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ask-serendipity-sky · 9 months

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1108: Facts and observations

•Day 0

1108 started on the 8th of November of 2015.

Jimin uploaded a video of him and Jungkook to twitter:

On the 26th of January 2016, Jk uploaded a small snippet of a song he was covering.

•Day 100

And on the 15th of February of 2016, Jk uploaded the entire song Nothing Like Us and noted to listen to the lyrics as they were expressing what he wanted to say:

In Korean culture, parents celebrate 100 days after a child is born. This is to indicate that the child made it through the first vulnerable phase in their life. In the same manner, the 100 days are celebrated by Korean couples.

And this is what Jk had to say 100 days after the 8th of November of 2015:

There's nothing like us There's nothing like you and me Together through the storm There's nothing like us There's nothing like you and me together, oh

•Day 366 (1 year)

On 08/11/2016, a year later, Jimin posted another video of them:

•Day 732 (2 years)

On Oct. 28, 2017, Jungkook treated Jimin to a trip to Tokyo. It was because of this trip, that Jungkook released gcfTokyo on Nov. 08, 2017.

youtube

A fan used the images in the video and was able to determine the hotel and room jikook stayed at. It was room number 1108.

The video also used the song There For You by Troye Sivan:

Boy, I'm holdin' onto something Won't let go of you for nothing I'm runnin', runnin' just to keep my hands on you There was a time that I was so blue What I got to do to show you? I'm runnin', runnin' just to keep my hands on you

Day 811

On the 26th of January 2018, in a Japanese fancafe, Jimin gifted Jungkook a drawing of a set of champagne glasses and a bottle. Note the details of the glasses.

•Day 900

On the 25th of April 2018, a day before the 900 day milestone, Jimin had a vlive where it was obvious he wasn't alone in the room. He kept looking to the side, laughing shyly and explained:

After he said this, you can hear someone whisper, "Jimin."

Day 1000

On August 3rd 2018, Jk posted a selfie while they were all filming BV3:

During BV3, jikook were able to look around the city alone, and have a boat date under the moonlight.

Day 1013

As you all may know 10:13 is also known as Jimin ssi, or Jimin time. It only makes sense that this day would be special to jikook too.

On the 16th of August 2018, Jimin tweeted a series of 3 tweets:

Jungkook was the only member that appeared in the photos with Jimin. It is also interesting to note the 2 butterfly temporary tattoos he had on his hand.

This is the same time when they had the photoshoot with the inflatable unicorn:

The next day, Jimin uploaded a tweet with the caption "Love Ya", and one of the photos was him and Jk.

•Day 1141

On the 22nd of December 2018, when fans uploaded their selfies on fancafe, the fans let Jk know that Jimin had uploaded his own:

This prompted Jk to type "JIMINNNN" and he signed off. He later uploaded a song that he stopped at 1:18:

You take my mind away When you touch me that way This place, your face It gets hard to breathe I know you're feeling me now You're all I see Almost like we're dreaming

•Day 1394

On the 1st of September 2019, Jk made 2 tweets. One in which uploaded a snippet of Decalcamonia, which he also ended on 1:18:

•Day 1500

On the 16th of Dec 2019, Jimin posted a good night tweet:

The time he uploaded this was at 1:50.

•Day 2300

On Feb 22, 2022, Jk uploaded a story on insta where he is in a car, listening to So Good by Joan. The story was labeled 23:08 even though he uploaded it at 1:24 am.

You and me Got a lotta tension, not even to mention Ooh, that night, just two weeks ago It was half past ten Thinking about living, suddenly when you walked it You took my breath away

•Day 2315

On March 10, 2022, during the Permission to Dance Concert, Jimin used the 2315 numbers and stated the following:

2315 days had passed since November 8, 2015.

•Day 2545

On the 26th of October 2022, Jk uploaded a photo of himself while he was in Qatar. He uploaded the photo at 11:08 Korea time and, 5:08 Qatar time.

•Day 2643

On the 2nd of February 2023, Jimin answered a question on weverse at exactly 23:08. The question is now deleted.

•Day 2684

During Jungkook hosted a series of lives on White Day, 14th of March 2022. His first live was started at 8:11 pm:

During these lives, Jk changed to various outfits and had an extensive playlist. One of the songs that was included was There For You.

•Day 2855

On the 1st of September 2023, Jk hosted a short live to thank the fans for being present with him during so many birthdays. He ended his live quickly and it lasted 8:56 minutes:

My impressions

Based on Korean customs, celebrating different day milestones is typical in a Korean couple.

While some may think that jikook started dating on the 8th of November 2015, I think that's when they decided to be intimate with each other.

I feel like a jikook kiss had already happened since the last time Jimin asked Jk for a kiss publicly was in September 2015 for Jk's birthday. From there, one can only think that things proceeded quite quickly.

I think that in recent years, we have observed less mentions of 1108 because of BTS' popularity and so many fans expecting something from jikook.

It's possible that jikook has decided to not make these milestones known like they did before, but every now and then, they still reference that number. Who knows when they will do it again.

But who is counting, right?

#jikook #jimin #jungkook #1108 #Spotify

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freedomfireflies · 1 year

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Harry in Your Highlight Reel

Thought I'd try my hand at this trend (trope? style?)! No idea if I'm doing it right, but he's cute so...it doesn't matter

July 17, 2019

The day we thought we'd give the zoo a try. He was convinced the orangutan was staring at him.

It was not.

He was also convinced that it wanted to crawl through the bars and start combing through his hair to eat it.

He then spent the rest of the day asking me if his hair looked "edible," and I spent the rest of the day wishing the orangutan had eaten me instead.

August 03, 2021

"Let's go out to dinner!" he said. "It'll be fun!" he said.

Last time I let this beautiful, British bastard convince to do anything, I swear to God.

First of all, we got a flat tire on the way to the restaurant. And then realized very quickly that neither one of us actually knew how to change a tire.

So, we took an Uber (even though he has enough money to just...buy a brand new car, but whatever), and it smelled like pickles. So...you know, great start.

The restaurant was packed, and apparently it was bring your horny ass to dinner and stare at my boyfriend night. You know, just another great perk. I believe we got a solid five seconds where someone wasn't trying to sit on his lap.

The couple next to us was in the middle of breaking up, and honestly...it was kind of fun to listen to. We made bets, which was terrible of us, but long story short, Harry owes me 10 bucks.

They got our order wrong, which wasn't a big deal except for the fact that Harry has an "allergy" to tomatoes (he just doesn't like them, and always ends up shoving them onto my plate) (which he did) (and I loved them)

Then, we went to the bar to get a drink before we left and he choked on an olive.

So...overall, just an average date night for us.

10/10 will probably let him convince me to do it again and I hate myself for it.

September 29, 2022

Found this throwback in my camera roll the other day, and sent it to Harry while he was in a meeting. Made a joke about wanting to sit on his lap and bite all over his thighs (as one does, of course), and then asked what the fuck was up with his toes. Mostly just to make him squirm during his appointment.

Uh, turns out I didn't send it to Harry.

I sent it to Anne.

And because she's Anne, she completely ignored what I said and made some comment about how little he was, how precious, and how he's all grown up.

Anyway, long story short, I won't be going home for Christmas this year, and will immediately be throwing myself under a car (shoutout to my hero, Mr. Jason Sudeikis, love ya buddy)

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

June 04, 2020

He's gonna look so sexy in adult diapers 😍😍😍

March 11, 2023

Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's Maybelline 🥰

No, but why was his hair so flowy? Fuck Prince Eric, this is Ariel. Or Ariel's daughter, from the second one. Oh, he'd crush that. Hold up, lemme call his agent

Edit: After showing this to Harry, he has demanded I retract my statement and amend it to clarify that he feels like more of a Belle type? And then suggested I play The Beast, so...he'll be sleeping on the couch for the next few weeks.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

#harry #harry edward styles #harry styles #harry styles fan #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles blurb #harry styles one shot #harry styles highlight reel #harry styles boyfriend

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hedwig123 · 2 months

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Ranking The Quarry Counselor Outfits By Late-August Practicality

OK, so. This has been bugging me. I blame SMG's British-ness for this, but so many of the counselors' outfits are just... ridiculous for late August.

(Apparently the weather in the area- West Kill, NY- that day was a high of 75, a low of 68, and humidity was 100 FUCKING PERCENT. So. My concerns are not unfounded.)

So now I'm going to rank all the character outfits by how likely I think it is that normal human people would put them on during the latter half of August, tyyyyyyyy

Excluding Max & Laura because the only time they got to pick their own outfits was June- which, still not great, but. I'll let it slide. Also excluding Emma's overalls, because again, she didn't pick them.

So of the other 21 AUGUST outfits:

21. Nick's 80s Outfit

Dead fucking last is the letterman jacket. Aesthetically it looks cool, and I want to give it bonus points for being a Matt Taylor reference, but I can't. That's a coat. A coat, SMG.

20. Jacob's Modern Outfit

First can I just say how weird it is that Jacob doesn't have a single 360 look uploaded? In ANY of his outfits???

Anyway. This was going to be a little higher because I thought he was wearing a sweatshirt, but looking at it in the close-up that is a fucking sweater. NO!!!!!

19. Nick's 50s Outfit

That is just a full-on nearly-cable-knit sweater. The only reason it ranks above Jacob is that it's at least not visibly layered. But still.

18. Abi's 50s Outfit

Listen, I love that they made Blygbank into Velma & Daphne as much as the next person, but Abi's still wearing a turtleneck in August. They couldn't at least shorten the sleeves? Or pair it with shorts?

17. Emma's Modern Outfit

OK, so I love this outfit out of context. But. Even as a crop-top. It is a turtleneck sweater. With jeans, no less! Jeans, no less!

16. Kaitlyn's Modern Outfit

Why the layers. Why. It's cute, sure, but August.

15. Dylan's 80s Outfit

I'm told this is a rugby shirt, which people do play some sports in. So it's almost passable. But the slacks... the sleeves... the shoes...

14. Ryan's Modern Outfit

Again, almost passable. The shirts look thin, even if there's two of them. But the two shirts combined with the skinny jeans & shoes would just... suffocate him :(

13. Abi's 80s Outfit

This outfit is awesome, but not pictured here are the COMBAT BOOTS SHE'S WEARING ON HER FEET.

No.

12. Dylan's 50s Outfit

OK, listen.

Listen.

I love this outfit. You love this outfit. That shirt was made for him.

But the pants!!!

11. Jacob's 50s Outfit

T-shirt good. Pants BAD.

10. Ryan's 50s Outfit

Same as Jacob's 50s outfit, the shirt is fine. The WOOL PANTS are a no.

9. Ryan's 80s Outfit

This one is almost acceptable. Despite the dark colors, the material looks light. The shoes are OK (not great, but OK). The t-shirt is perfect!

But the vest. The vest. Does he look good in it? Of course. But NOBODY ADDS LAYERS IN AUGUST!

8. Emma's 80s Outfit

We have reached the Acceptable Eight.

I love this outfit. Really the only things putting it at the bottom of the top 8 are the lipstick and the socks, which like... who cares? But these things have to be considered for the ranking.

