#literally three separate runs in a row

[detective-shirogane124]

Guess who I just fought 3 times in a row?

[star-going-supernova]

I just thought of a banger fic idea for you.

What if Freddy is glitching and malfunctioning and the only way to combat it is for Gregory to be with him as it’s the only thing that comforts him. It ends up with Freddy carrying a half asleep Gregory around and giving everyone a red eyed glare when they look at him for too long as his systems are slowly rebooting.

Honestly the idea of Freddy, who is arguably one of the most dangerous animatronics when angry, gently holding his small fragile child while out of it hits just right.

They’re like bonded cats basically. You can’t separate them or else.

Coming at you with tumblr generated prompt number 55! We’ve got some Outsider POV in this one! 

Unspoken Things

Jamie had been a tech in Parts and Services for almost four years, and she’d earned her promotion to head technician for the band. Most days, she enjoyed her job, or at least didn’t hate it. The animatronics were fairly agreeable to work with, and it was rare for her to be faced with a problem bigger than mild exterior damage or little bug fixes. It probably wasn’t surprising that she saw Monty and Roxy more than Freddy and Chica. Dings from golf balls and dents from go karts were daily occurrences. 

But even rare errors did occur, and that was why Jamie was currently running around the pizzaplex in a growing panic, looking for Freddy. 

She didn’t know what had caused it, just that he had malfunctioned badly and in such a way that his aggression had been triggered. He’d already taken out two endos and three STAFF bots, and the last thing she needed was him going after a human next. The only reason he hadn’t gotten his hands on any of her techs was because Monty got between him and them, and was in his own repair bay now as a result.

Freddy’d taken off, literally breaking down a door to escape, before she could get him hooked up to her equipment. Which meant a strong, fast, angry animatronic was loose in the pizzaplex. 

If I was an out-of-control animatronic, where would I go? she asked herself. She hurried to the edge of the mezzanine, half pleased, half dismayed to find the atrium empty of Freddy. 

She had a small army of her techs searching as well, and the radio silence from their end meant he wasn’t in Rockstar Row or the band’s personal areas of Parts and Services. Unless he was roaming around the basement, Freddy being in a public space was becoming more likely. 

Jamie blew out an aggrieved sigh. She better not lose her job over this. 

It was just as she was turning to go check either the west arcade or Fazer Blast, other places that Freddy might be likely to visit while not in his right mind, that she overheard both the best and worst news. 

“Yeah, Eve said Gregory brought her a birthday gift. And, like, that’s sweet enough, but he somehow tracked down her cat.” 

“The one that’s been missing for two months?” 

“Yeah! So anyway, there’s a cat in the daycare today.” 

Look, if there was one thing Jamie’s job at the ’plex had taught her, it was when to keep her mouth shut and just accept things. Don’t ask questions about this, don’t point out that, just accept them. Gregory was only the most recent of those things. She didn’t know who he was, where he came from, or why the band had such an attachment to him. She never heard of or saw his parents, and he was in the building at all hours. He had the highest VIP pass known to man with permissions that Jamie was sure didn’t exist on any other VIP pass. 

And not only was Freddy Gregory’s favorite of the animatronics, but Gregory was Freddy’s favorite child. Favorite person, probably. Which meant that if Gregory was in the building, she knew exactly where to find a Freddy who was operating without any protocols or complex thought processes. 

Ambushing the two employees she’d overheard, she demanded, “Where is Gregory now?” 

• • •

Jamie’s heart gave a concerning stutter when she finally found Gregory. For Freddy had found him first. 

She hesitated, unsure if getting closer would set Freddy off—because for the moment, he seemed calm. And Gregory was fine, chatting away without a care in the world. 

He was situated in Freddy’s arms, one braced beneath him and the other wrapped around his back. He’d be dead in seconds if Freddy squeezed. 

Keeping an eye out for any hint of aggression, Jamie slowly approached the pair. Freddy, predictably, spotted her first. His irises flickered between blue and red as he watched her with an unnervingly blank stare. That the blue of his eyes had returned at all after the malfunction occurred was heartening. 

Gregory paused and frowned at Freddy before twisting to see what he was looking at. He waved. 

“Good afternoon, Gregory,” Jamie said, trying to remain calm. 

“Hi,” he said. “You work in Parts and Services.” 

“That’s right. I don’t think we’ve properly met before. My name’s Jamie, and I’m the band’s head technician.” 

“Cool.” 

She smiled. “Very cool, yeah.” 

“Is something wrong with Freddy?” he asked before she could figure out how to broach the subject. “He hasn’t said anything, which is really weird.” He frowned again at Freddy, whose eyes had settled on red. 

“Well spotted,” she said, stopping a few feet away. “Freddy experienced a malfunction earlier and ran off before we could figure out what happened.” She hesitated, not sure if she should mention that the glitch’s main side effect was severe aggression. She didn’t want to scare the boy, especially since there was nothing she could reasonably do to help him. 

Then again, Freddy was holding him carefully, not an ounce of violence to be seen when not half an hour ago, he did his level best to rip apart anything that got in his way. 

Taking a chance, Jamie said, “He was pretty unhappy earlier, but it looks like you’ve made him feel better.” Hoping she wasn’t literally dooming a child, she asked, “How would you feel about staying with Freddy while we fix him up?” 

“Sure,” Gregory said easily. He looked up at Freddy, in a calculating sort of way, before he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Freddy’s neck. 

Incredibly, some of the ramrod stiff tension in Freddy’s body loosened up. The red didn’t go away, but he stopped staring Jamie down. And when she started to lead the way back to Parts and Services via the employee-only hallways, he followed placidly. 

That was how it went for the entirety of the repair. Freddy never put Gregory down, holding him in some way or another, and an honestly terrifying growl rumbled out of his voice box the one time someone made an attempt to separate them. Gregory didn’t complain—in fact, at some point, Jamie looked up and found him nodding off, head resting against Freddy’s shoulder. 

There was a fascinating dichotomy of tension and ease in the air, everyone simultaneously worried for the boy caught in the animatronic’s grasp and less stressed because of his presence. Freddy paid little attention to anyone unless they stared too long or got too close to Gregory. 

It was blatantly protective behavior, and Jamie had no idea where it had come from or why it was so strong that even malfunction-caused aggression didn’t supersede it. 

Just another of those unspoken things. 

Finally, the manual code repairs were made, and Jamie initiated a soft reboot to enact them. As the update slowly progressed, Freddy didn’t lose his grip or his intensity. 

It was unnerving, in a way, nearly as much as it was sweet. Never had Freddy’s hands been anything less than gentle with Gregory, but that did not change the fact that his hands had inhuman strength. It was a bit like watching a lion curl around a house kitten and knowing that kitten could easily fit in the lion’s mouth. 

Jamie smiled and shook her head. And as Freddy finally cycled into a brief shutdown, she dared reach over and lightly tousle Gregory’s hair. He shifted but didn’t wake. 

“Thanks for your help today, kid,” she whispered, getting to her feet. She’d stick around just long enough to make sure Freddy was doing fine, but then she’d leave them to their rest. She figured they both deserved it. 

[icepoptroll]

Somewhat late for ur requests for asks: favorite productions of rtc and why? Doesnt have to be THE one; just ones that stuck with u for whatever reason

Omg, I have so many faves

Stageworks is probably the most special to me, I drove two hours to see it on three separate occasions between two runs. Their interpretation of Ricky was one of my favorites ever, they really did his character justice which is important to me given how much has been taken away from his character over the years. They also had one of my favorite Mischas, his facial expressions and body language just really sold him as an angry bad boy, sometimes the way he'd look out into the audience I felt for a second like he and I were about to get into a scrap lol. But then at certain moments all of a sudden all that anger and hardness would melt away and he was just a big softy. I got to stagedoor afterwards at all three shows I went to and the whole cast was so wonderful and friendly. Here's a couple photos:

I once saw a lesser known production also in northern NJ at the Villagers Theater. I only saw this one once so I don't remember as much, however I do remember that:

-In WTWN Ocean busted through a banner like at a football game

-In Noel's Lament Noel was giving lap dances to people in the front row, as well he literally pulled out a poem written on a small piece of paper and burned it with an actual lighter. Bruh he put his whole Noel-ussy into it

-Their Karnak was freaking awesome!! Here's him reading my fortune:

Some other faves I haven't seen live but enjoyed slime tutorials for were: Fed's Backyard Theater, ESU, and Majestic Rep!! Mostly I just enjoyed them for the various ways the characters were portrayed and the effects were achieved (like Ricky riding onto the stage on a giant space laser in the ESU version absolutely sent me, and everyone getting to say an individual goodbye to Jane at the end of Fed's and then Virgil taking her hand and walking her to the other side had me tearing up)

[elacular-kink]

So, odd thought: Does anyone else ever worry about getting too specific? Like, as an example, I hyperfixated super hard on a specific gay ship of secondary/side characters in a specific anime and wrote multiple hiccup stories with them, and I've only posted one so far. There's more reasons than just this for that, but there's a certain weird feeling to me about...flooding the market, I guess? 'cause this isn't a ship that gets a lot of attention, and having three hiccup stories in a row as the only E-rated ship fics focused on them feels almost rude.

I think similarly about combining hiccups with other kinks, those I have and those I don't. There's actually a separate story I wrote during that hyperfixation that I ended up just completely excising the hiccups from because they were so random and minor and there was so much other shit going on. And I don't think that was the wrong decision for that fic, which I'm really proud of and I'm gonna post on my normal account at some point, but it begs the questions of who my intended audience is. And I am writing for an audience of more than just me. Like, I've come to really enjoy rereading my own writing, even outside of a kink context, but I won't pretend that the positive reinforcement isn't something I absolutely adore (and thank you all so much for that!).

So I run into things like "Is writing something for this relatively underserved ship that's so focused on such a niche kink weird? Who is this for besides literally just me? And if it's for other hiccup lovers, then what if they can't deal with the random other kinks that I get involved, like bdsm or stuffing (which also comes with the complication of wanting to portray fatness as beautiful but worrying about fetishizing and blahdy blahdy blah). Not to mention the fact that I have, on at least one occasion, tried to write the sexy part and just...accidentally ended up not having the characters ever get the fucking hiccups.

Eh, I dunno. I know that I'm overthinking things, and it's not as if writing itself doesn't give me joy (thanks, adderall!), and part of it is definitely capitalism brain saying "Yeah, but who's buying stock?", not to mention kink embarrassment both about my fetish and about various related and unrelated auxiliary kinks and yadda yadda. But these are the sort of thoughts I have from time to time, and that sometimes keep me from sharing works that I'd really like to.

[lewisinho]

as the anon that asked for the race list: thank you!

now this is totally up to you if you have the time to spend on this, but this is my first year watching the races, and while I've been doing some background research to get up to speed, there is still a lot i don't know. i trust your judgment so what are some races and/or f1 adjacent things i should look into? i'm going through your McLaren list and have watched the last 4 seasons of dts and the brawn documentary. are there any other books/ documentaries/ races (especially seb's) / old youtube videos that are lost in the void that i should also check out?

again no pressure and thank you!

no problem!

