#it would be wrong of me not to start answering this meme with the song which gave me the idea for my url right?

[motherfuckingmaneater]

🎵

music meme.

Maneater - Nelly Furtado.

Make you want all of her love, She's a man-eater, make you buy cars, make you cut cards, Wish you never ever met her at all.

[desultory-novice]

Noir's Field Trip - "Starting Out"

"...Thanks, you two."

-

Ahem! Following in the footsteps of several other Kirby OC contest peeps, you may send in asks for [Noir]!!

(...But I'm SUPER busy so it may take until May to respond! ^^;;)

[Notes/Rules About Asks:]

-I'm iffy on back-and-forth style dialogue-based RP, due to the complex interplay of pseudo-linearity in an amorphous situation plus my autistic-self often being unable to figure out what my RP partner is actually trying to say tone-wise or what they are thinking and then-I-answer-them-wrong-and-embarrass-myself...!!

NVMD SEND WHATEVER YOU WOULD LIKE XD

That and long post-chains make me a little nervous. ^^; Asks in the form of questions Noir can answer in-character are preferred.

(You may also ask me generic "What does your OC think/do when...?" style questions, such as those from THIS detailed OC ask meme!)

-You can also send an ask for Noir from your OC, if you'd like to find out how the troubled teenage boy would react to meeting them! (These may or may NOT(!!) come with art, depending on mood, time, and a variety of circumstances. Tourney OCs will generally get preference. If I AM inspired to draw said meeting, I may request additional information/clarification before going through with it.)

Again, I'm pretty autistic, so if you are going to go this route, it'll help if I have something more than "Hiya, Noir!" to work off of - else he'll just react to you the same way he does to Marx.

(Not that you can't go places from there! XD)

-You can also prod Noir about his traumas if you like! XD Note that asking for details about certain things (the "murders" on Shiver Star or his hatred of physical contact) may result in responses with TRIGGER WARNINGS, if I decide to answer them.

-Tournament!Noir is currently in his own similar but separate timeline from Mainline Apologies Noir. However, events during this contest MAY influence his fate and the fates of those he holds dearest!

-Noir's latent cross-dimension sight means that you can ask him about his various other timelines or Kirby games he was not alive for and probably get some pretty unique/funny/strange answers.

-I almost assuredly won't be able to get to every ask/comment. Some I may avoid answering due to complexity, uncomfortableness, them not fitting tournament!Noir's narrative, or me just not having any good ideas. Please don't take this personally.

-Lastly, please leave space between sending multiple asks. ^^

omg I'm so nervous about this. I want to draw lots, for me and for others (!) too if I can but I want to follow the flow of the tournament and not JUST go off on my own crazy thing, except that I'm not even completely familiar with what the rounds will be like?!

[Non-Ask Notes:]

-The flowers in the BG are the forget-me-nots that Adeleine drew for him on his birthday and that he received in this post. That post was also the inspiration for Tournament!Noir. (Although he retains the corruption + the collar here.)

PS: In addition the song that post is, you know, named for, Noir + the forget-me-nots also makes me think of the lyrics: "Since the day I met you, there's never ceased to be music in this hell of mine" from the opening to Sousei no Aquarion.

-This, and the tag name, was inspired by @Graycoin's comment "Noir gets to go on a field trip. I hope he has a good time : D " (then I saw Starflung had the same idea to send her OC off with a backpack! Haha! XD)

-The fish bone is a gift from Gooey. He's doing his best. Adeleine is also doing HER best. ("...A comb? Really?" "It's unbreakable!")

-As to the bento box, I'm not sure if I mentioned this before (?) but the Fontaine children are French-Japanese...on their mother's side.

-Why yes, that IS a cellphone in his backpack! I wonder who might call him...?

[alienaiver]

Rugged

Aizawa Shouta x GN!reader

warnings: quirk-induced amnesia, canon minor character death (major in my heart tho), spoilers for... season 5 and forth? to be safe wordcount: 4.9k content: confessions, first kiss, fluff, sfw, no use of y/n, pro hero reader but quirk is unspecified, canon compliant, genderneutral reader, poc!friendly reader, body positive reader, hurt/comfort in like the mildest sense, soft love, amnesia situation, friends to lovers, childhood friends to lovers, started as a meme turned into something serious, something about cats, unbeta'd, flashbacks to high school days

notes: this is so embarassing to admit but i only came up with this story bcos of that tiktok/insta reel (link is a tiktok as thats where i could find the source material) about having a type that's 'rugged'. it was supposed to just turn into a little joke on that and... uh, ykno suddenly i was almost 5k deep into a childhood friends to lovers, ..ya my brain had a VISION alrighty!!!!! please enjoy a one-eyed kitty, one-eyed aizawa and interrupted confessions!

Aizawa’s leaning forward on the desk, meticulously writing down an exact copy of your notes from English Literature that he missed yesterday due to being in the infirmary… again. He’s always known that becoming a Pro Hero with a non-physical quirk would be tough, but he didn’t imagine landing himself in a hospital bed as often as he does. He’s bulking up nicely, but he feels beaten black and blue every other day and it’s… exhausting.

Rewarding, but exhausting nonetheless. He’s momentarily disturbed as a chair is being dragged across the floor, screeching away before haphazardly thrown next to the desk, wrong side facing it, and Yamada throwing himself onto it, arms leaning on the backrest. He says your name in a sing-song voice – your given name, has he no shame? - and steals a peek of you from over the rim of his glasses. You rest your head in your palm and smile at him, “what’s up?” you ask, and he hums as if he’s thinking deeply about something. Aizawa’s got a bad feeling about whatever subject he’s about to bring up; ever since he appointed himself Aizawa’s wing man, the pestering’s both been non-stop and non-discreet.

Aizawa keeps his face buried in the notes, purposefully removing himself from the conversation.

“What’s your type?” Yamada asks and Aizawa has to hold back a facepalm. You simply giggle and play with the zipper from your pencil case before you answer, “hmm, I’m not sure. But with all due respect, I know it’s not you,” you tease him and he straightens his back in mock-surprise, the conversation’s one you’ve had before. He takes a hand to his chest, “what? Not me? Well you’re not my type either!” the shriek in which he yells is a little too loud, his quirk still a little too unmanageable when he gets excited – he winces as the rest of the class turn their heads. You simply laugh and bite your lower lip. Aizawa steals a look at you through his bangs, admiring the glimmer in your eyes.

“Yeah, I’m sorry ‘Zashi, I truly am, but… you’re just not… rugged enough.”

“What? I’m so rugged. I can be rugged!”

“Look at you, you’re not rugged,” you laugh as you gesture vaguely to… all of him. He takes offense as he puffs up his chest, “how am I not rugged? Because I’m not wearing a flannel in 80 degree weather?”

You hide your face in your hand as you try to contain your laughter, “yeah, sure, whatever… but look at you now. You fly off the handle like that, you’re too angry.”

“That’s a very rugged thing to do!”

“No, it’s really not.”

Aizawa has been saddled with the two of you for almost two semesters now, and he’s still not entirely used to the way you joke around. In the beginning he was always worried about you fighting and not getting along and he’d stare at you both with wide eyes like a startled cat and hope you’d settle down soon. You always did, laughing like the greatest joke was just told.

You lean forward on the table to bark out a laughter deep from your stomach, momentarily blocking the view of your notes that Aizawa’s copying. He lets out a soundless grunt at you being so close and pulls away in surprise when he accidentally smell your shampoo. He wants to lean forward again, to commit the scent to memory, but you’re already straightened back up, wiping an imaginary tear from your eye, “you don’t even want me, Hizashi, why is this always so important to you?”

This makes Aizawa freeze, terrified that Yamada will accidentally tell his secret to you. But Yamada simply crosses his arms, puffs up his cheeks and nods, “you’re right, I don’t. But I want you to want me. I’m the entire package.”

You laugh and shake your head, letting your arm fall onto the desk in defeat. “Sure then, ‘Zashi. I want you. Badly. More than anything. Please go out with me.” your face is as flat as Aizawa’s can be, and Yamada smiles proudly, “no thank you.”

Aizawa’s startled out of grading papers when his personal phone starts ringing next to him on the desk, the screen much too bright for the darkened room he’s situated in. It’s an unknown caller, which makes him hesitant at first but since it’s well past office hours, he knows it won’t be a salesman of any sort.

He bites his lower lip before he picks up.

