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vi-the-deer · 1 month ago

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Things of 2024

2024 sure was a year, huh? 10 months of some of the best times of my life followed by two of absolute existential dread. Looking back it’s hard to put myself in the mindset I started the year in, but thankfully I took notes as the year went on in preparation for this exact moment (smart of me, right? Call it anti-ADHD protection. (Also I only started doing so around April so the beginning of the year might not be quite as fleshed out but still…)). Note that while this is a “best of” list for the year, it’s not necessarily about things that came out this year. In fact a good deal of them aren’t from this year, as I am behind on a lot of media, but oh well, it’s my list! Which is also why instead of breaking things out into different categories I’m just gonna list them all in one go, because I’m disorganized that way. Also it will be in roughly chronological order, since that’s how I have them in my notes, but otherwise the order the things are in has no particular meaning.

MagicCon Chicago

The year started out well with my then partner (and now – well we’ll get to that, hang in there) and my first Magic event together since the pandemic started. I was super excited for it from the start despite not getting selected to staff it since not only did that mean I got to play in the events but I also got to do so with my lovely partner and – spoiler alert – our mutual girlfriend! It was also close enough to her home state of Missouri that she was able to take the train to hang out with us for most of the days, which is awesome since we don’t get to see her that often and we miss her dearly when we’re apart. We had a great time, got to see some really cool announcement panels live and in person, randomly met Graham from Loading Ready Run, played in Gavin’s “Unknown” event, each won our respective games of Ravnica Clue (MKM had just come out so people hadn’t soured on the format yet), and overall had a great time both at the event and around it, finishing with a visit to the Medieval Torture Museum because of course we did. A+ experience, would do again (and might, if we’re able to go to Chicago’s MC next year) The Con was made even more special because it was the first time I’d been to Chicago, which is where two of my three partners grew up, so it was so nice to be able to see their old stomping grounds (even if they were more from the suburbs than the city). The only sad part was that we didn’t have more time to sightsee, but maybe if we go next year we’ll have a chance to do more of that.

LDXP/Commandfest Daly City

The second big Magic event of the year, which was actually mostly underwhelming, but I’m putting it here because my compensation for judging at it allowed me to be able to afford the next item on my list, the…

Steam Deck

I love video games, especially PC games, but I have this weird thing where I never actually play them very often. Mostly this is because our TV is usually shared among the three of us (myself, Robin, and our mutual nesting partner Sonic), and I never really feel like monopolizing it with my games, or sitting at a computer away from the fam. I have a gaming laptop that I used to play games on but it broke earlier in the year and it was never really that optimal in the first place since it was heavy and always needed to be plugged in to its massive power brick. Enter the Steam Deck.

Since getting it I have played more games than I think I have in the past two or three years combined. It’s not great for every game, but for the ones that I enjoy it’s ideal. I can play it on the couch while hanging with the fam even with something on the TV, and the trackpad really works surprisingly well as a mouse replacement, so even non-controller games work pretty well on it. And only recently I figured out how to stream games from my Xbox to the Steam Deck so even the more graphical showcases (Like, most recently Dragon Age: The Veilguard) can be played while the TV is in use by others. Anyway, the first game I really got into on the Steam Deck is the next entry in this list.

Disco Elysium

ENCYCLOPEDIA – You remember the name from old gaming podcasts, what has replaced the well-worn video game magazines you remember from your childhood. You can still hear the voices of praise for its unique gameplay that hearkens back to an era long lost, an era of CRPGs and Point-and-Clicks

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Medium: Success] – The plastic of the controller feels familiar in your hand. You guide your avatar among the digital landscape, exploring the streets of a world similar yet nothing like the world you exist in.

PERCEPTION [Formidable: Success] – You are able to reason out the puzzles, growing closer to your avatar as you solve problems for those around your avatar.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] – More often than not you were responsible for the problems you end up solving, but you are nonetheless able to help these wretched people with their wretched lives to give them some small measure of comfort.

DRAMA – You find yourself absorbed in your character, my liege, though he is not much like you, and at the same time exactly like you.

RHETORIC [Godly: Success] – The texture of this world is communist, but it is no utopia. It is up to you to find the hope that is buried under the muck of society and reveal it to the world, raise a shining banner just like those who failed before you. You will fail again, but in the failing you take one step closer to saving the world.

AUTHORITY [Legendary: Failure] – You extol to as many as possible the virtues of Disco Elysium, but your words often fall on deaf ears. The game is old, they say. The graphics are lackluster. The story confusing, the atmosphere oppressive. You are aware of this but you see past it to the shining lungs within, you breathe in the world and its inhabitants.

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN – The game has touched you deep to your core. You are not the same person you were before you played it. You can never take it back, and you would never want to.

Night in the Woods

When this came out first I was at a very odd point in my life. My separation from my ex-wife was fresh, and depression was a spectre that was constantly looking over my shoulder. It was the perfect wrong time to play a game that wraps itself in the same kind of depression, of nostalgia and longing for a time that will never come again.

I am happy to say that I’m glad I waited. The game was excellent, and so touching and familiar even though I never lived in an American small town. The feeling of how fleeting the world can be still scares me, but games like these help me to get through them while not letting the good times and lessons of the past leave me, even when the world can never keep from changing.

Twin Peaks The Return

A podcast I enjoy was watching Twin Peaks as one of their side podcast projects, so I used that as an excuse to finally see the parts of the show that I never got around to (Fire Walk with Me and The Return, primarily). It was really interesting to dive into that world again, to see the culmination of one of the great filmmakers’ career, to reunite with the characters we fell in love with in the original, and to meet new ones to love (or sometimes hate). And one thing I will always remember, is it’s not about the bunny. (Is it about the bunny?) (No, it’s not about the bunny).

Fallout TV show

It turns out you can make a good adaptation of a video game, all you have to do is approach it with a real love of the franchise, disregard all the stories and characters that have baggage from the games, and instead tell a compelling story with great characters that are set inside the universe that people have come to love (even though I never played much of the games, I know enough to appreciate the fan service). It’s so easy! I’m actually looking forward to seeing where it can go with another season.

Fantasy High Junior Year (blimey!)

I don’t think you heard me, Blimey! Fantasy High is the first Dimension 20 series we watched, and it’s still one of the best. Being able to return to that world was so fun and exciting, and the characters are still just as vibrant and funny as they were at the start. Some of the moments (especially some of Ally’s nat twenties) will stick with me for some time, and I would easily be able to say that this was my favorite season of D20 that we watched last year, if it wasn’t for…

Never 💥 Stop 💥 Blowing 💥 Up

This was the most thrilling, off-the-rails, wacky, and just plain fun D20 series in a long time, possibly ever. Just a delightful send-up of 80’s-style action flicks, with just an amazing set of players and a GM who woke up and decided to not say no to pretty much anything the players wanted to do, no matter how wild and out-of-left-field they may be, with a new homebrew system that made Every. Single. Roll feel exciting and impactful. And remember: Without our siblings, we are nothing.

Battlestar Galactica (2004)

It was really fun to go back and rewatch this series with my then-partner. (I keep saying then-partner because it’s accurate but don’t worry, we’re still together. All will become clear later I promise). Part of the impetus was because we had just finished DS9 and were interested in seeing more Ronald D. Moore shows. Going back to this show after something like 20 years it’s interesting how my perspective has changed, how characters I didn’t care for the first time around have become faves simply because they are going through things that I can sympathize with in ways I couldn’t in my twenties. The ending is still bad but knowing it’s coming and seeing what foreshadowing they were able to include made it feel better this time around, and I still bawled like a baby at it. It’s a really good show that really holds up, even in the later seasons that were considered weaker at the time.

Anime

Frieren

One of my favorite parts of this series is that most of the names seem to come from someone looking up words in a Japanese-German dictionary, and as I speak German fluently, the results can be amusing. Like how the character who seemed like maybe might turn out to betray the party is named “Lügner” aka “liar”. Fun! But linguistics isn’t the only thing about the anime I loved. Its slow pace underlies a somber meditation on the meaning of mourning, growing, and changing that, while seen through the eyes of a millenia-old elf, nonetheless resonate in the hearts of us mere mortals. I was a bit turned off by the tournament arc, but it managed to not overstay its welcome, and I can’t wait for the second season (which is somewhat ironic given the subject matter.)

Also while I said I wouldn’t do rankings, this anime has the best ED song I’ve heard in a long, long time, and, spoiler alert, it will turn out to be relevant in a few months. Stay tuned!

Solo Leveling

(Yes I know these two are from 2023 they ended in 2024 so they still count)

I usually don’t really watch shounen anime, so I was surprised at how much this grabbed me. I’m having a hard time putting a finger on what was different about this one. I think a lot of it was in the masterfully-executed fight scenes, but the interesting worldbuilding certainly didn’t hurt. I’m looking forward to season 2 later this year.

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You

Polyamory done right! A harem anime with a protagonist you don’t want to smack upside the head! Autism representation! Yuri! Age difference! And some of the best humor I’ve seen this year. 100 Girlfriends is really, really, really, really, REALLY good, and I can’t wait for the second season to start soon!

Dungeon Meshi

It’s a good thing I’m not ranking anime because it would be really hard to choose which would take the top spot. One of the candidates has to be Dungeon Meshi though. Trigger has a strong track record of amazing anime, and this one, based on a property that my girlfriend has long been a huge fan of, seems a little like a departure from their usual Sci-Fi fare. But they are still able to take opportunities to show off their amazingly fluid animation in battle scenes, and make the cooked monsters look mouth wateringly delicious at the same time. I was worried that my hang-ups around food might make this a hard watch, but it was quite the opposite. It’s rare to see this much (gay) autistic rep in a mainstream product like this, even if it was mostly subtextual. I fell in love with the party, and hope we get more of their adventures in the future.

Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord

A cute little isekai anime about a (subtextually) autistic girl who accidentally power levels herself to the level cap and now has to integrate into a magic school where everyone is like level 4 or 5. I enjoyed it quite a bit, though the animation was a bit rough at times. Still, very cozy and sweet.

Komi can’t Communicate

Another anime focusing on a character with social anxiety, I made the rare choice to watch this dubbed, and here’s why: The show often features on-screen text, and in the sub those texts often went untranslated because the subtitles were translating what was being spoken instead. The dub uses the extra bandwidth to make sure the text still gets conveyed – and that’s just the reason I started with the dub. Turns out the voice cast was really talented and, to my slight surprise, full of queer representation. There is (at least in the dub) a non-binary character played by a non-binary VA, and a trans-femme VA playing a character who (if not explicitly then certainly in my headcanon) is trans herself. Also this was made extra special by being an anime that a good friend of mine would watch together, so it has a special place for me.

