#so many talented folks living all around the world and i just think that's so amazing :)

[natasha-in-space]

You ever read a fic that's so good, you just have to lay there and stare at the ceiling in complete silence for like 15 minutes or so while your brain is basically vibrating with hundreds of thoughts? Yeah, that's one of the best feelings in the world, holy molly

[felassan]

A former BioWare Design Director has tweeted his take on the recent BioWare and SW:TOR news. tweet compilation, as it's interesting and illuminating insight:

"My take on the SWTOR/BioWare split For SWTOR: This is a Good Thing For BioWare: This is a Big Loss A thread:

My point of view is someone who worked for BioWare Austin on SWTOR from 2009 as an Assistant World Designer through 2022 as Design Director (with some Anthem, Shadow Realms, and <NDA> years sprinkled about).

BioWare Austin (BWA) was its own studio for many years, founded in order to make that game. MMO’s are expensive, y’all.

We didn’t really collaborate with BioWare Edmonton (BWE) on the dev side much, because there was no need to (with some exceptions – they had built the original on-rails space shooting component, for example).

As a business, in this model all revenue and expenses roll up into the greater whole (BioWare), which then roll into EA’s Group, and so on.

After many years, this model shifted and changed, for a large variety of reasons I won’t get into. BWA would no longer be a separate entity, but under the same core leadership as BWE – One BioWare (BW).

What this meant realistically was you had a boxed product business that had been tried and true for years, combined with a live service MMO business that wasn’t really understood by the boxed product folks. Arguably by EA either, to be fair.

You see, MMO’s can be fairly predictable if they run long enough. We knew the SWTOR business very well. We knew how to turn every dollar invested in the game into several more. SWTOR was (and continues to be) a very profitable business, with loads of heart behind it.

But an older game isn’t sexy. It’s not new. It doesn’t get marketing orgs excited or social media teams jazzed. It’s a ‘legacy game’, despite the mountains of income coming in that other franchises are built off of.

And you FELT it, as a member of the team. It’s a fantastic dev team, filled with incredible talent. How then, with such a close-knit team, did you always feel less-than?

Well, just take a look around. Look at BW’s social media posts and count the proportion of SWTOR game/fan/anything posts compared to ME or DA. Remember that BioWare 25th anniversary book? The beautiful 328 page recollection of BioWare’s history, and celebration of all franchises?

For a game like SWTOR that had been live already for 9 of those 25 years at the time of publication, how many pages, dear reader, do you think had any SWTOR imagery or content at all? Ten. Teams notice this. They feel it, and it feels like shit.

Does BW despise SWTOR? I don’t think so – they don’t understand it, and it was someone else’s game. Does EA despise SWTOR? I don’t think so – it’s a legacy live service, and again, was someone else’s game.

As a dev on SWTOR, you feel like your game is a burden to all of the layers above you, but you persist. You put so much heart and passion into the game, and you thrive on the fans and tremendous partnership with LucasFilm.

So to bring us back to current news, imagine a team excited about a game, with incredible plans, that have felt ‘less-than’ by their own studio and company for years, being unleashed.

Being part of an org that KNOWS the MMO business, and understands those player communities and the incredible stories and connections they form.

This feels like an exciting new chapter to me, and I’m optimistic about what this means for that team and the game. SWTOR is, to the best of my knowledge, the longest-running Star Wars anything, ever. It’s a special game and I’m so happy to see where the team takes it.

As far as BW, it would have certainly be in their best interest as a business to maximize exposure and support for SWTOR publicly over the years, since the SWTOR revenue has allowed for the…unusually long…dev cycles to continue for the last several games.

But now without SWTOR, there will be less places to hide heads, R&D, and time. You’ve got blockbuster single-player experiences hitting high Metacritic scores with…2-3 year dev cycles? And the BW pattern has been…double? Triple that?

I think it will be interesting to see how the EA/BW relationship continues to evolve in this new world. /end"

[source]

[raaorqtpbpdy]

Batman's Bird Watching Scrapbook

This fic for the @batfam-big-bang was written for @jube-art's AU concept and artwork. The way the fic is done up, it just... it would be way too much work to post all 35 chapters on tumblr, so you get the first one, and the AO3 links. So far, the first 4 parts are up on AO3.

There are two versions of this fic.

The Cool Version, which has all the coding and formatting to make it look like an actual scrapbook. And

The Simplified Version, which does not have all the coding and formatting to make it cleaner and easier to read on mobile.

Chapter 1: Arrival of Haly's Circus in Gotham

The circus wouldn't normally attract my attention, but Alfred had been telling me shortly before, to lighten up and do something fun. I think he could tell that my mission had been taking me to a particularly dark place at that time. I snapped at him when he made the suggestion, and ended up taking it as a way to apologize to him. I had no idea what awaited me. — Bruce W.

Gotham Gazette April 5, 2009 Traveling circus comes to Gotham by Bill Finger

Though known to many as a dreary city, Gotham does have its bright spots. Yesterday afternoon, Haly's International Traveling Circus set down in Amusement Mile and set up their striped big top in the fairgrounds on the waterfront.

Performances begin tomorrow at 6 P.M. and are planned to continue daily until the night of April 18th, so be sure to get your ticket to see the show while they're still in town.

Haly's Circus boasts a wide variety of acts, carnival games, and sideshows including performances of trained, live, wild animals. Among those animals are Zitka the Asian elephant, and lions Gunther and Gurbel who perform alongside Wild Wilhelm the Lion Tamer. Haly's talented horseback dancer Linda Grey does the ballet atop Dungi the Zebra.

I had the privilege of being able to interview Mister Haly before opening day, though he was very busy, and am excited to pass on some of the highlights of what he shared with me.

"We've got all sorts here," he said, "all your standard circus folk, like Sando the strongman, Pedro the dwarf, our knife-thrower Zane and his lovely assistant Zephyr, a fabulously talented group of fire-dancers, as well as the greatest menagerie of clowns you'll find in any traveling circus around the world, if I do say so myself."

I asked him what made his circus special, and Mr. Haley was more than happy to answer me. "Well, sir, our circus may have many acts you've seen before, contortionists, and magicians, and a pair of stunning tattooed ladies, but you've never seen anything like the Flying Graysons," he claimed.

The main event at Haly's Circus, the Flying Graysons, Mary, John, and their son, are widely regarded as among the most skilled acrobats on Earth, with their young son, Richard, holding the high esteem of being the youngest acrobat in history capable of successfully performing a quadruple flip on the trapeze.

As if that weren't impressive enough, the Flying Graysons fearlessly perform all their daring trapeze stunts without a net. You'll definitely want to stay until the end to catch their closing act.

(showtimes for Haly's International Traveling Circus listed on pg. 14)

[bengiyo]

This is a broad one, so take it whatever direction you wish: what are five shows, actors, or creative teams that have exceeded your expectations or pleasantly surprised you?

WOW. I struggle with broad asks because there's so much I like and think about.

Nadao Bangkok

I loved Nadao Bangkok so much. I had basically only engaged with really stylish Thai movies and media before BL. It's the kind of stuff you see at film festivals. I was not really used to the quick and efficient production processes and talent pools of the TV show production of BLs. I adapted, but it was such a relief to watch things like Project S, I Told Sunset About You, I Promised You the Moon, and Great Men Academy. I also just adore the talent they cultivated and how so many Nadao alums are still doing things in entertainment. They really did something special there.

Koisenu Futari (2022)

We talk so much about about representation and wanting to see more kinds of stories. I really loved the way this story explored the spectrum of asexuality alongside loneliness and the search for companionship. I love that it's a story about people who all care about each other, but they are all out of alignment for various reasons. I love that so many of the relationships don't resolve in a way that pairs people in an expected way. The sister left her cheating husband, Sakuko and Takashi don't live together, and Kazu was actually able to just be her friend. It's an unexpected delight.

