#yes they all have songs in common i did that on purpose

[jawnjendes]

hey i love ben schwartz and i make playlists for some of the roles i really love so here they are

yasper (the afterparty)

clyde oberholt (house of lies)

sonic the hedgehog (,,,,,,)

jean ralphio saperstein (parks n rec)

teddy lobo (renfield)

dewey duck (ducktales)

[criticallyinneedofadar]

Hi! I love your writing! Are you able to do a Elrond fic with a mage elf reader from a different land where their ears are longer & was raised with human commoners? Maybe she's been hiding with Bronwyn and the south landers? (they don't trust Halbrand, he reminds her of the nobles she used to know) Just a meet cute would be lovely, maybe in Eregion? Thanks, keep up the fantastic writing ♥️

I haven't forgotten about my asks! It's just taken me some time to give them all the time they deserve!

This is adorable and I had so much fun writing it!

Side note: For the purposes of this ask, we are saying that the Noldor have longer ears and some split off to stay around the humans in the southlands. Does it follow Tolkien lore? No. But that's okay. Don't take it too seriously :)

A Promise at the Gates

The air smells faintly of woodsmoke, a ghost of the battle that razed Tirharad to its foundations. You stride through the remnants of the village, your boots kicking up ash that clings to the hem of your cloak. The cries of children and murmurs of despair echo as displaced humans cluster around their leader, Bronwyn. Your friend.

She stands with her shoulders straight, her face a mask of calm determination. You marvel at her resilience; the humans have lost so much, and yet Bronwyn remains steadfast.

"I’ll journey to Eregion," you announce, breaking into her thoughts.

Bronwyn’s sharp gaze fixes on you. "Are you sure? The road is dangerous, and the elves…" She hesitates. "They may not listen."

You smirk, though your heart aches for her doubt. "They’ll listen to me. I’m persuasive."

She huffs out a laugh, and the two of you share a moment of fleeting warmth. But your gaze flickers to Halbrand, standing apart from the others. His every move prickles your instincts—his easy charm, his watchful eyes, the way he avoids questions with a grin.

"I still don’t trust him," you mutter.

"Neither do I," Bronwyn admits. "But he helped us."

"Did he, though?" you counter, your voice low. Your past whispers in your mind—smiling lords who lied with their teeth and betrayed with their blades. Halbrand reminds you of them.

But Bronwyn shakes her head, her focus resolute. "If he means harm, we’ll deal with it. For now, we must find shelter."

And so, you go, leaving the humans behind to gather their meager belongings.

+++++

The road to Eregion is long, winding through the wildlands of Middle-earth. You keep to yourself, avoiding caravans and curious humans. The journey gives you time to think—perhaps too much time. Memories surface, unbidden, of the great halls of your kin, where politics wove tighter snares than any spider’s web.

By the time you arrive, the walls of Eregion gleam in the sunlight, and its beauty takes your breath away. Fine craftsmanship blends seamlessly with the natural world, an unmistakable mark of the elves who dwell here. Yet it’s not the architecture that catches your eye—it’s the figure waiting just beyond the gates.

"Mae govannen," he says, his voice like a song. He is tall, with a poise that speaks of both wisdom and kindness. His dark hair shines in the light, and his eyes—those eyes—seem to look straight into your soul.

You hesitate, and his brow furrows slightly. "You are a traveler, yes? Seeking refuge or passage?"

"I’m seeking aid," you reply, your voice steady. "For the people of Tirharad."

His lips quirk upward at her name. "Ah, the human settlement. I cannot say I have heard much of anything from the southlands." He places a hand over his heart in a gesture of respect. "I am Elrond Peredhel. Please, come inside."

You nod, falling into step beside him as he leads you through the city.

+++++

The warmth of Eregion’s halls is a balm to your weary soul. You are ushered into a sitting room, where wine and fruit await. Elrond pours you a glass himself, his movements unhurried.

"You are Noldor, are you not?" he asks as he offers the drink.

You incline your head. "You know us by our ears, I assume."

His smile softens. "They are distinctive, but there is something else. A certain… informality in your bearing. It is refreshing."

You laugh, a genuine sound that surprises even you. "Is that your way of saying I lack decorum?"

"Not at all," he replies, his tone earnest. "It is a compliment."

The conversation flows easily after that. You speak of Bronwyn’s plight, of the humans displaced by war and the help they desperately need. Elrond listens intently, his gaze never wavering. When you finish, he nods thoughtfully.

"Eregion’s resources are strained, they are not equipped to send out vast quantities of supplies," he admits. "But I will speak with the High King.  No one should be left to suffer, not while aid is within reach."

His words ease a tension you hadn’t realized you were carrying. "Thank you," you say, meaning it.

But as the evening wears on, you find yourself watching him not as an emissary, but as a friend. There’s a warmth to him, a quiet strength that draws you in. And when he smiles at you—a real, unguarded smile—it feels like the sun breaking through the clouds.

The days that follow blur together. You work closely with Elrond, planning the logistics of transporting supplies to Tirharad. The more time you spend with him, the more you realize how different he is from the elves you knew in your youth. He is kind, yes, but also clever and quick-witted, with a knack for putting others at ease.

One afternoon, as you pore over maps in his study, he leans back in his chair and regards you with a curious expression.

"You are unlike any Noldor I’ve met before," he says.

You arch an eyebrow. "Is that a compliment or an observation?"

"A little of both," he admits, his lips twitching into a grin.

You tilt your head, studying him. "And you, Elrond Peredhel. You’re unlike the other elves I’ve met. You seem to carry the weight of two worlds on your shoulders, yet you never falter."

He looks away, his smile fading. "It is both a gift and a burden to be of two peoples. I strive to honor them both, but it is not always easy."

For a moment, you see the vulnerability beneath his polished exterior, and it makes your heart ache. Without thinking, you reach across the table and place your hand over his.

"You do it well," you say softly. "Better than most could."

He meets your gaze, and something unspoken passes between you—a connection that feels as ancient and unshakable as the earth beneath your feet.

The day of your departure arrives too soon. Bronwyn’s people need the supplies, and you cannot linger, no matter how much a part of you wishes to stay.

Elrond walks you to the gates of Eregion, his expression unreadable.

"Will you return?" he asks, his voice quiet.

You hesitate, the weight of the moment pressing down on you. "If the road leads me here again," you say, "I will not stray from it."

He smiles, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. "Then I will wait. Until the road calls you back."

You step closer, your heart pounding. "And if it doesn’t?"

His gaze locks with yours, and for a moment, the world falls away. "Then I will find it myself."

The words hang between you, a promise and a hope. You don’t say goodbye; it feels too final, too cruel. Instead, you turn and walk away, the weight of his gaze following you long after the city disappears from view.

As you journey back to Tirharad, your thoughts linger on Elrond—on his kindness, his strength, and the way he made you feel seen in a way you hadn’t been in centuries.

You smile to yourself, the memory of his voice echoing in your mind. Perhaps, someday, the road will lead you back to Eregion. Or perhaps, as he promised, he will find you first.

[mycadences]

Edit: HOFAS spoilers ahead! Tread carefully!

Azriel has had two bonus chapters so far -- and what did they share in common?

HOFAS bonus chapter: "And with each mile onward, she could hear Azriel humming softly to himself. The rolling, wild melody of "Stone Mother" flowed off his lips, and she could have sworn even the shadows danced at the sound."

ACOSF bonus chapter: "Azriel entered the warmth of the stairwell, and as he descended, he could have sworn a faint, beautiful singing followed him. Could have sworn his shadows sang in answer."

Still don't see it? Then let me ask you:

Who is Gwyn?

"Across the hushed, cavernous space, it was easy to hear Gwyn’s soft singing as she flitted from table to table..."

"Gwyn turned from the desk where Nesta had found the priestess singing softly to herself..."

"Gwyn’s voice soared like a bird through the cavern as she started the third song with a solo..."

Yes, she is a priestess-Valkyrie who sings.

And now, who is Azriel?

"Do you sing?"

He blinked. It wasn't every day that people took him by surprise, but... "Why do you ask?"

"They call you shadowsinger. Is it because you sing?"

"I am a shadowsinger -- it's not a title that someone just made up."

She shrugged again, irreverently. Az narrowed his eyes, studying her. "Do you, though?" she pressed. "Sing?"

Azriel couldn't help his soft chuckle. "Yes."

He's a shadowsinger... who also sings (a bit of a "duh" moment but pardon me, it's meant to be dramatic lol).

With how intense the ship wars are, and based on SJM's interview lives, I'll say she has a strong inkling that readers would be analyzing HOFAS -- in particular the bonus chapter centering on Azriel -- for clues on the next ACOTAR couple

Notice that she chose, yes she CHOSE, to highlight Azriel singing when we all know how music is Gwyn/Gwynriel's thing.

Gwyn is literally associated with music/singing the way Nesta is with dancing, Feyre is with painting and Elain is with flowers.

And I don't see any flowers in this bonus chapter.

What I do see, however, is Azriel sharing the same hobby as Gwyn, something that was purposely emphasized in this scene, and with SJM having said that she looks at compatibility for her couples... Well, I'm feeling pretty hopeful. More than hopeful, actually.

(Also kindly remember that Gwyn is a Carynthian (one of the only two females in history), which makes her Azriel's equal.)

Another thing of interest is that both Az's bonus chapters referenced his mate, but that's a juicy tidbit for another day.

And that's what you missed on Glee! ;)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for demanding a kid's mother compensate me for the expensive protective screen he ruined?

I (24F) used to work in a tutoring center with two classes, my class had around 8 kids, the other class had more because the tutor there is more experienced. I was having trouble managing my time and keeping up with all the classes the kids had. There was this one kid Mike (6M) who is a good kid but slightly mischievous, but I had a lot to say about his mother, I don't like her because she doesn't care. For example, the center closes at 6:30 and she's always like 1 hour late to pick him up, sometimes when I'm in a hurry to leave, I end up having to give him a ride myself because I can't just leave him alone and she doesn't pay me for the extra work. She even started to expect me to give her kid rides whenever she has plans, and never offers to pay. I could've been more strict with her but unfortunately I have social anxiety and have trouble asserting myself, but it's common sense to pay people for these sort of things.

Sometimes she even leaves for a trip OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY after she drops him off at the center (for her job- but it's her personal business and she could literally choose a different time or at least arrange for a pickup for her kid??)

