#is this surprising MAYBE NOT i guess most people who seem really fun and cool online are probably like this but

[lovestrucklovesickslut]

HIII. 14 ask game go

14. what’s something surprising about you?

HMMMMMM something surprising… maybe that i’m pretty introverted irl? i don’t think i come across that way online but yeahhhh i only talk to like two people outside of my house semi regularly offline 😎👍

[tomwaterbabies]

disneyland happenings

featuring varian and hugo. since thats what our costumes were

^(us trying to be very spooky) (there is a lot below btw lol)

someone asking if i (dressed as hugo) was from atlantis. surprisingly this only happened once

we went to kingdom hearts mickey first bc that was gonna be a popular one the rest of the night. the idea of varian in kingdom hearts is definitely really funny. i do not go here im just being honest

OH. new addition to the costume. i had olivia with me as a shoulder friend

met bruno from encanto who commented on her. we talked about our rodent friends he was very nice. he said he brought "all 200" of his rats with him and wanted to help feed them and knows mickey is a big mouse so maybe we could ask him. i said we could just steal some food. varian got mad

went over to see sid from toy story because he seemed like a mean little bitch. he was a mean little bitch. i may have said that his creations could use a little work but thats no reason for him to say "your mouse needs a little work" and "i hope you kept the receipt".... cunt

laughing about how mother gothel was no longer part of the characters to meet. "they killed her forever this time" etc etc

watching the parade and varian almost jumping out of his skin when mother gothel was in the parade. her ghost

we went to this thing called villain's grove which was a bunch of light and effects n stuff through their little forest area. it was mostly a cool immersive experience so most of the footage is on the Lights And Effects Themselves but here's a few of us that look cool lol. gay tunnel (maybe not) (that segment was themed after frollo)

met hans from frozen. we absolutely had no clue he was going to be there it was pretty funny. you may guess that my friend @kristoffs-lullaby (varian cosplayer) is a frozen enjoyer. so we hopped in line to see him

hans asked if varian's alchemy balls were some sort of magic or enchantment and you'll Never guess what varian responded with

though explaining its alchemy and science and all that didnt really make him feel better. he even asked if its something that would be in danger of bringing in an "eternal winter". varian did not like that :)

saw dr. doofenshmirtz (?) i didnt watch that show. he was pretty fun to meet though. i know some people dont like his creepy ass design, but i do, its fun and weird to me. he wanted to collaborate with me and varian since we're scientists. really funny to have him say "i'll have my people call your people". a possible strange message that rapunzel will get later /j

also encountered hades. though our friend @iammisswow was with us and so i had him focus on her since shes a big hercules fan. the visual was hugo getting this scary man's attention to be put on someone else by calling her out. it worked obviously. "oh SHE is a HUGE fan of hercules"

madam mim from sword in the stone didnt really have as big of a crowd so we actually talked with her a pretty good amount. shes SO fun. lots of discussion about magic vs science and how she thinks knowledge is stupid. you can imagine how we of all people felt when she said "KNOWLEDGE is not power, MAGIC is power". she also liked olivia (she thought she was a familiar)

meeting judge doom from roger rabbit was kind of scary LOL. very intimidating man. but his area had vats of chemicals and all that so you can imagine we had fun with that. WE can be trusted. obviously.

nervously just nodding our heads as judge doom tells us to come to him if we have any information regarding where "that rabbit is" (we are not doing that)

and also we saw ernesto de la cruz from coco. we were actually able to catch him right as he started performing which is rad but i dont actually have any interactions to tell u about here it was bad ass though

and, unbeknownst to Hugo (as in i also didnt know about this), varian had a surprise for him. he had a whole... horribly genuine and flustery spiel to say about messing around in his lab and all that and made something for hugo. which was a necklace with a piece of colored glass-like material (teal) in the shape of a heart. hugo handled that whole situation really well (lie)

ANYWAYS ! that's it. i've mentioned before but Disneyland Trips will be retired really soon since I'm not too fond of a lot of their wack shit right now, but wanted to share some of the last bit of enjoyable times to be had there before that happens

[nqmonarch]

For the request, can I please have yandere Black Swan x fem or gn reader x yandere Sparkle headcanon as the poly relationship? Basically Sparkle and Black Swan are working together to get their darling.

Yeah of course! Sorry for the late response! I also started this before current quest came out (2.1 I think, the one that focuses on Aventurine) so sorry if I missed anything that came out recently!

CW: Yandere themes (it isn't super heavy I think), Memory manipulation, kidnapping that isn't viewed as kidnapping by the kidnappee

To start with is always the question of how Black Swan and Sparkle become interested in you, such a strange duo both with different goals and aspirations yet absolutely threatening while working together.

You were a very simple person but also infinitely complex, like most people. But rather than keep the complexities of your life close to yourself and the ones you cared for, you wore your life on your sleeve. One moment you'd be distracted by ooo-- pretty fish nice bright and orange and--. Oh right the drink in front of you is also pretty nice but the moment you drink it, it'll be gone forever. It won't matter, and will be forgotten in your own mind, and the mind of the world. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter in the slightest, just like your life. Unless if it's a super good drink.

And look there's a pretty lady following the pretty fish! Actually it looks like the fish are swimming around her, maybe in the dream scape you're permanently under the sea. You don't really like the sea though, actually it's okay. You've just been a thousand meters deep before and at that point the pressure kills, you didn't die but it wasn't pleasant. Thankfully, gear was upgraded pretty well, which is expected for a city under water. There were also many beautiful creatures down there that you were lucky to see and lots of rocks, there weren't fish like the fish around the pretty lady though-- and she's gone.

What a shame, you would've loved to introduce yourself to her. Now, your drink demanded your attention and you had to oblige.

And that was the first time you met Sparkle.

You were someone that could admire Sparkle and not only indulge but enjoy her games and give her the attention she wanted. And after you ended up accidentally joining a scene you weren't supposed to be in and participating in her murder mystery game, she realized how good the attention felt.

Black Swan was someone who would observe a puzzle from the outside and would play along with the puzzle but truly be trying to deconstruct the person behind the puzzle.

You, on the other hand, were someone who would know it's a puzzle yet, devote your all to something you knew wasn't real. How silly, but how... cute? Sparkle's thoughts surprised even her, she had always been into toppling over more composed people. But you were composed in a different way. You were passionate but controlled, excited but not often upset, like a river flowing rapidly leaving waves in the air but not leaving it's boundaries unnecessarily.

Your unexpected participation in the murder mystery was exactly what drew Black Swan's interest as well. Your attention was changing from detail to detail each minute and when the time came to guess who Sparkle was. You foolishly guessed Sparkle's body-- and you were right. Black Swan should've figured out the fool would've pulled something like this, Sampo was too obvious of an answer.

Your excitement at the truth was genuine from the way your entire face brightened up to the way you began to hop excitedly in place. "See? Sampo's too nice to kill someone!" She thought your reasoning was still wrong though.

Sampo was pretty cool, he seemed like a scum bag but that didn't mean he'd kill someone he was still too nice to do that. Also he didn't act interested enough in the murder to be Sparkle. If you killed someone you'd be really interested in how the detective solved the murder, it'd be like a fun little game! But you wouldn't do that, most people didn't deserve to die and the ones that did probably wouldn't die by your hand-- and what if you were wrong you'd be better off sending them to jail and hoping they'd reform instead and someone just said something to you that you missed oh shit, hopefully you won't get yelled at.

Oh wait that wasn't directed at you that's just Sparkle trying to get Black Swan to-- wait Black Swan's a memokeeper?! That's sick! Your eyes shined as you looked at the elegant woman with new found respect. A shame Sparkle got rejected, you'd invite her to dance but she probably wouldn't want to dance with you.

"Miss Black Swan," You piped up looking at the veiled woman excitedly and she turned to you with a slight smile. Perhaps, she'd erase your memory, memokeepers were rather secretive right?

None the less you'd rather say what you wanted to say, "Thank you for your work. No memories deserve to be lost, even though one day they will all be lost as we all inevitably die... but that's a while from now! There's so much beauty that needs to be preserved but will inevitably be forgotten. If only we could all share in it, but I understand you likely have your reasons."

If only memokeepers could share all they knew, wouldn't the knowledge of that help humanity immensely? But the weight of memories isn't to be taken lightly, you reminded yourself. All of the pain everyone experienced had to be remembered as well. Because to forget is to repeat.

Her honey eyes took the shape of crescents, "Thank you, dear," her voice sounded like honey too, enough so that you felt your ears grow red at the term of endearment, "Fear not, cherished memories will be preserved from true oblivion."

You blinked, once, twice, "But at some point doesn't there have to be nothing? That's why it's important not just to protect such memories but also make them. Because all we really have is tomorrow. Well, I suppose the only guaranteed thing I have is tomorrow-- actually I could die in the next second so all I have is right now. But memories, at some point wouldn't they have to become nothing as well?"

You paused for a moment before continuing, walking away from Black Swan, "I guess there's no way to know until the end. So when you know whether or not even they become nothing, I'll be waiting, curious, to hear your answer."

That was a fun time. You solved a fake murder, met two pretty ladies, and- oh you won't be alive to hear Black Swan's answer what a shame-- OH! You wondered if they had the once in millennium memory of the ten moon solar eclipse where you could see them all because the smallest moons were the closest to the planet. What a beautiful sight, shame that planet was pretty much deserted. You'd just been lucky to get to see it, you had a research grant or something. Righttt to get samples of that one man eating flower, the cool part was that its flowers contained traces of metal, particularly gold.

Huh, how'd that work? Not like it mattered you were just suppose to get a sample. You wondered if the Garden of Recollection how memories of that plant. You wondered if they had memories of a world slowly dying out, of its last flower crumpling to stony surface.

And with that Black Swan was left looking at your back as you walked away. You were an interesting person. She'd keep an eye out for you but in the meantime the Astral Express seemed to be having some troubles she'd have to prioritize first.

