#would love to revisit this later with some of the other verses

[bunnywritesjunk]

My King

Series summary: Your parents signed you up for an Alpha Omega Match company when you were eighteen. It took years for them to find your match, but you meet the giant austrian man. Will he be a good partner?

Chapter summary: You and König attend a holiday party.

Pairing: König x Fem Reader

Warnings: A/B/O dynamics (Never use this abbreviation without the slashes it is an indigenous slur) 18+ MDNI, vague racism, heat (omega verse)

Word count: 3.1k

Genre: Mostly Fluff a little angst here and there. Smut.

A/n: Omg....Hi guys......it's me.....hey.......I am alive. This chapter is defiantly geared more towards my poc readers. Theres some angst that i'll revisit in a later chapter. Some comments are made. You'll see. Anyways, I can't promise I will be posting super consistently but I will definatly try to post more then I have been.

Previous Chapter

Chapter Five:

Your editor droned on about deadlines and writing engines as you ate some soup König got you earlier. You can hear the desperation through the computer screen. You'd be lying if you said you were listening. They'll get the pages when they get them, with you, no money. König sat on the couch waiting for your meeting to be done. 

“I'll get the next chapter done, Frankie.” You said.

“You promise?” He was almost teary-eyed.

“Yes, I promise.” 

You hung up and closed your laptop while sighing. You got up and walked over to your giant Alpha. You outstretched his arm, inviting you to cuddle. You obliged plopping yourself on his lap and resting your head on his chest. The November winds were seeping into the atmosphere slowly. You didn't mind. That meant the holidays were coming. 

“The 141 is having an early holiday party. Everyone goes on leave one week into December, so we celebrate early. Would you like to go with me, Schatz?” 

“Oh yes, that sounds lovely. When is it?” You asked delightedly.

“This weekend. It's a dressy event.” 

The weekend was in four days. You haven't done your hair or dressed up in a while. You'd want a new dress for this especially with the cold, but you supposed you could make something work. As for your hair, it was time to hit up a YouTube tutorial for some ideas. König seemed to sense your internal struggle. 

“We can go shopping today, I need a button-down shirt.” 

“You don't have a button-down?” You asked a little amused. 

“Never needed one.” 

“Huh, well I also want to get my hair done. But, I've never been to a stylist here.” You started searching for braiders in the area, and to your surprise, there were some. 

The prices were comparable to ones in the US so that gave you some comfort. König looked over your shoulder browsing the different styles along with you. Some he has seen and others he hasn't. He chimed in with some styles he thought would look cute on you every so often. 

“Oh, she has an appointment available tomorrow.”

“Book it, I'll take you.” 

“I can take myself it's alright.”

“Nein. I'll take you.”

You grumbled a bit at his stubbornness but gave in. You booked the appointment and placed your deposit. 

“How much is it?” König asked.

“Um, all together with the deposit, one hundred fifty euros. I was also gonna tip but I forgot Europe doesn't do that.” 

König replied with a 'hmm' and tapped away on his phone. Your phone dinged and you checked the notification. 

'König has sent you € 150,00' 

“Kö, You don't have to pay for this.”

“Why shouldn't I? You are mine, You want it, I like it when you look beautiful, so I pay.” He said simply.

König had a habit of paying for everything. You liked it but it made you a little uncomfortable. This wasn't how you'd be treated back in the States. Whenever you mentioned it, König would always rant about how American men were cheap and lazy. He also would mention how he has more money than he needs so spending it on you is fun. König loves to see your little face light up whenever he buys you something sweet, or a piece of jewelry you were looking at. He told you to get dressed for the shopping trip and you obliged, making sure you were bundled up for the cold weather. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two of you opted to shop for König's clothes first. Finding clothing that fits him nicely is a challenge with how tall and muscular he is. There were some stores specifically made for big and tall men that you went into first. One store only had bright floral patterned shirts and loosely fitting dress pants. Neither you nor your Alpha liked that. The next one had some nice boots in his size. They were a fancier version of combat boots. Finally, you found a simple black button-down shirt and slim tapered dress pants for him. You made him try it on before leaving the store.

 My god...You had to keep yourself from drooling. The pants hugged his waist perfectly, and the shirt was just tight enough for you to see some muscle peeking through. König smirked at your reaction. 

“You think this will look good with my sniper hood?” he asked. 

“What?! You're gonna wear your hood and cover-up that gorgeous face? No way.”

“I don't show my face to anyone on base, Schatz.” 

“Hmm, well you look good in anything so... I guess.” You pouted.

König got dressed and paid for his clothes. Nearby there were a few boutiques with dresses. You wanted something nice, but not too fancy. You didn't want to overdress. König was patient with you as you browsed a bunch of stores. Eventually, you found something you liked. It was a midi deep purple knit dress. It had elegant sleeves and looked like it could be dressed up or down. Perfect for a cold night. König sat on the bench of the fitting room as you tried it on. You came out and twirled giving him a full view of the dress. 

“So?” You asked.

“Beautiful.” He motioned for you to come closer. When you did he placed a hand on your hip gingerly. 

“I can think of many things I could do to you in this dress.” He said quietly. 

“König!” You gave him a light slap on the arm and went back into the changing room embarrassed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day you started prepping for your hair appointment. You had to wash your hair but the stylist said she could blow-dry it for you. You spent about an hour washing your hair and another detangling it. König kept you company on the couch as you combed and sectioned it out. You sighed and slumped on the couch once you were done. Your arms were a little sore but you were glad you were done. You put your bonnet on to keep your hair neat and moisturized. You made sure you had your tip ready and a book to read while you got your hair done. König stood at the door watching you pace around the apartment gathering your things. 

The drive to the salon was quick and smooth. König gave you a kiss on the cheek before you exited the car. You opened the door to the building, and the smell of hair spray wafted into your nose. A tall woman greeted you as you walked in. Her hair was braided back into neat rows and her dark cheeks had a warm glow to them. 

“Are you my twelve pm?” She asked with a smile.

“Yes, I am, nice to meet you.” 

She guided you into a salon chair and got started. Her hands were quick, skilled, and gentle as she worked her way through your head of hair. In about two hours she finished. You admired your new do in the mirror and thanked your stylist profusely. König waited at a café down the street. You spotted him sitting peacefully at one of the outdoor tables, away from most other patrons. As you got closer he glanced up to meet and look at you. His eyes widened, taking in your new look. Although he had his mask on you could tell he was smiling under it. He stood up to greet you. 

“You look beautiful, Liebe.” He leaned down to kiss your forehead careful to avoid touching your freshly done hair. You giggled bashfully and returned his kiss on his cheek. 

The next few days went by quickly. You did some extra work and scheduled an editor meeting before the weekend. When Saturday rolled around, you were anxious. You wanted to make a good impression with your Alpha's coworkers. How do you act around military personnel? Your father never brought you around any of his military friends. As you got ready you just tried to keep an open mind and stay confident in yourself. Also, you will get to see Soap again. You slipped on your dress and spritzed a light mist of perfume.

You walked out of your room while looking through your purse to make sure you had all of your essentials. König was sitting on the couch but stood when he saw you. He was dressed and ready, looking over your form affectionately. You zipped around the dining room and kitchen making sure you had everything in order. König walked over to you, stopping you in your path. He slinked his hand around your waist pulling you out of your thoughts. He pulled you into his chest gently. 

“Relax, Schatz.” He purred. You looked up at him and gave him a nervous smile. 

“I think I left my wallet in my room. Do I need it? Should I bring a gift?” You rambled. 

König pulled your wallet out from his back pocket and handed it to you. He shook his head and gave you a small smile. His sniper hood was hanging haphazardly over a dining room chair. He led you towards the door swiftly grabbing it and opening the door. You followed him out reluctantly. 

The drive to the base was uneventful aside from your occasional worrying that was quelled by your alpha quickly. You can't help but feel more on edge than you usually would, but you can't put a finger on why. König pulled up to the massive, barbed wire-lined fence. A man in full military gear and a large gun strolled up to the window. You hadn't noticed that König out his hood in a while back. He rolled the window down and quickly flashed his ID to the soldier. The man nodded and waved his hand in the air. The gate slid open almost painfully slowly. König placed a hand on your thigh as he drove slowly through the base. It helped calm you for the time being. 

There was a large building with a few dozen cars parked outside. König Parked the SUV rather haphazardly a good distance away from the entrance. When you opened the door you heard faint music coming from the building and lots of voices and laughter. Your alpha lapped the car and met you on the passenger side. You started to walk towards the door but he stopped you.

“What is the matter, Schatz?” His eyes softly gazed down at you. 

“Nothing is wrong, I'm fine.” You said quickly.

“If you are uncomfortable, we can go.” He gently caressed your cheek., his scent enveloping your senses. 

“I'm ok, I'm just a little nervous.” Deep down you knew something was off, but you were confident you could get through this night. 

“Shcatz, You forgot your collar.” König said nonchalantly.

You gasped and your hand flew up to your neck covering your exposed scent glands. 

“Oh no! Why didn't you tell me? Now I'm gonna stink up a storm in there.” You turned around embarrassed and even more on edge. 

Your Alpha said nothing, he simply opened the back door of the car and pulled out a small black bag before closing the door. He spun you around by the waist to face him waving the bag in front of you. You glanced at him unsure before taking the bag. König gave you a small nod waiting for you to open it. Inside was a large square jewelry box. When you opened it it held the most beautiful gold metal collar. The one you looked at from the boutique a while ago. 

“König....” You truly didn't know what to say. Tears pricked your eyes but you quickly wiped them away and replaced them with a smile. 

“Thank you, Alpha.” You said while wrapping your arms around his middle. 

He held you close and kissed the top of your head through his hood gently. He pulled away and took the collar out of its box. He clasped it around your neck locking it with the provided key. It fit perfectly, you could barely tell it was there. König held the small key out for you to take but you shook your head. 

“Keep it safe for me Alpha.” You said giving him a warm smile. 

Although you couldn't see his face, you could tell he was happy you trusted him with the key. König held out his elbow for you to hold and led you towards the event. You were still nervous but you brushed it off, you had someone there to protect you. The large hall was buzzing with conversation. Most people were sitting around in large groups having conversations and others were at the bar. There were string lights hung all around the ceiling giving the place a relaxing atmosphere. König led you to the bar eager to get a drink. Parties are not you or your Alpha's natural element.

He ordered a beer for himself and a gin and tonic for you. As you waited you glanced around taking in the different people. You were probably one of the very few omegas. You could tell who was military and who wasn't very easily. Some were still in uniform, others wore masks or dog tags. Some soldiers brought a plus one but it was a minority. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a figure approaching. You turned to see a familiar mohawk. 

“Hey! There they are!” Soap exclaimed pulling you into a bone-crushing hug. You could smell the alcohol on him. 

“Hey, soap.” You eked out while being squeezed. 

Soap turned to König and gave the large Apex a hug as well. König grunted, a little uncomfortable with the contact but patted his back affectionately. 

“We've been waiting for you two to get here, everyone wants to meet the Colonel's Mrs.” His Scottish accent was thick and slightly slurred. 

The bartender set your drinks down and you quickly scooped yours up and took a sip. Soap led both of you away toward a group of men. You lingered behind König slightly allowing him to greet the group first. Soap announced your name loudly sparing König of the burden. You waved shyly giving everyone a small smile. Everyone greeted you and your Alpha before returning to the conversation they were having. You were grateful the attention on you didn't last as you could sip your cocktail and listen to the drunken ramblings of the soldiers. 

As the night dragged on, you met various people. You chatted with Ghost a bit and met Captain Price, as well as Gaz. Though the drunker people go the more rowdy things become. You sat on a chair near the group, only on your second drink. Your Alpha was loosening up after four. Soap suggested they go out to the field and play football, challenging Ghost to a team match. The whole group along with some others from the party joined them outside. König glanced over at you. 

“Will you be ok if I join them?” He asked gingerly.

“Of course, go have fun.” You gave him a reassuring smile. 

You watched him follow his coworkers out of the door into the frigid night. You decided to hang out at the bar as your drink was almost done. Although the night has been fine so far there was still something nagging in the back of your head. You plopped down on one of the bar stools and ordered another drink. Good thing this event had an open bar. You scrolled on your phone for a while not noticing how fast an hour has passed. An Alpha sat on the bar stool next to yours sighing loudly. You didn't bother acknowledging him as many people have sat there in the time that has passed. 

“It's a nice night huh? Not too cold.” The guy said in a European accent you can't place. 

You looked up from your phone. “Oh, are you talking to me?” 

“Yeah, I am. So uh, are you a new recruit or?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh no, I'm just a visitor.” You glanced back at your phone hoping he would leave you alone. 

“I've never seen an omega like you.” 

“An omega like me?” You looked at him puzzled.

“Yeah, you're so exotic. I thought omegas like you have to stay in your own countries.” He said while taking a sip of his drink. 

“Well, that's rude and extremely ignorant.” You scowled at him.

“Come on, it's a compliment. I mean I knew your kind your be spicy but damn.” He chuckled. 

You took that as your cue to leave. And you stood up from the bar your felt a tug on the crown of your head. 

“I mean, is this even your real hair?” He rubbed the hair he grabbed in between his fingers. 

You ripped away from his grip. “What is wrong with you?! Don't touch me!” You yelled. Everyone at the bar turned to look in your direction. 

“Relax, I'm just joking around.” The Alpha said trying to diffuse the situation. 

“You don't touch a random person's hair, who raised you?!” 

You felt a hand rest on your shoulder gently from behind. The Alpha you were confronting turned pale. 

“Schatz? What did he do?” Your Alpha asked lowly.

 You turned to face König anger still written all over your face. As angry as you were, you wanted this to be a teaching moment for this young Alpha. You turned back to the Alpha who was standing up now sweat forming on his face. 

“Nothing Alpha, this guy just needs to watch where he's going, right?” You eyed him carefully. 

“Yes! Yes, I'm very sorry miss.” He looked down at your feet. 

You looked up at König who seemed unconvinced. He was staring daggers into the young Alpha. You saw König take a deep breath closing his eyes while doing so. When he opened them he looked down at you.

