#want to make the second repeat of this verse with 6 other characters but also my wrist hurts cdsjkcdbk

[forbiddentaako]

now ft. charlie and lucifer

[autisticempathydaemon]

Have never done anything like this before but I wanted to participate because why not!

Hope I'm doing this right- this is for the RedactedAudio Match-up :)

1 - Ok so I have 2 song fixations, first one is "Used to the Darkness" by Des Rocs and the other is "Morning Coffee" by Chevy and Nalba

For Used to the Darkness the specific verse is the chorus, it's a bit long for tumblr but I'll give my reasoning. I've always loved this kind of rock because it reminds me of the 90s rebellion kind of era and this verse strikes me as 'society has forced me down by its standards and is leaving me in the dust because I've "made a mistake", but I'm going to fight because my life hasn't started yet and I'm too young to simply give up'. Every time I hear that chorus it gives me a second wind of sorts and reminds me to just keep going, to keep being stubborn and to keep being me unapologetically.

For Morning Coffee there is no specific line because I resonate with the whole song lol. I'm a very big coffee addict, like I need coffee or tea every day to make it feel right. The reason being is that it's a small comfort treat to help me feel better especially when some days just aren't the best and I need a pick me up to feel better, even if it's a little bit. I listen to this every morning on my commute and every afternoon on the way back home, it's such a big comfort song that I keep on repeat.

2 - 6! (subtype sp) 3 - I love a good video essay! My favourite ones are a bit niche but I especially love SovietWomble's essay about "The Forest" because it's a deep dive critique and explanation of what happens when lore is added to a game post-release and why it's so important to develop it as a whole rather than doing it in bits as it can be the difference of an amazing or completely underwhelming experience. As someone who writes for fun and loves to play games soley for the lore sometimes, I found it useful to develop and hone my skills in world-building and making my stories more coherent. Also because he did a face reveal at the end BUT THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT!

4 - Gosh I haven't talked about my imaginary friend in a bit, her face evades me but I remember she would always help me sleep or play with me when no one else did (so everyday basically). She always wore a yellow dress and had her hair up in pigtails. I never gave her a name because she never needed one, I just called her 'friend', I miss her

5 - Put on a redacted audio vid and fall asleep to that lmfao (usually a david vid)

6 - I honestly don't know what I'd change my name to, sometimes I just wish I didn't really have a name because my self identity fluctuates so much

7 - Favourite redacted audio, hm, tbh any of David's audios. I find myself always returning to one of his videos but I think I like his camping one the most, I cry every time but hearing the stories makes my heart so full and like I genuinely want to comfort him.

8 - Huxley maybe? I love his pairing with Damien but I've never really liked or gotten into his story much, might just be a me thing- but hey he's gay so that's fun

9 - RWBY! Specifically volumes 1-3 because they're so iconic, love the entire series though, I quote it a lot to myself.

10 - Guy, he's as much as a dumbass and gremlin as I am and I THRIVE off of the chaotic energy so much. Plus he can make me pizza while we hang out so that's fun!

11 - Memes, I will start quoting memes. Either that or "Which character would win in xyz situation? A or B?" 12 - 7-11 hot chocolate but instead of milk I put a latte in it

13 - Karu's "How To Train Your Dragon" orchestra cover playlist 14 - smutty audios... idk I just find it fun to scour for a good audio on reddit lmfao

15 - I'm very argumentative and will debate anyone on any topic (I've been a debater for years), but I'm also very much a people pleaser because I like to give people gifts and do acts of service. Uh- does a plushie addiction count as something that'll tell you who I am? I like dnd and Critical Role

Thank you!

Ooh, I love you; you gave me so much information to work with! There were a good amount of possibilities I was working with, but if you’re an argumentative Six, who else can I pair you with but Avior?

You’re both similar in a lot of ways- a love of debate, prone to Acts of Service, Type Sixes who are loyal, thoughtful, and reliable. It’s these similarities but also the differences that make me think you’d be compatible. Avior and his sarcastic, sharp nature would be good at keeping your people-pleasing chaos in check. Your love of storytelling and narratives would be new and so refreshing to him as he’s never put so much thought into fantasy and fiction. He learns to accept your gifts graciously because he wants you to be happy even though he’s not used to it.

Your life together would be so fun; you’d make his life so fun. Avior does not understand your plushie collection, but he tolerates it and comes to terms with their watching eyes every day because he loves you. He also doesn’t understand any of your memes either; he pretends he thinks they’re insipid and pointless, but he actually thinks they and you are cute and silly when you quote them. Also, you’re totally coffee/tea addicts together, and you’ve got the best stocked caffeine cupboards in all of Dahlia.

Song:

Just tea for two and two for tea/ Me for you and you for me alone/ Nobody near us/ To see us or hear us/ No friends or relations/ On weekend vacations/ We won't have it known, dear/ That we own a telephone (oh, I hate telephones) (yeah, me too)

I couldn’t help it; you gave me a coffee song, so I had to give you a tea song in return! I also like it for you, because it’s cute, it’s sweet, it’s singable. It’s not just about tea but love and being together, having tea side by side for the rest of your lives. It’s the kind of song you could sing at Avior, and he’d have to try really hard to not be charmed.

Runner-Ups:

If you’re a DnD fan, I’ve got to give you Lasko as a runner-up; my brain would not allow otherwise! The two of you could write together and be so cute. Asher is your other contender because you’re similar in a lot of ways that would be really fun but more in a platonic, best friend way than romantic like Avior.

note: thank you so much for waiting~! I hope you like your match-up!

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[sordayciega]

Alright

First and foremost, THE ART STYLE. Every single damn scene was BURSTING with flavor and my little artistic brain was being fed gourmet level fine cuisine. I especially loved the scenes with Gwen and her Dad, him finding out when she pulled off her mask, you see him go from red to blue to black and you feel his grief and confusion. The colors, the line art, the angles, the animation, (all the other terms for movie stuff that I don’t know bc I’m dumb) just looked sooo gooodddd. The art style opened the door for so much expression with emotion! That aspect is visible in literally every single scene it’s delicious. I also really loved the use of music whether it guided an entire scene or whether it was in the background.

Movies like into the spiderverse, puss and boots the last wish, and across the spiderverse truly use all the space and time they are given to move you along with the story line. The action scenes from The Last Wish and both Spider-verse movies is only paralleled by iconic anime action scenes (in my opinión~). It’s nuts that in other movies from the same studio like Strange World (OOF) and Turning Red (not the best imo) (and I’m not excited for Ruby Gilman Teenage Kraken :/) I felt like i was being dragged through an awkward hell of plastic stupidity.

It’s flat, predictable, and boring. Maybe TikTok and the internet have just shot my attention span (probably) but the Golden Age of animation that brought Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Princess and the Frog, and other stuff like The Sword in the Stone and Jungle Book are so beautiful! Their animation isn’t like Across the Spiderverse, it’s slower, more traditional, and soft, but it’s just aesthetically pleasing art and style.

I personally dislike the “New Generation” animation style so much I can genuinely barely watch anything new disney/Pixar maybe I’m just a hateful picky bitch idk

Pair the irritating art style with unrealistic dialogue, awkward jokes, and frustrating plot points? I’m in the middle of the road waiting for an 18 wheeler to hit me and I’ve only ever seen the movie’s trailer. I refused to watch Turning Red I hate it I hate it I hate it I-

I was able to sit through Luca and Encanto and they were alright. Bruno was villain material and the fact that Abuela was forgiven so quickly made absolutely no sense. Bruno was forced to live in Casita’s walls for years bro. YEARS. And then they just hugged at the end?? WHERE IS THE BLOOD? WHERE IS THE DEATH? WHERE IS THE MELODRAMATIC VILLAIN SONG? WHERE IS THE CINEMATOGRAPHY? WHTA THE FUCK

Anyway. Across the Spiderverse had amazing dialogue. The jokes were FUNNY and WELL TIMED. They were perfectly inserted, even in the more serious moments like when Miguel’s little station pad was descending comically slow, when Lyla wanted Miguel to repeat himself when he needed back up, etc

It was realistic and super enjoyable. I actually laughed multiple times and it was GREAT.

Ugh character design? Don’t get me started. I noticed the diversity that was plugged in from the beginning, the men playing basketball in wheelchairs, Pavitr Prabhakar, the Spider-Woman in the spider wheelchair who chased Miles for a bit, Cyborg Spider-Woman, Pter Ptarker the T-Rex Spider-Man (my personal favorite lmao) Malala Windsor, etc. And they didn’t make it weird. They weren’t tokens, they were there as people, fully fleshed out people with personalities, depth, and lives. I saw that in pretty much everyone. In the little things, how they walked, talked, were present in scenes where they weren’t the main characters. The attention to detail for every single little thing in this movie is astounding.

For the character design of only Malala Windsor, the designer Kris Anka spent two whole months researching how different women wore hijabs and other head coverings during sports and consulted his Muslimah friends on the most accurate ways to design characters (according to Into the Spider-Verse wiki page). And we only saw Windsor for literally 6 seconds max on screen. The amount of care that went into a tiny character in a movie is just so admirable. The creators of this movie researched and they cared. The hijab wasn’t necessary, it would of been easier to not research, to not include, to not care. BUT THEY DID CARE. And it shows.

The pacing of the movie: fabulous. It was interesting to me how they simultaneously explored like 20 different situations all at the same time but maintained a feeling of organization and purpose. All scenes shown were there for a reason and acted as a tiny piece of a huge mosaic. Across the Spider-verse isn’t a stand alone movie, but the connector piece between Into the Spider-verse and the eventual 3rd movie of the series.

And finally, possibly the most important part, Miguel O’Hara is hot as fuck. Impressively so. Distractingly so. Beautifully so.

Fuckin hell I’m going to see across the spiderverse TOMORROW and I have to abstain from looking at your sexy hot art of it bc I don’t want spoilers 🥹🥹🥹 wtf 🥹🥹

But I’m also excited bc after I see it I can see your sexy hot art of it so 👀���

As soon as you leave the theater I want a full 10 page essay about how this movie changed you as a person due on my desk by Sunday

[aquil-writes]

WIP Song Tag

I finally did the Thing @hbxplain and @vsnotresponding! Thanks for the tags!

This was unbelievably hard. It's been too long since I was in the pro. 6 headspace and I had to dig up a lot of playlists but it happened.

Bambi by Hippo Campus

I’d throw a line here but it’s just the whole song. This song inspired Ryker’s character development more than I’d like to admit lol. But at the heart of it, of all of the characters in pro. 6, Ryker has the most power. He’s the best at his magic, the best in weaponless combat, the best at surviving, traveling, getting along with people. The last thing he wants to do, really, is fight, but that’s all he seems to end up doing.

2. Tiny umbrella by Coast Modern

If I’m holding on too tightly / I might never come back

I know it’s not your fault /  but it’s never not something with you

This one’s for Ryker again. He goes through something of a villain arc during the story, and gets more power than he really knows what to do with. This song is his bonafide Villain Era™

(and the second line, about blaming someone else, is about him blaming the antagonist as much as the other MC, Maple)

3. Going Down- Coast Modern

No, not today I won’t be brought down / I didn’t come this far just to lose you now

Maple spends a lot of the story fighting for her place in it. She doesn’t have magic like her friends, she’s not a trained fighter, and damningly she's not very knowledgable about magic. But she cares about her goal and the people who’ve supported her until now- especially Ryker, who’s now fully in the clutches of the enemy.

4. Sky is A Bed- the Humble Cheaters

The sky is a bed for my sleep / And I don’t care

Maple and Ryker go through so much! There’s so much danger, and responsibility, and failure, and at the end of the day they could have it all– but power isn’t what they’re about.

And I like this song in particular a lot, because a lot of lines in it could apply to a bunch of different parts/ characters in the story, the first line is just what hits me the hardest. Some others:

And don’t you know / that I’m only trying to make it home

Ryker spends a lot of the story homesick. His whole motivation for ever starting his journey was to find a way to undo his exile and get home again.

Call it what you want / I will not judge / anything you say / I’m too far gone / to pretend to care

This verse is for Kalis, the antagonist. He’s a focused man and makes it clear that he’ll succeed no matter the cost; but this line also fits Ryker, for Villain Arc reasons.

5. Lake by JANEE

This one’s not pro. 6, but the main song that inspired my oldest forever WIP, project 2. The anniversary for this one is coming up soon (december 26th) so I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately :) 

I’m not sure why this song specifically, but something about the fantasy vibes it gives off was enough fuel for me to listen to it on repeat for like 4 hours as I typed like 10+ solid pages of it. Still a proud moment.

and I don't have a real taglist yet but tagging @writingsbyelle for the project 6 lore!

[heyaeolus]

Hii, are you taking request? If it's not bothersome, that haikyuu as a parent was adorable XD and I would like to request something similar. How about Haikyuu as dads embarrassing their daughter/son, (maybe Kuroo, Bokuto, Oikawa and Atsumu) who would most likely do this 😂

HQ boys being embarrassing fathers

The length is pretty inconsistent depending on what situation I thought out for the character. I personally think I’m not that good with jokes he he he...

I HOPE U LIKE IT OMG

AND YES I TAKE IN REQUESTSSSS

Bokuto

We all know he is loud and we don’t even have to say it

You were usually the one who drives your daughter to school but today, you end up waking up late because a certain someone decided that you needed the extra sleep (yes he’s sweet but you have a meeting with the executives)

So you’ve now got two wonderful girls with Koutarou, they’re now 6 and 12 years old

“Koutarou don’t do anything weird, okay.” That was a fair warning for him but it goes right off his ear as soon as he zooms off because hE GETS TO DRIVE HIS PRINCESSES TO SCHOOL

Your youngest was the first he dropped off. He sent him off with a big smooch and an “I love you, little owl!�� Your youngest shouted back an “I love you too!” to his daddy with a big grin before running off to her classroom.

The challenge came when he dropped off your eldest. Being in her school, your daughter doesn’t want everyone to see how much of a daddy’s girl she is so when Koutarou leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, she dodged

In a second, Koutarou’s hair deflated. Your daughter tried to reason, “Dad, not here. It’s my school!”

“Do you not love me anymore, baby owl? Have you found another guy to replace daddy?

“DAD, NO. You’re overreacting.”

“No, baby owl. You should kiss daddy when he wants one!” then he tries and leans in again but this time your daughter gets off the car and shuts the door on her father’s face leaving Koutarou to his despair

But alas, there’s a solution to it! Koutarou rolls down the window of his car and pops his head out and shouts “I LOVE YOU BABY OWL! HONEY BUNCH! MY SWEET LITTLE PUMPKIN!”