7. Nick's Modern Outfit

There's nothing wrong with this outfit. The only thing putting it at 7 is the sleeve length, but. It's fine. It's acceptable.

Leagues better than his other 2 outfits.

6. Emma's 50s Outfit

This outfit is great. The shoes are light. The pants are open on the side. The shirt is cropped and tied off!

Only thing edging it out of the Top 5 is the scarf. It's cute, I love Daphne!Emma with my whole heart, but it would get hot.

5. Kaitlyn's 80s Outfit

5th through 2nd place was a toss-up. They're all perfectly appropriate August attire.

This one's great. The jeans are light wash and ripped at the knees. The polo is perfect. The only thing that might give me pause are the converse but honestly??? They're fine too.

4. Abi's Modern Outfit

This outfit's great too! The only counselor outfit with shorts besides #1. The tights don't bother me, they look very light and breathable. 10/10 good job modern Abi!!! (Give 50s Abi some tips she's gonna die of heatstroke)

3. Dylan's Modern Outfit

Another great choice. Light t-shirt, skinny jeans that aren't too tight, and vans. ✨10/10 great job Dylan✨

2. Kaitlyn's 50s Outfit

THOSE ARE OPEN-TOE SHOES I REPEAT THEY ARE OPEN-TOE SHOES THIS IS NOT A DRILL

ONE FUCKING CHARACTER GOT SHOES THAT OPEN AT THE DAMN TOES

I don't even care that it's just a peep toe, I'm fucking counting it

Jacob's 80s Outfit

Was there ever any doubt?

Honorable mention goes to:

Nakey Jakey. Honorable mention only because he didn't reeeeeeally pick it as an OUTFIT outfit.

But still.

#the quarry #2-5 are genuine toss-ups I cannot stress this enough #jacob custos #nick furcillo #abigail blyg #ryan erzahler #dylan lenivy #emma mountebank #kaitlyn ka

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rorywritesjunk · 1 month

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There's no race, no ending in sight

r rating. title comes from "two of us on the run" by lucius

(some Buggy now. The clown always falls fast in my works and of course he's a bit of a mess)

Taglist: @hey-august

pt 1 + pt 2 + p3 + p4 + pt 5 + p6 + pt 7 +Pt 8 + Pt 9 + Pt 10 + Pt 11 + Pt 12 + Pt 13 + Pt 14 + Pt 15 + pt 16 + Pt 17 (End)

Pt 4

Nothing was going right for Buggy since Crocodile, Sunny, and Mihawk showed up. Not only did Buggy constantly get reminded of his debt to Crocodile, the clown accidentally became the face of the Cross Guild due to his followers enthusiasm and loyalty. But for him, that really wasn't even the worse part.

For Buggy, the worse part was he found himself thinking about Sunny a little too much in the two weeks since they met.

She was Crocodile's wife. She wasn't always nice to Buggy, but there were little things she did that made Buggy see her in a different light.

She asked him to show her how to juggle after his failed attempt at wowing her. He had hesitated, thinking this was a joke to her, but she seemed to genuinely want to learn so he did, being mindful of how he taught her, trying to keep the touching to a minimum as he first showed her with a ball first, thinking it was easier.

The accidental joke about her handling his balls had her laughing. An actual, genuine laugh that Buggy thought was the prettiest sound.

That led to her judging the state of his jacket, noticing one of the cuffs coming loose from the jacket. After explaining Richie snagged it while Buggy was trying to get him to perform before Sunny showed up, she offered to fix it for him. No charge or anything. He must look his best after all.

When she returned it a few days later, the jacket looked brand new. She cleaned and ironed it for him, insisting that she did it because if he was to put on a proper performance for her then she wanted him to dazzle her.

She insisted he put it on to make sure it fit and he hated that he listened to her. He hated it even more how red in the face he got when she crowded him, buttoning it up to make sure it looked right on him.

Days later she showed up again, asking him to keep teaching her fun little tricks like juggling and plate spinning. Did she think this was a playground? He and his men had work to do! But she actually asked nicely, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger, looking a bit uncertain, and he found himself agreeing to it.

"As a kid I thought it would be fun to run away and join the circus." Sunny told him as she practiced juggling two balls in the air. "My mom caught me trying to sneak away one night."

"Why, were your parents awful or something?" Buggy asked, catching one of the balls when she miscalculated a throw. He tossed it back to her. "Watch what you're doing."

"My parents are absolutely lovely." Sunny smiled as she tried again to juggle. "I was just excited after seeing the show. My dad is a big softy and cried when he found out while my mom thought it was funny. She said if my dad hadn't been so upset she would have let me sneak away."

Buggy frowned at that. As a kid on Roger's ship, he threatened to run away multiple times when he was upset. Shanks always offered to join him and often as soon as the boys hatched the plan, the ship was already sailing away from the port, preventing them from following through. He couldn't imagine doing it just for fun.

"Huh." Buggy shrugged and suddenly tossed her a third ball, catching her by surprise. "Well, never too late to run away and join the circus, you know."

"Oh? Your circus is the only one around. Maybe I'll run away and join yours." Sunny chuckled as she failed to maintain her rhythm, dropping them. "Maybe I'm not meant to juggle."

"You just started learning." Buggy rolled his eyes as his hands went to collect them. He tried not to think of her showing up at the tent with a bag, ready to leave her husband to join him instead. "Don't give up yet."

"As long as you keep teaching me then I won't." She smiled at him and Buggy paused, swallowing heavily as his face started to turn red. She looked so pretty when she smiled.

Now he was sulking in the tent, nursing his injuries Mihawk and Crocodile inflicted upon him after the fliers were dropped, showing him as the head of the organization. They both laid into him and the bumps and bruises all over would certainly take some time to heal. He had a bottle of rum in one hand and an ice pack in the other, cursing their names.

It didn't make it any better that Sunny showed up shortly after, frowning when she saw the clown's head hanging from Crocodile's hook while his body lay at his feet. Buggy couldn't believe she was scolding her husband, but not for hurting Buggy so much, more on the fact that she just finished getting stains out of Crocodile's shirt and now it was dirty again.

Of course, she had no reason to worry about Buggy. She had her husband after all. Why would Buggy think she would show any interest in his safety when she had her husband to think about?

He huffed in annoyance, taking a few drinks of his rum as he sulked on the couch. He didn't want to think about her at all because he felt that would just get him into trouble. She just... She was so pretty. That was the first thing that came to mind. When she smiled, her face would light up and eyes sparkled and Buggy thought that was almost as wonderful as all the treasure in the world. Almost.

But he just met her a few weeks ago. He shouldn't be thinking about her this way when her husband wouldn't hesitate killing him.

And why would he think she would even consider him? If she was bored of her husband she would go to someone like Mihawk, wouldn't she? Not some pathetic clown who she saw crying in front of her husband, begging for his life to be spared. Buggy wouldn't be surprised if she started keeping her distance after that. Maybe he needed to tell her to, but would that do any good? She was stubborn and would probably ignore him if he told her that.

He finished the bottle and threw it aside, grumbling to himself as he tried to not think about her.

It was dumb to do it.

Dumb, dumb, dumb. He was a dead clown for sure but he couldn't stop himself.

Mihawk and Sunny were outside together, actually gardening. Sunny was in her overalls and a duck printed tank top. Buggy tried not to stare at her exposed arms, free of marks and bruises from a night with her husband. She had a big floppy hat on, shielding her face from the sun. He noticed her hair was in two braids, though a few strands were loose that she kept brushing out of her eyes. She looked... Cute.

Mihawk noticed Buggy first, looking up from his task with narrowed eyes. Sunny was standing, leaning on a rake as she turned to look at Buggy. She grinned when she saw him.

"The clown lives!" She chuckled as she looked him over. He wasn't in that goofy red outfit now, instead in pants and a shirt, something a little more practical. "I hadn't seen you in a while. Thought you may have run off or something."

"I was busy, okay?!" He shot back, only to recoil slightly under Mihawk's glare. Buggy straightened up and cleared his throat. "You stopped coming around to bug me about teaching you tricks. I... Was just checking on you."

"Checking on me?" Sunny repeated with a frown. "Oh, sorry, I figured you wanted space after everything that happened. And Mihawk wanted to start a garden and I asked to help him."

Buggy tried to ignore the swordsman, choosing to keep his attention on Sunny instead. "Yea, well, how are you going to get better at juggling if you stop talking to me, huh?! Didn't you want to learn all of this stuff?!"

"I do..." Sunny frowned. "But why don't you help us out and then you can teach me some more? I wouldn't mind learning more tricks from you, if you're free."

"What sort of 'tricks' are you teaching, clown?" Mihawk asked. Sunny laughed as Buggy tried not to shake with fear in front of him.

"I want him to teach me to juggle and spin plates, Mihawk!" She told him with a smile. "I get so bored sometimes. I thought it would be fun and he's a great teacher."

Mihawk looked between the two before his gaze fell on Buggy. "Is that all you're doing?"

""Y-Yes! What else would it be?!" Buggy exclaimed nervously, any remaining calm now gone from his body. He didn't want Mihawk getting the wrong impression and telling Crocodile. He would be dead for sure. "That's all! Nothing else, understand?! Just some little tricks!"

"Very well." Mihawk pointed to the rake Sunny was leaning on. "Help her with some of the weeds. The sooner this is done the sooner you can 'teach her little tricks'."

Sunny handed Buggy the rake before going over to where she left some bottles of water. Once she was out of earshot, Mihawk stood up and grabbed Buggy by the front of his shirt, startling him.

"What game are you playing?" He asked Buggy.

He put his hands up, shaking his head. "Nothing, I swear, she wants me to teach her things and... And if she's happy then her husband will be happy, right? Less chance of him killing me, right?"

Mihawk narrowed his eyes, studying Buggy's face for any signs of ulterior motives. Supposedly the clown was telling the truth, that this was just to entertain Sunny, but he didn't trust Buggy. He released him and pushed him back.

"Yes, keep her happy, that's the best thing you can do, clown." Mihawk told him before he returned to his task. Sunny came back over, adjusting her hat as she smiled.

"C'mon, Buggy. I'll show you what to do." She told him, touching his arm, causing him to stiffen up for a moment. He glanced at Mihawk who was watching them, so Buggy pulled his arm away and let Sunny show him what to do.

Oh, he was a dead man for this. Mihawk wasn't stupid.

#mini fic #sunny x buggy #sunny x crocodile #buggy the clown #sir crocodile #buggy the clown x oc #buggy x oc #sir crocodile x oc #crocodile x oc

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cliickermiller · 1 year

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Found again 1 of 4 - Dad! Joel Miller x daughter! Reader, future Ellie x reader

Summary: You were meant to be killed after you were unknowingly handed off at 11 years old by your uncle to military, it wasn't fully Tommy's fault, they were yelling about quarantine zones and safety trucks transporting cilvians, he thought you'd be safe, but after almost two years of running and avoiding infected, military and the crazy ass survivors, you were finally at your wits end trapped while sacavanging before a woman finds you leading you back to your light

Warnings: cussing, talk of people being killed, infected being killed

September 26th 2003

You watched as your Uncle Tommy disappeared farther and farther into the distance, the truck shaking from the holes and broken pieces of road leading you out of your hometown in Texas. You were split from your sister and dad whenever the truck was crashed, uncle Tommy realized the safest thing for you to go with the groups of soldiers with many guns and other protective gear.