Also Mike has two smartphones that he brings with him everyday and is very protective of them. I have no idea if both of them belong to him but that's irrelevant, the point is somehow he's allowed to carry two smartphones at the age of 6, I find it weird. And apparently the mother isn't even aware of it?! (As will be explained later)

It's been a minute so I don't remember what else I didn't like about this mother but there WERE other issues.

Anyway, the center was unofficial and there weren't any real guidelines for me to follow and I was new and very inexperienced so I often went to the other tutor (36F) for advice and copied her teaching style. For the poems and songs the children had to memorize, she suggested I use a recorded audio on my phone to help them with it instead of having to reread the entire thing for them over and over.

So I used this method a lot. At first I used to hold the phone for them and stay near them, but as time went to I started to trust them with my phone as I see how they handle it but I stay close to it. This continued for like a month and nothing happened to my phone. Sometimes when they are done and waiting for their rides I even let them play games on my mobile sometimes and yet nothing happened.

But one time there was a lot of homework so for Mike and another kid on the same grade I played the audio on loop and left the phone next to them, I warned them from messing with it and left to help another kid with her homework.

As I'm busy with this other kid go back to Mike and I find out he peeled the my phone's protective screen on purpose and he was laughing? Yes he's 6 but he knew exactly what he was doing. He often didn't let anyone touch his phones and often checks for damages and goes on rants about how handle a phone.

I went to the other tutor for advice and told me that was unacceptable and the mother should compensate me for it, so I decided to finally assert myself and immediately messaged her to tell her what her kid did and told her the screen costed me over 100$ (which is a lot of money in our currency) and my job was part time so my monthly salary was only about 660$ and it was the only job I had so obviously I couldn't afford it on my own.

She responded by telling me her a 6 year old doesn't understand the value of these things and it was my fault for lending him my mobile. I replied that I only allowed him to borrow my phone because I saw how he treated his two phones and listed several examples of how he handles them and takes good care of them and understands what damages them.

Her only response was: "Who said he has two phones?"

I was so done that was her only argument, but before I could reply she called management to complain about me demanding her money, they promised to resolve the issue and hung up to hear my side of the story.

My boss told me I was very bold to assume the mother would pay me, while the other tutor was on my side, and I learned in a private conversation with my boss that she wasn't a fan the other tutor's teaching methods.

Needless to say, I quit, for many reasons but this was a big factor so AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[vidavalor]

Brenda and Ron

Remember Madame Tracy's obnoxious regular customer, Brenda, and her long-suffering, dead husband Ron? Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're a big clue about The Metatron-- yes, The Metatron-- and how this could go down in The Finale...

Brenda: Her name means-- I kid you not-- "flaming sword."

While Brenda is absolutely fucking obnoxious, she's also something of an inverted Aziraphale parallel here. Brenda, by design, is kind of like if you took everything great about Aziraphale and intentionally did the opposite with it. She's bigoted, she's mean, she hates kimchi lol, she was bullying and rude in her loveless marriage to her long-suffering husband, Ron, who couldn't stand her... She's basically the opposite of our open-minded, sushi-loving angel and the kind, loving, mutually-adoring relationship he has with his partner. Everything terrible about Brenda is notable in the way that it brings to mind how she directly contrasts with Aziraphale.

What our flaming sword of Brenda does have in common with our flaming sword of Aziraphale, though, is that there is someone she cannot easily access whose voice is on another type of astral plane and with whom she needs to speak with great urgency.

For Brenda, it's about her regular attempts to speak with her late husband, Ron, while, for Aziraphale, it's about him taking the rare step of powering up the circle in the floor and trying to reach God. Brenda has nothing of any real note to tell Ron while Aziraphale is quite literally trying to save the world.

When Aziraphale attempts to reach God, he, too, reaches a medium of sorts-- The Metatron, who claims to be the person who can speak for God... just as Madame Tracy claims to be able to be the voice of Ron.

We're a bit doubtful about The Metatron's claims because, unlike Aziraphale, we have seen the opening titles of this show where Frances McDormand is credited rather specifically as "The Voice of God" so, when the wonderful Sir Derek Jacobi shows up as floating head claiming to be God's mouthpiece and is this condescending, cold, shifty, Wizard-of-Oz-esque asshole, we're pretty sure that Frances McDormand is the voice we should trust more-- regardless of whatever the deal with Her might be, exactly.

Backing this up is that The Metatron's parallel is another charlatan. This one being one we actually like-- Madame Tracy.

While Aziraphale attempted to talk to God and got sidelined by a character claiming to be a medium to God, Brenda regularly believes that she speaks to "her Ron" through her sessions with Madame Tracy... whom the audience can clearly see is only pretending to be Ron... just, perhaps, as The Metatron is only pretending to be able to speak to God.

Now, take Good Omens' words-within-words wordplay thing and break the word metatron up. While the inclination is to break it like "meta tron"-- and that does yield results-- for the purpose of this meta, break it like this:

The Metatron: Me Tat Ron. The word tat comes from tatting, a verb used to refer to making knotted lace. A tat is a knot in tatting. Me Tat Ron = Me Knot Ron... or: I'm Not God.

So, in our parallel here, we also have aligning the persons our Brenda and our Aziraphale are trying to contact. For Brenda, it's her dead husband, Ron, and for Aziraphale, it's God, right? Ron = God.

Ron: Short for Ronald. Means all of the following: counsel rule; advice of a sovereign; a song of joy. Ron is also apparently a Hebrew word for joy.

What bit of the apparent words of The Voice of God does Gabriel remember because it's the only thing he's clinging to as proof that maybe God is real and would approve of his disapproval of The Metatron and the demonizing of the demons?

"I remember when the morning stars sang together and all the angels of God shouted for joy."

He remembers what sounds an awful lot like a prophecy of what's to come-- when all the angels of God get together, look to the people who are like independent, sovereign nations among them (like Crowley, Aziraphale, Gabriel & Beez) and demand their freedom to pursue joy and live under a democratic form of government. They're all shouting for joy-- for Ron-- and how might they get it in The Finale?

What can we see from what happened when Aziraphale and Brenda's stories crossed into one another in S1?

Aziraphale's hilarious possession of Madame Tracy while she's in a session with Brenda results in Aziraphale bringing in the real Ron and we get what will be the opposite of how this will go-- the contrasting parallel to the Heaven story like this in The Finale.

Brenda, for the first time since her husband died, actually hears his voice. She's awful, though, so she squanders this and just starts complaining to him and Ron flips out (not very joyful lol), shouting at her to "shut up", glad he can tell her off in death at least when he never did in life.

We're left with Aziraphale's hilariously dry "wasn't that touching?"

Brenda and the two with her are, ironically and amusingly, not really changed much by the fact that the real Ron was heard. Brenda was a true believer and the woman she brought was pretty easily manipulated. The man thought it was a charade but was along for the ride, willing to credit Madame Tracy with a good time when it was all done, saying she provided good entertainment value.

Nothing really changes as a result of this Ron revelation because it's the lower stakes, contrasting parallel. It's the little plot that, really, secretly, is the same thing as the big plot still to come. In that bigger plot, with the involvement of our main characters and the much higher stakes, the opposite could well happen-- the revelation of The Metatron being a fraud will actually change everything.

The point is that everyone involved with the Madame Tracy arrangement was getting out of it what they needed or wanted so no real offense was taken. Nothing changed because no one needed it to change-- which is the complete opposite of the angels and demons in Heaven/Hell. Brenda was getting a place to work out her grief, her guests were getting to support Brenda in that process and be entertained along the way, and Madame Tracy was getting paid-- so, no harm, no real foul here. But the paralleling situation to this?

That one is much more serious. That's fate-of-the-world serious. That's a being in The Metatron who isn't just trying to keep a roof over their head and meals on the table for them and the lovable old idiot next door by pretending to be a fortune teller like Madame Tracy was. That's a fascist ruling an empire of a bonkers number of angels who has amassed enough power to try to destroy Earth and every person on it. It's not Madame Tracy's handful of satisfied clients; it's countless, miserable beings who are being oppressed.

Now, think about what happened here to cause the emergence of Ron and how this is a parallel to the Aziraphale and The Metatron story...

Ron was only able to enter the conversation when Aziraphale possessed Madame Tracy. In doing so, he took over Madame Tracy-- he usurped her power.

Madame Tracy allowed him to do this where The Metatron never ever will but the idea is that the truth of Ron-- God, in our parallel here; democracy and freedom and joy-- will emerge only if Aziraphale can surpass The Metatron in power.

Note that I didn't say that all of this changes if Aziraphale takes over Gabriel's job. I said he needs to surpass The Metatron in power. How does Aziraphale do that?

He's actually already done it-- by being Aziraphale.

The only thing more powerful in Heaven right now than The Metatron is the collective power of everyone who would move to defend Aziraphale *from* The Metatron. He's the motivation for everyone to come together.

It's just all about going directly at The Metatron and taking his power. It's doing that which can reveal the truth about The Metatron and God and lead to an appearance by our metaphorical Ron-- lead to the changes in Heaven that the end of our story needs.

In the parallel in our main story, it won't be the Brenda/Aziraphale who gets screamed at to "shut up"-- it will be the Madame Tracy/The Metatron. Our main angels and demons are really The Voice of Ron this time around and, just like how it took Aziraphale to make it so that a guy named Ron could be heard in S1, it will take Aziraphale again to make Heaven get the Ron-- joy, democracy, freedom-- that they've been desperate for all this time.

Either way, it's going to be funny when the angels and demons get The Metatron cornered and demand to talk to Frances McDormand and The Metatron does about this great a job at it 😂...

Also, bonus interesting bit related to who is going to help with this in The Finale is that Jim is among the common names mentioned in the hilarious moment of Madame Tracy trying to hit on the name of a guy that Brenda's guest knew.

Did Brenda's friend know a Jim? No, he didn't. In the contrasting parallel, though, Crowley and Aziraphale got to know a Jim pretty well recently and, funnily enough? Much like Brenda's skeptical friend with Madame Tracy in S1, our Jim seems like the one character who is pretty sure that this whole 'The Metatron Speaks For God' thing is a charade.

[srbachchan]

DAY 5948

Jalsa, Mumbai May 31-June 1, 2024 Fri/Sat 12:14 AM

🪔 ,

June 01 .. birthday greetings to Ef Barun Sen .. and Ef Manish Singh Rajpoot .. 🙏🏻🚩❤️

Belated birthday greetings to Ef Amit Agrawal from Seattle USA 🇺🇸 .. for May 31 .. 🙏🏻🚩❤️

..

and all the wishes for the birthdays from the Ef family .. love ❤️

so each day is a learning .. what I learnt today stays .. and is replicated to others , and in particular family and the dear ..