“Aizawa speaking.”

“Ah, good evening. I apologize for contacting you at this hour, however, you are written down as the emergency contact for…” he apologetically butchers the pronunciation of your name, but gets your hero name correctly, “this is Aizawa Shouta, right?” the person on the other end confirms, and Aizawa nods before he verbally comes up with an answer.

“Well, it’s just that…” he explains your situation precariously, advising Aizawa to just come down to the station if he’s able, since someone will need to escort you home. He makes sure to remind Aizawa that you have two more emergency contacts on file in case he’s not available, but after getting the location, he’s already up from the chair before he’s hung up with the poor officer dealing with you.

From the call he knows you’re neither mortally wounded or in any kind of distress. You were on patrol when you encountered two villains. One of them turned out to have an amnesia quirk, and now you were stuck at the precinct, not entirely sure where your apartment is located. The officer informed Aizawa that you seemed calm and collected but that the last date you remember was well over 10 years ago even if you haven’t age-regressed in any way.

When he arrives, the officer leads him to one of the offices, profusely apologizing and thanking him at the same time. He’ll never really get used to the way newly appointed officers act around Pro Heroes.

Even if all facts and rationale tells Aizawa that you’re fine, he still grips the door handle way too tight, throwing open the door and evidently scaring the shit out of you, sprawled out on the couch with an ice bag on your knee. You spew out some profanities as you sit up. Aizawa immediately calms down as he sees you alive and well. He thanks the officer and agrees with the officer to sit down and talk with you before taking you home. He bows before he closes the door and looks back at you.

“I already gave a statement – was anything missing?” you ask, resting your hands neatly on your thighs. Aizawa shakes his head, “I came to pick you up – they informed you about which of the emergency contacts to call, right?”

Realization seems to travel across your features as Aizawa masks the sting he feels. Instinctively you reach out, but ultimately pull your hands back, “Aizawa?”

For a split second he lets his emotion show on his face – the way you say his last name instead of his given name, but he’s quick to hide it again. He nods and sits down on one of the chairs on the other side of the coffee table, “I was informed that your memory’s been wiped.”

You nod and look at the floor, “yeah. They took in the villains and interrogated them. It seems it’ll wear off in five to seven hours, but until then I’m stuck with my first work study as my most recent memory. I don’t feel like high school me, though, it’s just like there’s an empty gap in my timeline and not an age-related kind of thing. I can’t remember what has happened since then, but cognitively speaking, I’m still myself.”

Aizawa breathes in sharply, “well, that’s a relief. I have enough students to take care of,” he dryly jokes and the way your eyes widen make him self-conscious. He shouldn’t have made the joke he thinks as he shrinks in on himself.

“You’re a teacher?”

The way you ask betrays your emotions all too clearly and Aizawa holds back a snort. If the last of his personality you remember is high school, he gets why you struggle with the image of him taking care of the budding youth.

“A homeroom teacher, actually.”

Whatever preconceptions you had initially seems to dissipate and you smile proudly, “that’s amazing.”

You haven’t commented on his appearance; besides the moment where you didn’t recognize him, you don’t seem all too taken aback by his lack of eye and prosthetic leg. He’s relieved.

“You ready to go?” he asks, patting his lap with his palms before bracing himself to get up. You get up too and stretch your arms over your head, waiting for that satisfying pop, but it never comes. Annoyed, you let your arms falls and Aizawa smiles at you.

He leads you out of the room and as you put on the jacket he came with, he thanks the officers for their work with some polite back and forth and a bow.

The trip back is quiet as you seem to just take in your surroundings. You stop by your Agency to grab your personal items and civilian clothes that you left behind before your patrol. Luckily the offices are mostly cleared out, so you don’t have to ‘meet’ everyone and Aizawa gets out of explaining everything to everyone.

“Do you want me to escort you to your place? Or do you want to come to mine?”

The question is straight-forward and innocent; you sleep over so often that Aizawa’s spare futon has simply been dubbed your futon, but you seem taken aback, eyes wide and mouth agape. For a moment Aizawa’s blind to the confusion before he remembers.

“Sorry, you sleep over at my place a lot since it’s close to your work. I thought you might also like to see Benben.”

Your eyes that had seemed so tired ever since he arrived, lights up in recollection and excitement, “Benben’s alive and well?” you ask, absentmindedly leaning into Aizawa’s space in your joy. He struggles not to lean back reflectively.

“Yeah, she’s living with me now. She’s becoming old, though. But you’re still her favorite human, so she’d be happy to see you too.”

You giggle into your palm, clearly trying to picture Benben. She was a stray that you and Aizawa started to feed your leftover lunches to back during your first year at U.A. She was also one of the reasons you even started bonding with the stoic classmate. When you talk about the name Benben, a very bad nickname based off of bento, you always laugh and tease Aizawa about his cat-naming skills. While he defends himself in front of Yamada – the man with a habit of getting out his childish side – he never once argues against you on that subject.

Next to Aizawa, you clear your throat right as he’s about to unlock his front door. He’s been polite enough to not comment on the level of staring you’ve done ever since he picked you up, but it seems to be getting too much for yourself. He smiles at you gently, like he’s communicating with a lost child, and the smile makes you act before you can think too long about the action. Aizawa’s breath hitches and whole body freezes when your cold fingertips reach the skin of his cheeks. Your eyes look at him like they’re searching for something, and shortly after your palms make contact, your thumbs start traveling around his face, from his eyebrows to the slope of his nose and then a finger is being traced over the scar under his right eye. He can see all the questions fly through your head, the way you hold back from tracing the eye patch but stare at it like it’s not supposed to be there. He’s about to clear his throat when a thumb starts tracing his chapped lips before continuing down to his jawline, tickling his 5 o’clock shadow. As he tries to smile patiently at you, you mumble something under your breath that makes Aizawa’s heart stop for just a moment too long before racing at the same speeds as Yamada’s car when he’s late.

“It really is you… you’re just so…” you pause for a moment to swallow thickly and lick your lips, “…rugged.”

Not until you’ve had your (in Aizawa’s terms) grabby little fingers on every part of his face and given his heart an aneurysm with your words, does realization hit you. You seem to shrink and pull away to bow half-way a few times at him. Aizawa grumbles out a weak complaint about personal space and jingle the keys again to find the right one. No matter how advanced his work place is in terms of security and technology, he finds it unbelievable how many different types of keys he is expected carry for the school grounds alone. Logically, he’s aware that he’s fumbling due to your innocent advances but his brain’s not exactly acting calm and rational, so he furrows his brows and as he puts in the correct key, takes in a deep, calming breath.

When he motions for you to enter the apartment, he can’t help but observe you as you curiously peek around while you enter. You don’t toe off your shoes or step up from the genkan until the door behind him is locked and he gestures to the left pair of slippers in front of you. You let out a breath as you mumble, “sorry for intruding…” as if this isn’t your home away from home.

As Aizawa toes off his own shoes, he takes notice of your searching eyes. He jerks his head towards the living room, “she’s probably sleeping on the couch. She can’t hear very well anymore, so she doesn’t greet by the door.”

There’s a clear sort of heartbreak in your eyes that Aizawa recognizes, before you nod and walk in the direction of the living room. While your memory might be gone for the moment, it seems there’s muscle memory still intact as you purposefully step over the loose floorboard he always warns guests about. He smiles at that. Benben seems to spot you from her pillow on the couch because no sooner than you enter the room, he starts hearing the hoarse bleating of the senior kitty in there. She must’ve stayed up when Aizawa suddenly left, since it’s out of routine. She’s never been able to meow properly, which enchanted you since she first bleated at you for a bite of your convenience store-bought onigiri back when the two of you met her for the first time.

He hears you coo at her and can only imagine you both before he turns the other corner for his office to shut down the computer for the night. He quickly rejoins you and finds you with Benben on your lap, purring and headbutting your hands to her heart’s contents. When his eye travel higher to meet yours, he’s taken aback momentarily at the strained smile and wet eyes.

“She looks so loved.” you try to explain, and Aizawa can’t hold back the blush from the compliment. She does look loved now, a little on the fuller side (not by a lot, as her physical health is very important to Aizawa), her coat is shiny despite the coarseness that age brings, and she no longer has that stubborn eye infection it took Aizawa several years to treat out of her; she’s missing an eye now as a result, but she’s healthy.

