#the variety of genres here is staggering

[ohno-the-sun]

More miscellaneous gitm drawings I have forgotten to post

Idea for the last drawing goes to @/gopsnippers they have cursed us all /j

Characters by @/venomous-qwille

[nightdiary]

txt as your valentines dates

word count: 4.9k genre: fluff, established relationship, !!!suggestive!!! (in soobin's and beomgyu's but nothing mature!) author's note: happy valentine's day!! here's a little gift to hopefully make your day just a little bit sweeter <3 there's a little twist to each of these, as i felt it would make the read more interesting! feedback and reblogs are greatly appreciated as always, and i hope that you enjoy 🤍

✧ yeonjun - romantic getaway

“okay, this time you’ve actually got to be kidding.”

yeonjun’s answering laugh has you turning to face him, jaw slack and eyes glossy. he looks positively smug, fixing you with that cat-like grin of his that always makes you go weak in the knees, and you resist the urge to break down into tears.

the scene in front of you wouldn’t necessarily warrant such a reaction, but hey, it’s been a long day and yeonjun is a hell of a boyfriend.

the scene in question: your hotel room is not in the same state you’d left it three hours prior. the king-sized bed is now adorned with scattered rose petals, which form a neat heart atop the blankets and dip into a loose pathway leading from the door. several candles are placed throughout the room, illuminating it in a cozy, warm glow and beckoning you inward.

as you close the door behind you and begin to walk into the arrangement, you spot another few finishing touches that have your heart soaring into your throat. there’s an arrangement of stuffed animals by the foot of the bed, tucked into a basket and cradling a bottle of champagne and a conspicuous envelope. on both of the bedside tables, there’s a variety of chocolates and sweets, along with familiar bags you immediately recognize as your favorite snacks.

“this is so cheesy i’m going to throw up,” you joke, but your voice comes out warbled. you feel something wet slip down your cheek and realize with a start that you’re crying.

“my baby,” yeonjun coos fondly, gently reaching out to wipe your face. you’re pulled into a hug, and instinctively lean in to rest your forehead on his clavicle.

wrapping your arms around him, you allow yourself a moment to steady your pounding heart. the dull metropolitan noises fill the gaps in the room from outside, muffling your teary sniffles. though you’d initially been put off by tokyo’s busy vibrancy, you were currently very thankful for it.

yeonjun’s valentine’s day present to you came a few days before the 14th. you’d found the plane tickets on his dresser by accident after looking for the necklace you’d left behind, tucked into an envelope with your name written in pink across it. you weren’t one to snoop, especially through your boyfriend’s belongings, but you couldn't help and bring it up to him, out of curiosity. and really, it was his fault for leaving it out in the open like that!

as sweet as the thought had been, your trip to tokyo had been anything but.

the initial flight the day before valentine’s had been delayed several hours, which stretched into upwards of half a day by the time you finally boarded. once on board, you experienced quite possibly the worst turbulence, leaving you staggering off the plane with shaky feet and nauseous stomachs. the cherry on top, though, was what you found when you arrived at the airport: a merciless blizzard and no taxis in sight, rendering you stuck for the next few hours.

by the time you even arrived at the hotel, you were both beyond exhausted to even fathom leaving and exploring the city, which meant you wasted another half day resting and recuperating from the awful flight. now, finally back in your room after a hectic day in the city, you could almost weep with how sweet the gesture is.

“i’ve instantly forgotten about every bad thing leading up to this moment,” you joke, brushing away your tears and laughing as yeonjun tries to kiss away the remaining wet spots on your cheeks.

sitting down on the bed, you run your hands over the sheets, marveling at the way the petals collect under your fingers. yeonjun joins you silently, watching you with a grin on his face that makes heat collect in every part of you. as you turn to look through the basket at the end of the bed, you excitedly squeal as you pull out the gifted teddy bear, fluffing it up and hugging it to your chest.

“are you going to pay more attention to the bear than me?” yeonjun’s pout is a killer, and you try not to look too eager as you drop the stuffed animal and turn to crawl toward him. he’s seated against the bedframe, patting his lap and looking at you expectantly.

“jealous?” you remark, watching the tips of his ears turn a lovely shade of red. situating yourself on his lap, you wrap your arms around his neck, looking down at him with subdued excitement.

“you wish,” he drawls, and then promptly leans in to kiss you like he means it.

✧ soobin - ice skating

cold, bruised, and wet isn’t exactly the way one would describe their ideal valentine’s day evening, but it seems like it’s the fate you’ve been assigned.

soobin’s mittened hand finds yours again, and for a second, you two are able to glide across the ice smoothly, simultaneously breathing out in relief. and then everything comes crashing down, literally, because soobin’s slipping and his grip on you loosens just a moment too late, bringing you down with him. your butt hits the ice with a muted thump, and you groan out as the numbness from your legs flares up again.

“bin, you lied about being good at this!” you whine, shifting on your side to massage your backside.

soobin’s shadow comes to loom over you a few moments later, and you’re taken aback by how quickly he’d managed to get himself up. accepting his offered hand, you shakily push yourself up from the ice, standing on wobbly feet and murmuring strings of curses under your breath.

though your boyfriend had insisted on bundling you up before going to the rink, the biting cold was beginning to settle in. you could feel the tendrils of chill creeping in between the fibers of your scarf, slowly but surely settling in and making you shiver.

“i wanted to impress you,” soobin admits sheepishly. when you look up, you catch him looking at you through his lashes shyly, almost like he wants to mumble an apology.

instead of letting him do so, you’re the one that reaches out this time, threading your fingers through his and dragging him along as you stumble your way across the ice. you don’t make it very far, maybe two meters at most, before you’re losing your balance again, meeting the ground palm-first. it stings no less than the other times you’d fallen, but soobin’s accompanying laughter this time makes it feel a lot better.

thankfully, your boyfriend’s determination to have you both complete at least three laps melts away soon after. he carefully leads you out of the rink (via shuffling and holding onto the railing), nearly crying out in joy once his skates are back on the pavement. you don’t think you’ve ever been happier to be back on land.

soobin instructs you to sit at one of the free tables overlooking the rink, and you waste no time in waddling over and plopping down. watching your boyfriend disappear into the nearby cafe, you ease your feet out of the skates, curling your toes experimentally and hissing at the bout of pain that lingers afterward. rubbing at your calves, you exhale sharply and look around in an attempt to distract yourself from the discomfort.

unsurprisingly, the rink is pretty much empty. there are only a few other couples, along with a group of teenagers who seem to be no better than you at traversing the ice. there’s a mellow love song playing through the speakers above, and you find yourself humming along subconsciously as you wait for soobin to return. the pink lantern decor around the seating area is cutesy, and even if you didn’t think you’d ever find yourself ice skating on valentine’s day in particular, you can’t say it’s disappointing in the least.

soobin returns moments later, two steaming cups in hand. he hands one of them to you, settling himself onto the bench next to you.

“you owe me a foot massage when we get back,” you say in lieu of greeting, accepting the cup with both hands. heat immediately seeps through the paper, making you sigh happily as you lean forward to take a sip.

“anything for you love,” soobin hums. he grins when you moan gratefully at the sweet chocolate that fills your mouth, bringing his own cup up to his lips for a sip. “i hope this can somewhat make up for an awful valentines day. i promise that i’m all yours when we get home.”

shaking your head, you set the hot chocolate down and lean into his side, sighing at the warmth that engulfs you. “hey! it wasn’t awful. even if it feels like i need a special cast for my ass now, it was fun to try something new with you.” reaching between the two of you for his hand, you instinctively begin to play with the rings on his fingers. “plus your other gift earlier was also reaaaally nice. i can’t complain at all.”

soobin turns a delightful shade of red, ducking to the side to ignore your teasing remark. you giggle, because really, how can your boyfriend be so lovely and wonderful, and resist the urge to pinch his flustered cheek.

“hey,” you try again, repeating yourself when he refuses to look at you. when he finally does look over at you, albeit with an exaggerated pout, you feel your heart grow tenfold.

cupping his cheek, you turn him to face you fully. there’s a sliver of chocolate right on the edge of his lips, staring at you head-on, and you think anybody would agree that you can’t let your boyfriend walk around with it unknowingly.

soobin’s eyes grow wide as you lean into his face, fluttering closed only once you brush your lips tentatively against his. but it seems the teasing’s gotten to him, because his hands weave around your shoulders in the next second, tugging you into a proper kiss. you gasp in surprise, and he uses the opportunity to angle your faces and deepen what you’d started.

curling into his chest, your free hand finds itself in his hair, threading through his locks with growing urgency. he responds with an appreciative noise that you swallow hungrily, and you feel his tongue slip past your lips with little delay. the fuzziness that usually fills your head during moments like this is present tenfold, every last corner of your head stuffed with cotton as you move in tandem with soobin’s lips.

overhead, the crackling announcement that the rink will be closing in ten minutes resonates through the shoddy speakers, effectively (and yet rudely) breaking you two apart. the upbeat love-pop-song-atrocity that you’d tuned out prior resumes, nearly making you laugh at how ridiculous the situation is. soobin’s expression is sour, much like yours, and you try to ignore the way his lips glisten under the rink’s lights.

you also resist the urge to giggle at soobin’s fluffed-up hair, which makes your boyfriend look like a poodle. reaching out to run your hands through his strands and to tame what bits you could, you glance back down at his lips, another thought worming its way into your mouth before you can really process it:

"so about that massage…”

✧ beomgyu - making dinner together

three gordon ramsay tutorials in and lots of struggling later, you and beomgyu found yourselves slumped by the kitchen counter, stomachs empty and expressions distraught.

"i’m sorry, i really thought this would be more romantic,” beomgyu whines, running a hand through his hair. you feel him look over at you, and you frown when you notice the insecure waver in his gaze.

“it’s okay,” you say earnestly. reaching out to place your hand atop his, you ignore the way your stomach growls in response. “i’m just happy we’re spending tonight together.”

though every element of that is completely true, you are still starving.

the initial plan was to cook through a simple dinner together– per beomgyu’s suggestion a week earlier– and to eat it together on the couch while watching your favorite movie. when you’d both discussed your preferences regarding celebrating valentine’s day, you’d come to the agreement that neither of you wanted anything extravagant. as cheesy as it was, you didn’t need anything more than each others’ presences.

dates with beomgyu were always simple; in the sense that you never felt overwhelmed or out of place. though it may come off as boring to others, it was what worked for both you and your boyfriend– what’s continued to make you happy all these months. and you weren’t thinking about giving it up.

“one more time,” you say. pushing yourself off the counter, you rewind the youtube video and look up at beomgyu with a set expression. “one more time, then i’ll agree to give up and we can order fried chicken.”

and so, with a resolve that could rival that of a stubborn toddler’s, you and beomgyu queue up music on his speaker and get to work. the recipe you were both attempting to master is only about twenty or so minutes, and you were able to get through the first half relatively well. now you just need to figure out how to get through the rest.

it’s another round of mistakes and another round of backtracking. rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, and after about an hour, you and beomgyu manage to make something edible and not all that unappetizing-looking, as impossible as it had originally seemed. you’d been forced to cut out a sizeable amount of techniques that kept messing you up before, but you’d successfully gotten through the necessary steps. somewhat.

you’re rolling out another piece of dough when you feel it. a soft tap to your back, right as you’re laying out the food on the oven tray.

ignoring it, you spread more oil onto the paper. another tap.

“gyu, there’s one more set i have to finish and–” but as you turn around, expecting to come across another silly spectacle from your boyfriend, you’re met with his outstretched hand instead.

“could i have this dance?” the cheeky grin on his face makes you sigh loudly, but you dust your hands off nonetheless and bashfully accept the offer.

frank sinatra’s the way you look tonight filters through the speaker as he draws you into his embrace and begins to rock you two uncoordinatedly around the kitchen. you melt into his shoulder and giggle, humming along to the lyrics and trying not to step on your boyfriend’s feet. he even attempts to twirl you, which nearly sends the tray flipping over onto the floor, saved at the last second by your quick reflexes.

“won’t you please arrange it? ‘cause i love you,” beomgyu’s husky voice rumbles from right next to your ear, and you involuntarily tighten your arms around his neck. his hand by your waist begins to slip lower and lower and you gently smack his shoulder when he reaches down to squeeze your bum. “just the way you look tonight.”

“i’m literally wearing pajamas,” you mumble in response, laughing when he pinches your side with his other hand.

“and you’re still the sexiest person i’ve ever seen,” he answers easily.

the oven dings right as the song ends, signaling that it’s done preheating, and you reluctantly draw back from beomgyu’s hold. he pouts at you like a wounded puppy and it takes every last bit of self-restraint in you to rip yourself away from him. placing the tray carefully into the oven, you adjust the temperature and set a timer, letting out a loaded sigh when everything is finally situated.

great, now the only thing left to fuck up on is letting it burn.

“have i ever told you how beautiful you are?” almost like clockwork, beomgyu’s arms wind around your middle without hesitation, pulling you back against his chest. his lips brush against your neck teasingly, and it’s embarrassing how quickly you become pliant under his hands.

“mmm, nope, don’t think i’ve ever heard that one before,” you joke, but your voice comes out breathy.

spinning you around in his hold, you squeak as beomgyu brings you into a measured kiss. he’s warm and smells familiar, and you resist the urge to bury yourself into the juncture right between his neck and shoulder. you feel something cold brush under your shirt and against your bare back, and you arch into his hold with little resistance.

“gyu, the chicken…” you mumble powerlessly, whining when his hands venture further up your back. despite your words, your own hands slide under your boyfriend’s shirt, reveling at the warm skin you find.

“don’t worry, it’s not going anywhere,” he pants into your mouth, grinning when you throw caution to the wind and answer him with an eager kiss.

✧ taehyun - fine dining

taehyun has had the perfect valentine’s day reservation for three months.

he made the call sometime in november, right after he heard you gush about this cool new place opening a block away from where you worked. you’d told him about how pretty it was inside with literal stars in your eyes, and even showed him the dozens of photos your coworker had sent.

and he had to admit, the place was neat. the prices didn’t make his head hurt like the other places he’d looked at and the interior looked like it was straight out of a netflix documentary on fine dining. plus, it certainly helped that you were interested in going. it was perfect, really, because he was beginning to lose his mind thinking that far ahead.

and it was turning out to be perfect, because when the taxi pulled up to the front of the restaurant and you caught onto where you were going, you turned to him with the biggest smile and reached out to squeeze his hand with trembling fingers. once outside in the chilly night air, you practically flung yourself into his arms, mumbling about how you were going to kiss him senseless when you didn’t have a thick layer of lipstick on.

“i’m really sorry sir, but i can’t find your reservation anywhere in our system.” of course. it really did seem just a little bit too perfect.

taehyun’s answering silence makes you frown. the employee’s shifty eyes dart back and forth between you two, and your heart falls at how sorry he looks. you surmise it’s been a long day for everyone, and this isn’t a problem worth complicating.

“i’m unfortunately unable to seat you at this time, but you’re welcome to wait for a table to clear up.”

behind you, you hear the next couple in line sigh loudly. this, combined with the clamor from inside the restaurant makes your head feel all fuzzy, and you decide you need to get out of there.

“let’s go tyun,” you whisper, tugging on his hand. he looks up at you with furrowed brows, and you notice the way his jaw seems taut, almost like he’s biting his tongue.

seoul is alive and buzzing as it would be on any other night, but wandering the streets with no plan makes it feel stuffy and overwhelming. the blares from cars stuck in traffic hound your ears as you turn another corner, desperate to work your way down a smaller street, away from the suffocating city center. your feet begin to burn the further you aimlessly walk, and everything’s beginning to feel like a maze and–

“hey, i’m really sorry that this didn’t work out.” pausing in your step, you throw a glance over your shoulder at your boyfriend. you find him staring back at you with an apprehensive twist to his lips, one that makes your gut feel all weird.

“please don’t beat yourself up over it,” you frown, reaching out to smooth your thumb down his cheek. he’s cold to the touch, but the skin blooms pink where you touch it.

“i’m trying not to,” he jokes humorlessly, pouting when you jokingly threaten to flick him on the forehead. “what do we do now? every nice place has been booked for weeks.”

“who said i have to eat michelin-grade food?” it’s a genuine question, and yet taehyun looks at you like you’re a little bit crazy.

“i’m not taking you to mcdonalds,” he dismisses, crossing his arms. when you stare back at him silently, he begins to sputter, eyes growing incredulously. “what? no. no way. babe, i’m not taking you to mcdonalds on valentine’s day. how awful of a boyfriend do you think i am?”

“you’re my very wonderful and loving boyfriend,” you answer, reaching out to loop your arms around his neck. your fingers toy with the ends of his hair, staring up at him through your lashes and blinking slowly. “my dearest boyfriend who i know would go to the moon and back for me. you’ve treated me countless times before, and the thought that you wanted to bring me to a place i’ve always wanted to go to is enough for me. now let’s save us the trouble and get some mcnuggets. i’m starving.”

when taehyun stares dumbly back at you, you lean forward to kiss him square on the lips, drawing back a whisker’s worth to brush the tips of your noses together. and just like you’d intended, he agrees (but not without a sigh to let you know just how much you’d riled him up).

mcdonalds is also hectic, yet still a reprieve from the outside. as the two of you wait for your order, you bounce on the balls of your feet, both from being eager to finally eat and from the chill. taehyun watchfully offers you his jacket, draping it over your shoulders when you decline and dodging your attempts to give it back.

you take a booth on the second floor, somewhere in the back where you still have a glimpse of the outside world yet are far enough from other people to have a semblance of privacy. taehyun shuffles into the seat next to you, reaching out to unbox and lay out all the food in a presentable manner before you can even reach for a fry. despite how difficult it is, he manages to organize the burgers and nuggets in a way that makes them look like they really are michelin-grade.

“bon appetit,” he says, smiling when he turns to you and finds you already staring back.

despite the fact that you’ve had the same exact food dozens of times, you eat like a starved wolf, licking your fingers and appraising each bite like it’s your last meal. taehyun watches you fondly out of the corner of his eye, occasionally reaching out to wipe any ketchup or mustard from your chin. you should feel embarrassed, really, but you can’t find it in you when taehyun does it with such care.

unsurprisingly, the two of you get through most of the food with ease. once most of the boxes seem to be empty, you sit back in the booth and groan, massaging your tummy. taehyun seems to be finishing his share of fries, so you decide to admire him while you can still get away with it.

but you can’t for long, because as he feels your eyes roaming the side of his face, he turns to you with a sly grin. swallowing the bite he was chewing, he pops another fry into his mouth, but this time, he holds half of it out between his lips, staring at you expectantly. you immediately know what he wants you to do, know from the wagging of his brows that there’s only one thing on your boyfriend’s mind.

and who are you to deny him?

leaning forward, you bite the rest of the fry, inching closer and closer until you can peck taehyun’s lips. yet instead of indulging him, you draw back immediately, chewing and covering your mouth lest he decides to chase after you, giggling when he scrunches his face up at you.

