#slightly different from each other but the overall vibe is just. its there

[writella]

A Different Kind of Ride

Synopsis: Reader wants to ride Daryl’s bicep!

Details: Daryl Dixon x fem!reader. Just smut, (bicep) riding, masturbation (m). I think they’re both giving switch vibes, they enjoy watching, and are obsessed with their partner’s body. Overall, lots of grinding, desperation, and Daryl wanting to panty sniff— slay. Mostly proofread. wc: 1.7k.

A/N: Literally sighing and moaning and licking my lips while thinking about this. He’s so fine. Also hi!!! I missed you all. with love, writella. ♡

The scene starts in his room. He’s laying almost slanted on the bed. His head rests near the bottom half of where the pillows reside. His shirt is off, but his pants remain. His tools and weapons were still attached to his lower hips. He was dirty. Grimey and sweaty. Small strands of his hair sticking to his face, while the rest fell effortlessly above his shoulders and onto the bed.

You, on the other hand, were clean. Dried, soft, and smelling of fresh creamy white soap in your pajamas, all ready for sleep.

You didn’t care though. That’s what you get when you want him. And you liked the rattle, and cling, and thump of his belt as you continued to bounce and grind down on the area where his cock resides. Clothed and covered under two layers but the way his bulge pressed and squished perfectly into you was more than enough. Not to mention how the seam of your shorts made its way into your folds adding an extra amount of friction that scratched your clit just perfectly.

It all felt just as good as having him inside of you, honestly. Your eyes rolled back and then closed, your mouth stays slightly open. Your top teeth come to bite your bottom lip every time you rocked forward and the feeling was just right. You start pushing deeper and harder, your hands rest of his chest for assistance as your eyes screw tight: you were focused.

“Need you, need you, want you; it feels so good; please, please,” are the thoughts that scream inside you as you quickly and tightly press down into his groin and then start to jump: imagining him thrusting into you all short and fast— it feels like a little a bounce-bounce-bounce-bounce motion, accompanied in unison by pants that make you go into a quick and breathy “hm-hm-hm-hm.”

Then you start to rock on him again, it’s like an ocean wave: pushing up as high as you can go, and then pushing all the way down and letting your clit feel him from bottom to top— “mmm, ah,” you whine.

Your eyes are scrunched so tight, giving it your all, trying your bestest like the good little girl you are; determined to make yourself come. You needed it.

And Daryl sees it. He watches. Mesmerized by the focus and determination of your entire body.

He can’t tell if he’s the one in control because of your desperation and how little you need from him to get you soaked, or if it’s you because of your position, and because of how effortlessly you have taken control to reach your high.

Either way, you’re both intoxicated by each other. You were on him almost instantly as he entered the room, after all. And he let it happen. You told him you missed him, you went to hug him, he kissed your forehead and messed up your hair, giving you a sleepy “hey,” with a bashful smile only saved for you. Then wordlessly he let you take off his vest and shirt, pushing him onto the bed— which did nothing in actuality, he was almost immovable, but as your hands pressed on his shoulders, he went down anyway. Down for the ride, enjoying the sight.

So much so that his eyes are dazed as the look upon you. Looking at how your waist contorts in unison with the rock of your hips on top of him, how your nipples harden under your shirt, how putting your hands on his chest and every time he makes one of his dark and gruffy sounds makes your pussy jerk and you moan louder.

His hands grab onto your hips, pushing you forward. He sees how the shape of your little shorts molded into your pussy lips as you grind down. He bets they’re drenched in that area now. If you come in them, he wants to suck on it, and then rip them off and eat you out when you’re done.

His hands trail higher, securing themselves onto your waist. You grab his arms then as you continue to rock, going from his forearms to his biceps, feeling the curves. You open your eyes, you don’t even catch his entrancement at the area of where your bodies meet. You focus on the divets of his arms, how strong he is, how big he is. It makes you whine frustratingly, pushing into him faster.

Suddenly, you get off of him and onto your knees, hurrying to take your shorts off.

Daryl’s eyes don’t even look at you, “Give ‘em,” he says as you reach for the hem. He looks straight at the wet and sweaty pair on you, eyeing the wet spot that has spread in the area of your mound. Truly he could see almost everything despite the cover by the way they folded into you.

The demand doesn’t even surprise you as much as it excites you. You throw them at his face. No questions.

You extend his arm on the bed, his hand sprawled flat. Stroking it, you breathlessly say, “I want this.” You're desperate but you wait for approval, but he has his other hand on his face, holding your thrown shorts over his nose and mouth like a mask, breathing you in. His breath inward is loud and it’s followed by a deep and raspy hum. It made your pussy jut, your eyes widen, your mouth gasp. You whine impatiently, inserting your finger into your hole as he moves the part with the seam to his nose, breathing it in again, and then, sucking it dry with his mouth, watching your fingers spread more wetness all over your pussy.

You moan and your body shakes with his eye contact. “Please?” You ask him with a pout.

He moves his arm you held to use both hands to undo his belt. He sees that you continue to rub your clit with a sad look on your face as you wonder what he’s going to do. He drops his pants to the ground and you watch his boxers make a tent on top of his hard cock as he places his arm back where you put it.

“Go on,” he tells you finally, giving you a nod. “Do whatever you want.”

Ecstatically, you move your knees on either side of him, lowering down, and letting your wet pussy lips open around the curves of his upper arm, taking up as much of him as they can. It’s only a little, your tiny lips can only cover so much, but it feels great. You clit presses down against his arm perfectly, getting the direct attention you desired.

You begin to rock and it feels as perfect as you expected. Your mouth opens again and your eyes flutter close, focusing on your task— riding his bicep and making yourself come. You were determined.

Daryl’s dick twitches as he watches you. His other hand comes behind his head, resting it under him to tilt his head up a bit, getting more comfortable as he gazes on your blissed out expression.

It felt great to know how attracted you were to him. That even his arms alone could have your pussy become a sopping mess. At this rate he knew you would come tonight from that alone. The thought makes precum slip from his tip and make him grunt and hum lowly; he just couldn’t get enough of watching you. Like a little horny-teenaged-babygirl discovering grinding for the first time, doing it on anything she could to feel a release.

It made him finally push down his boxers and touch himself. He spits on his hand and begins to stroke his cock. He started to pump, his grunts becoming more strangled, he couldn’t even attempt to start edging eventually. You looked so cute and pathetic, so sexy. He wanted to come with you.

You moan from your movements and from hearing his voice. It makes your eyes flutter open as your head tilts, catching a glimpse of Daryl working on himself which makes you open them all the way. Now you rock as you watch him. “Oh, Daryl,” you plead.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” He asks gruffly. Giving you direct eye contact as he pumps.

“I’m making you want to touch yourself like that?” You ask sweetly, giggling as you continue to rub your clit just right against him. “Huh, Daryl?” His dick and his hand looked so veiny and angry as pumped. It made you moaned again. “Fuck, you’re so handsome.”

Daryl almost chokes on his breath. Every mean and grumpy comment he could have left him. All he has grunts and you can swear he almost growls because of your little smile and the way he watches your breasts fall out from your shirt as you take it off. He’s speechless and pumping into his hand faster, watching as your pussy tries to engulf the entirety of his arm.

You grind down faster, pushing and pushing forward and backward on his bicep until you feel a yummy hotness rise. Your clit felt like it was on fire with goodness, you finally were about to explode. You pant and moan and Daryl begins to pump himself harder. His hand slapping against his skin, his voice making a low sound every time he reaches the end of his shaft. All there is, is the sound of him and you and your voices— nonsensical, reaching your peaks.

Your breath hitches, and your hands come to the bed, your back arches and your head tilts forward as you go harder and harder, furiously pushing into him until finally— “OH!”— you come.

He isn’t far behind. He watches your eyes roll back and your mouth open wide, your moan and the feeling of his arm being drenched telling him you reached your orgasam which makes him do so as well. A strangled groan, quick and paused, erupts and is then interrupted by another more loud moan as hot spurts of white jump out onto his leg and the bed.

You look on breathlessly. Your movements now slowed but continuous as you bring yourself down from your high, his come messing up the sheets making you whine from the sight.

When you both catch your breaths and you move your thighs from his arm his hands grab you by the hips. His movements direct you to sit on his groin as you once did before.

He wants to see how you ride on his cock now.

And of course, you oblige.

[shinesurge]

Webcomic rings run by people within the community are cool and you should support them

I've been loudly struggling a little bit with corporate webcomic Stuff lately so I want to mention something positive to balance it out: webrings run by small groups of creators earnestly trying to support each other are slowly making a comeback and I for one am delighted.

If you weren't around for them in the before times, webrings were just some folks who hang out a lot who feature each other on their websites. That's literally it lmao. There's generally no money involved and it only really functions the way it's supposed to if people have control over their own websites AND genuinely want to participate and get excited about other folks' work, which means the practice has pretty well fallen by the wayside over the years in webcomic culture given. Everything. In the rare event someone decides to do something like this it's usually in the form of a link list somewhere on their website; this doesn't usually indicate any sort of mutual support, it's just a list of what the creator is reading themselves.

A webring, though, is an official banner or hub that people gather under intentionally where each member is more or less on equal footing. It's essentially the concept of "a rising tide lifts all boats" put into practice, each creator brings their own audience to the table in a passive, opt-in sort of way that's different from working for a publisher since there isn't necessarily a Top Spot or a paycheck everyone's vying for, and individuals retain autonomy over both their own work and how (if) they promote each other. You're all at your own tables in an artist alley rather than fighting over the table in the front of the book store, essentially.

I have two rings and one collective for you today!