You were in the truck maybe an hour before it pulled to the side of the road, you could hear the rough crackling and static of the solider's walkie talkies going off "We're at capacity" They spoke, many people started to ask questions about what it meant, where they were supposed to go now, but you could tell something was wrong, they were loading their guns and getting off. You quickly slipped through the truck bed's boarded up walls, which had about 2-3 foot between them, running into the treeline, you didn't trust them and you knew your dad, sister and Uncle Tommy were meant to meet at the river, and you were right not to trust the soldiers, moments later you heard loud gunfire and almost all of the passengers now laid slump in a ditch.

You took off running quickly, in any direction you could that was away from those soldiers, you wanted your dad, why couldn't of you stayed with him?

December 2nd 2005

You were hyperventilating and needed to calm down, you were out of ammo and just broke your only knife in a clickers neck before you were attacked but ten others, they were pounding at the door screaming and wailing to get in the room, this was it, this is how you died. You bit your knuckle trying to hold back a sob before hearing glass shatter behind you "Hey! Kid, come on!" A woman yelled reaching her hand through the window, you didn't think twice and grabbed her hand crawling out of the room right as the door hinges gave out, clickers and runners rushing into the room ready to devour you. "I'm Marlene, you almost got yourself in trouble there" She said softly pulling you up off the ground "I-I'm Y/n..Miller" You sighed, almost forgetting your name for a moment, you hadn't spoke to anybody in awhile and hadn't needed to introduce yourself. "I have a camp, set up a few miles away from here....We're called the fireflies..why don't you come join us, you look way to young to be out here.."

August 14th 2007

"Y/n. I have a job for you" Marlene's voice came through your walkie, you grabbed it off your belt watching out of the window confused, she was supposed to be back already "Protect the girl. Protect Ellie. I got fuckin shot" Her voice cut through the speaker harshly "Got it..Marlene..Are you gonna make it?.." You asked nervously, she was the first person to actually help you after you lost Tommy and Joel, you didn't wanna lose her too. "I dunno..just protect her please, get her to the lab" She demanded, you switched the channel on your walkie fighting back tears as you marched down the hall "I need troops out finding Marlene! She's injured somewhere outside of camp! Now!" You yelled into the walkie before clipping it onto your belt.

You slowly opened the door to Ellie's holding room seeing her sitting on the floor curled up against the wall "Hi..I'm y/n..Marlene sent me" You said watching as she looked up at you with a glare "fuck you" She seethed "I'm not doing any of your stupid ass tests" She continued standing up "Listen. I'm not some smart scientist or anything, I'm a sixteen year old who sneaks out of the camp at night to smoke weed" You said establishing a slight layer of trust hoping she'd catch on "Why the hell are you telling me this?" She asked raising an eyebrow "Because, I feel like you're a trusting person and I want you to trust me" you said sitting a few feet from her reaching point "Why're you here?..Where's Marlene?" She asked, you sighed looking at her, she was like 10? you couldn't tell, you tried to steer clear of kids, they reminded you of your childhood and your dad and you didn't wanna think about him, he was probably dead somewhere walking around with mushroom plates growing outta his face. "She's been hurt..but..I've got our people looking for her..She wanted me to make sure nothing happens to you..you're a special person" You said scooting closer "Yea..everybody claims I'm this special fucking person but keep me chained in a room to run tests on me" She sassed "I know..I know..I'm not sure why you're special..but special enough that Marlene is going through very very long lengths to protect you" You explained.

You sat talking with Ellie for another two hours before Marlene walked in looking at you both "Y/n..I've found help but..I wanna make sure there's no bad blood..It's a woman and man, Tess, and Joel" She said, you furrowed your eyebrows "I don't know any Tess or Joel" You said clearly, your dad was probably dead by now, you had to convince yourself that so you wouldn't drive yourself crazy. Marlene looked at you hesitantly before calling out for them to come in, You kept your head down, packing your and Ellie's bag with sandwiches and a flashlight, a knife for Ellie and a gun for you. "Ellie...This is our help Joel and Tess, guys this is Ellie and Y/n..You'll be escorting them across the u.s" Marlene explained, you heard your men rush in to take Marlene to the medic leaving you alone, you wanted to turn around but you were also scared.

You heard footsteps then Ellie's groan as she thrown into the wall, you quickly cocked your pistol turning around and aiming at the two "Leave her alone!" Ellie yelled towards them, you froze, your hands shaky and your mouth went dry, there was your dad, alive standing infront of you again. Your dad. Where was Sara though? "Baby girl" He rasped watching you, waiting for you to drop your gun to hug you tightly, you hugged him back hiding your face from Ellie and Tess in Joel's coat collar holding back sobs "I thought I had lost you too" You heard your dad cry into your flannel sleeve "Damnit y/n what the hell happened?" He asked holding onto you tighter like he was in a dream terrified to wake up and not see you. "Uncle Tommy sent me with the military" You said softly, the smell of your father surrounding you was comforting and put you in a state of calm. "And you ended up with the fireflies?" He asked finally pulling away to look at you, you weren't his little girl anymore, you weren’t the 4 foot tall doe eyed little girl he last saw before he said goodbye to both of his daughters. Whenever Tommy had told Joel why you weren’t with him he lost it, collapsing once he got the chance in tears, he promised your mother, his wife to protect you two girls and he had managed to lose you both in one night, now here you were fully capable of survival in a world like this. He didn’t wanna think about what you went through to get here though.

“That’s another story..whenever Ellie is asleep” you said softly looking at him “I missed you..a lot..” you whispered, you heard Ellie grunt standing up “are you gonna explain y/n? He looked like he wanted to murder you five seconds ago” Ellie grunted standing up grabbing her back shooting a harsh glare towards Joel “This is my Dad. Joel..” you mumbled looking at her, you could see her face soften, one of the things you clicked about earlier was not having parents, sure you didn’t lose them the same way but you were still stuck without them, she was happy for you of course, but she was also a little jealous, she wanted that, she wanted a dad to come find her and rescue her from this.

“You guys need to start your trip back before it gets light out” Mark said sternly, you and him fought a lot, he was an ass and you never appreciated his snarky comments or creepy stares. Tess nodded in agreement letting you and Ellie stick between her and Joel as they lead you back to the QZ. Joel walked behind you, wondering if he really wanted you coming along, or if he wanted to do this at all anymore, you could stay in his apartment, stay safe from any harm outside but if the guards found a firefly, former or current they wouldn’t hesitate to shoot.

Part two?..should a make it a lil series?

#joel miller #the last of us #ellie the endergirl #Joel miller x reader #Ellie x reader #part one #the last of us part one #the last of us hbo #pedro pascal

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from-izzy · 7 months

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that's him, that's just who he is | the boyz series introduction

"...and when I see him on my screen, no matter how things faded between us, I will always be able to put a smile on my face and tell them genuinely: that's him—that's the person who made a huge positive impact in my life. And when they ask back, "Really? How so?" I would simply shrug my shoulders and answer: that's just who he is—he's just capable of doing so."

» RELEASE DATE: as soon as possible! hopefully a week to a week and a half between each member! » WARNINGS (for this post—under 'keep reading' section): mentions of going through a tough time (not explicitly defined), healing and progress through the tough time (another warning will be mentioned if you do decide to read further! there is also a safe section after the gif) » WARNINGS (for the stories themselves): some have none, some do! but warnings according to the story will always be mentioned! navi/masterlist!! 🤍 series masterlist

ahhhh...where do i start?

i don't have a concrete idea/plan as to how this series is going to go yet. i don't have a story plan for each member yet either. all i have is the small indented idea and the sure idea that all the stories will be heavily inspired by each member's individual 'generation z' videos.

i'm pretty sure it will be a 'the boyz x reader' story series! currently, i'm settled with the idea that the reader is childhood/old friends with each member and they gradually drifted because life took them to different places. ultimately, the reader just looks back on their memories with each member. but, i don't think each story will be connected.

i was thinking of keeping a word limit of 2k for each story (we all know this isn't going to happen)

i chose the 'generation z' videos because i remember this being the videos that really 'pushed me' to stanning tbz. i've never seen these kinds of videos where idols talk openly about their feelings and i thought 'wait! i could implement this into a story!'

TRIGGER WARNING (safe after gif): mentions of going through a tough time (not explicitly defined), healing and progress through the tough time

addressing the 'personal healing project' part: i haven't been able to watch full videos and fully finish listening tbz related since august 11, 2023. today marks the 80th day that i've been stuck in the past and my own feelings.

long story short, something happened in my life and i had tbz content around me when the event occurred. unfortunately with tbz being there when it unfolded, everytime a song comes on or i see a picture of them, network of associations links me back to the event.

so i stopped listening, unfollowed tbz and all fan accounts specifically on instagram.

but thankfully for me...

i'm still able to write stories

i have seen improvement: able to see old pictures (day 18), unconsciously sung merry bad ending (day 26), consciously hummed lip gloss (day 37), finished up to the end of closer's second verse but backed out after (day 54), able to talk about tbz (day 66) etc.

it's been a hard journey but i have hope.

like changmin said in his 'generation z' video: still, i have hope. without hope, i don't think i can survive.

plus...i know that i still love and look up to the boyz so much.

because even though exposure therapy may still be too much for me now, the fact that time has done its work bit by bit, and i'm able to somewhat look at pictures of them, it means that i am healing.

this series...

is one of the topics that i wanted to 'experiment' with that i talked about in my about me page.

'generation z' pushed me into really stanning tbz and i just hope (and i hope endlessly) that maybe by going back to this video and implementing it to something i love (writing stories), that i'll be able to heal further.

tbz are having a comeback nov 20th! 🎉 i might not be able to follow them this comeback but please give them lots support!

as for this series...will you come along with me?

it's my first ever series ever since i started writing! i am so, very much excited!

i'll see you all soon!

navi/masterlist!! 🤍 series masterlist

tags (send a dm/ask if you would like to be here!): @deoboyznet 📢❤️ @k-labels 💙🤍 @k-films 🤎🎞️

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silverfoxlou · 1 year

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Behind The Campaign :: Louis Tomlinson

Former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson released his debut album in 2020 through Sony but moved to BMG for his second album, Faith In The Future, in November 2022. Lisa Wilkinson, director of UK marketing (new recordings) at BMG, explains how they looked to reposition him in the market, what learnings were coming from his live success as well as his own festival, why his merchandise strategy directly informed his multi-formatted record release strategy, how they were able to build him without mass radio support, where a wider male audience was targeted this time round, why Twitter remains his most powerful social media platform and how a highly vocal and engaged fanbase was nurtured further and directly involved in the campaign.

1 Coming to BMG for his second solo album 2 The centrality of merchandise 3 The radio conundrum 4 Targeting a male audience 5 Building his songwriting profile 6 Targeting the press 7 Boosting the digital strategy 8 QR code and interactive community map at his Away From Home festival 9 Twitter as his main platform and setting him up on TikTok 10 Chart battle with Bruce Springsteen and the power of in-stores 11 Stationhead and Tim’s Twitter Listening Party 12 Fan-made Spotify Canvases 13 Documentary and the next steps

1. Coming to BMG for his second solo album

This is his first album with BMG. His debut album, Walls in 2020, was with Syco Music [via Sony]. That was off the back of X Factor with Simon Cowell.