Your daughter is good as dead right then as the children around stared at her father, chuckling. Others even taking a video of what was happening. Your poor daughter is as red as a tomato as she bolted further into her school grounds.

“DADDY WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU EVEN IF YOU DON’T LOVE HIM BACK”

“Mom, save me.”

The video of that incident instantly graced the internet, going viral in under 24 hours. It was safe to say Koutarou is not allowed to drive your daughters to school again. But he’s happy he got his kiss from his eldest now.

 Oikawa

Another dude here that is sweet with his daughter. Literally pours his heart to his sweet little angel and gives her everything.

Sometimes, you fade into the background with these two.

One Saturday, your daughter came with company. To your horror, it was a guy named Hiro. Although decent looking, you don’t like the fact that she is engaging in romance as early as her age.

But Tooru thinks otherwise, “Oh? My sweet little angel has inherited my charm!”

Your daughter blushes at her father’s comment and pulls her company into the backyard. Settling on the bench swing in there.

It was fine and everything’s going good with him and her company until Tooru’s voice rang from inside.

“Y/D/N-chan and Hiro-kun sitting on a tree~ K I S S I N G ~”

Your daughter turned and found his dad cruelly comfortable leaning on the ledge of the window overseeing the backyard, toying with a rose that she recognized were the ones you bought to put in the vase at the living room

As if once is not enough, Tooru repeated the verse again. Your daughter felt like bURSTING

She put her face into her palms, furiously blushing. She turned to Hiro who is now awkwardly laughing at the sight of your husband. She tells him, “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry for the existence of my father. Don’t mind his presence.”

“OuCH! Y/N-chan! Why’d you do that?! I was only entertaining our visitor! Come here watch them with me.”

 Sawamura

HA you bet Daichi is the model father but yes, you are partially right. He’s pretty tight with some things but is still sweet. But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t got some pretty embarrassing moments

You guys are in the mall for the weekend, shopping for new clothes as winter is approaching. You were separated from them when you followed a saleslady to find your size of the shoes you wanted

Your daughter was on her phone while her dad stood by her, shopping bags in his hands. He peeked into her phone a few times, finding her chatting with a guy. When she giggled to herself, it was peak protective father mode for Daichi “Sweetie, who are you talking to?”

“Oh. Just a friend, dad.”

Daichi scoffed to himself, skeptically glaring at the back of his daughter’s head. Thinking, “How could you lie to me, sweetie?”

Moments after, the father and daughter pair turned their heads to a guy’s voice calling out your daughter’s name. Daichi grew rigid as soon as he saw the boy

The boy, completely oblivious of Daichi’s mood, ran up to your daughter with arms spread. It was to Daichi’s horror that his daughter came into the guy’s arms and hugged him back. Daichi let them exchange a few words after but his aura is just hard to shake off with him staring hard at the guy. He soon bids goodbye, bowing at Daichi

But before he could go farther, Daichi talks to your daughter, rather LOUDLY.

“SWEETIE, I DON’T WANT YOU HUGGING RANDOM PEOPLE NEXT TIME” People around were already staring at them as Daichi continues his rant with a straight face

“Dad, geez, he’s a friend!”

“NEXT TIME YOU DO THAT THAT PERSON WILL MEET MY WRATH”

The next time your daughter had that friend over at your house along with some others, he was weirdly sweating and keeping very little space for himself

“Are you okay?” you asked the boy

“Ah, yes. Thank you, Mrs. Sawamura.”

Daichi smiled to himself while your daughter shook her head at the side in pure embarrassment

 Atsumu

Atsumu has a big internet fanbase. He also keeps all his accounts active, especially his twitter. Your son blocked him in almost every platform with the exception of Instagram and Facebook for formality.

Atsumu is, rather, a supportive father to your son.

Example number one: once, your son posted a sad quote in Facebook and Atsumu commented with “Let’s have a boys’ talk later, buddy” your son deleted the post

When Atsumu came home that night he went straight to your son’s room knocking at his door. Your son was quick to reject his father, “NO DAD. THANK YOU BUT NO.”

The next one was when your son advertised Osamu’s onigiris with a picturesque post over at IG and the piss-haired twin didn’t think before he commented, “I can make better onigiris than Samu, buddy.”

You came home that night with about two days’ worth of rice on the kitchen and Atsumu wildly rapping at your son’s door. “YOU HAVE TO TASTE THIS BUDDY THIS IS BETTER”

[zukkaoru]

shhh i’m not on my phone at work got a second wHAT

35:) ramble to me, babe

35. ramble about any fic-related thing you want

corey this is so vague i don't even know where to begin skjgdfhdj uhhhhh what do i want to ramble about,,

WAIT OKAY I GOT IT

okay so back in like. february i think i did another ask game like this and someone (jo?? maybe???) sent an ask about meta/foreshadowing/hidden references for this ultraviolet morning light and at the time, only the first two(?) chapters were out so i couldn't talk about the foreshadowing, bc it was all leading up to the end of chapter six. but i can talk about it now bc the whole fic is up!!

i'll put it under the cut bc i know it'll be long + spoilers for those who haven't yet read tuvml

fic writer ask game

okay so first. all of the foreshadowing for the drowning scene. maybe i did already have a list of these in my google docs in case anyone every asked, maybe not, i won't say

anyway. i added in water/drowning imagery with zuko specifically in this fic, because of the drowning scene, and especially bc in the atla world, water imagery would generally be used with characters from the water tribes rather than someone from the fire nation. so it wasn't just me liking water-related words and shoving them onto zuko for no reason; it was intentional

chapter one:

- He really can’t think of anything more beautiful than Zuko drenched in moonlight - This is what fire feels like when doused with water. - It burns like fire consuming Sokka’s entire body, like he’s been dunked underwater and the surface has frozen over and his lungs are about to give out, but he’s going to keep hitting the ice anyways like he’s strong enough to break it.

chapter two:

- It washes over his body all at once, like a wave pulling him under the surface of the ocean, until his limbs are numb and tingly and his head sways. He’s completely frozen in place, eyes staring straight ahead but not really seeing anything. - He would’ve rather stood across from Azula in the Agni Kai arena and let her shoot him full of lightning, rather been dropped in the middle of the ocean

chapter three:

- Zuko searches the tumultuous ocean that is his mind for the right words - Zuko was telling them about Azula never quite getting the knack for swimming despite their annual vacations to Ember Island when they were little, and Sokka was so happy.

chapter four:

So he lets the words sink, lets them drown in the knowledge that he no longer has the right to talk to Sokka in the same way he used to.

chapter five:

The moonlight pours over him, drowning him in a soft white glow.

chapter six:

But…my doctors have told me that spending the rest of your life letting yourself drown in guilt isn’t going to help anyone.

also, people picked up on vai being a double agent, but no one picked up on the fact that she was a waterbender, even though i did hint at that too:

- Her brown skin is almost as dark as Sokka’s and her face and arms are covered in freckles. - It reminds Sokka of himself a little; the bright blue eyes of a waterbender but no bending ability to speak of. - How can you get better than a play with dragons, a star-crossed love affair, sun and moon symbolism, and a villain who has a secret past that ties them to the protagonist?

beyond that, there are also a lot of parallels/call backs to previous chapters/foreshadowing to future scenes just in general. the funniest one (and also completely unintentional one) is probably sokka and katara calling each other their least favorite [sibling]

“You’re my least favorite sister,” // You are, and I say this from the bottom of my heart, my least favorite brother ever. chapter 1 // epilogue

but there are. several more. and i'm not sure how many of them people picked up on so i will add them all bc i love them <3

Zuko would get himself arrested, kidnapped, killed, whatever if it would keep Sokka safe. // “I would give my life for [Zuko] without a second thought.” … “But would he do the same for you?” chapter 4 // chapter 6

When Sokka’s hand began to retreat, Zuko had reached forward, grabbed it, and whispered, “Please stay.” // “Don’t leave me.” Sokka says it like a prayer … like he would repeat it until he couldn’t remember anything else if it meant Zuko would keep holding him. “Just… stay.” chapter 5 // chapter 7

So they sit - Sokka and Zuko - on the roof of some abandoned building in the outskirts of the city. // “But now I’m pretty sure we’re just destined to be Sokka and Zuko” chapter 5 // chapter 7

“I just don’t think he’s trustworthy enough for this. … when he proves that he isn’t as reliable as you think - when he proves that he’s only ever going to let you down - I’m going to say I told you so.” // “Zuko is kind, and he is trustworthy and reliable. He’d never purposefully let me down” chapter 3 // chapter 6

this ^ was one i was hoping people would pick up on bc it makes the drowning scene/sokka pleading for vai to not hurt zuko that much angstier, but i'm not sure anyone did so now i'm putting those lines right next to each other so you're all forced to confront the pain <3

Is he still in love with Zuko? Is being in love enough? // But what good is any of that? Love isn’t always enough. // “It doesn’t matter who or where feels like home, it doesn’t matter if we’re in love. When you’re next in line for the throne, love isn’t enough.” chapter 3 // chapter 4 // chapter 6

Zuko warms his other hand on instinct, and apparently it was a good call because Sokka squeezes it tighter and presses closer to Zuko. “I forgot my mittens at home,” // I love you doesn’t always take the shape of those three words. … Sometimes, it’s Have you eaten today? or Don’t forget your mittens again! chapter 1 // chapter 6

this ^ is also one i thought people might pick up on but idk if anyone did or not. but it made me🥺🥺 when i wrote it

[religion tw for the last part]

okay i could leave it there but corey gave me an excuse to ramble and i've made the post this long anyways so one more thing! i explained this to corey a while ago when we were having dinner together but i find it very funny so i'm sharing it with all of you i say like anyone has actually read this far

i accidentally made zuko a Christ Figure in tuvml

"but grace, surely that's not possible," you say. "surely there's no way zuko is a christ figure! there aren't any christian themes in tuvml. you didn't even have anyone try to convince vai to forgive zuko or have anyone convince zuko and sokka that they should forgive vai! how could you have a christ figure in your fic???"

let me set the scene. it's 2019, you're a senior in high school, and you decided to take ap literature for the possibility of college credit. your teacher has this book called how to read literature like a professor that he has his classes read chapters from, and one of those chapters talks about Christ Figures in literature. one of those chapters also talks about baptism symbolism, and mentions how oftentimes, characters who are christ figures will go through a baptism of some sort - being "born again" after a scene where they come out of the water

do you want to know what zuko does in this ultraviolet morning light?

he goes into the water. and then he comes back out.

and do you want to know what i had sokka say about zuko shortly before he took a dive into the baptistry water?

Zuko looks away from him, resigned, like he’s ready to die as atonement.

see. i grew up Christian, i went to church every sunday and i have spent the majority of my life memorizing Bible verses either for awana or bible quizzing and. sometimes i just drop biblical words into my writing sometimes bc they're words i've heard since i was a kid, and they're words i learned make you sound smarter at church. so of course i throw them around while writing. i use them in essays, i use them in poetry, and i use them in fan fiction.

so was i trying to make zuko a christ figure in my fic? absolutely not.

but i had sokka say he looked ready to die as atonement (for the sins of his people), and then i had him go into the water, nearly die, and have to be "brought back to life" by suki's cpr, being "born again" after a "baptism" and

well

accidental christ figure zuko i guess

anyway. this went on for a while and i'm not sure anyone bothered reading all of it which. valid.

thank you corey for letting me ramble skjdgfdjgh i'm not sure this is coherent, nor should it have all been in one post, but whatever

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi Steph! How you’re doing? First of all, I wanna say that I love your lists. So, I was wondering, do you have some long Johnlock fics? Like, with a bunch of chapters and all that. Thank you!

Hey Nonny!! 

I absolutely do! And you know what?? I’m gonna be selfish: No one has ever EVER asked me for my shorter long fics, so I’m going to take this opportunity to finally release this list, because it’s been sitting in my drafts for YEARS lol. BUT you can check the list below for the links to all my longer-fics lists! Happy reading!!

NOVELLA LENGTH FICS: 20-25K

See also:

Novella Length Fics: 25 to 50K (Aug. 2019)

Novel Length Fics: 50 to 100K (Nov. 2018)

Novel Length Fics: 50 to 100K Pt 2 (May 2020)

Novel Length Fics: 100K+ w. (May 2019)

Novel Length Fics: 100K+ w. Pt 2 (Aug 2020)

Through the Clouds by Mazarin221b (E, 20,004 w., 6 Ch. || Retirement, Home Improvement, First Time, Romance) – Sherlock takes a remarkably early retirement at 47, and convinces John that a change of pace would do them both good. They buy an old cottage on the South Downs, and exchange their nonstop life in Baker Street for quiet contemplation, bee studies, and book writing. They might go completely insane, but sometimes it takes stepping outside of the life you're living to find the life you want. Part 1 of Through The Clouds

A Life Well-Lived by Kate_Lear (E, 20,121 w., 1 Ch. || Original Male Character, Sherlock Woos John, Jealous Sherlock, Reluctant Bi-John, Past Abuse, Insecure John, Reassuring / Caring Sherlock, Protective Sherlock, Understanding Sherlock) – John got scared off men by an abusive past relationship. Sherlock has to try and woo him while not scaring him off with protective possessive rage.

The White Lotuses by SilentAuror (E, 20,340 w., 1 Ch. || Slow Burn, Domestic, Romance) – One day John realises that he just isn't where he belongs, which is back at Baker Street with Sherlock. So he goes back and Sherlock, in his own way, courts him. Romance.

Out of the Woods by SilentAuror (E, 20,471 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Romance, Slow Burn, Flirting, Drunk Sex, Practical Jokes, POV Sherlock, Bottomlock, Possessive John, Pining Sherlock, Frustrated Wanking, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, First Kiss/Time, Virgin Sherlock, Love Confessions, Soft Sherlock, Dancing, Bum Appreciation, Hanging out with the Yard) – Sherlock is fairly certain that John has taken to flirting with him of late, but can't be entirely certain of it. At least, not until a case takes them into a forest, along with Lestrade's team and something happens that will change everything about their lives...

You're On the Air by prettysailorsoldier (M, 20,616 w., 1 Ch. || Unilock, Matchmaking, Radio, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Sherlock POV, Pining Sherlock, Flirting, Bisexual John) – The Consulting Detective and The Woman dominate the airwaves of their university radio station, doling out advice on everything from meeting the parents to sexual positions. When their ratings start to dip before the holidays, however, manager Mike thinks it's time for some fresh blood, and who better to fill in the gaps than rugby captain--and notorious flirt--John Watson? Part 1 of 25 Days of Johnlock

whiskies neat by Ellipsical (E, 20,660 w., 15 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting, POV Second Person Sherlock, Slow Burn, One Night Stand, Rimming, Blow Jobs, Anal, Soldier John, Crying, Emotional Lovemaking, Switchlock) – Home and hearth and whiskies neat, or, alternatively, Sherlock Holmes falls in love.

