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sophies-junkyard · 8 months

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NOBODY ASKED but… Obviously Simon’s arc in adventure time solidified the series as one of greatest of all time (and I’m so hyped for this ice king sadness renaissance) but now I’m thinking of OTHER Adventure Time moments that rewired my brain as a kid. In no particular order:

1. “Once the strong guys got it how they liked it they said ‘this is fair now. This is the law.’ Once they were winning they changed the rules”. They really had the cartoon dog say that on tv in 2014.

2. “People get built different. We don’t have to understand it, we just gotta respect it”

3. The entirety of All The Little People. That shit was absolutely nuts for a kids show but also like…. I can’t articulate the lesson I just know there was one and it haunted me. The danger of the human ego. Hubris. Irreverence. Don’t play god bro.

4. Lady and Peebles. When PB ripped Ricardio’s leg off and bashed his skull in with it. And it was so hardcore they edited it out of the episode. Bro. I remember watching that after school one day and how my jaw just DROPPED at a PRINCESS being so brutal. They let her be so fucking angry and that was a game changer.

5. [Finn, about a horrific memory] “that one’s going in the vault. Aaaaaaaaaandd. It’s gone.” I quote that CONSTANTLY. It’s a great way to bring levity to a bad situation, but also forces me to go “hey wait a sec that’s not gonna work forever”. Things don’t stay in the vault.

6. Puhoy. He lived an entire life in that pillow world. He had kids. And then it’s just gone like a dream.

7. The deer. It was probably my first real introduction to horror. The hand wiggle. You all know exactly what I’m referencing. Were the candy people stuck in that well for 6 months???

8. What Was Missing!! Obviously now because it foreshadowed (and confirmed past) Bubbline, but back then just because it was so good??? IMO, this is the episode that defined WHO our main cast was, and how their relationships needed to grow for them to be content. It set up the next 6 years of the show! Plus it gave us 2 absolute BANGERS. Ugh i rewatched that recording so many times it wasn’t even funny.

9. Ghost Princess. Really just for the line where he sounds like he’s gonna shit his pants remembering his death and then in a clear narrator voice he’s like “I was a broken man.”

10. The pajama war episode. Now I’m doing this from memory so I could be wrong, but I think this really marks the start of Finn growing up. “I’ve really enjoyed just… hanging out with you.” The ability to start over with someone you’ve got complicated history with. The kindness. The growth from both of them!! It’s a direct parallel of episode 1 but their tones couldn’t be more different and I love it.

11. The slow and horrifying realization that The Mushroom War was nuclear Armageddon. Mushroom clouds. That went so far over my head as a kid even though they reference it constantly. It finally clicked during “I remember you”. Which I am NOT gonna go into because holy fuck that’s like 18 posts on its own.

12. Goliad! A child mirroring EVERYTHING they see, for better or worse. Seeing Jake in a bad moment screaming at the kids and goliad absorbing that behavior. Seeing she can use fear to control people. Also PB was Fucking Crazy! Her line “I’m not gonna live forever… I would if I could” is even more unhinged when we learn (like years later) that she’s already 900 years old. But she does physically age so I guess there’s that. The Suitor also falls into this category of episodes.

Ok getting into some of the more talked about moments

1. OK I LIED I have to talk about I remember you. I was 11 years old. I turned on the new adventure time episode like usual. 10 minutes later I was grappling with a grief I had never imagined before. Absolutely BAWLING not just for Simon and Marceline (the PLOT), but for what it showed me. The reality that every kid tries not to think about: your loved ones will leave you someday, even if they don’t want to. It’s an episode that becomes more powerful with every year I get older. To get a bit personal, dementia has completely taken my grandparents from me. I’ve seen sides of my grandfather that should never have existed, and I must constantly forgive him for what he does… now that he doesn’t remember me. And someday it’ll be my parents. That’s just the way of the world, ya know? Anyways, I remember my mom got home right as the credits were rolling and we had a long talk about keeping people alive with memory, mortality, and how the future was far away and we should decide on dinner lmao.

2. The Hall of Egress. I was almost 15. Life was changing. I was changing, and it was strange and frightening. That feeling where you know you’re losing your childhood but you just want to cling to it. Follow the same old familiar path, stick with what’s comfortable. But life doesn’t work that way. It took me years to really understand this episode and it’s symbolism. Honestly I still don’t think I could fully explain it. It’s like. How do I put this. I was so glad to be in the target age group in that moment. I was so glad that something I was growing up with was assuring me “you’re changing, but we’re changing too”. And isn’t that the theme of adventure time? Everything stays, but it still changes.

3. The absolute horror of Ferns existence. He’s Finn, but he’s wrong and warped. All those memories of the people he loves and they can’t stand to be in the same room as him.

4. Susan Strong. The introduction of a RUNNING PLOT. The show up to that point had really been so goofy and so monster of the week. I think the only really plot heavy episode before this one was It Came From the Nightosphere? And then suddenly they call into question the fact that Finn really is the ONLY HUMAN in all of OOO. And then… is he? It was SUCH a departure from the usual tone. Ending that episode with him reaching below her hat and gasping in shock, but never telling the audience what he found. And then she’s just gone. Which leads us to Islands!

5. Min and Marty. Second saddest episode in the entirety of adventure time, made worse because you know exactly how this family is gonna end up. There’s SO MUCH to dissect about Martins behavior in the series. A reformed con artist receives a traumatic brain injury while attempting to save his son. They’re both lost at sea, and he never looks for him. Was it the emotional trauma? Was it the physical damage? Meanwhile a mother loses her husband and her child in a single night and never EVER learns why. Nobody but Martin knows what happened that night. Also Finns fear of the ocean from season 1 is finally explained. 7 years of ignoring Finns origins and then they throw you THIS??? Watching it live was unreal.

Anyways I’m sure I’ll think of more. I might add on to this later for my own sake lmao, but I’d love to hear other peoples formative moments, quotes, episodes, etc. I really just needed to dump this information out of my brain so I can get on with my week.

#If you see this you’re obligated to comment an adventure time moment that lives rent free in your head #or don’t it’s your life babe #I have nobody in my life who has watched adventure time and therefore I must ramble here to myself #adventure time #princess bubblegum #marceline #ice king #finn the human #fern #Fionna and cake #this is my life #bubbline

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romchat · 8 months

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My Journey to You Ep. 12 visuals: Love in blue

Ok, I'm not really a color theory girlie, BUT when a character suddenly changes up their outfits that's something I like to pay attention to. Gong Shangjue has always been portrayed in somber black and suddenly he's dressed in blue for his little lantern date with his assassin fiancée who also happens to frequently dress in blue?

Oh, it's so on, production design team.

But first, let's take a moment to relive this banger of a scene.

The sexual tension between these two makes me absolutely feral. This slow burn is what enemies-to-lovers should always aspire to.

...

Well, shit. I saw that jaw clench, Shangjue. Sorry, can't offer any substantive commentary. Still recovering.

Moving on...

Something I didn't really notice until this episode was how blue-toned Shangjue and Qian's scenes are in comparison to Gong Ziyu and Yun Weishan's scenes.

It's reflected in the costumes, with Ziyu and Weishan often wearing warmer colors with more exuberant gold embroidery and trimmings. It's reflected in the lighting with their scenes more reliant on the warmth of ambient lighting while Shangjue and Qian's are often shot with cooler natural light. It's also present in the set design, with Shangjue and Qian's scenes (especially those shot together) consistently involving or happening by water, which reminds me of the Chinese poem:

Drops of water can break through stone [if given long enough].

In other words, "soft" strategies can eventually make headway in difficult challenges—in this case, Qian's clever use of care to crack through Shangjue's personal defenses. And probably vice versa in the future.

Also, note how both scenes above start with the camera panning and tilting up from the blue of the water before focusing on the two characters. The camera crew for My Journey to You use a surprising amount of movement in their shots so I'm going to pay more attention to how they introduce and conclude scenes from here on out.

Of course, Shangjue's new blue outfit (and the warm blue of the pond landscape) is immediately noticeable given how starkly monochromatic and cold most of their scenes have been up until this point. Wearing the same color is a costume representation of their growing closeness. This dinner date is yet another unexpected peace offering from Shangjue, possibly his response to Qian's earlier question of "Isn't it good to be cared about?" (And correct me if I'm wrong but I think it's also the first time he actually gives Qian something rather than a few insights into his psyche. He and Ziyu have very different love languages lol)

But from the loaded dialogue it's clear that neither are overcome by the unnamed growing attraction between them, and I expect the blue that visually represents their relationship to return to a cooler tone by the next episode. They're still playing cat-and-mouse with each other, just with sexier vibes.

(Side note: Ryan Cheng is so good here. The way he relaxes and tenses his body, the smooth transition between microexpressions as the two characters dance between interrogation and half-truths. Ah, to be hot and talented. Can't relate.)

Finally--and I'm pretty sure I'm reaching but it's my tumblr so why the hell not--I want to talk about Gong Yuanzhi's costuming. Something I immediately noticed about Yuanzhi's character is how his closet is probably the most diverse of the main cast. Unlike other characters who tend to wear variations of the same fabrics, his outfits use different textures and colors. He wears a lot of black like his beloved cousin but also blues, silvers, whites, and now in Episode 12 green. I wonder if his lack of commitment to one color story is an indication of how his alliance with Shangjue will shift in the future, especially if Shangjue ever allows his attraction to Qian to cloud his judgment about either Yuanzhi's loyalty or what is in the best interest of the Gong clan.

Episode 12 definitely felt like a transitional episode that is meant to drop clues and kickstart a bunch of plot threads so I'm excited to see how those threads converge or diverge from these color stories if at all.

#my journey to you #云之羽 #cdrama #ryan cheng #set design #costume design #god I hope I don't become a color conspiracy theoriest #meta

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sarahowritesostucky · 2 months

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📖"Alpha, Beta (& Omega)"

Rated: Explicit

Chapter Rating: Teen

Word Count: 3449

Pairing: Steve x Bucky

Tags: a/b/o, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, nobility/royalty au, alternate history, dom/sub elements, beta bucky, anal sex, oral sex, hurt/comfort, first time, age gap (18/29), domestic discipline, spanking, head of household, wedding night, Edwardian time period, m/f/m poly marriage

Summary: To save House Barnes from scandalous ruin, James must agree to a contracted marriage, accepting Lord Senator Steven Rogers as his Alpha, Husband, and Headship.

To read previous parts of this series first, got to the story's masterlist

10. A School Reunion

This Chapter: The scars are atrocious, and Bucky is sure that Steve was not made aware of the extent of them, before the marriage. His husband is a good man, he thinks, to not have visibly reacted on their wedding night.

The ship docks the following day, and most of that morning is consumed with getting off the ship, gathering their luggage, and making their way to the train station. They travel by train to London.

By the time they arrive at Steve’s residence (their residence now, Bucky has to remind himself), it’s evening already, and they’re both tired. They eat a small supper and go to bed early.

Bucky gets one of the best night’s sleep of his life.

He wakes up late the next morning to the sun on his face, and raises a hand to shield his eyes. “Nnnh, what time s’it?” He hears Steve’s chuckle.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty. It’s almost noon.”

“What?!” He sits up in the bed, squinting. “Why the heck didn’t you wake me?”

Steve shoots him an easy smile from where he’s standing over by the chifforobe. “I didn’t want to wake you. You needed your rest.”

Bucky grunts and rubs his eyes. “Yeah I got a rest, alrigh,” he mutters. They’d gone to bed before ten o’clock, last evening. That's over twelve hours he's been out. Sleeping Beauty indeed.

“How are you feeling?”

Bucky throws his legs over the side of the bed and stretches. “Fine. I’m hungry. Hey, d’you think Sharon will make pancakes for lunch if I ask nicely?"

Steve winces. “Oh. Shoot.”

“Shoot, what?”

“I already dismissed the servants for the day.” He sends Bucky an apologetic look. “They've never been abroad, so I thought they might want to see the sights, explore the city. I told them they could have the rest of the day, if they wanted."

"Oh."

"Yes. And I'm afraid I’m not very knowledgeable in a kitchen. I wouldn’t know where to start, to make something like pancakes.”

Bucky hums in a silent ‘me neither’. Men of their stature hardly ever set foot in the kitchens at their homes, let alone use them. “Is Sharon a good cook?”

“Oh! Yes, she’s wonderful. I all but begged my fathers to let me bring her on with me." He chuckles. "That's the sacrificial love of parents, for you; letting their grown children scoop up all the best servants. I swear my Opa complains about it every time I visit."

Bucky nods, wondering what it must be like to have grown up with parents who had a complete marriage.

"She makes the most excellent roasts. Maybe I can get her to make one for an evening meal while we’re in town.”

Bucky snorts. “What? No Haggis or black pudding? Bangers and mash?”

“Are you kidding? Sharon takes her cooking very seriously. I don’t think she’d lower herself to make something like that.” Steve shoots him a sly grin. “Oh, and one thing to note for life in our Household? If she serves you a plate and it’s cold, or it’s over-salted or overcooked or anything like that; it means she’s mad at you and she’s getting back at you.”

Bucky’s jaw drops. “Wait, are you kidding?”

“Nope.” Steve looks almost amused about it, which baffles Bucky. He uses the dressing mirror to check his tie and straighten his vest, advising, “And don’t complain when it happens, either. Just eat whatever she gave you. That’s your penance for whatever you did to tick her off in the first place. She’ll only do it with one meal—if you don’t complain. You complain, you get a second subpar meal.”

Bucky scoffs. “That’s crazy.” Who ever heard of such a thing? A servant having the gall to retaliate against their employers in such a manner. Why it’s outrageous! Hell, Bucky had been such a troublemaker growing up, that if his Cookie had operated under such a system, he would’ve rarely received a decent meal at all! “And you just … tolerate that?” he asks.

Steve shrugs helplessly. “I mean I could hire another cook, but trust me: nobody comes close to Sharon. She’s a good person, a reliable servant, and being that her social class keeps her subservient to the likes of us in all matters, I really can’t begrudge her that one outlet.”

Bucky frowns. He’s never thought about it that way before. Servants are just there, existing and functioning as is expected. He's never considered what they might want, or thought about their lives outside of where they intersect with his own. He bites his lip, intrigued by the ways in which Steve seems to interact with common people. Bucky's noticed it several times, now. He certainly wouldn’t have expected it from someone as wealthy and as important as Steve. “So … are you friendly with all your servants?” he asks.

“Sharon, Jarvis, and Pietro, yes. They worked for my parents, before. But when we return home to New York you’ll see that everyone else is rather new, still.” He looks down sheepishly. “I ah, I hadn’t hired a true Household staff, until recently.”

“Recently?” Bucky arches a brow. “You mean since our marriage?”

Steve averts his eyes and turns back to the dressing mirror to fuss some more at his clothes. “Since shortly before our engagement, yes.”

Bucky purses his lips. He wonders if Steve considers their “engagement” to be the time period he’d spent writing to Bucky’s mother, rather than the mere week-and-a-half that Bucky and he had known each other before tying the knot. “How long were you and my mother in correspondence?” he asks. “Before I found out about it?”

Steve freezes in front of the mirror, hands on his tie. “Oh, well …”

"Oh god, that long?" Bucky cringes and looks away. It’s already bad enough, knowing that his mother actually set pen to paper and composed multiple letters to anyone who might have her ruined son, but knowing that she and Steve wrote back and forth at length makes it even more embarrassing. He groans and rubs his temple. “So you were pen pals with my mother. How mortifying.”

Steve still avoids looking at him, but he does defend himself with a quiet little, “I wanted to learn all I could about you. … Or at least all that she would tell me. There were a lot of things she deigned best for you to tell me.”

Bucky finds that hard to believe, as he knows his mother would've felt the need to pull out all the stops in order to promote him to prospective suiters. He wonders just how much she'd had to butter Steve up to get him to consider the idea, how much she had to exaggerate Bucky’s positive qualities to make up for his marked shortcomings.

“Did she send you my photograph?” he asks morosely, figuring that she must have. In her efforts to secure a match for Bucky, she most certainly would’ve had to spin him as a highly attractive young boy of great wit and charm. Something to better her chances at enticing an alpha as prominent as Steve to contract with the soon-to-be-ruined House Barnes.

“Just … just one,” Steve hedges.

Bucky holds back another groan as he miserably thinks of Steve, being mailed pictures to better-consider the value of his purchase. Mortifying is the only word for it.

