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#I had no idea how much I missed pirate aesthetics
autumnblooms · 3 months
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Guard your heart and steel your nerve when you hear the siren’s song
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count-alucard-tepes · 5 months
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Have any of us ever asked? how or where op hotties and s/o live?
in which blue seas?
what kind of island?
live in a ship or in a house?
in a village, town or a remote place?
I’m not an expert at the different seas and reading about it confuses me so I’ll give just a general idea of where they’re live😆
Kizaru ✨: he would live in a fancy house that’s close to the new Marineford that’s probably not too far from the city where there’s great restaurants and bars.
Akainu🌋: he resides at Marineford during the week in apartment that has all that he needs and on weekends, he’s in the countryside where he lives in his traditional Japanese style home with lots of plants on a small island.
Ryokugyu 🌱: he lives on an island that is secluded from the rest of the world and is overgrown with all of his plants. He has a modern style house and even a vineyard. Akainu loves to visit him there…just to see the plants of course.
Fujitora 🐅: he lives close to Marineford because it’s easier for him to navigate around and he enjoys the soba restaurants there. He has a simple home with some plants that Ryokugyu had gifted him, they are a way for him to spy on Fujitora to find out if he is okay.
Sir Crocodile 🐊: he has various mansions across the world but he does fancy staying in the high rise posh apartments in his casinos because they’re easier for him to monitor how his various business ventures are doing and being in the city makes him quite happy as well.
Doflamingo Donquixote 🦩: he lives in a Spanish mansion in Dressrosa which is also part of the palace. He redecorated to fit his aesthetic.
Benn Beckman 🔫: he lives on the Red Hair pirate ship for most of his days but when he does get a chance to leave, he lives in a small town cottage that even has livestock that he cares for.
Katakuri Charlotte 🍡: he lives in the flour town of which he is the minister of. He lives in a house that’s not made of sweets (or donuts or I dare say) surprisingly. His siblings love visiting him though just for chats or to get big bro cuddles.
Killer🔪: he lives on the Kidd pirates ship all the time but he eventually wants to have a small home on the beach one day.
Kaido🐉: well he had one of the most epic homes ever that took him 5 years to finish until some terrorist named Luffy and 17 other dudes jumped him on the roof!
King 👑 : he spends his time from Onigashima and Skypedia. He loves living in the skies, he never really liked the ocean from the time he was a kid.
Queen👑: he lives on an island that has the best nightlife ever! He needs space away from where he works.
Izou🔫🔫: he lives on his ship with his crew but he does wish to live back in the countryside, he misses it so much.
Dragon D Monkey 🐉🐒: he lives in a pretty nice home that’s where the Revolutionary army resides but it has a nice garden where he can relax and have his private time.
Oven Charlotte 🍞: he lives in the Browned food island and lives in a cute home that’s very much like his aesthetic. He also has a real nice kitchen that only he’s allowed to use! He’s very particular!
Buggy🤡: he lives on an island and his home is styled like a circus tent where the rest of his crew lives too. He loves everything about it!
Marco the Phoenix 🦅: he lives on an island in a simple cottage not too far from his hospital that he built from scratch. He really enjoys not being at sea anymore.
Eustass Kidd🤘🎸: he lives on his ship with his crew and absolutely loves it. He’s always been an on the move kind of guy.
Rosinantè Donquixote aka Cora-San💕: he lives with his dad, Sengoku. He never liked being alone ever since him and Doffy got separated so he never moved out either. He also likes being dotted on by his Sen-dad since Doffy got a lot more attention than him when they were kids.
Who’s-Who ❤️‍🔥👹: after Onigashima was destroyed, he moved to an island that’s pretty small and livable. He doesn’t want to deal with too many people but somehow the Tobiroppo found him and they all live together in a pretty nice house with lots of cats around.
Gecko Moria🦇: he still lives in his ship/island even after that terrorist, Luffy invaded it. He’s still not fucking over it and literally goes in the opposite direction every time he hears the Strawhats are near him.
Iceburg💜: he lives in his mansion on Water 7. He’s upgraded his security after the last time he got assaulted and shot in his own damn house. He’s fucking over it.
Gild Tesoro⚜️🏅: he lives on his ship because it’s literally an island! Everything is super fancy and gold. Only his baby girls can come visit him at home quarters though😉
Rob Lucci🐆: he lives in a very fancy and pristine apartment on an island close to the World Government HQ. Let’s just say no one has seen in the inside of Lucci’s home except for the cleaning lady and Hattori.
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horce-divorce · 1 year
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My friend just moved to a her grandmas old place and she doesn't have internet, so instead we dug out Grandma's trusty VHS collection and watched a bunch of movies from the cusp of Y2K. We also have plans to dig out more because this is our thing now, fuck Netflix. So here's my reviews so far:
Holes. what a GREAT fucking movie. Good message that is blatantly anti-prison industrial complex and anti-capitalist. good morals, good soundtrack, great casting, the author of the text wrote the screenplay so it hits hard like the book does, the romance between Kate and Sam will be goals to me forever. "I can fix that"!?!? KILL ME JFJDJWKWKFNJRNE 11/10 good shit. youuUuUUUU got to goOooOoo dig those hooooles 🎶
Another one that's still good? POTC: curse of the black pearl. Yes it's Johnny Depp Disney Garbage Trash, but it's WRITTEN SO WELL. Whatever writers they got for that shit obviously have written many a fanfic (positive! praise!!) bc the dynamics and dialogue btwn characters flow so smoothly. It's absolutely and utterly unlike real life, it's just the pirate story we all always wished we could be in, and it's still an absolute blast. for that I award it 9/10. This one was funny bc it came out on VHS in time for the commercials to be advertising DVDs.
Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius? This one's hard, cus this was one of my FAVORITE movies growing up. I noticed going in, however, that I remembered far less about what happens to Jimmy and his friends then I did about Caveman. Basically all I remembered was Jimmy's dad is stupid, and "when I sneeze it looks like a advanced species too." and that's bc Jimmy Neutron is a completely vapid and inane tale with absolutely no message, that unfortunately did not stand the test of time to me personally. It's pretty much unremarkable. they try to mix the "he's a genius baby" humor with 5th grader booger jokes and it just doesn't work, the booger humor doesn't land for adults and the genius humor isn't quite smart enough to be actually funny most of the time. Tbqh I think watching this as an adult gives me more ideas for horror movies than anything else. They go into space ON ROLLER COASTERS, WITHOUT HELMETS!!! They're fighting an entire civilization of space traveling ritual sacrificing EGGS and they have A SINGULAR! ONE! CHILD! ARMY! TO FIGHT THEM!!!! THEY CANT BREATHE OUT THERE! that's too scary I can't take it seriously lmao. 4/10 with all positive points going to Jimmy's hot mom and himbo dad (ideal romance tbh and where 90% of the humor comes from), Carl, Sheen, and Cindy, for screaming "THOSE FINDINGS WERE INCONCLUSIVE AND YOU KNOW IT" during their first on screen fight, that joke did actually land so they can have a cookie for it. And the teacher who gets turned small and gets left that way forever. What the fuck lmao
We also watched Pocahontas and I mean. Even as a kid watching that one was more of a lesson in "here's how NOT to talk about history," and as an adult, her "romance" with John Smith is more weak and pathetic than anything I've ever seen before or since! We got to "Savages" and all I could think was "Disneys orchestra really put their whole pussy into this one, huh?!?" I wish I could say the rest of the movie/soundtrack made it worthwhile but I'm gonna go with a solid 2/10 here. we still had a fun time tearing into their choices, and the aesthetic of an old Disney movie watched on VHS like nature intended is a form of ASMR. I didn't realize how much I missed the clackety clack of the plastic cases or the smell of a warm, freshly rewound tape. <3 good shit.
Stay tuned for more of my 20 Years Later: VHS Reviews No One Fucking Asked For! we're holding out hope that her parents still have my friends own VHS collection bc her and her sister used to have a banging VHS collection and I NEED to see Quest for Camelot.
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knightbloomings · 3 months
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Cap gets into Sonic
I miss liveblogging/keeping a record of my interests as they develop, so I'm gonna list which Sonic stuff I've seen so far and what stuff I'd still like to see.
Stuff I've seen:
IDW Sonic:
Very good! Seeing Scrapnik Island at work was what made me interested in Sonic in the first place, and I'm super glad I decided to read the comics! The artwork is gorgeous and the storylines are so fun! I really like the running theme of owning up to your decisions and sticking to your principles for Sonic, and my fave arcs are probably the Metal Virus arc and Surge's arc. Super excited to see what happens next!
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006):
First saw this game from the snapcube dub (which I still love) then watched brutalmoose play the full game on stream. It's objectively a stinker of a game, but I can see a lot of what they were going for and I like a lot the concepts. I think Sonic and Elise's relationship could've worked more if she were a child (or, a younger child), but at its core I love the idea of Sonic encouraging Elise to feel free. I also love Team Dark's loyalty and friendship to each other in this game, wish I got to see it more in others.
Sonic and the Black Knight:
One of my top faves! I loved every bit of stylization and story telling this game had, and Sonic's characterization was peak! The combination of Sonic characters and medieval armor is also so fucking good too. Overall a really simple but solid narrative with great characters and cool as hell aesthetics.
Sonic Unleashed:
I'm surprised how much this game sticks in my mind, I think it's also in my top faves (tho watching penny play it is probably a bit why). There's something about it that has so much heart that just seems so Sonic, despite the lackluster visual novel-esque segments. The Werehog is such a fun concept and a fun role reversal for Sonic, and a lot of the little moments of humor were really good, like Sonic taking pics for Chip while Eggman monologued.
And this def isn't unique to this Sonic game alone, but the music Slaps. Most of my fave music comes from this game, including the werehog's boss battle theme. I play that shit on loop sometimes at work.
Sonic Riders & Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity:
I prefer the fandub's spin on some of the story elements (and the Babylon Rogues's relationships, and just Storm in general), but I still enjoyed this game, especially the ideas behind the Babylon Rogues! I'm still not super clear on their lore (these two games felt like they lacked a lot of explanations for who/what/where) but I like the idea that these three are technically heirs to this long lost civilization and technically have this responsibility to it but they're super into being pirates instead. It's charming! Makes me wish I saw more of them in a serious capacity in IDW.
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog:
Played this game on my own and I loved how fun and bright it was! The art was absolutely gorgeous and the music was fun too! I super adore seeing characters "outside" their roles in a more relaxed setting, where we get to see more of their personalities, and I felt like I got to know all the characters a bit more in this game. My only gripe is that the "Think!" sections had some god awful color choices for the tiled runway, it made everything blur together really badly. But otherwise, another top fave!
Stuff I still need to see:
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Heroes
Shadow the Hedgehog
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sonic Forces
Sonic Frontiers
Sonic Prime
Will probably reblog this post with additional thoughts as I finish watching other stuff!
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writernopal · 1 year
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Fantasy Indies Feb Masterlist
I decided to make a masterlist of the prompts and my responses to them from #fantasyindiesfebruary I did on my Twitter this month! Prompt list is below, no offsite links (except for one song rec) ♥️
I plan on participating for the month of March as well, so if you're interested, feel free to check it out or join in on the fun! (And check out the other amazing authors that participate too, everyone is really sweet 🥺)
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Introduce yourself & WIP
N. Opal here! I'm a hobby romantasy author with a love for world building! I love all things high fantasy, magic and most of all, pirates 🏴‍☠️ My current WIP is the "As A Stranger Or A Friend?" (pirate romantasy) series!
Favorite romance tropes
🫂Friends to lovers
🤝Marriage pact (hit or miss)
🌌Forbidden love/star-crossed
🎭Unrequited love
🥈Second chance
🧲Opposites attract 
🖇️Forced proximity (hit or miss)
Free Friday
My current WIP/series AASOAF is actually a reimagining of two nameless, unpublished original novels and a series of companion short stories I'd been working on for about 8/9mos. Both versions are near and dear to me ♥️
Snippet Saturday
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What does your MC think about love?
Mariel: Believes she will never experience love because of her circumstances but pines for it more than she realizes.
Axtapor: Knows it's real but has no idea of how it feels or how important it really is to him.
Broken hearts in WIP
I am afraid to report that all characters are in one state of heartbreak or another 😅 (and over different types of love 🥲)
WIP Love Interest
Mariel & Axtapor (of course) with a little trouble on the side. 🥲
There is a new couple that I can't mention at all bc MAJOR SPOILER.
And an old couple that I also can't say much about bc SPOILER.
Forgiveness or revenge?
REVENGE ⚔️
No further details will be provided 😌
Whumpy scene
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Free Friday
The WIP in my bio is a little misleading 🙈 AASOAF 2 is actually already finished. It has been for about month. It is currently in the hands of my close friends who always get to read my stuff first 🥺
Snippet Saturday
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You’re invited to a Valentines Ball, what are you wearing?
Definitely wearing this, I love a beautiful sleeve!
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WIP romance aesthetic
All I can say is that there are three of them and NO ONE is having fun yet. 🙈
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Romantic scene in WIP
There is really only one romantic scene in my WIP (so far!) and I can't share it bc MAJOR SPOILERS. I guess I like making my characters suffer more than I thought😅
Favorite bookish couple
Its gotta be Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester for me 🥺
Advice for writing romance
People in love still argue, fight, disagree, challenge one another, and misunderstand each other. So if I had any advice to give it's that people are STILL people after they fall in love. Write them that way!
Free Friday
For today I thought I'd share a little bit about me 🥺 wrote up this intro post on my tumblr about who I am as a writer, what I do, content I have worked on, and things I'd like to try next!
Snippet Saturday
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Sweet gestures in WIP
This one is from AASOAF 1 bc the one that I wanted to share from my current WIP was so redacted it was unreadable 😭
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Favorite love song
this was a tough one bc apparently i have a lot of favorites but Eydie Gorme's, Historia de un Amor, takes the cake!
MC’s dream date
They'd plan a picnic together! 
Mariel would cook the food because Axtapor likes her cooking very much and prefers to eat it over anything else. He would take them out to their spot on horseback because she enjoys riding. And they'd probs play card games to pass the time 🥺
Romantic bookish photo
This poem I recieved a few months ago 🥺
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Do you like Happily Ever After, Happy For Now, or Tragic Ending?
i'm a sap, i love a happily ever after, esp if the characters have been through hell and back 🥺
Free Friday
AASOAF 2 moodboard
Snippet Saturday
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What is your preferred spice level?
If the characters are compelling and I buy into their relationship, I'm down with any level of spice. As far as writing, anything goes! ❤️‍🔥
What are your romance book recs?
I don't have any, unfortunately (aside from the classics), so I will stalk everyone else's posts for some recs 👀
Monthly Wrap Up
This months biggest accomplishment was meeting so many writers! (Here and on Tumblr), it's been so cool 🥹 I also did some solid work on my WIP, shared lore, and tried many new things (moodboards, synopsis writing) ⭐
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Tangent from my last post: reading over this and thinking about it, I’ve pinpointed a disagreement that I think reveals a fundamental disagreement I have with the ideas I was responding to there.
Seph’s essay talks about liberal sexual consent practices as requiring a shift toward a more Culture A style of social interaction; requiring a willingness to actively assert your own interests instead of engaging in Culture B accommodationism. And that’s true, but I immediately recognized that it’s incomplete in a way that I think fundamentally distorts what’s happening, though it took me a while to think out exactly how. Saying “no” involves a degree of Culture A type assertiveness, but respecting that “no” and pro-actively making sure your partner is enjoying things involves an attentiveness to feelings, an accommodationism, and an attentiveness to maintaining harmony that’s more Culture B.
