#you see in the secret unreleased version...

[gh-0-stcup]

My thing is that I just do not trust a single person who was involved in the show. It just seems like a lot of PR to fix their image and foster sympathy/goodwill/interest.

[bettyshoweduptotheparty]

The Eras Tour might be huge, but it’s part of something even bigger

Interesting article describing everything we've been saying for the past 18 months. Many long-term fans are starting to have a real ick in the face of the massive commercialised 'Taylormania' around the Eras tour and every new album release.

However you feel about it, it is undeniable that this is a first in the history of music. No artist has ever done what she's currently doing, and I don't just mean play a three hour long show for two whole years. I mean no single person has ever made their personal brand and life(story) this much of a product to be sold to the masses. And it's furthering a point many of us have been making for a long time: Since the release of Midnights in 2022, Taylor's public life has been one big piece of performance art, and the Eras tour is just the final act in a massive spectacle. The overexposure, the High School romance story, and everything that feels like an unnecessarily huge money grab, it's all on purpose, because the bigger the show, the bigger the impact when she flips the script.

And reminder that we've perhaps ignored the biggest hint that the Eras tour is part of a bigger performance: The stage is a key!!

And not just any key, a vault key! It unlocked the 1989 tv vault, which I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the last of yet. And may I also remind you that all the vaults have the lovers family crest on them, so I think we can assume these hold more secrets than just some unreleased music (or perhaps the unreleased music is in fact the secret). And once the tour is done, all the secrets will be unlocked. Karma is a cat and the cat will be out of the bag vault ;)

Our Little Miss Can-I-hint-at-something-three-years-in-advance said in 2022 “I want you all to pay attention to this first single that will become my biggest song of all time. And then I will play it out and become this loud, binge-drinking, glittery bodysuit-wearing, annoying, dumb bimbo, boy-crazy bully version of me and see if you notice. I will be so much in your face that you’ll want to kill me, and even at my funeral my sucky fan children will be at each other’s throats over my legacy. And when you think there’s nowhere to go but down I’ll pull the plug on all of it, but mind you, I’ll take everyone down with me who ever wronged or belittled me, because I’ve given this shitty industry 20 years of my life.”

One thing that came up in the article I distinctly disagree with though, and that’s the community. Sure, as a swiftie it must feel like you can’t possibly find real community or friendships in a sea of millions but in our little gaylor/kaylor bubble I’ve found the most amazing people, even if it originated in the trenches of our constant battle against the swiftie hate. And maybe we’ll have some room to breathe soon when we’ve finally lost the Sarah’s and Hannah’s. 😊 I can’t wait.

(Also just a btw, I’d love if it if she called the finished project ‘ Hi, I’m the problem, it’s me’.)

[maspers]

Ranking the Miracucast by how much Adrien: The Fragrance they own

Marinette: Do you even have to ask? She has gallons. 10/10

Alya: She has more than the average girl her age, but that's mostly because it was on sale and she felt like supporting Adrien in a way that was pretty easy. 5/10

Adrien: Yes. 10/10

Nino: Has gotten at least 1 bottle as a joke. Adrien was not amused. 1/10

Chloe: She has a significantly large amount of Adrien, and she says that she wears it all the time, but her collection isn't decreasing as much as she says it is. Sus. 8/10

Sabrina: Unlike Chloe, Sabrina actually likes this perfume. Main reason Chloe's collection is decreasing is because Sabrina uses it. 8/10 by proxy

Mylene: Had some, but then she learned about some of the stuff that Gabriel puts in his perfumes. Then she set all her bottles on fire. At once. In the classroom. They had to have a fire drill. Maybe it wasn't her smartest idea. But she was tired. 3/10

Ivan: Everyone assumed he was the one who set the fire, and he is doing nothing to dissuade them of that notion. 2/10

Rose: This girl knows her perfume. She sorts it alphabetically. She may or may not make her own, by performing unethical experiments on the perfumes she already owns. The Adrien is no exception, she has more types of it than legally exist on the market. 6/10

Juleka: Actually wears it quite a bit, since A) She kinda likes the smell, B) It's cheap, and C) Adrien uses it as proof that he is in fact endorsing her as a model. The only thing holding her career back is her self-confidence. You can do it Juleka! We believe in you! 7/10

Kim: hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. 9/10

Max: Absolutely not. 0/10

Alix: She actually has a pretty sizable collection of the stuff in the Burrow. But none of it seems to be stuff that's currently on the market, it's all weird future versions of the stuff with odd scents, unreleased prototypes that put you at risk of setting it on fire if you use it, or bottles from alternate timelines that somehow survived whatever apocalypse was going on there. It's complicated. But since they're all weird versions of it, she has a nice excuse to not use it. Ever. Alix/10

Nathaniel: Bought a whole bunch and used it to create an art piece for Adrien's birthday. Adrien was extremely amused and gave the artwork a special spot in the corner of his room. It still smells like the fragrance (and bottles) used to make it, which is very good for disguising the scent of Plagg's camembert. 4/10

Lila: Is contractually forced to wear the stuff due to legal shenanigans. She hates it. She hates it so much. But if any of the Agreste Household realize that she isn't wearing it then things will get more ComplicatedTM for her so she just has to deal. 9/10

Luka: Borrows Juleka's sometimes. If it works, it works! The twins already share a lot of stuff anyway, she doesn't mind. Sometimes it leads to Luka getting weird looks from other people, but Luka has never really been one to care about that. 5/10

Kagami: Like Lila, she's basically contractually obligated to wear it. unlike Lila, she doesn't own a single bottle of the stuff. Neither Gabriel nor Tomoe care about it enough to force her, so she will take what she can get. 0/10

Marc: He adamantly refuses to disclose how much of the stuff he has, if any. It's probably one of the best-kept secrets in the entire school. I have no clue either, so I'm just going to give him the average score and you all can try and come up with your own guess. 5/10

Ondine: Kim once bought her some perfume in bulk as a gift (oh, THAT's why his own score was so high, I get it now) but unfortunately perfume is not really practical for a girl who spends a significant amount of her time swimming and showering. She appreciated the gift, though, and wears it when she feels like being fancy! 3/10

Aurore: She's an Adrien fangirl. 'Nuff said. 8/10

Felix: He hates this stuff with a burning passion. Everyone sees him and goes "hey aren't you that guy on the perfume ads?" and he despises it. He actively goes out of his way to tear down posters and deface advertisements, even going to such great lengths as to create sentimonsters with the explicit purpose of reducing sales of Adrien. Felix will do everything in his power to decrease the amount of this stuff in the world. -5/10

Zoe: She arrived after the craze was over and has no context for anything. So she also borrows from Chloe's stash on occasion, but she doesn't really much care for the smell. 4/10

[windermeresimblr]

Models of Courtly Elegance

A little touch of 1530s and 1540s Italian Renaissance extravagance, riffing on Titian and Bronzino...and the Elizabeth Taylor "Taming of the Shrew."

Get her look:

Neroli Skin by @nectar-cellar | Blush and Lip Paint by @sehmulated | Hair by The Sims Key (1) | TSM Aris Puffy Sleeves Dress by Eodsy in a TSM pattern by Danjaley and a secret pattern by @simlicious (2) | Invisible Feet by Danjaley | Cabochon Earrings by @ice-creamforbreakfast | Balzo by @joojconverts and Wawa | Pearls by poseidon-sims and Lorandia | Partlet by myself | Pose by danjaley

(1) The braid is really not period, but I love-love-LOVE the sculptural quality at the forehead, so...eh.

(2) She needs fuller sleeves and a fuller skirt, but this outfit is just darling on her, so I give her another pass. At least it's back-laced and plausibly historical.

Get his look:

Outstanding Skin by MamyRocker (3) | Hair by @aprilrainsimblr (unreleased) | Noble Coat Green by Cocomama in more TSM patterns (4) | Invisible Feet by Danjaley | Beta version of Wawa's flat cap conversion for my own personal use (I need more hats) | Scepter by Kaleido | Pose by paranoia-or-drunkard

(3) Plus 100,000 wrinkles to make him look just so. If you recognize a certain devil from a certain fantasy video game...tee hee.