“She didn’t tell you about my …” he hesitates, sure that Steve won’t appreciate hearing his usual phrasing for it. He settles on the generous, “About my scars?” Most of them can be covered up with the right neckline, but Bucky would hate to think of Steve not being fairly warned of something so atrocious. Steve is kind and will never say so, but Bucky is sure that the man was not made aware of the … extensiveness of it. There’s no way on Earth he would’ve agreed to this marriage, if he had been.

Back by the chifforobe, Steve still has his back to Bucky and his head tucked down. He fishes his wedding band out of the dish and slides it on. “She told me about your accident and your convalescence,” he says, uneasy. “In generalities only, though that was partly because I made it clear there were certain things I’d prefer to learn directly from you.”

Bucky gulps and looks back down at his lap. “Oh.” Steve is a good man, he thinks, to not have visibly reacted on their wedding night; when his new young husband had ripped his nightshirt off and fully revealed just what Steve had gotten himself into. Even through Bucky's slightly drunken recollections of that night, he can remember seeing the look on Steve’s face, when he’d seen him naked. The alpha had done an admirable job of schooling his features quickly, only a bit of pity bleeding out to betray him.

“I am sorry I couldn’t have gotten to know you, before your mother and I settled the contract,” Steve admits. “I’m new in the Senate, still. Proving myself. ”

Bucky nods at his lap. “Yes I know.”

“If my work during that time hadn’t kept me in D.C. so much, I would have liked to have courted you for longer.”

Bucky looks over and catches Steve’s gaze in the mirror. There’s a vulnerable little pinch lodged between his brows. “I’dve liked to have spent time together, gotten to know you in person. I’d intended to, but then—”

“The date of my father’s indictment was moved up.”

Steve nods sadly. “Yes. It was.”

Bucky twists his lips and looks away. “Oh well. No matter. Not like it would’ve changed anything, if we’d forced ourselves through a few balls and operas together beforehand. We’re stuck together now, so there’s plenty of time to get to know all that sort of stuff one learns during courting.” He chuckles humorlessly. “Does it even really count as courting, if you know you’re ultimately going to have to go through with it anyway?”

Steve’s abrupt silence is marked. When Bucky looks over, he catches the look of hurt that glances across the alpha's features before he’s able to school it away. He feels a small pang of regret for having phrased it that way. Steve had given him an out, after all. Just because Bucky couldn’t take it doesn’t mean that it’s Steve who’s forced this situation upon him. Bucky clears his throat and stands from the bed. “I’m gonna … go to the bathroom.” It's not a complete lie. He does have to take a piss.

Steve suggests they spend the day exploring London. Bucky, who hadn't gotten to see much of the city during the brief trip he'd made with his father, is excited at the prospect of seeing Big Ben and the Tower of London and the wax museum, though he tries to keep his enthusiasm to himself. He doesn’t want to seem unworldly to Steve—an alpha who’s already traveled loads of places outside of the U.S.

There are far fewer cars in London than there are back in New York, so for the novelty of it they hire a hackney to take them around the city. They tour several popular sites, all of which Steve is familiar with and happily shows him around. Steve likes art and history and wants to see the British Museum, so they go there next. Bucky tags along, not as enthused at the prospect of touring a stuffy old museum, but at least willing to give it a look. When Steve goes in to see the medieval Madonnas exhibit, Bucky say he’ll stay behind and see the crown jewels instead. They agree to meet back up in the central atrium.

Left on his own, Bucky trails along the glass cases that hold all of the bejeweled scepters, orbs and tiaras. He’s just stopped in front of the case that holds the Hope diamond, when a group of young men approaches. “James? Is that you?”

Bucky turns, eyes widening marginally as he suddenly finds himself only feet away from three familiar faces. “Oh,” he says, perking up at this unexpected surprise. Carrick, Francis and John graduated with him from secondary school, just that year previous. Bucky’s never been overly close to John or Francis, but he’s always liked Carrick well enough. “Hey fellas,” he greets, smiling a little. “What are you all doing in London?”

Francis—the only alpha in the group—answers for them. “We’re taking a year abroad before university, traveling through Europe and North Africa.”

“How adventurous.” Bucky tries to smile, but inside he feels a pang of jealousy mixed with sadness. If it weren’t for his marriage to Steve, he’d probably be doing the exact same thing as his schoolmates, right now. “What um, what universities are you attending?”

Francis beams. “I got into Yale.”

“Wow.”

“We’re both going to Columbia,” Carrick says, tipping his head over at John. “It’s a good school, plus it’ll keep us close to home.”

Bucky nods. “That’s nice. What about Johanna?” The beta girl has always been a solid member of the boys’ social group, as far as Bucky can tell. But at his question, John rolls his eyes and Francis and Carrick snicker. “What?” Bucky says, confused.

“She just married an A-o pair from Georgia. Needless to say, she couldn’t come along.”

There’s scorn in John’s voice, and Bucky flushes. “Oh,” he says. “I see.” He glances down self-consciously to make sure that his wristbands are covered by the sleeves of his jacket.

“Such a shame,” Francis is saying. “I mean, getting married so soon? It’s so old-fashioned.”

“She should’ve waited,” John agrees. “Now she’s just somebody’s housewife.”

“Sad.”

“I know, right?”

Bucky stands there, feeling frozen in place, nodding along falsely with the conversation, and withdrawing into himself as his schoolmates gossip about what an awful fate early marriage is:

“How boring. Almost embarrassing, really. I would’ve pegged her as having at least a little more ambition.”

“Yeah, I she seemed more interesting than that, didn’t she?”

“Well, I don’t think she ever got very good marks in school. And that’s putting it kindly.”

“Not everyone’s cut out for university I guess. But even then, there are better things to do than tie yourself down at eighteen. What a joke! Only omegas start looking right after school.”

“They don’t exactly have anything else to do.”

The boys all snicker together, and it physically pains Bucky to have to stand there and quirk his mouth up at the edges like he’s agreeing with them. “What about you, James?” Francis asks. “What are your plans?”

Bucky freezes, mortified. “Oh, me?”

“Yeah. Where are you attending?”

His heart speeds up. “O-oh, well … I had looked at, um … I’d considered applying to MIT.”

"Ooh an engineering major, huh? That was always your thing.” Carrick grins approvingly. “That’s impressive! I presume you got in."

“With marks like his?” John waves his hand as though it’s a given. “What I want to know is how a Senatorial heir talks his way into an engineering degree. What’s your secret? My father won’t allow anything but political science or international relations.”

Bucky feels like he’s panicking, trying to think of what to say. But before he can open his mouth to tell another half-truth or lie, Steve’s voice calls out from over by the entrance to the exhibit. “Bucky! Ha, there you are.”

He blanches. Steve comes over to stand by his side, wrapping his arm familiarly around Bucky’s waist when he sees the other young men. “I thought we said we’d meet up in the atrium?” He presses a cheerful kiss to Bucky’s head and smiles politely at the group. “Who are you talking to?”

Bucky wants to sink straight through the floor. His schoolmates are staring, wide-eyed at how Steve is holding him. No one of proper breeding touches like that unless they're engaged or else married, so Bucky knows they know, especially when he sees their eyes flick to Steve’s wedding band. “Um, these are some of my schoolmates from back home. Francis, John, and Carrick. Fellas, this is Steve. Uh … Senator Rogers of New York.” Bucky can’t meet the other boys’ eyes as he adds, “... My husband.”

All three of them tense up. Steve, oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation, nods his head at them and smiles. “Nice to meet you. Wow, I suppose it really is a small world after all, huh?” Carrick, John and Francis all chuckle nervously and agree. Steve looks down at Bucky. “You ready to go get some lunch?”

Bucky’s ready to die, is what he’s ready to do. “Yeah,” he mumbles. “Okay.”

Steve bids goodbye to Bucky’s schoolmates, saying, “It was nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Francis says.

Steve and Bucky head out of the exhibit. Bucky does glance back one time, only to catch them already whispering animatedly. He can imagine what they’re saying: Poor James. He had to sell himself off. No university for him. Guess he’s just like Johanna. Guess he wasn’t such an interesting guy after all. Guess a cripple has to compromise and take the first good offer they get.”

Bucky’s face burns thinking about it as he and Steve make their way back through the museum. He stalls in the hallway before they reach the café, tugging back on Steve’s arm. “I’m not hungry,” he says. “Can we just go back to the apartment now?” Steve stops walking and turns to look at him. He doesn’t let go of his hand. “Please?” Bucky says.

Steve looks concerned, but after studying him for a long moment, he nods. “Sure.” He flags down another hackie for them, and they ride back to the apartment in silence.

Steve doesn’t ask him any questions about what happened at the museum until later that evening, when they’re dressing in tails for a fancy dinner. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have extended an invitation, and given their status in Society, Steve hasn’t been able to say no. “They won’t be there themselves, I’m sure,” he reassures Bucky as he stands behind him and helps him to shrug on his jacket. “It’ll just be minor nobility, like us.” When Bucky hums noncommittally, Steve adds, “British Society is different. They’re …”

“Stuffy as fuck?” Bucky supplies.

“I was going to say ‘traditional’, but yes.” Steve sounds lightly amused, but then he sobers. “… Bucky, what happened at the museum today?”

He’s asked gently, but Bucky still tenses. “What? Nothing.” He steps away from Steve and goes over to the dressing mirror, distracting himself by checking the lines of his tux. “I just wanted to come back home. I was tired.”

Steve is quiet, and for a moment Bucky thinks he’s going to let it go, but then he appears in the mirror behind him. His expression is knowing where it reflects in the glass. “Don’t lie. What happened with your friends?”

Bucky tenses up, afraid. He doesn’t want Steve to know, doesn’t want to have to relive the embarrassment. “Leave it alone, Steve,” he mumbles.

“Bucky,”

He whirls around at the warning tone in Steve’s voice, scowling at his unfairly handsome face and the fact that he's pressing the issue. “What? Are you gonna Voice now? For something as trivial as this?”

Steve frowns heavily. “No, I wasn’t. I just want you to be honest with me.”

“I’m allowed to have things to myself!” Bucky snaps, irrationally angry at Steve for trying to coax the truth out of him. “You said you’d let me have independence.”

“I know what I said.”

“Well was it a lie?”

Steve looks hurt at Bucky’s tone, but he doesn’t scold him for it. He hardens, stepping back to give him his space. “No, it wasn’t a lie,” he says. Now his tone is clipped, too.

Regret flashes through Bucky, but he quashes it down and juts his chin out. “Good,” he sniffs.

“Put your wristbands on,” Steve says, though it’s not said bossily. If anything, he sounds detached. He’s not even facing Bucky as he says it, has already moved to open the bedroom door. “Come on. There’s a carriage waiting for us.”

Bucky bites his lip, feeling bad for how he spoke to Steve but unwilling to apologize. He goes and grabs his wristbands off the highboy and puts them on, unwilling to be a brat about that, too. They’re hidden from sight by the sleeves of his jacket, anyhow.

He follows Steve downstairs and outside, getting up into the carriage when Steve offers his hand. The ride across the city takes a while, and Bucky’s discomfort grows. It’s when Steve has just started trying to make conversation about how silly it is that Europeans still have such an affinity for horse-drawn carriages, that Bucky blurts out, “They embarrassed me.”

Steve looks over, confused. “What?”

Bucky keeps his gaze out the carriage window as he admits, “My friends. At the museum. You were right. They um, they were saying some stuff about a classmate of ours. A beta who married just after graduation.”

“… Oh?”

Bucky nods, feeling his cheeks heating despite the cool night air. “They were making fun of her, I guess. And then you came in and, well …” he shrugs. “I looked back. When we left. I could tell they were saying the same things about me.”

“Oh, Bucky.” Steve’s hand finds his on the seat’s cushion and gives it a squeeze. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“They didn’t have a right to make fun of you,” Steve tells him. “You don’t have anything to be embarrassed about. They’re no better than you are.”

Bucky makes a noise of tepid agreement, though he doesn’t agree at all. He pulls his hand out from under Steve’s and leans against the carriage wall and stares out the window. “Thanks, Steve,” he says, not able to bring himself to explain to his husband how he really feels.

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trashpoppaea · 3 months

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Reflections in the Nile by Suzanne Frank, the worst book I've ever read

After entering an ancient chamber on an archaeological dig, Cloe Kingsley is sent back in time to the year 1452 B.C. to the Egyptian court of Hatshepsut and into the body of a corrupt priestess, where she is now forced to face her new environment and the challenges it holds. A first novel.

Dear Ms. Frank,

Back in 1997, you published Reflections in the Nile. That’s 23 years ago, and many things have changed since those days. However, in the romance world lately, there’s been a lot of re-evaluation of older books. In my opinion, this is perfectly valid, since even though many things have changed since the ‘90s, many things haven’t. We still struggle with racism, sexism and bigotry, and I believe it’s important to look at older works, evaluate or re-evaluate them, and see where we can improve. To quote a song from the Hairspray musical, we’ve come so far, but got so far to go.

So, with this in mind, I read Reflections in the Nile, a book I’ve always intended on reading. I wanted to like it. Unfortunately, and I’m really sad to report this, but I had a lot of issues with it.

You might ask, what issues did I have with it? Quite a few, as it turns out, since I discovered, there was much to unpack in this particular book. There’s the racism and the orientalism, the peculiar fanfiction-like aspects of it, and all the evangelical subtext. Like I said, there’s a lot to unpack.

Anyway, to make sense of it all, let me begin at the beginning.

Back in the ‘90s, I was a globe-trotting undergrad with an undying love for romance novels. No matter where I was in the world, I would find an internet connection and read the latest reviews at the Romance Reader. Meredith Moore was one of my favorite reviewers, and she wrote a glowing review of “Reflections in the Nile” that made me think I should read it too. After all, I loved time travel stories, romances, and ancient culture. Plus, I was a commercial artist, like the heroine in the book! What’s not to love?

Well. There was one thing in the review that alarmed me. This story set in ancient Egypt—according to Meredith— was all about Exodus. This was the last thing I wanted to see in a book with this setting, so I decided to give it a pass.

Anyway, I didn’t think about it for years, until I went into a used bookstore with some friends and I saw a used copy of Reflections on the shelf. While I reminisced about the Romance Reader, I picked up the copy and started thumbing through it.

And then I saw it. THE BIG SPOILER. My jaw dropped.

I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I told my friends in disbelief. I put it back, but I couldn’t forget what I had seen. I kept thinking about it, wondering why that was in the book, and could it possibly be justified in the context of the plot?

Finally, my friends asked me to read the book or shut up about it, so here’s my long-awaited review of the oddest book I’ve read for quite a while.

* * *

Reflections starts off with a first person POV chapter, introducing to us the heroine, one Chloe Kingsley, a red-haired, pasty-skinned Texan commercial artist with some military background, who’s currently visiting her Egyptologist sister Camille on vacation in Cairo. This is actually a banger of a chapter, in that it’s entertaining, fast-paced, and engrossing. There are a few uncomfortable bits here and there where Chloe thinks about how she’s only truly obsessed with her “roots,” aka her Southern heritage. This is especially uncomfortable given what happens next.

Anyway, the first person POV is not long for this world, as Chloe trespasses in the Luxor Temple and gets zapped back into ancient Egypt, to the time of Hatshepsut. And the book shifts to third person omniscient POV, which makes for a lot of distracting head-hopping.

But anyway, Chloe finds she’s not in her old red-haired pasty-skinned, Southern body: she’s in the body of a hot, curvy, brown lady named RaEmhetepet whose skin, we are informed, is like “café au lait.” However, this isn’t just any old body swap time travel romance. Chloe’s body has merged with RaEm, and she has brought her green eyes, her large feet, and last but not least, her hymen.

Yes, it seems that Chloe is a conservative baby-loving virgin with an ostensibly Protestant Christian background. On the other hand, RaEm, the ancient Egyptian POC priestess, is a promiscuous, ambitious woman who hates babies and loves S&M and hurting people. So… yeah. Let’s put a pin in that, shall we?

Anyway, Chloe is pretty unconcerned about RaEm’s fate. You’d think she’d think about her a little, given that she’s taken over her body like an alien parasite. At first I wondered if RaEm had gone, a la Get Out, into the Sunken Place, because sometimes RaEm’s psyche and personality intrudes into Chloe’s consciousness, and Chloe often refers to her as “the other.” But eventually we discover (on page 104 of the hardcover edition) that RaEm has actually gone forward to the future to swap places with Chloe. And we get this:

Her mind filled with hazy memories. She was watching herself with an Arab, their bodies laced together like ribbons, straining, seeking pleasure. Camille was in the doorway, shocked almost beyond recognition. The Arab man looked familiar as he covered himself. Chloe reclined naked and unashamed in the bed, her large brown eyes hostile and angry.