Achieving the Together-Coloured Instant by teahigh (E, 20,776 w., 1 Ch. || Est. Rel, PTSD, Codependency, Fluff & Angst, H/C, Smut, Demisexual Sherlock, Experiments) – John wonders if this is how it’s going to be: A life speaking in code, because they’re both too stupid to figure out how to say, “I love you.”

Winter's Delights by Kate_Lear (E, 21,173 w., 1 Ch. || Holmes Family, Christmas, Fake Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Bed Sharing, Domestics) – Sherlock takes John home for Christmas to meet the extended Holmes family. Part 1 of Winter's Delights

Once More, With Feeling by cellard00rs (T, 21,178 w., 7 Ch. || John’s Family, Fake Relationship, Romance, Fluff, Humour) – To put off his meddlesome, matchmaking mother, John convinces Sherlock to play the role of his significant other. Unparalleled awkwardness ensues.

Love Is by SilentAuror (E, 21,508 w., 1 Ch. || Angst, UST / URT, Post HLV, Romance) – At Mrs Hudson's urging, Sherlock finally decides to tell John how he feels about him. Part 1 of Love Is

echoes through time by chellefic (E, 21,619 w. || First Time, Romance, ACD & BBC, Epistolary) – Mummy sends a trunk from the Holmes cottage in Sussex to 221B. Its contents alter the way John and Sherlock see themselves and one another.

The Real Meaning of Idioms by feverishsea (T, 21,691 w., 1 Ch. || Texting, Humour, Post S2) - After two weeks away, John finally texts Sherlock. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to respond. He doesn’t expect Sherlock to keep texting him. And he really doesn’t expect things to spiral out of control so rapidly.

5 Times John Got the Girl (and lost her) and 1 Time John Got the Guy (and kept him) by LiviKate (M, 21,695 w., 6 Ch. || 5 and Ones, Kissing, Oblivious / Awkward Sherlock, BAMF / Sexy / Stud John, Embarassed John, John’s Scar, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Sherlock) – John has always had good luck with the ladies. He's charming, friendly and funny, not to mention great in bed. However, his usual skill with the opposite sex is constantly being thwarted by Sherlock and his outbursts. How will John ever get a leg over when Sherlock is always cockblocking him?

Brief Conversations with the Woman by May_Shepard (E, 21,906 w., 20 Ch. || Pining, Love Fairy Irene, Filler Fic, UST/URT, Drug Use, Clueless Sherlock, Relationship Advice, Angst w/ Happy Ending) – Sherlock has a puzzle to solve, and his name is John Watson.

When to Let Go by KendylGirl (M, 22,109 w., 8 Ch. || Friends to Lovers, Reverse Reichenbach, Sacrifice, Forgiveness, Angst, Love, Implied Drug Use) – What if it were John who had to die to thwart Moriarty's plans? John's supposed death shatters Sherlock, and when he returns, it will challenge the pair to forge a path of forgiveness, to peace, and to find a way back to each other. Part 1 of When to Let Go

A Shipless Ocean by myswordfishmind (M, 22,135 w. 4 Ch. || Post-TRF, John has a Kid) – Ten years after the fall Sherlock goes back to London to find that John no longer lives there. Instead, he resides in a seaside town, a widower, and the father of a seven year old son. Now, Sherlock must struggle with the fact that there may no longer be a place for him in this new world.

Ghost Stories by SwissMiss (M, 22,256 w., 1 Ch. || Pining, Holmes Family, Christmas, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Bed Sharing, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, First Time) – Sherlock's parents think he and John are a couple. They might be onto something.

The One With the Proposal by kim47 (E, 22,375 w., 3 Ch. || Fluff, Romance, Marriage Proposal) – Proposing shouldn't be this difficult.

Sonatina in G Minor by SilentAuror (E, 22,574 w., 1 Ch. || Case Fic, POV Sherlock, Angst, UST, Sherlock’s Violin, Post-S3, Romance) – John has come back to Baker Street, but Sherlock doesn't understand the strange tension between them, even after he begins teaching John to play the violin at John's request.

Dear John by wendymarlowe (E, 23,031 w., 64 Ch. || Post-TRF, Online Dating, Pining, Epistolary, Cybersex, Long Distance Romance) – With Sherlock dead, John eventually (under duress) makes a profile on an online dating site. And falls into a long-distance relationship with an enigmatic partner who reminds him of Sherlock in all the right ways. (Hint: it turns out to be Sherlock.) Part 1 of Dear John

Knotted by naughtyspirit (E, 23,166 w., 4 Ch. || UST/URT, Cuddling, Sharing Body Heat, Confessions, Kissing, Mastrubation, Frustration, BAMF!John) – John has to cancel a date because of Sherlock's case, which leads them to be tied up in a basement from which they have to escape. They get wet, get tied up close and John has to step up and save them. Because he's pretty. And hot. And just a little bit of a BAMF.

You Can Imagine the Christmas Dinners by ardenteurophile (T, 23,584 w., 9 Ch. || Pre-Slash, Drama, Fluff & Angst, Humour, Romance) – Sherlock takes John along for Christmas dinner with Mycroft and Mummy (And "Anthea", too). Over the course of the evening, John realises that everyone in the room - apart from him - seems to think that he and Sherlock are a couple. Part 2 of Xmas Dinners Verse

Once Upon a Beast Becoming by antietamfalls (T, 24,042 w., 6 Ch. || Beauty and the Beast AU || Magical Realism, Folklore, Celtic Mythology) – An act of pride, a druid’s curse, an enchanted leaf; Sherlock’s torment has lasted an age. Hope arrives in the form of one John Watson, a man uniquely suited to break the spell. But with a single night to win his affections, Sherlock finds his carefully laid plans disrupted by a monstrous killer whose sights are set on the only thing he has left to lose: John.

The Kepler Problem by kinklock (E, 24,270 w., 1 Ch. || Sci-Fi AU, Alien Sherlock, Space Repairman John, Alien Biology, Horny John) – Working in uncharted space exploration was not as exciting as John had hoped, especially when it turned out to be mostly bot maintenance on uninhabited planets. However, the mystery of the repeated, unexplained malfunctions on planet BAK 2212 might turn out to be exactly the kind of adventure he'd been craving.

Maintaining A Personal Life by Gingerhermit (E, 24,284 w., 6 Ch. || Alternating POV’s, Bisexuality, BAMF!John, Jealous Sherlock, Romance / Drama, Sort-of Case Fic, Peril & Angst, Love Confessions, Toplock, Soft Idiots in Love, Post S3) – Sherlock and John discover some interesting revelations about each other’s sexuality, which lead them both to question the assumptions they've made about one another for years. In the midst of their mutual discoveries, a dangerous psychopath looms on the side-lines who threatens to destroy their new beginning.

The Sexual Awakening of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson by suitesamba (M, 24,579 w., 10 Ch. || Post-TRF, Case Fic, H/C, First Kiss/Time) – Sherlock owes Mycroft a favor. Mycroft calls in that favor by offering Sherlock's consulting services in a charity auction. Sherlock and John soon find themselves at the country manor of Mrs. Ives-Patton Smarmington III - not very coincidentally a long-time friend of Sherlock's mother - where they are reluctant participants in her Murder Mystery Weekend. It's a play within a play for Sherlock and John, and their roles for the weekend event bleed over into their real lives, waking the sleeping dragons within.

Tomorrow's Song by agirlsname (M, 24,645 w., 5 Ch. || Post-TRF, POV Sherlock, Angst with a Happy Ending, Virgin / Repressed Sherlock, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Pining, Jealous Sherlock) – How can he think a relationship with me would be a good idea? I am the sort of person to take a break from my life and when I come back after two years, I expect to find it exactly as I left it. In reality I find it shattered to pieces. (I actually equate you with my life. When did I start doing that?)

State of Flux by Atiki (E, 24,655 w., 4 Ch. || Sherlock POV, Slow Burn, First Kiss/Time, Friends to Lovers, Frottage, Cuddles and Snuggles, Awkwardness, Insecure/Virgin Sherlock, Romance) – John’s marriage is over and he is finally back home (i.e. at Baker Street, where he belongs). Sherlock is awfully insecure and John is awfully hesitant, and they're both awkward idiots, of course, but they figure it out. Many First Times happen.

[amylillian22]

Fu#k!n’ Perfect - Chris Evans Imagine

Summary: Y/N comes home after work to find Chris sitting in the living room in the dark. She does her best to not only cheer him up, but remind him he’s perfectly perfect just the way he is.

Warnings: Curse Words and fluff!

Author's Note: I came across this song (which I attached at the end of the post) and immediately thought this would be a good fanfiction for Chris Evans. Also, I wanted to switch it up. I'm constantly seeing Chris comfort the reader when the reader is feeling down. This time around, I wanted the reader to cheer up Chris. 

Also, please read this post if you haven’t already: Important Info. Regarding My Writings. PLEASE READ!

Enjoy and let know what you think.

[My Chris Evans Master List]

Y/N unlocks her front door and quickly closes it behind her. After locking it, she takes off her jacket and puts it on the coat rack. She untied her boots and put them on the shoe rack by the door. She turned around and noticed the entire house was dark. She furrowed her eyebrows as she also noticed Dodger didn't come running towards her the second she opened the door.

"I thought they would be home," she spoke to herself, knowing Chris didn't mention he and Dodger would be out. "Honey?" She called out as she walked towards the living room. As she got closer to the living room, she saw a soft glow.

"In here," Chris mumbled more to himself than to Y/N.

It wasn't that he didn't get up to hug and kiss her, and ask her about her day. It was the fact that he was sitting in the dark house and his eyes never once leaving the tv. Not to mention, he was holed up under a blanket it on the couch with Dodger by his feet, who looks just as sad as his owner.

"Honey," Y/N kneeled down in front of Chris. She massaged his scalp with the tip of her fingers, enjoying the buzzcut he gave himself a week ago. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Chris let out a huge, deep frustrated sigh. He slowly sat up, giving her space to sit down next to him. Still refusing to leave his side, Dodger made himself comfortable and rested his head on Chris' lap.

She sat with her legs crossed and facing him, giving him her full attention. Chris wrapped the blanket around himself, including the top of his head. Although it was clear something was bothering him, Y/N couldn't help the small smile forming on her lips as he looked like such a big kid.

"Honey," she soothed as she got closer to him.

Chris leaned his head on her shoulder, Y/N immediately taking the opportunity to wrap her arm around his broad shoulders.

"You know how I had that audition today?" He asked.

"Yes, the one you were really excited about."

Chris nodded. "I didn't get the part."

"I'm sorry, honey," she said sincerely.

"They said they didn't like my buzz cut because their character is supposed to have long shoulder length hair-"

"Did you tell them you can grow it out?"

"Yes, but they need someone right away. Then, they said I was too short-"

"Too short?! You're 6 feet tall! How much taller do they need you to be?" She asked in disbelief.

Chris ignored her question and continued, "they kept pointing out how wrong I was for the role and I didn't like it. It made me more insecure about myself than I already am." He let out another sigh of defeat. "It just sucks because this was the first real project I've been really excited and passionate about since Cap."

"Hey, you have nothing to be insecure about," she gently moved his chin towards her to make him look at her, but he didn't.

"You have to say that. You're my girlfriend," he mumbled.

"Honey, I can go on and on about why you are absolutely perfect. I can list what makes you the beautiful human being that you are. And, I would be happy to repeat how much I love you," she cupped his cheeks.

Chris' eyes welled up with tears. "Can you just leave me here so sulk while watching Disney movies?"

"No," she sat up and turned off the tv.

"Baby-"

"If I can't convince you, then I know someone who will," she grabbed her phone and connected it to their Record Player with a Bluetooth speaker they had underneath their mounted flat screen tv.

"Made a wrong turn once or twice," Pink's voice echoed through the speakers. "Dug my way out, blood and fire. Bad decisions, that's alright. Welcome to my silly life."

As Pink sang the next verse, Y/N swayed her hips to the beat as she walked to the kitchen. She grabbed a wooden spoon and made her way back to the center of the living room.

She sang along to the chorus from the top of her lungs, using the wooden spoon as her microphone, "Pretty, pretty, please, don't you ever, ever feel like you're less than fucking perfect. Pretty, pretty, please, if you ever, ever feel like you're nothing. You're fucking perfect to me."

Chris' lips started forming a smile. She knew her plan to cheer him up was slowly working. Chris got up from the sofa and extended his hand. Y/N gladly took it before Chris pulled her in for a slow dance. She pulled away from his hand and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist as Pink sang the next verse, hoping he would understand that she too is also echoing those same words to him with her loving embrace.

You're so mean, so mean when you talk, when you talk about yourself. You were wrong. Change the voices, change the voices in your head, in your head, make them like you instead.

He held her close as he slowly swayed back and forth. He buried his nose at the crook of her neck. Y/N's hand was at the small of his back, tracing small circles with the pad of her thumbs. She gently pressed soft kisses along his neck.

So complicated. Look how we all make it. Filled with so much hatred, such a tired game. It's enough. I've done all I could think of, chase down all my demons. I've seen you do the same.

Chris twirled her once before he spun her out and they both jammed out as the tempo picked up for the chorus. They danced and lip synced  like no one was watching and they were having their own private concert in their living room.

Pretty, pretty, please, don't you ever, ever feel like you're less than fucking perfect. Pretty, pretty, please, if you ever, ever feel like you're nothing. You're fucking perfect to me.

Chris grabbed the wooden spoon Y/N had used towards the beginning of the song and jumped on top of the wooden coffee table and started rapping.

The whole world's scared, so I swallow the fear. The only thing I should be drinking is an ice-cold beer. So cool in lying and we try, try, try, but we try too hard. And it's a waste of my time. Done looking for the critics, 'cause they're everywhere.

Although the lyrics were pretty intense, Y/N couldn't help but laugh as Chris' hand covered the wooden spoon as if he was rapping into a real microphone. Not to mention, his dance moves were as horrible as when Chandler Bing jumped on the coffee table and did his ridiculous infamous dance moves.

They don't like my jeans - Chris wigged his butt and tried his best to twerk. - They don't get my hair - He ran his hand over his buzzed haircut.

Exchange ourselves and we do it all the time. Why do we do that, what do I do that, why do I do that?

Chris moved a little to the side, motioning Y/N to join him. She jumped up as the chorus repeated again. She laughed as they both tried their best to dance without pushing the other one off. Dodger was excited as he started barking at his parents and started circling the coffee table with this tail wagging.

