#you were in a band when i was born. you were in a choir. you had been in choirs for YOUR god for forty fucking years when i was born.

[ybcpatrick]

i have emotional motion sickness. somebody roll the windows down.

[thequeenofthedisneyverse]

Technology from 1870-1899 (For Encanto fic writers)

So, A mutual of mine @miracles-and-butterfliess pointed out that everyone (including me) tends to forget that Encanto was literally made when the triplets were born. Which is literally 1900 or 1901. Regardless, it was the very beginning of the 19th century so let me tell you about the technology/things they would/wouldn’t have. (And please keep in mind that most of these may or may not have been imported into Colombia yet.) 

1870 - 1879

1872—A.M. Ward creates the first mail-order catalog. NO

1873—Joseph Glidden invented barbed wire. NO

1876—Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone. NO

1876—Nicolaus August Otto invents the first practical four-stroke internal combustion engine. NO

1876—Melville Bissell patents the carpet sweeper. NO?

1878—Thomas Edison invents the cylinder phonograph (known then as the tin foil phonograph). MAYBE

1878—Eadweard Muybridge invents moving pictures. NO?

1878—Sir Joseph Wilson Swan invents the prototype for a practical electric lightbulb. YES? 

1879—Thomas Edison invented the first commercially viable incandescent electric light bulb. NO?

1880 - 1889

1880—The British Perforated Paper Company debuts toilet paper. YES

1880—English inventor John Milne creates the modern seismograph. NO

1881—David Houston patents camera film in roll format. NO?

1884—Lewis Edson Waterman invents the first practical fountain pen. YES

1884—L. A. Thompson built and opened the first roller coaster in the United States at a site on Coney Island, New York. NO

1884—James Ritty invents a functional mechanical cash register. YES?

1884—Charles Parson patents the steam turbine. NO

1885—Karl Benz invented the first practical automobile powered by an internal-combustion engine. NO (even before Encanto, Alma’s town looked rural so I doubt the automobile reached them yet.)

1885—Gottlieb Daimler invented the first gas-engine motorcycle. NO

1886—John Pemberton introduces Coca-Cola. NO

1886—Gottlieb Daimler designs and builds the world's first four-wheeled automobile. NO

1887—Heinrich Hertz invents radar. NO

1887—Emile Berliner invented the gramophone. YES

1887—F.E. Muller and Adolph Fick invented the first wearable contact lenses. NO

1888—Nikola Tesla invents the alternating current motor and transformer. NO

1890 - 1899

1891—Jesse W. Reno invents the escalator. NO

1892—Rudolf Diesel invents the diesel-fueled internal combustion engine, which he patents six years later. NO

1892—Sir James Dewar invents the Dewar vacuum flask. NO

1893—W.L. Judson invents the zipper. NO (zippers didn’t become popular globally until a little bit later; buttons, ribbons/laces and whatever else were still the norm/in fashion for fastening and tying (which is still the case in some places today)

1895—Brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière invent a portable motion-picture camera that doubles as a film-processing unit and projector. The invention is called the Cinematographe and using it, the Lumières project the motion picture for an audience. NO?

1899—J.S. Thurman patents the motor-driven vacuum cleaner. NO (if you're running from being killed, the last thing you're going to bring is a vacuum cleaner) 

I remember a post listing the sort of jobs there would be in Encanto but I forgot so I’ll just list the ones I know (let me know if I need to add anything.): 

Seamstress/tailor

Embellisher

Field worker 

Teacher (of any kind; music, dance, art, etc)

Woodworker - wood carver

Toy maker

Construction worker

Joining a Local band/ Orchestra - being apart of a choir 

Carpenter 

Metal worker 

Jeweler (though I’m not sure if Jewelery of the diamond/gem kind is common in Encanto)

bladesmith/ knifemaker 

Inventor? (Inventors should exist in Encanto by now…just one other genius besides Mirabel?)

I know some of these are very obvious but I’m just giving people options okay? 

@miracles-and-butterflies you seem to know a lot more about this kind of stuff so if you have anything to add/take away or me to fix please let me know. I tried to search up “When was X invention imported into Colombia” and literally nothing of use comes up. 

[reqxxyt]

talent i never knew

pairings: charles l. x f!reader

warnings: none just max being adorable :)

masterlist requests are open!

[unedited]

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

I grew up around music. Since I was born, my mother would play music for all to hear but not many paid attention so she kept it to herself and her kids. I learned how to play the guitar when I was 10, writing my own music with small vocals but I never allowed anyone to hear. 

My mom tried to get me into the choir group for high school but I refused and settled for the band group pretending to be a beginner. I started to take piano lessons and I began to fall in love with the instrument, the more I played the more comfortable I got with allowing people to hear, starting with my mom too now my close family at small parties. 

I met Charles in my last semester of college and began as friends before he asked me out and we’ve now been dating for half a year. After all these months, I’ve hidden my musical hobbies trying my best to keep them to myself only allowing myself to hum to music on the radio if listening to any. But now, I would introduce him to the family that will never stop talking about my ‘raw talent’ that is being wasted on pursuing a journalism career. 

“Nervous?” the smooth voice walked over to where I had been getting ready in the bathroom, I glanced at him through the mirror seeing him with a small smile. I only shook my head, wondering if I should bring it up before someone else does but I decided not to. 

“I feel as though I should be asking you that” I teased him and he gave me a kiss on the cheek, 

“A little but it will be fine once I adjust to it” he said before leaving the bathroom to get his shoes. I let out a sigh still debating but I dropped it, maybe this will be a pleasant surprise. 

later

“Mija, it’s been too long” My cheeks were pinched and I only laughed it off before greeting my aunt, not forgetting to introduce Charles. He gave everyone the same introduction with a gentle smile and those who wanted a hug were respectful and followed me inside the house still not spotting my mom. 

I heard a squeal and immediately recognized it as my little sister ran towards us giving me a loose hug before running towards Charles embracing him in the tightest hug I’ve seen her give anyone. I smiled at the sight but remembered why I came in here in the first place. I walked into the kitchen and spotted my mom cutting some cilantro and onion. 

“Hola mami” I greeted and she gave me a small smile as I kissed her cheek. Charles greeted her with a side hug offering to help out but of course she refused. 

“Y/n when are you going to show us your new song” my aunt barged in and I immediately froze into place not daring to glance at Charles but could already feel his confused stare, knowing how his eyebrows would furrow and his eyes would narrow not liking the feeling of being excluded but didn’t say anything. 

“Not finished” I shrugged, finally taking in the courage to look over at Charles. 

“The piano is right over in the living room. Give us a sneak peek” my aunt pleaded, I clenched my jaw ready to refuse before my mom encouraged me practically pushing me to sit on the piano. 

Again, I didn’t dare look at anyone as my hand landed on the keys. Before I heard another encouraging chant from my aunt and mom, I pressed on the first set of keys allowing my hands to roam to their designated places whisper singing the lyrics barely audible to a regular audience but considering the only other people in the room were my mom, aunt, and Charles my vocals shined through the room not allowing a sound to interrupt them. 

I finally finished what I had written and let out a breath feeling my chest tighten before I felt a hand on my shoulder, giving me a tight squeeze and sensing the tension in my body. I looked up and saw his usual smile but with glinted eyes, showing encouragement and support. My shoulders relaxed and I gave him a small smile, feeling safe. 

“That was absolutely gorgeous” my aunt complimented, running to give me a tight hug and having to shove Charles out of the way. I giggled at the compliment feeling heat rush to my face. 

I gave my thanks and the rest of the night was spent eating food while Charles kept asking questions about my musical past. I told him everything, feeling the most comfortable and safe near him. The questions didn’t stop after the party, asking me if we should get a piano and I denied knowing how expensive they can be. 

The piano arrived the following week, already built after a tiring day at work. 

“Charles I can’t possibly accept this,” I said shaking my head knowing inside I wanted to play my heart out, using every key imaginable. 

“It’s too late, there is no return policy,” he said and my jaw dropped. “Kidding, your only price is writing a song dedicated to me” 

“That will be all I will be writing” I mumbled as I sat down pressing the first key, feeling the vibration first before hearing it a millisecond later. My heart twirled and flipped, walking back to Charles giving him the greediest kiss as he deepened it. 

I’ll write the song later. I thought to myself as he lifted me up and walked us to out shared bedroom. 