We only see RaEm one more time, and that’s to find out she died, and Chloe is stuck in the past. Let’s pour one out for RaEm: she got a raw deal. We hardly knew ye, RaEm.

Anyway, it turns out that RaEm is a super important priestess, and Chloe is sick from post time travel body swapping, so Hatshepsut sends her personal mage/doctor to tend to Chloe. And we are introduced to our hero, Cheftu! I assume he was named after the lead in the very good YA novel Mara, Daughter of the Nile (which I would rather have been reading).

At any rate, Cheftu is hot, bronzed, looks like Bernini’s David, and looks great in white kilts of linen. He’s also really nice and sensitive, which I think is why Meredith Moore of the Romance Reader liked this book so much, since the late ‘90s romance genre was filled with alpha assholes. I generally like beta heroes myself, but I had a lot of problems with Cheftu, which I will get to in a bit.

Anyway, Cheftu has a lot of bad feelings about RaEm, because she ditched him once. But—for some reason I couldn’t figure out—Chloe is mysteriously mute until page 119. I don’t know why. But there’s a lot of hanging out with Cheftu and Chloe crying after Cheftu is rude to her, along with a lot of ancient Egyptian medical remedies and descriptions of ancient décor. Chloe is not the most engaging heroine, because she doesn’t do anything. She just reacts. Not only that, but passive voice is rampant in this book.

But as dull as this is, it soon becomes infuriating, because the story segues into what is literally The Ten Commandments fanfic. We are introduced to Moses, and the plight of the Israelite slaves who are building all the monuments (which is not something that actually happened), and we launch into the whole plague storyline, superimposed on Hatshepsut’s reign. It becomes less like one of those lavish 1970s Egyptian-set romances written by Joyce Verrette, and it turns into something like an episode of that old Christian time travel Hanna-Barbera cartoon, The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible.

Anyway, we get bloody water, frogs, locusts, darkness, and finally the death of the firstborn. And as they’re dealing with all the plagues, Chloe and Cheftu become closer and closer. Chloe figures out how to talk again (yes… I still don’t get it), and they actually have conversations. Cheftu falls in love with Chloe because she’s changed. She’s no longer like the old RaEm, who was “poison.” He finds New RaEm/Chloe “pure” and loves her “child-like wonder,” and finds her “beautiful and fragile.” Yuck.

And THEN they have sex, and when he breaks her hymen during sex, THAT is when he becomes convinced that she’s not the actual RaEm. That she’s a different person. A person he can love. How can she possibly still be a virgin after she miscarried another man’s child, a child she desperately wanted? (Yeah, that’s a whole plot thread here. I can’t even begin to get into it.)

But… it gets worse. And how does it get worse, you ask? Well, we get to the part which I discovered in the used bookstore. The part that blew my mind.

We get to the revelation of Cheftu’s true identity.

On page 204, Cheftu says to Chloe:

“You are so beautiful, both inside and out. RaEm had only physical beauty, though it took me almost to the marriage altar to find out.” His fingers traced her features, and Chloe looked at him, her eyes filled with tears. He caught a tear on his finger before it dropped and stroked the saline across her lips, his breathing becoming harsher. His gaze was intent yet calculating. He took another deep breath. “Also, because your eyes are different. They are so clean and fresh, like your soul. But they are also observant and appreciative … as green as the fields of ma belle France.” (page 204)

Yes. OH MY GOD. Cheftu isn’t Egyptian. He’s actually a cosplaying Frenchman from the early 1800s. What is his name, you might ask?

Chloe sat in silence. “Cheftu, what is, was, your Christian name?” From the muffling of his hands she heard “Francois.” He faced the wall and dropped his hands. “I left my time of 1806.” He turned to face her. “Do you know the name Napoleon?” “Of course. He was defeated by the British at Waterloo in 1815.” He glanced at her, not comprehending. She reached out to touch him, quiet the confusion in his eyes. (page 208)

A page later it is revealed he is the one and only Francois Champollion, the guy who deciphered hieroglyphics in the 1820s.

So why was this hidden from the audience before now even though we had dozens of scenes from this guy’s POV? It was only hidden from the reader to provide a TWIST! This was so lazy and manipulative I actually threw the book across the room.

Not only that, Champollion didn’t go to Egypt until 1828. In 1806 he was not only a schoolboy, but Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign had been over for years and Egypt was back under Ottoman rule. Also, this character in the story bears no resemblance to the actual Champollion, who was something of a cross between Indiana Jones and Enjolras from Les Miserables: he was an avid Bonapartist who hated the monarchy and led an uprising in his hometown of Grenoble, climbing the ramparts to change the white flag of the Bourbons to a tricolor. I’m not sure where this apolitical woobie doctor character comes from, but it sure as hell ain’t nothing like the original Champollion, who deserves to be the hero of a much better book.

But this asides, this brings up a huge problem with this novel. You not only have ONE white person cosplaying as an ancient Egyptian POC, but you have TWO people. Two of the whitest people ever, who are so much better and cooler than all the superstitious Bronze Age North Africans. After all, they ride horses. They’re not afraid of the dark. They can embrace change unlike all these static Ancient Egyptians, who hate and fear change. And most importantly, they believe in one God! It’s so gross, and this is literally the textbook definition of Orientalism. To quote the wiki entry on Orientalism:

In [Edward] Said’s analysis, the West essentializes these societies as static and undeveloped—thereby fabricating a view of Oriental culture that can be studied, depicted, and reproduced in service of imperial power. Implicit in this fabrication, writes Said, is the idea that Western society is developed, rational, flexible, and superior.

Not only this, but our heroine is relieved her boyfriend is actually white. There’s a quote here on page 209:

It was comforting that the man she loved was not of a race and mentality completely foreign to her. He was European…

So… yes. I have no words.

In addition to the huge problems with racism, Orientalism, and othering, there’s also the weird fanfiction like aspects of this book. It’s not just the fact that this feels like Ten Commandments fanfiction, with Hatshepsut taking over the Yul Brynner role— Moses is also implicitly compared to Charlton Heston. Yet the fact that the ancient Egyptian hero is secretly a Napoleonic era Frenchman is so bizarre and out-of-left-field that it also feels like a poorly conceived self insert in an RPF (Real Person fanfic) story. I would have preferred if Chloe had just gone back in time to 1820s Egypt and met Champollion in his actual body , and whole plot aspect of “taking over the bodies of POC people” had been completely left out, but unfortunately that is not the book we got.

But last but not least, there is a huge problem with the evangelical subtext. How is that, you ask?

Well, after all the to-ing and fro-ing with the Israelites, “Cheftu” and Chloe depart from the Exodus narrative and end up meeting a wise old sage named Imhotep. After Chloe ponders that “the Bible was turning out to be a lot more accurate than she’d given it credit for,” we find out that Chloe’s true purpose in the past is to provide artistic PROOF (with her drawings of Moses etc.) for all those unbelieving people in the future that the Exodus did actually happen.

Chloe began pacing. “Aye, just illustrations. Everyone knows the stories,” she said, then stopped. “But they do not believe them!” Cheftu looked up, frowning. “Do not believe the Bible?” “Nay. Nor did I before”—she paused—“before this. Did you?” “Aye. Why would the Jews use a fabricated story on which to base their entire existence as a people?” Cheftu asked. “It is humiliating enough for them to admit to being slaves, but then the desert? The many times they disobeyed and God punished? Why would someone falsify that?” “Aye.” Imhotep chuckled. “You will never read of an Egyptian battle lost or a pharaoh falling short of his duties.” “That is it!” Chloe cried. “There is no other validation of the existence of Israel, or the Passover, or even who the pharaoh was! Even my sister thinks it was Rameses the Great, if anyone at all. This is proof! Cold, hard facts written on paper from the right period.” She sat down, flipping quickly through the drawings. Several of Alemelek’s were Egyptian style—one actually telling the story of Ramoses! With a shaking hand she passed it to Cheftu and Imhotep, who leaned over it, reading quickly. Chloe sat down. This was bloody unbelievable! (page 360)

After this, there’s a lot of discussion about the importance of believing in God. “Cheftu” extols about the might of God.

He turned, his eyes shining. “We have had the most, Chloe! We have climbed the pyramids, talked with pharaohs, seen the deliverance of God! He spared our lives, specifically, again and again and again! Think of it: we were not hit by the killing hail, we survived the desert, the soldiers, starvation, and thirst. If this is the price we pay, so be it!” (page 399)

A few pages later Chloe contemplates how her life has changed:

A year ago it had all been different. She’d been alone, looking forward to new things in life, and almost an agnostic. Now she stood with a man who was her soul, praying to a God she’d met, while soldiers swarmed through the city looking for them. (page 407)

Archaeologists have been searching for proof for Exodus for over a century at this point, and nothing has been found. It’s safe to say that it didn’t happen. Even as a lapsed Catholic, I still personally believe in God, and I’m not too concerned if the Exodus happened as described or not. I was really puzzled as to why the author was so intent on making us believe that it happened exactly as written in the Bible, when an ex-evangelical friend on Twitter pointed out to me that evangelicals are “really interested in ‘proving’ things that can’t be proven” and (in the opinion of my friend) “their standards are ridic bad. Like– they found a city that was mentioned in the Bible, so therefore the whole Bible must be true.”

What’s even stranger to me is that an ex-Catholic French revolutionary like Champollion is turned into an evangelical mouthpiece, but this book is baffling on many levels.

I’m not even getting into the issue of how appropriative this book is of Jewish identity and culture. And just the very idea of a white woman taking over the body of a POC woman so she can become a white savior and play out an evangelical redemption narrative so the whole world can begin to believe the Bible is so many levels of awful.

In regards to the ending of this book, I’m not going to summarize the rest of the plot, because the plot continues to baffle and confuse, and at any rate it just ends on a strange cliffhanger. I’ve glanced at the end of the series, and it also seems to end in a bizarre and unsatisfactory way. Ms. Frank has suggested in the past that she will continue the series, and I’m not sure what to think of it.

My main takeaway is that I would love to see more books about ancient Bronze Age Egypt, or more books featuring Napoleonic French heroes, but I don’t want to see any more books that try to do both in a very muddled way. I also would prefer not to read about POC people ousted by white people from their own bodies, and I would also like not to be exhorted into believing in the Bible by the fiction I read.

Anyway, praise Sekhmet! This book is over. I did enjoy the first chapter, but I’m sorry to say that it went downhill from there. With its deeply problematic ideology and racism, Reflections in the Nile gets an F.

Originally posted to Dear Author in February 2020

#suzanne frank #reflections in the nile #book reviews #formerly posted to dear author #dear author #time travel #ancient egypt #this book was unadulterated garbage omg

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randomvarious · 9 months

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Today's compilation:

The Wild Bunch (18 Metal Masters) 1985 Heavy Metal / Thrash Metal / Glam Metal / Progressive Metal / Speed Metal / Hard Rock

Oh man, I swear that I'm about to go to my local thrift store to buy a denim jacket and then tear its sleeves off and start securing patches to it with safety pins after listening to this thing. Back in 1985, the cassette-only, New York-based ROIR label, in conjunction with Hit Parader Magazine, put out this ephemeral mid-80s snapshot of all things metal, from the glam to the prog to the speed to the thrash, and it just goes so satisfyingly hard, you guys 😤👊🤘. If you were a metalhead in the 80s, this feels like something you'd definitely pop into the tape deck of your boxy red sedan and then cruise on into your suburban high school's parking lot with, looking like a total badass with the volume cranked up and the windows rolled down. It's really such a whole goddamn vibe 😎.

A lot of folks rightfully make fun of most of the stupid and inane hair band material that ruled the Sunset Strip back in the 80s, and, outside of the thrashing big four of Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer—the latter three of whom appear on this album itself—that highly commercialized sound does really seem to have defined what 80s metal was for most people. But the heart of that enormous, MTV-aided boom really occurred a little after the release of this tape, so what you end up getting here is a bunch of sweet tunes that, unless 80s metal is already your domain, you probably haven't ever heard before.

And one really need look no further than this cassette's tone-setting opener for a prime example. "Pull the Trigger," by Seattle's Q5, is just a quintessential piece of some straight-up hard and heavy 1980s rock music if I've ever heard it before. These guys reunited in 2014, but prior to that, they had only managed to put out a pair of albums in the mid-80s. And on this particularly fierce tune from their debut LP, lead singer Jonathan Scott K. sports an impressive and passionately scratchy yell that smacks of a higher-pitched Brian Johnson from AC/DC. And, of course, the song also comes with a kick-ass guitar solo too.

Then, not too long after that, we get another band that also only put out a couple albums in the mid-80s before getting back together: a quintet of speed demons called Agent Steel, whose absolute fit of fury, "Taken by Force," should have you going totally ballistic by the time the back-to-back solos hit. It's just so utterly jaw-dropping what these guys were able to conjure up with all their energy in that one 🤯.

And then another fast gem on here happens to come from—say it with me now—yet another band that only blessed us with a pair of albums in the mid-80s before they ended up reuniting too: LA's Abattoir, who provide a swifter cover of one of speed metal's biggest ever commercial hits, "Ace of Spades," which is originally by the band that many regard to be the first ever in speed metal history, Motörhead. Basically, if you love the original version of this song, I don't really see how you couldn't love this newer one too. It's high-octane fuel for a flying-motorcycle-riding skeleton whose skull is perpetually on fire, which, in other words, means that it's a total banger 🔥.

So, outside of the dumb and tacky hair metal hits that the irony-poisoned side of me really can't help but love, I've never been much in the habit of actually listening to quality 80s metal before. But this little cassette tape here appears to have opened up something of a brand new world for me. I always assumed that there was good 80s metal out there outside of the big four, but I never really seemed to have found much of it; until now 🙂.

Highlights:

Q5 - "Pull the Trigger" Shok Paris - "Marseilles de Sade/Battle Cry" Agent Steel - "Taken by Force" Anthrax - "Metal Thrashing Mad" Megadeth - "Chosen Ones" Abattoir - "Ace of Spades"

#heavy metal #metal #rock #thrash metal #thrash #glam metal #progressive metal #prog metal #speed metal #hard rock #music #80s #80s music #80's #80's music

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applebandito · 1 year

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100% Kingdom Hearts 1 (Day 6)

Current Targets:

Synthesis Master

Coliseum Champion

I woke up unable to remember what exactly it was I was trying to do. I stared at the synth screen for several minutes, mouth agape and face itchy from beard growth. Had I grown older? Technically yes, but this felt like actual years added to my life. I felt age wearing upon me. When was the last time I’d seen a sun that wasn’t a digitized one in a sky? When was the last time I spoke to someone when the topic wasn’t exclusively about hearts or darkness?

I pulled myself together and set my jaw firm. I had more recipes to get which meant a massive globetrotting collectathon. Before carrying on, allow me to shout out khguides.com which saved me multiple times when it came to grinding and finding out where I needed to go and what needed to be done. I made my list and set forth to beat up the Pink Agaricus, which looks more teal than pink? I guess we’re going off its hat. I had to learn the ancient art of spamming triangle and X in order to have a ghost of a chance of getting the Serenity Power it dropped.

Let me tell you, this process involved me seeing the same few screens of Deep Jungle over and over again, all while listening to the song an infuriating number of times. I will also say, I’m slightly in the future right now and deep into another playthrough for the final achievements and going back to Deep Jungle gave me a complex. Though now I got to watch all the cutscenes.

Repeatedly having to jump here and there to find white mushrooms to cast Stop on them, followed by using Bambi to get my MP back, then slapping the absolute bajeezus out of Ragnarock and the air combo so I can get the tech points high enough to even see the chance at getting this damned ingredient soon gave me coniptions. The idea of returning to this, my Vietnam, was pain. Mushrooms danced on the fringes of my eyesight as music scared my brain. Should I keep going and get more in case I need it? No, surely I’ll be fine. A fool’s mantra.

Rarer and rarer the damned ingrediants got. Pot Scorpions and very specific enemy spawns over and over. In and out of doors. It was torture. I was torturing myself. But like a masochist, I kept going back with a smile on my face. Madness, some would call it. In fact, they’d most likely be right. This was a form of mania I was suffering. Did I need to do it? A curious question. Did Hillary and Tenzing need to climb Everest? Did Simon and Garfunkle need to release banger after banger? Did Abbot and Costello need to be one of the best comedy duos?

No, was the answer. But here we were in this universe, where things were the way they were. Here we were, slaving away at a trade that we felt passionate about. People would call us broken, even mad. But we press on. I blanked out as the hours drug by but finally I’d completed 30 synth recipes. When I came to, I stared at the requirements for the ultimate weapons.

