#it's the best I can come up with that is fluent in a flow

[kairukitsuneo]

College Sentinel tried some dangerous cool move in his academy years...

[moondirti]

Who from the 141 speaks the best arabic do you think? From one arab girl to another, it’d be so hot if any of them were fluent 🫠

if my memory serves me correctly, we get a bit in the first campaign from price. to me it seems to be a basic knowledge. a few sentences he picked up on the field and memorised to make his job easier. evac orders, cardinal directions, how to ask for water, food, medicine. that kind of stuff. pure utility, though that’s his approach to most things.

i like to believe (call it bias or whatever) that gaz is fluent. this ties in to my headcanon that he’s the only member who attended and graduated uni, but he strikes me as someone intensely curious about everything. introducing him to something, be it language or cuisine or a skill he hasn’t mastered yet, is like knocking down the floodgates. it’s his time in urzikstan that does it. hearing the way it rolls off farah’s tongue (let’s ignore doumit’s canon pronunciations), or how she’s able to translate a long, winding, clumsy sentence to something short. beautiful.

there’s a word for everything, he finds. one for the state of gossiping with your friends over morning coffee. one to congratulate someone on their cleanliness after a haircut. one that means may you be the one to bury me, for it would be unbearable to live without you – that is used so casually in conversation, kyle is stunned when he learns the true meaning. it doesn’t hold the same expectation, the same trepidation, as it does in english, though it retains its weight all the same. he wonders what makes a language so special that its intrinsic devotion has found a common place within its cultures, and he sets to find out.

this turns into a thing. more rambling under the cut.

the largest learning curve is the alphabet. the sounds that don’t exist in his mother tongue. he’s especially hard on himself when it comes to enunciating them properly – half the beauty is in the way words flow together, and there would really be no point in indulging in arabic’s more lyrical aspects if he’s off pitch. he gets the hang of it eventually, of course, one too many vocal exercises later.

the weathered dictionary he picks up at a second hand store teaches him that most words have three letter roots, and that it isn’t so easy as to look them up alphabetically. picking up new vocab becomes infinitesimally harder, then. for twelve million choices, the distinction between some words comes down to diacritical marks. necklace, decade, contract, held, complicated, and knots are all spelt the same way, yet pronounced ever so slightly different — a fact he learns the hard way when he tells the cashier at the kibbeh place he frequents that he likes her decade.

reading. reading is what helps him get over that.

(he probably should touch on basic grammar first — nouns, verbs, particles, sentence structure, that sort of stuff — but figures he'll pick it up as he goes, basing his methodology on an inability to remember any rules for the english language. he grew up hearing it, reading it, watching it, surrounded by it, so it just is what it is now. why work so hard on task books made for kids, then, when he can just get right into the meat of the matter? acclimatise through force.)

he picks up stacks of books upon books upon poetry. naguib mahfouz. ghada al-samman. al-mutanabbi. mahmoud darwish. it takes him a month to get through the first, and another month for the second. which only means he really takes his time with them, roving over the same line until it's etched into his memory. the cadence, the beats for pause, the way a word he has to punch from his throat is followed by one that lilts, all sing-songy. eventually, he starts to (inadvertently) mimic that sweeping manner of speech, employing it in contexts which certainly don't call for it.

the cashier — the very same one whose age he mistakenly stressed, despite the fact that she couldn't have been much younger than him — is far too nice to say anything about it, smiling instead, endeared, while he waxes poetic about meze.

farah calls him out immediately the next time they catch up.

apparently, no one speaks in classical arabic anymore, go figure. it would be like talking in shakespearean english, she tells him. he imagines it, iambic pentameter and all, and cringes, newly determined. his own research unearths (though it wasn't really a secret) the fact that there are roughly 25 different dialects belonging to different regions — and while some are pretty similar (syrian and lebanese), others could classify as a whole other language on their own (moroccan).

reddit tells him what he already knows; that the best way to learn is through exposure. there are no dictionaries for patois. and farah, despite her total enthusiasm at his interest, is far too busy of a woman to help.

(really, it just gives him an excuse to finally do what he's been meaning to.)

the next time he's craving kibbeh, he's fixed on not making a fool of himself when he asks the cashier out to lunch.

[sun-stricken]

Do you think Gray, Natsu , Erza and Wendy have accents like all came from different places and I headcanon Florian wasn’t any of their first languages so whenever they get emotional their accents come out and Lucy’s just like “ guys please I can’t understand what your sayin” but they can understand each other just fine.

Like that get ambushed on a mission and they all start swearing except only Lucy’s swearing in Fiorian and they get so angry after the missions complete and thier all complaining about it Lucy’s just completely lost because their accents are popping so hard.

i do think so actually

i mostly just played around with what their accents would sound like rather than what you asked, so sorry🙏

Almost no one outside of who she grew up extremely close with can understand Erza when her accent pops out. Erzas accent is a mash up of a bunch of different ones, being raised in the tower with a bunch of people from various linguistic backgrounds does that, you could not pin point where shes from originally from speaking alone. When her accent pops her words can go anywhere from a clear-cut and concise, to a rolling drawl, to fast and choppy, it will give you whiplash

Natsu and Wendys accents are harsh and makes their words slur together heavily, sounds like theyre short-cutting their words as much as possible. Its meant for fast speaking.

Wendys accent is a different dialect of the average Fiorian one, the rhythm/structure of it flows similarly, but the pronunciation of letters are fairly different. When her accent comes out, her words probably the easiest to make out since (after Grandeeney) she was technically raised in Fioré, although that isnt saying much when compared to the other three.

Natsu, now Natsus accent is practically unintelligible at best, by the time you process what one word was, hes already moved on to another sentence, he could not slow down if he tried. Even if hes speaking a language youre fluent in, if his accent breaks through it sounds like a different language altogether.

Grays accent is sharp and sounds a little awkward, it can make him trip up on his words since Florian languages are faster and the sounds are shorter and an Isvani accent will put stress in unneeded places and is more drawn out. His accent is very, indecisive? the way he says words will change depending on where in the sentence they are or how he uses them. very inconvenient for anyone trying to understand him.

All of this very inconvenient for Lucy. Her first language is Florian, she knows a couple different languages fluently but holy shit, she should’ve brought her flash cards with her when she ran away. Although none of them wouldve prepared her for this

Wendys accent is heavy when shes upset for any reason, while Lucy is okay at understanding her (even if the pace makes her dizzy sometimes) she absolutely cant whenever she cries. Or when shes yelling, or if shes doing anything actually, Lucy has to pay very close attention to understand

Natsus pops at any given time, no real reason, but its like he purposely uses it when hes cursing someone out, he thrives on their utter confusion. If Lucy thought Wendys pace was dizzying, Natsus makes her feel like shes in a tornado.

*Natsu and Lucy arguing and his accent comes out*

Lucy, nearing a breakdown: IDK WHAT THE HELL YOURE SAYING

Natsu, knowing exactly what hes doing: FUCK YOU

Lucy: FOR THE LOVE OF—PLEASE

they have fun🤗

Both Grays and Erzas come out mostly when they’re tired, during intense moments/emotions, or when they talk for a long time.

Lucy has given up on trying to understanding Erza, just sitting there in horrified facination as she successfully captured a part of every countries accent while also trying to use context clues because for some reason the others can understand her perfectly fine (so unfair)

Gray also sometimes uses his accent to confuse people, although he usually dabbles in the actual language than the just the accent cause its funnier that way. Lucy at this point has given up any sense of peace she’ll get to have ever, itll never happen around any of these fools

So far, Lucy thinks Wendys is the easiest to understand (which means its her favorite), Grays is the nicest to listen to (even if the sharpness of it makes it feel like hes about to yell), Erzas is the most confusing (literally what the fuck is it??), and Natsus pisses her off (she knows that mf uses it on purpose to make her confused)

Once they all started talking with their natural accent and Lucy thought she had a brain injury before staring blankly and wonder what her life has come to

[shadowoffandoms]

-emerges bloodied and bruised-

hi gravity falls fans I spent three hours translating the code from the contract, I became literally almost fluent in cipher. This is from this btw!

heads up translation might not be totally accurate, especially in one section. I was up until 1 AM doing this lol. Translation below cut!

You are now twenty one grams lighter

This contract is legal and binding. We reserve the right to use your likeness, face. voice and smell town place in whatever nefarious manner is deemed necessary. sans soul, your soulmate will not recognize you and will walk right past you on a cold autumn day, never making eye contact not even processing that you have eyes at all. No amount of interaction will move them to a place where they can remember, in feeling, the thousands of lifetimes you have already spent together, each time choosing whatever form would keep you closest like otters holding hands in a tumultuous river. You were birds, you were trees with roots entangled, drinking in the sunlight together. Wherever we go next, wherever you choose, I will always be right there with you. Thats done, buddy. Congratulations . you have chosen Bill instead. McDonalds reserves the right to put a giant yellow m on your torso and forehead and send you walking through a crowded times square while you scream “the fries, the fries, they don’t degrade in nature!!! It’s an immortal food!!! They will be in the landfills long past our deaths!! Good god! The things we've seen”- me? Who am I? Oh I’m Bill’s previous lawyer. He put my soul into a quill pen so I can write dis legal documents until the sun snuffs out like a candle in this sick universe. I used to be so hot. I was so fine. Now I’m fine print. Speaking of which, Bill reserves the right to put your soul into an inanimate object, a strange creature, a concept, a sentence, a tasteful but rustic mason jar with wildflowers in it. If at any point you wish to have visitations rights with your soul, you will be swiftly denied. Unless you had a cool day planned for the both of you, Then Bill might want to come along. By signing this document you forfeit any rights to eating soul food. It will turn to ash in your mouth. A fitting punishment for a fool who squandered the only true gift life owes you. Bill reserves the right to dress your soul however he deems necessary. Especially if your soul was a nerd before acquisition. Soulmakeoverrr! Your soul may become fractured and placed into different objects. This has no purpose and will not resurrect you if you die. Signee cas forfeited all rights to any afterlife, including but not limited to, heaven, hell, purgatory, big corner, flow state, the dream house, the reincarnation processing center, axolotl’s tank and consequences hole. Signee can no longer board the soul train and is advised to discard all bellbuttons. Signee can no longer have a puppy as a best friend, they can sense what is gone, cats are indifferent. Signee may experience occasional demon possessions from Horculus the Red, Plabos the Merciless, Borbos son of Bortem, Plaga the Ooaing and other such common demons roaming Earth searching for weakened, empty vessels. Tips for ripping your soul out at home: watching youtube commentary channels, attending an extended family event with an open bar, using generative AI and asserting that you're the creative, turning a blind eye to human suffering, amassing more wealth than needed, purchasing a blue checkmark.

