#squares go psychedelic

[oldshowbiz]

Gilligan’s Island (1965)

[papafuckingemeritus]

NOT MINE, but and absolute incredible theory on Ghost in the Trees found on Ghostbc subreddit that is too good not to share. Credit to VisAeternitatus on Reddit.

“Buckle up. You'll either find this interesting, or tell me I'm insane.

“The "Ghost in the Trees" VHS tape sitting atop the stack of other videos in the movie caught my attention because it simply doesn't fit and doesn't have anything to do with anything that we know of. Kinda like the cardinal sitting on top of the gravestone in the Square Hammer video. At the time, so random- yet it was a hint. We see this VHS tape twice during the movie, and it's sitting on top of an Infestissumam era tour video ‘Haze over North America Tour 2013’

“I googled "Ghost in the Trees" and came across this psychedelic garage art-rock album by a band called Thee Oh Sees. There's a song of the same name on their album, "The Masters Bedroom is Worth Spending a Night In". Other than carnal delights, why might one spend a night in the Master's bedroom? Usually something to do with conceiving the antichrist, right?

“The album cover and subject matter seemed Ghost-related enough for me to continue going down the rabbit hole, so I listened to the entire album. I have no doubt in my mind that TF is familiar with and has listened to this, I get a lot of raw vibes from it that one might perceive in all three Nihil-era songs.

“So why is this here, and what does it have to do with anything? Good question, and I honestly don't know but I just thought I'd throw out some possible breadcrumb trails. This is all some pretty loosely related stuff, but when considered all together who knows?

“1. I immediately noticed a similarity that the devil on Thee Oh Sees album has to the devil in the center panel of the red tour backdrop that started going up during Square Hammer (third photo).

“2. Proximity to the Infest era tour video along with some Papa II-related stuff in the movie also had me thinking "antichrist stuff". No, not that Copia is the antichrist. Rather, that his twin might be.

“Why? Well, during sister's life flashback scene, right before the twin birth is shown, there are a series of hidden images. We see an eclipse, a still shot from the Year Zero video of a hand reaching up towards a church window, a b&w still from the Dance Macabre video where the devil arrives, and two separate shots of Infest era ghouls. (These images go by so fast that they are practically subliminal!)

“So why are we seeing clips from a Papa II era song, and shots of his ghouls? Why do we see a cut to his face on the stained glass stage backdrop during the movie when Imperator is talking about how everything is "cyclical"? We even see Infestissumam in the background of the VEEPS bonus video.

“So I've seen different theories. Papa II is returning! Copia is the antichrist! Etc, etc.

“I think showing all the Papa II stuff could have something to do with the antichrist, not that Papa II is coming back. Infestissumam was about the antichrist's time on earth. Not to mention that some religious people believe that an eclipse supposedly occurs at the birth of the antichrist (and we are shown an eclipse right at the birth scene!)

“Also, we've seen a lot of antichrist type of imagery related to Copia, he's got the 666 tattoo, etc. If he's a copy (Copia), then his twin could be the antichrist.

“3. Back to the red devil background that appears during Square Hammer. There's a winged pope figure shown above the devil. I thought it was Copia, to be honest. But he's wearing a beehive shaped mitre, and the same shaped mitre appears above him, larger and wrapped in flames. This is actually a Papal Tiara, not a regular mitre. It used to be worn when a new Pope was "crowned". Why would a demon winged Copia be wearing this on a backdrop at the end of the tour? He was already "crowned" in Mexico City. And who appears at the Ministry doors at the very end?! Someone who is about to become the next Papa?

“4. I also wonder, who raised Copia's twin? And how could Copia's twin be the antichrist? Do they have two different Fathers, or was it during some ritual?! Does it have something to do with Papa II? Maybe the twin grew up influenced by him in some way?

“5. I also wonder if "Ghost in the Trees" is a musical stylistic hint of sorts, in relation to the Papa II era. This album is psychedelic post punk garage rock. It's an interesting listen and is all over the place stylistically. "Psychedelic" is frequently used to describe aspects of Infestissumam, too, as is garage rock and surf rock, even.

“I recall an interview where TF said that Phantomime was where he was leaning to take the sound for the future album. Well, there's two specific covers on Phantomime that have similar flavor to Thee Oh Sees- "See No Evil" by Television (often described as post punk/art rock/garage rock) and "Hanging Around" by the Stranglers- which has VERY psychedelic/garage rock vibes.

“So do what you will with that, but I'm wondering if the next album is going to have that element (not in the way the Nihil-era songs do, though!).

“Thank you for reading this mess and if you have any better ideas, please do share. I just wanted to get this off my chest.”

Tobias never ceases to amaze me, and I have no doubt there is something to “Ghost In The Trees.”

[malachiteclouds]

🌟natal astrology observations part 1 🌟

✫ so many gemini moons I've known have a terrible habit of lying completely unprovoked, especially if their mercury is also in an air sign. however, I think it just comes from a place of playfulness and excitement rather than deeper deception or manipulation.

✫ people w chiron conjunct/square/opposite jupiter are unbelievably dogmatic if they don't make a conscious effort not to be. they have this air about them that screams "you will never fully understand a concept unless I am the one to specifically explain it to you".

✫ (tw: dv) every person w chiron conjunct mars that I've met grew up in a HIGH crime neighborhood or had a lot of DV in the home. especially if it is in the 3rd, 4th, or 7th house.

✫ the 12th house represents your experience in the womb. ex: jupiter in 12H probably had a very lovely time in the womb, mom probably ate all the right things, sang to you, and lots of love and warmth. mercury in 12H might've had a mom who was overthinking or maybe very stressed during pregnancy (if you are more interested in this idea, read The Development of the Personality vol 1. by Howard Sasportas).

✫ men with lilith conjunct/square neptune tend to have SUCH a skewed image of women/femininity. they tend to have crazy "post-nut clarity", they'll see women as completely flawless until they get off then they hate them with their whole hearts.

✫ you will 100% know if a person w pluto conjunct venus is in love with you or not. they will go to the ends of the earth to prove their unconditional love. for them, love has to cost something for it to count- there needs to be some type of sacrifice.

✫ sun/ascendant conjunct pluto are polarizing as all hell. you either love them or you hate them, and honestly, that is determined by where the overlay is for your chart- people project on them a lot.

✫ saturn in the 8th or 12th house are the types of people to spend their whole time inebriated/under the influence trying to convince other people they aren't faded. there's this weird need to prove that they have everything under control and can handle their shit. IMO, psychedelics would be pretty rough for them (or at least extremely transformative).

✫ venus opposite saturn feels immense dissatisfaction with indulgence if it has not been worked for. the type to play hooky and regret it the moment they call out.

✫ sagittarius moons are almost always louder about stuff they have no clue about than their area of expertise. always assumes you want their unsolicited advice and get upset when you don't 💀

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Text below is transcribed from Ray Lederer's 2012 blogpost about Adam Adamowicz after Adam had passed away.

Both were artists on Skyrim and shared an office together. They were very very close.

---

[Ray Lederer (L) and Adam Adamowicz (R)]

-Tuesday, February 14, 2012

I first met Adam when I started working at a tiny game development studio in Boulder, Colorado back in 1998 called Devil’s Thumb Entertainment. I walked into the studio on my first day of work and I’m pretty sure The Cramps were playing full blast from his general direction. There he was, sun baked and surrounded with what at the time I assumed were rare Jaimie Hewlett sketches pasted up around him, loads of cds and flyers for rockabilly rollerderby raver chicks with squids on their heads. ‘Welcome to the monster factory!’ he said and I thought instantly ‘Oh hell yeah! I came to the right place!’ It didn’t take long to figure out that what I thought were Jaimie Hewlett drawings were actually his and to be quite honest were 10 times more appealing and hilarious. (No offense Jaimie!)

When I finally got the chance to see his apartment in Denver I realized I was stepping into the mind of a creative genius. His entire apartment from floor to ceiling, front to back was covered with his paintings, massive cardboard sculptural cat like gargoyles, christmas lights, intricate costumes (designed with little more than a leather jacket, cheap sombrero, toys from a thrift shop, black and silver spray paint and hot glue) flyers for previous rent parties from his old warehouse, Tank Girl comics, Low Rider and American Artist magazines, Thomas Pynchon novels and a constant stream of music. Every square inch was interesting and VITAL and ALIVE. This was an intellect far beyond anyone else I’d ever met and there was not a single hint of pretentiousness to him. His entire life was a beautifully structured and disciplined chaos. Even then I began to see that not only was I in the presence of greatness, I was in the presence of one of the more important illustrators of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He just didn’t know it yet and neither did anyone else. Quite frankly he wouldn’t give a shit if someone gave him that label. He simply wanted to come up with more ideas and get better at drawing. Period.

Since then we got into many beer soaked adventures that sometimes included late night bike rides through the city streets of Denver with a boom-box strapped to the back blasting Big Audio Dynamite with sparklers hanging off the handlebars(and some stiches on the scalp of yours truly). Dangerously drunken skateboarding with cap guns, ditching psychedelic parties to go laugh our asses off and throw giant rocks in a frozen river, concerts, weekend long patio surfing tours in the Colorado summers, trips to the reservoir to float around wearing finely crafted and thrilling 12pack headgear, lunchtime bike rides up to our favorite outdoor patio Rhumba in Boulder for $2 Red Stripes and then back to work again, and many hours working close to him and learning as much as I could about being an artist and a better human being. He once said to me “I may not be Mozart, but at least I can try to be the Pixies.” He just wanted to entertain people in any way he could.

