#I have been listening to her a lot to write - I think it’s the instruments she uses and the lyrics that make my mind explod

[hcdragonwrites]

Rain (a Journey to the Au Drabble)

I wrote another thing! I was touched and inspired by @journey-to-the-au ! I wasn’t expecting to finish it in one sitting but my brain was afire, and I lost track of time so swiftly. I hope you like it and I hope I did your babies justice !

“Another day in paradise.” Earth Reaching Willow spoke the words aloud, soft and sad.

Then why did it feel like another day pressed between the pages of a book? The thought came like a tidal wave to the front of her mind, stirring and shaking Willows mask of serenity just a bit. No colors or sensations, just the barest touch of description was what the South Pole Palace had become to her.

Heaven was peace - but that peace was starting to chafe Earth Reaching Willow sharply. Here she stood, Eldest Daughter to the Jade Emperor along the railing of her favorite bridge in The Garden of Heaven, feeling the softest breeze curl against her cheek. The water beneath her did not stir with the breeze. The koi swimming beneath in their burning colors of gold and orange fire had the grace of clouds, hardly stirring the silt beneath them.

‘Why can’t I be content?’

She knew why. Earth Reaching Willow was able to eloquently pick apart her own thoughts just as she could with any noblemen or Celestial counselor that brought her gifts to bribe her hand.

Knowing peace all of her existence was beginning to feel as if she were repeating the same day over and over. Reading the same passage in a book, viewing the same painting upon her fathers study wall of bobbing cranes and water dragons. The frustration rose in her. But that’s all I can do. I view the things I hear of. Read of them but I, Daughter of Heaven, will never experience them.

She let that grace her father so prided her on slip off of her as she slumped to rest her arms upon the bridge. The same breeze teased her face again and also revealed she had, surprisingly, a loose thread upon her sleeve.

Earth Reaching Willow took the thread in hand and twisted it between her fingers.

The golden royal hues of her gown were pearled in the most intricate of stitches of willow leaves and falling blossoms, reaching downward from her arms to brush against the river that wove itself across the hem of her attire in a frothing and silent roar. Her handmaidens were so scrupulous in their fussing of her that she was surprised they had missed this little thread. She tugged and noticed the thread was connected to a stylized blossom on her wrist in free fall. It was forever stuck in its descent, never moving beyond where it was perched.

“Are you rebelling against the design of your Life, little thread?” Earth Reaching Willow gently asked.

She had been taught and schooled in being the epitome of serenity, in walking with a stillness and grace that other immortals and celestials envied. Willow and her sisters danced with grace, every motion balanced and calculated. That was the true flow of peace- to balance every motion to not disrupt the water around it. All the people of earth craved this peace, this very place that Earth Reaching Willow lived in.

She plucked at the thread. I am but a stitch in Heaven's grand tapestry. Just like this thread I’m bound up and frozen in a state of existing between.

It almost raised Willows emotions above that dam she had built within herself, almost swamping her in the feeling of stasis.

I cannot succumb to that feeling. She would not. Her finger came away from her sleeve with a snap that startled her silence. The thread she had been twisting and worrying at had come free. It waved in the breeze between her fingers.

Earth Reaching Willow let it go, watching as it floated down and shattered the mirror surface of the water. Ripples rolled from its wake, the most movement Willow had ever witnessed here. The carp swam close, investigating this intruder to their watery paradise.

“Be free Little thread. Be free for both of us…”

“Should I be concerned that my bride-to-be is talking to her clothing?” A warm buttery voice called from behind her.

Willow knew this voice.

“You should be more concerned you have yet to greet me this day, Husband-to-be.” Earth Reaching Willow responded, turning. Sun Wukong, Great Sage Equal to Heaven strode forward and took her hand to kiss it.

Of all the heavenly attendants and immortal beings in all the heavens of the worlds she knew, she was glad Wukong was hers. The Monkey King was dressed in his royal regalia, the armor shining bright in the perpetually perfect sunlight. He was dressed to impress. But it wasn’t to impress her.

Willow raised her sleeve to cover her face in mock flustered love, when really she was hiding her silent laughter. She whispered just loud enough for her dear friend to hear but too silent for any eavesdroppers to catch.

“How many are watching?”

Wukong looked up from her hand, hiding his own smile against her wrist.

“Two from beyond the wall and one from a bench beneath the pear blossom tree. I think if you entwine your hand with mine and if we make moon eyes at each other we may satisfy their curiosity.” He had a spark of mischief in his eyes.

“Done.” Earth Reaching Willow dipping her hand to clasp Wukongs fingers, laying her own kiss upon his skin.They pressed their faces close, cheek to cheek.

Playing at being head over heels in love was the most fun Willow had ever had. When Wukong and her and thought up the scheme, she had had her concerns- mainly with the retaliation from the simpering suitors that would be furious that a mere immortal had caught the Princesses attention. There had been protests of course. Then Wukong had declared his intentions, regaling the court with his great deeds and how, if he had to, he would champion himself and outdo all his previous accomplishments in the name of proving he was worthy of the hand of Earth Reaching Willow.

Well that had set the court to a flummoxed and outraged chaos. When Wukong and Willow had gotten away from the courts eyes and ears they had bent over and laughed, tears welling in their eyes. Yes Earth Reaching Willow had had her misgivings. But months down the line Willow loved the game they played. It was the most alive she had felt in all her life. She began to look forward to her days and meetings with Wukong, this handsome monkey who brought life to her she so craved.

After a time of whispering in each others ears (mostly jokes or riddles that would set the other to smiling) Wukong flicked his tail, their silent signal that they were alone.

They stayed close but relaxed truly now, smiles becoming wide and friendly instead of the flirty facade they played for court.

“We should start our own acting troop.” Wukong said, resting his arms over the bridge to gaze out on the garden.

“Oh?” Earth Reaching Willow raised a perfect brow.

“We are both actors of stunning caliber!” He said, tapping his chest with pride. “You keep pace with every act I bring to the table and have even come up with your own! Remember the Banquet of Snow?”

How could she forget? “We danced together so long that my own Father had to interrupt us! Then I fed you from my own plate and you me- I am pretty sure we left them all sick with how in love we had been.”

Wukong laughed. Willow laughed with him. He had that effect with his laughter, so warm and uncontained. The sound broke Heaven's peace in such a way it swept one up with it in a tide of warmth.

An edge of melancholy overcame Earth Reaching Willow then. I want to feel this all the time- this laughter. This light.

“Oh Wukong, I wish you would never leave.” She told him then, staring off into the water. Her thread was gone, either taken by the invisible current or plucked out of the water by some invisible attendant.

The Monkey King turned his head, ears curved forward.

“Now Willow, what has made you so sad?”

She shook her head, eyes cast to the water below.

“Don’t try and hide it from me- I know you too well now. You may be an actor but you can’t fool me. I’m your partner in crime, after all. I’ve seen all your tricks.” He jested, smile playing along his lips

“Oh have you?” Willow asked but her voice lacked the usual playful banter. Her mind had returned to the heavy thoughts of grace and perpetual serenity, of the mantle of sameness and here, with him, she couldn’t hide.

“Willow…” Wukong gently tapped her arm with his hand. “What has dampened your light ? My friend, tell me. There is no one in the Garden. It’s safe here.”

It was the softness with which he spoke that almost broke Willow. He had always been kind to her. She took just a half shuffle to the side, reaching for recomposure. If she stayed in his kindness she would have unleashed that tidal wave battering within her.

It wanted to get out.

She had to keep it in.

She took a breath.

Then another.

“Heaven is … Paradise.” The words came from Earth Reaching Willow softly. Only a bit- only a trickle of that emotion I will let forth. If I let it flow free I’ll loose that peace and I don’t want my Father to catch wind I cried in the Garden. Or to thing it was Wukong who caused it.

“Maybe a little rain or something.” Or anything her heart sang. A bird within a gilded cage.

Now that it was out- now that she had said it, her body felt lighter. A stone cast from her soul. If it had just been her, Willow was concerned she wouldn’t be able to cast off this pallor of sorrow with ease. With Wukong however, his vibrancy drew from her heart the deepest of her well locked up sorrows.

Wukongs hands were suddenly over hers, tugging Willow off and away from the bridge.

“W-Wukong what -“ Earth Reaching Willows voice faltered. Her friends face was brighter than any sunbeam she and her sisters had ever woven, some unknown emotions twinkling in his eyes.

“Come with me Willow-I have something to show you!” He pulled her off the bridge and out the garden, tail tapping in tandem to his bright smile and little laughs. “Come come- out of that stuffy garden with you!”

“Wukong what has taken over you?”

“An idea. A brilliant and stupendous idea! But it is a surprise so you must close your eyes!” He peered right into her face, mockingly stern. “No peeking! It will ruin the effect!”

Willow snorted, being swept up again in his golden glow of emotion. He is quite adorable.

“Alright alright ! I will cover my eyes!” Willow lifted her hands, covering her eyes from view. The smile dancing on her lips couldn’t be washed away by the tide of sorrow within her. Not when this burning bright flame of a person was with her.

“Wukong…”

“Not yet!”

“Wukong how much longer?”

“Not much farther! Just — oop watch your step here!”

It had been a short flight to this mysterious place Wukong had taken Willow and she couldn’t help the electrical feel of excitement ripple up her spine. Any other being covering her eyes would give Earth Reaching Willow pause. Wukong however ? This was her sweet monkey, the kind soul that had seen her trapped between unhappy marriage options and had come in to give her an escape.

She trusted him just as he had trusted her with his past, with who he was.

Wukong stopped.

“Alright Willow- let me cover your eyes now that I have you on a safe spot.”

“Don’t want me to wander off a cliff dear husband-to-be ?”

“I would be a terrible husband if I let my wife-to-be walk her way off a cliff. The Emperor would have a new monkey rug to enjoy.”

She laughed, smiling against his palms.

“You could never be turned into a rug my dear.”

“You are right- however my own mothers would make me one in his stead.” The laughter slowly faded and Willow felt Wukong lean forward from behind. He was warm against her back, the breath against the shell of her ear making her ticklish.