[nientedal]

Hello, I binged a bunch of your Megamind fics last night (best mistake of my life 🥲). But since I'm not an old Megamind fan, or even an old fan of yours, I don't really know how did you come up with the bird-like singsong language headcanon and not sure where to look for answers either. Megamind with gills headcanon is pretty intuitive, but this? Tell me more, please ~

Thank you for your work. Megamind is a masterpiece, but even DreamWorks couldn't begin to explore all the implications of the story.

Omg I love this question, thank you for asking! And I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed my writing 💙👽💙 I hope you can nap today!

The short explanation is simply that the way I see it, if Megamind's species can live underwater, the language spoken in his culture of origin cannot work the same way our languages do. The primary mechanics of human languages, air flowing out through our mouths, will not work for an aquatic species unless their language is bubbles. So I needed something else, and...I like birds a lot. When I wrote Swansong (I think Swansong was my first fic in which Megamind speaks any Punktsyk), I honestly wasn't thinking about it very much, except "birds whistle and chirp, and so do dolphins and whales, so Megamind sounds like birds and dolphins and whales."

The long explanation of how I got to the fully-developed headcanon for his language as I currently write it is below:

The long explanation is that Megamind's specific combination of birdsong+whalesong was developed over a long period of time. I like birds a LOT, lol. I've also always loved the idea of a Megamind who looks more or less human-shaped, but is otherwise very very alien. So (years & years before I started writing him with gills) I wrote him as making some bird-like sounds very early on in my writing. 2012, 2013 or so, I think. I also wrote him mentioning a syrinx, which is a vocal structure some birds have. Just for fun, because at that time I was avoiding writing very much about his homeworld. And I wrote Swansong, which...as far as I know is the first appearance of Megamind with gills, so I didn't have much inspiration other than "I like birds" lmao. But I needed him to speak to Minion underwater, and I have no idea how Minion manages aquatic English, so I gave Megamind a different voice and leaned into those bird noises I had mentioned in passing before, in other stories.

Aaaand then I got depression and didn't publish anything for a couple years... and THEN I got on new meds and came roaring back to life with new inspiration, thinking, Fuck it! We've had no new information in years! I'm gonna do what I want! Gills! A new language! Let's go let's go let's go!

First, I needed a reason for Megamind to actually be fully fluent in his parents' language, so I gave Minion inherited memories. With the way I was writing Minion's biology, it made sense that his species might be able to do something like that. I thought, okay, Minion lives in an orb underwater, how long would it have taken him to learn any human languages? So Megamind is fully fluent in his parents' language because Minion could really ONLY speak that for a long time.

And THEN I sat down and started trying to actually figure out the language itself. I had already had the thought (several times, over the years) that if those bird noises I gave him are natural for him, there was no reason any of the languages on Megamind's homeworld would sound even remotely human. I was really sad about this, because I had hoped to write something Roxanne could eventually learn to speak, but...it just wouldn't work in my head. I was writing Dive and fully committing to Megamind as a fish-man, so his language needed to make equal sense in water and air, and for that, it needed to be something truly alien.

Like I said, I had written him singing already. This was just his language from Swansong, but more developed. I wanted a deeper song for him, too, like a whale, so I wrote long chambers along his spine, to run air back and forth and sing the emotion underlying the birdsong "words." I also gave him a kind of rolling "vocal loop" to keep air flowing through his syrinx without letting go of it through his nose or mouth, so he can sing underwater as well as in air. I think he probably also has structures he can work behind his nose, for clicking. He can make a LOT of noises, lol.

If I'm remembering correctly, I was still thinking maybe he had a different language out of the water while I was writing Dive. It wasn't until a couple months later when I wrote Wake Your Sleepy Soul that I decided it was a single language. I imagine it sounds a bit different underwater than in air, but the language itself is the same.

There is more I can tell you about Megamind's voice, but I think that's everything for why I wrote his language the way I do! and I must sleep. Thank you again!! If you (or anyone else reading this) have any other questions, please ask away, I LOVE talking about this stuff.

(Oh and go watch Megamind Rules if you haven't seen it yet! I think it is actually very cute and earnest. Wonderful show for kids, I really enjoyed it and hope they release the second half soon.)

[sofiaaaaaaaa03]

Moonknight Scribe of the God Headcannons (Layla, Marc, and Steven)

Request!: Okay ifk how to ask for head-canons? This is my first time so sorry if this is confuesing but!! Can we get some head-canons of layla marcs/steves relationship with y/n (of ur platonic series) omg im so sorry if this sounds weird?? Also make sure to take breaks! And dont rush! 🥰 

Hello! Here are the HCs as requested. I just worked on them as a way to get a feel for how my writing has been since I last wrote, so apologies if some things don't sound right. I hope you enjoy!

Layla headcanons!!

Layla was confused by y/n’s presence when they initially met outside of the windows of Steven’s apartment

But of all of the things that had happened to layla in her life she knew better than to question things and to go with the flow unless deemed a danger

Surely the kid was involved for a reason, right?

Layla definitely thought that out of everything that was happening, your young age was the craziest part about it all

She’d watched the news about a spiderboy over at the northern hemisphere climbing walls and fighting aliens at age 19

Rumors of a young girl , something marvel (?) in new jersey with superpowers

An associate of Layla had sent word that even Hawkeye had taken up an apprentice

For some time Layla had this underwhelming feeling that the next generation of superheroes were getting younger and younger and the fate of the world and public safety was in questionable hands

So yes, when layla followed marc to find the scarab and learned of the presence of the mystical gods and their pursuits, it didn’t preterb her

But when she saw the young avatar, summoning weapons and working for an ancient Egyptian god , all she could do was wonder if having the kid with them was a good thing or not. 

But she trusted her husband, despite his… actions

If Marc was taking the kid with him, despite his obvious grudges, then alright, the kid is coming with them

Layla had this mentality that y/n was simply a coworker

But eventually… she genuinely enjoyed their presence

It was because y/n had shown their soft spot whenever Layla spoke to them

Unlike the sharp, quick witted and snarky demeanor they displayed to Marc and sometimes steven, they had an entirely different personality anytime Layla asked anything of them

“Can you keep an eye on the fire, y/n?”

“Yes ma’am.” And that fire was watched 

“Kid, grab some more firewood.”

y/n would throw marc the finger and begrudgingly do it 

At the first sign of danger, Layla would make sure that you were in her vision at all times

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust y/n

It was just that unlike Marc, who had years worth of experience and age, y/n was still a baby in her eyes

We all know that is far from the truth, but still

After the events of moon knight, Layla made sure to keep tabs on y/n 

Her work took her to all ends of the earth 

She wasn’t able to visit y/n often but when she does she and y/n go out during the day to explore london and get some food from comfort restaurants

y/n, layla, and steven would get together to watch The Mummy 

It’s a tradition to have a movie night for them, Layla’s rule

Layla also likes to speak to you in arabic

She was shocked to find out that you were fluent

Obviously, she takes jabs at Marc for not being as fluent as y/n 

He glowers at the obvious look Layla throws at him whenever she and y/n speak together

y/n likes to learn new dishes to cook from Layla

She isn’t the best cook, but she makes cooking really fun

It was more of a company thing

When they make something, they always use marc as the guinea pig to taste test it

Layla is the kind of person to sneak a pile of salt under a layer of food and give it to y/n to give to marc

Just to cause a little trouble 

Layla is the kind of person that everyone is able to confide in, so y/n feels comfortable speaking to her about anything. Whether its about their day at work or if its about something they saw on tiktok

She also uses this to help quell disputes

“Hey, Marc told me that you were rude to him the other day. It really got to him-” she’ll mention one day over breakfast, trying to get you to go apologize to him

even though layla isn’t great in cooking, she loves to bake

You ask her to make baked good for you and steven as often as you can

You’ve tried countless times to get Layla to bring you to her missions to retrieve stolen artifacts

Initially she refused, claiming that you needed to focus on your studies and your job at the ennead 

But she let you in by asking you for insight about the locations she was heading to. Teaching her the history of the location or the artifact according to the texts in Djehuty’s library.

You were more than happy to help her, and did so everytime she asked until finally she let you go with her to one mission

On the condition that you didn’t wander off and that you would listen to her

You did so of course, because you knew that if you didn’t then she would never trust you to join her to a mission again

Layla is like an aunt to you, it isn’t necessarily her responsibility to take care of you but she is more than happy to be there for you and to enjoy your company

Marc

Marc wanted you close by after the events of Cairo

He was worried that you were carrying some trauma or mental exhaustion after the battle, and while he had full confidence that you were able to take care of yourself he still wanted you to know that he was there for you and make sure you were doing well

He had some experience in coping mechanisms for traumatic events

So for whatever reason you were trying to mask, he was still able to read you like a book

He would invite y/n over for dinner every night after you finished working at the library 

Some nights he didn’t feel like cooking, so you both would go out to eat

Marc is the kind of person to find one restaurant in London and only eat there

“Marc, we’ve eaten here for the last three times. Can we go try another place?”

“What’s wrong, it’s good isn’t it?”

It takes a lot of convincing on your part to get him to budge. When he finally does, you offer up a place that you really enjoy

He trusts your judgment and follows whatever you order.

Marc is the kind of person to nag you if you’re on your phone for too long at any point

He doesn’t want you to be talking to him the entire time, but if he feels like you’re on your phone for too long it will bother him at some point

He’s the kind of person to only listen to rock music

Maybe even old latin rock as well

Whenever its just the two of you hanging out he’ll randomly go “hey listen to this” and play it in the apartment

He’ll do it without asking for ur consent or if you say no

For the most part Marc is able to handle your attitude

But sometimes you can say something that just ticks him off

He’ll snap at you almost immediately 

But, when he bites, you bite back harder

He’ll get fed up with you and absolutely fume for the rest of the day, which doesn’t bother you in the slightest, so you both ignore each other’s presence

This can go on for a very long time, as both of you are too stubborn to reconcile.

Sometimes Marc will simply let Steven front so that he can cool off or simply just getaway

Sometimes Steven will refuse to front, insisting that this was marc’s mess and he had to fix it, not steven

When this happens and no one has made any moves yet, Marc will ultimately sigh deeply and eventually extend an olive branch

He’ll ask if you wanted to go get coffee or something outside of the apartment, to which you give him a look before ultimately agreeing and everything is right in the world

This is their relationship in a nutshell

When they are able to work and live together peacefully one moment

And tension and grudges the next

But its out of love, and respect for one another

Although you both are avatars, Marc will still consider himself to have seniority over you

Completely disregard the fact that you were technically an avatar for longer than him, he considers to have seniority over you because of his age and his experience in the field

Often time this means that he’ll unintentionally undermine your ability or your opinions, but you are very quick to put him in his place and tell him that you can handle the mission

When Marc gives up his position as the avatar for Khonshu, he tells you that he does not judge you for not continuing to work for the gods

He tells you that he admires you for the work and dedication you’ve put into their cause

“You’re the best of all of us,” he’d tell you one day as you sat on the roof of his apartment, late one night, “maybe the gods see what we humans are like through you.”