My heart sank. The amount of farming ahead of me was tantamount to a farmer after a Russian winter. I felt a rage boiling up inside of me. An anger at not only myself, but whoever created this. A song came into my head. Lyrics that echoed into my mind.

“Boy, you’re gonna carry that weight. Carry that weight a long time.”

I cursed God beneath my breath as I furiously scribbled those ingredients into my notepad. If I’d had a potato chip to eat dramatically, I would’ve. My fury woke me up. It fueled me. I wasn’t going to be beaten by this game. I needed ingredients for Mythril which I in turn needed to make Dark Matter, as well as the other ingredients to simply make everything. Lucid Shards, Power Stones, all of them a nail in my tires on the long road to finishing the first game totally.

In hindsight it wasn’t that bad. Much of this is overly inflated for the sake of entertainment anyway. But it was a very painful process in order to make it to the finish line. Clutched in Sora’s hand however was now the Ultima Weapon. A prize to be used to carry me through bosses, both big and tall. But that would come later. My dark labors finished, I sank beneath a sea of blankets and closed my eyes. The next day would see me take on another massive chunk of content.

Completed 30 of 56:

Synthesis Vet

Synthesis Master

#kingdom hearts #word vomit #playstation trophies #playthrough #playstation #trophies #video games #ultima weapon

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beevean · 2 years

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Nice list! :) And yeah I know that it's hard to make a list of just 10 tracks of a series with so many great tunes. It sure would be awfully hard if someone were to ask you a similar top 10 with something like oh I don't know Castlevania? :P

This ask is more than a year old. At the time I barely played the classic in the series. However, I promised that I'd keep it until I played more Castlevania games.

I'm in a mood to gush about Castlevania music, so :)

10. Bloody Tears (Castlevania 2). Too many versions to list, but my favorite might be the one in Super Castlevania IV if only for that sweet sweet slowdown at the end <3 easily the best of the Holy Trinity for me, sorry VK and Beginnings. The arpeggio at the beginning just sets the tone, and the whole track is simply a bop.

9. Crucifix Held Close (Portrait of Ruin). I struggled to choose my favorites from this masterpiece of an OST, but CHC is growing on me :) I can just hear the thundering rain outside... oh, those strings <3

8. Sinking Old Sanctuary (Bloodlines). Magical. The whole level is nothing but a graphical flex, so of course the track should be a musical flex too, right? It sounds so relaxing and peaceful, contrasting with the section where you have to outrun the rising water. There's a Circle of the Moon version, but, uh... sorry, the GBA soundfont did it no favors :\ check out this acoustic guitar cover instead!

7. Aquarius (Castlevania 3) Famicom version of course :P C3's music has two modes: creepy, and utterly jammable. This one is no exception, and while the level is fairly easy for this game's standard, it manages to pump you up. My favorite version is by far the one in Adventure Rebirth, which hits even harder and even raises one seminote for the second part <3 (again, Circle of the Moon's soundfont did it no favors...)

6. Clockwork (Castlevania 3). Famicom version here as well. Best clock tower theme? Well, I think so. Deliciously baroque, I can hear how it was meant to sound played on a harpsichord <3

5. Iron Blue Intention (Bloodlines) Thank you Portrait of Ruin for making this banger even better 🙏 it hits so hard! Those drums! I don't know how to describe it, it just sounds so good and it won't leave your head.

4. Requiem for the Gods (Symphony of the Night). About time I got to the big one, am I right? :P this area was highly memorable, especially that jaw dropping 3D chapel room, and I simply like how... holy this track feels. I can just picture an enormous cathedral full of paintings and stained windows, and the sense of awe that grips you at such a sight. That organ solo near the end of the loop feels like a priest absolving you of your sins. This arrangement gave me chills :')

3. Dracula's theme (Super Castlevania IV). Bombastic, shredding final boss themes are always great. Final boss themes that go for the tragic or eerie, however, are special, and create a whole different feeling. It's actually a slighter faster version of the intro theme, creating a bookend. The buildup that accompanies you from Death's defeat to Dracula's room sticks with you. The whole track seems like it's going to build up to something, but it never does, keeping a somber, tragic vibe. What is the tragedy, though? Is Simon doomed to die against such a powerful foe? Or is Dracula's destiny set in stone, and there's some hope for you? Well, Simon's theme playing in the second half answers this question...

2. Crystal Teardrops (Symphony of the Night). The journey this one track takes you through. First, a groovy bass. Then, compressed drums that create a cool drum 'n' bass melody. Then a lively piano. Then a more somber reed instrument as you descend down the caves. And finally an organ to remind you that you're still in a dangerous place, and you could still go deeper. Add to this the gorgeous caverns it plays in, and you have an iconic piece.

Lost Painting (Symphony of the Night). No crazy emotions or complexity here. This is simply a beautiful piece of music. The Inverted Castle is a dangerous place full of strong enemies, but in some areas, a lullaby soothes your nerves, gently urging you to march on. Depending on how you see it, you could also sense sadness and, well, lost, maybe reflecting Alucard's conflict over his goal of killing his own father. But personally, this track just makes me happy. Listen to this with your eyes closed :) or better yet, listen to it as played by Michiru Yamane herself.

#castlevania #castlevania music #castlevania 2 #castlevania 3 #super castlevania iv #castlevania bloodlines #symphony of the night #portrait of ruin #sorry aria of sorrow and order of ecclesia #maybe another time :(

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shibaraki · 2 years

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hi monty! i saw your tags about your writing break but i think the post’s been deleted? anyway if you don’t want to post this ask because of that it’s completely fine, i just wanted to say thank u for being an absolute gem of a writer like…everything you write is so GOOD! you wrote that 18k banger merman aizawa fic and then churned out a 6k hinata piece and before all that u gave us 15k of farmer kita and countless others before that. your writing really never disappoints and it’s so consistently jaw dropping and like…Real. the amount of effort and care you put into your work comes through, u can really feel all the emotions and the world building/scene setting is just…🗣🗣🗣‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ those were just emojis n i’m sorry for not using my words but i fr feel like that 😭😭 no lie every time i see you on the dash it’s like a treat for the week 🫂 you’re incredibly talented and i’m happy that you’re going on a break because u have done so much! i hope u have a good one monty, rest well!!!!

hi baby!!! yes I delete my personal posts quite frequently, it’s a bit of a bad habit lol. but thank you so so much for this, that’s such incredible praise and I really needed to hear it. I was supposed to be on semi hiatus regardless because of some tough things happening in my personal life, but look how well that went skdjsk it’s hard for me not to write!! but I’m burning myself out again so I need to take a breather. I think I’ll let the fics I’ve written over the last month sit so people can catch up on them (ik that actually finding time to read longer fics can be tricky especially when you aren’t in the headspace for it) and just let myself RELAX!!

#asks #guestbook #seriously though thank you #ily and I hope you have a brilliant week !!!!#the emojis skdjd me reading this 😭😭🥰🥰🥺🥹🫶🏻🫶🏻‼️⁉️

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newmusickarl · 3 months

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New Year, New Music - Welcome to 2024!

2024 is here and we have been spoilt with an avalanche of great new albums and tracks already in January. From early Album of the Year shouts to month-defining grooves, as ever I’ve tried to cover as much as possible.

Of course, some of the month’s biggest releases will be covered in the upcoming new episode of the 5-9 Album of the Month Podcast. For those new here, this is where I take a seat alongside 5-9 Editor Andrew Belt and Check This Out’s Kiley Larsen to review five high profile album releases from the past month in music, and ultimately name one as our Album of the Month at the end of the discussion.

For our first episode of 2024, the five albums we will be discussing are:

Sadness Sets Me Free by Gruff Rhys (poll winner, thanks for voting!)

Big Sigh by Marika Hackman

MADRA by NewDad

Wall of Eyes by The Smile

Three Bells by Ty Segall

If you want to listen to this or any previous episodes on Spotify simply click the link below, but also be sure to follow 5-9 Blog on Instagram and Twitter for more news and polls relating to the podcast, along with other great content like film reviews, sports articles and more.

Listen to the 2023 Album of the Year special episode here

Album & EP Recommendations

Prelude To Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party

Hype. Hype. Hype.

It’s funny, in recent memory anything that has been overhyped musically hasn’t really landed with me. Rock duo Wet Leg were being billed as a revelation and the best thing since sliced bread, but what I found was a very average band making, to me, overly repetitive music. Supergroup trio Boygenius were then one of my most anticipated records of last year, going on to receive universal acclaim as the best album of 2023. Sadly, I thought it was a good rather than great album and, in the end, it didn’t even make my Top 50 for the year. It seems over-expectation can be a curse and if there’s one band carrying that with them right now, it’s London-based quintet The Last Dinner Party.

In just three years, The Last Dinner Party have gone from forming to being signed to Island Records, to then playing talk shows around the globe and winning both the Brits Rising Star award and the BBC’s Sound of 2024 poll. Such is their meteoric rise to fame, there is constant talk of them being an “industry plant” – which of course is all absolute rubbish. But this type of extreme hype, scrutiny and expectation would be too much for any band right now to live up to – except The Last Dinner Party.

The singles in the build-up to this, the release of their debut album Prelude to Ecstasy, made it obviously clear that The Last Dinner Party were well worthy of all the attention they were receiving. Art-rock and baroque pop bangers packed with jaw-dropping vocals, scintillating guitar riffs, poetic lyrics rooted in feminism and, of course, their own captivating energy. So, I went into this album expecting greatness and I’m incredibly pleased to say, that is exactly what I found. Make no bones about it – Prelude To Ecstasy is a generational debut album that is truly exceptional in every way.

From the moment the grand orchestration of the opening title track greets your ears, you are pulled into Last Dinner Party’s stylish, richly-textured world. Burn Alive then cranks things up several gears, with singles Caesar on a TV Screen and On Your Side also carrying the momentum. Beautiful Boy is then a real standout, a gorgeous ballad about male privilege split into two parts that closes out a strong first half.

But as the album title would suggest, the first half is merely the build towards the triumphant grand finale and the stretch of six songs that make up the second half is a truly glorious crescendo. From the dramatic transition from Gjuha into Sinner, the towering guitars of Portrait of a Dead Girl and then the fist-in-the-air elation of the anthemic Nothing Matters, it pushes the album into masterclass territory. Closing track Mirror then brings everything full circle, pulling together all the elements that have made the previous 11 tracks so utterly engaging and life-affirming.

This debut from The Last Dinner Party really feels like a moment for British music, with the only thing I feel it is akin to is that of the Arctic Monkeys some 20 years ago, or Oasis another decade before that. Like it or not, The Last Dinner Party are the future of British rock music and they’ve made one hell of a statement as to why they are the chosen ones. So, stop with the industry plant nonsense and just give them and this album all the praise in the world – they deserve it.

Listen here

Saviors by Green Day

Let me start by saying that pop-punk legends Green Day were one of my first musical loves. As a teenager I discovered them through their “Best of” compilation International Superhits, before then diving through the rest of their catalogue. Then when their political rock opera American Idiot came out, that changed everything – to my teenage self along with my close groups of friends, it was a lightning bolt. So much so, our parents hired a van to take us down to Milton Keynes Bowl to see them in the Summer of 2005 – my first ever live show and still to this day, one of the best.

Sadly though like all first loves, Green Day kind of came and went. Follow-up album 21st Century Breakdown had its moments but ultimately didn’t hit quite like its predecessor and by the time triple album ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tre! dropped, I was over them altogether. However, I have still kept tabs on them since, dipping into each new record as it has come along but not getting particularly moved by what I have found. But when I read some reviews for Saviors and the record being described as “a return to form” and “their best since American Idiot”, I had to dive in to see if this was true. Whilst by no means on the level of their earlier work, I’m pleased to say that both those statements were indeed true.

If like me Green Day are prone to give you a nostalgia hit, then there will be plenty to enjoy with Saviors. The opening run of songs is particularly good fun, with opener The American Dream Is Killing Me playing out like a lost cut from American Idiot before Look Ma, No Brains! delivers a rip-roaring slice of punk. The next group of tracks are then the best on the whole record, from the angsty waltz of Bobby Sox to the rifftastic One Eyed Bastard, through to the melancholic rock of Dilemma and the nostalgia-soaked sounds of 1981. Honestly, I’m as surprised as you that Green Day could sound this good in 2024.

That said, at 15 tracks long the album does lose a bit of momentum around the midway mark, with the trio continuing to walk well-trodden ground but to less effect. However, they do pull it back somewhat in the final stretch, with the short, sharp and punchy Living in the ‘20s, the anthemic title track and the bluesy Fancy Sauce.

By no means perfect, it’s still great to hear Green Day deliver a solid effort again after all this time. With plenty of enjoyable moments, lots of fun riffs and a warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia, this was January’s big surprise package for me, and one I was happy to receive.

Listen here

Letter To Self by Sprints

What was it I was saying earlier about hype?

One of the most talked about albums of the month, you couldn’t escape the buzz around this debut from Dublin-based, garage-punk outfit Sprints. With near universal acclaim and more than a few “early Album of the Year contender” shouts from the music press, I went into this one with a heap of expectation. Like a lot of records hyped up to the moon over the last few years, it was another that left me lukewarm on the first couple of plays. However, with the expectation then removed, I eventually started to see this Sprints record for what it is – a decent, albeit not groundbreaking, debut from a promising young band.

Everything that’s great about Sprints is served up in opening track Ticking, with Karla Chubb’s angsty howls and ominous guitar play the quartet’s driving force. From there it is pretty much more of the same with the band propelled by a relentless energy that lands their songs somewhere between The Mysterines and their Irish compatriots in Fontaines D.C. and The Murder Capital. However, when they breakaway from their core sound that’s where the highlights come for me, such as the whirring acoustic strums of Shaking Their Hands and the poetic rhythms of Literary Mind.

With a frantic pace and a runtime of just over 30 minutes, it’s a record that is over before you know it and, given time, leaves you wanting to return back to hear it again. An album I’m sure will hit hard in a live setting, whilst I don’t love this record like I know some fans and critics do, it has left me keen to see where the quartet go next.

Listen here

Iechyd Da by Bill Ryder Jones

Another record that hasn’t been short on praise this month has been the fifth solo album from Bill Ryder-Jones. Like his previous work, this is another album that leaves me slightly conflicted, as there are indeed moments of outstanding beauty scattered within, but there are also moments which can tend to drag. That said, whilst it hasn’t completely won me over, I can more than see why many have been fully captured by it, with beautiful songs like the string-tinged If Tomorrow Starts Without Me, the soaring slow march of This Can’t Go On and the radiant majesty of Thankfully for Anthony.

At times a towering work of genius and at others simply stuck in the mud, the positives ultimately outweigh the negatives and when Iechyd Da hits, it hits harder than anything released this year thus far.

Listen here

American Dream by 21 Savage

Enjoyable rap records have sadly become a bit of rarity in recent years, but thankfully January has already gifted me two that I have had fun spinning. First-up is the third album from British-American rapper 21 Savage, who has delivered a captivating new autobiographical project that coincides with an upcoming biopic starring Donald Glover and Stranger Things’ Caleb McLaughlin. With guest appearances from the likes of Doja Cat, Travis Scott and Metro Boomin, Savage tells his tale as only he can, with honesty and clarity. There’s plenty of highlights too such as The Shining-inspired single redrum, the ominous strum of trap-groove pop ur shit and soulful closing track dark days.

Listen here

All Is Yellow by Lyrical Lemonade

A project that has been met with a universal shrug of “meh” by music critics, this compilation from Cole Bennett, director and founder of Lyrical Lemonade, I actually found to be quite fun. With a superstar guestlist including Eminem, Kid Cudi, Dave, Denzel Curry, Jack Harlow and more, it’s not a groundbreaking hip-hop project by any means, but it is an enjoyable listen on an entirely superficial level. Highlights include the dreamy and melodic Gus Dapperton, Lil Yachty & Joey Bada$$ collaboration Fallout and the Blink-182 sampling Hello There. This album won’t shake you to your core but if you simply want a non-taxing hip-hop record, you can do much worse than this one.

