#that sounds like a good time and tbh might make me miss her less

[trans-cuchulainn]

I just got to reading a translation of "The wooing of Emer" online. Why is no-one (especially the online encyclopedias) talking about the fact Emer is fomorian?

why aren't the online encyclopaedias talking about it: bc they are not that useful for medieval irish literature most of the time, tbh, being heavily simplified and reliant on secondary sources that are often themselves not particularly reliable (although there have been efforts to improve some pages inc. wikipedia pages). loads of fun details missing from them, always

why isn't anyone else talking about it: eh. probably two main reasons

there's a lot of it around. cú chulainn's got a fomorian grandma (on lug's side) and no one ever really talks about that either. it's not that big a deal. i'm sure he's not the only one; can't throw a rock around here without hitting someone with a fomorian uncle or something. there's a lot more overlap / interaction between them and the tuatha dé danann than a simple oppositional binary would suggest, and family trees get fucky in general. being related to the fomoire doesn't automatically = being fomorian yourself bc belonging and kin-groups and stuff are a bit more complicated than that

i'm pretty sure it's only mentioned in tochmarc emire and only in passing and not directly in relation to emer herself, so it's easily overlooked even if you're dealing with that text and a lot of people will be dealing with other texts. it's also only in the later, longer redaction of the text and not in the earliest one, although so are a lot of things. if the authors thought it was important as part of her heritage -- whether they saw it as a good or a bad thing -- they would bring it up more often, but TE seems to be the only one that bothers to give background information about forgall's family tree, so mostly it looks like they think it's not that relevant. (although as it is not a particular focus of mine, it's entirely possible it comes up somewhere else and i just haven't noticed)

e.g. you might expect it to come up in fled bricrenn but it doesn't

sidenote: why the fuck henderson translations "ben ind fir as dech" as "wife of the best wight" i have no idea. it's just "fer"! it's just man! why are you trying to make cú chulainn sound even weirder than usual! it's a mystery to me. other than the fact it's from 1899 and people did whatever they wanted at that point tbh

(the parenthetical explaining the meaning of "Manach" is also editorial and not in the Irish; the meaning "tricky" may be more suitable bc it might have something to do with clessa, but that's getting into my friend emmet's in-progress research so i won't delve deeper there)

also, tethra, who is supposedly forgall's uncle in TE and who is described in the text as a "king of the fomoire" is a bit of a weird one iirc and there's potentially more going on with him than that phrasing suggests, although i can't remember the details and that's getting into cath maige tuired territory, at which point you're better off asking @margridarnauds bc it's not a topic i know a huge amount about

finally i'll be honest another factor is probably that there hasn't been a huge amount written about emer as a character. there's been a lot written about texts that she's in and her function there, but less on her just like, as a person (bc medieval celtic studies is a very small field, there are a lot of texts and characters, and there hasn't been that much written about anyone really). so lots of things don't get talked about. doesn't mean they're not worth talking about. just means nobody's got around to it yet.

[n-14-a2509]

Umbrella academy s4 ramble spoilers!!

Huge ramble ahread for the characters and just general thoughts

Not loads to say about some of the characters but plenty about the rest

Also I’ve never read the comics, but have seen that this season may reference a few, so there’s a good chance I’ve miss understood stuff.

Oh! The whole five and Lila thing didn’t actually happen you know? You just remember it from a different timeline not this one dw it’s all good.

But seriously, if the ending was like the first three seasons where they stop the apocalypse but this time for good, if they somehow completely got rid of the Marigold and the Durango, i wouldn’t be mad at the repetition because I had really hoped for the cliché of super happy normal ending. With them all among family, friends, new faces, the lot.

I actually didn’t mind seeing the handler, hazel and Agnes if they weren’t secret agents, could’ve been interesting. Even though they might not be all been from the same point in time but what ever. Happy ending am I right?

Five

I know five is quite a common aro/ace icon, and I really like it aswell. But if this ^ were the actual ending and he didn’t have to worry about any upcoming apocalyptic events, no taking care of his super powered family, no being stuck in the past/future/alternate timelines, I honestly wouldn’t have minded if we got a quick shot of him bumping into someone new or even him seeing or working with someone who reminded him of Delores. Would’ve been good for him to meet someone who helped to keep him grounded and relaxed. And he might’ve gotten a more civilian job. If given the chance to not worry about extraordinary stuff at least. I think he only went to the cia because something was up.

I don’t really get how quick he was to give up on his family when (no matter how rude or how much he insulted them) his family were what kept him pushing forward and were, arguably, what he came back for in s1. I also know he had no real life person in the first apocalypse, was stuck there and didn’t have the leisure or timeline hopping to suit his fancy, and wasn’t desperate to get back to his family by any means and HAVING to adapt, and didn’t have someone with him who’s also been through some serious shit. But. Really??? I’m fine with being corrected if I’m wrong and I can’t write stories or characters at all, but it just felt so out of character.

They didn’t even show them growing closer by talking about their experiences or feelings or thought of what to do or the current situation. It felt like attraction by proximity. Like hey you’re a girl I’m a boy wink wink. It would been a bit more believable to an extent if they showed a tad bit of communication not a fucking shave. But I know there were less episodes. Actually no because if there were more there’s a chance it would’ve meant more of those types is scenes :(

Also where the fuck did the book come from what

Luther

Ok so Sloane. His wife. Gone.

He briefly mentions her but like she’s a good friend who’s living far away in a different country or something like “aw man she would love this :D” my guy she might be dead or non existent wtf 😭

The stripper thing made me laugh but after thinking for like two seconds why was that his job? I hate to sound rude and I’m not trying to shame the job or occupation but surely he’d be clever enough to get a good job somewhere or at least something higher up the strip pole than legs and eggs. It’s so confusing because literally none of the characters talk about the past 6 years! A lot is given in context or is shown on screen or snippets on conversations. But much less than previous seasons.

But I love how he’s still trying to be kind and include people. Season 4 won’t make me hate Luther I just hate how they treated him I suppose :/

Also the actor slipped up a lot with his American accent. More so than previously. Didn’t bother me tbh I found it quite funny

Lila

Biggest thing is the her and five thing. I dead ass thought it was over when she was laughing explaining to Diego “no lol that was five he was disguised I don’t love him” Why were they hinted at before the subway bit? Thought they were the “apocalyptic brother sister duo who’ve both been through some shit and know each other quite well despite them being snarky and rude to one another”

I wasn’t minding her wanting a break from normality because like 90% of her life was fighting, the audience would connect the dots on her missing something she’s always done. But I wasn’t a huge fan of the reasons of her and Diego bickering. And when they send the kids away neither of them cared in the slightest. Allison in S1 ONLY thought of Claire and what was best. Hell if Claire had a cold or was a bit too tired she’s be there in a heartbeat fuck the apocalypse Claire needs her.

Parents aren’t the same and even think and do things for their kids differently I get it. But you could tell Allison was a mother in S1 despite hardly seeing Claire on screen but Diego and Lila?? I’m sorry if I missed it but unless they were literally holding their kids hand or picking them up you would barely be able to tell they’re parents. Might just be me but surely they’d be more concerned or bring them up in a better light? Correct me if I’m wrong I really want to be

Diego

Similar thing to Lila really. His reaction to five and Lila was me. what was happening. Him as a dad was quite sweet and him trying to be the best he could was good for him and great for his character but again there were just odd bits that felt out of place or a bit too open ended

Victor

Mvp. Didn’t cause the apocalypse, was there for his family when he could and is a sweetpea. I’m massively biased but to be fair there isn’t much to judge, his arc wasn’t as wide or tall as others. Was more of a direct line. Felt good to see him shout at hargreeves about how he’s more than a background teammate and just wanted to be seen. I liked the writing for him. Didn’t go far tho I guess

Wasn’t a fig fan of the no explanation of the he’s dated all the women lol he’s single. Like wtf give a bit more context does he struggle? Does he just have bad taste or were the writers just looking for a quick joke i’m not supposed to look into?? Who knows

Klaus

Sorry but do the writers hate him so much that they give him this whole ass storyline that vaguely stemmed from the main but then fucked off to nowhere and he then just hopped back in in time to see a love triangle with two brothers and an in law. It felt like recycling the whole junkie getting a fix and being rescued thing again. Seeing him being so protective of Claire and wearing a helmet in a car was too much he’s such a softie for his family. I still love his character but would’ve liked a bit more development after the marigold thing and living ‘mortal’ for 6 years :(

Ben

I might be the only one but the whole “anti” marigold was super interesting, but poorly executed I thought. Wasn’t big on him and Jennifer falling for each other right away but eh it’s media they need romance.

Him being infected/over taken by the Durango wasn’t the worst part in my opinion and could been a really good opportunity for character building or maybe like a fate/destiny and he’s also linked to apocalypses like his siblings. Or given they’re opposites or cause bad things when together could’ve been foreshadowed by all the umbrellas being together causing stuff maybe.

