#no it’s not self projection it’s called being a fucking genius

[scoobydoodean]

LUCIFER In there. I know, it's awful, but these horsemen are so demanding. So it was women and children first. I know what you must think of me, Sam. But I have to do this. I have to. You of all people should understand. SAM What's that supposed to mean? LUCIFER I was a son. A brother, like you, a younger brother, and I had an older brother who I loved. Idolized, in fact. And one day I went to him and I begged him to stand with me, and Michael—Michael turned on me. Called me a freak. A monster. And then he beat me down. All because I was different. Because I had a mind of my own. Tell me something, Sam. Any of this sound familiar?

Every single one of the things Lucifer says here is one of Sam's pitfalls and he is quoting all the way back to goddamn 1.10 "Asylum". Sam is hearing how his own projections and self-deceit sound in the mouth of thee literal devil.

The arrogance in believing one's older brother doesn't have a mind of his own ultimately because he dared to defy you.

Sam's earliest brushes with human sacrifice in the face of Dean's protests.

Sam's completely erroneous belief that Dean views him as a freak just for being "different".

Like Sam, Lucifer completely brushes aside his own behavior—his actual actions—to focus on Michael's lack of loyalty—how Michael betrayed him and refused to trust him (4.22 here or more succinctly here + Sam's revisions of his motivations for the demon blood arc in 5.05). What Lucifer was doing—capturing and corrupting human souls (4.21)—what drove Michael to stand against him—is not relevant in Lucifer's eyes.

All the blame for what Lucifer is doing right now falls on Michael. It's all Michael's fault. Lucifer has to do this (dig a mass grave—start the apocalypse) because Michael is a bad, disloyal older brother who didn't trust him enough. Lucifer is a poor tortured genius who didn't get the trust and love he deserved.

This entire conversation is an absolutely damning testament to the folly of Sam's self-deceit—how deeply dangerous and manipulative and even—fuck it—evil—Sam's tendency to refuse to own up to his own shit can be without him really realizing it. This conversation throws in Sam's face that refusing to confront himself and projecting on Dean instead and blaming Dean for all his choices is going to be his undoing if he doesn't stop. All of his most manipulative views are thrown back at him from the mouth of the literal devil—the deceiver—right after Lucifer just finished digging a mass grave that he dumped the bodies of a bunch of children inside... but it's not poor little Lucifer's fault, is it? It's Michael's, for being a meanie.

#pk rewatches spn number ? #lucifer #sams moral compass #parallels #5.10 #1.10 #sam and human sacrifice #michael #angels lie #angels and demons lie #projecting displaced aggression and scapegoating in spn

[ambeauty]

pov

Your professional idol wants to open a restaurant with you. He’s shit at math and project management but that’s ok, you don’t need him to be. He knows how to cook and his genius in the kitchen can only help make you better, create a restaurant you can be proud of, and help you meet your own professional goals. You work so well with each other it feels seamless and almost too good to be true. There’s a real friendship developing. There’s mutual trust and understanding. He clearly trusts you to handle the logistics because he’s shit at them, but then he starts to flake on you. Things he should be having the final say over, he is MIA or making decisions without at least consulting you first. He’s not holding up his end of the responsibilities.

And the only thing you trust that he will get right is the food. Like at this point he literally only has one job. And the time he finally decides to collaborate on your shared passion, it turns out he’s shared this project with someone else. Not his best friend, not a family member, just someone he claims is a girl and a friend…..

It rightfully pisses you off. You’ve had to do his job and yours for free in a seemingly impossible amount of time. And he has the nerve to tell you that he’s worked on the menu.. HIS ONE JOB… the one job you trusted him with, trusted that he would call you when he was ready, and he’s done it with someone who he can’t even define a relationship with????

So you rightfully snap a bit. You tell him he needs to decide who this person is because if she’s going to be helping him with his job then it better be fucking worth it. You’re being sarcastic of course, because you hope that he realizes how fucking stupid it is for him to be doing something as important as this with anyone other than you. His business partner. And you’re already anxious af about this whole situation since everything you have invested in is just a verbal agreement and you have nothing solid to really go on but his trust… and he’s essentially broken it at this point. But you can’t say this yet because neither of you really know how to communicate properly in conflict.

****

Carmy has asked so fucking much of Sydney at this point, she has nothing to hold onto. The bare minimum she did went up into dust at that moment. Because if he can just up and do his job with someone else where does that leave her?

Jealous is the last feeling I’d give Sydney in this moment. She feels betrayed. She’s frustrated. She’s tired (she is able to communicate this, thank god). She’s disappointed. So much of her livelihood and her self worth is being put into this restaurant and Carmy, from her perspective, does not seem to care about that at all. She wants him to decide on something. Claire at present, because if Claire doesn’t mean anything to him, but she can help him process his trauma through food???? Then what does that mean for Sydney and what they are building?

#sydney adamu #the bear #sydcarmy #jealous doesn’t encompass the totality of what she’s feeling #doesn’t mean they don’t have romance coded moments #it hurts real bad when you think about it #there’s so many layers to this conversation #I love this show #2x08

[silusvesuius]

Your Depiction of Ulfric is literal perfection. I’ve never seen anyone who sees him in a similar way to me, until I found your account last year. I fucking love miserable old man Ulfric who could never catch a break since the day he was born. Every major event in his life (he can’t even decide which one’s the worst) shaped him in the worst yet most interesting way possible. I can’t speak enough about him, his messed up self esteem clashing with his ego, his repressed emotions and sexuality, his shattered image of his own body and mind, the constant loud arguments between the voices in his head (mostly just him arguing with hallucinations) *I’m definitely not projecting here* his unstable mood, his flashbacks and his odd obsessions with random harmful patterns he associates with familiarity. Because to him familiar=safe even if he’s basically only familiar to a constant state of worry and feeling like he’s being targeted or hunted down.

None of this seems to be getting better, at least not in a notable speed. Yet they’re all existing within a strong and powerful man. It’s quite the combination, he’s being weighted down by all of that baggage but his back is too strong to bend. He appears as if he has nerves of steel from the outside, but really if anything is made of steel in his mind, it’s the vessel that he uses to bottle all of that trauma up.

I already had a vague idea of his complicated relationship (obviously) with Elenwen but your version literally felt like it opened my third eye. It is scrumptious and your art is so beautiful it depicts every essence of it all perfectly without even needing to include words. I fell in love with it at first sight.

dis answer is kinda long so i'm (crumpling it up and tossing it under the cut)

Omg wtf Thank you's 🥺🥺🥺💕💕💕💕 this is so well put together into words; i will do 9543 backflips for demented ulfric always. i've grown to like him in canon too cause he really has that, wouldn't even call it deceitful, weirdly-content personality.. but i don't think anyone in the writing room in sk*rim HQ knows how to write a character that has been through Anything, event of any kind, so he seems too 'perfect' for a person that has been through literal physical torture, to me, and his reactions to things that should be greatly upsetting are too mild. even though him being elenwen's victim is a piece of information that's easy to miss it seems like it also completely slipped out of the writing IOFDHDJFUIO LOL.. it all obviously adds up to him seeming more appealing as a fashie character to the audience, cus a visibly mentally unwell man wouldn't do it for most people, especially when you want to sway someone to be on his side of things.

i think it's quite smart for the st*rmcloaks to be presented as the more warm and welcoming types of people but ulfric should be the coldest of them all. Bro shouldn't even have the mental and physical capacity to seem Content with his life especially in that moment. he should be the type to use his civil war motivations as an excuse to stay alive if that makes sense, cause i don't think he really wants to live, but he has things to do to keep his mind and hands busy xchkvcjcvkl//

i also really love how ulfric only has galmar as someone he's really close to, it always seemed beyond genius to me, to write them like that, it's cute... he rly is the only person to suffer thru 4 hours of ulfric Peak psychosis monologue followed by 2 hours of trying to prove to him that th*lmor and imperial soldiers aren't hiding in the chests and under the beds of the palace LMFAOO galmar is the one guy who he can sob in front of and act like a little baby fishing for compliments and reassurance, and, not all that related to ulfric as a whole, but i strongly believe that having him be so vulnerable with galmar would make galmar really excited, it would make him feel good, like no other damsel in distress could deliver that feeling EVER. having such a seemingly-strong political figure rely on you Badly and madly would feel like something else entirely 💗 it's very off-putting and perhaps inappropriate of him to feel that way when ulfric is just searching for stability, but i think that even if ulfric knew galmar felt that way he wouldn't really gaf LOL. he'd turn to elenwen if there was no one else to go to cause he 'knows' her, and he'd torment elisif cause he 'knows' her as well.. but he would be completely closed off from making connections with other people 🏆

+ bonus; elenwen's feelings for him would border on everything at once, like, every type of relationship and connection that ever exists.. she really views him as the food she left over in the fridge and will get to eat when she's back from work as a reward

tl;dr him being scarier and more .. unkempt? from the outside would make him even cooler tbhs. he should become christian and develop religious OCD

#ask #i love herrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (him) #him just lashing out at everyone would just be cute *audience Aww sfx*

[neverwalka1one]

10 Recommendations!

Tomorrow (2/15) is International Fanwords Day, so as part of the feedback fest, here's ten recs from my favorited list!

The Untamed. This is a Golden Core Reveal, not so much fix-it as fix the world around it so that everything doesn't go off the rails. It features Cunning Deception, Not So Cunning Deception, Wei Wuxian being gremlin, surprisingly cool LQR, and more Wangxian than Jiang Cheng is comfortable with. Also JGY has a migrane.

Like a House on Fire by KouriArashi. (oooh, I figured out how to do a thing) The Untamed. A modern-world AU non-cultivators rough 9-1-1 fusion fic. Everyone's a firefighter or a paramedic or a cop, Jiang Cheng gets a dog (and she is a Very Good Girl), Jin Zixuan discovers a new and shiny spine, Nie Mingjue just wants his people to be okay, and JGY gets an axe. It's mildly unhinged, it's excellent writing, I love it.

Imprints by Lisa_Telramor. The Untamed. A post-canon fic in which Wei Wuxian rescues a small innocent baby... whoops that's a dog. Except even if it is a dog, it is still small. And innocent. And helpless. And definitely will die if not helped. Featuring Wei Wuxian and his dog (!!!), poor mental health repair techniques, Yunmeng Bros reconciliation, and Jin Ling despairing over his uncles. This fic is so cute, I cannot even.

