#the whole project will be called In My Gif Era

[honeytonedhottie]

becoming ur own project and self upgrading⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🍡

the goal of becoming ur own project is to continuously improve and TRACK the progress that u make. to reflect on what serves u and upgrade, so that u can pursue your own excellence ✨

the power of intention : we have this thing in our brains called the reticular activating system and it acts as a filter for our thoughts. this is why i always stress the importance of affirmations bcuz they're so good for you. simply setting an intention before we start our day, being intentional with our actions, our affirmations etc can cause massive shifts in ur life positively. set the intention to be 1% better each and every day, to do better than u did the day before.

choose an era : crafting an era helps u to enjoy the process of ur goals and what u do to achieve them. that way u can stay consistent because it'll be ENJOYABLE. what i like to do before every single month is make a vision board for the era that i wanna embody during that month. for example, my era for the month of january will be wellness. so make urself a vision board and choose an era that way u can romanticize it.

where ur focus goes energy flows : ask urself what aspect of ur life needs the most attention and improvement and in ur era ur going to pour into that aspect of ur life whole-heartedly. turn it into a project

when u turn something into a project, u track how fruitful that project was, for later reflection ofc. you should be doing the same when ur making urself ur own project. not only will it be a helpful resource for the future, but it can also give u a view on how far you've come ✨

choose ur character : kind of think of it like a video game. unlock the character that you'll need for that specific era of ur life. what are they're characteristics? what do they focus on? u rly wanna get into character so that then u can embody the era without it feeling foreign to you. literally be your own MUSE.

vision boards and environment : set urself up for success and make a vision board bcuz they work!! tweak ur environment so that then u can be set up for success in the era that u wanna embody. for example if ur focus is on looking ur best then you'd prep the environment : buy some new makeup or beauty products, designate an area to get ready everyday, create a playlist etc etc. make it evident to ur brain that change is being made. look at situations as if you already won bcuz u did.

[yawneon]

PROJECT : REBUS !

a/n : my second little fic thingy on this app 🤭 i’m writing this at 4am, sorry if there’s any little mistakes. (i’m feeding my own mattheo riddle delusions)

pairing : mattheo riddle x gn!slytherin!reader

summary : you hated mattheo riddle, loathed him almost but all shit hits the fan when things go missing in your and his dorm, so the only logical thing to do is to band together and find out what in merlin’s name is going on.

!!! : sherlock holmes era, im funny i swear, fluff, enemies to teammates to lovers, im gonna write this one longer promise, a little bit on y/n (we love them), nicknames, references of non-canon slytherin characters (lorenzo berkshire, mattheo riddle.. obviously ��😭), half-blood reader, mattheo is annoying

part 1! / …

★・・・・・・★

it wasn’t out of the ordinary for mattheo riddle, son of the dark lord, to be annoying you in some way. it was his hobby, (or atleast that’s what he’d like to call it). no matter how many times you tell him to fuck off or leave you alone he just could never grasp the idea of it, it was out of his nature to leave you alone because it was like you two were made for eachother (again what he would like to describe it as).

“back off riddle.” you warned. you were currently at a slytherin party, your team had just won the quidditch match and your whole house seems over the moon. well everyone but you.

“come on, jelly bean.” mattheo looks at you with a shit-eating grin on his face. he pokes your side causing you to swat his hand away in an instant. it was hard to hear him over the blasting music and the sight of blaise on a table singing his heart out but you just knew that whatever he said was a teasing little snarky comment. “riddle.” you warn again giving him a stern look, “just one dance cookie and then i’ll leave you alone..” he gives you a fake pout, his bottom lip jutting out. looking him up and down you fake gag causing him to pout even further, a cheeky smirk ghosting on his lips.

you roll your eyes at him and your legs move away from him (for what felt like the fifth time that night ((it was.)) and he tries to follow you to annoy you further but he’s interrupted by a soft hand on his forearm pulling him, with one quick look to the hufflepuff student who somehow found themselves snaked into the party. his gaze leaves you as he’s quickly distracted by the person and you keep walking. it was going to be a long night obviously so since they had only just started.

you find yourself stood with your friends pansy, daphne, theodore, and draco . you stood around drinking a mystery concoction made by lorenzo and you wonder to yourself who the fuck gave him the job of making these drinks. “these are deadly, merlin.” you groan wincing at the burn in your throat as you swallow the liquid in the cup. pansy snickers at your comment bringing the red cup to her lips, “i mean yeah look who’s behind them.” she laughs taking a sip. “hey [name], are you and mattheo like a thing?” daphne ask, fiddling with her golden necklace that hung around her collarbone. you almost spit your drink out and the two boys around you chuckle at your reaction. “why would you ever make such an assumption?” your face must contort into a disgusted confused mix because everyone around you starts chuckling to themselves.

“well, i’ve got a friend in ravenclaw and i’d think they’d be a great match. it’s just that he’s always around you so i just assumed you guys were i don’t know.. into eachother?” daphne smiles shyly, her intentions seem true and you knew that she doesn’t like mattheo since he’s not really.. her type. “daphne..” you put a hand on her shoulder comically, “you can have him.. on one condition.. you make sure he never speaks to me again.” you snicker, daphne beams and nods profusely promising you that you will not be disappointed.

you and mattheo had been what seemed like enemies since like forever. the first thing he did to make you hate him was when he dunked your head into a volubilis potion in first year causing you to sound like a chipmunk for 3 days and since that day you have never had a break from mattheos constant efforts to humiliate you. first it was the potion, then pushing you off your broom, setting your robe on fire in transfiguration, the list goes on really. but mattheo continued to play dumb all the way up to sixth year. it was weird, the fact he acted absolutely oblivious, but you thought he was just teasing you again.

the night died down slowly and after about 3 hours of talking, laughing and drinking you head back to your dorm. you arrive at your dorms door, met with it slightly ajar. you think that it was weird before venturing onwards sinking yourself into the chair at your desk, you were a lucky student, having a dorm to yourself was a blessing. hearing daphne’s and theodore’s constant complaints on snoring, messiness and fights you found yourself encapsulated in the warm fortunes of being able to have a room to yourself, (even if it did get lonely).

sitting up from the wooden chair, you shower and change into more suitable sleeping attire which was obviously your pajamas you brought from home accompanied by slippers. you fall into your bed with a tired sigh, your eyes wandering over your dorms ceilings, then walls, the lights, the desk and your jewellery stand in which your rings that your family have kept as an heirloom for years centuries were missing.

they were missing.

the. rings. were. missing.

you sit up from the bed in a comical way, you could’ve sworn there were onomatoepias surrounding the air around you. jolting up quickly you rush to look for the rings. you check in the holder, on the desk, on the floor, in the blankets, under the pillows, anywhere you could think of. if you were found to have lost your prized family heirloom your mother would have your head on a stick and you would be fed to the dogs. you HAVE to find the rings. even if you died doing it.

you were searching for that shit, like it was your life elixir. as if it was the elder wand. people would hate thought you were crazy by the way you were looking. it was funny almost seeing someone squirm and rush around such a small area. your sheets were being yanked off your bed and your chest at the foot of your bed was being emptied and rearranged. you looked like you were on drugs, it was bad. you looked like a lunatic, it was horrid. but you gotta do what u gotta do..

to say you were panicking would be an understatement. you were frantic, desperate even. you were on all fours checking every single crevice and crack of that room 15 times over just for there to be nothing. it hasn’t even been an hour since you stepped foot into your dorm. your eyes are wide with anxiety sinking in and you unconsciously start pacing your room.

your mind runs laps thinking about any and every possibility. maybe they grew legs and walked away, maybe there was no rings in the first place and you were just crazy, maybe you’re family was crazy. maybe nothing was real like ever.

you paced up and down your room, hands in your hair basically clawing at it thinking of every scenario possible and every single step you took that day.

1. you woke up.

2. you went to the bathroom and did your business.

3. you changed into your uniform.

4. you checked the rings were still there, they were.

5. you went on about your day.

every single day you check the rings are there. you wouldn’t wear them incase they got damaged so you settled with keeping them on a porcelain plate next to your notebook. every single friend and basically everyone in your year knows how valuable they are and you would a word (avada kadavra) anyone without hesitation if they touched them so no one ever did.

well there is one person that might have and would if he felt especially annoying that day.

-

you found yourself pounding on mattheo riddles dorm door. the knocks echoed throughout the hall. some partygoers are still hung around in deep conversation, lorenzo seems to be off his shift as the bartender and he is seemingly in his dorm.

you wait for an answer at the door for what feels like eternity (2 minutes) and you being hammering at the door next.

a muffled voice pleads for you to stop and blaise opens the door groggily, fatigue from the party taken over his state of mind.

“where is he.”

“where is who?”

“you know who blaise.”

blaise looks behind him, looking over the beds in his dorm. enzo is in bed, and blaise just got out of his. he looks at mattheos bed and its unmade but its empty.

“not here.” blaise sighs, wiping a tired hand over his eyes.

“then where is he?” you grumble.

“astronomy tower maybe, he likes taking a smoke out there at night. to see stars or some sappy shit.” blaise replies.

you thank blaise quickly and you apologise for the intrusion before quickly picking up your feet from the floor and going to the astronomy tower.

the halls of hogwarts when it was empty were always cold and a bit uneasy when you walk through them at night. knowing that there are ghosts in the walls and there might be other students or things around frighten you but the only thing your running on right now is the drink lorenzo made and pure anger.

your slippers tap on the tile beneath your feet echoing through the walls. you twist up the astronomy tower stairs quickly and you silently enter the icy breeze of the open class. the smell of smoke quickly comes over you, foretelling you that your target was indeed here.

-

“riddle.” you growl looking at the boy. he felt as if your eyes were piercing holes straight through him and he turns around slowly cigarette still in his mouth. mattheo’s eyes were wide and his face looked guilty.

“i swear whatever theo said he’s lying.” mattheo blurts out quickly. his eyes trail down to your slippers up your long fuzzy pajama pants and then to your night shirt, a quiet smile grows on his face but he’s quick to hide the pink on his cheeks with a snarky remark. “cute outfit, [name]” he laughs taking a long drag of his cigarette.

“did you steal my stuff mattheo?”

“who?” he replies, his lips curl into a smile.

“what?” you make a weird face at him, “did you steal my things?” you say again.

“you said my name.” he laughs out softly his eyes meeting the sky above him. “also no.” mattheo sighs out.

you walk to the ledge of the astronomy tower where he stood and you lean your elbows against the chill metal. “riddle-“ you try to begin but your cut off instantly, “mattheo.” he says. “call me mattheo please.” he says almost shyly, you narrow your eyes at him before shaking your head giving into the boys request.

“mattheo i really need you to be honest with me okay?” you turn to look at him, “did you steal my stuff?”.

“i didn’t [name].” he looks back at you, “right.” you reply, slight mistrust laces your tone but mattheo ignores it as he finishes up smoking his cigarette.

“im being serious!” he whines, the top of the cigarette being dragged across the railing. you give him a nod, coming off a tad sarcastic but mostly trusting.

“my stuff went missing too.” mattheo blurts out, he looks at you breathing out a smoky sigh. you look at him puzzled, you squint your eyes at him trying to read his expression.

with your squinted eyes and mistrusting expression an idea pops up into your head.

not one you like and most definitely not one you’d pitch to mattheo riddle.

but it was better than just sulking around.

“well if we both got robbed, on the same night what are the chances it was the same person?” you sigh out your eyes drawing to the stars above you.

“high?” he replies,

“so as much as i hate this- why dont we help eachother out and look for them together.”

“are you asking me to become your detective partner, honey bun?” he teases you with a sly grin.

“don’t make me change my mind riddle.” you glare at him.

“fine.. i will since your prrrractically begging me to ~” he smiles childishly, a slight gleam in his eyes.

you roll your eyes and groan,

this was a bad idea.

