#pan club represent

[urbanknightart]

Quick pride doodle of the lads! 🌈

[ursusarctos42]

I just finished watching The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix, and I have a theory that each of the main characters represents one of the seven deadly sins. Note: pretty much all of these characters embody several (or all) of these aspects, so this list shows the ones that come through most clearly to me.

Prospero (lust) - the sex club, the pleasure rooms, the image of him waking up amid half a dozen naked bodies? Yep.

Camille (pride) - she believed she knew everything, and she often did. She believed she was right so far as to infiltrate Vic's lab, wielding her family name and status to get past the security guard, and shove a camera in the faces of dangerously drugged chimps. She was so proud/full of herself that she didn't pay attention to the open cage, leading to her eventual death.

Napoleon (gluttony) - he is constantly high, gorging himself on drugs or video games or sex. This eventually leads to his downfall, as his pleasure seeking is consistently interrupted by the gory "gifts" from the cat.

Victorine (anger) - she often feels inferior to her siblings, trying so hard to win her father's approval. When her research doesn't pan out and her partner tries to leave, she flies into a rage and kills her. This anger seems to be bubbling below the surface for the whole series, it just comes to a head in the episode where she dies.

Tamerlane (envy) - her death is the evidence of this connection. She is convinced that her husband is seeing the other woman behind her back, so much so that she runs around the house smashing mirrors. In every mirror, she can see the object of her envy and herself, not measuring up. And it ends up killing her.

Frederick (sloth) - he basically does nothing for the first several episodes. His father asks him to do one simple task over and over, but he just doesn't do it. When he finally does get around to doing it, he dies unable to move due to the paralyzing agent he used to abuse his injured wife. Dying while lying completely still and unmoving sounds a lot like Sloth to me.

Madeleine/Roderick (greed) - Madeleine and Roderick Usher are together in this list because they are twins, often act as a unit/team, and (to me) they embody the same deadly sin. This whole show is about greed. These two want money, power, and freedom, and they are willing to do anything (ANYTHING) to get it. Look at the people they killed, either directly or indirectly. All of those deaths were self-serving to the Usher twins.

[amorchai]

𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐄.

written for my old blog but never posted!

pairing(s): eddie munson x reader

words: 1180

warnings/tags: first date awkwardness, eddie dressing smart for a casual date because he has no idea what he’s doing, star wars references.

you didn’t expect eddie munson to be such a damn gentlemen on your first date. but then again, you never expected to be on a date with eddie munson.

seven o’clock on the dot, your front door knocked, just the time eddie had promised. and once you opened the door, previously wiping your hands from sweat and fixing your outfit to look perfect, you were met with the curly haired boy.

only, he was dressed up. you didn’t know what you presumed he would wear, knowing for a first date his ‘hellfire club’ top will be a bit too casual. but a brown dress shirt and nice trousers, you could hardly tear your eyes from him.

“left my leather jacket in the car, i didn’t know whether to wear it or not,” he splutters firstly, not even a ‘hello’ as his eyes are wide and wild in front of you, and you try to look around where his hands are suspiciously hidden behind his back.

“you look nice,” you state, smiling up at him, both nervously staring at one another before he replies, “me? i look nice? you! look at you, the prettiest person to walk hawkin’s town.” 

“is that what i think it is? hidden behind your back?” you tease lightly, trying to get another glimpse. eddie nods sheepishly, “these are for you,” bringing out the overly stuffed bouquet of flowers, emitting a gasp of appreciation from your throat as you gaze over the disorderly state.

emitting in pure eddie fashion, the one you grew to really like.

“i—uh, harrington told me that roses are the flowers representing ‘romance’, and buckley told me pale red carnations were a better representation of ‘love and affection’ so i got both and put them together."

before you can respond, eddie continues, watching as you gently pry them out of his hands and into yours to look over fondly, “which i don’t really understand, she said pale red, but isn’t pale red just pink? she said it’s not.”

you open your mouth to reply, any effort to try and calm down his rambling voice, but again, he starts talking, “anyways, they’re a mess, i can just take them back, i’ll bring you better ones next time.”

next time, you think. how cute is he?

“no! i love them, thank you!” you lean up to kiss his cheek before leaving a blushing eddie to place the flowers into a watered vase. his fingers graze the spot you just kissed, leaning forward to look into his reflection against the pan of glass of your door, fixing his hair over his forehead.

he jumps back when you step across the hall, as if waiting patiently for your return and guides you towards his truck, holding the door open for you, and shutting it after.

you didn’t know what a date with eddie would be like, he was much different than anyone else, and while you hadn’t been on a date before, you knew what the cliché romance novels would predict.

eddie took you to a drive-thru movie, paying for your ticket and popcorn, ever the gentlemen that he’s quickly living up to. and finds the best spot he could, off to the side but in good view of the screen.

he turns to you periodically, arriving to the lot early and therefore having to wait some time for it to start. it’s a little awkward to begin with, unsure with what to talk about at the start. you had been friends, not as close as others, more-so through robin. but you knew a lot about each other.

eddie asks a few shameful questions when the tape starts, lousy trailers playing before the actual movie, questions about your day or plans from the past week but after exchanging the answers between one another, nerves further arise.

however, you turn to eddie when you reach for a handful of popcorn, his hand bumping yours clumsily as he looks to you with a quick apology. you stare at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter, the tension suddenly breaking as you both realise how stupid it is.

“i’m sorry, i’ve never done this before,” eddie admits, “me neither.” his eyes trail off, down your body quickly before towards the front of the car in thought, clearly confused, “you’re telling me you’ve never been on a date?”.

“correct, munson. why? is that hard to believe?” you joke, reaching for your next handful of popcorn, ignoring the fact that star wars: a new hope finally begins to play upon the big screen. “very, i mean— have you seen or spoke to you?”.

“couple of times, never really strikes up a good conversation, unfortunately.”

eddie laughs, beaming towards you at the change of tone, the conversation already flowing more easily and the edge gone into a more comfortable nature, the way he already knew with you, and why he had asked you on a date in the first place.

“but what about you, nobody else in hawkin’s able to catch wind of the munson charm?” you ask, and eddie shrugs, glancing to the movie as he chews on the buttery snack. “nah, funnily enough, being the weirdo of hawkin’s high doesn’t score you any dates. never asked and never been asked.”

he sounds like he doesn’t mind, which makes your heart flutter in thought. maybe he didn’t really think about dating until you came along.

you fall into another silence, this time comfortable, as you watch the beginning of the fantasy movie. your hand hovers the popcorn box resting on the console, deliberately enticing eddie to hold your hand which he falls for instantly.

his hands are warm and big, engulfing yours with his rings pressing against your skin when he rests them in front of the popcorn.

“you know, i’ve never seen this movie,” you say, tilting your head to the side, unaware of the way eddie looks over, shocked. “you’ve never seen star wars? your house didn’t look like a rock from the outside, how can you have not seen them?”.

“charming, thank you,” you giggle in response.

his hand tugs yours slightly, moving them closer to his lap when he speaks again, leaning forward towards your face, “well, i’ll be sure to hold you when the big battle scene comes on, even after luke destroys the death star.”

“eddie…” you trail off, using your intertwined hands to nudge the side of his thigh, “spoiler alert.”

he cringes, “shit, sorry! i’m so sorry,” eddie begins, eyes anxious as he tries to redeem himself, not noticing your amused expression, “at least it’s not the next one where you find out darth vader is—” before he can finish, you lean over to press your fingers over his lips, laughter falling from yours.

“eddie, eddie. let’s say you don’t tell me the entire plotline of the star war trilogy and we can watch the next movie on our next date?” you offer through giggles, pulling away to allow him to reply.

next date, eddie thinks. i’m losing my mind.

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amorchai © ─ all rights reserved. no reposting/translating/copying will be tolerated.

[justasimpleraccoon]

the King of Hearts and the King of Spades

Here's my submission for @archie-sunshine contest. Congratulations for the 2K subscribers !!

I picked Megatron and Optimus because I love the designs Archie gave them and also I'm a Megop worm so I had to draw them, (depending on how they're situated, they could either be looking at each other longingly or instead be back to back, so alike and yet so different).

I took inspiration from the art of Alphonse Mucha, one of my favorite artists of all time.

I wanted to add Rodimus and Starscream as king of Diamonds and king of clubs respectively but It didn't pan out mostly because it was going to be too much work for me. (I wanted to design them completely different arabesques to represent how different they are from the previous leaders) (also I was doing these while I was supposed to study for my finals)

In the end, these bad boys took around 8 hours and a half to finish, but I am so happy how they turned out !!!! I love them so much !!!!

in bonus, I also added the timelapse. (admire my chaotic work process).

