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seresinhangmanjake · 2 months

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Not Your Type: Part 2

Jake Seresin x goth girl!reader

Summary: Jake Seresin doesn’t usually have to try hard to get women, but the only woman to catch his attention in a long time doesn’t want anything to do with him.

Written in the form of sharing milestones of their relationship as it develops. For example - Day 1: the day they meet; Day 3x: the day they (...); Day 5xx: the day they (...); and so on.

Notes/Warnings: Jake being annoying but also desperate. Cursing.

Words: 2990

Full Masterlist

Day 14:

“What do we want for this round, girls?” Gemma asks. She stands, albeit a tad unsteadily, at the edge of your booth with her hands on her hips, ready to take your order as if the Hard Deck provides her with biweekly paychecks.

She’s been in California all of three days; she and Lola—friends from your hometown who were in desperate need of a change of scenery and accepted the offer of your extra bedrooms. And as usual, Gemma effortlessly embraced her new environment within the first twenty-four hours of her arrival. To onlookers, you imagine that of the three of you, she would be the assumed local.

“More of this fruity stuff, whatever it is,” Lola says around the thin straw clenched between her teeth as she nurses the current ‘fruity stuff’ in her glass.

Gemma looks to you with a raised brow, but you shake your head, tapping your nail against your soda cup. “I’m good.”

“Party pooper,” she playfully sighs, flipping a section of deep purple hair over her shoulder and turning in the direction of the bar.

Getting the drinks was meant to be your job—a welcoming treat after their exhausting move—but Gemma got a peek at the bartender, and by exercising the magical abilities that come with her smile, has spent half the night providing the three of you with free alcohol and fountain sodas.

“I’m the DD!” you call after her, but as is the case on most Friday nights at the Hard Deck, the volume of the room devours your voice before it can reach her.

“She’s gonna go after that bartender the second his shift is over,” Lola tells you. “Poor guy has no idea who he’s dealing with.”

“No,” you agree, chuckling and rapidly recalling the string of heartbroken men who would reach out to you or Lola in the hopes of getting ahold of Gemma after she’d ghosted them. “But they never do, and unfortunately, they never learn.”

“You know, I’ve been told I’m a phenomenal learner,” you hear, but it’s a much deeper sound than the curly-haired woman at your side is able to produce. The unexpected addition makes the sip of soda in your mouth travel down the wrong pipe, throwing you into a coughing fit.

“Oh, shit,” the voice rushes out, snatching a napkin from the next booth and thrusting it in your face. You take it to muffle the sharp choking noises fighting their way out of your windpipe. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

You scold yourself for not realizing he was here before he made himself known. It was almost two hours ago that you began feeling that same burning sensation from a couple of weeks ago, but you thought little of it, having scanned the room for him when you first arrived at the bar. You even opted to sit facing the front door, figuring you wouldn’t miss it if he entered, but he still managed to sneak in. He still found you. He still affects you.

As you recover your breathing, he extends his hand past you toward Lola. “I’m Jake.”

“Lola,” she replies, shaking his hand as she glances at you.

You let out a final cough, dabbing a napkin at the corner of your mouth then wiping it just under your waterline to pick up your tears. “Fuck,” you mumble.

“Name a time and a place, sweetheart, and I’m all yours.”

Lola snorts with her lips around her straw. Her following giggle makes air bubbles burst from her shallow glass. Stray droplets splash onto the table, a few soaking into the sleeve of your top.

You have no time to decide who is more deserving of your glare—Traitor Friend or Ken Doll—before Gemma’s return. As she slides into the seat opposite yours, she’s so focused on keeping liquids from sloshing over rims that she doesn’t notice the intruder.

“Fruity thing for Lo,” she pushes the glass to Lola who eagerly accepts a fresh drink, “spicy thing for me, and, tragically, nothing for the DD.”

When she finally senses the vibe at the table—greatly altered from what she left behind a few minutes prior—she turns her head. The surprise in her expression settles into subtle excitement as she rakes her eyes up Jake’s body to his face. With that wicked smile of hers, she plants her elbow on the wooden surface and rests her chin atop the back of her hand.

“And what would you like?” she teases in a low, seductive tone.

“Just a chance to talk with your verbally vicious friend,” he says, jutting his chin in your direction.

“This is Jake,” Lola informs her.

“Jake?” Gemma questions you, cocking her head in genuine curiosity. “You’ve never mentioned a Jake.”

“He isn’t worth mentioning.”

Jake smirks through the jab. “You know, you don’t have to repeatedly stab me in the chest.”

“You’re the one who keeps standing in front of my knife,” you shoot back, crossing your arms.

There’s not a single uttering from the group of four as Lola and Gemma stare at you and Jake staring at each other. Neither of you is willing to break eye contact, and the tension becomes heavy, like rich honey—thick enough to drag your finger through.

“Can we talk privately?” Jake then asks, that smirk still in place. He looks away from you only to address your friends. “You ladies don’t mind if I borrow her, do you?”

“Not at all,” Gemma answers, each word out of her mouth a little less crisp than the last. “As long as you borrow me next.”

“Gemma!” you snap. “Not this one.”

“But he’s so hot,” she whines.

“I’ll cut you off.”

She gasps. Then her bottom lip protrudes in a pout, and her hands cradle her glass as she pulls it closer to her chest protectively.

“That’s a very flattering offer, if we can call it that,” Jake says. “However, that guy over there, the one with the outdated mustache,” he steps aside and points to the friend you recognize from the other night. The brunet’s cheeks redden and he quickly jerks his head in the opposite direction of Gemma’s prying gaze. “He’s been having a hell of a time trying to keep his eyes off you tonight. Just can’t help himself.”

Jake shakes his head, clicks his tongue, and faces your table again. “Honestly, I know the feeling,” he says. His eyes connect with yours, puzzle pieces locking together until the burn starts to sear too deep and you have to look away. “It’s a tough spot to be in,” he continues. “And I can’t in good conscience move in on the girl whose laugh has made another man blush three times within the last hour.”

Just like that, Gemma is over Jake. Other than the pang of relief you feel, you don’t think anything of her swift attention shift until five seconds, then ten, then fifteen pass without her ceasing her careful examination of Jake’s friend.

“Will you come with me?” Jake asks you. “I promise I won’t keep you long.”

You chew on your lip, trying to ignore his pull.

“Lola, you think she should come with me, right?” he says.

Lola doesn’t glance his way as she runs her finger along the rim of her glass to collect the leftover grains of sugar. “Secondary locations are very suspicious, Jake,” she says before pressing her fingertip onto her tongue.

“We won't go far.”

Lola raises a brow at you and you sigh. “He's annoying but I'm pretty sure he's safe,” you tell her.

Jake smiles; another thing you don’t have to see to know it’s there. You feel that grin just from its power alone.

Standing, you straighten out your skirt, your fingers running down the dark material that flares from mid-waist to mid-thighs. Your belt is purely decorative, with consecutive overlapping chains that wrap around the band of your skirt and a tiny, crescent moon charm that dangles a bit lower than the rest. As you adjust the belt so the charm rests where it is supposed to at your hip, you catch Jake’s fixed stare on your movements.

You don’t know what he’s thinking. You remind yourself that you don’t care.

“I'll be back in a minute, Lo,” you promise. “Gem, do you intend to blink any time soon?”

Gemma doesn’t turn. Jake’s friend has found a bit of boldness and no longer avoids her eyes. “No,” she says, waving you off. “Have fun.”

Jake tucks his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I was thinking the deck since it's on the beach.”