“Time to go, it's a long drive home.” He placed a hand on the small of your back and led you out.

 Some people glanced in your direction as you left. You couldn't help but feel embarrassed. You hurried to the car in an effort to get out of the cold. König opened your door for you and helped you slide into the passenger seat. 

“I forgot something inside, I'll be right back.” He said quickly shutting the door and storming back inside the building. 

You couldn't tell if he was about to torture that soldier or not. But you did what you could, if he gets in trouble it's his own fault. König came back out no more than two minutes later. As he started the car, you got cozy relishing in the heated air. 

“What did you forget?” You ask him.

“I had a project for Ghost, I had to tell him about it.”

“Hmm.” You responded, not buying it completely. 

As your Alpha drove, the gentle rocking of the car lulled you to sleep.

As your Alpha drove, the gentle rocking of the car lulled you to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

König shook you awake gently. “We're home.”

You stirred and sat up stretching gently. You felt warm, a little too warm. Did you drink that much? You followed König into the apartment and kicked off your shoes at the door. That's when the cramp hit you. It was so painful it made you dizzy causing you to stumble. König caught you by the arm and ushered you to the couch.

“Schatz? You're burning up.” He laid you down and hurried to the kitchen.

You felt the sweat forming on your brow. Your heat had come early. You whined into the couch cushions trying to breathe through the dull achy pain. König brought some water and sat you up to drink.

“Why didn't you tell me your heat was coming?” he said concerned.

“Early...it came early.”

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[flowerboycaleb]

february was a really good month for music!!! i enjoyed so many projects from both artists i've loved for a long time and some i haven't enjoyed in the past at all. there were a few disappointing ones too, one album in particular spawning some of the most irritating discourse in a long time, but i'm trying to look at the positives!! here are my thoughts on some of the most notable projects that dropped this month!!! to check out my thoughts on some of the songs that dropped this month click here!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

What Now - Brittany Howard

🥇 ALBUM OF THE MONTH

◇ genre: psychedelic soul

When Brittany Howard dropped her first solo record, Jaime, back in 2019, I was absolutely obsessed with it. The shift from the blues rock-centric sound of her other work to the world of psychedelic soul worked extremely well. However, as with most new music I was obsessed with during that time, it feels like it was so long ago. I think the pandemic made me sort of forget a lot of these albums I once loved. For some subconscious reason, I don't revisit many of the new records I loved from late 2019 to early 2020. Jaime was unfortunately one of them. When I heard this new album was on the way, I was excited and listened to like one of the singles, but nothing more. When I finally sat down to listen to What Now, it felt like meeting up with an old friend and hitting it off almost immediately.

The opener "Earth Sign" shook me to my core on my first listen. It's spacey, slow-building, but when Howard emphatically sings that third "out thereeee" in the third verse it acts like a call to arms for the drums to come booming in. Such a cool moment moment. The next track "I Don't" is one of the more straightforward psychedelic soul cuts on the album and it's so gorgeous. I can't get enough of it. The title track picks up the pace a bit and is almost funk rock. I adore Howard's fuzzy guitar on this song. It's probably also a good time to mention how the rest of the musicians on this project do an amazing job. "Another Day" and "Prove It to You" are really interesting detours into a more dance direction. They simultaneously sound out of place while also fitting right in. I would love to hear these sounds be explored further on future albums. The album's home stretch kicks off with "Samson" which might be Howard's most intimate moment from a musical standpoint. Very bare guitar parts, organ, and some saxophones peppered in. Stunningly beautiful. She immediately fires back up for "Patience" which features some of my favorite instrumentation across the whole record. Mixing together those funky basslines and guitar licks before shifting into some sweeping keyboards on the later half of the track. "Every Color in Blue" is a phenomenal final note. Again, mixing together some subtle jazz instrumentation with Howard's awe-inspiring vocals. You just have to hear this. I've listened to this album a ton since it dropped. I'm still uncovering new things I didn't appreciate on the last listen. Please don't let this album fly under your radar!!

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

SCRAPYARD - Quadeca

◇ genres: art pop, experimental hip hop, electronic

I'll be honest, I didn't know who Quadeca was before his last album I Didn't Mean to Haunt You. I learned after the fact that he was a YouTuber and that many were shocked he had made an album that good. The quality for "YouTuber music" is nearly in the dirt, but that record kind of pushed Quadeca out of the label of "YouTuber music." I enjoyed the album a good bit, although I found him to be a bit overhyped by many following its release. I don't know if that's where my lack of knowledge on Quadeca comes into play, but it's just how I felt. Then comes SCRAPYARD and I'm forced to eat the biggest crow ever. This new mixtape from Quadeca has him showcasing his range as not just a producer, but a rapper, lyricist, and multi-instrumentalist as well. Opener "Dustcutter" is an emo-rap track with elements of art pop mixed in and it's amazing. His exasperated, frantic delivery at various points throughout the track creates this very anxious tension that feels almost palpable. The next track, "A la carte" with brakence, picks up the pace a bit and the two work very well together. "Pretty Privilege" veers heavily into the art pop and it's so great. Hits pretty close to home as someone who has struggled with body image issues and Quadeca handles these themes in a tactful way. "Easier" shows another switch-up as he delves into some folktronica. He shows so much more depth as an artist here and to think this is the "scrapyard." One of the more no-frills hip hop tracks here is "Guess Who?" and it's a fun listen. The final three tracks are extremely poignant and offer some of the most intimate moments on the record. "U Tried That Thing Where Ur Human" reminds me a bit of a Xiu Xiu track except a bit less ... Xiu Xiu. "Guide Dog" is a really emotional indie folk cut and one that grows on me over reoccurring listens. "Texas Blue" is the most I've enjoyed a Kevin Abstract feature since like high school. Quadeca and Abstract have an incredible chemistry here. It really feels like the perfect way to end this project. Quadeca, I'm sorry for thinking you were overhyped. This SCRAPYARD mixtape is exceptional and I can't wait to hear what you do next.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Where we've been, Where we go from here - Friko

◇ genre: indie rock

Many reviewers have drawn a clear line of influence from Where we've been, Where we go from here and indie rock of the 2000s. Those reviewers would be absolutely correct too. If you told me this was an indie rock staple of that era with a Pitchfork Best New Music review to its name, I might believe you. However, this is a band's debut album in the year 2024. One of the most exciting in recent memory, made even more so by Friko being relatively unknown before this project. It's like it appeared out of thin air. Randomly here's one of the most polished indie rock albums in a while that puts a modern twist on an old formula. An old formula that I have a soft spot for, for better or for worse. Even by the opener, "Where We've Been," I knew this album was something special, at least for me. Vocalist and guitarist Niko Kapetan absolutely steals the show here. His voice is shaky, but effortlessly melodic. "Crimson to Chrome" has one of the most memorable choruses I've heard in a minute, it's been stuck in my head for days. Drummer Bailey Minzenberger really kills it here too. The energy keeps up on the next track "Crashing Through." Those first three tracks alone are a hell of a statement for a debut record. "Chemical" veers into the post-punk and shows the band's range very well. Even when the band get a bit quieter like on "Until I'm With You Again," there's still just this ... energy to it all. Friko sound so confident here, like they know they're gonna be a big name in the genre in a very short time. I hope I'm right about that because this album is amazing. I was a bit floored by how much I enjoyed this. Incredibly excited to see what Friko have in store for us next.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

PHASOR - Helado Negro

◇ genres: indietronica, neo-psychedelia

Similarly to Brittany Howard, Roberto Carlos Lange's music has escaped me over the last few years. I enjoyed his 2019 album This Is How You Smile, but I just kind of lost track of him. However, I saw his new album PHASOR getting some buzz and I decided to check it out. I'm glad I did! It's a gorgeous album full of sweet, borderline ambient songs. "I Just Want to Wake Up With You" is such a simple song, but it's so enjoyable. The repetition of the chorus never feels irritating because the production and instrumentation are so nice. It almost feels like you're swimming and the little synth flourishes remind me of early electronic music from the 70's. The whole album is full of stuff like that too. It's such an easy listen. Each song just breezes past you so gently. It doesn't demand your attention, but if you decide to give it some you will be rewarded. "Out There" sounds so cool and more complex than some of the other songs here while not losing the subtlety of the album. "Best For You and Me" is similar in this aspect too with its driving piano chords and fuzzy synths bubbling up underneath Lange's soft vocals. The most raucous track here is the opener "LFO (Lupe Finds Olivieros)" which is a cool mix of indie rock with the rest of the album's spacey synth work. This album has really grown on me over multiple listens. It's so easy to throw on whenever. It fits nearly every mood and doesn't overstay its welcome at all. It's also reminded me to go back and revisit more of his work from the past! 

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She - Chelsea Wolfe

◇ genres: darkwave, post-industrial

Chelsea Wolfe is a name that sounded vaguely familiar to me before I listened to her new record She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She, but I'm pretty sure I've never heard any of her stuff before this. Upon listening, I have a strong desire to dive into her back catalog. This album is excellently produced and wonderfully written. These songs are dark and often chilling. Both due to Wolfe's unique vocals and the production. You're thrown right into it with "Whispers In The Echo Chamber" as Wolfe sings about seeing things "beyond reality" and the dark synths really accentuate that feeling. The song eventually builds into a big industrial burst with a ripping guitar part towards the end of the track. I loved the range presented here and it's present across the whole album. Wolfe shines in both the softer moments and the louder moments. "House of Self-Undoing" is more straight-forward industrial rock. Even amidst the wild drums and guitars, Wolfe's vocals stand out. The lyricism here strikes a nice balance between substance and style. The majority of the tracks here have at least one lyric that is razor sharp despite the ethereal vocals. "The Liminal" is a really great trip-hop cut and an unexpected, but welcome change of pace after the slow-burning "Tunnel Lights." As was "Eyes Like Nightshade" which blends elements from dance music into this dark world Wolfe is creating. It's such an easy album to get sucked into. Even with the sonic shifts, these songs immerse you in their weird world. The album ends with one of its most fiery moments, "Dusk," as Wolfe aptly sings "and I will go through the fire" as the heavy industrial guitars and drums almost drown her out. I really loved this album. Wolfe managed to balance both the chaos and relative tranquility on the album just by her performance alone. Really need to listen to more of her stuff!

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

All Life Long - Kali Malone

◇ genres: drone, holy minimalism

My first introduction to Kali Malone's work was through her 2022 album Living Torch. A really interesting two part, 33-minute drone piece that had a really dark atmosphere to it. Her last album, Does Spring Hide Its Joy, was way more expansive at three hours. I had to listen to it over multiple days. It played on a lot of the themes of the previous, except grander. This new album is trimmed down a bit, but it has some of her strongest material. Opening the album with the choral "Passage Through the Spheres" is a very interesting choice. It doesn't really sound like much of the album musically, but it sets the tone very well. All Life Long sounds like the album art suggests. Everything feels cold. Maybe not the standing the snow kind of cold, but a really strong, uncomfortable chill. The title track, split into versions both for organ and voice, is a big highlight here. Malone's plodding organ on the former feels like you're stepping into somewhere you shouldn't be. It sounds haunted. "No Sun to Burn (for Brass)" lightens the mood just a bit and is a really striking minimalist composition. "Prisoned on Watery Shore" is a mellow drone cut and it keeps you hooked the whole time. Just by the first four tracks Malone has taken us down so many avenues and flexed her range as a composer. I love the dark droney synths and little organ flourishes on "Fastened Maze." I do like when Malone works with a brass quintet and the choirs, but they really shine with the drone stuff. She's so good at creating distinct atmospheres in each of her compositions. All Life Long might be my favorite project of Malone's yet. The majority of the songs here are really well composed and evoked some kind of reaction from me. Not sure if I would recommend starting with it if you're new to Malone's work, I would say Living Torch is still the best entry point, but definitely give this a listen after.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Prelude to Ecstasy - The Last Dinner Party

◇ genre: indie rock, glam rock, pop rock

I mentioned this in my singles & songs post from last month, but I have been loving the singles leading up to this album. Even if the entire debut from the London glam rock band didn't live up to the hype those songs gave me, I would still be pretty satisfied. Luckily, Prelude to Ecstasy is a really good debut. The band dives into themes of gender, generational trauma, and toxic relationships accompanied by some catchy, cathartic songwriting. The best example of this is the band's biggest hit thus far, "Nothing Matters." I touched on it briefly in the aforementioned post from last month, but I just adore that song. One of the most well-crafted rock songs of the decade so far. That chorus sticks with you for days. I wish I could be a bit contrarian and say that the biggest hit isn't the best song, but I just can't here. That isn't to say the rest of the material here is weak, far from it, this album is loaded with great songs. "Burn Alive" veers into a more post-punk sound which fits the band so well. The lyrics discuss turning pain into art and lead vocalist Abigail Morris has defined it as the band's "mission statement." Very strong start to the record. I wrote about how great "Caesar on a TV Screen" was last month, but I enjoyed it even more in the context of the album. "Sinner" is another great example of the band's glam rock sound. It sounds so classic, but not in the extra-derivative Greta Van Fleet way. They use these sounds from the past and put their own spin on it. All in all, this is a very strong debut album. Occasionally the band can drift into the generic, but those moments are few and far between. They're even more forgivable when you compare them to what other new stuff is playing on your local alternative station. I'll definitely take it over any son of Mumford.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Loss of Life - MGMT

◇ genre: neo-psychedelia

Nearly 6 years removed from their stellar previous album, Little Dark Age, MGMT have finally returned with Loss of Life. An album that sees them leaning away from the synth-heavy sound of the previous in favor of a more organic sound. Guitars and the occasional piano are usually the driving force behind these songs. The psychedelia present through all of their work is also here which is to be expected. The album opens with "Loss of Life Pt. 2," which features some of the most electronic instrumentation across the whole record and a lot of it would be reprised for the closing title track. Lead single "Mother Nature" follows it and it really was the perfect choice for a lead single. It introduces this "era" of the band perfectly. More organic instrumentation, more mature lyrics, while still having those hooks that really stick with you. I think this is one of the best songs the band have ever made and while a lot of the songs following don't reach those heights, plenty come very close. "People In The Streets" follows the same formula as that song, but way more mellow. I love the bass on this track, it's so prevalent in the mix. The next track "Bubblegum Dog" is almost glam rock and they pull off that sound pretty well. The lyrics feel like a meditation on the creative process and moving forward. Interesting themes that I'm interested in hearing from them at this stage in their career. A lot of the songs here, as good as most of them are, just leave me wanting a little bit more. I often found myself wanting the band to take a few more risks and get a bit wilder on the musical front. I feel like you could've explored these more mature themes while also getting a bit crazier with it. As this album dropped only last week, I don't feel like my opinions on it are fully formed. Maybe I'll enjoy it more over more listens as the year rolls on. For the most part, Loss of Life is a really good return for the band and an interesting release in their discography.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Still - Erika de Casier