You look around his living room, smiling and heaving in breaths at all the external proofs for her love; she has a pet staircase to both the windowsill, couch and the dining chair next to his; there are three different cat towers and several cat shelves for her to perch on although they’ve rarely been used for several years now. Aizawa can’t bear to take them down – what if she wants to go on one last adventure to the shelf highway he built for her close to the ceiling? It obviously wouldn’t be safe for her to do so, but robbing her of the options feels cruel to his heart.

When you pet her behind her ear and Aizawa situates himself on the floor pillow, you giggle, “you match.”

You’re referring to the missing eyes and while Aizawa takes no offense from the comment, he can’t help but snort at the straightforward observation. It’s very like you.

“How did you lose it?”

You don’t remove your eyes from Benben as you ask and from the shaky lilt to your voice, he knows you’re afraid of the answer. He’s afraid of telling you, too.

So much bad has happened during those years – you were there during his low points after, and asking that question is like removing the experiences you’ve shared. The grief you’ve suffered.

But he knows you want to know. Before he can answer, you continue, “can you tell me everything? About you… Oboro and Hizashi, too. I was informed it was only you, Hizashi and my mom on my emergency contact list. I know it’s not supposed to be miles long but… yeah…” you trail off and Aizawa’s grateful that you’re not looking at him. He’s not sure he’s able to control his face right now; and the emotion he’s showing wouldn’t be remotely close to soothing for you.

“Uh,” he jerks and clears his throat several times to stall, “when did you say your memory would be back?” he asks instead even if he’s aware of the answer.

You look up and hum thoughtfully, “they said five to seven hours around … two hours ago? So…” you count on your fingers and despite everything, Aizawa huffs out a soundless laugh, “three to five hours? Give or take.”

He inhales sharply. He can’t drive you off for that long, even if he used going to bed as an excuse. You’d just toss and turn in fear of what you’d come to remember.

So he tells you. He retells every painful memory with clear objectivity, pausing to let you process each one, seeing the light slowly dissipate in your eyes for every terrible incident. When he reaches present day, he inhales slowly and holds his breath for a moment to control his own emotions.

You’ve stopped petting Benben who’s sound asleep on your lap now, your hands hanging like lifeless limbs by your side. Aizawa then clears his throat, “you were scouted. In third year. ‘Zashi opened a radio station shortly after graduation. Oboro’s mom still invites us for hotpot for his birthday every year despite the mismatch in dish and weather,” you both laugh at that one – of course she insists on his favorite dish on such an important day. An image of the four of you huddled around, sweating over a pot of delicious food has you throwing your head back in sincere laughter, “you have a prodigy; you inspired me to take a pupil on as well, and he’s graduating this spring… I, uh… I use eye drops now.”

The last tidbit of information makes you turn your head so fast you almost get whiplash. Then, your expression turns stern, “didn’t I tell you! Didn’t I tell you to be careful!” you reprimand and he almost rolls his eye at you. Almost.

You shake your head at him and focus back on Benben, a little more color on you again as the mood has successfully shifted. He’s unsure if you’re pretending to be fine for his sake or if he actually succeeded in making you feel better, but he can’t stifle the yawn that comes out of him as soon as he feels relief.

You look up apologetically, “oh my God I’m so sorry, I’ve kept you up haven’t I? Please, you can just go to bed, I’ll be okay!”

Aizawa wants to argue but he also can’t fight the creaky ache he feels in his bones. He went straight from a night shift to school, napped in the teacher’s lounge and then home to grade papers. He’s dead-tired.

He gets up to carry his futon into the living room and set yours up in his bedroom. Usually, you sleep in the same, bare room as him and Benben, but he feels it might be too much for you without your memories, even if you sleep on separate futons with space in between. You make a joke about the futons but then, in a soft voice admit, “I think it’s nice you sleep on something accessible for Benben…” there’s a warm tone to your voice that makes him blush heavily before he pushes you out of his living room.

“I’ll sleep out here, you take the bedroom.”

You meekly argue about taking his bedroom, but he shuts you down in the same way he’s always done, and urges you to carry Benben in with you. You agree to have the door ajar in case Benben wants to walk around, and you bow your head when you bid him goodnight. Aizawa lets the light in the hallway stay on.

////

You wake up with a hitched breath and sweat on your brow, unsure when you managed to fall asleep. Disoriented, you take in Aizawa’s bedroom; you were supposed to sleep home tonight after your shift though, not to mention that Aizawa’s futon isn’t laid out next to yours. It takes you a moment to gather your bearings until it all comes back to you. You’d lost your memory.

You’d lost yourself. You hug your arms around you as the feeling of being lost still sits heavy in your body and makes you shiver. Seeing Aizawa was terrifying; you’d no idea of the obvious horrors he’d had to endure. You didn’t remember your best friend’s death.

For a moment you control your breathing, making yourself calm down as best as you’re able. It makes sense why Aizawa decided to sleep in the living room, if the last memory of him was a pimple-y teenager and not the gruff man he is today. You close your eyes and think back to right before you entered the apartment.

You roll onto your stomach and hide your face in your hands, letting out a drawn-out flustered groan. Without thinking, you kick your legs on the bedding to alleviate the embarrassment that’s coursing through you at your own actions. You’d just went all up in his face! The sensation of his stubble underneath your fingertips, his warm breath and his chapped but so, so kissable lips.

No!

You groan again, drowning in your one-sided misery of a crush. Your honed Pro Hero senses are completely dulled by your pining, so when Aizawa suddenly throws open the door and asks if you are alright, you screech as you lift your head from the pillow, “Shouta!”

“Shit, sorry, I heard you moving around so I thought you might have a nightmare,” he hurries to explain, secretly relieved to hear you say his given name again. He frowns when he can’t see your face with your back turned to him. Still frozen, you barely breathe before he continues, “...you are alright, right?”

Making a grimace and with no interest in facing him right now, you choke out “mhmyepdefinitelyeverythingsperfect!” in one single breath before you’re forced to inhale deeply. You hear Aizawa’s metallic foot as he walks towards your futon and hear the rustling of his clothes as he bends down in a squat next to you, “you don’t sound perfectly fine to me, though. Do you have a fever? Is it an aftershock from getting your memories back?”

Being the perfectly rational man that he is, he oversteps any boundaries to quickly check your temperature with his palm. Embarrassment can come after he’s made sure you’re okay.

You push his hand away weakly, still looking pointedly at the wall in front of you, letting out a strained laugh, “heehee, I’m just… you’re right, it must be an aftershock, right? Nothing else!”

He lets you swat his hand away without much resistance but stays where he is, letting the silence hang over you both for a minute. Suddenly, he croaks out all hoarse and desperate, “Just tell me if there’s anything, please.”

Your shoulders fall at the voice. Aizawa’s the opposite of having a heart on a sleeve, but you’ve been with him through enough tragedies to know he must be scared shitless right now. Whenever you or Yamada is even remotely bruised, he fusses over you in his own, annoyed way, until he finds you sufficiently healed. You sigh before you let your head fall back onto your pillow, a short moment to gather your thoughts and feelings before having to face him.

It must’ve been a lot for him, when you asked him to recount the years you’d momentarily lost. It would’ve been better to let it be, but he knew you so well and knew you wouldn’t let it go. Curiosity kills the cat, right?

With heavy and slow movement, you turn around so that you’re facing him, hoping your expression won’t betray your real emotions. You sigh and reach out for his hand. It’s shaking but as soon as your warm fingers make contact, he flinches before he relaxes.

Then, he grunts like he’s annoyed and chastises you for worrying him. You giggle, “I’m sorry, you’re tired, right?” you ask, knowing his schedule this week is packed. He usually leaves little wiggle room for emergencies, however many he encounters.

Before he can reply, you pull at his hand and he topples over, half on the futon and half on the floor, on his knees. You laugh and pull him even closer to you, hoping your beating heart isn’t as loud as it feels.

You and Aizawa have cuddled before; loneliness and grief has made you carve out comfort in each other, but nothing else have ever been spoken aloud. No kissing, no romantic notions to trace back to. Having a one-sided crush since high school feels deafening right now, when all the years travel back to you after what only amounts to a moment without them.

You want to tell him how you feel; losing your memories made you realize how much you’d like for him to comfort you with kisses if anything should ever happen; how you’d like for him to hold you without holding back.

