shallowness

Olivia Rodrigo - the cure (Official Music Video)

I don't actually go here, but I like the song a lot, and the music video is cleverly done. Contains quite a bit of medical stuff, but all the blood is made of yarn.

muccamukk

I've been piling these up since early April? I think most of them are still topical.

Tech Issues:
Archive of Our Own: Spambot Comments on AO3.
News post with a good summary of all the kinds of spambot comments showing up lately, and what to do if you get one. Slightly depressing, but also helpful.

404 Media: A 'Self-Doxing' Rave Helps Trans People Stay Safe Online.
I got a laugh out of deciding to run this on Trans Day of Visibility. Good for them. (ETA: Some resources in the comments, for anyone who wants to look into/clean up their information online.)

ZD Net: Your Kindle's not obsolete, it just needs a jailbreak - and I'll show you how it's done.
I have not tried this, just saw it going around for older Kindles which Amazon is no longer supporting (to the point where they'll stop operating).

The Tyee: How Companies Hijack AI Chatbots.
The title is a bit click baity, but I was interested in this new and exciting way of polluting the information ecosystem! What if you fed deliberately bad information into LLMs so that chatbots would advertise for you?

Canadian Politics:
Trans Canada Tour.
We’re on a mission to rekindle hope, rebuild Canada’s queer movement, and change hearts and minds across the country.
This may be coming to a town near you? If it's not, and you're a queer organiser, maybe it could be. I've been low-key trying to see if anyone here is interested, but no luck so far.

The Tyee: RCMP Seeks to Quash Discrimination Ruling by Human Rights Tribunal.
The RCMP's constant insistence that they definitely plan to do better in the future, but they're not going to tell us how, or let anyone investigate them. I'm sure that will work better this time!

The Narwhal: Malfunctioning Canadian LNG terminal burned more gas than estimated 2024 global record.
Oh look. It's clean energy!

CBC: 'Monumental': B.C. attorney general, advocates hail Supreme Court ruling on intimate partner violence.
I'm really glad this went through, and sorry that lady had to fight for so long to get relief.

Video Essays:

tongue-in-cheek-books: Shrapnel: Ambient Homophobia and the F-Slur in MM Romance (39 minutes).
A very gentle explanation to people who didn't grow up with normative homophobia in male spaces, about how the damage done by anti-queer language isn't always done by one bad person directing slurs at our hero. I thought it was a really clear example of something I've been poking at for a while. He uses hockey romances in his examples, but makes it clear he's not trying to attack the authors or the fans.

ophie-dokie: Sabrina Carpenter's Gender Theater, The Male Gaze, and You (46 minutes).
The discourse continues. I really liked the section about "I Kissed a Girl" and assuming people's sexuality. I remember a lot more problems from people accusing women of being "performative" than I do "performative" people being an actual problem. But mileage may have varied.

Schmowd3r: PI Investigates the Neil Gaiman Substack Situation (3 hours and 46 minutes).
I appreciated this as a breakdown of what's in the substack, which is such a Gish gallop that it's difficult to get through. I had somehow missed the experimental "jazz" for example. I also appreciate how he didn't include a lot of the graphic details about the assaults, which made it a bit easier to listen to than a lot of recaps of the situation. (This video has unfortunately started drama with another YouTuber. *sighs*)

Cute Things:

sixbeforelunch: fandom hugs.
Icons from various Stargate, Star Trek and DC properties. Extremely cute.

OnIcePerspectives: Starr Andrews reprises "Whip My Hair" by Willow Smith (Video: 3 minutes).
It's really fun to see this again!

Emily Fairfax, Ph.D: Beavers and Wildfire.
Includes a stop-motion video and several diagrams explaining how beaver habitat protects vegetation from wildfires, and also charts!

CowlitzIndianTribe: Cowlitz Beaver Kit Cam Live.
Live stream of a mother beaver and her four kits. I think they're going to be rewilded in the next couple weeks, so worth checking out while it's still running. Scroll back a bit and find a time when she comes back into the lodge: the kits make the cutest noises. Also, she sometimes just grabs one of the kits, pins it down and licks it for a while.

musesfool

Still with the don't wannas, but for once our All Staff call was mostly interesting (though it never fails to baffle me that people put their requests for different soda in the vending machine in the anonymous complaint form instead of just asking the office manager dude about it - as I said to my boss, no questions about COLAs but always questions about colas, which evoked a real out loud laugh from her so you know, score) and I got the 2 main things I had to do this week done, so tomorrow can just be waiting around for other people to send me their meeting materials (I loathe how they have no consideration for me and my summer Friday sign-off at 2:30 pm, but the C-suite level folks are always like that).