[pumpkinmetaphor]

I just wanted to ask because im new here. But what IS the pumpkin metaphor?

In the context of Ouran, I'm referring to the carriage metaphor in Episode 21: Until the Day it Becomes a Pumpkin!

Kaoru talks about this metaphorical Cinderella carriage that will turn back into a pumpkin, symbolising when this liminal space of the host club magic ends.

In a wider sense, I end to gravitate towards pumpkin metaphors in media. Pumpkins often symbolise childhood (Halloween, pumpkin patches, fairytales) and can be a stand in for children, naivety, innocence etc.

Homestuck uses pumpkins similarly in that the existence, or lack thereof, of pumpkins symbolise something in relation to a character's relation to children or childhood. In a series about the liminal space of adolescence within a world destroying game that will result in the repeated deaths of you and everyone you care about, the losing of pumpkins and constant "pumpkin? what pumpkin? you're not sure there ever was a pumpkin" becomes pointed. eg. Jake appearifying pumpkins and basically living in a pumpkin patch is almost a Peter Pan complex, he's adamantly opposed to growing up and "becoming a man."

I could go into more detail but this is my Ouran blog haha.

Anyway the pumpkin carriage in Ouran does also represent that to an extent to me. Tamaki shows up and yoinks the twins out of their vicious childhood, puts everyone in this pumpkin carriage. But Kaoru is the one afraid of it turning back. I'm on mobile so I'm being a little vague here, but I think episode 21 does in some ways represent Kaoru believing Hikaru is the one who can grow up, Kaoru will be left behind when Hikaru wants to move on without him. And this is like this fear Kaoru has not even of growing up, but of the carriage turning back into a pumpkin and him not being able to grow up. And he's left there, forever changed, with that pumpkin. What happens then?

I guess that's a pretty common gay experience! I definitely remember watching that episode when I was 12 and being like wow. I don't know why this is hitting me so hard. This idea that there is some aspect of adulthood that is unobtainable (heteronormativity) and everyone is going to grow up without you because you can't keep the performance up. There's a difference in you and some day everyone's gonna figure it out!

Anyway that's the pumpkin metaphor to me anyway

[smallandalmosthonest]

i think part of why last night’s ep felt so weird is because it, to me at least, felt like it came way too late in the season.

excluding the breakup storyline*, and the pregnancy reveal**, these just felt like earlier beats:

athena, flash rob, and the probie(s) had this happened in like, the fourth episode, it would make a lot of sense that athena was injured (as she was JUST in a plane crash), and the seeds of 'flash rob' as a villain could have been planted early, giving athena an adversary. she could have spent half the season showing up in the aftermath of these mass robberies, frustrated that she's being outpaced by some twitch streaming jackass kid! this could have been compounded by the introduction of sparky, who athena's gut says not to trust but who, on paper, is a good kid. imagine if we had weeks of time to see athena "lose" to flash rob while building some degree of trust/warring with her instincts about sparky. think of how satisfying the sting would have been if we'd been waiting for athena to finally be one step ahead of flashy robert! think of how much more impactful sparky shooting an innocent woman in front of her child would be if we'd spent weeks with that character, and had seen athena trying to trust him! this also makes athena's decision to take on more probies a lot weightier: if athena was essentially training/mentoring this kid for months, how does she feel that he nearly killed someone because he lost his temper? then after the hiatus we could explore tonal shifts with athena having a string of new probies, or whatever. but do you see what i mean about the introduction of these things coming the ep before the 8a finale being... a bit late?

brad and gerrard show of hands, does anyone still give a fuck about these two? having gerrard take the hotshots job tied things up in a neat little bow and allowed us to solidly move on from these characters. this felt like a bizarre time to bring them back. we just found out maddie and chimney are accidentally pregnant again! bucktommy just broke up! eddie just shaved his moustache! hen's son nearly died and she only recently got her daughter back! why are we talking about these unlikable old white guys?! anyway. i think they should not have been revisited at all, except maybe to come back lola and norman style, way down the line, so the audience looks back like "oh yeah, those two... i'd almost forgotten about them!" BUT we live in an unjust world. so in that case, i think the issue with brad and gerrard is that they're too tonally different from the rest of the show. gerrard made sense in the begins episodes, when he was a pigheaded bigot representative of the old boys club institution and a foil to the new 118 that we know and love, and brad made sense in the three-part opening because he was a silly one-off character meant to add levity -- except we had levity because gerrard was written and played as a cartoon evil boss instead of a realistically awful person. so now 911 has two old white dudes who are at best good for a chuckle and at worst actively evil. and now gerrard is crying bc he loves his tv land job so much and brad is using start power and money to talk the brass into sanctioning his stalking of bobby nash. and we haven't seen these characters in ages and frankly, we don't care about them. my opinion is that we either need Way Less (end it with that shot of gerrard sipping his latte with his feet up or w/e) or, tragically, Way More. having them be a consistent problem that plagues the 118 would at least allow time for these characters to settle into a tone that sits well within the rest of the show.

it'll be interesting to see how this all pans out, pacing-wise, when we can look at this season in its totality next summer, and when rewatching in one fell swoop without a week between each episode. but at this moment, i don't think i'm alone in thinking that episode was just... skippable? isolated from the events that immediately preceded it? imo 8x07 added indelibly to the current state of s8 episodes feeling siloed within themselves with quick storylines that are introduced and then wrapped up within forty-some minutes.

*this had to happen a) after bucktommy had been together for a respectable amount of time onscreen and b) immediately after the breakup to prevent buck from looking like a crazy person, so i think this was perfectly place in the timeline

**had no material impact on the story thus far, we didn’t even see buck or chim struggling to keep it a secret. we didn’t even see chimney around the firefam, is that his strategy so he doesn’t spill the beans?? to just hide in the bunk room or something??? rip chimney han you would have loved playing keep away with buck’s phone and watching tmz videos of Bobby threatening to beat up a guy

[a-silent-symphony]

The 4 songs Nightwish have only performed live once

They’ve been around for two-and-a-half decades and played nearly 1,000 shows, and through it all symphonic metal’s superstars have only performed these songs one time

You can’t talk about symphonic metal without mentioning Nightwish. Not long after forming in the mid-1990s, Tuomas Holopainen’s majestic mavens became the measuring stick for the genre. They scored regular chart success in their native Finland while at the same time earning critical acclaim, thanks to their unencumbered, all-instruments-blaring vision.

Nightwish have written upwards of 100 songs since they started, and most of them have serenaded fans during their litany of live shows in that time. Hammer’s already listed the tracks that these maximalists have never once performed, but an even more exclusive club is that of the ones they brought out once then immediately scrapped. Below are the four songs Nightwish have only played live on a solitary occasion, according to setlist database setlist.fm.

Moondance (Oceanborn, 1998)

Nightwish’s debut, 1997’s Angels Fall First, was written and recorded with the intention of it being a demo, not a fully fledged studio album. As a result, it’s far more raw, rough and ready than anything else the Finns have ever unfurled. Followup Oceanborn swiftly chartered them down more grandiose avenues, and the instrumental Moondance is indicative of the more heroic sound the band craved: keyboardist Tuomas busts out a bombastic melody as his fellow musicians gallop along.

However, maybe because it would leave Nightwish’s vocalist with nothing to do for a bit, this segue’s only ever made the set once. It was at Club Feeniks in Turku, Finland, on February 13, 1999, performed as part of a broader instrumental suite towards the end of the night.

Sleepwalker (2000)

Oceanborn marked Nightwish’s commercial coming out party. Its lead single, Sacrament Of Wilderness, was the band’s first song to top the Finnish charts, then the album’s cover of Walking In The Air repeated that feat in 1999. Because of such success, the maestros decided to battle for a spot at the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest, hoping to represent their home nation with a newly written piece, Sleepwalker.

Sleepwalker won the public vote when Nightwish made their case on national TV to stand for Finland, but the scores of a judging panel brought them down to third place overall. The bid was disappointingly dashed, meaning that the sole performance of this song was to those stuffy judges in Helsinki on February 12, 2000.

Meadows Of Heaven (Dark Passion Play, 2007)

Nightwish brought the tour for 2007’s Dark Passion Play to an end in poetic fashion. Meadows Of Heaven is the final song on album six (the first to feature Anette Olzen behind the mic), and it ends 75 minutes of cinematic metal in appropriately operatic form. Its live debut was saved for the very last show the band played before retreating into the writing room to dream up Imaginaerum, aptly closing the main set.

Nightwish didn’t return to the stage until 2012, by which point they had 75 more minutes and 13 more songs in their arsenal. Unsurprisingly, then, Meadows Of Heaven became a one-and-done, but it served its role beautifully the one time it did rear its head.

