#it’s like that game that give you two seconds of a song except I describe the vinyl colors and nothing else

[lovelyscot]

I know this is an absolute longshot and a shot in the dark while we’re at it, but I’ve seen many lost and found type tumblers on here so I thought I would ask

I’m looking for an artist album that I believe came out in the early to first half of 2018. it was a two disc album, I bought it on vinyl. I believe the cover was bluish with white, but I distinctly remember the vinyls themselves. One of them was a pale blue with very light white marbling and the other was green also with light marbling.

The other two I bought at the same time were Lord Huron and lo moons first album and from what I remember, the vibes were much more similar to low moon than Lord Huron. I am desperate to find this album again! I remember loving it and I sold the vinyls when I moved thinking I had copies on my computer, but I don’t and I’m horrible with names! If you have any idea of what this might be, the genre is most likely somewhere between ambient, art pop, Indie pop or Indie rock.

[foundationsofdecay]

Okay, I've finally made a list of most of my Sleep Token lore and analysis posts! Divided by categories under the cut, with improvised titles and brief descriptions for each.

Posts are listed in reverse-chronological order per category, except for crossovers.

The catch-all hashtag for these is #aqua's offerings, in case you prefer to look through them that way.

Longer Form Posts:

Duck Into Deep Blue Safety - Comparing the composition of Drag Me Under, Atlantic, and Fall For Me as to how solos are used to describe physical isolation, separation, and the spectrum bridging spiritual wholeness and estrangement.

Show Me What Wounds You've Got - On begging, emotional vulnerability, and our agency as audience and character.

If a Man Falls, and Nobody's There to Hear Him... - An addition-by-reblog to this post by @melit0n about Fall For Me, continuing the exploration of silence and vocals and the implications of Vessel's isolation and actions in the song.

So He Gets To Die A Saint - Martyrdom and the desire to save and be saved, but the uncertainty of who is saving who, and to what end.

Something Was Between You and I My Dear - Musings on the theory posited by @a-s-levynn that separates Vessel as his masked self and as his unmasked self into two separate characters, and what that means for a potential reading of the events of the trilogy, particularly its ending.

I Would Turn Into A Stranger In An Instant if I Could - A deep dive into DYWTYLM with themes of identity loss and the effects of a long-term yet one-sided relationship.

Flood Me Like Atlantic - An examination of the metaphor of being dragged into and under someone's love throughout the course of the discography, and how it reflects in the shifting characterization of both Vessel and the character being sung about.

Would You Invite Me In Again? - A look at cycles of union and disconnect, of love as a melding of body and soul in addition to a rending of body and soul, and the cyclical nature of this dichotomy, primarily through the lens of Drag Me Under and Blood Sport.

So Let's Play - A look into how the language of games and winners and losers is used and evolves throughout their discography.

With My Love as Your Garden - Exploring the lyrics regarding flowers and gardens, of upkeep and of fire, and how it relates to the relationship between Vessel and his lover, described here as Sleep.

Welcome Me In, Deep Into You - Side-by-side examination of Vore and Drag Me Under and their language as it pertains to consumption and consummation, and the respective tones those carry.

Drag Me Under AGAAAAAIN - An addendum to my second Sleep Token x TDH crossover post (linked further below) that brings Drag Me Under into the fold of Atlantic and Telomeres, as requested by @moonchild-in-blue. Elaborates further on the entwining of Vessel and Sleep, of their love and the idea of inevitability.

Duet - Proposing and elaborating on the concept of the song Give being a duet between Vessel and Sleep with alternating POVs.

Other Other Eye - A look at Ascensionism, particularly the lines regarding eyes and attention and conflicting desire. [note: written very early into my posting theory/analysis, somewhat outdated]

Catching a Falling Knife - Using the metaphor of "catching a falling knife" and the general stock market as lens to examine the power dynamics between Vessel and Sleep.

Mini Musings:

Rain Can't Wash Away the Tar on the Inside - Consideration of the lyrics implying Vessel has been trapped by tar and subsumed in it both from the outside and from within.

Keep an Eye on the Road - A quick talk about visuals of crashing cars and mentions of various roadways, and being trapped in untenable situations.

The Vicious Cycle - Cycles and the breaking thereof within the discography.

My Puppet Queen - The dehumanizing language used towards Vessel, specifically as a toy or object.

Glitches in the Code - Considers Vessel as a literal algorithm, and how that reflects in his vocals and degeneration throughout the narrative and what it would say about his relationship with Sleep.

Mirror Talk - Notes on mirrors and both outer and inner reflections.

Are You Watching Me? - Different ways eyes are described as it relates to prey and predation, and Vessel struggling with human nature and humanity.

A Different Harbor - Musing on the peculiar use and otherwise of language regarding boats, harbors, and anchors.

You Want Someone To Be - Concept post about a more literal take on lovers entwined, to both want to become the other, and the loss of understanding of what it means to be yourself without them.

Crossovers:

TDH x Sleep Token #1 - Love as a crashing wave, questions of fate, choosing love despite the clear doomed nature, using The Dear Hunter's Waves as a frame of reference.

TDH x Sleep Token #2 - Uses The Dear Hunter's Vital Vessels Vindicate as a lens to provide a different perspective through which to examine Vessel, death, and what it means to choke and suffocate underwater.

[loafaethernaut]

Recap of all the teasers (as of August 2nd, 2024) from the official Black Ops 6 zombies teaser website below!

If you wish to see them for yourself first the link to the site is the current pinned post on my blog- however I will issue a warning that the interactive site does include jump scares and flashing/flickering images so I would not recommend viewing it if you are photosensitive.

The website acts as an interactive television with six total channels. Yesterday the first two channels became active, with channel one showing a template for a scrolling TV guide that after a moment turns into a jumpscare of Mr. Peeks/the mystery box bunny from Cold War.

The screen then flashes and flickers between several images including shots of our Requiem Crew in their prison cells on Terminus Island:

My apologies for the poor image quality, this is a screenshot from my phone lol. I agree with the majority consensus I’ve seen from others in the community that the top left is Carver, top right is Weaver, bottom left is Strauss, and the bottom right is Grey.

It seems like Weaver and Strauss appear distraught, while Carver and Grey are doing pushups and getting into shape.

The second channel shows what looks like a weather radar of a hurricane or a typhoon before it forms into an image of Mr. Peeks once again (definitely a huge emphasis on Mr. Peeks in this game, more on that later).

After that the screen flashes and shows a really dark shot of what is likely Terminus Island it’s just really hard to tell so I didn’t take a screenshot. There’s a voice in the background listing off numbers but I can’t make them out either.

Channels 3 and 4 were updated today, and we finally got some new intel on our Requiem Crew.

Channel 3 starts off as a fake news report like a lot of the BO6 teasers have been however it cuts off and starts flashing a ton of fragmented images of “interrogation progress reports” for each of our members of the Requiem Crew.

I was only able to get a good screenshot of Carver’s report, so I give credit and thanks to MargwaNetwork on Twitter for the images of Grey and Weaver’s reports.

Based on Carver’s report it seems like he’s been the main source of encouragement for the team, and it’s likely he’s been helping Grey (and presumably the others) get into shape?

Weaver is presumably the one their captors have been the toughest on so far, and the Director definitely has a grudge against Weaver in particular. Seeing him described as a “broken, bitter man” is genuinely saddening.

But now comes the one that got me the most excited, Grey’s report. I’m mostly just trying to get the information out there with this post so I might gush more about this in another post but it’s clear she had some kind of hope of someone rescuing her and that hope is definitely gone now. “Acts ambivalent in regard to her own safety” Really? Now THIS is an interesting direction to take her character in. I am very excited to find out more.

As of right now there are no good images that I could find of Strauss’s progress report, but from the snippets I could make out it seems like he still cares about the others but might be losing his grip on reality?

Channel 4 gave us a fake commercial for a love song CD before flashing to a commercial for the new gobblegum machine.

It looks just like the one from BO3 except it’s clearly from Mr Peeks instead of Dr Monty. It showed images of the same gobblegums from BO3 and the machine has a little screen on it that plays a cartoon of Mr. Peeks.

So far there really hasn’t been much but finally getting an update on the Requiem Crew since the end of CW is really exciting!! As someone who cares a lot about these characters I am in anguish over their pain but also (somehow?) still hopeful that things will improve for them!!

[liuisi]

3, 14, and 25 for the year ask game!

3. Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

i've already answered this and the next question but i will be giving second place awards :] for this one i would say lost dogs! they have a LOT of music i haven't listened to Much of it but what i've listened to i really like!! not sure what genre you'd call them...looking it up i'm seeing alt rock and americana ? which i guess tracks yeah. my favourite song by them so far is deeper in the heart!

14. Favorite book you read this year?

again in second place! now i'll give place to the king of attolia from the queen's thief. like i said in my last ask the reason it's not in first is because i think i appreciate it more as part of a series? but it's also the one i've reread the most out of all of them LOL whenever im bored in the metro i just open libby and borrow it again (because no one's borrowing it except for me it seems) and read a bit from it it DOES NOT get old. i adore this book so much there's so many little details you catch only on rereading ... the characters!!! in love with them forever!!! the book that made me well and truly crazy about gen and irene. thinking about it forever. literally define my ratings of the other books in commparison to koa like if it was in ANY OTHER SERIES it would be 5 stars but its not koa so... 4 stars.

25. Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

i don't think? i CREATED a character this year? i've had all my guys for at least two years at this point.... but the one that was the least developed before was lauren i think! so! lauren is the oldest of all my characters (trying not to become a person that only writes teenagers and young adults) i thinkkkk she's? mid 40s when she comes in? she's a marine biologist! studies great whites! is the reason i have all these articles bookmarked! (thank you uni access)

she's a very blunt, no-nonsense type of character, takes respect very seriously (she will NOT let you being rude to her slide). she's olivia's supervisor (or something like that) in uni. they end up taking a boat research trip together (bottle episode!). they are... very much foils at the beginning? very similar in their mental hangups so they clash a Lot. but in the end she's the one who encourages olivia to talk to mariam and eli again so :3

[krsonmar]

I don't think I ever posted my Nandermo playlist, so here it is, with annotations: "Their Love Can't Be Put Into a Box full of Oreos and Pedialyte", a Nandermo fan playlist

1.) Please Don't Leave Me--P!nk

One way to describe this show is "it's bouncy and fun and about how horrible we are to the people who know us best". That called for radio pop about knowingly unhealthy relationships, so of course I went for P!nk. Listen to that bridge ("I forgot to say out loud...") and tell me that's not a Nandermo dynamic.

2.) King of Wishful Thinking--cover by Newfound Glory feat. Patrick Stump

Denial is the name of the game, kids! This cover gives the song a nice rock anthem feel. I'm proud of finding this for this playlist.

3.) I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE--Måneskin

A nice little song about inverting the servant-master dynamic. Who's really dependent on who? And who's really "corrupting" who? Also it's very queer, good old-fashioned campy glam rock. Play it for your Sunday School group!

4.) How's It Going To Be--Third Eye Blind

It's getting to be an unspoken rule when I make a playlist that I have to have one of three songs by Third Eye Blind and one of three by Vertical Horizon. In my defense, these two bands fell into a sweet spot in the late-90s where alt rock was getting just poppy enough but not too poppy.

This one's about knowing you want to leave, you're just waiting for something to happen to finally start the actual ball rolling on it, an inciting incident of some sort: a fight, a snafu you should be able to handle together but that snowballs instead, so on. It's the point in a deteriorating relationship where you've decided you want this to end and you just need an opportunity to enact the decision...but you're also mad at what you've lost. It's before the resignation where there's nothing left to say except "goodbye". Fifteen years and you're not a vampire yet, so please won't the other person give you a reason to leave? Special stuff, kids, and here it has a good singalong chorus and another rockin' bridge.