Ignoring his suggestion, you begin to walk in the direction of the front door. He follows into the chill of Evening’s breeze and you suck in a refreshing breath. Was it always so suffocating in there?

“Ok, what do you want?” you ask once you’ve walked far enough to avoid blocking the entrance.

Jake remains a good six feet from you. His hands haven’t left his pockets. “To apologize, for starters,” he says.

“For?”

“Bothering you the other night.”

“So you decided to bother me again tonight?”

Jake’s lips part to respond, but he pauses, mouth snapping shut. Glancing down at the gravel by your boots, his brow pinches as his actions sink in. “Ok, ‘bother’ wasn't really what I was going for a second time around, but in hindsight–”

“If that was just your starter, what’s the rest?”

He looks at you with a tick of false innocence that rapidly dies under the weight of mischievousness, and you prepare yourself for what he’s about to deliver. “Maybe I shouldn’t say,” he teases, smile budding, teeth showing. “Maybe I should prolong the suspense.”

You fold your arms over your chest. “Do you remember what I said about wasting my time?”

“Something about my ego suffering the consequences,” he replies. “Even though you’ve had my ego in a choke-hold since you threw around that whole ‘I’ve noticed you but you’ve never noticed me’ thing.”

That, you didn’t expect. You didn’t expect him to remember everything you’d said, or care. But neither did you expect him to approach you after that night, so you suppose he’s full of surprises. You're just not sure if you like them.

“Oh?”

He nods. “Yea, that one…that one was a thinker, for sure. Haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, actually.”

“Why?”

He sighs and drops eye contact. Like it’s too hard to maintain. Like he’s ashamed or confused or contemplating, or all three. Then he wets his bottom lip with a dart of his tongue; he draws that lip between his teeth, biting down; he barely shakes his head before he rejoins your gazes.

“Because I look at you now, and I don’t understand how it was possible,” he admits.

Your breath hitches. Your heartbeat trips, tumbling over itself, and you will it to find its proper pace before you dare open your mouth.

“Anyway,” Jake says to fill the gap that was meant for your response, “I also wanted to ask you out. On a date.”

You blink hard. Long beats snail along as you process the lunacy of that statement. “Has anything I've said to you indicated that I would ever agree to a date?”

He shrugs. “No, but it was either try once more and see if I have a chance with you, or don't try at all.”

For a man you’ve witnessed succeed in his every attempt at wooing women until you, you won’t deny that what he’s doing is gutsy and, you suppose, unworthy of being shamed. He’s resilient, determined, and you have great respect for perseverance, but in this case, it's not sufficient to rearrange your perception of him.

“Do you even know my name?” you ask. “I never told you.”

He smiles; not broadly, not boastfully, but gently, sweetly, as if reliving a memory. “I asked Penny after you left that night,” he tells you. “It’s beautiful. Suits you.”

Your woven arms tighten, pointed nails digging into your bicep. Don’t shiver, you command your body. Don’t show the tingling chill he just shot up your spine and through your limbs. You try swallowing through the ghost-like grip he suddenly has on your throat. The light grasp of wispy fingers that don’t aim to choke, but simply rest around the column. Possessive but not controlling. Also not really there. And you don’t appreciate the growing strength of his power to touch you without you being within reaching distance.

The problem is, men don’t compliment you. Well, they do, but not like this. They compliment tits and ass and legs and face. They compliment clothes that they imagine ripping off, and makeup they hope they can ruin by the end of the night. Your name doesn’t often come to mind, and the ones who do ask for it, don’t ever use it again. That’s part of why you didn’t give it to Jake when he had asked.

And then he went over your head. Fuck this guy.

“Before you say anything else—I’m willing to earn it.”

Your brows raise halfway up your forehead. “You're willing to earn it,” you repeat. “Why? You don't know me, and I have a feeling you understand that using me to prove some kind of point to yourself or your friends will only get you castrated.”

“I wouldn't have guessed castration, specifically, but that does seem in character,” he says.

He steps closer. His arm moves toward you, hand prepared to plant itself on your forearm, but at the last second, he thinks better of it and drops that limb back to his side. His fingers ball into a fist that tightens and loosens and tightens and loosens. He doesn’t know that you see him doing it, and then it stops. “Look, when you said that you're not my type, you were right. You were right. You're not right anymore. You only weren't my type because I'd never seen you before.” He takes a breath. “But I know I could swear that up and down, right here, right now, and you wouldn't believe me; not really; maybe not at all. So I have to prove it, don't I? I have to earn it.”

He seems to have forgotten that you know, and have known, who he is for months. Observation reveals more about a person than getting to know them firsthand. The Observed can’t pick and choose what they share with you to aid their desires and goals. In their cluelessness, they lose all defenses, all illusions, and Jake is no exception.

You’ve watched him pursue and flirt and conquer. You’ve watched him in the aftermath of the pursuing and flirting and conquering. You’ve watched his strategy of radiating cockiness to draw them in. There are the laughs, the winks, the tamed touches that bring out blushes, all of which join together until it’s the woman—and all of the near carbon copies of that woman—who takes the lead, pulling him into the bathroom or onto the back deck or out the front door. He’s tricky like that, but you’re not easily tricked.

“Have you considered that maybe you are not my type?” you ask.

“I have, actually. It was a very troubling thirty seconds.”

“Thirty seconds of consideration?” Your head tilts. “Is that all?”

Jake acknowledges the offense you’ve taken. He doesn’t apologize but the disappointment in himself is palpable enough to satisfy you. But then he says, “Would you have come out here if you weren't attracted to me?”

And now you’re disappointed in yourself, because, no, you wouldn’t have come with him if you weren’t attracted to him. Attraction and curiosity convinced you more than his words, and therein lies the problem. One problem. One of many.

“I shouldn't have.”

“But you did,” he says. His tone is low but it packs the punch of an exclamation point. You’re going to be hearing it for days. “Doesn’t that count for something?”

You sigh and let your arms unweave, falling at your sides. “I…” you begin, but you shake your head. You need to say this right. “Attraction is basic. It’s human. It’s all up in our personal space at all times. If that counted for anything, I’d be dating half of the usuals in the bar.”

You know the same goes for him. He finds a new woman to be attracted to whenever he walks into the Hard Deck and you’d be hard-pressed to believe that doesn’t extend to every room he enters. So you leave it at that and twist on your heel to head back inside.

You hear a crunch of gravel as he takes a step after you. “Will you at least think about it? Please.”

Not stopping to answer, you reach for the handle of the door. “Have a good night, Jake,” you toss over your shoulder.

Being inside the bar does not stop your heart from thumping or your mind from racing through a jumble of thoughts that are no easier untangled than the voices around you, and it’s too much. So to avoid exhausting yourself, you shove those thoughts aside in favor of directing your attention to more important things, like one-third of your trio missing from the booth.

“Where’s Gem?”

Lola nods her head and you follow.

Across the bar, Gemma has Jake’s dark-haired friend leaning against the wall, her palms braced on his chest. One of his hands rests at her waist and the other is at the side of her neck just under her jaw, his fingers hidden by the curtain of her hair. There’s an oddness to their kissing. It is very non-Gemma kissing. They kiss freely like no one is around, but it’s not an attack of teeth and lip tugging or sloppy tongues; it’s slow, sensual. It clashes with the room.

“I was gone for five minutes,” you say.

Lola shrugs. “She only needed four.”