[mexicanmerridew]

LOTF HEADCANONS YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHJ

( this is 4 @jackmerrizzler btw :3 )

( also sum of these are old )

Jack tried putting face paint on ralph multiple times but ralph kept running away everytime he did

Ralph went like "if you kept doing that im going to break your spear" ( he was buffling )

When it would be Halloween time they would dress up in a group costumes to find each other easily ( Sam & Eric would get lost pretty quick )

Speaking of halloween, its rogers fav holiday

Simon owed cats back home ( 2 to be specific )

Jack's full name name is "Jackson" merridew but prefers his last name more because his first name reminds him too much of his dad ( he's a junior )

After the island Ralph's hair wasent as fluffy anymore ( it became sorta dead in a way )

Jack's favorite color is green

After piggys aunt learned about piggy's death she made a candy about him & named it after him

They tried getting fish one time on the island but they were scared of how much they flopped on land that they resorted to pig

After a lot of the boys were rescued they slept with nightlights

Before crash landing on the island Jack's mom was pregnant ( jack didnt know at the time ) and while of his time on the island she ended up being born ( totally didn't headcanon this onto jack because I have a baby sister myself )

The liluns would gift each other things they found around the island ( like lil rocks or seaweed ) for comfort

( older ) Ralph would visit piggy's tombstone

The bigguns & lilnuns would write letters to their parents despite half of them getting lost

Jack knows how to play the piano

After jack got recued he was kinda paying less attention in choir and got put in dance classes for a while as punishment

Ralph had band classes back home and knew how 2 play the trumpet & flute ( totally didn't headcanon this bc I have a band class & play the flute and get heartburn and stomach aches all the time while playing it )

( IF SIMON WAS STILL ALIVE. ) he would have asked his mom for a lizard a bunch of times after being rescued until his grandma bought him 1 for his birthday !! :D

During the feast, Jack asked Ralph if he wanted to dance with him, and ralph just fucking straight out said "no"

After a few a minutes had past ( like 20 or so ) Ralph asked roger if he had seen simon cuz he wanted to dance with him

Ralph named 2 of his horses after simon & piggy

𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴 𝔀𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓼 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼

Ralph, piggy & Simon made flower crowns 4 each other ( Simon made the most for the 2 of them )

Jack tried teaching a lilnun C# but eventually gave up after a few mins 🥲

Jack would ( on purpose ) practice his C# late at night and drive Ralph CRAZY

Jack would try to teach some of the choir his fav songs

Jack HATED the rain while his time on the island but got used to it after he got saved

One of the boys on the island said sum shit like: "I can't believe I'm gonna die here without my first kiss!" As a joke ( WHICH MOST OF THE KIDS UNDERSTOOD ) except 1 kid who thought he was being serious and ACTUALLY KISSED HIM... ( in front of jack too )

Out of all the boys on the island simon had the most scars ( even after getting murdered ) with jack being the second & Ralph being the 3rd

piggy & simon tried giving sum of simons flower crowns to the tribe but they destroyed them due to "jacks orders"

This post took an hour 2 type pls like it ☹️ ( I'll pin this maybe )

[jaemmphilia]

★ 𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 ★ || b.c

★ summary: an accidental confession gone wrong, and fate forcing you to meet the one person you never wanted to see again.

★ characters: bang chan, cannon y/n (he/him pronouns and a masculine frame), holland (the sweetest gay idol in the entire world)

★ warnings: lots of hurt, the reader is an idol, and his stage name is Mars (for the sake of the story, reader also has a last name), so much heartache, grab your tissues bc channie is about to break your heart...this story doesn't follow exactly how chan became an idol, so for the sake of the story, he moves to korea after high school, internal homophobia, mentions of depression, reader has an anxiety attack :(

★ word count: 3.7K

★ requested?: yes, thank you to @cheeseflirty47

★ binnie's thoughts: ohhhh this one is a doozy, yall... i love writing angst so much, and i'm no stranger to rejection and heartbreak, so this is gonna be a little personal for me, so i hope i do it justice...I AM SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE BUT I STRUGGLED SO BAD

★ disclaimer: this fic in absolutely NO way represents the stray kids members as people. this is just for fun, so don't take it to heart. just enjoy!

Having a dad who grew up with his best friend from diapers all the way into adulthood, meant that you were required to get along with his best friend’s son. It didn’t matter if you and Chan liked different things, you had to get along with him, according to your old man. Lucky for the both of them, you and Chan got along perfectly. You were both born in the same month, just 3 days apart, with Chan being the older one. You two did everything together growing up, mischievous little boys who rolled in dirt and played with bugs. As you got older, you both realized how much music meant to you.

Music was a staple in your home, your mother was in her school’s choir, and she was in theater. Your father was in a band that he formed with Chan’s father and two other friends, and they would perform for the neighborhood whenever there was a cookout or barbeque. So it was no surprise that you picked up on their musical talent, at such a young age on top of that. 

You and Chan were going on a fishing trip while your mom was on a three-day trip with her middle school music class. You and Chan are playing with the wrestling figures that you brought along with you in the back seat, the two of you making punching noises with your mouths as your characters duke it out. The radio plays softly in the car, your dads making conversation as the car rolls smoothly on the road. Suddenly, your favorite song in the entire world, The Girl is Mine, by Michael Jackson featuring Paul McCartney comes on the radio and you gasp, immediately kicking the back of your dad’s seat. 

“Dad, turn it up!” Your voice calls out, ignoring the super important heavyweight champion match you were previously having with Chan. Chan just pouts, he was so so close to winning. He had your character pinned in a finishing move, and was about to count to three. 

Your dad turns up the radio a little with a shake of his head. You wiggle from side to side in your seat, the music taking over you as you begin to sing the lyrics. As your little voice fills the car, Chan’s dad looks at your dad with an incredulous look. Since when did you have such a good singing voice, and why are they just now hearing it? 

“What? You didn’t know my boy had the voice of an angel? Believe me, I was surprised too.” Your dad says, a cocky tilt to his voice. Chan’s dad lets out an awed whistle. 

“He sounds real good, mate,” Chan’s dad starts, taking a sip of his soda as he looks at you belting your heart out in the back seat, “Do you think he’d be famous one day?”

Your dad has definitely thought about you growing up and becoming famous one day. He would be so proud, but he would never force you into a life of fame if it wasn’t something you wanted. “Yeah, but I feel like it’s too soon to think about that, you know? He may not even want to be a singer when he gets older.” Chan’s dad hums, and then he hears another voice joining in on your singing, although it’s much quieter. He breaks out into a smile, knowing that the voice belongs to his very own son. He knows Chan is shy about singing in front of people, so he’s glad to know that you bring out that side of him. He's really happy that you and Chan are close. 

Things remain the same as you and Chan get older. You both have ventured into high school. You still hang out with Chan every single day, you study together after school, and then you ride your bikes to the park and you play a little bit of soccer (or football, whatever you want it to be) until it’s time for you to part ways for dinner. 

Things do change when Chan gets a girlfriend. Vanessa Clovers. A pretty girl with wavy black hair that stops at her shoulder. She has tan skin, probably from playing softball for the school. She had soft blue eyes hidden behind a pair of thick glasses, her teeth covered in silver braces. She was known as one of the prettier girls in your grade, everyone wanted to get with her. Well, everyone but you.

 Chan had expressed interest in her to you before, and you felt this weird rumble in your stomach. You just dismissed it as you being hungry, and you clapped Chan on the back, encouraging him to go talk to his crush. As you watched him approach the girl, you turned back to your open locker, your eyebrows furrowed. You couldn’t understand why you were feeling so… angry. You turned your attention back to Chan, who is deep in conversation with the girl. She’s laughing at something, her arm coming up and playfully slapping Chan’s arm. You close your locker quietly and rush off to class without Chan, something you’ve never done in your life. 

You were guilty. You were guilty because you hated Vanessa. You hated her because she had something you so desperately wanted, she had Chan. She got him before you did, and she makes him happy. You want to be the one to make Chan happy in that way. You want to be the one to kiss his cheek and hold his hand. You hated her for no good reason, she never did anything wrong to you. She was actually nice to you, and oftentimes tried to have a decent conversation with you. All you could really do was muster a fake smile as the ugly green head of envy consumed your being. 

Considering that your birthdays were only three days apart, it only made sense to combine your birthdays together. This year was really no different. You shouldn’t be surprised when Vanessa shows up to the party, a black gift bag in her hand. She makes a beeline to Chan, who’s standing at the grill talking to his dad. She wraps her arms around Chan, giving him a kiss on the cheek, and you can hear a soft happy birthday, baby, fall from her glossy lips. You roll your eyes before you could stop yourself, looking down at the table you’re sitting at. You all of a sudden don’t want to be here, not when you can see Chan and Vanessa sucking faces just a few short feet away from you. Your younger sister must know that something is bothering you, because she walks over with a slice of cake. 