5.) If You Ever Leave I'm Coming With You--The Wombats

"This relationship degrades me so badly and don't you even think about trying to escape me!" Great to listen to on a loop while nailed into a coffin for weeks while sobbing quietly about how you were *going* to travel the world with your Nan-with your Master!!

6.) I Get A Kick Out Of You--Frank Sinatra

Yeah this one is out-of-place for this playlist but this playlist goes to some weird places. It's a fan playlist about goofy vampires, I do what I damn well want.

Nandor is 700 years old and can't die. He's been a deadly military warlord, watched empires rise and fall, and outlived the majority of his own descendants. He's gotta be pretty jaded. When you drink the blood of other people to live, a lot won't phase you anymore. That's the thinking behind this song. I think Nandor is kind of fascinated with Guillermo's mortality in a way (I wrote a meta post here) and that might play into why he doesn't want to turn him.

Also this song is a standard that gets remade all the time, so if you know of a version that isn't by Old Blue Eyes that you think would fit this playlist, I'd love to hear it.

7.) Dancin' In The Moonlight--either the 1970s original by King's Harvest or the 00s remake by Toploader, take your pick

Ah yes, a good old-fashioned autumnal ball for the supernatural who walk among us, perhaps held on the night when the veil between worlds is thinnest! And a classic song to dance to. I like to imagine our boys having a cute moment to this one; Guillermo trying to spin Nandor around by the hand until he realizes a second too late that the height discrepancy is ridiculous, Nandor doing some medieval Persian dance moves Guillermo tries to copy, long coats sweeping behind them as they twirl and boogie, lots of giggling. It ain't all angst here, folks.

8.) One Week by the Barenaked Ladies (the acoustic version from The Bathroom Sessions, find it on YouTube)

I have always loved this song, so I was thrilled to see it in the Fitness Center episode, and you know I had to get it in here. The song's about having a fight that could end in a breakup but you both know each other too well to stay mad, and this version--recorded in one of the band members bathrooms as an experiment in acoustics-turned-full impromptu YouTube series--conveys a good-natured casual intimacy and amiability that comes from years of deep familiarity--haha--and learning to get things done together and have fun with it while fully expecting each other's shortcomings and planning for them so it'll be okay. Maybe that's me reading a lot into it; yes, it's filmed in a bathroom, and it's an acoustic version of a song the band is known for even to non-fans, so Ed Robertson and Steven Page's easy back-and-forth ad libs have the comfort of years of doing this under it; but also, the song was almost 20 years old at the point this was filmed, so it's *that* level of "we know how to do this", and it you know the band's history, a few years later, the band kicked Steven out due to a lot of drama, with, IIRC, the understanding he could come back at some point if he worked on himself. Knowing that, the recording can read a lot like a comfortable, long-lived domestic relationship that eventually went south, but this is a snapshot of when times were still good.

I'm way overthinking this, but anyway, the song fits that episode of the show really well and I think this version heightens the "why" of that.

9.) You're A God, by Vertical Horizon

This is the other band with three songs that end up on all my playlists somehow. I really think Nandor and Guillermo have each other, despite what it seems, on a pedestal somewhat, and might even see each other as having a type of divinity that makes them untouchable to the other in some sense. Guillermo, to Nandor, is pure, fragile, mortal, in need of protection, unsuited to being "ruined" by vamipirsm...because then what other human would dare risk gracing Nandor with their time of day? Nandor, to Guillermo, is a powerful, aloof being, literally supernatural, infinitely more powerful than him and far less vulnerable (in multiple ways, so it seems), and promising him access to this thing he wants so badly if only he just proves himself enough.

Catholicism ahoy! And I'll take mine with a side of a modified Madonna-Whore Complex, please!

They've got some complexes, these two.

10.) Last one and then you can stop reading (why are you still reading this??)

Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler, or, depending on a few things, go for the techno remix by Nicki French

This song was actually written by the composer best known for his work with Meatloaf, for a campy rock opera about a human in an emotionally abusive relationship with a vampire. I know, right? If they don't use this song somewhere in the final season, I will riot. A good finale piece; I want to see it used in its techno incarnation for a climactic fight scene, I wrote a stupid thing a couple years ago about the idea. A nice, very fitting wrap-up to the playlist...and the show, perhaps?

Go take a break, you just read way too much meta about a fictional neurotic gay couple.

[saltiestcoconut]

fic writer ask! 15 to 20 pls c:

Oh wow 15 to 20 nice thanks nonny how can I possibly say no to such politeness?

Shoving all that under a read more to not clutter the tl <3

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters?

I usually give my fic a placeholder name first just so I don't have unnamed document 37 as the title of the doc I'm writing a fic on

Sometimes I never change the title because either I forget or I just don't finish it but I do try to give it a proper title at some point

If the fic is part of a collection then I just assign a one word title that describes the fic and call it a day since the title itself isn't that important I just need something to put as a header

And yes sometimes I use song titles or lyrics for fic titles just like everyone else lmao

16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles? 

Like I said in the previous question I come up with a placeholder name at the beginning and change it at the end but sometimes I title fics in the middle when it comes to me like a flash of divine inspiration 

17. What's something you've learned about while doing research for a fic?

I don't do research for my fics because I'm very lazy lmao

But but but 

I did a little bit of research on fireflies a few weeks back to make sure the fireflies in my fic Luminous was at least plausible (never mind the fact that it was based on a video game and the fic was published a year ago) did you know fireflies are associated with passionate love in Japanese poetry? And that they were believed to be the altered souls of soldiers who died in war? Feel free to take all that with a grain of salt tho I couldn't exactly find more sources to back it up but eh it's an amazing coincidence given what goes down in Luminous lmao

18. What's one of your favorite lines you've written in a fic? 

Sadly my favorite line is nsfw so due to paranoia I won't share it here (maybe I'll share it in a separate post who knows) but I can share my second favorite

"What are you doing?" he asked, likely a reflex than a genuine desire to know what Ai was obviously doing. "... Getting to know Yusaku," Ai said.  Yusaku's eyes darted from Ai to the hospital staff, not daring to say anything lest he make the situation worse than it already was.  "Are you now? Seems like you're getting a little too friendly." Ai turned his head towards Yusaku. "Hello, person I've never met before. I'm Ai."  "... Yusaku."  "Oh really. That's a nice name. It's like two opposites coming together, amazing." No one pointed out that Ai couldn't possibly know his name's meaning unless he had seen it written out before.

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs

Oh no I've run out of WIPs outside aiyusa month— SIKE! Here's something from a wip no one except me and a friend will understand

"No! I still don't know why you all do this for fun, you're all insane! Why don't you ride some d*—"  Playmaker lifted a hand. "You're not allowed to say that here, Yu-Gi-Oh! isn't that type of franchise."  "Yeah! We're a shoujo franchise, we have a reputation to maintain!" Ai chimed in. "That's bullshit! Gintama is shoujo too!"  "I couldn't tell from how foul your language is."

20. What's a favorite title for a fic you've written?

Don't Talk to Me Past Midnight easily 

Fun fact it originally started as a joke/placeholder title poking fun at my unfortunate habit of being more loose lipped between 1-2 am and the fact that I wrote that fic in the middle of the night for some reason or another (I was probably depressed and taking friends request to write out my feelings) but it was such a banger title that fit the fic I kept it when I published it  

Feel free to send me an ask!

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 10 February 1955

A most unusual week, with two of the same song charting at the same time in very similar positions. This is the kind of content you're just not going to get in the 21st century, for better or (for the sake of writing about them) for worse. Oh well, at least they look interesting...

The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane - The Ames Brothers (6)

Immediately I'm imagining all sorts of sauciness, merely based on that title. By which I mean, if our naughty lady isn't a prostitute, I'll be very disappointed.

Things start promising with a slightly tango-ish rhythm and some deep, slinky "boom boom boom boom boom boom boom" bits and all these dramatic guitar and brass licks. It sounds dangerous and slightly sexy, and definitely a bit disreptuable.

And then we learn that "The naughty lady of shady lane has hit the town like a bomb / The back fence gossip ain't been this good since Mabel ran off with Tom". It's a picture-perfect glimpse into a catty 1950s suburban word, where everyone pretends to disapprove while secretly enjoying the hottest gossip. Seriously, somehow referencing Mabel and Tom and gossiping over back fences just makes it so good!

Then we get a shift to a marimba (?) and a more major tone as we get the chorus, all about how the titular naughy lady "has the town in a whirl". It's enough to create interest and create a brief and vaguely calypso-esque vibe. And then we're back to the tango atmosphere for the verses, which all describe our lady in increasingly suggestive ways.

To my delight, she really does seem to be a prostitute, too! She has a whole string of visitors, we learn, and we are told that "She must be givin' them quite a thrill / The way they flock to her door". Worse, she's giving "come hither glances" to every Tom, Dick and Harry, and offered some liquid refreshment "the lady never says no".

It comes close to being a bit gross, in its judgey attitude, except for all that the song's narrator disapproves, it never quite outright condemns her. In fact, the overall impression I got at this point was essentially of our shady lady as a sit-com character. This whole song, in fact, could be the theme to a WandaVision-type classic sit-com with a twist, all about a modern, sexually emancipated woman who suddenly appears in a 1950s suburban world. It's all in good fun, you get the impression!

As such, our main character isn't so much a real person as an assemblage of tropes. She exists so you can make assumptions about her and slot her into pre-existing narratives. Seriously, a lot of the fun of this song is trying to figure out just what kind of story we're in. At first, she's a "overdramatic town floozy" kind of figure, then at times she's more of a "disruptive femme fatale", and finally, she's suggestsed to be more of a "hooker with a heart of gold". All stereotypes, and the fun's just in figuring out that "She just needs / Someone to change her". We're doing that story, guys, case closed...

Except - last line twist alert! - she's not a prostitute at all, and all this play was just that, play! The real clue is in the mention of "powder / And fancy lace" and in the double meaning of "Someone to change her". Because, drum roll please... our lady is "only nine days old"! Yeah, that's right, it's a song about everybody liking a baby! And so you become the dirty-minded one for thinking it's about anything else - honestly, what else could this be about?!

It makes the song scan entirely differently on a second listen, as you realise why she's "delectable to hold" and what kind of "liquid refreshment" she's probably consuming. But I maintain that it doesn't quite work, even then - there's just too many lines that don't quite scan as being about a baby. I don't find myself minding, much. But also, nobody is seriously playing the "haha, but we made it about a baby" game here. We all know what this song is about - and it's all the better for its brazenness.

The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane - Dean Martin (5)

To state the obvious: this is the exact same song as above. Fortunately, there are still some things to note about it, not least beacuse Dean's approach is considerably different to the Ames Brothers.

Immediately what jumps out is the backing singers' "papaya-paya" backing. Which was apparently a thing, as I've heard it in other songs, but it still just makes me think of the fruit, and not in a good way. It's distracting, to be honest, and it's not like the backing singers otherwise improve this version of the song. They don't have much to do, really - you could absolutely replace them with trumpets for the intro and the song would do just fine.

Getting past this, Dean's version also is a lot lighter, texturally. Part of this is the fact that there's only one of him, as opposed to four Ames Brothers. Still, you've also got a slightly thinner sound in the instruments, from the guitar and the other string instrument (no idea what it actually is), to the castanets and the faint plinking noises that replace the marimba sounds. It's a lot more Spanish-sounding, leaning on the tango aspects of the original and less on the more calypso elements. Which works just fine, no objections here, but it definitely gives a different feel. I also kind of miss the fullness you get from having multiple voices.