Listen here

People Who Aren’t There Anymore by Future Islands

One of my most anticipated records of the year thus far, Baltimore synth-pop outfit Future Islands served up their incredible seventh studio album, People Who Aren’t There Anymore, and I’m pleased to say it delivered on its early promise. Playing out almost like a greatest hits record at times, the more I spin it the more I think its quickly becoming my favourite record of theirs – which given their discography is saying something! Here’s what I said in my review for Clash:

“Whilst ‘People Who Aren’t There Anymore’ ultimately isn’t an album that breaks the Future Islands mould, it’s hard to hold that against them. This is their sound, and they prove here they can still do it better than any of their peers. And whilst the sonic evolution from their previous work may only be subtle shifts, the biggest change comes with the band leaning on personal stories this time around rather than more observational lyricism. Most importantly though Future Islands’ fans will find plenty to love with this album, with some of the songs here already instant favourites and others feeling like some of the best, most fully realised of their career thus far.”

Read my full review for Clash Magazine here

Listen to the album here

Birth of Omni by Birthmark

Quite fittingly, my first review of 2024 was a new project from one of the artists who made the standout record of my 2023. Indeed, the last time I was sat writing about Nate Kinsella’s musical output was only last month - when I was naming his album Lies, created alongside his cousin and American Football bandmate, Mike Kinsella, my Album of the Year for 2023.

Now back with his fifth solo album under his Birthmark guise, Nate has delivered yet another sonically adventurous record - one that primarily explores and reflects on his journey into fatherhood. Here’s what I said in my review for 5-9:

“Much like his recent work as LIES, Birth of Omni is a playful yet challenging listen - one that requires attention and patience in order for its full splendour to be revealed. But granted time, you may just find yourself mesmerised by Nate’s kaleidoscopic world, where his vocals frequently shapeshift from the demonic to the divine thanks to some trippy vocal distortion…

…You do get the impression that the primary audience for this album is Nate himself, which will no doubt turn off some listeners. But to any parents out there who may find themselves in Nate’s shoes, sharing some of the emotions he presents here, or indeed anyone simply interested in hearing him relay his parental journey in his own uniquely artistic way, you will find your patience greatly rewarded.”

Read my full review for 5-9 here

Listen to the album here

The King of Misery by Daudi Matsiko

As someone who sees himself as a champion for the thriving Nottingham music scene, I felt slightly embarrassed that British-Ugandan folk artist Daudi Matsiko was able to fly under my radar for so long. However, there is no escaping the understated beauty of his incredible debut The King of Misery, with LeftLion Music editor Gemma Cockrell summing it up perfectly in her review for 5-9:

“With the threat of AI taking over the music industry seeming more real as time goes on, The King Of Misery is as human as music gets. When listening to the album, you can imagine Matsiko recording each of these instruments and layering them with one another in a way that only a human being could achieve, and the emotion within his lyrics and delivery is something that no machine or robot could ever mimic or impersonate effectively.

The sadness, the despair, the hopelessness, the guilt; but also, the joy, the beauty, the gratitude and the hope, as it gradually begins to outweigh the darkness: The King Of Misery is a celebration of everything that it means to be human.”

Read Gemma’s full review for 5-9 here

Listen to the album here

Also worth checking out: How To Disappear by Casey, Little Rope by Sleater-Kinney, Everybody Can’t Go by Benny The Butcher, Plastic Death by Glass Beach

Tracks of the Month

Kool-Aid by Bring Me The Horizon

The biggest musical moment for me this month, and I’m sure lots of other music fans across the UK, was catching Yorkshire metal heroes Bring Me The Horizon on their massive arena tour.

A true spectacle from start to finish, it was a show filled with huge anthems and top tier production that combined to make for one of the best arena gigs I’ve ever seen. But just prior to that, Bring Me released their first new music since the shock exit of band composer, Jordan Fish. The good news is Kool-Aid is as great as anything they’ve released in recent memory, hopefully signifying that the band will continue to be just fine without him going forward.

Listen here

Just Another Rainbow by Liam Gallagher & John Squire

A collaboration made in 90s Madchester dreams. Legends Liam Gallagher and John Squire have announced they will be releasing a self-titled album as a duo on the 1st March and its sent indie-heads both young and old into a frenzy. Hearing the first track its easy to see why, with Liam Gallagher’s signature vocals sounding just blissful against Squire’s psychedelic guitar passages, with the latter fully stealing the show on this first taste of the new project.

Listen here

One Night/All Night by Justice & Tame Impala

Another huge collaboration, electronic icons Justice returned this month with news that their new album Hyperdrama will be dropping at the end of April, ahead of some huge festival appearances this summer. If that wasn’t big enough, the first taste of the new album features none other than Tame Impala, with Kevin Parker’s vocals lifting the track into a hazy cloud of paradise.

Listen here

Hunger Games by Bob Vylan

Expectations for grime-punk duo Bob Vylan’s forthcoming third album, Humble as the Sun, are only growing with each new single. With the first part of their latest release Hunger Games dealing with the current the economic crisis, before a self-worth affirming spoken word passage during the song’s outro, it’s starting to look like Bobby and Bobbie might just be about to drop their best record yet.

Listen here

Gift Horse by IDLES

Another punk outfit looking similarly set up to release their best album yet, IDLES release the highly anticipated TANGK in just a few weeks, which frontman Joe Talbot has described as their “Love” record. Latest single Gift Horse is yet another belter, with its clanging guitar riffs and Joe’s primal cries of “LOOK AT HIM GOOOOO!”

Listen here

We Make Hits by Yard Act

When post-punkers Yard Act released electronic epic The Trench Coat Museum last year, it looked like a change in direction may be on the cards. However, with news that the song wouldn’t feature on upcoming album Where’s My Utopia and the singles from that record sounding more in line with their traditional sound, these feelings were quickly dashed. It seems though that this may have been premature and some experimentation may still be on the cards, as We Make Hits is a left curve that’s also a catchy and joyous ode to friendship.

Listen here

The End of the Contender by Everything Everything

A band seemingly in the best creative patch of their already stellar career, Manchester indie-outfit Everything Everything are busy prepping for the release of their seventh studio album Mountainhead, which will be their third in four years. Now latest single The End of the Contender might just be the most hook-laden track from the record thus far, flush with infectious melodies and shimmering synths.

Listen here

Angel Face by Oscar & The Wolf

When Belgian pop sensation Max Colombie shared photos of his bruised and scarred face on Instagram, concern from his fanbase instantly arose. However, Max would later reveal that he was simply ready to share details of the darkest period of his life, channelling it into new single – Angel Face. A glistening, instantly catchy pop anthem, it’s a tale of sadness and heartbreak that just about overcomes its overwhelming production. Here’s hoping we get an acoustic version of the song too in the near future.

Listen here

Losing My Grip by Enter Shikari & Fever 333

With their massive arena tour kicking off later this week, genre-defying metal outfit Enter Shikari have dropped their latest banger to give themselves a further setlist headache. Featuring Fever 333 who will support them on the upcoming tour, it features a filthy Prodigy-esque beat whilst frontman Rou Reynolds takes no prisoners as he screams “I THINK I’M LOSING MY GRIP” alongside Fever 333’s Jason Aalon Butler.

Listen here

Burning Down The House by Paramore

Finishing this month’s roundup with a trio of exceptional covers, with the first one seeing Paramore take-on Talking Heads’ classic Burning Down The House, staying faithful whilst also putting their own slight spin on the track. Taken from a forthcoming tribute album to Stop Making Sense to mark its 40th anniversary, the project will also feature the likes of The National, Blondshell, Miley Cyrus and Lorde. Looking forward to hearing more from this one!

Listen here

Staying Alive (Chris’ Version) by Christine & The Queens

Technically released very late last year, I’m including it here as its too good to not include. Art-pop visionary Christine & The Queens has released his completely unique take on the Bee-Gees classic, transforming it into a trippy, swaggering electro-pop banger.

Listen here

Kiss Me by Matt Maltese

Having released one of my favourite records of last year, English singer-songwriter Matt Maltese is now getting ready to release his own covers album, with Kiss Me the first taste of the project. His take on the Sixpence None the Richer track, his smooth vocal tones and lounge-style arrangement suit the song’s mood perfectly.

Listen here

Also worth checking out: Predator by YONAKA, Off With Her Tits by Allie X, Loved by Four Tet, Is This Love by James, Gleams by George FitzGerald, Stay Cool by James Vincent McMorrow, Pearl by Walt Disco, No One by Express Office Portico

REMINDER: If you use Apple Music, you can also keep up-to-date with all my favourite 2024 tracks through my Best of 2024 playlist. Constantly updated throughout the year with songs I enjoy, it is then finalised into a Top 100 Songs of the Year in December.

Add the Best of 2024 playlist to your library here

Listen back to my Best of 2023 playlist:

On Spotify here

On Apple Music here

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pynkhues · 3 years

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Please recommend some of your fav Rio fics!

Of course, anon! Since you asked for Rio fics, I'm going to guess you meant Rio POV fics? If not, I'm sorry, haha, because that's what I've collated, but I hope you give these a shot regardless! They're all fics I think are pretty great. ;-)

Below a cut, because this got long.

But when he does reappear at the store—she still doesn't hear him coming, she needs to work on that—she's wearing a fuckin' dress, and he's glad she hasn't seen him yet because he can't stop himself from grinning.

Maybe it ain't for him, but given the fact that he doesn't think he's seen her legs since he came back—aside from that one night at the bar when she was definitely feeling herself—it seems like this is an intentional break in the pattern. Either way, he fuckin' loves the idea that she's been dressing up all week, not sure if he's coming but wanting to be ready if he does.

Now Use Both Hands by ms_scarlet / @mego42 6k words. Explicit. Beth x Rio. S3 canon divergence.

Ooooof, this fic causes me physical pain, but I love it a whole lot. Meg really captures Beth and Rio at their most acidic, their most sharp edged, while also managing to balance that with the feelings they desperately don’t want to have. It’s a bit magic, and the fact that she follows this up with another fave, Listening Through the Air Shaft is *chef’s kiss*.

- - - -

When he wakes, he's in a hospital bed, mouth dry as bone and he can taste blood, stale and metallic, on his tongue. The pain in his chest has been dulled by the drugs, but it still lingers, a persistent ache that spikes with every breath.

By all rights, he's a dead man walking.

Ten hours, they had him in surgery. From the look of his chart, he'd flatlined twice, and he can feel the consequences of that, see it in the bruises on his chest, the exhaustion lining the faces of his family. He'd woken to a little hand in his, Pop's cheeks damp with tears, and shit, it'd been close. Too close.

Bury a Friend by @ejunkiet >1k words. Mature. Beth x Rio S3 canon divergence.

Pivoting from 3.01, this fic is a wonderful, quiet character study that looks at Rio in the aftermath of the shooting before he explodes back into Beth’s life. It pulses with emotion and with the promise of catharsis, and it’s just a really special little fic. The Rio voice is terrific too.

- - - -

He finally gets what he needs one day when Elizabeth’s wearing this tight black sweater with a keyhole that shows off just enough to make Rio’s jaw rock. It’s so out of the ordinary, so unlike her ugly li’l sweaters or her surburban mama button-ups, he does a double take, head whippin’ around so fast that she catches it immediately. Then she catches where his gaze lands, where it keeps landin’ through their whole stilted, irritated conversation, and he sees her chest pinken til he can count her freckles. He sucks his lower lip into his mouth, and her lips fall open just the smallest bit, and then she looks up at him.

Eyes locked on each other, Rio takes a step closer. Elizabeth doesn’t back away.

I Will Collect You and Capture You by @foxmagpie 17k words. Explicit. Beth x Rio S3 canon divergence.

I feel like I've recced this fic 1,200 times at this point, haha, but it really is one of my favourite fics in the fandom. It has this sort of grip on you as a reader that almost embodies Beth's grip on Rio in the story, and the way it builds and builds and releases only to build and build again is really delicious, affecting writing.

- - - -

“Com’n her and her lady friends were shakin’”

“Shakin’ about the lemon on the fuckin’ granite, sure.”

They chuckled as the car rolled on, the suburbs slipping away with the sun.

“Think they’ll pay up?”

There was a groan as Rio shifted in his seat, flexing his fingers along the dash.

“Neighborhood like this? Everybody knows someone who knows someone with a trust fund.”

Mick’s lighter flickered, followed by long, rasping inhale. “And a boat.”

Smoke swirled lazily through the open window up into the purple sky.

“And a boat.” Echoed Rio.

Drivin' through the Suburbs by gangfriend / @00gangfriend00 5k words. Teen+. Mick + Rio friendship, Beth x Rio. Canon compliant.

It takes a lot to make me laugh out loud in a fic, but this one does multiple times. It's just insanely fun, and captures Rio and Mick at their most boyish in a way I find utterly charming. It's really, really delightful.

- - - -

She’s got her crimes wrapped up and categorized in folders with labels and post-its. Wrapped up in gift paper with a big blue bow on it. And she’ll probably ask Turner do you want freshly baked cookies or some shit when they go raiding her kitchen.

Rio should really get it under control. Her, get her under control.

She opens the door and slumps onto the front seat, her eyes set angrily on him. Nineteen voicemails and she’s still got things to say: he sees it in the twitch of her hand, the restless, frustrated pattern. Any minute now she’s going to settle on new words to voice her complaints like he’s here to listen. Like he’s got the time— like he cares. Like he’d better.

It’s a Work Thing by isoldewas >1k words. Mature. Beth x Rio. 2.12 canon divergent.

I'm a bit of a sucker for a good canon divergent fic, and this one pivots the car break up in 2.12 in a smutty way that just works unfairly well. It's such a great little fic that really settles well into Rio's headspace during the messiness of s2, and I love it.

- - - -

They settle in their respective places and Rio takes the opportunity to give Elizabeth the same once over that asshole did. Her ass really does look great in those pants and she could fill out any shirt. Her eyes linger over him too, tracing his skin, the bar tattoos peeking out from under his t-shirt that she’s seen a million times but she devours at every opportunity. Then her eyes meet his and she gives him that small, crooked lil’ smile.

He’s not one for religion, but every so often he takes his mom to Spanish mass. All the viejitos and pious Catholic types think he’s a banger but his ma’s still excited to show him off. He sits with her in the pew and when the priest asks for the congregation to give thanks to God, he says a prayer for the riches that have come to him, the health and brilliance of his son, the vitality of the other little ones in his life now, and Elizabeth. And when he thinks of her in those moments, he sees her in his mind’s eye with this exact look on her face.

A Bit of a Stretch by @septiembrre 5k words. Teen+. Beth x Rio. Established relationship.

Beth and Rio do a yoga class together! There’s such a lived-in feel to this fic that it feels impossible not to fall a bit in love with it – their relationship is explored in a way that feels true to who the characters are, while sanding down the edges to create something that feels sweet in the way they usually aren’t in canon. It's a great fic, but more than that, it really just works in a way that's a lot more complicated than it looks, and it’s all the more charming for it.

- - - -

He’s happy to keep kissing her like this. To savour it. Realises she’s undone the last few buttons of his shirt at some point as she shoves it down his shoulders. Doesn’t have a second to think about his ugly scars pressed to her skin. Can just feel her little hot palms snaking up his back and grippin’ him tight. Refusing to let any light between them as they kiss for what feels like hours.

He realises these are the lips he’s been tasting. Searching for in other women when his night’s got too unbearably quiet, hunting for an echo of the thing he really wanted. Comin’ up short every damn time. Sweet and soft and lethal. Unique to her.

It’s longing in a way he’s never felt. This is the taste of it.

As Good as This by @riosnecktattoo 5k words. Explicit. Beth x Rio. 4.05 canon divergence.

Okay, I know I just said how much I loved canon divergence fics, but it bears repeating – I love canon divergence fics, haha. This is such a great alternate take on how the wire scene in 4.05 goes down, and it simmers with tension from the opening line. The way it escalates as Rio navigates this newest betrayal works really well too, and it results in a pretty sexy and surprisingly emotional sequence. Magic!

- - - -

“Do we have a deal?” She asks.

When he turns to look at her she’s smiling, and that’s when he realizes he’s absolutely fucked. He’d just fucked himself out of almost a quarter of a million dollars. He lets his eyes drop down her body, licks his lips and nods.

“I choose the place,” he says and turns on his side to face her. “You owe me half - with interest,” he says and slides a hand into her hair. She’s damp, the sweat slowly cooling.

“That’s not what - “ she opens her mouth to protest and he takes that opportunity to slide his mouth across hers and lick into her mouth.

Long Nights by zetuslapetus / @querenaxx 2k words. Explicit. Beth x Rio. S3 canon divergence.

Rio and Beth bone while negotiating a deal! What's not to love, haha. This has such a fun checks and balances feel to it which just makes me want to peel my skin off, it's so good. It's exactly the way I like my Beth and Rio - hot and snarky and constantly trying to get a leg over the other, literally and figuratively. It's the best.