(and btw welcome to f1 and the world of watching some glorified hot wheels every other sunday 😁 it’s great!)

i completely get how daunting it can be as a new fan in the sport. when i was getting back into f1 it also took me some time to get back up to speed with everything, especially all the techy stuff; i honestly learned the most through just watching the races (old and new), bc you get to see all the strategies play out, the pit-stops, the overtakes etc. and the terminology just becomes much easier to understand through sheer exposure. there are also some really cool f1 data analysis blogs you might want to follow on twt/x if you want some more detailed tech analysis and graphs if you’re into that sort of thing: (x)

as for seb, oh there’s a whole arsenal of recs i have!

monza 2008, rise of torro rosso wunderkind; i presume you already know the lore with that one but ig you can never get tired of it.

abu dhabi 2010, world championship no.1 “du bist weltmeister!”

interlagos 2012, the infamous one. this one’s a rollercoaster, chaos everywhere and the manifestation of murphy’s law: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. amidst a title battle against nando, seb was fighting the weather, bruno senna’s front wing, a damaged side-pod, no radio, and somehow managed to claim p6 to win the championship

malaysia 2013, multi-21 (iconique), he was faster, deal with it. 💅

singapore 2013, domination masterclass from quali to the race. (also just all of his singapore wins...lion of singapore and all that)

india 2013, title no.3 secured, changed tyres on lap 2 and came out p17, was third by only lap 13 and then won the race by nearly 30 seconds. it was also his sixth win in a row. he went on to win three more. speaks for itself. also this:

malaysia 2015, first win with ferrari, can't forget that one, also features sewis’ gay knee-touching on the podium.

germany 2019, CHAOS, in which merc got bewitched by the special livery curse 😅, with crashes, spins, 50-second long pit stops, and also features one of seb’s best drives from p20 -> p2

i also highly recommend watching Floz's fan-made docus on youtube about 'the silver war' (there are also docus for the 2014 and 2015 seasons) as well as the merc v ferrari (lewis vs seb) 2017 fight and 'fight for five' in 2018, they're so much better than dts and actually give a full run-down of what happened during the season, with all the action on-track, with interviews and providing all the context! it's so well-edited as well (you literally feel like you're watching a movie about all of the seasons) and they are just incredibly fun to watch.

in general, i love rewatching races from 2017/18 (literally my comfort seasons), personal favs include spain 2017 (strategy galore and lewis v seb), baku 2017 (for obv reasons), austin 2017; and basically the 2018 season in its entirety...

as for books, there are many driver autobiographies e.g. jb (he’s even got two lmao), mark webbah etc. but i think the best f1 book out there is adrian newey’s memoir ‘how to build a car’ if you want lore + great insight into cars!

i’d also recommend watching some older races (i could do a separate post on which ones are my personal favs) but it’s all up to you in the end! go digging, look around on yt for some highlights and just keep exploring! 🫶💜

[fandombead]

Janus’ Guide for Cynics Who can’t Admit They Need a Family

First of a few Sanders Sides Fics I want to post~

Chapter 1: Right into the Fire

Word count: 2,257

Characters: Janus and kid!Remus

Summary: Janus just wanted to live his life and leave his past behind him. Until a random kid throws a flaming rock into his plans of traveling alone. Why couldn’t he just be selfish?

____________________________

Janus was not one to risk his own life to intervene in other people’s. It just wasn’t who he was.

It stayed the case that it was none of his business while passing a village in flaming doom.

He wasn’t one to be nosey in other people’s spats with the elementals or vengeful spirits that were also none of his business, because the potential of getting irreparably staked in it would mean getting in the way of his self-preserving principles. That was just the sort of thing that would get some other fool, one with a bleeding heart, killed. And Janus was no fool in the slightest. He was in it for himself and didn’t have room in that plan for sticking his neck out for anybody. And that’s why he planned to leave immediately before he drew unwanted attention or saw something he couldn’t un-see.

It seemed he’d lingered too long already as he stared at the alluring blaze, people yelling and scurrying to save possessions more than themselves. Their small forms were easily hidden by the growing flames. Half the wooden buildings were already entirely consumed, the husk roofs and dry paneling only added kindling now, growing the cloud of black smoke towering over the town like a tidal wave cresting.

It was hot even from where Janus stood from the treeline as an on-looker and really wished he knew why he didn’t just walk away now before he somehow got caught up in it. How he’d spotted a scampering child in the chaos of fleeing carts and denizens and domestic animals, he did not know, but they’d caught his attention.

Perhaps it was because this was the only living thing running towards the flames and not away.

No one was trying to stop him as he shoved past hurrying pairs of legs and almost tripped another.

…Only to dart into a weathered house that looked like a repurposed old storage. With the thatch roof and half the side up in flames. Janus gaped and tried to see if anyone else saw that, but they continued on with their own cares. Was literally no one going to stop the senseless half-pint?

It seemed the universe had unfortunately promoted him to active participant now because he’d gone and made the mistake of being a witness. Curse the guilt that clung to his soul, he owed no one anything. Who was his conscience to tell him what to do? How easy it’d be to turn and just leave if not for the threat of knowledge haunting him for the rest of his short life. He couldn’t get involved, he…he was already across the ditch that separated the trees from the dirt road.

Janus didn’t know when he’d fought his way out of the brush to stand outside the door the kid had run through. No one had spared the child a second glance and Janus realized for too long a moment he had already disappeared well inside. Sure, this building on the end of the row slightly back from the others hadn’t caught quite like it had already razed most of the quaint town, the sky amber and raining soot from all the wooden structures the flames devoured and grew from, reaching for more. It would happily take the boy too.

The house wasn’t large at all, at most just two rooms within it. What little had been in it was all but enveloped in flame and at the back of the room was the boy in all his three-and-a-half feet of feral fury, frantically trying to claw and yank his way through a solid door not yet taken by the flames, but close to it.

Janus didn’t know what the hell was so important, but as parts of the thatching fell through flaming, his only goal was snatching the kid and getting out un-barbecued.

Shouldn’t take more than 10 seconds, right?

Within 4 he had crossed the living space with burned hazards like what could’ve been a low table mistaken for a campfire. The kid looked scruffy, in an old green tunic a few sizes too big on his scrawny frame. Janus noted the bedraggled mostly brown hair he didn’t look to have ever attempted combing. He seized the child under their arms, worryingly lighter than he’d anticipated. Oh well, all the easier for him, no time to dwell. Back they went.

Or so he thought.

His plan was thwarted as the child exploded into a fury of limbs now trained on him, entirely ungrateful for Janus’ charitable rescue. A kick to his shin even as he held the child out had him swearing he’d be selfish and jaded the rest of his days.

Janus held the child away from him like you’d hold an angry cat you couldn’t put down, cursing internally. “ You dastardly little heathen, unless you want us to learn what the afterlife is like—“

Janus was cut off by a rather feral snap at his arms.

“Let GO!! I’m getting Roman! I’ll bite your hand off!” he screeched at Janus as if he were kidnapping him from his fiery demise.

Janus gapped at this, brain short-circuiting to process that. Well, it wasn’t because the kid was scared of his scar. “You… what?? Who—“

“MY BROTHER’S IN THERE, I’m not going yet!!” he snarled, desperate trying to throw himself free using his little weight against the traveler, and Janus’ mind stuttered again.

But they didn’t have time for him to leisurely consider that. Okay, so he had to readjust his previous timeframe with this new information. Would a minute work? Two? It would have to, because he didn’t have time and their other exit was far more perilous now.

He all but dropped the kid back onto his feet and grabbed the brass doorknob. The door didn’t budge, either blocked by a collapsed support or from expanding in the flames. Janus hoped it was the latter, otherwise, he didn’t think they’d be getting out alive at all.

“Hello? Kid, you conscious in there?” Janus called through the door even as he pulled up his sleeves. There was no reply, which didn’t help his hopes any.

With one more glance down at the child and seeing an insistent wave at the door and intense pointed stare of shockingly red eyes– had he just been lured by some sort of demon pretending to be a child to his admittedly deserved slow death after all? Was that why no one else had been stupid enough to follow? -- Janus stepped back and rammed his shoulder into the wood with all of his weight. He did it again while trying the doorknob and was relieved when he felt it give inwards, the pain of bruises he could feel blooming again, having him cursing himself for being here.

But if not him, no one, and then two children would be gone because no one had cared. Well, it’d be all three of them now, but they weren’t goners yet and so he wasn’t entertaining it.

Let it never be said that Janus didn’t try once in his life, though.

He coughed from the effort and how hard it was becoming to breathe, the hot air burned his eyes. Heat licking at the back of his neck, He took a step back and ran the four feet of room he had into the door with all his weight. It slammed open with a crack and he fell to the floor due to his commitment to his momentum, groaning.

Smoke billowed at the ceiling but the holes in the roof seemed at least to help in not choking them here. He was really banking on the thickness of the roof’s slats to buy them time before it fully collapsed in, but that thickness would also trap them if it fell early, the weight of it not enough to crush them, but a slow way to die from the surrounding smoke and flames. Janus grimaced.

The rotten goblin child scrambled in over top of him, the audacity. As much as he would rather stay splayed on the relatively cooler earthen floor, he knew he had to get up as the very real possibility of the half-burned roof trapping them at the bottom of what could become a bonfire grew with each passing second. He pulled himself up while grabbing his fallen hat as his shoulder let him know just how reckless it thought he was.

Janus pushed the plank door closed against the inferno behind them. It wouldn’t be a viable exit anymore anyway and might as well buy them time, futile and minuscule as it was.

The air was suffocatingly arid regardless and Janus needed to identify their new exit preferably soon.

The child to his credit was standing on the old bed frame trying to shove the window’s frame outwards and struggling due to his height, back to Janus.

Janus frowned and whirled around, expecting to see another kid occupying the little room. There was an old rumbled thin bed with no sheet and lumpy pillow that looked like a burlap bag stuffed with scrap cloth and wool. A worn brown blanket that looked like it was made the same way a sack would be (was it just a cut sack?) was rumpled on the floor beside the bed, discarded.

Perhaps he was hiding by the old wardrobe that was catty-cornered opposite the bed? But when Janus checked the place over, there was absolutely nowhere for another person to effectively be hidden away, no matter how short. The bed was high enough Janus saw the floor beneath it, also child-free.

Janus’ eyes snapped again to the only kid actually in the room, confused. The kid looked unbothered by a lack of this “brother” around, and only now Janus noticed a little crocheted doll in the crook of his arm, inhibiting his attempts to open the window as he refused to put it down.

Janus blinked a few times as his brain drew a conclusion just as the kid seemed to reach the latch. He gave a gap-toothed grin at his achievement and shoved it open before hopping down quickly and wiggling under the bed.

“I— you—!!“ the caped man sputtered as realization sparked a fiery fury, his blood pressure suddenly louder in his ears than the fire. “You made me break into a room in a burning building to get a doll??!” he hissed, unable to mask the vitriol in his tone.

“I didn’t ask you to come too! I’m his brother, of course I had to get him! Roman can’t move,” the insane child’s muffled voice replied with the tone of someone having to argue the grass was green.

The kid squirmed back out holding a curved circular object that looked like an oversized wooden plate in his hands. It was too shallow to be a bowl and had badly attached leather straps that looked like they were one good tug away from falling off. He then made a grab beside the bed and didn’t seem to be listening as he set the two items down.

Janus had half a mind to chuck the doll in his fury, but as it was they’d already committed to the damn thing, and causing a fuss now would absolutely delay their departure. He wasn’t so sure his rescuee wouldn’t go charging into the fire after it before Janus could grab him. Later, then. He could chuck it back through the window once they were safely outside to teach the child a lesson in self-preservation priorities. “A doll is replaceable!! What, you think you’re indestructible?! Last I checked you're a squishy little brat! Neither of us is fireproof!!”

The mini menace just glared and had the nerve to wiggle past Janus as the adult looked on incredulously.

He shoved the circle out the window first then quickly went for the other on the bed.

“Oh, yes, please do take your time packing, the blazing roof over our heads will wait for you.”

Janus lurched after the kid with his goodwill and patience all but abused and spent. He’d be chucking the kid out at this point because clearly he had not been born with any survival instinct. At all.

The child barely managed to wrap his free hand around the stick of the wooden sword before Janus was hiking him bodily over his shoulder and they were — with as much grace as a fawn on fresh ice— tumbling through the narrow window. It was all Janus could do not to squash the kid as they landed in the dirt.

They had landed and then rolled five feet from the fire and Janus couldn’t find it in him to move any further. Janus could only lie there, somewhat dazed, and coughed faintly. If death somehow still got him at this point, then so be it. Though he somehow forgot he wasn’t the only person here in that too-brief moment.

The kid sat up after 3 seconds of recovering from the rough landing.

He peered down over Janus, tipping Janus’ hat back onto his forehead from where it had rolled off. “Are you dead?”

Janus stared up and blinked slowly as the punctual roof finally fell in, throwing burnt hay and smoke up in the wind. “Sometimes I wonder.”