The offhanded comment about him having tentacles and her being cut out of a squid was just daft. What the fuck were we supposed to think. “Wait YOU have shoes?? I have feet!! CLEARLY we’re destined to be together 🥺” I really didn’t care for it and we never got told why she was in a fucking squid or that big box. Or hell why Ben got shot by his dad. It WAS explained but seriously? I thought it was hinted at him being too powerful or potentially self destructive to the point of getting killed by accident, not opening a crate. This would’ve linked so much better to him being foreshadowed at being LITERALLY self destructive or dangerous with Jennifer and the Durango

Jennifer

Why was she in a box? How did they find out about the Durango if she didn’t cause a cleanse? If we’re taking it at face value, SOMEONE knew that Durango+Marigold=big fuck off apocalypse.

Whether it’s Reginald or someone else, was it though tests? If it was and they tested on her or someone else with Durango then what happened to them? If they died it would’ve been from the cleanse no? If not then that means that Reginald or someone else found a way to stop the cleanse. If that’s true, how come it wasn’t possible this time? If it’s not possible to stop the cleanse, then how did they know what a cleanse was? So confused it’s not been properly thought out or it’s too open ended even thinking about it for 5 mins

Could’ve been a really good storyline, I didn’t mind her and Ben but again what’s with the instant romance and we must be together. This is probably a me thing so I’ll park this thought here

Reginald/Abigail

What were they there for? Viktor got to shout at him but I was super underwhelmed by them both when Abigail was hyped up and revealed and the ONLY a thing that referenced her being on the moon or her sudden appearance was “thanks for looking after me Luther” “uhh yeah sure that’s ok” I’m just shell shocked they were so well written into the show and had shit all to do. And for some reason Abigail can skin and wear people??? Hello????? Never brought up or the alien thing or robo regi. Yeh just leave it not like I wanted answers who tf want that from a question

Diego/Lila/Five

I’ve said this, but man fuck that. I hate love triangles with a burning passion it’s so “girl can’t choose between basic and average” and with a brother a brother and a sister in law? Even if it wasn’t a woman with two men and it was literally any other combination of sex/gender it’s fucking messy and puts strain on the most precious things people have. And five and Lila didn’t pull away like “no this is wrong I’m married/I have kids/you’re my sister/brother in law.” It’s just a wet blanket on top of this season. And five teleporting them because Lila grabbed him and said “I need you to” holy shit I need men in black to make me forget that. It wasn’t good :(

Overall the general marigold/durango thing could’ve worked. Repeating myself but it was poor excecution. No hate to the people who weren’t writers there were some excellent shots and cinematography in this season and I liked it a lot. I was nearly able to feel the wind and smell the subway because I was THAT immersed. Brilliant in many many places. The Durango monster thing at the end has real weight to it when moving and I was panicking as it kept growing. Sound design in all 4 seasons in beyond exceptional I adore it. And the sound track. Even though the story was odd the way parts of it were told was very well done and I was on the edge of my seat for a few parts in suspense. Other parts I legitimately skipped through and had to miss the lighting and acting due to the messy fucking love triangle.

Ramble over I’m going to cry then look at fan art to cheer myself up

[swords-of-a-soilder]

Bless you for compiling what’s going on with that ex-bird app. It’s been genuinely insightful for me to understand the thoughts of the kinds of people behind those accounts.

That person trying to cancel creators for associating with Forever (and probably advocating for his lore to be excised from the server) saying “but I can’t possibly give up guapoduo, it’s My Hyperfixation” is very telling. Hypocrisy specifically in the context of “separating the art from the artist” isn’t something I’ve seen before, shockingly, so I guess I get to add that to my Social Media Discourse Bingo. (I had an online friend in 2016 who I was terrified to talk about my interests with because I didn’t know what angry punk teenagers on tumblr had deemed “evil and disgusting”, and even SHE stopped listening to some of her favorite metal bands when she learned they were homophobic, and had absolute turmoil when she learned that David Bowie might have allegedly slept with an underage groupie in the 70s. Her constant, unpredictable rage at seemingly random pieces of media was awful for my mental health, but at least she wasn’t a genuine hypocrite.)

Also that tone of “I’ve had good memories here… but I just can’t handle it anymore.” It sounds like someone whose meaningful but soul-crushing work has finally broken them, almost sounding like someone I knew at the frontline worker job I had mid-pandemic who missed her own birthday three years in a row, got repetitive stress injuries, and then got passed over for a promotion that was given to someone who did a fraction of the work. But the “God willing, I’ll never come back” was followed by “I’m 13” …damn, I got whiplash so hard that I astral projected into a universe where things made sense for a second. Because of course kids don’t have a complex view of other countries’ political systems or cultural pressures. Or the nuances of personal change and redemption. Or that sometimes people are just not online for a few days. And of course a 13-year-old doesn’t understand how dumb and petty they look by trying to ruin other peoples’ careers in the name of Activism (tm) while having a fandom portmanteau username.

“I didn’t want it to come to this but… I’m going to delete twitter!” I hope so, but more for their own sake, honestly. I actually have less anger towards most of them now. Many are kids with a false sense of grandiosity that makes them believe they are the ultimate moral authority, but have very little understanding of how messy people or societies can be. I just hope they can learn one day, and look back on who they are now and cringe. (And then many years after that, have the grace to forgive themselves.)

Oof, sorry for the wall of text.

I’m still not over the whole situation with Forever. I miss his energy, and his accent, and his silly bits with Richas that always dragged on too long, and N.I.N.H.O. (and everything it represented), and how different he and Cellbit are but how they understood each other WAY too well, and how he tried to make people who didn’t log onto the server as often still feel welcome and wanted, and how happy he got when anyone non-Brazilian even tried to speak a little bit of Portuguese. (I was learning, but I’ve barely touched it since.) I won’t lie, it’s affected me far more than I thought it would.

I miss Forever. Thank you for your blog being a little space where that’s okay.

I'm honestly a little worried for the kid (s), not in a "oh I just want the best for" fake bs way just a little concerned tbh. I still don't like them but I don't hate them either, they're a kid.

But at the same time I'm worried for their well being, they have like 5,000 follower on their main Twitter and 28 on curious cat (which is apprantly high for that app )

That's 5000 people (teens or not) waiting for you to tell them how to feel that can't be good for their mental state, not for a 13 yr old kid.

Most of their life was spent learning about the world and their still learning, these are the ages where you're worried about the sun blowing up.

You haven't seen how awful the world can be yet, You haven't seen how much worst it could get you haven't learned calculus yet!

To you the world is only these 13 years and you think if you don't act now everything will be over.

I get it, I had that fear too, most people grown into it and realize just how shitty it can get an settle in choosing their own battles and not letting It consume them, because no one had time for that anymore.

You want to experience the most out of live while you can and the older you get the easier it is to balance.

To me it looks like one of those situation where you'll look back and think "I wish I enojyed my childhood."

Because 5000 people waiting for you to tell them who to bash, 28 people prasing your while admitting they use to hate you.

It can't be good. And if they were to read this they'd probably say "oh you don't actually care you just want to shit on me."

And like, yeah I don't care, but am I saying all this because I want to shit on them? no I'm just pointing out concerns.

Apart from that I fully agree with anon.

[candyskiez]

Favorite The Owl House episode?

tbh, haven't rewatched the show in a long long time so might need to rewatch to be sure. for a while, it was eda's requiem. it means a lot to me and genuinely made me realize shit about myself. as dumb as it sounds it's what made me realize "...oh. if I died, that'd...probably fuck up the people around me." so it has a massively special place in my heart. and also the depth it gives eda! made me reevaluate shit about how I view parents and also just. god. the importance of found family and how important it is to acknowledge that it's just as important as blood family. found family is so often treated as secondary and seeing it portrayed as just as important is so fucking good and god! middle aged characters with depth! middle aged WOMEN with depth! some of the most accurate depression rep I've seen. she feels so real and raw and god, it's really nice to see a middle aged character who gave up learning to get back up again and stop feeling like they missed the best of their life and wasted it, and aaorudhdjd. god. I love eda. the music is beautiful and the duet is haunting, raeda fascinates me, and bard magic will ALWAYS be my favorite magic in toh.

I feel like the grey decaying thing works excellently as a metaphor for depression. it's what made me start going "is this a metaphor for mental illness?" because it FEELS like it. the voice acting is top tier and its so fucking good. it's just,,, man. a middle aged woman having an episode all to herself?? baby mes mind would've been BLOWN. her hatred of the curse wouldn't have hit nearly as hard without this episode, I think. the loneliness and feeling like it makes her Less is shown so well in this episode. it's just,,, man. as someone who's struggled with depression all my life, it resonates. she doesn't even CONSIDER king would still love her. raine saved her fucking life there and I'm still fucked up about it. it handles depression very well and its just. Man. that duet is one of the most memorable scenes in the show. darius abomination form is badass, raine's powers are so cool, the bats have my ENTIRE heart, the fucking MUSIC. brads music bangs. I love his soundtracks and this episode is just. always iconic to me.

that being said, I'm not entirely sure if it's my favorite episode right now? my brain flip flops on these things. right now I think it might be eclipse lake because it's just. SUCH a good episode. it's so gorgeous. the fight choreography, the animation, the lore, but most of all the EMOTION.

it has such excellent abuse rep. showing not only the complicated emotional reality of living with your abuser, of being dependent on your abuser, but also the fact that having an abusive relationship influences how you view ALL relationships. I love that amitys trauma isn't sidelined! what originally comes off as amity being a little TOO excited about having a girlfriend and also dana flipping off disney is shown to be amity being fucking terrified of losing this. she's so desperate to prove herself and since they're foils we gain knowledge as to what odalia and amitys relationship might've been like through hunter and gain insight into how hunter might view other relationships going forward through amity and it's LOVELY.

it also drives me insane that people use this episode as proof amity would hate hunter when. nah. nah, absolutely not. also I love how it shows how fucking KIND amity actually is. this boy's threatened and backstabbed her multiple times and is showing he's willing to do ANYTHING to win, and she still feels so much fucking sympathy for him. because she gets it. he's like her. she would've done this in his shoes. she offers him kindness and shows no sign of holding a grudge??? NONE???? this woman is fucking forgiving. she would have every right to hate his guts and she doesn't. idk what y'all mean when you say she's a jerk shes fucking KIND.

also hunters breakdown is painful to watch. I don't know what I can say about it that hasn't already been said. it's so raw and resonant, it feels like watching a real kid, it has such a realistic depiction of abused kids, what else can I say?