“Are you ready?” He asked. She couldn’t help the spark that set off in her limbs. Surprises in Heaven were always of the placibile kind. A new set of moon needles to sew with, a gown woven from the beard of a water dragon, a parasol that changed decorations by the phases of the sun- all orderly gifts expected to be given to a princess.

Wukong however was not of the Heavenly court. His gifts had never been of the ‘appropriate’ kind that those stiff backed men had presented to Willow.

“Yes.” Her breath came quickly now.

“Alright…” the Monkey King removed his hands from her face. “Open them.”

Earth Reaching Willow did.

And lost her breath.

She and Wukong were standing upon the edge of a mountain cliff, facing out to something Willow had only seen once before. The ocean sparkled and flashed beneath the warm amber sun that was beginning to set in its sea. Like scales upon a dragons skin, the ocean moved as if breathing, basking in the buttery glow of the sun. Colors came alive in the twist of the mountains beside them- upon the leaves of the trees as they refracted the sunlight. Something was rising from within her, a rush of feeling. What could it be? It was as if she had drunk too much heavenly wine, a headrush so clear and bright and so unlike the muddling effects of wine. Willow opened her mouth, to speak to gasp to thank, she didn’t know. She didn’t get a chance.

A great cloud of gray swept over one of the mountains, close enough to see its plumes of ink dark but not in the way of its storm path. Great sheets of water streamed down beneath its mass, diamond drops of water glowing like honey in the sunset. The sound! Her ears, if they could move, would have swiveled to catch it. A great Crescendo of sound, sweeter than chimes and deeper than flutes, fell with the rain. It made sound out of the colors and things before her, falling on that great oceans back, painting the mountain dark, and scenting the air with such a perfume as to be heady and intoxicating. It made her heart race, her blood feel afire. Willow took a half step forward.

“Careful love.” Wukong caught her arm, gently stopping her from getting too close to the edge. Willow turned to him and Wukong gasped. Her monkey reached up and wiped away something that was spilling from her face. A tear. She had been crying?

“Wukong …” she heard the emotion in her voice, that swelling water within her threatening to come up and drown her words.

“We call it a sun shower.” Sun Wukong replied, gesturing to the magnificence before them. “Do you like it ?”

The dam within Willow broke then. Her smile became as wide and bright as to rival the sunset before Wukong. She laughed, throwing back her head in a way he had never seen before.

“Like ? Like ? Like does not even begin to brush upon the - this - this feeling. It’s-“ How to describe this thunder within her body? Willow was eloquent and well versed in poetry. But all the poetry of the broad heavens and the words in all the languages known and unknown failed to compare what this gave to her. She could only laugh, only cry and only smile. “I Love this…”

Suddenly Earth Reaching Willow was vibrating with a radiance The Sage had only caught in glimpses when he had disarmed her within the court with his charm or wits. Wukong felt a glow of pride and love wash over him, seeing her in a way no one else had.

Earth Reaching Willow was finally alive in a way she had never been in all her eternity within Heaven's own Garden. Rain and sun, sea and sky had freed her and, if Wukong had anything to say about it, he would give her this every day for the rest of their existence together.

Earth Reaching Willow was for the earth after all. She was finally Home.

#hcwrites #writing stuff #for journey to the au #I got carried away I think lol #but Willows expression had me falling in love #you ever step outside into a sunset so painted with color that you momentarily forget life ? #Willow would be the kind of person who would enjoy the colors of life and never get tired of them #and Wukong is the most charming ! #did I tear up writing about the sunset ? yes. #I wanted to be there with her seeing it #Wukong you better give her all the beauty of the earth #journey to the west #jttw tag #sun wukong #Earth Reaching Willow #ERW #journey to the Au #I blasted my fave music by Ellet Duhé writing this #I have been listening to her a lot to write - I think it’s the instruments she uses and the lyrics that make my mind explod #I pass out now I lost track of time and I work today pftttt #but when I don’t write and have the itch like this it keeps me up #brain fire exists #thank you for giving me permission to write your babies! #hcfanfics

[archangeldyke-all]

hihi! :) (let’s hope the tumblr gods don’t eat this)

do you have any thoughts about modern sevika tastes? i.e how she dresses, the scents she likes to wear, the music she might like, what her phone case might be like. things like that! :)

- topdrop anon

i have a few, but i would LOVE to hear your guys thoughts in the comments too!!

men and minors dni

she dresses practically: pants with lots of pockets, shoes with steel toes, breathable and easy to wash fabrics. but i think she's got a little fashion sense in her, and she knows how good she looks, so she's always buying her clothes just one size too small so all her muscles are on full display, pulling and tugging at the tight fabric of her clothes.

lots of shades of gray and black. some earthy tones-- olive greens and tans and browns. a few pops of color here and there: her favorite red jacket, the purple beanie she wears in winter.

all her socks are black. but her boxers are the cutsy-est things you've ever seen. prints of little hearts, dogs, kitties, ducks, lolipops; writing over the ass like 'eat me' or 'kiss me'; she keeps most of her attire serious, but her undies are always goofy.

i think her left arm would either be a prosthetic or covered in tattoos. shoulder to fingertips.

she's totally the type of person to drive in silence. or listen to the news. she doesn't really listen to music, but she's got a few jazz vinyls she's always cycling through at home. i think it's mostly instrumental, but she does have a soft spot for some soulful singing (which means she cries when nina simone comes on every. single. time. and can you blame her?)

as much as i want to make her a punk-rocker, i just think she'd find it noisy and annoying hahaha.

her phone case is either clear, or it's super bulky and has a little latch on it so she can latch it to her belt lmaoooo.

she keeps the background photo as the default picture it comes with, until she meets you. (she changes it to a pic of the two of you kissing the SECOND you agree to be her girlfriend. she grins after you say yes, pulls her phone out, and quickly changes her background, whispering, "fuck yes, i've been waiting to get rid of this boring ass wallpaper.")

i don't know how to describe scents, but i picture her smelling fresh, like kinda minty, but in a irish spring way. sandalwood too. but on top of all her soaps and lotions, she wears a really warm scented cologne, like tobacco and brown sugar and whiskey and coconut. like amber-y smelling?

she tries to deny the fact that she's got a sweet tooth. she's always munching on chips or nuts or other salty snacks. but that's just because if she starts on a sugary treat, she won't be able to stop herself until it's all gone.

you find this out after you gift her a pan of brownies for her birthday in the morning, and find that they're gone by lunchtime.

now, you always keep little chocolates and hard candies on you to pass to her when she looks stressed. she always gives you the biggest, happiest eyes you've ever seen, like you've just handed her a check for a million dollars instead of a peanutbutter cup.

taglist!

@fyeahnix @sapphicsgirl @half-of-a-gay @ellabslut @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner @shimtarofstupidity @love-sugarr @chuucanchuucan @222danielaa @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther @gr0ssz0mbi3 @ellsss @sevikaspillowprincess @leomatsuzaki @emiliabby @sevikasbeloved @hellorai

#sevika #sevika imagine #sevika arcane #sevika x reader #sevika x you #soft sevika

[pandorasworkshop]

💀Pick a Poisonous Flower - Pick a Card

Pandorasworkshop

Pick a poisonous flower to find out who's your hidden enemy?

Datura Foxglove Belladonna

Datura

Datura is a hellish plant that can bring about nightmarish hallucinations and dehydrate your body past no return.

Cards: queen of cups, devil, death, king of pentacles, moon, eight of pentacles .

Readings: Be careful of a blonde? women who you may work with or go to school with. She is highly manipulative and has a sweet girl act down to every last detail. She's convinced the people around her of this act as well. This person may be jealous of your success, hard work, talent and patience. They may want to push you out of your position, get you fired in the worst case scenario, get your promotion or steal your light. Be careful not to tell people too much jealous eyes can give you bad luck. Your advice is king of pentacles which means someone in your higher up will help you but first you need to balance yourself. Do not react to anything. I can see this person using your anxiety/depression/paranoia against you. Stay calm and collected. This person is really obsessive. She may even try to take your ideas and pass them off as hers. Make sure things are in writing always. Be very careful. These cards are heavy major arcana.

Signs: rainbows, number 8, magic 8 ball, masquerade mask, growing pains, scones, chai tea, wanting to cut your hair, police sirens, cold beer.

Foxglove

Foxglove is a poisonous plant that it's affects are similar to that of a cardiac arrest. It's called foxgloves because it was thought to be fairies gloves.

Cards: Seven of pentacles, three of cups reversed, nine of swords, nine of cups

Reading: You have a lot of envy for simply being yourself. Someone in your friend group is really jealous of you and may be unintentionally sending you negative energy your way through the evil eye. All the cards in this reading are minor arcana so I feel like this person won't do anything really impactful? Or anything that will make a dent in you. They are jealous of how happy you seem in yourself and how you seem to persevere through things. You have confidence that they don't have and it causes them to be self conscious. Your energy may be picking up on this if you are highly intuitive and it makes you feel worried almost but don't be. Your advice is to cleanse yourself and any gifts you may get and stay protected however you may do that. Your guides got yoy

Signs: gigs, snow, thunderstorms, starting your period, icicles, haunted houses, fairy themed stuff, feeling sick to your stomach, warm cup of tea, brown boots, brown sugar, angel statues.

Belladonna

Belladonna is a poisonous plant that if ingested can cause lethargy and comas if ingested. It got it's name from 'beautiful' and 'woman' because it used to be made into a topical cosmetic foundation and increased pupil size. Obviously this has been out of practice now.

Cards: Three of cups, three of swords, judgement and five of pentacles

Reading: You may have broken someone's heart or broken off a friendship. This person feels veryyy resentful of you. Even if you were just asserting your boundaries. You may actively know this person dislikes you but may not think they are wanting to see your downfall but this person is very much in their emotions and feels very hurt by just your presence. They may try to use your past against you like past trauma, occupations or things you've done when you were younger. They are beating a dead horse and I feel as if this person will get tired of it eventually. They could even be a step sibling? Whoever this person is they can't take no for an answer and aren't the type person you want in your life.