◇ genre: contemporary r&b

Erika de Casier had been on my radar for years, but I never got around to listening to any of her albums in full. I was inspired to listen to her new album due to her incredible single from last month, "Lucky." A really sleek, atmospheric drum and bass cut with a killer hook and production that still wows me even after multiple listens. It's probably still my favorite track on the album, but that's not to say there aren't other amazing tracks on Still. The reggaetón undertones of "Home Alone" were a very welcome surprise. "ice" is has a very funky bassline and a nice feature from They Hate Change. "Believe It" has a subtle bit of trip-hop thrown in and some of my favorite hooks on the whole record. The album's sounds are deceptively eclectic as de Casier blends them together so well. The incredible production across Still can sometimes be to its detriment. On a few tracks, the production feels let down by some weak songwriting. Not bad by any means, but I just wish there was a bit more of an edge to them. de Casier is a very good pop songwriter and pretty much every track has a good hook, chorus, etc., but it doesn't leave much of an impact beyond that. "Ex-Girlfriend" and "Twice" are examples of this. Really nice beats, but I feel like they never reach the heights they have the potential to. Even with those gripes, Still is a really well-crafted record and there is no shortage of great stuff here.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Other Rooms - Adriaan de Roover

◇ genres: ambient, electroacoustic

I don't know much about Adriaan de Roover at all. I found this album on the front page of Bandcamp and decided to check it out because the genres looked appealing. Sometimes you need a good ambient album and Other Rooms is a satisfying listen. There are some gorgeous ambient soundscapes on this project with some glitchy moments peppered in. In fact, the album starts off with one of those moments. "Yet" has these prickly, glitchy synths throughout, yet an almost eerie wave of noise accompanies them. It creates a really cool dynamic. If you're just looking for some good ol' ambient, check out the tracks "Homebound" and "Dank U." My favorite piece here is the title track. It features some nice ambient synth-work alongside these distant choir-like vocals and some chilling piano chords thrown in. The backend of the tracks turns to something far more sinister with one of the most outwardly unsettling dark warbles. There always feels like there's something underneath a lot of the songs. I just wish it was a bit more fleshed out. At just under 30-minutes in length, I feel like there was a bit more to explore. Still definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a good ambient album with a decent amount of depth to dive into.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud (not available) YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Club Shy - Shygirl

◇ genres: house, dance-pop

There's not really much to say about this new Shygirl EP except that it's a really strong, concise collection of house and dance-pop tracks. A bit of a detour from the sound of her previous album Nymph, but it works so well. She works with a ton of different producers here and it's incredible how cohesive it all sounds. Every track hits and there's very rarely a dull moment. "4eva" and "thicc" are probably the biggest highlights here for me. I'm a total, anti-social geek that doesn't go to clubs, but those songs make me want to. If you need a quick collection of thumping club songs, look no further.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Unwired Detour - Asian Glow

◇ genres: noise pop, indietronica

I've listened to a decent amount of Asian Glow's work over the last few years. They've been involved in some pretty interesting projects throughout the decade so far both on their own and with other noisy/shoegaze artists such as Weatherday and Parannoul. They played bass on the latter's After the Night live album which was one of my favorites last year. However, it seems as though the Asian Glow project is coming to an end with Unwired Detour. They announced on their Bandcamp that this would be the "last album [they'll] ever release for Asian Glow." It doesn't feel like your typical "final album" though, at least to me. I'm sure it has a lot more personal significance for the artist, but this just sounds like an extremely promising album from a young artist and one that could be a stepping stone to much greater heights.

The album features some really good noise pop/indietronica tracks with some having more of a rock edge than others. "Ashes" is one of my favorite cuts here because of that rock edge. It also feels like one of the more lively tracks here from a production standpoint. I feel the same way about "Kuroitamago #2" and "Faucet." This album is at its best when they cut loose a bit. A lot of these songs are really good, but the production feels like a big barrier preventing them from reaching that next level. Like on the opener "Down in the sink" which is just begging to be free from the Wall of Sound production style. I still think on the whole this project is worth checking out. I also am excited to hear whatever comes next from the artist formerly known as Asian Glow.

listen here: Apple Music (not available) Spotify (not available) Bandcamp SoundCloud (not available) YouTube (not available) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2093 - Yeat

◇ genres: industrial hip hop, experimental hip hop, trap

I haven't really been crazy about a lot of Yeat's music, but 2093 is probably his strongest album to date. There are so many really cool ideas here and there are some awesome moments here from a production standpoint. However, it would be even better if it were reigned in and shortened by maybe even 20 minutes. He commits to the concept of 2093 and being in the future, but that kinda wears thin when multiple songs hammer that concept home over and over again. On the whole it can be a very tiresome listen made somewhat worthwhile due to a large number of highlights. "Morë" and "U Should Know" are my two favorite tracks on the album if just for the beats alone. They sound so cool and the former dives into the industrial hip hop sound really well. Yeat's bars are pretty nice for the most part, he's not my favorite rapper and often he never surpasses the "this is fine" territory, but he works within these songs very well. I'll always be a sucker for reoccurring lyrical themes across an album. Lil Wayne locked in for his verse on "Lyfestylë" which makes it another standout. I really had a difficult time getting into the later half of the album, but the penultimate track "If We Being Rëal" brought me back into it. There is a really, really solid album within 2093. If you took the cream of the crop and maybe saved the rest for a deluxe edition, you would be absolutely golden.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp (not available) SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

TANGK - IDLES

◇ genre: art rock, post-punk

IDLES decided to switch things up going into their fifth studio album, partially stepping away from the raucous energy of their previous work in favor of something softer, less aggressive. They enlist the help of Nigel Godrich and frequent collaborator Kenny Beats for the bulk of production duties here. Godrich especially has heaps of experience in the art rock world mainly through his production work on every Radiohead studio album besides Pablo Honey. The production really is one of the standout things about TANGK, unfortunately I don't really know if IDLES is the best at making the most of it. This isn't a bad album by any means and I do warm up to it bit by bit after every listen, but I can't help but feel like a lot of this is underwhelming. I'm all for bands expanding their sound and trying different things, but I feel like IDLES lose a good bit of their charm by going into this direction. The best moments on the album are the ones reminiscent of the wild energy of their previous work. Especially "Dancers", a collab with LCD Soundsystem and a track that somehow flew under my radar last year. That swinging chorus rules so hard. "Hall & Oates" is another massive highlight for a lot of the same reasons. "Gift Horse" is awesome too and shows the band kinda leaning further towards dance-punk.

IDLES really thrive with that rough around the edges sound. Not all of their forays away from it are bad, in fact, none of them are really. Many just feel kinda boring.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Drop 7 - Little Simz

◇ genres: UK hip hop, electronic dance music

It breaks my heart to write this, but Drop 7 was underwhelming. Little Simz is one of my favorite artists going today and her last three studio albums are absolutely incredible. Her 2021 album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert was my favorite album of that year and I would give it a very prestigious 10/10 score!! I was so hyped for this EP once she started teasing it on social media. The snippets showed her venturing into some more electronic production and I was intrigued. Unfortunately, those experiments don't really come together to make a great EP. There are some really good moments though. The opener "Mood Swings" is great and shows her feeling right at home with this style. The next track "Fever" is also one of the better cuts here, but it highlights a big issue I have with this project. Her typical incredible flows and lyricism aren't really present here across this EP. Most of the time her bars feel like an afterthought and oftentimes there isn't much else to carry the tracks on any other front besides that. One of the only exceptions is "SOS" which is a nice tribal house track that makes me want to dive into the genre more. I'm trying not to be too harsh on this EP because it's obvious she uses the Drop EPs to experiment and test out ideas, but Drop 7 left a lot to be desired. I don't think this journey into electronic/house music is a bad idea, but I just hope it can be fleshed out properly on her next full-length project.

listen here: Apple Music Spotify Bandcamp (not available) SoundCloud YouTube ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Vultures 1 - Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign

◇ genres: pop rap, trap, alternative r&b

It feels pointless to dive into Kanye's weird, antisemitic antics over the last year or so. He obviously doesn't care and his ardent supporters don't either. "Separate the art from the artist!" they cry meanwhile said artist is making light of his antics in the art itself. Thus making it impossible to separate it from him. So that begs the question ... why do people still cling to him? Does the man who just a few months ago uttered the phrase "Jesus Christ, Hitler, Ye — third party, sponsor that" still make good music? Maybe if the beats go hard enough you can forgive and forget as he boasts about still being "the king" despite his vile antics? Unfortunately for the Kanye fans, this might be his worst album to date. No longer can they use the shield of "but he still makes good music!" I've tried to write about how I feel about this album over and over again, but it's so frustrating. Pretty much every song has a fair amount of bullshit thrown in which makes the whole thing unenjoyable. "Stars" is a decent opener until Kanye says "Keep a few Jews on the staff now" as if it somehow absolves him of his past remarks. "Keys to My Life" has a cool beat, but Kanye's verses are some of the weakest of his career. "Talking" probably has the least amount of bullshit and it can be a bit touching at times. "Back to Me" ranks among the worst things Kanye's ever touched. Everything about it irritates me, I don't even enjoy the Freddie Gibbs feature. The same can be said about "Hoodrat." "Do It" isn't offensively bad, but it bores me to tears. "Burn" is just pathetic as Kanye tries to get a quick nostalgia pop because the beat and his flow are sort of reminiscent of The College Dropout era, y'know when he made good music. "Fuk Sumn" and "Carnival" are the most enjoyable tracks here, but I can't see myself ever really going back to them. The title track isn't good and is proof Kanye has lost pretty much all of his sauce. The last two tracks, "Problematic" and "King," are embarrassing. The former where Kanye refers to his current wife as a "reference" to his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and the latter where he says he's "still the king!" despite people rightfully calling out his behavior. These over-the-top egotistical bars would at least be a little bit forgivable if the songs were any good, but they aren't. I almost forgot to mention this is a collab with Ty Dolla $ign and while he has some decent moments (his verse on "Talking" is a genuine highlight), as he says on the track "Paid," he's "just here to get paid." Vultures 1 has to be one of the worst albums by an artist of Kanye West's standing. Someone responsible for making some of the most influential music of the last two decades having a fall from grace this hard and fast would be sad if he weren't such a massive piece of shit. My apologies for going in on this album, but if you know me you will know that I used to be a massive fan of this man's music. I own like half of his discography on vinyl and I stuck with him through so much bullshit. I'm catching up on my Kanye hate after many years of being a delusional dickrider of his. He's making it easy too, not just with his antisemitism, but with this bad record too.

listen here: don't, listen to something good instead ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Slut Pop Miami - Kim Petras

◇ genres: dance-pop, house, electropop

I really am rooting for Kim Petras. I thought she was making some cool stuff near the end of the 2010s, but I just haven't been able to get into anything she's dropped lately. Especially these Slut Pop projects. It was already uncomfortable how often Petras collaborated with alleged sexual abuser Dr. Luke, but releasing a bunch of hypersexual bangers produced by him is just very uncomfortable and tone deaf on many different levels.

listen here: don't, listen to Club Shy for ur house and dance-pop fix this month ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ thanks for reading <3

#month in review #music #2024 #rateyourmusic #music review #brittany howard #quadeca #friko #helado negro #chelsea wolfe #kali malone #the last dinner party #mgmt #erika de casier #adriaan de roover #shygirl #asian glow #yeat #idles #little simz #kim petras

[misfitsandmusings]

Trafalgar Law: Verses, Wishlist, Fave Ships, etc.

♡ Main (Canon): Corresponding with the events of the anime/manga, canon-compliant. Interactions set between Sabaody and Zou preferred (my grasp on Wano is pretty poor because I speed-read the entire manga in two months and I retained very little from most of it. To revisit at a later date.) Open to exploring pre-Sabaody timeline and I love canon-divergent AUs.

♡ Heartverse: "What If" canon-divergent AU built with @climatact, in which: Bellemere lived, Nami became a marine, Law had an extra year with Cora-san as a child and their travels to find a cure for Law brought them to the East where their paths crossed with Bellemere and her two daughters. A chance encounter on an island in the Grand Line years later upends the trajectory of both of their lives. Tagged: ♡ // verse: heartverse ; || Ships: LawNa ♡

Heartverse series of events: during the 2-year timeskip, Law crosses paths with Marine!Nami on an island in the Grand Line (the first time they’ve seen each other since he visited her island when he was 11.) A mutual attraction/curiosity upon their reunion leads to a one-night-turned-two stay in a fancy hotel, a jewelry store heist that results in Nami leaving her unfulfilling career behind to join his pirate crew, and an unexpected addition to their lives. Following Law’s appointment as a Shichibukai, the two head back to her home in the East until baby Cora-chan makes her appearance. She’s later left in the care of Nojiko and Bellemere while the two travel to Punk Hazard. After the run-in with the Straw Hats, Nami still ends up joining as their navigator and the two, although married, sail on in pursuit of their individual goals.

♡ Tangerine Trysts: A spin-off of a spin-off; another take on Heartverse in which Law and Nami's initial background (meeting as kids, Bellemere living, Nami becoming a marine) stays the same but Law and Nami run into each other on Sabaody, again at Marineford, and carry on an relationship of sorts while she remains a marine. || Ships: LawNa ♡

♡ Currently Untitled Godverse: AU built with @climatact based on a shared appreciation for the tale of Hades & Persephone, ft. Law as the god of the Underworld and Nami as a mortal living in some of the hardest times the mortal realm has ever seen. Tagged: ♡ // godverse tbt ; || Ships: LawNa ♡

♡ Godverse Spin-off: the “closer to the actual tale of Hades and Persephone but still not quite” take. In which a god takes a liking to the pretty mortal woman he met when business brought him to the mortal realm. || Ships: LawNa

Working On (or would like to explore): a BSD verse, maaaaybe a Demon Slayer verse!