He grumbles where his head is rested in your neck after he’s settled, but he makes no effort to move. You nuzzle into the mane of hair and breathe in his scent; it’s a lavender-scented shampoo that Yamada insists on buying for him. He never accepts it without complaining, but he also never showers without using it. There’s a spare in your bathroom, at the Agency’s bathroom and at his teacher’s dorm at U.A.

“Y’know, I was really surprised for a moment that you became a teacher.”

He makes no movement, but you know he’s listening.

“But as soon as I thought about it, it made perfect sense. You care so much it sometimes hurts to watch…”

You feel his fist tighten around your bedding, but he stays otherwise quiet still.

“You hurt watching me, too, right? How we both have a habit of bending over backwards for what we perceive is right.”

You start dragging your hands through his hair, letting out a sigh.

“I like that we know each other so well. I like how after so many years, you’re still right here in my arms…”

You pause as his upper arm snakes around you, a sharp exhale against your neck.

“You’ve never dated anyone. At least, not anyone you’d tell me about, so I have no idea where this will lead me to but,”

You take a moment to gather your nerves. There’s really no backing down now. Even if you regret it, your words have already given your feelings away; there’s nothing you can take back.

There’s nothing you want to take back.

You’re about to continue your confession when Aizawa pushes against your neck, his warm lips, soft despite the dryness, presses against your pulse point. You can hear your heartbeat so loud in your ear that the rustling of the sheets from Benben is indistinguishable to you, the only sensation you’re able to take in being Aizawa’s lips as they briefly pull away from your neck, only to push back higher up, closer to your jaw.

You whine and pout, but it’s shaky and without much force. You want to protest, scold him for interrupting you but suddenly he lifts his head to face you, and you’re faced with wide eyes and blown pupils. He steals a glance at your lips before he licks his own, pink tongue peeking out. You feel like a cornered prey, one that’s about to be devoured by a beast. When he hovers mere millimeters above your lips he pauses as if to ask for permission and the sigh you let out makes him know that everything’s okay. That everything he’s ever wanted, wished for, dreamed of, is real.

That losing your memory for a second made you desperate to make more meaningful ones.

And you kiss.

While curiosity did kill the cat, satisfaction definitely brought it back.

[lucifersresources]

conan gray // found heaven rp lyrics meme.

edit/alter/change pronouns etc as you see fit!

found heaven.

can we repent this sin?

no soul is innocent.

everybody wants to love.

you walk alone into the darkest night.

you'll never sleep until you're satisfied.

you need love.

you need him.

you'll never get your momma's wedding ring.

father always said you ruined everything.

don't be scared.

you're no demon.

don't be frightened now.

you're in love.

you found heaven.

you're in love, you found heaven.

your heart is breaking.

you never meant to start this holy war.

you're trapped.

don't look back.

never ending song.

i apologise for calling.

too late, all my tears already falling.

our story wasn't stopping.

it goes on and on and on, like a never ending song.

you and i sacrificed my adolescence.

we've grown too close.

i can hear your voice in the music on the radio.

can you make us stay forever?

are we done?

fainted love.

you're losing your mind tonight.

calm down.

don't you get yourself down.

we're nothing.

i'm the worst if you want it.

when your heart aches and it's dead in the night, don't you worry for me.

don't you worry for me.

it's enough to survive.

i want your fainted love.

that's enough.

you take all the pain that you think you deserve.

it's easy to hurt.

say you'll love me for life.

say you'll never leave.

kiss me till i almost believe.

lonely dancers.

join me for the night.

dance with me so we don't cry.

there's no need to hide.

i know the answer.

your lover left you.

my lover's busy kissing other guys.

we're both alone now.

i know the perfect way to waste our time.

forget that guy.

he don't know love.

i hope he dies.

get back up, we'll be alright.

tonight, you're mine.

alley rose.

so much you'd change since you were born.

the way you kissed me, hot and fast, i knew it'd be the last.

don't leave me hanging alone.

where'd you go?

i'm just so nervous dear.

how the hell do you think i feel?

i waited all year at your feet like maybe you'd love me.

maybe you'd love me.

i don't even care if it makes me sound insane.

i thanked god to touch the flame.

i swore necks were made for bruising.

i swore lips were made for lies.

i thought if you'd ever leave me, that i'd be the reason why.

i don't care even if it's just a summer fling.

it's all experimental.

you go back to safer things.

i swore hands were made for fighting.

i swore eyes were made to cry.

you're the first person that i've seen who's proven that might be a lie.

that might be a lie.

the final fight.

i didn't fight the feeling.

i wanted you to see it.

i believed your lies.

i just stood and cried.

i just stood and cried for the lost time.

i just stood and cries for the love that died.

all i wanted was the final fight.

all i needed was to make it right.

there's nothing left to do but finally tell you what you put me through.

made a whole new life.

i came right back after growing.

you're still the same.

though it's me who may be broken, it was you to blame.

it was you to blame.

miss you.

is it wrong to now decide?

you know i'm a wicked man.

i bit the hand that was feeding me.

the fear of love is my tendency.

i never meant to break your heart.

i'll be gone because you love me.

i miss you.

didn't think you would understand after all that i put you through.

i came back only wanting you.

bourgeoisieses

the rich are wrong.

i'm a low-class guy.

the men at war, they draft the poor.

no time to mourn.

i don't need that, i need a maserati.

forever with me.

in this lifetime, we did it wrong.

i guess that you could argue we survived.

after all this time, i wonder why you're still with me.

you're still with me, well, at least in all my memories.

i ain't sorry.

i wouldn't change a thing.

it'll take a lifetime to get better.

i think i'm gonna love you.

i think i'm gonna love you, you're forever with me.

you're forever with me.

you are the reason i learned to love.

you are the reason i learned to love, also, the reason that i cry.

still, i think of all the bloodshed.

i'm even smiling now.

anger does replace the pain.

who am i to blame?

who am i to blame? i broke your heart the same.

i broke your heart the same.

eye of the night.

you're here, you're haunting me.

you're haunting me.

i always feel like i am not alone.

i hear a voice that tells me where to go.

i hear your heartbeat bleeding through the door.

the memories that i cannot ignore.

fight for my life inside a silent war.

boys & girls.

you don't know me.

you wouldn't care if i fell over and died.

he wants ya.

you don't even see me.

she wants ya.

there's no point competing.

nobody cares that you're psychotic.

i don't know much about love.

come find me in the crowd.

killing me.

got the curious feeling you're fiending for love.

we haven't spoken for weeks.

i love you bad.

i love you bad, that's the problem.

better love i deserve.

i'm hurting.

but sadly i worship every moment we meet.

i worship every moment we meet.

you take and you take coz you know you can.

i chase as you're chasing another.

you're killing me.

you're not making it easy.

too busy deceiving and cheating and lying and competing to know how lucky you are.

i just want you.

i just want you to free me.

i can't let go of your heart.

you lie to me.

you lie to me faster and faster, you're such a good actor.

you're such a good actor.

i don't wanna talk, just go away.

you claw at the locks till i let you invade.

i wanna die.

i wanna die but you keep me alive.

fight to survive.

oh love of my life, you're killing me.

winner.

packed my bags at fourteen.

packed my bags at fourteen, i hadn't planned on leaving, but you haven't been back home for days.

i hadn't planned on leaving.

they shudder at your name.

you don't really want to hear the truth, do you?

it's obvious to anyone who ever knew you that all you ever want is to be right.

all you ever want is to be right.

all you ever want is to be right, even if that means you gotta lie to do it.

there's no one who ever has done better at making me feel worse.

now you really are the winner.

there's nothing that ever did quite kill me more than what you did.

take a bow, coz you're the winner.

my heart that once was beating-- bleeding in the palm of your hand.

you have the nerve to miss me.

how do i somehow feel guilty when you're the one who let it get this bad?

you're the one who let it get this bad.

all you ever wanted was to fight.

i was only trying to survive your chaos.

look at how it's paid off.

[27dragons]

Quiz Meme thing for people over 50 - via @gilajames

1. Name one body part that doesn't hurt: my elbow (who gets that reference? but really mine doesn't hurt. at least not today.)

2. Were you able to answer #1 because you have taken ibuprofen recently? Nope, I haven't been able to take ibuprofen at all for a few years now because I'm prone to ulcers. (I also haven't taken any tylenol/paracetamol, because it straight up doesn't work for me for pain relief. It lowers fevers, but that's it.)

