#all thanks to the motivation i got here and consistently keeping track of all my todos and making kutti progress everyday | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

koolades-world · 1 month

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hi, super unrelated to obey me BUTTTT i was wondering how you handle your request inbox? is that what it’s called? is it ask inbox? nvm you get my point… i think? idk i just imagine it’s very stressful, like do you chose a prompt that interests you first or do you go by the oldest first.

i like to think about how fun it would be to write stuff and posts about my interests — i even think it’d be fun to get requests. however, i also recognize that i don’t think i could handle it. as much as i’d want to write as a hobby, some part of me knows the moment i start getting requests, i will start viewing it more as a job. i bet there are asks that also bring motivation or inspiration but i’m not 100% sure.

i was just curious if you would be willing to give some insight or your personal experience. totally fine if you don’t want to or don’t know how to respond to this. thank you!

hello!! this is different from the stuff i usually get but I'm super happy to answer your questions and try to help out :)

not really sure what it's called either now that i think about it. i think i just call it my inbox?? idk haha. i rarely talk about my tumblr with anyone and actually don't even mention i write just to have to avoid explaining what exactly i write is to someone who doesn't know. the only two people who know are two of my best friends <333 love you guys since i know you might see this <3 although i will say mentioning that youre a tumblr writer always seems to kill the convo haha

usually, i work in the order i get them! right now, i've just made it into the beginning of feburary since i just have so many and i don't want people to feel like picking favorite because ultimately, anons are people who enjoyed my content enough to make a requests and i want to see that through, to let them feel that excitement that someone whos work they liked actually wrote their idea! some requests can be kinda hard to do sometimes, so i usually need more time to do those so i have time to dwell on the idea. but sometimes they just click and i have it done in less than twenty minutes! sometimes i do occasionally fast track a request if i'm very inspired or if it really speaks to me!

the amount of requests can get a little overwhelming at times, but it's so heartwarming to know that many people like the content i make. right now i have 77 unwritten i think? one day i'll make it through all of them but i don't think ill ever get back to 0 /pos

in order to continue writing it has to be fun for you!! it for sure should not feel like a job. i used to write back in 2020 because of all the extra time i had on my hands, and i lost the time to keep up, so in 2023, i migrated here to try and pick it up again. i'm a stem major (bio my beloved <3) and it's my passion but it leaves little room to be creative, so this is my outlet! i feel like it's a good way to express yourself if you couldn't otherwise. i was so excited when i got my first request! i still remember it clearly just because of how excited i was. it's fulfilling to make people happy with something as simple as words that came from my silly little brain

honestly i blew up much faster than i ever thought i would so i still feel like im all too new at this tumblr blog thing. i still learn new things about tumblr all the time, such as custom themes on desktop haha. i've had this account and have been writing since march of last year but i didn't really start to pick up steam until january of this year because i started posting daily to try and get through all my waiting requests just to like, explode probably because of the consistent posting, so if you are still interested in writing, for sure take it slow! if it's just for fun, don't worry and actually try not to be too consistent. if you want to grow quickly, consistency is key no matter what schedule you decide on.

if i get rude requests, which has only happened a few times now, i just don't do them because i don't want to reward that kind of behavior, even if the idea is magnificent. for sure lay out rules if you do plan to go ahead with writing. be firm with them! im not great at that lol. also remember that you aren't obligated to at all! you are the one choosing to be here and you only have to do the ones you want, or none if you choose not to take requests. i like them because it gives me ideas i wouldnt have before because it can be kinda hard to come up with original ideas at the pace i would need them for my daily post. but, the pace i move at is very fast and it even scares me sometimes, so that wouldn't be too much of a problem for you if you chose to write

hope this was helpful and let me know if you need anything else. always happy to help <3

#anon #writing advice #hope this helps!! <3

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anthros-vanitas-archive · 5 months

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#CalmWriMo Final Weeks (Wrap-up 19-31)

Hello it's been a while, hasn't it? So this is the final actualization of this month event, and as you can see for the date is December already... my bad.

In this case there was supposed to be an actualization the past Sunday 26th and another one marking the finish line on Friday 1st. That didn't happened however, I got a lot of things keeping me busy this past weeks and at the same time I didn't have quite the energy or the motivation so in the case of progress I didn't have a lot to show you...

But after all that I did wanted to do this post, marking the progress of this month dedicated to build and reach certain goals but, in spirit of the same tag #CalmWriMo, doing those at my own pace and with as much calm as I wanted.

So here's my late and final actualization of this journey into this month writing and selfcare goals. First blog here for reference.

Writing Goals.

I did have some notorious progress into the writing of the Eternal Throne, I wasn't able to write everyday as I was looking forward to do but I did manage to write 11 out of the 30 days.

Tracking this progress in my spreadsheet I manage to have a final word count of: 18,362 marking the progress of this month alone to 2,240 words

I didn't catch up with all the request and tag games I had in my backlog because of having to be too much hyperfixated in certain scenes I wanted to edit and a particular scene I wanted to finish before releasing.

I did reorganize the archives, and they're feeling quite cozy lately. It's great to see the new organization, and that I no longer need to scroll down to find certain things as well as how the Archives thematic feels just as I intended since the beginning.

Second blog planning has been rough but I still have hope into it's development.

Gaster ☝✌💧❄☜☼

Self-care goals.

Now with the progress of the Archivist trying to be kind to themselves.

The sleep schedule recovery mission had their ups and downs but I would say now is more stable that it was a month ago which is great.

I did go back to running each week successfully (yay!) out of the 5ish weeks of the duration of this event I did go for this exercise 4 out of 5. Mixed results with each but the habit is back on track, after so many months without being able to be consistent so that's great.

My health was 'good?'. As the sleep schedule it has been a bumpy ride, but at least I'm better now. I would not get into details but before this month started I was really concerned about that regard, now finally I can say that at minimum it doesn't concerned me that much anymore.

So that's all I have to say. Thank you to the ones who keep up with this journey and for those in the future who just pick their interest. This archivist is very grateful for your visit and they hope to see you soon, take care and don't forget: Memento Mori.

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing #calmwrimo #week update #the anthros archives

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selfeducation · 1 year

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10 tips for choosing the best IAS Online Coaching

The best IAS online coaching is the UPSC Pathshala website. It has provided me with the most essential IAS online classes. I have studied on this platform for quite some time now and am indebted to the contribution it made to my UPSC journey. I got all the motivation as well according to the scenarios when I felt down. I respect the institute and its teachers. I believe it is purely on *ideological differences* that these teachers have split from the institute. Whether this course of development will affect UPSC Pathshala or the teachers is not significant here, what's significant is that we should respect their decisions instead of picking on each one of them. Terming their disassociation purely due to monetary reasons is disheartening and what's even sadder is that this is done by their own colleague on prevalent platforms m. I don't want to name anyone because I equally respect him as well but there is a way of telling news without attaching demeaning metaphors to it. Because we are talking about charges, sir has labeled these teachers as not being thankful for the platform and my mentors on the platform. UPSC Pathshala incorporates a very active approach to online coaching. They don’t simply give the material and leave you to try and do your preparation by yourself, they supply a mentor who can keep you on the right track and on schedule so that you're forever targeted and motivated. The issue to know here is that preparing for UPSC is like preparing for running a marathon. It isn’t about a 100 m sprint. It won’t be regarding paying a full heap of energy someday and succeeding. Preparing for UPSC is regarding preparing a day, consistently, on track, and with focus. You should check out the UPSC Pathshala website.

#upsc #upsc coaching #upsc online coaching #online upsc coaching

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catwithangerissues · 3 years

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𝐇𝐪 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞.

🌿 Hello! First post since the break baby! V glad to be back. Let’s start it off well, shall we?

-We all are brutally aware of the lack of representation in different fandoms and their writings- and while the Haikyuu fandom has been nothing but good to me personally, I thought making a mini series out of this could be a neat idea. The basic idea is take a hq character and write about the things they would do to help out/cheer up a significant other with a certain condition or disability.

- I marked each of the ones that personally affect me in my day to day life in case you’re interested.

- These are ways the hq characters HELP THEIR SO. This does not mean they treat them differently or lesser than others. Keep that in mind- scrubs.

- This by no means whatsoever fully encompasses what it’s like for any party involved to be in these romantic relationships- however, I do experience some of these conditions in my personal day to day and thought I did pretty well at writing those specifically. This does not mean I didn’t make mistakes in the rest, however. Please leave CONSTRUCTIVE AND NOT BLATANTLY RUDE CRITICISM if that’s the case. I did not intend to offend anybody, so keep that in mind.

Characters: Tendou Satori, Kita Shinsuke, Iwaizumi Hajime, Osamu Miya, Bokuto Koutaro, Hinata Shoyo, Tsukishima Kei, Sugawara Koushi, Suna Rintaro, Kuroo Tetsuro

Genre: Fluff/comfort

Warnings: mentions of blindness, deafness, eating issues, depression, anxiety, chronic migraines, wheelchair use, dyslexia, ADHD, and Insomnia. Established relationships.

- Tendou Satori with a blind significant other consists of his constant singing/humming around the house, or turning random household objects into makeshift instruments to both entertain you, and so you always know where he’s at and therefore doesn’t frighten you with his sudden presence. He reads things to you, usually describing various things you come in contact with in your day to day life that may not be so friendly to the blind. Letting you touch his face or body in order to get a mental image of his features, doing your hair or makeup and even picking an outfit if you ever ask, holding your hand and guiding you when you’re out or if you request it. He tries his best to continue learning new things to help out where he can, and the thought goes a long way. Bb Tendou ily

- *Kita Shinsuke being more than happy to spend quiet time with his deaf significant other, enjoying the process of learning sign language in order to surprise you, and communicate with you. He’s very thankful his grandmother taught him some growing up. He adores leaving love letters on your nightstand to find at random, and his gentle loving touches in the morning bring you to the day unlike an alarm. He enjoys laying you on his chest so you can feel his heartbeat, and always ensures he approaches you from the front, leaving soft touches on your skin as he twirls you around in the kitchen in the late evenings of your days spent together, smiling wide at the happy grin plastered on your face. This man is incredibly smart, and he continues to surprise you with new sweet gestures every single day.

(This one hits extremely close to home, so I apologize if it’s longer than the rest.)

- *Iwaizumi Hajime with a wheelchair bound significant other consists of many things. Like him happily pushing around your chair for as long as you’d like if you use a manual, or holding your hand as you drive around in your electric chair, always remembering to plug it in at night to charge too. He regularly finds extremely wheelchair friendly places to explore or visit, restaurants without stairs and large enough bathrooms and tables to make you comfortable, or parks and entertainment spaces where you can enjoy yourself without needing to worry about different terrain or judgmental strangers. Him always pressing the handicap door button for you, since he agrees that it’s incredibly disrespectful when more able people kick the button with their dirty shoe for seemingly no reason. It’s his willingness to carry you around bridal style all day if you get uncomfortable sitting for so long, or to give you a massage when you’re sore. Him giving you alone time when you request it, (because for some reason people think it’s okay to crowd wheelchair users all the time?), and chewing people out when they think it’s alright to touch your chair without permission. He does so much more, but unfortunately this drabble is getting a bit long. Though I’ll definitely be writing about this more in the future..

- *Osamu Miya is always mindful of his significant others eating issues, offering up healthy meals with portion sizes that your body both needs and enjoys each day. Making sure to text you a reminder to drink enough water when he’s away or working, or bringing you a glass randomly throughout the day while you were busy with your studies or career. He seems to always keep snacks he knows you enjoy in his car and office at work, and he always offers encouraging, honest advice about your progress and just how proud he is of you. 10/10 bb Osamu

- *Bokuto Kotaro with a significant other who struggles with anxiety, and his constant never ending support and reassurance. His strong arms wrapping around you in a big hug when you ask for them, his uncharacteristic whispers, usually of encouragement or funny stories to make you laugh and bring forward that beautiful smile of yours. It’s how he took the time in the beginning of your relationship to really ingrain the signs of your oncoming anxiety attacks into his brain in order to remove you from those situations as seamlessly as possible in the future. It’s his seemingly endless “I found a new thing that could help, baby! Wanna try?” phrases. How he bought weighted blankets and bubble bath in your favorite scent, and tea in your favorite flavor- always keeping them stocked in the house. It’s how he calls Akaashi at times to ask about what he does to help his own anxiety, and how learning about yours transforms his treatment towards his family, friends, and even shy fans who admire the loud boisterous man, but are too scared to approach him for the same reasons. It’s when he crouches down next to a small child and gently holds their hand, quietly telling them that it’s okay to be anxious sometimes and not to worry. (I went off here- oops)

- *Hinata Shoyo always being helpful and loving when it comes to your depression. Encouraging you every day and reassuring you that you’re doing so well. It’s him bringing you glasses of water or snacks throughout the day to ensure you eat and drink enough, and offering to take bubble baths with you and wash your hair if you’d like, since it can be hard for some to motivate themselves to do that with depression. Him helping you with work or studies in order to take some of the load off of you, even with his busy schedule. It’s how he cuddles you at night, if you’re okay with it, and tells you how proud and happy he is to have you in his life. Him being a ball of sunshine that makes you smile everyday, and taking you on dates he knows will bring happiness to your day. (I will be writing more about this soon too!)

- Tsukishima Kei is always helpful when it comes to his significant others dyslexia. Offering to read things for you, or helping to keep track of small details when you request those of him. He’s always there to comfort you when you’re feeling insecure, and he not-so-secretly really enjoys when you ask him to help with your work or studies, even when they have to do strongly with numbers or extensive reading, he enjoys spending the time with you, it feels intimate to him. Similarly, calming you down or comforting you whenever/if ever you become overwhelmed, or reading a book you seemed really interested in to you at night before snuggling up in bed.