- - - -

He should go out and find someone to fuck. Maybe text one of his hookups. See if Jen’s working. He has options.

He knows what he should do.

But it turns out fucking other people is a worse hell than the one they create when they’re together.

And now that he’s yielded to this wicked ecstasy, he knows he’ll do anything to keep sitting in the fire with her.

To Sit in Hell with You by @daydreamstew 2k words. Beth x Rio. Explicit. s4 canon divergence.

Canon-divergent from 4.06 – Beth and Rio keep hooking up after the time at his grandma’s place. It’s fun and sexy while also keeping the complicated push-pull and lack of communication at the heart of them. Deeelightful.

- - - -

“Does it make it easier?” Maddie asks him once they’re spent, maybe emboldened because he has already brought her into their bed. Which may be unfair, because Lee had been in their bed from the beginning.

“What?” He seems lost in his thoughts, his arm behind his head. In a few minutes he’ll get up and get ready to get back to the factory. Like always, she’ll be looking for her keys so she won’t be late for work.

“Getting it out of your system before you see her.”

Rio glances at her. “I don’t always see you when I see her.”

It’s so rare for him to explicitly mention this woman, however tenuously, and Maddie waits for more. Rio’s gotten like this about a few women in his life but it doesn’t happen often.

Sure am Using You by aniara 2k words. Explicit. Rio x OC, Rio x Beth.

It's not for everyone, but I absolutely love fics that feature characters with other people in ways that tell you something about the characters' feelings about somebody else. In this fic, Rio's fucking one of his childhood friends, but it's all about Beth really, and the way both Rio and the OC negotiate that is really compelling writing, and feels so in character for Rio. I really love it.

- - - -

Rio dreams of her that night, again. It’s irritatingly pedestrian – Elizabeth’s kissing him deep and then, ah, suddenly his gun’s in her hand and she shoots him, with a double encore. It’s always variations on the same futile theme. When he wakes it’s not that he’s freaked, unaware of reality or his whereabouts. But he’s been soaked in anger for so long. He can’t think straight, not on her. It’s honestly terrifying. Cos stubbornly keeping his head on right is – that’s him. Maybe her entire raison d’etre is destroying every single one of his attributes though.

He ain’t sure if his subconscious is desperately screaming that he’s made the wrong move, letting her live. Or if it’s the total opposite. Could be fucking neither. It’s not – it’s not getting any easier. And that main reason for not biting the bullet, that he’d be mad as hell for being mad as hell at himself over killing her, it's not smelling any less idiotic.

Climbing up the Walls by s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe 8k words. Explicit. Beth x Rio. S3 canon divergence.

Another canon divergence from 2.13 and an interpretation of how s3 could've gone, and another one I really love. There's a throughline of chaotic frustration to this fic that rings true to Rio's character for me, and the way that that reverberates through his moments not just with Beth, but alone and with other women, feels really textured and interesting and real. It's pretty great.

#this was fun to put together #so many good fiicccss #truly a blessed fandom #beth x rio #beth boland #rio #nbc good girls #gg fic #fic recs #welcome to my ama

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thelastspeecher · 2 years

Text

Stanuary ‘22 - Week 2: Identity

It’s ya boi, back at it again with another BANGER. Hopefully. This particular ficlet takes place in my new Radio AU, where, while Stan’s homeless on the road, he hears a radio host and falls in love with her just by the sound of her voice. He sticks around in the area (which happens to be San Diego, where I’ve placed West Coast Tech), winds up crossing paths with the radio host, and befriends her. Oh, and it’s a modern-ish AU; I don’t have a specific time to set it, but there’s some more modern technology than there would be in the 70s/80s. That should be enough context, so, enjoy.

———————————————————————————————————–

The San Diego sun shone down upon Stan and Sally as they walked down the street. His hand itched to reach for hers, but he knew she wouldn’t respond well to that.

And I don’t wanna throw away my shot. Not only have I sunk a lotta time into a relationship with Sally, but… Sally smiled at him. Stan smiled back. I really like her. I can’t risk losing her like I lost Ford. Sally came to a stop. Stan stopped as well.

“Well. Here we are,” Sally said in a small voice, staring at something to her right. Stan followed her gaze. It was a sign.

“…West Coast Institute of Technology?” he asked. Sally nodded. “Uh, why are we here?”

“I want to show you the place I broadcast my radio show from.” Sally managed a weak smile. “The reason I haven’t taken ya to it yet is ‘cause it’s on campus. And I was a bit nervous ‘bout takin’ ya to campus.”

“Why?”

“I…” Sally rubbed the back of her neck. “I was worried you’d think I was some sort of stuck-up upper-crust person.”

“Why would I think that?”

“I go to West Coast Tech,” Sally confessed. Stan’s jaw dropped. “I’m majorin’ in computer science.”

“You- wh- how-” Stan stammered.

“Full ride scholarship. I did some programmin’ ‘n designin’ that caught the eye of the school,” Sally said. “And since I’m a top-notch student, they didn’t bat an eye when I asked if I could use the old shed near the business buildin’. I didn’t tell ‘em what it was for.” Sally smirked. “But they didn’t ask.” Stan chuckled.

“I get why you were worried. West Coast Tech is a pretty nuts school to get into,” Stan said. “I knew someone who had a shot to get into it, but he…he didn’t quite make it.”

“Same thing happened to my older brother. He barely missed the cut.”

“Shit,” Stan muttered. Sally’s eyes widened.

“Oh, don’t worry, he doesn’t treat me any dif’rent. He’s proud enough of me to fight down his jealousy,” Sally chirped cheerfully. She looked away. “There’s somethin’ that I’ll need to tell ya ‘fore we head fer my broadcastin’ shed.”

“What?”

“My real name.”

“Your name isn’t Sally?”

“No. My Ma’s is. My name’s actually Angie.”

“Why’d you use a fake name?” Stan asked.

Like you’re one to talk. What fake identity are you on now? The sixth?

“I was worried that one of my classmates might hear my show and mess with me,” Sally, or rather, Angie, mumbled. Stan frowned.

“You don’t think they’ll be able to recognize your voice, even if you use a fake name?” he asked. Angie winced.

“About that…” she started slowly. Someone walked up to them.

“Angie, you better not be bringing this guy to the dorm,” the stranger, a young man with dark brown hair, said. “Who knows what kind of rumors would spread?” Angie forced a smile.

“Oh, don’t worry, Oscar!” she said cheerfully. Stan barely prevented himself from gaping at her incredibly neutral accent. “I’m just showing him around campus a bit. He was curious about where I go to school.”

“Hmph.” Oscar looked Stan up and down. “I can see why he’d be curious. He wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of enrolling here.” He turned around and began to walk away. “I’ll see you in coding class, I suppose.”

“See you there!” Angie called after him. Stan stared at her. “…Yeah. Now you see why I wasn’t worried anyone on campus would recognize my voice.”

“I’ve never heard anyone drop an accent like that before!” Stan gushed. He grabbed Angie’s shoulders. “Sa- Angie, you’ve gotta teach me how you do it.” Angie giggled.

“Just practice, that’s all. I started droppin’ my accent my first year here, ‘cause folks kept mistreatin’ me fer it.” Her expression became somber. “I wasn’t happy about leavin’ behind part of my identity, but I had no choice.”

“No, I get it.”

“When I started up my radio station, though, I figured I’d fin’ly talk the way I was raised. I was glad to have somewhere I could be m’self. Even if it is an abandoned shed.”

“Speaking of that abandoned shed, you promised me you were gonna show me it,” Stan said, raising an eyebrow. Angie rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

“All right, I’ll show ya.”

“Cool.” Stan let go of her shoulders. “But, uh, Angie…” Angie cocked her head curiously.

“Hmm?”

“You said you stopped using your accent because you were mistreated. I don’t wanna hurt your feelings or anything, but going off what that guy said, I don’t think they really stopped mistreating you.”

“Oh, I know they didn’t. But’s more tolerable now.” Angie shrugged. “Them’s the breaks. I’ve- I’ve been alone a lot while I’m at school.” She beamed at Stan. Her megawatt smile filled Stan’s stomach with butterflies. “But I ain’t alone anymore! I’ve got you now.”

“Yeah.” Stan smiled fondly at her. “And I’ve got you.”

-----

Stan laid on the floor of the shed Angie broadcasted her show from, listening to her finish up.

“This is Sweet Sally, signin’ off and wishin’ ya a merry Thursday!” Angie chirped cheerfully. “The weekend’s almost here, folks! I’ll play ya out to Friday with some John Denver.” She pressed a button. Some jangly acoustic country song began to play. Angie pressed another button, muting her microphone, and took her headset off with a sigh. She turned around in her chair to face Stan. “Uh, Hal, why are ya on the floor?”

“Sometimes you just gotta be on the floor, y’know?” Stan said, sitting up. Angie giggled. Stan grinned. “You always end the show with John Denver.”

“He’s important to me ‘n my fam’ly. We all know John Denver songs ‘n have a fav’rite one. We all can also play ‘em on some sort of instrument.” Stan raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

“You can play an instrument?”

“I can play three. Piano, fiddle, ‘n ukulele. I was taught piano and fiddle by my pa, but I taught m’self ukulele.”

“Damn.” Stan nodded appreciatively. “That’s impressive.” Angie blushed, her cheeks turning a faint pink. She tucked a strand of caramel-colored hair behind one ear.

“Th-thanks.” She cleared her throat. “So, did ya want to go see that movie? I know that ya mentioned it earlier.”

“Uh, yeah.” Stan looked at his wristwatch. “We’ve got plenty of time before the next showing.”

“Great! I’d hate to have to rush. I always worry I’ve forgotten to do somethin’ if I have to leave here quick.”

“I’ve noticed,” Stan said without thinking. Angie looked away, suddenly shy. “But, hey, if you gotta be thorough, you gotta be thorough,” he added quickly. “Better to do it once than do it twice. Or however the saying goes.”

“Do it right or do it twice,” Angie said.

“Yeah. That.” Stan rubbed the back of his neck. “Speaking of doing stuff right…” Angie cocked her head curiously.

You can tell her. You have to tell her. If you let this lie go on much longer, she’ll kick you to the curb when she finds out the truth.

“…I’ve been lying to you,” he finished weakly. Angie’s mouth fell open in a small “o”. “My name isn’t Hal Forrester. It’s Stan Pines.” Angie furrowed her brow.

“If you’ve been goin’ by a fake name all this time, why’d ya give me grief fer usin’ a stage name on the radio?” she asked.

“I didn’t give you that much grief. Did I?”

“No, I s’ppose not.” Angie slid off her chair to join Stan on the floor. “Why are ya usin’ a fake name?”

“Promise not to get mad first.”

“I can’t make that promise ahead of time, sorry.” Stan hadn’t seen Angie be this serious before. “My folks raised me to be compassionate and kind, but not to be an idiot.”

“…Right.” Stan took a deep breath. “Stan Pines is wanted for…” Stan wracked his brain, searching for some euphemism to lighten the blow. “…illicit activities,” he landed on, remembering a word Ford had used to describe how Stan got possession of the Stanleymobile. Angie scooted away from him.

“Yer a criminal?” she whispered.

“Technically, yes,” Stan said. Angie covered her face with her hands. “You okay there?”

“The first friend I’ve made in years, ‘n he’s a criminal,” Angie whispered. Stan bristled.

“Hey, I’m a good guy! I’ve just made some bad decisions, that’s all.” Angie’s hands fell from her face. Her bright blue eyes bore into him.

“What kind of bad decisions?”

“Uh, scamming people, mostly. Some stealing. One arson.”

“Arson?!” Angie squeaked.

“Just the one time.”

“That’s one more time ‘n ya should do somethin’ like arson!”

“I didn’t have a choice, okay?” Stan snapped. “It’s tough being on the streets. You do what you have to do to get by.” Angie frowned.

“Yer homeless?”

“I’ve got my car.”

“So, that’s a yes, then.” Angie’s gaze flicked down to the ground. “How long have ya been homeless?”

“No comment.”

“Fine. Ya don’t need to tell me exactly how long. But yer my age. Right? Unless ya lied ‘bout that, too.”

“No, we’re pretty much the same age.”

“I have a sneakin’ suspicion that you’ve been on the streets since ‘fore ya were a legal adult,” Angie said quietly. She looked up at Stan again. “Am I right?” Stan winced.

I knew she was smart, but holy Moses does she pick up on things quick. His silence was answer enough. Angie covered her mouth in horror.

“Did ya get kicked out as a teenager?” she asked.

“I’m only gonna tell you one big thing about me per day. Today’s big thing is my real name.”

“Another yes, then.” Angie crossed her arms. “Well, why didn’t ya lead with that?” she demanded. Stan blinked, shocked by her furor.

“Whattaya mean?”

“You led with ‘I’m a criminal.’ Next time, say that ya got kicked out of yer home as a teenager, and as a result, ya had to break the law to get by, resultin’ in ya takin’ on a false identity.”

“You’re…okay with all this?” Stan asked, reeling. Angie sighed heavily.

“Not quite. But I’m understanding of it, at least. I can’t imagine what ya had to go through, Hal- Stan.” She placed her hand on Stan’s knee. “…Thank you fer trustin’ me with this information. It’s not easy to give up.”

“I mean, I didn’t do a lot of giving up. You figured out half of it on your own.”

“Still. Ya didn’t deny any of it.”

“I’m a bad liar.”

“I don’t believe that,” Angie said. She quirked a half-smile. “Ya got away with arson, fer one thing.”

“Fair enough.”

“So, how long do we have ‘fore that movie starts?” Angie asked, getting to her feet. Stan stood as well.

“You still wanna see a movie with me?”

“I need some time to come to terms with what all ya told me, sure,” Angie said with a shrug. “But I can do that in a darkened movie theater just fine.”

#I saw ''Identity'' as a prompt and was like ''oh PERFECT I can unleash my Radio AU some more'' ajhsdfsaenjklfd #(also yes the brother of Angie's that almost got into WCT was Fiddleford)#Stanuary #Radio AU #Stanley Pines #Angie McGucket #Stangie #my writing #my stuff #ficlet #speecher speaks

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space-city-traffic · 3 years

Text

it’s time for another one of my patented Unnecessarily Long Silt Verses Metas! the subject of this one is: i just relistened to episode 4, because it’s probably my favorite episode in the whole series, and now i have just so many questions. so!

worldbuilding questions:

what is the generally accepted attitude toward queerness in-universe? i initially thought it was sort of a juno-steel-esque world where we assume everybody’s just chill with it. it’s never remarked upon that the farmer has a husband in ep3, and everyone respects Vaughn’s pronouns in the professional world. but this episode seems to trouble that a little, since Carpenter’s aromanticism is not understood or respected by Todd, as well as a whole line of other people. so what’s the overarching consensus?

how complex are prayer marks, on average? ive been picturing them as looking like the tsv logo. but in this episode, we learn that a prayer mark on the elk corpse is a triangle, three lines, and a circle. maybe prayer marks look more like those six figures on the internal hexagon of the logo?

do cell phones exist in the world of tsv?? it seems like Carpenter has no way of contacting Faulkner to get him to pick her up early. and toward the end, Charity asks Gareth if there’s a landline in the spooky house, implying that they would need it to call for help. also, in earlier episodes, we have our main two having to use a hotel pay phone to call Mason. so im realizing that cell phones probably aren’t common, at the very least.

(the discord server i’m in took that information, plus the fact that emails do exist as of episode 8, and suggested that tsv is just set in a really fucked up version of the 90’s complete with tracksuits and butterfly hair clips. do with that as you will.)

thematic questions:

there’s a lot of similarity between the way Carpenter describes the faith of Pendas’ Slake and the way she describes the Trawlerman. she describes the first snare she finds as “The wire is wound like a fishing lure,” she talks about the twin faces of the elk-saint in the same way as the twin faces of the Trawlerman, and she tells us that her blood from the chase “Runs like a river.” so uh what’s that about??? also, she was seeking for a river cult when she found this. which is clearly different, but has a lot of uncanny echoes. so what’s that about??????

this might not be intentional, but this episode is the first of two times we hear bridges associated with romance. Todd propositions Carpenter on a bridge, and in the next episode, Hayward rambles about a cult of romantic couples and locks on a bridge. not sure if there’s anything there, but if the motif keeps happening in the future, i may have to look a little closer.

do snare dogs count as saints or angels of Charity’s faith? the elk of birch and bone is clearly a saint, since that’s a transformation. but were the snare dogs once people, too? or are they like the crab dog sentinel that Faulkner describes as an angel in episode 8?

either way, it’s very interesting to me how differently Charity interacts with them. there’s a ton of fear in how Carpenter and Faulkner engage with saints of their faith, and the angel actively decks Faulkner the moment he fumbles the canvass. but the snare dogs are described as nuzzling around Charity in almost affection. not sure what the difference is, but it feels interesting.

thoughts on Carpenter’s faith:

she describes herself and her river as “lonely” over and over again. she’s the only one to describe it like that, everyone else sees it as full of creatures and life! but she can’t see that aspect of it, only the wrath and destruction—she can’t imagine it not being like her.

