#including the entirety of so much for stardust

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

everyday i become more tempted to assign every single fob song to the life series. i could do it. it would be very easy, even.

[softnsquishable]

Thanks to this lovely post, I have been able to transcribe the entirety of the new Rock Sound magazine interview with Pete and Patrick. Find the entire transcript below the cut!

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

WITH THE TRIUMPHANT ‘SO MUCH (FOR) STARDUST’ CAPTURING A WHOLE NEW GENERATION OF FANS, FALL OUT BOY ARE RIDING HIGH. CELEBRATING THEIR PAST WHILE LOOKING TOWARDS A BRIGHT FUTURE. PETE WENTZ AND PATRICK STUMP REFLECT ON RECENT SUCCESSES AND THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM TWO DECADES OF WRITING AND PERFORMING TOGETHER. 

You have just completed a US summer tour that included stadium shows and some of your most ambitious production to date. What were your aims going into this particular show?

Pete: Playing stadiums is a funny thing. I pushed pretty hard to do a couple this time because I think that the record Patrick came up with musically lends itself to that feeling of being part of something larger than yourself. When we were designing the cover to the album, it was meant to be all tangible, which was a reaction to tokens and skins that you can buy and avatars. The title is made out of clay, and the painting is an actual painting. We wanted to approach the show in that way as well. We’ve been playing in front of a gigantic video wall for the past eight years. Now, we wanted a stage show where you could actually walk inside it.

Did adding the new songs from ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ into the setlist change the way you felt about them?

Patrick: One of the things that was interesting about the record was that we took a lot of time figuring out what it was going to be, what it was going to sound like. We experimented with so many different things. I was instantly really proud. I felt really good about this record but it wasn’t until we got on stage and you’re playing the songs in between our catalogue that I really felt that.It was really noticeable from the first day on this tour - we felt like a different band. There’s a new energy to it. There was something that I could hear live that I couldn’t hear before.

You also revisited a lot of older tracks and b-sides on this tour, including many from the ‘Folie à Deux’-era. What prompted those choices?

Pete: There were some lean years where there weren’t a lot of rock bands being played on pop radio or playing award shows so we tried to play the biggest songs, the biggest versions of them. We tried to make our thing really airtight, bulletproof so that when we played next to whoever the top artist was, people were like, ‘oh yeah, they should be here.’ The culture shift in the world is so interesting because now, maybe rather than going wider, it makes more sense to go deeper with people. We thought about that in the way that we listen to music and the way we watch films. Playing a song that is a b-side or barely made a record but is someone's favorite song makes a lot of sense in this era.

Patrick: I think there also was a period there where, to Pete’s point, it was a weird time to be a rock band. We had this very strange thing that happened to us, and not a lot of our friends for some reason, where we had a bunch of hits, right? And it didn’t make any sense to me. It still doesn’t make sense to me. But there was a kind of novelty, where we could play a whole set of songs that a lot of people know. It was fun and rewarding for us to do that. But then you run the risk of playing the same set forever. I want to love the songs that we play. I want to care about it and put passion into what we do.  And there’s no sustainable way to just do the same thing every night and not get jaded. We weren’t getting there but I really wanted to make sure that we don’t ever get there.

Pete: In the origin of Fall Out Boy, what happened at our concerts was we knew how to play five songs really fast and jumped off walls and the fire marshal would shut it down. It was what made the show memorable, but we wanted to be able to last and so we tried to perfect our show and the songs and the stage show and make it flawless. Then you don’t really know how much spontaneity you want to include, because something could go wrong. When we started this tour, and we did a couple of spontaneous things, it opened us up to more. Because things did go wrong and that’s what made the show special. We’re doing what is the most punk rock version of what we could be doing right now. 

You seem generally a lot more comfortable celebrating your past success at this point in your career.

Pete: I think it’s actually not a change from our past. I love those records, but I never want to treat them in a cynical way. I never want there to be a wink and a smile where we’re just doing this because it’s the anniversary. Thai was us celebrating these random songs and we hope people celebrate them with us. There was a purity to it that felt in line with how we always felt about it. I love ‘Folie à Deux’ - out of any Fall Out Boy record that’s probably the one I would listen to. But I just never want it to be done in a cynical way, where we feel like we have to. But celebrating it in a way where there’s the purity of how we felt when we wrote the song originally, I think that’s fucking awesome.

Patrick: Music is a weird art form. Because when you’re an actor and you play a character, that is a specific thing. James Bond always wears a suit and has a gun and is a secret agent. If you change one thing, that’s fine, but you can’t really change all of it. But bands are just people. You are yourself. People get attached to it like it’s a story but it’s not. That was always something that I found difficult. For the story, it’s always good to say, ‘it’s the 20th anniversary, let’s go do the 20th anniversary tour,’ that’s a good story thing. But it’s not always honest. We never stopped playing a lot of the songs from ‘Take This To Your Grave’, right? So why would I need to do a 20-year anniversary and perform all the songs back to back? The only reason would be because it would probably sell a lot of tickets and I don’t really ever want to be motivated by that, frankly. 

One of the things that’s been amazing is that now as the band has been around for a while, we have different layers of audience. I love ‘Folie à Deux’, I do, I love that record. But I had a really personally negative experience of touring on it. So that’s what I think of when I think of that record initially. It had to be brought back to me for me to appreciate it, for me to go, ‘oh, this record is really great. I should be happy with this. I should want to play this.’ So that’s why we got into a lot of the b-sides because we realized that our perspectives on a lot of these songs were based in our feelings and experiences from when we were making them. But you can find new experiences if you play those songs. You can make new memories with them. 

You alluded there to the 20th anniversary of ‘Take This To Your Grave’. Obviously you have changed and developed as a band hugely since then. But is there anything you can point to about making that debut record that has remained as a part of your process since then?

Pete: We have a language, the band, and it’s definitely a language of cinema and film. That’s maintained through time. We have very disparate musical tastes and influences but I think film was a place we really aligned. You could have a deep discussion, because none of us were filmmakers. You could say which part was good and which part sucked and not hurt anybody’s feelings, because you weren’t going out to make a film the next day. Whereas with music, I think if we’d only had that to talk about, we would have turned out a different band. 

Patrick: ‘Take This To Your Grave’, even though it’s absolutely our first record, there’s an element of it that’s still a work in progress. It is still a band figuring itself out. Andy wasn’t even officially in the band for half of the recording, right? I wasn’t even officially the guitar player for half of the recording. We were still bumbling through it. There was something that popped up a couple times throughout that record where you got these little inklings of who the band really was. We really explored that on ‘From Under The Cork Tree’. 

So when we talk about what has remained the same…I didn’t want to be a singer, I didn’t know anything about singing. I wasn’t planning on that. I didn’t even plan to really be in this band for that long because Pete had a real band that really toured so I thought this was gonna be a side project. So there’s always been this element within the band where I don’t put too many expectations on things and then Pete has this really big ambition, creatively. There’s this great interplay between the two of us where I’m kind of oblivious, and I don’t know when I’m putting out a big idea and Pete has this amazing vision to find what goes where. There’s something really magical about that because I never could have done a band like this without it. We needed everybody, we needed all four of us. And I think that’s the thing that hasn’t changed. - the four of us just being ourselves and trying to figure things out. Listening back to ‘Folie’ or ‘Infinity On High’ or ‘American Beauty’, I’m always amazed at how much better they are then I remember. I listened to ‘MANIA’ the other day. I have a lot of misgivings about that record, a lot of things that I’m frustrated about. But then I’m listening to it and I’m like, ‘this is pretty good.’ There’s a lot of good things in there. I don’t know why, it’s kind of like you can’t see those things. It’s kind of amazing to have Pete be able to see those things. And likewise, sometimes Pete has no idea when he writes something brilliant, as a lyricist, and I have to go, ‘No, I’m gonna keep that one, I’m gonna use that.’ 

On ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ you teamed up with producer Neal Avron again for the first time since 2008. Given how much time has passed, did it take a minute to reestablish that connection or did you pick up where you left off?

Patrick: It really didn’t feel like any time had passed between us and Neal. It was pretty seamless in terms of working with him. But then there was also that weird aspect where the last time we had worked with him was kind of contentious. Interpersonally, the four of us were kind of fighting with each other…as much as we do anyway. We say that and the myth gets built bigger than it was. We were always pretty cool with each other. It’s just that the least cool was making ‘Folie’. So then getting into it again for this record, it was like no time had passed as people but the four of us got on better so we had more to bring to Neal.

Pete: It’s a little bit like when you return to your parents’ house for a holiday break when you’re in college. It’s the same house but now I can drink with my parents. We’d grown up and the first times we worked with Neal, he had to do so much more boy scout leadership, ‘you guys are all gonna be okay, we’re gonna do this activity to earn this badge so you guys don’t fucking murder each other.’ This time, we probably got a different version of Neal that was even more creative, because he had to do less psychotherapy. 

He went deep too. Sometimes when you’re in a session with somebody, and they’re like, ‘what are we singing about?’, I’ll just be like, ‘stuff’. He was not cool with ‘stuff’. I would get up and go into the bathroom outside the studio and look in the mirror, and think ‘what is it about? How deep are we gonna go?’ That’s a little bit scarier to ask yourself. If last time Neal was like a boy scout leader, this time, it was more like a Sherpa. He was helping us get to the summit. 

The title track of the album also finds you in a very reflective mood, even bringing back lyrics from ‘Love From The Other Side’. How would you describe the meaning behind that title and the song itself?

Pete: The record title has a couple of different meanings, I guess. The biggest one to me is that we basically all are former stars. That’s what we’re made of, those pieces of carbon. It still feels like the world’s gonna blow and it’s all moving too fast and the wrong things are moving too slow. That track in particular looks back at where you sometimes wish things had gone differently. But this is more from the perspective of when you’re watching a space movie, and they’re too far away and they can’t quite make it back. It doesn’t matter what they do and at some point, the astronaut accepts that. But they’re close enough that you can see the look on their face. I feel like there’s moments like that in the title track. I wish some things were different. But, as an adult going through this, you are too far away from the tether, and you’re just floating into space. It is sad and lonely but in some ways, it’s kind of freeing, because there’s other aspects of our world and my life that I love and that I want to keep shaping and changing.

Patrick: I’ll open up Pete’s lyrics and I just start hearing things. It almost feels effortless in a lot of ways. I just read his lyrics and something starts happening in my head. The first line, ‘I’m in a winter mood, dreaming of spring now’, instantly the piano started to form to me. That was a song that I came close to not sending to the band. When I make demos, I’ll usually wait until I have five or six to send to everybody. I didn’t know if anyone was gonna like this. It’s too moody or it’s not very us. But it was pretty unanimous. Everybody liked that one. I knew this had to end the record. It took on a different life in the context of the whole album. Then on the bridge section, I knew it was going to be the lyrics from ‘Love For The Other Side’. It’s got to come back here. It’s the bookends, but I also love lyrically what it does, you know, ‘in another life, you were my babe’, going back to that kind of regret, which feels different in ‘Love For The Other Side’ than it does here. When the whole song came together, it was the statement of the record. 

Aside from the album, you have released a few more recent tracks that have opened you up to a whole new audience, most notably the collaboration with Taylor Swift on ‘Electric Touch’. 

Pete: Taylor is the only artist that I’ve met or interacted with in recent times who creates exactly the art of who she is, but does it on such a mass level. So that’s breathtaking to watch from the sidelines. The way fans traded friendship bracelets, I don’t know what the beginning of it was, but you felt that everywhere. We felt that, I saw that in the crowd on our tour. I don’t know Taylor well, but I think she’s doing exactly what she wants and creating exactly the art she wants to create. And doing that, on such a level, is really awe-inspiring to watch. It makes you want to make the biggest, weirdest version of our thing and put that out there. 

Then there was the cover of Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’, which has had some big chart success for you. That must have taken you slightly by surprise.

Patrick: It’s pretty unexpected. Pete and I were going back and forth about songs we should cover and that was an idea that I had. This is so silly but there was a song a bunch of years ago I had kind of written called ‘Dark Horse' and then there was a Katy Perry song called ‘Dark Horse’ and I was like, ‘damn it’, you know, I missed the boat on that one. So I thought if we don’t do this cover, somebody else is gonna do it. Let’s just get in the studio and just do it. We spent way more time on those lyrics than you would think because we really wanted to get a specific feel. It was really fun and kind of loose, we just came together in Neal’s house and recorded it in a day.

Pete: There’s irreverence to it. I thought the coolest thing was when Billy Joel got asked about it, and he was like, ‘I’m not updating it, that’s fine, go for it.’ I hope if somebody ever chooses to update one of ours, we’d be like that. Let them do their thing, they'll have that version. I thought that was so fucking cool. 

It’s also no secret that the sound you became most known for in the mid-2000s is having something of a commercial revival right now. But what is interesting is seeing how bands are building on that sound and changing it. 

Patrick: I love when anybody does anything that feels honest to them. Touring with Bring Me The Horizon, it was really cool seeing what’s natural to them. It makes sense. We changed our sound over time but we were always going to do that. It wasn’t a premeditated thing but for the four of us, it would have been impossible to maintain making the same kind of music forever. Whereas you’ll play with some other hands and they live that one sound. You meet up with them for dinner or something and they’re wearing the shirt of the band that sounds just like their band. You go to their house and they’re playing other bands that sound like them because they live in that thing. Whereas with the four of us and bands like Bring Me The Horizon, we change our sounds over time. And there’s nothing wrong with that either. The only thing that’s wrong is if it’s unnatural to you. If you’re AC/DC and all of a sudden power ballads are in and you’re like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to do a power ballad’, that’s when it sucks. But if you’re a thrash metal guy who also likes Celine Dion then yeah, do a power ballad. Emo as a word doesn’t mean anything anymore. But if people want to call it that, if the emo thing is back or having another life again, if that’s what’s natural to an artist, I think the world needs more earnest art. If that’s who you are, then do it.

Pete: It would be super egotistical to think that the wave started with us and My Chemical Romance and Panic! At The Disco has just been circling and cycling back. I remember seeing Nikki Sixx at the airport and he was like, ‘Oh, you’re doing a flaming bass? Mine came from a backpack.’ It keeps coming back but it looks different. Talking to Lil Uzi Vert and Juice WRLD when he was around, it’s so interesting, because it’s so much bigger than just emo or whatever. It’s this whole big pop music thing that’s spinning and churning, and then it moves on., and then it comes back with different aspects and some of the other stuff combined. When you’re a fan of music and art and film, you take different stuff, you add different ingredients, because that’s your taste. Seeing the bands that are up and coming to me, it’s so exciting, because the rules are just different, right? It’s really cool to see artists that lean into the weirdness and lean into a left turn when everyone’s telling you to make a right. That’s so refreshing. 

Patrick: It’s really important as an artist gets older to not put too much stock in your own influence. The moment right now that we’re in is bigger than emo and bigger than whatever was happening in 2005. There’s a great line in ‘Downton Abbey’ where someone was asking the Lord about owning this manor and he’s like, ‘well, you don’t really own it, there have been hundreds of owners and you are the custodian of it for a brief time.’ That’s what pop music is like. You just have the ball for a minute and you’re gonna pass it on to somebody else.

We will soon see you in the UK for your arena tour. How do you reflect on your relationship with the fans over here?

Pete: I remember the first time we went to the UK, I wasn’t prepared for how culturally different it was. When we played Reading & Leeds and the summer festivals, it was so different, and so much deeper within the culture. It was a little bit of a shock. The first couple of times we played, I was like, ‘Oh my God, are we gonna die?” because the crowd was so crazy, and there was bottles. Then when we came back, we thought maybe this is a beast to be tamed. Finally, you realize it’s a trading of energy. That made the last couple of festivals we played so fucking awesome. When you really realize that the fans over there are real fans of music. It’s really awesome and pretty beautiful. 

Patrick: We’ve played the UK now more than a lot of regions of the states. Pretty early on, I just clicked with it. There were differences, cultural things and things that you didn’t expect. But it never felt that different or foreign to me, just a different flavor…

Pete: This is why me and Patrick work so well together (laughs).

Patrick: Well, listen; I’m a rainy weather guy. There is just things that I get there. I don’t really drink anymore all that much. But I totally will have a beer in the UK, there’s something different about every aspect of it, about the ordering of it, about the flavor of it, everything, it’s like a different vibe. The UK Audience seemed to click with us too. There have been plenty of times where we felt almost more like a UK band than an American one. There have been years where you go there and almost get a more familial reaction than you would at home. 

Rock Sound has always been a part of that for us. It was one of the first magazines to care about us and the first magazine to do real interviews. That’s the thing, you would do all these interviews and a lot of them would be like ‘so where did the band’s name come from?” But Rock Sound took us seriously as artists, maybe before some of us did. That actually made us think about who we are and that was a really cool experience. I think in a lot of ways, we wouldn’t be the band we are without the UK, because I think it taught us a lot about what it is to be yourself.

