory was put forward, for example, in Zecharia Sitchin's books. These books claim that ancient texts and artifacts point to the existence of an extraterrestrial race that visited Earth in the distant past and played a role in the development of human civilization. Stichin claimed that ancient civilizations such as the Sumerians were in contact with alien extraterrestrial civilizations and received knowledge and technology from them.

According to Stichin, the Sumerians had knowledge of the cosmos and planets, about which science learned only many thousands of years later. Stichin also claimed that the Sumerians had contact with extraterrestrials who influenced the development of humanity and helped build ancient megalithic structures such as the pyramids.

Stichin's theories were widely criticized by scientists, who accused him of lacking scientific evidence to support his theses and of interpreting historical and archaeological sources in an unscientific way. According to many experts, his theories were just fantastic ideas with no basis in reality.

In The Twelfth Planet, Zecharia Sitchin claims that ancient Sumerian texts speak of an extraterrestrial race called the Anunnaki who came to Earth from a planet in our solar system called Nibiru. He claims that the Sumerians had detailed knowledge of the solar system and that the Anunnaki played a key role in the development of human civilization, including the creation of the first humans. The Sumerians were aware of the existence of the 12th planet in our solar system. This planet, known as Nibiru, is home to an extraterrestrial race called the Anunnaki.

According to Sumerian myths and legends, the Annunaki are beings from space who descended to Earth and helped people in their development. According to these myths, the Annunaki were gods or demigods who had the power and knowledge to rule the world. Modern interpretations of these myths, based on the work of authors such as Zecharia Sitchin, use the Annunaki as part of the theory of extraterrestrial influence on human history and development. According to these hypotheses, the Annunaki were supposed to be extraterrestrials who visited Earth in the past and interacted with humanity, teaching them various technologies as well as helping to build various megalithic structures.

There have also been suggestions that the ancient Egyptians had contact with extraterrestrials from the Sirius star system. Interestingly, similar theories are in the case of the African Dogon tribe, which has extremely advanced astronomical knowledge about this star system.

The Dogoni are an African people living in Mali and Burkina Faso. They gained the interest of scientists and researchers because of their traditions and beliefs that include an in-depth knowledge of the solar system, especially Jupiter's moons, which seemed unusual given their lack of access to advanced scientific technology.

According to researchers, the Dogon's knowledge of the solar system and the moons of Jupiter was passed on to them by members of their shaman caste during rituals and initiations. Scientists became interested in this phenomenon because it was knowledge that was unknown in Europe until the invention of the telescope.

There are also theories that Dogon's knowledge of the solar system was the result of contact with extraterrestrials who passed this knowledge on to them, although there is no scientific evidence for this. According to some researchers, the Dogon had an in-depth knowledge of the star Sirius, which seemed unusual given their lack of access to advanced technology. According to Dogon lore, Sirius is in the company of a twin star, and the two stars orbit each other. The Dogon also knew that Sirius had an unseen companion with an orbital period of 50 or 60 years.

However, there is also controversy about how Dogon acquired this knowledge. Some scholars believe that Dogon's knowledge of Sirius was passed down through initiations and religious rituals that used symbols and metaphors that could be interpreted as stories about Sirius. Other researchers propose that the Dogon may have acquired this knowledge through sky observations or through trade contacts with other peoples who knew this star, such as the Egyptians just mentioned.

The existence of advanced civilizations on Earth thousands of years ago is a topic of debate among researchers and scientists. However, there is still no clear answer to this question. On the one hand, there is abundant archaeological evidence in the form of the remains of buildings, tools, engravings and other artifacts that indicate that civilizations existed in very distant times. On the other hand, there is no direct evidence that the civilizations there had the same technological and scientific knowledge as today's civilizations. Many of the remains of the civilizations there are difficult to interpret and can be interpreted in different ways.

There are also theories that in the past there were civilizations on Earth that were more technologically advanced than today's, but they were annihilated by natural disasters or by wars. However, there is no generally recognized scientific evidence for this either.