- *Sugawara Koushi and his mix of calm and chaotic nature that pairs well with his significant others ADHD. How he’s always helping keep track of ideas and such, or just generally being a good listener. He knows how frustrating it can be to forget something important. He’s always so down for spontaneous shit too. Wanna paint a room at 4am? Let’s go get the paint. Want to bake cookies and learn the basics of guitar while you wait for them to bake? He’s got one around here somewhere. It’s how he’s thankful he chose being a school teacher as a career path, because keeping you on track for work and school/leaving little reminders to do those things becomes second nature for him. As chaotic as he himself is, he’s always there to comfort you when you’re feeling insecure, and reminding you to take your medication if you take any. He enjoys taking you on walks to clear you mind, and often goes out to buy you notebooks and sticky note to write things down for whenever he isn’t there to help you out. Suga bb ily you’re doing great sweetie

- *Suna Rintaro and his significant other with insomnia, finding himself thanking his professional athlete training schedule that keeps his own sleep on track unlike in high school, so he can drag you to bed and hold you close to him whenever you’re struggling to sleep. It’s him learning of all the different things around the house he can do to help, like making sure all the screens in your home have a blue light filter, and ensuring any caffeine or sugar are tucked away into the kitchen cabinets to avoid temptation. It’s him running you a hot bath with lavender or vanilla, and giving you massages when you ask for them, buying fluffy blankets and comfy socks for you occasionally when he’s out. Him being willing to stay awake all night with you until you fall asleep, or taking you out for a late night/early morning walk to the park, and his gentle morning touches that first wake you everyday.

- *Kuroo Tetsuro always being mindful of his significant other with chronic migraines. It’s him turning off all the lights whenever he starts to notice your signs of one coming on, and making as little noise as he possibly can when maneuvering around the house while you’re attempting to sleep one away. It’s how when you wake up he’s giving you massages and bringing you medication with a glass of water, if you take any. How he’s always ready to run you hot baths, or showers if you’d prefer, and making sure to keep the house stocked up on scented/unscented products that won’t aggravate your headache more. It’s him ensuring you eat and drink enough, and bringing you caffeine in the early morning hours to help keep the pain away. Him quietly bringing you hot rags to place over your forehead, and putting blue light filters on all the devices in the house. If they get too bad, he’s driving you to the doctors when needed, or just generally comforting you. His own busy schedule helps in dragging you to bed to get enough rest, and he can’t say he doesn’t enjoy helping you with your work and/or studies- the nerd in him just can’t help it.

🌿 If you guys enjoy this content, I will gladly write more! Please let me know what you think cause this has been racking my brain for a while🥴 I’ll be back to posting regular content soon if you haven’t seen my apology post for my absence/impromptu break for my mental health!

Reblogs are greatly appreciated!

Taglist: @sunalma @toworuu @livy384

Check out my other works!

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starshipsofstarlord · 3 years

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Single ladies

stephen strange x reader / masterlist

summary; you and wong get tickets to your favourite singer, and drag the sorcerer supreme along for the concert / warnings; bad humour, it was a random idea that just came to me, brief mention of imprisonment, swearing, hinting at sex,

“A Hunk of Hulk of Burning Fudge please.” You smiled at the woman behind the booth, splaying change upon the counter, as you watched her scoop the delicacy into a small and travel safe pot, oozing the green ice cream with a caramel like sauce. “Thank you.”

“You order the same thing every time that we come here.” Stephen rolled his eyes lightly, quirking one of thin brows at you. Rather than denying it, for you both knew that fact was true, you simply shrugged, putting a portion of the avengers flavoured desert into your mouth, with the plastic spoon that accompanied your purchase.

“I am consistent. I think that’s what you were trying to say, and I don’t think you should complain considering my regular pattern of things keeps you... motivated.” Your gaze sternly drifted down to his crotch as you raised your forehead suggestively at the covered body part, sending the message directly to the sorcerer.

“Yes, that is what keeps me motivated. Surely not the need to protect our reality from negative forces that could cause it to plunder into a catastrophe.” In reply, you hummed, a smirk ridden on your face, before your phone beeped. “Who is it?”

“Wong, he’s pissed that we went to get ice cream without him.” Was your answer, as you drifted your gaze over to the counter as you prevailed in thought. “I better get him something, otherwise this weekend is gonna feel like an imprisonment from Surtur. And trust me, I am well versed with what that situation is like.”

“What is happening this weekend?” He asked bluntly, as though he felt left out on some big plot. A grand, rather intoxicating smile danced upon your face, almost cracking the surface like a piece of glass wear.

“We’re going to see Beyoncé!” It practically left you as a scream, your excitement clearly having got the better of you. As passersby walked past, you waved lightly at them, delivering them an embarrassed apology, before attaining your attention back onto Strange. “We have a spare ticket, my friend Darcy kinda pulled out, something about her friend Erik going bonkers again, but... you could come?”

“Me?” He had to repeat the offer, pointing at his chest where the eye of agamotto was hidden beneath his casual attire. It was no secret that you and Wong practically praised the earth for birthing such a beloved icon of the modern age; in fact it was him whom had introduced the singer to both you and Wong.

The pair of you didn’t get that reference, until the two of you delved into some coordinated research online. A part of him regretted ever making a reference about her, since the pair of you were practically obsessed. He was not sure that he’d survive a concert with the two of you, nor that the two of you would live through the performance, it was a rather mundane occurrence for the pair of you.

“No, of course not. I’ll just go and invite the other Stephen Strange; he wouldn’t dare say no to one of my... offers.” You smiled deviously, shovelling more of the fudge flavoured treat, sucking seductively on the cheaply made utensil, batting your eyelashes up at your master.

“Fine.” Stephen sighed, causing you to sigh, and pat the man on the shoulder. He rolled his head back, as he thought of the possible disaster his inclination to say yes would be.

“I knew you’d come around Stephie.” You spoke, handing him the pot of your slowly melting ice cream, pausing a finger upwards in the air, as you began to trail backwards. “Imma get Wong one of those, I’ll be back in a minute.”

“If i was a boy, even just for a day!” At the pitch that you wailed, Stephen winced. Wong was driving, and he was in the passengers seat, he had quite the suspicion that it was indeed not a bottle of water that you had brought along to the show. “Hey, I was listening to that!” You yelled, your voice being targeted at the driver as he fiddled with the track.

“I’m surprised you could hear that over your American Idol audition.” Stephen spoke, watching as your face crinkled, and the song of Wong’s choice had began to play. The sorcerer admittedly had quite a decent time accompanying the two of you, there were no days off with the tasks that you were given the responsibility to protect. Though, there had been a way around that worked out, and thus here the trio of you were, on the way back home.

The beginning of the song Single Ladies bustled from the CD player, and Wong inherently turned it up, watching amusedly as you pouted through the rear view, and crossed your arms. “If you don’t stop insulting me, then you will be a single lady Strange. I can find someone else to put a ring on it.”

“What was that?” He lightly smirked, turning in his seat to face you, as your skin crawled with the remarks of embarrassment. “Did you just admit that you want to marry me?” The man teased, watching as you shook your head, denying his claims that he had clearly heard.

“Nope.” The word popped from your mouth, as you leant against the restraint of your seat belt. “I don’t trust you with purchasing jewellery, you can barely keep track of the items that you wear.”

“I wear the eye of adamotto, the ancient one entrusted me with it. I- where the fuck is it?” His hands raked his chest, scratching the surface of skin below his shirt to find the item. It was gone. One of the most powerful weapons in the universe was lost, and worst of all, at a concert for normal people.

If one of them were to find it, they’d either think it nothing more than garbage, or a sick statement piece that they would brag about to their friends. Or worst of all, they would sell it, for less than it was even worth, since it was priceless, and some big bad would discover it on the shelf on an antique store.

“Language.” Wong muttered as he slipped his gaze only momentarily to the man sat beside him. His face remained void of emotion, but his eyes told another story. He was conflicted whether he wanted to shout at the sorcerer, or try his hardest to remain calm.

“You have to turn back!” The qualified doctor exclaimed, and all of a sudden, Wong performed a U turn, steering in the direction that you all had just come from. “Are you trying to kill us?!” The images of his own accident flashed through his mind, that fault of his own had ended him here, in a flurry of panic.

“If Beyoncé is wearing the eye around her neck, we are forcing her to use it as the cover for her next album. We’ll take some pictures, and then take it.” Wong stated, watching essentially as the man beside him began to bicker, his eyes wide and shocked by Wong’s priorities.

They were supposed to protect the reality, not shape it to their own whim. As they snapped at one another, you felt succumbed by the alcohol that you had subtly consumed, raising your hand to your chest, feeling a chain and a large, sideways diamond shaped pendant against your chest, below the material of your clothing.

Thinking nothing of it, you shut your eyes, and fell into a sleep slumber. Least to say, when you finally awoke with a raging hangover, after they had searched the extents of the stadium, neither of the men were impressed when they saw a familiar shape pressing through your top, mocking them as they established their fury.

“A part of me wishes Beyoncé had worn it.” Wong sulked, as Stephen went to remove the piece from you, but decided otherwise. If anyone could protect the artefact better than himself, it was a very pissed off and hungover you.

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ur-favorite-queer-queen · 3 years

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Magic

For Maribat March day 16 theme magic

Master List

“50 bucks says she is,” Dick walked in on Jason saying, “there is no way she’s with Demon Spawn otherwise.”

“I agree with Jason, there’s no way she isn’t.” Tim agreed.

“So how much are you betting Tim?” Babs questioned, getting ready to write it down.

“20 bucks.”

“What are you guys betting about?” Dick interrupted.

“If Marinette is magic or not.” Steph responded.

“Why?” Dick asked.

“Cause there is no way that she’s not magic if she is able to not only hang around Damian but date him!” Jason accused.

“We really shouldn’t be betting on this sort of thing.” Dick tried, and failed, to reason.

“Too late,” Duke spoke up, “30 bucks says she isn’t magic.”

Dick sighed, “What has everyone else betted?”

“I’m keeping track so I’m not betting.” Babs clarified, “Steph betted 20 bucks that she isn’t magic, Duke just betted 30 bucks that she also isn’t, Tim betted 20 bucks she is, Jason betted 50 bucks she is, and Cass and you haven’t betted yet.”

Cass then signed, “I bet 20 bucks that she is magic, just not in the way we think.” Leave it to Cass to be that cryptid.

“I’ll bet 10 bucks she isn’t, why not.” Dick finally gave up his internal struggle, yeah it wasn’t nice betting on his little brother’s girlfriend, but hey there was no way she was magic.

“I still can’t believe you’re magic.” Damian admitted.

“Well technically I’m not magic. I just wield magical jewels that house tiny gods.” Marinette corrected.

“Is there really a difference?” He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him.

“Yes, yes there is.” She replied, cuddling closer and leaning into him.

“Are you sure you parents are gone?” He questioned, Jagged and Penny claimed that they had business they needed to do but he wouldn’t put it past them to lie and spy on them.

“Yes they trust me because I’m responsible. Plus it’s not like we’re doing anything wrong, just cuddling.”

“YOU BETTER NOT BE DOING ANYTHING OTHER THAN CUDDLING!” Stompp shouted from the other room. If they had to guess, the other kwamis were stopping him from barging into the room they were currently in.

“WE’RE NOT STOMPP! YOU CAN STOP BEING SO PROTECTIVE!” Marinette yelled back.

“More like paranoid.” Damian muttered.

“Like you can say that.” Marinette laughed.

Damian tried to scowl but couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face. While she may not have believed it, she truly was magic. To him at least.

“So does your family know yet?” She asked once she stopped laughing.

“No, they have no clue.”

“Really, we’ve been together for a year. Shouldn’t they know by now?”

“They started a bet on whether you’re magic or not. If that counts.”

“They did not!” She broke into another giggle fit.

“They did.” He smiled at her as she grinned up at him.

“Oh the chaos that will come from this.”

“Don’t let Plagg let hear you say that.”

“You’re scared of what might happen if we ever teamed up.”

“I am very scared.”

“As you should be.” She looked like she was having a very serious internal battle as she tried not to laugh.

“So are you still coming over this Saturday?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it.”

Marinette enjoyed these dinners at Wayne manor. Dinner with her bio parents usually consisted of silence and conversations about the bakery or school. Dinner with her adopted parents consisted of Jagged doing or claiming he did something that Penny wouldn’t approve of then him getting scolded. Sometimes she would add in her own disappointed face. But dinners at Wayne manor were different.

Because there were so many people there was so much going on at once. Different conversations somehow managed to flow smoothly and they managed to jump from topic to topic like lightning. Yet when something interesting was brought up they all managed to stop and listen before continuing their other conversations.

They were all so different but they managed to get along so well (most of the time). In a way they reminded her of the kwami. While it was a weird comparison it made sense in her head. All the kwami were different, different personalities, opinions, and views of the world. But at the end of the day they were still a family.

“Hey Pixie!” Jason called from across the table.

She quickly swallowed her food and replied, “Yeah!”

“Where’d your nose ring go? I haven’t seen you wear it in a while.”

“Oh I stopped wearing it. The side effects were so annoying and I just didn’t see the point anymore.”

“Wait what side effects?” Dick asked, “You weren’t allergic to the material or anything were you?”

“No, but the magic part of it was tiring to try to keep under control.” Marinette was met with silence. She was very much aware of the chaos she was unleashing and she couldn’t wait.

It was Cass that ended up breaking the silence, a small grin on her face, “Pay up.”

“Wait, I betted that she was magic too!” Jason shouted.

“Yeah, but Cass said she was magic not in the way we think. So technically she wins the bet.” Babs observed.

“We really should stop betting.” Duke mused, pulling 30 bucks from his wallet and handing it to Cass.

“Marinette, what do you mean that the magic became too tiring to keep under control?” Tim questioned.

“And Damian did you know?” Steph butted in.

“Yes I did know.” Damian answered.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Dick asked, placing a hand to his heart to show how betrayed he felt.

“Because Stompp gave him the shovel talk once he found out.” Marinette giggled.

“Stompp?” Duke repeated.

“Yeah my kwami at the time. His miraculous is the nose ring I used to wear.”