“Stop moping around like an idiot, it's your birthday party too, remember?” She says, plopping down in the seat next to you, setting down her own slice of cake. You’re so glad she’s here, she always knows when something is bothering you. She always gives you something you like, rolling her eyes while telling you to, “get over it, loser.” All you can do is chuckle at her bluntness, your arms tugging her close as you hug her. She may hate when you hug her or pretend to give her a kiss, but you know she’s glad to have you as her older brother. 

“I’m not moping around. I just don’t feel like celebrating, that's all.” You say, stabbing the red velvet cake with your fork, placing the small bite in your mouth as your sister lets out a scoff mixed with a laugh. You roll your eyes at her dramatics, watching as she points her plastic fork at you. 

“You’re just upset that your only friend is busy with his girlfriend. You feel like this birthday isn’t for the both of you, you feel like it’s only for him.” She says, hitting the nail on the head. It makes you cringe internally. 

You’ve never been good with change, whether it be drastic change or something as small as dinner plans being switched to something else. It always throws you off, making you groan dramatically (dramatics run in your family unfortunately) and complain about the sudden changes. 

“I hate how well you know me, Liz.” You mutter, tugging at your hair as you indulge in the delicious cake in front of you.

“I would consider it a blessing, big bro.”

You should consider today to be a good one. Vanessa is out of town for some family trip, meaning you have Chan all to yourself. Which is why you should be happy, but you aren’t. You and Chan are chilling out in his room, the only sound in the room being Chan strumming on his guitar. You can faintly hear the hums coming from his mouth, his body swaying side to side as he plays. The two of you haven’t said much to each other, just a short greeting and a side hug. You can’t help but feel like a stranger in the room you’ve been in dozens of times growing up. 

You look around the room, noticing the changes Chan has made to his space. Something pink catches the corner of your eye and you turn your head to look at it. A shirt, a tank top to be more specific. You already know whose it is, and it makes your stomach turn knowing that she’s been here. 

Did she sleep in your spot on the bed? 

You shake your head to get rid of the idea of her sleeping in your spot on Chan’s bed, the churning feeling becoming stronger, making you want to spill your lunch. You decide to just focus on your phone, scrolling through social media. This goes on for hours, until Chan’s phone rings loudly in the once quiet room, scaring the both of you. 

“Fucking hell,” Chan mutters, grabbing his phone. He lights up when he sees who's calling, his cute dimple appearing on his face. You watch him with a soft smile, wishing that it were you making him smile like that. 

“Hey, gorgeous! How’s your trip?” Chan says, holding his phone up to his ear. You try not to listen to their conversation, knowing it isn’t your place to be nosy. But, you are your mother’s son, you can’t help it. You listen as they talk, your heart breaking as Chan talks to Vanessa with such intimacy. 

As their conversation comes to an end, you’re stuck with your thoughts. Thoughts of wanting someone so desperately that you would do anything to be with them. You would change every single thing about yourself if it meant Chan loved you the same way you love him. You don’t stand a chance against someone like Vanessa. She’s everything you aren’t. Maybe things would be different if you had been born a girl. If only you weren’t attracted to the same gender, maybe you wouldn’t be in this predicament. You wouldn’t be hanging on to something that will never be, a small fire of hope so close to being blown out by the harsh wind of reality. 

“Man, I miss her so much.” Chan says, placing his phone down as he looks at you with this lovesick puppy look on his face. It makes your head hurt knowing it’s not directed at you. 

The words spill from your lips before your brain has time to stop it. 

“I love you, Chan.” 

No. This isn’t supposed to happen. Not like this. Your body burns with anxiety, your eyes feeling wet as tears gather. Your mouth is dry, your jaw slack. You start to sweat as you look at Chan’s face. 

You can’t deny the look in his eyes. Humiliation, disgust. Oh, no. You start to sweat, your hands shaking slightly. You can’t seem to bring yourself to do anything.You’re frozen, eyes locked on Chan as his own eyes dart around the room. 

“You know I’m in a relationship, and I’m not into guys.” He says, not looking at you. What he says next makes you want to crawl into yourself and rot away into nothing. His voice is harsh, his tone like a rock. He’s never spoken to anyone like that, much less you. 

“Even if I were into guys, I wouldn’t date you. You’re my best friend and you’re like a brother to me, that’s just weird.” 

You can literally taste the disgust in his voice. So potent and loud, it makes you dizzy. You bite back a sob, tucking your bottom lip in between your teeth. You feel like if you attempt to even say anything, you will throw up. 

“Besides, Vanessa was telling me about how you don’t like her. She said she heard you talking bad about her to your sister at our party. What the hell, Y/N?” Chan says, his expression quickly switching to angry. 

You can’t believe what you’re hearing. You know she’s lying, you have never said anything bad about her. Well, not out loud. You want to defend yourself, but your mouth won’t move. Your brain is screaming at you to say something, anything. All you can do is look down at your shaking hands as Chan scoffs at you.

“You aren’t even going to deny it? So what she said must be true. I can’t believe you, Y/N! She’s never done anything wrong to you!” 

You can’t even defend yourself. You sit there as Chan expresses his frustrations to you, his words hitting you hard. He hates you now. All because of some girl that entered his life two years ago, when you’ve been there the whole time. 

“Get out, Y/N. I can’t even look at you right now.” Chan says, opening his door and motioning for you to get out. You hesitate, your legs feeling like the stiffest bowl of jello as you stand. 

The tears don’t stop as you make your way out of the Bahng household, ignoring Chan’s mom as she greets you from the living room. She hears Chan’s door slam and she frowns. Something must have happened, the two of you have never argued. Of course the two of you had little disagreements as kids, but it was easily solved with talking and hugging. She knows this is not a talking and hugging situation. 

You rush home, your vision blurry with salty tears that sting. You enter your home, making a beeline to your room. You close the door softly, not wanting to alert anyone of your arrival. You don’t want to see or speak to anyone. You try to catch your breath, choking on the sobs that come out of your mouth. You grip your chest, feeling your heart racing under your hand. Your heartbeat reverberates in your ears, your body shaking as you drop to your knees. You hear voices in your head, berating you for confessing to Chan. They call you names, they point out your flaws, your weaknesses. 

You wish it would stop.

You honestly didn’t expect to meet Chan again. Especially not after your debut as a solo artist in South Korea. You recently made your debut and everyone loves you. You go by Mars, one of your nicknames growing up. You’re known for singing soft songs, the words relatable and full of emotion. Your debut album was a hit, causing you to gain fame fairly fast. Your fans liked that you were authentic, not some tasteless blob molded by an entertainment company for money. You were also one of the first openly-gay idols. 

That day you left Chan’s house was the last time you ever saw him and his family. Just a few short months later, they packed up and moved to South Korea. When you found out, it broke your heart, knowing that the last interaction you had with your best friend was a negative one. 

Your sister had found you in your room, you were struggling to breathe as your entire body shook. She immediately called for your mom frantically, not used to seeing you in such a panicked state. Your mother managed to get you to calm down, helping you breathe properly before you passed out. After that, she took you to see a doctor, and you were diagnosed with anxiety disorder and a mild case of depression. Your mother was supportive, she got you into therapy and you slowly got better, but there’s still times where you don’t feel 100%. 

Which brings us to now. An award show. Everyone is there, all of the people you idolized were right in front of you, and a few of them actually expressed excitement about your debut album. You thanked them, telling them that their music inspired you to start making music yourself. 

As you’re sitting in your seat talking to Holland, another idol under your label, and a fellow openly-gay idol, you hear some commotion coming from behind you. You turn your head and see a group approaching you. Normally, that wouldn’t bother you, but when your ex-best friend and previous (he still is) crush is in the front, you tend to freak out a bit. Your eyes go wide and you whip your head to face forward, causing a laugh from Holland. 

“What’s got you so freaked out? You didn’t see a ghost, did you?” He asks, turning back to see what you were freaking out about. All he sees is the group Stray Kids, taking their seats behind you. He turns back around to you, taking in your wide eyes and the way you bite your bottom lip. The pieces start to come together.

“Oh,” he starts, “You are totally crushing on one of them.”

“What, no way! That’s ridiculous!” You sputter, your face heating up. 

Holland just laughs, his hand clapping you on the shoulder. 

You sit on a stool in the middle of the stage, a large piano in front of you. You are belting the words so passionately, the lights shining down on you, heating your body up, making you sweat a little. Everyone in the crowd is moved by your performance, but every time you open your eyes, you keep looking at Chan. 