In his last few days we spent together in the hospital we sat on his hospital bed listening to music for hours, talking, and drawing in our sketchbooks. Our conversations were tinted with what was happening for him in the moment certainly, but mostly we talked about friends, art, music, and life. We spoke without much nostalgia or finality, just very real and present and forward looking despite the circumstances. He kept drawing until he couldn't possibly draw anymore, squeezing every last ounce he could out of life, just as he always had.

Watch papa go to work.

I love you Adam. You continue to be my friend, mentor, and greatest inspiration

---

Original post can be found here:

[effemimaniac]

Kids are going crazy for the new research psychedelic "Super Acid" that lets you see some really cool colours and shapes and makes music sound 20% better, or has a slim chance to seal your third eye shut and irrevocably sever your connection to divinity. the new tiktok trend of "Real Live Amongus" has groups of troubled youths ritually consuming this drug in abandoned industrial buildings then interrogating one other in an attempt to ascertain which of their friends are seeing pleasant and innocuous patterns of circles and squares floating around their peripheral vision and which are now forsaken by god and lack any capacity for empathy or love. As of writing, 12 people have died in connection to the trend and an unknown number have endured unrelenting torment from dark forces, now unprotected by any spiritual ward. When interviewed, a participant in the trend stated "it's not as fun as the original, but it's something to do"

[henrysglock]

High Existence and ZeroSpace: The First Shadow and NINA May Be Massive, Immersive Drug Trips

The blurb in last Friday's video from TFS sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. I found a lot of sites quoting The Alchemist about the universe conspiring to give you what you truly want (which is similar and it's probably what I was thinking of when this blurb registered as familiar), but I couldn't find this exact quote:

Well...not at first, anyway. I decided to stick every word I could make out here ^ into my search bar...and I found where the blurb comes from:

This blog post is quite literally the only source I could find for it, and the whole damn thing is directly lifted.

Right off the bat, the site fucking jump-scared me:

And it doesn't end there. Let's dive in, because this rabbit hole is a trip unto itself...no MDMA​ ​required.

1. The Fucking Website...#1 (HighExistence.com)

High Existence is a sort of drug-induced-spiritual-trip centered self-help site.

It's got blog posts and podcasts and all that jazz. Here are some of the highlights:

Wow! That was...a lot. A lot of words from the word show, too:

Wholeness, heroes, ancient aliens, prisons of politeness, and the fucking Shire, too, I guess. Why not?

(An Aside: I've included the VR in here too because of the sheer similarities between Henry's experience with the Shadow in VR, El's experience in NINA, and The First Shadow in general.)

Like fuck it, why not keep going, these posts date back to at least 2017:

And don't let me start in on that Creel boy and Faust...

[Jason voice] "[Eddie] made a deal with the devil and now he has his powers!" (Also we get it, one of them is neurotic and the other is psychotic. I've been saying this since like...forever)

Of course, all that insanity aside, the Russian base arc has just...an insane amount of ST4 and TFS stuff packed into it in general:

(And this isn't even all of it. I know others [cough] Stav Heroesbyler [cough] have covered it even more...but bro it is THERE)

But most importantly for the NINA arc:

Three things: Dialogue doubling (there's the one I showed, plus a) Robin yelling "Wipeout!" at Steve which has the pipeline -> "Wipeout!" at Rink-O-Mania -> 002-005 bullying El in a very similar manner and b) Steve's "that's amazing" line about the water fountain -> "This is amazing!" not only from Alice irt the Creel house but also from Mike irt Will's painting on their way to save El from NINA. Again, these are just a few of MANY instances), makeup doubling with the bloodshot eyes, and my beloved: set/prop doubling.

I love that beautiful framing on the nearly-identical square clocks. I have so much to say about that clock, but specifically:

The clocks being set 9 minutes apart, which happens to be the exact length of time from the end of Vecna's voiceover in 4.07 to the start of the fight sequence in 4.07 (aka the length of One's frozen-clock monologue).

Not only that, but the clock isn't even right. It says it's 3:55, but it's definitely not 3:55 AM (see: movie theater scene) but it's also not 3:55 PM:

(And why do we have a clock in an elevator anyway? That's the real question. That thang only exists to deliver subtext, baby! It exists to connect the two scenes further!)

Anyway, as you all likely noticed, this site mostly deals in psychedelics, stimulants, and empathogens.

link

Hell, you could even pull One's bit on the ecosystem into it, since he's describing connections between beings that are being disturbed/destroyed by humanity.

Anyway, the site tends to center specifically on DMT and MDMA...so let's talk about those:

MDMA & DMT An aside: Interesting to me that psychosis here can be counteracted with sedatives. Makes me wonder if whatever happened in 1979 could have been halted if they'd just tranq'd One. Hm.

First off: Did I read that right? Piggy-backing? Damn, son. 4.09, The Piggyback, is pictured in that paragraph. So is Brenner's candy bit with the children -> "candy flipping" vs LSD use in Brenner's lab.

Second: Ah, how nice. Intravenous/injectable. Just like how El is constantly being shot up with...something...to enter NINA.

Now, nearly all psychedelics can induce psychosis, but especially so if they're combined with other psychoactive substances and/or if the user has a history of psychosis (either themselves or in their family).

However, MDMA specifically has been posited as a treatment for PTSD and retrograde/traumagenic amnesia:

link Like...wow. Okay, I guess!

tl;dr: One seems to have been tripping fucking balls during the monologue. Literally every fucking version of him. El likely is as well. Funny how that works. Was any of that real? [smash cut to the way blood pours down the walls and the dead children dance around in the VR version of NINA] And either way, Henry in TFS isn't far behind with his hallucinogenic moments.

The connection? Whatever the hell is going on in Hawkins Labs...and symptoms of drug use.

I was not expecting to get this much out of a single rabbit hole. But...that's life with this show, isn't it? And this is only Part 1.

2. The Fucking Website...#2 (Futurism.com)

The guy who made that original post that TFS lifted the blurb from (Jordan Lejuwaan) runs a couple different websites. The most interesting one is Futurism, which is basically an online version of the Weekly Watcher:

It won't let me filter by date, but it seems to have been founded in 2017, stemming from an infographic subreddit. (Now, it says it's a trustworthy news source, and maybe it is, but... Do your own assessment of that. I'm not your mother, yknow?)

Jordan Lejuwaan was also involved in something far more interesting irt Stranger Things...

3. Zero Space

Jordan co-founded an immersive, interactive theater experience called ZeroSpace back in 2018. As we all know, TFS was just in the beginning phase of its creation around this time.

So...This was like a brick to the skull:

"Alice in Wonderland" (don't get me started: rabbit fuckery, DRUGS!!!!!, clocks/being later, Alice Creel, Fringe connections (Through The Looking Glass and What Walter Found There being the episode about the pocket universe where 20 years passed in 5 days...and also wherein we find out about him hiding away an Observer child that he will later time travel with to save the world from the Observer takeover...erasing himself from time/the timeline by doing so...there is SO much) not to mention the "one pill makes you larger/smaller" vs teen El and baby El...it's too much to try and fit in this post), "ALIENS AND LASERS", "stretch the perceived reality of the sense", "art, actors and your own mind converge to prompt MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS" (which was a common complaint about TFS: it leaves people with more questions than answers).

("See you on the other side" being an in-show line from Henry in the lab to Patty in the void, but this image is ripped directly from the same promo video that the High Existence blurb appears in.)

Here's a little taste of what ZeroSpace is like, but I suggest going to the actual page to see it in action:

It's heavily heavily reminiscent of TFS, even just in the content warnings...

Not to mention the actual show content SFX:

However, the goal of TFS isn't to stretch our senses. We're just watching. We are not the volunteer seeing the other side.

For most of the show, that person is Henry (except the first 5 mins, when it's Cptn. Brenner and his crew literally experiencing the other side). Henry is doing the experiencing. He's the one breaking the fourth wall by picking at/breaking the sets, the one running through the audience and leaving out the theater doors (only to end up right back on stage just like El in the Rainbow Room in 4.05).

With each bit of info I find out adjacent to the play, the more convinced I am that this is some secret third boy's experience in a NINA-like simulation.

Overall—

a) TFS most likely isn't wholly real, and it seems very likely that it's the same kind of simulation as NINA.

b) El was probably drugged up with some kind of empathogenic psychedelic going into NINA, likely with the goal of setting her up to form emotional connections quickly and deeply only to rip that deep connection away in order to bolster her abilities.

c) NINA is not, then, wholly based in truth. Parts of NINA (staring at the bullying from 002-005) may have been generated from El's memories of the outside world.

d) With NINA and TFS seeming so similar, I wouldn't be shocked if parts of it are just one massive empathogen trip (staring at how quickly Henry and Patty bond, similarly to how quickly Henry and El bond in NINA).

e) Whoever is in NINA with teen El is also tripping balls, most likely, and may have gone off the rails in that regard. However, that's in a simulation...hard to assign guilt or blame for things done in a fictional/unreal world.

f) Whoever was with baby El in 1979 may have been in a similar situation "moving chess pieces"-style instead. Read: drugged in order to put him in a situation where he would bolster El's latent abilities...and it went wrong (see also: Walter Bishop's orchestrated/fake massacre meant to bolster Olivia's latent abilities.)

g) Richard Brenner having been the head of narcotics makes me question which Brenner we're seeing at any given time: Martin, or Richard?