Pretty, pretty, please, don't you ever, ever feel like you're less than fucking perfect. Pretty, pretty, please, if you ever, ever feel like you're nothing. You're fucking perfect to me.

Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him flush against her body. Chris accepted her warm embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. She cupped his cheek and looked deep into his beautiful blue eyes. "Please don't ever, ever feel like you're less than fucking perfect. Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel like you're nothing. You're fucking perfect to me," she said hontestly as her thumb traced his cheekboone.

"I fucking love you," Chris said as he tightened his grip around her. "I don't know what I'd do without."

[unbiasedcabaret]

love death + robots

objectively the most badass name for a tv show

anyways here's my review of the first season. it is ranked. but rankings change depending on whether I wanna look at pretty animation or be invested in characters/story. there are short, slightly (extremely) stupid reviews next to them too.

(Also rankings are so hard. Am I basing it off of rewatchability? how impressed I was on the first watch? would I want to go back to that world? the animation? the characters? my investment in the story? Currently, I'm going off of what feels right and how excited it makes me basically)

18. The Dump: Eh. I couldn’t get into it. Boring animation, like it was definitely good quality, but nothing particularly interesting. Like okay, dumpster monster. Cool cool cool. This felt so long when it was relatively a shorter episode.

17. Alternate Histories: Never have I been so disappointed so fast. The premise sounded so cool, I was really hoping they’d go realistic with this one, explore some really interesting theories/possibilities. If I look at it objectively, pretty okay. I liked hitler’s long legs, did not enjoy the weird prostitute part, and had an okay time at the ending. Eh.

16. When the Yogurt Took Over: I don’t get it. Oh wow, humans are so dumb even the yogurt left us. Or oh wow they were so smart they got everything they wanted genius yogurt. Okay so? I didn’t care about anything happening, because I got over it kinda fast.

15. Lucky 13: Fun. I love pilots loving their ships, especially with this slightly sentient(?) ship thing going on. I enjoyed the rise to the top, could’ve been a less predictable fall perhaps.

14. Ice Age: Great start, I was hooked from the second the civilization started developing. Might’ve helped that I was high as fuck while watching this. Didn’t really go anywhere, there was no resolution, no reason, nothing. Honestly just felt a little underdeveloped, they should’ve pushed it a little. Very cool premise though.

13. Beyond the Aquila Rift: I don’t fully get the hype not gonna lie. Like I was interested definitely but the twist didn’t blow my mind it just seemed like it made sense. Didn’t have the ‘oh fuck’ moment and wasn’t especially blown away by the animation

12. Sucker of Souls: My favourite part of this was when they literally killed the exchange student. Very fun. Also when his head was split in half and it split into layers. Other than that, eh. The cat thing was interesting but then they never actually used it so what was the point. It just went nowhere and wasn’t that cool. Okay, I take that back the chase scenes/fight scenes/anything action was very engaging.

11. Shape-Shifters: I agree with that one guy who said bad-ass. I love it when fight scenes are actually all out because you KNOW motherfuckers tend to hold back for the sake of plot or whatever. I like it as a short though because it’s interesting to think about, I’m just not too interested in seeing where it goes after. (Which is a good thing because they did all the fun things in the short).

10. Three Robots: Really interesting, loved the characters, loved their skewed understanding of human history (kinda makes me question how much we really know about the past). Odd ending but high me was impressed

9. The Secret War: I was super into it. I love a good fight scene, great backstory, great animation. I just watched Aquaman and the creatures reminded me of those guys from the trench, especially with the flare at the end and I’m not complaining.

8. Blindspot: Why does this episode get hate. It’s a heist with robots how is it boring. I personally love heists, especially in the fast&furious style thing. I loved the characters too, and I’m now questioning my ability to get attached to robots this fast. Also enjoyed the murder, because I’m so used to people being saved at the last minute. I would definitely watch the fuck out of this movie because there could definitely be fun ways to fuck with the whole ‘there are no stakes because we can’t die’ thing.

7. Suits: PERFECT. So perfect there is nothing wrong with this like absolutely nothing wrong. I was into it, loved the robots, loved the characters, loved the world. Would wanna go back into this world and see more of it. Just the idea of casual alien encounters is so fun to me. I’d definitely watch this movie. Honestly felt bad when Jake died which is surprising with an 18-minute runtime. Basically, I view this as a little Pixar version of the show and I had a fun time.

6. Fish Night: So pretty so mesmerising so mystical. I wish the fish part went on for longer I would’ve watched the shit out of it. I kinda wanna go and see that whole scene again. Great short. Very perfect.

5. Helping Hand: Gravity but gory. Did not see it coming so it was a very fun surprise. Nothing wrong with this and I would watch again. Especially liked the part where no one somehow managed to save her and she figured it out on her own. (Not from a feminist point of view, more from a predictability point of view)

4. Sonnie’s Edge: Brilliant fucking animation (when the neon outfits/parts thing came I had to replay several times), great fight scene. I shouldn’t have been deceived by that dude’s girlfriend but she was good, so when she extended her nails through Sonnie’s skull it was great. Apart from the animation and the direction, the story did kinda fall flat now that I think about it. Like it felt a bit, okay so? types I think.

3. Good Hunting: Very great animation, great story, great storytelling. Loved the world and the way the world developed. Loved the automatons. Loved the combination of magic and machine. I didn’t expect her to be able to transform at the end so that was extremely fucking cool. Loved that she got her agency back and that the son was able to break away from his father’s habits. Hated seeing that one guy’s dick.

2. The Witness: SEXIEST animation. Spider-verse vibes especially with the bang! or whatever and I wish there was so much more of this. I was definitely more interested in the action sequences than in the weird sex stuff mostly because I saw no point to that. What was the point of the whole vladmir character when we don’t even know what he’s like. Like he was given way too much importance in my opinion. Technically she didn’t even have to leave that room. The loop stuff was pretty cool though like I had to go back to the beginning to make sure because- slight mindfuck. But I think this animation, and this beautiful beautiful world, was wasted on this average ass story. Could’ve been way cooler.

1. Zima Blue: Oh god this was a good fucking episode. Didn’t think it was gonna be this good. First of all the art itself was so cool. The were spray painting literal space rocks you cannot get more anything than that. Then his whole story? His origin? His truth? FUCK me. Also the animation was so distinct. It was so, it’s own. So specific. And it worked so well with the story. I don’t want anymore of this short in the best way possible. Also I thought of this art thing that starts like this but the blue starts becoming better and then a whole universe comes out of the blue and it starts right back where he started - murals of the universe. And his final work is a universe with like a tiny blue square to show that it repeats forever? Idk what that means but I kinda wanna make it but it’d definitely be plagiarism. Also I can’t do art.

[outropeace]

elotito tagged me on this so i’m gonna do it for her <33333

1. describe how you first started writing and when you first posted

i began to write in general since i was around 14 like any other emo kid kdjdjsks and o began to write fics when a friend asked me for one as a birthday present. it was written in a hurry and it’s not my favorite but i really enjoyed doing it. i posted that exact same fic on their birthday

2. which of your characters do you typically resonate most closely with? do you base any characters off of yourself?

it depends the fic i guess. and not really, i think the closest i’ve been to do that is in the rockstar au (coming to the @bottomlouisficfest very soon), i put one or two of my old insecurities in h so he could connect better and wouldn’t be persieved as just an asshole-y dude cause i don’t like that and louis don’t deserve that uwu🌸

3. where do you often find inspiration?

music, movies, tiktoks (DONT JUDGE KDKDKS)

4. has quarantine helped or hindered your writing process?

before the quarantine i had around 3 wips, now i have 8

5. do you listen to music/noise while you write or do you prefer silence?

i listen lofi youtube playlists shjdkld

6. what is your biggest writing pet peeve in your writing or in general?

me repeating “Oh...” over and over again through tall my fics, it shouldn’t be legal

7. describe your ideal writing setup

rainy day, good coffee, comfy sweater, my cat besides me, arely sending texts about teeth/imessage games, snacks

8. favorite time of day to write?

nights (it’s usually when i have time)

9. favorite genre to write + one you’d like to try writing in the future?

i’d LOVE to write a thriller

10. do you struggle with writer’s block? how do you typically overcome it?

i just leave the fic for a bit, i don’t really like to push myself about this cause i’m just doing it for fun

11. what is the easiest part of your writing process and the most difficult?

the easiest is the dialogues, i could write pages and pages of just dialogues in hours and the hardest is the smut dhjdd

12. how do you come up with original characters? (if applicable)

it depends, is the antagonist? i ask myself how’d i feel if i were them, like a third party just trying (and usually failing) to get in between

13. what is your favorite and least favorite word?

i like “wet” i just... yeah.... and least favorite i don’t really know tbh

14. what is one thing about your writing that you’re really proud of and one thing you hope to continue working at?

i like that people conect with the characters because i always put a lot of effort in making them realistic (as much as i can), i make them flawled and sometimes even messy but with good hearts and intentions, all of them are (even the antagonists). and my grammar OH MY GOD MY GRAMMAR

15. what work of yours has your favorite ‘verse/world building? how did you come up with it?

hands down the ice prince fic. and funny thing is, i already had my prompt for the fic fest but i just couldn’t stop thinking about one particular prompt about a bratty prince and an alpha who hated omegas and the amount of POSSIBILITIES that had. two days later or so, the mods of the fest gave us the opportunity to pick another prompt if we wanted and the rest is HISTORY

16. what font and size do you write in? single spaced or double?

11 and single

17. what is a typo(s) you find yourself making consistently?

baby do we have TIME FOR THIS ONE?

18. (if applicable) do you separate fic writing from fandom?

yes, always 100000000%

19. what emotion is your favorite to write? which is the most difficult?

angst, sadness, anguish, sorrow, jealousy, i love to hurt hearts. and it’s not an emotion but after they get together it’s really difficult to me to actually keep going (oh god dkdkdkkdd)

20. what is one thing you hope readers always take away from your works?

that that’s okay to fuck up, that no matter the circumstances you have to respect your partner and TALK WITH THEM and that a person can be successful, independent and a badass while being soft and a c*mslut

21. what is the best and worst writing advice you’ve ever received?

i think “write whatever you like, you’re not being paid for it anyways” is the best and only advise i’ve actually listened to

22. which one of your works would you most want to see turned into a film/television show?

it’s complicated cause my two favorites are abos and idk how that would work dkskkss but the ice prince and the alpha/alpha fic

23. do you write scenes chronologically or out of order?

chronologically but i have a document apart where i write everything that comes to my mind at the moment, that one is A MESS

24. how do you handle criticism?

i think good, if it’s respectful

25. what is the advice you would give to someone who is looking to start writing?

trust yourself, have fun

26. what kind of feedback on your work always makes your day?

ANY type of positive feedback makes my day tbh

27. which fic ‘verse of your own would you most like to exist in? which fic’s characters would you most like to befriend?

none tbh dkdkks and louis, obviously

28. what do you always enjoy getting asks about/wish people would ask about more?

about my stories, i love when people just come to rant to me about certain things the characters did and ask me why they did it

29. what has writing added to your life? how has it changed you?

it relaxes me a lot. i just can write for hours and hours and it just feels nice and in some way exciting

30. why do you write?

refer to question 29 kdkdkxk

boost yourself + tags!

1a. share the last sentence you wrote

from the exes to lovers au:

The second hiccup of the night came in the form of his ex smiling to a boy sitting next to him on a couch. The boy had gorgeous, dark and wild hair, clear hazel eyes and a pretty pouty mouth. Their body language screamed attraction and that they both were ready to devour each other. Louis was familiar to the smile Harry was giving to him, bright and seductive, ready to give anything you asked for.

2a. describe the wip you’re most excited about

right now i’m very excited for the happiest season au, my “cliche story” au and for my exes to lovers au dksks i’m excited about a lot of my wips i’m so sorryjdjd

3a. share the piece of dialogue from one of your works you’re most proud of

from the alpha/alpha au:

“I’m not giving up on love,” He softly touched the hand that was still grabbing his thigh. “To me, love is like flowers. Each one needs a special treatment, if you give an orchid the same treatment you give to an iris, the orchid will die. Same thing with love. I’m not giving up on love, I’m just changing the treatment. We might not be an orchid, but we could make such a pretty iris.”

4a. share the best first and last lines from your work(s)

favorite first line from the sugar baby au:

Powerful people only end up with powerful people. The rest are just playthings in their lives. Louis Tomlinson was many things, but he wasn’t anybody’s plaything.

favorite last line from the ice prince fic:

“Who would have guessed…” Harry whispered after a while, smiling against Louis’ lips. “the dragon finally got to keep the princess.”

5a. link the last fic you read

HAYLEY’S MASTERPIECE

6a. link the last work you published

that’d be the ice prince fic

7a. link to your ao3 (if applicable)

hereee

8a. someone that inspires you

louis teheeee

9a. a comfort fic/work that you’ve been grateful for this year

god, again, there’s so so many of them, like the amount of authors i’m so grateful for, the list is infinite but these are a few that comes to my mind

all elote’s (@defencelesst) fics makes me really really happy and never fails to give me a cozy/wintery feeling, her louis IS THE MOST PRECIOUS THING ON EARTH AND HER HARRY IS JUST PERFECTION, i’m in love with her descriptions and how she just takes you THERE. hanis @loulicate-recs always makes me smile so fucking hard. ris @falsegoodnight fics NOW.... well.... ris fics they make me smile but also make me want to throw my phone to the other side of the room BEST OF BOTH WORLD IG. MAR’S FICS (loubellies on twitter, idk their @ here i’m sORRY) ARE LITERALLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS AT THE MOMENT, such a pretty louis IM SO IN LOVE WITH MAR’S LOUIS ITS UNFAIR

10a. other writers that you’d like to tag!

omg i’m probably so late to this and idk how many of you have actually done this so here goes nothing @allwaswell16, @runaway-train-works, @greenfeelings, @kingsofeverything, @thepolourryexpress, @larents

[lovewillthaw-j]

Frozen 2 Musical themes

Hey everyone! This mega post is my labour of love and tribute to the songs and score of Frozen 2, my #1 favourite soundtrack now. I wish to show all the musical themes and how they interweave in the score, following the plot and adding a rich layer to the story. This is all my original work from months of listening, I have not watched the special feature "Scoring a Sequel" or read any F2 piano books. I have given my own names to the themes. The themes may be heard in different keys and variations in different parts of the score; I won't be transcribing all the different keys and variations, sorry.