“there’s more where that came from, but only once we get back,” you sing-song, popping a fry into your own mouth. except you’ve purposefully left half of it hanging out, and taehyun catches onto your intentions with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“yeah?” he whispers, nose brushing yours as he bites onto the other end of the fry. “we’ll see about that.”

✧ hueningkai - stargazing

it’s the thought that counts, right?

you think kai’s about to go crazy hearing you repeat that over and over, but you’re insistent on hammering it in.

“i checked on naver. i checked on google. i even watched the weather forecast segment on the news,” kai frantically lists, folding his blanket anew and huffing. his leg is bouncing up and down anxiously, and you resist the urge to reach out and place your hand on his knee.

“it’s okay kai,” you try again, feeling a frown tug at your lips when he puts his head down. “don’t beat yourself up over this. we can always do something else, yeah?”

when you’re met with silence, you reach out to brush the tips of your fingers along his hand, tracing loose patterns mindlessly. you always do this when he gets overwhelmed, choosing to sit and wait it out until he feels like he can breathe again. he’s told you your presence is enough, but you sometimes worry about what’s getting to his head.

the original plan was to go to the outskirts of seoul and watch the stars. kai had suggested the idea to you a week prior, and you’d instantly fallen in love with the idea. your last valentine’s celebration had been quite generic– though no less lovely, given that it was with kai– and you were looking forward to a change of pace.

everything had been set until half an hour before you were supposed to leave. there was an unsettling noise outside of your window, and right as you were slipping your shoes on, it escalated to a steady pitter-patter that told you exactly what was going on outside. kai had confirmed it a minute later, walking back in from your balcony with an expression of a kicked puppy.

“you know that overhang on the roof of your apartment?” your voice is soft against the onslaught of hail, and you nearly think he misses it. but you feel his fingers reach out to squeeze yours in response, and you continue without worry. “we can set up the blanket there. and it’ll be warmer, because we’re right next to the heating unit.”

despite how distraught your boyfriend was with your failed plans, it seems like the idea is enough to get him charged back up with his earlier enthusiasm. without preamble, he gathers all of your belongings into his hold and ventures out into the stairwell, where you catch up to him after three flights, the both of you winded like you’d just run a marathon.

you’re finally able to creak the roof’s door open several minutes later, and you’re instantly hit with a gust of cold air that has you regretting mentioning the idea. but kai’s face is smiley and radiant again as he sets up the blanket and pillows on the wooden platform under the overhang, and you can’t find it in yourself to spoil this.

wrapping your coat tighter around you, you crouch down and set the picnic basket on the middle of the blanket, emptying out its contents neatly. there’s assortments of snacks and even little sandwiches that kai had prepared earlier, as well as a thermos of your favorite tea and hot chocolate, both intended to keep you from getting sick.

“i honestly think this is way better,” you admit as you’re settling down onto the blanket. kai looks over at you with quirked brows, clearly not believing you, and you shrug. “what? i’m serious! so much more romantic than some random hill.”

“you’re just saying that to make me feel better,” he mumbles back, but you hear him whisper a sincere thank you right after.

popping a cookie into your mouth, you shuffle closer to your boyfriend, eyeing his chest with one goal in mind. when he looks up at you, you promptly scoot in between his legs, laying back against his front and reaching to grab his arms to wrap them around yourself. you feel him breathe out a chuckle against your neck, and you let out a happy little noise in response.

“i can see andromeda from here.”

“you literally cannot see any stars,” kai giggles softly, pressing his nose into your shoulder. you squirm, feeling ticklish, and his arms wrap around you tighter to hold you in place.

“what about this one then?” you ask, and promptly turn back to poke his cheek.

you feel rather than hear him whine against you, followed by a string of incoherent babbles which are too cute to decipher.

in the distance, the blare of a car’s horn rings out. but even if you’re reminded that it’s not just you and kai, suspended in the vast nothingness of the universe, you can’t help but feel like it is. it’s like the both of you exist in a plane separate from everything else, where you can tell him how much you love him and forget about everything else.

“happy valentine’s day,” kai whispers. his lips trail up the side of your neck, landing sweetly right below your ear.

you turn your face slightly, just enough to be able to catch his eye. then, you lean in to peck him, right on the tiny star (mole) above his lips. he smiles, and you can’t help but smile back. maybe in this plane of the universe, you can love him without worry, too. “happy valentine’s day, hyuka.”

[acquired-stardust]

Game Spotlight #13: Nioh 2: Complete Edition (2020)

Acquired Stardust's first game spotlight of the new year is here! Come along with Ash on a long look into one of the greatest games of the past generation and a little bit of a look into where its influences, and even its overall genre, lie.

As previously discussed, I think Nioh is a title that lives and dies by its comparisons to Dark Souls. Director Fumihiko Yasuda has been transparent in his admission that Nioh was inspired by Dark Souls, and the influence is clear. As a matter of fact I don't think it's a stretch to say that after a decade in development hell it's likely due to the success of Dark Souls that Nioh was able to see the light of day in the first place. Team Ninja cleverly designed the opening hours of Nioh 1 to appeal to fans of the smash hit Souls series with eerie, tense enemy introductions and a slow combat system that eventually gives way to a deep and fast action game by the time the opening hours of the game are up, at which point players coming to Nioh simply for more Dark Souls are lead to one of two conclusions: either 'this isn't Dark Souls and that sucks' or 'this isn't Dark Souls and that's awesome'.

The slow burn of Nioh revealing its identity to the player as not just a mere Soulslike, instead an unmistakable fusion of Blizzard's Diablo and Team Ninja's own previous success Ninja Gaiden, is a satisfying one. Seeing a game go from standing in the shadow of another massive success to one with its own impressive vision and execution all in a single game, within the space of just a few hours, was one of the coolest experiences I've had with a game. It's my pleasure to report that Nioh 2 doubles down on everything that made the first game special, and represents an official divergence from the label of Soulslike into a little-discussed larger genre known as 'masocore'.

"Masocore" is a large umbrella, a broad style of game and design philosophy, with titles that span a variety of genres from precision platformers to action games and everything in between. And while you may not have heard the term before it's not a new phenomenon per se as you're likely more familiar with the saying 'Nintendo hard' that hearkens back to the era of the Nintendo Entertainment System when games were often cryptic and overly punishing in their designs. It is the goal of masocore games to deliver those sorts of punishing and oppressive experiences to players so that the eventual triumph feels all the sweeter. Not every developer has the vision and expertise to deliver on the promise of the genre - not so with Nioh which saw an incredible utilization of the nature of masocore titles to effectively communicate not just its brutal setting but provide a deep sense of immersion to its gameplay. While many developers simply wear the masocore aesthetic as a gimmick, Team Ninja utilized it expertly in the original Nioh title and continues to do so in its sequel.

It's also important to note that while you may not have heard of the masocore term, Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda most certainly has and while he has freely admitted the influence Dark Souls had on his project he's never actually called the games Soulslikes - he instead refers to them himself as masocore titles. The label of 'Soulslikes' was inevitably but perhaps unfairly attached to Nioh from the start, but is certainly unwarranted for Nioh 2 which represents a bold step forward in both vision and execution for a series that already shined bright in these areas and a complete divergence from any attempt to bridge the gap between fans of Dark Souls and Nioh, proudly wearing its vision on its sleeve from the start.

Featuring every single mechanic from Nioh 1, an already staggering number of ways to interact with a game of surprising and impressive length, Nioh 2 does indeed double down on all of them. On top of every weapon type from the previous title returning with new and reworked abilities as well as three stances (each with their own movesets attached to them), Nioh 2 adds a whopping four additional melee weapon types along with new ninjutsu and onmyo magic techniques as well as making both of those categories much more viable for use. The Living Weapon and Guardian Spirit mechanics make a return and has seen a significant expansion, replacing its upgraded moveset per weapon with three unique forms with movesets tied to them based on the classification of the currently equipped spirit (that's Brute, Feral and Phantom classes) each with their own Burst Counter unique to each class of guardian spirit. Burst Counters are a new mechanic that allows the player to interrupt big telegraphed enemy attacks (always associated with a red glow) and create an opening for offense, with the counter using a small portion of the new Anima gauge.

The Anima gauge is also used for the game's most impressive and obvious addition to the gameplay formula with Yokai Abilities, which sees enemies have a chance to drop a Soul Core which can be equipped to your Guardian Spirit (for a total of up to three different cores) and allow you to perform an attack based on the particular enemy you obtained the Soul Core from. There is an impressive number of these Soul Cores in the game, with the majority of enemies being able to drop them, and each comes with an array of passive effects (some of which baked in and inherent to the particular enemy type, some of which are randomized) tied to the Soul Core which adds an astounding number of additional opportunities for customization. Just as well there are the new Demon Scrolls, items obtained starting only on the game's first run of New Game Plus (of which there are 5 total difficulties, each with their own escalating recommended levels as well as featuring remixed and new encounters).

Demon Scrolls drop randomly from enemies, similar to Soul Cores, and give the player a repeatable arena-style fight with predetermined enemies that ultimately turns the Scroll into an equippable item with an increasing number of passive bonuses depending on the tier of rarity of the Scroll. These encounters, repeatable, can be utilized to farm Soul Cores and items from specific enemies but also allow the player to reroll one effect from the Scroll upon subsequent completions of the battle.

It isn't only the gameplay systems that have seen an impressive expansion and upgrade that doubles down on the original's vision. Opening in the middle of the Sengoku as opposed to the tail end of it like in Nioh 1, we are treated to a surprising and impressive character creation suite with lots of room to create your own character or even attempt to recreate one from various media before being launched into its significantly more complex story.

Opening with our protagonist having a chance meeting with a young Kinoshita Tokichiro, one of history's least likely success stories and most fascinating people, the base game storyline of Nioh 2 chronicles his meteoric rise through the rigid social strata of the turbulent Sengoku era Japan in a roughly 60 year period before his eventual fall. The story features a higher number of active characters and even deeper ties to real-world history, as well as many instances of toying with history and verging into alt-history in fun ways and culminates in a surprisingly touching way before picking back up in an awesome epilogue and its three DLC episodes.

It is unafraid to throw gamers headfirst into the complex web of events and does not hold the player's hand through the twists and turns of territorial gains and political allegiance swaps, in part because it offers a surprisingly robust encyclopedia that features entries on each and every character in the game that unlocks subsequent lore entries as you advance through the game for those who would like to really study the events of the game which largely mirror actual history. As an aside the game sees my favorite integration of face scanned actors in all of gaming, which often feels like hollow and distracting celebrity cameos to me. The casting of Naoto Takenaka as Tokichiro is a particular stroke of genius in this regard, as the actor has played the historical figure several times previously in live action and his unique voice, sounding less like an overly polished voice actor and more like a person you could actually talk to in the real world, lends a remarkably genuine human element to an otherwise larger than life character.

Nioh 2's encyclopedia also extends to the game's large variety of enemies, again split between human and the demonic Yokai, with the majority of Yokai based on actual Japanese mythology. These Yokai have their own language that is heard and seen through undecipherable subtitles upon picking up a Soul Core, with enough Soul Cores having the benefit of translating the aforementioned subtitles and providing a little more insight into the particular Yokai.

Speaking of the different enemy types and changes to the game, Nioh 2 features a drastically higher ratio of Yokai enemies than the original game and marks another real divergence point in how it feels to play. Yokai, who's ki must be depleted before there are real guaranteed openings to attack them (with said ki only being able to be reduced through risky attacks you shouldn't fully commit to lest you tempt a swift death), are prone to otherwise unpredictable amounts of hyper armor that ignore the hitstun of your attacks. They most certainly require a different mindset and skillset to battle, and the huge increase in Yokai enemies may deter some players but it does offer a lot more opportunity for various elements of the game to shine. Tonfa in particular, which eventually allow for the player to animation cancel significantly more often than other weapons, provide a really engaging sense of interaction against these lethal enemies.

With the increase in Yokai enemies comes an unavoidable fact: Nioh 2 is considerably harder than the first entry on a base level. Enemies are harder to interact with in favorable manners and are faster, often with wider ranging attacks radiuses and trickier animations. Burst Counters and Yokai Abilities added into the mix also highlight the issue of input bloat from the first title that has only gotten worse with the increase in difficulty and overall game speed. While certainly absolutely more challenging and even challenging in meta ways like input bloat I do not consider this a flaw per se - it is merely a mild growing pain in the long journey towards mastery of the game mechanics that is, of course, part and parcel with the masocore genre. You are meant to be challenged and feel like survival, nevermind comfortability, are impossibilities and that feeling of danger helps sell the story, world and their stakes incredibly well. Mastery over the game's overwhelming number of mechanics and potential interactions is a long road but more satisfying than almost any other game I've had the pleasure of experiencing.

Of course, this being The Complete Edition, Nioh 2 does feature three DLC episodes bringing more story content and side missions that explore other fondly regarded periods of Japanese history and further utilize the characteristics of the masocore genre to make a very salient point about history: there is no utopian past from which we have strayed. Frantic soldiers in the Genpei War lament their helplessness, villages burn and their inhabitants are massacred, and discrimination sets people down the path of bloody revenge. While there may indeed be heroes and heroism, life has and always will be a brutal struggle against the harsh realities of nature as well as against our own worst instincts. These expansions to the base game are each as fascinating and satisfying as the base game, and can feel just as meaty with the content included, which is a real testament to the overall vision and its execution.

While much has been made of Nioh's connections to and divergence from the Soulslike label, its connections to Diablo and Team Ninja's previous outing in the 3D Ninja Gaiden games run far deeper. In fact while many of the references made in the first Nioh have been retained (such as cameos from series regular Muramasa with the same design as in those games as well as Nioh's small treasure chests' designs being directly lifted from the Ninja Gaiden games) there are even more that have been included in Nioh 2. The Tsuchigumo ninja, rival clan to Ninja Gaiden's protagonist clan, see a glorious return to gaming complete with their eponymous Yokai making an appearance. Ninja Gaiden 2 (2008) opens with an enemy throwing hatchets at protagonist Ryu Hayabusa and Nioh 2 manages to include the same hatchets as a new usable weapontype complete with a weapon throwing mechanic for them. The masocore genre existed long before Dark Souls became synonymous with it and there was a time Team Ninja was thought of as being the kings of it in the days of a waning scene for Japanese games, perceived as being well into a decline in the aughts.

The rise of the blockbuster shooter in the mid to late 2000s completely changed the discourse around video games for one simple reason: it introduced so many people to gaming that many of the people talking about games now simply weren't around then, and many who were around then were likely too young to be playing much beyond what completely gripped the entire mainstream gaming scene at the time. A million games came and went while the likes of Gears of War, Halo and Call of Duty monopolized our collective playtime and this time in gaming is poorly remembered because of it. One such example of this is the way in which Dark Souls has become quite so synonymous with 'hard games', to the point that even Crash Bandicoot, returning to prominence thanks to a wonderful remaster of the original trilogy, has often been called "the Dark Souls of platformers" despite its entire existence playing out well before Dark Souls was born.

Nioh's bucking of the monopoly From Software's Dark Souls (along with Sekiro and Elden Ring - perhaps spotlights for another time) have on our perception of and conversation around hard games is significant, and its place among the upper echelon of masocore titles is simply undeniable. Bigger and better in almost every conceivable way than its already fantastic and extremely dense predecessor, Nioh 2 is easily able to keep you busy for several hundred hours provided you're willing to give it that much time. It's also developed with multiplayer in mind in a significantly deeper way from enemy attack animations to the push and pull of the Assist Gauge as well as a reliable scaling down of player stats if there are large discrepancies to keep things relatively on the rails, making for a wonderful experience with up to two other players across the vast majority of its missions.

Nioh 2 is unquestionably worth every minute you're willing to put into it, and likely even more no matter how much you've spent on it. The sheer breadth of the experience is almost too much to describe and encapsulate in this spotlight - it needs to be experienced first hand to be truly understood.

A gem hidden among the stones, Nioh 2 is undoubtedly stardust.

--Ash

[an-aussie-button-masher]

Jams, Bops & Bangers, Vol. 2 - Five More of the Best Gaming Soundtracks

   Music: it’s much more important to video games than you might realise. A good soundtrack can make the difference between a memorable game and a forgettable one. It can define individual scenes, or even entire sagas. It’s invariably one aspect that any games’ fanbase can unite in their approval of, despite how divisive the rest of the game can be. It’s just as fluid and adaptable as gaming itself - from peaceful ambient piano to headbanging death metal, every genre has a place.   It’s such a major part of gaming, with so many excellent examples, I’ve had to make a second article for it! I’ve already discussed a few of my personal favourite video game soundtracks in a previous article you can find here, but here’s even more standout soundtracks that deserve honourable mention - enjoy!