Signs: Romeo and Juliet, Wattpad fanfics, opera, Chocolate cake, crepes, feeling really hungry, parrots, 421, 444, journaling, listening to classical or instrumental music.

#tarotblr #pick a pile #tarot pick a pile #pick a photo #pick a picture #pick a card #tarot tips #tarot witch #tarot reading #tarot cards #tarot #witchblr #witchcraft #folk magic #spellwork #divination

[swordheld]

hello! do u have any new music recommendations?

of course!!! going to throw some general pop/indie/rock/instrumental all over vibes at you? these are some of the ones that i've been having on repeat a lot lately because they bring something bright and fun into my days - hope you enjoy them !! 💛

if i'm honest (trousdale) – oh the absolute vibes of this one. the harmonies. the beat. the slow downs and build ups? that ending? it's like easy, slow, growing ease and joy. that point 3/4 of the ways through the song, that building of things? the payoff? those background horns? the drums? i cannot sit through it without some kind of air guitar / drums / chair dance type beat. it's too good that you cannot help it, it just goes so hard.

close one (fizz) – i have been writing so much love poetry to this song. it is soft and slow and serene like light, all golden hour, the soft golden hues of almost, of here, like this, with me? that little 'fuck it' before the chorus is so fun. this group is made of insanely popular individuals (dodie/orla gartland/greta isaac/martin luke brown???) and together .... they are so powerful. cannot wait to see what they create next !!

run (maisie peters) – there is such a fun vibe to this song. that line of the chorus, that 'i've been lied to / i've been cut and deleted / i've heard some things i will leave unrepeated' is sooooo good, that rhyme scheme that syllable count balance? it immediately went onto my writing playlist w/ that fun beat, that synth, that catchy repetition? the whole album this comes off of is so very good too, esp. 'the band and i'? i really enjoy her sound!!

like a brother (hey, nothing) – this song feels like a lullaby, in the way of being swung in a hammock? all late summer, early winter winds? but there is such a lyricism that gets stuck in my brain, the whole layout of the chorus and is just so soft. i feel so many things. another easy one for the poetry playlist.

margo (sally boy) – oh the orchestral, string opening? the easy flow of it, instrumental and light, before hitting that small bit of silence before the guitar and lyrics come in? and then the absolute hit that is the beat of the chorus hitting? obsessed. phenomenal. i love the balance of gentle, light instruments and the slow instruction of the drumbeat, it feels like a whole story that you can experience, the flow of it!

eightball girl (maddie zahm) – i can leave this song for a few days and then out of nowhere it'll just be in my head again, the vibes of it, that beat of the chorus? the layered voice effects? sometimes songs have this balance to them that my brain just sucks up like a sponge and this is one of them. soooo good. i'll be in the supermarket and my brain will just go eightball girllll, tell me how you feel about meeee and it's perfect.

snow angel (reneé rapp) – this was one of the first ones i found on my daylist that was just like, how did i go so long without you. how did i not know about you. and since then it's been a daily listen. the slow, gentle breeze of that beginning? there is such a rising and falling to this song, like seasons, like the breeze? all tide, all here and there and back again, all resilience and ferocity, softness and violence? that electric guitar and the piano and the feedback just makes me want to just. aaaaaaa. this whole album is just banger after banger too!!

grace (henrik) – it's so fun!!! it brings me so much joy and energy, the easy breezy pop vibes, it's so hopeful and gentle and loving. i have it set as my alarm rn because i really do think it'll last through the sisyphean task of getting me out of bed in the mornings, it just feels like sunlight.

#q&a. #birdsong. #music recs. #i have not been immune to the impact of the daylist introduction. spotify will tell u i am obsessed ! #some of these artists have only like? 20k listeners? and i'm just amazed. flabbergasted. like they're SOOOOO GOOD???? #anyway music continues to be something i love and live to enjoy. artists u have my whole heart!!!!! #went through my liked songs to look for The Recent Hits™ for this and i think i've saved like 200+ in the last week and a half. love it !!! #hope u enjoy them babes !!! lemme kno if ur lookin for more / or anything more specific <33

[project-sekai-facts]

What is your favorite commissioned song for each character? (Sorry if you've already answered this before)

this has been sitting in my inbox since december because I was waiting for all characters to get their 4th song... so minori has 5 songs now screw waiting it's not massively likely that Ena4 or Toya4 are gonna beat my top comms for them.

Ichika: either the WALL or Ryuusei no Pulse. I keep changing my mind on which one I like more. I don't really have much to say about them because I don't have either ranked particularly high, but Chiirurin is always a good vocalist, her high note in the WALL is really good.

Saki: Stella. This has been my favorite L/n song since I started playing. I'm not entirely sure why, it just really struck a chord with me. I love the lyrics as well. I'm actually listening to it while writing this lol.

Honami: STAGE OF SEKAI. I really love the emotion in this one, especially in the final chorus. The instrumental is really good too and you honestly can feel the emotion in the song through that alone. Regulus is really good too.

Shiho: Voices. It's just a total banger. The guitar solo is probably my favorite part of the song if I'm being honest. I hope they recommission yuyoyuppe at some point.

Minori: Tenshi no Clover. All her songs are really good, so this was hard to pick. I love energetic idol songs like that and it fits Minori really well. Zenshin zenrei MORE MORE JUMP!

Haruka: IF. rip haruka for not getting her 4th song. I'm not massive on any of her comms to be honest. I do like IF and Float Planner, they're just quite low on my ranking comparatively. Also I keep going back and forth on which one I like more but right now it's IF.

Airi: MORE! JUMP! MORE!. This was my original favorite MMJ song. It's super catchy and fun. Even if the lyrics are nothing to do with the event or Airi, I still think it's a great song.

Shizuku: Metamo Re:born. My favorite MMJ song! Really catchy and has a nice beat to it. I like how 'sparkly' it sounds as well.

Kohane: Hitsuji ga Ippiki. The instrumental is so good, and this is probably one of VBS' best songs vocally. Akina especially sounds amazing.

An: Awake Now. We had to wait so long for this but it was so worth it. Again the instrumental is great and Jiena sounds so good in this song, I love An's solo version. I have this ranked just above Hitsuji on my tierlist lol

Akito: CRaZY. This song made my change my top 5 songs for the first time since spring 2022. It's just so good and all of VBS sounds amazing as always. I also like how it reflects Akito's character development from the event. My favorite rotation 4 song so far.

Toya: RAD DOGS. My original #2 song and current #3. I love the combination between classical and EDM, and HachiojiP did such a good job considering he didn't have any experience with classical. Also the Bad Dogs rap section is so good.

Tsukasa: Mr. Showtime. If I'm being honest I don't usually like showtunes like this a whole lot, they can be very hit or miss for me, but this is very much a hit. Daichan did really well in this song. My favorite part though is the lyrics, I love how Yama used different meanings for certain phrases in parentheses.

Emu: Hoshizora Orchestra or Niccori Chousa-tai no Theme. Again I keep changing my mind and they're pretty much tied for me. I like them for completely different reasons as well; Hoshizora Orchestra is pretty melancholic despite it's cutesy tune, and Niccori is just really fun to listen to.

Nene: Hoshizora no Melody. Easy pick for me, I love the instrumental a whole lot and listened to the preview over and over at the time. Also the lyrics are so good, I love how they tell the entire story of Wandasho and show how much they mean to each other.

Rui: potato ni Natte iku. Still my favourite song in the game, I'm really never moving on from this one. I just really like the instrumental. Showtime Ruler is an incredibly close 2nd place though (really close. guitar solo at the end goes hard and also "I will never feel lonely ever again")

Kanade: Samsa. It's just an amazing song, but I also appreciate how teniwoha managed to connect the novella to Kanade and Mafuyu's story. Probably my favorite song from rotation 3.

Mafuyu: Bug. I know it's a boring choice but it's a good song, it's popular for a reason. Also RUIRUI'S SOLO VERSION. She's such a talented vocalist and is really good at conveying Mafuyu's emotions.

Ena: Kagirinaku Haiiro e. I've actually always liked the instrumental of this one. Also the lyrics fit Ena's story really well. However the final chorus totally steals the show, I loop that part of the song specifically a lot. Favourite Niigo song.

Mizuki: IDSMILE. I actually didn't like this song much at first because it's not the sort of thing I usually like. The lyrics are what got me to like it as much as they do. I've mentioned before that Mizuki is my favorite niigo member, so I'm slighly biased in that regard, but they really struck an emotional chord with me.

If anyone's interested my top 10 is potato ni Natte iku -> Showtime Ruler -> RAD DOGS -> CRaZY -> Beyond the way -> Cinema -> Kagirinaku Haiiro e -> CYBERPUNK DEAD BOY -> IDSMILE -> Gekkou

#asks #mod talks

[froot-batty]

i listened to the songs from mayhem of the music meister while finishing this up and did NOT expect the neil patrick harris jumpscare

ANYWAY. Lore down there

Daichi Noh grew up in Japan, and from the moment he was old enough to be sentient, he knew he wanted to sing. His parents encouraged this in the beginning, allowing him to take singing lessons or learn instruments in his youth, but grew more and more unhappy with it when his passion for music didn't die down as he aged. At some point they began to wonder when Daichi would start to pursue a more valuable profession, instead of locking himself in his room to write songs or practice his singing.

Their disapproval did not stem Daichi in the slightest, however. In fact, it made their desire to become a rich and beloved musician even stronger. So they went around auditioning for any show or band tryout they could possibly find, whether that be for singing or just to play an instrument.

She managed to not land a singular one. It wasn't because she wasn't talented - she was, after all the time spent practicing - but because of her personality. She had an ego! She spent so much time perfecting her skills that she had grown to think she was the best musician around, so everything had to be her way and everyone needed to think she was the best. It drove a lot of opportunities away.

Growing disheartened by the lack of reception in Japan, Daichi packed it's bags and went off to America, ending up in Gotham of all places. It wasn't the best city....or even a good one...but it did have people desperate enough to hire it on the spot to sing in their bars or clubs, so it would do!

This time in her life is when Daichi fell in love with the many popular musicians and genres from America. She had only been meaning to study the music to appeal to her new audience, but she found herself enraptured by it all. Especially the fashion (as you can probably tell).