Then, you ran into Sparkle again. This time you were able to strike up a conversation with her. She seemed like a friendly person, albeit she did almost get you killed but such is the way with pranks! All's fair in love and games! And what was life if not a game? Plus you got to see her pretty fish. You wanted one. You didn't think you'd be able to take good care of a fish though, you were already struggling to take care of yourself.

You had a few more run ins with Sparkle and played her games much to her delight! Each time she felt herself growing more excited, would you die if the game required it? You put such care into each moment but even when it resulted in nothing you laughed it off. It was annoying at times, as if anything she planned didn't matter. But when your eyes lit up at solving a puzzle those thoughts were dissuaded.

And even better was how your eyes lit up when they saw her.

How Sparkle preened under your praise. She was sure her games were getting even better with such encouragement and an eager participant! She almost forgot why she came to Penacony in the first place but, she unfortunately had a job. At least the job was fun! Once she was done she'd come and pick you up, she was certain you'd love to come along with her!

Coincidentally when Sparkle had to get more focused on her work you met the beautiful memokeeper again. You greeted her gracefully, your face obviously excited to see her again, and she invited you to a dance..? Sure! Hadn't Sparkle wanted to dance with Black Swan earlier though? Black Swan must've just been busy then, you weren't sure you knew there was something bigger going on behind the scenes but you didn't care much. This was your vacation! Complete freedom to go around and have fun and embrace all the beautiful sights.

Her hand rested snugly on your waist and you didn't resist from leaning into it. You enjoyed the occasional comforts of life, everything is temporary after all. Even if you'd never see Sparkle or Black Swan after this it wouldn't hurt to indulge in the companionship they offered you. "I thought you were too busy to dance," You commented offhandedly, eyes glancing down to her feet every few moments.

Black Swan hummed, appearing a bit confused at first before her vision cleared, "I had another partner but it appears that I got ahead of myself."

"That's always a shame," You replied with a comforting nod. You weren't sure what happened but it can be disappointing when things don't work out, "Still, unexpected results lead to new potential options and that's always fun." You smiled at Black Swan trying to console her as you squeezed her hand gently.

"I suppose you're right," She hummed voice low, eyes rested on you as if always examining you-- oh that's right! You wouldn't forget this time!

You averted your eyes from hers, "I don't mean to be presumptuous but..." Wasn't it arrogant to offer a memory to her? You were sure she'd seen of all kinds of memories, but... you still wanted to offer. "I've traveled a bit and been lucky enough to see some rare sights. I know you've seen a lot but if there's anything particular you want to see, I may have seen it."

That didn't come off as too arrogant right? Honestly, you'd be honored to have a memokeeper keep any of your memories and preserve them but having one look at them was an honor as well.

To your surprise Black Swan didn't reject your idea, at first her eyes widened a bit before relaxing as a sort of fondness entered them, "I've been quite curious myself. I won't intrude, dear." Your bodies remained in motion as she gazed into your eyes and the dance didn't stop.

After Black Swan's experience with Acheron she planned knew not to enter past memories lightly. But, you'd offered up so sweetly and with such hope in your eyes how couldn't she agree? She was curious as well, albeit she wasn't drawn to you like a moth to flame but there was always those lingering thoughts. You were transparent but your words open as they were seemed to lack a clear motive. She wouldn't dig too deeply into your memories just to be safe.

Your memories were clear they were orderly, each having their own place but always moving like an orderly line. Every few moments one would fall out of place and breeze by before finding a new place and the rest would adjust to accommodate it. Black Swan entered one, and immediately felt content. A sunset reached out and covered the landscape in a golden glow, many different kinds of flowers built up human shaped statues, and a soft blanket rested under her palms.

How pleasant, and new... She hadn't been here before, it had a sunset something you could see nearly everywhere but each individual detail added a sense of freshness. She entered another memory, and another. Was there nothing but joy and content in your life?

Each memory was a pleasant feeling that washed over her and kept her warm. She didn't want to leave. In a sense it was more dangerous than Acheron's memories which had tried to devour her bite by bite. But this was a lure, a sweet world with nothing but beauty as if it wanted to trap Black Swan forever. She entered another memory, which had been moving along pleasantly.

Peace washed over Black Swan and she felt her shoulders slump down, as she saw a sun take up half the space of the sky. A single flower to the left crumple onto stone. The death of a world. What had you been doing here?

Why... despite the lack of life and everything was it still so peaceful and warm. As if the act of death was one of beauty. As of with you everything was worthy of joy. Your memories were deceiving, Black Swan noted. She wanted to find a painful one, there had to be at least one, right?

And there were several, far out numbered by the golden soft ones that immersed her in feelings of ecstasy. But after being pampered with such rich memories, and after having almost been devoured by some (Acheron's) Black Swan couldn't bring herself to enter the pain. She would later, but for now she'd be safe, she wouldn't intrude.

At some point during the dance you began to feel cold. You kept an appropriate distance from Black Swan and was sure she didn't notice the way you leaned into her body slightly more. But after a few minutes of the non-stop dancing you felt her hand let go of yours and move around your back to hold you close.

"Thank you," Her voice held warmth in it that you hadn't heard from her before.

"It's beautiful right?" You weren't sure what memory she'd seen but you had many that were pleasing, although you were sure a memokeeper's expectations were higher than yours. Honestly, you could drink a good drink and that would be enough of a pleasing memory for you. Speaking of which you had a wonderful drink the first time you saw Sparkle, you should go get that again.

Black Swan looked into your eyes, a gentle smile on her face, "It is." And for once you felt slightly uncomfortable, as if you didn't understand what she was saying completely. But you brushed it off, you didn't understand after all you didn't know what memories she saw.

Black Swan truly thought you were a sight to behold. A gem, she'd almost missed out. And as she saw you dancing with Sparkle, Black Swan recognized you were a beauty she'd almost lost.

Somehow Sparkle had found out about you dancing with Black Swan and had demanded a dance. Of course she hadn't said it outright instead it was a part of a game. In order to sneak into some "evil castle" the two of you attended a ball in which you pretended to be normal guests but would likely later sneak off to what Sparkle proclaimed as "behind the stage." Coincidentally Penacony also had a dance right now, making the atmosphere perfect.

Of course, there was no evil castle, or grand scheme but it was a fun game. Sparkle dragged you between couples, keeping your bodies forever in a sway. She'd twirl into your arms and rest her head on your chest, tilting her head up with a foxish grin on her face. How precious. You'd let out a laugh, and then bring her into a dip.

Then she'd wring her hands around your neck, keeping it still, but not hurting you in the slightest, and a warm feeling would touch your lips. That... That wasn't right. But you might as well indulge in the moment, your time here was coming to a close. Every dream eventually had to end.

You leaned forward, eyes closed, and mind completely focused on the lips on yours. They were warm and soft, and although at first they'd been rather tentative at your reciprocation they pressed closer and Sparkle leaned closer to you as well.

Black Swan hadn't been expecting to see that. Of all of the things she was expecting today, this was the one she expected the least. Her fingers rested on her thigh as she gazed at the pair which was now dancing again. As much as she wanted to approach she remained stagnant, this event was just about to begin after all.

Even if Black Swan did interrupt even she wasn't sure of what she would say or do. Was she upset that the little lady had kissed her dear? Or was Black Swan upset that you had danced with her little lady. Perhaps, she was just feeling a bit excluded, but she hadn't felt this way since before she was a memokeeper.

Black Swan didn't have time to dwell on her feelings because the next moment your body had been impaled. You lurched forward, pushing Sparkle away as you for some reason tasted water rather than blood in your mouth. You let out a choked cough and crumpled to your knees, barely able to feel the pain. You wanted to run but-- it was all over now wasn't it? You'd never died before.

This hadn't gone to plan, was the first thing Sparkle realized. She might've gotten too distracted by you, and now she paid the price. Your dying face was new and beautiful but, she had a sinking realization she didn't want to see this again. Since this was a dream it'd be fine and her smile came quite easy to her, the laugh came out even easier.

How fun. But if you were dead then the fun would end wouldn't it? It seemed like Sparkle would have to take the stage after all and it seemed like her dear memokeeper was inclined to too.

You woke up, clothes sticking to your body, and jolted out of the water pod. You were alive. That was good, you still hadn't gotten that drink you liked here again. You got up from the pod, pulling your damps clothes off and replacing them with dry ones. What a bad end to a dream, you only had a few days left here too. You eyed the pod nervously, you didn't exactly want to revisit it now either. Maybe you'd leave Penacony a bit early.

Your hand drifted down to your stomach, there was no hole in it. What had stabbed you anyway? It's not like it mattered now. You walked out of your room, face more uneasy than normal. It was a shame you'd be leaving without bidding those beautiful women goodbye.

Before setting off for your next adventure you sat down at the bar and ordered a drink similar to the one you had in the dream world. It tasted slightly sweeter. How nice, even nicer were the lights on the ceiling. Intricately decorated. And the individual next to you was beautiful as well, with long lilac hair.

"It's pleasant to see you again Dear." Her voice was soft and adoring, eyes as sweet as honey.

You blinked in surprise, "Black Swan!" A smile grew on your face, you didn't think she would bother to make herself visible in the real world to you.

"Boo!" A smaller hand rested on your shoulder as a lighter voice whispered in your ear suddenly. You jolted upward, and felt warmth flood across your face.

"Sparkle!" You greeted her with as much enthusiasm as you hid Black Swan, her hands glided across your chest and onto your opposite shoulders holding you in a hug.

Black Swan examined the two of you, a smile remaining on her face affectionately. It felt strange. Like you were intruding on a scene, like you weren't meant to be here. "Little lady, don't go overboard. I'm sure our dear is already feeling overwhelmed after all that's happened." Her glove hand brushed against your cheek.

Okay. You didn't know how to deal with this. When two women out of your league were so physically close. It wasn't that you weren't a catch yourself just, a memokeeper and Sparkle was beyond gorgeous herself. Maybe if you just stayed still they'd go away.

