#we used to live in a house and we didn't have streaming OR cable

[deadcrowcalling]

ok but i'm literally so pumped for beetlejuice 2 i LOVE beetlejuice sm

[thediktatortot]

RE: Your "fandom wasn't always like this" post Fandoms ending when their source did used to be a VERY BAD SIGN that the series had utterly belly flopped. It really didn't start being standard until.... at least after dashcon, but probably closer to the end of the second phase of the MCU. I think Avengers Endgame was the real final death knell of "extended fandom", but even before that, the MCU dragging us along by the hair on the back of our necks seemed to be what killed having a long-term fandom.

You aren't wrong with assuming that specific fandoms were some of the major downfalls of what we had going for us, but the answer is definitely more nuanced than that unfortuntely.

I've had a lot of time to sit and think about the subject of the post I made, and I genuinely think that the true answer to the downfall of Fandom as a whole, is social media.

I hate to sound like That Old Person at a ripe age of 31, but that is my honest answer.

I myself did not get a phone until I was 18 years old and was able to buy one for myself, a little sidekick that let me text my friends when I wanted to hang out, but that wasou f about it. I didn't even get a home computer in my house until I was about 13 years old because we were fairly poor and didn't really need it for anything other than emails and bills.

The first thing I discovered on the computer was Neopets and Gaiaonline, two 'gaming' websites (I'm not assuming your age, but I'm going to talk as if you don't know about anything I'm speaking of just in case other people read this who do not know about it.) that focused heavily on dressing up your avatars, mini flash games and forum role play. The hottest social media at the time was Myspace and it wasn't until I got into Highschool that I even ended up making one.

There were no real algorithms that fed you 'content' on a front page outside of the things the people you followed posted, no way to get fed news ads unless it was in the sidebar where ads were usually placed, and there was no instant updates to every person's lives both small or famous unless you went looking for those updates yourself on google.

Now we have social media that is both forcefully placed in front of you in the form of genuine 'content' in both long and short form on absolutely every platform you can imagine. This isn't even going with the discussion that talks about ads on the TV and how for decades, America has been putting more and more emphases on pharmacy ads on TV and extending commercials to the point where people would rather pay 10-40 a month on streaming services to access movies and TV that might not exist at the whim of the streaming services, than watch cable tv with ads lol

Anyway, when Fandom first began its slow descent into madness, it was about the time that the new style of social media began to get big (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, Tiktok, etc) all places that were designed and created to make you want to See More.

I'm not one of those people who are like "We have no more focus because of social media arg!" but there is a grain of truth to the fact that, if you are fed bite sized pieces of bee information at a faster rate, it's harder to get yourself to slow down and actually delve into a topic further without incentive.

We have catchy news headlines that people read and never take the time to look into the matter further, we have facebook posts where people make crazy claims and no one verifies to check if it's true because that takes time and effort and understanding of how to perform basic search tasks and reading comprehension to ask the right questions, we have instagram breaking the concept of art and life experiences into bite sized, perfect square windows of moments to make your instagram feed look pretty enough to have thousands of followers, we have Twitter that has always been somewhat of a fast websites, but is easy to spread misinformation around on at light speed, Snapchat makes photos disappear, never allowing anything you do to be permanent unless someone manages to save it, Vine and TikTok made attention sinks were it's so easy to just get lost for hours of time into maybe not useless, but an exhaustive stream of information that encourages doing the same finger action for hours on end.

Marvel/MCU/Disney whatever we want to call it, including all the other major production companies, are just one symptom of a bigger problem. They've ridden the waves of instant gratification and people's inability to think outside the boxes for years, but unfortunately our primary source of entertainment in a world that wants to kill us all the time and keeps us inside the house more often, just happens to finally align with the companies and programs that are designed to squeeze more and more out of us until we die.

Unfortunately, Capitalism is killing Fandom as a whole, we are just seeing it more because our primary sources of communication and our major routes of entertainment for ourselves are finally working together to bleed us dry.

[naritaren]

I should give this disclaimer since I've had an influx of followers since I have the reminder.

When I do the ask games and there is a question about tv or movies, I probably won't have an answer.

I didn't have cable as a kid because I lived in the boonies. When my mom got custody of me and my brother and we were in a house with cable, I wasn't allowed to watch tv or movies. Like my parents rigged the tv cord so part of it could be removed when they weren't using it.

Because it wasn't really a thing I got to do, it didn't carry into adulthood for me. I own a nice tv to watch sports and play video games. I don't pay for any streaming platforms or anything like that.

I'm a weird one.

[symptoms-syndrome]

what was your first Sonic Thing? like a movie or a comic or a game or... - and which one(s), and when? just all the details about the development of sonic-love basically haha

I'm not sure exactly what my first experience with Sonic was, but my first game was Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS! I was pretty young, def in elementary school but exact ages escape me. It came out in 2005 though so probably...first grade ish at least? My parents were really really strict about what video games I could play and Sonic passed the test.

I also used to watch what I thought was a "Sonic movie" on YouTube, which was actually an extremely long compilation of all the cutscenes from Sonic 06. I was so obsessed with it I'd watch it over and over and memorized the entire thing, which was like. Multiple hours of dialogue.

I also know at some point I got Sonic Heroes for PC, which was the kind of game where it came on multiple discs and took forever to install. I think that was my first not-DS game (I also got Sonic Rush Adventure and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood on DS! And later on Sonic Colors for DS as well) and one time I went over to a friend's house and got to play Sonic Adventure on their brother's Dreamcast, which was AMAZING because 3D GRAPHICS!!! I remember being really wowed by that because I'd never seen it before. I also played a LOT of those fan-made flash games!!!