In other news, now I am not seeing Baby Miss L this weekend, because the weather is supposed to be rainy and chilly, so the party was postponed till next weekend. It's fine. I have gotten some lovely videos and pictures of her dancing at a wedding she attended last weekend, and that will suffice for now.

So Tuesday night, I turned off the Knicks game while they were down by double-digits in the 4th quarter and went to bed. Imagine my surprise to learn that they had tied it up and then won in OT! Let's hope they can win in regulation tonight.

And finally, I knew Mike Keenan was a piece of shit, but there's some stuff in this article about the 1994 Rangers (gift link) that I did not know. Interesting read. They won then and haven't since, so I guess it might really have to last a lifetime.

Now I have to figure out what to have for dinner. I guess it could be quesadillas again. Idk.

*

Current Mood: ditzy
Current Music: Mets vs Nats on tv

musesfool

I had a bad case of the don't wannas today, and I don't anticipate it getting better tomorrow or Friday, but we finally start summer Fridays this week and have a 3 day weekend, so hopefully that will help. I could barely stay awake until 5 pm, so after I logged off, I napped hard, and had one of those dreams where I think I've woken up, but no, I'm still asleep and then I think I've woken up from that, but no, I'm still asleep, over and over until I finally do actually wake up and am like, how did I think I was awake in those dreams, it was so clearly not reality? Anyway, it was in the middle of a big thunderstorm and there is nothing better than being cozy in bed during a thunderstorm, so that was all right.

I did want to talk about a couple of books I've read!

What I've just finished
I don't think I ever said anything after finishing The Last Contract of Isako, but I liked it. It's a noir detective story set in a far-future colony that has lost contact with Earth, and the titular Isako is a corporate samurai on her last contract. I really liked her - she was a 50yo woman in a profession best handled by younger people and she knew it. ( spoilers )

I'm seeing Baby Miss L this weekend, so I bought her some books and also read them:

- We Will Rock Our Classmates: A Penelope Rex Book by Ryan Higgins, which was ADORABLE. Baby Miss L liked the first Penelope Rex book, so I think she will like this one, in which Penelope signs up to play guitar in the class talent show, as well.

- Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein, which was super cute. It's bedtime and little red chicken wants a bedtime story but then she keeps interrupting when her papa tries to tell her one.

- The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (Author) and Oliver Jeffers (Illustrator), which was cute but a little samey for me as an adult - I bet kids love it.

I also reread Parade of Horribles so I think I understand some of it much better but some of it is still a little ...opaque. I'm going do another reread with my notes document open so I can check off stuff that got answered (or not) and add all the new stuff that will now have to be resolved (or not). I will say that while there were some fantastic moments, it's not my favorite book - it's probably in the lower half of my personal rankings, tbh, because I feel like ( spoiler ) I'm also thinking about how supposedly Dinniman said that books 9 and 10 are really one book split into two? And I can think of several ways to manage that, so I'm very interested to see how he does it.

*

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Avs vs VGK on tv

musesfool

what a fucking wild night of sports. the Mets scored TEN RUNS in the TWELFTH INNING and the Nats brought in a position player to pitch, and the umpires had to call the replay officials to find out if that was allowed! Spoiler: It was, because it was after the 10th inning? Or something? If you're within a regular 9-inning game, I think you have to be losing by 8 or winning by 10 before it's allowed, but apparently the rules change in extra innings. who knew? #LFGM

ANYWAY. It was bonkers, and then I turned away just in time to see the Canadiens score the winning goal in OT in Game 7!!! I would have been okay with either team winning, and now I just need them to beat Carolina and whoever comes out of the West to win it all and lift the Cup!