I learn today ..

aaahh .. never mind ..

it be not of interest or importance to share to the other .. there is ever the reason for it .. and it be that , better to get the sharing of another that is greatly more proficient and valued than what you may have picked up .. and that is and has been the practice, at least for me .. I may be of the opinion that my learning could be of value to another .. but what if his or her learning is sufficiently more interesting than mine .. to assume that yours is the best is my fallacy .. and fear in many ways .. to be put down is an embarrassment .. ever .. you think you know all but there are millions of others better than you .. you m ay be the strongest physical presence in your environ, until you turn a corner on the street and discover that there are several others stronger than you .. your boast goes to roast .. !!

so ..

come to me .. yes , come .. but -

wait .. wait .. wait .. !!

I am never the best ..

and wait .. wait .. waaaiiittttt .. could be the utterance from AAA in film coming out of an Easter egg , giberiging :

'the whole country of the system is juxtapositioned by the haemoglobin in the atmosphere .. !!'

but it was just ad. libbed at the recording by me .. not making any sense .. Manmohan Ji just allowed me to say any junk at my request .. just so it looks like a proficient English speaking Anthony, when indeed he is not .. and merely just rattling off some BUMFF .. !

AND ..

AND ..

AND ..

you shall be surprised and shocked as am I , that it was mere junk spoken by me .. but the Ef Bushra on a research of the film Amar Akbar Anthony by the interview given by Man ji to an English journalist or writer found this :

The song ‘My name is Anthony Gonsalves’ begins with these lines spoken by Anthony when he emerges from the Easter egg – “You see, the whole country of the system is juxtapositioned by the hemoglobin in the atmosphere because you are a sophisticated rhetorician intoxicated by the exuberance of your own verbosity.” It is an almost exact quotation from a speech in the Parliament of the United Kingdom given by British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli in 1878. Disraeli (who was referring to William Ewart Gladstone) used the word “inebriated” rather than “intoxicated.”

wooooaaaahhhh !!! 😳

AND .. hang on ..

I had some days ago either a letter or a WhatsApp message from a cinema fan and a very proficient scientist, I think from the US, an Indian doing research on space , that the words :

'juxtapositioned by the haemoglobin in the atmosphere'

is a scientific fact .. that indeed there is this factor and a reality, scientifically proven, of 'haemoglobin in the atmosphere, being juxtapositioned,' or something like this .. and his purpose of writing to me was ..

how did mr B know of this fact years before it was researched ..

🤣

🤣

🤣

NO NO NO sir .. I knew nothing .. they were just funny sounding words that were invented at the time of the song recording live by me, spontaneously, without any pre prep or meaning, and enacted in the song , my name is Anthony Gonsalves ... !!!!

OHHH .. BABY .. !!!

I must search that mail or letter .. to give the correct interpretation of this scientist ..

so where did we start today ..?

aaah yes .. learning ..

told you .. never a dull day ..🤨

Love night and dreams 😴

Amitabh Bachchan

... such a common phenomena 👆🏼 in the days of the cassette generation

🤣

[winterzxsoldierz]

Home Alone In The Avenger's Tower

Reader x Hydra agents

Authors Note: I was watching Home Alone earlier and wanted to make a one shot inspired off of it, Marvel style, in this you are Loki's kid, yes i said it, and the Avengers are not gonna be around for this one sadly, but hydra will and that meant fun for you, don't be too sad the avengers will come at the end. Warnings: Pranks, a lot of sadistic pranks, and blood, language Steve wouldn't approve of. Side note:I wanted to bring Christmas a bit early and add some glorious purpose to it. Reader is Female and around 17 & 18

The day started out normal, you waking up and doing anything a relatively normal person would do, brushing teeth and getting yourself together, the team had to go on a emergency mission on Christmas Eve, which had you a little bummed because you were actually starting to like them, your father said they weren't that bad and you agree.

Walking into the kitchen, you stop and smirk, and magically you conjure a full plate of breakfast out onto the table in front of you "Ha, beat that Sam." you murmur to yourself smugly. you take a seat down and begin to eat breakfast, you turn on the tv as well, watching the Grinch, Bucky's twin you called him. After breakfast you wander around the tower snooping around Tony's lab, touching things you have no business touching, you then find Tony's music playlist and grin, that's when you find it, the perfect song to blast around now that you're alone, Master Of Puppets by Metallica, and you ask his A.I F.R.I.D.A.Y to turn it on the common room loud speakers, and around the tower, you sing and dance without a care in the world, hell you even conjure your own electric guitar.

(Sun down) Hours had passed since the sun was up and there you sat on the couch with a tub of ice cream in your lap, with a spoon bigger than your mouth in your hands, "Merry Christmas you filthy animal." you imitate Kevin in the movie as you watch him quote the guy he's watching on his tv. (Meanwhile) Brock Rumlow creeps up the steps of the Avenger's level of the tower, and signals his buddy Grant Ward, to follow him, Rumlow felt a bit smug knowing that the Avengers were gone for the day and probably the night as well, he had it all figured out and Alexander Pierce would definitely be proud when he comes back with juicy information...But little did he know he was in for a rude awakening. A sudden crash awakens you from your power snooze and you look around noting the quiet, the television had cut off itself and the common room was only brightened by the Christmas lights and tree, your eyes narrow in suspension since you knew the team weren't home yet, and it definitely wasn't Peter because he would have texted you, you hear voices, whisper shouting to each other, it was definitely two men, none of who voices you knew, so activating your invisibility you began to your search.

Upon reaching Tony's lab next to the file room you see them, and your eyes widen, now you had two options call for help or handle things yourself, and you thought what the hell, 'I'm a god, i don't need it.'

Purposely you make yourself visible again and play scared child, both of the agents come up to you but you run and of course there's a little evil smirk on your lips. "Hey F.R.I.D.A.Y lock any source of exits in the tower for anyone who isn't me or the Avengers." you yell. and you slip into your fathers room.

(POV:Hydra's)

"What the fuck? Brock you said the place was empty! Grant exclaimed in annoyance, Brock shrugs and glares "How was i supposed to know there'd be a Teenager here?" Brock argues trying to defends himself, Grant rolls his eyes "For you to be the leader of the strike team you sure act like an obnoxious dick on a stick." Grant glowers. "Let's just find the girl." Brock grumbles and walks off "Besides, what can one girl do to us?" Brock yells cockily.

Running into the kitchen you go into the pantry and pull out some popcorn, you rip open the bag and lay out some kernels on the ground, you then grab a bottle of olive oil and pour it down on the ground of the kitchen and common room entrance, but you pour enough where it'll lead them into a large pool of green paint you conjured into the common room area. plan one was already in motion.

"Hey Brock i think i found- oh shit." Grant yelps as he trips forward on the kernels only to slip quicker on the oil, "Uh-oh" the words leave him as he tips over into the pool of green paint with a wet splash. All you do is smirk in the back ground and teleport to where Rumlow is heading.

"Where is that little bitch?" Brock growls and makes his way down the hall towards the file room and instead of meeting the room he falls, through a portal and he falls for about 30 minutes before you eventually let him fall into the paint pool next to his buddy.

Both Brock and Grant look at each other in confusion, before both of them get out the pool, but you have other plans for them. Teleporting the men into the training room, you have them held up against Clint arrow dart board and you speak into the intercom completely invisible to the men you speak "Ladies and Gentlemen, today we have two continents up on stage today to play a game of human darts, our weapon of choice, daggers!" you say excitedly, "But firstly let's give a boo for our gentlemen up on stage for being pussy's for making a move when my family aren't home. BOOO." you murmur dryly and in a wicked tone you speak. "Let's began."

With you still invisible you step into the room, handful of Bucky's daggers in hand, you watch in amusement as the men look around clearly worried about if you're around or not, but who cares.

You start by flipping the dagger in your hand and the swish the dagger fly's right by Grant's arm and plunges right into the board next to him, and then you throw another making a yelp leave him as it lands right by his head, you laugh. Then you turn to Brock, a look of distaste on your face, this guy creeped you out more than you like to admit, you throw not one but two daggers at him, one landing on each side of his arm almost hitting him but not quite. "I call this one, no kids in his sack." You quip and throw a dagger right between his legs, so close but not hitting him. but you laugh at his screams.

Three hours. it's been three hours, since Brock and Grant have been victims of your games, they can't find you anywhere but you have traps waiting for them every corner, Brock was covered in chocolate sauce and thumbtacks and Grant was still green from earlier but had burned shoes from stepping on metal steps you some how have heated up. Again the intercoms start up this time it plays Another one bites the dust by Queen, and the lights flicker off and on and both men walk on a trip wire and are immediately slapped with pans in the face and the fall back into yet another portal and falls into a pool full of flour, they don't get a chance before honey is falling down on them, but of course it wouldn't be funny without your laughter.

Once again, Brock Rumlow and Grant Ward split up, big mistake.

Brock walks down the hallway, his steps a bit squeaky from the mess that is him, he lost all his weapons, he leans up against the wall, and peaks around the corner seeing a round barstool with a metal bucket on it that says "Weapons." he walks towards it with fast big strides and reaches his hand in and hears a click his eyes widens and then Boom he's blown back into a wall rendering him unconscious and a bit bloody "Merry Christmas you filthy animal." You quote, with a satisfied smirk on your lips as the clock it's 12 on the dot. You follow Grant, you're invisible again, and watching him, the feeling he gets is uneasiness and he looks around, yet he keeps going forward, he walks into a room that looks Christmas gift wrapped, it's an empty circle looking room, the door shuts behind him immediately and with an illusion spell, you make him see spiders, that look like reindeer, and they start to chase him, he runs but runs into the glass walls repeatedly until you decided you were done with them, so you teleport in there and punch him in the face knocking him out. You drag Brock's unconscious form into the room with Grant, and tie their hands together with Christmas lights and then you add a Christmas bow on each of their heads. the room that the two men are in is Loki's old cell, you leave the cell locking it up and you put gift wrapping paper over the glass to keep any one from seeing in or out, you add a large golden bow on the door and a note that reads "To:Avengers, From:Y/N"

You cleaned the entire tower up with your powers and went to bed like nothing happened but only you'll know the real secret.

(Avengers Pov)

Everyone is tense and tired, the mission was a trap and bust but everyone is alive, and that's all that mattered, the jet lands on the helipad and the team gets off.

