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please-say-less · 4 years

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push my luck (part one)

player: mat barzal | new york islanders word count: 1, 539 warnings: light angst, pining, your heart will literally melt at how sweet mat is, no beta we die like men summary: growing up with mat, you’ve only ever seen him as the shy boy that you’ve spent your whole life being best friends with. after moving to new york, he hasn’t kept in much contact, but when you come to visit, he just wants to know if you’re feelings for him have changed too. author’s note: issa three-shot. bad summary is bad but kinda wrote this on the basis of mat as moreso a Soft Boy™ with hints of being a goober. yeah bro idk what’s with me and roommates to lovers tropes. ok but let me know if y’all are even vibing with the way i write his pov cos my writing feels highkey cringe to me all the time. whoops.

beginning | part two

“Hey, you okay, dude?”

It’s difficult to breathe with the air stuck in his throat, and he can’t help but rub his clammy hands all over his new suit－oh well, it looked nice enough for a few photos. His face is getting a little too hot, and he’s become a stuttering mess with his words. Anybody would think after the last couple of years as a well-known athlete in New York, he’d be able to handle any stressful situation, yet you manage to give him the same effect time after time.

“Huh?” he looks back over to Tito. “Y-Yeah. . . Totally fine.”

The questioning look on his friend’s face is enough of a dead giveaway that Mathew is probably the worst actor and liar on Earth, but he doesn’t care about the endless amount of teasing he’ll get for this. It’s been too long since he’s last seen you and to say that he misses the butterflies you give him would be quite the understatement.

Even now, he doesn’t see you as anything different than the same girl next door from home that he’s spent a majority of life being smitten with and the same ball of energy that’s cheered him on at every game from youth hockey to playing in the NHL until the two of you had to part ways. Yes, the worst event of his life that he’s dubbed his Untimely Death Part 1－Part 2 being the time Tito took him out to Coney Island and handed the poor boy a pretzel before the seagulls started chasing him down the boardwalk. In a way, he’s spent part of his time in New York mourning the death of what used to be, and there’s still a part of him that regrets not keeping in contact with you.

He’s not the most confident guy when it comes to dating, and as he swallows the lump of nervousness that’s been building up in his throat, Mathew hopes that his uncertainty isn’t as painfully obvious as he usually makes himself out to be.

He downs the shot of whiskey, and as the amber leaves a burning trail from his throat down to his belly, he mentally prepares himself on his introduction to you. He wants you to know that he’s grown in the last couple years, and he’s not the same immature boy you knew back home. He’s a man now and has the means to take care of you, should you need it. Chin up, head high, and shoulders back－he struts up to you with his newfound confidence.

“You look beautiful in that dress,” he comments.

Turning around confused, you smile as soon as you see who it is. The two of you embrace, and he can’t help but admire just how well your body fits in his arms－as it always has honestly. He probably has the dumbest, widest smile on his face right now, but he’s just so elated to see you again. It’s hard for him to concentrate on the words coming out of your mouth as he gazes at you with loving eyes through rose colored glasses. You’re just really here right now.

“Mat! It’s been too long!”

He offers you his arm, and you take it as he walks you over to the bar and orders two flutes of champagne from the bartender. The two of you continue to chat for too long of a while, and he almost forgets that talking to you comes just as naturally as breathing. He admires your features and notices that you’ve done some growing as well. Your curves have filled out lusciously, and you have a more womanly aura that surrounds you.

“So how are you and that one guy?” he asks. “You two still together?”

“Please, we were never a thing,” you roll your eyes. “I can’t believe my mom told your mom about that－it was just one date!”

“I’m guessing it didn’t go great then?”

“He spent the whole time messaging other girls, so I made up some excuse to leave. The loser wouldn’t stop messaging me wondering why I wouldn’t go out with him again, and I had to bite my tongue!”

He nods in understanding as you let out an exaggerated huff, but mentally, he’s doing backflips out of joy knowing that maybe you’ve been waiting just as long for him too. How else could someone as beautiful as you still be single after all this time?

“New York seems nice,” you say.

“It’d be nicer with you,” he chuckles.

“Those are some bold words to say, Barzal.”

“It gets kind of lonely sometimes. Tito’s always been closest to me, and now that he’s got a girl, it’s just easier to tell them I’m busy than suffer through being a third wheel.”

You can’t help but laugh at his lame attempt at getting you to move countries, but at the same time, a change of scenery doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all. Besides your family, nothing’s really keeping you tied to your hometown, and your parents continuously insist that you see the world before you settle down. After all, you were single and fresh out of college but having a familiar face in a new place didn’t make it seem as scary.

“I don’t know. . .” you chew your lip. “I did get a job offer around here.”

“Oh yeah?” he tries to contain his excitement.

“I just wouldn’t know where to stay or what to do. A new city can be scary.”

All the stars and moons in the galaxy have perfectly aligned for this moment to finally culminate, and this must be the work of his prayers finally being answered. He needs to shoot his shot now while the ball’s in his court, or the chance may never come again. A sudden wave of nervousness crashes over him at the possibility of the actual death of his relationship with you should he hesitate once again.

“You could stay with me if you wanted－I mean－until you can find your own place.”

He sincerely wants to help you, but he also feels a sense of guilt in hopes that you end up depending on him. Although money hasn’t become an issue in his life after taking the big leap and signing a contract with the Islanders, New York City is by no means an inexpensive place to live.

“I wouldn’t want to impose. . .”

“No－I want you to stay with me!”

Suddenly his Untimely Death Part Three is going to come sooner than expected. His shoulders tense and jaw clenches as he realizes what he’s just blurted out, and he can feel his face turning red at just how dumb he is. He’s just revealed his biggest secret, and he’s in no way subtle or chill about it. He’s ready to turn back around, run out of the building, and head back to his house to hide under a rock until things blow over, but he becomes confused when he hears you giggling.

“I think you’re the only person who’s ever been this excited to live with me,” you smile.

“Uh－Yeah－Wouldn’t want you staying with some stranger or creep, y’know?”

He tries to play it cool, but Mat Barzal, in fact, is not by any means playing it cool. If anything, he’s the creep for trying to get you to stay with him. As if by some magic, you would fall head over heels for him overnight, and everything he’d been dreaming of since childhood adolescence would finally be coming true.

He’d whisk you away, and the two of you could be married somewhere beautiful with white sand beaches and ocean water as clear as the sky. Then maybe you could honeymoon throughout Europe before settling down and buying a house. After that, kids could fit somewhere into the equation. Wait, do you even want kids? He ponders the idea to himself for a moment before smiling at the idea of how cute you would look pregnant, and when he imagines you as a mother tending to your children and husband, he’s sold himself on the idea.

“Careful, I might have to take you up on that,” you snap him out of his daydream.

“Wh-What?” he stutters.

“Honestly, I kind of miss hanging out with you. No one back home can really compare to the Mathew Barzal.”

A light blush spreads across his cheeks. His full name sounds like a symphony coming out of your mouth, and he spends a little too much time focusing on the way your plump lips sound out each syllable of his name. He can’t help but imagine how soft your lips would feel if they were pressed against his, but as he continues to picture the other things those lips could do, he stops himself before having to deal with the possibility of his Untimely Death Part Four in the middle of this gala.

Somehow with his not-so-convincing words, he’s managed to talk you into moving in with him, and when you talk to your families about it, they’re more than happy about your new living situation. It gives them the excuse to visit more often, but he’s more excited at the thought of just being around you again.

#nhl imagines #mat barzal imagine #mat barzal one shot

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shemakesmusic-uk · 3 years

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Berlin-based indie-soul five-piece, People Club, announce their new EP Take Me Home, which is due May 7 and the band are sharing the title-track and new video. The title track 'Take Me Home' is a song about the realisation of mortality in old age and the cynicism that often plights the elderly after losing their loved ones and being left alone with their regrets. It is accompanied by a music video shot by long standing collaborator, Felix Spitta. Speaking of the process the band say, “Once again we worked with our very talented friend, Felix Spitta, who also shot the video for our last single Francine. We basically spent a day fooling around at his house with a smoke machine and an old tape TV camera with a red filter. The result is hazy and disorientating, just like this year has been so far.”

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Introducing MARY., the dreamy alter-ego of musician and songwriter Stef T. The self-produced debut track, ‘Day to Day’, interlaces elements of electro-pop and R&B with a voice that enchants, along with an official video filmed, edited and directed by David Risdon and Charlie Rose Creative. Reading like a page in a diary, ‘Day to Day’ offers a candid and emotionally raw glance at being overlooked as a woman in a man’s world. She is put together, glamorous and poised on the outside, but on the inside she is simmering like a pot ready to boil over, fed-up and on the brink of snapping. Speaking of the track, Stef T explains, “’Day to Day’ is a reflection on what it is to be a woman in a role where you are always unseen; constantly giving yet never receiving. As woman, we are often undervalued for our day to day work in all aspects - as mothers, in relationships, in our careers; having to push extra hard to get the basic recognition and thanks that we are entitled to. This song is a commentary of a large part of my life where I settled, sacrificed and worked, only to be used and taken for granted. It is about learning to survive a toxic relationship, discover your own individual worth again and reclaim the power that you gave away to someone else. Producing this song myself is the only thing that made sense in context with the intention of MARY. as a project. She is an entirely self made, independent woman, who does it all and doesn't need a man to confirm that she's doing a good job. This is something I have personally struggled with, so I created the MARY. persona to feel more empowered in my storytelling as an artist, in an industry without a large visible number of female-identifying producers.”

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Los Angeles based dream pop trio Tashaki Miyaki have just released a single and video of the title song from their forthcoming second album, Castaway, which will be released on April 23 via Metropolis Records. Singer, drummer and producer Paige Stark states that the song “is about the challenges of romantic love and how we are all bad at it in one way or another. The idea of a castaway in all this is that no one understands the relationship except the people in it, so you really are stuck on an island alone together there. Maybe you make it back to the mainland, or maybe you stay on the island.” Stark also shot the Sofia Coppola-inspired video on film, adding: "I wanted to tap into all the feelings that can come up in love relationships: anger, sadness, loneliness, vulnerability, stillness, joy, romance, longing. The actress in it has a beautifully expressive face and I've known her for a long time. I knew we would be able to create those moments together. I wanted it to feel like the camera was her lover, capturing her in various private moments, moods and feelings.”

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With her Vanilla Shell EP celebrating its one-year anniversary last month, Danish-Chilean composer Molina is back with another abbreviated record in the form of the new single 'Cold,' featuring vocalist Jonas Bjerre, arriving with a pair of B-sides. The brief collection of songs continues her simultaneous journey inward toward the roots of Chilean music and outward into her own unique vision of the future. The project lands with a video for the A-side, which dreams up bizarre fantasy iconography in the tradition of Grimes and Björk to complement her subdued take on these artists’ out-there recordings. Blending ambiguous electronic sounds with the familiar drone of cello and Bjerre’s backing vocals, the track’s distinct persona may have more in common with the experimental soundscapes of artists like Jenny Hval or Julia Holter. [via Flood]

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Maisie Peters has debuted her brand new single, ‘John Hughes Movie’. Described as the first single from her soon to be announced debut album, it’s a song about unrequited love, inspired by the legendary film producer and his classic coming-of-age teen comedies like The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles. The track comes alongside a video co-written by Maisie and director Louis Bhose (Loyle Carner, Arlo Parks, Lewis Capaldi). Maisie explains: “I wrote ‘John Hughes Movie’ when I was 17 about a house party that I had gone to. It’s a really honest depiction of being a hopeless, melodramatic teenager, being awkward and drunk and getting your heart broken by people you don’t even remember anymore. John Hughes films encapsulate that foolish romantic energy of high school and everything that I, a small town English wannabe Molly Ringwald wanted to be, but was not.” [via Dork]

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Chloe x Halle have shared the music video for their song 'Ungodly Hour.' The video was debuted on Wedneday night's episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and shows the Bailey sisters going underwater for a sci-fi-style visual filled with choreography and elaborate adventures at the bottom of the ocean. Watch the Alfred Marroquín-directed video above. [via The FADER]

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South London's Josie Man has returned with sentimental new single 'Cuts & Bruise', marking her first release of 2021. 'Cuts & Bruises' follows October 2020's 'Grow' single, and is accompanied by a Andrea Mae-directed video that shows couples enjoying tender moments, including Josie Man and her boyfriend. [via Line Of Best Fit]

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Jessie Ware has shared a new short film for her song 'Remember Where You Are'. Her album What's Your Pleasure? arrived last year, a disco-fuelled missile that presented some much-needed good vibes amid lockdown. The songwriter returns to the record for her song 'Remember Where You Are', a soulful and uplifting slice of UK songwriting. There's now a full video for the song and it's steered by BAFTA winning director Dominic Savage. Starring British actress Gemma Arterton, it opens on Valentine's Day and finds the star wandering through deserted London streets. A glimpse of hope and renewal, it taps into the growing feeling that this time, lockdown might be coming to a permanent end. "It was a real pleasure to collaborate with Jessie and Gemma on this short film that is inspired by Jessie Ware’s beautiful music. It was also inspired by the real feeling that was felt when we filmed in the deserted streets of eerily strange lockdown London on a Saturday night/Sunday morning,” Dominic said. “The feelings and emotions in the film are a true reflection of what that felt like, and what this time invokes. Sadness, nostalgia, pain and defiance. But when we climbed Primrose Hill and the sun started to rise above the city, there was real hope and joy for a future that will surely be ours. Listening to Jessie’s music. There is no doubt of that." Jessie adds... "This song has always meant a lot to me and I was determined for other people to hear it and for it to be single. I am so touched by how many people have embraced this song, particularly when it's one of your favourite actresses and an acclaimed film director. Working with Gemma, Dominic and their team has been an absolute joy. To have them realise my song with a beautiful ode to London and the longing for human touch and interaction couldn't be more of a compliment. It's a truly cherished piece of work." [via Clash]

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Jaguar Jonze has shared her new single and video 'CURLED IN' ahead of the release of her second EP ANTIHERO on April 16, both via Nettwerk Records. 'CURLED IN' presents all her best qualities at its outset. From the track’s rip-roaring, slicing guitar to her perfectly forceful, omnipresent vocals, 'CURLED IN' is a pure cathartic release. "Tear me apart, just tear me apart," she all but demands: "I've never seen wrong be done right." She's fulfilling her simplest needs, and it's freeing. "It's a bit of a twist for me to be a masochist." As a survivor of abuse, these words' unafraid power is all too apparent and an engaging statement to hear expressed.

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Following the release of eclectic and impressive debut singles 'ASOS,' 'Right Time,' and 'Papercut,' rising left-of-center pop singer and songwriter Dava returns with a fresh and bold new single 'New Ceilings' available now via Sony Music's Disruptor Records. The moody anti-pop record was co-written by Dava and Mike Adubato (Del Water Gap, Grace VanderWaal) who also produced the track, and is the latest off the Los Angeles-based musician's forthcoming debut EP, Sticky, due out later this year. On the inspiration behind her new single, Dava shares, "This song was written about survival and staying true to yourself. I was having a hard time financially after moving to LA and my phone was shut off while on my way to this session. I was upset with myself for prioritizing music when I really needed the money from driving Uber to stay afloat." She continues, "The day I wrote 'New Ceilings' I was angry and I wanted a song that felt empowering and validated all the work I had put in up to that point. I ended up choosing different songs for my project but when I revisited this one year later, I felt it needed to be heard because of how authentically it embodies my struggle."

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London-based Fifi Rong, a multi-talented avant-pop songstress, has shared the video for her stunning single, ‘Another Me’. Directed by Rok Pat, the video for ‘Another Me’ is stylistically simplistic, as Fifi Rong uses her own body as a medium of art, painting herself and inviting the simple imagery of waterside reeds and plants. A tranquil mysticism embraces the single as Fifi Rong acts as a gentle siren, luring the unsuspecting in yet known the inevitable outcome of the relationship. Speaking of the concept behind the single and video, Fifi Rong tells us: “In any doomed romance, timing is always mysteriously wrong. This is my first full CGI music video and it visually portrays the elusive nature of the character surrounding the key message: 'you won't find another me'. The undertone of the song displays a sense of pride and confidence in the character’s melancholy. Dressed in nothing but petals, I wanted my character to symbolise purity, nature, truthfulness, vulnerability and the divine feminine form. Acting as a rotating statue, I wanted to mark the passing of time and seasons as if a unique and lonely piece of art on display.”