[jstarswrites]

The Outcasts

Eddie Munson x Henderson!reader

So I wrote something. For the first time in ages. Got caught up with Stranger Things, as I always do, and was super mad about Eddie. Because he's just cool. Anyway, I wrote an alternative ending in this fic so that I wouldn't cry and could pretend this is how season 4 ended.

Eddie and the reader, who is Dustin's older sister, meet when Dustin asks her to sub in for Lucas, and the story goes from there. I haven't put too much of what happens in season 4 in here, just the main plot points, and I've deviated where I needed to. It's a little slow burn, but with some good flirting moments and I really hope you enjoy it. The reader is like Eddie, an outcast, bit of a metal head etc, but I've left it pretty open for you to imagine however you want.

As always, this fic is complete, and each part will come out at 9pm BST, until all parts are up. If you would like to be tagged, then reply to this post. If you would like to be tagged in Eddie fics or Stranger Things fics, then drop me an ask/message. I am probably going to write more in this world, I just haven't decided which one yet.

Feedback is greatly appreciated, just don't be mean 'cause a) that's rude, and b) I will cry.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Complete

Chapter 1: A new adventure

Chapter 2: A mystery to solve

Chapter 3: A friend in need

Chapter 4: Oh no, it's ball boy

Chapter 5: Hand in hand

Chapter 6: Skull Rock

Chapter 7: Watergate

Chapter 8: Upside down

Chapter 9: Game Plan

Chapter 10: The upside down. Again

Chapter 11: The aftermath

Chapter 12: Sweetness and spice

Chapter 13: Home

Chapter 14: Graduation

[relentlessgrief]

A rock.

Rocks held parts of the planet within it. Toril was a rich planet with a rich history, that much was obvious. Connor picks up the rock, imagining the weight of it that he cannot sense. A few tosses of it up and down in his palm, and then brings it to his skull, at level where his 'eyes' are. He admires the craftsmanship that the planet put into this compact set of minerals.

"This is a beautiful gift, Iago. I will treasure it until the end of my days." Another item to have buried with himself, should he ever actually find eternal rest. He'd like a grave with all the things his friends have given him, should he get the choice. All of the love with him in his tomb.

"You know. Back when I was in the village--the one I lived in," Connor continues, turning it another direction to admire it. "We would paint rocks. The children at the church would love that activity. It was a cheaper alternative to paper that often took far too long to make from wood pulp."

He looks at them. If only he could smile as bright as he feels, as light as his soul feels.

"Have you ever painted rocks? I'd recommend it, if you're ever looking for something to do on your downtime."

Iago listens intently as their companion speaks. They've made it a point - though with much less eloquence and serenity than Connor can give to it - to stop overlooking those things. They went so long without the feeling of wind on their cheeks and the sound of birds in the distance. How could they possibly ignore it now after they have so much catching up to do?

He says something on beauty that makes Iago pause, curious what he could mean. A moment longer of pondering leaves their ears pink and they nestle further into their cloak, unsure of why Connor is so needlessly kind to them. They wonder, maybe, if he wants something, but they refrain from asking and try to beat back the assumption.

“It's a new perspective,” they confess, following his gaze out beyond. Beautiful. “One that I don't know how I lived without before.”

When Connor turns to them again, they find themselves meeting his - well, as close as they can come to meeting his eyes. He speaks with so much conviction and easy vulnerability, it makes Iago feel both awed by it and horribly out of depth at the same time. They sit up a little from the retreat into their cloak and nod after a few moments of silence, still looking at him.

“Okay,” they respond simply, quietly, like they're taking it as an order. They know it isn't, but some accountability could do them some good.

They try not to feel too silly, then, when they finally look away just long enough to pull yet another small stone out of their pocket - one they picked up because of the pretty clay-red color and how smooth it had become from being tumbled by the river - and wordlessly set it next to Connor.

A gift. A thank you.