3. Name one activity you are greatly relieved you don't do anymore because fuck that shit: change diapers and otherwise deal with any (literal) shit that isn't my own

4. Have you gotten at least eight hours of sleep in the past five days. (Not each night, just total.) Oh yeah, I average about 6.5 hours a night and on the weekends sometimes it stretches to seven!

5. Name one song that is NOT forty years old, what the fuck. The 1980s were, like, twenty years ago. Fuck you, the 80s were like, five years ago at most lol. That said: The Hamilton soundtrack, and also "Panic" by David Ford. Those are only like 10-15 years old.

6. Do you remember the last time you got carded (not counting 'we have to card everyone' places.) If we're not counting "card everyone" places, then I have never been carded. When I bought booze legally for the first time on my 21st birthday, they did not card me. Apparently I radiate an aura of "yeah she's old enough."

7. Name one musician that you keep hearing their name but have no clue what their music is. My Chemical Romance, I guess (I have a general idea what the music is but I don't know that I've actually heard it. I could be wrong about that I suppose but I definitely didn't know it.) I'm not really a music person, this is a lot of music questions for me.

8. Have the celebrities you loved as a kid started dying of old age? A few but not too many yet.

9. Have the celebrities you loved as a teenager started dying of old age? Same.

10. When did you start listening to the Oldies station? Another music question? I mean, I listened to the oldies station when I was in frickin college because I don't care about music and that was the station my boyfriend at the time liked. I really only listen to music in the car, and after I dumped that guy I switched to listening almost exclusively to tapes, CDs, and music downloaded to an iPod/phone.

11. Have you told a younger co-worker any form of the phrase "wait until you're my age/older/hit your 40s, then you'll..." Not really, though I've done the "wait until you have kids who are [age] thing to younger co-workers, and commiserated with co-workers of similar age about all the shit that hit us after 40.

12. Do you seek out older co-workers so you can quote something at them that they will get? Nope, because I am a work-from-home introvert. :D

13. Would you rather just stay home? At least 85% of the time, YES.

14. Have you reached the point that for birthdays, other gift-getting events, you say "I just don't need more stuff"? No, because I love getting gifts. When I was young, my mom told me she didn't care what was under the Christmas tree for her, she just loved opening presents. Seriously, one year when I was like 14 I got her a 6-pack of socks and wrapped each pair individually and she LOVED it. I thought she was crazy then, but I get it now. Anyway the only people who get me actual gifts these days are the Things and I'm not going to discourage them because they're so fun.

15. Do you often find yourself saying "I remember when" and you describe something so completely foreign to Life Today that you wonder if you made it up? All the FUCKIGN TIME

16. Did you look at this list at the beginning and hope it was a short quiz because you don't have time for those 50 item lists? Lol no because this counts as social interaction for me these days.

My fellow "old" tumblrs, join in the fun! (Or don't, I'm not the boss of you.)

[ygodmyy20]

Getting to Know You Meme

Tagged by @texasdreamer01 (thankies texas!)

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship? Yep, got married a month ago.

02) What was your dream growing up? Dream of what? My career? My life? My fantasy? I mean I wanted to be an elf in LoTR when I was like, 12. Does that count? hahah

03) What talent do you wish you had? Asking waiters to change my order if they got it wrong.

04) If someone bought you a drink what would it be? Beer (specifically a New England IPA)

05) Favorite vegetable? Hm. I really love good arugula.

06) What was the last book you read? None I just read fanfics haha

07) What zodiac sign are you? Leo

08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Nope tho I wish to get a tattoo one day.

09) Worst Habit? Probably overthinking myself into a spiral.

10) What is your favorite sport? Dressage

11) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude? Optimistic because lifes too short and I just want to be happy.

12) Tell me one weird fact about you. Uhhhhh.....I am a twin? (always a easy one haha)

13) Do you have any pets? Sadly no BUT I may.....may be trying to. foster a kitty. Maybe. While my husband is out of town for a month-long gig.

14) Do you think clowns are cute or scary? Scary but also eh whatever.

15) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? I can't answer this or else I'm gonna spiral.

16) What color eyes do you have? Blue

17) Ever been arrested? Nope

18) Bottle or can soda? Bottle

19) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? Put it in my savings.

20) What's your favorite place to hang out at? Hm. Probably at home or in the woods.

21) Do you believe in ghosts? I dunno

22) Favorite thing to do in your spare time? Writing, drawing fanarts, horseback riding.

23) Do you swear a lot? Yeah

24) Biggest pet peeve? I dunno, I don’t know if I have one? Depends on the person or circumstance or situation:

25) In one word, how would you describe yourself? Hm. Emotional.

26) Do you believe/appreciate romance? I’m a hopeless romantic. And I got married and kinda like this guy a whole dang lot.

27) Favourite and least favourite food? Fav: sushi. Least fav: I’m honestly not a huge fan of potatos….

28) Do you believe in God? I believe in a universe. Wherever god is in it I got no clue.

29) What makes you happy: Sharing my art with friends, having movie nights with husband on Fridays.

30) Currently listening/the last thing you listened to: Ado

31) Favorite place to spend time: Probably at home, or out i the woods.

32) Favorite lyric: Goodbye by Bo Burnham

Am I going crazy? Would I even know? Am I right back where I staretd fourteen years ago?

33) Recommend a film: Akira

34) Recommend a book: haven't read enough

35) Recommend a band, a song, or album: Fire Hell and Holy Water by Gioli & Assia

36) Recommend a TV show: Mob Psycho 100

37) Where are you from, and do you still live there? Where have you lived? I am from the midwest and am still in the midwest

38) Do you have any pets or animals in your life? How did you find/get them? I had cats growing up and I would love to get one. I also ride horses.

39) What's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten? Uhhhh. Hm. I am not sure.

40) How did you 'find' fandom? I got into Yugioh! when I was 12 and started writing fanfics and them opps here i am.

41) Make a list of 5 things that you see without getting up. My Teru and Mob figures, my Mob cat, my cat lamp, my ipad, my water bottle. I am at my desk there is a lot here

42) How do you style your hair? Down or half ponytail or pony tail. I have long hair.

I got this ask before the other writer one so I know many asks have been going around today haha so VERY much no pressure tags: @russenoire @thousand-winters @toastytoaster22 @emeraldoodles or anyone else who wants to!

[viadangelo]

WB 🔥 INSPIRED MEME — a collection of prompts. V1.

subject to edits; thank you everyone for your inputs; submit to add lmao

dialogue starters ;

"listen..."

"i know i must be the last person you expected to see tonight,"

"i know you have no reason to believe me, much less to trust me, but... i promise you. i swear to you, i am being set up."

“please, don’t lie to me.”

"you know, you'd make a nice profit if you turned this place into a safehouse."

"you must think me an idiot,"

"it's a bit late to worry about dragging me into your mess, don't you think? "

"somehow it's become rare to meet people outside of a coffee shop, or bar, you know?"

"this was not a dog food orgasm"

“dude, are you crazy? I almost shot you!”

"in my head [ x ] takes out his dick once every solstice"

"a nipple for a nipple."

"if you were a cop, you'd tell me, right?"

“It’s just a knife, why are you acting like this?”

"knives, or guns, hypothetically, of course."

"if i was gonna die, i'd have picked [ x ], it's more direct."

"fighting fire with fire, you're only going to get burnt, y'know."

"fuck that, shit needs to change."

"answer me!"

"time’s up! "

“why are you looking at me like that? grab the damn shovel or go!”

“Fuck, put the gun down, okay? I didn’t mean to freak you out!”

scenarios:

send 🚑 to find my muse after they have been stabbed. Alternatively send 🔪 to be the one who stabbed them, eager to finish the job. Or maybe it was an accident, who knows?

Send 📕 to throw a book at my muse.

send [ TRAPPED ] to have our muses get trapped in an elevator together.

send 📞 for one of our muses to have dialled the wrong number, and ended up on call to the other.

Send 🚨 to arrest my muse, or if not applicable, witness an arrest, or be arrested etc.

send [ NO ] & a request to have your muse ask of mine, knowing they wouldn't like it.

send [ YES ] & a request, for my muse to do a favour for your muse, or vice versa.

✊ for our muses to play rock paper scissors, the loser owes the winner a favour.

headcanons:

🎬 for my muse's favourite movie.

💎 for my muse's favourite spot in new york

❇️ for what my younger muse's self would think of themselves now.

🎼for a song on my character's playlist

how does your muse apologise, do they apologise?