Webcomic Ring was brought to my attention AGES ago by Holly, one of the artists featured there, and I might have brought it up at some point but I'm doing it again lmao. This is exactly the kind of thing you ought to be looking for; a small group of enthusiastic folks having a good time making their weird little comics. You probably haven't heard of much in the catalog, that's PERFECT in the context of webcomics that's where the GOOD SHIT is. Finding something like this is A Gift go dig around in the longboxes for a while.

Then a few people have pointed me in the direction of the KNIFEBEETLE collective and that's neat too! Most of the comics there are already fairly well-known, but the vibes are excellent and I haven't seen a lot of talk about the collective /itself/ outside folks already in the know. I think it's important for this sort of thing to be more visible to folks who aren't terminally steeped in webcomic culture already so here I am telling you about it. You were probably reading several of these before I suggested it, but that's how a webring works! For it to do its job you should take those bigger creators' tacit recommendation of the less popular titles as a sign to go read something new and strange. Wild, I know these are practices held over from the old internet, but I think we should try and bring them back.

Lastly, I want to mention Spiderforest, which is a collective (slightly different from a webring) BUT still a very cool project readers starved for new stuff should pay attention to.

You've probably seen Spiderforest kicking around for a long time already; they're wonderful and have always been an overall positive force in the community in my experience. They really focus on building up a community, and especially welcoming newcomers and helping them get their feet under them. Full disclosure, I've been asked to apply by a few different folks over the years and the only reason I never did is I don't have the ability to participate in their forums and such as frequently as they want their creators to; it's a very good system (from my outside perspective) that might contribute to the community staying mostly healthy in ways that art communities usually don't and I appreciate it a lot!

ANYWAYS that's all I got for now, just trying to balance out some bad feelings I've been having by talking about some good stuff. Please go binge an archive this week.

[changbinsboobs]

Ok ill try and see for both intimate and casual🌝

Go detail in both topics can't wait for long reading from u

How Skz Kiss? (Hyung Line)

Chan

For him im seeing he may not be very good or very giving with kisses in his day to day life. Which actually surprises me a little bit? Like intimately he does do a pretty well job but im not seeing anything special. It rather like something that's part of sex but i don't see any depth to it. He just has to kiss, thats how things are - but its not something necessarily pleasurable or sensual and meaningful to him. So overall i don't see him as much of a kisser. I see that for his partner to get kisses and affection of that type they have literary to beg and nag and i feel like it may have even been an issue here and there. Like causing feelings of insecurity or distrust in their partner cuz why tf doesn't he want to kiss me?! I see him slyly evading the situation and getting himself an excuse or something or like playfully teasing them as to not ruin the affectionate mood. And idk why like its not like he strictly doesn't want to because he's appalled to it, rather than that he doesn't want to because there's nothing in it for him.

Lee Know

I think he's pretty abundant with his kisses casually and i think he likes holdkng his partners head with two hands firmly so they don't run away and kiss them😂 im getting such a nice energy with this its really playful and genuine and gives you a sense of comfort🥺 might sound a bit weird but im getting that vibe when you have a little cousin or a pet or just someone close to you thats like a younger sibling to you and you want to express your affection for them but jokingly and annoy them a bit so like they're trying to run away but u hold them back and place one big kiss on their head or something😂 thats a bit of the vibe im getting with lee know when he's casually kissing his partner - but of course its more sensual and romantic than when u kiss a pet or sibling or whatever😂 he feels like a stronger, more stable & mature figure you can rely on and his kisses show his approachability to you and that he's there for you and will take care of you. I think he's also freely giving them, not excessive, but also not stingy. Just the perfect amount, in the perfect times.

As it comes to intimate kissing im seeing him liking to try many different things, experimenting with kisses, tongue movements, wetness, sloppiness, pace, depth, sound, nastiness, just everything. I think he likes to have a "partner in crime"😂 he can try everything with and just have fun with and play. 👀

Changbin

He lives casual kisses i feel like. Like its just part of daily life. You wake up - a kiss. I stand up from bed and meet in the hallway when going to the bathroom - kiss, you prepare breakfast together - a kiss everytime you come close to or pass by each other, after eating - kiss, and so on. The whole day, after every stage of ones day there should be at least one kiss😂 its just routine for him. Its something normal and something that should be integrated into your routines. I feel like if he misses a kiss it would feel weird and empty for him. And by kissing i don't mean an actual open mouth kiss, small short pecks. Sometimes am attack of lots of small, quick pecks - but always pecks! Im seeing that as soon as the kiss becomes even slightly open mouthed or last longer than a split second he starts getting hot😭💗 not necessarily sexually, but i feel like he's just a very sensitive lil guy and is very very weak to his woman and there's very little needed to make his knees go weak. And now coming to the more intimate part - i think its very easy for normal kisses to become intimate cuz intimacy with him doesn't equal sex. He finds intimacy in the little things and sex is just an expression of intimacy - but isn't simultaneous to it. I feel like he's someone that could make love, in the middle of the train station, just with a kiss and his gaze and his gentle touch to the face or the waist or whatever - and the intimacy generated in that little moment could equal the intimacy regular people have when they have sex, maybe even more.

And so during sex his kisses are very very abundant im seeing🌝 i think he's really into juices so even if thats a little off topic but i think he absolutely loves kissing and making out with the other lips too👀👀👀 and lives getting his whole face wet 🌝just saying. Anyways when kissing intimately he loves sloppy, slow, deep really wet and tonguey kisses. So i think he's one of those guys that always puts lots of tongue, too much tongue in his kisses. But he does it very slowly and with lots of care so i think it balances it out a bit. He just loves mixing with his partner completely as much as he can and blurring the line where he ands and the partner begins as much as possible. Oh and i think he's one to often kiss with his eyes open😂 he doesn't want to miss even a second. Like, not have his eyes open the whole time but like as him and his girl come close to one another his eyes are open and the first few seconds as well until the kiss melts him too much for him to be able to "stay awake". Also another thing thats a bit off topic but i think intimately is where lots of his insecurities and traumas that he hides so well come to the surface and become visible and he's aware of that becomes even more self conscious because of it so i think intimacy in general is something thats DEEPLY desired by him, but at the same time he feels like running away from it out of fear of being rejected, abandoned or put down just for being who he is, and i think he's actually really fragile on the inside and it would hurt him so much if the person he's in love with and is trusting enough to open himself up to, sees his "shadows" and turns his back on him or tells him its ugly and they cant love him - so i think most of the time he's engaging in intimate stuff, even if its just sensual kissing, he either can't completely let go and theres a certain unspoken tension that comes from his fear of slipping and being seen and discovered. Even if he absolutely melts and dissolves into pleasure and sensuality.

Hyunjin

He also loves casual kissing (just as much as intimate kissing😂) but i feel like he's more playful and aggressive with it, a bit similar to leeknows vibe but with hyunjin is more mischivious and more dirty and i think he's being way more aggressive with it than lee know. I think he likes bringing a bit of a nasty, sexy mood everywhere he goes with his partner and uses hiskisses to do that😂 its not a sensual, intimate sexy vibe like with changbin, but rather a rawdawging, homeporn type of sexual energy😂 idk how to explain the vibe but lets just say he's very sexual and very nasty but like in a playful way, but he means it, he's just really comfortable with that.

So yeah anyways - when it comes to the intimate kisses im not seeing much else there than once again a wild, inpatient, firey energy. Guys help me out here does he have aries moon, venus or mars? Especially mars???? Im getting heavy aries energy. Impatience, slight sexual immaturity (not really but in terms of the jokey, open nature), a bit of selfishness sexually, aggressiveness, impulsivity. Now don't get me wrong, i don't think thats all to his sexual "persona" - we all are multifasceted beings and im just describing one side of hyunjin. I think he can be very different too and really intense and dark and sensual, cuz i've sensed that type of energy back in other readings too - this seems like a different type of mood he sometimes has, which now that i think about it actually suits him too. At first i got a bit surprised but i can really see him being impatient and not being able to control his eagerness and just wanting to devour his partner. Im seeing fast and aggressive kissing, probably also holding his partner down keeping them from squirming too much or running away. I almost feel like some of his kisses might hurt from the pressure and just rashness if the whole thing. I also feel like it could easily become difficult to breath from those kisses but i think thats something he'll love cuz it gets them both lightheaded and that adds a certain risky and perverted vibe to it he loves. I think his partners would loved that too tho, especially seeing such a different side from him🌝

So guys Im gonna stop the reading here and later on continue with the Maknae line, so look forward to it.

💗

[loonarii]

Ari's K-Pop Roundup: May 2024 (aespa, NewJeans, IVE, tripleS, YVES, ARTMS + MORE)

sorry this one was a little late - it was partly due to my personal life being a bit hectic at the moment, and partly due to the amount of stuff I wanted to say about this month's releases. check out last month's installment here, and happy pride month :)))

Supernova + Armageddon - aespa

Instant classic. 'Drama' in all its electric cyber-crush glory is a tough act to follow, but 'Supernova' holds it's ground from the first second and starts being fucking iconic in the next five.

Dem Jointz is all over this track, I love how he gets to go a little wild with the complexity of his production when working with groups like aespa and NCT. The beat bounces and booms, taking the listener on an intergalactic roller coaster ride of dance-pop rhythm, with the aespa girls as our celestial guides. 'Supernova' is a masterclass in vocal mixing and ad libs, Ningning's vocals sound especially addictive on this track, low and oozing confidence. It's an instant hit, and one of aespa's best.

While 'Supernova' feels very much in aespa's usual territory, 'Armageddon' takes a few more risks - it's slightly less dancepop, a little more edgy; less first-listen club banger and more third listen unexpected groove. Don't get me wrong, it definitely maintains the hallmarks of an aespa title track: full of unplaceable futuristic synths, tin-can trap beats, and a deep sliding baseline, but something about that half time chorus and the switch up to focus on the members lower registers more feels so confident. 'Armageddon' depicts an aespa utterly assured in their abilities as idols, musicians, entertainers, and performers, and regardless of it you liked the song or not, I think it is clear to anyone from this title track that aespa have far from reached their peak, and they still have much more to do in this industry.