[he-goes-down]

0. There Was A Time

fic chapters/warnings/disclaimers/ect

:DISCLAIMER:

Mentions of drugs/ sex ect.

English is not my first language

POV changes

x reader

inconsistent updates

time line is not perfect or accurate

Character may also not be accurate

I'll also be posting this on wattpad and maybe ao3

So if you see it wasn't stolen<3

Also i dont know how tumblr works and how to link chapters together(someone send help)

ALSO THIS NOT EDITED IN ANYWAY SO SORRY IF THERE ARE SPELLING MISTAKES

THANK YOU FOR READING MWUAH MWUAH

LEAVE COMMENTS <3

The studio was warm in the coldest night of this Autumn, warm yellowish light and the red carpeted floor made it feel like a cosy log cabin. A full drum set with a few too many ride cymbals and windchimes sat close to the middle of the fat bare bricked wall, with a small metal bucket that had the remains of broken splinter drumsticks. A rack of guitars and two bass holders stood next to the right wall where an old armchair sits, a few different sized amps scattered round the square room. Right in front of the glass that separates the control room from the studio three mic stand in a line with noise cancelling boxes surrounding each of them.

In the control room there is a strong smell of weed and other smokeable herbs, "No! You can't take Runaway Blues off the album!" A man with short shoulder length brown hair and a moustache protested as he puffed on his cigarette as he lied back on the couch, his dark glasses fell back on his face as he tilted his head back. "I agree with Jake. It shows how good we are even when we're shit faced." The man with long curly hair, a gorgeous ethnic nose, stood up – towering over the other 4 people in the sesh – and began to roll another blunt on one of the control panels. The one that started this debated piped in, "Thanks Dan for taking my side." He said sarcastically, his curly mullet was like a solid cloud on his head, and he has a moustache like Jake. "We'll our wonderful manager and producer here," A man that looked like Jesus pointed to a woman that sat next to Jake on the couch. "Was the one that wasn't shit faced, I think that's why it was actually good, Joshua." He finished. "Hey, hey, I'm not saying it's shit because of you, please believe me y/n!" Josh dramatically pleaded to y/n. She was looking up at the ceiling. Pupils dilated. Blunt in hand. "Just, make it shorter." She said confidently, waving her hand a bit. Still not looking at anyone and head craned back. "You have the answer to everything." Danny said his mouth slightly gaped that such a simple solution didn't register in any of their minds. Or he's just on a psychedelic trip and can't spark up a brain cell.

The following week the band had dates in LA since they were still doing there 'Dreams in Gold' Tour. The band was already at the venue setting up, some still sleeping in the bus. Y/n had some business to attend to in their studio in New York before going down to LA. She decided to walk down the infamous Sunset Strip, as a historic music place like this could not go untrekked when having the chance. Wearing a black turtleneck, dark blue flare jeans with dark brown boots and a satchel bag hanging from her shoulder, a small suitcase's handle in the other hand while the silver case dragged its wheels on the floor. As she caught the sight of the colourful sign of The Rainbow, a voice called to her. "Y/n?" A older man, short blondish hair, leather jacket, sunglasses.

Axl Rose.

And like the trigger of a gun being pulled,

A life was lost.

(or misplaced)

Y/n's POV:

Everything stood still,

I stood still.

Then it all went dark. It was a black lifeless void.

Falling backwards but being physically still.

Time was reversing.

A previous life. My life?

Memories rolling past like an old film.

My head spiralled.

I can't comprehend this. What is happening to me?

My first years of school, late 60's early 70's. That's not right. It was the early 2000's.

Falling in love with music, Queen, Elton John.

Highschool was trip. My parents being stricter than anyone else's, they didn't believe I could have a job as in the music industry.

Studying music in college then going on the Uni and taking a science course to get my folks off my back.

One of my most successful record deals was Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi.

Before they even started writing lyrics for their songs, I knew it off by heart and helped them gain success with it and recording went like dream.

Now I was searching the East Coast for a new band to sign.

March 1985, The City of Angels.

A flash of light, and my eyes flickered open.

It a cold night, dark but the city light was somewhat comforting.

It was the Sunset Strip, but something was...

Off.

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

OMG SORRY IF IT'S SHIT

THIS WAS LIKE THE INTRODUCTION, FIRST PART IS COMING OUT SOON 

IM SO EXCITED

(Band at the beginning is greta van fleet )

[tobiasdrake]

So, I guess we'll try harder to help people out this time around. And maybe figure out what else we can do different.

Let's start with Mira. Hey Mira! Did you know someone super wants to meet you?

It's the... the woman. The one with the hair. You know the hair! Just find a woman with hair and talk to her. And then maybe I won't die ironically.

There we go. Mission complete. What else can we do?

Then why even include it in a book on Craft!?

This book is fucking with me. I'm going to burn it. It's okay to burn things because psychedelic lemon drop will unburn them when I die.

Would this even be considered getting another blessing? We went back in time so technically, I never got a blessing. Unless the Change God exists outside of time.

Mm. That's a possibility.

I'll just make sure to ask for something different than last time. That way, I can say I changed my blessing. That should make us square.

OH

SHIT

Speaking of gods, I was supposed to go see the Favor Tree! I completely spaced.

Please don't call them "forever naps". That gives me an ominous sense of foreboding about my Lemon Do-Over.

Anyway, gotta get to that tree. So you at the sleepover, Isa.

Hello? If someone is out there with hostile intent, I should have you know that I am very fast and my sign is good for poking eyes. I have been known to aggressively and reflexively poke people. You have been warned.

PSYCHEDELIC LEMON DROP IS THAT YOU

Did I eat you?

...

...are we... are we going out now?

Should I start calling you my lemonfriend?

OH GOD YOU ARE MY LEMONFRIEND

I AM NOT READY FOR THIS LEVEL OF COMMITMENT

I'VE NEVER EVEN HELD HANDS WITH A LEMON BEFORE

Though I did eat you. So. I guess I can't claim to be entirely naive.

Oh, and you're stalking me too. Seems awfully clingy, Lemonfriend. We've had one date. If this is how you're going to be then I might need some space.

Oh, cool. I'm half they/them on my parent's side so I know how that goes.

YOU'VE READ MY POCKET NOTES!?

Okay just because I was eating you last night, that doesn't mean it's okay to go through my stuff. I am getting all of the red flags from this conversation.

Oh fuck me, you heard my pun, didn't you?

And I was so glad that got erased from history, too. I really thought I was out of the woods on that one.

That's a good idea, honestly. Convincing them that I can loop through time will be a hard sell but not impossible. But having everyone keep an eye out for information I might want to take back with me could be a good thing.

I imagine that's how I break the loop, right? It's not like I'm on a timer. I don't think. So we just repeat these two days until my crew pulls it off or time freezes forever? That sounds simple enough.

Now I want to eat a pineapple just to test that theory.

Well, I still appreciate the help. You weird lemon drop who may or may not be going out with me now, but who I will be nice to because I fear the consequences of questioning whatever relationship we have at this time.

I feel vulnerable right now.

Okay that's obviously suspicious and-- OH RIGHT IMPORTANT PAPERS

This drawing is sacred and must be picked up on every loop, I will hear no question about it.

...

What was I doing? Oh well. Must not have been important.

[jacqueline-p-rose]

I’ve had a spate of good luck with op shops lately. I found the cutest corduroy blazer that perfectly matches my high-waist baggy corduroy trousers. I found a beautiful psychedelic floral pattern dress that I put back initially because I thought it wouldn’t fit (size 8, oof), but then came back weeks later and it was still there tempting me, so I tried it on and it actually fits!* I found this long black suede jacket for $20 that is very Gender in that way of like, remember in the late 80’s slash early 90’s when women’s clothes were emulate masculine? The shoulder pads, the boxy, square cut of everything, daggy blue jeans and button down business shirts, you know what I mean? But then the new millennium hits and women’s clothes are supposed to show off your curves (and everything else besides), so jackets were fitted in an hourglass shape again, shirts were cropped, and jeans were skinny and low slung. Well this jacket is somewhere in between there, it had half-arsed shoulder pads that I immediately pulled out, and it’s not square but not fitted either. It kind of looks like I’m wearing my boyfriends jacket, but if I had a boyfriend and he wore it, he’d get teased for being a metrosexual. It’s my new favourite thing.

All of that, though, pales in comparison to this: About a month ago I went to the op shop closest to my house, and along with my new favourite jacket, I also bought the first and third book of Hugh Howey’s Silo Saga, Wool and Dust. I have no idea why they would only have the first and third of a series, who is donating just those two and keeping the middle book? Or did they never have the middle book to begin with? They enjoyed the first book enough to want to know how the series ends but not enough to slog through the middle? I have this series as ebooks, so it’s not the end of the world (and honestly that could explain the missing middle, I have series where I own part as ebooks too), but it was just niggling at me. I asked the gorgeous woman working there if they had Shift (the middle book) as well, but she didn’t know and said she would hold it for me if she saw it. Great idea in theory, but I’m not particularly remarkable so it seems unlikely that she would remember. Besides, I got the impression that she was just script-reading without specific intention.