For the Boys (2021)

I will never stop pimping this show out. Many of the folks are new to BL and queer TV in general, so they don't even remember Noah's Arc. I've been wanting more shows about black queer friend groups, and this show delivered. Every week I check on Slay TV to see what else they're up to. This show features a femme/GNC character finding their way through presenting publicly and dating, a fat black gay man struggling with body image and race identity issues, and a promiscuous black gay man struggling with his place in the world. It's a nuanced look at queer friendship, and I really wish more people would watch it.

Ossan's Love: In the Sky (2019)

I already apologized to this show once, but I'll bring it up again. This AU season could have been a real flop, but in some ways it's my favorite. I love doing an AU as a way to soft reboot your characters and dig deeper into their interiority before returning to them years later. I like Haruta so much more because of this season. I also really love the bonds between men in this series and the ways they push each other. It's really excellent, and this is a special franchise we have been lucky enough to return to multiple times.

Sherri and Teri Polo on The Fosters (2013-2018)

In an era where almost every TV lesbian died, these two delivered some of the best onscreen chemistry I've ever seen. They felt like a married couple for the entirety of a dramatic and often-messy Freeform (formerly ABC Family) TV show. We talk about Business Gay Performance (BGP) around here a lot, and these two are masters of their craft. At no point did you ever think these two actresses were secretly dating or cheating on their partners, but they were open about how much they loved each other and how important the friendship they built on this show was to them. I have immense admiration for the work they did and continue to do in the queer space. We are really lucky that these two took on the role of playing loving moms to all them kids, who got to also got to have a romantic and sexual relationship with each other onscreen.

Thank you for the ask! Since it wasn't explicitly BL, I decided to have some fun.

[jeffgerstmann]

So apparently AEW pays well and that's bad?

I know a couple of current WWE folks who definitely got better contracts simply because AEW existed and, thus, created a world where people might jump ship and go somewhere else.

But yeah, I don't know, people are fuckin' crazy. That said, with all of the recent free agent talk going around and that article that is all "WWE needs to look in the mirror about why they keep losing free agents to AEW," I think that's a little off the mark.

Like, yes, in a theoretical, big-picture kind of way the WWE should probably ask themselves why people would want to work anywhere else. And they can chalk it up to "well, we've had some negative press lately" or "this person just didn't want to work as many dates" or whatever. Each case will be different. But I think in the three recent cases cited, there are very real life reasons why none of those three would go with WWE. It's great that the offer from AEW was better and, honestly, I think those signees will easily find more success in AEW than they would in WWE.

Like let's not kid ourselves here: WWE could have offered Okada a fuckton of money, but would he actually make a meaningful mark in the WWE? He'd come in, the announcers would have to spend a ton of time educating the audience on why he matters because most of their audience doesn't watch anything else, and he'd probably just end up being the next foreign heel. The types of great matches he had in NJPW aren't really the kinds of things that WWE is looking for or especially needs more of. They'd probably rush him into a main event program for three months or so and then do something embarrassing with him. He'd be tagging with Nakamura in a team with a vaguely racist-sounding name or something shitty like that. He'd be another amazing performer in search of a meaningful storyline and the WWE's midcard is fucking stuffed full of guys like that right now. He'd be losing to Karrion Kross by Survivor Series.

Tack on the notion that WWE's business is doing really well and they're selling tickets everywhere they go and inventing new, more evil forms of revenue all the time and it's easy to see that WWE doesn't need Okada. They need to be making sure that they have a fresh crop of young talent ready to take over when the current headliners fall off or move on. At 36, Okada isn't quite that guy.

However, Okada is a great fit for AEW and its audience. Too good, actually. I mean I don't think he'll be a "needle mover" on the ratings because anyone in this country who knows who Okada even is already watches AEW. They're super-serving their audience. They're "building golden toilets" for their fanbase. As someone who really likes that shit, I'm stoked. But the weirdo ratings nuts online who live and die by television ratings are melting down over "is Okada a draw or not" or something. And I think it'd probably be obvious to anyone who really sat down and thought about it that Okada wasn't ever going to drag in a whole new American audience.

I'd say mostly the same thing about Ospreay. He'd become the leader of the Catch Wrestling Crew or whatever the fuck they're called now.

The other thing I'd say is that, over time, a better program will probably attract a larger audience. So AEW's programming is better by way of these new signings. They're great performers and I think they both have the ability to be super big in the US for years to come, provided they're working somewhere that plays to their strengths.

Bringing Sasha Banks over to AEW has a chance to bring in new audience since she had a level of fame here in the States already and, hey, maybe fans of hers weren't already watching AEW. It's possible! Punk did it, right? We'll see. That might immediately make her more valuable than Ospreay and Okada. That said, there are already a ton of women that I'd love to see more of on AEW TV, so inserting another star at the top of that division kinda rubs me the wrong way.

Either way, I think these three specific cases are, well, specific enough that trying to use this to claim that WWE is "losing out" on this free agency stuff is probably wrong. They know how much they're willing to spend on an individual talent, they've been at this long enough to have a pretty good idea how some of these people are likely to monetize once they get there, and they're simply not going to overspend on any talent anymore because they're really focused on trying to bring in new talent and raise them up through their system. For all we know, AEW overspent on all three.

But they aren't spending my money, so fuck it! It's awesome! I only get mad when the people I want to see are locked behind the ROH paywall. Like Athena! Put her on real TV, she's fantastic! What the fuck!

[spilltheteawithme]

I noticed that but what can you do, how many will stay once they part ways? /

That’s such a good question. I can honestly tell you that as someone who was an “outsider” looking in for a long time, here are my thoughts:

1) A lot of his “fans” actually hate him because they can’t possess or control him. Their need to write fanfiction about his personal life and force her into every aspect of his being is literally just them trying to exercise some control over his life. It brings them peace to see him visibly miserable with a woman because they don’t feel like they’re missing out on anything.

2) The shippers and other fans who feel obligated to like her subscribe to what I like to call, “uwu rule following culture.” A stupid, clunky name for a stupid, clunky way of thinking lol. It’s basically the idea that everyone in the world needs to act one way in order to be considered “good” or “worthy.” It happens amongst people who are deeply entrenched in fandom culture, I find. These are the people who think that liking the “age appropriate” (read: boring and unattractive) gf will get them brownie points with their fave. These are the people who would clutch their pearls over him seeing a woman in her twenties who has everything in common with him, but jump for joy when he’s with a woman who’s only 2 years younger and is the total opposite of all he’s claimed to stand for. These are the people who compare her to Ale and can only argue that she’s “not problematic” when she’s just as bad, if not worse. FFS, she USES tragedy to further her brand. That’s sick. They make no sense, but they want a gold star for running around the internet yelling at people on his and her behalf, as if they know them personally and have anymore of an insight on their lives than we do.

3) this is a *spicy* take, and it’s also where things get complicated. Bear with me lol:

There are psychos and idiots on BOTH sides of the PR/real argument. There are absolutely the fans who will hate any woman he breathes next to. There are fans who don’t hate Annabelle because she’s actually a jerk, but because she is currently being referred to as his gf. Period. They’re thrilled that there are valid reasons not to like her, but they’re messy af and make the rest of Team PR look tactless and stupid. These ain’t my people because I know that they’ll hate the next girl, too.

On the other hand, I’m going to refer back up to #2 and touch on my UWU Rule Following Culture point: There are people who only like her and refuse to dislike her or subscribe to the PR POV because they’re *not like other fans.* They just want so badly to be the chosen ones to follow Sebastian around with their hands cupped under his ass, not realizing that going along with shit like sheep could potentially be more harmful toward him and not at all what he wants. In short: they will like every rs he’s in, real or not, because they think it makes them better fans. It’s a purity contest.