Like, if you drew up two columns, one labeled “Macho Republican Dad Boomerpost Stuff” and one labeled “Softy SJW Stuff,” and started sorting things into those columns by which group they’re more stereotypically associated with (bacon, guns, capitalism, Christianity, complaining about “cancel culture,” and calling people sissies as an insult into the Republican Dad column, tofu, queerness, feminism, socialism, veganism, accusing people of microaggressions, and being a Wiccan into the SJW column, etc.), I think liberal sexual norms placing a high premium on explicit consent would definitely stereotypically belong in the “SJW” column. And in this context I think that’s revealing.
I think what’s happening here is fundamentally orthogonal to Culture A vs. Culture B. I think, like a lot of left vs. right divides, it fundamentally comes down to hierarchy vs. egalitarianism. Liberal sexual norms emphasizing consent are a rejection of the pecking order method of simply resolving sexual conflicts of interests in favor of the person with more power, whether that power is social status, physical strength, emotional intelligence, or just being more willing to press for their interests. Culture A vs. Culture B is fundamentally orthogonal to what’s really going on here; trying to understanding this issue through that lens is at best like trying to understand the US Civil War through the lens of doctrinal disputes between different types of Christianity (you may get some genuine insights, but you’ve mistaken the fringes of the conflict for its core), and at worst like trying to understand the US Civil War through the lens of doctrinal disputes between Sunni and Shia Islam.
Actually I think the “trying to understand the US Civil War through the lens of Christian doctrine disputes” may be a good analogy, because I think this does tie back to the “the left/liberal side of the culture war is waging a war against Culture A” hypothesis in a way that reveals how that idea is not exactly wrong but misses an important dimension of what’s happening. I think what’s happening is that hierarchy is more explicit and explicitly enforced in Culture A, and therefore as society becomes less like a pecking order hierarchy tends to assume Culture B characteristics.
Culture A is where you find the human hierarchies that look the most like actual pecking orders, which are maintained by literal physical pecking. It’s where you find the openly brutal world of bosses screaming “the leads aren’t weak, you are!” into a cringing subordinate’s face, cops quietly taking an uncooperative suspect into a convenient alley and roughing him up a little to “teach him to respect our authority,” gangsters beating somebody up for being insufficiently deferential to them, some 6′3 250 pound guy in the grips of road rage punching some 5′7 150 pound guy in the face over a smashed bumper, teachers disciplining students by giving them hard blows on the palm with a ruler, a swaggering thug threatening a woman with physical violence because she had the effrontery to object to him groping her, and jocks having some fun inflicting casual physical abuse on the nerds in the locker room and on the playground. Hierarchies in Culture A are often maintained by physical violence and the threat thereof and put-downs and other explicit verbal bullying. When somebody in Culture A thinks you’ve gotten a bit above your station and wants to put your in your place, they’re likely to either actually use physical violence against you, explicitly threaten you with it, or explicitly insult you. Abuse in Culture A tends to look like our stereotypical picture of some swaggering thug openly terrorizing somebody who has some sort of vulnerability.
By contrast, hierarchies in Culture B tend to operate under more polite fictions of relative egalitarianism, cooperativeness, and non-violence. Enforcement of Culture B hierarchies tends to be less overtly violent. Culture B hierarchies are more likely to be covert and legible only to somebody with inside knowledge (e.g. you’ve ostensibly got a group of equals, but some are more equal than others because of advantages that mostly aren’t explicitly acknowledged). Culture B tends to have more of an ideal that coercive power can only be legitimately exercised for moral reasons, while Culture A tends to have more of a “master morality” culture where power is seen as worthy of respect in itself (Culture A is what gave us “Chad” and “alpha” as aspirational ideals), which is why bullying in Culture B tends to have a moralistic and fearmongering nature (see: Tumblr call-out posts) while bullying in Culture A tends to follow a more “master morality” logic of “our victim is weak and aesthetically displeasing to us, and that in itself makes them deserve punishment” - though much like “Culture A rewards strength and technical skills, Culture B rewards social skills and popularity” that’s a dichotomy that can easily be overplayed; most human hierarchies come with a hefty dose of community-minded moralism (even if the community is a pirate ship or criminal gang or something like that), and social skills and popularity are hugely important in almost any culture. Culture B is for people who wouldn’t dream of doing anything so barbaric as yelling at you or punching you because they’re mad at you; they’d complain to the human resources department who’d force you to spend a Friday evening listening to somebody lecture you about the need to “make our store a welcoming environment for our valued customers.”
An archetypal abusive Culture A authority figure is the macho thuggish “respect mah authoritay!” cop. An archetypal abusive Culture B authority figure is the gaslighty Nice Lady Therapist. The former is more-or-less open about the fact that he sees himself as above you in the pecking order and if you dispute that he’ll be delighted to enforce the pecking order in approximately the way chickens do it. The latter pretends to be your friend (and perhaps believes themselves to be that), and expends a great deal of effort tailoring their pecking order enforcement to not look like pecking order enforcement - significantly, they might like to be as openly brutal as the “respect mah authoritay!” cop is, but in strong Culture B that social strategy just doesn’t work; their social strategy represents a compromise with socially influential ideals of egalitarianism and non-violence, a tribute that vice pays to virtue (less charitably, it may simply reflect playing to different strengths and trying to minimize different weaknesses, e.g. the thuggish cop may have chosen that social strategy because he’s a physically powerful but not particularly socially intelligent Biff Tannen type, while the Nice Lady Therapist may have chosen that social strategy because she’s a socially intelligent and Machiavellian but physically feeble 4′10 woman).
In short, Culture B tends to both meaningfully soften the blows of pecking order enforcement and obfuscate them. It follows that as equalizing movements gain ground and explicit pecking order logic becomes more taboo, hierarchy will increasingly take on Culture B characteristics. In 1700, if you angered your boss in some petty interpersonal way he might have whipped you, which was his right as your master. Today, if you anger your boss in some petty interpersonal way she might think a little about how to get revenge on you in a way that doesn’t risk blowback if you take it up with the union, and then find some excuse to arrange for you to have to attend some mandatory HR remedial training that isn’t officially a punishment but let’s be real, totally is. Maybe in 2200 you won’t have a boss because you’ll work in an officially egalitarian syndicalist union, but there will be some union members who are “more equal than others” because of personal connections or charisma or some combination of both, and if you anger one of them in a petty interpersonal way they might through whisper networks arrange a quiet campaign to make sure the union votes against your requests for your favorite foods on the workplace lunch menu.
I guess I’m staking out a position as a hedging kind-of partisan of Culture B here. There’s a lot of talk about how Culture B gets an undeserved good reputation and can be just as unfair and cruel as Culture A but in a more insidious way, and I’m sympathetic to that and I think there’s a lot of truth to that, but, y’know, if I had to choose between pecking order enforcement that has to maintain a plausible veneer of being something else and just open undiluted sadistic pecking order enforcement, I think I’d prefer the former. I think even just adding in a requirement of hypocrisy improves things, because it forces pecking order enforcement to optimize for plausible deniability instead of sadism and effective tyranny. Admittedly, as somebody who finds this very relatable I have a strong personal bias here.
An illustrative personal anecdote: the usual stereotype of high school is that bullied kids (or at least bullied boys) suffer a lot of casual physical abuse, but I noticed that in my school there was a lot of verbal bullying but mercifully little physical abuse; the worst that was likely to happen in terms of physical violence was somebody tripping you up or throwing a box of kleenix at you or spitting their drink at you or something like that. I suspect the reason was that blatant physical violence was pretty much the only form of bullying the school administration would reliably punish (though they’d likely punish the victim right along with the perpetrator), and that’s why it usually wasn’t done. I suspect what happened is that stereotype of chronic casual physical abuse reflects what schools were like when the baby boomers were growing up (and boomers then wrote fiction etc. that reflected that experience that shaped the pop culture stereotype), but then anti-bullying reforms came along and by the late ‘90s and early ‘00s they’d achieved one great success: mostly eliminating that schoolyard culture of casual physical violence. And that was a very incomplete fix, just addressing the tip of the iceberg of the problem and probably often redirecting bullying into psychological abuse rather than actually reducing it... but, y’know, I’m really glad my middle and high school experience didn’t conform to that pop culture stereotype of the school dweeb getting regularly beaten up by four or six bigger kids. I had an awful time in middle and high school, but judging from pop culture stereotypes it could have been so much worse, and if suspensions for kids who punched other kids is what created that difference, then I’m profoundly grateful for that reform.
I think the left is kinda-sorta waging war on Culture A as a side-effect of its war on pecking order culture, in which high-status people enjoy the advantages of Culture A while low-status people labor under the disadvantages of Culture B. It’s not an accident that Culture A is associated with men and Culture B is associated with women. Accommodation (sometimes to the point of self-harm) is a survival strategy for low-status people in a social structure that resembles a pecking order; if you’re going to lose the fight, it often makes sense to pre-emptively accept a settlement that favors the interests of the stronger person (often to the extent of trying to anticipate the stronger person’s wants, performing even the brain work of figuring out their preferences for them). Competitiveness is a social strategy for upward mobility in a pecking order society or defense of a place near the top of the pecking order (it also has more pro-social functions so we probably want to keep it around in some form, but social competition is very much part of its function). Women tend to be reluctant to openly advocate for their personal interests because for much of history a woman openly advocating for her personal interests was likely to provoke status-guarding retaliation from men. Men tend to be reluctant to show vulnerability and see doing so as feminine because for much of history other men were likely to perceive a vulnerable man as an opportunity to increase their own social status by lowering the vulnerable man’s social status, and as a rule of thumb to lower a man’s social status was to give him a social status more like a woman’s. In the context of a pecking order society, a lot of Culture B makes sense as social strategies for people at the bottom of the pecking order with little realistic shot of escaping its lower levels, and a lot of Culture A makes sense as social strategies for people at the top of the pecking order and people at the bottom or middle of the pecking order who have a realistic shot at using high-risk high-reward social strategies to move up in the hierarchy. I think there’s some complicating factors around reproductive dynamics that explain why this is a gendered thing instead of just a class thing, but I won’t get into that here. So it makes sense that as society becomes less like a pecking order that process will involve shifts toward Culture A in some areas and shifts toward Culture B in other areas, because those cultures are probably both somewhat maladaptive in a more egalitarian social context.
A relevant example is that for much of history vigorously advocating their own sexual interests was often very risky for women, so Culture B primes women to pre-emptively accept a settlement that favors the man’s sexual interests, so liberal consent norms work better if women develop more assertiveness about their own interests, which looks kind of Culture A-ish. At the same time, women now have more leverage to effectively demand that men perform pro-social Culture B behaviors of accommodation, empathy, and consideration for the feelings and interests of others in the context of heterosexual sex.
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Tangential aside: I think thinking of hierarchy as the fundamental tension point of the left vs. right conflict illustrates a way that post I was responding to might be kind of too meta and you might get an illuminating perspective by stepping back from all that meta-level theorizing about fundamental epistemological differences and looking at the object level.
If you analyze left-wing “cancel culture” at the object level, what does it look like it’s trying to do? It seems to me that it’s trying to lower the social acceptability of what leftists perceive as defenses of hierarchy. Who are the stereotypical targets of campus “cancel culture”? They might be a “race realist” who’s very eager to tell you about how he thinks certain human groups have lower IQs or other congenital traits maladaptive to modern society and darkly hint about political implications. They might be a business libertarian economist who wants to stump for the gospel of the free market. They might be somebody who has a habit of delivering the academic equivalent of boomerposts about kids these days with their coddling and their trigger warnings and their genders. They might be some principled “free speech” type who seems to spend a lot of their energy white knighting for neo-Nazis and other far-right types. They might be somebody who you’d think would be relatively unobjectionable to leftists but who’s said something that can be uncharitably interpreted as bigoted at some point. Besides raw factionalism, the obvious common point is something that can be reasonably interpreted as a defense of hierarchy. The “race realist” at least implicitly says “some groups are smarter or otherwise better than others and may therefore be rightfully deserving of privilege.” The business libertarian economist at least implicitly says “if you’re poor because you can’t get a job or can’t get a job that pays well, that’s basically your problem and the system working as intended; a society with great inequalities of wealth and status may not be ideal but it’s at least better than all the realistic alternatives.” The academic boomerposter at least implicitly says “some people struggle in our education system because of personal emotional sensitivities; their weakness is their own problem and us more functional people have no obligation to accommodate it, if that harms them it may be regrettable but it’s basically the system working as it should to weed out those unfit for it.” The principled free speech proponent at least implicitly says “wanting to kill the Jews and re-enslave the blacks and have white Sharia should be a tolerated opinion in our society, at least insofar as it should not be legally persecuted, and I am willing to devote considerable efforts to defending that principle.” The basically unobjectionable liberal who happens to have a dodgy comment or three in their social media record at least implicitly says “I don’t think I should get too much blowback for once implying that [insert group of concern here] maybe deserves the jackboot to the face.”
And sure, you can dispute the fairness of such judgements, but the over-arching project outlined by these targets seems fairly obvious: to raise the social costs of what leftists perceive as defending pecking orders.
And, like, yeah, there’s some meta-level differences about the role of tolerance and debate too, but I suspect a lot of the disagreement is really more object-level, over how objectionable certain opinions actually are, e.g. a lot of the dispute over “cancelling” the business libertarian guy is probably going to be over 1) how objectionable defense of hierarchy actually is, 2) whether libertarian beliefs are actually defenses of hierarchy.
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emcads · 2 years
Note
Romantic Relqtionships HCs 6-10???
ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP HC'S    /   accepting !
6. How important is physical appearance to your muse?
I would love to say that Esmeralda is perfectly capable of looking past appearances,  but  ya girl is all about that beauty and aesthetics.  it’s not the absolute most important thing,  but in terms of crushing on someone / physical attraction,  it’s fairly necessary.  I would also say that the alterable aspects of appearance  –– so in terms of dress, ornamentation, hair/makeup,  and other aspects of presentation –– are a lot more interesting to her,  so she’s just as likely to be drawn to someone for those reasons.  also,  while she does certainly favor attractiveness,  she doesn’t necessarily operate on the same traditional beauty standards as european society  ( i.e. crushing on Jack rather than Christophe, for example. ),  so her idea of attractiveness can be variable.
7. What is the longest relationship your muse has been in?
she doesn’t often have the chance for long, unbroken affairs;  her longest relationship is probably with Jack,  since it was on and off for five or six years  (  although I would say Esmeralda certainly views it as an ongoing relationship  that was merely interrupted by distance.  )   prior to Jack,  Don Rafael was quite protective  and strictly enforced those boundaries,  so while  she had a short fling here and there  it wasn’t anything that lasted  more than a few weeks  / possibly a few months of correspondence.  I do think she would have had a romance or two in the convent that lasted about a year,  but I don’t know that she would regard that so much as an official relationship.  ( not least because calling it that would have put them in more danger of discovery and expulsion )
8. Does your muse like a height difference with their partner?
YES.  is this even a question.  she loves tall people who can pick her up and just envelop her when they cuddle. the taller the better.
9. How physically affectionate is your muse with their partner?
very  very very physically affectionate.  Esmeralda has quite a few different love languages,  but physical touch is definitely a big one :  she loves random kisses,  holding hands,  hugs, brushing their hair,  even just standing beside her partner and brushing bodies idly.   she will happily sit in her partner’s lap rather than in a chair if the lap is available,  and she adores  cuddling while reading or even just cuddling on its own.  of course sex is a part of this,  but I would venture to say she’s even extra physically affectionate during sex :  she loves kissing,  holding hands,  touching their face,  etc etc  while in bed.  give her all the kisses she will be so happy.