By Any Other Name by ShanaStoryteller. The Untamed. Wei Wuxian returns, but it's Not Right, and in a panic he retreats to Lotus Pier. Also known as that 'Wei Wuxian fucks with gender and then everything else' fic. Featuring Lan Zhan having deeply confused thoughts about his sexuality and loyalty to a dead man, Jin Ling gleefully calling Wei Wuxian 'aunt' at every opportunity, Wei Wuxian bitching about careless baby necromancers, a revision of Yi City, and Lan Xichen being So Confused All The Time.

Climbing Up That Coastal Shelf by Sour_Idealist. The Untamed. A post-canon fic in which Jin Ling realizes _no one_ is keeping an eye on Wei Wuxian. Then he learns what a self-sacrificing idiot his genius uncle is, and decides if no one else is going to claim this guy, he absolutely will because he needs all the help he can get. The Jin sect will never be the same. Featuring the return of Mianmian, So Many Family Feelings, Wei Wuxian scaring the Jin elders, poor communication skills amongst cultivators, and Jin Ling being possessive.

The Sword and the Shield by 29Pieces. Good Omens. A post S1 fic (written when there was only S1), in which Aziraphael is an absolute badass. Featuring the sort of angel where 'fear not' is the sort of reassurance one needs, and Aziraphael isn't saying that.

A Friend of Mine by CowGayKermit. Umbrella Academy. In which Klaus' buddies from Vietnam put 2 and 2 together and get 'that kid on the news is _our Klaus_ holy shit'. Featuring a ton of OCs that have been through shit and don't take kindly to anyone being mean to their brother. It's wild, I love it, I will take a million versions of this please.

Arc Tremors by MountainRose. The Avengers. An old-school post-movie fic where people move into Avengers Tower, this time because Tony failed to hide just how poorly he was doing after the Chitauri rolled through town. Featuring Giant Mutated Seafood, medical drama, everyone gets to be a little over-protective and tetchy (as a treat), and the bots being adorable. I love this era of Avengers fics, I will live here forever.

Shades of Grey Spill From My Veins (bleeding ink all over the page) by Reverie. The Untamed. One of my all-time favs, a What If WWX Grew Up In The Nie Sect fic. Seriously, this is one of my comfort fics, I love it so much, just read it.

Work Day by Saintlygames. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. So much lovely fluff about two of my favorite boys and their daughter. Honestly, this is just the sweetest. Featuring Thaniel being too competent for his own good, Mori using his powers to spoil his husband, Six tolerating hugs as best she can, and did I mention the fluff? SO FLUFFY I COULD DIE.

There are so many more (for srs, there's at least four more Untamed I could put on here right now, without searching), but this is a good place to start!

#ifd2024 #feedback fest

[k0komis]

Reader who's an esteemed researcher in snezsnaya was helping dottore in the new project assigned by the tsaritsa.

The two have the same level of intelligence but so does their ego so they argue a lot, but this one particular day, it got so worse, both of them trying to prove themselves correct they ended up hate fucking on his office.

Not really a big fan of hate fucking so at the middle of it they realize they admire each other's intelligence and skill it's just that their ego is too big for them to admit it.

In the end they do actually like each other 🤭

❦ Tfw ego gets in your way ❦

A/N : Anon your genius! Sorry for the delay I had some practicals going on. Also since you mentioned them being on-par, I made them have quite the self control (i.e. no cockdrunk reader).

Warnings : MINORS BEGONE | Fem-Bodied Reader, Explicit sex, Rough sex, Blowjobs, Edging, Orgasm Denial, Anal and No lube because it's Dottore, There's no Dom/Sub, Y'all being mean to each other, Mentions of questionable research, Dialogue heavy, Swearing

What could possibly go wrong, you had asked yourself. Turns out everything. You had been working on a project that required the subject to be kept in very specific conditions. Well, they escaped due to the negligence of your assistants. Added to that was the arrogance if your research partner, Dottore.

You were renowned for being a hard working researcher, having many years of experience in the Fatui. But you always were in the shadow of your senior- and the harbinger- Il Dottore. It pissed you off in every way possible and you couldn't help but always be criticising his work.

And he returned your kindness. He'd mock you for not being upto his standards or not being able to be a harbinger yet.

And speaking of the man, you came face to face as you were striding down the hallways with a frown on his face. He was talking to a Pyroslinger, pointing a funny looking test tube in his hand. When Dottore noticed you, he dismissed the guy and kept the testtube back in his pocket.

"Ah, Doctor Y/N, successful with your experiment yet?" He asked.

You gave him the sweetest smile possible and replied, "They wanted to feel the snow of Snezhnaya I suppose, so my underlings let them out on a trip."

Dottore grinned, his shark teeth showing. Oh how you wished he bit his tongue off someday.

"Well, Doctor, I need your help. Care to join me?"

You didn't really enjoy him mockingly calling you Doctor. He came up with that joke ever since people started remarking how you had caught up to his genius.

But you obliged. You needed to get your mind off the mishap, otherwise your assistants might no longer see the next day. You couldn't really afford that, sometimes the Fatui was stingy with their research funds.

After reaching the lab, he closed the door behind you two. He had that strange practice, being used to people trying to escape his presence. You didn't care though. You could probably take him. ... In a fight, you've never tried the other one.

He showed you an automaton and remarked, "I've been trying to incorporate human consciousness into an inanimate being. Your speciality is Neurology, hence I need your help."

You toyed around with the mechanism, trying to understand how it functions. You immediately came up with some possible hypothesis , but refrained from telling him any.

"How much am I getting paid?" You asked

"Paid?" He laughed, "You should be honoured working with me."

"Then excuse me I'm leaving."

You were almost at the door, thinking yourself to be witty, when he retorted, "You are replaceable, Y/N, don't think so highly of yourself."

And something in you snapped.

You walked up to him, poking your face closer to his, "Watch your tongue, Doctor ."

"You're funny, what makes you think I should even try to respect you?"

You were getting furious. First of all, simply him existing annoyed you, and secondly, he was straight up insulting you. You grabbed a fistful of his shirt and snorted.

"What will make you respect me?"

Dottore 's smile made you shiver. It was calculated, he knew what he wanted to do and say. He grabbed your chin, lifting your head to meet his masked eyes.

"Beg me to respect you." He broke into maniacal laughter. "Maybe I'll tape it and display it to every Fatui. No matter how esteemed of a researcher you are, you would still succumb to ME!!"

There were ... Strange feelings inside you. The poison in his words were distant, you could only focus on his proud face. You noticed he was in a slightly compromised position, having been pushed against a table with your weight. And in that split second you took the decision.

You pulled him closer, shutting up his laughter by smashing your lips onto his. You felt hin stiffen, and you pulled away.

"Shut up." You murmured, wiping your mouth on the back of your hand. You saw his confidence falter, slowly registering what you had done. You saw him out the pieces together and he finally grinned, lips stretched ear to ear.

You were unsure what he was thinking, but his grasp on you got tighter, his hands now grabbing your hips.

"You're filthy." He said, before leaning into your ear and whispering, "Just how I like it."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself." Now you were improvising, having no idea where the impulse of kissing him came from. You fidgeted in his grasp for a moment, before concluding you had only wandered deeper into the spider's web.

You huffed when his hands started travelling up your spine, right up to your neck. He pressed into your throat, cutting of your air. You clenched your jaw, not willing to give into his shenanigans. In return, you grabbed a fistful of his hair, trying to pull it out of his scalp.

"Fuck." He moaned, "That's hot."

"You're messed up." You said, lightly amused.

He was stronger- which was proven when he overpowered you to slam you onto the table.

"What, do you say-" he pressed his body on top of you, notably his crotch on your ass- "we prove our worth to each other."

You rolled your eyes, quickly using his distraction as an advantage to flip your positions and pin him down.

"Why don't I show my talents in neurology to you huh? Gonna stimulate those nerve endings for you?" You chuckled, keeping eye contact as you unbuttoned his shirt.

Dottore made an 'oh' sound, and he allowed you to strip him. His own hands were tugging on your shirt, frown on his face because he couldn't figure out the workings of your dress. So he simply ripped it off.

His bare torso was laid out for you to ogle. His skin had a light shine from the sweat; clearly his body was feeling it despite the winter. You were top-naked too, though Dottore's hands provided some coverage. He groped your tits, a dark laugh leaving his lips.

"Whore."

"Then I suppose I should help with this." You palmed his crotch, feeling his dick strain against the fabric of his pants. A part of you wondered whether it was a living or mechanical being behind the skin but the rest of you was anticipating being dicked down.

"Please." He was almost begging. Pride bloomed in your heart, knowing that the Doctor was weak for you.

You got to work taking off his trousers, hurriedly freeing the poor organ. It sprung out and you almost comically flinched from it's size.

You looked up at his face, trying to understand what he was feeling. The mask was in your way. You tried to ask him about it, and he immediately replied,

"The mask stays on during sex."

You huffed and put your attention back to his dick. You stroked it gently, Dottore patiently waiting for you to give him his release. Quickly stealing a glance at him, you pressed your lips on it.

"FUCK." A moan tore out from the man's lips.

"Sensitive. Noted."

You gave little licks along the length, his fingers digging into your scalp. Your motions were teasing, trying to find every single spot that would stimulate him the most.

"Get to the main part you whore or I'll have to do it myself." Dottore said through gritted teeth.

You obliged, taking his full length into your mouth. Dottore gasped from the sensation, and couldn't help but admire how adorable you looked with his cock filling out your cheeks.

You bobbed your head up and down, feeling the veins harden with every contact. How long will he last, you wondered.

Within seconds his grip on your scalp had tightened, him now forcing your head up and down to set his own pace. You whined in protest, though being ignored by him. Your hands were resting on his thighs for support, and you thought it's be a funny idea to pinch him.

"Brat." He breathed out as he pulled out of your mouth to release his cum all over your chest. You sat there for a few seconds, registering what just happened.

"That was great, Y/N, but I approach my subjects more directly." He said, now lifting you up and slamming you back on the table. He got close to your ear and whispered, "I like them marked too."

Saying that he dug his teeth into your collarbone, with you screaming out his name. You felt warm blood trickle down your skin.

"Get it? I'm less kind. That's what makes me successful."

You own trousers were now off, your ass exposed to his administrations.

"I get it, Mr. Sadism, now will you fuck me or not?" You huffed out impatiently.

"So eager..." He sighed, smacking your ass hard. You yelped, grabbing the sides of the table for support.

You heard him spit on his dick, and you realised what was about to happen.

"Oh no, oh no, shouldn't have rushed you-"

And with that he plunged straight in. Your voice got stuck in your throat because your body was more concerned with trying to fit your walls around his length and size. He pulled out almost immediately, before plunging right back in.