Frustratingly, the album did not live up to the quality of the titles that represent it. There are a few stand out hits, like 'Bahama', which pulls off y3k h2o just add water mermaidcore effortlessly, as well as 'Set The Tone' a classic aespa style track evocative of the 'Drama' and 'Savage' EPs in sound, and 'Licorice' which apparently is controversial to enjoy, but I can't help but love its bounce and rhythm; but much of the rest of the tracklist fell short. I couldn't help but notice a lack of coherence both in the sound and concept of this era. The album feels like a hodgepodge of tracks rather than a deliberate project - there aren't any through lines between tracks other than aespa's flagship futuristic production style (which isn't actually present on every track but whatever), and each song seems to be appealing to different scenarios of streaming music - BAHAMA is for a summer beach date, but Supernova is for the club, but then Live My Life is for a disney channel original movie starring Demi Lovato?? The overall vibe seems to be disjointed.

This is a problem I have with a lot of aespa's releases since the 'Savage' EP - on the EP or mini album or album or whatever around 65-90% of the tracks are certified bangers, life changing hits, and then there are a few dull fillers to pad the runtime. I know there is a pressure for groups to release something twice a year or so, but I think aespa is at a point in their career where they can certainly afford to release an album once a year if it's for the sake of quality music.

Great titles, poor b-sides - aespa deserves more than a top-heavy album, SM take more than six months next time you want to make an album for them I beg.

How Sweet - NewJeans

It's been a rough couple of months over at HYBE, and considering how sick we are of it as fans and listeners, I can't even imagine how exhausted the members are of the whole ordeal. Being at the centre of one of k-pop's biggest company dramas in history in the middle of your comeback season isn't for the weak, but NewJeans make it look easy. They are back, stronger than ever, with yet another instant classic.

'How Sweet' is the complementary reversal of 'Bubblegum', capitalizing on the members gorgeous lower registers and pairing them with a 90s hip-hop vibe, featuring their signature NewJeans production flairs as always. I've seen a little bit of criticism that this song feels too much like 'ETA', (which I think is a bizarre comparison, it much more sounds like a lovechild of 'OMG' and 'Ditto') but I don't think that groups releasing music in their established sound is a bad thing at all. NewJeans aren't rookies anymore, they have more than proved themselves to be a force to be reckoned with both on the charts and on the stage, and with the korean general public and bunnies themselves consistently loving the NewJeans sonic identity it makes no sense for them to abandon it entirely. They've grown a lot since 'Attention' and 'Hype Boy', and their performance of this song shows that clearly.

The girls' vocals on this song are to die for, every line they deliver exudes confidence and assurance in their capabilities. Danielle and Hanni's little chant of 'Toxic loverrrrr you're no betterrrrr, 거기 숨지 말고 얼른 나와, you little demon in my storyline, don't knock on my door, I'll see you out' is adorable and SO catchy, Danielle's delivery in that outro with her Aussie accent being a highlight of the song as a whole.

Yet another banger from (in my opinion) the most exciting kpop group out right now - it is becoming clearer and clearer to me that the day NewJeans release a bad song is the day pigs fly.

Girls Never Die - tripleS (<ASSEMBLE24>)

The final lineup for tripleS is here, and with it, one of the groups best songs to date. Juggling 24 members in one song is feat few have successfully managed, but tripleS expertly uses the plethora of voices they have at their disposal to deliver a title track as hypnotic as it is anthemic.

'Girls Never Die' has all the hallmarks of a tripleS song we've grown to adore, from y3k style production to the classic 'lalala' hook in the chorus - sonically it both calls back to the groups humble beginnings with Acid Angel From Asia's 'Generation', and looks to the future of the group with its united 24 members. The verses tend to lose me a little, but although they are dull, they are thankfully short, and the chorus is a stunner. The finale of the track is a triumph, the final refrain of 'girls never die 절대 never cry' closing the song giving the effect of a battle cry - to me 'Girls Never Die' says tripleS are here to shake things up in the industry, and release fun music while doing it.

I've enjoyed many a tripleS project before this, with the +(KR)ystal Eyes EP and the 2023 ASSEMBLE album being real highlights. '<ASSEMBLE24>' is immediately one of ( if not their best) albums, b-sides such as 'Beyond the Beyond', 'White Soul Sneakers', and ESPECIALLY 'Chiyu' bringing the heat fully.

tripleS are one to watch, and while I have genuinely no clue what 'decentralized kpop idol group' means or what the fuck an objekt is, trust when I say I will be watching.

Accendio - IVE (IVE SWITCH)

After the exciting return of an IVE that is worthy of their hitmaker epithet with 'HEYA', I was intrigued to see what 'Accendio' would bring to the table other than a matching cherry-red wig moment for the members (which was iconic btw.)

'Accendio' borrows some ideas from garage, but generally just feels very kpop - it's functionally the epicentre of the sounds of the industry right now; a little bit tripleS, a little bit (G)-IDLE, but 100% IVE. It has an ethereal quality, but in the sense of a fallen angel, with the lyrics bringing a sense of Catholic guilt (not sure why this is becoming a trend right now but sure!). The chorus is half high-fashion girlpop with their chant of 'watch me, don't touch me; love me, don't hurt me', and half rhythmic acid trip with the onomatopoeia and the refrain of '주문 걸어, accendio'; it's a highly successful marriage of opposites. To me it recalls the sound of their Japanese single 'WAVE' which I personally loved, and while 'HEYA' is technically a more advanced kpop song production-wise, 'Accendio' just has a pace and rhythm to it that 'HEYA' lacks, making it feel more exciting and engaging.

It's actually kind of crazy how good the rest of the album is, like IVE's b-sides have never been criminally bad, but this is wild. Potentially a niche reference for you 4th gen stans, but 'Blue Heart' and 'Ice Queen' are to 'Accendio' what 'Clue' and 'Note' are to SHINee's 'Sherlock'. 'Blue Heart' expands on that vogueish, runway style sound from the first part of the 'Accendio' chorus, and 'Ice Queen' explores that gossamer flowy sound from the refrain. I doubt this was intentional, but I love any sense of sonic consistency in kpop albums (@rinas4ki this kind of what we were talking about) and all three tracks are very successful.

'WOW' is a little bit of a wildcard, an acoustic style girly type of track that sounds like the kind of thing SM used to force aespa to sing, but it works very well for IVE. That post chorus of 'wowowow' is very cute. 'RESET' also has a little bit of a garage sound, and reminds me a lot of Yves debut (which will be discussed below), and while it is pretty catchy, it isn't especially memorable, especially in the context of IVE's discography and the quality of the other tracks on this mini album, but it is still worth a listen for sure.

Overall I am very impressed with IVE this time around, 'HEYA' is very enjoyable, 'Accendio' is even more enjoyable, and the b-sides don't put a spanner in the works at all, in fact they in many ways boost the overall quality of the comeback, a feat frustratingly rare in the kpop scene. If you missed the 'IVE SWITCH' album this month, I would definitely recommend giving it a listen.

LOOP - YVES (LOOP)

It feels good knowing all 12 members of LOONA have redebuted after leaving BBC, and what a way to end it. Yves has always been one of my biases in LOONA, and this solo debut proves exactly why she's so special.

'LOOP' is a uk garage style kpop classic, and while Lil Cherry's rap occasionally wanders into questionable territory, Yves' vocals melded with the gorgeous Pink Pantheress style production (no she didn't actually produce it, but a girl can dream, right?) make the track the hit it is. I've seen the use of 8-bit sounding vocal processing being criticised online, but I personally love the computerized sound it brings - with Yves lilting 'ooh's and refrain of 'yeah I'm lost but I like it' 'LOOP' creates an atmosphere of a virtual euphoria.

'LOOP' is great and all, but for me the real star of the album is the beautiful, the stunning, the AWE INSPIRING, 'DIORAMA'. It's so effortless in it's production and that chorus is so subtle yet addictive, it's seriously good. 'DIORAMA' has been on repeat since it's release, I can definitely see this one finding a spot high on my top kpop tracks of 2024 list.

The mini album as a whole is amazing, Yves is such an exciting soloist, she clearly has a lot she wants to achieve, and 'LOOP' is evidence of that.

Virtual Angel - ARTMS (Dall)

WARNING - PLEASE READ: If you wish to support ARTMS after reading this review, please be warned that the music video for 'Virtual Angel' contains repeated flashing scenes, and has been reported to trigger seizures, epilepsy and headaches in a small minority of viewers - even the 'Human Eye Ver.' has some flashing elements. Please stay safe!

I think i speak for all orbits when I say we had big expectations for 'Dall'. Both of the Loossemble albums so far have been excellent, Chuu and Yves have been bringing it in their solo projects, and everything we've heard out of Modhaus concerning Loona has been incredible - for ARTMS to stumble with this album would be immensely frustrating. Fortunately, they did not stumble at all, they smashed through the finish line of the Loona redebuts, and elevated the groups post-BBC discography to another level of excellence.

'Dall' is an album that is difficult to put into words. It has the essence of Loona beyond just having Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry and Haseul involved, it is genuinely quite moving how it echoes that 'Hi High' sound from so long ago. I say this as a joke a lot, but 'Dall' is genuinely an album that feels like an ascension to another plane of existence - it is euphoric and ethereal, especially in the context of the fight the members and orbits have put up since 2022.