Apart from all that, the song really is the same song as above. I get less "sitcom theme" vibes, and the punchline feels a little more low-key, perhaps, but that could also just be because I know the joke. Hard to tell.

Well, those are the same song. I liked them, though I can see why they don't get much airtime nowadays. In fact, I think they probably suffer from the same issue that a lot of joke or novelty songs have, which is that they never work as well as the first time you heard them. This one has the "re-listen" bonus of spotting all the hints at our lady's age, but that's still only one or two more listens before you can safely consign this to a corner, where it will gather dust forever. A shame, because it is still quite fun!

Favourite song of the bunch: The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane - Ames Brothers' version.

[daphnethebanjolover]

Ranking every original show currently airing on Game Show Network because I have nothing better to do

Yes, I know. Game shows are for old people. I'm reminded of that with every prescription drug commercial, but I still watch game shows at age 22, and dangit, I'm proud, so here we go.

America Says: Of course I have to start with what has to be GSN's flagship show. John Michael Higgins hosts in this show where two teams of four take turns guessing blanks off a board with a question like "When I go to the amusement park, I always ride the ___ first." As far as game shows go, this one's pretty standard except for when the contestants start singing or dancing during the get to know you segment, and JMH is more than willing to engage in the silliness. They air it for hours at a time, and you know what, I can just keep watching. This show is only one of many that follow the unfortunate GSN trend of forcing contestants to give stupid answers because there's no pass option, but there's always room for America Says on my TV. 8/10 I can't believe the only team to get a perfect score is The Canadians.

People Puzzler: Take the People magazine crossword, put it on a giant screen, turn it into a game show, and get "King of Queens" star Leah Remini to host it. This show is iconic mainly because of Leah Remini. She definitely has way more sass than most game show hosts, and she's not afraid to tell contestants when they're wrong. ("It's okay, Hector. We won't judge." *looks judgmentally at the camera*) However, she will also tell contestants "you were so close" if they lose the final round even if they only get, like, five answers. It also has the most samba-rific theme song on GSN. If you're looking for a good dose of chaos on weekdays at 9 am central, watch People Puzzler. 9/10 When are we getting the New York Times crossword puzzle game show?

Master Minds: This one is one of the biggest head-scratchers on the network when it comes to the questions, and it doesn't help that the contestants are pitted against three trivia "master minds" (if you want to know the type of people I'm talking about, Ken Jennings is one of them). This show is entertaining to watch partially because of how challenging the questions are and because of Brooke Burns's hosting job. The Beast (who originally debuted alongside Burns on The Chase, another iconic show that has gone the way of the dinosaur) has joined the lineup of master minds this season. I know they probably did it for views, but it allows Brooke and Beastie's dynamic to continue on. This show has the interesting gimmick that if a contestant wins the final round (not just the show but also the Ultimate Trivia Challenge at the end), they get to come back for the next episode, and if they win three times, they become a master mind. This seems nigh-impossible considering how hard it is to win once, but apparently, it has happened before. 8/10 I miss The Chase.

Common Knowledge: This show is honestly kinda mid. Sometimes, I forget it exists. The questions are described as "things everybody should know" as in various life hacks (example: What should you do if you get doggy business on your shoe?) The problem is that the knowledge doesn't seem so common, and most of the time, I'm left thinking, "How am I supposed to know that?" There's also the gimmick that if all three people on a team give the same answer, they get a bonus if they're correct. I personally would add a smaller point bonus if two people picked the same answer to further promote answering similarly. Lastly, Joey Fatone's hosting kind of falls flat. Every time a contestant answers correctly, he says, "Is it (answer)? It is!" 5/10 The theme song is just one treble note and two bass notes.

Chain Reaction: This is the third version of Chain Reaction produced by GSN and the second hosted by Dylan Lane, who still manages to be hot despite being bald. It's a shame I don't watch it as much because I don't normally watch TV while it's on. This version improves on the 2006 version in many ways. For one thing, they got rid of the "guys vs. girls" gimmick and now allow coed teams. Secondly, they replaced that bullshit in the final round where two teammates have to make questions one word at a time with three speed chains. However, the 2006 version has it beat in terms of the theme song ("It starts with 'word.' There's a G underneath. Guess the word 'game,' and you're right. The word 'game' starts a chain. Pick a letter. Take a guess. Connect a chain. Win some cash. It's guys against girls right now on Chain Reaction.") 7/10 As it turns out, this version only ran until 2022, but it's still cool. If they reboot it again, they need to bring the old theme song back.

Switch: This show is actual bullshit. There is no scoring system. There are five big numbers on stage, and you move towards number one with right answers and towards number five with wrong answers. This means that if you're in spot number 5, get a question right, and everyone else gets it wrong, you're shooting straight to the top, and if you do it on the last question of the round, you get to move on even if you did terribly on the rest of the questions. It's like Splatoon Turf War in a bad way. I would personally add a point value to each number to keep track of each contestant's position throughout the show with the lowest-scoring contestant getting the boot after each round. I don't remember the host's name, and to be honest, I don't care. He always asks contestants why they picked the answer they did, forcing them to admit they guessed most of the time, and sometimes I wonder if he's going to get carpal tunnel from doing the "switch" gesture with his hands all the time. 0/10 Just add a scoring system.

Split Second: They gave John Michael "There is a GSN executive with his hand up my shirt" Higgins a second show. (I kid you not. He said that.) It was originally hosted by Monty Hall, but GSN has given it new life. In this show, contestants have to answer questions with split-second reactions. First of all, I have to appreciate how much less misogynistic JMH is than Monty Hall. Second, they split the points among the contestants who got the question right, making it that much more important to be the only one to get each question right. It also makes it equally likely for the contestants to be close in score and for one person to just sandbag in last, and you never know what you're going to get. The final round is close to impossible. You're supposed to answer seven questions in 60 seconds, and I've only seen two people win it. 6/10 It's got the second most samba-rific theme song on GSN.

Hey Yahoo: The newest show on GSN. I originally expected to be disappointed because it's not about the weird stuff they ask on Yahoo Answers (think "how is prangent formed"). Instead, it's a combination of America Says, People Puzzler, and Family Feud where teams have to guess questions that are formatted as autocomplete suggestions for questions one might ask on Yahoo specifically. The show is hosted by Tom Cavanagh (whom I call knockoff Tom Kenny for reasons you'll understand once you see him), and he's on the "more personality" side of the spectrum if you put Leah Remini on one end and the Switch guy on the other, but the one thing that has more personality is his suits. The weirdest feature is that if an individual contestant gets a question wrong, they're eliminated for the rest of the round, which seems out of place for a team-based competition. I also gotta give a shoutout to the soundtrack. The theme song sounds like something from a hoedown, and the track for the lightning round is quiet and pensive while still having that hoedown sound. It's slowly climbing my favorites list. 5/10 YaHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Tug of Words: I've literally only seen half an episode of this because it airs so early, and it was this morning, but here are my impressions of it. This show involves two teams of two guessing words using a six-letter word with two letters highlighted and a definition. The answer involves changing out the highlighted letters. (Example: The word is FLAUNT. Clue: Proficient in a language. Answer: FLUENT.) There is no scoring system. Instead, there is a virtual flag that moves closer to one team's side with each question they get right. The team who has the flag on their side wins the round. This show does a better job than Switch at being fair without a scoring system. The position of the flag keeps track of both teams' progress in relation to each other unlike Switch, where everything can be jumbled at a moment's notice. I don't remember the host's name. I think it's Samantha something. She seems friendly and entertaining enough, but she briefly lost her balance in those heels the costume department has her in. Lastly, this show is unique on GSN in the sense that it has rave music for the theme song. 5/10 It looks interesting, but it airs too early for me.

[fortheharbingers]

part 2 to this bc i got too many fcs to write to start this one properly...

streamer!scaramouche who won't stop indirecting you on twitter but always joins your streams, be it his official account or new throwaway one. on times he joins with his official account, he won't hold back from shittalking in the chat every two second, the stream ending up with less playing on your part and more bickering of the two of you. the viewers love it, some of the fans love, some envy it– scaramouche? he loves drawing those reactions out of you, voice getting high pitched once in a while, mouth hanging open, hands starting to shake, and no, it's not because you are doing a boss level or anything, the game is pretty much paused already.

streamer!scaramouche who always hated childe's parties but starts showing up more regularly once he finds out you are attending as well. lucky for him, the carrot bastard loves tacky drinking games, it gives him more the advantage to get you flustered. though he doesn't expect you to fight or tease back, at all. but on a game of '15 minutes in heaven' (really now childe? just say you want to make out with your boyfriend– you muttered) he catches you off guard, "better to pass the time like that, it'll go faster" he whispers to his lips after hovering over you. he doesn't expect you to kiss him back, nor the hand that goes up his neck and grips his hair tight, pulling his hair back, biting down his lip so hard, he can taste his blood.

twitch user kuni who always talks with utmost interest with you, keeping conversations going, making the streams fun– unlike the purple gremlin that calls himself scaramouche. kuni is everything scara is not; he is sweet, he is caring, interesting, intellectual, deep, understanding; and unfortuantely– unavailable. neither of you make a move to meet, it is too much, it is not a step but a jump, one neither of you sure would survive.

meanwhile scara? he is but a phone call away. voice more often than not husky and needy whenever you answer. all your teasing remarks fail when he says 'yes i'm in my bed naked, thşnking about your pretty hands wrapped around my cock' it begins with a stupid song and a stupider remark and becomes a regular. even just a call away, he gets you off, and you do him. the more the calls go, the more eager he gets to get his hands on you, to grip your neck like he always said, sink his nails into your thighs like you whispered, dive into you like talked, described and fantasized so many times before.

streamer!tartaglia loves to organize parties for his friends. the next one he does, everyone ends up shitfaced and drunk out of their minds. scara sees his opportunity and takes it. grabbing your hand and dragging you down the hall to a room he knows will be empty. kuni knows you've been stressed lately, but scara does not– the again, he doesn't need to, does he? he is observant, all it takes is to see how you down the drinks quickly, how you seem to doze off. when he starts kissing you again, much hungrier than that night, you're slower to kiss him back. 'give me the control then, i'll make sure you won't think or worry about a single thing by the time we are done.' you nod, and he proves you were right to place your trust in him. by the night all you can think about is his cold fingers on you, teeth sinking into your flesh, how good his mouth felt down there, how wet the both of you were that he needed little to no lube. as you pass out in his arms, he cannot help but inhale your scent, mixed with sweat and him; with your disheveled hair and rolled out eyes, mouth slightly open, what a sight you truly make.

one fuck is all he needs, is what he said himself. to get his mind off you, to get you out of there– except he finds himself craving more and more of you after that, wishing to see hickeys decorating you every day, sore legs and raspy voice, how many of your viiewers would notice? what would they think? what would you say in return, that he fucked you so good you couldn't think? hah, he knows you'd rather be dead than to say that, probably afraid sweet little kuni would get the wrong idea. well, aren't you a lucky person indeed, you've got nothing to worry about. just give in to him already, keep that spark, keep grinning against his mouth every time you draw blood out of his lips, scratch him, nail and bite at his skin, offer yourself to him– he knows you've got so much to offer and this was merely a taste of it. the carrot head should hurry up and throw another party sooner.

[katsukikitten]

OMG yes I’d love to play okay okay. I’m picking Cowboy!Dabi for my blorbo:

There’s a lot of give and take with the two of us, we both have a lot of baggage and trauma, but for some reason, it works. He pushes me to do more than I think I’m capable of and I push him to be more open and willing to feel things.

