#this might be my shittiest post yet | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nights-at-crystarium · 10 months

Text

As a twitter/tumblr user since 2010-2011, I believe I have sufficient grounds to say that currently we as a community are living through the scariest, shittiest time yet. This post isn’t trying to fearmonger, no I’m not leaving tumblr until it literally keels over, but I suggest that we don’t put all our eggs in one basket.

If twitter/tumblr stay usable, great! In the worse scenario, you’d have kept posting on a new platform and stayed ahead of the curve.

This post shares my personal experience with three potential “new”* fandom places, and is aimed to help fellow content creators. I’m an artist fully depending on internet to survive, my reasoning may not apply to you if you’re a hobbyist. Do your own research, it’s always healthy. * Pillowfort and mastodon have been around for 5+ years, bluesky is ~2 years old.

Discovering new people to follow kinda sucks on all three platforms, twitter and tumblr are eons ahead, but, given the recent chaos and uncertainty, I’m willing to be patient, keep posting on those, and feel safer than I would’ve otherwise been. More baskets good, one basket bad.

All three have poor visual customization, don’t expect custom tumblr themes.

This list starts with the least popular, but most human and easy to join, and what I personally trust the most. All three allow nsfw if labeled properly.

✦ Pillowfort is a barebones tumblr. Intuitive, cozy, but currently very, very small. Be patient with its clunkiness or lack of some features, it’s made by an AO3-like team. I’d personally love if the fandom crowd managed to redirect its attention to it instead of the sus bluesky.

Joining: is free, invite-only, but the waitlist is nearly instant.

Lurk around on their official tumblr: @/pillowfort-social

✦ Mastodon, for me personally, is impossible to explain directly. I’ll use several comparisons.

- Discord but all servers can interact. You’re still on a server curated by some human(s) that might tell you what you can and can’t post, BUT, if you don’t like that server’s policy, you can move to a new one while keeping your followers. - Email, users A and B may be registered on different domains, still they can talk. It’s a weird comparison, but fediverse (please I’m not explaining THAT but it’s a good thing) in general looks like another email story: unlike big sites that come and go, it might stand the test of time. - Someone compared mastodon’s structure to xiv’s dc and servers, if you look at its domain names that way, it might be easier to understand.

Depending on user, mastodon may feel gatekeepy/snowflakey. I haven’t spent enough time on there to form a proper opinion yet, but a warning’s due.

An actually good and hopeful thing about mastodon AND tumblr: the two might start interacting in future. Ever lamented that your fav asian artists don’t use tumblr? If they use misskey, or any other place on the fediverse, it might be possible to follow them directly from tumblr in future, and vice versa.

Joining: is free, however some servers close for new members sometimes, and have human moderators reviewing your request.

✦ Bluesky is a twitter without Musk: today’s average internet user reads this, drops everything and already looks to register there. It’s still sus, but people flock to it like crazy. Most likely to become the next big fandom place in my eyes, even if I’m not happy about that.

I personally have no good feelings about bluesky. Same as twitter, which I hated even before the 2018 tumblr exodus, yet the crowd decided to make it The New Fandom Place, and, grudgingly, I had to give up and also join them in 2022. During the year I haven’t stopped despising twitter, yet, I can’t deny that it helped me survive. I estimate half of my patrons, and, hell, even tumblr audience, comes from twitter. So, if bluesky ends up being the next hot shit, I’ll have to keep up because internet pays for my living.

Joining: is free but hell, invite-only, the waitlist is a lie, your best chance to join is a direct invite.

This’s all I’ve got to say for now. If you have a correction or an addition, replies/reblogs are welcome!

Screenshots of the current interfaces under the cut, you may spy on my profiles o/

Pillowfort

Mastodon.art

Bluesky

#i grabbed a name on cohost and inkblot too but those interfaces instantly turned me away #also i'm not covering the mobile apps since i'm a pc-only user #social media #pillowfort #mastodon #bluesky #text post #long post #this already started making rounds but i wanted to add about algorithms #all three seem to have no algorithm atm #only 100% about pillowfort tho

1K notes · View notes

youunravelme · 3 months

Note

okay but how does mat propose??? (like a pt. 2 follow up to the wedding cake fic)

omg omg omg a proposal request!! let it be known, i have never been engaged, BUT all my friends got engaged/married last year so i think i'm uniquely qualified (edit: this was started in 2023, you know, when this request was sent. once again, my b). (though this might just turn into my dream proposal bc i'm in love with him).

for those of you who wanna check the part 1 of the wedding cake fic, here it is!

another edit: i wrote this to distract myself from my absolute disdain at scott mayfield.

carry on.

his hands were sweating all day.

which was weird, considering it was february.

but it wasn't weird, given what he had planned. he didn't know if he wanted to scream or throw up. the idea of you becoming his wife surely made him giddy, but it was soured with the slight chance that you might say no. he was supposed to propose before the season started up again, but he was plagued with anxious thoughts.

it's not the right time.

i'm not ready yet.

or the worst one: i don't think i'm that serious about you.

which, in hindsight, wouldn't make sense considering you were already living together and have been for quite some time. you wore his jersey to games, you had conversations about starting a family, you texted his mom and sister more than he did. there was no reason for you to say no.

right?

after he chickened out back in september, mat's new plan was to wait until the bye week to propose. he was going to take you on a vacation to conil de la frontera, spain. he had everything booked and ready.

but then he was drafted for the 2024 all star games.

he could see it in your eyes, you were ecstatic for him to be recognized, but when you took a week and a half off of work, you were planning on packing your bathing suit, not taking a short flight to toronto.

you bore the slight disappointment well, smiling and kissing him and hugging him tightly when he got the news. he beamed when he saw you post about it on your instagram.

he couldn't wait any longer to ask you. your reaction to a change in your vacation plans from something warm to canada in the winter solidified what he was anxious about for months.

you loved him, there as no doubt about it.

you were the most selfless human being he knew.

his teammates had been crucial in the planning process, well, at least their wives were. bo, marty, anders, brock, and clutterbuck had been chirping him since the start of the season when they noticed that your left hand was still devoid of a ring.

"what're you waiting for, barzy?" bo asked after a practice one day. "you found a good one, she'd probably wait forever for you, but why're you making her wait?"

mat shrugged at the time, too embarrassed to admit that despite being one of the best players in the league and having millions to his name, he was terrified that it still wouldn't be enough for you. not that you'd ever demanded more from him, you'd taken him as he was and cheered for him even when he was having the shittiest time of his life.

he could give you the moon and still wouldn't feel like it was enough.

so when mat finally told his teammates about his plan in toronto, they immediately communicated to the wives who were closest to you. sydney, grace, and holly took you out to get your nails done while marty, anders, bo, and mat started researching the most romantic places in toronto on anders' laptop just in case you spontaneously went through mat's search history.

the day was planned, the photographer and necessary tickets were booked, he'd propose at the evergreen brick works after texting auston matthews about cool places to visit while he was in town, (he had to clarify that he didn't care about cool bars, and was looking to bring you along).

you'd been talking nonstop on the plane ride to toronto that you didn't even notice mat was quietly stewing. everything had to be perfect.

it was the very least that you deserved.

the first day in toronto, both of you explored the city by going to coffee shops and restaurants recommended by players and their significant others. when you made it back to your hotel room, your feet were aching.

you fell face first into the bed, whining into the comforter. "my feet hurt," you groaned.

mat laughed from his position leaning against the wall. "i told you to wear better shoes," he said.

"i didn't anticipate you dragging me all over toronto today."

"well, that's what we'll be doing tomorrow too, so prepare yourself."

"mat," you whined, finally flipping over so he could see your pretty face again. you had a cute pout on your lips that he wanted to kiss away. "we're on vacation."

"and you've never been in this city before, you should get to see it." he walked over to where you were and grabbed your hands. "c'mon, let's go take a bath and then we can order room service and spend the rest of the night in bed."

you were quick to agree.

the following day was pretty mundane. but wednesday was the cause of mat's stress.

his phone lit up with texts from his teammates, his parents, liana, tito, and ethan, all wishing him a good luck. the two of you woke up early enough to go to a local cafe and grab breakfast before taking the bus to evergreen brick work.

"you okay?" you asked, placing your hand on his knee to keep it from bouncing anymore.

he thanked whatever possessed him to keep the ring box in his coat pocket on the side that wasn't pressed up against you.

"yeah," he smiled. "just ready to get there."

when the two of you hopped off the bus, you slid your hand into his almost immediately. out of habit, mat tucked you into his side, happy to just have you close. it was a little cold outside, but it was like he couldn't feel it because of your proximity.

"mat!" you tugged on his arm and pointed at one of the signs. "they have ice skating here!" you grinned widely up at him and he couldn't help but smile right back. "we should go!"

"we will," he said. "i wanna do this trail first."

you looked at him funny. "you wanna go on a walk?"

he shrugged, tearing his eyes away from you to focus on the signs in front of him. "auston suggested this place."

"you're asking for a lot of suggestions from auston. it's unlike you..."

"there's no need to be suspcious, babe. i know that you wanted to be in a tropical place for vacation, that was the plan and everything, but since we're here, thought we'd make the most of it."

you scrutinized his face for a moment longer before nodding and pulling yourself closer to him.

after you secured another hot coffee to combat the cold, mat started leading you on the trail. while you were ordering, he was coordinating with the photographer to make sure she was in position.

the trail itself wasn't that long, thankfully because mat couldn't get a word out and if it was any longer, he feared you would've caught on that he was incapable of speaking.

you were still talking about work drama when you got to the lookout point. your voice was taken away by the sight of toronto in the background.

you hadn't always been the most observant person ever, you didn't even know he liked you until he told you verbatim when he couldn't take it anymore.

"oh my god, mat," you gasped. you pointed at the skyline in front of you with the hand that wasn't holding your coffee. "look how pretty it is!"

he swallowed and knelt down on one knee while your back was turned. mat took the ring box out of his jacket pocket, doing his best not to drop it despite how much his hands were shaking.

"have you ever seen anything that--" you whipped back around to look for him. he watched as confusion filled your face when you didn't see him standing behind you, but kneeling in front of you.

"oh my god," you whispered, dropping your coffee on the ground so you could cover your mouth with both hands. "mat what--"

"i love you," he said. "i love the way you squeal at every cute baby that comes across your for you page or the way you cry at the drop of a hat. i love how you celebrate everyone around you. you are the brightest thing in my life and if i quit my job tomorrow, i know my life would still be fucking amazing because i'd have you.