His face is unreadable, almost as if he knows the song is about him and not some old flame like you claimed in every interview. The lyrics just feel too familiar to him, his mind going back to his teenage years with you. He misses those times with you, laughing and messing with your little sisters. He feels bad for how things ended between you, and he wishes he could apologize. He’s heard your entire album, he’s had it on repeat for weeks. He’s not an idiot, your debut album is about him. He has to find a way to talk to you and apologize. 

Finding you was easy. He catches you backstage after your performance, watching as you talk to a pretty blonde guy. You’re smiling, toothy and bright, and he feels his heart skip in his chest. Where did that come from? He walks towards you, catching your attention. 

He watches your eyes go wide, your entire body freezing as you stare at him as if he grew two heads. He thinks you look silly like that, and he can’t fight the smile on his face. 

“Y/N, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” He says, mentally kicking himself for being so damn awkward. 

You hesitate, your eyes looking everywhere but at him. You noticed that Holland isn’t at your side, and you remind yourself to flick his forehead when you see him. “It has.”

“Do you have a moment to talk? Maybe we can get some dinner and catch up?” He asks, his voice hopeful as he tilts his head at you. Your heart flips at the way he looks, his brown hair flopping to the side. 

You wonder if this is a good idea. You could easily get hurt again, but you would also like some closure. There’s so many questions running through your head, it makes you dizzy.

“Uh, yeah, sure. Dinner sounds nice.” 

You and Chan leave after the awards show, and you go to a secluded sushi restaurant. The air is awkward, but it passes quickly when Chan brings up the time you both filled his parents bathtub with frogs you captured in the mud. You can’t help but laugh, reminiscing about your wild child days. 

“Y/N, I missed you. So much.” Chan says, his eyes on you, not once looking away. You feel your face get warm, and you try to fight the smile creeping onto your face. 

“Chan, I missed you too. But I can’t forget how you spoke to me that day. It really hurt that you believed Vanessa over me.” You say, ignoring the aggressive bounce of your leg as you tell him how you felt that day. 

Chan cringes when he hears that name. “Right, Vanessa. We actually broke up not long after I…kicked you out.” Chan says, and you gape at him. 

“If you don’t mind, why did you break up?” You ask, picking at the loose strings of your sweater; a nervous habit you picked up from your anxiety. 

“It turns out she lied about you being rude to her because she was jealous of how close we…were.” Chan sighs, taking a sip of his drink as he rolls his eyes. You were right all along. She wasn’t to be trusted. 

“I always knew she was the jealous type. She thought I couldn’t see when she would glare at me whenever you and I would talk,” You say, pointing your chopsticks at him. “I never said anything bad about her, that was Liz.” 

Chan laughs at that, knowing that your little sister had quite the attitude. It makes him miss Hannah and the rest of his family. 

“You aren’t still mad at me, are you? Because according to your album, you sound like you hate me.” Chan asks. “If you aren’t mad, then I’d like us to pick up where we left off as friends.”

You thought about it for a second. You would finally have your best friend back in your life, but not in the way you truly desired. Could you live with that? Sure, it can’t be too hard. You’ll always have other people in your life. 

“Yeah, we can go back to where we left off. We’re brothers for life, right?” You ask, a gentle smile on your face as you look at Chan. He smiles back and you both make a toast to rekindling a once broken friendship between brothers.

[dojae-huh]

Inkigayo in Tokyo

(date of the event: 121024)

A long post. The best JaeDo moments happen in Saitama.

Part 1: Doyoung

It's a beautiful life...

Doyoung was one of the 3 MCs, he was introduced as a Crown Prince of k-pop. Kick It. Fanchant. He preformed with 127 and as a soloist.

And the star was born - the solo segment.

Truly, I'm glad Do didn't get his album several years ago. He used to be not confident in his own voice. And he needed that daesang for 127, and for neos to do well on their own to be mentally free.

Doyoung was focused and tense during this Inkigayo show, he was the leader on top of his MC duties. He felt the responsibility. And yet, look at how he carried his own solo-section. Alone with his band and a stadium full of not just his fans, and not even just NCTzens.

7:56 - Notice how Do changed from his normal voice to a ligher tone.

9:30 - Frankly, I didn't like Oh-ya-yo in DLF on the album (I generally don't like the use of children choirs), but I see Doyoung's genius plan now. He intended for the crowd to sing along during live shows. And it is a good chant for a concert (easy to follow). People feel united, a part of a whole, uplifted (the measured breathing), when they sing and chant together. It's the oldest type of music.

I will point out that not all NCTzens in the audience were Do-biased. Despite that, everyone waved their neobongs and most sang alone and did the chant. Believe your eyes and see how the core fandom actually receives him.

Sidenote: I'm angry at Do's Japanese teacher for not correcting his pronunciation. He developed a habit of butcherring a few consonants, which gives him a noticeable accent. It's cute in speech, but not during singing.

Jaehyun, I'm ready to ship Do with his piano-boy, be aware, heh.

The pianist was impressive during the Japanese song. I bet it was Do's idea to strip down the performance and leave only the keys and his voice. It was a very powerful move. He created a magical moment. Japanese in general are very grateful to anyone who talks/sings in Japanese, and Do even made a connection, explained how there is a Korean tv-series remake, that the drama and the OST song are loved in SK as well.

As I said earlier, Do was in his leader mode, so he didn't yeld to other neos. As such, you can observe the real power dynamic.

Stuttering Jungwoo and slightly teasing him Doyoung.

Do with MarkHyuk. Do catching Mark near the end of the stage. Do catching co-MC Yunah from ILLIT. Bringin water for 127.

This JohnDo moment during the ment was interesting (all members said nice words to each other). Jaehyun really went a long way and matured considerably. He is very secure as the number 1 now. Notice how both Johnny and Doyoung looked at him several times. How Jae pretended to shield his eyes from JohnDo and was the first to clap (to mark the end to the fanservice bit). How Do didn't let the joking go too far (usually he is more lenient).

Do gathering 127 for a bow, manhandling everyone he could get his hands on.

Do and confetti. Video.

Part 2: Jaehyun

Despite going to the military soon and a busy schedule, Jaehyun lives every day happily. He is very open these days, very giving.

Fact Check Jae. Sunny road Jae. Giving five to fans. Jaehyun-hyung with Wish.

Jae and Yuta. Posting this to show that Jae doesn't have a habit of looking at someone's eyes non-stop.

Another classic from Jaehyunie: "Singers sing, and actors act". I like Hyuk's adlibs. Silly Jae and Mark his other half. Jae and Sakuya.

Jae's turn after Tae.

Part 3: JaeDo

That long-ass approach to the target.

Yes, Jaehyun didn't expect the hug. That smile with canines, that inhale.

I will add more fuel to your shipper fire and point out how both Doyoung and Jaehyun clung to each other despite Yuta trying to separate them (which I'm really questioning).

Do tapped Jae's butt. The booty is his. Woo and others should remember.

Jae was firmly keeping his hand for some time on Do's shoulder despite Yuta practically hanging off his arm. And at the end he tapped Do's arm with his fingers (after patting Yuta on the back). Reconnected with Do for a brief moment.

Here you can see how Do kept his hand on Jae's shoulder despite Yuta jumping on both and pushing with his weight. Also, a good view at the speed Jae grabbed Do's shoulder when Do hugged him. Aaand how instantly Doyoung put his hand on Jae's back when the bae approached him. We haven't seen such behaviour for years. It's a miracle.

Did you notice Do's small smile?

I guess home looks like this.

Part 4: NCT 127

Walk and the whole half an hour performance segment with ments.

( Kick It+2 Baddies+Fact Check

Sunny Road )

The crowd chanting. 127 tribal dance.

Part 5: NCT Wish

(can't find the full performance)

A bit of Steady.

Sakuya is injured, so he sat again. Riku dancing. Jaehee dancing. Sion and Haechan-hyung. Ryo and Yushi. Chant.

Part 6: NCT

Sion didn't learn yet that everyone should follow Taeyong or Doyoung's directions during big stages, and gather together as NCT. Do had to run after departing Wishies to add them to the NCT line up for the final bow. It was Jaehee who took Do's hand (no consideration for Ryo). Tap-tap-tap.

Bonus: Tongue lick.

[mariacallous]

It’s a greyish Saturday afternoon in late August, and alongside other street party attenders, I’m watching two flamboyantly dressed women, one clutching a flute, backed by three male musicians while they shout out the lyrics to their new song, Kiddy Ska Party.