SONG THEMES

1. Vuelie (nanana heyanna)

This choral piece is heard in the beginning of both F1 and F2, as well as during The Great Thaw of F1, the Enchanted forest (where Vuelie is revealed to be a Northuldran chant/folksong) and of course, in the magnificent ending of F2. 

2. All Is Found (lullaby) A very central song to the whole movie, the sung version makes 3 4 reprises - Anna sings it to Elsa in the bedroom; Elsa and Honeymaren sing it in the forest; in Ahtohallan we hear “Where the north wind, meets the sea” and the image of Iduna sings “come my darling homeward bound” in Show Yourself; lastly, Iduna can be heard singing the warning "but not too far or you'll be drowned" just before Elsa plunges off the cliff. The instrumental theme is very moving and is heard whenever Iduna is referenced in the following scenes: A) Enchanted forest when Elsa takes out the scarf "I know what you need", Northuldrans reveal that the scarf is Northuldran and EA recognise the frozen statue of young Iduna; B) the ship scene when EA find the map and Anna says "this is mother's handwriting" and Elsa makes the ice statues of Agduna at their death appear and cries from the pain of believing she cursed them; C) lastly, when Elsa screams "No!" and freezes to death in Ahtohallan, ending on a very grave note.

3. Some Things Never Change

The musical theme of the verse and chorus are used repeatedly in the epilogue scene (from Queen Anna's appearance in Arendelle, all the way till Elsa reads the letter in Ahtohallan) and shows that while many things have changed at the end of the adventure, some things Never change. I have written a full post on the Epilogue here.

4. Into The Unknown The musical theme of the first 2 lines of the chorus plays when the main characters first set off from Arendelle in the wagon (in an "active"-sounding variation), signifying that they are literally going into the Unknown. It recurs seconds later (in a sweet variation played by the flute), when they pass through a valley and EAK unanimously tell Olaf that sleeping on long journeys prevents insanity! (both not in the CD)

5. When I Am Older A short segment of Olaf's musical theme is played in a cutesy way when Olaf appears and says "I got this". This is in the Enchanted forest, just after Elsa freezes the floor to repel the Northuldrans and the Arendellian soldiers, and just before his dramatic recap of F1. (not in the CD) 

6. The Next Right Thing

The musical theme is heard twice before the actual song, as a foreshadowing. You hear it when A) Anna is talking to Mattias in the forest and they talk about doing the next right thing. B) the cave scene after Anna and Olaf see the frozen statue of Runeard murdering the leader and Anna realises what she must do to free the forest.

SCORE THEMES

7. Elsa's theme

In the transcription, the red section is the most recognisable part of the tune, though the theme is actually much longer. This is Elsa's theme, especially when she is doing something strenuous or heroic. This theme is first heard when A) Elsa fights Gale in the tornado, and the ice memories start appearing. We hear it in full when B) Elsa is talking to Honeymaren, but in a very sweet, soft variation that is primarily played by the harp. C) During Elsa's fight with Nokk in the Dark sea and this piece of music is genius. The Water theme and Elsa's theme clash with each other, fighting as the characters fight. Each theme is heard when the respective characters seem to be getting an upper hand and sometimes the themes combine - you can hear the triplet rhythm of the Water theme beneath Elsa's theme; until Elsa comes out on top and her theme soars majestically, with no further hint of the Water theme. The theme calms down as the waters calm down. D) When Anna speaks to Mattias at the dam and says "my sister gave her life for the truth" which is a VERY nice reference. E) Lastly, in its most heroic form when Elsa rides down the tidal wave, outruns it and saves Arendelle with her massive ice shield.

8. Sisters theme

I contemplated naming this theme Anna's love theme. This is the most beautiful theme in the entire score (Peace theme is a close second) It comprises a moving melody, coupled with a delicate moving chord sequence that is usually introduced by the harp. It is heard 4 times, always when Elsa and Anna are alone and talking to each other heart to heart. A) in the bedroom: "What things? You're doing great!... What would I do without you?"; B) after the Earth Giant appeared and walked off and Anna stops Elsa from following it: "remember, the goal is to find the voice" - only the melody part is heard; C) the exceptionally moving scene outside the ship when Anna lovingly comforts a tearful Elsa: "You are a gift!... I believe in you Elsa, more than anyone or anything"; and finally, D) in the emotional reunion scene when Anna looks in the distance, realises Elsa is alive and the sisters reunite with Anna running to Elsa and crying happy tears.

9. Magic theme

I wanted to call this one Sorcery theme but it sounds too negative. This theme is actually from F1! It is just 5 iconic notes. In F1 it is heard when young EA play with snow; when the royal family sets off to find the trolls; when Agduna's ship sinks; and when Queen Elsa accidentally reveals her powers and Weaseltown exclaims "Sorcery!". In F2: A) When Elsa fights Gale (Wind), before Elsa's theme; B) When Elsa fights Bruni (Fire and Ice), played by violins at a high pitch; C) When Anna and Olaf find themselves "In a pit with no way out"; and D) When the dam starts to collapse and the unity snowflake appears in the sky, signifying Elsa's resurrection.

10. Peace theme

The Peace theme is actually related to the Magic theme. Just change the fourth note of the Magic theme by flattening it by one semitone and a mysterious, ominous theme transforms into a sweet one! Genius. This theme is heard A) softly when young EA are playing with snow in F2's first scene, just after "bedtime soon!" (not in CD); B) in the Northuldran village after the tribe sings Vuelie, when everyone is at peace. The theme is beautiful here, with a piano playing a melody over a harp background. We also hear it twice more in relation to Olaf - C) sadly, as Olaf flurries away in a devastated Anna's embrace. He is, metaphorically speaking, "at peace". The theme then blends into the "sweet Gale theme" as Gale gathers Olaf's remains. D) Happily, when Olaf is resurrected by Elsa! This is prefaced by "sweet Gale theme 2" when Elsa asks Anna "Do you want to build a snowman?"

11. Northuldra theme

This mysterious and slightly creepy theme is actually very long, but the iconic part is marked in red. An important theme, it is played by the Gemshorn for its haunting sound. This theme is heard whenever the Northuldra are referenced (except for one instance) The full theme is heard A) when Agnarr tells the story of the Northuldra and the war. B) After the exodus, when Anna is talking to Elsa and says "Wait, the Enchanted Forest? The one father warned us about?" (not in CD). C) When the main characters stand in front of the mist, which makes sense since they are about to enter Northuldra territory. D) Very briefly, when we hear shuffling in the forest, Anna grabs the Sword and the Northuldra reveal themselves. E) When the sisters look at their parents' ship in horror, and inside the ship until it blends into All Is Found theme. I cannot explain why the theme is used here (there's nothing to do with the Northuldra), except that it's a sufficiently creepy and sad theme to match the scene. F) At the dam, when the earth giants throw their boulders. I interpret that as the Northuldrans are being freed from the curse. The theme blends into Magic theme when Elsa resurrects, recurs as the waters rush down the fjord, and blends into Elsa's heroic theme.

12. Gale's theme

This is the “main” Gale's theme that is heard in full in the forest scene when Gale is playing with the main characters (after the tornado). In essence it is just 3 notes and is heard every time Gale appears. In the main theme, the first note is an augmented fifth (eg, C-Aflat) which is slightly mysterious and instantly recognisable. 

There are a couple of variations on the main theme. Christophe Beck shows his genius here. He uses the same three notes for "angry" Gale, when Elsa fights Gale, but, he changes the base note and the augmented fifth is not heard. (so the first note is G, in G minor). There is a lot of additional fast-paced orchestration that amps up the "angry" feeling, but the main 3 notes are still there. The other variation is the "sweet" Gale's theme. In this variation, the third note of the theme is flattened by one semitone. Genius. We first hear it when Olaf dies and Gale gathers his remains. We also hear it (sweet 2) when Elsa asks Anna DYWTBAS, and lastly in the epilogue (sweet 2) when Gale comes to appreciate the statue of Agduna. The difference between "sweet" and "sweet 2" is simply that the base chord is different. 

13. Bruni's theme

Bruni's theme is a melody that jumps up from the first 2 notes, to a note that is held and then repeats itself before coming down. This theme is all over the Elsa-Bruni fight, accompanied by a lot of rapid orchestration to make it sound intense. At the end of the fight, when Bruni is calm, we hear a "calm" version of the theme played gently. The musical difference is that the jump is a major 6th in the "angry" theme, and a minor 6th in the "calm" theme. We also hear Bruni's theme immediately after the main characters have passed through the mist into the forest - there's a short segment where Bruni is checking them out with his "Bruni-vision". Lastly we also hear it when Olaf interacts with Bruni "this is why we don't play with fire... Why are you so cute!" (The latter is not on the CD)

14. Earth Giants theme

This is a series of block chords, that starts high pitched and then cascades down rapidly. The last chord is very low, an octave lower. The Gemshorn Fujara is part of the Earth giants' characteristic theme. It is blown hard (overblown) during the first chord, making this VERY haunting, mystical sound. A) When Elsa parts the mist and they look at the stone pillars of the elements. B) When the main characters are blown through the mist (interesting that it's not Gale's theme); C) When a giant walks near the Northuldran village and almost sees Elsa; D) when Anna and Olaf encounter the sleeping giants on the river in their ice boat and E) when Anna screams at them to wake up to help her break the dam.

15. Water theme

I did not call this Nokk's theme because Nokk does not appear in the ice boat river scene. This theme is very rapid in that scene; it is played slower in the Dark Sea during Elsa's fight with Nokk.

Minor themes

16. Ahtohallan theme

This theme plays when Elsa is seeing all the ice memories in amazement. It is combined with Elsa's theme and is initially joyous and lighthearted. However, as the scene progresses and Runeard's evil nature is gradually revealed, the music darkens and becomes more ominous. At the cliff, after Iduna's warning is heard, the second, spookier, version of the theme is heard.

17. Gone Too Far theme

A really creepy theme that gives me goose bumps. It is heard when Anna and Olaf receive Elsa's icy message about the truth behind Runeard's dam. It is followed by The Next Right Thing theme; it then recurs as Olaf starts to flurry away and Anna slowly realises in horror that something has gone terribly wrong.

18. Anna running theme

Sounds similar to Water theme but is different. Heard when Anna runs from the Earth giants in the forest, and when she runs on the top of the dam. Lastly here is a master list of the score, track by track starting from #4 Exodus, of all the musical references in chronological order. 4. Exodus - “main” Gale's theme 5. The Mist - Northuldra, Earth Giant, Bruni, Northuldra 6. Wind - "angry" Gale, Magic, Elsa's theme, main Gale's theme, Northuldra (short) 8. Fire and Ice - "angry" Bruni, Magic, "calm" Bruni 7. Iduna's scarf - All is found, Gale's theme, Vuelie, Peace theme, The Next Right Thing, Elsa's theme 9. Earth Giants - Earth Giants, Sisters theme (short) 10. The Ship - Gale's theme (short), Northuldra, All is found, Sisters 11. River Slide - Water, Earth Giants, Water, Magic 12. Dark Sea - Water, Elsa's theme 13. Ghosts of Arendelle Past - Ahtohallan theme, Elsa's theme, All is found (short) 14. Gone Too Far - Gone too far theme, TNRT, Gone too far theme, Peace theme, "sweet" Gale's theme 15. Rude Awakening - Anna running theme, Earth Giants 16. The Flood - Elsa's theme, Anna running theme, Northuldra, Magic, Northuldra, Elsa's theme (heroic) 18. Reunion - Sisters, "sweet" Gale's theme 2, Peace theme 19. Epilogue - Some Things Never Change, "sweet" Gale's theme 2, Vuelie

[enduringsea]

( rules: you can usually tell a lot about a person by the kind of music they listen to! put your music on shuffle and list the first 10 songs, then tag 10 people! no skipping! ) / tagged by @yellowcrumpet​ ╭( ･ㅂ･)و )))

Thanks for the tag! I LOVE these things-- I don’t rlly have a playlist either though, just a mess of music files on a device I haven’t updated so I’ll be checking my YouTube history too lol. There’s a uhhh.... pattern to be found, mainly relating to Code Vein or other OCs.... which isn’t surprising ._. ;; I made it a separate post bc I knew this was going to get long and rambly with lyric snippets and crying about fictional characters, sorry :D

1. Repeat Until Death - Novo Amor don’t go / you’re half of me now / but i’m hardly stood proud / i said it, almost oh i’ve been low / but damn it i bet it don’t show / it was heaven a moment ago oh i can’t seem to let myself leave you / but i can’t breathe anymore This one gives me Loubeth vibes ok, partially bad end route ;-; While Elizabeth is a very strong person, her friends are the most prominent reason she tries to do anything at all & isn’t living day-to-day in a monotonous grind to survive without a solid purpose other than ‘help random ppl bc it’s the right thing to do’. If she loses them, it’d ruin her & hammers into her head how everything she’s ever done has been a failure. She suffered a major betrayal by her boss before the Collapse, she was unable to fully participate in proj. queen despite her incredible test results, she failed to defeat Cruz and take her blood during Operation Queenslayer, and if she fails to protect the people she’s finally found meaning with? She’d break down completely & destroy herself to save them. She’s always had some level of abandonment issues, and without her family around it’s so much worse, even if it isn’t the most obvious because she’s generally seen as very well put together-- I really can’t express how much it would hurt her to lose Louis, Yakumo, and the others. She’s just not one to show just how bad it can truly get for her mentally and emotionally-- she’s resilient as hell, she’s been through hell repeatedly and survived it all, so it’s easy for others to assume she’s fine all things considered. It makes her feel weak and ashamed of herself if she shows any level of vulnerability, so she doesn’t; she swallows it down and is afraid of disappointing those who look up to her as a fighter and friend-- of course, no one at Home Base would blame her for being vulnerable, they all have their moments, Bethy just sets herself to such a high standard it’s difficult for her to talk about her own suffering in spite of how well-versed she is in getting her thoughts and feelings across otherwise. Louis is the one most keen to how deeply she’s hurting, but he doesn’t understand just how deeply until she finally does fall apart. The final swell of the song and its desperate lyrics really relays the pain they both feel-- Louis too would not fare well if something happened to Elizabeth, because he blames himself she was even involved in Operation Queenslayer for a long time, I honestly did so bad in explaining coherently, this song just has so much emotion and hurt behind it adklfjdfdff </3

2. Looking Out For You - Joy Again this is a love song for a girl who will never know it’s about her she's beaming that smile / all the while i’m all tripped up on my own throat i guess there is no hope This song reminds me of Elizabeth & my friend’s character Takashi Fujioka, who gets-- vERY...FRIENDZONED, for lack of a better word, by Elizabeth in his story, it’s really summed up best as tragic (;﹏;) Before the Collapse they were hitting it off, then the Collapse happened, they were separated, he lost his sisters, Mido happened, he was experimented on + became a revenant, etc, etc; years have passed since then & she’s gotten her life together as much as one can in a world like Vein, but for Takashi it’s like no time has passed at all. Elizabeth is subtly older in appearance, she’s been working w Lou & Co. for a long time; Loubeth blatantly have a connection, & rather than bringing up his feelings + making it awkward bc he values their friendships, he just kinda. chokes on them & does his best to help out the team. It doesn’t help he can’t even be jealous bc Louis is a really solid friend to him too, IT’S JUST A MESS OF A SITUATION & the death of what could have been if things were different.