He likes to push my buttons and rile me up just to see me get amped up about things, but he also knows how to ground me when I need it.

We definitely have our disagreements and both of us are probably too stubborn for our own good, but at the end of the day we know we can rely on and trust one another to be there when needed.

(I’m more than okay with angst, in fact, it is encouraged 😜)

Okay remember this game is all off vibes and what makes this smooth brain light up. Also you got two songs because diemonds came on as I was describing my mental picture and their vibe will always ALWAYS make think of Touya I really don't think that deep down Touya wants to be this self destructive he just wants to be LOVED 😭

The first song is for the ship and the second is why it can be so difficult. Maybe for the both of you 🥺

But the first song is somber, it always makes me think of two people cycling through strangers to lovers to strangers again. Only finding true comfort in one another because no one quite gets you like Touya does and vice versa. Pushing the other away so they can do better, be better and he waits patiently for you to call him at three am that you're ready for him to pick you up and take you on a drive in his pick up truck and he'll take you down winding back roads until he finds the field where you two shared your first kiss, saw your first shooting start together.

Did you wish for the same thing as he did?

Because he wished for you to be happy, wished you never had a reason to cry except for the stich in your side from crying too much.

Even if that meant you had to leave him behind. So he promises himself one last time, one more fucking time, to lay you down in the blankets he spreads in the bed of his truck and take your pain away one kiss, thrust and fuck at a time. Wiping away tears he wished you wouldn't shed.

[honeypiehotchner]

illicit affairs (Spencer Reid one-shot)

This is wayyy overdue! It’s just been sitting in my drafts, waiting for me to edit her, but she’s finally here. This is very loosely based on Taylor Swift’s song of the same title. And it’s 100% me writing out some feelings through fanfiction, so it’s also loosely based on true events. Enjoy!

Summary: You and Spencer have been “dating” without a label for a few months now, until you witness something that has you wondering if it was too good to be true (as always).

Warnings: it’s so dramatic. Angst with a happy ending!

Spencer has no fucking clue what he did.

Well, to be more accurate, Spencer has no idea if he even did anything at all.

One second the two of you were acting as normal as ever, attached at the hip and nothing less, and the next you’re barely able to look at him. You won’t speak to him, you insist you’re fine, and you ask him to leave you alone -- please.

A new case comes and he thinks things will fall back into their rightful place. He expects you to sit with him on the plane, but you choose the farthest seat away from him. He expects you’ll be paired with him when he says he’ll go to the local station to work on victimology, but instead you agree to Morgan’s offer to look at the crime scene.

He’s desperate. He’s a so-called genius, and he’s losing his mind.

“Morgan, help me out here, man,” Spencer pleads, cornering Morgan when he’s getting a coffee. He’s just returned from the crime scene with you, but of course, you’ve ducked away from Spencer.

Derek’s eyebrows raise. Slowly, he turns around, eyeing the desperate genius. “You’re asking for my advice?”

“She won’t talk to me,” Spencer whispers, eyes cutting to you, but only for a second. He doesn’t want you to think he’s creepily staring at you all the time. So far, you haven’t caught him (that he knows of).

“Well, what did you do?” Morgan asks like the answer should be blatantly obvious.

“I don’t know!”

“Alright, let me rephrase that for you,” Morgan’s tone is bordering on teasing, but he can’t help it. The resident genius of the BAU is having trouble talking to a woman. Who knew? “Have you done anything that would lead her to believe you’re not interested in her anymore?”

“What? No!”

“Think, Reid,” Morgan replies, tipping his cup of coffee in the air. “And when you figure it out, apologize.”

He leaves without another word. Morgan joins you and Emily back in the room where the team has set up base. You share a particularly heated look with Morgan, but he shakes his head, letting you know he didn’t betray your confidence. You relax.

Spencer doesn’t know this, but earlier when you were riding with Morgan to the crime scene, you confided in him.

It had been completely accidental. Something about car rides brings out the need to ask for advice. Maybe it’s the fact that there’s the road to focus on, or the case to segway into, you don’t know. But what you do know, is that when you confided in Morgan, he shook his head, and called Spencer a dumbass.

“Hypothetically,” you had begun, and Morgan remembers wondering if you were going to talk about the case, but you didn’t. “If you’ve been talking-- flirting with a guy and going on a few dates over the past few months -- but there’s no label -- but so if you’ve been doing all this and then you suddenly see him outside his apartment hugging another woman -- like arms around her waist kind of deal, face in her neck...what does that mean?”

Morgan had nearly slammed on the brakes. Reid? A two-timer? He never would’ve guessed. The kid could barely get his words out when he first met you, and now he’s playing you?

“Well, hypothetically,” Morgan played into your game. “I’d be suspicious. Personally, I don’t just hug any woman like that if I don’t have other intentions,” he shook his head. What you’re describing is intimate, especially for Reid. “You’re right to think something else is going on.”

“Who said it was about me?”

Morgan looked at you with his usual knowing stare. Sometimes you forget you’re all profilers. You’ve made deals not to profile one another, but you’re sure it still happens. You all have another silence agreement to never voice it aloud, unless needed.

“Fine,” you caved, crossing your arms over your chest. “I don’t know, I just-- I was going to drop off his stupid jacket that he left in my car the night before, and I saw him hugging her right on his doorstep and she kissed his cheek and I just-- I bolted. I don’t know.” You had let out a frustrated sigh. “I thought he was different.”

“If it helps,” Morgan shrugged, “I’ll kick his ass.” He might protect Reid like a mother hen, but he’s not afraid to give him a hard time, either.

“No, no, don’t,” you groaned. “I’m just gonna keep my distance. No sense in putting effort into something that clearly is never going to happen.”

“Oh, come on, don’t talk like that,” Morgan said. You used to talk that way all the time when you first started at the BAU, but it slowly died out the more you hung out with Spencer. Morgan connected the dots, but never told you.

“You know I’ve never been in a relationship?”

This time, Morgan did slam on the brakes.

“What?”

“Never,” you shook your head, motioning for him to keep driving. “Not one. They all fall through. I started thinking something was wrong with me, you know?” Morgan gave you another look, his sad, big brother one this time. “But then Spencer and I started getting closer, he took me on what I thought, I guess, were a couple of dates. I mean, he paid and drove and walked me to my door and all that cute shit. That’s a date, right? I mean, he never kissed me on the lips, but it’s Spencer.” You didn’t even look to see Morgan’s reaction, but he was nodding. “I started to think maybe it was never me, maybe it was the guys--”

“It was the guys,” Morgan argued. “Alright? You’re amazing. Anyone would be lucky to have you. It would be a damn honor. Don’t let that head of yours convince you otherwise.”

You shook your head, the crime scene rapidly approaching. “I’m not so sure anymore.”

You were out of the car and introducing yourself to the police on the scene before Morgan could even blink.

Morgan can only hope Reid had a good reason for having a woman at his door and hugging her, and letting her kiss his cheek. Reid doesn’t give hugs to just anyone, let alone accept a kiss, so whoever it was, obviously she was more than a friend.

The thought of Reid being a player makes Morgan smile. On the one hand, he’s a little bit proud. On the other, he’s pissed. It’s one thing to have one night stands with women who are into that sort of thing, but it’s another to drag someone along -- someone like you, someone who is too good, who deserves better than that.

Morgan had thought about telling you to just talk to Spencer, in hopes that there was a good reason for what you saw, but you’ve made it painfully clear over the past two weeks that you’d rather keep your distance instead.

So, he lets you. He can’t say that he blames you, really. Not after what you told him. He can only hope Spencer will figure this one out before it’s too late.

+++

After the case is closed and you’re back home, you immediately head for the shower. Cases are exhausting enough, but avoiding Spencer made it worse. Going from being attached at the hip to trying to be anywhere except in the same room as him took a toll on you. Not to mention, dodging everyone else’s worried looks. Morgan is the only one you’ve confided in, but that hasn’t stopped Hotch, Emily, JJ, and even Garcia from constantly asking if you’re alright.

Once you’re finished showering and in your pajamas, you head back to the living area. Spencer’s forgotten cardigan lays on the arm of your couch, lonely.

You know you shouldn’t, but you shrug it on anyway. No harm in wearing it. Not like he misses it. He probably has a hundred others.

You head to the kitchen to make yourself some tea, hoping it’ll soothe your nerves and help you drift off to sleep before your mind has the time to make you think of Spencer.

Too late.

Sighing heavily, you place the kettle on the stove. You hum a song while you’re at it, knowing that you’re being endlessly dramatic.

It’s not like you had sex with Spencer. Hell, the most the two of you did was hold hands and you kissed his cheek. He kissed your head once, though you think it was an accident.

Still, there was never a label. Why are you so upset?

Don’t call me kid, don’t call me baby/Look at this idiotic fool that you made me

It’s stupid, really, how hung up you are over this. A few dates don’t exactly mean anything at all. Flirting nowadays can mean nothing, too. You don’t understand any of it.

You cup your cheek gently, foolishly wondering what it would feel like if Spencer’s hand was there instead -- maybe even as he kissed you, but you don’t want to get too carried away. It’s not like anything will ever happen now.

And you know damn well/for you I would ruin myself/a million little times

Maybe you just need more time. This was the first time in a long time that you had let your guard down, let yourself go on dates. So many times it had all gone wrong, so you closed yourself off and focused on your career. You thought since you were stable at the BAU that now it was okay.

You thought Spencer -- Spencer Reid, of all people, you really thought he would’ve been different.

Maybe it’s just your type. Maybe that’s who you attract. The men who don’t want anything serious and never will. They’re stuck in Peter Pan mode. You must be Wendy. It must be a curse.

The kettle boils and you cut the burner off, fixing your tea.

You’re just walking back to the living room when there’s a knock on your door. You freeze, your panicked mind expecting the absolute worst, until you hear Spencer’s voice.

“Y/N?” He calls out. “It’s Spencer-- You probably knew that already.”

You smile into your tea, but you make no move for the door. You want-- no, you ache to let him inside, but you know it’s a bad idea. He’s probably here to ask if you’re alright, and you don’t have the energy to answer him. He’s probably going to go back to his girlfriend after this. You really don’t know that you can handle a face-to-face rejection.

“Y/N, please,” Spencer says again, pleading. He knocks once more, quietly. “I see lights are on, so I’m just going to...assume you can hear me.”

You walk a step closer. You don’t want to let him inside, but maybe you can listen. That won’t be too bad, right?

“Y/N, I’m...I’m sorry.”

Oh, tears. Stupid, stupid tears. You wipe them on the sleeve of his cardigan, glad that they’re at least falling quietly right now.

“I don’t know what I did, but I’m...I’m just sorry and I miss you and it’s killing me that you won’t even look at me. I…” Spencer pauses, and you walk closer, biting on the sleeve to keep from letting out a sob. “I’m sorry, I don’t… Please, just tell me what I did.”

You press your back to the door, sliding down until you hit the floor. You keep your knees against your chest and set the mug of tea down next to you. The noise causes Spencer’s ears to perk up.

“Y/N? Is that you?”

“Yeah, Spencer,” you barely speak loud enough for him to hear. “It’s me.”

“Please, tell me what I did,” he pleads, voice breaking. Is he crying, too? “I don’t know what it was, but I’ll fix it. Or I’ll try-- Please, let me try.”

“Spencer…” You sigh, tears falling down your cheeks with no restraint. “Be honest with me, are you seeing someone else?” You pause, choking on a sob. So many times you’ve had this conversation, the rejection, finding out you weren’t the one they wanted. Too many times. But none of them ever hurt this bad. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“What?” Spencer nearly falls over. Why on earth would you think that? “What are you talking about? Of course not.”

