#me and that mouse have the same sense of style lol

[opens-up-4-nobody]

I just need someone to behold how cute my outfit is

[twistedtummies2]

So Then seven fandoms you said...

Twisted Wonderland

Disney (general)

Kung Fu Panda

The Bad Guys

My Hero Academia

Hazbin Hotel

Fullmetal Alchemist ...Name one character from each franchise that you would use as butt pillow

Oooooh, interesting choices...gotta think about this...

You'd probably expect me to say Leona, but I think he's more likely to use my face as a pillow for his butt. >///> I think the one who would tickle my fancy there most would be Jack Howl. I can see him letting an S/O do that while blushing all the while, claiming he's only doing it so they won't bug him...but he secretly enjoys it. Plus, he's canonically got one of the biggest butts at Night Raven, so that helps. XD

Disney on the whole? Oooooh...oh, that's tough...there's so many options, I'm not sure. And I don't want to cheat and use TW again. XD Hmmmmm...I'm gonna saaaaaay...Pete. As in the Mickey Mouse villain. Him being a big smug lummox about some adorable little "pipsqueak" and their kinks, laughing that heavy, mean laugh of his, or maybe even getting flustered himself for comedy's sake...both are yes please. <3

Po. This was the only easy answer. LOL Moving on.

While Mr. Wolf is my favorite crush from "The Bad Guys," I feel I have to say Mr. Shark on pure principle. XD

Oooooh, another toughy...hmmmm...I'm gonna saaaay...Kirishima. Which may seem like an odd choice, especially with the hardening ability, but a.) he doesn't HAVE to use that, after all, and b.) I think he's got the right balance of personality, if that makes sense. My other immediate options would be Midoriya or Bakugou, and one of them is way too innocent and the other...well...FREAKING INSANE. :P Kirishima I think has the right blend of being able to be playful and kink-teasing while also being sweethearted and maybe slightly flustered in his own way as well, which I think fits this type of scenario best.

Ahhh...this is tough, because the thing about Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss is that most of these characters don't really HAVE magnificent rear ends to speak of. The art style is very angular, with the characters having more sharp points and strict lines than major curves. And with all three of my top three biggest crushes for "Hazbin," specifically, the same rule applies...plus, NONE of them seem like they'd be remotely into that. XD I actually don't know with this one. I'm into a lot of characters sitting on me, but allowing my head to just rest on their rear like a pillow? (shrugs) Maybe Husk? Because it would be hilarious for the Grumpy Cat to just be all, "...Seriously? What the Here? -_- " And try to shake someone off with no success. Hey, when in doubt, use comedy. :P

FMA: Brotherhood is SUCH a weird show for me. There are so many characters that SHOULD be kinkable for me, but...well...almost none of them ARE. There's always some kind of caveat involved with them, where I go, "They could be majorly appealing to me EXCEPT...!" There are only two characters who are exceptions, and even they aren't among my STRONGEST crushes: those characters are Greed (both versions of him, pre-and-post-Ling Yao) and Envy. And between the two, Greed seems the most likely to ALLOW that WITHOUT horribly murdering me, so I guess we'll say him. 'XD

And now, SURPRISE EIGHTH FANDOM: "Moriarty the Patriot." I choose William James Moriarty himself. For no other reason than he's my favorite character, my biggest crush, and canonically looks QUITE curvy in several pieces of official artwork. >///>

[noctivague]

Revamping my altar - Part 01🙃

Let's ingnore the fact that I ghosted my blog for the most part of this year and jump right in as if nothing happened....

Starting point

I'm a very aesthetically driven person and I'm bored with my current altar, which has been remained the same for a long time. (I thought I had a picture but I don't and it's gone now so oops...)

I want to create something that puts me in an inspired mood just by looking at it. That looks inviting and beautiful and brings me delight and motivation. A little sanctuary nook kinda.

I want to revitalize things and symbolize the new era i'm in, due to the fact that i recently moved into a new flat, got a new job, and overall my life is very different than it was last year.

So here is the journey of making my new altar :) At the moment it's far from done but here is the first part of the process!

Part 02 will follow once I've received the things I ordered, probably at the end of November or early December.

Inspirations

So i went on a quest to find inspirations on pinterest that would sort of align with what i wanted to make.

ngl I dislike most of what I see because I find them too cluttered for my personal taste. The main issue is that i'm clumsy and i hate the idea of my hand having to slither through a forest of objects to be able to grab what i want lol

Still managed to find a few cool examples, here they are:

I love the rough, folk-esque, natural aspects of them, the blend of stone, marble and wood. The branches, the sculptures, the iconic symbols and the fact that there is a variety of heights of things, if that makes sense. I also like having a strong art piece in the middle, which i prefer over having a mirror like many examples i found. Idk i just find the idea of having to stare at myself at my altar a bit uncomfortable lol

But it's still different from what would be authentic for me and also i gotta do with what i have or what i can buy.

The thing is that my altar is not dedicated to a single deity so i can't go with one strong themed vibe but i have to put them all together. Currently, Apollo, Artemis, Hekate, Dionysos, Hermes and Demeter share the same space.

Furniture

Thankfully the new book shelf I got is quite wide and has three levels, which is plenty enough space to give everyone their own space and even host my incense, tarot cards and spiritual books.

I almost sold a kidney to get an antique cabinet, which looked really cool but was not going to fit in with the interior style of my living room, where my altar is located.

So I went in with a more modern yet slightly organic-shaped one:

Not 100% what I was looking for but at least the space is there. Love the curves an the contrast of the two colors, but I wish the wood was darker. I could sand and re-varnish but who's got time for that.

Current state of the sculptures

I've been collecting sculptures and hand painting them for a while now (you can check out my pinned post for pictures of some of them), and although I love what I made, I really want to get some new ones that are higher and I'm even wondering if I should just keep them white and gold instead of colorful.

Also, for the life of me, I can't find a sculpture of Hekate that I like. They either look too bland or too new-agey for my taste. At the moment, I have the classic three women holding torches and stuff that I hand painted in blue, yellow and silver, but idk it's not what I have in mind and I think I'm just going to resort to do clay modelling myself. I'll probably do a separate post for the process!

Btw I'll do a free giveaway in the future to re-home my old sculptures so stay tuned for that!

What I have in mind

Sooo I'm not sure of the exact height and width of the things that I have coming in, and I'm still looking for a strong art piece or relief to go at the center back so I'm not sure if my disgusting mouse-drawn photoshop sketch is going to be accurate at all lol

The more I stare at it the more I think it makes no sense 🙃

So basically, from left to right; Apollo (new statue incoming); Artemis (old statue at the moment but need to upgrade); Hekate in the center (need to craft that); Dionysos (new bust incoming); Hermes (new bust incoming); and on the lower lever Demeter (still love the statue as I think it's my best one so it will stay this way).

Still missing:

one or two candles i use during worship, preferably gold

art piece in the center, either a plaster relief or canva print of something

plant with long falling ''arms'' (idk the word in english)

dried branches to go in the left vase

a way to fix the antlers to the wall

an old key for hekate (need to go to a thrift store)

maybeee a bigger box to store my incense and ritualistic plates and glasses

I don't think I want a table cloth simply because I had one in the past and it was always a mess to clean. Having the bare table is much easier, especially considering that I will burn incense and candles and that gets messy.

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

Okay that's it for this long ass post, see ya in a few weeks for part 02!!!

[itsevanffs]

omg plz ignore my prev ask, I forgot to turn on anon lol. But yes i was wondering if you will ever post a comms page? I love all your work ^u^

no worries. i'm a bit hesitant abt monetising my fanfiction, mainly because i'm not really in a place to deal with any possible ramifications from getting caught. that's my main hiccup lol.

aside from that it's very hard for me to write stuff on request that i'm not really interested in, if that makes sense? my brain is really unpredictable, and sometimes even short fics take years to actually complete. my writing style isn't really suited to commission work in that way.

i know fanart's a bit more loosey goosey with the legalities (unless the Mouse is involved) so i have been considering opening comms on that, but it's got the same problem as fic regarding like... sometimes my brain just does not want to cooperate, and sometimes those moods can last upwards of months. it just feels a little scummy to take people's money when i have no good guarantee of being able to provide in return.

but i'm really flattered by your interest!

[moonstrider9904]

I'm about to go on a probably incoherent ramble about how Bendy is indeed peak character design but also how shocked I am at the fact that I'm enjoying a horror game so much

Context: I'm not a fan of horror at all in any of its forms. Movies, games, literature, none. Nope. On all fronts, there is no reason why I would find my interest piqued by a horror game, of all videogames, and I certainly didn't dwell over to it because it's a horror game.

I found Bendy and the Ink Machine because every so often I like to browse around for music new for me, and I stumbled upon the songs that were created for the game, with my favorites being Build Our Machine and Welcome Home. Debating internally, because I know I am naturally very adverse to horror as a genre, I decided to watch a gameplay of it to test the waters and opt out in case I felt like it (thank you, jacksepticeye, for having played the game years ago)

So with that out of the way I kinda just want to scream WHY AM I OBSESSED

WHY am I finding it so enjoyable to feel inside a chilling environment, why is that rush such a.... well, a rush?!

And I really think it comes down to Bendy.

When I first saw Bendy, this very unique, very stylish character designed in the style of the old Disney cartoons, I thought "Cool!" And yes, he is indeed, very cool - his design is fuckin' amazing.

Now, the very first time I ever saw Bendy was in the video for Gospel of Dismay, so my first impression was cool looking character who dances and moves up and down! So cute! Cool!!! And, sure, listening to the song a first time was like super sweet and all-

Then I actually paid attention to the lyrics, and I realized "Ok, this isn't the bubbly pal I'm thinking he is"

To make the story short, I finally decided to watch the gameplay because I watched Welcome Home and realized he's fucking unhinged - and you know me, guys. I'm not really a stranger to an unhinged boi with an interesting design

What I'm really trying to get to is:

Look at this dude (reference intended)

IT'S A SCHMOL BOI, RIGHT?!

RIGHT?

(more below because this got really long lol)

No, you see, the thing about Bendy is that you're meant to have this first impression about him, and you're meant to associate those white gloves and those big pac-man shaped eyes with Mickey Mouse and others, which gives you a little mislead to follow, say, a "sense of comfort" when you associate him to things most of us have known as children.

But, have you noticed that a lot of those old Disney cartoons can feel creepy at times?

Bendy gives you this first impression because sure, he looks good and chummy, he was designed to be that, even ingame. Always smiling, dancing, etc.