I also love the addressing of the cycle of abuse. hunter isn't a pure innocent baby here. he's manipulative and mean and cutthroat. hes a dick! I love him having anger issues because that's how abused kids often are! and I love amity backsliding! I love amity going tunnel vision! I love how realistic and painful the whole episode is!

they're just kids, man. you can tell the crew wanted this to be realistic and they succeeded.

I don't know which I like more. they're both just so GOOD.

(ask me things!)

[atlaswav]

Regarding that music reblog can u drop some music recommendations 🙏🙏🙏

ABSOLUTELY I LOVE THIS QUESTION the day has finally come when someone has asked me for music recs 🤞🤞 (i didn't know what to start with so ur gonna get a bunch of random artists i like)

also if anyone wants to ask for recs for anything at all (like books, fics, writers, etc.) pls ask!! i love sharing 🥳

beabadoobee — i love love love her new album this is how tomorrow goes, its 10/10 and every time she makes rock music adjacent she never fails to eat down and devour. my recs for her are beaches, take a bite, cologne, talk and ripples because they all have a sort of nostalgic vibe. like they're somehow so familiar even though you've never heard them before. i love beabadoobee she's so good at what she does.

hozier — okay i know he's lowkey middle aged woman core but his lyricism AND production are literally unmatched i get why the lesbians love him. I'd recommend dinner and diatribes, jackie and wilson, northern attitude (by noah kahan ft hozier), angel of small death and the codeine scene and movement 🙏 his music makes me absolutely ascend to a different plane of existence.

laufey — call me a basic asian all you want but laufey synthesises older jazz/classical sound with modern lyricism and structure and creates something so beautiful i love her so much and i regret missing out on her concert tickets every day. i love love love night light, must be love, let you break my heart again, dreamer and lovesick, all her instrumentals never miss. her songwriting is also top notch and gives young, dumb and in love energy ykwim 😍

taylor swift — HEAR ME OUT her new album specifically the anthology half of ttpd has like no skips and i will die on this hill. her older music is good too but i am here to talk about the anthology. the anthology has 10/10 songwriting and minimal production which makes the lyrics stand out more and i love it. i'd recommend the black dog, the prophecy, how did it end and peter because they make me want to scream and cry tbh. also good inspo for fic writing LOL

billie eilish — i have been a fan of hers since my emo phase in 2018 and i can confirm that finneas' production is genius. honestly i recommend the entirety of hit me hard and soft because it was meant to be listened to continuously with all the melodic motifs and lyrical motifs but yeah. also no time to die was a cultural shift that changed my brains hardwiring.

chase atlantic — okay wild 360 from billie eilish and soft ballads (and this artist has lowkey been ruined for me by a certain someone..) but they do have bangers 🎉 i love heaven and back, right here, die for me and dancer in the dark, their music is really sexual though so uh parental guidance 🤞

the neighbourhood — i love love love the vibe of their discography and even though their music might be counted as "tiktok" music because of some of their popular songs they're still so good. I recommend reflections, compass, devil's advocate and stargazing. introspective kinda vibes with their music yk.

the arctic monkeys — I LOVE THEM AND i regret not going to their tour every single hour. alex turner might be a grandpa but i love his accent in his songs and the production is literally liquid gold. pls listen to stop the world i wanna get off with you, snap out of it, fluorescent adolescent, you're so dark, one for the road, and honestly their entire AM album. It's their most popular for a good reason i fear.

i feel like i've rambled way too much but i do have more if you'd like. can you tell i'm a mainstream music kinda person with a couple less popular artists 😭😭 ANYWAY THANK YOU FOR ASKING I LOVE SHARING MUSIC AND DISCUSSING MUSIC ITS THAT INNER MUSIC NERD WITHIN ME if you'd like classical music recs however i'd be too scared to say anything at fear of invoking the wrath of my other classically trained musicians

[nebulanewts]

So to the surprise of absolutely no one,here are my first impressions of each Fly With You!! solo song on the new Nijigasaki album :] (listen I’ve been waiting for this for SO LONG like…how many times have I referenced wondering when Nijigasaki’s 5th / 6th album to come out??)

🎀 “Walking Dream” : 7/10 - Ok,so the song itself is super pretty,it feels like I’m sitting on a cloud with the light + dreamy feeling it has,but here’s the thing…I read somewhere that the English lyrics were “interesting” and as someone who isn’t a big fan of yandere Ayumu memes I really didn’t want to believe it…but MAN did they run with it in this song,like she is way more aggressive this time like here’s some examples: “I want you to be trapped in me forever” “Who are you looking at? Don’t do that” “The private account you have, the secret hobbies you have - As long as it’s about you I know everything” - Like hello? Hi? Is it just me reading too far into this or what?? Because it looks to me like this was done on purpose 👀 idk it’s started to grow on me more now that I’ve heard the whole song,it’s not like my FAVORITE Ayumu song but it’s very pretty and I like it even if the lyrics are a little questionable cndjdj

👑 “Senobi Shittate” : 8 or 9/10 - Not gonna lie,I don’t think the preview did this song justice bc I wasn’t sure about it at first BUT the full song is definitely better,I like that they’ve been giving Kasumi more “mature” sounding songs bc while the cutesy idol sound works for her too,this sort of slower dramatic guitar song also fits her image a lot too :0c idk it’s a nice balance,we have songs for bubbly cutesy number one idol Kasumin and songs for the less confident shyer Nakasu Kasumi it’s a nice balance ^^ one of my favorites so far

💧 “Koakuma LOVE ♡” : 10/10 - Ok so my first impression of the preview still stands now because…um…HUH???? This does not sound anything like any other Shizuku song we’ve heard - it’s very fluffy and cute,she’s using onomatopoeia like “kyururin” and “doki doki”,she even talk-raps at some points…wait a minute…this isn’t a Shizuku song at all,this is a Kasumi song! It’s like Mia sent these two the wrong songs on accident,but they didn’t notice and went with it anyway chdjdj but I love it,it’s still one of my favorite songs on this album for the sheer silliness alone it’s fantastic,tbh she never makes a bad solo song in my opinion

👠 “My Shadow” : 10/10 - KARIN! NEVER! MISSES!! I’m just so happy that she finally has a jazzy funky song,it’s a sound I’ve always wanted her to try and now that she has one it’s AMAZING! It really suits her,one of my favorite things about Karin is that she never does the same concept / sound twice like there’s something for everyone and I love it,I love this song it MIGHT be my one of my favorites on the album and my favorite Karin solo it’s SO good

👏 “Request for U” : 7/10 - Well…I like that they slowed it down this time for Ai,plus the funkier trumpet sound is nice idk how to describe it’s not BAD,like it wouldn’t be an instant skip for me but I’m not going out of my way to listen to it ykwim?? For me I like her other solos a lot better,but it’s a good listen regardless

🐏 “Cooking with Love” : 12/10 - YEP! This one is my favorite,I knew it would be just from the preview but this did not disappoint like we know Kanata can do EDM bc of Butterfly - but they took it to another *level* with this song,it’s so sweet and sugary but then the DROP??? The drop near the end blew my mind,like I definitely didn’t see that coming that at all,it was amazing I love this song so much omg - to think Kanata would be the second Nijigaku member to have a kawaii bass-ish song along w/ Rina is a little bit of a surprise,but definitely a welcome one ^^

🎙️ “Cherry Bomb” : 9/10 - First of all,Hayamaru is a SPECTACULAR Setsuna like she captures the feeling of the character while also doing her own thing if that makes sense I think this is a great debut song for her,usually I’m pretty 50/50 on Setsuna’s songs but this one is really good :0c I love the drums and how high energy it is,it’s definitely up there on my favorite songs on the album and favorite solos of hers

🍞 “Koisuru Sunflower” : 8/10 - …ok so I mean this in the nicest way possible,but this song kinda sounds like the Coconut Mall theme in Mario Kart not fully but a little bit ok cndjdj anyways smth I like about Emma’s solos is they always have this warm comfy feel like they’re just hugs in song form - this one feels like I’m chilling on the beach,watching the sunset w/ a fun little drink in hand and it’s really nice :] not much else to say,I just like this song a lot which isn’t surprising because all of Emma’s solos are pretty good