Steven:

Before the events of moonknight

In the early days steven only knew of y/n as a young librarian at the library close to his work

He didn’t think much of them originally

He knew no one in london and was often drawn away from reaching out to others

People were very rude or dismissive of him 

So he just wanted to make this visit short 

Just get the books and check out 

But they made a comment to a book that he was checking out and he absolutely spiraled

It was a book about farming practices from various civilizations back in the ancient days

He wanted to start gardening as a hobby

So why not learn from the best????

Lots of blabbering

Steven realized he was rambling, and apologized to y/n, hoping they finished checking out his books so that he could leave quickly due to embarrassment

But they were actually okay with his rambling ???

They even indulged into the conversation by recommending similar books in the library that he would have liked

“I can show you if you’d like”

They didn’t even wait for his approval before taking him 

Since that one interaction, steven found trust in y/n to be able to talk to them about anything

Steven would go to the library twice a week at the least

Mostly it was to replace the books he’d gotten the last visit 

He ran through books very quickly 

Late nights and all trying to make sure that the nightmares never came back

But honestly, with each visit he grew more excited to interact with y/n

This happened even after the events during and after the moon knight

When they were traveling to the location of Senfu’s tomb, Steven had a remarkable amount of respect for y/n

it ‘s just

They seemed like they were so sure of themselves when they spoke about navigating to the tomb 

Their confidence and knowledge of the egyptian mythology and folklores

Making connections between the significance of the tomb and to ammit’s demise 

During the drive to the tomb steven would ask y/n all sorts of questions 

He was just

Really really curious

He had to know yknow

At some point, he found out that he’d asked too many questions after y/n threatened to open the door and fall out of the car if he asked one more question

There was a moment of silence as he turned toward the road and shut his mouth

They sighed, and continued answering his questions after

Happy steven : D

Truly it had been a long time since Steven had found someone who was more knowledgeable than him in ancient egyptology

He truly admired y/n

And honestly hoped that he could live up to the expectations given to him by Marc, so that he could make the mission less burdensome not just for marc but for y/n as well

After the events of moonknight, steven was adamant to find a new job to make life feel more normal

He often went to the library to use their computers

y/n had to teach him how to use one properly, but eventually he got it figured out

Steven loved to go on walks after eating a meal

He liked to ask you to go with him, insisting that it was a good way to enjoy the outdoors

Together the two would wander the streets of london, trying new routes, sometimes you would walk into a shop that looked interesting to you, but always always you would visit the park that was adjacent to the apartment complex steven lived in

You had to travel often for the ennead, now that you were under their service

This line of work often meant that y/n was away from the moonknight system for a few days to several weeks, often with very little contact due to discretion

Whenever you were away, eventually a postcard would be sent to steven

He’d pick it up from the front desk of his apartment, shifting through letters until he finally got to the postcard

It sent a lot of relief to him, seeing postcards from Myanmar, Beijing, El Salvador, Egypt, the States

“Dear Steve, I’m having a great time here in New York. I think you’d be happy to know my internship is going well, I even made some new friends. Sending you lots of love, y/n.”

“Marc, remember how you said you always wanted to go here? I’m having a good time and can’t wait to go back to see you guys. Goodbye from Guatemala, y/n.”

“Steven, I’ve made my way to Belgium for some time for a weekend getaway. I’ll be home soon!”

Steven knew, despite these generic writings, that each post card sent to him was your way of telling him that you were safe and where you were at the time. 

When y/n came back, steven tries his best to be there to greet you when you arrive 

Sometimes he makes it on time, and sometimes he completely loses track of the time and misses your arrival

Whatever is the case, he doesn’t worry too much considering that you have a knack for finding him 

Anytime you come over to the apartment, whether you’re with Marc or there for Steven, there is always a cup of your preferred tea made for you at any point

Steven never misses a chance to make you smile, he knows that you have a lot on your plate as an avatar for djehuty and working for the ennead, so he tries his best to remind you that you’re still a kid and you’re allowed to have fun

Unlike Marc, steven is able to take your sassiness in a light hearted manner and even go back at you

Unlike marc again, you are able to take it well and you both just sass each other 

You introduced steven to fictional books and got him to fall in love with Rick Riordan’s works

Although Steven absolutely adored the Kane Chronicles, he fell in love with Percy Jackson

He’ll talk to you for hours on end about what he’s read about and how he wishes that a greek god had chosen him rather than khonshu

He’ll try to ask you if they were even real, which you frankly admitted you had no conception on if they were real 

Surely they were, but you had never once had an encounter with one of them or even a representative, and the gods seemed to dismiss the idea

Whenever the two of you are together, you either talk or simply enjoy each other’s company while doing your own thing

-------

@astrobuzzsstuff

@blustalker

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[insect0idfreakaz0id]

can u give us a fun facts about wandeer please.................

YES I WOULD LOVE TO

some are like "headcanons" in a way and subject to change so I'll mark those with a *

• wander likes to do arts and crafts. he has hand puppets of him & klaus and he does a lot of drawings and paintings (which he isn't that good at). he also likes to sing/dance but doesn't do it very often (partially a nod to his first design being a singing/performing robot and not a weaponized robot)

• he has a lot of random collections (?) of things. he has a wall with several cat posters on it ("hang in there" posters mostly) drawers filled with stuff, he just likes to collect things.

• (continuation of previous) he also has a wall of crosses/crucifix, other religious symbols for protection, good luck charms, etc. wander is not religious but it's rather out of superstition and having delusions related to religion *

• he has pretty long hair, it stays pinned up under the box until he takes it off. despite not really needing to wear it anymore, he still feels like he does need to / that he needs his face to stay hidden, and also that it has become part of him now

• wanders boots are from his old job. his lab coat was from Klaus, back when he was alive, he gave one to wander while he was teaching them. wander modified it to fit more tightly around the body and flow outwards because he thought it otherwise looked a little too professional; though wander has an entire outfit taken from Klaus as well (after death) and uses that one to operate. the lab coat is not modified.

• wanders box has been with him for a while. he took it with him when he left Klaus to cover his face and has kept it since then.

• he is superstitious

• he's placed bells around most of the doors in his lab/house to alert him when someone enters

• wander isn't a "dumb" character, he was built knowing most things. it's more than his mind is constantly elsewhere, he has little opportunity to do anything with that knowledge, and he is (in current state) almost always frazzled or paranoid to some extent

• he knows most languages and is fluent in a few (english, Spanish, ASL). english was his first, as that's what Klaus speaks

• wander's physical damage is all on one side because Klaus repeatedly hit wander on that side while fighting him. he did not hit the other one

• he is ambidextrous

• wanders story currently has 3-4 potential canon endings - one where he continues to live as he did in the 15 years past klaus' death, one where he stops trying to carry on in life and lays without moving until he rots/degrades (like death but he's still aware and conscious), one where he gets worse, and one where he gets better. (there are also some noncanon joke endings I've considered) *

• I've purposely not labeled wanders mental state (not only because I'm afraid people will think I'm trying to make those with mental disorders look evil, but he's a robot, so it's kind of difficult) but it would be closest to schizoaffective [bipolar type 1], and potentially autism & hypersexuality — those two weren't intentional but something I've considered *

• more of one I regularly mention, but wander has a lot of human organs that he surgically transplanted into himself. none of them are arranged correctly, most of them are upside down, as in his heart is around the stomach area and his kidneys are in his chest. he does his own surgeries and stitches up himself

• wander is strictly against harming kids. I've had a lot of people think wander doesn't like kids / that he hates them, but he does like them and will refuse to hurt them in any way & tries his best not to do so unintentionally because his childhood wasn't good, and he doesn't wish that harm on any other children. if any did decide to come to his lab, he would try to take care of them as best as he could

• wander is not evil and does not enjoy killing. he killed Klaus, but still felt bad about it. he would not kill someone purposely without a lot of reason behind it. he is afraid of people (as in humans) but still wishes for friends and company, and wouldn't hurt/kill anyone without a reason (like them threatening him first)

• it is difficult to work out wanders age because of him being a robot, but after the 15 years of sitting alone, he is 42 years old. he was 27 when he killed Klaus. (I still need to work on how to word age for robots because it's not the same as a human or living animal of course)

• wander has been through multiple divorces (3 at least)

• he is genderfluid, pansexual, and aromantic (questioned him being something like cupioromantic before but it's not final). he uses all/any pronouns (though I mostly use "he" to talk about wander because mixing them can be confusing and only recently I've changed wanders pronouns from being she/her for several years to being all/any)

• he has a favorite tool/weapon that he brings with him everywhere, and it is a saw with a red handle. (I've questioned wander being objectum before but not finalized it; though he is affectionate and caring towards this weapon in specific rather than others, I've not decided on whether it's because it's his favorite or if it's because of something else)

• his neck and arms are attached by strong magnets. they're detachable, but not by human strength *

Ummm yeah thatis kind of a bunch but he's been around about 7 years now I think about him a lot and he's the most developed so 👍👍 I hope that is awesome THANK YOU

[fishylife]

I watched this documentary series on the making of Creation of the Gods. These are just my reactions to it and not a synopsis.

Episode 1

It's cool seeing just how many people were involved in the making of this movie(s)

The writer Ran Jia'nan was saying that they had to cut out stuff from the story that might not have made sense (to a wider audience) or perhaps was not so relevant to the main plot, and the example she used was that when Ji Chang threw up the bits of Bo Yikao that he had eaten, those pieces became rabbits. After a long time of mulling it over they decided to cut that from the story.

The actors had to learn to ride horses, combat, archery.

Training montage!!!!!

Most of those chosen had not performed professionally so they needed to train in acting and performing too.

Their first lesson was in drums. Not sure how to put it into words, but basically the teacher said that drums are an instrument that can match our pulse, and that in battle, the rhythm at which we fight is the rhythm of our pulse. That's kind of hype, they look cool.

Second lesson was combat but they also had to work out a lot too.

Third lesson was horseback riding.

Rad that one of their trainers is like, a cowboy lol.

Not only did they train in horse riding, but horse riding while fighting.

Fourth lesson was culture/history class, including a classical Chinese education. Probably to give them a deeper appreciation and understanding of the characters and story.

Wuershan was more focused on whether the actors could relate to their characters.

Ji Fa's clothes look so good.

The scenes when Ji Fa was riding back home in the end of the first movie were filmed in Xinjiang. Those scenes were sooo good.