What happens with Bendy is that the more you look at him, the more you stare at that unwavering grin and look into the shape of the eyes, something becomes unsettling. Bendy's first impression morphs with time the more you look at him and the more you watch him, for example, in the music videos; he appears angry, cocky, mocking, etc, no longer just the happy smiling dancy boi TM you first believed him to be. And, what's more is, you don't even need the rest of the music videos or the context for this to happen, staring at him is enough for you to, at one point, become unsettled by his presence. (love that word for this lol)

Taking Welcome Home as an example, which is the animation that ultimately made me obsess over this character's design (gosh, if you haven't watched it, do so!!) you see Bendy juxtaposed: what he was meant to be with what he's become, and you see some expressions like these (and these were seriously just my favorite look at that unhinged BOI-)

And, my favorites, which precisely show a spiral from what could have been to what turned out, and the pain felt over it in some deep corner (these frames are in one same sequence):

Please, give me characters who show pain over what's happened to them shifting into the fury and rage that they feel because it's happened to them--I want to forgive you, I want this to be better, but I'm furious that because of you I am in this living hell and it's been so long that this is the only way i know now--this is good shit as far as my historic preference in characters goes

And don't let me forget THE UNHINGED BOI:

talk about unsettling-

and this was all progressive. The more you see him, look at him, see that he's not the smiling happy boi, you fear him more - understandably. The concept is very logical and not revolutionary in itself, but what I'm saying is, applied to this character, it's pulled off incredibly well thanks to his base design. (Kudos to the animators who worked on this!)

What's even more mesmerizing to me is that this is the exact same principle the game uses in its own gameplay. Yes, when you start playing Bendy and the Ink Machine, you know you're in for a horror game and you expect certain things, and I'm not an expert on this since it's my first horror game pretty much ever but I expected jumpscares and gory images and shit.

While there are a few in what I've seen so far of the game, and the gore is ink rather than blood, the game doesn't rely on this.

No, the game lets you play through it in an eerily silent environment, where in many corners you will see that same. smiling. face. staring right at you, unblinking, unmoving. Watching you. Little by little, you learn of Bendy, you learn of Boris, of Alice, you learn of the people who put their lives (quite literally) into them and slowly, the game becomes more unsettling, filling you with a greater sense of dread the more you become immersed in it.

I think I'm so obsessed with this game currently because it's pulled off so well that even I, someone who runs away from horror, am captivated and mind-blown by this (but also, it's not a brutal, gross horror like what I would never engage with, rather a subtle horror that builds up in the environment that almost feels more psychological and is, I believe, harder to pull off).

[eskawrites]

you know what? I WILL be annoying. xoxoxo. 38, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 66, 80

<3 <3 <3

38. how many stories do you work on at one time?

the answer to this used to be 1, maybe 2 if i had an idea for something short come up while i was working on something longer. now there are apparently no rules, throw it all out the window, i've been cycling between 5-10 different stories for like a week and i'm starting to lose my mind

43. how did writing change you?

tbh i've been writing for as long as i can remember, so like, it definitely has changed me, but in the same way that growing up has changed me, or going to college, or coming out, or living on my own, or starting a career. in basically every stage of my life, up until and including right now, i can point to a dozen different ways that writing has helped me learn and grow in some capacity. but i guess if i had to choose one, probably that it's given me more confidence and really helped structure the way that i view myself and my goals

44. any writing advice you want to share?

well the most important thing is to make sure you're enjoying it. like, there's no point to writing--or being creative in any sense--if you're not getting any entertainment or catharsis or peace or whatever from it, why are you doing it?

but beyond that, i guess my advice for anyone who is serious about writing is to consume stories. i had a lot of college professors be like 'if you're not reading all the time you won't be a good writer' and like i get where they're coming from, but it applies to more than just reading. watch movies, play video games, listen to your friends gossip. the more you experience and think about stories in any format, the easier it is to apply what you like or don't like to your own writing style

45. name three of your favorite fanfic writers.

um you, obviously. @dufrau is astonishing to me, every piece hits so perfectly and leaves me thinking about it for days. and @categorical-mouse because i genuinely think about it's just blood under the bridge like once a week, it's by far my favorite imagining of the group post-hawkins, and war correspondent nancy is one of the most heartbreaking and thrilling characterization i've ever seen

this is so hard there are so many though there's so much great work in this fandom

46. what time are you the most productive when it comes to writing?

any time that it's dark tbh. my prime used to be between 11pm and 2am, but having a normal adult job and a normal adult schedule doesn't allow for that as much as i'd like lol

47. what story are you most proud of?

this is always a toss up between raise dead and this story that we found ourselves in but it's gotta be this story, yeah? it took over my life for like 4 months, it turned into this massive, sprawling thing and i have a clearer grip on it, and that iteration of the characters, than i ever really imagined possible

66. when have you felt the most confident in your writing? 

um so it genuinely might be when i was finishing the celebrity fake dating au. once i got to, like, 3/4s of the way through? i'd gotten through all the unknown parts and i knew exactly where the story was going, and anything that wasn't already planned out was just fun to write. it was great. i was sailing. there were so many lovely late nights where i'd just put on my playlist and write a bunch of soft ronance scenes, and in the morning i'd read it back over and just be so excited about the story. ugh. i miss it

80. do you try to put themes, motifs, messages, morals, etc in your writing? if so, how do you go about it?

hmmm not really morals or anything, but i do try to write something meaningful in the sense of, like, female representation and gay representation. i tend to write the stories that i wish i could see, and especially the stories that i wish i'd had growing up. sometimes that leans into writing about messages or experiences that are really personal to the gay experience, or at least my gay experience. it's never super intentional, though, that just ends up being what i think is important to the story

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary257

5/31-6/1/24

friday - saturday

still off tomorrow...

which is nice but also a tragedy it will end, but that's just momentary.

i read the rest of dead dead demon's dededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededededede struction today, and it made me choke up a couple times, the last time i read it, i was at chapter 87 about. really is great, asano is super great at what he does i think. i think it goes beyond a lot of the commentary stuff in this one, the politics are important and interesting, but i think it gets to a rather painful sense of like, being a description of the fantasy of wanting to undo all your failings, the ending is rather bittersweet in the truest way, it's basically happy but not really, nothing is undone, it's just some characters get some happiness in another time, while those same characters go on being doomed elsewhere. the sense of doom, i guess, lazy doom, and also the fact that this weight of non-weight is achieved w/ an art style that feels extremely referential to older ways of drawing manga, something cute, unassuming, violently cartoony except for the backgrounds (and also the fact that he works in collage at points basically with the robots (like the ship that's shaped like a computer mouse? like a logitech mouse lol. it's crazy and imo points his work towards being a kind of surrealism (he often evokes this but i think typically that's been in obvious ways, in things he drew and not necessarily process) rather than like, that being just a way to fill a page/shortcut)). maybe i discount the politics too much, it is extremely deft at handling the multiple characters who are reactionary, and describing their turn, and making a horror out of that. and then the avoidance of the protagonists, all of it. idk. just a lot of pain there, i suppose maybe i think his way of approaching the people protesting for the aliens gets a little too 'both sides can be bad' but it never really turns into that, which is only a kind of sanitizing of the issue, it remains rather nuanced in that it's trying to show you what empathy might be mobilized towards in some cases (taken advantage of by rather counter-revolutionary sorts), but he can come off as excessively cynical there i suppose. that's an issue that can be taken with his work frequently but i also think it's against itself frequently in that regard too. the fact that love isn't enough but that it remains so tender a thing, that ontan and kadode have such a strong relationship, makoto (best character) and oba bonding so much over the memories of ontan, which is probably the peak of the series for me, it's not just about understanding + accepting + forgiving, it's about the process of involvement, spending hours with people, spending hours and years in a state, in a condition, the monotony, the escapes from that, the terror of that. i guess asano also constantly desires that escape, the something else, this work tries to square that with the fact that in some ways we have that, right now, in the immediate, and the fact of the crisis is one which is used against us as in the ecologies that seek to rehabilitate capital, and so on. this is even a huge part of the plot in the manga. crazy how prescient it was. some of the stuff w/ the facemasks in the start feeling so predictive and descriptive of how covid felt brought back some unpleasant memories of being stuck at home, because my stepdad wouldn't let me go anywhere, and wearing an n95 mask on walks outside for no reason, hiding from people, getting panicked over passing people on the street. a terrible time, really. i suppose that's the nugget which enables it to touch on that in its early chapters, the fear of people, which is also a huge part of the work but also a lot of japanese art in general. terror in the social, or the terror of the social.

less related to thoughts on the thing itself, the content, i went and looked at ebay and look at what i could buy...for...50... dollars... basically...

or like 46 buxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. but that's too rich for my blood. unless i get stupid. i might. i think it could make me happy to see a character i saw myself in many years ago, before i really started being, i dunno, out, i guess. it makes me really emotional honestly, thinking back so long ago, that's like a bunch of years ago. i was like 17-18. now i finally get to be 'myself' which isn't anything in particular just like makoto, at one point, ontan says they use either bathroom, and that they have to be really strong, something like that. it feels funny, to think about. somehow it cut even though it must be a silly joke. something also about the fact that i had to escape my home (during covid as well) to start to get to be 'myself' or do what i want to do with my 'self' (need to read blanchot more to obliterate the sense of self better, (joking, i already know i am not, and blah blah blah i am a point in time where many things come through and this is not a self so much as... i dunno, non-communication between the drives and activity, or, idk, it's unclear or difficult) any way, the point is really that maybe i have to contend with being something because the points in time bent me in ways and now i'm all fucked or whatever?)) anyway, the escaping, the not telling my parents, nobody really knowing, just showing up to people like that, and then making them deal with that. it's beyond mere relation to the character, it just feels actual to me.

anyway here's some pictures of me:

that was me on tha 29thhhh, very good night despite the semi-sucky bands that did play (2 great bands at a local show, that's like, awesome, to be honest). sad i didn't eat more pizza. really suffering for that. pizza was promised another day...the day did not come... and ordering pizza would be stupid cuz the bugz would come and eat eat eat it up and crawl on it and i would probably cry if i saw that. seeing insects on something you want to eat and bought makes me suicidal honestly and it reminds me of this awful horror movie i saw as a kid where it pointlessly punished someone who had ocd by making them eat a cockroach and then because they felt so unclean, drink a bunch of drain cleaner and the acid ate thru his neck and his face and stuff. it honestly made me so upset, not like i was scared, i just think about it and feel really badly for that character. i also thought at the time i'd do the same thing if i ate a roach when i thought i was just eating chips. something about the ocd ritual stuff too, that it showed of the character, being really neat and gentle, i dunno. i don't really understand horror movies like that. it gets to me worse than anything really scary, it's impossible to understand and it's so not scary, it's just cruel and judgmental, it's like, what horror is meant to attack and dislodge, at least that's what i think.

thinking back to things like pinnochio 964, which is an attack on 'the norm' and the methods by which it's enforced, even in the way in which it was made.

thinking now about how long dead dead demon's has basically been a thing in my life, not even central in any way, just present, when it's been more something i was thinking about, when it went away, that kinda thing, how like, my friend's had multiple relationships kind of fall apart in that time, how we've gone certain places to go eat, social formations came and went, jokes, people we knew, i remember someone from online in those old college days, he was cool, he does drum vids on yt and has a cool band. one time he commented on a yt vid of mine. he helped me out with my first music video. i hope he's well. and i see my friend often kinda, or, a decent amount. god. living is so weird, and time's passage is scary. my life's just so many fragments that add up to very little, at the end of all that experience, the people, the time we listened to animal collective in the parking lot outside sushi twister going to the bank, fireworks was on, the night was out and we were in a bank drive-thru and years before the night i was being driven home in my friend's huge car that he used to have and singing along to capn jazz oh messy life (i hate all the twinkle emo midwest shit but capn jazz are beautiful life affirming music), all of this precipitates me, and back then, i feel sorry i wasn't wearing dresses a little, maybe, but also, i guess i had to be like that to be this now, and this now is precious little, pearlescent maybe, if i want to be pretty about it, i am hardened and refined waste, which is sub-ideal and good for me.

if i want to be sad about it, i am a college dropout who depends on their girlfriend financially and wastes money but i guess i also have tried to help out a lot w/ the money i do get, i pay for things, like food, but i guess i have a child's idea of helping out. i guess my gf sort of likes that kind of thing about me though.

getting a 4th song done today, very good, i kind of thought i'd be useless when i got up today, our sleep schedule has been so messed up, but today's been at least productive enough. actually it's been pretty good for things, i wrote today too, more onto the thing i liked, or not necessarily more onto that passage itself but more tending to that area / set of thoughts, a response that would come later, i suppose.

anyway, the 4th track is taking longer than i thought but that's okay because i feel like it's one of the freakier sounding songs so it needs that extra effort.

kayyy, 4th one complete, making good progress on this round of mixing i think, hopefully when i go back to listen to this it's not all...awful sounding i guess. i worry, too much probably,

anyway

i need to sleep,

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[omishu]

Ask meme: 1, 3, 9, 18, 21, 24, 33, 42, 44 (you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to), 46

Phew, boy howdy! there's a lot going on here, but ily, boo *gen-z style finger hearts* Thank you for the asks, m'buddy *tips hand-steamed ten-gallon hat at you*

1. who is/are your comfort character(s)?

Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran High School Host Club, Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, the Pokemon eevee, Rapunzel from Tangled, Elsa from Frozen, Baymax from Big Hero 6. Yes, a lot of these are Disney; it was my hyperfixation for at least a decade, don't @ me.

3. do you leave the window open at night?

As much as possible, yes. BUT my parents don’t like me having my bedroom door and window open at the same time. So if I want Lewis to be able to freely come and go from my room, I have to keep the window closed. If I really want it open, then Lewis gets locked either in or out, which is kind of a bummer since his litterbox and food/water are in the laundry room across the hall. He also likes it being open, though, because it's about as close to being outside as he cares to get, even with a leash and harness; it makes him feel adventurous to hear the waterfalls, rustling trees, and various wildlife outside from the comfort of my ultraplush bed lol he can also smell things and feel the breeze/heat, but more on a sample/trial basis.

9. which do you prefer, hot coffee or cold coffee?

I guess if I HAD to pick a form to drink coffee, it'd be cold. As you know, I really don't care for the stuff, but I get a shit-ton of Starbucks giftcards and their frapps are basically milkshakes.

18. what hair products do you use?

Oh boy, I have QUITE the repertoire, but I barely use any of it. A lot of it is for specific styles for specific events, so I just have all kinds of pins, mouses, gels, sprays, combs/brushes, heat tools, etc, etc. My sister got my whole family on Monat, but I'm broke af so I buy a normalizing shampoo from my stylist because my thin, fine, flat, straight-ass hair gets oily af unless I use that. I like to use a leave-in conditioner spray too, because it isn't too heavy and also keeps the oils under control better. If I blowdry or curl my hair (with a straightening iron), I like to use some strong-hold hairspray (no particular brand) that I brush out, just so it stays looking nice longer.

21. something you’ve kept since childhood?

I have a little teddy bear in a flower hat and dress that my mother's mother gave me ages ago. It's probably the only plushie to survive all of my purges and definitely the only gift I've kept from any of my grandparents, besides like ... heirloom jewelry. My oldest sister used to always call me her dolly-bear because she loved cuddling me and dressing me up (my autistic tomboy ass hated that shit sm istg). The nickname has kinda grown on me, now that I've embraced my gender non comformity, because I 1) think it's funny to imagine an actual bear wearing a dress and 2) have reclaimed my own sense of femininity in a way that wields it as a weapon in my own arsenal rather than against me while also embracing my somewhat aggressive/rough-around-the-edges approach to. Lot of things. But during a senior trip with my highschool church youth group, we went to a flee market and were given a $2 bill with some change (to match our grad year) and told to pick something to represent ourselves, and then over the course of the weekend had to give it away to a stranger we met at one of our activities and explain it. I found a similar bear and had a hard time finding anyone or working up the nerve to give it away, so I carried it around everywhere - amusement park, Wal-Mart runs, hiking, etc. The day we headed back to our town, we visited a church for their service, and a little girl there got upset that she lost her toy. I gave her my dolly-bear, and she looked so awestruck. That was a pretty cool moment for me, because giving her basically myself (metaphorically) brought her so much joy and comfort. I still think about that sometimes. You've probably seen the bear from my Grandmother because I had it in my dorm.

24. if we were together on a rooftop, what would we be doing?

Gosh, right now? Probably sweating and getting sunburned lol maybe jumping into my family's in-ground pool if it was closer to the actual house haha but fr maybe have my beach umbrella set up in a stand with beach towels under us and electric fans blowing on us, drinking beer and eating ice cream bars, laughing and reminiscing and dreaming and commiserating. God, I miss you so much.

33. the last adventure you’ve been on?

Gotta check my calendar fr because work has been insane lately. I do have a lot of adventures planned for the next few months though. Hopefully one or more involves you visiting! *eyes* hm been doing a lot of pool party cookouts for family birthdays lately and been to a few special screenings for films in cosplay. But my last legit adventure was probably last month when I took my friend to her first ever RenFaire. Or maybe my city's annual Bee Festival. Idk ask me again around Thanksgiving because by then I'll have a ton under my belt for the year. The first half of this year has severely lacked any quality adventures.

42. an app you frequently use besides this godforsaken site?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again!! Ni no Kuni: Crossworlds is my favorite mobile game ever!!! I mean c'mon it's got Ghibli art, and even Joe Hisaishi does the freaking music! The story is cool, the characters are cool, the monsters/fighting are cool. I freaking love this game. It has a lot going on, so I only do like the dailies/weeklies, but they have regular events going, like, all the time. I love it so much, and I want all my friends to play with me, so we can have our own Kingdom and do party dungeons together. It's a fantasy MMORPG, which is my fave genre, and is also an isekai.

44. you get a free pass to kill anyone, who is it?

[SoundCloud Rapper voice] YOU ALREADY KNOW WHO IT IS: my mother.

46. favorite holiday film?

Which holiday are we talking about? If you mean like ... winter holidays, then ... idk there're a lot of Christmas movies I try to watch every year; Elf, The Nativity Story, White Christmas, KLAUS, Jingle Jangle, etc. Idk if I really have a true favorite though (Klaus, probably)

[fenoderee]

Shinya [Drums] Interview

Our fourth solo interview is with Shinya, who is the foundation of the band. Shinya has been focusing on simple phrasing and groove in recent years, so how did he approach his latest album "Oboro"?

Basically I don't think about the details, I just do what comes to my mind and I don't worry about it.

-It seems that the songwriting process started very early on, but did you have the new album in mind from the beginning?

Shinya: That's right. I've been working on the songs for the new album. So we decided to release a single, and we talked about which of our existing songs we should release as a single, and "Oboro" was chosen.

-In your case, I personally feel that you've always written songs with a lot of energy or beauty. When you were thinking about the album, what kind of ideas and images did you have in your mind in the early stages of composition?

Shinya:I didn't really think about it before I wrote the song, I just started writing it, and as a result, I couldn't write anything but intense stuff.

-When you say "intense," do you mean songs with a fast BPM?

Shinya: That's right.

-There are several ways to compose a song, how did you do it this time?

Shinya: Recently, I've been using a plug-in guitar instrument that I really like. It has a lot of heavy sounds in it, so I just play it and think about what I want to do.

-What kind of composition system do you currently have at home? It is known to your fans that you are an Apple fanatic, and you seem to be changing to the latest version every year. Do you use the same kind of system for your compositions?

Shinya: It's the other way around, I'm very minimalistic now. I only use one laptop for composing.

-Do you want to install all your DTM software on the computer?

Shinya: That's right. I don't play guitar anymore when I write songs, so I've removed the audio interface. It's a very compact period.

-At the time of this writing, you are touring the country with the "Meguro Rokumeikan Gig", but if you take that computer with you, you can compose music in your dressing room?

Shinya: If I wanted to, I could, but I don't think I will (laughs).

-Did it change the way you came up with the ideas and the process of shaping the songs?

Shinya: That's right. When I used to compose, I used to play my guitar at home and write riffs by myself. But now I don't have a guitar and I'm working on it, so I think the guitar phrases I make have changed.

-So the intense songs you wrote were not chosen for the single, but do you have any plans to make it into the album?

Shinya: The song wasn't selected when it was written, so it was probably rejected (laughs).

-That's not something to say while laughing (laughs). By the way, Shinya, you're the type of person who actively goes to see other people's live performances. I think the main reason is because it's your favorite band or artist, but I also think that seeing a live performance can stimulate you in terms of calligraphy and creative therapy. Now that I have become a member of Corona, I can no longer go to live concerts, and DIR EN GREY has almost completely stopped performing. What do you do for musical input in such a situation?

Shinya: Hmmm... I don't think so at the moment (laughs). Especially when it comes to music.

-Do you ever go through various albums and videos by yourself?

Shinya: No, I don't. I just use what I have inside me right now.

-Shinya's musical tastes are well known to his fans, but is there anything new that has resonated with you during this composing process?

Shinya: Hmmm... I haven't explored anything new in the other solutions.

-Did you go back to your roots and what you like?

Shinya: No, I didn't think about that too much, I just made the songs naturally.

-How did you spend your time at stay home, as a musician and as an individual?

Shinya: I was doing nothing but editing videos (laughs). That's why I was spending most of my time on my YouTube channel.

-I've been watching it for a while now, and I'm also a subscriber to the channel, so please answer me politely (laughs).

Shinya: Oh, thank you very much (laughs).

-Of course it's fun to do, but is there anything exciting about it?

Shinya: When I was working on it, I thought that it was very similar to songwriting. You can keep working on it, and it never ends.

-If you want to be particular, you can go all the way.

That's right, even for a single video, there are endless things you can do.

-The timing of inserting a subtitle, the choice of font, etc.

Shinya: Yes, yes (laughs). Once you start paying attention to the details, there's really no end to it. It's similar to songwriting..

-Is Shinya the type of person who spends a lot of time focusing on various aspects of a song, even when he's writing it individually?

Shinya : With DIR EN GREY, I always bring the original songs to the studio before I've finished them. I know that as the members' ideas come in, it will definitely change from the shape I've created. That's why I don't go into too much detail (laughs), I only make it to a certain point because it's going to change anyway. I try to make it so that the members can understand the side of the song.

-You said that when you select songs in the band, you don't know who wrote which song. Do you ever get feedback from the band members afterwards?

Shinya: I was asked afterwards about the songs I wrote this time. "That's Shinya's song." Then, he said, "Oh, I liked it."

-So you've had that conversation? If you listen to the demo, do you know who made it?