“Kwami? Miraculous?” Bruce finally decided to add into the conversation.

“Oh yeah. This is gonna be a long explanation.” Marinette chuckled to herself, Damian let a small smile onto his face before replacing it with a scowl.

“Wait, I wanna know about the shovel talk Damian got?” Jason interrupted.

“Why is this Stompp called a kwami and why is your nose ring a miraculous and why is Stompp connected to it?” Tim voiced.

“Okay how about I start at the beginning.” Marinette reasoned to the agreement of the family.

“Which beginning?” Damian smirked, much to the confusion of his family.

“I’ll start at the very beginning.” Marinette smirked back at him before launching into her story. Needless to say it was a long night.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh my god I’m so sorry I was late. If you didn’t see my post from yesterday I was supposed to post this yesterday but life kinda hit me with a train. Then burned down the hospital I was in and sent me to hell. Life hasn’t been to great. But here I am with the final part to this mini series. It’s no masterpiece but its something and I promised I would post today. Thank you for all of the support I’ve been getting! All of those who like, comment, and reblog, I’m thanking all of you. Honestly seeing that so many people like what I’m doing is one of the only motivation factors I’ve got going, so again thank you! Tagging all the people that commented on part 2 which you can find in my Master List. It will be Maribat March day 6 and 12. If you want me to link parts 1 and 2 ask me. I didn’t want to at first because I’m lazy but if you want me too I can.

@maribatmarch-2k21 @lunarwolfspn @myazael @birdiesthings @northernbluetongue @thecaptainthunder

#maribatmarch2021 #maribat #maribat march #magic #daminette #final part #final part to ox miraculous marinette #hope u enjoyed #part 1 was day 6 miraculous side effects #part 2 was day 12 second chance #find those in my master list #sorry for posting late!#ill do better

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jalebi-likes · 2 years

Note

Hii AJ! I'm not sure how many pending asks you have atm or if I'm even supposed to be sending asks to this blog instead of JWB but since this is unrelated to IPK I thought to reach out here, please answer only if you want to and have the time to :)

I finished Ipkknd a while ago and I have had nothing good to watch for so long, i was looking forward to Kabhi kabhi ittefaq se and Balh2 but i couldn't get into the latter and the former seems like some show I've seen already, do you still watch something on ITV and do you have any recs?

Also, random question but when did you first watch Ipkknd? What got you hooked to it?

Hello loveliest@rae-blogging Since you wrote to my other blog toh you get the benefit of a faster reply, lol. I have 15!!!

You are very very sweet so ofc I'd love to reply to you! Thank you for the loveee <3 Currently ITV is in its worst state in its existence. There's barely anything worth watching.

The two shows that is on air and I'm watching are:

Waghle Ki Duniya - a fun family sitcom that's about a middle class family

Ziddi Dil Maane Na - not the most interesting show but it's a fun take on friendships, love and life in a military setting (very nostalgia feelz of early 2000s Star One)

I keep a track of:

Imlie - Sumbul and Farhan are great actors and share amazing on screen chemistry and I was taken by Aryan and Imlie's platonic relationship that simmered with the first blush of love. However I'm not the biggest fan of this forced wedding and all. Big turnoff. The show works well when stereotypical plot points aren't forced in. Also Imlie's loyalty to her 'ex sasuraal' is getting on my nerves, along with Aryan choosing the most convoluted way of getting a girl out of emotionally abusive and controlling relationships.

Kabhi Kabhi Ittefaq Se - the bengali version of this show was very sweet and it's kinda refreshing. The first few episodes are hard to sell and it feels like a reboot of Sasural Genda Phool however this show is a decent watch from the moment the leads decide to mutually agree to a divorce post a year. The show is wholesome and has its moments, but nothing that keeps me hooked to it.

Bade Ache Lagte Hai 2 - I am attracted to Ram being such an awesome guy. Absolutely love him! The plot? Not so much. Again first few episodes are tough to sell but this is the only reboot of an old show that is actually very good? Priya's character growth is stagnated so it puts the story in a slow pace - otherwise her pragmatism is charming - apart from the self age shaming. In short it's not something I'm very invested in, but it has its moments of 'aww' and 'hey that was nice'. The pros is that you can see good friendships in the show. The cons is sometimes this pair of 32 and 38 years old behave like they're in their 80s and there's nothing left to life cause they're so old. Dude even people in their 80s enjoy more at times. Last pro - Nakuul and Disha actually have really good chemistry.

Fanaa - it is a bit too quickly paced for my liking, but it's Colors show and the channel people there are crazy - they literally change plots overnight - but it's the only thriller show where the female lead is actually disgusted by the male lead's obsession and the male lead is a brilliant example of a deranged anti hero. It's like if Shyam was Khushi's best friends and did his shenanigans. First few episodes are a hard sell but I really like that the show ships the friendship and how Pakhi is growing to love her friend, but then seeing a brutal end by the fact that her friend may not be who she thinks he is. I only hope it ends as a good revenge drama. The female lead isn't an idiot and the male lead isn't a BUAHAHAHA villain. He has his motivations - but isn't excused for it and his psychology has its negatives and positives. IN GENERAL THOUGH, ITV has lost the era where something was consistently good. People who have long watched ITV have simply stopped watching it now and it's understandable. You might like these set of recommendations I had for shows in the recent past. If you wanna watch something Desi - I'd highly recommend going back to old shows cause old is literally gold here.

One other show that's not in my recs anywhere is Kaatelal and Sons. I definitely recommend watching this show all the way till the father accepts the two daughters for his business and where both of their marriages are fixed and it's a happily ever after. This is the guide for the show:

Watch it completely till Episode 167 (SKIP THE PART WHERE CHANCHAL CHACHI HAS MET AGNI'S MUM), otherwise watch as per time stamps below,

Episode 168 - 0:00 - 14:55, 18:38 - end of episode

Episode 169 - 0:00 - 1:56, 4:34 - 9:42, 10:04 - end of episode

Episode 170 - 00 - 2:10, 2:36 - 4:22, 6:42 - 8:43, 9:31 - 10:04, 10:39 - 11:46, 14:04 - 20:22

Episode 171 - 0:48 - 2:33, 5:59 - 9:09, 12:02 - 14:36, 18:27 - end of episode

Episode 172 - 00 - 4:42

Episode 173 - 4:26 - 11:31, 12:02 - end of episode

Episode 174 - 0:00 - 9:42

Episode 177 - 0:00 - 3:59, 9:55 - 10:55, 16:48 - 19:30, 19:44 - end of episode

Episode 178 - 0:00 - 1:50, 2:12 - 7:55, 8:17 - 9:42

Episode 179 - 2:33 - 3:20, 7:21 - 8:22, 9:41 - 11:26

THE END - THAT'S IT THE SHOW ENDED THEN AND THERE!

Phew that was a long list - hope you enjoyed this ask :)

Lots of love,

- AJ

#ask #rae blogging #jalebi recommends #kaatelal and sons #ziddi dil maane na #waghle ki duniya #mehendi hai rachne wali #kabhi kabhie ittefaq sey #bade achhe lagte hai 2 #balh 2 #imlie #fanaa

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mianavs · 3 years

Text

disclosing the truth

part 4 of Cathexis

a/n: a big reveal and another dangerous encounter with our favorite magician. plenty of Illumi to come in the next part

tw: smut

wc: 3k+

Cathexis

A night of fitful sleep awaited you after stripping off your dress, shoes, and makeup. Illumi visited your dreams that night, the way he usually did, except the dream was different. Your dreams of Illumi usually consisted of him walking beside you but, other times, he imprisoned you in the basement of his family’s estate on Kukuroo Mountain. This time was different in that you were in your current bed, immobile, and staring at him as he approached you. Illumi stoically reached out and brushed a lock of hair from your face while you stared utterly petrified. His hand traveled south until you felt a sharp pain behind your neck that blurred your vision and all you could make out was a cruel smile on Illumi’s beautiful face.

It was your last day at Heaven’s Arena. A call from your mother had come in that morning and you were summoned for a reunion back home. Immediately following her call, Hisoka called and asked to meet with you claiming it was important. While the little stunt he’d pulled the day before with his bloodlust had shaken you up, your impulsiveness overpowered your judgement and you agreed to meet him over lunch.

On the way to the café, your senses heightened and an overwhelming desire to not meet Hisoka overcame you. You pushed past your discomfort and approached the table where the magician sat. His smile was unusually genuine when you sat down but you matched it to the best of your ability despite the warning sirens going off in your head. Hisoka began making small talk but you were quick to cut him off; something that seemed to amuse him.

“I don’t have time, Hisoka, so if you could please cut to the chase and tell me what’s so important.” His brow quirked as he studied you until a text message flashed on your phone that captured his attention as well as yours. It was from your mother.

[Casual dinner at home. No need to wear the dress]

“Ah…you’re meeting with your family.” It wasn’t a question but you replied anyway hoping it would get him talking.

“Do you know who your family acquired the debt from?” His question caught you off guard but you didn’t like his insinuating tone and you grew irritated in a matter of seconds.

“No…I don’t.” Your body tensed uncomfortably at the grin that spread on his face. You didn’t like where the conversation was going but you couldn’t afford to lose Hisoka as a contact.

“…and wouldn’t you like to know?”

You sprang from your chair and a single word repeated in your mind as Hisoka’s grin turned sinister the longer you remained on your feet.

Leave

You disobeyed the voice in your head and sat back down. Hisoka could just be pulling a fast one on you but you still wanted to know—needed to know—what he said regardless if it was true or not. “Tell me what you know, Hisoka.”

“Have you ever felt as if you were being watched, Y/N?”

“Yes,” You answered wanting nothing more than to know what Hisoka knew and if it meant tearing down your act then so be it. “I know I’m being watched and I know who’s watching me.”

Surprise and something darker flashed on his face but it went as fast at it came and his face contorted to its usual smug expression. “But you don’t know why, do you?”

“I wouldn’t be here wasting my time with you if I did,” you answered bluntly. “But what do Illumi’s stalking tendencies have to do with my family’s debt?”

“Well Illumi told me the most interesting story yesterday. It was about a transaction that took place eighteen years ago between a family of assassins and a family of hunters. A betrothal between the hunter’s infant daughter and the assassin family’s eldest son instead of money for the debt owed to the assassins.”

The air thickened around you. You wanted to call him a liar and storm out of the establishment but you remained glued to your seat and processed everything he’d said. You opened your mouth to protest but the words died on your tongue. Denial and anger settled into your core and, in momentary weakness, your nen seeped out and enveloped you in wind gusts. It whipped your hair across your face and caused the table and its contents to shake. A scream from one of the patrons broke your fit of fury and your air settled then dissipated.

Hisoka frowned while you took a deep breath to relax and thought over the situation. It made no sense for Hisoka to lie about something like this. You thought about your parents and the parting advice they’d give you every time you parted ways:

“Always avoid assassins. They’re dangerous people.”

Did they want to avoid getting into more debt? If they debt was settled with a future engagement between you and Illumi, why work as hard as they did and make you follow in their footsteps as well? You got lost in your thoughts mulling over every interaction with your parents to recall some sort of hint of a betrothal with the Zoldycks. Nothing came to mind and you were more confused than ever until a possibility came to mind. Were your parents accumulating money to pay off the debt and liberate you?

“Looks like you’ve put two and two together,” Hisoka pointed out. You were about to leave but a startling thought crossed your mind that made you stop in your tracks.

“Does he know...we’re gathering the money to—”

“No, he doesn’t know.” Hisoka interrupted and the words left unsaid both startled and reassured you.

I didn’t tell him

You didn’t ponder too much on Hisoka’s motivations for not revealing your family’s possible scheme to Illumi simply because you didn’t have the head space for it at that moment. Uncovering Hisoka’s motivations would be a project for another time because you were certain that your paths would cross once again. While you were still shocked and upset by his revelation, you thanked Hisoka before leaving the café and heading home. You hoped your intuition was right and your parents were gathering money for that reason. If that wasn’t the case, however, you would need to prepare yourself for a life on the run because you doubted the Zoldycks would cross their arms and do nothing. They would do surely do what they did best; track you down and kill you.

Where the boisterous winds of your hometown had once filled you with joy, you headed straight to your ancestral home anxious about the conversation to come. There was nothing more important than uncovering the truth and with that in mind you bolted past the servants and grounds people stopping only when you were outside of your father’s study. With your heart thumping wildly in your chest, you knocked on the door twice and waited until your mother’s calm voice rang through the door.

“Come in, Y/N.”

Seeing your parents again after almost two years made your heart swell but the turmoil you were currently in stopped you from running into your mother’s arms. Instead you stood at the door with tears welling up in your eyes that cascaded down your face when a strangled cry voiced your distress.

“Is it true? Did you agree to marry me off to the Zoldycks?!”

They were too composed for your liking as if they’d expected you to find out about it on your own—like everything else in your life. However, this time you didn’t want to be on your own and wanted a normal life without an assassin betrothed and hunter parents you rarely saw.

“We promise you it will never come to that. We’ll pay off that debt even if we have to risk our lives.” Your father’s normally modulated voice was thick with emotion and it managed to expel your worst fears.

Your mother’s arms enveloped you and your father immediately joined her until they both held you in their arms each taking turns explaining everything to you. The debt your grandfather had accumulated from Zeno Zoldyck. The time the three of you were summoned to the Zoldyck mansion one day after your first birthday and your father was first made aware of said debt. With the three of your lives on the line, Zeno and Silva gave your father an ultimatum that he took while secretly vowing to dedicate the rest of his life to paying off the debt and saving you from a life as a Zoldyck wife.

Over the next three days, you and your parents counted the money you’d made since your last reunion and found out you were only a couple billion Jenny short of the original debt. You’d been relieved at first until your parents disclosed another aspect of your betrothal you hadn’t been aware of—the deadline of your engagement was your twentieth birthday. With your future at stake, you left home determined to take on as many jobs as you could and make enough money to cover the debt and any interest the Zoldycks would surely demand.