I also when I was little wrote what would now be called fanfic, I wrote a script for a movie where Sonic and Mario are in The Real World and really wanted to send it to Sega to make it into a real movie.

I also watched a lot of Sonic X!!! Which is my favorite Sonic characterization I think. I don't remember how exactly I watched it, because we didn't have DVDs or cable but I'm pretty sure this was before streaming, so maybe I watched rips on YouTube.

The Sonic obsession came on really quick and really strong though! I tried to get every Sonic game I could, and Youtube-to-MP3-ed a lottt of the music to transfer to my little MP3 player or burn on CDs to play on my boombox (wow that's dated AF.) I had a few Sonic shirts also! Everyone knew me as the Sonic Kid. I also tried to learn to draw in middle school, and would draw Sonic characters and tape them up on my walls. I was really proud of my ability to draw Espio and a character exclusively in Sonic X named Cosmo. I don't know why I just stuck like a magnet to the franchise, but I've just been mega obsessed with it for as long as I can remember.

Now I'm an adult with expendable income to buy Sonic stuff, plus all my friends know I like Sonic, so I have a bunch of plushies gifted by friends and I have most of the Sonic games I somehow missed, like Sonic Generations, Lost World, and the Sonic Boom games. I also still have some Sonic shirts, a Sonic hat, and a lot of random Sonic stuff, like keychains and posters and little figurines! And my wallpapers on my phone and computer are Sonic related, and my ringtone is the Vs Metal Sonic remix of Stardust Speedway Bad Future. I'm lucky that one of my roommates is also a big Sonic fan, so some of the figurines live in the living room and some live in my room. Also since people at work know I really love Sonic, whenever they see Sonic stuff it usually ends up on my desk, so my workspace also has a lot of Sonic. There's a little Tails that sits on my monitor!!!

[wolfsbanemanor]

What is Forgotten Hollow Like?

The part we see, the part centered around a town square (or, really, rhombus...likely meant to emulate either a plumbob or the lid of an old-fashioned coffin), is only a fraction of the town, and Vlad and the Vatores are only a tiny handful of its residents. (I don't believe Sims listed as "homeless" or "not currently in world" are actually homeless unless specified; I believe they live in a rabbithole, or one of the "set-dressing" homes/buildings in a given world, and Forgotten Hollow is no different.) We know this because Vlad mentions (in his diary) a duel with Caleb at "high moon." What the significance of that was, back in the days before TV and TikTok and whatnot, if you wanted everyone to see it, you'd hold it at high noon in a public place. (Or "moon," in this case, which I'm assuming is midnight.) In other words, Vlad humiliated Caleb in front of the entire community. Well, that's great, but it only works if there's an entire community to humiliate Caleb in front of.

It's often cool, except for a relatively brief period during the summer, when heatwaves are common. And even in the summer, the sun sets earlier and rises later. It's also quite humid, as fog is common. It's likely a lot of the homes there have mold issues and frequent visits from spiders. And most residents, if they have TV at all, rely on cable or streaming via cable/fiber broadband, because satellite and antenna are simply not reliable, between the mountains that form the hollow it's nestled in, and the fog and drizzle.

There's a pond full of fish and other aquatic life, including the rare and elusive vampire squid. However, the fishing there is not as good as it is in, say, Sulani or Brindleton Bay.

Bloodfruit trees do grow wild there, as well, and may be cultivated. However, the fruits are usually more useful as a snack or a supplement to actual feeding on human/otherwise sapient Sims, than they are as a replacement. In general, the soil is not particularly great, and only a relative few plants (including the bloodfruit trees) really thrive there. Wild garlic can be found, as can wolfsbane, and even a carnivorous plant (the Sixam Mosquito Trap). Old-growth forest surrounds the town as well, and has likely been there since before Vlad and his settling party were attacked some 200-odd years ago.

Forgotten Hollow is in fairly close proximity to other Sim worlds, enough so that plenty of "normal" Sims just casually enter the central park to play chess, or chit-chat (and serve as easy prey for vampires). There's even a little bathroom in the park, which obviously isn't for vampires (who, although they can still pee and poop, don't have to do so in the way that most other kinds of Sims do). Moonwood Mill is just over one of the bridges, and its residents can be heard in the distance. It's likely that Moonwood Mill, Glimmerbrook, and Forgotten Hollow are all clustered together, and they are likely in close proximity to Evergreen Harbor and to Granite Falls, as well.

Occasionally, non-vampire Sims do take up residence there, like the yuppie couple from the city (San Myshuno?) who didn't quite realize what they were getting themselves into when they moved into the Garliclauter house. They tried to make it work, but they beat a hasty retreat when they couldn't take the neighbors visiting anymore.

[the-last-teabender]

Hopefully kouhai won't mind if I expand on this a little.

I hear a lot of people say there's no difference between circulating the tapes and pirating the episodes, and I like to think that maybe people think these things because they're just not aware of, like, the very weird space MST3K inhabits in modern media. I want to try and break it down and give people a chance to get it.

To give you an idea: MST3K has been around for so long, it has actually outgrown multiple entertainment business models. How we watch TV now bears little resemblance at all to how we watched TV then, both on the business end and on the viewing end. (I'm currently working on an article about how this affects Doctor Who, so it's kind of on my mind.)

Back in the days of "Keep circulating the tapes," the Internet was not, like, the utility it is today. We didn't have streaming. We didn't have Kickstarter. MST3K aired on cable. By the time it came to you, the money had already been made. That's what commercials were for.