10. What would make your muse immediately abandon a date?
the first thing that comes to mind is too much forwardness ?  so,  in tpof where Christophe is constantly making insinuations about how much he’d like to get her into bed,  never missing a chance to touch her,  etc etc, basically acting like an 18th Century Fuckboy.  if they said anything that was the least bit misogynistic or racist  ( particularly,  towards colonial slave / encomienda labor  )   and if they were rude or gross towards the staff  ( again I’m thinking of Christophe )  she would probably be Outta There.  this one is comparatively minor,  but also if they were just kinda ... Gross in general ?  ( she goes out with a lot of pirates so this is important. )   lots of belching,  or eating sloppily,  or flatulence,  or just like ... they clearly did not even attempt to clean themselves up.  Bye.
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wolf-zer0 · 3 years
Text
Ya want some WORLD-BUILDING????
Have some world-building!
*REMINDER* This is based on characters, not real people.  I’m not going to be writing any shipping/smut content, especially involving minors.  Please be respectful of content creators’ boundaries!
The Crystallos Empire (AKA the Antarctic Empire)
Largest the countries (takes up most of the southern half of the map) but agreed to stop expansion after a bloody battle with Valeriana 
Centered on a large snowy mountain in the middle of the tundra 
Mostly stays out of other countries’ business, but will step in as a last resort 
Has some of the most well-known citizens in the world because… they’re pure chaos 
Attack at your own peril 
Has vast deposits of ores and gemstones, and the metalwork from Crystallos (mainly weaponry, armor, and jewelry) is highly sought after 
The only known food export is potatoes.  Wonder why… 
Associated Colors: Royal blue, light blue, crimson, gold 
Aesthetic/Vibes: gothic vibes, white stone and large stain glass windows, not particularly opulent or extravagant but still impressively royal looking, think catholic cathedral but brighter and with less Jesus (can you tell I’m a recovering catholic yet?), spires shooting into the sky that’s visible even during a blizzard, cavernous halls full of sunlight and echoes, snow that can comfort and kill in equal measure
Notable Members:
Philza Minecraft:
Angel
Visible wings look like a harpy eagle
Probably the most powerful person in the world
Didn’t mean to start an empire it kinda just happened
Also didn’t mean to adopt kids but his Dadza alarm went off
Usually kind but will not hesitate to use violence when necessary
Technoblade: 
Is pig.  
With braid.  
At least 8 feet all
Extremely adept fighter, skilled in almost every form of combat.  
Not a people pig, prefers his potato farm to being a prince
Hella protective of his family but will not hesitate to bully when given the opportunity
Wilbur Soot: 
Muse who can influence people through song
Can’t totally control people (yet) but can subtly push them in a certain direction
The public face of the imperial family
Would rather insult than fight but can and will cut a bitch if he needs to
Because inspiration is fickle he’ll have some … strange episodes (see: the Sand Incident)
Tommy Innit: 
Child.  
Chaos incarnate.
Is he human?  Is he not?  No one’s sure yet.  
But he’s a gremlin and a hellion and willing to throw down at any moment.  
Has a surprisingly caring side, but no one outside his immediate circle has ever really seen it.  
The Kingdom of Valeriana (aka Dream SMP)
Oldest of the countries 
Located in the middle of a massive forest at the center of the main continent 
Home of the Fae Courts
Ruled by a single king who is chosen by a tournament held every 100 years 
Known for causing chaos in other countries, but after an Incident with Crystallos they have kept their meddling to annoyances rather than outright declarations of war 
Considered the most magical of all the countries, and traditional enchantments almost all come from Valeriana 
Associated Colors: neon green (duh), bright yellow, forest green, light brown, blood red (more saturated than Crystallos), rose gold 
Aesthetic/Vibes: spooky art nouveau (idk what else to call it), lots of plants and nature but with an edge of danger, poison gardens and carnivorous plants, hedge mazes that lead everywhere and nowhere, laughter deep in the forest, deer with eyes just a hair too human, Alice in Wonderland on steroids 
Notable Members: 
Dream: 
Current king of the Fae
As long as he’s touching the ground, he knows where everything and everyone is
Can terraform
Unlimited in the boundaries of his kingdom
Much more limited outside of his realm
No one has ever seen what he really looks like, even before he took the throne
Since people outside the kingdom don’t know who he is, he’ll wander the outside world and challenge random people to fights
Never says what happens to the losers
Only one person has ever beaten him: Technoblade
He might have a lil obsession around Techno, but it’s fine.  
A little competition is healthy.
Sapnap:  
High Lord of the Summer Court
Dream’s right hand man
Likes fire a little too much probably
George: 
Human that Dream took a liking too and yoinked from the mortal world
Dream and Sapnap made him immortal but he hasn’t realized it yet.  
Skeppy: 
Changeling who started growing diamond-like scales across his body
Is vaguely allied with Dream simply because he’s Fae, but is more loyal to BBH
Like a lot of other Fae, likes to make challenges but he makes them less deadly.  Not totally safe, just less deadly.
Badboyhalo: 
Demon who was kicked out of hell because he was too nice
Found Skeppy in the Overworld and the rest is history
Cursed by the Demon King that the moment he says a swear word, the entire world would end, but can never tell anyone that he is cursed
The Merchant’s Guild
Not quite a country, more of a international power 
Oversees the largest and most important businesses in the world 
Makes sure that no laws are broken between different countries and everyone gets a fair shake 
Has a very large reach, so some members have dabbled in espionage for various groups 
From the outside it looks like the whole thing is kept together with duct tape and hope, but its actually pretty functional
The main members are just… a lot. 
More concerned with keeping things working than influencing other nations (although there are still jokes about it) 
The most valuable thing they trade in is information
They have a lot of fingers in a lot of pots, but are trusted with their information 
Associated Colors: dark blue, teal, deep yellow, burnt orange, copper
Aesthetic/Vibes: art deco babie, angles and lines, very modern and streamlined, sleek suits instead of armor or robes, whiskey in a crystal glass, wars won by words not weapons, knowing when someone’s lying without them saying a word
Notable Members:
Schlatt: 
Ram-man with a plan
Not that bad of a dude, but is in a position where he is constantly in possession of highly sensitive information and that does things to someone’s mental state
Drinks pretty regularly but not a full blown alcoholic
Trying his best
Can be a snarky asshole sometimes
Quackity: 
Lucky duck.  literally.  
Duck man with an uncanny ability to absorb good luck from people (typically Fundy) and apply it to himself
No one knows when or why he joined the guild, but now he’s there
Pretty damn smart, but hides it behind humor
Fundy: 
FOX!  
With BEANS!
Trying his goddamn best but life (and Quackity) make it very difficult
Usually is stuck with the shit end of the stick when getting jobs/contracts/etc. 
Wilbur being his dad is an inside joke that’s gotten a life of its own.  
(No Fishfuckers Allowed!!!)
Puffy: 
Badass sheep lady who captains a ship and commands her own armada
Schlatt’s sister
Also part of Storm’s Landing’s council and acts as the main liaison between them 
Do not fuck with her she will kick your ass.
Storm’s Landing
Port city that became a country after becoming a safe-haven for seafarers
Led by a council of important people, with the head of the council known as the Admiral 
Closest ties to Crystallos and the Merchant’s guild because: 
1) Clingy supremacy!!!!
2) it’s a good idea for a guild to have good ties with a large sea power
3) all the dads for Tubbo
Associated Colors: navy blue, scarlet, white, brass 
Aesthetic/Vibes: Nautical (obviously) with heavy “Age of Exploration” vibes, barnacles crusted on treasure chests, think tall ships and pirates and shit, respecting the ocean because holy shit she’s gonna smash your boat to pieces on a whim because she can, has an edge of darkness because when you go deep enough who knows what you’ll find down there (maybe mermaids???) 
Notable Members:
CaptainSparklez: 
elected to Admiral after the previous Admiral went missing on a routine voyage 
(idk who it used to be, I just wanted to make him new at leading)
not 100% sure about the whole thing, but handling it pretty okay
still answers to “Captain” instead of “Admiral”.  
Niki:
If Storm’s Landing had a queen, would be it unquestionably
Never gets robbed even though there’s a well known “underbelly” in town
Could probably end wars with her croissants
Has a significant history of empathic abilities in her family, so she can tell how people are feeling at all times
Eret: 
Owns a magic store in town that really only shows itself to people who need it.  
Having a bad mental health day?  
He’s got a warm blanket and a cup of your favorite warm beverage waiting.  
Dysphoric?  
She’s got the perfect outfit and affirming words already prepared.  
Trying to find that specific book but can’t remember the title or plot, only vaguely know the color of the cover?  
They’ve got it.  
Ranboo:  
Not sure why he decided to move to a seaside city when he’s not chill with water, but now he’s here and he’s too anxious to leave
Known for teleporting around town randomly when nervous, and the people who find him are always willing to let a hand if he gets lost
Tubbo: 
This boi!  Has so many dads!  
Epitome of “Kindness does not equal weakness.”  
While a lot of people underestimate him, he’s not some fragile little flower
He hasn’t fully grown into his ability to speak to animals (he can only understand bees right now)
He’s just as much of a shit stirrer as Tommy.  
When they meet up, look out.  Something’s getting destroyed.
The Astral Academy
An independent university focused on advancing knowledge in the arcane arts and engineering 
Not a country, but has the political power of one due to their vast resources and building prowess 
People can’t enter unless they are invited or have been given entry as a student 
There are a bunch of potential doors scattered around the continent that could lead to the Academy, but no one is sure where the real entrance is 
Associated Colors: royal purple, lilac, sepia, sky blue, silver, bronze Aesthetic/Vibes: bright academia, massive libraries with bookshelves stuffed to bursting, workshop benches covered in scrap and prototypes, open air observatories, runes waiting to be translated, the crackling energy that comes from successful collaboration, falling down a research rabbit hole, bursting with pride after a project is a success
Notable Members: 
Sam
Purpled
Ponk
Punz
Antfrost
Jack Manifold
I don’t know much about these characters, so if you have any ideas please let me know!
Zero’s OC Land - The North Haven
Smallest and newest country 
Recently gained independence from under a cruel dictator (not schlatt lol)
Located in a pine forest at the base of a huge mountain range 
Has pretty good relations with the other countries, but outsiders don’t know much about them 
Main exports are wood carvings and leather goods 
Associated Colors: Maroon, dark brown, black, pewter 
Aesthetic/Vibes: medieval but with a modern twist, dark wood lit by a roaring fireplace, snow-covered woods without a living soul in sight, half timber houses and detailed wood carving, no outrageous ornamentation or extravagance 
Notable Members:
Tyr: 
Lord of the North Haven
trying to keep his people safe and protected
one of the few remaining Spirits (higher in power than the Fae, but lower than angels)
Spirit of Justice
lost a hand in the war for North Haven’s independence
didn’t want to become the leader but does a pretty good job at it
Adopted 5 kids and is trying his best
Bragi: 
Heir Apparent
24 year old human
can influence the world by speaking (not singing) but has to be careful about which words he uses
has a book full of phrases that have proven effects (a spellbook of sorts)
has a friendly rivalry with Wilbur
Freya: 
Spymaster
actually the oldest but abdicated because she feels she’s not the right person to lead a country
age unknown because she’s the last known [REDACTED] (it’ll be revealed, but I wanna build suspense)
has gyrfalcon wings and heightened senses
chronic insomniac
Forseti: 
Official Librarian
20 years old
hybrid with an unknown entity
has black fingers with sharp claws
always wears gloves to hide them
can create portals to places he’s been or to people he knows (the second is much riskier, but not impossible)
knowledge sponge
wants to join the Astral Academy but is too nervous to apply
Odin: 
Older Twin
The “Sensible One”
17 years old
Has an uncanny sense of direction
Can’t get lost no matter what
Can manipulate magnetic fields
Loki:
Younger Twin
The “Hot Headed One”
17 years old
can manipulate fire
idolizes his older siblings, particularly Freya
The Institute
Creeping around in the background
Up to bad things
Something’s going on in the world, but no one’s noticed yet
They will though… soon
Aesthetic/Vibes: minimalism (the worst kind of vibes imo), think laboratories or empty hospitals, harsh artificial lights and cold floors, labyrinths of monotonous hallways with no doors
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fae-fucker · 3 years
Text
Zenith: Chapter 76-79
Chapter 76
Andi has a nice little poetic nightmare. It’s irrelevant. The next morning has the girls preparing for the ball, complete with dresses and makeup.
Some things to note include Lira saying that in Adhiran religion (which is global, I guess), one has to mourn for three days before “letting” the souls of the dead pass on into ... everything.
Andi tries to say that it’ll take time to heal from it all, but Lira is having none of it.
“It will take time to move past what happened on Adhira,” Andi started, but Lira held up a hand.
“My three days of mourning have passed. Lon’s and my aunt’s, too. Now we, and the others who lost loved ones during the attack, must give the lost spirits to the stars, to the trees, to the wind.”
Which basically means that she’s done feeling bad about the unexpected and brutal attack on her home planet, so that’s convenient. Well, if one of our main characters doesn’t care about her people getting senselessly murdered, then why should we?
She also lets us know that her aunt has fixed up the Marauder and brought it here, because of course. Lira wants to arrange for Lon to be transferred to the Marauder, and though she has a logical reason for it (taking him home personally), it’s only a setup so we know why he’s on there at the end of the book when Andi’s bleeding out and needs a universal donor.
Spoilers, I guess.
Andi’s mother, Glorya, intercepts Andi as she tries to leave her crew to their makeover montages, just so we can move into a scene where her mom is brushing her hair and babbling on about gossip and vapid high society stuff.
But Andi, of course, gets lost in a flashback that’s so amateurishly written it’s honestly embarrassing and only highlights Shinsay’s helpless reliance on flashbacks as a storytelling device.
Observe:
Her words faded away as memories took their place. Andi lost herself to them.
The whole flashback is written in italics for some inexplicable reason, even though it would’ve been fine as just regular text since we’re clearly told what’s happening now and what’s a memory.
Also, there’s one bit where the memory “fast-forwards” to a different one. Shinsay, this isn’t a fucking movie. This isn’t a screenplay. What the fuck are you DOING.
The flashback and the mother’s inane babbling are all there to illustrate how vapid and brainless Glorya is and how she only ever cared about her status and not about her kid. Glorya pretends that everything is back to the way it was but Andi curses her out for abandoning her when she needed them most and how “the way it was” was actually always shit.
I mean it’s fine. It’s all right. I see what they’re going for, it’s melodramatic as all fuck but it works for what they’re trying to do? I can see this as being a realistic way for an emotionally neglectful family to look like. I wish it was more nuanced and wasn’t just shoe-horned in here (Glorya doesn’t show up before or after this bit, this is the only time she’s ever present or even mentioned in this book in any meaningful capacity) for the sake of making Andi’s friends look better and for her to not have anything that anchors her to Arcardius, but like, I won’t say this isn’t realistic.
And then Shinsay can’t stop themselves and it’s back to silly time:
“Really, Androma...” 
[...]
“That is not my name,” Andi whispered. She allowed the darkness to come up into her voice, the mask of shadow and steel to sweep across her face. “My name is the Bloody Baroness. And if you or Commander Racella ever so much as utter a single word toward me or my crew again, I will personally strip the skin from your body and wave it like a flag from my starship.”
Glorya let out a soft squeak. Andi snarled with all of her teeth.
Guys I can’t breathe this is too fucking funny. And not in a good “woo vindication!” sort of way, but in a “they really put this right after an emotional confrontation about parental emotional neglect/abuse huh?” way. They really thought this was ... badass? Revenge? Andi, sweetie, you’re, like, traumatized? Presumably? I can’t really tell. But maybe get some therapy?