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tabloidtoc · 4 years

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In Touch, July 13

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi $500 million divorce -- tears, nasty fights and getting even

Page 1: Contents

Page 2: Who Wore It Better? Lizzy Caplan vs. Caitriona Balfe ✅, Kaia Gerber ✅ vs. Lily-Rose Depp, Joan Smalls vs. Dakota Johnson ✅

Page 4: She rose to fame playing a character named Fat Amy in Pitch Perfect and Rebel Wilson quickly learned that her salary depended on her staying that way but she’s chosen this year to slim down regardless of how it affects her job

Page 6: Crib of the Week -- Travis Scott has shelled out nearly $25 million for a hilltop home in Brentwood, Nostalgia of the Week -- Jennifer Aniston on finding Friends outtakes online with Courteney Cox, Makeover of the Week -- Teresa Giudice in a platinum-blond wig, Winner of the Week -- The Bold and the Beautiful becomes the first daytime drama to return to production after lockdown using a lifelike female doll for love scenes, Loser of the Week -- Winona Ryder accused disgraced Mel Gibson of making homophobic and anti-Semitic remarks to her at a party

Page 8: Up Close -- Blake Shelton celebrates his 44th birthday with Gwen Stefani and Smithworks Vodka

Page 10: Justin Theroux walks his rescue dog Kuma in NYC, Diane Kruger looks terrified in the dentist’s chair, Ciara and Russell Wilson rock robes on a DIY red carpet while the Seattle Seahawks quarterback co-hosts the ESPY Awards remotely from their backyard

Page 12: Bella Hadid wears a black bikini for a photo shoot at the beach in Sardinia, Italy

Page 13: Justin Bieber on his customized Drew motorcycle, Amy Schumer and son Gene, Busy Philipps celebrated turning 41

Page 14: Kate Middleton and Prince William make their first post-lockdown public appearances at local businesses

Page 16: Leona Lewis rocks a glam gown while vacuuming

Page 18: Jersey Shore co-stars Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jenni “JWoww” Farley and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and Deena Nicole Cortese and Antonio “Uncle Nino” Giaimo take on the cast of The Hills on Celebrity Family Feud with Steve Harvey, Sarah Michelle Gellar shares a safe smooch with pal Selma Blair 21 years after their iconic Cruel Intentions kiss, Jessica Simpson autographs copies of her memoir

Page 20: Cover Story -- Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi at the breaking point -- after nearly two decades together Ellen and Portia face their biggest test yet

Page 24: Meghan Markle dumps her best friend Jessica Mulroney -- a mortified Meghan can’t forgive Jessica’s offensive behavior -- as Meghan and Prince Harry have settled into life in L.A. Meghan has begun to open herself up to new pals like Reese Witherspoon

Page 26: Co-Stars From Hell -- these celebs weren’t always on their best behavior -- Lea Michele gets lambasted, Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte didn’t mix, Bruce Willis behaved badly, Katherine Heigl was a diva, Johnny Depp wasn’t on time

Page 27: Kiefer Sutherland was unprofessional and Freddie Prinze Jr. was furious, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey clashed

Page 28: Scott Peterson going free? Convicted of murdering his wife Laci and their unborn child the notorious death row inmate has lodged a new appeal

Page 30: Lori Loughlin is just weeks away from serving her two-month prison sentence for the college bribery scandal and she’s a basket case

Page 31: Steve Bing who died by suicide on June 22 had a very special bond with Nicole Kidman and they even dated and Steve carried that heartache with him until the end, how God saved Carrie Underwood’s marriage to Mike Fisher

Page 34: The Big Interview -- Beverley Mitchell is overjoyed to welcome her third child which is her miracle baby

Page 36: Style -- Staycation -- Lucy Hale

Page 38: Beauty -- summer hair repair -- Hailey Baldwin

Page 40: Entertainment -- Stateless

Page 41: Home Entertainment -- Bobby Berk

Page 42: Animal Overload -- My dog looks like Busy Philipps

Page 44: Double Take -- Debi Mazar celebrates Pride Month

Page 46: Horoscope -- Cancer Kevin Hart turned 41 on July 6

Page 48: Last Laughs

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purplesurveys · 5 years

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474

Tumblr makes the spacing kinda weird by the end, idk why but I hope it gets better for everyone else who wants to take this haha.

ONE - HI THERE! It’s an intro!

What do most people call you? Robyn. In what month is your birthday? April. What country were you born in? The beautiful but politically miserable Philippines. Do you have siblings? How many, if you do? I do; I have two. I’m the eldest, but they aren’t that far off from me. Who do you live with? I’m still studying so I’m living with family for now – mom and dad, a sister and a brother, and a dog. I really want to move out in the next couple of years though.

Are you in a relationship? Yes. Do you go to school? As I said, yes. I’m in university but I’m supposed to graduate next year. What mood are you in right now? Well, I wrapped up my internship last week and my entire weekend was booked with stuff I did, so now I’m just super glad to be home and bum around after all that hectic-ness. I just had 8 hours of sleep and am feeling pretty well-rested right now. What does your shirt look like? I’m wearing a big-ass gray Knicks sweater that’s like 3 sizes bigger for me. What’s your zodiac sign? Taurus.

TWO - Your Appearance

If you could have plastic surgery on any one body part, what would it be?Boobs. They’re so abnormally small that I’m tired of having to waste what would have been completely bomb outfits just because of my chest.

Are you satisfied with your hair? It could have less baby hair, honestly. But I’m fine with it for the most part.

Do you have a hitchhikers or a straight thumb? It’s a straight thumb. My left pinky is quite crooked though.

What colour are your eyes? Dark brown.

Do you have any tan lines? No, I haven’t gone to the beach in a while.

How old do people usually think you are? I just asked this question to Gabie last week and she said that I look 15.

What about your appearance do you get complimented on the most? Face and my overall figure.

Are you comfortable with your weight? Sure, but it’s always worrisome when I get to the lower 90s.

Do you have any piercings or tattoos? Where? Yeah, just the basic earlobes piercings that my parents got for me when I was a couple of months old.

How tall are you? I am 5′1″ and a half. I’m shorter than 5′2″, that’s for sure.

THREE - True or False

I love winter. Neither true or false as I have never experienced snow. I think I’d love it though.

I have eaten meat in the past five days. True. Filipinos eat meat a lot.

I have painted a room in a house. False. My mom is so controlling over adult things like that so she hired people to do it to all our rooms.

I can whistle. True. I learned pretty early.

My keyboard is black. True-ish? The buttons are black, but the spaces between them are silver.

I have never bought something off an infomercial. True. My mom would be so furious because it would be her money anyway.

I own a snuggie / would like to own a snuggie. False.

I bite my pens / pencils. False. I do bite my straws though.

I wear glasses / contacts. True.

My nails are painted right now. False.

FOUR - Childhood Memories!

What was your all time favourite movie as a kid? THE GAME PLAN, without a shadow of a doubt. Watched that shit everyday through third and fourth grade. My runner-up would be High School Musical.

Do you still have your first pair of shoes somewhere? Doubt it. My mom isn’t big on memories like me.

Did you have anything you always dragged around the house, like a blanket?Nope. I did use my parents’ blanket as a cape some days, and other days it would be a gown train and I’d pretend I was the Queen, but I wouldn’t drag it because it would get dirty.

What toy did you play with the most? I was always into grownup stuff so I always got kitchen appliances, dollhouses, etc. I once had toys that mimicked a pizza restaurant and it had a pizza roller and it was super fun for me haha. Once I got a pretend cash register though it was game over for all these bitches.

Did you ever bring your favourite toys in the bathtub? We didn’t have a bathtub, but yeah we would bring in our toys when we would shower.

Did you used to take baths with siblings/cousins? ^ Ooh, barely missed it. Yes, we did.

Are you still friends with your best friends from long ago? A handful are still my best friends. I keep in touch with most of my batchmates from my high school because we’re all close and we’re family and there was generally very little drama – and if there was, it was easy to let go.

Do your parents ever tell you stories about how cute/silly you were? They have several stories, but I was mostly a quiet kid who didn’t like getting in trouble.

Did you go to the park often? What was a typical outfit for the 5-year-old you?Blouses with a girly pattern, denim jeans, and Nike rubber shoes. The top always has to be tucked in.

FIVE - FAVOURITES

Actor/Actress: Kate Winslet

Singer/Band/Both: Beyonce / Paramore

Chocolate: Reese’s

Toothpaste: ??? Whatever we have at home I guess?

Picture of yourself: Nah man, not doing that here.

Pair of sunglasses: I don’t have a favorite.

Vegetable: Broccoli!

Sandwich: Monte Cristo

Aspect of nature: Waterfalls

Word to say: “Literally”

SIX - Love Life ;)

Who was the first person to ever ask you out? No one’s ever asked me out before. Although I think that dude from one of my classes in sophomore year intended to…but I dunno. We were paired up together for this class and he wanted to spend time with me in a coffee shop after our work was done; I didn’t feel comfortable just being by myself so I told him in advance that I was gonna be bringing Gabie…never heard from him ever again :/

What does your ideal date consist of? Dinner somewhere nice (Italian or Japanese) should be enough for me.

What’s one thing your partner must be able to accept about you? I get sad and I’ll need loooooooong stretches of time alone some days.

Does your ideal person have any special talents? She can paint and draw. She doesn’t really share these with other people but she does with me.

Do your parents like the person you’re with? (Or the last person) My parents liked Mike and were convinced something was happening between us lmao. They don’t know about my relationship with Gabie yet.

Do you like pet names? Yes when it’s just the two of us. Publicly, I control myself, cos I know it annoys me when other people are too showy/vocal. Like I don’t call Gab pet names when we’re out with friends; and when we’re out at the mall or whatever, I’m not very physical other than holding her hand.

What is your age range? Same age. I can’t imagine dating someone younger or older, but then again this is because I haven’t had any other experience.

What is one attribute that your ideal partner must have? Sincerity.

When was the last time someone seriously said “I love you.” to you? This morning.

Have you ever been in more than one relationship at a time? No.

SEVEN - The wonderful world of the Internet!

What is your most used website? Probably Twitter. It’s the first thing I check everyday.

Do you play any online games? Other than playing on Y8 when I was younger, no.

Which chat program do you use most often? Messenger.

Facebook vs Myspace- which is better? I haven’t used Myspace in a hot minute, so I’ll go with Facebook.

Is there someone you met online that you’d like to meet in person? Yes, I’m still waiting to meet Aliyah. Girl is in BGC every single day but I can’t seem to grab lunch or dinner with her!

Have you ever sold something on Ebay or Craigslist? No.

Have you ever gone on Chatroulette? Or Omegle video? Yeah, when I was like 12 and curious about the Internet haha.

Are there any videos of yourself on Youtube? I don’t think so.

Mac or PC? Mac.

Have you ever Googled your name? I’ve Googled my username before, but not my name.

EIGHT - This or That?

Twilight or Harry Potter?

French fries or potato wedges?

Liquid ortape white out?

Digital or film camera?

Nail clippersor nail scissors?

Rock, paper, or scissors?

Beard or mustache?

Knee high or ankle socks?

Hockey or basketball?

Mr Clean or sponge and ‘the other leading cleaning product’?

NINE - Be cool, stay in school!

What subject are/were you best at? It’s always history, or social studies in general.

How old will you be when you graduate high school / how old were you? I was 18 when I graduated.

Isn’t there that point in the year when you stop caring so much? Yep, it’s usually when you’re a senior.

Do/did you have any really cool teachers? In UP? Absolutely. There’s a lot of shitty profs, but the cool ones are way too hardcore.

Who is/was your most strict teacher? Sir Ruel in my old school. Old man was and is such a fucking loser. Once had a comment about my breasts and I never forgot about it. Also kicked me and a bunch of other kids out of his class in fifth grade because we didn’t have crayons. He actually got booted by the school for a year because a parent complained about him, but he came back after.

Where do/did you sit at lunch? In high school, the cafeteria was too crowded so my friend group would hang out in our classroom, since most of us were classmates. Right now, lunch just depends on my schedule and where I happen to be by noon.

What do/did you do at recess? Catch up on homework I skipped the night before.

There’s always that one kid who no one really knows, right? LOL, yes.

Is/was your cafeterias food actually any good? It used to be good. Then they kind of hired this company to start making the meals starting junior year and the food was never as good again.

Do/did you have a stereotypical school, with all those cliques and such? You can say that. We had popular party kids, smart but still cool kids, soccer players, the basketball players who all turned out gay, kids who kinda just hovered in the middle, and those who were kinda brushed to the side were the theatre and anime kids.

TEN - Randomly Platypus.

Do you like your toothbrush really wet when you’re brushing your teeth? Not really wet. I just make sure I’ve put it under the running water before applying the toothpaste.

What song are you currently obsessed with? Not into anything at the moment.

What was the stupidest dare you’ve ever done? I hate dares, so I don’t do them haha.

Do you enjoy playing with tape? No?

What’s one word/phrase you say too much? LITERALLY. Which is a problem because most of the time, the things I associate the word with aren’t literal.

When was the last time you went trick-or-treating? 2017.

What did you last use a knife for? Haha, my orgmates were cooking up lunch and I volunteered to chop up the onions. Fun fact: First time to use a knife, ever.

When you open a pack of gum, why is everyone your best friend? Because gum is always a good idea.

What has been on your mind way too much? Completing my requirements for internship so I can submit them as early as possible.

Did you actually enjoy my survey? Sure. Categories are always fun.

#survey #surveys

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muses-run-wild · 5 years

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So i’m going to test muses out on this blog and my OC blog because i already have so many muses on other blogs i think i’m going to make a mulit-muse blog. So here are the test muses i’m putting opens up for and a short bio. I’m putting this under a read more because it’s so long.

Red Dwarf fandom

Dave Lister - He the only human aboard the mining ship Red Dwarf. (Which is in space but i have a way to get him (and anyone else on this show) to most earth settings) Now he spends most days with his Hologram roommate(rimmer). A humanoid mutated version of his cat. Also a mechanoid named Kryten they picked up along the way. He loves beer and curry. he thinks he's a great guitar player. He’s also kinda lazy.

Arnold Rimmer- He was a second technician on the mining ship red dwarf. Now he is a hologram (hard light) brought back to keep Lister company. He loves the military. He can be self-loathing but also think he's the greatest thing around. He’s annoying and has not really had any relationships. He’s got a lot of issues but he can be very interesting.

The drew carey show

Lewis kiniski- He’s a janitor at DrugCo (though he has an IQ of 162). He’s kinda of a creep sometimes but has a great heart. He goes to Warsaw bar a lot with his three friends. He also is a Co-owner of buzzbeer. His best friend is Oswald.Lives above the Warsaw with Oswald

Oswald Harvery- His best friend would describe him as a man child stuck in a prolonged adolescence. He’s a Delivery driver for Global Parcel. He’s also a co-owner for Buzz-beer and a mess he Lives above the Warsaw with Lewis.

Drew carey- He has a sweetheart and works in an endless job going nowhere. (Human recourse at Windfred-louder a department store, He is the founder and co-owner of buzz-beer. He is constantly fighting with his co-worker MiMi pulling mean pranks on each other. He lives in the house he grew up in and sometimes wonders if his life is going to go anywhere.

Judging Amy

Sean potter- He works DCFS. He’s a hard-working guy who is also at odds a lot with his employee Maxine sometimes. Yet he regards her as a close friend. He is a sweet guy trying to find his backbone at work.

Maxine Gray- She is a mother of grown kids. She is a social worker at DCFS. She is opinionated, strong-willed and kinda has anger issues. She does what she needs to do to help the families and kids even if it means bending things.

