#this is what 6th year val looks like

[savingsallow]

— serving y'all some headshots of this selenophile 🌙

BONUS 🤪

— she's a fire hazard 🔥

[wanderingaldecaldo]

3, 9, 12, 15, 21, 25 27 and 43 for street kid Val and Travis please and A B and F for you💚💚

Thank you so much for the asks, @faepunkprince! 💚💚💚 From the Uncommon Questions for OCs & their creators ask:

3. How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

Val burrows under the covers and looks at her phone until her eyes droop and she finally puts it away.

Travis usually drinks until he passes out.

9. Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?

Abso-fucking-lutely for both of them. Val doesn't remember. Travis was 5 the first time he remembers swearing intentionally; he said "give me a fucking break" to his grandma and that's when he learned to never swear in front of her again. She died thinking he was an angel.

12. How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

Val will ignore it; eventually it will go away.

Travis will rub up against furniture or fixtures like a cat.

15. How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?

Val is so self-conscious that she rehearses everything she says and she still feels like an idiot when she opens her mouth.

Travis is the opposite -- so self-important that he thinks everything he says is gold, even when he knows that he's spinning bullshit.

21. Why do they get up in the morning?

Before canon, Val does it because she loved the challenge of netrunning and creating her own quickhacks. After the events of the game, it's to redeem herself to the Aldecaldos (and to find a cure).

Travis wakes up every morning because he's always got some scheme running, usually involving making eddies fast and cheap and/or seducing his latest target.

25. What are their thoughts on marriage?

Val is skeptical. She hasn't seen a successful marriage, and she doubts she will find someone who she will want to spend all her time with. (Spoiler: she does, and yes, she does want to get married.)

You can hear Travis's laughter all the way out in The Badlands.

27. What causes them to feel dread?

Val fears leaving Mitch alone if when she dies. She still carries the burden of Driss's death, and she doesn't want to put him through that again, especially so soon.

Travis fears having to account for all his sins (and they are multitude). Though he isn't religious, his devout Catholic grandmother who raised him was, and she really did a number on him. Good thing he never stops for long enough to think about that.

43. If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so?

Val: "Like, who would I date? Anyone. More about the connection. Helps if we're friends first."

Travis: "If it's got a hole, I'll fuck it."

A) Why are you excited about this character?

Gonna answer this for Val. She is the first OC I've actually developed. In the past when I wrote about an OC, they were primarily the vehicle for the romance I didn't get story I wanted to tell. As they weren't the real subject of my story, I never felt the need to develop them beyond what canon provided, other than to add a few details as necessary. Val is the first OC who took on a life of their own. When I started my longfic No One's Gonna Love You (aka NOGLY), I didn't know a thing about Val other than the canon events. Somewhere along the line, she became more than just a way for me to romance Mitch. She became real.

I've also really enjoyed thinking about alternate lifepaths. Her Corpo lifepath still starts the same, but diverges at 14. I'd like to create a Nomad version as well, though I have enough writing on my plate as it is with the corpo longfic and the eventual NOGLY sequel. 😅

B) What inspired you to create them?

The previous answer also kinda covers Val, so I'll go with Travis here. Honestly, I wanted a poor little meow meow. A babygirl. I didn't have any real ideas for him other than I wanted to use the 6th Street tattoos, and that he would be Val's ex. His creation helped me further develop Val's teenage years when she joined 6th Street briefly because of him.

F) What do you feel when you think of your OC (pride, excitement, frustration, etc)?

Pride and excitement! I'm proud of her as a character that I've written, and I'm legit excited that people like her, even if it's only because she's fucking cute. 😏

[demidevildiva]

welcome to marina, VALENTINA FLORES ( female, her/she ) ! they are a 27 year old who has lived over on LOCKE ROW for HER ENTIRE LIFE and works as a COACH AT YOUR AVERAGE X. everyone says they look a lot like ANYA TAYLOR-JOY. what do you think? —

Name: Valentina Flores Gender: Female, her/she Age: 27 years old Sexuality: Pansexual Occupation: Coach at Your Average X (rage cage/axe throw) Neighborhood: Locke Row D.O.B: April 16th Height: 5'8" Body: Tall, Slim Hair: Blonde Eyes: Hazel Definable Marks: knife tat on her forearm

Character Summary:

Val is an overall eccentric person. She loves hard, and hates even harder. Can be rather blunt at times which comes off as rude to many people, but she couldn't be bothered to explain herself to anybody. She absolutely is a ride of die for her friends, and would not waste a minute to sucker punch the first person to say something bad about them. Has a bit of an obsessive personality in that she becomes love stuck easily and without a reason given. Is the type of person to break into your house and not see the error in her actions simply because it's something she's done her entire life. She has a lot of abandonment issues so can become clingy with friends, and easily emotional if she's pushed aside. Her strongest emotions come out as anger outburst.

Intro:

Valentina doesn't remember anything before her 6th birthday. All she knows is what the island has on paper for her, which isn't much other than the location of where she came from. She was born somewhere in the United States and spent most of her life in the foster care system. At the age of six she was adopted and that family brought her to Marina, but none of it lasted. By the year she turned eight the family sent her to a friend's house and she never saw them again. Ever since then she had been moving from home to home, and by fifteen she could be found sleeping out in the streets beneath tarps and blankets.

She decided to get herself together and started working with local farmers collecting eggs from their chickens, and milks from their cows in exchange for money and sometimes even a place to sleep for the night. In a year's time she was able to afford a small trailer over in Locke row which is where she has lived until now.

Having had spent so much of her youth alone and alienated, Val learned a lot of things on her own. She did a lot of things that are questionable like stealing food, picking pockets, breaking into houses and shops whenever she was in dire need of anything. She isn't proud of it, but she looks back fondly at all of her experiences because they made her the woman she is today.

While in high school she spent a lot of time at friend's houses where she found a new love for horror movies, anime, and video games. Since she had no television or computer in her house she stayed with them whenever she wasn't working.

Despite living in the same trailer she's been renting since she was fifteen, Val makes just enough money where she was able to buy herself a computer, and television and turn her sad home into somewhere that she enjoys spending time with and is proud to call her home.

Headcanons:

AESTHETIC: pastel goth/e-girl

Loves playing video games and watching anime. Will talk about it for eons if you let her

Has a pet hamster called Gargoyle, and a small hamster cemetery behind her trailer home for the previous hamsters. (unfortunately they only live for around 2-3 year. Talk about more abandonment issues)

Loves cinematography, and would love to one day be able to create her own Claymation short stories.

If she ever dreamed of becoming anything worthwhile in life it would have to be a movie director

Travels the island in a bicycle

Loves people watching. It's her favorite pass time

Owns a panther named Hela

Wanted Connections

tba

[waru-chan8]

Roberto: before jorge gets out of it (the “pool”) I wanted to ask you a question, but from there. What was his maximum time in practices? (Meaning for how long could he hold is breath under water).

Juandi: arround 3 minutes suffering a lot...

Roberto: Around 3 m(minutes) suffering a lot *impressed*

Juandi: A lot, a lot.Once (I think he tries to say)

Roberto: rarely did he reaches 3 (minutes). Jorge Lorenzo, Juandi had said to you before, 3:33. 3 minutes and 33 seconds!

Flo: you are dammed/you are death x2. I feel... I feel absolutely attacked by Jorge Lorenzo and as henchman Juandi. I feel totally attacked They holdid for 3:34 (minutes (Waru’s comment: i not a translation error, for some reason Flo thinks believes is 3:34 minutes even when corrected)) only to screw/mess with me.

Roberto: 3:33 (minutes)

Flo: 3:33 minutes just to screw/mess with me

Roberto: What (time) did you do?

Flo: 3:30 (minutes)

Roberto: Oh!

Flo: No oh, no

Roberto: 3 seconds

Flo: you know it. He didn’t last 3 (minutes), he was around 3 (minutes) he said it. hen why did he hold if for 3:34 (minutes) and not 3:29 (minutes)? Why?

Roberto: laughing his ass off

Flo: Jorge, we are seeing your true self, it’s showing

Roberto: Let’s...

Ana: *laughing her ass off* that’s true, you (Flo) have a point

Flo: it’s true! (about Jorge holding it long enough to surpass Flo).

Mariló: Congrats!

Flo: He old it just to mess with me

Roberto: Jorge Lorenzo come with me

Flo: no, no the world is against me

Jorge Lorenzo: mother of God

Roberto: congratulations Juandi

Jorge: I’m not doing this in my life

Roberto: a big applause for Jorge Lorenzo. 3:33 (minutes) and he comes 3rd in this season (8th in the general ranking) in the apnea ranking. Also come with me because, of course, that means that mathematically we have to add 3500 euros to the Openbank solidarity card. 3500 euros plus the 6000 euros for the winner (male and female) of this night (10/02/2023). We was saying it for the duration of the whole video, I don’t like to suffer, I don’t like to suffer, but he carries it/it’s written in his DNA. At the end... you don’t like to lose

Jorge: Juandi was not extracting/pulling my hand and I was saying, at the 2 minutes mark take my hand, and it was not time, it was not time. And I was saying, I’m suffering

Roberto: before the assessments, what was in your head? This is something I’m very curios about, what where you thinking in the inside?

Jorge: at the end, I had to focus on one circuit. I choose Mugello (Waru’s comment: I want to said that watching this with the audio comments to make the translation easier, it says Montmeló 🙈) that is one of the las circuits I’ve been with the Porsche, this year I’ll race in the Porsche (Exclusive, Jorge returns to race cars), and I tried to do it as slowly as I could. At first I was very slowly as If I was doing it with a 50cc, you know? 6th (gear?), 5th (gear?) lowering very slowly. But when I reached the last part of the circuit, I was...

ROberto: full throtle/full gas

Jorge: I was... how is it said? To

Ana: the contractions

Roberto: nearly hyperventilating

Jorge: no, the contractions

Roberto: ah the contractions

Jorge: the contractions and I had another lap to run/go. It has been really though. As I said before, I won’t do it again in my life. I won’t do an apnea again in my life because I suffered the most with difference and it’s crazy, no? At the end, we have normalized times that for normal people that when I was talking to friends on the phone where telling me 3, 2 minutes something? You are crazy,I can’t even do 1 minute. And the truth is that all the contestants in here we give our everything, and today it was my turn

Ana: Ole to you

Roberto: 3:33 (minutes). Juan del Val, please go ahead.

Juan: it’s what you have just said, I’m totally with you. There’s times where we take lightly the times and it looks like that they are something normal to pass 2 minutes or 3. And then what we say each week, there are contestants and competitors, at your life you’ve been a competitor and then you get in there (the “pool”) and it shows. Congratulations.

Santiago: at the end. At the end it shows that to be the number one in anything, the suffering is important part. Moreover, I imagine Jorge, that he has said, I don’t want to suffer but I don’t want to end below Flo... To get Jorge Blanco (4:13 minutes) no, but I have to surpass Flo. And you made it. At the end the suffering has his price that’ll be a good score

Jorge: thank you

Roberto: by 3 seconds

Jorge: I had Laura (3:40 minutes) but I thought...

Flo: moreover, we ned to say that

Jorge: I gonna let it be (At the start of the show, the show how proud Laura was and that she got the time tattooed on her arm)

Flo: We have to say that he had his coach (Juandi, who is the same coach for all contestants in the apnea challenge) saying we have to get/pass Flo. There was (team) orders in there?

Santiago:They went for that/they went for a catch

Jorge: we could choose the strategy

Flo: what where your orders to Juandi to give you the times?