“Oh. Okay~” the now homeless child shrugged, sitting back beside Janus. The doll was held loosely in his arm as they watched the fire burn down everything manmade in front of them. “I’m Remus!”

“...charmed.”

[ngdrb]

Republicans Want Someone Younger Than Donald Trump as President: New Poll

U.S. Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks to attendees during his campaign rally at the Bojangles Coliseum on July 24, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. A majority of Republican voters have said they would prefer a president who is younger than Donald Trump, according to a new YouGov poll.© Brandon Bell/Getty Images

In a fresh polling blow for Donald Trump, a majority of Republican voters have said they would prefer a president who is younger than the 78-year-old former commander-in-chief.

In a YouGov poll conducted between July 25-29, 59 percent of Republicans surveyed said they would prefer a president under the age of 75. Trump celebrated his 78th birthday in June. Forty percent said they had no preference, and just two percent said they would prefer a president over the age of 75.

Newsweek has contacted the Trump campaign for comment via email outside of standard working hours.

Democratic voters were particularly keen on a younger candidate, with 73 percent indicating they would prefer a president 64-years-old or below. Twenty-four percent had no preference.

YouGov said the poll was conducted online among 2,266 U.S. adult citizens, and the margin of error was approximately three percent.

A separate poll conducted by Reuters and Ipsos last week found that 53 percent of U.S. adults nationwide (from a sample size of 1,241) agreed with the statement that Trump is too old to work in government, while 43 percent disagreed.

This latest poll could suggest the tables are turning on Trump, who regularly attacked his former rival, President Joe Biden, over his age. Biden is 81.

Trump seemed to row back on this sentiment at recent remarks at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"81 is not old," Trump said, and now Biden has withdrawn from the race, Trump is faced with a substantially younger competitor in Vice President Kamala Harris, who will turn 60 just weeks before Election Day.

Biden announced he would be dropping out of the race for the White House following weeks of pressure mounting from both within and outside the Democratic Party in the wake of a disastrous presidential debate performance.

In an address from the Oval Office in the days following his announcement, Biden partly framed his decision to step aside as passing "the torch to a new generation."

Trump announced 39-year-old Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate last month, but Harris has yet to formalize her pick for vice president.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have emerged as some of the most likely candidates to join Harris on the Democratic ticket in November.

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

The old fat bastard is literally shitting his pants! It doesn't get any better than that.

[skyland2703]

OLD!! BillySkull headcanons because I’m obsessed and the brainrot has set in

Skull has taken to wearing HATS. This is not because he’s balding— Billy is the one who’s balding (but he likes flaunting it)— BUT he feels like it fits his vibes. He also doesn’t dye his hair/beard so he’s got pepper and salty hair. Billy ADORES it.

Billy got a buzzcut somewhere in his thirties, when he got lice from someone at work— and never quite grew his hair longer again. He likes keeping them short, it’s lesser work.

Skull likes keeping a beard, Billy likes to stay clean shaven. Skull’s beard gets a little annoying when it pricks and itches when they’re making out— but he deals with it, because it makes him happy AND Skull keeps trying some or the other kinda design— He had a goatee once????? And Billy literally went 👀

Billy had lasik done, when he was in his early thirties. After he was back from aquifer— got rid of the ol’ windshields for good. Skull tells him how he looks older without glasses, and in reply, Billy tells him, Skull looks older WITH glasses.

Yes. Skull gets reading glasses really early on. In the forties itself. Something to do with malnutrition at a younger age— he also has some bone problems and issues— doctors at Promethea telling him he needs to work on his vitamin D and calcium intake, if he wants to beat arthritis before it catches up to him. And that just spirals Billy into making Skull take at LEAST three glasses of milk every day. And makes him go on walks. Among other things.

Overall, Skull takes good care of his health— he’s barely on the edge, because of childhood things, but as long as he pays attention— and he did start paying attention the day he hit forty—

Billy on the other hand, not so much. What with monster attacks and drama and things, he keeps injuring himself, and he’s not exactly too flexible anymore. Sigh.

Like that one time he threw his back out while they were trying to do smexy things at night. Skull panicked so hard, so so so hard. He called up Zack, he called up Bulk, he called up Kim, he called up Trini AND he called up Tommy. Sure, Zack showed up with some chiropractor within five minutes, but their friends NEVER let Billy live it down.

Old men yaoi.

Skull does the cooking. Billy can’t make coffee to save his life.

He tried making coffee ONCE. In that electric kettle. He did a few things wrong: 1) he plugged it into the plug point next to the nightstand, HE WAS MAKING COFFEE IN THE BEDROOM— 2) he did it when Skull was sleeping. He wanted to surprise his husband with coffee in the morning. 3) The coffee was made without much trauma, BUT he let it sit in the kettle. He thought that was a good idea. 4) it got cold. Apparently. Or so he thought, so just as he thought Skull was about to wake up, he decided to REHEAT it.

It boiled. And he couldn’t stop it. And it overflowed. All over the tiled floor. All over the rug. All over the nightstand.

Skull made him clean up the mess. Tony Stark of the PR world or not, if you’ve made a mess, you’re GONNA clean it. He’s banned from the kitchen after the coffee incident.

They got married at thirty eight, if that’s an important detail~

Skull and Bulk still run a sandwich chain— but Skull uses his excess income to delve into his more preferred hobbies: he likes music. He plays music, he writes jingles and advertisements, and does little concerts at theatres, playing the piano.

Billy is always on the front row, cheering. Skull doesn’t like him being in the wings, he feels like LOOKING at Billy cheering him on gets him going better than wings support~

They still have all their childhood things in the attic. And every once in a while, they bring everything down for a dust— coughing from it while they clean everything, going through memories together— and there’s a whole bunch of crap in there that’s too precious to both old men to ever throw away.

Billy is slowly working on a memoir. Well, two separate memoirs. One is on his life as the successful businessman and owner of Cranston Tech, like most “influential” personalities usually do. The other is on his life as a “Power Ranger”. This one’s anonymously written, of course. Billy has a little study room, right next to Skull’s piano room, and when Billy writes, Skull plays.

Skull feels like if you read both memoirs together you’re sure to realise they have the same author. Billy doesn’t want to admit that. (He’s probably going to give it to Zack for a reread and for some editing. He trusts his friends for editing more than any professional editor.)

All of Billy’s clothes are a liiittle bigger than Skull, and he loves snuggling into his hoodies for the nights. It’s the best feeling.

Last, but not the least: they’re THAT couple who go to parties and just sit in the corner, judging everyone and just giggling amongst themselves. They’re just having the best old age ever~

Oh and this was the pic that made me go brrrr

[ten-cent-sleuth]

2023-12-06 EDIT: This event has flopped and been cancelled. Kindly ignore my having tried and failed to make this happen. I am embarrassed, humiliated, mortified, etc. etc. Lol, happy holidays! Can’t wait to see what fics y’all have in store for us in 2024. <3

Hey, Henry Cavill fans!

Are you interested in filling a prompt for someone while someone else fills a prompt for you? Do you want to participate in a Secret Santa with your Tumblr mutuals—or maybe find some new ones?

Then consider joining the first ever Cavillry Secret Santa! You can sign up via this GForm, and once you’ve done so, I’ll add you to the GSheet for prompts. The idea is you input three gift requests, and your Secret Santa will write for one (or more) of them. More information available on the Form!

If you are hesitant to join, feel free to peek at the prompts here. Anybody can view the spreadsheet, but you can only edit it once you’ve signed up and agreed to the rules.

Should this get big and we decide to do this again next year, I’ll probably make a separate blog for the event. But since this may very well flop, I’ll run everything from my personal Tumblr for now. So send in your doubts and uncertainties to my askbox! If you want me to answer privately, ask off anon and let me know that you don’t want me to post it publicly. :)

The prompts sheet will close at midnight UTC on 5 November 2023, so sign up asap! (You don’t have to have your prompts ready right away—just sign up first if you’re interested! You can always come back to the prompts sheet and edit your requests, and if you change your mind about joining at all after signing up, you can leave your prompts row blank.) I’m sorry for making this so last-minute guys hrjfbsjfh. If you would be willing to be a pinch hitter but don’t want to commit to the full event, you can sign up on the Form as well. And if you, participant or not, would like to be tagged with event updates, just let me know in the comments!

Please signal boost! Reblog this even if you’re not going to join… Share the link to this post and/or to the sign-up Form with your friends… The more participants, the more I can shuffle who’s whose Secret Santa, the more fun this’ll be!

Note: You don’t have to be “big” in the Henry Cavill fandom to participate. Heck, the moderator of this event (yours truly) has literally only ever published ONE Henry Cavill fic before and only has a few Tumblr followers. This is for the well known writers with long masterlists AND for the small blogs with (next to) no experience AND for everyone in between! <3

[For revisiting ease: link to sign up … link to view the prompts]

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

Darkolai for the ship game

Darkolai 💖💖💖💖

1) So LB gives us NOTHING absolutely NOTHING about how these characters ever thought about each other, or if they did at all. Even in KoS and RoW when they actively interact, she tries to skirt around giving them an established dynamic as much as possible. Probably because it would make it super clear how little political worldbuilding there is and how flimsy her existing groundwork is. But like I find it impossible to believe that they never had the vaguest opinions about each other?? Sure Nikolai went off to “university” and hadn’t seen Aleksander in ages but he literally grew up in Os Alta lmao, he’d at least encounter him in his father’s orbit. I find it so fucking funny and interesting that he grew up with this weirdo goth vampire wannabe just… there! I feel like we can pretty much guess Aleksander’s POV (entirely, high handedly dismissive) but like what does Nikolai think! Especially when he’s old enough to at all consider politics. He’s not stupid. He can see there’s this scary, very pretty, majorly untrustworthy, IMMORTAL wizard with an entire separate army running the country for his shitty-not-actual-father, who’s at least a century overdue on pulling a coup. Like what are the vibes!! I’m shaking LB by the shoulders to tell me about the vibes!! Anyway I find the above prospects very intriguing and fun!

2) I love the resentment inherent to it! Like I said, I think it’s really easy to surmise that Aleksander just never remotely considered Nikolai a threat. So I think there’s some really entertaining bitterness to him being brought down so low and meanwhile Nikolai has succeeded him as Tsar. Or there’s even a lot that can be done with him returning to life entirely powerless, and yet some of his power still lies dormant in Nikolai? There’s a lot of room for raging, fixated jealousy. That brief period in RoW where Aleksander’s in his little Hannibal Lector glass prison thing is so good. I want an entire book about him being the really mad, pet villain Nikolai has stashed away in a zoo. The fucking indignity of it all sjdhfffdehdhd

3) I’m also obsessed with the Sea Whip segment tbh. Who even first thought to approach the other? Did Nikolai-as-Sturmhond get his people to seek him out? Was it Aleksander’s bright idea to hire him?? What was his reaction when, well after the fact, he realized he’d enlisted a fucking prince of Ravka. Did he feel stupid? I hope he felt stupid. Aleksander camping out in the woods for a couple days because he wanted to time his big dramatic attack on Nikolai’s birthday hits a similar note for me. I just love the idea of them getting into fucking coyote and road runner shit but over like the fate of the fucking country lmao

Send me a ship and I’ll list three things I like about it regardless of my overall opinion about the ship

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Eye of the World! Chapter 2: Strangers

Hello and welcome back to the madness that is me. As usual (three times in a row totally counts), I am rereading The Eye of the World and I am spoiling the crap out of everything so you should run away if you're not into that. Thanks and have a good one!

To the rest of you, thanks for staying, let's get started. This chapter begins with the raven icon, which is often used to symbolize those allied with the Shadow or the Seanchan, which is really such a glowing review of them, isn't it? Here it's being used to refer to the evildoers Moiraine and-- Wait no that's Whitecloak talk. It's being used to refer to the dear, sweet, innocent raven whose only crime was watching Rand and refusing to be killed for it.

At that time of the busy day before Festival, Rand expected to find the common room empty except for Bran and his father and the cat, but four more members of the Village Council, including Cenn, sat in high-backed chairs in front of the fire, mugs in hand and blue-gray pipesmoke wreathing their heads.

