#where words fail; music speaks — music & media

[wethotcrazy]

CAN'T CONTROL IT

pairing: Franco Colapinto x Fem! Driver! Reader

word count: 739

just something a little short and sweet for franco colapinto. also i think the can't control their mouth and can't control their face would suit him well?! idk bro

The F1 social media team had a new favorite hobby: catching YN's reactions to everything Franco Colapinto did.

It started during pre-season testing in Bahrain. Franco, fresh in his Williams racing suit, had spun on his installation lap – a rookie mistake that had the paddock chuckling. The TV director, whether by instinct or divine intervention, cut immediately to YN in the Alpine garage.

Her expression was poetry in motion: eyes rolling skyward, lips pressed together to suppress a smile, followed by a head shake that somehow conveyed both "I can't believe this" and "that's my idiot" in one fluid movement.

The clip went viral within hours.

"Have you seen this?" Franco bounded into the Alpine hospitality area, phone already extended. "'Every Time YN Dies Inside Watching Franco Colapinto: Testing Edition' – they even put sad violin music over your faces!"

YN didn't need to look. She'd already seen the compilation – a masterfully edited collection of her various reactions to Franco's testing adventures. Her personal favorite was the slow-motion zoom on her face when he'd described his first F1 car as "spicy."

"I'm starting to think you do these things on purpose," she muttered, but her treacherous face was already softening at his enthusiasm.

"Maybe I just like seeing your reactions," he winked, dropping into the seat beside her. "Remember in F3 when you said your face wasn't that expressive?"

"Remember in F2 when you said you'd learned to think before speaking?"

His laugh echoed through the hospitality area. "Some things never change, no?"

The Australian GP brought new material for the ever-growing collection of "YN Can't Control Her Face" content. As Alpine's reserve driver, she was in the garage when Franco scored his first F1 points – a remarkable P8 in a chaotic race.

His radio message was pure, unfiltered Franco: "P8! P8! YN, are you watching? Better than that time in F2 when you said I'd never score points because I was too busy talking!"

The cameras found her instantly: pride blooming across her features before she could school them into professional neutrality.

"Every time they show your face, the comments explode," Esteban teased later. "I think you've got more screen time than some of the actual drivers."

YN groaned. "Don't remind me. Someone made a TikTok trend out of my different 'Franco Reactions.'"

"At least you're not 'Can't Control His Mouth' Colapinto," Pierre chimed in. "Did you hear him in the press pen? He spent five minutes explaining how you once bet him he couldn't qualify top 10 without talking on team radio."

"Did he mention he lost that bet?"

"No, but your face when they asked you about it said everything."

Monaco was where things reached new heights. Franco, running in P6 during practice, had been providing commentary that somehow always circled back to YN:

"YN's watching, no? Tell her this is how you take the hairpin properly—" Franco spoke through team radio confidently before scraping through the hairpin.  "Ah. Maybe not like that."

The camera cuts to YN's perfect face-palm, followed by a head shake that somehow conveyed both "I knew it" and "why am I even surprised" in one swift motion.

The resulting clip went viral on Tiktok and became F1's most-watched social media post of the weekend.

"You know what I think?" Franco asked one evening, as they shared takeaway in the quiet of the paddock after everyone else had left. The cameras were finally off, but YN's face was as expressive as ever in the dim light.

"That's a dangerous start to any conversation with you."

He grinned, nudging her shoulder. "I think you like that I can't control my mouth."

"And what makes you say that?" she asked, trying and failing to keep her expression neutral.

"Because every time I talk about you, you make this face – like you're trying not to smile but can't help it. It's my favorite one."

"I do not have a special face for when you talk about me."

"Si, you do! You're making it right now!"

She threw a napkin at him, but her smile – soft and genuine and completely uncontrolled – gave her away.

The next day, during the drivers' briefing, Alex caught Franco staring at YN with an expression that mirrored all of hers – soft and fond and entirely unguarded.

The photo went viral with the caption: "Looks like neither of them can control anything anymore 💕"

[kararisa]

darling, starling ✧

pairing: scaramouche x gn!reader

genre: social media au, modern/celebrity au, friends to lovers, fake dating

summary: being the world-famous singer-songwriter "zenith", the limelight has been on you ever since the start of your career. however, the media becomes relentless when leaks of music you never meant to release begin to circulate. your friend scaramouche, meanwhile, seems to have gotten stuck while writing his second book. with a deadline fast approaching, he comes to you with a deal: act as if you're dating him so he can gather reference material and, in turn, he'll help keep the press' eyes off of your leaks until you release your next album. a win-win in your book, so why not help a friend out?

side ships: venti x xiao; thoma x ayato

warnings: swearing, crack, slight angst (?), alcohol consumption, yn wears makeup sometimes, depictions of online hate; specific chapter warnings will be listed at the beginning of each chapter — will be updated as the series continues

status: ongoing

author's notes:

did some minor reworking so if you've seen this for the second time, you're not hallucinating dw

yes this is my second smau. yes I still don't know what I'm doing haha. timestamps don't matter unless I say they do

apologies in advance if i miss any grammar mistakes, english isn't my first language ^^

written chapters are marked with (★)

pre-concert party !!

0.1 - lost hearts • 0.2 - welcome back, shithead

profiles:

clown central™ ([name]'s friends)

the waffle house (scara's friends)

1st verse — for future reference || playlist

1 - is this real? • 2 - enjoying yourself: a guide

3 - bitchless since birth • 4 - attention

5 - unwritten rules (★) • 6 - we're doing couple things

7 - safe with my indifference • 8 - when's the wedding

9 - iridescence (★) • 10 - worst date ever

11 - then beg • 12 - a little bit scandalous (★)

13 - not too late • 14 - only here for you

15 - i can fight • 16 - wine-stained lips (★)

2nd verse — where words fail, music speaks || playlist

17 - it's so joever • 18 - famefucker

19 - i miss my parents • 20 - none of your business

21 - child of divorce • 22 - don't text and drive

23 - neon escape (★) • 24 - this can't be real

tba

3rd verse — hate to be lame || playlist

tba

encore !!

tba

— the taglist is currently open! if you’d like to be added feel free to reply or send in an ask! – if your blog isn’t highlighted it means i can’t tag you.

[janovavalen]

taste like the fourth of july .°୭̥ ❁ ˎˊ˗ tom glynn carney x fem!reader

summary: it’s the fourth of july and tom finds it a great opportunity to introduce his new fiancé, y/n l/n to his non-family, family.

warnings: drinking, smoking, and the cast being themselves.

𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘🇺🇸🎆 !

word count; 1k

sitting in the car as the radio played music from y/n’s playlist that was connected to the car, her hand fiddling with the silver ring on her finger.

tom with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on his lap to rest, he noticed how y/n failed to speak the whole car ride to the park where he and his friends planned to meet for the fireworks. turning to look at her he smiled sweetly and reached over to place his hand on hers.

gaining her attention, she turned to look at him. his eyes speaking words, she threw her head back a little and spoke—‘i’m sorry, okay? i’m just so nervous.’ she revealed tom laughed a bit at this.

‘about what? there’s no need to be nervous about meeting them, they’re all very nice’ he told her while squeezing her hand then then placing his hand on her thigh.

‘i know that’s why im so scared! some people are nice to people they secretly hate, i know it because i do it on a daily at work’ y/n and tom met through mutual acting in movies, the two playing love interests in their top two platforms of , the king and domina.

the media placed two and two together to see how close they’ve gotten which led to the two revealing their relationship and years later their engagement.

they loved each other both, endlessly. even if in their show they had to fake hate each other which tom had commented on a interview that—‘it’s actually hard to hate my fiancé, but i think i do pretty well’

as they pull up y/n let’s out a shaky breath and looked at his friend as they laughed, a faint shadow of the smoke belonging to someone who smoked, she looked at tom who busted out a laugh at how nervous she was.

‘your not serious.’ she deadpanned while watching tom laugh endlessly and loud.

‘i am! i’ve seen you play scenes that anyone would be nervous to do and your not but you're nervous to meet my friends?’ she rolled her eyes as he laughed and placed his head on her shoulder, her own smile cracking out.

‘stop tom!’ she yelled as he held her after she tried to push him—‘okay okay, i’m sorry. just come on, they’re nice and will love you as much as i do, come on.’ he told her, giving her a kiss on the lips which reciprocated.

walking out of the car and shutting it behind them she and tom met half way, placing his hand on the bottom of her back close to her bottom, right above her blue jeans.

y/n thought it would be cute to dress with blue shorts and her white shorts with tom’s cowboy boots. her wore a hat that’s he got him a bit ago when they went to coachella together.

‘hey!’ one of his friends yelled, a cigarette in his mouth as he held a beer can in his other hand, tom recimpocater the excitement as he went and greeted his friends before stopping—‘oh, this is y/n, my fiancé’ he cheesed as they all awed and made their way over to y/n who smiled at them, nervous

‘hey guys’ she said.

‘awh she’s sweet isn’t she?’ one with dark red and long hair the other next to her nodding, they had shorter hair.

olivia and emma. tom gave a run down on everyone before they arrived.

the two giving her a hug as phia ran up—‘your just a beauty aren’t you? oh my gosh’ she gushed, leaning in to give her a hug and kiss on the cheek which y/n gave back on hers.

‘oh stop, your beautiful’ y/n told her as phia smiled sweetly and leaned in, turning around to her other friends, edwan, emily, milly, and harry following the other bunch catching up.