---

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#jake seresin x reader #jake seresin #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin #top gun maverick #jake seresin fic #top gun #jake hangman seresin fic #top gun hangman #jake hangman seresin x y/n #jake seresin x goth girl!reader #jake seresin fanfic #jake seresin fanfiction #tgm #tgm fic

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lazyjellyfish300 · 5 months

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DD part 2

Fem Reader x Miguel O'Hara who is your Uber Driver

**image is not mine, from a Google search, all credit to respective owners**

Plot- reader drinks too much and the bartender calls a random Uber for her which happens to be Miguel O'Hara himself. Her friends suck and ditch her. There's a lot of tension on the ride home.

Part 1 , Pt 3 1, Part 3 2, Part 4 , Part 5

T/W 18+ only, minors DNI, alcohol mentioned, mature language, implied masturbation, sexual fantasies, vomit, age gap (reader 26, Miguel 34)

Thank you to everyone who expressed interest in this story so much that I decided to change it from a one shot to a series🖤

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

The following day...

You slowly rose from the dead at 2 pm with a hangover from hell, your stomach lopsided, prompting you to bolt to the toilet. After an unpleasant upchuck and rinsing with Listerine, you couldn't help but smile as you looked in the mirror, still shrouded in Miguel's oversized hoodie. You threw your hair in a messy bun and shuffled into the kitchen. You curse when you find out you're all out of bottled water. You pour yourself a tall glass from the tap and try your best to gulp it down without thinking about the weird metallic taste.

Last night's events slowly start coming back into focus. You were so obsessed with what happened with Miguel that you completely forgot it was due to your friends ditching you. You run back in your room, grunting in annoyance when you realize your dumb ass forgot to charge your phone overnight. You wait impatiently for the battery to creep up to 1% so you can turn it back on. Eager to see if Miguel tried to contact you after the encounter, somehow, some way. As your phone loads, your stomach drops in disappointment when you see that you have no notifications from Miguel, which turns to resentment when you realize your so-called friends didn't even bother trying to call or text you either to make sure you at least got home.

You sigh and flop back on the bed. You double check the Uber app and your heart rate increases when you see that you can report a "lost item" to get in contact again.

Noooo remember girl, let him come to you. Do you really wanna be the one that reaches out first when he turned down a kiss from you last night? But wait, he was a gentleman. Maybe he was just trying not to be an ass or give you the wrong idea since you were intoxicated...He literally wiped taco sauce from your mouth and licked it off his finger for fuck's sakes!

How could someone be so goddamn hot, kind, and gentlemanly at the same time? And what brought him to do all those things for you of all people?

You go to the help section of the app and realize that Miguel can't contact you. Since you're the rider, any personal info won't be shared with him besides your pickup and drop off location, unless you reach out about an issue.

Fuck me! You suddenly feel like you're in middle school again trying to talk to a cute guy.

For the love of God, do it!! Worst he can say is no? That's exactly what I'm scared of, dummy!

Oh no, it's ringing!

-----mini time jump backwards to that night-----

After dropping you off, Miguel arrived back to his apartment about 3 am, teeming with want for your soft skin. He laid down in his dark room with the lights off and flashes of you two together entered his mind.

Breathing into each other's mouths as if the heat between you was the only thing keeping each other warm. Marking you with little red and purple bites of love. Him grabbing your jaw with his fingers, while you desperately sputtered his name, not letting you look anywhere else but at him. Gentle sounds of your love ringing off the walls in varying volumes.

He pictured your beautiful face looking up at him while he murmured how beautiful you looked and what a goddess you were.

He imagined spending all night with you just like this, burning memories of your skin into his mind that he’d replay whenever he needed you like a faulty record.

His fists clenched in frustration. All of those fantasies would have came true if he wasn't such a fucking coward tonight.

After you two would have made love, he imagined taking care of you afterwards. Hearing your soft, beautiful voice as you two shared pillow talk while he planted wet kisses on your shoulder. Playing with your hair, sleeping naked together. Maybe letting things get heated in the bathroom one more time before washing each other's bodies afterwards.

Tiredness got the best of him and he drifted off to sleep, imagining you in his arms...

-----back to the following afternoon -----

Conchata O'Hara's heeled boots echoed down the marble hallway to Miguel's apartment, her 6 year old granddaughter, Gabriella in tow. Gabi was an adorable, soft spoken little girl. She was musing to her grandma about her friend Peyton's birthday party as they came up to Miguel's door. Conchata was a striking woman. If you saw her you could tell the lion's share of Miguel's good looks came from her. She could have been a former Miss Universe. She stood at 6'1, a long tan trenchcoat over a black turtle neck, with grey slacks, two chopsticks securing her greying raven hair in a bun as two stray wisps of hair grazed her face in front. Laugh lines adorning the corner of her eyes.

Miguel jerked awake when he heard his doorbell. He forgot to set his alarm for when his mother brought his daughter home from their sleepover. Conchata was always happy to watch her precious granddaughter while Miguel worked. Conchata's brow raised as she realized her son wasn't awake. Finally, Miguel opened the door, Gabi squealing in delight. "Daddy!"

"Hey, bumblebee!" Miguel scooped her up, hugging her tight. It was difficult to be away from her, even if he knew it was only because he needed to provide for them financially. Conchata smiled and walked in. Miguel gave his mom a kiss on the cheek, towering over her despite her height as well.

"Long night, mijo?" She asked in a regal voice.

"Ma.." Miguel sighed. She always treated him like a young boy instead of a grown man.

"I raised you better than this!" She tsked at the sight of dishes in the sink.

"Mama," Miguel said tiredly. "I was working until 3 am, I haven't had a chance to get to those." Conchata looked at him as if she was trying to see through him.

"Did you have a girl over?" Miguel sighed and looked at Gabi.

"Mija, why don't you go play in your room and get your Barbies." Gabi's eyes lit up and she giggled as she ran for her room.

"Ma, please don't talk about that around Gabi..." Miguel said as he started to wash the dishes.

"You just seemed off." Conchata said. "What's going on in your head? I can never read you these days. I worry, you know."

"Maybe I did meet someone, ma."

Conchata's eyes widened and at that moment, Miguel's phone rang.

"Perdóname..Hello?" Miguel walks outside onto his balcony, shutting the sliding door on a bewildered Conchata.

Your voice sunk to the bottom of your stomach when you heard Miguel's attractive voice on the other line.

"Hi, Miguel, it's me, y/n from last night..."

Miguel's face started to turn into a smile. "Hey, it's so good to hear from you. Are you feeling better this morning?"

"Yeah, yeah I am. Thanks so much again, I mean, for everything. I just had to tell you that."

"Well, of course. It's my pleasure to do that for you."

There was a long, painful, pregnant pause.

"Is..that all you wanted to tell me?" He asked softly.

"Well...I mean, yeah pretty much you know I just felt bad and..

"Y/n?"

Your heart stops at the sound of your name.

"I enjoyed our time together last night and, if you're open to it, I'd like to get to know you better. Can I take you out sometime?"

You felt your internal organs do a victory dance. "Oh, YEAH, I mean, I'd love that. When would you like to?"

Miguel thought for a moment. "Would Wednesday night work? It's a little strange, I know. My schedule is kind of hectic. But maybe we could grab dinner. Do you like Italian food?"

"I do! Wednesday sounds great!" You say without checking your schedule.

"Wonderful."

You two exchange numbers and make plans to meet Wednesday night. Once you both hang up you're both experiencing a mixture of giddiness, relief and anticipation for your first date.

Wednesday couldn't come soon enough.

----

Thank you for reading! Pt 3 coming soon 🖤

#miguel o'hara #miguel x reader #miguel atsv #miguel o'hara x reader #SoundCloud

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petermorwood · 1 year

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Just out of the oven - a new recipe for a herb loaf which smells great, but is too hot to taste just yet.