Minecraft Composers: Daniel “C418” Rosenfield, Lena Raine, Aaron Cherof    How could I talk about video game music without mentioning one of the modern-day classics? Minecraft features one of the most recognisable, award-winning soundtracks in the gaming industry. Quiet and subdued, the music adds a sense of peace and even loneliness to the games’ ambience as the player explores this vast, beautiful blocky world, usually alone. Beginning with C418’s original tracks that mainly feature piano and synth, later updates added new tracks composed by Lena Raine and Aaron Cherof, bringing in other orchestral instruments without overpowering the melancholy vibe. Nothing can beat the feeling of cresting the top of a massive snow-capped peak to watch the sunrise as one of the classics like Sweden gently swells in the background.   The tone of the music starts to change in certain areas, whether you’re in the open rolling plains, braving the hellish and dramatic Nether dimension or carefully navigating the paranoia-inducing Deep Dark. While the music kicks in at seemingly random intervals, sometimes with a gap of hours between tracks, it almost seems to know exactly when to play a song that feels strangely perfect for the current mood of your Minecraft adventure.   Personal favourite track: Infinite Amethyst (Lena Raine)

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Music team: Richard Jacques, Steve Szczepkowski, Yohann Boudreault    Where would the Guardians of the Galaxy be without their sick 80’s anthems? Marvel’s resident spacefaring anti-hero crew received their own game adaptation back in 2021, and with it, an entire fictional band dubbed Star-Lord (the source of Peter Quill’s outlaw name in this adaptation) was created just to provide an album of original rocking songs that sound like they were ripped right out of the 80’s. To complete the idea that this is an actual band in-universe, you can even read through a little album booklet at the start of the game, detailing the lyrics and background of the band!   Alongside the original tracks provided by Star-Lord, of course the game boasts a staggering collection of actual 80’s songs, from Take On Me (a-ha) to (Don’t Fear) The Reaper (Blue Öyster Cult). There’s an early scene where the guardians escape a collapsing ship graveyard while I Ran (A Flock of Seagulls) plays, and that’s where I knew I’d love this game. You can even Rickroll the final boss! You wouldn’t get that from any other game. From start to finish, this game’s soundtrack is never gonna let you down.    Personal favourite track: Watch Me Shine (Star-Lord)

DOOM Composer: Mick Gordon    No game franchise has ever been as metal as DOOM, and the modern entries have the music to match. In DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal, Mick Gordon has constructed a thrashing death metal soundtrack with techno backing that gets your blood pumping as fast as your shotgun. As Eternal brings an even more dramatic flair to 2016’s style with more in-depth storytelling and scope, the music becomes suitably higher-intensity with an even wider variety of instruments and themes - all connected by the ever-present metal guitar riffs and buzzing synthesisers.   Always going the extra mile, Mick even used chainsaw samples in the soundtrack, as well as vocals provided by actual death metal groups. Playing as Doomguy racing through bloodstained laboratories and shattered cities as he rips and tears through the vicious armies of Hell, all while Gordon’s soundtrack screams in your ears, creates a feeling of raw, unstoppable power that no game could possibly match.   Personal favourite track: BFG Division

Crab Champions Creator: Eoin “Noisestorm” O’Broin    Yes, that Noisestorm, creator of Crab Rave. A highly recognisable and talented artist really did make an entire game as a response to probably his most infamous and memeable song, and of course the game’s soundtrack is going to knock it out of the park. The roguelike features a full complement of tropical synth-y beats to accompany the path of crustacean annihilation you’ll be wreaking across various islands - try not to get so distracted bopping along to the music that you get swarmed by enemies!   All the different biomes have unique sets of music that all fit the feel of the islands you traverse; from sandy beaches and windswept deserts to frozen glaciers and fiery volcanoes. The boss battles at the end of each biome are accompanied by thumping dubstep, while the peaceful shops scattered about are a good spot to jam along to the more upbeat rhythms; you’ll definitely be tapping your toes as the music sticks in your mind well after you’ve stopped playing!   Personal favourite track: Funky Beat

Splatoon Composers: Toru Minegishi, Shiho Fujii, Ryo Nagamatsu    Okay, including an entire series here might be cheating, but music is such a core part of the Splatoon universe that it’d be impossible to just focus on a single game. The series composers have somehow managed to create an entire extensive genre of soundtrack that does not sound like it was made by humans, yet still consistently sounds great. All three games feature songs that can sound downright bizarre, but also incredibly catchy and enjoyable at the same time, ranging from goofy upbeat techno to dramatic battle tunes in the story campaigns with rocking jams that blare during the online PvP modes.   All the games’ music is made by fictional in-universe music groups, all with their own lore, some of which have ended up being so popular that they eventually starred in the actual games as NPCs. Throughout the full series, the power of music and singing is a core theme, with idol groups hosting the news and competitions in the lobby and even fighting alongside the player in the story modes. You’ll be accompanied by hypnotic tunes for everything you do in Splatoon, and they’re impossible not to dance along to!   Personal favourite track: Buoyant Boogie

   So, which of these soundtracks is your favourite? Are there any other video game soundtracks you really like that I haven’t covered here or in my previous article? Feel free to let me know! Feedback, reblogs and likes are all much appreciated!   Thanks for reading!

An Aussie Button-Masher

[themovieblogonline]

Cape Town: A Prime Filming Destination in Rising African Cinema

The spotlight is shining brightly on African cinema! Not only that but Cape Town South Africa is at the forefront of this exciting movement. With a rich cinematic history and a rapidly growing film industry, South Africa offers a wealth of resources and breathtaking locations for filmmakers around the world. But within this vibrant landscape, Cape Town stands out as a prime filming destination, attracting international productions with its unique blend of beauty, talent, and opportunity. Thriving Film Industry https://youtu.be/O5_L3KEbhag The South African government actively supports the film industry through financial incentives. These incentives make the country a highly competitive location for large-scale productions. Add to this a favorable exchange rate, and South Africa becomes an attractive option for filmmakers seeking value for their budget. Beyond these economic advantages, South Africa boasts a deep well of creative talent, with a growing pool of skilled crew members and captivating actors ready to bring your vision to life. Cape Town's Value Proposition https://youtu.be/uTEwjbDBDiQ The city takes center stage in South Africa's film industry, offering a compelling value proposition for filmmakers of all genres. Here's what sets Cape Town apart: - Rich Storytelling Tradition: South Africa boasts a rich cultural heritage and a vibrant tapestry of stories waiting to be told. The city serves as a gateway to this diverse landscape, allowing filmmakers to explore themes that resonate with audiences worldwide. - Diverse Filming Locations: From the majestic mountains of Table Mountain National Park to the pristine beaches of Camps Bay, Cape Town offers a staggering array of filming locations within a short distance of each other. This incredible geographic diversity allows filmmakers to create a variety of settings within a single production. - Skilled Crew and Actors: Cape Town is home to a thriving film community with a highly skilled and experienced workforce. From seasoned directors and cinematographers to talented actors and production assistants, Cape Town has the crew you need to bring your project to life. - Competitive Production Value: Filming in Cape Town offers exceptional production value for your budget. The combination of a skilled workforce, diverse locations, and government incentives allows filmmakers to achieve a high production quality without breaking the bank. - Established Film Infrastructure: Cape Town boasts a well-established film infrastructure with a network of reputable production companies. These companies offer a wealth of experience and local knowledge, ensuring a smooth and efficient filming experience. - Award-Winning Productions: Cape Town has served as the backdrop for numerous award-winning productions, including "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Black Sails." The city's proven track record of success speaks volumes about its capabilities as a filming destination. Cape Town's Promising Future With a booming film industry and a commitment to fostering creativity, the future of South African cinema is incredibly promising. As international collaborations increase and local talent flourishes, Cape Town is poised to become a true global filmmaking powerhouse. Are you a filmmaker looking to explore the exciting possibilities of filming in Cape Town? Learn more about the city's film incentives and resources by visiting the DTIC website. Stay tuned for future updates on African cinema!

[lubdubsworld]

Desire.

CEO ! Jung Hoseok x  Married ! OC 

Summary : Tall Handsome CEO Hobi meets dainty delicate country girl, Elena and falls head over heels. Too bad she’s already taken. 

Genre : Infidelity, Morally ambiguous characters. 

Chapter 1

On Fridays, Jung Hoseok liked to unwind. 

After a whole entire week of heading Gwihan Inc., going over proposals, signing off on acquisitions and baby sitting his two younger siblings who were just entering the company business, Jung Hoseok liked to relax on Friday evenings, usually with a glass of wine, maybe some good food from the Chinese restaurant down the street and occasionally with some company of the feminine variety. 

As the CEO of one of the largest conglomerates in the country, Hoseok was pretty much a household name in Seoul. Not just because of his dashing good looks and his staggering business acumen, but also because of the incredibly humble, down to earth persona that he wore . 

Never in the history of Korea, had there been a more approachable and friendly multi billionaire Chaebol prince : the very personification of generosity and kindness. 

At the young age of 34, Jung Hoseok charmed reporters and celebrities and his fellow businessmen with alacrity . 

Affectionately nicknamed the Sunshine CEO, Hoseok’s dimpled smile was a staple and he was well known for being fair and even tempered, the first to extend his hand in friendship to anyone. 

Which was a wonderful reputation to carry of course but it also made people forget that for all his sunny disposition, Jung Hoseok was still very much human. 

And he did not build his company ( once on the verge of bankruptcy because of his unscrupulous father ) from scratch, by being a pushover. Which meant that Hoseok had to balance being a good guy and a firm guy and sometimes it was such a fucking pain in his ass. 

“Hyung, come on....it’s just for a few hours. It’s fun.... “ Kim Taehyung could whine like no other. Korea’s top model, Taehyung or V as he liked to be called had a deep voice which could also do a full 180, making Hoseok’s ears ring, when the younger wasn’t getting his way. 

Like right now.

“Tae, i’m so fucking tired, i need a drink and a shower and I’m crashing into my bed. I am  not  bar hopping with you morons. I’m too old for that shit. “ Hoseok groaned, watching Taehyung and his photographer husband slur and sway after one drink too many. It was already a little past eleven in the night and he had every intention of sleeping for the next thirteen hours at the least. 

“Awww hyung...its not a bar...it’s a strip club ... Come on , hyung live a little. “ Jeon Jungkook was adorable,  like a bunny,  but also a brat that never took no for an answer. Together , the couple were pretty much indestructible. 

Too tired to argue with the two of them, he groaned .

It was going to be a long, long night. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The club was called Desire, nothing like the posh high end places Hoseok was used to. It wasn’t a dump or anything but the decor, the furnishings and the clientele all screamed middle class, which wasn’t Hoseok’s usual scene. 

At all. 

But apparently, Jungkook had stumbled on someone here during one of his photography stints. 

A dancer called the ‘ White Dove’. 

The White Dove was apparently, one of the most sought after dancers in the club, because she only performed twice a month. She didn’t do it for the money, no one knew why she did it. But according to Jungkook, she was the most sensuously arousing woman he had ever seen in his entire life. 

 she moves like water, Hyung, fluid and transient. ...like the laws of physics don’t apply to her body, it’s like magic. 

Which was high praise, coming from a gay man. 

A gay man who had actually majored in dance in college. 

And even Taehyung hadn’t even looked all that bothered, watching his husband sing praises about someone else’s body .

“Would love to have both of them in my bed at the same time hyung, how do i make that happen?” He’d asked, glassy eyed. 

Hoseok had gagged, elbowed him in the ribs and moved away. 

But his dongsaengs could be pretty darn insistent and so here he was, on a friday night, half asleep from exhaustion, stumbling behind Jungkook and Taehyung as they led him to a private room, at the back of the club. 

The room was wide, shaped like a semi circle, with an elevated stage up front. Just a couple of feet away from the stage, three sofas lines the curved edges of the wall. 

Taehyung and Jungkook lay wrapped around each other in the first one, closest to the door and Hoseok did not want to see them touching each other so he skipped the middle sofa, choosing to recline on the sofa in the farthest corner.

 A very dim light hung right over his head , offering very little by way of illumination but he supposed that was the point. The dancer would be distracted by a well lit audience. 

And while he had been quite opposed to the idea when the evening began, Hoseok couldn’t help but admit , that seated on the cheap maroon sofa, with tacky vinyl upholstery, in a dimly lit room, he couldn’t help but be intrigued.

Who  was  this woman?

“Hyung, you’ll love her!! She’s totally your type!” Jungkook called out excitedly . 

Hoseok threw an amused look at the pair, shaking his head before turning around to stare at the stage again. The lights in the low lying ceiling dimmed, the one on the stage turning on gradually and to his surprise, he felt his breath catch when the stage curtain moved, gentle ripples on the satin surface. 

Music began pouring in, smooth and sensual and intrigued and then a voice followed , feminine and soft.

“Good evening. I’m Elena .... or as they call me, the White Dove. Thank you for letting me entertain you tonight.” 

She sounded absolutely delectable and Hoseok felt his eyes widen, lips parting in shock at the voice.

Soft and sweet, dainty and almost elegant. 

Low and submissive, like she wanted nothing more than to make him happy. 

Like honey in his ears. 

It sounded so out of place , in this cheap dingy strip club. 

She sounded like a fucking princess. 

And then the curtains parted, revealing a petite, svelte figure.

 Hoseok sat up straighter, eyes wide as he stared at her. 

She wore a mask, covering the upper part of her face and leaving only her lush, plump lips on display. They were an alluring red, bright and radiant in the golden light. She was dressed in a small robe, full sleeved and falling to her knees , showing off her slim, curvy legs and her skin was honey tinted, smooth to his gaze. 

Hoseok swallowed and as he watched, she threw a smile, soft and gentle and absolutely serene. 

It was the smile that did it for him.

Innocent and altogether lovely, like the kind of smile you would give someone you had loved for a hundred thousand years and he felt himself aching for it, wanting more of that gentle voice, more of that dazzling smile. 

As he watched she stepped fully into the center, the light bathing her in gold as she lightly gripped the pole and stepped forwards fully, lips parted in a smile as she bowed. 

Hoseok had sat through enough strip shows to know that this was different. Elena took small, hesitant steps into the light, tugging on the belt around her waist, the short velvet robe sliding off her shoulder gently. 

Hoseok’s throat went dry when he saw what she was dressed in : A ruby red lingerie set, with satin bows along her neckline, applique orchids all across her torso , the hem of her dress stopping just an inch below her waist, revealing satin bikinis that hugged her ass so tight his finger itched . 

He wanted to touch so bad. 

She grabbed the fabric of the robe  and instead of tossing it away, she folded it, moving to place it on a chair in the corner of the stage, gently before tossing another smile, this time apologetic. 

“I’m sorry, i need to wear this again and I don’t want it to get dirty...” She giggled then , her voice like the tinkling of a bell and Hoseok was so gone , he couldn’t think straight anymore. 

He gripped the edge of the sofa, the last vestiges of sleep leaving his head. 

And then the music began, low and soothing and seductive and she began to move. 

Elena was a phenomenal dancer, that much was obvious in just the first minute. She moved easily, and perfectly, her long legs wrapping around the pole with ease, her hands gripping it with ease but it was her gaze that drew him in....

She clearly thought Tae and Jungkook were the only ones in the audience so she kept her gaze on them, hadn’t seen him at all and she looked at them with eyes that begged for approval. She smiled often, threw her hair back and jerked her shoulders in question, asking unsubtly if they liked it, and Jungkook and Taehyung responded with enthusiasm, cheerful shouts of “ so gorgeous, beautiful sweetheart....” filling the room.

Hoseok leaned back against the couch, his breath leaving him in a harsh exhale. 

This wasn’t the kind of woman he had been expecting.

 He had been prepared, for brash and bold and seductive and sensuous. A woman who knew how to use her body to get what she wanted.... The only kind of woman he had ever met in his entire life. 

But Elena.... 

She looked so desperate to please, so desperate to be good and it was evident in her eyes, the thirst for praise , for approval. She wanted to be good and she wanted someone to tell her that.... to tell her hat she was beautiful, that she was perfect , that she was absolutely scintillating and Hoseok wanted nothing more than to be that someone. 

To be the person who rained kissed all over her body, gentle touches all over her as he breathed praise into her ears, told her how perfect she was, how enchanting and how unreal she was. 

How she was the kind of woman he would never ever tire of......

The kind of woman who deserved to be worshipped on the satin sheets of his king sized bed. .

And he would. This wasn’t going to end like this, he thought , his heart pounding. It couldn’t. 

He felt his heart pound as the performance ended, as she stepped back into the limelight and bowed, all sweet smiles and gentle gratitude. 

Taehyung and Jungkook jumped to their feet applauding cheerfully and she laughed. 

“Thank you for coming today. I hope you enjoyed my little dance. I would love to see you again. “ She smiled, cheerful and bright. 

She finally turned to his side of the room, eyes widening when he finally pushed away from the shadows, moving into the pool of light in the middle of the room.

“You were absolutely gorgeous sweetheart.” He said gently.

Her eyes went wide, lips parting in surprise and e watched her eyes travel up and down his torso, catching on the lean width of his waist, tongue peeking out to lick her lips as her eyes stayed glued to the front of his crotch, where his rock hard dick was probably very poorly concealed. 

“You’re the one to blame for that, princess.” He said with smirk and her eyes jumped to his, a blush blooming on her cheeks so fast that it made his head swim. 

Fuck. 

Fuck she was gorgeous. 

He glanced at his friends, both of who were looking between him and the dancer with knowing looks. 

“Dinners on me tomorrow if you two leave right now.” Hoseok said softly. 

Laughing, the pair waved good bye, closing the door behind them. 

Elena stood on the stage, still staring at him like he was a full course meal and he moved back to the middle sofa, lowering himself down before spreading his legs and patting his thighs. 

“How much for a private....conversation?” He asked quietly.

She hesitated.

“I.. i need to ask the manager.” She said hesitantly. 

Hoseok felt a grin creeping up his face.

He pulled his phone out and dialed quickly. Less than a minute later, the manager stumbled in, bowing almost ninety degrees. 

“Mr. Jung.. you called?” The man was breathless.

“Elena and I are going to be occupied for the next hour or so.... I don’t want us to be disturbed.” 

The manager looked very surprised, glancing at her with wide eyes. 

“You want to... ?” He asked quickly and Elena blushed. Hoseok was oddly impressed that he had asked for her consent. Well at least this place wasn't as sleazy as it looked.  

“Just a conversation.” She whispered. Hoseok felt his eyebrow raise in surprise. 

Wait, did she really think he wanted a conversation? Had he been too subtle? Was the hard dick and the invitation to sit on his lap not forward enough? 

The man gave her a  confused look but nodded. 

“Of course Mr. Jung. Anything you like.” he bowed again and left , locking the door behind him. Hoseok glanced at her, watching as she slowly climbed down the stairs 

Elena hesitated, before slowly moving to get her robe. 

“Leave that.” He said , a little more sharply than he intended and she startled a little at his tone. 

“Okay.” She whispered, scratching the back of her neck nervously and smiling a little.

“I’m sorry...I don’t usually do this... I... I’m married.” She said with a laugh. 

Hoseok froze .

It felt a little like someone had dumped a whole entire barrel of ice cold water all over his head. 

Of course she was fucking taken. 

Of fucking course.....

He was such a fucking fool....

“Oh..” He croaked, voice breaking and even that single syllable dripped with so much disappointment  that she noticed. 

Her eyes flashed with something and she carefully climbed off the stage, walking up to him. He held his breath as she came closer, standing right between his spread legs. He wanted to touch but he wasn’t sure if he was allowed. 

Her hand rose up and he felt his breath catch when she lightly touched his hair, patting the strands carefully. 

“you have really thick hair.” She giggled. 

“Does you husband know you’re here?” He said softly. 

Her gaze flitted to him. 

“No. “ She said softly. And then she pressed in closer, enough that her knee brushed his thighs and he gripped her waist with both hands, instinctively.

“No?” 

She bit her lips, eyes shifting away from him.

“He doesn’t... understand.” She sighed. 

Intrigued, Hoseok tugged her closer and she tumbled into his lap. He pulled her in till she was seated on his thighs, legs thrown over the couch as she nestled into his chest. 

He gripped her harder and God, she felt like a delicate bird in his hand. His arms stayed firm but inordinately gentle around her, and he swallowed scared to move because he was afraid he would break her . Scared to let go because he was afraid she would fly way. 

“What doesn’t he understand sweetheart?” He prompted. 

She turned to look right at him and he wanted to take that mask off so badly. To see her face in all its glory. 

“That I need this...” She whispered.

“To dance...?” He prompted and she sniffled a little.

“No.” She whispered. And then her eyes met his again, bright and somehow desperate. 

“What then baby? Why are you here?” He asked although he could already suspect it.

“To be desired. “ She smiled that same sweet smile of hers.

And really, not even a saint could resist that breathtaking smile.

And Jung Hoseok was so , so far from a saint. 

She was the one who owed loyalty to the unknown husband. Not him. So he was going to just take what he was being offered. 

He grabbed her chin, tilting her face to kiss her hard, his tongue forcing its way in before she could get her bearings. She didn’t protest, her body going limp in his arms a he looped her arms around his neck. 

He flipped them over , till she was flat on her back on the couch and he was on her, grabbing her thighs and spreading her legs, grinding his clothed erection down into the heated center of her body as he kissed her. 