And tomorrow, the Knicks are back in action and will hopefully do well and go to the finals! #go ny go ny go

*

Current Mood: shocked

muccamukk

G Flip & The Beaches: Lez Go! (Live)

Watch on YouTube

I already posted the lyric video for this, but it's even more fucking wholesome live. It really shows off Jordan's voice; she and G Flip sound amazing together.

musesfool

Usually, I shower at night, but last night, I stayed up too late reading and didn't feel like delaying bedtime so I put the shower off until this morning. While I was in there, I noticed a spider, but it was on the far wall, and I was naked and without my glasses, so I let it live and it disappeared somewhere (the whole room is tiled, floor to ceiling, so I don't know where? but also. I don't want to know where).

This evening, I had to wash my hair, so there I was back in the shower, and I turned off the water and stepped back while I was lathering the shampoo, and there was the spider, dropping down from god knows where right in the middle of my shower!

So I had to get out - with my hair still full of shampoo - grab my glasses and a paper towel, so I could kill it, because come the fuck on, spider, that is not okay! The shower is sacrosanct!

It's a good thing I still have to stay up for an hour to detangle because I would not have been able to go to sleep right away after that, omg.

*

Current Mood: shocked
Current Music: if it's a mess you're in, i'm in

musesfool

Yesterday, I made these ricotta cheesecake bars, for which I had to shell 62g of pistachios (oh, the humanity!), and they are okay, but either there is not enough butter or I had too much graham cracker crumb because the crust does not cohere. (I used pre-smashed crumbs because that is what I had and probably used too much. Recipes really should give you some sort of measurement beyond "7 or 8 graham crackers, crushed" for these things.)

I also made KAB pretzel rolls (half the recipe) and as always, they are delicious, even if the whole boiling step is annoying. I definitely recommend them, and if like me, you never remember that they have a small amount of butter (2 tbsp) that needs to be softened ahead of time, you can always just substitute the same amount of olive oil, also like me. *wry*

With the LIRR on strike, I'm not going into the office this week (I had already decided that anyway), so I didn't have to do any other baking, and I just bought some spring mix and grilled chicken strips so that'll be lunch for the week.

*

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: the way you changed my life, no no, they can't take that away from me

smallhobbit

This is one of the local playing fields where I'm doing the Birds in Green Spaces count, and where, on a sunny day, there are normally butterflies.

writtenwordsaloud posting in

fanifesto

Created for a

fanmix_monthly fanmix challenge!

Title: Unknown Reciprocation (IGNORED OBSESSION)
Fandom: Hazbin Hotel
Characters/Pairings: Valentino/Vox (Staticmoth)
Notes: I think it's easy for the Staticmoth community to come up with a lot of songs to portray the toxicity of the relationship, which is definitely there, but I wanted a softer mix about the quiet desperation of their desire to have more than they have. Which they both want, but won't talk about. It of course still includes their obsession over each other, because even at their softest that can't be ignored.

Unknown Reciprocation (IGNORED OBSESSION) album cover made by me on Canva

Fanmix Link

Track List

Once Upon a Dream - Lana Del Rey
I can't help but start with one of the first songs I attributed to their relationship when I started writing about it. It comes with a lot of headcanons about their beginnings and their separate lives on Earth, but I can't listen to this song without it being theirs.

Even without my headcanons, it touches upon the faint awareness they have of each other's true feelings, but how distant it is, because they refuse to allow themselves that sincerity while awake and talking to each other.

Lyrics
I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you, that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam
And I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem
But if I know you, I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once
The way you did once upon a dream

Ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, mmm
But if I know you, I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once
The way you did once upon a dream

I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you, that gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam
And I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem
But if I know you, I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once
The way you did once upon a dream

Abnormally Attracted To Sin - Tori Amos
At the moment, both are very unrepentant Sinners, with no desire to change that about themselves or each other. This song is soft and coaxing--likely close to how they both find it easy to indulge themselves in their baser wishes. Which includes the physicality of their relationship.