I appreciate that Wuershan wanted a very foxlike Daji and had Naran study fox behaviour. She watched fox videos but also went to the zoo to watch foxes :3

Speaking of Naran, I think she trained to be fluent in Mandarin for this movie which is so amazing :3

Daji's appearance right after she is possessed by the demon is so...wow. The long hair, the flowing robes. She didn't die in those clothes, but as the fox it's like, a little primitive. She's wearing very basic robes. She is not the original Daji, that's for sure.

The guys pumping in preparation for the dance scene :P

The dance performance was shot in one go! :3

They're literally rewatching and admiring their muscles here lol

Episode 2

The concept art is so cool. Wuershan emphasized the good vs evil battle so the one with the very clear yin-yang outline probably emphasized that the best.

The process by which they decided on the aesthetic for this movie series was interesting. Investiture of the Gods is based on a very ancient time, but the novel itself was written in the Ming Dynasty. Add to that the mythical elements that should in theory transcend time. What do you get? In the end, they went for a 70% 水陸畫 style (which is an artistic style and not a time period) and 30% 殷商 (which refers to the Yin and Shang dynasties), plus a bit of Song Dynasty 山水 art style (which I guess is referring to that style of landscape/nature art).

Wuershan really liked a mural that was in Yongle Gong and wanted the aesthetics of the movie to emulate that style.

Concept art for the outfits. According to Wuershan, in the Shang Dynasty, white was considered a regal colour.

Empress Jiang and her family were from the east, by the ocean, so that was why they wore blue.

The duke from the south was thought to have come from a hot place, so that was why he wore red robes.

The northerners wore gray, as their lands were thought to be kind of...vast and gray.

Then lastly the folks from the west, including Ji Chang, wore yellow, though here of course it looks more like a muted yellow, a brown. Anything too bright and it would remind people too much of an emperor.

So the team put effort into fleshing out the world, even though we only saw a bit of it (at least in the first movie). But it kind of shows how ambitious Wuershan is about making this an "epic" movie series, not in the sense that it's super great, but in the sense that this is a big world with a lot going on. Even though this movie wasn't even that long, I did feel that sense of magnitude, that there were a lot of things going on even if we were just focused on the top.

Bo Yikao <3

Hell yeah Yang Jian in front of the blue screen

It's interesting that Wuershan is so involved in every aspect of the movie. He was discussing clothing materials with Tim Yip. He is the director, but I think he's just really passionate about the world he's building and he wants it to be as immersive as possible.

Naran's interpretations of her outfits was interesting. When she was still the real Su Daji, she was dressed in furs, and it gave a feeling of being protected and loved by her family. When she was possess by the fox demon, she wore a very thin purple outfit. She wore it while in the dead of winter, and it would give people a feeling that something was off. Then she wore a bright red outfit when she was dancing and it represented ambition. In the last scene of the first movie when Daji revived Yin Shou, Daji wore another very thin dress, this time in pink. Naran felt that at that time, Daji sincerely cared for Yin Shou (whether it was "love" or not is another question), so she would have been sad at seeing him dead. And so Naran associated pink with sadness.

Kris Phillips was raving about Tim Yip's outfits for Yin Shou in this part :P

Oh this is cool I think they are sculpting Lei Zhenzi here.

And other monsters.

The concept artist Siji said that he appreciated that the concept artists were given enough time to develop and create the concept art.

I didn't even realize the fox demon had different forms. Siji was explaining that initially, the fox demon was more ghost-like, and only began to develop a form after eating enough people.

Hell yeah more monsters

So we move on to the set and Wuershan puts just as much detail into building the set, which is very understandable. If your set is lame then it doesn't matter how beautiful your costumes are tbh. They went so far as to discuss the patterns of the beams, and what kinds of visual motifs would be on them.

Tim Yip was explaining how some of the structures they came up with would never have existed in history. But they did it for the aesthetics lol.

For some of the fight scenes, they did the storyboard by animating it in 3d because it would be easier to work with. In the example shown, the camera was constantly rotating around the character so I imagine that it would have been difficult to explain the constant motion of the camera with a normal drawn storyboard.

We got to the animation of Lei Zhenzi. The animator did a 360 view of what he would look like, and then another view where he would be carrying Ji Chang on his back, which he pointed out probably would not work if the wings were also on his back.

It looks like the entire movie was created in that Previz 3d animation system. Which makes sense. There's a lot that goes into filming and you might as well get a feel for the scenes, so that you can see if they actually deliver the intended impact.

Wu Yibei who I think is a special effects producer was talking about Lei Zhenzi. Basically it was really important for them to get all of the details of Lei Zhenzi right because he was going to be an important character in the second and third movies, and would interact with actors, would have feelings, etc.

This is super cool, this seems to be concept art for how Lei Zhenzi would have grown, how his wings would have developed as he grew up from a baby to an adult.

I saw this from another video that interviewed a special effects advisor for the movie. Douglas Smith had mentioned that Wuershan didn't really want Lei Zhenzi to be like a bird or a bat, and in the end, they settled for more of a fish feeling to Lei Zhenzi. Wuershan says this too in this documentary series.

Other than the physics of Lei Zhenzi's flight, I thought it was neat that Wuershan and the animators were discussing how his lightning powers would look like.

Wuershan had called up Han Pengyi and asked him if he'd wanted to be China's Andy Serkis lol. Han Pengyi served as the motion capture actor for Lei Zhenzi.

Oh wow Wuershan and Han Pengyi actually met Serkis and got to ask him about motion capture acting :o

So apparently when they animated Lei Zhenzi they hadn't really animated him blinking so Douglas Smith and team were figuring out how they could make use of other skin around Lei Zhenzi's eyes to express certain emotions.

Episode 3

Wow the craftspeople are carving the parts of the set by hand.

Look at this!!! Even just the concept art is amazing.

Wuershan did a lot of studying on the Lord of the Rings and consulted people who worked on that which is cool.

There was a discussion where Wuershan was discussing how the Lord of the Rings used more practical effects (in this case having a bunch of extras actually fighting in a battle) whereas by the time the Hobbit came around, they didn't consider this option anymore.

They spent a lot of time explaining how they came to film Shen Gong Bao's scene in which his head came apart from his body.

This was super blurry so I'm not going to screencap it but Ji Chang's actor Li Xuejian said "兒子演得不錯" and Wuershan patted Yu Shi's head in a 'did you hear that?' kind of way Yu Shi was all like humble like "noooo i'm not" hehe.

Apparently it was Father's day so Yu Shi wished Wuershan and Wang Yu a Happy Father's day lol.

They were trying to shoot a shot of five of the warriors on horseback jumping over a hurdle, while the horses were blindfolded. I'm not sure why the horses were blindfolded tbh but it was difficult because of that and the fact that they wanted the horses to jump together. Looked awesome though. And they got fistbump from one of the trainers for getting it done in two takes.

Taking care of the horses after a hard day's work.

Yu Shi explained that when they first started learning to ride horses, they were paired with any horse. After they got the hang of it, they were paired with a specific horse so that they could build a good relationship, and the actors would have to care for that horse too.

Ji Fa's character especially had a special relationship with his horse because he was a gift from his family and a symbol of home. And we saw them filming the scene near the end of the first movie where his horse was trying to get him to wake up so that they could go home.

Archery was something that challenged Yu Shi a lot so he practised it a lot and watched videos of archers.

Check out this diagram lol. I think they were trying to explain the setting to Gordy Haab who worked on the music.

We saw Gordy checking out Chinese artifacts and listening to Chinese music. Yu Fei who was a music producer said that he had a good deal of interest in the culture.

It looks like they're having some musicians play outside at one of the sites? I'm not sure if they were actually playing though.

The male bass singers were very cool. Are they throat singing?

Looks like they're playing scenes from the movie on the screen

Me, an ex-oboist, doing the Dicaprio pointing meme to these oboists

Wuershan is a fan of Penderecki. I don't know this composer so I had to look him up.

Wuershan delivering flowers to the various cast members :3

What a fun series!!!! I have some other behind the scenes videos to watch relating to this movie so I am excited :3

[oonajaeadira]

Hi Adira!

For this round of daily askgasms I’m asking the Inside the Actors Studio questionnaire! Imagine me doing my best James Lipton impression…

* What is your favorite word?

* What is your least favorite word?

* What turns you on?

* What turns you off?

* What is your favorite curse word?

* What sound or noise do you love?

* What sound or noise do you hate?

* What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

* What profession would you not like to do?

* If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Looking forward to hearing your answers!

Oh Kat, you beauty. Thank you for coming into my inbox and leaving me pressies!!!! Your year of asks is a lot of fun!

My favorite word is clandestine. I actually have a show that leans heavily on it and it never fails to catch the ear.

My least favorite word? Monsieur. I am not fluent in French but I can get by and have not-terrible pronunciation, but I fail at that word every fkn time and it's COMMON.

I'm turned on by a sharp mind and a kind heart. And a hairy chest. Or smooth collarbones. Big hands. Strong arms. A good laugh.

I am not a fan of copycats--dude, just be yourself, not me! And hovering--those folks that stand to the side and wait for you to notice them? Dude, just sit down! Join the convo! You're being more rude by forcing us to acknowledge you and break the flow just to invite you in! And bad hygiene. All I'm asking is that you don't have crust in your ears or in your nails and that you wash your butt. Boys especially need to wash their butt and underballs or I walk.

My favorite curse word is balls. I know it's not really an FCC no-no, but it's what I use most of the time. That and Jesus ass and fkn hell.

I love silence. A nice quiet fall evening? Bliss. But I also love the sound of thunderstorms and crickets in the summer. And a really good meditation chime or a minor-tone windchime. And bagpipes. Bagpipes have good vibrations and induce a drooling trance state.

I'm...a mouth noises person. Mouth noises are the devil. I tolerate it because human bodies have a lot of moisture and it's asking too much not to smack and pop and slurp and swish, but it won't go unnoticed. And I put it in perspective because nothing was as horrid as the thick lapping sound of my last dog licking herself for hours on end. Hence why I started sleeping with earplugs in. Secondly, we have a glass cutting board and the SO is a generous chopper of things and nothing will set off my tinnitus faster than the harsh, repetitive clap of steel on glass.

If I had to swap professions...I'd love to go into art curation. Or theologian. I kind of wish I'd become a librarian. Or just straight up read tarot for a living. I started college as a biology major with a path toward becoming a vet. I'm glad I didn't do that, but if I had, I would have liked being a death doula for pets. I find that honorable and compassionate. I've been thinking about volunteering in hospice for a while now, so maybe someday I'll do that.

There are a million jobs I would never enjoy and they all have to do with money, finances, sports, food processing, cleaning, and the beauty industry.

Heaven has always sounded like a giant bore to me. But an afterlife where all the cool gods hang out? Yes. The thing I'd want most is a look of approval from Anubis. If I die and Anubis is there weighing my heart, all I need is to see that look in his eye that says, "Good job. I'm so proud of you. Welcome home."