He gave you no time to either complain or appreciate, he was set on a brutal pace probably meant to rearrange everything inside you. You were repeating something over and over, but your ears were ringing with so much pleasure that you could barely hear yourself.

And just like that it all stopped suddenly. You were feeling hot and stuffed, but Dottore had pulled out leaving you just at the tip of your release.

"I had said it once before. Beg me for it, y/n." He said, his voice oh-so-cocky.

You regretted not pulling the denial trick when you were sucking on his cock.

But this denial wasn't one sided. He was close to his release too and all he wanted was your sweet sweet voice to cry for him. Seeing you not respond to him, he thumbed your clit, drawing more moans out of you.

"Say. It. Whore."

You almost laughed. If you controlled yourself right now, you could cause him the most minor inconvenience in his life. But in the end, you couldn't.

"Dottore... make me cum, please."

He did. His thumb bullying your clit while he plunged right back to your depths pushed you over the edge. You came all over his fingers, and he leaned in to give you reassuring kissing on your spine. He too climaxed, hot seed spilling into your intestines.

The two of you were breathing heavily, and Dottore laid down beside you on the table.

"Do you think anyone heard us?"

You ignored him, your eyes fixed on his face. He filled you with so many feelings, hate, jealousy, annoyance, but somehow in the end you trusted him. You two have worked countless times together and everytime you recall those memories the first image that pops into your mind his his proud face examining his work.

Maybe... you liked him.

And he did too. Otherwise the Second Harbinger would have not spared a second thought at assassinating someone who annoyed him.

#genshin dottore #il dottore x reader #dottore x reader #dottore #il dottore #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #fatui x reader #harbingers x reader #nsft #💦 writings

[acourtofthought]

SJM LIVE

Please excuse the formatting and spelling, I was typing as fast as I could

CC Overview: 

 

Mix of Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy World but in a Modern World 

Kick ass snarky heroine who goes on her own journey of discover and healing and self love 

SJM doesn’t look at theory’s, not lurking around on the internet, tries to stay in her creative bubble. 

 

Every now and then a friend will text her with crazy theories 

 

On tour for Heir of Fire and listening to music and it gave her inspiration for CC 

 

The vision was of Bryce, a best friend named Danika who was dead and a hot angel dude almost dead 

Something she thought about for years afterwards, her project for fun 

 

Her publisher has an official Bible of all her books and character info that they frequently reference. Blessed with an editor who is a genius and remembers detail and lines 

 

You touched on Hunt a little bit, we don’t know a ton about Hunts backstory. A bunch of readers want to know if we’re going to find out about his parentage.  

 

Will learn more about Hunt in the next book. As for his wellbeing, I make no promises. I’m not saying anything about anything. I will say that when I was working on SAB and my editor and I were thinking about what the most horrible thing that could happen to Hunt, I originally had him getting his wings chopped off again. What's even worse than that? Getting the slave tattoo put on. He has a lot of room to grow and lot of shit to deal with. A lot of emotional repercussions  

 

Poor Hunt, he’s in for a journey coming up. 

 

Will learn more about the Autumn King. I knew who Bryce’s bio father was but in the process of editing these books, he’s become one of my favorite characters to write because he’s so horrible and he’s someone who is capable in some small way of doing the right thing but he just doesn’t. He’s a fucked up horrible person. And pitting him against Bryce and against Ruhn, it sounds strange to say it’s fun for me to do that but as a writer it’s fun to put characters who cause each other such trauma and see what happens. But I love when Bryce really sticks it to him in SAB. It’s so satisfying to see a woman get one up on a gross ass dude. 

 

There is a headcannon that when they make the drop they can choose how the light is used and Ruhn would use it to power vibrators since he loves women, can you confirm or deny?  

 

She hadn’t thought of it, she loves the idea.  

 Now she feels bad about where Ruhn is, she's thinking about sweet Ruhn. 

 

Going through FAS and was going through some shit and she turned in a draft and knew she hadn’t found the right story yet. Wasn’t good enough and as much as she talks about being a lazy person, she’s very intense when it comes to her writing and she won’t put it out if it’s not best possible work. Threw that one in the trash.  

 

They did one or two rounds of edits, it wasn’t coming together and she had other things going on and wasn’t in the right space and she threw out the whole thing. Started over again. Sat down, tuned out the world, over the course of four or five weeks she wrote a brand new draft and was in the zone and she finally found that story. She knew what she wanted to happen in the book all along but until that moment she hadn’t figured out how it would come together. A couple scenes stayed but most of it was brand new and she remembered crying when her agent called and told her that her editor said “this is an SJM book that came in”. 

 

She never wants to put a book out there that she doesn’t believe it, she has to love it.  

 

You can’t fix a blank page, you’ve got to write it and figure it out. 

 

The book I’m working on right now, I spent the whole day writing a whole scene and it was 20 pages and by the end she said it was dumb. She deleted it. She saved it but doesn’t think it’s good enough for bonus material. 

 

Question from Jodi Piccoult regarding the ending of CC2:

“I want to know if SJM knew she was writing towards it all along and if so, I can’t imagine she didn’t plan it from the get go” 

 

When Aelin closed the Wyrdgates, she got glimpses into different words. 

 

Was it intentional all those years ago?  

 

When it comes to the ending of CC2, she’s known for awhile, she knew the worlds overlapped before she was working on KoA because she daydreamed about the ending of KoA for awhile and she knew Aelin would crash through the worlds and she had already begun daydreaming about CC. When she got to writing KoA, she knew she wanted her to go through the ACOTAR worlds and just as a “cool” moment, she had her go through the CC world. When she was working on CC, she really got into the idea of the worlds being connected. Out of the blue she had the idea for the end of CC2.  

Burst into tears when she wrote end of CC2 because she’d been daydreaming about it. Things have just completely gone to shit in CC world but here’s my wonderful Rhys. Burst into tears as soon as she wrote that. Still one of her favorite parts ever that she’s ever written.  

 

Can we expect to get additional POV? ACOTAR POV? I’m not saying anything about anything. You will see some of the ACOTAR world, I’m not telling you..... It’ll pick up where it ended. Not exactly in that scene but. 

 

Is Danika really dead? Said nothing for a minute then she said “yeah” but she was weird about the response. Then said she is dead, as much as I wish she could be living, no, she is dead and the loss of that beautiful life in Bryce’s light...it would feel cheap to Bryce’s suffering to have her alive 

Is Connor really dead - “yes” again, weird face 

Does Emil really have no powers – not answering that 

We know that magic is weaker in the modern world, does the mating bond mean the same thing in CC as ACOTAR books – I'm going to pass 

 

Is Hunt really Bryce’s mate – “Am I going to destroy some kind of theory or excitement? Yes, he is her mate. I realize how ACOTAR and TOG were organic romances with multiple love interests but for this one I wanted to do a real doozy on everyone. She said she was going to have the love interest here at the start to be the one at the end “if they both make it to the end”. 

 

The secret of Feyre and Rhys and Tamlin was so hard to keep. People would come up and kindly, sweetly say “I love Tamlin so much” and her voice went up ten octaves trying to agree. That was the hardest secret for her. 

 

How much of Bryce’s power has she accessed – you will see in the next book 

Talked about working on a book recently  

 

I remember you saying once before, people did not have to read ACOTAR before reading CC. Do you stand by that? I mean, I guess you should read ACOTAR. I would hope if you haven’t read ACOTAR and you get to the end of SAB, I made sure they put an add in the back of the book to read ACOTAR. I do not stand by that statement 

 

Who is on the cover of CC3? Is it a dragon? I’m not saying anything, there’s Easter Eggs in the cover. We made sure there were lots of Easter eggs in this one. This is her favorite cover. The nails are amazing.  

 

You said that your favorite, you cried when you got to the end of book 2. Did you wait to get to that to write it? What has a whole in the series has bene your favorite? Yes, usually the endings of all my books are ones I’m super pumped to write so I dangle them like a carrot, I write in a chronological fashion and use as motivation. For SAB, this was the thing I was powering through to get to writing this scene. Same with SF, with Nesta and the Blood Rite and saving Feyre. Most fun, there are so many different categories. In HOEAB, I had so many different, when Hunt discovers her My Little Pony collection. SJM collects vintage My Little Pony’s, she’s been in bidding wars so Bryce got that obsession for her. Bryce doing the drop makes her cry, thinking about it with Danika. She believes in our darkest moments we’re not alone and the people we love who aren’t here with us are looking out for us.  

In SAB, she loves the opening when they’re at a frat party. And she loves those little moments when they’re living their lives and getting to be themselves. Loves when Ruhn is super stoned. Loves the first scene with the Hind when she’s playing poker in the bar. At the end of SAB the moment when the Hind, she loves that moment.  

Cried when the Hind revealed herself to Ruhn. Feeling Lidia’s sacrifice and her love for Ruhn. Bryce running down that hallway from Rigelus, she loved that whole scene. Most of the book is stuff she loves.  

 

One of the reasons the three of us clicked is we all sort of the same fangirl heart, we get obsessed with it and research it, that’s something I’ve always loved about you. How does it feel to have this fandom that have fallen in love with you? SJM thinks they are phenomenally talented writers. In terms of the fandom, it feels weird to say that word because it’s so beyond anything that I ever hoped. She was a nerd in high school when it wasn’t cool to be a nerd, it blows her mind that people connect with her characters and worlds, it means something to them. The worlds mean everything to her. And she also has a profound sense of gratitude that she gets to do what she loves for a living because of the people who read her books. Appreciative of the joy we all bring to these books, it’s a humbling, moving thing to know your books inspire someone. It never gets old for her, whenever she sees people reading her books around the city she goes up to them and probably scares them when she’s not wearing makeup. One girl on street walked by her and she saw the NC insignia, so she made Josh ask her if that’s what it was. So this strange man (Josh) stops her and asks her and she looked confused so SJM went up and she told the girl she wrote the books and she doesn’t think the girl believed her. Saw a guy on the subway reading MAF and her first thought was “is he reading sexy ass stuff on the subway”. He was reading it because his gf was a big fan of the series, that’s a good boyfriend. 

 

Now that CC3 is done, what are you working on now? I am working on the next ACOTAR novel. I’m drafting it and that’s all I will say. She’s become so focused and obsessed with this book. Working on for the next god knows how many months, a million years. 