3. Closer - Teagan And Sara ( no lengthy explanation for this one thank goodness, I’ve just been watching BoJack Horseman again and I really like some of the songs they add in, I like listening to this one on loop when mindlessly coloring something )

4. Brutal - Olivia Rodrigo  all I did was try my best / this the kind of thanks I get? they say these are the golden years / but I wish I could disappear ego crush is so severe / god, it's brutal out here I have it on a playlist for Elizabeth somewhere, not all of it applies to her but it reflects some of her struggles she has both before & after the collapse. She’s-- always kind of been a mess while under immense pressure + has serious self image issues, this song hits that side of her well. She’s been held to humanly impossible standards by both herself and her family bc frankly? She can reach them, she’s NOT exactly human. She was born into her position as a hunter & intends to keep it for as long as she lives (like revenants, her kind is very much ‘either gets killed or lives 5ever), even if some days she really feels how heavy the burden can be. She didn’t have a normal childhood and she’s fine with it for the most part, but it alienates her from most of her peers-- she never got to date anyone, never had a close group of friends, never went to parties that weren’t formals, etc., while she feels a little childish about it, she does envy ‘normal’ and understands the pressure she’s lived under her entire life has caused damage-- she has been exploited for her abilities, there’s just not much she can do about it but to keep going, rlly.

5. Freaks - Surf Curse  don't kill me / just help me run away from everyone  i need a place to stay / where i can cover up my face don't cry / i am just a freak / i am just a freak UhhhHHH this song really makes me think of Oliver Collins :D;; thank TikTok for showing it to me. It makes me think of how scared he was, of both the world and the revenants who captured him. The song’s use of the word ‘parasites’ really makes me think of Revenants and the BOR parasites XD I’m hoping when I poke my video editor again, I can record some Oliver footage to make a short video to this song. Oliver deserves so much better, I wish you could save him, but that’s what AUs are for, hahah.... The second half of the lyrics make me think of the AU I have where he lives and has to grapple with the guilt of surviving and the things he did to other revenants to get by too.

6. All Eyes On Me - Bo Burnham you say the ocean’s rising / like i give a shit you say the whole world’s ending / honey it already did you’re not gonna slow it / heaven knows you tried got it? good / now get inside I haven’t seen the Netflix special yet but I’ve had this song on repeat since my move started. The lyrics hit too hard & resonate with my existential dread, covid exhaustion, and extreme burnout in my 20s, but bc I have Damage I can also relate it to CV ._. ‘you’re not gonna slow it, heaven knows you tried. got it? good now get inside’ makes me think of--;; the bad end route again, and Elizabeth’s desperation to keep her found family together. It’s not like her to completely stop caring about an issue, but in the moment she realizes what’s being taken from her? She doesn’t want to save all of revenant-kind if it means she’s going to wind up alone all over again, her world is effectively over if she’s forced to be alone again. The MC frenzying means the only immediately identifiable hope she had of saving everyone else is gone, so why not just go home? If they’re all doomed, she wants to at least be together for a little while longer, it’s fine if they use her blood to survive & everyone else in the mist is out of luck, it’s soul-crushing bc I’ve never had her in a situation where she’s been this reckless, despondent/hopeless, and thinking irrationally where it’d impact more than herself-- especially when she’s normally goal-oriented, organized, meticulous, so on so forth: she’s not one to act without thinking something through first, but that last breath of light just got sucker-punched out of her. All she wants is home, comfort, and family, and ultimately in the bad end route she does manage to preserve their lives, maintain the mist, and supply blood beads, but her own condition leaves her on the throne-- it’s a mix of the bad, neutral, and true ending rlly ldkfjdf BUT YEAH enough rambling on that :D;; This song’s really good and touches a lot of different thoughts and ideas both in real life and my ocs, kind of embarrassing--;; thank u bo burnham for ruining me with this beautiful song

7. Yellow - Coldplay look at the stars / look how they shine for you / and everything you do your skin / oh yeah, your skin and bones / turn in to something beautiful do you know / for you I'd bleed myself dry Does this song make me think about JackEva? Yes. Yes it does. Star / night sky symbolism? Bam. Sappy lyrics about love and finding the person you’re with absolutely mesmerizing and worth dying for? BAM. If JackEva were capable of using their own blood to save each other, I can see it-- hJNGn they just care about each other so much, Jack cries for her even though they both knew that eventually one of them would succumb to their duty, and if the roles were reversed I can see Eva doing the same, I adore them beyond human language. On my CV RP blog, my Jack’s not shippable bc-- Eva, my friend even have them looking after his nephew (an oc--) at one point. I should seriously drop some headcanons down eventually....

8. Louder Than Thunder - The Devil Wears Prada  are we meant to be empty-handed? / i know i could, i could be better i don't think i deserve it / selflessness, find your way into my heart all stars could be brighter / all hearts could be warmer 

LMFAO throwback to my middle school playlist, I’m old-- I’ve applied this song to a lot of things back in the day, but I really connect it to Loubeth now, especially Louis. Lou & Bethy are both functional idiots who are too hard on themselves & have trouble recognizing their worth beyond what they can do for others. They’re trying to be better-- to make up for what they perceived wrongs they’ve done, but it’s hard, they don’t believe they’re worthy of the love and support the other gives, but they still yearn for that sense of security. After Louis’ memories are returned, he finally understands the guilt he’s felt since he became a revenant and it really skews his self-perception; he blames himself for so many things & Elizabeth, who has always been able to kill when necessary, sets it straight-- “It’s not your fault”, and it takes Louis some time to properly absorb that message. He thinks she’s just trying to comfort him, which she is tbh, but she’s not wrong: “It’s not your fault you couldn’t kill someone. It was never your job to kill anyone.” It’s up to people like her to do those sort of things-- Elizabeth may not have been present when Cruz frenzied, but if she had been? It would have been over before it started, that’s something she has regrets over, even if nothing could have been done since she was already on the field. Actually, she’s actually really quite angry that security failed to monitor Cruz properly and has a few select words for the ones there who could have actually done something before it got out of hand-- civilians and doctors are exempt from her shtlist bc they’re not meant to be killers (so don’t worry Artorias, she’s not ready to bite your head off!), but they had to have some kinda security detail rite o-q??? They’re probably hiding from her wrath-- BUT ANYWAY, she insists she’ll never blame Louis for not being able to do something as serious as killing another person. He was a normal human being who cared about his friend, not a failure, and he couldn’t have been expected to do something that shouldn’t have fallen on his shoulders in the first place. As many times as it takes, she’ll reaffirm that it wasn’t his fault, she’s not angry, he’s always done his best and her opinion of him hasn’t changed. He’s a good person and she loves him through all the hurt, though she doesn’t drop the word ‘love’ for a long time. It just-- takes Louis a while to accept she views him as someone worthy of the love and respect she has for him. It’s kind of ironic she’s so adamant on Louis not blaming himself considering she’s the one privately blaming herself for-- wow there’s too much to unpack, she feels guilty she was even born?? im so broken over these two. I love them and yet they SUFFER... 

9. What I’ve Done - Linkin Park i'll face myself / to cross out what i’ve become erase myself / and let go of what i’ve done today this ends / i'm forgiving what i’ve done

I have Louis Amamiya brainrot and I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thinks that this song fits him super well & it needs to become an AMV dsjfkldsfd. I’m a near life-long Linkin Park fan and this fits with Lou so well thematically. As much as I’ve gone on about Louis’ guilt, he does steel himself to keep going forward in spite of it and make things right, for everyone. Maybe it wasn’t really his fault, but at the end of the day his inability to kill Cruz in that moment left a disaster in its wake that got a countless number of people killed-- the MC included with Karen and Aurora. He doesn’t want to run away from the truth, doesn’t want to make excuses, he wants to take responsibility for it and he’ll work himself to death if it means things will be better-- it’s both admirable he’s got a strong resolve and VERY concerning with how willing he is to die for the cause, please don’t overdo it, Lou, you’ll break mine and Bethy’s hearts ._.;; It won’t always be easy, there are moments the grief gnaws at him, but in the end he does overcome it (and uh. as in the bad ending, we know he can actually do it this time). I know we can’t see everything, but I would have loved deeper character interactions, especially with Louis with an emphasis on grieving + forgiving himself properly-- but this song really is nice with the whole ‘I’m going to face my mistakes head on, forgive myself, and keep moving forward’. It’s what Louis deserves: self forgiveness and a damn break ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

10. Call of Silence - Hiroyuki Sawano you will know you're reborn tonight / must be rough but i’ll stay by your side even if my body's bleached to the bones / i don't want go through that ever again so cry no more / oh my beloved ngl idk if those are the correct lyrics, buuuuuuut....... im a weenie and am internally weeping abt loubeth after midnight, what else is new lmfao- i’ll at least try to be brief :D I also used to really like Attack on Titan when I was in high school, I dropped the anime years ago because I was waiting for s2 and never got back to it once it started airing again, I thought I’d finish it once the anime was complete since I eventually caught up with the manga, such a good series BUT ANYWAY-- I think it’s a really pretty song and Loubeth fit with the tender lyrics. IT’S LATE, idk what to say about them other than what I’ve said already dsklfjdslf im sorry I really ramble a LOT and I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had the chance to >w>;;

[islamthewayforward]

Hazrat Umar (radiyallahu anh) - The Second Caliph of Islam

Hazrat Umar -radiyallahu anh- [634-644]

Before he was enlightened with the light of Hidayet, in the darkness of the ignorant, when he was a cruel person; He received the prayer of the Messenger of Allah and his eyes and heart began to open to the light of Islam with the influence of the Quran, which he listened to in his sister's house with anger. Umar, the son of the Jahiliyy, was now tearful, his heart full of compassion, and bent before the Truth.

Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) Love For Hazrat Umar

Hazrat Umar, who was likened to Hazrat Musa by our Prophet with his uncompromising and graceful structure; He had a mind, success, and genius who developed in the content of revelation. As a result of divine inspirations, many times his expressions were related to the verses of the Quran.

Our Prophet stated the following in his expression:

“Among the ummahs who lived before you, there were those who were inspired by them. If there is one of them in my ummah, it is undoubtedly Umar. (Bukhari, Ashab as-Prophet, 6)

His exposure to the truth in this way, to him; He was instrumental in giving him the nickname «Faruk» distinguishes right from wrong, good from bad, and right from falsehood.

In the words of our Honorary Prophet (PBUH), The wrath of this blessed person, whom the devil changed his way when he saw it, and whose language and the truth was put into his heart by Allah was directed only to the enemies of Allah.

In the face of truth, he would immediately show obedience and surrender in the face of an order or a sign of Allah and His Messenger.

The following incident reported by Ahmad bin Hanbal is one of the most beautiful witnesses of this:

One of the Numerous Loyalty Samples

Hazrat Umar radıyallâhu anh- was going to the Friday prayer one day during his caliphate. While passing through the wall of the house of Prophet Abbas, two drops of dirty water dropped from the groove on the roof - probably for cleaning - onto the robe of Hazrat Umar.

The caliph was bored and he reached out and dropped the gutter with his hand so that it would not drip on anyone else. Then he changed his robe and came to the mosque.

By referring to this event in the Friday sermon he gave, he said,

“–Community, you are doing wrong things. When I was coming, I was going through the wall or something. Dirt dripped from a gutter on me; I pushed it with the back of my hand and dropped that groove. " said. His word had just ended that Hazrat Abbas jumped out of his place and;

“–O Umar, what did you do? I saw it with my eyes; The Prophet (PBUH) himself placed that gutter there with his own hands. " said.

Hazrat Umar collapsed into the pulpit. What happened to him to spoil something that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had put forth! Immediately he recovered.

“Vallâhi, I will put my head against that wall. You, too, will step on my head with your foot, and you will put that groove back with your hand. ”and made up for his mistake by doing as he said. (See Ahmad b. Hanbal, el-Musnad, 1/210; Ibnul-Cevzi, Adjati's-safve, 1/285)

On the other hand, Hazrat Umar was very forward-thinking and fussy in order to preserve the religion. Praised by the Prophet as a door that does not allow mischief, Hazrat Umar (radiyallâhu anh) was visited by people and the tree under which his companions gave allegiance to the Prophet of Allah (PBUH) before the Musalaha of Hudaybiya at the time of his caliphate. When he saw that it was being imposed, he cut down this tree in order to mean that the ignorant would be caught in the poison that he had a divinity.

The Caliphate Of Hazrat Umar

One of the most important qualities of the caliphate of Hazrat Umar, who trembled out of fear of Allah and lived-in conviction, despite his high spiritual position and being heralded by the Prophet of Allah, was his unique justice.

The Emir of the Believers, who were called Umarul-Adl in the meaning of “the very thing of justice”, felt responsible even for the wolf that would plant a lamb near the Tigris.

After Hazrat Umar -radıyallahu anh- took office, he was in sorrow and anxiety due to the weight of his profession. Huzaifa saw him in this state and learned the reason for his sadness - radıyallahu anh-;

"–That's what hurts you, goddamn we'll fix you once we see you doing something wrong," he said.

Halif was very happy about this, he repeated his words Huzayfa -radıyallâhu anh- with an oath and;

"- Praise be to Allah, among you, among the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and peace, be upon him, there were people to correct me when he saw my mistake." he said thank you. (Ibn-i Abi Shayba, Musannef, VIII, 154)

The fact that he went to Damascus with his slave and his camel in turn and came to the city on foot, despite all the insistence of his slave, went down in history as an example of justice, humility, and brotherhood. In the middle of the night, he ran to the rescue of the silent cries of the poor and the poor with his food sacks in the streets of Medina.

In the period of Hazrat Umar, the land of Islam; It had expanded to the borders of Iraq, Damascus and Egypt. A large number of spoils had been obtained. However, Khalifa had agreed to receive only an allowance from the treasury. Because he is with everything, in the footsteps of the Messenger of Allah and Hazrat Abu Bakr;

On the Way of Two Friends

He was running his life half hungry, half full of trouble, sometimes borrowing.