Pan (Human :||: Nature, 2020)

Like many, many other metal bands, Nightwish saw the pandemic through by replacing the touring they should have done for 2020’s Human :||: Nature with a livestream. Actually, strike that: they hosted two. The band played a two-night set, dubbed An Evening With Nightwish In A Virtual World, which marked the debut of numerous songs from the preceding album, including Shoemaker, Tribal and Noise.

The only one that didn’t make it onto real-life stages was Pan. It’s a shame, as not only does the song continue Nightwish’s overblown ways unabated, but it flaunts some pretty gnarly riffs to boot. Sadly, though, the fact remains: this anthem was dispatched following its livestream debut. And, given that Nightwish are currently gearing up to release Human :||: Nature’s successor, it’s unlikely it’ll get its time in the sun.

[39oa]

PLS as a new stars enjoyer i really wanna know whos who in this 🥹🥹 i kill for family dynamics 🤲🤲

https://www.tumblr.com/39oa/744137614807924736/the-stars-are-like-this-is-39-yo-joe-pavelski

hi anon!!! of course i would be MORE than happy to explain and in fact am about to egregiously overexplain so apologies in advance for that >__< welcome 2 starsblr pls enjoy your stay!!! 💚💚💚

"pavs and sons" → this is our top line that consists of jason robertson (21 / "robo"), roope hintz (24 / some call him "roop", his finnish nickname is "hine"), and joe pavelski (16 / "pavs"). pavs spent over a decade in san jose and was the sharks' captain during essentially their twilight years, and he came to dallas intending to retire (which is likely to happen at the end of this year tbh) but instead revitalized a distinct second phase of his career after being placed on a line with 2124 in 2020-21, unexpectedly becoming stalwart producers for a struggling dallas stars offense (2 words: rick bowness) — robo was only in his first year with the stars and roope's career was not that much older, hence the nickname pavs and sons; although pavs is only an alternate captain because the stars already have a very established, homegrown captain, he is basically treated as our second captain thanks to his age and the vast influence he has over both our young players & the locker room as a whole :') one of his nicknames is also captain america from representing team usa on the intl stage LOL.

rest below the cut:

raising johnny -> our team's ACTUAL baby is 2003-born wyatt johnston (53 / "johnny" but sometimes we use "wyjo" lol), who was in the ohl before the 2022-23 season but managed to impress during training camp and basically forced his way onto the roster (without getting too much into it, 18-19 y/o rookies can play 9 games with the big club before burning a year off their elc, so being from the ohl at his age his only options were basically Be In The NHL Permanently or go back to ontario.) because "HE (WAS) ONLY 19!!!" and there was some uncertainty about whether he'd stay up, pavelski invited him to live at his place with his wife and teenaged-son, and now a second year into his career wyatt is STILL with them because he loves it there so much lol. the stars frequently joke about pavs being his dad/landlord, and we've gotten a ton of fun content like these quest for the stanley cup clips and other interview moments like this, this, and this.

fostering stank(s) -> logan stankoven (11 / "stank" though you will also see "stanks") is our other baby and a very recent addition to our nhl roster; he's from the same draft class as johnny, but spent last season in the whl and therefore was eligible to go to the ahl this year, where he's been cooking up a storm for half the szn. it was pretty inevitable that he'd come up at SOME point, but the perfect opportunity arrived after one of our forwards got injured and he was slotted in on short notice. like johnny, he has basically forced his way onto the team permanently by immediately performing to (and well-beyond) standard :') the fun part is that he stayed with johnny at pavs's house when he first came to dallas, though he's since moved out and found his own place... nevertheless, this was still very sweet because logan & wyatt have GENUINE history from knowing each other half their lives & winning gold for u18 team canada in 2021, and have since picked their immediate chemistry right back up on the stars's 3rd line together. (more on this later!!!)

resident glueguy tydel + otter's son -> u know how every team needs its emotional support 4th liner who is at constant threat of being dumped at trade deadline? ty dellandrea (10 / "delly" but we like "tydel" as well) is our 13oa pick who never really panned out as expected, but he's still crucial to the overall health of the locker room and beloved by many. as a small piece of the Cycle Of Mentorship that the stars subscribe to, pavs is known for basically being a deflection master and a menace in front of the net and has passed on this propensity to a lot of younger stars by doing targeted practice sessions with them, including tydel. anyway delly's lore in general is just INSANEEE because he's at the center of the stars' social fabric in a lot of ways. happily third-wheels along with the wags, gets along with the 279195 canadian slagline who mostly exist outside of any family narratives, is Publicly Liked By Roope which is kind of weird because outside of cellys roop practices jane austen levels of finnish repression, imprinted on johnny hard last year (JOINED HIM ON PAVELSKI FAMILY NIGHTS) (from this devastating webweave), has SOOO much ahl history with otter to the point that otter's baby brother sees ty as part of the family — this is also where otter saying that he and his girlfriend saw ty as their son when he stayed at their apartment during training camp comes from. which is genuinely like Absurd Things to say because jake oettinger (29 / "otter") (as a completely random aside, please look at this gifset of harls wearing otter's shirt) is ONLY 2 YEARS OLDER THAN DELLY. LIKE THE FUCK D'YOU MEAN YOUR SON???

i'm normal. okay

jbenn / "daddy" line dads -> so the stars' real captain is jamie benn (14 / multiple nicknames but "chubbs" is a signature), whoooo is a quite the contentious figure amongst stars fans but as a 2007 draftee is very much a homegrown player and still quite important to the organization. i'm ngl, stars rpf is a VERY small space nowadays in hockey fandom, but ~back in the day~ he and tyler seguin were one of The Big Ships before slowly fading as both fandom figures & stars of the team thanks to age and injury and [waves hand vaguely]. anyway while the top line on the stars has remained *mostly* set since robo was called up, the 2nd & 3rd lines still experience a decent amount of reshuffling, so wyatt is kind of jamie's fixed line son atp but they also played with tydel before we 1:1 swapped some russians and evgenii dadonov (63 / the "DADDY" in question) came in and replaced delly. so now we've had multiple "benn and sons" lines (jamie + wyatt/delly, now jamie + wyatt/logan ❗️), plus essentially a "wyatt and dads" line (wyatt + jamie/daddy) lmfao.

wedge raising harls -> robo's emotional support backup goalie is scott wedgewood (41 / "wedge" or "wedgie"), who as far as backup goalies go is like shockingly well-integrated into the stars' locker room. the piece of lore that inspired this WHOLE post is that taylor dropped an article on how wedge claimed to basically be RAISING HARLS WITH HIS (recently-married!) WIFE...??? which is just. thomas harley (55 / "harls") is one of our resident baby d-men and was in and out of the ahl for a while but has been Officially with the stars since last years' playoffs... he's a very like, self-assured but kind of introverted, Beyond-His-Years type who literally has the voice of a 50 y/o, so it's both DEVASTATING and hilarious 2 me that wedge is like "oh, this 22 y/o kid likes to show up to my house every day and me and my wife are teaching him how to cook and he keeps facetiming me to ask random questions about his bills." LIKE OH... OKAY THEN ;___;

& last but not least: the ultimate Mini Family on this team that i didn't mention in my orig post is actually the finnish mafia — see robo constantly joking about them being brothers and loving each other lol. finnmaf currently includes four players (roope, miro, esa, jani... rip kivo 😔), and they kind of help split the stars' locker room into several groups including the finns, the ontario guys, robo's goaliefucker / Nerd_Collector ensemble, and... well honestly the cliques overlap a lot (which is why our locker room is so healthy!!!) but you get the idea.

there is soooo much other lore i could get into that isn't really related to dad/son/brother narratives but i feel like this is enough of an infodump so i'll stop here for now. in general the way the stars are constructed makes it really clear why they all see one another as family and why there is such a strong & positive & sustainable sense of personal leadership that permeates the locker room... benn handles Official captain duties while pavs uses his experience not to usurp him but simply to further support him in understated areas of mentorship/leadership, and our top line consists of 3 Very unassuming & responsible player archetypes which crucially trickles down to all the other lines. so while many teams have their Old Guys (who are often on a noticeable decline) and Kid Lines, the stars are cool because we've been successful at integrating young players with very established veterans and having them feed off of each other without sacrificing their development or "anchoring" any young talent unnecessarily; benn is really not the player he used to be but he's still been great with wyatt over the past 2 years. and pavs IS a total anomaly, so it's kind of insane & surreal that a guy in his late 30s can perform at such a high level while also taking it upon himself to prepare so many of our young guys to be the present & future of our team *__*

tl;dr: also i just remembered that the amazing @starscelly has a preexisting primer from last year so feel free to check that out too :') (the primary differences are basically that we replaced domi for duchene and recently picked up chris tanev haha)

[mariusperkins]

for the writing asks: 2, 10, 28, 33, 41, 42!