Haven't worked out the details yet but I'd love to explore a "Cora-san lived" AU where Law did not hand over Rosinante's message to THE ONE marine he should not have. (FU Vergo.)

Have also been toying with something where Law, possibly in a modern verse or maybe some fantasy/non-OP setting, actually dabbles in trading hearts for a business; i.e. he'll grant a wish but the price is your heart.

Law Wishlist / Ship Stuff:

Opportunities for him to treat/tend to people - scenarios where even if it's not someone he particularly likes, they need advice or medical attention and he's the only one around to provide it.

Middle of the night interactions since Law's sleeping patterns are abysmal. One or both muses waking up from a nightmare? Lots on their mind? Enjoying the quiet?

As much as I love angst and drama and traumatized characters, Law could use some happy times, so I'm always up for exploring what-ifs where any of his lost loved ones survived.

Ships: My favorite Law ship is Law x Nami. I'm always down to write it, but will not force it on any Namis of course. Other ships I'm intrigued by include Law x Zoro, Law x Robin, and Law x Luffy (I generally see Luffy as an aro/ace icon BUT this is literally the only ship I see potential for for him). However, just because something isn't listed here doesn't mean I won't entertain it. I'm basically shipping trash, although I tend not to to ship him with any of his crewmates and will not ship him with Mingo or Cora-san.

Mandatory disclaimer that I love, love, love AUs - if you'd ever be interested in working on one together, whether it's based on a canon-divergent 'what if?' or an entirely new world/story, SHOUT AT ME ABOUT IT. I also love finding ways to interact in each other's verses, so if you have a verses page I'll definitely check it out -- and if you're interested at all in hopping into one of mine, just let me know!

Have an idea for your verse you want to play out? Tell me about it!

#♡ // verses: trafalgar law ; #[tagging this as wishlist so law-specific reqs on this show up.] #♡ // wishlist ;

[bubblesandgutz]

Hi Brian,

I’ve been a fan of your work for quite some time. Lately I’ve been revisiting Easter a ton and the B Side is really resonating with me now more than when I first listened to it years ago. Especially getting older and having a better appreciation for prog, krautrock, etc. tracks like Deer Lodge and Coporeal hit that sweet spot. Love to see that you were inspired by Yes around that time and curious to know if there were any other specific artists that influenced you during the making of the record.

How was “Deer Lodge” recorded? I feel like I have a decent ear where I can dissect a good portion of the Snakes cuts, but that track is particularly bonkers and I can never figure out exactly what is going on with all the loop and octave action. Did you guys ever play it live?

Thanks so much for the kind words. While I feel like some of our best material would come out later, I also feel like Easter was our best album overall, and that's mainly due to the places we went on side 2.

We were definitely going through a prog rock phase around the time we made Easter. I wish I could throw out some obscure names, but really, we were just listening to a lot of Yes, Pink Floyd, and King Crimson. We had toured with bands like Boris, Jesu, and ISIS on the previous album cycle and I think some of that long-form songwriting also rubbed off on us, even if we weren't going for the same low-tuned riffage those bands were typically known for. I should probably mention Minus the Bear as well, seeing as how they pushed the envelope with sampled guitar work on Menos el Oso---something we'd explored on Oxeneers but definitely pushed further on Easter once they upped the ante.

"Deer Lodge" was a favorite of ours and we did play it live a few times, but it was a pretty tricky song to pull off on account of the aforementioned guitar sampling. Ryan was doing a bunch of stacked harmonizing guitar loops during the "chorus" and glitchy on-the-fly guitar samples during the second and third "verses." I was jumping back and forth between synth and bass, while also sampling bits of bass guitar to augment the low end on the synth parts. By the final section of that song, both Ryan and I are both essentially playing two or three parts each at the same time. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it turned into a mess.

We really wanted to play that one on the reunion run but we knew our success rate with it was gonna be pretty shoddy, so we skipped it. I'm not even sure I remember which parts were loops and which parts were played through.

[loveislarryislove]

2022 Writing Reflection

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 18 (holy shit???)

2. Word count posted for the year: 107,382 (double holy shit?????)

3. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction, Critical Role, Tamora Pierce, The Old Guard, Percy Jackson

4. Pairings: Larry, BeauJester, Immortal Husbands, Shiall, Solangelo

5. Story with the most…

Kudos: I Can Build Your Heart A Home

Bookmarks: I Can Build Your Heart A Home

Comments: Hash Brown, Egg Yolk, I Will Always Love You

Hits: Your Skin On Mine (I'm Losing Control)

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): 

So I have two fics I want to shout out for this. First is Do You Think The Tides Know, which is a super personal concept to me and one I’ve been wanting to explore for a while. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever written before, and I’m not sure if I’ve ever read anything quite like it -- where from the beginning it’s clear that the main character won’t get the guy, where the endgame pairing doesn’t involve our POV character, where no matter what we’re rooting for we know it involves heartbreak. It’s complicated and it’s messy and it’s imperfect and it’s painful and I think that’s important, you know? That’s real. That’s life. And that’s okay. 

I’m also really proud of my Reverse Bang fic, they say looks can kill (and i might try), which just posted this week. I’ve always been intimidated by worldbuilding, but the art and prompt from @haztobegood were just... so vivid and interesting and exciting, and I could feel the world begging to be explored. I was initially afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it justice and realize the ideas the way I wanted, but I’m so glad I did it anyways. I don’t think I did a perfect job, there are still gaps that I’m aware of as the person who created them, but I also think that overall I did a damn good job! Go me!  

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why): 

I’m also going to mention two here. First is my Emelan fic for Troped: Chapters -- I had some fun with the concepts but I just wasn’t feeling the romance that was the center of the prompts, and I wasn’t sure how to make everything play out effectively. Second is my Camp Half-Blood AU for Astrofest -- I had a much bigger, grander, more complex idea mapped out based on all the different positive and negative meanings of the card, but I just bit off more than I could chew in terms of time and energy, so the fic I wrote instead was a much simpler spur-of-the-moment idea. It’s a fine story, I don’t dislike it, but it wasn’t what I’d wanted to write initially. Still, I’m glad it nudged me to start exploring that ‘verse -- I wrote a PJO fic a month or two later and I’d like to write more! I might also revisit the more complex idea someday, I still think that it would be a super cool story! 

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received: 

I received a ton of wonderful comments and tags, but I think some of my favourites were the appreciation for the check ins and conversations around kink in fics like it's always me that ends up getting wet. We love boundaries and consent!!! Having that level of trust with your partner is what most interests me about kink, so it felt really validating and rewarding to see that reflected and appreciated. 

9. A time when writing was really, really hard: 

Looking at my writing tracker, I only wrote like... 800 words in March, so I guess numerically you could say that was hard, since I didn’t do it. 

In the other direction, in August and September I published TEN fics (totaling about 46k words), so that was. a lot of writing. why did I do this. I’m so proud but also kind of concerned. 

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

Is it too unspecific to say “all of the smut”? Like wow, usually I don’t really write smut, but this year I was apparently VERY INSPIRED. And I kept writing such huge word counts in one go, wow. 

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

Oh man, it’s always hard to pick just one piece (especially without it getting ridiculously long), but let’s go with this snippet from Do You Think The Tides Know, as Zayn says goodbye to Louis at the end of the summer:

Zayn pulls Louis into a tight hug, trying to memorize the feeling of his body, the sound of his heartbeat, the smell of his hair.

“Don’t be a stranger, yeah?” he says, trying to keep the catch in his throat from showing in his voice. “I know we don’t usually talk that much outside the summer, but… you have my number, if you ever, like, have questions or just… if you ever need anything. Call me.”

Louis chuckles. “I know,” he says. “You’ve always got my back. Thanks, man. You’re a great friend.”

Zayn squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, then forces them back open. “Good,” he says, stepping back. “And… good luck.”

A bright smile dawns across Louis’ face. Zayn wishes it was for him, wishes he could make Louis look like that. But failing that, he hopes that the person who does make Louis smile like that – he hopes he never stops.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year:

This is kind of unspecific, but I think just... being more willing to try things that are unfamiliar and step outside of my usual comfort zone. That willingness feels like growth, and doing that creates growth. 

13. How do you hope to grow next year:

Part of me wants to say writing self-motivated fics, stories I tell just because I want to and without outside boxes I have to fit into or people holding me accountable. But maybe the real growth would be acknowledging that those outside influences and motivations are valid, and if they work for me, that’s not such a bad thing. 

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): 

gotta be @alwaysxlarrie. I can always count on lauren to hype me up or help me brainstorm or get my creative gears turning or tell me if a sentence or moodboard looks weird or celebrate my accomplishments. and I love returning the favor! mutual brain furbies for life -- you the best! 

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: 

The “weird holiday traditions” in The Streetlights Are All Saying Your Name are both real traditions that my family had when I was growing up

I work in a pet store, and so for All Ewe Need Is Lamb, I used information and products and even photos from my work 

As I mentioned before, Do You Think The Tides Know is based on a really personal experience -- it’s not like 100% true to life, but the idea of dating someone while in love with someone else, and knowing that the relationship had an end date, but celebrating the happiness and fun and learning in the meantime -- that was real to me, and super meaningful. So grateful for everyone else who has connected to the fic as well!

And this is kind of the inverse and a slightly more spicy one, so look away if you don’t want to know, but. Writing for the @1dwatersportsficfest ultimately led to me telling my fiancée that I was into that. So. I guess that’s my writing showing up in my real life!

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: 

If you’re afraid of doing something because it feels out of your comfort zone or what you’re used to doing -- that’s where the growth is. Find people who encourage you to do it anyways, who make you feel excited to go there, who celebrate your achievements. It’s so much less scary with friends, and you’ll probably surprise yourself with how much you’re capable of.  

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: 

With the publication of my fic for the 1D Reverse Bang this week, I am officially finished all my current projects! Which isn’t to say I don’t have forgotten half-finished projects, but I don’t have anything I’m actively working on at the moment. It’s exciting and terrifying at the same time. What will I daydream about on the bus now???

I’m feeling called back to my Soft Established Relationship Vax’ilmore Fluff Series, so might write a couple of those next (then again, I said I’d do that last year, and that lasted about 8 days so. we’ll see). I’m also eyeing up some of the fests for this coming year (I need external motivation, it’s a problem) and @1dtourdeficfest @faithinthefutureficfest @1dastroficfest are all on my list of contenders.

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read:

I’m not sure who all has already done this so apologies if I’m tagging someone who has already done it (or already been tagged a billion times), but: @alwaysxlarrie @haztobegood @zanniscaramouche @andfollowthesun @larry-hiatus @panye @littleroverlouis @beckydoesthings @finelinegynandromorph @paranormalbabydoll @thebreadvansstuff

#writing #mine #my fics

[malk1ns]

so yesterday @ticklefighthockey was using this prompt generator and doing mini outlines—it looked fun, so i'm copying! some of these are not screenshots because i was hitting the 'generate' button too fast but ended up wanting to keep them. beware for grimy, yucky plotpoints, including problems with consent!

this is a world in which there's something sacred in an alpha/omega bond; maybe something required by the league, maybe a stipulation from either sid or geno's parents to let them play? whatever it is, bonds in this world are only consummated/created via sex—that's the only way. and over time the consummation sex has become highly, highly ritualized, even for couples that are freely seeking to bond out of love. for sid and geno? the rigidity of the tradition is what gets them through their first time. part of the ritual involves a 'claiming' of the omega by the alpha—this is a world where gender roles are strictly enforced in the traditional rituals—the omega is asleep and overtaken by the alpha, and that's how it begins.

sid and geno are in this world's version of a queer relationship. there's homophobia here for sure, but it's milder, a lot better than it used to be at least, that's for sure. they've been taking it slow—the dynamics clash is no joke, and they're working through being there for each other through the pheromone surges and how to handle each other's ruts as their cycles sync up. so they've had sex—a lot of it—but they've never knotted inside the other one.

the first time they try it, once the knot is locked in, the one who's being knotted has some horrible flashback memory to a hazing incident when he was in juniors. the rookies had all been fed shots until their vision was blurry, and whoever tapped out of taking more first was held down and teased with a knotting toy, one of those heat aids that omegas buy if they don't feel like getting an alpha. they never actually locked the knot in, the other boys, but it got very, very close.

he'd forgotten, until now, that had happened to him. and now he's stuck until the other's knot goes down.

repressed religious society and knotting with crying during sex

this one is pretty simple. in a society where virginity is prized above an other value or trait, and sex ed is essentially nonexistent.

sid and geno get married. they're young—scandalously young by our standards, and even in this world they raise a few eyebrows. but they're desperately in love, and they don't want to wait, and so they get their blessings and are united.

the wedding night comes, and they're both so fumbling and eager. geno's nervous, and so so careful with sid, but neither of them know what they're doing, and it's confusing and scary and it hurts and geno doesn't know how to make it better, and it's overwhelming for them both, and they end up crying in each other's arms as they wait for geno's knot to go down. after all, when your first time is put on such a pedestal, the only real outcome can be disappointment.

alpha/alpha and free use with internalized shame

for this one i'd revisit my free use 'verse i did for a/b/o fest this year. two alphas (to be named later, i don't remember anyone's designations lol) are in a clandestine relationship. to the world they're just buddies, good friends, but in private one of them acts like an omega, and in this world that means he's 'available' at all times. this would be a deep dive into his internal monologue as he orders sex aids from the sketchy side of the internet, as he slips out of bed on the mornings of days off to prepare himself to act and feel like an omega. he loves it—they both love it—but there's some deep, deep shame and self-loathing that goes along with all of this.

rutsex and used as a reward with (optional) branding/marking

alphas are rare rare rare, and there are...stereotypes about them. some of them have a ring of truth, some of them don't. one of the most pervasive, though, is that if you're an omega going through heat, the best partner for you is an alpha who's in rut. they'll do everything they can to please you and make sure you're spent and satisfied by the end, and if it goes well they'll be utterly devoted to you from then on.

alphas aren't allowed to play in the NHL until they're 22, which is when they supposedly settle and are less 'feral'. so, geno may have made his way to the US (in this world he stays after the draft, alphas are valuable enough that no team would risk sending him away on the off chance someone steals them), and he might be the penguins' property, but he's not allowed to play. he can attend practice, and he's collecting a paycheck, but he's not on the roster. not yet.

sid, though, is allowed to play. he's an omega, after all.

the franchise is clearly banking on him and geno as The Future, so they pair them up during practice, and sid does his best to try and soothe geno's jealousy and discontent. they become friends, good friends even.

something else that the organization is banking on, something they don't share with sid or geno, is that if sid and geno spend enough time together, their cycles will sync up, sid will go into heat when geno's in rut, and they'll tie their superstars to each other and to the franchise.

and, well. sid's the Next One. doesn't he deserve to have a reward? a little treat on the side for when the spotlight gets too bright? he is the youngest player to hit 100 points, after all...