‘what a crowd, i’m so nervous’ y/n placed a hand on her chest as they laughed, matt inhaling his smoke before dropping it in the grass.

they all spoke and talked amongst themselves, tom watching as y/n talked and laughed to his friends. he was beyond happy with the outcome of this, he was happy she was able to fit in with the crowd .

y/n talked with phia and harry while she ate the rocket shaped ice pop that tom handed her out of the cooler. he stood next to her as he spoke to matt and milly, emma and olivia talking not to far as they smoked their shrinking cigarettes.

‘wait! so when is the wedding?’ olivia asked, walking over to the tow as they turned and shrugged—‘we actually don’t know yet, but we were thinking something small like a bar or something? i don’t want too much going into it, so we wanted it small’ y/n nodded as tom did as well at her words.

‘oh that’s great, i hope to get a invite?’ she laughed while y/n nodded—‘obviously!’

‘guys! it’s starting!’ milly yelled with a smile as they heard a boom being them. turning to see fireworks shooting into the air, everyone watched and laughed, leaning into each other where they stood.

y/n who leaned into the american flag like a blanket with phia which she got before arriving.

tom pulled out his camera recorder and filmed the entire thing, turning to show y/n and zooming into her as, her hand holding her can of her drink and a cigarette, seeing the camera she blew a kiss at the camera, him making a kissing sound behind it to give her a air kiss which she laughed at.

sipping their drinks, inhaling their smokes and enjoying the view. tom pulling walked over and grabbed y/n by her waist, looking down at her lips and smiling—‘are you having fun?’ he asked, keeping their close proximity .

she smiled and leaned in, giving him a sweet kiss on his lips which he hummed into—‘get a room!’ phia yelled as she laughed when the two separated but not letting go.

[paper-mario-wiki]

What is your favorite bar from the myriad of good bars from Kendrick Lamar involving drake, i.e. Euphoria, Meet the Grahams, & Not Like Us?

note: when I say "Drake" I mean the constructed pop star. when I say "Aubrey" I mean the human being and actor behind the narrative that is "Drake".

Euphoria my favorite bar from this track is the whole "I'm the biggest hater" refrain. i like it because that singular section alone completely obliterated Taylor Made Freestyle. by paraphrasing the late DMX's famous quote about Drake, he is demonstrating how you can respectfully and powerfully use words from the mouths of dead predecessors to discredit your opponent, further showing how much of a stupid tactless clown-show popstar-turned-con-artist Aubrey Graham is in using the AI mockery of Tupac's voice to taunt Kendrick, the current voice of the West Coast and-- to many-- the people's successor to Pac.

6:16 in LA with a slightly lighter tone than the other disses, i consider this song to be a person to person sit-down and final warning to Aubrey that Kendrick is willing to provide. he explains that OVO is full of moles and wires, Aubrey is being hustled with nobody on his side, and going as far as saying "you can't sleep, these images trouble you" hinting at the fact that he would be going after Drake's personal failings that he thinks about when he goes home at night and stops being Drake. which he totally did in meet the grahams. also, bonus points to my favorite rhyme scheme in the song, just cuz it's so much fun to say:

Your lil memes is losin' steam, they figured you out The forced opinions is not convincin', y'all need a new route

like, what a perfect little two-bar rhyme scheme.

meet the grahams in this song, the most powerful lyrics to me (and the ones that usually make me start tearing up) are the ones where Kendrick stops being sorrowful and starts being angry.

You a body shamer, you gon' hide them baby mamas, ain't ya? You embarrassed of 'em, that's not right, that ain't how mama raised us Take that mask off, I wanna see what's under them achievements, Why believe you? You never gave us nothin' to believe in

this reminds me of every traumatic scolding i ever received as a child. i think that the word "disappointed" isn't strong enough to convey the feeling here. something closer would be "let down", because Kendrick's whole thing recently has been peace and uplifting people. he was willing to tolerate the competition for the game, but there were so many times that he warned Drake to not mention Kendrick's family. ultimately, in this stage of their careers, what they were fighting for was not fame or power, it was their legacy. they were fighting over how they were going to be remembered, and Kendrick was not about to let his pacifism make him passive in watching someone pretending to be a part of his culture stain how he will be written about in the records of Hip-Hop history. in specific, i love the line "take that mask off, i wanna see what's under them achievements" because he is BEGGING Audrey to respond honestly, as himself. he is begging him to cast off the facade of "Drake" and speak with any amount of dignity, because at this point there was no more room to speculate on whether or not he actually was who he claimed to be with regards to his music. at this point, the consensus was pretty thoroughly in the camp of "the actor Audrey Graham has been co-opting the image of the American Rapper for his career".

Not Like Us i think i love the bar "he has all eyes on me and imma send it up to Pac" because it goes back to the core of what this is about to Kendrick in fighting for legacy. the media, specifically the white dominated media, sucks the culture (that is to say, Black culture) dry for all it's worth monetarily, and in the process there have been many twisted caricatures or unfair narratives left in the wake of black creatives who are no longer alive to defend their own names. there's an entire tangent about how tabloids disproportionately affect black creatives due to the very fact that white supremacy discounts the respect these names have to the (largely un-melinated) higherups in hollywood, and as a result there is less PR dedicated to keeping their image clean, but i think im not qualified to go off on it. the point is, Drake disrespected Pac's legacy (and continues to do so by owning his ring, really, instead of having it be in the possession of someone who's at least from the west coast), and Kendrick wanted to put some honor on his name. he made sure that he was not just mentioned in the shameful (Taylor Made) and angry (euphoria) parts of this beef, but also its most triumphant moment.

[balkanradfem]

So I wrote about my fun with fall chores, but left out another important aspect of my life; losing my mind without laptop or internet. Even though I'm usually not online a lot, I would at least have all my nancy drew games, stardew valley, and a whole lot of podcasts and audiobooks to listen to at my disposal. Now, nothing.

I had a song stuck in my head and couldn't listen to it. It was devastating. Then I remembered, my ancient little phone actually could function as a radio, if I put headphones in. And the song I wanted, sometimes played on the radio. So off I went to listen to the radio!

Radio music is awful and horrible. I fail to understand how anyone can listen to so many aggressively heterosexual songs. I was dying by the time Chappell Roan came on. At one point, I kid you not, Blurred lines played! I yelled and shut down the radio and then continued yelling. In 2024???

It took me a day to realize that my phone actually had a record button. Which meant I could record music and then just have it permanently saved on it. I was both delighted and hit with nostalgia. I haven't pirated a song by recording it from the radio in 20 years. I remember doing it on my cassette player as a kid! And now my phone had the pre-installed ancient piracy tool. They used to make such good stuff.

I had to listen to radio for 2 days to get my two lesbian songs and to finally get the song stuck in my head (it was Too Sweet. I'm basic shut up). I made a playlist and called it gay and was finally free from the radio. Even though wanting to listen to a song and then waiting for 2 days for it to come on on the radio is such a pre-internet struggle, the joy when it finally came on was incredible. I was squealing jumping woooing laughing. It was almost like a quest in a video game; the more effort it takes, the stronger the satisfaction. 

I realized how isolated and small I felt without the internet, just listening to the radio. Every person I know here is heterosexual, and I found myself cut off from community, it became difficult to feel normal. Listening to a lesbian song on the radio was all I had; I knew other gay people were listening, it was a joint activity. I wasn't all alone.

I sometimes wonder if the straight people are hearing it and if they understand what its about. I remember when 'Take me to church' played in the car, I would scan everyone's faces carefully, to see if they understood, if they agreed, if they knew that was anti homophobia playing on the radio. But there was never a reaction. I would then remember that most people here don't speak english, and even if they understood a few words, they don't bother to understand a song from the radio. It's fully possible they're listening 'Hot to go' imagining its a heterosexual song, regardless of how funny that is. Imagine a woman writing a song to get a guy to sleep with her. In what world. 

Looking back, most of my internet endeavors were about finding gay stuff online, first it was gay anime, then fanfiction, and then I got drawn to tumblr in the era where gayness was celebrated and strongly encouraged. I felt safe here! And that was all before I even knew I was a lesbian. And now I wonder, is it endlessly painful and unsurvivable to be a lone gay person without any community? If I waited two days next to a radio to get a gay song, if I used any access to information just to find the writings and media made by gay people, it must be vital like the air to me. When I'm here I feel normal only because I'm exposed to the thoughts and feelings of other gay people, and I know you're reading mine. Without you I'd be lost.

[sunflowergirl522]

She Moves in Her Own Way

Pairing: Rickstar!Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: Eddie gets interviewed and he answers questions about his love life while reminiscing.

Word count: 1932

Eddie Masterlist

“So Eddie,” the interviewer says, crossing her leg over the other where she sits across from the rockstar, “people are dying to know what your mystery girl is like. You’re rarely pictured with her and no one can seem to get you to say who she is.”

Eddie sits up straighter in his seat as you become the topic of conversation. He had been starting to get a little bored, slumping a bit. He didn’t even want to do this interview for some teen magazine he’s never even heard of. He only agreed to it because when he brought it up to you you got all excited because apparently you used to read them throughout high school.

“Yeah, I like to keep her to myself. I don’t want to see a bunch of lies about her in the media, y'know? I’ve seen it happen to enough people in my line of work.”

“Do you think you could tell us what about her caught your eye?” Eddie wants to laugh at the question, he figured this was what whoever was interviewing him would want to talk about, his love life. Why else would he be getting interviewed, surely teen girls don’t care about what got him into music and why it means so much to him. But then again you did, you always did.

��She started as my best friend back in high school. She was always sticking with me and up for me even after she graduated and I failed.” Eddie gets a goofy grin on his face as he starts talking about you. “One thing led to another and she’s been my everything since.”