Rosa: mother of God

Jorge: I told him, without a doubt, we have to win against Flo today

*Everyone laughs*

Roberto: no aces under the sleeve (the expression he uses means to tricks). FLo, it’s over, don’t search for it that you’ll find it

Flo: look I’m not really competitive at all, 0, but just hearing this from Jorge Lorenzo it has given me a boost, si fucking great

Jorge: and it’s the second:

Flo: it’s the second one

Roberto: he is the Rossi of the apnea (Waru’s comment: I’m sorry if you imply that Jorge’s objective is to beat Flo and Flo is living rent free in Jorge’s mind as a competitor, please refer to him as Dani Pedrosa). Let’s see Yélamo (he is a pundit on a political face to face programme on another channel of the same “house”. He also competed for Jorge Blanco as he got injured. He only gives his opinin, he does not cas a vote).

Yélamo: I can say very little Jorge. My admiration, mentality of steel because there’s a breathing technique obviously, but the mind plays a very imporant part . And then Robert...

I do know assessmets is not over, but Yélamo just ask to move the poll to his show to put the panelist in the water to keep them quite. They joke about what would happen. I thought I could pare you from that

[pick-em-pool]

WEEK 13

LADIES. GENTLEMEN. ROCKY. ENZO. TAYLOR. TRAVIS. It's officially the HOME STRETCH 🏁🏁🏁 As we have a mere 5 weeks left until a champion is crowned 👑 Who will take home the big bucks 💲 and who will have the ignominy of LAST PLACE this year?!?!

RUSTY - 10 POINTS

The top performer of the week moves himself into 6th place 📈 Does Rusty have what it takes to claw himself into the top 3 this year? I HOPE so 🙏 because I heard he's going to donate any winnings to the Sorry-Maguire-But-Logan-Is-My-Favorite-Son-And-Also-Better-Looking-Than-You fund. It's a charity group for handsome youths, please consider donating to such a worthy cause everyone 😎

PEYTON - 9 POINTS

A great week with 9 points is not QUITE enough for Peyton to escape the current 3-way tie for 3rd place 3️⃣ He'll have to be laser focused in these last few weeks to grab some of the money 💰 Hopefully he can spend it on installing more closet space in the apartment so he won't have to live out of his suitcase like a wandering hobo 😭

ABBY - 9 POINTS

Despite having never watched a game of professional football in her entire life, Abby is firmly in the mix for some moolah this year 💳 🤷‍♂️ It seems like her backflip of doom didn't scramble her brain TOO badly. Unfortunately the sheer embarrassment of it also meant she had to move out of Florida, block all her friends, and assume a new name of Billy-Bob Jones in Mississippi. Prayers up for Billy-Bob 😢😢😢

VAL - 9 POINTS

It's an absolute BRAWL in 3rd place right now, with Val fighting it out for a top place and some top dollars 💰💲💸 She had a chance to breakout but her faith in the Steelers once again let her down 😫 Before anyone picks the Steelers again, just know that this is a real tweet from their new quarterback:

Obviously, the Steelers are finishing 5-0 🏆

JULIETTE - 9 POINTS

The solid 9 points isn't enough to dig JuJu out of last place just yet 😪 This poor performance is ruining her Reputation 😑 After a Fearless start, she's on Red alert 🚨🚨 can she turn it around and make a comeback worthy of Folklore? or with she be remembered as a loser Evermore!!!

JANIE - 9 POINTS

The two-time champion is having a one-time TERRIBLE season for sure! 😭😭😭 I'm rather worried about what we're all walking into in Arizona, I don't think the Scottsdale regional paddleball tournament WINNER is used to being seventh place 👿👿👿

JJ - 8 POINTS

Truly the most difficult spot to be, JJ is in 4th place and juuust barely out of the money for now 🏃‍♂️ Can he lock-in and finish with some cash? 🤑 I can see the determination on his face, and it's NOT A LOOK, IT'S AN EMOTION 😤😤😤 No one knows what it means but it's provocative - IT GETS THE PEOPLE GOING 💯💯💯

LISA - 8 POINTS

She's been #1 for 13 Weeks, can she hold on for 5 more?!?! 🧗‍♂️🧗‍♂️🧗‍♂️ Lisa had had the most dominate performance of ANYONE in ANY of the season's we have done the pick-em pool 🥇🥇🥇 and yet despite that she's on in the lead by SIX points 📏 will she be able to hold and make HISTORY 📜 and MONEY 💲 but mostly MONEY 💲💲

GABBY - 8 POINTS

Lisa left the door OPEN 🚪 this week with only 8 points but Gabby wasn't able to capitalize on it 👎 And so she stays in second place for now 🥈 She's also responsible for the delayed update today, as I had to take a nap after I woke up. LAST time Gabby and I wake up together!!!

6:30 AM

Gabby: I'm going to make a coffee, what do you want, tea? do you like tea? what's your favorite tea? Me personally I like coffee

Me: (silence)

Gabby: Is that jacket going to be warm enough? Maybe you need a new jacket? I'm going to get you a new jacket, what color do you want?

Me: (silence)

Gabby: I saw this video on Instagram - would you still love me if I turned into a worm? You better take care of me if I turn into a worm

Me: OK let's play the quiet game

ALRIGHT EVERYONE ITS TIME TO LOCK IN AND FINISH STRONG! SEE YOU NEXT WEEK 😎

[racingliners]

F1 Re-Watch 2022: Round 14 - Belgium

So I remember sweet f all from Spa, bc I’m pretty sure that was around the time of both family stress, and my parents catching covid, so this and the next two races are total blanks to me bc I was both not on tumblr much and didn’t watch any of Channel 4 highlights.

(I mean I’m also running on the assumption that Verstappen won bc that’s almost all he did last year).

So let’s just jump in and hope Seb and Lewis had a somewhat fun time

I am highkey dreading this race, Zandvoort and Monza bc I have NO IDEA what happened so like these combined could be six hours I never get back

at least Seb looks pretty in the intro

As I also watched Spa 2021 I’m glad I have context for whatever that race was.

ANYWAY, starting grid:

Mick P19 :(

why the fuck is Charles in 15th????

NICKY P11, GOATIFI

Seb and Lance top 10 😭🙌

how on Earth did Alex get 6th in quali?! (I mean, the ultimate good for him, but HOW?!)

I’m really going to have to start looking up quali results before I press play to avoid all this whiplash bc I didn’t even notice Sainz on pole aovhaeog

[Start/Lap 1]: Perez almost driving into Alonso at the start aegehg 

“A brilliant start from Sebastian Vettel” THAT’S MY BOYYYYYYYYY

oh fuck me Lewis on Fernando violence

so Lewis does not have a fun time in this race then 😭

The racing gods giveth (Seb up into P5) and the racing gods stab you in the chest (Lewis DNF)

[Lap 2]: The way you can literally see the Ferrari bouncing up and down the straight. Yikes.

NICKY NO don’t take out Val like that

cut to a solitary Lewis by his car. Does not spark any joy.

Thank fuck we have a replay bc WHAT WERE THOSE TWO LAPS?!

Seb’s start was bloody gorgeous though. KING SHIT.

but yeah... no F1 car should be flung up into the air like that with any kind of contact.

Oh not even Lance and Seb being violent on the first lap. Everyone left their braincells at home it seems.

[Lap 4]: Charles making his first pit stop bc pain I guess????

Seb being in 5th is the race’s only saving grace rn

...there was a tear off in one of Charles’ front breaks is2g I’ll start causing violence next

right safety car coming in, I paused to grab some chocolate for emotional support snacking.

oh boy Charles doing his own strategy calls and you know what I trust him more than the Ferrari pitwall

[Lap 5]: Perez v Russell v Alonso. I AM IN DISTRESS

“Then comes Sebastian Vettel” INJECT IT INTO MY VEINS

I mean he’s just there in P5 vibing but GO ON SEB!!!

Verstappen already into P6 after starting 14th

oh no don’t cut to a solitary Lewis I’m sad again

[Lap 6]: ALEX??? PASSING A McLAREN????

What is going on in the House of Commons

Seb drops to P6

[Lap 7]: Jesus that shot of Verstappen closing on Alonso really shows how strong the RB18 was last year.

“We are for Plan B” Please... I’m not strong enough I am already at my limit 😭

[Lap 8]: Verstappen already into P3. If I speak.

also my emotional support chocolate had been devoured.

Charles passing Gasly at the bus stop chicane? Nice.

[Lap 10]: Okay I think the race has finally settled down now, apart from Charles making his way up through the field

I’m still this close to asking for a refund though

Clinging onto Seb in P6 and Lance in P9 with both hands rn

cut to Jacky Ickx, watch Ferrari disrespect his presence with more clownery

[Lap 11]: Ignoring potential RBR team orders and focusing on Seb being almost a second behind Alonso

oop Sainz pits, tbf comms have been talking about high tracks temps so no wonder people are complaining about high deg

[Lap 13]: Oh Verstappen got past Perez. 

anyway, Charles up to P6!!

“Could George Russell undercut Perez” oh I hope so I’ll take anything at this point

Seb also pits, it was slow 😭

[Lap 15]: Charles being a little bit unhinged trying to get past Perez, I support his right to go feral

“We are considering Plan D” I WILL BURN DOWN MARANELLO

No, I’m not kidding. I’ll call it a belated Ides of March.

Russell v Charles 👀

whew he actually got past on the kemmel straight!

George said I’ll avenge Lewis by dragging the W13 places it doesn’t deserve to be

[Lap 17]: SEB INTO P8!!! LET’S GET IT

I’m also acknowledging Ferrari putting Charles on Plan D and moving on

MICK PASSING NICKY UP EAU ROUGE!!! A KING!!!!

[Lap 18]: ...and Verstappen retakes the lead

“Hasta la Vista Carlos” eafuvhefuawh okay Brundle I’ll give you that one right it was funny

oh Seb is on the hards. I do not know how to feel about that.

[Lap 19]: Alpha Tauri finally remember to pit Yuki

“Why would we stop now” A very good question Charles, you tell em

[Lap 21]: I’m actually glad Seb is holding the gap to Alonso ahead bc I still haven’t recovered from the first lap

And Perez passes Sainz like he’s just taking a stroll

oooh Lance passes Galy round the outside of the the chicane for P11, noice

[Lap 23]: It’s me I’m the unimpressed McLaren garage

also thank fuck we’re past half-distance

Lance v Dan up Eau Rouge??? BOYS THINK OF MY NERVES

[Lap 25]: Seb watch: he has really closed up to Alonso, I’m stress

[Lap 26]: oh looks like we’re gonna get another pitstop shuffle *cue Disco music*

oh fuck Ferrari are double stacking

okay it wasn’t awful

[Lap 28]: Oh dear potential Canadian on Canadian violence.

Anyway Seb’s in P5 so I think we should end the race and call it a day

[Lap 31]: Charles closing up to Seb, my Ferrari boys 😭

oh and here we are with a Charles onboard

not surprising that was an easy pass, nice to see my lads briefly reunited though

[Lap 33]: Russell hunting Sainz for sport, gap down to just over 4 seconds

[Lap 34]: Seb pits, he couldn’t make the 1 stop work I guess 😔

but still in the poinnnnnnnnnnts!!!!!

[Lap 35]: and he passes Gasly for P7!!!!

oh shit he got double French tag teamed

asdfghjkl Ocon with the double slipstream, maximum zoom

[Lap 36]: Sainz v Russell watch: gap down to under 3 seconds

oh jeez not Brundle calling the Merc a Williams asvhauvhuhu

[Lap 37]: a 4 car battle for P10 you say? 👀

Midfield spice (beloved)

[Lap 38] I can’t believe it took this long to make reference to the Great Contract Drama of Summer Break 2022. I may have been tuned out of a lot of the races last year but boy was last Summer Break the most hilarious

“It’s too late for Plan G” McLaren???? Don’t take lessons from Ferrari I BEG

[Lap 39]: Alex having the best time being a train conductor as he clings onto P10. Pet power!!