Community

Jeff winger- He was once a smooth-talking Lawyer and after he was found out for a fake degree he ended up at Greendale. He can bullshit the day away. He egotistical and can come off as a d-bag but there is a heart under there. He will hit on anything thats hot.

Friends

Chandler bing -He had a boring job that he isn’t exactly a fan of. He lives with his best friend Joey. he is a very sarcastic person with self-loathing tendencies. He childish at times. He freaks out pretty easily. He has an effeminate nature.

Buffy the vampire slayer

Spike- He is a vampire. He’s British a bit punk and can be a sarcastic ass. Depending on when you find him he’s obsessing over his love Drusilla or planning on taking down the Slayer. He tends to let love control his life at times. If he cares about you he’ll do what it takes to make sure you’re ok.

Buffy- She was picked as the chosen one in high school. Now she’s buffy the vampire slayer. Her best friends are always there backing her up. She can be very sassy. Almost always had a one-liner. She had amazing strength and can kick ass. She falls in love hard and when it goes she tries to show it doesn’t hurt as much. She’s got a good heart.

Xander- He grew up being best friends with Willow. He was a basic horny teenager. He makes jokes constantly and is awkward. He has gained a lot of confidence while working with buffy. He is always hitting on girls who are usually ones he can’t get. Yet being shot down never stops him. He’s usually seen as the loser of his friend group even though he has great skills.

The golden girls

Blanche-shes a southern bell. who is very much a daddy's girl. She can be very promiscuous. She tries her best to be the classiest person in the room. Even if her actions sometimes don’t prove that. She is the owner of the house that all of the girls live in. She is always lying about her age and does a lot of beauty treatments to keep herself looking young. She has 5 children. She loves doing things like dance class, plays, and community service projects. She was a Southern Baptist girl.

Dorthy-Shes a substitute teacher. She's strong, sarcastic, grounded and she also can be intimidating, Shes very smart. She was knocked up in high school by Stan and married him. She had 2 great kids. They got divorced later after stan cheated on her. She's very tall and had a deep voice. She can sing and is very funny. She lives with her mother along with the other two roommates.

Rose- She is from St. Olaf and will never shut up about it. (Much to her roommate's dismay) She can seem naive and plain. Shes very kind. She can talk all day about the most bizarre stories. She’s crazy competitive. She can take charge here and there. Shes easily scared. She’s also pretty agile. She’s good on the piano. she can be a push-over. she has trouble lying. Shes Lutheran. She absolutely loves animals mostly from growing up on a farm. She had 5 kids with her husband Charlie. She’s worked at a grief counseling center. She loves doing charity work. She loves the tv show Miami Vice

Sophia- She was born in Sicily and references it a lot. She has no Scillian accent. Instead, she’s got a thick Brooklyn one. She has 3 children. She had a stroke which is what everyone blames her uncensored comments on) She hates Shady Pines retirement home. She sometimes hints that her family had Mod connections. She believes strongly in ancient Scillian customs and traditions. Also in the power of the Scillian curse. She makes wise-cracks and brazen remarks. She loves her roommates very much but they aren’t safe from her comments. She's the oldest in the house and everyone tends to see her as a mother figure. She loves giving advice which usually starts with “Picture it...”

Scrubs

J.D- A doctor at Sacred Heart. He tends to keep his head in the clouds daydreaming a lot. He’s obsessed with his hair. He’s very outgoing despite being physically and socially awkward at times. He’s clumsy. He loves Appletinis, Pirates, unicorns and cute things. He can come off Feminine. His best friend is Turk who works in surgery. They are constantly doing stupid stuff together and have nicknames for each other. He’s constantly out for Dr.Cox approval (Who mostly calls him girls names) His enemy is the janitor. Her got one older brother.

Perry Cox- A doctor at Sacred Heart. He tends to teach with tough love. He’s sarcastic and can be animated. He’s bitter and more emotional then he’d like to show. He rants constantly and belittles people. He actually does care and wants to push people to be better. He even goes behind the Chiefs back to make sure people get the best care. He has a sister a born again Christian. He grew up with an abusive alcoholic father. He has intimacy issues. He’s dedicated to his job so much it can cause problems. He works out a lot. Usually hates listening to peoples personal problems. He has a crush on a nurse Car;a probably cause she’s not afraid to push back. She's very strong-willed and empowered (Something seen in his ex’s) He does come to her for advice sometimes. He likes nicknames that make him seem more important than he is. He likes Scotch on the rocks, the red wings, days of our lives, He hates a lot of things lets put it at that. He’s a leo. He stretches words.

House MD

House- a sarcastic and usually not so caring doctor (head of the Department of Diagnostic medicine) He knows many languages. (Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, French, Latian. He can also read some Hindi and Portuguese. He believes everyone lies. He can play the piano and guitar. He’s anti-social. He’s cynical. His closest friend is Wilson. He’s also showed some caring for his roommate at ward 6 Alvie. He belittles pretty much everyone. He walks with a cane after an incident that left him with dead muscle in it that they had to remove. This has caused him to abuse Vicoden. He rides a motorcycle. He hides from patients. He also takes crazy risks with them. He’s even used himself as a guinea pig for drugs and medical test. Some of these were to try to help his leg. others are to help patients or help with his curiosity. He is self-destructive. He tries to hide parts of his personality with his sarcasm. He seems like a narcissist. he hates most people. He is an atheist and has a lot of issues with religion. If he cares about people he tends to consider them idiots but kinda his idiots. He doesn’t like showing affection. He’s shameless. He’s more concerned with the cases than the actual people. He likes only going by House. he’s constantly in the HR department for things he has done. He loves sneakers. He likes video games.

alvie- Juan Alvarez prefers to go by Alvie. He is Puerto Rican. He met House in the Mayfield psych ward. He is bipolar and when he's on the up he’s a chatterbox that likes to rap. Which is why he occasionally goes off his meds because it slows him down. He is very social and bonds to people fast. He makes impulsive decisions and will do a lot for his friends. (There isn’t much canon about him as he was only in two episodes. Also, i play him as trans)

Veronica mars

Veronica mars- shes a highly intelligent young woman. who helps her dad at his PI work. using the skills shes learned from her father she helps friends with cases and is sometimes hired by others. She at one point was the most popular kids. thought she wasn’t really wealthy like them she was accepted because of who she dated. Her friend's mysterious death sent her into full PI mode. She quickly became a “loser” After all the drama. After a drama-filled party that really messed with her, she went from bight kid to cynical girl with contempt with fellow classmates. She does eventually grow out of her cynicism a bit. every time she thinks she can leave the sleuth life behind it pulls her back in. She has a sheriff at the Neptune police department that helps her get info. Shes sarcastic and always has something to say. Yet she has a good heart.

#ref

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johnny-writes · 5 years

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List of muses

This is a cheat sheet of all the muses available on this blog, and it’s also a summary if you want to interact. My fandomless OCs have no verses besides the “standard” (and any verse is a variation of it), talk to me if you want to create one. Most of my main muses have their own separate pages, so if you want more details about them, click on their names.

Active muses

Marcos Grzbowski - OC, thinks he’s smart, Duning-Krüger hasn’t been nice to him, emotional guy disguised as a rational one, the “meta-guy” Rebecca Z. Mishko - OC, awkward girl, stutters, loyal like heck, rational girl disguised as an emotional one, could be a queen bee in an alternate timeline Talyna - OC, not an actual vampire, an alien that looks like a vampire, wants to go home Marya - OC, sassy fairy, travels a lot, dying is no big deal, a sun that never sets, secretively the worst tsundere ever Eagle - Ace Combat Zero/OC (gijinka of Pixy’s F-15), has a scary face, actually socially awkward, can fly and kill you in 13 different ways, tries to make friends Mara and Tojava - OC, they are as night and day, oil and water, two sides of the same coin, and yet are the same

Archive of muses

I used to play these muses. They are still open for PLOTTED threads and QUICK interactions, like one off asks and RPs with less than 10 turns.

Lumi - Vocaloid, jellyfish goddess or android with a peculiar design, either way she’s clumsy, believes too much her stories Mayu - Vocaloid, is processing 108 ways to kill you per second, actually cares for her family, yandere for fun, that rabbit is a cyborg Yohioloid - Vocaloid, depressed genius, sabotages himself frequently, needs a slap from himself Maika - Vocaloid, preciosa, can’t get sad, that can be a problem Anon - Vocaloid, shy, stays at home, Smash champion Kanon - Vocaloid, extroverted, has a job, fears she’s stunting her sister Cubi - Vocaloid, infernal creature, what was Hio thinking, tries to light him up IA - Vocaloid, cinnamon roll, can befriend Mayu Gumi - Vocaloid, romantic, can’t understand her feelings Yukari Yuzuki - Vocaloid, edgy to the circuits, cares only for IA Lily - Vocaloid, issues orders, actually a good boss, just wants a break, needs to smile Tone Rion - Vocaloid, nurse, overworked, secretly has a talent for being an idol, hates it Lapis Aoki - Vocaloid, cinnamon roll, forgetful Merli - Vocaloid, aloof, there’s a reason for that Yan He - Vocaloid, was a mistake, doesn’t care (cares a lot), please hug her Padparadscha - Houseki no Kuni, manliest rock ever, nice hair, will be your big brother, can destroy others if requested, wants to die Alexandrite - Houseki no Kuni, nerd (nerd), overbearing teacher, goes berserk, champion of self-control Rutile - Houseki no Kuni, a doctor better than the one below, hopelessly in love with Padpa (again, who doesn’t?), might be a yandere Obsidian - Houseki no Kuni, weaponsmith, behaves like a valley girl, cheerful, just don’t mess with their swords Yellow Diamond - Houseki no Kuni, smiling, depressed, survivor’s guilt, old Presea - Tales of Symphonia, a girl trying to understand what the heck happened to her, be nice with her Kazuma Satou - Konosuba, the worst hero ever, wants to be a NEET, has to get involved in wild adventures instead, wants to dump his teammates, returns to them in a co-dependency relationship Darkness - Konosuba, masochist, looks pure, is anything but, but can actually be, cares about her duty Megumin - Konosuba, chuuni, likes explosions, has a hot temper, cares a lot for her teammates Aqua - Konosuba, useless goddess, good party tricks, not very smart Mitsurugi Kyouya - Konosuba, thinks he’s the hero (spoiler: he’s not), well-intentioned, but a goddamn (in the most literal way) imbecile, thinks the world revolves around him, but he’s too imbecile to realize Izumi Makino - Konosuba/OC, Kazuma’s former childhood crush, doesn’t like him, think he’s a creep, but knows a lot about him, secretly wants to mend up things, but too proud to admit, otherwise she belongs in a biker gang Tanya Degurechaff - Saga of Tanya the Evil, magical girl who’s also a libertarian economist and willing to be morally gray King - One Punch Man, the biggest hero-by-accident case, hates his life, just wanted to play videogames Natalia - Idolm@aster, girl with a big heart and small common sense, likes belly dancing and kitchen experiments, like banana sushi Gahata Meiji - UTAU, witch, geography teacher, has no idea why, just needs Kamina - Gurren Lagann, manliest man ever, will be your unorthodox big brother, will punch you, can’t survive without his little brother Kotaro Tatsumi - Zombieland Saga, a loud idol producer, can turn anything into an idol, ANYTHING Hitomi Shizuki - Puella Magi Madoka Magica, rich girl, emotionally strong, wants to help, forgets to consider others’ feelings Dr. Danny - Angels of Death, thinks he has a good disguise, doctorate in tongue twisters, hateshateshateshateshateshateshates Rebecca Info-chan - Lovesick: Yandere Simulator, does not know recognize the meaning of privacy, sadistic, h@cker, hates hates hates Osana Najimi Yuri - Doki Doki Literature Club, smug reader, fancies herself to be smart, can be good at parties, sees people as games Donovan Truck - OC, Truck-kun personified, kind kid, believes in you, trusts you can overcome your suffering, for that reason he won’t care with them Suwako Moriya - Touhou, was tossed away, speak in enigmas, gets anime for Sanae Pixy - Ace Combat Zero, hates borders, chill, can use a gun

I attempted to write or I wrote enough to be relevant remembering, either NPC or one-off

Matcha and Azuki - Vocaloid, they are like a comedic duo Tohoku Zunko - Vocaloid, big sister, tired of Lumi’s crap Momoko - Ghost Stories, can’t fear anything, God is with her, 10 years of theological education to write this Ruby Rose - RWBY, loves her gun, tries to discover the meaning of fun Tohru Adachi - Persona 4, looks like a bumbling police officer, actually is an edgy loser that wants to watch the world burn, but can keep his word Star Butterfly - Star vs the Forces of Evil, princess from another dimension, brighten up your day, may or may not be in love with Crona Marco Díaz - Star vs the Forces of Evil, just wanted to help, almost unleashed a monster and went RULES OF NATURE Janna Ordonia - Star vs the Forces of Evil, smug, wants to star a hentai with Marco Koakuma - Touhou, flirty and cocky towards humans, wants to eat your soul, but can look cute doing it Simon - Gurren Lagann, needs his big bro, serious, Kamina’s character makes no sense without him Dokis - Doki Doki Literature Club, treated as one, the same as canon but with ultra-smug Yuri The ballpit from Dashcon - OC?, there’s a story behind it

Johnny

Oh hi Mark

#miscellaneous #modus operandi #putting as an independent page

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yasuda-yoshiya · 5 years

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So, KH3 is over.

Wow. That sure was a thing.

Closing reflections on both the game and the series as a whole below.

I guess I’m not even really surprised that Xion pretty much got a whole five minutes of screentime in the end after all that build-up. Don’t know what else I expected, Nomura...

You know, KH has always been terrible at pacing, but I still can’t quite believe just how much nothing happened in the first ~20 hours! The Disney filler is fine and all (I mean, the game wouldn’t sell without it), but I have to admit that the initial rush of childish excitement at getting new KH content started to wear pretty thin after four or five worlds of it. Games like KH2 and BBS at least tended to break things up with some big plot events halfway through, right?! I feel like this game really would have benefited a lot from having some kind of breather somewhere in the middle, even if it was just a matter of moving things like the Aqua/Ventus rescue up a bit earlier. They really had to cram a lot into those last few hours, and a lot of things ended up feeling more rushed than they really needed to be as a result. But for all the game’s flaws, in the end I still felt like I was able to leave the characters I cared about most on a satisfying note, and I think I’m content with that.

I really loved the way Axel was portrayed in this game! I feel like they hit a pretty good balance with him in the sense that, yes, he’s obviously realised that he messed up horribly and wants to do better, but he still totally feels like Axel. He’s still very much an obviously flawed and self-centered person who still habitually puts his own emotional needs above others, still wants to frame himself as the hero of the story who will obviously be the one to save Roxas in the end - and I love that the game itself never really buys into that framing. There is honestly not a single scene in this game where I felt like the emphasis was on what a cool and good person Axel is. His constant apologies to Kairi feel incredibly uncomfortable, like he’s very clumsily trying to finally hold himself accountable for what he’s done but still has absolutely no idea to actually handle it. His boasts about being a Keyblade wielder feel like empty arrogant bluster that never really gets backed up. When he pointedly interrupts the big cast reunion to scream “Um, hello, what about ME?!”, it seems more petty and ridiculous than anything. And when we get to the final battle, he repeatedly and consistently fails, on every count. He tries to have a big badass moment rebelling against Xemnas, but Xemnas totally beats his ass, and in the end it’s Roxas and Xion who have to jump in to save him, not the other way around. He has absolutely nothing to do with saving Roxas, or bringing him and Xion back, or even dealing with Saix, despite how much he heatedly promised that he was going to totally do all those things.