I wonder now about how the Village Council gets chosen and how Cenn Buie keeps his seat if it's anything other than "life positions for certain families".

though who knew what Taren Ferry folk really thought about anything?

I'm glad Jordan put in so much effort to make Rand so incredibly provincial when in about ten chapters we'll be past Taren Ferry and he'll never get a chance to look back.

“It’s old Luhhan,” Mat said, peering past Rand’s shoulder into the common room. “I think he suspects I was the one who—”

Dammit Mat just confess to your crimes so I can laugh at you for them!

She was one of the few married women in the area who never tried to play matchmaker with Tam.

Yeah, if she gets him married, then when Tam dies of old age Rand and Egwene have to take care of the new widow al'Thor!

If she occasionally looked at him as if she wanted to do more, at least she took it no further than looks, for which he was deeply grateful.

Rand, you and Egwene are basically already promised to each other according to the retcons, of course she's not putting in effort. She thinks she's already won.

"Nothing, really. I told Adan al’Caar and some of his snot-nosed friends—Ewin Finngar and Dag Coplin—that some farmers had seen ghost hounds, breathing fire and running through the woods."

I guess this is the local name for Darkhounds, or Jordan was gonna straight up go with ghosts at the time. Were they supposed to be literal ghosts, or just the third age interpretation of whatever modifications Aginor made?

“I hear she chased old Luhhan and the dogs, all three, out of the house with a broom.”

Poor Luhhan, getting blamed for shit he had nothing to do with. I wonder if Perrin tries to model his marriage after this, where he assumes Faile is acting like Alsbet and gets to be hot-tempered and low-key violent but he is supposed to go with it. Really both of these couples should try and model their relationships off of some healthier couple, preferably in an entirely different story.

The years separating Rand and Mat from Ewin, only fourteen, were usually more than enough for them to give short shrift to anything he had to say.

Ah okay so the boys are definitely MEANT to be 16, probably more, but they really don't feel like they could be older than 16 so *shrug*.

Maybe southern boys are hella immature for their age or were in Jordan's childhood. *insert completely unfounded rant about the toxicity of 'boys will be boys' based entirely on this supposition without the slightest bit of research done because I'm an expert on everything by default*

“Of course I could see his face. And his cloak is green. Or maybe gray. It changes. It seems to fade into wherever he’s standing. Sometimes you don’t see him even when you look right at him, not unless he moves. And hers is blue, like the sky, and ten times fancier than any feastday clothes I ever saw. She’s ten times prettier than anybody I ever saw, too. She’s a high-born lady, like in the stories. She must be.”

Oh thank fuck, the grown-ups are here! Lan and Moiraine are not the perfect mentors that they sometimes get mistaken as, but they try twice as hard as most and that goes a long way. Shame about the whole "beauty equals nobility" thing going on, but since Ewin said it and not the narration I'll assume he's rightfully crushing on her.

“They arrived last evening,”

So they got here before Thom and were traveling at decent hours. Was he trying to follow them? Doesn't seem quite right, does it? Was he trying to AVOID them?

It was a good five years since the last time a real stranger appeared in Emond’s Field, and he had been trying to hide from some sort of trouble up in Baerlon that nobody in the village understood.

I wonder what the guy did. Or was he a channeler trying to hide from himself?

“She asked the Wisdom for directions this morning,” Ewin said, “and called her ‘child.’ ”

Poor Moiraine, sticking her foot right into it. Didn't even mean to, of course, but that's the problem with having a standard mode of address for unimportant young'ins: when they become important, there's no good way to tell, is there? Almost like you should treat everyone respectfully regardless of perceived differences, but what do I know?

When Cenn Buie called her a child last year, she thumped him on the head with her stick, and he’s on the Village Council, and old enough to be her grandfather, besides.

Yes but even hyper-violent Nynaeve knows you can't just beat the shit out of guests Rand. She's not axe-crazy; that's Perrin.

Then something led him to turn around, to raise his eyes. On the edge of the inn’s tile roof perched a large raven, swaying a little in the gusting wind from the mountains. Its head was cocked to one side, and one beady, black eye was focused . . . on him, he thought.

I don't think we see ravens pulling much crap after this book, do we? It's hard to view them as a serious threat when the protagonists are capable of doing more than missing with thrown stones and when even Trollocs rapidly become cannon fodder.

Fancier than any feastday clothes, Ewin had said, and he was right. No one ever dressed like that in the Two Rivers. Not ever.

Frankly I doubt the whole Two Rivers could combine their net worth for the clothes, let alone the jewelry.

Ewin leaped forward before either of the others could speak.

If it weren't for the fact that it isn't how it works, I'd assume she was trying to compel the boys and Ewin somehow got caught in the cross-fire. But again, the weave doesn't really work like that.

Then again, it's the first book, and the boys seem to "wake up" later like they're all being compelled... Guess she hit Ewin on purpose not to leave him out, and he was hit hardest.

Rand had been wondering if he should do something of the sort, the way men did in stories, but with Mat’s example, he merely spoke his name. At least he did not stumble over his own tongue this time.

The Wheel makes sure that the king of the world doesn't bow, I suppose.

“You cannot be expected to work for nothing. Consider this a token, and keep it with you, so you will remember that you have agreed to come to me when I ask it. There is a bond between us now.”

I feel like this is another early bookism, though an easily dismissed one - I think Jordan intended this wording and the boys' acceptance to be part of making the bond spell work, though going forward such things are much less necessary.

Her smile did fade then, slowly, as if something had been recalled to her. For a moment she merely looked at him. “I am a student of history,” she said at last, “a collector of old stories. This place you call the Two Rivers has always interested me. Sometimes I study the stories of what happened here long ago, here and at other places.”

This isn't Moiraine's first half-truth to dodge the lie restriction (telling Ewin "We'll see" after his invite is a half-truth so common even non-Aes Sedai use it), but it is a big one and an interesting one. She likely did have to study history both in Cairhien and the Tower, so that explains her student claim. Studying the DR means she's probably looked over the Karatheon Cycle and many similar documents, hence collector.

But has she always been interested in the Two Rivers? Obviously this can't be LITERALLY true (or can it? Did a very young Moiraine wonder about the place that all the grown-up men in her life said had the best tobacco?), so when did her eyes turn to it? When she learned about Manetheren? It's exactly the kind of story the Jedi would teach her.

Men wear many names, many faces. Different faces, but always the same man.

And here she almost outright tells them what's up! She's getting hit hard by Rand and Mat's combined ta'verening.

It was as if he were weighing them in his mind, and there was no sign on his face of what the scales told him.

Two minutes later:

Lan: So it's the Aiel kid.

Moiraine: Maybe.

Lan: It's obviously the Aiel kid. Explains why your list didn't find him twenty years ago: no one wrote down that some Aiel gal had a baby.

Moiraine: What if he's a decoy?

Lan: Why would there even be a decoy?

Moiraine: The Wheel weaves, Lan.

Lan: If you say that to me one more time I'm just gonna go kidnap the Aiel kid myself and take him to the Amyrlin.

Moiraine: The spring on the green is probably quite chilly in this unnatural winter. It would sure be awful if someone magically relocated it on top of you.

Lan: ...

Lan: It's still the Aiel kid. Think I'll teach him how to use swords. That would be funny to see.

Anyway, Warders have swords and armor covered in gold and jewels, and spend all their time up north, in the Great Blight, fighting evil and Trollocs and such.

Statistically, most Warders spend all their time down south, fighting lady bits and pubic hair and such. With their tongues.

If it weren't for the Yellows I'd call Greens the greatest failure of an Ajah since Mat very accurately describes what they SHOULD be doing. In fact, while with the text as written it's obviously one of those "truth becomes fiction in the retelling" things that pops up a lot, I suspect that it was intended to be an accurate description that fell by the wayside as Aes Sedai politics were defined.

He did not recognize the fat silver coin with the raised image of a woman balancing a single flame on her upturned hand

Y'all really are provincial hicks if you get coins that so obviously scream "The Official Currency of the Witch-Papal Queendom" and don't even speculate it might be from the region, if nothing else.

Strangers and a gleeman, fireworks and a peddler. It was going to be the best Bel Tine ever.

Spoiler alert: It was going to be the worst Bel Tine ever.

And that's another chapter! I would like to rewatch more of episode 1 and comment on the differences in the introductions of Lan and Moiraine, but my Fire Cube is having some hilarious technical difficulties where it's playing the episode at a rate of one frame a second right now, even though it plays the episode PREVIEW (and Futurama on Hulu) properly, so I can't go too in-depth, which means I only have one thought to give and it's sadly negative:

Nynaeve, you massive idiot (shhhh not you Zoë Robins, it's the script writers' fault and probably the Amazon execs for forcing so much cut time, you're doing great though, keep it up), inns are exactly where reputable strangers are supposed to show up! Be more like your book incarnation and have a tiny inclination against threatening out of towners!

Episode 1 is going to be rough to get through even if I do get it working at the proper frame rate.

[tobiasdrake]

It’s been in the back of my head for a bit, spinning alongside a thousand other separate wheels like that playthrough of “Fire Emblem: Three Houses” I haven’t finished yet and the differences between ambush and pursuit predation (I have a lot of momentary interests and whims I switch back and forth from): I’ve seen a lot of comments, both in the real world and fiction, when two people argue or get into a sort of row with one another going among the lines of “Wow, these two sound like siblings/an old couple”.

And it might be a “me” thing, I’ll admit to that possibility, but when I hear that, the thought that pops up in my head is: “What sort of marriages and families do you see usually see that bickering and arguing like this is a good thing? Isn’t that usually a sign of a impending divorce or a family counseling session?”

I’m aware of playful banter that would look kinda mean among strangers but doesn’t hurt between close people because you know each other and have already built up some good will so it isn’t the only way you two interact. I’m not that naive.

But it feels like it gets applied to when it doesn’t seem to be playful or facetious, that there seems to be some actual rancor behind the bickering? Or, at least, the arguing moments aren’t balanced off enough by the supportive moments?

The deeper you go down the rabbit hole of common romance tropes, the more you start to wonder how many writers just really hate their spouses. It's hard to like a lot of canon ships (especially but not exclusively hetero ships) because a lot of canon ships are written to be incredibly toxic by people who think that behavior's okay.

Sure, we're not writing The Honeymooners anymore, where a husband threatening physical violence against his wife was a running joke. And yeah, we've moved past Revenge of the Nerds, where the protagonist literally rapes the love interest and she falls in love with him because he's just so good at it. And maybe we're not doing Han and Leia anymore, where physically cornering the object of your desires and repeatedly ignoring her demands for you to stop is treated as sweet and romantic.

Things have gotten better.

But there is still a lot of lingering "Ugh, the old BALL AND CHAIN!" in romance storytelling. And it's often most palpable in the proliferation of Belligerent Sexual Tension and its sister trope Enemies to Lovers; the idea that a men and women utterly loathing each other is a sign that they're meant to be together.

[kimchokejin]

tag game 🏆 in which natalia (@jiminsproof​), heather (@wistfulocean​) and elle (@joon-rkive​) activate a particular brand of crazy for me. but they probably knew this would happen

so the game itself is simple, rank 34 bangtan lead singles (?) in order of your preference

i will put the rest under the read more because it’s about to get long-winded and opinionated in here 🤙

so first of all...this should have been much easier for me given i created a bts song ranker a few months ago and re-ranked the songs like, last month lmao. however as you can probably guess i overthought this yet again! but after 10 listens i think it’s safe to say i should just stop wasting my time and letting bts completely take over my spotify wrapped for the 3rd year in a row. so my ranking is below. but three FOUR important things before i begin!