“Don’t lie to me, please,” you groan, pressing your hand to your forehead. This is pathetic. You shouldn’t be showing him how upset you are. And through a door, no less. Can you get any more dramatic?

“What are you talking about?”

“I was at your apartment, Spencer,” you mutter, wiping angrily at your cheeks. “I went to drop off this stupid cardigan of yours and you-- You were hugging a woman outside your door and I saw it and I saw her kiss you--”

You cut yourself off, choking on another sob, and Spencer sighs. He understands now.

“Open the door. Please,” he says.

“Why?” You reply quietly. “If you’re just going to reject me, please, just do it through the door.” The last thing you want is for him to see you like this when he tells you he’s seeing someone else, that he didn’t even know you liked him, and so on.

“I’m not rejecting you,” he says softly. “Please.”

You know it’s a bad idea, but how much worse can things get?

You stand to your feet and open the door, careful of the mug of tea on the floor. Spencer’s heart drops at the sight of you. Tear stains on your cheeks, red eyes, your quivering lip as you try to hold things together, and...his cardigan hanging off your shoulders. Somehow the last tops it all off, sends a strike of pain right to his heart.

You wipe some more tears away with the sleeve, motioning for him to start talking. “Go on.”

“She’s an old friend. We did kiss before, once. But she’s not my girlfriend. She was in town and wanted to stop by to tell me she’s getting married...to her girlfriend of three years.”

You nod slowly. For some reason, that doesn’t even make you feel better. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Spencer asks, hopeful tone and all. “Are we okay?”

“What are we, Spencer?” You ask, eyes still watering. “I can’t keep going on the way we were going, you know? It’s agonizing, I just want to know what’s going on in your head.”

Spencer smiles softly. “I want you to...to be my girlfriend.”

Your ears are deceiving you. They must be. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. I thought it was obvious,” he chuckles. “That’s one of the things I talked to her about -- her name’s Jess. She invited me-- us to the wedding. I was gonna ask you to be my girlfriend-- I still want to, I mean, if you’ll have me.”

More tears spring to your eyes and Spencer’s heart jumps, thinking he did something completely wrong.

“What happened? Did I say something?”

“No,” you shake your head. “God.” You wipe at your cheeks before turning and retreating back into your apartment. Spencer has no choice but to follow you.

He spots your mug of tea and places it on the coffee table as he shuts your front door gently with his foot.

“I’m so...stupid,” you mutter, jumping when you see he’s followed you inside. He’s not unwelcome here by any means, you’re just an idiot. A huge idiot.

“You’re not stupid,” he argues. “I wish you would’ve talked to me.”

“Would you believe me if I told you this has happened to me before?” You murmur pathetically, propping your body against the arm of your couch.

Spencer’s heart breaks more. You won’t look at him again.

“I’m sorry,” you sigh, clasping your hands together, fighting the shakes. “I should’ve talked to you, I just-- This has happened before and those times it was… Well, you know.” You finally look up at him, tears falling. “The first time the guy didn’t even try hiding it. The second one did, but not very well because I still found out. The third wasn’t even aware that he was flirting with me, I guess. I don’t know how you can take someone on dates for months and not be aware, but he said he wasn’t.” You pause, looking away again. “I just saw a pattern and I freaked out and I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Spencer whispers, even though you still feel like it’s not.

You shake your head.

“Y/N, it is,” he presses on. “I should’ve...talked to you about how I’m feeling, but I was scared. You’re the first girl that’s-- I don’t know, liked me for me, I guess. Dorkiness and all.”

You chuckle, and Spencer nearly grins. He got a laugh. That’s something.

“How about we both make a deal to communicate better?” He offers. You nod, so he keeps going. “I’ll go first. I really want you to be my girlfriend.”

You can’t help but smile now, all dumb and trying to hide it in the sleeve of his cardigan. “I’d really love to be your girlfriend.”

“Yeah?” He asks, almost like he wasn’t even expecting you to agree, but you nod, confirming it for his genius brain.

The kiss the two of you share is a long time coming. It’s gentle and warm, relaxing your muscles and easing the tension you’ve held in them for the past two weeks. Spencer gathers you in his arms, keeping you close, with zero intent of ever letting you go.

+++

When you walk into the BAU the next morning, you are painfully reminded that you are surrounded by the best profilers in the country.

It’s no secret that you and Spencer have been “dating” for a while, but you never showed PDA -- partly because the two of you were fumbling around your true feelings, and partly because you’re not too sure how relationships stand with protocol here.

Apparently, despite coming in fifteen minutes apart from one another, everyone can see right through you both.

Morgan is the first to say something. He catches you when the elevator doors open and you have Spencer’s cardigan hanging over your shoulders. In your defense, Spencer forgot to grab it when he left your house sometime this morning, so you were just trying to return it -- again.

“Late night?” Morgan raised his eyebrows.

Realizing your mistake, your eyes widen. “Shut up.” You step off the elevator and point a threatening finger in his face. “Not a word.”

Morgan’s hands raise in surrender, but he still has that goddamn smile on his face. “Might wanna take off that cardigan, sweetheart. You’re too obvious.”

Angrily, you shrug it off and walk into the bullpen.

Spencer is at his desk, so you shove his cardigan into his chest. “You forgot this.”

Upon seeing that it’s you, Spencer’s lips stretch into a grin. “Thanks.” He pauses, folding the cardigan over his arm. “I was kind of hoping you’d keep it,” he whispers, eyes darting around to be sure no one is listening. “It looks better on you, anyway.”

You bite down hard on the inside of your cheek. “Give it to me tonight, then,” you wink, earning a light blush on Spencer’s cheeks.

Hotch watches this encounter from the railing and smiles. He’s sure neither of you will do anything to warrant him giving you a stern talk about relationships and work, so he won’t mention anything for now.

Instead, he retreats back into his office, glad you’ve finally gotten over yourselves.

Garcia catches on when you come to visit her in her office only to find Spencer already standing there. He’s animatedly talking about Doctor Who, but stops abruptly when he sees you. It doesn’t take a profiler to understand the glances, the smiles, and awkward goodbyes that were shared so you could ask Garcia a question.

Prentiss is just glad the two of you will look at one another again, but the way you keep glancing over her shoulder to see Spencer is more than obvious. It’s so obvious that Prentiss and JJ share a knowing look, but say nothing. They should’ve placed bets.

You and Spencer catch each other’s eyes more than a dozen times every hour, and he follows you to the break room to conveniently get a coffee at the same time as you.

Yeah, you’re not being obvious at all.

Neither of you notice that the team has caught on, so you take your chances when you find yourselves alone in the break room. You can practically hear the conversations the rest of the team is having out in the bullpen, so you let Spencer pull you into his arms, his chin resting on top of your head.

This is a lot for Spencer, and you too, if you’re honest. Hugs are something you never found yourself enjoying, but when you’re tucked into Spencer’s chest, you never want to leave.

You’re both too busy holding one another to hear Hotch’s footsteps as he enters the room. The clearing of his throat is what finally breaks the two of you apart.

“Agent Hotchner,” you blurt, straightening yourself and taking one too many steps away from Reid.

Hotch smirks. You haven’t called him that since your first day. “New case. Looks like a short one. Conference room in five minutes.”

And he leaves as quick as he came, chuckling under his breath.

You and Spencer share a look before dissolving into laughter and fixing your coffee. You don’t try to walk out of the break room separately, knowing that there’s no use.

Especially not when you get cold on your way to the conference room, and Spencer promptly wraps you in his cardigan.

[animecreator3000]

About the Boueibu iceberg

@delphoxqueen asked me to explain about my list for the iceberg so here it is. I might update this from time to time with links and stuff if I stumble across the original posts. This is all from what I know so feel free to add new info. Also, spoiler warning for RobiHachi and the Boueibu manga and novels. (This is like a masterpost it’s very long)

1. There’s a theory in tumblr about which decade the series is set in, using data like the friday the 13th calendar in s2 ep11. In HK we got a second number for when the next monthly Pretty Boy Contest was happening and using the one from Love it was theorized that around a decade had passed since then, which ended up being true.

2. The stage play had a few original songs and characters exclusive to it so unless you watched the full performance, you probably weren’t able to witness all of them. One of the characters is called “Robato Deniro”, as romanized in the stage play booklet I own.

3. The nurse and the cafeteria staff from the s1 mobile game appear in the background in around the first half of s2 ep3.

4. S2 had an unfinished manga that was only available online and was never released on physical format; it was centered around the defense club and sometimes the conquest club and Beppu brothers. All that’s left from what I know are the scans linked on magicalgirlsandcerulean’s blog.

5. This isn’t that obscure because it’s talked about in the anime, but I’m mentioning it because I think many people dropped it before the ova, where right at the beginning it is revealed that the alien that resucitated Mr. Tawarayama twice was, as described by Io, a “mulberry-colored naked mole rat-looking thing”, and was nicknamed “Moley-san” by Yumoto. At least in the anime, we had never heard before of who this was and it never appeared on screen nor was mentioned again.

6. In HK ep8, Karurusu promises the knights to grant a wish if they show him how earthlings spend summer. Kyoutarou reveals at the end of the episode that he wished that summer lasted one more day so he could spend it doing nothing, which prompts Ichiro to theorize that it’s the 32nd of august, and the next day is the second 1st of september.

7. The stage play was was held from march 10th to 13rd, of which the latter is Ryuu’s birthday. There’s an additional recording of a small celebration with cake focused on Ryuu and Io.

8. Atsushi mentions his older sister in the flashback at the beginning of s1 ep4, but she never appears or is mentioned again.

9. There’s a few posts on tumblr theorizing about what happened to the Hakone parents since Yumoto only says in s2 ep3 that according to Gora, “they are busy with their hot springs tour”. En mentions that it’s a bit suspicious, but it’s all the information we have from the anime. Posts talk about the parents perhaps passing away from an accident or an illness, thus the reason why Gora was so worried about Yumoto’s cold in s1 ep10, but from another post I think it’s implied in the second novel that they actually left their home when Yumoto was still a toddler.

10. It’s no secret that the surnames of the characters are all real onsens in Japan that even the seiyuus have visited, but apparently the Arima onsen has two different kinds of water, “kinsen (gold hot spring)” and “ginsen (silver hot spring)”, with different properties each, and the Kusatsu onsen water also has certain properties, both that were used to build the characters. Additionally, Ryuu’s favorite food are Sato Nishiki cherries, which are grown in the same prefecture, Yamagata, as his onsen, Zaou.

11. The press club lose relevance after s1, with only Kinosaki and Tazawa reappearing briefly in s2 ep2 to interview the Beppu twins after they arrive at the school. Tazawa doesn’t even have lines. Hireashi is mentioned by Zundar in ep11.

12. What the heck

13. Exclusively in the manga we see that Arima met Kinshiro and Atsushi when they were little and they were good friends, but when they met again as adults, Kinshiro seemingly didn’t remember Arima. Atsushi, however, stated that Kinshiro’s talent is remembering people’s faces and names, so Arima wonders if he’s just trying to distance himself from him. He also explains to Akoya that he follows Kinshiro and obeys him because as a child, he was fascinated by his radiant smile. This is never talked about in the anime.

14. Like the previous point, the anime never shows Akoya being bullied, at most just a slight dislike of his full name, but the manga shows that he was made fun of for it and how he actually hates his surname, to the point of introducing himself formally to the president and vicepresident of the student council as “Holy Angel Akoya”.

15, 16, 17, 19. Batonama lives were the livestreams done through the franchise by the defense club seiyuus on youtube and niconico. They’re all on youtube, without any kind of translation.