Lyrics
Impeccable peccadillo
You are off your guard
Pussy willow groves
There by the church
Don’t go in if you are

Abnormally attracted to sin
Abnormally attracted to sin

She may be dead to you
But her hips sway a natural
Kind of faith that could give
Your lost heart a warm chapel
You’ll sleep in her bell tower
And you will simply wake

Abnormally attracted to sin
Abnormally attracted to sin

Impeccable peccadillo
I know who you are
Tales of longing sway
Lost without a verse
Hymns of swing lay low
There by the church
Don’t go in if you are

Abnormally attracted to sin
Abnormally attracted to sin

She may be dead to you
Kind of faith that could give
Attracted to sin
To sin
To sin

El Mañana - Gorillaz
I had attributed this song to the two before Season 2, but after Season 2 it definitely fits them better. Vox was willing to die because his own obsession with revenge caused him to ruin everything he had gained in the public eye. Valentino (and Velvette, their best friend) was not enough to keep Vox from wanting to off himself when he lost everything else. No doubt Season 3 will show him furious, but there ought to be a soft despair as well to the knowledge that your friend, business partner, and love of decades was willing to die (and kill everyone else, including you) because of failure.

Lyrics
Summer don't know me no more
He got mad, tiresome
Summer don't know me
He'd just let me low in myself

'Cause I do know love
From you then
Just dying

I saw that day
Lost my mind
Lord, I'm fine
Maybe in time, you'll want to be mine

Don't stop the bud when it comes
It's the dawn, you'll see
Money won't get there
Ten years passed and now you'll flee

If you do that
I'll be sworn
To find you

I saw that day
Lost my mind
Lord, I'm fine
Maybe in time, you'll want to be mine

I saw that day
Lost my mind
Lord, I'm fine
Maybe in time, you'll want to be mine

Maybe in time, you'll want to be mine
Maybe in time, you'll want to be mine
Maybe in time, you'll want to be mine
Maybe in time, you'll want to be mine

Fly on the Wall - t.A.T.u.
A song explicitly for Vox and his need to watch everything, everyone, but especially Valentino. Even when he is ignoring him in the finale, he has a camera focused on him. We don't know if Vox is jealous of everyone Valentino sleeps with, but we know he hates Angel Dust, and he doesn't have a problem immediately tossing a girl in Val's lap into his shark tank instead of sending her away. No doubt he can't always get rid of everyone Val is with, Valentino is a pimp and it's his job to seduce people into his employ, but Vox is always watching and wanting.

Lyrics
When you're naked in the shower
When you're sleeping for an hour
When you're big, when you're small
Oh, I wish I was a fly on the wall
When you're with her after midnight
When you kiss her in the daylight
When you break Barbie doll
Oh, I wish I was a fly on the wall

Wanna see who you are
Every inch, every scar

From your head to your toes
I would be there
From your bed to your clothes
I'm the air

When you think you're alone
I'll be down the hall
I could see it, if I was a fly on the wall
What you do in your room
I could see it all
You undress, I wish I was a fly on the wall, yeah (Yeah)

For the drama that you're drinking
And the dark thoughts you are thinking
And the love notes that you scrawl
Oh, I wish I was a fly on the wall

Silently, I arrive
You don't know I'm alive

From your head to your toes
I would be there
From your bed to your clothes
I'm the air

When you think you're alone
I'll be down the hall
I could see it, if I was a fly on the wall
What you do in your room
I could see it all
You undress, I wish I was a fly on the wall, yeah, yeah
Wish I was a fly on the wall, yeah, yeah

Ever closer, ever nearer
When you're looking in the mirror
I would know who you call
If I was a fly on the wall

From your head to your toes
I would be there
From your bed to your clothes
I'm the air

When you think you're alone
I'll be down the hall
I could see it, if I was a fly on the wall
What you do in your room
I could see it all
You undress, I wish I was a fly on the wall, yeah, yeah
Wish I was a fly on the wall, yeah, yeah

From your head to your toes
I would be there
From your bed to your clothes
I'm the air
What you do on your own
I could see all
When you think you're alone
I would crawl

When you think you're alone
I'll be down the hall
I could see it, if I was a fly on the wall
What you do in your room
I could see it all
You undress, I wish I was a fly on the wall, yeah, yeah
Wish I was a fly on the wall, yeah, yeah

Black & White - Sarah McLachlan
A lot of the power of the Vees comes from them peddling things that the Sinners want. And in order to have gathered that, they had to be the sort of people everyone would come to. They are performers, celebrities, and their brand is perfection. Vox in particular has a huge fear of failure. One he hurtles toward very fast, which Val doesn't understand enough to stop. Because Val is said by his creator not to completely understand all of his own actions, such as not understanding consent completely. And this is likely to bring him close to his own destruction in Season 3, so can Vox put himself together enough to stop Val from making similar mistakes as he had?