(4) I don't really see where this coat is green. Perhaps I need my monitor checked?

[cadencewishes]

new unreleased song. never heard before. recorded in my bedroom. about concerning shit i made up. enjoy. i'll record a better version another day.

I can recognize a pretty boy even if he's covered up in blood I have a few photos of you in some suggestive positions There's a need inside that tells me to corrupt you, this will be the end of you I can recognize a pretty boy even if he's covered up in blood

I'm the new psycho I stay outside your house, looking through your blinds. So does that make me a stalker? Yeah, yeah I'm the new psycho

You have a girlfriend? I'm getting rid of her I'm putting something extra in your drink It tastes just like whiskey, don't worry I just can't feel guilty anymore

When I see you in my bedroom and you're laying All vulnerable just like I wanted You for so long Dirty little secret, dirty little secret

Chorus

I'm the new psycho It's the new cycle

I stay outside your house I stand behind your clouds You can make me cry I can make you lie

I stay outside your house I stand behind your clouds You can make me cry I can make you lie

[motheatencrow]

BUG GAME MASTERPOST (AS OF NOV. 2022)

heyhey! this isnt actually anything "official"! i just thought i’d make this for fun and to also spread around bug video games that others, who like the silly little critters as well, might enjoy!

(remember that this is as of nov. 29 2022 so if any game unreleased game on here is now released, it may have been after the date that this was made)

there will be 3 categories: released games, games to be released/are being developed, and honorable mentions

under the released games, i will also be stating if i have finished the game, played them, or simply heard of them (can range from "i have the game wishlisted", "owned but not played", literally only heard of it, etc.)

these bug games will also only list games where most invertebrates are the main focus of the game

other than that, i will be doing the following if possible!:

- i will be providing brief comments for what i think of each game (this is my opinion of each game!! everyone has their own tastes and its alright if you dont agree with what i say! and in no way is my comments for each game professional/an attempt to critique the game in any way ksfhskjd)

- what the gameplay is like (sort of. im not really good at explaining LMAO)

- where you can find these games (game websites may be linked if available instead!)

visual warnings for this post: gif/image heavy, bright imagery click here for the text-only version!

let's begin!

released games

hollow knight - website; finished - a challenging metroidvania! i personally found this game really fun though i did have to take breaks from the game due to some difficult fights and events lsfhdskj. its definitely the type of game thats fun to replay and see how much you've improved since first playing it! i also think the world building, implied lore, and characters are really well done! (i highly enjoy reading people's analysis posts of this game jksdfkj)

overall, i suggest this game if you enjoy challenging fights and platformers, creative characters, games with deep lore, and/or emotional osts!

bug fables - website; finished - i am emotionally attached to the blue moth. anyways! bug fables is a paper mario rpg inspired game (used to be called paper bugs actually!) and it has charming characters and a good story! this game has a very fun ost and you definitely fall in love with the characters as you learn more and more about them. i find the sidequests very much worth doing and also really fun as it makes you go around and interact with a lot of the npcs in the game! you'll end up seeing that a lot of them have unique personalities and are loveable in their own right :] !!

i suggest the game if you like rpgs, bright characters and settings, bubbly osts, and/or perhaps even learning a dark secret or 2?

bugsnax - website; finished - silly game about catching and eating bug-shaped foods! or food-shaped bugs? food bugs!!!! the horrors. all the bugsnax designs are super fun and some of them are challenging to catch which i think makes the game pretty fun! there's also a bunch of ways that u could catch a bugsnak, its just up to what you can think of! the horrors. the characters are also pretty loveable and they have really neat stories and getting to know them can change the course of the game (just the ending really actually)

highly suggest the game if you enjoy being a little creative with how you perform a task/solving puzzles, characters that are more than what they seem, and silly creative creature designs!

creepy castle - available on steam; played - i have yet to finish this game! but from what i've played, its pretty fun exploring around, reading lore tidbits, and doing the duel minigames! it has a neat retro style and you can change the colors/gui settings if i remember correctly!

i suggest the game if you like rpgs, pixelated style games, and/or minigames!

webbed - website; finished - super cute spider game about saving your bf, swinging around on and crafting webs, and making new friends! did i also mention that youre a spider that shoots lasers from their eyes? webbed is a really charming game that can be completed in just a few hours, even with all the bonus/side things that you can do!

i suggest it if you like pixelated style games, are a completionist, want a shorter game, or just want to be a silly little laser spider!

apico - website; finished - a relaxing game about keeping bees and restoring bee populations! recently they've added an update where you can help repopulate solitary bees and butterflies, and there's a bunch more content that they're planning to develop and release!! the characters have silly bee pun names and have neat dialogue! (they also have pronouns next to their names when you talk to them <3) bee management is not super demanding and with some mods, you can enhance your experience in the game. personally, i have not played with mods, i really enjoy the base game alone! you can also build pretty bases, listen to the relaxing ost, or trap yourself in menu hell!

i suggest the game if you want something that's more laidback (though there is a bit of management), like reading silly dialogue blurbs, want to have a calming ost to listen to, or just wanna do some beekeeping! (proceeds also go to charities that help repopulate native bee populations!)

grounded - website; played - grounded is an open world survival sandbox game (theres also a literal sandbox in the game) where you're a teen that's been shrunken down and must survive in the backyard while finding a way to bring yourself back to your original size. the game actually got a full release in back in september and i have yet to play it because my partner has not been able to play kfhskj. but we have played when it was in early access and it was super fun! there are giant spiders in the game but there's an accessibility setting that allows you to make the spiders more blobby in case you have arachnophobia! other than that it's really fun to go running around the game screaming and crying because the giant mosquito is about to 2-shot you. the base building is also pretty fun with a variety of materials you can make your base from as well as decor. there's also a variety of weapons and armors to choose from and create a build to optimally destroy bugs that are not so friendly. you can also tame some of the passive creatures and become extremely overprotective of them. (im not speaking from experience [lying]) there's actually a storyline to follow as well that helps encourage exploration and progression in the game!

i recommend the game if you enjoy open world sandbox survival games, being scared out of your mind when something you didnt see gets aggro'd on you, making neat bases, and/or strategizing and making builds to suit your playstyle! (i also highly recommend playing with friends!)

space moth dx - available on steam; played - an arcade-like shoot-em-up bullet hell where you play a moth shooting lasers at other laser shooting bugs! this is actually a fairly tough game if you're not familiar with these types of games. i personally have not gotten that far and have yet to play it again kslfhkjs but i think the art is super neat and the gameplay is pretty fun!

i recommend it if you enjoy bullet hells where you literally don't see anything But bullets (there is also space moth: lunar edition!)

bug academy - available on steam and switch; played - a pretty fun physics puzzle game where you control a swarm of bugs! there are different levels with different objectives and a star-based score depending on how well you do in each one! the only reason i havent finished this game is because im a completionist for it and got stuck on a level i have yet to get 3 stars on ksjfhkj. if you ever get this game, i highly recommend playing with a controller!

i suggest this game if you like puzzles, timed/stopwatch levels, trying to see how far you can chuck something, destroying buildings by chucking items, crying when you knock over your tower on accident, and/or being a silly bug swarm

crustacean nations - available on steam and itch.io; finished - woah moth!!! a game about crabs???? yeah they're getting a spot on this list, they're sea bugs to me. but anyways! crustacean nations is a fairly short game with only 3 levels (if i remember correctly) and a sandbox mode. you're essentially commanding a kingdom of crabs and you must defend your sand castle while destroying the other crab sand castles. there's also a pit where you can sacrifice crabs and summon a Big One. it doesn't take too much strategy to win each level but you still need to think about it a bit!

i suggest it if u want to play a brief n short army-building game! with crabs!