He had done a couple of more commercial singles – one with Steve Aoki [‘Just Hold On’] and one with Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals [‘Back To You’]. They were really successful streaming singles, but that’s not who Louis is. For the boys in One Direction, the ones that have been successful and the songs that have been successful are the ones that have stayed super pop and commercial. Louis did that but it’s just not who he is.

I think he felt, in that structure, that he just wasn’t getting the support to be who he wanted to be. That’s exactly why people come to us. It’s an artist services deal and we’re there to support you and advise you.

You can see from his live business and his merchandise business – and every other thing that Louis does – that there is an incredible fanbase there for him.

When they [Syco] released Walls, they achieved 14,000 units in week one and got to number 4 in Q1 in January 2020. We thought that just didn’t feel reflective of what was happening [around him].

We went and saw him at various venues on his world tour. We went to New York and saw those two shows and we went to Italy and watched his Milan stadium show in front of 30,000 people.

You’re looking and you’re thinking, “Those numbers don’t make any sense. How on Earth did you fumble that?” We were confident that we could do better than that.

He had a signing dinner in October 2021 and then his world tour started in February 2000 [sic], which was the delayed tour [due to the pandemic]. It went all the way through to September, pretty much nonstop.

They sold half a million tickets that year. All the while he’s on tour, he’s still making the album.

‘Out Of My System’ was released as a DSP-focused track before the album. It’s the rockiest and heaviest track on the album. He came straight off stage, went into a vocal booth off the side of the stage [to record it]. Because of the energy, he was so fired up. It was a difficult process because it was creating an album on the road.

He wanted to make an album for live. It was a totally different experience for him. Covid hit just a few months after Walls dropped so the tour was out of the question.

Before we started working on the album campaign, he did a show at Crystal Palace Bowl, which was the first incarnation of his Away From Home festival that he’s created and curated, which is for up-and-coming indie bands.

He gave away 8,000 tickets in August 2021 when we could start doing outdoor things again. I was there and was thinking, “There’s something big going on here.” The fans were so committed and dedicated.

Considering this is someone who hasn’t had real radio support or is seen in celebrity magazines or on social posts, this is a huge phenomenon.

That continued into the tour.

2 The centrality of merchandise

We started on the creative really early and that was a key factor in how successful the album was. We knew early on from discussions with management that his merch business was berserk. We knew what kind of fans he has. With their merch drops during Covid, they played around with the strategy. They got in a really cool design team and they would just do regular drops – limited-edition releases and you’ll never see it again. Everything just sold out constantly.

That informed the whole product strategy.

We knew we had to make product that’s limited in its nature because it encourages demand.

The fans just want it. It’s got to look amazing; it’s got to have Louis looking phenomenal because they just adore him; it’s got to be priced right; and there’s got to be a selection. So it’s more stuff, but less of it.

Instead of treating it like a music product, treat it like merchandise. We absolutely nailed that strategy.

We sold 35,000 records and around 2,500 units were streaming. A good chunk of that was physical album sales. It’s going to inform our strategy for any other albums we do with him.

We did 19 products in the end. We did a standard CD, we did a CD ‘zine which had 82 pages of beautiful content and photos, we had a picture disc vinyl, we did around eight different exclusive retail vinyl albums, we had a splatter vinyl for HMV, we had a colour one for Amazon, we had a clear one for Spotify, we had several more for Urban Outfitters and Target, we had an indie retailers one.

It was a collector thing: how many of the vinyl albums have you managed to get? We did a double deluxe vinyl for D2C. We did cassettes where the artwork joined together when you got all three. They were embossed and glowed in the dark. Louis has Easter eggs that he drops everywhere. The number 28 is like a lucky number, so you see 28 dotted around places. The same with 369 – he uses it in many iterations. If you had a UV light, you’d be able to see ‘3’, ‘6’ and ‘9’ embossed on each cassette.

3 The radio conundrum

We have seen historically that it has been tricky to get radio for him – but not because of any artist proposition issue. It’s just sonically that he wants to do something different to what radio wants to play.

It’s tricky because it falls through the gaps a little bit with what he wants to do. We’ve always looked at it as: let’s just assume there are zero promo opportunities at radio, TV and press. Let’s just take out promo entirely.

What you have got is a global, engaged, fanatical fanbase. You can do more with that than you can with those other things if you don’t have fans.

I would much rather have an artist who’s got an absolutely berserk global fanbase and that gets absolutely no support from traditional media – because you can work with that – than have an artist that’s not really got a particularly big fanbase but radio loves them and TV loves them. What does that matter if you’ve not got the fans?

We did always want to get promo because we would love to be able to expand Louis’ fanbase. But you’ve got to compete against Harry [Styles] and Niall [Horan]. They’re the first people you’ve got to compete against because, to play three One Direction members on the radio, I don’t know if radio stations would. Then you’ve got the sonic battle as well where he wants to keep it pretty raw.

The first single was ‘Bigger Than Me’, which is a big song to sing. It was a good bridge between the last album and this album. It gave the fans what they wanted.

We had really good feedback from radio. They played it to Clara [Amfo, Radio 1] without telling her who it was. She loved it and she did actually play it as one of the hottest tracks of the week. Greg James’s producers said it was brilliant. They absolutely adored it. Matt Edmondson and Mollie King’s team loved it. They thought it was great. But it got blocked at playlist conversations. It was like, Come on!

That was really disappointing because, pre-release, we were getting incredible feedback from producers, but we just couldn’t get it through the playlisting. We’d always planned for it not to go on radio, but if it got on radio that’d be just a brilliant bonus. So it didn’t harm our campaign strategy at all.

He’s too pop for indie stations and he’s too indie for the BBC [Radio 1]. It’s frustrating, but he’s making the music he wants to make and the fans love it. So what do you do?

‘Silver Tongues’ came out just before the album dropped, which was the official second single. That bridged the gap between those two singles. It was much more guitar based. It was up-tempo but it wasn’t too indie.

On the day that the album was released, fans bombarded Greg’s show on the 10 Minute Takeover [on the Radio 1 breakfast show]. And he played it! It was lovely but you could tell it was done like, “OK, I’ve done it now. Go away.” Which is just so sad because his demographic is right in that lane. It’s 18-25.

4 Targeting a male audience

‘Out Of My System’ was released as a DSP track, and that was really to show a different side of what was going to be on the album. It was the hardest one, the rockiest one, the speediest one, it was all about the band. It is one of the best streaming tracks on the album; it has really taken hold.

That was really just to get the male audience because we knew from the analytics we had prior to release that, although his demographics on social media are largely female, wider research that we did with our media teams said that he has a male fanbase. They’re just consumers. If they were to hear him on the radio, they wouldn’t turn it off – that kind of thing – but they’re not necessarily following him on social media. We knew that there was an opportunity there to reach another audience.

5 Building his songwriting profile

We just gave him creative freedom. Louis is really smart. He was the most proficient songwriter within One Direction. He has more songwriting credits than any of the other four members. We know that he’s a talented songwriter so it was just putting him together with people who can give him the confidence, like this album did, to move him out of his comfort zone.

There are some tracks on there that he will say were inspired by people like DMA’s and their album The Glow. ‘All This Time’ and ‘She Is Beauty We Are World Class’ have that slightly more experimental sound to them, which I think took a few people by surprise. He has really incredible writers like David Sneddon, Robert Harvey, George Tizzard and Rick Parkhouse. He has said multiple times in interviews that they gave him the confidence to have fun with it.

I don’t think he expected to get the amount of tracks that he did. It was a big album with 16 tracks. Then we put another three tracks on a digital deluxe edition in week one which shifted another 15,000 units globally.

6 Targeting the press

One of the big wins we had on this campaign was the NME coming on board. They were not interested last time. There was no music press. So one of our key targets on this campaign was to get music press.

We really wanted to get a Rolling Stone cover but the one we wanted to go for Harry was on. So we shifted and we retargeted the NME. We took them to Louis’ Away From Home festival in Malaga [in summer 2022]. He sold it out – 15,000 tickets in 24 hours.

NME did various interviews with Louis for their website and for their socials. They spoke to the bands that were on. It was a real seal of approval. And from that point onwards, we had nothing but great press from NME.

They supported everything – all the singles and we got a four-star review of the album. It was not like we bought it, but it was because we put them in the right place to really see him.

7 Boosting the digital strategy

There were two real strategic decisions that we made at the beginning that affected the outcome: one was the physical product strategy; and the other was the digital marketing strategy. If you don’t have traditional promo, and you’ve got an ardent global fanbase, digital is the most important way of getting your marketing across.

When we first started working with management, they said to us that there were some things that were non-negotiable. Everything should be fair, so we shouldn’t feel like we’re only offering things to fans of a certain demographic or to fans in a certain territory. It’s global. It’s got to be accessible. It’s got to be affordable. And it’s got to be innovative.

They are so good at doing things that break records and break the internet.

They did their livestream in 2020 and Louis sold over 200,000 tickets. It was the most-streamed livestream of a male solo artist during lockdown.

They had quite high expectations of the digital campaign going forward.

We spent quite a long time, about three months, prior to launching trying to figure out how we were going to break the internet.

With #LT369, we trended within about five minutes worldwide of that hashtag going out. When you tweeted the hashtag, it took you to a mini site where a Twitter map was starting to flag where people’s locations were. Over the course of the teaser week, the flags started to fall away but would leave ‘BTM’ which stood for ‘Bigger Than Me’, so we were teasing the single name.

We did a playlist builder and it was generated on socials as a cassette mixtape. You could share it and design your own cover on it. These were just things that really got the fans talking and engaged.

8 QR code and interactive community map at his Away From Home festival

The interactive map was linked to a QR code. We put QR codes around the festival site with absolutely no explanation as to what they were. But the fans notice everything.

We put the track titles from the album in pictures. They were really, really hidden. It took the fans two days [to work it out], but they observe everything.

Everyone started using the QR code. It took them to a website. We hadn’t announced at that point that the album was going to drop or that it was coming. It was a real mystery but that started the chatter going and we started getting trending hashtags for the album.

9 Twitter as his main platform and setting him up on TikTok

Twitter is his biggest platform [with 35.7 million followers]. What’s really interesting about that is that it’s super conversational, and you can see what they’re doing – as opposed to other platforms like Instagram and Facebook. He’s probably one of the only artists that still uses it as their primary platform.

He is really active on Twitter. He will go through bouts where he doesn’t post but then he’ll go on a reply rampage. He just replies randomly to people and does 40 in an hour. The fans go absolutely wild. Twitter was our key platform for launching initiatives and activations

There is a HQ account on TikTok and it crashed part of TikTok when it launched. Management love knowing that they crash things. We “crashed” our D2C site within minutes. There was a queue of 200,000 people in the D2C store at one point within the first hour of launching.

We didn’t technically crash the D2C store but, because of the size of the queue, it shut the storefront down which is what it does, and then forms a queue so that it doesn’t crash. We went on there and could see there were 200,000 people queuing.