NOW, here’s where it gets complicated: A lot of the people who typically hate his gfs because they’re his gfs are defending AW like their lives depend on it. Not because they like her or think she’s worthy, but because this is the first gf of Sebastian’s that he has no obvious affection toward or attraction to. And it’s a relief to them. A lot of these people are the same folks who would’ve harmed Margarita with their bare hands because he was obsessed with her. They like that AW is a self-insert. They like that they’re spared the pain of watching him love on a woman. I’d even venture to say that they like that he looks miserable next to her. Because deep down, in their delusion, they like that they can look at that and convince themselves, “I would make him happier.” They drone on about how all of us are sooooo awful and ugly and are just mad that Seb won’t fuck us, but they’re just projecting. Believe me when I say that they will hate the next girl he’s actually crazy about, especially if shes young, talented, and beautiful. And so, some of them will stick by AW because AW will inevitably hate and stalk this woman until every single stringy hair is pulled from her own head.

The obedient UWU rule followers will simply migrate their loyalty over to the next gf. They may be of use in that case if the next girl is lovely and the situation is the total opposite of what the AW situation has been.

Also worth noting that a lot of Seb’s fans hate men and like Sebastian because he’s shown to be a more sympathetic figure toward women (make no mistake: I ADORE that he’s a gentle soul who respects women). It’s kind of like how racist people are just in love with POC who say what they want to hear. They like that, in their minds, he’s submissive and easy to control. Realistically, they are about 2 seconds away from hating him at all times. They are just waiting for him to fail so they can say how he’s awful and just like every other man. A lot of these people ALSO love Annabelle because they don’t think a man should be with a woman he’s crazy about. It’s weird as fucking hell. These are the people who have the nerve to say, “he’s more problematic than she is.” You best believe some of these fuckers will jump ship when they split, and the normal Seb fans will be relieved. Go ride Annabelle’s narcissistic ass into the sunset. Don’t let the door hit you in your way out!

Aaaaand…I think that concludes my novel 😂 some will stay, some will go, some will stay and still ship him with a woman he was never actually in love with long after he’s found someone else. Sebastian said it himself: his fans are a trip!

😳🍿!!

[zanniscaramouche]

No one can claim that I'm fast, but hey! I finally had a moment to sit down and find some fics for a lovely anon who wandered into my inbox looking for classical musician!larry. A few of these are a little bit of a stretch, but hopefully there's something here you enjoy! You'll see little blue hearts along with a lil comment from me on those I have read (admittedly not that many, oops) This is definitely an AU I'd love to see more fic for! It's possible there's more out there, alas it doesn't seem to be commonly tagged. Make sure to tag your fics folks! It makes filtering for things like this so much easier! 💙

🎼 the school of extraordinary lovers // stylinsoncity @stylinsoncity - 191k "We keep telling the other, I love you and I love you, and we do, though we both know where the knives are." - Laura Van Prooyen

harry is a third-year witch and violinist at Laitswold, the only magical academy in the UK, with dreams of taking on the world, and hopefully breaking the centuries-old curse on his family while he's at it. he does not dream of facing off against his childhood rival and duet partner, but louis is back in town after six years abroad, so that's exactly what happens.

🎼 Love Is A Rebellious Bird // 100percentsassy, gloria_andrews - 134k AU in which the boys still make music. Louis is the concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Harry is the New! and Exciting! interim conductor/ex-cello prodigy who "has made Mozart cool again" according to Esquire Magazine (Louis hates him immediately, which is definitely why he internet stalked him in his dark bedroom late at night that one time), and Niall is the best. Zayn and Liam are around too.

Don't hum Bolero.

💙 zannithinks: one of those 'classics' that many love! I really enjoyed this fic, and as someone who hears Bolero every year at a local festival I think of this fic often

🎼 Saving Symphony Hall // HelloAmHere @helloamhere - 124k “I think I have an idea,” Louis said. Slowly, and reluctantly, but with a growing sense of the inevitable. “God damnit, I think I have a really good idea.”

“Oh christ, that's the problem-solving face,” Babs said. “Last time we saw that face, he sold a company.”

“Wait, what?” Zayn asked.

“Right place, right time,” Louis said. “Also, fuck my life,”

“What?” Zayn repeated. Niall patted his hand.

“I usually just roll with whatever Louis is about to do,” he said. “It’s better for us all.”

“That’s the attitude,” said Louis, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Tonight, I need to do some research. Zayn, give me your number. I’m gonna save our symphony.”

💙 zannithinks: I looooove this one! A well developed world and lovable OC's, this is definitely the first fic I think of when I think Larry and Classical Music

🎼 Where Words Fail, Music Speaks // Larry_you_know @larryyouknow - 45k Louis is a world class violinist. He’s one year over forty, living his best life in New York. One day, he comes to a small town in Connecticut where he inherited a house from his late father. The town looks nice and its people welcome him warmly. The problem is that Louis never knew his father and he doesn’t intend to change anything about it - his father can stuff his last will up his treacherous ass. In a strange coincidence, Louis meets town troubadour Harry, who seems wonderful to him just right until he reveals that Louis’ father was like a dad to him.

Even though Louis tries to convince himself that it shouldn’t - it hurts.

🎼 Until You Remember // Throwthemflowers - 21k Talented London pianist Louis Tomlinson moves to a small coastal town to escape the elites of his job and the mundanity of his life. Through the music of Debussy he finds a charming, wonderful friend in Harry Styles, the fiancé of the town's mayor. Louis thinks his pining is in vain until he discovers that all may not be as it seems….

🎼 And I'll Be Here When Only the Silence Remains // louisniall @louisniaii - 19k The one where Louis is a top notch mute violinist and Harry might just be the person he trusts most

🎼 Back to the Sign, and Play Through the End // tomlinsunshine - 17k Louis is a globally renowned pianist; Harry is the worst page turner this world has ever known.

🎼 Take more of my space, why don't you? // otfuckingp - 10k Of course, the universe is not on Louis’ side, nor on the side of his mental health. Just as he starts to think they might get away with this empty seat -- yes, they. He and Instrument Man are in this together, a united front against the forces of any more people-- one more person steps onto the plane. He bypasses the first fifteen rows without so much as a falter, but the fact that he slows around 17 gives Louis pause. There aren’t many empty seats in this section... Surely not. Surely the universe wouldn’t be so cruel as to do this to him.

And then there’s another body landing in the seat next to Instrument Man. Well, “landing” might be too polite. Crashing, is more like it. Within the first ten seconds, he’s elbowed instrument Man in the side, dropped something on the floor, and nearly tripped a stewardess with the exuberant flailing of his legs. All in all, completely shattering the tentative silence in row 21 DEF. Fuck.//

Harry and Louis meet on a plane. Louis is not impressed, until he is.

🎼 What is simple in the moonlight, never really is. // judgementdays @judgementdays - 5k And then they're talking, like they always do on late nights. They talk about the future, about the cute girl who was checking Harry out at Tesco's, about the cute boy who asked for Louis' number the other day. They mostly end up talking about their auditions for the school of their dreams, though.

or

Louis plays piano and Harry plays guitar and they're both trying to get into Juilliard but feelings sort of happen.

🎼 Play Me Something Sweet // nonsensedarling @absolutenonse - 4k “Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Louis says. Harry just looks at him and lifts an eyebrow in silent question. “How about if you pretend I’m your cello as you try it out, like we used to?” Or Harry's good at a lot of instruments, but his favorite one to play is Louis.

💙 zannithinks: this one is spicey!!!!

🎼 And I've got something missing tonight. // whisperedbrave @louistomlindaughter - 2k That night, much like many others, he finishes his dinner and falls asleep to the sound of his neighbor and his piano.