Your untarnished reputation among the jackpot community aided you in your efforts for employment and you were booked for three months straight. There was nothing more important than making money so you ended up ignoring Hisoka’s calls and texts. Illumi only checked up on you once, much less than before, and you couldn’t help but wonder if it was due to your encounter in Heaven’s Arena. Whatever the case, he hadn’t confronted you which meant Hisoka was still keeping your family’s secret—that was until you received a text message from him after you’d finished a job.

[Getting tired of chasing you. Meet me in Swardani or I might have something to tell Illumi ♥]

Not knowing how Illumi felt about the betrothal made you anxious. He could either be your ally in ending the betrothal or your enemy and tell his family about your plan. In the end, you couldn’t risk it and set off to Hisoka’s hotel in Swardani.

You got to the lavish hotel late that evening and wondered if your parents still owned their condo in the city to avoid spending money on a motel room. On the way up to Hisoka’s room, a plethora of scenarios played out in your head about what Hisoka would want but the one that stood out the most was him seeking a payment of some sort for helping you. It was the most logical but his mercurial character made it difficult to predict what he would demand.

The door swung open before you could even knock with his honeyed voice inviting you in. You steeled yourself before stepping inside his suite and letting the door close behind you. Hisoka greeted you with damp hair and a towel wrapped around his waist. He led you to the sitting room where he took a seat and motioned you to so the same. As you followed him, you tried to look anywhere but his chiseled torso but your inexperience with men had you curiously staring at his chest, abdomen, and broad shoulders. The smugness on his face broke your trance and you focused on the matter at hand.

“What do you want, Hisoka?”

“I wanted to see my new favorite toy. I missed you, Y/N.” His spoke plain calling you what you were to him and you might have slapped him for it had you not been working against time. “I don’t have time for this. If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving.”

You stood up and walked away but Hisoka’s hand gripped your wrist and pulled you back. Ready to lash out at him, you stopped when you noticed his playful grin was gone and his mouth was set in a hard line. The voice in your head that warned you of danger begged you to leave but Hisoka’s bruising grip wouldn’t let up no matter how hard you tugged.

“Not so fast. You owe me, Y/N. You didn’t think I told you about Illumi expecting nothing in return, did you?” The singsong-y voice that contrasted his threatening words alarmed you and multiple scenarios played out in your mind on how to leave Hisoka’s presence without suffering too much damage.

“I have no money.” You bit back and he chuckled, pulling you forward until you crashed against his hard form. Assaulted by the sweetness of his smell and the smoothness of his skin, you were defenseless against Hisoka’s mouth laying claim to your neck.

“There are other forms of payment, Y/N, and I just so happen to be a flexible creditor.” He purred against your ear. A wave of heat spurged from your core and spread to your torso and limbs.

“N-no!” Ripping yourself from the confines of his body, you staggered back a couple of steps. “You can’t— ”

“Ah, saving yourself for Illumi?” He laughed and it triggered your wrath.

You attacked first using Ko to focus your nen to your hand. Hisoka easily avoided your fist but it was the powerful winds of your nen technique that cut his skin. You avoided the blow Hisoka aimed at you and dashed to the door to leave, only to be dragged back by an invisible force that wrapped around your torse and your bruised wrist. You stopped breathing when, with the help of Gyo, you saw the pink stretchy material that connected you to its owner.

“I knew you’d be a fun toy to keep around. Now, let’s have fun.”

He gripped your head and attacked your lips in a bruising kiss. When you refused to respond no matter how much he sucked on your bottom lip, Hisoka bit down harshly and you gasped. His tongue delved into your warm mouth and a moaned escaped him that sent goosebumps all over your skin. Hisoka wasted no time in laying claim to your entire mouth, humming in pleasure when he lapped against your tongue and you let out a helpless moan. His kiss fogged your mind and all your thoughts focused on the warmth of Hisoka’s heavy tongue and the bubbling pleasure in your core. Before you knew it you were kissing him back, mimicking his tongue’s movement’s with your clumsy one but his responding moans encourage you to go further. Despite your bounded state, you pressed yourself against Hisoka with the primal need to feel his warmth overtaking your body and mind. Without warning, he pulled away from the kiss and the two of you were panting when his Bungee Gum disappeared and you were released.

“I won’t force you,” he offered, the seriousness of his tone catching you off guard. Your legs moved of their own accord and you found yourself walking toward the door with the voice in your head telling you to leave quickly. The ache in your core was still there, however, and the apex between your legs twitched angrily needing release. You had never done this with anyone but Hisoka’s touch left you hungry for more, so you whipped around and rushed to him, crashing your lips against his unexpecting ones.

Teeth clashed against teeth as you tried to match his fervor. Under normal circumstances, you would have been mortified from your inexperience but all reason was thrown out the window and you focused was on the budding heat from your sex and Hisoka’s tongue languidly trailing down your neck. He ran his hands down underneath your thighs and hoisted you up while you wrapped your legs around his waist and gripped his pink tresses. He groaned in approval when you tugged on his hair and he took you to his bed where he set you down.

The two of you stripped out of your clothes in seconds and tossed them aside before falling back onto the bed and finding each other’s lips once again. Hisoka pulled away after drawing blood from your bottom lip and settled in between your legs before sucking on a hardened nipple while flicking and pinching the other with his fingers. You shook like a leaf from his ministrations on your breasts and whined when he released your swollen nipple with a pop. Amused by your frustrated whines he traveled down your stomach leaving a trail of wet kisses and bite marks. You hoisted yourself up your elbows to see where Hisoka was going only to fall back on the bed when he flattened his tongue and lapped there.

“AH!”

“Mmm!”

Jolts of pleasure shot up your body. You arched your back and trembled as Hisoka licked, bit, and teased your bundle of nerves. The pleasure that had been building since you stepped into Hisoka’s suite finally erupted with one last bite on your clit and the release you’d been chasing washed over you and left you trembling from the aftereffects.

The daze you were in left you vulnerable for Hisoka to have his way with you and you only snapped out of it when he buried his large cock in your tight warmth.

“AH! H-hurts—it hurts!”

Tears dotted your eyes from the painful stretch but Hisoka paid them no mind. He bottomed out until his heavy balls slapped your skin while you gripped the sheets and cried. You searched for any semblance of compassion in Hisoka’s amber eyes but they were clouded in lust as he bore holes into your own—he was lost in his pleasure and yours was no concern of his.

When the pain did subside, you wrapped your shaky legs around his waist to bring some much-needed friction to your clit. While Hisoka selfishly chased his release, you worked on yours by greedily grinding your hips against his. The friction coupled with Hisoka’s slow deep thrusts had your cunt creaming and every time he pulled out, a sheen of white covered his thick cock that he admired before slamming it back inside.

Hisoka was an insatiable lover and you quickly lost count how many times the two of you came that night. Each time his warm release coated your walls and trickled out of you when he pulled out, the sight of you, a trembling and moaning mess, caused his cock to grow hard again and he’d plunge it back inside you.

When he finally had his fill of you, Hisoka collapsed on the bed next to you humming in satisfaction. You lied next to him until your body relaxed and breathing evened out. Sticky cum covered your aching legs and you wanted nothing more than to clean it off and leave. Gritting your teeth, you slowly shifted your legs towards the edge of the bed until they dangled off and touched the ground.

You hissed as your body screamed in pain from the unwanted movement, but you were determined to leave that night—at least until Hisoka’s arm shot out and pulled you back down on the bed.

“Ah! What are—”

“Just stay. It’s late and your body is sore.” He murmured before turning around and closing his eyes.

The voice in your head vehemently opposed Hisoka’s proposal but he had a point, your body was in no shape to move let alone walk the long way to your parent’s condo or a motel. You sighed in defeat and burrowed yourself in the sheets, your back to Hisoka, before eventually succumbing to sleep.

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destielshippingnews · 2 years

Text

Edvard's Supernatural Rewatch & Review: 1x11 Scarecrow Part 2

(Part 1 available here)

Here is part two of my review and analysis of Supernatural 1x11 Scarecrow, where I will be discussing travellers who are as dumb as a post, Sam impressing on strangers, and the introduction of demons to the Superverse (yes, I am still calling it that).

In part one, I spent 5,000 words discussing the first nine minutes of the show, and then I took a break of almost three months because of Christmas, work, and studies. However, I am ready to continue pulling this show to pieces. Part one ended with Dean and Sam arguing about whether to find John or not, and then splitting up after Sam’s gauche comment won him a well-earnt mouthful from Dean.

Before joining Dean in Burkitsville, Indiana, let me first say it does indeed seem strange that Dean spent the first 10 episodes of the show wanting to find John, and even got his estranged brother to help him, only for him to drive off in the opposite direction once he receives information on John’s whereabouts. Sam has always wanted revenge for Jess’s death by finding and killing the thing which killed her, so his refusal to go to Indiana with Dean and his running away is consistent to his motivation. It certainly looks like Dean is being odd and Sam rational, but please bear in mind that Dean has been groomed to follow John’s orders. His behaviour here is completely in keeping with that: John told him whitherto go, and thither he goeth.

Following the brothers’ argument, Dean is shown driving the car into what looks like a cemetery until the camera pans round to reveal a Butlin’s holiday resort. After considering calling Sam on a flip-phone, he thinks better of it and gets to work. A tracking shot of Scotty’s Café and Dean walking along the verandah creates an unsettling feeling of something unnatural watching them before Dean tries to strike up a conversation with the Scotty in question outside his café. The man recognises Dean’s cover name – John Bonham – as the drummer from Led Zeppelin, whereupon Dean tries to build rapport based on classic rock. Scotty is not particularly talkative, but curt and dismissive. I wonder whether he might be hiding something...

Perhaps showing some inexperience in handling cases like this – or talking to people – without either John or Sam to help him, Dean begins talking straight away about the missing people to Scotty. He hands his new-found bosom buddy the missing persons flyers, but receives only ‛We don’t get many strangers around here’ for his trouble. Probably sensing some hostility, Dean makes a comment which can either be read as sarcastic or flirty: ‛You’ve got a smile that lights up the room.’

Dean’s smile and awkward body language suggest to me it was closer to flirty than sarcastic, but a bit of both, perhaps another suggestion of tricks learnt to avoid people’s anger. In case you have not read all my reviews, I have previously made reference to Dean’s habit of flirting and even sexualising himself to avoid trouble with authority figures. Tuck that away at the back of your mind somewhere. It will become more relevant in 1x14 Nightmare.

After canvassing the owners of the local general store whom the viewer saw in the cold open, Dean finds out the missing people HAD in fact been in the town; the young blonde woman from the cold open recognised the tattoo on the man’s arm. The owners send Dean in the direction of the interstate (motorway), but his EMF reader (the one he made himself, RE: 1x04 Phantom Traveler, thank you very much) starts making noise near an orchard. Investigation leads Dean towards the scarecrow on its stand, and to finding the missing man’s tattoo on the scarecrow’s skin. This was a rather creepy moment for two reasons: Dean is incredibly close to a scarecrow which was shown to move and kill people in the cold open, and the scarecrow seems to move ever so slightly, perhaps in a breeze.

So far, so good. This is not the most interesting premise (at least not almost 17 years after the episode first aired), but solid. People are going missing, and it is fairly obvious to anybody paying attention that the townsfolk are involved.

Before dealing with Sam’s scenes, I want to discuss Dean’s return to town and the scene in the café. After the blonde girl from the shop fills up his car and info-dumps about the town being spared the economic hardships neighbouring towns are suffering, Dean then learns another young couple is passing through town and having their car fixed. The young man and woman in question are in the café waiting for their car to be fixed. While doing so, Scotty is serving them food.

It appears to be the consensus that Dean was acting awkwardly in this scene, and while Dean certainly can have difficulty interacting with people due to his highly abnormal upbringing, I do not think his behaviour was all too weird given the circumstances. Part of the reason for people thinking he was acting weird is likely the fact that he is a young man trying to talk to strangers. Without getting too far off topic, I doubt his behaviour would be seen as so awkward if he were a young woman.

That said, it is socially awkward and incompetent to strike up a conversation like that with complete strangers who are busy eating all the free food Scotty’s giving them. Awkward, but not so weird. Sure offering to fix their car was awkward, but since I am generally given to seeing the best in people, I might be missing something. The real awkward and concerning behaviour comes from Scotty. It WAS awkward, incompetent, and downright rude for the waiter to essentially tell his customer not to talk to the other customers, and that alone should have warned the young couple that something was amiss in the situation. Perhaps the strange man trying to get them to leave before dark was perhaps telling the truth. The fact they ignored this shows wilful ignorance and stupidity. They are in the middle of nowhere, and the roads will be very dark and lonely after nightfall. If I were in a café in the middle of nowhere and a man were encouraging me to get out of there before dark, I would scarper. Horror plots which rely on stupidity are weak sauce.

The next warning should have been the sheriff coming into the café to take Dean away for … sitting in a chair in a café and trying to talk to strangers. Sure offering to fix their car would have come across as strange, but does it warrant police involvement? No. So something is weird about the situation, and the couple… does nothing.

Maybe I am just giving Dean too much leniency and understanding. It would not be the first time, and it certainly will not be the last.

Cutting to Sam and the boring half of the episode, on his hitch-hiking trip he stumbles across a woman named Meg, the show’s first recurring villain. Given that this is supposed to be an important moment in the lore of the show, the introduction of demons is decidedly understated, bland, and boring. I might be alone in this, but I have never cared for Nicki Aycox’s portrayal of Meg. She is a fine actress, but what she was given to do and the way she did it did not work for me. The character felt cocky and a bit cheesy, as well as entitled, privileged and boring. The actress’s appearance in 4x02 Are You There, God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester was better, but I much prefer Rachel Miner’s version of Meg, though it took a few episodes for her to get into the role.

Funnily enough, Nicki Aycox was in the film Jeepers Creepers 2 which I wrote about in part 1 of this review.