In the end, the real crux of his arc feels like that moment where Xion tells him to step back and leave it to them, and Axel just smiles and admits that, yeah, when it came down to it, the two of them were always stronger than him. They don’t need him, and they never did. I love that so, so much. I love the way that when the three of them are left alone together after the battle, he’s just so obviously awkward and uncomfortable and has no idea what to say, until the three of them all just finally break down crying and hugging each other. It felt so totally genuine and powerful and heartfelt, and I couldn’t have asked for more. I really appreciated Axel’s acknowledgement at the end that they had a lot to sort out, and I expect they probably still do, and a lot of it’s probably going to be messy and painful and difficult - but I’m also fine with us not getting to see that onscreen or with the game dwelling on it too much, because in the end, what’s really important as far as the series’ themes go is that they’re all finally here and alive and free to be themselves, and the ending rightly puts the final emphasis on that - on the sheer joy and wonder of them finally being able to live in the world, as people, to be happy and confident in themselves and who they are. Xion showing up at the tower in those beautiful clothes was the point where I pretty much just started crying my eyes out and couldn’t stop for the entire credits sequence. I love that the framing of their final scenes doesn’t really put any real special emphasis on Axel at all; it makes it feel like their happy ending isn’t really about them reuniting with him as a trio (in the way that, say, the BBS trio’s ending is very much framed), it’s about a much broader sense of them being able to live, and to experience the joy of living, with all that entails - that he’s just one of many friends for them now, and that the days of their messed up co-dependent relationship where they all had to desperately cling on to each other to feel human are hopefully over. The only thing I don’t really like about it in the end is Saix being there, but hey, nothing’s perfect. I do wish that things like Xion’s return had been a bit less rushed, and that her and Roxas had more screentime than they did, but all in all, I feel like I definitely got the closure I wanted, and I’m overjoyed with it.

As for the rest of the game... well, I’d be lying if I said the overall plot wasn’t pretty much a giant incoherent mess overall - the finale had way too much crammed into it, a ton of the antagonists seemed to do sudden 180s at the end for no reason, and it was an absolutely terrible choice to spend such a huge amount of time on obvious sequel hooks and cliffhangers (the black box, Subject X, Marluxia and co secretly being ancient keyblade warriors or whatever the hell Chi is doing) in a game that should really have been firmly focused on giving closure to the existing arcs after all these years - but... well, it’s Nomura, and it’s Kingdom Hearts. I don’t think I really expected anything else. But I did feel like the game was generally charming and enjoyable on a moment-to-moment level, the quality of the dialogue and cutscene direction felt like a big step up for the series, and I did actually enjoy the sheer scope and ambition of the final boss rush for what it was. It was absolutely a mess, but it felt like a sort of final celebration of the series and its characters that made me feel really excited and nostalgic in a sort of “bringing out my inner twelve-year-old” way, and there were a lot of great individual moments in there - the RXA reunion, Repliku’s sacrifice, Sora apologising to Namine - that genuinely did manage to hit hard and leave an impact. I guess at this point, KH has been ongoing for so long that it’s just inevitably exciting to see all these stories finally coming to a conclusion instead of just stalling at the same point forever, however weird the execution.

The one big thing I’d say they totally dropped the ball on was the BBS trio; their resolutions just felt completely empty to me, way too easy and simplistic and without any real consequences or acknowledgement of things like Aqua’s fall to darkness and how it impacted on her, or Terra’s rock-bottom self-esteem and the ways Aqua and Eraqus contributed to that. (Hell, when Ansem and Xemnas’s last words gave me much stronger Terra feelings than Terra’s actual resolution did, something must have gone terribly wrong!) They weren’t really ever my favourite characters, so I’m not too upset about it, but I still think they deserved better than they got. And I pretty much just tuned out all the nonsense at the end with Kairi’s unbelievably transparent and cynical fridging (”You require motivation” oh my god get lost!!) and the drama over Sora being separated from her again becuse I just...really didn’t care any more. I’m sorry, I just didn’t. Those two can keep cycling through their same old boring plot forever if they want to, I just don’t care!! I actually barely even noticed Sora disappearing at the end because I was too busy crying over Xion, lmao. Thank god my favourite characters don’t have to live inside those two losers any more. They are free from their nonsense now, and so am I.

So, how do I feel about the series as a whole, coming out of KH3? I’ve spent quite a bit of time revisiting and reflecting back on the older games in the run-up to KH3′s release, and honestly, I think my opinion coming out is more or less the same as it was coming in. I can’t really honestly say that the series as a whole is good, and it’s probably not at all worth the investment for anyone new to the series trying to get into it now - but I do feel that there is genuinely a lot of good stuff in there among all the nonsense, and I’d have to say that my personal experience growing up with the series and following it all these years has been an overwhelmingly positive one, overall.

KH1 was a very conventional shounen story, but a charming and beautifully told one. CoM was a genuinely unique and unsettling game that pulled apart KH1 in a ton of interesting ways, and even if the series didn’t have the guts to really keep going with the ideas it set up, I still feel that it was really interesting and cool as a standalone. KH2 was a mess, but it was an epic mess that I totally loved and obsessed over as a twelve-year-old, and it set up some genuinely fascinating concepts with Roxas, the Nobodies and the Organization which 358/2 Days went on to capitalise on incredibly well. I genuinely find 358/2 Days to be a game that still has a lot of power and resonance for me even now; it’s probably the only KH game I’d say I wholeheartedly respect and admire from a writing perspective, and I still love how comprehensively it tears apart everything KH2 was trying to say (in a way that the series totally was willing to run with and expand on, unlike CoM, which even 10 years later is still kind of unbelievable to me). BBS’s writing was a big step down from Days, but there were still a lot of really cool and interesting characters and concepts in there, and even if KH3 ultimately failed to stick the landing on them, I’d still say that a lot of what the game tried to communicate with Terra’s character in particular has continued to stick with me. Re:coded and DDD were both pretty silly, but they were still totally fun and addictive games (debugging system sectors was great fun, and I can’t hate anything as transparently Pokemon-derivative as the Dream Eaters), and I loved how they both so unapologetically continued down the path Days set up in kicking KH2′s original conclusions about Nobodies to the curb. And KH3, for all its missteps, still managed to cap off the character arcs and themes that I most cared about in a way that was ultimately satisfying to me. The overarching plot might have been absolute nonsense, and the series more often than not a ridiculous and filler-bloated mess, but in the end I really can’t feel anything but happy and positive memories when I look back on any of these games. I can’t really hold the series’ flaws against it too much when it’s brought me so much joy over all these years.

I think the one thing I love and appreciate most about the series, looking back now, really is just how willing they were to scream from the rooftops that the sacrifices Roxas and Xion were pushed into making were categorically wrong, that they deserved to be their own people, right through to the very end. In the end, the series was already pretty much irreversibly going down the path of bringing them back and giving them their own happy endings by the end of DDD - which was amazing - so in the end all KH3 really had to do for me to love it was to just complete that obvious final step, and I was more or less guaranteed to be okay with whatever other nonsense it might do. But even so, there was a part of me that still couldn’t quite believe it seeing their happy ending at the end of KH3; I still almost couldn’t process that this was actually real, that they actually seriously did it. KH2 so obviously wanted its players to uncritically take Roxas’s choice to go back to being part of Sora as a good thing, and even Days left a heck of a lot of wiggle room for people to read Xion’s willingness to sacrifice herself as a positive choice, rather than something she very clearly did not want but was forced to convince herself was okay because she simply wasn’t given any other viable options.

And this kind of goofy shounen-adjacent series having a lot of disturbing and uncomfortable subtext beneath the surface of its seemingly conventional plotlines isn’t exactly a rare thing in itself, but I feel like it’s pretty uncommon to see a series like this go so far in explicitly bringing out that subtext and making it into text - unambiguously shouting from the rooftops and making it outright unavoidable canon that, no, Days was in fact not just a tragic story about people with no hearts who were always just tragically doomed from the start to sacrifice themselves and return to the “real people” they came from, but was in fact a story about perfectly real and complete and valuable people being subtly and systematically brainwashed into believing that they had no hearts and were less real and valid and important than others, about the horrible things those kinds of beliefs can do to people and about force them to willingly dehumanise both themselves and others to cope. Xion’s story was not a beautiful tale about accepting her true nature as a part of Sora’s memories and willingly returning to him, it was a story about a person who absolutely deserved and wanted to live for herself having her entire identity and self-confidence crushed and destroyed, about her being pushed into becoming actively suicidal even by perfectly “well-meaning” people. Roxas’s tragedy was in fact not just that he “didn’t get to meet Sora himself” before getting assimilated back into him - him being assimilated into someone else in the first place was the tragedy, because giving his own independently developed self up should never have to be something anyone has to do. Namine merging with Kairi was not a beautiful happy ending, it was an incredibly depressed and guilt-ridden person taking the first excuse she had to fade away because she no longer saw any value in herself and her existence, and Sora and Kairi uncritically validated that perception of herself by accepting her merge with Kairi as right in a way that they absolutely shouldn’t have.

None of this is reduced to subtext or interpretation, KH makes it all outright canon by implication - and not only makes it canon but actively sets up the entire main thrust of its epic multi-game arc to be about setting these mistakes right and bringing these people back and validating them as full human beings in their own right. And honestly, I just think that’s incredible. I love it, and I’ll always be grateful for it, and a huge part of what lets me keep coming back to games like 358/2 Days and still being able to fully appreciate them even now is having that knowledge that these interpretations are not just me reading too much into the text, but that they have been outright objectively confirmed as the correct readings within the series itself, over and over again, and only more and more and more explicitly and unavoidably as time has gone on. I honestly can’t express how much it means to me that KH is so loud and unambiguous about how much it loves and values and holds up these people as real and important, whatever their origins, whatever the fanbase might have to say about how bringing them back is “fanservice” and “ruining their original conclusions”. It’s so important to me, and I’m so thankful for it.

So yes, overall, I think I’m content with this game, and with the series in general! As long-awaited series finales go, I’ll definitely take it over things like Homestuck and Zero Escape’s efforts any day. I feel pretty much happy ending my time with the series on this note, and while I probably will still end up checking out whatever Nomura does next, I think it will probably be more out of vague curiosity than any strong investment by now, which is fine - the plotlines I cared about most within the series have now been pretty definitively closed, to my satisfaction, and I doubt anything else it does will manage to interest me nearly as much, but I’m sure I’ll still be willing to pop in again in a few years anyway for old times’ sake. For now, I am free, and I’d have to say that feels pretty good! I’m willing to forgive Kingdom Hearts a lot just because it’s brought me so much joy over the years, and I can’t think of any other series that has managed to stay emotionally significant to me for as much of my life as this one has. So in the end, all I can say is: thank you, Tetsuya Nomura! Keep on co-opting those beloved Disney movies to indulge your absurdly convoluted shounen anime nonsense, you wonderful, ridiculous man.

#kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts iii

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roobarrtrashmouth · 6 years

Text

Life and Times of The Losers Club - Ch. 2

Thanks to @tinyarmedtrex for suggestions and beta-ing. You’re a rock star.

Feeling taggy

@tozier-verse @ahoytrashmouth @stormypasta88 @honeybeehanlon

Click the title to read on AO3

Mike and Stan - There’s no place like... Derry

August 2000

One more box. That's all that was left. One more box of memories. Memories of Stan, Boston, his co-workers from Beatley Library, everything from the last six years. He turns from the yawning emptiness of the rented moving van, to the farmhouse… to home. The outside of the house was in need of a paint job, but didn’t look bad, it just looked the same. The kitchen garden was where it always had been, it needed of a good hoeing, otherwise it looked the same. The barn where he and the Loser’s would hang out on weekends. The barn where his dad had stored their old pickup. Still standing, in good shape. The same, just older.

Memories.

He’s come home and is now being bombarded with memories. The field out behind the house is where his dad had first hinted at the fire at the Black Spot. The if he looked down the dusty road he could see where the old Bowers place should have been. Long gone now, thank god. Memories of his dad, mom, the Losers and Stan. Always of Stan.

The old oak tree by the side of the barn, is where he had asked Stan out for the first time. He had been so nervous. It had been easy to get Stan to come to his house without the other Losers. They were still Magic Lucky 7, but they had all begun to hang out in pairs or triples, then they would all get together at someone’s house and spend the night together. They still had their standing dates, the quarry, movie night, dinner night. The doubles and triples were nothing bad or permanent, just something new and evolution. He'd asked him to come and check out a nest of birds in his oak tree. Not a lie there was a nest, but he knew what type of birds they were and that they were ok. Stan showed up exactly on time, as usual. Stan pronounced them standard Maine grackles. “You know what they look like Mike. Why’d you want me to come out here and look at them?” Stan asked curious at once. Mike knew it was time. He indicated that they should sit under the shade of the oak. They leaned against the oak shoulder-to-shoulder and enjoyed the cool.

“Stan.” Mike began shyly. “ We've been best friends for a few years and have no secrets, right?”

“Yeah, of course. We don’t keep things from each other. I think we’re great friends. I enjoy spending time with you. Seriously, what's up?” Stan asked a bit confused.

Mike swallowed and without thinking blurted out, “I like you. A lot. I mean, really like you, and want to spend time together alone, more often. I… I… really would like to ask...if...”

Stan interrupted. “Are you asking me to be your boyfriend, Mike?

“Oh shit. Y...y….yeah.” Mike clears his throat. “Y...Yes I am.” Mike started out stammering and finishes strong which makes him feel more confident.

“Oh. Yeah. Ok. I'd love to.” Stan answers.

“That's it. You aren't going to… YES!” Mike says triumphantly and pump his fist. Stan smiles at his display.

“Mike. I like you, a lot as well. You're fun, you don't mind birding, you put up with my… moods and stuff, you’re just sweet and caring and very good looking. Why wouldn't I want to date you.” Stan concludes with aplomb.

Standing and staring at “their tree” Mike thinks, “I never would have thought I would be moving back into my old house. Sure maybe some nice place in Derry proper, but not back home and sure as shit not with my mom. God what has my life come to?” He chuckles, bends down to pick up the final memory and take it inside.

He walks over the threshold and is immediately assaulted by more memories. If he looks at the door frame into the family room he can clearly see hash marks going up the frame. Each marking his birthdate and height from 1 to 18, when he left for college and a new life. Or so he thought. The stairs straight ahead he knows to skip the 4 and 10 one they creak loudly. The photos on the wall were almost all the same. Photos of grandparents, cousins, mom and dad as kids, when they were dating, marriage. He turns and see the newer photos cluttering the other wall, school photos of him, him and Stan around the farm as a few from Boston, him and the Losers, his dad and the Losers, all the new memories that were made after Michael Jefferson Hanlon came into this world.

Jessica pokes her head out of the family room and looks at her only child with a mixture of sadness, love, and warmth. She makes her way to his side and puts an arm around his shoulder. He shoots her a quick glance and points at a particular photo and smiles sadly. It’s of the Losers and William, taken the summer before he passed. “The Losers and your Stan, " she says. That was always how Jessica referred to Stan, when he wasn't in the general vicinity, ‘your Stan’.

She continues, running a finger over William's image. "Your daddy was already sick when we took this one. Your Losers all came out to help us finish and close up for the farm for the season. Good kids, everyone last one of them. Your daddy liked them all and approved of Stan. But you knew that of course. Sure we were a bit sad we won't grandkids, but Stanley is good for you. You’re all good for each other. Remember that. Don’t fret Michael.” she give him an affectionate pat on the shoulder, kisses him on the cheek and walks back to the family room.

Mike smiles fondly at his mom’s retreating back and turns to the other doorway. Off the main hall is the dining room and his mother’s undisputed domain, the kitchen, pantry and dining room. The furniture in the house was all the same and that made him feel comfortable. Safe. He remembered fondly all the times spent on this furniture with Stan watching movies, making out after his parents had gone to sleep. Time spent with the Losers and their movie marathons. So many things had changed and so many had stayed the same. Down at the other end of the hall was the sole downstairs bedroom, now prepped for it’s new occupant.

Mike looks at the boxes waiting to go upstairs and sighs sadly. He already missed the place he and Stan had shared in Brookline. They had made so many memories there, good and bad. But that was then and this was now and he had to put the past behind him and concentrate on the future.

He had only been back in town a few days and he had so much to get organized. He started his job at Derry Public Library in a week and a half. He smiled at that. He would be putting his all his degrees to work. Finally, he would be a librarian, and in the town he grew up in. He had the history of Derry collection to get organized. He already knew where the gaps in this town’s history were. Even if most of the population wouldn’t or couldn’t admit it. For some reason answering questions about why the latest issue of The Derry News wasn’t on it’s stick made him smile with eagerness. “God I’m such a librarian it’s ridiculous.” he thought to himself.