Despite this, Daichi was still not a very popular singer. He had gotten jobs and a bit of attention, which satisfied him for a while, but none of the love for him ended up being as passionate as he wanted. Just as he began growing more and more annoyed, he discovered something...peculiar.

One night, during a show, Daichi decided to fuck around with the frequencies of the music that would be played in the background while they sang. During the show itself, they would notice that when the music played and they sang, the people in the crowd seemed to be some sort of...trance. They would follow the words Daichi sang to the letter.

This discovery both delighted and surprised Daichi. It would continue experimenting with the background music until they figured out that the right combination of subliminal background noise hidden in music and Daichi's voice could, effectively, grant it passage into the minds of others.

At first she only used this to have more and more people fawn over her performances (and give her more money, of course). But eventually she'd realize that wasting this newfound power on drab shows in some dingy bar was ridiculous. With her hypnosis, the sky was the limit, and she deserved to take everything she'd ever wanted!

#sars and fluffy if you read this their tongue piercing was inspired by your guys' music meister :] #my annoying little fuck #frootverse #music meister #daichi noh #rogues gallery #batman #my art #rogue design

[putschki1969]

Kaji Fes.2023 Day 1 FULL Video [Reupload]

Find the original post from last night HERE. It doesn't show up on the Tumblr dashboard so only people who actively check my blog have seen it. I exchanged the video with an official one so I guess it might have been a copyright issue. Don't think I've ever had one, very interesting.

»»——  CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——««

❗FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗CREDIT me if you SHARE on other sites❗

I was quite excited to watch this since I only attended Day 2 last December. I didn’t necessarily regret not going for Day 1 but there were a couple of really neat songs in the setlist that I kinda wished I had been able to see performed live. The audio seems a bit dull but maybe it’s just me… Anyway, it’s still a pretty epic live. Please note that they decided to cut a handful of songs from the broadcast (probably to keep the whole thing at roughly 2 hours). The following songs are not included: fake garden, canta per me, she has to overcome her fear, I beg you and 砂塵の彼方へ.

Here are some random thoughts┗(•ˇ_ˇ•)―→

fake garden

canta per me

the world: Nothing much to say here. Decent performance but I liked the song more when it was led by Keiko.

Liminality: Loved, loved, loved this version with the amazingly talented Yuri Kasahara, Keiko and Kaori. The bridge here might be my favourite of all time.

in the land of twilight, under the moon: Never been a fan.

swordland: Another highlight for me. I think it’s easy to tell that I am a real sucker for YK’s guest vocalists that use a more operatic singing style.

she has to overcome her fear

luminous sword: Always been a big fan of Yuki’s SAO soundtrack. I understand why it gets performed a lot.

星屑: Even though this is a Keiko-centric song, I’ve never really liked it all that much so I don’t have much to say about it.

花守の丘: Solid.

ｗe’re gonna groove: Those who have followed me for a while know how I feel about the accordion. I dislike this instrument with a passion and it’s just featured way too heavily here. Fun fact, when Day 2 started with the accordion, I got really scared and wondered whether or not I would enjoy myself.

Obsession: Can’t say I’ve ever heard this song before. Sadly, it’s nothing that leaves a lasting impression. Also, that accordion…(¬_¬) Weird choice for LINO LEIA. It was fun hearing Keiko sing a bit of English though.

千夜一夜: Once again, not familiar with the song. Like this one a bit more though. Generally, I think I prefer rito’s vocals over LINO’s even though I don’t really know why.

Point Zero: This is one of my all-time favourite YK songs and one of the few tracks I really regret not seeing live on Day 1. Another epic performance by Yuri Kasahara. God, I love her so much.

salva nos: Speaking of regrets, yup, I’ll admit it, I am pretty bummed that I missed this one. “salva nos” and “a song of storm and fire” were the very first YK songs I ever listened to and they quite literally changed the trajectory of my life. Without those two songs, I wouldn’t have looked into more of YK’s stuff and I certainly wouldn’t have discovered Kalafina. One day, I wanna be there for a live performance. At least I got to hear “a song of storm and fire” on Day 2. So grateful for that!! Anyway, super epic.

花の唄: No thoughts.

I beg you

櫂: Ahh, I almost forgot about Aimer’s Mizu no Akashi 2.0. It’s so funny to me that this is literally copy/paste. Lovely melody, I don’t even mind the vocals all that much but damn, it’s not even coming close to Wakana’s Mizu no Akashi.

朝が来る: Decent but nothing to write home about.

My Story: Ohhh, another score track from “Hanako to Anne”. I was actually blown away by Day 2’s “希望の光”. This is not as good but still quite nice. Weirdly enough I am obsessed with the uilleann pipes. How come I can’t stand the accordion but I absolutely love this instrument? Probably because I am really into the celtic sound?

Parallel Hearts: Ugh, never liked this song, not even when Wakana was still around.

stone cold: This on the other hand is a song I’ve always enjoyed but with Wakana no longer in the picture, it’s just not the same. Will never get used to the Kaori chorus. Sorry T_T Still like this though.

the image theme of Xenosaga II: Good stuff.

蒼穹のファンファーレ: Love that this is focusing on the FJ regulars. My favourite performance of the song so far.

#yuki kajiura #kajiura yuki #video #report #Kaji Fes. 2023 #Kaji Fes #fictionjunction #Keiko #Uploading this again #the first 2 posts weren't showing up on the dashboard #sorry for the spamming

[genderliquid-witch]

What are the Bad Kids' favourite Death Grips projects? (Fantasy High)

I've been having a blast watching Fantasy High: Junior Year, and I have also been relistening to a lot of Death Grips' discography. So, like I do with most of the fandoms I'm in, I'm going to guess what I think each of the Bad Kids' favourite Death Grips project would be. I will give reasoning for each one, but be warned that they are almost completely arbitrary.

Adaine Abernant: n-ggas on the moon

While on one hand I feel like Adaine would find some of the band's heavier albums a bit startling, I think she'd love n-ggas on the moon. It's got this whimsical atmosphere that I think a wizard would really vibe with, and I can see drunk Adaine wilding out to the more high energy tracks like Have A Sad Cum BB and Billy Not Really. Not to mention she'd have a great time deciphering what are arguably Death Grips' most cryptic and mysterious lyrics. This is a party wizard album for sure.

Fabian Aramais Seacaster: Fashion Week

As we all know, Fabian indulges in the finer things in life, and I think his taste in experimental Sacramento-based hip hop would be no different. Fashion Week is the closest Death Grips has ever come to luxury and I'm sure that would attract a young Seacaster. He's totally the type to brag about how refined his taste in music is, evident by how he chooses one of the band's more obscure, instrumental projects over the mainstream slop that is The Money Store. As for the music itself, I feel it's perfect for some wild interpretive dance, and I think Fabian would agree. I can already picture him doing some crazy sheet dance to Runway E.

Fig Faeth: Jenny Death

Jenny Death is the heaviest album in Death Grips' discography, almost acting as fully fledged psychedelic, punk metal album, so I can't imagine why Fig wouldn't adore it. The loud, abrasive guitars, the hypnotic production, the drums that practically punch your ears; it all just screams Fig to me! I mean when I saw the band live the songs from Jenny Death were easily the ones that caused the crowd to go completely wild, and we all know Fig loves a wild crowd. Even the names of the songs are perfect for her: I Break Mirrors With My Face In the United States, Centuries of Damn, Beyond Alive, and The Powers That B all sound like they came right from the Archdevil's own mind.

Also yes, I'm aware I missed an opportunity to assign her Bottomless Pit, but these are the sacrifices I make for accuracy.

Gorgug Thistlespring: Exmilitary

For a barbarian drummer, I can see no better fit than the band's debut mixtape, Exmilitary. This mixtape is so raw and primal, I mean the drums sound like war drums. We already know that Gorgug loves heavy, intense music, so I think he'd totally rock with this. I also think that the tape's unique, grinding production would appeal to his artificer side; it's a perfect mix of rage and technology, and I can imagine him blasting something like Takyon or Guillotine as he hacks through some enemies.

Kristen Applebees: Government Plates

For someone who's constantly riddled with feelings of doubt and confusion while also maintaining a general aura of weirdness (affectionate), I think Government Plates is a good pick for Kristen. It's the kind of album that you have to sit down and listen to a couple times before you really vibe with it; it doesn't want to be understood, but that doesn't mean you should stop trying! Not to mention the pure emotional intensity of tracks like You Might Think He Loves You... (I'm not writing the full title.), Two Heavens, and Bootleg (Don't Need Your Help) suit Kristen very well imo. An underappreciated album for an underappreciated character.

Riz Gukgak: No Love Deep Web

And for everyone's favourite little weirdo is what I consider Death Grips' certified weirdo album (They're all weirdo albums, but this one especially so). Though my reason for choosing No Love Deep Web as Riz's favourite Death Grips project isn't because of the music itself, but rather the history surrounding this album. If you didn't know, this album was released through a secret Alternate Reality Game on the deep web where fans had to solve incredibly cryptic puzzles over a few days in order to gain access to a link that allowed them to torrent the album, and I think that Riz would be all over that shit; I can imagine him setting up a little cork board with all of the clues and whatnot strung up. I don't even know if he'd even like the music, I think he's just invested in the mystery!