You and Eddie had been acquaintances in elementary and middle school and became closer in high school when you got paired up for a project freshman year. You claimed him as your best friend after he punched an older kid for making fun of you. You’ve even returned the favor before by getting into a fight with the girl who first started calling Eddie a freak. He had to be the one to break up the fight by pulling you off of her.

You’ve always supported him too both with the club and when he started his band back up with Jeff, Gareth, and Adam. Even though with practices, meetings, and your college classes after you started them the two of your schedules almost never matched up to hang out. You still made it to each and every one of his shows most of the time just to talk to him afterward.

“So you’ve been together since high school?”

“No, it wasn’t until she was almost done with her major that I finally worked up the nerve to say anything. She was helping me get ready to leave for the band's first small tour and I had a feeling of it’s now or never. And then she made me wait until we got back to give me an answer.”

The urge that he had to ask you now before anyone could scoop you up while he’s gone came while he watched you laugh at something Gareth had said while you were saying bye to everyone. The last thing he wanted to happen was that boy from your English class getting to see you laugh like that and falling in love and next thing Eddie knows he’s being invited to your wedding.

“I can’t believe you’re choosing school over us Sweetheart.” He teased while wrapping you up in his arms causing you to laugh.

“Maybe if it was just a week Eds, but I don’t think my teachers will like me being out for a month. I’ll miss you though, it’s gonna be weird not having you around.” You buried your head in his chest squeezing him tighter.

“You’ll get along just fine without me distractin’ you from all your studies. I’ll miss you too though.” He just held you to him for a while before speaking again. “You wanna go out to a movie or get a nice dinner or something when I get back?” You pulled away just enough to look at him and give him a playful smile.

“Edward Munson, are you asking me out?”

“Uh yeah, yeah I am.”

“Well it’s about time.”

“Is that a yes?” Eddie quirked an eyebrow smiling down at you. You hummed and tapped your chin in mock contemplacey.

“Hmm, I’ll let you know when you get back. You gotta go or you’ll be late.” You reached up to kiss his cheek before stepping away completely. “Bye Eds, love ya!” And you waved as Jeff called his name and he had to climb into the bus.

“What’s she like? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.” Eddie smiles at her words every other interviewer that has tried asking about you just basically demanded the information and he had immediately shut them down without thinking twice. 

Even if they had asked like this he would’ve said no because he was never sure what you would think of having the world know stuff about you but this time he knew you didn’t care. When he was contemplating doing the interview and you got excited he complained about how the questions would probably mainly be about his love life. You had just shrugged and told him to do it anyway and that you didn’t care about everyone finding out about you as long as he didn’t care.

He did care but this time he was asked so nicely that he would give as much information as he could without giving away any details that would lead people to figure out who you are.

“I love her because she moves in her own way. Her fashion sense is god awful because she dresses like a muppet. Almost all she listens to is disco and she has the most bizarre movies memorized. And she’s probably the kindest person I’ve ever met who’s always watching out for the ones she cares about.” Especially the kids in your life. When you met Dustin and the gang you had immediately hopped into older sister mode and had them imprinting on you like ducklings. 

And you’re one of the best teachers Eddie’s ever seen. He was lucky that you agreed to tutor him that last senior year even though you had your own classes to focus on because without you he probably would’ve failed again and he honestly would’ve just dropped out at that point. And you’re constantly helping the kids with their school work when they need it. When Will and El moved back to Hawkins you had helped catch them up with what was being taught there because their school in Cali had been behind. 

Watching you interact and help El is something else really. You’re so patient with her and constantly helping her catch up to kids her own age since she’s so behind because of being stuck in the lab her whole childhood. She’s made amazing progress thanks to your help. 

And he’s seen how you interact with your students at Hawkins middle school. Each one gets a special form of special treatment and you almost always make yourself easily accessible during school hours, staying late in your classroom during the after school activities in case one of them needs you. Dustin compared you to his old teacher Mr. Clarke and your face lit up like the fourth of July before saying thanks and told him all about how he became your mentor since you started teaching.

“She sounds wonderful! What was it that made you realize you were in love with her?”

“I think I was for a while before I said anything to her. But I realized it myself after a couple months of us dating. Our schedules weren’t really lining up because she was having to study and go to class and at that point the band had started really picking up some traction. So she would come to the shows just to hear about my day or week depending on how long it had been since we were able to see each other.” The goofy smile Eddie’s had the whole time he’s been talking about you gets bigger as he thinks about how he’d see you in the crowd waving at him with a big smile on your face. It makes him want to finally get home to you because even though he’s only been away for a few hours for this interview, it’s a Saturday and he should be enjoying your day off with you. “I’m sorry, is this interview about done?” He didn’t care much if it came out as rude.

“Yeah, thank you for your time and answers today Eddie.”

“Yep, you’re welcome.” He waited as she gathered her things and held the door open for her before rushing out of the building because that was the polite thing to do. But then he was speeding home to you.

A week later the magazine with his interview hit shelves and you came rushing home from the store with it in your hand.

“Eddie, you made the front page!” He looks up at you from his spot on the couch as you excitedly wave it around.

“Cool, do you need help with the groceries?” He starts to get up and you physically pause suddenly remembering why you had been there in the first place.

“No, I forgot about those when I saw this. Whoops. But look at this!” You basically shove the magazine in his face causing him to laugh and take it from you before sitting down and pulling you onto his lap. 

“Alright, let’s see what this is all about.” He holds the magazine out for the two of you to see the front. “Rockstar Eddie Munson opens up to us about his lovely mystery girl. God people actually read this crap?” You giggle at the bewildered look on his face and nod. “Who cares?”

“The entire female population probably. You’re a total babe, babe. Now go to your interview. I wanna read it.” He rolls his eyes but goes to it nonetheless, handing you the mag and resting his chin on your shoulder. “There’s some questions about how you got into music Ed’s what are you complaining about? It’s not all about your love life.”

“They were basically the same questions I’m always asked. I was so bored.”

“Yeah I see that in the notes here. Eddie had begun looking bored until I started asking him about his girlfriend when he sat up straighter and started getting into it.” You read it out loud, eyeing him. You’ve talked to him about faking interest in the past. About how these people are just doing their jobs and asking the questions probably provided to them. Before he can defend himself you read another part out loud. 

“Sorry to say it ladies but the one and only Eddie Munson is so much in love with his girl that you can see it in his eyes when he talks about her. The thought of how he probably looks at her has me swooning and I haven’t even seen it.” You put the mag down before turning so you’re straddling him, his hands wrapping around your back. “You hear that, she’s swooning. I’m shocked you actually answered the questions about me this time.”

“Well she asked so nicely compared to anyone else who asked. And you’re my favorite topic of conversation baby.”

“I love you Eds.” You smile and rest your forehead against his. 

“I love you too Princess.”

Eddie Taglist(Closed): @sadbitchfangirl @notbeforelong @munsonswhore86 @navs-bhat @emotionaldreamer @magicalchocolatecheesecake @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @fangirling-4-ever  @gaysludge @audhd-dragonaut @eddiethesexy​ @mazerunnerrose @tvserie-s-world @midnightsgetawaycar  @goldylions  @spacedoutdaydreamer @livslifeonline @mushroomelephant @hb8301 @ginnupp @saramelaniemoon @kaylshunter @nojamsonmytoast @vintagehellfire​ @esoltis280​ @cole22ann @spikedhe4rt​ @let-love-bleeds-red​ @siriuslysmoking​ @ladybug0095​ @toobsessedsstuff​ @3rriberri​ @alana4610​ @gretavanfleas​ @sparkletash​ @herejustforjj​ @aactuaaltraash​ @gloryekaterina​ @quixscentsposts​ @wormm-mom​ @eddiemuns0nl0ver​ @spookyemorockbabe​

Everything Taglist: @bejeweledmastermind @matchamunson @bubsonnobx @practicalghost @katsukis1wife @crustyowos @yourfavdummy @protecteddiemunson4vr 

[rosehippiefield]

I love that no character is one-dimensional:

Sara is not goody two shoes protagonist with unwavering hope (I like Makoto it's not his slander I really promise I love kind guys), she has the highest chance of winning. It can't happen to ultimate cinammon roll. The balance between her caring side that wants to protect everybody and using charisma to her advantage is so tricky and yet it works (though I am a bit baffled at how she changes without Joe in AI simulations).

Joe is not only cheery cheesy best friend that dies just so you can cry about it (even if it's true as well). Joe is distrustful, he is scared and he kind of wants to escape with sacrifice card knowing what it entails. So he came up with a plan where good people being majority would live, and if not he can feel less guilt. Amazing idea! And we all know how he returns in second chapter. A sing of ungrounded guilt that doesn't correspond to reality whatsoever but can't be combated with logic alone. In best case scenario it is defeated with reminder of how real Joe behaved, showing how faulty our perception can get from trauma.

Keiji is not just sexy detective that supports Sara, oh no. This guy gets close to our heroine on purpose and I dare say kind of uses her for own gain. Then, his trauma doesn't equal all of his character nor it magically justifies killing Megumi, it simply explains his current actions. And of course I really want to believe that he is not some creep flirting with people in most suspicious way. He just needs excuse for evading akward questions. This man, deprived of sleep because of his sins, is both cunning and kind, capable of cruelty and striving to be like his idol.

Kanna and Gin are not annoying children that constantly need saving or exist to evoke sympathy. In Kanna's case sympathy is natural, but it is not the only thing going for her. Kanna is about giving a chance, letting go regrets, making thought-out sacrifice and when it fails moving on to make sure it doesn't have to happen. She develops constantly, bringing ideas to the table and trying to get all group stay united. Kanna makes conscious choice to spend time with Shin to get information, so while she can be manipulated it's not always the case and she's not all naїveness. Her arc of overcoming trauma and insecurity may seem familiar to characters from other media, but it is unique and distinctive.