As for the farm, well he wasn't going to be a farmer. Stan had been right about that. But he could manage one if needed. He was interviewing, later this week, a couple of crews to handle that. With him moving back into the farmhouse to help Jessica and keep an eye on her and the crew that was hired, he didn’t have to worry about rent. “Put that in the plus column I guess,” he shook his head as he thought that.

He walked into what had been his dad’s farm office, now his office, he thought glumly and dropped the box. It was full of his books and they would be joining or replacing some of the volumes William had kept on his shelves. Mike pulled the copy of the Old Farmer's Almanac at random. It was from 1991 and held it. “I’m keeping this for sure. Great year.” He thought. As he scanned the room, Mike saw items that were William’s; his pipe, old hat, dusty ledger, he suddenly and fiercely missed his dad. He really wanted to take one more ride in the old pickup around to the back acres of the farm. Dad behind the wheel, cussing at the old pickup, willing it to keep running. The missing windshield allowing a cool breeze, and bugs into the cab, the truck bouncing down the furrows. Mike listening to his dad talk about the town and farming, he would ask his dad for advice. Had he made the right decision? Should he have put Derry in his rear view mirror and just never looked back. Like he was sure the other Losers had done already. Dad would know what to do and say to cheer him up, or simply kick him in the ass. Either one straightening Mike out. But sadly dad was gone and he couldn’t consult him.

He was dependent on his own counsel and he was afraid he was fucking up royally. He could almost hear his dad say as he shifted gears in the old pickup, smile, “Mikey, if you listen to your heart and do what you feel is right, you will wind up a good man. You hear me, son? Listen to your heart.” Mike shook his head and hoped that he had followed his dad’s advice.

Taking some books out from his box he remembered the day he told his dad that he was not only gay, but in love with a white boy. It was in this very room. William was sitting back going over the books, Jessica was in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner, and Mike was sitting in the chair opposite his dad. In a muck sweat, his left leg bouncing up and down, trying to get his breathing under control. William looked up at his only child, “What’s ailin’ ya Mikey? Everything OK with school? I know ya don’t have to worry about Bower’s little shit no more. With him up in Juniper Hills and all. Ayuh, that’s taken care of. Spit it out son, what’s wrong with ya?”

Mike swallowed and felt his adam’s apple move up and down. His mouth was suddenly dry. This was a bad idea. They could just keep it all a secret for a bit longer. “MIKE.” William snapped. Automatically Mike answered, “Sir?” “Spit it out son. What’s on your chest? You can barely breathe.” William said in a gentler tone.

Mike had to do this. Stan had told his parents yesterday and that had gone well. So the clock was ticking. He had to tell his parents. “Dad. I don’t really know how to say this. I… I … I’m not like other boys.” MIke stammered. William prompted Mike with “Ayuh, your the son of a black farmer so no yer not.” Mike plunged on, “No. Not just that. I… you see dad. I like boys the way I should like girls.” Mike held his breath. All he got in response was low humming from deep in his father’s throat. He still hadn’t even told him the worst news, that boy was Stan.

William put up his hand in a stop gesture and hollered, “Jess! Come here to the office right quick.” He pointed at Mike, “You be still.” They waited in silence as Jessica walked into the room and sat in the chair next to Mike. “What’s got the two of you so quiet in here?” Jessica offered with a smile. William gestured to Mike, “Our son has something to say to us. Mikey please repeat to your mother what you just told me.” Mike swallowed even harder and thought for sure he was beginning to see stars dance in front of his eyes. “Go on Mikey.” William prompted again.

Mike cleared his throat “Mom, dad I like boys. I’m gay.” he held his breath. Jessica eyes widened a bit and she looked at William and he nodded. “How long have you known?” She asked. This was good, no screaming and yelling Mike thought. “‘Bout a year, maybe more.” He lied, for sure more, replied.

“Is there someone special?” she asked again with Will looking on. “Yes” Mike offered. “Who?” Will asked. A deep shaky breath, “Stan… Stanley Uris.” Mike literally winced waiting for the outburst. “At least it’s not the Tozier boy. I like him, but he’s a bit much Mikey. It was also bound to be one of them Loser’s Club white boys. With all the time you spend running around with ‘em.” William said with a chuckle and Jessica reached over and patted Mike on the leg. Mike is dumbfounded. Nothing. No yelling, no screaming. “You’re not disappointed or mad?” Mike stammered. “No. What kind of parents would we be if we didn’t know which team our son batted for? We like Stan. But things are gonna change a bit. Those solo sleepovers will have to be reconsidered. We will also want to meet his parents.” William concluded. They all talked for a bit and finally Mike went up to his room. Closed the door, fell on his bed and just wondered why he had been so nervous. Looking back on it, how could he have ever thought it would turn out any differently.

“Michael Jefferson Hanlon get in here and move these blasted boxes from my dining room. How do you expect me to serve dinner? On the back of cardboard boxes. I damn well don’t think so.” Jessica roared from kitchen shocking him back to the present. Mike shook his head and thought, “Back home less than a week and she's already using my full name.”

He left the office and its few boxes and went into the dining room to do as his mom bid. “You know mom, you don’t have to cook.” Mike called from the dining room. “I am perfectly capable…” Mike started as he was cut off, “This has been my kitchen for years Michael Hanlon. No one is pushing me out, yet. Do you get me?” Jessica fired back. “Yes ma’am.” Mike answered automatically and instantly rolled his eyes. “Don’t you roll your eyes at me young man.” Was the response he got. The boxes in the dining room actually belonged in his room.

With dinner just about done, the offending boxes were moved to their rightful places. Mike was setting up the table for dinner. Yet another childhood chore he found himself automatically falling back into. “Mom. Everything’s ready. How long until dinner? I still have to square away the other boxes. I guess I keep the truck tonight and return it tomorrow. It’s gonna be too late to return it tonight.” Jessica walks into the dining room, “Mikey it’s almost done. Don’t fret. You’ll have time to organize. Isn’t that rental due back tomorrow anyway?” They both heard a key slide into the lock and the front door open.

“Hi honey I'm home.” Stan calls cheerfully as he puts his bag and keys down on the table by the bannister. Mike walks into the foyer, gives Stan a hug and a kiss. “How was work?”

“You know, the same. The bank isn't used to having such great financial planner and CPA on staff yet.” Stan said. Back in Brookline after a sleepless night for Stan and Mike. They sat and had good talk and in the end Stan had made the decision, “Shep, I love you and I’d follow you anywhere. Hell I’d even go back to Derry and back into the sewers so long as you were by my side.”

Mike had smiled and said, “I”m still sorry we have to move back. But thank you for being so understanding. I love you Will. Thank you. I owe you so much.”

“Oh yes you do and don’t think I won’t collect someday, Mikey.” Stan had smirked.

Stan had moved back to Derry before Mike. Ironically Mike had to give longer notice at work than Stan had. After agreeing to move back, Stan had called his parents and told them the good news, then he used his connections to land a job at a bank/accounting house here in Derry. He had been in town for a more than a week already, splitting his stay between his parent’s house in town and the farm with Jessica. He didn’t want to move into the farmhouse until Mike arrived with all their shit from Brookline. Jessica had been understanding but still had given Stan and Mike a hard time about it.

“What’s left to do Shep? Eat only I hope.” Stan says as he pushes Mike from the hug to look him in the face.

“No such luck babe. There are boxes a plenty to be sorted still.” Mike answers with a toothy grin.

Stan pouts, “Didn’t you do anything while I was work?”

Jessica walks into the foyer and Stan walks over to give her a hug. “Mom sends her best and says that we need to get you over for dinner sometime this week. How was he today? Get on your nerves at all?” Stan to which Mike playfully punches him in the arm.

“I only had to use his full name once today, so its been a good day. Once you both get changed and washed up we can sit down for dinner.” Jessica groused at the two men. Playfully waving them to their room.

“Jessica you are going to spoil us with all of your wonderful cooking.” Stan smiles and gestures for Mike to follow him upstairs. Which he does. Once upstairs they walk into what had been Mike’s parent’s room. The largest in the house. Jessica had insisted and more to the point she wanted the room on the ground floor on the opposite side of the house for reasons obvious to to them all. Stan pulls Mike into a hug and gives him another kiss. “I love you Michael Jefferson Hanlon. I'm glad I followed you back home. It’s been much better than I imagined.”

“I’m glad that I didn’t force us into a break up with my insecurity. It’s weird to be back in my old home. But if I had to be back here I couldn’t pick a better person to remake memories with.” MIke admits.

Stan smiles lovingly at him and walks over to boxes. He digs around until Mike hears “Here it is.”and pulls out a shirt that says “Someone at Simmons University Loves Me” and pair of sweat shorts. “We need to hurry up. We don’t want to give Jess the wrong idea, at least not yet.” He wags his eyebrows at Mike.

Mike pulls Stan in for a quick hug. Then pushes him back to look into Stan’s eyes and says, “I love you Stanley Wyatt Uris. You’d better finish getting changed and get back downstairs I don’t want to be the one to tell mom we were getting it on.” Just then Jessica calls, “Stanley stop kissing that boy and the two of you get down here, dinner’s getting cold. I swear I talk just to hear my head roar.” The two of them chuckle and Mike calls down, ‘Yes ma’am.” As Stan goes to the the boxes piled on the bed and moves them off. Clearing the bed for later. Mike glances at the wooden jewelry box on top of the dresser. He smiles, because in that box is his father’s old ring. The one he is going to use to propose to Stan.

#stanlon #mike hanlon #stan uris #it

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thesportssoundoff · 6 years

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“Friday Night With Marlon Moraes” The UFC in Utica Preview

Joey

May 28th, 2018

A casual perusal of the Fight Night in Utica, reveals a nothing special lower level card to the average eye at least. It's very light on star power on a not normal UFC night from a place nobody probably equates MMA with (sorry Utica!) without the usual big hook and sell to it. After watching a PPV with some big names then the first MMA card in Chile and then the biggest free WW fight in quite some time in Till/Wonderboy, it might be hard for some folks to then turn around and get giddy over a show in Utica on a Friday night. Making matters worse? Its headlined by bantamweight which is still one of those weight classes struggling to find some acceptance. Having said all of that? I really like this card. It's not a great show by any stretch of the imagination but the main event is sublime, there's a few debuts I'm excited about on the card and there are some damn good action fights on it. It's not going to compete with UFC 225 for card of the year or anything but I believe it's well worth checking out on a Friday Night. Maybe you'll be able to say you saw the next bantamweight champion debut live.

Fights: 13

Debuts: 4 (Jose Torres, Nate Wood, Sijara Eubanks, Chance Rencountre)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: (Bryan Barberena OUT, Ben Saunders IN vs Jake Ellenberger/Leonard Santos OUT, David Teymur IN vs Nik Lentz/Niko Price OUT, Chance Recountre IN vs Belal Muhammad, Hector Sandoval OUT, Jose Torres IN vs Jarrod Brooks)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 1 (Jake Ellenberger)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 6 (Ben Saunders, Jake Ellenberger, Gleison Tibau, Desmond Green, Walt Harris, Jessica Aguilar)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 6 (Jimmie Rivera, Marlon Moraes, Belal Muhammad, Gregor Gillespie, Vinc Pichel, David Teymur)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC): 26-17

Marlon Moraes- 2-1 Jimmie Rivera- 3-0 Vinc Pichel- 2-0 Gregor Gillespie- 4-0 Walt Harris- 2-2 Daniel Spitz- 1-1 Ben Saunders- 2-3 Jake Ellenberger- 1-3 Daniel Teymur- 0-1 Julio Arce- 1-0 Sam Alvey- 6-3 Gian Villante- 2-3

Divisional Breakdown: Lightweight- 3 Welterweight- 2 Bantamweight- 2 Light Heavyweight- 1 Flyweight-1 Featherweight- 1 Heavyweight- 1 Women's Flyweight- 1 Strawweight- 1

Too High Up- Jake Ellenberger vs Ben Saunders

I feel bad for kicking two guys when they're down, I really do. Ben Saunders and Jake Ellenberger probably shouldn't be fighting anymore but this is MMA and you have to basically go out feet first. The winner of this fight will probably wind up getting fed to another dude way higher up in the food chain than them.The loser probably fights Michael Venom Page in Bellator. Both guys are on losing streaks with Ellenberger in particular rocking a nasty 3 wins in his last 10 fights. All of this paints the picture of a really sad fight on the main card because both Saunders and Ellenberger are still "names".

Too Low- Nik Lentz vs David Teymur

So why is this here on the prelims? Nik Lentz since moving up to 155 lbs is a cool 3-1 with wins over Will Brooks and Danny Castillo. David Teymur is 4-0 in the UFC with wins over Drakkar Klose and Lando Vannata plus he's normally good for either a snazzy finish or an exciting fight. Lentz isn't the same dude who would lay and pray his way to wins, dude's improved as a striker, has tremendous grappling chops and still brings pacing and cardio to all his fights. Color me bummed this one is buried on the prelims package since it's not even the prelim headliner (Sijara Eubanks vs Lauren Murphy is in that spot).

Stat Monitor for 2018: Debuting Fighters (Current number: 11-16): Jose Torres, Nate Wood, Chance Rencountre, Sijara Eubanks

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 12-6): Jose Torres, Chance Rencountre, David Teymur, Ben Saunders

Second Fight (Current number: 16-15): Jodie Esquibel, Julio Arce, Daniel Teymur

Cage Corrosion (Current number: 10-16, 5 straight wins): Jessica Aguilar, Jake Ellenberger

Undefeated Fighters (Current number: 18-13): Gregor Gillespie, Jose Torres

Keeping An Eye On But Not Really:

The UFC Win Check Test The records of fighters who have 4 or more UFC fights (or three full calendar years in the organization) but 0 wins against people still in the UFC: Nik Lentz. I would've been SURE that Gleison Tibau would be here but Tibau has two insanely impressive in hindsight wins over Francisco Trinaldo and RDA. Dude was really good once.

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Every fight is its own story and journey through the careers of two athletes. I'd be remiss if I didn't point out how friggin' insane the "How we got here" for both of these guys is. Marlon Moraes was 7-4 going into a fight with Miguel Torres on the first WSOF show, he was there to lose but apparently didn't get the memo. After beating Miguel Torres, Moraes was put up against WSOF's prized signing Tyson Nam. He finished Nam who was coming off an upset over Dudu Dantas which in turn made Moraes a bit of a fan favorite as this super underdog beating all of the hyped dudes. Moraes is now 20-5 which means that since his time as "the opponent" vs Torres until his UFC debut, he went undefeated and racked up 11 wins all over relatively quality competition. It's easy to accuse a dude on a run like his of can crushing but Sheymon Moraes, Josh Hill, Carson Beebe and Josenaldo Silva are quality regional fighters (Moraes has the ability to be a lot more). In the UFC, Moraes' lone loss is a "What can ya do?" split decision vs Rafa Assuncao who basically neutralized him as he tends to do. Since then Moraes decisioned John Dodson in a close scrappy fight and became the only man to finish Aljamain Sterling when he ruined his life with a step in knee. Moraes has proven his worth and his reward is his first ever UFC main event less than a year into his run with the organization.

The road was equally weird for Jimmie Rivera. Rivera's pre-UFC career is littered with fighters you'd know (Jared Papazian, Brian Kelleher, Willie Gates, Carson Beebe) in big time organizations (Bellator, WSOF, ROC and CFFC) but he never really stuck or found a home. Bellator used him frequently but for some reason, never featured him as a name. Perhaps that's because he was a guy who went to the decision more often than secured a dominant statement win. Maybe Rivera is just difficult to negotiate or deal with (more on that later) or perhaps he was just overlooked. He tried out for TUF and fought up a weight class in deference to his friend Louis Gaudinot. That decision proved to be the wrong one as Rivera drew Dennis Bermudez and lost by TKO in the try outs. Rivera eventually did make it to the UFC----as a short notice replacement on an international fight card. Since that point, RIvera has gone 5-0 with wins over Thomas Almeida, Pedro Munhoz and Urijah Faber. Jimmie Rivera has proven his worth in the UFC and his reward after being "the opponent" for what seems like his entire UFC run is his first ever main event spot in Utica.