"i know that my schedule is hectic, and you could probably find a man better than me, who was more consistent, who wasn't going to play games or have practices on your birthday, who could take you out of the country for a vacation to somewhere warm instead of dragging you with me to an all star game. but i promise you, i will do whatever it takes to give you the best life possible if you'd let me. i wanna grow old and crinkly with you, i want our kids to have the same last name as both of us. i want to be able to point you out in crowds and tell strangers that i somehow managed to convince you to marry me.

"i have never been more terrified in my life than i am right now," he admitted. "but i have never been more certain of anything i want more in my life than you. so will you have me? will you marry me?"

in the middle of his speech, mat didn't realize when he'd started crying, didn't even notice that you were all but sobbing. he just recognized the scent of your perfume when you lunged towards him and kissed him hard on the mouth, your tears mixing with his.

"yes," you mumbled into his mouth. "oh my god, yes."

mat let out a watery laugh and managed to slip the ring on your finger even though his hands were shaking. you pulled him up to stand and immediately wrapped your arms around his neck to pull him close.

you were sniffling as he pulled you in for another kiss.

"i love you,' he whispered against your lips.

"love you more," you smiled back.

#mat barzal #mathew barzal #mat barzal x reader #mat barzal imagine #mathew barzal imagine #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #nhl blurb

262 notes · View notes

frecklystars · 2 months

Text

im gonna start making doodles trying to reclaim my TF F/Os that i've lost, maybe once a week or once every two weeks... or once a month?? i dont know, i will try to keep some consistency but i really need to start slow on this. here's to hoping that drawing them every once in a while will make even just the smallest difference.

im so sick of associating these characters with my abuser and i'm so sick of the immediate fight or flight response that i get when just looking at pictures of TF characters or even the voice actors. i have tried just about everything... therapy, medication, exercise, watching a few clips from the shows, buying cameos, commissioning art/fics, talking to voice actors in person at conventions... nothing has helped me get better at all. i tried giving up on TF entirely, throwing out/giving away all of my TF merch, refusing to touch the franchise, but that has only made me more and more miserable as time has passed. it has been over a year since [insert the most horrific experiences ever here] happened to me and since i associated that with a long list of things, TF included. and im! sick! of feeling bad! so! if im gonna be miserable no matter what, then i might as well try to get better, right?? drawing my F/Os loving me has never failed me before, so here's to hoping it isn't gonna fail me now. i am quite the stubborn bitch and i refuse to allow my main coping mechanism i've used for 2 decades to remain tainted forever and ever 😤😤

these will be the shakiest, shittiest doodles imaginable, but i think drawing the robots i miss so much at least once a month can help me rewire my brain into believing they're safe again and they love me and i'm not in danger. i think the best thing that will help me is drawing my Ryan F/Os interacting with them as "proof" that they're safe to be around, that they've "approved of" them, will help me slowly reclaim them. fake it til you make it as they say. let's try this for maybe just a couple of months as a slow start and see how it goes :/

any TF doodles will be tagged as "reclaiming robots tag" and nothing else - free to blacklist it if you dont wanna see. i'll most likely be rarely posting these but jic //shrug

anyway. yay. attempts number one and two. i like to think barbie and ken stop by the starflower meadow every now and then because stsc summons them across the multiverse, asking them how i'm doing, if i'm safe, if i miss him at all. wow i am shaking so bad. ha ha haaa. these took about ten?? minutes?? so woohoo to ten minutes of drawing TF. im proud of myself for trying. even if i dont go through with this and end up not being able to draw TF ever again, at least i managed this one single post. if i keep this up, maybe a year from now, or two years or five years or whatever, i'll be able to handle it. i don't even expect to hyperfixate on TF ever again because my self shipping will never ever be the same w/ them -- i'll never interact with the fandom again, i'll never reblog fanart or gifsets or anything like that ever again, if i even somehow managed to feel good enough to actually throw myself back into the shows -- but i want to think i'll feel indifferent to it one day. to not have that fight or flight response. that is my goal. literally the bare fucking minimum <3

anyway. i'm super nauseous. this is so incredibly hard! holy shit!!! but that's why i have to do this. to quote pedro pascal, i am going to have a panic attack and i am going to leave 👍✨

(BTW I am still gonna stay offline for a few more days. I am back from vacation but I am SO burnt out I don't want to interact with dms/my inbox yet. I just wanted to post this just to get it out of my system and let it disappear into the void. But I will be back later this week bc I still have some commissions to finish and I wanna gush about my very exciting time meeting steve/tom/the brba cast. anyway... goodnight. i love you. smooch)

#reclaiming robots tag

31 notes · View notes

kerubimcrepin · 3 months

Text

The Luis Floor Plan.

(Note: You will notice that in this post, I use some graphics from the mostly-broken find-the-object minigame from the series' site. That's because I thought it'd be cute, but also, because I am thinking of exploring it in one of the next posts.)

One thing I particularly admire about this series, is that the house is very well thought through. There's a feeling that the house is a real space, — which is kind of funny, considering Luis can shift and change his rooms as he pleases.

This is why I decided to take the time to really explore the show and understand the layout of the entire house (save for the storage room. there is no understanding that) as it appears in the Dofus series, using screenshots from the show, and the concept art I can find.

This won't be a very analytical post, but instead, a collection of screenshots, with my own shitty, hand-drawn diagrams.

*I am only assuming that the door behind the counter leads to the storage room, because in the episode "Toothache", where Kerubim comes out from the usual door (the one next to the stairs), — Joris comes out from behind the counter, despite both of them being in the storage room moments earlier.

I can't remember another instance of the door being used, but it might be because I wasn't paying attention to The Door Lore.

*We see that the toilet is there in the episode "Role Plays" and Joris mentions being bad at bathing (implying they have a bath), while Simone is shown to go to the bath while at their house (yet again, implying a bath existing.)

*The third window in the kitchen, surrounded by question marks, is a window I theorise to be in that location. It seems that the light in the room often falls as if there is a third window there. But I may be insane.

*This one was the most difficult, because the bedroom appears the least out of all the rooms within the series, and has small inconsistencies on top of it. Because of this, I drew it the shittiest.

Here are all the drawings together, now (with the entrances to each floor noted down):

#floorplan #dofus #ro liveblogs dofus #wakfu #krosmoz #im still busy with other things but i found the time and was like. gotta update the blog.

19 notes · View notes

writingpracticetime · 2 years

Note

As an urban planner by profession I devour this content and absolutely love it <3

For a prompt, if you want, perhaps the architect/constructor encountering the worst enemy of all, bureaucracy (in any context, pre or post antihero days)

(Original story for context: Here)

I love and hate you for this prompt. Love, because it's a great idea. Hate, because I am not an urban planner myself. I had to actually use my brain and google things to figure out city government positions and steps a construction project would go through. I'm pretty sure that I still got things wrong, though, because I have a mind like a spaghetti strainer. You might be disappointed or found out I wrote something stupid, or missed out on a crucial detail. If so, I hope you can still somewhat enjoy the story.

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

You’d gotten used to recreating cities. This, though. This was your proudest achievement yet: a design of your own.

Not the best design you’d ever make, but smart and practical considering how young you were. And, as much of your work would end up being, it was strictly problem based.

The problem: New Houston had been devastated by hurricanes in the past. There were areas of the city particularly weak to it, haphazardly rebuilt as quickly and cheaply as possible. And hurricanes were only going to get worse and worse in the coming decades

The solution: the first city redesign you'd ever made.

You had talked to people in the area and listened to a variety of experts: environmental scientists, material engineers, everyone who could have any insight. You had revised it several times, and landed on a design that most people agreed on. Your fantastic hurricane resistant city plan, with ample public transport solutions to allow evacuations from even the most vulnerable districts.

Now, of course, there was only the matter of getting the city to agree to it.

A simple matter, you thought. It would save lives. It would make the city a more livable place. With your powers, you could massively cut down any labor costs of the project. You were willing to do it for free, too, though Sandy tried to scold you for starting off with that offer.

So you submitted your plan.

"Alright," said the man behind the desk. "We can get this process started right away."

"Okay great," you said. "When can I start?"

He laughed. “Well, we need to run it by the Office of Finance first. Among other offices. We need to make sure that it's not going to cause more problems."

"But I talked to--"

Before you could rattle off every expert you had gotten to give their stamp of approval on the project's safety, Sandy stopped you.

"Kid," she said. "That's all informal approval. These things need to be officially signed off on."

"But Dr. Hansen said--"

"It's part of the process," Sandy said, soothingly. "Even if it's a good design, the city council can't know that without running it by their own people, right?"

"Right..." you said.

"I know you're impatient," Sandy said. "But these things are part of a system that exists to catch bad ideas from getting through. Just trust the process, alright?"

So you did.

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Email from Richard Cunningham, Planning Director in New Houston at the time, to the Deputy Mayor. Honestly it's just what I need, some idiot breathing down my neck to spend a bunch of money on the shittiest part of this dump, with the shittiest people living in it. It would probably do the whole world some good if a hurricane wiped the lot of them out. It would stop the drain on the budget that all the welfare is costing us, at least. It'd probably up the Governor's chances of re-election, too, given how that block tends to do in the polls.

Here is what you do: nothing, as nicely as possible. Be helpful, act like we're all for it--Constructor has already talked up the stupid project to enough media outlets that if we trash it we'll have to wage a PR war against the lovely Ms. Cassandra White, who is an absolute shark. We don't need any of that.

Just keep delaying. It's not us, it's all these unforeseen circumstances that we can't possibly control getting in the way.

The public safety division will probably drool all over this stupid plan, especially with that liberal idiot running the show over in that department. So here's what you do: pile up as much work as possible on the safety committee, cut their hours, and pressure them to look at every single other item on the list they have first.

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

It was months before the project limped over the first hurdle of the approval process.

"It shouldn't have taken that long," you said

"These things take time," Sandy said. "There is a lot of work that needs to be done by these branches."

"When can we start, then?" you asked.

Sandy’s assistant sort of laughs at you. "Not much of a polisci type, are you?"

You blinked. "What?"

"There's a bunch of different departments that need to agree on it first," the man explained. "It's okay, my kid's studying engineering and he's just like you. All this stuff is a big blind spot, huh? It always takes ages to agree on things like this."