-

@yawneon

[stardestroyer81]

🥪 Introducing... Door2Door! 🥪

Door2Door stars twenty year old possum Gigi Dempster, who lives in a rather ramshackle, podunk town in Vermont called Bendersville. After sending numerous job applications all over town with no word back, she finally lands herself a delivery driver position at an unassuming locally-owned sandwich restaurant named Dine 'n Dash. With no prior experience in the art of crafting a mighty fine sandwich or running a delivery route, Gigi is strapped in to experience the whirlwind of a first time food service job firsthand, and in an unpredictable town like Bendersville, quite literally anything can happen.

(For more information on what Door2Door is— as well as a handful of progress images— please consider checking underneath the cut!)

At last, witness unveiling of my latest project I've spent the last month conceptualizing, Door2Door! What once came about as a silly idea of basing a project after an inner-city delivery driver inspired after a certain gameplay section in Spongebob Squarepants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman, it has since blossomed into one of my dearest passion projects yet!

Though, before I get into any further detail behind Door2Door and its creation, I must stress— none of the above five images hail from a lost late nineties/early 2000s Cartoon Network show, and if by chance any of them were enough to fool you into thinking they were, then that just means I achieved what I set out for! 💙✨

Now, about a month ago, I'd been watching a retrospective on the critically un-acclaimed Spongebob Squarepants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman, a game I had growing up. It's important for me to mention that I had seen and personally played the aforementioned gameplay section before, though for some reason seeing it again struck me with a brilliant project idea.

Anyone who's been following me for at least a year knows that I've designed a cavalcade of candied characters for my own arcade game concept, Rascal, and initially my idea for Door2Door— which I also called Project JJ (In reference to the sandwich chain Jimmy John's)— was to give it a plot simple enough to translate into an arcade game.

The idea was that you played as a plucky delivery driver who rides through the streets of a seedy city to deliver a food order to the... er, order-ee. But your progress would be impeded by a fiendish gang of mobster alley cats who are after your sandwiches, so there would have definitely been a large cartoony element to the gameplay loop.

I drew concept art for Door2Door's protagonist, then known as Marcy, though I really wasn't vibing with either drawing. For one, making the protagonist a cat seemed a bit overdone, and I already have a cat character who's name rhymes with Marcy, so that had to go. More so, I also couldn't settle on a good spriting style, which prompted me to rethink the whole project.

Well, there is a general aura of cartooniness to Door2Door, I thought, why not just embrace that vibe whole-heartedly and reshape the project into a long-lost late nineties cartoon?

I did like the idea of having an excuse to drawing more animation cels, though if I was going to make Door2Door into something resembling a cel-animated cartoon, I was prepared to go the full distance in nailing that aesthetic, in the form of how characters are designed and the way I go about drawing each screenshot.

For those unfamiliar with cel animation, essentially it can be described as a traditional form of animation and involves objects— usually characters— being hand-inked and painted on clear celluloid sheets and placed over painted backgrounds.

Above, I've provided a visual for what a standalone 'cel' from Door2Door would look like, coupled with a hand-painted background. When overlaid on top of one another...

... you would get this! This is exactly how cartoons were animated up until the era of digital inking and coloring... but that begs the question. How am I achieving a hand-drawn and painted aesthetic if everything I've shown so far has been drawn digitally?

I have my ways! It involves a lot of studying how individual cels of animation look, and taking note of recurring hallmarks; grainy textures, paint blemishes, drop shadows, etc. Above, I've assembled a small gif of my process in composing a screenshot for Door2Door, from lineart to final product!

So, that all should loosely explain it; Door2Door is what would happen if I were in charge of a late nineties Cartoon Network show, and what you've seen here is merely the beginning. Going forward, I will be posting art of Door2Door's main cast with some additional character information and concept art for each one, though for the time being, enjoy all five art pieces I've supplied for this post— they are perhaps the biggest works of mine yet this year! 💙🏳️‍⚧️✨

[clueless-fan-critic]

Deadpool and Wolverine: The Prequel to the Mutant Saga

Here's How the X-Men Could Be Part of the MCU

If you're catching up on comics, the X-Men recently are experiencing one of the worst events in their history as mutants in comic book event Fall of X. Long story short, the "mutants being hated" status quo is in play and pulling the entire Marvel Comics Universe into it. With recent success of Fox's most successful leading mutants in the MCU, the audience is now asking the question... What will this mean for Mutants? In this theory article, I'll explore possible directions that the MCU may take with its cast of incalculable mutants.

X-Men Vs X-Men

What I noticed in X-Men media is that it's basically mutants against mutants. I mean, unless you singularly focus on one goal like the Krakoan Era, there's a chance that a mutant will either defect to another team, fight over leadership, or straight up leave because their feelings were hurt. Seriously, the Umbrella Academy can stay more cohesive than the X-men and those guys are a dysfunctional family. Even with legit reasons for leaving or defecting, it just gets tiresome by the fact they'll probably come back with no hard feelings.

My idea for this issue is that the people will only see the X-Men as the problem rather than mutants themselves. Think of a larger scale Civil War scenario with neutral mutants, like civilians, in the conflict getting hurt because of the X-Men's actions. This can also add themes of security or freedom, profiling, and the abuse of power by the government.

Speaking of themes, let us move on to the overall idea that mutants are always associated with. The exact reasons that were explored in a show with a recent mutant in the MCU.

X-Men and Proud

What might be addressed in the MCU is the prejudice and bigotry of mutants compared to people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and so on. I know that mutants are allegories for minorities, but that's the point. They're allegories. The one thing that I want discussed is whether the hatred is earned by mutants. Because think about it, mutants are called Homo Superiors and considered the next step in human evolution. Those ideas can seriously give you an ego and be generally disliked because of it. They also manifest crazy dangerous superpowers as teenagers, like if Hulk and Thor were emotionally unhinged boys who trashed a city over a taco. That's a more definite reason for people's hatred: constant destruction with no accountability or responsibility. But now we're getting the idea of mutants as a whole being treated as minorities and I feel that wouldn't exactly fit as well if the MCU introduced clearer examples of prejudice and culture.

Another example is the confusion of prejudice for mutants being the same as other kinds like racism and xenophobia. For example, basically Emma Frost, a blonde white mutant, is less likely to experience the same struggles as a black woman or an immigrant from another country. A discussion between her and Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, really exploring what it means to be an outsider and struggling to be accepted would combine both real-world and mutant issues.

But with the Mutant Saga coming, are we going to follow a new cast of X-Men or reintroduce old ones from the past?

The Old and the New

One advantage of the Multiverse is reintroducing old actors from previous Fox X-Men properties into the MCU. You could have The Gifted's Emma Dumont aka Polaris or Legion's Dan Stevens aka Legion. If you bring back characters as cameos, why not use them as much as possible to really build the MCU Multiverse. This would also give some closure to cancelled shows or movie franchises and maybe those characters to the MCU.

False Hope or Idea Generation?

Now, whether these ideas get any light in the upcoming Mutant Saga or just get shoved randomly into projects for no rhyme or reason, I have no clue. I guess it's good to have that kind of expectation with recent X-Men projects like X-Men 97, but I'm not holding my breath.

[earth616variant]

the send-off | s.r ; 4

summary | Being his best friend and assistant, Howard Stark asked you to be the first one to be tested on his time machine project. After some unexpected errors, you ended up stuck in the modern times of the 21st century. Where you meet the man you thought died years ago: Steve Rogers.

pairing/s | steve rogers x reader, avengers x reader

word count | 5k+

genres | angst, fluff, crack, time travel au, unrequited love au

warnings | mention of blood, idiots…

note | after months, here's a new update! finally found the inspiration to write again :)) I apologize for the long delay. anyway, let me know your thoughts on this one. enjoy reading!

series masterlist

 “Ugh… What to do? What to do?” you hummed.

It’s been days since your arrival in this era. And so far, everything is fine. Confusing but fine. You were still having nightmares that always woke you up. But you didn’t bother to tell anyone about it. It’s probably a normal reaction.

Since the superheroes in the compound have alternative schedules for their missions, you found yourself rubbing shoulders with whoever Avenger is in the compound. It’s obvious that they don’t want you to feel excluded and made it clear that they don’t mind you asking questions if you find something puzzling. 

You usually bond with the youngest one, Peter Parker, who is always around since he is, based on what he said, “a friendly neighborhood superhero”. It means that he doesn’t go out of the country, like Natasha or Steve, or even this state for a mission since he still has classes to attend and he explains that his aunt won’t let him go anywhere far and dangerous. Understandable, you thought. The kid is only sixteen. But for now, Peter is staying back with his aunt in their apartment while the others are on their missions. He has a schedule for staying between the compound and his aunt’s place. 

Clint is with his family, who you heard lived in this secret farmhouse. Tony is probably home too. You don’t really know. You kind of feel that he avoids being alone with you. Wanda is resting in her room. You don’t want to disturb her as you saw her coming home earlier, looking really exhausted. 

When he can, Steve also kept you company. Of course, you enjoyed talking to him about his life after the whole defrosting thing. But sometimes, you felt like a disturbance or a burden in his free time. You thought, maybe he just wants to rest. Perhaps he just feels bad for you. So, you try to not stay around him all the time if he’s home.

So, you really have nothing to do. You have books but you don’t feel like reading now. You have this novel that you liked so much, you just finished it today. The compound also has this large, flat television but you don’t feel like watching anything either. It’s not like you’re not used to being alone. You’re always alone before! But at least you have a job to take up all your time. With all this free time, you cannot help but miss doing something in the laboratory. Computing numbers or testing prototypes with Howard. You wondered if your best friend ever finished that flying car he kept on re-working. You figured, maybe not. You see that people in this modern time still use four-wheeled cars.

“Oh, hey, Doctor Y/N.”

Sometime in the afternoon, Bruce Banner went out to the kitchen to get himself something to drink. That is where he sees you, looking all bored and spacing out. You forced a smile at him and greeted him back,

“Hello, Doctor Banner.”

“Bruce. You can call me Bruce.” he smiled as he opened a can of rootbeer.

“Then, you can call me just by my name too,” you replied, tapping on the hardbound book you had with you. You tried not to be obvious as you examined his look. With his eyeglasses and white coat, you know he’s been working in his laboratory. 

After taking a sip from his drink, he spoke, “What are you up to in here, Y/N?”

Hearing that question, you instantly sighed heavily, making your shoulder slump, “Nothing really. I’ve been watching the paint dry, Bruce.”

Thankfully, the scientist caught on to your use of words. He chuckled before asking you, “Do you want to go to the lab?”

You swore you jumped from where you were sitting when Bruce said that. He took it as a yes and you two walked together back to his laboratory. Instantly, you were in awe of the place. There are screens and machinery everywhere. You don’t understand how these new gadgets work but you cannot wait to hear about them. This is like something you dreamed of.

“Here.”

Bruce handed you a white lab coat and you immediately grabbed it, wearing it excitedly. Damn, you missed wearing it. You stood next to him in front of his messy desk, which is pretty normal. Notes were everywhere. Even pens and crumpled papers. You’re starting to miss your own messy work table.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that,” Bruce spoke, referencing his desk.

You smiled, “It’s fine. It means you’re really working hard for something.”

Slipping your hands into the coat’s pockets, you wander around the spacious lab. You try to stop yourself from touching anything, fearing that you might mess something up. So like a little kid, your eyes just show your enthusiasm as you watch some type of liquid flow into a transparent tube.

“What are you working on?” you asked, turning your head to Bruce.

“Something that can help the world, hopefully.” he chuckled. He walked next to you, “It’s a serum that may help cancer patients.”

“That’s nice,” you whispered, eyes still distracted.

“Yeah. But it’s still an experiment. This is the first time I’m working on something like this again after I tried to recreate the super soldier serum.”

Your eyebrows raised as you looked at him, “You tried to recreate that serum?!”

Steve did not tell you about that. No one told you that someone in the compound tried to recreate it. You always wondered what Dr. Ernskine did to that serum since it seems very impossible to reproduce. But now that you’re in this modern era, people have more resources and findings. Maybe Bruce succeed.

Bruce stared back at you with a small smile, “It’s what brought me here, Y/N.”

“Cap. You okay?” 