There's a pride in this, I suppose. We see guys debut, get hyped and get main events far earlier in their careers than Rivera. We've seen guys be "the favorite" long after they've proven they're not the guy for the job while guys like Moraes have to just keep winning. For two guys who had to really earn it, I'm glad they're in a main event spot no matter if it's a Friday UFC event or a Fox spotlight. These guys earned it and in a sport where earn and deserve is more about timing and opinion, it's nice to have two definitive cases of "earning it" colliding at the same time.

2- I'd ALSO be remiss I suppose if I didn't point out how long it's taken this fight to come together. Both guys claim they were supposed to fight on the regional circuit but those sorts of "You might fight X" type rumors are what they are. What we DO know is that Moraes was offered the opportunity to fight Rivera in December as a fill in for Dom Cruz. Moraes said he couldn't make weight and depending on who you ask, he either needed to fight at 145 or higher to fight Rivera. The fight fell apart and THEN it was rebooked for UFC in Orlando. According to Moraes at least. Rivera has said that he wasn't offered a contract or wouldn't sign it or etc etc etc. Whatever the case may be or may not be, we've got it now. The whole back and forth created legitimate realistic tension. Sometimes it's nice to have dudes who dislike one another a little bit.

3- Jimmie Rivera is currently the slight betting favorite and while that might seem controversial for some, I think it's insanely realistic that he can take a decision. Marlon Moraes' weakness has been guys who can counter strike with him, force him to think and react more than he wants to and challenge him with either a size or a speed advantage. Rivera can fight going forward and backwards, has all sorts of versatility to his game and carries consistent pop in his hands. He's not a fight finisher by any stretch but we've seen him drop dudes like Thomas Almeida and Iuri Alcantara. He's also far more likely to be active during the lulls where Moraes seems to just be trying to patiently stalk a dude down for power shots. Conversely Moraes winning this fight by KO is pretty possible as well given that Rivera loves to exchange, often times abandons defense and security for swangin' n bangin' PLUS Moraes really does hit fucking hard.

4- Is the main event a #1 contender fight? The winner will probably have a hell of a case for the shot, no? The alternatives are Raphael Assuncao who I'd bet the UFC would rather cut than put in a title shot if they were given only those options (although Rapha vs TJ/Cody winner sounds like a fantastic way to kick off your ESPN run), Dom Cruz or John Lineker. Lineker is a guy who people assume is a draw but never really generates any numbers worthwhile of backing that up. Both Lineker headliners at BW did pretty poorly which, I suppose, helps create the mythos that BWs can't draw viewers. I also can't imagine an audience being that giddy for Lineker vs TJ 2 if Dillashaw wins again. You could make the argument that Dom Cruz has a case over both guys but if Garbrandt wins then whats the point? We've been there and Cruz was soundly handled by Cody. Cruz vs Dillashaw 2 might be a lot more intriguing a second time around for some folks? Still I couldn't count on Cruz to make it to fight night again since 2016 seemed like an anomaly across the board for him health wise. Perhaps the ultimate question mark is Rob Font who seems to be finally getting his act together en route to a clash with Raphael Assuncao in July.

5- So just WHO necessarily is it that the UFC is attempting to hype up and develop in the famed "special showcase third fight" slot? Will Harris is 34 years old and he's already been in the UFC for close to six years now on and off. Harris is coming off two straight losses and while he deserves credit for stepping up vs Fabricio Werdum on like thirty minutes notice, his performance vs Mark Godbeer was hilariously heavyweight. Is the focus on Daniel Spitz? Spitz is a newbie HW who has a 1-1 record in the UFC with a win over Anthony Hamilton and a loss to Daniel Spitz. Was this just a case of wanting a big guy in a key spot because you've got a bantamweight and a lightweight up top?

6- Sijara Eubanks attempting to make the cut to 125 lbs again seems....dicey. I suppose conversely the same could be said for Lauren Murphy as well so let's just hope everybody makes weight healthily.

7- It took me 7 spots to talk about Gregor Gillespie and at first it kind of bothered me that I had forgotten about. In hindsight, I guess I just don't know what would make him worth remembering to begin with. As a fighter Gillespie is fantastic and while he's slowly creeping out of his athletic prime (he turned 31 in March), he's pretty much dominated everyone he's faced. The only thing a detractor could cling to would be a short brief moment where he was hurt in a firefight vs Jason Gonzalez, a fight he ultimately won in the second round. He's a tremendous wrestler with serious control on the ground plus his hands are really powerful. I just don't know what else there is to really comment on about him. Seems like a nice enough guy, am I right? He fights in an insane division where thus far he's wiped out everybody he's faced----but it's likehe's the world's biggest afterthought. He's really good and really forgettable at the same time. I hope this fight vs Vinc Pichel showcases more of why we SHOULD be excited about Gillespie's prospects. Pichel is one of those guys who exists just below the level of good but way above the level of opposition Gillespie has faced thus far. I'd like a bigger step up for Gregor but in a showcase fight with a moderate step up in competition, you could do a lot worse.

8- If you pay your $9.99 for UFC Fight Pass, your reward for such is the debut of two fascinating prospects who figure to be players in the lighter weight classes. We can begin with Nate Wood who is the easier of the two to explain. Think of everything you liked about Brad Pickett and then make him slightly less chinny and slightly more athletic. The wrestling improvements (or lack thereof) will determine his upside his ultimately. I think he has a more fundamental game than Tom Duquesnoy but I feel more confident on Duquesnoy turning into a bigger deal. On the same card you have the long overdue debut of Jose "Shorty" Torres, a tremendous prospect who has shades of everybody from Chris Weidman to Kelvin Gastelum in his game. He has tremendous pop in his hands, great cardio, a stalking power style on the feet and the ability to absolutely mix it up on the ground as well. I don't know if Torres will be as good as a lot of us think he can be but he's the most excited I've been about a lighter weight fighters debut since probably the aforementioned Duquesnoy last year. Shorty is a really good fighter who I think can comfortably be a force at either 125 lbs or 135 lbs. Both guys get tough matches as Nate Wood gets Johnny Eduardo and Jarrod Brooks welcomes Jose Torres to the UFC.

9- If Sam Alvey vs Gian Villante leaves the first round, I think you're within your right to spend the next 10-20 minutes doing something more important.

10- Daniel Teymur with a full TC is going to give Julio Arce more problems than people imagine. I think that speaks more to the qualities Teymur has than it does about Julio Arce.

11- We're six fights into Belal Muhammad's UFC career and I have zero idea what kind of fighter he really is at this point. I know he's good (wins over Randy Brown, Jordan Mein, Tim Means proves you're quality) but I have no idea if he's anything more than a placeholder in an aging 170 lb division. The Niko Price fight would've told us a lot about him but now he's facing the pretty good Chance Recountre; a regional fighter who would've probably found his way onto the DWTCS eventually.

12- Is Demond Green contractually obligated to just fight massive wrestlers in the UFC? Four fights in he's had Josh Emmett, Rustam Khabilov, the oversized Michel Prezares who was basically fighting at MW vs him and now Gleison Tibau.

Under Pressure

1- Jake Ellenberger

We might as well start here. Ellenberger is no longer the dude who flirted with title contention on multiple opportunities. Those days are long and gone. What remains? Well....it depends. We can start with the cynical view; the raw numbers aren't pretty. Ellenberger is coming up on close to 50 pro fights before the age of 35 in the USADA Era where the dramatic "he's turning back the clock!" runs aren't going to happen. Since the start of 2014, he's just 2-6 with only one decision loss. He's taken damage in his losses and of his two wins, he's Matt Brown changing his mind again away from having 0 current UFC wins. He's chinny, spotty with his offense and it's fair to wonder if he's just been figured out by better fighters who have evolved quicker than he has. An optimistic POV? Ellenberger was far too good for far too long to fall apart this quickly. The quality of competition hasn't helped either given his losses are to genuinely top tier dudes like Rory Mac, Robbie Lawler, Jorge Masvidal and Wonderboy. Even in the losses, he had some moments of life to make you believe that something STILL is in there. In his most recent fight vs Mike Perry, it sure felt like the "old" Ellenberger was back----right before Perry exploded his face with an elbow. He had glimpses vs Masvidal and I felt like he did damn good vs Tarec Saffiedine as well. What if this is just a really bad ugly sort of slide that'll eventually even itself out? Maybe against weaker competition even? Ben Saunders is really the last in the line for Ellenberger. It's win or go home.

2-Jimmie Rivera

Jimmie Rivera's 5-0 run has been fantastic during his time in the UFC----but outside of the cage? It hasn't been as smooth sailing. We detailed the Moraes fight scuffle but beyond that, Rivera sort of got put in an awkward spot as his wife and Aljamain Sterling had a back and forth on twitter that was pretty cringy. Beyond that Rivera has been known to turn down fights in the past and we know that puts a spotlight on a dude. He's not the guy the UFC "wants" so to speak as much as he's the one they got. Rivera has his main event in what is essentially home turf against an opponent with a ton of buzz. You gotta step up and show out.

3- Sijara Eubanks

The Eubanks we saw on TUF was a hell of a lot better than the Eubanks from Invicta. Even with that said, she got yanked from the event the day before fighting for the title due to an awful weight cut. She might've had enough to beat Nicco Montano but alas and alack, it's back to the drawing board. Lauren Murphy is a really tough go of it in your UFC debut but if the TUF Eubanks shows up? Good chance she pulls this off.

4- Jose "Shorty" Torres

It's short notice and that normally is the caveat needed. This is a different situation though. It's not just some prospect but arguably MMA's best unsigned prospect. We're talking about a guy in Jose Torres who is too good to not have these sorts of expectations put on him. He has the ability to be a genuine lightning bolt in a struggling 125 lb weight class or a blossoming 135 lb weight class. It's a lot of pressure to put on somebody making a short notice debut but again, Torres is a different kind of fighter and a different kind of prospect.

5- Vinc Pichel

He is the opponent. Gregor Gillespie is the guy that everybody is excited about which leaves Pichel in the spot of "don't lose too badly!" which is always a bad place to be. Pichel is the sort of fighter who presents enough stylistic questions for Gillespie that even if Gregor is better, you're still looking at a guy who has the ability to give Gillespie some problems. The pressure is on Pichel to not get blown out here and test Gillespie.

Five Can't Miss Fights

1- Marlon Moraes vs Jimmie River

2- Jarred Brooks vs Jose Torres

3- Walt Harris vs Daniel Spitz on the Walt Harris factor alone

4- Julio Arce vs Daniel Teymur

5- Nik Lentz vs David Teymur

#MMA #UFC #Moraes #Rivera #Teymur #Ellenberger #Saunders #Utica

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rastagong-tearoom · 6 years

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Inspirational Blend #6: Dream Pop

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the very last one in a series where I reveal the inspirations behind Sylvan Disappearance.

Today, I'll be getting away from webcomics, novels and movies to focus on music! It is the first time I attempt to describe something musical in written words, which is difficult enough, but to spice it up, I chose the most nebulous kind of music genre: Dream Pop.

It is difficult to provide a pertinent definition of Dream Pop if you know nothing of it. The corresponding Wikipedia page, citing the AllMusic Guide to Electronica, tells us that it is:

“An atmospheric subgenre of alternative rock that relies on sonic textures as much as melody.”

This is in all good faith as close as we can get to a valid explanation, the key idea being: Dream Pop music means hazy, blurry textures which produce an impression similar to that of dreams. There is no pertinent instrumental or theoretical category, the genre is largely characterised by the subjective texture as it is experienced.

The definition is not exactly wrong in categorising Dream Pop as an alternative rock subgenre, but personally, I would say it is wiser to outright admit that it is not a very-well defined genre, that it comprises artists from very different backgrounds who can appeal to vastly different sensibilities.

Below are a number of Dream Pop artists and albums I particularly enjoy, along with a short blurb explaining what's so dreamy about their music.

In the course of the article, I provide links to listen to the music I mention on Youtube. If you'd prefer to listen to everything on your own, without having to read the article, I also provide the following playlist, which contains all the songs referenced here:

youtube

Julee Cruise

I personally fell into Dream Pop through Twin Peaks, that I watched for the first time last summer, at the time of the release of the 2017 Return of the series. It was a deeply moving experience in many ways, but one of the highlights was discovering the music of Julee Cruise. In the world of Twin Peaks, there's one bar and dancing just outside the titular town that is frequented by everyone —teenagers, small crooks and couples alike: the Roadhouse. The regular performer of the Roadhouse is Julee Cruise, a woman who sings love songs very softly. It is rare for the viewer to hear her songs in entirety, but usually, they're soft, slightly kitsch love songs. The scene on which Julee Cruise sings is usually lit in bright purple and red tones, with an iconic red curtain in the background, which produces an eerie, retro atmosphere.

youtube

Excerpt from Twin Peaks. Do not look at the comments if you haven't seen the show.

While watching Twin Peaks, it's easy to leave aside Julee Cruise's music, which serves an atmospheric purpose most of the time. However, Floating into the Night (1989) deserves to be listened on its own terms. It is arguably her most famous album, the one co-produced by David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, who later had her perform it in various parts of Twin Peaks.

It is a very special album that I like listen from start to finish at nightfall. It is carried by Julee Cruise's singing, always lingering and slow, and by backing guitars and synths, which produces a very retro atmosphere. The albums hides both dark, melancholic moments, and lighter interludes. Depending on the song, the lyrics can be either sensual, pronounced through rose-colored glasses, or on the contrary, abstract, surreal and disturing —much like Twin Peaks.

If Floating into the Night was a dream, then it would be something at the border between nightmare and dreams; at the single moment where subconscious truths emerge from the night, and into your consciousness.

The Cocteau Twins

Most of the time, Dream Pop is strongly associated with its more famous neighbour, shoegazing. There is indeed a lot of overlap in both shoegaze and certain Dream Pop artists, in their common focus on atmosphere, and in their descendence from punk and psychedelic rock.

The work of the Cocteau Twins could be considered to be the most representative of this Dream Pop variant. In the 80s and early 90s, the Scottish trio enjoyed a large success in the UK alternative scene, like other artists under the independent 4AD label.

youtube

It is impossible to put in words the Twins' appeal. Fans will always tell you about the voice of Liz Fraser, the vocalist of the trio, but it is difficult to describe it. As for me, the least I could say is that ever since I started listening to them, a year ago, I gained access to a whole new dimension of existence. The Cocteau Twins offered me a new lens to view life through, and made it infinitely richer.

If you listen to them, you'll notice that in many cases, no words can be discerned in the singing of Liz Fraser, because it is not made out of words —it is a texture, something both abstract and yet so very life-like. But there is a great variety in their production. You'll find both haunting, Gothic songs like Alice, dark riffs like Blue Bell Knoll, and upbeat, light clouds like Cherry-Coloured Funk, which is also very beautiful in its breezy, alternative recording from a later album.

Since their breakup in the 90s, the Cocteau Twins have had a large influence on a number of contemporary artists, and gained a cult following. One of my favourite secret hobbies is to read about what the Cocteau Twins mean to their fans, in Youtube comment sections. There are plenty of anecdotes, often dating from the 80s, and they never fail to bring me a smile. If the Cocteau Twins were a dream, they would be a daydream; a soft fantasy which somehow finds a way into your daily life, and enriches it in ways that cannot be expressed.

youtube

Beach House

Beach House is a duo of musicians from Baltimore, in the USA. They might be the most popular contemporary band to fall under the Dream Pop umbrella.

On the surface, they're an indie pop band, but Victoria Legrand's soft singing, their simple synth melodies and their poetic lyrics makes their music sound as soft as velvet. They've just released 7, their latest album, but my favourite so far is their previous one, Depression Cherry.

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If Beach House was a dream, it would be, in a straightfoward way, a pleasant fantasy dream.