10 Chart battle with Bruce Springsteen and the power of in-stores

I don’t think he ever thought he wasn’t getting a number 1 album. We beat Bruce Springsteen, we did it in Q4 and we doubled the numbers that Sony did week one last time [on Walls].

When we were in week one, and we were battling out with Bruce Springsteen, we said that there were an easy 3,000 units there if we put on four Banquet Records shows [at Pryzm in West London] and bundle the album with the tickets.

Every time they put a show on sale, you could see the numbers on the webpage. There were 200,000 people on there, even people who were not in the UK. They were ridiculous numbers.

It was more than Banquet has ever done. We sold out three shows in under a minute.

That was on release week. We had a really solid release week strategy so we knew that we had three shows in the pocket with Banquet.

We had two tracks that had not been released at that point, that weren’t on the album, that weren’t on the deluxe and that hadn’t been released as singles. We created a £4.99 digital album that had another two brand new tracks on it. You could only buy it as an album product and it was a D2C download.

We sold 15,000 of those globally in week one. We sold 6,000 in the UK. We did 3,000 extra records with Banquet in week one via the shows. We did an additional 3,000 with signed product that we put on sale in week one, because there were no other signed products in the market.

The digital super deluxe did 6,000 units. We ran multiple competitions. We gave away a signed guitar with HMV. We did a golden ticket to the tour with Crash Records.

We did a two-day pop up in Camden [North London] and Amazon contributed with signage. We did a one-day one in New York as well. We sold pop-up exclusive merch and we re-sleeved splatter vinyl with a London pop-up sleeve. We did around 2,000 of those. We did the same with the CDs and re-sleeved some CDs with the London pop-up. They were unique and fans could not get it again so they flew out the door. We had 3,000 people show up for it. That was full capacity.

We premiered the video for ‘Silver Tongues’, the second single, at the pop-up. That was the weekend of release but the single, which came out earlier that week, the video dropped on the Saturday.

11 Stationhead and Tim’s Twitter Listening Party

Stationhead is an interesting concept and we’ve done it a few times now. It’s linked to streaming, so every time you play a track within the show, it’s technically streamed by the amount of people that are listening to the show. Louis did one of those and, in terms of Stationhead’s history, it was pretty successful.

We got an email from Tim Burgess’s team saying they wanted to do a Tim’s Twitter Listening Party with Louis. They had such a good rapport and the fans were asking for it.

Beyond the chart units from the streams, it is the noise that it creates online that is more important to us.

It was one of their biggest re-listening streams, which is amazing when you think about the demographic that they have.

12 Fan-made Spotify Canvases

Across socials, we asked people to rework the ‘Bigger Than Me’ artwork. As a way of getting people to go and stream the track, we would change the Canvas semi-regularly so there was a reason for people to go and play it to see if their Canvas was one of the ones that had been selected.

The only downside is Canvases are only seven-seconds long. So if you go and you watch for seven seconds, it’s not your artwork and you come off, it can affect your average listening rate.

We were mindful of that. Our strategy was to do that post-pitching for any real major lists so that they weren’t looking at the data.

He has got really good listening data. It’s around 15 plays per listener which is way over the average. The save rate to libraries is huge and shows that he has really got a good lean-in listenership.

13 Documentary and the next steps

He’s going back on tour. He is back on another world tour from April starting in Asia and then he goes to North America. Then he comes back to Europe, culminating in an O2 show in London this time around in November. He previously did Wembley Arena.

The documentary [All Of Those Voices] premiered on 16th March and then went to worldwide cinemas on 22nd March for a week.

Charlie Lightening made it and went on tour with Louis. He had previously made the Liam Gallagher documentary [As It Was]. Historically he’s done most of Louis’ music videos as well. It was only this time around that we wanted to branch out and see if we could do something a little bit different.

It goes from the band through to his personal life and where he is now. There is a massive focus on the tour. It will blow people away to see what the Louis franchise looks like. This kid has an amazing franchise and most people just don’t have any clue about it.

The recordings business is such a small part of what he does. Obviously it helps to have records out to sell merch and to go on tour. That’s where he really excels.

I’ve never worked on a project where the fans are like they are. You get to see your visions immediately. You get to see the reactions immediately. You get to see the activation work immediately. That is such a buzz.

On most other projects, you launch something and then you have to market it and push it. This was more about pre-strategy, because you know that when you launch something, if you get it right, it’s going to work and you’ll get to see that reaction immediately. That was so much fun. Campaigns like that are rare.

#BMG #FITF promo #or more accurately. the lack of it

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turtleations · 3 months

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Pink Cloudy Sky, P.S. To the Beginning of the End (Summarized)

Chapter 00 - 01 Chapter 02 Chapter 03 Chapter 04 Part 1, Part 2 Chapter 05 Chapter 06 Part 1, Part 2 Chapter 07 Part 1 Part 2 Final Chapter

From the cloudy sky, as REM sometimes remembered, the warm rays of the spring sun came down.

A somewhat lazy afternoon in late spring. REM was leaning against the wall of the clinic’s waiting room, feeling the weight of the guitar in his knees as he went through the setlist of tomorrow’s live. During practice that night, he would do the final checks. He’d have to plan the timing of the MCs, the finale, the arrangement of the new songs…

Suddenly, his eyes fell on the list of that afternoon’s appointments. There were a few more patients than usual for a Saturday. Maybe he could take a nap first…

No, before those appointments, he had to practice scales.

What was to become of him and SAVER TIGER from now on, no one could say.

He was nervous about it, and impatient. Claiming anything else would have been a lie. The one thing he could say was that leading SAVER TIGER now was the most fulfilling period of his life so far. The one year in which he had put everything into fulfilling hide’s dying wish.

He could not even dream of paying back all he owed him.

But maybe this was enough?

Everything after this, he should do for himself, REM thought.

The SAVER TIGER of those days was over. This was the SAVER TIGER he had breathed new life into.

There was no point in dragging the past forward.

The end of the century, rock music, and SAVER TIGER. Those were the only things that mattered to him in this moment.

Just that, and keeping up the creation of good music, continuing to perform.

He could play the guitar like this. He could feel the strings under his fingers, feel the melody in his ears, feel the music with his whole being.

There was no greater happiness than that.

In the afternoon sunlight filtering through the trees, the pick REM was holding in his right hand fell to the floor with a small noise. In his dream, his soul kept sliding over the fingerboard.

From autumn 1998 onwards, the new SAVER TIGER continued to go on tour: Starting on the 1st of November 1998 in Yokohama, they had six performances in Yokohama, Yokosuka, Meguro, and Takadanobaba until the 15th of April 1999. Then, in May, they performed in three locations in Yokohama and Takadanobaba.

The second part of their tour started in early August and took them to Osaka, Tokushima, Yokosuka, Yokohama, Chiba, Machida, Meguro, and Kumagaya in 11 shows. The final one was planned for 13th December 1999 in BAYHALL in Yokohama.

REM expresses how ecstatic he would be if those who read this book would listen to SAVER TIGER’s music. And while they are at it, they should check out their official website.

Speaking of which, it was hide who first got into the internet, and used it to communicate with the fans in a meaningful way.

And with this feeling carved into REM’s chest, he wants to put down the pen.

Appendix

Study of the dental pattern of patient Matsumoto Hideto.

At this point, REM want to attempt an examination of patient Matsumoto Hideto as a dentist. The following is based on a dental model he made, as well as things hide told him.

It was a model made for the purpose of examination. That day, it became a special thing for REM: The only memento he had of hide’s physical form. Every time REM sees the model in the waiting room or touches the examination table where hide had been sitting, he wants to talk to that white, inorganic thing.

That is why he is sharing the report on that medical examination now, resigning himself to the criticism of the other people from his field.

It would probably be terribly unreasonable to reach conclusions about hide’s entire body just from that model, the state of his oral cavity, and what he told REM. Moreover, it would be rude to hide, one might think. Others would be of the opinion that it is okay to do it, of course. REM thinks it’s reasonable enough.

But REM’s honest feelings are these: It is not a bad thing to disclose a little bit of hide’s personal matters to the public. In this moment, as his friend and as his fellow guitarist from a band called SAVER TIGER, REM wishes to do all he can for hide, utilizing his means as a dentist.

Therefore, REM informs that the following is not a true patient’s chart nor an actual medical report. It reflects only the personal opinion of one single dentist.

[Patient Matsumoto Hideto] 1) Main complaint (the patient’s acutely perceived subjective symptoms for discomfort) .. Sometimes his jaw joints are hurting. It also happens that he cannot open his jaw. Also, severely stiff shoulders. 2) Medical history (past illnesses and current systemic ailments) .. Arrythmia 3) History of present illness .. Observations of grating sounds and irregularities of temporomandibular joint at times are ambiguous

Psychologically, systemic problems are ambiguous. 4) Current symptoms .. Abnormally stiff shoulders

Since long ago, many cases of clenched jaw, jaw muscles are stressed.

Palpation of temporomandibular joint not particularly abnormal, movement of lower jaw is not irregular or restricted. No palpation of muscle occurred. 5) Symptoms concluded from model of the mouth cavity .. Extensive wear of all teeth, corresponding low occlusion.

This is what REM got from what he heard from hide and the examination of the dental model.

One week after his visit at REM’s clinic, hide went to L.A. again, with no follow-up appointment planned, no clarity on when he would be back in Japan, and with the symptoms of his jaw not being acute, REM did not interview him too extensively. He also notes that there was no time for photographs of the oral cavity or X-rays.

At this point, REM talks a little about temporomandibular joint and how it works. Compared to other parts of the body, it is extremely complex in its movements. With its position between the upper and lower jaw and before the ears, it executes a lot of movements when speaking, eating, or even during sleep for some people.

Very roughly said, there is complex movement when chewing or opening and closing the mouth: Up, down, left, right. In contrast, the abnormal occlusion comes from a way of chewing that differs from the ordinary. Damage to the teeth can also be caused by accidents and violent fights. In any case, if the teeth are worn down by chewing or grinding, the height doesn’t match anymore, which leads to irregular chewing patterns.

If that irregularity is particularly bad, it leads to pain of the temporomandibular joints and overall discomfort. This, caused by emotional stress in the first place, can lead to muscle pain, which in turn leads to more tension.

Opening and closing the mouth can create various problems. This is called temporomandibular joint disorder. Of course, when it comes to hide, REM can’t diagnose that for the aforementioned lack of examinations and tests. But between what patient Matsumoto Hideto told him and the information provided by the study model, it’s a conclusion he finds definitely possible.

The model shows that from the front to the back teeth, all the pointy bits had been worn away so that the teeth were essentially flat. This must have been caused by the teeth grinding hide had told REM about. But for the wear to be so extensive all over, the grinding and gritting must have been extremely strong and have gone on for a very long time.

Teeth grinding is a phenomenon that happens unconsciously in times of required self-control or nervousness and stress. If the grinding goes on for a long time, it often happens that normal chewing is no longer possible. This disturbs the entire system of the jaw muscles and joints and causes pain. If it gets worse, the pain can spread to the surrounding muscles, then the shoulders and fingers and even the back and legs. Also, this affecting the muscles is often the cause for stiffness of the shoulders.