Thank you for such interesting asks, friend!!!! <3

[zolarwho]

5/9/2024

My life is gradually changing and expanding not just internally but externally. I took a sudden trip to Guanajuato, Mexico with my beloved Grandma of course. She’s been asking for awhile to go visit with her and this time I took the trip. I was more than ready to, all the cards allowed me to go. I already had gotten my passport, online school, seasonal job ect. Everything fell into place beautifully and that’s the BEAUTY when going with life’s flow when already with positive mindset/righteousness/discipline. It was like I was rewarded by life given this opportunity which has been delayed for awhile for me. I’ve always wanted to travel and see the world 🗺️✈️

I consider myself to be very spiritual and someone who is very focused on self growth + improvement. It motivates me and helps me see how FAR i’ve come as an individual.

As of now I really see myself winning in life. Before I did with just my mindset. I knew I was at peace and contentment with my current life. It was hard and it’s a journey but it’s worth it because I truly am winning and now people can see it. 3D—>4D wise

It’s my 2nd night here and already love it. I’m currently living on a ranch and we travel to get to places which I don’t mind. I love the sun (which I barely got in America) and I love moving my body. This is great because forced movement like exercise can be boring but going places makes me not even realize how much I’ve really walked.

Even though I’m a “no sabo” kid, I learn fast and am already a little fluent in Spanish, thanks to my Grandma who is the only one I can speak Spanish with. I plan to dedicate my journey here to more personal, emotional, physical and most of all, spiritual growth. I’m learning lots of new things everyday while living another perspective. As well as learning more Spanish everyday, that I can guarantee.

I’ve also had some caldo de res at a restaurant and got to experience a different way of life. I mean since i’ve been here, that’s been constant but even down to restaurant or food court. I got to sat down while they were making everything fresh right next to a large table where anyone can sit at different stands. I sat with my Grandma in front of 2 ladies and ate and chat with them.

SEE this is different, normally in America, everyone is usually closed off from each other. I am too a person who doesn’t really make an effort to socialize with people. I know Mexico 🇲🇽 is helping me open up to others more easily while learning and trying to vocalize my thoughts and feelings not just in general anymore but in a different language so another can just simply understand.

Life is free over here. More free and fun. Maybe it’s just how I view things as a person. Everyone has different life’s and perspectives so someone else can see Mexico as a shackle while I see it as a free, fun, social and limitless experience.

Today I also went grocery shopping with my Grandma and we bought lots of fruit. I’m very particular with my food and have noticed that I am kind of a clean “freak” so she thought it was best for us to buy fruit. I also got excited when I saw the abundant amount of honeycomb. This is NOT that common in America. People overcharge and it’s a uncommon delicacy. So it’s the little things that make me happy :3

Love life, life loves me. Life is great ect. All the positive things 💫

[king-hunty]

The Struggles of Being an A1-A2 Learner

I am sure anyone who has learned a language in-depth knows what language levels are. But, for those that don't:

Each language is assigned a specific level for each grade of fluency based on written and spoken frequency. It goes from A1-C2 typically, however some languages have their own grading scales of fluency, such as Japanese.

Obviously these are extremely important to us linguists, as they are what allows us to learn these languages in a organized manner. But don't want to get off topic now.

What I really am addressing with this post is the difficulty of being an A1 learner for any language. This is when the language is BRAND new to us. We are learning the absolute basics at this point.

For me, the frustration comes from not wanting to slow down and trying to rush the journey. I want to be fluent now and I want to speak comfortably now. I think in my mind I view A1 and A2 as embarrassing levels to be at because it's the level that children speak at, and I am not a child.

It's quite funny how much it bothers me honestly. It's something I am trying to fix though, as late at night I always get caught up searching for other resources to see if they're better and can help me learn faster, and often spend money and regret it after :,< But, tbh... if I don't slow down I won't learn anything at all.

It's important at this stage to take your time because understanding fully the most basic elements of any language make the advanced stages so much easier. That's why right now I am really focusing on italki classes for speaking and substituting Glossika SV (I know some people hate Glossika, I personally really enjoy it so haters gonna hate). Trying to get that intuitive understanding of when to use one word over the other and what grammar structure is appropriate is so important now because it is such a hard habit to build.

Everyone always talks about the "intermediate plateau" but, I think the elementary level is the hardest to overcome, and is often where most of us give up and drop a language. I personally have never reached above high A2 and have dropped two languages after reaching that point in those respective areas. This time I'm simply trying to get to B1 because once I get there, everything will flow a lot more smoothly.

Anyways, thank you guys for reading! I wish you all the best on your respective journeys!

Hẹn gặp lại!

[firsttarotreader]

As a Spanish speaker I have noticed that sometimes Pedro has trouble speaking Spanish and struggling with certain words, and I have just read an interview in which Almodóvar confirms that Pedro's Spanish is not that good/

I wanted to ask how he feels about this. I mean: Spanish is the main language of his father (his mother) his younger siblings, and also his older sister, even though she grew up in the usa like him, she's married to an Argentinean so she speaks the language more. The language of family, of childhood, of affection.

(please do a tarot reading on him and his relationship with Spanish, as a bilingual myself it's a subject that is very interesting to me)

Hello! I asked the cards your question, about what his relationship with the Spanish language could be like, and the first pull was the King of Flowers, Page of Teacups and Transformation.

This is curious because the King of Flowers is a visionary leader, he’s pure fire energy and he carries the torch, he’s gonna manifest a vision and others will gravitate towards him because of how charismatic and determined he is. He could feel like, in the world he lives in, he “represents” the Spanish speaking people in a way, as if he carries the responsibility to show it to the world and be a voice that speaks in Spanish. The Page of Teacups points to how loving and caring he feels towards his mother language, but also very loyal, he never forgets his origins and he carries this language with care. Transformation, however, might mean he could feel kind of different somehow. He changed his entire life at some point and he is someone that doesn’t deal with the language the same way, he had to change. We could be talking about the way he had to move to the US and learn to be like them, and become someone totally different, which has caused an effect in him and the way he sees the Spanish language. He’s not the same, so the language is not the same either.

The next pull was Temperance, The World and The Chariot. Temperance represents balance and harmony between the past and the future, so he might have found a common ground, a comfortable point in this relationship with the Spanish language where he understands what he can do with it. The World reinforces the peaceful moment he might have with it now, he got what he’s always wished for, he feels complete and in a good place, maybe even because of how well he’s done in his career as a Spanish speaking person. The Chariot points to him possibly thinking of constantly progressing with his Spanish, he still has more to learn and he feels like he is in a place where he is in control of his life and destiny and he knows where he’s going. Who knows if maybe one day he’ll do a Spanish speaking movie, as in fully spoken in Spanish??

The last pull was King of Teacups, 5 of Hedgehogs and 2 of Teacups. Well, King of Teacups is that passionate man, the one who wants to do his best for the others and help as much as he can. I can see Pedro feeling like he would do what he could to represent Spanish speaking people well, and he wanted to. 5 of Hedgehogs, however, points to him feeling somehow like an “outsider”, as if he lost something along the way and doesn’t have much to offer. Maybe because he feels like his Spanish isn’t so great? But the 2 of Teacups ends the reading positively, with him once again being able to let the feelings flow and be in harmony with his mother language even if he isn’t the most fluent in it.

So there you go, he definitely remembers who he is and where he comes from and he’s proud of his language and his roots, but there’s some conflicting feelings of loss and inadequacy too.

[liminalpsych-in-teyvat]

…I have written ~32,000 words of a single story in the past month. I haven't done that since high school.

Wait. No. Holy crap. I take that back. I stalled out at 25,000 words during NaNoWriMo in high school in I think 2003 or 2004, and that was the farthest I got in a month's time. So this is the most I've ever written in such a short time. But I haven't written this avidly, this many words, this consistently since high school, at the very least.

(oh no I adhd'd in the morning when my meds were half kicked in. That's always a mistake of uncontained rambling. I'll be surprised/impressed if anyone actually reads the rest of this post; ...actually I'm going to put it under a cut because it just got out of control)

It's such a nice feeling! I had given up on writing fiction for a long time, especially after working in residential treatment (2008-2010) when I just. Stopped reading fiction and stopped writing it, because I felt like I "should" be spending my time on "productive" things instead whenever I had time to write (it felt like a trauma brain, survival mode kind of mindset; I was pretty shut down and dissociated).

And when I tried to write any time after that, I got blocked too from overthinking it, knowing just enough about psychology to feel like I was Doing It Wrong with character portrayals, but not knowing enough to do it "right" or for it to flow more naturally. 13-15 years, a graduate counseling degree, and 8 years of post grad experience in the counseling field later, that's not a problem anymore, and not even a stress point.

It's been interesting trying out different approaches to writing. I'm not doing pure discovery writing anymore (aka seat-of-the-pants writing aka pantsing, not having any outline or any solid idea of where you're going, discovering as you write); I've outlined more for this story than I ever have. I'm doing more editing than I did when I was younger (I'm gonna blame adhd meds for that one, thanks adhd meds, you're the best!).

I've also been using a thesaurus for the first time in my life as a writer, which is just embarrassing. It's because I haven't used my extensive vocabulary nearly as actively, not unless it's psychology related. So while I know a lot of descriptive words, I don't have easy access to them. I'll be like "…all I can think of is this direct/simple word, but it's not the Right Word, I know the right word exists but I can't remember what it is, it's kind of like this word but not quite" and so I have to look up synonyms until I stumble across the word I was trying to remember. 9_9 I'm sure it'll come back as I read fiction more and write more.

(Possibly some of it is the head pressure/health issues? Because I'll lose words when I'm having really bad symptoms, and lose a sentence halfway through speaking. But that feels different. Pretty sure this is just because of atrophy from not writing prose for so long, and for not reading fiction nearly as voraciously as I once did.)

(But I hadn't realized I could lose access to my vocabulary from disuse. It makes sense, because I certainly have lost access to the Spanish I was once fairly fluent in. I can still understand a good amount of Spanish when I hear it spoken or read it; I just can't spontaneously access the vocabulary to speak it anymore.)

but man. you definitely get more hits and comments on AO3 for fanfic in a larger fandom like Genshin Impact (65 million active players in March 2023) than in a tiny one like Arthurian literature (20 gay people on Tumblr, that's it, that's the fandom. ...this is hyperbole, but only barely, we might be up to 40 gay people on Tumblr by now with all the Reddit refugees).

and very likely you get more hits for Explicit rated fic / erotica than for non-erotica, but I'd have to post a general audience fic in the Genshin fandom to find out. (I definitely can't say it's porn without plot, the label I used for this fic before I figured out a title was "Kushiel's Impact", basically sex-and-trauma-and-sexual-trauma political intrigue story.)