Do Shinsay think this is somehow a win and that Andi’s threat means she’s fully released from the hurt and pain her parents have caused her through their neglect? It’s honestly written as if Andi just confronted her mother and her own hopes of coming back to her family in this one short scene, and then upon realizing her parents never loved her, she scares her mom a little and then is all smug and satisfied at the end.
That ain’t how it works, darlings.
Then the annoying Marketable Space Pet runs in and starts biting Glorya’s toes and she runs away shrieking like a defeated Disney villain.
Way to undercut your own drama, Shinsay.
The chapter ends with Andi thinking about how her crew is her True Family for the bajillionth time. Because we’re all idiots and Shinsay wants us to remember that.
Chapter 77
It’s the evening of the ball and Andi thinks about how she missed Bavista, which is apparently your generic coming-of-age ball held at Arcardius for every 16-year-old. I’m guessing it’s a yearly thing? The book never clarifies. Not sure why the fuck it’s here tbh.
Actually, it’s a pretty good demonstration of how the worldbuilding in this book is presented so here, have at thee:
She could still remember seeing the otherworldly dresses and suits float by her on the feeds as she watched the girls and boys glide into the A’Vianna House in the Glass Sector. They seemed light as air, full of pride, bursting at the seams with excitement. Once inside, they would be greeted by members of the Priest Guild, who would award each young person three items.
The first was a vial of water from the Northern Ocean, symbolizing strength. For growth, they accepted a single leaf from the oldest tree on Arcardius, known as The Mother, which was said to have been planted when the Ancients first arrived. Lastly, they were given a single floating pebble, no larger than a child’s fingernail, chiseled from the very gravarock where the Cortas estate was. It represented the wisdom of rising above.
Is this relevant to anything? Does this help you understand this world or its inhabitants? Does it tell you anything of the culture of Arcardius or its youth and what’s expected of them? No? It’s just a really generic list of things thrown together using Mystical Proper Nouns as glue? Weeell heeell.
Also what does “it represented the wisdom of rising above” mean? This is utterly generic and means fuck-all, that’s what.
Anyway, Andi’s admiring herself in the mirror. Her dress is very sexy, trust me, I can’t be bothered to include it so just imagine your favorite My Immortal outfit description. It does include sword holsters at the back, which are Andi’s favorite part, because she’s a strong independent woman who don’t need no man. She never actually uses them or brings the swords to the ball so ... Idk what the point of this was.
We also get some shit about how Andi actually LOVES dresses and being pretty but she never admitted it to anyone. But don’t you worry, this badass space criminal LOVES all things girly, because that’s feminism! Can someone check in on Shinsay? I’m not sure they’re getting enough air with their heads so far up Sarah J Maas’ asshole.
Admitting to herself that she looked pretty was something Andi kept private. She didn’t want to give her crew the satisfaction of knowing her true thoughts about fashion. How even though she was a fierce, hardened criminal, she could still appreciate the joy of a beautiful, impractical ball gown.
Huh. And here I thought they were your family. That’s weird that you’d keep this information from them, especially considering all of them seemed pretty excited to be prettied up in the last chapter. I guess they’d really just haaate the idea of sharing this joy with their captain, huh? Why aren’t you admitting this to them, Andi?
You’re saying shit about how “even though” you’re a hardened criminal, you can “still” appreciate beautiful gowns, like those two are somehow contradictory. Are you, mayhaps, ashamed of having this traditionally girly interest? Hmm! Interesting. Why could that be, I wonder? Why would having traditionally feminine interests or even caring about one’s appearance be seen as something inherently shameful or embarrassing, as inherently contradictory to being fierce and “hardened?”
This is all just so *clenches fist* feminist.
Forreal though, somehow Shinsay managed to take their entire made up GALAXY and make it subtly and not-so-subtly sexist. Good job, morons. Really girlbossed that one, huh?
The only bit I like about this whole mess is this:
The dressmaker had also accented her gown with a sparkling necklace full of jewels that Andi didn’t plan on giving back.
This is the one and only space pirate-y thing Andi does -- sorry, considers doing -- in the whole book and honestly could’ve been used to build her character more, but it’s just a one-off joke here. Wasted.
Valen comes to fetch her and we get some subtle foreshadowing.
“Valen the Resurrected.”
He stopped to look at her, brows raised. “What?”
She shrugged. “It’s what the press is calling you in all the feeds.” Valen let out a deep chuckle.
[...]
“Something tells me things are about to change for the better,” he said. “I’m ready to see it all happen.”
Andi wondered what he would do now that he was home with a whole planet at his disposal.
He deserved to have some fun.
Is it bad that I’m rooting for Valen to destroy everything? And this isn’t my villain-fucker coming out, I just want this poor bastard to absolutely annihilate Andi and her gang of acolytes.
Chapter 78
Andi and Valen arrive at the ball. It’s all very pretty and space-y and aesthetic. There’s a bunch of aliens everywhere. Andi sees a woman with funky eyes and assumes it’s a body mod, because I guess she knows the genetic characteristics of every species by heart and can tell when something is real or not.
An old classmate of theirs comes up to talk to Valen and congratulate him on being alive, then Andi reminds him of who she is just to be a smug asshole and the guy fucks off in a panic. She’s just so cool and badass, you guys.
Then it’s time for Valen and Andi to dance, and of course General Cortas looks like he’s about to lose his marbles because these darn kids! >:(
The chapter ends on Andi noticing Dex pouting in the distance.
“Relax,” Andi whispered. “Let’s give them something to talk about.”
She flashed him a wicked grin as the music began.
And as Valen spun her into the first move of the dance, Andi saw Dex standing on the fringes of the crowd, an expression of longing clear on his face.
Chapter 79
This chapter is exactly 298 words of Dex moping around about how he’s actually not over Andi at all when he thought he’d done such a good job of repressing his feelings, and how he should be the one dancing with Andi instead of Valen. If you’re surprised, you’re clinically dead.
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atiny-ahgase · 3 years
Text
A message to my Moots
Hey all, I originally wasn’t gonna do this cause I honestly didn't even know where to begin (I still don't tbh) but I said that I’ll still give it a try cause I wanted to tell you all my feelings before the new year rolls around (for me at least lol). So let’s get too it.
Firstly thank you to every single person that follows me, or has read any of my fics or liked any of my edits or even just interacted with me in any form. Thank you for the immense love and support that I’ve received on this site, honestly I didn't expect to make any friends here and the fact that I was able to meet and befriend so many amazing people. So I just wanna say thank you so much for being a part of my life. I’ve always put up walls and I’m really bad at getting close to others but Tumblr was the first site that I’ve really felt comfortable enough to be the real me. So thank you for that.
Now on to the Mentions
I had no idea how to start this so I decided to start at the beginning.
@mingishoe -Luna, you were the reason that I joined Tumblr in the first place, your fics brought me here and your interactions with other blogs opened up so many doors for me and helped me to interact and befriend so many amazing people. You were the first person that I ever sent an ask to, you made me feel so comfortable and welcome so thank you for that. Thank you for being you, a literal moon; bright and beautiful always lighting up the way. I honestly don't think that I would ever be able to explain how much I love, admire and look up to you, I honestly can’t find the words. Honestly, just thank you for being there for your little anon (Idk if you know which anon I am though lol)
@vocalyunho -Ames!!!!! The 2nd person that I followed! an absolute angel. You are such a calm soul and I just love your vibe and energy so much. I think that I’ve said this a million times but you just make me feel so safe and secure, you have such a calm and capable aura that is just so soothing to me. Thank you for coming into my life and being the amazing person that you are.
@jonghoshoe -ZAD!!! Baby Brother! My Teddy Bear! My Sunflower!! Where do I even begin?!? You were basically my first friend on Tumblr (and I am even more grateful to Luna cause I found you through her). IDK what it was about you but you had such an amazing out look on life while still being chaotic in the best way possible. I would wake up every morning and look out for your posts cause you would always make me smile. Without even knowing it you became a big part of my life and I am so grateful for that. You were my motivation when I was feeling down, you encouraged me to see the good things in the word, you hyped me up to write fics; honestly you are part of why I am the Gabby that I am today and I cant thank you enough for that, I love and admire you so much.
Next on my list is my little bunny @lustjoong -PK PK PK, my knee loving queen!!!! IDEK what to say cause I feel as though I confess my love to you at least twice a week on discord lol. I love talking with you, you're incredibly level headed and give amazing advice (which I always need cause I’m a mess lol). I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again that I admire you so much and would of never imagined that I would of ever gotten the chance to talk to you (much less be able to call you my friend) cause in my mind I always saw you as this amazing and untouchable writer (but then I realized that I’m taller than you so... lol I’m kidding). I’m happy that you found out that I was messaging you on anon and thank you for reaching out to me. I look forward to more chaotic conversations and knee pics in the new year.
@atiny-piratequeen -FIE I FREAKING LOVE YOU SO MUCH THAT I MIGHT EXPLODE!! You fill me with so much life that I cant even begin to explain. I’ve said this a million times before but I love how you aren't afraid to speak you mind and say how you feel. You're such a strong figure to me here on the platform and I've always admired how natural and bold you are with your opinions. I find your personality to be extremely refreshing and welcoming, I was never afraid to interact with you (I combusted when you sent me an ask but that’s only natural..) so thank you for providing me (and a lot of other Atiny) with a safe and welcoming place that we can come to.
@twancingyunhoe -Allyssa!!! My mom!!!! My cookie baking, Yunho loving, cat mom!! where do I even begin?? Thank you for being an absolute angel! You shine so brightly here and you're always so supportive to literally everyone. I am and always will be there for you no matter what so I want you to remember that in the coming year. and remember that I love you in your highs and your lows and I am available to provide cuddles anytime they are needed or wanted cause you are precious to me ok luv.
@felixs-moonlight -my little duckling AJ!!! I’m wishing you the best in the new year cause that's what best bois deserve! You are so incredibly sweet and caring so don't you ever forget. Even if you do forget don't worry cause I will always be there to remind you.
@seoultraveller -Cat. Your presence makes me so happy!! IDEK what it is I just love seeing you on my dashboard, when I don't see you I wonder how you are. I hope that this new years is treating you well. Also, you are NOT boring and lets talk a lot more in the coming year okay luv
@yunhozone -Jey!! I miss you, I hope that you're well, its been raining lately so I hope that you're staying dry and safe. I love your boldness and sense of humor so please don't ever change. i started following you on a whim and I have never regretted following you ever since. You make me smile and laugh so much and I hope that I can do the same for you in the coming years. Stay safe okay luv
@pirate-hongjoong -Kayla, lets both talk more in the coming year ok luv. I pretty much told you everything that I wanted to on your post so I’ll try to keep this short. I think that you're really sweet and we should get to know each other more, I’ll try to reach out some more and be a little less shy. so lets continue to grow our friendship okay.
@taelepathysroom -You were the first friend that I made on Tumblr all on my own (meaning that I didn't see you interacting with a moot or anything, I found you all by myself) to this day I don't remember how I mustered up the bravery to message you. I remember wanting to message you on anon and realizing that you had anon off and I STILL went for it lol, apparently I was wilding. But that was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, I love talking with you and receiving all of your extremely important messages and I look forward to many more (my heart is not ready but it is fine).
@moongaera -Gaera you are such a great motivation to me and I’m so happy to be a part of your life. You are so sweet and incredibly talented. I love seeing you on my dashboard and talking with you cause you honestly make my heart want to explode.
@yungidreamer - Big sister!!!! Kelsi!!! My aesthetic queen who I am convince is tryna kill me on our discord chat you are so kind and helpful and give such great tips. You are such a calm soul and I love interacting with you (especially when things feel crazy) its like you just magically know the answer to everything.
@yunhoiseyecandy -Violet, we don't really talk much but I think that you're really cool and fun so lets talk lots in 2021 ok. Also IDK why I felt like this was the perfect place to post this but you're the only moot whos emoji pops up when I start to type their name in the hashtags and I always thought that its really cute. (You're also really cute). I think that we would be really good friends so I cant wait to talk with you more.
@hwaberrykiwi -CAM CAM CAM CAM CAM!!!!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! You are so fun to talk to and so sweet and so calming and you make my heart feel like its bursting (in the best way possible). I hope that you're well and I look forward to sharing more moments here with you on Tumblr (and I am still keeping my promise of not eating Lemon Bars if they aren't from you so...)
@atinywrites -Angel!!! My precious, little angel who always attacks my poor little heart. I love your messages and how you just pop up randomly and shower me with love (then I read your posts and you're just straight up roasting people JBJDJFILJFISREHF) I love absolutely everything about you and I’m really happy that we met each other, I cant wait to see what 2021 has in store for us.
@choisans-dimples -Cass my dearest little Sugar Plum, apart from you being absolutely precious you are also extremely previous to me. I remember our first interactions and they still bring a smile to my face (we were like Tom and Jerry and honestly in a way we still are lol). But you mean so much to me and you never fail to make me laugh or smile no matter what is going on in my life. I wish for you to never lose that smile in 2021 and if it ever begins to falter just know that I’m here ok luv
@latte-fairytaekwoon -Latte, I’m not gonna lie; when Mei started adopting family members I felt like my brain was gonna explode but I gotta hand it to her cause she has great taste in family cause she chose you. If it wasn't for her then I probably would of never found you. if that happened then who would spoil me rotten?!? I am so happy to have met you I honestly thrive every time I see you on my dashboard, you are absolutely hilarious and I love to see your interactions. I cant wait to see what you do in 2021 and all of the other years to come. Thanks for being a great Tumblr Mom
@little-precious-baby -Mei, where do I begin?? You came out of no where for me, you just sort of appeared and then in the blink of an eye you became so dear to me. Id just find myself looking out for your posts and wondering how you are. IDK how to explain it but you've somehow managed to bring so many amazing individuals together in such a short time, you're absolutely amazing and I hope that one day you'll be able to see yourself the way that we already see you. Ik that things can be hard (and they will be because that’s life) but just know that this family that you helped to bring together is always here for you when you need someone to confide in and when it feels like its too much and you need a break we’ll be right here waiting for you until you come back. Just remember that your big sis loves you ok my little bean.
@ateez-little-star -JAS!!!!!! My babie sister IDK how to write this without crying cause you make me so happy that idek what to do. You are so bold and brave while still being shy and cute, I cant explain it. You are so wholesome to talk to and so fun and interesting and sweet and loveable! Like how could someone not love you!! Thank you for always checking up on me and showering me with love and just making me smile.
@yunhofingers -My sweet little bean who definitely never behaves badly!! I am sending you all of the positive vibes for the new year. Ik that things wont always be easy but just know that I’m always here and I believe in you. You are so sweet and kind and bold and I love that about you, don't ever change and thank you so much for making me smile; I hope that I can do the same for you in 2021 and beyond cause I hope that we can be friends for a really long time.
I also wanted to include the moots that I do interact with but I also want to talk to even more in the coming year. Thank you for being here for both me and other people in the kpop community. I love your blogs and you all are so incredibly kind (and ridiculously entertaining; I’m looking at you Caly and Vivi lol), I hope that we can become even better friends.
@hanatiny @sansbun @hongism @multidreams-and-desires @smallfrye @aixy-hpsa @galaxteez @jongpleasure @simphwa @inkigayeo @heeseungluvs
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Text
-Rating and gushing about every Wizard101 “World”/Arc-  
Imma just gush about my month of Wizard101 and how I finally got to a close “end” of the game.
24/12 Edit: Fixed some typos here and there and added some stuff.
07/09 Edit: KI decided to fully revamp Wiz city also changing some lore so the rating on that is outdated. Might also put my thought of the new Wiz City there once I’m through all the new content.
Arc 1 - Malistaire - 10/10
Prob my favourite.
The writing really ties in every world, even when you speedquest through it.
Contains a lot of my favourite worlds.
I’m still crying over Mali to this day...