#my fic #my writing #i think i'll do more of these later! this was fun #grimy fic generator

[queerfictionwriter]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

Okay, first of all, you are a joy. Secondly: this would be so much easier if I was less fucking prolific, LMAO. So yes, I'm late to this party, but in my defense, I had to winnow down nearly 200 fics from a decade of fanfic writing to get here.

And, uuuuuuh. Yeah, sorry, I "cheated"--you're gonna get my five(ish) favourite Steter, and five favourite non-Steter fics bc LAWD this was hard to pick!

Steter:

The Devil You Know - this was the first fic where I think I deliberately skewed dark--but the point of this fic, for all that it's kind of dark and extremely messy, is that "you do not have to reach some arbitrary standard of 'good enough' in order to be good to or for someone".

Better Than Okay - the fic where "ace" does not mean "sex-repulsed", and "ace Dom" isn't an oxymoron. I love this one bc it focussed on communication and mutual meeting of needs, and because it points out that a label alone cannot tell you everything about how a person thinks, feels, and relationships.

thick series - this 'verse is always fun to think about, re-read, or revisit and write more of, bc Chaotic Dumbass Stiles & genderqueer Butch Daddy Peter are hilarious and a delight

Starving Faithful - this is an ABO fic that smashes religious trauma and sexuality together in ways that I find really meaningful, and also hot. I have a lot of feelings about this one and am really proud of how it turned out.

Unorthodox - soft, loving kink in a long-term relationship that doesn't look like what everyone thinks kink is

In Good Faith - this was a collab with the wildly talented @asarcasticwitch, and every moment working on this joint gift with her filled me with glee. Every time I open that fic I need a few minutes to stare at the art.

Non-Steter:

Ruined - this is literally just sexy Stetopher shenanigans ft. girl Stiles and trans Peter, and I still love everything about this one years later

(Un)Gilding the Lily - my contribution to the collection about the "feminine" product so horrifying, there was no other option except ruthless mockery. Everything about the creation of this one was the best kind of ride.

Come Out in the Wash - the first Stalion I ever wrote, and my favourite of them to re-read for how human this one feels, especially when it comes to sex partners who are disabled

not broken, she's just a baby - AKA "the Kinky Stargent". I love this one so much, and the velvety-soft D/s in this one might be the most self-indulgent thing I've ever written

What I've Been Looking For - AKA The Yoga AU. Stetopher. It took me over 4yrs to finish this, and it might be the fic I'm proudest of.

#K speaks #fanfic #my fic #my fanfic #my writing #fandom #fandom life #long live fandom #writing #writing community #pocket friends #hey it's Shey #Steter #Stiles Stilinski #girl Stiles #precious baby #full of sarcasm and murder #Peter Hale #precious murder cupcake #all hail the trash daddy #Stetopher #Chris Argent #can you say 'daddy'? #hello competence kink #Steterica #Erica Reyes #Stalion #Deucalion #shameless self-promotion

[wavernot4love]

two back to back album rant posts? wahoo!!! anyways, buckle in kids while i ramble about, of course, So Much (For) Stardust, from the perspective of a fan since '14 whose favorite albums are futct, tttyg, & ioh, post-my first complete listen & typed out in real time as i revisit it & skip around from song to song

keep in mind, i did hear 4 or 5 songs live @ one of the listening parties last week, though they were kinda out of order & i also didn't really know which songs were which since there were some uhhh... let's just say scheduling complications @ the record store that kept the event from going down as planned, but such is life.

anyways!! i went in pretty optimistically, as i LOVED most of the songs i heard, + definitely enjoyed lftos from the start & mostly liked heartbreak.

lftos! i'll be completely honest and say this may still be my favorite song of the album. just feels like peak "spirit of fob," i guess, and definitely comes as a peak embodiment of that whole "what might have been, in between folie & srar" analogy.

at the listening party last week, a couple of us remarked on fake out sounding like the kinda song you'd drive into the sunset w the windows down to. or the kinda song that would show up in a coming of age movie w such a vibe. safe to say i still stand by that a week and a half later. a solid nighttime jam.

i will say, in my opinion, heaven, iowa is the most mania track on the album, at least in terms of the verses & first chorus, and i cannot truthfully say i've historically been a mania guy. however, the track maintains, at least to me, especially as it progresses, the soul of moments like super fade, off the 2018 ep lake effect kid, which, for me, felt like a more impactful, developed take on what they were going for with mania. not to mention, the full band feels more involved than on a lot of mania. so, i've gotta say, this will be a track i go back to.

alright, i am my own muse. i think this one kind of feels like a fusion of all of their post-hiatus work (definitely feel like whatever was going on in the best, darker moments of ab/ap shines through here accompanied by some of the fervor of the srar/ybc narrative), with a flavor of the theatrical elements of their older stuff sprinkled in. i believe this was the first one i heard at my listening party

i think the verses & bridge of this one remind me of srar. might be the bassline. question mark

pete spoken word time!! don't have too much to say here, just nice, as always, to hear this kinda thing from him.

a highlight, in my opinion. potentially feels the most like a throwback next to lftos. more srar vibes, probably the most of any.

i think this one feels the most "new" to me in terms of past songs recalling or blending other sounds fob has done over the years. also do really like the random callback to lftos.

all in all, i would say this album does largely feel like a bridge between pre & post-hiatus fob, where srar was a lot more of a sharp departure from the "old" fob people were familiar with.

one thing i will say to be completely truthful is that after my first complete listen, most of my favorite songs that really resonated with me were the ones i had already heard (either singles or the few from the listening party), which wasn't entirely what i was hoping for.

but at the same time, going back and skipping through a bit to make this post changed my perspective on a couple moments & i remain stoked on familiarizing myself with these songs further + getting a renewed appreciation for them thanks 2 my shows (cuyahoga, darien, & toronto) this summer.

regardless! i can appreciate this album for what it is, & it may be my favorite post-hiatus body of work (maybe tied w srar). above all, i can definitely see its place within fob's discography.

my top 3 songs, as of right now:

1. love from the other side

2. the kintsugi kid (ten years)

3. so much (for) stardust

feel free to share your takes & experiences listening! drop your favorite track(s)! your favorite fob album! tell me about what shows you're going to, if any! i want to hear it all, aka everyone's unique experiences!

#fob #fall out boy #so much for stardust #wavernot4lovetalksmusic #new music

[not-close-to-straight]

Also you can’t just download Broken, you also need Coming Home and the other nine (ten?) shorter sequels to get the entire story!

The Broken Wings series is one of my BEST and I literally only barely finished the last update last year.

You will fall in love with every single member of that wacky family

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

YES! I saw the masterlist you have posted on here about the series.😊 I am very interested in it. It will probably be painful at times but I also know it always turns out alright. And I always find those poly relationships interesting. (I can't wrap my brain around how it works in real life but reading about it also sort of helps to understand, if that makes sense?)

I have this weird thing that I can't download too many stories at once because otherwise I feel too much pressure to read (as in, read faster because you need to finish all the books on your ereader NOW so you can read more books later.) 😑😑😑

Oh no that's totally fair, I get that.

And yes the angst especially in Broken and Coming Home is intense but pretty much after that, it's all just healing for everyone. More characters bring more in depth poly relationships, the bonus chapters include some closer looks at like-- how Bruce being asexual shapes his relationship not just with Alpha!Tony but also with Thor later on, how the Omegas (Bucky, Clint and Steve) really honestly keep the family together, the addition of non binary Omega!Loki is honestly just fantastic and watching Sam go from having a smaller role in the family to honestly sort of leading the whole thing? Incredible.

Plus the themes of healing for pretty much EVERYONE is so great. Like some of it is a little more obvious ie: Bucky and Tony and later on Loki and Clint and even Bruce once we learn his backstory, but alot of it is just about all these different people with different genders and biologies and sexualities finding a space where they fit and loving and being loved unconditionally.

And the stories build on one another so if you get to the fic when Loki arrives at the compound, the fic AFTER that picks up at wherever Loki would be at that point, whether they've made it to loving Tony yet or how their interactions with Bucky have changed and then the very next one will still reference them while focusing the spotlight on a different character. Its all just really beautiful.

The Broken Wings verse is definitely one of my all time best verses and it's always interesting for me personally to revisit the verse because "Broken" was one of the very first stories I ever wrote so my writing level definitely isn't as good as it is later and I definitely didn't have as firm a grasp on my Omegaverse dynamics or characterizations yet. But as you move through the series, the writing gets better, the characterizations get really beautiful and you can see where some of my now standard Omegaverse tropes/dynamics started out.

I'll be interested to know your thoughts as you read through it!

[astateofjess]

If We Were Villains

This book is a love letter to Shakespeare. It felt like I was reading a modern-day twist on a Shakespearean story in English Lit. So if you're not a fan of Shakespeare, this book is not the one for you.

This book mirrored all of the drama, the angst, the thrill. Oliver explains it best by saying, "we felt all the passions of the characters we played as if they were our own. But a character's emotions don't cancel out the actor's—instead you feel both at once. Imagine having all your own thoughts and feelings tangled up with all the thoughts and feelings of a whole other person. It can be hard, sometimes, to sort out which is which" (248-249). The plot was so intrinsically woven with Shakespearean literature that it was almost as if the characters themselves had lost their sense of self to Shakespeare altogether.

The story started off strong and I was hooked by the author's prose and clever inclusion of Shakespeare but after the initial charm wore off - it started to fall apart by the end of Act II. About halfway through the book, I was able to predict the ending and reading paragraphs of Shakespeare text started to become more of a chore. I started reading this book early on in the month and it literally took me all month to read it - I even read another book in between - because I was just so disillusioned by it. It sucked because it had so much potential and I truly wanted to love it.

The biggest strength of this book, that was the motivating reason to continue reading, is the darkness within each of the seven main characters. It was a reminder of the title, if we were villains, because they were all villainous in the end in some shape or form and "you [could] justify anything if you do it poetically enough" (249). Since we followed the story in Oliver's point of view, and he had time to sit with the weight of how their actions unfolded, he says, "this thing of darkness I acknowledge mine" (343). This admittance is important because as a reader you wonder if the characters are truly villains or if it's Shakespeare as play. Although using Shakespeare as a scapegoat for the evil-doings is an lazy cop out.

Like all Shakespearean tragedies, this book ends tragically. On a cliffhanger. Leaving you to wonder how the story actually ends. Is it a happy ending or not? I, for one, believe there isn't because of the way King Lear breaks your heart, "by making you believe that the ending might still be happy, until the very last minute" (335). It would be very on brand to end on a hopeful note only to find out it didn't end so happy after all.

While you don't need to be exceptionally well-versed in Shakespearean literature to understand and follow along, I do believe it would help in acknowledging all of the things the author does well. Although, that alone makes me wonder if the book is actually great or if it's just the reverence of The Bard engrained by all of my previous English professors that puts it on a higher pedestal. I'll have to revisit at a later time.

#if we were villains #m. l. rio

[jaderimehardt]

So, Cali is in the middle of another storm, yay me~ 🙃. Tomorrow I get to go out in it because I have appts and errands. We're in the middle of a flood watch with wind advisory and potential power outages atm. Nothing new, I guess? 😅

Yesterday I had my bedroom window open listening to the deluge of rain, because I actually love the rain. For the longest time, Cali was in a draught and I wished for nothing more than rain. I can't help but feel that phrase "be careful what you wish for" is coming back to haunt me.

I'm sure it'll be okay. It's global warming, surely. Everything's out of whack. Just gotta hang in there until the next season's crazy weather, and then the next, and the next.

I've also been watching lots more vids on Youtube (to no one's surprise), but from all the things I like; ranging from culinary, to Myer Briggs, to art, to science, to resin... man I miss working on resin.

I keep checking the weather forecast and I need 70+ degree weather to come back (to work on resin) but I also really don't want warm weather back, lol 🫠. So conflicted.

And then I remember I still have a ton of things I can work on with graphics- on the computer and on mediums. I just seem to mentally skip over that. It's like I need a huge checklist or sign right in front of my face. Even if I'm watching vids most of the day, when I get free time to actually sit and do something- I give that time to something else- I prioritize something else. I don't know what it is. Or why that is.

When I work on resin, I'll literally wake up in the morning, go out into the garage first thing, won't come back inside until it's like 1am or 2am. I'm out there all. day. long.

It's like an escape.

I think there's a disconnect with other things when I compare it to that. Because when I find an attachment to projects, I don't pry away. It's almost impossible to pry me away.

🤔

Another thing I've been doing lately is watching movies in the evening. Some new, some old. But I'll put them on with a sketch book in front of me, and doodle.

For the record, doodling is different from working on an actual project (for me at least).

Y'know, two weeks ago, I had never seen any of the DC-verse movies made by Zack Snyder. Today I can say I've seen them all, lol. I've grown especially fond of his Batman, Superman, and Aquaman 💘. (I like the Green Lantern too but I can't tell if he's part of his DC-verse or not? Like... he should be but... ??? 🤷🏻‍♀️. And I like Doctor Fate but... 🤐)

I've always grown up a big Batman fangirl so it was interesting to see another new take on Batman. I like this version a lot- my favorite tbh. But to each their own. I know people cling to their nostalgia, faves and biases.