Tony asked as soon as he made sure the auto-pilot was set on the plane. Instead of answering, Steve grunts while pressing a hand on the right side of his stomach. Blood was gushing out from the stab wound he got from this mission. Bucky, on the other hand, also earned bruises on his face and small cuts on his arm. The two admittedly underestimated this mission. They didn’t expect that a hundred members will show up in this cult-like mob they raided. Thankfully, Tony was able to answer an emergency call.

“Those guys really got you cornered. Whoever stabbed you would probably brag about the fact he got to stab Captain America. Too bad he died.” Tony quipped, trying to lighten the mood. He signaled to Bucky to pass him a bandage.

Steve listened with exhaustion running in his veins. He breathed out as he closed his eyes, leaning his head on the surface behind him.

“You know, you got to be more careful now…” Tony suddenly spoke, sounding a bit serious. Steve opened his eyes and look at his friend who was focused on cleaning his wound. It took minutes of silence– since Tony made sure that his wound won’t get infected– before he continued,  “You have a girlfriend waiting at home.”

“She’s not my girlfriend, Tony,” Steve replied sternly.

His best friend still managed to chuckle at that. Steve groaned when Tony slightly applied pressure to his wound. Not that Steve doesn’t like the idea of you as his romantic partner, he just doesn’t want to tolerate this kind of teasing from his friends. They might get used to it and make you uncomfortable whenever you’re with him.

Tony rolled his eyes, “Okay, whatever. But my point is you are Y/N’s closest friend in the compound right now and I don’t think she will like seeing you come back like this. I mean, you already died before and Dad told me a lot of things that happened.”

Steve tilted his head quizzically. He looked at Bucky who shared the same expression on his face.

“What–”

“There.” Tony got up as if he didn’t just say something. He pointed at Bucky. “And you too, buddy. Bring more backup next time. Something worse could have happened. You’re lucky I’m just another country away for a presentation.”

He walked back to his seat as the pilot, ignoring the confusion and curiosity from the two a-decade-old super soldiers.

“That was your last memory?”

Bruce sat in front of you, typing on his laptop as you nodded an answer. A couple of hours after inviting you, you two ended up just chatting in his laboratory. Bruce told you about the time he recreated the supersoldier serum. You learned his history and how he joined this league of superhumans. He was open to sharing his struggle in accepting his power and learning to control himself from being Bruce and the Hulk.

After that, he ended up giving you a tour of his laboratory. You would share how a gadget you had before evolved into what he has now in these modern times. Your curiosity about these said gadgets made his offer to teach you whenever he can and you happily agreed. Although you’re still unsure if you’re staying here for the rest of your life, you think that it will be good to adapt in the meantime.

“The time machine…” your voice trailed off as you brought up the topic. “How did you and Tony make it?”

You’ve been wanting to ask someone about their version of a time machine here. But since Howard’s son was a bit distant, you get to talk about it with Bruce now.

Bruce shakes his head, “It was unsuccessful.”

“It brought me here.” you countered, pursing your lips.

The air around you two was suddenly all serious and Bruce feels it. You were just wondering how they built their time machine. How did they make it work? It was seemingly more successful than Howard’s. Was it because of the current and upgraded technologies? Did they use different formulas than Howard? Did they make their own original version that was way different than what you and your best friend worked on in the past?

 

Bruce looked at you for seconds like he was contemplating if he should tell you. Then, he exhaled, removing his glasses.

“Tony brought the blueprint and basically the whole plan for it months ago. He said he found it when he was digging up in his dad’s office in their old house.”

“Wait.” your eyebrows scrunched together as you paused. You take your time processing his answer. You made sure you understood it by saying, “So… it was originally Howard’s… The blueprint for it?”

He nods, “Yes, Tony found it along with other plans his dad never worked on. We just used other materials than the outdated ones...”

You didn’t really listen to the rest of his words when you heard the first sentence. Your eyes stared at some space. Never worked on? He means, Howard made this plan and never worked on it? Does it mean that if your best friend just worked it, you could have been back earlier than this era? Your hand slowly pressed a hand on your chest and you felt your heartbeat getting quicker Bruce quickly noticed it and you looked up at him with your eyes screaming in confusion and surprise, hurt.

“When did Howard plan it?” you asked. Your voice was weak and you almost said it in a whisper.

Although confused, Bruce replied, “1977. It was written on the bottom of the blueprint.”

Your brain was quick in computing it. It was thirty years after your disappearance. You feel like shaking as you blinked away the tears that were blurring your sight.

“W-Where can I find this blueprint? I want to see it.”

The change in your tone and expression made Bruce ask, “Y/N, are you okay–”

“Where?” you asked again instead of answering.

“Uh, Tony has it.”

You ran your palms all over your face, calming yourself down. You breathe out. You knew you had to stop yourself from crying as you cannot stand doing it again.  It’s pointless. You’ve been tearing up ever since you came here and you have never been this vulnerable. You don’t like it. Before Bruce can repeat a word, you sighed heavily.

“I’m sorry,” you said, shaking your head. “I… I was just surprised Howard planned on building another time machine and never made a move on it.”

Bruce hummed quietly and replied, “It’s fine… Everything must have been a lot to you.”

You chuckled, trying to lighten up the atmosphere, “Yeah, it’s a real bummer and I think it makes me blow a fuse really easily. I swear I was never this emotional.”

If he did it, would I have come back earlier?

The question floats in your head as you set your eyes on the quiet lake just outside the compound. You pulled your knees closer to your chest and rested your chin on your knees. The sky was already dimming down as the sun already set. Nature was quiet and the only loud thing was your brain with all these questions you were asking yourself.

There was a part of you who wished you shouldn’t have just asked Bruce. Maybe you wouldn’t feel this way. But you were always curious about things, so you asked. And here you are, having this moment. As if knowing about Howard’s plans is not enough, you still had thoughts if you can ask Tony about it. You let out an exasperated, hopeless exhale. Maybe not.

“Dr. Y/N!”

You snapped out of your deep thoughts when you heard your name. Turning your head to your side, you spotted Peter approaching with a smile on his face. He waved his hand, and your lips form a small smile.

“Hey… I thought you were staying with your aunt tonight?”

He sat beside you on the green grass, “I’m just staying here until nine. Then, I’ll go back home. I dropped by to see if you’re baking tonight.”

You giggled, “Well, today’s not your lucky day, kid. But I think we still have a few brownies in the jar from the other day.”

“I checked. It’s already empty.” he feigned disappointment, holding his chest, and you two chuckled. “How was your day here, doc?”

“Boring. I haven’t really done much. Bruce saw me in the kitchen earlier and invited me to his lab. I just miss doing something again.“ you confessed with a hint of frustration in your tone. “How about you, kid?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “Eh, just school. I and my friend Ned ended up in detention because he cannot stop talking about this new movie during chemistry class. Then, our other friend, MJ joined us since she said she enjoys going to detention. We planned to eat something after but MJ has a part-time job to go to.” Peter shared and you feel that he was pretty satisfied with how his day went.

“Well, at least one of us got to bond with their friends,” you scoffed. “I have to get used to my friends being superheroes.”

“They are usually busy, aren’t they?”

You nod, “Yeah. It actually made me feel jobless.”

You two laughed at that. You resumed, “I can’t believe I finished two books in a short period– Speaking of books, I was wondering if you could lend me a hand.”

“For what?”

“Oh, you know that novel I’ve been reading these past few days?”

“Ah, the one with the whole time machine plot too?”

“Yes. I… I really loved the book. Is there any way I can reach out to the author? Maybe write them a letter? I just really want to let them know that it’s a good story.”

Maybe it’s because of a lot of free time on your hand. But you just really adored the plot and the novel itself. You found it in the new releases section of the bookstore you went to days ago. But the story was set around your time, in the 40s, and mainly revolved around time traveling, which initially pulled you into buying it. It was accurate by the era it was in, and it made you feel closer to where you came from. Now, you just finished it and it was beautiful even though it was left on a cliffhanger. It causes you something to look forward to.  

“We can try to reach out. Maybe they have e-mail. It’s faster than sending them written letters.” Peter suggests.

You cocked an eyebrow, “What’s an email?”

“Oh, it’s electronic mail. It’s like the modern type of exchanging letters with other people. Instead of asking for the person’s home address, they can just give you their email address. Then, you can send them a message with the computer or cellphone.” he explains and you nod.

“How about your laptop?”

He nods, “Yeah, we can also use that.”

You two ended up walking back to the compound. Peter helped you with creating your own e-mail address and typing your message to the author. You wanted to learn and get used to with using this gadget so you offered to type yourself. He was patient enough to teach you with the keys on the keyboard as you type. 

“So, it automatically saves itself as a draft?”

You moved the cursor on the screen as you glided your index finger on the touchpad of his laptop. It wasn’t a long message but it was genuine. You re-read the whole thing again before passing the laptop to Peter.

“Yeah, what’s the name of the author again?” the boy asked before opening a new tab in the browser.

“Oh, wait…” you reached for the book and read the huge, bold name written on the front cover. “It’s… Donald S. Burton.”

“Okay, we can look for his website. Maybe he has his contacts there.”

His voice trailed off when he began typing on the search bar. It never fails to amaze you how fast this thing can give you answers. It’s like all of the books in the library were compiled into this gadget. Peter input the name and a list of information about Donald S. Burton showed up. There were even images of the man. You cannot help but smile when the old guy reminds you of someone familiar.

“Here is his email!“

“I like these. What are these again?” 

Steve smiled at your curiosity, “Chicken nuggets.”

“Okay. Chicken nuggets,” you repeated. “I wished we had these in our time. I love these and these sauces. And of course, this sundae!” you exclaimed before taking a scoop with the tiny spoon.

Just a couple of days after you talked with Bruce in the lab and sent an e-mail with Peter’s help, you found yourself having a picnic with Steve just around the city. It was a quiet park in the busy city. It was a Tuesday so there were fewer people in the place. He invited you with it after he got home from his mission.

“Should I bake or make something?” you asked him.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. We’ll be ordering food on the way to the park,” he replied.

“Are the others coming too?” you asked again.

He shook his head, “I… didn’t ask them.”

“Why didn’t you ask them?” you raised an eyebrow. 

Steve seemed to be caught off guard. Bucky, Sam, Natasha, and Peter, who were also in the living room when you asked, smirked and looked at each other knowingly when they saw their leader’s frozen reaction. He stood there awkwardly with his hands on his hips. Natasha was the first to break the silence.

“I’ll be training,” she said.

The others caught on to it and spew their reasons too. Peter chimed in, “I have a ton of homework to do, Doc.”

“I’m visiting my sister in Louisiana,” Sam explained with a scoff. That made you squint your eyes at him. Then you looked at Bucky, waiting for his reason. He seemed frozen like the gears in his head is turning.

“I… uhm… I’m…”

“He’ll help me with training.” Nat saved him. “We’ll do some planning with the next mission.”

So that’s how you and Steve ended up alone on this picnic, which you don’t mind. You had a fun ride going here. He lets you play songs by connecting your rarely-used phone to the car’s stereo.

“How did you learn about that song?” he asked when American Pie played.

You smiled, “Natasha. I heard it from her.”

You ordered food from a fast food chain through a drive-thru. It was exciting as Steve ordered meals you didn’t try before. When you arrived at the peaceful park, you insist on helping him with bringing stuff. He just made you bring the blanket while he carries all the other things. When you found a perfect spot, you laid the gingham blanket on the green grass. You sat comfortably in your casual floral dress before you two began eating.

“Thank you for this, Steve.” you smiled.

“You’re welcome. Thank you for coming with me. I haven’t been on a picnic with someone for a while.” he said.

“You know, before I got in the time machine, I went picnic with my neighbors.” you shared, remembering that day with the Smiths.

“Mr. and Mrs. Jones?!” he asked with surprise.

Your ears perked when you heard that. The Jones were your neighbors before the Smiths. They are the last ones Steve knew since he and Bucky would sometimes fetch you if you were hanging out somewhere. The said couple was a bit grumpy, to be honest. They can hear even the smallest noise you would make in your apartment and would always let you know they don’t like it. 