Uzumaki

We only watched the first episode of this sadly maligned anime – the only episode worth watching, given that immediately after producing it studio executives slashed the budget to a fraction of what had been promised, as well as outsourcing much of the animation to much cheaper studios. What promise this anime had in the first episode was quite impressive though, but I really can’t recommend this anime to anyone.

Nichijou

We finished it this year and it is probably the funniest Anime I’ve ever seen. Such comedic timing, such outlandish yet relatable situations, such great chemistry between the characters, and such great animation that didn’t have to go nearly so hard. I already want to start another watchthrough, but for now we’ve switched to Azumanga Daioh for the same tone slot.

Shikanokonokonoko Koshitantan

In the running for best OP, Shikanokonoko Koshitantan (or My Deer Friend Nokotan, if you’re boring) also fit the Nichijou time slot. It was weird, and random, and self-referential, and the PS2 deer were such an odd choice, but again, I’m a mere mortal, if I see a cute anime deer girl, you already got my interest!

Ranma ½

It really is special when someone who reinterprets a work for a modern audience approaches it with as much love and sensitivity as can be seen here in Ranma ½. I haven’t seen much of the original so I don’t have as direct a comparison as my girlfriend did, but what I did know is that it had some parts that… really did not age well. This adaptation not only pays loving tribute to its manga origins, but paints a picture of the main character that, while steeped in masculinity, doesn’t have the toxicity you usually see in these kinds of characters. And he also can be seen embracing parts of his feminine side when it’s something he finds joy in. Plus the OP slaps, the animation is vibrant and fluid, the humor is sharp, and it’s full of Gender™, what’s not to love?

Dandadan

It was really hard to decide on a favorite anime this year (harder than it usually is for me to pick a favorite) since there were so many good ones to choose from. Frieren, Ranma, and especially DunMeshi really blew me away, but if I had to choose a top spot, it has to be Dandadan.

Science SARU really outdid themselves with this quirky, high-octane action-comedy series. The animation is wild and the story so funny while still having a lot of heart. And then episode seven had me bawling like a child, it’s just so good. Who would have thought that a show about aliens trying to steal people’s penises and old granny spirits who want to steal balls would be the anime of the year for me, but here we are! Also the OP is one of my favorite in recent years, it slaps so hard!

Gencon

This year we finally made a pilgrimage I’ve been wanting to do for years now, which is to go to one of the biggest gaming conventions in the country, GenCon in Indianapolis. We went with our girlfriend and her husband, and while the hotel we stayed in was, charitably, a shithole, the con itself was amazing! I don’t often get chances to play TTRPGs, let alone the indie kind that I love. I could write a whole long post about our experiences there, but the short version is we had a ton of fun, had a lot of good games and experiences, and I got to see where my girlfriend is from for the first time (though we didn’t go to her hometown, we did see St. Louis which is another of the big cities I hadn’t been to yet)

Yazeba’s Bed and Breakfast

This RPG is practically the definition of “cozy”. Taking elements from legacy games, this mostly GM-less game has you playing the denizens and visitors of a fantastic Bed and Breakfast in a fantastic world where all that matters is how you treat others and yourself. Conflict is left at the door – at least the serious kind – and you watch as the characters grow and change. It also is chock full of queer, POC, and disability rep, which is always a plus in my book. This was the only RPG from the show that I ended up taking home a copy of.

Brindlewood Bay

What if a group of crime-solving older ladies (think Murder she Wrote or #1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) were confronted with an eldritch horror from beyond the stars? That’s the situation you find yourself in in this cozy mystery RPG. Based on PbtA, and drawing influence from nostalgic mystery procedurals (the playbooks are named after famous crime solvers from Miss Marple to Michael Knight), this game started with the players giving each other “gifts” to help build up their characters. And then at the end of the mystery, after you gather all the clues, the denouement / detective’s monologue are completely up to the players to decide who dun it (the mysteries and clues are predefined but the culprit is not), which takes a lot of the tension off of getting it right. Overall it was a lot of fun, and we hope to play another session soon.

Coyote and Crow

The game is already cool enough, taking place in an alternate timeline where travel between continents is all but impossible, so the North American native cultures were never touched by colonialism. What results is a vibrant, fully-realized world that revels in a culture that we are surrounded by the echoes of here in the USA. But the real highlight of this game (which I’ve owned a copy of since the kickstarter but was always a little intimidated by) was our GM, who just blew us all away with his dramatic flourishes that really drew out some amazing and deeply touching stories from the players. He was able to effortlessly reach into our psyches, pulling out our deepest insecurities and weaving them into our narratives in a safe-feeling way. He was native himself, and one of the contributors to the game, meaning the experience was even more authentic as a result. He was able to effortlessly reach into our psyches, pulling out our deepest insecurities and weaving them into our narratives in a safe-feeling way. I am always a fan of learning about cultures that are not my own, and this was a good way to do so with play in a safe space. C&C was our last session of the con, and it really was a good way to go out on a high note.

Arcs

The only board game to make this list this year (which is kinda a shame since I wanted to play a lot more of them than I managed to, with the exception of my daily games with a friend of mine on BGA), Arcs is a masterclass in simple mechanics combining to make a deep and intricate gestalt. At its core it’s a 4X game, but turn mechanics and victory conditions are all determined by a simple trick-taking mechanic. (I’ve said “mechanics” so often it’s lost all meaning, there has to be a better word.) It looks gorgeous as well, and I’m excited to get it the table more often in the new year!

Bloomburrow

The first two Magic sets (well, premier sets) of the year were kind of disappointing, which is a shame because I had had high hopes for the both of them. So I was worried going into the third set that it would let us down as well. Turns out I needn’t have worried. Wizards took a world where everyone was tiny, cute woodland creatures (even visitors from outside the plane who got transformed to match the theme) and realized it as a fun, strong set with great mechanics and draft themes that worked really well together. It was a masterclass on how to make archetypes that seem like they would be completely unrelated, but then making hinge cards that effortlessly combine two themes in a way that may not be obvious at first but once you start playing with them you see how subtly the interactions work to bring the two themes together. It was a home run as far as I’m concerned and I hope we return to Valley sooner rather than later (I did get my wish somewhat in Foundations, with both Bloomburrow reprints and new cards set on the plane appearing.) Which leads us to…

Magic Foundations

If you had told me that 2024 would have what is pretty much the best core set since Alpha, I’m not sure I would have believed you. If you had told me that it was one of the best sets period from the past few years, I’d really be wondering why you came from the future and were telling me this of all things and not, like, the winning lotto numbers (or at the very least tell me to start looking for jobs in Germany), but hey, we all have our priorities. Magic Foundations nailed what a core set always had the potential to be, a taste of all of what Magic has to offer, both mechanically and flavorwise, in a set that has a great draft environment and a very novel approach to putting cards in Standard without having to have them make sense in Limited as well (thanks to the Beginner Box cards). Past core sets have often fallen into the trap of thinking beginner friendly equated to low power level or low mechanical complexity. And while that certainly is true to an extent, the sets that have brought the most new players to Magic (i.e. Lord of the Rings, and Ravnica and Zendikar before that) have been anything but. In fact complexity is often something that draws players in past their first few decks and intrigues them into exploring the full infinite possibilities in this game I love. It also brought back one of my favorite ways to play Magic in Jump Start, with a high-enough power level to ensure that the Jump Start packs are constantly sold out (it’s a blessing and a curse)

Potionomics

One of the coziest, cutest video games I came across last year is Potionomics, a game that feels like it was created with a laser focus on appealing to me, specifically. One of my favorite genres of games are card-based deckbuilding roguelikes like Slay the Spire. This game takes that core mechanic and mixes it with dating elements in a way that I love. The setting is a fantasy world where you are a plucky young potions brewer trying to grow your shop and defeat (and later befriend and/or date) your rivals. The humor is really cute, the art is pretty, and it’s got queer rep as well, but what really grabbed me are the selection of dateable characters. You have:

Nonbinary disaster lesbian witch

Demonic mommy domme

Moth girl

Deer-antlered fae woman (with a wooden prosthetic and fondness for smoking herbs)

Spunky blue-haired pop star

Energetic adventurer girl

In other words it’s a bit like if you took all my headmates and made them dateable characters. And in the update that came out late this year there’s even a polyamory mode, so I can make one big, queer, loving polycule as I improve the lives of this small community of adventurers.

MagicCon Vegas

I saved the best for last (even if that broke the chronological order somewhat but oh well it’s my list I’ll do what I want.)

This is the third Magic event I went to in Vegas, and like those two I was judging again. But unlike those two, I didn’t go to this Con alone, nor was the Con the highlight of the trip. You see, in the week or so leading up to the event we started making plans of how to spend our time (we had a day in Vegas before the Con to fill) and I happened to notice that our hotel was right next door to a wedding chapel. Ha ha, I said to my then-partner (foreshadowing!). Wouldn’t it be funny if…

But then we thought about it a little more. After all, we have the time and the money. And we’ve been engaged for four years almost, and we’re not any closer to actually having… And the elections are coming up and if things go wrong… And it sure would be a fun story to tell… And… and… and…

And we “Hahaha unless…”ed ourselves into (drum roll) getting married!

I’ll back up a bit. We got engaged in 2020, and while we have been planning to some extent what we wanted our wedding to look like, we suffer from the millennial affliction of “not having any savings” and in addition our ADHD makes it difficult for any of us to plan things that are more than a few weeks out. So when the thoughts about the possibility started swirling they really just started making more and more sense. So I made some calls, compared some options, and before I knew it we had an appointment to get married in (I shudder to think about how fast we were able to arrange it but) just over a week! Another last minute change we were able to make was to book our mutual nesting partner on a plane for a whirlwind trip to Vegas with us to be our witness. Fae also wove us a handfasting rope because we always liked that option for its symbolism in addition to it being a pagan ritual, and it was a way for our partner to be present in the ceremony in a very real way.

Then the day came. We got on a flight at the ass-crack of dawn, landed in Vegas and went straight to the courthouse to get our license, then to the wedding venue for a meeting to set up the ceremony. After that we spent the afternoon, well, sleeping mostly, and getting ready for the big event. But it wasn’t long before we were being picked up in a limo for the big event.