🛜 “Watashi wa Magnet” : 6/10 - Well…this may be the first Rina solo that isn’t immediately one of my favorites,it’s kind of like Ai’s where it’s not bad but I’m not gonna seek it out ykwim?? It’s a cute song but not really my style,it’s a little slower than I expected it to sound ig

🔖 “Koufukuron” : 5/10 - Y’know,I was REALLY hoping that they just previewed the wrong part of the song but…why would you give this girl outfits with names like “Royal Skeleton” and “Undead Celeb” if you’re going to give her a generic pop ballad?? It’s not like. The worst song it’s fine but it’s definitely my least favorite Shioriko solo 😔 which makes me sad because I love her so much…maybe it’ll grow on me but for right now it’s my least favorite solo on this album like again it’s not horrible but I’m a little disappointed because imo her outfit choices built it up to be something it isn’t ykwim??? Maybe that’ll change but for now it’s kinda meh imo :/

🎩 “Lemonade” : 7/10 - So we’ve gone from a Taylor Swift song in 2006 to Avril Lavigne song to Avril Lavigne b-side and now we’ve circled back to a b-side on a Disney pop star’s album,honestly I’m loving Mia’s song journey chdjdj but this is probably my favorite out of the slower songs,it’s just cute and boppy Mia has one of my favorite voices in Nijigaku + I think she can pull off a lot of different concepts w/ this being no exception - not much else to say,it’s just a nice song (and I’m glad that they’ve dialed it back w/ the weird lyrics for her…for a second there she always got the slightly suspicious lyrics but this time it’s decent)

🪽 “5201314 (I Love You Forever)” : 10/10 - WHOA!!!! Lanzhu bringing in the HEAT after all of the slower songs before her,oh my g o d this song is amazing :0 I like that she speaks Chinese more,I like that it sounds like video game BGM,this might have topped Ye Mingzhu for me when it comes to Lanzhu solos like…that intro alone slapped me in the face but in the best way possible WOW this song is awesome,as expected of the queen herself to end this set of solos with a bang

🌈 “Fly with You!!” : 9/10 - Usually Nijigaku’s group songs aren’t really my thing,but this one is nice :] it makes me think of like…Hirogaru Precure for some reason even tho I haven’t seen a single episode of any Pretty Cure series cjdjdj it’s a little orchestral but also a good cheer up song idk what it is,but it’s probably one of my fave group songs now

[asexualbookbird]

okay finished daughters of izdihar last night and have sat on it. I finished it myself, not via audio, and I think the audio did it a real disservice but i still dont think i would have enjoyed it a whole lot.

the audio hm. the narrator for Girogina is that same who does the Rool & Rose audios and i LOVE her there but she felt kind of flat? I wonder if it was just Giorgina as a character though because i found myself liking Giorgina less in book form and Nehal more compared to the audio. I mentioned it before but Nehal's narrator would cut out at some points and it sounded like it was dubbed over? Rerecorded and cut in? mostly with non English words so I wonder if she pronounced things wrong and went back and fixed it. Which is good and fine and how things should be but it was jarring to listen to.

the book itself though! wow did i want More. More weaving, mostly. I did my best not comparing it to Avatar, but uh. When our main character who I've been picturing as Katara suddenly starts bloodbendingweaving uhhhhhHHHH its kind of hard. I did NOT want a Magic School Story, but we just breezed right on by Nehal learning how to use her power. She took one class and was The Best At Weaving. I like her drive as a character and that people do call her out for being brash, but honestly? I don't think she's selfish! She's a little out of touch in terms of her wealth and reputation, but she's not as selfish as her mother makes her think she is!!

Nico sucks. Giorgina my girl you can do soooo much better. The guy won't stop asking you to be his concubine no matter how many times you say no. Dump him lmao I dont care how progressive he is. HE'S the selfish one. Its just hes the best this world has in terms of men. So. Slim pickings

I think my biggest complaint is I could easily find this plot and characters in a YA novel and I did not want to read a YA novel. I mentioned before, I'm trying to be aware about that Feeling when the book is by a woman, especially a woman of color, and deals with diversity and civil rights. There IS a problem with people calling those books YA despite ABSOLUTELY NOT BEING YA (poppy war lmao, babel, night circus) but this is on the cusp i think much like Bone Season is. And in the same way, leans too heavily on that YA side. The useless parents (adults in YA), love triangles (I feel like this one can resolve in a way id like tbh, though i wish itd go the iron widow route lol), emotional immaturity (trying very hard to remember being 22 and how emotionally immature i still was but my god i was not Like This). The bones are here, the meat is missing.

Something I DID enjoy though was Giorgina wasnt seen as weak for keeping her head down!! Yeah Nehal looked down on her sometimes, but the narrative didn't. Nehal learned sometimes you have to do things quietly and Giorgina learned sometimes you have to be loud. It was a good duality! And something that bugged me a LOT about Girls of Paper and Fire. So for real this book wasnt All Bad! I might even grab the sequel from the library eventually. It just. Was disappointing.

[goliraz]

cracker island track by track review

'review' used very loosely. These R the thoughts of a tipsy scouser

got too long so it's hidden; it is mainly critical tbh not because Im negative or mean its just my track by track thoughts and on sound alone this (2 me) was the weakest album they've ever put out

cracker island: if it came on in a club I would dance to it but I don't know if Id be having a great time. The song feels way more redundant than it might actually be because there's only like 1 melody in it. The instrumental melody & the vocals r the same. So IDK it's like. Its definitely technically a song. But it's like the bare minimum of a song

oil: I wish if any of the songs on this album broke from the popsynth fake drums mold it would be this one. The thing about Stevie Nicks is I don't listen to fleetwood mac at all but her voice is so unique and captivating. It crushes me like an anvil on my head that they didn't even let her sing on her own + kept her to a secondary harmony the whole time. This more than any of the other songs would have benefitted from real instruments IMO. The up a perfect fourth down a perfect third hook is catchy & that pattern can't fail it sounds good nomatter what.

the tired influencer: at this point in the album Im starting to wonder why they even bother with the characters playing instruments anymore cos what did noodle do on this album. There's like no guitar at all on the album. All the bass is synth bass. The characters' function in the band/story is getting less & less relevant to the music it annoys me. IDK this song is boring 2 me. Its like if the Fall was overproduced and had nothing 2 say

silent running: this song has always since it came out felt half finished. It's like the basis of a song that's not done IDK I feel like it's missing a component that might make it feel whole. The feature could have been deleted and the song would be the exact same; something I notice about the features on this album except Bootie brown & bad bunny is that they're extremely underutilized to the point where they might not have even been there. Like ur featuring an artist to do a background harmony??? Maybe this song will feel more done & real when I hear the piano version

new gold: 1 of the better ones on the album for me completely because of Bootie brown. Even though they took a rapper who is so strong and good even (especially) live and put his voice through 100million filters and dampened his skill completely. The live version of this one is how I wish it sounded on the album cos the energy of Bootie's part in that saves this song; timing is kind of cool but it's not like. New in any way.

baby queen: if they had changed the presentation of each instrumental in this song they could have made it an 80s synthpop genre piece like aries that would have been 4x better. I wish it wasn't so so so so so so boring to me. It just sounds like all the other songs on the album IG it feels like a filler song to me. Even just better/less smooth tone/effects on the synth wld have been something but suppose not

tarantula: it's catchy but it feels low effort. The lyrics r dumb IDK how else to put it not that they're inherently stupid but they're dumbed down. Compared to sum of their earlier more 'romantic' minded lyrics like every planet + some of the stuff off plastic beach, "if ur good for me and Im good for u then that's all I need in my life" sounds like a 2014 pop lyric geared towards the 11-16 age demographic u feel. Lyrically they've dumbed down their shit so much

tormenta: fine I guess. It's mid reggaeton that's too produced and smooth to even dance to. If it came on in a club compared to most other bad bunny songs I've heard not even the bad bunny fans would dance. It's like. Too slow to be what the only things going for it would suggest it is. The little synth break at around like 2:40 is the prettiest thing in the song to me I wish maybe they had leaned more towards that for tone instead of trying for something the song is just not

skinny ape: the third better song on the album. In terms of like well these are better than the rest. Like it's this new gold and oil I think. Maybe this is the song that feels the most comfortable in what it is. It sounds exactly like 2012 radio pop in the self proclaimed "alternative" genre like grouplove an shit. Like it sounds like 1 song in particular but I cant remember what it is and its driving me fucking mental. Something about it is likeable even though the lyrics are so fucking dumb I wanna tear my ears off. U are not a cartoon G damon u are an embarrassing middle aged geezer

possession island: like if Idaho kind of forgot its poignancy. But there's something really beautiful about the first minute of it. Maybe this is actually one of the better ones too. The further Im getting into it the more Im liking it. I don't see why beck had to be there. It's like the plague of this album they feature someone to literally sing backup. Anyway the further I get in this song the more I like it I think it's my favourite song on this album probably. OK goodbye

addendum: if I listened 2 any of these songs coked out of my mind they'd probably sound fine so maybe I should just save this album 4 those circumstances

[thedelolos]

neverafter ep. 4live thoughts

okay here are my live thoughts from neverafter ep. 4 under the cut

Live thoughts on Neverafter 4

The opening didn’t change?? I hope that this means good things for the party 

THEY STARTED WITH BRENNAN ALONE ufbbuw Like you can just tell by the audio quality change (there aren’t any other people to reverb against so the mic sounds flatter)

YES GEPPETTO

WE ARE GETTING TIMELOOP? HVGJHKGHHKT

SOLO PLAY

“Hey lou, you wanna come play some dnd?”