Sparkle poked your cheek and you remained perfectly still. And who could blame you? This was a bit overwhelming. You had just died what felt to be a few moments ago anyway and that... that wasn't pleasant. It was new but for once you wanted to go in your room and just sleep it off, or adventure until you forgot about it or distorted it into a memory of beauty.

"...Hey, you're not broken yet, right? There's so much fun to be had!" Sparkle's voice sounded worried at first before turning into her usual enthusiastic tone. You could feel her breath against your ear, the warmth of her arms around you, and the sudden loss of Black Swan's hand against your cheek.

Black Swan let out a gentle sigh, "I suppose it'd be too much to hope for you to be immediately the same after that." Her gaze was pitying to which you lifted an eyebrow.

"Well having experienced death does that," You muttered, "It'll disappear with time." Your words were nonchalant despite the severity of what had happened, and you shrugged Sparkle's arms off or at least you tried to.

Instead the smaller girl linked her hands around your waist and pressed her face against your back, "Now, that's the spirit!" She cheered, "What should we do next?" She paused, "Oh! Let's get into the Genius Society! I wanna impersonate a genius! And you, can have Black Swan whisper you the answers!"

Ooo that actually sounded pretty fun, the Genius Society even you had never been able to seen behind their walls. Wait-- you had work to do though, work which would thankfully let you see rare sights. Although you were pretty sure your next job was one of the less savory ones, the planet you were heading to was torn apart by war. War was such a disgusting thing, leaving behind only murder in its path. But from all the dead bodies one day would spring flowers.

You could've been one of those bodies. Although you doubted any flowers would be able to grow in the dream pod you'd been sleeping in. Your body wouldn't have even been beautiful in the end. That's what will happen if you get complacent, like you were on vacation.

"That does sound fun," You admitted gazing over your shoulder to Sparkle, "But, my break is over! Things to do, people to meet, you know how it is." Sparkle's arms froze around you and you lightly brushed them off, getting up from the bar stool.

When you went to leave it was Black Swan who stopped you, arm resting on your shoulder, and pulling you close as if to embrace you, "Remember Dear, you have to rest. It's been a lot hasn't it? Would you like me to walk you back to your room?" She offered politely, and you smiled graciously in response.

"Thanks! But, I didn't really pack much. I was planning to just head out, actually. I'm happy I got to see the both of you again though!" You rested one hand on Black Swan's bicep, squeezing it affectionately, and the other on Sparkle's head, gently patting her hair and then running your hand down to her neck.

This had been a fun journey, despite... your death. It wasn't really a death it was in the dream world but maybe whether or not it was real didn't matter. But how it effected you did. So as long as you changed the effect it would be okay. Your dream world death was a new and wonderful experience-- yeah that just didn't sit right with you. The lighting seemed off in the room for a moment as Sparkle jumped up from her chair and walked over to you, presumably for a hug.

You'd been hugged out but it was likely the last time you'd see her, and a bit of indulgence in the warmth she offered wouldn't hurt you. But her knocking you out did.

Black Swan let out an aggrieved sigh, "Did you have to do that?" For once some annoyance seeped into her voice. "I thought you would like the chase," She then mentioned offhandedly.

"It's the most fun part," Sparkle remarked looking at your body on the floor a smile on her face, "But how are you supposed to chase someone's that's dead? ...That ends the game. It'd be great if the fun could last forever! So why can't it?" She let out a laugh, that was less out of amusement and more out of clinging onto the little sanity she had left.

"You're worried," Black Swan kneeled down, and put one arm around her shoulder as your other arm was placed around Sparkle's.

Sparkle turned to Black Swan, still smiling, "Of course! I don't want to miss out on all of the fun!"

You couldn't help but laugh even if it was at your own detriment. It seemed like Sparkle had finally found you, "Took you long enough!" You teased her, the sun remained low in the sky. You forced your shoulders to relax, they were oddly tense.

A bird fluttered above the two of you, resting on a tree branch. "All I hear is a sore loser, I still caught you!" Sparkle's voice was filled with glee as she linked your arms together, "You're mine now, okay!"

"I always have been," You responded to your lover staring at the sun that would forever remain in its Golden Hour, "...You know, I've always wanted to leave home..." You admitted, you wondered when Black Swan would be back. It wasn't quite the same without her.

Thankfully you didn't have to wonder for long as you saw the beautiful woman stepped out of the house. You began to tremble when you saw her. You wondered why... Perhaps out of excitement? If it was anyone else you would've guessed that your trembling was out of fear.

Black Swan walked over to the two of you, practically gliding, "Are you ready to leave now?" She asked you gently, to which your face became alit with excitement, "I suppose Sparkle and I do have to leave soon anyway," Black Swan let out a mellow sigh, "Would you like to join us?"

You didn't think even for a second, "Of course!" You ran to embrace Black Swan, feeling her chest move against yours with every breath.

You'd always wanted to leave the Golden Hour, and to be able to leave with your two new lovers seemed like the best thing that could happen! Perhaps you'd be able to see some fish at the bottom of the sea, or a world die, or some of Sparkle's fun pranks! But you were happiest to stay by their side. That was all that mattered, after all they were the ones who brought light into your life.

Keeping you safe had come at a cost, but all good things require a little sacrifice. You'd still be the same person just without the same parts, well memories. It didn't matter anyway you'd have plenty of memories to replace the ones which had been altered and lost.

Black Swan would fill you with more honeyed memories and Sparkle would bring color to them all.

A free bird sings better than a caged one. And even though the singing was exactly what attracted them in the first place, it'd be better to keep you safe, right where they can see you. But if that bird stops to sing then maybe they'll have to let out. Or make it believe that it was let out by keeping it in a dream. So that even once it wakes up from the dream it'll still believe it's free.

ANYWAY WHILE I WAS IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING THIS I SENT IT TO MY FRIEND ALL PEEPOSHY HEY U WANNA READ IT (first fanfic of mine they would have read that isn't about our friends). AND DISCORD DID THE DUMBASS THING OF SENDING IT IN A .TXT SO I WAS LIKE: aw man don't worry about it

anyway this mf reads it anyway scrolling right and left and down bcus the .txt format is SO bad I straight up just copy pasted it idk why discord was being so bitchy. And like-- they read it so fucking kind and nice :) im blessed with good friends

Per usual I am realizing how infinitely shitty I am at writing head canons (everything just turns into a fic) if this wasn't to your liking send a request and I can try to amend it to more just ideas but generally by the time I get started on the first question (what makes them interested in you) it's already a story and I forgot I was answering a request.

My big idea for this one were strongly inspired by how Black Swan remarks that Sparkle is like a child, as she always seems to be craving affection/approval, and that makes her easy to please. Also Sparkle is so hard to write like her dialogue is chaotic but it's like held within a line idk it's weird I was trying to mimic it but I don't think it came out too well. Also I wanted to add more Black Swan x Sparkle but it just didn't work out that way when I was writing it, don't blame me I can't control what I write (you can blame me).

[diangelofan]

An Unexpected Friendship

I guess most people in this fandom wouldn't probably celebrate Percy Weasley's birthday, but I really like him (despite being such a stick in the mud sometimes). So (belatedly) here's some Percy and Oliver friendship!

---------------------

September 1st, 1987

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit with us on the train ride to Hogwarts?” “Yeah, Perce, it’ll be fun! We’ll introduce you to our mates!”, Bill and Charlie Weasley stared back at their younger brother expectantly.

“I am sure. I wanted to get up to speed with my reading”, Percy raised his arms to show his heavy volume of Hogwarts: A History, “I would like to have finished it by the time we arrive at the castle.”

Maybe he should have gone with his brothers’ proposition. They, being the popular and “cool” older brothers they were, would probably never ask him to sit with them again. His two younger brothers, twins Fred and George, always made fun of him for being “such a huge bore” (thank Merlin, there were still two years before they came to Hogwarts as well; Percy shuddered just thinking about all the trouble those two would get into).

But he hadn’t lie when he said he wanted to finished his book. He had stopped at the chapter dedicated to the Ghosts of Hogwarts and it was quite fascinating…

“Okay, Perce. Enjoy the ride!” “Yeah, who knows, maybe you’ll make some friends of your own!” And with those words, Percy’s older brothers closed the door of his compartment closed, waving as they went. Percy waited till he could no longer hear their loud footsteps and voices before submerging himself in his reading.

Friends, sure, I’ll make some, Percy thought bitterly. He had never been able to form a friendship with the twins, who were the closest to his age (Molly homeschooled all her kids, so he had never spent much time with children his age), and, instead they always found something to mock him about. But, sure, maybe he would make friends.

The pass of time became irrelevant, as Percy sat and read for what could have been many minutes or hours. He had long since finished the Ghost Chapter and was nearing the end of a chapter titled The Chamber of Secrets (probably all just some legend, but interesting nevertheless), when he heard a knock on the door, followed by a small head peeking into his compartment.

“I am sorry, but all the other compartments I’ve been to were full. Could I sit here?” The other boy was also wearing plain black robes, like Percy, meaning he was another first year. Percy would have preferred to stay alone for the ride, but it seemed too mean to just deny the other first-year boy’s request when his compartment had more than enough space for the two of them.

“Okay. However, I am reading, so if you could please remain silent, it would be highly appreciated.” There you go with the “pompous” vocabulary, thought Percy, now the boy is going to look at you weirdly. It had happened before during dinner time. Percy would make a comment on the topic of conversation and he would only received confused glances back. A consequence of reading too many classic novels, textbooks and dictionaries, probably… oh well…

To the red haired boy’s surprise, the other boy just nodded and smiled, taking a book from his satchel: “That’s fine. It gives me the chance to reread my favourite book Quidditch Through the Ages for the second time today.”

And thus, the two boys spent most of the train ride in this manner, sitting quietly beside each other while reading their respective books. It was quite enjoyable, in Percy’s opinion.