Shinya: Yes, you're right. Yes, I don't have a definitive answer, but I can vaguely tell.

-Although it wasn't adopted, it's nice to be told that it's your favourite song.

Shinya: Well...yes, but the song selection is a majority decision.

-There are always multiple layers to a song, but each time you're inspired to write a new song from a different angle?

Shinya: No, I don't have any particular plans at the moment, since I'm in the middle of an explosive screening (laughs ). Once the songwriting starts again, I'm sure I'll be motivated like you said. I still have my computer with me, but I'm not writing songs, I'm collecting videos (laughs).

-That's a good point (laughs). You've been working on the album for a long time, what do you hope to achieve with it?

Shinya: Up until now, I've been thinking of songs that can evolve in a live setting, but this time, even if we make an album, we don't know if we will be able to perform live or tour like we have in the past. So I've been thinking about it with that situation in mind.

-In other words, rather than evolving through live performances, do you have a sense of construction that evolves completely during the production process?

Shinya: Well, to put it simply, it's a nuance.

-Do you want to take a different approach to the drums?

Shinya: No, when it comes to drum phrases, I don't think about the details, I just do what comes to my mind. I don't worry about it too much.

-What was your impression of this single, "Oboro", when you heard the original song?

Shinya: Well... I was working on several songs at the same time, and I don't remember what the original "Oboro" song sounded like.

-Were the other songs that you were arranging and pre-producing at the same time too strong for you?

Shinya: It was all very strong. The drum approach for "Oboro" was just what I thought of when I heard the original song, without any worries.

We're going to do a live performance for an audience on the 6th of May, but we don't know what's going to happen after that, so we're going to do it as if it might be our last one.

-You said that you often set up an electric drum machine at home and make drum arrangements while playing, is this the same style you used for "Oboro" and the new songs you were working on?

Shinya: When I'm thinking of drum phrases, I don't use an electric drum but just use the mouse. In the past, I used to focus on the basic groove of the song, and I used to add drum phrases while actually playing the drums. But the period of thinking while playing is over now…

-I didn't know you had such a time frame in mind (laughs). Thinking with the mouse is a way of avoiding the first days of DTM, isn't it?

Shinya: Yes, it's the way we did it in the beginning. I think the period of time I was thinking about it while I was in the city changed my way of thinking about drum place. It's hard to describe it in words (laughs).

-I'll take care of that. I'm a subscriber to the Shinya Channel, so be nice to me (lol).

Shinya: Well, I guess I should say I've got it all figured out. I've learned about the advantages of using an electric drum and the differences between using a mouse and thinking with an electric drum, and now I'm able to create phrases and grooves with just a mouse while playing the electric drum, so I think it's not a problem. I can now type in rhythms and phrases with the same time signature as if I were actually playing.

-Do you find it easier to come up with something unexpected by not thinking of phrases as you play?

Shinya: Yes, one of the advantages of playing the piano is that you can create phrases that you can't edit. You can create phrases that you can't edit with your own hands. That's why I started thinking about drum arrangements by typing with the mouse in the early days. In this song "Oboro", I used the mouse a lot in the A melody and other phrases. The demo phrases that I came up with using only the mouse were much stronger and weaker, but when I actually played them on live drums, I couldn't get that level of intensity.

-Do you mean simply the volume?

Shinya: That's right. The core of each sound has to come out properly in live drums, so even if you add a strong instrument, if it's too weak, the core won't come out. The image was different from the one I had in the mouse, but it turned out good, so I didn't have any trouble. I also thought a lot about the guitar in the drum braise of "Oboro". It's the solo part.

-It's a drum approach that is making a difference.

Shinya: Yes. I tried to make a good movement when I hit it. The form of the striking and the movement of the arms are flowing.

-You have a large number of cymbals anyway, and they are set up around the effects cymbals. Effect cymbals have a shorter blue sustain than normal cymbals. That's why when you use a lot of cymbals, do you consider the tendency of the sound of each cymbal and the length of the sustain while constructing the phrase itself?

Shinya: That's what I'm trying to do, to make it so that it's smooth and the previous movements flow. But when we were recording, we didn't talk about it that much. At the live show, I think "I used this cymbal on the recording, but I'll use that cymbal at the live show", so at the live show, I try to pursue the movement more.

-You‘re a drummer who can go beyond. You mentioned that you bring the same cymbals and settings to your recordings as you do live?

Shinya: There are as many cymbals as there are live, but the tycoons are more like two thimbles, two toms and one floor. It's a set of two toms and one floor.

-I think it's important to be careful when making drum sounds.

Shinya: Yes, it is. The drums are the most important part of the sound. I leave it to the tuner. I asked the tuner to listen to a demo of a drum phrase that I typed in with my mouse, and then I asked him to create a drum sound that would fit the phrase. I didn't start working with the drum tuner on recordings until 2019 (The World of Mercy), and he also joined me on several occasions during the tour. The sound on that tour was so good that we started asking them to play on 'The World of Mercy'. It's easier to make a good sound in a live setting, but if the tuner can make a sound that I'm happy with, then I can trust him for the recording. For the recording of "Oboro", they tuned it to the sound I had imagined from the beginning.

-I get the impression that you always do your recordings without getting bogged down, but this time?

Shinya: Just like that. We also recorded the coupling song "T.D.F.F." at that time, but we didn't get stuck. But I recorded it part by part, so it took a bit longer. If I'm happy with the intro, I'll go on to the A melody, and so on, starting from the beginning of the song. It takes a lot of concentration to record each part. Also, sometimes the song isn't written until the day before, so I haven't memorised the phrases yet (laughs). The structure of "Oboro" wasn't even ready until the day before we recorded it. So when I played it, I put the recording side by side and concentrated on each part.

-What did you think of the coupling track "T.D.F.F."?

Shinya: I didn't change much in terms of drum phrases, but I tried to give it a bit more energy. As a result, there are a little less detailed snare phrases than on the original version.

-When you do a self-remake, do you tend to go in with a different stance than the original?

Shinya: It depends on how it's arranged. If the whole arrangement is completely different, I'll consider it a controversial piece and work on it. But basically, I try not to change the original phrases. When SUGIZO joined X JAPAN, he said, "Classical phrases are all different depending on the performer, even if the phrases are not changed“ . That's why SUGIZO said he was playing the same phrases as HIDE. That's why I want to show that although the phrases are the same, they are actually different.

-It's all luck. Even though the phrases are the same, each note is different, and this progression is the growth.

Shinya: Yes. It's a bit embarrassing to call it growth, but I think it's different even though it's the same phrase. But there are things that only the ward of that time could do, but there are also things that only the ward of today can do.

-What mode are you in as a drummer in 2021?

Shinya: I don't really think about it, I just want to play a good drum.

-When I started thinking about the phrases in Mouse, it was also the time when the Band started performing and touring overseas, and the Band's drummers and musicians that I played with at festivals and other events were always saying, "The drums in DIR EN GREY are so circular and amazing. I wondered if Shinya had some kind of special meaning behind the way he phrased the songs“ .

Shinya: Even if I say I've gone back, the way I put it on is completely different from back then. I was thinking of doing something complicated back then, but now I'm thinking of making it as simple as possible. I'm saying that now, but I think it will change depending on what kind of new songs I'm going to play. I'm going to release "Oboro" as a single, but I don't think you can see the spirit of the album from this song alone, in fact I think the album will have a completely different feel. In addition to "Oboro", the other songs on the album will have more impact in the direction of things. I may have done something uncomplicated before the drums... (laughs).

-By the way, today was the first time you met your fans in Osaka, are you getting more excited about the show?

Shinya: Yes, I am. We're going to play to an audience on May 6th, but after that we don't know what will happen. So I'm going to do it with the mindset that it might be my last live. I'm looking forward to seeing how it will be expressed in the actual live performance.

Text/ YUKINOBU HASEGAWA, HIROKI KATAGIRI [GiGS/Equipment]

Photo/ REISHI EGUMA [C-LOVe CREATORS]

Translations by me.

[sibunaranks]

HOA characters and the nickelodeon characters they’d be friends with

I chose to do this without repeating shows. I also for some chose people very similar and for others people who i thought could get along. I put a lot of thought and effort into this so please tell me your thoughts or request a disney version.

Nina Martin - Zoey Brooks (Zoey 101) - Both of these girls are they perspective “Leaders” of their “Groups”. They were both new girls and both met a guy who instantly fell for them. They both are reasonable and a mom of the group. Would probably enjoy sharing similar stories about their crazy friend groups over lunch.

Fabian Rutter - Lewis McCartney (H2O: Just Add Water) - They are both the scientific logic guy in a magical situation. They both hang out with girls more than the guys. Both do a lot of the research for their perspective groups. Would both probably enjoy a good logical conversation about science or would wanna help find the logic behind their perspective mysteries. 

Amber Millington - Carly Shay (ICarly) - Carly has experience dealing with someone not so book-smart but still loving and fun as she and sam were always friends. I think she wouldn’t mind Amber being a bit ditsy at times and could handle it. They both only have dads. I think Carly and Nina are a lot alike in mindset and therefor also make this make sense to me. Both enjoy fashion. Could easily see them having a girly shopping spree and rom-com outing. 

Alfie Lewis - Fred Figglehorn (Fred: The Show) - I never said they’d all be smart friendships. these two would be way too chaotic. They’d feed each others ideas. Jerome and Alfie work because Jerome levels Alfie, Fred would do the opposite but they’d vibe well. They both think they are more talented then they are. They both believe in the supernatural and get paranoid with it too so theres also that. 

Eddie Miller - Jake Collins (The Troop) - THESE TWO ARE TWINS. Like i didn’t notice before but holy cow are they practically identical in some ways. Both messy. Both in secret clubs of evil fighters. Both awkward at times. Both goofy. But fuck up a lot despite being in their roles. I could do on forever. If you know Jake you know this is perfect.

Patricia Williamson - Meghan Parker (Drake and Josh) - These two would appreciate each other. Especially in season one where you could tell Jerome and Alfie were Patricia’s Drake and Josh. They both have people around them they love but would rather tease than admit it. They both are good pranksters. Would 100% run from the cops together for some shit they did. 

Mara Jaffray - Alli Bendhari (Degrassi: The Next Generation) - They are both so alike in mulitple ways. both very different from parents. Both super smart and good at school. Both have lots of friends. Both are a bit boy crazy. And both can be a bitch if they need/want to be. They are also both have indian heritage if i’m not mistaken about Mara being half or quarter indian. 

Joy Mercer - Kacey Simon (How to Rock) - These are both fierce ladies. They both have great style and are your typical teenage girl. They both go through a change and deal with changes in friend group dynamics and new people too which they could relate too. They take charge. I think they’d get along great .

Jerome Clarke - James Diamond (Big Time Rush) - Change the word Money to Fame and you have the same level of hustling. While James is less devious with his plans he’d also done somethings like stealing and minor kidnapping (lol) even with his purer heart. They are also big on hair. Would totally talk about mouse and shampoo for an hour together. Jerome can’t sing and would probs be jealous of James too but would admire his talents and James would probs admire Jerome’s smarts and be jelly of him in return. They’d add to eachother.