"Well..." you swallowed some frustration. "As long as we can get it all done before hurricane season."

So the project got sent to the next committee, and you waited.

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Email from Mr. Cunnigham to R.J Green, Land Use Administrator. So I hear that you got that headache of a Constructor project sent over to you guys?

Email from R.J Green to Mr. Cunnigham Apparently so. But it needs my sign off before it goes anywhere, and I've just had the hardest time finding the paperwork on it. My memory's been slipping these days.

Email from Mr. Cunnigham to R.J GreenWell, what a shame. I'm sure it will turn up eventually. Also, remind me to buy you a drink sometime.

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

The last one--and the longest one--ended up being the Office of Finance.

They told you it would be 2-3 weeks to review it. A month later, you emailed the Finance Director.

"There were urgent matters that the budget committee had to address first, so we have not looked at it yet but we are putting it on the agenda for the next meeting."

You waited for the next meeting. You heard nothing back.

"Apologies, but it seems there was a clerical error. Somehow it never showed up on the meeting agenda. We will address it next time."

And then the committee had to take extra sessions to review it due to concerns about where the money would come from. And then they said they needed to send it back to zoning and get another expert opinion on the long term effects of such a plan before deciding to put money into it.

"But we already got--"

"It is important for them to be absolutely sure," Sandy said. "It's a big redesign, and if something goes wrong it would look bad for all of them. It's natural that they'd be cautious."

So you ran around to get the second opinion from the specific expert they mentioned. And you did.

Not that it mattered, because by the time that you got it, a record-breaking hurricane leveled the city.

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Excerpt from an opinion piece titled "So What Happened to the New Houston Redesign?" written by Albert Jackson, member of the Heritage Foundation.

Now the thing is, every puffed up intellectual agreed the plan was great. Of course they did. I'm sure it was, when you're sitting at a desk in a university.

But the new city isn’t going to pop up overnight, already built and with all of the kinks ironed out. You have to deal with the chaos, cost, and risk that comes with implementation. It would be a massive drain on the budget, and redesigning the whole city would put businesses on hold for weeks. Just think of all the small businesses that would never recover from the ordeal, and all of the people who’d lose out on their income.

There’s a reason things are the way they are, and sometimes it’s best to leave things be.

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

You were on site, removing dangerous rubble and unearthing bodies, when they told you you’re expected to rebuild the city exactly as it was before.

You flew into a rage. You yelled, and kicked, and threw heaps of scrap metal on the ground. You paced around and ranted. You picked up a severed arm that you had unearthed moments before and threw it at the poor messenger’s feet.

“I’ll fill Cunningham’s house with all of the bodies I’ve found here–” you screamed. “Before I put this place back the way it was!”

But you didn’t. Because Sandy ran out into the rubble after you when she heard, and calmed you down. You cried a little when she hugged you, because you had been working on your feet for twelve hours, and so many people had died, and you were so young.

“Good thing there weren’t any cameras around,” she told you afterwards. “And you didn’t use your powers to threaten anyone.”

“Maybe I should have,” you said.

"I know it's hard," she said. "But it's for the best. Acting angry: yelling, shouting, lashing out with your powers--that threatens people. And we don't live in a country where things are settled by threats and force. We settle things with the democratic process. Only villains threaten people to get their way, and the last thing you want to do is make anyone look at you and see anything close to a villain."

"But I did everything right," you said. “And they didn’t listen.”

"I know, I know," she tells you. "But when you look like a villain, people stop listening to you forever."

At the time it made sense. So you believed it.

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

January 14th, 202X

⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺⸺

Excerpt from a recording of a mayoral staff meeting held by Mayor Cunnigham, after getting elected due to his previous experience as Planning Director.

[Shuffling papers, typing, and occasional sound of footsteps.]

MAYOR CUNNIGHAM

--latest policy to the public. We need to pay off the city's debt, and so--

[A blast. Floor boards snap. walls crumble. People scream and run. A stones slam, and the people’s screams deaden as if every wall and window has closed in.]

DEPUTY MAYOR

Oh god, oh god--

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Let us out!

THE ARCHITECT

Is everyone alive, then?

[The second the Architect speaks, everyone goes quiet except for some gasping. The Architect's voice is booming and metallic, almost as though being amplified via a microphone from inside of the helmet the Architect has been seen wearing during confrontations with the police.]

CYBERSCOUT

Gimme a sec. Quick headcount-- Yep, looks like we got everyone in here and in one piece.

MAYOR CUNNIGHAM

You! Let us out immediately!

THE ARCHITECT

That won't be happening.

EXECUTIVE AIDE

What are you going to do to us?!

THE ARCHITECT

This isn't about doing anything to you. This is about what we all will do for the people of this city.

MAYOR CUNNIGHAM

If you think a single person here believes any of this is for the good of "the people" and not about your sick ego--

THE ARCHITECT

Mr. Mayor.

[Bonfire doesn't say anything, but there is a signature sizzle and the sound of flame indicating her presence. Mayor Cunnigham stops talking.]

THE ARCHITECT

Thank you. Now, I would like to talk to you about the city redesign plans. Which I proposed more than a decade ago now, and see you have not made progress at implementing.

MAYOR CUNNIGHAM

Because they were never approved, you–

THE ARCHITECT

I have since amended the plans. However, I have made modifications for accessibility. There are now safer pedestrian spaces, with particular emphasis on wheelchair accessibility. Areas have been modified so that a new light rail connects the wealthier districts with the “red line” ones. Also, all of the low bridges that made it impossible for buses to reach these parts of the city will be rebuilt to allow better movement by people who cannot afford cars.

MAYOR CUNNIGHAM

You're not fucking serious. You can't be rattling all of this--politically correct bullshit at me while you have a literal terrorist standing right there ready to fry us all!

THE ARCHITECT

I can't? (Pause) What about the current situation isn't registering, Mr. Mayor?

[Some of the villains snicker.]

THE ARCHITECT

Anyway, we have made arrangements for the city redesign to happen effective immediately.

MAYOR CUNNIGHAM

What? (Pause) You... no, you'd have to move the entire population out first, and house them, and then--that's too much to organize in such a short amount of time, too much cost--

THE ARCHITECT

We actually already have a plan to deal with all of that. It’s really only the residents of the poorer areas that will need to be housed during construction, since the wealthy areas won’t be affected so much that they will have to evacuate. The we will move residents of the districts being worked on to the--Grand Diamond?

CYBERSCOUT

Diamond Deluxe Resorts.

THE ARCHITECT

Yes. Funny how people are always talking about a lack of housing while so many hotels and resorts sit there, empty rooms just waiting to be filled... but that's off topic. We've already made arrangements for all members of the city to be moved immediately to the resort while I restructure everything and my friends help me add the finishing touches.

SENIOR DEPUTY MAYOR

"Friends."

EXECUTIVE AIDE

The people there haven't agreed to this! You'll be uprooting people from their homes--even if it's a good plan, you can't--you need the people's consent!

THE ARCHITECT

(Audibly smiling) What a good point. (Turns, armor can be heard shifting) What's your name?

EXECUTIVE AIDE

I... Uh... D-Destinee...

THE ARCHITECT

(Turning, again) You'd probably get along with Bonfire, over there. She said the exact same thing, you know. Right when I was ready to just go and do all of this. Helping people without their consent is... what did you call it?

BONFIRE

A shitty idea. (Pause) And also paternalism.

THE ARCHITECT

Exactly. Which is why we did research and found out that people have still been petitioning for these changes to be made, and also we went around polling to see how many people in the area would be willing to be temporarily relocated in order to allow for construction to happen. I even talked to some people in the community and the new changes are based on their explicit feedback.

But I am glad that someone in this room immediately thought of it.

MAYOR CUNNIGHAM

And what are you going to--you clearly aren't asking for my approval. What are you here for?

THE ARCHITECT

Just to have you make the appropriate announcements to let everyone know that the area will be evacuated in order to make repairs. You will sign the order, make the announcement, and stay in here guarded by my friends until the plan has been enacted.

MAYOR CUNNIGHAM

....I'll tell everyone that I've been kidnapped. They'll bring in the police--the National Guard, if that's not enough.

THE ARCHITECT

I suggest you first consider whether the budget can afford replacing the entire city police force.

[The entire room goes dead silent.]

Perhaps you should run it by the Office of Finance first.

[Mayor Cunnigham takes a sharp breath. There is a long moment before he breaks.]

MAYOR CUNNIGHAM

Fine. I-I'll do it.

THE ARCHITECT

I'm glad to hear it.

MAYOR CUNNIGHAM.

But you can't--I know you won't be keeping us forever. And the second you're gone--I'll tell everyone. And I'll have every bit of your fucking charity redesigns right back down and put up the way it should have stayed.

[Pause. A heavy step as the Architect moves. The Mayor audibly cringes.]

THE ARCHITECT

You're right. I can't stay. I can't determine what will go on in this city forever. I suppose if you, and the people here, decide to bring down what I've built then I can't stop you.

But they'll know it was done. They'll know it can be done again. They’ll know what it was like to live in a place designed to shield them and raise them up. And you won't be able to tear down the memory. Now, the paperwork.

[Recording ends.]

#constructorverse #both pre and post villain days #constructor #the architect #constructor vs. bureaucracy

331 notes · View notes

pentuppen · 4 months

Text

Pay No Attention To The Mad Brit Behind The Curtain. (This is just an angsty get it off my chest post in the void of nobody knowing who the heck I am and never being able to make my irl friends understand)

So all this week, I've been feeling a bit...off, unsettled. I've been having trouble sitting down and writing my fics with no earthly idea why. Then it kinda hit me.

This time last year I got diagnosed with breast cancer. Last year was a doozy, I'm a socially inept hermit who had to drag their ass to hospital 4 times a week, an assault survivor who had to grin and bear being poked prodded and exposed to strangers. Chemo was about as much fun as you might expect, and radiotherapy was yet more exposure, discomfort and all around ball achingly boring.

The only thing that gave me any relief was copious amounts of weed and Baldur's Gate 3 finally having a full release. I played that motherfucker like it owed me money, fell in love a couple of times, laughed till I nearly peed and even sniffled a little. It was cathartic as hell and once I was finished I knew I wasn't done!!

I was still feeling pretty sick from chemo and I's just had the remains of my waist length hair shaved off, I was in one of the worst physical and mental places I had been. Then I started composing scenarios in my brain, starring everybodies favourite Vampire. This brain-porn, started to grow substance and meaning to me so much so that I did something I hadn't done in around 7 years. I started to write fic again.