In an era when there was no social media, word of mouth was the best advertising a niche show like this could get. And there was no conflict with home video releases because, up until the Rhino VHS releases starting in 1996, you couldn't buy full episodes anyway because broadcast rights and home video rights are two different animals even today. Thus, there really wasn't any way that passing the tapes around could threaten their income: they had already received it. (Yes, we paid for cable subscriptions, but it's all still indirect. Stick with me.)

Now it's 2023, and things like Rifftrax and the Gizmoplex are our primary way of getting riffs. There's a major difference between this and the cable days: the money comes straight from us. We give the money to Rifftrax, to the Gizmoplex, and receive entertainment in return. It's also much easier to get the word out about the show - there's a reason they now say "Keep circulating the URL" instead. You don't have to bring your VHS recording of Human Duplicators over to your friend's house to get them to understand why MST3K is good. You can point them to the site, the YouTube channel where samples are available, whatever.

Piracy is not equivalent to "circulating the tapes" because we exist in an entirely different business model where the old way of doing things no longer applies. It's not hypocrisy or changing their minds; if anything, things have gotten better for us. We wouldn't have these things anymore if there wasn't a way for us to pay for them directly, instead of hoping Sci Fi or Comedy Central would see it as a lucrative business venture. The reason MST3K came back at all, and then hopped from Netflix to its own service, is because of the ability to work that way.

I understand there's a lot of younger people who didn't live through these different eras of media availability, and that's not anyone's fault. That's why I'm trying to outline this stuff in a way that's approachable and understandable even if you didn't live through it. And I get it, some people really do get fully hypocritical and turn against their fans, and it sucks, and that's why it means a lot to me to explain that that's not what's up.

If you see all this and you're still like "Well, I still don't see a problem in pirating their stuff," then that's another matter.

Some MST3K fans really be like "I can't believe the creators of the current-day projects want to be paid for their work and don't like it when people pirate the things that is literally their present-day livelihood" huh.

[kindahoping4forever]

Feedback // Ashton Irwin

I've been sitting on this fic for a minute so thank you to everyone who's patiently waited for me to post it (shoutout to Sly)! This story was really just me getting inspired and clowning after Ashton's "Down To Earth" IG stream back in April. As always, thanks to @cal-puddies for the invaluable guidance as I tried to pare my writing style down into a pwp format (try being the operative word, 3500 words is still the best we could do lmao).

Warnings: Distracted Boyfriend!Ash, oral sex on a male, moderately rough unprotected sex (on the red leather couch) including mild dirty talk, brief choking and a spank or two.

Word Count: 3535

Masterlist // Ko-Fi and New 2021 Taglist linked above

Let  me  know  what  you  think!

"Baby! I didn't know you were home!"

You turn around to see Ashton in the doorway of the bedroom, voice as cheerful as the yellow beanie covering his head.

"Didn't hear you come in," he comments, walking over to you.

You slide your arms around your boyfriend’s neck with a sigh. "Rushed up here, phone was about two seconds from shutting off," you explain, greeting him with a tender kiss.

He watches as you kick off your shoes and yank your bra off under your shirt, tossing everything haphazardly in the direction of the closet before flinging yourself on the bed. "Tough day?"

You groan, dragging your hands over your face before extending your arms, encouraging him to join you. “Eh, not great and very long,” you report, giving a satisfied sigh when Ash climbs on the bed and immediately pulls you on top of him, wrapping his arms around you tightly. You do the same and the both of you lay quietly in this prone embrace for several peaceful moments before you break the silence. “How about you, how was your day?”

You feel him shrug under your body. “Can’t complain,” is his simple reply.

“Make anything cool?” You prompt, knowing he’s being low-key because he thinks you need to chill out, not realizing nothing relaxes you more than listening to him talk about his passions.

“Hmm… anything cool...” Ash giggles, hugging you closer. “I dunno, got a good start goin’ on this one track that could be pretty cool, got a nice vibe.”

You raise your head up to look at him and scratch your fingers across his beard, you’re so glad he decided to let it grow again. “Yeah? Tell me more.”

He hums as you continue to rub his face. “Only been at it for a couple hours, ‘s just a track for now, we’ll see what I can do with it,” he breezes, moving your hand from his face to his mouth so he can kiss it.

“Well, whenever you feel like you need a fresh pair of ears, I’d love to hear it,” you enthuse, moving to lay at his side.

He turns to give you a bright grin. “Yeah? A little in-house focus group?” He teases, leaning in for a sweet kiss that starts to get needy the longer it goes on.

You pull off his hat, running your fingers through his long hair as he moves to kiss along your neck. “Don’t know if you know this but I’m a big fan of your work,” you tease back.

He kisses your lips again, biting a bit as he pulls away to quip, “We talking ‘bout my music or something else?”

You giggle, deciding that indulging this frisky mood is exactly how you would like to unwind tonight. You inch closer, pulling him back into a kiss and he responds eagerly, hand coming up to massage at the base of your neck like it always does. For the next few minutes, the only thoughts in your mind revolve around Ashton, how he feels, how he tastes and where you need his mouth or hands on you next.

When you let out a moan at the way his fingers are gripping your skin under your shirt and he doesn’t press himself against you in response, you can tell he’s gotten distracted. You laugh knowingly against his lips, “You’re back to thinking about that song now, aren’t you?”

He looks at you with a sheepish smile. “I was actually still workin’ and came up here just to grab a hoodie when I found you.”

You playfully push him off of you, shaking your head. “Dude, you should’ve told me! You know I’m not one to fuck with The Process,” you admonish, scrunching your nose up at the trail of kisses he pecks over your face as he sits up.

“Nah, my brain needed a break and my girl needed me, it worked out perfectly,” he insists, rubbing your arm affectionately before getting off the bed.