❤️ their love language(s)?

does your muse attend church, or mass? are they religious?

the best prank they’ve ever pulled.

their weapon in a zombie apocalypse.

if they ever wrote an autobiography or a diary what would the last line be?

💓 what gets their heart racing?

🏝️ for who they would pick to be stranded on a desert island with

🍖 their mortal enemy, and why.

🔥do they have any self destructive tendencies? what habits do they have that hinder them from becoming their best self?

send !! for what character unnerves my character the most.

burnies funss:

send a ⭐ and my muse will answer if they would fuck, marry, or kill yours.  ( feel free to replace fuck with kiss if it's not appropriate! )

send a 📸 to see my muses favourite photo of yours

Send 👏 for my muse to deliver a harsh truth to your muse, or, deliver one about mine.

Send 🎣 for my muse’s best pickup line they would use on yours

Send 💥 + a topic for my muse to start an argument with yours based on your submission

Send 📰 for a newspaper headline my muse would be involved in, or write one about my muse.

send 👀 for an honest answer from my muse.

send ⚖️ for three qualities my muse loves about yours

ideas taken, or inspired by ; @phantasmalatelier , @soulscollection , @neorph . @rpsourcedmemes , @charmymemes

ask: via, zed or emilio.

[stromulites]

👕 16 and 19, 📦 12, 🍽️ 1 and 💓 1 for IDU!rgb >:]

orugh this is a lot, bear with me hngkdkfdg especially since i haven't talked about IDU!pico before beyond vague mentions.

👕 16: Is your character's appearance more telling or deceiving?

BJ: pretty telling, I'd say fddjksgk. Loose clothing. A shirt he doesn't fucking change ever/has multiples of. Guy who just wants to live and have a good time doing so (as ironic as this is rkeslgdf)

Hannah: more deceiving. Since her stuff is mostly under her parents eyes, it's how they view her: their perfect daughter that they will set up for greatness no matter what.

Peter: (yeah i decided on a name for idu!pico krdlgdf) deceiving. Since his handler (Sebastian) holds all his weapons 'n shit, he doesn't visibly look dangerous. Just like a wallflower or something. Unfortunately or fortunately, Reapers with Guns are a rare and unwelcome sight.

👕 19: If your character had to get a tattoo what would it be?

BJ: A red cardinal. BJ and Hannah probably had a discussion once on what bird she'd like to be, and she chose Red cardinal. It'd probably be somewhere visible like his forearm or neck, since he wouldn't be one to get a tattoo no one would seerjkdkgdf. Once BJ and Peter get along though, I think he'd get a rat skull too, probably just under his t-shirt sleeve.

Hannah: Unlikely to happen while she's still with her parents but! A blue jay :D terribly creative I know, but BJ's literally one so it's most fitting. She's probably get a shotgun wrapped in thorns for Peter. Why? Ehhh maybe I'll answer that later down the line.

Peter: a solid ring of red around his right upper arm. That would be the only tattoo he'd get, I think. Mostly as a reminder for himself since it would be hidden under his hoodie most of the time. Maybe some smaller ones on his wrist, but I don't see him getting anything large/coloured like the others.

📦 12: Does your character personify objects?

BJ: Would probably say sorry as a reflex. If it's like a computer that's misbehaving, he'll smack it/talk to it when it works like it's aliverksdgf. Will smack talk the object that wronged him.

Hannah: Would definitely say sorry, but like. Probably only late at night when no one's looking/there to reprimand her for being clumsy. Will ask the computer nicely to start working again, etc.

Peter: Will kick the thing again, mumble an insult, then walk off. Percussive maintenance all the way, then go "I fucking thought so."

🍽️ 1: What flavor would your character say their personality is?

BJ: "Blue Raspberry--- what do you mean i can't say that? Fuckin- okay. The white flavour of a Freezie."

Hannah: "Hmm...Something like a savoury beef bourguignon. Or salty like Soy Sauce."

Peter: "Fuck, I don't know. I haven't eaten anything in like...seven years? ...Does Malibu count? Yeah the rum, what do you think I'm talking about?"

💓 1: What is a habit your character has that others might find cute?

BJ: If he's arriving from behind someone he knows well, and they're short enough, he'll put his head on their shoulder to look at what they're doing. This obviously doesn't work with taller people, but damn it, he'll try anyways.

Hannah: Can and will unconsciously braid a person's hair. Did this with BJ when his hair got long but couldn't be bothered to get it cut. Does it to herself when she's particularly bored or something.

Peter: Hums songs when he thinks his alone. They are not what you'd expect him to song to himself about, as they're usually recognizable as love songs. Generally soft in composition.

{ask meme here!}

[call-me-chips]

HERE I AM!! RANDOM JEFF HAS RETURNED!!

before we start, i want to assure you that you aren’t meaningless. your art and posts make my day whenever i see them. just know that no matter what, you’re worth something to everyone who follows this blog :)

now… LET’S BEGIN!

Why are you buying clothes at the soup store?

What’s your favorite book?

Who would win, an unmovable object or an unstoppable force?

What animal would you like as a pet?

Are you more introverted, extroverted, or ambiverted?

What’s your favorite snack food?

Are you a gun or sword person?

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, MY FAVORITE FLAVOR OF CAT (visually) IS A PERSIAN!!!

i’m a sucker for fluffiness :3

I BID THEE ADIEU AND WAIT EAGERLY FOR YOUR NEXT QUESTION!!

WHY, WE MEET AGAINE, RANDOM JEFF

Also tysm for that little encouragement! It means a lot to know that my little doodles can make someone's day x33

NOW ONTO THE QUESTIONS

1, Okay, I've seen this meme around, and I genuinely don't get it. I don't understand xD

2. Archenemies, the second book in the Renegades trilogy

3. Neither?? I feel like it'd cause an explosion or create some sort of paradox

4. Cat :3 but if that's a wee bit too generic, I have always wondered what it'd be like to own a fennec fox

5. DEF introverted. Tis the INTP way lol

6. Dry honey nut Cheerios

7. Gun all the way. Don't get me wrong, I love swords, but guns are simply superior. Not too brag or anything, but I've received 3 gold medals in marksmanship (I'm totally bragging, sorry)

Gotta love fluffy cats lol

AND MY QUESTION UNTO YOU IS: What song(s) is stuck in your head rn? If there are no songs running around your brain, what was the last song you listened to?

FAREWELL MY GOOD FELLOW

UNTIL NEXT TIME

[tafadhali]

End of Year Vidding Meme 2024

It’s time for the annual round up. I know there's a couple weeks left in the year, but unless I'm much mistaken all the vidding I do until then will be for Festivids. [ETA, 12/22: I were wrong!]

I’ve starred co-vids with @periru3!

One, Two, Three Go! (Sense8) *

Teenagers (Dimension 20) [Festivids]

The Unbreakable Katie MaroWITCH (Dropout TV) [Festivids] *

Satisfaction (The Quick and the Dead) [Festivids]

I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (Christine) [Festivids] *

Open Book (Decision to Leave) [Festivids]

Jackrabbit (Catherine, Called Birdy) [Festivids]

The Shape of You (The Pirate) [Festivids]

Boys Keep Swinging (As You Like It) [Festivids]

alone with you inside my mind (Doctor Sleep) [Festivids]

Training Montage (Carrie/Nightmare on Elm Street/Scream)

Linda Ronstadt (The Last of Us)

Obsessed (Rebecca) *

The Queer Gospel (Multifandom)

Bigger on the Inside (Doctor Who) [VidUKon]

Searching for a Former Clarity (I Saw the TV Glow) [Fall Equinox]

My Own Dance (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) [Fall Equinox] *

Spent Gladiator (9-1-1)

FISTMASTIME (Shane Black movies) *

Favourite Vid of the Year: I'm really proud of "Teenagers." I was so pleased with how much movement and energy I was able to get out of a fairly static source, and D20 has been my consuming obsession since last spring, so it came from a real place of love.

Least Favourite: I never want to down-talk my own vids! There's something I love about all of them. I think "alone with you inside my mind" is kind of the oddest vid I made, but its combination of cracky and creepy really landed with some people and I love that I made it — it feels like something no one else would have made.

Vid Most Unappreciated By The Universe: I was so excited to make a vid about my BOY, Buck, and about a current massive fandom, so I would love if more people had watched my 9-1-1 vid.