I cannot describe to you, the complete catharsis of finishing that first chapter, and coming back in the morning to find out that people had not only read the words that came out of my mad mad head, but liked it enough to leave comments that made me grin till I felt the top of my head was going to fall off.

It was just meant to be a one shot. But through encouragement and enthusiasm, it turned into a 50 chapter saga that I still can't believe I completed.

That game, and the lovely community that showed love for my work and support for myself were invaluable in getting me through perhaps one of the shittiest diseases in existence. I went from just 'hanging in there' 24/7 and barely feeling human, to being able to get out of bed in the morning and take care of myself, because I had everyone's enthusiasm and love for the story in my head and I had to write!

That meant a lot. More than even my weird words can say.

So, to end this self indulgent ramble that is basically me lancing the still somewhat stingy wound of remembering where I was this time last year...

Thank you Baldurs gate, for inspiring a spark in one sick motherfucker who needed a distraction and got a story that will live on amongst others in my heart.

And thank you to every single person who let me know my writing was worth something to them enough to comment or leave kudos or even make fanart. You guys only have a small idea of how powerful all those small gestures were in getting me through the battlefield and i'll never forget.

Fuck you Cancer. I Won.

And I love you all x

7 notes · View notes

gently-decaying-flowers · 4 months

Note

out of curiosity and love? may I hear about your ocs?

ASGRHEGEGSGRHRGGRRT YAYAYAYAYAYAYY

okay okay okay okay THANK YOU HEHE

so i’ve made multiple posts on these goobers before and some of the info might be missing or added and stuff but who cares they’re my boys!!!!

starting with blake ohhh my god i love him! he started off as a bonnie inspired fnaf oc and he is…. no longer that. now he’s a college boy who has a semi clear future, loves his family and loves his boyfriend. blake has been through a lot of his own issues, he struggled really bad with depression and ocd and dissociation before. he got therapy when he was in high school and it literally saved his life. after that experience he decided to study psychology and become a therapist (i still want to draw Older Professional Blake but that’s for later lmfao)

now mateo!!!!! mateo is blake’s boyfriend, and he’s a guy for sure. he had the shittiest childhood, and he has extreme depression, anxiety and ptsd. blake has had to help him a lot, which is hard because he doesn’t talk about his feelings. he does care deeply for both blake and (their complicated little brother) danny. mateo also doesn’t go to college! he works in an auto shop (he is big buff boy and i love him)

if you want more info (and some actual writing) about these two search my tags and go to #blake and mateo <3 !!!

now i’m gonna ramble about one more

a new one, one who hasn’t made much appearance on my blog yet

✨tobias✨

tobias (toby) is a 17 year old high school student. he looks like those “troubled” drug dealers and most people avoid him. he writes poetry, songs and plays acoustic guitar in his free time. he’s an aspiring musician and writer. he’s an only child, with a very complicated relationship to his parents. he works in a coffee shop over the summer with his best friend Lucy (those two have the classic Gay Boy and Lesbian Girl friendship) his life changes when a boy who carries the sunshine with him walks into the shop and takes his heart. that’s corny as fuck but also very true

i draw toby a lot, he’s the doodles on my math homework most days hehe and the story in writing for him (atm) is actually written WITH @marsisrealscared who’s character is the sunshine boy!! (aka lucas)

toby will probably get a his own story later on, probably with lucas but not from lucas’ pov like this one is! maybe i’ll make a tag for him hehe

(also i have another oc who i…. dont have the energy to think about rn but go look at #[unknown] for him!)

TYSM AGAIN!!!!! i loved this ehehehe

#asks #answered #char’s art #blake and mateo <3 #[unknown]

13 notes · View notes

maddiviner · 8 months

Text

I'm excited for this movie, I really am. And yet Coryo's the kind of asshole who would worship Andrew Tate and post on /pol/. He'd scour Reddit for the shittiest incel "advice" to manipulate Lucy Gray and then post memes about "females" when it didn't work. My internet-addled brain is force-feeding me a Coryo Snow IRL AU, which might well be the actual point of his character.

#hunger games #the hunger games #coriolanus snow #ballad of songbirds and snakes #coryo snow #i did enjoy the book though #i guess?#spoilers?#perhaps #did you expect otherwise?#from president snow?#nostalgia #eliza reads #eliza.txt #the rabies thing though #they went hard #cannabis #fandom

16 notes · View notes

jvblood · 2 years

Text

the bathroom

pairing: argyle x afab!reader

word count: 1.7k

summary: heading to your first college party sounded fun at first, it wasn't until you saw Argyle. that's when you knew the real fun was about to begin.

WARNINGS: SMUT, marijuana use, high sex

a/n: guess who finally has a free day to finish writing this up and posting : DD this might flop because--you know reasons.

To understand your situation right now is absolutely crazy. Going to your first college party with your best friend–only for her to be swept away by some of her teammates and ignoring you for the rest of the night. Not really knowing where to go, you stand in the corner.

Watching everyone interact, looking like they’re six years old again. It felt bittersweet. The loud music and the body heat was starting to get you irritated.

“Yo!” A familiar face calls for you.

“Argyle?” You say, squirting your eyes in the dark. You knew Argyle in high school. The things that the two of you did while in high school could be a whole book in itself. What you didn’t know is that the two of you went to the same college.

“Long time no see, dudette!” He cheers as he wraps his arms around.

“Oh my god–it’s refreshing to see a familiar face.” You say as a breath of relief leaves your lungs. You pull away from the hug and take a good look at him.

He’s still the same except you could tell he’s been shaving recently. He dawned on his colorful prints that he had since highschool. You and him were inseparable when it came to that shitty place back in Lenora. Yet even the shittiest places caused the best memories, especially with him.

“You know, I got some dope on me, we could hit it off like last time.” He shrugs his shoulders, trying to hit his implications. “If you know what I mean.” He teases, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

Usually when getting high with Argyle, it always ends with you and him in a bed together. Sophomore year in high school was when all of the conflicted feelings and the growing happened for the two of you to end up how you are today. In the bathroom, lighting a blunt, with Argyle at your first official college party. What fun.

Argyle, with the join in between his two fingers, nudges the blunt towards you. Silently asking if you’d like to hit first.

“Oh fuck yeah.” You groan out as you grab the blunt from him. You put it in between your lips and began to look for a light. Argyle, who's already three steps ahead of you, pulls him out and flicks the light on. You expect him to just hand the lighter but instead he leans in and lights the end of the blunt. You take the initiative and inhale. The smoke hitting the back of your throat so quickly, you could’ve started coughing. Well, when you’ve smoked as much as you and Argyle have, the first was calm.

As you take the blunt that lays on your lips into your hand, resting, you hold the smoke in your lungs. You look at him, squinting your eyes as you hand him the blunt. He takes it from you as you finally exhale the smoke. He brings the blunt to his lips and inhales. He could feel the smoke enter his lungs as he kept on inhaling.

“Holy shit.” With the way Argyle was smoking, it seemed as if he was trying to forget the week. “Take it easy babe, it’s only like 10:30.” You joke as he finally hands you the blunt. He holds the smoke in his lungs, not letting smoke escape his breath any time soon. The two of you took hit after hit, letting yourself loose in the bathroom. People entering to use the restroom were either ‘I don’t care–I gotta go’ or ‘welp, there’s always outside’. That didn’t stop the two of you. You and Argyle would strike up a conversation with whoever decided to test their luck in the bathroom.

You feel light. The blunt that the two of you shared lays on the counter propped up, waiting for the next hit. Your mind wanders all over the place. You try to look at yourself in the mirror yet it feels weird. It feels like you were looking at someone else in the mirror, yet you knew it was you.

“Oh god, I am fucked up.” Argyle says as he’s looking at himself.

“Tell me about it.” Your eyes felt like they were crossing yet they were still. You make eye contact with Argyle through the mirror, watching what his next move is.

“You know what happens next, right?” Argyle warns.

The thing about you two is that once the both of you get high together, it seems as if self-control goes out the window. Before you could even think about what to say, you practically threw yourself onto him. On your toes to meet him on the lips. Kissing him hungrily.

You slowly climb on the sink, allowing him to get comfortable in between your legs. Your fingers laced with his hair by his roots, tugging lightly on it to get a grip.

He whispers, “Fuck,” as he pulls away from your lips, a trail of saliva from either one of your mouths is stuck to his lips “You sure you want this?” He asks.

“Argyle, I kissed you first. Are you sure you want this?”

Argyle, not giving you a verbal answer, headed straight for your neck. Kiss it softly at first before licking it up and down. You tilt your head to give him more room for him to play with your neck. Your eyebrows furrowed as your eyes are squeezed shut.

You moan out his name, hoping he could take the hint and go lower. Thankfully he didn’t because the bathroom door swung open.

“Dude!” Argyle yells out at the party goer. The person shyly walked away, apologizing. Once they left, Argyle went straight for the door and locked it. Giving privacy for the two of you.

As he turns around and faces you, he sees a smile etched onto your face. Your face cramps at how you’ve been smiling so hard. Argyle, having his back still towards you, locked the door before finally seeing you. You–perched so beautifully on the bathroom counters. Your smile never faded once he turned around.

“What?” He asks.

“Come over here and fuck me.” Argyle, with no hesitation, put his hair into a bun before coming back to kiss you.

His hands on your waist as he settles in between your legs, lips not wanting to leave yours. Your arms rest on his shoulders, weaving your fingers into his hair.

Slowly, he kisses along your jaw. His hands move up and down your waist, touching you gingerly. Your legs wrap around him instantly as he moves along your body. He finally gained the courage

He lowers his head, lips attached to your neck. As you sit upon the bathroom counter, Argyle lowers himself onto his knees. His hands are still touching you wherever he can. As he sits on his knees, he looks up at you, waiting for your next move. His eyes were blown ready for more. You take this hint and begin to unbutton your pants, tugging at them quickly so they can get off of you.

He tries to help take them off once they reach around your knees, and there you are waiting for him as he tosses the pants to the side. Argyle could feel himself drool. His salivating, something he thought he couldn’t do.

“May I?” He asks as he places your legs on his shoulders. You curse at the sight of him, his hair in a bun, your legs on top of his shoulder and his hand slowly into your panties to let him get to his main goal: your pussy.