(Old) Wizard City - 10/10
Literally the introduction to the game and the place I spent most of my time in when I was a crownless and membershipless young wizard.
Do you want to farm Nightshade or Kraken?
That graphic revamp really punched.
Fave Places To chill: Nightside, Commons, Ravenwood, Cyclops Lane
Krokotopia - 11/10
This world made me fall in love with Wizard101
Egyptian aesthetic o-o
I was once a balance wizard you know?
Cries over the plot in the tomb of storms
Also KROKODILES
Fave Places To chill: Krokosphinx, School Of Balance
Marleybone - 10/10
I liked the Wizard version, but the Pirate version is more my jam.
Everyone is lookin dapper.
Home of the Doc- I mean Professor!
The whole worlds feels like Cats, but with dogs and the plot is Sherlock Holmes.
Barkingham Palace Gear o-o
Fave Places To chill: The Museum. 
Mooshu 7/10
Japan and China vibes
Your usual warlord chaos
Everything is BRIGHT GREEN
It felt  S H O R T
Has pretty nice wand drops
Fave Places To chill: Jade Palace
Dragonspyre 12/10  
This is what you get when you throw Roman aesthetic, Prussian History and a pinch of Russia into a pot.
The amount of subtle history references is making me listen to every line of dialogue I can get from this world.
D R A G O N S
Milos Bookwyrm is kinda a darlin
We kill Mali here :’)
Fave Places To chill: The Atheneum, wherever my battle drake chills
Arc 2 - Morganthe - 9/10
Has nice spots here and there.
Writing is still good, but a little less engaging.
Morganthe was so over the top “bad bitch” that it got annoying
Grandpappy spider was the saving grace of the arc
Celestia - 8/10
Solid world, story was kinda meh
ASTRAL MAGIC
Is this Skull Island??? Why are there water moles??? I thought they only exist in Skull Island????
Basically Atlantis
WAND OF STASIS
Fave Places To chill: Watermole Village
Zafaria - 8/10
Jambo Wizard!
The plot is Belloq and crazy tse-tse zebra ruining everyones day.
All they wanted was a nice zafari, all they got was misery and running into Morganthe worshippers.
Flameingo can’t take it anymore...
“Son I’m disappointed”
Fave Places To chill: Baobab Crown
Avalon - 9/10
Love it, but something is missing?
King Arthur, but you’re Arthur.
How to become a knight 101
FINALLY I CAN GET DEER KNIGHT
The source of Morganthes saltiness
Everyone is prob scared of me because I rode a battle badger during my stay...
Fave Places To chill: Caliburn
Azteca - 9.5/10
Hello and Bye...
I will never be able to do casual side questing here anymore...
The plot was nice, but you know, IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE WAS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED
Do not speedquest through this if you are a plot person, DO NOT
Cries over birb and dinosaur friends...
The music was the best part of it.
Fave Places To chill: N o w h e r e  a f t e r  t h a t  d a r n  m e t h e o r i t e, almost everywhere before that
Khrysalis - 9.8/10
L O O O O O N G
It was to be expected though
Mouse Guard vibes
The furniture sets for this suck and there is no proper furniture to obtain otherwise...
One Wizard Army (with the help of some deer friends) pls do not kill me for my bad word puns
I’d feel bad about how Morganthe ended, but after Azteca I really don’t have anything left for that whiny bitch...
A lot of people want my head...
Hello there hand- I mean hello there Spider.
Captain Colridge, if you had a pegleg I’d be 100% sure you’re ratbeard gone out of shape.
I love the dynamic changes to the Bastion once you progress
SHADOW MAGIC no one uses though because it’s not worth the pips and time 
Fave Places To chill: Last Woods 
Arc 3 - Spider And Raven - 6/10
Had solid concepts, kinda threw them out of the window
I do not like the writing in a majority of the arc
I think I was so disappointed, because I hyped these worlds up so much, the expectations did not meet reality
The ending was a no no
Plot was barely engaging
I only pushed through this for the concepts of Mirage and Polaris and wanted to see where Grandpappy Spider went
Polaris - 7/10
WAY TOO SHORT
You spent half of the time in the arcanum anyway
I don’t like Mellori, but that is just me
REVOLUTION TIME!
I don’t like that we had to throw a ship worth of fish into the sea, although they apparently still live? Somehow?
Everyone was at full right to overthrow the Empress though, she was horrible.
Where is Napoleguin???
RA RA RATSPUTIN, LOVER OF- wait  w h a t ? ? ?
I don’t like the Arcanum, but I guess I’ll be a part of it.
Fave Places To chill: Walruskberg, Captain Colridges Tavern 
Mirage - 6.5/10
The more you hype, the more you’ll be disappointed...
Again the Spider part of the plot was good, the other was  e h
If I’m going to have to talk to another snobby over the top whiny cat I’m going to lose it.
Boochbeard, where is Mr. Gandry?
Bara Snakes.
Istar stop whining about bugs.
Ozzy you’re my best bud in this.
House themed GEAR, APARTMENTS and MOUNTS, but you gotta defeat a 100 enemies before that...
Love the world design though
THE MAGIC CARPET RIDE
Fave Places To chill: Caravan, anywhere you can wander through endless sand
Empyrea 4/10
This is what happens when you throw too many things together
S t a r  T r e k 
Medulla shut up
The idea to have an isle in the eye of a storm is cool though
Zanadu was kinda meh (prob because I remember most of it just happening in a sewer)
That dance session though, Khan rocks
The dwarfes were also kinda meh, just didn’t fit with the concepts of the previous areas 
Cthulu island was also kinda meh
Ending of the first half was literally Batman and although I know “The Bat” and “The cabal” it kinda came out of nowhere...
And then I pretty much lost interest in the world
The Reverie got me again, nice and fresh mechanics.
I will make a seperate rant on the ending, but no... I don’t like it at all and I don’t see Spider forgiving Raven as a good ending
Felt really forced
Hit some bad spots with me...
I thought we could fight Raven??? >:O
Fave Places To chill: Reverie
Arc 4 - idk what is going on
Karamelle ?/10
Ja moin, guten Tag allerseits.
Haven’t gotten there yet, but man, I’m not up for dictator Nana... :T
Spells look pathetic o k
If you try denglish one more time I’m going to lose it
At this point it’s obvious that KI has a thing for german speaking countries related stuff
Sentinel Marshmallows, do I have to say more? 
Other Worlds
Grizzleheim - 8/10
Vikings
Forshadowing of Raven
It’s ok
Grendleweed
Wintertusk - 8/10
Even more Vikings
Grizzleheim 2.0, but everyone is op and crits
You need the spells, but you don’t want to do it
It’s been too long since I’ve last been there
Wysteria - 9/10
The original snob
At least these weren’t a pain to listen to...
Incompetent teachers make incompetent students.
That hall of fame though.
Actually a nice world to quest through
The aesthetic is nice and they kinda got the cooler library compared to Ravenwood, unless I’m missing out on something.
Fave Places To chill: The library
Aquila - 10/10
Birbs
Was a pain in Pirate, is wonderful in Wiz
SKY IRON HASTA
Secret bosses you seldom find people to fight with
Everyone is salty that you’ve beated them and they don’t even try to hide.
Hades got the best estate.
Cerberus was cute until he became a set of floating heads.
Fave Places To chill: Tartarus
Darkmoor - 9.5/10
“Who hits?” - “Everyone” - *person who asked decides to leave the dungeon*
This happened to me 7 times in a row an U G H
People need to calm down their hitter ego
The dungeons are fun the first times, then they are just an annoyance to farm.
Plot is the Ballad Lenore
GO TO REST MALI
Hit in 5 rounds or say bye bye to your blades
No Feints
Catacombs 11/10
D r a g o n s p y r e  L o r e
Valencia, what are you doin there?
Basically KI’s punch in the face of Pirate101 players
“Oh you want an update? Guess you gotta watch how we recycle Valencia in Wiz”
Dragoon gear - Just like Darkmoor, but this time your suffering has a certain end
Also no exp on your quests?
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magpiemorality · 4 years
Text
Remus vs. His Birthday
Long post is long, keep reading isn’t working sorry all!
Warnings: mentions of death, blood, gore, murder, nsfw things; unfriendly Remus (he’s just antagonistic not unsympathetic); Remus being rude about the nsfs tag (not an opinion the author holds).
AO3
***
What exactly was the point, Remus wondered, of a birthday? Was it a celebration of cheating death? A consolation prize for getting through another solar rotation of mundane life? An apology to everyone in your life for existing? 
Yeah Remus wasn’t sold. Why would you bother? If it was a celebration why celebrate only once a year, when society told you you could, rather than whenever life was actually worth celebrating? Why not impose yourself on all days, or better yet forget days were a thing at all? 
(That last part sounded like Janus when he was on one of his society-is-a-con rants but Remus liked the idea. And the rants. They were pretty fun to listen to.)
Today was, apparently, Remus’ birthday, for all that meant to him. The real issue was that, irritatingly, it meant something to everyone else. And before this year, specifically this year, that would have meant squat. But this damn year it meant plans. 
Plans were another thing Remus didn’t see the point of. Why think about future things when you could think about now things and just do them? He was all impulse, by design, and sticking to a plan was incomprehensible and pretty revolting to think about, torture plain and simple for a creature like him. 
Remus seethed at the very concept, staring daggers at the envelope that had dropped into his home in the subconscious. Literal daggers, shredding the cheerful mint green paper of it with vicious pleasure, until the daggers were just thudding into the floor underneath and he got distracted playing target practice with various shadows of particularly nasty thoughts that crept through the dark corners down where he lived. 
Daggers exhausted and eyes back to normal, he collapsed into the blow up armchair he so adored (mostly because it made brilliant fart-like noises whenever he shifted around) and wondering if plotting went against his moral stance on plans. He felt like plotting. He felt like not celebrating his birthday thank you very much. 
Unfortunately the next thing to drop in was much more Thomas-shaped, and it dusted itself off nonchalantly while he considered a return to the dagger-eyes. 
“J-anus.”
“Remus. Must we be like that?” Janus asked with his very carefully crafted snobbish distaste. “I come in peace.”
“Wish you’d come in pieces. That would’ve been much more fun,” Remus muttered, and as he blinked at the other side body parts started to drop piece by piece around his intruder. Janus glanced down at the first and hid a delicate shudder, returning his gaze to Remus’ face and steadfastly holding it there. Remus dropped a nose on his shoulder just to spite him. He could appreciate a good pun as well as the next side. 
Janus cleared his throat. “We would like to celebrate your birthday. It’s not entirely, ah, a birthday party, per se? But Logan predicts the fans might celebrate for you, and Thomas will naturally be unable not to think of you much. The invitation was more of a heads up.”
“Attention? On moi? I’ll have to dress appropriately. Birthday suit is only right!”
“Remus-”
“What? Don’t approve? It’s not even my birthday, Snake Bell. They’re just something Daddy latched onto to make his dreams of normality come true. Besides, it’s not like anyone wants me front of mind- where worse to have your darkest thoughts after all?” 
“That’s not the point.”
“Ah, points. I was thinking about those. I think the more the better-” he grinned, twirling his hand and summoning his morning star into it “-but this has precisely none. I don’t want to celebrate it. No one else wants to celebrate it. Drop it there, or I’ll drop you all one by one off a tall building. Or maybe the plank. Now pirates, there’s a fun aesthetic...”
Clearly the conversation wasn’t going the way Janus wanted because he looked visibly frustrated, pulling his hat off to rake a hand through his hair with a little scowl marring his- well, half of his face. If Remus took a meat-cleaver down the centre of his skull he wouldn’t have matching halves. Ooh, Heathers. Now there was another fun aesthetic. Imagine turning up to the joke of a celebration in a cutesy prep school outfit complete with croquet mallet. Hammer. Thing. Remus wasn’t sure of the name, but it didn’t have any points so meh. Maybe it could be a fun experiment, like the Riverdale Heathers episode, which Remus had only experienced through the triple layer disconnect of Thomas watching it and unwittingly handing it over to Janus to hide down in the subconscious where all the other undesirable memories, experiences and miscellaneous things lived. Like Remus! 
But he was losing focus, and Janus was still there. Ugh.
“Just be prepared, alright? It would be highly appreciated if you didn’t just show up and antagonise Thomas on the one day he’s allowing you up front. I know it’s hard but just... ix-nay on the eath-day, ex-say and ore-gay?”
“Ooh, ore-gay, or orgy? Did you mean to say orgy?” Remus grinned sharply and Janus’ remaining composure dribbled away. 
He muffled a scream into his gloved hands before glaring once more at Remus. “Just behave. Or I will put you back here, and you will stay here until even the memory of you has faded, understood?”
Remus’ mouth clicked shut and he nodded, eyes narrowed balefully under the scorching threat. “Understood. But next time you feel the need to threaten me with hiding again, maybe don’t do it in my own home, hm?”
“Wha-”
“Bye Felicia.” The sound of Janus’ screech as he was shot upwards by a giant tentacle and shoved back through the ceiling to where he belonged was like music to Remus’ ears. Scream music. Oh, how interesting, what if he took screamo music and put it to actual screams?! 
~
It was such a good idea that he forgot about his ‘birthday’ entirely while focused on his project until the next day, when the tugging started. It was gentle at first, just the odd prod, like a big finger was occasionally checking his responses. Like he was a tiny lab rat in a giant world, and boy did that one hit a little too close to home. Home here being allofhisgreatestfearsatonce. 
He didn’t want to answer the call, he really didn’t, but... Remus was curious, and impulse won out as always. Because why not go look? Why not go see? Who cared how it turned out- the fun was in the spontaneity, in the doing. 
Thomas standing with a faintly amused smile was not what he’d have expected had he expected anything at all. But Thomas standing with a faintly amused smile was what awaited Remus topside, out in the full force of consciousness. It burned, being here, and Remus was reminded once more that in many ways he’d not been imprisoned down below for everyone else’s safety but also his own. Damn the snake for his constant self-preservation. Remus wanted to be mad at him for leaving for once!
“Hi Remus,” Thomas greeted, that same amusement on his tone. And oh, yeah, he’d gone with the Heathers look after all. It was a warm summer day and skirts were nice and breezy, sue him. Remus struck a pose with the croquet... thing, and bared his sharp teeth. 
“Did you miss me? Oh you did miss me didn’t you. I can tell! You’re just so curious about me! Well-”
“Settle down,” Logan warned, and oh. Yuck, other sides. 
“Yeah why don’t you-” Remus screamed, high pitched and piercing, as his supposed twin’s voice came from right behind him, spinning and swinging and almost catching Roman in the face with the blunt weapon. Only Virgil’s quick reflexes managed to save him, leaping into the way to catch the head of the mallet like a baseball. Now baseball, there was an impulsive and dangerous sport. Why had they never taken up baseball? 
Oh that was right... 
“Well done Virgil!” Janus smiled. Because the snake said no. And Virgil said no. And when the two of them agreed even Dream Daddy had to comply. Whatever, it was never too late. The croquet mallet turned into a baseball bat as his thoughts flickered, but it was boring and not pointy enough, until he added the nails. 
Everyone flinched back slightly, even Thomas, and Remus hefted the weapon onto his shoulder with a proud jut to his chin. Good. 
Thomas looked uncertain but he tried again. “Um, that’s cool. Like from the Walking Dead?”
“Just like that! Who volunteers as zombie?!”
“Actually we had something else in mind!” Thomas interjected quickly, turning his phone around to show the screen. “Look, cool art!” 
Remus didn’t miss the glance Thomas sent around the other sides for approval, but he was soon distracted by the contents of the screen. He scrolled, and scrolled, and kept scrolling. Huh. This was, actually pretty cool stuff. Plenty of blood, gore, some sexy things. And all not just about him but for him. Interesting. 