She whimpered, hands scrambling to clutch at his shoulders. as she kissed him back. And he wondered if she lied, telling him that she was married. There was a world of inexperience in her kiss , absolutely no finesse in the way she spread her legs wider, hips jerking up to chase friction. 

But what she lacked in experience, she more than made up for in enthusiasm.

“Relax baby... We don’t have to rush...” He kissed her again, drawing back to stare at her and she looked a little out of it. 

“Please.. I just... i need...” 

Something about the look on her face made him pause. It was a familiar look. He’d seen this look before. 

Not in the last decade no, but ....that desperate, confused inexperience took him all the way back to his senior year in  high school when the Queen Bee , Kang Sejin had finally agreed to let him fuck her. 

For the first time. 

Hoseok stilled completely, refusing to believe it. 

How old was this girl underneath him? She couldn’t be younger than twenty five. 

“How old are you?” He demanded.

She stopped trying to yank him closer and went still, staring at him and licking her lips. 

“I’m twenty seven.” She said finally and he frowned.

“You’ve done this before right?” He asked stupidly. 

Of course she had...she said she was married for fuck’s sake. 

But her eyes widened and she looked away and oh. 

Oh. 

What the actual fuck....

Hoseok scrambled off her, his head swimming with disbelief. She choked out a sob and sat up, hugging herself and he felt his heart break when he saw the tears swell, spilling over her lashes and God, that pout on her face. 

“Elena.... “ He held his hand out, wanting to touch her again but she scrambled to her feet and backed away. 

“I’m so sorry... i don’t know what I was thinking...” She bowed, her tears flowing freely now. “ Please...forget this ever happened...” 

Hoseok stared at her as she ran up to stage, grabbing her robe and disappearing behind the curtain quickly. 

He stood there, still painfully aroused as he tried to process what he’d just learned. 

A virgin, he thought in sheer disbelief. 

The stripper I nearly fucked right now is a fucking virgin. 

His legs stopped working as he collapsed on the sofa. 

So much for unwinding on a Friday. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Listen, I know this is dumb but you really need to stop bringing this up so often.” My husband gave me an annoyed glare, his handsome face scrunched in impatience as he stuffed a couple of files into his leather briefcase. 

“Why ? We’re married... we’ve been married for four months now!! Why won’t you touch me?! “ i demanded, exhausted and tired and so guilty. 

Guilty because I’d come so close to cheating on him. 

“Because i don’t get a hard on when i look at you. Because I never wanted to fucking marry you in the first place.!!” He snarled and i bit my lips feeling my heart hurt at the familiar words, the pang still just as painful as the first time he’d said those words to me. 

“But you did...” I reminded him, following him to the door. He growled, throwing the shoe closet open and grabbing his work shoes. 

“Elena... I’m not in the mood for this.” He said sternly.” I’m running late and Hoseok ssi’s supposed to be inspecting our department today. Do you have any idea what an important man he is? I need this meeting to be perfect if I want to get that promotion.... I can’t let anything distract me.” 

“I’m your wife...not a distraction!!” I protested. 

He ignored me, tying his laces and giving me one last look of loathing. 

“if this doesn’t work for you, call your fucking parents and go back to that no good village of yours. We’ll get a fucking divorce and I’ll stop paying for your parents Hospital bills and then we’ll see how you survive.” 

I stared at him, hurt and upset. 

“Yesung...”

“I need to go. “ He stormed out of the house, slamming the door shut behind him. 

I let out a shaky breath, my hands trembling as I tried to get my bearings. It was so hard, doing this. Waking up day after day to cater to his every need and i wondered if it had even been worth it, agreeing to marry him just for the chance to pay for my parents. 

Surely, there could have been another way? 

Why had I agreed? 

My mind flashed to the gorgeous man in the club the previous night. 

 How much for a private conversation.....

 For a second i had been tempted. 

I had actually considered asking him to pay me in return for sex. Maybe if he wanted to do it more than once.... Maybe he could keep me with him. 

And then I could use the money to pay for my parents’ care and i could divorce Yesung. 

Surely that was better than being shunned in your own home? Being made to feel ugly and unappealing. 

I had been so close to doing it last night. So so close and then that man---he had somehow sensed it. Sensed that I hadn’t ever had sex before. 

How embarrassing that had been. He had guessed that I was a virgin and I couldn’t help but wonder how. 

What had i done wrong? i had hugged him, kissed him back and yet he had realized that i had no idea what i was doing or what i wanted. 

How humiliating that had been. 

I bit my lips.

I missed dancing. 

Twice a month in some sleazy club hardly made up for fifteen years of training to be a dancer.  

I missed the ballet school that I had to quit when my dad lost his job.

 I missed Busan. 

I missed my old life so bad. 

Sighing I went back to the kitchen to fix my breakfast when my eyes fell on the packed lunch and i groaned. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesung’s company was easily the most luxurious building I’d ever been. Thankfully, I’d dressed well enough, a yellow summer dress with floral prints. I’d left my hair down, even put on makeup. I looked pretty and i wanted nothing more than for my husband to look at me with a little appreciation. 

Yesung was a tall, very handsome man and i had really genuinely liked him when his parents had offered to set us up for  a  seon.

 He had seemed genuinely interested and it was the only reason I’d agreed to marry him. But apparently, his parents had forced him into the whole thing and he felt nothing but deep resentment for me. 

It was so unfair but i wasn’t ready to give up yet. 

I had every intention of winning my husband over. 

The lady at the reception gave me a visitor’s Id and told me where I could find my husband and I quickly walked over to elevators, nervous because I was the only one in flashy summer colors, all the employees dressed in muted tones of brown and grey. Flushing, I kept my head low as the elevator climbed all the way to the seventeenth floor. When I stepped out of the elevator, I caught sight of Yesung at once. He was talking to a tall man, who had his back towards me . 

“Yesung!! “ i called out brightly. “ You forgot your lunch!!” I held the bag up and my husband’s eyes snapped to me widening in surprise. 

I smiled and kept walking until the man talking to my husband turned around. 

My smile froze on my face, my brain processing the very familiar features. 

I stopped walking , my legs stalling . 

No. 

Oh, God no.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Yesung!  You forgot your lunch!!” 

Hoseok felt his entire heart turn over in his ribcage at the sound of  that  voice. 

No.. No way...it couldn’t  be.

 He turned around, stunned and his eyes caught a flash of lovely yellow, bright and incandescent in the dreary dullness of the office and oh god, it was her. 

It was Elena. 

She looked like sunshine.... Like one of those yellow tulips you saw in wall papers. Fresh and beautiful and even more breathtaking in the bright light of day and Hoseok felt like his brain had been fried. 

She had seen him too and the look on her face said it all. 

Guilt and horror flashed in rapid succession and those lips....those cherry red lips he’d tasted three days ago....they parted in shock. 

Hoseok felt his mouth go dry as she went completely still. 

“I’m so sorry sir... I don’t know why she came here!!” Kang Yesung’s voice drew him to the present and he frowned, watching as the man stalked over to her. His fists clenched as he saw the man grip her arm, hard. 

Elena winced, looking hurt and something in Hoseok just snapped.

Completely forgetting where he was , who he was.... he stalked over , hands coming up to shove Yesung hard. The man, completely taken by surprise, stumbled and fell , crashing into the filling cabinets with a loud noise. 

Everyone in the office went still, staring at him in sheer disbelief 

And he knew exactly what they were thinking?

Did the Sunshine  CEO just physically assault an employee? Was the world ending? 

Hoseok stared at Elena.

“Are you alright? “ He whispered. 

She was gawking at him, but also rubbing the skin where Yesung had grabbed her and before he could stop himself, he was reaching for her arm, brushing her own fingers away and stroking the skin with his. 

“That looks like its going to bruise.” He whispered. 

He whirled to glare at Yesung, who had pulled himself together and was now staring between Hoseok and Elena, shock written all over his features.

“Is this your code of conduct when it comes to women, Mr. Kang?” His voice came out loud and angry , almost a furious snarl. 

Yesung turned an ugly shade of red. 

“She’s my wife sir. She ...she knows she can’t visit me ...” Yesung was gaping at him. 

“So you’re going to assault her?” He demanded. 

Yesung closed his mouth quickly. 

“Are you alright, El-” He stopped himself , “ Mrs Kang.” 

She was looking at the floor.

“Yes , sir.” Her voice shook and he could see her hands trembling. The urge to draw her into his arms was so overwhelming he had to clench his fists to stop himself. 

“Jungkook! “ He called for his assistant. “ Please drop Mrs. Kang back home. Make sure she doesn’t need anything else.” 

Jungkook bowed and smiled wide at her.

“Please, this way, Mrs. Kang.” 

Hoseok stared at her and she glanced at him, one small fleeting glance heavy with guilt and confusion and worry. 

He closed his eyes, trying to get his palpitating heart under control.

Oh, God he was in so much trouble. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also please give this fic a lot of love!!!!! My baby never gets the love he deserves!!! 

author’s Note : 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

i LOVE jUNG hOSEOK. 

THAT’S IT THAT’S THE TEA. 

Feedback is how you repay me so don’t be shy <3 

[mariacallous]

bb have you read "please miss: a heartbreaking tale of staggering penis", the trans memoir? cuz i just finished reading it and it was like... offensively bad. like so bad that i'm now certain in ten years time we're going to find out from a wikileaks dump that grace lavery was a sleeper agent paid by Big Cis to make the rest of us look like depraved misogynistic predators. is this how qanon people felt omfg

hwat is going on:

“The queer memoir you’ve been waiting for”—Carmen Maria Machado

Grace Lavery is a reformed druggie, an unreformed omnisexual chaos Muppet, and 100 percent, all-natural, synthetic female hormone monster. As soon as she solves her “penis problem,” she begins receiving anonymous letters, seemingly sent by a cult of sinister clowns, and sets out on a magical mystery tour to find the source of these surreal missives. Misadventures abound: Grace performs in a David Lynch remake of Sunset Boulevard and is reprogrammed as a sixties femmebot; she writes a Juggalo Ghostbusters prequel and a socialist manifesto disguised as a porn parody of a quiz show. Or is it vice versa? As Grace fumbles toward a new trans identity, she tries on dozens of different voices, creating a coat of many colors.

With more dick jokes than a transsexual should be able to pull off, Please Miss gives us what we came for, then slaps us in the face and orders us to come again.

Praise

“A gleeful middle finger to the expectations of trans memoir… complex, multi-layered, enchanting.”—them

"With a singular sense of wryness and ribaldry, Lavery charts the course of her gender transition."—Tomi Obaro, Buzzfeed

“A smart and funny memoir spanning addiction and gender transition, queer theory and standup comedy.”—The Guardian, Most Anticipated Books of 2022

"Lavery's wild, genre-busting tale of gender transition, addiction and multiple varieties of chaos is both riotously intelligent and dazzlingly hilarious."—Evening Standard (London)

“Grace Lavery’s unabashed and tantalizing book queers the memoir genre in multiple senses, taking readers on a wild ride through the author’s multitudinous identities.”—Electric Lit, Most Anticipated Books of 2022

“In this genre-busting work of memoir (or auto-fiction?), Grace Lavery embarks on a myriad of misadventures, including receiving anonymous letters from cultish clowns and starring in a David Lynch remake of Sunset Boulevard.”  —Autostraddle, Winter preview

“Lavery takes a novel approach to the memoir. Melding it with fiction, theory and analysis of popular culture, the result is an untamed beast… weird and wonderful.”—Irish Times

“Rocking a finely-honed, larger-than-life authorial persona…Lavery’s shattered expectations with an inventive and provocative memoir.”  —The Herald (Scotland)

“Imagine a graduate lit theory seminar interrupted every few minutes by a back-row prankster who has a knack for making the whole room blush. Lavery's ideas float high out of reach at times, but if you grab one, it might just rearrange your thinking around sexuality, freedom, and what it takes to mine joy from this broken world.”—The Week

“A surreal speculative memoir… Lavery aims to rub out the dividing line between the intellectual and the bawdy. Recounting how she solved her “penis problem” and began taking synthetic estrogen, Lavery explores transcendental erotic self-realization, her history of drug and alcohol use, and the paradigmatic concept of the penis through absurdist tall tales.”—Publisher's Weekly

"Never shy at finding the humor in even the most mundane of situations, Lavery hilariously recounts her life as a trans woman in the public eye. Her relationship with fellow writer Danny Lavery comes into focus with her trademark wit and occasional self-deprecation. The construction and artificiality, the boundaries, the beauty—it’s all here, in Lavery’s body and the bodies of lovers and friends."—Library Journal

“This is the queer memoir you've been waiting for; a dizzying mix of theory and pastiche, metafiction and memory. Please Miss is Terry Castle meets Lauren Slater meets Michelle Tea; hilarious and sexy and terrifying in its brilliance. But don't worry—Lavery is an avalanche you'll be glad to be buried under.”—Carmen Maria Machado, author of In the Dream House and Her Body and Other Parties

“Grace Lavery’s Please Miss is a polychromatic, wild and joyous gambol through a world which is like ours but blessedly twisted… Come for the laugh out loud miniature windsock on page one, stay for the fascinating analysis of a discarded pig part in Jude the Obscure, end up profoundly moved and profoundly grateful for this supremely intelligent, innovative, and important tale which is, as Lavery brilliantly puts it, ‘like all the rest, different from all the rest.’”—Maggie Nelson, author of The Argonauts

“Grace Lavery's memoir – if that's what it is? – is a daring, perverse, mind-blowing, intellectual, hilarious, outrageous, inspired work of art that somehow is touchingly sincere while giving no fucks whatsoever. I read this laughing out loud, clutching my pearls, my mind exploding in wonder. This meditation on trans bodies, queer sex, pop culture, academia, and fantasy rips open bold and badly needed new terrain in literature.”—Michelle Tea, author of Against Memoir and Black Wave

“Hot, sick, painfully vivid.”—Sophie Lewis, author of Full Surrogacy Now

“Please Miss is a wickedly smart and filthily funny mosaic of criticism, memoir, and autofiction that is refreshingly avant-garde, profoundly erotic, and as enthralling as an intimate all-night conversation with the brainy high femme BFF you wish you had. I wish it upon everyone.”—Melissa Febos, author of Whip Smart and Abandon Me

“An unclassifiable pastiche of genuine beauty, a meta-memoir that takes its humor as seriously as its philosophy. Lush, louche, and utterly virtuosic, Please Miss takes a puff off a cigarette, and blooms an astonishing constellation of linked vignettes, an argument given in undercurrent, in root systems, in smoke. Please Miss gives us what we came for and then the much more for which we did not know we could come.”—Jordy Rosenberg, author of Confessions of the Fox

“In the way that excellent style always blurs the question of genre, Grace Lavery shows how excellent style can blur gender with equal verve. This book reframes the question of transition from the familiar journey from A to B, and replaces that journey with a can’t-look-away performance of wit, language, irreverence, and delight so compelling that a reader forgets about destinations all together.”—Torrey Peters, author of Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones and Detransition, Baby

“I met Grace when she was still an egg (trans talk for folx who don't know yet that they're trans) and think hers is perhaps the most spectacular, fully formed hatching since Minerva sprang from the head of Zeus.”—Susan Stryker, author of Transgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution, founding editor of Transgender Studies Quarterly, Emmy Award-winning director of Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria

“Grace Lavery has somehow managed to blend a rich overview of trans philosophy and theory with a languid, playful sexuality and humor that radiates from every page. It’s a work of great seriousness that doesn’t take itself seriously at all, and as long as I live I will never figure out how she did it.”—Nicole Cliffe, author, columnist, editor of The Toast

“Please Miss will awe you with its swung prose, its hairpin generic turns, and its bouts of gleeful self-scrutiny. These formal extroversions are part of the book’s argument and a deep insurrectionist pleasure in themselves. One chapter through and you’re ready to draw with Lavery, stand with her, hold with her.”—Paul Saint-Amour, Walter H. & Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Humanities, University of Pennsylvania

“Please Miss cheerfully explodes the trans memoir as political and rhetorical apparatus, refusing norms of uplift or disclosure or cis reader reassurance in favor of the messy magic of a joyfully plural existence. You will annoy loved ones because you’re going to read big chunks of this out loud to them and their jaws will drop at the chutzpah of Grace abounding.”—Drew Daniel, of the band Matmos, Associate Professor of English at Johns Hopkins University

“Always smart, frequently funny, and sometimes—always tastefully, I assure you—gut-wrenchingly moving, Grace Lavery’s Please Miss is brilliant from start to finish. It’s a howling tale of trans life, addiction, sex, love, loss, and this maddening and delightful meat out of which we are made. Packed as it is with delicious fabulation and sticky detail, the book makes a profound statement about not only what it means to be trans, but also what it means to be meaty, enfleshed, sexed, throbbing with desire, reeling from loss, ragged, loved and pleasured, carved and sutured, and, above all, struggling to find words for any and all of it. What a book! And have I mentioned it’s an absolute delight to read?”—Gabriel Rosenberg, Associate Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies at Duke University

I don't know what to say - I have not (yet) read it, no.

[wangxiangiftexchange]

Winter Solstice Gift for moonanstars124

The request was for fluff, found family, annoying the extended family, and AU coffee shop vibes (which I took extremely literally). I had a lot of fun writing this (my first actual coffee shop AU!) and I hope you enjoy it @moonanstars124!

Read on AO3

*****

The Burial Grounds

“Is there even a point in telling you what I want?” Jin Zixuan asks. “As you’ve never once made what I ordered.”

Wei Wuxian beams at him. “Of course! It gives me direction. A genre, if you will.”

“You do have a specific listing for a surprise drink.” Jin Zixuan resettles a-Ling on his hip. “If I wanted that, don’t you think I’d have ordered it?”

“Well, no,” Wei Wuxian explains reasonably. He reaches across the counter and pats the baby’s cheek. “If you wanted to get what you ordered, you’d have asked Wen Ning to make it.” Wen Ning turns from where he is setting up the soup tureen to shrug in apologetic agreement.

Jin Zixuan sighs deeply. “Someday I’m going to stop tipping you.”

“You can do that on the day that you don’t like what I make you,” Wei Wuxian informs him. “I mean, you won’t, because ajie would never stay married to someone who didn’t tip. But I would understand if you considered it.”

Lan Wangji half-listens to the exchange from his corner table. It is a familiar one, enough so to be pleasant background noise without distracting too much from his book. When the proper disruption comes, it is neither unexpected nor unwelcome, as it happens every morning around this time. He has already closed his book and moved his empty cup to make room for the small chalkboard that appears in front of him.

“Spicy vegetable for the soup,” Wei Wuxian announces, flinging himself down in the other chair. It is not yet nine in the morning, and he already looks happily tired. Lan Wangji nods and wipes the board clean—perhaps not strictly necessary, but if he redoes the borders, Wei Wuxian will sit with him for longer and take a proper break. “White chocolate and cranberry scones, because ajie loves us very much. And...hm. I’ll do a blueberry mint lemonade today, I think. Do we have blueberries?”