“Oh, no. They moved out months after you disappeared. Another family occupied their space. Susan and Robert Smith. They have this little kid named Donny. They are much nicer.” you joked.

“Well, that’s nice. I missed a lot of things while on ice.” 

“It was only two years, Steve. Nothing much happened.” you snorted, finishing your sundae.

“A lot of things can happen. I know Howard found the Tesseract while searching for me on the ice… Share some things that happened in those two years.” 

“Okay…” you exhaled. “I bet you already know that they tried making a series after Captain America vanished. You became an icon. Have you seen it?”

You laughed when you saw Steve hissed, “I didn’t like it.”

“Yeah, it was bad.” you cracked up. You only watched that once. You don’t like how they painted Peggy into a character named Betty who was always a damsel in distress. Peggy had complained about it too.

“Anyway, we– Howard and I– tried for like a year to search for you. But he would usually be the one to go on sites and I would always try to come with him. He needs more convincing but it always works.”

Howard often says that going in the field can be dangerous and you would fight back over and over again. You were glad you did because you were with them when they found the Tesseract.

“What convincing did you do?”

“Well, I would say that I’m his assistant. My job is technically following him around. Then when he says no, I’ll say that I am his best friend. I still do have my last reason if he denies me of coming with him.” you said.

“And what is it?”

You paused and just stared at him. Chewing on your bottom lip, you hmmed. It was like you were thinking if you should tell him the last reason for Howard to let you go with him. Steve waits. He tried to be comfortable as he leaned back with his arms resting behind him. He hoped he doesn’t look much curious or nosy. After what felt like an eternity, you spoke.

“It’s… It’s that I am the last one you spoke to while you were on that plane.” 

You looked away from him, avoiding his gaze. You tried to just look at the trees and people from the distance than just look at Steve. Your chest felt heavier when you remembered that time Steve fought that skull and had control of that plane. Steve didn’t say a word so you continued to explain more, just to get it off your chest.

“It would always work since he fully knows that I have guilt living in my system after the country lost you.” you chuckled bitterly. “I felt awfully bad that I cannot do anything to help you during that situation.”

When your voice shook uncontrollably in the last words of your sentence, Steve sat back up and you can see the sympathy in his blue eyes. He reached out for your resting hand, instantly caging it in his warm hands.

“Y/N… none of it was your fault. It was already a dead-end situation. I was the one who chose to crash it.” he tried to reassure you.

“I know, I know,” you mumbled, tears slipping from your eyes. “But I cannot stand losing another person in my life that time, Steve.”

Your tearful eyes met his concerned ones. “We just lost Barnes earlier that year. And I really just can’t lose you… I tried to think of something. Howard was in the same room while I was talking to you on the phone. We tried to make a plan but we don’t have any idea where the hell the plane was and it was moving really fast. It was really bad. I felt helpless. I thought I might have been able to do something to help you but we have no time. I hate that all I can do is talk to you on the phone, hoping that you won’t feel alone, while I prayed silently for some miracle to happen. And it was crazy because  I don’t even remember the last time I prayed before that moment.”

By the time you finished talking, you were full-on sobbing. Your chest heaved and your cheeks were damp from your salty tears. Steve held your hand. His thumb drew circles on it as he lets you cry for more. And when he felt you calming down, he uttered:

“Staying in that call with me until the end was enough for me. I appreciate you for handling yourself very well and being calm with me that time. You are amazing. And you don’t know how relieved I am when I knew you were the one who answered the call. Thank you.” Steve said softly, offering a small smile as he looked directly into your eyes. “You already did much more you know for me that time.”

2/19/1945

Y/N arrived with puffy eyes today. I knew it before she even removed the black sunglasses she had on. I already told her the day before that she have the choice of not going to the laboratory today. But she still did. It was quiet the whole day in the lab. We both tried to act busy like nothing much happened. Due to the events of these past two weeks, I’ve been getting telephone calls from a lot of people. I chose to ignore them because I know it has something to do with Rogers’ disappearance and I’d been hearing they want to make the serum like Ernskine’s. I honestly think that it would be hard to “remake” Captain America ever again. She didn’t eat anything for the whole day even a cup of coffee. I insisted on walking her home, saying I have to borrow her old research about the future of computers. She said she’ll just bring it tomorrow but I said I need it urgently even though I really don’t. In fact, I have nothing to do with her research. I just had to make sure she’ll get home safe. I thought it was a good idea to just walk with her instead of asking Jarvis to drive us. But boy, I was wrong. The loss of the nation’s superhero is plastered all over the place. I tried distracting Y/N by telling her about the funny encounter I had with a girl months ago. I never told her about it before because I know she doesn’t like that I cannot commit to a single girl. But I have no more story to tell at the moment. It was a relief that she let out small laughs and smile at it. Although the smiles didn’t reach her eyes, I hope she felt better for a bit. She was about to say some advice or something when she suddenly froze. Her lips formed into a frown and I see tears forming in her eyes. I follow where her eyes lay and it was the newspapers. WE NEED A NEW CAPTAIN. The headline was printed in big, bold letters. Eye-catching. “They cannot just replace Steve like that.” It was a whisper from her. I hate that all I can do is sigh. Two minutes later, we reached her apartment. She handed me her research and thanked me. She smiled. But it was forced, I know.

As I am writing this letter, I am thinking of leaving this city with Y/N for a vacation somewhere away from here. I don’t know if she will like that. Maybe she won’t. Maybe I’ll just settle on walking her home with another made-up reason from the back of my head. I don’t know. I just feel helpless seeing her like this again after Barnes’ and now, Rogers’ death. Even so, I’ll always make sure that she will be alright.

H.S. 

Tony removed his eyeglasses as he finished reading. His index finger traces the handwritten words by his father, sighing in the process. He can hear his father’s voice with each word in it. 

“Tony, we need to go. We should fly at six!” Pepper’s voice cuts off his thoughts.

He stretched his limbs before replying, “Okay, honey. Just getting my glasses.” 

Tony stared at the page again for a second before closing his father’s journal. He slid it onto one of the drawers on his nightstand and left.

THE SEND-OFF TAGLIST

@supraveng @sunflower-golden-vol6 @curi0usc4t @caitlyn-who @bitchy-bi-trash @stilltoomuchafangirl @matisse556 @ladybug05 @sunwoahkim @meanttobea @j69confessional2 @thenyxsky @swthxrry @justab-eautifulmess @7minutes-tomidnight @curlycarley @thefalconandthewinterwidowshield @wisepenguin @shatfairy @coffeeshub @stillthatbetch @cosmicgirls-things @mediocre-m @learning-howto-be-myselfx3 @mrsjaderogers @themerc-with-a-mouth @slutdreams @royalwritersoftheuniverses @yunloyal @avengersinitiative2012 @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 @madnessinwrighting @lilizia @saintmagx @saranghaey @elmphoenix17 @animegirlgeeky @t-stark35 @ameliabs-world @seijaelee @sully-stick-together @capswife @katdahlali @avengersgirllorianna

PERMANENT TAGLIST

@rosedpetal

[legacygirlingreen]

A New Era…

See what I did there… because it’s the eras tour… and the start of a new era for me fandom wise… I’ll let myself out 😭

Hi friends,

I know it’s definitely been a while since we had a little fireside chat of sorts. I never wanted to be that person who posted this big long rant with nasty call outs or annoyed remarks. But, I have to be honest. I am really, really growing to find writing for Hogwarts Legacy to be a chore. It used to come by so naturally and I’ve lost a lot of the enjoyment due to fandom fighting, the lack of a real update with the recent announcements and just some honestly, nasty anon asks I’ve received over the last few weeks.

I have a lot going on in my personal life right now and with that, it’s caused this fandom to feel more like a burden than an escape. I have surgery coming up and it just doesn’t feel like the supportive, loving, atmosphere it once did in so many ways… So for a while I think I’m going to shift gears until I find the energy to return to my works.

Having been on tumblr for a long time, I’m sick of starting over with every shift in fandom interest so I have decided to leave this tumblr, add to it and let it be a hybrid of my interests. I will return to working on my HL content, I just don’t have a set date for it.

To those who will likely depart this blog due to this announcement, thank you for the support. I hope life treats you well. To those willing to jump to a side project I’ve been working on, I’m excited to bring you all along. And to those who may soon find this blog from other spaces, welcome.

I just really need a break from what I’ve been doing and I’ve found inspiration elsewhere in the meantime.

Thank you all for being understanding and know that I have truly enjoyed the ride with this blog so far and hope to continue to do so as I post a project that I’ve been inspired by the finale season of the Bad Batch to write. I won’t give way too much, but I’ve got 50k words on my hard drive so far and I’m still going for our favorite mechanical engineer, pilot, riot racing, definitely not dead in my delulu: Tech

(If anyone actually is interested in a teaser I would love to share)

Once again, I hope this can be a discourse. Let me know your thoughts, opinions, etc. if you are willing to give other content a try and aren’t so familiar with the animated side of Star Wars I will gladly send you a guide I made for my best friend to aid. She has no knowledge of the animated series, and as someone who went to film school purely for my love of the clone wars, this return to the universe in many ways has felt like coming home. It’s where I have always felt the most safe. It’s where I always felt the most inspired. I am just overall so thankful to have found joy in writing once again as I feel like I lost it for a while there.

I am sorry if I have disappointed anyone, I just really need a break from HL creating until I sort out my life. I’ll still lurk on my lovely mutuals since I do love you all so dearly. @eternalremorse @writing-intheundercroft to name a few. I also owe this wonderful fandom for my best friend in the whole world. It’s a love of mine, right now I think we would be better on a break… if that makes sense…

That being said, I am so, so, SO thankful for the last year (plus a few months but who’s counting) with you all. I really do look forward to eventually coming back. Right now, I just would love to explore other avenues while I’m feeling so drained.

That’s all for now but I hope to post new content soon,

- M 💚

PS : to anyone who’s found this under TBB tags… I’m a bit nervous to dive back in to the Star Wars realm since I deleted all my old ST fics but I’m ready to try again…

[starryjkoo]

Jikook Travel Show + Solo Music Timeline Theory

Alright so I’m slowly losing my mind in the current fandom environment + I think this Jikook drought is starting to mess with my brain so I’m going to share my delusional and increasingly desperate timeline for the Jikook show + their solo music. It’s mostly baseless and probably inaccurate BUT I think it could make a LITTLE sense…

So it looks like they built a mini era for Taehyung and Fri(end)s around the extra content he prepared before enlistment. I actually told someone I thought all the small content drops were building up to a bigger project — AND I WAS RIGHT — so this totally validated my baseless theory and here’s what I’m thinking.

I wonder if they’re going to use the travel show as promotional content for Jikook and build a mini era around it like they did with Fri(end)s. I think this would be an especially good idea considering Jimin mentioned he wasn’t able to prepare as much as he wanted before enlistment. I’m assuming maybe he wasn’t able to film a lot of extra content outside of his music and MV (especially based on iirc THs(?) quality over quantity comment).

But that’s okay! Jikook can’t go on any variety shows to promote but they actually have a whole variety show of their own they could use to promote themselves instead! It would definitely make Jimin and Jungkook trend (at least within the fandom) and put them somewhat in the public eye. I think it’s also the perfect content to bring a portion of ia & casual fans back who would then be able to catch their music announcements easier (which is one of the points of promoting).

BH could be saving the show for a content gap considering it’s not really time sensitive, but I still think it would be smarter of them to make the most out of the show and let it serve multiple purposes and promote Jikook. They don't have a lot to work with, so they should make the most out of every piece of content they have imo.

Point two - I could see them using it for FESTA as well. Obviously Jin returning is going to be the big huge mega amazing FESTA event, but I’m wondering if they’re going to want to have some extra content for ARMYs to consume. It would make it so Jin wouldn’t have the entirety of FESTA resting on his shoulders either. So if they don't have something else already prepared, the travel show would work great.