I replay a lot of the marvel movies too because I also love the marvel-verse. But I'm also the type that replays a lot of Disney movies and anime 🙃

The next Aquaman should be available to watch on Amazon Prime and Max next month. I've yet to see that and I want to~

I'm also still trying to figure out what graphic to make for that puzzle. Thinking some kind of scenery with focus on ~something~. I might actually pull some places from a book I once was writing back in college (that I never finished). It might be time to revisit that.

My skills in drawing scenery though... 🫠. Yeah, this will be a fun challenge /sarcasm. Let's just reference all the trees and foliage necessary to get this task done 😶

Because, I mean, it's still all here in my head. I just never followed through with writing the whole thing.

I was like 170 pages in at 8pt font or some nonsense, and not even halfway done with the book. That's why I stopped, lol. It would have had to be chopped up into multiple books with multiple "climatic" endings 🤷🏻‍♀️. It put me in a position of "I dunno what the heck to do" and we see how well that went 🙃

That turned into "I'll come back to it later" and "later" turned into months, months into years, and years into indefinitely, and indefinitely to..... I think about it occasionally. It's in a folder in my bookcase where the last time I looked at it was years ago.

I still use my OCs in a lot of things though.

And if anyone is curious why my blog posts tend to lean more on the ramble-y side:

This is one of the handful of vids I watched today. When watching it, it was kind of like a lightbulb 💡; I was like "Oh! This explains a lot."

He has good Myer Briggs vids /nods (I'm an INFJ -t)

Edit: Oh, my god. Let me edit in this tweet I just found on Twitter.

It's a visual chart for pencils and this is awesome.

Marcel aka Draw Like a Sir, on Youtube, has a video that I'm pretty sure I've linked in a previous post- about how the B pencils are not easy to erase, but they're great if you're "coloring" or "filling" with them. Use the others for sketching, as they erase better. Always remember to sketch lightly, so your eraser will have an easier time to erase.

I think the vid was called "5 worst mistakes" or something 🤔

#jade.blog #Youtube

[firstdegreefangirl]

May 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

Total books read: 5 

Total pages read: 1,319 

Days read: 22/31 

Average star rating: 3.65/5 

Challenge Prompts Filled: 10 in May; 51 total. Popsugar: 3(17)/40.    Romanceopoly: 3(15)/36. CRAD: 1(5)/12. BTBL: 3(16)/52 

Sink or Sell by Margaret Rose 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

A five-star read, without a doubt! I picked this one up – literally – first thing on Indie Bookstore Day while I was browsing the shelves at my local, and decided that when the first thing I picked up on Indie Bookstore Day was a signed first edition of a self-published debut novel from a local author, there’s probably a law that requires me to buy it. Like, there’s not going to be anything more fitting for IBD than that. Lucky for me, the premise looked right up my alley, and even luckier, it WAS. This was a hefty book, and it took me 10 days to get through, but certainly not for lack of interest. I loved all of the characters, I laughed, I cried, there is so much security footage at work of me having to put the book down and get up to walk it off (and/or wandering around with the book in one hand and the other one clapped over my mouth in sheer delight, and at another point saying “oh NO, he’s HORNY!” out loud in a public lobby – mercifully, an empty lobby.). I can tell this is one I’ll love to revisit in the future – the ending was pretty easy to predict, but even the twists there were didn’t try to carry the weight of the whole story. I knew almost right away how things would end, but it’s the journey that’s the best part with books like this. I can’t WAIT for her next book to come out now, and there’s a local author event I’m going to have to work days off around next year, I think. So, so, so, so good, and I’m so glad I gave it a try. 

Prompts Filled: Popsugar – A book you bought from an independent bookstore, CRAD May– More pages than April, Romanceopoly: The Vault/A paranormal book with the main character on the cover 

The Do Over by Suzanne Park 

⭐⭐⭐⭐(¼) 

I was so excited to nab this one on a library trip! It kept popping up in my Facebook ads, and I’d read one of Park’s YA novels last year (The Christmas Clash, for those playing along at home), so this definitely felt like something I would enjoy. And I did! It plays a really nice line between YA/early adult (with the university setting, study hall, midterms drama, etc) and more adult contemporary (MC is in her 30s, dealing with all of the real-world problems of people being in their 30s) in a way that let me get the best parts of both genres. It’s fun, it’s cute, it’s everything a contemporary romance should be, with a side of quarter-life crisis of self-reinvention. The ending, if a smidge predictable (like all the best romance novels are, imo) really stuck with me in the sense of “it’s never too late to do something again and/or for the first time.”  

Prompts Filled: Romanceopoly: Campus Corner/Set in college/university 

American Housewife by Helen Ellis 

⭐⭐(¾) 

The goal here was “something non-romance, fiction, that I already own” trying to knock a prompt off of one of the reading challenges. It ... filled the prompt. Parts of it were really funny, and there are a couple of quotations that I flagged because I liked them. But it’s a collection of essays, and some of the writing styles felt pretty inconsistent. I knocked it out in a single sitting, so it couldn’t have been that bad, but writing this a few days later, not much of it is sticking with me.  

Prompts Filled: Popsugar: A book you bought secondhand; BTBL: Novel in verse, poetry or anthology 

Baby in the Making by Elizabeth Bevarly 

⭐⭐⭐⭐(¼) 

I’ll be honest: this was one of the shortest books on my shelf, and I was running out the wire to hit the five book goal for May. I don’t remember when I bought it, I don’t remember why I bought it, the series name is “The Accidental Heirs,” and that’s not usually a trope I go for.  

All of that said, this was DELIGHTFUL. I cleared it in one evening, because every time I tried to put it down, I picked it right back up. It was lighthearted and engaging and captivating and I don’t want to say too much more, because it’s giving me big AU energy. So I’ll leave it with that I went in with the assumption that I’d read this and put it in my local Little Free Library, but it went right back on my shelf.  

Prompts Filled: BTBL: A character is lost royalty 

Smart Boys and Fast Girls by Stephie Davis 

⭐⭐(¼) 

Another short read, knowing that I had a super busy week and needed a fifth book. This was published in 2005, and that makes sense almost as soon as you start reading. I got mid-2000s Teen Nick vibes, like Degrassi or Zoey 101 or something. VERY cheesy “Jocks vs. Nerds" style love triangle, with a heaping dose of “do my friends hate me?” B-plot. It’s a rough cut from a teen media era I really wasn’t intending to revisit this week, or ever. And yet, I ended up totally invested in the drama, picking sides and cheering people on and waiting to find out how it would all unravel. There are worse ways I could have spent my time, but definitely better books I could have read.  

Prompts Filled: Popsugar: A book about an athlete/sport; Romanceopoly: Free choice; BTBL: An author writing under a pseudonym 

#katie reads #kr23 #books #bookblr #katie speaks

[frankbedbroken]

this is frankcore 2023: january

recently decided to make a playlist for the stuff i've been listening to in 2023 over the course of the month, so before i update it in a couple of days i want to go through what i had for january's rendition of the playlist! it's somewhat sorted by bpm but its mostly a free-for-all in terms of genre, though you can definitely see some biases for more electronic music and such.

dean blunt - london tonight freestyle (feat. skepta, novelist & a$ap rocky) uk hip hop, neo-psychedelia hypnagogic pop, trip hop, cloud rap

this will probably the year i get into dean blunt for real, what i've heard from him (as a solo artist and his many projects) i've very much enjoyed, and i need to give a relisten to bbf and one nation by hype williams because i'm sure i'm gonna like them even more now. as for this track specifically, it's about what you'd expect from the combination of artists at hand. very nocturnal and driving sample on an instrumental very reminiscent of unkle's psyence fiction, skepta and novelist delivering verses through a lo-fi haze, and rocky's crooning closing out the track (the "who loves me" refrain paired against the instrumental feels so melancholic, really good stuff).

nevermen - treat em right (boards of canada remix) downtempo synth funk

it's a bit funny that i found this song through chaeyoung from twice of all people, lmao. what's interesting about this beyond the fact that this is one of boards of canada's few releases in recent memory, is that rather than presenting the hazy, atmospheric blend of idm and downtempo that you would expect from boc, this evokes a funkier, smoother vibe, almost sensual, and i feel it's pretty weird to say that about a boc track. certainly fits the vibe of the original track, definitely get sleazy motel vibes out of this. very interesting stuff.

towa tei - technova (la em copacabana) (with bebel gilberto) shibuya-kei, nu jazz bossa nova, trip hop

you might know this one because dilla sampled it on a tribe called quest track, but to give a brief summary of where this comes from: towa tei, producer and dj originally from deee-lite, creators of the one-hit-wonder classic groove is in the heart, links up with bebel gilberto, daughter of joão gilberto who would later go on to crave a niche for herself as a lounge and downtempo artist in the early 2000s, to make one of the most blissfully chill songs i've ever heard. sure, you're bound to expect the most sunshine happy energy from a shibuya-kei song by default, but the bossa influences here definitely gives this one a distinct vibe that i haven't come across in other shibuya-kei i've heard so far. amazing chill.

baths - iniuria palace glitch pop, ambient pop

sorta rediscovered this one while i was going through my mp3 library to genre tag all of the files (very ardous process but it's probably gonna help if i want to look up a specific genre and that kinda thing), and found out that the version of baths' cerulean i downloaded had two tracks that were not on the official release of the album! one was mecha joy, better known as the instrumental for glow by charli xcx on super ultra, and then this one, under the name palatial disappointment, lasting like twenty seconds. interesting melancholic vibe paired with the production that you would usually expect from baths, feels kinda like the glitch pop equivalent of a midwest emo track lol.

blanck mass - the rat electro-industrial power noise

world eater is another album i should revisit in the future, remember liking it quite a bit when i first heard it but this was the one track i really latched onto. the driving, pummeling drums, slowly making way for wailing, distorted riffs and the blissful but frantic synth melodies, every part just seems to come together beautifully and it ends up creating this raw, intense feeling of catharsis. the way it keeps building on the motifs it keeps presenting and progressing upon itself, it feels like it could go on forever but also the payoff and the way it closes out feels earned and satisfying.

clams casino - drowning instrumental hip hop, cloud rap wonky, witch house

surprisingly listened to a fair amount of clams casino in january! i should probably check out a full project from him, i really like the couple of loose tracks i've heard so far. it's a style of production that i can really get into, chopped up vocals turning into almost indecipherable somber wails soaked into hazy, very reverb-heavy production. if i recall, i was going through the remixes of deftones' white pony, and while listening to the remix of feiticeira that clams casino did, i noticed someone in the comments mentioning this track, and pointing out that it sampled a track from thursday, the screamo/post-hardcore band. it's crazy that he took a bit from what was otherwise a fairly stripped back singer-songwriter type song, and turned it into a glitched up, anxious instrumental, maintaining the melancholy of the original track but from another perspective.

slayyyter - candy electropop, contemporary r&b, hyperpop

somehow got reintroduced to this by a charli xcx and blackpink edit, lmao. and it's funny too because i completely forgot about this track after listening to the slayyyter mixtape back in like 2019 or so, most of the tracks in that just didn't interest me whatsoever aside from alone. beyond the controversy surrounding slayyyter and ayesha erotica who has production duties on this, i can't help but think that this actually really works for me. unlike a lot of the other tracks on slayyyter's debut project, this production feels extremely hardhitting and engaging, driven off a clipse sample of all things, it has a lot of charm and intensity that most of the stuff in the mixtape didn't have (i blame that on robokid personally, his overly glossy sound felt extremely hollow and unengaging, especially on that project). slayyyter's vocal performance also feels very memorable and full of personality. the track in general just pops in a way that's very satisfying.

gaelle - give it back contemporary r&b neo-soul, synth funk

incredibly interesting project, this one. from what i can gather, gaelle used to be mostly an r&b vocalist for house tracks around the turn of the millenium, including the absolute bonafide hit that is king of my castle by wamdue project. at some point, her alongside co-producer eric hobsbawm drop a debut project under the name transient in a label known as naked music, a would-be-home for many crossovers between contemporary r&b and the deeper sounds of house and downtempo, such as this project. it feels extremely forward thinking in its production and aesthetics, a lot of people have mentioned kelela while referring to this album, and while i don't necessarilly think she took inspiration from this specifically (the album appears to not have been very successful when it came out, only garnering a lot more attention years after the fact), but i definitely do see where the comparison comes from in that regard. granted, this is one of the more "conventional" tracks in its runtime, but it's just expertly constructed and soulful r&b that you can't help but admire.

meat beat manifesto - genocide electro-industrial, industrial hip hop, breakbeat

haven't checked out much out of mbm's output aside from their 1990 compilation armed audio warfare to know if their other music sounds like it, but from what i know, that scrappy, off the wall and noisy approach to breakbeat and early industrial hip hop with a somewhat ebm-ish delivery to the vocals, is somewhat present in their subsequent work but not quite in the primitive, rugged-edged state as the stuff in that release. although it would be interesting to see how their sound progressed from then on, i'd be lying if i said that i wouldn't be sad if that were the case because i've always really enjoyed this sound: it's loud, it's abrasive, it's in-your-face and bombastic, and has this certain cheesiness that's typical of some of the early 90s industrial scenes (i.e. ebm) that is very endearing.

hikaru utada - traveling j-pop, dance-pop funky house

this following three-track-run would work great in a set, i feel. first off, we got absolute j-pop legend hikaru utada. the only project i've heard in full from them so far was last year's bad mode which was one of my favourite records of that year, delivering wonderfully smooth pop and r&b with electronic undertones. there is a similar approach to songwriting here but in a much different mood and style: whereas tracks like one last kiss and somewhere near marseilles have a more subdued, gently progressing sound, this one is a lot more immediate and hooky, heading towards brighter styles of house and a more soaring vocal delivery. this got viral on twitter around january iirc (that's how i came to know about this song in particular at least), and with good reason, it's a fantastic song.