Fast forward to Tuesday just gone, I’m in an unaffiliated op shop over the other side of town with my partner, and I think you can see where this is going. They’re browsing books while I flick through the CDs, and I jokingly asked “Do they have Shift by Hugh Howey?” Could you imagine my surprise when, yeah, they did! And only Shift. Either someone only had the middle book not realizing, or this is the mythical missing book from the same person as before. Which begs the question, what kind of person has all three books of a trilogy to donate, but splits them up like that? One and Three to an op shop on this side of town, and Two to a totally unrelated op shop on the other side of town? I can’t imagine splitting them up like that accidentally, so I can only imagine it’s deliberate, out of pure spite or impish whimsy. Well jokes on you Hypothetical Guy, my op shop lucky streak has given me another win, and foiled your plans of entropic disruption.

My partner also found this adorable lucky cat, which might be the culmination of my good luck run, but I don’t know how partnership weighs into personal karma, so it might be unrelated.

*when I say “fits”, I mean it does up to below my boobs. I can zip it all the way up but it pancakes my C’s like standing on a water balloon. Fortunately, the zip is at the front, and it’s still cute and holds it’s shape with a cami underneath, so I call that a win.

[oldshowbiz]

1967.

The Television Academy of Arts and Sciences Be-In

[victorianbat]

INTRODUCTION

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Hii my name's Eleni ehhehe and this is my sidebloggg. If you're interested, @moonl1ghtmod is my main blog and it's kinda falling off so 😭🙏.

Interests:

Music: I like all kinds of music, especially psychedelic pieces from the 60s and gothic music from the 80s or 90s!!!

Style: Mod, hippie, victorian, goth, rockabilly, vintage americana. I really like the square shaped mod dresses from the sixties as well as babydoll dresses/tops. Recently, I've been trying to find some velvet corsets/tops from the nineties but in my hometown there's literally nothing :( . As far as gothic fashion, I'm more drawn to romantic goth and whimsigoth rather than trad goth, but i like to mix up things.

Hobbies: I LOVE WRITING. Whether that's poetry, essays or short stories, writing is my fav thing! I also like reading and listening to music, watching movies and going to theatre. Generally, I love everything that's associated with art.

My favourite...:

Artists: Lana del Rey, Mick Jagger, Courtney Love

Bands: Pink Floyd, the Doors, Sisters of Mercy, Spiritual Bats, Joy Division, Hole, the Smiths and more!

Movies: A Clockwork Orange, Once upon a time in Hollywood, the Good, the Bad & the Ugly, Fight Club.

[spicysix]

now i don't hate California after all

“They arrived at the beginning of fall, and yet California was sunny, hot, and colorful. Jonathan saw it all gray. He hated the sun, the heat, the dryness. Hated how he was always sweating, bothered about the weather, about the place, about the people. Everyone was so nice, and cheerful, and happy. He hated it. He was miserable. Argyle was nice and cheerful and happy. He was sunny and warm and colorful. Jonathan hated him at first.”

rating: T

warnings/tags: it's a Jargyle fic, friends - there's weed. jonathan's POV, bisexual king johnny-boy byers, black cat VS golden retriever energy. he's just a lil grumpy guy :)

word count: 4k

author's note: HAPPY JARGYLE JURSDAY! and happy pride! 💛🏳️‍🌈 this is the first of a few fics i have planned to write and post this month, all with queer relationships. absolutely random note: I based Lenora Hills off of Barstow-California, based losely on the location shown on Murray's computer and the overview of the town. fic based on a song of the same name by my queen of queens, Carly Rae Jepsen. hope y'all like this, and hope i made justice by my dearly beloved stoners! 💛

↳ ao3

Jonathan hated it at first.

Of course he hated it. How could he not? It was his whole world changed from night to day. Seventeen years of his life packed in a single morning into a few boxes into a truck across the whole country. Away from the few friends he had, away from the girlfriend he loved, away from all of the only things he ever really knew.

Jonathan feared it at first.

Of course he feared it. How could he not? His mother was alone, no husband, no boyfriend, no friends. His sister was alone, no boyfriend, no friends, no father. His brother was alone. He was alone. All they had was each other. What if it wasn’t enough? What if they were alone forever, thousands of miles away, and each others’ companies didn’t suffice?

But he also understood. How could he not? It was safer. A fresh new start, away from the dangers that haunted them, the ones that found them and the ones still lurking. Far away enough, hidden enough that they wouldn’t be found again. His mom would figure it out, Joyce always did. They could adapt, they could find new friends, they could still call and send letters to the old ones. They could go back for spring break, or for summer, or the ones left behind could come visit. It could work.

Doesn’t mean Jonathan liked it. Jonathan hated it, actually.

They arrived at the beginning of fall, and yet California was sunny, hot, and colorful.

Jonathan saw it all gray.

He hated the sun, the heat, the dryness. Hated how he was always sweating, bothered about the weather, about the place, about the people. Everyone was so nice, and cheerful, and happy. He hated it. He was miserable.

Argyle was nice and cheerful and happy. He was sunny and warm and colorful.

Jonathan hated him at first.

Saw that guy, first day of school, wearing a ridiculous shirt with more colors than the human eye can capture. The baggiest shorts Jonathan had ever seen, and they had a different psychedelic print on each leg. Fucking rainbow socks with hideous square-print Vans. He attracted all the attention around and yet, somehow, people didn’t seem to care about him one bit.

He was everywhere, too. Not just at Jonathan’s Math, Science, English and History classes, but at his woodworking elective as well. He shopped at the same grocery store that sold the snacks El loved, at the same farmers’ market Joyce got the best fruits, at the same craft store with Will’s favorite items, he worked at the best pizza place in town. Jonathan couldn’t escape him if he tried.

It took them a while to share their first words. Woodwork elective, Argyle needed someone to help him with a big project he had — it didn’t work, at the end, and he cut the huge wood plank into smaller pieces and made smaller things. For some reason, he saw Jonathan with a scowl on his face, pure disdain of how colorful and cheerful Argyle was, and decided to ask for his help.

Jonathan might’ve hated the guy, but he was raised well and polite. There was no actual reason for him to hate the guy too, so he helped. And hoped to never have to talk to Argyle again after that.

Of course that didn’t go as he hoped.

Argyle, who was once just a dude in the background of every scenario Jonathan walked into, was now purposefully centering himself in front of Jonathan’s lenses (his metaphorical lenses, because his actual cameras were kept in his bedroom. He couldn’t find it in himself the desire to take pictures of Lenora, its dry hot deserts and cheerful colorful people). Argyle talked to him, constantly, sat by Jonathan’s side at every Math, Science, English and History class, chose Jonathan as his woodworking partner from then on. Was Jonathan’s shopping buddy at the grocery, called out to Jonathan at the farmers’ market, gave Jonathan tips on what to buy for Will, delivered the Byers’ pizzas personally every time they ordered.

As they reached the end of the year, the weather cooled down a little — nothing compared to what they had back home in Hawkins, of course. But it was easier for Jonathan. It rained a little too, which helped with the dryness. People went for neutral tones and colors, and the sun didn’t bother his skin as much.

Argyle was still just as colorful, warm and sunny. Jonathan hated him. No one else seemed to notice him.

Will and El still didn’t seemed to have find friends too, which didn’t help with Jonathan’s anxiety and hatred. He was worried all of the time. About himself, about his siblings. His mom was doing fine at least, it’s been a while since Jonathan had to worry about her, thankfully.

“My man, you gotta chill a little,” Argyle said one day as they were leaving their woodwork elective, somehow noticing Jonathan’s tension.

Jonathan didn’t talk a lot, Argyle did most of the talking. He didn’t seem to mind.

“Have you ever tried smoking?” he asked.

“How would nicotine help besides getting me an addiction?” Jonathan countered.

Argyle clicked his tongue, “Not regular smokes, man. Nature’s goodies,”

“The devil’s lettuce?” Jonathan asked, and Argyle cackled loudly. Jonathan had never seen him laugh so hard. It wasn’t even that funny. Jonathan smiled just a little at the sound anyway.

“That’s right, man! Have you?” Jonathan only shook his head. “You wanna try? I bet it’ll do you some good, you look so pent up all the time, man.”

Jonathan didn’t know how Argyle knew that. Not like he had seen Jonathan in any other state if not pent up to know the difference. Jonathan’s small, rare joyful moments always happened at home. When Will was excited about something at school, when El was excited about a letter from Mike, when his mom was excited about a sell. When he was excited about a letter from Nancy. Those have been scarce.

Jonathan shrugged as an answer to Argyle’s offer.

“Well, if you ever feel like it, I can set you up.” Jonathan liked that Argyle didn’t pressured him.

They parted ways at the parking lot. Argyle was always driving the Surfer Boy pizza van. Jonathan’s car was dying a slow agonizing death, and he had been fearing the day the car would stop working.

That day had arrived.