Fall Out Boy’s ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ is out now via Fueled By Ramen. 

[jorisjurgen]

My Joris Playlist - explained

Yet another self-indulgent post going into details on why I picked certain songs for my third playlist. Even though the Atcham playlist explanation was a flop and that made me sad.

1. Mother Mother - Mamma Told Me

Self explanatory 💀

2. nekobolo (aka Sasanomaly) - Synthesia Ghost

This one is a bit hard to explain. Because the Joris playlist is not separated into child/adult or any other categories, this song's first purpose in this playlist is to, in a way, signify that while the first song is about his childhood, the rest of the songs are definitely about his character after the movie.

It has a mature but vulnerable sound, and expresses a deep, but vague, sense of dissatisfaction with the entirety of one's life — and an inability to express it less vaguely. He hates Kerubim so much.

3. Inabakumori - Kimi ni Kaikisen

This is my top "Joris in Huppermage Academy" song. But also general teenage Joris song. I don't think the king of being homeschooled is good in traditional learning environments.

4. Inabakumori - Secret Elementary School Student

It's a song about not wanting to grow up, "My dream job is to be an elementary school student."

I think something Joris is mentally ill about is wanting to be a child but wanting to be an adult but wanting to be a child. It's a dichotomy he has been trapped in for six centuries.

There are also some lyrics that make me think of the dichotomy of hating and loving Kerubim, during the chorus. Hehe.

5. R.I.P - I'll Throw My Emotions Away

This song is definitely about Adult Joris in his "everyone around me is dying of old age" era lmaooo.

The "you" and "he" in this song is Kerubim though (and a little bit of Atcham, but he has a normal, healthy, and supportive relationship with Atcham, so 99% of this playlist is not applicable to him). I think Joris will stub his toe and think "FUCKING KERIBIM CREPIN."

6. PowaPowaP - Can't Even Age Normally

Unlike Kerubim and Atcham, he doesn't really "age" so he had to come to terms with immortality bullshit not at 70-90 years of age after dying, but probably at 30-40 years of age AND he has to keep coming to terms with it.

Also he hates growing older, because I think he'd like things to remain simple - the same way that was expressed in the "Secret Elementary School Student"

Basically, I think he really hates himself. Big Joris doomerism song.

7. Sohta - Stardust Girl

Years, decades, centuries keep passing, and Joris is just as passively suicidal and self-hating.

He just tries to make it into a good thing by applying optimistic nihilism.

8. Deco*27 - Coward Mont Blanc

There were some songs that referenced hating being a cruel person and a coward previously, but this one is the top "Joris knowing he's not a good person and feeling horrible about it." song.

One hc I have is that when Joris's friends - including Khan and Lilotte - die, he does Not visit them if they're actively dying even if they ask him to come; and he will NOT come to the funeral and he will not visit the grave for at least 3-5 years. There are exceptions, but mostly it's like this. And he feels SO bad about this. He's insane.

9. Meg Myers - Numb

We're progressing to more-immortal more-adult Joris issues with this one, and still there's a theme of him not wanting to grow up.

He's so desperate for approval of other people that he made himself into a tool for the Bontarian government and gaslighted himself into thinking he's making any difference in the world by participating in the system. Sad oh well.

10. Nekotanaka - Never

Once again, "Very positive sounding song about depression that is very Joris-core with him trying to convince himself he's normal and sane, using his love for Atcham and Kerubim."

11. K.Flay - It's Just a Lot

I'm fucking insane. In a way, yearning to be a child is about not wanting to become the person he is. He wants to care about people — he doesn't want to be cruel or cold. But he is.

Even then, it doesn't mean he will stop wishing he could be more carefree and innocent.

"I've done things against which I believe"

"It all amounts to no-one knows."

"I want to hold onto the innocence I've got."

12. Penelope Scott - Moonsickness

Imagine Joris during the Huppermage genocide. Lmaoooo rip bozo??! Rip bozo. Joris you are so fucking stupid why are you still Bontarian after what happened. I need to choke him to death.

I think the huppermage genocide was his first big political disillusionment induced depression.

13. Inabakumori - Heaven's Tears

More epic Joris self-gaslights. I think his thoughts on Bonta in the world are always "things will end well. No they won't. But I can't just fucking say that. So things will end well."

There's one bit of this song that is very Joris@Kerubim-core, and it makes me think of this song in the framework of "Joris's self-gaslight mental health preservation system is very much inherited from Kerubim."

14. Amanda Palmer - Trout Heart Replica

I'M INSANE. I'M CRAZY. I'M INSANE. This is THE Joris character song. This is his fucking theme song, actually.

There are so many layers of meaning to this song: on a surface layer, it's about the guilt that comes with the nature death: we are created to outlive most animals, seeing them grow up from little babies to adults in such a short time. And we are created to kill to survive and eat. The song's primary theme is the horror of hunt for the hunter.

Joris is someone who has been alive for centuries, and almost all of this time he spent in politics. He's seen and outlived thousands of people like Eva, Amalia, Yugo, and Tristepin. He's been friends with hundreds of adventurers that grow and die faster than he can blink, sometimes in wars, and sometimes because of Bonta.

And that's just normal, to him, for some reason.

The song's secondary theme is being unable to connect to other people emotionally; being a cold, distant friend. It's about killing people's love for you slowly, through ghosting, through silence, and feeling like it's the inevitable consequence of every relationship. Just like the relationship between predator and prey. And being just as condescending towards the people involved.

A very resigned position of doom towards every relationship that is in any way positive.

15. Mitski - Washing Machine Heart

This song was one of the three contributing factors to Fragile, handle with care being written.

Big Kerubim&Joris win.

16. Mitski - Working For The Knife

He used to want to be a photographer, an adventurer, an artist, a good person.

But he's working for the knife. :)

17. Mitski - Crack Baby

Another evil Kerubim&Joris win.

Petition to Kill Kerubim Crepin. Together we can explode the feline child neglector.

18. Ferry - The Mill

This (checks notes) song from a plot driven vocaloid song series really suits Joris. Instead of vulnerable emotions of love, I think this is a good "how Joris feels while travelling with Atcham and Kerubim" song, as well as a good "Joris in his usual mental state (repression)" song.

It also questions a lot of things I already talked about: his arrogance in trying to lead people despite being a mess, his reluctance to let go of his position in Bonta despite knowing that Bonta isn't really perfect; and his feelings on Keke and Atch.

"Oh, it's nothing new, the visionless leading the blind; It's easy to say "why don't you leave it all behind"; And this moral compass is forever misaligned;

All I need is that you'll be here by my side. But you can never know that; "Too strong to die" — or was it me again?"

19. Mother Mother - Body of Years

A very beautiful song about the process of someone rotting and turning to dust. Man I hope Joris doesn't have 47573838 dead friends.

It's also a song about wanting to make a mark on the world - and I really think it applies to Joris. Out beloved idiot idealist.

20. Mitski - Me and My Husband

Kerubim&Joris ass song.

I'm going to walk into the sea.

It's such a depressing song that just resigns to "I have nothing going for me, except for him."

21. weevildoing - Caliber Girl

Joris Quit Politics and be Reborn as a Lotus Flower. It's the right thing to do.

(This is a song about overworking overtime overnight overday overweek on your 10 hour shift IT job because Surely It's The Proper and Adult Thing To Do To Be Respected And Perfect And Responsible, and Make a Difference and Change The World. It is the right way, right? Right..!?)

"No meditation, medication, no doctor, no therapist; could cure me of the condition of the world that I have to live in; Working on my rest days. Never productive enough; Even on my best days. Will it ever be enough?"

22. Inabakumori - Rainy Boots

Another "yearning for the simplicity of being a child" type song. Hehe. It's really about trying to do things that used to make you happy when you were young, and it just not feeling the same...

Also, I think at this point in the playlist, the Ogrest's Chaos has probably happened. I think he got pretty mentally ill during those years and clung to Atcham and Kerubim extra hard.

23. Inabakumori - Float Play

The same exact motifs and themes as the last song - trying to return to a more innocent time by doing something you used to, and it not feeling the same.

But it differs in being more aggressive at reclaiming that feeling - begging the person the song is being sang to, "you" to bring this feeling back. In a way it feels like a Joris&Kerubim song.

"A pacifist until yesterday...!"

"Starting today, I'm a victim."

24. Inabakumori - Sink Tank

[hacks up blood] hes been living with his dad, who neglected him to the point of 20 menta illnesses, for 600 years.

The "you" in this song is absolutely Kerubim.

25. Inabakumori - Hello Marina (Will Stetson cover)

IM CRAZY IM CRAZY IM FUCKING INSANE IM CRAZY. This is THE Joris&Kerubim&Atcham song. It's so loving and bitter.

"That scar that you see? It bound what we'd be — you gouged it in me! So, they remain, every ache binding us will stay."

26. Mafumafu - Hated by Life Itself

Big breakthrough in this playlist: the first Joriscore anti-doomerism song.

It's about Not wanting to kill yourself, and violently so - despite knowing that the world is Shit. It's hard to explain because the lyrics of the song are so fast and so dense with many themes, many of which fit him!

27. Pomme - Nelly

Listening to this song, before I kew that this song is about a writer, I thought "this reminds me of my mom," which turned into "this reminds me of Joris and Kerubim" which turned into mental illness.

When divorced of it's (sad, beautiful, very meaningful) context as a song about a wonderful writer, it can make for a good song about loving your mentally ill single parent who neglected and parentified you into having 20 mental illnesses and is your best friend?

Anyway this song is the Second Contributing Factor in the writing if the fic Fragile, handle with care. (And the third one is on the Kerubim playlist.)

28. Majima Yulo - Is This Kamaboko? Mahoro? Makoto? (Less Than Truth)

IM INSANE. This is the second Joris theme song. Joris self-gaslight stays winning!!! Every Joris fan owes it to themselves to give it a listen.

The happiest sounding song to ever say shit like "I'm talentless and powerless + GOD I LOVE CODEPENDENCY + I have 99999 regrets + I root out the sadness I feel for every tragedy + I really wish I wasn't witnessing history being made and I don't want to be alive during most of the ages! + I want to throw up."

29. Flëur - Be My Raison D'Etre

I really, really wish all english sub videos for Fleur songs weren't Yandere Simulator themed. Genuine anguish. Vile slurs omitted.

The thing about Joris is that all he has is Atcham and Kerubim, and they've been there all his life, and no matter how chill he acts, he IS needy about it, and it IS poisoning his brain.

30. Mitski - Happy

[instead of explaining anything, I pull out an image of Kerubim and Joris cannibalizing one another, from my artblog @atchamcrepin]

does this make sense.

31. Iyowa - Leave you on The Back of the Earth

[points once more to the art of Kerubim and Joris cannibalizing one another]

i actually drew it while listening to this but the lyrics on the last song were more striking:)

Imagine being a child and you were adopted by the guy who killed your mom and he had the audacity to neglect you to the point of developing 20 mental illnesses. AND neither of you can die or escape your relationship.

Also this song has a lot of cat puns and Nyas

32. Ano - Chu, Tayousei

[REDACTED]

Also this is the third song in the "I listened to it wile drawing Joris&Kerubim cannibalism." and —

[REDACTED]

Anyway, what I'm talking about is: Joris feels a mixture of hate and love towards the man, and he both wants to be his own person and just Be Told what to do by His Dad. This song literally going "vomit kiss! Vomit kiss!" Is so "positive feelings mixed with negative" it's crazy.

Also I do think Joris kind of disgusts himself with his own desire to Not be his own person (hes an adult man and it's weird to live with his dad for centuries and—) as well as his mixed emotions towards Kerubim (the man doesn't deserve to have all this baggage pointed towards him) which too, is kinda reflected by the vomit part of the song.

It's very manic.

33. Hanyuu Maigo - onomatopoeia

A less insane "joris hates and loves kerubim" song.

34. Mitski - Love me More

Man i dont evem know how to explain this without reiterating the shit ive already said.

He doesn't have anything going for him save for two catboys, man. It's his main hobby and lifestyle.

35. Wowaka - toosenbo

This one's on the more "hate" side of the codependency ordeal. For all his issues, I think he haaaates it when Kerubim speaks over him and treats him, an adult man, like a child.

36. Red Vox - Better On The Outside

For a turn, a warm song about making each other better, and helping eachother heal. While the maddening and controlling part of the codependency is very compelling to me, it's not all gloom and doom with the jurgencrepins! (Especially when taking Atcham into account XD)

37. Mili - 奶水 (Milk)

RISE UP FOR THE CREPINJURGENITE NATIONAL ANTHEM.

The knowledge of this song is required for all Joris, Kerubim, and Atcham fans because it's our fucking catboyliker national anthem and flag.

We romanticising caramelizing mythologizing idealizing codependency-to-the-point-of-becoming-a-singular-being in this mothafucka!!! Get your sensitive ass back to wakfu series fandom!!

38. itoki hana - as you are

Another song that portrays the good side of the trio's relationship. They're cringe losers, ugly, and morally ambiguous failures... TOGETHER! And they LOVE each other for it!!!! Fuck!!!!!!!!!!

(singable translation by the fansubber known as "toby fox". Idk who he is but the subs are cool!) -

"I'm really not — the savior you wished I'd be; the hero you said you always saw in me"

"I know that I can't, so don't be surprised; Just hope the one I am 's still the one you love."

39. Hanyuu Maigo - Thank You, Emptiness

It's a very optimistic song, and I don't like ending my playlists on a sad note if the character has a good ending or isn't dead yet. I think that by 600 years of age, Joris has found some meaning in death and life.

40. Flëur - Someone

One of the only english subbed Fleur songs that don't have Yandere Simulator art on the sub videos 💀😭

It's about being forced to care for someone — and growing to love caring about them. While it is unfortunate that Joris's childhood was... yknow, who are we to deny him the right to Enjoy parentification and want to call himself Kerubim's dad?

Like

"he needs to move away from his father and live alone and a conventional romantic relationship with some random character he interacted with once in canon even though he would never fucking do it and it makes no sense for his character"

"no! Independent life and being shipped will kill the patient."

"he needs parentification to live."

41. PinocchioP - Nobody Makes Sense

Another one of those "i think by 600 years of age, his immortality angst has calmed down, and he found some meaning and peace (but not Too Much)" songs.

42. 4o (tadanoCo) - SentO

Wait 5-6 more months for my animatic and then all will be explained. Or listen to it and see my vision.

But to be serious, it's once again about finding meaning - and aggressively. It's about knowing everything about your job is bullshit and useless and you're making no difference; it's about knowing you're a bad person, an idiot, and an egoist the same way everyone else is, and not caring; it's about knowing you can't change the ways the world exploits you, and other people, yearning to be able to do more, but mostly wanting to just live well with the people you love.

And it's about growing up.

43. PinocchioP - I'm glad you're evil too

Crepinjurgenite nation rise up for our second anthem.

Ironically, Joris has built himself such a stoic public image that the only people he really can be himself with are Kerubim and Atcham. And I think he likes it that way.

44. Faded Paper Figures - Relatively

This song is shared with the Kerubim and Atcham playlists.

The first verse is Atcham; the second verse is Kerubim; and the third verse is Joris.

[after-out-of-place]

Sila / Chritty - Pink (Part 1)

It was a languid hot and humid summer day, the kind of day where the hours stretch lazily for a lot longer than they should, showering the streets of San Bearino in golden light, making the water in the bay and the air all around glitter like stardust. The students who usually swarmed the city and the university campus had dispersed to their homes or were otherwise hidden in whatever shady hole they could find. Schools were out for the season too. San Bearino enforced a siesta for all workers during the summer to prevent mishaps from overheating and to save money on air conditioning. Without the masses of people flowing through the streets, the whole city had a serene calm over it, the only sounds around being those of insects going about their chittering business. 

In one room of the Faculty of Music at San Bearino’s University, Profession Chritty and his friend SIla lounged spread over several chairs in the early afternoon heat. Chritty had Sila over to help with some of the session plans for next year’s Masters program Chritty was proposing, and Sila was only too happy to oblige. They had used the relative cool of the morning to practise and record until Chritty had enough drum samples for the students to experiment with and now they sipped iced drinks and hardly chatted, satisfied with the work they had done. 

“Uhm..” began Chritty, uncertainty making its way into his voice, “Sila… say.. Say I wanted to experiment with something, would.. Would you help me out?” Sila knew this request would be of a much more personal matter than the sample recordings of this morning, but she teased anyway. “And what have I been doing all day so far then..?” “Oh, yes, of course, oh, no, I did not mean to suggest, you.. You have been perfectly helpful the entirety of the day…!��� Chritty startled, but Sila waved a hand at him with a smile and he settled back. “Go on, what’s up then?” “Well… It’s just.. I allow myself to be persuaded by all these random things all of the time…” Chritty started again and Sila knew exactly what he meant. Some of Chritty’s persuasions had been more benign than others, like the time he got utterly convinced that one specific brand of inflatable pool was the absolute best, and therefore ordered inflatable pools for the entire band, including himself. When the packages arrived and the band members queried why they had received inflatable pools of all things, Chritty’s only remark was “Only the best for my closest friends!”. The band had left it at that, apart from Sila who asked how Chritty would use his inflatable pool, considering he resented water. "Easy", Chritty had explained, "Exactly the same as anyone else, only without the water!" 