It must have been a couple hours later when Percy’s reading was interrupting again (he was just one chapter short of finishing) by a tiny cough and a nervous voice stating: “I finished my book… It was quite interesting! Even though, I’ve read it almost like a million times before, I always get so surprised when reading about the origins Quidditch and how it all started! It’s truly fascinating…! I love-! …Sorry, I realize I am rambling like a fool… I just wanted to introduce myself: I am Oliver Wood and I am first year, which I think you are as well… right?”

Oliver’s face had quickly passed through different emotions during his small speech: from nervousness, to excitement, to joy, to embarrassment, and then back to being nervous. While Percy’s first idea had been to quickly answer with his name and continue reading quietly, something in the other’s boys words had really resonated with him. That excitement which what he read had incited in him, as well as the embarrassment when realizing he was rambling about a very niche and bookish topic, was something that Percy had experienced a couple of times before. He knew how it felt to have his “boring” interests dismissed (even if that had not being the person’s intention at all) and he refused to do it to somebody else if he could help it. Afterall, he could read the remaining chapter before going to bed that night.

Thus, he closed his book and smiled, answering the other boy’s question: “Nice to meet you, Oliver. My name is Percy Weasley and, yes, I am also a first year.”

“Oh, great! Finally someone I can commiserate with! I am sooooo nervous about Hogwarts… though it’s also all really exciting!”, exclaimed Oliver.

And that’s how the two boys spent the rest of their ride to their new school. They talked about their families (Percy going into a rant about the troubles the twins could get into with their little pranks, while Oliver told him how his parents had spent weeks telling him stories about their time at Hogwarts in anticipation for the event), what house they would be in (both mentioned that it was very probable it would be Gryffindor as that was where most of their family members had ended up in), and the things that most excited them about Hogwarts (for Percy, it was learning about magic in all those new different ways, while for Oliver, as the huge Quidditch enthusiast he seemed to be, it was watching and, starting in his second year hopefully, playing at the Interhouse Quidditch Cup).

Percy didn’t know Oliver’s opinion, but when both boys got together into one of the little boats that would transport them to the castle, the red-haired boy thought to himself: Well, this seems like the start of an unexpected friendship. Maybe his brothers had been right, after all, and he had nothing to worry about in the friends department. Yeah, just maybe…

[saucerfulofsins]

Same anon as before, and wow, you really get it.

And I know we can’t really say for certain what he was meaning in those interviews…he seemed pretty scattered, and maybe he was coming off a certain way and we’re just reading it wrong. But I really don’t think so.

Judging from the stuff people found from his older social media days, he seems like a pretty misogynistic guy, and that typically goes hand in hand with being homophobic and a bigot. That’s just a fact.

I think it’s shitty for him to take a job playing a character that he in his real life would most likely want nothing to do with, but I guess if the money is right someone like that will do whatever.

My husband clocked it immediately and said, “oh this man is way too much of an asshole to play a gay man, he’s hating this.” And I was like, so you see it too??? I guess it wasn’t just my Buddie obsessed brain running into overdrive.

I think it’s a shame because Oliver clearly put so much care into playing a bi character and that meant so much to me as a bi person. Oliver did everything perfectly and is so sweet and gentle about it, and he got stuck with such a creep to do his scenes with. I just hope it’s over soon.

Yeah, so... like I said in the tags on my previous response, I know a lot of guys who aren't homophobic. Like, "will kiss other guys for fun" and "are open to the possibility of being attracted to/falling in love with a man" not-homophobic. (Also, these men are distinct from bicurious because they know they aren't into men).

And LFJ's interview read as the opposite. You know how sometimes people with no knowledge still sound like they're at least accepting, in their own way? This sounds like someone with minimal knowledge trying to pass as accepting. And he's failing.

Even if things are coming off wrong, I think it's pretty egregious that someone who is a professional actor doesn't interview well at all, as well as nobody who wants him portrayed positively stopping the release of this interview. I don't think ABC needs him to be a shining light of representation (I don't think they WANT him to be at this point, the interview matches the vibes in the deleted scene), but his agency not taking measures here is fucking weird.

But yeah. It's the while package isn't it? The egocentrism, the focus on masculine masculinity and being cool, the misogyny he doesn't even CLOCK (sorry but why did Hen have to prove herself BECAUSE shes a woman?), the whole "lgbt spectrum" thing (huerk red flag), the trump support, racism etc etc on top of the uhh nepo baby vibes all of which just fucking send me. So much of this ISNT difficult!

And like yeah, actually Oliver is the opposite end of the... for lack of a better word, spectrum. He uses the word bisexual! He's doing this with a very clear intention, he's very open about Buck, and I'll be honest, I find it VERY refreshing. I know some younger actors (late teens/early 20s) have been cool about queerness, but having someone my actual age have these takes is... very healing, I won't lie. Because there definitely is a big difference in those 10 years and how we grew up?

But yeah, I can't imagine Tommy staying on the show. The fact he was meant to stay for 4 is kinda telling to begin with, and I personally wouldn't be surprised if they leaned into LFJ's creep vibes to aid Tommy's characterization. That's interesting because LFJ doesn't seem to realize any of that which... very telling! Very limited!! Tommy and Buck aren't very close, but for me, his absence during Chim's bachelor party is VERY telling. There's no reason Tommy had to leave, from a writer's perspective. That emergency was fake. It wouldn't have taken much of LFJ's time to be at those shoots, especially considering he was there for some of it anyway. And the party was important to Buck!!!! (Eddie looked so bitchy! The Buddie couple costume to hammer their pairing home! Etc).

So yeah. I fully believe it will be over soon, because there's just nothing there and besides LFJ and a handful of fans, I haven't seen any full support for the pairing... least of all from the show. He's as flat as flat characters come, a complete stereotype, and that for a show that rests predominantly on its characters! It's pretty damning, actually.

I guess what I'm hoping for is Tommy showing up a couple more times, Buck realising Tommy's hella toxic AND recognising his own patterns, breaking up with him, and figuring out not just what bisexuality really means to him but also the kind of relationship BUCK wants (versus someone else prompting Buck/falling for ONE aspect of him and never seeing the rest). He deserves that much, above everything else, and I don't think Tommy is leaving ANY room for that (possibly the least of all his relationships) .

[cinnamontails-ff]

Writing Interview Tag Game

Thank you so much for the tag @roguishcat ❤ I love getting to chat about these things.

When did you start writing?

I know this sounds cheesy, but the answer is probably as soon as I could hold a pen. My grandma still has stacks of little stories I wrote (and illustrated ...) when I was a kid. Very cute, but I'm glad I gave up on drawing in the meantime.

I've been writing on and off ever since, but it wasn't until I was in my mid twenties that I decided I'd actively pursue a career in writing. I wrote a few original novels, none of which were ever successful in the world of traditional publishing, then got into fanfiction as a way of rekindling my joy. Once I'm done with my current fic, I'm ready to try with traditional publishing again. Maybe it'll work this time, maybe not, but I guess the bottom line is that I'll always write in some capacity.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I really like stories that are a little unsettling. Not horror, per se (I'm a coward), but those underlying creepy vibes, especially when they come wrapped up in beautiful language and actually end up culminating in something cool toward the end of the story. "Uprooted" by Naomi Novik comes to mind, "The Devil and the Dark Water" by Stuart Turton, and "Portrait of the Pale Elf" by @larvasmoon.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

Terry Pratchett is the person who first sold me on the English language. Prior to his books, I'd never seen anyone use English in such a fun, cheeky yet poignant way, and it's definitely something I find myself emulating (all while hopefully putting my own spin on it). I have been compared to him a few times and it's always made my day.

Oh, and I guess Stephen Sommers because people compare my fic to "The Mummy" a lot. Which honestly, is just as flattering.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

At my desk, with a mechanical keyboard. Not because I'm a hipster but because I have absolutely destroyed my laptop's keyboard and then the shop where I'd buy the replacement keys stopped selling my model and I refuse to replace the whole laptop.

I need a sense of quiet when I write. Usually, I write early in the morning before I go to work, and it's honestly my favorite time of the day. It's dark and quiet, I'm all alone, and the day still feels so fresh and full of possibility. I cannot write in public; I find it too distracting. Occasionally, when I'm very in the zone, I'll edit at work but it's never quite as productive.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Go and hunt that bitch down. I know many people love romanticizing their craft and if it helps them to light scented candles or play aesthetic playlists - go for it! For me, the most powerful tool is routine. Knowing that every morning I will sit down and I will write, whether I feel like it or not. Sometimes I drag my feet the whole time, sometimes things click into place and suddenly, I'm having the best time ever. But I will always put words on the page and for me, there's no better feeling than having written (past tense).

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

You probably know this, but I really, really love stories where a regular guy/gal saves the day. It makes me so happy to see the evil vampire lord taken out by the mousy accountant, the fountain pen striking harder than the sword. I think it's because I like to read about real people. People that you could have met in real life, that seem simple on the outside, but have all this strength locked up inside. It's why I dislike stories with picture perfect beauty goddesses that always have the perfect quip, always take out their opponents with 1 blow because they're just that special.

Normal people are special, too. You just need to look a little harder to see.

What is your reason for writing?