(that’s why it’s interesting that hope comes when she sees Faulkner and knows she’s not alone at the end—the line “I’ve been seen” says it all. not sure how she’s gonna reconcile that in the long run.)

there’s this banger of a line that she drops when she talks about Todd thinking that she rejected him because of her faith: “As if faith had anything to do with who I was. With what I wanted, and didn’t want, my life to become.” which, like. that’s specifically in reference to her aromanticism but also like. Carpenter that is a very loaded statement. can you imagine Faulkner saying something like that???

actually it’s interesting—Faulkner very much loses himself in his faith, whereas Carpenter keeps a very distinct handle on who she is and what she thinks and wants out of this whole deal. so her faith is very different, because she’s such an individualist, and sometimes her stubborn insistence on Her Way bumps up against what the organized cult says. her faith really doesn’t influence what she wants out of the world. it’s kinda the other way around.

she burns her copy of the Silt Verses at the end. you guys. she burns her holy book. while praying. what the fuck. that’s iconic. but also what the fuck.

stupid questions:

how tf is Carpenter walking in any episodes after this??? she twists her ankle until there’s a crunch, and there’s a chunk taken out of her leg???? ma’am you shouldn’t be able to stand on that for a WHILE that’s probably at least a second degree rolled ankle i fear for your ligaments

how tf does a jaw look like a snare. how. a snare is like a noose of wire. how does that WORK

Carpenter was a lure for the Trawlerman’s faith???? sorry??? reminder that lures are: “Sweet-faced young acolytes who are sent out into the world, to hand out the flowers, whisper kind enticements, and lead the faithless into the sacrificial grounds”?????? i can not imagine that went well for Grumpy McCrow over here

(actually... could that be related to Todd and his ilk only seeing her as what they wanted her to be, wanting to find their meaning in her? maybe she took advantage of people willfully misunderstanding her, just like she takes advantage of people telling her their life stories. hmm. someone write a fic.)

im severely asexual, but after listening to Carpenter’s voice and cadences this whole episode—is this what sexy means??? i think i finally understand what sexy means. bless.

#long post #tsv #the silt verses #the silt verses meta #tsv meta #sister carpenter #carpenter tsv #Mallory glass #carpenter #the trawlerman #religion cw #cult cw

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broadstbroskis · 3 years

Text

thanksgiving | jeff skinner

a/n: it’s here!!! this is like 4k that i threw together in like a week after i took it as a personal challenge from @blueskrugs after i asked why we don’t write more thanksgiving fics. a huge shoutout to her and @danglesnipecelly, for inspiration and cheering me on for this, as well as literally anyone else who’s cheered me on to finish thing, you’re all the real mvps and i love you all 💚

-----

Jeff shrugs, and from across the table filled with pizza, beer, and a bunch of other things that are most definitely not on his approved list of foods, you stare at him.

“I dunno. I don’t really have plans, I guess? Probably just sit at home, relax a little?” He says. Your jaw drops. He has...he has what now? “You're going to your parent’s right?” You nod slowly, still stuck on the fact that he’s going to sit at home and do nothing on Thanksgiving, the best of all holidays. Not spend the day with some teammates, not make a quick trip to his family, nothing. “That’ll be fun!” Jeff grins, dimples popping. “What are you-”

“You’re doing nothing?” You get out finally, the words coming back to you.

Jeff’s smile falters, but only slightly, and he nods. “Yeah? I mean, there’s no practice, no games. I’ll just…” He trails off for a second and then shrugs. “Rest.”

“You’re not going to go, like, visit your parents? They’re right across the border!”

“It’s a Thursday.” Jeff says patiently and you abruptly remember that his Canadian-ness is the whole point of this conversation.

“Thanksgiving is the best holiday! You can’t sit at home alone on it; I forbid it!” Jeff’s smile grows again as he laughs and you try and fight your own grin as you shove at his shoulders, to no avail. “Come home with me!”

“What?” He laughs again, but this time, it’s more like disbelief.

But the idea is already growing in your mind. “Come home with me! You know my parents love you, they won’t mind at all!”

“I can’t just invite myself to your Thanksgiving!” Jeff protests.

You wave him off. “You’re not, I’m inviting you! Come on, we’d love to have you!” He still looks hesitant, so you add, “Our Thanksgiving is huge anyway; one extra mouth to feed isn’t going to put anyone out, Jeff.”

“Alright.” He caves, and you grin, pulling your phone close to you to text your mom and let her know. “But ask your mom, okay? Like, really ask her, don’t just, like, tell her I’m coming.”

“Too late!” You say cheerfully, showing him the text you’d sent in your family group chat, telling them you were bringing Jeff with you next week. Your mom’s already responded with a string of happy face emojis and your younger sister with a How I Met Your Mother gif about Canadian Thanksgiving. “Be prepared for a lot of Canada jokes!”

“Is that supposed to be different than any other time I see your family?’ Jeff deadpans, but you’re pretty sure he looks like, at least 50% more relaxed, so you count this as a win and ignore him completely, already mentally planning for the best holiday of the year.

-----

The drive back home to your parents takes about an hour longer than you’d like, stuck in the same godawful traffic as everyone else trying to leave Buffalo on Wednesday so that they can get back home in time to go out that night.

When Jeff finally pulls his car up in front of your childhood home, you can already see that it’s bustling with activity, getting ready for tomorrow. Most of your siblings have already arrived- only your older brother, with his wife and daughters will come in tomorrow, with the rest of your family- but your younger brother and sister have already come home, a fact that’s even more evident when you and Jeff walk in the front door and immediately trip over three pairs of sneakers.

“Liam!” You cry, grabbing onto Jeff so you don’t fall. “Motherfucker, move your shoes!”

Your brother pops his head out of the living room, AirPods in his ears. “I’m on a call!” And just as you're marveling at the fact that your brother is a real person with a real job taking real work calls, said real person with a real job spots Jeff and lights up. “Jeff! Bro! What’s up, man?”

“I thought you were on a call.” You snap at him.

“I’m on mute.” Liam slaps his palm against Jeff’s pulling him in for a ridiculous handshake-bro hug combo, before he finally comes over and lifts you off the floor. “Yo!”

“Yo!” You repeat, honestly unable to believe you’re related to this kid. If the two of you didn’t look exactly alike, you’d probably think he was adopted. “You still coming out tonight?”

“Hell yeah, this is my last call. I’m ready to go.”

You snicker, looking down at his sweatpants and dress shirt combo- he must have taken a video call at some point today. “Yeah, okay, bud.”

He ruffles your hair, in that annoying way he’s been able to do ever since he grew taller than you. “Don’t you worry, I will be.”

You laugh, ducking under his arm, to let him get back to it. You’ve got no doubts about that. Liam’s always ready to party. “Finish your call so we can start pregaming.”

He grins, like you knew he would. “Now we’re talking.” And then he ducks back into your dad’s office.

Jeff is laughing when you look back at him and you give him a look. “What?”

“Nothing, just forgot how the two of you were when you got going.”

“Yup, and you’re stuck with us for next two days!” You grin.

Jeff rolls his eyes at you, but he’s still smiling when he follows you to the kitchen, in search of your mom. She’s at the counter, rolling dough for biscuits, her only other contribution to the annual Thanksgiving dinner that she hosts, besides the turkey; a holiday that she’d taken over hosting once it had become too much for your grandmother to handle, but only on the caveat that everyone began contributing food toward the meal. It’s been a potluck style holiday ever since.

She’s ultra-focused, the volume on her favorite playlist high (this wild mix of 80’s pop and today’s hits that’s actually kind of a banger), so you sneak up behind her and wrap your arms around her. “Hi!”

“Jesus!” Your mom jumps, elbowing you in the process, but you’re laughing too hard to care. “Don’t do that!”

“Just excited to see you!” You beam at her, squeezing her once more, before pulling away. “Where do you want the pie?” Jeff lifts the pie you’d made yesterday, showing your mom.

Your mom purses her lips, studying the kitchen around her. “Leave it on the counter for now; I’ll have your dad clear some space in the garage.” She gestures with her elbow. “Hi Jeff!”

“Hi!” Jeff pulls out his best smile, a real one, dimples super popped. “Thank you for having me-”

Your mom cuts him off before he can finish, like you knew she would. “Oh, we’re so happy you could make it! You’re welcome anytime, Jeff!” She assures him.

“Is the guest room ready?” You ask. “We’ll throw our stuff upstairs before Dad sees it at the bottom of the steps and has a fit.”

Your mom fights back a laugh at that- a statement that everyone in your family knows all too well-but then looks almost apologetic as she finishes, “It is, but we gave it to Katie.”

“Oh, Katie’s here too?” Your sister’s roommate at college was, at this point, basically another sister to you. She hardly went home for breaks within the semesters, usually came up for at least a month during the summer, and more often than not came home with Abby when she was back for anything. The “guest room” really was more like Katie’s room at this point.

“Where else would she be?” Abby appears, right on cue, with Katie right behind her, practically matching in leggings and oversized sorority shirts. “It’s Thanksgiving; she’s ready to rage tonight.”

You actually can’t wait for the babies to be hungover tomorrow-both were 21 for their first Thanksgiving Eve and you know they’re going to be in a super rough spot tomorrow-but you keep that thought to yourself.

“It didn’t even occur to me!” Your mom says apologetically. “I just gave Katie her usual room.”

“No, it’s cool. Jeff and I can share. He doesn’t mind, right?” But you barely even wait for his shrug and nod in agreement. It’s not like you haven’t before, when you’re either too lazy or too drunk to go home. You’re both adults, it’s no big. “I’ve shared a bed with you before; I’ll spare Katie the bruised shins.” You tease your sister.

Katie cracks up as Abby sputters out how rude you are. “It’s a hazard!” Katie agrees, dodging the swat your sister sends towards her. It sets the two of them off, which you take as your cue to grab Jeff’s hand and drag him (and your stuff) up to your room.

Of course, usually when you’re sharing a bed with Jeff, it’s a king sized bed, or at least a queen- definitely not the double that your parents just shoved in your old room to replace the queen bed that had been in there until you moved out and took your furniture with you. You hadn’t realized how small it was though, not until today, until the idea of actually having to share it with someone, with Jeff, who might not be a giant, but isn’t tiny. “Sorry.” You apologize, almost unsure of what you’re saying.

Jeff shrugs. “Well, at least you don’t kick.” He smiles, as then it’s like everything’s back to normal, that awkward feeling that was growing over you gone as quickly as it came.

“She’s a bruiser, don’t let her tell you otherwise.” You throw your bag down, rifling through it for the sweater you were planning to wear tomorrow, to hang it up so it isn’t too wrinkled.

Jeff laughs. “I’ll take your word for it.” He’s holding up his shirt, a button down and a tie. “Where can I hang this?”

“You can’t wear that!”

He frowns, likely at the vehemence you’d just spoken that with. “Uhh, why not?”

“You’ll get roasted.” Seriously, you’d told him it wasn’t a dressy affair. God, what part of not dressy does he think requires a tie? “Don’t you have, like, a sweater?”

“I mean, yeah, but-”

“Sweater and jeans, that’s fine.”

Jeff gives you a look. “That doesn’t seem-”

“Sweater. And jeans.” You repeat. He’ll thank you tomorrow, when your uncle doesn’t ask him when tea is. When your cousin doesn’t talk to him only in a fake British accent for the entire night.

Jeff hands over a sweater, a soft thing you’ve seen him wear on many occasions, and you smile your thanks at him, hanging it up next to yours. “Meet your standards?” He asks; you think he’s aiming for teasing but he kind of misses the mark, sounding a little more nervous than joking.

“Perfect.” He smiles back at you and you laugh. “Come on, you dork. Let’s go see what’s for dinner tonight.”

-----

“Don’t wake me up when you come in tonight!” Your dad calls, as he drops the five of you off at Mel’s, the bar for Thanksgiving Eve. Your friends are already at the bar, you’re anticipating a high school reunion for sure, and you’ve warned Jeff of this, even though he assured you that he could handle it, and he was just excited for a nice, chill night.

You’d actually laughed out loud at that. Oh Jeffrey.

“Pshh.” Liam waves your dad off. “I haven’t done that since I was like 16 and still having to sneak out.”

Your dad gives him a look. “I was talking to your sister.” He looks over at Abby, who ignores him completely, in favor of taking a SnapChat with Katie, and he sighs resolutely. You all absolutely know she isn’t listening to a word he says. “Have fun, be safe. Uber home.”

Liam salutes him. “Will do.”

Inside the bar, the night starts exactly as you and Liam have started your last few Thanksgiving Eve’s-with a round of shots at the bar as you’re ordering drinks, before splitting off to find your respective friends to start the evening.

Jeff fits in with your friends fantastically, laughing and joking around with them like he’s known them forever, even though you’re sure the only one he’s met is your oldest friend, Ashley. But he greets Ashley and her husband, Brian, like old friends, and quickly joins conversations with all your other friends, and soon hours have passed before your brother is sliding up behind you. “Heads up.” Liam mutters as he passes. “Douche at 3 o’clock.”

You tense as it takes everything in you not to turn and look over. “Hey.” Jeff nudges you, concern clear in his eyes as he looks at you, and you’re not sure what he pulled himself away from, but you must look pretty bad. “You okay?”

You nod, kinda spacily, but leaning in closer to him, and he takes the cue to curl in toward you- you’re not really interested in shouting to the entire bar and you’re really not interested in drawing attention to yourself. “Yeah, just- my ex is over there.”

Jeff purses his lips for a minute and then schools his face back to neutral. “I take it things didn’t end well.”

“No.” You say, thinking of the demise of your relationship with Dylan. “It did not.”

You hadn’t even realized that Jeff grabbed your hand until he’s squeezing it gently. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” You shake your head. “It was...definitely for the best.” It might have taken you a while to see that, but you can now, even if the rare instances you still see Dylan sometimes rattles you. “I thought I was going to marry him, at one point, but I’m so much happier here now.”

Jeff smiles. “Good.”

You squeeze his hand once more, a thanks for his comfort and care, before both of you rejoin the conversation, and you forget about Dylan entirely for the next hour, until you physically run into him coming back from the bar with another round of drinks for you and Jeff.

“Hey!” Dylan beams at you, goes right in for a cheek kiss, like you’re still that familiar, and once again you stiffen up.

“Hi.” You return politely, ready to sidestep around him and return to Jeff and your friends.

“No, wait.” Dylan steps with you, blocking your path. “I haven’t seen you in forever. Let’s catch up a minute, what’s new?”

“No offense, Dylan, but I’m not really looking to catch up with you.” You say flatly.

He opens his mouth to respond, but before he can another voice cuts in. “Everything okay here?” Jeff asks politely, stepping very purposefully next to you, and Dylan’s eyes immediately fly over to him.

“Mhmm,” You nod. “Was just on my way back to you.”

“Good.” Jeff says, in a tone far more harsh than you usually hear him take. “Let’s get back.” He positions himself again, clearing a space for you to easily slip past Dylan, and then steps closely behind you, catching up quickly.

“Thanks.” You lean against him, gently, not looking to spill either of your drinks, but Jeff solves that problem by taking his.

“Any time.” Jeff says softly and you don’t have much else to say on the matter so you just nudge him once more in thanks and walk back toward your friends with him at your side.

-----

When you wake up the next morning, you’re warm and comfortable and only a little hungover, which you count as a huge success. There’s not too much noise going on downstairs yet, which means you definitely have some more time to sleep, so you curl back into your pillow, humming contently when it pulls you in closer.

And then your eyes pop open abruptly, because pillows don’t do that.

Except they do when they look like Jeff Skinner, who looks just as soft and warm and comfortable as you feel right now, still sleeping judging by the evenness of his breath.

It’s just...it’s a really nice way to wake up, with Jeff’s kind-of smiling face, looking super soft and cozy as he breathes just on the wrong side of too loud, but not so loudly that it drives you nuts.