kill it with fire - website; finished - a silly game about exterminating spiders. as you progress through the game you get a bunch of new weapons to um. delete spiders with. there's also a bunch of challenges you can do and achievements to get! i've completely 100%'d the game just because it's kinda fun trying to do the challenges and collect all the achievements. the ending is also. a little messed up.

i suggest the game if you're a bit of a completionist, don't like spiders for some reason (i think theyre pretty neat), want to have a stress-relief game (or would it be stress inducing??), or want to see how goofy it gets

social moth - available on steam; heard of - a lot of my mutuals talk about and adore this game! i have not played it yet but it's wishlisted! here's a copy n pasted excerpt from the steam page: "Social Moth is a narrative platformer where you play as a small moth contending with social anxiety. Set in a close-knit community on the forest floor, the game allows the player to explore themes of mental health, relationships, and finding a sense of belonging."

i think i can suggest this game if you have social anxiety/want to understand social anxiety while also playing a puzzle platformer with an endearing art style and characters!

buggos - available on steam; heard of - ive had this game wishlisted for a while! here's a copy and pasted excerpt from the steam page: "Buggos is an RTS Auto Battler where you evolve your army into the perfect bug fighting force. You control a young hive mind bent on world domination, and your swarm will mostly listen to your every beck and call. Guide your swarm’s evolutionary path and breed your best bugs for world domination!"

i think i can suggest this game if you like the idea of world domination and slaughter, want a bug army building game, or enjoy pixelated style games.

i commissioned some bees - available on steam; heard of - did you know there's 10 of these games plus an advent edition?? these games are essentially just where's waldo bee edition and multiply those by like 1000. i've had this game wishlisted for a while but it hasnt been a priority pft. here's an excerpt from the steam page!: "The brief was simple. I commissioned artists to create a fantasy world, and hide as many bees as they can inside it. Now it’s your job to find them all! With 10 art pieces to choose from, and 1000+ bees, you will have a lot of searching to do."

bee simulator - website; heard of - i own the game but havent played it yet. the most ive done is watch markiplier play it hfkjsd. here's an excerpt from the epic games page: "The hive awakens as the sun's first rays warm the horizon. It's time to test your wings, receive orders from the Queen and begin your first mission. And that's just the start of your adventures. Humans want to cut down the tree that holds your hive, so your fate – and that of the whole swarm – rests on your tiny shoulders!" i think this game is more of an educational game aimed towards families and children but who knows! maybe some of you will enjoy it too?

i think i can recommend this game if you like bees :) and doing minigames/tasks/challenges!

black widow: recharged - website; heard of - an arcade shooter where you play a spider! i own this game but havent played it yet. here's an excerpt from the site: "Aim for a high score in the old school arcade mode and earn bragging rights with your name at the top of the leaderboard. Or test your skills and rank on the boards in one of 30 intensely creative challenges, which twist the gameplay in new and exciting ways. Collect cash from downed enemies to charge a powerful web blast, or pick up one of a dozen new power-ups including explosive blasts, spread-shots, and fear, trapping all enemies in your web. Every mode and level is playable in local co-op mode with a friend."

centipede recharged - website; heard of - i've played centipede in an actual arcade but it was not this specific game so i dont know if the experience is around the same. (i own it but havent played it) centipede recharged is similar to black widow: recharged in terms of an arcade shooter as well as the description given

empires of the undergrowth - website; played - an army building game about ants! in the "main zone", you're an experimental ant species that seems to be able to take on traits of many other ant species. you play levels as real-life ant species and try to grow your colony and complete objectives that are given to you. the rewards you get from these levels are used to upgrade your lab species and after completing a set of levels, you'll be given a challenge using the lab species. i havent completed this game due to being stuck on one of the challenge levels fhksjd but i think its kind of fun

i suggest this game if you like army building games (similar to starcraft or warhammer) and the idea of making a huge ant colony and competing against other colonies

yoku's island express - available on steam; heard of - there's actually a lot more places where you can purchase yoku's island express (epic games, switch, gog, etc.) but their website is down so i decided to resort to linking the steam page. i currently own the game but have not played it! it's a game about you being a tiny postman exploring around islands, delivering packages, while also making new friends and saving the islands where you reside. it's a pinball platformer adventure game and it seems really cute and fun to play!

earthtongue - available on steam and itch.io; heard of - this game actually just got recommended to me after this was posted! earthtongue is a game where you watch over a world inhabited by fungi and bugs. here's an excerpt about the game!: "You will spend most of your time watching life grow and eat each other to survive. Your subtle nudges will be required to maintain the balance of this world, but it can handle itself much of the time. Player given goals are limited, aside from maximizing the health of your ecosystem. You may choose to try to create a fungal garden to your liking. You may try your best to breed as many beetles as you can. You might use those beetles instead as food stock for the mantises. You might instead just peacefully watch the story of Earthtongue unfold on its own."

stonefly - website; heard of - stonefly is an adventure game where you control a bug-shaped mech! here's an excerpt from the site: "Harness the wind and soar through the wilderness of Stonefly, a chill and tranquil action-adventure game about self-discovery, legacy, and belonging. Glide your mech strategically among beautiful flora and dangerous fauna, confronting hungry bugs, adventures, and memorable characters."

to be released/in development games

hollow knight: silksong - website - the game that the hk fandom says doesn't exist and is actually a collective fever dream (it is 100% a real game, we're all just very excited for it to come out! /srs) the game is going to be like hollow knight (a challenging metroidvania) but this time the player plays as a new protagonist, who was a character in the first game, hornet! this game will have a new world to explore, new mechanics to master, new faces to meet, and much more.

bugaboo pocket - website - a really cute pixelated game about raising bugs! an excerpt from the site: "Bugaboo Pocket is a digital pet game where you raise bugs from egg to adult. How you care for your pet influences their personality and impacts the ecology around them. Inspired by real bugs!"

another crab's treasure - website - a game where you play as a hermit crab! you use trash in your surroundings as your shell and each "shell" provides a different effect that affects how you play the game! an excerpt from the site: "Another Crab’s Treasure is a soulslike adventure set in a crumbling underwater world. As Kril the hermit crab, you’ll need to wear the trash around you as shells to withstand attacks from enemies many times your size. Embark on an epic treasure hunt to buy back your repossessed shell, and discover the dark secrets behind the polluted ocean." (i recommend checking out their tiktok, some of the posts there are extremely funny)

dewdrop dynasty - steam page - a pixelated style metroidvania where you play as a gunslinging bee who lost their wings and finds themselves trapped in an unknown place. you'll meet interesting characters, challenging enemies, and also learn new skills and mechanics as you play the game. goodgis, dewdrop dynasty's dev, also posts a bunch of videos on youtube regarding game development tips and devlogs. (that's how my partner knew about the game and introduced it to me) a fun and charming game that will have mysteries to discover!

i am a caterpillar - dev's twitter - a game where you play as a caterpillar!: unbothered. slimey. thriving. in your moss. squelched up. wriggling. an excerpt from one of the dev's tweets!: "Become the squidgy lil' caterpillar you've always wanted to be, on a quest to stop your own metamorphosis. Crawl & wriggle all over anything in your path and explore the canopy."

a webbing journey - website - a cute 3D game where you play as a spider! you'll explore the world, making webs and slinging around on them. you'll also meet some friendly faces to talk to and do quests for them! an excerpt from the site: " You control a little spider equipped with all the typical spider abilities and a little bit more as you travel through various stunning islands searching for the most exotic flowers for your spider date. Along your journey you meet other spiders and animals who provide additional side stories and quests which challenge your spider abilities."

invertipets - dev's site / toyhou.se - a petsite game being made by @shadybugdev where you take care of bugs and bug-like pets! there's not much on it publicly available yet other than some pet concepts (which can be viewed through the toyhouse link!) but it's something to look out for! (the picture provided is some of the pets and their possible morphs!)

honorable mentions

an isopod game(?) being made by riley neville (part of sbuggames/made webbed) - this "game" has not actually been announced to be a game that will be published but it looks neat!