-

or the one where Harry's upstairs neighbor plays the piano every night. one night he stops and Harry can't sleep.

[shayshaybiscuit25]

I no longer support white celebs or people//

How do people not realize this is basically birthing hatred in your own heart. It makes one no better than the people they claim to hate. All white people aren’t the problem, majority, to the point racism is still ramped, yes, but to blindly go around claiming to not like or support every single white person based on the actions of others makes you seem childish asf anon. I get mad at racist, not all white people.

I suggest you go to you local library and take a deep dive in history, if it weren’t for certain white advocates even in small numbers, a lot of risked their lives along with our black leaders, a lot of things would not have occurred nor improved.

Go learn about the White Panther party.

I get so tired of people looking at things on the internet and basing conclusions without realizing you obviously know very little about our history let alone the world to make a baseless statement like that,even reading this you’re probably thinking I’m “standing up for the white man” 🙄

Some of you need to learn what’s happened. I know things are bad now, but sweetheart they’ve been worse they’ve also at one point were amazing. Many of you weren’t born to know there were three beautiful decades where black folks THRIVED!! We everywhere, music, tv, etc. We were and forever will be IT! ✨ unfortunately racist and some black people who chose money over the betterment of our people (Hi BET 🖕🏾), shut that down and now we have the entertainment industry as you all know it now. This is why many of us that you all think are “haters” say music, tv and movies aren’t the same. We had multiple talented black women across genres, not just one or two. We had every skin tone represented. Many of you truly don’t understand how y’all fall for some of the most mediocre stuff nowadays yet call it “talent”.

The standard has dropped significantly to the point everyone and their mama are getting famous now.

I may sound like a prude, but the over sexualization of black women ain’t it. They are trying to have our young girls and immature grown women thinking certain types of behavior and attire is appropriate when it’s not. No one is saying cover up head to toe, but many do not understand there’s a time and place for things. Most of our celebs are focused on money and not the influence they are putting out there. It’s all going to blow up eventually. We went from artist standing up and using their talents and platforms to better our community, go listen to L-Boogie “That Thing”, and listen to the lyrics. Nina Simone, BillieHoliday, etc to now where people can say a basic quote that sounds nice and people automatically label them an advocate. Don’t even get me started on various white artists using black artist to boost their careers or eras. (Miley Cyrus now claims to be embarrassed by her Bangerz era, yet claimed back then that was her authentic self, stop letting people use us)

I understand the times change, but said change isn’t always good. We’re still being used in ways many can’t comprehend.

Idol worship is seen as “normal”. People really be out here worshipping other humans who mock God, yet claim to be “Christian”, I don’t care if someone claims to “love” God with their mouth, actions speak louder than words. Too many baby Christians out here getting easily influenced because they lack knowledge of HIS word. I’m serious, people better stop playing with God and making excuses for their actions. God don’t play that. He shows us love, grace and mercy, yes, but putting demonic affiliation in music videos, calling God the n-word, Calling God out his name in general, mocking him, etc.

Showing every single inch of their bodies and trying to claim it’s for expression or women rights, nah you can love you and be sexy without doing all that. There’s a reason the black women of the 70s, 80s and 90s were top tier, sometimes less is indeed more.

Just because someone is rich and famous doesn’t mean they are “blessed” by God. People don’t think Satan will be crafty enough to have you believing you’re doing great, not realizing lukewarm Christianity is not good. God will spit them out of his mouth.

Don’t allow these entertainers have any of you out here drifting away from God all because you love your fav. These music artist today display the darkness right in front of us all, but get praised. Go watch the videos of early 2010s to now and tell me they haven’t gotten darker and more revealing in various ways.

Y’all stay blessed and just keep your eyes and hearts open. Developing the gift of discernment is a true blessing. People think because we’re saved we can do anything, but God knows all. We speak in love and truth. His word is Truth.

Oh wowwwwww

Anon to Anon.

[grumpygwen23]

This probably isn't much of a TOP story, but I discovered them around the same time you did, late 2013.

Fall Out Boy is one of my favorite bands of all time, and they had just started going back on tour, to promote their first album after their four-year hiatus: "Save Rock and Roll". Naturally, I was SO excited they were back, and intrigued, when I found out that one of their openers was a band i'd never heard of, called Twenty One Pilots.

I was working in an office at the time, and I loved to listen to the radio while I worked, specifically BBC Radio 1 (just for the record, i'm American. I just like the music). Fall Out Boy were doing an interview on the station to promote the tour one day, I think, and during the interview, I believe the DJ played "Holding On To You" as a shoutout to TOP. The name of the band fascinated me so much, as did the song, so I immediately checked out "Car Radio" and "House Of Gold". These guys were so cool, and artsy, and I could see why Fall Out Boy chose them as their openers. Talent recognizes talent!

Fast forward a little bit, to early 2015. I hear that Twenty One Pilots, that quirky band I enjoyed, has released a teaser for a little song called "Stressed Out". It was just a small snippet, of the section where they yell "Wake up, you need to make money!", but it was enough for the all-consuming hyperfixation to kick in. I was officially in love!

Naturally, I listened to the "Blurryface" album all the time in the following years. And then, when the pictures of the yellow eye opening started showing up on their social media, announcing what would be Trench, I rejoiced along with everyone else. In late 2018, was the first and only time I was lucky enough to see this band that means so much to me, during the Bandito tour. My sister was kind enough to buy tickets for me, her, and my brother-in-law to all go together, and when i tell you it's a highlight of my life, i'm not kidding, despite the fact that I didn't have any useable photos or videos. I saw so many folks walking into the venue dressed up as Banditos, and I knew I had found my people.

Fast-Forward again past the majesty of Scaled and Icy (I love the album, but just don't have any interesting stories), to May 23rd of this year. I am just getting ready for bed, when I get a notification from my YouTube app: Twenty One Pilots has gone live on their channel! What?! I naturally clicked the notification at light speed, and my jaw dropped when I saw they were doing a pajama party, to celebrate a new album, that was coming out that very night! I stayed up the whole way, and got super emotional as each new music video played in order. I had never felt more connected to the rest of the world, as I did seeing the boys be silly together as they talked about the tracks, and seeing everyone in the chat freaking out just as much as I did. And then from the time the album itself showed up on youtube that night, I have not stopped listening to Clancy on a regular basis since.

To put things simply: 2024 has unfortunately been very good for me at all, mental health wise. There have been far more cloudy days than sunny ones, but the Clancy album, and getting to follow the events of the tour, have been like a much-needed patch of blue sky peeking through. For that, I will be forever grateful to those two silly, brilliant boys from Ohio...

I love this!

A lyric that’s always stuck with me is “sometimes a certain smell will take me back to when I was young”. I feel like songs do that more than anything, and I love how they hold a piece of us. Especially Twenty One Pilots songs and how they’ve grown with us.

I think I get stuck between the whole ‘terrified of being known’ but ‘desperate to be seen’ thing. But in these songs I’m seen. And I’m glad to have seen you through this music as well now. I hope the rest of 2024 has more sunny days for you, and I hope Twenty One Pilots continues to be a balm for the soul on the cloudy days!! ❤️

[iluvmegantheestallion]

My unpopular opinions and rants

● public interviews on YouTube are lame as fuck, they go around asking dumb ass questions that will trigger people and they'll go around adding those stupid edits that make no sense and then people will always answer the dumb questions with a stupid answer. It got repetitive, old and corny real fast.

● ASAP rocky is only relevant because he's with rihanna. She's keeping his name alive. He's only relevant because he benefits from pretty privilege, and rihanna still with him, and they have kids.