“I don’t know, cause it feels like you’ll kill me again”

This is great truly

Wait are we getting like? An episode of solo sessions?? That’s really cool tbh

I will be making a lou reaction image because these facial expressions that he’s making are really good Poor pinocchio, i can’t imagine being in this state 

“While the world was changing, the rules were not” i think that line is actually really powerful, like it’s small. But i think it is central to pinocchio as a character. 

WHO’S THIS??

WE GOT A CRICKET

Where’s my ghost cricket art 

Yooo Pinocchio ghost 

One man’s dead is another man’s alive

Pinocchio is so sad and i feel bad for him 

“With that attitude it might just stay different”

Strings?? Stepmother again? 

Wait was that the door behind brennan?? That’s really cool 

Gosh Stepmother is terrifying 

A missing doorknob?? He actually got the door knob.

WAIT BRO DON’T TELL HER BRO 

‘YOU WERE FRUENDS”

NO THE NOSE 

Give me the knife

Untranslusent 

The long arm, this is really some other mother stuff 

Pinocchio gotta break that nose back off quick, he’s gonna have to lie if he wants to break free of her   

SNAPS THE NOSE OFF YOUR FACE YO WHAT

Yeah i’m officially terrified of her 

“Who do we know who has blood?”

NOOOOO SHE’S GONNA TAKE BLOOD FROM HIS DAD NOO

BRENNAN BIRD NOISES

NOOOO SHE USED HIS NOSE 

SHE’S SO EVIL AND MANIPULATIVE

No more Senator?? *cries*

“Dreamy – and all it cost was my father’s blood”

“The mice were not taken into consideration” no because nobody ever remember the mice

A NAT 20 AND NO ONE IS HERE TO CELEBRATE

Violence in Amanti?? 

Like the drawings in tim’s book?? Interesting. So it seems like she has some sway over the stories, if she can put him into a new one 

I’m really curious to see how things change for pib 

Dropped attachments? Dropped to all fours 

Follow the curiosity, become a truer version of yourself 

SPIRIT CAT 

Shedding your skin? 

Wait are they the same people who become different people in different tales? 

So the role of the cat is to subvert the story one way or another? 

Could Zac come back as the rabbit or the fox? 

“Not all shit’s the same buddy” 

Cat i love you never change 

New boots and cape, a darker story? 

A little less paddington lol  

A ring and daggers, inchresting 

Wolf’s fang daggers

She awakes back in her bed, fresh flowers in the the vase. Wait are we finally gonna get to meet cindy?? 

Yo this armor is cool as hell 

“We’re somewhere a little unfinished”

“We can die more often than most people”

Poor Rosamund

So do Rosamund and Cinderella and Snow

Destiny is a project by the fairies 

This line about the coat is epic 

So Rosamund is a Ranger 

Cinderella is an Eldritch Knight Fighter or Paladin maybe?

A Snow is a spellcaster, based on the learning line i’m gonna go wizard 

CRIT

DANG THESE NARRATIVE CRITS 

So the book has awakened the party?

 Many of the kinder worlds have already died, keep an eye out for witches and and especially fairies 

12 DANCING PRINCESSES??

So basically Snow and Cindy are creating a coalition of princesses 

7 fairies?? 

Wisdom as one of the gifts? That makes so much sense with rangers being wis casters

YOO She’s got the spindle now that’s so cool, i wonder if she can use that to put other people to sleep, like if it is attached to an arrow 

I wonder if Red and Pib are in the same woods, 

“you already killed me once?” is that how red got her curse?

I wonder if the cha check is gonna come up 

Ylfa i love you you silly little girl

“The only time you will accept to make your life worthwhile is forever” that’s metal brennan

“My grandma taught me how to shop” 

YLFA ASKING ABOUT JACK CRYING

Ylfa really do be like, “Can I call my grandma? I’d like to phone a friend”

YLFA I’M CRYING SHE DESERVES SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS WORLD

“There’s a part of her that ate the wolf too” grandma got grandma swag 

I really hope that the warmth on the cloak is a protection enhancement or something bc if were gonna open ylfa’s bottleneck again then she’s gotta have a higher AC lol 

Blood in the water oh no 

MURPH NAT 1 

YO IT’S PINOCCHIO’S FAIRY

I’m very suspicious of her 

Mmmm nope i’m here for the princess revolution i don’t trust the fairies 

NOPE DO NOT TELL THIS FAIRY ABOUT THE BOOK 

“If anything this is a sequel” lol

So Elody is part of the princess pact (yes that is what i am calling the princesses now)

DO NOT GIVE THIS SHARD

I don’t think she can touch the glass because it’s an artifact to go in the book 

Wait so did gerard never get turned human in this new story?

Curious to see how ally’s play through is different because mother goose is the holder of the book 

“Run afoul” i’m crying brennan

Mother goose is preserving the stories in the way they should be and leaving them happy?

So jack is not mother goose’s son in this world So that is how this world will be darker for mother goose, because his son won’t be his son there 

So the gander is satan and the goose is god? 

WAIT WAS I RIGHT ABOUT MOTHER GOOSE’S SUBCLASS?? COLLEGE OF SPIRITS WOULD BE SO GOOD IF THEY CAN JUST SUMMON STORIES FROM THE BOOK 

Maybe it’s a modified version of the subclass with the stories as new homebrewed tale from beyond options to choose from 

I think i trust the goose? Because the goose doesn’t seem to want to control the stories 

“You view all the world as your children” crying 

“It’s a very safe waiting room”

Extra spells known?? Intriguing, hopefully more crowd control and heals 

“The book is not as special as the man who holds it” 

Yay everyone back to the table!!

That was a really good episode, i’m really glad that we have this timeloop this is gonna be a fun season

[justaredheadf1fan]

It's finally time for the start of the season

Hello again, my darlings!

As I said on my previous post, just in case you didn't read it, I'm gonna write about the pressers from Thursday and all Free Practice sessions in one post and Quali and the race in another, I'll see if it's dynamic enough. No idea if it'll be any good but anyway, I'll section the posts with subheadings so that if we want to read a specific part, it'll be easier to find.

I forgot to mention yesterday, that I LOVED LOVED LOVED that Susie Wolff has been appointed the Managing Director of the F1 Academy. I'm so happy for her. I did mention last week that I'd hoped for her to be the new Williams Team Principal, but this is even better. She's gonna make this challenge her baby and she's gonna crush it. I'm sure of it.

After all that, here we go.

Press conference - Thursday

The press conference format has finally changed, the sofa's back and it looks more relaxed maybe? I like it better tbh.

Alonso's hair definitely has a life of its own 🤣 this man is insane, honestly. It must be the Aston Martin effect, but we'll have to see if they finally flop or what.

Nico talking about his talks with Kevin and their renewed relationship is actually funny to me. I'm expecting violence in Haas again. I'm truly waiting for the downfall of Haas from within to happen. I feel sorry for the boys but not for Haas 😗

I think Nyck is super cute, he looks like a kid even if he's closer to my age than most of the other drivers on the grid. But after last year I expect good things from him and I'm excited for him to do good.

I still don't care about Piastri, I don't even like the way he talks. And no, it's not due to the Daniel thing, it's just I don't get a good vibe from him, there's something about him that I don't like at all. And Logan looks like a nice fella, we'll have to see. Typical American by the way he speaks, no doubt, but I hope he's once of the nice ones. He does look like one, at least for now.

I don't care what people say, but I love how George speaks, he's so sensible and eloquent. Plus, his accent is top tier and it makes everything sound so smooth. Anywho, I hope the Merc boys have the car they deserve this year and that it's not just looks 🥲

Sharl being unintentionally funny as usual is the best part of this. He's right though about them and all the other teams not showing everything they got during testing, which is why I'm both hopeful and terrified about the reality check I might get hit with in the face this weekend.

It's weird seeing Pierre rocking the Alpine team gear. He looks more relaxed maybe, or it might just be my impression.

Free Practice 1 - Friday

Okay, so not much going on really in general. Just as expected, kind of. Aston Martin is doing quite well, which after testing was in the cards so, we'll have to see whether it's something that eventually will just stop or it'll just stay the same or even improve. This proves that, as my friend Marina says, Seb's eternal debriefings were worth it. Damn it Seb, and you had to leave before it started paying off?! I miss you, please come back 🥲

Other than the green surprise at the moment, the rest looks kind of the same as last year, more or less. Hopefully, Mercedes won't look the same because otherwise I don't know what hope there will be left. Lewis has had a few good times, so I have a little hope so far, hope I'm not wrong in the end.

I'm actually quite surprised with Lance, because he's driving after having surgery on his hands which is insane to me, and he's doing a fantastic job too. No, we won't tolerate Lance slander on this page, WE STAN LANCE. With that said, I'm sorry but I need AM to flop.

McLaren flopping is my new mood. I'm honestly happy about it, I hope it gets worse. I might not be quite the good person for this, but they deserve the worst. I said what I said.