Nicole Dollanganger

Nicole Dollanganger is an independent Canadian singer and songwriter. She has a very distinctive voice, both very soft and high, and writes songs with very simple lofi instrumentals, which clash with her bleak lyrics about emotional abuse, sexual and gun violence. The result is a dreamy, Gothic atmosphere from which transpires a lot of sadness underneath.

I am slightly obsessed with her 2012 album Natural Born Losers.

youtube

If she was a dream, Nicole Dollanganger would be an afternoon nightmare: it may start peacefully, but remain asleep long enough, and it will awaken long buried trauma, and leave you with a strange aftertaste upon waking up.

The Cranberries

I'm still sadder than I'd like to admit about the recent passing of Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of the Cranberries. I have a lot of memories associated with the band. I know I used to listen to Ode to My Family as a child, without knowing who the band was at all. Later, I got obsessed with Zombie like many teenagers. But it is only many years later that I re-discovered all of their music, and found out that some of their songs sounded like Dream Pop.

The last song I will leave you with is perhaps the best-known from Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? which is the Cranberries' 1993 debut album. It's one of the songs I most listened to while writing Sylvan Disappearance, and its title, lyrics and aesthetics are quite self-explanatory: Dreams.

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#Dream Pop #Shoegaze #Nicole Dollanganger #The Cranberries #Cocteau Twins #Julee Cruise #Beach House

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oldmyths · 6 years

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hiya drew, what are a couple bands/songs you'd recommend for someone interested in getting into classic rock? I hope you're having a great day

hey anon! this is an extremely loaded question! sdfjdfkgjd (and i’m really flattered you’re askin me, because, omg, it’s an honor)

(under a read more bc i talk too god damn much)

okay. lemme preface this by saying i barely scratch the surface when it comes to classic rock. in fact i just like the “popular” classic rock bands, because i’m a hipster loser (and i grew up on some of this stuff and don’t really have much of an interest venturing further but hey, who knows, maybe i’ll expand my spotify library in due time)

there are people on this website in the CR fandom who are so much better equipped to answer this, but u asked me, and i never really bothered to integrate into the cr fandom anyway because i feel like theyre all cooler than me and i just wanna sit down and listen to like, the same two albums on repeat, but anyway. to answer your question…

it really just depends on what genre you like. what kind of music you want to get into; i can sit here and tell you to listen to pink floyd and go on about their significance but i can’t make you Like them yknow?

so…..i’m just gonna list a few of my favorite songs by the most well-known classic rock bands because, like i said i just kind of barely scratch the surface on the classic rock format as a whole

as some of you may be aware, i am drew “beatlefucker” angelshane (thanks ana) and to get these bug boys out of the way, i’ll give u some song recs from the beatles! (early 1960s to 1970) (genres: rock, pop, psychedelia)

surely you’ve heard of them; if not, they caused a huge uproar across the world called beatlemania. think of like…tumblr, as a planet, and the beatles is the newest, hottest anime of the season, and everybody’s got a huge heart boner for them. because that’s basically what it was.

here are some of their songs that have been in my head for the past few days: drive my car (rubber soul, 1965); eleanor rigby (revolver, 1966); and if i fell (a hard day’s night, 1964)

revolver is the most recent album i’ve listened to, they have more but the next proper Album is sgt. pepper and that feels…like. so much. it’s a Huge Album, both content-wise and…history-wise? anyway, it’s very intimidating for me and i think i want to take my time with it before i rush in

i’m just gonna get led zeppelin (late 1960s to 1980, some reunions sprinkled here and there,) out of the way, now, too. (genres: hard rock, blues rock, folk rock, heavy metal)

let me just say right here: i hate jimmy page. as a person. and i honestly think most of his solos aren’t…that great. but for real, i won’t tolerate any of that ugly shithead on my blog and just because i like LZ doesn’t mean i condone any of the shit he did.

(you’ll notice a trend, especially in the older bands, that controversy is super common. u can’t..really get into classic rock without having to see the darker side of your faves. it sucks, nobody’s perfect, and i don’t agree with separating the artist from the art, but it does get hard to like certain music when you know the shit that happened with certain artists.)

Anyway! that being said, i truthfully only really listen to led zeppelin and led zeppelin ii. some physical graffiti but, eh. So, if you wanted to get into lz, you’re askin the wrong person, is what i’m saying jfkgsdj

here’s my song recs: good times bad times and dazed and confused (led zeppelin, 1968); whole lotta love and ramble on (led zeppelin ii, 1969); kashmir (physical graffiti, 1975)

and honestly the JP thing is why i don’t really listen to LZ much outside of their self titled and lz2. cos like. i just can’t.

QUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN (1970s to…now? personally, if freddie mercury isn’t involved then..is it really queen) (genre: rock)

if you don’t know who queen is, you know who queen is. bohemian rhapsody? of course you know that song. everyone does.

but if you don’t then that’s perfectly ok too. it’s a good song imo. not their Best, but it’s good

i gotta be honest, i listen to singles mostly. i’ve got a lot on my proverbial plate and while i Love freddie mercury (bi king) sometimes i’m just. not in the headspace for queen. they’re good but a certain specific set of circumstances need to happen where i feel aligned with queen music enough to listen to it. also, freddie’s death makes me really sad and if i think about it too hard i’ll get depressed.

here’s my favorite queen songs!!!

brighton rock and killer queen (sheer heart attack, 1974); you’re my best friend (a night at the opera, 1975); somebody to love and GOOD OLD FASHIONED LOVER BOY (a day at the races, 1976); TOO MUCH LOVE WILL KILL YOU (made in heaven, 1996)

honestly..queen is so influential and inspiring and i fucking love freddie mercury so like. those are just a few of my favorites. i could honestly go on forever about it but let’s stop there

now let’s get away from the boys and talk about stevie nicks because she is my mother and i would die in her place given the chance. i love her. I Love Her.

but i mean you’d probably better begin at fleetwood mac (late 1960s to the mid 1990s; late 1990s to …now?) (genres: pop rock, soft rock, blues rock, art pop, british blues)

this is a band i don’t know much about. because there’s apparently so much to know about them, so much inter-band dynamic drama. from what i’ve skimmed. So Much Drama.

i…can’t provide any songs for you, because i dont listen to fleetwood mac and i need to fix this ASAP but i feel like the time isn’t right yet. is that dumb of me to think? probably, but i’m gonna stick by my guns.

you should listen to fleetwood mac and tell me what you think!!!

(yes i included a portion on stevie nicks without giving song recs because i’m awful: listen to edge of seventeen, bella donna, 1981)

okay back to smelly dudes cos that’s all the world fuckin cares about i guess

pink floyd!!! (mid 1960s to mid 1990s, mid 2000s, and early/mid 2010s) (genres: progrock, art rock, psychedelic rock)

i mean i love them but i’m just dipping my toes in the water here. i’ve barely listened to them, but from what i’ve heard they’re very good. VERY politically driven. i cannot stress this enough. they’re the good kind of politics i think though

you’ve most definitely seen the album art for the dark side of the moon. like, you just have. there’s probably no way you couldn’t have. (but if u haven’t thats fine)

here’s some tunes: money (tdsotm, 1973); the wall. just. the wall. if you love concept albums, here you go. listen to the wall.

that’s all i got. pathetic, i know, but i’m workin my way up i promise

here’s where we get into more familiar territory. ..having said that, i don’t really know much about the history of the rolling stones, but a good friend of mine Does and maybe i can pry info out of her. but i won’t bc she’s too cool 4 school and she’s really great

anyway, the rolling stones!!! (early 1960s to like. now i guess) (genres: rock, blues, blues rock, rock and roll)

woof. what can be said about them really. there’s…..almost too much to say. i love them a lot.

Okay when i get into bands, its in my DNA to listen from the very earliest recording i can find (usually on spotify nowadays) so i’ve been sslowly working my way past the baby pebbles albums (mostly covers) to their original work (fun fact did you know john and paul of beatles fame wrote their own music, and when mick and keith of stones fame found out it was In Fact That Easy they began to write their own music too? fascinating.)

ANYWAY here’s some stones songs: gimme shelter and you can’t always get what you want (let it bleed, 1969); angie (goats head soup, 1973); sympathy for the devil (beggars banquet, 1968)

again i am….Slowly inching my way up their discography. snails pace. i’ll get there. (u can ask glimmerkeith on tumblr for stones song recs, bc shes great and knows much more than i do and i would die for jenn)

now here’s a band…….that i’ve rediscovered pretty recently. try, last week.

AC/DC!!!!!!!! (early 1970s to now) (genres: hard rock, blues rock, rock and roll)

this is Very Much Your Dads™ Music. probably. most likely, anyway. but listen: i saw them in concert once and (while it probably…wasnt the best experience for me) i had a fucking Blast. very sad things happened in this band in the last few months.

not recent, but very important, in 1980 their lead singer bon scott died and everyone was sad. then brian johnson came out with his fuckin voice and everyone was like “ok sweet lets get back to rock n’ roll”

so this will be split by scott’s era and the johnson era (heh heh) And, because i’m familiar with this band, i’ll list the album in question and name a few songs off it instead of just naming songs. because yes.

scott:

T.N.T (1975); it’s a long way to the top (if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll); T.N.T; high voltage

dirty deeds done dirt cheap (1976); dirty deeds done dirt cheap (edit: i just realized how much i actually hate this album and only like that song so WHOOPS but i wanna keep the formatting so, yknow)

let there be rock (1977); let there be rock; whole lotta rosie

highway to hell (1979); highway to hell (it just felt really weird, making a reclist of songs by ac/dc and Not including this one)

johnson:

back in black (1980); HELLS BELLS; shoot to thrill; given the dog a bone; back in black; you shook me all night long

for those about to rock we salute you (1981); for those about to rock (we salute you)

the razors edge (1990); thunderstruck

making this list, it hit me how much of bon scott i actually Listen to when i listen to ac/dc dfkjghjdfksdsfj but uh yeah those. are good

AND NOW…FOR THE FUCKIN MOMENT I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR

GUNS! AND! ROSES! (mid 1980s to NOW MOTHERFUCKERS!!! THEYRE BACK!!! well, touring at least) (genres: hard rock, heavy metal

arguably my favorite band. subjectively, my favorite classic rock band. objectively? they own a huuuge portion of my heart, and my ass.

so listen up: these two kids from indiana run away to california to get out of fucking indiana, because who wants to stay in indiana, (it’s more like, one gets out, and like a year later the other kid tries to find him in the big mean streets of L.A) and along the way they get shuffled in and out of bands together. they start bands, break up bands, the whole fuckin shebang.

and then a few chance miracles happen and suddenly guns n’ roses is formed in like 1985. my boys? those are my boys.

i’m gonna do what i did w ac/dc and bullet the albums and then i’m gonna talk about the albums because i got SHIT to SAY

appetite for destruction (1987); welcome to the jungle, out ta get me, paradise city, sweet child o’ mine, ROCKET QUEEN

all right so here’s the deal, it was very hard not picking every single song on the album because every single song on the album is fucking perfection. actual gold. there’s no flaws in this album. Nothing. everything is good and perfect and i’m not biased at all

did you know axl rose (one of the boys from indiana) recorded each line individually? so, he sang a line, and then stopped recording, and then started recording the next line because he wanted it to be perfect?

did you know appetite was originally a flop album but after this dude got the guys at MTV to play the music video for Jungle at like 5am, guns n’ roses BLEW THE FUCK UP. Everybody know about them practically overnight. it was surreal and really cool, apparently.

and did you know axl played the synthesizer in paradise city? that’s adorable. i fucking love him.

gn’r lies (1988); patience; used to love her

the first four tracks in this EP are from their very first EP ever recorded - it Sounds like it’s taken from a live show but they dubbed in the audience in post, to make it seem like they had huge crowds attending their shows when in reality that wasn’t the case. (their first ep was released in december 1986, they had loyal fans but the crowd wasn’t that rowdy until after appetite came out)

believe me when i tell you. don’t listen to one in a million. or like, do. but i’m not gonna fight anyone about this. it’s fucked up. i’m not defending axl at all and i actually struggled with liking guns after i listened to it.

but unfortunately here we are and i saw them in concert and i had to deal with some fuckhead in the row behind me and his friend who kept Shouting that they play the song, when nobody on stage could her them, and like. of course they wouldn’t play it today. fuck off man

use your illusion i (1991); right next door to hell; dust n’ bones; perfect crime; november rain; BAD APPLES; COMA

i tried to limit these to five songs an album but i fuckin can’t, anon. illusion1 is just so fucking perfect. i can’t choose between my children. pls forgive me

on dust n’ bones and double talkin’ jive is izzy stradlin doing vocals (the second indiana boy, the one who left indiana first) and he’s regarded as the most unnderrated member in gnr by like everybody. so much so that it’s almost…too much. but like basically he was addicted to drugs and everything and then he sobered up when everyone else in the band was still hooked and he was like “wtf i’m out” and axl was like noooo :(

use your illusion ii (1991); civil war; 14 years; GET IN THE RING; locomotive; estranged; you could be mine

UYI1 and 2 were released on the same day. can you imagine how fuckin wild that day was? gnr fans scrambled to their record stores by the hordes probably.

izzy does vocal work in 14 years and this album was his last contribution to the band

uhhhh this album is also fucking perfect but i get sad listening to it sometimes so i try not to? very emotionally driven work. but like, where UYI1 was mostly passionate and angry-ish based, UYI2 is much more contemplative and uhh. sad. i guess.

“the spaghetti incident?” (1993)

this is a cover album and also the last album to feature my love, my soul, my light, my heart, slash. also duff. i mean i love him probably almost just as much but, yeah. duff actually looks like my cousin’s dad so i can’t really…. um. i feel weird about talking about him kjdfgd

but SLASH my god what a perfect man. i love him more than almost everything.

hey fun fact in between UYI and TSI, guns n’ roses toured with metallica and that tour is when slash, In His Autobiography, said he “lost” axl. his word. he Lost axl.

axl rose is a whole fuckin…..topic for another time, and i’m not gonna get into my own bullshit here, but that’s basically the situation when you listen to TSI. the band is fractured and barely holding together. after TSI, slash and duff leave GNR and axl is the only original member from the band still in it

(of course that opens up a conversation of who was originally in guns n’ roses but that’s another discourse for another time)

CHINESE DEMOCRACY (2008); CHINESE DEMOCRACY; BETTER; THERE WAS A TIME; SORRY; MADAGASCAR; PROSTITUTE

I. FUCKING. LOVE. THIS. ALBUM. MORE THAN I COULD EVER EXPRESS. everyone says it’s “not gnr” of COURSE it isn’t gnr, when YOU think of GNR, you see slash. and like, i love slash? but he didn’t make the band. EVERYONE - axl, izzy, steven, duff, And slash made the band. after steven was kicked, gnr lost a huge part of what made them stand out, what made the band unique.

and like, fuck, i love dizzy. i love all of the new additions. but you cannot. fucking look me in the eyes and tell me you love UYI But you hate CD because it’s “not gnr”. like. fuck you man.

ugh anyway. i just gotta let y’all know my Stance on this. i love chinese democracy. i’ll defend this album with my fucking life. i was really…disappointed when, at my concert, i didn’t hear more CD but like i also saw slash in person (albeit, from far away, but we shared the same arena and that’s. more than i can handle)

i wanna get lyrics from prostitute tattooed on my body.

also like you can’t tell me better and sorry aren’t about slash sorry but that’s just the fuckin tea

Now, listen, this ask got away from me. i didn’t include…SO many bands because, like i said, i just scratch the surface of what classic rock is. my word isn’t law, ok? that bein said, i am always, ALWAYS down to talk about any of the bands here, and others!!! if i know of them. i’m always taking music/song recs, too.

thanks..for reading this stupid answer to your innocent ask sdfkjghsdf

#🌹 tag #here i've given you a tag now #i hope u don't mind!#also! i'm so sorry this took forever!!!