#this took way longer than it should have #also for anyone wondering Gilear is 100% noided #he's disturbed enough to be in the band tbh #fantasy high #dimension 20 #dropout #adaine abernant #fabian seacaster #fig faeth #gorgug thistlespring #kristen applebees #riz gukgak #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #d20 fantasy high #d20 fhjy #death grips

[stone-stars]

Illuminate me on music!, I'm not good at it but I like hearing people talking things I don't know. So idk, start anywhere I wanna learn. Gimme music faces from emily's work

lol there's SO many places i could start. first, let me say that i get so in the weeds with this. you don't need to be me. however, murph and emily are really deliberate with their music placement so even if you don't go super deep, you can start to notice patterns, especially with the super frequently used songs.

when it comes to frequent songs, alli operationslipperypuppet also did a very helpful "hey how concerned should you be" breakdown of some common songs, which i'll link here. i would say if you want to start paying attention, some easy ones to check out and start listening for are the purge, unknown tome, kingshammer, valiant ol' cobb, mee maw's burden, a fate refused, the campaign themes, twinkling lights of galaderon, and a friend for life. all of these are available on spotify, with the exception of kingshammer, and have very consistent uses. (the bahumia theme isn't by emily, but is on spotify). if you want to hear kingshammer, a good use of it is around 50 minutes into c1e80, during hardwon's flashback (ad free, so you might have to go later for ads)

another thing to note is certain songs get very specific meanings when applied to given characters. mee maw's burden and unknown tome are used incredibly consistently throughout bev sr's hell arc. twinkling lights of galaderon and a bastard no more/hardwon takes the wheel (both names have been used) are used throughout hardwon's.

emily also tends to write a lot of location-based music. a lot of cities have their own themes and their own instrumentation. a great example of this is the tsunaire interlude from c3, which has a very unique sound. also for example, the crick tends to have a lot of similar instrumentation. if you listen through the crick album on spotify, you can start to hear it. there's a lot of strings/piano, drums, and a lot of notes are drawn out in a very specific way.

it's very consistent. there are also like 200+ songs written for this podcast at this point, and so knowing every one of them is insane. but if you start to be like "i've heard this song before, where did i hear it" chances are it's in a moment that connects thematically. i can go into a lot more detail about any of this, this kinda became a "hey here's how to start tracking naddpod music" post more than anything and not really about the themes/uses of songs, but! yeah!

some fun little bonus notes of songs that are only used a few times but that i am insane about the repetition of:

a song called "torn apart" is used when moonshine opens the rift to the feywild during the tarrasque fight, and also when the world is breaking apart after the thiala fight and the boobs heal it

"i just want to know you're taken care of" is the song that is played when moonshine tells paw paw to write up her will. it's also played when lydia tells her that she deserves to be heard by her friends and she should tell them about her plans in hell. it's also used in c3 when callie tells foster that she's sorry for not giving him love.

"a memory" is introduced in episode 100 as thiala shows everyone the failed past adventurers and the "wheel of sorrow". it has recently been used in c3 for both references to the boobs and to melora's adventuring party (melora/telaine/aryox)

there is a specific royalty free (i think) choral song that plays when gemma appears at the party, when gemma dies, when jaina almost kills hardwon, and then later when hardwon dies at scarlet montgomery's hands. do with this what you will.

this isn't about a reuse but the song that plays in ep 70 when moonshine and lucanus are talking is called "a miracle child" and i need more people to know that.

i am insane about "a glittering reunion" (from melora and telaine's in 97) on so many levels. telaine is the piano. melora is the strings. i need to lay down.

#naddmusic tag #hanbles #naddplog #going insane about music on this friday #ask #i hope this is. at all helpful lol

[pixeljade]

Dungeon Meshi characters and the music I think they'd listen to:

Laios - No real genre cohesion, but loves anything that he can imagine monsters to. He has extensive mental music videos of monsters doing cool things that he will set to songs which he plays on repeat. Probably has more movie and video game soundtracks than actual mainstream music.

Marcille - Florence and the Machine and Hozier are amongst her favorite artists, and she has a soft spot for ALL dramatic and romantic songs, especially with female vocalists. She guards her tastes very carefully, afraid of what others might think, but will gush to Falin about her interpretations of lyrics, and make her playlists all day long

Chilchuck - dad rock and certain folk punk tracks. He's been found in a puddle of tears listening to mountain goats songs about breakups, but he never mentions that when he lists his favorite artists because he wants you to THINK he's not fucked up over it. Will also listen to classic blues.

Senshi - A jazz lover if I ever saw one. He doesnt really listen to it except in the background while cooking or working, but he likes it because it reminds him of the improvisational side of cooking, and how it keeps him moving while he works.

Falin - I think Falin likes a lot of pop but has a particular soft spot for vocaloid, j-pop, k-pop and chiptune. She's just deeply autistic about the artists she likes, doesnt particularly "stan" anyone because she doesnt approach it like that, but she does try to get Marcille into it all (with mixed success)

Izutsumi - the meow mix jingle (breakcore remix) [10 hours]

Kabru - The widest range listener, because he'll gladly listen to and learn about any of the artists people around him listen to. He specifically keeps up with top 40 entirely so he can have an idea whats in the zeitgeist. If you ask him to put on something and he doesnt know your tastes he'll default to a "safe option" like chillhop beats to study/relax to

Thistle - This one I'm not super sure but Linkin Park for sure is a regular listen for him. Will cry-sing along with it. Probably also delves into other teenage angst music ranging from pop punk to emo. Would write his favorite lyrics in sharpie on his ragged converse

Shuro - All classical. He was raised to have extremely refined tastes and can play several instruments himself, but he doesnt have much interest in music really.

Namari - I dont know why but I feel like she'd have an eclectic mix of classic hip-hop artists like Missy Elliot, riot girl music, and old school heavy metal. Also probably has a soft spot for certain pop songs but refuses to admit it.

Mithrun - I want to say he'd be into Shoegaze but like, obviously does not seek out music, so he literally only listens to whatever those around him put on.

Fleki - Psych rock, psy-trance, trip-hop. Do i even have to explain

Lycion - All Hardcore. Loves the energy and will actively mosh.

Pattadol - An absolute Swiftie.

Cithis - The sort to listen to indie pop and then EVISCERATE you for your opinions on music online. Hates Swifties.

Otta - Loves mainstream hip-hop/pop music. I feel like she'd really love Doja Cat.

I think thats every main character. If you disagree with my thoughts dont be mean! We're all just trying to have fun here

#dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi spoilers

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 2/13/2024

writing cover letters like "Market Research Firm 953989464860, will YOU be my Valentine?"

also, a fallout 4 femslash fic for femslash feb

listening

Fresh Blood by the Eels off their 2009 album Hombre Loco. i would say this is another "i think a vampire probably wrote this low, grooving track" but there are several howls featured. wikipedia says it is about a werewolf. this song sounds like it has a simple bassline and simple drums but it knows what it's about. it's probably secretly really complicated but i specced in knowing about fabric, not about music.

it makes me want to ice skate really fast and also sounds like watching broken highway lane dividers go by late at night. fascinating that the back half of the four-plus minute song is fully instrumental. definitely a song for when you are traveling, or perhaps proceeding. spotify

Sun down on the sorry day By nightlights the children pray I know you're probably gettin' ready for bed Beautiful woman get out of my head I'm so tired of the same old crud Sweet baby I need fresh blood

i've been mainlining The Black Keys' album Brothers so it makes sense this popped up on my Discover Weekly spotify playlist

-

reading

in 2015, the year i dropped out of college, the closest comic/weird nerd shit store was a forty minute drive from my house. i bought the first issue of the serialized anthology comics magazine The Island bc i liked the Moebius-esque cover by Brandon Graham, before i knew who either of those artists were or that i liked them. i think it was ten bucks, and having to show my drivers' license really sticks in my brain for some reason. the point i am slowly approaching is that the magazine only ran for fifteen issues, and i didn't buy any other copies bc ten bucks a month was too dear for me, but it was a tremendous incubator for artists i would end up loving. about half the time i stumble across a lovely self-contained book that knocks my socks off i find out it started life in The Island.

All his life, Hank Cho wanted to join the ranks of the Habsec—the rulers of the orbital habitat his people call home. But when he finds a powerful, forbidden weapon from the deep past, a single moment of violence sets his life—and the brutal society of the habitat—into upheaval. Hunted by the cannibalistic Habsec and sheltered by former enemies, Cho finds himself caught within a civil war that threatens to destroy his world. A new barbarian sci-fi adventure by SIMON ROY (PROPHET, JAN'S ATOMIC HEART, Tiger Lung), originally serialized in ISLAND MAGAZINE.

Simon Roy's Habitat asks: do you want to hear a story about a generation ship gone wrong? this is a guy who really knows how to draw mechs and all their fiddly bits and loves doing it, which is a really transferrable skill to lovingly detailing the crumbling brutalist neo-mesoamerican architecture. the Habsec cannibals and their bits and pieces of scavenged armor blend in so well, it's genuinely shocking when we see someone in full, kept up, incredibly colorful armor. gorgeous, gorgeous book. love a fucked up generation ship.

found while perusing the stacks of the library that was closest to a bunch of other admin errands i was running, bc i finally have a tx drivers license and can start collecting tx library cards

-

watching

im also asking myself why the hell i'm watching yellowstone with my bestie and her husband. it has every trigger warning and a lot of them would make me decline the experience had i looked them up beforehand. however, the inevitablilty of each little tragedy feeding into the circular threshing maw that is the Dutton family is really clicking for me. like well! that mom sure did die in the most traumatizing way possible! and wow that really does go a long way toward explaining why the daughter is self-medicating to an alarming degree AND why no one else is doing anything about it bc they're all still mad at her for being very tangential to her mom's death!

the amount of Stuff that happens per episode is truly astonishing. one of my favorite parts of the ttrpg Beamsaber is the downtime between missions, bc you get to have some really bonkers interactions with people who don't usually interact. despite its huge cast, Yellowstone doesn't yet feel incoherent or like it's jumped the shark in its first season bc it's really successful at getting its huge cast to have unexpected interactions with each other. this sounds a little bit like praising it for knowing how to be good television, but this is a neowestern about a land grab that's also a familial dynasty drama that's really leaning into the familial dynasty part of it. it would be very easy for this to become incoherent or bad at switching between storylines, but so far it's really good at it. it's not beamsaber or black sails bc nothing will ever be beamsaber or black sails but it's really scratching that itch of many small rapidly shifting factions and rapidly shifting political goals bc each child is their own horrible little faction and they have a lot of time where they're trapped in cars or helicopters together getting around their ranch, which is simply too large.

we're trying to watch the yellowstone franchise in release order, and the yellowstone prequel with tim mcgraw came out between the first and second seasons. we will not be continuing this. this is a bog standard wagon train western. cripplingly boring after the brazen insanity of the first season. also i think it is in poor taste at best and irresponsible at worst to show a suicide on screen.