Also this tumble thing was dreadfully good. He’d have to get one. Endlessly scrolling on a sea of blue was the perfect- aka worst- kind of instant gratification mixed with cybergothic horror that he’d always wanted to explore creatively not that Thomas would let him if he only understood more about it. 
Around the room the other sides and Thomas stood, waiting with bated breath to see what might happen. It had been a few minutes of silence, which had Janus’ jaw dropping open and Virgil shifting nervously on his feet. Roman busied himself looking over Remus’ shoulder and trying not to wince at the gross stuff as he appreciated the art himself. Finally it grew too much and Thomas had to know. He had to!
“Is it good? Do you like it? I think there’s a lot of cool stuff there but-”
“Did you know there was an explicit tag specifically for us?” Remus gasped in delight, before frowning. “Jeez, we get our own tag. How prudish are your audience Thomas?”
“And that’s enough of that!” The phone was neatly plucked from Remus’ fingers and tossed over by Roman, shrugging when Remus glared at him. “So what do you think, Remus? They all made that stuff because they wanted to celebrate you. Janus mentioned you don’t like birthdays, but-”
Remus held a hand up to shut him up. “Okay look, it’s not my birthday. But that stuff was pretty cool. Especially the naughty bits. So, uh, thanks I guess. Don’t get used to it but thanks. And now bye! I have zombies to kill. I need to perfect my Hollywood zombie strike for maximum blood spray and noise.” He blew a kiss and vanished in a pop of noxious gas, leaving poor Roman to gag and leap away before it could get on his clothes. 
Beneath them (figuratively) in the subconscious, Remus landed on a trampoline that instantly snapped to dump him on the floor with a thump, where he lay, stunned not from the fall but mostly from all the thoughtful and cool tributes to him he’d seen. Maybe birthdays weren’t so bad. Maybe the point was to feel a little proud of yourself and who you were, and where you were in life. He was, maybe not entirely but certainly almost, a real functioning side in Thomas’ mind, not reduced to intrusive thoughts from time to time when the barriers wore thin. 
Also he had a nail-bat now. And a whole bunch of new ideas from the art he’d seen to try out too... Where to start?
Well, apparently he had a whole year to figure that out. 
-
Masterlist | Buymeacoffee
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beebrainedstudios · 3 years
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Maybe Rhy and Holland?
Thanks for the prompt! Here’s a little Aftermath AU Holland and Rhy (information about the AU can be found here). This is set only a few months after the Osaron showdown, when Holland’s still adjusting to his new surroundings and Rhy careful attempts at bridge-building. I apologize for any mistakes, these prompts will likely be a bit less edited than my usual work.
For anyone who’s interested, the ask prompt can be found here!
“What’s wrong?”
Holland didn’t turn from the mirror, his eyes drifting instead to see Rhy Maresh’s reflection stretched out beside his own. The ex-prince was lounging in the doorway to Holland’s rooms, a golden shaft of light against the murky green of the wall, and his presence would have been an intrusion if he hadn’t knocked on the doorframe a few seconds earlier. The tap-tap-tap of bone on wood had clipped through the silence that filled the room, momentarily shocking Holland out of his task.
Rhy was always careful to do that, to knock, even in open rooms, tapping his boots or ringing his knuckles against the wall to warn Holland of his arrival. It was a small consideration, likely intended to be discrete, but it was appreciated; Holland didn’t like to be approached from behind, not without warning.
Holland huffed, unwilling to bother speaking while he was concentrated on his task. His mind was honed in on the feeling of hair against one hand, wood in the other. The knife he was using was sharp, and he was bringing it close to fingers; any Antari was used to cuts, but he wasn’t eager to shed his blood, especially into his hair. The red would stain the white that he’d been instructed to carefully mind- he knew how blood darkened bone-blonde and his hair was lighter than the Danes’. The last thing he needed was for the Arnesians to notice another dusty flaw in his appearance.
Rhy took the sound as an invitation- it wasn’t- and slipped into the room, walking closer to where the first fallen tufts of hair littered the emerald carpet. There he stopped and said nothing, watching Holland work for a minute, his eyes filled with thoughts that Holland had only half a mind to hear. He knew this game. Rhy was waiting for him to go first, to set the boundaries of their interaction, to see his mood for the day. Like the tapping, Holland thought it a touching, if inefficient practice; the fact that’d he’d let Rhy within his sight should have been enough of a hint. He rarely let anyone near him, particularly in his private quarters, but he made exceptions for the young king, if only because it was his palace to begin with. 
He was surprised at how much Rhy had grown on him, shockingly persistent in the face of Holland’s stony apathy. Kind of like a weed.
Today, however, Holland was busy and Rhy seemed quiet. Yet neither man said anything, and Holland eventually began to cut again, trying to concentrate only on the sensation of his hair between his fingers, shearing through an inch at a time, trying to keep the ends even. The last time he’d done this, he’d had Osaron looming over his shoulder and a furious desperation in him; he hadn’t wanted his hair cut, he’d wanted it gone. It had been quick, choppy, and a mess, but it had been good enough. Now he was hoping to keep it a little longer and neater. He had the time, and it needed to match the finery he had been housed and clothed in.
It needed to look nice, and Holland didn’t know if he’d be able to recognize what that looked like.
“Your hair’s dry.”
Holland stopped cutting in shock and glanced back at Rhy’s reflection. The king was running a shorn lock of hair between his fingers with a thoughtful look on his face. Just as Holland’s gaze fell on him, he slowly opened his hand, the white threads falling from his fingers like snow back to the floor.
Something small and angry inside Holland sparked then- a little bit of grief, pride, shame, and the dread that always rose when he cut his hair- and he snorted at Rhy’s tone, turning back to the mirror and starting to cut again. He refused to meet Rhy’s eyes. “It’s fine, your Majesty, or is it too ugly for your illustrious court?” The knife was moving quicker now, dangerously close to his fingertips, but Holland didn’t care. He couldn’t. He’d been angry all day, and it was sudden and unfair but now he was angry at Rhy because the king had somehow managed to find him in the middle of something terribly vulnerable that shouldn’t be, and he’d been snapped out of his very careful reverie that had kept him from remembering why he was doing this, and now he could feel Rhy’s eyes on him, reading his posture like the blasted words he loved so much. 
I’m sorry, I’m sorry, for the love of magic and whatever else you care about, please leave. Not today, not now, leave.
Rhy didn’t. He stepped back a little, giving Holland space, and he sighed. When Holland stopped cutting to glare at him in the mirror, the king’s eyes were tired with more than just the weight of the throne. But he wasn’t angry at Holland’s outburst; he never was, though Holland wouldn’t have blamed him. Keeping up with the former Antari’s mood- with his trauma, as the old priest had called it- must have been exhausting. Perhaps he’d learned his understanding from Kell.
Not that Holland wanted it. Or deserved it.
“It wasn’t an insult, Holland.” Rhy said quietly, and there was not a shred of offence in his tone, only forgiveness. “Your hair is dry, most likely due to the weather. It’s a drier season right now than your body is used to; it happens to us Arnesians, too, all the time. There’s stuff you can put in your hair to help.” 
He paused, then spoke again. “You look fine.”
Holland’s hands stilled, and the angry heat inside him boiled into thick shameful tar. He had grown weary of lashing out at Rhy like this, when the new king was so unwilling to do so in kind. One day, they’d be okay, and the next he would be trapped with the Danes on one shoulder and Rhy on the other. He was too nice to Holland, and the Antari never knew what to do with it. He expected the first blow every time they spoke, and every time, he was disappointed.
There was no apology ready on his tongue, but Rhy as usual had guessed he was upset and evidently didn’t mind, because he only stepped closer again as if Holland hadn’t just snapped at him. Holland sighed in frustration, the tension in his chest loosening as he gave up and finally dropped the knife- he was practically done, anyway- turning in his chair to look Rhy in the eyes. The prince smiled gently at him, and it was the worn grin of a no-longer-prince who had expected his nervousness and was pleased to see it start to ebb. “I came in to tell you that Luc and I are going out tonight, and we want you to come.”
Holland rolled his eyes, breathing out more anxiety with each breath, trying to uncoil it from his chest. Then he shook a hand through his hair, sending white threads falling like hay from a loft. “Rhy, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m not exactly presentable right now.”
Rhy’s face twisted into a pout, purposefully childish and annoyingly endearing. “You always say that.”
Holland didn’t answer; Rhy was right. He didn’t usually join the king and the pirate on their evening escapades, which were supposedly marked with disguises and lots of liquor. This London was too bright, too happy even at night after all that he had brought upon it, and he felt like a stain against the cheerful backdrop every time he left his rooms. The clothes he wore were still too dull compared to everyone else, and there were so many eyes on him, drawn to his scars, his eyes, his hair. He didn’t fit in, a pebble among gemstones; the last thing he wanted was to burden Rhy and Alucard with it.
Rhy cocked his head as he watched Holland think, a mischievous glint forming in his eyes. After a moment’s contemplation, new energy sparked off his skin, warming the stillness in the room, and Holland realized with horror that the king had an idea.
“Nevermind, new plan. Have you ever met Calla?”
Holland ignored the name in favor of protest. “I never agreed to g-”
Rhy wasn’t listening, instead turning to look hurriedly around the room.
“You’ll like her, she used to help me with Kell’s wardrobe.”
“Wait, that lady? I thought you said that she died.”
Rhy was flitting around the room now, prepping for the trip that Holland silently resigned himself to joining. He swept up Holland’s cane and coat, tossing them both to Holland and smiling when he rose without fuss and put them on. Earlier exhaustion forgotten, he then trotted out the door with Holland on his heels, a fine trail of white following after them out of the room. Holland pitied whoever would have to clean it up, but he had little time to dwell on it between trying to follow Rhy through the maze of the palace and keeping up with his eager prattling.
“Lila misidentified the body, she showed up a few days after Kell left. A real pity they missed it- they both adore her- but she’s great at her job and I’m sure she’d love to meet you, all we have to do is find you something new to wea-”
Holland’s pace slowed a fraction. “Are we going clothes shopping? Now?”
“Yes, now. You need a distraction and some serious accessorizing advice. Maybe if you like your appearance, you’ll be more willing to join me and Luc when we go out.”
Holland started to scoff, but Rhy cut him off with a tiny kick to his boot. 
“I hardly think this is an aesthetic issue- ”
“It is. I know it and you’re coming whether you like it or not. You want something to match your charming new haircut, don’t you?”
“Does it really look okay?”
Rhy laughed as they both stepped outside, a sound somewhere between a song and a bell. Luc was already waiting in one of the more discrete royal carriages, and Holland could hear him calling out the window for them to hurry up. 
Perhaps this evening wouldn’t be so bad. At least the company would be tolerable.
“Of course, Holland. I’d never have let you leave the palace if it didn’t. Now stop sighing and get in the carriage.” 
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heyitsbugette · 4 years
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Heart and soul
Not even everything in training that Damian Wayne was subjected to in the league of assassins nor the eccentricity of living as the only biological son of Bruce Wayne have prepared him for his greatest threat.
Luka Couffaine.
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Anyone with eyes could see that there was a certain attraction on behalf of the heir for the sweet daughter of the best bakers in Paris, who with her kindness and charms she captivated the cold heart of the Prince of Gotham. And more than once Jason Todd joked with Tom Dupain about how it made a lot of sense for such a sweet girl to come straight out of a bakery, occasionally amusingly saying that the Dupain-Cheng kitchen was magical.
It was really confusing when the Robin was puzzled and stressed by feel tamed in the presence of his angel and surprisingly with the famous heroine Ladybug as well. Of course, he was teased until it all made sense to them, when together they find out the identity of the spotted heroine by Raven's deductions, his closest friend and ex-girlfriend. 
Raven, annoyed by the cowardice of her best friend, motivated him to go after his beloved right away. The youngest of the Wayne clan then did not know whether to feel grateful or offended when in the end he decided to heed the advice of the young woman of serious features.
His angel through his eyes became more and more perfect after the revelation, she knew how to fight and he did not need it to defend herself, Damian Wayne undoubtedly loved strong women. Such was their surprise when The Jagged Stone invited them by Marinette suggestion to reveal his pupil to them, the very one musician who he secretly hid under his wing for an entire year to prepare him to his debut, a boy with the ferocity of a pirate and the intelligence of a predator to words of the number one rocker in lists.
— Luka is somewhat shy at first, but when my little starlight introduced us I knew that the boy was born to succeed... Come on, dude! I mean-... Bruce, I guarantee that our collaboration between Wayne Enterprises, Rolling Stone Company and MDC will be legendary.
— I trust you, Jagged.
The fierceness in the artist's words could be seen for miles, convincing everyone with his confidence, and if the boy turns out to be as talented as they claimed, the launch of Anarka's son could generate a few million if his strategy worked. Bruce, by the way, looked amused despite the fact that his facial expression did not help at all to demonstrate it, always with his expressionless face and a curious gaze direct to his new partner.
But he could not speak in the same way for his children and how they were inusually calm, the ones who had always admired the singer were nervous with his presence, to the point that they were strangely silent behind him as they followed them, which was suspicious for the family's patriarch, they were not so well-mannered, but always noisy.
Damian, on the other hand, although he found Jagged's company pleasant, he had little mind in the older man's new human toy, he did not have time to be interested in another spoiled child with ambitions of glory and fame, because he only agreed to accompany his family for two reasons.
First and foremost, Marinette would be there. Second, he wanted to visit Fang, he had a great appreciation for the playful crocodile.
— Hey B! So will we finally meet the star boy they all were talking about so much?
— Indeed, Jason. Marinette arranged everything with Miss Rolling and they agreed on a small presentation to close the deal.
— Oh, cool.
The youngest of the clan hid his smile at the mere mention of his muse, heading to the recording studio where they took a seat next to some investors while Luka Couffaine was in front in his maximum glory on the stage, being assisted by a small French-Chinese girl who arranged his clothes meticulously between whispers that were dedicated, they seemed close. They laughed together as they whispered, as if they shared a local joke that only the two of them could understand, but it was when she blushed that the frown of Bruce Wayne's son became more noticeable.
No one with eyes could deny the obvious, Jagged's protegé was conventionally handsome; his seductive blue eyes that saw through his lens, a winning and playful smile. Although the boy was tall and slender, it was obvious that he was not a weakling at all, he had the figure in slim-fit, quite strange cause Couffaine had not exactly the kind of the lifestyle of an athlete.
Along with it, dark hair dyed in turquoise tips and aesthetic piercings adorning his ears up to the side of the helix. The guy in question have quite the look, dressed to impress in a grunge outfit designed precisely by MDC especially for him, he had a style that Jason Todd would say "You got it, brother!".
— Marinette, honey, stop. I think Luka looks handsome already.
— Oh, Miss Penny. He doesn't even need my help for that.
After so tender flirting, the aforementioned blushed noticeably in the same red shade that the heir saw in his furious vision. Did his angel flirt with another boy? But, It's not like he could demand explanations from her and he knew it, they weren't a couple or anything remotely similar. Yes, they were close and they spent a lot of time together, but if he saw it objectively she was not his.
Without option he was able to recover his composure ignoring the mocking smile that his older brothers gave him, he looked uncomfortable. But surely Marinette just wanted to be nice and give her friend a compliment to brighten his day only, that's the kind of person she was.
— Come on, Luka!
His mentor indicated as he launched himself into his couch while Penny sat next to him taking his hand. Both saw themselves as a pair of proud parents attentive to each movement that the guitarist made to prepare, the latter meanwhile looking out of the corner of his eye attentive to the little French girl with tender freckles inadvertently present, since of course she was his motivation .