AFAIK it’s the first proper unit project in CH2 and it’s going to definitely have some OT7 vibes. I’m sure Jikook are going to talk about the group, missing the other members, what they want to do when they’re all back together — stuff like that. The other members might even make cameos (YG talked to them on the phone when they were in NY, I’d be surprised if they didn’t video call TH at some point, and there’s always the possibility that vminkook filmed something together in Jeju).

It’ll probably also be a bit nostalgic for everyone who misses BV and ITS and might have some throwbacks to previous BTS vacations — which is perfect for FESTA month! I think with BTS being ia it would be smart to cater to ARMYs who are probably going to be especially emotional and missing BTS as well as remind those who have started to drift of that bond and partial OT7 dynamic that drew many in to begin with. I think this sort of content has been something ARMYs have been really deprived of so it’s definitely going to be a big deal imho. It’s the most CH1 like content we’re getting so far in CH2.

If they don’t release the show during June, I could still see them dropping the teasers/trailer during FESTA. That alone would bring a lot of excitement and hype and add to the festivities and would be a great time to advertise the show.

Also, Jikook described it as a gift, and FESTA is the perfect time for those so…

If they don’t release it for FESTA (or possibly just tease it) I still think it makes a lot of sense as a summer release for several reasons.

For one, the first part of the show was recorded right when JK released Seven. We know that JK is likely releasing more music this summer so that would actually tie in perfectly. One of my biggest desires for the show is to hear them talk a little bit about their thoughts and feelings on their solos careers (unrealistic I know lmao) but if they reference that at all, it ties even better into new music releases. Especially if they reference or talk about Seven right before JK releases another summer single (or album) around the same time period. It works really well for either of them tbh!

The first half of the show is also going to have summery vibes because of when it was recorded, so releasing during the summer is sort of fitting. This is also the sort of content I think we historically got around summer/fall?

So all of this suggests a possible timeline where we get both Jikook’s music and their show in the same possibly 2-3 month time period around the summer. Fri(end)s only had a two week gap between HOTS so we know they aren’t worried about spacing these projects too far from each other, however I would hope they’d have more sense then to have Jikook’s music overlap or be too close together 😭 I don’t think we could handle the akgae wars if that happened 😭

Anyways, we know for sure that JK is dropping something in the summer based on his comment during his live (he might just have been referencing the show, but I’m pretty sure most of us took it to mean music). But as far as Jimin, we don’t really have any hints about when his music is dropping that I’m aware of unfortunately? But I could see summer making a lot of sense actually!

I can’t remember the exact wording he used but I remember him telling ARMYs that his next release would be something lighter. And during his documentary screening he listed out all the things that he knows ARMYs would like to see from him. I think if he’s going for something lighter that caters more towards ARMYs interests and expectations summer would be a very smart and fitting month to release (and it depends on how he wants to market and promote it — are we going for charts with remixes, or is it going to be just one version no CDs kind of deal — because if it’s the prior, summer would fit better imo).

Anyways, we also do know Jimin filmed something at the hot springs… and I mean… water… wet… hot springs… (shirtless??)... I mean… that could be pretty summery actually right? 🥵

Still he could land in May or September (I don’t think it’s going to be as late as October but possibly. They could tie it into his birthday and if JK released in August it would still fit the travel show theory).

I think this theory also makes sense because the way they were talking in that live before enlistment they sort of made it sound like their content was to tide us over until Jin was back. Obviously there’s no way for the three remaining members to release their projects before Jin returns (nor would that even make a lot of sense to begin with) but if you think of it as them keeping us busy until Jin has time to prepare his album it works actually!

Jin is going to need time to prepare and record his album, MV, and whatever other promotional content he had in mind + probably rest a little. This gives him that time while keeping ARMYs busy, and you know this is just a nice big free gap of time to drop projects whereas when Jin is active (and then JH) it’ll be a bit busier and probably more complicated to organize.

It also would work because JH definitely has plans for when he gets out of the military, so by the time JN1 comes out and has been promoted (maybe he’ll even do a single first and then an album) JH will be back and have had some time to rest and probably prepare whatever he had in mind. Some people have speculated that he might do a mini tour which actually would fit perfectly but I’m not sure how much of a stretch that is. If anyone could do it though, it would be JH!

So yeah, enlisted members all releasing and finishing off their big projects pre-JN1 just makes sense as 2seok will then take over and have the attention on them. I could be wrong, but it kind of fits nicely in my mind lol.

The big question mark is Namjoon because honestly I thought he would be one of the first members to release with the way he was teasing something but now I have no clue. He also said that it was going to have different vibes than indigo iirc so I don't know if he would want to release in the fall/winter months again or if he would actually want to go for a summer release too. I still think the Jikook thing could work even if he releases in summer, it might just shift Jimin to releasing more in the fall.

Anyways, first few months of 2024 we were in Taehyung era, which led into HOTS era which will last until May, which leads into June FESTA and Jin’s return. JK will have an era in the summer, and if we slot minimoni into summer & early fall it would pretty much perfectly cover all of the empty time until JN1 which is followed by JH return and project. I just think it fits nicely.

That still leaves a lot of space in 2025 but I think that would be better for 2seok to cover, and if the JH tour rumors are true that would actually be perfect (please don’t make me wait until 2025 for Jimin 😫).

Like I know this timeline isn’t actually surprising or revolutionary because most people kind of expected all of this to drop in these months lmao because it’s not like there’s actually a ton of time left, but applying some sort of logic around it helped me I guess 😞 All the uncertainty makes it seem like I’m never going to see Jimin again (at least we know JK in the summer) and I need to gaslight myself into having some sort of expectations otherwise every day is too dark.

Hoping some of this is right but don't come @ me if it's not lol 🤡😩

[beebobeebo]

Title: The One Where Nothin' Happens

Fandom: Justified

Characters: Raylan Givens & Tim Gutterson

Summary:

Sometimes a lot of somethin' happens in the middle of nothin'.

Also, you get recently met fools.

Raylan Givens is a goddamn mess. He hides it well under eighteen layers of archetypes pulled from some distant era. If you only skim the surface, he is the very avatar of the American ideal of justice. That lone man leaning against a doorway, hat tipped down, waiting for the precise moment to speak or raise a hand in a gesture that rights all wrongs. Which is great and all, but right now he's passed out on Tim's couch.

"Hey, man," Tim says pushing at his shoulder. "You're on my book."

Raylan looks up at him bleary-eyed. "Book?"

"Your drunk ass is on top of my book. The thing I read with the words in it." Tim pantomimes reading before giving up and trying to extricate his poor paperback from under the drunken paragon of righteousness. He's almost certain this is the most he's ever said to Givens that wasn't work-related.

"Hands," Raylan says in what was most likely intended to be a threatening growl but actually sounded like indigestion.

"Book." Tim yanks the Zane Grey novel free from its Levi-clad trap. He barely resists the urge to hit Raylan's hip with the flat of the book.

"That one got a princess or a wizard? Another unicorn?"

"Outlaws and cowboys." Tim opens the book to exactly where he left off. It's a useless skill knowing just where you're at, but a skill nonetheless. He moves Raylan's booted feet off his couch and settles down. "It's not very realistic, but I don't believe that's the point."

Raylan, slightly green, but oddly statuesque, sits up and looks over at the man who dared rouse him."What's the point?"

Tim sighs and slides a finger into the book. "The point is you're too drunk to have this conversation but drunk enough for me to tell you so."

Raylan looks bemused. "If I didn't know better I'd say you're insultin' me? Based on makin' somethin' look better than it is. Somethin' bygone?"

"You said it." Tim's face is still directed at the book in his hand, but he cuts his eyes toward the other man.

"Even in the folly of youth we know that nothing lasts, but … even in that folly we are afraid that maybe Nothing will last, that maybe Nothing will last forever, and anything is better than Nothing. 'S Faulkner," Raylan says seeming to gain his metaphorical sea legs as he stands. "Maybe remember you're young."

"Maybe I'm the Nothing and you're just drunk," Tim mumbles as he turns a page.

"That's a fuckin' terrifyin' combination." That earns Raylan a one-shoulder shrug.

"Faulkner, not McCarthy?"

"Makin' a point not pickin' a dinner guest," Raylan says pivoting to gesture in the direction of where the bathroom should be.

"Yeah, first door," Tim watches him walk down what passes for a hallway in his apartment. He opens the book, and before he can even concern himself with whether purple sage is actually purple, he looks back over his shoulder. This whole thing was fucking weird. Random ass phone call from a blocked number and he stupidly picks up. The guy who made work explode needs a ride. Work was the one comforting thing Tim had until Walmart Wyatt Earp rocked up in a Stetson. Now this.

Raylan remerges his face slightly damp. His short goatee is fucking glistening. The rest of him looks like a cologne ad's idea of rumpled. "You get sick?"

"Nah. Tryin' to sober up. Get out of your hair." He rolls his wrist as he sits on the opposite end of the couch from Tim. "Leave you to your book."

They look at each other for a long moment before Tim asks, "Why did you call me? Most I've said to you was to annoy you about paperwork."

"You can keep your mouth shut," Raylan says reseating his hat. That goddamn hat. "I know your name and that you're a crack shot. You like to read books written for thirteen years old girls. And that's it. Only guessin' that Tim is your real name."

"So you know that I won't join in on the office gossip?" Tim closes his book again. "Why's that?"

"Because someone might ask you a question about you," Raylan drawls in that self-important way he has. Tim can tell he's certain that he has found him out.

"Fair," Tim finally gives up on his book for the moment. "Now what?"

"You take me back to my place now that I'm not at death's drunken door," Raylan replies. "We act like this never happened."

"Bed's right down the hall." Tim jerks a thumb in the direction of the bedroom. "Right by the bathroom. Promise you won't puke, it's yours."

"I'm not taking your bed. Where would you sleep?" Raylan asks giving him a searching look.

"Thought I'd curl up on your chest like a cat," Tim deadpans. "No, I'll take the couch. Got my book. And you look like shit."

"Ah, here I thought I'd charmed you enough with Faulkner to get some company," Raylan leans back into the couch.

"Not my type," Tim says pointedly getting his book open and in front of him. "Kinda wiry. Nothin' to hold onto."

Raylan snorts. "Tim?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you. I ain't takin' your bed, and I'd like to have this hangover alone if it's not asking too much."

"No problem. We'll give it another minute so you don't puke in my truck." Tim turns a page and looks at his book. "Why? Why did you get so shit-faced? It's Wednesday."

"It's Wednesday?" Raylan pulls a face that lets you see far too much of the whites of his eyes.

"Yes, Raylan Givens, there is a Santa Claus," Tim, who is never going to get to read, sighs out. "It is Wednesday. It comes after the less popular Tuesday."

"Ah, that Wednesday. Let's call it personal reasons." Raylan tilts his hat back. Tim is tempted to see if the hat will go down the garbage disposal. He's never had one before and this seems like the perfect test.

"Personal reasons." Tim nods.

"See. Not a damn question one," Raylan says. "Anyone else would feel the need to ask politely as to if they can inquire about those reasons. You just nodded because I might ask why there's nothing in your apartment but a couch, a TV on a milk crate, and a dining table I think came with the place."

Tim frowns. "You can ask anything you like. Not really into answering."

"Not even about the dining table?" Raylan looks pleased with himself.

"Oh, that I got from Ali Baba's cave," Tim says dryly as he leans his head back against the couch. "Of course, it came with the place. The milk crate did, too."

"So you only had a TV, this couch, that's actually a futon, a toothbrush, and I'm guessing a bed from the earlier offer?"

"And you'll continue guessin'. Missed out on the bedroom snoopin'." He looks at Raylan and offers, "I also have a trash can with the fancy built-in step-to-open feature."

"How very cosmopolitan," Raylan says, rubbing his chin."Any other thrilling household items?"

"No." Tim wrinkles his brow. "You live in a motel."

"I haven't found a place yet," Raylan says brushing the comment off.

"You don't want to be from here, again." It's Tim's turn to look like he's figured someone out. He's tired and still a little annoyed, but he's also damn certain. "For personal reasons," he answers the hanging question for Raylan.

"Personal reasons, "Raylan repeats. "Where are you from?"