Our venue was a rooftop garden with a lovely gazebo. We were truly blessed by the weather and the timing, as we had our ceremony just as the sun was setting. The ceremony was livestreamed so that our mutual girlfriend and those who we would have loved to have join us could still take part even if not in person. The result was truly magical. My then-partner-now-wife (I told you the choice of words would make sense) and I walked down the aisle to Home from the Undertale soundtrack, exchanged our handwritten vows with tears streaming down our faces to the ED from Frieren (I told you it would come up again!), our hands and lives were bound together, and with the pinkest fluffiest clouds I’ve ever seen behind us, we joined our lives together for eternity, and I was the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. (And still am).

A lot of other fun stuff happened at the con. I got to work with two judges I was a fan of from YouTube and podcasts, got to meet some influencers, got a hug from Ben Ulmer of LRR, played in a fun Unknown event with Matt Tabak and Mark Rosewater, who I was able to meet and let know how much the game he is such an integral part of has shaped my life, and overall had a great Con. I also really loved being able to show off Vegas, one of my favorite cities to visit, to my partners who had either never been or only ever been off-strip before, including splurging on dinner at Gordon Ramsey’s pub at Caesar’s, and participating in a fun escape room just before our flight home (our partner had to leave the day after the wedding, sadly, so it was just the two of us, but we were in a room designed for exactly two players that involved us being chained to one another), but really those all pale in comparison to the actual high point of us getting married!

Conclusion

Well 2024 was one of the Years of all Time for us. It can be easy to let the end of the year cloud our memories of it, but looking back, it really was an amazing time. Some of the best experiences that I will treasure for the rest of my life happened in those ten months, and life didn’t stop after that. I’m still with the ones I love, I am still married, we are still persevering and we will continue to do so going forward. There are bound to be a lot of changes coming up, and 2025 is going to be a tumultuous year no matter what, but we are strong together. I love my partners so much, and I’m so happy I get to be with them even if dark times loom ahead.

#personal stuff #violet muses #2024 #retrospective #year in review #year 2024 #anime #games #tv shows #etc

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foreverinastory · 8 months ago

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🌈 Hey Rainbow Readers! Happy Pride! We have several fun genre lists heading your way this month. All of these lists will feature between 10-20 books and all books on it will have under 5,000 Goodreads ratings, with a handful on each being under 1,000! Our goal is to introduce you to new books you might have never seen otherwise. These will be a mix of indie and traditional books; and range in age category! Our next list is Superqueero books!

This is for readers who love books like Hero by Mike Perry, I am Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee, and X-Men or Avengers comics! For this list, we defined superhero books as books that take place in a relatively urban area where the MC fights crime, wears a costume, or has powers/abilities beyond those of ordinary people.

Do you have any others you would add to this list? Authors please feel free to self-promote your superqueero books in the comments!

Follow along with #RCPride2024 to find all our themed lists and reels to come this month!

Books Listed:

Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault

I am Not Starfire by Mariko Tamaki, Art by Yoshi Yoshitani

Masks: Rose of Heroes by Hayden Thorne

Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by Jadzia Axelrod, Art by Jess Taylor

Trial by Fire by Lore Graham

Aquaman: The Becoming by Brandon Thomas with Art by Olortegui, Von Grawbadger & Lucas

Scatter by Molly J. Bragg

New Mutants 31 (2019-2022) by Charlie Jane Anders, Art by Jiménez Alburquerque, Stein & Brandt

Draw the Line by Laurent Linn

The Power of Mercy by Fiona Zedde

Silhouette by Robin Hale

Cute Mutants Volume 1 Deluxe Edition by SJ Whitby

No More Heroes by Michelle Kan

You Brought Me the Ocean by Alex Sanchez, Art by Jul Maroh

Song: Superhero Origin Story - Global Genius

#pride month #queer books #book recs #queer reader #rainbow crate #pride recs #read queer all year #superhero #superqueero

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theuniversalrecord · 5 years ago

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ADVANCE: Nebula Labs (part 1)

Author: L. A. Lanquist

Content Warnings: References to ableist language, imposter syndrome

Advance: Nebula Labs (part 1)

Nebula Labs: “The place where the future becomes realized.” It’s a bit of an over-the-top motto, but people don’t really think about that because, well, Nebula Labs is an over-the-top experience. When people go to the talks and the demonstrations and the expositions that show off the fancy new gadgets Quinn “Q” Foster and their people came up with, they see flashy new ideas with research to back it up. They see charismatic speakers telling everyone how this new invention will change the world. And everyone believes it once they hear Q talk--when they think about how far Human technology has come since back on Earth. They think about the Brain-drive readers and the autoflyers and all of the other things Q themself came up with. And everyone believes that we can “leap into the future” as Q always says.

I believe that too--I guess if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here, at the Bayside District branch of Nebula Labs, ready for my first day. But I’m not one of those impressive people who give talks and make ground-breaking developments in science and tech. I just got lucky.

Just under a month ago, Nebula Labs hosted the Youth Advancement Competition and Fair, and I was one of the 100 winners. As a winner, I get to be a part of one of the Advance teams of Nebula Labs and learn alongside some other people my age from actual staff members of the Labs. So technically, I’m officially a part of the famous Nebula Labs. But I’m not a formally educated professional or a young visionary or an ambitious upstart. I’m just Leo. I just wanted to make an automated drone carrier to help my Mom when her chronic pain gets too bad. I honestly don’t know why they chose me as one of the winners. I was just hoping for a little grant money so I could build one that actually worked instead of a prototype.

Don’t get me wrong, though! I’m super excited! I get to actually work at a place as awesome as Nebula Labs! I’ll get to learn a lot, and I can maybe get a good reference to do some other interesting things in the future. Maybe I can also make some more friends while I’m at it.

But right now, as I’m standing outside the Bayside District branch of Nebula Labs, staring at the motto engraved on a stone plaque just ahead of the big glass doors, I can’t help but feel nervous. I mean--I saw some of the projects people were working on at the Competition. There were people working with enzymes and with quantum physics and with brain drive adaptation devices. Mine by comparison is nothing major--we’ve had drones and automation since the Earth days. I’m not exactly doing anything new.

Someone with bright purple hair tears past me towards the entrance doors. For a fraction of a second I almost think it’s Q in the flesh what with the bright hair color, but this is definitely not them. This person has a thinner build, white skin, and their hair is straight. They’re so different it’s hard for me to understand why I mixed them up.

Once I figure out they’re not Q, the dread hits me: I know who they are. I never got their name, but they were one of the most talked-about participants at the Competition. They’re doing something with Wormhole Mapping that’s really promising. There were even a few local papers that ran stories about them. They’re also someone I accidentally bumped into (literally) during the Competition. I was reading a text from one of my hometown friends wishing me luck and wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around me and then--wham. Neither of us fell down or anything, but it was definitely a heavy jostle. I apologized, but they were pissed. I only managed to get out of it because they were too busy to stick around to chew me out, but from their tongue click, glare, and angry shout of “Watch where you’re fucking going, asshole!” I can tell they probably wanted to shout some more.

Of all of the branches they would go to--why did it have to be this one? Thankfully they didn’t recognize me from behind, but there’s no way I’ll be able to avoid them forever.

“You going in, kid?”

I jump, just a little bit. It’s an adult, with long brown hair that falls off to the left, exposing a shaved side of their head and a heavily pierced ear. Their style clashes with the bored look their face has--big eyes and a slightly open mouth.

“Yeah--” I manage to squeak out--“just taking it all in.” Wow, Leo. Taking it all in? Well, not the worst thing I’ve said under pressure.

They take a long look at me, then glance down at their watch. It’s one of those vintage silicone watches with the grey tinted screen and the weird, segmented lettering. ��Well, suit yourself, kid. Don’t be late.” And they proceed to walk inside.

It can’t be that late, though. I got here at 8:30. I check my phone.

8:45.

Oh jeez--I am gonna be late. I still need to check in and find room 420!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I make it to the room at 8:54 only because I ran (I really did think the room was going to be farther away), and I walk in at 8:55 after waiting for my face to stop feeling so hot.

The room is small, four rolling chairs: three facing forward to the screen and the white boards, and one facing the other chairs off to the side next to the screen. Two of the three forward-facing chairs are filled. Seated in the middle of the three chairs is a girl who also looks like she’s about fourteen, tall with blonde braided hair, staring straight at her phone. Next to her on the chair farthest from the door is--by my own lack of luck--the angry purple-haired person from before, facing away from the girl. I guess I could look at the situation optimistically and think about how it’s lucky that the angry person’s not next to the empty seat, but that’s a bit of a stretch.

But hey! That girl might be nice. I went into this hoping that I could maybe find a friend, so let’s try our best!

So I sit down and ask the girl, “Why are you here?”

Fuck. She slowly looks up from her phone looking like… well… like I was a weirdo, which isn’t far off from the truth at this point.

“Wait--no--I meant--uhh like what was your project on?” Fuck. There’s no salvaging this.

She says simply, “Extreme distance laser perception.”

Long distance laser perception. I don’t have the slightest clue how you would study that. Or what the use of that could be.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“What’s your name?”

“Emily. She/her.”

“Cool. I’m Leo. He/him.”

“Nice to meet you.”

I really don’t know what else to say. Do I ask about her research? But what if the question I ask is so stupid that--

“What did you do?” she asks.

“Automated flying drones based off of Cephalo ships.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit different from what you did,” I say.

“Yeah.”

I get the feeling that she’s just not a very talkative person, maybe?

“That’s all you two could come up with?” the angry person sneers from the side.

Emily and I both turn to look--her, still composed; me, uncomfortable. Neither of us says anything.

“There was a whole year of time before the competition and all you could come up with were some long range lights and a drone that flies itself? I mean, the first one could be useful for reading the distance of a planet, but we’ve had drones for fifty years. What a joke. How did you even get selected? No one cares about drones that can pilot themselves these days!”

“Shut up!” I force out.

Look--it’s true that I don’t really deserve to be here, especially compared to someone who’s doing something so important as Wormhole Mapping, but that last part makes me mad. I’ve seen so many people say things like that to my dad--about how he should just go to the store himself and how he does it on some days but not others so why make his kid go to the store instead of focusing on being a kid. They don’t know anything, and they’ve never cared enough to learn.

“What did you just say?” They cock their head to the side and their purple hair sweeps ever so slightly over their face. Their chin is forward in a challenge.

“Just because you don’t know anything about it doesn’t mean people don’t care about it, so shut up.” I’m glaring past Emily, now, who’s slowly rolling backward in her chair away from the two of us.

“Oh I remember you now--you’re the fucker that bumped into me!” They stand. “Is that how you got in? You try to take someone else out of the game with stunts like that?”

I stand up, too. No way am I going to just take this without a fight. But as I’m thinking of what to say back, the door opens.