His actions were unnoticed by everyone except for a certain green eyed boy who still did not trust the musician. He knew his kind, womanizers who went from girl to girl breaking hearts left and right, of course he only wanted to protect his angel from a guy who didn't even deserve to breathe her own air.
The punk man was... Like his father, sure. Or so he wanted to believe.
Oh! Yeah, Alright… Mmmm.
Gather 'round guys
It's time to start listening
Practice makes perfect
But perfect's not workin'
There's a lot more to music
That knowing where your cue's gonna be.
Okay, okay. The guy knows how to sing without the need for auto-tune, he gives it to him. But he wouldn't admit it, flattering the enemy is something that would never be available; he would not dedicate him the mere weakness of raising his ego.
Marinette deserves the best, which is indisputable to the dark-haired teen, and such was his victory when his angel realized the same thing when she moved on off the spinleless coward who was Adrien Agreste. Luckily Luka Couffaine would not last a day.
You can play all the right notes
But that don't mean you're movin' me
But if you can jump like David Lee Roth
Or pump your fist like you're Bruce "The Boss"
Bruce was perplexed at his mention, watching amused as the teenager endorsed the stage listeing with pleasure the laughter of the iconic artist who was stroking the crocodile that was rubbing on his legs. Marinette held back so as not to shout in support of Luka with the same passion with which he cheered her up when she triumphed, a star-shaped sparkle in her eyes was present with no intention of leaving.
If you got a heart and soul
You can rock and roll                        
Rock and roll
The American tried to no be disappointed when he noticed that she was not even aware of his presence, but would not allow anyone else to know it, he would be weak to allow the rookie musical to affect him because of how well he grabed the attention of his beloved heroine.
He wouldn't give his annoying siblings the pleasure of driving him out of his box, although Dick was close enough to get him by keep looking at him with pity. No, he don't need anyone's pity.
Strum it
Drum it
Slide across and run it
The stage is your home
If you learn how to own it
Like the greats did
There's no way that you can fake it
Just when he thought the half asian girl would continue to ignore him during the entire performance, he didn't count on her swapping seats with the pesky Drake to position herself next to him. Being impossible for the vigilante not to melt before her happy smile and with her gaze outlining that perfect silhouette that he would be fascinated to paint, he would not deny that she was his art, his source of inspiration.
— I'm so happy for Luka, Dami. You have no idea how hard he has worked.
— He's a lucky guy... I suppose.
She took his hand, pressing it a little against hers as she tried to suppress the emotion of seeing Luka start his career, how shes sitll as always emotional and enthusiastic when someone she loved achieve them goals, crying with them with joy when them dreams came true.
Such was the youngest of the Dupain-Cheng family, Damian experienced it first hand with each accomplishment that he got culminated. His angel always received him with some well made dessert and words of encouragement to encourage him to continue working hard.
That's the type of person she is.
You've got to feel the beat before you can move
Even though you're not wearing blue suede shoes
Makin' mistakes, but that won't matter
If you can swagger like old' pal Jagged
If you got a heart and soul
You can rock and roll
You can rock and roll
If you live and you die
For the music inside
If the one for five never gets sold
Then you can rock and roll
Rock and roll
Luka playfully looked at his idol when he made reference to him in his lyrics, and this one who just left his seat at once to raise his hands in celebration, exclaiming proudly pointed out with determination, as he pull out a Bruce Wayne before the amused gaze of the brothers. He then gave way to a guitar solo finally performed with great technique, heating up the meeting in which investors fully convinced to invest in the musical prodigy.
— That's my kid, you lil shits!
Instead, unsurprisingly, the only one unimpressed was the legitimate heir to Wayne Enterprises. He rolled his eyes thinking that the oldest was a stocking sucker, a mere flattering of cute words and empty feelings.
Someone like that couldn't make his ladybug happy.
However, seeing her so delighted now releasing her hand to take herself putting bot hands in her own cheeks by giving them little taps to lower her blush was the final blow for him to declare his total displeasure to the amateur musician. Wayne hated that feeling of bitterness, so he huffed angrily.
Alright, now take it low.
Now I need my sunshine girl, right here, as the crowd starts to cheer.
Don’t take it personal, mate. Don’t get too emotional.
You know how It is...
"How dare you?! Do you want to die young or what?!" He saw red, of course, the fuckboy is flirting with his marigold in front of him, the nerve. And of course, the musician smiled when he saw him getting angry, it was clear that this was just a game, a provocation on how he was playing with him, only as a Couffaine could when fooling around with the object of his entertainment. 
He loved being loved and hated, it was fun.
— Uh ... We'll soon bury him, right?
— Yup.
Jason whispered to his brothers when they noticed the contained fury of the minor among them, they knew that once provoked the assassin prince there would be no human power to stop him.
Rest in peace, Luka Couffaine. Good friend, good artist. We will remember you for what you were, champion.
If you can scream like Axl Rose
Or sing like Christina show after show
If you've got a heart and soul
You can rock and roll
If you've got a heart and soul
You can rock and roll
You can rock and roll
Ooh, yeah
You can rock and roll.
The performance ended with an innocent smile and an expectant look on behalf of the vocalist as soon as his fingers finished with the last chord of his guitar, so when he took it off he received the energetic baker's daughter in his arms who embraced him warmly when the high command of the label gave their approval of him.
Luka Couffaine would be the next star, the exotic apprentice of the living rock legend and MDC designs' most precious jewel.
Get moving, Austin Moon! Who knows you, XY ?!
— I told you! You did It, you idiot!
— Oe, oe! I must learn better than to doubt your trust in me, ma mélodie.
Tender giggles were heard from the girl's mouth as she hid her face in the teenager boy's chest, aggressively grabbing the lapels of his leather jacket in a desperate attempt to hide her blush at such a loving nickname. Then when looking away and raising her face to meet the relaxed features of the French guy, both succumbed to sharing a giggle at the moment when in a change of position the aspiring soloist kissed the back of the young woman's hand, who he regarded her as his most ingenious symphony.
Little did they know that a certain person burned with anger looking around him in red, after all he thought that he was the only person who made her smile like that. The green-eyed felt weak from falling to something as gross as jealousy, but no one had prepared him to endure a suave musician.
— Heya, pixie pop! Would you mind introducing your friend to us?
—Ah, Jay-Jay! I longed to present you all for a long time.
Luckily, it was the albino tuft guy who intervened to sneakily separate the couple, putting himself in the middle of both while embossing a charming smile and a relaxed expression on his face.
— Sup kid! Here's Jason Todd. You know, the cool one. And these idiots next to me are my brothers...This one at my right is Tim Drake, the coffee rat. And the other one with the stupid face is Dick Grayson, the dick. Oh, and the dwarf is lil D-...
— Damian Wayne.
Suddenly the mentioned one appeared, narrowing his eyes challengingly during the brief exchange of glances he shared with the artist in a non-verbal competition. Too bad the guitarist didn't know he was competing.
— Enchanté, guys. Mon trésor told me a lot about you.
"Ma mélodie? Mon trésor? Yah, this guy is asking for it… ” He chattered his teeth in anger and even without trusting the intentions of the stranger man, as he said before, he knew the ones of his type. Young rock stars were all the same.
— Guys.. This is Luka Couffaine ... My boyfriend.
Has anyone heard that? It seems that something broke slowly inside the american heir as how Damian could almost hear Kagami Tsurugi whispered on his mind: "You hesitated."
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Heart and soul - The Jonas Brothers
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Text
So a while back, @monotonous-minutia did a short yet comprehensive review of every production of Les contes d’Hoffmann they’d seen, and now, in much the same vein and because a) I think about this opera way too much for my own good and b) I’ve actually seen all ten available filmed productions of this opera (and several multiple times), here is my semi-replication but with Les Huguenots instead of Les contes d’Hoffmann.
And yes I am up at 5:30 on a Friday morning DON’T JUDGE ME
The Productions And The Unique Attributes That Come To Mind Immediately:
Sydney 1990: the OG for yours truly that was also Joan Sutherland’s farewell to staged opera so that’s cool
Montpellier 1990: the production that had strikingly-colored sets but gave pretty much everyone a form of one of three or so costumes
Berlin 1991: there is a wall. also it is in German. also pretty much the entire third act is cut for some reason.
Bilbao 1999: the production that had horrible lighting and that’s most of what I remember thinking tbh
Metz 2004: the one that had the monstrosity of a Black and White Checkered Floor and also fucked up the ending very badly and I’m still mad about it almost a year and a half later
Liège 2005: one of only two productions to follow the stage direction of Nevers sailing in on a boat at the end of Act III (the other was Bilbao). fittingly, Nevers looked like a pirate.
Bard Summerscape 2009: the production where the director looked at the libretto and went “this opera isn’t dark and violent ENOUGH” 
Budapest 2017: the one that looks like it was operated entirely with Baroque stage machines and also GIANT WORDS
Paris 2018: what if we set this opera in the future
Genève 2020: what if we set this opera in a movie studio but not consistently and then shipped pretty much everyone with everyone else
Further thoughts under the cut:
Sydney 1990: as mentioned, the first production I ever watched. a great way to hook first-timers. the production is rather heavily cut but in such a way that if you don’t know the opera well it seems to flow quite nicely, cutting about an hour of music. Urbain’s insert rondo is included but slightly cut, the ballet is cut in half, the ball scene is not included. the cast is one of the stronger ones out there: in addition to Sutherland, who still manages to be impressive, both of the other main ladies (Amanda Thane as Valentine and Suzanne Johnston as Urbain) are excellent. the guys are all good too; special mention to John Wegner, who is one of the few Saint-Brises who doesn’t disappoint me. production is traditional, occasionally a bit static, but it works well.
Montpellier 1990: despite my nagging about the costumes and the occasional standing around, probably my favorite overall production. the ball scene is included; neither Urbain’s rondo nor the ballet are. other cuts (remember, this is before the critical edition) are minimal. the most consistently strong leading septet; all of the principals are towards the top of my favorites for their respective roles. production is traditional erring towards minimalist; this works surprisingly well. unfortunately there are no subtitles and the video quality isn’t the greatest.
Berlin 1991: this production is just so confusing to me. cuts are...confusing to say the least. almost all of Act III is cut; all that remains are the first five or so minutes, the nightwatchman’s scene, and the finale, which are fused into an unrelated scene in which a Catholic/Huguenot game of tug-o’-war turns deadly. the ballet, the ball scene, and Urbain’s rondo are all cut. as earlier stated, it is in German, and the translation used has some odd differences (Marcel becomes Raoul’s brother in this staging for no specific reason). Richard Leech’s Raoul, Angela Denning’s Marguérite, and Camille Capasso’s Urbain are all excellent; the rest of the cast is decent but no more. setting seems to be Berlin in the 1960s but references to World War II are continually made through various production elements. the production handles the last two acts surprisingly well but messes with characterization some.
Bilbao 1999: it’s freaking DARK in here did the lighting designer later move to Vienna or something??? ball scene and ballet included; Urbain’s rondo no. one of the lesser-cut productions, actually: it’s in the ballpark of about thirty minutes. cast is mostly unmemorable (which is both a good and bad thing), with the exception of Marcello Giordani as a wonderful Raoul. production is traditional. would help if I could have SEEN MORE OF IT
Metz 2004: the production started off well enough and I had high hopes but things RAPIDLY went south in the final act. the amount of material cut wasn’t so much the issue as what they cut (more on that in a bit), as not much was actually cut. the ballet and Urbain’s rondo were cut; so was the aria portion of the ball scene but not the ballet, which meant (oh God how did I forget about this) we were treated (?) to what was presumably a group of Huguenot TAP DANCERS who were all eventually shot midroutine. total cuts are also around thirty minutes or so. cast once again mostly unmemorable, although Jean-Philippe Marlière is another of the very few who isn’t disappointing as Saint-Bris. speaking of which: the director completely fucked up the ending BY CUTTING THE PART WHERE SAINT-BRIS FINDS VALENTINE GODDAMMIT IT STILL MAKES ME SO ANGRY. production is traditional, except I certainly hope that hideous Black and White Checkered Floor didn’t exist in the 1570s
Liège 2005: pretty production although it also has some lighting issues. nowhere near as egregious as Bilbao, though. one of the more heavily-cut productions: Urbain’s rondo, the ballet, and the ball scene are all cut, as well as a whole lot else, shearing off about 75 minutes of music. cast mostly good: Philippe Rouillon may be my favorite Saint-Bris. I do apologize though for this but I gotta say it: the Raoul and Marcel are terrible. at any rate, the production is traditional. Saint-Bris shoots Valentine at the end, so there’s that.
Bard Summerscape 2009: what??? the??? ever-loving??? hell??? is??? this??? production??? it feels like an extremely violent fever dream. yes, this opera is violent. no, you do NOT need to hammer this into our heads through everything from a mixed martial arts match to onstage sexual violence to a dude getting stabbed with a processional cross. also the production aesthetic is WEIRD. one of the less-cut productions; Urbain’s rondo is not included. cast for the most part holds up admirably; Michael Spyres and Erin Morley are Babies but already great as Raoul and Marguérite. the Saint-Bris is a huge disappointment though (and the poor guy has to sport a hideous tiny beard). I don’t even know what time period this is supposed to take place in. I just don’t know.
Budapest 2017: very pretty production. also largely very boring. one of the more-cut productions, cutting a little over an hour (including the ballet and Urbain’s rondo) but almost paradoxically being one of only three productions to include the full ball scene (the Montpellier and Genève ones are the others) and the post-2011 production that uses the most critical edition material in Act III, including the only filmed production to include Marcel’s Act III aria. Catholics in white, Huguenots in black, the set consists largely of flats with 16th-century images that get raised and lowered; otherwise, the stagehands (and sometimes cast) move around big letters to form certain key words such as Bachus, Amor, the Hungarian word for mercy, etc. at various points in the score. cast is mostly decent. Gabor Bretz is an excellent Marcel. the main issue: there’s no life, no activity, no passion in this production. the Raoul and Valentine have zero chemistry. lot of standing around. it doesn’t feel compelling. in any rate it’s traditional.
Paris 2018: the concept is surprisingly sound albeit somewhat of a head-scratcher when considered on its own. production aesthetic is very minimalist, clean, and bright. about thirty or so minutes are cut, including both ballets (but not the aria in the ball scene) and Urbain’s rondo. one of the most solid overall principal casts. no one can top Lisette Oropesa’s Marguérite. Yosep Kang, particularly given the circumstances surrounding his participation in the production, is excellent and deserves better than what the Parisian public gives him. overall very good musically. the production is set in an imaginary France in the year 2063. it is very interesting.
Genève 2020: the least-cut production of the bunch; it mostly just cuts a bunch of critical-edition Act III material. as previously mentioned: it’s supposed to be set in a movie studio but this is largely pushed into the background for both better and worse. the cast, for the most part, is excellent (will give you one guess who disappointed me in this bunch). John Osborn and Rachel Willis-Sorensen are a phenomenal Raoul/Valentine duo, Michele Pertusi joins them for a thrilling final scene (having expertly navigated his other material), Léa Desandre is the world’s most adorable Urbain. production design is excellent. directorial choices are very interesting, to say the least. the directors apparently woke up and decided to try to establish as many romantic relationships as possible. I am not opposed to it in principle; in fact, I really like a lot of it. however, the directors completely ruined it by trying to put forth the idea that Marcel has a crush on Valentine??? that was just...extremely uncomfortable to watch (also it COMPLETELY missed the point of the duet) but yeah, the production, although weird and confusing in places, is mostly good. setting, specifically I’m not sure about the location but the time period is somewhere between interwar and WWII fashions. so yeah.
anyway, if you’re here now, thanks for reading this unsolicited article! ask me any questions you may have!