This last is for Wen Ning, who sets down Wei Wuxian’s coffee, Lan Wangji’s refill, and a plate with two of the aforementioned scones. “We do,” Wen Ning confirms. “But they’ll go moldy soon, so you should use them up.”

“Perfect.” Wen Ning smiles at both of them and returns to the counter. Wei Wuxian leans back in his chair, stretches his legs full-length, and looks around the coffee shop with satisfaction. One of his ankles comes to rest against Lan Wangji’s. Without looking up from the chalkboard, Lan Wangji puts his free hand on the table. Wei Wuxian laces their fingers together and dips a scone in his drink.

This is how mornings have gone nearly every day for a few years now. Wen Ning arrives early to open; Wei Wuxian staggers down from the apartment upstairs after being prodded awake by Lan Wangji, who claims his table and reads as the coffee shop comes to life around him. Jin Zixuan arrives at some point, bearing the day’s soup and pastries from Lotus Pier Cafe and often as not a dinner invitation for all of them from Jiang Yanli. Lan Wangji earns his coffee by writing out the day’s specials; Wei Wuxian seizes the opportunity to sit down for as long as it takes him to complete the task. Then Lan Wangji gives his table over to the morning rush and goes to work himself. Cloud Recesses Books is close enough to walk to in good weather, and he gets there in time to open. When the coffeeshop closes at three, Wei Wuxian wanders over and spends the rest of the afternoon doing his own reading or debating with Lan Qiren. It is a pleasant routine, and Lan Wangji sometimes has to stop and wonder at how happy he is.

There has been a coffee shop here for decades, under one owner or another, but the Jiangs bought it only three years ago. Lan Wangji remembers perfectly the first time he visited it after that. It was Lan Xichen’s idea to see what the new management had done with the place, and they went for lunch the first month after it reopened. “‘The Burial Grounds?’” Lan Xichen reads, pausing outside the door. “Interesting name choice.”

“After the Burial Mounds, presumably,” Lan Wangji points out. “The nature preserve outside the city.”

“Ah,” his brother says. “Naturally.”

Despite the name, the inside is entirely pleasant: walls repainted to brighten the space, spider plants hanging in the windows, a detailed menu in plain neat lettering on the chalkboard above the counter, specials in the same writing on a smaller one by the pastry case. “They must outsource their food,” Lan Xichen observes, nodding at the familiar lotus image. “The Jiangs own Lotus Pier too, so it makes sense.”

“Mm,” Lan Wangji says. He is listening. He is.

Lan Xichen follows his gaze to the mug on the counter, which holds pens for signing receipts and also a small rainbow flag. “Ah,” he agrees. “That is a pleasing development.”

The line is long enough that they can take their time reading the menu. This is good, because it contains none of the conventional titles. The Med Student, Lan Wangji reads. Four espresso shots in a cup. Below that is The Jiejie: soooooup! (See Specials board for today’s variety). And on and on: The Peacock (a white chocolate mocha with nutmeg), The Angry Brother (chamomile and hibiscus tea), The Adorable Nephew (warm milk with honey), The Headshaker (“Decisions are hard, so let us surprise you!”). Some have less of a story, Lan Wangji thinks: The First Timer is just a latte, and The Adventurer promises undisclosed amounts of cayenne. The result is a place that feels well-loved without being unwelcoming.

“It certainly has character,” Lan Xichen observes as they near the counter. The young man who takes their orders has a quiet earnest smile; he carefully lists the non-dairy milk options for Lan Wangji.

Despite the line, they find a window table easily enough—it is towards the end of the lunch hour—and they watch the street while they wait. It is only a few minutes before a different employee appears with their orders, mugs and bowls balanced precariously enough that Lan Wangji watches the soup in some alarm. But the dishes and their contents reach the table safely, which means that he can look up when the server says brightly, “Can I get you anything else?”

Lan Wangji thinks, Oh. He only barely prevents himself from saying it aloud, and the effort keeps him from speaking at all.

“Oh, wow,” the beautiful man says, staring back at him. Then he shakes himself. “Uh. Sorry. Is this your first time here?”

“We thought we’d see what the new ownership had done with it,” Lan Xichen explains. There is laughter in his voice, subtle enough that Lan Wangji hopes nobody else can hear it. “Our family owns Cloud Recesses, the—”

“The bookshop down the street!” The server’s face lights up—lights up more—and Lan Wangji gives up any hope of forming words himself. “I’ve been in there a few times. I thought you looked familiar.” This is to Lan Xichen; to Lan Wangji, he says, “I haven’t seen you before, though.” He does not say, I would remember, but the sentiment comes through clearly enough that Lan Wangji feels his ears go pink.

“My brother just finished university,” Lan Xichen explains. The amusement has become noticeably less subtle. “He will be working with us.”

“Oh wonderful!” the beautiful man says. “We’ll hope to see you again, then. Both of you, of course.” He sticks his hands into his apron pockets. “I’m Wei Wuxian, the manager. Which is, you know, terrifying. I’m probably not supposed to tell customers that part, though.”

Lan Xichen laughs aloud now, kindly, and Lan Wangji loves his brother for the way the beautiful man—Wei Wuxian—relaxes. “We understand,” Lan Xichen says. “Starting a business is a rather stressful experience at the best of times. I am Lan Xichen; this is Lan Wangji.”

“Welcome to the Burial Grounds, Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji,” Wei Wuxian says gravely, eyes dancing. “Please do let me know if you need anything. Or Wen Ning, he’s honestly much more capable than I am.” He jerks his head towards the counter, where the young man who took their orders is wiping down the espresso machine. “Anyway, I have to get back to work, but I hope you’ll come back.”

“I am certain we will,” Lan Xichen assures him. Wei Wuxian’s eyes linger on Lan Wangji’s face for a moment. When he manages to nod agreement, the smile widens. Wei Wuxian ducks his head at both of them and disappears into what is presumably the back room.

“Well,” Lan Xichen says, after a moment. “This is a delightful discovery.”

“Brother,” Lan Wangji says, deeply pained. He suspects that his ears have gone full scarlet by now.

“I mean the coffee shop, of course.” Lan Xichen takes a sip of his latte and hums with pleasure. “And as a small business ourselves, it’s only right to support others in the neighborhood. We shall have to become regulars.”

Lan Wangji sighs.

He returns alone the next day, just for a coffee in the morning. The one after that, Wei Wuxian sets his drink on the table with a hesitation that already seems out of character. When Lan Wangji tilts his head in question, he says, “I, uh, made you something special. If you want the one you actually ordered, I’ll do that instead, I just...sometimes I get the idea for new things, and I thought you’d like this one.”

Lan Wangji looks at the mug in front of him. It looks like the perfectly dull mocha that he had ordered, unsure what else to get, except that there are flower buds of some kind on top of the foam. He doesn’t know what to say, so he just nods and takes a cautious sip. “Lavender,” he says. He closes his eyes, which helps keep his brain from panicking when Wei Wuxian sits down in the empty chair. “Salt. Something sweet, apart from the chocolate?”

When he opens his eyes, Wei Wuxian’s smile is brilliant. “Birch syrup,” he confirms. “Good, I wasn’t sure how much that would come through; I haven’t used it before. But do you like it? You’re the first person to try that one.”

“Mm.” Lan Wangji looks down at the cup again: something made just for him, not for anyone else. “I like it.” He lifts his head again.

“Oh, wow,” Wei Wuxian murmurs, as he had the first day. “Sorry, I know I’m being weird. I just hadn’t seen you smile before.”

“Not weird,” Lan Wangji says, when he finds his voice. “At least, I don’t mind.” He clears his throat. “Thank you. For the drink. You should put it on the menu.”

“Yeah?” Wei Wuxian grins. “I can do that.”

There is indeed a new listing on the large chalkboard the following day: Dark chocolate mocha with lavender, sea salt, and birch syrup. Lan Wangji looks at the name of it and swallows. The Beautiful Stranger, it says, printed neatly in white chalk below The Headshaker.

When he has been coming to the Burial Grounds several times a week for a month, Lan Wangji arrives one morning to find Wei Wuxian darting frantically back and forth behind the counter. “Wen Ning called out sick,” he explains, when Lan Wangji gets to the front of the line. “This is definitely my reminder to hire more staff. I meant to, since we’ve been doing pretty well, but I just hadn’t gotten around to it. Anyway, sorry, what can I get you?”

Lan Wangji looks at the smear of cocoa powder on his cheek and says, “Is there anything I can do? I do not know how to use the machines, but I could help with other things.”

“You know,” Wei Wuxian says, “that would actually be amazing. Uh, let’s see. I need to get the Specials board up but my handwriting is atrocious. Would you mind? We’ve got chicken dumpling soup and vegan ginger snaps. No drink specials because I have too much else to worry about today.”

When that task is done (“Oh my god,” Wei Wuxian says, staring. “Well, I know I’m never ever showing you my writing”), Lan Wangji clears tables and wipes down the counter and takes orders. All the while, Wei Wuxian darts around the shop like a cheerful whirlwind. “Don’t you have to go to work?” he asks at one point, managing to pour a perfect latte and read the next ticket at once. “I’ll manage. I mean, I don’t know how, but—”

“I have texted my brother,” Lan Wangji says calmly. “He and uncle will cover the bookshop today.”

“...Right,” Wei Wuxian says. “I feel like I should fight you on that, but also I don’t have time. Thank you.”

At three o’clock, Wei Wuxian sets the Closed sign, draws the curtains, and collapses facedown onto the couch where the college students like to study. Lan Wangji regards him for a moment, then puts down the rag he was using to wipe down the last table. He still cannot use the espresso machine, but the kettle is a more familiar creature.

Wei Wuxian lifts his head blearily at the clink of saucer on table. He sits up enough to drink his tea without spilling it, and he devours two of the ginger snaps that Lan Wangji brought over in rapid succession. Lan Wangji sits down in the armchair across from the couch and sips his own tea.

The cookies seem to revive Wei Wuxian a little. “Thank you,” he says. “Again. For the tea and for, you know, everything. How can I repay you? Not a rhetorical question.”

Lan Wangji cradles his tea, glad to have something to do with his hands. “Well,” he says, “when I came in this morning, I meant to ask if you would have dinner with me.”

“Oh!” Wei Wuxian looks at him, wide-eyed. “I—hang on, past tense? Did you change your mind? I guess you did just get the total immersion experience, which I’m told is a lot—”

“I enjoyed the experience,” Lan Wangji says. “But I do not wish you to feel obligated. I will not ask you in a conversation about compensation for my labor.”

“...Right,” Wei Wuxian says. “Because you think about things like that, because you’re a ridiculously good person as well as gorgeous and in possession of unbelievably nice handwriting. Hold on.” He sets down his mug and goes to the counter, does something out of sight involving paper and a pen, and returns. “Here.” Lan Wangji puts down his own tea and inspects the offering: a gift certificate (filled out in a scrawl that is admittedly dreadful) for enough to keep him supplied with coffee for a month, more if he cuts down on his visits. “And I’ll get you all the tips from today, once they’re counted.”

Lan Wangji does not imagine that he will be cutting down on his visits.

“This will do,” he decides, and tucks the paper away in his wallet. “And half the tips. You worked very hard.”

When he looks up again, Wei Wuxian is fidgeting beside his chair. “Sure,” he says. “Great. So is the compensation conversation finished? Can we have the other one now?”

Lan Wangji smiles; he cannot do anything else. Deliberately, he stands up so they are facing each other. Wei Wuxian swallows, but his eyes are bright and he is smiling helplessly as well. Lan Wangji says, “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

“Yes,” Wei Wuxian replies immediately. Then, “You mean like a real date, right? I mean, I’d still say yes either way, but just so we’re clear.”

“A real date,” Lan Wangji confirms.

“Oh wonderful,” Wei Wuxian says. “I really hoped that was what you meant. Yes. Did I already say that?”

He is still in his apron, which has great smears on it from when a cup of coffee spilled on the counter earlier. His hair is coming loose from its tie for at least the fourth time that day; there is raspberry syrup on his forehead and powdered sugar on his nose. He is very, very beautiful.

Lan Wangji reaches up and tucks one loose strand of hair behind his ear. It does very little to help anything, but it means that he gets to feel the slight intake of breath as Wei Wuxian goes still. Lan Wangji does not drop his hand back to his side. Instead, he cups Wei Wuxian’s cheek very gently. He whispers, “May I—”

“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian says, a little hoarsely. “Yeah, yes, please—”

Lan Wangji kisses him. Wei Wuxian makes a soft sweet sound and puts both arms around his neck; Lan Wangji cradles his face a little more firmly and drops his other hand to the small of Wei Wuxian’s back, drawing him in.

And so now it has been three years, or near enough. Lan Wangji dutifully writes out the Specials board every morning; the main menu also bears his script. He has met Wen Qing, who is now a surgeon and no longer the Med Student of the four expresso shots but who remains alarmingly intense. He has also met the Adorable Nephew and the Headshaker as well as the Peacock, Jiejie, and the Angry Brother, all three of whom received him with some combination of suspicion and amusement. “So you’re the Beautiful Stranger,” Jiang Cheng says, having shown up at the Burial Grounds to demand an introduction all of two days after that first date. “Hmph. He’s been yammering about you for a month; you better have been worth it.”

Lan Wangji is trying to be worth it. He plans to ask Wei Wuxian to marry him soon, and he thinks that Wei Wuxian will probably accept. This doesn’t really make the prospect of proposing any less daunting; what does is the way Wei Wuxian pulls him back to bed for sleepy kisses in the mornings, trusting and sure of affection reciprocated. Lan Wangji rather expects that he will slip and ask the question at one of these times, rather than at the dinner date he has scheduled for their anniversary. He doesn’t really mind the idea.

[spockandawe]

OH RIGHT, I also have to follow up on The Healer Demands Payment!

Because oh my god, you guys

This is the most fun I’ve had with a cnovel in EONS (by eons, I mean like. a week. I'm an impatient binch). I was just poking idly around on novelupdates, and I tripped across an absolute GEM, and I need to scream about it. Which I already did once before, so I’ll try not to rehash things too-too badly, but I hit the end of the translation and blew through into MTL, because how was I supposed to stop? I’m still not caught up with MTL (not that it matters, since the story is ongoing), but I trust this author to take me good places, and I’m about 99% positive the author is deliberately playing with genre-based storytelling conventions, if a little more subtly than svsss. 

I’m going to get into more spoilers as I go along than I did last time, all things revealed fairly early, but if you’d rather read it cold (a++, do recommend, but not critical for reading pleasure), hit up that post instead of this one. But these first couple paragraphs aren’t super revealing.

The premise!! Meng Qi is a healer. Her first time living her life, she tried to charitably do good and heal the people around her in need. However, like every time she tried to treat a guy, circumstances were such that everyone thought she looked suspicious, credit was given to her shijie, Lu Qingran, and then all the guys went off to moon over Lu Qingran. Meng Qi does her own thing for a while, and even picks up a shizun who she adores, and who is her research partner developing all kinds of revolutionary new medical techniques. When she eventually died (I still don’t know how, but it definitely looks like Lu Qingran was swooning into the arms of the man who did it), Meng Qi was told that Lu Qingran was beloved by the heavens. Then... Meng Qi woke up, age 17 or 18, just as she entered her sect, but with all the theoretical knowledge that she accumulated in her past life.

When our story begins, the first of Lu Qingran’s love interests has just entered the scene. He staggers back to the sect, carrying Lu Qingran, badly poisoned after encountering a magic beast in the woods. Meng Qi knows how to treat him. But she’s also aware that yeah, after she did this last time, she slaved away from a week, and passed out in exhaustion, just in time for Lu Qingran to wake up and say she saw ~someone~ in their sect’s uniform in the forest just before the beast attacked. Meng Qi is all set to be locked in jail for three months until someone gets around, finally, to clearing her name. Meanwhile, clown prime, Chu Fengtian, is busy mooning over Lu Qingran and ignoring all the work she did to save him.

Yeah! She’s not super interested!!!!!!!!!

So she thinks about this for a little while, and decides that the best way to extract herself from any kind of karmic entanglements is to make sure any work she does is just a pure, simple exchange of goods. So... she says she can treat him, and she charges him money. A lot of money.

He’s angry and embarrassed and has to sign an official IOU, her sect is upset with her, but her sect also knows that treating this poison is beyond their capabilities, so they’re like ‘yeah, whatever, humiliate yourself, i guess!’ She doesn’t, because she is a good and clever girl, and as Chu Fengtian’s humiliation fades, he seems to.... gradually realize that Lu Qingran shouldn’t be the object he orbits. Meng Qi charges him money for everything she does for him, all the different pills and such, and he’s, uh. He’s starting to get into it, and I am living.

I won’t lie, whenever I talk about this book I’ve been framing it as accidental findom harem acquisition, and I’m not wrong.

Now, at this point, Meng Qi kind of has a grasp on what Events ought to be transpiring, and is managing along. That gradually fades as the plot progresses, but it’s an early element. She acquires an injured baby tiger she wants to heal, who, uh, is definitely actually a member of a royal demon clan trapped in beast mode (and baby mode). To treat this tiger, she needs expensive-ass medicine. And now, our girl has additional motivation to extort the men around her (mostly) for everything they have. She also accidentally runs into another of Lu Qingran’s eventual love interests, Qin Xiumo, recovering from the aftermath of a failed heavenly tribulation, and in a really bad way. She... can treat him. If he pays :3c

(Lu Qingran almost steals credit for Meng Qi’s work, again, and this is the point where I start to wonder if there’s some kind of.... legit gravitational field around her that’s altering people’s perceptions, because this is a terribly consistent pattern. The Dreamer In The Spring Boudoir had a toxic white lotus of its own, but what she was able to do isn’t the same as Lu Qingran, and the way people eventually break free of orbit around Lu Qingran and realize that things are Strange is fascinating)

And now here is where I was like OHHHHHHH.

Because the moment Chu Fengtian gets Qin Xiumo alone, he’s like ‘right, you and me, we both remember our last lives, right? we remember how lu qingran got us killed? and how meng qi got caught up in that all trying to help us and died too? let’s NOT do that again’

MULTIPLE REINCARNATORS WITH MEMORIES OF THEIR LIVES

And here, I have to copy over this one bit again, because it made me go yeeeee out loud

“Meng Qi.” Qin Xiumo smiled. “You should always remember one thing.” He turned to look at Meng Qi. “If someone betrays and wrongs you in the future, don’t try to talk reason, just kill them.” He paused for a moment, then slowly said, “I know you can do it. As long as you don’t feel soft-hearted.

Qin Xiumo took a step towards Meng Qi. The mountain wind stirred his black robe, but he kept staring at her eyes. With a low whisper, he softly spoke every word. “Including me…if one day I betray you, bring you harm, just kill me without hesitation.”