The notables of the Companions were saddened by this state of the caliph. They wanted to increase his salary. However, it was very difficult to tell him about this issue and to convince him. For this reason, they requested our Prophet's wife Hafsa, who was also the daughter of Hazrat Umar, to submit this offer to her father.

Hazrat Hafsa -radıyallahu anha- opened an offer to his father to raise his companions' salary for the caliphate and save him from boredom. Thereupon, Hazrat Umar -radıyallâhu anh- reminded his daughter Hafsa of the past;

"-My daughter! How were the Prophet's food and clothing? " asked.

Our Hafsa Valley;

"- It was the amount of Quran (enough for scarce opinion)." When he gave his answer, Hazrat Umar explained with the following elegant example that the wisdom of his life in hardship was to obey the Prophet of Allah and his predecessor, Hazrat Abu Bakr, in return for the abundance of treasure:

“–Two friends and that I am like three passengers on an equivalent road. The first one of us had a machine. The other took the same route and got the first. Thirdly, I would like to reach my friends. If I go too high, I can't keep up with them! Or wouldn't you want me to be the third on this road? " (Sehbenderzade Ahmed Hilmi, Tarih-i İslam, Vol . I, p.367 )

In the end, he drank the sherbet of martyrdom with the wish of a spotless and white life in the footsteps of his two friends and was buried in Rauza-i Mutahhara next to his two friends.

Hazrat Umar Quotes

How wise are the words of this great Companion, who is a sharp sword that separates truth and evil from divine inspirations;

“Wisdom is granted to an individual who leaves an excessive amount of talk.

Humility is granted to the heart of those who leave the gaze too much.

The taste of worship is granted to those who stop overeating.

Whoever leaves much laughter is granted majesty.

Honor is granted to those who leave humor.

A love for the hereafter is granted to those who leave the love of the world.

He who ceases to deal with someone else's shame is bestowed with the correction of his own faults.

The person who abandons research and incarnation in the state of Allah (which is beyond understanding) is granted salvation from discord. "

"The person I really like the most is that one who informs me of my shame and flaws." (Suyuti, Tarihu'l-hulefa, 30)

Someone was praising another person next to Hazrat Umar. He spoke of him in a reproach. Hazrat Umar asked him three questions:

a. Have you ever traveled with him?

b. Have you ever dealt with a transaction like trade?

c. Have you been neighbors to him morning and evening?

When the person says "no" to these three questions, Hazrat Umar:

"I swear by Allah, who is not any god but Him, you don’t know him!" (Al-Ghazali, Ihya)

Kadı Şurayh wrote a letter to Hazrat Umar and asked how he would rule. Hazrat Umar said:

« Judge by what is in the book of Allah. If you cannot find it in him, judge according to the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. If not in the book of Allah and the sunnah of His Messenger, judge with the decrees given by the righteous. If you are not among the judgments made by the righteous, you can judge if you want, stay back if you want! I am of the opinion that it is better for you not to stand back and make a judgment.

“Don't dress women too beautifully. If one of them has a lot of clothes and nice ornaments, they will like to go out. " (İbnu'l-Cevzi, Menakıb)

“To correct people, you must first correct yourself. The most ignorant of the people is the one who sells his afterlife for someone else's world. "

“Be strong without violence, soft without showing weakness! "

The Final Thought

Let us make us one of his servants who can reflect the smiling face of Islam with his knowledge, wisdom, lust, justice, humility, and all praised moral virtues, by dispensing personality and character.

Amin!

[sammy24682468]

Lesson 6 from arrogance to destruction

"Memory Text: “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:21, NKJV),

"In Daniel 5, the Word of God gives us a powerful example of human hubris that ends in a stunning and dramatic way. Though one could say that it takes Nebuchadnezzar a long time to learn his lesson, at least he learned it. His grandson, Belshazzar, does not. In using the temple vessels in a palace orgy, Belshazzar desecrates them. Such an act of desecration is tantamount not only to a challenge of God but an attack on God Himself. Thus, Belshazzar fills up the cup of his iniquities, acting in ways similar to the little horn (see Daniel 8), which attacked the foundations of God’s sanctuary. By removing dominion from Belshazzar, God prefigures what He will accomplish against the enemies of His people in the very last days. The events narrated in Daniel 5 took place in 539 b.c., on the night Babylon fell before the Medo-Persian army. Here occurs the transition from gold to silver, predicted in Daniel 2. Once more it becomes evident that God rules in the affairs of the world."

Belshazzar's feast:

"Read Daniel 5:1-4 along with Daniel 1:1, 2. What is Belshazzar doing that is so bad? How does it reveal his true character? Compare his actions with Revelation 17:4-6. What parallels can you find?"

"The king commands that the sacred utensils of the Jerusalem temple be used as drinking vessels. Nebuchadnezzar seizes the vessels from the Jerusalem temple, but he places them in the house of his god, which shows that at least he respects their sacred status. But Belshazzar turns the sacred vessels into drinking utensils in a most profane way."

"While drinking from the sacred vessels, Belshazzar’s lords “praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone” (Dan. 5:4, NKJV). It is worth noticing that six materials are mentioned. The Babylonians used the sexagesimal system (a system based on the number 60) in contrast to the decimal system used today (based on the number 10). Thus, the six categories of gods represent the totality of the Babylonian deities and, therefore, the fullness of the Babylonian religious system. Interestingly enough, the order of the materials follows the order of the components of the dream statue of Nebuchadnezzar, except that wood replaces the clay. As in the dream, stone appears last; although here it designates the material composition of idols, stone also evokes God’s judgment upon worldly empires (see Dan. 2:44, 45), which Babylon symbolizes."

"This feast serves as an apt representation of end-time Babylon as seen in the book of Revelation. Like Belshazzar, the woman in endtime Babylon holds a golden cup and offers polluted drink to the nations. In other words, by means of false doctrines and a distorted worship system, modern Babylon lures the world into evil (Rev. 17:4-6), oblivious to the judgment that will soon fall upon her. One day judgment will come."

An uninvited guest:

"Read Daniel 5:5-8. What happens, and why does the king respond as he does? In what ways does this account parallel Daniel 2, and why is that parallel important? (See Ps. 96:5 and Col. 1:15-17.)"

"As Nebuchadnezzar does in previous crises (Dan. 2:2, 4:7), Belshazzar calls the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers to clarify the mysterious writing. And to make sure that they give their best, the king promises them extravagant honors: (1) purple clothing, a color worn by royalty in ancient times (Esther 8:15); (2) a chain of gold, which was a sign of high social status (Gen. 41:42); and (3) the position of third ruler in the kingdom. This last reward reflects accurately the historical circumstances of Babylon at that time. Because Belshazzar was second ruler as co-regent with his father, Nabonidus, he offers the position of third ruler. But despite the tempting rewards, the sages once again fail to provide an explanation."

"On top of all his sins, then, the king attempts to find wisdom in the wrong place. The Babylonian experts cannot uncover the meaning of the message. It is written in their own language, Aramaic, as we shall see tomorrow, but they cannot make sense of the words. This might remind us of what the Lord speaks through Isaiah: “For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden” (Isa. 29:14, NKJV). After quoting this verse the apostle Paul states: “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1:20, 21, NKJV)."

"Some truths are too important to be left for humans to try to figure out for themselves. That’s why God, instead, reveals these truths to us."

Enter the Queen:

"Read Daniel 5:9-12. What does the queen say about Daniel that the king should have known already? What does it say about him that he seems ignorant even of Daniel’s existence?"

"As the banquet hall is thrown into confusion because of the mysterious message on the wall, the queen comes and provides direction to the befuddled king. She reminds the king about Daniel, whose ability to interpret dreams and solve mysteries has been demonstrated during the time of Nebuchadnezzar. If Belshazzar were as smart as his predecessor, he would have known where to turn to find the meaning of this mysterious writing. The intervention of the queen proves necessary for the king, who at this point seems utterly at a loss as to what to do next. Her words sound like a rebuke to Belshazzar for having overlooked the only person in the kingdom who can interpret the mysterious writing. And she also gives the king an oral résumé of Daniel: the prophet has the Spirit of the Holy God, light and understanding and divine wisdom, excellent spirit, knowledge; he is capable of understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas; he was chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers in Nebuchadnezzar’s time (Dan. 5:11, 12)."

"At this point, we again wonder why Belshazzar had ignored Daniel. The text does not offer a direct answer to this question, but we presume that at this time Daniel, after serving the king at least until the third year of his reign (Dan. 8:1, 27), is no longer in active service. One factor could be Daniel’s age. He is probably around 80 years old, and the king may have wanted to replace the old leadership with a younger generation. The king also may have decided to ignore Daniel because he did not want to commit himself to Daniel’s God. But whatever the reason or combination of reasons, it remains striking that someone with such a portfolio as Daniel’s could be forgotten so soon."

"Read Romans 1:16-32. In what ways do we see the principle expressed in these texts manifested, not just in this story but also in the world today?"

Weighed and found wanting:

"Read Daniel 5:13-28. What is the reason Daniel gives for the soon-to-come demise of this king?"

"Forced by the circumstances, the king resorts to consulting Daniel, but he seems to do so with reluctance. This may tell more about the attitude of the king toward the God of Daniel than toward Daniel himself."

"In turn, Daniel’s response to the king’s offer of reward says a lot about Daniel’s priorities and character. It also is likely that Daniel, knowing the meaning of the mysterious words, realizes just how worthless the reward really is."

"Daniel then indicts the king on three counts.First, Belshazzar totally has ignored the experience of Nebuchadnez-zar. Otherwise he would have repented and humbled himself like his predecessor."

"Second, Belshazzar has used the temple vessels in order to drink wine and to praise his idols. Here Daniel mentions the six kinds of materials used to make idols in the same order noted previously."

"Third, the king has neglected to glorify God, the One “who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways” (Dan. 5:23, NKJV)."

"Having addressed the failures of the king, Daniel proceeds to the interpretation. Now we learn that the divine graffiti consists of three Aramaic verbs (with the first repeated). Their basic meaning should have been known to the king and his sages—MENE: “counted”; TEKEL: “weighed”; and PERES: “divided.”"

"With the Medo-Persian army at the gates of Babylon, the king and the sages must have suspected some ominous meaning in that writing, but the sages do not dare to say something unpleasant to the king. Only Daniel proves capable of decoding the actual message into a meaningful statement in order to convey its full meaning to Belshazzar: “MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians” (Dan. 5:26-28, NKJV; emphasis supplied)."

The Fall of Babylon:

"Read Daniel 5:29-31 along with Revelation 14:8, 16:19, and 18:2."

"What can we learn about the fall of Belshazzar’s Babylon that points to the fall of end-time Babylon?"

"Whatever his faults, Belshazzar is a man of his word. So, despite the bad news, he is satisfied with the interpretation given by Daniel, which is why he bestows upon the prophet the promised gifts. It appears that by admitting the truth of Daniel’s message, the king implicitly recognizes the reality of Daniel’s God. Interestingly, Daniel now accepts the gifts he has refused before, probably because such gifts can no longer influence his interpretation. Besides, at that point such gifts are meaningless since the empire is about to fall. Thus, probably as a matter of courtesy, the prophet accepts the rewards, knowing all the while that he will be the third ruler of the kingdom for only a few hours."

"Exactly as announced by the prophet, Babylon falls. And it does so quickly; while the king and his courtiers drink, the city falls without a battle. According to the historian Herodotus, the Persians dug a canal to divert the Euphrates River and marched into the city on the riverbed. That same night Belshazzar is slain. His father, King Nabonidus, has left the city already, surrendering himself later to the new rulers. Thus, the greatest empire humanity has ever known to this point comes to an end. Babylon, the head of gold, is no more."

"“Belshazzar had been given many opportunities for knowing and doing the will of God. He had seen his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar banished from the society of men. He had seen the intellect in which the proud monarch gloried taken away by the One who gave it. He had seen the king driven from his kingdom, and made the companion of the beasts of the field. But Belshazzar’s love of amusement and self-glorification effaced the lessons he should never have forgotten; and he committed sins similar to those that brought signal judgments on Nebuchadnezzar. He wasted the opportunities graciously granted him, neglecting to use the opportunities within his reach for becoming acquainted with truth.”—Ellen G. White, Bible Echo, April 25, 1898."

Further thoughts:

"Large feasts were common in the courts of the ancient world. Kings loved to throw parties with extravagance and luxury to show their greatness and confidence. Although we do not know all of the details of this particular feast, we know that it took place when the Medo-Persian army was poised to attack Babylon. But humanly speaking, there was no reason for concern. Babylon had fortified walls, a food supply for many years, and plenty of water, because the Euphrates River flowed through the heart of the city. So, King Belshazzar sees no problem in having a party while the enemy surrounds the city. And he orders a momentous celebration, which soon degenerates into an orgy. What a powerful testimony to the hubris of humanity, especially in contrast to the power of the Lord. Through Daniel, God tells the king that despite the opportunities he has had to learn truth, “the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified” (Dan. 5:23, NKJV)."

"“The history of nations speaks to us today. To every nation and to every individual God has assigned a place in His great plan. Today men and nations are being tested by the plummet in the hand of Him who makes no mistake. All are by their own choice deciding their destiny, and God is overruling all for the accomplishment of His purposes.” —Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 536."

[nerianasims]

Billboard #1s 1973

Under the cut.

Carly Simon – “You’re So Vain” -- January 6, 1973

Knowing who this song is about -- if there even is someone -- would make it a lot less fun. "You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht" is one of the greatest lines of all time. The subject of this song is a grade-A douchebag, and yet his life's kinda enviable, isn't it? He can fly his plane to see the total eclipse of the sun, he hangs out with spies, he seduces his close friends' wives, his horse wins races. But he "gave away the things he loved." He chose to be a movie character instead of having love, which is rather sad. It's a more complex song than it seems at first. And it's a lot of fun.

Stevie Wonder – “Superstition” -- January 27, 1973

Can't write too busy jamming. Okay so this song is great. The sentiment is one we need a hell of a lot more of. The music has my favorite funk beat. It's my favorite Stevie Wonder song, and one of my favorite songs period. Actually this is three in a row of my favorite songs now.

Elton John – “Crocodile Rock” -- February 3, 1973

Well that ends that streak. I don't like Elton John's music. I find it dull and irritating. I can't even pinpoint why entirely, because I can't listen to enough of his music all the way through. I have had to listen to this one all the way through at every wedding reception I've ever been to, though. It's a boring dance song, and boring dance songs are very bad things.

Roberta Flack – “Killing Me Softly With His Song” -- February 25, 1973

Roberta Flack is great, but I prefer the Fugee's version of this song. Flack's version is a little too color-within-the-lines for me.