According to the model, the size of hide’s jaw (the gap between the upper and the lower jaw) when chewing was a lot lower than it used to be due to the wear, and the bones inside the joint no longer fit the normal position. The wear is so extensive that REM assumes the pain spread past the environment of the jaw to parts of the body far away from it.

And thus he concludes this meagre investigation.

Finally, there is one more episode REM wants to add in line with this report.

This is how he remembers it:

That day, hide asked him, “How do I get my teeth back to their original shape?” after he came to REM’s office for consultation.

After the examination, they had, of course, gone for drinks, and this is when hide brought it up. REM said, “For that, I would have to fix all your teeth, I think. There is no time for that now, and there is a risk that the shape of your face is going to change. One day, when we are both old men, and there is time to spare, and visuals no longer matter, I can fix them for you.”

Hide said, “Since my teeth are one source for my stiff shoulders, I want to have them fixed. Just, right now, there really is no time for it, but please do it one day. After all, you are to be my attending physician for the rest of my life.”

As attending physician, REM could have been of some help. Even now, that thought sometimes shoots through his mind.

Afterword (1)

With the irresponsible reports and information going around after that certain day, REM wants to detail his days with hide as precisely as possible. And he wants to let as many people as possible know the truth.

That kind of thought is always with him.

“Hey, REM! Please.”

Every day they have this conversation inside REM’s mind, when he listens carefully for hide’s words from beyond the sky and replies, “Hey, hide. How can I help you, so you can rest easy?”

This is a book that has been created as a joint project by REM and Nakamoto-san of Yokosuka, who goes by the name of BENZO, over the course of half a year.

The aim was to write as accurately, truthfully, and diligently as possible about REM’s life as a musician, the historic band SAVER TIGER as made by hide, as well as REM’s irreplaceable days with his sword friend hide, and the enthusiastic rock scene of Yokosuka.

He was aiming to be accurate, but there are probably points where his memory is off, or his perception differs from others. In that case, he is sincerely sorry.

In the light of the close bond he shared with him who has gone beyond the sky, he hopes it can be forgiven.

Finally, he thanks a great many people, starting with hide’s parents, his younger brother, the people from his office, the former members of X JAPAN, the past members and staff of SAVER TIGER, the members of UNITED, AMIT, Doppel Ganger, LAFERIA, and 4th Dimension, Kuriji-san, and then the people of Zushi Dental Clinic, Takeshi-san, Arakawa-sensei, Nakano-san, Someya-san, and many others. Above all, BENZO, who has become a drinking buddy for life and without whom this book would not exist in this form. All these people have helped him greatly, and he takes this opportunity to express his deepest gratitude.

He dedicates this book to his mother, who went to heaven first and may have met hide there, his father, who is still practicing as a doctor on Shikoku, his older sister and his younger brother, his wife Miwa, and their son.

And of course, he wants to dedicate this book, and the next words that come from his heart, to him, who has gone beyond the sky.

“hide, thank you.”

1999-05-02 His first birthday above the sky.

Afterword (2)

28 October 1999, Thursday, cloudy sky, 10:30 AM.

The night before, REM drank with his bandmates in their usual place, “99”, but their condition wasn’t bad. The window was wide open. Feeling the comforting wind and the morning’s aroma from his fingertips to his hair that once again reached his shoulders, REM went down the national highway No. 134 southwards, towards the coast of Miura. There, on a small hill, different from the rest and seemingly removed from the reality everyone else is living in, is hide’s resting place.

REM wondered if he was plotting new ideas in this place of rest, and if those were now flying around freely through the air…

As always, REM reported about live performances and new songs, and the state of the band, and then made his way back home along the coastal road. There was one tiny thing he noticed:

As REM was talking to hide, a feathered life-form about the size of his little finger’s nail (some kind of insect) was flying through the air around him and the others. At that time, they didn’t particularly care… And now, that life-form was inside the car.

There was no telling if it was the same creature from before, but form and size were identical.

REM calmly closed the window and, without thinking anything, he turned on the car stereo and stepped on the accelerator.

When he got home and left the car, the line between the ordinary and the extraordinary was crossed again.

Several days had passed since then.

It’s the 6th of November now, and with the image of this feathered little life-form flying freely around in his home, REM decides to let the story come to an end.

#hide #pink couldy sky #REM #summary #saver tiger #ending this on some ethically questionable violations of doctor-patient confidentiality #and with a number of endings comparable to the Lord of the Rings #It's always strange to have such a long project come to and end #anyway I hope you enjoyed this 27K “summary”#I enjoyed making it and I'm glad this information is more accessible now (in theory at least)#It'll probably be a while before I do something similar again #but when I do

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ms-m-astrologer · 3 months

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Transiting Ceres enters retrograde zone

Timeline (current events in bold)

Thursday, February 29, 07:44 UT - transiting Ceres enters pre-retrograde shadow, 7°29’ Capricorn

Wednesday, May 15, 05:36 UT - transiting Ceres stations retrograde, 21°33’ Capricorn

Monday, August 26, 07:39 UT - transiting Ceres stations direct, 7°29’ Capricorn

Monday, November 11, 22:43 UT - transiting Ceres exits post-retrograde shadow, 21°33’ Capricorn

===+++===

Caveat: this may not have much of an impact on you unless Ceres is prominent in your birth chart. She’d have to be in close aspect to the Sun, Moon, &/or an angle (Ascendant, IC, Descendant, MC), possibly with strong Virgo &/or 6th House energy.

Since I have been fighting and losing to the migraines for about the last ten days, here is an excerpt about Ceres Rx from Martin Bulgerin’s web site biopscinst.com:

When the Great Mother Ceres turns retrograde on us, the entire notion of mothering and nurturance is up for grabs in our lives. This goes far beyond "just children", since Ceres describes the ways we give to and receive loving support from others. You're being forced to reconsider what you really care about. Some of our "babies" must be allowed to grow up and fly the coop if our attachments are holding them back. It's also important to recognize whether you are rejecting or filtering out the love others are extending to you during these cycles. Sometimes, the most cruel person in your life is yourself. It's time to reconnect with the web of life and loving.

Some of the problems with any planet moving through Capricorn are related to a belief that the more outward achievements we have, the more loveable that makes us. “If I get the top grades - that promotion - marriage to so-&-so,” like that. Sort of a social-climbing vibe. Integrity shouldn’t be equated with high worldly status.

Another problem happens when we insist on doing things “the way we’ve always done them.” That kind of thinking brought on the US’s “Dust Bowl” in the 1930s - an insistence on using farming techniques that weren’t suitable or sustainable for that climate and environment.

And there’s always the stench of government/corporate control, in this sign.

Procreative sexuality, parenting, children, family - the so-called “traditional family values” with the white straight men in charge. Trying to “keep up with the Joneses” - also makes me think of those appalling “neighborhood covenants” in the US, where (for example) you can’t have a clothesline, or paint your house any color but beige, and so forth.

Child & elder care, nurturing professions - regimentation, following the rules, going up the “proper” chain of command. Sort of a perfunctory, general approach without giving much (if any) thought to individual needs.

Agriculture, growing cycles, food - “agribusiness” coming into focus. Could be some issues with hoarding.

Concern for domesticated animals - not so much just puppies and kitties, but piggies and chickens and cows as well. Concern with the “factory farm” approach, not just the meat “production” (UGH) but the puppy mills, etc.

Most of the aspects Ceres makes will happen with the personal planets and the other Lady Asteroids - therefore most of the work to be done will be on a personal level. “Think globally, act locally.” (The exception is Ceres squaring Chiron, which I’ll discuss in the list of aspects.) As we move through these aspects, we should give progressively longer “leeways” on either side of the dates. Perhaps allow a few days for the first one, and up to a week for the last.

Tuesday, March 12 - Ceres/Capricorn trine Juno Rx/Pisces, 11°21’. Starting off with good intentions, anyway! A lot of mutual caring and concern. “Let’s get through this together.”

Saturday, March 16 - Ceres/Capricorn square Mercury/Aries, 12°27’. First of three - due to Mercury’s retrograde cycle. Be alert for problems with communicating your own needs, and listening to others. Probably not a brand-new problem or situation.

Saturday, March 23 - Ceres/Capricorn sextile Venus/Pisces, 14°08’. Can be a good time to get pregnant, so if that isn’t on your agenda then triple-wrap that thing. Very creative energy. We want to pretty up our homes.

Sunday, March 31 - Ceres/Capricorn square North Node/Aries and South Node/Libra, 16°05’. Problems around taking care of ourselves and our own needs, versus taking care of other people to “keep the peace.” If you habitually deny yourself, it comes back to bite you in the butt.

Saturday, April 6 - Ceres/Capricorn square Sun/Aries, 17°26’. Who’s the boss? We really want to be independent and not bound by familial/tribal expectations.

Tuesday, April 16:

Ceres/Capricorn square Mercury Rx/Aries, 19°11’

Ceres/Capricorn sextile Mars/Pisces, 19°12’

The second Ceres-Mercury square, but this time there’s a helpful sextile to Mars. (Also a fertile sextile, so watch out for that.) We can listen compassionately.

Sunday, April 21 - Ceres/Capricorn square Venus/Aries, 19°52’. If you need a break, ask for one! It’s okay to take some time off. Similarly, the person being taken care of could get a little testy about it.

Wednesday, April 24 - Ceres/Capricorn square Chiron/Aries, 20°22’. First of three. Look for the imbalances between self-care, and how much you take care of others. It isn’t necessarily us being the heroic super-nurturer - sometimes we don’t pull our own weight.

Tuesday, May 7 - Ceres/Capricorn square Mercury/Aries, 21°21’. Third of three. By now we should be expressing our needs in a clear, straightforward way.

Saturday, May 11 - Ceres/Capricorn trine Sun/Taurus, 21°30’. We identify strongly with our familial/tribal role, and we want practical, effective ways to carry out those responsibilities. We can use this to set realistic intentions going into Ceres’ actual retrograde.

#Astrology #Transiting Ceres enters retrograde zone #Ms M astrologer

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boltlightning · 10 months

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here’s a lil excerpt of my piece for @20yrsofpirateszine!! pre-orders close august 11 so get ‘em while they’re hot :)

Elizabeth takes her duty to Will Turner seriously. She visits with him daily, and reports that he speaks very little about his past: only that his mother died shortly before his departure from England, and his father is a merchant sailor for some vessel in the Caribbean. He is well-mannered and well-spoken, if unsure of his place on the ship. Though he is sometimes found staring forlornly at the sea, he has recovered from the destruction of his previous ship with elasticity only someone so young could exhibit. Turner has taken to sparring with the midshipmen on deck. With a blade in hand, no matter how dull the edge, Turner turns as serious as a judge, listening intently as the other boys train him to duel. On the rare occasion when the officers are below deck, the boys play at fighting pirates, and the zeal in Turner’s keen eyes is the strongest of them all as they engage these imaginary dastards. Swann would be more worried about his new ward were he not so worried about Elizabeth. She is so fierce, his little girl, and Swann knows he could not have muddled through the grief of her mother’s death were she not so. He likes to think he knows her well, and he knows she is hiding something from him. There is always a meek note to her voice when she tells him of her days with Will Turner. She no longer spends her time on the forecastle; now, when she is on deck Elizabeth always seems to be nervously scanning the horizon for something, rather than watching the waves and spinning her own tales of excitement. This new, unusual reticence has not stopped her from asking Lieutenant Norrington to teach them the songs the sailors sing, nor discouraged her appetite for adventurous literature. But there is the smallest bit of fear in her, buried deep, and whatever it is, she does not want her father to see. It terrifies him. Swann watches the children now as they lean against the side of the ship (the gunwale? He would have to check with Norrington later). Around them, the ship is active with life, sailors running barefoot across the deck, following inscrutable orders from their officers with pep in their step. By the captain’s calculations, they will be able to see the isle of Jamaica within hours; they will disembark within the day. Along with other passengers down the deck, Elizabeth and Turner stand on their toes and peer out at the horizon, vying for the honor of spotting their new home first. Seeing them side-by-side, two children from different worlds, looking ahead to the adventures that would ensconce the rest of their lives…it makes Governor Swann’s heart stick in his throat.