a worm game(?) being made by riley neville - same thing as the previous one!

all the games in my bug game collection on itch.io! (if i added all the ones in here i would be making this post forever. but please please check them out!!)

woah its the end!

that should be all i know! most of these games, if not all, are made by indie devs so i highly suggest checking them out and supporting them if you can!

thanks so much for reading and i hope i've helped you find a new bug game to pick up and enjoy! (or to wait for!) <3

[dreadsuitsamus]

do u have any modern jiraiya hcs (sfw or not)?

he is largely like his canon counterpart tbh but i do have a few ideas for a modern version of him

Modern!Jiraiya Headcanons

big tinder user when he's single

started as a fanfic smut writer and was so good at it that he turned into a legit author (50 shades but better)

gifts custom lingerie to his flames, but only the relatively long-term ones

has a secret unreleased series of adventure novels entirely unrelated to icha icha, and only releases them under a pseudonym once you've discovered them

he likes burger king

he was a frat boy in his college days. he can still do a keg stand even in his fifties. in fact, he beats his record

he's traveled through most of the world, and has a collection of various novelties and antiques from the places he's been. when he leads you into that collection room and starts telling you the backstory of something, you know you're getting dicked down

listens to jazz or classic rock mostly. he does like cardi b tho

does not understand video games one bit, and thinks it's stupid to buy already ripped jeans

is a classically trained pianist

speaks a few languages fluently, but knows enough bits and pieces of several others well enough to get him around if he's in a pinch

works out often, maintaining the ripped body he's had since college

has a small tattoo of a toad on his calf. doesn't remember getting it

teaches a college course that's difficult to get into due to so many students wanting to take the class, and his availability is limited majority of the year as he travels

he takes a liking to a young student named minato, and they remain close long after minato's graduation

he's even the godfather of minato's son, and he'll deny it if you point out that he treats naruto like a grandson. won't stop him from immediately spoiling the boy with presents and treats every time he sees him

is often lonely, though not alone

still keeps in touch with his childhood best friends, and they get together at least once a year for old time's sake

his facebook profile picture is of himself and naruto. he'll post every few months with a random photo, and then go back to being inactive for a while

he started his boomer behavior the very day he turned 30

put his hoe era behind him when he met you

is banned from a beach out in france, won't say why but always get that same pervy smile on his face when asked about it

big guy. big muscles. big ego. scared of spiders

unfairly good at scrabble

cheats in tic-tac-toe (don't ask how)

hates the word undies

definitely likes keeping a pair of yours in his pocket all the time tho

big guy. big muscles. big heart. gave it to you years ago. hasn't regretted it once

[mirageofficial]

— WELCOME TO THE UPSIDE ! !

with a total of 22 shows and 16 stops across eight countries, MIRAGE finally takes center stage at their very first headlining concert series: ENTER THE UPSIDE! the setlist is an attempt at performing the group’s staple hits (and solos) while feeding fans with the most beloved b-sides since debut—it also features the unreleased songs monster + shooting stars (their latest english song). the live songs will share a glimpse of MIRAGE’s lore, friendship, and lessons learned in real time. the members were able to promote their english hits at broadcasting stations and festivals throughout the many countries they visited.

tickets were in high demand before the presale period opened, especially due to the fact that the majority of booked venues were smaller-scale arenas (minus south korea, japan, united kingdom, and indonesia’s stadiums). VIP, meet & greet, and standard tickets sold out within hours overall—some instantly in certain countries— and it’s reflected MIRAGE’s overlooked global popularity beyond south korea. since the announcement of the tour, netizens have been discussing whether or not KQ ENTERTAINMENT, their small label, has the strength (and money) to continue managing/supporting MIRAGE as they continue to climb to the top of the charts… or would a different label ruin the group’s strategies?

( full setlist ! )

( opening VHS ) intro: end of the world

act i the jinx

i + opening roll the dice

ii ( mashup ) black mamba + illusion

iii bewitched

iv breathe

v addicted

vi + act i finale secret story of the swan

act ii changes

interlude ( visuals ) natural

vii interlude: illusions

viii changes

ix relapse

x the happiest girl

xi + act ii finale rainbow spectrum

act iii maknae unit + elder line's solos

xii + extended intro monster ( xepher, nako, & arin )

xiii halfway ( nari )

xiv + act iii finale queen of the night ( eunae )

act iv vivace

interlude + VHS WE ARE THE PIXIES

xv starlight

xvi greedy

xvii ( mashup ) alive + outro: vivace

xviii ( mashup ) a little different [eng. version] + not a stereotype

xix + act iv finale shootings stars ( unreleased eng. song )

act v our promise

xx wanna:be

xxi + special VHS for PROMISE domino

xxii chillin' with you

( finale ) our promise

( encore ) mago

DID YOUR FAVORITE SONG MAKE IT TO THE SETLIST?

between the first two opening nights in seoul and the first half of tour, many kpop stars came out to see MIRAGE in action! which guests do you think caused the most commotion/drama on stan twitter?

ATEEZ

TOMORROW X TOGETHER

NCT ( taeyong, mark, jungwoo )

WAYV ( winwin, kun, hendery, xiaojun )

THE ROMANTICS ( rue )

MANIA! ( byeol )

UNIVERSE-4 ( jihun, marley, sakura, AJ )

FROMIS_9 ( saerom, jiheon )

SEVENTEEN ( seungkwan, DK )

THE BOYZ ( kevin, sunwoo, new )

PENTAGON ( jinho, kino, shinwon )

NOAH ( @qtnoaly )

AESPA ( qiao @darkestlovers )

TAGLIST | @qtnoaly @neocityocs @alixnsuperstxr @darkestlovers

JOIN THE TAGLIST HERE

[dorothygale]

SWIFTIE COMMUNITY PSA: HOW TO LISTEN TO HITS DIFFERENT ON SPOTIFY WITH LOCAL FILES

i have seen way too many posts begging TN to put hits different on streaming. even some posts saying they have to listen to the song on tumblr of all places. there is a solution my friends! you can add hits different to spotify! not only hits different but also i'd lie and wanegbt rock version and any other non-streaming song your heart desires. all you need is a computer!

disclaimer: i am an apple music user and have never used spotify super regularly. but i tested this process myself and i was able to play my local files through spotify (including without an internet connection), on both my iphone and my android tablet. please feel free to message me with any issues and i will try to help!

STEP 1: DOWNLOAD THE FILE(S) ON YOUR COMPUTER

here is a link to hits different. i have virtually all unreleased taylor songs here. visit @midnightsacousticlive for live performance tracks and tours!!!!! the file should be in .mp3 or .m4a format and it will probably go into your Downloads folder. if you download a .zip folder, you can usually double click to unzip it, or right click to extract the files.

ANDROID USERS: you can download the file directly on your phone and skip step 2!

STEP 2: ADD TO YOUR PHONE

manual option:

if you ever added a CD to itunes and put it on your ipod/iphone, that is basically what we are doing now. you will need to turn on manual control and then you can drag the track to your phone on the itunes sidebar. if you have never done this before or you are having trouble, this article should help! (if you are on windows instead of mac, use the directions for "macOS mojave or earlier")

sync option:

if you have other music in your itunes you may not want to use this option unless you're familiar with how the itunes library works, because you may end up accidentally syncing a bunch of stuff you don't want. this apple help guide can show you how to use syncing!

secret third option (desktop method):

this option doesn't require itunes or connecting your phone. it does require spotify premium to listen to the songs outside of your home wifi. if you are having difficulty with the other way this is a good choice for you! here is a link to an article that tells you how.

STEP 3: ENABLE LOCAL FILES ON SPOTIFY

go into your settings in the spotify app on your phone. at the bottom you will see Local Files. click on that and switch it on. spotify will make a playlist for you called Local Files, where you will see all the music downloaded to your phone outside of spotify. you can now listen to them within the spotify app, add them to your playlists, etc! here is spotify's guide page about local files.