“I told you about my stitches / I told you about my stitches / Stop talking about my stitches / Stop talking about my stitches,” one is yelling. In the front, her almost-two-year-old daughter gestures towards her while an audience of adults, from old blokes with beers to young parents with prams, look alternately elated and amused. Somewhere near the jerk chicken stall my son runs up and down, having never played on a street without cars before. The scene is one of beautiful, eccentric mayhem.

This is postpartum punk, the ethos behind the band Pushy Pushy Pushy, “two fresh mothers and three sound candies”, on what they hope is a journey towards the Pyramid stage. Lead singers Ania Poullain-Majchrzak and Florence Devereux, who play alongside John on drums, Andrew on guitar and George on bass, were making music before they had children, but it was motherhood that liberated them creatively.

I spoke to the duo in a pub local to us. “I don’t want to swear,” Devereux grins a bit sheepishly, as though there are kids listening, “but you give less of a fuck, in a way. When you become a mum, your tolerance for caring becomes a lot less. So it kind of unleashed us.”

Considering all the screaming, bodily fluids and late nights, it’s ironic that punk and motherhood aren’t exactly known to go hand in hand (though Nico and Siouxsie and the Banshees wrote the occasional song about it, and Patti Smith collaborated with her daughter). But generally, as in the field of visual art, women with children have historically struggled to make space for themselves and to be taken seriously – despite the fact that every single human life on the planet is born of a mother, so it’s hardly the artistic niche it’s made out to be. Pushy Pushy Pushy have made it a personal mission to carve out space for mothers in the music industry to subvert this inequality.

Poullain-Majchrzak says that she used to censor herself, but after having a child she felt more free “to take the lid off and let it out”. I know that feeling well. There have been times since becoming a parent where I have wanted to go into the kitchen and scream. So why not scream into a microphone? The loss of identity, time, sleep, social life can make you feel rageful, certainly – but it can also make you feel as though you’re bursting with more creativity than you’ve ever possessed before.

“After giving birth, there’s that sense of desperation, in a way, around the limited time you have to express yourself,” says Devereux (a pertinent lyric: “I’m in a prison of my own making / Gave birth to my girl when I was shaking”). “That scarcity of time means that you cherish it even more. It focused our minds, it focused our energy,” Poullain-Majchrzak chips in. “You are desperately trying to save yourself, because you are under the pile of nappies.”

In refusing to buy into a picture-perfect vision of motherhood, Pushy Pushy Pushy are the antithesis of the tradwife movement and its fixation on home- and baby-making. I first saw them play a year ago, at another local street party, and though it felt cathartic, it was also huge fun. Their stage presence owes a lot to performance art: at a gig earlier this year, the band put together a Punk Mother Chaos Choir which they assembled by putting posters outside local stay-and-plays (I cannot tell you how much I love this, and how much seeing such a flyer would have felt like a life raft alongside all the notices for weaning workshops and breastfeeding groups).

“We had people who had children, who didn’t have children, who had different genders,” says Devereux. “Anyone who feels connected to that kind of, yeah, the primal energy of birthing.” It was a powerful moment being joined on stage. “They just basically … there was no rhyme or reason. They were just screaming and hitting the different instruments, as I remember. It was just chaos.” They now want to run regular jams with other mothers.

As a blueprint for maternal creativity, Pushy Pushy Pushy inspire. They recognise that you need art to survive, and that to pursue it requires two vital conditions: the time and space without children to write and record, and the entourage of friends and family who care collectively and free up that time. It should be comforting to any mother with art ambitions who feels she is treading a tightrope between care and self-expression. They dream of one day playing the Acropolis (“the day I hit menopausis”, according to their song Ciao Darwin), but their more immediate plan is to design a child-friendly tour bus. Will it one day take them to Glastonbury? They are certainly pushy enough to get there.

What’s working I am enjoying Helen Charman’s vital, meticulously researched Mother State: A Political History of Motherhood, which as well as telling the stories of the mothers fighting for change over the past 50 years in the UK and Ireland makes a radical case for liberated, collective mothering. I have a feeling it might end up being to our generation what Of Woman Born was to the women of the 1970s.

What’s not My boy isn’t sleeping well and hasn’t, really, all summer. I’m completely exhausted and trying to hold it all together, but at times it’s really, really hard. To all those sleep-deprived parents out there: I see you. Solidarity. I hope we all get some kip soon.

[quinnprkhq]

[ seo jisoo, female, she/her ] — whoa! QUINN PARK just stole my cab! not cool, but maybe they needed it more. they have lived in the city for THREE MONTHS, working as a/an BARTENDER AT PUZZLES. that can’t be easy, especially at only 30 YEARS OLD. some people say they can be a little bit STUBBORN and HARDHEADED , but I know them to be FRIENDLY and OUTGOING. whatever. I guess I’ll catch the next cab. hope they like the ride back to QUEENS!

born to park shownu and park naeun as park hyewon in seoul south korea, with a family of eight and the oldest of five siblings, she was raised to a very close-nit family. when their father landed a job in the states, they had moved to california when it was just her and her younger sister at the time, a sweet family of four. hyewon was just five years old when her family had moved out to california. living in the states and before hyewon started kindergarten, her father decided to give his kids english names therefore going from hwang hyewon to quinn hwang. he had also hired an english tutor to help his kids learn and understand english more. it was then where quinn had became fluent in english, but still stayed close to her korean roots. 

before she knew it, their small family of four grew from four to five then six, then seven and recently to eight. quinn is now an older sibling to four younger sisters. one that was a year younger than her, another about seven years, followed by her next sister of eight years and last but not least her youngest sister of twenty-four years. although their newest sister was definitely a surprise seeing as her parents were surprised she was able to get pregnant after their last daughter. quinn doesn’t mind, she loves her sisters dearly and will continue to love and care for them. 

growing up the hwang family had adjusted to their new american lifetyle but her sisters having been born in america while quinn and her second sister were born in south korea. which took them a bit to understand and learn english. aside from the tutor, quinn had also started taking english classes to help her understand more. it didn’t take her younger sisters long to learn english, so it was nice for them to grow up in america. 

living in california, it didn’t take her long to make friends. it was also a coincidence that she had found some korean friends of her own that lived not to far from where she was. although she had met them at a young age which made it easy for her to grow up with them and form a close bond with them. they were inseparable and stayed together throughout elementary, middle and high school. it wasn’t until quinn had gotten accepted to nyu where they had to part ways, but still made their friendship work and did their best to keep in touch. 

QUINN THROUGHOUT HIGH SCHOOL ( THE RUN DOWN )

freshmen year - 

she and her same age best friend had tried out for the volleyball team together. of course they made it and were apart of c-squad throughout the entire year. 

took a liking to art which she had taken an art class causing her to enjoy it, in which caused her to practiced her drawing skills that have improved throughout the years. 

straight a student since elementary school landing her to be a candidate for  national honor society. you wouldn’t call her a nerd, she just knew the balance between school, volleyball and friends. 

participated in being a few of her teachers student assistants towards the end of her freshmen year. 

sophomore year - 

worked so hard in volleyball in hopes she would at least make it to jr varsity. sadly she and her best friend were stuck in c squad. she didn’t mind, that only meant she had to work harder to prove she was good enough to be apart of jv. 

continued taking art classes, but soon took up in interest in singing and playing instruments. causing her to take band and choir seeing as she wanted to improve her singing and learn how to play the guitar and piano and maybe a few instruments along the way. still very close with her seven best friends while they support her in everything she does. 

maintains her 4.0 gpa and continues to strive to work harder and to graduate with honors. doesn’t want to disappoint her family, most of all her younger sisters. 

junior year - 

after all her hard work, she figured she would move up to jv for volleyball. with the captains of the volleyball team seeing how hard she had worked, she went from c-squad to varsity right away along side her best friend. at first she was shocked because she herself didn’t believe she deserved to be on varsity but continued her hard work in which she proved and showed herself that she does deserve that spot. 

while working hard in basically everything during her junior year, she may have taken on more than she could chew. the stress was weighing on her, but she was doing her best not to give up and to keep pushing towards success. 

not only was school and volleyball weighing on her, she felt it was time for her to get a job. you’d think she’d slow down, but quinn is someone that wants always keep herself busy and to be on the go. this is where quinn had landed her first job working at the movie theater. she had worked in the back stocking things that needed to be stocked, along with being apart of cleaning crew. 

this year was where quinn found herself always busy but still doing her best to make time for her friends and volleyball. not to mention school. she couldn’t slack off, not now seeing as senior year was right around the corner. 

senior year - 

the year that meant so much to her and her best friend. of course her six other best friends were a few grades behind them so they didn’t have to worry about graduating just yet. quinn needed to graduate, although she knows she won’t be the valedictorian which she doesn’t mind. that was one thing quinn wasn’t a fan of, making speeches. the whole thing just brought her nerves out and if she had to make a big speech to her graduating class, she is pretty sure she’d faint in front of everyone. 

working harder than ever, she went from working at the movie theater full time to part time. only because she wanted to focus on graduating and to make sure she passed all her exams and finals that were coming up. 

volleyball was still going really well for her and had earned herself a letterman jacket during her junior year which she now wears proudly. 

finally, she graduated, graduated beside one of her best friends and thankful that their high school career was over. the hardest part about it? saying goodbye once august rolled around for college. 