Patience, patience... :->

The original recipe comes from one of @dduane‘s collection of comb-bound community cookbooks, being modified for use in Food & Cooking of the Middle Kingdoms.

This is the first time making it, and - Middle Kingdoms again - there are already a few substitutions to move further away from the Italian-influenced original. I’m sure there’ll be other changes before it finally goes onto the website, so treat the following recipe as a First Draft...

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 Tbsp white sugar

1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast

3 cups bread flour

1/4 cup grated hard cheese (DD used Parmesan, though mature Cheddar or white Stilton would also work)

2 Tbsps oil (DD used pumpkin seed oil) ETA: thanks to me putting it away and not saying where, she couldn’t find it and used olive oil for this loaf

1 tsp salt

1/2 Tbsp each dried herbes de provence, thyme, chilli flakes, savory, tarragon

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

Method:

Mix the warm water, sugar, and yeast together in a large bowl and wait until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

Stir 1 cup flour, all the cheese, oil, salt, herbs, garlic and onion powders into the yeast mixture, then gradually mix in the remaining flour until incorporated; the dough will be stiff.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and silky, which should take 5 to 10 minutes (DD used a Kenwood stand mixer with dough hook, and kneading took 7 minutes at slow speed).

Place the dough into an oiled bowl and turn until the entire surface is coated, then cover with a damp dish towel and let it rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down to release excess air; shape into a loaf and place into a greased 5- x 9-inch loaf pan (DD rolled the dough into a sausage shape and put it on a baking sheet) then let it rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Beat an egg and brush this wash onto the loaf, sprinkle on some herbs and Maldon salt, slash 3 or 4 times with a sharp knife or breadmaker’s lame and transfer at once to the oven.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown.

When done, remove from the pan or baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing. (We’ve put ours in a bread bag and are leaving it overnight to let the crust soften a little; right now it’s so hard and brittle that slicing will cause a messy blizzard of fragments.)

#food and drink #breadmaking #herb loaf #food and cooking of the middle kingdoms

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apollosgiftofprophecy · 1 year

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Kidnappers: We have your son.

Zeus: I have lots of sons. You have to be more specific.

Kidnappers: He's been singing Toxic on a loop for 4 hours.

Zeus: Oh my gods you have Apollo.

Zeus:

Zeus: Keep him.

Kidnappers: No, please, TAKE HIM BACK! HE'S DRIVING US CRAZY.

Zeus: HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL

-----------Alternatively-------------

Kidnappers: We have your son.

Leto: Oh my gosh you have Apollo.

Kidnappers: W-wait, how did you know that-

Leto: I have 1 son and that is definitely Apollo singing Toxic in the background.

Kidnappers: Please take him back he's been singing it on loop for 4 hours he's driving us crazy!

Leto: Can I speak to him on the phone real quick? To check on him? He's my only son you know.

Kidnappers: Uh, sure?

Apollo, really high and happy: HI MOM! :DD :DDDD

Leto: Hi sweetheart!

Apollo: I LOVE YOU SO MUCH SMNF

Leto: awww, love you to sweetie <3

Leto:

Leto: I want you to drive those nasties crazy, okay?

Apollo: OKAY MOM :D :DDD

*incoherent screaming is heard as Apollo's singing increases in volume*

Leto: that's my baby

Leto, throwing shades on: and no one messes with my baby.

#all hail leto #apollo #zeus #leto #incorrect greek mythology quotes #incorrect greek mythology #incorrect greek myth quotes #apollo deity #zeus deity #leto deity #greek gods #greek mythology #greek myths #greek titans #greek goddesses #ancient greece #ancient greek

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rainbowsky · 7 months

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hi Rbs,

there is a conspiracy theory going around on twitter that GG is reported for tax evasion, is it true?

Actually, it's worse than that. 😔

Both GG and DD have been reported.

HOWEVER. The reports are clearly fishing expeditions, maliciously submitted by anti-fans. To be clear: There is no credible information that either GG or DD is involved in any wrongdoing.

The initial report was done against GG by a DD fan, and in retaliation, someone reported DD using the same methods.

The reports are general and vague, saying basically, "This guy has made so much money, he's got so many endorsements, surely somewhere along the way he's cheating on his taxes." In essence, they're calling on the government to audit GG and DD.

The way things work in China, anyone can make a report and the government encourages people to report each other. It's pretty toxic and awful, to be honest.

Reports done anonymously tend not to be taken as seriously as reports that are accompanied by the real name and ID of the person making the report. In the case of Song Zuer who was recently reported, she was reported by someone connected to her company, which lends more credibility to the allegations because it's possible that person was close enough to her operations to have potentially witnessed some wrongdoing.

The other reason that 'real name' reports are taken more seriously is that if someone makes a baseless report they can be sued for 'reputation damage' by the person or company that was reported. Therefore the thinking is, "No one would make a real name report unless they were sure there was wrongdoing."

In this case, both the reports against GG and DD were 'real name' reports, so theoretically GG and DD could sue the people who reported them if it turns out that the reports were false or malicious.

But now we get to the deeper issue - why the reports were made in the first place.

People make reports like this in hopes that the rumors, negative publicity and speculation will kill the target's career.

In China - especially with the economic struggles burdening ordinary people - any 'rich celebrity' thought to have been evading taxes is massively hated by the general public. Brands and backers will step away from that star in order to avoid risk.

And there doesn't have to be any clear evidence of wrongdoing for that backlash to happen. Song Zuer's case hasn't been concluded (and therefore nothing has been proved against her) yet she's already dealing with fallout from the report against her.

And that, in truth, is why it's safe for these assholes to make false, baseless reports against GG and DD. Because they know neither of them is likely to sue. Both GG and DD are going to want to avoid the negative publicity and speculation about them, so there are not likely to be any consequences for these antis. Not unless serious reputational damage occurs, in which case the damage will have already been done and the anti's mission will have already been accomplished.

Can this harm GG and DD?

Yes, it absolutely can. In a couple of different ways:

1] The rumors alone could seriously harm them

If the story starts gaining traction, even on the basis of these obviously false, ridiculous reports, any public buzz about GG and DD evading taxes could be enough to seriously damage and even destroy their careers.

This doesn't seem likely, though, because the reports are obvious bullshit. In the case of Song Zuer, the report involved detailed allegations from someone who had worked for/with her. In both GG and DD's reports, the information is vague and generalized, and the reports come from obvious antis.

The story hasn't been getting a lot of attention and will hopefully blow over.

2] An audit could put them at risk

Because they are 'real name' reports, the government might decide to take them seriously and audit GG and DD's business and financial dealings. And because of the likely volume of transactions, vendors, partners, contracts, etc. and because of the way business is done in China, it's possible an error or violation could be found.

If a thorough audit of every aspect of their dealings is conducted, they and everyone working for/with them will need to have had a totally immaculate record of every transaction and every receipt, the phrasing of every contract must be absolutely perfect, the math on every transaction will have to have been perfect, etc. in order for them to be in the clear.

Even if GG and DD and those closest to them are incredibly diligent and aboveboard on everything they do, it's possible that someone connected to them let something slide or failed to follow correct procedures somewhere along the way. If that happens, they could end up on the hook for something they were unaware of and didn't directly sign off on.

GG and DD and those they've worked with will need to have never made any mistakes or slacked off on anything ever in order for them to be totally safe. It might be impossible for that to be true for even the most upright and diligent of people.

And there is financial incentive for auditors to find even small errors, because that can mean huge fines - aka huge revenue - for a government that is currently strapped for cash.