In walks the person who spoke to me out front with the piercings and the old-school watch, but their bored expression is now gone. In its place is a tight smile with their big eyes now squinting with a sharp stare.

“Glad to see you’re all getting along, because fighting isn’t allowed, and I’d hate for you to lose this opportunity to work at Nebula Labs.”

No one moves.

“Please take your seats,” they say. “We have a video for you to watch, and then we’ll make our introductions.” The two of us sit, Emily scoots her way back forward, and the video starts. It’s a brief, one-size-fits-all video of Q that talks about Nebula Labs and its mission. Q’s narration voices over images of the main branch in The Capital and of this one in the Bayside District, as well as a few photos of smiling staff members. It ends, dramatically, with the same motto that was on the placard outside: The place where the future becomes realized. The screen transitions to white and the music fades out.

“Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way--” the pierced person from before starts--“My name is Robin Graham. They/them or she/her. I study delayed imaging, which I believe is going to be most familiar to you,” they say to Emily. “For you two, delayed imaging relies on multiple cameras, so to speak, placed at various extreme distances imaging the same place to get photographs of that place at different times. That’s the bare minimum, but you’ll be learning plenty about it over the next year or so.”

I almost expect the purple-haired angry person from before to roll their eyes or make some comment about how they already knew what delayed imaging is, but when I glance over, they’re staring at Mx. Graham in something akin to awe. It’s a weird shift, if I’m being honest.

“So long as you all follow the rules,” Mx. Graham continues with a pointed stare to both me and the purple-haired person, “you’ll be guaranteed to be able to learn from experts for the next year before the Winter Tech Summit in The Capital. You’ll also be allowed to participate in the Winter Tech Summit in some capacity, though what you do will be determined by an in-house competition in the Fall.

“At that competition, each submission will be judged by Q, themself, as well as a panel of experts within Nebula Labs each with their own specialty. Those that do well will end up presenting. Those that do poorly will end up doing support work to ensure things go smoothly and can try again in a future year.”

This sounds amazing! I know I don’t have a chance of doing something like presenting at the conference, but I might be able to meet some people who’d be interested in making production actually possible.

Mx. Graham continues, “As you all know, there were a total of 100 chosen winners of the Youth Advancement Competition. It’s likely, however, that some of them have already chosen not to continue on and that some will drop out as time goes on for various reasons. In that regard, I can’t prepare you just yet for who will be on the teams going up against you three--”

“What?” The purple-haired person says.

“Is there a problem, Kiran?” Mx. Graham asks, acting innocently.

All the purple-haired person--no--all that Kiran says is: “Teams?”

“Oh yes, you three will be working on a team together.”

“What?” Kiran is looking more and more irate as the seconds pass.

“If that’s a problem for you, you can always leave,” Mx. Graham says with a smile. “Each of the teams were compiled by Q, themself, so it’s a take-it-or-leave-it kind of situation. It would be a shame to have you go, but if teamwork isn’t something you can do, Nebula labs isn’t right for you.”

Kiran stays with their shoulders tense and their teeth gritted, but does not say another word.

“Good. Glad to see you’ll all be continuing on. I look forward to working with you all as your team leader.”

And that was that. Maybe I should leave after all.

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interact-if · 3 years ago

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[ID: Anonymous ask that reads: “Hi, do you know of any IFs with a MC that has an artistic talent or options for one? Could be anything really, drawing, singing, playing an instrument, something like that. Thanks!” /end ID]

Hi Anon,

Sorry, we deleted your ask by mistake, here is a list of IFs fitting your request! If anyone else has further suggestions, feel free to reply below where we will add those that fit in the list.

Completed:

A Player's Heart by Melissa Scott (Part of the opera)

Ballads at Midnight by @synstoria (Bard)

Cannonfire Concerto by Caleb Wilson (Musician)

Choice of Rock Star by Jonathan Zimmerman

Exquisite Cadaver by @manonamora-if (Writer)

Rock Robin (VN) by @happybackwards (Rock Band)

The Gray Painter by William Loman (18+)

The Play's the Thing by Jo Graham and Amy Griswold (Playwright)

Jazz Age by Nicola R. White

Demos:

Attollo by @attollogame (Option to be an artist)

Band Camp Boyfriend (VN) by @lovebirdgames (band)

Body Count by @bodycountgame (Option to be an artist)

Dear Diary, We Created a Plot Hole! by @ddwcaph-game (Writer and can be an aspiring artist/singer/musician)

Golden by @milaswriting (If music/photography has been chosen as a hobby)

Larkin by @larkin-if

Merry Crisis by @merrycrisis-if (Option to be in a band)

Our Life (VN) by @gbpatchupdates

The Eight Years Revolution by @eight-years-revolution

The Northern Passage by @northern-passage

No Demos:

Ear Candy by @earcandy-if (In a band)

Dancing with the Devil by dancingwthedavil-if (band)

#if: rec list #musicals #artistic

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yurikaarisu · 3 years ago

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Hi, I'm not sure if you take requests here, but if you're still updating your otome tier maker list could you please add:

Callum from The Confines of the Crown (he's the secret route). Also Gaston is included in your list, and whilst he does have a route he's not actually an LI for the MC, his servant Colette is

xyx from Blooming Panic (his route got added after initial release)

LIs from Regency Love (iOS): Mr Ashcroft, Mr Graham, & Mr Curtis

LIs from Oathbreaker: Raelan, Virion, Argandea, Alwenn, & Lea (same dev as Cardinal Cross)

LIs from Ascension (flash game, there have been some newer remakes but were either abandoned or still a WIP): Zander, Jace, Faelern, & Kole (same dev as Cardial Cross)

LIs from Red-Handed Robin: Jay & Wren

LIs from Magical Diary Horse Hall: Damien, Donald, Ellen, Virginia, Professor Grabiner, & Steve

Sorry for so many requests! Thanks for making the tier list in the first place, and thanks in advance if you do add any of these 💖

I’m sorry I can’t update it anymore because I deleted the Twitter acc associated with it without thinking 😭 (and then someone took my old username and got their acc suspended so no hope there) I actually just realized it. That being said, if I still have the folder with all the pictures of the LIs on my old computer, I’ll make a new one and add in the requests. It’ll probably be a few days though. I can @ you in the replies of this post once I find out what I’ll do if you’d like?

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lovestruckvoltage · 5 years ago

Photo

Astoria: Fate's Kiss & Astoria: Lost Kisses Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Medusa (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Alex Cyprin (they/them, non-binary, queer) - romanceable Persephone (she/her, pansexual) Charybdis (she/her, pansexual) Chimera Prime (she/her, queer) Scylla (she/her, lesbian) Eryn (she/her, lesbian) Stheno (she/her, bisexual) Euryale (she/her, lesbian) Aphrodite (she/her, Goddess Of Love, queer) Nyela (she/her, bisexual) Eagle Sanders (he/him, bisexual) Ladon (he/him, queer) Robin (they/them, non-binary, questioning) Josh (he/him, aromantic, asexual) Astoria Heroine’s Mom (she/her, bisexual) May Chan (she/her, pansexual) Megara (she/her, bisexual) Arachne (she/her, lesbian) Athena (she/her, aromantic, asexual)

Gangsters in Love Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Aurora James (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Skylar Locke (she/her, bisexual) Amelia Wu (she/her, bisexual)

Castaway! Love's Adventure Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Serena Zhang (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Clyde Hughes (he/him, bisexual) - romanceable Joaquin Ortega (he/him, pansexual) - romanceable Olivia Rossi (she/her, lesbian)

Love & Legends Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Iseul Idreis (he/him, pansexual) - romanceable Altea Bellerose (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Helena Klein (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Sophie Lawrence & Solaire Lightwing (she/her, pansexual) Ryland Goldhart (he/him, bisexual) Imohn Idreis (they/them, non-binary, aromantic, asexual) Ishara Idreis (she/her, pansexual) Witch Queen (she/her, bisexual) Mireille Mercier (she/her, lesbian) Lisette Hallis-Falke (she/her, lesbian) Della Falke (she/her, bisexual) Heloise Falke (she/her, questioning) Caligo Hawkeye (he/him, pansexual) Amelia (she/her, queer)

Speakeasy Tonight Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Sofia Martinez (she/her, bisexual) - romanceable Fryderyka aka Freddie (she/her, lesbian) Evelyn Moy (she/her, lesbian) Elliot Graham (he/him, bisexual)

Starship Promise Jessa Flexand (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Alien Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Nova (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Zhora Leonis (she/her, pansexual) - romanceable Gamma (they/them, queer) Dr.Xendalia (she/her, lesbian) Wyst Pochny (she/her, queer) Kora Thale (she/her, lesbian) Roux Caldera (they/them, queer) Astrid Moon (she/her, queer) Keda Meridian (she/her, queer)

To Love & Protect Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Ellis Cooper (he/him, pansexual) - romanceable Madison Lane (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Cal Egret (she/her, lesbian) Kashvi Dabral (she/her, lesbian)

Havenfall is for Lovers Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Mackenzie Hunt (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Jordan 'JD' Davies (they/them, queer) - romanceable Razi Nassar (he/him, pansexual) - romanceable Vanessa Helsing (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Antonio Vasquez (he/him, bisexual) - romanceable Annabelle Sheppard (she/her, bisexual) Damien Rider (he/him, bisexual) Grace (she/her, bisexual) Gwen Doran (she/her, pansexual) Hikari Hayashi (she/her, pansexual) Mothman (they/them, bigender, queer) Roshni Nassar (she/her, pansexual) Liliane Labasque (she/her, lesbian) Evangelina Vasquez (she/her, trans, heterosexual) Rahim Nassar (he/him, gay) Levana Helsing (she/her, asexual biromantic) John Lapin (he/him, asexual biromantic) Nessie (she/her, pansexual) Baphomet (they/them, queer)

Villainous Nights Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Andi Kim (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Renzei Feng (he/him, pansexual) - romanceable Lorelei Linden (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable [REDACTED] aka Bat ([REDACTED]) Robin (they/them, queer) Miguel Santos (he/him, gay) Scarlet Brighid (she/her, lesbian) Juliette (she/her, pansexual) - romanceable Dahlia London (she/her, bisexual) Ezekiel Dorian (he/him, pansexual)

Sweet Enchantments New Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Nysa Dawnvale (she/her, pansexual) - romanceable Marcel Everbloom (he/him, trans, gay) Thaddeus Moore (he/him, gay) Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Runa Amberthorne (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Zain Blackwood (he/him, bisexual) - romanceable Liora Skyheart (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Emeril Everbloom (she/her, demisexual lesbian) - romanceable Kamila Rosenchild (she/her, bisexual) Zola Knightbrand (she/her, lesbian) Mr. Pondworthy (he/him, gay) Silvain Wintertide (he/him, pansexual) Elyscia Volalin (she/her, asexual biromantic) Axia Bloodsparrow (she/her, pansexual)