Carlos scraped the floor of his car and had a near miss that I think I speak for everyone, none of us expected.

Other than that, I don't have much else to say until FP2, so let's see what the afternoon brings us.

Free Practice 2 - Friday

What the hell is going on with Aston Martin? No, seriously, what have they fed them now? Jesus, that shit is crazy.

I mean, this session has been insane. Lance making P1 and Nico P2 was like a fantasy to watch and then comes Alonso and takes P1 and owns the session basically. It wasn't unexpected after FP1, but come on.

I still find it incredible that Lance could drive at all, honestly. I've seen that he was having trouble with his hands but I mean... That shows the kind of person/driver he truly is.

Other than this, we'll have to see what tomorrow brings, literally.

Free Practice 3 - Saturday

Afternoon folks, finally Saturday!

I'm seeing Lewis set purple sectors and getting P1 as I type which is giving me major hope, and I'm scared. I NEED THIS TO BE FOR REAL ALL SEASON.

Not much going on in general, so I'm gonna take the chance to comment on something I didn't say yesterday watching the rest of the sessions.

So, I truly like Lance. He's a menace and he's underappreciated and underrated, in my opinion. That said, I don't understand how the FIA have allowed him to drive this weekend. I mean, you can see he has trouble with his right hand specifically, what if he had an accident or he had trouble steering during the race and crashed against another driver? How would he get out of the car if he needed to do it quickly? He's truly doing a fantastic job especially given the circumstances but... I would've understood better if he had come back for Jeddah instead of Bahrain. Plus, we know our little buddy loves war crimes as much as Alonso does, so it's not truly safe for him to be driving.

And, on the other hand (pun intended), we see the FIA's "concern" about Lewis' piercings. Are you kidding me? A grown ass man who has made HIS CHOICE about the matter apart from having a medical recommendation for him not to take his piercings out all the time because it's not good. Anyone who has piercings or knows anything about them knows about the materials being mostly safe for a tone of situations and about the problems of changing or removing them and putting them back on repeatedly in a short period of time.

A choice btw about something that ONLY affects HIM if anything were to happen. You know what that's called? Targeting, discriminating and, therefore, racism. Plainly because he's the only (black) driver been chased about this. Have Checo or Kevin stopped wearing their wedding bands while driving? Has Pierre stopped wearing his cross necklace during the races? It's just a few examples, and I don't think that they should follow this rule just now if they're aware of the risks and it's their choice to take the risk. But have they been pursued about any of this? Nope. Just the one person.

Back to the topic, Alonso crushing it again today, but it's good news that Lewis and George are there for now too. They're doing good, so we'll have to see how this goes in the end.

How fantastic would it be to just see Alonso and Sid the Sloth battling at the top and eliminating each other for not backing down? Because I think we all know Verstappen doesn't move because he doesn't know how to overtake, but we also know that if Alonso were given the chance to fight for Top 3, he would not move and he'd kick his grandma if need be.

Anyway, it's been nice to see the cars go vroom vroom again. We'll have to see the reality during Quali and the Race. Let's hope for the actual good stuff.

Peace out!

[arvandus]

Stranger Things Thoughts:

I’ve been rewatching Stranger Things for the first time and I’m now on season 3.  Here are some of my hot takes:

- Season 1 was truly fantastic. The best season.  The way they built up the suspense and the mystery... I was scared all over again even though I knew everything, which was a testament to its quality.

- Still pissed at Nancy for ignoring her friend who was obviously miserable and uncomfortable just so she could hang out with her boyfriend. I would NEVER.

- Bob deserved better.

- There’s a definite vibe change in the setting from season 2 to season 3 and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

- Joyce is an absolute beast and I fucking love her; she’s probably the closest character to me emotionally. It’s that mom energy - the way she cares for El in season 1 and her tiger mom vibes for Will... I can relate deep in my soul.

- Poor Will deserves better. He’s suffered so much!

- The confrontation between Will and Mike in Season 3, where Mike says, “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” and Will gets this wide-eyed look... THAT was the moment.  That was the moment when it clicked for Will why he was so jealous of El and Mike. It was the first time he finally understood what his feelings *meant* which was probably a big part of why he ran away, hid away in his hide-out, called himself “stupid” and then took a bat to everything. And then tried to brush the whole conflict off as “not a big deal” when it obviously WAS a big deal. Poor boy realized he was gay and wanted to bury that shit waaayyy deep so one one could find it.

- On a side note, I can only imagine what Will might have been thinking... he’d been taken the upside down where he almost died, was pretty much impregnated against his will (recall the baby Demogorgon he coughed up??) possessed, and the Mindflayer STILL has some hold on him because he can sense him when he’s active.  And with the way that homosexuality was treated in the 80s, I’m sure he thought he was a monster, a freak, that maybe the feelings he had for his best friend were wrong and vile.  That they were something that was the result of what he’d gone through, something that was done to him, rather than it being a very natural and acceptable part of who he was as a person.  THIS POOR BOY I CAN’T RIGHT NOW.

- Mike started out as such a good character but each season has gotten progressively worse and it makes me so sad...

- I remember El’s abilities being so badass when I first saw them; but now on the rewatch, they’ve lost their impact for me because I’m so used it (and it’s very overdone every season - can she level up...? Like... at all?).

- Steve and Nancy never really had a breakup...? Like... wtf was that?  They had a fight during the party and the day after... but like... an actual breakup wasn’t established? And then Nancy hooked up with Jonathan?  Excuse me, but what??

- I miss season 3 Robin when she was less chaos incarnate and more smart, snarky nerd.

- Steve and his bat are the OTP.

- I like all the scenes that have the clock ticking sounds... it all ties it in together which I enjoy.

- Season 3 Hopper is SO FLAWED but tbh I appreciate it because it’s important for his character development.

- On a side note, the running theme of his abuse of his power as chief of police makes me cringe a little thanks to real life events. I know it’s just a show and we as the audience know he’s the good guy so his actions are ‘justified,’ but still... the overall theme of “I can do what I want because of my authority” has not aged well, imo.

- I’m not looking forward to season 4 because I know what’s going to happen and I’m not ready for that pain again....

[muff1nqwq]

sorry i havent been around in a while, things have gotten crazy, im sure you get it. my first day of being a sophmore (10th grader) starts tomorrow and while im not extremely nervous it is also 11:50 at night and i have to wake up at 6:15, ignore the specific time as it is never specific, its an estimate at best.

i have this thing called band camp that has been going on for the last couple of days. basically i play my trumpet (her name is Margaret) for 4 hours in preparation for football season (im in the band, we have to play at football games) idk where you are ofc, so to clarify, this is american football. the concussion sport.

i picked up tarot reading and it's super silly, i would recommend. its funny to think that the cards are supposed to have their own personality. id say that i dont see it, but they told me to shut up once, sassy ass cards...

i havent been hurting myself as much because of how busy i am + how cold it is. a thing about me is that i cannot ever cvt when its cold. maximum discomfort. 0/10 stars. not funky fresh.

my ex and i started talking less often and im kinda glad it happened, which might be mean to say, considering were friends still, but theres so much to do, to worry about that i can barely keep up with things.

anyways, i think thats most of it. btw if you ever dont know how to respond to one of my rambles, id love it if you might just add your own story? about anything!!!! i like hearing from you!

— rin

hiya Rin :DDD I missed u!!

GL in school!! I'm gonna b a Freshman this year and I'm excited-nervous abt it... At least its gonna b the same ppl ( even though the principal warned us abt a rush of new students, but its better than going 2 a brand new school ) I gotta fix my sleep schedule so bad, I stay up till 3am and wake up at noon :'3

:0000 IM IN BAND TOO :DD I play clarinet :3 ( btw I love how u called football the "concussion sport" XDDDD )

Tarot reading sounds so cool :000 i rlly like astrology and numerology ( I'm an Aquarius :3 )

4 me it's still hot af here, even though snow melted like 3 weeks b4 summer break :> but yesterday I went 2 go walk my doggo and right as we were turning back, it started raining, and my dumbass didn't bring a jacket and I was wearing an oversized T-shirt and shorts, so I was running ( in flip-flops ) 4 ten mins in the rain tryna get back 2 my house lolol X'3

That sounded like a line from a book I read a few yrs ago XD ( but I hope ur still finding time 4 urself :) )

A few nights ago I was rlly, RLLY hyped up 4 highschool... Same school, few new kids, new teachers, maybe a new rep... Then I thought abt what my rep would b like. I mean tbh I don't mind if I'm known as a weirdo furry theatre kid, but last yr my ex-bestie spread nasty rumours bout me, manipulate me and my friend group, and overall make everyone avoid me. At least my friends knew what she's all abt and stuck w me 4 the whole yr, but like... What if the rumours spread 2 the new kids and bad stuff happen?? So then I stayed up thinking bout that and at 2am I multiswiped 10 times and I named the cvt Jeffo :3 ( I haven't cvt in weeks cuz I didn't have many Band-Aids left )

Have a good day Rin :DDD

-Muffin

[whatswrongwithmeh]

05/07/2024

I had a few good days when I believed I doomed their relationship. It was a little tricky tbh because my mind was pretty occupied by this. It was like reopening my wounds but I thought the goal was worth it. Anyways, it didn’t work. 5 days later they still played games together. I wonder how that checks out. I’m really angry because I probably would’ve pushed cheating aside as well. I loved him so much I forgave everything. Until the very bitter end I never left him for what he did to me and I let myself be pushed around and be left. I can never say that I realized my worth or anything because I would’ve never left. He did a good job picking someone with even less self esteem than me. He can pull any stunt he wants and probably gets away with it. It’s kinda gross. Maybe I got left because she’s even easier? He got bored after breaking me so much. No look, I would be fine if she would get to experience the same shit I experienced. Like she got cheated on in less than a month. But he talks his way out of these things. Master manipulator. I’m scared. Everyone says he won’t change but I’m scared he might. I’m scared he’s gonna treat her well and improve. And they get to have something somewhat healthy and happy. It’s not fair. It’s poisoning my mind. It sounds so delusional to talk about healthy after he cheated but maybe it was only with me and now it will never happen again. Maybe that’s something you can suppress and ignore. I mean if it really never happens again? It only stopped because I moved out and the easy access is gone. It’s disgusting. Why is it working out? I’m going insane.