2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?

honestly I think more than what they say about my fics, they accurately represent my need to make my AO3 tags as businesslike as possible lol

10. How do you decide what to write?

It can be a lot of things, I mean, I'm sure we're all familiar with watching an episode of something (or reading a book, or watching a movie, or whatever) and thinking like "well, okay, but what if THIS had happened" or "but what did THIS OTHER CHARACTER think about what happened", but apart from that it can be almost anything - cool fanart (honestly SO much of @wereshrew-admirer's art but most recently for relax we've time to spare (friends at the table)), a character I wish got more screen time (never did run smooth (the artful dodger), Rita Minute: Origins (the penumbra podcast), hand in glove (bridgerton)), a line in an episode (Five Calls Between Thisbe and The Witch In Crystal (friends at the table)), a fan theory that didn't pan out in canon (the long journey through the void of life (fantasy high)), or just plain ol' "can't stop thinking about this thing" ( I'm Not An Angel But At Least I'm A Girl (hello mary lou: prom night 2), Greetings From Nowhere (wish you were here) (lisa frankenstein), Final Girls Club (friday the 13th movie series), social media strategy for the unknown (knives out)) - really, I kind of just write whatever idea I can't stop thinking about. Whenever I get a new idea it goes in it's own google doc with as many notes as I can get down about the idea at the time (with links to whatever inspired it, if it's linkable), and then if it gets fleshed out enough (aka I'm so obsessed with the idea that I start writing it immediately) it goes into the spreadsheet I use to plan out my posting schedule.

28. Does anyone read your fics before you post them? If so, who?

I post too much to put someone through that schedule lol

33. If you write chaptered fics, what’s your ideal chapter length to write? Is it different from your ideal chapter length to read?

This is going to sound very like, horribly algorithmic, but when I'm writing out chapters or a multi-part thing, I try to make it so they're all of about the same length (generally, at least 1k, although if it's something that's multi-chapter it probably means it need the room, so likely around 3-4k). It's less of a like, 'optimising people's calculated reading time' venture capital bullshit and more like, I think it helps my pacing not go totally off the rails or spend more time on one character over another if I'm wanting to do an even-ish pov split.

My ideal length chapter to read is as much as there is written, read multiple times over until the next update (you'd better believe I do this with all of @msharmonycobel's gilded age fics).

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”

I truly do go back to Reciprocation (merlin) by astolat any time I'm trying to write someone falling in love without knowing it, I feel like this fic does such an incredible job of cluing you into what's actually happening without it ever going out of Arthur's pov. It's funny, it's sexy, it's got heart! Areas of expertise (It) by dudski is another one I return to all the time, it's so funny and light and mostly outsider pov, touching on meta jokes about the It fandom and fandom/how internet culture snowballs (positive) as a whole, and all the voices really shine. And I really should say All the Worlds Between (x-men first class) by manic_intent, a role-swap fic that I would recommend to anyone trying to write role swap fics, it does such a good job of figuring out the points that would need to diverge from canon without it feeling like a complete personality transplant for either character, and figuring out the ways they would still align and fit together.

Also, if it's not to cliche to say since everyone who came within breathing distance of early marvel fandom heard about this fic, but 4 minute window (CA:TWS) by Speranza - if I can write anything that affects someone as profoundly as I feel when I get to the line "I can hold the line at two dogs" I will leave this earth feeling as though I have accomplished all I needed to (I mean, even setting aside the worldbuiling and fleshing out this fic does of canon, the layers it gives everyone inside it, it's the first time in the fic we hear Steve say something hopeful about the future! Something without this ragged edge to it! It lives in my mind and heart every day, rent free).

42. Have you ever received a comment that particularly stood out to you for whatever reason?

Any comment that I received on Blue Moon (les miserables) during it's literal ten year hiatus between chapters - just the fact that people came across it (or even came back to it!) over the -again- literal ten years that it did not update... it means so much to me. I mean, every comment does, really. I've been doing this for a while but it still kind of blows me away that people want to ready anything I write, let alone more than once. I mean, I like what I write, but I also think the movie Waterworld (1995) is the greatest movie ever made, so I cant trust my judgement.

ask me!

[1lostsoul0fishbowl]

@corrodedcoffinfest seven deadly sins halloween pop-up

dividers by @strangergraphics-archive

prompt: wrath ~ word count: 666 ~ rating: M - pov: Gareth ~ relationships: none ~ cw: canon character death, use of song titled “goodbye cruel world”

summary: school has reopened after the so-called earthquake, but Gareth is not thrilled to be returning without his best friend.

author’s note: written in the style of a script. the 2.5-minute soundtrack, found here, is absolutely essential to this fic.

**the song “goodbye cruel world” is used in reference to Eddie’s decision to sacrifice his life for his friends. it is not in any way intended to represent Gareth experiencing suicidal ideation. but please, if you need to, take care. 💜

SCENE: HAWKINS HIGH

The song begins with crashing sound effects; the final crash aligns with the visual of a car door being slammed shut.

LYRIC: I DON’T NEED NO

Closeup on a pair of heavy black combat boots, stomping across the parking lot toward the school.

LYRIC: ARMS AROUND ME

Cut to Gareth POV; a group of girls give him frightened looks and scatter at his approach, leaving him a wide path through the crowded hall.

LYRIC: AND I DON’T NEED NO

Closeup on Gareth’s nose and lips only, as he takes a deep drag from a cigarette and exhales smoke through his nose. His lip is pierced with a silver hoop ring. He carelessly throws the cigarette aside.

LYRIC: DRUGS TO CALM ME

Closeup on the cigarette, rolling across the tiled floor, still lit and trailing smoke.

LYRIC: I HAVE SEEN THE WRITING ON

Cut to: Inside of a locker. The Hellfire Club yearbook photo is taped to the inside of the door. A note has been shoved through the vent, which is abruptly ripped free. He throws a book inside, scattering papers everywhere.

LYRIC: THE WALL

The locker slams shut, revealing graffiti all over the front. The word SATANIST is clearly visible, and the camera slowly zooms in on it.

LYRIC: DON’T THINK I NEED ANYTHING AT ALL

For the first time we see a full view of Gareth as he stomps down the school hallway, scowling fiercely. He’s wearing his Hellfire shirt and red flannel vest, but over it a black leather jacket decorated with metal studs and chains. Ripped black jeans and the aforementioned heavy black boots complete the undeniably Eddie-like image, a stark contrast to the colorful summery outfits of the preppy kids surrounding him.

LYRIC: NO

Gareth roughly shoves aside a kid in a sports uniform. The kid is bigger than him, but looks scared of him.

LYRIC: DON’T THINK I NEED ANYTHING AT ALL

Camera shifts to a wider perspective as Gareth stalks away. Kids mostly ignore him, continuing to give him a wide berth. At the strong GUITAR CHORD he turns abruptly and though he doesn’t speak audibly it’s clear that he snaps “fuck off!” at a group of little band nerds who were staring at him. They jump back, frightened, and immediately scatter. Gareth disappears around the corner.

LYRIC: ALL IN ALL IT WAS ALL JUST BRICKS IN THE WALL

Closeup on Gareth’s hand, adorned with chunky silver rings nearly identical to Eddie’s, shoving open the door of the gymnasium. Pan around gym; it’s obviously a “first day back to school” pep rally or assembly of some sort. The gym is a riot of school spirit and colors and perky happy kids.

Gareth storms right past Jeff and Grant— who exchange worried looks— without acknowledging them, and climbs to the very top of the bleachers, sitting far away from all the other students.

LYRIC: ALL IN ALL YOU WERE ALL JUST BRICKS IN THE WALL

As the music fades into the next track, Gareth slumps against the wall, crossing his arms, glaring around the room as if daring anyone else to approach. Pan out reveals he’s sitting beneath a hand painted banner that says KEEP OUR SCHOOLS SAFE! with two large crosses and ichthys symbols painted on either side of the words.

Cut to Lucas, Mike, Dustin, and Will entering the gym; Dustin starts heading in Gareth’s direction but is quickly stopped by Jeff.

LYRIC: GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD, I’M LEAVING YOU TODAY

Gareth glares daggers at his friends.

Former friends?

LYRIC: GOODBYE, GOODBYE, GOODBYE

He unfolds the paper that was in his locker vent. It’s Eddie’s missing person poster.

LYRIC: GOODBYE, ALL YOU PEOPLE

Gareth's fingers briefly caress photo-Eddie’s face.

LYRIC: THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN SAY

Scrawled across the bottom of the poster in bright red ink are the words YOU'RE NEXT, FREAK!