1. there is only 1 (one) song on here that i h*te. some of the others aren’t really my thing, but i still enjoy them sometimes! it’s just my taste, if i have any. i joke a lot about my opinions being right but really, truly, these are just opinions

i had to resist adding “but i’m right” here

2. i am ranking these songs based on how i feel about them while listening to them alone with my headphones. i am trying to leave music videos and performances out of it, although there are some performances that have seeped into my soul and i just can’t separate them. but i will let you know when i notice that happening. not all of these songs even have performances (that i know of? did they perform heartbeat?) and with the slow ones ofc the performance might just be them standing onstage in front of microphones so i just don’t think that’s a fair comparison. similar with the mvs, i’m definitely gonna be biased towards the videos with more budget and/or when the members are older lmao so i just don’t want that to be a factor. and there are also some songs that are more fun to listen to while screaming along with your friends and i’m not gonna be able to forget that completely either but again i don’t do that as much with the slow songs and i think they deserve a chance in my ranking. point is i’m TRYING to focus on sound alone. and related to that:

3. i do not speak korean or japanese! i like to look up the meanings of bts songs when i think about it, especially because some of them have such great messages (and others not so much lol) but it’s easy for me to forget that while i’m listening to the songs because i don’t understand many of the words they’re saying. i would say overall that the meaning of the song sometimes makes me like a song more or less, but the language barrier definitely makes that super secondary to me just enjoying the listening experience

4. also! i became a fan during dynamite era. so i might be less attached to some of the old songs (or a song like yet to come!) than people who’ve been fans for longer.

okay, so with all that said, here is my ranking:

Film Out

Spring Day

Boy In Luv

We Are Bulletproof pt. 2

Mic Drop

Boy With Luv

N.O.

No More Dream

Epilogue: Young Forever

Lights

DNA

IDOL

Fake Love

Blood, Sweat & Tears

I Need U

Heartbeat

Run

Just One Day

Danger

War of Hormone

Fire

Dope

Stay Gold

Black Swan

ON

Airplane pt. 2

Butter

Dynamite

For You

Save Me

Life Goes On

Yet To Come

Not Today

Permission To Dance

some of these rankings might be surprising so please

let me explain

in reverse order so we end on a positive (but emo) note

(notes aren’t even necessary and were written mostly in drunk lmao basically just whatever came to mind while i was listening)

[namjoon voice] so let’s go!

34. Permission to Dance

literally no offense to anyone who likes this song if this music gets you going i won’t stop how you move but i want this song to walk the walk out of my life. where to begin...i guess i’ll start with the first time i heard this song, which was the premiere, and i remember watching the music video (i know it’s not supposed to count BUT) with my roommates and at the beginning we were like “oh she’s wearing a mask...is she gonna...” and then she DID. they all did. and we were like are you serious? we stayed up for THIS? like ed sheeran wrote it and i doubt the guys had much creative control of the video esp the scenes they weren’t in but like releasing a song with a music video basically proclaiming COVID is over when it was still a huge problem literally everywhere...YIKES! btw get your omicron boosters folks. ofc the lyrics are generic enough that my friends and i just decided to treat it like a gay rights anthem after the rainbow cowboy performance but even if i could get the horrible taste out of my mouth after that...the song itself still makes me sick. they autotuned the fuck out of it to the point where the chorus sounds like vomit sloshing around in a bucket, the lyrics are empty nonsense, and it’s just not bts! like ed sheeran wrote better songs for one direction, songs that still sounded kind of like ed sheeran songs. this isn’t even ed sheeran’s new sound and it CERTAINLY isn’t bts’ sound. i listen to this song and best case scenario i am tense the entire time waiting for it to be over. my friends and i CHEERED when it dropped down from #1 after one week lmao. the 1 (one) good thing about this song which doesn’t count for my ranking is the sign language built into the dance, that was great! i promise i will not be like this for the rest lmao

notes

the beginning is a one direction song. is it wmyb? that would explain why it triggers a fight or flight response in me

i mean when it’s live jk’s part at the beginning is kinda nice but again that doesn’t count

namjoon why did you say elton john in a british accent

“right vibe” yoongi please define this vibe you keep speaking of

hobi’s cute during his part at the end of the chorus but that’s because of him not the song

jimin’s high notes at the end are good live but again they don’t count!!!

same with jin’s “we don’t need to WOOOOOOORRYYYyyy” that’s my favorite part of his voice

i needed to drink to get through this one yikes

33. Not Today

okay so absolutely NOTHING against not today but this falls in my category of bts songs where i’m like...”why are you yelling???” which makes absolutely NO sense because i generally LOVE the songs that go hard and this song is kind of allegedly about social justice? which is literally the MOST valid reason to be yelling. and yet...i think this song just makes me feel like i’m in a battle scene in a movie, but not the biblical kind like ON, more like the sci fi and/or youth revolution kind like hunger games where it could feasibly happen in a few hundred years and it just stresses me OUT! when i’m in a really chill mood this song can be fun but in any other situation i’m like someone please get me outta here i’m gonna dieeeEEEE. idk i’m sensitive sometimes. i guess the song does its job though

notes

okay but literally does the beginning of this song not give you anxiety is this really just me

yoongi’s rapping voice is good though

extra! huh!

still part of this ~woooooorld~

extra plus ordinary! huh!

WAH!

WILL i survive? will i REALLY???

chong! jojun! BALsa!!!

seriously it’s movie trailer battle scene music

too hot! (milk)

i love hobi’s rap

whatcha sayay! not todayay!

whatever effect they did on the vocals in the bridge i liked that it fits

hands up!

i had a nice day i do like this song

but it’s also v long

i will accept this gunshot it could be thematic

32. Yet to Come

ahhhh yet to come...again i LOVE the message behind this song and it’s something i need to hear at the tender age of 26. the sound just isn’t really my thing. but the best part of this song is when the rap line comes in on the chorus. specifically yoongi and how PASSIONately he raps his part i really FEEL it in the live performances (not that that’s supposed to count here...). last thing i’ll say is that i feel the need to sing this song more than i feel the need to listen to it, so i guess it’s catchy, but i don’t enjoy the listening experience as much as most of their other songs

notes

vocal line does sound nice in the beginning actually

i should just listen to this drunk all the time

no i shouldn’t

[jk voice] yooonGAAAAAAAAY

i sure HOPE the best is yet to come

31. Life Goes On

this might as well be tied with yet to come tbh, the only difference between the two is that i’ve been with this song longer and i’m more attached. and vocal line’s high notes in the chorus are super impressive. i try to sing along and i’m piercing everyone’s eardrums. singing that high AND softly is really fucking hard like props to them...also every time yoongi sings “mmm mmm mmm mmm” i say “thanks suga” afterward because that alone is worthy of a grammy

notes

the bass line is so close to another famous song idk which one but it’s also satisfying

we got jk low notes good good good good good good GOOD!

thanks suga

BEAUFITUL BEAUTIFUL high notes

30. Save Me

this song is catchy, it just doesn’t really do anything for me. i think it ends up fading really easily into the background and it doesn’t really stand out next to other songs with a similar sound

notes

the clock is like what do you mean what is the purpose (2015) of it

jimin your voice is beautiful

i just don’t think i could pick this instrumental out from a lineup of other 2010s dj hits you know?

lmao the echo on tae’s voice went so weird like really listen to it (nyah nyah nyah)

please save me tonight p p p please save me tonight

whoo! whoo!

the best of ME???

but yeah this sounds to me like parts of other songs but don’t ask me which ones i’ve lived a long life i don’t remember

no thank YOU namjoon 🤭

29. For You

okay i genuinely do LOVE this song i just don’t always have the patience for it, if that makes sense. it’s a good vibe that sometimes makes me feel nostalgic but it takes some time to build up. that’s okay! i just have to be in the right mindset for it. and similar to heather i only discovered the mv recently and wow that’s adorable 🥺

notes

joonie baby why are YOU far away. come home. the kids miss you

shower! we’re getting really excited about hygiene!

lmao what is that noise they had to wake yoongi up for this

tae did a REALLY good job in that chorus wow

oh rap line in the chorus no wonder i like this

28. Dynamite

this is the song that got me into bts and it’s a bop! and i think a lot of people have problems with the lyrics because they’re ridiculous but dare i say i like them more than butter’s? it’s just a silly little song and it makes me happy sometimes. jungkook does like milk, lebron does jump high, king kong does exist, that’s three facts in one song what more can you want? and i’ll give bts the benefit of the doubt on this one because it was the first all english group song (that i know of?). maybe it WAS just a gift to armies all around the world because times were tough and english is a widely understood language and not an obvious cash grab like ptd or...

notes

cup of milk let’s fuckin rock and roll!!!

i like jk’s voice when he says kong and stone

this beat cha ching like money! huh!

the autotune here is bad too ngl

namjoon i’m sorry you had to say that in a megaphone but i kinda love it

🎵 its called 4 on the floor! a beat you can’t ignore! 🎵

27. Butter

okay first of all you cannot call me a butter hater exhibit a my 2021 spotify wrapped:

i listened to regular butter (#1) ALONE 724 times...i just really wanted it to stay #1 on billboard lol but i kind of was addicted to the song too. i didn’t get really tired of it the whole 10 weeks straight i was listening to it (between other bts songs...i’m not crazy). and i love that it showed bts being confident about themselves because i worry about that sometimes...some of them have anxiety and body image stuff so seeing them like this like oh yeah i’m hot shit again made me really happy. that said, you know, this was definitely a cash grab and the song itself feels very thrown together (unlike dynamite which was basic but seemed to be more ~sonically cohesive~) so i can only rank it so high

notes

b-b-b-buttah motherfuckah!!!

woo!

break it down!

i remember when this song first came out i was so confused? idk it all just happened so fast

fresh boy or doom boy namjoon which one is it

oh hobi’s part is the BEST part whenever there is party to bring he BRINGS IT

WE DON’T STOP!

OH MY GOD!

26. Airplane pt. 2

sequels will never match up with the original and with an original like airplane by j-hope that is a BIG hangar to fill. not that i spend all of my time listening to this song comparing it to airplane pt. 1 lol. it’s a bop for sure, but similar to save me i think it fades easily into the background. the performance with the microphones takes it over the top but i’m not counting that here. ummmm don’t tell natalia’s mom i need to stay on her good side

notes

i’m in a detective film

the HIGH NOTES! JIN!!!!! i think

i forget what the dance was for this actually but i hope they shake their hips a lot

again hobi’s rap is the best but it’s literally the same as part 1 you know???

IDUNNOIDUNNOIDUNNOIDUNNO! IDUNNOIDUNNOIDUNNOIDUNNOOOO! IDUNNOIDUNNOIDUNNOIDUNNO!

[unnecessary sexy sighing]

25. ON

getting to my biggest LET ME EXPLAIN moments. a lot of this will be the same as what i say about black swan, i don’t think these songs are meant to stand alone. they don’t sound BAD alone, but they were meant to be performed. it’s true of so many kpop songs but when you take away the performance these songs in particular (compared to other bts songs) just don’t hit nearly the same. i think a part of that might just be the way they were mixed/mastered and what the streaming platforms did to the volume when they were distributed (i am completely pretending to know anything about this). not sure if this is fair to use as a factor because the song itself is still so good, but this is a problem i have with songs from other artists too where they sound so good with speakers but then with your headphones it’s just...disappointing. ON in particular sounds a bit quiet and almost restricted in my headphones, while other bts songs sound a lot louder and fuller at the same volume. like when you watch ON being performed, you are ON the battlefield WITH the marching band watching them fight and it’s incredible. when you’re listening to ON alone on your headphones you are watching a war movie with bts as actors and half of them aren’t great actors and no one knows how to use the weapon they’re holding except yoongi. it’s like watching the ON cinematic music video when you could be watching the kinetic manifesto dance performance. it will just never compare

notes

i can’t understand what people are sayin! no way me too

no i will not look at your feet namjoon i have seen enough

whatever else namjoon is saying i love it

okay it’s a little better than watching a war movie it’s like watching a high school marching band youtube video

edgelords

hobi and yoongi’s echo things and sound effects are the best part of this thing

ooh yeah oh eh eh oh oh eh uh huh uh huh doo doo doo

YA YA YA YA! YA YA YA YA! YA YA YA YA! YA YA YA YA! YA YA YA YA!