Upon getting into the tower the place smells of fresh chocolate and mint, they are first met with cookies and hot chocolate on the table in the common room, and they see the stockings filled with wrapped gifts, the anger and tension in the seems to leave as they see this and know your the cause, and then that's when they hear it, Jingle bell rock playing from a distance, they follow it until they reach the gift wrapped cell, each of them has their own look of confusion, before Tony steps forward and reads the card. "I'm assuming that the mission you went on was a trap, i hope you like the snacks and presents but i think you'll like this one more, i got em. from. Y/N Laufeyson-"

The rest of the team steps forward and starts to tear down the paper and there the two men lay fully conscious and tied up in a jolly way and all messed up. The team looks at each other before bursting out in laughter. "Well i'll be damned." Tony snickers "That's my darling little angel." Loki smirks, a proud look in his eyes. (The End)

Happy soon Thanksgiving and early Christmas, thanks for reading❤️💚

[mylonelydreaming]

For me, Link being "unhealthily obsessed with Zelda and finding her to the point Ganondorf is a footnote" isn't something that I think is "bad" at all, but precisely what makes this version of him remotely interesting (to me) when Nintendo is otherwise so adamant about keeping him a stoic knight most of the time.

It adds a different layer to him, turns him from this perfect, bland stoic boy into someone who only outwardly appears that way, appears like he has everything together, but is in fact flawed inside and a little broken from what has happened to him. A little off. That makes him much more interesting to me. It gives him a major character flaw that can be exploited by his enemies, and what do you know, Ganondorf and the Yiga Clan do exactly that (they even remark on what good bait she makes).

I also find it interesting to think about when he became this way. Was it the years he spent with her in-between games? Was it well before that, when he was aimlessly chasing that "beautiful voice" even before he remembered who he was? Was it some point before the Calamity? Did he become a knight in the first place not merely to follow his father's footsteps, but to one day protect her? I find this compelling to think about. Is making a specific person your life's purpose unhealthy in real life? Yes. It's also very interesting in a story.

And also on that note, isn't him becoming at least a little too obsessed with her a completely natural thing to happen?

For me, if you take away Link's (yes, I'll admit, unhealthy although I kind of like that), obsession with Zelda, then all that is left is the exact ways that people who hate not only zelink but Link himself describe him as all the time: A robot who feels nothing but duty.

And sorry, but I just find that very boring. Dull. Unexciting. I also, then, can't see why on earth Zelda would have feelings for Link if she's just a duty to him and her acts of affection, like sewing him a new tunic, are never returned. Frankly, I think she deserves a lot better than that, to have her feelings reciprocated and a happy ending after all that she's been through.

And to be honest, why would any writer make her feelings unreciprocated when she's basically the main focus of these two games? How does that make any sense? I also doubt any professional game dev working on a deadline would waste precious time writing and coding dialogue about it into the games if it supposedly wasn't meant to mean anything? I honestly rather dislike people brushing off things like Kass's song, because it ignores that it was purposefully written by the game's creators to tell the player something. It not only feels disrespectful to whoever wrote it, but ignores an extremely common convention of video games. I don't think it's really very fair to call it "bad writing" simply because it delivers the information like a video game and not like other visual mediums would have. Video games have always demanded the player to read things, investigate and read between the lines. Especially so when they are more focused on gameplay, which is exactly where Nintendo's focus lies.

And when it comes to "it should have been more obviously shown", well, look how people complain even when it's subtle? If you're someone who hates it, why complain about the romance not being overly blatant? Isn't that good? I mean, clearly an even bigger fit about it would have been thrown if they had been even more obvious, so personally, I think that the way Nintendo went about it was perfectly fine.

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

Hey. This might be very stupid, but i hope you answer this.

Today I accidently got sucked into your blog, which is ironic since I'm a huge swiftie. (but I'm not here to hate on you, I swear)

The thing is for months I've been doubting where I stand on that. Like if i should call myself a swifte or not. when I was young, I used to worship the ground she walked on. but in the past year, I've slowly realised I've been very sheltered. like the problems people point out about her sometimes are actual real problems, but my brain just doesn't know how to respond to that as it has been taught taylor swift is a goddess and can do no wrong. Since your posts are tagged with #exswiftie, i figure you'd understand.

I am not from america, so I can understand then politics part of it all only to a certian extend. the other things, I just dont know what to say to that. The most i can reply is..."yes that is a bit of a problem". I feel don't feel like a swiftie at that moment.

I had fed my mind this narrative that people who hate taylor swift passionately are like untrustworthy or just a walking red flag, or just "don't get it". Now after reading your actual breakdowns I understand you have a rather educated opinion and perception of things. Which clearly rules out my narrative.

I don't know what I feel like I have to define where I stand on this, I just do. I know I genuinely enjoy her music a lot, even there are songs I don't want to hear more than once. I love the whole swiftie lore, digging deep on each lyrics finding out what they mean, finding clues easter eggs just losing my mind over surprise songs. Then i see this other side, which can't be defined with anything less than deeply toxic, which makes me question whether or not this thing i love so much is genuinely good or not.

Hello dear, apologies for the delay in reply :) I am happy to chat with you. I hope that you did not think I would ignore you.  

I was also a Swiftie for nearly 15 years. I got her debut record as a Christmas present in 2006 or 2007. Though I cannot remember which year it was, I loved her from the start. At 10 years old, I was immediately interested. My mother approved of me owning her music simply because she was inoffensive. She didn’t curse or talk about sex, in the beginning, so she was deemed appropriated for my childhood self.  She and I have since grown up. She is now a terribly pretentious bully- and, well, I grew up much too poor and much too hungry to turn into a bully like her. 

The problem- and something I think you’re very much aware of- is that Swift has built herself up in her fandom as perfect. She encourages fans to defend her every action- and rewards them for their efforts through “Swiftmas” or “Secret Sessions” or “hidden easter eggs that only the smartest- most dedicated fans will figure out.” It’s all methodically calculated to keep up an air of reciprocity between Swift, as the fearless leader, and her band of merry misfits- the fans.  

You are not dumb for falling into her rhetorical situation - she's set the marketing strategy up on purpose. It’s specifically created to attract attention- and, to make people feel good, or productive, by participating in her marketing strategy. She gives people an image of herself as a poor innocent victim of the media, or of any critique, and then rewards people for defending her. In Literary study, we call this “Pathos” as the rhetorical appeal to emotion through messaging- textual work of some kind. Rhetoric like this can be found in all sorts of media- commercials about starving children or beaten dogs, charity event banners aiming to persuade someone to donate. It’s all predicated on the appeal to our common emotion, or human capacity to empathize with each other. For, every time fans are rewarded by her attention- after defending her from a perceived enemy, or figuring out some hidden clue- they feel closer to the idol, they feel happy to have her attention. They get that emotional impact of believing they are helping Taylor Swift, or understanding her better on some more human, connected, level. It’s a game of risk and reward for her. Never mind that none of this altruistic- she gets paid through our attention on her- and if you are not directly lining her pockets with your cash money, she does not actually care about you. It’s the image of caring she projects that matters much more than the fact that she doesn’t actually care.

I’m sure you can think of many more examples wherein Swift has played this game of attention and reward with fans. It’s everywhere- her easter eggs are a great example. Sometimes her use of Pathos is benign- non malicious, therefore a non-issue. However, she often weaponizes this rhetoric in a way that is harmful.

This interplay she sets up, between herself and her fans, is made more intensive through her pathos- heavy approach to Rhetoric. To further illustrate, one of the ways people often explain Pathos is by saying that it represents our, as human beings, judgement affect. We see, or hear, the narrative Swift espouses and make judgements about it. If she says: The music critics are sexist towards me. We say: 1.) Sexism is morally wrong, 2.) Taylor Swift is facing sexism from Music critics, Therefore.) The music critics are sexist and morally wrong, because they are criticizing Taylor Swift.

So, all the critics are bad- and we don't need to listen to them. It's also a way Swift creates permissive attitudes towards attacking anyone who critique's her- because she can so easily label them all as sexist.

She uses this basic syllogism to justify leveraging her fans against all kinds of people- it's not just the critics. I just wanted to give a concrete example, and I will go more in depth on this subject in another post.  

She is playing with people’s emotions, while she is also self-victimizing,and leveraging her audience’s innate human rejection of, for instance, sexism as it offends our personal values. No one is saying that sexism isn't morally corrupt; however, Taylor Swift points to valid criticism and calls it sexism so that her audience will attack. People often have valid critique of Swift- She just doesn't want to face critique at all- ever. If people say her music is too self-centered- Swift says that is Sexism. If people say her music is boring- she calls it sexism. If people say her music is shallow and only centered are relationships- She calls it sexism. When, in reality, it's valid criticism that has nothing to do with her being a woman. Only ever writing songs about your own myopic, self-centered perception of interpersonal relationships is shallow. Her music is objectively boring, because it's derivative. Her music is completely self-centered- and she only admits to that when it benefits her, but when critics say it, she calls it sexism.

Please don’t think badly of yourself. I am not here to hate on you either- I was you. I am not here to hate on anyone at all- I just want to share how my own knowledge, and expertise, of rhetorical appeals and literary analysis can expose Taylor Swift. Swift relies on this rhetorical technique to thrive, she obfuscates the truth, schemes, and manipulates people into thinking her music is the best thing on Earth- or thinking that she is literally a Saint. Clearly- nothing on Earth is that perfect- So why does she need her fan base to consider her a genius, and a saint, so badly?

Personally, I have no problem admitting I have flaws. I think most sane people can admit to their flaws. It’s not a bad thing to have flaws. So why does Taylor Swift react to all criticism like it’s the worst thing on Earth. Why does she have a whole song about calling critics “mean/ and a liar/ and pathetic/ and alone in life” (“Mean” 2010). She has the nerve to call that song an “anti-bullying” song; yet, is it so clearly bullying that random critic who wrote a bad review about her concert one time in 2009? She really hated that guy- and all he was doing was his job. She called him a drunken loser for just doing his job. 

She's written so many songs about how all her critics are just stupid, morally corrupt, or sexist: "The Man" (2019), "Mean" (2010), "But Daddy I love Him" (2024), "New Romantics" (2014), "Shake it Off" (2014), "I know Places" (2014), "Anti-Hero" (2023), "Paris" (2023), "Blank Space" (2014), "I did something Bad" (2018), "Dancing with our hands tied" (2018). There are more songs wherein she carries this theme of "everyone is out to get me, and they all hate me for no good reason" but I think I've listed enough.