𝖰𝖴𝖨𝖭𝖭 𝖳𝖧𝖱𝖮𝖴𝖦𝖧𝖮𝖴𝖳 𝖢𝖮𝖫𝖫𝖤𝖦𝖤 ( the rundown )

a new life for quinn was just beginning. a fresh of breath air and a new setting for her. something she had to get used to. she couldn’t slack off and wanted to make sure she could carry her high gpa that she did in high school to college. 

being in new york was new for her. she was now living in a dorm at nyu and met her roommate whom she gets along really well with. at first quinn wasn’t sure what she wanted to major in so she had just taken a few general classes needed to at least graduate under general studies for now. 

she thought about majoring in art, but just decided to take that as a minor and not a major. it took quinn majority of her first semester at nyu to figure out what she wanted to do. instead she took up a few business classes since she wanted to explore something new. 

[butmakeitgayblog]

15 questions

Tagged bby @barbieliberationarmy thank you!

Were you named after anyone? Molly Ringwald's character in Pretty in Pink 😕

Do you have kids? Fuck no 🤨 never wanted any and still don't, but have nannied for two babies/toddlers and after awhile they can start to feel like your quasi kids. You love them and it's hard to hand them back to parents who don't really... feel the need to put as much effort into parenting as you do into taking care of them when they're with you. If that makes sense.

When was the last time you cried? Yesterday

What sports have you played/do you play? Basketball through elementary and middle school but dropped off in high school. And a bit of volleyball but whew that was an epic fail. Does golf count? Darts? Pool? Flip cup? Beer pong? No? Ok

Do you use sarcasm? huh what idk

First thing you notice about people? I don't really think about it tbh. Correction, Sam says I'm always saying whether or not someone has kind eyes 🥴

Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings, but also if the horror has a fantastic plot twist then 🤌🏻

What are your hobbies? Reading, writing, video games, I like music gameshows don't judge me, haven't drawn in forever but in theory that's still a hobby just one I've set aside. Sleeping. Really good at that one. Cooking.

What is your eye colour? Green/hazel

Any talents? I make a mean potato salad? (No fuckin raisins 😒)

Where were you born? Illinois

Do you have any pets? No, haven't had any since my pug died several years back

How tall are you? 5'5

Favorite subject in school? Other than art... probably history. Or choir/band

Dream Job? Art history professor (shocking, I know) or perhaps a curator. Art restoration. Something within that general arena.

Idk who to tag cuz idk who's done it. Everyone? @syngularitysyn @anonymous-red-506 @100hearteyes @commanderlexaofthegrounders @sassymajesty @heda-in-the-clouds @gabywithoutthedollhouse @bisexualseraphim and literally anyone else just tag me back

[talenlee]

Talen's Birthday, 2024

Somehow this one feels less of a big deal than last year. I dunno, maybe it’s because turning forty has been a big monument in my mind, turning forty-one feels just like turning forty again.

I had a fanciful idea that I could do something with the fact that 41 is a prime age; that I have turned 1, 3, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37 and now 41, and then I thought it’d be interesting to see if I ever turned a prime age in a prime year. Now, if you’re at all good at math you’d be able to point out that by being born in 1983, every year I turn an odd age, the year is even and vice versa, meaning that for roughly half the population at any time, they’re never a prime age on a prime year, since no even number is a prime.

It’s not a complicated math puzzle here.

Making a birthday post on my birthday doesn’t feel that special now. It’s not a milestone, it’s not important. Comically, because City of Heroes is burned into my brain, I do think of 41 as a level where you used to get access to your first Epic Power Pool choice (except now you get them at level 35, which is cool). It’s good though: This was a good way to fight the anxiety of the birthday. I remember when I turned 35 I had a real horrible moment thinking I was done, that I had wasted my entire life up to that point. I remember part of what made it okay was seeing Adam Savidan on Youtube, playing Magic: The Gathering and saying ‘I’m thirty five or thirty four years old and I don’t need this.’

A thing about Loading Ready Run that makes me feel a tiny bit bad is that it’s this big long project that a bunch of friends have been making and running for twenty years, as an ongoing hobby that became a job and then became an institution managing multiple people creating things. Sometimes I get sad thinking about how what got that big project to happen was, in part, two dudes with supportive parents and supportive school supplies in the late 90s were able to work on a project, together, for long enough to become very good at it.

How do you do something for twenty years?

Well, you start.

You start, and you keep working on it while you work on things.

The internet of today is poisoned. The internet of today demands you create for it, it wants you to produce Content. Your status updates, your pictures, your everyday drama, your existence, they are all things that are being fed into advertising machine to space out the ads in the name of being ‘content.’ It isn’t how it used to be. It used to be people had websites for their special interests, the interest being the primary thing. My first website I can remember was an Animorphs fanfiction space, and I remembered how when I stopped trying to host other people’s fanfiction, and instead just hosted my own, the one author I took down got sad at me. She was probably also like, fourteen like I was.

It used to be that people made things because they wanted to share them. It used to be that people were making websites and stories and web-novels and web-comics and diaries and blogs and vlogs and microgames and RPGs and they were making stuff. It was stuff. It was not for consuming in its own continual sense, it was not being part of a pipe of things that were fed to you, it was not content, it was a lot of different stuff and that difference gave everyone a reason to do things.

But now, it’s Content.

Now, your effort, your creative material, is being pushed into a single tube for four companies who suck and you know they suck and you don’t like them and yet you make things for them anyway. Because that’s where it is. That’s where the habit forms.

Arbor Day - The Lads // Arbor Day

Watch this video on YouTube

I’m fond of this song, Arbor Day by a band that can be politely described as ‘pretty good, for a Church choir.’ The song, very simply, is that hey, do you need a reason to make a change in your life? Well, today is Arbor day, that’s a good enough reason.’ It’s been an idea bubbling around in my head that yeah, Arbor Day is a nearly arbitary reason to make a big change in your life, but that may be all you need. Sometimes you just need something, anything to mark the psychological change between ‘before I tried this’ to ‘after I tried this.’

Here’s my request for you, on my birthday.

There is something you want to make. There is something you care about. There is something you are interested in trying. Today is a day to do that. Today is a day to even just describe a plan, or a hope. Do you want to write a book? Write a description of what that book is about. A series of books? Describe all of them! Do you want to make games? Start, download one of the programs you need to use today.

Don’t waste money on things for this post’s sake, but you know there are steps you can take to make things, and I want you to make them. I believe in a world where people make things because we like making things, I believe in a world of creative people playing with creativity, and I believe that the important thing of online spaces ie being able to share them.

So please, make something, and show it to me.

No matter how small it is, no matter how little progress on it you get to make. Just spend a little time today starting something, continuing something or finishing something.

I’ll be proud of you, no matter what.

I promise.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[do-androids-dream-ao3acc]

Hi! What about 12 and 21 for the song meme? 🎶

12:A song from your preteen years

Yeah, send me down Nostalgia road! When I was a child, my mother was a big fan of Smokie and Sweet. Those were the bands they played in the radio all the time. This one was definitely one of my favorites! (Reflecting now I can clearly see why, this goes a touch heavier, doesn't it - for a Disco song, that is!)

21:A favorite song with a person’s name in the title

Going even further back in time now, I wasn't even born, here's a Beatles song I always loved! Recently thought back of it because my daughter proposed to sing this in school choir, and they did!

Aaaaah so much fun, thank you :)

[ageofhearingloss]

15 questions for 15 mutuals

THIS IS SO FUN! thank you sweet sweet @gold-mines-melting for the tag💕✨💕

were you named after anyone?

i was named after my tia🤩

when was the last time you cried?

lol last night, i was already on the brink of a meltdown and then i spilled a ton of water on the floor and that's what broke me HA

do you have kids?

absolutely not! i may have an education degree, but kids freak me out!

do you use sarcasm a lot?

i think?

what's the first thing you notice about people?

i would say energy/vibe, but that's based on if people smile or laugh or if they have a hard or standoffish exterior

what's your eye color?

like a light greenish brown

scary movies or happy endings?

happy endings 100%, i don't need external things to scare me as a form of entertainment SORRY

any special talents?

uuuuh im a musician? i went to college for music education so i can play every string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instrument taught in western public schools at a very very veeerrrry basic level

where were you born?

new york

what are your hobbies?

i've gotten back into playing music again after not wanting to touch an instrument again after i graduated, and i've been writing again (thanks to you all💕)! i also dabble in film photography!

have any pets?