"Nowhere," Tim answers with a sudden burst of sincerity.

"That near here?"

"Not any farther than it is near." Tim takes an even breath and plops his book down beside him. "We need to get you back to your hole in the wall before you start asking my mother's maiden name and what street I grew up on."

Raylan pushes to his feet. He has that annoying stance with one hip forward and a hand hovering ready at the draw out of habit. "I'm going to steal your non-existent identity?"

"Non-existent?" Tim says going to grab his coat. "That's ignorin' the incredibly detailed file Uncle Sam has on me."

"So tomorrow I can just—"

"Look at a lot of black lines on paper. Redacted."

Raylan snorts. "You even got the Army playing your game. I'm a little impressed."

Tim walks over to the kitchen counter to grab his wallet and keys. "Ready?" He makes the short trip to the door.

Raylan nods. "Better get out of here before we form a human connection."

Tim rolls his eyes and heads out to his truck expecting Raylan to follow at his sauntering pace. He unlocks the doors and sits down to wait. When Raylan slips in like he owns the damn thing, Tim is already shifting into reverse.

At a stoplight, Raylan swoops off his hat and brushes back his hair. He looks good without the hat. There's something more real there, less performative. Tim snaps his eyes forward when he sees a smirk begin to form on his passenger's lips.

"I was wrong."

"I feel like I'm going to need to record you sayin' that for future use." Tim drums his fingers on the wheel at another light. "Wrong about what?"

"You want to tell someone all your bullshit." Raylan puts the fucking hat back on his head. "You just don't let anyone close enough to deserve to hear it." The way he looks at Tim is uncomfortably knowing.

"You're drunk," Tim mutters as he hits the turn signal. Raylan, thankfully, shuts his mouth as Tim turns in and pulls into the space in front of the room that's wordlessly pointed out.

Raylan gets out of the truck and heads to the door. Tim sighs at the sudden comfort of being alone. Then here comes Raylan strutting back to knock on his window. He rolls the window down and the other man leans on the door.

"My Mama died thirty years ago. I wasn't supposed to be here for that memory. Supposed to be the hell out of here."

Tim frowns. "Givens—"

Raylan pats the open window and leans back. "Bye, Tim. Thanks for the ride, but keep this—"

"Between us," Tim finishes. "I was never here. Bye, Raylan."

The Dollar Store Doc Holliday gives a wave as he heads to his room.

Tim sighs. He makes sure Raylan makes it inside before he puts the truck in reverse.

Raylan Givens is a goddamn mess, but maybe he doesn't hide it as well as Tim thought. Maybe he knows that he's putting on a show. Maybe he let Tim know that he knows. Shit.

[tunglo]

repost of an old blog post for my new Ken era...

Today [March 13th] is Ken Day! Kenneth Sean "Ken" Carson first hit store shelves in 1961 and, in a move that preceded reality TV by a decade or three, we all got to watch as Barbie met the man of her dreams.

Since then Ken has gone through almost as many incarnations as Barbie herself and had over 40 different careers. In celebration of all that fantastic plastic, here are just ten of the top Ken dolls produced over the years...

--

The 'fun' of shaving Ken has been a staple of his repertoire over the years; there are versions from 1996, 1999, 2010, and 2019.

But, as ever, it's the original that's best. Here is 1979's Sport & Shave Ken. Not only did he come with this spiffing tennis outfit, he also had a shaving mug, two 'razors', and a marker pen of your very own to draw on Ken's facial hair...

According to the brochure: "It's Ken with a whole new look for the 1980s. He's athletic. He's all man."

Indeed.

--

Cool Times Ken.

Never has a name been quite so misleading.

There's a reason Pixar went with this Ken era for the Toy Story movies, and it certainly wasn't because of Ken's close relationship with the concept of cool.

--

Sometimes your problem is not that Ken has too much facial hair. It's that he just doesn't have enough. Luckily 1972's Mod Hair Ken had you covered. The same idea was utilised again in 1975 for The Now Look Ken, except this time around his hair was longer to capture the true essence of mid 70s cool.

--

Ken has been a doctor many times - 1963, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2011, 2018 - but 1987's offering beats the rest hands down. Not only is Ken a doctor, but you can fold the lapels of his shiny nylon medical coat down and he's ready for a night of wining and dining!

What a doll.

--

What more can I say?

--

--

According to Keeping Ken, this shot with Wedding Day Alan was an official Mattel postcard

In 1993 Mattel redesigned Ken to fulfil little girls' requests that Barbie's beau be cooler. Ken was now so cool he was attracting interest from all quarters, including the US gay community who were sure Ken's cock ring necklace came straight - heh - from the club scene. As a result Earring Magic Ken sold out for Christmas '93, and remains the best selling Ken doll of all time in spite of Mattel discontinuing and recalling the doll once they realised Ken's secret was out of the closet...

--

In 2010 Mattel released Sugar Daddy Ken, so named - they say - because he owns a little dog called Sugar.

Hmmm.

--

Back in 2004, just in time for Valentine's Day, Barbie ditched Ken in favour of Australian surfer dude, Blaine. Blaine O'Hare - or at least his face sculpt - began life in 1998 when Totally Yo-Yo Skipper was initially set to gain a new friend called Zach. Though he never actually made it into production, his features were used for 1999's Generation Girl Dance Party Blaine.

The Generation Girl line followed Barbie's time at high school in NYC, introducing a variety of new friend dolls and spawning another Blaine in 2000. When he returned in 2004 Blaine had wisely dropped the 'curtains' hairstyle and traded in New York for California. In this continuity the pair met through Blaine's younger sister, Summer, who was good friends with Barbie.

In fact, voting was held through the Barbie.com website to determine who Cali Girl Barbie ought to go for - Ken, Blaine, long time pal Steven, another newcomer named Diego, or stay single. We all know how that went. Ken went away to lick his wounds for a couple of years, but in 2006 he was back with a new look. It wasn't enough for Barbie to take him back though and the pair remained 'just good friends' until another PR campaign saw them get back together in 2011.

--

The Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse webseries is awesome.

Launched in May 2012, it pokes fun at the entire Barbie mythos and did more to give Ken a personality than any other Mattel project. We learn that Ken loves inventing, is addicted to sherbet, and suffers from Hyper Cuteness Sensitivity Disorder...

--

This year Ken is finally taking control of his own destiny. Well. His own laundry, at any rate...

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2023: #32

32. THE NETHERLANDS Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper - “Burning daylight” 32nd place

Decade ranking: 103/116 [Above Vasil, below Sheldon]

GOODBYEEEEEE OLD LIFE -- NL entering their flop era.

It really speaks for how privileged the Dutch have been at the contest lately that they’ve called “Burning Daylight” an affront, a humiliation, the WORST ENTRY OF ALL TIMES, when in reality it’s about as “embarrassing” to the Netherlands as Anna Bergendahl was to Sweden, lol? Bohoo, you miss once and it’s instant shame? Get over it.

That said “Burning Daylight” was a waste of time and it annoyed me! Right at the FIRST VERSE, Dion greets us with “I don’t find any joy anymore” and it just telegraphs you are in for a Salvaduncan. Yes, exactly what I want from my Eurovision. MORE White privileged people selling their mild ennui as “depression” for the sake of “REAL MUSIC”!!!

Of course a good “Sad Song” would he able to  create a relatable, and poignant narrative (see also: Hold Me Closer). Here you’re left with two plain white upper middle-class people on a turntable (why did multiple acts this year use turntables? You’d figure people would learn from seeing garbage like S!sters and Don’t Come Easy bomb in the televote)  whining about how much time they’re wasting. Is that supposed to be a self-aware irony, or? 

Also why is this a duet? Dion by himself would have been just fine? Sure Mia’s presence prevents this from essentially being the second coming of “Boys Do Cry” but her voice and styling are SO “white indie girl #423″ (100% in denial about her inner shrew) her presence further detracts from the whole. These two mesh together about as well as oil and water.

In a sense, it is perversely amusing to project Burning Daylight’s lyrics and message onto its journey in ESC (serendipity <3). It even ruined Duncan’s reputation in the Netherlands <3 I can’t let that impact their rank though. LET IT BE KNOWN that if it had been in last year’s mix, Burning Daylight would have qualified and whited its way up the midtable thanks to its jury philandering.  2023′s top results were awful, (easily the worst top six since 2018) but thank fuck it got its qualifiers right. 

THE RANKING:

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Quick Word on the Strike

Say it ain't so... A little over 15 years after the WGA strike of late 2007-early 2008, we have now entered *another* strike.

Whenever I'm not espousing animation opinions and hyperfixations on here, I'm actually writing stories and making comics.

It takes "writers" to tell the story, visually, among many other kinds of artists who get the short end of the stick in this capitalist hellscape. The strike is really exposing where people fall on this whole issue, and the utter indifference and even outright contempt some have towards the people that work their collective bums off to make your entertainment in the first place.

A lot of that is why I've really dialed back how I used to be online about animated features that I didn't think were up to my expectations. It's easy to rag on writers for... Well... Writing, that you don't think works. Most of the time, from my perspective and just simply listening to what filmmakers have to say, it's people making decisions that they think are the right ones at the right time, not knowing if they'll land some 1-2 years later. You certainly won't get that kind of honesty and perceived human mistakes with *AI*... I shudder at the current techbro circlejerking of this nonsense, and the consequences it could have on us artists, writers, and creatives... And we were already seeing some bleak stuff unfold in the industry pre and post-outbreak eras of COVID-19.

And especially in animation, too... What with mergers outright killing projects and whole studios (Disney shuttering Blue Sky in early 2021, and nearly killing NIMONA), favorites, and other completed things being thrown into a black hole - never to be seen again because they're now "tax write-offs". I don't care if that's how the business works, okay, it's inherently garbage that someone's hard work... Something someone worked years and years on... Can't be seen by the public because of green paper and abstract phony concepts. When a work of art is made, it's for the whole entire world, and that's all kinds of wrong to me. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is essentially the poster-boy for this kind of thing, having done this to FINAL SPACE, a largely finished BATGIRL movie, and an entirely-completed SCOOB! prequel called HOLIDAY HAUNT. No work of media should have to be locked away in perpetuity, or in even some cases, erased from existence.

Which is why I also try to appreciate everything that actually *does* get out into the world, even if it's not to my liking. I notice some animation fans here and there vent their not-unfounded frustrations on things that aren't to blame. "Oh come on, and yet BIG MOUTH gets another season?" That's still a show that keeps people employed, and keeps roofs over their heads, food on their tables. Animators, writers, artists, etc. aren't living in posh mansions. They're always on the line...

(I realize BIG MOUTH is ending after its 8th season, but you get the idea, right?)

So... We shall see what this all means for live-action stuff going ahead, considering the big hit a lot of tentpole movies and TV shows took during the 2007-08 strike. The strike is often cited as the reason something like QUANTUM OF SOLACE underwhelmed, or why TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN got such terrible reception in comparison to the first film (which got a more middling reception). As for animation writers, they already have it rough, so I can only imagine what kind of toll this will take on the crews and their projects going forward... But one thing's for certain, it's absurd that these conglomerate CEOs get richer and the writers have to strike in order to make things somewhat right. They deserve so much better. Don't give me that "it's how it goes" mumbojumbo, that's just an excuse to be okay with stuff that needs to be changed. Such indifference is the source of many other problems in this world...

Not to sound melodramatic, but human creativity is a beautiful thing to me... and often times, the business side of it gets too big for its britches and ruins what should be a universal thing, the universal language of telling stories. And that people have to turn that creativity and love of making art into something that merely keeps them alive. Barely, so... Yeah, it's all kinda messed up when you step back and look at it clearly for a second...

[supreme-burrito]

You know what I just realized

So Spirit of Justice came out in 2016 near the end of the 3DS’s life span.

Ace Attorney thrived because its core game mechanics (not counting the GBA era games from Japan) heavily relied on the mechanics of two consoles from Nintendo. Yes, it’s possible to play these games on other consoles, but you don’t get that same experience as you did in their original format. I never played an Ace Attorney on in its original format so I don’t know what that experience feels like. I played the original trilogy and the Sholmes games on PlayStation and the remainder of the series that is available to the West (I do plan on getting around to playing Investigations 2 at some point) on mobile.