miranda! - bailarina dance-pop, funky house synthpop

🇦🇷 ARGENTINA MENTIONED 🇦🇷 coming from arguably one of the most important pop acts of latin america, this track has a similar approximation in sound to the previous track: enrapturingly energetic and driving pop music with an inclination to the funkier, dance-floor ready sounds of house, though in this case it has more of a sensual feel in terms of songwriting (as far as i can tell at least, i haven't checked the lyrics for traveling and i don't know japanese lol). it makes sense after all, both albums where the respective songs are from came out the same year! speaking of, i'm glad es mentira is reaching a lot more ears beyond latin america and getting its dues, it's an album that feels of its time in terms of the aesthetics and sounds it goes for, but considering the resurgence of ~~~y2k vibes~~~ in recent times, it definitely feels very current still and absolutely worth a look for anyone that enjoys pop music.

dreamcastmoe - bend backwards deep house, neo-soul, synth funk

to wrap up this run, here's something a bit more recent, and possibly a bit more lowkey! i'm not super familiar with dreamcastmoe as an artist unfortunately, i think i found this through a clip from a dj set by dazegxd or gum.mp3, can't recall which right now, shoutout to the nyc garage crew though. anyhow, this vibe is absolutely immaculate. the strong sense of groove coming from a more organic approximation to the classic 4/4 house rhythm, the laidback delivery of the vocals that almost feels off-the-cuff while still managing to be catchy and memorable, and just a generally inviting atmosphere to the song as a whole. very apt for summer, i'd say.

shades - exultia dubstep, hybrid trap

and now for something completely different! i am a big fan of both alix perez and eprom as producers on their own, one delivering absolute classics of mellower, more atmospheric sounds of drum and bass, and the other being a boundary-pushing master of sound design doing anything and everything under the increasingly vague umbrella of "bass music". their output together is, naturally, also very much to my liking, with their first album being firmly based on the darker sound of halftime dnb, and their most recent outing having more of a balance of that and classic uk dubstep, all with some sound design inclinations from edm trap. pretty much every track in the album is fantastic but i was really into this one during the month because of that synth progression in the buildup and an absolutely menacing vocal refrain on the drop. shit's evil, it's good.

mark pritchard & steve spacek - turn it on neo-soul, uk bass broken beat, future garage

i recently went through this rym list of (mostly) electronic music releases with not many ratings and the selection was in general pretty good! found a lot of really interesting music from it, including this track right here. i originally wanted to add the track dollar by steve spacek, because of the absolutely crazy production from the legend j dilla, but for some reason it's not available for me on spotify. this one is no slouch in comparison, though. the production in this is extremely engaging, with its driving basslines and synth flourishes alongside the skittering broken beat drums pairing wonderfully with spacek's smooth soft-spoken vocals. will definitely have to look more into his other output, the few tracks i've heard from him have been great and this is definitely no exception.

deep sky objects - lethwei uk bass dubstep, funk carioca, post-industrial

second eprom project on the list! this one, a collaboration with andrew doubek feels not quite as approachable as some of the other material i've heard from eprom, veering into the more formless sounds of uk bass and darker approximations to tech house. this one falls more into the former of such categories, but it does so in a way that feels very interesting. the drum pattern feels very brazilian funky to me, pounding and heavy barrages of percussion sunk through distortion and grit, with not a whole lot in regards to melody to distract you from the driving, dark groove (not a negative in my opinion in this case). that last drop with the "lord 'ave mercy!" vocal sample followed by the classic eprom sounds you'd expect is excellent, as well. definitely a very singular track that's worth checking out.

kelela - contact alternative r&b, breakbeat future garage

did you know the kelela album that just came out is really fucking good?! who could've seen this one coming, right? admittedly, i feel a bit ashamed that i waited so long to really get into kelela, i definitely should've heard take me apart way earlier than i did, but i am glad i got into the bandwagon regardless, kelela is just an absolutely fantastic artist and any and all praise she gets is absolutely deserved. as of right now i personally prefer raven to take me apart (they're both great projects though, i still need to get to cut 4 me and hallucinogen to have a full opinion on her discography), if anything for the presence of breakbeat influences such as in this track. beyond the production just being fantastic, the vocals are just as amazing as you'd expect, "it's 2 am, yeah we made it, everybody faded" is a line i'm absolutely obsessed with, it's super simple but it brings in a lot of emotion in my opinion, it paints the picture of a night out with the people you love where you're actually having a lot of fun. the relaxed yet longing atmosphere of the track as a whole is enthralling, exactly as stunning as you'd expect from her at this point, go listen to raven immediately (or don't, if vibey rnb with electronic influences isn't your thing).

everything but the girl - nothing left to lose future garage, uk bass 2-step, dubstep

we've been waiting for this one. the story of ebtg is interesting, going from a sophisti-pop and folk pop act in the uk underground to an overnight club sensation thanks to a todd terry remix in the mid 90s, then moving onward as they explored the worlds of downtempo, house and drum and bass in their subsequent works during the rest of the 90s and the early 2000s. they called it quits after their last project in 2001, temperamental, and out of nowhere, they came back more than twenty years after that record dropped. while it definitely feels in line with their last offerings, there's also a lot of differences. the main one is tracey's voice having changed so much over the years, reaching a much deeper, mature tone, i'm reminded of neneh cherry's last output personally in that regard; it works excellently with the somber melancholy of the garage beat, very reminiscent of recent takes of the genre from acts like overmono or two shell. it's overall not quite as immediate as some of their other offerings, but it's smooth and inviting in a way that's very compelling.

koreless - shellshock (g jones & eprom edit) trap [edm], idm

third and last appearance from eprom on the list this month! this time a remix alongside fellow boundary-pusher in the edm trap scene, wonder producer g jones, of a track by koreless, experimental electronic producer that dropped his debut album in 2021 from which this track is from. the original track was already fantastic in its own right, rooted in this vein of progressive electronic based on taking the synth progressions of trance, letting them breathe and not incorporating much in the way of percussion, in this case also having these beautifully chopped up and unintelligible vocal lines that run through the entire track. what g jones and eprom do with it is pretty simple, they slightly tweak the track to fit with their (somewhat more) festival oriented sound, giving the track an actual "drop", but also maintaining the spirit of the original track while also going out of their way to put more of a glitchy edge in the final sections. excellent stuff.

mc pipokinha - bota na pipokinha (feat. dj felypinho 013, dj noguera & dj pablo rb) beat bruxaria hard drum, industrial techno

exciting stuff still happening in sao paulo. there's still a lot of stuff out there in regards of the beat bruxaria scene that i haven't yet gone through (it's mostly a singles genre so it might be difficult to find the really stand-out stuff), but if this is not the best song i've heard from the scene so far, it's pretty close. pipokinha's delivery is raunchy, energetic and absolutely exhilarating, but the real star of the show for me is that beat. beyond it just being as distorted and heavy as you would expect for a bruxaria track, what gives this one its edge is the influences of the harder styles of techno: the driving, distorted bassline, the absolutely massive and pummeling drum kicks, the synth sounds in the drop straight out of a monnom black track. it's an absolute tour de force, and i can only imagine the damage this does in a club setting.

skin on skin - burn dem bridges peak time techno uk drill

got into this one way too late, it's already been rinsed to death by this point but fuck, it's just an absolute banger. i'm very particular about techno in the sense that i don't really care for the more minimalist, straight 4/4 style of techno that's probably most in vogue at the moment (think of stuff like amelie lens, adam beyer, nina kraviz, marco carola, that kinda thing). the type of techno i tend to enjoy is either very heavy and distorted industrial techno, or some forms of techno that have more of a sense of tangible melody, this one falling into the latter camp. one of the more memorable vocal samples i've heard in electronic music in a while (IF IT AINT IF IT AINT GANG I'LL BURN DEM IF IT AINT IF IT AINT GANG ILL BURN DEM) put into the context of this pulsating, driving techno groove works fantastically. a sure fire hit, no other way of putting it.

novelist x mumdance - 1 sec weightless

classic of the uk scene in the 2010s, and a defining statement for a new sound in grime, crazy to think that this is already eight years old. for those not in the know, grime was a blend of electronic music (specifically the rhythms of uk garage) and uk hip hop developed during the 2000s, building itself on intense vocal deliveries and skittering rhythms. weightless, on the other hand, is what happens when you take the vocal stylings and production of grime and make it as stripped back as possible, removing pretty much all percussion, leaving just unsettling synth ambiances and the mc's performance. and it works. the flows and lines from novelist are incredibly memorable and the production with its heavy bass stabs and barely discernable hi-hats. very nocturnal and atmospheric, it's no wonder why this is a grime staple.

toasty - the knowledge dubstep, breakstep

while going through the rym list i mentioned on turn it on, i came across a lot of stuff from the uk label hotflush, specialized in dubstep and uk bass during the late 2000s and early 2010s, and a name that kept popping up was toastyboy aka toasty, a producer that had a knack for incorporating elements of breakbeat in the context of og dubstep's deep basslines. i then remembered that i was actually somewhat familiar with some of his output because of this track right here! i don't quite remember how i got to this, iirc it might've been because of an eprom tweet? nevertheless, this track is really good. as i mentioned before, this blend of dubstep and breakbeat works to great effect creating this menacing atmosphere, very apt for a warehouse setting i feel, and the constant refrains of "i seek knowledge", "you need it, you feel it" are extremely catchy and memorable. speaker knocker.

dead man's chest - just 4 jungle

don't quite remember how i first found this one, it might've been either through finding it on a jungle mix by someone along the likes of tim reaper or sherelle, or by getting it on my youtube recommended feed after going through a bunch of modern jungle tracks, possibly after doing the former! nevertheless, this is an absolute tune. from the moment it comes in with these hazy synth pads and the bright, cheery vocal chops to then introduce the breaks alongside the vocal refrain of "we do this just for you!", the atmosphere is just completely set, it feels very affirming imo. and then the drop comes in and you're just thrust deep into the rave, barrages of breaks setting the scene, sirens coming in sporadically, screams of "proper hardcore" bouncing around the track. it's absolutely massive stuff, more than likely best experienced in a live set, you could probably feel the walls rattling.

chrizpy chriz - trauma neurofunk

man. shoutout to 3d gif dubstep. always a treat finding cool music through silly videos on the interwebs. this time from a producer that i was not very familiar with, released through yuku, which is a label that i have encountered a couple of times, going through specific niches of drum and bass, most consistently halftime and neurofunk, the latter of which being the case of this track. i know there's a lot of people that don't really care for producers showing off sound design as the main feature of their music (i get that too sometimes), but this really nails that balance of having insane textures and sound design while also being an absolute banger. just incredibly heavy and brutal production, it feels like you are stuck inside of a machine trying to escape. it's very anxious and frantic, but also extremely energetic and compelling.

kid606 - slammin' ragga bootleg track ragga jungle raggacore

it is very much what it says on the tin! my experience with kid606 is pretty slim, i'd say, i've only heard kill sound before sound kills you, which runs the gamut from breakcore, idm, gabber and everything in between, and this veers into similar territory as some tracks in that project. essentially a rework of tenor fly's rude boy talk with a lot more frantic drum breaks and speedy shuffling rhythms, and it's exactly as fun as that might entail; i love ragga vocal delivery and it's something i always welcome in a track, and it works to great effect here. while the main part of the track is wild and fun, the last section of the track feels a lot more relaxed and welcoming, introducing a sampled melody that appears to come from a manu chao song that feels very satisfying, it's like a comedown but in a good way. very good track, definitely recommended if you like jungle/breakcore that is actually fun.

#im frank #music #frankcore 2023 #i doubt im gonna be consistent with this also but well see! #ill cook up the tracklist for the february roundup tomorrow

[sneakykpopblog]

8,9, 14, 22? And HI I DIDNT KNOW YOU HAD THIS BLOG ♡

HI! Yes, it’s me who’s always yelling in the tags when I reblog gifs from you! Thanks for the ask!

8. Do you only listen to kpop? No

9. What are your favorite Western artists (if you have any)? Bear’s Den (chill nighttime road trip music), Rise Against (intense punkish music), Tophouse (a folk band I saw live in a friend’s living room, William the violin guy is amazing), and Carla’s Dreams (a Moldovan pop-ish group who mostly sing in Romanian, a language I fell in love with)

14. Is there a kpop song that annoys you? If so, which one? Songs that have a really good pre chorus or chorus, but the verses are all just people shouting, or vice versa. It’s just sad because the other part was so good, but I don’t like being shouted at

22. If kpop is a black hole, I made several orbits around it before crossing the event horizon. First, I was browsing youtube and I must have been extremely bored because I watched a random video about Blackpink drama and was like “What’s Blackpink? Are they like a band or something?” and then I looked them up and was fascinated. (I grew up listening exclusively to Christian contemporary music- I had never seen anything like them before, though). The music was too intense for me at the time, though, so I sort of let them be, although I did revisit their videos occasionally just to see all the cool stuff again

Then, the year was 2020, and I was isolated and anxious and sad, and my brain said “either you find some really fun new music really quick or we’re going to have a problem” and I had heard of BTS before but never listened to them, but I figured they must be that popular for a reason, so I picked a song a random (Run) and liked it, so I picked another one (Save Me) and liked that, and they were so oddly comforting that I just laid on the floor and listened to those two songs over and over and felt better

Then I forgot all about BTS until maybe a year later when I saw them on a McDonalds ad, read some fanfiction because I was bored and curious what sort of stuff people write about them, decided it would be cool to learn their names just for the sake of having something new to learn, and just kind of fell in love while watching clips from Run BTS and Bon Voyage and stuff while trying to learn who everyone was. (Them being scared of zombies, the way everybody is so huggy and supportive of each other, oh my goodness they can dance!) Then my online friend shared her streaming pass for 2021 Sowoozoo with me and I was so impressed, and I listened to a lot more of their songs and they were all so good and I just had so much fun

Then I went on the hunt for a girl group to like as much as I like BTS because I got it in my head that I should be balanced or something, and here we are

Thanks for the ask! This was fun

[ura-writes]

Trampolinist

Summary - You’re a player who jumps from server to server, often revisiting several and always trying to find access to new ones. When a victorious game of duos Skywars on Hypixel wins you an invitation to one of the most famous yet exclusive servers in the community, you find a world you never knew existed, allies you’re not certain you can trust, and enemies that may not be just that. Oh, yeah, and an anarchist piglin hybrid.