STEP 4: LISTEN TO HITS DIFFERENT ON THE REGULAR AS HER MAJESTY INTENDED

you ⬇️

[secret-bug-pain-blog]

FEBUWHUMP 2023 MASTERPOST

Key:

Day of origin - Prompt - Word Count - Universe - Summary [Links]

DAY 1 - Touch Starved - 2437 words - Canon/Canon Divergence - Vi hides an injury. Kabbu and Leif discover it. [TUMBLR] [AO3]

DAY 2 - Flinching - 988 words - Love Bites - Zasp encounters an old trigger while assisting with a volunteer job at the theatre. [TUMBLR] [AO3]

DAY 3 - Muzzled - 5146 words - Vampire Leif AU - Leif emerges from Snakemouth Den changed. The world is too loud, too bright, too overwhelming... but he needs to speak with the queen. [TUMBLR] [AO3]

DAY 4 - Knife to the Throat - 1855 words - Misc. Unreleased Outlines (Fifty-Two Pickup) - Carmina has a run-in with a hired kidnapper. [TUMBLR] [AO3]

DAY 5 - "That's gonna scar." - 1898 words - Unnamed Bodysharing Verse - Kina and Leif get in a bit too deep against the Wasp King. Leif tries some experimental emergency medicine. [TUMBLR] [AO3]

DAY 6 - Secrets Revealed - 2250 words - Unnamed Bodysharing Verse - Kina finds out something about the bug she's been sharing her body with. [TUMBLR] [AO3]

DAY 7 - Caged - 1483 words - Unnamed New Scars fill verse - Vi is captured and caged by those she once trusted. There's something she still desperately needs to tell them. [TUMBLR] [AO3]

DAY 8 - Panic - 3104 words - Canon Divergence/Postcanon - The Explorer's Association receives a visitor, Leif has something revealed about himself, and Zasp pays the price for something extremely impulsive. [TUMBLR] [AO3] (VERY ROUGH)

DAY 9 - Voice Loss - 3565 words - Mild Canon Divergence - A competitor plays a trick on Mothiva. Mothiva resorts to drastic measures. [TUMBLR] [AO3]

DAY 10 - Difficulty Breathing - 5685 words - Canon/Canon Divergence - Scarlet runs right into a trap he should've seen coming. [TUMBLR] [AO3]

DAY 11 - Fever - 1759 words and counting - Canon/Canon Divergence - Astotheles takes a trip to pick up some supplies. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 12 - "Can you hear me?" - 1857 words and counting - Bug Fables/Humans-B-Gone! Crossover (VERY beta) - Someone has taken a fall in Snakemouth Den. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 13 - Forced To Hurt A Loved One - 575 words and counting - Canon Divergence/Postcanon - A mission goes poorly, and something goes wrong with Leif. Muze is forced to find a way to take him down. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 14 - Captivity - 37 words and counting - Canon/Canon Divergence (extended from Day 10) - Scarlet paces his new cell. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 15 - Self-Sacrifice - 136 words and counting - Time Travel - Even if death doesn't stick for them, Kabbu can't stand to see his teammates fall. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 16 - Semi-Conscious - 1127 words and counting - ???/Humans-B-Gone! Crossover - Sophodra temporarily misplaces her exoskeleton. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 17 - Experimentation - 1897 words and counting - Canon/Precanon - Subject ZM-32 is a success in all the wrong ways. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 18 - Can't Stay Awake OR Immortality - 0 words and counting - Canon Divergence/Postcanon OR Canon/Precanon - Something's gone wrong. (NOTE: Whichever prompt ends up fitting better for this will be the one used, other becomes the Immortality Day) [UNFINISHED]

DAY 19 - "You deserve this." - 0 words and counting - Misc. AU Plots (Storm King AU) - Kabbu is dressed up as an offering. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 20 - Knife Wound - 0 words and counting - Misc. Unreleased Outlines (Fifty-Two Pickup) - Carmina doesn't know how she's still alive. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 21 - Shackled - 505 words and counting - False Convict (Alt. Version) - Astotheles raids an Ant Kingdom camp for prisoners. He ends up making an investment. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 22 - Can't Scream OR Immortality - 198 words and counting - Canon Divergence/Postcanon OR Canon/Precanon - Snakemouth Den's experiments will not die until they are killed. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 23 - "You'll have to go through me." - 0 words and counting - Misc. AU Plots (Tireless) - Riz guards his village. [UNFINISHED]]

DAY 24 - Bloody Clothes - 654 words and counting - Mild Canon Divergence - Kali finds someone half-dead in the desert. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 25 - Assumed Dead - 0 words and counting - Canon Divergence/Postcanon - There are, occasionally, advantages to lacking a pulse. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 26 - Time Loop - 1813 words and counting - Mild Canon Divergence - Monsieur Scarlet gets caught. He begs his case. Again, and again, and again. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 27 - Survivor's Guilt - 0 words and counting - Canon/Precanon - Kabbu copes in the aftermath of The Beast's rampage. [UNFINISHED]

DAY 28 - "You're safe now." - 0 words and counting - Time Travel - Vi has a nightmare. [UNFINISHED]

[lmelodie]

Chance and Choice BTS

Behind the scenes stuff! I have A LOT of notes about the making of Chance and Choice from unreleased Beta to the latest chapter! Please enjoy the notes that simply cannot keep to myself anymore.

Pre CC (Runner-up):

Originally originally, the very first almost beta version of CC was just going to be Jack's origin story lol. Like straight up in chronological order, a series of events spanning his entire life as a closer look into his fall from grace. Really heavy handed on the psychology aspects of how his mind works (because I love nothing more than psychoanalyzing people/characters)

I had a whole idea about if i ever dropped this fic that the accompanying art would just be Jack himself promoting the story as if it was his own autobiography. Celebrity biopic release vibes. Buy my book!

This rough beta version was called Runner-up. And I got all the outlining done when I realized that by the end of the story Jack still would’ve been a villain (and in banishment) and I ended up thinking that the aftermath of his banishment with Lucy would've been a more attention-grabbing story.

As much as I enjoy hurting this man, I also want to see him heal, so Runner-up was promptly scrapped (but somewhat currently still used as a rough guide for any of Jack’s inner machinations/past experiences)

In the tail end of planning Runner-up, when Killian was starting to come more into his own and not just a background character, apparently, I wrote it down that him and Jack were only supposed to have romantic tension and for their official relationship to start way later after he’s already reformed. 

I think the idea was to have them just hate flirting with each-other while the whole story goes on around them? But you can also do that AND be bitter exes at the same time. Very glad I changed this little bit.

A concept that also did not survive the Runner-up days was the idea of Jack having some kind of Ice based healing powers! Most akin to the water bender healers from Avatar. 

He would've had this whole thing about swearing off using the healing powers for whatever reason and ends up burying the lead that he ever had them in the first place. Until a situation comes up where he’s forced to use them in front of people, unearthing the secret. This idea was cool, but then I reworked the whole magic system so this idea had to go.

Chapter 4:

Fun Fact! This meeting where Jack and Mother Nature actually talk for the first time since banishment will be the last time they directly speak to one another until the very finale. They will be going another two weeks without talking before reconciling at New Years.

I've had the idea for the Bypass for a while, but the way it looks is closest to The Great Exhibition hall of 1851. Just way bigger and with portal arches and FIVE MORE FLOORS. This place is HUGE you guys it's like a whole town in of itself.

I wanted the teleporters to accommodate a full-sized dragon because as a species they would be very limited in available airspace without getting spotted by humans. So, to quick travel they mostly use the teleporters.

I am going to be very honest with you guys. I really did only give Jack a journal of sorts so that I could maybe spin that off into The Misadventures of Exile kinda thing. Because nothing really physically happens to him (besides the polar bear) but he goes through a lot of mental wear and tear, and I thought I should give myself a little window into his head for possible future use. 

Chapter 5:

The flashback scene with MN and Jacks fight, these exchanges:

“When all the realms turned against me, what did you do? Nothing!”