Okay now

So

Here’s the funny thing

Because Meng Qi was not treated well by any of these love interests before, she’s totally willing to be pleasant with them, but like........... respect? what respect? the two boys out themselves to each other immediately, but they have no clue that meng qi remembers anything, and it’s hilarious. Also they start immediately getting into baby slapfights over who she’s charging more for certain services. Is it that she doesn’t care about you and only wants to talk money with you, or is it that hey, why did she charge you ten times as much for the same service??? The answer is yes. Also, Qin Xiumo offers to repay her with his body almost right away and she’s like No Thank You, and the moment their financial obligations are repaid, she’s like OKAY BYE, and it’s great.

Virtually every major character who’s been added to the party or exists on the outskirts of the party has won me over. Xue Junwen? A treasure. Su Junmo? A++++ gossipy fox bastard, would die for him. Sikong Xing? WONDERFUL fox lesbian, also a treasure, deserves the best girlfriend in the world. Pei Mufeng? BEST BOY, needs to tell me ALL his secrets!!!! Ji Wujiong? Absolute Bastard, my favorite lad, absolute treasure of a terrible man. I love him. And Meng Qi’s mysterious once-shizun is also floating around now, and is WILDLY jealous of who this ““shizun”” that she respects from her past could be.

The story has this balance I really, really like, where all of the major women who have shown up have either been absolutely delightful creatures or fascinating I-can’t-tell-if-they-know-they’re-toxic antagonists, and all the men have been SOME variety of clown. It’s so good.

And I’m speculating so hard about everything that’s happening!!! Why do three human lads appear to remember a past with Meng Qi, while at least two demons who were very involved with her definitely don’t? Meng Qi is getting SUPER good at arrays, but the narrative makes a point about how a ton of knowledge about arrays was lost in both the human and demon realms. So........ tell me more about the devil realm? Why have you told me so little about the devil realm, I’m getting suspicious! What the FUCK did all that internal damage to both Ji Wujiong and Yun Qingyan?? Are those wounds on Ji Wujiong’s face perhaps........... tiger claws? Do they have anything to do with a baby tiger’s injured paw that wouldn’t close until Meng Qi saved up for a ton of medicines? HOW MUCH DOES PEI MUFENG REMEMBER, and did he promise to go to the starfallen sea because of his PAST LIFE remembrances of meng qi? Why is he immune to propaganda lu qingran?

And also, last time I posted, I mentioned the strict stages of cultivation as my biggest downside in the novel. That’s still probably the case, but now, I’m invested. The conceit that Meng Qi’s theoretical knowledge far outstrips her cultivation is a fascinating one, and the story leans into it real, real good. Especially once Ji Wujiong got involved and started teaching her about arrays, and she wasn’t just leaning on rote lessons from the past to get by, it got so interesting. And some of the cultivation trappings that never really clicked for me are much more interesting in the context of a medical cultivation novel, like, I have never once cared what a spiritual sea is, but once it turns out that Ji Wujiong’s internal damage involves damage to his spiritual sea? Yes?? Tell me more?????

I’m genuinely shocked and delighted that I’m so invested in this book, because I only expected it to be a light, casual read from the start. I was looking for something to kill the time, not something to distract me while I’m supposed to be working, but I love it so much. I’m in the middle of wrapping up a story arc and pausing for air before I press on through the mtl, but I’m already planning to loop back to the beginning and read again and look for hints as soon as I finish. This is so GOOD. It was such a surprise how fun it was, but I love it so much!!

[earthstellar]

TFP Megatronus x Orion Pax Experimental Concept Playlist: The Timescale of Cybertronian Lives + Music from 1890 - 2021

I know there are tons of playlists for these characters out there, but I’m trying to do something a little less conventional with this one; Please hear me out! 

Two Playlists in One: Love Throughout The Ages 

The first half of this playlist is almost all new music mixed in with some hits from the 60s, 70s, 80s, etc. to give variety, plus tracks from different genres so that hopefully everyone has a song they can enjoy in there somewhere.

For the second half of the playlist, I wanted to emphasise the idea of how long the war on Cybertron has been going on for, and just how old this conflict and the people involved actually are. 

Cybertronian Timescale: Long Lives and The Perception of Time 

We think of the Orion Pax / Megatronus stage of their relationship as being relatively brief, which it was in comparison to how long the war has been going on for as of TFP, but these are people who live for centuries. The scope of that is staggering. 

Optimus Prime and Megatron have known each other personally (either positively or negatively) for longer than modern human civilisation has existed. 

So to me, the best way to touch on that idea of time, musically, is to have the first half of the playlist be modern music, remixes, etc. and then the second half is well known and lesser known hits throughout early radio/TV (with many tracks on this playlist pre-dating those forms of media as well). 

What’s on the Playlist, Then?

My grandmother was born in 1914, and her music collection spans nearly 100 years. It’s all good stuff.

I have included some of her favourites, which she always called her “sweetheart jingles”, on this soundtrack. I think many of them work surprisingly well for the Megatronus/Orion Pax relationship.

Many of these songs will probably be unknown by the vast majority of people who might want to listen to this playlist, which is also appealing to me. (I hope if this is your first time hearing some of these, that you enjoy a few of them!)

My parents were born in 1944, and I remember all of the classics they would play; Some of those tracks will be more recognisable as this was the era when radio and TV became far more common and accessible, but I picked the tracks that I think best apply to the pairing and the relationship between the two characters at that point in their lives. 

The link to the playlist is below after some notes on Cybertronian language evolution! 

Quick Thought: Cybertronian Language Over Time and Era Specific Speech Patterns 

While thinking about my grandmother’s music collection as I assembled this playlist, I thought about some of the words and phrases she used commonly that are now totally non-existent in modern conversational English. 

She had what would probably sound to most people like “1930s radio voice” or a more Trans-Atlantic Accent way of speaking; She grew up in the Northeast USA and so she had a very distinctive way of stressing the vowels in words. It’s not just the words themselves, or how they were pronounced, but the tone and pace of speech was also very different. 

This got me thinking about Cybertronians, age, and speech:

Bots as old as Ratchet may have grown up with a totally different spoken language version of Cybertronian, and we already know that there are regional dialects, multiple written forms (glyphs), and era-specific types of Cybertronian language. 

But the way they speak, as I mentioned above with the stressing of vowels and the tone and pace of speech, might still be different due to the different eras, even after language packs/programs are downloaded and updated periodically as needed. We already know Cybertronians have regional accents, so it stands that generational accents would also possibly exist as well. 

Such a difference in speech patterns could possibly be used as a primary indicator of relative age on Cybertron, as physically they don’t age in the sense human beings do. 

Back to the Playlist: Link + Track List + Notes on Audio Prior to 1930

The playlist is here on YouTube. 

Scroll down to get to the second half (oldies section) if that’s what you’re here for! 

Please note that the songs are not arranged in any particular order aside from the first half being newer music and the second half being far older music.

Also note, where original recordings are available on YouTube for some of the older songs, I have used those original recording versions. 

However, keep in mind that there may be a couple seconds of “fuzz” at the top (start) of those older tracks, because they have been recorded from records or wax cylinders, which are formats of music that typically had a “pause” on the track to allow for needle and speed calibration when playing them manually. Modern records don’t do this in quite the same way and nobody uses wax cylinders anymore, but older records typically did. If this bothers you, skip ahead about two seconds or so, and it will resolve. 

Tempo may seem slightly “fast” on two of the tracks due to difficulties with the medium and modern recording tech/methods, and one track has some persistent “fuzz” throughout due to the original recording being rare and therefore it is a “best copy available” type archival recording, but otherwise I’ve managed to find the clearest audio possible for the vast majority of the older songs! 

(Fun music note, the “click track” in modern digital music was partially inspired by the clicking of the needle hitting the “countdown grooves” on old cylinders and records, which creates an audible mild clicking sound as the needle finds the groove and provides time for usually a half rotation or full rotation of the record before the track actually begins to allow for adjustment before the music starts! If the clicking is too fast, dial down the rotation speed, for example. 

This itself was inspired by classical metronomes as well as the actual physical method of playing the music in this way, but it’s cool to see how this persists throughout musical history even now when we don’t need the click for digital production for quite the same reasons/applications. It’s all about timing, no matter the medium or era!)

Due to the method of how some player piano rolls were credited, often by roll company and not by individuals, the actual artist name is often not available for those tracks. Where possible and where known, I have included credits to the artists/musicians. I have done my best to research and find the artists in these recordings. 

I have also included orchestrions and other “automated” music in addition to a player piano track as I think it’s interesting; These are often very old compositions being played on these machines, and as such are designed to reflect the earliest days of their relationship. 

Songs range from the years 1890 to 2021, and I will add more as I manage to find YouTube videos with some of the older songs I’m still looking for. 

By the way, if you need a love song for like an actual partner or crush that you have, I’m just going to say it now and point out that a lot of these classics are great to use in real life for cute purposes. My partner of ten years agrees, and my grandparents were married for over 60 years and sang many of these daily, so obviously something here works well. You’re welcome. ;) 

Below the cut is a track list of the second half of the playlist, as it’s 7 AM and I’d like to emphasise the “classics” section here as it’s the central theme of the concept.

I will add to this list as more tracks are added:

You’re the Top - Cole Porter

What is this Thing Called Love - Leslie Hutchinson 

I Get a Kick Outta You - Cole Porter 

Puttin on the Ritz - Phil Spitalny Orchestra

What a Day - Carl Fenton

Come Fly With Me - Frank Sinatra

Earth Angel - The Penguins

Ring a Ding Ding - Frank Sinatra 

In my Merry Oldsmobile - Billy Murray

Singin in the Rain - Gene Kelly

Dream a Little Dream of Me - Doris Day

Unforgettable - Nat King Cole 

Can’t Help Falling in Love - Elvis Presley 

Good Golly Miss Molly - Little Richard

Bei Mir Bist du Schoen - The Andews Sisters

Shine on Harvest Moon - Ruth Etting 

1920s Dance Sequence from Don’t Knock the Rock

In the Mood -Glen Miller Orchestra

Dream Lover - Bobby Darin 

When the Ragtime Army Goes Away to War (Artist Unknown) 

After You’ve Gone - J. Lawrence Cook 

My Sin (Artist Unknown) 

Flick Flack by Albert Vossen (Unsure; Song + Artist Unknown; Orchestrion) 

Lotosblumen Walzer by E. Ohlsen (Hupfeld Violina) 

Waltz no.2 - Dmitri Shostakovich 

Jupiter - Gustav Holst 

Love Potion no. 9 - The Clovers (Please note, this song mentions the word “g*psy” once in the beginning of the track. Skip this song if you would prefer not to hear it; I have done my best to only include songs that are friendly to the modern listener, but where needed I will make annotations such as this one to ensure nobody has to hear anything potentially offensive, as is unfortunately often the case with older music/lyrics.)

Come a Little Bit Closer - Jay and the Americans 

Sh-Boom - The Crew Cuts

Oh Boy - Buddy Holly

[translations-by-aiimee]

Dig a Grave to Dig Out a Ghost - Chapter 30

Original Title: 挖坟挖出鬼

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 30

Is she calling me? Lin Yan nodded his head in a daze. His mind was spinning, his legs were weak like he was stepping on cotton. The light in the living room dimmed even darker. Wind blew in from the window. His hair was still slightly wet from the shower and the cold wind made his head go numb.

"Why doesn't it look like you?" Lin Yan asked.

The little girl struck a big cross across the face in the drawing with a black crayon, a thick black bar slashing across her teeth: "Why doesn't it look like me? This is how I looked when I died."

"Brother." The little girl stood up. She tilted her head and stared at Lin Yan. Her head was crookedly rested on her right shoulder, but her thumb was still in her mouth. When she took it out after a while, the top part was gone, the nail chewed halfway down her finger. The girl grinned, her mouth full of scarlet blood flowing past her lips.

"Brother, follow me, follow me." The little girl threw the crayon aside. She tugged on Lin Yan's hand and dragged him towards the bathroom: "I'll show you what I looked like when I died, it was beautiful."

Lin Yan muddled behind her. He instinctively sensed something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what it was. His head felt like a steel nail was being nailed into it, throbbing intensely.

Why was the wind so strong? Did he forget to close the windows?

"My brother bought me new clothes and then I died, hehe. Grandma is dead, Grandpa is also dead. Everyone is dead." The little girl took Lin Yan's hand and jumped forward. The braid on the back of her head was tied with a faded pink string. The bow was coming undone and the long string was stretched out and hung behind her head. "Brother, you are dying too. I'll draw a picture for you too when you die."

"Brother, hee hee, come with us." The little girl pulled the old padded jacket on her body. Her head became even more crooked as if it would accidentally fall off. "Come on, hurry. We have to catch up."

His vision was distorted. The dark corridor looked like a giant beast's gaping mouth. Lin Yan quickened his pace and suddenly kicked something with his toes. Lin Yan subconsciously climbed onto it and went up onto a platform. It was so cold, so windy. . .

Why wasn't he there yet?

"Lin Yan!" An anxious voice sounded like it came from another world, a distant echo: "Come back."

It was a familiar voice. Lin Yan twisted his stiff neck and tried to look back, but the little girl grabbed his wrist harshly and yanked him forward: "It's too late, hurry up."

Lin Yan nodded and took a staggering step forward, but his foot didn't land on anything and he lost his balance and fell. As soon as he fell forward, a huge resistance suddenly came from his torso, aggressively holding his waist. The fresh scent of shower gel jolted him back to his senses as if he had suddenly awakened from a nightmare. He looked around in confusion and saw that the old movie-like dark surroundings had returned to their usual appearance. The little girl was gone. Lin Yan looked down. The scene in front of him left him utterly speechless, only able to suck in a sharp breath.

He was standing on the windowsill in his bedroom. The window was wide open, the curtains were billowing out in the night wind, rustling and rattling. Half of his body had already stepped out. Looking down the outer wall of the apartment building, the flowerbeds and dark shadows of the trees seemed to stretch towards him on the twelfth floor. Two hazy figures in the garden were looking up and waving at him. One was the little girl in the old cotton jacket, and the one holding her hand was the second was the soul that they hadn't been able to recover today, Second Immortal Gu!

"We're dead, we're all dead, and you're going to die too." The little girl's voice echoed in his head: "Hurry up, you have to catch up to us."

"Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu!" Lin Yan yelled out in despair. He instinctively backed away and slammed into the arms of someone behind him. The hand hooked around his waist squeezed tighter, spinning him around. The deep voice repeated over and over again: "I'm here, I'm here."

That cold body had never been as warm as it was now. Shocked, Lin Yan buried his face in Xiao Yu's chest, but Xiao Yu didn't reciprocate intimately. He immediately led Lin Yan down the window sill and closed it. He stared at the flower bed on the ground and frowned.

Lin Yan looked at Xiao Yu's profile. His serious expression made him almost forget for a minute that Xiao Yu was a ghost. Lin Yan pursed his lips. He felt that he must be really disturbed to come up with the idea of letting him hold him for a while longer.

After shaking his head to drive the weird idea from his mind, he leaned on the windowsill and looked down. The green courtyard was surrounded by trees and the tiled path was empty. Second Immortal Gu and the little girl were gone.

"The little girl and the old lady were standing down there just now." Lin Yan stammered. "They waved to me. . ."

"I can't see them." Xiao Yu's expression was serious. and he raised his hand to straighten out his damp hair. Raising his hand to fix his wet hair, Lin Yan realized that he seemed to have rushed straight out of the bathtub. His clothes hanging loosely on his body, exposing his marble-like chest. Lin Yan felt himself blush and hurriedly turned his head to the side to hide it.

"They're not like me." Xiao Yu closed the curtains. "Don't go too far away from me."

Lin Yan was silent for a while then asked softly: ". . . how are they not the same?"

Xiao Yu didn't answer. He took a deep look at him and abruptly dragged Lin Yan from the bedroom back to the living room and pressed him into the sofa. Just when Lin Yan thought he was going to force himself on him again, Xiao Yu let go. He picked up the ancient books that had fallen on the ground and shoved them at him. He said seriously: "Learn these."

"Dude, are you kidding. . ." Lin Yan swept through the pages of the books, glancing at a large string of unheard-of terms. He couldn't help but let out a pathetic laugh: "Putting aside the fact that there's no way I can get through all of these, even if I look up each individual word to understand what it meant, I can't become a Daoist priest in one day."

Xiao Yu was silent for a while and said lightly: "If I leave one day, you have to know how to protect yourself."

Xiao Yu's hands pressed on his knees as he spoke, his demeanour as tame and gentle as usual, but something seemed different. Lin Yan hesitantly asked him in a low voice: "Are you going to leave?"

"Haven't you been looking forward to it?" Xiao Yu replied coldly.

Lin Yan didn't know what to say. He raised his hand and gently touched his face. His delicate and cold skin felt like fine porcelain. He slowly rested his palm on his face and stroked his jaw. Xiao Yu didn't shy away, quietly lying on Lin Yan’s knees. Just when Lin Yan thought he was asleep and was going to take him back to the bedroom, Xiao Yu suddenly shot up. He spread open the book on Lin Yan’s lap and stared at him calmly, eyes almost sad.

"You really want me to learn this?" Lin Yan asked in surprise.

Xiao Yu nodded. Lin Yan still wanted to argue, but when he saw his serious expression, he swallowed his retorts.

The books from the online store covered almost every subject. Not only was there I Ching Feng Shui, the Five Elements of Yin and Yang, Astrology and Geomancy, Tomb Charms Guide, Qimen Dunjia*, but even calling back souls to raise corpses so they could continue their lives. Some of the books were reasonable and well-founded, but most of them contradicted themselves. The authors were shooting themselves in the foot trying to sound all-knowing with all the contradicting information. The more Lin Yan read, the more nonsensical it all seemed. He yawned sleepily. He had drunk three cups of coffee overnight and smoked almost a full pack of cigarettes without finding anything. Every time he wanted to stop. he was forced to continue by Xiao Yu's murderous eyes. He wasn't allowed to sleep at all until dawn.

*(T/N: 奇门遁甲 - a type of divination)

Feudal superstition kills people. People need to be selective about what they absorb from traditional culture. Keep the essence stuff and discard the rest. Lin Yan vaguely remembered his junior high Chinese history textbooks. He muttered that after years of atheistic education, he was forced to go to Liangshan* by a ghost.

*(T/N: 梁山 - this is where the Daoist heroes from the Water Margin were from. So kind of like a land of heavy spiritualism)

If someone really wanted to learn something, you can’t eat one bite to become a fat guy*. Lin Yan lazily lay on Xiao Yu's lap, his cold palm stroking his shoulders down to his waist. After getting used to the coldness of his body, he felt very at ease. Lin Yan huddled up on the sofa and all the symbols and phrases in the book appeared in his mind; so much Yin and Yang, the sun rises in the east, how to disrupt a nightmare, avoid bad luck. . .

*(T/N: 一口吃成个胖子 - an idiom that means basically it's not going to happen all at once)

He slowly nodded off as the dawn sky began to lighten.

The next few days were extremely hard. In addition to visiting the young Daoist priest in the hospital every day at lunch with Yin Zhou, Lin Yan spent almost all his time buried in a variety of old books. Xiao Yu seemed determined to train him to become a Daoist master. On the table were large stacks of white paper, each one scrawled with odd incantations taken from the books. Some of them weren't even in Chinese. He could only trace them with a pencil, noting the patterns and corresponding them with their intended purpose.