#sarah j mass #acotar series #crescent city #sjm books #hosab #hofas #acotar fandom

[nicomrade]

A genuine question here, but why do you dislike The First so much?

well its a weird thing to talk about cause really its the same reason why i dislike stolen lupin or any other low tier TV special. the real question is why other people liked it so much and i think its only because its such a pretty movie, its jaw dropingly gorgeous and the lupgang banter is great but just those 2 together isnt enough to make a good MOVIE. but it is enough that u can have a good TIME if u dont think about whats happening. thats the short version, its just a bad movie. sorry🐅

i purposefully havent been too frank when talking publicly about it (why i kept a mean tweet about it in drafts for literal years) but compared to the unlimited love it gets from the fandom it looks like thats enough for people to pick up that i dislike it so much lol. so lets talk about the first!

ill be brief on each point. that ancient technology thing it does w the eclipse? thats a bad trope. its a very very bad trope. its the atlantis conspiracy theory, its 1 throwaway line away from slipping into ancient aliens, they pull the same shit in a couple other TV specials and none of them are fondly remembered so hopefully we all know this plot point sucks and is racist. if not you can google it. lets move on

the nazis. after watchin harimao i said it was more anti-nazi than the first, idk if id stand by that cause i havent seen it again since but i mention it to put it in lupin context. generally if it isnt OK to have lupin scam an ex-nazi in part 2 ep 3 by disguising himself as hitler, whys it OK for lupin to steal from nazis by disguising himself as hitler? at no point is the movie actually anti-nazi (though i wouldnt call it pro-nazi either) and its fucking weird to see lupin disguised as hitler in modern lupin cause each time nazis show up in classic lupin everyone agrees its tasteless & overdone.

laetitia! TMS did a genius thing w her cause shes incredibly well written as a self-insert fic protag. it is very easy to watch the first & pretend u urself are best friends w the gang by projecting urself onto her. this doesnt balance out her lack of character it only helps the audience not care about it. compare her to mariya from tokyo crisis- one could be written out of her own movie and we only get info bout her to move the plot (the bad, boring plot) forward, one is essential to the core of her movie and shes realistically affected by the things that happened to her and makes believable connections with some of the gang. yay! a character!!

the movie is also very segmented between "plot scenes" and "lupgang banter scenes" you will notice everything fun about lupin STOPS when we are being explained Plot Elements. lupin talks to laetitia and its a boring nazi ancient treasure movie. then we get a scene thats not about the eclipse or laetitias grandpa or the nazis and all of a sudden its super fun !!!!!!! this is bad writing. lol. watch fuma & see how lupin at its best can blend comedy and plot and exploration and fun banter.

my personal experience w the movie! the first time i watched it i had to pause it cause i was bored out of my mind. iirc it was more or less when lupin gets on the eclipse ship thing n all banter stops cause its just him n the nazi dude n i realized hey this movie kinda sucks actually! i texted a friend about it n he was like. yeah having to force urself to finish it sounds like ure not enjoyin this movie. i did watch the first 3 or 4 times? i did gif it a lot. theres scenes i like (the banter) but it doesnt make it a good movie. like i said when i first wrote my personal review of it: "I think looking at gifsets of this would be more enjoyable than actually watching it". laetitia really embodies her movie in that sense, shes a really good character if you only look at her. she shares her name with all of her ancestors! just who is she? why is she wearing short shorts? why was she a cop? how old is she? then you realize theres nothing there

and ultimately this IS a reaction to it being an unpopular opinion. there are so many lupin entries a lot more worthwhile than the first (2019) that dont even get half of the hype. in my personal ranking its in the bottom 10 (tho ive skipped 2 specials so u can consider that the bottom 12). i genuinely dont like it but im not as vocal about lets say, angels tactics, because we usually agree thats a bad one- or at least we dont recommend it to newcomers. the first has a good reputation so i feel more strongly about it despite liking it more. i would be just as vocal about dragon of doom & voyage to danger if people talked to me about them more often. (and i have a much more coherent critique of dragon of doom lol)

so i dont really know how to explain why i dislike the first cause i just do; the same way u just dislike a bad part 2 episode, the same way most of the fandom just finds napoleons dictionary kind of boring. how do u explain why u dislike the nazi ancient tech self-insert npc girl movie- except by calling it just that? i guess i wasnt blinded by how pretty it is which makes me sound full of myself LOL. but its true a lot of animation can get away w god awful writing if its well animated enough- and if its too ugly no one will watch the best written animated movie. i love animation too and it has so much to offer and i want to see more done in the style of the first with the story of [insert your personal favorite TV special]. im glad it opened the door for vs cats eye to look that way (though lets not forget the 2012 3DCG lupin short!). but the WRITING the STORY the MEAT of the first just isnt any better than any other mid to low tier lupin TV special. is it really worth recommending the first as someones entry into lupin just because it looks pretty? is it really better than the anime that made the author reboot his own manga? why are we even still talking about the first?

#ask #anon #uhm a bit shy to put this in my lupin tags #really no hate if u personally really enjoy the movie. i love elusiveness of the fog we all have different taste. who cares what i think 👍 #lupin the third

[roseamongroses]

shuriri college au!

note: im not a stem major so it might be vauge

shuri gets a crush on a girl in one of her labs (riri) and is basically trying to try her damndest to get a chance to talk

problem is riri is booked and busy nd doesn't really get that shuri (or other people tbh) are interested in hanging out so she always ends up dipping to go work on her projects

and like shuri is breaking out her super genius intellect just to get coffee with her but somehow, someway riri finds a way out of directly interacting with her

shuri gets extra tickets to movie she finds out riri's a fan of? riri has already had the tickets purchased for weeks OR she's already found a way to pirate it

shuri tries to get paired up with riri for an assigment? turns out riri has accommodations so she works individually rather then in group projects

shuri's friends think this is funny cause SHURI HERSELF is notorious for dissapearing off the face of the earth to work in the lab so whenever she complains about riri ditching her/ ignoring her they hit her with the "ohhhh???rlly???that must suck???"

at one point shuri even signs up for tutoring. but that only confused riri cause "did u lose a bet or something?why do u need tutoring u have higher grades then me???"

eventually, shuri gets to the point where shes like. fuck it. and just starts hanging out with riri without the elabroate plots + super special planned dates.

beforehand shuri was stuck trying to find ways to stand out and impress riri, but the thing is riri was ALREADY impressed with shuri.

riri just thought shuri was just being nice to her bc she's (mostly...) nice to everyone/ so she didn't want to assume anything

riri's working late hours? shuri brings her coffee, works alongside her. doesn't make a fuss of it. they start walking her back to the dorms after those late nights. in class she starts asking riri questions more, complimenting her, but again, no more schemes.

after awhile, they just kinda...click? like riri doesn't even notice how often she's starting to look forward to seeing shuri. and even starts to believe that maybe shuri is being nice to her because???she enjoys????riri's company????

soon enough riri starts to seek shuri out. excitedly calling shuri whenever she has a new idea, offering to pay for coffee the next time they're working late, staking out the financial aid office, even responding to shuri's texts in a (somewhat) reasonable time frame

when it does click for riri that she might be forming a crush (her attraction is so sporadic that she rarely pays attention to it anymore) she does panic. a bit

not because she hates the idea of dating shuri, but because she doesn't have much experience dating anyone. what if shes misreading the situation and shuri only wants to be friends? what if riri doesn't even know what she wants and just likes the attention???what if she ruins everything because of her inexperience? what if she icks shuri out and never sees her again???

yeah that wasn't a good week for her

[cut to shuri doodling their names in the margins of her notes]

anyways. when riri panics she reverts to bad habits and starts ghosting hard. self sabotage arc :)

at first shuri lets it go cause again she'd be a hypocrite otherwise. but after a certainpoint it really started to hurt her feelings cause damn she knows they aren't dating, but at the very least thought they were friendly? she gets mad, gets moody, but after awhile she gets REALLY concerned cause while riri is flighty she never does it maliciously

so for one last time, shuri does indeed cook up a scheme. said scheme is sneaking into riri's dorm and just asking her straight up if she's okay (she brings food just in case riri is actually mad at her)

and like....riri's so used to keeping her emotions and worries to herself that she isnt used to just...being asked.

so the moment she's hit with the "are u ok" girl just breaks down and spills

(riri does accidentally admit to her crush during this breakdown, but shes also revealing other stuff about herself so shuri decides not to focus on that and to just help her cry it out)

(shuri feeling some conflicted feelings cause on one hand her crush has mutual feelings on the other hand her favorite person is feeling shitty)

[insert cry sleepover sesh]

about a week or so later things have reutrned to...normal....mostly.

thing is now that riri is getting used to her attraction and wanting shuri and wanting a life outside of her lab she gets...bold.

starts slowly returning shuri's playful flirting... being more open with shuri about how she feels

shuri is not used to bold. shuri, princess of wakanda, top of her class, isn't used to being flustered or pursued so seriously, shuri's bbrain turns to mush and will never return.

shuri's friends also think this is funny

ok thats it maybe ill write more ideas later but i got an essay to submit for my final among other tings

#shuriri #shuri x riri #wakanda forever #mcu #mcu hcs #shuriri head canons #shuriri au #shuri black panther #riri williams #me scrubbing the walls of the shuriri tag trying to make this house a home

[zalia]

For the OTP ask

Unoriginal and predictable for my part yes but I like seeing u enjoying the collective Blorbo so

Osiris

i am always happy to ramble about Osiris because I too am predictable XD This is also for @vallaragna who asked for Osiris as well!

favorite thing about them He cares *so much*. He is bad at showing it at times, and hides it with the veneer of arrogant narcissism, but he is so wholly dedicated to defending his people. And he has a rock solid moral core. I think with Saint being so nice and openly caring, it's easy to forget that it was Osiris who was seeing the Eliksni as more than just enemies way back before he even became Vanguard Commander and calls Saint out several times on his hatred for them. He's a good person. He's just not always a very nice one.

least favorite thing about them It's hard to think of something because even the negative parts of his personality are things that I love because they make him more interesting. I guess, we do have a joke amongst my friends which is 'But what about Osiris' needs?' because god, the man can be very self-centred and a diva, and that bleeds into any fic I write with him. He can and will make himself the centre of any narrative and from a writing perspective, it can feel very self-indulgent.

favorite line I love the line from Season of the Seraph where he snarls at Clovis to keep his damn thoughts away from Saint. It's so protective, a crack that shows us something beyond what he tries to project to the world.

brOTP I am very invested in his friendship with Lord Shaxx XD There's not a huge amount in canon, but there's such a casual vibe between them in the Devil's Ruin quest. Also we know that the Speaker suspected Shaxx of being one of Osiris' followers (and in the comic Shaxx is right there with Ikora trying to stop Osiris from getting exiled), so I figure there is some closeness there. Also love him being friends with Eris and Mara. We got a glimpse at the closeness between him and Mara in Season of the Seraph, and I really hope we get some with Eris too!