Even a relatively minor violation or error of this sort could potentially seriously harm GG and DD's careers and reputations. The public isn't going to care that a transaction was incorrectly recorded or filed by accident or because of an error or misunderstanding. All they're going to hear is "So-and-so fined for 'irregular transactions'" or whatever, and they're going to assume the worst.

Brands and backers are increasingly risk-averse, and will step away from any artist who is involved in any type of scandal or is unpopular with the public.

Final thoughts

So yeah, this is really fucked up. This is yet another example of why fan wars are so fucked up - why fan culture is so fucked up. If you've heard me ranting about how much I hate fan culture and you've ever wondered why, look no further.

At this point I am not worried, nor do I think you should be. These are clearly malicious reports aimed at harming them, and we have to trust GG and DD and trust the system to sort it out.

Both GG and DD are in the government's good books right now, which they wouldn't be if they hadn't been thoroughly vetted by the powers that be. In my view, it's highly unlikely this will lead to any lasting harm.

I hope that the government will do something to change the way these reports are handled to make it less likely for them to be used in such frivolous, malicious ways. However, I won't be holding my breath on that. A core principle of reporting culture is to make it as easy and risk-free as possible for people to report others.

One thing we can be sure of is that GG and DD and their teams have put a lot of resources, preparation and thought into how to handle these types of situations, and will be bringing all their expertise to bear on it in the coming days and weeks.

So, Anon, let's just trust GG and DD's teams to handle things. I think it's all going to be fine.

#antis go home #it's in the air it's all around #brotherhood and stuff #ggdd controversies #ask

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stoopid-turtle · 9 months

Text

Consuming Candies Pt 2: DD ❤️ GG and GG ❤️ DD

ALL FAKE. I'M MAKING SHIT UP FOR FUN. DON'T BELIEVE ME.

Intro post for this series

Once I convinced myself that DD and GG are some variety of gay, the rest is honestly not hard to conceive of. Two gay guys filming a BL adaption on a set that was open to same-sex relationships who got on really well...it's not hard to believe they'd "get together".

3. DD and GG had "a thing" around the time of the TU production. This could include the time period during filming and through the promo period. Actual timelines and details of the nature of the relationship are secondary.

If an actor and an actress hit it off as well as DD and GG did, it'd be easy for people to see that they were an item. For some reason, people struggle more to see that with two men (okay, I know the reasons, but I'm not getting into that here).

By the time I'd established 1 and 2, I'd seen enough bts and other footage to buy in to 3, as well, but here's the list of moments/candies that just nail it for me. It would be impossible for me to list out all the moments that simply scream "They're in a relationship!!!" because there's, just, a lot. So here's the short list, again, in order of most inarguable to more open to interpretation.

a) Old cow eats young grass.

That's it. That's the clip. There is no het explanation for that. I guess you could maybe claim DD was referring to GG liking younger women, but that doesn't flow with the rest of the conversation they're having. Especially with GG's comment about paying for new brake pads,

They did the gay together. More than just casually. They were an item at this time. Hands down. Case closed.

(Again, I'll get to the argument that this is all fabricated fanservice at another point)

b) The bts of DD getting into costume where he's quizzing the costume-jiejie about what GG said about him in an interview.

This is straight-up, cliche, 'shows up in freaking romance novels' behavior when you have a crush. Nobody's that concerned about what their friend is saying about them in interviews. You only care that much when you're trying to get a feel as to their feelings for you.

Also, the costume-jiejie is hilarious about it. Asking him about his response in an interview and then teasing him about not remembering what GG said about DD. She clearly has served as a sounding board for DD about his crush before, and she's amused and encouraging and teasing, all at the same time. Hats off, costume-jiejie.

c) Happy Camp moments: jealous!GG and the necklace.

I don't usually put much stock in the jealous GG/DD stories, but the instance with GG going grimdark as DD wriggled through the hole with another guy is just...again, I'm struggling to think of a context that would make sense that isn't "they are together and GG is jealous".

(I don't find jealousy cute, tbh, so I'm not jazzed about the moment. I don't know what was going on between them that led to that, but I'm glad they seemed to clear it up).

This leads to the other Happy Camp moment, seen only in fancams. The ox-head necklace that DD had been wearing scratched up his neck during the game. GG's stunned reaction to DD's injuries and his concern, plus clearly telling DD to take it off...none of this makes sense unless GG gave DD the jewelry.

Like, okay. I have a necklace my bff gave me, and I wear it a lot. It's really meaningful and sentimental. But if it were scratching up my neck, I'd take it off. If she were there while it was scratching up my neck, she'd joke about it and agree that I should take it off. She wouldn't look distraught.

My wife, on the other hand...

c) DDU's 11th anniversary episode

There's no way to describe this episode except that it really felt as if DD was having his new partner meet his fam. The fact that DDU stopped throwing women at DD after that speaks volumes.

From a), it's clear that their relationship was pretty serious (and extended after the end of filming), and having GG meet DD's DDU brothers is another indication of where their relationship was at. That's not a trivial thing.

d) GG's lack of chill during promo interviews.

I get the vibe that if they were in a relationship, GG was a lot more scared/nervous about it than DD was. He also had less experience with interviews and such. There are numerous moments where GG misunderstands, overreacts, or just acts weirdly during interviews that are hard to explain away.

- The "It's been a year" video, where DD points out that the camera is recording and GG balks at whatever he'd been saying. Cue the nervous laughter and whispered conversation between them. - The backwards pants interview question. - An interviewer asking him if being in a relationship means the end of his career (right after asking about his marriage plans--a question that made dd mad). - His weird denial of DD's waterfall story

In each case, something startles GG into a panicked silence. Then DD usually intervenes and so then GG has some nervous laughter.

Plainly, there's something he's afraid of being revealed in interviews. So much that he's seeing danger, even when it doesn't exist. Given the nature of the questions, we can see that the "thing" he's afraid of is

- him being in a relationship - something involving DD and him and a waterfall - and accidentally wearing someone else's clothes.

All involve DD. In all, DD is the one who relieves the panic and calms him down while smoothing over the interview.

It's not a leap to guess that he's in a relationship with DD that he's afraid people will find out. Sure, he'd want to hide a het relationship too, that makes sense. But then there's the pants question and the waterfall question. And the only way GG and DD's reaction to the question of whether being in a relationship would be the end of GG's career is if...GG and DD were in a relationship.

e) Hot pot.

Okay, this is where I start sounding crazy if I discuss this without prefacing with everything above ^^^. But the fact that their tastes in hot pot shifted over time to more align with each other is significant. I've read about the regional differences and how DD's sudden taste for spiciness could only really be attributable to GG, who's from an area with spicy hot pot.

This resonates with me, especially, because I was a hella picky eater when I met my wife. Like, embarrassingly picky. But then I met my wife, and she cooks and is a foodie and eventually, my palate just expanded. Now I'm a freaking foodie (and a vegetarian, like her), and our eating habits are pretty closely aligned.

Merging is real in longterm relationships. It looks like this. In my case, my wife demystified food for me with her cooking and likewise, it seems as if GG taught DD how to handle spicy stuff.

This wouldn't be significant on its own, but in conjunction with everything else *waves hands*...well, it's convincing to me.

In summary, it is blindingly obvious to me that they were a committed couple at some point after TU filmed and aired (when that commitment started is unclear, but I'm not gonna get into that here). Even after 227, it's clear that they're romantically together. I'm 100% convinced of this. Since I started drafting this, I've come across older mentions of (now gone) bts that just...there's no doubt. They weren't hiding it on set. They were just out there, exhausting everybody around them with their chaotic flirting/mating dances. It's insane and I love it.