WIN NO! MATTER! WHAT! winnomatterwhatwinnomatterwhat nega mwoladeon nuga mwoladeon i don’t give a uh i don’t give a uh i don’t give a UH! YEAH!

jimin will you be my roommate though for real i need one

like jk’s high notes are not nearly as dramatic without him standing alone on the stage crouching in pain with a band behind him it’s just not the same

like i’m tapping my foot i just don’t feel the energy

24. Black Swan

i think i made my point with ON but i will just add here that it makes more sense for black swan to not hit in general just because the whole point of the song is like losing passion for music. and it’s not *just* an r&b pop dance song like i think the orchestral elements and the vocal distortions make it super unique. but without the performance, again, it just doesn’t hit the same at all. musically this song is like edging to me. it kind of builds and then goes steady and you’re waiting for it to flourish but then it doesn’t, it just goes “do your thang” and i’m just like dudes what does that even mean. i don’t know what your thing is either. and again maybe that goes with the meaning of the song but i’m just never satisfied unless i’m watching the music video or a dance performance. so that’s why this masterpiece is here on the list

notes

this song is really fucking cool i mean it

the bass is full i appreciate that

bump bump bump! jump jump jump!

yeah yeah yeah! killin me now! killin me now! do you hear me yeah!

hobi’s part is really good

driving to the studio!

ba da NA NA!

this should’ve been a hit

23. Stay Gold

this song was an early fave of mine, i have fun memories of listening to this in my roommate’s car as they were first introducing me to bts. but it got old real fast so i haven’t listened to it much since 2020. but listening to it again after a while...it’s a good song...the best part of it BY FAR is jimin when he sings the japanese part in the chorus because holy shit is that not the cutest thing you’ve ever heard in your entire life??? wtf????? if he did that for the whole song it would probably be higher on this list lol

notes

i’m sorry i will never hear the beginning of this song normally ever since that meme lmao

tae is really good in that pre-chorus

they really BELT out that chorus you go vocal line

honestly pissed they only had jimin do the japanese chorus once i have tears in my eyes

jin said “i’ll steal your heart” and i didn’t even believe him but then he did it :(

oooooh those high notes! so pretty!

22. Dope

okay i love this song but it does fall into the “why are you yelling???” category. i think what throws me off is the musical break after chorus. whatever that instrument is reminds me too much of another 2010s song i didn’t like and i just can’t always get with it. i’ll jam to it with other people but not really when i’m alone. lots to make fun of though which i really appreciate!

notes

AYO LADIES AND GENTLEMEEEEEEEEN (say this in a really annoying baby voice)

DOPE! DOPE! DOPE!

JJEO JJEORO!!!

i don’t wanna say yes!

🎵 some words just go together like higher desire and fire 🎵

those beats in namjoon’s part really hit

ENEMY ENEMY ENEMY!

ENERGY ENERGY ENERGY!

the fact that namjoon said “can i get a little bit of hope?” and hobi’s part wasn’t right after...wtf....

bangtan style lmao

hustle liiiiiiiife!!!

[baby voice] I GOTTA MAKE IT RIIIIIGHT BABY

OW!

21. Fire

thoughts are pretty similar to dope even though they literally tell us why they’re yelling. a bass boosted version of this was my “GET THE FUCK UP BITCH” alarm for a short time so i think it also gives me horrible flashbacks that probably affected the ranking. but it’s a jam for sure!!!

notes

like those first notes bass boosted...imagine that waking you up...it’s scary

this instrumental is honestly ridiculous

when i wake up in my rrrOOOOM

say la la la la la! (la la la la la) say la la la la la! (la la la la la)

(bultaoreune)

BOW WOW WOW

hey........................................burn it up

fiyah!

need! to burn! it down! OW!

HA! HA! HA HA! HOTTER (i always thought they were just laughing aggressively oops)

20. War of Hormone

i am CACKLING every time at jk singing “yes i’m a bad boy so i like bad girls” i love it so much. also s/o to tae for giving his ALL to “TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT RIGHT NOW...IMMA GIVE IT TO YOU GIRL RIGHT NOW” because that probably did a number on his voice. he did so much for us 🥲

the beginning is hilarious i can’t believe they had the mario coin and power up noises too they did that for ME!!!

so aGGRESSIVE namjoon

I’LL be your FAN!

YES i’m a bad boy SO i like BAD girls

hello hello (what) hello hello (what) tell me what you want right NOW!

hello hello (what) hello hello (what) imma give it to you girl right NOW!

say that in a baby voice too

i like the guitar a lot

eh heh! eh heh! eh eh eh hu yeeeeeeeah!!!!!

19. Danger

this song is just so dramatic and hilarious i always love listening to it. also the most important thing i have to say about this song is i am SHOCKED there isn’t a pokemon parody for this in which jimin says “you gotta catch em all” right before the chorus because that’s what i sing every time i cannot be the only person who does that

notes

yeeeeeEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

(in a baby voice) YOU’RE IN DANGER

YOU’RE IN DANGER

YOU’RE IN DANGER

YOU’RE IN DANGER

i’m SICK!

DEONG DEONG DIGIDEONGDEONG

MICHIL GEOT GATAAAAA HOOOOOO

YOU GOTTA CATCH EM ALL!!!

you gotta make fun of jk trying to be sexy in the chorus with the UH!

tae really just let it all out in this song thanks for that buddy

BEEP BEEP!

rap line is so good. why are they so good. who approved of that

oh also sing jimin’s part in the chorus with a baby voice

18. Just One Day

ahhhh....this reminds me of chill car rides as well. i love this song, it’s cute, it’s catchy, it’s fun to “sing” along to, it’s nostalgic, it’s a specific genre of bts songs where i think this (and maybe for you) are the only singles, but it’s my comfort genre. i love it dearly

notes

[namjoon sexy voice] yeah...just one day...one night

[deep inhale]

YA!

the SOUND EFFECTS! BEST PART. so silly i love

when the chorus goes do it! do it! do it! i feel like they’re poking me

hobi brought the party you didn’t have to ask him he just did it

can you please stay with me 🥺

17. Run

run is another one of my early faves. i remember when my old roommate first showed me their music videos this was one of the videos and songs i remembered liking a lot, probably the best at the time. maybe it was the most similar to music i was already listening to. but yeah, it’s a big banger as you know

notes

the GUITAR!

dasi run! run! run!

jimin in the chorus he’s singing his little heart out!

(in the most baby emo voice you can muster) don’t tell me bye bye! you make me cry cry! love is a lie lie! don’t tell me! don’t tell me! don’t tell me bwye bwye!

hobi’s rap is really good wow

ooooh whoooooo oooooooh ahhhhhhh

the bridge is really good like that is a quality bridge do you know how hard that is to come by

16. Heartbeat

this placement is a bit of a surprise to me because a couple months ago this was really low in my ranking. i blame sarah <3 but i think the main reason behind that was, again, me having no patience to let music build. but when you let it get to at least hobi’s part it is SO beautiful. it may still grow on me yet, stay tuned

notes

jk solo low notes oh woooooooow

🎵 some words just go together like higher desire and fire 🎵

jimin i love you you don’t have to wish for it <3

you give me a new BIRTH

HOBI!!!

this is a fist pumper when you get to the 2nd chorus

JIMIN’S HIGH NOTES

JIN’S HIGH NOTES

when the GUITAR gets going oh yes

tae singing high is also so beautiful there’s something special about it

15. I NEED U

okay so this is another banger but what sets this above some of the others is the silly boy band dance i do to this song which isn’t supposed to count but still

notes

fall (everything) fall (everything) fall (everything)

AH!

hobi’s part is so good

but you are everything! everything! everything!

mianhae (i HATE YOU!) saranghae (i HATE YOU!) yongseohae (shit)

and then the dance move

it goes round and round! i go down and down!

jungkook you don’t need a girl could you even look her in the eye at this point?

I NEED YOU GIRL!

another excellent bridge

14. Blood Sweat & Tears

fantastic song ABSOLUTELY no question like this song is great the whole time there are no dull parts i listened to it 10 times in the last week so i should know. not even thinking about the performance!

notes

starts out good and just doesn’t stop wow

peaches and cream sweeter than sweet chocolate cheeks and chocolate wings

“kiss me” if you insist hobi!!!

hobi doing most of the chorus is actually the best idea they’ve ever had

kiss me on the lips IF YOU INSIST YOONGI

oh my god jimin’s about to do some insane high notes

OW!

13. Fake Love

listen. this song is amazing incredible show stopping never been done before never the same totally unique etc. BUT. it was not meant to sound like it does. the rocking vibe mix is a step in the right direction but ultimately this was the final answer. i consider this the official version. we all know they were emo kids it just makes sense

notes

[screaming] FAKE LOVE! FAKE LOVE! FAKE LOVE!

i wanna be a GOOD MAN! (just for you)

now i don’t KNOW ME! (who are you?)

HOBI’S PART

LOVE YOU SO BAD! LOVE YOU SO BAD! drink some water sweetie

why you SAD? i don’t know. nan molla

YOONGI’S PART

oooooh i don’t know i don’t know i don’t know why

outro as intro <3 they do that a lot haha

12. IDOL

what’s fun about this song is i forget how much i love it all the time for some reason. and then it comes on and i’m like holy shit this is so good how unexpected??? also that whistle noise in the background throughout basically the entire song scratches an itch i never even knew i had. great song, one of their best for sure

notes

the BEAT in the beginning

can call me artist! can call me idol!

i don’t! care!!

i’m proud of it! no more irony!

god this song is so fun

i KNOW what i am! i KNOW what i want! i ain’t EVER gonna change! i ain’t EVER gonna trade! CHOO CHOO!

YOU CAN’T STOP ME LOVIN MYSELF!

WOOHOO!!!

AYY!

spotlight eh ! superhero goddamn! anpanman!

I LOVE MYSELF!

RUNNING MAN RUNNING MAN RUNNING MAN! BRRRP!

and the whistle do you hear it in the chorus it’s in the left ear i think it’s like a sports whistle but melodic

AYY!

11. DNA

okay so i have history with this song as well because if i remember correctly this is the first bts song i ever heard. and i didn’t really like it at first because it reminded me too much of other popular songs on the radio at that time that i didn’t like. but over the past few years and with distance from those kinds of songs i’ve grown to really love this one. tae starting the song out is a real treat because i think he rarely starts out the big songs and his voice sets a really cool vibe. also s/o to the one of my favorite misheard bts lyrics of all time “PUT YOUR ASS ON ME!”

notes

lmao the put your ass on me line might have something to do with god and fate that makes it even funnier like this wasn’t random chance you were DESTINED to put your ass on me. tragically beautiful

TAKE IT! TAKE IT! 😳

this love! REAL LOVE!

DNA! TRUE LOVERS!

my notes really are just any english sounding words i hear sorry

OH YEAH!

i love the shouting in the chorus. i love shouting

whose voice is the really low dna

space noises!

yeongwonhi! yeongwonhi! yeongwonhi! yeongwonhi!

screw the lightbulb

la lai la la la! la lai la la la!

10. Lights

first of all side note why are bts japanese songs so freaking good and give me so much emotion? why didn’t they do this with the english songs. this song is so sweet and beautiful and we again get jk starting out in his lower register which is GORGEOUS and then jimin once again singing in the cutest voice ever why was he designed to make me cry. anyway. love the song and the video doesn’t count but it might actually be my favorite bts video ever

notes

low jk solo sorry idk why i’m obsessed with this now

JIMIN 😭

WHOA HO HO HO

SING IT

every time i’m thinkin bout love every time i’m thinkin bout love! eh!

the build up to the chorus i love it i love it so much

vocal line stop making me feel things

i’m your liiiight! i’m your liiiiight!

oh this song is long i forgot

i’m BREAKIN DOWN (same)

JIMIN 😭 

EVERYONE 😭

this is one of their best songs seriously i probably ranked it too low

9.  Epilogue: Young Forever

i am not always in the mood for this song just because again i have little patience to let things build but when you get to yoongi and hobi just fucking screaming their parts i ascend to another plane of existence. it’s not even necessarily the song, it’s the PASSION i feel when i hear it that makes me love it. and again you have rap line in the chorus you simply cannot fail with that

notes

[jk voice] YOONGAYYYY!!!!!!!