You nod silently, letting him pull your panties to the side and see your cunt. When he pushed the clothing to the side, his eyes were stuck to your clit like glue on a piece of paper. He quickly makes use of his mouth and puts it onto your clit. Before he puts his tongue onto it, he spits on it. You yelped when you felt the spit make contact, but moaned when you felt it drip.

Before the spit started dripping, he began licking lightly on your clit. Your eyebrows furrowed and your eyes shut when he made contact.

“Ari.” you moan.

“Yes?” He teasingly asks. He moves his head away from your heat.

“Don’t even start.” You say.

“Start what?” This was getting infuriating.

“Argyle.” “Say it and I’ll stop.”

“God,” you roll your eyes at his attempt to tease “Argyle.”

“Beg.” He began to draw circles on your clit, slowly.

“Fuck—fine,” you say, gripping the counter, “please.”

And as if on cue, Argyle hungirly laps up your cunt. His tongue licks you, from your clit and down–making sure to get everything nice and wet for him. You toss your head back, making contact with the mirror. He holds your legs, parting them so he could have more freedom when eating you out.

From your peripheral, you could see the unlit blunt waiting for the next lucky person. It just so happened to be you. You pick it up and find the light, then you hit it once. As you inhale the smoke, letting it travel through you, breathing it in, you can feel Argyle slip a finger in. As you moan out, the smoke leaves your mouth. Argyle watches as the smoke exits and your head tilts back. You could feel yourself drip as he arches his finger inside you. “Fuck–” Argyle breaks the ‘silence’ between you two, “god, you’re so pretty.” His lips attach to your clit as he slips in another finger effortlessly.

You could feel the familiar coil beginning to curl. Argyle can feel that you're close as well. Your walls began to clench onto his fingers as he curled them inside. As he continued using his fingers and mouth on you, you were finally reaching that ecstasy you were dreaming of. Argyle harshly sucks on your clit and finally you were able to release all of the tension that was building up.

As you were coming down from your high, Argyle was soaked–face and down. His eyes were shut, just in case he got some in his eyes, mouth open, and shirt drenched.

“Fuck.” He moans out. He wipes his face down, and locks eyes with you. Argyle smirks up at you while you cover your face. “That was hot.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” He comes up from off of the floor to kiss you on the forehead “you’ll be doing it more often tonight.”

#argyle smut #argyle x reader #argyle #argyle fan fic #argyle fan fiction #argyle stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things argyle #argyle x reader smut

70 notes · View notes

venzilanddeathcult · 4 months

Text

BELATED NEW YEARS LIST OF COOL ALBUMS I DISCOVERED IN 2023 OH BOY THIS POST IS GONNA BE LONG

2023 was without a doubt the year ive listened to the most music in all of my life, so there's quite a hefty bit of albums to list, and i'll try to put them in a loose order of when i listened to them, but no promises!

I will limit it to one album per band, while noting the other ones i could have listened to within the text

Sadly, i didn't get around to hearing The Beggar by SWANS yet, so it won't make this list. that said heres the first one lol

SPIDERLAND

(By Slint)

youtube

Also known as the "how the fuck did a bunch of dudes in their early 20s make something this fucking great" album

I first listened to this one at a friend's house since he had it on vinyl, and halfway through the album i was losing my shit and repeatedly exclaiming loudly how fucking amazing the album was

It's very hard to put into words just how fucking good this album is, it's definitely one of the albums that put me onto Post Rock as a whole, and changed the way i view guitar playing pretty significantly

Every song feels immaculately constructed (the weakest one being the short instrumental that comes right before my personal favorite, Good Morning, Captain, the final song of the album that's linked above) and the raw emotional output won me over pretty early into my first listen. It is now my second favorite album of all time, good shit, i urge anyone reading who hasn't listened yet to give it a shot

Give their first album a listen too!

THE POD

(By Ween)

youtube

Not much i can say about this album i haven't said before i think, so here are the notes i took about it while listening to it for the first time (on a plane ride)

"Listened to this album during the plane ride Might be one of Ween's best It's so noisy and shitty and gross Only enchanced by the plane ride nausea and the very low energy feel the altitude gives It's Like if the Best album of all time got recorded on the shittiest hardware ever i'm Gonna listen to it a lot I can tell The noisiest part of the [referring to the last song here] song started on the most turbulent part of the ride And I was all for it"

I was already a Ween fan by this point, but hadn't listened to their earlier stuff, especially The Pod since every attempt at listening to it made me genuinely nauseous for some reason, but damn did braving through the album pay off. it's one of my favorite Ween albums and every time i get a fever i put it on to at least find some comfort in the wooziness. big recommendation

OCTAHEDRON

(By The Mars Volta)

youtube

I've been a Mars Volta fan since very early 2022, but i didn't get around to exploring their full catalogue until after the release of their comeback album later that same year, with Octahedron being the last of them (the rest i gave first listens to in 2022)

It's a decently strong change from their previous album (The Bedlam in Goliath), which was probably their most intense and chaotic album, although it definitely fell flat in a few aspects (Weirdly produced, some filler that could have been cut out that makes some stuff sound samey, something that wasn't much of an issue with Volta albums up until that TBiG)

It feels like it sort of harkens back to their earlier albums such as Frances the Mute and Tremulant while also going forward in a direction that makes sense considering 2012's Noctourniquet.

It's still not something as well constructed as their earlier albums, but it's a seriously good effort and worth listening to at least once, some seriously catchy and memorable songs in here

IN TIMES NEW ROMAN...

(By Queens Of The Stone Age)

youtube

I've been a fan of Queens Of The Stone Age for basically as long as i can remember, which only intensified in the pandemic as i would spend my days listening to Era Vulgaris on loop for hours and hours

There was not a single album from them that i didn't love, something about their entire style is extremely appealing to my ears, and when i heard they would release a new album i damn near shat myself and eagerly awaited for news

Then Emotion Sickness came out, with it's Era Vulgaris-reminiscent sound, ESPECIALLY the chorus and i couldn't be happier, there was absolutely no end to my hype

And thankfully, once the album came out, i realized these motherfuckers STILL have it in them to make a really fucking solid rock album, it seems they shed the slightly more polished sound of Villains and went back to that good old rougher sound they used to have, while not ditching some of the bells and whistles that made their reunion records work

Seriously solid album and i'd recommend it to anyone that enjoys this style of rock. good stuff

Church goes here

CONTEMPORARY MOVEMENT

(By Duster)

youtube

Shed away all of those memes about Sisyphus featuring a song off this album and underneath you will find a really emotional slowcore album with such an immaculate vibe i can't help but just. sink into it as i listen, if that makes sense

Before listening to this album i was a big fan of that Experimental Dust bootleg, but had never listened to their other stuff until i did

Almost every song is just oozing with this unmistakably Duster sound that is so perfectly melancholic you cant help but just be right there with them, it's some seriously great stuff, lovely album.

I also listened to Stratosphere, but i didn't listen to it much so i don't feel like it fits in this post, but rest assured it's a damn good time as well. Great album, very sad, should probably only listen to it in a good headspace but you do you

WISH YOU WERE HERE

(By Pink Floyd)

youtube

Enough said. its peak

same applies to Animals

A FUCK TON OF ALBUMS

(By SWANS)

No, really, just in 2023 i gave first listens to:

To Be Kind

The Seer

White Light From The Mouth of Infinity

Love of Life

Greed

The Great Annihilator

The Burning World

It's too much to talk about, but SWANS is one of my favorite bands, and honestly, if you're really curious, just shoot me a DM for thoughts on any of these albums haha, i'm always overjoyed to talk about music with people, especially SWANS.

loveless

(By my bloody valentine)

youtube

One of my biggest regrets is not listening to this album in full earlier than i did. It's seriously such a fucking incredible experience from start to finish that i can't even find much to say about it that hasn't been said before, just give it a listen

MT EERIE

(By The Microphones)

youtube

Sorry kids i havent listened to the glow pt 2 yet cant talk about it

I randomly discovered The Microphones on my youtube recommendations one day while listening to completely unrelated music, but clicked due to the artwork catching my interest and was completely enthralled by their melancholic acoustic sound followed by real intense percussion in some songs, and the flirting with experimentation that goes on throughout the entire album, it's seriously great and it touched me in a way not much music has. Big recommendation

IN RAINBOWS

(By Radiohead)

youtube

It's hard to say something about this album that hasn't been said already, so i won't.

Give it a listen, even if you're not a fan of their usual stuff, this album still stands out as a pretty interesting project and i enjoy it quite a lot

Also listened to from them this year: OK Computer and Kid A, heavily enjoyed both but In Rainbows remains my favorite

DOOLITTLE

(By Pixies)

youtube

Now for my most listened album of the year, spawned from the same night that got me into Spiderland (my 2nd most listened to album...go figure)

Having listened to Where Is My Mind? upon watching Fight Club, that was sadly the only Pixies song i stuck to for a while, but once i heard this album i kept on digging and digging through it to finally get what it is that made me enjoy this band's sound

It actually took me quite a fucking while to fully "get" this album, but the album slowly earned my full appreciation and became something i'd spend days listening to on loop, enjoying the ride from start to finish, it's a seriously good album, and if you wanna hear where some of that 90s rock dynamic came from, this and Surfer Rosa are considered some of the most notable precursors to it, so there you have it. give it a listen!

CLUBE DA ESQUINA

(By Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges)

LINK TO "Tudo O Que Você Podia Ser" FROM THE ALBUM (10 VIDEOS PER POST LIMIT LOL)

I struggle to choose a singular song to link, because every part of this album is crafted with such intricate musicianship and mix matching of Brazilian tradition with a foreign, beatles-esque flavor which is so smoothly and lovingly woven into the entire record. It's an absolute must for anyone interested in the music of Brazil, and one of my absolute favorite albums of all time. i recommend this one to every person i discuss music with, it's a seriously outstanding achievement of an album. give it a listen.

CENTER OF ATTENTION

(By InI)

LINK TO "No More Words" FROM THE ALBUM

I am a HUGE fan of the Jazz Rap style developed in the east coast during the 90s, and InI's shelved debut is one of those crowning examples i now look to when introducing people to the style. Right from the start the album sets you in it's laid back vibe, with it's nice groovy beats that tastefully sample old jazz records in a way that really adds to the album's whole atmosphere. Great album, give it a try.