OTP Saint-14. No matter what else I write, there's always gonna be Saint in the background (even when I write things from before they meet each other). They just obviously love each other so much.

nOTP I don't really have one honestly. If something can be written well enough, I'll probably give it a chance, although I have my own specific ideas about his relationships with other people. I guess I would struggle seeing him and Ikora?

random headcanon Obvious to anyone who has read my fics, this man is autistic and really fucking tired. He also has a sweet tooth.

unpopular opinion Not something I've seen on Tumblr, but in my occasional dives into Reddit, I have seen people complain that he isn't as cool and badass as he is 'supposed to be' in the really early lore. Blah blah, depowered, blah blah, whatever. What they wanted was apparently an all-powerful asshole genius who was flawlessly 'logical' and... look, it is the same type of guy who reveres Elon Musk. But just... besides showing a complete lack of understanding of how characters have biases in how they talk about things, they seem to hate the very things that make Osiris fascinating as a character. He's deeply flawed, massively traumatised, and very emotional. Also gay. Something tells me this may be influencing certain opinions.

song i associate with them This is the question I always fear because I suck at it XD Not sure specifically for Osiris, but A Good Song Never Dies, by Saint Motel, is a great song for Guardians in general.

favorite picture of them

This concept art I adore!

#destiny 2 #osiris #destiny the game #meme

[ndostairlyrium]

✨ OC Tag Game ✨

I was tagged by @greypetrel to roast my OCs make Sophie's Choice kind of decisions but these are some fun decisions 👌 thank you so much dear!! Also I'm stealing the magenta and purple color scheme because I'm obsessed lol

I'm tagging here so y'all can avoid this monsterpost and go straight to the tag game lol @underneathestars @sparatus @daggerbean @bruxbea @n7viper @transprincecaspian @that-one-halfwit and those whose name starts with J.

I had to dig deep in my personal can of worms so grab a drink, a bunch of popcorns and a new pair of eyes because this is going to be one of the longest posts I've ever made. I'm not joking, I'm apologizing :'D

Favourite OC:

Ankh/Lav. I played favorites since I created this space and I have no problem exposing my horrible self lol She's the perfect person for me, always challenging herself without being afraid of failure. Even if she has some terrible flaws, she does her best to process them in a mature way. Writing her helped me a lot coming to terms with some things in my personality that I despised :'D she pesters influences the two realms of being, basically. Also she's gorgeous, isn't she? *pinches cheeks* bella de mamma 💛

Newest OC:

HER. The icon, the legend, the witch of the needle. Adra, trans-woman, city elf, much bitch, such stylist. She calls people by titles she invents on the spot based off their personality (which is a thing that cannot be transferred into the english language since titles aren't a thing ;; sigh), she's one that states what's wrong with you right in your face, and she's constantly in pain because of her job - one day is her back, the other it's the eyes, but somehow humidity is always involved. She calls herself old but she's not that old, like, she's in her 60s << anyway, she takes advantage of it a lot for her own entertainment. Coming from the Denerim alienage for then moving to Highever, she has had all the experiences one can think of so she appears a bit skeptical when it comes to big scale projects born from righteous ideals. However she seems to believe in the Inquisition. Well, she trusts its leader and her work, but she's a fereldan through and through so she's leaning more on a "I'm gonna judge the overalls when I see the results" attitude. So far, she's satisfied, but she'll never express it. Queen Anora #1 fangirl.

Oldest OC:

Rhian, daughter of Beathan ...who at the beginning was a Lord of the Rings OC but then she turned into something I'm using for a personal project with a medieval fantasy setting, so now she's running free and untied from a beloved franchise :'D weee There is some bisexual awakening going on but it's actually a story about found family, gender roles, and honesty. I'll get back to it at some point. Hopefully. She's the Mulan of my roster, pretending to be a man to join the local army and having to deal with a big menace while questioning her faith on authority. She's very brave, caustically sarcastic, an average soldier, and has loud opinions that always put her in trouble. Also she's a capricorn, she can open jars and she will let you know until she dies.

Meanest OC:

Lenore fucking Shepard WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED LMAO She's manipulative, controlling, outright nasty towards pyjaks, and would 100% push you towards the zombie horde as bait if that means she gets to save herself plus her squad. She does have a few reedeeming qualities but it's not even slightly enough to grant her a "maybe she's good on the inside" consolation prize. To be fair, she's the most emotional character of the bunch, super sensitive towards children and people that can't fight for themselves. The ones she likes, yeah, but still! Hands down my favorite store on the Citadel <3

Softest OC:

All of th--

Absolutely him. Mr. Rivelli. Wiccan, chemistry genius, chainsmoker, incapable of interfacing himself emotionally with those surrounding him. He's quite the introvert, but he daydreams like a pro and he's very passionated about his interests. He can't look at people in the eye, but he's the most loving and communicative plant dad one could think of <3 He's a soft boy, he just has a lonely nature. He's part of a project called "The Wedding Planner", it's a boy meets boy story, both of the main characters are in their thirties and there's a "what am I doing with my life" type of approach to the plot. It's a 30 years old / mid life crisis type of story, basically, with a wedding. The wedding is important. Very. It makes it cheesy. We worship cheese in this household.

Most Aloof/Standoffish OC:

Absolutely him, and it's a coping mechanism. Castor "Cass" Actius never shows emotions because he bottles all them up. And it's a long bottle - he's very tall. I was torn between soft and aloof in this case, but he's definitely one that acts like he's the calmest but in truth he's screaming internally all the time. Probably one of the characters I can relate to the most lol He's all legs and sugars, has a thing for tea, he's the fourth of four siblings and probably the most well adjusted out of them - which says a lot about the state of his family considering he's clinically depressed and an addict << He's a great leader, calm and detached, also he doesn't seem very approachable at first. At second as well, and at third, and at... But he's a cool person with big mom energy. If you're under his command, prepare to be scolded frequently, but also to be defended strenuosly in front of his superiors because you're perfect and you did nothing wrong, never in your life!! Best baker of the bunch, sorry Hawke.

Dumbest (affec-- lmao they wish!!) OC:

These three. They all trusted the apostate. On a scale from Stupid to "I trampled on my feet and now the kitchen is on fire" however, Ela is definitely the one sitting on the ambulance with a blankie on her shoulders. Here, have a banner all for yourself, dumbelina <3

Although I'm talking about that kind of stupidity that makes you look like a fool during situations that require a little bit of foresight or planning. She basically winged some of the most important decisions during the Blight, the others were taken because of her strong sense of honor and justice, but like You can't apply that all the time and then go surprised pikachu face when people call you out for being impulsive.

Smartest OC:

Him. Hands down. Serge "Twinkles" R'lyeh. He's MacGyver with the sensitivity of Tori Amos, also he's your therapist and your sugar daddy at the same time. He's an aerospace engineer turned infiltrator turned spy turned college teacher turned practical fx specialist turned distinguished officer during the war turned loving husband and best uncle... Like, there's so much to him! He lived a tons of lifetimes at once because he's talented brilliant incredible amazing showsto-- Probably the second favorite, because he seems like he's perfect but he has a problem taking responsibilities. He's also very childish, egocentric, he second guesses you as if it was a competitive sport when it comes to things he can do better, and his mouth is the envy of every sailor from here to the Attican Traverse - because he swears a lot but also for the other reason *cough* I kinda loved having to deal with someone that was on top of many skills, it made so much room for planning a big downfall <3 oh, and he fell. Hard. I'm gonna stop but know that I would keep writing about him for other 30-40 paragraphs, gushing and blabbering incoherently because he's my special self absorbed space kitty, trust me on that. I'll just say that he built a working real life deluminator when he was a fluff. he smort

OC I'd probably be friends with:

None of them, they're terrible people with a lot of problems and I made them like that so if I had to meet them they'd ki--

It's them. Ankh and Kerry. Who else? I need the extrovert friend who ignores my rain checks and comes to my doorstep with a pile of books concerning the strangest topics, and the chill friend who can cook a brilliant pasta while he listens to me complaining about the post office. Also, they're the ones I'm the least afraid of. On a more serious note, they have a huge deal of compassion and care; he's an empath, she's an active listener. Also I vibe with creative people that show a huge passion for what they're doing, plus I wouldn't mind having to bury some animal bones from time to ti-- cook and bake. I like to roam around the kitchen with my friends and talk about whatever. We talk a lot in this household <<

This was a lot and I'm sorry but y'all read the introduction of this blog, the blorbos are my Jub-Jub Bouvier and I can't help myself :'DDD

#long post #tag game #oc tag game #ankh #kerry #elanor cousland #I would tag the others but I'll ponder this task a little bit before doing so lol #I knew perfectly all the placements except for soft because they're all big softies even len #and len is the worst #but when overlord happened she became fury personified because she couldn't deal with such an injustice #also she blushes like mad when people bring up her relationship #it's been a while since I overshared about twinks and cass they're my perfect space cat children <3 #annoying as hell but immaculate #nonon no noono no ali stop ahahaha #I was so ready to make another long post via tags GDI #here have a cookie and a blankie as a sign of apology

[quandaryqueen]

Desperate measures

Arkham Riddler X Reader

Wherein in desperation, you asked for the Riddler's protection to avoid Lex Luthor's wrath.

Inspired by a little anecdote from my father after my country's election. It's interesting how people with power can do such things.

Anxiety had you seized by the neck and in desperation, you claw and flail and managed to arrange a meeting with world renowned Riddler. The delightful fella, though scoring 4/10 in endurance and strength, he was your only hope, which says a lot in your situation.

You needed all the help you can get and you were no choosing beggar. The Riddler is the only one you knew would cross Luthor's path in an opposing manner and does so without getting scathed... Severely.

Where else would you get help? Of course there's always Batman but he would no doubt look into your fair share of crimes. Why else would you have been formerly affiliated with Luthor? Everyone associated with Luthor would eventually get their hands dirty. Well, if you'd ask anyone else, namely Penguin or any other of the Rogue's gallery, a lot of them are partial to swear fealty to him, but it's best not to take risks. And by hell, you would rather meet whatever Lex has in stored rather than getting yourself involved with the Joker.

And so, the Riddler it is. He wasn't easy to track and definitely didn't make it easy for you to contact him. But like I said, in desperation you deployed all your connections and took advantage of it. Once you took a hold of him, he was feeling extra spiteful and haughty to entertain you for a meeting. He was particularly vague about meeting you, constantly contradicting himself to make further complication in your brain. He is the Riddler after all, and he loves his mind games, but you were having none of his fuckery.