Gin is autism representation without making him vilain or weird. He has some pecularities, for example, wearing animal-like clothes and repeating animal sounds, and yet nobody bats an eye, so surely he's no outcast or useless (on the contrary, he is quite useful remembering names in the bar, using scent, helping morally etc). Gin's the least morally gray of the cast, but it doesn't mean he is cardboard nice support kid either: he has his dislikes or his own thoughts (he is quite distrustful toward Kanna because he's younger and doesn't use age as justification for her actions).

Reko seems simple enough, a hot-tempered rock star, emo/punk lady many would like to date. Strict to the strong, kind to the weak. She had a lot of changing in the past and it continues here, she is becoming softer. But it's not her only trait: she's a talented singer that was interested purely in music and it's perfection. She ignored to some degree her happiness, her band, her beloved brother for the sake of art. She wasn't indifferent, but appeared as such. And now, finally having a better understanding of what's important and bright future ahead she ends up in a death game with Alice. Their plotline is prominent in second chapter and is devastatingly tragic.

Alice looks like comic relief with his exaggerated reactions and bizzare choice of words (personally I love this type of speaking it's cool). But he is actually not only a scaredy cat: he is a person without a purpose. He searched for it in a path with sister, but no happiness came, only murder of Midori. Alice hides his soft side to not be hurt, he on purpose builds a wall and appears so arrogant because when he was openly kind the close ones were indifferent (not to mention prison, I admire how Alice kept his sanity at all).

Shin is a prime example of morally gray character done right (majority here are morally gray but with him being antagonist it's far more prominent). I have seen various post about fandom interpreting him either as "totally evil manipulator", "Kokichi/Nagito kinnie", "cinnamon roll he did nothing wrong" or "what a loser". But he's not just good or bad, him having antagonist status doesn't make him Ouma copycat or Komaeda's successor, and while I get him being a loser is funny it's not the only thing to define him (though it's more of a joke than serious interpretation). Shin is very insecure and distrustful guy who "sees shadows where there aren't any" (quoting Sara) due to 0% and wants to live, using all methods... until he gets attached. He plots mainly against people he considers his enemies (to tell the truth, with 0% anybody could be classified as enemy), and I think he wouldn't abandon those close to him like Kanna, perhaps partly due to guilt of using her. In general, his actions, while obviously not the best (and he knows it perfectly well), come from fear of death and paranoia rather than pure malice or craziness.

Nao may appear as mentally weak girl you constantly have to help and can't rely on. Yes, Nao has problems with dependance on other, but she has her own aces up her sleeves. She's creative, smart, open-minded. For me her advantage lies in unexpectedness: who knew she saw through AI's lies? For her own sake and for the group Nao is capable of difficult actions like puching fake Reko. This girl is about growing more responsible, learning to trust your own judgement (she has great intuition by the way) and becoming independent.

Kai is quite too unique for stereotypes in my mind, a mysterious but awfully suspicious man. He looks so feminine but don't let that deceive you: he's assasin. Assasin that doesn't kill. Kai is the person escaping from his bloodied, horrible, traumatic past into right, calm, tranquil future with only householding chores and not killing attempts to protect... wrong people (Sara is not bad person, but her father is likely to be tied to Asunaro). So poor househusband is leaping from one abusive enviroment into another, but now being genuinely loyal and unaware of all skeletons kept in closet.

Q-Taro is certainly not only kindhearted big muscular guy (that dies in certain chapter) or stupid. Yes, he looks like parody on American, yes, all his accents make his speech a bit silly and stereotypical. No, he's not dumb. In fact, many plot twists involve him in some way (especially the banquet). Also, he could sacrifice his life for somebody, but he is equally capable of doing the opposite. Q-Taro is quite honest but not above tricks to leave this place, he cares for th group (taking into accout his team-spirited profession) but prioritises himself until later; he knows how sinful people are including him and that allows him to forgive quickly.

Finally, Mishima dies so early you don't hope to see him after 1.1. But if you think he's the shock value first victim that dissapears after, you are not quite right. Mishima, being dead, yet has influence on story as well, either through mystery of his head or AI that appear three times (maybe something is really up with him). Not to mention Ytts where his character shines and not burns. Him being almost perfect doesn't ruin anything, it motivates to become better as well because he wasn't always like this. Plus, he's no ideal, Mishima understands how world works but is passionate to a fault, not to mention his suspicious behavior. He is example of a person that matured, overcame his main faults and inspires the same in others.

Of course, everyone can interpret these characters differently and it's great, those perseptions can be true all at once. They are so interesting and captivating thanks to many layers of depth where everybody can see something unique.

[jmdbjk]

My head is spinning...

Let's spend the next two weeks (or however long) arguing about who, what, when, where, when we could be enjoying content or music.

Yes, it's all over the news media and social media: RM, V, Jimin and Jungkook will enlist December 11 and 12.

Buzzwords being used: companion enlistment and battalion, company, barracks, training center... etc.

The more information is reposted and quoted, the more it gets twisted because words get left out, translations aren't clear and people generally misinterpret what they are reading because most social media posts are not complete sentences (omg the internet is ruining language writing and reading comprehension skills).

The initial report was RM and V would be going to a training center together (or at least at the same time/same date) in the "rear" and Jimin and Jungkook were going to one on the "front" and this base is organized so that it is considered on the "frontline." The initial report implied all 4 would be at the same location, 2 going to the front training center, 2 going to the rear training center.

Then reports began to surface that Jimin and Jungkook had chosen "companion enlistment." Which is a thing and they very well could have done. Siblings, relatives, friends, can request this but only for those whose birthday is 1995 or after.

After all of that, somehow, now we have Jimin and Jungkook going to the training center where Jin is located. Which may or may not be true.

You might even start seeing stuff about men with tattoos that are visible if they wore a singlet (tank top) or short pants are not eligible for training instructor assistant positions and therefore that's why they chose companion enlistment. (??!! eh?) That one is all over the place, I'm not sure what the accurate explanation is.

It's a frenzy of confusion. We don't know for sure. We won't know for sure until the day of, when I'm POSITIVE the media will be camped out along the roads into those military boot camp facilities with their cameras set up on tripods waiting for the black KIA Carnivals to show up.

Just me typing this and posting it will add to the never-ending confusion. I would rather talk about Jungkook explaining how the buttons failed him onstage during Fake Love or the quantity of naked Jimin we've seen in the last few days...

One thing I will say with conviction is that they were committed to this plan. They tried to tell us that. They did their best to remind us that 2025 was the target. Yes, they had some things to wrap up, some important things to finalize this year and some stuff that was hard to pin down. But in their minds and on paper, they had the general plan.

And I will also say that when they are all discharged, they will hit the ground running. They didn't do all of this extensive planning to be discharged and sit on their ass for a while to get used to being a civilian again. They're gonna kick ass as soon as they land, shoot some footage for an MV and get the show on the road.

Next year (which is a month away) there will be a ramp up when its time for Jin to be back with us, then Hobi, and then we'll be on the downhill side of all of this enlistment business and the wheels will start turning to get us all whipped up again. Stadiums will have been booked years in advance (as we speak they are being booked). They've got this plan in motion already.

All that being said, I hope our men do well, stay healthy, safe and without drama until June 2025 when they will be discharged from active military duty.

[shokobuns]

ch 1. – sweet nothing

ch 0. – sunday morning / masterlist / ch. 2 — jumpscare!

note: this chapter contains mixed media (written + texts), 1.2k wc! it’s also about a year timeskip from chapter 0!

synopsis: writing songs about the fling that broke your heart catapults your band into fame. unfortunately, his bedroom won't be the last place you see him

ALTERNATIVELY — you and atsumu learn to get along for the sake of your best friends.

warnings: suggestive ish jokes

ABOUT 1 YEAR LATER

There's a big smile plastered on your face as you look down at the crowd of jumping fans. The venue is crowded and you’re glad your manager booked one with AC as you feel the cool air from above. You hum the rest of the tone into the mic as Iori starts her solo. compared to everyone else, she’s not as flashy. In fact, she looks like she’s at peace with every strum, almost as if she’s about to sleep. Utahime observes her from behind the drumset with pride while you and Suguru admire her.

As she finishes, you notice a poster with the words ‘MOMMY UTAHIME!’ surrounded by hearts. Iori catches her breath, oblivious to the bouquet of flowers being passed to the front. You grab them for her, speaking into the mic.

“Uta, I think you have some admirers.” 

The crowd cheers and she looks up, carefully grabbing the pink and white bouquet. It's gorgeous, big pink roses blooming over the baby’s breath all wrapped in brown paper. “Looks like someone paid attention to last week’s interview, huh?”

One section of the crowd cheers as you notice a fan jumping with joy. “You gave these to her, didn’t you?”

The girl nods her head. “You have anything to say, Iori?”

You hold the mic up to his mouth. “Thank you,” she responds breathily, “I love and appreciate you!”

Another cheer erupts from the crowd and it fills you with adrenaline. You’re tired. You’ve been tired from the months you’ve been traveling, but this is the last song of the night on the last show of the tour. All of you want to end with a good performance.

“This is the last ever performance for Across the Sea. It's been a great year and I'm really thankful for everyone who’s come out to see us,” you pause, the rush of mixed emotions overtaking your body. You’re going to miss your little adventures, but it also feels nice to be home. “Does anyone have a guess on what our last song is?”

From what you can hear, the crowd chants “Easy Talk,” the song that had gotten your band into the spotlight. Utahime starts playing the beginning guitar riff as Suguru follows with the bassline. Ieiri comes in next, then you.