The general message is all over "Evermore" and "Folklore" too every time she calls the general public "Clowns" or "masqueraders"

It's just everywhere- her subtle devaluation of legitimate criticism. Trying to chalk it all up to the critics being simply dumb, sexist, or malicious in some way. Perhaps some people are mean- true- but to generalize every criticism as evil? That's just her actually playing a victim card. There's no way every single critic, or person who doesn't like her, is evil, bad, or malicious in some way. Okay?

I’m tired of her claiming to be an amazing person and an amazing poet- when she is just not either of those things. She’s not a kind person- it's all over her music in the ways she maliciously hurts people for fun. She’s not an amazing poet either. I have a few college degrees- and one pass through her work, with a serious intention of literary analysis, I discover that her writing is plain, banal, and derivative. 

She wants everyone to compare her to Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas, and Shakespeare. So, I’m doing what she wants and taking her work seriously enough to critique it. Except that, in critique, I find out why it’s all poorly written- and why it’s just a bunch of thinly veiled conservative iterations of the same boring message over and over. All she ever says in her music is “poor me” and “I hate” (insert person- Kim K., Kanye, Matty, Joe, Jake, John, Scooter, Scott, Harry, Calvin, the media at large, anyone who critiques her, and men in the music industry as a whole). She has the longest list of enemies I think I’ve ever seen- and the funny thing is that all these people avoid her at all costs. None of these people talk about her- yet she is still singing, writing songs, and getting her fans to post memes about how awful they are years, even decades, later.  

It all gets a bit tiresome? No? Personally, I don’t wish to live a life full of such self-pity and hatred- so why should I listen to it in music form? Ya know?  

In my posts, I am attempting to find the truth. I don’t want to “hate” on anyone or anything- but I am going to seek truth in her work.  

I will be posting more about how she devoids Shakespeare of his social reformist efforts. I’m going to post more about how she twists the meaning of every literary reference she’s ever made. I am not kidding, she has misrepresented, and misinterpreted every single literary reference in her entire discography. It’s astounding how hard Swift tries to sound thoughtful- without actually being thoughtful. I will be posting about how she only ever name-drops to either tear other people down or self-depreciate herself in effort to seek pity. I will be talking more about her use of rhetorical appeals to both attract an audience, keep their attention through risk-reward trade-off, and manipulate them into fighting her battles for her. I will be talking about how she upholds a bunch of harmful stereotypes in her music. She often alludes, or blatantly includes allusion to colonialist attitudes. She’s used the LGBT community for profit without making any real activist efforts. She’s leveraged feminism like a weapon against other women- yet never actually has feminist themes in her music. She’s just so painfully hollow- upon closer inspection.  

I don’t hate her as a person. I think she’s unethical, sure, but that doesn’t mean I hate her, want her to die, or anything extreme at all. I would never wish harm to another human being. In fact, after seeing a lot of the harmful stuff in her music, especially about her kind of fucked up views on relationships, I sincerely hope she gets some professional help and finds some peace in this world. When I critique Taylor Swift it’s about her work and her brand- It's not about her personhood.  

I just think that no one Earth is above reproach, or critique, and we must all be held accountable for our own actions. She’s the one that puts her work out there for people- It's therefore completely appropriate for me to discuss her work. 

Edit: Oh and I want to add- I wish you luck in figuring out what you really think about Taylor Swift. If you ever need to talk or vent more- my inbox is always open. :) With peace and love- bye bye

[barananduen]

Art Advice: The Misconception Behind "Study Realism"

Most people who draw anime/cartoons have, while asking for ways to improve, at one point or another been told to "study realism." A common response to this is, "But I don't want to draw realism!"

But, did you know that the purpose behind this suggestion is NOT so that you draw realism? They're not suggesting you change to a more realistic style. What, then?

Let's look at this through an analogy:

Say you don't know music yet and decide you want to learn how to play the Happy Birthday song. You're not interested in playing anything else, just the HB song, and you haven't started learning anything related to music at this point. OK, that's fine, and now we have our situation set up. Once you've decided this, you set yourself to learning the sequence of notes to the HB song. You practice and practice, and, after a while, you can play it really well without a hitch. After a few years, it starts feeling bland to you, and you ask, "How can I make my HB song better?" And someone tells you, "Learn all the other music notes," and "Study classical and other genres of music." And you reply, "But I don't want to play that type of music; I want to play the HB song!" (And that's FINE! It's valid; it's what you want to do.[*Footnote 1]) But without having learned all the other notes and other types of music, you can't make a remix of the HB song, or an "epic version," or a hip-hop-fusion version; you've capped at the end of the first paragraph of this story.

So drawing anime or cartoons is like playing the HB song, or any one song in our example.

And here's where our misunderstanding comes in:

"Study Realism" DOES NOT MEAN "Draw Realism"

Yes, you'll have to draw it to study it (not only your brain, but also your hand needs to learn the skill), but it doesn't mean that's what all your artwork will look like. It is meant to give you more tools to make your anime and cartoon work stronger, more appealing, and more unique.

How will it do that? The more music notes you know, the more types of music you understand and can play, the more original a remix /version of the Happy Birthday song you'll be able to make - and it will be unique. Because you will be able to take all that diverse knowledge and apply it to your song, making it stand out, and the next time you play the HB song, people will go, "Wow! This is a really cool version!"

So now we can be clear: There is a difference between learning something and performing it. You can perform whatever you choose, but by learning all the things, your performance of your "Thing of Choice" will be stronger.

What, Exactly, Will Studying Realism Teach You, Then?

I. VALUES

If you learn how to paint/shade with a full range of values (by learning realistic shading) that properly depict both volume and lighting, you will have no trouble simplifying that to cel-shading or gradient-shading in your anime or cartoon drawings, because you will at once spot when something is undershaded or the shadows are in the wrong spot.

On the other hand, if you try to do cel- or gradient-shading first, you are way more likely to a) undershade, and b) have an inconsistent light source. And when these things happen, you won't be able to tell *why* your drawing looks "off" or bland.

II. COLOR

By studying realistic coloring, you'll be able to learn how color varies across an item (say, a shirt) that is a "solid color." Example: you're drawing a character with a pink t-shirt, standing in the sun, at the end of the school day. The t-shirt is solid pink, however, the colors on it will vary from orange-ish to purple-gray, with some areas almost a bright red (and that's not even considering items around the shirt that would bounce light back onto the shirt and change its color). But you'll only know this (and how to do it) if you study realistic coloring.

Then you can apply that knowledge to your stylized artwork and make it stand out more.

Painting of a stylized pear, where I studied real pears to understand their coloring and texture. See how studying realism can enhance your cartoon work.

III. MAKE BETTER STYLIZED ANATOMY

By studying and learning realistic anatomy, you will be able to make stylized art that, for example, doesn't have one arm longer than the other, because you will have learned how to measure proportions, even if you don't draw realistic proportions. So that if you decide you want to draw unrealistically long legs (eg: Sailor Moon), you'll be able to make them look good and keep them consistent.

You will also be able to draw figures in any position, because you will have learned how body parts are made up and how they move, as well as foreshortening/perspective. Then, when you go to draw a pose you haven't drawn before, it will be WAY easier.

IV. UNDERLYING SHAPES

Although this is one of the least-mentioned aspects of art-learning, it is, in my opinion, one of the most important, because when you learn to see underlying shapes (the quasi-geometrical shapes that build up a figure), coupled with learning how to measure a form using other parts of the same form as reference (measuring the length of one body part by the number of times another body part fits in it, as mentioned in Section III, above), you will be able to DRAW. (Period.) You won't be able to draw just people. Or just wolves. Or just cats. You will be able to break down a new subject into its building blocks and come up with a very reasonable likeness. And whatever's different, you'll easily be able to make relative measurements to spot why and fix it.

Once you learn to identify underlying shapes and how to measure proportions in anything, you will also be able to pick up and reproduce any existing style without much trouble.

[link to Tumblr post with this artwork]

For example, this was my first time drawing anything Peanuts. I didn't have to do practice sketches for it (though there's nothing wrong with doing that). But I knew, from realism, that to achieve a good likeness, you need to measure body parts relative to other body parts, so I looked at Schulz's drawings and was able to determine: OK, Charlie Brown's head is roughly this shape, his body is so many heads tall, his eyes are this % of the head, the ears are this far in, the arms reach down to here, etc. I knew what to look for.

V. FOR THOSE WHO WANT SEMI-REALISM

If you want to do "semi-realism," you'll have a way easier time of it by learning realism and then stripping it down as much as you like, than by starting off with "100% anime" and trying to build it up without knowledge of realism. People think the latter is easier, because it *seems* less intimidating, but it's like trying to drive to a store you've never been to without knowing its address: you'll be driving around forever trying to find it, and it will be frustrating. What people call "semi-realism" is stylized realism, and you can't really hit it without knowing how realism works.

CLOSING NOTES

It also doesn't mean you should stop drawing anime/cartoons and focus solely on realism for X amount of time - you can do both concurrently. In fact, the most fun way to study realism is to do so on your favorite subjects; you can even turn your reference into your favorite character!

Studying realism is also one of the best ways to help develop your OWN, unique style; one which, when people look at it, say, "Oh, that's [your name]'s work!"

[*]Footnote 1: It is fine as long as you are drawing for yourself. As soon as art is a job and you're drawing for an employer, you have to draw in the style they tell you to. So, in this case, it's to your advantage to be flexible.

I hope this was helpful and helps clear up a common misunderstanding people go through when receiving feedback. 💞

MORE ART ADVICE ARTICLES

You can find the index to all Art Advice Articles [here] including:

How to Deal with Art Block

How to Have a Positive Outlook

How to Develop Your Own Style (coming soon!)

etc.

[kunikame]

# PURPLE LILACS !

[05] - perhaps he's into you ! | prev. | m. list | next

ace trappola x fem!reader smau

! warning(s) : cussing, miss-spellings in the tweets & texts, slight lilia lore spoilers, common jamil and azul behavior ("kys" used 2 times) ! w/c : 1k

when lilia vanrouge says he's coming over, he usually appears approximately 20 seconds after he warned you of his upcoming arrival, dressed in his dorm uniform.

tonight, however, your favorite fae-stie barely gives you a second to prepare before he appears in your room in a puff of green mist and his pink silky pajama set (yes, the one much like shaggy wore in the loch ness monster scooby-doo movie, just in pink). 

"what's up what's up what's uuup~!" he sing-songs, dropping down gracefully on the edge of your bed.