KT Rush - Tori Vega (Victorious) - They are both seen as gay from their fandoms. Not saying they’d date but could def be bonded from both being LGBTQIA+. They are also both very happy fun people. They are also both newbies when they come to their schools and are instantly hated by the “Mean” girl for getting too close to her man. Boy could they share stories one upping eachother for hours. 

Mick Campbell - Jennifer Mosley (Ned’s Declassified: School Survival Guide) - They are both popular and well liked. They also both have multiple people who wanna date them and fight over them at points. They are both sporty. They are also both nice. They differ in other areas but Moze has always been a guy friend kinda girl and they’d be fast friends and training buddies.

Willow Jenks - Lulu Johnson (True Jackson VP) - Both of these girls are too happy for their own good. While Willow is a lot “Dumber” than Lulu, Lulu deals with Ryan and would be fine dealing with Willow and love her for her best qualities. They could talk about ponies for days. They also both have boyfriends they adore. Would probably have the silliest sleepovers. 

[jq37]

Maybe I'm also being animal racist, but a current guess I have for oMaM is that the rabbit Sly saw at the docks was actually the newspaper photographer who seems to be spending a lot of energy documenting Sly's movements at this party, and the bad lighting/state of intoxicated introspection led Syl to make a wrong assumption. (Also did you ever watch Hoodwinked? Spoilers: the reporter bunny did it)

lol hey guys. So I've been fairly MIA the past couple of weeks due to my job trying to actively murder me but I wanted to pop in for a hot second to talk about where we are theory-wise at this point in the season.

First of all, to address the actual ask, I feel like Brennan must have known Longfoot would be suspicious due to ~animal racism~ and put him in as a red herring and now we have even more info to back that up.

I suspect that what's going on with the stuff in the manor is a version of the Pepper's ghost illusion which involves mirrors to do ghostly projections and look pretty darn good for an effect that was invented hundreds of years ago. If you've ever ridden Haunted Mansion at Disney, that's the effect they use to do the waltzing ghosts (fun fact, because the effect mirrors the objects it's used on and the Imagineers forgot to take that into account, all of the female ghosts are leading in the dance!) But that's just fluff, let's talk plot.

So last week's ep threw a LOT of suspicion on Sly with him literally being painted at the villain and Grant doing absolutely nothing to defend himself. And, I'll admit, it would be pretty delicious to not only have Sly foreshadow it earlier with his coy, "Why yes, it also could have been me," and also that Grant himself would have [REDACTED] Rekha a SECOND TIME (watch the Murder Mystery ep of Game Changers if you don't know what I mean--it's my fave ep). But I talked it over with my watch buddy @camwritery and I don't think Sly is actually a baddie. I think this is a double double cross (Lol a cross from Mr. Cross). Here's my thought process.

(1) Yes there's that stack of letters Daisy found in Sly's hand but those easily could have been forged. I'd like Buck to take a look at those since he has that rogue handwriting checking ability.

(2) Squire Badger specially said something was coming to F Sly up and Sly could tell he wasn't the mastermind. Fletcher would make the most sense as to who the mastermind actually is. Like, it wouldn't be so much a twist to the audience but it would be a big ass twist to the CHARACTERS who thought he was fully dead (for the most part) and I feel like that matters more than "subverting expectations" or whatever. It's possible we find out it's actually another party guest I guess (or more likely, that some number of them are involved as accomplices) but Brennan said last week we've met all the characters and it's too late to introduce a new person at this point. And Fletcher is such a through line in Sly and Daisy's stories, it would be weird to not go for the payoff.

(3) So Fletcher is alive. We know this. What would a dead but not dead criminal mastermind want? To ruin his arch nemesis, obv. So, how do you do that? Maybe you fake the death of some mouse to create an unsolvable murder to drive him crazy? And then maybe you work with the person who the fake murder pissed off (because of Sly's inability to "solve" it) to ruin Sly because that guy hates Sly now? And maybe you involve some element of faking deaths in your plan because a faked death is what was central to the original plot that made Sly's reputation and ruined your family? That's so convoluted but this is a guy who handcuffed himself to his enemy and jumped off a waterfall. He's clearly a drama queen and he has nothing but time.

(4) I think Sly has figured this out to some degree and he's decided that letting himself get captured is the best option for him at the moment. Like, he didn't protest at all. Which, yes, checks out to his laidback, posh casual persona but I think he knows that if anything happens to anyone while he's locked up then it casts suspicion on someone besides him or it means the "murders" have to stop because no one will kill anyone while he's not active as a possible suspect due to literally not being able to murder anyone. Speaking of--

(5) Yeah, I don't believe these are murders. All those dead bodies from the list? Badgers, corvids, horned animals. That's the badger fam and their spouses. And the one guy we "knew" was dead also doesn't seem to be dead (which Brennan seeded from the start with Conor's widow hearing his voice which seems possible if she lives so close and he was alive this whole time). I guess framing Sly for a full family murder or something was the plan? But that doesn't quite check out because presumably they'd un-die at some point and I feel like they wouldn't want to live under assumed identities in animal Bavaria or something. I know news doesn't travel fast w/o the internet but they're prominent people. News would spread I assume. Maybe the death faking was to make Sly believe he was crazy? Or to believe in ghosts? Messing with a genius's mind is I'm sure one of the worst things you can do. There's also Buck's Frankenstein theory which is a little out there but they were trying crazy stuff with electricity and dead bodies back in the day. Kind of a wild pull but cam sent me this about a Dr. Squires from the same-ish time period shocking someone back to life. It would be wild and now we have some alt explanations for the electricity but gotta explore all options. And this would Constance to call her dad a madman, lol.

(6) Grant/Sly has a lot more info than us with all those maddening redacted texts so it's very likely he has some long game happening we know nothing about. I wondered if he might have known about Fletcher for a while--when Daisy revealed he was alive he was surprised but I don't remember if he was surprised that he was alive or if it was ambiguous and it might just be that he didn't tell her. I assumed he didn't know at all (because I feel like that's what Brennan narrated in episode 1) but I need to go back and check.

(7) At the end of the day, D20 is a show that rewards love and friendship over betrayal and the like. This very much could be the first season with a real betrayal but I'm kinda skeptical. Sly could just be a big faker but he seems genuine to me. Also, what would his motive even be here? This doesn't seem like his style and I don't know why he'd do this.

(8) Lars failed their check on purpose and Ian saw full puppydog earnestness. Sly if you've been a bad guy this whole time and Lars didn't know, bitch I'll kill you

(9) Not really on topic but I want to note, Daisy's find of that second trick portrait makes me thing my theory was correct and there's a third somewhere. I wonder where.

(10) Even less on topic but the "Show Her Your Butt 2: Electric Boogaloo" sequence last week made me spit soda everywhere and I think that should be acknowledged.

[kimberly-spirits13]

Right Hand Man (Loyal to the End) Pt. 8

Pairing: Damian Wayne x reader

Synopsis: You were like Talia’s daughter. The only thing was that you weren’t and instead, you had grown up in the foster care system and at a young age were taken by and personally trained by Talia. Along the way, you meet Damian and the two of you start to work side by side and eventually, after some time become closer and closer. However, when disaster in the league strikes, you face balancing an old, forgotten life as a normal child and the burden of right hand to the demon heir.

Note: I know that this is long and that there are a good number of time skips, but I didn’t want to make this into a series and just wanted it as a long fic because .... well because I can lol

Also, I didn’t want to have Damian so young in this so just go with it. I’m thinking maybe early 15 or almost 16 at the most. Idk I just don’t like writing for young Dami.

Warnings: angst, almost losing someone, buildings on fire, bombs, the usual lol

Word Count: 2181

Masterlist for Series

Both you and Damian had now been secretly dating for two months. It was an exhausting game of cat and mouse of either running from his family, or the prying eyes of the press. You had just excepted at this point that this was just going to be a new normal for a long time. There was nothing you could seriously complain about much however. This was all you had wanted for years and if the company of clandestine meetings was going to be a center of attention in this relationship, that was what was going to happen.

        Dates were mainly just tea or coffee on the rooftops late at night for only a short amount of time if it was on patrol, and longer if it was at the manor. Right now, you were sitting in the library, laying in Damian’s lap, both reading your own books. No one but Alfred was in the manor however, you were sure that he knew about you and Damian. Light streamed in through the windows and silence blanketed the room as Damian ran his fingers through your hair, occasionally braiding it. You fiddled with the matching golden ring on your left ring finger some as he did this. This was the most relaxed you had been in years and you wouldn’t trade it for anything.

        He didn’t know this until recently, but the only professor that had ever lived was one that you had. Your voice professor used to braid your hair during warm ups. She was the closest thing that you had ever had to a mother and in return for this, you begged Talia to let her live. You decided not to make it out so that you trusted or cared for her, but rather that she had connections to people that the league could use. With this tactic, Talia actually allowed her to leave but under a life- long oath of secrecy to protect the league. You braid your own hair when you were stressed or anxious but it’s better having someone else do it. Damian only found out when you started braiding and braiding your own hair in the roof tops one night at the league, only to let the piece unravel and start again.

        “Beloved are you going to go on patrol tonight?” He asked breaking the silence.

        “Of course.” You answered, “Is there a reason you asked?”

        “No, I was just checking.”

        “...Damian, how long do you think we’re going to stay a secret? I’m not upset or anything of the sort, it’s just a bit exhausting sometimes.” You questioned, flipping the page of your book.

        “I don’t really know Beloved. How long do you think you’d want to stay like this?” Damian set down his book to give the conversation his attention seeing as this one was important.

        You audibly sighed as he started braiding a portion of your hair, twisting it around and then letting it lose again, “I don’t really know, 3 months at most maybe?”

        “Are you tired of seeing strangers online pine away after me?” He asked smirking.

        You rolled your eyes and jokingly slapped his arm making him laugh, “What about me? I’ve seen plenty of suitors for myself.”

        “Don’t remind me Y/N.”

        “Oh no, I’ll remind you. First there was one that actually messaged me asking if I was single. Oh, another that tweeted asking if I was single. Then, there was another that mailed a love letter to the man-“

        Damian cut you off, putting his hand over your mouth making you laugh. You sat up and sat crisscrossed in his lap facing him, running your fingers through his hair.

        “You didn’t really think you could shut me up that easily did you demon?” You asked quietly.

        “I’d gage you would find a way to get your point across any way you could General.” He kissed the corner of your lips which made you glare at him some before pulling him in for a real kiss.

        “Next time some girl gets a hold of you at a gala though, just make sure not to charm her for me, will you?”

        “Whatever you say.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        Patrol started off boring and uneventful. Nothing exciting was happening but for maybe a few ally level crimes. You and Damian were perched on the rooftops looking down at the city lights and occasional people. Damian had obviously gotten the whole Robin outfit, in his own version of course. You however, took the same style as your past uniform. It was similar in the sense that it was amour and a hood, you still had your knives and compartments, this time though, the color was different. He couldn’t see the look on your face through the mask you were wearing which covered your lower face to your eyes, but he was sure you were bored. He was going to start a conversation when the comms came on with Bruce talking loudly.