Most Fun Vid: Hm..."The Shape of You" does have Gene Kelly in hot pants, so that might be the winner, but I also think "One, Two, Three Go!" is infectiously fun.

Vid With The Single Sexiest Moment: If I rule out Gene Kelly's cigarette trick because I just talked up that vid in my previous response, then maybe the sex scene in "Linda Ronstadt"? If a clip that makes me start crying can be considered sexy? The way Murray Bartlett so tenderly touches Nick Offerman's chest 😭😭😭

Most Successful: "Boys Keep Swinging" got a lovely response! And "The Unbreakable Katie MaroWITCH" had the best hits-to-comment ratio, so I feel like it really landed with its target audience, which makes me happy — I completely fell in love with the concept of that vid.

Biggest Vid Fail: I guess the biggest "fail" was not being able to pull together my original concept for my Fall Equinox gift, but it just meant that I focused in on the more out there idea that was really emotionally essential for me to make, so I don't think it really qualifies.

Hardest Vid To Make: "Teenagers" was technically demanding and took a long time to clip, but it was a complete blast to vid. With "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," I feel like we really used every clip we could possibly use, so that posed its own challenges.

Most Unintentionally Telling Vid: I normally give a pretty glib answer to this question because I think I wear my nerdy obsessions on my sleeve, so no vids really reveal something unintentional about my id, but this year felt like the year I started really processing recent events in my vidding. In 2020, I made a bunch of silly, high concept vids and I needed that escapism — Tess and I literally made a ska vid the month their best friend died. I think it took me until 2024 to start making all kinds of emotionally open vids about processing trauma. A lot of the songs that I vidded this year are simple and emotionally direct and very personal to me: "The Swimming Pool Song," "Linda Ronstadt," "Searching for a Former Clarity," even "My Own Dance."

Last Year’s Goals:

- Finish the damn Buffy vid!

I finished the damn Buffy vid! And I'm really proud of it! I'm so happy Equinox came back and gave me the kick in the pants I needed. As ever, it's a better vid for having made it with @periru3.

- Continue a vid series

I made another vid in my "Screened Out" series, and I'm really happy with it even if it is slightly less historical than some of my queer film history vids.

- Attend VidUKon in person (yay!)

This happened and was so much fun! I can't go every year but I hope I will make it there again in the future. The highlight was finally getting to VJ a show and be present in the room when people watched it!

And this wasn't a formal goal last year, but I am pleased to say that NONE of my main gifts for exchanges this year were het movie vids about blue-eyed white ladies (as every assignment vid I've made for every previous exchange has been, lol).

Goals For Next Year

- Make something that technically challenges me — I don't know what that will look like, but the downside of vidding so many short, simple, emotionally direct songs was making a lot of short, simple, not very technically complex vids!

- Go old school with a fun spoof/cover song! I've been especially into the idea of vidding something bardcore.

- Finish the second 9-1-1 vid I've started drafting and think of an idea (any idea!) that isn't mostly focused on a Buckley.

- "Vid! Album! With! Tessa!" - text from @periru3

[theuniversitychallengereview]

Box Office Quizzing

UCL vs LSE

Sometimes there are University Challenge matches that sound like football matches — for example, Leeds vs Liverpool, or Birmingham vs Cardiff.

Rarer than this are matches which sound like American Football matches, specifically collegiate games. There are no University Challenge teams who sound like teams in the NFL unless there is a college I’ve never heard of called something like the Oxford Otters, or the Manchester Bees.

But there are a few which sound like American colleges.

For example last week UCLA played USC.

This week’s University Challenge match is just about as close as you can get to something like that. UCL vs LSE.

I don’t know if there is any rivalry between these two universities, but for the purpose of this paragraph, I’m going to say it would be a grudge match of untold rage.

UCLA played USC at a stadium with a capacity of almost 90,000. This is the next step for University Challenge, I think. There is an audience in the studio for the live recordings, sure, but it’s not quite as large as that. Perhaps we need to start with slightly lower ambitions, but what would you say to this?

Have the semi-finals and final as a live broadcast in, say, a theatre. 5,000 capacity.

Or maybe just the final, but on the same day and at the same location as the Only Connect and Mastermind finals.

If that goes well we can up the capacity. I wouldn’t want a pay-per-view on something like Sky Sports, because that takes away from the purity of it. But the BBC would have to start bidding more for the rights, like they do for Wimbledon.

Think about it @BBC.

For now, the first of the second round matches, between UCL and LSE.

The University Challenge Review Subscribe for weekly reviews of University Challenge, an irreverant take on Britain's quirkiest quiz showwww.quizposting.com

Here’s your first starter for ten.

Nyang comes in early but his guess of Jane is wrong, and Holtermann Entwistle capitalises on the mistake. UCL take a hat-trick on composers and Jack continues their good start with My Neighbour Totoro. This good start continues a while longer, with two more starters from Jack and one from Prabhakar.

We had an incredible comeback last week, so could this be the beginning of one from LSE? No, it could not.

They took two bonuses to close the gap to 90, but Mandel stopped them in their tracks with 1314 on the next starter. 1314 being of course the year of the battle of Bannockburn, which is one of those facts I think I’ve known since I was about ten.

This wins them a bonus set on the song The Elements, which Daniel Radcliffe famously sung on the Graham Norton Show. The song was written in 1959, which astonished me because it feels like such a meme. Then again, they were really into goofy shit like this back in the day, weren’t they? The kind of thing that would pop up at Variety Shows.

/media/7342bfeeda8cf9ed86830d24f099c990

Perhaps I thought it was more recent because Radcliffe’s other party piece is Alphabet Aerobics by Blackalicious, which is a more recent song.

Nyang takes another starter for LSE, but they can’t maintain momentum into the music round.

Mandel takes his second of the night with magenta, and this opens the floodgates — the second half of the match belongs to him. It’s like he’d been hibernating and was awoken by the mention of Bannockburn because he took four more of the remaining starters. The rest of his team were similarly ruthless, allowing LSE only one more starter in what turned out to be a thrashing.

UCL 255–55 LSE

Tough on LSE there, who are a better team than the scoreline suggests, but UCL destroyed them on the buzzer and they couldn’t get a foothold in the match.

UCL look very strong going into the quarter-finals, though they may have to speed up their conferring if they are in closer matches. They took quite a while to come up with their answers on some of the bonuses, which won’t be tolerated in the later rounds.

Next week we have Durham vs Open (neither an American football nor a regular football match). The week after we have Exeter vs Bristol (which could just about be a game in League 1 or 2).

[glapplebloom]

Something I’ve been doing for a while.

So if you've been on any social website with video, you may see meme animations based off some song but only one part of it. But what is the full context of it? So here are four songs that I’ve seen the memes first then found the full song.

Red Flags

The Meme is a date goes so bad, one of them is asking for help with Morse Code. The date asks if anything is wrong and if they can help, and not wanting to reveal their intentions for fear of something bad happening to them, decides to deny asking for help when a waiter comes up to see if they need it. So why is the date so bad?

In the full song, it's because she’s a fan of Human Centipede. A legit fan of Human Centipede.  The Chorus is her saying “Human Centipede” while she talks about why she likes it. And for those who don’t know what that movie is, the song perfectly sums it up with her explaining the plot. So hearing that and all the ways she likes it, the date thinks she’s going to kill him. Either by feeding him or reenacting the movie.

After the meme part, she convinces him that they would be a great couple. So convincing that they’re already talking about marriage on the first frikkin date. Of course, the wedding has to be themed. And the theme? Human Centipede. I’m amazed the most I’ve seen of the song was the blinking segment when Human Centipede was so meme worthy to me. Luckily others have been doing the beginning as well.

Open the Door

The Meme is someone thinking they got everything right for entry. But one mistake locks them out. This is followed by others asking to be let in despite looking like things you should not let in. Honestly, this is the most straightforward of the memes since the song is based off “That’s Not My Neighbor”. The game is all about checking if the person you’re letting in is a real one or a monster. So basically the entire song is about the meme.

Am I Hot or Cute

This Meme starts with a girlfriend asking her boyfriend if she’s hot or cute. The obvious answer is she’s both but she insists that there can be only one choice. And if he wants to keep dating her he has to answer. If you follow only the meme, you would think it ends with him getting a call from his mother (being it real or not depending on the video maker) and her thinking he’s lying.