HOBI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHILLS!

i’m drinking sake out of a solo cup because i’m forever young

the drama! the passion! you’re gonna love the arts in philadelphia!

jimin got this tattooed

and the way it slows down and becomes kinda solemn at the end i’m gonna cry

🎵 gang vocals here we come! 🎵 😭

8. No More Dream

a classic of course of COURSE!!! again rap line in the chorus can’t go wrong. also this has definitely happened in songs before this one in the list but i love when rap line, usually yoongi, just has one random high pitched word when they’re rapping something (i want a big house big cars and big rings but  sasireun I don't have any BIG dreams) like it’s my favorite thing ever i don’t know why. and they’ve been on their follow your dreams bullshit since day 1 god i love them

notes

the BASS LINE

namJOOOOOOOOOOON

the school bell lmao

whatever hobi’s saying i love it

GEeee

STOP!

SUCH A LIAR!

la la la la la!

they’re just growling at me it’s the best

was the gunshot thematic

this seriously went so hard

please tell me how everything i’m doing is wrong i respond to that

yeah yeah! OW!

okay those gunshots were def not thematic :/

to all the youngsters without dreams aha xx

7. N.O.

okay with this song i’ve blocked out the mv completely :) and the ONE concert performance with that fucking GUITAR RIFF is literally like an engine revving up in my chest. the performance doesn’t count but too late it’s a part of meeee!!! and you gotta do that little steering wheel move for JOHEUN CHAAAA!!! the other fun thing to do is during the chorus when they’re like everybody say NO!!! you do the little echo no! and andwae! in a baby voice. baby voice never gets old to me sorry. and talking about youth issues no one else was talking about! they are icons for a reason!!!

notes

B T S

JOHEUN JIB! JOHEUN CHA!!!!

i guess this song is also supposed to be a revolution but it doesn’t stress me like not today idk why

everybody say NO! (no!)

we roll....we roll....we roll!!!

rrrrrrRRRRAH!

huh?! HUH???!!!

lmao there is so much going on in that last 30 seconds or so

6. Boy With Luv (barely feat. Halsey)

i think this was the second bts song i ever listened to intentionally, so again there is history, i was too jaded to like it the first time i heard it but when i was in a better mindset first getting into bts i really enjoyed it! jimin asking me how my day was and texting me i am giggling and kicking my feet just thinking about it. such a cute fun song and it being a more feminist version of boy in luv????? which still ranks higher on my list but pls ignore that for a sec finally please watch this video the choreography just works way too well

notes

doing the fan chant in my head sorry

vocal line finally figured out how to sound a little bit sexy without trying too hard it turns out the secret was feminism

ohh...............................bae

someone...please......come be his teacher......................

the instrumental is cool like someone called it kitschy once i agree if that’s not an insult

i love yoongi’s part

ay ay! ay ay! HOPE WORLD!

and hobi’s part

oh nooo! oh nooo! nooo way! nooo way! boy with luuuv!

oh whoa oh whoa oh whoa oh whoa oh

i WANT it!

namjoon’s part too all of rap line

yeah? sigh

let me flyyyyy

5. Mic Drop

mic drop is definitely meant to be performed but the difference for me between this and ON/black swan is the song still stands well on its own. it’s definitely better with the performance but i still listen to it by itself and i’m happy. and it’s just good the whole time. aside from the slow part but i’ll tell you my secret on getting past that. when namjoon’s doing his dramatic speech you gotta hype jin up. hype that part up like it’s literally the best part of that song coming up, like that dance doesn’t look completely ridiculous, and it will eventually be one of your favorite parts of the song

notes

okay i do picture hobi dancing in my head during this intro i can’t help it

yeah?

world business! bang bang! clap clap! magic! mic mic bungee!

i’m fine sorry! mianhae eomma!

i do it! i do it!

ooooh highlight of this song is when they echo “hella sick” like barking chihuahuas

baby watch your mouth (mouth!) it comes back around (round!) once upon a time (time!) we know how to fly (fly!) go look at your mirror (same! damn! clothes!) you know how i feel? (gaehaengbok) turn UUUUUuuuuuuP how many hours til we fly (woooOOOOOooooo) i keep on dreamin on the cloud! YEAH I’M ON THE MOUNTAIN! YEAH I’M ON THE BAY! EVERY DAY WE VIBIN! mic drop BAM!

namjoon says mic drop so calmly and casually i’m gonna

haters gonna hate players gonna play (swift 2014) live your life man good luck

HERE WE GO HERE WE GO HERE WE FUCKING GO!!!

and ragdoll

bo! bo-bo bo bo-bo body roll! bo! bo-bo bo bo-bo body roll! (what do you mean those aren’t the lyrics)

thanks steve <3

4. We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2

dude this just goes so hard so fast and again i’ve blocked out the mv completely in favor of the ONE concert performance in which namjoon does his little sword fighty move with his jacket and the...sash? strap? one of those things. i can’t get it out of my head and i don’t want to. again. SO much to make fun of here it’s just everything i need in a bts song and more.

oh FUCK yes

WHAT! WHAT! WHAT!

HA! HA! WE ARE BULLETPROOF! HA! WASSUP! (wassup) BULLETPROOF

[baby voice] IREUMEUN JUNGKOOK! SEUKEIREUN JUNGKOOK!!!

the vocal inflections or whatever!!!

fuck it UP tae oh my GOD

[baby jimin voice] we go HARD! <-- name of my bts hype playlist lol

click click ! bang bang! (said in a baby voice)

we just sing it like (said in a nerd voice)

AND RAPPER MAN!

rap MONSTER!

IRIWA MIRI BWA! HA HA!

rrrrrrRRRRRRAH

jin sang this right after downing a glass of milk

again there is so much going on in this dance break outro lmao

3. Boy In Luv

this song hits EVERY fucking time. i don’t even remember the performance aside from jimin is there. it doesn’t matter. the song is so good and i don’t understand the words i don’t care. it’s got hip hop, it’s got rock, it’s catchy, you can make fun of it, it ticks all the boxes for me

notes

(for absolutely no reason) FIYAH!

oh tae is definitely also there

tae really messed up his voice for this song please have some respect

rrrRRRRAH!

hakuna matata! OH!

i love this whole goddamn thing

say “say what you want” in a baby voice also

car noises!

hold up!

i just ignore the meaning of the word oppa for this

yeah yeah yeeeeeeeAAAAAAAAAAH

jimin sing it bby!!!

2. Spring Day

this song was another early favorite of mine but i did get tired of it for a while because they kept performing it in 2020. but now that i’ve had some space i feel like i can fully appreciate it again. this song didn’t have to grow on me at all, i instantly liked it, tae’s “you know it all, your my best friend” deserves an oscar, i can’t even beLIEVE yoongi’s verse, and again! they are talking about this even while the government was (supposedly?) trying to downplay the whole tragedy. and this was AFTER they were getting successful, they had something to lose, but they did it anyway <3

1. Film Out

this probably seems a little random. i wasn’t in love with this song on the first listen, it definitely took a little for me to really get into it. my friends and i kept playing the music video on our big tv just because it was trippy and funny and when the song started getting stuck in my head it was all over. and vocal line SHINES in this one wow wow wow like especially the end with jimin and jin!! but we still have humor in namjoon’s part so this song is missing nothing. and then the INSTRUMENTAL. it sounded a bit strange to me when i first heard the song but now everything (the piano, the orchestra, the guitar) all come together so beautifully. and the LYRICS like at the end of the day it’s just some sad j-drama ost but it’s MY sad j-drama ost. i’ve never seen it though lol

notes

gorgeous

starts with just a little piano

piano builds

guitar comes in

harmonies

.........................................................................................ayy

beat comes in (”let the beat in”)

[clenches fist] ahhhhhhhh

making fun of namjoon in this song is my favorite past time sorry

and the la la la la las over sope’s rap <3 <3 <3

AND NOW THE ORCHESTRA

AND JIMIN!

AND JIN!

AND JIMIN AGAIN!

beat drops out

i’m a conductor now actually

to conclude:

i hate ptd

i love jimin

newfound love for jk’s lower register

tae really does put his whole pussy into it sometimes

chances are i love hobi’s part

[jk voice] yoooooonGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY

namJOOOOOOOOON

jin was there...i love him i swear

sorry for all the pop 101 references

why yes i am absolutely insufferable at kpop night thanks for asking

so if you made it through this whole post let me know i’ll give you a gift of some kind idk what yet but lmk if you have any ideas

not tagging anyone because i don’t want to subject any more of my friends to reading this but if you see this and would like to do it please go for it and say i tagged you! i love to hear other people’s thoughts on bts songs, good or bad

[slickshoesareyoucrazy]

Someone Else Sees

Most of the discussions I've had with my son this school year, that weren't about future travel plans or school event logistics or music, have been about social anxiety. He has it too. And it unfortunately manifests basically the same way mine does. He's never really sure where he stands with other people. Did he say or do something wrong that made them angry or sad or something else bad? I tell him he's a lot like Charlie Brown.

Charlie Brown is very socially anxious. He thinks no one likes him. But he can somehow get eight other kids (not including Peppermint Patty and Marcie and Franklin even) to show up to play baseball with him basically whenever, even though they lose every game. AND they let him continue pitching and managing the team, even though they lose every game. Those kids definitely must like him. Just saying. And his dog is so talented, he could definitely survive on his own, or run away to live with another family (and in Snoopy Come Home, he DOES that for a while), and he has brothers and sisters who live all over the place he could go stay with, but he still chooses Charlie Brown. Snoopy loves Charlie Brown. And Chuck is a good friend too. And people recognize that. He accepts Linus with his blanket habit others think is immature. He's still friends with Bossy Lucy. He indulges Patty's and Marcie's weird crushes on both him (and probably each other), and tomboy/nerdishness. He's down with Schroeder's savant-like talent and focus on the piano. Pigpen's lack of hygiene, even. The other kids know they can count on Charlie Brown. And it's honestly a shame he doesn't see that. But I see it. And I told my son, I see his friends like him and depend/count on him too. Having trouble with math? Call Boy. He'll help you. It's raining and you need to run for cross country today? Boy has a treadmill in his basement you can get your miles on. Let's go trick or treating in Boy's neighborhood; his parents are cool with all of us meeting there. Three separate friends went to adults concerned about him this year, because he seemed so worried and sad. His academic team almost refused to play a match in protest during the regular season, because he wasn't eligible to play (he'd played too many varsity minutes to play JV too), because they like playing with him that much. But my son doesn't see that. He can't see the interactions and relationships he has from the outside, and from the inside where he is, the anxiety won't let him settle or feel confident. And I told him I get that too, because I'm like Charlie Brown too. I still wonder about all my friends too, even the ones I've had since I was his age. And my parents. And my brother. And *J*.

I still think shit like...What if I'm reading things wrong (which I only think when things are good; I never doubt my takes on bad shit, it seems)?

What if I make too many mistakes?

What if it's not real? And then this happened:

Boy: Mom? DAD?! You're worried about DAD not liking you?! Seriously? You've been married for like...ever. It's been 20 years, right? That's a lot of history to be questioning. I don't have that history. I'd like to think I wouldn't question THAT. Me: Well I know that, but people leave, break up, get divorced after 20 years or more together all the time. Boy: But DAD?! Come on, Mom. Dad super loves you. It's obvious. Me: I'm glad it's obvious to you all the time. :) Boy: It should be obvious to you. I mean...Dad doesn't really even LIKE any other people at all. Except you and me. Me: He definitely loves YOU. <3 Boy: Yeah. I know you and Dad love me. I don't ever question that. But I'm saying Dad definitely loves YOU. He kind of ONLY loves us. Other people make him tired and want to leave after like...max 3 days in a row. And that's *W* (J's lifelong best friend). He's with you every single day. For 20 years. Literally every second he's not working. That's...CLEAR love.