        “I need everyone at the Rosehill Apartments on 7th Street! There’s multiple bombs spread throughout the building, civilians are inside.”

        You looked at Damian who nodded at you before you both swung off the building.

        “ETA 2 minutes.” You replied back getting onto your own bike and speeding off towards 7th St. following Damian.

_______________________________________________________________________

        Upon arrival to the building, you could see that everyone else was already inside but for Nightwing who on crowd duty until you two had gotten there.

        “There’s one more bomb in the kitchens. Everyone else is either getting their own or helping the residences escape.”

        You looked around for an entrance that wasn’t in terrible condition. Once you found one you ran towards it at full speed with a bomb on your mind.

        “Stick close, the roof might not be stable anymore.” You said, “If the bomb goes off, I expect you to leave immediately.”

        “Beloved I’m not leaving you if anything happens.” Robin replied running beside you.

        You didn’t reply, instead bursting into the kitchen and jumping over one of the carts in the way of your path. Using the locator on your wrist device, you scanned the room stopping when it got a hit.

        “It’s in the freezer!” You ran over and opened the door into the large room, “Hold this open and make sure it doesn’t close, I’ll disarm the bomb.”

        Damian nodded and did what you said as you went inside and ripped open one of the floorboards to find a massive collecting of wires and buttons connected onto one device. The type of timebomb was one that you had seen plenty of times before in training and when you yourself had used them. Part of training was learning to make one so it wasn’t too terribly difficult to disarm this one. The hard part was getting out.

        “Y/S/H/N!” You heard from behind you as you were about to stand up, “The place is on fire.” Damian called out, “We have to leave!”         You turned around and saw the place ablaze. Damian already had his other mask up over his face so he could breathe when you got out of the freezer. The two of you started running out to find the hallway also up in flames.

        “Don’t come near the kitchens, the whole place is going up in flames.” You said, “Bomb has been disarmed however.”

        “Good, now get out of there.” Batman replied back.

        “Working on that.”

        You and Damian sprinted down the hallway making sure no one else was inside on your way out. Once in the lobby you turned hearing someone screaming from a room nearby.

        “I’ll be right back.” You said turning around locating the person who was a small child.

        “I can’t find my Mommy.” She said sobbing into your arms.

        “I promise you I’ll find her.” You said running back up front, “I’m going to give you to Robin and he’ll take you outside, I’ll find your mommy.”

        You reached the front of the building where Robin was, “Take her, she can’t find her mother, I’m going in after her.”

        “You can’t, the building is going to come down at any minute!” Damian said taking the girl in his arms.

        “I have to check, I can’t let her grow up without parents like I did.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        You ran inside not really aware of what was happening outside anymore. Looking around you saw no sign of anyone but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t be buried under something. As you did this, you pulled out the scanner again but this time had it scan for biological creatures instead of machinery. There was nothing at the point where you were. Going farther into the structure was a no go at this point but it was your only option.

        Outside, Damian was trying to find the girl’s mother in the crowd as he mentally cursed himself for allowing you to go inside. He should’ve done more, he could’ve done more but he didn’t. Running to the line of ambulances, he looked for someone that matched the girl’s description of her mother. When he finally found the person, he rushed over just in time for the lady to see her daughter and burst into tears. She hugged her daughter and thanked Damian for bringing her back to her before Damian rushed back to find you.

        “Y/N!” He screamed getting inside catching your attention.

        Further down the hallway you heard Damian yelling for you. You turned around and started headed quickly for him and once he saw you, he announced that they had found the mother outside of the building. The two of you started running for the exit when you looked up hearing a faint beeping. The exit was 50 feet ahead and the closer to it you got, the louder the sound.

        “Damian! There’s a bomb above us, I- I think it’s about to blow.” You said as pieces of wood from the building came down little by little, “5 seconds now!”

        Damian had a look of terror as he picked up the pace. You knew that both of you wouldn’t make it without a little boost so you got behind Damian and launched him out of the way where Nightwing was standing right as the building was coming down. The last thing you heard was a defining thunder and then the screams Damian who was kicking and trying to get away from Nightwing to go back for you.

        “Y/N is still inside you idiot let me go!” He sobbed trying to elbow his oldest brother in the rib.

        The second round of explosions came, only making the structure collapse more, fire raining down.

        “Beloved!” He screeched making Nightwing almost drop him in surprise at what he called you.

        He understood why Damian was fighting so hard now, but that didn’t mean that he could let him go. The rest of the family standing by heard it as well. It would’ve been hard to miss anyways.

        “You can’t go in after her!” Nightwing yelled over the explosion.

        “I have to! She’s the only one I have, I have to go! Let me go!” Damian got lose just as the dust was settling.

        He ran to where he last saw you and started digging, tears filling his eyes so that he couldn’t see. There was no chance you were still alive and if you were, it wouldn’t be for long. That was when he heard you try and move something. He was looking in the wrong place, only a few feet away. When he saw where you were, he lifted the piles of wood and debris off of you to find you badly injured and hardly awake.

        “Beloved stay awake for me okay?” He said lifting you up out of the rubble.

        There was a part of your side where you had gotten impaled. It didn’t look like it hit any vital organs, however, you were bleeding out rapidly.

        He swept the hair out of your face and gently held you to him as he ran for the Batmoblie quickly trailed by everyone else. With you in the backseat, Nightwing front, and Batman driving, you were quickly headed for the cave. Damian wrapped your wounds tightly and held your head up in his lap checking your pulse every few seconds.

        “How is she?” Bruce asked sparing a glance at the back seat.    

        “Unwell, I-I don’t know how she’s still alive.” Damian responded.

        “Enhanced strength from the pit.” You groaned some in pain.

        “What the hell?!” Dick turned around to see you trying to sit up, “Enhanced strength my ass, how many times did you take a dip?”

        That earned a sharp glare from Damian and a reprimand from Bruce. He apologized realizing that he overstepped.

        “Beloved don’t move like that, just stay down.” Damian said gently, “You’ll only hurt yourself more.

        Getting to the cave, you don’t remember much, just waves of pain and floating in and out of consciousness. The only part that you really remember was the worst part, but that was later to come when everyone really thought you would die.

Tag List-

@we-want-mini-mini​ @a-door-into-my-mind​ @idkmanicantenglish​ @queengeorgiaaa​ @lucy-roo​ @wolfiemichele​ @grey-water-colors​ @random-fandom-girl-24​ @crumpets-are-better-with-jam​

[tomiyeee]

9& 16 for the ask!

under cut cuz long lol

9) Thoughts on the redesigns?

vert with a goatee feels fitting. it’d be hard to change the main character much more than that and i’ve already long been warmed up to goatees on characters since, what...ffxv? so i like it. wish they had made his surferness more apparent, but his design is too sexy as is to fit that anywhere without destroying the aesthetic. the tank top’s good enough and it’s cute as hell anyway. 9.5/10

kadeem is vastly different, but both versions look good, tho Acc does have more recognizable features (primarily the hair) which makes that version easier to draw. that’s part of the reason i haven’t drawn much banj/kadeem since they are the hardest for me :( there’s just not much to ‘em. 7/10

lani is certainly a lot more unique in Acc. the hoop earrings are a nice touch, even if they may not be practical as a mechanic. i applaud her for being confident enough to work with large machinery and cars without ripping her ears off. i appreciate that they didn’t go overboard with her hawai’i background, though they very easily could have; she’s just someone who happens to be from hawai’i and i love that bc same hat. wish she couldve been more differentiated from karma, tho that’d probably be better solved on karma’s side than lani’s. blue girl w/pale skin and black ponytail is already taken, make karma a red head or smth. also my friend mentioned giving lani a more neutral, less teku-themed color scheme, like purple and yeah. also ditch the bug eyes, they’re always unsettling to look at on her, tone, and taro. 8/10

markie has an excuse. 1/10

kurt got more boring in both aesthetic and personality. street breed had the coolest uniforms and overall theme, but in Acc kurt has the messiest outfit on teku--everyone else has pretty coherent outfits that u can kinda get the gist of and draw from memory with one glance. his just looks like a mess of colors and graphics slapped onto a skin-tight jumpsuit. what is that shit on his legs. haircut bad too. he’s at least recognizable. 5/10

taro...honestly i think i’ve built up an immunity to acceleracers proportions enough to not have a visceral reaction to seeing him anymore. a lot of it really is just amplified by his disproportionately sexy WR design. i wish they had kept some semblance of his original design for consistency’s sake, but on it’s own it’s not really any more or less fucked up than any other Acc designs. purple lipstick bad. that outfit? burn it. sir you are a millionaire, stop digging in the trash for clothing. go buy urself something nice and buy some clothes for ur friends too while ur at it. 3/10

WR tezla looks marginally better than Acc (or what is the other way around? dont remember) but his full body cast is stupid. chin pistons??? moon shoes??? giant metal mickey mouse gloves??? what are you doing old man?? 4/10

gelorum got worse but more iconic. her WR design looked cooler and fit her vibes better but looked generic; if you saw fanart of her w/o context it’d prob be hard to recognize what she’s from. Acc is much better in that regard but the hair style is weird and the green face lines are cool in concept but could’ve been done better. collar feels out of place, would replace with just a higher collar on the dress. design overall feels very off-balance, with most of the details and non-black colors only at the top and left (with her arm) and the bottom 80% just being a plain black dress. most of the robot parts don’t make sense no matter how you look at it--why just the one robot arm? why the green face lines/forehead plate? why the collar?--and just feel slapped on for the hell of it. good concept, poor execution. 3/10

16) Any crossover/AU ideas?

so many...gonna dump em all here since i realize i dont think ive put these anywhere outside our discord

httyd - i’ve actually posted designs for synkro, bassline, and nightlife as well as a drone as dragons. there’s also a power rage nadder that i never posted anywhere. it’s not a finalized design, just the first iteration that i never bothered to go back n refine at all.

tf2 - ...yeah

overwatch - not much thought put into this beyond vague similarities, but still fun to think about :)

(incomplete) pokemon teams - never got the chance to go thru n find 6 for each of em, but some do have types/themes. asterisks are their aces.

[nightowlfandom]

PROMPT LIST PART 4 2021 EDITION (NON- X RATED)

It...had been a long time coming I said this was coming....last year and it just didn’t happen. Until now! 

Rules- One, If a character you are asking for is depicted as high school age, then please be aware they will be written in a style that has them being 18 or older and most likely will not be written in a NSFW sense. I enforce this rule because while I do like writing for people, SFW or NSFW it’s just...what I like to do. I have every right to deny your request, please keep that in mind. Two....there is no rule two.

Here’s how you request- Choose 2- 5 prompts (No more than 5, no less than 2) and those will used to make a one-shot or two-shot depending on how long it gets. You need to tell me who you want me to write about (and if it’s an AU, then state that as well.) Then give me a short summary of what you want it to be about. (Example- You want a Vampire AU about Levi Ackerman with 2,5, 18, 27, and 45. Boom!) If you want smut, PLEASE SPECIFY! I won’t write smut if you don’t ask. Same with if you want a certain type of au or fluff/ angst. Just let me know.