4. DD and GG are still together.

Me: So I've been watching behind the scenes for The Untamed, and I think the two actors maybe had a thing? There's just...a lot going on there. My wife: Sounds gay. Me: I mean, some people seem convinced that they're still together because of shoes or something. That gets real out-there. But I definitely wouldn't be surprised if they had a thing during filming. My wife: (who only watched the show) I could see it. They had that chemistry.

(2 weeks later)

Me: Honey, I swear I sound crazy but I'm not. These two guys were totally together and I think they might still be together. My wife: Because of shoes? Me: I SWEAR I'M NOT CRAZY, HONEY, JUST BELIEVE ME My wife: Yes, dear. Their shoes make them gay. Me: *sobs*

When I first started dipping into things, I felt a great sadness watching older videos of them, because I'd heard that they weren't allowed to interact in public, that they probably didn't even talk to each other anymore, etc etc. YouTube's full of this, and the fans who say they're still together look, well, crazy.

It's easy to conclude they're not together anymore given that so much early evidence of their relationship is based on videos/audios. The bts, joint interviews, fan meetings, etc. We were spoiled with up-front and personal visuals of their dynamic. It's not a surprise that in the absence of that, most people just assume they don't talk or interact much anymore.

Not to mention, wandering in some years later, you get a massive dopamine hit with the bts and the promos and then there's a drop when you try to look for more recent stuff. When we could see it, their relationship seemed to alive. So real. So undeniable. But in the absence of that, the immediate instinct is to assume that lack of visibility = lack of existence.

But we have only ever seen a small slice of their lives, most of which has been selectively shown to us by them or by production companies. Both DD and GG have full lives when we're not around to see them. They each have their own career trajectories. They have vastly different hobbies and both of them have their own friend groups. We only get a glimpse of all of that, but that doesn't mean that's all there is. Especially now, when they're sharing fewer personal posts and China is cracking down on the entertainment industry.

No doubt, we only know the tiniest, most tailored portion of their personal lives these days. But back in 2019-2021, they were clearly together. Their relationship was clearly serious. They joke about shared financial decisions, get introduced to each other's on-screen and off-screen family, visit each other's set. Both of them seemed in it for the long haul.

Given that, I don't see why we should assume they have broken up just because we're years later and we don't get the joy of seeing them together anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think a break-up is impossible. Couples break up. Even couples that have been together for a while. Even couples who adore each other and try to make things work. It happens.

But there's no reason to assume that they're broken up just because we haven't seen them together recently.

I do have a couple "reasons", but this evidence won't convince anybody who doesn't believe they were ever a couple. It's only when you accept that, yeah, these 2 BL actors are actually gay and in a long-term relationship, that this seems reasonable.

a) The bone necklace.

I'm pretty well certain that the ox-head necklace was a gift from GG. The timing of the bone necklace's appearance, plus DD's attachment to it (similar to his attachment to the ox-head necklace), makes it a decent guess that the bone necklace was also a gift from GG.

We can kinda guess at the meaning. I've only seen one clip where GG has called DD gouzaizai, so I don't know if that's an actual "thing" between them. (though it's not outside the realm of possibility that they are influenced by bjyx fandom).

In any case, the bone necklace is still around. Still being worn. That's notable to me.

b) They could end this ship if they wanted to.

They have both had other pairings shut down. The fandom wars between turtles and solos is intense and causes disruption, something neither of them need. The solo fanbases are huge and it'd be a no-brainer to jettison the CPFs if you want to cut down on the type of fandom upset that gets unwanted government attention.

But they haven't.

They could have the supertopics shut down. DD could avoid being anywhere near the number 3. They could both dive into a bush rather than be around the color yellow or a turtle. DD could take a video of himself melting down the bone necklace or giving it to a pretty woman. They could starve the fandom.

But they haven't.

They keep around their gay CP, despite not publicly interacting with each other in years. They take down articles about them breaking up, pull down hot searches about them with actresses, and continue to feed the fandom with candy.

Most recently, GG went to work late on the days DD was out sick. That's not even an intentionally thrown candy. That's just us noticing a couple taking care of each other. If they weren't together, then GG, whose team certainly knows about DD being sick, could have avoided doing anything that would make it seem like he was involved with DD during that time.

But he didn't. Either their teams don't care about turtles, which seems difficult to believe given the conflicts that have arisen within the fandoms, or the teams (notably, gg and dd) want to keep turtles around. At this point, years past the point the show is out, years past the time the two have even been seen together, there's no rational business reason to hold on to the turtles.

That's not neutral. They're not keeping turtles engaged for economic reasons. They're not keeping turtles engaged just for shits and grins (the joke has run a little long for that). They're keeping turtles around because they're getting something of value from having us around.

Honestly, I think having a huge contingent of cpf cheerleaders is probably comforting when they aren't allowed to express their feelings for each other publicly. It's probably weird and sometimes probably intrusive, like most stuff with fans, but they still have millions of people who embrace them as a couple when they live in a country that is hostile to their relationship. Who in that situation wouldn't want to keep that?

In sum, I had to get past the "too good to be true" hurdle. The automatic dismissal of BL fangirl fantasies. I mean, BLs often market to those fantasies, so a healthy dose of skepticism seems reasonable. I don't honestly blame people for dismissing it when they only have a passing familiarity with the whole thing.

It took a lot for me to see past that, and to see that this is the one case (that I'm aware of) where the fantasy is real. I think it's notable that this "fantasy" doesn't actually look like the fanservice fantasy often served up in BLs. I mean, ggdd have their moments, but they're also snippy, jealous, possessive, lewd, awkward, and just plain weird sometimes. They're real and that's messy and that makes it even more real.

In the next part of this little series, I'll talk more about the fanservice question, plus fanfic, and The Timeline. That post requires more editing, so it probably won't go out until next week.

Just remember it's all fake and nothing I say is true.

#bjyx #yizhan #still clowning #24/7 apparently

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daresplaining · 1 month

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Finished reading Daredevil: Yellow and i loved it so much, from the art, to the story, Karen was the cutest, i loved the villians, the slight "goofy" elements. Slightly wishing the storyline with the FF was properly resolved but ig it wasn't important to Matts and Karens story. And i personaly preffer it over the Man without Fear mini-series when it comes to Daredevils origins story

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Daredevil: Yellow is one of my favorite DD mini-series, and does a wonderful job of paring down and reconsidering the first few issues.

The full story of Matt getting hired by the Fantastic Four and battling Electro is told in Daredevil volume 1 #2. It's a fun, extremely wacky issue (Matt gets shot into space in a rocket!), so if you're curious about everything that was left out of Yellow, I recommend checking that out. The Fantastic Four were the very first superheroes Matt ran into after debuting as Daredevil, and he had a number of fun encounters with them during this period.

#Daredevil: Yellow #Daredevil #Matt Murdock #Fantastic Four #Asks

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murdockmeta · 5 months

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What dd run do you recommend for someone who wants to get to know Matt as a character?

Or better question; what issues?

"get to know Matt as a character" hm. fantastic question. I personally read volumes 3, 4, and 5 first before going back and reading some of the older stuff in volume 1. and it's really only been recently that I'd say I have a good grip on Matt's character.

Important parts of Matt's character are his resilience and integrity, his insistence on fighting for others' fair treatment, his admiration for the value of all life, his compassion for others no matter their situation, and his dedication to those he considers family.

Other important parts of Matt's character are his pride, his impulsivity, his lack of regard for his own safety/well-being, his destructive tendencies, and his poor coping mechanisms (which are plentiful in number; most notably perhaps being how he isolates himself from others).