DUMMY

(By Portishead)

LINK TO "Sour Times" FROM THE ALBUM

While regrettably not having listened to the rest of their output, this album still manages to blow me away every single time i listen to a song off it. There's something so lovable about the gloomy atmosphere paired with those spy movie ass guitars and absolutely breathtaking vocals. every member plays such a strong part in the album's atmosphere to the point you can pay attention to just one component and still be interested the whole way through. this album is so fucking good. give it a listen

SPEAKERBOXXX / THE LOVE BELOW

(By OutKast)

LINK TO "Church" FROM THE FIRST SIDE OF THE ALBUM

LINK TO "Love Hater" FROM THE SECOND SIDE OF THE ALBUM

Outkast has always been one of my favorites in rap, but i never took the time to listen to their biggest project, the double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which is kind of two solo albums from Big Boi and Andre 3000 (in that order) packaged as an Outkast album, but god damn, they made it work really well.

EVERY single song in this album is a fucking banger (GhettoMusick being one of my favorites), the only thing holding it down are some skits that, while some of them are pretty funny, still leave you just wanting to get to the next track, but anyone who's listened to enough rap albums already knows how this stuff goes (first wu-tang album, anyone?)

One of my favorite rap albums, give it a shot, i guarantee at least 3 songs from it will be stuck in your head after.

PAUL'S BOUTIQUE

(By Beastie Boys)

LINK TO "The Sounds of Science" FROM THE ALBUM

Another one of such cases where every song is a banger, the songs are all so fucking awesomely creative i can't help but have a wide smile on my face every time i listen, the crazy amount of samples in this album really makes it quite a unique listen, especially as a Beatles fan which means The Sounds Of Science is enough whiplash to give J.K. Simmons a run for his money

Really fun album, give it a shot

MELLON COLLIE AND THE INFINITE SADNESS

(By The Smashing Pumpkins)

LINK TO "Tales Of A Scorched Earth" FROM THE ALBUM

I've been a moderate Smashing Pumpkins fan since i was a kid, with Siamese Dream being a favorite, and Drown being one of my favorite songs of all time at that point, but i never took the time to listen to the album that followed it, partly due to it being so massive, but once i took the plunge i spent the next 2 hours sitting in my chair absolutely floored by every song that came my way. This is a seriously impressive album from start to finish and it's one i'll cherish for years to come, every song feels like it's earned it's place, with both the soft and hard songs being equally interesting and ear catching.

Outstanding album, give it a listen.

THE FAT OF THE LAND

(By The Prodigy)

LINK TO "Breathe" FROM THE ALBUM

I'm usually not much of an electronic music guy, but this album really caught my attention after watching Dario Casali's playthrough of Half-Life of all things, where he said he would frequently listen to The Prodigy during development, so i decided to give it a shot, having heard some of their music (Particularly in the film Kick-Ass) and i spent the next week or so religiously listening to this album on loop, it's so endlessly replayable and just fun to listen to that i instantly became hooked. Aside from that, there's not much to say, it's a very fun, energetic album, give it a shot.

THE ENTIRE FUCKING SYSTEM OF A DOWN DISCOGRAPHY

(By...yeah)

LINK TO "Soil" FROM "System Of A Down"

LINK TO "Prison Song" FROM "Toxicity"

LINK TO "Fuck the System" FROM "Steal This Album!"

LINK TO "Radio / Video" FROM "Mezmerize"

LINK TO "Vicinity Of Obscenity" FROM "Hypnotize" (not sure why people dislike this one?)

Same deal as SWANS, too much to talk about, shoot me a dm about it if you're really that curious, i don't mind.

ALL OF IT IS FUCKING GREAT. GIVE THEM A LISTEN. ENOUGH SAID

F♯ A♯ ∞

(By Godspeed You! Black Emperor)

LINK TO "East Hastings" FROM THE ALBUM

It's hard for me to put into words what listening to this album for the first time did for me. It's one of the most atmospheric, wonderful things i've ever had the pleasure of listening to, all 3 songs in this masterpiece keep me entranced until the very last second, including the very unnecessarily long silence at the end of Providence for the hidden song. I have yet to listen to their next album, which i've been told by a mutual is even better, so i'm very excited for that. Give this one a listen.

MARQUEE MOON

(By Television)

LINK TO "See No Evil" FROM THE ALBUM

god i am not a fan of this album cover

that being said, this album is a pretty nice, post punkish record which reminds me a lot of 80s Talking Heads, but i don't have much to say about it. it's simply a good album, and i recommend it heavily. give it a shot

THE UNNATURAL WORLD

(By Have A Nice Life)

LINK TO "Guggenheim Wax Museum" FROM THE ALBUM

I fucking love Deathconsciousness, but stayed at that album for a while, until, for whatever reason, during my initial playthrough of Dark Souls 1 (great game, by the way, enjoyed it lots) i decided to give it a spin and wound up listening to it for basically the rest of the game. It has this gloomy vibe HANL is known for, but it feels like its played a lot more straight than Deathcon, it feels darker, i dunno.

Very good follow-up, even if i think the previous album is overall stronger, this one is still a great listen

LEAVES TURN INSIDE YOU

(By Unwound)

LINK TO "Radio Gra" FROM THE ALBUM

I regrettably struggle to find much to say about this album, which is a shame because i really do love it a lot.

It has this sound that is at times reminiscent of Slint, which made me immediately fall in love, while still standing out as it's own thing, it's a very good fucking album from start to finish, but that's all i can say about it really, i need to listen to it more, and Unwound's other stuff.

Big recommendation right here

FRANKENCHRIST

(By Dead Kennedys)

LINK TO "MTV - Get Off The Air" FROM THE ALBUM

Dead Kennedys is one of my favorite bands (Old Testament DK anyways, Dead Kennedys without Jello is kinda wack, sorry!), and their previous album, Plastic Surgery Disasters remains one of my favorite punk rock records to date, but i had not yet listened to the latter half of their discography, something i now regret, since it's equally as good.

Frankenchrist is a bit of detour from PSD's VERY harsh sound, sounding a little more rounded, less noisy if that makes sense, but Jello Biafra's biting social commentary and witty writing remains intact through it all and makes for an album as entertaining and awesome as the rest of their work. Seriously great, listen to it.

MAGGOT BRAIN

(By Funkadelic)

LINK TO "Maggot Brain" FROM THE ALBUM

Having started my musical ambitions as an aspiring Funk guitarist (part of why my right hand strums so loosely haha), Funkadelic was always on my radar, with their debut album being one of the albums i listened to the most and looked for inspiration in during the pandemic, but for some reason, i never opted to listen to Maggot Brain until this year, which, as is per usual for albums i dont listen to, was a big fucking mistake, since this album is filled with bangers from start to finish. I love it to death.

An absolute must-listen to any funk rock fans

AT ACTION PARK

(By Shellac)

LINK TO "Crow" FROM THE ALBUM

Being a fan of Steve Albini's work both in production and with Big Black, listening to Shellac eventually was a no-brainer, but i procrastinated on it until a particularly lengthy hospital visit where i had enough time to kill and listened to this album, being taken in by that noisy goodness until the album finished. I struggle to find something to say, but the song structures in this album are so weird and they don't hesitate to stay longer than usual and linger on some chords which gives songs this really punchy vibe i can't describe. Great album.

AND FINALLY....

UNDERTOW

(By TOOL)

LINK TO "Prison Sex" FROM THE ALBUM

I'm a huge fan of TOOL, but never listened to their debut until i saw it on a mutual's top albums list, which convinced me i should give it a shot, and so i did!

...On the fucking last hour of 2023

I shit you not, the album ended in the last fuckign MINUTE of the year. 23:59. Finished listening and immediately got up to await the countdown.

That aside, you can really see how they went from this to Ænima, as it has a lot of the harder parts of that album, with less...esoteric(?) peculiarities inbetween, while still being a really good fucking album and enjoyable from start to finish, there wasn't a single song that had me bored. A worthy album to finish the year with...and this list!

FINALLY finished writing this absolute behemoth of a post, and i hope it at least gets one person to check these albums out.

Here's to a great 2024 for all! Thanks for reading!

6 notes · View notes

val-of-the-north · 2 years

Text

Ok, due to popular demand (from a single person, my friend @sweet-sirin, who, trust me, is very very popular) I am going to rank all the beautiful ladies in THIS post right here: https://val-of-the-north.tumblr.com/post/686489979549089792/cannibalbutcher-women-in-soulsborne-somehow-a

OK LET’S BEGIN

Unnamed Meat Cleaver Lady - 7/10

She was the first of the ladies, but sadly she doesn’t have much importance overall. Not that the others do, mind you, but at least they have a name! It’s also possible that she uses some other character’s face model, though I am not too sure. However, she has trendsetter privileges since this amazing tradition started with her. Your services have to be aknowledged... and besides, she weilds a boss weapon! That has to amount to something after all!

Maneater Mildred - 8.5/10

How can you NOT love her? She is the one most people encountered first since Dark Souls is the game that blew up in popularity, and she had a NAME! And a scripted invasion to boot! Very memorable if you didn’t expect it (Like me!) Best of all though? if you prove yourself she’ll straight-up fight for you! And she is a damn good summon for Quelaag with how tanky she is (I would like it if you didn’t just run into the molten lava sometimes-) I will say that her face doesn’t really scream “maneater” but she is still really pretty despite this (besides, it’s probably because of the character creator in Dark Souls, can’t be too harsh). And she is chubby, so she is literally perfect.

Melinda the Butcher - 7.5/10

Overall a downgrade from Mildred herself, as she is not chubby and uses the face model of other characters. Dark Souls 2 does this for a lot of NPCs sadly. But she is still a badass that lives in the shittiest place in the land. You gotta give her some credit for that. And much like Mildred, she even comes to aid you for a later fight! A fight that’s sooooo far away from her home, meaning she came all the way here to help you if you defeated her previously. And it’s against an ancient freaking dragon (of dubious origin, but still a big fuck with a big healthpool) and her tankiness can really help. She might not be as thicc as Mildred, but she is just as strong. She is still worthy of respect. And she uses an axe instead of a cleaver! Unique weapon choices are really welcomed. Sadly though, I can’t get her any higher due to Dark Souls 2 “rough around the edges” nature. Truly nerfed by her own game...