i said i don't know why i'm watching this but i do know why i'm watching yellowstone, and that's bc my bestie keeps seeing tiktoks about it. sometimes im influenced in real life

-

playing

changed my sheets this week and didn't chortle at the TOP OR BOTTOM tag which is how i know im having. a brain time. another way you can tell im having a brain time are these screenshots of the Breath of the Wild map. as you may or may not remember from last week, last week i had very little of the map filled out.

now is this EXPLORED? good heavens no. i have under 40 shrines DISCOVERED. i have simply beelined to each tower and went VERY fast. or was very sneaky. the three towers i have not bothered to climb yet are the ones i would have to actually fight some guys about. fuck the akkala tower for real.

i love to accidentally get way too close to dragons and die. some fun things about this run: incredibly, exceptionally rainy. except for the stint in the literal desert and the five minutes in the snowfield it has been raining about 70% of the time, which has made climbing very annoying. another fun thing about this run: exceptionally low ancient shaft drop rate, which makes getting ancient arrows to safely kill guardians from afar very difficult. bc as discussed above i have optimized this little blond boy to be very fast and very sneaky to get up the towers very quickly in the two minute spans of time it is not raining.

another fun thing about this run: not very good at successfully spitting out riders next to horses. you can only see the tip of spinch's hat bc he is underground.

i have unlocked the elephant and the falcon, i haven't gotten much farther than finding painkillers for the goron boss and stalled out at the yiga clan stealth mission. bc despite liking being a sneaky fast sniper out in the world, i fucking hate an enforced stealth mission. i don't think i ever got past this part in my other run either.

not jacked enough to unlock the master sword, i think you need twelve hearts? i would rather have more stamina so i can get faster horses + the princess's horse.

after i unlocked a bunch of towers i spent a goofy amount of time in the Lake Floria system herself hunting for treasure chests (there are easily fifty chests in the water. wild) to get the 10k rupees to unlock the last great fairy. i also spent several real-life hours video game mining video game ore. this was deeply annoying bc i sold off all my gems to get 10k rupees and then had nothing to get those sweet sweet high level upgrades with. this was the point on sunday night where i realized i was getting irrationally annoyed with a game that is supposed to be fun, and is NOT meant to support the kind of grinding i was doing. that was enough video game for one day thank you.

did you know there's a korok in the shrine of resurrection? me either.

also did you know magnesis ACTIVATES on the windmills in Hebra but i can't figure out how to get close enough to any of them to do anything about it. annoying.

this has got to be so funny from ganons point of view. i unlocked the elephant and the falcon in under a week of in-game time and then spent several in-game months mining and collecting clothes. would that make ganon more or less anxious d'you think

making

cross stitch update. this confetti in the rover square. i am dying. here’s what it will look like finished, and a link to buy the pattern

i had such high hopes for pin stitches as a thread finishing method but i had to rip out a mistake near a pin stitch and accidentally ripped out the entire pin and single confetti cross stitch. so what the fuck. i am an insane woman who likes to fully submerge and lightly hand wash projects before they get framed to remove all the oils (yes i wash my hands before stitching, i do get paranoid) and i am not confident pin stitches will hold up to that. oh well. the loop method is pretty great in halving the number of ends i have to weave in, even though i feel like it is extremely wasteful and leaves me with lots of short useless lengths my cats would love to eat. so the gains from halving thread management are really not offset by the meticulous cat management i must embark upon every time i do my fun relaxing hobby.

and the back, which is a horror. and will only become more of a horror. but once this is framed no one will actually see it so it's FINE. i am FINE with this. i started this knowing there was going to be lots of confetti. that's the point of this masochistic pattern

i wrote the first chapter of this fic last summer and outlined the emotional beats (but not much else) while procrastinating moving and have finally lightly polished the first chapter and threw it on the archive. im trying to let things molder less and just fucking post them in the hopes this activates the writing part of my brain again but who could say what's going on up there. this is still something that hasn't quite returned to me post-covid round 2

this will eventually be an E-rated 5+1 fic fixing all the fucking bullshit around Cait Fallout4's companion quest. she will NOT go in the magic chair that tortures her into not being a junkie and being the perfect waifu. she is going to stumble backwards and accidentally into some harm reduction and get railed by a mean top. the mean top and the harm reduction won't fix her but they certainly won't hurt.

#being unemployed is great for the amount of Stuff in these posts even though it is very bad for all other aspects of my life #tuesday again #tuesday again no problem

[hinamie]

some notes/hcs from th jjk band!au ! read at your leisure i have written a novel 🫠

tl;dr guitarist brothers suku/ita bassist megu drummer nobara band name BL4CK FL4SH

i imagine them slightly aged up in this au, i'm thinking yuuji n them are around 17 and sukuna is 2 years older ( i would make the age gap wider to account for canon but i feel like any older and sukuna wouldn't be caught dead playing in his little brother's band)

it /is/ technically yuuji's band, he /was/ the one who started it even though sukuna would argue that he's the one funding the whole thing and nobara would argue that she's the one organizing and promoting every one of their gigs and megumi would argue that he constantly loses sleep writing mixing and producing their songs,, they all love yuuji tho so they go along and let him put his name on it

don't think too hard about how sukuna, 19, makes enough to fund a band . wholesome legal stuff, promise

yuuji's current guitar is a hand me down from sukuna after he had saved up enough to splurge on the double necked monstrosity he has currently. because they were strapped for cash growing up, for years yuuji played on a beginner kid's size electric guitar that sukuna (serial music snob) couldn't stand the sound of and may or may not have violently smashed before tsundere-ly shoving his old guitar into yuuji's hands.

that being the case, sukuna thinks what yuuji has done to his old guitar is atrocious bc he's the type to take /meticulous/ care of his instruments. we're talking regular tune ups, wax, mods, the works. man carries spare strings and a microfibre cloth on him at all times just in case and Will Not let yuuji near his gear because yuuji is a hurricane of a boy and has dropped and broken his equipment more times than any of them care to count . they do however make a game out of placing bets as to what he'll knock over during practice

yuuji usually does lead vocals because his energy is quite frankly contagious and he's a natural at working a crowd . Sukuna sings backup vocal but there are a handful of songs where they switch and he sings lead and those songs are . hm . a very different vibe ! and some of their most successful releases much to his brother's chagrin

megumi had always noticed and admired sukuna's voice and thought it would be a waste not to give him a lead vocal part so he was originally the one to offer to collaborate with sukuna to write a few songs more tailored to his style ,, yuuji felt a bit snuffed but couldn't deny that megumi had a point so he agreed to take a back seat

once sukuna had gotten a taste for the spotlight and saw the stream count on the songs he led he and yuuji started bickering a lot more over who gets to take over lead vocals. they've tried duets before and it's simply out of the question so instead they fight over megumi to get him to write for one of them. it still usually ends up being yuuji which irks sukuna but he's placated by how explosive the reaction is when he /does/ get a song to himself

megumi can also sing !!! he's really good !!!!except he's shy and stubborn and won't do it in front of others. he once drunkenly admitted that he has a secret folder on his laptop full of audio files of himself singing unreleased songs and they (mostly nobara) haven't let him forget it and pester him relentlessly to let them listen. he will not because his songs are emo and sappy and pining and definitely not about yuuji

this is MY brainrot so this au is not immune to pining megumi x oblivious yuuji. one time yuuji kept inviting a girl he liked to their rehearsals and megumi's mood would get so sour that most days they had to call practice early and the ensuing show was one of their worst performances ever because their practices had been so unproductive. nobara is 95% sure she knows what was up but in the interest of keeping megumi in the band she kept her mouth shut ((she did admonish yuuji afterwards that no more outside spectators were allowed at practice no matter how hot he thinks they are))

in the days leading up to their first ever show yuuji was an anxious wreck to the point where the rest of them were legitimately concerned for his health but completely at a loss as to what they could do to help. megumi's love language is Not words of affirmation so instead he got yuuji a new set of audio cables accompanied by a note that read "good luck -M" to help ease his nerves. yuuji keeps the note taped to his guitar

megumi and nobara can both play piano and alternate covering the keyboard parts if a song requires it. (((megumi is a lot better at it which annoys nobara but she attributes the skill difference to his "freakishly long fingers and perfect pitch, which is basically cheating anyway")))

nobara gives the boys hell for making her play manager most of the time but she honestly thrives when a gig is coming up and she gets to order them around and use sukuna's credit card to book photoshoots and print promotional materials and buy them new outfits to match the concept

everyone but sukuna dreads the aforementioned shopping days. yuuji is a chronic protag who just wants to sing with his friends and megumi thinks coordinated outfits are frivolous and a waste of time . sukuna however /loves/ the visual aspect of performing because he's a dramatic bitch and wants to make sure they leave an impression. he and nobara are a force to be reckoned with and megumi and yuuji fight for their lives when they bust out the eyeliner

gojo is in this au because i guess he has to be smh i am never free -_- he was megumi's old music teacher and he runs the studio they rent out ("friends and family discount for my favourite student! aren't i kind, megumi-chan?") and they're pretty sure he's famous overseas or a retired star or something because whenever he comes to their shows there's a flood of paparazzi and tabloids that he miraculously manages to avoid??? they have no idea how he does it but they're happy to leech off the publicity

#jjk band!au #i have more don't tempt me take this away from me #hina.txt

[peachirambles]

ahhh your writing is so cool!!

Anyway, I was wondering if you could do headcannons for mc who's a classical musician but is too shy to say that they are to tamarack and qiu? And one day mc just plays their instrument for them?

Lots of love,

A classical music fan.

Ohhh this is really cute, mainly because Tamarack is canonically a classical music lover 😭 i know jazz and samba dont count but i just really enjoy instrumentals a Lot so here we go!

This is gonna actually be step 3 in mind since i like the idea of mc starting band in step 2 and then admitting in step 3!