[Lap 40]: I’m still trying to get my head around Verstappen going from P14 to P1 in the dry like ?????

Like yes I will acknowledge that Verstappen is a good driver, but jeez man

[Lap 42]: ANYWAY, Seb still in P8, please Spa give me something in the way of joy

Sainz v Russell watch: gap holding at 2 seconds so I think Ferrari are going to escape Spa with a podium

and cut to a replay of Yuki passing Zhou before the bus stop chicane

[Lap 43]: I was about to question why they were pitting Leclerc, but it’s to try and get fastest lap.

oh jeez but Alonso is right there. 

And he passes Charles. Clowneria Ferrari strikes again.

There is not a big enough facepalm emoji.

[Lap 44/Finish]: oh phew Charles got past Alonso on the Kemmel straight

and Sainz holds onto P3. Props to George for trying though.

Charles didn’t even get fastest lap. And he got a 5 sec penalty for speeding in the pitlane so he drops to P6 🥲

but anyway SEB POINTS!!!!!!!!!! WE LOVE TO SEE IT!!!!!

Seb finished in P8 and nothing else happened idk what any of you are talking about.

Ugh yeah I’m trying to not let my personal attachment to some drivers affect my thought on the race but... oof my friends. This didn’t spark that much joy. Granted, there was a somewhat decent amount of action, but the first two laps were not fun to watch. So I’ll give it a tentative 6 front wings out of 10. Next race - Zandvoort! 

[elocinnicole]

Hi! I just love your work can you please write an Ashley and Miles fic? I love their dynamic as a couple and can't wait to see Season 2.

Red Cup Girl

Pairing: Miles x Ashley

Rating: 18+ Minors DNI for strong language, sexual language, underage drinking, and slight gun violence.

Summary: Ashley sneaks out with Janelle to go to a senior party. Note: So, I really don’t know the ages of these characters seeing that Ashley and Janelle are besties they met in 6th grade, Collin is older than Janelle, and according to the movie, Collin and Miles are the same age. It’s 2018 in the show but they’re in their 30s In conclusion, maybe they are at least a year apart, well in my universe they are. Word Count: 2.7K

“Smash! Come on, let’s go!” Janelle whispered loudly

“Shut the fuck up Nelle, I’m coming.” Ashley retorted, she let out a deep breath before taking the small but large leap out of the dining room window. Ashley jogged over to her best friend trying to catch her breath.

“Girl, you not gonna close the window? What about your Dad?”

"Bitch, he’s passed out on the couch.”

“Then why the fuck you jump out the window?”

“Because…shit I don’t fucking know, come on let’s go.” Ashley grabbed Janelle’s arm and they ran down the street giggling along the way.

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Janelle said excitedly they could hear the bass from the speakers down the street from where the party was being held. It was the first day of summer break and the first party of the summer.

“Nelle, chill, we’re sophomores now, we gotta act the part.” Ashley reminded the two best friends approached the house. When they approached the front door, they were stopped by one of the guys they went to school with.

“Gotta take an entry shot,” He mumbled

“Shot of what?” Ashley questioned, which prompted an elbow nudge from Janelle

“What you got?”

“Ever clear,” He said handing the two shot glasses to Ashley and Janelle.

They inwardly gagged at the stench emitting from the shot glass, “No shot, you can’t get in.” They looked at each other and quickly drank the shot. Janelle shook her head while Ashley was barely keeping it together. “Can we get another one?” Ashley looked at her friend like she had two heads growing out of her neck

“Bitch, unh uh.” Ashley walked into the house with Janelle following

“Come on, it wasn’t that bad, what did you just say, ‘We’re sophomores now.” Janelle teased “Yeah, but that shit was fucking death, I need something to chase this down.”

“Can you get me something too?” Ashley nodded, she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a red cup form the table, but a few cups were stuck together. She was about to separate them when two guys came up to her and grabbed a couple of cups from the stack and filled their drink.

“Thanks,” they said absent mindedly,

“No, I wasn’t-I was just—” Ashley sighed she got some more cups when the same thing happened, before she knew it she was handing out red solo cups to everyone that came to the punch bowl.

“Smash! Girl, what the hell you doing?”

“I don’t know I was trying to get some punch and niggas just started grabbing them and now I can’t stop, look!” Just then a girl grabbed a cup from Ashley’s hand and filled it before dancing away.

“See!” Ashley exclaimed

“Yeah, they was talking about a Red Cup bitch, passing out cups and shit.”

“They gave me a name?”

“Look, all you have to do is, grab a cup for you and for me. We gonna put this stack down. Alright, now let’s go dance.” They made their way through the crowds of people. Started dancing on the makeshift dance floor in the living room of the home.

“Oh shit, Nelle is that your brother?”

“What the fuck, I thought he was hanging with Val.”

“Who?”

“His bougie ass girlfriend,” Ashley nodded her head slowly

“Janelle, what the fuck you doing here?”

“What you mean what I’m doing here, the fuck you doing here?”

“I asked you first,”

“I--”

“Man, I was tryna to get a drink, but Red Cup girl wasn’t there,” Ashley looked at Janelle worriedly

“Listen, no one knows it was you.” She whispered

“Hey, what up Nelle?”

“What’s good Miles,” Janelle said, Miles’ eyes landed on Ashley, and he smirked at her, making her blush furiously

“What’s up, Ashley Rose.”

“Hey Miles,” She greeted shyly. Ever since they were kids Ashley has had a huge crush on Miles, she remembers the first time she laid her eyes on him. It was Janelle’s 12th birthday and Ashley was spending the night at her house. Ashley was getting some water in the middle of the night when she bumped into Miles who was walking back to Collin’s room.

“Oh, my bad,” Miles said

“No, I’m sorry I wasn’t looking,” Ashley mumbled

“You’re Ashley, right? Janelle’s friend.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“I’m—”

“I know who you are,” Ashley blurted out, oh shit, she wasn’t supposed to say that out loud. Now, he’s laughing at her, great now he thinks she’s some kind of stalker

“I mean, what I meant was I’ve seen you and Collin around and I’m not like on some creep squad—”

“Chill, chill, chill, I know what you meant, I’ve seen you around too,” He said smoothly, making Ashley’s cheeks turn red,

“I’ll just…I’ll see you later,” Ashley said quietly as she walked to the kitchen, she turned back to see if Miles was still standing there and he was looking right at her, she blushed furiously and rushed into the kitchen. Miles chuckled and continued walking to Collin’s room to finish whatever video game he was playing only to run into Collin who was standing at the door and saw the entire thing. Miles rolled his eyes at the knowing look Collin gave him

“Come on bruh,” Miles pleaded

“I didn’t say anything, don’t worry I won’t tell anyone about your crush,” Collin teased, Miles playfully shoved Collin who laughed in response

“Miles and Ashley sittin in a tree,”

“Shut the fuck up bruh!”

The rest of the night, Miles and Ashley kept locking eyes from across the room. No matter where she went, Miles wasn’t far from her. Ashley liked him…a lot, she wasn’t sure if he liked her back. She knew about his reputation, he probably doesn’t even see her like that. Ashley was talking to Janelle and another girl from school, Rachel. Ashley laughed at something Janelle said, she looked up and saw Miles intently staring at her, the gesture made her blush and look away, maybe she was overthinking it. There’s no way he was looking at her, when she looked back up he was still looking at her this time with a small smirk on his face. Janelle and Rachel noticed the exchange and started to squeal excitedly.

“Come on, guys it’s not that serious. He’s not even looking at me.” Ashley said, trying to convince herself

“Bitch, he’s been staring you down since he saw you.”

“Shit, if you don’t want him, fuck I’ll take him. Kierra was with him last year and she told me that the sex—” Rachel stopped herself when she saw Ashley staring daggers at her, “Damn, Ash I was just kidding,”

“You know Miles her boo and the bitch Kierra probably lying. I live next door I ain’t never seen that girl over there.”

“He would come to her house, you know her Mama work the night shift at the hospital.” Ashley started clenching her fists, wait a minute, why was she getting mad, Miles didn’t even know she existed, well at least not like that.

“Okay but it’s not just Kierra, Diamond and Alisha was talking about it they sent me pictures.” Ashley head snapped up at that, Miles was sending dick pics?

“Girl I don’t wanna see that shit, Miles is like my brother, but forward that to Ash, I’m sure she won’t mind.” Janelle joked

Miles kept his eyes on Ashley making Collin roll his eyes, he looked at Val who was thinking the same thing

“Nigga you just gonna stare at her the whole time?”

“What? Bruh, I’m not staring at Ashley.” Miles said defensively

“How you know I was talking about Ash, man.” Miles stuttered over his words something that only happened when he was embarrassed which wasn’t often.

“Just talk to her,” Val offered

“Thanks for the advice Val, I never thought of that shit before,” Miles replied sarcastically

“Pussy,” She mumbled under her breath

“What?”

“You heard me,”

“Well air out then,” Miles challenged, Collin put his hand up between the two of them

“Alright, alright, you look like a stalker just staring at her. Just pull her to the side and talk to her,” Miles was trippin, he could talk to her just like he talks to any other girl, but Ashley wasn’t just some other girl, she was Ashley Rose and he didn't want to fuck things up.

“Fuck it,” Miles downed the rest of his drink and started to walk over to Ashley.

“Oh bitch, he’s coming over here,” Janelle said hitting her friend

“Damn Janelle, you gonna beat her ass before he even come over here.”

“What do I say?”

“Just be chill,” Janelle turned Ashley around and Miles was standing right before her

“Hey,”

“Hey,” she breathed, Miles nodded her over, and Ashley looked back at Janelle who eagerly waved her off. Ashley grabbed Miles’ hand and let him lead her to a quieter place in the house. They ended up sitting on a hammock swing in the backyard.

“Haven’t seen you in a while, what you been up to?” She shyly shrugged her shoulders

“Nothing,” Miles snickered and playfully bumped her shoulder

“Why you actin’ all shy?”

“I’m not,” Ashley insisted

“You are, Ashley Rose.” Hearing him say her name like that made butterflies flutter inside her.

“You don’t gotta be shy around me, besides I’ve seen how you and Janelle can get.” Miles teased lightly Ashley smiled softly in response, taking a sip from whatever was in her cup. Miles scooted closer to her, an act that didn’t go unnoticed by Ashley, took another long sip from her cup before setting it aside. Miles then placed an arm around her, which made her heart beat faster.

Miles sensed that she was nervous, shit maybe she didn’t like him. Now he looks like the older creep who’s bothering a girl who doesn’t like him. Miles moves to take his arm from her around her, Ashley sighed inwardly, maybe he was just being nice.

“My bad, I ain’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Ashley frowned

“Huh?”

“You got a little tense, I don’t you to think I’m-you know, being weird.” It took a while for Miles's words to sink in, he’s usually so sure of himself, well anytime that Ashley’s around him he never wavers or hesitates, but with her, it’s like his brain short circuits.

“No, no, I didn’t mind I actually liked you holding me,” Ashley admitted that last part quietly, Miles left out a breath of relief.

“Can I?”

“Oh, yeah,” This time, Ashley leaned in too and laid her head against his shoulder, he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to him. They seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces.

“Sorry,”

“For what? What you apologizing for?” “This my first time, you know, with a guy like this,” Miles smirked he thought it was so cute that Ashley was flustered by him.

“You don’t gotta apologize for everything.”

“Seems like that’s all I do at home.”

“You know, if you ever don’t want to go home or Janelle’s busy, you can come over to mine.” Miles offered, Ashley looked at him, touched by the gesture.

“Thanks, Miles.” Miles cleared his throat, Ashley raised an eyebrow he seemed like he was, nervous? Oh God, was he about to ask her something?

“Do you want to, um, do you wanna go and um…” Oh shit, he was about to ask her out like on a date? Or friends? Wait, what if he just wanted to be friends and Ashley was reading too much into this whole situation.