It’s a little too early to unpack that, and your hangover might not be that bad but it’s definitely bad enough that you’re not ready to think on that, so you close your eyes and let yourself curl into Jeff and fall back asleep.

-----

When you do finally get out of bed, Thanksgiving morning is its usual chaos, running around with last minute errands, cleaning, and helping your mom in the kitchen. The last to shower for the day, by the time you arrive downstairs, the Lions vs. Bears game is well underway, your notoriously early grandparents have already arrived, and your grandmother is already asking your mom where that one turkey decoration she bought her one year is.

You bypass the kitchen entirely and move toward the living room, where you find your dad, grandfather, Jeff, and siblings all gathered, just as you’d expected. You slide down on the floor next to Jeff, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before more of your family arrives and you’re offering your set up anyway, and wait for the next round of chaos to begin.

It doesn’t take long. Your aunts, uncles, and cousins start pouring in and then it’s just introduction after introduction, as you wrap up showing off Jeff to one group just as the next arrives. You are absolutely confident he has no idea who anyone is, but it’s fine, because he’s still laughing and joking around with all your uncles and cousins that have joined you in watching football.

The kitchen is its own brand of chaos, when you make a quick stop in on your back from a beer run, but chaos has never stopped your aunt before and it certainly isn’t today. “Oh my god!” She exclaims, after you’ve pressed a smacking kiss to the top of your grandmom’s head. “That boy!”

“What boy?” You ask, like an idiot, which is immediately clear from the looks you get from everyone in the kitchen, even your usually oblivious uncle, who’s doing...something...with the ham they’d brought. “Who, Jeff?”

“Yes.” Another aunt stresses. “He’s cute!”

You shrug. “Yeah, I mean-”

But your grandmom cuts you off this time. “And so friendly! Just the nicest boy! Oh, you couldn’t have found anyone better!” She exclaims.

“Well, I haven’t.” You announce, watching all of their faces fall. “So sorry to burst that bubble.”

“Why?” One of your older cousins frowns. “Girl. Get on that. You are not going to do better than that boy in there.”

“I truly don’t know if that was meant to be a dig at me or you all think that highly of Jeff already, but regardless. We are just friends.” Now everyone in the kitchen is giving you a look. You gather the beers and retreat, distributing them as you return to your spot on the floor near Jeff.

He’s giving you a look as you pass him his, but whatever’s on your face must not be too bad, because he just thanks you as you pass him the bottle, and you nod in return as you try to find the same comfortable spot as before, leaning against his thigh.

-----

Your dad catches you a bit later, as he’s coming back with beers this time and you’re coming out of the bathroom, and he nudges you carefully as you take a few bottles from his hand. “So Jeff?”

You groan. The tone of that statement was far too loaded. “Jesus, you too?”

Your dad laughs. “Who else?”

“Everyone.”

“Well maybe that should be your hint.” Your dad says teasingly, but also not? There’s definitely some seriousness to this. “That Jeff’s pretty perfect for you.”

You stare at him. “You’ve met Jeff, like, a hundred times. Why’s this coming out now?”

“I always thought you were my smart kid and that you’d figure it out yourself.” He muses. “Now I realize you’re only book-smart and you’d never figure this out on your own.” And then he leaves you there in the hallway, with your jaw dropped and too many thoughts, as he continues on, laughing at you.

-----

When the call to come serve yourselves echoes into the room, the usual mad scramble follows immediately. It’s only as you’re getting into line behind your brother that you realize that Jeff’s not with you anymore, and you abandon the long line waiting for food, in favor of seeking out Jeff.

You find Jeff upstairs, in your room, just kind of lounging on your bed, and you lean against the doorway. “Hey! Food’s ready.”

“Yeah.” Jeff nods, the smile he sends you back in return far too tight and forced to be genuine. “Be right down.”

But he doesn’t move, so you step in and climb into your bed next to him. “What’s wrong?”

Jeff laughs; it’s kind of hollow and doesn’t sound anything like his usual loud laugh or his giggles that you love. “What- nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Jeff.” You say softly. “Come on.”

He sighs. “Why did you bring me here?”

That...was not at all what you expected. “What?”

“Why did you bring me here?” He repeats. “Why did you bring me home, to your family? I thought, maybe, finally…” He trails off for a minute. “Except, there’s like ten other randos here too!” He laughs again, that hollow thing that you’re already hating. “Everybody in this family just brings people home, and that’s awesome, okay? Please don’t ever change that about yourself. I just-I thought we had something special, is all.” He says, sounding almost sad? Melancholy?

“You are special.” You hate this. Jeff should never be sad; he should always be happy and smiling and joking. This is worse than seeing him after losses, worse than seeing him at low points in the season, that one game when he realizes that shit’s done and they’re just playing to keep playing now, that playoffs won’t be coming this year, again. “Jeff, you’re-”

“I’m in love with you.” Jeff says and it’s so straight-up, matter-of-fact, like it’s never not been a fact for him. “And I’m sorry I’ve fucked things up here for tonight and made this so awkward. I just- being here with you and your family just made me want you that much more.”

There’s so so so much you want to say to Jeff, but it’s like time is frozen. You can’t speak, can’t move, can’t do anything except look at him in awe, until he starts to move off your bed, when you reach for him, finally, resting your hand on his thigh, relieved when he looks back at you. “My dad thinks I’m an idiot.” You blurt out and Jeff just gives you a look. “I’m sorry; that wasn’t what I wanted to say.” You take a deep breath, trying to gather the jumble of thoughts in your head. “Or at least, not the only thing. He thinks I’m an idiot because he thinks you’re perfect for me and I didn’t see it. My whole family thinks you’re perfect- cute and friendly and nice- and god, Jeff, you are! You’re all those things!” He’s still watching you, with like, barely the smallest hint of a smile on his face. “I just-didn’t realize you were perfect for me until we came here.”

Now he’s full on beaming, dimples showing, and you don’t even realize that you’re returning the grin until his hand comes up to your face, thumbing at the corner of your lip. “I’m sorry I’m a dumbass.” You finish lamely, too busy smiling at Jeff. “Please kiss me so we can make sure we get biscuits.”

Jeff hums. “I don’t know if I can kiss you now and just...stop.”

“Well I’m not going down to eat until you do.” You say stubbornly. “And you’ve been hyping up those biscuits since breakfast.”

“Fair enough.” Jeff laughs and then you’re smiling into the best first kiss you’ve ever had, tangling your hands into his hair and wondering if you may actually end up missing the meal this year.

#jeff skinner imagine #jeff skinner fanfic #jeff skinner fanfiction #hockey imagine #hockey fanfic #Hockey Fanfiction #nhl imagines #nhl fanfiction #nhl fanfic #my hockey fics

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genesisrose74 · 3 years

Text

Christmas With the Karasuno Boys (HC’s)!!

Part 2: Kageyama, Hinata, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Kinoshita, & Narita

Part 1 (Daichi, Suga, Asahi, Nishinoya, Tanaka, & Ennoshita) here!

A/n: Tumblr said my word count was too much so I’m splitting this bad boi up into two parts :p Enjoy!!

*****

Kageyama

This boy has a secret soft side for Christmas istg

He HATES showing it to other people on his team and shit

But holy bejeezus he is mesmerized by the holiday in every way possible

Lights, sweets, snow, just like,,, the general magic of December is the most awe-inspiring thing to him

Since he is still a sporty and pretty active mofo, you decided to fuel that on your holiday-themed date as Kags had noted that he’d never gone sledding before

Your jaw was on the FLOOR when he first told you because he would 10000% enjoy the hell out of it

And so you dragged him out to this popular sledding hill that you frequented as a child and taught him what to do

Not gonna lie, he was kind of nervous

“Well you’re experienced at it. I don’t wanna mess up”

🥺🥺🥺 bubby

“You won’t, Tobio! I can already tell you’re gonna be a sledding pro”

Feels a little better after that, but he asks you to help him out for his first run down the hill

He sits behind you with his arms secured snugly around your waist and his head nestled on top of your shoulder

Which would probably seem really funny to passerby because this boy is tol and intimidating in most other situations

As soon as the sled started down, Kags tightened his grip and made this cute little yelp of surprise

But you were laughing insanely hard at the combination of going really fast downhill whilst also having your boyfriend cling to you for dear life

And then when the sled stopped safely at the bottom he started to chuckle

FULL ON, GENUINE SOUND OF ENJOYMENT

That shit is rare

Y’all stayed at that hill for half the day because it was so fun

You got him a new, very high quality athletic roller for Christmas because his old one was just not cutting it anymore

And you also gave him this really cute bracelet with a volleyball, his jersey number, and a little strawberry milk set of charms attached to it

It matched this really pretty and subtle chain he’d bought for your birthday

His blueberry eyes got all wide with affection dfjdskfjsdk—

Got super blushy and couldn’t get a handle on his speech for a fat minute

He thinks you’re the coolest person ever no I do not take criticism

Geez you’re both adorable together, ideal “stoic boy becomes warmer during the holidays around his love” movie plot and I love it

Hinata

He is all in on Christmas. Not a chance this boy doesn’t get excited as hell

Will openly go into holiday mode as soon as November is over

Was secretly already listening to his Christmas playlist before then

He is one of the sweetest gift givers, that is FACTUAL

If you want something really badly, he will take notice and get it as your present immediately

He’ll also gift you an extra thing that’s handmade 🥺

Like some pastries that his mom helped him make, or a specially made basket of soaps with your favorite scents in it

It’s absolutely adorable and you cherish those ones especially

Is happy if you simply get him something; mans doesn’t care what it is

New practice volleyball? A brand new sweatshirt? Elated either way

You had seen an advertisement for a friendly match between Japan and Poland’s men’s volleyball teams, so you waited online on the ticket sales website until the minute it opened

Spoiler alert: you got some banger seats 😌✨

Shoyo may or may not have tackled you when he read the ticket details, letting out his excited giggle (you know the one)

“I can’t believe you got these, angel! You’re coming with me, right? You’ve gotta! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Gives you sweet little kisses between each individual ‘thank you’

“Of course I’ll go with you, Sho! I’m really glad you like it!”

He will give you the brightest smile of all time — that shit makes Christmas lights pale in comparison

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

RIGHT BACK AT YOU BBY

Hold his hands to warm up together when temperatures drop pls :)))

It’s become a weekly December tradition to watch a Christmas movie with Natsu at the Hinata household

She’ll sit in your lap while the three of you are cuddled under a blanket together, and Shoyo will lace his fingers with yours all discreetly

In conclusion, I am a sucker for holiday Hinata 🥺🥺🥺

Tsukishima

His room is decorated to the very minimum simply because his mom and brother had insisted on him being festive

You know those holiday instrumentals that are really calming and jazzy and stuff? Yeah, that’s the only Christmas music he will tolerate in his house

While he’s still got his usual icy demeanor, this blond bitch does get slightly less snippy with the Karasuno boys

Is always on the nose with getting you the exact thing you wanted for a present

Like,,, TO THE SMALLEST DETAIL

You don’t even have to bring that shit up beforehand, he just KNOWS

“Tsukki, how did you—?”

“It’s pretty obvious, with the way that one ad kept showing up on your phone.”

b r u h

How does he pay such good attention without even letting on??

As for his own present, you’ll usually get him two: one gag gift and one more serious gift

His dino plush collection size is partly due to the former’s contributions this time of year

Yes the dinos have names

You exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve with all the team (you made him go) and he saved your more serious one for last

It was a scarf that you’d gotten custom made, which had a Spotify code knitted into the fabric

Scanning the code opened the app to a playlist you’d created especially for him

He got pretty quiet when figuring it out and scrolling through the playlist

Would let out a certified Tsukki Nose Exhale™ when he came across certain songs

The more subdued reaction was expected because it’s Tsukishima

His little chuckles and warmer eyes were enough of a giveaway to tell you he very much enjoyed your gift

But on the walk home, he took the scarf and wrapped it around you both, and then brought his arm around your waist

“Thank you.”

You deadass almost combusted because it was so unexpected??

“You’re welcome. Merry Christmas, Kei”

Way to respond calm and collected 😌👍

But on the inside your body was in freak out mode

He wears the scarf all the time jdfsklfjdsk

Yamaguchi

Take the most tooth rotting fluff you could imagine

And then double that and put a fucking cherry on top

That’s the equivalent of what Christmas is like with Yama Yama

Y’all are like kids in a candy store — literally

For your Christmas dates it’s all about sweets and shared giggles, so frequent trips to the candy and baking isles of the grocery store is a must

Making gingerbread houses, peppermint tasting (mostly trying those different and wild ass candy cane flavors), you name it and it’s there

Stomach aches? I don’t know her

Yeah you do but they go away with enough butterfly kisses 🥰

Tadashi is exceptionally good at decorating gingerbread houses for whatever reason

He put a poll on his instagram between yours and his final products and he won by a landslide

It’s not like yours was necessarily bad, more like he’s just an icing master

You also might have eaten too many gumdrops which left your rooftop lacking in ✨spice✨

But it’s okay because Tadashi donated some of his leftovers to you

He’s such a sweetheart uwu

Please for the love of everything get him something heartfelt as his present

You know those long distance bracelets for couples?

Basically if your s/o taps the icon on the bracelet it’ll send a little vibration to the other person’s as a notice that you’re thinking about them

This boy seeks constant reassurance, and you love to give him his deserved love and validation, so it was the perfect present

It takes a second for him to figure out what it is, but after reading the directions and testing it out, the most adorable smile erupted on his face

And then since you already had yours on, he tapped the little icon again with a giggle

“Hey there”

It becomes common habit to tap it at least once every couple hours

GOD HE IS SO CUTE

He is just so soft this time of year, give him all the love and he will return it tenfold ☺️

Kinoshita

This boy is absolutely an awkward cutie and an avid romantic

Give him the cliches and he will eat em up, no doubt

It naturally gets more apparent around the holidays

He’ll take you on pretty winter walks, give you lots of little gifts (while blushing a hell of a lot), and is just a professional at stumbling upon some mistletoe

Wow wonder how it got there, Hisashi

He’s quite a bit more confident when simply alone with you than in a crowded space

And that definitely shows when he takes you out on a secluded sleigh ride around town

Yeah you heard me

A fuckin’ sleigh ride

Horses and blankets and everything

Don’t even ask how he managed to pull it off, because he loves watching the cogs turn in your head and simply will not give you a straight answer

Of course there’s the nice driver guy who’s there, but in the back alone Kinoshita’s confidence goes 📈📈

Lots of flirting, tons of skimmed touches and shared giggles throughout the ride

I legitimately simp really hard for him

Anyways it was a gorgeous ride through town and super fun

On Christmas Eve you both exchange gifts together and tbh whatever you got him will leave him happy and flustered regardless

But when he opens the wrapping paper to find an entire set of vintage VHS tapes, he’s stunned

He owns a VHS (actually canon!) and honestly loves it to death, and the fact that you’d get him tapes of pretty high quality for his collection meant a lot

Gosh he’s so underrated but a definite sweetheart, give him all the holiday love

Narita

Another underrated bby 🥺

He’s so chill and is pretty open to anything during the holidays, so long as he gets to spend ample time with you, his friends, and his family

Definitely more of an indoor person despite being accepting of most situations

Hence why you thought a cute little indoor winter picnic would be right up his alley

Which it absolutely was 😌✨ nice work

You’d made plans while in secret communications with his family members about the whole thing

He’d been pretty stressed lately with trying to handle his schoolwork, while also helping out others with theirs

Despite being a wonderful tutor, it was clearly becoming a bit overwhelming as he tried to grapple with so much at once

So when he came home one day to find a pristine house with you settled on a blanket in his living room, he was quite surprised

There’s a cheese plate, soda cans in a cute ice box, sandwiches, snacks, a presparked fireplace — you and his family went all out

Really adorable I cannot lie

“I thought you said you were going gift shopping today?”

“I might have maybe lied :P”

So he gives the sweetest little smile and sits across from you

Y’all stay there and talk for hours

After finally getting through everything previously laid out on the blanket spread, you slid him a little rectangular box that he looked at curiously

“Already? I haven’t wrapped yours yet!”

“Mine can wait a bit! Just open yours”

And so he does, and you watch with a face-splitting grin as he looks down in awe

You got tickets to see his favorite rock band in concert while they were on tour

He sprung onto you and pulled you into the tightest hug ever

“Holy shit you’re the best I love you so much how do you get even more loveable every day—!?!l”

It’s a jumble of words but you’re able to put it together and it makes you giggle

He deadass sprints upstairs to go get your gift and make sure that you feel as equally appreciated as he does

In simple words: wholesome holiday sweetness 🥰

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