Jonathan tried to ignite the car while waiting for his siblings to show up from wherever they were. But it wasn’t working, the car wasn’t starting and Jonathan hit his head on the steering wheel a few times with all that pent up anger inside him.

“Jonathan, you’re gonna get a hole on your forehead,” Will spoke as he knocked at Jonathan’s window.

“The car won’t start,” Jonathan complained, leaving the vehicle and checking his wristwatch. “Mom might be able to come pick us in between calls, maybe. This piece of shit.” He turned around and kicked the front tire. El giggled behind Will, Jonathan didn’t think it was funny.

“Hey man, I can get you and the younglings back home. I know where you live,” Argyle showed up from somewhere, Jonathan hadn’t noticed he was still in the parking lot.

“You know that sounds creepy, right?” Will asked. “Who the hell are you?”

Jonathan almost laughed, “He’s the pizza delivery guy, and he’s also in my year. Argyle, these are Will and Jane, my younger siblings.”

“You don’t look like a surfer boy,” El commented, noticing Argyle’s Surfer Boy visor. He’d probably head to work after school.

“And I am not one, little friend. Couldn’t hold myself standing up on a board, not even for a miracle. Maybe sitting down, on a pool, not on the ocean with the waves. But then it wouldn’t be surfing, now, would it?” Argyle said, that cheerful happy huge smile of his. Jonathan huffed, El seemed amused by the answer. “Shall we?” he asked, already heading for the pizza van.

“I should get the car towed first. I’ll call from the public phone over there,” Jonathan said and did as he said.

Argyle entertained Will and El as Jonathan called and waited for the towing, and as he talked to the towing guy when he arrived. He asked for the car to be taken to his house instead of the garage, because Jonathan didn’t have the money to pay for a fix. He’d have to save up, or try and do the fixing himself.

 He sat at the front with Argyle in the Surfer Boy’s van, Will and El went in the back and asked Argyle all of the possible questions to ask someone who works at a pizza place. He didn’t seem to mind answering them all. They also asked a lot about his hair, and Argyle told El he’d give her tips to grow her hair long and pretty like his. She looked radiant at the promise.

Jonathan kept it to himself all of the way back, but all of the rambling from his siblings and his colleague didn’t annoy him. They seemed to like Argyle, and that made the dude ease his way a little further into Jonathan’s own heart. That’s how it worked, isn’t it? The way into Jonathan’s heart was always going through his family first.

When Argyle stopped in front of the Byers’ house, Jonathan’s old Ford was already there, and he paid the towing people as Will and El entered the house.

“I can come pick you guys up tomorrow if you want,” Argyle offered when Jonathan went back to the passenger window to thank him for the ride.

“I don’t wanna bother,” he said.

“Nah, man, don’t worry, it’s all good. I’ll be here tomorrow then. See ya, dude,” he said and just took off.

Jonathan stayed there a little while longer, staring at the street where the van had rode by, confusion all over his face. That guy was the weirdest guy he had ever met. But he wasn’t so bad after all.

And then began their new routine. Argyle would always pick them up — most days on the brink of being late — and they would have all their classes together, and Argyle would drop them off after school. He kept easing his way in, and at some point Jonathan started easing his way out of the cave he had dug for himself, and Argyle wasn’t the one talking all of the time anymore. He didn’t seem to mind listening.

Jonathan talked about Nancy, and how she wasn’t sending letters that much anymore. Their plans to go to college together, and how Jonathan wasn’t feeling it as of lately.

Jonathan talked about his dad, and how he was an asshole.

Jonathan talked about his mom, and how she was working all the time, and how he had to be a responsible figure for his siblings.

“They’re twins, are they?” Argyle asked once.

“No, Jane’s my… well, sort of half sister. Her dad was a close family friend, and my mom adopted her when he passed, it’s… a long story.”

Jonathan didn’t talk about the Upside Down.

“They kinda look like twins, though. Wonder twins.” Argyle said, smiling. He didn’t ask. Jonathan was thankful for it.

Jonathan took Argyle’s offer for some weed one day, and after that it was… well, conservatives would call it ‘downhill from there’, but Jonathan finally felt at ease. He liked getting high, liked how his mind wandered away, how his fingers felt a little numb, how the bright colors didn’t bother him for once. How he started seeing some beauty in them.

Argyle’s clothes were still just as colorful, and he was just as warm and sunny. They smoked together, they laughed together, he talked to Jonathan and most important, he listened to him.

The worst of it all?

Jonathan didn’t hate him anymore.

Well, maybe not the worst. Maybe it was for the best.

Nancy and Jonathan broke up through the phone late November.

They didn’t call each other a lot. There were a bunch of reasons. Joyce worked on the phone, so it was busy most of the time. When it was free, either El or Will wanted to talk to Mike, and they could go on for hours. Bills could get expensive. And Nancy preferred the letters anyway. Jonathan thought the letters suited her well.

But they broke up through the phone. Maybe it was for the best. Not to taint the beauty of their past love letters.

Jonathan could hear the frown in her voice, and the tears. She could probably hear it just the same in his voice. He loved her, he did. But long distance was hard. And she wanted to go to Emerson, and Jonathan didn’t. His dream has always been NYU, and that dream might be all the way across the country very far away from him, but he could still dream about it. And Lenora Community wasn’t that bad, and Argyle would be there, and so would Joyce and Will and El. And god knows Jonathan couldn’t leave them, his family. Not even for the girl he loved. Not even for his dreams, much less for hers.

Argyle took him to an old junkyard and they smoked more weed that they ever had and they played ‘golf’, aiming the tiny balls into the old cars’ windows and whoever shattered more glass would win. Jonathan had a feeling Argyle let him win on purpose.

Argyle took him to Surfer Boy’s and baked a pie just for him and paid for it with his employee discount and sat across Jonathan on the table and told him insane stories about the kitchen staff and Jonathan had to hold his laughter or he would choke around a slice of pepperoni.

Argyle took him home in the van — Jonathan hadn’t fixed the car, because he didn’t have the money and because he didn’t have to, because Argyle picked them up and dropped them off and the kids liked him and Jonathan didn’t hate him either. As Argyle parked by the Byers’ house, he placed his hand on Jonathan’s shoulder, looked him straight in the eye and said:

“Plenty of other midwestern fish in the midwestern sea, man.”

Jonathan wasn’t so sure what to answer to that, so he just chuckled, left the van and went inside the house. Peered through the window as the Surfer Boy’s van took off, some weird dancy reggae loud coming from the stereo. He smiled to himself.

Christmas came, no colorful lights hung up on the Byers’ house.

Argyle gave him a coupon for a month’s worth of Surfer Boy’s pizza. Jonathan didn’t think they’d exchange gifts, but he ran as soon as he could to the little shop he knew Argyle got all his weed items from and brought him a new bong. Argyle loved it and they debuted it together on the back of the van, looking down on the town from the desert.

Some pine trees were decorated and the colorful lights on them weren’t as scary as they would be at Jonathan’s house. He didn’t hate them as much there. Argyle’s shoulder was pressed to his as they shared the bong, and his skin was warm and Jonathan tried not to think too much about how his lips were touching the same place as Argyle’s lips did when pulling in the smoke.

New Years Eve came, and Joyce wasn’t too mad about Jonathan not spending it with the family, not once he told her his plans. Him and Argyle traveled to Santa Barbara, to a New Years Eve Luau, of all things. Argyle had a bunch of friends there — Jonathan was his only friend back at Lenora. He wasn’t bothered by that. He could use some other friends too — Argyle was his only friend back at Lenora.

They smoked, of course, and they listened to music and Argyle even danced with a few other guys. He wasn’t too terrible. He tried to make Jonathan dance too, of course that didn’t happen, but Jonathan was content to just watch. It took him by surprise, that realization: he was content. The moon was in her full glory, it was weirdly cold for a night in California, the sound of the waves were soothing, Argyle’s dark brown hair flew around him and his dark brown eyes twinkled by the fire, and Jonathan was content to just watch him.

Some friend of Argyle lived there and he and Jonathan crashed at the dude’s living room pull-out, heater on blast and Argyle’s back pressed to Jonathan’s back helped too, because the guy was always so damn warm.

Argyle let Jonathan put on some of his cassettes on the ride back to Lenora, and Jonathan sang out loud along with The Clash and the Sex Pistols, and Argyle bobbed his head to the rhythm even though he didn’t seem to like that genre of music, and he said: “These dudes are kinda pissed at stuff, man. They suit you, and all that pent up anger of yours.”

Jonathan reassured him: he wasn’t as pent up, or as angry anymore. Argyle smiled wide at that.

School started again and even their woodworking teacher noticed Jonathan’s change of demeanor and came to tell him how happy he was that Jonathan was finally adapted to the move. The teacher kinda hated Argyle — well he was a menace in class, and his projects were always terrible ideas — and Jonathan wanted to tell the teacher he should thank Argyle for that. He kept his quiet, though, but Argyle seemed to understand the funny look Jonathan threw his way after the pep talk.

Jonathan took his camera — that same one Nancy had given to him on Christmas of ‘83 — out of its box for the first time mid January. Some biology project, and he decided to take pictures to illustrate his work about the local low desert shrubs. Lenora High also had a photography room, and it was better funded than the one in Hawkins High, and once Jonathan revealed his photos and showed them to Argyle, he looked incredibly admired, and asked Jonathan to take some pictures of his mushrooms — of course his project was about mushrooms. He payed Jonathan back in pizzas, of course. Jonathan didn’t mind.