When you first started performing, you were anxious and noticeably awkward, but with each show, you became more and more explosive. Walking across the stage, singing with your hand on your chest for every line that came from your heart. Talking casually in between songs as if you were with a group of friends–it wasn’t easy as the crowds progressively got bigger. There’s beads of sweat forming on your forehead and falling down your face. Your mascara and your eyeliner were smudged, lipstick faded into a red stain, but you don’t care. Ever since you’ve gained confidence, your performances are raw and natural. It’s the whole appeal of your band.

You’re swaying with them as the music calms, each instrument gradually coming to a close as you continue to sing.

“Thank you for coming, fishies! I love y’all and goodnight!”

All of you wave goodbye before heading backstage where Mika runs up to you with open arms, “I'm sweaty! Stay back!”

“I don't care! You did amazing and I'm so so so proud of you!”

You give into her touch, wrapping your arms around her. on the other hand, Satoru grabs the rest of the band in a big group hug. Iori and Ieiri fail to dodge it, but Suguru doesn’t try, embracing his best friend. “My pookies did so good tonight,” Satoru tears up, “You guys are so talented.”

“For the love of god, stop calling us your pookie bears, Toru!” Iori slaps his arm, “You’re annoying!”

“Well, I guess you’re uninvited to dinner.”

“Don’t be so mean, Satoru,” you grab his arm, pulling him in for a hug, “We’re finally home.”

“Mean? She’s the one being mean to me!”

“Shhh…”

When you look back at the past two years, it’s almost insane when you remember that you graduated with a degree in chemical engineering about a year ago. It’s not that you weren’t exactly disinterested, but more so that you preferred to make music with your friends. 

It just so happened that the right people were at an open mic. And while all of you had decided not to officially sign to a label just yet, Fairy Fishes just… kind of blew up, thanks to the internet. From there, little singles would be released and after a few months of writing and experimentation led by Utahime you had your first album ready by your last semester. It was draining, but also convenient for her assignments in her composition classes. 

A few months before graduation, Fairy Fishes had recognition as an upcoming band. And while everyone could have started working after graduation, going on tour sounded way more fun. The team of newly graduated college students didn’t do too bad in terms of organization and marketing. 

“I missed you, Mika,” you hold her hand, her other on the steering wheel, “And I’m also really fucking hungry.”

“I missed you, too. And I’m also really fucking hungry.”

“So did you invite him?” You squeeze her hand, the side conversation in the backseat immediately coming to a halt.

“Girl, we haven’t even gotten home yet.”

“You’ve been updating us on this mystery guy every week we’ve started on this tour,” Satoru reaches to grab her shoulder, “You know how nosey we are.”

“Plus, we literally told you to invite him to dinner with us once we got back. This is probably the most appropriate time to bring it up.”

“Yes, I invited him to dinner!”

Much to Mika’s annoyance, the van cheers.

Heads turn when everyone walks into the restaurant and it feels… odd. 

Suguru and Satoru love the attention. After all, Satoru models part time and Suguru was a hit on the promotional pictures that Kenma and Tetsu had helped design for the tour. You and the girls, on the other hand, don’t know how to handle it except to follow along with the pair. 

“Don’t worry. My boyfriend reserved a private area for us.”

“Your boyfriend, huh?” 

“Yes, Sho. My boyfriend.”

“We’re excited. Can you blame us?”

Soon enough, the group is seated and all there is left to do is wait for Mika's boyfriend who was kind enough to arrange the whole dinner in the first place. From the window, you see a fancy sports car park in front of the building. That's not him, is it?

When he gets out of the car, you squint at the tall figure walking towards the entrance and while you haven’t formally met him, you do know him. Except, he’s not in his usual uniform. Instead, he’s wearing a graphic tee and a pair of baggy jeans. Still, your mouth is agape as you slowly turn to Mika. Her sly smile lets you know exactly why she’s kept his identity a secret.

“Rin?” Tetsu stands up to greet his old friend, “What are you doing here?”

“I'm here to meet my girl’s friends.”

Everyone collectively turns to a giggling Mika as Rin bends down to kiss her forehead, “You okay?”

“Yes. I'm very okay, baby.”

“She fell in love with you because of the student center banner, by the way!”

“Shut up, Satoru!”

“Really? I hate that picture.”

“Don’t worry, baby, you look good in every picture.”

As the dinner progresses, you decide that you like Rintarou. 

He's definitely head over heels for your best friend, which is exactly what she deserves, but he’s also very respectful. In fact, he seems even a little scared of you, which is even better. But overall, he seems equally as starstruck by everyone at the table. Specifically, you’ve noticed his behavior towards Kenma. It was the slight excitement in his voice whenever they started their own side conversation, the little glances he would steal. At the same time, you could tell he’s holding back a little bit of enthusiasm.

“Rin watches a lot of the Kodzuken streams,” Mika whispers, “He’s a big fan, but he’s scared of everyone thinking he’s a big weirdo.”

“Makes sense.”

By the time dinner is over, Mika has successfully won the fight against Satoru and Rintarou for the check, leaving both men pouting in their seats. Being the PR manager for EJP Raijin was not an easy job, but it definitely pays well. You could tell by the amount of times you’ve seen Rintarou and Komori modeling for a clothing brand, the amount of times they’re mentioned in a sports magazine with their teammates, and their social media presences. In college, Rintarou was everywhere on campus and now, he’s just everywhere in general.

fishy facts!

— satoru has a lot of pr experience via observation since his family's status has turned him into a little microcelebrity (#1 nepo baby). his family's pr manager was losing her shit the week that his bare ass cheeks were trending on twitter.

— tetsu handled a good deal of the fairy fish promotionals! after seeing them gain a ton of streams over time, he knew that doing their marketing could be a temporary job for him. which is why he went on tour with them.

— satoru and kenma saw the tour as a graduation vacation. satoru was already rich and kenma wanted to have fun. he posted a lot of vlogs throughout the summer and still streamed, but the games he streamed were not the usual ones since he preferred to play intense ones at home. instead, it was roblox and phone games (subway surfers was actually a hit).

— shoko was looking for possible proposal and honeymoon spots. she took notes of utahime's opinions in each city that they went to.

— satoru and suguru shared a bed even though they totally did not need to. whenever everyone visited their room, it was always one big bed instead of two twins. everyone thinks that they're secretly dating, but no one wants to bring it up, yet.

tags. @ris-krispie

[elviraaxen]

im new here, so im sorry if this is a question youve answered before but tumblr's search bar failed me in finding this to be previous answered but.. uhmmm

c... can we make ocs/personas for Felt World? or would you rather we not or we hold off until further in?? bc i would love to make a puppet give our cowboy a smooch before he is, i assume bc he is a fucking catch and a half, taken off the market in canon lol i assume he wont still be single by the end. im a tad bit too embarrassed to ever post such drawings, but i wanted to know in case i ever did become brave enough to make them public if such you would be welcome to be tagged in or if that would make you feel uncomfortable

and also, for that purpose: as someone with disabilities, im really curious how disabilities are translated into Felt World? obviously not all of them, that'd take forever. but i was curious if they use mobility aids just like ours or if they use ones we could not have (an example of what i mean could be like "seal-chairs" in "Witch Hat Atelier"? they are chairs with hooves that run and jump, as opposed to wheels). and i know you said music is really powerful in this world, in both singing and instruments, but i wanted to also ask how in a world with so much focus on sound are the deaf/hard of hearing accomadated? deaf/HoH people can still play instruments, obviously (the most famous example being Beethoven), but i meant other than that

(also, if i recall accurately you once said that "the puppets have to speak to be considered sentient beings"? i was wondering if in the future could that be amended to "have to be able to communicate"? because i assume nonverbal puppets would still exist, as well as puppets who just dont speak much (whether thats a facet of deafness or nonspeaking shutdown or just a quiet personality). or would that break Felt World's world-building's logic in some way? that's a genuine question. i wasnt sure how to word it in a way that would minimize the risk of one being put on their back-foot, but i tried my best, it really is a genuine question)

(also, because i never like to assume fluency in disability-knowledge: if you need a resource on media portrayals of disability at any point, i highly recommend the youtuber, Oakwyrm. they do a lot of really cool analysis videos on disability. i do apologize if i am overstepping, and you are already largely fluent in disabled portrayals in media and/or already aware of Oakwyrm's existence. i just like to shout at least one resource out because i know many people have no idea where to look to learn more about general disability representation advice and whatnot. you do not have to watch their videos if you do not want to ♡)

also a bit of a tangent, idk if this is just a "for now" aspect of Donna due to her adjusting or if this is a core pillar of her personality but... just, thank you for making a feminine character who cries a lot and is emotional with Big Feelings. ive always felt more connected to the Dorthy Gales, Cinderellas, Clarisse de Cagliostros kind of heroines who are a bit of a "damsel in distress" (tho i do think that term reduces a lot of their agency and bravery) and i feel a bit lonely that we dont see many emotional-vitality-driven heroines who need some help as much as badass heroines or sassy heroines, both of whom are fully capable of getting shit sone alone. makes my cry-baby disabled ass feel a little pathetic (im very physically weak because of my chronic health issues, and am the type of Autistic ADHDer who is very sensitive to getting big feelings), even tho i know those types of heroines are valid and needed. i resonate a lot with AJR's lyric about "But I'm weak. And what's wrong with that?" even though i know im taking it out of context