Side note- I write a lot of AU’s and am pretty much open to whatever. Yandere, Tsundere, Office AU, Mafia AU, Vampire AU, Royal AU, Ghost AU, Magical AU -BItch I do everything. HOWEVER I WILL NOT WRITE non-consent, Incest (including step siblings), Underaged readers and anything along those lines.

I write for fluff, smut, AND angst. More fluff and smut but yeah. I also ask if you could say ‘please’ when you request because MANNERS PEOPLE!

Do I do ships- YES! Not often but if you ask I’ll do it.

Link to my masterlist here!

I write for various K-pop groups, animes, Voltage games/Otome Visual Novels, and Final Fantasy/Misc. If you need clarification on if I write for a certain character just go ahead and ask

By the way if you see some repeats from my last prompt list, just hushity hush! I liked them okay? It’s our little secret alright? I will NOT take requests from past prompt lists.

... (Actual prompts below the cut) ⬇️

...

1- Have you ever just wanted to...run away from it all?

2-  I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time...

3- People like that are just jealous of you, you know that right?

4- Stop looking down, you’re too pretty to be that shy.

5- I know you’ve never done anything with anyone before…so I’m gonna make sure your first time is special!

6- You asked me to take care of it...so I’ll take care of it.

7- If anyone even THINKS about touching you, I’ll kick their asses!

8-Oh baby, I treat you like a maid because that’s basically all you are.

9- I love this new angry side of you, it’s so hot.

10- I think I’ll keep you as a pet! You’re fun to mess with.

11- Why can’t you just admit you have feelings for me?!

12- I love you. I-I said it! I just-...I love you so much Y/N

13- I’m not shy! I’m just not used to girls like you being so close to me.

14- Cute? Did you call me cute?!? 

15- Come on! We have so much to do today!

16- Do you want me to sing a song for you to help you get to sleep? Okay then...

17- Well you just kissed me and I don’t even know your name...wanna fix that?

18- Alright, alright! I’ll stop making fun of you okay? Just don’t leave.

19- Hmm, who you tryna’ look sexy for babygirl?

20- Don’t finish that sentence darling...it won’t end well for you.

21- Let’s cuddle and I’ll stroke your hair, okay?

22- I dare you to finish that sentence...

23- Is that my shirt?

24- We can’t be just friends...I’m too in love with you.

25- What. Did. They. Say to you? I won’t ask again.

26- S-so, I guess this means we’re together now?

27- I couldn’t stop thinking about you all day.

28- Shhh, be quiet. We can’t be too loud, babe.

29- When are you going to realize that I can treat you better than he could?!

30- Dance for me. I’ll sit right here and you put on a show, okay?

31- I know it seems like we’re moving too fast but I haven’t felt this way about someone in a long time...I think I’m in love with you

32- Do we have too!? I wore my comfy pants today!

33- If I cared enough to give that asshole the time of day I’d probably be in jail Y/N...

34- Do you think trying to make me jealous is a smart move sweetheart?

35- You’ve been avoiding me...why?

36- I got into a fight, not like I killed someone. Geez Y/N...

37- I didn’t know what kind of flowers you liked...so I got everything they had!

38- I bought takeout! It’s time for me to cheer you up, babe

39- I’d much rather hang out with you than those jerks, what do ya say?

40- *Trips and falls* Oh I’m sorry, I was just making sure I wasn’t dreaming. *flirty smile*

41- I’ll be the best boyfriend you’ve ever had! i promise.

42- How dare you say things about me that are 100% true! I am offended!

43- You know I can tell when you’re lying, right?

44- You know that feeling when it seems like you two are the only people in a room?...That’s how I feel right now.

45- It’s you and me, not us and them. Fuck what they think.

46- You never told me you were in a band!!

47- You’re too cheeky for you own good, kid.

48- Stay a little longer?

49- Say you’re mine! Say it, say it, say it! *Insert giggle here*

50- I think you’ve lost your mind, but okay!

51- Damn, you look good in that dress.

52- Hi, I’m your next best mistake, what’s your name?

53- It breaks my heart to see you so sad.

54- You can lay on my chest if it makes you feel better.

55- Damnit Y/N! I’m trying to confess my feelings to you!

56- I had a dream about you.

57- I know you’re shy around my friends, but they love you!

58- I hate when we fight...let’s just calm down for a second.

59- I didn’t know you liked playing Cat and Mouse.

60- I may or may not have peeked in your diary...

61- Normal? Baby we’re the farthest from it.

62- Avoiding me won’t fix your undying love for me, many have tried but all have failed.

63- Just admit you’re in love with me Y/N...maybe we can have some fun later.

64- Of all the days to be stuck with someone, it’s you...ugh

65- Please never give up for me...or us.

66- Look at me when I fuck you...(I have a feeling this is gonna be a favorite)

67- Aww! Let me play a tune for you on the world’s smallest violin!! (I love spongebob lol) 

68- You never told me you could sing!!

69- Bend over this counter. I need to fill you up.

70- Babe...Lets just calm down. You’re making that face you make when you’re about to-

71- Let’s prepare a Hot Pot today! That always makes us feel better, right? (Hot Pot on a cold rainy day...YESSSS)

72- Me? You...want to be my girlfriend. You sure? Because I am a huge handful.

73- I want you to have my children...I want to be with you forever.

74- Come here girl, let me show you how much I love you.

75- I’ll give you a second chance to fix what you just said babygirl.

76- Everytime I leave you alone, you always make a mess.

78- What’s that thing you do with your neck when you’re mad? Yeah that neck roll thing! Teach me how to do that!

79- Let’s just relax and sleep in all day.

80- You sounded very serious on the phone. What’s up?

81- Yes, I am very awkward and yes I’m probably making this ten times worse than it already is....but 

82- You’re gonna make beg for forgiveness aren’t you.

83- How are we gonna fix this? Because breaking up isn’t an option Y/N.

84- I didn’t think you’d ever love me back...I’m so happy.

85- I wanna meet your parents!

86- Looks like someone could use a visit from the tickle monster!

87- I’d rather die than admit I have feelings for you! You’re disgusting and....perfect in every way,

88- Y/N, Y/N GET IN HERE! WE’RE ON TV!!!

89- Be mine?...I’m gonna keep asking until you say yes! 

90- Okay stop it already! People are gonna think I’m bullying you if you keep sobbing like that.

91- I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong!

92- You’re acting like a four year old right now!

93- Calm down, I’m just giving you a massage.

94- It’s been awhile since...all that happened.

95- Sending memes at three in the morning is NOT productive!

96- Okay...before you get mad, just know I did it because I love you!

97- How many times can I make you blush today, I’m curious to know.

98- Sometimes it’s nice to just stargaze. It calms me down a lot.

99- I suppose this is a good time to mention that I can’t cook!

100- So...about that picture you sent me today....

101- Hm...why don’t you sit on my lap and tell me what you want.

102- I don’t have anything to hide. I’m an open book.

103- Ah! Don’t look at me! I’m not decent! No! Aaah!

104- I mean you could...come to my place! We could have a little date y’know.

105- Snail, Mouse, Pet, Underling, pick a name, Babes.

106- Y/N, I think we’re drunk. And as responsible adults, we should take our clothes off so we don’t suffocate!

107- Okay babe! Tell me all about your day....Your coworker did what?!!

108- I know you’re not asleep, Y/N.

109 - Are you crying because of me? Hm...I didn’t realize I have that effect on you.

110- That’s daddy to you, sweetheart.

ALRIGHT! THOSE ARE THE PROMPTS. GO CRAZY!

[purplesurveys]

1106

survey by mickey-mouse

Who was the last person you couldn't take your eyes off of? I haven’t been feeling that way towards anyone, be it from real life or someone on the internet or a celebrity, for a while.

Do you drink the milk from the bowl after you eat all the cereal? I’ll try to drink some of it, since I do think milk tastes nice haha, but I keep it in moderation so that my stomach won’t end up being too upset.

Have you ever kissed anybody accidentally? Oh wow, how does this even happen? Hahaha but no I haven’t.

Who was the first person to wish you a Merry Christmas last year? Most likely a family member. My friends and I usually greet each other late into the evening.

Do you think it'll be the same person this year? It will probably be family again, yeah. I just can’t tell which one would be first.

Is your display picture in black and white? None of my profile photos on all social media are.

Do you know anybody who has had an online relationship? I don’t think so. I have some friends who met their SOs through dating apps, but I think all of them have since seen each other in person. I’m not sure I know of anyone whose relationship has been entirely online/virtual so far.

What food are you always in the mood for? No matter how full I am, I will always take a slice of pizza or two if it’s ever served at a table. That or chicken wings or spicy tuna salad.

When was the last time you played Guitar Hero? Safe to say more than a decade ago. I had always preferred Rock Band since I found it more fun that switching instruments was a main part of its gameplay, whereas you were stuck with the guitar on Guitar Hero.

What friend could buy clothes for you and not have to worry what they bought? Angela. We have nearly the same sense of style and we find the same things cute, so if I ever had to make a friend control my wardrobe for the day I will likely trust her the most.

1 thing that your guy best friend doesn't like about you: I don’t have a guy best friend. Hans is my closest friend of the opposite sex; while I don’t think he dislikes anything about me, I’m sure he thinks I’ve acted dumb about love and relationships many times before. Which is fine, we’re very honest and blunt about those things and I actually appreciate it when he gets brutally honest with me.

How about your girl best friend? Again, I don’t know if Angela doesn’t like a certain trait of mine but she’s well aware of my past stupid decisions i.e. staying in a harmful relationship.

Do you loan your friends money? No, but I’m ready to lend to my closest friends should they ever be in need.

Are Lucky Charms really magically delicious? I dunno, I’ve never tried.

When was the last time you had Lucky Charms anyway? See above.

Who is the last person you called long distance? I don’t do video calls with friends living in other countries, mainly because I’ve grown apart from them haha. My mom will sometimes start calls with relatives living abroad though; I believe the most recent one was a group video call with my dad’s side of the family, which included an uncle who lives in New York.

Do you sleep with a nightlight? No; I would find this too distracting and bright.

Is Lil Wayne really the best rapper alive? I never thought he was one of the best to begin with. Some of the songs he’s featured in are fine but I don’t like his slurred style of rapping very much.

What is the first text in your inbox? Like...the very first one in my inbox? I scrolled all the way down and it’s from Frances - an orgmate who has since disappeared off the face of the earth and blocked all her friends on social media lmao - asking about an org-related thing three years ago. Wherever she is, I hope she’s doing okay.

Are you taller than your siblings? I am the eldest yet smallest child in the family. My relatives get a kick out of it, which is fine because I do too HAHA

What are the first letters of your friends first names on your top 8? Myspace? Was never active on it.

When was the last time you almost cried from laughing? I can’t pinpoint an exact moment for you but this happens a lot when I watch 2 Days 1 Night, so this has probs happened recently.

Do you have “photoshoots” with your friends/family members? Not with me as the subject – I’m very camera shy and turn into an awkward stick once I’m asked to pose. But I love taking photos of loved ones, especially an SO.

Are you generous? To a fault.