Apparently Argyle gushed about Jonathan’s photos at work because later that month he had a gig with Surfer Boy Pizza’s marketing team. He was also booked for the opening of that roller skate rink downtown. And some early-thinking students hired him to take graduation pictures for them when the time came. Word ran through school and he joined the Yearbook staff, and oh god the school paid well. He could even fix his car if he wanted to — but he didn’t. He liked the van.

He used the money to buy more film, and he used the film to take pictures for himself like he used to. His passion was back, and suddenly he saw so much beauty in the California sun, deserts, colors. He saw beauty in the junkyard, broken, abandoned cars with windows crashed. He saw beauty downtown, the colorful storefronts and the busy colorful people passing by. He saw beauty in the suburbs, kids with their bikes reminding him of home but in a nostalgic way instead of the heartbreaking way he used to miss Hawkins when they had just arrived in Lenora.

Argyle, who was once just a dude in the background of every scenario Jonathan walked into, was now purposefully centered in front of Jonathan’s lenses — his actual camera lenses, and Jonathan was the one centering him there.

He saw beauty in the way Argyle chose his ice cream flavors by which one looked more colorful that day. He saw beauty in the way Argyle’s body would twist when he made a powerful throw with the gold club, strong enough to hit the furthest car in the junkyard. He saw beauty in the way the sun would hit Argyle’s long hair as El braided it for him when they went on a picnic for Joyce’s birthday. He saw beauty in Argyle’s wide laugh when Will said something snarky about a teacher, and he saw beauty in Argyle's soft smile when he noticed Jonathan was taking a picture of him.

“Gonna want to see that one, man,” he said and Jonathan only nodded. Argyle didn’t seem bothered to be his muse, and Jonathan somehow didn’t feel embarrassed to be caught on the act.

He did show Argyle the picture later when he reveled it. He showed all of them, and Argyle looked at them with fondness and looked at Jonathan with even more softness and something warm was happening inside Jonathan’s body that he could name if he wanted to — but he didn’t. He just let himself feel it.

Jonathan took couples' pictures on Valentine’s day, and with the money he and Argyle went to Santa Barbara again on the weekend, and Jonathan took pictures of Argyle sitting in the sand, of Argyle with only his feet dipped in the ice cold sea, of Argyle pointing at something beyond the horizon line from the pier, of Argyle lit and glowing by another luau’s fire.

They slept on the beach that time, because that other dude’s pull-out was booked already, but someone lent them a tent and theirs was just one of many, like a big beach sleepover, and Jonathan never felt hippier, and he never felt happier. He laid on his side and faced Argyle’s profile as he snored softly laying on his back, and Jonathan wanted his eyes to be a camera so he could picture Argyle’s face as he slept peacefully. And Jonathan never felt sappier, and he never felt happier.

As Jonathan woke up the next day he was the one being stared at.

“I’ve seen you taking pictures of me, man, but I have none of you,” Argyle said before even bidding good morning.

“I’m more of a behind the cameras kind of guy.”

“Well that has to change at least for once, because if you’re gonna keep a loving portrait of me in your wallet I want the same honor.” Argyle was smirking, which wasn’t common, and Jonathan laughed loudly, which wasn’t common. He felt high, and he hadn’t smoked since yesterday afternoon.

“I don’t keep a loving portrait of you in my wallet, Argyle.”

“Now I’m just offended. You gotta.” They both laughed again before settling.

The sun was high in the sky already, its light peering through the tent fabric and illuminating the inside, but it was like a refrigerator lamp because it was still too damn cold. Argyle’s body heat was comfortable, though. Jonathan was content.

“I’m not reading wrong into this, am I, man?” Argyle asked after a while.

Jonathan could lie or pretend not to understand the question if he wanted to — but he didn’t.

“You’re not,” he answered. “I’ll let you take a picture of me when I look more presentable.”

“You look pretty enough,” Argyle said, and that warm feeling inside Jonathan’s body creeped up to blush his cheeks, but he was still smiling. “You’ll let me keep it in my wallet?”

Jonathan could answer with actual words if he wanted to — but he didn’t. He just reached forward, leaned forward, and pressed his lips against Argyle’s.

He was warm, and sunny, and even his pajamas were colorful, and all that color bled into Jonathan’s life and painted his gray off. Jonathan hated it at first. Of course he hated it. How could he not? Pack all his belongings into a few boxes in just a few hours, take him out of his comfort zone, change his entire view of the world.

But as Argyle’s hand cupped Jonathan’s face, he was warm. He made Jonathan warm, from the outside and from the inside. Jonathan didn’t see it all gray anymore, no, he had an explosion of colors and he didn’t hate them.

Jonathan loved it. Of course he loved it. How could he not?

[kelloggjkellogg]

PART 17: LEE JEANS

Lee wanted to put themselves ahead of their rivals, Levi Strauss, so their Sixties take on jeans was to go flared and colourful. Flares as a trend began in 1967, mainly with the psychedelic and hippy crowd, became more mainstream in '68 and were firmly established by '69. They had yet to reach the excesses of the 1970s, though.

Fred wears... Hair: Base game Sideburns: Maxis Match CC World - S4CC Finds, FREE downloads for The Sims 4 (tumblr.com) Shirt: Shirt | BE THERE OR BE SQUARE SHIRT A mix of plaid and... (tumblr.com) Jeans: Cool Kitchen Stuff Shoes: Base game

David wears... Hair: Rusty Nail: Beatle Boy`s hair V1 - Sims 4 Hairs Sideburns: Maxis Match CC World - S4CC Finds, FREE downloads for The Sims 4 (tumblr.com) Shirt: Base game Pants: Patterned pants at Baufive – b5Studio » Sims 4 Updates Shoes: Base game

[saturniandevil]

2023 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast’s 2023 Forecast_, hosted by Chris Brennan, Austin Coppock, Leisa Schaim and Diana Rose Parker. As a recap of previous events our hosts connect recent AI art controversies to Venus squaring Neptune (artists vs illusions), and predicts that the Pluto in Aquarius transit will intensify these debates. Saturn in late Aquarius has seen the first successful energy-emitting controlled nuclear fusion reaction, and Austin points out that new technologies often take around 30 years, or a complete Saturn cycle, to show up in everyday life.

Major Transits

Mars Retrograde -stations direct January 12th -egress to Taurus March 25th

Saturn from Aquarius -> Pisces -ingress March 7th -begins conjunction with Neptune In the writing previous runs of Saturn in Pisces have shown us influential fantasy worlds like those of Dune (without which there’d be no Star Wars) in the mid-1960s and A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) in the 1990s, as well as nonfiction like The Communist Manifesto in the 1840s. Saturn in Pisces has also shown up in drug news, such as the synthesis of LSD, which may connect to psychedelics starting to be legalized for therapeutic use today. If these significations seem Neptunian, that’s because Saturn is copresent with Neptune in this sign. They’ll be within orb in 2025 and '26, going exact in February of 2026. This sign will also be the Saturn return of Amazon and Fox News, and in biology that of the successful cloning of Dolly the sheep. In natal charts we have the examples of Robert Downey, Jr., whose Saturn return marked a turning point in his substance use issues and career, and Rachel Carson, a biologist whose book about the effects of pesticides in our world helped launch an environmentalist movement. In general we can expect “problems with chemicals.” Pisces wants us to all be one, but Saturn reminds us how one part is hurting people more than others.

How do you put boundaries on the boundless? You may feel like you’re floating, but even the ocean has a floor. Diana predicts we may see more collective grief over lost loved ones or what could have been during the height of the pandemic. It’s also worth noting that Saturn has been in his own domicile for the last few years. Now he’s ruled by Jupiter, who will be in a different sign every year, lending a different quality to Saturn’s transit.

Pluto in Aquarius (March 23rd - June 11th) A previous example of this transit is the Luddite movement against both the technology and labor conditions of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century. Austin predicts this to weigh on the AI conversation and Diana brings up that the recent labor movement will also factor in. Chris reminds us that Pluto takes the tiniest things and blow them up to wide importance. Pluto in Aquarius coincided with the Hatian and French Revolutions as well.

Jupiter in Aries until May 16th -in Taurus for rest of the year -begins conjunction to Uranus Jupiter immediately squares Pluto (0♒) when he enters this sign. Jupiter-Pluto contacts have shown us billionaires further expanding their wealth and explosions of conspiracy theories in recent years. Revolutions and movements questioning the good of the people & basic needs will be especially relevant in Taurus. Jupiter predicts cultural waves in both art and politics, which will be especially relevant now that he’s ruled by Venus. Similarly, Diana hopes we see new food inventions such as advances with fake meats (M&M’s were invented during the last Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus). Jupiter will come in and confirm things that Uranus has been working on, such as the rising labor movement (40 hour work week was standardized under one). In this case, the innovation is rest.