“Ashley!” She slightly jumped back at the tone of his voice, he sheepishly grinned maybe he said her name too loud, “Sorry, sorry, uh Ashley do you want to-” get a grip, Miles thought to himself, why does Ashley make him so nervous.

Their sweet moment was cut short by a few gunshots ringing out and a group of teens screaming and running out the back door and jumping over the fence. Among the crowd were Collin, Janelle, and Val.

“Niggas started shooting, time to go!” Collin said as he helped his sister and girlfriend hop the fence. Miles grabbed Ashley’s hand and after he helped her jump over, he followed and the group of friends ran as fast as they could. Once they were a reasonable distance they slowed down and started walking, Ashley noticed that Miles never let her hand go, not that she was complaining.

“Imma head on back, you coming?” Collin asked Janelle

“I was gonna walk Ash home,”

“I’ll walk her home,” Miles spoke up Collin and Janelle exchanged knowing looks before snickering

“Alright, call me Smash,” Janelle called out walking with her brother and Val.

“You don’t have to walk me home.”

“I know, but I want to.”

The five-minute walk to Ashley’s home was a quiet but content one. They got all the way to her front door where they awkwardly stood on the welcome mat, still holding hands.

“Thanks for walking me home,”

“Like I said, I wanted to. Besides, my Mom would beat my ass if she found out I let you walk home alone.”

“It was nice hanging out with you, Miles.” What happened next caught Ashley completely off guard, Miles pulled her in for a hug. She was frozen for a moment until she relaxed into the hug and returned it, she inhaled deeply smelling his cologne.

“I had fun too…Red Cup Girl,” Ashley gasped and pulled away from the hug to see Miles holding back his laugh

“You knew it was me,” She exasperated

“That’s why I was looking for you, I was hoping to talk to you then but when I went to the kitchen you were already gone.” Embarrassed, Ashley covered her face and groaned

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Miles pulled her hands away from her face and moved her curly hair back, "it was cute." his hand lingering on her cheeks, causing her to blush. Miles took a few steps forward and leaned in, Ashley took a small step forward and leaned in as well. Her eyes closed in anticipation, she feel his lips ghosting over hers when,

“Ashley Rose?” This time she heard her name, it didn’t make her feel warm and fuzzy, it was the exact opposite. Miles and Ashley jumped feet away from each other they looked and saw her Mom, standing in front of the bus stop her arms folded

“What are you doing out this late at night?” From the stains on her scrubs and the tired look in her eyes, Ashley’s mom was far from pleased, sputtering for an answer Ashley knew she was going to get grounded and summer break just started.

“Mrs. Johnson, I was walking Ashley home from Mama Nancy’s house. We were all hanging out and I didn’t want Janelle to walk her home so I offered. I’m sorry for keeping her out so late, that was my fault, we lost track of time playing games.” Miles said easily, her mom sighed heavily as she walked up the steps

“Well, thank you for walking her home, Miles, but it’s way past her curfew. Say Goodnight to Miles, Ashley,” her mom walked into the house and closed the door.

“Sorry about——” Miles cut Ashley off with a kiss just as quickly as it started, it ended

“I told you about saying sorry,” Miles breathed “Good night Ashley Rose,”

“Goodnight Miles,” She smiled dreamily, softly touching her lips. Miles waited until she was inside before he started his walk home. When Ashley closed the door and she leaned against the door and breathed heavily, still reeling after her kiss with Miles. Someone clearing their throat brought her out of her daydream

“So, you and Miles?” Her mom teased lightly

“Mom,” Ashley whined

“I didn’t say anything, I think he’s a nice young man, but you’re still grounded.” The mother and daughter were about to go upstairs when hurried knocks made their heads turn. Ashley opened the door and there was Miles out of breath like he had been running,

“Sorry, I forgot to ask you, do you want to go on a date?” Ashley blinked in surprise

“Yeah, yes, of course.”

“Great,” Miles kissed her again, “I’ll see you tomorrow at 7.” Before he was off again. Ashley closed the door and blanched when she saw her mom, she forgot she was still there for a moment. She whipped her body around to see her Mom holding back a smile. “Mom, please don’t say anything.” Ashley pleaded walking past her mom

“I didn’t, but I do think you guys are gonna be cute together.” She said following her daughter up the stairs

“Mom!”

Tagging: @nikole-witha-k @blackpinup22 @iknowthekoolaidflavor @wreakhavoconmacroissantdiggs @ramp-it-up @daveeds-wife @chattykathysquietsister @mellie-teh-goblin-queen @azxulaa @endless-romantic-stories @chrisevanswife0405 @gothic-slasherfan-weeb @pinkbonnetandglasses @cocobutterbaby @moxleys-fav

[momentofmemory]

today i am thinking about sibling icons Hayden Romero and Valerie Clark having two separate last names for absolutely no given reason even though we were promised reasons so in lieu of that, a string of canon compliant headcanons for the Clark-Romero family:

Hayden & Valerie are half-siblings on their mother’s side, with roughly an eight year age gap between

their parents died in a car crash when Valerie was at least 18, the youngest legal age you can apply for a kinship adoption

assuming Valerie was 18, that puts Hayden at around 10 at the time of the wreck—probably not much older to account for the age gap of the actors, and probably not much younger since applying for the adoption gets more difficult the younger she is 

Hayden being 10 also allows her to be old enough to have a substantial amount of memories about their parents

based on Hayden’s age being 10, this puts about 5-6 years between the loss of their parents and the start of canon, which seems like an adequate distance for what we see of their relationship/the way they rely on one another in s5

Hayden likely got her kidney transplant from Valerie around this time period as well, as most hospitals require organ donors to be at least 18 to be eligible

maybe Val used the up and coming surgery, which she’d already been approved for, to argue for the viability of her adopting Hayden

this puts the both of these major events in Hayden’s life just barely before the Infamous Punching Incident with Liam, which happened in 6th grade (5x06)

as deputy positions only require a high school degree, Val likely applied to work in the sheriff’s station shortly after the wreck to support her family

the line “we look out for each other, remember?” (5x12) suggests some degree of instability, so they may have moved around a fair amount growing up, which is why they’re not in s1-4, and fits with moving again in 6b

[natto-axolotl]

idk if u still do this anymore but do u have anymore brawlhalla hcs to share? special for Ember, Dusk, & Jaeyun? haha if u don’t just ignore this ask

ahh sorry for getting to this so late!!! and i always have hcs i just dont have a good place to share em wkdnbdkwn (readmore cause it got too long HAHA)

Ember

she's deeply empathetic, and also a great problem solver!!! a miracle worker when it comes to defusing conflict. now if only that would work on whatever the hell diana and mordex have

eats trail mix, has not been able to shake the habit of sporadic snacking in lieu of actual meals

T A L L (stolen from someone on twitter)

doesn't 100% forgive nor blame dusk. due to (in my hcs) being left at the fangwild's mercy as its guardian since she was 7, ember knows only bits about the conflict between the aesir and the elves, so to her dusk just kinda jumped out of the blue all riled up. after learning about his background it somewhat mitigates her righteous anger at Being Killed, and all that

has a sort of 6th sense when it comes to distortions in the fabric of the universe (having lived in one her whole life)

semicanon but does recurve archery!!!

good with a knife and knowledgable about hunting, neither picky with her food nor squeamish about live slaughter

can and will eat bugs

dumbest stunt done post-death is probably trying to hookshot using diana's bow and falling

fairly uninvolved with the gossip mill of the tournament, only tunes in if it's relevant to her desire to go home or if ragnir and the rest of the fangwild gang are also involved

sees ragnir as a brother, dusk as a mildly annoying but fun companion at best and asshole at worst, and arcadia as a peer and weirdly enough, a teacher (despite arcadia technically being her junior)

fangies (bmg fight me on this)

eager to learn about novel technology but often can't seem to find a use for it. and then someone got her into photography

lots of scars, but the permanent one that killed her is a bruise on her chest, in a swirl the same shape as the one on dusk's orb

val, mordex and dusk are the people she dislikes the most

dusk

let's get it out of the way, there's a lot wrong with this man but the most pressing one is that he has a frankly bruised beyond repair ego and that's what makes him so insufferable

high metabolism and abuses it to the point where he has drank nothing but coffee once and. paid the price dearly!!!

also related, but faints and gets dizzy easily due to the whole "in prison for 400+ years" shtick. grody scars as well

easier to say who he likes than who he doesn't. tolerates ember, tries to actively avoid arcadia, will draw blood over simple conversation with ragnir. him and ulgrim have bitter, bitter emotions between each other.

would be heavily susceptible to victor frankenstein's entire story arc

tolerates hanging around the "evil" legends, but everyone there knows that they don't really like each other and are just using other people to further their own goals. miserable people all the way down!!!

was not aware of how sexy his sideboob was until someone pointed it out after he died.

is generally unaware he's considered attractive. styles his hair like this out of habit not because it makes him look like a bad boy type

regards kor with a weird mix of pride, disgust, shame, hope, and genuine love. kor's basically his son, but he's also a machine of war that was designed for one goal, which it failed, and that technically makes kor defective. but dusk can't really bring himself to call kor that, not when he's found his niche.

has tried to take val apart multiple times. in an alternate universe (maybe after the world ends) dusk would've ended up in robotics

before his imprisonment, dusk's hair was long and worn in a variety of styles. now it's too short to be braided with practicality in mind.

his orb doubles as a massage gun, bluetooth speaker, hot water bottle, keyboard, night light, morse signaler, and metal detector, among other things. think nautica's wrench from mtmte, and he's always adding more shit to it.

dumbest stunt was openly shittalking thor when he joined the tournament and registered with orb. dusk had to be picked out of the cracked concrete for the next 5 days.

wrists are pretty fucked from 200+ years id manacles, and the Killing Scar is a cut running from dusk's collarbone to his left thigh, left by orma (arcadia's sword)

hss taken to baking (much to kaya, cassidy and zariel's glee). secretly finds it enjoyable. don't tell anyone.

once drank so much coffee he died from a heart attack

knowledgable on older asgardian legislature, history and culture, which gets him the affectionate title of nerd

prev hc ties into a bigger hc where nix and Asgard are locked in a legal battle to see if they can loophole a way for the reaper to safely reao nai, whereas asgard wants to stress and strengthen the pan-pantheon protection it has in its einherjar. like legally blonde but with dead people and 1 blonde

likes seasoned porridge. still working uo spice tolerance, he ate something too pungent and started crying.

ignores the rumor mill as much as possible. if it were up to dusk the only thing he would like to hear about is the intrinsic working of the divintiy of asgard, but instead he gets hot goss abour whether or not two people are snogging.