Btw i do hcs and stuff for step 3, but obviously a lot of these might be not canon by the time the game comes out in full so there's that disclaimer neow

Qiu Lin

While they're definitely not as musically gifted as say Tamarack, they definitely do have a high respect for those who play instruments and play them well. So naturally it comes as no surprise to them when they hear that the MC plays an instrument

However, he never actually heard the MC play anything unless they were in band! When they were younger, Qiu never pried or tried to figure out what the MC sounded like by themself when they were starting out. It's something he absolutely wants to kick his 14 year old self for because now the MC is too shy to even play for them

Until at last, the MC wanted to play something for them at their house, and of course Qiu going to say yes! Qiu wasn't an asshole this time around!

Qiu might not be the most attentive or can sit in place for too long, but you bet their ass they did for this song until it was completely done. Granted, it took all of their strength not to fidget or write something down on their phone but they powered through

Afterwards, I do think Qiu would most definitely ask if it's classical and that it's really cool to finally find out the MC's favorite genre. Though I can imagine the MC being like "Huh? Why didn't you ask?" When they find out Qiu has been dying to know and Qiu has to admit that their 14 year old self was too chickenshit to ask

It's also good to keep in mind, too, cause that means if Qiu has a recital and the MC knows the song Qiu has to dance too, they can practice together! Qiu can practice dancing to the music and the MC can practice the song.

Tamarack Baumann

Now, this I feel like starts a bit different than Qiu because Tamarack does really enjoy classical music as well so I can imagine her actually getting the MC into it but because their shy and/or have a crush on Tamarack, they don't tell her about it just yet

They do play band together though qnd while I imagine Tamarack has played solo numerous times, the MC is far too reserved for a solo at the time so she doesn't know either what the MC sounds like on their own and unlike Qiu, she would have definitely wanted to practice in step 2 with them but never got the time

So when it comes up in step 3, Tamarack is jumping for joy, both figuratively and literally. After she calms down a bit, she sets up her living room and gets very cozy to prepare to listen to the mc. She wants to really give them the time and attention they deserve

Naturally when the MC starts playing a classical piece, she immediately recognizes the song but she doesn't speak until after the mini performance. Though the entire time she is bopping her head and humming a little. It's very cute.

After the MC finishes, she immediately starts gushing about how good they were on top of knowing the song and asking if the MC is a fan of classical music like she is. And trust and believe, Tamarack becomes estatic when she finds out they do! Thus they have a very engaged conversation over some baked goods and tea about classical music like what artists they prefer, what's their favorite instrumental group, etc

Also, the first thing that popped into my mind when I got this ask was Tamarack asking the MC if they can play together as a duet, and I think the idea is adorable. Especially if the MC's instrument compliments Tamarack's cello playing. I think they would practice and perform together for friends and family if someone asked.

#our life now and forever #qiu lin #tamarack baumann #olnf tamarack #olnf qiu #candy headcanons

[ghostradiodylan]

It's karaoke night. What songs do you think each of the hacketteers would sing?

I love this ask and I spent entirely too long thinking about it! Thank you!

Nick: “American Girl” - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He’ll dedicate this one to Abi and play a whole lot of clumsy but enthusiastic air guitar during the instrumental breaks. He’ll also do really on-the-nose inside joke choices like “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon (he'll change 'London' to 'Melbourne' because he's really lame) or “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” by Great White.

Emma: “Style” - Taylor Swift. She just reads as a Taylor girlie to me and this one’s a classic. She could do "We Are Never Getting Back Together" but Jacob might cry. So, "Style" it is. Not too tough in range and it doesn’t require her to do the cringey rap-talking part she’d have to do if she picked “Shake It Off” (although that one would also be fun and maybe if Abi gets drunk enough she’ll join Emma onstage and do that part for her).

Jacob: he wants to pick “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey but it has been banned because basic bitches like him just keep singing it. If he’s still moping about Emma, he might choose “Somebody to Love” by Queen. If someone else gets to it first, then it’s The Killers' “Mr. Brightside” all the way until the bar bans that one too.

Kaitlyn: she almost always picks a song you can scream-sing to. She has some rage to get out, okay? Her go-to is either "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" by Joan Jett or "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette. If you get enough alcohol in her for her to get in her feelings though, she might do Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart," as a treat.

Laura: "Dog Days are Over" - Florence + The Machine. Is that another werewolf joke? Yes, yes it is. She can't help being overjoyed to say goodbye to the (meat)dog days. She'd probably also absolutely crush "Help I'm Alive" by Metric.

Max: I will never recover from the post that said Max and Dylan would know every step from the JustDance version of “Rasputin” by Boney M (which I think is completely correct) so I’m picking that one for Max. However, if he gets a second song or he’s feeling extremely sentimental, he might do the Michael Bublé version of “L.O.V.E.” for Laura.

Abi: I think Abi's actual musical listening tastes might be a little moodier than this, but for karaoke she wants it light and easy, and it doesn't get much lighter or easier than ABBA. "Dancing Queen" or "Mamma Mia." She'd really like it if Emma would come sing backup for her so she doesn't have to go up by herself.

Dylan: He never does the same song twice; he wants everyone to be surprised every time. He's done Lady Gaga's "Poker Face. He's done "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" by Panic! At the Disco." He's done Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream." Tonight, it's "Still Into You" by Paramore.

Ryan: He can't believe he got talked into this. Ryan hates attention and doesn't really love the sound of his own voice. He would prefer to sit quietly and watch everyone else perform. Beer won't be enough, Ryan will have to drink an entire pitcher of LITs to be drunk enough to sing. Then he will sing "Love You Madly" by CAKE and absolutely slay. Dylan will be facedown on their table pretending to have fainted when he gets back.

Bonus: Duets!

Laura and Max have perfected their version of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee. You should really see it. There’s choreo and everything.

Jacob and Kaitlyn will sing "I Believe in A Thing Called Love" by The Darkness. Nobody knows why. Neither of them has the upper range to pull it off and they know it. It's awful. They're just screeching. Ryan has to go outside until they're finished. His nerves can't take it. They have fun though.

Dylan would really like Ryan to duet with him on Peter Bjorn and John's "Young Folks," he'll even do the girl parts and the whistling! But Ryan's one and done at karaoke, and even that is asking a lot. Instead, Dylan and Nick duet The Proclaimers' "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" in absurd and potentially offensive Scottish accents.

Emma and Abi end up duetting half the time when they're supposed to be doing their own songs anyway, especially when it's Abi's turn! Somehow Emma just ends up there too. But they do "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper together with some frequency and they're great at it.

Bonus 2: Group Number!

You already know what it is. You know what's coming. You get it stuck in your head every time you play the damn game (don't you? I know it's not just me.) How could they not all sing Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" together? Of course they do.

#the quarry #hacketteer headcanons #beautiful asks from beautiful people #hacketteer karaoke night #nick furcillo #emma mountebank #max brinly #jacob custos #laura kearney #kaitlyn ka #ryan erzahler #abi blyg #dylan lenivy #the brainrot is brainrotting #who needs sleep?

[lovely-vermin]

Hello! Do you think you could write about how the welcome home neighbors would react to a musician!reader?

Like someone who plays a ton of instruments, and plays around the neighborhood.

love your writing! ❤️

Aww thanks neighbor and of course I can!! Also I’m sorry for the long wait neighbor! Been busy with school!

Welcome home with a Musician!GN!Reader

Summary:every neighborhood has their own musician! Don’t they?

Characters:I’m doing them all! Expect poppy as I had 0 ideas on what to write for her sorry! Usually I’d add poppy yet I couldn’t as I had no ideas sorry!!

Warnings?:Reader gets called symphony or melody but it’s bc of their hobbie! Reader is said to be soft spoken but it can be changed! Some Creepy stuff I think,idk it’s mentioned Reader’s song reminds people to much of home the uncanny one or them secretly saying things through music

Wally darling

-he LOVES music! After hearing the audio of him singing I fully believe that he loves music and singing!

-Often times when you play your music Wally ask if he can sing as you play. You say of course and you two become a wonderful musician duo,honestly it sounds like paradise as you play your instrument and he sings

-He sometimes watches your hands as they work the instrument. He’s very confused on how it works or how the noises are made but yet they sound so elegant and perfect when you do it!

-Everyone heard the familiar tune of their favorite musician and the soft humming of the neighborhood darling. It was always a calm and peaceful song which made it better as almost everyone had a bad day. “Ya think it’s working wals?” The soft voice spoke from the musician. “Of course,our friends always cheer up when you and I play!” You smiled at that and continued. That’s your favorite thing in this neighborhood,everyone is so positive

Barnaby B. Beagle

-he finds it interesting,it’s mentioned Barnaby taught Wally to sing so I think sometimes on rare occasions you two have a duet

-when he can’t sleep he’ll ask if you can play something for him,often it’ll be through the phone and you both end up asleep. It’s very cute to see!

-Sometimes the others just find you two,no movements,you playing your instrument,him staring at you as if you two are silently discussing something…they don’t know what but it worries them whenever they find out it happens more often then they think…

-Wally was walking to Barnaby’s house to ask a question but once he opened the door he saw a sight he wished stop. It’s was the silent song or what the others have named it. “Ahem!” Soon you stopped and Barnaby looked at Wally smiling. “Wally buddy! What do you need?” “I wanted to know what you do when your bored,I’m out of paint and do not know what to do!” “Well I practice my jokes” soon you chimed in. “Usually I’m with others or just making imaginary stories in my head about every day objects..” “hmm…thank you friends!” “Of course bud!” You just nodded as Wally left still not completely over the silent song.

Sally Starlet

-She absolutely loves it! She loves all music (sometimes sad ones) no matter what language even if she can’t understand!

-She’ll ask if you can play some music for her plays. She often gives you the descriptions of what the feeling should be or at least feel like!

-Sometimes when she feels sad and lonely she’ll go to you and listen to you play your music. It comforts her a lot!

-The play was beauty and the beast,a favorite of her because of Belle’s character design and personality. Everyone was in awe as they heard the balls music be play from your instrument which may I say you looked very focused on. The play was splendid and the music just added everything to it!

Eddie Dear

-He absolutely loves joyful and happy music but he loves hearing it from you! He hasn’t heard live music since…since…oh he cannot remember when but he believes he’s heard it live before!