After being a bitch to Sam (not that he did not deserve it after his behaviour earlier in the episode) about being a ‛freak’, she leaves in a van with a weird creepy guy and runs into Sam again later at the bus station. Apparently, weird creepy guy ‛was all hands’ so she left him to get the bus instead, but I think she cut his throat to make a phone call like she did at the end of the episode.

Sam’s half of the episode mainly consists of sitting with Meg having a bitch about his life. It is clever that Meg poses as somebody Sam can relate to in order to get close to him and find out as much information as she can, but what is not clever is Sam trusting her so soon. I understand the writers wanted him to connect to somebody other than Dean and to have the opportunity to vent his spleen, but he imprints so fast on a complete stranger that it is ridiculous. Something killed his girlfriend, and though he does not yet know what Meg is, he DOES know something is after him, and that it probably is not a good idea to go round shooting your mouth off about your private life to strangers, no matter how pretty said strangers might be.

I know why Sam trusts her; she is pretty. Praise Odin’s mighty foreskin that Sam learns his lesson soon after this and NEVER repeats this mistake.

Referring back to the beginning of the previous paragraph, Sam’s half of this episode is mostly sitting and bitching. Anybody who has read my last ten reviews should know that Sam was meant to be THE protagonist of the show, the one leading the narrative and forcing things to change to reach his goal. Dean was supposed to be the sidekick. However, here we have Sam indulging in half an hour of poofy-haired emoing at a bus station while the sidekick actually investigates the disappearances and pushes the plot of the episode forwards. This is a problem with Sam’s characterisation which I have mentioned before and will mention again. If HE were the sidekick, it would not be so bad, but that is not how things appear to be. What makes it worse is that he sweeps in at the end of the episode to save Dean after putting none of the work in himself, just so that he can still look the part.

This is something else which bothers me about the show. It is not quite so evident in the early years (unless I have forgotten), but in later series of the show, Dean weakens a monster while takes a beating, only for Sam to sweep in at the last minute and dispatch it with a bullet or an angel blade without actually doing anything to soften it up. We see that trend beginning here, and it gets my goat every time with its Gary Stu amateurishness.

Their conversation on the phone in this episode was mature, and it was nice to see them talking to each other like sensible adults who are not in a poisonous narcissist-codependent relationship. Revealing the show’s clear bias, Dean’s sincere apology tells us he takes all the blame onto himself whilst trying to absolve the actual culprit – Sam – of responsibility and blame. In my discussion of 1x10 Asylum, I talked about a similar scene where Dean assumes responsibility and apologises, though Sam was at fault. Over the years, it has become clear to me Dean does this because it keeps people he loves near him. If he removes their responsibility, he avoids conflict with them. The people around him are all too happy to let him do this because it means they do not have to feel bad about their actions.

In part 1 of this review, I discussed the Norse gods, the Vanir, and the scarecrow in depth, so I do not need to go into much detail here about Dean and Cigarette Smoking Man’s scene at the university, but a few points came to mind:

1) any strike to the head strong enough to knock a man unconscious is enough to kill him, or cause serious brain damage. The sheriff hit Dean in the head with the butt of a shotgun hard enough to knock him out cold, but Dean has no negative side effects from this, not even a concussion. I have watched the whole show, so I am aware that ‛God’ is writing this, but a deity should know better.

2) a sacrifice is only a sacrifice if it is done willingly. What the townsfolk do is simply murder, not sacrifice.

The episode ends with Dean and Emily being tied up in the hazelnut grove orchard as offering to the scarecrow, and being saved by Sam in the nick of time because he had to do SOMETHING useful in this episode. The scarecrow takes the shopkeepers as tribute rather that the young ones, killing the man on-screen (because of course it does) while dragging the woman off screaming. Its choice of killing the middle-aged couple is odd given the sacrifice was supposed to be part of a fertility ritual so that the town’s apple pie-fuelled economy can keep going. There were a few significantly younger and more fertile offerings readily available in the orchard, but the scarecrow bypassed them all. Paula R. Stiles suggested in her review of this episode that the scarecrow was tired of its agreement, and tired of sacrifices which were not really sacrifices but murder, and there might very well be something in this.

Whatever the reason for its actions, it left Dean and Emily alone. The two return to the orchard a day or so later accompanied by Sam to burn the scarecrow’s tree down. Whether this kills or releases the god is not specified, just as it was not specified whether the god came into being with the tree, was tied to the tree, or is the tree’s spirit.

The second-to-last scene shows Dean and Sam seeing Emily off on a bus to Boston (a LONG way from Indiana, roughly 1,000 miles, almost the same as the distance from Tromsø to Oslo). The townsfolk receive no direct punishment for their human sacrifices, with Dean confessing that whatever happens to them after their business fails will have to be punishment enough. This scene also has Sam sort of apologise to Dean by saying ‛Jess and Mom are both gone. You and me, we’re all we’ve got’. By this I presume he intended to say ‛I’m sorry for belittling your grief, and I acknowledge your loss and bereavement’, but the way it is delivered is so devoid of feeling and sincerity I want to roll my eyes.

What’s that I hear you say? I want Sam to apologise and act like an adult, but when he does it’s never good enough? Darn tootin’ I don’t, because it feels fake. If Jared had delivered the line with more earnestness and regret, things would be different. His line about ‛You’re still a pain the ass’ sealed the deal for me: he still wanted to get a jab in to impress upon Dean that he is really the one in the wrong, not Sam.

As for Jensen, Oscar-winning performance! Magnificent! Awards! Confetti! Applause!

That is enough smoke up his butt for one review.

To finish, the final scene was unexpected upon my first viewing in 2008, and having a recurring antagonist on the show is something it needed. Once again, another man dies on screen, and the episode ends with Meg making a call to her ‛father’ to mirror John calling his sons at the end of the preceding episode. This was a nice step forwards for the plot, but nothing will come of it for a few episodes yet, unfortunately.

This episode is a fan favourite and enjoys a rating of 8.7/10 on IMDb, based on over 5,700 ratings, and it is an example of how the early years of the show succeeded at horror television. Kim Manners’ direction brought a pleasing X-Files vibe to it, and the colour grading goes a long way to creating a foreboding atmosphere. It is supposed to be April, but it feels like autumn. It also showed us that Dean IS intelligent, and is perfectly capable of solving cases by himself.

It has taken me almost three months to get to the point of having this review finished and ready for edits and publishing, but I am finally glad to soon be able to dust my hands off and move on to 1x12 Faith, another one of the stand-out episodes of series 1, featuring a familiar face from Buffy and Angel, a very obvious song choice, and Dean in a hoodie.

#michael's supernatural rewatch #supernatural #spn rewatch #dean winchester #spn 1x11 #spn 1x11 scarecrow #dean #spn meta

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bonvoyagenoona · 2 years

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how do you keep track of so many wips and decide how to work on them? what’s your planning process like? you’re so prolific and seem so organized and i’m perpetually curious about how you manage it all!

Aww, thanks! It's good to know I seem prolific and organized 😅 I talked a little bit here about how I got started and where ideas come from and here about consistency(?), structure, and time.

Actually, would y'all be interested in vlogs about writing? I've noticed that I've gotten quite a few of these questions, and the questions that are out there generally have me thinking as well. I've been chatting with fellow writers all week about process, actually. I've also been wanting to experiment with video. My PTD trip video hasn't materialized and probably won't for at least a while, if ever, so I'm still looking for an excuse to play!

Aaaaanyway, refocusing on the present ask! I put together some resources and screenshots for planning and organization, as well as some notes on execution. Read on after the jump if you're into that sort of thing! You can also follow my #how i write tag, check out my BTS case conceptualizations project and follow the #bts case conceptualizations tag, and keep letting me know what kind of writer-y stuff you might be interested in! You know me, I'm always happy to take a closer look!

Intro

Do you love puzzles? I love puzzles. Words, numbers, shapes, patterns. I just really love puzzles. I like having a set structure and frameworks to play within, but near-infinite ways of going about solving things that eventually dwindle down into a clear solution.

I don't know how popular of a sentiment this is, but I think of all writing as solving a puzzle. This is a conversation that @mochilatae / Roomie and I have all the time! For me, thinking about it this way makes my intentions and goals clear. I then have a set structure that I follow, though the way that I move through that structure changes from fic to fic, or even word to word. This might feel and seem a little formulaic, but that's because it is, by design! Maybe this is why people feel I'm organized/consistent?

Some background context: a lot of my methods come from the basics of script writing and academic writing. There was a period of time when all I did was write plays and spec scripts (you can read some here!). There was also a time when all I wrote were APA manuscripts for academic publication. The things that both of these worlds have in common is that there are set rules and structures that help guide writers and readers alike. There's a shared language and a universal understanding, which translates into clear expectations and more objective ways of identifying if something is "successful" or not. Following a set style guide doesn't work for all types of writing, but if it happens to be your bag, I highly suggest checking out these frameworks!

Planning

I do a lot of world-building and fantasizing to start. Sometimes, it happens in a very compressed amount of time, like writing all of Like Butter in my head in the 20 seconds of Yoongi's Butter concept video. Sometimes, it happens across time, like the years of experiences I had in academia that informed Office Hours.

I don't use a specific process for this. The planning comes and goes in waves. I don't chase the energy; I follow it. I don't pressure myself to write when I don't feel like it, and I clear my schedule as much as I can if I notice that I'm in a groove. I recognize that that is a privilege that not many people have, but it admittedly has allowed me to adapt to moments when my muse is most fickle.

Organization

I think of organization in two categories: organization of a fic, and organization of all of my fics.

One fic: The way I organize a fic is very similar to the conventional ways scripts are laid out. I start with characterization, always. I assign clear and central themes and motivations to each character, and the process that helps support that are my case conceptualization tools.

I also outline before I start creatively writing, especially when I'm writing a novel-length fic with multiple chapters. I do this is by deciding on chapters titles upfront. I like using gimmicky chapter titles because 1) they're super fun, and 2) they help me stay focused on the theme of the story, thus helping with consistency and tone. You could say that I use each chapter title as a main thesis statement, or a heading, and each of the plot points underneath that as subheadings. This provides my work with a skeleton.

I also apply TV and play script-writing techniques: I identify my A, B, and C plots, and I go through and make sure that the characters who will support these plots are fully-fleshed out before beginning the story. I don't use specific screenwriting or other kinds of tools to help me manage this information because I often find that I get lost in learning or using these fancy-schmancy tools rather than focusing on the writing. Good ol' Google Docs is my go-to. If I take notes in notebooks or using apps, I always bring them into comments in the Google Doc for the fic. Centralizing everything in one, broad, flexible platform helps me move these little ideas and fragments around into the right places as I write the fic, and it helps me from forgetting anything.

Multiple fics: When it comes to juggling multiple fics, I find that having this set structure to start cuts down on planning time. I can simply copy and paste my template and start getting my ideas on the page. This also helps me jump from fic to fic; the worlds are built out and the structure is set, so I don’t have a huge cognitive load to deal with when context switching -- i.e., moving from one work to another feels easier. I simply save all my fics in a folder on Google Drive and jump around as my muse directs.

Execution

Many of you have generously said that I am prolific, which, wow, high praise, and I'll gladly take it, thanks! Your questions have also helped me reflect on my process, as well as try to dig into what you we might mean by “prolific”, “consistent”, “organized”, etc. The things I’ve mentioned above are related to the upfront work. Here are some notes on the actual writing. I’ve shared thoughts on this before, but here’s what I think has helped me get my stories out of my brain and into yours:

Playing a musical instrument has, I think, cemented a strong and particular type of expressive connection between my brain and my hands, helping me not only type quickly but also cut down the amount of time it takes for me to translate ideas into words (I wanna do a cognitive study of this too, wish I still had an attachment to my labs).

Using keyboard shortcuts also helps! Honestly, typing feels like playing the piano to me.

Front-loading the brainwork in planning and organizing (i.e., what I talked about above) according to a set structure that is easy to templatize helps me chunk and manage tons of information and multiple storylines (see links to another post and my carrd below for more details).

Slipping into something more comfortable, lol, literally! I was talking with the fantastic Shenee from Grown Ass Fandom about this. I like setting the mood for myself. Minimal distractions. Music and lighting to vibe to and, frankly, eventually ignore. The perfect snackies (hot cocoa is a fave). Most of all, oodles and oodles of time. If I’m going to write an angry scene, I make myself a little uncomfortable or listen to something irritable. If I’m going to write a sexy scene, I wear something that turns me on. Sometimes, I put on a full face, like I’m getting ready to see whoever I’m writing about. Costumes help!

Editing in parallel has helped me a ton! It took me years to develop this skill, but because I weirdly enjoyed learning about US English composition and APA style to what some would say a disturbing amount, I’ve internalized many basic writing conventions, which helps cut down time spent on the editing process. For better or worse, I also happen not to work with beta readers, though I am enjoying the feel of opening up my process to others through projects like AMOMK!

Writing literally all! the! time! Lots and lots of writing! It’s all I do! To the point where, in my deepest writing grooves, I won’t say a word to another human all day! I’ve been writing as a hobby since I was a kid. My research background also helps, in that I am accustomed to researching in parallel, too. My time in grad school was full of writing and editing case conceptualizations, as well as writing and editing academic papers based on my experiment data, on top of teaching classes and editing students’ papers, while also working on a thesis, and then a whole-ass dissertation. Throughout that time, I was also writing grants for lab funding. And, my early user experience research job required me to churn out research reports quickly and thoroughly (like I’m talking a weekly basis) in a way that tells an overarching, easy-to-follow narrative. It isn’t all fiction, but I write a LOT. Practice really is the best learning tool. Remember: writing anything will help with anything you write!

If you're interested in a deeper breakdown of my writing, check out this post, or my carrd! I made some fun little infographics about my process. I’m always super interested in chatting about writing, so let me know what other writing questions you have!

#asks #your asks #anon #how i write #writing #bts fanfiction #aw i loved this question so so much #I JUST LOVE TALKING ABOUT WRITING #send me more asks!