LYRIC: TO MAKE ME CHANGE MY MIND

Gareth angrily crumples the poster and throws it as hard as he can.

LYRIC: GOODBYE

END SCENE

thanks a million to @the-unforgivenn for beta reading!

[militantinremission]

HipHop's 50th Anniversary: What 'Culture' are We talking about?

I was in Elementary School back on Aug. 11th 1973. My family left The Bronx, but I spent a lot of time w/ my 'big cousins' in the Harlem River Houses. My cousin Mona babysat my brother & I, taking Us everywhere w/ her; including dates. I remember Mona taking Us to 'The Summer Of Soul Concert' in Harlem, & I remember going to a few of those Park Jams in Bronxdale & in Soundview. I think We saw more of King Mario than Kool Herc & Coke La Rock. My oldest brother formally introduced me to HipHop in the Spring of 1977 (b4 the Blackout). I remember coming home from School to find his Crew set up in Our Dining Room.

I got my 1st look from the 'Other Side of The Rope', & I was hooked! I wasn't a Rapper (yet), or a Break Dancer, but I had an ear for music. Like a lot of Old School Deejays (& under My brother's tutelage) I cut My teeth on Component Sets & BSR Turntables; rocking Line In switches b4 getting a [real] Mixer... I bought My own DJ Set in 1984 (B2s), & mastered my Craft as a Street DJ, & later in a few NYC Clubs. Most DJs are disciples of [Grand Master] Flash or [Grand Wizard] Theodore; I was more of a disciple of Jazzy Jay & Cut Master DC. We All have Our Unique Features, but EVERYONE went back to School when Jazzy Jeff introduced the 'Transformer Cut', back in 1986. Like a lot of DJs disenchanted w/ 'Gangsta Rap', I split time w/ HipHop's Twin Sister- House Music.

I say all of this, to qualify myself as a 'bonafide Shorty' of 1st Generation HipHop, & a full fledged Member of The New School Era. My point, is to say that 'In The Beginning', there was just The Culture. It didn't have a formal name- but it was being done ALL OVER NYC. I associate the '1520 Sedgwick Avenue' Story of HipHop w/ Afrika Bambaataa; he's The First Person that I remember telling this Story. Disco King Mario predated Kool Herc by years. Herc copied Mario's Style- down to his equipment! King Mario wasn't alone, Pete 'DJ' Jones & Hank Spann & were dueling Frankie Crocker & Gary Byrd On The Radio (WWRL vs WBLS), while DJ Flowers, DJ Spotlight, DJ Smokey, DJ Hollywood, The Disco Twins, & a number of Club DJs were also mixing it up.

A major argument is whether Disco is connected to HipHop. The Cats up in The Bronx say HELL NO, while the rest of NYC says HELL YES! People need to understand that when We talk about 'Disco', we don't mean 'The Sound' or Studio 54; We mean 'The Disco Fever', 'Harlem World', 'Sugar Hill', & 'The Factory'. The DJs that spun @ these Clubs molded the format that HipHop DJs still follow Today. Kool Herc is credited w/ The 'Merry Go Round'- his mix of Break Beats, but he wasn't the only DJ mixing Breaks or James Brown songs. The Black Spades that were interviewed, speak on King Mario spinning 'Soul Power' & how they chanted 'Spade Power'- as early as 1971. This creates a schism between Bronxdale & Soundview.

Black Americans say HipHop started in Bronxdale, as late as 1971. West Indians; Jamaican- Americans in particular, say it started on Aug. 11th, 1973. Puerto Ricans [Nuyoricans/ Puerto Rocks] say it started between 1975 & 1977, when Afrika Bambaataa incorporated Latino Breakers into 'his' HipHop scene. While there is debate over When & Where in The Bronx it started, EVERYONE AGREES that HipHop was created to Stop Gang Violence. The Culture involves individual expression through Graffiti, B- Boy Style of Dress, & Dance, Spoken Word, & the ability to keep The Party going non-stop. The Original Gangs splintered into Crews that now 'battled' each other w/ Turntables & Mics, on the Dance floor, & w/ Spray Paint Cans (Bombing).

The vernacular of HipHop is based in The Nation Of Islam & The Nation of Gods & Earths, so it's big on Black Power, Black Excellence, & The Traditional Black Family. Both Organizations are Pan Afrikan in their Philosophy, so The Black Diaspora is represented. The same is true w/ The Zulu Nation. Before the rise of The Nation of Latin Kings & Queens, you would find Latino Zulu Kings & Queens- it was All Love! Afrika Bambaataa coined HipHop's 'Mission Statement' of: "Peace, Unity, Love, & Having Fun!", in a song w/ James Brown by the same Name. He also defined the existing '5 Elements' as the fundamentals of HipHop Culture. The Zulu Nation were the unofficial Ambassadors of HipHop; first taking it Downtown, & later taking it Globally... No One questioned Bambaataa's actions.

As We celebrate 50Yrs of HipHop, Afrika Bambaataa's Legacy is tarnished @ best. He has been Radio Silent, since allegations of Child Molestation rose against him 7Yrs ago. Every Move that Bambaataa made is being questioned- Was it a good move for HipHop to go Downtown to SoHo? Did it open the door to the current 'isms' that plague The Culture? It was a Black Specific art form, but it opened itself up to integration w/ Sexual Deviants, Drug Abusers, & White Record Executives. In retrospect, We can see what lured Bam Downtown. I'm curious- is the current manifestation of 'The Culture' Bambaataa's intended goal? It goes against his language, but it's in line w/ his actions.

In the wake of Afrika Bambaataa's 'Fall from Grace', people began questioning his narrative of HipHop. Original B- Boys are still walking The Streets, so it wasn't hard to fact check. DJ Phase has spoke on many Youtube videos under 'The Culture', where he breaks down the Foundation of what became HipHop. According to DJ Phase, HipHop was born on June 7th, 1971- in the Bronxdale Houses. He said that it wasn't organized; Mario simply set up on the grass & spun records. Later that Summer, in July- DJ Phase said that they were more organized w/ more sound & records, so THAT was when Brothers got serious about what they were doing. Disco King Mario did a series of Jams that culminated in the legendary 'Rosedale Park' Jam, that lit up The Bronx & inspired future pioneers.

There is a lot of controversy today concerning the Origins of HipHop. Jason Black, of 'The Black Authority' had the best comment on the subject: "Success has many Fathers, but Failure is an Orphan". As We question the running narrative of HipHop's birth, We also have to question WHO gets Credit for WHAT. No One questions the contributions of Jamaicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Haitians, & Panamanians to The Culture, but the claims being made by Busta Rhymes, Pete Rock, Fat Joe, & John Leguizamo are disrespectful. Busta & Pete Rock assert that Jamaican Culture DIRECTLY INFLUENCED HipHop; Busta says 90%. He goes on to say that Kool Herc brought the Sound System & Jamaican 'Toasting' or 'Ranking' to the Bronx Youth. Puerto Ricans weren't really prominent in HipHop b4 'Beat Street' & the 'Break Dance Movies', but Fat Joe & John Leguizamo say Puerto Rico contributed 50% to The Culture... They ALL sound ridiculous.

In an effort to get ahead of King Mario predating Kool Herc, people have gone as far as saying that Disco King Mario is [half] Puerto Rican. When it was proven that Mario came from North Carolina, a Story came out that his family migrated to (Jim Crow) North Carolina back in 1912. Mario's Sister says they aren't Puerto Rican- They're North Carolinian & 'Country'... His Mother just liked the name Mario. This effort to remove Black Americans from a Black American genre is confusing. Making a contribution 'to', or an innovation 'of' something, doesn't make one 'The Originator' of it. DJ Phase made a point to elaborate on The Energy behind HipHop, & what inspired it. Our Family from The Diaspora mostly arrived after The Civil Rights Movement; They really don't know what AmeriKKKa was like before 1970.

Contrary to what Busta Rhymes, Pete Rock, or Fat Joe may say, HipHop begins w/ The Black Spades. As a boy in Harlem, I remember how revered The Black Spades were. They were respected, but I didn't understand why... Before The Black Spades, Blackfolk in The Bronx were being victimized by Whitefolk; 'Authur Avenue' Italians, in particular. According to The Black Spades, they couldn't go ANYWHERE w/o being attacked, so they organized & struck back. The Black Spades- essentially Black Teens, didn't just beat those Racists back; they opened up The Bronx for EVERY Black Person, giving them The Right of Autonomy. That Energy or Spirit of Revolution was celebrated in Song & Dance, & King Mario was The Conductor.