I believe it was Brandon Sanderson who said "Stories are like real life but with the boring parts removed". That has really resonated with me. I think the beautiful thing about stories is that they can portray very real issues and conflicts in a way that is infinitely more satisfying because it's all been arranged just so. It can give you closure, it can make you see something in an entirely new light without feeling confrontational. It's like a really, really good conversation with the author and I hope that's what my writing feels like as well.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Two things. I love when readers point out specific lines they enjoyed and I love it when they tell me they reread my work. The term "comfort read" makes me particularly happy because that's exactly how I reread my favorite stories as well.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I think the most important part to me is that my stories feel real. I dislike pretentious, over-the-top writing where you can tell the author is trying super hard to sound clever or sexy or just drowns you in heaps of cheap, undeserved drama that never leads anywhere. With my stories, I want things to feel earned. Natural. Maybe you wouldn't have made those choices, but it makes sense that these characters would have and now we're looking at the very real consequences of their actions.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Character voice, specifically in 3rd person limited. My favorite type of narration because I love getting into a character's head and making you see things through their eyes.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I think every writer struggles with their confidence here and there. I've gone through so many cycles in the past 1.5 years, it's kind of crazy. Going from constant failure in the world of publishing to writing your very first fanfiction just for fun and then having it blow up out of nowhere, all these people showering you in praise, only for the vast majority of them to disappear immediately afterward is a lot to process. We write for ourselves, yes, but as a writer, you can't help but take reader responses to heart. Fortunately, I've never let it influence what I write or how I write; it really only affects my mental state. I know what I like to read and those are the stories I am going to tell, whether they're successful or not.

Aww, this was fun! Tagging @larvasmoon @davenswitcher @pickel182 @karinamay @pouroverpaloma ❤ ❤ ❤

[parkminijiminie]

First of all, welcome back!!! I missed you so much!! Your blog is a gem!!! -and are you gonna be back permanently or are you taking another break? Second of all, I haven’t watched the travel show but I saw a lot of clips and honestly, they just seem like friends. Yeah there is some moments where you’re like wow wtf is going on here but if u look at it from a different lense, it seems like friends enjoying time together because of them were busy with their own lives. I also didn’t expect jungkook’s personality to be like that. Obviously idk him in real life so I can’t really know how he acts in real life but idk he just seems weird? But I don’t think there is anything between them. Most jikookers were excited for this how because it was gonna prove that they are in a relationship but honestly they are just grasping at straws at this point, and so am I guess. All the big fandoms had band members ships like on direction and many kpop fandoms ship two members on the group too like winter and Karina from aespa although she was dating that actor💀 and finally I would just like to say that jk was hanging out with tae more than jimin although I think that jk’s friendship with tar isn’t really anything special except for bros having fun but yeah, seems weird. Sorry my thoughts are all over the place lol.

Hi! I am sort of back. I lurk around and react when I have the need to discuss smth with other people. Otherwise, I just long on and read what other people are saying. I think I will never be active full time because I simply don't have the time, but I love this space a lot, so I'll never really leave either.

To me, JM and JK look so far as people who were once a romantic item but no longer are, but remained in each other's lives just more distantly. The whole show looks to me like them, trying to deepen their bond and friendship again. I think during the time the US episodes were filmed, they were both single and probably spending the most 1:1 time for months, so some of their usual old tendencies resurfaced, like old habits. I am very curious to see the other episodes. I know lots of people are waiting for the show to give answers about the nature of Jikook's relationship, but I don't think we will get them but we could at least maybe see that made them enlist together after barely spending time alone in the beginning of the year.

JK definitely spent a lot more time with Tae in 2023 compared to previous years, but I don't think their relationship is especially deep. They're buddies and share similar interests. They were also free at similar times, but I'm not sure there is any deep emotional connection there. The fact that JK called Tae definitely surprised me, but then we all saw how rudely JK hung up on him. I'm finding it hard to say where JK's head was in the first half of 2023, and I sort of can't really connect to JK of Jan-July 2023 like I did in the past. It seems to me he was very determined to be this cool, successful man at that time. It's also interesting that JM didn't spend time with neither him nor Tae up until July last year. That's also unusual.

Shipping aside, these two episodes really made me appreciate JM even more. I've always known how gracious and sweet he is, but he was such a good sport even when very sick, so appreciative, mature, yet fun and light and emotionally present. My standards when it comes to him are always high, and he somehow always manages to surpass them. I think he would be a great influence on anyone, and he especially well balances JK. It's sort of sad how I am already seeing people using JK's words to attack JM when Jimin was such a supportive friend for JK during this whole trip. I appreciate JK saying he is "obviously grateful" that Jimin came. Maybe he already had told that to JM many times, but it was important for the audience to hear it as well, considering how JM gets hate for "forcing JK to go on the trip" 🙄

[hockeyisforthegays]

you know that thing people make fun of in fandom where people create intensive backstories for bit characters as long as theyre male. well sometimes that is a subconscious (or not) aversion to female characters sure but sometimes its just a bit that goes too far. sometimes youre watching shibuya incident with friends and that old seance lady's grandson, you know, the one that gets toji'd, is there, and someone asks what his name is, and you just blurt out he strikes me as an Andrew. and your friend says but he's japanese. and you're me, so you double down and say sure but he might be an Andrew. prove me wrong.

so someone else looks him up and you find out he has no canonical name so you're like, see, he could be an Andrew. and your friend says but he's japanese. and someone says "maybe he just loves american culture. like a reverse weaboo." and someone says "so he just straight up changed his name? for that?" and you say "he's trans." and they say "oh he's trans. i shouldn't have doubted you."

and then later youre thinking about how it woulda been cool if gege had any interest in developing the idea of curse users beyond 'people who do crimes Just Because.' (which seems to be the main reason most of their antagonists do anything.) so you're thinking over everything we know about the world of curse users (very little) and then you think about andrew and how by all implications he was raised in curses and crime by his grandmother and how that could have been like a really cool thing to explore. so you think a little bit about what it would have been like to grow up in the world of Magic Crime. (as a trans man.) (who is a reverse weaboo.) and you're almost tempted to write that story.

and then you realize youre doing the thing. the thing people do to bit characters. so you decide you have to complete the cycle and ship andrew with the first available male character he has shared any single moment of screen time with. so he's shipped with ino, you guess. inodrew. and you're like you know what, you wouldn't be too surprised if someone has done this already, if there's at least 1 piece of cracky ship art or fanfic of inodrew, so you almost go to check if there's an inodrew tag

and then you remember that no one else knows his name is fucking Andrew.

[inu-jiru]

"Oops" Episode Rambles

I rewatched the episode for the sake of my rewrite post (plus I just wanted to see the final animation, credit where it's due, the show is fun to look at sometimes), and decided to share my thoughts since I haven't done that for an episode in a while:

Ngl, I'm honestly really indifferent towards Fizzmodeus, like I get that it's most people's positive for this episode but I honestly just don't care about it. I think it's because I'm so jaded to the 99% of dialogue that's sex-related to enjoy the sentimental stuff but also because it's just Bee and Vortex again, and it begs the question of why the shit Stolas' situation is so special (aside from him being Vivzie's baby) when the Sins just do whatever and either hide it poorly or don't hide it at all. Who came up with this hierarchy in the first place? Because the more we go on the more it seems like a thing that only Goetians focus on (which Ozzie should be apart of so what the fuck).

Speaking of Ozzie, I don't get why he's so nice, same with Bee. I'm not asking for everyone to be a shithead 24/7 but the concept of Hell's leaders, the ones who've created and are enabling the world of kill-or-be-killed that we've seen, being 100% friendly is just odd to me. Then again, Viv's idea of Hell is a nonstop party where they're all good unlike the EVIL BAD TOTALLY NOT GOOD angels and Adam so it doesn't surprise me. Also his whole thing about "Lust shouldn't be forced". Um? I'd get it if he were talking about LOVE, but Lust is not something I'd ever consider to be consensual in nature, especially not in Hell. That's all I'll say on the matter because it's a very serious topic, but then again, maybe I should consider myself lucky a topic that dark isn't being butchered by Vivzie. All of that said, I do like Ozzie's voice actor, he's really nice-sounding.

I don't understand what the hell happened with Fizz and Blitzo. Who the fuck was going around saying that Blitzo didn't wanna see Fizz and didn't tell Fizz that Blitzo showed up? I have to assume it was maybe Barbie or Cash (assuming Cash didn't also die in the fire). If it was Barbie I'm not entirely sure why. As far as we're aware (unless they retcon it in later) Barbie shouldn't have seen Blitzo knocking into the cake or leaving Fizz, so if she did it because their mom died, I can't see how she would know that. Maybe someone saw Blitzo and passed that on to Barbie, but the fact of the matter is I shouldn't have to Tetris-style guess and insert explanations for the episode. If any episode was going to be a full on backstory, it should've been this one, not The Circus, especially with Unhappy Campers being before this one.

On a positive note, I think those little fly-dog things are so cute in a kinda ugly way. I do think it's kind of a nice small look into Fizz's mind that he'd have one that's wheelchair-bound because he'd relate to it. Ozzie patching up Fizz was nice too, as much as I don't care for the couple, I'm glad that Fizzmodeus at leasts SHOWS the shit that Stolitz doesn't. And speaking of Stolitz, yeah Blitzo keep telling me all these things Stolas TOTALLY does for you yeah I'm sooooooo sure

And, like other people have said, Stolas was totally pointless and useless like always, and what a nice cool guy who totally isn't bad like the other Goetia when he let that lawyer guy get brutally murdered, like yeah I guess it wasn't really his place to help or anything but I don't think having him smirk and say "Get fucked, little one" is doing him any favors. I do have to wonder if they're actually gonna go through with this Crystal shit. I'm not gonna bother guessing anymore because like I said before, the show will throw a biggest, goofiest curveball at you to try and seem less predictable.

And speaking of curveballs, Crimson and Striker. That's it. That's all I gotta say on that subject. I miss Harvest Moon Festival, man. Like I'm no Striker fangirl who buys all the Striker merch and shit but damn he's so pathetic now. Why did Blitzo have to recreate the shit that happened and shoot the barrel when he could've shot Striker in the face while he was talking? Please, I need someone else on the writing team PLEASE

Anyway I think that's it for now.