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biletdoux · 4 years

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stages of love | j.jh TEASER

Pairing: jung jaehyun (nct) + female!reader

Rating: G (teaser), M (completed work)

Genre + Tropes: college!au, romance (angst, fluff, smut)

Warnings: none (in the teaser), full warning list will be posted with completed work

Length: 1.7k+ (teaser), TBA (completed work)

Summary: A playlist for the trials and tribulations of a beating heart.

(Or; your relationship with Jung Jaehyun in ten songs.)

Note: I didn’t intend to post a teaser, but maybe it will motivate me to write faster if I at least just put something out?? maybe lol. Story is based on an 8track playlist I found years ago which has been lost over time. I tried writing this story many times, but I finally got to it, so we’ll see how it goes. Let me know what you think ! <333

1. Peach by IU

smitten at first sight.

“How can I explain this feeling?”

“Alright, I think that sums up about everything we need to cover for today’s lecture. Remember, most of this will be in your final exam. Any questions before you’re all dismissed?”

Your professor looks up from the board, scans the room and all he sees are most of the students waiting with bated breath, itching to leave the class, and half of those students having already packed their belongings in anticipation. He held them back an extra twenty five minutes today, which is notably longer than previous lectures in which he delayed dismissal.

“Okay, you’re free to go. Chapters nineteen and twenty are due the next time we meet.”

You breathe out a sigh of relief, ready to head out with the rest of the class. You like Professor Jang and find that he makes history somewhat digestible, but he had a tendency to lose track of time, which is inconvenient, but more so today since you had agreed to meet up with Yeri. You glance at your phone to see text notifications and curse to yourself. You’re already ten minutes late and Yeri is many things and impatient is one of them.

You’re one of the first out of the small lecture hall and you shoot her a quick reply before making your way to the oncampus cafe. Through quickened strides and shortcuts engrained from cross-campus treks from class to class, you arrive in record time. You’re slightly out of breath and impressed by your speed, but you stop, frozen in your tracks when you see Yeri’s displeased face. You find her situated in a small, but cozy corner next to the windows, already unpacked with notebooks and papers strewn on the desk ready to review for exams. It's one of the best study spots in the cafe and you immediately know your best friend had to come extra early to nab such a sought after table.

“About time,” she scowls, “what took you so long?”

You shoot her an apologetic look, “aww, Yeri,” you pout your lips a little too dramatically, “I’m sorry. I just came from history and you know how Professor Jang is.”

Yeri looks at your jutted lips in disgust, but then her face softens in consideration. “Hm, I do know Jang.” She scrunches up her nose remembering her time in his class last semester. “That old man can talk for days on end and he never lets anyone leave class early. I guess I’ll let you go this time.”

You beam at her knowing she’s no longer angry for your tardiness. “Great, drinks are on me today. It’s the least I can do for being late.” Yeri forgives as easily and as quickly as she loses her temper. You learned this after a few weeks of being her roommate.

Yeri says nothing in silent agreement and you place your stuff down across the table next to the chair she reserved for you. You pull out your wallet and weave through the packed cafe to head to the order counter. The line is long and you patiently review the menu. Your roommate has consistent tastes and always orders a vanilla frappuccino regardless of which cafe she goes to, but you base your decision on your mood. You mull over your choices and by the time you reach the barista taking your order, you decide you’re in an ‘iced Americano’ kind of mood today. You have exams on top of exams you need to review for and a stronger caffeine kick is much needed.

After paying, you head back to the table with two drinks in tow. Yeri takes her drink and after you both take a few sips and catch up for the day, you dive straight to work. The two of you decide to review for statistics.

Between re-summarizing chapters and answering review questions, you muse to yourself about how your college experience thus far hasn't been that much different from your high school life. You didn’t necessarily hate high school, per say, but it was safe to say you didn’t enjoy it. Your heart was in the arts, specifically music, and you had found studying the core subjects to be boring and tedious. You remember being ecstatic to have been accepted and enrolled in a music college, foolishly thinking your days of solving differential equations and memorizing chemical formulas were over. You specifically remember daydreaming of your hours being filled with keyboard practice and composition notes and only such things. Somehow the reality of mandatory general education courses slipped your mind when you constructed such fantasies.

Despite frivolous and preconceived notions of college, you have already survived a semester and you are nearly through your second.

“Hey, do you remember when this stats assignment is due?” Yeri’s inquiring voice snaps you out of your brief reverie and you search your cluttered brain for a date.

“Uh, I think it’s due, like, a few days before the final, but I’d have to double check.”

Yeri nods. “Alright, well let’s take a small break. We have some time till then, we don’t have to finish all of it today.”

You happily agree and set down your pen. Yeri takes a sip of her frappuccino and you lean over the table to get closer to her. “Anyway, did you hear about what happened with Jiwon and Youngjae from the entertainment management department?”

Her eyes glisten with wicked interest. “No. Do tell.”

Break time is always synonymous with gossip hour between you and Yeri.

You spend the next fifteen minutes dishing what you know and Yeri offers her own input whenever she feels fit.

“And they think they’re being discreet, but the whole dorm knows they’ve been sneaking around, but guess wha─” Before you can finish your sentence, you were cut off by a loud and energetic voice calling out Yeri’s name.

The two of you look up to see a slim and boyish brunet waving to Yeri and excitedly making his way to your table. He looks vaguely familiar, but you can’t quite place your finger on it, so you let it go.

He smiles happily at Yeri and greets her. “Hey Yeri, how’s it going?” He notices you there and gives you a polite wave, which you return in the same manner.

Yeri replies back breezily, but with her full attention. “Good. Did you need anything, Mark?”

He flushes just the slightest bit, but it doesn’t escape your eyes. “Erm, nothing I just wanted to remind you that we’re meeting for the music theory project tomorrow at four. I would’ve texted, but I forgot to get your number in class, and I saw you here and thought it was a good opportunity to tell you.”

Yeri’s eyes widen, “ah right! I completely forgot about it. It’s a good thing you found me here today, huh? Here, I’ll give you my number.”

She reaches her hand out her hand expectantly, and Mark is confused before scrambling to pull out his phone. You can tell Mark looks flustered while Yeri is calmly putting in her contact information. After finishing, she hands his phone back, “okay, all set. Just shoot me a text so I have your number as well. Thanks for reminding me today or I probably would’ve forgotten and not have shown up.”

Mark smiles again, this time a little more sure than before. “All good. I’ll see you tomorrow, Yeri.”

They wave goodbye and you watch Mark scamper from the cafe. Your eyes follow him, but Yeri is already focused on you again, paying Mark’s retreating form no mind.

“So…” you start.

“So?” She returns.

“He’s cute.”

“Yeah, maybe,” she shrugs. “I barely know him though. We have music theory together, but this is the first time we’ve talked all semester and we’re only talking because we got paired up for a project.”

Yeri seems apathetic and you study her closely. You notice she’s acting a little too stiffly carefree to be truly indifferent to the situation. You can’t help, but to tease her a bit. “Well, make the most out of this project then.”

Yeri gives you a hard look and you decide to let it go despite finding your best friend’s situation to be amusing.

“Anyway, keep telling me about Jiwon and Youngjae. You never finished.” Yeri changes the topic, knowing that you might decide to pester her again if she doesn’t.

“As I was saying,” you started up again. A figure outside catches your attention and you peer outside through the window past Yeri’s shoulders. You realize it’s Mark and you watch with interest as he gestures excitedly, pointing to something in his hand, you assume his phone, to some of his friends. From there your eyes wander absentmindedly from one person to the next, and it’s when you see him.

The reaction is almost instantaneous.

“Like you were saying?” Yeri urges, but her words fall on deaf ears, for all your attention is captured by the boy next to Mark with heart-shaped lips.

When you see said boy laugh, you notice he has moon for eyes and you unconsciously suck in a sharp breath. You must have been staring too intently without noticing because he turns his head in your direction and you two hold direct eye contact. Like a deer caught in headlights, you freeze and lose all rational thought. Your head is completely blank. You have never seen someone so beautiful and your mind does not know how to process any sensory information at the moment.

Someone calls the boy away and the entire group of friends leave. It’s only then do you find yourself releasing a breath you didn’t know you had been holding onto so tightly. Your heart is pounding and you feel as though blood is rushing through your ears.

“Hello?” Yeri sounds annoyed, but you struggle to find the words to answer her.

You feel a sudden heat rush to color your cheeks a vibrant red and a feeling surges through you that leaves you out of breath and weak at the knees. A steady warmth washes over you quietly and you feel it deep within yourself and you can’t help but let out a small laugh.

How silly, you muse. Not to be dramatic, but you think you’re in love.

#nctcreations #jaehyun scenario #jaehyun fanfic #jaehyun angst #jaehyun fluff #jaehyun smut #nct scenario #nct fanfic #nct angst #nct fluff #nct smut

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kidslovecudi · 3 years

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Man On The Moon III: The Chosen - Album Review By “kidslovecudi“

Before I say anything about this album, let me say that I am so excited that Cudi is finally releasing new music! Speaking for all Cudi fans, we have all been waiting for new solo material from the moon man for the longest time and the few teasers he’s been releasing over the last year, with “Leader Of The Delinquents” and his collaborations with Travis Scott, (“The Scotts”) and Eminem (“The Adventures of Moon Man & Slim Shady”) have not been enough to fully satisfy us. With Man on The Moon III: The Chosen, Cudi fulfills on a promise to his fans he made years ago and gives us quite a lot to digest. However despite how fulfilling this record is, Cudi still manages to leave you on the edge of your seat wanting more and I personally can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next!

1. Beautiful Trip (Intro)

Produced by Kid Cudi, FINNEAS, Plain Pat, Emile Haynie & Dot Da Genius

And it starts...

2. Tequila Shots ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Kid Cudi, Dot Da Genius & Take a Daytrip

On this first track Cudi brings us back into the dark world of the moon man but this time with a new outlook. Referencing his previous works, Cudi aims to prove that he’s “not just some sad dude” and feels that despite his mental well being still occasionally being unstable he’s ready for whatever he has to face. What I loved most about this record was Cudi’s consistency. Throughout the years Cudi has mastered the art of having his own unique galactic sound that transcends through all of his music, despite the genre, and that sound is very present here. Along with his classic hums and hypnotic melodies, this track, known as the fan favorite, has the potential to be a classic.

3. Another Day ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Dot Da Genius, Nosaj Thing & Take a Daytrip

When I first heard this song, I absolutely lost my shit. Cudi started this album off swinging and I was not prepared for him to go so hard. I’ve had this song on repeat quite a few times since I first heard it and along with the beat being absolutely sick, Cudi is rapping his ass off! My favorite part is when the beat breaks down in the second chorus, and I get hype as fuck every single time.

4. She Knows This ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by J Gramm, FnZ & Dot Da Genius

This song on first listen reminded me of a song by another of my favorite artists, called “The Let Out” by Jidenna but Cudi took it to a whole other level and isn’t as repetitive. Once the track speeds up Cudi goes even harder with even trippier sounds that will make you feel like you’re driving through space. One of my favorite things about this album is that a lot of the songs change in the middle keeping you that much more engaged in the whole song than to quickly digest it, like a lot of records on mainstream radio. On top of that his bars are on complete fire and it’s always great to see Cudi flex his rapping skill that a lot of people don’t give him credit for.

5. Dive ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Dot Da Genius, Anthony Kilhoffer, Aaron Bow & Teddy Walton

Dive ends the first act of the album and serves as Cudi’s goodbye to his fantasy high. The guitar riffs at the beginning of the song is my favorite part and I wish they were made a bigger part of the song. However this song is classic Cudi, I initially thought it was missing something but after listening to it on it’s own a few more times, I feel like this song is absolutely perfect. It’s groovy as fuck and I think because it kind of ends so abruptly that it leaves a lot to be desired, but that also might have been Cudi’s intent, allowing it to serve as interlude of sorts. I loved the transitional elements through out the song, like when the bass comes in, his adlibs throughout the song and especially the echoing adlibs like, “MOVE, MOVE” “towards the end. It takes a few really good listens to fully enjoy the song as a whole, like it did for me but the more I played the album the more and more I fell in love with it.

6. Damaged ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by MIKE DEAN, Dot Da Genius & Take a Daytrip

I loved the words to this song and the overall message that Cudi was trying to convey throughout the song, but the song itself didn’t do a whole lot for me until I actually found myself in a similar dark place. It’s one of those classic Cudi records that really makes you sit and reflect on your life and everything you’ve gone through, which was exactly what the song did for me. This song is where the album starts to slow down a bit and Cudi sings and raps about his trials and tribulations of being a damaged man and that sometimes his demons still come back and he has to deal with them. A common struggle most of us who’ve ever dealt with feelings of anxiety and depression all know too well.

7. Heaven on Earth⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Dot Da Genius, Anthony Kilhoffer & DST The Danger

This song really didn’t do a whole lot for me but what I loved the most about it again, were it’s adlibs. Cudi really showed out with the adlibs on this album and that’s what made this song enjoyable for me. The song for me just sounded too typical to me but even despite that, it’s still a great track to vibe to, just not something I’d put on my favorites.

8. Show Out (feat. Skepta & Pop Smoke) ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Dot Da Genius, Anthony Kilhoffer & DST The Danger

Easily one of my favorite tracks on the album, when I first heard this, I completely lost my my shit and it was almost impossible not to turn my entire bedroom upside down. For one beat is absolutely sick and picks the tempo right back up. Cudi, Skepta and Pop Smoke’s voices are infectious together and everyone shines on this song without any one of them over shadowing the other’s performance. Definite a track to rage the fuck out to.

9. Mr. Solo Dolo III ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Kid Cudi, Audio Anthem, Dot Da Genius & Plain Pat

This song is trippy as fuck. From beginning to end this song takes you on an absolutely journey from the chords and the keys and there are no words to describe it. I remember playing this song while I was driving home from work on my scooter at night and man oh man, the vibes this song had was incredible. It made me feel like I was traveling to another galaxy. As a loner, this song really spoke to me and it made me feel like someone else understood exactly how I felt. My favorite part was his scream after the second verse. It made me feel free and liberated and that my feelings in that moment had been validated.