The worst thing was that he had no way of experimenting with the effects of these charms. Lin Yan lay on the table and stared at Xiao Yu's back, reluctantly thinking that the only thing he had as a test subject was this ghost. But no matter what talisman he tried, there was no reaction. After trying more than a dozen, Lin Yan's patience had finally worn out. He uncontrollably swept the books onto the ground. He slammed his hands on the table and yelled at Xiao Yu: "Are you fucking playing with me?"

Xiao Yu wasn't angry. He patiently picked the books off the ground, turning back to where they had been and placed them in front of Lin Yan. He stepped aside and looked at him quietly. Lin Yan felt like a dumb firecracker, extinguished by a pot of water before he had the chance to explode. It happened to rain for several days, the sound of rain and the sound of pages turning made the house extremely quiet. Lin Yan, for the thousandth time, wrote out notes on geomancy. Xiao Yu had more patience than him. No matter how long Lin Yan sat at his desk, Xiao Yu stayed beside him for as long as he could. Every time Lin Yan turned around, their eyes would meet. He had given up on the idea of slacking off. He lit a cigarette and continued to bury himself in the pile of books.

"You have been sitting here with me for ages, don't you feel bored?" Lin Yan sighed. "The remote is on the table and there's a notebook in my room. I'll teach you how to use it. This is also your home. You don't need to be so polite with me."

"There's some pens and ink. You'll have to use it yourself. You can write or paint anything you want. I don't have that kind of talent anyways. I won't be able to tell if it's bad." Lin Yan chatted up and laughed a bit. "It's a bit like filming a TV series."

He still didn't answer. The whole room seemed to grow mouldy in the rainy weather. Coupled with the chilly aura radiating from Xiao Yu's body, Lin Yan felt that he had become a mushroom growing in one of the damp corners. Before Xiao Yu could speak, he always liked to hug him whenever he had the opportunity. Now that he had regained some consciousness, he didn't touch him as much. He just watched from behind, the silence suffocating and making Lin Yan somewhat uneasy.

[christhehoff]

Better with Rage

Review: Streets of Rage 4

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the release of Streets of Rage 4, but in many ways, the game feels like it could have come out decades ago. I mean that in the best way possible; Streets of Rage 4 is right at home with the very best beat-'em-ups from years gone by, when the genre was in its heyday and series like Final Fight, Double Dragon, and the vintage Streets of Rage titles were unstoppable on consoles and arcades. The teams at Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games, and Dotemu have recaptured that hard-hitting, visceral magic with precision and impact, and delivered a love letter to beat-'em-up fans that keeps me smiling and replaying even a year after launch.

To me, the joy of a good beat-'em-up comes from two primary sources: satisfying action and plentiful variety. Like its Sega-created predecessors, Streets of Rage 4 nails it in the first department with responsive controls, generous collision detection, and an excellent sense of reaction from enemies as you lay into them (or from your character as they pummel you), with just the right amount of stagger and the ability to smoothly chain moves into one another. Grabs and auto-combos are as intuitive as ever, but unlike the classic Streets of Rage games, the engine accounts for juggles and rebound attacks, opening up even more combo possibilities, while special moves now offer the opportunity to regenerate health, making them a more viable, user-friendly combat option.

And when it comes to variety, the game is likewise second to none. Four playable characters are available from the beginning: series mainstays Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding, who both offer solid all-around capabilities; Cherry Hunter, who brings speed and acrobatic flair; and Floyd Iraia, the slow but sturdy powerhouse. While Floyd is my favorite (I especially love the wild look in his eyes as he grabs two enemies and smashes them together), each character is fun in their own way, and the initial four are joined by a number of unlockables, including Adam Hunter (finally playable again after the first SOR!) and almost (almost!) every playable character from past Streets of Rage games in all their pixel-art glory.

But character variety is only the beginning; moves, enemies, bosses, weapons, obstacles, environments — Streets of Rage 4 delivers across the board. While the game starts in the familiar city streets (complete with the good ol' Pine Pot diner), you'll soon find yourself in a police station, on a boat (an SOR standard!), in a restaurant kitchen, atop a speeding train, in an art gallery, at a concert, and more, with each level packed with both new and returning foes. No level overstays its welcome, ensuring that the game stays constantly fresh, fun, and interesting across the two to three hours it takes to complete the game's story mode. There are even hidden throwbacks to classic SOR series moments.

Speaking of classic Streets of Rage, I especially enjoyed how the game's story ties directly into the original trilogy. Story has never been a particularly important part of beat-'em-ups, but what's here sets the stage spectacularly and shows a great respect for the games that have come before, with numerous fun connections to past series entries.

The presentation is excellent as well. Now in hand-drawn HD, the graphics are every bit as charming as their old-school counterparts, with vibrant colors and impressive yet often subtle lighting effects. And, of course, Streets of Rage wouldn't be Streets of Rage without rockin', adrenaline-pumping music. Though it may not reach the nostalgic heights of SOR 1 or 2, and my favorite tracks are Yuzo Koshiro's retro-flavored tunes, SOR4 delivers a fantastic soundtrack that continues the series trend of offering cutting edge and slightly experimental sounds through a combination of energetic rhythms, pounding beats, and modern dance and techno influences.

It all comes together in what I consider to be very close to beat-'em-up perfection — taking the classic formula I loved from the Sega Genesis era and modernizing it with four-player action, online gameplay, smoother play mechanics, and a gorgeous coat of visual polish, all while honoring the original games that made this one possible. Thanks to its pick-up-and-play nature and a variety of difficulty options, it's a game that I keep coming back to again and again, even a year after launch; it's easily my favorite video game of 2020 (and of course, I had to get the collector’s edition!).

And perhaps the best part is that it's not over yet. With DLC on the way, the fight continues with new environments, new playable characters, new weapons, new music, and the new Mr. X Nightmare mode. And I absolutely cannot wait.

[themovieblogonline]

Cape Town: A Prime Filming Destination in Rising African Cinema

The spotlight is shining brightly on African cinema! Not only that but Cape Town South Africa is at the forefront of this exciting movement. With a rich cinematic history and a rapidly growing film industry, South Africa offers a wealth of resources and breathtaking locations for filmmakers around the world. But within this vibrant landscape, Cape Town stands out as a prime filming destination, attracting international productions with its unique blend of beauty, talent, and opportunity. Thriving Film Industry https://youtu.be/O5_L3KEbhag The South African government actively supports the film industry through financial incentives. These incentives make the country a highly competitive location for large-scale productions. Add to this a favorable exchange rate, and South Africa becomes an attractive option for filmmakers seeking value for their budget. Beyond these economic advantages, South Africa boasts a deep well of creative talent, with a growing pool of skilled crew members and captivating actors ready to bring your vision to life. Cape Town's Value Proposition https://youtu.be/uTEwjbDBDiQ The city takes center stage in South Africa's film industry, offering a compelling value proposition for filmmakers of all genres. Here's what sets Cape Town apart: - Rich Storytelling Tradition: South Africa boasts a rich cultural heritage and a vibrant tapestry of stories waiting to be told. The city serves as a gateway to this diverse landscape, allowing filmmakers to explore themes that resonate with audiences worldwide. - Diverse Filming Locations: From the majestic mountains of Table Mountain National Park to the pristine beaches of Camps Bay, Cape Town offers a staggering array of filming locations within a short distance of each other. This incredible geographic diversity allows filmmakers to create a variety of settings within a single production. - Skilled Crew and Actors: Cape Town is home to a thriving film community with a highly skilled and experienced workforce. From seasoned directors and cinematographers to talented actors and production assistants, Cape Town has the crew you need to bring your project to life. - Competitive Production Value: Filming in Cape Town offers exceptional production value for your budget. The combination of a skilled workforce, diverse locations, and government incentives allows filmmakers to achieve a high production quality without breaking the bank. - Established Film Infrastructure: Cape Town boasts a well-established film infrastructure with a network of reputable production companies. These companies offer a wealth of experience and local knowledge, ensuring a smooth and efficient filming experience. - Award-Winning Productions: Cape Town has served as the backdrop for numerous award-winning productions, including "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Black Sails." The city's proven track record of success speaks volumes about its capabilities as a filming destination. Cape Town's Promising Future With a booming film industry and a commitment to fostering creativity, the future of South African cinema is incredibly promising. As international collaborations increase and local talent flourishes, Cape Town is poised to become a true global filmmaking powerhouse. Are you a filmmaker looking to explore the exciting possibilities of filming in Cape Town? Learn more about the city's film incentives and resources by visiting the DTIC website. Stay tuned for future updates on African cinema!

[ladala99]

Shifting Back to Wolvden - New Features and Pack Orientation

Now that my Lioden king has established himself, I'm shifting back on over to Wolvden. I'll be on Lioden probably once a week to participate in the poll and keep up with the news. That's what I did with Wolvden during my semi-hiatus.

I haven't played Wolvden actively since the end of June, so I'm recapping (mostly for myself) what has happened since then on the site, plus giving a reminder (also mostly for myself) what I'm doing and what my goals are.

News

- Right before I left, Community Updates began happening, including the new Raffle Wolf system. I had enough time to make a new class in my pack - the Emergency Raffle Girls - who just hang out and have staggered heats so I'll always have a wolf in heat if I win a studding.

- Two Lunar Events happened, including the August Seasonal Blue Moon event. I was able to get on for both of them and get what I wanted the most, although I wasn't able to play this last week as much as I had hoped to.

- Adolescent Apprenticeships have been added, ensuring that wolves will never be dead weight in the pack unless I want them to be. This update didn't require any changes to my pack, just that I remember to press the Include Apprentices button.

- Pupsitter interface has changed for the better. It's so much easier to use and doesn't require bouncing around pages doing math anymore.

- The HTML Editor... changed. Which makes my den page where I keep all my info very ugly in the editor area (and I started trying to clean it up myself before noticing the automatic cleanup button so I'm afraid to touch that now). I know how to read and manipulate HTML well enough so I'm not too worried, but it is annoying. Spoiler tags are nice, though.

- Tier III bases have had their rarity adjusted so they're even (Cool used to be more common than others), and they all throw a bigger variety of bases more often rather than the same as the parents . I haven't been breeding for Tier IIIs yet(the ones I have are mostly to throw desired Tier IIs), so this doesn't affect me much.

- Questing Overhaul just happened this week. So far I like it. I spent 10 SB on the Lottery to receive over 50 SB from the Snake, and that was the Easy quest. The Medium and Hard quests are also just encouraging me to play a specific way - completing Hunts of a particular size and submitting fish. It feels good to be rewarded for just going a tiny bit out of my way to use more of the site. The widget on the side's also very nice so I don't have to keep checking the questing page to see my progress.

- Small Herbalist improvements with Foraging times being reduced based on level and proficiency, and a medicine stock list for quick reference.

- New items... everywhere. In the Lunar Events and in regular gameplay.

Whew, that's a lot of improvements in two months!

Interesting Polls

- Flaming Objects were voted to appear in Lunar Events

- Upcoming opponents will include Humans, Condors, Alligators, and American Crocodiles. (Probably regular gameplay opponents?)

- Upcoming features include more Explore content, more minigames, talent trees for lead wolves, more in-depth wolf personalities, and a month-long yearly event.

- Flowers were voted to be the next Raccoon Wares biome-specific decor. (And yet birds happened first)

- Staff appear to be requesting feedback from the playerbase about the theming of the month-long event. Choice options for manipulating the story won the hype poll, and so far all of the options is winning the genre poll (Horror being the second-largest, followed by Fantasy. There go my hopes that Wolvden will remain primarily real-world based for a while. Yes, Lunar Event exists, but it's self-contained and a dream world, and dreams are weird. I also don't like visual horror, so.)

What am I doing?

So that was the news, but what're my plans for the pack?

Breeding

I'm still keeping to my goal of having a Sky-based, Ice-eyed, White Merle male as a mate to a future pack leader. This generation, I'm hoping to get an Ice-eyed, Tier II male with White Merle as the next Breeding Male. And I'm still planning on doing it entirely within my pack. Thus far the best I have is a Tier I with Ice eyes and no Merle.

For stat reasons, I plan for a wolf of Dusty's line to graduate to leader's mate next generation.

I also am keeping extra wolves with White Merle, Sky(/Lavender) base, Tier III, and Selene Ornate Spots around to introduce them(or reintroduce them if I lose something) into the breeding pool in the future. It is getting pretty crowded in the Non-Canon Legacies+Interesting NBWs cave. I may have to make a new cave and rearrange things.

Story

...yeah. I had the beginnings of a story last generation, but I lost motivation to write it and honestly I didn't know where I was going with it anyway. As of now, not much about the game is inspiring me, mainly because unlike on Lioden, there isn't drama going on by way of the Fight Calculator. I have one for Wolvden, but since the canon pack is just the lead wolf's family and I've been hand-selecting the next generation pack lead, there hasn't been much conflict.

I'm going to have to think about what I want to do here. I have a fun game down mechanics-wise, but it doesn't lead to in-pack drama since 'being born with the right traits' or 'striving to have a pup born with the right traits' doesn't make a compelling story. That's eugenics when you put it in story form.

I don't have answers right now for how I'm going to introduce conflict. Perhaps this generation will be pretty chill, and the next one will be where I start to introduce conflict. I hope to get that sorted before then.

How long until next generation?

Assuming I roll every day (which I might? But I might not), Pointer will be Lead Wolf until November 9th. I haven't decided yet if I'll swap back to Lioden in October, though, as the current reign kinda makes me want to stock up on October items. I'll probably decide for sure once we get closer.

Once that day comes, I'll swap back to Lioden and start having to deal with the fact that a villain won. It won't change gameplay much (just go with negative karma), but oh boy the story.

[belliesandburps]

Non-Kink:  Top 12 Best Stealth Action Games

I was inspired by my dear pal, @twistedtummies2, to share a lil bit of non-kink related stuff about myself with’chall.  One thing to know about me is I’m a huge lover of video games.  I may not have as much time to PLAY ‘em much these days, but dammit if they aren’t one of my biggest joys beyond writing and the great outdoors. 

And my favorite genre in all of gaming is the stealth action genre.  Anyone who knows me knows that I adore the Metal Gear Solid series, but I also love a whole bunch of other stealth action games because, to me, this genre is the one with the most meat to come back to.  Stealth action done right is you being put in a room or outpost or whatever with a bunch of bad guys, and trying to carry out an objective without engaging with the enemies.  OR, it’s picking off the bad guys one by one, quickly and quietly.  Oooooor it’s you try to be sneaky, get caught, say fuck it, and wage war with an armada of Russians because isn’t it always Russians.  XD

I love that so many stealth action games can play out so many different ways.  And the feeling of escalation, like trying to be sneaky, and being overwhelmed when you’re caught and having to escape a hectic situation?  That, to me, is more thrilling than ANY set piece or scripted, linear mission from any game I’ve ever played.  It’s why I’ve replayed many of these games time and time again, and haven’t even THOUGHT about most of the biggest AAA blockbusters upon beating them.

Now, this list is subject to change.  I have a few games I need to play and they may beat out a few on this list.  But for now, here’s my Top 12 Best Stealth Action games because on top of being a thirsty old bastard, I loves me some espionage and bandana action.  :P

12) Batman: Arkham Origins (2013)

This game gets a lot of flak, but believe it or not, it’s actually my favorite in the Arkham series.  It’s City with a new coat of paint and a few more bugs, but City was still awesome, and so is this game.  It had plenty of clever predator stealth sequences, with more enemy variety to shake things up, that always made wiping out the bad guys swiftly and silently deeply rewarding.  AND it had more stealth action boss fights.  City had Mr. Freeze and a single predator fight rehashed twice with Two Face and Harley.  Origins had Mr. Freeze again, but with new additional options, and a pre-fight stage where you had to stay outta sight.  It also had Deadshot, the best of the three basic “predator boss” types, as well as TN-1 Bane as the final boss, and damn if it wasn’t intense.  With more gadgets and clever ways to mix and match, I think this game would be higher, but it’s still a great one for lovers of more approachable stealth action paired up with excellent brawler combat.

11) Assassin's Creed (2007)

The other AC games may be better, but AC1 is the only game in the series to stay consistent and simple with its design philosophy.  Here are targets for you to assassinate, here are bolstering crowds with beautiful cities to Parkour across or hide within, and at every turn, there are hiding spots but also enemies, making situations escalate organically and entertainingly with each assassination.  Hence why, despite most people regarding AC1 as the weakest entry, it's my personal favorite.  It's the one I replay the most and the one that just stays consistent with what it advertises.  No more, no less. 10) Hitman (2016)

I've yet to play the other Hitman games, and by accounts, each sequel is better than the last.  But you've seen the Jackie boy vids.  What more need be said?  :P

9) Death Stranding (2019)

Death Stranding's kind of a jack of all trades in the stealth action.  On one hand, you have conventional stealth action where you're infiltrating enemy camps and can either pick off all the bad guys one by one or go nuts and fight everybody head on.  On the other hand, you have BT's, whom you sneak around by holding your breath and moving slowly, lest these ghostly monsters drag you out to a tarpit for a boss fight.  The stealth is fairly simplistic but functional.  Combat as is would be fairly shallow, were it not for the sheer quantity of options you have in any given battle.  Seriously, you have a sticky gun that lets you snatch cargo straight off a bad guys back then immediately bludgeon him unconscious with it, and snatch HIS cargo to smash his BUDDY out cold with that in one fell swoop.  The way situations can organically just bleed from stealth to action and give you options for both makes it a blast.  And the boss fights against Cliff and Higgs are almost all I could ask for from stealth action battles. 8) Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020)

I DO wish the game had some stealth action boss fights, but far as superhero games are concerned, no game has better stealth action than Miles Morales.  It hits fast and is deeply gratifying.  You have corridors with as much as twenty plus bad guys, and you can clean it out in minutes thanks to being able to hide in plain sight through invisibility.  Venom Takedowns with let you wipe out a chain succession of enemies all at once.  Corridors have TONS of environmental advantages to wipe out a bunch of bad guys with one move.  And unlike Spider-Man or Arkham, if you're caught, just go invisible, flee, and go right back to picking off baddies in seconds.  It's like playing a predator sequence in an Arkham game on steroids...and in fast forward.  And the sheer volume of enemies you're often up against keeps it from feeling too easy. 7) Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (2019)

This game SUCKED at launch.  Like, it was actual trash that became a chore to finish when it first came out.  But fair's fair, Ubisoft stuck with it and the end result is one of the most customizable experiences I've ever had in gaming.  Like, this game is straight up now designed to let you change the entire experience simply by pausing the game and flipping a new options on and off and have it immediately go into effect.

I hated the injury mechanics of the first game because it slowed you down and led to a lot of random, unfair deaths because you could never predict which attacks would be critical and which wouldn’t.  So now, I can turn them off.  I thought bad guys were brain-dead.  So I can make them smarter.  I thought constantly slowing down when I'm running from bullets was detrimental, so now, I can make stamina limitless. 