I consider 'Girl Front' the gold standard for Loona songs, and 'Virtual Angel' genuinely comes close to snatching that crown. The whole album is so fucking good, and while I would usually go through the charade of describing every track and its genre influences and whether the hook is catchy or not, I refuse for this album - I will not steal the experience from you of hearing this album for the first time.

So yeah, this is probably a mildly shit review, but PLEASE go stream this album, if there was any post BBC Loona album you were going to listen to, let it be this one (but also the Odd Eye Circle album lmao). 'Virtual Angel' is a triumph, 'Dall' is a triumph, 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy', 'Sparkle' and 'Unf/Air' ESPECIALLY are triumphs.

In conclusion... stan loona.

MINI REVIEWS:

Taxi Blurr - Jay Park (feat. Natty of KISS OF LIFE): i may not like Jay Park, but Natty is and always will be my girl, so here we are. I really love the 90s r&b style of this track, and Natty especially sounds amazing on it - her vocal colour is so beautiful. The two's voices blend really well in my opinion, the harmonies in the bridge are satisfying as hell.

Mona Lisa - Soojin (formerly (G)-IDLE)): questionable album titles aside, Soojin is back with her second comeback post leaving (G)-IDLE. This song is frustrating because it's not really offensively bad in any sense, but it is also not really especially good in any sense either. The budget for the MV is kind of crazy, but I wish they had put some of that into the making of the actual song.

No Biggie + Algorhythm - ITZY: (requested by @a-moth-to-the-light) If you've been on my blog before, you will know that JYP's direction of ITZY's korean releases has been irking me for a while, but somehow when ITZY gets on that plane and lands in Japan I am always obsessed. I'm into pretty much all of their Japanese releases, like Ringo went triple platinum in my mental chart. 'No Biggie' is really cool actually, super catchy and Yuna sounds amazing on it - it feels very laid back and relevant to the 2024 music space, something that ITZY's korean singles seem to struggle with. 'Algorhythm' is also SO GOOD, in production, style, and vocal performance. The music video and song also have major old red velvet vibes, which I love. ITZY - please stay in Japan a little longer, the discography over there is so solid. I miss Lia so much though, I hope she's doing well.

LOST! - RM (BTS): I really appreciate namjoon's artistry, and I actually enjoyed his 2022 album 'Indigo', quite a bit, but this song just doesn't work for me. I have heard from others that the album is something special tho, so if i have a spare half hour I might give it a listen.

나의 이름은 (ROTY) - YOUNG POSSE: I would like to redact my previous statements on young posse, I get it now, and this song is so fun. Very 2000s, very y2k, beautiful production, great raps from everyone, what more could you want.

Supernatural - A.C.E: Saw a GIF from the music video on my dash and decided to check it out, and I was severely impressed. 'Supernatural' is not an ear-splitting noisy headache of a track I have come to expect from kpop boy groups, it's a light hearted, classic Bruno Mars style pop hit. Good music and a well produced fun concept? I need to check out this group more.

[merlin-slut]

all the different arthurian legend related books ive read

so these are just books ive read that are either based in on the original stories or reincarnation related!! i have no ranking system so this is just based on vibes and is mostly in the order of when i read them, with the most recent at the top (except for the mary stewart series but im just very passionate about it lmao)

The Arthurian Saga by Mary Stewart: SO GOOD i loved it so much it was amazing HIGHLY recommend!!! it was more historically based and is so so so so so well done!! i read this about a year ago and im already thinking of rereading it!! the first book, the crystal cave, focuses on merlin growing up and learning about his visions! it covers up until arthur being conceived. it was SO GOOD and i desperately want to watch the cursed looking tv show based off of it!!

The Once and Future King by T.H. White (this included the Book of Merlyn): there was something about this i didnt quite vibe with. like i mean it was pretty good until the book of merlyn so maybe just skip that and leave it incomplete lmao definitely had more of the whimsical vibe attached to the legends, as its what the disney the sword in the stone is based off of. so, i would say it was only so-so for me

The Other Merlin by Robyn Schneider: okay so i was tricked into reading this by tiktok because i saw the author saying it was waaaaaaaaaay more gay than it was and very merthur inspired and please dont read it if you think thats the case. it does have some interesting concepts about sexism in magic (though not entirely in the way you think) and focuses on the merlin you're thinking of's children. it was alright on its own, as long as you separate it out from bbc Merlin. the advertising of the book skewed my perception about what it would be. so yeah, its not the best but its still a fun story!

Camelot Rising series by Kiersten White: ooooooooo these ones were fun!! its told from Guinevere's point of view but it isn't actually Guinevere!! she's a changeling who was sent to Camelot to marry Arthur and was told she would be his protector from something working to destroy what he was building! it was interesting and so fun to be in guinevere's mind while she tried to figure out who she is and what is trying to destroy camelot!! so fun!!

The Dragon's Call by Simon Forward: honestly no notes! so fun! its a retelling of episode 1 with some added details!!!! excellenttttttttttt

Gwen and Art Aren't in Love by Lex Croucher: ooooooo this one was fun too!! and is actually queer as advertised!!! so gwen and art HATE each other until they discover that they're both gay and decide on an alliance to help each other out and protect themselves!! so yes!!! actually gay!!!!! however i do think so bits were a bit slow and so it def couldve been paced a lot better but overall, wasnt bad!

Potions and Poison by Jacqueline Rayner: again another book thats a retelling of the show!!! it covered s1 e3 and 4! and is part of the younger readers collection so it def was written for young audience but it had some full illustrations and was still fun to read!!!

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cory McCarthy: sooooooo I read book 1 but have not read the sequel! its set in space, in the future, and Ari is the 42nd reincarnation of King Arthur. so yeah, its a little different lmao. this one is also fun with ari discovering who she is, both as a reincarnation of king arthur, and with her queer identity! she meets a teen merlin, who, like in white's the once and future king, is aging in reverse, so it creates some fun dynamics! I read this one over a year ago so the details are a little fuzzy but i remember liking it, although some bits were slightly confusing i think??? i remember them trying to take down an evil government and ari being an illegal immigrant! so maybe i should reread this and then read book two?????

Avalon High by Meg Cabot: so yeah this is what that dcom is based off of but the book is pretty different!! i feel like the book is more stereotypical in the way arthurian legend retellings go, especially compared to the movie! still it was a fun and very fast read!! very like YA style book though, but its meg cabot so its to be expected and very much a 2005 book!

i think this is all of them???????? but im going to list what's on my tbr and if yall have an recs PLEASE send them my way!!!

the rest of the bbc merlin episode retellings

le morte d'arthur by thomas malory

bliss and blunder by victoria gosling

sir gawain and the green knight (are there any specific version recs???)

the fall of arthur by j.r.r. tolkien

[theheightofdishonor]

ok so final thoughts on high school frenemy, going backwards from the ending to the beginning. I think the ending was significantly weaker and also i'm just a negative person who has to get stuff I dislike off my chest before I can discuss the positive aspects so- I swear I didn't hate this show but

the Jan plot at the end annoyed the fuck out of me, I won't lie. While Jan's trying her best and she's a sympathetic character, she did in fact choose to go along with the principal's ideas and select Peeta instead of Eve and thus, act as another cog in the machine that's always going to give preferential treatment to kids who have wealth and power at their disposal. Her actions have a direct impact, they have consequences, and her inability to acknowledge the violence that SHE had part in perpetuating irritated me so much. It does in fact look like she's giving preferential treatment, like she's spinelessly bowing down to what the administration and parents' association wants- and the kids ask her, their initial response even is to understand that forces above her probably forced her hand and Jan's the one who insists on taking responsibility for the decision and seriously, how can she blame them for not trusting her afterwards. And then the girls having to apologize to HER instead of her at any point apologizing to them for betraying their tentative trust?

also like 3 different groups of people had to come to her house to get her back, I was so sick of this nonsense

the dragon fang(?) ending fight was so lame. I expected Saint with his steel body and reputation to have gotten some more fighting done. Sung singlehandedly beating the entire gang felt soooo teacher ex-machina, like yes his backstory involves him being part of a gang back in the day but idk, I don't think he had the credibility to pull this off even though I did expect some involvement from him

I also wanted the whole thing about Jung's brother to be brought back in that jung-sung confrontation, like I was anticipating some kind of devastating emotional attack from sung yk and was sorely disappointed

ken's final arc, the saving him from the gang or whatever was fairly good, I liked how resistant Ken was, Kay did some fantastic acting in that section.

the whole 'oh we're all friends now' shtick didn't really work for me

i think this is one of those shows where i'd be ok or even encourage them to have ambivalent or slightly hopeful endings instead of 'happy ever after'

andl I got fatigue from all the dramatic resolutions happening back to back for like 3-4 episodes straight

especially because the plot distribution up to this point was like 85% shinsaint 15% everyone else and then tipping that so much so suddenly made the unevenness stand out more? if that makes sense?

let's talk about the girls now because man- first of all, who told these writers that girls can't throw a punch and instead solely fight through pulling each other's hair? Let's please stop this

secondly- i've never said this about view but I didn't like her character. She's pulled characters that are very reminiscent of this before- 23.5, I think trainee from the little i've seen of it, my precious to an extent, home school I think, but in this genre and setting, it felt so fake and unrealistic. No one acts like that. (this was so painful to me because view's my favorite actress at gmmtv and I have never once criticized her)

viewjune as a whole felt like echoes of their 23.5 dynamic but like not in a way I can describe, rather just the vibes

i also felt that the focus on them as a 'ship' meant that they had like 0 interactions with anyone else except peeta

we see eve and saint be friends at the beginning and earn's character also be friends with them as a little trio and never see that again

they could've also leaned into the love triangle aspect with peeta/eve/airey? more

overall I think the way they depicted the school ecosystem and all of its players and how they interact w/ each other was fairly decent until the last act

i liked in the beginning how Jan was trying to do good and it wasn't working or it wouldn't turn out how she wanted

i liked how Jung and Jan played off of each other

like it touches on the systemic and cyclic nature of what happens at the school even if lightly and similar to every other school-based drama out there, I still liked it (initially)

ooh Took! I love Took, I think she needs a gl, like a slice of life where she's a single mom and idk falls in love with her kids teacher or someone at the convenience store next door etc. Tons of possibilities. I thought it was hilarious whenever she slapped Saint and also very understandable. I wish we just got more of her in general?