Queen of Thieves Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Nikolai Stirling (he/him, demisexual pansexual) -romanceable Vivienne Tang (she/her, lesbian) -romanceable Remy Chevalier (he/him, bisexual) -romanceable Zoe Banks (she/her, lesbian) -romanceable Jett Slater (he/him, bisexual) -romanceable Jace (they/them, queer) Ariana Nassar (she/her, lesbian) Daisa Khoury (she/her, bisexual) Raveena Patel (she/her, demisexual) Clemance Bardot (she/her, bisexual) Claudia Ribeiro (she/her, bisexual) Domino (she/her, lesbian) Inez Serrano (she/her, bisexual) Nadia (she/her, lesbian) Penny (she/her, pansexual) Casimir Vederevsky (he/him, gay) Benoit Dupont (he/him, gay)

Sin With Me Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Wrath (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Onyx Wren (she/her, bisexual) - romanceable Malakai Collins (he/him, demisexual) - romanceable Yvette Holte (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Ripley (she/her, lesbian) Vinca (she/her, lesbian) Nero (he/him, pansexual) Nahara (she/her, bisexual demisexual) Nitsa (she/her, lesbian) Sage (she/her, lesbian) Trudy Goode (she/her, pansexual)

Reigning Passions Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Amara (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Sevastian (he/him, pansexual) - romanceable Lyris (he/him, pansexual) - romanceable Xenia (she/her, bisexual) - romanceable Hazel: (she/her, trans, lesbian) Galen: (they/them, queer) Piama (she/her, pansexual) Edera (she/her, bisexual) Safir (she/her, lesbian) Hortensia (she/her, bisexual) Nisse (she/her, bisexual) Thea (she/her, lesbian) Rosie (she/her, bisexual) Ruelle (she/her, bisexual)

Drawn Together Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Tess (she/her, pansexual)

3 Tattoos Heroine (she/her, bisexual)

Events Pride Month 2017 Emily Verma (she/her, lesbian) Codename Shield (she/her, bisexual)

Halloween 2017 Heroine (she/her, bisexual) Wendy Li (she/her, lesbian)

Ever After Academy MC (she/her, bisexual) MC (he/him, gay) Nora (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Lucas (he/him, gay) - romanceable Arin (they/them, queer) Darla (she/her, lesbian)

Tales of the Wild Della (she/her, bisexual) Revi (she/her, lesbian) - romanceable Maeve (she/her, bisexual)

Wicked Lawless Love MC (she/her, bisexual) Cecelia (she/her, bisexual) - romancable Fiona (she/her, lesbian) Ada (she/her, bisexual)

#lovestruck

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lafflanes · 2 years ago

Text

i decided to write down all the names on the name generator in Toontown Rewritten for convenience sake (since the TTR wiki doesnt seem to have it, and TTR has more names in the name generator than TTO did), and i thought itd be useful for other people as well!!

the list is under the cut, theres a looooot of names so i just grouped them by letter

please let me know if i left out or misspelled anything!

Title: Aunt Baron, Big Cap'n, Captain, Chef, Chief, Coach, Colonel, Cool, Count, Crazy Daring, Deputy, Dippy, Doctor, Dr., Duke Fancy, Fat Good ol', Grand ol', Granny, Grumpy Judge King Lady, Little, Loopy, Loud, Lucky Madame, Master, Miss, Mister, Mr., Mrs. Noisy Prince, Princess, Prof. Queen Sergeant, Sheriff, Silly, Sir, Skinny, Super Ugly Weird

First: Abigail, Albert, Alice, Alvin, Angel, April, Arnold, Astrid, Astro, Aurora B.D., Banjo, Barbara, Barney, Bart, Batty, Beany, Beatrix, Bebop, Becky, Bella, Bentley, Beppo, Bert, Billy, Bingo, Binky, Biscuit, Bizzy, Blinky, Bob, Bonbon, Bongo, Bonkers, Bonnie, Bonzo, Boo Boo, Boots, Bouncey, Bridget, Bruce, Bubbles, Bud, Buford, Bumpy, Bunky, Buster, Butch, Buzz C.J., C.W., Candy, Carol, Casper, Cecil, Chester, Chewy, Chip, Chipper, Chirpy, Chunky, Claire, Clancy, Clara, Clarence, Cliff, Clover, Clyde, Coconut, Comet, Cookie, Corky, Corny, Cranky, Crazy, Cricket, Crumbly, Cuckoo, Cuddles, Curly, Curt Daffodil, Daffy, Daphne, Darla, Dave, Davey, David, Dee Dee, Dinky, Dizzy, Domino, Dot, Dottie, Drippy, Droopy, Duchess, Dudley, Duke, Dusty, Dynamite Elmer, Ernie Fancy, Fangs, Felix, Finn, Fireball, Flapjack, Flappy, Fleabag, Flint, Flip, Flora, Fluffy, Freckles, Fritz, Frizzy, Funky, Furball Gale, Garfield, Gary, Giggles, Ginger, Graham, Grouchy, Gulliver, Gus, Gwen Hans, Harry, Harvey, Hazel, Hector, Holly, Hoppy, Huddles, Huey J.C., J.J., Jack, Jackie, Jacques, Jade, Jake, Jay, Jazzy, Jellyroll, Jenny, Jester, Jimmy, Johnny, Jonah, Joyce Kiki, Kippy, Kit, Knuckles Ladybug, Lancelot, Leo, Leonardo, Leroy, Lily, Lionel, Lloyd, Lollipop, Loony, Loopy, Louie, Lucky, Lucy, Lulu Mabel, Mac, Maggie, Marigold, Mary, Max, Maxie, Maxwell, Melody, Midge, Midnight, Mildew, Miles, Milton, Mitzi, Mo Mo, Moe, Molly, Monty, Murky Nathan, Ned, Nelly, Nutmeg, Nutty Octavia, Olaf, Olive, Olivia, Orville, Oscar, Oswald, Ozzie P.J., Pancake, Patsy, Patty, Peaches, Peanut, Pearl, Pebbles, Penelope, Penny, Pepper, Peppy, Petunia, Phil, Pickles, Pierre, Pinky, Pippy, Poe, Popcorn, Poppy, Presto, Punchy Rainbow, Raven, Reggie, Rhubarb, Ricky, Robin, Rocco, Rodney, Roger, Rollie, Romeo, Rory, Roscoe, Rose, Rosey, Rosie, Rover, Roxy, Ruby, Rusty Sadie, Sally, Salty, Sammie, Sandy, Sassy, Scooter, Skids, Skip, Skipper, Skippy, Slippy, Slumpy, Smirky, Smudge, Snappy, Sneezy, Sniffy, Snuffy, Soupy, Spiffy, Spike, Spotty, Spunky, Squeaky, Star, Stinky, Stripey, Stubby, Sunny, Sunshine, Susan, Sylvia Taffy, Tammy, Teddy, Tegan, Tex, Tom, Tricky, Trixie, Truffles, Tubby, Tutu, Twister Ursula Valentine, Velma, Veronica, Vicky, Violet, von Wacko, Wacky, Waldo, Wally, Wendy, Wesley, Whiskers, Whitney, Wilbur, William, Willow, Winnie Yappy, Yippie Z.Z., Zach, Zachary, Zany, Ziggy, Zilly, Zippety, Zippy, Zoinks, Zowie

Last (first part): Bagel, Banana, Barnacle, Bean, Beanie, Biggen, Bizzen, Blubber, Boingen, Bumber, Bumble, Bumpen Cheezy, Crinkle, Crumble, Crunchen, Crunchy, Cuddle Dandy, Dizzen, Dizzy, Doggen, Dyno Electro Feather, Fiddle, Fizzle, Flippen, Flipper, Flower, Fluffen, Frazzle, Frinkel, Fumble, Funny, Fuzzy Giggle, Glitter, Google, Grumble, Gumdrop Honey, Huckle, Hula Jabber, Jeeper, Jelly, Jiffy, Jiggle, Jingle, Jinx, Jumble Kooky Laffen, Lemon, Loopen Mac, Mc, Mega, Mizzen Nickel Octo Paddle, Pale, Pedal, Pepper, Petal, Pickle, Pillow, Pinker, Poodle, Poppen, Precious, Pumpkin, Purple Razzle, Rhino, Riddle, Robo, Rocken, Ruffle Slimey, Smarty, Snaggle, Sniffle, Snorkel, Sour, Spackle, Sparkle, Squiggle, Super, Swinkle Thunder, Tinker, Toppen, Tricky, Tweedle, Twiddle, Twinkle Wacky, Weasel, Whisker, Whistle, Wild, Witty, Wonder, Wrinkle Ziller, Zippen, Zooble

Last (second part): batch, bee, beep, berry, blabber, bocker, boing, boom, bop, bounce, bouncer, brains, bubble, bumble, bump, bumper, burger, butter chomp, corn, crash, crumbs, crump, crunch dazzle, doodle, dorf face, fidget, fink, fish, flap, flapper, flinger, flip, flipper, fluff, fuddy, fussen gabber, gadget, gloop, glop, glow, goober, goose, grin, grooven, grump hoffer, hopper jinks klunk, knees loop, loose marble, mash, masher, melon, mew, monkey, mooch, muddle, muffin, mush nerd, noodle, nose, nugget paws, phew, phooey, pocket, poof, pop, pounce, pow, pretzel quack roni scooter, screech, smirk, snooker, snoop, snout, socks, son, song, sparkles, speed, spinner, splat, sprinkles, sprocket, squeak, sticks, stink, swirl tail, teeth, thud, toes, ton, toon, tooth, twist whatsit, whip, whirl, wicket, wig, wiggle, wire, woof zaner, zap, zapper, zilla, zoom, zoop

#doing this made my brain turn to soup #also i find it so amusing that cookie is a name in the generator #anyone who follows my main can probably guess why lmao #strato says #toontown #toontown rewritten #save

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hits1000 · 3 years ago

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Greatest Hits of 2019 | Top Music Hits 2019 | Mix Hits 2019 [2010s Hits]