He quickly fishes his desired sweatshirt out of the closet and pulls it on over his t-shirt, mussing his hair even more than you already had. He walks back over, ready to kiss you goodbye when you sit up on your knees to stop him. “I was serious about giving it a listen if ya want,” you say, smoothing his hair down before resting your hands on top of his inside his hoodie pocket. “If you’re not ready that’s fine but just FYI I‘m interested.”

Ash grins at you, squeezing your hands before using them to pull you to your feet. “Aww, you know you’re my fave audience, baby,” he gushes, reaching to grab his hat off the bed. “Let’s go give it a spin.”

“Well. As much as you can ‘spin’ a computer file,” you mutter, trying to annoy him just because it’s fun.

As you head for the door, you hear him snort behind you a split second before he grabs you, sliding his beanie on your head far enough to cover your eyes; you burst into giggles as he playfully bumps into you, passing you in the hallway. “Smart ass,” he grumbles, voice still smiling.

Ash makes it down to the basement first and starts clicking on files and flicking switches, excited to play his work for you. You stop at the foot of the stairs and survey the room with wonder. Multiple guitars - electric, acoustic, bass, 12-string - are strewn across the room, cables run from his computer to the adjacent room where he houses his drums, food delivery containers line the coffee table; he’s clearly been down here since you left this morning.

While he sets up, you make yourself useful, setting the guitars back in their racks, stacking the food trash; when you’re done, you start to drag a chair over to the computer when you notice he’s staring at you like you’ve grown an extra head.

“What are ya mad at me or somethin’?” He scoffs, patting his legs and looking at you expectantly.

You smirk and take a seat in his lap, watching closely as his long fingers fly over the keyboard, hand adeptly working the mouse, making a few final adjustments to the track. You hear a quiet “there we go” under his breath and then he’s settling in, pulling you back against him and rubbing over your thighs as you wait for the song to begin.

It’s a simple demo so far - layered background vocals, drum and bass, some synth, a little guitar line here and there - but he’s right, it’s definitely a vibe. You’re pleased that his reflection is visible in the computer screen, you love seeing him grooving behind you, pursing his lips and nodding his head along to the beat as you feel his fingers tapping along on your waist while he holds you close.

The track is short and before he can even ask your opinion, you tell him to play it again; his face lights up at your request and he proudly complies. When it finishes this time, you shift to look at him and smile. “That’s wild you did that all yourself and in such a short amount of time,” you marvel. “See, I was right, you did do something cool.”

Ashton laughs, kissing the side of your head as he leans forward to reach the keyboard. “You think so? Well, what’s really cool is this…” He starts clicking around again, isolating the different elements and revealing which sounds are electronic and which are live instruments, which section he thinks he’ll write lyrics over tomorrow, where he’s thinking of pasting in more guitar.

You respond when appropriate but mostly you just listen intently, watching fondly as he animatedly details his thought process; this is why you offered to come down here with him, this is the best part about being his “fave audience.” You love his music but more than that, you love how much he loves his music.

He stops mid-explanation of a section to tinker with it, clearly having a brainstorm right in front of you. You curl into his chest, observing quietly as he cycles through effects and begins stacking tracks. He chews his lip, deep in thought as he lets the song play again and you can't help but press a few kisses to his jaw.

Ash continues his work and you continue yours, moving from his jaw to his neck; your kisses eventually become more heated, with you adding tongue and even teeth to the equation. You suck his earlobe into your mouth, wiggling his earring with the tip of your tongue and finally he pulls away, chuckling, "Baby, come on."

You shrug, playing with his hair. "I just love watching you work."

He laughs, "Then goddamn, baby, let me work!" He growls as you nip at his throat and you smile to yourself because you can tell he's already rethinking his request.

"Seems like you shoulda thought about this before you invited a girl down to your basement to listen to some dreamy space pop alien makeout jam," you tease, relishing the feeling of his laughter vibrating his throat under your tongue.

"Can I get you to leave that review when this goes up on iTunes?" He cracks, finally turning his attention to you.

"I might be persuaded," you flirt, humming with victory as he pulls you into a hungry kiss.

Ashton wastes no time returning the affection you showed him, lips devouring yours, hands quickly making their way under your shirt to lazily massage your tits. You’re mid-moan, his fingers just about to make it inside your waistband when suddenly he’s pulling away.

It takes you a beat to realize what’s happened, your body confused by the sudden absence of his touch. You open your eyes to see him busy at the computer again and it’s so absurd to you, you have to laugh.

“Two minutes,” he says half-apologetically, half-distracted, squeezing your thigh but not taking his eyes off the screen.

You smirk to yourself, immediately aware of what your next move is. “Take as long as you need, baby. When genius strikes, you gotta go for it,” you state ominously, not that he notices. Nor does he notice you sliding yourself off his lap and onto the floor between his legs.

You run your hands up and down his thick thighs before letting your touch wander to the front of his jeans, palming over his crotch, happy to find that at least part of him was interested in your makeout session. You can’t decide if you’re more amused or annoyed by his focus but it’s not until your hand is on his cock, freeing him from his pants that he tears himself away from his project.

“Excuse me, ma’am, can I help you with something?”

You lock eyes with him as you stick your tongue out and dramatically lick your hand, coating your palm with saliva before giving his cock a tight squeeze and beginning to stroke him steadily. “I also had a genius idea I was just following through on,” you shrug. “Might take a little longer than two minutes, though, I’m a bit out of practice… my boyfriend’s been pretty busy.”

Ash giggles wildly, both at your joke and your audacity. “You’re crazy, I’m literally about to be done with… fuck…” His retort is interrupted by you, eyes still trained on his, licking long stripes up the sides of his cock, sucking gently at the head before licking your way back down.