"If you accept my proposal I will sponsor whatever project you're making."

"Oh?" For once, he actually lent you his full attention, having been hit with a advantageous opportunity. He scoffs. "Do tell me more."

And so, arrangements were made and you spared no expense to cater to the Riddler. You had yourself a reservation at Dorsia, a one hell of a difficult feat considering the bastards there are a bunch of pricks and are always fully booked by rich assholes... Well, fellow rich assholes anyways.

You've dolled yourself up for the occasion, but nothing too flashy, lest should you outshine the Riddler he would hold off his end of the deal, as he does have a one hell of an ego. It's as simple as it gets, simple enough to meet the standards of the restaurant's dress code anyways.

He arrives in a fashionably late manner, much to your dismay but you expected this. Apparently, it's his time you're consuming.

"Mister Nygma, pleasure to see you." Your gaze says otherwise, you looked as if you were holding yourself back. As you should.

"Oh please, my friends call me Eddie,," He seats himself in from of you, his chair being pulled and pushed for him. He leans by forward, his elbow on the table and chin on his palms. There was this sickly grin in his face, that cocky little prick. "So... About this proposal... Explain yourself. Why oh why are you contacting little ol' me?"

As you were about to open your mouth, he interjects. "Let me make an educated guess: You are asking for my help because of the recent little fuck up you made that cost Luthor's presidency? After all, he had received your full reassurance that he would be winning with your promotions and such, that he has I've you a rather handsome amount of cash, only for him to lose... Am I correct?"

Well, he certainly hit a nail on that. So you nodded. This seems to satisfy him, stroke his ego even, especially when you showed a quick glimpse of shock at his accuracy.

"Of course I'm right. I always am. You are at least competent enough to think I am the best choice to protect you. Props to you for recognising my genius, people these days can hardly recognise my brilliant self. What a bunch of Imbeciles..."

You interject before he can further stray away from the topic, god knows if the meeting would lengthen yo a degree that the sole purpose of the meeting would be forgotten.

"If I may... Edward.." You were rather hesitant to say his name, it's almost you were starting to question whether you made the right choice or not. But alas, you were in too deep to consider changing courses. God knows if you haven't done anything, Luthor might strike again. "Let's discuss the exchange that will be happening between us. I don't want to waste any more time." You firmly asserted, but with that nervous time of yours, it made you look extra pathetic. And unfortunately, Nygma took notice of it.

"Cute..." He patronises, looking down at you from the tip of his nose.

You chose not to address his insult. You swallow your pride and proceeded with your purpose.

"I need to know that you swear your fealty to me." You hated how pathetic you are. Despite your attempt at being firm, choosing dominant words and such, but you know that he knows he has the upper hand here and he doesn't even have to try. "In return, I will reward your loyalty to me by sponsoring your projects, but know that these will only be anonymous exchanges meaning, you are cannot name me as your sponsor."

"Any projects?"

"Yes. Anything."

You watch him lean his back against his seat, pinching his chin between his thumb and index finger. You hated how theatrical he has to be just to keep you waiting and you know he finds delight to see you desperate for him.

You fear your statement was unsatisfactory, and so you added, "Please, I'm begging you. Luthor had  sent me a casket this morning and I fear for my safety."

The Riddler raises a brow in amusement. To resort to appealing to him with your state of safety, as if he'd care about your fickly little life.

"And?" Fucking hell, will this man ever be satisfied?

"You're the only individual I know that Luthor won't cross. I know that the man intimidated by you and you're just the perfect man for me." If you had to kneel, you'd do it in a heartbeat.

"Buttering me up, Y/N? I'm flattered, my dear..." My, my, you threw in some praises for good measure. He admits, you're a cute little thing, so pathetic and small. Looking at you makes him feel an air of superiority.

You looked up at him when he hums, as if he had concluded a thought. Your leg bounced from under the table from the immense anxiety that had wrung the better sense of judgement out you mind.

"It is settled. I will make sure that the phony shan't touch a hair on that pretty little head of yours. I've always hated the guy anyways." He says with a cocky smile, voice dropping to a low tone. "I must admit, Mx. Y/N, I never could have thought that I'd be your first choice. You see, people like you would resort to seek protection from fellow wealthy people by recruiting the worse of ideas. Namely, Penguin, or Two-face or if you are as dumb as a rock, Joker. It's good that you recognise the genius I am.

"Now, let's order shall we? I'm quite famished."

And so begins your partnership with The Riddler.

#edward nigma #edward nygma #riddler x reader #edward nygma x reader #arkham riddler x reader #arkham riddler #edward nashton x reader #edward nygma x you #dc x you #dc x reader #dc universe

[themculibrary]

The Avengers Living In Avengers/Stark Tower Masterlist

A Different Kind of Family (ao3) - livvylane pepper/tony T, 24k

Summary: When Peter was recruited into the Avengers, he expected a lot of training and fighting. He certainly didn't expect a grumpy guy with a metal arm, a deaf archer who was a bit obsessed with pranks, or a sleep-deprived genius who had decided that Peter was his new project, and he certainly didn't expect Steve Rogers to act like such a... father.

and when you get there, is it perfect? (ao3) - hailling_stars pepper/tony T, 11k

Summary: Peter Parker is homeless, a thief, and involved with things he shouldn't be.

Tony Stark has knack for adopting kids.

And that doesn't change when Spider-Man pops up on the Avenger's radar, and they launch a new mission, operation catch a spider.

Avengers Tower (fanfiction.net) - AvengersIsLife T, 29k

Summary: Tony rebuilds the tower, and realizes he misses his teammates. So, doing what any good friend would do, he goes and forcefully takes them from their lives, and forces them to live in the tower with him.

A Very, Very, Very Fine House (ao3) - wanttobeatree steve/tony, pepper/tony T, 41k

Summary: The Avengers take initiative. Or, the story of how a group of remarkable people came together to drink cocktails, eat ice-cream and wait for Fury's call. Post-movie.

Breaking News (ao3) - astolat steve/sam E, 10k

Summary: “I’ve sent you keys,” Tony said. “I’ve emailed, I’ve texted, I’ve called. Pepper called. There is an entire floor of Stark Tower waiting for you to move in. And instead here you are living in a two-bedroom shack out in the open with your — extremely hot, by the way, nice job there — boyfriend. The paparazzi are going to eat you alive, Rogers.”

Clint Barton's Super Secret Snipers' Club (ao3) - sara_holmes bucky/clint T, 67k

Summary: Clint Barton's Super Secret Snipers' Club. (Invitation and pending mental health evaluation required.)

"When Steve brings Bucky back to the tower for the first time, Clint’s first thought is that Tony Stark’s pride and joy is quickly becoming a less of a very tall and expensive ‘fuck you’ in the faces of investors who don’t believe in self-sustaining energy, and more of a superhero rehabilitation center."

Boyfriends, compromises and learning to like oneself.

Clint's Hugging Service (ao3) - pherryt bucky/clint G, 7k

Summary: Bucky really, really wants to know what a Clint Barton hug feels like. Everyone else seems to swear by them.

Dysfunctional (ao3) - ApolloLoki97 pepper/tony, bucky/natasha T, 19k

Summary: Or the typical field trip fic with a little extra thrown in.

In Deep Water (ao3) - itsallAvengers steve/tony T, 11k

Summary: The Avengers want a pool. Tony can arrange that for them. He can. The thought doesn't fill him with horrible, daunting dread and crippling fear. Not at all.

(Or maybe denial does more harm than good)

Irreplaceable (ao3) - orphan_account steve/tony T, 4k

Summary: There are obvious downsides to being the only member of the Avengers who is not a super soldier, a god, or a super assassin, and does not Hulk out when aggravated. The most obvious one is that when villains want bait, they've got a go-to guy.

Tony already knew Mondays sucked. He did not need his opinion reinforced this way.

It’s a Secret to Everybody (ao3) - StarPrince_Punk T, 97k

Summary:

“I have kids,“ Clint said. “I know dad behavior when I see it.” Tony blinked multiple consecutive times, processing the statement. “Excuse me?” “Tony,” Steve said now, “how long have you had a son? And how come we’ve never known about him?” “Yeah,” Clint spoke again, “I thought I was the only one with a secret family. Turns out you’ve had one longer than me!” ——- Peter gets to spend all summer living in Avengers Tower with Tony. When the Rogue Avengers get pardoned and come back to live at the Tower too, they’re confused as to who Peter is. However, once they see how Tony acts around Peter, that confusion goes away, as they know for certain who Peter must be - Tony’s secret son. Tony and Peter decide to make the most of the situation, and play along. They hope they can keep up the act all summer. But they soon learn that they barely have to act at all.

Living With Superheros? Not Cool (ao3) - Groot_Is_God G, 10k

Summary: It had been just under a year since Peter moved into the Avengers Tower with Tony and Pepper. Everything was going great until he got news that would turn him upside down. His class was going to the Avengers tower on a field trip. His class, was going to his home, on a field trip. That was destined to end well.

Mechanics like to fix things (ao3) - sharkie335 bucky/tony E, 70k

Summary: When Bucky approaches Tony to fix his arm, which is malfunctioning, it sets off a chain reaction. After all, at his heart, Tony is a mechanic and they live to fix things.

Miscommunications (ao3) - Isnt_it_pretty_to_think_so T, 14k

Summary: Five times the Avengers learn about Peter Parker, and the one time the rest of the world does, too.

Not So Sneaky Spider (ao3) - Playedcrowd5610 G, 2k

Summary: Peter has to break into Avengers tower to retrieve something that he forgot on his field trip. Only to be met with the Avengers themselves. This looks bad now, he is breaking in, and stealing from the lab. How can he get past all of them? He can't quip his way out of this one.

peter parker’s failed zoom meeting (ao3) - crobby T, 1k

Summary: Peter joins the class Zoom meeting and immediately tries to add his usual Kermit the Frog backdrop, but the computer won’t let him. “Come on,” he says to it, quiet enough that it doesn’t carry into the microphone, “Work with me, here!” The computer refuses to work with him, and Peter suffers the cruel fate of having his classmates see that he is most definitely not in his shoebox apartment in Queens, but rather in the Avengers Tower.

Or, Peter suffers through having his entire class learn that he’s quarantining with superheroes. Yikes.

Spider-Man Breaks the Internet (ao3) - maddieee1 N/R, 5k

Summary: Peter decides to start a YouTube channel as Spider-Man to “give the people what they want.” Chaos ensues.