I thought some areas had way too many guards to viably take out without co-op buddies...soooo I can activate an entire squad of AI partners all throughout the game with me and there's a lot of coordination you can do with your team for really covert missions...and you can even customize their look to create a team that looks as cool or goofy as you want.  It’s a really dorky thing, but I LOVE customization in shooters and being able to fully customize, not just yourself, but your team to look however you want in missions is really fun.

And if you think the enemies are too easy to take down?  Turn on Terminator mode and have T-800's storming the place.  Yeah, freakin’ Terminators.  XD

The game gives you literally all the options you could ask for to have an experience perfectly tuned to what you WANT to have.  And the options you have make it so the game can feel like an entirely different, borderline strategy game instead of a solid third person shooter.  You can activate a drone now to coordinate your three AI buddies to stop and go where you want, mark targets for them to eliminate and have your eye on the entire battlefield.  It's honestly staggering how many options this game has.  And were the missions not so boilerplate and were the boss fights actual boss fights and not just reskins of basic enemies, this would be one of the best games ever.  As is, it's a genuinely impressive comeback story!  6) Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (2016)

Mankind Divided is the game Cyberpunk WISHES it was (Spoiler Alert: Cyberpunk isn’t very fun or responsive yet).  It's a game with some spectacular level design where there are dozens of ways around any given enemy and tons of options for any mission.  You have a wide assortment of augmentations to let you sneak or fight your way through any scenario and they give you the tools to use your robot powers in really clever ways for navigation purposes.  This is a game where even the simplest side mission has about a dozen different outcomes, and most of them are wholly organic.  What it needed was more...well, GAME.  After all, MD is a third of the game it was meant to be.  But it IS a marvel of stealth action goodness. 5) The Last of Us: Part 2 (2020)

I have a BUNCH of issues with this game, but on the subject of stealth action, TLOU2 is one of the best in the genre.  Every single encounter is highly difficult, but has dozens of variations.  The levels are all designed with tons of varied cover spots and hidden paths to let you navigate as you either pick off the bad guys one by one, or sneak past them.  The enemies range in their weaponry, but possess self preservation, so they aren't just standing around shooting aimlessly. 

And on top of that, combat is brutal.  Every bullet counts, and you feel the impact of every shot fired.  The melee system is simple but complements gunplay fantastically.  So if you wanna save bullets, you can shoot someone in the leg, and as they stagger, you can bumrush them, grab a hammer or brick you find on the ground as you're running and bludgeon them to death to save bullets.  The game also has a great lil "MGS4 Battlefield Stealth" system.  Several encounters have humans and infected, and you can pit the two against one another and either sneak around the carnage or use it to pick off the harder enemies.

The game also has a FAR better predator fight that's basically David's fight in the first game, but with way better mechanics.  The boss increasingly upgrades their weapon each time you attack them, the environment is perfect for this fight, and if you're caught, you aren't just dead, you have a means to escape a hairy situation.  TLOU2 may have been deeply polarizing, story-wise, but as a GAME, it's terrific.  And best yet, once you beat the main game, there's an encounter mode that lets you skip all the BS and just jump right into every single stealth action encounter and boss fight throughout the whole game risk free.  What's not to love about that? 4) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD (2004 / 2010)

MGS3 is the first really great linear MGS game.  It ditches that terrible fixed camera, simplifies the controls, and has more than ten rooms where you do any sneaking.  Its best moments are proto-MGSV outposts, where you have an area with tons of guards and multiple paths to your objective, and a whole lot of opportunities to get creative.  It was also the first MGS game that made combat just as viable as stealth.  You CAN actually just punch your way through the bad guys now, and the end result is shockingly fun thanks to all the weapons and more intuitive controls.  But the real star is the boss battles.  MGS3 has some of the best bosses of any video game I've ever played in my life.  And MOST of them incorporate stealth beautifully.  To the point where you can eliminate half the bosses with any of 'em ever even knowing your location, and giving you a plethora of variety in the bosses themselves AND the means in which you fight them.

3) Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013)

Splinter Cell's an odd series.  The story is nonsense yet also pretty drab and simplistic.  Sam Fisher REALLY isn't an interesting character, none of the characters are except the villain and anti-hero scumbag.  But as a VIDEO GAME, Blacklist is the peak of linear stealth action.  MGS3 had boss fights, and THAT was the biggest mark for the game.  And Blacklist only has a single boss fight, which is basically a slightly elongated version of Deadshot's "fight" in City. 

But the moment-to-moment gameplay is out of this world good.  You have brilliant level design that makes sneaking from A to B deeply gratifying, but you also have insane mobility that makes you feel like the biggest badass when you play.  There can be a room full of guards.  And like a game of chess, with the right moves, you can end them in seconds, which requires skill to pull off, rushing the first guy and taking him down, shooting his buddy, then using execute to auto-kill up to three guards you've marked who were in range.  It's about using the systems the game gives you to maximize efficiency on the field.  And you can pick off bad guys using your environment, or climbing a plethora of terrain. 

The game almost plays like Arkham half the times when you're climbing walls or pipes and dropping down on bad guys or shooting them from overhead.  It has a huge variety of gadgets to aide you as well, and combat is incredibly difficult but doable.  Sam can only take a few hits before he's dead, but the means to shake off enemies is fair, and recovering from a slip-up is more fun than it is frustrating.  The campaign has several excellent missions which would satisfy a person as is.  But it also comes with over a dozen bonus missions you can access from your allies, each one taking place in entirely new settings with new enemies and storylines, each one with simpler and more streamlined objectives (perfect stealth, predator missions where you kill all the enemies, and survival waves where you have to fend off increasingly harder enemies).  AND it has the best kind of co-op.  Like Peace Walker, you can play any side mission with buddies.  But it also has missions exclusive to co-op, designed to be fully embraced with a buddy you can play with on the couch or online.  It's a game with tons of content, and all of it is mostly excellent. 2) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)

MGSV is the best game I've played.  That's because it's a game that hits all of my buttons.  The outposts are examples of perfect level design.  Each one is designed with a huge array of cover spots and multiple paths, direct or secret, to an objective area.  As a result, every mission allows you to get in, carry out your objective, and get out without raising a stink.  And when you screw up, it doesn't feel like punishment, because the combat of this game is fantastic. 

Everything is highly responsive, so your inputs happen with no delays.  You can go from diving to shooting from the ground in a tenth of a second.  And combat lets you seamlessly go from shooting, snatching guns from bad guys and blowing away with it, to taking breathers behind cover or with a human shield.  The enemy AI is the best the series has ever had.  They have way more self preservation, they're liberal with grenades, have way more variety in their weapons, and actually use turret guns and mortar cannons now. 

The missions themselves can be resolved tons of different ways.  Assassination missions play out like small-scale Hitman missions, without the frustration of screwing up and restarting because missions are so short, you just roll with the punches.  And the overall feel of a mission changes dramatically, depending on your loadout, the paths you choose in the level, your playstyle, and the time of day you select when you start a mission. 

There are only a few major downsides to the gameplay.  The bosses lack variety, like, I REALLY wish MGSV had more XOF assassins like Quiet to confront along with the Skulls and MoF.  Some missions are a bit too samey, and there aren't enough larger scale outposts.  Some more enemy variety wouldn't have been remiss.  And finally, the open world itself is pretty lifeless.  It works to complement the missions, like giving you a whole stretch of land to carry out ambushes or battle the Skulls anywhere you please.  But open world games are best when they have more to react to and engage with, or secrets to find.  Oh yeah, and the main villain should've had a boss fight, a stealth action shootout at that because that’s what the OG plan was until Kojima decided to be slightly more pretentious than usual. 

But beyond that, this game is a freakin' masterpiece.

So why is number 2 on the list even if it's the best game I've ever played?

Because this game exists... 1) Deus Ex (2000)

Deus Ex isn't as mechanically good as MGSV.  It's even that good mechanically, like, playing it now, it feels pretty clunky and not the least bit smooth.  Still fun, but you feel the age.  So why is it number 1?  Simple.  Deus Ex is the most open-ended video game ever made.  It's a stealth action RPG where every, and I mean, EVERY single level has dozens upon dozens of different paths to choose and make your own.  It has class specialization, meaning the build you create gives you a whole ton of new paths and strategies to use for hacking or flexibility. 

Every single mission takes place in a sprawling area.  You have an objective, obstructions blocking your way, and a whole bunch of guards.  You can blaze right to a solution, resolving a situation in minutes.  Or, you can take your time and find any number of different paths to your goal.  And all throughout each mission, there's tons of things to find as you explore.  There's entire other side missions with their own plethora of options.  Lots of really clever flavor text.  Upgrades to bolster your augmentations.  And really ominous messages you can find that'll come into play later. 

The bosses may lack variety but each one is a perfect stealth action battle where you can choose any number of options against the bosses, right down to running away from them and the game outright acknowledging that the boss enemies weren't killed.  Best yet, it's a game designed to be broken.  Unlike Human Revolution, all the bosses are recurring characters you spend plenty of time with.  But you can outright blow them away WELL in advance and the game will acknowledge their deaths and keep going anyway.  If you engage in a boss battle during a designated boss fight, but avoid them or run away, then that boss will turn up again for a rematch later. 

This is a game where you can create your own cover spots or platforms by gathering vending machines and dumpsters and piling them on top of each other.  Where specialization changes the entire feel of the campaign and incentivizes repeat playthroughs just to come up with different builds and experience missions in whole new ways.  And best yet, this is a game where when you're in a hub, whatever you see around you, you can interact with.  If you see buildings in the distance, you'll be able to go in and explore, and there's always something to find. Deus Ex is number one because there will never be another game like it.  It's debatable that no other game will ever be as FUN as MGSV, but no other game will ever be as open ended as Deus Ex because it's literally impossible.  The game is clunky and cheap looking because the engine it was built on was a low-memory one.  They traded in graphics fidelity and more impressive flow for the sake of creating a vast video game with an impossible amount of content to constantly stumble upon.  And unlike all the other games on this list, that open endedness actually DOES translate into the story, giving you dozens of different branching paths to the story, and sadly, only three fairly weak endings, but damn, if the journey up ain't a blast.  

I have a whole slew of other lists I’ve been meaning to post for the better part of two years, and honestly, they’re fun to write.  So, who knows?  Don’t worry though, they won’t get in the way of bellies or burp content either.  XD

[liugeaux]

Greatest Songs Ever - Part 13 (Diversification)

Recently I was listening to my GSE playlist with a friend and got a bit anxious as the songs were playing. Not because of the individual choices, those I stand by, but the lack of variety was quite staggering. No country songs, no hip hop, and very few legacy tracks. The list plays well if you’re familiar with modern rock, but the scope is just too narrow.  

The next list, or two ... or more will be in service of diversifying the listening experience. There are no Modern Rock songs here and yet still every single track here has provided a significant impact to the world’s sonic landscape. Let’s jump in!

1986 “Invisible Touch” - Genesis

I would probably be REALLY into Genesis if I was 10 years older. They strike me as an act with raw musical talent that benefited from the era were talent was paramount. As it stands, a handful of Genesis and Phil Collins tracks have trickled into my purview and I’ve always been impressed. “Invisible Touch” is the free base of pop music energy and production. From the jumpy guitar riffs to the effective change of key, “Invisible Touch” feels like Collins and crew emerged from a lab where they had been researching the perfect pop song.  

1992 “Neon Moon” - Brooks & Dunn

It makes me so happy that “Neon Moon” is the first country song on the list. This mid-tempo number released during the height of Country Music’s 90s dominance, is equal parts classic sad-guy-country-song, low key band playing in the back of pool hall, and paid advertisement for your local watering hole. Its country without the modern baggage, in a familiar and trustworthy package (Note: that’s not a tight blue jeans pun, unless you want it to be). Ronnie Dunn’s almost whinny delivery here feeds both the twang of the genre and the emotion needed to lament a lost love. In the end, the song feels like a warm welcoming hug, and given the song’s lyrics, I’d say mission accomplished.  

1994 “Ain’t No Thang” - Outkast

So, Hip-Hop, I have a complicated relationship with the genre. As far back as I can remember I’ve always been fond of rap songs, but its always been the ones significant enough to float to the top of the zeitgeist. Several times during the past 30 years I’ve deliberately dipped my toes into that world, and each time I emerge with a new appreciation for an artist or three. However, I’ve never been cool enough to be able to put into words why a rap song is good. Culturally it escapes me, and I feel like any commentary I try to throw on the topic will sound misinformed, and amateurish. With that said, here’s me trying to do just that with an Outkast song. 

Outkast has always struck me as a duo that is so deeply entrenched in the southern black experience that their music, especially their early stuff, is a bold snapshot of black life in Georgia. The classic “Ain’t No Thang” is a perfect example of this. In a community where the number of black people is minimal I imagine the African Americans find themselves falling into the role “the black guy” or “the black girl”. Oddly enough, I feel like communities comprised of mostly black people, allow black individuals to be themselves without the social hammer of “having to be the black person”. All of that feeds my understanding of Andre 3000. Andre’s commitment to the weird isn’t something you see a lot of in hip-hop (though it’s getting more common), and Big-Boi’s willingness to roll with it is the fuel that feeds Outkast’s creative energy. “Ain’t No Thang” isn’t the last Outkast song I’m going to include, but it’s definitely the most unapologetically black one.

1981 “You Make My Dreams” - Hall & Oates

Every once in a while an artist comes around that redefines the gold standard in pure song-writing. Hall & Oates aren’t cool, they aren’t sexy, they don’t really stand out in any way other than they write and compose some of the most well-crafted pop gems the world has ever heard. “You Make My Dreams” is peak song writing. Each verse is as catchy as the chorus, the keyboard-driven jumpy licks, fit the sass of the lyrics and Darrell Hall’s voice, while great, is a footnote on the experience of this cheesecake of a song. I hope you like “You Make My Dreams” because its gonna be in movies and TVs until the day you die, so get used to it. 

1996 “Always Be My Baby” - Mariah Carey

The 90s belonged to Mariah, much like the 80s belonged to Michael Jackson. The 90s also ushered in an era where pure R&B was taking over the pop landscape. “Always Be My Baby” is the unicorn that has such a universal appeal, it’s hard to find anyone that genuine dislikes it. Powered my Mariah’s already established powerhouse voice, and a smooth, mid tempo and, most importantly, comfortable production. The star of the track is the catchy and beautiful vocals, the beat succeeds at staying out of the way. Through its unobtrusive production, the song has a timeless quality similar to Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud”. Note: “One Sweet Day” also falls into this almost exact category and before the end of all these lists, it might just get it’s spotlight too.  

1992 “Friday I’m in Love” - The Cure

There is no way this song was released in 1992, how is that possible? In the middle of Grudge-mania, Robert Smith and The Cure release an unmistakable pop anthem. I don’t understand how I was so disconnected from the metadata of this song for so long. Like Genesis, I’ve always assumed that I’d love The Cure, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, etc If I was a bit older. At this point in 2021 a song chronicling the days of the week may seem passee, but “Friday I’m In Love“ got in before the buzzer and remains the strongest in the category. This track remains one of my favorite tracks to hear covered by other artists.  

2001 “Southern Hospitality” - Ludacris

More Atlanta hip hop makes the list, with “Southern Hospitality”. Luda doesn’t get mentioned often when discussing the greatest lyricists of all time. I’d imagine it's because his specialty was party hip-hop. The easiest way I know to describe Luda’s sound on this track is, with the word, Swag. The long way to describe it is, simple, almost Dr. Seuss-like lyrics, woven together brilliantly with humor, edge and weaponized confidence. The turn of the century is when Rap music was finally taking over the popular landscape, and while this track was primed to take advantage of that, it feels like a song written without the grand scale in mind. “Southern Hospitality” benefits from grounded, almost quaint, lyrics, and despite the explicit nature of the song, the tongue and cheek delivery leaves it mostly immune to modern day criticisms. 

1968 “Time of the Season” - The Zombies

Released at the height of Psychedelic Rock and Pop “Time of the Season” broke through the crowd of San Francisco-style 60s drug rock. Part Beach Boys harmony, part fever dream, this track’s bass line is one of the most iconic in all of pop music. At 3:34, “Time of the Season” is a concise and deliberately packaged cliff notes version of the often trippy hippie movement of the time. The multi-instrument send off at the end of the song almost begs to be a 20 minute jam-band style headache. The restraint show in the final mix, ironically is the skeleton key to this song being timeless.  

1990 “Fancy” -  Reba McEntire

*News Flash* Reba McEntire’s “Fancy” is a cover! 38-year-old me did not know this until prepping this list. It was originally released by Bobbie Gentry in 1969 and adding 21 years to the age of this song only makes the story told within it even more impactful. I always thought “Fancy” was a black sheep on the country landscape. A poor destitute mother dresses her daughter up fancy in an effort to leverage her looks and lift her out of poverty. At its core it's a feminist anthem, and speaks to the inherent power women have over men, and romanticizes a desperate hail mary tactic to marry off her the daughter. Promiscuity and decadence is hinted at in the lyrics, so hearing this on Country Radio in the 90s was much like seeing Dolly Parton in The Best Little Whore House in Texas, kinda shocking, but 100% welcoming. I’ve been casually saying at Karaoke night, “Man, Fancy is one the best songs ever written!” without even thinking that I had established a venue to talk about these things. Silly me, but hey, it’s finally made the list.   

2002 “Lose Yourself” - Eminem

I’ve had a complex relationship with Eminem my entire adult life. He was the exact kind of artist, my angsty millennial mind was hungry for in the late 90s and early 00s, but later in life it felt like I had given Em a pass and easy access to my ears because he was a white dude. I feel like much of White America did the same. He was instrumental in changing pop culture from a culture that included rap music to a culture that IS rap music. Without taking credit away from Mr. Mathers himself, I’ve had to reevaluate my opinion of him. How many black rap artists did my inherent bias cause me to skip? Should I stop listening to Eminem, since I’m not willing to dive super deep into hip-hop culture? Do I owe black artists more attention, now that I’m more aware of my bias? I know, I know, it shouldn’t take this much effort to listen to The Marshall Mathers LP, but at this point in my adulthood these thoughts take over. I’m sure I’ll talk about this more as my opinion evolves.  

As for the song “Lose Yourself” goes, it is the single most important, impactful and brilliant track Eminem has and will ever write. 8 Mile is a unique look into a rap scene that many were completely unaware of. Having Eminem play the role in a semi-autobiographical fashion and penning a song that’s perfect for the film and doubles as a timeless motivational anthem is *chef kiss* magnificent. Em is best when he fully commits to a track, and doesn’t have to be bailed out by a vocalist singing the chorus. The track’s chorus dangles perfectly between rapping and singing in a way that allows it to have the same rhythm and delivery of the verses and still be infectiously singable. Bravo Marshall, Bravo.  

I really like this “anything goes” format. I’ve already got a few other songs in the hopper so I can’t imagine it will be too long before i follow this up with more classic tracks. See you next time!

Cheers