Other persuasions were far less amusing, and a multitude of people in Chritty’s life had taken advantage of him this way. Smig, for one.. Or rather Smyg, as he was now known. Sila had yet to believe fully in his redemption story, but the lad was at least trying. Once Chritty had persuaded himself, with Sila’s help, that he was a businessman to help the band by impersonating Fernandino, the local Big Business Boss. Those were both fun and dark times.  

There was also that close call with The True Coffee Daddy. Sila refused to think about that. 

“I just want to be more resilient when people tell me things, I want to be able to stick to my instincts and to know what my true self is!” continued Chritty, uncertainty making room for passion. “I keep allowing myself to be led astray from who I truly am and that has been a problem before. I’m just so naive.” Chritty looked at Sila expectantly. 

“Sure, my fluffy friend, you let yourself get pulled astray sometimes, but perhaps that is who you are. It has allowed us to enter and land on another planet for music’s sake, and that was perfectly in our favour! Being trusting is not a bad thing, and now the band is around too so you can ask us at any time about anything!” 

“This is true, and I am very grateful to have you all in my life. I wish I didn’t have to rely on you as often as I do though..”

Sila could see there was more to it, so she just sat back and waited. She had her arms spread across the rests of 3 chairs to grab any potential movement in the air, of which there was little. She did not have to wait in silence for long. 

“What if you persuaded me about something and I tried to resist?” Started again Chritty, this time standing up and going to his desk, opening a drawer. “I ended up bringing up these drugs with me from the space ship when I impersonated Fernandino too. I will take a few to lower my defences, because I know you would be trying to convince me, and they should counter that… What?”

Sils had dramatically slid down from the chair she was sitting on and the three chairs she was resting her arms on with an incredulous expression, eyes wide. “You have… Chritty, why have you kept those drugs? Why didn't you surrender them to a pharmacy so they can be safely disposed of?”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that. I didn't know what to do with them so I just kept them.” admitted Chritty “But we can use them now?”

“No, you are not taking those pills, please!”

“I am serious about this, Sila! I want to be mentally stronger!” “Yeah I can see that you have persuaded yourself that this is what you want and I am definitely not against helping you with it all but Chritty - drugs?? We don’t even know what they do? Last time you were in a daze and a near coma for over a day!” “Huh, yeah perhaps taking 4 is too much at once then..” “Taking any is too much!” “No, for this experiment to work I need to be slightly discombobulated. Perhaps just 2?" “Candy cat…”

They argued back and forth for a long while, Sila maintaining that gullible or not, Chritty was just excellent how he was, and Chritty being adamant he would do this with or without Sila. Finally, Sila decided if she couldn’t help the mad, she would join them. 

They agreed on Chritty taking half a pill, and so he did. 

Sila waited a bit for the medication to work, and tried to persuade Chritty of random trivial things, that burnt toast was better, or that tuna tasted like yoghurt, but Chritty persevered through these gentle, if ridiculous, suggestions. He found himself more and more preoccupied with the birds outside, it was getting a bit darker now and every avian in the city had come out to join its feathery folk for evening song. 

“Chritty. You are a flamingo.” Sila suddenly proclaimed. 

“What??” an incredulous Chritty retorted. 

**** (CONTINUED IN PART 2)

[reidyoulikeabook]

15, 17 and 26 all from fluff!!! <3333333333

you asked and you shall RECEIVE my sweet avery! of course you pick out the very best combination of prompts, i'd expect no less <3

Ship: GN! Reader x Spencer Reid

Word count: .9k

Warnings: Kissing, general goofiness and cheesiness.

Prompts: #15 "Wow, you're photogenic."

#17 "Quick, kiss me!"

#26 "My lip gloss is all over your lips.”

A/N: I haven’t posted in an AGE and I won’t lie when I say this might not be my best work, but I was feeling writing for once so I tried! I’m going through a pretty rough mental time at the moment and I’m finding it hard to do much, but I wrote this! It’s technically part of the A-Z series, but works as a stand-alone :)

You've both worked up quite the sweat from your, admittedly too enthusiastic, dancing by the time you tumble your way into the photobooth. You'd been meaning to make a stop there all night but between the children (Aaron could probably wallpaper his entire house with pictures of the inside of Jack's nose, pressed right up against the camera), and the far reaching branches of Derek's family tree that yanked him outside for new mantelpiece photos at every opportunity, you just hadn't had the chance. Until now.

Giggling, you pull back the curtain. Almost tripping inside the booth, your interlocked fingers meaning Spencer is yanked in right along with you. He's laughing too. His nose scrunched, glasses comically far up, his face tinged pink with laughter, his hair damp and especially springy against his forehead.

"Sit down!" You chastise.

"Hold on!" He protests, trying to get himself comfortable in his seat. He pulls an odd face, one that involves contorting his mouth into a shape you’re not sure you’ve seen outside of the dentist office, flaring his nostrils, and frowning simultaneously.

And then, amongst the hububub, the camera flashes. Followed by the instant sound of whirring. Spencer frowns, reaching forward, but you lurch. Grabbing the picture and bringing it up to your line of sight, grinning, “Wow, you’re photogenic.”

“Give me that!”

You shake your head, tucking your arm behind your back, “Nope.”

“Please?” He pleads, pushing out his lower lip.

“Nope.”

He braces himself, his legs tensing under you.

He’s up to something.

You bring your right hand back to his chest, steadying yourself, “It’s going to go off again.”

He shakes his head, “The wait between the flashes is actually longer than you’d think because it accommodates for people leaving and getting readjusted in the booth, if it went off that fast there’d be a whole load of film that was just wasted-”

Flash.

His face tenses, startled, and you burst into another peel of laughter. Your thumb tracing along the line of his jaw, “Is that so Doctor Reid?”

“It’s usually longer!” He defends, his voice pitching upwards, “Morgan must have gotten a subpar photobooth.”

“Or maybe you just don’t know about photobooths.”

His eyebrows raise for a brief second, then dip back down to their original position, a conciliatory smile on his face, “I don’t actually know about photobooths. I was just making it up so you’d kiss me.”

“You want a picture of us kissing?”

His teeth worry at his bottom lip, and he takes pause. You take the opportunity to smile brightly at him, your eyes widening as you take in the entirety of his much too adorable, much too appealing, face staring up at you. A mixture of wonder and amazement in his eyes that almost makes you dizzy.

Spencer Reid, wanting photobooth kissing pictures.

“Well then quick, Spencer, you’d better kiss me.”

His face lights up: a smile reserved only for you, instinctively tilting his head up to be closer to you. You squeeze his chin affectionately between your thumb and forefinger, closing the gap between you that was filled only with warm air and quiet desire. His hand comes to the small of your back, on instinct, pressing you against him as his lips brush against yours. Lightly, at first, just testing out the water. Gentle and affectionate, and then harder. Chasing his mouth as he slumps into the seat, pulling you further into his lap.

Flash.

It knocks you off kilter, surprising you. A laugh reverberates through his throat and into your mouth, eliciting a very similar reaction from you. His face is scrunched up with joy as he pulls back, laughing, “That’s kind of a mood killer.”

“There’s a reason you don’t put strobe lights in the bedroom.”

“I think I might have to concede you know more about photobooths than me,” He smiles, his arms looped around your waist, his head pressing into your neck.

“My lip gloss is all over your lips,” You chastise half-heartedly, “I’ll be covered in it.”

He presses a series of delicate kisses along the line of your collarbone, coming to the hollow of your throat. You feel him speak as much as you hear it, “I think it looks good anywhere on you.”

“You would,” You tease, running your fingers lightly through his hair, which has been carefully gelled for the occasion.

He sighs, contentedly. It’s nice, really, to have the time to yourself. Penelope and Derek’s special day has been in the making for a month, and as much as it’s a glorious occasion the lead-up (including the 6am start to the day) has been a whirlwind. It’s nice to take pause.

It’s especially nice to imagine Spencer at your own wedding. He looks gorgeous in a proper suit, even letting you pick out a tie that matched your outfit.

Wonder if he’ll look this beautiful at our wedding.

Don’t be silly. Even more so.

You smile to yourself, tightening your arms around him.

Flash.

Despite the work that went into acquiring the kiss, the photo that ends up on your mantelpiece in a frame is the last one. The biggest smile on Spencer’s face, accompanied by a look of pure peace. His arms securing you to him, and your own looped around to hold him close. The look in your eyes, the softness of the features of your face, as you look at him in that picture? It makes him feel more sure of your love for him than anything in this world. And maybe, just maybe, he gets Penelope to make a copy for his wallet.

Permanent tagslist: @ellesgreenaway @fiftyshadesofspencerreid @holding-on-to-my-youth @ssa-m-187 @reidingmelodies @spencerreidat3am @muffin-cup @reidyourmind @hollydaisy23 @reidassance @hauntedinsomnia @averyhotchner @sunkissglow @reidsacademia @kathrynisadogperson @opheli-yeah @meganskane @idonotexiste @sapphic-prentiss @jhillio @dinonuggets1967 @bingereid @reidscanehand @emilyprsntiss @retrxbarnes @luvofyourlifeliv @sweetandsunny @newtmyheart @shesalatesh @loreenswriting

A-Z tagslist: @ssareidbby @gingertea6460 @thosecriminalminds @disasterwriter @s5spencerreid

If you’re on the old tagslist it would be great if you could fill out THIS google form to be added to the new tagslist! I’m trying to create SOME semblance of order <3

Old tagslist:

@altsvu @muffin-cup @reidscanehand @bvttercupbby @jessicarabbit09 @lukewearingbeanies @lady-anon-x @aperrywilliams @southsidemistress @a-broken-pact @jjongs-tae-and-biscuits @reidsnose @amesandpineapples @spaghettinudes @quillanpie @ateez-star @mercy-burning @sapphic-prentiss @joyclubie @random-human-person @cat-power6 @junipersenvelope @blameitonthenight21 @mggsprettygirl @im-autistic @spookydrreid @brown-eyedshell @underscorecourt @drspencerreidd @lady-loves-a-lot  @rem-ariiana @laurakirsten0502 @starsandshit90 @spoonielivingfree @kathrynisadogperson @geostarr @shesalatesh @cyanide-mustard @therealchickenjoe @sunlitspence @spencerreid9 @s5spencerreid @ssavanessa22 @reidaissance @amoeebaa @death-becomes-her  @wheelsup @willowrose99 @i-understood-that-reference @clubfairy @kingdomcrane @newtmyheart @cigarette-day-dread @maddievevo @s1lverhand @ggublerss @reid-me-a-story @retrxbarnes @vntgkenz @eli-side-blog @reidtome @justanotherfangirl @sebstan-is-the-man @bethc54 @trans-reader-fics @percysaidnever @sad-bitch-h0ur @veridianluv @awesomebooklover17 @youarethereasonimsmiling @xhopingthis-worksx @agentmilf @takeyourleap-of-faith @spencerreidsconverse @nomajdetective @thatsonezesty13 @spookydrreid @kurtuinna @jswessie187 @sammicabrera @idontwantyourcookiesthanks @sweetandsunny @reidstulips @midnightstan @stylesstreet @iamhowieson @reichelhache @screennamealreadyused @mrs-dr-reid @measure-in-pain @slaytherinthoughts @inlovewprentiss @citliareedus @love-you-to-saturn @drayshadow @makailaa @idonotexiste @disasterwriter @kuolonsyoja @thosecriminalminds @reidsacademia @hercleverboy @sun-flower-seed @singularityjc @adnae91 @uwu-queen-420 @broken-stardust @this-is-doctor-and-its-calm @spencerreid-187 @spenxerslut @pastelbabygirl19 @spencie-adams @meganskane

@mochionly  @fine-furry-friends @v-is-obsessive @violent-fleur @ilovespencerreidmarryme @dreamingstar @radtwinkie @allybatch @tea-and-books13 @hyungsungcore @gubeskneescrew @hagridsmomma @goldentournesol @iwouldburnupintheatmosphere @hotchwheels @moondustmemories @shay-lee @msspencerreid @url-under-construction @softcabur

[queenmylovely]

Queen/Borhap Creator Appreciation Day

Seeing all of the love in all the posts that have come across my feed and into my notes, I am so happy that we are taking this time to appreciate one another, both creators and the people that support us alike! I think we (including me) should all take this as an opportunity to continue this kind of love and support going forward. To start, here is a list of some of my favorite creators of all types, with a bit of something that they create (if I missed anybody, know that I do absolutely appreciate you, I just have been a little absent the past weeks). Thanks again for all the love and I’m super excited to go check out some people I should be following!!!

(a lot of the fics I’m recommending are smut and therefore 18+, please respect that boundary)

Edits, etc.

@moustachefreddie does a ton of great edits, including this one that reimagines the single cover for “Time Waits for No One”

@39-ers does wonderful edits and moodboards, like this one that I think is very relevant to their url

@stardust-killer-queen and her moodboards and other edits are fantastic, I love this one’s colors sm

@cherries-n-rocknroll is fucking amazing and so is this edit from my url and this one that’s just gorgeous (and all her other stuff too)

@stoneqoldcrazy has some crazy cool moodboards especially this one! that makes the boys their colors from Hot Space (trust me if you click it it will make sense)

@ogrebattles continue to put out spectacular edits and I love my url edit so so much!

@freddie-mercurys has brilliant freddie content as well as brilliant gifs like these

@tenderbri is a seasoned curator of all tender bri things (obvs) and also posts her one edits

@drbriangay has some of the most beautiful art like this piece

@mypassionfortrash makes superb gifs of rog like this one, among other things she’s great at (like art! and fics!)

@s-k-y-w-a-l-k-e-r makes excellent gifs including this one that’s super super cool

@joemazzhello’s gifs of Joe make life so much better, exhibit A

Fics

@brianmays-hair is relatively new to me but I love everything she has put out since I followed her and this is what reeled me in

@illfoandillfie it’s no secret how much I love brigid and this is one of my favs of hers

@sonic-volcano is super sweet and writes super sweet stuff as well!

@freddiesaysalright is a prolific writer of fantastic series and this totally genius fic is one of my favs

@theborhapboysawakenedmywhatever writes terrific things and her hcs are A+, especially this one 👀

@supersonicfreddie has been someone whose writing I have enjoyed since probably the second day I started my tumblr lol and ofc I must mention the fic written for me (that sounds so narcissistic i swear lolll)

@almightygwil consistently writes outstandingly and all her writing is sensational but something about this blurb makes it necessary to be highlighted

@fallingprincess I got to get to know recently plus she writes fantastic things including this

@asphalt-cocktail’s writing is A1 and I suggest you start with this cause um amazing

@taliaphobia is the sweetest and also the cutest and also so’s her writing like this little blurb

@la-vie-en-rosuh listen LeeAnn’s a total sweetheart and am I going to keep recommending things that were written for me? Yes (but mainly bc it’s a fantastic piece of writing regardless)

@killergwil writes stuff that makes me a little insane, but in the best way humanly possible, so uh check this one out if you want to feel the same

@just-my-sickly-pride is such a fucking great writer and was such a fucking great secret valentine that wrote a fic for me (also this one changed my mind ab what john is capable of)

@laedymoon is a gorgeous person all around and her fics are as well, here’s a oneshot and here’s a series

@rogerina-is-hotter-than-me has ridiculously hot, ridiculously real writing and any of her prof!gwil pieces are amazing, but here’s a good start

@m0etenchandon’s fics are all stellar but I have a soft spot for the multi fics like this one

@a-night-at-the-0pera marvels me with her dedication to detail and ability to make me feel like i am In the story and this fic made me a period piece convert

@mrbenhardys could go on either list, but I’m including her on this one bc I love her fics so much and this one turned me on to the wonders of enemies to lovers 

@anotheronebitesthedeaks has some truly fantastic stuff and must be credited with the manifestation of sugardaddy!john. This fic isn’t one of those though lol

@redspecialty writes fics that you get immersed in completely and when they’re done you have to face the harsh reality that you are not, in fact, reader, so enjoy one of my favs of hers that is also so explicit even I blush at times

@perriwiinkle is one of the first blogs I followed and this series is one of the first i read in its entirety, and I’m so glad i did

p.s. I included some writers that are not writing anymore or at the moment, which ofc is totally their choice and a valid one that we should all respect, I just wanted to highlight them bc I still love going back to their fics and would recommend anyone else doing the same

[aion-rsa]

The Horror Influences of Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan

https://ift.tt/2Zl6eQ9

This article contains spoilers for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is beloved by shounen anime fans for its nonstop action, absurd and over-the-top showdowns, and creative Stands (physical manifestations of one’s true self). It’s a bombastic series that defies predictions. We’re still waiting for the fifth part of the manga, Stone Ocean, to be released as an anime adaptation, and the story is still ongoing. Strangely, there’s still no confirmation that a fifth season is even coming yet.