● Hannah baker from 13 reasons why is a trash character, and I never liked her. She's a liar, a fraud. She was a bully in her old school, she was out here thotting and bopping fucking with 5 or 6 dudes the whole love triangle playing victim. Hannah Baker was just merely a narcissist who didn't want to take any conuntability for her own actions.

● the reason why your kids don't know their purpose. or what they want to be, or don't wanna talk to you because you treat them like an investment. I don't have kids and don't plan to, but some parents out there need to stop treating their kids like an investment. Please stop hoping your kids go to college so you can brag about them, Please stop hoping your kids get an amazing job that you wanted them to get so you can brag about them because if you treat them like an investment, they're going to grow up in the real world not knowing who they are or what they want to with their lives and end up being depressed because they spent their whole entire life trying to please you.

● Being a perfectionist is not a good thing. Stop saying like it is a good thing. It's merely just self sabotage disguise as a perfectionist. You believe in yourself because you're scared that you put your work out there. A lot of people are going to trash it, dismiss it, and you don't want people to have an opportunity to give you a negative opinion.

● Kim Kardashian did more for black people than Obama ever did. Obama just did nothing but be black and did a whole bunch of shit for all the communities, but he didn't do shit for black folks.

● Normani is missing something. The only reason why normani isn't really blowing up is because she took too long to introduce herself. We still know her as the pretty black girl who can dance and sing. There's really not a lot to her I think she's pretty boring.

● don't hang around with bums that complain all the time about how their life ain't shit and how they are annoyed and depressed how they can't stand this. Don't hang around with those types of people. Because those be the same people that be jealous of you and will grow to resent you if you keep hanging around them.

● On my block, season 4 was the worst season. It was a waste of time, it was complete garbage, and I was so annoyed how they rushed through it and everybody was dating each other, fucking each other, everyone was going there separate ways, it made no sense and they killed off so many characters.

● most people have kids for selfish kids but won't admit it. Let's be honest Many people will sit up here and say,'I want kid till I'm 25 or 30' because a lot of y'all just want people to take care of you, so you don't end up being alone. Many people plan to have children by 30, 31, or 35 because they want someone to be there, they want an aesthetic of having a child, and they don't want to feel left out because all there friends of people there close to have children.

● The early 2000s Era had better music than the 90s Era. We had Ashanti, Aalyiah, Jennifer lopez, gwen Stefani, Eve, Destiny's child, Timbaland.

● J Cole is overhyped he's an amazing rapper and singer, but I just see him as a regular rapper.

● jhene aiko doesn't get enough credit for her work. Yes, she's praised for her voice and talent, but let's be honest, she isn't praised and rewarded like she really should be that she built and created for herself her songs are unique and she's very creative, she's really slept on and very underrated.

● There's a difference between being a good person and being nice. At the end of the day, just because you're nice doesn't mean you're a good person. Don't sit up here and say,' I'm a good person. At the end of the day, people never reciprocate." it like bitch stfu. Maybe you're just a people pleaser. Being a nice person is very different from being a good person because a good person is kind knows how to treat everyone with respect and a nice person will tell everyone what they want to hear to keep the peace and put on their best face to make sure everyone likes them solely because everyone likes a nice person, but not everyone respects a nice everyone.

● never ever trust somebody who counts favors. If somebody trying to bring all the nice they did for you, never trust those people. People who count favors are not good people there willing to hit you up one day to remind you of those favors to get what they want from you.

● before you go out of your way to listen to your parents about what you should do with your career, please give yourself a second look at your parents and see if there happy of there own career you don't want to take advice from a miserable bitch. If your parents aren't happy with there careers why the fuck would you lisen to them on what you should do with you life and how you can make money.

● Coi leray benefits from pretty privilege if she was ugly she wouldn't be where she is today.

[foxydivaxx]

Chronicles of King Nasty Chapter 3

This will mark the beginning of Heartsteel. You will also learn more about Ezreal.

Ezreal heaves a sigh of relief as he returns to his apartment. He bought himself a brand new apartment, a downgrade from the swanky villa he once lived in. He had cut off all contact with his parents and is now trying to start afresh. He had spent about 3 years in rehab and is now a lot better. Truth be told, he had been going in and out of rehab for the past couple years no thanks to the world triggering him in a variety of ways.

Yes, he is a recovering addict. But truth be told, his parents caused all this shit. You see, his old folks are a part of the industry. His father is a record label exec and his mother is a popstar so the talent is in him. Despite that, he was still a nepo baby that many loved to hate.

The moment his mother discovered his talent, she got in contact with his dad despite their estranged relationship. The two of them then hatched a plan to get Ezreal to debut as a popstar. The plan was simple; get Ezreal to train from a young age and when they felt he was mature enough, then he would debut. Just like his idol, he debuted at the age of 13 with a certain hit single that went platinum within weeks.

Using the momentum of that single, they began working on his debut album. What could possibly have gone wrong? A lot. Firstly, his parents were not that present in his life. Secondly mother dearest decided to not only be a bully but she was also a control freak and had sexually abused him on more than one occassion. Just like Sanji’s situation with his father. Thirdly, that single was not what Ezreal wanted. He wanted to do something as edgy as what Sanji would do but of course his parents vetoed that. Not helping was his toxic ex at the time.

Sure, thee song kind of grew on him. But still. Lastly, the album was a mess and did not reflect who Ezreal truly was a person. Rather it was a disjointed project. As if that wasn’t enough, Ezreal started developing a cocaine addiction at the time to cope with the pain and loneliness that he felt. To cover up, his mother thought it was a good idea to employ some random ghost singer with a similar voice as his to sing a lot of the tracks, living him dazed and confused when he heard the album.

Ezreal was renowed as a powerful dancer back then but the drug use caused him to a rather poor and sluggish performance, causing his parents to disown and boot him out of the company. He remembers that day vividly. The cameras flashing. Reporters screaming his namea nd throwing all sorts of questions at him. Around that same time, Sanji was going through his own nightmare experience that caused him to go into hiatus. Five years have passed since then. 

He is starting on a brand new leaf. Sett, his former labelmate who also got booted out on that exact same day has been keeping in touch with him. They became friends since that day. Right now, he was not in the mood to do anything. All he wants is to properly relax and chill. Good thing he was not in that villa otherwise the pain would have been more unbearable. 

He proceeds to go take a shower, playing one of Sanji’s songs in the background via his phone. 

Hush, just stop

There's nothing you can do or say, baby

I've had enough

I'm not your property as from today, baby

You might think that I won't make it on my own

But

Ezreal finds himself singing along to the song. He remembers this song because it so happens to be his favorite Sanji song. Rumour has it that this is a reference to his father and judging from what he read in the book so far, the song hits a lot more different.

Now I'm stronger than yesterday

Now it's nothing but my way

My loneliness ain't killing me no more

I, I'm stronger

He keeps on singing along, letting the music take control of him. Without realizing it, he even tries to do some dance moves whilst in the shower.Once he was out of the shower, he reaches for a towel and uses it to dry his hair whilst wrapping another one around his waist. 

Once he is comfortably settled down, he climbs intohis bed and lies down, reaching for the book again. He managed to get this apartment thanks to his dear Uncle who greatly disapproved of his parents’ actions. He is the reason he even decided to go to rehab in the first place.

“Now where was I?” He notices the page that he folded and starts from there.

I remember my audition for Popstars vividly. That day was a warm Thursday. Auditions were meant to begin by 11. I got there by 8 o’clock. Ichiji dropped me off and the rest of the family waited outside for me. 

I remembered being intimidated as there was a long ass queue. About 2000 kids auditioned for the show. I had butterflies in my tummy, constantly told myself that I did not stand a chance. Considering my previous lacklustre debut, it should not come as a surprise.