10. Sad People ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Dot Da Genius & Take a Daytrip

This song is an absolute vibe. Cudi’s in his bag, back in his zone, as he said and my favorite thing about this song is the chorus. Cudi’s harmonies are absolutely incredible and my favorite part is towards the end of the chorus when the song takes on an eerie west coast like synth and it’s absolutely infectious.It’s like a dark B side to “Cudi Zone” from the first album which is one of my favorite songs by Cudi to this day. It’s songs like this that made Cudi the legendary moon man that he his, in the first place.

11. Elsie’s Baby Boy (flashback) ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by E*Vax, Kid Cudi, Heavy Mellow & Dot Da Genius

This song sounded like a leftover track from “Speedin’ Bullet To Heaven” and despite how much negative criticism that album got, I absolutely love when Cudi dives into his alternative roots and I really hope he decides to dive deeper into it even further at some point. In this song Cudi sings about his relationship with his mother Elsie and his childhood upbringings. By this it in turn gave me flashbacks to my relationship with my grandmother and my childhood memories which all brought back happy and sad moments for me.

12. Sept. 16 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Emile Haynie, FINNEAS, Plain Pat & Dot Da Genius

What I loved the most about this record was Cudi’s vulnerability. Cudi has a few rare moments on his albums where he actually sings about love and being in love and it’s always great to hear. Cudi’s such a hopeless romantic and I love when he let’s his guard down and expresses his feelings. This song takes me back to “Kitchen” on “Passion, Pain, & Demon Slayin’“ and though I love that song more, this song was definitely cooked in the same pot.

13. The Void ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Dot Da Genius, Kid Cudi & MIKE DEAN

The most uplifting song from the album, this song takes me back to some of the vibes from the first album, like his song “Up, Up, and Away”. That was one of the songs in my high school days that made me fully accept myself for who I was, regardless of what people said and this song is just as motivating and uplifting. On the same wave of “Reborn”, Cudi sings about avoiding all negativity on this record and only focusing on the positive. I almost cried towards the end when he thanked us, his fans, for staying with him and never leaving him. It’s a very beautiful song, but I just personally feel like this song should have been the one to end the album or close to end because to me this track is a hard one to follow behind.

14. Lovin’ Me (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by William J. Sullivan, Charlie Handsome, Rami Beatz & Dot Da Genius

It took a little while for this song to set in for me but after it did, it made me want to cry. If you ever struggled with self-love or self-acceptance then this song is for you. What I loved most about this song was the message because it really hit home for me. It’s a beautiful anthem about finding happiness within yourself that I feel a lot of people will relate to.

15. The Pale Moonlight ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by E*Vax, Rami Beatz & Dot Da Genius

Wasn’t feeling this one all too much, but what I loved about it most again, were the adlibs. I loved Cudi’s multiple layering of his vocals throughout the song, especially the “la-la-la-la” parts. The sounds very remiscent to some of Cudi’s earlier music and if you didn’t know any better you’d swear this was a leftover track from “The End Of Day”.

16. Rockstar Knights (feat. Trippie Redd) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Produced by Jenius, WondaGurl, MIKE DEAN, Dot Da Genius & Take a Daytrip

I’m not a big fan of Trippie Redd but I really fuck with his contributions on this song. This is another song where I really loved the chorus and I also love Cudi’s flow once his verse comes in. Cudi’s wordplay is out of this world on this record and it’s hard not to beat your head as Cudi delivers bar for bar for bar throughout his entire verse. Cudi really shines on this record with his skills as a MC and if Cudi ever felt he had anything to prove as a rapper, he definitely did that here. As the song ends it feels like Cudi just turned the spaceship on hyperdrive and took us along for the ride as he drifted further and further into space- Totally sick.

17. 4 da Kidz ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Produced by WondaGurl, MIKE DEAN, Dot Da Genius, 18YOMAN & Take a Daytrip

A song dedicated to the “kidz” reminding us that we are not alone and this song is another song to vibe out to. With instructions from Cudi, to turn it loud if we need to, this song, on the same frequency as “love.” is another song where Cudi is speaking to us as our big brother and giving us a well needed pep talk. What I loved most about it was Cudi’s vocals on the chorus, especially the way he pronounced the “oo” vowel sounds. It was very reminiscent of a Baltimore accent which I always found comical in the best way which is one of things I love the most about Cudi. He’s not afraid to try different things or pull different things from his various influences despite the genre and on this record, he ties them up beautifully.

18. Lord I Know ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Produced by MIKE DEAN, Dot Da Genius, 18YOMAN & Take a Daytrip

Serving as the closer to the album and the man on the moon trilogy, this song is a classic Cudi hym that tells us that we’re not alone regardless of what we face in life. What I liked most about this song was the message, and that’s why I rate it so highly. In this song Cudi expresses being content with the path he’s on at life and after everything he’s gone through, it makes me happy to finally hear that he’s found peace within himself. The song/album ends with his daughter Vada saying, “To be continued” and I can’t wait to see what Cudi has in store for us next. I just have a strong feeling that all of us Cudi fans are about to eat REAL GOOD.

There’s been a lot said about this album, good and bad but I feel this album is merely a taste of what’s to come. Is this record my favorite? No, but what I can say is that it’s an ALBUM, meaning it’s not a group of songs that you can easily separate like many others. This is the kind of album where you have to play the whole thing all the way through time in and time again to really get what Cudi was trying to convey. It’s not a record that you can just play a few times and be done with, no, it’s a grower. There were a lot of songs on this record that I did not like at first, but after having some time to let them marinate, they became some of my favorites and it made me truly appreciate Kid Cudi as an artist because people don’t make albums like this anymore. There’s rare artists that are this detailed with the way the songs transitions, the interludes, and how copacetic the album is in it’s entirety. This album was truly a gift and I can’t wait to see what else Cudi has left up his sleeve.

Top Favorite Songs

Another Day

Dive

Tequila Shots

Rockstar Knights

The Void

Mr. Solo Dolo III

Listen For Yourself Here!

#kid cudi #man on the moon 3 #man on the moon iii #motm3 #album review #2020 #motmiii

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cardio-and-coffee · 2 years

Text

Hi friends!

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything, much less did any consistent posting. A lot has changed! And like most people working on fitness and weight loss, it’s often been in phases for me.

Not ideal, but not uncommon!

Last summer I graduated college, got a full time job, and got my first apartment. So…a lot has changed!

After a lot of stress and a lot more slip ups, I’m finally back on track! For the hundredth time it feels like. But I’d rather give up and get back to it than give up for good.

I’ve been trying out intuitive eating, mostly just listening to my body and trying not to overeat. I’ve also been doing intermittent fasting, usually for 12-14 hours after dinner. Definitely planning on improving as far as diet/healthy eating goes.

But! What’s really motivated me recently is that I got into yoga, which turned into me getting into pop pilates! I watch a ton of Blogilates since I find her videos super helpful. They DEFINITELY help with building my muscles - I’m already feeling a lot tougher than before! Currently, I'm in her beginner's monthly calendar and honestly, it's the only time I've been able to stick to working out 4-5 times a week right off the bat. So I'd say something here is working!

All of this to say that well, I'm back! I missed posting on here but honestly it didn't feel right to post all this fitness and motivational stuff if I wasn't on track and sticking to it. And now that I feel confident that I can keep up what I've been doing (especially with all the big changes out of the way) it's time to do this again!

I'm going to try posting at least a few times a week. Lots of reblogs for sure but also, I want to do more personal posts like this since they really help me stay accountable and reflect on what's working well for me.

That's all! If you've read this far, thank you so so so much! I look forward to posting in the future for you!

#personal #chubby dork diaries #chubbydork #fitblr #weight loss #fitspiration #weight loss journey #health & fitness #motivation #running #health and fitness #fitspo #blogilates #intermittent fasting #fasting

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passionate-reply · 3 years

Video

youtube

“Why did Kraftwerk stop making albums?” they all ask, as though Karl Bartos isn’t right here, consistently kicking ass and making great music. If you’re hungry for more Kraftwerk goodness, specifically with an early 90s techno flair, you probably won’t do better than Esperanto, so come check it out! (Also featuring special guest star Andy McCluskey from OMD.) Full transcript below!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today, I’ll be talking about an album not too many people have heard, but that I think more people really should--especially fans of Kraftwerk. It’s Esperanto, the 1993 debut of Kraftwerk alumnus Karl Bartos’s project, Elektric Music. The production of the final classic-lineup Kraftwerk LP, 1986’s Electric Cafe, had been dominated by frustrating delays, rewrites, and remixes, and when all was said and done, the resulting album was a relative flop. By the time of the 1991 remix album The Mix, which seemed to end Kraftwerk’s career with a whimper, Bartos had grown alienated from founding members Ralf Huetter and Florian Schneider-Esleben, and fed up with their apparent lack of work ethic. He set out on his own, partnering with Lothar Manteuffel of the Neue Deutsche Welle act Rheingold, to form Elektric Music.

What I think really stands out about Esperanto first is its sense of freewheeling, unrestrained immediacy. For nearly a decade leading up to this album, Bartos had been working at the whim of others, waiting around, and feeling like he was spinning his wheels. Esperanto feels like a tightly coiled spring that’s finally being released. It’s dense, busy, in-your-face music that positively demands to be paid attention to.

Music: “Lifestyle”

Vibrating at the core of Esperanto is an undeniable Kraftwerk-esque sonic template: textural synth side-swipes, chattering vocoder-driven vocals, and hypnotic, mechanical rhythms. It’s natural to expect that rhythmic quality from Bartos, since he was chiefly brought on to provide percussion parts for Kraftwerk, but it’s also important to remember that he’s as interested in pop music as he is in classical. Both Bartos’s solo work, as well as the Kraftwerk tracks he had a hand in, emphasize melody, in a poppy, easy to love manner. The melodies here have some precedent in Bartos’s earlier work, but they’ve never been quite as punchy and vibrant before.

“Lifestyle” also makes early use of vocal chops, which contribute to that tight and busy feel, while also being a marked attempt at pushing this core sound into the musical future. Some of these specific samples are actually repeated across multiple tracks, if you listen closely--a sort of callback to the repeated melodic motives of the early Kraftwerk albums. “Information,” a high-concept eight-minute epic that the rest of the tracklisting pivots around, is even closer to being structured like “Trans-Europe Express”:

Music: “Information”

Bartos has never really ceased struggling under the weight of his Kraftwerk past, torn between indulging in these ideas and themes that come so naturally to him, and feeling obligated to set himself apart--as well as obligated to push the envelope and break new musical ground. Esperanto radiates and burns with that sense of conflict, which feels fresher and more raw, given the timeframe involved. This tension between working with and working against the Kraftwerk legacy is not only musical, but also thematic. Like the Kraftwerk albums, Esperanto is deeply concerned with the role technology plays in our lives...but it’s a lot less optimistic. Take, for instance, the opening track, “TV”:

Music: “TV”

“TV” is Esperanto at its most gloomy or melancholy, portraying the detached haze of modern lotus-eaters transfixed by the glowing screen. It’s an image that’s readily familiar and relatable to us today, of course, and it’s also one that runs contrary to the techno-utopianism of Kraftwerk, where home technologies offer hope of bringing people together rather than splitting them apart, and disconnecting them from the real world. If that wasn’t enough to convince you to read “TV” as an anti-Kraftwerk screed, the lyrics even point to “computer graphics” and “electric bands” as fodder for that destructively distracting entertainment. Ouch! Along somewhat similar lines is the track “Kissing the Machine”:

Music: “Kissing the Machine”

“Kissing the Machine” is also a sort of rebuttal of Kraftwerk tracks like “Computer Love,” demonstrating the pitiful perversion it really is to expect human, emotional fulfillment from a cold and sterile mechanical contraption. Whereas “TV” is more overtly downbeat, “Kissing the Machine” takes the route of dramatic irony, going for an eerily cheerful, naive sort of sound, painting its narrator as utterly oblivious to what they’re missing out on. You probably noticed that the vocalist on this track is actually not Bartos--it’s Andy McCluskey, best known as the frontman of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Like Manteuffel, McCluskey is a younger synth-pop artist whose career began in the 1980s, making music that owed quite a lot to what Kraftwerk had achieved before. Bringing on some slightly younger talent is not only a nod towards keeping up with the times, but also another jab at the legacy of Kraftwerk, who refused to collaborate with any other musicians, and at times even seemed loath to acknowledge how the art of electronic music had evolved in their wake. As the title of Esperanto implies, the theme of language is also prominent here, and that serves as yet another way in which the Kraftwerk philosophy is turned on its head, most notably in the title track:

Music: “Esperanto”

While many people assert that it’s more “authentic” to listen to Kraftwerk in German, they made consistent attempts to incorporate a wide variety of languages into their work. Besides the English-language versions of their LPs, Kraftwerk also sang in French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and even Japanese, to varying degrees. They were selling a vision of “Europe Endless” that was multicultural and multilingual, and seemed to have wanted people from all over the world to connect with them and feel included and represented in their future, rather than view them as some distant and peculiarly Teutonic phenomenon.

“Esperanto” flies in the face of the dream of linguistic unity. Esperanto itself is an artificial, constructed language, created by L. L. Zamenhof in the late 19th Century. Combining features from the most commonly spoken languages across the globe, and streamlining away things like irregular verbs, Esperanto was built from the ground up to become a true “universal language” for all of mankind, that was easy to learn and use. But despite the hopes of Zamenhof, whose name for his new tongue translates to English as “one who hopes,” it obviously never caught on. The most beautiful utopian vision in the world is still just a vision, and you can end up failing even if “you’ve got the perfect pitch.”