In the meantime, however, we got something of a holdover: Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan. An adaptation of a series of one-shot chapters from JoJo creator Hirohiko Araki, it bridges the gap between the fourth season, Diamond is Unbreakable, and the fifth season, Vento Aureo. But while it follows manga artist Kishibe Rohan and what he’s been up to between both seasons, it takes on a decidedly different slant than the vanilla anime. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan takes more inspiration from episodic horror anthologies, like that of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. It is, by all counts, a horror series. 

It’s a new direction for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, though not completely unexpected. The thing is, JoJo has always been riddled with disturbing, horrific, and downright chilling moments. They’ve just been couched between action-packed showdowns and bombastic character design so that the terror creeps in without you even realizing it’s there. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan approaches the genre in a much more straightforward manner, though, wearing its influences on its sleeve. Both series, including JoJo to a staggering degree, are inherently spine-tingling properties, even if they don’t seem so at first blush.

Creator Hirohiko Araki is a ravenous horror fan, after all, and makes no secret of his passion for the genre. In his book, Hirohiko Araki’s Bizarre Horror Movie Analysis, he cites some of his top 20 favorite films as Misery, Alien, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The work itself is divided into several parts, each exploring a different branch of chilling media, such as “Bizarre Murderers,” “Animal Horror,” or “Sci-Fi Horror.” It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to think that, despite Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan originally being meant to be unrelated to JoJo, Araki created it to satisfy his love for the macabre.

The episode “Mutsu-kabe Hill” follows a woman named Naoko Osato, who belongs to a well-to-do family. She’s living in a house that belongs to said family along with boyfriend Gunpei Kamafusa. But she can’t be with Gunpei, as she’s already betrothed to a man her father has chosen. Plus, Gunpei is a family gardener, a profession her father won’t abide. The two end up arguing, and Nao tries to pay off Gunpei to get him to leave, as she knows her father and fiancé are on their way to the home. But tensions escalate as the two become violent. 

Nao pushes him into a set of golf clubs and Gunpei dies instantly. He’s bleeding, and while Nao struggles to figure out what to do with his body, her father and fiancé are approaching her home. No matter what she does, she can’t get Gunpei’s corpse to stop bleeding. In the end, she lives with this bizarre phenomenon, telling no one about her plight, and doting on Gunpei’s corpse, disposing of the blood he continues to generate for the rest of her life.

Several comparisons can be drawn from this episode to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” in which the narrator commits a murder, dismembers a body, and hides it beneath some floorboards. Despite having seemingly gotten away with the perfect crime, the narrator is driven insane by the sound of his victim’s heartbeat. He ends up confessing to the authorities as he believes they can hear it, too. It’s the story of an unreliable narrator whose sanity is slipping. 

Though the narrator in that story ended up confessing to ease his suffering, Nao chose to live with the consequences of her crime, succumbing to a monster that lives off of people’s affection. The stories are quite similar in tone, though with very different outcomes. 

In “At a Confessional,” Rohan recounts a story of how he met a man who confided in him while in an Italian confessional. The man spoke of a beggar to whom he refused food and instead forced to work until he died. The beggar returned as a ghost, swearing revenge on the man who wronged him, promising he’d return on the happiest day of the man’s life. Return he does, as the man has enjoyed riches beyond belief, a beautiful marriage, and the birth of a daughter. 

The beggar appears in the form of an apparition in the man’s daughter’s tongue. He forces the man to toss pieces of popcorn his daughter was eating into the air and catch them with his mouth three times in a row in an absurd challenge. If the man succeeds, his life will be spared. If not, he’s beheaded instantly.

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This tale immediately recalls Stephen King’s Thinner, a similar story about a man who’s committed several wrongs, cursed the father of someone he’s murdered — this time, because he runs over a woman while driving and engaged in a sexual act with his wife. The curse finds the man, who is obese, becoming thinner and thinner at an uncontrollable rate. 

Eventually, there are options available to the man, who pleads for a resolution. He’s informed by the same person who cursed him that he can eat a strawberry pie with his blood in it and die, or give it to someone else for him to be spared. It’s just as gruesome as forcing the rich victim in Kishibe Rohan to munch popcorn or die. 

In JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, the scares seem to come directly from a series of inspirations for Araki instead of new stories based on the media he’s obviously consumed. 

The first JoJo arc, Phantom Blood, sets the stage by introducing a swath of Gothic horror elements. It introduces the eventual vampiric rise of DIO in a Victorian society, which directly references classic novels like Dracula and Frankenstein. There’s even a serial killer named Jack the Ripper, who faces off against Jonathan and his allies, pulled straight out of history — a perpetrator of grisly murders who ends up transformed into a zombie. The undead are also a major component of Phantom Blood, likely due in part to Araki’s love for classic zombie cinema.

In the arc Stardust Crusaders, Jean-Paul Polnareff finds himself de-aged by a Stand user named Alessi. A young woman named Malèna nurses him back to health, up until Alessi uses his Stand, Sethan, unceremoniously de-ages her to that of a fetus outside of the womb. A few of Araki’s favorite horror movies of all time, including Basket Case, center on body horror, which doesn’t make this narrative decision surprising. But for those reaching that point in the story for the first time, it’s chilling in a way that even some of the most nightmarish films can’t even touch. 

While the visual of a fetus itself isn’t as offensive as some gnarled, disfigured victim, its implications are disturbing, to say the least. A fetus outside of a mother’s womb will eventually succumb to a slow death, especially one of Malèna’s apparent age. That makes Polnareff’s eventual victory over Alessi and his Stand so bittersweet.

The entirety of the fourth arc, Diamond is Unbreakable, plays out like a classic slasher flick with the introduction of Yoshikage Kira, a man with a powerful obsession with hands to the point of fetishism. He murders women with “beautiful hands,” then keeps the hands as his “girlfriends.” It wouldn’t be a stretch to compare Kira to classic killers like Psycho‘s Norman Bates or The Silence of the Lambs’ Hannibal Lecter, as Kira is believable and charming when he isn’t committing grisly murders.

Most of JoJo’s Stands are horrific on their own, and even though their story arcs enhance their terrifying power, there’s a fair amount of fridge horror to be found in these beings. The Freddy Krueger-like Death 13 can kill you in a nightmarish dream world while you sleep. Metallica (yes, named after the heavy metal band) forces you to cough up razor blades or have scissors burst from your chest. 

Another Stand, Green Day, can secrete a deadly mold that will rot and destroy the flesh of anything it touches in an instant. Lastly, Rohan Kishibe himself has a fairly disconcerting Stand: Heaven’s Door. It allows him to literally read someone like a book, then erase parts of their being, or add in what he pleases, like the ability to learn a new language as his pal Koichi asks in Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan.

It’s easy to see how Araki has masterfully melded horror into every space when it comes to both JoJo as well as Kishibe Rohan. With that in mind, it’s strange that the former has been relegated only to a series of one-shots when it shows so much potential as its own project, in which Araki gets to stretch his Rod Serling-esque legs or impart some very Argento-like stylings into his works. For now, we can appreciate what’s there — and continue finding parallels to additional well-loved classics in the genre. 

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Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan is available to stream on Netflix now.

The post The Horror Influences of Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[paperbagpetrichor]

How about the Stardust Crusaders + Iggy (if you can) with a stand user with powers similar to panty/stocking from panty and stocking with garterbelt (can turn their clothes into weapons, for example, their panties into a gun or stockings into a sword)

[ I really loved this idea and enjoy writing fight scenes, so this wound up being super long.  I apologize! ]

Things weren’t looking good.  

The day had started off fine.  The Speedwagon Foundation had flown in and delivered what was prefaced to be a ‘badly-mannered’ stand user to assist the group in their fight against Dio.  And then Polnareff had decided to go poking around, once the door to the back of the helicopter was opened, shooting taunts and questioning if there really was anyone there at all, teasing that whoever it was, they had to be small, or scared, or in other words the complete opposite of what their group needed now, but something black and white and fuzzy had leapt onto his face, furiously ripping out chunks of Polnareff’s beloved hair and farting straight in his face, while Kakyoin, you, and Jotaro exchanged confused looks (or at least as confused as you’d ever seen Jotaro - you were still fairly new to the group, but somehow you’d managed to gather the conclusion that Jotaro wasn’t the most expressive of men) as Joseph explained that Avdol had found the dog.  The stand-using dog.  Reasonably enough everyone but Polnareff was relatively alright with this idea.  As the aircraft took off, the six - seven, if you included Iggy - of you drove off, only to come to an abrupt halt just a while later at the site of that same helicopter from earlier.  

Except now it was in the ground, and the people flying it were either dead or dying.  You cringed as the last one died but simultaneously caught a thought right as the others confirmed it: this was the work of a stand user.  One that none of you knew the location of.  Unfortunate, that.  But you were determined to figure it out, whatever it took, running through possible plans only for the water to spring up and catch Kakyoin in the eyes, slamming him back against the now-tilted car with a groan of pain.  Polnareff raced to help him and you cursed.  There wasn’t any time to waste here.

Something bulky wouldn’t do here.  You needed something that could slash, move quickly and hit precisely, albeit something ranged, unless you wanted to end up like your red-headed friend.  A bit of weight would be necessary unless you simply wanted to stun the enemy, too.  With a final thought, as the rest prepared themselves, readying their stands at their sides, you did more or less the same, save for one key detail: whereas their stands were separate entities entirely, yours was already on you.  The small floral clips in your hair lifted off and flew to your hand, shifting from an innocent accessory to small throwing knives in mere seconds.  As Joseph wrangled Polnareff and Kakyoin - the two farthest away from the car, and the two main targets of the stand - to the top of the car, you got ready to climb on, only to watch as the water continued towards the car.  You shot your first two, hitting the strange stand and slowing it for a moment, distracting it with the noise of the blades crashing against the sand, before hopping into the car as it appeared to evaporate.  Retrieving your weapons, you ensured everyone was inside before speeding apart.

“Attacks through sound - vibrations of the sand. Can go anywhere and come up anywhere.  User not spotted, probably highly ranged,” you repeated the information all of you had gathered aloud as the car raced across the ground.  Polnareff was checking over Kakyoin; the others kept their eyes peeled on the outside, ready to alert you to fight should the stand re-emerge.  Thankfully you managed to catch a moment to spare.  And then you lost it.  The water was already tilting the car before you had time to think.  Everyone caught a grip on the automobile - even you as, with a grunt, you transformed a sock into an icepick and stabbed the sunroof, finding nowhere else to cling to - only for Iggy to jump off.  Instantly you had an army of throwing knives and darts at your side, depleting the entirety of your hairpins into the small, compact weapons.  You’d at least hoped the dog would be smart enough to not get you all killed.

Those hopes were, of course, dashed, as the rest of you found yourself aboard a ship sinking into the ocean, or rather a car sinking into the sand.  You sprung upon your icepick and grabbed a hold of the back of the car while the others did the same, only for a few moments of quiet.

This time, when the water attacked, you were ready.  When it sliced the tires, you managed to slow its pace by throwing your darts right through it, the metal-tipped edges forcing the liquid to spray back, away from the car, confusing the stand enough for your group to hit the ground at the same time, the stand temporarily distracted before vanishing entirely.  Your darts flew back and you readied them without a sound.  Regardless of how unfocused the stand may have gotten, it had certainly heard the six of you land roughly on the ground.  Time to go for round two: new strategy: bring out the big guns.  Your thigh-high socks formed into the heaviest but most functional weapons you could think of in the moment, two bulky oversized rifles, which you promptly threw down a few feet to your sides, the force of your arms and still-transforming guns proving strong and unfinished enough to break into two, four total, now fully-fledged, and as the heavier ends sent sand flying up into the air while the lighter ones hit the ground with just as much force, you prayed it would be enough to fool, or at least disorient, the enemy.  “Nobody move.”

That was the problem: there were six of you, and you’d only created four diversions.  At any moment, two of you (at the minimum, depending on the success of your plan) could be attacked.  With the darts and knives still ready, you didn’t have enough material left to create anything remotely massive enough to throw in place of a human dummy, unless you wanted to lose your undergarments.  Avdol had your back.  His ring trick had seemed to work perfectly, and he summoned Magician’s Red right as the water reappeared, only for the stand to turn around and pinpoint Avdol as its target.  Crap.  No wonder - five footsteps.  It wouldn’t have made any sense if one of you randomly decided to start walking, only to stop so abruptly.  Just as it darted towards Avdol, your darts sprayed the liquid apart, and you threw a piece of the rifle beside you to the ground right as Avdol stumbled back, incapable of covering his steps but crashing right in tandem with the man.  There was still a chance he’d be targeted again, but at least now the odds were equally split.  Nevertheless the man must’ve been hit.  Instead of landing on his feet, he crashed backwards, blood spattering from his neck only for the stand to emerge its true self.  Jotaro darted after it, and grabbed Iggy on his way, eliciting a glare from you at his sudden movements.  Great, now you had more work to do.  You called back your weapons - they had already performed their business - after reminding everyone to not move.  With a flick of your wrist they transformed into javelins.  Despite your own orders, you took off after him, falling into step with Jotaro so as to create only one noise together, masking it by spreading your spears into the ground a safe distance away, creating two different paths.  You were careful to keep the javelins at an uneven pace, always hitting as you and Jotaro took steps in tandem, but adding another every now and then to maintain the illusion that two people were on one path rather than one.  From what you knew of the stand users you’d encountered so far, they’d likely go for the larger opportunity rather than a single person.

Before you knew it Iggy’s stand had emerged and both he and Jotaro were airborne.  You understood it now: Iggy was going to lead Jotaro to the stand user.  And you were going to follow.  You quickened your pace and the rate at which you threw your distractions, keeping just a few feet behind Jotaro should the enemy discover your tricks, watching with hitched breath as The Fool began to sink.  Knowing Jotaro, he was going to pull something.  He was effectively trapped if he didn’t do anything.  He cast a glance over his shoulder at you, and you nodded back, preparing yourself.  The instant his foot pushed him off the ground one of your javelins landed six feet off from his position with enough force to imitate a kick of a footstep.  Joseph’s voice was the only thing that stopped you from following: Jotaro was the only one who could finish the stand user off.  And this offered you yet another opportunity.  

Silently, you stood, still and stiff as a board, before sprinting back to the group.  If someone was to start running, the enemy’s concentration would have to be split from Jotaro to monitoring the other movement, too.  Again, though, it was only a fifty-fifty shot.  Your spears hit the ground feet from you right as your feet hit the ground, racing back to the group, only to reverse their direction once you were at the halfway point.  If you were careful, you could at least lead the stand user away from the group.  This would give you some time to help Kakyoin and Avdol recover along with Joseph and Polnareff.  They were so close now.

And then water sprung up like a wave in front of you.

You cursed.  If you wanted to defeat the enemy, you had to recall your weapons and force them into something more powerful.  This meant your footsteps wouldn’t be covered.  But if you didn’t try, you were doomed.  You called for your stand and morphed the mass of everything you had into a long, curved sword.  If you could get a few hits in, you could at least divert the attacks, without letting them get near the others.  You feigned left and the water followed, only for your feet to leave the ground in a jump to the side and manage to slice through the water.  Just as quickly as you had managed your attack, however, the enemy struck your dominant arm, which held the sword, cutting deep.  You fought back a screech of pain and switched arms.  There wasn’t a chance that you would be as powerful wielding it in your other hand, but you had to buy time.  With a small sigh you shortened your blade and formed some more darts, hitting the ground away from the others in a desperate attempt to mislead the enemy, but by now the stand had managed to discover your tricks.  A gun, although most likely to cause more hit damage, was risky, especially if it had a powerful recoil, which would easily alert the enemy stand both through the noise of the fire and your steps back to counterbalance it.  Just as you struck out once more with your sword, the water suddenly disappeared, just as quickly as it had come.  Nevertheless you remained motionless and cast a warning gaze to the others.  This didn’t guarantee Jotaro had finished off the stand user, especially since the stand could disappear at any moment it chose.  But you didn’t have much of a choice besides moving.  As quickly and lightly as you could go, you made your way back to the car, helping to carry Avdol and the barely-conscious Kakyoin inside before stationing yourself above the now caved-in sunroof.  If something went awry, you were prepared.

But nothing did.

You met up with Jotaro and Iggy, both of whom were panting, and got them into the car.  Jotaro explained the defeat of the enemy, and everyone conscious let out a sigh of relief.  

“I couldn’t have done it without [y/n].”

Your ears perked up at Jotaro’s mention of your name.  “No kidding.  She had you covered the entire time,” agreed Polnareff, casting a nod of approval in your direction.