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harryfeatgaga · 6 years

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I'm dying laughing at the CEO of the Recording Academy trying to cover his ass cause he knew he made a mistake all while questioning if Harry's reached a "level of excellence to merit a nomination." But gave the Chainsmokers and Meghan fucking Trainor a Grammy. Where was the excellence from them? The Chainsmokers song was played at Frat parties and dirty basement, is that's excellence then I don't want Harry to reach that point.

i literally cannot believe

Anonymous said: My dad just texted me from work to see if I was okay because he got a call from the neighbours saying there’s been the same song on loop on full blast (that song is the Grammy robbed Sign of the Times by the Grammy deserving Harry Edward Styles)

DJNFBGUHFBJNHFIJNBFHJKF MEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said: I bet that one anon you got a few days ago is cackling and trying to talk shit about how they knew Harry isn't talented enough to get a Grammy or something stupid like that

they can ch*ke

Anonymous said: Niall did great things with his album and it got great hype by both the public and music producers so if his album made the deadline I would easily say his album deserved a nomination. But the other boys haven’t even released albums yet and their singles were just good for radio play.

i haven't listened to his album still lol but noah fence from what i saw it did not get nearly as great reviews and hype as harrys lol and idk why the others even bothered fhbgfjkvl

Anonymous said: Boycott the Grammys 2k18!

tru!!!

Anonymous said: I’m just going to air out my grievances if that’s ok- first of all,Harry’s management or record company stuffed up bad cos y’all know damn well the members don’t vote artists with a progressive sound into the rock category so you fucked up there. second - Bruno mars is clearly this ceremony’s Taylor swift cos idk how tf his flimsy song about material things got nominated over a relevant refreshing ballad like SOTT . Harry deserved better , but also, harry needs to fire some incompetent people ✌️

well harry made music he wanted lol not stuff thats gonna get played on the radio which i enjoy lol but yea bruno is the tswift this year....or j*y z

Anonymous said: The thing that sucks is he most likely was planning on going to the Grammys cause he's performing for Fleetwood Mac the day before, but now he's going to be in New York and not going.....

PLEASE :(

Anonymous said: I was really disappointed but more for him than me like my first thought was “I hope he’s alright and not too sad about it” And I really hope he understands that it doesn’t make him any less good because an award is just an award and it never defines who you are as an artist and as a person.

i know I'm so sad for him i hope he's okay :(

Anonymous said: Harry is the best artist in the world right now he doesn’t need awards!!

tru! but it would've been nice to even get a nom/recognition

Anonymous said: You can tell the Grammy' will just nominated any old shite. I mean Ed Sheeran has the biggest album of the year yet he isn't nominated. And i didn't even know JayZ had an album out and he's nominated. Like no offense but American music industry is just shit.

ed is nominated and some other categories which I'm sure he will win and literally same i had no idea jay z had music out lmao

Anonymous said: Scrap what i said, Zayn didn't get nominated. It was for songwriting and he didn't write that song.

good

Anonymous said: He got all that hype, he did that private show for them, they went his his first show in LA. They for sure used him for hype and media attention. Robbing bastards.

seriously

Anonymous said: A LOUIS FAN CLAIMING LOUIS DESERVED A NOM YALL I WAS SAD BUT NOT NOW. NOW A BITCH CANT STOP LAUGHING. HE AIN'T EVER GETTING SHIT

LMAOOOOO BYEEEEE AS IF

Anonymous said: I just hope he knows Grammys ain’t shit

honestly

Anonymous said: I know it’s not the end of the world, but I hope he’s not super disappointed and sad, because everyone hyped him up so much smh. Also, I bet this will change how he does promo and radio shit for his next album, they should get him a radio deal just for the fact that clearly that’s all these loser Grammy voters care about.

well if thats what he has to do to get a grammy i don't think that would be worth it and i don't think he would think that either

Anonymous said: Jay Z can fucking choke like his album? The shit he did to beyonce? I’m not fucking rewarding a man for being like that anymore, he can take his ancient ass somewhere else.

nasty

Anonymous said: Good, now I don’t have to watch the Grammys this year, I’m glad tbh since I’m not really a fan of any of the other nominees and I’m sick to death of hearing the same five songs all fucking year lol, that issues song? Fucking hate it, have since day one, can’t believe it got nominated for shit lol. However Jeff needs to get Harry a radio deal since clearly that’s all that matters to voters, considering Harry did all the courting of the voters he could and still got fucked.

i literally haven't even heard most of whats nominated its such a joke

Anonymous said: Most nominees in the important categories are poc so I’m not completely mad and besides Despacito or however you write it (which is a horrible song) they nominated well deserved ones. I still think SOTT should’ve got at least one nomination but I think that maybe because harry is fresh out of the oven they’re not gonna straight up give him a nomination even if he deserves it.

yea i mean its awesome theres actually diversity this year but SOTT literally deserved a ROTY nom

Anonymous said: Nah Harry will get Brit nominations because he’s respected in his own country, the Brits also nominated 1D they don’t hold being in a boy band against him which clearly the Grammy voters do, which is a real shame tbh. But the Grammys are continuing to dig their own grave and become more and more unimportant every year.

i cant wait till the grammys just make such a food of themselves no one goes

Anonymous said: Pls the whole Grammys is a conspiracy theory lol I told you

a mess

Anonymous said: The Grammys lost all credibility after giving Adele Album of the Year last year and not Beyonce. They stick to the basics and just anyone who doesn't "break the rules of music" Harry's first solo song was a 6 minute long rock ballad, which doesn't go with what was expected to be put out. They don't care for originality or you know talent, that's why Ed Sheeran's wack ass has won 🤷🏼‍♀️

SERIOUSLY

Anonymous said: He'll probably get nominated for Song of the year and Video of the year at the Brits. Pretty sure both are fan voted. Maybe best male as well. Also maybe best album but then again probably not because it depends. Also maybe global success. I can't think who else would get that right now. Maybe Ed Sheeran again.

i hope so

Anonymous said: Grammys? I don’t know her. Anyway I hope Harry knows how proud everyone is of him and I hope he’s proud of himself I love my baby 🤧💕

ME!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said: i feel so much for harry i mean he did everything he could he put out a phenomenal single and a stellar album and worked with amazing producers and writers and did the grammy performance thing and all that stuff with cbs and like i know im biased but he deserves SOME recognition for all of that like he really did put out amazing music this year that was so much more worthy than despacito like come on he was robbed i just hope he feels okay and valid bc he IS :(

i know :( like i hope he knows he still has done such incredible things this year and his album is so good and he doesn't need a stupid grammy anyway

Anonymous said: Taylor is nominated for two (one for the country song she wrote). Like no offense the the American music industry but you need to get your head out of Taylor arse and stop being snobs. SOTT deserved a nomination.

when will they stop kissing her ass

Anonymous said: Harry broke records held by legends, had a BBC special, performed at the record academy, and sold out an arena tour in minutes. So Julia Michaels and Ed Sheehan can take their boring ass music along with their nominations and shove it up their asses.

TBH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said: I’m sorry but I have to point out the irony. The lyrics of the song are literally stop your crying it’s a sign of the times. and I know there’s a deeper meaning, but this year fucking sucks

i know :(

Anonymous said: All that hype for nothing. Boy was robbed. Sign of the times deserves a Grammy.

ROBBED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said: Everyone knows no one, NO ONE deserved a nomination more then Harry. White old men disappointing me again. Like every fucking person said Harry deserved one. ISSUES AS SONG OF THE YEAR? YALL I NEED THEIR CRACK DEALER CAUSE CLEARLY ITS SOME GOOD SHIT TO GET YOU TO THINK FUCKING ISSUES IS SONG OF THE YEAR. Nah fuck them.

FUCK THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said: I’m so?? Noah fence but the songs that got nominated? What the fuck???? Harry deserved to be up there whether it was roty or aoty idc he just deserves to be nominated.

seriously

Anonymous said: LISTEN in 10 years time people will look back and say why the fuck wasn’t SOTT a Grammy winner... he is timeless and he’ll win in the end!! The Grammys are fucked

THEY WILL REGRET IT

Anonymous said: The Grammys just proved again how much they don’t matter lol, Harry’s song and album was on every single list as one of the best of the entire year, and the you know who wasn’t? Most of those other songs lmao so whatever man I know the Grammys matters to harry, but it doesn’t matter to me anymore they continue to be irrelevant and continue to nominate mediocrity.

its such a joke lmao

Anonymous said: Yeah honestly the Grammys really do only care about awarding the same people over and over again, and it’s like, no offense but who cares lol. I’m sure Jay Zs album is good but he’s nearly 50 and been nominated a ton like idc anymore lol. And I like Bruno mars but seriously? The songs he was nominated for really aren’t that great lmao.

seriously tho like j*y z has enough awards

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clowngore · 7 years

Text

thank you for tagging me ?? @fucktional-slytherpuff idk you but wow great Rules: Answer all questions and tag 20 people. 1. What is your nickname? nizh probably 2. What is your zodiac sign? sagittarius 3. What is your favorite book series? i can't read 4. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? hell ya 5. Who is your favorite author? i can't read 6. What is your current favorite song? tbh the first youtube result for kashmir metal cover because kashmir is the song gwendoline thinks of when she's in character as phasma so it's like, her theme song, but the metal cover fits her more y'know 7. What is your favorite word? fuck 8. What was the last song you listened to? haunted mansion theme song 9. What TV show would you recommend for everybody to watch? game of thrones bc i'm stereotypical 10. What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? idfk but airplane and tombstone are always things i'll watch 11. Do you play video games? (sims music playing) (minecraft grass blocks breaking) (star wars lego theme song) yeah i'm a gamer B) 12. What is your biggest fear? being average 13. What is your best quality, in your opinion? every single thing i love myself 14. What is your worst quality, in your opinion? my ability to get overwhelmed after being alive for .5 seconds 15. What is your favorite season? autumn? or winter but i just really love halloween 16. Are you in a relationship? nah 17. What is something you miss from your childhood? cali-fucking-fornia 18. Who is your best friend? yumi n izzy n felix are the best friend trio 19. What is your eye color? l ight br o wn ?? ? 20. What is your hair color? rn it's purple but naturally it's dark brown almost black 21. Who is someone you love? the goddess of the universe who saved all of our souls simply by existing, gwendoline christie, 22. Who is someone you trust? the friend trio 23. Who is someone you think about often? ....................gwen 24. Are you currently excited about/for something? death 25. What is your biggest obsession? star wars or game of thrones idk 26. What was your favorite TV show as a child? spongebob hell yea 27. Do you have any unusual phobias? cherophobia 28. Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? both 29. What is your favorite hobby? crying 30. What was the last book you read? i can't read 31. What was the last movie you watched? my cousin vinny i think 32. What musical instruments do you play, if any? sort of guitar but i'm shit 33. What is your favorite animal? bears bears bears bears bears 34. What are your top 5 favorite Tumblr blogs that you follow? literally blog that consistently posts abt gwendoline 35. What superpower do you wish you had? shapeshifting 36. When and where do you feel most at peace? in my room, at night, aaaaaaaa and also the haunted mansion and pirates of the caribbean (the disneyland rides) lmao my childhood 37. What makes you smile? gwendoline. captain phasma. brienne of tarth. people complimenting me. cool clothing. me, when i look good. 38. What sports do you play, if any? is suffering a sport 39. What is your favorite drink? i fucking love matcha frappuccino with two shots of espresso 40. Are you afraid of heights? more like "don't push (person) off don't push them off don't push don't push them do not push them off don't do it i swear to god if you push them, which you will not, i will kill you do not push them" 41. What is your biggest pet peeve? gender roles and biases 42. Have you ever been to a concert? (laughs for an uncomfortably long time) (wipes tear) yeah 43. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? an actor or a singer or a president and damn nizh 2/3 44. What fictional world would you like to live in? star wars fuckin duh 45. What is something you worry about? currently school and This Person 46. Are you scared of the dark? nah 47. Do you like to sing? FUCK YEah 48. Have you ever skipped school? refer to 42 49. What is your favorite place on the planet? my room or disneyland 50. Where would you like to live? kerry co ireland or outside of sapporo japan 51. Do you have any pets? ya i got a cat n a dog 52. Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? night owl 53. Do you like sunrises or sunsets better? i like when the sun is on the opposite side of the world 54. Do you know how to drive? ): 55. Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? headphones kill me 56. Have you ever had braces? yeah it's hell 57. What is your favorite genre of music? is rock too vague 58. Who is your hero? i can't answer these questions with anything other than gwendoline dhjsfjkdjs 59. Do you read comic books? i wish i would get around to it 60. What makes you the most angry? refer to 41 61. Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book? i like real books but i'm so lazy that i'm more likely to read digital 62. What is your favorite subject in school? leaving 63. Do you have any siblings? unfortunately i have two 64. What was the last thing you bought? that implies that i have money to spend (probably clothes) 65. How tall are you? 5'0 or 5'1 idk 66. Can you cook? can i use my brain ever 67. What are three things that you love? gwendoline, my ego, sleeping 68. What are three things that you hate? refer to 42, homophobes/transphobes, overwhelming things 69. What is your sexual orientation? bi???? idk but i love girls and in between and boys are kinda iffy i'm not sure if i like them i don't think so but it's Confusing 70. Where do you currently live? unfortunately the united states of prejudice 71. Who was the last person you texted? yumi 72. When was the last time you cried? idk last night prolly 73. Who is your favorite YouTuber? no one ? 74. Do you like to take selfies? ya way too much but it's justified bc i'm great 75. What is your favorite app? tumblr idk 76. What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? it's fine 77. What is your favorite foreign accent? gwen's 78. What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? idfk i'm too tired for this 79. What is your favorite number? 13 because i like to be edgy 80. Do you find outer space of the deep ocean to be more interesting? space, the ocean is confining 81. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? idk i do what i want to 82. Are you allergic to anything? chocolate. dairy. idk 83. Can you wiggle your ears? i don't think so? 84. How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? i'm never wrong 85. Do you prefer the forest or the beach? hhhhhhhhhhhhh idk??????? 86. What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? nobody has given me advice but, everything gwen says is rly good and basically what i can say is: do things that you want if they, logically, make sense and are reasonable and don't hurt anyone. rules that are based on nothing and are just rules to be rules don't need to be followed. judge whether people need to be respected, only respect authority that deserves respect. society is wrong most of the time. if people don't like you it's not your problem and they can cry about it, you're still great and just because some ugly loser is wrong about you doesn't mean that you're automatically worse. 87. Are you a good liar? i'm an actor so 88. What is your Hogwarts House? idk 89. Do you talk to yourself? mhm 90. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? introvert 91. Do you keep a journal/diary? i don't even keep my thoughts consistently 92. Do you believe in second chances? depends 93. Do you believe that people are capable of change? yeah but i don't wanna be the one to do it 94. Are you ticklish? literally nowhere 95. Have you ever been on a plane? ya a shitload 96. Do you have any piercings? my ears twice but i want more 97. What fictional character do you wish was real? literally take a fuckin guess (phasma) 98. Do you have any tattoos? god i wish 99. What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? refer to 86. the decision to not care and to judge things for myself def makes me feel better about myself and the world because the pressures of society need to fuck off 100. Do you believe in karma? sorta 101. Do you wear glasses or contacts? no 102. Do you want children? adopt older (10+) children when i'm older 103. Who is the smartest person you know? lmao me (idk) 104. What is your most embarrassing memory? when i was in kindergarten this girl said her favorite color was either pink or purple and i really aggressively raised my hand pointing 1 finger and said "black!!" and everyone stared at me and my life has never been that bad 105. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? way too many times 106. What color are most of you clothes? black 107. Do you like adventures? idk i don't do shit 108. Have you ever been on TV? god i wish 109. How old are you? no 110. What is your favorite quote? "i became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity" and it's not because of the emo reason you think it actually makes sense if i explain it 111. Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? idk 112. Have your friends ever badly disapponted you? side-eyes That Person 113. What is your favorite scent? cold 114. Random fact you know? every penny made before 1982 is actually almost fully copper, and if melted down is worth 2 cents 115. What is your opinion on long distance relationships? hard. just, really hard. not sure if it's worth it  Tagging: @yumikoflare @one-bad-apple @boxer-pup @erosiian @lucibae-is-dancing-in-hell and if anyone else wants to do them you should message me so i know to tag you in the future LOL

#ily #this is a lot of shit to write

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