#this one is entirely on-brand for me: thinking way too hard about the swann family dynamics #and no one's allowed to have a mom <3 #Pre-Order The Zine Now #there's so much good stuff in it!!#pirates of the caribbean #*fic

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wordwarriors · 10 months

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POV Discussion Summary

The inaugural live discussion went very well! Thanks so much to everyone that participated! It was a very good turnout. I thought I would post the outline and some notes from the discussion here.

OUTLINE:

First Person “I” (single v. alternating/dual) be careful of too much self-inserting. Pros: many readers feel closer to the protagonist.

2. Second Person “You”

3. Third Person “He/She”

Objective (do not know their thoughts and feelings)

Omniscient (vs. head hopping) (reports thoughts and feelings but doesn’t word them in the character’s voice)

Subjective Omniscient: The narrator knows the character's thoughts and feelings and has opinions about them: Liam felt guilty. As well he should.

Limited (one character’s POV, only know what they know)

Limited shifting (alternates characters, only know what that character knows while you’re in their head)

Narrative Distance:

Far narrative distance (as if you’re watching them)

Close/tight (as if you’re in their head)

Deep (write as if the reader is the character)

He peered out the window. “Are they coming for me?” he wondered as he listened to the sound of distant hoofbeats.

The above could be written in deep POV as follows:

He peered out the window. Were they coming for him? Hoofbeats rumbled in the distance

4. Fourth Person “We” (Plural)

Example:

Head hopping:

Riley looked across the room in confusion. She felt fear slice through her heart as she listened to Liam, he was agitated and upset, worried that she wasn’t understanding what was at stake. Drake looked between the two of them, bored, he was ready for this conversation to be over. Riley threw her hands up in the air. He could tell she was frustrated.

Fixed:

Riley looked across the room in confusion. She felt fear slice through her heart as she listened to Liam. He seemed agitated and upset. She shot a quick glance at Drake, who wore a bored expression on his face. She threw her hands up in the air.

Liam could tell Riley was frustrated, but he was worried that she wasn’t understanding what was at stake.

Notes:

There are pros and cons to any choice you make. There is no right or wrong and it comes down to artistic choice. If you aren't sure, play around with different points of view until you find your writing style.

Proofread and be sure you are keeping it consistent.

First person provides a close narrative distance. Third person deep can do the same but is less intuitive to write.

Third person gives you more freedom by not limiting you to only what one or two characters know.

If you are using shifting/alternating character pov, make sure to clearly delineate a scene shift when switching to avoid head hopping and confusing the reader.

Scene shifts can be done by starting a new chapter, using a scene break (like ***) or by starting a new paragraph.

If you just start a new paragraph, be sure to make it clear immediately that you have shifted character pov.

When writing multiple pov characters, each character needs to be very unique and have their own voice or you risk confusing the reader.

Please, if I've missed anything, feel free to mention it in the comments and I'll add it!

Also, check out these articles on POV:

Point of View

Tenses:

Past is more accepted/traditional and intuitive.

Present can create more immediacy and tension.

Again, this is a creative choice, just make sure you’re keeping it consistent.

You will use multiple tenses when writing. We touched on this (using past or past perfect vs. writing flashbacks in the same tense as the rest of your story), but this could probably use it’s own discussion at some point.

August Events:

Live Work Sharing Session: Friday August 11, 2023 12:00 p.m. CST

Live Discussion on Descriptive Writing Friday August 25, 2023 12:00 p.m. CST

Word Warriors:

@karahalloway @aussiegurl1234 @harleybeaumont @alj4890 @peonierose @petiteboheme @ryns-ramblings @tate-lin @twinkleallnight @nestledonthaveone

@aallotarenunelma @kristinamae093 @coffeeheartaddict2 @thedistantshoresproject @lizzybeth1986 @memorias-depresivas

@noesapphic @jerzwriter

#point of view #word warriors #fanfic writing #discord chat

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aunteat · 1 month

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𝟏𝟑 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐠 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞

tagged by @mothmage & @desertfangs THANK YOU!

1) The last book I read: It was a short story but I read In The Penal Colony by Kafka a couple days ago!

2) A book I recommend: Too many so I’m going to recommend authors instead— Bret Easton Ellis, Joyce Carol Oates, William Burroughs, I’ve only read a couple books by Ryū Murakami but have really enjoyed them. I assume Anne Rice goes without saying!

3) A book that I couldn’t put down: Anytime I pick up a Junji Ito piece, I read it straight through without fail.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more): I don’t usually re-read books but I’m currently listening to Interview with the Vampire again on audiobook! Man keeps pronouncing Louis’s name like “Lewis” though and it’s killing me

5) A book on my TBR: Too many. Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia Butler is the first one that comes to mind but I still have to read Vittorio the Vampire too!

6) A book I’ve put down: Three times I’ve started The Vegetarian by Han Kang, got a chapter or two in and put it down. The beginning just does not grab me but I’ve heard such good things about it so I’m planning on trying it again! Maybe via audiobook next time.

7) A book on my wish list: I’ve heard great things about Emily Wilson’s translation of The Iliad but it’s only available in hardback right now (and last I checked, pretty expensive). Hoping to snag a copy of it when it comes out in paperback in August!

8) A favorite book from childhood: I am once again deferring to Warrior cats.

9) A book you would give to a friend: I'm always recommending American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis to people. Just feels like a horror rite of passage.

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own: I don’t know if I have any! Poetry really isn’t my genre.

11) A nonfiction book you own: I went through a David Sedaris phase so I have three or four of his books.

12) What are you currently reading: A Student’s Guide to Academic and Professional Writing in Education. I have to teach an undergrad course this coming fall and am trying to prepare myself!

13) What are you planning on reading next? I wish I knew 😅

No-pressure tagging: @this-writer-needs-coffee @cinnamonclove @littleshopofflorrors @uncivilcivilservice + anyone else who wants to!

#tag game #<- starting a new tag!

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boytransmission · 6 months

Note

Idk if you would answer something personal like this but I thought I’d shoot my shot!

For background I’m 20, queer/enby and just starting to get into bdsm/kink this past year or two. I also prefer a submissive/brat role and your page has helped me a lot in feeling a community and understanding.

How did you learn about this side of yourself/explore it, have you found community that makes you feel validated in it and can share it with, and how do you work through shame if you experience that?

I hope you have the best day I appreciate you!

-🫀

Heyy howdy! i'm so happy to hear my little corner of tumblr has helped you out at all, that's really cool :) I don't feel super qualified to answer your questions, but i'll do my best under the cut

I learned about this side of myself very, very early on lol. I was extremely hypersexual as a child (didn't know what a sexuality was so i just fantasized about everyone) then got scared of myself from like 9-14 (came out as bi at 11, lesbian at 12), then got back to it as a highschooler (13: trans & bi; 15-18:gay ftm). I never got with anyone (didn't start screwing till i was 18), but i poked around 20th century queer art and history and photography (mostly from the u.s., and mostly gay male), and by the time i joined in on the grindr scene at 18 i had an idea of how i wanted to be thrown around. I explored it all in a pretty horrible, unhealthy way through grindr. I fell in love with a transfem who was my first for everything but was secretly using me as "the other man" the whole time, i was always too scared to actually deny sex to anyone who i wound up meeting in person which did a horrific number on my body, and i was obviously chased all over the map by cis male fetishists, and i got with several of them and dated one who was extremely... i don't know. Manipulative? Violent? It's more confusing than that. I was having sex as an addict running away from my real life issues and emotional struggles, and i fucked myself over so much worse than any one hookup or short-term relationship possibly could've. I realized i needed to cut it all off, and i did, and it forced me to seriously think about where i stand sexually. I was right when i was a kid- i'm a dyke. As imaginitive as i was when i was younger, i haven't been 'hypersexual' since i was maybe 13, and i am definitely demisexual. The trauma i experienced from august 2022 to july 2023 has caused extremely intense bouts of sex-repulsion fluctuating against sex addiction which has been... tough. But with all that said, coming back to my dyke roots and listening to my younger self and pursuing butchness and fagdyke bullshit has helped me heal so, so much. It was rough realizing that what i was doing was a twisted version of comphet, something i stupidly thought i was more or less immune to. This community and all the art and people and ideas that come out of it are so insanely incredible and touching to me. I've always been part of the trans community, but the trans dyke community is so much stronger together than the gay trans community was for reasons i don't know.

I currently live in a small town in florida with no nearby major cities, and even if there were, i can't afford a car (let alone gas or insurance) and i'm stuck at home when i'm not at work. It's miserable, and all those issues combined mean there's no community here for me to engage with, not queer and definitely not kinky. I've been wanting to move to a bigger city, and when i was visiting Seattle i got my first real ticket into a trans kink community that was so warm, welcome, open, and i was so, so floored and beyond happy i got to experience it, even if it was just one meet up at a cafe. Finding community in smaller areas is excruciating.... even if you take initiative to build it, it's likely there's no one actually There to join in.... i mope about it a lot. But online i feel like i have recently found a good circle of people/mutuals/etc to share in butch/dyke/trans sexuality and leather kinks and pretty much everything i've talked about on this blog, despite how badly it's lacking for me irl :,,)

Something that ties the two paragraphs together: i really don't struggle with shame in any bit of what i do or who i am, unless i'm going through a paranoid fit of sex-repulsion, in which case the only thing i'm really shameful about is having an online presence at all. Sometimes i get paranoid and scared off my ass that i'll never be separated from these fantasies and images, that i'll always be seen as a little, young fucktoy, or that i'm still in addiction and punishing myself and this is all self-harm when i know (in normal states) that it isn't.

Also sooooo glad you're a brat, isn't it so much fun? How am i not supposed to be a bit snarky from time to time and how am i not supposed to obsess over the punishments i'll get? It's always a win win i fucking love being a little piece of shit lollll

#anon #ask #trans nsft #bd/sm community #butch nsft #very vague trigger warnings for this it's just kind of upsetting in some areas

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rorywritesjunk · 1 month

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There's no race, no ending in sight

r rating. title comes from "two of us on the run" by lucius

(some day I'll be done. warnings for injured buggy, nudity, no sex happens but it is referenced. Sunny finally tells her husband how she feels.)