The PlayStation experience is alright because the graphics are an inherent glow up, but in my opinion, the best, most current way to experience the Ace Attorney games is through mobile. You don’t need the dual screens, just having the ability to play via touching the screen is sufficient enough.

Now here is the depressing realization. It’s been almost 7 years since a brand new AA game as been released to Western audiences. All other new entries have been either remakes or ports. The last new game for Japan was in 2017 with The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve, almost 6 years ago.

Everyone wants AA7. I want AA7, your grandma wants AA7. However, as I see it, because of the simplicity of Ace Attorney game mechanics, but it shouldn’t be difficult to make a new game.

Unless they completely overall the system and mechanics entirely so the franchise can survive on future at-home consoles OR they stick to the mobile market where the game is currently the best and current experience. The most recent release to the West for Ace Attorney as far as I can tell, was the original trilogy to mobile which was a year ago as of yesterday according to Wikipedia. Which makes me ask, why the three year gap between EVERY OTHER PORT of the original trilogy and THEN have this disclaimer on the App Store?

My point in all this is my hopes for AA7 ever coming to fruition are slim to none due to Capcom and the whole project got canned

OR

Due to searching up some information, we might be getting Ace Attorney 7 soon

I did some digging and found out that back at the end of 2020, Capcom had a massive data breach where a handful of projects got leaked including the following: RE4 remake, Street Fighter 6, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and AA7.

The prior three projects have already been announced/released as of this year.

Capcom does not give specifics on what was let out, so all I can find about this specific list of games is from old articles talking about AA7 speculation and the leak. According to this roadmap, supposedly the main production phase of AA7 was supposed to begin around October of 2021.

This is just my speculation (like all the other game articles), but depending on how much of the main game mechanics have been overhauled (if at all) or if they’re just making Ace Attorney with a glow up, it will most likely be later at the end of this year or sometime around this time next year and might be announced during Capcom’s biggest round of game release announcements.

I could be 100% wrong or I once again have the deduction skills of Sherlock Holmes and gift of prophecy from Apollo.

2024: Gay Lawyers 2: Electic Boogaloo

And yes Yagami you count too

Who knows he might get a cameo in Yakuza 8 (YES I KNOW THE SERIES IS CALLED LIKE A DRAGON NOW BUT I WIL ALWAYS REFER TO IT AS YAKUZA. It’s the same reason it’s why I will always refer to Cole Cassidy as McCree. Because the change was made solely for political reasons and was kind of unnecessary)

[platoapproved]

It's my own post so I'm allowed to bloviate about why all these moments intrigued me. Thought about doing it in the tags but I want to talk Way too much for all that :

How words came out like canaries, summer fruit in the dead of winter. → Little phrasings that remind me Armand lived most of his life in a time before modern technology (like that which allows some people to access all kinds of produce all year round). Also, I think the show version of Armand in particular struggles some with communicating verbally (haven't read enough of the books to be sure if I think the same is true there) so his awe at Lestat's words coming out like canaries makes sense. Also 'summer fruit in the dead of winter' is an objectively horny way to describe someone. You're starving and cold and want to eat him like a ripe plum we get it.

Cavalier, but I'm sure you're being careful. → Said in reference to the door to Louis and Claudia's apartment being a tiny bit ajar, during the middle of the day, while they (powerful dangerous monsters) were both awake and alert, talking in their own home. Armand sees this as dangerous enough to be worth commenting on. Also, CLASSIC passive-aggressive moment. He is not sure that Louis is being careful. He thinks Louis is not being careful but doesn't want to come out and just say that. It's so many years after Lestat broke up the CoD and he still sees living amongst humans as so perilous and heretical.

Why does that make you as evil as any vampire? Aren't there gradations to evil? → In hindsight I should've also included the later "only one sin is needed" section because that's the real kicker. Louis is toxic because he holds others and especially himself to an impossibly high moral standard and once you fall off that shelf, you're evil forever (I do think he struggles with this mindset and eventually starts to grow past it but this post isn't about Louis so that's the simplification for right now). Armand is toxic because he over-contextualizes the evil deeds of others, and himself, in order to justify them and render them Not Evil. He does this to paint over (ha 🙃) the abuses done to him, but also over his abuse of those under his power (Claudia and other coven members especially). Also this dialogue is straight out of the book and it slaps.

Do you keep this boy as a reminder? → First of all he sounds. So sad. It's important to remember how sad and weary he sounds here. Armand looks at Lestat and Nicki and sees Lestat as "keeping" Nicki - possessing him, even though we see no evidence their relationship is unequal at this point. We don't get lots of context for them in the show but in TVL they are childhood friends who had been a couple long before Lestat was turned. The phrasing, too - calling Nicki "this boy" even though Lestat is very newly a vampire and honestly not any older than him yet. The whole thing reads very 'projecting Marius-related feelings' to me.

Coven life requires a letting go of the self. → @atlasblue85 said it better than I ever could have in the tags tbh just gonna link that.

When you're the oldest suit in town, it is a comfort to be among your contemporaries. → Calling himself a 'suit' on the one hand is just slang, but it's an interesting choice. He's not a being, he's a suit. Even in this moment his identity is a thing to be put on, not something intrinsic and real. His demeanor here is so interesting he's so gleeful? I really do believe him that this is his favorite walk and that being among objects from his own era is a comfort to him. I don't think at this point he'd decided to show Louis the painting with him in it. Based on the change in his mood, safe to say that one DOES NOT bring him comfort. Probably on most of his walks he doesn't even go in that room.

The center isn't holding. → Love that the writers being nerds means that the characters are too. Go off with the Yeats, Armand. Am I going to make an Armand gifset with lines from 'The Second Coming' someday? Oh, inevitably. After all the ceremony of innocence is drowned and the best DO lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity! This stuff practically photoshops itself.

You'll be a monster. → At the end of the day, Armand really does believe he is a monster just as much as Louis does. It just manifests in extremely different ways for them. For Louis it's not wanting to eat humans, for Armand it is not wanting to doom any humans to the hell of being a vampire by turning them.

Life is cruel. Life is violent. → Louis dismisses the plays at the TdV as grimdark and edgy (fair) and Armand counters by inadvertently revealing that he sees experiencing 'cruel, barely motivated violence' as a fundamental part of being in the world. Which, considering Armand's entire life... also fair, but extremely fucking sad if you think about it for a second.

We do not need permission. We own dominion. → I think some people might read this one as Armand asserting vampire superiority over humans and I do see that but it's not really my main point of interest here. Vampire or human aside, it's obvious again how he sees the world as structured around power and ownership. Those who have power do not need permission to do whatever they want to those without power - that's just the way it is and always has been, no point fighting it. He's so casual about it here - maybe a little bit gloating but mostly just having the air of explaining something extremely simple that everyone knows.

armand + a few offhand lines that give some insight into how he thinks (imho)

[latentspaceofficial]

what's old is new (sound design sunday)

"daybreak" is a story project largely focusing on organic instrumentation for story telling even more than i already do. i don't have hard concepts of "eras" for my style but i generally kinda think about it as 0, 1, and 2. era 0 being pre-eaao 2023, era 1 being post eaao 2023, and era 2 being post eaao 2024, which is where we are now. while i love era 2 and the easy listening and crisp aspects it brings, i spent a year crafting era 1 and wish to one day revisit it. i feel like it has so much energy and individuality woven into the sound design. a lot of examples of era 1 include the repurposed drop bass from eaao 2023 and a screechy resonant element (mimicking the sample based screech from the godblood remix) that somehow brings together all the other weird bouncy synth sounds and strings. thought era 1 is not limited to these sounds and are over-represented in the ids i have shared. i honestly really just want to sing my lungs out in my music. "daybreak" is far more cozy and low energy, but you better believe i'm going to make some more high energy music once i figure out how to quit running out of breath. :D maybe "stardust" will see some era 1 love, or it'll become a separate project. either way, latentspace is actually more of a hub name anyways for non-story projects like sugarcone and stylethree (yes, that is the creative name i gave it). on a more creative end, i also have come up with a new tag for my music you might occasionally see, called "petricore". it won't make sense right now, but it will as i find my footing. anyways, here's some old era 1 songs and remixes and whatever in-between from the archives.

edit: i forgot to say (my whole reason for posting is bc) era 1 feels very heavily joel nielsen influenced. the black mesa soundtrack was something i religiously listened to as a child and i think joel does a fantastic job at conveying motif and emotion through it. crowbar collective has a gem in their hands. but yeah, it's far more subtle these days than it was in era 0. e.g.

my stupid face \/\/\/\/\/

[popculturebuffet]

Next up for Nickelodeon era of shows, who is your favorite character from each of the early 2010s Nicktoons shows (where quality got continues to be hit and miss in this batch) you've seen like: Winx Club (Nickelodeon seasons), Kung Fu Panda Legends of Awesomeness, The Legend of Korra, Robot and Monster, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012, Sanjay & Craig, Monsters vs Aliens 2013, and Breadwinners?

Winx Club: only one here I haven't seen but one I intend to for a project i'm working on combinng a lot of 2000's shows (and some 2010's shows) into one cohesive universe. A friend of mine really likes it.. or at least the pre nick seasons. From what I hear these seasons aren't the best but I really can't say either way.. though I can at least objectively say the concept of the first villian, a merman whose literally powered by toxic waste, is dumb. The idea of the guy himself, an arrogant prince who tried to kill his brother and is a fish man, isn't but why this. I'd worry about stepping on fans toes but the conseus from tv tropes seems to be "this guy bad".

Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomness: Don't really have a faviorite character here, but I thought it was okay. nothing amazing, it at least gave the five more spotlight than the films after 2, but it suffers from what i'm just calling now interquel syndrome: where your making a product specifically to slide in between bits of canon that aren't finished yet, so you can't really have the characters or evolve or change that radically. I have more hope for Tales of the TMNT despite possibly suffering from this simply because the creative team of the films seems involved so there's more synergy while with Kung Fu Panda they basically couldn't really have po or anyone change, which is fine for a status quo comedy show ala the simpsons, but dosen't work for an action show with a first film that's entirely about character development and progress. It's hard to have a show about kung fu mastery where the main character can't progress too much because it might contradict the next movie.

The Legend of Korra: Ladies and gents (And nb's) this is the moment i've been waiting for. Character choice.. Bolin. Not even close. Plenty of great characters here from Asami, who didn't get enough to do, to Varrick, stan pines long lost son, but my baby boy is just the best and is one of the few characters to get a consitently good arc in most of the seasons. While his season 1 had him stuck in the love triangle and his season 2 started with a HA HA ISN'T IT FUNNY BECAUSE IT'S A WOMAN ABUSING A MAN. THAT DON'T HAPPEN bit that made me die a bit inside, his move into the movers was a neat arc. even his stupid bit of sexual harassment was at least a character flaw and not LOOK I MADE A FUNNY BY HAVING THIS GIRL ABUSE A BOY. His arcs ins eason 3, finally finding a functional relationship and a special thing and 4, eventually finding out yes indeed we are the baddies, were great. The show itself is great and I feel gets entirely too much hate. Is it perfect?

Season 1 is a bit messy, trying to cram several seasons of romance drama into 10 episodes and having some bits that don't quite work like Korra's makes it easy getting the rest of her bending back and the half assed tournament arc (Pro bending does slap though) and some bits I get why they don't work for people like the return of blood bending. But I still think it has tons of great character, plotting and the series second best villian in amon.

I'm not one to take the side door so i'll just come up front and knock: season 2 is a shit show. The origins episode is pretty good. Varrick is amazing. But Korra is extra impulsive, Mako is a piece of shit who couldn't make a decision if he had a gun to his head, and Asami is just there despite having a decent arc and personality in season 1. Add in the worst villian franchise wise and the whole ISN'T IT WACKY A MAN BEING ABUSED plot and yeah, season 2 blows

But while as should be clear i'm not in the "the show gets good by season 3" camp, seaosn 1 is still solid just rushed, season 3 is easily the series best with the return of the air benders being a truly wonderful curveball, Bolin finally getting thrown a bone by the universe, finding out more about Toph's family and more screentime for Bumi, whose awesome. It also has some of the franchises best villians with the series getting it's own magneto, a clever soft spoken man who simply wants to make a better world... but will choke whoever he has to to get it.