MY SWEET BABY KITTY, TIMMY! also my childhood cat, monkey, and german shepherd, adi, who both live at my parents

what sports do you play/have you played?

i was a swimmer for a long time and was a certified lifeguard in my teenage years but never kept up with it

how tall are you?

6'1" baybbbeeeeeee

favorite subject in school?

i LOVED school, especially algebra and english but i also really liked any type of science. but i was a music nerd so i was always involved in orchestra, band, and choir and if i ever had a free period i was in the band room practicing

dream job?

i've always wanted to get into concert photography but i am so intimidated and nervous and also im still very much an amateur sooooo it's truly just a dream lol

no pressure tag (so sorry besties if you've already done it!): @joopsworld @mydarlingdanny @watchingovergvff @ourlovegrows @anthemofgvf @malany-gvf @sacredjake @sulkyrie @iheartjakekiszka @jmkho @tripthelightfandomtastic @sacredthefran @demolitionndann @im-derty-dan @gray-gvf11

[100ducksizedfolignos]

15 people 15 questions

thanks @girlfriendline @giveemgreef @tblueger <333

1. are you named after anyone?

i am not! my middle name was an homage to my mom's grandparents but i have since changed it and my parents are blessedly allergic to otherwise naming anything after anybody

2. when was the last time you cried?

few days before christmas

3. do you have kids?

no and i do not want to. i have one fur baby (that i co-parent with my parents lmao) though as you all well know (scout my baby boy <3)

4. what sports do you play/have you played?

played kids' baseball/softball until i was like 10/11 bc i was constantly in the outfield and nobody can pitch until you get to like. high school. so it was boring and i hated it so i quit. i was on dance team for a while until i had to drop it bc recital dates kept being on the same days as school band concerts. was in marching band throughout high school, which counts bc i was a percussionist and had to lug around those heavy drum harnesses

5. do you use sarcasm?

a ridiculous amount. if we also count like comedic lying in this i accidentally convinced a coworker that there were only three seasons of spongebob doing that whole pretending that only the good parts of a show exist. such a shame spongebob ended after season 3. there's no more of it! just too bad

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

hair probably

7. what’s your eye color?

brown! medium tending towards dark

8. scary movies or happy endings?

while i love gothicness and gothyness i am a Known Weenie and certain types of gore literally make me feel faint. like the finale of the terror s1 made me a little faint and gave me the sweats and i had to fully pause the episode and lay on the floor for a while. so i guess categorically happy endings based on that. if a scary movie isn't super gory though i'll go for it

9. any talents?

i’m very performing arts inclined! i play piano, sing, dance, and act (was a theatre major in college). i memorize things quickly if i set my mind to it, am great at navigating, have great pitch memory (like i can be exactly or near-exactly on pitch when singing something i’ve heard before even without backing accompaniment. this unfortunately drives me crazy when people post pitch-shifted versions of songs and i can tell they’re off. bearer of the curse), decent stage combatant, good crowd weaver, and somehow bear the ability to unintentionally come off as intimidating to basically everyone i’ve ever met

10. where were you born?

iowa, usa

11. what are your hobbies?

i'm something of a gamer in my spare time. basically only solo joints though i'm not like gamer nhlers that play like. league of legends or fortnite or counterstrike. i've recently joined a community band and a bar trivia team (with my old middle school choir teacher lmao. he's a homie), i write fic every once in a while, read, dance around the house, go for walks when it's not cold, snuggle my pup, and obviously watch hockey. i keep telling myself i'm going to learn how to sew but trying to find beginner projects for men types is fucking dire and i keep not going out to get fabric for the pirate blouse i keep wanting to make rip

12. do you have any pets?

ah there's a separate question for this. scout, my yellow lab baby boy whose breeder had a confederate flag up in his barn when we got him (we saved you buddy). have some pictures

13. how tall are you?

5'5". short king territory

14. favorite subject in school?

i was a band/choir bitch. probably followed by english (literature). i liked basically all of it but phys ed though fuck that class i hate distance running it gives me a stitch in my side and you have to run a mile at least twice a semester (fuck you presidential fitness test). on top of all the other running they make you do. loved when they just did games though. matball my beloved

15. dream job.

actor, either stage or voice. unfortunately i do not want to live where the big voice acting studios are located and regional stage acting is kind of limited unless you go all the way out to chicago, which i tried for a couple of months before multiple breakdowns told me i should probably be closer to home. i enjoy being a librarian though :)

tagging @get-hockeyed-idiot @amandaleveille @wildaboutmnhockey @girldewar @letkirillfight @yes-perwallstedt if you guys haven't done it yet and also anyone else who wants to

[mymelodyisme]

18, 27, 32, 34, 38, 44 😍😍

😄HELLO LIBBY MY LOVE!! Asdfghjkl I started this last night and then didn’t finish it but here we are back at it again 👏🏽

18: A quote I live by

For once I can easily answer this!! Something I’ve always said and you can probably find on this blog is

“I am nothing if I’m not kind.”

🤔 “nothing if not” means to a strong degree or very but like that’s not the way I see the sentence. 🤣 nothing if I’m not. All this to say I will be kind otherwise I become a version of myself I don’t want.

Hooraaaay for me twisting language in my grubby little fingers🙌🏽

27: My favorite book I read for school

Of Mice and Men! And Little Women. 😭 I was so in love with Laurie. Funnily enough I HAVEN’T seen the newest movie yet. I’ve seen clips but my head says I’m not ready. Soooooob

32: A little known fact

Oh no 🤔 okay I share so much I don’t even know what I haven’t shared. Uh I do happen to have a list of fun facts or something let me go take a look—

WELL

I share this one often but I’m a miracle baby🙌🏽 Though the doctors couldn’t get me to breathe when I was born and ushered me off before my mom could even see me. 🙌🏽 🙌🏽

Yeah so my parents were told they couldn’t have kids and then oopsies helloo it’s ME 💅🏽 and then they went and had three more girls 🤣

34: I time I succeeded

Ooh!! Okay so I was in honor choir t-three times? Two maybe? The first time I was in Junior high we had to audition to get chosen. Then we took a bus back to the school or theatre they had us practice in and we performed at a big named theater in our area 😄 the second was basically the same thing but without the audition. And I THINK I had a third one in there somewhere but I can’t remember.

I don’t have very many successes in life but I am in my city’s time capsule so 😎

38: My favorite band.

This one used to be easy to answer COUGH PALAYE ROYALE COUGH. 😒 actually it still kinda is. I really love MCR and Set it Off. Epecially SIO. I LOVE Cody Carson’s voice. And also his name it’s so fun to say. 😭 my favorite song from them rn would probably be Punching Bag. THEY COLLABED EITH MIKU. I love them s m they make up a good portion of my car karaoke music. I need more songs though I only listen to a handful cause I don’t actually go and seek out my favorite artists new stuff unless I happen across it 😔 to all my SIO fans give me your faves please

44: My favorite TV Show

Last but not easiest! I can’t say I have one 😭 I like a lot of shows but I don’t have any one favorite I could turn on and just unwind. I know a lot of people love like the office, use it as background noise, and can quote it easily. I don’t have that kind of love or relationship with anything in particular. Back in the past I GUESS it would have been Adventure time or Steven universe but as of now I’ve come to this knife fight empty handed. 🤔 that said I’m SO excited for Umbrella Academy to drop the final season. Oh also I feel like I have to mention that I love Fruits Basket with all my heart 🩷♥️🩷♥️🩷

😭 I swear I say some ridiculous things and no one’s ever been like “hey Melissa you do ____ how did you not notice??” YALL can probably tell me more about me than I can cause you’re forced to watch me day in and out.

Anyways I lov e you thank you for 🥺 being my friend.

♥️ The Ask Game ♥️

[notafraidofredyellowandblue]

Martin Schneider - a life for music 🕯

Martin Schneider, was a Opera director, professor and father of Constanze (costume designer) and Christoph (Rammstein drummer)

Martin passed away in 2021, and Tagesspiegel posted an obituary for him, which i thought you might like to read 🌺

Obituary for Martin Schneider: Felsenstein says yes

He always returned from trips to the west. Not because of the country. Because of the family and the opera.