“You were not meant to have a holiday that is not my fault!”

“Not your FAULT!?”

Is directly taken from Kung Fu Panda, the first movie where shifu and tai lung recount their falling out as they fight. Tai Lung (and his and shifu’s dynamic) is so interestingly complex and served as a HUGE inspiration for Jack’s character and his relationship with MN.

ANOTHER line that I kinda ripped off was this remark from Jack:

“How could you possibly bring me lower than this? What more can you take away from me?!”

That one I got from The Incredibles when Bob threatens Mirage when he thinks his family is dead :)

A line that I also really REALLY wanted to include but didn't was from Steven Universe. Where Amethyst and Pearl are fighting in the kindergarten and amethyst says:

“I never asked for it to be this way! I never asked to be made!”

I wanted to give that line to Jack as he was fighting MN SO BAD! But I just couldn't find anywhere to fit it.

Originally Jack’s visceral injury would have been a single very sharp root straight through the shoulder. Literally clean through him; just one major puncture wound. But I ultimately thought that was lacking something, so i ended up changing it to something way more violent.

That whole fight scene I’ve had in the chamber for A WHILE, before most of the plot of CC was ironed out. And like I’ve said before, legendary fisticuffs are COOL AS SHIT so I have a lot to say about that passage in particular.

Chapter 6:

I had three separate ideas for Jack’s beginning nightmare sequence for this chapter (mostly because i’ve really liked coming up with very metaphorical and emotionally poignant scenarios for Jack to be in (psychoanalyzing yet again) ).

The final one of the following voices was my personal favorite and was planned to be put somewhere far later in the story, but i ultimately decided to treat myself and write in prose about Jack’s internal struggle :)

The other two nightmares I think I will keep mostly a secret if I ever choose to use those for future sequences. But! The other two (in the vaguest of terms) are

Mother Nature Lapis Lazuli inspo

Playing very weird chess and loosing horribly.

The main note that I’ve had for this, and the next few following chapters is just: EMOTIONAL LABOR! And that’s literally it lol. Thats the only note I need for this next stretch of the story lol.

Fun Fact! The weight of Lucy’s staff is actually different depending on the personal harmony of the one who’s holding it! It always maintains a level of heaviness that Lucy doesn't experience, but depending on someone’s inner balance the staff will be lighter or heavier depending on who’s holding it. Charlie has little difficulty holding for its weight in Chapter 5, because he has little to no internal struggle. He’s very confident in who he is and where he’s going in life and all that jazz. 

Whereas Jack in this Chapter, is nearly taken down by the thing because he is all kinds of out of whack internally. Banishment has been nothing but one big internal seven-year struggle and it shows in the weight of the staff. He’s way-out synch and therefore the staff is way heavier than it should be.

Chapter 7:

I had to rewrite the beginnings of this chapter a fair few times with how exactly Lucy finds out more about Frostmas as a thing.

One of the times she would've found herself in the hall of timelines to learn about Frostmas that way. It was a huge room of clouds and different clock faces representing all the major alternate universes. I had a whole convoluted way the books updated themselves by pulling straight from the clocks to double check the series of events that have technically never happened.

But this was WAY too complicated of an idea to execute without having it feel overly clunky. So, it must be scrapped.

AND I KNEW that THIS was the most opportune time to name drop everyone else’s amazing work! As mostly a treat to myself, but I had it penned down to AT LEAST mention CS here. Because I was dying to do that at some point and NOWS THE TIME! THERE YA GO BITCHES! Technically canon? But actually, not really.

Killian and Chimera’s intro was A BITCH AND A HALF to nail down. I went back and forth on the logistics of this scene a lot. Where it was gonna fit in the story and if I'm introducing this new character/element too early or too late. This one was a thinker.

BUT THEN I remembered that there's an actually seven-year-old at the north pole that he could scare! Keep it closer to the main cast and switch it to full nighttime hours at the end of the day and BOOM! He’s here! In the story! Jack and Luce are gonna run into him later for the confrontation OF A LIFETIME. Very hype about that

For Killian’s intro I had an idea for Chimera to call him on the crystal ball, but he accidently left the sound on so it flashes colors AND Toxic by Brittney Spears would start playing very loudly in the middle of the night. This was really funny to me, but ultimately undermined the whole buildup of him being scary and threatening so I had to scrap it.

Misc:

Whenever I get to the redlining stage in the editing process, I try and do it physically as often as I can. I literally print out all the pages, staple them together, get a red pen and go to town! Usually with a lined sticky note as well for when a passage really needs to be deconstructed. I do this because it gives my eyes a break from staring at a screen and helps me spot mistakes easier. I keep them all in a little accordion folder and save them as sweet little mementos :)

(I don't do this for any of the snowdrifts because those are relatively low stakes, but I did do it for Solstice just because it directly ties into CC in a somewhat more important way.)

A couple of key inspo’s for Jacks character in exile (as I imagine him anyway) were Tai Lung (as previously stated), Loki and a touch of Bojack Horseman. I rationalize any out of character things he does with “Oh but he’s in exile, he’s been banished for seven years now, I think he’s bound to act just a little different.”

Some of the names that were in the rotation between Runner-up and CC include:

Polar Opposites

Vice Versa

Hope and Heartless

Flip Side

[passionpluto]

Presenting: The Big Four Preservation Project (AKA Operation: Release the Vickles-Shaye Cut)!

What if the first four Altador Cup MVPs were all part of a secret society, and the only one who knew was Tandrak Shaye? That's the question Jair Tollet finds herself asking when her team captain uncovers a sabotage scheme targeting the Altador Cups's high scorers and asks her for help. All Jair really wants to do is lay low and train her new apprentice Scout, but when an old frenemy from her Team Maraqua days is linked to the sabotages, Jair finds herself pulled ever deeper into the mystery...especially once the saboteurs begin to target Scout for her own burgeoning abilities...

The Big Four Saga was an unreleased Altador Cup 'verse written from 2010-11 for the Neopian Times. It was extensively advertised on Neopets forums, mainly Jellyneo Forums. Two stories (Jair's backstory Jumper and the intro short story Big Four Minus One) from it were eventually published, but its main series The Vickles-Shaye Battles was never released because, even after massive edits, it was continually rejected by the NT. It has only ever been read in its entirety by one person, a suburban father from Kansas City...until now.

Okay, so I wanted to do the crazy Defunctland-style narration for at least one paragraph to make this sound more important than it is, but putting that aside, I asked you all if you wanted to read my old AC fanfics in their uncut, ninth-grade glory, and boy did you guys deliver! I'd been thinking about doing this for some time since I'll be switching computers soon for the first time in a long time and wanted a way to preserve these silly things that still have a place in my heart, but wasn't sure if I should do it publicly or just add them to my Google Docs and call it a day. Due to extensive work writing and marketing my current WIP Premiere Nebula to publishers, I knew I wouldn't have time to fully remaster the Big Four Saga, but figured I'd leave it mostly as-is (more on that later) so readers could see the progress I've made in 13 years. I'd like to think I've grown a lot since then!

But point is, thanks to all your morbid curiosity (that you may end up regretting later), the full Big Four Saga is coming to AO3, alongside Paging Doctor Sparkle and the rest of If You Give a Little Love from FiMFiction. This will include both published stories and the full, unpublished Vickles-Shaye Battles 10-part series. Finally, someone other than my dad is going to see these! Maybe the people who actually waited for this on JNF will stumble on it and finally get to read it!

To finish this little self-promotion segment, I'd like to preface the release with one thing: this is a finished series that I'm releasing purely so I can have someplace online to preserve it. The Big Four Saga ended over a decade ago, and I have since moved onto other projects, one of which actually exists because of the Big Four Saga! You see, after Vickles-Shaye, I had intended on writing a sequel series called Valkaine, which was permanently cancelled due to continued rejection by the NT and me realizing the planned genre shift from a sports story to a magical girl-inspired sci-fi was a bit too jarring. If the concept for Valkaine sounds familiar to some of you, that's because it was the basis for Premiere Nebula! So hopefully, you'll all get to read some form of Valkaine someday, or at least a spiritual successor to it.