Venus Retrograde in Leo (July 22nd - September 3rd)

Venus transits are on cycles of about 8 years, so expect to revisit themes from around 2014. The US Supreme court legalizing same-sex marriage (conjunct Jupiter), and our podcast hosts started working together. Are any important relationships coming up on 8 years? (Austin, who met his wife and later got married on Venus in Leo, jokingly recommends waiting a full Venus cycle to commit). Shortly after entering Leo, Venus squares Jupiter and approaches Mars--but slows down and retrogrades before overcoming him (unlike in 2020). This retrograde is also tinged by a square to Uranus, though Jupiter’s copresence may stabilize things a bit. Sense of self will be a key theme here, especially in relationships. After the rx, when she enters Virgo early in October, where Saturn in Pisces will hit her like a cold bucket of water.

Eclipses shift from Taurus/Scorpio axis to Aries/Libra axis

Month-by-Month:

January

The Mars retrograde and direct station on the 12th hangs pretty heavily over this January. Mars is supercharged by the fact that royal star Aldebaran is nearby, which can bode better for personal charts than world news. However, keep in mind that the effects will move more slowly, and that a direct Mars is still a malefic--we march forward, but into battle just yet. Expect conclusions or major turning points in conflicts that began at the retrograde's start in early October. We'll still be seeing some cleanup as he enters the post shadow period (leaves degrees he retrograded over) on the 15th. Here's the graphic from Stella on Reddit:

Mar's ruler Mercury is also retrograde going into January, and stations on the 18th. It's almost like Mars won't be fully direct until Mercury is too. It might not be fun to cut things off, but it's better than flailing around wildly with the knife. Once both these planets are direct, Jupiter in Aries will pick up a lot of momentum. The Mercury retrogrades this year will mainly occur in earth signs, so prepare to reevaluate the material realms in your life.

It's also worth noting that the US Pluto return goes exact a few days before 2023 starts, and Pluto will return to these degrees when retrograding in September. With a conjunction to Mercury we can expect to see more disclosures around hidden information about those in power.

Speaking of outer planets, the Saturn (♒)-Uranus (♉) square that's been plaguing us for the past couple years will finally fade as we enter the year. The conflict of chaos & order over society and basic needs will finally fade. With Saturn in Pisces, no one's in control!

We've got an electional chart for January 25, 2023 at about 7:20AM local time. Adjust until the rising is at about 5 degrees of Aquarius, putting the Sun right on the Ascendant. This is one of the last charts for great Saturn elections for the next 30 years or so, as he's in domicile, in the first house and of the favored sect. Great for technology, rapid communications, and endeavors that will start out slow but last for a long time. Venus in the first house will help smooth over the aesthetics of this election as well. Here is the circle chart for Denver below:

February

Valentine's Day is a little weird with Moon opposite Mars, followed by a Venus-Neptune conjunction the next day and a Saturn-Sun conjunction even after, where emotional conflict runs into idealistic dreams, which is soon crushed by reality. The Full Moon on February 5th at 16 Leo close to Uranus at 15 Taurus activates the last of that waning Saturn-Uranus square, while the Saturn-Sun square on the 16th is the last Sun-Saturn conjunction in a Saturn-ruled sign for the next couple decades. We can clearly assess what's real and make a final inspection of the wreckage from Saturn-Uranus's stress-testing. Whatever made it through the Aquarius part of your chart has a lot of endurance.

March

March calendar. 3/2 Venus conjunct Jupiter, Mercury to Pisces. 3/5 Saturn to Pisces, Virgo full moon. 3/15 Sun conjunct Neptune, 3/16 Venus to Taurus, 3/17 Sun conjunct Mercury. 3/19 Mercury to Aries, 3/20 Sun to Aries, 3/21 Aries New Moon. 3/23 Pluto to Aquarius, 3/25 Mars to Cancer, 3/28 Mercury conjunct Jupiter, 3/30 Venus conjunct Uranus.

March is a big, dynamic month full of shifts. Mars (♊) leaves the mutable signs alone and tags in Saturn (♓) to do so instead. Medieval and Arabic astrologers often counted the Sun's ingress into Aries as the start of the New Year for the world, which fits with this month bringing so many new beginnings. We're going to get two New Moons during Aries season, one of which is an eclipse, so expect a lot of Aries energy. Around the Ides of March we've got Mercury conjoining Neptune at 25 Pisces, then the Sun, with Mars at 25 Pisces squaring them, al while Venus in late Aries square Pluto in late Capricorn. These transits also highlight the third Mars-Neptune square of the latter's trek through Gemini--it's our last chance to reveal what's been murky before Mars leaves his shadow period and the sign of Gemini overall. Mars-Gemini gives us fighting words and Mars-Neptune gives us deception, so be careful where you step in the fog of war.

Mercury is doing pretty badly at the beginning of the month, being combust, squared by Mars, and stuck around Neptune--our intelligence reports will not be accurate or timely. The next week Pluto moves into Aquarius. Chris wonders if this may result in a mass disappearing of certain kinds of technology. This area of Aquarius has seen a lot of activity from Saturn and Jupiter in recent years, and Pluto will deepen those issues for a couple months before retrograding in the fall. Venus will conjoin Uranus on the degree of November's eclipse in Taurus, which can make relationships more exciting. Mars moves into Cancer, trining Saturn on the 29th-30th. It's not a particularly glorious place for Mars, but we're finally getting back to Mars as usual (direct). We may be sullen, but at least we're not shooting ourselves in the foot anymore.

April

This month gives us eclipse season and the second Mercury retrograde of year. We also get a Jupiter-Sun cazimi in Aries, resetting the Jupiter cycle for the next year. The hybrid solar eclipse eclipse will be annular for some regions and total for others (visible over the South Pacific, mostly). Here are the eclipses for 2023:

Both eclipse seasons go back and forth between the Aries-Libra and Taurus-Scorpio axis as the nodes move. Additionally, the spring eclipses are in Mars-ruled signs with Mars in Cancer, while the fall eclipses are ruled by Venus in Virgo. Thus we're moving from one Mars-Venus axis to another, with the eclipse ruler in either fall or detriment. In personal charts, this will be highlighting two sets of houses for us all. Once April 19th or so comes around, we'll find ourselves between eclipses with Mercury retrograde and Jupiter joining the North Node--a bit of a hangover from the Uranus in Taurus issues we've been seeing. Definitely expect more shipping and supply chain issues. Mercury's retrograde cycle will continue through to the next month.

May

The first of the month gives us the Mercury cazimi, which is a halfway point & turning point for the retrograde. With Pluto's station, we've got a lot of changes occurring in May. The eclipse is at 14 Scorpio, echoing the previous Uranus eclipse in November in Taurus. However, this is the final eclipse in Scorpio (though there's one more in Taurus) for the next few years. We'd expect the pressure to ease from fixed signs now that heavy-hitters are moving into mutable and cardinal signs, but the fixed signs are still feeling some residual effects for the first half of the year. Jupiter ingress will attempt to stabilize some of the trouble as he enters Taurus. His squaring Pluto and later Mars in Leo will bring some tension as well, though. Diana thinks of forest fires with Mars in Leo, with Pluto in Aquarius serving as a sudden gust of wind. Jupiter is on the North Node as well, who'll cooperate with Jovian money endeavors but not his loftier pursuits. Pay attention to which house of your chart Jupiter enters, as he may provide some stability to the rockiness we've been seeing in Taurus since the lunar eclipse in fall of 2021.

When Jupiter conjoined Pluto in 2020 there was a massive expansion of wealth for the already wealthy, and now with a square between the planets we could see a more proletarian version of wealth expanding (or at least some kind of struggle around it). Pluto's station in Aquarius should also give us a picture of his trek through this sign over the next decade or so. Conversations around control and manipulation of information may arise, which Chris connects to social media as one of the richest men in the world just bought a widely used website. Diana brings up that these apps are often intentionally designed to encourage addictive behavior, so Pluto's compulsions and obsessions and tendency to expose the dark underbelly will manifest in the tech world. We may see a contraction in tech, as issues of power and control over social networks and other large scale communications arise. Is this paranoia or rational fear?

June

Venus now enters sign in which she will retrograde, hinting at the territory we'll visit multiple times. She's approaching Mars and opposite Pluto, intensifying relationship dynamics. However she's also applying to Jupiter in her sign of Taurus, stabilizing things a little. Venus and Mars will square Uranus together before she retrogrades. Meanwhile Neptune and Saturn slow down and station, bringing emotional drag as they square our chipper Gemini Sun. When Saturn enters Cancer, the sextile to Jupiter in Taurus may bring some fertile clay for creative, sensitive, or peaceful endeavors. The overall energy is pretty loud and extroverted: if people find something distasteful, they won't be quiet about it! However, we may not see the stormy emotional undercurrents underneath this acting out.