I thought I have no tears left to cry but I woke up in the morning several times just crying like I broke up yesterday. I miss him and it’s painful because I would’ve forgiven it too. It’s pathetic but despite all his lies and him mistreating me we had some good times. And I don’t want him to thrive right now. It’s an unfair shortcut through missing me. I don’t even know if he misses me. After my stunt I think he has a valid reason to hate me. That would be too easy on him. And it really scares me. Despite everything I was hoping to be someone worth missing. I want to feel like a loss. And at this rate I was only a burden, a toxic wrong piece and switching me out brought happiness to everyone except me. I’m really hurt. I loved him he was supposed to be my forever. I was hoping with time and patience he’d improve and we’d get along. But I was just not desirable anymore. I feel so terrible about myself I don’t know what to do. His entire family disliked me compared to her. 6 years for what.. That everyone is glad I’m gone? I hate this so much

I feel like I was set up for failure, I didn’t deserve this. What’s happening to me is unfair and I want someone to make up for it. Does Karma really not exist? I haven’t seen it pay out like ever.

Why did I even bother to bust him, I only hurt myself. They probably overcame that together and even grew closer, uniting over their shared hatred for me. I did them a solid. I’m sad. I’m driving my car and I’m sad he won’t drive me around when he gets his license. He probably won’t waste a thought for me. I wanted that life so bad. It wouldn’t have been good but he was always enough for me. It feels noble to say and it hurts even more that despite all that it was me who wasn’t good enough.

All that patience. I cried a lot while being with him. The lies hurt. Why do I sometimes feel like it was worth it? What is it about him that I keep glorifying and loving? It’s stupid I can never have it back. It wasn’t even that good. How long will it take for me to really feel that way? I can only hope that loneliness is making me feel this conflicted and delusional. And as soon as I experience genuine love and touch I can leave this behind. I’m sadly just really sheltered and stuck. I don’t know how to find someone who would want me. I don’t even want myself.

Im still terrified of rejection. I hate being alone..

[kwon-eunbi]

I do not miss the constant deadlines of academia at all. Like, I loved going to class and learning and filling my head with interesting things, but the stress of deadlines and exams were awful. Being a librarian would be so amazing, would you want to work in a small library or a big one? Or like a community library or an academic one?

It was actually for Chinese linguistics, it was about tracing modern languages back to Middle Chinese and untangling how they evolved. I speak Mandarin, Russian, and English, and I’m supposed to speak French, but I don’t, don’t tell anyone. I lived in Paris and my dad’s partner is French Canadian, but I can only kind of read it. I love learning languages, though, I started Korean for an ex (when we were together ofc) and even though that’s over I keep going back to it because I enjoy the puzzle of sentence construction.

It's a good cover! Sounds basically the opposite of Wooyoung’s, and yet I think both of them capture the emotions of the song and lyrics in different ways.

I have such a soft spot for “Say My Name”, it was when I started listening to them, and I was like look at these kiddos going WILD. “Bad bitch, watch her do coke” indeed! But I do love when Hongjoong dresses fashionably but in an artsy way, if that makes sense, where he uses looks that aren’t exactly pretty as part of his performance, like the mullet in 2019. But honestly he’s just a crazy good performer, he could wear a paper bag and I’d be applauding wildly like YES king you are SO right. And Wooyoung with his little brother vibes off the chart through the whole era (and every other era tbh).

I like their melodic songs a lot, when I get frustrated with a piece on violin, I’ll play a little kpop song as a reset for fun, and “Precious”, “Horizon” and “Inception” are all go-to songs for that. But when I listen to their more melodic songs, I’m digging through there for the harmonies cause I just find those so much more interesting, when San finally gave in and started modulating in their performances of “Turbulence” on It’s Live? Ohhh those got me. He said no tritones on my watch! I might prefer their less pretty music tho? Like “Fireworks” or “Deja Vu” or “The Real”. I don’t know, but there’s not really a wrong answer.

For “Guerilla”, I joked that I wanted a nardcore comeback, my friends told me to be realistic, I said well now I’m gonna speak it into existence, and when Jason Sears possessed Mingi for those thirty seconds I went back to them like What Did You Say To Me. I think I would have liked it more with less pitch correction but I’m very annoying about punk music so ignore me.

I’ll check out Lucifer then! I need a new show for my cardio workouts, and if there’s five seasons then it’ll last a while. I remember what I saw of it was that it was a fun show, and I love a good monster-of-the-week show, so it’ll be great for those early mornings.

Thanks for letting me ramble haha I love talking about music. I hope you’re resting well and getting lots of sleep.

--🎅

hiiiii, sorry for not responding sooner, i didn't have time to sit down and respond properly bc yk uni and my friend came to stay with me so it's just been hectic lmaoo (i literally open tumblr, reblog the first gifset on my dash i see and close it), but how are you doing?? i hope well!! <33

ahhh i so get you about the deadlines. i enjoy going to lectures the first few weeks of the semester too but then i just... get bored of it and i just wanna skip them all but most of them check attendance so i can't skip too much :(( honestly i would just love to work in a library, idec which one just one yk, but in this economy and yk libraries not being such popular places anymore, i would be lucky to land a job anywhere....

omgggg that sounds sooo interesting!! i really love chinese but i don't think i would ever attempt to learn it cause honestly my brain isn't equipped for that so i truly admire you for not only knowing it but also studying its linguistics wow!! and ohh damn you speak russian too, well yk we could understand each other on basic levels cause my mother tongue is croatian. and yess, korean is so fun to study, i really wish i had more time to dedicate to it.

ohhh so you're basically a "veteran" atiny, love that! omg yess hongjoong and his fashion sense and his painted pinkie ahhhh it's amazing trulyyyy, and i agree he's an amazing perfomer, honestly all of ateez are, they're just crazy good it's insane!!

OMG YOU PLAY THE VIOLIN???!? wooow!! i love violin so much i always wanted to learn to play it wow you're truly so talented wowww!! and honestly i agree with you on it all! they truly have a discography to fit your every mood like no joke! btwww did you see the teasers for the new cb??? i caaant wait tho i am a bit disappointed that we're getting only two new songs but yk they've been working too hard this year i wasn't expecting a cb yet anyway but i'm definitely going to enjoy it fully!!

broo i love punk/rock/alternative in general so i'm really loving all of these new songs, like since rocky i was just AHHHH YESSS this is what i needed!! yk even tho i do love their more melodic songs, i hope they go in this punk direction a little longer cause it suits them so well and i definitely love the songs

yess lucifer is amazing and yk some seasons have more eps so it would definitely last you a while hahah

and feel free to ramble whenever you want! soon in the dms too hehe and again sorry for not responding sooner! i hope you're doing well too and getting rest <333

[ridiculously-over-obsessed]

Hey! Im kind of new to the fandom, could you possibly recommend any bechloe completed fanfics? thankyou!

Hello lovely!! Welcome to the fandom, if you're looking for a super gay time you're definitely in the right fandom 🤣🤣

I can certainly rec a few for you that are completed, there are some INSANELY talented writers in this fandom, honestly I'm forever in awe of and humbled by the talent around me 🥺 but I will say don't limit yourself to completed fics!! Yes, it is disheartening to read fics that haven't been updated in eons, but as a writer with lots of wips on the go, and knowing writers with lots of wips on the go, I know that there is very little that is as encouraging as someone reading a fic that you haven't finished yet and telling you what they think of the journey so far, it's amazing 😍🥺💖

ANYWAY, here are a few fics that I absolutely adore and are completed, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!!!

The Monster Within by aca_bechloe47

To the outside world, Beca Mitchell was a loving big sister and the personal assistant to the CEO of Nightline Clubs Inc. Luke Matthews. But behind the scenes, the truth was far more sinister. In the dark of the night, Beca took on the alias of Titanium, the assassin. Soon the security of her secret begins to fall apart and the truth threatens to rear it's ugly head. Will Beca be able to protect her sister and her friends? Will the truth of what happened to her parents cause Beca's world to fall apart even further? Will the officers Beale and Posen have the bust of their careers, or will they find themselves in danger of The Assassins Guild of Atlanta?