These all tend to feed into one another. I'm going to try and suggest what I think showcases these parts of him.

fair warning: I definitely haven't read everything, namely volume 2 and a large bit of Miller's run, which most people consider very important.

if you're looking for a specific volume that's beginner-friendly, I'd say volume 3 is a good place to start, but if you want (in no particular order) a list of specific issues--

Daredevil Volume 1 issue 1 (Lee) - this one I have to rec out of pure respect. it gives you Matt's origin story and shows you a lot of his values that are still present in the modern-day character. though, if you're really not into older comics, I could say it's probably safe to skip until you feel more comfortable with the character

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 (Miller) - this is probably considered the most iconic daredevil arc ever written, and for good reason. as many issues as I have with miller, he's a fantastic writer, and this retelling of matt's origin is gold.

Daredevil Volume 3, issues 28-36 (Waid) - waid just really Gets matts character, we get to see matt beat up bigots and really show off his positive traits while combating the more negative ones

Daredevil Volume 1, issues 301-306 (Chichester) - Re-introduction of the owl in a compelling way, slice of life interactions, spider-man crossover. what's not to like. chichester is excellent at highlighting matt's endless compassion and value for life while also remembering matt's destructive tendencies

Daredevil Volume 4 issue 000.1 (Waid) - showcase of matt's compassion and impulsivity; probably one of the best attempts by ANY writer to capture what matt's radar sense is like

Spider-Man: Daredevil (Matthews) - kinda shows off the inherent Weirdness that comes with matts abilities, I love how this issue gives you a good glimpse at Matt and Ben Urich's relationship, and it really just hits the nail on the head for matts characterization while giving you enjoyable slice of life moments

Daredevil Volume 4 issues 11-12 (Waid) - again, shows off matt's compassion (that's his most admirable quality imo), shows him combating his pride so he can help others, and displays how his willingness to see the good in people can be used against him

Daredevil Volume 1 issues 609-612 (Soule) - imo the best dd arc ever written, right next to miller's tmwf. just. perfect, no notes. i tear up and get chills every time I read it. Ill cry thinking about it right now. it sums up everything matt is and represents as a character, the good and the bad, and i could gush about it all day

If I had to suggest any kind of reading order, save v1 #609-612 for last. it's called "the death of daredevil" for a reason. it's not gonna have nearly as much impact if you don't already know something about the character.

thank you so much for the ask!! I really enjoyed replying to it and I hope this was helpful :)

#ren recs #ren replies #daredevil comics #matt murdock #nonny asks

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thekingofgear · 9 months

Text

Jonny’s Summer 2023 Guitar Pedalboard

Jonny about to stomp on a pedal during the Smile's show at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City in late-June, 2023 (elamplimx).

With Radiohead, Jonny is known for very slowly adding pedals to his setup. While Ed often has half a dozen new pedals for a new album tour, Jonny often adds only one (such as his Headrush in 2000 or his Freeze in 2012). And when Jonny swaps out a pedal for a similar one (like one tremolo for another tremolo), it’s usually only when his old pedals are too worn out for touring (such as his original Whammy WH1 and vintage RE-201 Space Echos). One might think Jonny keeps the old pedals around because, since Kid A, he’s often playing other instruments. However, at live shows Jonny is still happy to replicate some recorded sounds on guitar, whether it be the filtered samples on Feral (using volume pedal, Whammy, and phaser) or the col lengo strings on Burn The Witch (using Whammy, overdrive, and a cello bow). It’s clear he enjoys getting the most out of those pedals in that specific arrangement.

But with The Smile, Jonny has been swapping in new pedals pretty regularly. In 2022, Jonny was experimenting constantly, sometimes adding new pedals for only a couple of days before swapping in a replacement. He quickly eschewed some of the Radiohead-favorites heard during the earliest Smile streams, such as his Small Stone, Tremulator, and OD3. In their place came flangers, compressors, and expression pedals: types of pedals he’d never used with Radiohead.

However, it seems like Jonny found a setup he was fairly happy with by the end of the fall 2022 tour. His latest live board is quite similar to the one used during March 2023 recording sessions for the band's upcoming second album, but even so there are a couple surprises!

A photo of Jonny's guitar board at Philadelphia's Franklin Music Hall on July 8, 2023 (photo by Gio H.). He used this setup for the band's North American tour spanning 14 shows in June and July.

Guitar ->

Peterson StroboStomp HD tuner

MXR Dyna Comp compressor

EHX Freeze Sound Retainer

EHX Pitchfork pitch shifter

Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

EQD Hizumitas fuzz

Telenordia/Tortenmann TA-24 Treble Booster

Boss DD-200 delay

Akai Headrush E2 delay/looper

Boss RE-202 Space Echo delay/reverb

EQD Pyramids flanger

Toadworks True Bypass (laptop send/return loop)

Lehle P-Split III signal splitter (A/B) <

(A) Radial JDI Stereo direct box < Radial Ch1 LOW-Z output -> FOH Mixer Radial Ch1 THRU output -> Fender ’65 Reissue Super Reverb

(B) Strymon Iridium -> Radial JDI Stereo direct box (Ch2 LOW-Z output) -> FOH Mixer

The small lamp over the board is a Mighty Bright HammerHead music stand light.

Jonny previously used a Peterson StroboStomp HD with his Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 on the Smile's 2022 tour. But this is the first time he’s been seen with one on his guitar board. It replaces the Boss TU2 he’s used since the earliest Smile shows.

The Telenordia Treble Booster is borrowed from Thom. The Telenordia is still marked with Thom’s guitar settings, from when he used it on You Will Never Work In Television Again during December 2021 rehearsals.

Thom stomping on Jonny's current Telenordia Treble Booster during a rehearsal on December 2, 2021 (youtube).

On Radiohead tours since OK Computer, Jonny has always brought a Vox AC30 — an amplifier well-known for its low and mid gain sounds. With an AC30, Jonny can get different flavors of overdrive by balancing between clipping from the pedal (using the pedal’s gain control) and clipping from the amp (using the pedal’s volume/boost control). And of course, he’d use his separate Shredmaster+Eighty-Five chain for heavy distortion on older songs.

But on tour with the Smile, Jonny has been using a Fender ’65 Reissue Super Reverb, an amp with much more headroom than the Vox thanks to a combination of higher wattage and negative feedback. As a result, we hear the overdrive pedal’s sound more clearly — the Boss SD1’s mid-rangy sound is especially noticeable on live versions of Thin Thing. So it makes sense that even Jonny would want to experiment with multiple dirt pedals for different flavors.

Jonny was first seen using an MXR Dyna Comp in a rehearsal photo, most likely taken when preparing for the fall 2022 tour (despite being posted in 2023). Thom and Ed have both previously used the pedal as well. Thom toured with a Dyna Comp only briefly before switching to his current Telenordia Kompressor. So it's interesting that Jonny first toured with a Kompressor (last year), but has gone the other way and switched to a Dyna Comp.

For those curious about the rhythmic delay setting marked on Jonny’s Akai Headrush E2, check out behind-the-scenes photos from The Smile’s Tiny Desk show. However, so far we’ve still only heard the pedal used as a looper.

Placing his Boss RE-202 after his Headrush allows Jonny to add ambient effects to his loops, as he does during the live outro of Skirting On The Surface.

Jonny first used a Strymon Iridium at a performance of Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint at the Hidden Notes festival on September 25, 2022. For that show, it replaced his amp. But with the Smile, he’s using it as a backup for his Super Reverb.

A photo of Jonny's pedalboard from a November 2022 show in Anthem, DC (Facebook).

UPDATE: we originally listed the Telenordia TA-24 Treble Booster as a Telenordia TA-100 Overdrive. Thank you to Kayky for noticing!