Kraftwerk’s longtime graphic designer Emil Schult, whose contributions to Kraftwerk’s signature aesthetic are nearly as important to their legacy as any of their music, returned to create the cover art of Esperanto. With its bright and simple red tone and strong use of diagonals, Esperanto’s cover art is clearly evocative of the iconic cover of Kraftwerk’s 1978 LP The Man-Machine, arguably the finest hour for the band as well as Schult. However, its abstract, non-figurative qualities set it apart from the work Schult and Bartos had done before, as Kraftwerk hadn’t made an album that didn’t feature their own faces front and center since 1975’s Radioactivity. The image of a rising sun is fitting for the idea of Bartos’s empowered return to music after a period of dormancy.

The world is full of people bemoaning the fact that Kraftwerk gave up on making new music, and the apparent irony of this band who appeared to be visiting from the future being absent from the world they helped create, in which “electronic music” has ceased to be a novelty and become a default. Karl Bartos may not be the most prolific artist in the world, but I’ve always seen him as the rightful heir to the Kraftwerk legacy, and I think his string of solo albums since leaving the band are the most worthy follow-ups that could ever have been paired with Kraftwerk’s classic run. Esperanto does everything you could possibly want a 1990s Kraftwerk album to do, staying true to that musical heritage while also pushing forward, and staking a place in the broader artistic conversation. I think everyone who identifies as a fan of Kraftwerk owes it to themself to give Esperanto a spin.

My favourite track on Esperanto is the closer, “Overdrive.” Unlike the readily apparent cynicism purveyed by tracks like “TV” and “Kissing the Machine,” “Overdrive” reads as a more complex perspective about technology and everyday life. It’s a portrayal of that all-too-modern scourge of overstimulation, that’s still ultimately a very exciting one, that sweeps you up in its triumphant “kiss of life.” Listening to its chaotic instrumental outro, I can’t help but feel that it leads directly into Bartos’s follow-up to Esperanto, 2003’s Communication--an album that would tackle the Internet age, and its inescapable virtual hustle and bustle, head-on. That’s all for today--thanks for watching!

Music: “Overdrive”

#music #great albums #album review #album reviews #karl bartos #kraftwerk #andy mccluskey #omd #orchestral manoeuvres in the dark #elektric music #techno #synth pop #synth-pop #synthpop

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floral-and-fine · 4 years

Text

Heaven Bent part 2

Daryl Dixon x female reader

Part 1

Summary: The reader finds Sophia lost in the woods, too bad neither of them have any sense of direction.

A/n: Thanks for the support on part 1! Daryl is probably the hardest character I've ever written for. I've got a lot of ideas for this fic, just hoping I stay motivated. Thanks @ewokiee for all the help especially when I’m stuck!

You groaned, rolling over to your side and snuggling further into the covers. This had to be the softest bed in the world, with fluffy plush pillows stuffed with down feathers under your head and a thick warm blanket draped over your body. You wanted nothing more than to stay here and never leave. God, this was a million times better than cold nights sleeping on the ground, this bed was heaven, absolute heaven.

However, how you got here though was still a bit foggy, the last thing you could remember was an angel with a horse coming to save you and Sophia. Maybe this truly was heaven you thought to yourself. Either way, you were better off here than you were in that forest.

You peeked an eye open as you heard the door creak. An old man with white hair stepped into the room. There was an air of wisdom and sensibility about him.

“God?” You whispered, sitting up slightly.

The man gave you a skeptical look. “You must still be delirious,” he mused. “I’m Hershel, and this is my home.”

You nodded, taking a better look around. The room was decorated nicely, a typical farmhouse interior with white trim around the doorframe and windows. Definitely a nice place though.

He walked over to the side of the bed and looked you over. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” you answered, stretching your arms above your head.

“Good,” Hershel muttered. “When you first got here you weren’t making a lick of sense. You and that girl were in those woods for at least a week.”

“How is she?”

“She’s going to be alright. She just needs to rest,” he explained. “Most people had given up hope on finding her, my guess is she would’ve died without your help.”

You nodded, satisfied knowing Sophia was going to be okay.“That reminds me,” you started. “Where’d my angel go?”

Hershel quirked an eyebrow. “Angel?” He repeated.

“Yeah, I was saved by an angel,” you explained, trying to remember what he looked like exactly. You recalled his wings and halo, and that he didn't quite act like an angel should.

Hershel stifled a laugh, “That man is a lot of things, but I doubt he’s any kind of angel.”

“I know, but he’s an angel to me,” You looked down fiddling with the blanket on your lap, “I’d like to thank him now that I’m thinking more clearly… I can’t remember if I did when he found us.”

Hershel nodded, “If I see him, I’ll send him this way. Trish will be bringing up something for you to eat and some clean clothes.”

“Thank you,” you smiled, your eyes meeting his before he left the room.

…

In long strides, Daryl headed towards the RV, wanting to check in real quick on Sophia and Carol.

The look on everyone’s face when he returned with her and a stranger ranged from genuine surprise to shock.

Carol ran as fast as she could, meeting him at the edge of the woods. Immediately she crumbled to her knees, crying, as Daryl placed Sophie in her arms, muttering thank you over and over again.

Other than Daryl, it seemed like no one else believed that Sophia was still alive out there, and most of them had given up on finding her too.

Daryl thought back to you, back to the way you smiled at him while you were delirious, it was an image he couldn’t get out of his head. He couldn’t remember a time anyone else ever looked at him like that.

Just as the RV was in sight, Daryl could overhear voices coming from the woods nearby. Carefully, he wandered over, curious as to who was being so secretive.

Even with their voices hushed, it didn’t take Daryl long to identify who was talking. He frowned to himself listening closer, it was Rick and Shane, and from the sound of it, they were fighting over something.

“So what? We’re supposed to take in every stray we meet?” Shane argued.

“She helped one of our own,” Rick reasoned, stepping forward. “Sophia is alive because of her. We owe it to this woman.”

“We aren’t living in that kind of world anymore,” Shane insisted, gritting his teeth.

“Take a look around you,” Rick hissed. “We’re here right now because of the decency of others, we aren’t those kinds of people, we aren’t animals, we aren’t just gonna abandon her.”

Daryl huffed as Shane tried to pull that same bullshit like he did over the search for Sophia. All that survival of the fittest crap. If that really were the case, their group would only consist of him, Rick, and Shane.

“Daryl should’ve left her in those woods,” Shane spat. “We can’t afford to have another mouth to worry about.”

Daryl clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white. Shane was really starting to show his true colors, a part of Daryl was beginning to think the group would be better off without that asshole.

Rick shook his head, he couldn’t believe Shane would even suggest telling that woman she had to go, to send her back out there on her own. And now this? Did he really think so little about the lives of others?

“I don’t know what your problem is, but all that shit about numbers or math or whatever ain’t right, she’s a person, a good person… She stays. End of story.”

Rick stared Shane down, making his point crystal clear. He knew the rest of the group would agree with him if it came to the point of getting the others involved. Rick had no idea what was going on inside Shane’s head, but it was sending him red flags.

Finally, Shane scoffed and stomped away, obviously still pissed off.

Sighing, Rick ran a hand over his face, he was going to need to keep a closer eye on Shane. This wasn’t the first time he’s made Rick worry. Shane was acting unpredictably lately, and some of his behavior was off the rails, there was no telling what he might do next.

Daryl started walking back the way he came, for a hot second there it seemed like things might have gotten ugly, in which he would’ve stepped in and backed Rick up.

…

You took another big bite of the apple Trish had brought up, moaning as you savored the taste, it felt like ages since you had fresh produce.

“You can take a shower in there,” Trish explained gesturing to the attached bathroom. She sat some clean clothes on the dresser for you. “Tried to find you some things in your size, hope they fit alright.”

Your eyes widened as you processed what she just said… you could take a shower? You almost wanted to celebrate over the news. Honestly, ever since waking up it felt like you had won some kind of lottery or a free vacation. You thanked her as she left the room.

The moment she was gone, you scurried out of the bed, stripping out of the dingy clothing you had been wearing for the last week. You could only imagine how terrible you smelled, surprised anyone welcomed you into such a nice home.

Turning on the faucet to the tub, you practically squealed when the water started heating up. Carefully, you removed your jewelry, setting it all down on the sink.

You couldn’t even describe the sound you made as you stepped in under the showerhead. It was a strange mix between a sigh, a laugh, and a moan.

A week’s worth of grime and dirt rinsed off your body and down the drain. You scrubbed every inch of yourself, wanting to make sure you took full advantage of this chance. Who knows if you’d be fortunate enough to meet anyone else with a working shower on your travels.

For a few extra minutes, you just stood under the running water, enjoying every second of warm water before finally getting out of the shower.

…

“Ah, there you are,” Hershel said as Daryl approached the house. The old man was sitting in a chair on the porch, keeping an eye on Rick’s group. “Our new guest was asking for you.”

Daryl narrowed his eyes, unsure what you’d want from him.

"She seems to think she and that little girl have a guardian angel looking out for them," Hershel chuckled.

Daryl scowled. "Don't know what you're talkin' 'bout," he grumbled, climbing up the steps of the porch.

Being inside the farm house made Daryl feel uncomfortable like he was too dirty or something. All his life he couldn’t remember being welcomed into a house this nice looking.

Careful not to touch anything, he started going up the stairs. He didn’t even dare to touch the white banister, worried that he was tracking in dirt on his boots.

He knocked on the door and stuffed his hands back into pockets.

“Come in,” you called, still drying your hair. You were grinning like an idiot when Daryl stepped in. “There’s my angel!” You announced.

"Will you knock it off with all that angel crap?" Daryl demanded trying his best to be intimidating and tough.

You giggled, setting the towel down, and approached him. Your eyes and smile were the same, the exact same as they had been the first time you had mistaken him for an angel. He’d never admit it out loud, but he liked it, the way that you saw him.

“Why? As far as I’m concerned you’re heaven sent. Without you, me and Sophia would’ve died out there.”

Daryl turned his head away, rubbing the back of his neck, he’d be damned if he allowed you to catch him blushing.

“Anyways, I asked for you, cause I wanted to say thank you,” you explained, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder, right before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks,” you murmured.

Daryl scoffed, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand. “It was nothin’.”

You shook your head, “it wasn’t nothing.”

His piercing eyes met yours and your heart practically stopped. Just as you were about to lean forward again, Daryl cleared his throat, “you oughta put on a shirt, before going out there.”

You laughed, grabbing the white tee off the dresser, you were too distracted by Daryl to realize you were only wearing pants and a bra.

He rolled his eyes and left the room closing the door behind him. As you were pulling the shirt over your head you could hear him slowly descending the stairs muttering something to himself.

…

“You mean it?” You asked Rick flabbergasted, worried you didn’t hear him right. “Are you really saying I can stay with you all?”

“I am,” Rick nodded. “As far as I’m concerned you're one of us.”

With an excited shriek, you slung your arms around his neck in a quick hug. “Thank you!”

Rick laughed and patted your back.

You were ecstatic, when he asked to speak with alone and had pulled you to the side away from everyone, you assumed he was going to tell you that you had to go. But instead you received the best news imaginable for your situation.

As you pulled away from Rick, you felt someone watching you, it made the hairs on the back of your neck stand.

Looking around you saw a man with a buzzed haircut who was stalking off, he hadn’t spoken a word to you or bothered to introduce himself, but you heard the others refer to him as Shane. His body language was very aggressive, he was definitely pissed about something.

Once he was out of sight, you rubbed your arms up and down getting rid of the goosebumps that had appeared and made a mental note to avoid that man as much as possible. Whoever he was, he was giving off some serious bad vibes and nothing good was going to come of it.

“Did he tell you!?” An excited voice screeched, snapping you out of your stupor. Two thin arms wrapped around your middle, hugging you tightly.

You laughed, “he did!”

“So that means you’re staying with us, right?” Sophia asked, practically squeezing the life out of you.

“Yep.”

Looking up from Sophia, you saw her mother standing nearby, a soft smile on her face as she watched the two of you.

You gave her a small wave, before returning Sophia’s hug.

…

You settled into a routine with the group rather quickly, helping out with whatever you could from laundry to going on runs with Glenn. They were all friendly people for the most part with the exception of Shane.

Anytime the man was around, it put you on edge even with the others around. It seemed pretty apparent that he didn’t like you much, he’d seem perfectly fine until he noticed that you were nearby. All you could hope for was that he wouldn’t try to persuade Rick to force you to leave.

You were humming a random song to yourself while hanging laundry on the clothesline. It was a good day for it, plenty of sunshine and even a nice breeze, these clothes would dry in no time.

Reaching down into the wicker basket, you pulled out a white t-shirt, as you were pinning it to the line someone grabbed your forearm.

You gasped, where the hell did Shane come from?

“Shane,” you stuttered, wrenching your arm out of his grasp. “You scared me.”

He looked down at you, his eyes full of hatred towards you. “You’re going to get us all killed.”

You furrowed your brow, “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb,” He snapped, shaking his head. “Not everyone is capable of surviving this… you’re weak…”

You shrunk back, worried that whatever you did or tried next would only set him off.

He took another step forward, “I’ll be damned if I let you risk it for the rest of us.”

Daryl's eyes narrowed as he came out of the woods. His grip on his crossbow tightening. Your body language alone was enough for him to notice that you were uncomfortable.

“Hey!” Daryl shouted. “Thought you wanted me to teach you how to skin an animal.” He held up the rabbits he just caught.

You blinked in surprise, looking at Daryl, his expression was practically murderous as he stared at Shane, who immediately backed off, taking a few steps away from you.

“Well I ain’t got all day,” Daryl complained, gesturing for you to come with him.

Finally, it dawned on you what he was doing.

“R-Right,” you squeaked, quickly shuffling away and over to Daryl. You kept your head down, still feeling Shane’s eyes on you.

“C’mon,” Daryl said, gently placing a hand on your upper back and guiding you back towards the RV.

“Thanks, Angel,” you murmured, once you believed you were far away enough that Shane couldn’t hear you.

“Don’t mention it,” he muttered, turning around and giving Shane a dirty look. The next time that asshole decides to corner you like that, Daryl was going to beat the shit out of him.

Tags: @xaestheticalien @twdeadfanfic @amaroho

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