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racingtoaredlight · 3 years
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THE DEGENERATE’S GUIDE TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL TV WATCH ‘EM UPS 2021: WEEK TWO, A MUDDLED AND MAUDLIN WEEK OF MAYHEM IN HONOR OF THOSE WE LOST
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RTARL would like to extend our warmest holiday wishes to those who celebrate and, even if you don’t, happy 9/11. Now who’s ready for some FOOTBALL!!!!?!?!
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So after two weeks of games that combine to count as only one official week even though some teams have already played twice we have only one real question answered: is Alabama still good? Yes, they are. Everything else is still liquefying vapor.
I am assuming everybody is waiting with baited breath for an RTARLsman but I don’t have anything yet. I guess the not-Master Teague RBs on Ohio State are the frontrunners for now. Or that one guy from that one team who was good. You know who I mean.
Saturday, September 11
Matchup    Time (ET)     TV/Mobile
Illinois at Virginia   11:00am   ACCN
Jeff George won Citrus Bowl MVP for the Illini against the Hoos in his last game as a student athlete before becoming the #1 overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft. Based on this history it is safe to presume that whoever the QB is for Illinois today will be the #1 pick in 2022.
VMI at Kent State   11:30am   ESPN3
I’m not sure on this but maybe this game is cancelled.
WKU at Army    11:30am   CBSSN
Army is favored by 6. I bet this game is boring.
Norfolk State at Wake Forest    12:00pm   ACCNX
I don’t see a line listed but whatever it is bet against Wake covering.
Indiana State at Northwestern     12:00pm    BTN
This game is an act of terrorism.
Alabama State at 25 Auburn     12:00pm    SECN
Real body bag season starts today, huh?
Youngstown State at Michigan State  12:00pm   BTN
The Michigan State running back is the guy I was trying to think of earlier! He’s pretty good. Not good enough to make me watch this but I will check on his stats every so often.
Tulsa at Oklahoma State   12:00pm   FS1
I bet Mike Gundy has some really salient thoughts on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and I can’t wait to hear them.
South Carolina at East Carolina   12:00pm      ESPN2
South Carolina is a two point favorite against an East Carolina team that is, per my understanding, not exactly good. So I can only extrapolate that South Carolina is likewise not good.
Pitt at Tennessee  12:00pm   ESPN
Look, I’m not going to pretend this is good television but if Pitt rocks their classic yellow helmets and Tennessee wears non-alternates the colors on the screen will at least be pleasing. The thought of the actual football involved hurts my brain but it’s interesting that the points have gone from a consensus pick ‘em to Pitt -3 over the course of the week. Does Tennessee have any players that are good enough that by missing the game they could impact the gambling that much? Or are people just squaring themselves with the fact the the Vols are really and truly a ruined burnt out hole of a football program? Pound the latter.
12 Oregon at 3 Ohio State  12:00pm   FOX
Losing Kayvon Thibideaux certainly isn’t going to help Oregon but he’s not usually on the field as a run stopper anyway and if Ohio State learned anything last week it’s that they can just run until they feel like throwing a pass. Oregon actually has some legit talent on the d-line besides Thibideaux but the Ducks are gonna be hard-pressed to keep things within two scores here.
Miami (Ohio) at Minnesota   12:00pm   ESPN
If Oregon can’t make a game of it in Columbus look out because this time block is an absolute wasteland. There is scant reason to turn the TV on for the early schedule other than gambling purposes.
Kennesaw State at Georgia Tech   12:00pm    RSN/ESPN3
Georgia Tech probably should have closed up shop after Paul Johnson retired. Either that or just absolutely slathered the football program in dollars. The Yellow Jackets being unable to land any big time recruits while playing in Atlanta is a real mindfuck. They aren’t a AA program playing dress up in a “power” conference they’ve got actual history. I don’t mean to give the impression I want them to be good but I don’t understand how they can be such fodder for so long.
13 Florida at USF    1:00pm    ABC
Remember that year when USF was the best program in the state? Wild stuff. Weird, wild stuff. I know the deal with UF is that they don’t go out of state for contract games but it’s actually kind of surprising they even bothered to keep this trip to Tampa on the schedule. Like the area recruits would probably be happier to go see a game at The Swamp than to kick around their hometown for a pile of shit like this.
Wyoming at NIU    1:30pm   ESPN+
I’m not gonna open the ESPN app for this but if it was on ESPN2 I’d probably check in on it during commercials. Aesthetically pleasing trash with an upside for actual entertainment.
Middle Tennessee at 19 Virginia Tech    2:00pm   ACCNX
Virginia Tech’s home crowd scene was the normie story of last week’s games. People that don’t watch college football were either aghast or frantically waving their blue lives matter flags in response. Us in this space just ate the shame and forgot it happened by the time Saturday’s games kicked off. My theory is that VPI is not actually any good but UNC’s 2020 season was a well-timed fluke and the last hurrah of Mack Brown’s storied coaching career. The Hokies are at home, though, and MTSU is almost certainly not on the same athletic level as the Turkey Gobblers so I’d probably take the home team -20 if I were so inclined to wager on this particular game that is being broadcast on the ACC’s new pornography channel.
Rutgers at Syracuse    2:00pm    ACCN
Holy fuck does this game suck. Reuniting former Big East, uh, rivals (??? does Rutgers have any natural enemies?) in a cross-conference classic betwixt the B1G and the ACC.
Duquesne at Ohio   2:00pm   ESPN3
I don’t think I need to explain to you all the national title implications riding on this game.
Toledo at 8 Notre Dame    2:30pm     Peacock
Just remember that if you subscribe to Peacock you are at the very least tacitly supporting Notre Dame. If for some reason you’re watching this please report back on how many of those defensive pick plays Notre Dame runs. They were doing that shit constantly against Florida State last week and it drove me nuts. I think the idea is that you are so flagrantly illegal so often that the refs grow numb to it and just don’t call it at all.
Robert Morris at Central Michigan     3:00pm    ESPN3
Not to be outdone by the early games, the 3 o’clock set is equally terrible.
Purdue at UConn    3:00pm    CBSSN
I bet Edsall still gets bonuses for stupid shit even now that he’s retired or whatever the official designation was for him no longer coaching.
Boston College at UMass    3:30pm    FloFootball/NESN+
I don’t know what FloFootball is but I know it isn’t anything to do with the state of Florida.
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Ball State at 11 Penn State    3:30pm    FS1
It surprises me to see Penn State as only -22.5 favorites. That seems very kind to Ball State. Hopefully I’m wrong and the Ball State Lettermans take it to the Sanduskys.
Murray State at 7 Cincinnati    3:30pm    ESPN+
Practice week continues.
Temple at Akron    3:30pm    ESPN+
Pound the under.
Georgia Southern at Florida Atlantic   3:30pm   Stadium
There is really nothing going on this week.
Air Force at Navy   3:30pm   CBS
Middies vs. Fly Boys in the first leg of the Commander’s Cup on the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. I can’t imagine the amount of emotional manipulation that’s going to make its way onto this broadcast. Normally I watch these games but I don’t think I can do it this year.
UAB at 2 Georgia    3:30pm    ESPN2
Georgia may well be absurdly talented on the defensive side of the ball but I’d be surprised to see them make it through the regular season with fewer than two losses.
5 Texas A&M at Colorado     3:30pm     FOX
This is only interesting if the Aggies spring a leak.
California at TCU    3:30pm    ESPNU
Things most certainly are not looking up.
Buffalo at Nebraska    3:30pm    BTN
Nebraska is in an interesting position because if they buck the odds and end up being good after we’ve all been so ready to see a National Championship-winning coach get fired that would be funny but if they end up being really bad it’s even funnier. Go Bulls!
Mercer at 1 Alabama    4:00pm   SECN
I’ll cry a little if Saban pulls the starters in the first half and the Tide beats Mercer by less than they beat Miami.
South Alabama at Bowling Green   4:00pm    ESPN+
10 Iowa at 9 Iowa State    4:30pmABC
This is not the kind of top 10 matchup I can just sit idly by and let it happen. Your silence is complicity in this monstrous display of modernity.
SC State at 6 Clemson    5:00pm      ACCN
Clemson dropped all the way to #6 and they’ll hang around the top of the polls because they don’t have the toughest conference schedule in the world but my confidence in them is not high right now. I think the new QB is just a guy. He’s talented as hell but I don’t see him being great.
Illinois State at Western Michigan     5:00pm   ESPN3
This is either MACtion or MACtion adjacent and I have only one word for this midwestern trash: abhorrent.
LIU at West Virginia   5:00pm    ESPN+
LIU plays football?
Lamar at UTSA      6:00pm    ESPN3
Downside: You’re watching one of the least important games of the year. Upside: You’re really not missing anything.
Portland State at Washington State    6:00pm    P12N
Washington State was a perfect spot for the stupid pirate fuckhead and his leaving has ruined the program and, eventually, his reputation. Not relevant to this game necessarily but this game isn’t relevant to anything else, either.
Gardner-Webb at Charlotte   6:00pm    ESPN3
Oh, yeah, feel the excitement.
Bethune-Cookman at UCF   6:30pm   ESPN+
Go Cats.
NC Central at Marshall    6:30pm    ESPN+
The hits keep coming.
Houston at Rice   6:30pm    CBSSN
I’ve always had a soft spot for Holgo and for Houston football but somehow I really don’t like seeing him coach the Cougs. This is SWC magic but with no magic. UNLESS! Houston can put up 100. I don’t think they even have the guys to do it but this is Rice we’re talking about here.
Nicholls at Louisiana    7:00pm    ESPN3
Keep the energy up.
North Texas at SMU   7:00pm   ESPN+
I bet is MS621 were still alive he’d be at this game giving Spencer’s boys hell. Sadly he died doing what he loved, curing his COVID by eating ivermectin paste out of a horse’s butt. R.I.P., friend. Neigh to you wherever you are.
Southeastern La. at Louisiana Tech   7:00pm    ESPN3
Even the low tier stuff is geared up for annihilation. This is a bodybag week for all time.
Memphis at Arkansas State    7:00pm    ESPN+
Memphis getting less than a touchdown against Arkansas State seems like easy money but I have no real concept of either of these teams just yet. Maybe the end is nigh for the Tigers glory years? I sure hope not but it’s possible.
NC State at Mississippi State    7:00pm     ESPN2
This game should be as fun as a parents funeral.
Southern Illinois at Kansas State   7:00pm      ESPN+
Over the past week I experienced derision for referring the the guys in purple and silver as “Kansas State” instead of “K State” and that stung because it always surprises me that anybody cares about them enough to have a strong opinion about them.
Stephen F. Austin at Texas Tech    7:00pm    ESPN+
Shrugs
15 Texas at Arkansas    7:00pm   ESPN
Let’s see if Texas is ready to run with the big boys of the SEC! Arkansas is given a decent shot to win this game and that makes the “15″ next to Texas appear extremely suspect in my eyes.
Texas Southern at Baylor    7:00pm   ESPN+
This week Texas Southern is the people’s champion.
Texas State at FIU   7:00pm    ESPN+
Oh, Butch, why have you done this to yourself?
Western Carolina at 4 Oklahoma      7:00pm     PPV
All the Westen Carolina fans are buying this PPV to see their guys score 40.
New Mexico State at New Mexico    7:00pm     Stadium
I looked up the historic rivalry last year to figure out why it was played early in the season instead of at the end but I’ve forgotten and don’t feel the need to look it up again. I figured out how to watch Stadium on my TV but I also forgot that and don’t feel the need to look it up again.
Appalachian State at 22 Miami (FL)  7:00pm   ESPNU
My gut tells me Miami is probably legitimately about the 14th best team in the country but I still would never advise you to bet actual money on the Hurricanes. Are they 9 points better than App State? Easily. They should win by 20+. Are they liable to fuck around and lose or scrape out a win in the final seconds? Absolutely. Let’s fuckin’ go.
Morgan State at Tulane    7:00pm    ESPN+
A lot of people learned to love the Green Wave last week but it’s hard to keep that going with their schedule. Don’t forget them later in the year when the CBSSN glow is really shining.
Liberty at Troy   7:00pm   ESPN+
Liberty -4 is maybe my surest advice of the week. If Malik Willis is as good as his press the fake school should have this game on ice early.
Eastern Michigan at 18 Wisconsin   7:00pm    FS1
I find Wisconsin’s losing effort against Penn State last week to be a personal affront against me and all of nature.
Eastern Kentucky at Louisville    7:00pm   ACCNX
I think this game being broadcast at night on ACCNX means they’re playing naked.
Grambling State at Southern Miss    7:00pm    ESPN3
This is the kind of game that belongs on an app.
Hampton at Old Dominion    7:00pm    ESPN3
This is the kind of game that belongs on a well-worn high school football field.
Austin Peay at 20 Mississippi   7:30pm     ESPN+/SECN+
This is a pretty big OOC game for an SEC team.
Georgia State at 24 North Carolina    7:30pm    RSN/ESPN3
One of several GSUs, I think this is the one I most hope emerges victorious this week.
Idaho at Indiana   7:30pm    BTN
Wait, wasn’t Indiana like #10 last week? What the hell happened to them? No, don’t tell me. Seriously, don’t.
Missouri at Kentucky     7:30pm    SECN
When the SEC hits 24 teams the “S!E!C!” chants are gonna seem really stupid.
Howard at Maryland    7:30pm    BTN
There’s no official line for this game but I hope the Bison can pull off the upset in this classic local rivalry game.
Jacksonville State at Florida State    8:00pm   ACCN
Still shaking my head at FSU icing their own kicker. Jesus, Norvell. Get your shit together.
McNeese at LSU     8:00pm      ESPN+/SECN+
LOLSU was my lock of the week last week if you’re considering taking gambling advice from me.
Washington at Michigan    8:00pm    ABC
UDub lost to a 1-AA team last week and now they have to go on the road and beat Michigan. Which seems inevitable, to be honest.
Cal Poly at Fresno State    10:00pm    CW59
The murder rate will continue to increase as the day progresses. I always kind of like it when a local broadcast shows up on the sheet. So pretty much none of us have legal access to this game. It makes it more special.
San Diego State at Arizona    10:00pm    P12N
Pac-12 Network is similar to CW59 in that almost nobody in the country has legal access to their broadcasts. If you’ve read enough of these posts you are aware that SDSU is my weird very deep backup team. I don’t have a reason to align myself with the school or program, I just tend to enjoy watching their games.
Vanderbilt at Colorado State     10:00pm    CBSSN
This is an abomination.
21 Utah at BYU     10:15pm    ESPN
This is a lowkey fun rivalry. I’m pretty sure I write the same thing every year but it’s still true. Go Utes.
Stanford at 14 USC     10:30pm    FOX
I think USC could win a national championship and I’d still be baffled that Clay Helton is their coach. Of course, they won’t win a national championship as long as Clay Helton is their coach but they apparently won’t ever get embarrassing enough to fire him, either.
Idaho State at Nevada    10:30pm    Stadium
This is the lowpoint of the week’s schedule and you have to stay up late to watch it on a network that only exists as an app or as part of a hidden unlockable download-only level of cable subscription. This is the beauty of the college game.
UNLV at 23 Arizona State    10:30pm   ESPN2
Herm Edwards figured out the trick to looking good in the Pac-12 without having a particularly great team and I can’t make up my mind if I’m rooting for him to keep sliding on that rail or to fall off it. I think I’ve come around to rooting for him but it’s a very dynamic and fluid situation.
Hawaii at Oregon State   11:00pm    FS1
Hawaii gets to play at their normal time for a game against the bottom of the barrel of the Pac-12 but they’re an 11-point underdog. If you’re ever going to take Hawaii, this is the stars lining up for you to do it. It’s still a big “if” but I’m saying there’s a chance.
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