Joseph leaned back and sighed, adjusting his hat and casting Jotaro a reprimanding but nevertheless warm gaze, grateful that his grandson was still here despite his arguably reckless behavior.  “Thank you.”

“We’re lucky to have you.”  Even Avdol, still bleeding, congratulated you.

Your face flushed at their compliments, but nevertheless you shook your head, prioritizing.  “A celebration can wait.  We need to get Avdol and Kakyoin help.”

Joseph nodded.  “And this time, we’re not going to be followed.”

You could only pray he was right.

[darkpoisonouslove]

Setting Sale and Stardust for the fic ask game :)?

This took forever but I couldn’t make myself get to it when I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I have written both of those a long time ago and I don’t even remember the entirety of the fics and what happens into them. I’ll see what I can remember about the process, though, because I most certainly don’t have headcanons about them.

Setting Sale:

1. That was written for the Curious Archer Love Library. I really wanted to do something for that event and I had the idea but there was some panic over it as I wasn’t sure how to approach it. I was ready to give up at one point but theonceoverthinker encouraged me to keep it up (I’m pretty sure she used a Julie Andrews quote to achieve that) and I ended up writing it one sitting.

2. I remember that there was some back and forth with the ship. I wanted Robin to propose on the Jolly Roger and my mind insisted that it would be so much more romantic if she put in the effort to get the Jolly Roger that actually belonged to Wish Killian so I had her do that. And then I had to make sure that she knew how to sail it so the lessons in that came in.

3. I remember that coming up with what the engagement ring would look like was a process and describing it was no less of a process as well. XD English is not my first language and descriptions aren’t my strong suit so that was a bit of a struggle but I am quite pleased with what I got in the end. The idea that Zelena used magic to make the gems on the ring the exact color of Robin’s eyes came in during the writing because I thought it would be cool if the gems were the color of Robin’s eyes (to link the ring to the love she holds in them for Alice) but I thought that would be (next to) impossible to achieve without magic so I threw that bit in. And then I got the idea that Alice would like to give Robin a ring as well and she could use her powers to do that and make it an original idea (which I think it really was if I do say so myself).

4. All the mentions of other characters actually came in once I started writing it. They were never planned but I thought it would give some flavor to the story and flesh out life in the United Realm so I decided to include what I could and whatever came up to me. I ended up mentioning most of the extended family and I was super happy with that. I love including all possible characters even if it is in small ways!

5. I was so giddy with happiness and pride when I thought up Robin’s idea to make the entire ocean “the place where they got engaged”. I thought it was really romantic to tie it to Alice’s love of the sea and the freedom and happiness it brings her. In fact, writing this fic led me to the conclusion that I should probably open up and agency for personalized events as I think it really turned out romantic and unique and very personal to the two of them and their story, or at least Alice’s story. (I had an idea of Robin shooting an arrow at an apple on their wedding btw but I haven’t gotten to fleshing out my image of that event enough to write a fic about it).

Stardust:

This one is actually harder even if it is more recent.

1. When I saw the theme of stars for Knight Rook: a History, Stardust was pretty much the first thing that popped into my head. I remembered only the end of the movie but I was convinced that Alice and Robin would be great in the main roles. I actually had to rewatch the movie in order to write the “fic” which was kinda ironic since I ended up changing most of it anyway. I think a lot of the structure of the story remained the same even if the events were tweaked and adapted to the OUAT world and characters.

2. I had a blast with this like I always do with AUs. I love taking the characters and adapting them to a new setting or situation. It is one of my favorite forms of creativity and there was a lot to adjust with this AU. I used versions of the characters from different time periods. Emma isn’t the daughter of Snow and David (but they still have Neal) and I actually merged Killian and Wish Killian together, the Golden Hook relationship was actually at its final phase instead of going through all of them and I adapted the plan for the star to be more Gothel rather than the way it was done in the movie. The ogres having come from bugs when the ground got poisoned with darkness was one of my favorite things to come up with ever!

3. I got the idea of them all living in Mist Haven from season 2A. The people left behind after the curse had their safe haven from the ogres and I decided to have that and with some inspo from the visuals while Cora cast her spell to protect her and Killian from the Dark Curse, the barrier around Mist Haven was born and the beginning and the ending of the story were set. I actually really loved how that turned out as it provided one of the major points of Robin’s arc and that was searching for who she is and being unable to find it in her birth place. And it also led to another one of my favorite ideas and that was reshaping the magic of the glass slippers to allow Robin super speed. Now I have no idea how I did that but I love it on all accounts, including the fact that it fit in very well with me trying to keep Robin to her not so well developed powers.

4. Now Alex and Gideon took some effort until I figured out how they fit into the grand scheme of things but I knew I wanted them to be in it as Robin’s lifelong friends. I really think that the friendship that was sort of forming between Zelena and Belle would have transferred onto Robin and Gideon if the Golds had stayed in town so I took the opportunity to have it here. And I have always been a big fan of the idea that Alexandra and Robin were best friends, at least before Robin started learning magic. So I included her as well and eventually they fell into their places to bring the story full circle.

5. The ending wasn’t supposed to be sad at first but then I figured that that was what made the most sense. If Alice’s light was to neutralize the darkness, it would only make sense for both to disappear, not just the darkness. And despite the pain it brings me (and believe me it hurts so much to know Alice dies when both she and Robin were just a step away from getting everything they wanted), I am actually very happy with the way I wrap it all up. I like how Robin gives back to other pieces of both herself and Alice to help them find closure for the wounds she is responsible for causing them and I am still so in love with my ideas about the yellow flowers left behind after Alice’s death (had to include that nod to canon) and the final idea of fish turning to starfish when swallowing the stardust. It was a nod to canon again and a way to come full circle with my entires for Knight Rook: a History since I had that same idea in my first entry. And to me, personally, even though the end really hurts, it is also satisfying and even sort of peaceful when all the plot threads feel finished.

So that is all I got on these. I hope those were at least somewhat interesting to you!

[arr-jim-lad]

2, 6, 9, & 10?

2: Has an anime ever made you cry?

Violet Evergarden, episode 10… You know what you did.

6: List your top [5] anime OSTs

Ok so I spent like an hour making this list I really hope you appreciate it lmaowhy am i like this

Macross 7 / DynamitePretty much the entirety of M7′s OST is comprised of Fire Bomber’s music, which consists of classic rock’n’roll, with vocals provided by the amazing Yoshiki Fukuyama as Basara and Chie Kajiura as Mylene. I basically loved Fire Bomber before I even watched Macross 7 and I listen to their music pretty regularly, to a point where I consider them to be one of my favourite bands. Some choice songs include Holy Lonely Light, Remember 16, Planet Dance and, of course, my favourite song, Totsugeki Love Heart. Dynamite OVA also has a number of amazing songs, such as New Frontier and the breathtaking and iconic Angel Voice!

Stardust CrusadersSDC has one of my favourite OSTs to listen to as background music when I don’t want to listen to something with vocals. I especially love the more upbeat tracks, Departure is my favourite album with tracks like Setting Off, Silver Twist, VIRTUOUS POPE (one of the most perfect character themes I’ve ever heard), Calm Sightseeing, Wind in the Wilderness and of course, Stardust Crusaders. I love how often the last one appears in other tracks too, I’m a sucker for leitmotifs lmao

Vento AureoAnother Jojo OST, and another one of the OSTs I put on when I want some instrumental background music. I love the calmer funky tracks in this one, Dawn, Restaurant Bar, Bullet and Favourite Songs being one of my favourites, and some other tracks that come to mind are Fierce Fight, Pure, Serenely and of course the iconic Golden Wind

TsuritamaThe music in this show is extremely, extremely comforting, lively and homey, it’s perfect for the semi-urban island setting and the overall bright, heartwarming vibe of the show. A lot of the tracks encompass woodwind instruments which is just… beyond charming and peaceful. Some choice tracks are; Morning Enoshima, Family, Adventurers (Feel, Think), Adventurers (Pleasant Sea Breeze), and the legendary DUCK headquarters, respond!. Also the ending is a really cute and comfy cover of Sora mo Toberu Hazu

K-OnAnother band OST like Macross 7, K-On also have some really awesome vocal tracks by the in-show band HTT, as well as some wonderful instrumental OSTs that I find very memorable! The music sounds so playful, lighthearted and calming, it suits the show perfectly and it’s adorable! Some tracks I really like are Koneko no Ensou Kai, Pinch Daisuki!, Happy End, Asahi wo Abite and Ano Hi No Kaerimichi, while my favourite HTT song is… oh man i love so many of them lmao, let’s say I’m feeling Pure Pure Heart right now

Honourable mention: Stardust Crusaders OVAI really wanted to squeeze this one in here because of literally ONE SONG that I love with every molecule of my being, and that song is DIO’s Theme. I am absolutely in LOVE with his OVA theme. It’s tied with Virtuous Pope as one of the best character themes I’ve ever heard. I could write in detail about why this theme is so amazing. My god, is this song bloody amazing.

9: Name an anime character you absolutely hate

I have a really hard time thinking of any?There’s only one character I can think of that I ever hated, but she’s not an anime character, so she’s not fit for this answer.

I can easily say who my least favourite character from a certain show is, for example, Angelo is my least favourite Jojo character; I think he’s uninteresting, disgusting and irredeemable, but I don’t really hate him because?? He’s there for like 2 episodes lmao I don’t really give a shit about him

Hate is an exhausting emotion that I don’t generally evoke when it comes to my hobbies, u feel? I’m here to have fun and I’m trying to keep my vibes positive.

10: Which [3] animes would you most recommend?

Macross 7, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (the entire thing because skipping parts cheapens the experience) and Tsuirtama!

[totoaccurate-blog]

Sportsbook

In the United States a sportsbook or a race and sports book (once in a while contracted as book) is where a speculator can bet on different games rivalries, including golf, football, b-ball, baseball, hockey, soccer, horse hustling, greyhound dashing, boxing, and blended hand to hand fighting. The technique for wagering shifts with the game and the kind of game. In the US, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 permitted just Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and Delaware to lawfully bet on sports until May 14, 2018.

Winning wagers are paid when the occasion completes, or if not completed, when played long enough to get official; generally all wagers are returned. This arrangement can cause some disarray since there can be a contrast between what the sportsbook considers official and what the games association think about authority. Clients should painstakingly peruse the sportsbook administers before putting down their wagers.토토사이트

The wagering volume at sportsbooks changes consistently. Bettors have more enthusiasm for specific sorts of sports and increment the cash bet when those games are in season. Major games that don't pursue a particular plan, such as boxing, can make pinnacles of action for the sportsbooks.

The majority of the United States sportsbooks are situated in Nevada. Since numerous club share a similar parent organization, they offer precisely the equivalent betting decisions and chances, which is a burden to the canny speculator who in the past could improve costs.

In 1949, Nevada enabled bookmakers to acknowledge wagers on horse dashing and pro athletics. The primary Nevada sportsbooks were called Turf Clubs. They were free from the club and had a casual concurrence with the inns that they would avoid the gambling club business as long as the inns avoided the sportsbook business. The sportsbooks needed to pay a 10 percent charge so they charged a high vigorish to speculators, yet despite everything they carried enough business to make a benefit.

In 1974 the duty was brought down to 2 percent, in 1983 to 0.25 percent, and in 1975 Frank Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust Casino, persuaded administrators to permit sportsbooks in the club, and soon about the entirety of the gambling clubs included them. The turf clubs were never again ready to contend and in the end all shut.

Nevada gambling club sportsbooks for the most part highlight wagering windows, extra large flat screen TVs, intelligent wagering stations, chances sheets (normally electronic), papers with various chances for the afternoon, and spots to sit and watch games and races.

A few gambling clubs utilize outsider administrators for their sportsbooks, for example, Cantor Gaming, Leroy's, Lucky's, and Club Cal Neva. In 2011, British bookmaker William Hill consented to purchase the Leroy's, the Lucky's, and the Cal Neva chains, which would give it control of 115 of the state's 183 books.

The Super Bowl is the most famous occasion for the Nevada sportsbooks. They earned $7.2 million on the $99 million bet on it in 2013. Since it pulls in numerous unsophisticated bettors, as of January 2014 the books had profited on 21 of the past 23 Super Bowls, with a normal win of $5.5 million over the past 10 years. The most productive Super Bowl was in 2005, when the Philadelphia Eagles secured the spread against the favored New England Patriots, winning the books $15.4 million. The two misfortunes were in 1995?when the San Francisco 49ers crushed the San Diego Chargers?and 2008?when the favored Patriots lost to the New York Giants, costing the books $2.5 million.

Delaware

In 2009, a bill went to permit wagering on pretty much every game. That year, the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, and NCAA documented a claim against the territory of Delaware, guaranteeing their games books were damaging government law. The US Supreme Court decided that the law in part damaged the government law, and Delaware was just permitted to offer parlays on NFL games. Delaware's three course gambling clubs?Dover Downs, Harrington Raceway and Casino, and Delaware Park Racetrack?have sports books. Each sportsbook has numerous TVs, huge tote sheets and stations for individuals to bet. During the 2011 NFL season, the three games books created $4.4 million in income for the state. On June 5, 2018, the gambling club sportsbooks in Delaware extended games wagering to single-game and title bets on expert and school sports (barring Delaware school groups) including football, baseball, b-ball, hockey, soccer, boxing/MMA, golf, and auto hustling.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TotoGaming

[wrinkledparchment]

Stardust; (That’s What You’re Made of) // Bill Denbrough

Summary: We’re all made of s t a r d u s t

Word Count: 927

Warnings: Inadequacy, Thoughts of Being Unworthy, Mentions of Georgie’s death, yet a fluffy and (somewhat) happy ending

Forever Tags: @shishterfackisback @dogsandrocketsocks @reginawashere15

Bill cried and cried and cried until there weren’t any tears left to stain and dampen the fabric of your shirt, specifically the part that rested against your shoulder. 

Why couldn’t it be me?

He finally lifted his head from the crook of your neck, staring at his wrist. You knew just how much Bill would die for Georgie. Perhaps he didn’t see a meaning at all to life without him.

Without Georgie, his parents didn’t even so much as spare a glance, a single second to look at their eldest son with anything other than disdain. 

His parents wouldn’t have cared if it were him instead of Georgie. Hell, if he disappeared as well, his parents wouldn’t even bother to give Bill a funeral, and they sure as hell wouldn’t allow themselves to shed a single tear. 

That would be a waste. Bill was a  w a s t e. A waste of oxygen, of time, of the blood and flesh he was made of. The heart that was beating in his chest, the ichor flooding through his veins was a complete and utter waste. 

He didn’t belong here. He didn’t belong in your arms, he was unworthy. He was the cause of his brother’s death, he was the cause of his parents’ sorrow and the grief that washed over all his friends, including you. 

He tainted everything he touched, every word he said was wrong. He was useless, worthless. His heart had been torn to pieces, a few pieces stolen and taken god knows where while being mended together poorly with bad quality string and a too-large needle. 

It was my fault.

Maybe Bill was too distraught to realize he’d vocalized every thought through a mumble, a stutterless heap of incomplete thoughts that were dark and dangerous. 

A hand wrapped around the wrist that he’d been staring at. It was a gentle, warm touch that Bill craved and wanted yet hated all at once. He hated it because he didn’t deserve the warmth. 

He deserved cold. He deserved absolute freezing because that’s how his brother was right now, all thanks to Bill. His brother was lifeless, chilled and pale. The color was gone, the life was gone and that was Bill’s fault. 

“Bill, look at me,” you breathed, finally tugging Bill back down to reality. 

He stared into your kind eyes, full of fondness and love and respect and pity. 

Your unchaliced, soft fingers traced over the blue veins in Bill’s wrist. There was a glint in your eye, one that Bill knew oh-so-well. It made an appearance whenever you were about to say something poetic, something you’d written or thought a lot about.

“Carl Sagan once said something on his show, and it reminded me of just how special every human life is,” you stated. 

The glint grew wider, and Bill, if it weren’t for his state, would’ve smiled at it. You were always one for Carl Sagan’s show, Cosmos, and he found that you would often quote it or watch it. You even had every episode on VHS in a box in your room. 

But the tracing of his veins, of the ones with blood flowing through them, made him shudder. Every movement you made, so calmly, made him want to take you in his arms, to keep you there forever. 

You were too precious for this cruel, horrible Earth and Bill had already failed to protect one thing he loved from Mother Nature’s wrath. He would, should, and absolutely will try harder with you. 

“Iron is only truly created during the supernova of a star,” you continued, and Bill watched the words bounce off your lips and into the air. He found himself at peace, finally tranquil for the first time since the demise of his brother. Of course, you were the reason. 

“The high energy at the explosion creates heavier elements like iron and nickel,” you rambled, getting caught up in the interesting science behind it all. 

“The blood that’s flowing through your veins right now has traces of iron, the exact iron from the explosion of a star. Stardust, as we speak, is washing through every inch of your body,” you said, finally meeting his eyes, though the tracing continued. 