[voodoochili]

My 100 Favorite Songs of 2022

It's that time of year again, when everyone else has shared their year-end list and I come in and correct everyone's bullshit! I kid, I kid, I don't claim to know or appreciate music better than anyone else, but I'm proud of the list I put together.

This year, I found it hard to narrow my list down to just 100, and even harder to definitely rank them. 2022 was a deep, deep year, full of great songs, but not too many songs that towered above the rest. This is the streaming conundrum–there's a billion songs out there and so many of them are good.

More than ever, I put an emphasis on discovery, moving from sound to sound in a relentless search for songs that would hold my attention. The following are the songs that made me laugh, cry, or just made my jaw drop.

Check HERE for the Spotify playlist and don't forget to scroll all the way down for my full Top 100 list.

Happy listening all, hope you find something you love as much as I do!

THE SONGS

25. Rema - “Calm Down”: “Calm Down” hits like a warm bath, its gently loping guitar and militaristic snare combining to make a soundscape perfectly-suited for YouTube 10-hour mixes. Rema does what he does best, melting into the mix with chant-like melodies and a new flow for every verse. By the time producers Andrevibez and London layer in swelling organs and sumptuous strings, “Calm Down” mesmerizes the listener to the point where they won’t even mind if the DJ is playing the wrong version and Selena Gomez shows up.

24. Yahritza & Su Esencia - “Soy El Unico”: Over the past few years, I’ve grown very fond of corridos and regional Mexican music–the singers are charismatic and those acoustic guitarists can shred. I don’t speak fluent Spanish, though, so I know that whenever I listen to these story-driven ballads, there’s a lot I’m not getting. But there is no misunderstanding Yahritza Martinez in “Soy El Único,” her achingly raw tone radiating the kind of all-encompassing heartbreak that you can only feel when you’re 15 (or 13, which is apparently how old she was when she wrote the song). Backed by her brothers on guitar and bass, she delivers one of the best vocal performances of the year, dousing you in every ounce of her anger and despair.

23. Asian Doll - “Get Jumped” ft. Bandmanrill: I’m gonna be real and say that I did not expect Dallas native Asian Doll to be the first southern rapper to hop on the club rap wave, but it’s a mode that suits her nicely–she’s always been able to rap with the dexterity required for the uptempo style. On “Get Jumped,” Asian goes blow-for-blow with the “godfather” of club rap, Newark’s Bandmanrill, over Bankroll Got It’s sped-up and souped-up sample of David Ruffin’s “I Miss You.” For his part, the Bandman delivers one of his best verses of the year, mixing his uber-confident stick talk with a pathos that reflects the heartbreak of the sample. Asian more than holds her own, returning his volleys with head-spinning speed and exacting precision.

22. Kendrick Lamar - “Rich Spirit”: He’s an ambassador for Compton and the longtime face of L.A.’s most prominent rap label, but Kendrick Lamar never really concerned himself with the prevailing sounds of his home city’s rap scene. Though we’ll never hear 2014-era Kendrick rip apart a DJ Mustard beat, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers highlight “Rich Spirit” feels like Kendrick’s attempt to make an anthem for the L.A. underground–more specifically, his own version of “Impatient Freestyle,” the modern classic by Drakeo The Ruler. Producers Sounwave, Frano, and DJ Dahi (I’m comfortable crediting him for the ghostly vocal samples that affirmatively answer Kendrick’s pronouncements) craft an immersive soundscape that feels appropriately spiritual*, while retaining that West Coast bounce, allowing space for Kendrick to preach about holistic living (regular fasting, abstention from social media) and credibly compare himself to deities major and minor. *and not dissimilar to the "Impatient" beat Mike WiLL Made It originally made for Jeremih

21. Luh Tyler - “Back Flippin”: This is the most recent song on the list, released on December 14th. I originally had another song by Luh Tyler, the Tallahassee teenager and future megastar, in this slot: ”I Gotta Slide,” a 98-second burst of effortless shit talk and sly wordplay. While “I Gotta Slide” is a sketch, the Xair-produced “Back Flippin” expands upon everything that Tyler does well. It walks the fine line between stupid and clever with aplomb, Tyler’s croaking delivery and signature upward-inflecting flow selling every punchline (and nearly every line is a punchline). Recalling in equal measure the lackadaisical stoner wisdom of Devin The Dude, the conversational sing-song of Kodak Black, and the indefatigable brashness of a young Nef The Pharaoh, Luh Tyler is already a distinct and extremely promising voice in the rap game. As great as it is, “Back Flippin’” feels a lot less like a career peak than the start of the climb.

20. Joony - “DRIFTING IN TOKYO”: One day, a cultural scholar smarter than me will have to investigate the impact made by the third Fast & Furious film. The movie certainly made an impression on 20-year-old Maryland rapper Joony. To his credit, the “Drifting In Tokyo” instrumental–an easygoing UK garage throwback with supremely chill Rhodes licks and crackling DnB drums, crafted by producer Davy’s archive–evokes the neon-lit nights and seemingly frictionless rides through the Japanese metropolis that Justin Lin captured so memorably in that movie. The cinematic backdrop leaves plenty of space for Joony’s mellow melodies, his plaintive deadpan dripping with paranoia and resignation: “I can't do this shit no more/But I don't wanna die alone.”

19. Babyface Ray - “Me, Wife & Kids”: Babyface Ray rhymes with a world-weary wisdom; the soft-spoken, authoritative croak of a man who’s seen everything. A euphoric soul-sampler (from Detroit’s Pooh Beatz), “Me Wife & Kids” gives a wistful lift to Ray’s hustle-hard witticisms, the Detroit native determined to escape the liminal space between his hardscrabble past and bright future. Ray’s third verse is one of the coldest of the year, methodically and economically laying out the life or death stakes of the rap game and the trap game (“Twenty-five years, brodie still in the game/I told him put the bag down, he say that's how he get paid/He tryna find his way out, you know that shit like a maze”) and exuding the confidence necessary to succeed: “Nah, I ain't trap, I'm just movin' off survival/Tryna figure out how to sell the church Bibles.”

18. Lay Bankz - “In My Bag”: I didn’t realize it was possible to make a slow jam at 150 bpm, but Philly native Lay Bankz sure showed me. The song starts like so many R&B ballads, with sensitive acoustic guitar arpeggios, establishing a tender and confident milieu. Quickly, the song erupts, with an insistent Philly club-style beat powering forward at warp speed, accelerating like a heartbeat fluttering in the presence of a new crush. Lay Bankz doesn’t push herself to keep up with the tempo, but stays calm, layering harmonies as her languid vocal floats above the fray. “In My Bag” is a banger, yes, but more significantly, Lay’s strong sense of structure and facility with sugar-coated melodies expands our conceptions about what East Coast club music can or should sound like, paving a path for the style to make further inroads to the mainstream.

17. Iayze - “556 (Green Tip)”: “556 (Green Tip)” is perhaps the most whimsical song ever written about a deadly weapon. Producer KeyWaza serves up an entrancingly dinky instrumental for the Fort Worth 18-year-old (name pronounced “Jace”) to sink his teeth into. Iayze holds court, slithering between the pootering synths with a stop-starting flow. None of this should work, but it does–it’s a trick that Iayze seems to know that he’s playing: “I just shot a foul ball, it's good because I made the rules.”

16. Black Sherif - “Kwaku The Traveller”: Ghana’s Black Sherif is part rapper, part griot, breaking out in Accra's fertile drill scene with his one-of-a-kind microphone presence. Blessed with a minimal, yet ominous beat (from producer Joker nharnah), the confessional “Kwaku The Traveller” is the best showcase of his unhinged charisma to date*. The first verse thrives on Sherif’s unconventional relationship with rhythm, his motor-mouthed patter paying no attention to beats or bar lines. In the second verse, he hammers home his theme, switching between English and Twi as he compares the always-on-the-move lifestyle of an artist to that of a nomadic hitchhiker on a journey to nowhere. *The “Kwaku The Traveller” experience is incomplete without watching the video

15. Carly Rae Jepsen - “The Loneliest Time” ft. Rufus Wainwright: Carly Rae’s bubblegum era never quite spoke to me; too much sugar sometimes tastes like medicine. “The Loneliest Time” got me, though, cutting CRJ’s saccharine tendencies with a dollop of Rufus Wainwright’s natural melancholy and delivering an anthem that stands with the best of ABBA. Simultaneously campy and tasteful (this is another song where the experience is incomplete without the video), “The Loneliest Time” sounds like a showtune from a musical that doesn’t exist, augmenting the theatrical vibe with the steady 4/4 beat and cinematic strings of the disco era and the pounding pianos of Motown. Both singers stretch their dramatic muscles, hamming up the delivery of key lines (“I’m coming BACK for you, baby!”) without undermining the song’s emotional core. It’s hard not to get swept up in the feeling, especially as the song winds down: the two singers finish harmonizing and the strings play them off into the moonlit night.

14. Friendship - “Hank”*: “Hank” is a song about resisting the void, about absorbing the knowledge of the impermanence of life and unrelentingly soldiering on. Over friendly fingerpicking and a propulsive kick-snare, lead singer Dan Wriggins hammers down with his appealingly flat baritone, painting life as a rusty old machine that you might need to oil or sand, but hey, as long as it’s running today, it might run forever. Fans of David Berman, Lambchop, or Bill Callahan might find something to love here.

*The music video for "Hank" was directed by Joe Pera, so if you dig his whole deal, I'd highly recommend "Hank" and its home album Love The Stranger.

13. Hitkidd & GloRilla - “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”: Celebratory, confrontational, carefree. GloRilla hits like a bulldozer, Hitkidd’s beat gassing her up with a plonking piano melody. Every line is memorable. What more can I say? B-A-N-G-E-R.

12. Shabason & Krgovich - “I’m Dancing”: Canadian multi-instrumentalist Joseph Shabason first gained recognition for his work on Destroyer’s Kaputt, which used the sonic language of yacht rock to explore the listlessness of modern life. On At Scaramouche, his new album with regular collaborator Nicholas Krgovich, he works with a similar template–sumptuous electric keys, shuffling percussion, chirruping woodwinds–to explore life’s simple pleasures. The mellifluous “I’m Dancing” is a supremely laid back rocker, a slow build that unfolds from a slight giggle to a full belly laugh over the course of five-and-a-half minutes. By the end of the song, as the horns answer the synths and the backbeat grows ever more prominent, Krgovich’s voice drifts into the slipstream, floating away on a pillow of sweet contentment. Call it schooner rock.

11. Asake - “Peace Be Unto You (PBUY)”: Asake makes joyful, crowd-moving music, taking elements of Naija pop and South African amapiano to create a style that’s as inspirational as it is danceable. “Peace Be Unto You (PBUY)” is a perfect summary of his whole deal, starting with a long shaker-and-snare intro that builds and builds until it transforms into one of his trademark choruses: a full-bloom blast of gang vocals, enthusiastic whistles, and pogo-ing 808s. Perfecting a mode that everyone in Africa is trying to catch in a bottle, “PBUY” is an enthusiastic celebration of the communal expression of joy through music, the gang vocals hitting like a full-force gospel choir while the sinuous violin adds a hint of melancholy.