Kool Herc got to see King Mario & The Black Spades at 'The Tunnel'. He heard the Breaks & saw how the Black Spades reacted- He heard the chants of 'Spade Power!' Herc himself said that he analyzed what 'they were doing' & came up w/ The Merry Go Round. That, is an innovation. Herc never said that he introduced Toasting to those Baby Spades; in fact, Herc admitted trying to play Jamaican Music, but The Crowd didn't take to it. If Busta & Pete Rock were right, We should have some Reggae among familiar Beat Beats. All of these Cats talk about 'Culture', but they just sound ignorant. A 'Culture' is defined as: 'The sum total of Social Life'. If West Indian (i.e. Jamaican) and/or Latinx (i.e. Puerto Rican) Culture plays such a major role in HipHop, why did ALL of them adopt Black American Social Mores? Kool Herc admitted that he was clowned when he arrived in The Bronx; he thought Cowboy Boots were cool.

If we're going to run w/ the: 'Kool Herc is The Father of HipHop' Story, Coke La Rock should @ least be mentioned. He is credited w/ being The First Emcee. He was Herc's Partner. Busta & a literal Legion of Yardies want to coronate Herc as 'King of HipHop', but it was Coke La Rock that transformed 'Clive' into 'Kool Herc'. Clive DIDN'T KNOW THE CULTURE. Coke La Rock took him down to 125th Street, showed him what to buy, & how to sport it. Somehow, Coke La Rock was written out of the narrative. Again, Bambaataa started this. Another issue w/ Herc being hailed as 'The Father' of HipHop, is how easily he Bowed Down to U- Roy. Herc referred to him as 'his King'. Big Respect to U- Roy, I- Roy & ALL the Pioneers of Ska, Reggae, Lover's Rock, Dub Poetry, & Dancehall! That said, Black Americans BOW TO NO ONE! This is a Problem.

When We talk about Culture, HipHop embodies The Spirit of Revolution. Lay it out on the Black American Timeline, & it's a natural transition; from Work Songs, to Ragtime, to Jazz, to Rhythm & Blues, to Soul & Funk, to HipHop. It's the tireless spirit of Black Liberation in AmeriKKKa. Where does Jamaican or Puerto Rican 'Culture' fit in? They were 'Lovers, not Fighters'. We were Angry! What were they angry about? They were in America- Everything was 'Irie'! When DJ Phase was asked about this [Kool Herc] narrative, he cut to The Chase & said that this narrative gives Whitefolk a 'lane of claim' to Our Culture. It was Too Black, Too Strong, but it's been watered down. When We raise Our Heads, We will see that the people claiming ownership of Our Culture, are the same people representing Us in Government. They are the ones allowing Benign Neglect to continue & contesting Our Right to receive [Lineage Based] Reparations. They also represent Us 'On Screen', but they rarely depict Us in a dignified manner; We're either Ghetto, or Cowards.

While We're on the subject of 'Culture', let's point out how the level of deviance & violence has risen w/ the number of Jamaican & Puerto Rican Rappers. Boogie Down Productions gets Full Credit for setting off the 9mm talk. Just- Ice's 'The Original Gangster of Hip Hop' was just plain Raw... Also, B- Girls didn't dress like or behave like Dancehall Girls; compare Shante, Sweet Tee, & Latifah to Lil Kim, Nikki Minaj, & Cardi B. White Record Executives, like Lyor Cohen, have rerouted HipHop's 'messaging' to target Suburban Whitefolk eager to hear about 'Ghetto Life'. Today's Artists have been set up lovely by those who came before them, but I wonder if the New Jacks know The History? Do they know what it took for Us to maintain this? Cats had to show restraint, because Authorities were just waiting for Us to mess up. U can literally count the # of times U heard the N- Word b4 NWA... Do they know Themfolks tried to shut Us down in 1982; leading to the 'New School/ Hardcore Era' that started in 1983- 1984 w/ Run-DMC, T- La Rock & Jazzy Jay, & LL Cool J?

Truth be told, The Park Jams faded out by 1986- 1987. The Crack Wars began to make large gatherings dangerous. The 1st Crack Dealers (in My Hood) were The Dreads, who sold out of Weed Spots. The 'Rude Boys' weren't concerned w/ 'protocol', so things got Hot pretty quickly.... I understand that there is an effort to make HipHop EVERYONE'S genre, but it isn't; not anymore than Motown or Bebop. The World is welcome to enjoy HipHop, but make No Mistake- it's a Black American genre that just happens to be globally appreciated & adopted by many. That said, notions of people like Kool Herc, or Eminem being the 'Father' or 'King' diminish the effect that those 'Baby Spades' had on The Original Concept. We can appreciate their contributions, but HipHop Culture is bigger than them. It has a purpose, & it's NOT making Non Indigenous Blackfolk wealthy.

It was a youthful expression of Black Power & Creativity, but outside forces have turned it into a Golden Goose that only benefits White Record Execs & their Proxies. We treated Her like a Debutant, but She has been reduced to a Crack Whore that EVERYONE can get a piece of. Young Family has to go back to The Root. A Race War is looming, & i'm not sure that their music is up to task. Most of today's Artists are more concerned w/ their 30 pieces of silver, than The Culture it represents. Cats like Busta & Fat Joe aren't concerned, they're taking the money & running. Fat Joe wasn't even a Rapper back in The Day, he was a Stick up Kid; so he's always been about the 'Vic'. Immortal Technique & Big Pun R The Real Deal... HipHop has become symbolic of Black American Courtesy- We say: "have some", & Our 'guest' proceeds to help themselves to Everything. NO ONE is allowed to be more than a Guest in the genres of Jamaican & Latinx Music, so why do they expect ownership in Black American Music?

When We talk about HipHop Culture, We need to remove All the noise in The Room. ANYONE making a claim to Our Culture should be Checked quickly. This 'Back to School Party' Story doesn't make sense! It's supposed to be inspirational, but it's narrated like just another Party. What's so special about it? What exactly motivated Herc's Sister to have this Party, several weeks before School started? How does this 'Party' spark a Movement? Compare it w/ HipHop being a Celebration of Black Youth in The Bronx [dramatically] winning their fight against White Supremacy & their Right of Autonomy- An UNAPOLOGETIC DISPLAY of Black Power. There was a REASON why NYPD left Mario & the Black Spades Deejays alone. When they were 'Jamming', The Black Spades weren't beating down White Racists... No disrespect, but Immigrant Family weren't Here, so they don't know what sparked this Movement.

The Original Concept of HipHop is rooted in stopping Gang Violence. It was a creative alternative to the death & destruction that We brought on each other. The current version of it is so far removed, it's almost unrecognizable. Today's manifestation is literally a Death Cult that offers little to no benefit to The Artist. White Executives seem convinced that it's only about Beats & Rhymes, but the Crap being presented is vulgar & cookie cutter; which defies HipHop's demand for Originality & Excellence. After 50+Yrs, it's apparent that HipHop is best represented when it's Culturally connected to the Experience of Black American Life. EVERYONE ELSE is a House Guest & should behave accordingly.

[ashen-char]

see this is why i love talking about movies with people because they give you new perspectives to scenes.

I NEVER saw ivan staying in the US as him showing his love for anora, staying for her, you know? I always saw it as him doing it for him, because in the US he could do all the partying, showing off his money, running from responsibilities, etc more freely since his parents have a mansion there, a place to call home and have his things. Anyways i always saw him proposing to anora so he could stay in the US as something selfish and only for his own beneficial, if anora said no he would easily just go back to the club and find someone who would say yes to him.

but you made a point and it really opened my mind to the possibility that he might love anora, just in very very childish peter pan manner and maybe not an "i love you for who you are, outside and inside!" but more of a "i love what you represent" and in this case anora would represents his ticket to get away from his responsibilities for good, his freedom.

I can also see ivan not having bad intentions (he's just very immature and childish, which is not good in many situations) BUT at the end of the day we also have to weight in what his actions cause and they ended up harming people and that's important too, like yeah okay he didn't mean to cause any harm but he ended up causing it so he needs to take accountability for it. I believe the fact he never takes accountability for anything and always runs is what makes me not believe that he loves or cares for anora as her person but as what she represents in his life , the one to give him freedom, and if he fucks up with her he can find someone else like her. His childish act can go on for a very limited time before it turns from cute, funny and a little endearing to something hurtful, neglectful and annoying to the people around him AND again we need to blame his parents for a big part of who he is, like they babied him so fucking much that they have to put babysitters watching him at the big age of 21, but he can think for himself and he should know a little better and try to be a better person, think more before he acts.