Love-ko is a girl with a shell bikini drawn on a piece of cardboard that was used as a girlfriend in the Batonama Love! lives, acted by the seiyuus themselves.

RobiHachi has one episode full of official Boueibu artwork and a parody of the series too, a Love-ko doll appears, and Wombat appears as well, named “The Don”. It received an english dub, so for a bit, people were excited that Wombat was going to speak in english too. Also, various mechas appear in both Boueibu and RobiHachi.

18. The director of Fairy Ranmaru (Masakazu Hishida if I’m not wrong) revealed in an interview that he was inspired by Boueibu and aimed to make a show like that.

20, 21. The website super-groupies.com has results for defense and conquest club lingerie sets, dc and VEPPer tote bags, the Beppus’ scarf rings, dc bath sets and the pumps magicalgirlsandcerulean mentioned. I’ve found the s1 Loveracelets and Caerula Adamas’ ring on different sites, the True Loveracelets on TheChara’s twitter and the Happybraces (apparently called “Hapibure”) on broccoli.co.jp but I’m not sure where exactly they were all announced and sold, so I’ll just drop that.

22, 33. Boueibu was originally pretty much a copy of Sailor Moon, I think they were all going to be called “Lackluster Moon” and that stuff and be literally Sailor Moon genderbent. They were all different from color palettes to physical features (except Yumoto’s), and Ryuu was a shota, even smaller than Yumoto. Their names were also very reminiscent of the five Sailor Senshis’. Even if they made it more original, the show is still clearly inspired by Sailor Moon (just look at Caerula Adamas lol) and Pretty Cure. It has also referenced, very blatantly, animes like Doraemon, Detective Conan, Aikatsu and even Vocaloid, when Kyoutarou tries to guess what Karurusu is saying with ““Just Google It, Asshole”?” in ep1.

23. Wombat’s real name and the name of his planet sound like gibberish to the earthlings and ends up being named after the Earth animal, but Zundar, Dadacha, Karurusu and Furanui all have original names. And I think Hireashi means “goldfish”?

24. If you google “zundar technology”, it’s actually a company in Shanghai, China. Aren’t Wombat and Zundar always talking about “advanced alien technology”?

25. Zundar and Dadacha are siblings, so are Karurusu and Furanui, and so are their father King Kamopapa and their uncle minister Wao, but neither are the same species and, except the first two, not even the same color. But they are supposedly related because they share birthmarks or something like that...

26. Everyone who’s in this fandom knows about the pixel blur and voice pitch censor from s1, but I’ve added it anyway because it’s so rare for mahou shoujo and shounen animes to explain why the heroes aren’t recognized when transformed.

27. A good while of s2 ep11 is spent discussing Zundar’s ex-wife and his problems to give child support. Naturally, he gets mad at this.

28. “Money doesn’t betray” (s1 ep6) and “The despair hidden behind your smile that comes from not being understood” (s3 ep11) are sentences that came out of nowhere and implied that the people they were said by (Io) or about (Taiju) respectively had some kind of angst going on but were never explained at all. They’re famous for just that.

29. The Beppu twins’ house in Andromeda shown in flashbacks had strange green circles that apparently are from another anime I don’t know but honestly I didn’t get it very well... It was revealed on a tweet from Takamatsu.

30. Alien language mostly appeared in s2 due to the many flashbacks of Aki and Haru in Andromeda, but in Boueibu s1, it appears on the Zundar Needle before it is shot on the human. It appears a lot through RobiHachi as well, due to being a story about travelling through space. There might be an alphabetical chart somewhere, but I can’t assure it exists, I might even have dreamed it.

31. Hikaru Midorikawa as the melon monster, Kousuke Toriumi as the bishounen monster, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as the kotatsu and panda monsters and Takuya Eguchi as the remote controller monster in s1 and 2, before going on to voice the main cast in HK. Keisuke Koumoto voiced Hatchi Kita in RobiHachi as well as Akihiko in Boueibu, and the characters look similar.

A new addition is that so far Boueibu is the only anime I’ve seen where children weren’t voiced by female seiyuus, but by actual children. Personally, it’s charming and makes it so much more realistic, specifically since no women appear in the franchise at all either (not counting Protag-chan in the game).

32. Speaking of seiyuus, Can I Destroy The Earth? had a dub shown in ep11/12 (?) that made Gora the villain that wanted Earth to stay the same and not progress, against the monsters that supposedly wanted to bring good things to earthlings. Aki and Haru quickly dismissed this dub as fake. (I made a mistake in the title in the previous post btw)

34. As seen in the glossary in the Boueibu Mook (I think, but might not be the mook), Caerula Adamas’ speeches are based on an old japanese detergent commercial that went “Gold, silver, pearl, gift”.

35. In the manga there’s a short parody of the first chapter of Sailor Moon with “Pretty Boy Guardian Gakuran Akoya”. The conquest club manga was released before the anime, so I remember reading somewhere that a fake website appeared for the Gakuran Akoya manga, before turning into the conquest club manga website in the day of its release.

36. Cgi was used a few times in the anime: s2 ep10 for a short sequence of the defense club on a rollercoaster and the carousel monster, ep11 for a cenital shot of the Battle Lovers singing, and HK ep12 for the Honyalaland soldiers and the Wao mecha.

37. The toothbrush incident in s1 ep7. (It’s definitely well-known but it’s so weird lol)

38. “We hope we can see each other again someday!” Something along those lines was the last text to appear in the last episode of HK, implying a s2. We all know how that went.

[ssa-sapphic-inactive]

hello, friends!

it’s that time of year again where love, envy and/or hopelessness are all seemingly at the forefront of our lives. so, with that thought in mind, i wanted to do a little something special to commemorate all of the many emotions that february might bring to all of us! :)

or in other words, i wanted to do a celebration thingy but didn’t really have anything to celebrate and valentine’s day is low key a bummer so this is the result lol [currently no deadline]

anywho, the lists under each category below are specifically targeted for the feelings and/or state you might been in during this month so far, so feel free to choose what you’re currently in need of <3

sad/lonely/heartbroken/depressed:

📕 - need someone to talk to? reassurance? tell me a bit about what’s going on if you’re comfortable, and in return, i’ll give you a personalized and encouraging message. or just vent to me on anon and i’ll provide a listening ear for you

👤 - wanna cry? sometimes that’s the best form of medicine. send me your go-to song to cry to and i’ll provide you with a mini playlist containing more that relate + songs that get me emotional so that we can cry together bestie

❤️‍🩹 - tired of being down and out? feeling numb? well not on my watch. it is now my mission to make you smile, even if for a second. memes, jokes, stories of embarrassing things i’ve done, etc. whatever it is, if it makes you laugh or provides you with entertainment than that’s what matters

yearning/dreaming/hoping/chillin:

👥 - i’m always in a perpetual state of yearning and dreaming for things, people, and realities that aren’t quite in my reach, and there’s always a song to convey those thoughts and feelings. send me three adjectives that describe what you’re feeling in this moment, and i’ll make you a playlist based on them

🕹 - just here for the fun of it? that’s totally fine! let’s play a game or two: fmk, would you rather, send me a ship and i’ll give you my honest opinion using only pictures from my pinterest meme board, most likely to, etc. whatever fun thing you can think of i’m down to play ;)

🦋- honesty hour has commenced, send me q&a’s about whatever it is your heart desires and i’ll do my best to answer truthfully if it’s something i’m comfortable with (my walls are down because i have nothing really to lose at the moment so do your worst)

crushing/romantic/cliché/lover:

💋 - want a friendly valentine’s day card? if you’re a moot, gimmie a kiss and i’ll make a personalized one just for you because ily 😙💌

🫂 - send me a cm themed ship along with an activity or date idea and i’ll make you a moodboard for it! (anything goes except for emilyxmale pairings. sorry not sorry <3)

🌹 - crushes suck sometimes, but they can also be sweet. if you’re feeling daring, anonymously (or not lol) send me a rose along with the user of your crush and i’ll add a little valentines day card attachment to it so that they can receive a cute little surprise 🥰

tagging some mutuals so this doesn’t flop: @ssajemilyprentiss @ellcsgreenaway @meganskane @originalvampireslut @alexbllake @sweetprentiss @arigotssomekinks @themoontaxi @deadravenclaw @sturmmhond @ssasimmonz @lilacsandfreesias @5raysofsunshine @thatfangirl42 @dalexandriag16 @gravelyhumerus @nocreditinthestraightworld

[nincompoopydoo]

DEBRIS AND MISERY

CURIOUS MINDS THINK ALIKE ; PART 5 / ?

PAIRING: Loki Laufeyson x Female!Reader WORD COUNT: 3.1k SUMMARY: Through guessing games and walking on eggshells, it’s you and Loki that dance the strange choreography of two curious minds trying to figure out the other. A/N: Slow moving chapter! If any of you speak Norwegian and know that sentence is wrong, please tell me! I took a risk, not sure if it's worth it. Anyways, I promise there’s more stuff coming in the next chapters. Tell me anything about this chapter, what you love, what you hate. Enjoy xo gif from this gifset by@marvelheroes WARNINGS: Swearing? More paperwork. support my writing through ko-fi💖 MASTERPOST ; MASTERLIST

The narration of Miss Minutes accompanying the grainy animated graphics of a training video on how, why, and when a branch of a timeline is reset seems to be the source of Loki’s absentmindedness. If he is typically referred to as outrageously and mostly unnecessarily communicative, it is his mind that beats his mouth—the tumult of his thoughts is loud and overwhelming like the people who amass at taverns every evening to drink themselves silly whilst singing jolly drinking songs until the wee hours of the morning. Except, his thoughts are far from jolly. He, mastermind of language and a silver-tongue, has no words of any language to describe the complexity of his mind with accuracy.

Kraftig regn som faller i en fossende elv.

Like heavy rain falling on a cascading river. Water from the sky on water streaming through the ground—thunderous raindrops from above against the river that strikes every rock of every winding turn.

Those were the words of his mother.

Maybe, that’s how his mind should be described.

It’s the mechanical creaks of spinning wheels against the polished floor that pulls him out of his thoughts and finds that he had been staring blankly at a page of men riding jet skis of a magazine he'd nipped from the stack of junk on Mobius’ desk for the last minute or hour. A second or a day? He isn’t sure.

Time works differently at the TVA.

“Hey Casey,” he hears you chime, the cart squeaks as it pulls to a halt. “Do you have a paperweight or something I could use?”

There’s a sound of rummaging as the clerk searches the drawers. Loki restrains the urge to look.

“Uh, yeah...Here.”

“Thanks.”

Probably an infinity stone.

The clerk then wheels by, pushing the evidence cart as he casts a cautious glance his way.

Right. He did threaten to gut him like a fish earlier on although the threat was not as deadly as he intended but proved to be surprisingly effective. Yet, Casey is probably the type to be afraid of his own shadow, he would comply with any sort of threat even if it isn't death.

Pathetic. But amusing.

The training video continues to play in the background, and Miss Minutes’ stupidly charming and cheery voice is starting to sound like gibberish to him. At this rate, it’s white noise to him—attention elsewhere but somewhat listening to a certain extent. He loves multi-tasking and isn’t afraid to admit he’s great at it though it likely plays a huge factor in contributing to the uproar of his brain. It’s why he doesn’t get any sleep for most nights.

There’s just...so much to think about.

And now, it’s filled with the reminder of how you met another version of him. Somewhere. Sometime. An inferior Loki, obviously.

Suddenly, the jet ski magazine becomes less interesting, his mind fleeting.