also- that scene where shin and saint basically come out ab their relationship or whatever reminded me soooo much of in something in my room where her son also comes out about about his relationship

the way that shin was like "I know he broke my leg and destroyed my dreams and left me traumatized and depressed but I LOVE him mom" = phat in simr saying "I know he's literally dead but I LOVE him mom". Took's always having to deal with shit like this I swear

ok now for Shin and Saint

I think Shin's by far the more likable and sympathetic one? Is that just me?

like even in the beginning when saint's doggedly following him around with dejected puppy eyes, it's so clear on shin's face how affected he is by saint's presence and how the fear of getting left behind and hurt by saint still haunts him

even when you don't know exactly what happened you can't help but chafe a bit against saint just barging past any boundaries shin tries to set (which in hindsight was one of the few things saint did right but still)

Shin in general is just sooo precious

He absolutely cannot hide anything on his face

I just love characters where they're super snarky and sharp on the outside when they care deeply on the inside

It's just such a vibe. So I LOVE shin

I love saint possibly more but it's because I find him to be such a flawed annoying little thing

Saints just so frustrating that it makes him interesting

Like I'm just as annoyed as shin when he tries to goad saint into fighting for him, into being possessive and resolute, and then saint starts the 'oh I'm not good enough to stay by your side but I still want to' shtick and I'm sighing in tandem with shin (which btw, that whole little routine is so funny because by the 10th time, shins so fucking annoyed and it bleeds through the screen)

Saint just keeps shying away from his own decisions and being wishy washy and it's so funny the way that it's in total misalignment from whatever shin wants and is feeling at any given time.Like these two have dogshit timing and I love that for them

Unrelated but it's hilarious whenever they keep getting sucked into their own little world and people have to remind them that other people exist too

Overall, I think the show was fairly solid if a bit repetitive and even it's weak third act wasn't unforgivable compared to some of the horrid third acts gmmtvs given us this year

And I def enjoyed the toxic codependent nonsense that shinsaint had going on

[paizau]

Irregular Evolution and Analogy in the Making of the Kshafa Case System

Kshafa has a mid-sized system of five cases - nominativve, accusative, dative, locative, and genetive, with a singular and plural destinction in all cases other than the genetive, which originally was just the unmarked stem.

There are 3 conjugation classes:

The first conjugation, or the I/O-Stems, have a nominative in -e and an oblique stem ending in either a final -i or -o.

The second conjugation, or the E-Stems, have a nominative in -e and an oblique stem ending in an -e

The third conjugation, or the consonant-stems, have eight simple sub-classes, for each broad consonant type.

When making this system I decided that I don't really want to have tonnes of sub-paradigms for every possible word final two syllable sequence, and also one of the major sound change ispirations for this conlang for me is ancient to modern Greek, so I employed some tricks to stir the system into a shape I wanted with the sound changes I have already come up with. There are overall seven changes, presented in their order of chronological occurence. Three in this post, and four in one I will write in the future.

1. Irregular voicing assimilation

This, as opposed to all the other changes is something I did to complicate the system a bit. The first sound change that proto-Kshafa undergoes is voicing assimilation in stop clustes, where the first stop in a cluster assimilates to the voicing of the second:

*gta > kate /ká.té/ (gen.)

However, in order to make the declentions of stems with final voiced and unvoiced stops more distinct, the *k- and *d- of the dative and locative suffixes instead merge into the voicing of the preceding stem final consonant:

*lok- > vèkhó /vèkʰó/ (loc.sg), lokán /lòkán/ (dat.sg), lotin /lòtìn/ (dat.pl)

*log- > vègò /vègò/ (loc.sg), logán /lògán/ (dat.sg), lodìn /lòdìn/ (dat.pl)

Instead of this slightly more boring paradigm where they merge:

*lok- > vèkhó /vèkʰó/ (loc.sg), lokán /lòkán/ (dat.sg), lodìn /lòdìn/ (dat.pl)

*log- > vègò /vègò/ (loc.sg), lokán /lòkán/ (dat.sg), lodìn /lòdìn/ (dat.pl)

(There is also an element of analogy of the tone patterns, with the dative having a high tone, and the locative having a low tone, even though the voicing assimilation happened before tonogenesis and so the expected result would be for the voiced suffixes to have a low tone and vice versa, but that's not the case)

2. Irregular ordering of sound change, or maybe analogy?

This has to do with a monophthongization rule where *iji and *ijə sequences monophthongized to a long *iː.

Normally this rule applies from the start of the word onwards (because that's how lexurgy does it), so *ijijə becomes *iːjə. However in order to prevent a declention subclass of *-ij- final nouns in the acc.pl I decided that in this case, the ending will monophthongize in analogy to other nouns, so -ijijən > *-ijiːn.

*kmiy- > káme /ká.mè/ (gen.), kéme /kémè/ (nom.sg), kámìn /ká.min/ (acc.pl) instead of the expected *kamían /ká.mí.àn/

Hooray! crisis averted.

3. Another case of analogy

One of the biggest sound changes in the history of Kshafa is its own great vowel shift "Vowel Breaking", where vowels raised, lowered, and broke in various ways to turn the classic 5 vowel system - *a, *i, *u, *e, *o into a four vowel system - *i, *u, *ə, *a. One its components was the high vowels *i and *u breaking to *jə and *wə if an *a followed in the next syllable.

The dative suffix in the proto language was *-ke, which became *-kja in the vowel breaking, and caused a preceding stem final *-i or *-u to break. I didn't want this to happen, because this would have added another stem to the paradigm which only appears in the dative singular. This has the opportunity to be fun, but it doesn't fit the vibe I'm going for here. So this sound change in this instence was undone by analogizing the stem into its unbroken form from a different cell in the paradigm:

*ukri- > ókre /ó.krè/ (nom.sg), okrí /ò.krí/ (loc.sg), okríché /ò.krí.cʰé/ (dat.sg) instead of expected *oksháché /ò.kʂá.cʰé/.

[kings-highway]

How do you feel about AtsuKageHina?

m 🤔

i don't like it, to be honest. And that's mostly because I've got some kind of vendetta against AtsuHina in all of it's forms. I don't like it. I think it's slightly more tolerable with Kageyama in the mix, though. BUT. The point of these asks is to seriously consider it and treat it well so I will see what I can find.

my first instinct is to dwell more on Atsumu/Kageyama, because while I do think AtsuKageHina can really only exist as Atsumu joining an established KageHina, I think their dynamic could really make or break the polyship.

I think, obviously, they'd have a lot of intense rivalry over volleyball and then also Hinata, especially since Kageyama is on the opposite side of the net so to speak. Atsumu being more of an ass than usual complaining about Hinata "telling the Adlers all their secrets" and Bokuto/Sakusa being like "dude it's not that serious" but it IS it IS that serious (to him) (he hasn't realized he has a crush on Hinata)

I think there's also some really interesting possibilities in, like, AtsuHina coming first, bonding on the Adlers and falling in love, and Atsumu just realizing that Hinata has always had this fixation with Kageyama and even if he trusts that Hinata loves him, he knows that Kageyama exists on a kind of different spectrum? Like it's not about romantic love, necessarily, for KageHina.

BUT Ignore the more plot-heavy descriptions I do really, really like the idea of AtsuHina being a thing and then both being aggressively in love with Kageyama who's just Autistic and On Another Team and so they're barking and growling from the other side of the net and Kageyama is just like "yeah this is totally about volleyball :)" and so oblivious to the fact that he's being pursued so heavily (and in Hinata's case, as been being pursued for a WHILE.)

I also think this ship could work as AtsuHina and KageHina as a love angle, rather than a completed polycule, even though I think Atsumu and Kageyama would have the most interesting dynamic as a trio.

Hinata would absolutely call them "his boys" whenever they're going anywhere. "Got my keys, got the volleyball, got my boys, let's hit the beach!" vibes

Hinata going to Brazil would fracture the group for a bit, Kageyama and Atsumu not really knowing how to be in a relationship without his energy, and I think they would break up for a bit and then be absolutely tormented by it, like... they don't even tell Hinata really (who they're maintaining as long distance) but they "mutually agree" to step back from each other because it just doesn't feel right and then like cue some kind of "standing outside your window with a sign" scene or a confession in the rain where they realize that they really did like each other.

Atsumu can absolutely fill a similar rival role as Hinata for Kageyama, in terms of passion in the relationship, but I think Kageyama is like... weird territory for Atsumu. Because Atsumu is mr "best setter in Japan" but Kageyama as we know is a proper prodigy. And Atsumu probably finds him beautiful in a really abstract way, why like's obsessed with the way he holds his pencils and mugs of tea and the way he stretches and just can't get enough of him because Atsumu has never in his life had a setter he thought he could look up to (he's arrogant! he's always thought he was the best) but now there's this gorgeous, passionate, and LOUDLY talented setter who just sweeps him off his feet and goddamn it feels good to be able to idolize (worship?) someone. Its just an entirely different kind of Love I dont think he's had the opportunity to do. Make him breakfast in bed and let him be the passenger princess.

Side note: Osamu would hate this ship. RIP to the second twin could you imagine him putting up with this shit?