The O’Jays – “Love Train” -- March 24, 1973

An optimistic, happy song about everyone loving each other and getting along. It's also a good dance song, which makes it easy to get on board.

Vicki Lawrence – “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” -- April 7, 1973

She killed her sister-in-law for cheating on her brother? Really? Really? Well this is where revenge leads -- now her brother's dead too. This song doesn't get at anything interesting and the story is simply unpleasant. The music in this song's not spectacular or anything, but it deserves a better story.

Tony Orlando & Dawn – “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” -- April 21, 1973

This lounge lizard singing a twangy country-ish song doesn't work. He doesn't know how to do it. Also, it sounds like they were trying to make it into a novelty song. Someone coming home from prison and hoping his wife will still want him is in very poor taste for a novelty song. This song somehow became about soldiers returning home. It's a really bad song for such a poignant and complex topic. It's a really bad song for anything.

Stevie Wonder – “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” -- May 19, 1973

Stevie Wonder and his wife Syreeta Wright were in the process of breaking up when they recorded this love song together. They stayed in each other's lives until Syreeta passed away, though. Knowing that makes this song even more moving.

The Edgar Winter Group – “Frankenstein” -- May 26, 1973

How did a hard rock instrumental reach the top of the charts? The riff is pretty great, and some cool things are going on with the electric guitar. Hard rock instrumentals aren't my thing, though. But I think it's good, even if I don't want to listen to it.

Paul McCartney & Wings – “My Love” -- June 2, 1973

John and Paul both started producing lighter, slower songs after The Beatles broke up. I feel like George was keeping them grounded. Or I guess maybe Ringo -- who knows? This is tolerable, which is more than I normally say about too-light 70s love songs. Actually I think this is also a sex song. For the most soporific sex imaginable. Paul McCartney's bass playing was awesome when he was in The Beatles. I don't get why he didn't build songs around that after they broke up.

George Harrison – “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” -- June 30, 1973

Another spiritual song from George Harrison, but it's better than "My Sweet Lord" in multiple ways. First, the melody's not plagiarized. Second, it has forward motion. You can actually dance a little to it if you want. Third, there's a bit of anguish there. Spiritual songs are always better when they have the tang of pain to them. And Harrison's guitar is on point. Pretty good.

Billy Preston – “Will It Go Round In Circles” -- July 7, 1973

The last two #1s were by ex-Beatles, and this one is by the man often called "the fifth Beatle." It's the best of these three by quite a ways. It sounds to me like it's about the creative process. A song with no melody, a dance with no steps. And the one I like the best: "I've got a story, ain't got no moral/ Let the bad guy win every once in a while." Sounds like his story's a lot farther along than the song and the dance.  The music is funky and soulful with a lot of different things going on, but without feeling overly crowded. Excellent.

Jim Croce – “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” -- July 21, 1973

Leroy Brown is a big, mean man, and everyone's scared of him. Until he goes after the wrong woman and her husband kicks the everloving crap out of him. Being big and mean doesn't count for much if you're a dumbass. It's sort of a country/funk blend, and I like it.

Maureen McGovern – “The Morning After” -- August 4, 1973

Mneh. I know why this one became a big hit; it was the ballad attached to a hit disaster movie. The Poseidon Adventure, one of the biggest disaster movies. I don't get disaster movies either. This song is schmaltz.

Diana Ross – “Touch Me In The Morning” -- August 18, 1973

Diana Ross sure sang a lot of songs in which she was desperate for a man who didn't want her. This time, she promises to be content with having sex just one more time in the morning with a one-night stand. How low maintenance of her. It's slow. It's boring. It gives me the icks.

Stories – “Brother Louie” -- August 25, 1973

Louie is white. He falls in love with a black woman. When he takes her home to his parents, they explode. I think he probably chooses to stay with her, but the song isn't clear. There's the fetishizing "Danger, danger when you taste brown sugar" line. Interracial relationships were really dangerous then still, so that's something. But I don't like the music, I don't like the singing, that one line is really bad and so I can't like the song at all.

Marvin Gaye – “Let’s Get It On” -- September 8, 1973

After learning about Marvin Gaye's life, I am extremely torn about this song. Marvin Gaye's father was a horrible right-wing preacher who made him think sex was a wicked thing. This song is Gaye's celebration of shedding the guilt instilled in him, and finding how wonderful making love was. But I still can't like this song. It's too light for me. (Marvin Gaye's father ended up murdering him -- he was truly a horrific excuse for a human being -- but at least Gaye was mentally free before that.)

Helen Reddy – “Delta Dawn” -- September 15, 1973

Helen Reddy manages a lot more emotion in this song than she did in "I Am Woman." I get it; I prefer stories to polemics too. That doesn't mean I like this song. A story song should have more than two verses and a repetitive chorus. Also, I don't like stories where women go mad because men promise to marry them and then split. I'm looking at you, Charles Dickens. Everyone's got tropes that make them itch, and this is one of mine.

Grand Funk – “We’re An American Band” -- September 29, 1973

My family moved a lot, but I always spent summers with my Grandmother in her cottage near Flint. So Flint is more my hometown than anywhere else. I'm definitely cool with a band from Flint laying claim to the "American Band" label. That doesn't mean I like the song. It's about touring and drinking and groupies, and then it's about repeating the chorus about a hundred and twelve times. Yeah, the music rocks, but it's repetitive and bores me as much as any soft rock ballad ever could.

Cher – “Half-Breed” -- October 6, 1973

I have a lot to say about this song. Way too much. Therefore I'm going to say nothing, except that nothing changes overnight, and this song is a massive improvement over the previous decade's songs about Native Americans.

The Rolling Stones – “Angie” -- October 20, 1973

I liked when the Stones were nice in "Ruby Tuesday." I don't like it so much in this one. It's a step too far. He's singing about how he still loves "you", Angie, but it's time to break up, and I just can't hear it as anything but insincere, fair or not. I feel like he's got someone else waiting. I do like how Mick Jagger makes "Angie" sound like "Angel" when he sings though.

Gladys Knight & The Pips – “Midnight Train To Georgia” -- October 27, 1973

Diana Ross was jealous of Gladys Knight and the Pips, and undermined them at least once. I am not surprised. Gladys Knight is a better singer than Diana Ross, and who wouldn't want the Pips singing and dancing behind them? This song is about how the singer's boyfriend is leaving on a midnight train to Georgia because he couldn't make it as a star in L.A., and she's going with him. Good for them. I love this song.

Eddie Kendricks – “Keep On Truckin'” -- November 10, 1973

Right into falsetto from the start. Sigh. This is a disco song, and it's not technically about trucking, but there are a lot of truck metaphors in it. I find a lot of disco weirdly hard to dance to -- I can't locate the beat somehow. I can dance to The Alan Parsons Project but not the Bee Gees. This is one of those disco songs I have trouble with. So it doesn't work for me to listen to or to dance to, and it's falsetto. Not bad falsetto, but still falsetto the whole way through. I don't hate it but I don't want to hear it again either.

Ringo Starr – “Photograph” -- November 24, 1973

This song is about looking at photographs of someone and missing them. It sounds a bit like an early Beatles song. George Harrison helped Ringo write it, and some of Phil Spector's collaborators gave it the "wall of sound" treatment. The former is likely why it's got a good melody and some interesting musical touches; the latter is why it gives me a headache.

The Carpenters – “Top Of The World” -- December 1, 1973

The singer is newly in love with someone who loves her, and it makes her feel wonderful. Very straightforward, honest, and unembarrassed, and Karen Carpenter's voice is gorgeous as always. The hook is dangerous; this song is likely to be in my head for a few days. That's okay though, because I like it.

Charlie Rich – “The Most Beautiful Girl” -- December 15, 1973

This is a country song in which the singer realizes he just destroyed his life, and is desperate to salvage it. He's asking if you've seen "the most beautiful girl in the world," because he needs to find her to apologize for the things he said that drove her away. It's sad and sweet, but it doesn't make me feel an awful lot.

Jim Croce – “Time In A Bottle” -- December 29, 1973

When this song would come on the oldies station, my mother would yell "Gah!" and change the channel to anything else. Her graduating class, very much to her chagrin, had decided it would be their song. (I don't remember what my graduating class's song was, but I remember some of us trying to get "I'm Too Sexy" to win and failing. I think we ended up being saddled with "I've Got Friends in Low Places.") In any case, I was prejudiced against this song before I heard it the whole way through. Jim Croce died young in a plane crash, so that is very sad. My reaction to this song is still the same as my mother's. It's glop.

BEST OF 1973 -- "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder WORST OF 1973 -- "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence

[etherealmrp]

Welcome to Etherealm! 

As a canon-only panfandom with a small laidback 18+ community, Etherealm is a semi-open sandbox focusing and encouraging player-driven plots, world-building, and character developments. We're third-person, paragraph style with no word count! When characters are suddenly taken from their own world without warning, they wake up on a seemingly desert island where a new life - and a new world - awaits them.

FEATURES 

Mainly SFW but 18+ community!

Vast crossover of canons and fandoms!  

Simple claim and application process

Tupperbox Bot for in-character posts

No word count to multi-paragraph replies

Monthly activity check!

Ability to request new location channels 

Blacklist and trigger warning list

One moment, your life seems as normal as it can get for you. The next, your eyes fall close. You sink into a deep slumber.

And you wake up on the island.

Strangely-mundane, water for miles and miles, civilisation hasn’t seemed to touch the white sandy beaches, rocky cliffs and overgrown jungle, but yet there the lighthouse stands.

A beacon in the otherwise wild and empty landscape, for all the lost souls to see who wake up here, the lighthouse stands in decadence. Instead of going up, inside there is only a tunnel going down.

And down.

And down.

Underground, underwater, whether several minutes or several hours, the foyer of a secret city welcomes you.

A grande hall with walls made of crystalline glass, a dome deeply submerged into the water surrounds you. Only the light of bioluminescent fish and plants illuminate the room, yet you have no problems making out the huge double doors leading into the city.

Leaving the tunnel behind, you move across the marble floor, curiosity dragging you forwards, and as you approach, the doors open on their own, inviting you to take the next step of many more yet to come.

Welcome to Etherealm.

RULES & GUIDELINES

1. Respect. Our most important rule is to respect your fellow members. There is a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech, harassment, flaming or any form of bigotry, including but not limited to: racism, sexism, queerphobia, transphobia, ableism, elitism, etc. Best thing to do is be kind (including to yourself!) and think positive!

2. Members are required to be 18+ to join. As the first step to joining this server, you'll want to verify your age by simply posting it in #welcome-verification. This channel is private and no one but the Staff Team will be able to see your age, if you do not want to publicly disclose it.

3. Introduce Yourself. As the second step to joining this server, please be sure to #introduce-yourself and follow the provided template pinned within that channel! Not only will this help the community to know each other a little better, but will also help in letting us know your preferred OOC name, pronouns, any triggers for our list, favourite fandoms, etc.

4. Check Roles. Please remember to check and respect the roles of other members! Thanks to our #self-roles, members can assign their preferred pronouns, DMs and roleplay status, tagging preferences, etc.

5. Ready to Roleplay?. We know you’re excited to get started, but please do not post in any of the in-character channels until you've perused our taken #canon-list, claimed your character via submitting your completed Character Claim Form to the #character-registry and created your character's Tupper profile via #character-tupperbox.

6. Canon-Only. We are a canon-only roleplay and allow characters from nearly any fandom with the exception of unpublished works, anything geared towards a preschool audience, or anything deemed purely erotic in nature. With the exception of some larger fandoms (IE: Marvel, DC, etc.), players can only claim two canons not significantly connected per fandom. In addition, only one iteration of a character can be claimed unless differing significantly enough to be considered their own unique separate character. 7. Characters. The maximum number of characters that can be claimed is 13; however, please do not claim more than you can handle. First three characters are always free and can be claimed/reserved immediately, with any more requiring a five day wait from the last character applied for and for each character to have taken part in at least one in-character scene. 

8. Activity. Due to the nature of panfandoms, all characters are expected to post at least once per month to be considered active on the server, although more is highly encouraged and recommended. Player activity is checked on the 8th of every month, meaning characters will have from the 8th of the preceding month to the 7th to post and share an example of their activity (see:   for the current month's activity check channel). For any players unable to be active but wishing to save their characters, please notify us of any  , although please be aware you may be asked to reconsider any additional characters after any repeated or prolonged absences.

9. No Plagiarism. Plagiarism is not tolerated. While the character concepts are being borrowed from copyrighted work, you are not allowed to copy and paste from Wikipedia or any other source unless properly quoted. Do not claim or present any material you haven't written as your own. Similarly, the same goes for artwork and please remember to credit when sharing.

10. No Godmodding, Metagaming, or Powerplaying. Do not control another character without the player's permission or take information only available OOC and use it IC. Similarly, be realistic when roleplaying out your character's capabilities and talk to your partner(s) about anything affecting their characters.

11. Mature Content. While adult themes are permitted, we operate a 'fade to black' policy in the SFW channels. Any mature, triggering or otherwise graphic content is required to be marked with a warning and censored, or else rped in the available NSFW channels. Any characters under 18 (or appearing to be) may only be involved in age appropriate relationships and are forbidden from participating in any sexual-related content. Please refer to the #blacklist-and-triggers for a more detailed listing on what, how and when to censor.

12. Writing. All roleplay posts must ideally be written in third person, past tense. Although we do not expect perfection and understand English is not everyone’s first language, posts must be legible. We have no word count, so you can write as much or as little as you like, but please be sure to give your partner(s) something to respond to.

13. Channels. All our channels are private channels! In order to join an ongoing scene taking place in a channel, please ask permission of all the players involved. The only exception to this rule are channels or scenes marked as open (see: #open-tagbox & #channel-directory).

14. Communicate. Please ensure to communicate with your writing partners! This can be regarding certain triggers and squirks, as well as establishing boundaries and getting permission when engaging in fight scenes (such as for potential injuries) or anything of a sexual and/or romantic nature. Any in-character conflicts should remain as such, with any out-of-character drama kept off the server.

15. Scenes. Please be aware it is one scene per channel. Once a scene has ended, a new scene can begin. If a channel goes a week without a reply, the scene can be 'paused' for the channel to be re-opened and the players involved in the paused scene can either headcanon an ending or else continue it at a later date once the channel is free again. 16. Time. Due to the mysterious nature of the world in-verse, the in-character channels operate on liquid time and players are encouraged to keep track of their own personal timelines. For this reason, characters can participate in multiple scenes at once and there is no roleplay lock.

17. Have fun!

Discord Link: Click me!