Ezreal knows the show in question as they continue to air re-reruns of it every year. Considering Aogiri’s success and legacy, that does not come as a surprise. Still, hearing him say that is quite funny and Ezreal then remembered those talent shows he was chaperoned to as a kid. He also felt nervous before every single performance so he could relate though Sanji’s case is more large-scale. We are talking live television here.

Either way, I was nervous and got in line and anxiously waited my turn. I did not register my name as Sanji Vinsmoke or Sanji Bernard which had been my legal name since my parents’ divorce. No. I simply wrote Sanji Griffins, Griffins being a reference to Zeff’s rockstar days. Yup. The old man used to be an ace rocker. Still is. Griffins was his stage name.

“So he did not use the names of his parents.” Pretty understandable, given his history. Last thing he would want is for his father to come harass him on set.

Whilst I was waiting in line, I saw a tall brunette guy in front of me wearing a simply blue jumper and a pair of jeans. That guy was my future bandmate Eren Jaeger. Eren was like 2 spots ahead of him. 

I did not think too much about it until the auditions began. They split everyone into groups and we were give dance choreography to learn quickly and we all had to do it on the spot. Imagine having to learn a dance routine within like an hour or 30 minutes and you then had to re-produce that exact dance move on the spot.

Eren and I were placed in the same group. I took the time to quietly observe him and man he was amazing. Those of you that dare to talk down on Eren, let me use this opportunity to give him his flowers.

That boy is a natural talent and has always been. Watching him dance the way he did that day inspired me to be the best that I could be. I was already taking dance classes since I was 3 so dancing came natural to me.

One easily forgets that Eren and Sanji started off on this show. It is great to see him acknowledge his bandmates here.

When it was my turn, I took in a deep breath. Never had I been this nervous in my life. Yet, I somehow managed to open my mouth and began to sing Purple Rain by Prince. Everyone’s jaws dropped once I began to sing. I was soon told that I had made the cut. I remember screaming with joy at this and hugging my family.

Eren came over to me and congratulated me thus beginning our friendship that still endures till this day.

“Great song choice and aww Eren is so sweet.”

The show’s concept was to create a super group out of all of us. Now none of us knew the amount of members that would make it into the group which alone gave all of us enough motivation to want to succeed.

We were trained every single week, day in day out for several hours non-stop. We were taught about singing, dancing, you name it. Every skill that was necessary to be a successful popstar was learned. Basically some sort of training bootcamp, similar to what k-pop idols do.

“Similar to my experience.” It is getting hilarious now just how similar he and Sanji are at this point.

As time went on, word soon gets out about my parents. That naturally got me some attention. The downside? I was looked down upon as a nepo baby who is untalented and only got in because of my looks, a typical notion that continues to follow me all the days of my life.

There are some things  that you cannot control and other people’s opinions of you is one of such things. Unfortunately, the criticism will worsen overtime as we progress with this book.

As the show progressed, I got quite a massive fanbase. I guess all that press did the trick. My performance skills began to manifest here much to the delight of everyone. My Sexy-Dol image showed up in here as I began to do some of erotic hip thrusts and crotch grabs during this time. My song choices were erotic as well.

 That caused a lot of controversy because I was still a minor then.Regardless everyone agreed that I was the best contestant overall. Now special note here kids: Do not let all that early praise get to your head. Why? You will understand why later in this chapter. Also a little controversy here and there does not hurt. So go for it. More on that part later.

“So this was where it all started huh?” He falls over laughing. No wonder his parents reacted the way they did. Sanji was good at what he did. “Might as well start taking notes now.” A lot of young boys wanted to be like Sanji because of his natural swag. Like the whole “I don’t give a fuck” attitude had a lot of appeal to it. Plus he had natural charisma.

Lelouch joined the show halfway, obviously as a ploy by the producers to shake things up. The poor guy was so lost and I do not blame him because why shoehorn a kid like that? He had so much catching up to do that it shocked the rest of us when he did not get eliminated earlier on.

Now don’t get me wrong. Lelouch is talented but at the same time, they put the guy through so much stress. Like the dude got bullied by some of the others backstage. Got so bad that Eren and I came to his defence on more than one occasion.

Ouch. Poor Lelouch. Now he understands why Lelouch often hid in the background. It took him a while to heal from that trauma.

Eventually the day came for the news we were all anticipating, the final lineup. There were ten of us left. The others that got eliminated either created groups of their own or went solo.

Since I was the top contestant with the highest grades, everyone expected me to be in the final group. Unfortunately, that is not often how life works. You guessed right. I got cut. And not just me. Light, Eren and Natsu hit the chopping block as well.

I remember how devastated we all felt that day. All four of us went to my crib, dazed and confused. It was at that moment that mother suggested that the four of us create a band of our own and go head to head with the winning team.

Ezreal remembered watching that scene. The producers fucked up. Clearly there was some form of cheating involved because Sanji had the highest marks and points of all contestants. Heck, some even thought he would go solo instead. Instead, it was those other kids that they gave it to.

Reading the part about the band made him pause. Wait….that’s it!! He grabs his phone and quickly dials up Sett’s number. 

“Yo Ez. Wassup?”

“I’m good. Remember when you asked me what my Plan B was?”

“Yeah. So what’s your plan?”

“Well……”

[firekitten830]

thinking about gio .... tell us more about him he's literally silly + i like him so much

YOUVE ACTUVATED . MY AUTISM

Makes a bulleted list

-full name Giovanni Morningstar, both of them chosen rather than given. Ooc I chose Giovanni because he is actually vaguely based on my pc from a different ttrpg, and that characters middle name is Giovanni. And Morningstar is a reference to The Devil. like from the bible dksgsjhd

-his divine blood specifically comes from Sharess, goddess of hedonism and indulgence that vanished when dnd 5e came out during the second sundering . So it is no surprise he is motivated almost entirely by hedonism

-he does not know this.

-he’s definitely not her only descendant but he’s her only descendant that inherited any of her magic

-he was not always a tiefling

-he didn’t always have access to his divine magic

-the previous two points were sparked by the same event

-he was born in waterdeep! Not baldurian but gets around enough to know some things

-wanted magic desperately but had absolutely 0 talent for it before his divine magic awakened so he learned the next best thing: stealing shit. Man has been conning and pickpocketing and just generally getting up to thievery and tomfoolery since he was like. 8 (charlatan background)

-folk hero background could fit him pretty well too! Before he got Tadpoled he sorta wandered from place to place helping common folks and robbing rich people blind. Sort of a Robin Hood type guy but he did also keep a good bit of money lol

-he’s a trans man :] no surgeries and he doesn’t want them, though he does take wizard testosterone or whatever it would be in dnd. Probably a potion or something

-queer and poly!! I imagine he has a couple lovers across the sword coast, some he’s going steady with and others he’s sort of off and on with. He’s so lucky he lives in a world where teleportation exists and is not that hard all things considered im so jealous fr (I’ve also decided that his dream guardian looks suspiciously like one of his boyfriends). Worm nerfing his magic has unfortunately made keeping in touch a bit harder but he’s been managing

-his blood is a pretty potent magical power source and several people have tried to abduct him to use him as a conduit for spells or rituals because of this. I imagine after That Scene™️ with Astarion he was like “oh shit I should’ve warned him about that. Oh well he seems fine” . In the moment he was too focused on there being a hot vampire straddling him

-his tattoos are tied to his magic and glow when he casts spells. You can tell which way he’s about to fucking get you because he’s conveniently color-coded

-may or may not be on the brink of turning into a mind flayer but I’m sure that’s like. Fine.

WAIT I just remember I made a dnd character sheet for him before I ever got bg3 and I wrote a whole background thing as well as a value/ flaw for him . I’ll put those under a read more tho this is already kinda long

this part is written ooc!!