Overall Rating:

Me, Personal Interest: -4/10

Concept/Potential: 8/10

(as much as I don't like AtsuHina or this ship I'm not gonna pretend like I don't get it I know where you people are coming from)

[n3rdyslvt]

crazy? i was crazy onc-

this post is not productive to the lads community so please feel free to ignore it but I have to type out my thoughts.

Caleb + MC Dynamic (for me specifically)

There has got to be a better way to acknowledge the complexities of MC and Caleb's relationship without resorting to the "they're just childhood friends... that lived together... and called the same bitch granny... and their friends consider them sibl-" like here's how I see it (little freeballing because i'm black and so is my MC) ok so obviously the past life connection exists so Caleb is drawn to MC (this is for the main timeline) Caleb and MC are being experimented on. MC is 8 and Caleb is 10 and MC isn't fluent in Chinese yet so things get lost in translation and there are cultural differences that become apparent at certain times so Caleb is naturally protective and maybe tutors her. Once Josephine adopts us I think that because we're so close even if MC doesn't remember the trauma she still seeks him out for comfort and they're siblings in the way that girls will say "that's my brother" about their guy bestfriend that they're secretly fucking behind their boyfriends back. like as kids I think MC might've seen him as more of an older brother figure but by the time she was 16 I think Caleb was a slightly irritating protector and bestie. They kinda just see Josephine as their only option for a guardian and call her granny because they were told to. like there's still the conflict because they're kinda raised as siblings so it feels taboo but they also just never saw each other as that because they're just each other's comfort human. So that adoption gets thrown out and they're just like... its on and poppin. Overall I just think that simplifying it to childhood friends to lovers just like Zayne kinda takes away from their codependence and trauma and slight forced/found family vibe. I feel like as they grow older they're family in the way that your close friends become your own little family and support system that you got to curate. I also think the the honorifics kind of help that because gege can be used for any older man its less that Caleb is her brother and more so that they've pushed into this position to care for one another and created their own family where they had none. like that's gege in the sense that he's an older man who will protect and cherish her and be her safety net through thick and thin. We see the complexities and the pain and the rest of the world sees adoptive siblings, so its not childhood friends to lovers and its not pure incest its something really gutwrenching and beautiful that aligns more with found family and comfort. and now i wanna sob omg their connection is so beautiful i can't.

Tangent

look I'm 19 so I've spent plenty of time on the internet reading and playing shit I had no business engaging with during my younger years, but I turn 20 in September. TWENTY!! so why are the young ass lads players making me feel like an auntie. like omg what happened to a pipeline?? episode -> shall we date games -> mystic messenger -> blooming panic -> VNs and yandere dating games on itch that progressively get freakier and eternum and deviant anomalies for the real freaks because if I could get a sliver of what those girls receive from Orion I would be happy for two weeks straight (the tangent pipeline is wattpad -> fanfiction.net -> quotev -> tumblr & AO3) like omg please get trapped in Jumin Han's penthouse for 3 days before you have a nightly rendevous with Dr. Zayne or at least don't continue to chat with the grown people of the fandom in comment sections at 11. please, I beg.

Happier Topics

That one lady on tiktok that makes those unhinged, freaky ass headcanons... I love her. like hotdog in a beanbag??? I was moved. like actually yes... Xavier does have a piss kink lmao. Also I have tickets to see Ateez this summer with my bestie!! I'm so excited bro but idk what to wear. I kinda want to do a one piece inspired pirate look. also "because you live" by Jesse McCartney is so Caleb coded, that and shake lmao

[teh-nos]

Okay actually I do have a proper thought on the "sylki is incest" wank. which is that the "anti" take seems to be that Loki/Sylvie is obviously, glaringly, an incestuous pairing but its shippers deliberately ignore that because they like the pairing otherwise (yet also the accusation involves them liking the incest element... honestly it's a bit of a muddle, but let's move on). But. Well, here's the thing that is obvious, at least to me...

Go to AO3 and have a look to find the most popular (in terms of number of works) Loki pairing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom as a whole. Actually, i'll save you the effort:

(These numbers are slightly out-of-date but the ratios remain accurate. I checked.)

Now, that. That is an incest pairing, isn't it? There is some fic which specifies an AU of some sort in which Thor and Loki are not related to each other but most of it is about brothers who are also lovers.

"But they're not really related," you say? Sorry, but in the important ways, they are. Every one of those films, and the Loki series, frames them as siblings-with-issues, and yes one of those issues is whether or not they agree that they are siblings, but I'd say the MCU comes down pretty firmly on the side of "they totally are."

And the point I'm making here is that the actual incest pairing is treated as such by its fans. If you don't feel up to reading any thorki fic I'll save you again and say that it overall leans into the "forbidden love" angle, and the shame and internal conflict of an incestuous attraction or relationship. So shippers of a given pairing do indeed know what incest is and they rarely try to avoid that aspect of such pairings.

Whereas. If you read the Loki/Sylvie stuff, that whole "thorki vibe" is entirely absent. Fans vary on variants, in terms of in what ways these two are or are not "the same person" but they agree on one thing: fucking some other version of yourself is not incest. This is pretty much a unanimous belief, and here I'll mention something else I think is relevant: there are a few sylki twincest AUs (many of which seem to have been written out of spite - LOL, fandom!) and in all of those the AU also features another crucial change - they are not both Loki variants in those fics.

Yeah, that's right! To make Loki and Sylvie siblings you have to remove the selfcest element entirely. Because - this may shock some of you, so sit down before you read this next part - you are not your own sibling. Even identical twins are obviously different people. A clone of yourself might get us into more philosophical territory but that's not what multiversal variants are either. Allow me to illustrate with another informative image:

You get me? Yeah, you get me.

So, to meander towards an actual conclusion here. The MCU!Loki fandom does not, in general, refuse to accept that romantic/sexual pairings that would be incestuous actually are incestuous. In fact if anything it embraces that element of such pairings. It is usually seen as the defining feature of them. If they think siblings are fucking then they will write about those siblings fucking, and they will not be shy about it!

And aside from that mentioned handful of AU fics, sylki is not written as incest. Because it just isn't incest. Look, if you personally see Loki and Sylvie as siblings to the point where the pairing squicks you out, then fair enough there's not much either of us can do about that. Do your best to avoid that content and don't be a wanker about it and I wish you well in your endeavours. But that isn't what most of the complaints stem from, is it? As usual in recent years fans who didn't like a pairing (which, btw, is allowed) wanted to have the moral high ground and some bright spark hit upon "this pairing is INCEST" via some slightly odd logic and it spread from there. Because we can't just not like something, can we? (Actually, that's also allowed!) No, we have to be better than those fans over there, who are all terrible people in some way. They are problematic.

And this is a lot of words for me to essentially say "no, the sylki fic and the thorki fic have very different vibes actually" but... well, they do. The sylki shippers are not denying the incest, because there is no incest there, and even if we for a moment pretend that "siblings" is a reasonable and indeed expected interpretation of the variants concept, it is clear from their content that the people who ship Loki/Sylvie do not see them that way. And that has nothing to do with DNA or otherwise, which I can prove with this very quick question: in one word (or less, if you can), what is the relationship between Loki and Thor?

You said "brothers" or "siblings," didn't you? No, you did. I know for a fact that you did, don't play coy with me on this. We all understand that these two characters who definitely share no DNA are, in every way that matters, brothers. This is not a difficult concept, it's not somehow confusing large numbers of fans either way.

tl;dr - Sylki isn't incest but if it was we'd all know that because the fans of it would not be constantly denying what would, almost certainly, be the main appeal of that pairing for them if that was the case. You can deny that all you want but 11,731 thorki fics (as of 10th December 2023) back me up on this one.

So there.

[rowavolo]

hiiii !! 2 4 6 and 12 (if you have one) for your obey me s/i? either one! c:

hi hi hi !! :D ty for the ask wheeeee also i MUST compliment your choice of numbers here. these are lovely numbers. some of my favourites genuinely

answers under the cut i KNOW im not gonna be able to shut the hell up !! im gonna do it for angel!ro because hes funny and cool i think

2. How similar is your s/i to you? Are they a carbon copy, completely different or a mix of the two?

Hmm, a bit of a mix, really! But also I do like to try and include my little quirks/idiosyncrasies where i can for my s/is because theyre very much a way that i express myself and explore things that aren't necessarily feasible for me irl . I think the main difference is my s/is are slightly less depressed. though that may be more due to circumstance and stuff. also significantly less time spent laying in bed due to pain/fatigue. but other than that (and the obvious physical differences) I try to keep the personality and vibes pretty similar to myself in real life where i can :3

4. How did your s/i feel when they first met your f/o(s)? How do they feel about them now?

To begin with, my s/i was definitely very ... not exactly intimidated by, but sort of .. anxious around Diavolo. Due to the nature of their relationship and the arranged aspects of it, he felt a lot of pressure to get along well with Dia and be like the 'perfect' spouse, since this marriage had so much riding on it (peace between celestial realm and devildom , blah blah blah, whatever) so at first hes very quiet and anxious and just afraid to speak up or make himself a nuisance in any way, so he'd always just smile and nod along to Diavolo's suggestions and jokes and sort of 'dull down' any gruesome answers to the questions he was posed about the celestial realm (though this is also in part due to the fact that things up there are very much Not As They Seem and the angels are uhh 'strongly encouraged' not to disclose too much information)

As time goes by and he gets more comfortable, however, he lets his weirdness really shine, along with his dark sense of humour. He and Diavolo wind up going through a lot together and sort of bond over that, along with their weirdly parallel upbringings, so they become really close and painfully in love. Like. 'will only use pet names for one another and always be holding hands' levels of PDA. It's obnoxious and codependent. Diavolo absolutely dotes on Ro, and Ro definitely comes to rely on him more and more as like.. 'his person.' He becomes more comfortable with unmasking and asking Dia for help with things (and if Dia can't, then he'll ask Barbs to). Theyre like two bonded cats. if you separate them they'll get depressed and start pining and become physically ill after too long. It may be a little unhealthy but like. theyre just hanging out. they like it that way. they can spend time away from each other, they just don't often really want to. They vibe like the most stereotypical 'straight guys who do really gay stuff for the bit' but they committed fully and are so so in love. theyve been around each other so much that they basically have their own language, etc. and are just so comfy and happy around one another that its obnoxious to look at i think <3 ro loves his big silly himbo to bits and vice versa

6. Has your s/i undergone any design/story changes since they were first made?

Hmm, I'd have to say absolutely yes, but genuinely I can't think of exactly what off the top of my head. He's kind of been adjusted a bit as i've fleshed out the ~vibes~ of the way i interpret the celestial realm, he got given haunted angel cryptid lore and lack of 'flock' attraction lore (theyre intertwined also) and put through The Horrors also. he also has his own more fucked up au with even more Horrors. just like for the funny. Visually though, his design has mostly stayed the same. I'm not really a huge fan of how his outfit vibes, but i think overall i do like his Vibe and hes very silly and parallels nicely with Dia!