This brings me to the one change I will be making to the Big Four Saga before publishing it: Scout's name has been changed. The story explains that she was named for a central figure in the Resistance, but in the original version, her name was Valka. This change comes entirely because the name of the magical girl rebel leader in Premiere Nebula is, you guessed it, also Valka. They were actually the same character for a really long time, but as I developed PN!Valka, she got further and further from the original Valka concept that I thought "why not just name OG Valka something else?" So PN!Valka stays Valka while BF!Valka became Scout, purely to avoid future confusion between the characters should Premiere Nebula ever be published. But for those of you who follow PN, it might still be cool for you to know that Scout was the proto-Valka. :)

[parkerbombshell]

Cobwebs And Strange Radio Show #378

Cobwebs And Strange Radio Show  Mondays 12 noon EST , 5pm BST , 9am PDT Archival Shows: bombshellradiopodcasts.com COBWEBS AND STRANGE #378 - Salford Jets - Who You Lookin’ At? (Single, 1980) - The Boomtown Rats - Lookin’ After No. 1 (The Boomtown Rats, 1977) - Primal Scream - Ready To Go Home (Terry Farley & Wade Teo Remix) (single, 2024)* - The Monkees - Porpoise Song (Head, 1968) - Keeley - Forever Froze (Beautiful Mysterious, 2024)* keeleyband.bandcamp.com - The Stone Roses - Waterfall (The Stone Roses, 1989) - Gary Numan - Down In The Park (with The Skaparis Orchestra) (When The Sky Came Down: Live at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 2019) - The Passage - XOYO (Degenerates, 1982) - Erasure - Dream Like State (24 Hour Technicolour Mix) (Singles: EBX 3, 2001) - The Rude Awakening - Plastic Friend (single, 2024)* - Propaganda - p: Machinery (A Secret Wish, 1985) - Swansea Sound - Toxic Energy (single, 2024)* swanseasound.bandcamp.com - Chumbawamba - More Whitewashing (Pictures Of Starving Children Sell Records: Starvation, Charity And Rock & Roll - Lies & Traditions, 1986) - The Zeroes - Sophisticated (The City of Dreams, 2019) - Fea - Feminazi (Fea, 2016) - Go Betty Go - You Want It All (Nothing Is More, 2005) - The Plugz - A Loss - A Gain (Electrify Me, 1979) - Virgins - g l i s s (single, 2024)* bandofvirgins.bandcamp.com - Rudy De Anda - Take Me For A Little While (single, 2024)* rudydeanda.bandcamp.com - The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (2023 Mix) (Magical Mystery Tour, 1967) - Xposed 4Heads - Tricked Out Tailspin (Internal Combustion, 2024) xposed4heads.bandcamp.com - Fleur East - Sax (Love, Sax and Flashbacks, 2015) - Inca Babies - Spacewalk (Ghost Mechanic Nine, 2024)* incababies1.bandcamp.com - Invisible Head Band - Poppin’ Spit (single, 2024)* lostentakills.bandcamp.com - Third House - Inside Outside (Inside Outside EP, 2024)* thirdhouse.bandcamp.com - The Ron Grainer Orchestra - The Prisoner (Main Title Theme) (Original Television Soundtrack, 1967) - Joe Geni - Cities Where The Sky Subsides (Cities Built Upon Cities, 2024)* joegeni.bandcamp.com - Pink Floyd - Crumbling Land (Zabriskie Point (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), 1970) - All Seeing Dolls - That's Amazing Grace (single, 2024)* - Zoe Ko - DIRT(ier) (single, 2024)* - bbno$ - two (single, 2024)* - Monsieur - Turn On Da Lite (1, 2024)* - Stevie Wonder - I Wish (Songs In The Key Of Life, 1976) - The Hard Quartet - Hey (The Hard Quartet, 2024)* thehardquartet.bandcamp.com - The All Night Workers - Why Don't You Smile Now (Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65, 2024)* - The Calamatix - Still Rudy (The Calamatix, 2024)* - DoM - Anarchy in the UK (ska version) (SEX PISTOLS vs DUBMATIX) (unreleased, 2024)* - Librarians With Hickeys - No More Goodbyes (single, 2024)* bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com - Abstract Crimewave - The Longest Night (The Longest Night, 2024)* abstractcrimewave.bandcamp.com - Cinéma Lumière - Wishing It Was Sunday (Wishing It Was Sunday, 2024)* cinemalumiereph.bandcamp.com - JJ72 - October Swimmer (JJ72, debut album 2000) - Juliet McLean - We Girls (The Dance EP, 2016) - The Errant Hair - A would be king (single, 2024)* theerranthair.bandcamp.com - Kris Kristofferson - Me And Bobbie McGee (Kristofferson, 1970) - Brotherhood Of Man - Oh Boy (The Mood I'm In) (Oh Boy!, 1977) - Joaquin Phoenix - True Love Will Find You In The End (Joker: Folie à Deux, 2024)* Read the full article

[iloveabunchofgames]

#JakeReviewsItch

1993 Space Machine

by Aurora Punks

Genre: Shooter

Pitch: A previously unreleased space shooter, developed in 1993 for Amiga PCs and updated in 2020.

My expectations: I've heard of this one! I don't know if it's well regarded, and I didn't even know it was a retro space shooter until a moment ago, but I am aware of this game's existence! That's the first time this has happened since I started this project.

Review:

Space Commanders, a blatant Space Invaders clone for DOS, might have been the first video game I ever played. Shoot bad guys. Don’t get shot. I’m sure I didn’t play with any strategy for finesse, but even my baby brain could follow the chain of laser-collision-explosion. I have always liked the shoot-them-up genre, but as games expanded and diversified, simple arcade fare lost its mainstream foothold. What brought in massive profits at a quarter per play made less sense as an $80 dollar Super Nintendo cartridge. Space shooters became a niche interest for hardcore fans, who demanded faster, denser, more brutal challenges that mere humans like me found unplayable and unappealing.

I don’t expect genre enthusiasts to agree when I say 1993 Space Machine is about as good as it gets. It’s slow. It’s forgiving. The most dangerous force on the screen at any given time is your own ship. I played through the whole thing (excluding the ridiculous secret boss, which does feel modern) in one sitting, and I can see myself doing it again just to see what it’s like with a different weapons loadout. It’s generic and dated, and that’s exactly how I like it.

+ An approachable, straight-forward, by-the-numbers space shooter. + Novice difficulty offered enough action and tricky traps to keep me on my toes while still letting me feel powerful. Harder difficulties are there for those who need them, but I'm quite happy with my infinite lives, thank you. + Amiga as heck, with modern touches. + Defeated enemies drop crystals, which can be spent on new ships and weapons, to better blow up enemies and get more crystals. It's an addictive and well-balanced loop that encourages risky moves. I want to play again just to experiment with the equipment I didn't see the first time. Oh, and the game supports up to four players at once, all fighting over the same crystals, which seems like a fun way to ruin friendships.

– Some backgrounds are a bit too busy, making it difficult to see tiny, incoming bullets. – Playing with a controller allows movement at any angle, but the speed is fixed—understandable, but not ideal when tiny movements are the difference between life and death. Keyboard players are locked to eight directions. Good luck. – "Trial Version" is permanently displayed in the corner of the screen. The developers are aware of this and say it's a bug. It's really tiny, and it doesn't affect the game in any way, but it's weird, and it bothered me. – The secret final boss is absurd.

🧡🧡🧡🧡🤍

#JakeReviewsTwitch is a series of daily game reviews. You can learn more here. You can also browse past reviews...