(SORRY FOR YAPPING SO MUCH ABOUT IVAN I'LL STOP I SWEAR IT'S JUST I NEVER SEE HIS CHARACTER BEING TALKED ABOUT IT AND I WSNTED TO GIVE YAKE ON HIM)

Igor definitely is harder to read than ivan, like with ivan we know what he wants, he literally said it in the trailer "i want to marry an american so i can stay in america and not go back to russia!". While Igor is just there, he doesn't talk much in the trailer, he's the one that stays "i like anora, it's a pretty name" and he asks if ani knows what her name means (she doesn't or she doesn't care/believes in that) and I believe him liking her name and knowing what her name means is what makes him start to want to take care of her, probably because he saw that she represents the meaning of her name (i don't remember what her name means but i think it was someone strong or has a strong willingness ??). But yeah I think igor is harder to read because he doesn't say much from what we got until now (i haven't even seen much of him in reviews, maybe i need to cactu up in some interviews that i haven't watched yet) and he strikes me as someone who really thinks before he does something, so we don't know what goes on his mind unless he really wants us too. ( !!!! POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR ANORA ENDING: !!!! isn't the ending like Anora getting in the car, it's pouring outside and Igor is there with her and she starts crying and igor like hugs her and comforts her? i think they lay down on the backseat too. wait... is that a romantic scene? i saw it as platonic, if it's romantic that's embarrassing on my part, very embarrassing.) !!!! END OF SPOILERS !!!!

It's so sweet and sad that Anora would fill back the tupperwares with food to give back to reader because she's used to have to give something back to have that kind of care/attention. I got a feeling Reader would be so red when Ani says she needs to start giving reader a lapdance for the food and they would say so quickly "No, thank you!" and start yapping about how there's no need for it because why would they want a lapdance from Anora (they're nervous about it) with a weird look on their face that would make Ani thinks reader doesn't find her attractive at all and in her mind she's like "Oh okay... if I'm that ugly to you just say so, no need to be rude about it!"

Also I have another hc that when Anora is showing off her ring and saying "Yeaaah I'm getting marry, bitch!" the dancers who aren't as closer to her and don't know the fully story are like "OMG ANI!! Congratulations bitch, when are you and reader getting married?" And Anora is just there like "😀 me and reader?? what???" because she's genuinely confused about why they think she and R would get married I mean come on now it's not like R cooks her meals EVERY TIME, or picks her up on their car when it's raining/snowing/just too cold or when it was one of those busy nights (they swear reader has sixth sense for those nights) so she doesn't have to walk all tired/during bad weather to her apartament, it's not like reader sends her flowers weekly like why would they think that? it doesn't make sense.

!!spoiler's for anora's ending, when i start talking about igor!! i cut it into 3 sections, ivan, reader, then igor at the end so ur safe til then

this interview informs ivan's character more, if you're interested. mikey suggesting super rich kids by frank ocean is also great. in terms of ivan with love, who could have taught him what it is? his parents aren't around, simply controlling figures who don't care about his wellbeing - they only want to annul his marriage because it looks bad for them that he's married to a "hooker". fake friends only there for his money and his proximity to getting what they want from him.

to quote mark in the interview "[ivan's'] not a bad guy but just a kid who tried to find home and love... i feel, myself, lonely". i think both ivan and ani don't really know what love is, hence their pursuance of that fairy tale. it isn't a case of a rich man dangling his wealth in front of a girl and promising a future knowing he won't give it, but perhaps the only way ivan does know how to show love. his parents would have given him all this to keep him from complaining, he makes his friends by taking them on trips and partying, and that's all he knows.

with the marriage=staying, the variety article (first i ever read, rly informed my initial takes) says he proclaims love first after ani "teaches him", and it's in that conversation where he wants to get married explicitly to stay in contact with her. i stick to "ivan and ani are in love because they say and think they are", and the question on whether it's true doesn't matter as much as if it can last, which is a no. 

babying in my head gives an image of present parents who coo and go "oh you did nothing wrong, here we'll fix it" which isn't the case. the "babysitters" are goons to make sure ivan doesn't fuck up their legacy/image, not actually a show of care but a "you'll embarrass us, you bring us shame". ivan has never been trusted, taught, cared about as more than an afterthought. i bet that they realised too late that they couldn't morph him into the perfect heir for their business and gave up on him. it's isolating to not have a purpose. imagine when you were a kid and you naturally acted out for attention, the people who should've taught you better are ashamed and leave you alone all the more.  possibly toros, his godfather, would've been his only guide/real parental figure, but even he can't be around a lot. 

--

i didn't mean for it to be sad that she returns it with food LOL but yeah definitely some themes from later creeped into my mind. thinking of ani's russian/uzbek immigrant grandparents, she would have grown up in a community where they check in with each other, drop off food, return tupperware with food, offer help to each other etc. it's ani showing that she thinks reader is part of her family, an instinctive drive to provide?

AND I LOVE THE DANCERS ASSUMING THEYRE TOGETHER THATS SO REAL I LOVE FRIENDS TO LOVERS FOR THAT

--

oh you thinking that about igor makes a lot more sense now, yeah i can see how that can come off as big brother. i assume you want to know cause you're delving into it as much as me, spoilers for the ending below. mentioned in a few articles are the glances between igor and ani. that he becomes her white knight, her protector, the quiet but always looking out for her guy on the side. if anora is a commentary on class, and the eternally transactional nature of relationships where sex is interchanged for money, consider a character that is at the same financial/power rung but still cares about and does things for her. just for her, not because she can or is expected to do something in return.

!! ending spoilers warning !!

igor returns ani's diamond ring to her, having swiped it from toros because he understands she cares about it. ani (different interpretations on why. some say she doesn't want to be a golddigger so she does something in exchange, i prefer that she cannot comprehend that someone would do something just for her) gives him a lapdance and seduces him. afterwards, he attempts to kiss her, solidifying that igor didn't just want sex but genuinely just likes her. ani starts weeping on his chest. is she scared of the idea that it is real? was seducing him a test that he failed, that he should've refused the sex to solidify it first?

even if ani believed ivan loved her, i think she intuitively knew she wasn't actually understood. they were too different. she probably hoped they had more time to gradually know each other, or that she'd be let fully into his life and her past might not matter so much. mikey says that the name ani is a shield, from people at the club knowing her the same way girls would don a stage name. anora is her real self that she rejects. only igor acknowledges it. igor, who has refused to make advances on her several times before this, who has confused her so much because it's clear he does like her, to the point that she yells at him that he must be gay or a coward. igor, with his similar background, does have the potential to know her. maybe that's terrifying.

[wufflesvetinari]

starting a playlist for when you're at the club but the vibe is kind of evil. like there's maybe some vampires here. and the camera's panning over them dancing in the neon lights to represent their wild urban fantasy nighttime depravities

[bleachbleachbleach]

9/22 - 9/29/2024

Aaaaand several months later, Renji 11 is complete (again).

Which brings me to a couple additional milestones:

1) I finished a full draft of my banner!

My idea here is that each chapter would get some little icon that relates to something about the chapter, as well as the narrating POV's division flower. I'm trying to decide whether it matters if the item is, uh, legible. That's supposed to be a baggie of manju but they kind of look like tomatoes. Is it weird that the two images are totally different line weights? And even if it is, do I trust myself to draw 20 different glyphs with the same line weight?? The stamp effect/weathering could probably be more intentional--for now I quickly took a dry media brush to a Layer Mask to see if it could effect what I wanted. It's because I am bothered by the vector-smoothness of the weathering in the font itself when the text is that large.

Apparently I did the low-res mockup for this on December 14, 2023, so at least it's been less than a year?! It also means that I've continued to like this design, even after 10 months. (Here's the partial V2 I didn't move forward with.)

2) It's my first time in the six-figure club! Which is impressive to me, because I don't generally consider myself a longfic person, and I've never written a singular fic of this scale before, for any fandom.

At this point, this project is causing me a lot of cognitive dissonance, ngl. Because this fic represents the majority of my Bleach fandom experience (I've been working on it since 2021, and it's the sequel to my first two Bleach fics, which I wrote before we made this blog). In my mind, it basically IS my Bleach identity. But it's not meaningfully reflected in this blog, which is... well, it's us? B3 IS our Bleach identity? Not that our original posts are what the majority of people follow this blog for, but still. What an identity crisis!

The obvious solution is to post it, and I do feel like I've moved on emotionally enough from Part 1 that I could probably survive that! But I also kind of feel like, don't I already have plenty of things to survive right now? 🫠

--

I'm undecided on what I want to tackle next. I'd like to finish my revision round for Rukia 7 / Rukia 10 / Renji 11, but that's the kind of thing that requires more unbroken time, and that does not really work with my current "oh god 10 minutes, GO" state of being. So I feel like if I want to try that, I also need an additional place where all I need to do is drop in and write lines. They can't be in Hitsugaya 12, though, because I've written as much of that as I can without knowing how the Hisagi 9 revisions pan out.