(I literally recommend this fic to EVERYONE skljgdlfg it's my favourite bechloe fic of all time, I re-read it all the time, I forgot what their tumblr url is which is TRAGIC but yes, read this!!)

Home Is A Person by @massivedrickhead

Beca has been in the foster care system since she was a baby, and she’s never had anywhere she could call home.

She arrives at the Beale’s home just hoping for a safe place to stay until she turns 18.

For Chloe’s part, she had never gotten behind her parents’ need to foster kids. And despite outward appearances, she hadn’t felt at home here since she was a kid.

(Hands down one of the best bechloe fics in existence I cannot with this fic it owns my heartttt 🥺 also just read anything and everything that massivedrickhead puts out, seriously it's all incredible)

pieces by @suituuup

Five years ago, Chloe dropped off the face of the Earth. Beca didn't expect to see her again dancing in a strip club, out of all places.

(HOLY FUCK I swear to god I still think about this fic weekly, it's so fucking good and the EMOTIONS and the ROLLERCOASTER omgggggg 😩😍 again, read anything and everything by suituuup because she's not only a lovely person but an incredible writer too)

barriers by swanqueenfic13

So this is a little fic I've been working on in which Beca meets Chloe at an LA Pride parade, but fate keeps bringing them back together. In the face of a tragedy, Beca has to learn to let down her walls and rely on others. (IDK I'm bad at summaries just give it a chance)

(Oh the feels in this fic, god we love to see them being a safe place for the other it makes me so freaking soft man 🥺🥺🥺 be wary of the content warnings for this one though!!!)

Sing To Me Instead by @pocketdragon

A series of Bechloe one shots and short-form stories inspired by the tracklist from Ben Platt's 'Sing to me Instead' album.

(Okay yes, this is a serious of fics but hear me out kldjklfdjgdf they are all AMAZING, the variety of emotions I go through reading this series I cannot deal, and honestly if you haven't listened to either of Ben Platt's albums go do it, I promise you will not regret it kldfjglkdf)

Paint Your Colours Over Mine by @snowydot

Chloe is used to the colors, and she knows they will never leave. It hadn’t occurred to her that, for Beca, they weren’t really there.

(No okay, you want softness??? Go read this, it makes me very emotional and I melt every goddamn time, Ginny is not only the sweetest person but such a talented writer, you really should read this fic)

i get a feeling, looking you in the eye by @chloebeale

The USO tour came at the right time for Beca, right after quitting her job and needing a distraction. But what about a distraction from her best friend? Who just happens to be sitting by the pool in the middle of the night when Beca is struggling to sleep...

(my beloved E rated Ellie has MANY fics you should read, hell just read them all, seriously I'm so lucky to be her best friend, I am a better person and writer just from being around her. I could have picked so many of her fics to recommend to you, but I picked this one because (a) it's so freaking good, and (b) it is the birthplace of Beca Pigchill and I will adore it forever for that kdfjglkdfjd)

Happy reading anon!!! 😍🥰💖

[404writes]

Scars - (Carl Grimes)

Masterlist !! Taglist !!

Summary: Reader helps Carl clean his eye wound after discovering he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Word Count: 1.3k Pairing: None A/N: Forewarning, this story is very conversation heavy, tbh I wrote it for myself so I wasn't really thinking about that stuff. Hope you enjoy anyways! -S404 !! Trigger Warning: Mention of scars (Presumed but not mentioned that they're the result of physical abuse) !!

You open the door to the Grimes’ house to see Michonne smiling and Judith bubbling away in the kitchen, both organising the pantry. “Hey Y/N! what can I do for you?” Michonne called out, diverting her attention from Judith and her shenanigans. “Not much today, I was just here to see if Carl was home? I haven't seen him around today,” you felt bad, coming for him and no one else. “Oh yeah! He’s up in his room, don’t know exactly what he’s up to right now though,” Michonne tried to respond whilst stopping Judith from eating raw ingredients. “Thanks Michonne, we’ve gotta catch up properly sometime soon, I feel as if I don’t see enough of you anymore.” It was true, you spent most of your time out on runs or with Carl. Michonne was one of your best friends, and you saw less and less of her every day. “Yeah definitely Y/N, maybe sometime next week, I'll leave Judy with Olivia and we can have a coffee!” Michonne replied, enthusiastic. “Sounds great, I’ll be on my way now but let me know when you have that free day.” You felt as though you were disrupting something, as Judith continued to cause havoc for Michonne to attempt to prevent.

“See ya Y/N!" Michonne cheered from her position in the kitchen. “Bye Michonne! Bye Judith!” You said, waving and blowing raspberries at the 4 year old.

~

You swiftly walked up the stairs, making your way to the door of the Grimes you know best. Approaching the vacantly silent room you knock. “It’s me!” You call out although unnecessary, he’d open the door even if he didn't recognise your voice. “Yeah, uh, come in.” You take the offer and open the door. Seeing the empty-presenced room, you follow through to the bathroom, leaning on the door frame, looking at the familiar face in the mirror. Just as a smile begins to form on your face, you see the distress on the one in front of you. “Oh, not a good day?” You ask, your brows furrowing just enough for the three lines he loved so much (for a reason unknown to man) to appear. “You could say that.” He said, avoiding eye contact. “Talk to me, Mr Grimes.” You venture, leering for an answer. “It’s nothing much, just some dust and dirt got under the bandage. Now I have to clean it to 'avoid infection' or something, that's what Carson said." It may have been a satisfactory answer, but you knew better than that. “So- What’s so bad about that?” You ask, becoming more curious than sympathetic. “I just uh, I don’t think I can look at myself with it off-” He finally gave in. “Oh.” You replied, unsure of what to say, not having given any prior thought to the fact he might have felt that way.

~ A few moments passed before you had collected yourself enough to speak again. “How long have you been staring in that mirror for?” You ask. Still curious, but feeling immense pity for the boy. He turns around to look at you, appearing defeated, “too long.” “I could do it for you if you’d like, away from the mirror?” You offered your help. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.” He replied with a sense of urgency. You couldn't tell if he was rejecting your help because he genuinely thought it was something you shouldn't have to do or see, or if he just didn't want to open up to the vulnerability of the process. “Yes you could. It’s still bothering you isn’t it? Taking it off?” You urged.  “I don’t know. I’ve just, never really taken it off for anyone before,” he replied, becoming more open by the second. You were aware he was uncomfortable having his missing eye visible to other people, even you hadn't ever really seen it before. However you weren't aware the problem stemmed this far back, had he even seen it off before? “You wouldn’t be taking it off for me. Plus, it needs to be cleaned, that’s not really an optional thing.” You sought his approval, longing for him to find the smallest bit of inner peace. Maybe allowing a sense of vulnerability would do some good for him. “Alright.” The single word brought you an intense wave of relief. “Okay, just sit on the bed, I’ll grab the cleaning stuff.” You walked into the bathroom as he walked out, grabbing the bag of things that were sitting idle before you had touched them. You came out, put the bag down on the side table, pulled a wheelie chair over, and gazed at the boy in front of you. ~

“Tell me if I need to stop. No exceptions.” You pleaded, to which he nodded. You started to brush the hair from his face, deeply analysing the insecurity his features wallowed in. Like painting porcelain, you took to the bandage with the most gentle of touches, slowly unwrapping in a way not to bring suspense, but in hopes to make the boy feel secure. As the last of the bandage came undone a single tear fell from Carl’s face. Not in any way prolonging the process, you picked up some damp cloth and began to clean, as the boy continued to weep. “You know, everyone has scars. I’m not going to give you one of those talks about how you should be proud of it, and wear it with that pride, because that’d be complete bullshit. As I was saying though, everyone has scars, some are larger, and some are easier to hide. But none of us want to wear them, and all of us feel just as vulnerable and exposed when they’re all we wear. I just don’t know why we give them that power.” It's something you'd been thinking about for a while. You looked into the boy’s remaining eye to see it staring back, you hoped that he resonated with your words. “I’ve seen yours.” The three words momentarily paralysed you. Gaining back your composure, you replied, “figured.” His brow drooped. “Sorry, I thought you should know… Why do you hide them?” He was distracted, good. “They aren’t me.” You responded, finishing up the cleaning. “Anyways, you should probably let air get to that for a few hours at least. Did Rick bring you back any new comics on his last run?” You asked, genuinely curious. “Yeah, he found the one I was missing from that Marvel series, and he brought back another series I reckon you’ll like.” A slight smile was forming at the cracks of his mouth. “Well indulge me then, let’s read.” You stood up from the chair and shifted to the bed.

~

“Alright we should probably get a bandage back over that eye about now.” You declared. Standing up from where you sat, the boy subtly looked at you up and down. You walked into the bathroom to fetch a new bandage for him, “Y/N, can I ask you a question?” Carl ventured. You walked out, sat again on the wheelie chair, and pulled your body closer to his, so much that your legs were touching. “Yeah what’s up?” You replied, beginning to work. “How does it look?” All his focus was on you. “Well to be honest, I think it looks totally kick-ass and banging at best. It’s a cool scar, and it has a lot of story to tell. I get why you’re insecure about it though, can’t blame you. I just hope you come around to it at some point.” You wanted to say that for a long time, but never wanted to make him feel uncomfortable. He smiled “You really think so?” You smiled too “Yeah, I do.”