and im sure Donna will prove herself capable of being on her own and having her own agency, same as all the heroines ive listed, i dont assume she will be stagnant, but i just wanted to really thank you for making a character that i relate to. i dont get that often. it makes me feel a bit abnormal and strange, and i mean moreso than the "well youre neurodivergent and sickly" kind of abnormal that would be implied. like. Weird Kid sitting alone at lunch kind of strange. so its really cool to see Donna and feel less lonely, is what im saying. i wish there were more heroines like her for people like me nowadays, rather than the archetype being reduced to "archiac stereotypes" (which i both do and dont understand the logic of. it depends on context and the example given) and therefore shelving a type of heroine we dont see in a lot of contemporary media (in exchange for a heroine we didnt get to see often (if at all) in past media, the sassy and badass ones, i do get it, and im glad theyre being used more as they should have always been. there are a select few of both camps that feel like "women have to be as stereotypically masculine as possible to be worthy of being called 'a strong character'" when i think strong characters have less to do with personality and more to do with "do they direct the narrative's plot? do they have agency?". but i could be wrong about that and i am getting off-topic)

but yeah. just. overall: thank you for introducing Donna to be like she is. it means a lot to me to see a heroine like her in contemporary media. im really excited to see what youll do next ♡ but yeah, i know im babbling a lot here and you dont need to reply to this half, i just really wanted to stress my thanks and WHY you have my thanks ♡♡♡ i really appreciate having Donna sit at my metaphorical lunch-table with me, even if she has to go sit somewhere else later. its been really nice to be beside her

thank you ♡

ps. i wasnt sure how to format this Ask because i know some people like to have each section have their own Ask for compartmentalizing/tag-organization reasons, but others like it all to be together so they know its all from one person as opposed to the anxiety of "ahh why did i get so many Asks all at once, did i do something wrong, do people hate me-- oh. its fine. i went through that rollercoaster for nothing. dear lord, am i drained now". so i tend to rather assume the latter, just in case; but do feel free to screenshot and section these out into their own posts if you are the former, i wont mind if youd rather do that ♡ have a nice day!!

Oh my goodness what a long message!!! 0.0!!

I had to take a few hours to think about everything to make sure I answered everything. But I should start off by showing my gratitude for the amount of time and effort you put into formulating this! So thank you, this was a really cool ask to receive <3

As for OCs, absolutely you can! I've already had a few who've made theirs, and I have no rules at all when it comes to shipping or self inserts or anything, as long as everyone is being respectful towards each other ^^

As for the disability aspect, I have a few key points that I want to explore in regards to especially deafness and muteness (is it called that? muteness?), but that's further along the story and will be introduced later! Also how song vs instruments work in this world is a part of the lore itself that'll be explained further down the line too, so no need to worry about our fellow mute or deaf/hoh peeps!

I have of course thought about mobility aids and other disability accommodations (because they can be born with defect, illnesses, and be injured pretty much like us, their bodies are a bit more fantastical but there are still rules) but i must admit didn't think further other than to give them similar mobility aids that we use. But clearly it would make more sense to make something more fantastical! I'll give it a thought! That's probably gonna be a fun design exercise ^^

I'm not sure if I can answer the entire ask in a way that does it justice, it's quite frankly the coolest message I've gotten, I'm gonna try and not let it get to my head (lol),

but i'm so glad you and seemingly many others seem to like Donna and appreciate her specifically for being sensitive and reacting strongly. It shouldn't be but it's really daunting to write female leads because as we know people just don't like women in media generally, but I eventually just got over it because I realized I was starting to write a character that demanded the audience cared and respected, rather than showing a story that I had fun telling, in a world worth exploring.

And not to spoil but I've already decided I do not want Donna to go through an arc where she's forced to abandon her emotions or go through something physically traumatic in order to "become tough" to be respected, that's not only overdone but lame and harmful wish fulfillment. So no worries in that department!

But anyways, I don't think I can properly say how appreciative I am of this ask!!! It really warms my heart that you and other people are going out of your way to send me asks about my little story that I came up with on a whim!!! It's truly the best compliment as a creator.

<3

[untilteddocument]

So I've Been Thinking About: Guilty Gear, Johnny, and Masculinity

Welcome once again to So I've Been Thinking About, a journal series where I talk about things I find interesting or appealing about various pieces of media, often video games. This time, I'll be talking about-

Yes, indeed, trio of Japanese actresses, I'll be talking about Guilty Gear, the fighting game series/magnum opus of Daisuke Ishiwatari. Specifically, I wanted to talk about someone who just made their big debut to Guilty Gear Strive's playable roster.

The Words Of The Man Who Never Fails

First off, obvious part out of the way first, the song is excellent. It has that rollicking good time feel of a really good bar song, the kind where everyone is invited to sing along.

There's probably a lot in the song, musically speaking, that goes entirely over my head because I'm not educated in music theory or the technical aspects of music, and there's plenty of musicians on Youtube doing reactions and analyses of the soundtrack that would do a way better job of that than I would (please, 12tone, Charismatic Voice, I'm begging you both, check the soundtrack out, it's great). Rather, I'm here thinking about the writing and what it says about the character.

Folks in the comments have noted that, to my own great interest, Johnny's theme is unique among the current roster in that it's not being sung from his perspective, but rather it's an over-the-top brag being sung about him by someone else. Usually, the soundtrack's character themes are deeply personal statements from each character, an apotheosis of who they are and what they keep closest to their hearts. It's how we are given tidbits like Testament's exultant affirmation of their identity, Leo's well-hidden survivor's guilt, I-No's feelings of emptiness and depression, and so on.

So, what about Johnny?

The whole song is very cornball in that earnest way that makes it cool, very Devil May Cry in that respect. "The guy who was hated by the god of failure" as an epithet is so goofy, so comically badass that it circles back around to being kind of amazing, and crucially, it's not taken seriously enough to blunt that. It's not growling menace or grim power, but pomp and bombast with a wink and a grin. The song, and by extension the character, are having fun with this.

And that's why I think he's doing drag.

Truth Is Always Born In The Mind

First off, a disclaimer. I'm versed mostly in what I would consider the basics of drag, in that it is a hyper-gendered performance put on by people having fun with self-expression and exploration, typically men putting on hyper-feminine drag queen personas and women being drag kings doing the same in the other direction. My analysis was made from this platform, and I'm not sure how much it holds up to scrutiny from folks deeper into the community. Apologies, I'm doing my best with what I have. So yes, back to Johnny.

I noted that there's a lot that's over-the-top about Johnny's front-facing persona, like he's very "manly" to a comical extent. He's given to ultra-suave affectations; his longtime Japanese voice actor, Norio Wakamoto, used diction and tone that indicates that he is trying very very hard to be cool. Likewise, as his song states, he constantly tries to build up his own legend, but he never seems to be invested in people taking it seriously.

This is what led me to my realization that Johnny is essentially doing ultra-masculinity as drag. He's a man dressing up as a bigger, more powerful man (cowboys aren't exactly unpopular in this respect either), and crucially, it's not out of some hidden shame or trauma that he feels he has to compensate for. Certainly, nobody really buys it, and he has no problem with that. He just really likes putting on the image of this smooth invincible folk hero.

Note: there are other wrinkles in his portrayal that aren't covered by this, chief among them the typical Japanese portrayal of Americans as brash loudmouths (affectionate in his case) and a subject of comic relief in comparison to a more sober Japanese straight man (in the comedic sense). I'm not quite sure this applies to Johnny as much as it does to Chipp Zanuff, though, but that context does exist.

He Doesn't Talk About Fake Love

One could try to draw a connection between Johnny's posturing and the kind of toxic masculinity championed as manliness, but I believe it would be spurious at best. The biggest indicator of this is that Johnny has a terrible track record as far as sexual conquest. None of the women in the playable cast give him the time of day with the notable exception of May, whose affection for him is somewhere in the realm of a lingering childhood crush for her best bud.

Just as importantly, Johnny doesn't take that seriously. He doesn't stop flirting, but he never expresses that he feels entitled to reciprocation. He also doesn't get mad at people who don't buy his shtick, so there isn't a sense that he sees his legend as a vector for deference under the guise of "honor" and "respect".

Hell, historically, people who have a positive long-term relationship with Johnny don't have it because of his persona; they have it because under all the bluster, he's actually a decent man. More than a charming rogue and inveterate flirt, he's a man who dedicated his life to helping war orphans and the poor. He is a bit of a clown, certainly something of a troublemaker, but when the chips are down, he wants nothing more than to be a compassionate person who can inspire smiles just from people hearing about him.

And for folks who think that he ought to be bowed and scraped to, his song offers an alternative:

Just Lean.

[gracebutitsasecret]

It’s strange, living in the times we do, when what you want to do is to make art.

I make music, but have wanted to make art in various disciplines since I was very small. I’ve always looked up to artists, especially ones making art with explicitly political implications, because on some level I believed art was important and powerful enough to effect change. So self-expression has kind of become the process around which I’ve built my understanding of myself, such that making art (self-expression’s most pretentious form) has become my reason for living.

But in trying to make my art I’ve realized that art, even speaking truth to power, won’t save us. No album, no art, no truth, no matter how good or well expressed, will ever actually change anything by itself. Because I think while I was right that art that speaks truth to power is important, it doesn’t actually *possess* power. Cause art doesn’t have power, people do, and people don’t do things because art tells them to, they do what they can when they think it will benefit them.

I’ve seen too many examples of good words and good ideas failing to reach, and failing to fundamentally change anything. I think our society’s (and my own personal) obsession with self-expression is simply a reflection of the deeply rooted western fixation on the self over the society. I think the reason why art is limited, is the same reason why its creation is especially promoted under capitalist hegemony:

because it’s passive.