“Go ahead and finish your work, baby, I’ll just keep busy until you’re done,” you insist, mischief in your eyes as you look up one last time before taking him into your mouth.

You hear a sharp inhale, a softly chuckled “fuckin’ ridiculous” and then finally, mouse clicks as he attempts to get back to it. You do your best to distract him, bobbing up and down enthusiastically, sucking loudly, humming around him, making sure he knows how much you’re enjoying your task.

It only takes a minute or so for him to get sidetracked by your efforts. “This is a shitty home demo I’ve spent all of 90 minutes on, there’s no way it’s so good you just had to have my cock right here and now,” he insists, struggling to keep his voice steady, not wanting you to hear how affected he is.

You pop off, gingerly playing with his balls as you zing back, “I dunno babe, you guys had plenty of shitty songs on your first album and from what I’ve heard, you did more than alright in the pussy department.”

Ashton’s laughter quickly turns to a strained moan as you slide back down on him, letting him hit the back of your throat. “My bad, didn’t realize I’d shacked up with a groupie,” he jokes. You silently congratulate yourself as you notice him flexing his hand into a fist, knowing he’s trying to keep himself from pressing down on your head.

You pull off him again, making sure to let the spit cascade from your mouth as you smugly reply, “Like I said before: big fan.” Before he can even think about responding, your mouth is back on him.

You’re not surprised he attempts to resume working again; you’re both stubborn, it’s a wonder anything ever gets resolved in your relationship. You can tell he’s trying his best to stay on task but the whispered curses under his breath give him away. As a last resort, he turns the volume on his speaker up a few more notches, hoping the track will drown out the exaggerated choking sounds you’re intent on making.

A few moments later, he reaches down and yanks his beanie off your head. “Fuckin’ bright yellow bouncing over my crotch is hard to ignore,” he grumbles. “All I see is my hat, looks like I’m suckin’ my own dick for all I know.”

You can’t resist continuing to rib him. “How is that not your greatest fantasy? Your favorite person giving you your favorite pleasure?”

He snorts, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, did you want to blow me or roast me?”

You give him your brightest smile and reply, “Unlike you, I’m pretty good at multi-tasking.”

A brief cackle and a clipped “alright” are all you hear before you’re being hoisted up off the ground, thrown over Ash’s shoulder and carried over to the couch across the room. You squeal with surprise and delight as he unceremoniously dumps you on it, briskly strips you both of your clothes and promptly bends you over the red leather.

He nudges your knees further apart, pressing you against the back of the couch. “Of course you’re this fuckin’ wet already,” he teases, breath hot on your neck as he runs himself through your folds. “You think that’s from my cock down your throat or from you winding me up so much?”

Whatever clever comeback you’d thought up dies on the tip of your tongue because suddenly he’s sliding his cock inside you and now that’s all you can care about. You whine as he quickly establishes a vigorous pace, one hand bracing himself against the couch, the other reaching around you, down your torso to reach your clit. “How’s this for multi-tasking?”

A few breathless cries of his name are the best you can manage as he relentlessly plays with you, somehow in perfect rhythm with his rough thrusts, sending your whole body into sensory overload.

“Or how ‘bout this?” He growls, moving his hand from between your legs to your throat, fingers offering just the slightest amount of pressure, knowing it’ll drive you crazy wondering if and when he’ll add more. “Don’t got any more funny jokes for me, baby?”

You moan at his taunting, placing a hand on top of his on your neck, trying to get him to squeeze harder; he refuses and his denial makes you moan even louder. "Jesus, Ash," you pant, pushing back against him to egg him on. “Feels so fucking good.”

You're so caught up that you don't even notice his song is still playing over the speakers until a few moments later when Ashton suddenly pulls out of you, muttering to himself as he grabs the remote from the coffee table and shuts the music off.

Confused, you look back and see him amusedly shaking his head. "Yes, I was still producing that in my head, don’t start," he giggles.

You fall back on the couch, laughing in disbelief. “We’ve gotta get you some hobbies, buddy, that’s insane.”

He snickers, laying you on your back and settling on the couch behind you, pulling your leg over his hip. “I don’t think fucking you counts as a hobby,” he jokes, gripping his cock and slipping it back inside you.

“Not with that attitude,” you quip, a little more breathlessly than you meant to but with how slowly Ash is rocking into you, you can’t help it.

You tilt towards him, angling yourself to pull his mouth down to yours; you’re feeling overwhelmed and you need him close. His tongue traces over your lips, his kiss the familiar reassurance you need in this moment. “Ash…” You whimper quietly, closing your eyes and savoring the feel of his beard grazing your skin.

“I know, baby, me too,” he soothes, cradling you tighter against him. His hips begin to pick up speed and his hand moves to knead your breasts and tug at your nipples before travelling further down.

Ashton rubs slow, tight circles on your clit, stopping to give your thigh a light smack when you start raising your hips a little too eagerly, bucking up in an attempt to get him to move at a speed more to your liking. You moan first at the realization that he’s going to keep teasing you like this and then again, louder, at the sharp slap of his palm that once again comes down on your skin.

“You’ve got a nice tone tonight, baby, I should get you to lay down some vocals for this track,” he jokes, choking back a moan of his own when your surprised laughter causes you to clench around his length.

You chuckle smugly at him, “Not so funny all of a sudden, huh?”

You feel yourself getting closer so you start rolling your hips along with his, murmuring at the feeling of him deep inside you; you grind against his hand playing between your legs and as he finally amps up the pace, your release becomes closer and closer to reality. Your breathing syncs with his in a needy, staccato rhythm that wouldn’t have sounded out of place in his song.