“Sharp, charismatic, and hedonistic to a fault. He has a silver tongue and a knack for deception, able to lie his way into and out of nearly any situation. He’s been driven out of many towns for his infernal heritage, alongside the myriad cons and schemes he often pulls on the wealthy, though he’s welcomed into just as many as a minor celebrity, and in some cases, a hero. This suits him just fine, though; he’s always been one to dance from place to place anyway. He enjoys finery of all kinds, and is happy to trade fine food, drink, clothing and accessories for coin… though he much prefers to offer favors as payment. He does have many talents after all; a quick-fingered thief, an excellent negotiator, a ruthless conman, a somewhat formidable sorcerer, a gifted storyteller, and if it suits your fancy, an escort (though he does charge extra for events)… as well as some other things, of course~”

“It is fairly difficult to draw his ire;he’s more than willing to forgive and forget most wrongs against him. But it would be wise not to test his limits too much; his normally capricious manner becomes cold and relentless when he feels punishment is owed. People who hurt those he cares about often walk away with gruesome scars… if they walk away at all.”

And then I have a ummm ideals and flaw section written in character cause these are on his character sheet

Ideals: “The safety and happiness of those close to me matters far more than any laws, or the ‘greater good’”

Flaws: “I’ve been called self-serving on many occasions, and I’m always weak to a bit of liquor and a pretty face”

I am sure I will think of more things to say about him I inevitably always do but I’m a little sleepy so I’m ending this post now!!

[furious-mango]

Uh, um… well… Alice Human Sacrifice [for science]

note: I dont know how the F this machine works, it's just a piece of questionable art

Imagine Myron as The White Rabbit. Yep, with big rabbit ears sticking out from under his classy cylinder. Beautiful. Love him so much. But lets get back to that damned song! (source of my childhood nightmares)

from here you'll see a combination of ыумукфд several english lyrics and direct translation from japanese. also i added some features from russian version of this song because:

I can

It's just good and carries different meanings and some kind of куаукутсуы references/ easter eggs

also i just realised that russian version is way more dark and creepy…

okay. after total decomposition it isn't a song anymore. just peaces of lyrics with my plot notes. sounds like bullshit but okay

Let's go!~

The First Alice went to the Land of Wonders She stood bravely before all dangers And left a bright red path [yeah, now the Devil's Acre is The Wonderland] This girl had some sort of destructive peculiarity (something that badly hurts people around her). Defending herself she killed a lot (accidentally at first) even if it wasn’t necessary.

Then Alice strayed too far Lost within the woods Giving in to all her sins Locking her away for good

Finally she ended up meeting Myron. He saw her power and thought “why don’t we try to use this energy as a battery for Panloopticon?”

Still her life remains a mystery 'till this very day If it weren't for the bloody trail, everything would be peacefulAs if she had never existed

Her red bloody path ends at the doors of iron cabin in the basement of Bentham’s House. [Actually, I think that didn’t worked so… we continue]

Second Alice was a tame And tender gentle man Singing songs to all the folks Who lived in Wonderland Whenever he would sing People gathered round

A talented singer became the second Alice. Enchanting people with his voice he could control them.

But his story had a sad ending: He was robbed of everything by a bullet. He blooms a single bright flower and withers away, loved by everyone.

Aand he was kidnapped. Of course, the bullet was with Dust, so very soon he has taken his place in the wax figures collection of the Bentham’s Museum.

It left a flower blooming sadly And those who loved him soon began to die go insane.

[That’s cruel but I think his peculiarity was evoking obsessive love with voice]

The third girl was fragile and innocent And no one believed that her words were a deceit

She sees future in her dreams and it scares her so she lies about them to avoid frightening people.

Lost within a crazy dream So afraid of death the girl Was mindless and warped

Nightmares about death and distortion haunt her (perhaps she foresaw emergence of hollowgasts or… who knows…). She’s the one who agreed to fell asleep using Dust, but never knew how long would that dreamless dream be…

Scarlet paths through the woods. Under a bush of blue roses the two will have tea. And afterward there'll be a ball at the palace. The Ace of Hearts is our ticket.

Here the plan seems to be clearer. Myron invited them personally.

Fourth Alice were a twins Wandering across the world They passed through many doors

[wait… is this a real Panloopticon reference???] Curious of this new place They traveled and explored The stubborn older sister The clever younger brother

Peculiarity of this twins is their bond. Actually they aren’t siblings. Thet are both one creature (like reflection in the mirror)

Were close to see the nature Of the true Alice at hand

They saw something they weren't supposed to see. And so…

Those poor children will never wake up from their sleep, Wonderland is waiting for the fifth Alice…

that last line scared me so much when I was a kid...

its 2am and i totally forgot what was the point of this song analysis. let's just think about that like it's AU where Myron has rabbit ears 'cause its so cute

[aristocratic-otter]

I'm back from my trip back east and getting in the saddle again! Thank you to the lovely and talented group of folks who tagged me all week: @nausikaaa, @blackberrysummerblog, @artsyunderstudy, @prettygoododds, @whatevertheweather, @palimpsessed, @hushed-chorus, @facewithoutheart, @larkral, @aroace-genderfluid-sheep, @nightimedreamersghost. I've greatly enjoyed belatedly reading your words today!

From: Saving Simon Snow

Where was this hunger, this need, hiding, all those years I lived side-by-side with him? Where was the desire to wrap my skin around both of us, imbed him in my flesh and bones? How could I have been so blind to what he is to me? Baz didn’t help, I suppose, with the way he’s always hated me. But even that seems unreal now. Does he hate me?

From: an Age of Sail AU

The wind that whips and stings my face makes the barrelman’s cry of “Storm rising off the for’ard bow!” unnecessary. I can see the clouds rapidly boiling up in the east. A storm. A bad one. 

As if our lives depended on it (because they do, they definitely do), we all jump into action. Davy hurries off to douse the fires in the galley (it’s a bear to relight them, but open flame is deadly in hurricane conditions) and I run to help lower and tie down the sails.

From Snow Fox

We met clandestinely as often as Simon could get away, and while we were together, we spoke of our families and friends, and odd happenings in the world, but not about the war. Never about the war. 

But then Charleston was captured by the British. 

Tory families like mine were well-treated, but anyone with a documented history of fighting against the crown was imprisoned under the threat of hanging. Many of the common soldiers were eventually let go, under the reasoning that they were just following orders. But the officers were kept and sentenced to death. 

That’s when Simon Snow Salisbury became the Snow Fox. 

From: Raising Dragons

Is it wrong to find Simon even sexier when he’s struggling?

Maybe it was wrong to assign Ebb and Nat to Simon for swimming lessons…but Simon’s boundless energy is much better suited to keeping those two out of trouble. Not that I’m bad at it. But I know Simon is insecure about his parenting skills, so I like to ask him to do things that he’ll be competent at. 

That may have backfired today. But it’s hilarious, so I’m not too bothered. 

From a mystery gift (not a mystery for much longer!):

“Human females like seeing a woman’s underclothing on the outside, do they not?” Niamh asks. She’s staring at me. Her eyes are dark and dilated, and her skin glistens with sweat. All of her skin. Of which I can see far too much. 

“I would not know, [redacted]. I am not interested in seeing human women without their clothing."

From Westward Son

For the first time since the Snake River, I see the ghost of a smile on Simon’s face. “What if,” he says softly, “I don’t want alone time? What if I want you–to be with you, I mean?”

I grin broadly. “That, Simon, can be easily arranged.” Then, finally sensing that now might be the right time for it, I spread my arms wide, offering myself to him. 

His eyes widen, and the ghost of a smile becomes corporeal, and then he’s in my arms, letting a last few tears wet my shirt. “I thought I might never see you again,” he admits wetly. 