Season 4 isn't nearly as strong, Kuivera just had an impossible act to follow, but still works as Korra has one hell of a character arc, finding herself after several years of avoiding her problems, having to reconcile with the love of her life and bolin having to reconclie with generally hurting everyone around him. Even Mako, while still cardboard gets a decent arc with the prince. Kuivera isn't amazing, but she does bring out the best in everyone to make a solid finale. She also has a giant fighting robot so there. We also get Toph back whose essentially become yoda and it fits her like a glove. Her terse answers to Korra's enthuastic questions are great as is every moment of her. She's the only one of the gaang to really get to play a full on involved roll (Katara gets an apperance once a book and Zuko shows up once ) and it's glorious. Overall the series is great. I didn't go into this much detail for nothing. That and having to prepare for this since avatar a few entries ago had me primed and ready. I feel the show has a great cast of characters that more than makes up for it's shortcomings and is worth a watch if you loved the original.

Robot and Monster: Robot if only because he's voiced by Curtis Armstrong of Dan Vs fame. I like the designs here, but what I saw of the show is mostly pretty standard nick premise, something that was going around in those days as I ranted about last time. it's not nearly as bad as some of the others, but it dosen't really have anything extra either. it's resoundingly meh.

TMNT 2012: Leo. It was Donnie when I started watching but then he got all stalkery but this leo is intresting: they keep him being the responsible one and leader man, but helped flesh him out. While I love some versions that are the stock bit responsible load bearing brother (03 and IDW), this one has a goofy charm: he watches old sci fi cartoons, takes the job a tad seriously and isn't afraid to joke. Out of the four boys in this series he's the one who feels the most diffrent in a good way and I like that he has to learn to be leader and slowly grow into the roll, but was also the right one for it with splitners little test.

Another one that like Korra I watched and felt like a sign Nick was turning the corner. I twasn't entirely but it was a bright spot at the time and part of a truly great age of animation. The series STARTED strong, season 1 is a banger but the creative team change hurt it a bit. Season 2 did bounce back in my eyes.. but season 3 caused me to fall all the way off, partly because back then I switched from cable.. and partly because their version of northampton was drug out to hell. And I say that with the original comics having the turtles away from new york for a year. I think the impulse was SIMILAR to that, have some wacky tension reducing side adventures.. but the problem is while there the problem was simply "a violence gang threw us out and took away our homes", bad but something they have time to think over, the problem here was "The kranng have taken new york".. and we're spending time with a sasquatch wanting to make out with donie, dream beavers and drag racing. I'll also always be bitter about the irma!kraang thing, as it felt like a waste of a character who tmnt media loves to ignore for some reason despite april amost never having any friends. Give april friends. They also ruined donnie and April

That said while I feel off I can't hate this incarnation: it was essentially a reboot of the 80's cartoon, bringing in a few elements from other sources, but mostly trying to make a serialized more serious show, but still with that goofy energy. And it worked for the most part when it was good and the later seasons seem to have picked things back up after the mess that was season 3 and it has some all time great new characters like bradford and xever, with the latter STILL not having been ported to any other continuity. A solid show that took a bad dive but seemed to end strongly.. then had to do another season but hey.

Sanjay and Craig: THEY MADE IT UP BONG. I'd have to say Megan. Shame they never did anything with her and Sanjay but she was a great side character. The show itself is decent. At itmes it wasn't my forte due to all the gross out, but I still think it was pretty good. I liked having a wing joint as a hangout (I love me some wings) it has a great voice cast, and was pretty fun. Not an all timer but a pretty good show.

Monsters Vs Aliens:

This show sucks. It's clear unlike Penguins and Legends of Awesomeness they weren't given even a modest budget, just a paper clip and a piece of string and it shows and they go with the weird premise of having aliens live with them as wacky neighbors instead of the obvious one of.. just have the monsters fight aliens and other weirdness each episode. You can still make that comedy, easily. Having seen the movie which is decent enough, it's not that hard but they somehow took a pretty damn good premise and made it just boring sitcom stuff. Easily one of my least faviorite nicktoons of all time.. probably not worse than planet sheen, but still not good at all.

Breadwinners:

This one like fanboy and chum chum was seen as the antichrist ast the time. And like fanboy and chum chum.. it's just mid. it's just trying to be the bog standard nicktoon. Unlike fanboy it';s world, while still wacky nonsense is at least a touch more consitant.. but it's your standard two dudes hang out cartoon. While this genre wasn't new (See Sniz and Fondue over on KaBlam or Angry Beavers , both on this very network), regular show did cause more to get greenlit. I don't think this nor sanjay and craig as they were accused are outright trying to rip off regular show. Both of these have more of a ren and stimpy vibe.. but unlike sanjay and craig which has it's own weird perspective this ones weird perspective just isn't entertaning or fun. I think I could dig it if it were actuallyf unny or batshit enough but it's neither. IT's just.. boring.

[rabbitechoes]

for the last 5 months, i've posted reviews of three albums from years past!! this will be the final review for this series. this was a fun experience and it allowed me to talk about a bunch of music i love!! putting this series on indefinite hiatus will hopefully give me some more freedom with when and how i write about music!! thank u to everyone who read or supported these reviews - or any of my writing in general. the month in reviews are still happening though!!!! anyways, this week i reviewed a masterful kinda-sorta EP from one of the most prolific artists of the 2010s: How to Leave Town by Car Seat Headrest!!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

How to Leave Town - Car Seat Headrest

◇ release date: Oct. 31, 2014 ◇ genres: slacker rock, art rock, indietronica

You could make a more than compelling case for Car Seat Headrest being one of the most important rock bands of the Tens. However, when discussing their pre-Matador Records material, calling them a “band” feels wrong. Will Toledo himself, for the most part, released 9 full-length projects in around 4 years. Toledo was very prolific. His music was incredibly lo-fi – he recorded most of his vocals in his car if you didn’t know, hence the name – and his writing was almost stream of consciousness. He would compare his writing style at this time as similar to that of “the Plastic Ono Band/primal scream.” Lyrics detailing his every emotion no matter how complex they were. Despite the raw, spontaneous nature of these early albums, he proved to be quite the songwriter. Taking influence from David Bowie, The Beach Boys, and They Might Be Giants, among others, he would make these grand kinds of lo-fi rock songs. Some songs being multi-phased, sprawling 10-15 minutes in length. Toledo had grand ideas and not at all the resources to pull them off, but that’s what made his early work so compelling and influential. He stretched the limits of lo-fi music nearly to its absolute end, leading a whole upcoming generation of rockers to do the same. 

This context is important for How to Leave Town in particular, as it acts as the “send-off” to this era of the band’s career. This project is categorized as an EP, despite the length, but it stands as one of the strongest and most defining records in Toledo’s catalog. Written and recorded while he was writing for what he thought would be his Matador Records debut, Teens of Denial, these were the songs he felt didn’t fit the themes of that record. What we end up with is a series of outtakes that end up becoming their own thing entirely. 

Will Toledo, 2011?

These outtakes are some of the most ambitious and well-crafted songs Toledo has ever written. They’re often very layered and well-crafted despite their rough nature. Like the big opener, “The Ending of Dramamine,” which isn’t afraid to take its time. A plodding drumbeat opens the song as slowly some sharp synths and a likewise plodding bassline enter the picture. Toledo’s verses begin around five minutes in and his only accompaniment is some spacey synths for a while. The other pieces of instrumentation come in and out as he builds up the tension. That tension is released ever so slightly in the song’s breakdown, but it’s completely expelled in the wave of guitar feedback on the song’s outro – an ode to the Modest Mouse song “Dramamine” which ends in the same fashion. It’s one of the most striking songs in the band’s catalog for reasons you wouldn’t expect given its unconventional arrangement. It’s so fascinating how much confidence he has in these sprawling songs given the nature of how they were recorded. Crafting these arrangements that subvert the listener’s expectations and ends up being more effective than some big epic tracks recorded in a “professional studio.” It’s something I adore about most of these early Car Seat Headrest records and “The Ending of Dramamine” might be the finest example out of them all. 

This EP is like the final form of his early sound. He sounds so comfortable working within this framework despite the incredibly raw lyricism on display here. There’s this air of uncertainty surrounding this project. Toledo was in a transitional phase during this time. He had graduated college and was leaving his home state to pursue the next phase of his music career. Nothing is guaranteed to work out exactly how you want it to and he knows that. He dives into his uncertain feelings surrounding leaving his home state, as well as his various struggles with love, faith, and America itself. A lot of this stuff isn’t uncommon for their early work or their discography in general, but it’s executed so well here. In a way it sort of ties up the loose ends of his lo-fi days while also looking ahead to the future whether he’s ready for it or not. 

This EP is full of great tracks. “Beast Monster Thing (Love Isn’t Love Enough) has this jagged, anxious groove in the verses and it’s one of Toledo’s most well-structured tracks. The song’s chorus and its bridge are massive highlights. “Kimochi Warui (When? When? When? When? When? When? When?)” is one of his most blatant forays into indietronica and it works incredibly well. The implementation of more electronic elements sets this project apart from the ones that came before. “You’re in Love with Me” balances the euphoria of being in love with subtle self-deprecation very well. It also has one of my favorite Car Seat Headrest verses, “Last night I dreamed Obama came to my birthday party / And they made a giant banner of my face / I wished they hadn't used the driver's license photo but / It's alright.” The potential last gasp of that “primal scream” lyric style comes in the form of the crushing “I Want You To Know That I’m Awake​/​i Hope That You’re Asleep,” one of the most uncomfortably desolate tracks in his discography. The instrumentation feels almost like an afterthought, the main focus is Toledo venting his frustrations at his inability to communicate with his partner. It’s heartwrenching. 

How to Leave Town closes with one of my favorite songs of all time, “Hey, Space Cadet (Beast Monster Thing in Space).” Toledo ventures into the worlds of post-rock and space rock as he delivers affirmations to himself – the titular space cadet – as he prepares to start this new stage of his life. He tells himself, “You’re gonna need a lot of love / But not the kind you’re thinking of.” Signaling that maybe romantic relationships aren’t what he needs and instead what he needs are good friends. It’s a sobering song and one of the most confessional in his catalog. It’s the perfect farewell for this stage of the band’s life. 

Car Seat Headrest’s label debut was supposed to be Teens of Denial, but instead, it was Teens of Style. A collection of re-recordings of Toledo’s older songs, with one new one, with a fully fleshed-out band. Does that sort of make How to Leave Town a less effective “goodbye?” Maybe, but not really. Even with the band’s reworking of his 2011 album, and magnum opus, Twin Fantasy in 2018, he’s coming at these songs with a new perspective. He’s no longer the same kid making albums on Bandcamp, that person is long gone. Bid farewell on How to Leave Town.

Will Toledo live 2017

If it wasn’t obvious, Car Seat Headrest is one of my favorite bands of all time, and like any sad, gay indie kid with various furry tendencies, they were like the North Star to me. Their body of work means a lot to me, but I also think it ranks among some of the most important music of the 2010s. It’s inspiring that someone can record ambitious, honest projects like Twin Fantasy, Monomania, Nervous Young Man, and How to Leave Town with so few “professional” resources and they still hold up as well as they do. It speaks to the power of songwriting. Good songwriting often shines through no matter the circumstances of the song’s recording. I’ll probably end up retreading these same topics when I inevitably review Twin Fantasy at some point, but who cares? How to Leave Town is a brilliant project, one of the best kinda sorta EPs ever made.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ thanks for reading <3

psssst. i made a discord server called COSMIACORD ... if u wanna join and have fun, talk about music, play fortnite, or whatever here's the invite :3 https://discord.gg/rsHMenTU