Jaeyun

actually not too great of a person. if we're looking at it practically, makes sense as he's a merc, he's gotta be able to take any job for some cash. and he has murdered or attempted to before???

was once part of the civil service before calling it quits and becoming a soldier. not as good at law and boring bureaucratic work as some other legends, but knows the basics and would like Not to go back, please!!!

knows a fair bit of ambient magic manipulation, but nothing bigger than moving rocks and creating wind.

one of the most prolific betters among the legends and almost perpetually broke. do not let him find out about gacha games.

high wis low int. clever as hell but can be dumb as balls.

due to his habit of taking odd jobs jaeyun knows random bits of knowledge and is a very empathetic person; after you've seen so much you start to find patterns and bright spots in the lives of people around you, big or small

looooves grilled and street food: cheap, easy to eat on the go, filling, and flavorful. sundae with tteokbokki after a long day of work is jaeyun's ideal of a comfort meal.

jajeongmyeon might not have been introduced when jaeyun was alive but you bet your ass he loves it when he finds it in valhalla

prolific tax evader and embezzler in life, will take ur mammoth coins after dying

compared to dusk and ember jaeyun is not hung up about being dead at all. it's a natural part of life, and though he is a bit sad the fact that he's done so much in kife to be considered notable for valhalla is enough to keep him happy.

a decent bargainer and reasonably charismatic. not as good as mordex or Caspian, but he does have a definite pull to his personality that you can't help but overlook his war crimes and bad money habits for

hates cats. terrified of asuri. thinks butterscotch is secretly helping fait as part of a greater coalition of cats against him.

very awkward with Jiro like "heyyy howsit been since i tried to kill you" awkward

hes Big and its not just all muscle im sick and tired of people drawing him skinny. LET JAEYUN BE CHUBBY

has tried to snowboard on his sword. fell, broke his nose, stayed inside the rest of the day

embezzles out of habit, not the worst liar bit he does jump to half-true coverups most of the time

[rougebangtan]

it’s a new year!

hello. long time no see.

to be honest, i wasn’t planning to write a new year’s post. i wasn’t sure as what to say because i didn’t want to come across as self-absorbed or unnecessarily critical and skeptical of the past, present and future. i’m used to keeping things to myself, and not sharing them is as much of a relief as it is a burden.

i must confess it’s easy not to say anything. it’s easy to lose myself in this plethora of unvoiced thoughts which end up being burried very deep within. i am not sure what was the primary cause behind my sudden change of heart, but why not...?

this blog was created as a way of me rejoining tumblr. i’ve always been in here, but i had spent some time away before returning four years ago. in january 2017, this became mainly a fan account for bts when it wasn’t meant to be at first. yet, it still became something personal and very close to my heart, and the reason was because i met amazing people in here. i learned things and reached personal milestones that impacted me positively on a daily basis.

we don’t even need to look in reprospect to know 2020 was far from ideal. i’m certain it has been this way for everyone. on my end, i spent my time erratically and i oscilated with the tide. i was extensively creative at one point, and because of that, i stretched myself too far and i couldn’t make ends meet. i socialized and made friends, and then it became too much for me to handle and i isolated myself. i became tired of myself like i always have.

the first thing i realized when it was finally january 1st 2021 is that what i’m actually tired of are things feeling pointless. i’m tired of trying to salvage the broken pieces of something i don’t even know why was broken in the first place. i’m tired of being on the verge of giving up, but not doing so because there has to be a purpose. the biggest realization to me was that i’m tired of all of the things i aforementioned mainly because those are self-centred sentiments which are never going to lead me anywhere but a dead end. the selfishness, the self-absorption, and stubborn lack of enthusiasm... those are the hindrances to whatever it is i want to accomplish. 

so, even though i’m lost and have nothing concrete to grasp on to yet, my main goal right now is to focus on loving more freely, on accepting happiness and sorrow as they come and go, on being a better friend. i haven’t accomplished many things thus far, but i met a lot of people whom i’ve come to love and appreciate beyond words. there are really special people who have paved their way into my heart, so thank you so much for so many sweet memories!

it’s a new year! hopefully we’ll move on to bigger and better things <3

mutuals from a-z:

#:

@1999164 · @4-sun ·

a-c:

@autumnnflowers​ · @absoluteyoongit​ · @an-annyeoing-writer​ · @astrowicc​ · @btsaudge​ ·  @bangtanloverboys​  · @bubble-tae​ · @beamingmaylyn​ · @birbdae​ · @bratkook​ · @captaindelhiver​ · @crazy4myself​ · @cultleaderyoongi​ · @cutechim · @cest-la-tae​ · @chelsea-chee​

d-i:

@dewykth​  · @dylanxmin​ · @dearlytea​ · @dani-of-the-cosmos​ · @dawndrms​ · @ditttiii​ · @excusemin​ · @flowerseok​ · @fl0ra​ · @ghibliu​ · @gossamie​ · @gukssunshine​​ · @honeylovecult​​ · @hobicomeholla29​ · @hopeworldsavedmylife​ · @hoseoksyn​ · @heartyclouds​ · @happytata​​ · @h-heaveninhiding​​ · @i-am-today-we-will-survive​​ · @illneverrecover​

j-o:

@jaelouvre-main · @jamlessness · @jogeumdeo · @jour-de-printemps · @justalwaystired​ · @joonieshibui​ · @jamaiskook​ · @jingerines​ · @joonsdiary​ · @kimvvantae · @koosgrl · @kb-bangtanenthusiast​ · @leftonraed · @lovejeons · @lavenderandluna​ · @lunarlxve​ · @minflix​ · @mlkydrms ·  @moonchildsblack​ · @megahwn​ · @meowstea​ · @nam-jonie​

p-v:

@pars-ley ·  @poutyjimin · @pinkprincesslauren  · @primarybts  · @pjmsdior  · @rosielips · @rkivepacks  · @sakuramotion  · @salvejoon  · @sugasmoonlight  ·  @slaypjm · @sukiroki · @salade-tb · @saysammydandy​  · @sleepybby  ·  @taelepathic​ ·  @thefouranemoi​ · @talismaniccream​ · @tokkituzi · @tipsydipsydo · @utopiajeon · @unoriginal-username15432 · @untaemedqueen · @vinterjeon

w-z:

@wajood​ · @wonderoghosa​ · @wrappedinpetals​ · @wwilloww​​ · @xjoonchildx​ · @y6ongi​ · @youaresadwhaticansay​ · @yeojaa​  · @yoongiroses​ · @yvessaintyoongi​  · @youremeimyou​ · @yoongs-jeontae​ · @youarejesting​

👻 honorary mention for all my ghosties 👻 

love letters:

💌 @4-sun: hey, sunny. i remember when we met, and it’s so crazy how time flies by. you’re already entering college, and i don’t know why but i feel so proud of you. you’re so smart and i’m always impressed by you! i hope the college applications have gone well for you, and that 2020 hasn’t been the most unkind. i know we haven’t talked as much, but i still hold our friendship very close to my heart.

💌 @absoluteyoongit: bueller, my astrological twin! you’re so dear to me. thanks for all the laughter and joy you’ve brought into my life this past year. i hope 2021 is kind to you, and you and your family (especially your dad) are healthy. date a lot and have lots of fun this new year.

💌 @apotaeose: you have such a soothing presence in my life. i admire a lot, and our conversations always make me reflect and dig deeper. you have a healing essence to you, and your words and actions express that. you’re a dear friend and an amazing writer. i really really, from the bottom of my heart, hope we can meet soon <3

💌 @breadoffoxy: sam!! you’re the sweetest and i love to talk to you about whatever. you’re one of the most endearing people i’ve met. you make everyone around you feel so special. we’ve talked many nights to the point of falling asleep, and i wouldn’t have had it another way. your drive is honestly so admirable. the way you managed to gather everyone together and make us enjoy ourselves is exceptional, and i’m so grateful to be your friend. who knows? maybe 2021 will be the year will meet hahah. i digress.

💌 @bangtanloverboys: dippie! you’re the funniest person i know, and you are so uplifting. i don’t know if that’s how you feel inside, but you do have a positive impact on others. the way i just know you probably give out the best hugs ever. you’re the best, and i love you. happy 2021! btw, i forever dislike the bee movie

💌 @cutechim: hana, i didn’t expect to meet you this year, but girl did you rock my world with your talent and kindness. i hope this upcoming year we can get to know each other even better, and that many blessings and opportunities come your way.

💌 @strwberrytae / @lavenderandluna: hello luna!!! i don’t even know if you remember me, but i still find you one of the best writers i’ve come across here on tumblr and i still hold our conversations dear to my heart! i don’t know how 2020 went down for you, and i hope you managed to keep yourself sane in the midst of uncertainty. wish you well xx.

💌 @leftonraed: val, happy new day, my friend. we haven’t been the most talkative lately, but my love for you is still strong. i wish you luck and health this 2021. love you.

💌 @salade-tb: kat. oh lord. your quirky ass has swept me off my feet, and rendered me helpless to your charm. you’re so funny, and i love your energy. you’re indisputably the og ghostie even if you joined the net on the 5th or 6th round. happy 2021, my fellow south hemispherian.

💌 @taelepathic: isabel, it’s been a long time, but i love and miss you! i hope you’ve been healthy all throughout the past year 🤍

💌 @tokkituzi: seoyoon! hey sweetie. i’ll forever be grateful you reached out to me after i chased you down on jamaisjoons’ asks 😂 your english skills are going strong, girl! maybe we can both become better at our respective goal languages. your brother still amuses me to this day. happy new year! 🎉

💌 @yoongs-jeontae: ava, my love! 🥺 i still have these urges to book a flight to your city and just give you the biggest hug and stay at your house lmfao. you’re so talented and i love the fact you’re an architect and i’d love to talk to you just we can speak in both english and pt all day every day. you have such a beautiful family. i admire and love you so much! sending you lots of positive energy for 2021. happy new year.

ps. i probably missed a few people and i apologize beforehand!!! love love love to all of you forever and ever.

[savingsallow]

— Meet Valentine Black —

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— TEN (10) FACTS ABOUT MY MC —

1.) Her parents are Sirius Black I and Daphne Black nee Yaxley. When they passed away, Valentine was adopted and raised by her uncle—Phineas Nigellus Black. Total nightmare that decrepit old man.

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2.) She likes to be called 'Val' or 'Valentine' instead of Black or Ms. Black. Her surname is something she's not proud of. Mind you, she loathes it. So—same Ominis same.

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3.) Val can change her hair color and eye color when her emotions are intense. In fact, her name is Valentine because she was born with pink eyes and hair. However, after her parents' death, her hair turned jet black and her eyes became emerald green.

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4.) She was actually considered a Squib who was obsessed with books and potion making (the muggle way) before getting admitted into Hogwarts. You can always find her in their mini library at home and stealing potion ingredients from her aunt's supplies; this was her pastime as she would always be left at home when there was a gathering or an event. Frankly, Uncle Phineas does not want to be seen with her even though she is the daughter of his favorite sibling—Sirius.

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5.) Instead of being disowned by her uncle (which almost happened), Val was sent to a muggle boarding school at the age of 11. Her school was called Wycombe Abbey, which was located in the mountains, and this is where she met her first best friend. Unfortunately, her friend was sadly taken away from her too soon. This left Val in her sadness hole where she resided for years.

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6.) This kid unknowingly caused a fire incident in her dormitory at the boarding school which marks the birth of her ability to manipulate fire.

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7.) As aforementioned above, Val has three (3) main eye and hair color combinations. Here are its backstory and mood associations:

✴︎ Pink Eyes & Bright Pink Hair ✴︎

She was born with these features hence her name Valentine. These said features of her were regained after the fire incident in her muggle dormitory.

Furthermore, during her fifth year, she would usually face the world with this combination, for two reasons: (1) this became a reclaiming of her old self moment & (2) this was the happiest year of her life so far during that time, so when she's having positive emotions, this is her lovely duo.

✴︎ Emerald Eyes & Jet Black Hair ✴︎

Witnessing how her parents met their end was traumatizing for Val, who was only 4 when that event occurred. After this said event, her appearance slowly changed into this. This was her combination for years until she turned 15 and got into that fire incident.

To add on, after regaining her original features, she tried her best to hide this part of her. Why? Because Val associated the colors black and green with her past heavily. For instance, she is reminded of her shadows (growing powers, unresolved traumas) and her relation with the House of Black, which she didn't want to reveal to people at first because of her fear that she would be not enough or be too much.

So, this combination is related to her not so pleasant emotions.

The first person to ever see this part of Val was Garreth during their 6th year. And Val got comfortable showing this side of her in her 7th year.

✴︎ Clear Green Eyes & Light Pink Hair ✴︎

(art by: @thursdaymoonrise11 ❤️‍🔥✨)

This is Val's neutral state and mostly of what she looked like during her 6th year. It was the most puzzling year so far for her in Hogwarts. Always caught in between being eternally grateful for what changed for the better and being haunted by the recent occurrences and the ghosts of her past. When she's deep in her thoughts, this is what she would look like.