Cause art is something they can package, market, and sell; a product for you to consume. But the only avenue that art can give you is to go make art for yourself. But when expressing yourself is the only praxis you have, when words are all you got, you can only move in a space that the physical world can’t touch. But the world is where the people live, and the people must sum their power in the world if it is to change. I think this obsession with self-expression is holding us back, because the focus on ideas bleeds focus from the acts. It’s the difference between artists and activists; between armchairs and armed resistance: that latter can change the world and the other can only at best describe it. So if they can they’ll keep you on websites like this one, they say publish more words, make more media, create more “content” because if we’re doing that than we aren’t in the streets making changes. And I know this is true because we all call it rightly ridiculous when conservatives on nightly news complain about rap (they’re just racist). Because we all know that art reflects the world not the other way around. Life only imitates art because living beings wrote art down.

So I gotta ask: what is a kid to do? When art is your love and your passion but is ultimately so limited? Should I burn my guitars, and start bombing pipelines? (I mean yeah probably but lemme finish)

I think after some consideration that art does have its place, but only as its own kinda comfort, not an actual agent of change. Cause I know music saved my life, and I know it’s saved so many others cause people will tell you so. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you a story about what art has meant to them personally. Cause I think the *personal* nature of art is both its limitation and its purpose. Cause my music will never change the world, but it’ll be there when you need it. When life is chaotic and insane, when people are cruel and cowardly, when systems keep you underfoot, and when you feel like an alien in our own skin, the right words could keep you going, could make you feel less alone in your feelings. Maybe this is my cop out, my excuse for why I keep doing it, but I think art ain’t something to die for, it’s something you live to experience.

[dk-thrive]

I think I heard divine intervention

Do people still see God’s face in their oatmeal or do we only worship money now? Either way, as corny and impossible as it might be, I wish I could reach out from these keystrokes, set my hands on your shoulders, gaze deep into your retinas and tell you that when Joni Mitchell sang George Gershwin’s “Summertime” at DAR Constitution Hall earlier this month, something like God entered in the room.

The circumstances were strange. Mitchell was in Washington to accept the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, and in the moment I’m describing, to headline at a tribute concert being filmed by PBS. Accepting her award in a satiny frock the color of the ocean and a beret the color of gold bullion, the 79-year-old colossus of song seemed a little out of sorts. Was it the implicit awkwardness of a televised exaltation or something worse? Mitchell suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015 that left her unable to speak or walk, and has since made an astonishing recovery, but as she sidled up next to the grand piano, the room held its breath.

Then, clutching a shiny golden microphone in her right hand, she exhaled that opening verse, her phrasing patient and exact, her tone heavy with color and feeling. “Hush little baby,” she sang with a finesse that can only be measured in metric tons. “Don’t cry, don’t cry.”

Failing to connect those words to the sopping wetness that had instantaneously materialized on my face, Mitchell was halfway through the song before I noticed that my lungs had also chosen to relocate to my throat, which technically qualifies as an out-of-body experience, which is where the whole God thing comes in. Cumulatively, this moment felt greater than life, greater than everyone in the room, maybe even greater than Joni Mitchell, unless she’s God, which I suppose is no longer out of the question.

Normally, I’d worry about sounding hyperbolic here (greatness feels cheap in the social media age), or even worse, sentimental (hooray for a fragile older person doing an incredibly powerful thing), but I’ve been too busy spending the past few weeks trying to figure out how a song so delicate managed to collide into my sensorium with such annihilating, tidal force. Maybe the secret of Mitchell’s entire songbook is tucked away in that paradox — all of those drumless ballads from “Clouds” and “Blue” crashing against our collective consciousness like rogue waves. Maybe we can trace it all back to Mitchell’s lifelong affinity for dancing. There’s a tremendous amount of movement in her music, even when the gestures feel stark and the mood feels serene.

And then there’s all of Mitchell’s unambiguous greatness: Her singular ability as a songwriter to speak to our experiences and imaginations through characters we may or may not know (Carey, Edith and the Kingpin) and settings we may or may not have visited (the autonomous Champs-Élysées, ex-paradise parking lots). Singing about all of this stuff with the intricacy and insistence of a pen scratching paper, she matches unexpected words with unexpected melodies, simultaneously possessing them in ways that feel deeply inventive and allergic to cliche.

But how all of this felt so abundantly clear as Mitchell gently moved another songwriter’s words around in time, as if placing them into their most perfect position, I’m still not sure about. Something profound, and complete, and deeply life-affirming had suddenly sprung into reality, and it was hard to understand exactly how or why.

“You had to be there” is a cruel phrase, isn’t it? We’re a storytelling species, and we spend our lives trying to share “there” with those who weren’t. We search for it in novels and “How was your day?” at dinnertime. But on a Joni Mitchell album, “there” feels like “here.” The visceral experience of hearing her most vivid songs always seems to supersede the detailed stories they’re recounting.

This is all to say that you can watch Mitchell sing “Summertime” in full on television tonight, and while I can’t promise God will visit your living room, try listening with all of your being and see who shows up.

—  Chris Richards, from "Joni Mitchell sang Gershwin. I think I heard divine intervention" in The Washington Post · by Chris Richards · March 31, 2023

[cherryblossomriot]

every time i attempt to capture how deeply my chemical romance is rooted in my heart, how their music, their mythos as a band, their moral philosophies, their symbolic career, how much it all means to me, i fall short every single time.

how can i write essays to explain the words that quite literally give voice to my soul? how can i capture a heartbeat in a simple, neatly wrapped package? i cant. my chemical romance is and always will be the closest thing i will ever have to my most pure, most raw emotions being captured in a visceral, visual, auditory experience.

it is a life-long connection for me. a faith, if i want to be ironic about it.

sometimes i don't need to listen to them every day. but when i need them, their music doesn't just see me, it captures me. re-invents itself every time i come back, older and older and older, with more life experience, more knowledge, more wisdom, but just the same intense, overwhelming emotion. just the same unfathomable sorrow. unfathomable frustration, unfathomable grief, unfathomable fury.

they grabbed me where I was at 14 and said, do you want to learn about the world, do want to learn what love really looks like, motherfucker? it's not everything you've ever been taught about christianity, about the military, about capitalism, about art, about oppression and queerness and feminism and war. when education and my parents and my world failed me, they guided me into becoming a good person, just by expressing their own pain.

and then, when the years passed, i treasured their music, listened to it constantly but lost all of its meaning in a blinding repression of my high-school self and depression that changed its shape, make me purge but not bleed.

when i came back at 20, having lost my religion, lost my ignorance, lost my fear, when I came back and I knew the world, and felt like a body so alive its dying, felt like there was a star in my chest, threatening to collapse, exploding in a cacophony from the fear the drugs and the isolation and art madness and stress and the crushing weight of being a perfectionist that only sees failure. when i felt all of that i came back and i understood and it made sense again and it reformed, lost the bloated reputation i'd bulit for it from youtube comments sections and old albums and a time before me, and it all just became. about me. and i didnt need anyone else's opinion and i didnt need what anyone else thoguht or felt about their music because they were so wholly mine, so fully beloved by me. thats a lack of insecurity ive never encountered with any other form of media, any show or band or movie that i've adored.

old scars, new wounds, it's poetry that breaks through time, finds me right where i am, no matter my age. and I am beyond thankful for that.

no matter what anyone says, music is the language of the soul. don't let anyone try to ridicule you for how your soul needs to speak.

[fair-dinkum-mechanic]

I'm going to try and put this into words again but I always fail because it's so overwhelming and makes no sense to try and intellectualise such an innate feeling of dread that has been with me since I was a small child.

If anyone has an input on this (bc it's been a thing latent in my brain ever since I can remember) please dm me. I need to know what this is bc I believe it's where a significant chunk of my mental illness lies.

So ever since I was a young kid I NEVER felt I fit in. At first I thought I was just weird in general, but then I started to realise I didn't fit in with "masculine" things. I remember even was I was 2-6 years old adults commenting that I wasn't like the other boys, I was interested in reading and making my own little worlds and not running around or kicking a ball or anything like that. Now I know most queer men experience this in childhood, but what I mean extends further than that I feel. I truly felt like I was defective. Something was deeply, deeply wrong with me for not enjoying the things i was supposed to enjoy. From a VERY early age I was friends with girls. Some boys sure but I always thought the girls were nicer, cooler, something to aspire to. But I didn't grow out of that. I never saw myself as a "male" I just kinda... existed? But of course masculine things were FORCED on me every day and the anxiety I used to get going into school, or going home, or picking out clothes to wear, was terrifying. I remember being called a poof by my family in a joking way but I could see that deep down they were terrified that I was gay. It was not an acceptable thing to be in my family, it was explicitly stated by all members several times. But I never, ever related to anything masculine. I am spiritually estranged from my dad and my brother, where I can't even stand to speak to them because they were both so aggressively value and prioritise masculine views and ways. I would have "crushes" on girls but all that was, was me imagining cuddling with them or hugging them or going on cute dates and if I ever imagined it getting sexual, or even a kiss that was too passionate I was repulsed. So clearly, I was gay from a young age but didn't know it.

But now in my life, almost at 30, I still don't relate to masculinity. I don't know what's wrong with me. So many gay men, most of them I see actually, have been able to embrace it. Especially as someone who is older, and mostly a "top" there's a certain role I'm expected to fulfil, in order to be worthy of a relationship or anything like that. I did go to the gym every secondd day for a few years, and even then I wasn't lifting hard or monitoring my gains or doing ANYTHING like that because I can't think of anything worse, but that's what these men do. And on the other end of the spectrum, I'm not a feminine guy either. I'm put off by long nails and long hair on men (sexually, honestly do whatever you want with your body and slay), but like I don't find interest in makeup or fashion or any of those traditionally "feminine" things. Though I do see more merit in those than the opposite.