"hi, lils. cater?"

"on his way, do not fret. i brought some diasomnia snacks! and–"

"did you make them."

"no, he did not," said a monotone voice from somewhere. upon realizing it was not lilia who spoke, you turn toward the source, only to see malleus draconia (alias hornton) in the flesh, causing you to very nearly die of a heart attack.

okay, you might be over exaggerating. a little.

"--and malleus, i hope you don't mind. he wanted to join 'girls' night," the musician grins.

“nah, he’s welcome to join any time, i’m just not quite sure he’ll find it entertaining,” you say as you turn to look at the raven haired fae, “make yourself at home, hornton. i’ll go get the drinks and wait for cay.”

you spot grim playing with the resident ghosts in the living room area on your way to the (severely run down) kitchen. before you can even fully step into the room, you hear a few light knocks on the door and take a sharp turn towards the entrance instead. what greets you there is a heavily shaking individual known as cater diamond dressed in only his pajamas, carrying some baked goods (courtesy to trey) and his phone.

“w-what’s up what-’s up what’s u-u-uup?!”

a beat of silence passes and you momentarily consider just shutting the door in his face because how and why the fuck are riddle rosehearts and deuce spade also here. you can handle malleus, he’s much like a pet rock, but riddle in the same room with lilia and cater? you think your hair might start graying a bit early.

“riddle and deuce! what are you guys doing here?” you step aside to let them in with a strained smile only to glare daggers at your good friend behind their backs.

“cater insisted i come along and ‘hang out’ with ‘the girls’ for a bit. he said i need to mingle with people my age more to be able to keep up with the trends, or something along those lines, i believe. i don’t see a purpose behind me being here however, so i can take my leave if you’d rather keep it to a close circle discussion– i can’t leave trey to watch over the entire dorm either, i am housewarden, after all.”

“i got pulled along against my will.”

the drastic difference in their response, reasoning and length struck you like lightning for a mere second, “oh– uh, no, don’t worry, you’re all good, riddle. you can stay if you wish to! i won’t keep you against your will though. same goes for you, deuce. you just have to promise whatever you hear tonight stays between us.”

“not to worry, the queen of hearts rule number 14 states that secrets must stay between included parties. may the queen strike me down herself lest i break a rule.”

“anywayy~ after all this chitter chatter cay-cays’s gotten hungryyy and treys’ home-baked tarts are directly under my nose! it would be a crime to not eat them! shoo-shoo, up we go!"

a couple hours have passed since the guys arrival, and everything's been going well so far. it was quite a shock for the heartslabyul trio to find the malleus draconia here at first as well, but they’ve slowly warmed up to him and began to consider him as ‘one of the girls’. the conversation’s been flowing well and the night was filled with shared laughs and stories.

you were just finishing up recounting the recent happenings with ace to fill everyone in on the details when malleus spoke.

“i believe he might just be.. ‘into you’, was it?” he turned to lilia for confirmation, who nodded abruptly. “that’s what i’m saying! the little bat just won’t believe me,” he said, leaning onto cater (who nods along in agreement while patting his bandmate) dramatically, as if you not believing his nonsense caused him a fatal wound. so much for being a war general, this guy is a drama general at best.

“lils, he hates me.”

“enemies to lovers, i say! enemi–”

“on the contrary, i think he quite likes you, actually,” the redheaded housewarden speaks up from the corner he’s sat in, “you’re almost all he talks about recently.”

“oh, you’re right! i asked him about our alchemy homework last week and he found some way to bring you up, even in that conversation. ‘i wonder if [name]’s done it yet? should we ask? i hope she’s not struggling with her studies. perhaps we could help her out’ like, shut up,” said deuce, popping some candy in his mouth with a clearly annoyed look in his eyes. if you didn’t know him any better, you’d think he was jealous of his friend.

that forced you to stop and think for a moment. if it were anyone else (a picture of lilia and cater appears in your minds eye and you have to fight back a smile) saying it, you probably wouldn’t have paid it much mind, but if it’s the people closest to him, then perhaps there’s some truth behind the seemingly empty words?

“i have an idea, if i may,” all eyes turn to malleus (who.. you forgot was even here, with how quiet he was the entire time), eyebrows raised in question, “if you’re so unsure of his intentions and feelings, why not test them?”

the 2 light music club members eyes lit up at that and you felt an impending sense of doom.

and that’s how you found yourself dancing with deuce, then malleus, then riddle, then... all of them, for some reason? it was awkward initially, but the longer it went on the more fun it was, and perhaps you could say this was one of your best nights spent in twisted wonderland.

being erased from your own world be damned.

## ❝ after the events of the phantom bride wedding, ace started wondering whether he still had the ability to charm girls. he hasn’t thought about anyone romantically in years, hasn’t really flirted with anyone either, what if he’s gone out of it? perhaps it’s time to put his talents to the test; with the person who hates him most, no less. if he can charm her, he can charm anyone. ❞

#TAGLIST ! : @solxima @gabirii @lunavixia @y2unagiz @the-ghost-0f-t0m0 @borlining @verity-moon @myunghology @doughnuts-eater @lifeless-bug @babygurlenthusiast @shirishere @xopeach @stormyovent0aster @bontensbabygirl @ars-tral @wrathy-mcwrathface @sinofthesloth @skeet-2 @everettelz @sakuram1nt @shatiyuh @ambigrueity // ask/comment to be added/removed! (if you're in bold i can't tag you)

[1800-lemon-boy]

Ok, so i’m working on playlists for both Luke castellan and Percy jackson and there is one common thing between the two i am going to rant about.

For the purposes of this rant i will be using 2 different songs as examples-

Percy- in case i ain’t around by Luke combs (fathers and sons album)

Luke- all i ever do is leave by Luke combs (father and sons album)

This is mainly because i noticed this while looking for pjo characters as country songs (i swear i will make the post at some point)

While there are other examples i could make using similar songs, Luke combs holds a special place in my heart.

What i want to talk about is more similarities between Percy and Luke by using music.

Both of the aforementioned songs are from the same album but fit two different but also very alike characters.

Lets start with Percy-

in case i ain’t around by Luke combs is a song about preparing for the future, a future that he may not even be apart of. Lyrics such as, “i ain’t goin’ nowhere no time soon but…” “that way i’m still there for you somehow, in case i ain’t around” and one more, “when it’s my time to die, boy don’t stop livin’”

Percy has accepted that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, and he’s made preparations just in case. He has watched friends who have had bright futures, die in an instant. While Percy doesn’t plan on dying anytime soon, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Now Luke (this explanation is much longer lmao)-

All i ever do is leave by Luke combs starts with Luke talking about growing up not having a very present father in his life. with lyrics such as (at the very beginning) “me and myself tryin’ play catch, cause daddy ain’t home yet” and “mama said “you pray, cause your daddy gonna be late”. while hermes’ is never there for Luke (castellan, duh) he canonically helped his kids parents out, just not physically, which links in the line “but the lights stayed on somehow”.

Now, let’s get to the actual point. the song starts with Luke (combs) talking about how in his eyes, all his dad ever did was leave. but towards the end of the song he’s talking about how he hopes his kid doesn’t view him like that (i hope he don’t think all i ever do is leave).

Ok, so, how does this relate to Luke castellan?

yes hermes’ leaves him, but we are gonna talk about May castellan right now. while May castellan didn’t physically leave Luke, she mentally did. In an attempt to get closer to her son she was cursed to be farther away. she’s mentally gone. Yes, Luke physically leaves her, but she was already gone.

Now, let’s go to the second part of the song.

Luke (castellan) actually leaving.

this one’s a bit more obvious but i’ll still bring it up. Luke leaves Annabeth and many others on multiple occasions. he leaves camp during book one, and dies in book five and many more times in between. He just kept leaving them, again and again. He leaves his family, both in Annabeth and in the hermes’ cabin.

Now to the actual point of this post….

The main thing i’ve realised with Luke and Percy is that more often than not, i’m finding songs in the same album that fit them separately. The songs are similar but have different meanings. Luke and Percy are very similar and even coming to something as simple as songs, you can’t exactly have one without the other.

<33

[lyrenminth]

Quiet love 2/?

For this chapter I highly recommend to listen Ariana's song - we can't be friends - to get in the mood

And yet, Justin wasn't the type to make a move. So, you were screwed up.

"I had a great night" you said, heading toward your room. "What are you plans tomorrow?"

"I'm gonna go golfing with the guys"

You nodded.

"Have fun"

"We can have dinner here" he added.

"Yeah, sounds good"

And the sudden thought caught off guard. Did his friends knew about you? Tate knew because it was obvious. But people here in LA knew?

"Justin, your friends know about me?" you asked, regretting it at the moment.

He frowned, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Your friends in L.A, not in Eugene"

"I don't think they care or why they should know?"

"Because it makes me feel unwelcome. The fact the you prefer to hide our friendship"

"That's not true" he argued "I don't want nosey people in my life, our friendship is something I treasure"

"And what's wrong with people knowing about me?"

"I want privacy in my life"

"I'm not going to spill anything"

"It's not about that!" he raised his voice, frustrated. You flinched and he ran his hand through his hair with exasperation. "The fanatics are crazy. And I don't want people stalking you, telling you insults and threatening you when things aren't pretty during the season"

You stayed in silence. You were arguing before bed again. How funny.

"I'm not talking about the fans, I'm talking about your teammates, people you know here in L.A"

He gulped, and crossed his arms against his wide chest.

"Mmm it's not common to present a friend" he said, suddenly shy "Only girlfriends and wives"

"Only...oh" you felt dumb, of course you wanted a space reserved for another person.

You let out a sigh. You were so stupid.

So, so stupid.

"Well, that's clarifying" you said, trying not to cry.

Really? Crying because your friend is your friend and gives you friend treatment? Then why...why he does those things that confuse your brain? Why he treats you so nice, invite you dinner and let you stay all the time you want? Made you feel wanted and loved?

You felt your eyes burn and blinked to keep the tears away.

"Are you ok?" he said, worried getting closer to you. You gave a step back, and he looked hurt.

"Yeah, it's...summer allergies I think"

"You don't have allergies"

"Mmm L.A weather is intense" you changed the topic. You looked at your room's door and bite your lip "I'm tired, see you tomorrow"

"Wait..." he call you but you were closing the door already.

Needless to say you couldn't sleep so much that night.

You couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if you tell him the truth. You dreamed about him a lot. You dreamed about his affections changing its course and realizing it has been you the whole time. You wanted to be his special person because he was yours. He was yours since childhood. He was yours since the gave you a Star Wars band-aid when you scraped your knee playing or when you searched for frogs during your walks in Oregon. He was yours during the Christmas exchange, and the family meetings. And what would you do with all your affection if he said no?

The thought made you cry harder.

You were bleeding your love at 3 am.

The next day, you avoided him like a plague. Yes, it was childish and immature but you couldn't look him in the eye without feeling a turmoil of emotions inside you, good and bad. If you dare to look at him you would started crying or threw him a shoe. You went straight to work, and since you seemed in distress you co-worker, Lydia asked you what's up.

You tell the story, his name was omitted in purpose. All the emotions, his behavior, your confusion, your friendship. At the end of your story, she wasn't happy.

"I'm sorry, but I think you should put your big girl pants and ask him" she said, sounding rational "it's not healthy for you staying in a situation like that. Pretty cool of him letting you stay, but if it's something bothering you, you should talk to him. The worse thing that can happened it's knowing you can't prolonged that situation anymore"

"How am I suppose to do that?"

"Hey, I think I catch feelings for you but we really haven't spoke about it so tell what do you feel so I can make decisions "

"I'm not brave like that " you regretted.

"You must, baby. You are dying in a "what if"

"But he is my friend, I don't want to lose him" it was true, you had so much story.

"It's better for you. You deserved to be loved by someone without limitations"

You were crying at that point, feeling pathetic.

"If he says no, where am I going to stay?"

"I have a friend who is looking for a roommate, the apartment it's closer to work, so you don't need a car" she said, compassionate about you.

"Can you send me the number?" you cried.

"Yeah"

When you arrived at the house he was in the kitchen which surprise you because you purposely took the longer route. He should be sleeping by now. WHY HE WASN'T SLEEPING?

You said the driest "hi" and went to your room. You felt his stare burning your skin. Your heart beating so fast you were scared of having a heart attack.

You changed your clothes for something more comfy, you grabbed a book and sat on your bed to start reading. You were two chapters in when Justin knocked your door.

"Come in"

He appeared, in grey pants and a blue shirt.

"If you are hungry there tacos and soup" he said "Keenan's wife made it"

"Thank you" you said, still reading your book. Words didn't make sense but it was better than look at him because it was painful. He leaned at the door.

"Can we talk?" he asked. You stomach twisted.

You feelings were to intense after the talk with Lydia, but what she said it was true. You were dying of uncertainty.

"About what?"

"About...us" he replied.

You gulped, and it was like passing a stone through your throat.

"Okay"

He moved again, somehow staying in the same position. He put his hands in his pockets then decided it was better to cross his arms. You waited patiently.

"Are you mad at me?" you sighed.

"No, Justin" your voice was soft but firm. Good.

"Yesterday you were mad" he stated, you didn't blink. "What did I do?"

"Nothing" you felt like someone was cutting through your chest to get your heart out. "I'm more annoyed with myself than with you"

"Why?"

Why it was so difficult to talk about it?

"I misinterpreted our situation" you voice trembled and you cursed at yourself for being so weak around this man.

His face was blank. The same face he puts when a journalist ask a stupid question.

"How so?"

Oh, dear. If you could only talk without fucking crying. It was happening, wasn't it? Revealing your feelings and potentially losing a friend.

You were so scared.

You deserve a love without limitations.

"Gosh, Justin. I came here, you lend me your car, you bought me pickles, you treat me like more than a friend and then you say you want me to stay..." saying it out loud made you feel worse. It was nothing, it was kindness. It was friendship, wasn't it? "I... I know we haven't seen each other in years so I thought...I thought that you may feel something for me as I feel for you"

His throat bubbled. His gaze was on the floor.

Of course, how could you forgot? He was a man.

"I don't know what to say" he started. "You know, my work, my life is very different from yours"

What the actual fuck? What was he trying to say? Was a Mr Darcy type of proposal?

"Justin tell me the truth, do you like me back? Yes or no?" You asked, getting angry. You didn't deserved such disrespect. If he didn't like you back, well you would deal the heartbreak but prolonging these feelings until the end of season and beyond was madness.

"I'm not sure" he replied, you almost didn't hear him.

But it was all you needed to know. You exhaled deeply, feeling all the emotions at once. Luckily your face remain blank, you grabbed the sheet with such force your knuckles turned white.

"I guess... that's ok" you looked at your watch only to see it wasn't night yet. "Well, I'm going to continue with my original plans" you opened your book again trying to play it cool not reading a damn word "If you need something send a message"

"What do you mean?"

You raised your eyebrows in confusion.

"By original plans?" he prompted.

"Moving out, I mean" you replied not glancing once. You were acting petty, but he just said he didn't like you back. Of course you were ashamed, angry and desesperately in love.

"Oh, alright" he looked around, not even giving you a glance.

His short answer was like a stab in your heart. Sometimes he was so cruel, but he had the right to feel what he was feeling too. You could not force him to like you and that was even worse. Your eyes were burning, tears blurring your vision.

"Good night" he had the audacity to say before leaving.

And when he closed the door, was like closing all the posibilities you had to be something for him. Throwing years of friendship only because you misread him.

And you felt so so stupid. Of course you were only his friend. How could you even think to be more than a friend? He was Justin Herbert, young, rich, athletic. He had all the options in the world, why he would settle for you?

You started crying, leaving all those emotions out.

Just another sleepless night.

[wpdarlingpan]

But What of Eve?

Adam x Fem!Reader x Lucifer

Platonic Angel Dust x Fem!Reader

Summary: Reader is Eve. After she eats the apple (and I don’t know the full story so some things might be a little off) and she is betrayed by both of those she held dear, she is sent down to hell where she gains a demon form and a few new powers.

Warning: Angst

I think this song fits the story well

-Living in a world where you were the cause of it’s torture was certainly not Eve’s Y/N’s dream.

-She was supposed to populate the earth, being Adam’s oh so loving wife and serve heaven.

-That was until Lucifer came, enticing her with the apple under false pretense of love (well she considered it to be platonic, but him? not so much) as well as the ideals of free will.

-So she ate it. Well she took one measley bite and everything went to well… hell.

-Adam despised her, claiming she cheated on him and that she was unfaithful to him and their purpose.

-She begged to stay and fulfill the purpose but she was tossed aside and replaced by a woman called Lilith.

-Eve was tossed into heaven. Her pure energy coating her, transforming her into a demon like persona.

-Now having black wings against her back as black horns protruded out of her head. She maintained a rather human like appearance compared to others in hell, that was getting increasingly more populated.

-Once Lucifer and Lilith were cast down as rulers, she made sure they wouldn’t even get a mere idea that she was living there as well.

-She even changed her name. determining Y/N was a better fit, someone who wasn’t going to be ruled by heaven or hells ideals of greater purposes. After all what had heaven it this glorious purpose done for her?

-Adam admittedly looked for her when he arrived in heaven. Lucifer having mentioned to him about how he lied about everything, at least about the fact that she returned his feelings part, and blamed Adam casting his own wife out.

-Adam figured there was no soul more pure than hers but with the apple the higher ups of heaven determined she wouldn’t not be fit for it. Or they just didn’t want their mistakes out.

-Y/N lived in a small apartment, her powers that were ingrained into her when she fell allowed her to… persuade people. If she pushed her power out just a little bit people would do whatever she said or heal herself or others. She didn’t want to steal from people but you can’t exactly get a job in hell when trying to remain low profile.

-After thousands of hers she did eventually meet a friend. Angel Dust.

-She had been walking around a less populated area and spotted him in an alleyway, leaned against the wall with a look of pain on his face.

-Y/N approached cautiously, which of course he noticed. Even in his pain ridden state.

-She questioned nicely if she could help and he swore that he saw a halo floating above her head at that moment, but that might’ve been the blood loss (and no it wasn’t actually a halo but the idea of someone caring for him wasn’t a common occurrence)

-Right now it was between dying alone in an alley way or letting some supposedly kind stranger help him. He was always a sucker for people who reminded him of his sister so he said yes.

-Y/N smiles slightly as a purple glow fell from her hand. Angel felt his wounds close up and the blood almost felt like it was flowing back into his body. He usually was high but he was sober enough after living at the hotel for awhile to know that it wasn’t a trick of the eye.

-That started their budding friendship. They would go shopping and he sometimes would go to her apartment to get patched up, watch tv, or just have a gossip session.

-That was until extermination day approached.

-At the request of his friend, Angel didn’t tell the people of the hotel about her powers or about who she was. She had told him one night on a whim as he explained his situation with Valentino. If he would tell Y/N all of this she didn’t feel it right to hide a secret like this. And she trusted him.

-But after Alastor’s shield was taken down and Adam began to attack Charlie, he couldn’t help but call out of fear.

-Y/N got his call and a part of her wished to pretend he didn’t say it. Pretend that Adam wasn’t in hell and that Lucifer was locked away in his castle. Which he was, but not for long.

-But after being alive this long maybe it was time to fight for something she wanted, and that was to keep her best friend (well more so older brother even if he was younger) and his friends safe. So to the hotel she went.

-Lucifer and Adam were fighting on the roof top, well more so above the roof top, of the hotel. Lucifer was winning as he shifted from one form to the next as he bragged about taking both of Adam’s ex-wives, although now with Charlie, he did have some regrets.

-Conveniently that’s when Y/N showed up.

-Angel had lit up at the sight of her, albeit some worry, and rushed her over asking if she needed a weapon. But she held up a sword made of angelic steal (which she wasn’t planning on using) and walked up to the roof.

-“Really Lucifer? More of these lies?” She called out and both of the men froze what they were doing at her voice and saw her standing there. The horns and wings being the only difference from their earth’s Eve.

-They both were shocked and Adam flew at her slowly as she backed away with a look of slight despair on her face. She wanted to protect Angel and his friends, but she wouldn’t kill. All these years in hell hasn’t changed that.

-“You’re here.” Adam spoke in awe as he reached a hand out but she moved his hand away. Lucifer didn’t know what to do.

-He did love her, more so then he loved Lilith, but he wasn’t ready to stand up for what he believed in nor was he ready to be deemed an outcast. So he was a coward and let her take the fall (get it the fall?)

-The two angels stood in front of her, it was like time had fallen still. The exterminador angels still continued to fight but were quickly losing as the loss of instruction from Adam and Lute (who Vaggie temporarily benched)

——————-

“Eve-“ Adam spoke but she held up a hand to silence him and remarkably he did.