Discreetly, he spins in his swivel chair and sees you through inked writings and diagrams on the glass partition of your cubicle. Your coat’s discarded, and you have your sleeves rolled up, looking less formal, less tense than before. Yet, still as fierce with that constant scowl of your brows. He watches you bring your fingers to scratch the left side of your cheek and notices a vague resemblance of a fading scar.

He hadn’t seen that before.

The glowing orange hue of the soul stone sits idly on top of a stack of papers beside you.

Loki makes some sort of contemptuous noise in his mind at the sight.

The TVA is a strange place. The thought of a cosmic organization that overlooks all of the time doesn’t make it any less weird and neither do the uniforms—dull color combinations and collars that never seem to end. And the Time-Keepers, well, he isn’t sure what to make of that. Things are a little too straightforward, too simple for handling such a complex matter of the universe—Time. It doesn't make sense.

You spark his curiosity. You had a connection with him. Another Loki trusted you to a certain extent. He wonders what makes you so special, that Mobius was willing to try everything to convince you to help.

He also wonders what your name is.

The clearing of his throat comes off as a sudden and disruptive sound that resonates clearly through the somewhat silent environment of the office floor. A subtle way to gaining your attention although it's proving ineffective. You continue to flip through documents, scribbling notes on a notepad.

He wheels his chair closer to you. For a moment, he catches sight of a white mug amongst the mess. It says, 'Rocket scientist at work.' There’s no way a person as intimidating as you have that kind of mug.

He clears his throat once more.

Still nothing. It’s like he doesn't exist to you.

Then, he notes your vague attempt to fight down a growing smile.

Oh. Oh. You—

Hm.

He scooches closer and taps on the glass partition a little too aggressively.

“I know you can hear me.”

His tone comes out in a sing-song manner. Finally, your eyes turn up to meet his. They are different from when you first saw him emerged into the hallway. Less angry and shocked. Now, you just look unimpressed.

Loki somehow thinks it’s a great idea to charm his way to you.

A grin finds his way to his lips, curving widely with oozing allure.

Or so he thinks.

“Pardon me, but I believe we haven’t properly met and I didn’t catch your name earlier on.”

You don’t say anything, only blink in response.

Tough crowd.

Loki shifts in his seat.

“...What is your name?”

He articulates his words with care, and he doesn’t know why he finds it a need to tread lightly around you. Like with a touch, you will transform into a fiery beast from his childhood nightmares and eat him alive.

You and Mobius are polar opposites—personality-wise. It’s a wonder how the two of you get along.

Do you scare him? No. Definitely not.

Do you intimidate him? Perhaps. But, he will never admit it.

Maybe it’s the way you’re gazing at him with that constant, deafening deadpan look.

Then, you finally give him an answer.

“Agent.”

And with that, you're back to scribbling notes on a notepad.

Agent.

Loki scoffs silently to himself.

Well, that turned out to be completely pointless.

He turns his back to you, returning to scanning through Mobius' jet ski magazine within his grasp.

Loki doesn’t see how you’re now staring at the back of his figure, tapping your pen against the notepad absentmindedly.

Curious minds think alike.

-

You needed a change of scenery.

With all the noise of the muffling narration of the training videos from Mobius’ desk, you began to feel like you forgot how to do your job. The only job you were created for. The disturbance seems to be putting your brain into a frenzy and it’s preventing you from getting your head straight on report protocols. Trying to think of better words to describe the things you’ve seen on Sakaar that weren’t words that meant trash and didn’t end up sounding unintentionally sexual, is where you draw the line.

Times are hard for the variant turned analyst.

The archives are serene amid your solitude. Extensive tables hidden between shelves of identical-looking binders that expanded throughout the hundreds of floors of the building. The spot that overlooks the three looming statues of the Time-Keepers is your favorite. The occasional swish of a passing elevator calms your nerves from all the frustration and pressure ever since you were released from your arrest. You’re just happy to be somewhere familiar although it’s not home.

Although all distractions are gone, you manage to find new ones as you gaze at the glowing ‘357’ signage from across the building as you decide to let your thoughts run for just a little while. You feel like you’re looking through foggy glasses and your brain feels like it’s about to shut down any moment.

Dream away the pain, then.

Then, you hear a voice from afar. Two voices. It’s Mobius; you’ll recognize that quintessential Texan accent anywhere from the times he would rave about a new jet ski magazine he’d found on a mission...something along those lines.

Much to your chagrin, you also hear Loki with that irritatingly posh accent of his.

You should probably move somewhere else. Run and hide before you're being pulled even more into this mess because you know Mobius is trying to get you to spend as much time with the variant turned analyst to gain trust.

You’re still not sure how it’s helping with his case. Loki has better trust in Mobius than you as far as you’re concerned.

Before you could even gather the mess of your files, the two men you’ve been trying to escape are already by the desk you’re sitting at. You suddenly notice the stack of files on the other end of the desk, not remembering seeing the archivist putting that there.

Crap.

“Let me park ya at this desk and don’t be afraid to really lean into this work...”

You look like a deer caught in the headlights, signaling to Mobius that you really don’t want to share a desk with Loki. He continues to speak to him, ignoring your silent plea. Then, he gestures to the seat across from you.

There’s still time to leave.

Mobius addresses you with the stretch of his pointer finger.

“You, keep an eye on him. I’m gonna get a snack.”

Well, too late.

With a turn of a heel, you and Loki watch him walk away and pass neverending shelves of the archives. Once again, the two of you are left alone in the silence and the white noise of the TVA.

You meet each other's eyes at the same time, struck with the thought that you and he will probably be seeing each other a lot until the Loki variant is arrested. Plus, you’re tired of giving him the cold shoulder although you believe he deserves it.

This is a different Loki. The one who’s still power-hungry. The one who still wants to rule.

Time to start fresh.

You notice he now wears a jacket, a color somewhere between green, grey, and brown with a striking image of the TVA’s official badge above his chest. The lapels of his jacket jut out in an attempt to replicate his sense of pride and confidence.

He must have been on a trip with Mobius to the Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin, 1985. Oh, how you would kill to tag along. Everyone who knows you knows about your obsession with Earth’s music pop culture, specifically the 1980s. It explains the cassettes you have lying around. Your apartment has more of it.

Unfortunately, you're grounded. That's reality.

Thus, you decide that Loki deserves a second chance because he’s also somehow looking at you for some kind of approval. You’re starting to wonder if this is the same Loki that was tapping aggressively on your cubicle earlier on.

With an open palm, you gesture to the empty seat surrounded by stacks of binders and folders. It's the first time he has experienced some kind of acknowledgment of his presence that you weren’t ranting or screaming about. Oddly calm. Oddly inviting. Momentarily, he shifts in his stance, eyes darting between a fading figure of Mobius rounding the corner and to the seat, across from you.

The air is tense. However, still breathable.

Loki slides into the seat, legs shifting under the desk as it brushes against your by accident. You shoot him a pointed look, and he responds with a coy expression, blinking at you innocently. It’s mischievous.

Classic Loki.

You turn back to your case file, ignoring the way his gaze seems to burn holes into the side of your face for a fleeting moment before flipping a binder open from the stack to his left.

-

You snore when you sleep.

Loki wouldn’t describe it as a snore; it's more of a wheeze. Soft and subtle but it’s there, cutting through the ambiance of the archives, drifting and resonating in his ears. Through turning pages, uttering words to himself for his amusement, and having an irritating lady shush him for that, he realized how it became a lot quieter. The grazing sound of pen furiously scribbling words onto the yellow notepad has stopped.

Then, he hears it. Your pathetic snores. Your cheek is unceremoniously pressed against the back of your hand while the other holds the orange pen that’s still pinned down on the paper, mid-scrawl. The tip of the ballpoint pen sits idly, halfway through the curved stroke of the last letter of the word, ‘debris.’ He cranes his neck, face tilting in an attempt to read the chicken scratchings of your handwriting.

0132: L1190 hauls me through the time door and I miserably land on Sakaar, the planet of wastelands and debris.

You are quite...miserable. In a comical way. And he knows how much you hated your time on Sakaar—Mobius warned him of your apparent irritation in reminiscent of being stranded and then having to resume paperwork immediately. He wonders if he, too, is the reason for another boiling rage.

Apparently, you were pardoned on behalf of not only Mobius but the Time-Keepers as well.

You, an agent, are recognized by the holy and almighty Time-Keepers.

You, an agent, who sleeps with your mouth agape.

The statues of the TVA’s creators loom over him like they’re watching his every step. Every movement. Every lingering thought. Right now, he has the urge to uncover, perhaps deduce, the holes within this whole mess. In a carefully calculated and discrete movement, he reaches to prod you on the forearm. You don’t move.

He prods you again.

You still don’t move.

Now, Loki is trying to chat up the archivist who watches him through narrowed eyes, glasses framing the austere and rigid structure of her face, in favor of files that turn out to be classified.

Classified, classified, classified. Only able to gain access to his own file.

His journey from the desk proved to be useless and unproductive although the much-needed stretch somehow made it a little worthwhile.

When he returns, you're surprisingly still asleep, brow twitching and lips still parted.

Aren’t you supposed to be keeping an eye on him?

The pen you held has now left your grasp, rolled over to his stack of binders. He notices the words inscribed on it, ‘Mars is there, waiting to be reached.'

Through your fury and chaos, he knows there’s a part of you that feels, a part of you that loves. And you love everything about the Midgardians’ space program. It's shown in the way you cling to collected memorabilia.

There are dark circles that adorn your shut eyes, barely hidden under your lashes. You’re exhausted, fractured.

Loki is having a difficult time trying to suppress how he likes the way the frizz of your hair glows against the glowing table lamps from the desk behind you. You’re raw, flaws presented on a silver platter for everyone to see. Maybe, that’s the reason why you entice him the way you do.

He’s staring. Right. Back to work.

Loki returns to running through neverending case files, engrossed in the pixelated monochrome images that accompany the monospace typeface of endless reports.

Then, he sees it.

‘Destruction of Asgard’ in big, bold, and red letters. It glares at him sharply, images of his once divine home of Asgard, crumbling at the feet of Surtur. Buildings, people, engulfed in the flames of the fire demon. The prophecy of the end, Ragnarok—it was meant to be.

His home, it still was. Although an untrue Asgardian.

He knows how it ends. He knows he dies. He wishes his true self, the one on the Sacred Timeline, could have done more.

He doesn’t realize the forming tears that linger. He doesn’t realize that in the sense of premonition, you’ve awakened. He doesn’t realize that even with sleepy eyes, you notice the grief that glints in his eyes.

“Are you okay?”

With three words, you’ve struck him with those eyes that seemed all-knowing. You see through the facade he has created, sealing the true nature of what is truly a child that is afraid of his destiny and to lose all he had ever known. His mother, father, and brother. His people. You see through it all.

You know that face. You’d seen it on Sakaar when he sat at the doorstep of your makeshift home, watching the splintered moon drift through the star-lit sky. You’d seen it in yourself through the dusty reflection of the screen of the tempad.

He longs for home. He longs for family.

For a moment, Loki sees Frigga in your eyes.

Then, his world shifts, hauling him back to reality. It’s you who’s across his way, not his mother. Loki blinks, partly to get his head straight with the excuse to blink away the sting in his eye. He shifts in his seat, rolling his neck and squares his shoulders.

“Yes. I’m alright. It’s just...”

Trailing off, he clears his throat. You follow his gaze and from your spot, you catch sight of those deafening crimson letters. Maybe, it was the spur of the moment. You blame your drowsy state, but there’s a growing warmth that spreads across your chest from the pit of your stomach. It’s subtle, a spark, but evident. Before you know it, you’re uttering words that leave your lips faster than your brain could perceive.

“I’m sorry.”