But I still have this internal view of what I need to be to be worthy of living in this world. I'm a man. I'm not trans, I've had that debate years ago in myself and found that out. But I'm not a man. But living as one there are certain things I need to be, certain ways I'm expected to behave, ways I'm supposed to look and things I'm supposed to want. Sure I may align with very few of them but I don't even HOLD myself like other men I see. I can't grow a beard like every other man I see. Like every man I see plastered over social media and commercials and in movies and in music. I actually hate and am deeply unsettled by masculinity. Deeply. But I feel like because I'm not that I'm destined to die alone, and I put that as a personal failure on my part. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough? Maybe I'm too weak? No self discipline? And I can't help but believe that this lack of masculinity in looks, in behaviour, in drive, is why other men are offput by me. Why I'm so disposable. Not in an incel way bc I don't blame anyone else in the end I blame myself. I don't have trouble hooking up, bc that's the most masculine thing about me. But I don't want that. I've done that. I want... peace. I want comfort. I want love and light and warmth and I want to feel like I'm worthy of that but I don't. I don't feel worthy of that. Because I'm wrong. There's something wrong with me. I'm broken and that's why I'm feeling so alone.

[cazort]

Learning words is great but one additional tip I would have for learning a new language is to learn every word in the context of a sentence that has been written or spoken by a native speaker.

Languages are idiomatic and words don't have one-to-one correspondences, but rather, complex, partly-overlapping meanings.

For example, in Spanish, "bomba" can mean "bomb" like an explosive, but it can also mean "pump", like a gas station pump or bike pump, or it can be slang for a sexy woman. And "Bomba" is also a genre of music and dance. And think about how in English, you can say something is "the bomb" and it means it is really awesome, but if you say something "bombed" it means that it was really bad and failed to achieve its goals (like bombing a test = failing or flunking, or a movie that bombs means it was unpopular and made very little money.)

So basically, understanding the literal / core meaning of a word is important, but you need to expose yourself to a lot of different sentences involving that word to pick up the different idiomatic uses. A great way to get this meaning when you look something up is to type the word into google image search when having the settings set for the language in question. This often captures alternate meanings or connotation differences that you might not catch from a dictionary translation.

It's not just the meaning too, it's a connotation of who would say it and where / when you would say it. For example, "poop", "take a shit", and "defecate" all mean the same thing. But say "poop" and you sound like a little kid, "take a shit" and you are being more vulgar, so something an adult or older teen would say only amongst friends in a casual setting, whereas "defecate" sounds formal and stodgy like you would see in a medical textbook or legal proceedings.

When you learn a word, don't just learn the meaning, learn the cultural context.

A lot of Americans find Japanese hard and I think a huge part of it is that Japanese carries relatively more meaning in connotation of "who is speaking" and "what context am I speaking in" and this context includes more information about your relationship to the listener. So for example you can humble yourself or alternatively, insult someone, by using different word choice. We do it in English too, but different languages vary in the degree to which we are able to do this and Japanese for instance does it more. So be aware of the different ways the languages use words differently from each other, and keep this in mind when learning the words. Learn the words in a cultural context, and expose yourself to a variety of contexts. For example, try to converse casually with peers in the language, but also listen to news broadcasts, a children's TV show, and a regular TV drama. Interact on social media in the language, but also take a book out that is on a more dry, nonfiction topic so you can span the range of reading casual, slang-rich text, with formal, precisely-written text.

If you pick material you already know a lot about, it will be easier to read or listen to, because your brain will fill in a lot of things from context. For example, because I know a lot about plants and birds, I can pick up field guides to plants and birds in other languages I only know some of (like Spanish, German, and Portuguese) and read them just fine, only having to look up an occasional word here or there, but I don't know these languages well enough to read a novel written for a typical adult audience of native speakers. If you start by exposing yourself to the material more accessible to you, it gives you a "way in" to the language that is easier and then you can start filling in the gaps and exploring the more general aspects of the language from there.

Tips to learn a new language

The 75 most common words make up 40% of occurrences The 200 most common words make up 50% of occurrences The 524 most common words make up 60% of occurrences The 1257 most common words make up 70% of occurrences The 2925 most common words make up 80% of occurrences The 7444 most common words make up 90% of occurrences The 13374 most common words make up 95% of occurrences The 25508 most common words make up 99% of occurrences

(Source: 5 Steps to Speak a New Language by Hung Quang Pham)

This article has an excellent summary on how to rapidly learn a new language within 90 days.

We can begin with studying the first 600 words. Of course chucking is an effective way to memorize words readily. Here’s a list to translate into the language you desire to learn that Derek Roger suggested! :)

EXPRESSIONS OF POLITENESS (about 50 expressions)      

‘Yes’ and ‘no’: yes, no, absolutely, no way, exactly.    

Question words: when? where? how? how much? how many? why? what? who? which? whose?    

Apologizing: excuse me, sorry to interrupt, well now, I’m afraid so, I’m afraid not.    

Meeting and parting: good morning, good afternoon, good evening, hello, goodbye, cheers, see you later, pleased to meet you, nice to have met.    

Interjections: please, thank you, don’t mention it, sorry, it’ll be done, I agree, congratulations, thank heavens, nonsense.    

NOUNS (about 120 words)

Time: morning, afternoon, evening, night; Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday; spring, summer, autumn, winter; time, occasion, minute, half-hour, hour, day, week, month, year.    

People: family, relative, mother, father, son, daughter, sister, brother, husband, wife; colleague, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend; people, person, human being, man, woman, lady, gentleman, boy, girl, child.    

Objects: address, bag, book, car, clothes, key, letter (=to post), light (=lamp), money, name, newspaper, pen, pencil, picture, suitcase, thing, ticket.    

Places: place, world, country, town, street, road, school, shop, house, apartment, room, ground; Britain, name of the foreign country, British town-names, foreign town-names.    

Abstract: accident, beginning, change, color, damage, fun, half, help, joke, journey, language, English, name of the foreign language, letter (of alphabet), life, love, mistake, news, page, pain, part, question, reason, sort, surprise, way (=method), weather, work.    

Other: hand, foot, head, eye, mouth, voice; the left, the right; the top, the bottom, the side; air, water, sun, bread, food, paper, noise.    

PREPOSITIONS (about 40 words)    

General: of, to, at, for, from, in, on.    

Logical: about, according-to, except, like, against, with, without, by, despite, instead of.    

Space: into, out of, outside, towards, away from, behind, in front of, beside, next to, between, above, on top of, below, under, underneath, near to, a long way from, through.    

Time: after, ago, before, during, since, until.    

DETERMINERS (about 80 words)  

Articles and numbers: a, the; nos. 0–20; nos. 30–100; nos. 200–1000; last, next, 1st–12th.    

Demonstrative: this, that.    

Possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.    

Quantifiers: all, some, no, any, many, much, more, less, a few, several, whole, a little, a lot of.    

Comparators: both, neither, each, every, other, another, same, different, such.    

ADJECTIVES (about 80 words)    

Color: black, blue, green, red, white, yellow.    

Evaluative: bad, good, terrible; important, urgent, necessary; possible, impossible; right, wrong, true.    

General: big, little, small, heavy; high, low; hot, cold, warm; easy, difficult; cheap, expensive; clean, dirty; beautiful, funny (=comical), funny (=odd), usual, common (=shared), nice, pretty, wonderful; boring, interesting, dangerous, safe; short, tall, long; new, old; calm, clear, dry; fast, slow; finished, free, full, light (=not dark), open, quiet, ready, strong.    

Personal: afraid, alone, angry, certain, cheerful, dead, famous, glad, happy, ill, kind, married, pleased, sorry, stupid, surprised, tired, well, worried, young.    

VERBS (about 100 words)    

arrive, ask, be, be able to, become, begin, believe, borrow, bring, buy, can, change, check, collect, come, continue, cry, do, drop, eat, fall, feel, find, finish, forget, give, going to, have, have to, hear, help, hold, hope, hurt (oneself), hurt (someone else), keep, know, laugh, learn, leave, lend, let (=allow), lie down, like, listen, live (=be alive), live (=reside), look (at), look for, lose, love, make, may (=permission), may (=possibility), mean, meet, must, need, obtain, open, ought to, pay, play, put, read, remember, say, see, sell, send, should, show, shut, sing, sleep, speak, stand, stay, stop, suggest, take, talk, teach, think, travel, try, understand, use, used to, wait for, walk, want, watch, will, work (=operate), work (=toil), worry, would, write.    

PRONOUNS (about 40 words)

Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, one; myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.    

Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.    

Demonstrative: this, that.    

Universal: everyone, everybody, everything, each, both, all, one, another.

Indefinite: someone, somebody, something, some, a few, a little, more, less; anyone, anybody, anything, any, either, much, many.    

Negative: no-one, nobody, nothing, none, neither.    

ADVERBS (about 60 words)

Place: here, there, above, over, below, in front, behind, nearby, a long way away, inside, outside, to the right, to the left, somewhere, anywhere, everywhere, nowhere, home, upstairs, downstairs.    

Time: now, soon, immediately, quickly, finally, again, once, for a long time, today, generally, sometimes, always, often, before, after, early, late, never, not yet, still, already, then (=at that time), then (=next), yesterday, tomorrow, tonight.    

Quantifiers: a little, about (=approximately), almost, at least, completely, very, enough, exactly, just, not, too much, more, less.    

Manner: also, especially, gradually, of course, only, otherwise, perhaps, probably, quite, so, then (=therefore), too (=also), unfortunately, very much, well.    

CONJUNCTIONS (about 30 words)

Coordinating: and, but, or; as, than, like.    

Time & Place: when, while, before, after, since (=time), until; where.    

Manner & Logic: how, why, because, since (=because), although, if; what, who, whom, whose, which, that.