Are you excited for Thanksgiving this year? I don’t celebrate that.

Are you excited for Thanksgiving ANY year? Yeah, I still don’t celebrate that.

Any plans for the weekend? I had plans to start a new series and spend a lazy day watching YouTube videos, but we haven’t had internet all day today and it’s felt quite deflating to have the first day of my weekend taken away from me. I’ve been running on data which is...fine, I guess, but I can’t use too much if I don’t want to keep paying for it. That said I’ve only been able to do surveys and stream music today. For tomorrow, I wanna go to a coffee shop and perhaps even treat myself to ramen because I’ve been craving.

Do you lay your clothes out the day before? Before Covid happened I planned out my clothes the night before, but I didn’t lay them out.

Who was the last person you bought a gift for? Andi; got them a dress and a skirt.

What was the last song you had stuck in your head? My Limb has been repeatedly playing in my head all day.

Are you ignoring anybody currently? Not ignoring, more of I’ve already given up on them.

Do you curse at your parents in a different language? I don’t curse at my parents in any language, lmfao.

Do you get the mailman a Christmas gift every year? We don’t have mailmen, buuuuut the maintenance staff in my village (trash collectors, security guards, those in charge of trimming the grass, etc) will usually hand each household an envelope in time for Christmas. My family and I help them out and place a certain amount in all envelopes.

Are you afraid of lizards? They are very common visitors in homes here so no I’m mostly not. They move very fast and get freaked out when they see humans though, so sometimes I’ll be shocked by them suddenly scurrying away.

How legible is your signature? I don’t make it legible at all so that it’s difficult to replicate. I actually get a lot of comments on it because my signature is mostly a lazy scribble and I don’t actually spell out any part of my name, which exactly fulfills my goal of making it hard to copy.

Do you think anybody else has a bedroom EXACTLY like yours? I actually live in a neighborhood where the houses are the same models, so I can confidently tell you that there are around 10-20 bedrooms that look similar to mine. But as for being styled and furnished exactly like mine, I doubt it.

How hot are your neighbors? Lol uh I don’t pay attention to this particular trait. All my neighbors are your typical suburban families with young kids, anyway.

Do you have pictures of clouds on your cell phone? A lot. I like looking up at the sky from time to time.

Do you send compliments through text message? Sure, when it’s appropriate and only with close friends.

Do/did your high school theme colors match? I never thought they didn’t go well together, that much I can say.

Do you own any Nike shoes? Several.

Have you ever rode in a VW Bug? Never.

How about a Mini Cooper? Never have, would absolutely love to.

What was the last fast food place you got food from? Yellow Cab. I got two pizzas and pasta for my family.

When you invite people to your house do you usually hang out in your room? I never invite people to my house because it’s too far compared to where most of my friends live, and it would only be a big hassle for everyone. As for my room, the only people who’ve been in it are Gabie and Angela/Hans, the latter only once.

Have you ever seen your crush/current bf/gf cry? I don’t have any of these.

Do you own any Spongebob merchandise? I’m pretty sure we have a Patrick plushie we continue to keep around.

Do you have any food traditions with any of your friends? My orgmates and I frequented a certain bar near our university; we went there whether it was to celebrate the end of an exam-filled week, or if we simply wanted to spend an ordinary Thursday with a few drinks. A few months ago they were in danger of closing because of the pandemic, but I hope life has been kinder to them recently.

Do you like Gwen Stefani? Erm, not particularly. Some songs of her I like, but I’m not a passionate fan.

Do you know anybody with a thick Jamaican accent? No.

Are you closer to your mom’s side of the family or your dad’s? Mom’s. Aside from being able to see them more often, our humor is also similar.

Have you ever been to a haunted house? I’ve stared at one, but never gone inside haha.

Yes or no: red eyeliner? Do whatever you want with your face and makeup, man.

Yes or no: red lipstick? ^ Still applies.

Would you ever own a pet black widow spider? No.

Do you wear holiday themed clothing? I don’t think I own any, so no.

At 6:00 tomorrow night where do you think you’ll be? On my way home, or preparing to head home, I hope.

Is it night or day right now? Evening.

What time did you get up today? Like 5:30. I fell asleep on the rooftop and got to see the pretty sunrise and the sky gradually change colors :)

[bigskydreaming]

It drives me crazy how in so many 'popular' mlm pairings the bigger/older guy is always the top.

Yeeeeah. 

So like, apologies if you’re here for reasons other than DC fandom and thus don’t care about any of the following, lol, but I keep meaning to write a post about something related to this so might as well do it here. 

Like, my biggest issue with S/ladin isn’t even the age gap (well okay, my BIGGEST issue is shit between Slade and Dick when he’s still Robin and thus underage but ASIDE from that, I mean).....but like, okay so ONE of my issues with S/ladin is the automatic contortion of Slade and Dick’s dynamics to Slade being the big, older, experienced aggressive top in all senses of the relationship dynamic, while Dick is uncertain, inexperienced....like, this thing where Dick’s inevitably shoehorned into being an ‘apprentice style role’ comparative to Slade even in the comics....where let’s be clear, Dick has NEVER been Slade’s apprentice.

People often ask if the Renegade thing actually happened in comics. And it did. But what I feel like most people don’t know....Dick was in no way acting as an apprentice or even subordinate to Slade in that arc. They already had a long established history between them at that point...AS RIVALS and enemies.

And like the thing is, and why it drives me so nuts to see that pairing always relegated to “Slade introduces the nervous, uncertain and out of his depth Dick Grayson to like...life” - is that you can’t be rivals and arch-enemies if you can’t consistently hold your own against the other person!

Dick’s never gone into conflicts with Slade desperately saying Hail Mary’s. The outcome is ALWAYS a 50/50 chance with them. He’s not like...overwhelmed by Slade, in awe or fear of Slade, or anything other than treating him like an equal DESPITE the vast age difference between them. 

And the fact that this so consistently gets ignored or diluted or dismissed....while at the same time this going hand in hand with it being taken for granted that Dick assumes the role of bottom in any and all dynamics between them....like....that’s bringing a LOT of preconceived assumptions into their dynamic, with not a single one of those preconceptions being relevant to either character’s actual interactions with the other.

But back to the Renegade storyline....the way it happened was Dick went undercover in the Society of Supervillains as this alter ego he made up expressly for that purpose: Renegade. And Slade knew exactly who he was from the start, because he knows Dick, he’s studied his movements, techniques, etc. But also, Dick wasn’t even trying to hide who he was from Slade either....he didn’t care that Slade knew, because he knew Slade was more intrigued by trying to figure out what he was after than ratting him out to the rest of the supervillains.

So the whole time, it was really more of this cat and mouse game between them where they BOTH were on the same page about the fact that they were each blatantly trying to use the other for their own agenda, as far as they could take it, while giving the other as little opportunity to use them as possible. 

Part of their interaction at this time was Slade ‘demanded’ Dick train his daughter Rose while they were working together. Then, at one stage of Dick’s big master plan that he was working undercover towards, and in order to convince the Society he was really one of them...he went to Metropolis and stole some Kryptonite for them....being confronted by Superman in the process. Clark of course knew exactly who he was the second he recognized Dick’s voice and heartbeat and all of that...but Dick had been off the grid for awhile, nobody knew what was going on with him, and by all appearances he was now working for the bad guys....and Clark demanded answers, wanted to know what was going on, wanted Dick to give him some reason to believe this wasn’t what it looked like....

And so Dick launched into a series of lies that fit his cover, that made it sound like he’d turned his back on his ideals and really was working with the Society, genuinely.....expecting all the while that Clark would be able to hear from his heartbeat and breathing and the like, that he was lying through his teeth and not to take anything he was saying here at face value.

But instead, Clark was getting more and more agitated and angry and frustrated with him....because what Dick only realized after he escaped from Clark - because he HAD to, Clark wasn’t just going to let him go at that point....

Is that Slade had secretly rigged one of Dick’s gloves ahead of time, with a wireless receiver and transmitter he had the remote for while watching/listening to this encounter via a bug and hacked satellites. Basically, Slade had rigged Dick’s glove to without him knowing, match the sound/rhythms of his heartbeat....and then kinda layer a fake/artificial version of his heartbeat just over the real thing. So Slade was remotely using this transmitter to make it SOUND to Clark’s super-hearing that instead of Dick’s natural body rhythms conveying that he was lying about all the things he was saying....now, it sounded like he was actually being totally honest and sincere. That everything he was saying to Clark was true.

Think about that for a second.

Slade made Clark Kent - CLARK - doubt Dick Grayson.

And you know what Dick did in response to that, once he realized what had happened?

He turned Slade’s own daughter against him.

Like...THAT is the level of one-upsmanship these two characters are constantly operating at. That is the degree of tactical chess they’re engaged in every time they interact, going back to the eighties.

There’s nothing hugely imbalanced about their power dynamic in any of their interactions DESPITE the fact that Slade is much older, much more experienced and a metahuman....because Dick’s own talents and skills have always compensated for all of that. Yes, he loses to Slade sometimes. But Slade just as often loses to him.

Despite all the differences, in terms of one on one....these two have always been consistently portrayed as equals, going back decades.

And like....that’s been utterly erased, even by people who DO know their comic history....because that doesn’t ‘fit’ the preferred dynamic of top/bottom in mlm ships.....which basically demands that Slade - being older, stronger, more aggressive and the villain...obviously must be the top, the initiator, the one holding all the cards in any interactions with Dick....who by contrast, is always the bottom, not just in their sexual positions but in the sense that he’s consistently portrayed in fics as only able to stand side by side with Slade or against him....by Slade’s grace and goodwill. With any time Dick comes out on top with Slade in ANY sense of the word, its only because of luck or chance or Slade making an obvious mistake or in some other way because Slade ‘allows’ it.

And that...there’s a lot to unpack there, is the thing. But it bugs me for two reasons: the first being like...its so dismissive of everything that actually occurs between these two extremely competent and capable characters who are so noteworthy for how much they relate and understand each other DESPITE the vast differences between them and all the things that suggest they SHOULD be incapable of existing on even footing, yet they manage to anyway....

And also, equally, because like....its really bothersome how fandom continually reinforces this idea that there are ‘obvious indicators’ of who is top and bottom in any mlm relationship, that these things are almost always ingrained and resistant to switching it up ever....and also carrying along for the ride a lot of fixed conceptions that borrow heavily from not all that great ideas of gender norms in the first place. Like, there’s a lot that’s not awesome about the assumption that the ‘penetrator’ in mlm sexual encounters is inherently supposed to be ‘stronger’ in at least SOME way and that by related logic....someone being the penetrated in mlm sexual encounters is the more effeminate or subordinate with these things additionally layered to carry the implication that this partner is the weaker of the two, or the one more in need or protection or guidance.

That’s....not great.

Like, ultimately my biggest gripe is that even when immediately visible power imbalances don’t actually exist in a mlm pairing......fandom overall seems to feel a need to then INTRODUCE a visible power imbalance or weighted dynamic anyway. With the uneven dynamic being deemed MORE essential to the ship....than the ACTUAL canon dynamics of the characters that make up that ship.