The Home Invasion (ao3) - Blue_Glass harley/peter, pepper/tony N/R, 13k

Summary: Peter Stark, more commonly known as Peter Parker, just missed out on the secret Academic Decathlon field trip because he had miscounted his days absent from school. Well at least he gets to stay home for the day right? What happens next is purely coincidence, but really Peter should have expected this to happen.

Works In Progress (ao3) - Agnes_Bean bruce/tony T, 7k

Summary: Tony's downward spiral threatens to pull Bruce over the edge, too.

#themculibrary #marvel #mcu #masterlists #the avengers #avengers tower #avengers tower masterlist

[cinefarious]

I was tagged by @hotsuqueen to self-rec my favorite five fics that I've written! I don't self-rec nearly enough so let's see if I can do it.

Spectral Thief is probably the work that I poured the most of myself into. Persona 5 fandom in general tends to delight in the aspects of found family and friendship, but when I played I seemed to also zero in on the harsh unfairness at every turn that the protagonist lives through. There was a lot of ugliness in the dialogue, character portraits, and small details (like his cardboard box of things being damaged). I love a good woobie fic, and I feel like I really learned a lot about my personal niche of erotic horror when writing this. I loved every second of crafting this Joker/Akira story even though it took me so long! But I'm so happy with the end product and allowing myself to really just embrace what I like writing.

Heart Stamp is another example of leaning into what I love writing. I am such a sucker for post-canon Iwaipego. I like my Iwaipego domestic as fuck. I love to see Iwai in his home, going about his routines, showing signs of both confidence and nerves. Persona 5 doesn't do well showing more than the skeletons of people and personalities, which is fine given the limited format, but there are so many hints and little details that make up these characters, that it was an absolute joy to show them off in an electrically charged, but desperately mundane scenario. I like my romance to feel like transcendence…but also like it could happen to anyone. I loved writing this vulnerable crush meets the perfect storm of possibility.

Another Iwaipego! Watch Out Boy, He'll Chew You Up is by far the weirdest thing I've written, but it was also a joy to create. It's based off a game called Homegrown Pet by TrisGhost where you essentially feed a small monster different things like human flesh, candy, vegetables, etc and what it grows into and what endings you receive are based on that diet. It was so out there, but I knew Hotsuqueen had been into the idea of it as well. When prompted to write something for them…I couldn't resist! What followed was the weirdest AU I've ever written. It was extraordinarily fun translating Akira into a blob only capable of mannerisms and cat/puppy like behaviors. It was fun to figure out how their relationship would progress when so limited. And it was fun to think about xeno anatomy and fun little things that were both gross and hilarious. It was a blast.

I was terrified to ever write for Dragon Age. It's so incredibly dense as far as lore goes. I was absolutely sure that I would get a detail wrong or forget something crucial that made the plot nonsensical (if you could call it a plot). In the end, I bit the bullet and just wrote. Getting Dorian's voice was a challenge and a pleasure, and getting to show my deep love for the environments and details in DA:I was so nice. I enjoyed lovingly detailing Felix's illness and recovery and describing the food. I just had a grand time with it, short and sweet as it was. And it really helped me have more faith in myself.

Night Blooming is my last pick for this list. It's definitely not a fic that I get a lot of views or other interaction with, but I feel like it will always be on a list like this. Hotsuqueen is a genius for thinking up Iwai (P5)/Sayoko (P4), and I take great pride and giddiness for having written it. The pairing is astronomically full of chemistry. I took great pleasure in these two older characters being written when they were young and even more impulsive than they are in their present-day canon. I loved worming in bits and pieces of their personalities and story into what is a short little moment of passion. I liked that it prompted some laughs and generally felt like a wonderful moment of two very sexy ships passing in the night. I want to write this pairing again in the future!

That's all five! This is meant to be shared to five other writers to keep the chain going, but not only do I not even have five followers, but I also don't want to stress anyone out! So if you run across this and enjoyed it, then I highly recommend you share your wonderful works too! <3

#self-rec meme #fanfic

[ryukikiocspam]

My ocs but its vaguely comprehensive but no its not also i'm about to fall asleep i'll edit/update this. Later

This is so fucking cringe GRRR I hate writing my thoughts out! (Post under the cut)

Lucas Ward

he/him

A normal and uninteresting person, who has no notable qualities, and is definitely an average joe. He's just like any other 24 39 year old. Not a sci-fi flick inspired project created in a teenager's basement! Totally normal, obviously! What kind of child prodigy 16 year old gets bored and builds himself an android friend/brother? No one, nobody does that!

Victor Ward

he/him

Dr. Ward's geek older brother. 40 years old and still trying to win over his high school sweetheart. He can't flirt for shit, but he's got a heart of gold. Spends too much time playing video games, but he can make one hell of a casserole if you manage to get him off the computer. Who can blame him for being online all the time? He's a programmer, anyways. He's never done anything interesting. On an unrelated note, do you think that an artifical intelligence can have an anxiety disorder?

Candace [insert creative last name]

She/Her

Victor's best friend in high school and self proclaimed relationship expert, but somehow doesn't seem to notice how much Victor flirts with her. He thinks she's trying to hit on him when she calls him a dork, but that's just what she thinks. She's be brutally honest with you. Not just mean. Brutal. She'll make you cry if you let her.

[Post high school]

Ghostbusters sucked, Candice thought, until Emily showed up in her bedroom. Now, she's working as a shitty haunted house tour guide, and helps her ghost pal have the time of her after-life! And maybe figure out how all this ghost stuff works, anyways. What else is she supposed to do anyways? Stupid ghost. Stupid job. Stupid fucking everything.

Christina Baldwin

She/They

Romagyaru and also my beloved. I love lesbians

Tracy Miller

She/Her

An absolute angel! One of God's greatest gifts to this world! Tgirl swag.

Alex [trying to think of a last name]

They/them

The voice of reason among the idiots! They go with the flow, but will intervene if it gets too crazy. Everything in moderation. They're the most normal person here, I think.

Charlotte "Crimson" [lastname]

she/her

Created for a superhero roleplay with some friends in 8th grade. Absolute fucking menace. Edgy 12 year old who's really obviously an edgy 12 year old written by a fellow edgy 12 year old.

Crimson was orphaned, not in an edgy way, she just calls herself an orphan because she's been in the adoption system her whole life. That is, until she ran away to do crimes and general delinquency. Yeah. One day, Rick picked her up off the corner and since then, they've been a super cool father daughter duo that kicks ass. By kicks ass I mean she throws a tantrum and tapes some exacto knives to a swivel chair and beats someone to death with because he called her a kid.

She did cry afterwards. Then the apocalypse happened and we don't have much, but really? She's just hanging out in a dilapidated house playing monopoly with her dad and trying to contact anyone who might still be alive.

Rick (Not my oc, but very relevant to his universe)

he/him

Rick was my friend Ender's oc. After the roleplay chat became super inactive, he and I were the only ones still there, so we wrapped this shit up with one hell of a bang!

A genius college kid with a superiority complex gets on just about anyone's nerves, but Rick took that just a few steps further. Being natural rivals, the protagonist and Rick were constantly butting heads! Rick dropped out to do his own thing and prove to the world that he didn't need school and shit, he'd fuck some shit up all on his own, and he did. He made an iron man type suit out of whatever the fuck he could scrounge together and proved his worth to himself and everyone else. When our protagonist gets too cocky and fancies himself a hero, Rick found himself a daughter off the side of the street, they made an evil lair, and they caused the end of the damn world! Take that! Rick went from just a guy who needed to be told that he was good enough to a true villain who caused the end of the world with his found family daughter who saved him from a crumbling building as a thanks for getting her off the streets and into the best family dynamic that she'd never had. Now, he spends his time tinkering with radios, shooing off mutated creatures, and playing board games.

Goop Puddley

they/it/slime (slime preferred)

no real "lore" just a fucking sentient pile of slimey sludgey mess. i love this little funky lil skateboarding cool kid.

kid implies age but really? goop lacks age slime is just a fucking puddle. it does have a bit of form but slime will simply splat on the ground when bored. I've got at least 4 drawings of Goop in my notebook.

Emily [Lastname] (starts with b)

She/Her

A carefree girl and a self proclaimed "ditz", Emily [had an epic fail], leading to her untimely demise. By some miracle of fate, though, she gets to stick around as a ghost and still do teenager stuff. (I just wanted a cool ghost oc, okay?)

Michael Cambridge

He/Him

No, he's not Saul Goodman, he's a terrible man. A good lawyer, though. No degree, or any legal documentation of his existence, for that matter, but he's here, and pretty queer. And a pretty boy. Man? Creature? Demon? He's not human, that's for sure.

Sylvia Cambridge

She/Her

In middle school, no one reminded her to be careful of what she wished for. Now, she's got an overprotective demon/abomination/brother to hang out with her until she dies. Or something. She's still not sure if the price to pay is her soul or some entertainment. She's hoping it's the latter, but apart from that, her life isn't that interesting! Apart from the childhood trauma, the chunnibyo phase, the not-quite-normal boyfriend, the mortifying ordeal of being known, y'know, just normal stuff.

Gabriel Weiss

He/him

"It's not facism, it's a theocratic oligarchy, thank you." He's insane he's babygirl he's delusional he's normal he's an angel he's a liar he's a lunatic he's a horrible person he's my wife he's everything to me i hope he dies. This man thinks he's an angel but is just insane in the brain. Michael is not helping by encouraging said delusion. He attempts to kill everyone because "humanity has strayed too far from God's will" MY BROTHER IN CHRIST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? It's okay if i kill everyone though because i'm not human (i'm better) so im not going to heaven or hell. And michael doesnt care.

Olivia Harris

She/He/They/Every neopronoun

Wh-wh-wh-wh-what's good, sluts? The world's worst librarian is here to ruin your life. Her hobbies include taxidermies and giving terrible advice. And lying to Lucas about xer life. Most of them are movie plots. "Did you hear about that time my friend and I started an underground fighting group then became terrorists?"

#MY OCS #PINNED POST! FOR THEM! #i will edit this frequently #i hate having to explain things augh #long post

[talesfromthemightyi]

What "Pretty Boy" might mean for forthcoming High Flying Birds album

Upon living with the track for the days it has been out, it occurred to me that the direction Noel is heading towards might not be as drastic as anyone is making it out to be. On the contrary, close listeners might examine the track for any inklings or traces of the ‘Who Built the Moon?’ or the Extended Play releases. And you’d be completely justified for deeming that the track is nothing but an extension of the theme at play here. Of course, you’d also be selling your theory short of just being half wrong and half-cocked, and be accused of too much bias. Nonetheless, we’re all wrong.