Sometimes  it all begins with an urgent wish, the origin of which remains a mystery, but which sets the course for a whole life: Martin Schneider, whose life has been about classical music, opera and, to a large extent, everything subtle, wanted a violin at the age of seven. His parents, his mother a housewife and his father an accountant, fulfilled his wish in Merseburg, Saxony-Anhalt. His cot and his mother's zither were exchanged for it, and with a briquette in one hand and the violin in the other, the boy went to the violin teacher, the piece of coal being part of the fee.

He later became a member of the "Schäfer Choir" and many years later played Bach's Double Concerto in the Cathedral of Merseburg with Gerhard Schäfer, his choirmaster for 13 years. So the direction was set, and the young Schneider continued to follow it consistently: He studied music education, German and musicology at the Martin Luther University in Halle, graduated with a diploma, and when, in the summer of 1961, after all his studying, he went on vacation to the Feldberg Lakes in the Uckermark, he learned about the construction of the Wall in Berlin and also about his first job in the music department of the Berlin Radio. Berlin, the big city that was still unknown to him, in which he had only once seen “The Good Man by Sezuan” with the young Käthe Reichel at the Berliner Ensemble, would from now on be his new home, but would also from now on be divided.

The leaders and steerers get involved

He started the journey with great excitement. And then noticed that he was expected to be an editor on children's radio. He had thought more of editing for serious music, but that didn't help, he accepted the challenge. But he soon looked elsewhere: he was far too annoyed that the socialist leaders and steerers themselves interfered in the selection of children's songs. He had experienced that often; he remembered this time best: he appeared in the editorial office and all his colleagues looked at him in horror. Nobody said "How could you!", but it was clearly evident in their eyes. What happened? He had put the song "Now we're driving across the lake, across the lake" into the program on the very day a republic refugee paddled across the Baltic Sea in the direction of freedom. An unintentional coincidence, but he was accused of bad intention. This is how it could go in the socialist cultural apparatus.

Such experiences made him keep an eye out, he wanted to work creatively, maybe even use his own voice, but unfortunately it wasn't suitable, as the voice coach at the Komische Oper confirmed. She advised him to apply there as a dramaturge or assistant director, for him, as he will later say, "a sign from heaven". The rest is quickly told. Director Walter Felsenstein says yes, Martin Schneider starts with a trainee salary in September 1962: 450 marks gross. The salary increases in the coming years, as does the reputation of the new employee. He stays with the company for twelve years, succeeds and becomes a producer. Collaborates on Rigoletto, Don Carlos, Eugen Onegin. And Felsenstein makes many things possible, even the young father's move from a backyard dwelling with an outside toilet to a two-room apartment with hot running water. Daughter and son are born, Constanze becomes costume creator and designer, Christoph drummer for the rock band Rammstein. Their music is not really the father's taste, but he is happy that the son decided to go into music.

29 years "Bluebeard"

Martin Schneider always returns to the GDR from guest performances in western countries. Staying away is not an option, the connection to the family and to the opera is too important. In 1974 he moved to the Halle Opera House, became first director and took over the post of director in 1978. Felsenstein persuades him the promise to continue to supervise the "Blaubart" at the Berlin Komische Oper as evening director with a guest contract. He does this until 1992. In 29 years, the play has had 369 performances.

Another departure in 1980: Martin Schneider decides to become a freelancer. He works as a director and university teacher with teaching assignments at the Leipzig Music Academy. He becomes a professor at the Hanns Eisler Music Academy in Berlin.

A life for music, but also for many other things. For friends, good conversations, the Baltic Sea again and again and also for a new love. His first wife Brigitte does not return from a visit to the West in 1987, the marriage ends. On the beach at Ückeritz he meets Antje, who is eight years younger, comes from Cottbus and was a music dealer there. She now lives in Berlin. Even in Cottbus, friends had raved about him, she absolutely should get to know this Schneider, he was directing at the Cottbus Theater, a great guy. But there is no meeting, only many years later their time on Usedom.

Two aesthetes come together here, enjoying each other's clever minds. They even make a program out of it, with which they will go on a tour through the whole country from 2000, a literary-musical reading tour, 1400 times in 20 years! They absorb literature that was not accessible to them in the GDR and pass it on to a grateful audience.

And they also travel a lot privately, to Rome, to Prague and again and again to the Baltic Sea. At home they invite you to song recitals, Schubert's "Winterreise" is on Martin Schneider's mind until the end. On March 1, 2020 he sings it one last time.

With a good friend, he oracles over a beer as to who will be on cloud seven or eight first. It almost becomes a bet. Martin Schneider would have lost now. He dies on January 22, losing to the cancer that has bothered him for eight years. He wanted his son to play a drum solo for his funeral service. And "The Song of the Moldau" by Brecht and Eisler. He had wanted to record it himself, but he didn't manage anymore.

🌺🕯

[zyrafowe-sny]

Thanks for the tag, @grey-automa!

EDIT: I think @violet-prism-creatively also tagged me in this a very long time ago (had to do some digging in my Tumblr notifications).

were you named/named yourself after anyone?

My middle name is my maternal grandmother's first name. All of her children (my uncle included) had her first name as their middle name, and a good chunk of her grandkids do too.

when was the last time you cried?

A few months back when I was visiting a place I knew I wouldn't return to again in a while - I was a combination of extremely overheated, hormonal, frustrated with people with me, nostalgic, and overcome by the passage of time. I don't think I cry all that often, but enough happened to stack at once that it came out as tears.

do you have kids?

I have roommates who are significantly shorter and younger than me.

do you use sarcasm a lot?

Never ever

what's the first thing you notice about people?

This feels like a question Spencer Tracy asked Katharine Hepburn in Desk Set.

Uhh... rough relative height/age? whether they are trying to actively engage with me or are just going about their day?

what's your eye colour?

dark brown

any special talents?

I can read non-technical English with solid comprehension faster than most people I've encountered (back in high school, I could read the same short story twice in the time we were given in class to read it once, and I always need to wait for my partner to catch up when we're reading the same thing).

scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings, I guess? Not a big fan of scary movies.

where were you born?

about an hour from where my parents lived because they were paranoid and wanted a bigger hospital (my mom was considered old for a first-time mom at *gasp* 30 and they had trouble getting pregnant)

what are your hobbies?

I got back into writing fanfic after a long hiatus (thanks to Thanks to Them). I also sing in a community choir. There was a stretch when I was a little more outdoorsy (though never hardcore), but that's scaled back substantially.

have any pets?

Don't feel up for the responsibility right now. Maybe someday - my living situation is more pet friendly than it used to be - but I'm already drowning in home stuff and don't think a pet would help.

I did have a dog as a kid, but he passed away fairly young when I was in middle school.

what sport do you play/have you played?

I did marching band all through high school, if that counts. I like to ski but it's expensive and a 3-5 hour drive in reasonable weather. I don't ice skate nearly as much as I probably could/should (not sure where my skates are). My partner and I took some sea kayaking lessons once upon a time and I'd like to try that again, but it's not cheap and would be hard to fit in our schedules.

how tall are you?

5'7"

favourite subject at school?

That all depends so much on the teacher and exact class. I really enjoyed my high school physics/AP Physics teacher and even considered a major in physics/astro along with a social science major (am a hopeless generalist), but really didn't like my professors or classmates in college. (I have any regrets that I didn't push through because I like the notion of more women in STEM, but oh well.)

My favorite class as an undergrad was probably anthro of food - it had interesting readings and I got to interview people for a research paper (probably my favorite college assignment).

In grad school, I took a great class on human rights that's colored how I see many policy issues.

dream job?

I wish I knew.

I like: being useful, asking questions, figuring out answers to questions/analyzing things, figuring out how to best communicate answers to things, switching between more quantitative and qualitative work, being able to be just the right amount of stimulated between the work itself and/or any background media, being able to body double (I do well with cubicles/shared offices and less well when I'm in a room by myself), working more on deliverables than project/people management and presenting, and getting several-hour blocks when I'm allowed to just focus and only be interrupted by the most urgent fires.

I might have burned out badly in a past job when also going through some other personal stuff.

I'll be job hunting for the first time in a while probably inside the next year, and am dreading it.

no pressure tagging: @abstract-moth @thegrimshapeofyoursmile @enigma-the-mysterious/@sir-ballister-boldheart @childlikegoblinqueen @sercezgazety

And of course anyone else who wants to.

I turned off reblogs because some of this information approaches personally identifying, but feel free to copy-paste the questions into your own post!