“The star, though not sentient, made a sacrifice,” you spoke, smiling at the thought. Bill’s heart fluttered at your smile, but he couldn’t help but feel your words echo through him.

“Without the stardust, without the sacrifice, we would not be alive. The entirety of the universe’s history, from the Big Bang until now, led up to every element getting transformed into something new, and currently, it’s in your blood.

“So if you ever think that you are nothing, that you’re worthless, or that nobody loves you, look down at your wrists. Listen to your heartbeat,” you say, bringing Bill’s hand and placing his palm over his heart. 

“You’re made of stardust, Bill,” you state, “You’ve got a little bit of the cosmos rushing through you. If that star’s elements from possibly the other side of the universe ended up in your veins, then there is nothing you aren’t capable of.”

When Bill’s expression looked up at yours, a little lost, you smiled gently and spoke one last time before the ensuing silence and the flood of tears returned, “Stardust, Bill; That’s what you’re made of.”

[shoushatohaisha]

report: haikyuu!! summer week day 5 part 1 (shinka no natsu)

previously: day 1 (shoen) day 2 (itadaki no keshiki) day 3 (karasuno, fukkatsu!!) day 4 (shousha to haisha)

guests: kagechan, fucchi, shouri, takumi

(...the haikyuu day event sure did wipe everything else from my brain, wow. but. i'll do my best...!)

so when the cast first ran out, shouri wasn't there – he just hung back without telling anyone because kagechan kept looking back at the wings and cracking up and takumi looked like he wanted to die. this was, of course, so that after kagechan welcomed the audience to haikyuu summer week, shouri could stroll out dramatically and say "HEY, YOUR SENPAI IS HERE. your senpai in this event. and in haikyuu. your senpai." ok shouri.

kagechan was nominally the MC and he did an impressive job fighting the black hole of attention that is kondou-kun for control. XD but... shouri: who's the MC anyway kagechan: it's me?? it's obviously me? fucchi: i mean, we don't know yet. shouri: i was the MC for karasuno fukkatsu so i'll kindly let one of you first-timers do it – takumi, you want to MC right? takumi: ……...yeah………sure…….... shouri: he does. i can see it in his face.

then they did janken and fucchi won so he briefly took over, just long enough to skip to the end of the script – "how did you all enjoy the screening today??" kagechan: this is as far as we rehearsed.

during cheer practice we did shouri's dumb high school cheer again. for him. not kuroo. XD

when we practiced the "volleyball, haikyuu" bit they briefly mentioned how strong the impact of adding "ue wo miageru" was – i think it was shouri maybe? who said that when first reading the script it jumped right out at him and made him like, reflexively want to look at the ceiling. ...and that the returning cast kept messing up in rehearsal, for a while there would always be several people who forgot to say "ue wo miageru" and went straight to "kyuugi de aru", lol.

and shouri ALMOST got us to do his "nyan nyanya nyan nyan nyan" cheer for nekoma, he got all the way through explaining it to everyone else, and telling us that he'd gotten whistled off for it the other day, and asking the ref for permission, and through one round of tobe tobe karasuno / hey hey fukuro / ike ike nekoma nya nya-- ...and got whistled off. XD

meanwhile, takumi kept sliding off toward the edge of the stage and shouri would be like "GET BACK HERE" and pull him into the middle. and then get distracted harassing someone and takumi would slide away again. much like with naoki, he got pulled into doing a lot more choreo than he would have otherwise simply by virtue of being in proximity to shouri, lol. (i heard the girls behind me at hajimari no kyojin that night laughing about "poor higashi-kun", haha.) only whereas naoki played the straight man aloud, takumi just silently, like, grinned and bore it.

having said that, during the screening shouri was obviously Peak Shouri, but hilariously enough he TIRED HIMSELF OUT by running around so much so i actually don't think it was as over the top as karasuno fukkatsu.

specifically, it was the scenes at coach ukai's that killed him, he and takumi came out as the elementary school kids bouncing around and acting super dumb and then shouri started running around doing every one of the tempos and eventually he had to like, wipe his face and lean over and brace himself he was breathing so hard. shouri u noodle.

takumi also made shouri act out bokuto's part so he could be konoha. it was cute, the way they were careful to respect that it was kouki on screen but that takumi took over the role later without making it seem awkward or unnatural. like during the bit where bokuto yells "the moment you think you can hit a strong spike, that's your chance" -- "kyouretsu na ippatsu ga uteru to omotta shunkan ga...kouki!" -- shouri jumped up and yelled "KOUKI!!!!" along with him and jabbed his finger excitedly at the screen. he brought it up in the aftertalk too. "HAHA IT WAS SO FUNNY TO SEE KOUKI YELLING HIS OWN NAME. :D"

ok back to the beginning tho. unsurprisingly, they had a lot of fun with the hamlet scene – kagechan's timing for running out, lifting his hand slowly, and reciting "SOSHITE, YOKUASA" was BEAT perfect, it got a massive laugh from the audience.

for the opening, they all did their own parts of course – fucchi running out to yell "KIYOKO-SAN" was a joy to behold – but shouri also did sarukui, hips and all, which was sure Something.

when takechan came out to explain the "school rules", shouri literally just galloped across the stage and disappeared into the wings opposite, it was like he couldn't bear to be off stage. XD at first fucchi was as bouncy as shouri, doing all the choreo and super star rolling thunder etc, but eventually he calmed down and sat there watching the screening super seriously, sometimes he was the only one out there.

meanwhile, the ladies made their first appearance! let me tell you, you have never seen such a group of fangirls over saeko/kiyoko-san, i thought everyone in the audience was gonna literally swoon at saeko's first appearnce. self included, obvs. (ofc everyone loved yacchan but that was more of a "you're adorable" and less of a "please wreck me" vibe.) it was also extremely satisfying to yell "akaaaAAAAshi" in one's best bokuto voice along with one thousand other people. and during the exam prep, "norio" also got his own round of character cheers. XD

when yachi yells "murabito b mo tatakaemasu!!" shouri ran out with a cardboard sign that read "MURABITO B", held it up proudly to cheers, then spent several minutes trying to get it to stay upright on one of the chairs. ("nice fight!" someone in the audience called.) murabito b remained on stage in support for the rest of the screening.

for "kageyama's not breathing!" kagechan flopped dramatically to the stage…. and then takumi ran out to do cpr! only it was such like, soft, gentle cpr that kagechan sat up and burst into laughter. in the car with saeko-neesan, kagechan pretended to fall asleep, and then acted out waking up, putting in eyedrops, etc. "ohayou," fucchi told him solemnly.

kagechan and fucchi did a great job with the synchro attack and then with all of karasuno's ending match/group number choreo. hilariously, all four of them started to do the final choreo that includes a bit of each school's signature moves and shouri forgot to do nekoma's. XD "it wasn't that long ago, idk why it's so hard to remember!" he said later, and having witnessed him reenact practically the entirety of karasuno fukkatsu i too wondered the same thing.

oh oh! when karasuno are doing the wheelbarrel walks, kagechan "wheeled" fucchi out all the way across the stage – then when they reached the wings, fucchi held himself up with one arm for several seconds while gesturing at kagechan and without taking a break they reversed course and "walked" back across the stage. from which i conclude that kid has amazing arm strength!

AND THEN.

during the last practice match against fukurodani, as kageyama debates whether to try out the new quick with hinata...

...suga kenta ran on stage, said "yannai no?" and ran off.

IT'S NOT LIKE WE DIDN'T ALL KNOW HE WAS THERE but oh my god the screeching, holy shit. again, self very much included. knowing how much kenta loves that line, i should have known that would be too much for him to resist. and yet. dies. it was incredible.

hilariously, the cast, who were pointing and laughing in shock just like everyone else, didn't acknowledge this surprise until the very end of the aftertalk. "ah yes, someone who… resembled… that orange-haired person on stage… appeared earlier, huh. briefly."

speaking of the aftertalk!

takumi talked about how this play was his stage debut: shouri: he cried ALL THE TIME. he cried at our first cast meeting. he cried on opening night... our takumi's grown so much! :') takumi: ……..….thanks. takumi: i was too nervous to enjoy anything until the play opened tbh. shouri: dude you're nervous right now. takumi: ……..yeah.

apparently during rehearsal takumi was repeatedly told to speak up more during fukurodani's group scenes – no one could hear him contribute to "hey hey hey" etc. but once the show actually opened and they could hear the audience reactions to fukurodani and everything he got less nervous and it became a lot more fun.

shouri: yeah, you had sarukui and everything, lol… i heard the audience calling "kawaii!!" when he appeared earlier and honestly if that's what you call cute... audience: KAWAII kagechan: seriously, i need a dictionary for this.

then shouri pointed out that although in the source material the characters don't use first names that much, in the last barbecue scene ken-chan alone would come on super strong and go around addressing all the characters by their first name. "OI, TETSUROU. TETSUROU. HAVE SOME MORE MEAT." so even though they weren't miked he was so loud that during these serious conversations you can hear him in the background going "TETSUROU. TETSUROU."

OH fucchi told us that "super star rolling thunder" was originallly "stardust rolling thunder"… because fucchi's agency is stardust promotions. XD fucchi: and in that scene i'm with ino hiroki-kun and nagao shizune-chan fucchi: and, you know, they sparkle fucchi: like stardust

apparently he got the go-ahead from worry-san, but not from the higher ups, precisely because of stardust promotions. XD shouri: then why don't you do it now? stardust rolling thunder. fucchi: i, wai-- fucchi: fucchi: fucchi: :| shouri: ^___^ fucchi: i knew it.

from which i conclude fucchi had tried to get out of doing it during their MC planning or something. XD

fucchi: you have to be the sparkles shouri: but i'm watanabe fucchi: -_- shouri: get takumi too fucchi: takumi, what's your agency? takumi: beaco-- fucchi: it's fine, it's fine, over there please

final messages: takumi's was very polite and respectful as he thanked the audience, it was cute. shouri said that watching shinka no natsu made him fondly remember all the work the different schools did to grow as a team and learn to communicate with each other during that summer – it was their irl summer of evolution. fucchi pointed out that he and kagechan will reach their hundredth haikyuu show during the saikyou no team! and kagechan said that he was here sitting in audience -- "right around there" – watching for the shoen dress rehearsal so it was really special to be here in aiia as a proper part of engeki haikyuu. :)

hajimari no kyojin next, then some off-camera stories from event night! THE GOAL LINE IS IN SIGHT. thanks so much for the nice comments, i really appreciate them, and i've been enjoying reading your capslocky tags. :D

[paintedvelaris]

Stardust and Silver Linings - Part 1

We've been falling, falling It's like we fell to the top

A/N: I am nervous beyond reason right now but here it is! I hope you like it :) the quote above is from  ‘(Fuck A) Silver Lining’ by Panic! at the Disco 

Though the Theatre of Wind was rather unimpressive in the rain, Elain had never been as nervous as while she was standing in front of it, waiting for her first rehearsal.

She’d been here before once, to see a play with her sisters, but that had been years ago and she hadn’t paid much attention to the building itself. Now, she had nothing to do but wait until someone opened the door, so she had plenty of time to examine the playhouse - especially considering she was way too early.

The Theatre of Wind was several storeys high, made of stone that was once white but turned yellow years ago. There were several windows, though only the ones on the top floor weren’t covered with posters. Above the door was an empty area where the sign for their play should be. It hadn’t been made yet, but Elain had seen her sister’s designs for it, and it was going to be beautiful.

The dark brown doors were closed, as was the smaller door next to it. She assumed they’d be using that one: what was the point of using the main entrance, which was meant for guests, if they’d be practicing without an  audience?

She stood in front of the main entrance, thankful for the small ledge above her head to keep her from getting even wetter. She was even more grateful for the fact that, on Monday morning at 9:00 a.m., nobody else was using this area for shelter. In fact, there wasn’t anybody on the street near her at all. A car drove by every now and then, but apart from that, she was alone.

Elain dug into her bag and fished out her phone, to shoot a quick message to her sister. Feyre would probably be here soon: as costume designer she didn’t have to attend the first rehearsal, but since her boyfriends, friends and sister would be there, she would probably tag along. Elain still didn’t understand how it was possible for this particular group of people to stage a play  that, if the theater critics were to be believed, looked like it would be a huge success: with the exception of her, they were practically family.

Rhysand, one of Feyre’s boyfriends, was the director and had organised this whole production. He had produced several plays before, most of them small, but this was his first in several years. It was larger than his previous ones, mostly due to all the attention he’d recently gotten in the media.

Elain’s co-star Morrigan was Rhysand’s cousin. She would be playing one of the two main characters. Morrigan had been acting ever since she was born, though she’d only made the change from television to theatre a few years ago. This was her first time playing a lead, and if what Elain had heard was to be believed, she would be brilliant.

One of the other actors was Lucien, Feyre’s other boyfriend. He’d been working in theatre for decades, but had had several falling-outs with directors and co-stars, including some of his relatives, which made it a miracle he was still successfully acting. According to Elain, that was due to the fact that he was insanely talented and could talk his way into any part he could possibly want. Feyre’s theory was that he was too pretty to not be in the spotlight, which Elain secretly couldn’t disagree with.

Cassian, one of Rhysand’s brothers, was another actor. He was less well-known than the others but had been in the comedy scene for a few years, mostly doing improv. Elain had never met him, nor had she met Rhysand’s other brother Azriel, who would be the technician for this play. Feyre had told her plenty of stories about them though, and she was looking forward to meeting them both.

There was only one more character in their play and Elain actually didn’t know who would be playing them. She also didn’t know who would be doing hair and makeup, though that wasn’t as important considering they hadn’t even started rehearsing yet. She did know that Feyre would be in charge of costumes and decor, and that the play had been adapted by Amren, yet another friend of Feyre and Rhysand she had never met.

And then there was her, Elain Archeron, the girl with zero experience in acting, who had never been on stage before and was now suddenly playing one of the most important characters in one of the most important plays ever written.

For what seemed like the millionth time these past few weeks, Elain questioned why she’d ever agreed to this. She didn’t have time to follow that thought though: in the distance, she saw someone heading her way.

Rhysand waved to her when he was closer, and she shyly waved back. She’d met him a few times before and found him nice enough, if not a little intense. But this time was different: now, she wasn’t meeting him as his girlfriend’s sister, or perhaps even as his friend, but as an actor in the play that had to save his public image. A completely inexperienced, unfamiliar with any of the other cast members, last-minute added to the ensemble actor who hadn’t even auditioned and hadn’t read the full script yet.

Yeah, this time was very different.

Rhysand didn’t seem to think so as he approached her, hands in his pockets, friendly smile on his lips. The rain didn’t seem to bother him, but she suspected he had parked his car nearby, since he didn’t seem all that wet. A black leather bag was slung over his shoulder, perfectly matching his all-black outfit. She’d never actually seen him wear another colour, though Feyre swore he owned some flannels and a grey sweater (she knew about the sweater, though: Feyre stole it often enough that Elain doubted it even belonged to Rhysand anymore).

“Morning, Elain.” He greeted her, moving to stand under the ledge with her. “You’re early, have you been waiting for long?”

While talking to her, he had started rummaging in his bag, probably to find his keys. The bag was filled with documents that Elain assumed were their scripts and some other items, including, for some reason, a bright red bowler hat.

“Yeah, uh, good morning.” She quickly said, cursing herself for her squeaky voice. Now he’d definitely know she was nervous. She’d hoped she could hide that from him and the others - no need for them to know what a mess she was and besides, if she was supposed to be acting in this play, shouldn’t she be able to act cool as wel?

Thankfully Rhysand didn’t comment on it, too occupied with his bag. He cursed under his breath before pulling some documents out, holding them out to Elain.

“Hold these for a minute, would you?” She wordlessly took the papers, noticing that they were, in fact, their scripts. She stared at the top page, with the play title in the middle, and the name of her co-star underneath, both bolded.

The red hat was placed on top of the papers and she snickered as she saw the pink bow on the side.

“That’s for Mor.” Rhysand said before pulling out his keys with a triumphant look on his face. “She claimed she wouldn’t be able to get into character without a costume, and since Feyre hasn’t started on those yet, I figured this would have to do.”

He took the hat and stuffed it in his bag again before taking the papers back. He flipped through them before finding a file and handing it to her.

“Here, this is your copy. It’s got the entirety of Amren’s adaptation in it - though knowing her, some things are bound to be changed during rehearsals, so don’t get too attached.”

Her script was identical to Morrigan’s, but with her name and character on it instead. And underneath that, where Morrigan’s page had been empty, is a small doodle of Elain, wearing a ridiculous hat, with a fake moustache and monocle. She smiled. Feyre must’ve gotten her hands on the script and decided to give her some encouragement.

Rhysand caught her looking at it and smirks.

“Apparently that’s Feyre’s vision for your costume.”