Though looking at the pics below i havent entirely decided how i like to draw his hair. which is like blaaahhh bleeeh bluueeueueuh

12. Can we see a picture of your s/i?

tada!!!!! silly nya nya!!!!!

[icymusicreviews]

Cigarettes After Sex - Self Titled

Much like TV Girl I have been hearing a lot about the band Cigarettes After Sex. I have been curious for quite some time now, but today I will finally determine if all of the hype is warranted. So to find this out, I will be diving into their self titled album from 2017. 

First look is the album cover. There isn’t much to it, its quite literally just a black album with white lettering. To be fair, I don’t dislike covers like this, its a very, “You have to listen to find out” vibe. But I digress. 

K. Starting off with a longer song, just over five minutes. I am a fan of longer songs, so this is a positive. I really do like the calm vibes of the instrumental. Throughout the song its quiet and chill. It kind of reminds me of the Neighbourhood. But I will say, I am pleasantly surprised by this song. Not because I was expecting it to be bad, its just not like what I would typically be interested in. But with that being said It’s a good song and I will be listening to it again. 8/10

Each Time You Fall In Love. This one is once again very chill and quiet. But it doesn’t differentiate itself too much from the previous song. I’m not as big of a fan of this one as the last one. However, I do get the storytelling of this one and It does earn some credit because of that. I personally love when a song can tell me a story. I do like the outro, even with its length it kind of makes you think back on the song. 6/10

Sunsetz. Straight away, im starting to notice a theme in their music with the overall vibe. But I will say I am a sucker for a good lead guitar and this I think has a pretty good guitar riff, its simple but it complements the song well. Again it also tells a story throughout the song, and i think overall its a very melancholic song, but in a good way. It does kind of piss me off with how they spelled “sunsets” but whatever. 7/10

Apocalypse. It didn’t go without notice that this is their most popular song. I can see why as well, its very pleasant. There isn’t anything super monumental I havent said about the other songs already, but there is also nothing negative I have to say about it. I will listen to this again in the future. 8/10

Flash. This one is slightly different in the sound. It also has good lyrics that are really catchy. I am not going to go too much into this song but this is my favorite so far 9/10

Sweet. The title of this song is very fitting, its a sweet song. Its a love song that I think is very nice. The lyrics are pretty simple and standard for a love song, but theyre still good. It isn’t my favorite song, its quite simple and pleasant. I don’t have much negative to say about the song 6/10

Opera House. This is a song about the duality of love, and the pain that comes with it, or at least that’s how I take it. I try to not get too into what songs are about because I can go on and on about it, but in this case its necessary for me to mention the meaning. Because I really love this song for its meaning, the duality of love and the poetic meaning that I take from it. It’s a longer song, but I do wish that there were more lyrics for the storytelling of it, but I also can behind  a song that has little to no lyrics so either way, I like it. 8/10

Truly. I don’t think it’s bad, but I can’t get over the fact that he’s singing in cursive. It’s very subtle that he is doing this, but its noticeable enough that I am finding it annoying. Other than that I think the song is fine, but its a minor thing that I cannot get over. 5/10

John Wayne. I like the storytelling aspect of the lyrics here, I also appreciate the lack of the subtle cursive singing. I am trying to not overthink the first lyric because I think I misunderstood it so I will not be counting that against the song. Because I don’t think there was anything weird meant by the lyrics here. Overall, I like it. 7/10

Young & Dumb. So I didn’t want to like this song as much as i do, the lyrics are weird but also in a very good way? Its hard for me to explain but I think its good. The cursive is back and that didn’t go unnoticed, so it does lose points for that, but I do actually like this one. I think It was a good way to end an album. 8/10

So overall I would give this album a 7/10

Mathematically it gets a 7.2 This album is different from what I typically listen to, it is no secret that I’m a sucker for rowdy, guitar heavy rock songs. But I also really love a good story being told through lyrics, and this is what this album excelled in. I think that it is a pretty good album with some songs that i will be adding to my playlists. I did notice the sexual themes throughout, but I was expecting that from a band called cigarettes after sex. I think that they are a calm and quiet band, but overall their self titled album was alright. I do see why people like them and speak so highly of them.

Completed March 12th 2024

[maareyas]

alright i've recovered from the heart-shattering and i can put my thoughts about Octopath Traveler 2 into words now.

Gameplay is great, Visuals are great (though somewhat overwhelming with the light effects when you just start playing), Stories ranged from great to eeeeh, Characters are all mostly great too

overall experience is 10/10! This game has rewired my brain in some way and i don't know what

less succinct rambles below

I love this game so much I don't know how I'll ever recover from it. The exploration alone was so much fun, the concept of path actions and the day/night mechanic is so good. It reminds me of my favorite turn-based RPGs from when I was a teen. But nostalgia has nothing to do with how good this game is, it's so genuinely fun and I wish there was more stuff for me to do alksjdlakjsd

And the music!! I love the music. I wish the dungeons got more unique themes but given how many there are + the amount of banger character motifs we got, I understand why the devs decided not to do that lkasjdlksajd

now though, gotta talk about the main selling point of this game: The Narrative✨

Ochette was my starter but tbh my favorite tales have to be Castti and Throne's. Partitio was a close second and honestly, the most consistent in quality to me.

Following his is Hikari's tale, since I feel like it had some untapped potential. He's very...idek, Classic Samurai Hero™ (I say that as if I've seen enough samurai/East Asian swordsman media to know) Disgraced prince, heart of gold, honorable to a fault, evil shadowself--the works. I don't think his shadowself was utilized as much as it could've been, but I can see why since they have to fit an entire journey into a few chapter's worth of cutscenes.

Temenos is in the same rank. He's a fun character to follow and I love the mystery aspect. Solid overall but I wish it had more personal stakes for Temenos aside from avenging Roi (who deserved more screentime imo), the pontiff, and Crick

Ochette is slightly lower overall but BOY did her final boss hurt me emotionally and in battle :''D She's one of my favorites As a Character too

Osvald's story is interesting and well-executed, with a satisfying ending, but it's not really my taste and as a character, he's kinda boring to watch unless there's someone else to play off him ksjdlkas like his and Parti's Crossed Paths tale. That plot twist with Elena's brainwashing was brutal, tbh. I love it.

Agnea...still has a weak story to me 😅 I like how bright it was, especially compared to the others, but like with Hikari, I feel like there could have been more done with it. It just felt too light, y'know? None of the stakes feel too hitting even on a personal level. I like Agnea but I don't love her, yknow?

honestly, if these were truly individual stories, I would seen them as only "pretty good" at best. But their "brevity" plays well into making them feel like parts of interconnected whole--of Solistia. Each journey is different, but not above nor below the others, if that makes sense. I love that vibe of it ✨

THE EXTRA STORIES THOUGH that was. kinda bad in hindsight. It should've been its own campaign instead of just One Episode 😭 Or like, had any proper build up at all. All the plotwists either feel like they came out of nowhere, or added as an afterthought. The whole episode felt like an afterthought. They hit hard, but not in a way that's satisfying :^( The NPCs don't even acknowledge the eternal night aside from maybe those at Flamechurch cathedral.

In general I think the game struggles with leaving a bunch of lore bits unresolved. Claude's entire existence is the most obvious example. He's just hanging out ig. grandson of D'arquest, with Vide blood, Throne was supposed to be some "Vessel" we don't elaborate on that??? p l s. Arcanette being immortal??? literally WHO is she aside from the Moonshade Order's leader?? are the two of them the characters from that fairytale that keeps being brought up? and like. that thing with Trosseau and Castti apparently just walking around Lostseed to collect herbs when Lostseed, to me, was implied to be "hidden".

much to think about. Or maybe I just missed a lot of things, like that detail with Roi being the monster that Ochette fought in her chapter 1

I love this game and its worldbuilding graaaahhhh i wish Extra Stories was better :^(

[adotrevsleft]

Album ranking post #1:

Initial thoughts (May 1st 2023): this album and all of its songs have something to offer to any different type of audiences. However, these were clearly made for the fearnots and the fearnots only.

Final thoughts (June 23rd 2023): I still stand with the opinion that there is a variety in the album tracks and each song is different which leads to appeal to different types of people, so maybe it's not just for the fans. It mainly is, but not completely. However, there is a huge inconsistency within the album tha could have been better executed, also there was no reason to add the other songs wich were literally the same just adding a (2023 version). There was no reason. I know it was done so there wouldn't be a recording of garam but, girl was proven innocent like nearly a year ago, so what was the reason? But, it surely does make me excited for their next comeback, because this was the end of their trilogy, I believe, so I'm excited to see what they will be able to offer us next time.