Isabella the Mad - 8/10

NOW THIS! This is the face of someone that would actually realistically kill me and eat my remains. They finally got it right with her! But I suppose they didn’t really need to get it right with the others since you weren’t really meant to see their face, but still! Isabella is cool, she is just a pure big woman with a big cleaver. And she is also chubby, thanks the stars! It just completes the whole thing, especially when they are basically half-naked. Got a funny hat tho! The presentation is just splendid, but that’s sadly about it for Isabella. She doesn’t have much relevance and unlike the other two before her, she doesn’t come to help you with a boss fight later. It’s honestly a big shame, I would have liked to see more of her, but alas, she might not enjoy losing. I still very much enjoy her, I think she looks the best visually of the Dark Souls butcher ladies. Her expression really fits her title of “the Mad”, and her vibes are on-point if you ask me.

Anastasia, Tarnished-Eater - 9/10

What can I say except WOW. They did not need to make Anastasia THIS stunning yet they did. Her eyes are really captivating and her hair looks beautiful! While not big, she looks good this way too since she is wearing a full robe as opposed to rags that keep all of her skin exposed. Her face also has a very weird texture... such a mesmerizing sight. Sadly I can’t really count her character model fully because it would be unfair to the other ladies. They weren’t as lucky as she was, especially Melinda and Miss Meat Cleaver, so she can’t get too many extra points. She is also unique in reagards to the other cannibal women in the list because we can actually speculate on her lore more! From her clothes, she looks to have been a Finger Maiden. Perhaps one that lost her mind/went rogue? Or maybe she tricks the Tarnished into thinking she is a Finger Maiden to then kill and eat them when they least expect it. Either way, room for speculation!!! And of course, unlike the others she is REALLY persistent! You won’t be getting rid of her by defeating her only once. This woman knows what she wants and she WILL have it. You can really respect the dedication. Sadly she doesn’t help for any bossfight, but I think her resolve to eat the person who keeps beating her ass makes up for it.

And here we are, all the murder ladies done. I don’t feel like any of them deserve to go lower, they are all great.

#soulsborne #elden ring #dark souls #maneater mildred #anastasia tarnished-eater #melinda the butcher #isabella the mad #demon's souls #dark souls 2 #dark souls 3 #pitting queens against one another is never an easy feat #but yeah anastasia is bae but Mildred is freaking great too #I was tempted to give her a nine as well but she doesn't have too much going on #I feel bad for the Meat Cleaver girl I can't even tag her properly...#Demon's Souls Remake you had ONE job and that was giving a name and unique character model to this woman #(and instead you went and made Patches very weird-looking instead lol what are you doooooooing!!!)#val-post

37 notes · View notes

pekabloooop2 · 3 months

Text

wanted to say some stuff about the account situation

so i havent been able to get the other account back for a while and i dont know how so i think im just gona go on with this one,

ill hopfaly start doing the dum milgram stuff again soon but i have been of making a side blog for it so pepole dont have to scrool though my reblogs and im not sure on it yet, but once i decide ill tell you (also probably make a into post after a thousand years)

also if i go the side blog route i might make them for other stuff like heartless and (the worlds shittiest) art

thats all i had to say, when i make up my mind (hopefully a few days but idk im weird) ill get back to u

also rip @pekabloooop you might be missed

#sorry for long post #just wanted to say stuff for pepole who cre #by that i mean mabye 2 pepole #idk what im doing

1 note · View note

brownald · 4 months

Text

I’m trying to do more writing this year and just finished a thing I did for a friend and his art/writing trade so I thought I’d post it here. Consider this 1/12 of my writing posts this year. (I’ll do more I’ll only number a few of them.) So without further ado, please enjoy my friend’s OCs being gay and shit:

The silver sedan slowly rolled up to the small wooden shack, a small cloud of dust gathering at its wheels. The two passengers slowly emerged from the car, continuing their conversation from the drive.

Matthias shrugged. “Look, all I’m saying is that if you’re gonna be an international arms dealer you should at least know how to use the damn things-”

“I know how to use a gun, Matt.” Asher scowled.

Matt scoffed. “Do you really?”

“Yes.”

The two stared each other down, each penetrating the other’s gaze.

Matt scoffed, grabbing a joint and lighter from his coat pocket. “Bullshit.” He muttered, igniting the blunt and replacing the lighter in his jacket.

“We can believe our own things, I suppose.” Ash groaned, opening the car’s trunk to reveal a pile of locked gun cases and safes. “Is this everything we will need?”

Matt nodded. “Two handguns, a shotty, AR, SMG, and ammo for all three.” He grabbed the light stuff, leaving Asher to carry the heavy weapons inside.

“You think this is a good place to start me?

“Sure I do,” Matt smiled. “Be a good little Ruski and I just might let you touch my personal stash.”

“Personal stash?” Ash groaned as he followed Matt into the cabin. His questions were quickly answered as every available wall inside was covered with firearms and their accompanying accessories.

“Yeah, well I can’t exactly pay rent anymore, what with us sharing a bed so I needed to spend all my hard-earned cash on something, didn’t I?”

“That is true,” Ash sighed, setting down his cargo and taking a look around. “But where did you get RPG from?

Matt quickly stepped between Asher and the explosive device mounted on the wall. “Oh yeah, that old thing. You remember those Maltese guys that tried to kill us a while back?”

Ash cautiously nodded.

“Yeah I swiped it from their hideout after we killed them and you weren’t looking. I ain’t shot it yet since the ammo is hella expensive.”

Asher scoffed. “If you want I can have shipment of rockets ‘go missing’.”

“No thanks, I prefer to earn my ammo.” Matt quipped, walking over to a rickety old fridge across the room. “You want something to drink?”

“You have whiskey?”

“I gotcha, one cup of the shittiest whiskey you can get in the New York wilderness.” Matt poured Asher a glass and handed it over. Taking small, refined sips, Asher lost himself in the drink’s cool, nutty flavor for a time before the obnoxious slurping of Matt’s beverage snapped him back to reality.

“Matthias?”

Matt stopped what he was doing. “Yeah?”

“Why do you have a juicebox?”

Matt chortled. “Started off as a small, cheap, effective target but I got addicted to them.”

Ash shrugged. “Fair enough. So when do we start shooting?”

“Right now, if you’ll have me.”

__________

A few brief moments later, the two found themselves at one end of a large field. On the other side rested a silhouette of man, painted black against a white background. The autumn colors of the trees casted an orange glow on the field, painting the men in an orange light. Asher reached for the case containing the assault rifle.

“Oh no you don’t.”

Matt slapped his hand away from the box, scolding his employer as he did so.

“What the hell, Matt?”

“No way I’m letting you shoot an AR yet.”

Asher reached again for the rifle, rolling his eyes. “I’ve done it before.”

“Yeah, and you nearly killed the person we were selling the thing to.” Matt groaned. “We’re starting off with something a little more simple.”

“And what would that be?” Ash said.

Matt wordlessly grabbed a smaller weapon case, running his hand over the label to draw attention to the words hastily drawn on in sharpie: Glock 19

“Fuck you, Matt.”

“What?”

“When will I have need for a fucking glock?”

“If you’re using anything more than a sidearm to kill someone, it’s not self defense anymore, that’s an assasination.”

“What the hell are you talking about, you’re a hitman.”

“Bodyguard, actually. Your bodyguard.” Matt smiled. “Plus I think I know more about assassinations than you do, pal, because I’ve actually done it.”

“Just give me the damn gun so I can shoot myself with it.”

Matt chuckled. “That’s the man I love.” He handed the case to Asher, unlocking it and throwing the lock aside. “It’s unloaded.”

Asher tentatively opened the box, withdrawing the magazine and weapon from inside. He held the two in opposite hands, looking at them with awe.

“You, uh…” Matt paused. “You gotta put the thing in the-”

“I have seen you use these things long enough to know how to load it.” Asher loaded the gun and cocked it in one fell stroke, pausing just long enough to let the sound of the weapon’s mechanics echo in his mind. He then turned towards the silhouetted target in the distance, raising the gun in one hand before stopping. “How do I shoot it?”

“Oh for fuck’s-”

“I know to pull the goddamn trigger but what is pose? The, uh” Asher paused as he searched for the right words to use “Knee and foot shit. That.”

“Oh yeah, the stance. Lemme help you with that.” Matt rushed over, grabbing Asher’s hand. “First things first, both hands.”

“Okay.”

“Then,” Matt let go of Ash’s hand and stepped back. “One foot in front of the other. Prolly your dominant one.”

Asher cocked his head. “But… all of me is dominant. You know this?”

“Your right foot, dumbass.”

“Oh.” Asher did as he was told.

“Finally, you’ll wanna lean forward just a scosche. Here lemme help you.”

Matt pressed his hand into Asher’s back, forcing a slight forward movement in the Russian. His back leaned into the correct position.

“Yeah, that’s good. Really damn good thing you got going on there.”

Asher became aware of a sudden squeezing on his ass.

“Matt!”

Matt recoiled. “Sorry, sorry. You’re all good, uh, take the shot.”

BANG

The sound of the shot echoed across the clearing. The gun’s kick nearly rammed into Asher’s teeth, sending him stumbling back.

“Трахать!”

“Asher?” Matt paused for a moment before he raced forward, “Asher?! Are you alright?”

“Да, yes. I am fine.” Asher looked at the target. “Oh goddammit.”

“What?” Matt chirped.

Asher groaned. “He’s still alive. I hit him in lung.”

“Oh,” Matt took a peek at the target. A hole was indeed punctured through the spot where the right lung would be. “Well, don’t get discouraged. You shoot a guy in the lung, he's still gonna die.”

“You are certain?”

“I mean if you wanna make sure you can test on me right now.” Matt spread his arms wide, baring his chest.

“Fair enough.” Asher muttered. “I shoot again?”

“Actually…” Matt smirked. “You know how to reload that thing?”

“Of course I do.”

“Show me.”

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment, a soft wind blowing through the trees.

Asher handed Matt the gun. “Fuck you.”

“Don’t make a guy a promise…” Matt swiftly reloaded the weapon, casting the half-used magazine on the ground. “...if you know you can’t keep it.” He fired three rounds into the target, hitting the head each time.

BANG BANG BANG

“Well that is bullshit!” Asher shouted.

Matt cocked his head. “Oh yeah?”

“Your hands are like magic. I do not get it?”

“First off, I didn’t hear you complaining about my magic fingers last night.” Matthias set the gun on the table. “Second off, you don’t need magic hands to defend yourself. We’re here to make sure you can keep safe if needed.”