Greatest Hits of 2019 | Top Music Hits 2019 | Mix Hits 2019 [2010s Hits] Greatest Hits of 2019 including: 5 Seconds of Summer – Easier, Alan Walker, Sabrina Carpenter & Farruko - On My Way, Anne-Marie & James Arthur - Rewrite The Stars, Ariana Grande - 7 rings, Ariana Grande – Breathin, Ava Max - Sweet but Psycho, Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber - I Don't Care and many more! Subscribe to our channel to see more of our content! Related Searches: Greatest Hits of 2019, Best Jukebox 2019 Playlist, Late 2019 Non Stop , Top 2019 Non Stop, Mix 2019 Compilation, Best 2019 List, Late 2019 UK, Best 2019 Playlist, Best 2019 Non Stop, Best 2019 Video, Greatest 2019 Non Stop, Mix 2019 Playlist, Best Jukebox 2019 List, List of 2019 Mix, Top 2019 USA, Best Songs of 2019, Top Music 2019, Hits of 2019 Related Channels: K-Music, Ultra Lists, Younger days, Music Hits, DJ Crayfish, Redlist, Music Express, Some Random Guy, Francis Pelletier, MarioMex International Mixes, Top Culture, Related Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52XgboR5azY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIJfYix8RUI 1. 5 Seconds of Summer - Easier 2. Adel Tawil ft. Peachy - Tu m'appelles 3. Alan Walker ft. AuRa & Tomine Harket - Darkside 4. Alan Walker, Sabrina Carpenter & Farruko - On My Way 5. Angèle - Balance Ton Quoi 6. Anne-Marie & James Arthur - Rewrite The Stars 7. Ariana Grande - 7 rings 8. Ariana Grande - Breathin 9. Ava Max - So Am I 10. Ava Max - Sweet but Psycho 11. Ava Max - Torn 12. Bazzi ft. Camila Cabello - Beautiful 13. Bebe Rexha - Not 20 Anymore 14. Benji & Fede - Dove e Quando 15. Beyoncé - Spirit 16. Billie Eilish - When the party's over 17. Bombai - Vuela 18. Boomdabash - Per Un Milione 19. Boulevard des Airs ft. Vianney - Allez reste 20. BTS ft. Halsey - Boy With Luv 21. Calvin Harris, Rag'n'Bone Man - Giant 22. Charli XCX & Troye Sivan - 1999 23. Clean Bandit ft. Ellie Goulding - Mama 24. dArtagnan - Wallenstein 25. David Guetta, Bebe Rexha & J Balvin - Say My Name 26. Dermot Kennedy - Outnumbered 27. Dua Lipa - Swan Song 28. Duncan Laurence - Arcade 29. Dvicio, Taburete - 5 Sentidos 30. Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber - I Don't Care 31. Ellie Goulding, Diplo, Swae Lee - Close To Me 32. Fred De Palma ft. Ana Mena - Una volta ancora 33. Gesaffelstein & The Weeknd - Lost in the Fire 34. GIMS & Sting - Reste 35. Gloryhammer - Hootsforce 36. Gryffin, Slander ft. Calle Lehmann - All You Need To Know 37. Imagine Dragons - Bad Liar 38. Imagine Dragons - Birds 39. James Arthur - Falling Like The Stars 40. James Bay ft. Julia Michaels - Peer Pressure 41. James Blunt - Cold 42. Jax Jones, Bebe Rexha - Harder 43. Jax Jones, Martin Solveig, Madison Beer - All Day And Night 44. Jess Glynne - Thursday 45. Jonas Brothers - Cool 46. Jonas Brothers - Sucker 47. Jorge & Mateus - Tijolão 48. Julia Michaels ft. Niall Horan - What A Time 49. Katy Perry - Never Really Over 50. Khalid - Talk 51. Khalid, Kane Brown - Saturday Nights REMIX 52. Kygo & Whitney Houston - Higher Love 53. Kygo ft. Rita Ora - Carry On 54. Lady Antebellum - What If I Never Get Over You 55. Lady Gaga - Always Remember Us This Way 56. Lauren Daigle - You Say 57. Lewis Capaldi - Someone You Loved 58. Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus - Old Town Road 59. Little Mix ft. Nicki Minaj - Woman Like Me 60. Luan Santana ft. Mc Kekel - Vingança 61. Lukas Graham - Lie 62. Lukas Graham - Love Someone 63. M. Pokora - Les planètes 64. Mabel - Don't Call Me Up 65. Mahmood - Soldi 66. Marília Mendonça - Bem Pior Que Eu 67. Mariza - Quem Me Dera 68. Mark Ronson ft. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like a Heart 69. Marshmello & Kane Brown - One Thing Right 70. Martin Garrix ft. JRM - These Are The Times 71. Morat, Aitana - Presiento 72. Nenny - Bússola 73. Niall Horan - Nice To Meet Ya 74. OneRepublic - Rescue Me 75. OneRepublic - Somebody To Love 76. P!NK - Walk Me Home 77. Pietro Lombardi - Bella Donna 78. Post Malone - Circles 79. Rammstein - Deutschland 80. Robin Schulz ft. Harlœ - All This Love 81. Sam Smith - Fire On Fire 82. Sam Smith - How Do You Sleep? 83. Sam Smith, Normani - Dancing With A Stranger 84. Santiano ft. Alligatoah - Wie Zuhause 85. Sarah Connor - Vincent 86. Sebastián Yatra, Reik - Un Año 87. Shawn Mendes - If I Can't Have You 88. Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello - Señorita 89. Shinedown - Monsters 90. Takagi & Ketra, OMI, Giusy Ferreri - Jambo 91. Taylor Swift - You Need To Calm Down 92. Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie - ME! 93. Thalia, Gente de Zona - Lento 94. The Chainsmokers ft. Winona Oak - Hope 95. The Script - The Last Time 96. Tiësto, Jonas Blue & Rita Ora - Ritual 97. Tones And I - Dance Monkey 98. Twenty one pilots - Chlorine 99. Wind Rose - Diggy Diggy Hole 100. ZAYN, Zhavia Ward - A Whole New World Relate Hashtags: #listof2019mix #hits2019 #bestsongs2019 #classic2019playlist #greatest2019nonstop #best2019list #best2019video #top2019mix #greatest2019video #mix2019playlist #top2019nonstop #mix2019compilation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6YghL4OIy4

#80S Greatest Hits #Songs Of 1980S #Old Songs #80S Songs #80S Music Hits #80S Hits #80S Songs Playlist #Grea

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vm4vm0 · 4 years ago

Video

vimeo

Victoria Monet - Moment from Hunter Daly on Vimeo.

A film directed by Valentin Petit & produced by Ocurens.

-Producer: GERMAIN ROBIN -Production Coordinator: NAWEL FASSOULI -Exec. Production: ROBOT -Ex. Producer: LIAM JOHNSON -Head Of Prod: JOHN MACDONALD -Prod. Manager: LAURÈNE FURLAN -Prod. Coordinator: RICK TAYLOR -Prod. P.A: TICHAONA MHARAPARA -Cast. Coordinator: STEPHANIE KNOZER -Location Scout: ROBERT MC MURTIE / LUKE VAN AARDT / MADDIE MAGNER -VFX Company: ONEMORE -Supervisor: JOHNNY ALVES -Post-producer: MARINE PETIT -Supervisor: PEDRO CARVALHO GOMES -Compositor: EDDY RICHARD / PAUL MATHON -Sound Design: EMILIEN BERNAUX -Color Grading: ARTHUR PAUX -Typography: NATHAN ALMERAS -D.P: HUNTER DALY -1st AD: MATHIEU PEREZ -Steadycam: TÉVA VASSEUR -1st AC: ANGUS DE LA HARPE -VT Operator: LENNOX SIBUSISO -Loader: LEON SMITH -Tranee Loader: KYLE BRAND -Key Grip: CHRIS FABRE -Best Boy Grip: NICHOLAS RUTHVEN -Grip Assist: BARRY WYNNE / BATHANDWA MAYIJI -Gaffer: TYRON MOUNTJOY -Best Boy: ZOLANI GOJO -Spark: DANWILL DANHIELS / STEPHAN VAN DER MERWE -Genny Op: CHARLES HAKATA -SFX Sup: ANDREW ROBERTSON -SFX Assist: BRADLEY AFRICA / WHALDO DE KOCK -Key Rigger: ANTON MOON -Stunts Coordinator: JOSIE WALSH -Assist. Rigger: MARC HYLAND / GEORGE SCHOONRAAD -Techno Crane Op: FARUK MULLUM -Driver SIPHO EMMANUEL MFENGWANA -Drone Pilot: GRAHAM NEWTON -Camera Operator: NICOLE NENNING -Frog: JOE ROLLER/ IAN WELLS -Remote Head Tech: LESTER PLANT -VM Manager: RACHELLE JEAN LOUIS -Platoon Manager: CHARLOTTE BAKER -Strategic Advisor: CLAIRE MAS -Make Up VM: GRACE PAE -Hair Stylist VM: DAVONTAE WASHINGTON -Wardrobe Stylist: MAVUSO MBUTUMA -Wardrobe Assist: ELI NAPIER -MUH Artist: MICHELLE MOOLMAN -MUH Assist: MELISSA ROBERTS -Intern. Prod Chaperone: LALA PERLMAN -Artist Chaperone: CHRIS JORDAAN -Shuttle Driver: FAROOQ GAMIET -Unit Manager: BHEKI SHUSA -Unit Assist: PETER MASIANO -Unit Trainee. SIYA ZAZELA -Set PA: KRISTIAN PLOUGTCHIEV / LUNA JOHNSON / NICK DE NOBREGA -Telkom Towers ECO MARK WILMOT -Maidens Cove Eco DEBBY SWARTZ -Medic: MICHAEL DU PLOOY -Animal Wrangler: MARK MURRAY -Wranler Assist: ABDURAGMAAN WEBSTER -Animal Issues Matter Inspector: DEE TERBLANCHE -Catering Teal Leader: SAM MORO -Catering Driver: REGGIE MLABA -Catering cook: SOTENI LO -Catering Assistant: SIPHAMANDLA RADEBE -Craft Team Leader: BONGI THULELO -Craft Driver: XOLILE GWAYI -Craft Assistant: THANDI THULELO -Sixe Love: CLAIR VAN ZYL -Catering Team Leader: CARRI-ANN BUCHNER -Tank: SANDI-LEE SLABBERT / SNCM LIANDI WEBSTER -One League: LEE ANNE JOHNSON -Radical Crew: CHETNA BLACK -Call a Crew: CHRISTENE SALTONSTALL -Nautilus: MICHELLE BOUGARD

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punchlinesf · 6 years ago

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The Punch Line and The Pit Bull

Bobby Slayton: (Picks Up Phone) You're 3 minutes late. It's 2:03. If you're 3 minutes late every day, eventually that's over 20 minutes late a week which is over 1,000 minutes a year that you wasted of my time. I'm a busy guy. I don't have time to waste.