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8.) Self-expression is very important to her. Aside from the fact that she hates conforming (ehem, boarding schools), this kiddo aims to be more of her every day and less of what's expected of her (yeah, you heard that right Phineas). A sign of rebellion, if you will. Plus that eyebrow slit? That's made to annoy her uncle.

Val loves to experiment with her fashion. This kid would usually change her hairstyle and hair color at Madame Snelling's and would be Mr. Hill's number one customer. Quality, comfort, and style are what this kid goes for!

'Depressed but well dressed'

— Val on her perspective with looking presentable.

On the darker side, there's a part of her that does these in an attempt to hide the fact that she's a Black. Like I said, she despises her own clan. And hating Muggles? No, thank you. I'm fine.

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9.) Despite her dreadful past, Valentine still holds on to the fact that there's still goodness in the world—even if she wasn't a constant witness to this. This childlike and almost naive perspective of her is what keeps her sane and feels truly alive. Thankfully, she made lifelong friends and soul family during her time at Hogwarts!

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10.) Love is one of the biggest themes in her lore. But she doesn't know that yet. Whether it is self-love, love for friends, love for newfound family, love for animals, romantic love, you name it! This kid would always choose love over fear. And I think that's powerful and inspiring.

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Thirty-One HL MC Questions for October by @girl-named-matty✨

[chiseler]

Great Zilches of History

Film is light. There are times, though, when that light may take on a Stygian cast, burning with a flamme noire severity, a weird and otherworldly keenness. Or it may burn lurid and loud — especially if it’s a very old film, acting like a séance that summons the unruly dead. The darkness in cinema best typified by that form we call film noir is in its essence an extension of the peculiarly American darkness of Edgar Allan Poe.

Early, nitrate-based film stock, with its twinkling mineral core, gives Poe's crepuscular light its time to shine and thereby illuminate the world. No longer held in the solitary confinement of a page of reproduced text or an image, frozen, rendered in paint or ink. Poe's singularly tormented vision is finally written alchemically, in cinematographic rays beamed through silver salts; into moving images of such aggressive vitality as to blast every rational thing from one's mind. A Black & White image flipped into negative makes black fire, or black sunlight such as illumines Nosferatu’s Transylvanian forests, through which a box-like carriage rattles at Mack Sennett speed. But with the slightest underexposure, a little dupey degradation of the print, or even a little imagination (such collaboration is not discouraged), this liquid blackness will spread everywhere and anywhere, the most luminous pestilence known to creation.  Be it in the laughing nightmare of Fleischer cartoons of old (Out of the Inkwell, indeed) or John Alton’s vision of the night, we are left to wonder: is daylight burning out the corner of a building, or is it the blackness of the building which is eating into the sky? 

As with many such questions, film permits us no easy answer. We are simply to watch as the characters smudge. As their shadows pulsate and flicker, emanate out beyond themselves. But if Poe represents the loss of control over one’s existence and the ensuing panic, then cinema, consciously or not, takes existential dread as a given.

God, a vague and unseen deity, died at the moment cinema was born, replaced by a new celestial order. Saints and prophets made poor film characters, giving off the feeling of having stepped out of a stained glass window, flat, Day-Glo icons moving uncomfortably through three-dimensional space. Movies rather rejoiced in dirt and rags, texture and imperfection, so that the most lacklustre clown easily outperformed all the icon messiahs. At 45 minutes, Fernand Zecca’s The Life and Passion of Christ (1903) is one of the earliest feature films, but compared to the same filmmaker’s less ambitious, more playful shorts, it’s a beautiful snooze. A different execution climaxes his Story of a Crime (1901), in which we get to see, by brutal jump cut, a guillotine decapitation before our very eyes. This, as Maxim Gorky prophesied, is what the public wants. Or maybe the events of 1901, cinematic and otherwise, allow “the public” to define itself in ways heretofore unthinkable. The year brings Victoria Regina’s propitious death. And with her passing, Edgar Allan Poe’s pronunciamento on celebrity, “the ludicrous heightened into the grotesque," comes to new and anarchic fruition as an incendiary schnook, one of history’s finest.

When he shot President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo on September 6th, 1901, the currents of fear and vengeance unleashed by Leon Czolgosz would carry him on a journey from reflexive beatings at the hands of police and a post-Victorian mob – ladies in bustles shedding all restraint, transformed from well-honed symbols of middle-class decorum into yowling banshees, screaming “GIVE HIM TO US!” – straight to the electric chair, from whence his corpse would be taken for additional punishment, a process where ghoulish prison authorities at Auburn separated the head from the body, and then poured sulfuric acid on what remained, before secreting the sorry residue of America’s anarchist son into an unmarked grave.

Despite attempts to erase Czoglosz from history, a visual document survives, oozing with pathos and bitter recrimination. It is impossible, looking into those eyes, not to feel unnerved and, yes, sympathetic with him – his desperate act, after all, was as critical a part of America’s greed-engorged industrial fantasia as the near daily spectacle of peaceful strikers, his friends among them, being slaughtered in the name of profit. 

Cinema’s misspent childhood years in late-Victorian fairgrounds are followed by a grimy adolescence in Edwardian nickelodeon parlours. The medium, which finally comes of age amid gaudy palaces built in its honor, morphs many times. However, All Talking Pictures are the final death knell for the Victorian standard, belching from the screen a thousand inbred tongues that invade the ear willy-nilly. They remind us that when Queen Victoria breaths her last Naturalism sheds decorum, taste, breeding, good table manners.

Edgar Allan Poe essentially owns motion pictures via ongoing necrophilic obsession, since celluloid preserves the dead better than any embalming fluid. Like amber preserved holograms, they flit in and out of its parameters, reciting their own epitaphs in pantomime; revenant moths trapped in perpetual motion. Film is bona fide illumination — as opposed to religion’s metaphorical kind – representing the supremacy of alchemy and necromancy over sackcloth and ashes. The inmates, emboldened under the spell of Klieg lights, were not only running the asylum, but re-shaping the world in their own image.  Both Church and State with their blunt instruments of repression proved impotent against the anarchy of this freshly liberated ghetto.

Holy men were unceremoniously defrocked, their doctrine of abject compliance to class-based norms re-written into storylines enriched by grease-painted floozies, costumed villains, and snooty dowagers brought down a notch by the drunk hobo in her drawing room. Amidst widespread labour unrest and mass poverty, followed soon by the Great Depression, filmgoers of the silent era had a front row view of the plutocracy’s helplessness against a swelling tide of restless humanity. Charlie Chaplin’s itinerant laborer may have accidentally thwarted a plutocrat’s plan for world domination and/or a house renovation, just as Groucho Marx seemed to have spontaneously derailed a social climbing matron’s equally fierce ambitions.

All hail the magic mirrors! Celestial mandalas! Giant eggs and butterfly women! Segundo de Chomón’s The Red Spectre (1907) ruthlessly assaults our eyes with a wraith-magician dissolving through his coffin lid in a red, hand-tinted, flame-flickering hell. His presence, caped, skull-masked, was to herald a new thespic truth, that from this moment forward the art of acting would be reduced to how you respond to light, and how light responds to you. The Specter of Chomon’s dark bauble is in every element Poe’s Red Death — japing and performing tricks for us, his adoring fans and welcome guests, before announcing our doom — literary metaphor slammed against a literal backdrop of amber stalactites, pellucid as an ossuary.

That was a long time ago, in the first decades of the 20th century, before artifice and studios and the commercial paradigm of stardom finally swallowed cinema in one ravenous bite. It was a period when one could see, if one paid close attention, the dreariness of ordinary life at the centre and around the edges of every motion picture brought forth. It lived onscreen in film’s early days, exposing the pretense, however fitful, of opulence or period as simply that: pretense, a fundamental desire to escape reality. But this “escapism” had always been erroneously attributed to the audience’s needs, when in fact it was rather those bankrolling the nascent medium not yet sufficiently in control of itself to impose any order.

The censors were on to something, even if they could never fully articulate what precise blasphemies were being committed. 

Take Hitchcock’s Vertigo, for instance, which isn’t pure noir but is pure Poe: what would the surgical excision of an influence look like? Granted, the noir genre seems an unlikely Poe derivative, but what of Laura — fatalism, romance and necro-fantasy (with Lydecker as Usher)? DOA is the kind of concept Poe might have dreamed up; one of the great noir scribes, Cornell Woolrich is channeling Poe through an all-thumbs pulp sensibility. And how hard would it be to cast Val Lewton as the horror noir hybrid, with premature burials, ancestral disease, lunatics taking over bedlam? Jean Epstein, who adapted The Fall of the House of Usher in 1928, complained that Baudelaire’s translations fundamentally mistook Poe’s innocence for ghastliness. 

The dead in Poe, writes Epstein, are “only slightly dead.”  

To the extent that Epstein was correct, the whimsy that Poe bequeaths to cinema finds itself absorbed in almost material terms — not as sensibility but as a texture whose particular nap or weave is never granted names. In Mesmeric Revelations a voluntary subject is quite near physical death and under the ministrations of his mesmerist, answering precise questions about the nature of God. Before dying, he says God is “ultimate or unparticled” matter: “What men attempt to embody in the word ‘thought,’ is this matter in motion”. The same unnamable textures apparently survive on television, a case of Poe resonating inside our minds, a collective consciousness replaced by cathode rays. 

Deep within the 18 hours of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return, there is a moment that, on its incandescent surface, could have been lifted weightless from the great post-war dream of material deliverance; as if the zeitgeist of the mid 20th century had somehow got lost and ended up in this one: Daytime, the top on the convertible is down, the radio tuned, The Paris Sisters singing I Love How You Love Me as a reincarnated Laura Palmer lifts her face to a cloudless sky.  Within this tapestry of an early Phil Spector production — his trademark reverb eternally evocative of Romance and Death (two conditions Spector knows well) — the voice of Priscilla Paris could be a siren sound from the American Beyond, or a dream goddess lullaby from the whispering gallery, or sweet nothings from the crypt.  We don’t know.  We’ll never know.

In this oneiric echo chamber, Poe smiles down upon American blondness, muscle cars soaked in sunlight, candy for eye and ear; the terrible ecstasy of unending motion and immortality.

If Lynch’s Return means going back home, then home is that Lemon Popsicle/Strawberry Milkshake species of innocence proffered by America's music industry between 1957 and 1964. The horror genre always has to have some component of innocence to devastate, be it the existential kind which inspires the malevolence everyone paid the price of a ticket to have vicarious transit with; or the mere victimisation of the unsuspecting. Either way, there was no other period in American popular culture when innocence, of any variety, was so lavishly examined, toyed with, killed.  The free floating chord that opens The Everly Brothers song, All I Have To Do is Dream, remains a lamentation in sound: the sudden recrudescence of Poe’s beating, tell-tale heart.  Adoring such guilt-free teenage odes to sleep, death and sexual desire, David Lynch finds a muse in Amanda Seyfried. Specifically her visionary eyes melting Phil Spector’s dark edifice of sugar in a deathless, Sternbergian close-up — iridescent search lights, ever more urgently scanning the sky above, waiting for the sun to swallow her whole. We can only bear witness, and internalize this shimmering ingenue, this angel in a red convertible, trading places with Old Sol; as if whatever she just snorted has entered our system through hers.  But in that ephemeral instant she achieves oneness with all things; the transcendence of stardom — true, temporal stardom  — shorn of fame and the imperatives of show-business.