Asher bowed his head, sulking.

“You wanna try something else?”

Ash nodded.

Matt grabbed a larger gun case. “Gotcha. Now this thing’s got a bit more of a rhythm to it but you’ll get a kick out of it.” He opened the case. “MP5 submachine gun, motherfucker. A weapon so holy The Vatican uses it to defend the Pope.”

Asher squinted. “Why would they…”

“Oh yeah, I forgot. You’re Russian Orthodox so you hate the Pope.”

“I don’t hate him, I just-“

“Yeah yeah, save it for confession.” Matt laughed, handing him the weapon. “Now show me what you got.”

__________

The two rested together on the crest of a nearby hill, a sniper rifle perched on a rock.

Matt tossed a beer can into a garbage bag. “Alright, ten bucks says you can’t hit the juicebox from half a mile away.”

“You’re on.” Ash smiled. “We’re not practicing self defense anymore, are we?”

“Yeah we stopped doing that the moment I pulled out an AK-47,” Matt planted a kiss on Asher’s cheek. “Now shoot the thing, sexy.”

Asher obliged, the shot echoing throughout the valley. The recoil kicked into his shoulder, nearly knocking him to his back. Matt pulled out a pair of binoculars, squinting to see if the shot had connected.

The juicebox stood undamaged. “Hope you brought your wallet, buddy.”

“I am not paying that.”

“Fine then, be that way. Gimme the gun.”

“What do you get if you hit it?”

“A rough pounding from my hot boss.” Matt stuck out his tongue and pulled the lever of the rifle back to load another round. “Maybe two.”

“You’re a fucking whore, Matthias.”

“And you love me for it.”

Asher nodded as Matt stood up to take the shot. After a slow exhale, he fired another shot, handling it beautifully. The pop of the juicebox could be heard from their perch.

The two stood in silence for a moment, the tension building at an exponential rate. Eventually, Matt slung the rifle over his shoulder.

“Time to pay up, bitch.”

Asher followed Matt towards the cabin, landing a harsh slap on Matt’s ass along the way.

__________

The two held each other on Matt’s couch, slowly kissing in the dim light of a candle.

“How was that?” Ash softly cooed.

Matt chuckled, stroking Ash’s face. “You keep getting better, man. You sure I’m your first guy?”

Asher supplanted a heavy kiss unto Matt. “First, and only.”

“I love you, man.” Matt pulled himself closer into Asher’s bare chest. “You know, I’ve been with a lot of guys before and I’ve never taken any of them shooting before.”

“So we are each other’s first. I like that.”

“Me too, man.”

The two eventually drifted off together, their dreams filled with thoughts of the other.

# # #

#my writing #oc stuff #not my oc

1 note · View note

sonic-spirit · 5 months

Text

Working as a horseback riding instructor, I walk a lot at my job. Enough that I pretty reliably consider my hard days to be 11 mile days. "Man, this day kicked my ass! How far did I walk? 11 miles? Oh." or, "Man, today was rough! And I only walked 5 miles!" Today was a 12 mile day. Like, mostly it wasn't bad, it was just hard. But still. Fuck!

Shockingly for me, I was actually on time for once, but we were pretty low on food this morning, so while I ate, I didn't get nearly enough. This will play into things later. But yeah, I was on time, got things ready for the morning round of lessons, and tried to plan my day. I had an hour gap in the schedule that I planned to use to eat and switch over horses before the round of afternoon classes, and felt pretty ready to begin.

The first two lessons went great, Sizzle was her usual stellar self, and one of the students I'd even taught before when I covered Sunday a few weeks ago! He's an awesome, smart as hell kid who asks great questions and tries his heart out! I'd forgotten the kiddy stirrups at first, and had to literally run to the tack room to get them, but that's okay. The other was a kid who wanted to eventually learn to jump, though she was a bit leery of trotting in the end of the lesson (I was a bit surprised to hear a kid who'd just declined to trot tell me she wanted to jump!)

So everything went smoothly, and the morning classes were in the bag. Addy was floating around tooling around on Maggie and stuff, but whatever, they're doing me a favor giving me more hours when I'm desperate for money, I ain't gonna winge.

At about 12:20 I hopped in the car to go nab lunch. When I had a lesson coming up at 1pm, and needed to prepare 4 horses for the next volley of classes because I had a 2 person English and a 2 person Western in my 2pm and 3pm slots. And the place I went was 10 minutes away. Yeah, I got back at 1 pm on the dot. FUCKIN' WHOOPS!

So I blow in, saddle Ollie, who Addy had said the 1pm regular rode, and got the rider on as fast as I literally could. Full thing in 5-10 minutes. Yay, but also, fuck. Except once I got the kid in the saddle I realized I'd forgotten the GODS DAMNED KIDDIE STIRRUPS. So I leave him in the saddle and RUN to the tack room. Now I was running about 15 minutes behind. And, of course, Ollie was being his usual butt-self. Like, he's a good horse, and he's a butt. And the kid, while doing his best, did not have the seat or skill yet to deal with Ollie's butt-ness.

The theme for the day also quickly became "None of these kids can post yet," for all the Western lessons, so I had A Lot of kids stand their trot so they could get the experience and start building their strength without hurting my horses' backs.

The English lesson kids at 2pm were, of course, early. So I boot 1pm kid off Ollie as close to Correct End Time as I can, drag his butt over to the tack room to switch out his saddle to an English saddle, drag him back to tie him next to the arena, assign my riders to their horses, run and grab Joy, give her the shittiest brush down in the history of EVER, and start frantically trying to piece together a second set of English tack for her. Because, of course, we have three other English saddles, an intact girth, and a horrifically mouse-mangled girth, BUT none of them had stirrup leathers or irons. FUCK.

Both spare girths were long as hell, and I knew from experience another day that they DID NOT fit Ollie, but Joy's wider, so I had 5 doubts, but some hope. I put the fleecy dressage blanket on her, because it was the only one left in the tack room, and then this mostly complete English saddle on her, trying desperately to try and make it less obvious that I had a jumping saddle over a dressage blanket. I then attach the intact girth, and lo and behold, this might just be good enough to work! I start casting around desperately for a set of stirrups, and grab the set that had been wrapped around Cass' saddle horn as impromptu kiddie stirrups! Oh holy chaos, it was even a complete set! The leathers looked absurdly short to me, but I slotted them in place, and decided to give it a try.

Now all I needed was a bridle. Last I checked, we'd only had one English bridle. So I grabbed Joy's Western bridle and dragged her over to the arena. I checked the office in one more last-ditch effort to locate a snaffle bridle, but no dice. Well, okay, then. Leverage bit for an English rider it would be.

I tell Joy's rider the deal, let her know Joy has a leverage bit in her mouth so she'll have to be extra careful with her hands, and, finally, bring my students and their horses into the arena. Joy looks surprisingly natural in English tack. And it's only...2:30. Fuck. Well, okay, we'll run long for this class and next, and I'll hay in the dark. Again. I'm experienced at being late.

Joy and Ollie were Joy and Ollie. Ollie wanted to charge ahead of Joy, but got worried when he got too far ahead of her. Both English riders had good seats and solid experience, though, so while they were very challenged, they did fine.

I staked out some of the ground poles, and had them do some pattern work over them. Well...it was meant to be a serpentine, but some stuff got lost in my explanation and it turned into a C. Whatever. They had the challenge of trotting the yahoos over poles, and it was mostly okay, as they worked on putting together getting these particular horses to trot and stay trotting (and consistent, since Ollie is apparently allergic to going one speed)...and then Joy decided to full-on jump a ground pole. Because of course she did. Her rider sat it fine, but was understandably spooked. Honestly, possibly more by the three strides of canter after the hop over the big scary pole than anything else. She was pretty emotionally done after that, and offered twice to dismount early. The second time was after I'd commented to Joy that I would need to school her. So I did switch her off and get on the little mare, demonstrating a bit of how exaggerated you sometimes end up needing to be with your hands as Joy tossed her head up like she was going to rear on me. Oh, Joy. (Chaos, and Brooke was right there. I really hope what I think I know is actually anything, and that I didn't make a complete and total ass of myself in front of my new friend and a cool trainer I admire. Also that I wasn't giving my poor student bad information. I'm not a show rider and never have been, and there's worlds of different things to know.)

So, we end the English lesson and NOW it's time to change saddles again! Fortunately Joy's rider knows her way around an English saddle enough to help, and while I switch Ollie back over she untacks Joy. Because FUCK IF I'M GRABBING TWO FRESH HORSES AT THIS POINT. I WILL JUST SUFFER, INSTEAD.

Switchover happening, yay, and I get my fresh, new, starry-eyed students aboard, one for whom this is their second lesson and the other for whom it was the first, and I even remembered the kiddy stirrups this time--GODS FUCKING DAMNIT, THIS ONE IS FOR LITERAL BABIES!!! So I leave my first-timer student sitting on Ollie in the middle of the arena and run back to the tack room, again, to see if I can find a second set of actually useful kiddy stirrups or if I'm taking the English ones back off. Fortunately, there's a set on Sonny's saddle, so I grab that and run again back to the arena.

So Ollie's rider is on, and I load up Joy's rider. Huzzah, now it's just time for the lesson. Buuut Joy and Ollie's riders were having trouble. Ollie and Joy didn't want to track around the arena, and their riders didn't have the skills yet to steer them well enough or keep them moving. We kept trying, I kept coaching, but we weren't having any luck. Okay, this happens sometimes. So I start walking around the arena, and the horses follow me. I'm hoping that after a few laps the horses will be willing to be more independent. NO SUCH LUCK. Okay, guess I'll walk forever.

We keep going. Every time I try and peel away, the riders get stuck. Stuck by the gate, stuck by a barrel, stuck on the mounting blocks. Finally, at the end of the lesson I have them trot...and Joy decides to toss her head up and offer to rear. Each time. Great. So, since I'm running with anyway, I grab her halter and pull her head down. Again, and again, and again.

But finally we finish the time, get everybody off and untacked, and I put Joy and Ollie away. Finally I'm ready to feed.

And the kabota is empty. Okay, cool. I load up my hay and start delivering. Didn't one boarder say her horse's feeding was changed while I was racing to switch over to the English saddles? Well, whatever, hopefully the info's up by the stall. It was not.

But I finish up and finally head home. 12 mile day, bro.

#sonic says #sonic sez #long post #riding instructor

1 note · View note