[ducks-and-stuff]

SKYBLING HATER POST /mean

okay so that last repost I did had the exact opposite intended affect on me and now I want to write about how much I hate Pearl and Grian and skyblings in general and sure I don’t watch a lot of their content nowadays and I never watched Pearl’s side of Evo but guess what? no-one is reading this anyways so here we go: 

So first off, do- do Pearl and Grian, like, interact that much on camera? Obviously they’re friends cause Grian invited her to the Life series and  Evo and stuff but when they’re recording they tend to do their own thing in different directions. This might just be because Pearl is upside down all the way in Australia time differences but even when playing on the life series neither of them seem to really spend vast amounts of time with the other. Just a quick cool quick little interaction or teaming up because convenience or they respect the others skill. Or maybe I just don’t watch either’s perspective enough, who knows, just haven’t seen them spend quality time with each other a lot on there. 

As for Hermitcraft, Boatem was a really good group but, uh, guys? Friends? Fellas? there were 5 members of Boatem, not 2. Why are we not going around headcannoning Mumbo and Impulse as brothers if living together makes Pearl and Grian siblings? I don’t remember them interacting all that much in season 9 either, but both did choose to live relatively close to at least one other Boatem member, Impulse and Pearl sibling au when? 

So maybe it’s beacause of Evo then. Maybe it’s that little ol’ Minecraft series that Grian left half a decade ago, cool. Pearl had a sad little montage, good for her. I’ve also heard someone say they were canonically siblings in that series but I’m not bothering to do actual work for this rant so… fun. Point is, all that was a long while ago. Sure their content has gone in wildly different directions since then with being Hermits and Emperors and little copper golems but basing their current relations off of Evo is still relevant, right? And to that I have to say, ABSOLUTELY. I’m a sucker for Evo’s ending and people who love each other finally managing to claw their way back into the other’s arms or literally any other story revolving around the end of Evo ever. I will hold onto my half a decade old Grian and Pearl headcannons till the end of time you hear me???? Authors out there including Evo angst in your work I love you so much, you make me cry. Characters separated by the gods themselves are best characters, and if the only way I’m going to get that content is if they’re blood related then I will swallow my pride and enjoy it to no end! Write more Evo affecting the present stuff and I will uh- give you this random dust bunny in my pocket. Fair trade. 

But- ahem- yes, back to complaining. Jimmy and Pearl. Guys. GUYS, I write Pearl and Jimmy interactions all the time, I’m the Pearl and Jimmy guy! And even I don’t think they interact that much??? As for the present, They have good moments together yeah because they’re both hilarious but they have their own little groups they tend to stay within. Pearls being a girlboss with her best buds and Jimmy’s being bullied by his. Have they even ever teamed in a life series? Did they ever really talk on Empires that much? Jimmy invited her to help with his Christmas village building which was a really nice surprise and they hung out on Evo, but, anything the fandom is both glued to and recent? 

Honestly, my biggest issue is just that is seems like the age old trope of tying a female to a more popular male character and I hate it. Obviously in the world of male dominated mcyt this is kinda hard to avoid but… this headcannon with most popular kid in school Grian specifically when I don’t even see them interacting that much? I understand Grian and Jimmy because they actually have a lot of close, consistent interactions but every time I see Pearl in the mix I just have to pause and question it. There was a really good post a while ago about how people tend to assign her as oldest because reason that is probably ‘well, girls are more mature’, and yeah, why are we doing that? Why are we all just putting her into a trio she’s rarely seen with nowadays anyways? She’s a public menace, not a menace to these two in particular.

With Grian especially it seems to me like it could be a case of sure, woman in her own is cool but what if it was woman and DUDE EVERYONE ALSO LIKES SO MUCH?!???? HOW AMAZINGLY AMAZING. They’ll fit together like two puzzle pieces from different boxes with the same color scheme! So fun right? To me it seems as though this dynamic was not based around these three close friends who were like siblings, but instead, Grian plus his loving family. One member of which is going to wander off to find Gem and Impulse anyways. 

So yeah, I say free them all, but especially Pearl, from this dynamic. Share her chaos! Give her a mace! Set her lose onto the world! 

Or, don’t, lol. Ultimately the point of a fandom is for everyone to have fun, and if shoving these little guys together is what makes you happiest then go for it! I just like complaining and I see a hint of underlying sexism in the headcannon being so widely accepted on what seems to me as such little basis, but who’s a random internet user to stop you from doing what you love. 

Just because I have a personal problem with something that isn’t really hurting anybody doesn’t mean you should stop, like I said, I love writing stories about Jimmy and Pearl clinging onto each other after Evo regardless of my belief that they don’t really do that at all in their content today. So yeah, write your stories, make your art, and remember to have fun with (any very non-problematic 👍) things regardless of what anybody else says! Best wishes to you MCYTumblr! Everyone’s art and writing and we weaves and whatever over these little guys we’ve all decided to cling to is absolutely beautiful to witness! 

[myjunkisyuzuruhanyu]

I mean, seeing what the ISU Awards has become... do we really want Shoma (and Stephane) to be involved in that mess? It's so... self-celebratory, lol. The phrase "I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine" comes to mind. Saw a FS fan who was at Zurich tweeted that the crowd don't even know or care much about the skaters when they were given awards... honestly even Stephane, a Switzerland citizen (!!!) chose to go to Tokyo this week to do dance classes and watch the Paris Opera Ballet. Anyway if people really want to watch a really good ice show, Daisuke's ice show KASSOUYA in Fukuoka was also running this weekend and they allow fancams... from what I can see on X/Twitter it's much better than AOI, sorry not sorry.

KASSOUYA seems indeed a wonderful ice show. The snippets look very cool. I wonder what brought them to allow fancams and if they keep it that way or only because they wanted to promote the show in sns 🤔 In Japan ice shows are growing. I am glad for every opportunity for the skaters.

In a way Shoma is involved in the award anyway. He was in the nominations, even if he didn't win. Not that this award has any sort of negative or positive impact on anyone really. I think Shoma would just deserve more recognition by the ISU. That's all, not that the award itself is worth anything. I guess nobody will be remembered for earning a skating award. Yet Shoma and Kaori not winning against Ilia when Ilia is here for two seasons and did get one title only feels odd. If it's solely on social media engagement well than Adam's backflip gained huge attention at Euros, Kaori's SP last season was literally retweeted by Janet Jackson herself, Livia Kaiser's FS was retweeted by Rachel Zegler and beside that it shows that ISU is not aware of what Shoma did for the sport. OPOI brought another crowd to figure skating. (SOI in the US just got canceled for the season for a lack of interest as it appears btw) But ofc this whole award show is playing into the hand of those ppl who always had a say in skating North America and Europe. Ilia's management is practically involved in the show, so winning an award two times in a row - one which was just invented for him last season - a devlish thought may come to mind 🙃

I think the crowd for an ice show is different than for a competition. At Nebelhorn Trophy usually the arena is more packed for the gala than for the actual competition. Those ppl there don't come bc of the names of the skaters, they come for a fun evening like going to the circus. I also went couple of times to Holiday on Ice, I was also at Disney on Ice (ice shows that come to my hometown are an easy choice to go to). At Holiday on Ice last year Papadakis/Cizeron were invited and I totally chose a date where they would perform in the show bc of them, however in the crowd most ppl didn't know who they were and didn't care. They liked their performance but you could see just a few excited fans. You can see by the reactions to the jumps (which are usually just doubles) that the cast performs there that ppl don't come bc of the sport but bc of the show. They would clap as enthusiatically for a double than for a triple. So I am not surprised the ppl didn't care much for the winners at Art on Ice, most ppl there probably didn't even know them but came for an ice show.

Stephane performed often on Art on Ice so I don't think it had anything to do with that, probably didn't rather fit his schedule. Makes you wonder though if he would have won if he would have performed there. Because very comically all winners were also present at Art on Ice...🙃

Maybe Shoma didn't win because he would not attend Art on Ice at this point of the season 🤔😂 just kidding...

I am not against those ppl that won at all, even happy for Deanna Stellato Dudek, she deserves the world as a role model. Just being the only Pairs skater to even get anything is showing how much ISU cares for all disciplines. Also the nominations of most categories just show that ice dance and Pairs have no value.

[ohblackdiamond]

msg and the end of the road

so many feelings, most of them mixed.

i love the thottest (not hottest) band in the world. i love the drama, the goofiness, the tragedy, the sheer unbridled capitalism, the homoeroticism, the utter stupidity. and i love most of all a version of the band that hasn't existed since i was ten years old.

i'm thirty-four.

i don't usually blog too much about my kiss experiences for a lot of reasons, one being that, oddly enough, it tends to feel a little too personal for a blog that's mostly shitposts and fanfic.

i enjoyed the nyc takeover/popup store (i'm not generally a merch person, but they had better designs overall than usual, including a great scarf that i'm sure is probably now up for hundreds on ebay)-- it was cool to see those kiss aspects on the street, on the metro cards, and on the empire state building. in person, i didn't feel it was quite as much of a takeover as was hyped, but that was to be expected in a city so gigantic and i have no complaints. it was cool just to have what was there, although i do wish i could've gotten a kiss cookie!

friday's show was pretty close up, which is always fun. i am basically always on stage left due to that being where paul will do his little ride to the b-stage. gene kept trying not to cry-- paul actually didn't seem that emotional. had a really lovely chat with the guy in the seat next to me (who was from the bronx) before the show started, about kiss and NYC in the seventies/eighties and today.

friday was not sold out.

second/last show was up quite a bit higher but was facing the stage-- overwhelming, not just from the emotions of it being the last show, and paul clearly doing the best he could, and gene clearly being about to cry the entire, entire time-- but also because i've just seldom gotten to see the whole stage from kiss before. the whole tableau out there is really fantastic. in all the times i've seen them, i had never even realized that paul's stage is lit up and has that star pattern before! i liked the somewhat cage effect going on during paul's b-stage bit.

i wasn't much for the interviews and so on beforehand-- criss angel in particular i wasn't a fan of. the part with the kids was okay. not really sure what was going on with the kiss kosplay aspect but all right. i had vague hopes that they would do a little 5-10 minute retrospective bit, taking the audience through some of their history, have clips, etc.-- would've been a cool touch. i had absolutely no real expectations of ace or peter (or anyone else that was formerly in kiss) actually being there, but thought a recorded greeting might be possible. i would have liked them at minimum to have been mentioned. (to really have gotten a full 50 years' perspective, all former members should have at least gotten a mention somewhere.)