Lyrics
Unravel me
A distant chord
On the outside is forgotten
A constant need
To get along
And the animal awakens
And all I feel is black and white

The road is long
The memory slides
To the whole of my undoing
Put aside
I put away
I push it back to get through each day
And all I feel is black and white
And I'm wound up small and tight
And I don't know who I am

Everybody loves you when you're easy
Everybody hates when you're a bore
Everyone is waiting for your entrance
So don't disappoint them

Unravel me
Untie this cord
The very centre of our union
Is caving in
I can't endure
I am the archive of our failure
And all I feel is black and white
And I'm wound up small and tight
And I don't know who I am

Everybody loves you when you're easy
Everybody hates when you're a bore
Everyone is waiting for your entrance
So don't disappoint them

Everybody loves you when you're easy
So don't disappoint them

Don't disappoint them
Don't disappoint them
Don't disappoint them
Don't

It Should've Been Me - Really Introverted Producer
Continuing on the theme of the previous track, this song has more of a beat while still not breaking out of the softer vibe of this mix. And the wonderful thing is this song can also be seen as from either of their perspective: from Vox who desperately wants Val, but is haunted by the thought Hell doesn't even have friends, let alone love; to Val who saw that Vox was willing to destroy him for "that stupid deer" and now he has to take over the company he and Vox built together to clean up his mess.

Lyrics
Not too loud, not too quiet
Don't be proud, don't be shy
It's rude to stare, oh, do I dare?
Keep it bold, don't be timid
Not too slow, make it quick
It's so unfair, I'm almost there

Lost in a fantasy, my very own Pandora's box
Swarmed by my jealousy
I hope that it doesn't show
Ire dipped in flattery, nobody's been as close as me
I spilled my guts and all for what?

It should've been me
You should have picked me from the start
And after everything I've done for you
You don't think it's bizarre?
It should have been me
Where do you think I got my spark?
I chiseled down my personality, 'til it's a work of art

There you arе, can't they see it? I'm in awe, could it be?
"It's rudе to stare" yes, I'm aware!
What a sight, nearly perfect
You alright? Does it hurt?
I will be there, you know I care!

Caught in my fantasies, don't look inside Pandora's box
Push down the jealousy
No, nobody needs to know
Please don't think less of me!
I'm but a lonely soul, you see
Oh, what a shame, I've gone insane

It should've been me, I oughta be there by your side
Just think of all the possibilities that we could bring to life
It should've been me, I think I need you to survive
So now it's your responsibility to make me stay alive

Trapped in this travesty, you've opened up Pandora's box
Struck by reality, it's time to wrap up the show
Yes, it is how it seems, I'm full of animosity
And here I am, where do you stand?

It could've been me, although I'm better than the rest
My polarizing rationality just couldn't pass the test
It could've been me
But I'm unsure of my intent
Surely my fragile hospitality would shatter from the stress
It shouldn't be me, and here I thought I was above
But now it's clear to me you saw that I'm unworthy of your love
It shouldn't be me, and I'm okay with that, because
I truly only want the best for you and I am not the one

It couldn't be me, it should've been me

Curses - The Crane Wives
It's shown in Season 1 that when even Velvette can't calm Val down, Vox can. And Val waits for him to do so. They both have problems, but while Vox's is implied to be more manic, Val's is an anger that he doesn't seem to bother controlling unless he has to show himself as the boss to his employees. Even then, we don't know how successful that always is.

Fire is also symbolic to Val, who has powers of typhokinesis (control of smoke). Sinner's bodies and powers often reflect the way in which they died, so a lot of fans assume Val might have died to some sort of "burning", whether literal or not.

Lyrics
There's a fire in my brain and I'm burning up
Oh my, oh my
Keep running for the sink but the well is dry
Oh my, oh my

Every word I say is kindling
But the smoke clears when you're around
Won't you stay with me, my darling
When my walls start burning down, down, down?

This house says my name like an elegy
Oh my, oh my
Echoing where my ghosts all used to be
Oh my, oh my

There's still cobwebs in the corners
And the backyard's full of bones
Won't you stay with me, my darling
When this house don't feel like home?
When this house don't feel like home?