“It’s Y/N now. Now please, call off the attack and leave. I’ve had enough of this for a lifetime.” Y/N spoke as she motioned to the area around her, so full of hatred and seeping with heavens lies of virtue.

Lucifer was the next one to step forward, tears slightly gathered in his eyes but he worked to push them away.

“You’ve been here the entire time? Why didn’t you-“ he began but was cut off as she scoffed in disbelief.

“After what happened? You left me to die Lucifer. Standing by as they cast me from heaven under false pretenses that you created. I was just a game to you! Someone you could test.” She took a step forward as she looked into his eyes, he could feel the hurt radiating off her in waves. Then she turned towards Adam who took a step back at the look in her eyes.

“And you! You were my husband, even if we weren’t the only ones on earth, I would’ve chosen you time and time again. Just because I wanted to taste freedom didn’t mean that I was any less faithful. I never did anything to make you think otherwise.” Y/N finished and the two men looked away ashamed at what they’ve done in their life and past lives. Even as time went on regret filled them, and seeing her standing before them made it feel like it was all happening again.

“So Adam” Y/N began and they felt her voice amplifying through their veins and taking residence in their heads but only Adam would follow the next request. “Take your angels and little pet Lute, and get out of here.” Her voice remained steady as his eyes clouded over before calling off his fleet of angels, opening a portal signaling them to return to heaven.

They filed back through the portal, even Lute who hovered at the entrance of it, holding her arm as she watched Adam stand there.

“I hope that you are fulfilled with what you guys have done. That includes you Lucifer. Now go.” At the end of the sentence a tear falls and she watched as Adam reluctantly goes back to heaven, his body not allowing him to do anything but.

Lucifer stood there silently, accepting that things would never be like they used to. Their talks of all his creations and watching the sun as the earth lit up each and every morning without fail.

“My job here is done.” Y/N walked away as she made her way back downstairs to check on Angel. But her wrist was grabbed.

“I’m so sorry. I know nothing can ever make up for what I’ve done. I’ve changed I swear I have. I realized how badly I treated you and I could never live it down. It was one of my greatest mistakes.” He wanted to say that he was in a fit of jealously, that she was binder to Adam and not him but he decided to keep that to himself knowing it wasn’t an excuse.

She looked at him sadly and her heart swelled knowing this was better than anything he could’ve said. All she ever hoped for was that one day he’d realize what he’d done and here he was, admitting it to her face.

“I’m happy for you Lucifer. Truly.”

It took her walking away and checking on Angel before he came to his senses and went after her, but by the time he was there she was gone.

Just a name in the wind as he called out to her

He could feel the remnants of her presence floating in the air around him, the idea that she is so close but yet so far tore at his heart.

But she wasn’t there to make him feel better about what happened or get revenge. She was there for herself.

Because now she felt accomplished. Y/N needed to share her side of the story and see if they seemed to regret what they’ve done and not revel in the fact they destroyed her life. (Forgoing Lucifer bringing it up in the fight)

All she wanted to see was Angels change their ways, and they did.

They truly did.

Now it was time to find her purpose.

[tonberrydion]

☆ spike into my heart!

- 005 : the interview

kageyama pulled out his phone and he saw the multiple tweets on his feed about [name]'s new interview being released. he decided that, really, there was no harm in watching it. he was just acting like a fan.. nothing else.

kageyama opened up youtube and searched up [name]'s account. he clicked the latest video and immediately liked it. he grabbed his headphones and put them on before listening to the video.

"hey everyone, it's [name]." [name] waved to the camera, a smile on his face as he did so.

"today i'm going to be answering questions that you guys, my fans, have sent in." [name] continued explaining the purpose of the video. it reminded kageyama that yes, he was a fan of [name]. not his boyfriend, not his ex.. just a fan now.

"alright then.. first question." [name] cleared his throat before he reached into a box that had some papers inside.

[name] picked up one of the strands of paper and read it before showing it to the screen.

"what is your newest release?" [name] said. it was the same thing that was written on the paper.

[name] didn't have to think that much about the question, he just smiled before answering. "spike into my heart." he says, sounding so enthusiastic to say it. kageyama smiled with [name]..

"that reminds me.." [name] chuckled slightly before he spoke up once again. "you guys should go listen to it if you haven't! and if you have.. keep promoting my stuff." the man sighed, before laughing at himself once again.

"next question.." [name] muttered to himself before he dug out another piece of paper from the box.

"what is 'spike into your heart' about?" [name] said before showing the camera the piece of paper.

this time, [name] had to think a bit. he had to think of a way to talk about the song since he had so much things running through his mind in that moment.

"well.. the song is about this guy i used to date in high school." [name] started, looking at the camera with a shy, embarrassed smile. "he used to play volleyball- actually, he still does but anyway that's not part of the question." [name] chuckled at himself once more.

"we dated from the first year of highschool until the last.." [name] started to reminisce on camera, leading kageyama to reminisce about their times together as he watched the video. "it was.. amazing. but of course, times have changed and we don't date anymore." [name] sighed, seemingly disappointed on camera.

kageyama couldn't believe it. he couldn't believe that [name] his ex that is now a famous musician just talked about him on camera so freely like that. sure, [name] didn't mention kageyama's name or anything like that, but still. all of their friends will now know about it.

kageyama then proceeded to finish the rest of the video. it was full of other, common interview questions that [name] would've answered many times previously. kageyama understood, doing press conferences for sports also meant he had to answer questions that he's answered before.

however, throughout the rest of the video, kageyama couldn't stop thinking about [name]'s words. he couldn't stop thinking about [name]'s reaction too. was [name] really disappointed because they aren't together anymore, or was it just acting for the camera? whatever it was, kageyama's heart beated a little quicker.

the ravenette sighed and he turned his phone off. he decided a nap should ease him of these thoughts...

☆ masterlist ▪︎ prev ▪︎ next

[bambi-kinos]

To what extend do you think Paul’s nostalgia is a trick for publicity? ☕️

Most of it. Or rather I think it's a double edged sword where he gets to control what the public sees (by repeating a bunch of the same stories) and then he gets to enjoy some nostalgia of his very own. It's like when he tells the story of John liking "Here There and Everywhere." He'll mess up the setting from time to time but

1) a reliable story to associate his name with fuzzy feelings and good music

2) It does some image repair work for John so that instead of the weird amalgamation that exists now, Paul gets to present John as a good guy who liked good music and liked Paul and had gentle moments of tenderness.

I think the nostalgia is true or at least Paul is telling an accurate surface level version of his nostalgic memories. He knows his memories are not in great shape so he's also purposefully keeping them light because it has been sixty years, there's no way he can keep the details straight after that long. Paul's primary purpose with these stories IMO is to reset the narrative so that The Beatles are no longer associated with a painful and vicious break up anymore, but rather the love he remembers from being four guys on an adventure.

I don't think Paul is doing what Taylor Swift did with Tom Hiddleston where she and him fabricated a 5 day relationship or whatever complete with photoshoots to distract people from...whatever was going on, God, I'm not a Swiftie so I don't know. (Was it the Kanye diss track thing?) Like, it's very common for celebrities to just...lie lol they will just lie and make up stories for the press. I don't think Paul lies more than he has to, like watching him in Beatles 64 there's a whole minute where he's just bent over a table of his photographs and he's giving John the biggest softest googly eyes ever. That's not fake! He's genuine about that.

Otoh lol. Yes, Paul is 100% using the nostalgia as a marketing tactic. Ringo does it too a little bit, I attended one of his All Starr Band concerts in Vegas and he sang "I'm The Greatest" there! And it was great! But something very interesting I noticed was that he said "my friend John wrote this song for me..." and that got a lot "awwws ;____;" from the ladies in the audience (including me!) And that was absolutely a calculated move from Ringo. It's not as cynical as I'm making it out to be but otoh you know what I mean right? Like Ringo and Paul are sincere about adoring George and John but they're also perfectly willing to mix that into their public performances (on and off stage, in front and away from cameras) in order to get audience reactions. And no matter how wholesome it is, it's a form of manipulation.

Even The Beatles website does this to a certain extent, they're still carrying out Brian's vision of the Fab Four, a set of four musicians as a group, Do Not Separate. And we can feel the wholesome nostalgia that comes off that for sure and I think it's totally sincere from Paul and Ringo's corner. But it is also a marketing tactic.

I think there is a deeper edgier nostalgia that Paul doesn't reference very much, stuff like the mad partying in Hamburg, the Satyricon sex parties, Paul's Dirty Weekend with Linda and the "minstrel show" where he had two sex workers in two hotel rooms one White and one Black, etc. We don't hear about those things for a reason though I'm sure Paul and Ringo both still look back very fondly on that stuff.

It's also a certainty that Paul is sending out stories into the ether that he doesn't actually feel very strongly about but still play well for the audience. I'm not sure which ones they are honestly but other people would have opinions on it.

What's interesting is how seamless Paul is about blending his nostalgia with marketability. Where other celebs have to manufacture moments and conflicts, Paul has lived such a vivid life that he doesn't have to do that. He has plenty of material to draw from. And the fact that he's willing to flog it for publicity...it is something. Not sure I'd call it a power move but it is a move. And it ties into a much larger discussion about media presentation, projected authenticity vs being real, that kind of thing.

What Paul does is actually much more similar to Current Year vtubers then other celebrities. Vtubers have very personal connections with their streaming audiences while projecting an incomplete version of their personality through the webcamera. The logic in Hollywood and the music industry has always been that you have to create and project an image with very little regard for your actual personality and preferences.

The Beatles on the other hand did what vtubers do and they created an image that was based out of their lives and experiences which is what generated that feeling of authenticity that we responded to. Paul never denied being a ladies man for example. The ladykiller image is present as early as 1965 and was satirized in Help! with his come-ons to Ahme. He just never talked about the fact that he was boinking 12 women in a night because it was indecent, otherwise it was publicly known that he dated a lot.

The contrast to that is the manufactured images of many celebrities and now e-celebs with the rise of Youtube. Mr. Beast is in big trouble because he presented himself as a wholesome children's entertainer with whacky Youtube challenges but then oops it turns out he's friends with a lolicon who showed porn to teenagers in a discord server. There's a complete disconnect between Mr. Beast's image and his actual personality where he's not wholesome at all and instead hires sex offenders.

Paul and The Beatles themselves are completely different from that. We don't get the entire truth from Paul's nostalgia (which he is flogging because of his bottomless need for attention and for money) but he is willing to share a snapshot into his life that he thinks we can accept.