#The Smile #Jonny Greenwood #Radiohead #Burn The Witch #Feral #You Will Never Work In Television Again #OK Computer #Skirting On The Surface #A Light For Attracting Attention #Thom Yorke #Ed O'Brien

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tbgkaru-woh · 6 days

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Another German here to compare the sizes of the German and English editions of MDZS! Sadly your covers won't fit as the German publisher cut off the different volumes at different points than Seven Seas did (Vol 1 ends with Song Lan's reveal of "the person behind you", Vol 2 ends with the burning of Lotus Pier etc) resulting in four rather thick books and a very thin Vol 5. Plus, German editions tend to be thicker in general because of the average word and sentence length. Truly a shame, your covers would have looked beautiful with the sprayed edges the German edition has. I will get at least a few for my English copies though :DD

Oh that's incredibly useful info, thank you! Maybe if I have made the bend of it more ambiguous, it could fit despite the few milimeter differences :') I will test out some stuff later. If it won't be too much of a bother, could you measure the thickness of the spine? i think the rest of the book will probably be the same (21cmx15cm per front/back page). I will see if the difference is not too great and if I could make a visual wiggle room for different editions

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616mattfoggymoments · 6 months

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Daredevil (1964) #1 | Stan Lee & Bill Everett

#daredevil #daredevil comics #dd: volume 1 #issue: v1.1 #matt murdock #foggy nelson #mattfoggy #daredevil (1964)#stan lee #bill everett

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kylereadscomics · 10 months

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@comfortfoodcontent did it first, but here are my Top 10 Marvel Comics runs, in no particular order.

Thunderbolts 1-75 by Busiek, Bagley, Nicieza, et al. - indisputably the best, wouldn't still be reading comics without it.

Defenders vol 4 1-12 by Fraction, Dodson, McKelvie, etc. - the shortest run on this list but one of my all-time fave comics that I re-read more often than most.

Amazing Spider-Man by Lee, Romita, etc. (issues 39-122) - while the Lee/Ditko run is great and features the introductions of so many iconic villains and characters, the soap opera elements of this era, culminating in the Death of Gwen Stacy, with Romita drawing both MJ and Gwen, makes it the best to me.

Spider-Man comics from Revelations to The Final Chapter - possibly the most overlooked era, this stretch of 20+ issues each of 4 different ongoing Spidey series, from the end of the Clone Saga/Ben Reilly era to the Byrne relaunch, are the comics that were coming out when I started reading as a young lad, and will always be my favourites, especially with Wieringo and JR Jr. and Steve Skroce doing much of the art.

Ultimate Spider-Man 1-160 by Bendis, Bagley, Immonen, Lafuente, etc. - The best attempt to make Spider-Man relevant to teens again without just sticking Peter in a perpetual loser cycle.

Daredevil by Nocenti and Romita Jr. (250-282) - I don't think there's a bad DD comic between 168 and 300, but these ones are the best.

Daredevil by Waid, Rivera, Samnee, etc. (vol 3 1-36, vol 4 1-18) - After a period of time where I wasn't buying comics at all, this brought me back and got me collecting like never before.

Fantastic Four by Defalco, Ryan, etc. (356-416) - I know in my heart that there are better FF runs, but this one has Lyja Lazerfist and Psi-Lord Franklin Richards and Sue Storm's ridiculous swimsuit costume and it is my favourite.

Post-Onslaught X-Men (specifically Uncanny 341-350, X-Men 62-71) - Again, these issues are intrinsically linked to childhood memories but also the Joe Madureira and Carlos Pacheco art is amazing and the stories are fun.

Captain Marvel by Peter David, ChrisCross, etc. (volumes 4 and 5) - IDK I just love these comics. They're very fun.

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thosemintcookies · 1 year

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Okay so basically I think something to discuss about Daredevil in general is the underlying reason Matt is daredevil. I think a lot of post-DDTV fandom emphasizes Matt's character as one primarily concerned with righteousness and justice, where I am personally of the belief that successful and versions of Matt are primarily about the masked identity as escapism.

The problem with framing Matt's character to be one of justice is that it runs into two major roadblocks:

1. The Ableism.

When Matt's character is about righteousness and justice it frames his disability in a metaphorical way ("justice is blind"). This lets the narrative avoid really contending with actual ableism, as his disability becomes a thematic accessory to the real issue of justice. Coupled with a huge emphasis on matt's piety and upward mobility, it also plays into inspiration porn, as it becomes a rags-to-riches story where Matt is an overseer as Lady Justice is, venerated for being detached and pure, a figure of judgement apart from the rest of abled society, as opposed to a regular human who is a part of regular society.

2. The Morality Aspect.

When we have Matt as a symbol for justice, his views are reified as unquestionable; as a symbol and conduit for justice, he can't be wrong about things. That just sort of makes his character weaker overall in my opinion. We can't trust that he's an unreliable narrator and flawed human as is literally every single other person is in the cast.

(In the comics, this is explored way more. He is called out on multiple occasions for his shortsighted views on crime, which don't effectively get at the root of social ills associated with systemic and structural injustice associated with higher criminality. Luke Cage notably says he's not getting rid of crime, merely displacing it. The narrative also goes to great pains introducing other characters with other ideas of "doing what's right" (Milla, who works in housing, Ben, who serves justice through journalistic exposure, Foggy, who is loyal on a personal level while being pretty ambivalent about his methods, etc etc.) Introducing new perspectives is sort of the point. If the thesis of Daredevil is "justice exists outside the law" the answer isn't just to punch people.)

In addition, it sort of ignores the other ways Matt is privileged. Again, as Justice, he can't be wrong, which means we're encouraged to ignore the ways his status as a lawyer and as a white man play into his biases. He's not neutral. Volume 2 as a whole also emphasizes the way his being myopic and, honestly, sexist, ruins his marriage as he fails to consider his partner's needs and frames tragedy that falls onto the women in his life as primarily his own issues, rather than traumas his wife/friends are dealing with. In Soule's and Zdarsky's runs we have characters like Sam Chung and Cole North who challenge Matt's experiences with citizenship, and sense of neutral raciality. Again, this isn't an accident of the writing. We as the audience are being asked to consider other perspectives.

(Also having him be more prominently Catholic while having him be a symbol of justice is also implicitly a colonial message.)

The intent of DD as an escape from his regular identity, as it was originally conceived, serves a larger narrative purpose. He gets an escape from ableism and other systemic barriers to being able to serve his sense of justice (which, as previously stated, can be very flawed). It's fundamentally self-justified identity, not a selfless one. It's liberating for him personally, and something he pursues because he enjoys it (despite it being pointed out on multiple occasions that it is sometimes detrimental to his health and relationships.) (Also I think it makes him have a more fun personality, because it lets him be cocky rather than burdened.)

The duality of being a truer version of himself as a masked man allows him to be a complex messy character. Explorations of his character tensions (straddling poverty vs. status, marginalization vs. privilege, violence vs procedural justice, etc etc) are more interesting. His dynamic tensions with other characters (both on his side and antagonists) are made more rewarding as we see competing interests play out and we are encouraged and challenged to take a stance rather than assuming Matt's simply correct.

In addition, this also is why I'm overall not a fan of this idea that just anyone can take on the helm of Daredevil. Daredevil is, unlike some other marvel characters, not really a title so much as an escapist identity taken on by a very specific mentally and physically disabled man to contend with his specific feelings of impotence and marginalization, which doesn't really work unless we explore these themes in other characters, or they were established to similarly be preoccupied with this identity tension.

#daredevil #meta

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