So I hope that me saying I can see it for my son (because I can see it; that his friends like him and value him a lot) was helpful for his social anxiety (which is definitely my 'fault' he has), because he was pretty helpful for mine. At least temporarily.

That guy must really love me. HAHA!

[bluestarnight]

[[Aftermath]]

The perspective of a certain blue square after the events of Story Mode.

Cyan let out a heavy sigh.

Even when it was all over (for real, really), the problems didn't go away.

It was quite naïve of him to think the possibility where everything works out and they all live happily ever after.

It remains an enigma how he did it because the last thing he remembered was...

The only good thing about all that disaster is that he managed to (somehow) recover the last missing piece and restore the tree of life.

How he restored the tree, he had no idea but he didn't care. All people were safe, especially his friends Sam, Stella and Jack. That was what mattered.

Completely cornered, he never felt so exhausted and small in a long time. Something inside his head told him that there was nothing he could do to avoid the inevitable. And then–

Yeah, no. He wasn't going to think about it at all. Unless he wanted to fall into another trauma spiral, which it wasn't pleasant by the way, so no thanks.

But returning to the initial point. Yes, his problems had not disappeared.

There were still signs of corruption in the surrounding areas, some shapes continued to be corrupted and there was a rumor that a certain pink cat-like creature was still roaming some parts of the forest and caves.

And the strangest part was he didn't feel worried at all. It was as if the fact of leaving free the literal cause of the near collapse of the world was the most normal thing in the world.

Yeah, it's probably the side effects of hitting the head too many times.

Sam persuade him to not intervene because he had just woken up... After almost a whole month unconscious.

For the holy pieces.

Well, Cyan had to admit that he still felt the side effects of not sleeping for more than three days in a row and exerting himself (brutally) without rest.

And if the blue square remembered correctly, he always was on the run because everyone wanted to make him explote. So rest was out of topic, and don't mention food.

With any luck, Sam won't wonder what he was eating during the time they were separated. That bluish cube was probably the equivalent of a mother worrying about her little one.

If he finds out that he (was starving) hasn't eaten for days, maybe he'll kill someone...

But then again, he wasn't an ordinary shape. In fact, he probably wasn't a shape to start with. But, as usual, he didn't think too hard about it. He was just built different.

How was he still alive? Cyan didn't even know. As some say, the power of the script. Maybe the plot armor.

But returning (again) to the point, he still felt tired. And having to deal with the same pink ass was just a big no, nope.

Plus, what he could do against a creature several times his size? That cheater would do anything just to win (just like he did back then) and probably just restart the same shit again just because yes.

But if one thought about it, that guy should have already tried to take the tree while he was unconscious.

What better time to do it when everyone is distracted and the "little blue shit" is out of the game, right?

However, Sam had told him that (thank the stars) nothing happened to the tree while he was out.

Still, Cyan knew he couldn't ignore the problem forever (but he really wanted to). If there was one thing he had learned it was to never leave problems for later, especially if it involved the fate of an entire planet.

They weren't paying him enough to deal with that kind of shit, but oh well.

It was going to be a long day. Maybe a long week, probably a long month. A long year.

Ugh.

[1358456]

Pokemon Crystal "Free to Play" Run Part 2

Back again. Had to restart the game, and picked Totodile this time so I can actually cross bodies of water.

So the random egg I get from this guy contains a random pre-evolution of a Generation I Pokemon. I don't remember all of them, but... I guess that means I can get Pichu, Cleffa, Igglybuff, Magby, Elekid, Smoochum, ... Tyrogue? Hmm... Well, as long as I don't get any of the first three... Time to save before picking up the egg and try over and over and over!

And after about 12 Cleffas, 2 Pichus, and 4 Igglybuffs...

... Shiny. A random "encounter" shiny of a garbage Pokemon that I would never want under any circumstances. "But a Clefable is pretty good!" ... Yeah. After it got the Fairy typing, and with access to moves. So... nope. Reload!

And after about another 10 Cleffas, 3 Pichus, and an Igglybuff...

... Another one. I kid you not. And another f*cking Cleffa at that. I don't know how RNG works in Generation II, so I can't tell if this is the result of hitting two separate shiny frames, or I just hit the same one twice. Either way, f*cking random ass shiny Cleffas!

I did once say that I had tremendous luck in running into random shiny Pokemon. And that I would much rather have that luck in practical situations, like... not missing Rock Slide 3 times in a row. Well, here's another instance of that. I would rather have gotten an Elekid or Magby MUCH sooner than hatching TWO freaking shiny Cleffas.

Another 6 Cleffas and 3 Pichus later...

FINALLY! I'll take it! ... Not shiny, but eh, I don't care. Shiny depends on IVs in Generation II, and the possible IVs are hot garbage anyways.

Well, time to face Whitney again. And just like last time, I only have one Pokemon I can use for this. And this time, I don't have access to Smokescreen.

That said, the only reason why Miltank becomes devastating is because of Rollout snowballing out of control. So... let's just not let it snowball.

Easy. What a scrub.

And it turns out, by going through Mt. Mortar, I can get to Mahogany Town without using Surf. Not that I can get to Red Gyarados since... I don't have Surf.

Who died and made this prick the boss of this place? Go spend time to do some sightseeing? Don't tell me what to do! And what sightseeing? There's nothing in this town! In Generation I and II, NPCs block your path for nonsensical reasons. "I'm thirsty. So the city's closed."

Time to go get Surf. Since I actually can use it.

Oh ho, the dance theatre! Time to get on that stage and show 'em what I got!

Yoi, yoi, yoi, YOI! SAMURAI ENBU~! ... Oh. I'm not performing? ... Fine. I'll just beat up those who's upstaging me.

... F*cking Jolteon. At least my team isn't critically weak to... wait. Feraligatr, Togepi, Fearow. ... Damn. I might as well be critically weak to Jolteon. Hence the importance of the Magby here. Even if it is garbage until level 30. At least this Jolteon is level 17, and not 65.

Hey, this is that gate that shakes you down when you try to pass. But...

I literally have no money. I am dead broke, and I don't have the "Treasure Hunt" ability that Kasuga Ichiban has to dig for spare change under vending machines. What happens now? ... Oh. "Please pay what you have." ... Well, the joke's on them, I guess. My gift to them is the sense of shame for trying to shakedown someone who has no money at all. Like those thugs in Judgment who try to pickpocket Yagami during a fight. If you have no money at all, they try to pickpocket and then finding nothing, they just give you a pat on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, dude."

... So Chuck's Poliwrath... used Dynamicpunch 5 times. And it hit me 5 times. How. This is the kind of sh*t I had to deal with in Pokemon games for like 15 years. How about I don't hatch two shiny Cleffas, and instead, I avoid being hit by every Dynamicpunch, Supersonic, and Hypnosis?! Just a thought.

1/2 chance of getting hit by 1 Dynamicpunch. 1/2^5 = 1/32 chance of being hit by all 5. ... I have "prevailed" in worse odds before. Like... the game Cho-Han in Yakuza. "Even or Odd?" 50% success chance, and I lost 11 times in a row. 1/2^11 = 1/2048. ... And of course, the odds of 1 random shiny, which is a select few IV combinations out of all possible IV combinations which I believe gets simplified to 1/2^13 = 1/8192.

Anyways. After all that bullsh*t, I have access to Fly. And since I have Surf, Strength, and Flash (and Rock Smash), I can try to get Tyrogue! ... I think. The guy who gives you Tyrogue is the guy who gives you Hitmonchan/lee in Generation I, but he's training somewhere in Johto. Mt. Mortar, I think? And I also need to find things like Carbos and Calcium to raise the friendliness of the Eevee to get an Espeon. So... time to scour the map.

... Where the f*ck am I now... I think these were Crystal version additions to the Unown puzzles. And each of these give me... bitter medicine, which LOWERS friendliness. ... F*cking useless ass Unowns... I have bad memories of completing the Unown Dex in Gold version. And getting all of them in Platinum version too because I apparently did not learn my lesson. Never again.

I have scoured all of the currently accessible caves, and... nothing. No Tyrogue. ... Do I need Waterfall? If that's the case, then the hell with Tyrogue. I'll have a Dratini at that point. Time to progress, I guess.

... How does this guy know what medicine with work on Ampharos, if he doesn't know what the Ampharos is sick with? "I got just the thing." ... Do you, though?

Just go buy a Full Restore, lady. "Will that mystery medicine work?" ... Sure. It ain't my Ampharos. ... I would absolutely try it on my Ampharos though. For science! "Oh, that killed it. ... Ehn. I can just go get another one."

Huh. So Togetic CAN use Fly! ... Then I guess that Fearow is garbage now. I guess I'll finish the delivery quest, and... oh right. The purpose was to deliver the mail that was attached to it... that I sold. Whoops. Go file a missing delivery claim or something. That Fearow will soon be going in the box where it will stay there for eternity. ... That Shuckle too. That sucker gave me one for no reason at all. I think he'll want it back later. What are the odds he gets it back? "It's mine now. I don't know where it is."

So is this guy like... not pissed that he lost to me over and over and I kept calling him a worthless piece of garbage that's not worth the stain on my shoes? ... Is he... a masochist? ... Go to the red light district in Goldenrod or something. Surely someone would be willing to step on him.

Random worthless goons don't get special intros. This is years before this dude became promoted to being a named admin in HGSS. In GSC, he's a nameless "Rocket Admin". Then again, all the named Rocket Admins in HGSS were nameless in GSC, and not all were admins! That dude with a Koffing in the Slowpoke Well was just a grunt! Probably because of that, I still don't remember their names.

Huh. So if I just make a beeline to Blackthorn without bothering with the Rocket takeover of Goldenrod Radio Tower, Claire just abandons her job. Great.

So now I can finally get an Espeon, stomp through the Goldenrod Radio Tower because dealing with a kanto yakuza invasion is apparently the job of a kid, murder Suicune because it's not a gift, and then finally take down Claire. And...

Hooray, another gift! ... One that needs to be level 55 before it becomes useful! ... Oh boy. Exp Share on that thing, and I have saved all the Rare Candies I came across for this reason. ... I have 3. Hmm... It'll be useful by the time I get to Red, I guess.

Oh right. I forgot that's what it was called. Yes, the Tojo Clan has fallen. Even the HQ is burned down in 8.

The kan of kanto. If I remember, in HGSS, there's another gate in the west end of Cianwood City. So that truly leads to the kansai of Pokemon world. And then Johto becomes chuubu.

I keep accelerating the emulator speed in every battle so the play time is insane. "You seem to understand how to use Pokeballs!" ... Do I, though?

... Do I know you? "Can I have my Pokemon back?" Dude, I don't even know who you are.

Is it really being robbed if you just hand over the thing unwarranted? ... Well, yes, since he said it was temporary. But I didn't ask for the Shuckle. He just gave it to me. This fool handed over a Shuckle to the asshead "rival", which he's not using at all. And then he gave his other Shuckle to me because of paranoia, which I'm not using at all. And neither of us is giving it back. So I guess there is something in common...

Well then. Off to Kanto. This fool can just sit in his house, regretting his life choices.

Yes. He's not being paid to dick around. Similar to how we're not paying our employees for 45 minute bathroom breaks every day, on top of regular 30 minute break times.

... Come to think of it... I've never been on a cruise ship before. But... is it possible for random people to just wander up to the captain's quarters? Somehow I doubt that very much. And yet, here we are in Generation I and II...

So this is the Machop that people once said that if you talk to it twice and then check your Coin Case, the game crashes. I never bothered with it but I might as well now.

And... nothing. Figures. Then again, people have said that you got Mew in Generation I by completing the Pokedex, or getting a level 100 Sandslash to use Strength on that truck in the harbor. And that you got Celebi in Generation II by completing the Pokedex or by breeding a Meganium with an Abra. Someone once said that you could get a Celebi by getting the C, E, L, E, B, I Unowns in your party and then talking to the Ilex Forest Shrine. There has been a lot of bullsh*t. The only way to get Celebi without the event is by glitching a Sneasel or a Sneasel Egg. I had a Celebi with Outrage in my Gold version!

Well then. Now that I'm in Kanto, that's a good place to stop for now.