July

Venus will square Uranus at the beginning of this month, slowing down before going retrograde on the 22nd. Mercury enters Virgo, heightening the tension between Saturn (♓) and Mars (♊). Mars-Saturn squares in the fixed signs gave us new editions of a problem we already knew about (notably changes in lockdowns and restrictions during peaks of the pandemic in the US), but in mutable signs we may get introduced to new problems nearby. Either way, Saturn stonewalls Mars's impulses. Saturn and Mars get frustrated because one's hitting the gas while the other hits the brakes, but Venus stops the car entirely and starts driving in reverse towards unfinished business earlier in the trip. Pluto will also square the Nodes in Aries/Libra after regressing into Pluto. Chris points out that gay marriage was legalized in the US under Venus in Leo, so this retrograde may see challenges to Congress's recent Defense of Marriage Act. She's also stationing right next to Lilith and considering Pluto's activity, so Austin predicts abortion will come up again, as Lilith was right over the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

August

Venus retrograde hangs over this month, although her cazimi on the 13th marks its halfway point. Inanna confronts her sister in the underworld and begins to get carried out. Venus emerges from under the beams right as she squares supportive Jupiter. Mercury begins to slow down and stations retrograde with Mars as a neighbor. Constructively, we can edit and cut things down, but interpersonally we may share harsh words. The Full Moon in Pisces will be tinged by Saturn's copresence, especially because it occurs on the degree on which Saturn stationed in June. We get a taste of what Pisces is going to feel like for the next few years, though Jupiter's sextile immediately after provides some support. It's soggy and wet, but we can grow things.

September

Mercury is the only planet in domicile for the whole month: retrograde the first half and direct for the second. With exaltation in Virgo as well, he's at his loudest! Mars is also in Libra as we enter the month, approaching a square to Pluto and a conjunction to the South Node (Tail of the Dragon) towards the end of the month, as well as a sextile to Venus. The Aries Full Moon will be eventful as a result of all this Mars activity.

October

We've got two eclipses this month as we revisit Pluto in Capricorn themes (including the founding of the US--think bones of the institutions that built the nation). Mars conjoins the South Node in the days preceding the eclipse, and squares Pluto days before he stations direct. Venus in Virgo makes us eager to critique, which is especially relevant to the US's upcoming elections season. The eclipses in Libra and Taurus will also bring major beginnings and endings to these areas of our charts. The solar eclipse at 21 Libra is a South node eclipse, which usually brings up things we've already dealt with--think "the unquiet dead." The Taurus eclipse right before Halloween has Mercury conjunct Mars opposite Jupiter. Mercury-Mars can be combative with piercing words. They will spitefully challenge the peace, stability, and excessive comfort Jupiter in Taurus has been trying to bring. However, this is the last of the fixed sign eclipses that started in 2021, bringing a major ending to that chapter of our lives. There's one more wild card with Jupiter approaching Uranus, but it's a more constructive energy, like finally being able to implement the changes we want.

November

This new Moon is the first one for awhile that's not an eclipse, and Saturn's significations in Pisces should intensify as he stations direct. Venus in Libra sextile Mercury in Sagittarius will bring us some pleasant communications and decorum. "I didn't mean what I said when Mercury was conjunct Mars!" Mars's cazimi with the Sun acts like a coal nearby that's glowing with the potential for a fire that isn't burning right now--at least until he opposes Uranus, when the tension that's been building up may find an outlet. The Mars cazimi is also trine Neptune, which may add some ease.

December

Mercury will station direct a few days after Jupiter--things will move forward at the end of the year. Venus in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Taurus will be in mutual reception with each other, bringing the two goods to us after some brooding in Scorpio. During Venus in Scorpio we might get the kinds of fights started by someone misunderstanding what your words--you can't take back what you didn't say! The tight opposition to Jupiter at the beginning of Venus in Scorpio can be fun, if not particularly useful. A trine from Saturn can make Scorpio Venus's obsessions more productive.

And that's a wrap for 2023! Thanks for reading all of this (:

[jade-of-mourning]

i wrote this post two months ago, but i was thinking about how much i love music on accident again and now i'm going to make an incredibly self-indulgent and unwarranted post on music i think that krew+opal in a modern au would enjoy based on music i like.

opal would definitely love lamp and other j-indie bossa-nova/jazz/folk sounding types — ichiko aoba/kaneko ayano/fishmans/nujabes come to mind. she also gives sweet trip/panchiko and adrianne lenker. she'd possibly like norah jones/jolie holland in a different sphere. i think she'd be into more experimental flavor of black country, new road/black midi/kero kero bonito. she'd like the city-pop in anri and j-pop like aimyon.

asami also seems like she would like lamp, though to a lesser extent than opal, and probably romantic-era classical music (specifically, chopin). she'd be a slowcore duster/bedhead/mazzy star type, and probably love dream-pop beach house too. she'd be a secret fan of jazz-punk/noise midori and in japanese shoegaze-alternative flavor with plastic girl in the closet/kinokoteikoku/my dead girlfriend, and i can see her being into either nick drake or psychedelic rock — something mildly high, probably. i can see her liking suzanne vega/fiona apple/aimee mann a lot too. i think that between her and opal, they'd have the most music-nerd music taste. idk how to express it… that rym sort of music taste haha

mako is either the type to say "i don't listen to music", or if he does, he gives straight face while listening to crunchy noise and ambient deeply miserable-edgy, like nouns/teen suicide/have a nice life. he'd enjoy high quality japanese jazz-instrumental math rock like mouse on keys/fox capture plan/t-square, but i think he'd also have a guilty pleasure for the mildly-adjacent, crappy midwest emo. not sure why, maybe it's the album covers and names, but he really gives parannoul. he has the energy of a british new-wave the smiths/radiohead/the cure kind of guy. he's probably prone to get too deep in his feelings in sujfan stevens/giles corey. i think like opal, he'd enjoy big thief/adrianne lenker a lot too.

korra would like pop-punk and alternative a lot and also rnb, maybe korean rnb like jiwoo/miso. but she'd love pup/paramore/sorority noise a lot and i think she'd also be fan of jazz-punk/noise sound in midori, and also accidentally nu-metal loathe/tool/slipknot. i feel like she'd really like the synthpop in magdalena bay and she too would vibe to anri a lot. i think she'd be a fan of emo in unconcentrated forms only (specifically los campesinos!), or maybe also power pop. i could imagine her enjoying certain flavors of breakcore and electronic and for some reason i see her liking nirvana/red hot chilli peppers/the smashing pumpkins. all in all, mostly anything that's more upbeat and has energy to it. she'd probably be a mitski listener at certain times too, in all honesty.

bolin's more pop/rock and probably some alternative, though i think he'd lean more towards ok go/cracker/camper van beethoven/modest mouse. i can also see him liking vampire weekend/the postal services/death cab for cuties a lot. i feel like he would secretly enjoy mako's british-new-wave flavor but refuse to admit it to the general populace because he is an independent man! he also gives they might be giants/jukebox the ghost/ben folds five fan, aka sounds-like-children's-music-but-is-kinda-messed-up piano-rock-esque (it epitomizes him), and upbeat neo-psychedelia animal collective is just very bolin. i also see him casually enjoying the shins and the 1975.

i think that among them, there'd be a mutual enjoyment of lamp (most of all opal/asami/mako in that order) and mitski (with bolin being the only outlier in the mitski department lol). i think that if they were ever put in a car together they would never not play there is a light that never goes out and that they'd all be a fan of any music involving car crashes actually. i can't really imagine any of them outside of opal liking folk or any of them outside of korra liking any form of metal and i don't see any hyperpop in their energy sorry lol. only asami and mako seem like they would really like instrumental stuff, though different spheres of it. actually i think the two of them would overlap the most in music taste for some reason (with opal in the same arena), even if the examples i provided don't have a lot of overlap lol, followed by korra and bolin.

[princessnotfound]

Cupid's Arrow // thread with @drcxmlcss

To say George isn't exactly pleased would be an understatement. Even though the rest of them doubts it, a small part of their mind whispers that this second event of the night was a setup. Moving among the writhing bodies of other students, pinching the bridge of their nose whenever the scent of alcohol wafts too greatly, they wonder how they were given the name of their rival upon entry rather than one of the other tons of people attending. The chance was miniscule. Possible, but impossible.

They didn't think much of it when Dream's name was written on the card they were handed. It was best not to assume the worst, but maybe they should've spared themself the surprise. Thin paper is held firm between their fingers, now, mindlessly folded over into a firm square but it doesn't erase the name written in ink. How they're going to find where Dream wandered off to in the thick of partying crowds, they aren't entirely sure.

There is something else at play, here. George is competitive, and with the after-effects of the last game of Ring of Fire circulating around their body, maybe they aren't thinking the way they usually would.

But, Dream has them losing more frequently than they'd like. They are too equal on checkered battlefields; they handle wooden weaponry like second nature and command soldiers to their wills as born leaders. Chaos and unpredictability has their gut churning uncomfortably. Apparently, George's own benevolence knows no bounds, including outside of the battlefield. Because they are willing to present their opponent with forgiveness, even if only for a second, and affection. Meaningless, but affection nonetheless.

Something tells them that the drama blog is going to enjoy this party a little too much.

It occurs to them that simply locating Dream may just be impossible in the dark. Psychedelic flashing lights, glowsticks and luminescent paint does not help as much as it should. If anything, people's faces are lit in neon green and pink for a split second before being doused in darkness again, and it certainly is not enough for George to process features. They are as pale and porcelain as they come and yet, adorned in black frills and obsidian, only the fluorescent wings on their back are visible without dim glowsticks.

So, they are thankful that Dream's signature symbol is something easy. A plain, illuminated smile could mark no other. George's frown only deepens, however, shoving through and strangers shove back. Steadying themself when they grab the sleeve of their rival before they stumble forwards. But they release him quickly with a hasty apology and a mumbled, "hey."