Taglist: @hey-august @thoraeth

pt 1 + pt 2 + p3 + p4 + pt 5 + p6 + pt 7 +Pt 8 + Pt 9 + Pt 10 + Pt 11 + Pt 12 + Pt 13 + Pt 14 + Pt 15 + pt 16 + Pt 17 (End)

Pt 10

A few days after Girl's Night, Sunny was bringing her husband his lunch. She hadn't seen him all morning, which was fine by her but often he made at least one appearance throughout the day. She knocked on the door of his office, listening for him to bid her entrance, but she instead heard a cry of pain.

She didn't wait, throwing the door open and rushing into his office.

Buggy was there, head swinging from Crocodile's hook as his body lay crumpled on the floor. This wasn't the first time Sunny had seen it, but to hear the pain he had been in startled her. Buggy looked at her, face bloody and bruised again, and she just stood by the door in shock.

"The clown told me he was in love with you." Crocodile told her as he tossed Buggy's head aside. It rolled away, still crying in pain, as Sunny took a few steps into the office. "What do you say to that, darling?"

"I... don't know why he'd do something so foolish." Sunny said as she set the tray of food down, watching Buggy as his head returned to his body. "That was dumb."

"See, clown?" Crocodile chuckled as he grabbed her by the hand, pulling her into his lap. "I should double your debt for that."

"You'd never get it back." Sunny said as she looked up at her husband. "He wouldn't be able to pay."

"Are you defending him, my darling?" He asked as Buggy started to sit up, holding his hand to his nose as it bled. "Don't tell me you like him."

"He's a good dancer." She shrugged. "You didn't dance with me at the party and made him do it. How could I not like him when he was so nice to me?"

"C-Can I leave?" Buggy whined; Crocodile kept his attention on Sunny while pointing the hook in Buggy's direction. She wouldn't look at him, keeping her attention on her husband. She couldn't look at Buggy. If she did she was afraid she would start crying for him, feeling guilty he was injured because of her.

"Stay away from her." Crocodile warned him. "Do not talk to her, look at her, or even think about her, clown. Do you understand?"

Buggy looked at Sunny; she wouldn't look at him. He hated this. He didn't want it to be like this, he wanted to be with her, but this was impossible. There was no way to fight for her and win.

"I-I understand." He did but he didn't want to, he wanted to keep seeing her, even if it was just to see her smile at him and never said a word. It wasn't fair.

"Get the hell out of here."

Buggy got up and left at the command, only to look back to see Crocodile pull Sunny to him for a kiss. She allowed it, putting her arms around him, running her fingers through his hair. Why, why, why did this have to happen? Why did Buggy have to fall in love with her and tell her husband? Why did he think Crocodile would be understanding and show him mercy?

He stormed out, flinching at the pain in his side where Crocodile had kicked him earlier. He was going to bruise from that. Everything hurt and the only medicine he wanted was the alcohol Alvida had stashed in her room.

"I think you were too harsh on him." Sunny said as she laid curled up next to Crocodile. He was on his back, hook gone with his left arm behind his head and his right arm holding Sunny to him, letting his hand stroke her arm gently. "He's an idiot."

"Then why did he barge into my office to tell me he loved you?" He asked. Sunny shrugged, running her hand over his chest slowly, tracing faded, lingering scars along his skin. He shuddered when she did that. "He's lucky you came in when you did. I was about to gut him."

"Ugh, it'd get all over your shoes." She reminded him as she draped her arm over him. "I'm glad you didn't."

"Hm." His hand stopped and he looked down at her. "What are your feelings for the clown?"

Sunny sighed and closed her eyes. "You want to ask me that after fucking me? I don't want to think of him."

Crocodile moved on top of her, pulling one of her legs up to rest over his thigh. She swallowed heavily and looked up at him, biting her lip gently as he looked her over. Her body was covered in his bites, leaving red, angry marks all over her. The ones on her neck and throat were the worse, he almost broke the skin on one spot. He slid his hand up her thigh, watching her for a reaction, but she just looked up at him, waiting for his next move.

"Sunny, my darling, let me ask you something and be honest with me." He said, taking in how she shivered under his touch. Sunny nodded, closing her eyes as she moved her legs further apart for him.

"Ask away." She said, wondering what he was about to ask, hoping it wasn't about Buggy again. She had tried her hardest not to think about him while Crocodile was on top of her, making her moan and cry for him, nails scratching his back as he fucked her through multiple orgasms.

"Are you in love with the clown?"

Sunny's eyes shot open and she stared up at her husband in shock. He actually asked her that while naked and on top of her as she spread her legs for him. She didn't know what to say, shock clearly written on her face as her brain raced through possible answers to give him.

"I-I- where is that coming from?" She stammered. "Why are you asking me that?"

"As you say, he's a good dancer." Crocodile told her as he moved his hand to her stomach, sliding it up her body slowly. "Now answer me."

Would it be better to lie or tell the truth? Either way, someone would be hurt. Why should she continue pretending like everything was okay for them? It never was. She had never been happy in this marriage. This was her out, as awkward of a position she was currently in, she had to say something even if it ended in her death.

"I'm not in love with you." She told him. "Ever. I was never in love with you, Crocodile, and I don't think that's going to change after twenty years."

He looked down at her, an unreadable expression on his face until he started to laugh. That was not the reaction Sunny expected.

"I've known that." He chuckled as leaned in close to her. "But that's not what I asked, darling. I asked if you were in love with that clown."

Sunny huffed and pushed him back just enough so she could sit up. "Why would it matter how I feel about someone else? I'm married to you."

"And? I asked you a question and I want an answer." He said as he loomed over her, pulling her back under him with little difficulty. Sunny huffed softly, crossing her arms as she looked up at him.

"Fine. I like him." She told him. "I like him enough that I want to kiss him, Crocodile, but I won't. You can trust that I won't because when I married you I promised to stay loyal even if I was unhappy, and I am not about to break that over some pathetic clown."

"That so?" He reached up to stroke her cheek as she nodded. "Such a sweet, lovely little wife I have. You've always been so good to me, haven't you?" He leaned down to kiss her, enjoying her gasp, how she put her arms around him to pull him down closer. He broke the kiss, biting her bottom lip gently before smirking. "I'm lucky to have you, aren't I?"

Sunny couldn't stop herself from glaring at him. She hated this, hated him even. He was mocking her, enjoying her misery as he asked her a simple question and she told him the truth. She wanted nothing more than to leave, to not deal with him or Buggy but to go elsewhere, away from all this nonsense with pirates.

Crocodile chuckled as he pulled away from her. "Get yourself cleaned up. Go play in your garden with Hawkeyes if you want. I'll see you at dinner."

He got out of bed and went to collect their clothes, placing hers on the bed before he started to get dressed, putting his hook on last. Sunny watched him, waiting until he was gone before she started crying.

#buggy the clown #sir crocodile #sunny x buggy #sunny x crocodile #buggy the clown x oc #buggy x oc #sir crocodile x oc #crocodile x oc

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fics-not-tragedies · 6 months

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January 2024 Music Prompts - Spotify Wrapped edition

♪ Hello again! Yes, I'm finally back, at last. Let's start new year with something great: music prompts ♪🎵🎶

♪ Since getting your Spotify Wrapped is such a huge event every year (at least for me, who listens to the same 5 artists and even tho I still get surprised, lol), I decided to surprise you with a little prompt event.

♪ I've chosen 15 songs from my 2023 Wrapped playlist and a lyric (or few) for each one of them that just has THE vibe (y'know):

1. Own My Mind ♫ Måneskin I'm prayin' at your altar if you know what I mean.

2. Dinner & Diatribes ♫ Hozier I’d suffer hell if you'd tell me/What you'd do to me tonight.

3. Kiwi ♫ Harry Styles She worked her way through a cheap pack of cigarettes/Hard liquor mixed with a bit of intellect.

4. Electricity ♫ Arctic Monkeys Tell me something I don’t already know/Like how'd you get your kisses to fill me with electricity?

5. Francesca ♫ Hozier Though I know my heart would break/I'd tell them, "Put me back in it".

6. Honey (Are You Coming?) ♫ Måneskin I'm gonna show you how this Italian amor/It's gonna love you harder than ever before/You will like it.

7. Don't Blame Me ♫ Taylor Swift I would fall from grace/Just to touch your face.

8. For Your Love ♫ Måneskin I wanna be the first man you look at tonight/I wanna be stuck in your head and make you go wild.

9. Stuck ♫ Thirty Seconds to Mars I've been lost in your eyes all afternoon/The more I drift, the closer I get to you.

10. Mammamia ♫ Måneskin They ask me why I'm so hot, 'cause I'm italiano.

11. Nobody ♫ Hozier I'd be appalled if I saw you ever try to be a saint/I wouldn't fall for someone I thought couldn't misbehave/But I want you to know that I've had no love like your love.

12. I Can See You ♫ Taylor Swift But what would you do if I went to touch you now?/What would you do if they never found us out?/What would you do if we never made a sound?

13. Baby Said ♫ Måneskin Baby said, "Let me taste your silhouette/You can talk between my legs"/Uh-uh, uh, uh, know you really want to.

14. Cuff It ♫ Beyonce I wanna go higher, can I sit on top of you?

15. I Wanna Be Your Dog ♫ John McCrea So messed up, I want you here/In my room, I want you here/Now we're gonna be face-to-face/And I'll lay right down in my favorite place.

♪ You can now start making request for the following list of characters:

1. Keanu Reeves along with his following characters/movies:

John Wick & the John Wick movies franchise,

Constantine & the movie,

Johnny Utah & Point Break,

Jonathan Harker & Bram Stoker’s Dracula,

Neo & The Matrix,

dr Julian Mercer,

Jack Traven & Speed;

2. Riccardo Scamarcio along with:

Santino D’Antonio;

3. Andrew Hozier Byrne;

4. Tom Hiddleston along with his following characters/movies:

Sir Thomas Sharpe & Crimson Peak,

Loki & Avengers/Thor,

Adam & Only Lovers Left Alive,

dr Robert Laing & High Rise,

Jonathan Pine & The Night Manager;

5. Henry Cavill along with his following characters/movies:

Geralt of Rivia & The Witcher,

Walter Marshall & Nomis,

Capt. Syverson & Sand Castle,

Napoleon Solo & The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,

August Walker & MI: Fallout,

6. Alexander Skarsgård along with his following characters/movies:

Eric Northman & True Blood,

Leo Beiler & Mute,

Gadi Becker & The Little Drummer Girl,

sergeant Brad “Iceman” Colbert & Generation Kill,

7. Peaky Blinders franchise along with the following characters:

Thomas ‘Tommy’ Shelby,

Alfie Solomons,

8. Supernatural franchise along with the following characters:

Dean Winchester,

Sam Winchester,

9. The X Files franchise along with the following characters:

Dana Scully,

Fox Mulder,

10. Kiefer Sutherland along with his following characters/movies:

Jack Bauer & 24,

president Tom Kirkman & Designated Survivor,

David & The Lost Boys.

Please send in a number with the song/lyric you fancy + a character from those listed above, first come - first serve, as always.

If there are any questions don’t be afraid to ask them, I’m always all ears for y’all!

♪ LET'S CELEBRATE THE BEGINNING OF 2024 ✨

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