-Sometimes certain songs or melodys remind of an unknown memory. When that happens every sees him just sitting beside you,eyes shut,sorta leaning on you,and listening to you play. It reminds them of how a son would wait beside his mother or father but accidentally fall asleep on the floor

-Eddie does love it when music from you is playing as he does his job adds more joy to him! Everyone sees him with more bounce and joy in his steps which is honestly such a sight to see!

- “Heya Melody!” You looked at the familiar mailman waving at you as you softly put down your instrument in its case so you could go walk and greet Eddie. “Heya Eds…any mail today?” Your voice was soft as usually and sorta shy but he heard perfectly fine as he smiled and brought out some mail for you. “Of course symphony!” “Thanks eds” “no problem!” You waved goodbye as he left to another house,such a sweet guy!

Frank Frankly

-He is intrigued and interested. I feel like he likes to learn about unknown things he doesn’t understand or know about and your instrument falls under the ‘how does it work and make sound?’ Category!

-He’ll ask questions about your music and instrument and why you chose it. He wants to learn more about his neighbors hobby and his neighbor!

-When he’s to frustrated he’ll just silently sit beside you and listen to the sound from your instrument. It always calms him down,he listens to music but yours is special and is just perfect to calm him down.

-You and Eddie were butterfly watching as a new butterfly flew to your instrument and landed on it. “Woah…” “seems to like your music has well!” That made you smile as Frank took a picture of the sight. It wasn’t surprising as butterflies and moths always land on your instrument

Julie Joyful

-She adores it! She adores and listens to all type of music even if it’s not her type or if she doesn’t understand it!

-She will hum a tone as you play because she kinda wants to join but doesn’t know how! It makes everyone feel so warm and comfortable yet feels like home!

-Julie will sing a few silly lyrics if she wants to! Often you play your tone she’ll get you to dance with her as she wants you to dance with her!

-Humming and a tune playing was heard,Wally wasn’t singing but he knew it was Julie. You two often do duets randomly. “You got an amazing voice Juls” “Aww thanks Melody! Your song and little tune is quite impressive!” “Thanks,lots of hard work!”

Howdy Pillar

-He finds it very very comforting to hear a new sound of tunes! Most times it’s just his market’s music playing so hearing something completely new gives him comfort!

-He does get very stress so when he is stress he’ll go to you so he can listen to your tune. It’s very comforting to him as you play a tune that sounds to much like home…

-He does hum a tune you play often as he works without noticing! It shows you how much you play the tune and how it sticks to them like glue! Yet whenever they sing it they only remember some memory they didn’t know exist

-People we’re going in and out yet they heard him humming the tune,the tune Y/N plays. Howdy does it often without realizing yet no one dares point it out! They all find it wholesome and adorable! Howdy remembers running along the woods as his ma watched him,he ended up falling but then got pulled up by someone who looked a little to much like Y/N yet….he knows he’s never seen Y/N before but his ma did say he forgets something from his past time to time so maybe that’s why!

#welcome home arg x reader #welcome home x reader #welcome home x you #gn reader #x gn reader #gender neutral reader #can be seen as platonic or romantic #welcome home #beloved anon #neighborly anon

[rim-draws]

Faerûnian Writing Challenge

Day 6 | SFW

Teaching each other how to do something

Tav strums the strings. Everyone immediately groans.

“When will you just give up? You do realise you and that are never going to work out?” Astarion motions at the instrument and Tav.

“I like how Alfira made it work.” Tav strums again. Another audible groan from the whole camp. “I will make it work, somehow!” They had the same mentality about themself and Astarion at one point. It didn’t work out.

Shadowheart groans on her side of the camp. “Where is Halsin when you need him? They always listen to him!”

Halsin was a few metres away from camp gathering berries and selecting wood for his new whittling project.

The gang are on their own with this one.

“Tav, I don’t think instruments are something you can just… ‘make work’.” Wyll, finally revived, spoke as soft as he could, potentially to not offend Tav - potentially again.

His soul was trapped somewhere within death and living for about a week. On the verge of coming down to Hell but also not yet their time to be allowed to leave. Only to become, on technicality, a citizen of Hell right after being revived.

Life is cruel. Or perhaps he’s just stuck with lunatics.

Tav strums again. Even the little owlbear covers its small ears, hiding behind Scratch to escape the noise. “I made this operation work, I can make this instrument, or any instrument, work!” They can’t and they won’t. They just don’t know it yet and have the audacity to try.

Wyll pinches his forehead. Is it the horns, the tadpole or the horrid music that is making his head hurt so badly??

“Ok, Gale, you’re a good teacher. Maybe assist our friend here before the spider lyre is reduced to ashes.” Wyll quickly shoots Gale a pointed look who shoots back an equally pointed one.

A beat of silence.

“You don’t know how to play an instrument, Gale?” Karlach asked offhandedly.

Gale turns to her, then to Tav. Another beat of silence.

Astarion immediately bolts up. “You don’t know. You seriously don’t know. Oh finally, we found something the wizard can’t tell stories about.”

“Hold on, hold on. I never said I know nothing!” Gale quickly jutted over, yanking the lyre of Tav’s hands. “I watched many plays in my years, it’s nothing out of the ordinary…” His hands hovers above the strings, sweat is beginning to form.

Tav’s eyes trail up slightly. His fingers are shaking. His arm is trembling. He has his tongue out and he’s seconds away from biting it clean off out of stress. His hair is sticking to his forehead.

He strums.

It’s chicken scratch against a board.

A collective groan, hands covering ears.

Tav yanks it back, finally understanding the reason why everyone has been throwing rocks at them all morning.

“That was… certainly an attempt!” Karlach smiles, a lot more lopsided than how it usually is.

“No need to sugarcoat it. That was trash. Absolutely horrible.” Astarion rubs his ears as if that would help him forget the collective horrible sounds Tav and Gale had forced him to endure.

“He does magic, he’s smart and he can cook. At least with this, we can confirm Gale is still human.” Shadowheart teases, playing with the fire with her stick.

Gale perks up a little.

“He is as human as they come. Frail, egotistical and knows not of his limits.” Lae’zel hisses. “You are lucky you are still of use. Do not indulge this buffoon further,” She’s clearly talking about Tav with the way her hands move, “You have nothing but knowledge while they have none. You’ll only make them worse.”

Gale deflates again. “It’s not often our friend here seeks out means of hobby other than stealing, lying and looting. It’s healthy to have a lighthearted skill, for once.” Gale tried to defend. Tav strums. His defense is crumbling.

“Well, maybe this is not the right hobby. Perhaps a different one would be healthier for all of us.”

Tav strums again. It’s proving Lae’zel’s point.

Wyll charges forward, “Maybe if you’re looking for a hobby, I could… teach you a dance or two? I did take a few classes back in my youth.”

“No. I don’t like dancing.” Tav strums again. Another collective groan.

“How about some magic? I can show you the basics! Show you the power and the embrace of Mystra once you enter the Weave—”

“I’m not interested. You know I’m not good enough to figure that stuff out.” Another strum. Groans.

“Gods, someone make it stop or there will be blood on this night!” Astarion stands. His voice softens as he leans onto the lyre, putting on his seductive charms. “How about you drop this lyre and I’ll show you something much more interesting later tonight?”

“Too late on that. And I know too much about you to wanna fuck.” Tav strums again.

Astarion physically recoils. “Are you doing this out of spite??”

“Okay, how about we put down the lyre and I’ll show you, um… some of the teachings of my Goddess I serve? Maybe show you a cantrip or two?” Shadowheart has never sounded so defeated.

She knows she has no chance even before she started but she just needed to at least try. Tav strums again, as if to rub it in her face. “I have speak with animals. That’s all the cantrip I need.”

Lae’zel pulls out her sword, large and long. The type of sword only her and one other camper can use. “Cease your strummings or I will cut it into pieces!”

Unfortunately for her, the other person happened to be Tav. “You won’t dare! I will fight you to the death for it!”

“This will not be like the fight between Shadowheart and I! We will settle this with no mercy!!”

Karlach jumps in between them. “Woah woah, hey! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, alright?” She places her hand on Tav’s shoulder. It burns. “Say, I don’t really have anything to teach you but maybe you’re… going too quickly. All skills need time and careful practice, right? Can’t expect things to just go your way immediately! Reminds me of the time when I was still serving under Zariel. Was still young at the time. I had been trailing the tail of this particular demon,”

Tav slowly lowers their sword along with the lyre. They latch onto Karlach’s words and stories of her misadventures.

Everyone shared a look.

“At first I thought I had it but it slipped right under my finger! So I had to re-adjust. Learn about the species, the weaknesses, the strengths and once I cornered it… BAM. Easy as pie!”

Gale jumps in. “Oh yes, reminds me of the time back when I first started studying magic. It must sound crazy now but I wasn’t good at it the first time I started. My first spell was fire bolt. Simple and easy. Yet at one point I couldn’t figure, for the life of me, how the fire element worked. I poured over it days and nights trying to get that in my head otherwise the spell just won’t manifest! And finally, I figured it out! But, shamefully, I didn’t put enough hours on aiming!”

Just as one finishes, another jumps in. Wyll tells tales of his youth, days spent as the son of the duke, standing in his shadows, struggling to find a place to stand on his own. Lae’zel speaks of her time spent at camp, slowly figuring out the life and habits of Faerûnians, how different it is to her people, how lively and seemingly strange yet… interesting they can be. Shadowheart expresses her slow and steady learning curve of taking on more than just a cleric, learning spells from both Wyll and Gale, wanting to pull her weight. It then circles back once more to Karlach. Then continues as the campfire crackles nearby.

Tav didn’t learn how to play an instrument that day, or any day soon. But the time spent with their new found friends, family?, taught them more valuable lessons than stubbornly working at an instrument they can’t play ever could.

#BG3FicFeb #nonbinary tav #tav lowkey the baby they are all looking after while also being the leader of the group #bg3 tav #my tav #bg3 #bg3 writing #bg3 oc #baldurs gate tav #bg3 fic #baldur's gate 3 #gale dekarios #astarion #karlach #lae'zel