“Is this what you wanted?” He huffs out. Typically when he asks you that while he’s buried in you, there’s a tone of arrogance or punishment behind it but right now as he holds you, your sounds continuing to meld together, it couldn’t feel farther from that.

“Yes, Ash, god yes…” you breathe, reaching to hold onto him as your orgasm overtakes you.

Ashton keeps driving his cock inside you, whining slightly at the feeling of you pulsing around him. You cry out, not realizing how loud or long your moans are until you hear his voice in your ear, gently lulling you back down.

He’s still moving inside you, hips beginning to stutter and when you hear his breath catch, you know he’s there. You tuck yourself into him, cooing, “Come on, Ash... fill me up, babe.” Three strokes later and he’s pumping his cum inside you, gasping your name. He slows his movements, heavy breath underscored by a contented hum as you caress his bearded cheek.

He leans in and kisses you passionately, completely enveloping you, possibly your favorite feeling in the world. He exhales loudly and keeps holding you, kissing over your face tenderly.

You giggle as he indulges for a moment before reluctantly pulling away, reaching for the takeout napkins on the coffee table; he attentively cleans you up and quickly settles back onto the couch, pulling you on top of him.

You lay together, blissed out, while you play with the necklace hanging down on his chest and he strokes over your hair.

“Hey, sorry I gave you such a hard time,” you smile. “Didn’t realize how much I wanted your attention until I didn’t have it anymore.”

He looks at you, amused. “Honestly didn’t notice you acting any differently.”

You jab his side. “Also sorry I talked shit about your first album, I do actually like it quite a bit.”

Ash cackles, tracing designs on your back. “Oh good, I was worried that was going to be what finally drives us apart,” he cracks.

You snicker, nuzzling your head into his chest. You enjoy a few quiet moments together before he begins softly humming an unfamiliar melody and you smile, knowing his creative wheels are turning again.

You lift your head up again to offer one last apology. “I’m sorry I once again disrupted The Process.”

Ashton laughs mischievously, running his hands down your body. “I mean… overall I’d say this was some pretty valuable feedback.”

————-

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the taglist, both for the support and the lovely (occasionally hilarious) feedback! If you haven’t signed up yet, the form is linked above! (If you signed up and your name is crossed out or not listed, I was unable to tag you, please check your blog settings and either re-sign up or send me a message letting me know you allow mentions now) @notinthesameguey @cxddlyash @2fangirl4u @cashtonasfuck @talkfastromance4 @itjustkindahappenedreally @saywhatnow07 @mymindwide @suchalonelysunflower @pxrxmoore @findingliam-o @fedorable-killjoys @trix-arent-for-kids @olivia-foster-irwin @saphseoul @calmsweetcreature @onthecliffside-mgc @feliznavidaddycal @himbohood @maggiesupertramp @wiiildflowerrr @karajaynetoday @ashtonangst @sunshineeashton @aladyofalbion @youngblood199456 @xsongbirdx @loveroflrh @fairytrice @calumrose @irwindoll @polycashton @in-superbloom

[etraytin]

Halloween

Man, today was a beast! Five days til the funeral and there is so much to do. I was up at 6:30 to get the kiddo to school a little after seven, and then I had til 9:30 to finish the draft on the order of services, get the obit formatted properly, get dressed, get breakfast, and dig the correct tools out of the toolbox to reach behind all our heavy furniture and unplug cable equipment. (After not touching the landline phone or cable television for a full month, we are comfortable with letting that go and cutting one bill in half.) I drove into town and went to the church where the funeral would be so I could make arrangements to get the programs printed and figure out how the catering is going to work. After that I dropped off the cable equipment at the cable store, then went to the florist to order an urn wreath and a table basket for the funeral. It cost 320 dollars, whoof! But they gave me one of the roses they're going to use and it's very pretty.

On the way home I remembered we didn't have Halloween candy, so I stopped at the store and bought some, and bought lunch. Went home and ate and computered for just a bit, then the kiddo came home because it was an early release day. By now it was about 1:30, and I needed to finish his costume. I turned the house upside down but found MIL either does not have the iron I thought she had or it is very well hidden, so I felt pretty dumb for sending mine to the thrift store during the move. I also realized I needed to send back our broken iPad (terrible tip-over accident), so I hit up the post office and Walmart for iron and mini ironing board. I also went to the cake store so I will have excellent pound cake for the guests who are arriving starting tomorrow. Returned home and watched people stream Minecraft while I cut out yellow vinyl transfer strips and turned a blue coverall into a Fallout IV vault suit. Got that finished just in time for it to be time to carve pumpkins!

(Yes, it would've been better to carve them earlier, but that would imply that previous days have been less busy!) Anyway, we got these handsome fellows done and set them on the front porch with a bowl of candy because it was time for trick or treat! We ended up punting and going to a big Halloween to-do at a church nearby because we live on a massive hill where the houses are far apart. Kiddo got some candy and went on a mini train ride, while we bought supper from a food truck and managed to run into one of like three people we know in the entire town. After the church thing I bribed my way out of further trick-or-treating with Dairy Queen so we did that, and now I am home. In between all these things I spent the day texting with my best friend from college who had a baby today. The nurses put him in a teeny tiny cow outfit, it was weird and cute.

Tomorrow will be even busier. Yikes!

[karasunoloomer]

only shallow (haikyuu!! band au)

chapter 1: first impressions wc: 1.5k synopsis: yachi hitoka joins a band. envy and tinnitus ensues. masterlist an: literally just a passion project of mine i'm working on to pass the time. a lot of call outs to my favourite bands will come sooner or later. self indulgent? entirely so. do i care? yes but pretend i don't

read under the cut!