In the full song, this story continues. He was lying. He texts his group of friends to ask if his girlfriend is hot or cute. They immediately think it is a trap and after explaining why it is, what is hot or cute and their thoughts, one of his friends said the only answer is what she thinks it is. In other words, they did not help. So he has to gamble into answering before she dumps him.

He comes back with his answer and the twist of this entire thing is revealed: she asked him this because he keeps calling everyone dude and she wants him to stop calling her dude. He agrees and she reveals what the boyfriend and one member of the friend group was thinking: hot and cute are the same thing. Honestly I want to remake the entire thing with ponies.

Why Aren’t You At School

In the Meme, a mother calls her son because she found out he was not at school. He claims that he is. She doesn’t believe him and he said that if you don’t believe me just come to my school. So she does. The meme ends with her going to school while the boy playing hooky tries to rush back to school.

That’s not what the song is about. The kid was at school. The school that called the mother was his girlfriend. This was an elaborate scheme to get the alcohol from his mother so they can celebrate their anniversary. Why couldn’t he just fake sickness like his girlfriend? Besides his mother knowing when he’s faking, even if she believes him she won’t let him out after. Sounds like a fool proof plan.

The mother arrives at school, sees her son being there, then when she drives back home the girlfriend will pick him up and they can celebrate. But there’s a flaw in his plan: since his girlfriend called his mother, when the mother called back to complain about the school she found out about the call coming from the girlfriend since she didn’t pick it up and let it go to voicemail. A voicemail that does not belong to the school.

So basically the jig is up and the boy’s mother calls the girlfriend’s mother. The two are most likely going to be grounded. So let this be a lesson to you, don’t complicate plans. 

[vmures]

For the character meme, how about Steve?

Not sure if you mean Steve Harrington or Steve Rogers... I'm gonna go with Steve Harrington and if it's the wrong steve I'll answer again.

favorite thing about them

I honestly started out expecting to seriously dislike him, but his character growth was amazing. I love how protective he is of people, but especially the kids. He's sort of my favorite type of character--the sarcastic little shit who likely has a whole lot of trauma in their upbringing and is probably neurodivergent in some way who actually has a very soft heart and a lot of kindness in them.

least favorite thing about them

I wish he'd realize he was worth care and affection, including his own care and affection. He doesn't seem like he cares if he's injured as long as no one else is. I also hate how down he is on himself, though I empathize with it a lot.

favorite line

Oof, this is hard. I'd have to go with his reaction to Robin's crush. "She sounds like a muppet." It was just such a Steve reaction. It takes him a minute to process that she said she likes girls, but then he doesn't give her shit about that. Nope, he gives her shit about her taste in girls.

brOTP

Steve+Robin, platonic soulmates for sure. I just adore these two dorks and all their co-dependent tendencies.

OTP

I'm not really much of an OTP person as I've always been a multishipper, but I'd have to say that my favorite ship for him is Steve/Eddie. I just love their chemistry and things they work really well together.

nOTP

Probably Steve/Billy Hargrove, I can see why people like it but it's not for me.

random headcanon

Steve is a good example of the feral kids of my generation in a lot of ways, meaning I'm pretty sure he mostly raised himself. His parents might be rich, but they don't strike me as very present or concerned with his life. I think he and Tommy likely became friends because their parents were friends and Steve tried real hard to be what was expected of him by others until he just couldn't pretend anymore.

unpopular opinion

I'm only on the fringes of the fandom, so I'm not sure that any of my opinions about Steve would be unpopular, except maybe my dislike of Steve/Billy as that is a popular ship.

song i associate with them

Weirdly, "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel. He found himself faced with monsters and secret government plots and instead of running for the hills he ran in and did his best to fight and help.

favorite picture of them

His "I told you so" look is just as good as his "bitch please" look. lol He's just got great microexpressions.

[aroceu]

memes i've been tagged in

thank you @telomeke for tagging me in a couple of these! i'm gonna answer them all in one post since i don't do these very often but i do like talking about myself :)

get to know me

do you make your bed?

no-ish. sometimes i do if i wake up early enough but uh. usually i wake up late. on the weekends i try to, with varying results.

what’s your favourite number?

17 but it's not that serious to me

what is your job?

generally speaking, data entry

if you could go back to school, would you?

no

can you parallel park?

yes, it was mandatory for my driving test.

a job you had that would surprise people?

i think i've been pretty upfront about the jobs i've had so i don't think they're really that surprising? i also think they are very me-core. except maybe the last one (receptionist at a pet place) but that's how i met duke :)

do you think aliens are real?

my belief system does not include whether or not i think things that we have no definitive proof of but can theoretically exist are real

can you drive a manual car?

no

what’s your guilty pleasure?

telling people on reddit that they're wrong

tattoos?

yes! i have two - a stick n poke, and one i got on my birthday a couple of years ago. i'm also looking to get another one for my birthday this year :)

favorite color?

a slate grey-ish light blue. but when it comes to personal customization related things (such as fashion) i also like pink and reds because they stand out more than blues

favorite type of music?

any kind of pop! my music taste is vast but generally the closer to pop a song is, the more i will like it

do you like puzzles?

yes

any phobias?

yes

favorite childhood sport?

basketball (yes i am short)

do you talk to yourself?

yes, a lot of times i record voice memos in my car just to talk to myself (even though i usually don't listen to them back). otherwise i'm just muttering to myself

what movies do you adore?

kimi no na wa, the iron giant, and wreck-it ralph

coffee or tea?

tea because i can drink it more regularly, but i do love the taste of coffee as well

first thing you wanted to be growing up?

an actor, even though i was never into even the idea of acting, it was just the first career i knew that was associated with being famous (i no longer want to be famous). however i do think this contributes to me being surrounded by theatre kids my whole life

get to know me (better)

3 ships:

pat/pran from bad buddy

wangxian from mdzs

[insert one of my shameless rpf ships here]

first ship: gonna be real i started off being really into self-insert stuff and harry potter (neither of which i really want to detail here) so uhhhhhhhhhhh sasuke/naruto

last song: alligator tears by beyonce

currently reading: don't worry about it

last movie: i should watch movies again. pretty sure it was glass onion

currently craving: nothing

not tagging anyone but if anyone is interested in any of these please feel free to pretend i tagged you :3

[intosnarkness]

ask meme: 2, 3, 46

2. Do you drink tea or coffee? How do you take it?  As of like, last week,I have strated drinking coffee in the morning. I don't like hot drinks and I find cold coffee repulsive, but warm coffee is okay. I take it with abut 50% milk, cinnamon and either chocolate or sugar. I do like a chai latte, though. I just need to figure out what kind of plant milk to put in it, because lactose and I are not friends.

3. What was the last song you listened to?  I put on boygenuis to drive home through the rain because The Record is a superlative rain album but then I listened to True Blue 15 times in a row and thought about @maybetwice and how well they know me.

If you had asked before my drive home, the answer would be "Liza with a Z" because i needed to ask my friend Liza what her married name was for my party invites and we started talking about people getting our names wrong.

46. What do you need when you’re sad?  Attention, usually. I need help getting out of my head, and that means talking and being distracted. I want cuddles and hugs, too, but I never feel okay to ask for them because I don't want to seem needy.

(asks)

[bandsanitizer]

Top 5 5sos fandom running gags

hello annie!! thank you for the ask 💕💕 I’m not sure if this includes jokes the band are in on? so I’m going to assume so bc I don’t know of (m)any exclusive? to the fandom? also i’m stupid and i don’t understand a gag so i hope these are ok answers

1. soon

bc what else would it be? soon is iconic. soon is legendary. soon has been here from the start and will be here until the end.

2. them being late to livestreams

the fact that they did an instagram live?? while running late for the tfofu show?? (correct me if I’m wrong😭)) is frankly so on brand.

3. luke is a meme

I love and respect luke hemmings and he’s brilliant and his brain is just !!!! wfttwtaf is proof of his genius!!! but also he’s a comedian. his humor is one of my favorites and I love the memeable content he presents. he’s a meme.

4. which song is the worst 5sos song debate

specifically the ongoing discourse that involves don’t stop and mrs. all american and the way that I personally feel no amount of discussion of song ranking will ever stray too far for either (or both) songs to be brought up. it’s fun to see everyone’s takes and I love the chaos

5. self-titled albums

I love and support them and their naming of 60% of their studio albums as something akin to after themselves 🤣 which considering the band sounds good and their music feels good… perhaps youngblood is the only not self-titled