"beth" got me a little emotional, but i was surprised at how by the end of the concert i wasn't as devastated as i'd expected. i guess i had come to terms with a world without kiss.

and then we, uh. well, we, uh, got the avatar announcement.

um.

yeah.

maybe it's my own fearful mortality peeking through, but i kept thinking of the theological idea of the eternal perspective. to me personally it goes a little deeper than "time is short, focus on the correct/most important aspects of your life;" an eternal perspective also is considerate of the aspects of others' lives. as i've gotten older, i've started to understand a lot of things i never did before, about other people, the way they viewed/handled things as opposed to the way i did, etc. the older i get, the more i see where i've consistently messed up, and where i've failed, or, at least, made a situation worse instead of better. and, maybe, sometimes, it's let me see that i need to let up and let go.

kiss owes no one anything. not a lineup, not a recording, not an experience (except one that's been paid for). their legacy is borne out of the blood, sweat and tears of ten members total, a half-dozen or more managers-- though all principal credit is due to bill aucoin-- brilliant producers, and hundreds of roadies, bodyguards, techs, costume designers, press agents, and so on who believed in them. but i would hate for the four beasties of rock and roll to never see each other again until one of them is covered up in flowers in the back of a black limousine, and sadly, this is looking more and more like this may be the case.

i am grateful for this band and the wonderful people it's caused me to meet and befriend (especially my dear friends that came with me, @hillsofuhhtennessee and @elrohare! we had the most incredible time!!), and how it's pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me broaden my horizons. i am grateful for the experiences and the memories. kiss has always been there for me in the very lowest times of my life, and my hope still is, that maybe someday, they could be there for each other and mend some fences before the real end of the road for all of them.

[rumble-aint-a-rumble-without-me]

i love to imagine the boys with a friend who’s parents own a ranch, or just being on a ranch. it feels like it’d be adorable chaos.

Dally is afraid of horses. he can’t stand them BUT cause he always wants to seem all tough and cool and whatever he always helps feed the cattle (which happens to be at the top of a field and you can only take the horses there. over time he warms up to the horse he normally takes and after a while you can see him just riding it around the ranch for fun. he’s still afraid of all other horses though

Darry would do anything that needs strength of course, like carrying feed bags n stuff. he’d be great help. he’d also probably make snacks for everyone at least 4 times a week. darry just loves to bake ok? leave him be.

Two-Bit is probably my favourite. he doesn’t mind horses and will go out to the stables every once in a while, he likes to brush them and braid their manes. his favourite are the dogs though, im imagining you have maybe 3 dogs? something like a collie, working dogs yk? either way you can find two running around with them, then lying in the grass while they attack him with hugs n stuff. UGH I CANT TWO IS SO ADORABLE.

you won’t see soda during a day at the ranch. the first day he was there he claimed a horse and every time he’s there now him and this horse spend the day together. he takes it out on a walk or whatever it’s called, brushes it and feeds it a few sugar lumps. at the end of the day don’t be surprised to find them in some field asleep, both of them, soda probably uses the horse as a pillow.

Ponyboy isn’t a big fan of being out on the ranch all day but he won’t mind it so much if there’s a big tree somewhere. he’ll sit under it and read a book or he’ll paint the view. he enjoys that more than the being out doing work or being out on the horses. though he might pop into the stables to draw some of the horses, maybe to a field to draw the cows too.

Steve spends the day on the tractor or something. need the grass cut? steve’s on it! need a field ploughed? steve does that too. Need to bring some feed up to the cattle really far away? you guessed it, steve! he just loves driving, but i do think he’d spend some time with two and the dogs, as well as some time with the cattle. i feel like if it was the time of year where there’s some calves on the ranch he’d be out there, and he’s really gentle with them too which shocks most people since he’s so energetic.

and johnny,, i’m sorry i can never think of anything for johnny i just don’t really like him 😭 but he and pony would be similar, he’d sit under a tree and watch everyone, or maybe he’d be trying to figure out a book. i think that if you asked for a hand with anything he’d be on the job though. maybe he’d make y’all some lemonade if it’s a hot summer day, you never know.

i have a lot of thoughts and i just love them.

If there’s one thing I’m passionate about, it’s cowboys and ranching. Take a seat, get a drink. This is gonna take a while

Dally’s problem with the horses is that his cool, tough guy act doesn’t work with them. They don’t care who he thinks he is, they’re just horses and they act how they wanna act. This man makes friends with one horse, totally horse girl style. It’s gonna be that one trouble horse that nobody else could bond with. Dal gets to where he can feed that horse sugar cubes out of his hand and the horse chews on his sleeves. Anyone else gets close to that horse? They’re gonna get kicked to kingdom come. But not Dal. He likes the cows. Will not offer to help milk if that needs to be done, but is willing to feed and likes to pat their heads, right between their ears

I just wanna say, I regularly carry 50lb bags of chicken feed by myself and those suckers are awkward to carry. If you lug feed, you’re strong. Also. DARRY IN A COWBOY HAT. DARRY IN A COWBOY HAT. He’s the most helpful around the ranch, honestly. Does most of the cooking. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He’s up with the sun and likes to stand on the porch with a cup of coffee and watch the cattle move around the fields. Listen, that man could bake for me any day. I’d buy him anything he wanted if it meant a chocolate cake waiting for me at the end of the day-

Two-Bit is my favorite and you’re literally so right. He’s into the horses, but he hates sitting in the saddle all day long. He’ll do tack though! Loves to saddle them up and kiss their noses as he slips the bridles over their faces. I freaking love farm dogs. He’d go nuts over a heterochromatic-eyed collie or one of those big mastiffs. Especially one of those cattle dogs. Aussie cattle dog? They’d be besties. They’d roll around in the grass all day and trail after him when he comes out to work during the day. He’s a big fan of the cows too, especially the little ones. The thought of him carrying around newborn calves is swimming around in my brain-

Sodapop does nothing but horses all day long. I don’t know if you know it, but that picture of the guy asleep with a cow and the cow has its head on the boy’s chest? That’s Soda and his horse. They’re inseparable and they do some crazy things. Sodapop dotes on that horse like it’s his baby. He leaves early to take the horse out, comes in late cause he was finishing with brushing out his horse. When he talks, it’s about the horses. He’s a horse girl and that’s it, y’know? He’s living his best life on a ranch! Maybe not as into the cows, but when he’s not with the horses, he’s hanging around Steve

Ponyboy doesn’t like the cows, doesn’t like the horses. Two’s got the dogs, so there’s not a lot left for Ponyboy. Yeah!! He sits under a tree, perches on a fence and watches the ranch. He reads most of the time, hiding in the shade and from whatever work someone’s gonna make him do. He makes a few pictures, Soda with his horse, Two-Bit under the squirming dogs, Steve on the tractor. They find themselves pinned up to the fridge for everyone to admire. He’s got a real touch for the horses though? He’s good at calming them? But he just doesn’t like them too much-

The ranch is the perfect place for Steve because the ranch allows for endless tinkering and fooling around with machinery. Boyo loves the tractor. He comes in to mealtimes, smeared in grease and grime. You’re constantly having to remind him to wash up before he takes a seat at the table. He likes the dogs! Probably befriends one of them and brags to Two-Bit that the dog likes him better. And, ugh, yes. Him and the calves. He’s really good at bottle feeding the ones who need to be. He’s got callouses, but he’s got the most gentle touch and honestly I want to kiss him so badly it hurts.

Johnny likes the horses, but most of the time, he’d rather hang out under a tree with Ponyboy and listen to the youngest Curtis read a book. He’ll do horse tack I think, but he’d rather watch them. Like Dallas, he’s a little afraid of the big animals, but won’t admit it. He likes the little dogs and the little calves and foals and stuff. Doesn’t like doing cattle runs. Will help though! Likes to help around the house and with the chores. I can totally see him sitting on the porch, watching a sunset and just letting it soak into his bones. There’s something about country sunsets, dude. Defo the lemonade maker though, defo on the lemonade.

[helluvapurf]

First-Impression thoughts on Hazbin Hotel's "official" first ep, now that I checked it out on YT-

*Spoiler warning below for those who didn't see it yet-*

-Great to see Charlie & Vaggie again, still a wholesome lil supportive pair whilst having their own quirks/things to do on the side. Esp with Vaggie spending the whole time back at the hotel reshooting a whole commercial for Charlie's sake, awww :3

-Pleasantly surprised by the twist of Charlie's mom being the figure she was most inspired by to make her dream come true, along with her love for singing. Curious to see where Lilith's whereabouts could be if she's been away for so long?

-The new voices were... a mixed bag, I suppose? Mainly in the line/tone-deliveries for certain characters (& I guess I'm still moreso used to the OG pilot's portrayals lol), but I can see the good attempts made from those like Charlie & Alastor.