10. Bad Bunny - “Andrea” ft. Buscabulla: Bad Bunny’s opus Un Verano Sin Ti is a rare beast–a streaming era colossus of an album where practically every song is a highlight. There were times that I turned to the beat-shifting “Titi Mi Preguntó” or the scorching “El Apagón” or “Ojitos Lindos,” the sadboy beach anthem, but the song that that impressed me most was “Andrea.” Nestled towards the end of the 23-track runtime, “Andrea” is a masterpiece of downbeat dembow, the insistent riddim transforming amidst the echoing synths and the angelic vocal from Buscabulla’s Raquel Berrios. Over the course of nearly six minutes, El Conejo and Ms. Berrios combine to tell the story of a woman defiantly asserting her independence, judgmental onlookers be damned.

9. Veeze - “let it fly”: Veeze rhymes like he’s in the process of waking from a particularly unrestful night’s sleep, delivering boasts with a guttural monotone in sentences that seem to emerge from a place of half-dreamed logic before trailing off like ellipses. On “Let It Fly,” Veeze proves that his somnambulant style works even better when you speed up the tempo, as he goes in over an aqueous, bass-heavy, Flint-style backing track from Michigan’s own Tye Beats. The Detroit native makes the most of his two minute runtime, perfecting the art of nonchalant flexing (“I hate the strip club, I'm too rich, I don't belong in there”) and piercing his enemies with barbs that dig deeper the more you think about them (“Trappin' ain't for you, boy, you need to get a job”).

8. Nia Archives - “18 & Over”: Nia Archives synthesizes decades’ worth of dance music from across the globe into a kinetic bouillabaisse–listen to her music for more than a minute and you’ll find fully-formed chunks of jungle, samba, R&B, even dubstep. A highlight from her Forbidden Feelingz EP, “18 & Over” is an addictive sonic collage, melding together seemingly disparate elements into a stew that exceeds the sum of its parts. She layers a reggae bassline atop a fast and furious DnB breakbeat, creating a mind-blowing groove that blossoms into a thrilling dubstep throwback before returning to its roots. Graceful, toe-tapping virtuosity.

7. Arctic Monkeys - “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball”: Alex Turner’s transformation from Paul Weller to Jimmy Webb was a sudden and controversial change, one that angered some longtime fans and many of those who hopped on in 2013 with AM (probably the most successful capital R Rock album of the 2010s). It’s unreasonable to expect anyone to make the same kind of music forever, and I love the new Arctic Monkeys, who’ve become an outfit willing and able to fit any stretch of Turner’s songwriting imagination. “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” is exquisite, an impeccably-arranged picture of a deteriorating love and the last steps taken to save it. Dropping his louche lounge lizard character that dominated the 2019 album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino on “Mirrorball” and the rest of the recent album The Car, Turner is almost painfully sincere, his voice straining to reach the notes necessary to get his point across. Luckily, the strings are there to help him along, harkening back to a golden era of pop grandeur, when Webb and Glen Campbell made symphonies out of songs.

6. Big Thief - “Spud Infinity”: Life, the universe, and the potato. A cosmic hoedown exploring the eternal questions of our existence, filtered through the lens of the ugliest of our miraculous crops, “Spud Infinity” feels like it’s beamed in from a dimension more peaceful and harmonious than ours. Frontwoman Adrienne Lenker’s sharp pen and playful demeanor elevates the song from stoner silliness to a poignant and good-natured gawking at the absurdity of our everyday lives: “Kiss your body up and down, other than your elbows/'Cause as for your elbows, they're on their own/Wandering like a rolling stone/Rubbing up against the edges of experience." The late John Prine would be proud.

5. Sha EK - “Who You Touch” ft. Mel Glizzy: Bronx drill bruiser Sha EK has a visceral, full-bodied roar that feels like the rap equivalent of that one Spongebob meme. He does not make background music. He’s the rap game Derrick Henry, with the ability to combine that overwhelming power with a finesse that allows him to tip-toe atop lightning fast club beats. He’s at his peak on “Who You Touch,” a high-energy sample-drill masterpiece, jumping out of the speakers and commanding the track like a sergeant. There are multiple versions of “Who You Touch” floating around, including one with Bandmanrill, but the version that made it to streaming pales in comparison to the original*, with its manipulated vox and fluttering guitar painting Sha and Mel as avenging angels who don’t even need to drop their harps before messing you up.

*I sadly haven't been able to find a high-quality reupload anywhere :/

4. The Beths - “Silence Is Golden”: I knew that The Beths had serious chops, and songwriting talent to match, but hot damn did I never expect them to produce something as punishing and exhilarating as “Silence Is Golden.” It combines the spritely melodies of their indie pop forefathers with a backing track furious enough to impress the heaviest of post-hardcore freakazoids (Refused, in particular, would be proud). As always with The Beths, this sound and fury signifies something–they are masters at crafting songs that perfectly suit the subject matter. The squalling noise of the instrumental (“a siren screaming” and “a jet plane engine”) mirrors the narrator’s futile search for a moment’s peace, and though she finds it at the end, I tend to turn on “Silence Is Golden” when I want to embrace the ruckus. The shape of pop to come.

3. Koffee - “Pull Up”: Koffee x Jae5 is an indefatigable combination, his tasteful organ swells and airy vocal samples a perfect match for her ebullient melodies. “Pull Up” was an instant classic–nothing too fancy, just the year’s best chorus augmented with a tasteful bit of sax. It’s an instant mood booster, a party anthem that makes anyone who sings it feel like they’re 100 feet tall.

2. Duke Deuce - “JUST SAY THAT” ft. GloRilla: No artist brought me more joy in 2022 than Duke Deuce, who supplemented two albums worth of head-slamming Memphis music with his hysterical “Gangsta Walk Wednesdays.” “JUST SAY THAT” was his crowning achievement, a gleefully ridiculous and obnoxiously bombastic banger. Metro Boomin and Allen Ritter build a speaker-annihilating monster out of Addinsell’s “Warsaw Concerto,” and both rappers take turns going as dumb as they can. GloRilla leads off with one of the best guest verses of the year, furiously steamrolling chumps through gritted teeth. Duke holds serve, raising the energy level with his signature ad libs. “WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUCK” indeed.

1. Ka - “Ascension”: Brownsville rhymer Ka earns deserved praise for his evocative pen and gravelly gravitas, but he deserves equal praise as a producer. “Ascension” is a work of art: strings thrum like sand falling through an hourglass, distorted voices interject like a choir of the damned, and spiky guitar licks emerge out of the aether. The meditative repetition of the instrumental recalls the best of Philip Glass–call him Ka-yaannisqatsi. The 50-year-rapper does justice to his mesmerizing instrumental, digging deep into his past, analyzing the core memories molded him as a man. His astounding second verse methodically lays out Ka’s struggles to escape generational trauma, a titanic task made more difficult by the mounting tragedies suffered during his upbringing. Ka’s emergence from hell to become one of the voices of his generation is a miracle, and his words are well worth considering, his moral compass pointing true north as he offers sage advice for anyone trying to follow in his footsteps: “If you a deep person, keep searching, amass facts/I believe they call him father, cause you supposed to get past that/If never won, run every one like it's the last lap/Handing ends to family and friends, never expecting that cash back.”

Hope you enjoyed the blurbs, here's the playlist and the rest of the list.

26. Cash Cobain & Chow Lee - “JHoliday” (Prod. by Cash Cobain) 27. Gunna - “flooded” (Prod. by Young Twix) 28. Bad Boy Chiller Crew - “Always Be My Baby Boy” ft. Becce J  29. Skeng - “London” (Prod. by Droptop Records & DiTruth Records) 30. Ice Spice - “Munch (Feelin U)” (Prod. by RIOTUSA) 31. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom - “Edge Of The Edge” 32. Melody’s Echo Chamber - “Alma” 33. Fireboy DML - “Timoti” (Prod. by Kel P) 34. Zahsossa & DSturdy - ”Shake Dhat” (Prod. by DJ Crazy 215) 35. Rosalía - “DESPECHA” 36. Dehd - “Bad Love” 37. TEXAS BOYS - “Awready”  38. Earl Sweatshirt - “Fire In The Hole” (Prod. by Black Noi$e) 39. Residente - “This Is Not America” ft. Ibeyi  40. Yaya Bey - “Alright” 41. PGF Nuk - “Waddup” ft. Polo G (Prod. by Fatman Beatzzz) 42. Makaya McCraven - “So Ubuji” 43. Natanael Cano & Codiciado - “De A De Veras” 44. Alex G - “Runner” 45. Mediopicky - “Ají Titi” ft. Diego Raposo 46. Sault - “Angel” 47. Tony Shhnow - “Show U” (Prod. by GeeohhS) 48. Ari Lennox - “Hoodie” (Prod. by Elite) 49. Toro Y Moi - “Magazine” 50. Wizkid - “Money & Love” 51. Beyoncé - “CHURCH GIRL” (Prod. by No ID, et. al) 52. Cloakroom - “Doubts” 53. Brent Faiyaz - “LOOSE CHANGE” (Prod. by Beat Butcha, No ID, Raphael Saddiq) 54. Octo Octa - “Stars & Water” 55. Burna Boy - “Last Last” (Prod. by Ruuben, MD$, Off & Out & Chopstix) 56. George Riley - “Jealousy” (Prod. by Vegyn) 57. Real Lies - “Your Guiding Hand” 58. Kabza De Small - “Eningi” ft. Njelic, Simmy & Mhaw Keys 59. MJ Lenderman - “Hangover Game” 60. Mr Twin Sister - “Resort” 61. RealYungPhil - “Everything We Need” (Prod. by EvilGiane) 62. Hikaru Utada - “Somewhere Near Marseilles” 63. Cold Mega - “LIGHT IN THE SKY” 64. 03 Greedo - “Pourin” ft. BlueBucksClan (Prod. by Mike Free)  65. Fievel Is Glauque - “The River” 66. Rob49 - “Vulture Island” (Prod. by B.loadin) 67. SG Goodman - “When You Say It” 68. Ralfy The Plug - “Dynamic Duo” ft. Drakeo The Ruler (Prod. by ThankYouFizzle) 69. Sideshow - “SALT KILLS SNAILS” (Prod. by BEATSBYSAV) 70. Zion & Lennox - “Brisa” ft. Danny Ocean (Prod. by Jimmix & Manybeats) 71. Sudan Archives - “Freakalizer” 72. Fred Again… - “Faisal (London Bridge Station” (Piano Version) 73. SleazyWorld Go - “Sleazy Flow” ft. Lil Baby (Prod. by Rage Santana) 74. Jenn Carter - “Joker” (Prod. by YoungMadz) 75. Megan Thee Stallion - “Plan B” (Prod. by Hitmaka, et. al) 76. Junglepussy - “Foreign Exchange” (Prod. by Bohemia Lynch) 77. Sessa - “Canção de Cura” 78. The Afghan Whigs - “Jyja” 79. CEO Trayle - “Alter Ego 2” (Prod. by OG Parker, et. al) 80. Hitkidd & Enchanting - “Kater To Me” (Prod. by Hitkidd) 81. Special Interest - “LA Blues” 82. Charli XCX - “Twice” 83. Dazy - “On My Way” 84. Alvvays - “Pomeranian Spinster” 85. Ade - “Opposites” 86. Pheelz - “Finesse” ft. BNXN (Prod. by Michkel) 87. Stromae - “L’enfer” 88. Metro Boomin - “Metro Spider” ft. Young Thug (Prod. by Metro Boomin) 89. Quelle Chris - “Alive Ain’t Always Living” (Prod. by Quelle Chris & Chris Keys) 90. Tears For Fears - “Rivers Of Mercy” 91. RXK Nephew - “Saoirse Ronan”  92. Wiki & Subject 5 - “Silent Meeting” ft. DJ Lucas (Prod. by Subject 5) 93. Chief Keef - “Chief So” (Prod. by Young Malcolm) 94. Stacks - “Above Ground” 95. Baby Stone Gorillas - “Keep Goin’” (Prod. by Gotdamnitdupri) 96. Stoneda5th ft. R3DaChilliman - “Beat The Odds” (Prod. by Reconboy & Bzbands) 97. Pi’erre Bourne - “Love Drill” 98. Rauw Alejandro - “No Me Sueltes” 99. Romeo - “Halfway Out The Door” 100. Yeat - “Rich Minion” (Prod. by Lotto)