“I’m grateful you were wrong,” I whisper back, my voice husky with emotion.

From my COBB which has a name and no I'm not telling you 😉

"Is there something you’d like to tell me, Mr. Snow?” She gives me a pointed look, and I wilt under it. 

“You may as well tell her, Simon,” Penny says. “It’s not like things could get any worse.”

I turn to glare at her. I can think of plenty of ways things could get worse. Miss Possibelf could tell me that these are definitely [redacted], and that would mean…Baz and I…it would mean…too much.

From To Heal a Broken Heart

 ‘Basilton, you’ve left me no choice. You are too deeply involved in Mr. Snow’s life to be unbiased in his care. I am transferring his patient files over to Dr. Davies. You may no longer prescribe for him or decide treatment. And, you are on probation. Do not step one more foot out of line, Dr. Pitch, or I will have to relieve you of duty.”

(Yes, that's 8 fucking WIPs) (I've also just started a Simon's Birthday Exchange fic, but there's barely even 6 sentences written, so hopefully I'll have something to share next week!)

Tagging (for Wednesday or just a consensual hug): @frjsti, @angelsfalling16, @bazzybelle, @bookish-bogwitch, @bloodiedpixie, @carryonsimoncarryonbaz, @dragoneggos, @erzbethluna, @excalisbury, @fight-surrender, @fatalfangirl, @giishu, @ionlydrinkhotwater, @ileadacharmedlife, @ivelovedhimthroughworse, @j-nipper-95, @jasonfunderberkerthefrogexists, @krisrix, @letraspal, @messofthejess, @moments-au-crayon22, @moodandmist, @mostlymaudlin, @onepintobean, @chen-chen-chen-again-chen, @prettylightsbigcity, @raenestee, @cutestkilla, @thehoneyedhufflepuff, @theearlgreymage, @twinkle-twinkle-up-above, @tea-brigade, @technetiumai, @upuntil6am, @whogaveyoupermission, @yu-miou, @yellobb-old, @yeonjunenby, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe

[ratcatcher0325]

Hello! I have an ask for the incredibly talented Penn!

I’ve been a big fan of your work for a while now, and I was wondering what sort of creative process you typically go through when creating your music! What inspires you? Is there a specific place you like to go to to get those creative juices flowing? Are there any certain folks that help you along?

Have a lovely day, little star!

Oh hey! It's @aceouttatime! What's up dude? How are ya?

Incredibly talented? Little star? What did I do to deserve all these kind words? You're making me blush! Oh, and thanks for being a fan, it means the world... truly!

My creative process? It's a secret! No, I'm kidding, uh, I really like to think of the stuff I make as just... reflections of me and my dear friends? You know? Things I wanna do, or things I've been through, stories of my experiences that maybe other people can relate to. I'll be honest, I'm inspired by so many things, but I guess the main thing would be my sort of family of friends that I've been lucky enough to make. They did so much to encourage me in the beginning, even when I didn't think I was ready, they still believed I could make it and that really does something to a person's psyche, you know? To lift them up and make them feel, well, big in the world. Ha. I mean, not that I'm... well, you get what I mean.

I'm going off on a tangent, here, sorry. Is there a specific place I like to go? Uh, yeah, actually, we've got this porch outside our house, where I can sit on the rail, in the shade of the trees and watch the squirrels and birds flit by and listen to the drone of cicadas in the late afternoon and there's just something about the thrum of life all around me that puts me in the right, quiet mindset. You have to understand, until very recently, quiet tranquility was not exactly something I was all that familiar with.

And, well, I couldn't round off this answer without addressing the wonderful people who I couldn't do any of this without. I may be writing solo now, but I never release a recording without running it through Travis and Ev first. They both have such great suggestions and feedback and I value their opinions so so much. Not only that, but I still get together with the whole gang to jam and record nonsense every now and again. Who knows, maybe we'll release some of that stuff? Only time will tell.

But basically, yeah, I just sort of dick around on the guitar like all day and then sometimes something cool comes out of it. I don't know. I never set out to, like, be the best musician... I just... wanted to make the most of what I've got, while I'm here, and to share it with the people I love the most. It still blows my mind that I get to say I do that for a living.

Hope YOU have a lovely day, dear friend!

Love Ya!

Penn

[olivegardenfan69]

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Americans, I have a tremendous announcement to make today. I have just experienced something so incredible, so life-changing, that it has completely altered my perspective on everything. Truly, it’s going to be huge.

You see, my very talented doctors, they’re the best doctors, believe me, they gave me something called psilocybin mushrooms. Some people call them “magic mushrooms,” but I just call them fantastic. I had the most amazing trip, folks, and I mean that literally.

I was up there, flying among the clouds, and I saw the world in a whole new light. I realized that we’re all connected, every single one of us, and that we should be working together in harmony, not fighting each other.

And then, something incredible happened. I met this beautiful queen bee, and she told me that I could be a part of her hive, her family. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. So, my fellow Americans, I’ve decided that I’m going to transform into a bee and live in a hive, being one with nature and spreading love and pollen all around.

You might think I’m joking, but I’m completely serious. Watch and see for yourselves.

[Trump transforms into a bee in front of a stunned audience]

[News report]

Anchor: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We have a breaking news story for you tonight. In an unprecedented and utterly shocking turn of events, President Donald Trump has reportedly turned into a bee.

Reporter: That’s right, Bill. Just moments ago, during a speech in which he described his experience with psilocybin mushrooms, President Trump suddenly transformed into a bee before a stunned audience. It’s still unclear how this happened or what the implications of this transformation will be. However, one thing is certain: the world has never seen anything quite like this before.

Anchor: Absolutely, Susan. We have experts standing by to discuss the potential ramifications of this extraordinary event on both the political landscape and the environment. Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story as we try to answer the question on everyone’s minds: What happens now that the President of the United States has become a bee?

Anchor: To help us understand the implications of this unprecedented event, we have with us Dr. Michael Pollan, an expert in mycology and entomology, as well as political analyst, Karen Williams. Thank you both for being here.

Dr. Pollan, let’s start with you. What do you make of President Trump’s transformation into a bee after consuming psilocybin mushrooms?

Dr. Pollan: Well, Bill, this is certainly an extraordinary event. While many anecdotal reports suggest that psilocybin mushrooms can lead to profound personal insights and even mystical experiences, there has never been a documented case of someone physically transforming into another species. It’s possible that we’re dealing with an entirely new and unprecedented phenomenon here.

Anchor: Fascinating. And what about the environmental implications? President Trump mentioned his intention to live in a hive and spread love and pollen. What could this mean for our ecosystem?

Dr. Pollan: Bees play a crucial role in pollination, which is essential for the growth of many of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts that make up our food supply. If President Trump were to indeed function as a bee, he could potentially make a positive impact on our environment. However, it’s difficult to say how his presence in a hive might affect the social dynamics and overall health of the bee colony.

Anchor: Thank you, Dr. Pollan. Now, Karen, let’s discuss the political ramifications. How might President Trump’s transformation impact the current political landscape?

Karen Williams: This is truly uncharted territory, Bill. Constitutionally, it’s unclear how this situation should be handled. While the 25th Amendment allows for the temporary transfer of power if the President is unable to discharge his duties, it’s unclear if “transforming into a bee” would fall under that category. Additionally, we don’t know if President Trump, now as a bee, would retain the cognitive abilities necessary to carry out his duties. It’s likely that we’ll see intense debates and potential legal battles as lawmakers and the courts grapple with this unprecedented situation.

Anchor: Thank you, Karen, and Dr. Pollan, for your insights. As the world tries to come to terms with this extraordinary event, one thing is clear: our understanding of both science and politics has been forever changed. Stay tuned for more updates on this groundbreaking story.