-I... don't know how I feel about the way Lucifer's backstory was handled? Like, yeah its interesting hearing of him & Lilith genuinely connecting over their "rebellious" natures (& thus fleeing from Heaven's wrath/staying in Hell to be together). But then, the whole thing with Lucifer apparently being some "doofy, misunderstood dreamer who only wanted the best for Humanity, got bullied by those mean ol' angels, and didn't meaaaan to spread Sin all across Earth~ 🥺🥺" ...ehhhhh, felt kinda lame imho 🤷‍♀️. Not that I mind giving nuanced/sympathetic angles to a character's development now & then... but with someone like Lucifer (who mind you, is meant to represent the "Ring of Pride" on top of his Hell-ruling duties), I guess I kinda expected more... "bite" to his portrayal, I guess? .3. But idk, maybe that's just me... (*Tho admittedly, one could argue that perhaps he and/or Lilith were simply lying in that storybook to make them look less "bad"... idk, given HB's track record with Stolas' writing and since both shows are made by the same people... part of me can't help having my doubts ^^; *)

-Adam... ooooooh boi .x.;; Ever since I saw his leaked design I've always been rather... "mixed" about him, and now seeing him on-screen & talking I... don't really get the concept behind him? I mean, yeah I'm all for a fun, chaotic-jackass type when done right (hell I still consider Blitz among my faves to this day lol). But with Adam apparently being the big leader behind Heaven's army, AND was even the "original" Adam from biblical times... how tf did he get the chance to be allowed in Heaven if he not only helped curse humanity to sin (aka: sharing Forbidden Fruit with Eve), but on top of him currently being a horny, misogynistic loudmouth? 🤨Discounting that is also the fact that his whole design vibe just... doesn't really give me "holy army leader" vibes, but more-or-less just Blitz in some weird angel cosplay lol 🤷‍♀️. No shade to those who genuinely do like Adam though (and I'll admit his song was surprisingly catchy lol), I just... feel like his whole personality/design vibe could've probably fit better to a fallen angel-type character (or even a demon-angel hybrid if you wanna play more into the Heaven vs. Hell conflict), someone who only takes up the "Adam" title as an ego trip to enact his revenge against Hell... or, something like that idk; my brain's tired lol. (*His sidekick Lute seems pretty cool tho, she kinda reminds me of Tempest Shadow from MLP in a way .3.*)

-Nice to see more of the old Hotel gang again, esp those like Nifty she was a cute :3 (her whole reaction to the camera honestly being a whole mood lol)

-Did not expect to see Brandon Rogers pop up voicing Katie Killjoy of all people, buuuut I guess I can see the amusing comparison potential to that one CEO persona of his lol

....Aaaaaand yep, that's about the gist of my first-impression thoughts atm .3. Dunno if I'll be sitting down to watch the whole season of Amazon's Hazbin atm (*'cause like, I do have Amazon Prime, buuuuut I rarely ever use that to watch shows (save for some classic cartoons here & there lol) .w.; *), but I'd say it was still generally a decent watch for what it is imo👍(+any chance to see my girl Vaggie again, the better~ x3💜)

[wavernot4love]

hello it is time 4 yet another wavernot4love gig recap: clancy cleveland 9.28.24 edition (from the perspective of someone who went in nearly blind due to wanting 2 be surprised) ((i typed most of this after the show until three am last night before finally crashing so it may in fact be rather incoherent) (((note i have not had time 2 edit Anything so these pictures will be uhhh Not The Best)))

- best trees experience of my life. I WAS RIGHT BY THE CIRCLE BY TYLER????? AND THEN THEY BOTH UNEXPECTEDLY WALKED RIGHT BY ME (*right* by me,,,,, do see "bonus cursed images" section at the end of this post ,,,,) AFTER TREES ON THEIR WAY BACK 2 THE STAGE???? in true wavernot4love fashion after losing my marbles for a moment ..... i locked in and yelled "great show guys!" at them both

(continued after this lil thingy)

- i had so much fun running around back and forth between stages following the dudes around. for the main b stage segment i went right by tyler and it was so nice idk dawg (mulberry street was easily my favorite bit, and will probably always be one of my favorites). i went by the little barricade thing by the path when they came back too

- oh how i love when tyler breaks character ,,,,,,, homie was talking about the michigan person in canada the other day from that video and being salty over it and introduces the story by saying something like "during routines in the night, when i'm like being all cool in the camera like [gremlin noises]"

- JOSH SINGING?????? i kid you not i've loved that bit of paladin but did not actually know that was him/that was the tidbit tyler was hinting at way back, so this served as a.... Revelation for wavernot4love. anyways i LOVED both his segments in paladin & stressed out/the tyler/josh dynamic onstage there

- i somehow wound up on the screen during the judge despite being 15ish rows back (in a crowd shot, i mean)?????

- awesome production this tour dude. so big and truly immersive - even moreso made you feel like you were living all the songs.

- early on i was a bit worried for tyler that he was maybe straining/losing his voice? not sure, might've been nothing really, but either way, he really pulled through and did great.

- there was a little sports Bit of tyler asking people for the cleveland score in a currently ongoing game which was quite silly (also lots of ohio talk naturally, as there should be, see: "finally! i'm with all my people!" proclamation)

- the part of backslide live where every last person in the room has their hands in the air..... oh yes

- fake you out into guns for hands..... oh yes 2.0 (vessel edition)

- tyler just clowning on everyone a good bit by going "did we do alright? do you smell good?" [crowd, making thumbs down motions: "NO!"], making fun of our not clearing out the red circle right.... you know, understandable

- bracelets! a sticker! confetti! oh my!!!! (bad quality pic, as ya know, i did not currently have natural lighting but U get the idea)

- lavish live. oh my. the shades. the dosey doeing little move the two of them had going. all of it!!! once again i love that i had next 2 no spoilers about the antics this tour it was so fun just. seein everything for the first time as it happened

- speaking of..... spotted lavash cafe merch in the crowd. also love that they're playing into the bit still by showing the cafe's name on the screens during lavish

- brought my film point and shoot and snapped a decent amount, stoked 2 get those developed

- sure enough, end of paladin came as as much of a jumpscare as i imagined live

- also the crowd around me was really solid for the most part honestly, and seemed 2 vibe with everything, be into the lore etc

- overall my favorite songs live 2nite were trees, oldies station, paladin, mulberry street, gfh, next semester, my blood, lavish, stressed out, and natn

- i also overall became a much bigger fan of paladin after 2nite

- only song i was totally surprised wasn't there this time was lane boy! guess she had to take a bit of a break which i understand

annnnd finally..... bonus cursed Images of

1. a tale in two video stills of my cousin's of wavernot4love in the flesh (second pic) looking a combination of shocked/Afraid/ecstatic (i cannot explain this absolutely goofy expression on my face any way else, it's worse yet in the unedited pic where i don't have part of my face scribbled out fhfhhf) when tyler & josh randomly Appeared and took that route back after trees i was talking about at the beginning of this post

(the figure closest to the camera sure is tyler, in the second pic as well, as, ya know, you probably figured, considering the black neck/white shirt thing. absolutely cursed reaction indeed and i am so glad it was caught on camera by my cousin)

2. self explanatory as to why i just got a chuckle out of this after scrolling across it in my photos

3. this picture of josh pre backflip that's asking for a toilet to be edited into it or something of the sort ,,,, i do not know it gave me another chuckle at three am last night going through my stuff

yippee!!! overall i am honestly so glad i avoided much content about tour for a change, made for a neat experience. fantastic fantastic show from the pilots, possibly my favorite from them (though every show is so special) and easily one of my favorite shows in general i've been to

[therealraeweber]

I've never really been one to share "Christmas Hauls" or anything like that, since it's always felt a bit strange to me to brag about Christmas gifts, but I did get one that I absolutely feel the need to share here! After many months of very un-subtle hints to my parents, they got me this book on identifying mushrooms in BC! I've always loved taking pictures of mushrooms, so having a way to identify them seems so exciting and fun!

So, after getting this lovely Christmas present, my dad and I went out mushroom hunting the other day. Even just walking through the woods near our house, we saw so many cool mushrooms that we probably would have overlooked had we not specifically been looking for them. So, without further ado, some fun mushroom pics :)

A bit about mushroom identifying below ⬇️

While my dad and I had a lot of fun looking for mushrooms, we ended up having a really hard time identifying them, even with the help of the book. To be fair, my dad and I are both beginners here, with very little mushroom knowledge. Like anything else, I'm assuming it will get easier the more I practice identifying with the book and the more I learn about mushrooms, but it wasn't as easy off the bat as I had hoped. A lot of the mushrooms we found didn't quite match up with any examples in the book, or matched up with more than one, so it was really hard to be certain. If anyone here knows more about mushrooms of the Pacific North West than I do, please feel free to hop in and tell me what I've found!

The only one I am semi-confident with is that the orange jelly I found is some type of Witch's Butter. I did the mandatory "poke with a stick" test on this and it was definitely the right gooey texture. I've seen lots of people talk about Witch's Butter on tiktok, so I had some familiarity with this one already.

I also think the white jelly one may have been the Spirit Gummy Bear. It looks a little bit different than the photo, as it seems to have less of a stem, but we did find other ones of this mushroom nearby that looked a bit closer to the reference image. But, still, not sure. I was mainly going off of texture for this, as it had the same translucency as the reference image.

Other than those two, the rest have been challenging as they look similar to multiple mushrooms in the book. The veined one (bottom left) may be a chanterelle of some kind, probably a white chanterelle, but again, they didn't look exactly like the book example, so that would just be a guess. Another thing that made identification difficult is that a lot of the mushrooms we found in the book stated they grew only in late summer and autumn, which it currently is not. Perhaps this is a climate change thing? Or maybe we were just looking at the wrong mushrooms? Who knows?

The small one on the top right seems like it is a bonnet of some kind, but whether it is a lilac bonnet, bluefoot bonnet, or brown bonnet is hard to say. The colouring seems similar to the lilac bonnet shown in the book, but the shape seems closer to the bluefoot bonnet.

The white one on the top left is the most challenging for me, as it is the most generic mushroom I think I've ever seen. I mean... if you asked me to think of a mushroom, that is probably what I would think of. It resembles quite a few different species in the book, so if anyone has any input or knowledge to share, it would be much appreciated.

So, yeah! For a first time out mushroom hunting (or rather, mushroom spotting, as we didn't pick any) it was a lot of fun, and a surprising challenge. We saw around 15 different types of mushrooms, and could confidently name none of them. But I did have a lovely time out in the woods taking pictures. I took WAY more pictures than I had to show here, but my camera's auto focus was fighting me a little bit. I don't shoot macro very often, so I suppose I'm a bit out of practice. Hopefully for the next time I go mushroom spotting, I'll be better both at identifying the mushrooms, as well as taking pictures of them. Until next time!