This was it. She could hear the band from the outside of the house; a consistent, yet disorganised stream of music thumping against her ears, growing louder as she steps closer to the front door.

"Yachi, you can do this!" The blonde girl tells herself. The cocoons of nervousness in her stomach kept at bay for the past week, had finally emerged as butterflies. She'd never met these people in real life, spare talking to the drummer on the phone, and a million possibilities swan through her mind.

Would they like her? Will she be good enough for them? Was this a ruse for a money laundering scheme, or worse a sight for a potential kidnapping? She had work in just under half an hour, and being kidnapped was not factored in to her schedule.

Trying to shake the intrusive thoughts off her mind she knocks on the door. The music continued. Okay. They just didn't hear her. She takes a deep breath, and knocks again, louder this time.

"Oh shit I think that's her!" a voice behind the wall exclaims and the music stops. Thirty seconds later and the door opens with a boy just taller than her popping his head through. "Yachi?"

She nods as he unlocks the screen door in front of her, "Come on through, we usuallly practice in Tsuki's garage. It's just down the hallway!"

His eagerness and enthusiasm prompts Yachi to recognise him as the one who had taken her call. To be honest, she still didn't know what had come over her when she decided to answer the ad. It was just so happened that one night, while she was on the closing shift, she spotted it. It was hand written, stuck on the community notice board snuggled in a spot beneath the lost pets and above the second hand cars.

Looking for a bandmate to jam with :) Musical experience is preferred. We're looking to make it big, so commitment is key. If you're interested call the number below:

Yachi did have musical experience, although it was more polished than the DIY vibes she got from the advertisement. Learning piano, at the request of her mother, for twelve years did come in handy on rare occasions. She hadn't played in front of an audience since her first year in high school, so she didn't have the performance skills for a live band. But on the other hand, she thought, the years of lessons and sore fingers had to account for something, even if it was just playing chords on a keyboard. This wasn't like the proper, school recitals. This was a band. Where she'd have creative freedom and make friends and jam out.

Her life was at a stalemate at this point in time, the hope of university was still there, although Yachi had to first endure the drudgery of work. Joining a band would bring some flavour to her routine, and encourage her to get out and talk to people; people who weren't her co workers or entitled customers. With this in mind, Yachi pulled one of the numbers off and placed it in the pocket of her apron.

Which led her here. In someone's garage, staring at a bunch of boys she'd never met in her life. The butterflies were going crazy by now, and she was trying her very best to stop the word vomit from coming up.

"Everyone, this is Yachi, she answered the ad," the ginger announces, the enthusiasm in his voice ever present. "I'll introduce you to the guys first! The one who looks really scary is Kageyama, he plays guitar and is a super genius."

Yachi spots a black haired boy with a stern look on his face and her knees nearly give way.

"...The tall guy is Tsukishima and he plays bass. Don't worry if he's mean, he's like that with everybody."

Tsukki nods at Yachi.

The ginger boy then points to the person checking cables, "That's Tadashi, he's our vocalist and sometimes plays tambourine."

Tadashi pauses his work to wave at Yachi. She meekly waves back.

"And the best for last," he gestures to himself. "I'm Hinata and I'm the drummer!"

Yachi gulps. They looked so sophisticated, and so scary, something she couldn't pull off in a million years. "Hi everyone," she murmurs softly, failing to meet anyone's eyes.

"What instrument do you play?" Kageyama asks, failing to recognise her nervous demeanour.

"Oh um, I used to play piano, and I know that piano players aren't really needed in bands a lot but I figured I could play keyboards or help out with musical composition." The word vomit had started, she knew it wouldn't help her case but she continued anyway, "You guys don't have to let me be in your band if you think I'm too bad at it or anything..."

Kageyama cuts her off, "You play piano?"

Yachi nods.

He looks at Hinata, a pissed off expression on his face. "Hinata, we needed another guitarist."

Guitarist???

"S-s-sorry Kageyama I forgot to put that on the ad."

"Shoegaze bands don't need pianists. The guitars are the most important part. Does she even know what shoegaze is?"

She didn't. Yachi's heart sinks, the nervousness replaced with the sting of disappointment. As Kageyama and Hinata bicker, the two trying to pin the blame on eachother. Yachi decides to make her way out of the house before the tears well up. Figuring there was no point sticking around if she wasn't wanted.

A voice perks up. "You know, Yachi was the only person who answered the ad. If we dismiss her abilities entirely we could be missing out on a chance to strengthen our instrumentation."

The two are silenced. Yachi stops, turning her head back in surprise, to see Tsukki with arms folded.

He continues, "Going the purist route like Kageyama here will only make us run of the mill copycats. If we don't somehow innovate the sound we'll be forgettable. I think someone classically trained could be an asset and could push our music in a different different."

"See Kageyama?" Hinata exclaims. "She'll be great! What do you think Tadashi?"

The brown haired boy- was that a tint of green?- shrugs. "I can fill in as a second guitarist if Kageyama really wants it. I don't see why Yachi shouldn't be in the band."

He turns to Kageyama, who has been quiet since Tsukki initially spoke up. He stares at Yachi directly, his unreadable gaze making her tremble. He breaks it and addresses Tsukki, "You're right." More silence. "We'll trial her, and if she fits she can join us permanently. We can't guarantee she'll mesh well with our sound just yet."

A sigh of relief escapes her. She was in! Well, not in just yet, but they were willing to give her a shot! "Thank you so very much you guys for letting me join. I'll try my best, I promise. Thank you thank you thank you!"

Hinata pats on her the back. "That's totally alright Yachi! It'll be awesome with you around, I'm sure you'll do great. Right guys?"