Elain’s head shot up, cheeks turning red when she sees his grin. For a second, she’d believed him, but his expression tells her that she will not have to perform with a giant, itchy moustache on her face.

Rhysand moved towards the main entrance and he opened the door for her in one smooth move.

“We’re using the main entrance?” Elain asked, hesitantly moving towards him.

“After today we won’t be, but I figured you might want to see this one first. The back door is not nearly as spectacular.” He said, motioning her inside.

He guided her through the hallway, pointing out various things she vaguely remembers from all those years ago. They headed backstage and dropped their bags in a dressing room before Rhysand - who had in the meantime asked her to call him Rhys - ushered her onto the stage before disappearing behind a curtain.

Elain stood there, in the middle of the stage, staring into the darkness in front of her. Rhys had gone to turn the lights on, but without them, she could barely see her own hands. She shuffled around, not wanting to accidentally fall, but too nervous to stay still. Her script was heavy in her hands and she ran her thumb over the wire binding the pages together, the cold metal somehow comforting. She’d just started wondering if Rhys was okay when the lights turned on.

She cursed their brightness and squeezed her eyes shut, holding her hand in front of them. When the spots finally disappeared from her vision, she lowered her hand and slowly opens her eyes again.

Elain was staring at row after row of red velvet seats, with two balconies stretching beyond her sight. There are giant murals to the side and even the ceiling is decorated. Everything is so big, and she is so small, and in a few weeks, all these seats will be taken, and they’ll all be looking at her...

“Quite a sight, huh?” She jumped at Rhys’ voice. He smirked.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” He said. He’d grabbed his bag again and was standing in the front row, directly in front of her, but in her admiring of the view above, she hadn’t noticed him yet.

“The others should be here soon.” He added, taking a seat and pulling out a set of papers. “Feel free to wander around, have a look at the place. We’ll call for you when we’re ready.”

Elain nodded, unable to form words, and headed backstage, quickly making her way to the dressing room she’d left her bag in. In her panic she couldn’t find it, and after running into the seventh dead end, she gave up.

Her hands were trembling as she sat down in a corner, wrapping her arms around her knees and dropping the script in front of her. She pressed her head to her knees and took a deep breath.

Yes, she was completely unqualified for this and had absolutely no experience, but Rhys had known that when he casted her. She hadn’t even auditioned: she’d helped him read some lines once and after that, he just asked her to be in the play. She didn’t want to get all conceited about this, but that had to mean he saw something in her, right?

So she was going to keep breathing, and when they called for her, she was going to go up on that stage and give it her best shot. This performance meant a lot to Rhys and his friends. The least she could do was try, and if it didn’t work out, she’d ask them to find someone else. Hell, she’d help them find someone if she had to.

Besides, this was her chance to learn more about the world of theater like she always wanted. Though she might not want to be an actress, she did desperately want to work in the theater world.

Elain’s dream had always been to become a playwright. She’d written countless of little skits and sketches while growing up, always making her friends or sisters act them out. She’d tried to write some larger plays recently, but one giant obstacle was the fact that she knew so little about what went on backstage - it was rather difficult to focus on writing something well when she was always wondering if what she wanted would even be possible at all. So if she could get an inside view during her time here, it would definitely help her - and it also didn’t hurt that she might be able to get some contacts in the theater world.

She was still giving herself that mental pep talk when she heard footsteps in the distance, coming closer until black leather boots appeared in her vision

She slowly raised her head and looked at the person wearing the boots. The man had dark, short hair, only just falling on his forehead. His hazel eyes were unreadable, as was the rest of his gorgeously defined face. He was tall and muscled, and she saw swirls of dark tattoos peeking from his collar. His clothes, like his boots, were dark, and he had a file of papers thicker than hers in one of his hands.

Suddenly she realized that she’d been admiring him for longer than was considered polite. Elain scrambled to get up, narrowly avoiding falling or crushing her script. She thought she saw a hint of amusement on the stranger’s face, but it disappeared so quickly she wasn’t sure.

“Hi!” She blurted out when she finally stood, blushing furiously at how she was behaving. It was bad enough she was feeling like a nervous wreck, she didn’t have to act like one too.

“I’m Elain,” She added, sticking her hand out between them.

Now, the stranger smiled, taking her hand in his own. His hands, she noticed, were horribly scarred and his palm felt rough against her own.

“I’m Azriel”. He said. He squeezed her hand and let go, stuffing his own into his pocket.

“Oh, you’re the technician, right?” Elain asked. “Feyre told me about you.”

“She didn’t say anything bad though!” She hurriedly added. “She only said that you, uh, do tech stuff. And that you’re Rhys’ brother.”

“Yeah, that’s me.” He smiled politely. “And I’ve heard about you, too. Apparently, you’re our new star.”

Elain laughed nervously.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that…” She bit her lip and looked to the ground, hoping to hide her red cheeks. As she did so, she saw her script on the floor. She bent down to pick it up, bumping her head into something hard.

She staggered back, hand going to her head immediately. Azriel stood in front of her, her script in his hand, a sheepish smile on his face.

“I’m sorry about that, are you okay?”

Elain nodded and took the script from him. She was glad to notice a hint of a blush on his face - at least she wasn’t the only one embarrassed by this whole ordeal.

“Anyways, I came to get you for rehearsal.” He said. “Most of us are here now, so Rhys wants to start.”

Elain nodded again, mentally cursing herself for it. She must seem like a fool, with all her blushing and nodding and awkwardness - what a first impression she must have made!

Azriel motioned towards the hallway and they started walking, falling into step next to each other.

“So, are you okay?” He asked after a few seconds, leading her back to the stage. “You look a bit nervous.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine! A bit nervous, yes, but I promise I can usually keep it together.” Elain admitted, following him around a corner.

He nodded but thankfully didn’t say anything else. Elain snuck a glance at him while they walked. He looked completely at ease in these hallways, as if he belonged back here. She supposed that, with him being a technician and all, he’d need that sense of familiarity, but she had secretly hoped he’d be as unnerved as she was. These damn theater people and their nerves of steel…

He seemed nice, though she did get the feeling he wasn’t much of a talker. Feyre really hadn’t told her much about him, but she had heard he was quiet and way too observant - there was no way to cheat at any game with him playing as well, which her sister found terribly annoying.

They reached the stage, the sound of several people talking at once greeting them. She saw Rhys standing in the front row, talking with a dark-haired woman who was holding a tray of coffee cups. Feyre and Lucien sat on the edge of the stage, Feyre gesturing wildly with her hands while Lucien looked on with an amused smile. Another man, with the same build and complexion as Azriel and Rhys but with longer hair stood in a corner, talking to someone of the phone while drinking coffee.

Azriel immediately walked towards the man who she assumed was Cassian, and took the phone from him. Cassian didn’t appear too bothered by this and continued drinking his coffee, listening to the call with a smirk. He looked a lot like Rhys and Azriel, but his shoulders were broader and he seemed more at ease on stage - Azriel had stepped back into the wings while talking, and Rhys hadn’t set foot on the stage at all.

Elain was moving towards her sister and Lucien, hoping they could give her some encouragement, when someone suddenly blocked her path.

“Coffee?” The raven-haired woman she’d seen talking with Rhys moments ago held a cup out to her. Elain accepted it with a small smile.

“I’m Nuala,” The woman said, tucking the empty coffee tray under her arm. “I work as Rhys’ assistant and I’m in charge of hair and makeup.”

“Oh, I was wondering who would do that!” Elain exclaimed, and after moving her script and coffee around, she stuck out her now-free hand towards Nuala. “I’m Elain Archeron, nice to meet you.”

Nuala shook her hand with a small smile before excusing herself and walking back to Rhys. Elain looked around, wondering what to do while waiting - at least, that was what she assumed they were doing. She still hadn’t seen Morrigan or whoever would be the fifth actor, and they couldn’t really begin practicing when almost half of the cast wasn’t there yet.

Cassian and Azriel, who was no longer on the phone, were talking and flipping through the script. Rhys and Nuala were also discussing something, Nuala taking notes while Rhys gestured wildly. Feyre and Lucien watched him, her head on his shoulder. Elain didn’t want to interrupt any important conversations, so she sat down, still in the middle of the stage, and flipped open her script.

Waiting for Godot, written by Samuel Beckett, had been one of her favorite plays ever since she read it years ago for a French class. The way he managed to create such a captivating play when the setting was fairly boring had always amazed her, and she’d spent several classes discussing Godot with her teacher and some other students, though none had been as invested in it as she was. Her love for the play had been the reason she was  here: she’d only offered to help Rhys run through the lines because she was curious to read Amren’s adaptation of it.

Amren did not disappoint: the script had been modernized a little, and the main characters were now female instead of male, but most of the play had remained unchanged. Elain was halfway through the first act when Rhys called out.

“Okay, where the hell is Mor? She was supposed to be here half an hour ago.”

“She’s on her way.”Azriel said, appearing in front of the stage. Cassian followed him, winking at her when he saw her looking at him. “There was a shoe emergency in her building.”

Rhys rolled his eyes. He and Nuala moved to where Feyre and Lucien still sat on the edge of the stage, where Azriel and Cassian joined them as well. Cassian sat down on one of the front row seats, kicking his feet up so they rested on the edge of the stage.

“Shoe emergency? What, couldn’t she figure out if she should wear black or grey  heels?”

Everyone laughed, but Elain didn’t join them. Was that really the type of person she would have to work with, someone who is late to important rehearsals because of a shoe dilemma? She stared at her own pink, worn-down sneakers and, not for the first time that day, wanted to disappear. If Morrigan was really like that, if she really cared that much about her looks and  not at all about the people she was working with, Elain didn’t know if she could handle it.

“Actually,” A smooth voice interrupted Elain’s thoughts and stopped the laughing in the front row, “I was torn between this one pair that screamed ‘kick Rhys’ ass’ and another that was more, ‘kick Rhys’ ass but start up front’, if you know what I mean.”

The laughter was even louder this time, but Elain didn’t pay attention to it. Instead, she turned and looked towards the wings, where the voice was coming from. A beautiful, blonde-haired woman emerged from them. She immediately spotted Elain, who was still sitting on the floor. The woman walked towards her, a friendly smile on her face.

“Hi, I’m Morrigan. You must be Elain.”

[freakflagbyiana]

Why “David Bowie is god”

As my site turns one year old today, which is also David Bowie’s birthday, I thought I’d try to begin to explain the importance David Bowie has in my personal life and the effect he had, continues to have, on my career.

Childhood influence

My parents had fairly different musical tastes but the one major thing that overlapped was they were both David Bowie fans. My mom was also a Jim Henson fan so I grew up watching Labyrinth with her. I remember it was out of print for a long time and I was the only kid in the neighborhood with a copy that had been taped off of HBO. As a kid I remember being in love with Jareth’s hair itself, asking Mom if I could make my hair do that one day. She replied “Sweetie, that’s a wig, not his real hair” and it was the dream-shattering equivalent of learning that there was no Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairy all rolled up into one. As a goth teenager I really got into his freaky Ziggy era, finding the idea of being an alien heavily relatable. And when I discovered BowieNet when I was 17, to my surprise my parents agreed to pay my annual subscription... It was $70. I think most parents would be like “Your message board fanclub costs how much? HAH! No.” I won’t go into grave detail of my BowieNet life here, because I could write an entire book, but I’ll summarize it. It began in 1996, and behind the pay wall was lots of exclusive bonus content, access to concert presales and bnet-only events, exclusive chatroom Q&As, and a very active message board. This was before Twitter, before Instagram, before Myspace, definitely before Facebook. David Bowie basically created social media as the everyday form we recognize today. He didn’t post all the time but I would still consider him very active on the message board, for a busy top tier celebrity. His username was “sailor” although there were always whispers about his other secret accounts that he used for trolling. So he basically invented trolling, too. The community itself was close, there were always local meetups and many members would travel internationally to see their closest bnet friends, eventually including myself. I joined this community when I was still in high school and 17 years later I am still close to the friends I made back then. These people are my family, and they vary from all nations, all walks of life, all classes, all ages... The first time I met any of them was at my first ever Bowie concert and that itself was a bnet members-only show to launch the Reality tour, which was eventually known as his last tour. This pivotal moment in my life occurred on August 19th 2003 at the The Chance Theater in Poughkeepsie NY. It was a small general admission venue, arguably a dive compared to the arenas he would play on the rest of the Reality tour. I was 18 years old and was in the process of moving to Chicago for art school. It was surreal to be seeing my first Bowie concert in a GA venue, and yet I knew 80% of the audience. David Bowie himself knew 100% of the audience, and you can hear him speaking to specific people in the bootlegs. I knew more people in the audience than I knew in my high school of 60 kids. A bunch of us were waiting at the venue early enough to catch him coming out to say hello while they were doing soundcheck. I didn’t get anything signed because all the members he knew by name were up in the very front of the group, as it should be. But I could still observe him from afar. He was dressed simply in a crisp white tshirt and white jeans, so the bright summer sunshine gave him a literally radiant, angelic glow. I’ll never forget his slinky catlike walk, and I’ve since never witnessed a creature with more grace.

Lessons I learned from Him

Freakflag began when my last salon closed, suddenly, due to #Austinproblems. As a fantasy color specialist, what I do is so specialized that not many places are going to do it well. The most stable environment for it, on short notice, is a mini salon.  As a hairstylist, this makes sense.  As an artist, this was (still is) terrifying.  I have literally painted myself into a corner where I am my own microcosm, a terrarium of rare creatures emerging covered in sunset locks and lavender hairdust...  None of this would have been possible without David Bowie. I very sincerely celebrate him as a god of my profession. For I am a witch and my profession is transformation magic. In many ways it is the magic of one’s true form, their true Identity. For example, I have many transgender clients who visit me in the early stages of their personal transformation. Sometimes they know what they want but a lot of times they don’t. I accept this task with great reverence for the importance of what I’m being asked to do. If they are not completely comfortable with the hair I’ve given them, it’s more than “a bad haircut will grow out if you don’t like it” - it can shape their confidence and that shapes the way people treat them. David Bowie is the Patron Saint of No Labels & Don’t Tell Me What To Do. The Patron Saint of the Gender Fluid & the Non-Binary. His iconic Ziggy Stardust mullet is the perfect example as to why I don’t attribute gender to my haircuts. Tell me, is a Ziggy mullet a men’s haircut or a women’s haircut? The answer is Yes. He taught me you can walk around with no eyebrows, a pale skeletal alien, and still feel your oats. It doesn’t matter if people “get it” because you “get it.” And you are the only person that really needs to “get it.” This is the lesson of aesthetic integrity. He taught me the importance of artistic integrity. At times he was a starving artist that created beautiful, profound things that no one quite understood or appreciated. But eventually he had a period of being a sellout that pandered to the crowd; it made him so sick of China Girl that he didn’t play it live for years after. I think it’s the period after this, from the 90s onward, where he found his true creative power. He knew he could achieve either end of the spectrum and balanced on that line thereafter. Blackstar being his best achievement in this regard. He taught me you can find your truest love later in life. Many goths say they aspire to a love like Morticia & Gomez, but I aspire to a love like Iman & David. Theirs is a real life love story that endured, and it didn’t happen overnight, she made him work for it! This is the big one... He saved me from flirting with suicide. I could write a lot about this too but I won’t right now. Here are the broadest strokes: As a sensitive, emotionally neglected, eccentric teenager I listened to a lot of angry music; Punk, Goth, Industrial, etc. The summer of age 16 was a tough one, I had been kicked out of one parent’s house and the other one completely left me to my own devices... So when I began flirting with self harm, the only person that noticed and snapped me out of it was a close school friend whom I will always consider a brother. This was about the time I discovered Bowie’s glamorous Ziggy era and it was the first thing that showed me “Truth, Goodness & Beauty” in my darkest hour. He showed me that being a great artist took time to cultivate your skills and not only would suicide mean I was achieving nothing, but self harm was a weakness that would eventually fester and I had to nip it in the bud. Bowie’s brother suffered from schizophrenia and eventually committed suicide so many of his works touch on the theme of your own worst enemy coming from within. A lot of goth music discusses it too, warning against rather than encouraging, but no one can make something relatable quite like Bowie. (For the record, a lot of that angry music is still my favorite! It has its place in the world) A lot of rock stars drank and drugged their way into an early grave but David Bowie was the one that survived and still managed to stay artistically and culturally relevant in the end. This is the main reason I celebrate him as a role model and a god amongst men. If he survived the 70s, made a clear decision to sober up, and could maintain sobriety throughout the 80s, he could achieve anything.