And here’s why.

To mutter, the self-titled debut and, playing all your cards all at once taught us that not everything that you think will work, will in fact work. Out of the two projects that came out of the debut album back in 2010, one of them made it to punchline in July of 2011. Hot off the presses, Noel Gallagher was officially in it for the long haul as a solo artist – FINALLY!

What the debut also taught us was that meeting your heroes has its consequences. Much less, coming to grips that your tenure as the father of Anena rock isn’t all its shaped up to be. Matter of fact, Gallagher didn’t just stop here. 

When the debut hit shelves, and he went out on tour and began with the press, he displayed a fierce valliance that no other solo artist presented at the time. Brooding, and self-reliant on nothing but experience as the other brother to a double barrel shotgun of a force, Oasis. Noel’s point of the debut was so that we would have what we wanted. And we got it. Unfortunately, the first few legs of tours for the debut album also showed us that none of it was enough. Some concert goer’s will admit, he hasn’t exactly been “everywhere” yet. Something bigger was coming.

And that leads us into 2014, when rumblings were a’churpin’, abound with months and months of silence. When finally, the holiday of 2014 saw a year-end single reveal. It is now the wet-nose, windy beginning of 2015. And the ballad of a “Mighty I” was thrust upon the cold and ever growing fan-base. 'Chasing Yesterday' proved that even taking the reigns of, well– everything... isn’t exactly what we all wanted. And I’m not really speaking for everyone. It was clear that the eponymous offering wasn’t enough either.

2017. Gallagher unleashes a slew of mini-previews in the form of a music trailer for 'Who Built the Moon?'. Signaling a big “fuck you” to whoever was listening at this point. At the charge of this drastic change came a new line-up, and more promises to rehearse everything. Marr lent a solid in this third offering! A big welcome for us more die-hard listeners. Now, this is where I’d ideally stop. Like I said in the mini-review of “Pretty Boy”, this is just the beginning.

To say that anything is the beginning is, also the end of an era. To signal the end of an era would warrant celebration, or the cause of it. That “beginning” began a long time ago. And if you’ve been really paying any attention, you would have noticed that it started the minute Noel let bygones be bygones, buried the hatchet with Albarn, and really started leading the charge with a more positive output. “She Taught Me How to Fly” was one of the tracks in '...Moon?' that definitely merits a fresh start. “Be Careful What You Wish For” is also a nice call-back to Noel’s heroes (John Lennon). 

In truth, that beginning that I’ve been speaking of has been here for a long while. Now, I don’t care what anyone thinks. Quite frankly, whether you’re just catching up now on his last few releases, and are just crawling through his discography, whatever it might be that got you here, welcome! If you’re also here as an old Oasis fan and also don’t give a damn about what everyone else is saying, hiya! Be good to each other. Peace, love and bananas. Whatchu-might–call it, we’re here so that we can be the first ones to say that Noel’s genius is what kept us drudging along with him in the first place. He’s close. And Noel is getting close to showing us the bigger picture. It’s hopeful. And it’s never too late to be what you might’ve been. Or at least, that’s what he tried telling us back in 2011, in the debut. I think that title was always self-explanatory.

I think it’s more than worth it to sit back and enjoy whatever the Chief is putting out now rather than waiting for something “good”, whatever that “good” might be.

The point is, what this might mean for the fourth album might actually be pretty good. A lot of what everyone is claiming is “piss” or “woke” are just being negative about his output so far. Not many solo artists can put out a ‘Best-Of’ in their first decade as an ensemble. Not many bands can actually do that yet. Much less, a solo artist. And I think that’s amazing. It’s not arrogant. It’s not self-righteous or pompous. It’s literally what being in the music business can get you. Or award you. Either way, we’re incredibly lucky to be in the throes of a solo artist such as Noel, or Liam for that matter.

They’re getting somewhere.

Same as the Arctic Monkeys. They’re all maturing in their own way, and I think it’s selfish of anybody to strive for more and to want more. And that’s not a criticism against anybody. I’m just articulating that you can’t always get what you want. Any band, solo artist or group currently venturing out in the depths of the music industry currently, are the last of the greats.

But back to the main topic; what does this all mean for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds fourth album?

That’s up for you to decide.

And whatever it may be, might not be for you. Or it could actually be right up your alley. More so, it’s music for a generation yearning for more Oasis lyrics, in a storm of a urine-contained gestation where everyone keeps asking, ‘When are they getting back together?!’ They’re not. And he’s been trying to tell you that for the past 11 years. Look forward. And keep looking forward.

I’ll see you guys back here when there’s more about the fourth album. For now, continue streaming “Pretty Boy” – out now!

#noel gallagher #noel gallagher's high flying birds #NGHFB #chasing yesterday #who built the moon? #this is the place #blue moon rising #black star dancing #back the way we came #where the city meets the sky #noel g #noely g #noelyg #oasis #liam gallagher #pretty boy

[mywifeleftme]

172: Les Paul & Mary Ford // The World is Still Waiting for the Sunrise

The World is Still Waiting for the Sunrise Les Paul & Mary Ford 1974, Capitol

You get older (63), and every day someone mashes you in the gob with how long ago some event contained within your conscious lifespan took place (“Can you believe it’s been 19 years since NBC’s Ed was cancelled?”), and every day I’m telling them to shut up shut up shut up. My favourite “Remember when?” date is when the dinosaurs went extinct, because when I was a kid it was 65 million years ago, it is 65 million years ago now, and when I am dead and all my bones are being divvied up as souvenirs among my surviving friends it will not be 66 million or 69 million but 65 million years since the dinosaurs took their all-time steel-toe to the goolies.

I mention this because 12 years ago I reviewed Les Paul & Mary Ford’s 1951 single “How High the Moon” (b/w “Walkin’ and Whistlin’ Blues”), and now I’m reviewing a compilation that contains those songs. My 51-year-old self marveled at the ingenuity of the then-sixty-now-seventy-year-old recording, and I remain just as wowed today. I’m going to throw this portion of the review to my younger self:

“‘How High the Moon’ is a single from 1951, but it doesn’t sound like it’s only sixty years old. It’s like a radio transmission that’s travelled far beyond our solar system, the signal decaying imperceptibly over the lightyears until only the highest, whitest musical frequencies remain. A sort of ghost image of a pop song.

The song’s trebly, lunar sound is a result of guitarist and recording genius Les Paul’s meticulous, labour-intensive way of making records. At a time when most performances were recorded to a single track and overdubbing was almost unheard of, a man of Paul’s talents could easily have made his way in the business purely on the strength of his technical chops. But Paul was a recording nut who loved to work with the newest audio technology in order to push it beyond its makers’ intentions.

On his earlier breakthroughs, his technique involved recording himself playing on a disc, then recording himself playing along with the first recording on another disc, then recording himself playing along with the recording of the first two takes, and so on and so forth. This technique required Paul to play virtually perfectly each time, as direct editing was impossible and the poor fidelity of the discs he recorded on meant that the first tracks laid down decayed with each successive re-recording. If Paul didn’t record the various rhythm parts, bass lines and “solos” in the best possible order, the track would sound terrible (what we would now called “badly mixed”) and Paul might be forced to restart from scratch. Innovations in magnetic tape recording made this process easier in some ways (as well as making significant vocal multi-tracking possible), but Paul in turn increased his number of tracks from around eight on his first magnetic tape recording in 1947 to an astonishing twenty-four on 1951’s ‘How High the Moon’ (the same number commonly used in big budget productions today). There is something almost maniacal about a man going through such an arduous process just to get this fucking sound out of his head.

I’m not going to say it’s actually scientifically possible ‘How High the Moon’ has no bass tones at all, but the recording technology of the time fared much better at capturing high frequency sounds, which meant that each time Paul “recorded a recording” the previous tracks would have more of a high, pinched sort of frequency. When you do this as many times as Paul did here, the resulting sound has a cool, vacuum-sealed crispness. Paul’s wife Mary Ford had the ideal voice for this close-mic’d, trebly recording style, being high, clear and having very precise enunciation. She harmonized with herself exceptionally well, managing to project a playful, carefree quality in spite of the exacting precision it demanded. With simpler production, she might’ve come off as flirty or precious, particularly when an internal rhyme in the lyrics makes her voice sort of shimmy (“there is no moon above / when love is far away too…”), but this recording gives her singing a processed quality that, like today’s extensive use of Autotuning, makes it sound strikingly pristine but far less human. Her voice is doubled just enough to wipe out the lower register of her voice, and the multiplication of her voice renders its outlines thick and ever so slightly like static. It’s not music that makes you think of curling up with a girl, but rather of a girl’s voice curlicuing around the moon.

I’d always assumed Les Paul had probably become overrated as a guitarist because of the branding of the popular model of guitar that bears his name, but I was a fool. His style feels like a cross between jazz and rockabilly, but that doesn’t do justice to the oddness of how it sounds. I adore the array of trills and scratches with which he adorns the verses, the way he almost seems to be chasing himself in circles on his lengthy guitar solo (it’s over half of the song), bouncing against the rhythm. ‘How High the Moon’ is an uncommonly perfect blend of guitar virtuosity and classic pop style. And if there were ever a BioShock game set on the Moon, this would be its theme.

Defining Moment: Mid-way through Paul’s solo, Ford belts a long note and holds it for a good ten seconds or so, and it’s a shock because her voice to this point has been relaxed and soft. This is where Paul hits you over the head with the possibility of multi-track recording, because it sounds like there’s a now a choir singing, and the members of that choir’s voices are all impossibly similar to one another. It feels like a seachange.”

I really had time to dig into a record when I wasn’t trying to punch out one of these things every day, eh? In any case, the disc I now have in my physical collection, This World is Still Waiting for the Sunrise kicks off with “How High the Moon” and zips through 11 other sides recorded in their early ‘50s salad days. Many of them are jittery sprints in the same vein as their breakout hit, but the collection also dips into countrified ballads (“I Really Don’t Want to Know”), strolling novelties (“Walkin’ and Whistlin’ Blues”), and sonically-literal instrumentals (there’s not a better word for his “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” than ‘bubbly’). There are plenty of compilations of Paul and Ford’s work out there; sometime before the next asteroid smashes into us, you should get one.

Editor’s Note: No no no fuck! FUCK.

172/365

#les paul #mary ford #'50s music #electric guitar #multitracking #music production #how high the moon #music review #vinyl record