Tadashi gives a thumbs up, Kageyama's face remains unchanged and Tsuki shrugs.

"Once again thanks," Yachi smiles, her shoulders loosening up and breathing a small smile of relief. She turns to walk out the door, calling behind her, "Please text me when you guys are practicing next!"

"Are you leaving already?" Hinata pouts. "We can't hear you play."

"Oh I'm super sorry!" Yachi says, flustered once more. "I just have work. Next time I promise I'll bring my keyboard and jam out with you guys. I swear!....Ahhh!"

Kageyama's hand is on her shoulder. He hands her a torn piece of paper, covered with his handwritten scrawl. "I made a list of shoegaze albums. Listen to these. They're important."

"Uhh.. thank you." She pockets the piece of paper and then turns around to wave at her newly found band mates, "See you guys!"

Finally out of the garage, and making her way towards the store, she reads the list Kageyama has given her. Yachi could almost admire his passion for the genre; quite a few albums were listed with hasty notes detailing the important aspects she should look out for, but the stench of elitism he exuded kept her from fully acknowledging his prowess.

She had no idea how she'd find the time to listen to the extensive list of music he'd given her before their next rehearsal. She spent the majority of her time working and her manager barely let her play her own music in the store, instead subjecting her to repeated listens of Green Day. Regardless, Yachi thinks to herself, she needs to listen to this. It was essential to keeping her on Kageyama's good side, improving her chances to be included in the band as a worthy musician.

Her eyes glance at the album listed first. It is circled, and the title written over at least five times to give the impression it's bolded. Beside it: "MOST IMPORTANT- IF YOUR (Yachi cringes slightly) GOING TO LISTEN TO ONLY ONE, PICK THIS ONE!!!!"

"Loveless," she whispers the title to herself, grabbing her phone to look up the album. "Let's go."

[amarretto-cowboy]

@get-cuboned

No one said you have to. It's a choice. If you want nice things, you're gonna have to work for them. It's that simple.

I wanted to live in a nice home in a nice area at the Jersey Shore. I did what it took to do that without college. I could have opted to get a place 30-60 minutes from the shore for much less money. I didn't. I chose a more expensive route that required more work.

I lived my life plenty. Its as much about time management as it is about money management. What type of "living life" are you referring to?

Even working 60-80 hours a week, I was able to read, go fishing/crabbing, kayaking, take courses, learn hobbies, spend time with friends/family, date, get laid, etc.

If I became disabled, my plans would have had to change as i apply for disability.

If I died.. Id be dead. What about it?

If my house burned down and insurance didnt cover for whatever reason, I'd be grateful that i didn't pay cash for it and instead am paying a mortgage like most as I file a lawsuit against the insurer.

Same applies to a million other things. Things change. Id adapt.

Who said to give up basic quality of life? I said that scaling back from just 2 daily Starbucks trips a day and a couple lunches out to Panera Bread a month could save you well over $1000 a year. It your quality of life is predicated on Starbucks and Panera Bread but youre broke, then make cuts elsewhere.

Get a vehicle that burns less gas. Get a lesser cable package or cut out a streaming service. Get a more affordable phone and/or plan. Try to use less energy at home.

Future is never promised but that doesn't mean we shouldnt plan for it. Luck favors the prepared.

You think those in other systems dont plan for the future? You think farmers dont plan for drought?

You're clearly misinterpreting me. I never claimed once should give up everything that gives them joy in order to save money. I gave examples of easy cuts that could help one save money to avoid living paycheck to paycheck.

How giving advice to people to help them become more financially stable became a controversial thing is beyond me.

[tesslucetram]

Netflix recently cancelled and BANNED my dad over this.

Some background. My dad has been a Netflix customer since they were a snail mail DVD company. Yep, that's right. A paying customer almost since their inception. He didn't mind, and the rest of us in the family (who aren't luddites) were actually cool with it when they switched to streaming only. Precisely for this reason. We didn't have to go to dad's house to watch our shows. Bonus, because I can't stand his wife and my brother lives out of state. Anyway, ten-plus years we've all been sharing a Netflix account. We were all KINDS of ecstatic when we could finally have separate profiles because by that time my brother has little kids, and let's face it, kids shows are super annoying, and they really don't need to be seeing the kind of horror stuff I watch either. So Dad upgrades the service so we can all watch at the same time. It's great. And there are literally only four profiles. Dad, Brother, Kids, and me. We never shared the password outside of the family. Dad originally gave it to us because we (my brother and I) were both very poor. To the point that the only internet I had was on my phone. No cable. I didn't even own a TV. But I digress.

A couple months ago, I tried to log in to Netflix from my Roku stick. It pops up with a message that the account is under review. Okay. Maybe dad's card expired or something. It happens. Call my dad and ask what's up. He says he got an email from Netflix saying his account had been canceled because of all the different IP addresses they "noticed" on the account activity. After ten years. Really? They just noticed? Bull hockey. They got greedy and said, 'Hmmm... We could be earning triple what this guy is paying us." The email went on to say that my dad was BANNED from creating a new account for a YEAR. Obviously they hoped my brother and I would get our own subscriptions. What actually happened was that we said, "Fuck you. Netflix has kinda sucked for a while now. Your original content doesn't make up for the lack of new episodes of other current shows, and we're done." Neither I nor my brother has Netflix at the moment. Neither does my dad, who was the one actually PAYING them. He's the kind of guy who would have continued paying them indefinitely. Now they have no revenue from our family.

Congratulations, Netflix, you played yourself.

apple TV and disney plus are pushing me back to piracy. streaming almost made an honest woman out of me... but it’s time to sin