You don’t know when was the last time you said those words and meant it. Loki doesn’t know when was the last time he’d ever heard those words addressed to him, spoken from the lips of a stranger. Until now.

You mean it. He sees it in the curve of your brows.

Loki swallows, nodding curtly. For the first time, he has nothing to say. And as quickly as the moment comes, he brushes it off and so do you. Whatever is reminiscent of a residing unknown feeling, bubbling within, has disappeared.

He sees your hand reach for the pen and for a while, he thinks you’re about to reach for his arm.

But no, you’re back to scrawling notes on the paper and he’s back to studying useless documents.

It doesn’t take long for the two of you to fall back into your normal antics as you find yourself chasing after Loki, who abruptly left the desk with wide eyes.

Curious minds think alike. Mostly.

TAGLIST:

@lareinedususpense

@poubxlle

@mystoragehatesme

@the-maroon-panda

[punderfulowl]

Top 10 Anime (That I've Seen) in 2020

Well now, it has certainly been awhile. I'm currently sitting at eight months too late for posting this, but, y'know, something something life happens. More accurately, I already made this list, but wanted to try out what response I'd get from Reddit. Turns out, they're not as cool as you guys!

Anyways, as the title states, this is not a list of my favorite anime that came out during 2020, but instead my favorite anime that I just so happen to see during that year. While it's fun to have an end of the year retrospective, I find that having a list in this format not only adds variety, but also helps bring attention to anime that might have been lost in the shuffle in previous years (I also don't have enough time to stay caught up in seasonal releases).

Honorable mentions:

Aggretsuko S3, My Hero Academia S4, Today's Menu For the Emiya Family, Interspecies Reviewers (yes, really), and I Couldn't Become a Hero So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job

10. Maid-Sama (2010)

In hindsight, I find it a bit funny that I wanted to watch something wholesome to kick off 2020. Anyway, Maid-Sama is about a high school girl that is also a no nonsense Class President and she kind of has to be at a school where, until recently, was an all boys school. While she kills it in academics and is good at shutting down any shenanigans from the male student body, her financial situation isn't the greatest and has to balance a job at a maid cafe along with her school-related responsibilities. She does her best to hide her employment there to keep up appearances, but is one day found out by one of the boys who happens to be a big flirt and, yeah, hijinks ensue. While this anime doesn't have too many surprises, our main leads bounce off each other well enough to keep me entertained. Nothing I haven't seen already in other anime Rom-Coms, but I think it has more than earned its place at the start of this list.

9. Haganai NEXT (2013)

It's a personal rule of mine when making these lists that I don't include sequels of shows that were in previous lists. While I DID see the first season of Haganai a couple of years ago, it didn't quite make it into the top ten at that time. Because of that, it meets the criteria for this year's list. While I found the characters were just as charming here as I did during the first season, the development of their relationships really took off. It's a shame that it will most likely not get a third season, but I'm happy with what ride this show gave me. But hey! At least I can read the light novels/manga to continue the story! Wait, nevermind, the Haganai fans on Reddit are saying that's a bad idea.

8. Engaged to the Unidentified (2014)

Based off of a Four Panel joke manga, Engaged to the Unidentified tells the story of a girl in high school suddenly getting some life changing news. As it turns out, her grandfather made an arranged engagement with her and the son of a family he knew. Next thing she knows, the boy in question, as well as his little sister, moves into her family's house! While the boy is unassuming at first, there may be more to him and his family than he lets on. Plain and simple, this anime has charmed me. There's a decent amount of drama and mystery despite the source material and I applaud it! Even though this also doesn't have much new to offer, even to the point where I would compare this to Maid-Sama, what made me pick this at the 8th spot were the color choices and animation quality. Give this a shot if you can!

7. Grimoire of Zero (2017)

It's a fantasy/adventure story starring a loli sorcerer and a huge, anthropomorphic white tiger man. I honestly can't say anything else. I won't be able to do it justice. That first sentence should intrigue you a lease a little bit. Read it, again. Please check it out. It's an underrated gem that no one is talking about.

6. ID: Invaded (2020)

Hey, here's something recent! Unfortunately, this is also not something I can say much about. There may not be too many deep characters and the secret bad guy isn't hard to figure out, but BOY is this anime cool! The best way to describe this series is that it's like the movie Inception, but instead of brain heists, it's brain murder mysteries.

5. Carole and Tuesday (2019)

A runaway rich girl has a fated meeting with an orphan and they decide to make music together...oh, this also takes place Mars. Joking aside, this show was something special with its music (a new song almost every episode no less), interesting setting (freaking Mars, dude), and endearing main cast. Shoot, the music itself would be top 3, maybe number 1, but what bogs it down is the show's second half. I can easily see myself watching this again someday, and maybe my opinion will lighten up, but for now, 5 is a dang good spot.

4. Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia (2019)

Part of me hesitates placing this high up on list due to this show being animated, fan service spectacle for Fate fans. However, that hesitation is overshadowed by the fact that I am a Fate fan myself and I can do whatever I want with this list. Even if you're not a Fate fan or play FGO, if you enjoy some solid fight animation, this is worth a look.

3. K-On S1 (2009)

I'll admit it, I might regret not watching the second season then putting the series on the list as a whole, but this how I've been doing these lists and I'm such a creature of habit. There's not much I can say about K-On that hasn't already been said. By itself it's an anime classic and one of Kyo-ani's biggest properties. It's a sweet and wholesome watch, but be sure to have some insulin within reach.

2. Princess Principal (2017)

Imagine you're working with a team of programmers trying to make a mobile game then all of a sudden someone asks to make a show out of it. You know, a show with different character motivations, plot, twist and turns and all that? Most might say that's just a shameless, shallow cash grab, but it turns out okay for Princess Principal. Sure, most might summarize this anime as, "cute girls doing espionage things," but with its cast, visuals, and interesting alternative timeline, it works! Apparently there's a new season or movie in the works and I am all for it!

1. Beastars (2019)

I was not expecting this to be number one, but with much deliberation (with myself obviously) this feels right. It tells a pretty unique story while showing itself to be the exception to the rule when it comes to 3D anime.....it being that it's actually good. While I acknowledge that shows like K-On are classics and deserves to be number one on many different lists, it didn't line up with my personal criteria like Beastars did. My biggest deciding factor is: Now that I've watched this, do I want more? It's true that while I'm excited to start K-On S2, Beastars intrigues me more and ever since season two was announced, I'm looking forward to that more.

Sorry again for this list being so late, but at least the silver lining is that the next end of the year list is about four months away (in theory)!

[professional-benaddict]

Opposites Attract - part lll

CEO Tony, Mafia boss Peter, Mafia Steve, Mafia Bucky, threats, guns, manipulation

part l - part ll

Tag list: @lilcoffeecup @carelessannie @starkeristheendgame @yasha1215 @the-mad-starker @bluestarker @snowstark @sinditia @just-a-good-name @just-things-things @callmebill @skystar87 @justslightlycrazy @sarcastich @sydneyshipsstuff @lokitonypeter @thequeenoffish

Tony has always been in charge of this room, except for now.

He was sitting in the chair at the far end of the conference room, his chair pulled out far away from the table. Peter was sat on the table, his legs crossed and hands resting behind him on the table. A pair of keen brown eyes studied Tony, up and down, up and down. His gaze was just as immobilising as the guns within Tony’s range of view. Both Steve and Bucky had one hand resting on their hips in a way that showed the guns in their pants.

Tony refused to talk first. The less he talked, the better it would turn out for him probably. Don’t agitate, but also don’t cooperate. A fine line to tip-toe around.

“I assume you are familiar with the expression ‘opposites attract’, Mr Stark? You seemed quite attracted to me earlier when we first spoke.” Peter finally spoke, making Tony cringe, because it was true. “And I must say, I am intrigued by you, Mr Stark. Let’s play a game here. I love games, don’t you? So, you describe yourself, Mr Stark, and then I shall reply with whether I am the opposite or not. Understood? Because I know you, Mr Stark, and I think you could learn about me through you. Fun, isn’t it?”

No, not fun at all, but Tony did not say that out loud.

“I-I’d say I’m honest.” Tony started.

“Go on.” Peter urged when Tony did not continue right away.

“I trust people who are honest, and I invest in those kinds of people.”

“And I assume not so much in people you find to be dishonest?”

“Correct.” Tony swallowed thickly.

“Is that why you turned Beck down?” Peter asked head-on.

Now Tony was close to agitating, and so he could not answer right away, as much as he wanted to be honest and say yes. Yes, he turned down Beck because he did not find the man to be honest and trustworthy. Tony’s gaze flickered to the guns.

“Hey! Where’s that honesty, huh? Can’t you answer me?” Peter called out, snapping his fingers in front of Tony’s face. The man flinched back and cast his gaze down in embarrassment at being caught and for being threatened.

“Yes, I turned him down.” Tony said, unable to meet Peter’s eyes. “Because I didn’t find him to be honest.”

On the table, Peter hummed thoughtfully and swung his leg on top of his other leg. The leather of his shoe reflected the lights of the city outside.

“You see, Mr Stark, I think you give yourself too much credit with this honesty. I’m a liar, and I’m more honest than you for admitting that.” Peter said, hopping down from the table. Once more, Tony flinched at the sudden movement, and he had to take a breath before looking up to follow Peter.

“I’m in some seriously dirty business, Mr Stark. I don’t sell agricultural equipment, and I hope you figured that out already. In the public eye, my credibility is shot, and I need honest and trustworthy people to be on my side so I can do what I need to.”

“How can I be honest if I work for you? If I have to be honest, I’d have to go to the police right away.”

“No, no, you misunderstand, Mr Stark.” Peter said with a sing-song voice, his head lolling from side to side on his shoulders like a rag doll. His smile was sickly, making Tony cringe again and heave in an anxious breath. “You see! We are opposites! Just what I need. I am very much in touch with myself, Mr Stark. I know who I am, what I do. I’ve done my soul-searching, and frankly, I don’t see any higher being stopping me anytime soon. Nor the police. And I think your description of yourself matches my idea of you quite well. Look how well we are getting along already? Business should be child’s play for us, hm?”

Peter’s behaviour seemed manic to Tony, unpredictable and horrifying. People like him only seemed to exist in movies and shows. The true villains, who know they are villains and enjoy it. If anything, Peter seemed to be exactly that. Tony was too stunned to reply, so Peter continued.

“So, what I need from you is a facade. I need your face, your reputation and your signatures. I need the trust people have in you. As we both now know, I don’t compare at all in that department. So, what do you say to helping me out?”

“Letting you use me as your pawn?”

“If that is the expression your prefer, then yes.”

“I don’t. Prefer it.”

“Well, quite frankly I don’t care what you think of it. I need warm bodies, Mr Stark.” Peter said, coming up to rest his hands on the armrests of Tony’s chair. Their faces were inches apart. Even if Peter was acting like a villain, he smelled like a Prince Charming would. For a split second, Tony’s body seemed to confuse fear with desire, and the man saw many attractive features within Peter’s face and eyes behind all the lies and deception.

“And you are just what I need.” The young man added, lifting one finger to touch Tony’s adam’s apple and run it slowly up to his chin. “So, do we have a deal?”

Tony nodded.

“Great! You get to sit between Stevie and Buck in the car. They are proper cuddle bugs, so I hope you don’t mind that.” Peter said cheerfully, clapping his hands together as he pulled back. “Make sure he is comfy, okay?” The young man said to the two large men who stepped forward.

From his pocket, Bucky pulled out a roll of duct tape while Steve retrieved what looked like two cloths. These two beast-like men looked far from cuddly and kind.

Tony sighed heavily.

“For fuck’s sake…”