I have distinct memories of having very pleasant daydreams about how those revisions should go (very specifically on US 127, in weather non-conducive to daydreaming), but I looked over those scenes last night and HAHAHA. I HOPE I WROTE NOTES FOR THOSE DAYDREAMS because while I do remember writing them as written, I do not have any distinct memories about how they needed to be changed, rip

[fairuzfan]

Your friendly neighborhood Muslim librarian here again!

You're absolutely correct. Community demographics affect a lot of what goes on in a library because we cater to that community specifically. I'm sorry for any negative experiences you've had at your library. That's a failing on their part and I 100% encourage you to complain. Call, email, write in the community notebook if they have one, attend a board meeting. Do what you have to do to make your voice heard. Librarianship is a Very White profession. I'm the only non-White person in my dept and the only Arab in the building.

Outreach is difficult. That's not to make excuses; we have a librarian specifically for outreach and programming -not all libraries are able to have that as a position- and we still struggle to bring 3arab in, whether the programming is in-person or virtual. We reach out to the masjid -the OG in the Chicagoland area- and 3arab cultural centers but it's rough. I can't imagine how difficult your library has it.

If you can in any way help drive people to the library and help them understand that this space is for them, that's honestly great! So many people still think of libraries as quiet places to read and get scolded by an old, cardigan-wearing librarian. We're a community center! We want you to talk and hang out and use all the materials and resources! We have so much more than just books! You can check out video game consoles! We have Switches!! And cake pans! And musical instruments! All kinds of neat stuff! There are ESL classes! Book Clubs! Computer literacy classes! Resume and job search help! Geneaolgy!! So many databases!! Call us with the most ridiculous question and we'll answer it for you!! Just come in and use this space!! A 7ajja saw me working the desk once and yelled "asalamu alaikum ya batta" at me from the other end of the dept. We love connecting with the community!

omg 7ajja's are the best literally my favorite type of person to talk to.

but yes! totally agree! libraries are really amazing places i love them quite a lot! i think more people should participate in them if they can. i do agree, it is a very white profession which is what i was getting at in that sense! some people are quite conscious of not seeing themselves represented in positions of leadership in communities. but still, there are resources here for you to use, so please use them! my library even has a whole art and woodworking studio. they have art lessons by local artists which i love.

i was even planning on volunteering for an art class one day (you know... Before October haha...) but i might do that for palestine this time now that i think about it. i doubt they'll let me lol but its worth a shot.

[lisutarid-a]

[Gakuen K] Extras Translation

Special Club Quiz Championship

LIST OF CHAPTERS

[Translation under the cut]

Anna: [Ladies and Gentlemen. Now, we are going to have a special club quiz championship. Applause]

 *lazy applause*

Anna: […]

Anna: […Those of you who didn't clap, next time be prepared to get horrible grades on your final test. Applause]

*heavy applause*

Anna: [Now, here are the clubs that have entered the quiz competition…]

Anna: [Under the leadership of Mikoto with a beautiful Red -- The Red club]

Anna: [The first ones whose uniforms you'll want to paint with ketchup -- The Blue club]

Munakata: I don't like that catchphrase…

Anna: [Those whose presence is unnoticeable -- The Silver club]

Shiro: T-that's not true! We have traditional club activities!

Anna: These are the three teams. Which team will win?

Anna: So, let's start. The first question…

*sound signal*

Anna: …

Anna: …Yes, the Silver club.

Shiro: Uh…

Anna: First question, answer.

Shiro: Ahaha, sorry. I was wondering what the button was for and accidentally pressed it.

Anna: It is a button for a quick quiz. It's what you press when you answer the quiz. Didn't you listen to the explanation before we started?

Munakata: I guess the Silver club pressed the button because they knew the answer. Please go ahead and answer.

Shiro: Ehh! I just made a mistake. Oh well. Never mind. The answer is "rice"!

Anna: Wrong...Continuing with the first question. A "bun" is a piece of bread, but…

Anna: …Which composer has a word "Bun (パン pan)" in his name. Answer with the full name.

Kusanagi: What's with that question? That's a pretty difficult quiz.

Totsuka: Fufu, not really.

Munakata: Frederic Francois Chopin(ショパン, Shopan)

Anna: Correct. The Blue club gets 10 points.

Munakata: Plump bun!

Anna: Correct. The Blue club gets 10 points.

Totsuka: Munakata-san is amazing. He has been answering correctly from the first question. No wonder he wears glasses!

Kusanagi: I can't believe how many questions he answered correctly. I'm sure he's actually smart, but…Our king doesn't move an inch.

Totsuka: That's right. Shiro-kun pushing too fast for no reason and keeps getting penalties…Hm?

Kusanagi: What's going on? Someone went up on the stage.

Kuroh: Shiro, switch with me.

Shiro: Okay,but…Weren't you uninterested in the quiz competition?

Kuroh: I was uninterested. …But I can't sit silently and watch this situation.

Kuroh: Why do you push the button before the question is asked?

Shiro: I figured if I didn't push fast, someone else would beat me to it.

Kuroh: Do you really think you can say something random and get it right when you don't know the question?

Shiro: I thought if I hit enough times, I'd get one right~

Kuroh: …By the way, how many scores do you currently have?

Shiro: 0 points!

Kuroh: It's beyond appalling. Switch.

Shiro: Okay-okay, I got it. Kuro, I wish you good luck.

Kusanagi: Oh, a change of players. I think the Red club better do something too. --Yata-chan.

Yata: What is it?

Kusanagi: Get up on the stage and switch with Mikoto.

Yata: I!?

Kusanagi: Mikoto not answering the questions at all. If it continues like this, we'll lose to the Blue club.

Yata: …I hate losing. I'm going!

Totsuka: …Yata don't look like a strong quizzer.

Kusanagi: It's feels like clinging to straw. I hope for a miracle.

Kusanagi: …Eh, you should have come out. You're strong at trivia.

Totsuka: But look at Yata. He's all fired up.

Kusanagi: Please, a miracle. Just for a moment, take the stupidity out of Yata!

Munakata: The answer is "Docosahexaenoic acid".

Anna: Correct. The Blue club adds another 1O points.

Kuroh: Damn, as expected of the school's most smartest…

Yata: W-what is it? Doco-something acid. What language is this…?

Munakata: …Fushimi-kun, are you there?

Fushimi: What is it?

Munakata: It would be no fun at all if we keep winning like this.

Munakata: Please switch with me and participate in the quiz competition as a representative of the Blue club.

Fushimi: Wouldn't it be better if we just win?

Munakata: There is nothing more boring than a game you know you are going to win.

Fushimi: …Understood.

Fushimi: Hi, Misaki.

Yata: Saru…

Fushimi: How did you decide to come out in Mikoto-san's place?

Yata: For the sake of the Red Club's victory!

Fushimi: And you, with your thick brain, are the one saying that? …Hehe. Isn't this funny? I'm gonna beat you, Misaki!

Anna: …Saruhiko, refrain from private conversation. Now, the next question.

Anna: The greatest calligraphers of the "Three brushes" are Kukai, Emperor Saga, and who?

Yata: It's obvious! It's Mikoto-san!

Anna: Wrong.

Fushimi: Mikoto-san is not a master calligrapher, is he? You don't know that even though you've spent so much time together? That's why you're an idiot…

*sound signal*

Fushimi: Tsk…beat me to it.

Kuroh: It's Tachibana no Hayanari.

Anna: Correct. The Silver club, 10 points.

Yata: Don't be so slow at pressing the button, Saru!

Fushimi: Shut up. It's just a coincidence.

Fushimi: I'd rather correct the mistake than be an idiot who thinks he answered correctly.

Yata: What?!

Kusanagi: That's bad. Those two have started fighting.

Kusanagi: Hey, President-san. I'll stop Yata, you take care of Fushimi.

Munakata: It's funny, why not leave it as it is?

Kusanagi: …You're The Head of Student Council. Isn't it your job to do something about student problems?

Munakata: Look at the audience. It's getting quite lively, isn't it?

Munakata: The main purpose of the school festival is to entertain everyone. They are making a contribution, I'm not going to stop them.

Kusanagi: Eh…He's gone. Is it really okay?…?

Shiro: I think it would be fine. I'd like to visit the food stalls. I think the booths are open right now.

Mikoto: …Let's go.

Kusanagi: Even Mikoto! What the heck, everyone's acting too freely!

Totsuka: Well, now as it turned this way, there's nothing we can do about it, right?

Kusanagi: Is is all right? This school festival…

Totsuka: It's fine, it's fine. Everything will work out somehow. Let's follow King too!