“Just a mortal with the potential of a superman” David Bowie, Quicksand

How I celebrate Him

For the last four years, I’ve been a DJ at Elysium’s New Year’s Eve party, a Labyrinth-themed Goblin King’s ball. And for the last three, I’ve co-hosted as Jareth himself... which means I’ve achieved my childhood dream of wanting to be Jareth with that fabulous hair and bedazzled tailcoat! This prepares me perfectly for celebrating his life a week later. There are a few “Bowie Weekend” events here in town. Drinks Lounge always has a Bowie Birthday Bash and Elysium usually has an 80’s night tribute or some other event in his honor. Then on the day itself I will take the time to clean my Bowie Shrine and think about all the times he helped me get out of a bad place in my life. Here you can see Instagram highlights of my Bowie Shrine. A few months ago, I got to work on a truly special project that is still super secret. But I can say that it involved recreating a famous David Bowie image and it was a great honor to be asked to do the makeup and hairstyling for this. It took all day, longer than expected, and we got about 300 shots... This weekend we got together again to edit them and in the end only 3 shots were picked. I can only imagine the process for the original shoot! I thought I was just invited along to edit because I was a Bowie nerd that wanted to be there and was ridiculously stoked on this project. But I was grateful to witness us work together as group on this tribute in its entirety, the three of us are perfectionists and we all had high standards but we also had methods of editing our standards for the sake of being practical. Unlike the shoot itself, this time a lot of discussion was had on the different elements that composed the original image and all three of us paid great attention to those details in the recreation. None of us expect to profit from it, this was hours of work that we each volunteered out of love of the art form, and reverence for David Bowie himself. The role I played in this image is a minor one compared to the other two people involved, but I am so terribly proud of us. I think He would be, too. Since I can’t post that image, I will instead leave you with my Aladdin Sane selfie tribute from this weekend:

★

[punapurreciator]

My Favorite Ladybug Writers

So I pretty recently joined the Miraculous Ladybug fandom (about 4 months?) and I went on an absolute reading spree but Noticed a lot of the fic rec lists out there are pretty sparse or there's a lot of repetition. And I figured, ya know I just read nearly 300 fics over the last few months I might as well make some recommendations XD 

So this is the first of possibly many rec lists Im going to put together for the Ladybug fandom. enjoy!

Quicksilversquared 

This writer has 89(!!!) Fanfics out there for Miraculous Ladybug and they are pretty much ALL wonderful. The writing is excellent, characterization on point and there's never a boring moment. And the great thing is that most of these stories (even the serious/heavy ones) have some degree of playfulness to them. This writer never seems to let you walk away without a smile, and that's amazing.

Here are a few of my favorites:

 The Cooking Contest - An out-of-class assignment leads to the entirety of the class participating in a cooking competition. …some people do better than others.

the Anniversary - The anniversary of Adrien's mother's disappearance was always difficult. He's sure nothing can make his day any less miserable… ...until a certain spotted superhero shows up.

the Crocodile Glasses - When knock-off copies of Jagged Stone's super-awesome Eiffel Tower start popping up, Jagged is not pleased. Still, it doesn't take long to come up with a solution- he just needs to release his own official line of sunglasses! And naturally, he needs one Marinette Dupain-Cheng to design them for him. Now, if only Marinette could figure out how to execute some of Jagged's more out-there ideas... 

Hacking the Ladyblog - Chat Noir likes taking goofy pictures on patrol. That was normal. What was not normal was those photos showing up without any explanation on the Ladyblog.

Princess to the Rescue - Chat Noir gets into a bit of trouble when the akumatized magician Exodus the Spectacular overpowers him in a fight and Ladybug is nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, a baker’s daughter joins the fight. aka Marinette totally has Bo staff fight training and kicks some villain butt.

Cuddles in a Coat - In a lot of ways, Adrien Agreste isn't a normal teenage boy. He's a model, he has a bodyguard, he's secretly a superhero.... But just like any other teenager, he'll stubbornly refuse to admit when an adult was right. Even if he ends up freezing because of it.

Otoshigo Another talented writer is Otoshigo who seems to straddle the border of utterly adorable (see: For the Love of Shoujo ) and Slightly twisted (See: Benefactor ) or even dark. This writer can play the characters as the awkward blushing teens they are, and they can just as easily (and convincingly!!!) twist their perceptions ever so slightly toward something deeper (and slightly terrifying) 

Some of the stories CAN be really weird and out there, but hey, read the tags so you know what you’re getting into and you won't have any trouble. (shrugs) 

Some more of my favorites include:

27 Secrets - “Secrets,” Chat purred, waving the photo out like a little flag. “I want secrets. Twenty-seven pictures worth of secrets. And you’ll give them to me. One picture at a time.” [Shameless Marichat]

Caught and Captured - Adrien gets caught in a little lie, that somehow only spirals more and more out of control. Is there any way to pull himself out of it? Does he even want to? [Adrienette] 

(Adrien acts like cat noir around Marinette and she thinks they've body-swapped. X3 This story Is simultaneously hilarious and heart-wrenching)  

Marinette Saves the World - Through a series of unfortunate events, average and clumsy Marinette meets a boy from the future! Who says that he needs to have sex with her to save the world? Except no. Just... no. 

(OMG this one!!! Drop what you’re doing and read it NOW!!! It's so freaking sweet and seriously romantic!!!)

Guilty Pleasures - An anonymous writer is a little too good at writing fanfiction and Marinette somehow gets roped into reading it. Problem is, now she can’t put it down. [LadyNoir] 

Chat Noir: Calendar Edition - Marinette’s class has to come up with an idea to make some cash for their upcoming class trip. However, things go awry with their plan and somehow Chat Noir gets involved. All Marinette wants is to go to Nice with Adrien. Can she make it through this without losing her mind?

Clairelutra Next up is Clairelutra who seems to make it a goal to melt her readers to piles of goo with sexual tension so thick you COULDN'T cut it with a knife. (Almost all her stories are rated as at least T) but, (as much as I love sexual tension and smut in a fic) That’s far from all this writer brings to the table. Clairelutra is a master at grabbing a readers heart and "puppeteering" (puppeteer, haha) it any way she so chooses.   

Whether she deigns to make you tear up and/or cry : ( see: river flows in you) Or gets your heart racing in her action scenes ( see: welcome to the show) or makes your toes curl during a kiss ( ALSO see: welcome to the show, and Bang Bang, and... ahem. well there are a lot.) And there's that (WONDERFUL AMAZING PRECIOUS) element of tenderness and longing in just about EVERY romantic scene that just KILLS me every time. 

Anyway, some of my favorites of hers include:

gonna miss this someday - “I mean, am I just too clingy?” Chat asked her ceiling, reclining on her lounge and tossing a spare ball of yarn up and down as Marinette beaded with a vengeance. “I know it’s just one day, but I miss her.”(When Ladybug misses their nightly friend-date, Chat asks Marinette for girl advice.)

i think it’s time i told you (i’m a fan of your universe) - “...Something up, minou?” He didn’t answer her at first, staying silent as he opened his palm and stared at it. Or rather, stared at the ring in it.

Ladybug stared, almost unseeing, at the blood-red stone nestled in its bed of diamonds, and wondered why it suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe.

(It wasn’t necessarily an engagement ring, right? She... she would’ve known if he had a lover, wouldn’t she? Chat was too much of a hopeless romantic to not gush about a significant other to anyone who would listen if he had one... right? 

It could be a memento or a gift or... something. Something that didn’t imply Chat was about to get married.)

“...Have you ever thought about getting married?” ...Or not.

you're really my dearest friend - Sometimes, the process of getting out is much more difficult than it really should be — but sometimes friends can help, if you let them.

we're the kids your mama warned you about - (A collection of PWP oneshots, mostly focusing on Ladynoir/the love square, as I try to teach myself how to sin.)

hot mess - (the sequel to Bang Bang ) ...What did one say to one's vigilante partner when said partner was in costume and he was in a bathrobe? What did one say to the lady who had pinned him to a wall and kissed him senseless, not knowing he was her partner? What did one say to the girl he had been in love with for years when he was alone with her in his room at night? "Come here often, beautiful?" Not that. Imthepunchlord Oh wow, here's a writer who knows how to balance playful with exciting really well. A lot of their fics are action/adventure driven plots and they know how to build up to that big fight at the end without making you spend half the fic dreading it. There's always too much happening for you to feel much besides excitement. Which, honestly, I LOVED about these stories.  They keep the ball rolling at a great pace and never seems to rely on exposition when they can just show you something. And that lends itself to the feeling of being right there in the story with the character. (A MUST for any good action/adventure) This writer also knows how to stretch the rules with magic and the kwami juuust right to make everything fit and still be believable (a gift if ever I saw one)

Some of my favorites from Iamthepunchlord are:

Marinette and the Seven Little Gods - Marinette been down on her luck, waiting for the day karma would give her something good, something that would make her life better! She wasn't expecting karma to give her a box, a box with seven little gods in it. 

Over the Wall - The accident, while unintentional, was costly. For her wrong doings against Chloe, Marinette is sent over the wall to die. But instead of death, she winds up in a strange, unnerving world. Good thing she'll have a cat to watch her back in this bizarre place. (inspired by a mix of movies and shows: Stardust, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, Secret of Moonacre, and Over the Garden Wall.)

Trouble in White - Finding your soulmate is supposed to be uplifting, and amazing, and just... miraculous. But for Marinette, it wasn't any of that. Her soulmate, he... he was... What does one do when your soulmate is an akuma?

The Ladybug and The Mer - When Captain Ladybug is lost at sea, she finds herself saved by one of the most dangerous sea beings in the world: a mer. (Merman Adrien AU)

Always a Hero, No Matter the Miraculous - (a LARGE series) it covers a big variety of  Miraculous/kwami swaps. Including such favorites as: 

Rise of Mariposa - Where Marinette is chosen by the butterfly to help Cat Noir in his fight against Harlequin who has taken possession of the ladybug miraculous for her own selfish gain.

& the short: Delicate Wings - Where Adrien is the butterfly helping ladybug fight the evil black cat from afar. 

Kindness from a Stray - where Adrien and Marinette have kwami swapped (There are several shorts like this, all equally funny/cute)

A Declaration of Love - Adrien is the fox and Marinette is the peacock <3 

(oh GOD I love this one. it's an all-time favorite. It’s very sweet and playful and its done so well that it just WORKS. I love the conflict of his feather allergy keeping Adrien (AKA Malin) from his beloved Belle Bleue XD)

Freedom_Shamrock If fluff is your thing PLEASE check this writer out!!! Freedom_Shamrock is a master of cuddles, snuggles, and hugs. Their stories just exude a soft comforting vibe that sinks into your bones and stays there for the rest of the day. But they are also INTERESTING. The conversations are memorable, The plots are intriguing and the characterization is lovely. If you want something sweetly romantic to read look no further.

Some of my personal favorites include:

Something Familiar - Marinette is a teenage witch, and it's time for her to find a familiar. (Witch AU, no kwamis, Adrien never got to go to school) ( HIGHLY RECOMENDED!!! Cutest cat!Adrien fic EVER )

A Little Light - (series)  its basically an adorable series where Adrien notices Marinette on his own and asks her out. It follows up with their first date, some problems with dating while being a superhero,  and then an accidental reveal. (every bit of this one is SO SO CUTE.)

Hugdrien (AKA: Adrien Needs Hugs) - (series) With this one the name pretty much says it all. It’s a series of stories where Adrien is having a tough time at home and Marinette and their friends/her family are there for him. 

Miraculous Acts of Kindness - (series) this series is basically a slowburn MariChat fic XD It’s super cute and fluffy but also leads into Mature waters so be aware of that! BullySquadess   @bullysquadess

Here's another writer who's clearly out to melt her readers with sexual tension But BullySquadess is out to do it with a goddamn VENGEANCE. (and she WILL make you laugh yourself to death getting there) Her stories are drop dead sexy and SUPER funny. It's the kind of well-built humor that has you cackling so loud people can hear you across the house and forces you to take breaks from reading just to BREATHE. I think the best part of this writers style for me is the hopeful longing she just pulls out of Chat like its the most natural thing in the world. It’s so so so so so sweet and it plays to his character perfectly. and she gets it just right every time.   word of caution: the writer multi-ships so if you don't dig it then check the tags before getting invested. XD

My favorites of hers include:

The Ladybugs and The Bees - Ladybug and Chat Noir tackle teenhood! Watch our heroes face the realities of growing up- surviving puberty and akuma alike as together they navigate the unknown pitfalls of love and first-time intimacy. Also dick jokes. There's like... alot of dick jokes.

Oh man who hasn't read this one? It's been on like every fic rec list i could find when i first joined the fandom. But oh WOW does it deserve it.  This sucker is 38 (!!!) chapters long so far (!!??) and I've read it THREE TIMES. I joined the fandom like FOUR months ago! And yet I keep coming back to this one becouse it's just SO GOOD. 

Seven Minutes - Post-Reveal, Adrien and Marinette continue to play chicken with their feeling. Alya, however, has other games in mind... 

Live by the Ladybutt - Chat likes Ladybug's Ladybutt. Ladybug likes that Chat likes her Ladybutt. Crack ensues.

Casual - Ladybug has grown exceptionally comfortable with her partner... which means Chat Noir is #suffering. 

The Pitfalls Of Being a Wingman - We all know the classic Marichat tale, but what's happening behind the scenes of our favorite duo's love-making?   (AKA Plagg regrets everything and it’s HILARIOUS) XDD

Cohabitation (And Other Disastrous Ideas) - These two best friends decide to move in together, what happens next will shock you! (Or not, considering all roommate fics end up the same anyhow.) thelastpilot

Oh man, all of this writer's stories have this element of almost poetic beauty to them that it's really hard to describe the style. There's never a word or a scene wasted with this writer. It's all about slowly building up that relationship brick by brick, SEEING the characters getting closer and closer with every new meeting and then finishing it off in a MASSIVELY fulfilling way. The humor is top notch too but it seems to take a backseat to the plot and considering how well done the plot typically is I have no problem with that.

word of caution- This writer multi-ships so If you're like me and looking for a specific pairing remember to check the tags! XD 

My personal favorites of this writer include:

Won't Tell a Soul - Nino accidentally runs head long into the biggest most stressful secret he can imagine, but now that he knows the truth about Marinette he is determined to help her in any way he can. (Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng)

& Its sequel: The Weight of Jade - which shockingly (for this list) centers around Nino/Alya. This writer really knows how to get their characters across in all the best ways. This is one of the few times in fanfiction I really found myself really enjoying a side character's story and that's something HUGE.

Rainy Days - A storm rolls through Paris and refuses to let up, so when a water fearing cat is rescued by the kind efforts of his designing classmate he starts to pay a little closer attention to someone he should have always known better.  

Quiet Ice, Silent Nights - Cat Noir is on a late night patrol when he catches sight of an elegant lone figure skater, and is surprised to discover it is his classmate Marinette. 

Okay, this one is simply put, a work of ART. It is beautiful. The way the writer lovingly describes the ice skating and (spoilers: the piano scenes) makes you really FEEL the beauty of the moment. It’s so lovely.~ Seriously, drop what you're doing and read this if you haven't already

Paw Problems - (An alternate version of the Animan Episode) The class has taken a field trip to the zoo, but when Kim starts being a jerk and creates a major situation, are Ladybug and Cat Noir going to be enough to get everyone out on two feet? Or are the classmates going to need to get used to paws, hooves, and talons? Sadly, this one's unfinished. But let me say I LOVED the little snippets of humor in this, especially Chloe's animal form and Nino's reaction to it. XD KryallaOrchid The style KryallaOrchid uses is pretty similar to Quicksilversquared in that the stories all have some degree of playfulness and humor to them ( I love that in fics) but they also aim for something a little deeper too. this writer likes to play on the idea of rightness between the characters and builds off it as they go. (I'm all for the 'soulmate' vibe Adrien and Marinette have going on) 

Some favorites are:

Tendencies - (series) Miraculous have side effects. From pats becoming a necessity to eating flowers, follow Adrien and Marinette as they come to terms with their new tendencies, and each other. Hawk Moth is coming.

This is a LOOOOOONG series and makes for a very entertaining read. 

Sting - When Chat Noir inexplicably disappears, leaving Ladybug bee-hind to face Papillon on her own, a new wielder is chosen to keep the akuma from swarming. Ladybug is adamant she doesn’t want another partner buzzing around and why is this new-bee flirting with her? Meanwhile, Adrien just wishes Ladybug would stop bugging out and listen to him because his bee puns are fuzz-tastic.

I seriously went into this one thinking I wasn't going to like it and I ended up falling head over heels for it. Sting is SO worth the read. Watching poor Ladybug freak out over her missing partner (sending him voicemails wondering where he is and trying to reassure him she's not 'replacing' him with this new bee hero and that she's going to get him back ) Is so SO SOO heart wrenching and sweet. 

(and thankfully Adrien DOES manage to get through to her that  Chat IS 'Bumblebee’ fairly early on so we aren't left stewing in angst FOREVER) 

Reflections - The mirror shows you how you truly are, but for a Miraculous holder, it shows what was. All Marinette can see is ghosts and she doesn’t want to become one. (A heart-wrencher for SURE but the ending was SO worth it.) ---