To this day David Lynch’s favorite film remains Otto e Mezzo, directed by Federico Fellini: Western Europe’s sorcerer of confectionary delights and unending motion; the man who put the “dolce” in La Dolce Vita. Fellini, he states, "manages to accomplish with film what mostly abstract painters do; namely, to communicate an emotion without ever saying or showing anything in a direct manner." Even if one were to take him at his word — and we must, of course, for no filmmaker has ever been known to misrepresent themselves to us — this seems a strange instance of gravitational pull, particularly in the light of the formal strategies of both men as they developed through time. Lynch has always favored a blunt pictorialism that, in its bluntness, borders on the language of Imagism: the studied simplicity of the language used to complex, powerful effect. Fellini, in 8 1/2 and throughout much of his career, by contrast, unleashes upon the viewer an insanely fluid, brutally precise camera ballet. Any good cinephile might be tempted to resolve the disparities and move toward a brighter, less subterranean comprehension. But, ultimately, such understanding would be a didactic burden no moviegoer needs. For here, in these conflicting dialects, you have a fleeting taste of ideologies swirled together like ribbon candy: a blur of four-wheeled luxury from the New World zooming past regional splendor into that fraternity of man: the socio-economic nirvana imagined by Karl Marx in the Old.

Careening from one via to another at harrowing, white-knuckle speed, Fellini was once heard to lament that “Some of the neo-realists seem to think that they cannot make a film unless they have a man in old clothes in front of the camera.” George Bluestone, recording these words for the pages of Film Culture in 1957, was sitting in the literal passenger seat of that ideal metaphor for post-war ebullience in action: expert, 20th century precision hurtling them through Roman streets with graffiti-scrawled churches proudly bearing the hammer and sickle; that famous Black Chevy skirting the Italian Scylla (the Vatican) and its equally dogmatic Charybdis (the Party). At that velocity, anything could make sense.

“Appearances aside" Bluestone wrote, "the Chevrolet is at every moment under Fellini’s control. He weaves in and out of traffic, misses pedestrians by inches, swerves away from Nomentana’s interminable monuments, dodging yellow traffic blinkers as if he were trying out a darkened slalom.” It is every bit a performance. Rome, after all, is the land of Bernini’s The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, Apollo and Daphne — marble-cum-flesh, even as flesh itself gives way to forms that leave the viewer in terrified awe. While reliving his own mythic, carbureted experience, Bluestone does some weaving of his own, quoting Genevieve Agel’s one-line pronunciamento (and, in the process, defining what would soon be labelled 'Felliniesque'), “Fellini is a visionary of the real”, as the passenger positions his driver somewhere between corporeal reality and ecstatic truth while the big man (no old clothes for this maestro) drives and drives. “As one hand lightly guides the wheel, the other gestures — it acts.”

Spirits of the Dead is one of those compendium films, with voguish directors (Malle, Vadim, Fellini) entrusted with bringing to the screen a Poe story each. Only the Fellini episode, Toby Dammit, is notable, but it's very notable, a hallucinatory yarn owing as much to Mario Bava's Kill, Baby, Kill! as to Poe's Never Bet the Devil Your Head, its ostensible source. The title character, played by Terence Stamp with white-blond hair and dark roots and constant beads of witch hazel perspiration, is in Rome to attend an awards ceremony and to play Christ in a western, but he's fatally distracted by his new sports car and a vision of the devil in the form of a little girl. Toby's ride through a hellscape of nocturnal Rome seems lifted from Jules Dassin’s 10.30 p.m. Summer (1966), but works even better for Fellini than it did in the Duras adaptation. An oppressively subjective film, Toby Dammit narrows down to the view in the Ferrari's headlights, a ghastly floodlit interzone where human forms are gradually replaced with mannequins and cut-outs, as the city becomes unreal, an elaborate movie set, an uncanny valley laid out for the staging of an epic stunt/snuff film.

Fellini and Lynch celebrate bodily extremes in intriguing if differing ways, which should, in our time, naturally gallop beyond the pale, but nevertheless become wholly, weirdly digestible. It is perhaps the innocent glee of these artists, their wonderment at the vast variety of shapes the human body can assume; an innocence which suspends toward erasure our awareness the way physical representation functions in the 21st century. Lynch presents the disabled as childlike, mysterious, magical beings without ever worrying about lending them agency (The Elephant Man’s John Merrick functions both as passive whipping boy and chic spectacle for the whole of Victorian London), or the mendacity of adult sophistication (the latest Twin Peaks iteration includes a pint-sized hitman who whines like a puppy when his icepick is broken). Is it any wonder Lynch evolved a style which placed them front and center in unmoving shots, without irony or pity? 

Poe, while certainly a pioneer of fake news, also had a way of vindicating the lumpen masses of humanity (to the middle-brow’s abiding chagrin).  

The Mystery of Marie Roget, a Parisian murder mystery, presented as a fictional sequel to The Murders in the Rue Morgue, was simultaneously trumpeted as a correct solution to the real-life murder of Mary Cecilia Rogers in New York. When a news article presented fresh evidence while the story was still being serialised, Poe made minor changes to the final instalment to keep his fiction in line with the facts.

He later published a story about an Atlantic crossing by balloon, accomplished in three days, in The New York Sun in 1844. "Signal Triumph of Mr. Monck Mason's Flying Machine!!!"  The piece was presented as truth, and only revealed as "The Great Balloon Hoax" a couple of days later. “The more intelligent believed," wrote Poe, "while the rabble, for the most part, rejected the whole with disdain.” He saw this as a new development: “20 years ago credulity was the characteristic trait of the mob, incredulity the distinctive feature of the philosophic.” 

What had changed? Perhaps the acceleration of scientific and social progress meant that the more literate and scientifically-minded had become inured to startling new developments, so the most surprising events now seemed credible. And since these same technological leaps were always presented as social benefits, the working class was growing skeptical, since they rarely saw any improvement in their condition.

by Daniel Riccuito, R.J. Lambert and David Cairns

Special thanks to Richard Chetwynd

[alyssa-ward]

Who We Once Were

Take a trip down memory lane, pull up the oldest ‘about’ post you can find for your character, and annotate what has changed and what has stayed the same in {Curly brackets}.

Originally posted: April 30th, 2018.

{Photo: Originally Alyssa’s likeness was Karen Gillan.  I still like a lot about this choice, but ultimately as art was done for Alyssa, and as her story grew, it became harder and harder to see her this way.  I originally liked the idea of the sort of innocent sweet looking with the darkness beneath.  These days her likeness is Laura Prepon who better fits her aesthetic.}

Race: Gilnean {Still a proud Gilnean, this remains a key part of her character.} Age:   25 {Aly has continued to age one RL year at a time, and is currently ‘27′.  That said several life decisions have prematurely aged years off her life, and who knows what her current existence is doing to her lifespan.} Height:  5′5″ {Still true.} Eye color:   Hazel {Still true.} Hair color:  Auburn {I tend to describe her hair as ‘fiery’ more often, and I think over time I have shifted towards describing it, and getting art of it, as more red than auburn implies.} Any scars?: Across left shoulder, on right thigh. {Neither of these stayed true.  She actually has scarring from bite and claws on the left side of her torso between hip and bust.  I think I just forgot about these almost immediately after writing them.}

Other Facts Date of Birth:  July 6th {Still true.  And coming up soon, looks like this birthday she’ll be a dagger.}

Favorites Favorite Color(s): Black, silver, gold. {I don’t think this is still true, I’d say her favourite colours are green, red, gold, and orange.} Favorite smell(s): Cinnamon, Hot Apple Cider {Not explored much but seems still true.  Probably add fireplaces to this list?} Favorite sound(s):  Piano, rain {Definitely still true.} Your muse’s favorite food?: Warm pastries, hearty stew {Alyssa is still a pastry slut.}

Personality Quirks Fear(s): Lack of acceptance by those she cares about {I don’t know what I would call her main fears these days.  I don’t think this is one of them anymore.  Losing herself to her magic, or to her curse maybe?} Likes: Esoteric artifacts, anything that’s a puzzle to figure out and understand.  Rain.  The Ocean.  {These are still true but I’d add books and magic research or something like that.} Dislikes: Forsaken, Teenagers {Still true.} What makes your muse cry?: The right Music.  Weddings.  Gilneas. {I don’t think weddings would make her cry anymore, I don’t think that’s really a part of her character at all.} What makes your muse happy?: The Ocean, setting foot somewhere it feels like no one has ever been. {I’d swap the setting foot thing to something about discovering some piece of knowledge few others seem to know.} What makes your muse laugh?:  Puns.  Her Brother. {Alyssa is not into puns.}

A little deeper Talent(s): Plays Piano, can bind and control demons, decent singing voice but embarassed to do it. {These are still true but the fact that she can play piano has always been pretty background and has basically never come up in play.  She’s probably forgotten a lot of it.} A wish they have always wanted: To have the whole of her family together again {Still true.} An item they hold dear to their heart: Her mother’s wedding band, retrieved from the ruins. {Still extremely true, this has held very fast through her character design in all the time I’ve played her.} Does your muse love his/her parents? Why or why not?:  She loved her Mother, she feels distant from and intimidated by her father. {Still mostly true.  I don’t think she’s intimidated by her father anymore, but she does still feel distant from him.  She treasures every memory of her mother.} Does your muse follow a religion? If so, what is it and what are their beliefs?: No real religious leanings. {Still true.  She certainly believed in the ‘existence’ of old gods, she swears with ‘gods’ or ’gods below’ a lot.  These days she knows better than ever, but it doesn’t make her a ‘believer’.} Has your muse ever killed/murdered somebody? Why did they do it and what was their motive?: Yes, both forsaken and feral worgen, which as far as she is concerned is the same as killing any sentient person. {Also so very many more since and often for not justified reasons.} Does your muse have a type when it comes to physical attraction?: Well spoken, well written, funny. {*eyes Kat Hawke* I’m not saying she isn’t these things, but they aren’t the way I would describe her.  Alyssa seems inclined towards dominant personalities, no bullshit people, and those who radiate competence.  Also these aren’t really physical traits...she likes people who are very fit, her height or taller, dark hair.} What does your muse find endearing personality wise?: Bad sense of humour, ability to laugh at ones self, liberal minded. {Not really true on the first two points, she does find humour endearing but not bad humour, and I don’t think the ability to laugh at ones self matters to her at all.  She likes people who are straight to the point and don’t dance around things too much.} What is the most stupid/illogical thing your muse has done and why did they do it?: Refused to leave the area of Gilneas after the fall, because she was too worried about how her father in Stormwind might receive her. {Still true.}

Tagging @kat-hawke​; @blue-eyedraven​; @the-real-arcanist-val​; @smokingveil​; @olivia-lovecraft​; @thalsianiii​; @fel-temptation​; @draenei-tales​

[artificialqueens]

Locked out of Heaven: Chapter One (Naomi x Valentina) ~ Goldingings

a/n: i was experimenting with pairings and originally wrote a oneshot, but why not write a fic as well? this fic will probably end up being a multi but it’ll mainly be Naomi x Valentina (Valomi?) anyways I hope y'all enjoy it!

story summary: in a world where you’re assigned a soulmate, Valentina begins to worry when she still hasn’t found hers at 23, but her life as she knew it got flipped when she moved to New York, discovering her soulmate was a certain supermodel in the making.

chapter summary: after an argument with one of her best friends, Valentina drags Shea off to New York instead in a search to find her soulmate, but is extremely surprised when an unfamiliar name becomes tattooed onto her wrist.

word count: ?