(c!technoblade/server jumper!reader)

Basic warnings: minor blood, swearing, light threats

A/N - hello! I decided to start this series as a result of a sporadic idea at midnight after quite an odd dream. Some information you might need:

A few select people can jump servers without using portals, and you (the reader) are one of them.

Some servers are public and some require invites. Hypixel and a lot of the other bigger servers are public, while SMPs such as the Dream SMP are private and require an invite.

Jumpers, as they are commonly referred to throughout the series, still require an invite to private servers, though some have figured out loopholes to this process and actively exploit it, earning the title of “Crashers”. You have figured it out but don’t use the ability.

The rating for this series is 14-15+, most likely including minor to graphic descriptions of blood/injuries, violence, swearing, minor manipulation and death.

There are select groups of people who hate Jumpers and actively try to perma-kill them or get them source-banned from servers, leaving them stuck in single player and isolation.

From the author:

This will be in second person.

There will be no use of Y/N or (Y/N) or anything along those lines. I understand some people use them as a descriptor, but in my opinion, it looks a bit messy/choppy.

Feel free to criticize, though don’t be super harsh.

Also gl free to point out spelling mistakes.

I love love LOVE feedback! Gimme it! Please! /lh /gen

Anyway, those are the basics that you need to know! For now, at least… hehe.

Enjoy the first part!

-ura

——

The familiar particles signalling a personal portal opening in the lobby sends a few people scattering, but most just move to the side, though there are a fair few that stay to watch the person step out of the rip in reality.

The person stumbles out, cursing the deities to high heaven, brushing dirt and sweat and even a bug off of their face, certainly looking a bit worse for wear.

This was certainly not what the audience was expecting. They were expecting a prim, proper or at least somewhat distinguished person to step out of the actively sparking spiral, as most Jumpers are that way, even just a bit.

Nope.

“What are you looking at?”

The people step back a bit, noticing the sword the person clutches in their hand.

That person is you.

“Fuck off, would you? You probably see Jumpers on the daily! Fuckin’ annoying.” you grumble, sheathing the sword at your side. “Fuck… is this Hypixel?”

With a cursory sweep of the attire of the people surrounding you and buildings towering over everyone, you determine that yes, it is, in fact, Hypixel.

Of course, that may have also been the big-ass sign in the sky with the server’s name on it. That too.

With a sigh and a wave of your hand, you pull your inventory up. The typical “please place your personal belongings in a safe place before playing a match, otherwise they may be wiped.” message pops up when you do. You huff, wave your fingers to dismiss the text. Not like you’ve been here a hundred thousand times or anything like that.

The Netherite blade at your side, your armor and any sentimental belongings you have on you go straight into your enderchest, categorized in one of the shulker boxes designated specifically for this purpose.

As you walk along, trying to sort your inventory out (fortunately the server provides a free repair and replace to anyone’s clothing, as yours are beaten pretty much beyond self-help), deciding what match you might want to play, the crowd that was surrounding you quickly scurries off with a few screams.

A quick glance upwards catches your gaze on a red and white nametag.

Huh. Don’t see those often.

Whispers of the name you can’t quite see from where you stand rapidly reach your ears, ringing with slight familiarity.

Dream.

Odd. The masked man doesn’t often come onto public servers, mainly sticking to his own private server, named after him. The Dream SMP. How egotistical.

Without another glance towards the fan-people, you select a game idly. The blue text pops up in front of you, confirming your want to play the match.

Skywars Duos.

Before you know it, you’re whisked off to the arena, a bit dizzy from your landing, but fine nonetheless. The timer for the start slowly counts down, ticking slowly as people pop into existence with increasing frequency.

A presence behind you alerts you to your teammate. You nod at them just as the beeping of the final ten seconds counts down.

After a few repeated sessions, most being losses, you decide on one more match before you head to a tavern for the night, preferably one with a view.

This time you’re the second one to arrive. And for once, you take a longer look at your teammate.

He’s the guy everyone was freaking out about a few hours earlier… what was his name again? Dr-something. Or was it a Tr-something? Ah, who knows. It doesn’t matter as long as he’s good. You don’t bother to look at his nametag; he’s probably just some hotshot who thinks he’s all that.

“Not going to freak out?” he asks you. You snort at the question, shaking your head with a glance at the timer.

“Just here to kick ass.”

“Fair enough,” he replies. “You any good?”

A laugh from you echoes as the beeping of the countdown starts.

“We’ll see.”

The barrier below you drops, sending you hurtling to the floating island below. You quickly hit the ground, rolling into a crouch while your teammate raids the chest beside you, tossing a few bits of armor and a stone axe as well as a golden apple, which you catch and nod gratefully.

The hood on his head drops when another player attempts to take him out of the game. He ducks, barely avoiding the glimmer of the enchanted sword, sweeping her legs out from under her. The enemy player narrowly rolls out of the way with her shield being knocked out of her hands into the dark blue void below the floating island.

She curses loudly as his axe lands beside her head, kicking it to the side.

In that moment, you shove her hard off of the crumbling stone, jabbing your axe in her shoulder for final measure. Her falling figure flashes red with the loss of hearts, and eventually, she disintegrates into dust, the announcement of her tag being eliminated in the chat making you smirk.

“Well, you are good.”

You send him a smirk and collect the spoils of your kill, mostly a few potions and the iron blade, tossing a few of the former to your teammate and splashing a speed potion on yourself.

With practiced movements you begin to build to the middle islands, your teammate throwing the occasional snowball at any approaching enemy players, even knocking one off their bridge. The message of their death rings in the chat, being the fifth elimination.

The chests there contain better loot, even a diamond sword and chestplate, a strength II potion and a Power I bow with fifteen arrows. You take the bow and chestplate (with permission from your teammate, who gladly takes the sword and potion) and book it to the center chests, almost laughing at the amount of snowballs and arrows lying there.

“Well, I’m not complaining,” you muse.

You hear a yell of your tag, quickly spinning around to block the swing of an enchanted axe, their teammate quickly turning to gang up on you after finishing off another person.

Great. You’re fighting two people now.

Swing, duck, dodge, swipe, duck, swipe, block—shit, you got stabbed! Two hearts disappear from your health bar, sending a flurry of curses flying from your lips.

But luckily, your teammate is fast enough to eliminate the weaker of the two.

The tables turn.

The clash of blades, splash of potions and grunts of pain quickly move to the edge of the center island. It’s two verses one now, and the three of you are the last competitors in the match.

Block the swing, return the blow, duck, block, dodge—

A sudden stab in your shoulder alerts you to an arrow stuck in the skin there, slowly depleting your health.

It’s merely a distraction.

The enemy player barrels into you, sending you stumbling backwards right at the edge of crumbling gravel.

Poison becomes your downfall.

The smack of another half heart.

As one last resort, you grip onto the block with one hand, the other dangling with your bow into the void. Gritting your teeth, you do your damndest to drag yourself up, the poison wreaking havoc through your body and strength.

Shit. I’m not going to survive this, am I?

The one-handed grip on your bow tightens, nocked arrow slipping between your dirt-covered fingers.

You make a decision.

Just as the enemy player comes over, smirking but low on health, you let go of the block, drawing your arrow back as you fall into the void.

The broadhead meets its mark just in time, signalling a victory with a dragon appearing underneath you right before you hit the death line. A sigh of relief escapes your lips; you direct the dragon upwards with a rush of gratefulness soaring through your body. Respawning isn’t a pleasant process.

Twenty or so seconds later, you appear back in the lobby with your teammate at your side. The lobby is nearly empty, only a few people milling around, most having traveled elsewhere or checked into a tavern or hotel.

“You’re good. We could use you on our side.”

“ ‘We’?”

Two other figures appear out of seemingly nowhere, one wearing white-rimmed black sunglasses with a blue hoodie, the other a bandana and a white hoodie with flames on the front of it.

Your fingers twitch at your sides, calling up a portal in your mind, ready to dash through it at the slightest hint of a threat. Sparks form by your palms, their signature color drawing the leader’s attention.

“Calm down. I have no interest in killing you.”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” you retort. “Three versus one isn’t exactly fair y’know.” The sparks grow brighter; though they are primarily used to call up portals, they can deal quite a blow to anyone who forcefully comes into contact with them.

Dream (you now read off his nametag, getting sick of referring to him by random aliases) extends a hand in front of his body. Something hovers in it, glowing a soft white and reading something you can’t quite make out.

“It’s not going to kill you.”

Bandanna laughs at that.

“Reassuring,” you snap, taking a closer look at it.

Invitation: Dream SMP

Active?: Yes

Expires: Never

Taken aback, you sputter out a few jumbled sentences before asking why they’d invite you of all people. Sure, you may be okay at Skywars, but that doesn’t warrant an invitation to literally the most exclusive server in the network.

“Uh—what?”

You take a quick glance at the two others, noting their tags are red and white as well, reading Sapnap and Georgenotfound.

“You don’t have to accept.” Dream steps forward to set the glowing orb in your hands. “Just know that we picked you for a very good reason.

How… interesting.

“Is it ‘cause I’m an inactive Crasher?”

The three stiffen at the moniker used for the infamous Jumpers, the ones who figure out ways around the system, the lines of fate that make up the different servers, finding loopholes that not even the best Mender can. They exploit them, gaining almost god-like abilities on the server only to wreak absolute anarchy on the infrastructure until the admin can step in, if they haven’t been eliminated from the system or perma-killed already.

From what little you know about the Dream SMP, you know the admin is a god of sorts, mostly staying out of the way but occasionally fixing matters that need it. Otherwise they stay… wherever gods stay.

“No,” George pipes up. You note his accent, odd and slightly out of place, but not unpleasant. “You being a Jumper does help, however.”

You’ve heard of elusive servers where Jumpers have access to a lot of power and near-unlimited resources, though no one can quite figure out why. Those servers are typically entirely anarchy.

“Yeah, sure.” But you clutch the invitation closer to your person anyway. It glows a bit brighter at the increased contact.

“Think on it.”

Those words echo through your mind throughout the rest of the night, in your bed, subconsciously in your dreams and into the next morning.

It’s no easy decision. You know you’ll be dragged into all sorts of politics, conflict and battles unlike the Skywars ones you usually find yourself dealing with.

Your hand grips the glowing ball a bit tighter, reading the same three statements engraved on it repeatedly until the words are branded into your mind.

And then it disappears.

“Invitation accepted.”

#mcyt x reader #reader insert #xreader #x reader #mcyt x you #technoblade x reader #dreamwastaken x reader #Trampolinist: Series

[aueua]

Idk if you want canon or not but there isn't a lot of stuff for this ship anyway so traitor lord's daughter and ze'mer?

ah... traitors' child my beloved... <3

it's been a while since i revisited them.

something difficult, would be their dynamic without diverging heavily from canon. where the daughter's tribe was against the union because the partner she sought was not quite simple: she's a great knight. strong certainly, but that title cannot be disregarded. and truthfully this would not have mattered so much, but they were infected, and so their resentment towards things hallownest related had been amplified.

and while it shouldn't matter. well. the mantis is usually more reserved about things and her emotions are often complicated. she does not indulge in affection blatantly, does not find many opportunities to meet with her lover, and is overall quiet about everything as her tribe of defectors makes it quite clear they detested hallownest if it wasn't obvious enough by their intrusion into a territory (that was not even the lady's own lands originally).

meeting is simply. hard. harder, when considering either of them may have or otherwise felt it wrong to confide in others about their little relationship that sprouted in who knows how. perhaps it was how confidently ze’mer carried herself with origins hidden by the armor she donned herself in. maybe her stories. and perhaps it was the daughter’s winning personality of curiosity that kept her drawn. an intrigue of her own that came from secrecy. and later, of course, it’s more attributed to when they spar. their clear differences in how the other was unlike normal denizens. an unfaltering nature.

though they were able to cherish what moments they could, perhaps it was an abrupt end. never telling the other where they must go (they should not have gotten so attached to begin with). ze’mer finding her lover departed far too late.

yeah.

yet in the verse where they were allowed, they would be considered gentle lovers. ze'mer is the one that often initiates contact and long-winded praises. she holds for the other cannot (not properly, at least, and those moments are the only times she felt her rightfully sharp claws were in the way). and though the child does not indulge in these matters frequently, it makes the times mean all that much more when she does happen to. a gentle head rest here. a prize from a hunt there. a short word in her language, returned with a loving phrase from other lands.

see also: the fact that both of them are assuredly a power couple. that's a whole knight and that's a bug hailing from a tribe that's no nonsense. the daughter fills in gaps with her innate agility when the sweep of the great-nail arcs just the slightest slow. ze'mer heads at the front and is capable of enduring blows that would otherwise have rung throughout metal and body and sung it numb.

also tropes of both of them managing to have their antennae curl into hearts! accidental yet lingering contact that slowly grows into more confident and deliberate touches. glancing at the reflection of the other in your weapon and seeing their enamored gaze. just... the general knowledge of knowing their partner will be okay. they're strong. reliable. loyal. (and yet they would still check on the other to see if everything was alright. if their lover was fine.)

hello. mantises huh! mantises. and ze’mer. i never quite settled fully on the important bits of their dynamic, but... ^^ :person_golfing:

nonetheless. it’s quite sweet that the daughter’s only at ease when the flower is delivered, after all the struggle the knight would go through (nails and claws and Possibly explosions) almost like what they were met with. and if you see it as void that leaks from the daughter’s ghost and the delicate flower tying into relieving(? this isn’t the word) stains of echoes and regrets in some way or another, well...

hehe... girlfriends

#[ my words might be weird; i drafted this just before i went to bed because i was happy to talk abt them oops] #[bed] [hk.txt] #[art #.png] #[2021.zip] #Anonymous #[ the img got squashed and i couldn't fix it so oh well ] #hollow knight #hk traitors' child #hk ze'mer #[ y'know. i still haven't figured out my design for ze'mer. i am so sorry. i think i'll give her a veil moving forward though -- of sorts. ]