Now onto the ranking - with a few words:

1) FEARNOT (between you, me and the lampost) - a beautiful song that is so highly underappreciated in the lsfm fandom, it's insane. I have been playing this song on repeat since release. Because who doesn't love depressing songs yk? Atm, I have to say that this is my favourite track from lsfm's discography so far. The emotion is felt through their vocals and that's probably why I instantly fell in love with this song. 10/10

2) Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard's wife - so fucking catchy. Also on repeat. Tbh, when I first listened to it I was slightly unsure but it's amazing. But, I just know that "I'm a mess in distress, but we're still the best dressed, fearless say yes, we don't dress to impress" is going to stay iconic. 9.5/10

3) Unforgiven (feat. Nile Rodgers) - tbf, I was surprised no one was making a big fuss that Nile Rodgers was a feat in this song because when I told my dad he genuinely freaked out. People are comparing this to unforgiven constantly to the point in which the song seems to be unenjoyable, but really this song is something to be enjoyed by itself. 8.5/10

4) No-return (into the unknown) - just a fun little song. After listening it from their concert, I was super excited for this song. It was quite catchy for the first week but afterwards I got bored of listening to it. But, it is a really sweet song and I did genuinely enjoy it at one point. 8/10

5) Burn The Bridge - genuinely makes me want to fight my inner demons (I don't have inner demons dw, it's just a metaphor). This is an intro I can vibe to instantly. The other ones that were previously released were not as interesting, this intro sounds like the intro to a long story (in this case the album), it sounds like a proper intro and I have played it a few times because it does feel quite empowering listening to it. 8/10

6) Flash Forward - it is such a cute song. I haven't gone back to it a lot, but certainly is a great song. It really depends on the mood of that day for me to listen to this. Clearly, this was trying to be similar to good parts, but good parts was way catchier imo. Also, this is a song I would recommend to anyone who likes a chill pop song. 7/10

7) Fire In The Belly - just because this track is at the bottom of this ranking doesn't necessarily mean it is a bad track. I can see the reason people enjoy it, but for some reason I don't see it. People say it's like antifragile or that this should've been the title track, but imo this doesn't have the same power and statement that Unforgiven does, and is definitely not as powerful in execution as Antifragile either, that's why I heavily disagree with that opinion. But, it's not a bad song either. 5.5/10

Overall score for this album: 8.1/10

[ranboo5]

sorry this ended up being so long and its a little over the place

i thought they really nailed the atmosphere from episode 1 and i was srly impressed w the set design and the pretty seamless transition between live bits and prerecorded bits (felt a bit like a pre-rendered cutscene in a viddy game) and the general gamey aspects of the audience participation. my first first first impression of the entire thing was i was reminded of like you know those kids shows that are live action and theres an grownup guy whos host and theyre walking around in weird surreal rooms that arent real rooms but just a set? do you get what i mean.

i get that whole point was like well the "show" is show and its meant to be off and have this like vibe of shallow entertainment but its like when the large chunks of the actual series is That it wasnt always super interesting to watch unless there was something else going on? but like conceptually i really liked all the different segments of the "show". theres almost an aspect to them where in some of them the entertainment comes out of like almost degrading and dehumanizing the participants? could be wrong. anyway no matter how entertaining i found those bits, having 2/3 of the series be That does make really good buildup for ep3 i dont think i wouldve enjoyed ep3 alone without having seen ep1 and ep2. like them just walking around on these like sets they had been in prior but now theyre empty and dark. and the sets on their own were already a bit freaky and ominious but with all the silliness on top you sort of buy it, but now theyre empty like FUCK. seeing the ep 1 set from that perspectove for example fucked w me. i rly like ep3.

i liked the little nod to jerma dollhouse. and i love how they make audience participation feel increasingly more sinister during the course of the series . i mean it was already sinister in jerma dollhouse because jerma dollhouse is a riff on sims and SIMS is sinister because you get to play god with little guys and thats on paper a little fucked up. i guess the audience has way less power in genloss but theyre sort of complicit in everything and almost contributing to the spectacle just by virtue of being there and watching? idk. thinking of ranboo yelling stop watching into charlies stream and throwing the camera into the floor. maybe thats the point

i havent thought tooo hard about but but i think the overall recurring theme feels slightly on the nose like the part where ranboo walks into the food court and its just this row of streamers it feels like just slightly a little bit corny. but then on the other hand id rather have that than like it being so ambiguous that the casual viewer would not Get it do you get what i mean.

umm i think my biggest consistent negative thing was the improv between characters felt a little chaotic and overwhelming and it seemed like some participants werent really responding to each other as much as just Saying things. and i think given the many different kinds of Situations and Predicaments they were in i was a bit disappointed that there wasnt as much good like not banter but back and forth as i wouldve hoped. and then i liked even less when there were too many streamers in one scene at once it was very overwhelming and chaotic and it seemed like everyone was just fighting for screentime (maybe this is not true but this is the impression i got). im fine w the acting tho i think it was suited for the story they wanted to tell. as always blown away by ranboos profiecience at playing a miserable sopping guy at the end.

the standout star of the series was the visuals goddd the sets and the cinematography and the way they utilize the entire space so well.like every single hallway and door . and like idk what to call them the like Guys with the masks just pouring out of these corners is so freaky and then the Wire tv creechers are so and its so actually i have one thing visualswise that i thought abt that stuck with me with like again idk if they have a name but the guys with the masks in general. ESPECIALLY that moment in the end when ranboo presses that red button and they all just kind of stop and shut down and just stand there eerily . VISUALLY it reminds me so much of magrittes golconda and i just keep thinking about it. like the way theyre all spaced and just standing it almost feels intentional maybe not referencing that work specifically but def trying to evoke a similar feeling. do you see the vision

idk. Thats my thoughts.i have not been super into the whole arg aspect and the binary code and wingdings and i have not dived super deep into like the hashtag LORE these r just my own observations and thoughtse. yayy

THIS IS AWESOME TBH.... I DIDN'T MAKE THE MAGRITTE CONNECTUION BUT YUOU'RE SO RIGHT AND IT WORKS SAUR FUCKING WELL LIKE WHAT IF I EXPLODE

I think I had a lot of patience for the show:tm: stuff because I was paying (probably too much/reading Into It) attention to the moments of like . Shaky camerawork or weird handling of confessionals. That whole energy that Showfall is not an actual media company but something playing at being a media company. IS SO

[pureopaldesigns]

Opal Stud Earrings: A Versatile and Chic Accessory Choice

In a world full of trendy accessories and fast-changing fashion, finding a piece of jewelry that stands the test of time—while still turning heads—is like discovering hidden treasure. That’s exactly what you get with opal stud earrings: timeless beauty packed into a small, stylish statement.

These little gems may look subtle at first glance, but their quiet elegance hides layers of color, personality, and versatility. Whether you’re dressing for brunch with friends, a Zoom meeting, or a candlelight dinner, this accessory effortlessly fits the vibe—adding a polished yet relaxed touch to your overall look.

What Makes Opal Stud Earrings So Special?

Let’s start with what makes these earrings so universally adored. Unlike diamonds or pearls, opals bring something unique to the table—their mesmerizing "play-of-color." No two opals are exactly alike, which means your studs will always have their own personality. This individuality makes them an amazing gift for someone special—or even a sweet treat for yourself.

They're lightweight, easy to wear, and complement everything from jeans and a white tee to evening gowns. Their neutral but colorful hues allow them to blend seamlessly into any outfit without overpowering it. In short, they add just enough sparkle to make you feel put together without feeling overdone.

Dress It Up or Down—Opal Always Fits

One of the best things about this accessory is how easy it is to style. Pair them with a pendant opal necklace for a cohesive and elegant daytime look. The combo is chic enough to carry you from the office to a dinner date—no outfit change required.

Feeling a little adventurous? Mix them with other minimalist earrings for a trendy, layered look. Or go bold by contrasting them with statement pieces to let your studs act as the calm within the chaos. No matter how you style them, they’ll always add a soft, luminous touch that complements rather than competes.

Understanding the Different Faces of Opal

If you’re new to this gemstone, it might surprise you to know that there are different types of opal, each with its own flair. You have the classic white opal with pastel-like flashes, the mysterious black opal known for its vibrant fire, and even crystal opal that’s semi-transparent and exceptionally bright. Each type brings its own mood, which makes choosing the right pair of earrings more than just a shopping decision—it’s a personal one.

This variety also means there’s something for every skin tone and style preference. Want something dramatic? Go for black or boulder opals. Prefer something understated? White or crystal opals are perfect. This flexibility adds to the overall appeal of owning stud earrings made from this magical gem.

Caring for Your Earrings the Right Way

While opals are stunning, they’re also delicate. Their water content makes them slightly softer than diamonds or sapphires, so it’s important to treat them with care. Store them separately in a soft pouch, avoid harsh chemicals, and take them off before swimming or showering.

Cleaning is simple—just a soft cloth and mild soapy water will do the trick. With the right care, your opals can remain as dazzling as the day you bought them, ready to be passed down or worn again and again.

You can also watch: "Hold an Opal in Your Hand" - Learn about the Australian Gem!

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been on the hunt for jewelry that’s meaningful, stylish, and endlessly wearable, look no further. Opal stud earrings check all the boxes—they're versatile, elegant, and full of character. With so many styling possibilities and gemstone variations, they make a smart addition to any jewelry lover’s collection.

Whether you’re keeping things casual or dressing to impress, these earrings are the kind of low-effort, high-impact accessory that every wardrobe needs. Add a pair to your jewelry box, and get ready to fall in love with their charm, one shimmer at a time.