That's actually the abbreviated version of how the infamously sharp-tongued comedian answered the phone. There was no attempt at a compulsory greeting. He was immediately (and hilariously) ranting, raving and calling me out on my tardiness. Slayton is one of the few comics that was both around at Punch Line's inception in 1978, and who has routinely performed here yearly since. Taking his lead, I didn't even attempt to slow things down and introduce myself. I just played along...

Ronn Vigh: So, is this why you're known as "The Pitbull of Comedy?"

BS: Well, Alex Bennett came up with that. He was a big SF radio guy in the 80s and 90s. He really was the first guy in the country to have comics on the radio and I was the first guy. Then one day, I lost the radio station a big account they had with McDonalds because I made an innocuous little joke about them. Who even knows what it was. That was when Bennett told me, "Slayton, you're like a pitbull. You bite the hand that feeds you." It just stuck.

RV: And, so you've been--------

BS: I don't really like it anymore. I told my people to take it off my website. So, what are we doing here? What's this for anyway?

RV: Well, this is for Punch Line San Francisco's comedy blog. Since you're hosting our 40th anniversary celebration shows, I really wanted to get the chance to talk to you comic-to-comic and hear about the early days of our beloved club and how things have progressed or regressed over the last 40 years.

BS: Yea, well when it started, the place was a real dump! There was a big club just next door - The Old Waldorf. Where the Punch Line is now was kind of the back stage area when there was a show. It was a beat up shitty bar with a big pool table. One Embarcadero wasn't even built yet, there wasn't action downtown, it was pretty dead. Jon Fox started doing comedy there first and he used me a lot and Bruce Balm, George Wallace, Elayne Boosler, we were all coming up and around then.... but it wasn't a nice place. I was kind of embarrassed.

RV: We're you simply living in the moment and doing gigs at the club because they were available to you? Or, did you recognize early on that the place was a diamond in the rough?

BS: Yea.... I had started doing comedy about a year before that and was kind of the house MC. I was so embarrassed by the joint. There were plastic sheets nailed to the ceiling, old beat up couches with nails coming out of the side, the microphone was mounted from the ceiling and would fall down during the show. The place was a fucking wreck. The guy running the place was such a cheap fuck. So, I went out and bought movie posters, posters of old time comics and tried to make it look decent. When Bill Graham took it over, he finally put some money into it.

RV: I technically started comedy in New York. However, Punch Line has been highly influential in my development as a comic during the 2000's. It sounds like it was both the infancy of your career and the club when you were performing here regularly. How do you think it has influenced your career?

BS: When Old Waldorf was next door, they were paying like 25 or 50 dollars a set at both places and Dana Carvey, Kevin Pollak and I worked the rooms the most. You would go up before the band, then over to the Punch Line and back to the band and then back to the club for the late show. By the last show, between the booze and probably the coke too, I'd be on my ninth set and forgot what the hell I talked about already. But, that's what got me good.... getting a lot of stage time. It was kill or be killed. It was really very good training!

RV: So, your career has spanned 4 decades. Being the "Pitbull of Comedy" that you are, have you found it harder or easier to do your act in more recent years?

BS: It's really much harder now. You think at this point audiences would be better trained but the attention span of millennials is that of a fucking fly.

RV: Yes but with the current political and social climate, do you think people tend to have more knee-jerk reactions rather than just listening to the material as a whole?

BS: All they hear are buzzwords. Holocaust. Autism. AIDS. Then they are quick to judge and get all caught up in a fucking bandwagon. As far as I'm concerned, if you can't name any of The Beatles then you should be dead. And then the millennials will complain, "Oh well The Beatles were before my time." It's like fuck you! George Washington was before my time and I still know that he's on the fucking one dollar bill.

RV: Do you think social media and sites like YouTube have ruined the live stand-up comedy experience?

BS: I never liked social media. I tweet once a week and I lose followers once a week. I don't give a shit anymore. The whole game has changed. You had guys like (Don) Rickles and dozens of comics in the 60s who would go on stage in 3 or 4 piece suits, jacket and ties... Now it wouldn't even matter. Everyone is a slob, in dirty shorts. Flip flops. It's disgusting now. It was a different time, a different era.

RV: In all 40 years, what are your best memories of performing at Punch Line?

BS: Robin Williams stopping by all the time and a lot of hot waitresses.

RV: I've heard stories of Robin popping in a lot. Though, I've also heard this club referred to as "The House That Bobby Built."

BS: You know where that comes from, right?

RV: Um. (Long Pause) I'm afraid to tell you no.

BS: Didn't you say you were from the fucking East Coast? It comes from Babe Ruth. Yankee Stadium. The house that Ruth built. Listen, I don't know if I contributed that much to the long term success. I was certainly a part of it and so was Dana Carvey, Kevin Pollak, Jon Fox, Bill Graham. It really was a big group effort.

It will certainly be a group effort again as we celebrate our 40th anniversary throughout October. Bobby Slayton is coming back to MC a series of shows featuring comics that have helped shape our club throughout its 40 years of serving up live comedy.

Bobby Slayton & Friends 40th Anniversary Celebration At Punch Line San Francisco on Oct 11, 12, 13. One show Thursday. 2 Shows on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $25 - $30.

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lesterplatt · 5 years ago

Video

vimeo

Victoria Monet - Moment from valentin petit on Vimeo.

A film directed by Valentin Petit & produced by Ocurens.

0 notes

snowbellewells · 5 years ago

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@profdanglaisstuff Wow, so much in that chapter and so breathtakingly well done! I am constantly impressed by your detail and the way you wrap me up in your MC fics just as I would curl up with a good, engrossing novel. I’m going to have a hard time letting go of this one in just one more chapter!

I love the simple support and belief Killian continually shows Emma, bolstering her strength and standing beside her in whatever she tackles. It was on particularly lovely display in this chapter as he stood strong helping her in whatever way he could as she wrangled the magic back toward Regina to get it away from Storybrooke. Also, I really enjoyed how we saw that safe affection and belief from Robin for Regina. I really enjoyed Robin Hood’s character on the show. Canon never gave us as much development of him as I would have liked, and fic doesn’t tend to use him as much as it could very often. I really like how you have portrayed him here though. (Not to mention how great it is that Henry’s impressed and so excited to officially meet him!)

Still, beyond all of that, I can’t help but come back to this bit as the part of the chapter that struck me most. You distilled into a single paragraph almost perfectly how a truly repentant and and reformed person would have handled the unpunished crime that has always bugged me most - Graham’s murder: “She squirmed a bit before she could stop herself, and though neither Henry nor Robin was looking at her she adjusted her jacket and smoothed its lapels, wishing she could smooth away her conscience as easily. The thing was a damned nuisance, always pestering her with reminders of the terrible things she’d done, and all she had to atone for. It would keep doing that, according to Killian, until she’d made an effort to redress her wrongs. Regina grimaced. Graham was one of those wrongs, she knew, and she knew that there were consequences she would have to face—wanted to face, she reminded herself, she was genuinely tired of being a villain—for killing him.” You’re really quite brilliant for doing it so clearly, and yet somehow not making us fully hate this version of Regina you’ve created that we can genuinely root for. That takes real skill and I’m impressed all over again!

Their Way By Moonlight: The Magic (Chapter 17)

In which the last of the curse is swept away and Zelena gets what’s coming to her.

This chapter took me sooo loooonnggg to write. Partly because of writing other things, partly because I’m struggling to focus during the lockdown. Normally I spend at least one afternoon a week writing at a local coffee shop but of course that’s not possible right now and it’s wreaking a bit of havoc with my productivity.

BUT! There is now a chapter count for this story! It will be 18 chapters in total, this one and a final one to wrap things up. Thanks to everyone who’s stuck with it for the past *gulp* more than a year. I love you all, but especially @thisonesatellite @ohmightydevviepuu and @katie-dub whose enthusiasm and support means the world to me ❤️❤️❤️

SUMMARY: A new curse has fallen on Storybrooke and this time Emma is trapped inside it, deliberately separated from Henry and anyone else who might help her break it. But what no one knows –including her own cursed self– is that she and Killian have the ability to share their dreams, and are working together in secret to find a way to break the curse and free everyone from a new and dangerous foe.

Rating: M

AO3

The Magic:

Snow White had heard the expression ‘earth-shattering orgasm’ before, of course she had, but like any sensible woman with a realistic perspective on men and their limitations, she’d never taken the phrase literally.

Until now.

Now she lay sprawled and trembling in her once-lonely bed, panting harshly wondering if the world had always spun so damned fast. She chuckled breathlessly against the sweat-slicked skin of David’s shoulder.

“Damn, Charming, you’ve always been good but I’ve never felt the earth move before,” she teased.

David rolled over and grinned at her, his hand trailing down her side and over her hip. “What can I say? It’s been a long time and I was highly motivated.” He leaned in to nuzzle her neck as his words echoed through her mind.

It’s been a long time… a long time… long time…

Snow gasped as realisation struck, just as David pulled back with a start and she could see he understood as well. “The curse,” she exclaimed. “Is it broken?”

“I think it is,” he replied. “I remember…” His eyes filled with regret and he pulled her close again. “Snow. I remember.”

Snow wrapped her arms around him and they held each other in silence for a moment, far too tightly for comfort and still not nearly tight enough as their cursed memories washed over them. Everything that had happened over the past year, the wretchedness of it, living together and feeling nothing for each other. It should have been impossible, Snow thought, they were True Love. She could certainly feel her love for him now, surging up almost indignantly as if it resented having gone un-felt for so long, and yet she remembered looking at him with pure indifference. She shuddered and David’s arms tightened still further. She knew he was wondering the same thing she was. Who, what, could possibly have done this to them?

She tried to sort through the memories, of Regina—as their maid, of all unbelievable things—and Zelena—wait, who exactly was Zelena?—and Emma, and—

“Emma!” she cried, jerking her head back so abruptly it narrowly missed a collision with David’s chin. “David, she’s here in Storybrooke! How is she here?”

“I was just wondering that,” he said grimly. “What do you say we go find out?”

“We should go to Granny’s,” suggested Henry. “That’s where everyone went when the last curse broke. I bet they’ll go there again.”

“Good thinking.” Emma nodded in agreement but Killian shook his head.

“What about Zelena?” he asked. “Do we know how the curse breaking will affect her? Perhaps we should stop by the sheriff’s station first.”