“trin come on! it’s not that crazy,” val begged her best friend as she was scrolling down her instagram feed. “you know how much this means to me,” she continued as trinity hadn’t even looked up, “You’ve said yourself you wanted to get out of here, and this is the perfect opportunity!” Trinity was trying her best to ignore Valentina, this has become a regular occurrence. “Ugh you don’t get it,” Val said getting up from her seat and walked to the other side of the room. Trinity finally put her phone down, to just to deal with her best friend. “What don’t I understand?” She asked as Val sighed. “I haven’t found my soulmate yet and I’m 23! Everyone else here seems to have found there’s and it’s not fair! You don’t know how badly I want this, I don’t want to die alone and I need to get out of those town, you’ve said yourself this place bores you-” Val rambled as Trinity interrupted. “I can’t just drop everything and leave though! I have my career, Manila, my other way friends here, you’re not the most important thing in my life, I want to leave, in my own time, with Manila, when it’s right.” Trinity raised her voice at Valentina, who was now just scowling. “Go Bug Shea about it, you know she’s more likely to say yes than I am,” trinity said picking her phone up again, and carried on scrolling through her social medias. “Fine!” Valentina huffed before picking up her bag and stomping to the door. “But if you don’t see me again, you know I’ll be in New York,” Valentina almost hissed as she slammed the door shut and pulled her phone out of her bag.

She stormed off to her car and got in it. At that moment she had never been more annoyed at Trinity, and she didn’t care how much she was acting like a brat, but truthfully she was becoming increasingly bored of LA, and she became increasingly worried of the possibility her soulmate wasn’t there. Being alone had been one of her biggest fears since she was a child, and she felt the longer she said, the more of a possibility her dreaded fears would come true.

As quickly as she could, she dialled Shea’s number and instantly put the phone on speaker as she began to start the engine. “Fucking pick up Shea,” Valentina whispered as the phone rang once, twice, then once again. At the 6th ring, Shea picked up and answered. “You ok girl-” Shea asked as Val cut her off. “I’m coming over to pick you up in an hour, regardless of your answer to what I’m about to ask,” Val huffed as Shea tried to form a sentence on the other side of the phone. “Wanna go to New York?” Val beamed as Shea audibly gasped. “Val we can’t just leave-” Shea remarked as Val groaned. “We can, and we’re going to, as one of my best friends you’re coming with me,” Val announced as Shea gave up trying to reason with her, she knew it was no use. “Well I guess I haven’t found my soulmate either,” Shea sighed as Val let out a quiet scream from her excitement. “I’ll see you in an hour,” Valentina exclaimed excitedly as she hung up on Shea.

Neither of them had anything to lose, which is why Valentina arguably preferred Shea at that moment. Shea usually thought things through but had always been a bit of a wild card, especially when it came to big decisions, so this would be no surprise to anyone. Shea was a few years older than Val, she was 25 and still hadn’t found her soulmate, which had worried her slightly but she had just accepted that she’d be alone. She had always loved traveling, so Valentina calling her deciding that they were moving to New York was arguably the thing she needed, but she would never admit that in front of her.

Valentina ran up from her car all the way to her apartment, she hadn’t planned this through, who was going to stay in her apartment when she was gone? when would she come back? if she even came back? Val didn’t know the answers to those questions and was too excited to even think about the logistical things with her plan. She grabbed the biggest suitcase she could find and started pilling up clothes and other belongings as quickly as she could, she didn’t think she’d ever been more excited for something in her life.

After a while she finished packing and zipped up her suitcase, she wasn’t taking a lot compared to what she would normally take, but she knew she wouldn’t fit anything else in her car, especially since she’s was joining her. She walked out of her bedroom door and into her living room one last time. She looked out of her window and out towards the skyline, it was possibly the last time she’d see that view. “Don’t worry Valentina, you’ll be ok,” she thought to herself as she picked up her keys and walked towards the door. She turned around and looked upon the apartment one last time, before leaving her home without looking back.

[pick-em-pool]

WEEK 2

Well a belated WELCOME to you lads and lasses out there for season FOUR of the NFL pick-em pool challenge! 👏👏👏👏👏 It's good to be back in the states where they play REAL football 🏈 None of those silly Europeans flopping around the 'pitch' any time their opponent touches them! 🐟 This year we've got $385 on the line for the most DARING, the BRIGHTEST, the CUTEST (<-This only applies to Gabby) and the WINNINGEST players out there 🤑🤑🤑 So without any further ado, lets. get. ready. to. rumble. 🥊🥊🥊

LISA - 27 POINTS

OK she eatin'. OK... she eatin'.... OK... She ate the whole meal and the plate 🍽 Lisa comes out the gates on fire 🔥 with the first ever PERFECT WEEK. 16 options, 16 correct picks. The odds of that happening off of random guesses is 0.0001% 😰 Please Lisa, I'm begging you, get on a flight to Vegas right now ✈ And remember after you hit the jackpot that your most handsome, intelligent, dashing son does take tips for his commissioner work 🙏

VAL - 22 POINTS

Val has already hit the boosters in week 2 🚀 scoring back-to-back ELEVENs 🌟🤩 She's sprinting out to second place, the best she's EVER DONE. Val has never heard the phrase "It's the journey, not the destination". 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ Except for in her marathon training 😬 where's she's currently pacing somewhere between a corgi and a wiener dog 🤷‍♀️ Hey, she's in better running shape than me!

ABBY - 20 POINTS

Alright people what's with all the girls taking up space in the top 3? 😒 Can one of the boys (That's right, I'm revoking the title of MEN for now) PLEASE step it up? Abby has managed to pick 20 correct teams, outscoring all the guys, immediately after sending me this very well edited and thoughtful series of texts:

JULIETTE - 19 POINTS

Well, well, well, it seems everyone's favorite freestyler has caught the eye of some universities! I'm not biased or anything, but she may want to consider VILLANOVA:

V - Very good business school

I - I think it rocks!

L - Lots of fun to be had!

L - Lunch at any time!

A - A!

N - No bedtimes!

O - Oh my what a good school!

V - What starts with V?

A - Amazing!

PEYTON - 19 POINTS

Alright, finally one of the guys pops up on the score chart 💪 as Peyton grabs 5th place two weeks into the season. Our Tall, Dark Pale, and Handsome player is probably the only thing keeping Val from scoring as much a Lisa this week: Distracting opponents by wearing those tight baseball pants, good move! ⚾🧢

GABBY - 18 POINTS

The DEFENDING CHAMP IS OUT HERE DOING pretty mid actually 😐 as Gabby settles into 6th place with 18 points. Will she be able to regain her mojo once we're in Philly? I'm guessing her football picking skills must be packed away in one her 43 clothing boxes 📦

RUSTY & JJ - 17 POINTS

The Boyz in the Back are picking up right were they left off with a follow-up to last years debut album: "The Caboose is Loose". This time featuring their sophomore effort: "Dadz in Da Bottom". Will these two have what it takes to get out of the basement this year?! Only time will tell ⏰

JANIE - 16 POINTS

Say WHAT now? the 2-time champion is bringing up the rear??? 🚂🚂🚂 Look, I know it's only week two but color me surprised! I feel like the Asian father after his kid gets an A-Minus on their test: DISSAPOINTED 💢

Alrighty folks it's GREAT to be back into football season 🏈🏈🏈 I'm looking forward to another fun year with y'all 😁 but don't you forget for ONE second the real reason we're all here - THE MONEY 🤑🤑🤑 See y'all next time!

[jacklyn-flynn]

ThisCharacter interview #2 - Preia Trevelyan

Hi everyone! I was tagged by @sarenkascrawls to do this character interview. It looked like so much fun I couldn't decide who to do it with so I'm doing it for all three of my WIP main characters. This one is the second one and it features Preia Trevelyan though Bull is the one answering the questions in her stead.

-----

So, you want to know more about the Inquisitor but she’s too busy. Interesting that you’re coming to me. All of the young noble ladies will love reading the words of the hulking Qunari who is lover to the Inquisitor. I’ll give, provided I’m not asked to break her trust. This'll be fun.

Name

Lady Preia Trevelyan. She’s got three more in the middle but she doesn’t like them. No, I’m not telling you what they are so don’t ask.

Is she single?

Nope. She’s got a pretty exclusive thing going on.

Is she happy? 

I think so. She hides it behind sarcasm and wit, but I think in general she’s pretty happy. As happy as someone with a glowing green hand who is responsible for saving the world can be. Ya know?

Is she angry? 

Also a yes. You’d think this would be mutually exclusive of my last answer, but it isn’t. She’s pretty happy now. She spent a lot of years being angry and for good reason. She’s working on it now, but that kind of thing follows you for a long time.

Are her parents still married? 

They are. Preia says that they would rather die than suffer the scandal a separation would cause. Honestly, I think she’s not exaggerating.

Birth place

Ostwick in the Free Marches.

Hair color

Dark brown with a little red. Like an old, red wine stained oak barrel.

Eye color

A greyish-blue. They’re quite striking with her dark hair.

Birthday

The 6th day of Justinian. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know that I know that.

Mood

There are a lot of questions about moods. We’ve covered this enough.

Gender

All woman.

Summer or winter

Summer. She hates being cold. Sometimes she makes me wear a coat in the winter because the sight of me bare-chested makes her cold.

Morning or afternoon

Afternoon. She’s most productive after a good lunch.

Is she in love?

I don’t actually know the answer to that question. To be fair, I wouldn’t tell you if I did.

Does she believe in love at first sight?

She’s a real pragmatist. Love, yes. At first sight, nah.

Who ended her last relationship?

Not going there. 

Has she ever broken someone's heart?

I would imagine she’s broken one or two along the way.

Is she afraid of commitments?

No, but she’ll tell you they’re afraid of her.

Has she hugged someone in the last week?

I would be surprised if she hasn’t.

Has she ever had a secret admirer?

Most definitely. I know of three off the top of my head

Has she ever broken her own heart?

I’m not talking about that either. Getting a little heavy and specific. Remember that trust thing I mentioned?

Love or lust?

One of the things I love about her is her-ahem-enthusiasm for pleasure of the flesh. She doesn’t hide it. Love is harder for her.

Lemonade or iced tea?

Iced tea. Lemons are frivolous and her mother always had them on hand but rarely used them. She abhors waste when people go hungry.. 

Cats or dogs?

Cats. She likes their ‘don’t-give-a-shit’ attitude. 

A few best friends or many regular friends?

Priea has two settings. Family, or acquaintance. 

Wild night out or romantic night in?

Wild night for sure. Sometimes she even takes me along.

Day or night?

You Orlesian journalists. Gotta ask everything five different ways. Nights, for the same reasons as afternoons.

Has she been caught sneaking out?

Not in a long time.

Fallen down or up the stairs?

Not that she’s told me about. I’d imagine she’d keep that to herself.

Wanted someone or something so badly it hurt?

Yeah. She wanted quite badly to not do this interview.

Wanted to disappear?

Watch it. You’re prying again.

Smile or eyes

Eyes. She thinks they’re more honest.

Shorter or taller?

She’s pretty tall herself and took a lot of crap for it as a young adult. As a result, she likes surrounding herself with people that are taller than her it doesn’t stick out as much.

Intelligence or attraction

Heh, Intelligence.

Hook up or relationship?

Hook up. Commitment, remember?

Does she and her family get along?

The long and short answer is; no.

Would you say she has a messed up life?

Would she be more popular in Orlais if she did?

Has she ever run away from home?

Twice. Remember how you asked about being caught sneaking out. That was the first time. She didn’t get caught the second time.

Has ever been kicked out?

No, she ran away first.

Does she secretly hate one of her friends?

Priea doesn’t secretly hate anyone. You’ll know.

Does she consider all of her friends good friends?

You can’t help but repeat yourself. You like listening to yourself talk, don’t you? I know your type.

Who is her best friend?

Dorian Pavus. They’re soulmates. Not in the romantic sense though. There’s one little thing that prevented that.

Who knows everything about her?

I don’t think any one person knows her. Leliana probably knows the most about her ‘missing’ years, Josephine about her family life, Dorian and I about everything else. She’s pretty tight-lipped about her past to most people and if you go looking, I will be visiting you in Val Royeaux. I’ll be bringing friends.