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[jobazzle]

Song Sorters Masterlist

these aren't able to be viewed easily on the tumblr app so i made this list so there's an easier way to find them when using the app!!! (and just a psa about the song sorters: if you pick ‘i like both’ or ‘no opinion’ the algorithm will make it so there are ties in your ranking and the numbering will “look weird”…as in if you have three songs tied for 1st place the numbering will then go to 4th instead of ranking a 2nd and 3rd spot and so forth. i see ppl sharing the song sorters on twitter and being confused by the numbering in their results lol so that is why!) If you're having trouble with the hyperlinks in this list, just copy the link and paste it into whatever web browser you have on your phone. Also, Tumblr only allows 100 links in a single post, so if the song sorter you're looking for isn't on this masterlist, click this link to check my other one!

Harry Styles Harry's House Every Harry Styles Song

Maisie Peters You Signed Up For This The Good Witch Every Maisie Peters Song

Niall Horan Flicker Heartbreak Weather The Show Every Niall Horan Song

Olivia Rodrigo SOUR GUTS Unreleased Songs Every Olivia Rodrigo Song

Conan Gray Superache Found Heaven

BLACKPINK Every BLACKPINK Song

Little Mix Glory Days LM5 Confetti Every Little Mix Song

Beyoncé RENAISSANCE COWBOY CARTER Every Beyoncé Song

Gracie Abrams minor This Is What It Feels Like Good Riddance The Secret of Us Every Gracie Abrams Song

Taylor Swift Taylor Swift Fearless (Taylor's Version) Speak Now (Taylor's Version) Red (Taylor's Version) 1989 (Taylor's Version) reputation Lover folklore evermore Midnights The Tortured Poets Department + The Anthology | TTPD | The Anthology Every Taylor Swift Song Collaborations The Eras Tour Setlist The Eras Tour Surprise Songs

Halsey Badlands hopeless fountain kingdom Manic If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power The Great Impersonator Every Halsey Song

Nina Nesbitt The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change Älskar

One Direction Up All Night Take Me Home Midnight Memories FOUR Made In The A.M. Every 1D Song

Louis Tomlinson Walls Faith In The Future Every Louis Tomlinson Song

5 Seconds of Summer Sounds Good Feels Good 5SOS5 Every 5SOS Song

Lizzy McAlpine Give Me A Minute five seconds flat Older

Chappell Roan The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

Reneé Rapp Everything To Everyone Snow Angel Every Reneé Rapp Song

Noah Kahan Stick Season (We'll All Be Here Forever) Live From Fenway Park

Hozier Unreal Unearth

Laufey Everything I Know About Love

boygenius Every boygenius Song

Paramore Brand New Eyes

Mitski Be the Cowboy Laurel Hell The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We

Ariana Grande thank u, next positions eternal sunshine Every Ariana Grande Song

Troye Sivan Something To Give Each Other Every Troye Sivan Song

Sabrina Carpenter Singular Act I Singular Act II emails i can't send Short n' Sweet

Maggie Lindemann PARANOIA SUCKERPUNCH

TV Shows Heartstopper Season 1

Movies Barbie: The Album Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

also!!! i recently made a Character Sorters Masterlist if you're looking for that (sadly i can only pin one post to the top of my blog at a time hence this link to the other sorter list!)

[bananaofswifts]

Taylor Swift Remakes Heartbreak Odyssey With Red (Taylor’s Version)

90/100

The 2012 LP’s re-recording is a massive, rewarding work anchored by 10-minute “All Too Well”

Written By Bobby Olivier

Red was already Taylor Swift’s greatest album, her bittersweet spot between the confessional heartache that defined the megastar’s earliest songwriting and the stadium-pop grandeur that would inform her next trio of colossal LPs (1989, Reputation and Lover).

It was the ultimate millennial breakup album, a touchstone of lovelorn devastation, fury, hope and reflection for all those suburban teens and twenty-somethings similarly figuring their shit out — the era of “happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time.”

And of course, Red, released in 2012, was a commercial mammoth; seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, certified seven times platinum and earning Swift her first Hot 100 No. 1 single in “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” It was the project that planted her flag as a mainstream monolith ready for further domination.

Now, as Swift continues her unprecedented run of re-recording and releasing her first six albums in an effort to own her masters (after a lengthy legal battle involving her old label Big Machine Records and super-manager Scooter Braun), Red (Taylor’s Version), out on November 12, was destined to be a slam dunk, even if it was an exact facsimile with no add-ons.

But as Swift is the reigning empress of extra beyond extra, the new Red — her second re-release (following April’s Fearless) — is a gargantuan, extended revisitation of her fan-worshipped fourth album: 30 songs including nine previously unreleased “vault” tracks from those writing sessions, among them a doubly long cut of her bleeding ballad “All Too Well,” her single finest piece of songwriting to date.

To listen to such an expansive project, clocking in at a whopping 130 minutes, in one sitting is a task perhaps reserved for the most devout Swifties — in the same stretch you could watch Citizen Kane and still have time for a 10-minute “Flow and Let Go” Peloton meditation. Or you could listen to Mannequin Pussy’s latest EP nine times.

But in totality, Red (Taylor’s Version) is a highly rewarding listen for fans both casual and manic, bolstered by its excellent source material and Swift’s steady hand in rewriting her own looping history, with a few thrilling footnotes tacked on.

The feverishly anticipated 10-minute rendition of “All Too Well,” which is accompanied Friday by a Swift-directed short film starring Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) and Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf), is a triumphant revamp, further skewering Swift’s ex, actor Jake Gyllenhaal, whose messy split from Swift informs much of Red. Gyllenhaal may or may not be locked in a bunker during this release weekend.

“You never called it what it was ‘til we were dead and gone and buried,” Swift sings, the new lyrics injected with extra fervor. At least half a dozen lines added here are destined for Instagram captions, among them “you kept me like a secret but I kept you like an oath” and “just between us, did the love affair maim you, too?”

Is this to suggest Jake cheated on Taylor? Either way, the new version is a melodramatic masterpiece, sure to gleefully devastate the fanbase with a more rounded, chugging arrangement shepherded by superproducer and Swift’s regular collaborator Jack Antonoff. While Nashville veteran Chris Rowe handled production on all the original tracks, Antonoff and more recent partner (see: folklore and evermore svengali) Aaron Dessner of The National split work on the newbies.

The original songs are intended note-for-note recreations, though the album’s production feels more open and airy this time, with less of the weighty compression that made for fine early ‘10s pop songs ��� Red was Swift’s first work with mega-producers Max Martin and Shellback — but lost some of the personality of Swift’s previous releases. The electro-infused “I Knew You Were Trouble” feels especially altered.

And to be frank, Swift, 31, is a much better singer now. Tone, power, texture; all of it has improved over the last decade, forging warmer and more even performances.

As for the new (or new to listeners) tracks, “Message in a Bottle” and “The Very First Night” are both pulsating, bygone-era sugar bops; “I Bet You Think About Me” featuring Chris Stapleton is a twangy “Piano Man” disciple that doesn’t give Stapleton enough to do; “Run,” with Ed Sheeran, is a mid-tempo road trip winner; and “Forever Winter” is a B-side steeped in familiar “don’t go” desperation.

The best of the bunch is “Nothing New,” a welcome pairing of Swift and indie noble Phoebe Bridgers, whose delicate crooning imbues a subtle woe over the track’s acoustic guitar and light strings. The song, which hinges on the question “will you still want me when I’m nothing new” is brilliant in its double meaning — is it meant for Swift’s romantic partner, or her listeners and the music industry at large, known for chewing up and spitting out its ingenues?

“How can a person know everything at 18 then nothing at 22,” Swift sings, of then-new adulthood, a line which travels time to mirror “when you are young they assume you know nothing,” in “Cardigan,” Folklore’s lead single last July.

In those 16 months, Swift has released four albums — folklore, evermore, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) encompassing 90 songs and swelling her catalog at a pace that cannot possibly be sustained. At some point she’s going to have to play some of this stuff live.

But for now, Red 2.0 is another towering victory, which should be coveted by fans as Swift is surely already onto the next re-recording, furthering the worthwhile fight.