“I think Zelena will be okay in her cell for a bit longer,” Emma replied. “She’s still behind that shielding spell I put around her.”

“Nevertheless I’d feel better if we checked,” said Killian. “Not that I don’t have every faith in you, Swan, but we should err on the side of caution. Zelena is nothing if not unpredictable.”

“Hmmm, yeah that is a point. And she has been one step ahead of us for most of this.” Emma’s expression turned thoughtful. “Okay, we can go to the sheriff’s station, but I’d actually kind of like to go find my parents first.” She shrugged. “Just to see them, you know. Before we get caught up with the rest of the town.”

Killian smiled. “Of course, love.”

“And, um, actually, can I go to Regina’s?” asked Henry. “I want to make sure she’s okay, and I can tell her about the plan to meet at Granny’s.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” said Emma. “The rest of us can go to my parents—”

“It might be better if you did that without me,” Killian interjected. “Your father and I were still on rather shaky terms when I saw him last and my presence with you would likely raise some questions best kept for later.”

Neal snorted, then shrugged when the other three glared at him. “What? He’s not wrong.”

Keep reading

#cs ff #cs 3b divergent ff #cs au mc #their way by moonlight #chapter seventeen #major cs fic rec #such a talented shipmate

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alterna2mag · 7 years ago

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Cruïlla 2018, un festival diferente

Guiomar Fernández

En plena burbuja de festivales (¿estallará algún día?) este año tuvimos la oportunidad de asistir a uno que es más cercano y manejable que los grandes eventos tipo Primavera Sound. Nos referimos al Cruïlla. En 10 años de existencia, se ha convertido en el más ecléctico de los festivales de Barcelona. Se trata de una cita veraniega que suele combinar viejas glorias con cantautores catalanes y artistas emergentes. Este 2018 no ha sido una excepción.

El jueves comenzó completo, eso sí, sólo con el escenario Estrella Damm funcionando. Escenario que por cierto tenía una decoración muy llamativa, con unos caballitos de mar gigantes escoltándolo y unas paredes exteriores cubiertas con centenares de paraguas blancos. Las pantallas laterales quedaban encuadradas en unas enormes esferas que le daban un toque todavía más marinero.

El primero en pisarlo fue el peculiar Seasick Steve, un músico que, aunque no se estrenó en solitario hasta 2004, siempre estuvo vinculado a la música como artista callejero, trabajando como ingeniero de sonido o productor. Sobre el escenario es auténtico como el que más. Viejo rebelde del blues que, con su aspecto desaliñado y larga barba blanca, en seguida atrae la atención del público. En septiembre publicará su nuevo LP, ‘Can U Cook?’, del que nos ofreció algunos cortes. En uno de ellos, ‘Walkin’ man’, invitó a una chica a subir al escenario para que escuchara la canción sentada junto a él. Entre lingotazos a una botella de vino y temas del más puro country transcurrió su actuación.

Sorprende cuando toca con tanta soltura esas guitarras de tres cuerdas, o fabricadas por el a partir de objetos como una matrícula oxidada. Se sabe que Jack White, otro artista al que le gusta fabricar guitarras a mano, le regaló una hecha con un tapacubos. Precísamente Steve elogió al de Detroit, diciendo que era un honor compartir escenario con él.

Y es que justo después Jack tomaba el relevo. Una proyección con una cuenta atrás nos recordaba los minutos que quedaban para su actuación. Recurso interesante pero fallido si cada vez que llega el último minuto vuelve a marcar cuatro de nuevo. Sólo sirvió para inquietar a un público que no quería esperar. Pero esos minutos de retraso quedaron olvidados con una actuación soberbia de White. De azul plateado salió Jack al escenario, abanderado como es de ese color en su proyecto en solitario. Sin embargo los “rojo y blanco” de The White Stripes estuvieron presentes desde la primera canción. Abrió con ‘When I hear My Name’, de su etapa en la citada banda. Dos temas de su último trabajo ‘Boarding House Reach’ (2018, Third Man) le siguieron. Aunque este no ha sido su más alabado trabajo, el bueno de Jack sigue cosechando críticas positivas. Temas como ‘Over and Over and Over’ o ‘Connected By Love’ dan buena fe de su inagotable creatividad. White continuó encadenando temazos de los Stripes como ‘Hotel Yorba’, con otros ya casi míticos como ‘Love Interruption’. Por supuesto, dedicó un tema a Seasick Steve, quien se paseó entre la multitud. ‘Steady, as She Goes’ de The Racounteurs también sonó. No podía faltar ‘Sixteen Saltines’ y si, cerró con ‘Seven Nation Army’, por si alguien lo dudaba.

El jueves terminaba con Bunbury, que como él mismo anunció, venía a tocar una muestra de sus trabajos de ayer y de hoy.

El viernes se presentaba a priori como uno de los días grandes. De lo programado a primeras horas nos quedaríamos con el delicado folk de Joana Serrat.

N.E.R.D, abrían el escenario Estrella Damm. La banda capitaneada por Pharrel Williams y Chad Hugo llegó acompañada por una legión de bailarines casi tan espectacular como el despliegue de temas que ofrecieron. Empezaron con canciones potentes como ‘Anti Matter’ o ‘Spaz’. La actuación fue bastante movida y Pharrel se empeñó en hacer participar a la audiencia constantemente. Y además les dio lo que venían a buscar, las covers de ‘Hot in Herre’ (Nelly), ‘Blurred Lines’ (Robin Thicke) o ‘Get Luky’ (Daft Punk), todas ellas co-escritas por él. Incluso ‘Seven Nation Army’ volvió a sonar en el mismo escenario un día después. Y si algo nos quedó claro es que N.E.R.D, acrónimo de No-one Ever Really Dies, vinieron a pasárselo bien.

Cambiando totalmente de registro, algo habitual en Cruïlla, LP encandiló en el escenario Cruïlla Enamora. Con tres álbumes en su haber, la cantante, Laura Pergolizzi, autora del inolvidable ‘Lost on You’ hizo una exhibición de vozarrón. La norteamericana de origen italiano ha escrito canciones para Cher, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera o Leona Lewis. Talento a raudales que plasmó en Cruïlla, a ratos acompañado de silbidos mágicos, a ratos de su ukelele.

Para los que tenemos treinta y tantos, lo mejor del sábado podríamos decir que fueron Prophets of Rage. Fue esta la actuación de lo que llaman un “supergrupo”, o unión de viejas glorias para tocar sus respectivos temazos y alguno nuevo. Esto es lo que presentaban Prophets of Rage, formados con lo mejor de cada casa de Race Against The Machine, Public Enemy y Cypress Hill. Tres icónicas bandas de los 90 juntas, o casi. De los primeros están el bajista y vocalista Tim Commerford, el guitarrista Tom Morello, y el batería Brad Wilk, de los segundos Chuck D y DJ Lord, y de los terceros, B-Real. Salieron, por cierto, vestidos con unas camisetas del Barça que llevaban sus nombres estampados. Después, dada la intensidad y el sudor, fueron sustituidas por otras prendas. Comenzaron con la canción de Public Enemy que da nombre a la banda, y lo que vino después fue un festival de música en sí mismo que nos dejó boquiabiertos. Basta con observar a Tom Morello armado con su guitarra, que por cierto llevaba un FUCK TRUMP en letras mayúsculas pegado por la parte de atrás. ‘Fight the Power’, ‘Yo Quiero Fumar’, ‘Jump Around’ y para cerrar la eterna ‘Killing in the Name’. Todo un viaje a nuestra adolescencia.

A la noche aún le quedaban nombres como Damian Marley, Kygo y los siempre divertidos Bomba Estereo.

La última jornada venía también repleta de citas imprescindibles. Por un lado, la fusión jazz soul de la maliense Fatoumata Diawara en el escenario Time Out, y por otro, el reggae de SOJA (Soldiers Of Jah Army) en el Estrella Damm, animaron la tarde.

Pero sin duda, lo mejor del sábado fue el fascinante directo de David Byrne. Unas cortinas plateadas cubrían un escenario vacío que tenía una mesa con un cerebro en el centro. Así salió el elegante Byrne a escena, misterioso, muy “lynchiano”. Y de repente dio comienzo el recital con ‘Here’, de su último trabajo, ‘American Utopia’ (Nonesuch Records, 2018). La sorpresa vino con los músicos, que llevaban los instrumentos incorporados a modo mochila. Excepcional puesta en escena que daba lugar a bailes coreografiados con un Byrne en estado de gracia. En un momento dado, David sostuvo el cerebro en una pose shakespeariana. 66 años más que bien llevados son los que atesora el líder de Talking Heads, que por supuesto interpretó un buen puñado de temas de la mítica banda, tales como ‘Slippery People’, ‘This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)’, ‘Once In a Lifetime’ o ‘Burning Down the House’. Pero Byrne es mucho más. Recordemos ese maravilloso ‘Love This Giant’ (4AD, 2012) en colaboración con Annie Clark (St. Vincent). De este trabajo nos regaló ‘I Should Watch TV’. Volviendo a American Uptopia, el LP tiene temas tan grandes como ‘Everybody's Coming to My House’, que siendo reciente parece legendario. Y por si quedaba alguna duda de que Byrne puede con todo, también cayó una cover de Janelle Monáe, ‘Hell You Talmbout’, canción reivindicativa del movimiento Black Lives Matter, en protesta por la violencia racial. Ideal broche de oro para un grande.

Más tarde llegarían otras leyendas como The Roots. Los raperos de Filadelfia ofrecieron un concierto que repasó algunos temas de su nutrida trayectoria. El MC Black Thought y los suyos deleitaron con temas propios y alguna cover, como ‘Sweet Child O' Mine’, de Guns N’ Roses o ‘Jungle Boogie’ de Kool & The Gang.

IZAL volvía locos a sus enfervorecidos fans, pero nosotros preferimos decantarnos por un Ben Howard que se retrasó unos 15 minutos, y cuyo concierto, algo pausado para la hora en que estaba programado (retumbaba el escenario más cercano) no empañó el gran buen hacer del británico.

Justice, previsibles con su repertorio más que conocido pero siempre potente, y Orbital, trasladándonos a las catacumbas del techno y el acid house, cerraron una edición muy variada de un festival en el que además se pudo ver a Gilberto Gil, Albert Hammond Jr, Nuria Graham, Belako, y muchos otros.

El Cruïlla siempre acierta, porque tiene de todo y para todos. Ahora nos queda esperar al Cruïlla de Tardor.

Todas las fotos por Xavi Torrent (Cruïlla).

#NOTICIAS #CRONICAS

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