[sugarphoenixlovesfanfic]

please check out this person's aventurine fic!! it's so good

ahem, onto the comments I wanted to make (we'll see how much of how I feel about this fic will actually get translated into words).

spoilers below!

oh my GOD.

okay starting with the technical parts so that I can have some time to formulate thoughts about the concept and abstract parts.

The prose is so well written. I've always had an ear (eye??) for rhythm in prose, and I've always loved writing prose with single word rhythm and you've managed to write that rhythm so well. like.

"sand, desert, mother, sister, father" << this kind of stuff I always love writing in my own fiction but moreso I LOVE reading. like it is. the best.

Aside from rhythm, your prose flows so beautifully well. There are little (if any) to no hitches in the fic, I can hear it read out loud in my head with no awkward bumps. beautiful. amazing. stunning. gorgeous. onto my thoughts about the fic on a conceptual/abstract level the fact that when I saw this fic I almost didn't read it because I knew it was going to be so good that I'd need a lot of brainpower to process it -- and then I decided to skim it because I was so curious -- and then I decided to read it in its entirety because it was too good to only be casually enjoyed.

I love the way you wrote Aventurine. I love the way he hides his past yet it is still simmering underneath the surface. I love the way you wrote his toxic mentality that's linked to his past -- how he's learned to put up walls around himself, to learn that vulnerability means death. That even though teaching the reader is so vulnerable already, the moment it gets to a critical point (i.e. teaching the reader how to say 'I love you' in Avgin) -- he shuts himself off, shuts the reader out. obviously this kind of toxicity is terrible in real life but, oh, how delicious it is in fiction. this fic taught me a lot about how important language can be to people -- as a person who has non-english parents yet has not learned to speak either language of either halves, it's interesting to me to see how others might understand their mother tongue especially in contrast to a standardized language that they were forced to learn in order to become powerful within the world. It reminds me of how I feel about my own mother tongue -- a language that was taught to me before I learnt english at the age of 6 and is now completely out of use for me -- yet when I hear it being spoken my heart is drawn towards it, and I feel emotions from the words that I could never feel with english, even though I always tell people english is my first language (cause it's the only language I'm fluent in) I love the way that you wrote the reader, and all the little details you included. Like how the Avgin language came back on the Synesthesia Beacon, with 2 speakers (and 103 loanwords) -- and I'm not entirely sure if you meant it to be this way but my immediate thought was that the reader had gone and restored it, counting them and Aventurine as speakers and adding all the loanwords that they made up into it. How the reader was so much more fluent in Avgin when Aventurine returned from his trip, something that was off to him but he didn't realize -- because the reader was busy learning all the words he wouldn't teach them. the ending is so poetic -- it's beautiful to me to know that Aventurine admits things in his sleep, and for the reader to be so invested in what he's saying that they singlehandedly learn a dead language just so they can understand him. It's the same way I love to wrap up my own fics, with a call back to the beginning of the fic and a sweet ending. rarely do I ever come across fics that are as well written as this one is -- it's beautiful, touching, funny, poetic, and it's so well written. chef's kiss. thank you so much for writing your brainchild and putting it out into the world for others to enjoy.

end notes for 'translation' (spoiler warning!):

hello <3 if you're here then it means you read my cursed aventurine fic about cultural loss and the fear of being understood. thank you for sticking it out with me! much appreciated.

i wanted to add some notes here to explain my intention with some of the details in this story, because it touched on some very sensitive subjects and I don't want to be misread:

I do not believe that dialects or any type of language variant born from displacement, genocide, or diasporic communities are somehow lesser than the “original” dialects. However, I do think first/second gen speakers that lose their language (especially for political reasons or displacement, etc) can experience a lot of anguish over it, and that’s reflected in Aventurine’s narration.

Aventurine did not believe the racist Avgin stereotype he brought up (nor would I write a narrative where such a stereotype were true). However, the stereotype happens to overlap with some of his survival traits that he hates about himself, hence he used it as part of his power play. The interaction also has some relation to the way that marginalised persons sometimes weaponize or internalise the stereotypes they need to endure, as well as what it means to be the only representative of your race, but that's a whole other subjectivity in this narrative that I will choose not to discuss.

I think this will be obvious to multilinguals so this is a note directed at monolinguals: I don't think enduring abuse in a formative language necessarily “ruins” the language and turns it into a “dialect of abuse” in the way that having a second language being violently forced upon you will. In my experience, a mother tongue is a mother tongue, and it will always hit you in a sensitive way, particularly if you are experiencing cultural loss—which the MC has, in the context of colonialism and displacement (only vaguely implied in the story but it's relevant context). Nevertheless, the MC has a much more complex, adult native-speaker relationship to their mother tongue than Aventurine does with Avgin. This is what those ending passages were getting at.

Finally, I am aware the relationship between the MC and Aventurine is unhealthy, and I hope that this would have been obvious from the narrative. I don't condone relationships like this and I think both characters should get some therapy instead of routinely gaslighting gatekeeping girlbossing each other (and themselves). But for better or worse, that is a narrative I will not write for this couple.

[dimemasazucar]

First Dance: The art of Improvisation

It is always interesting to me when I get asked about my interpretation of a genre of music. A deeply personal overview and even critique of a medium that can bring out deep emotional responses from people while also holding incredible cultural weight and wanting to respect the art and the interpretation equally. It's a bit difficult to do with a genre like Salsa because of my deeply-rooted personal ties with the genre.

Having been raised by practitioners since its inception, both dancers and musicians alike taught me how to use my inherited love of the rhythm to become fluent not only as a dancer but as an expression of myself through dance. Salsa, much like the people it comes from, blends together the best aspects of Afro-Latin culture and stylized the image in a way that differentiated itself from its contemporaries at the time as its own entity.

In Volume II of Salsa Revolution, Willi Colon jokes about playing with the image of the 'gangster' at the time (heavily influenced by the mafia culture within the immigrant communities of New York) and incorporating that confidence alongside bombastic instrumentation and an incredible ear for rhythm. Interestingly this idea can find itself repeated in later generations of Hip-Hop and Jazz music, truly lending credence to the influence our cultures shared with one another during pivotal times of community and expression. These pictures, the hypnotizing clave (bap-bap-bap. BapBAP), the emotion behind it- it was me growing up. When you hear stories of families coming from different parts of any Antiguan Island to New York during a time of strife and evolution, finding their way amongst Italian, Turkish, African and Jewish peers experiencing the same thing you can feel the sense of family amongst conversations between old New Yorkers. The Viejos and Viejas of the world sharing stories of the suits, the dancing. Izzy Zanabria hit it on the head. "Salsa is Latin soul, and started in the heart of Africa. " Eventually flowing through every part of Latin America, receiving many different interpretations and cultural depictions. At its heart is a blending of Jazz, Bambo, African drums (of SEVERAL different cultures), with a sprinkle of the Taino influence. The heart of Salsa is in every Latin person because its in our DNA. The ability to create, to combine, to express. And Salsa is nothing if not a language of expression and improvisation meeting together in perfect harmony. Through its origins, becoming a language and soul of the Latin culture also came with broader representation in the world. While Salsa can find itself eventually as the foundation of reggeton, the evolution is not without its unsung heroes. Within Volume II is also the mention of Chef Feliciano, who is an undisputed legend in the art. Without him, music would not be what it is today. While not a similar scale of impact, I would also give more recognition to Eddie Santiago who created what I think to be one of the best Salsa songs of all time and a clear representation of the genre while it was at a fever pitch. They capture the emotionality, the percussion, the emotion of the genre incredibly well. With that being said, I have been focusing on a lot of what the men have had to say about the genre and not the ultimate representation of the genre at its finest.

Celia Cruz is without a doubt the definition of "often emulated and never duplicated." Many of us have memories (better or worse) of Quimbara being the spring cleaning anthem and also one of the songs that made everybody start dancing at get togethers. Her power as a vocalist was transcendent, her spirit as an artist irreplaceable. I wouldn't change the mixture of fear and joy I feel hearing Cruz on an early Sunday morning for anything. While through these videos I am sure you have seen the power of dance within the genre. Our bodies move, twist, and bend in ways that would have Yuri on Ice jealous in its animation if it ever came (and it should). We explode more than our Spanish Flamenco peers, we have more freestyles than 'traditional' dance forms of more westernized identities, and oftentimes the equal parts confident and provocative nature of our dancing represents our African influences with tight turns, incredible footwork, and group synchronization that will continue to stand the test of time. And, regardless of gender identity we do it in shoes with heels, baby. Equal opportunity flexing. As a cool aside, some of my favorite dancers from France, Les-Twins, have oftentimes referenced and directly have danced various interpretations of salsa during some of their World of Dance and global competitions. The art of improvisation is in the heart of Latin music and Salsa as well as its evolution (and family ties) are reminiscent of how artistry and community can create something spectacular.