Oh ashes, ashes, dust to dust
The devil's after both of us
Ooh, lay my curses out to rest
Make a mercy out of me

This tired old machine is a-rumbling
Oh my, oh my
Singing songs to the secrets behind my eye
Oh my, oh my

All my aching bones are trembling
And I may yet fall apart
Won't you stay with me, my darling
When the war starts in my heart?
When the war starts in my heart?

Oh ashes, ashes, dust to dust
The devil's after both of us
Ooh, lay my curses out to rest
Make a mercy out of me
Oh ashes, ashes, dust to dust
Tell me I am good enough
Ooh, lay my curses out to rest
Make a mercy out of

Within You - David Bowie
While Vox is very much the picture of a narcissist, it is shown that he does want to have people to share his success with, even as his enemy Alastor uses Vox's need to show Alastor he is better than him (to impress him) to push them away. With likely about 45 years of knowing each other and a partnership, all the effort Vox has done for his own power in this time would be done also for Valentino. Even when they occasionally treat each other badly.

Lyrics
How you turn my world, you precious thing
You starve and near exhaust me
Everything I've done, I've done for you
I move the stars for no one

You've run so long, you've run so far
Your eyes can be so cruel
Just as I can be so cruel
Oh, I do believe in you
Yes I do

Live without your sunlight
Love without your heartbeat
I, I can't live within you

I can't live within you

I, I can't live within you

Show Me Love (Extended) - t.A.T.u.
And to end with Val's desire to get Vox back to himself and the life they once lived before they started reaching for Heaven. It even appears that he goes to seduce Vox into making up after their argument, only for him to hear Vox say how he doesn't need him or Velvette to Alastor. This pain isn't the usual one they give to each other. Everyone else Val has a sexual or romantic relationship is replaceable (except for his own obsession, Angel Dust, which shall likely prove to be his downfall in Season 3 as Alastor was for Vox in Season 2), but he's losing Vox and he doesn't understand why.

This lack of understanding over Alastor's manipulation of Vox is why another obsession is likely to come close to tearing them apart in Season 3. Nonetheless, deep down they are closer than that. And we shall all see if it is enough to take them back to where they were, or actually bridge this lack of communication which has kept them both pining for years.

Lyrics
Аллё

This was an accident
Not the kind where sirens sound
Never even noticed
We're suddenly crumbling
Tell me how you've never felt
Delicate or innocent
Do you still have doubts that
Us having faith makes any sense

Tell me nothing ever counts
Lashing out or breaking down
Still somebody loses 'cause
There's no way to turn around
Staring at your photograph
Everything now in the past
Never felt so lonely I
Wish that you could show me love

Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till you open the door
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till I'm up off the floor
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till it's inside my pores
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till I'm screaming for more

Random acts of mindlessness
Commonplace occurrences
Chances and surprises
Another state of consciousness
Tell me nothing ever counts
Lashing out or breaking down
Still somebody loses 'cause
There's no way to turn around

Tell me how you've never felt
Delicate or innocent
Do you still have doubts that
Us having faith makes any sense
You play games, I play tricks
Girls and girls, but you're the one
Like a game of pick-up-sticks
Played by fuckin' lunatics

Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till you open the door
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till I'm up off the floor
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till it's inside my pores
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till I'm screaming for more

Show me love, show me love
Give me all that I want
Show me love, show me love
Give me all that I want
Show me love, show me love
Give me all that I want
Show me love, show me love
Till I'm screaming for more

Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till you open the door
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till I'm up off the floor
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till it's inside my pores
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till I'm screaming for more

Show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love
Show me love, show me love

Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till you open the door
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till I'm up off the floor
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till it's inside my pores
Show me love, show me love, show me love
Show me love, show me love
Till I'm screaming for more

Extra
Every Time We Touch - Daniel Avidan
I can't add this song to my playlist, but I definitely would if I could. It's a cover, but slower with a different intensity than the original. The lyrics fit Staticmoth, and this version fits the vibe of this mix.

Lyrics
I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me
I still feel your touch in my dreams
Forgive me my weakness, but I don′t know why
Without you it's hard to survive

′Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly
Can't you feel my heartbeat fast, I want this to last
Need you by my side

Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky
They wipe away tears that I cry
The good and the bad times we've been through them all
You make me rise when I fall

′Cause every time we touch, I get this feeling
And every time we kiss I swear I could fly
Can't you feel my heartbeat fast, I want this to last
Need you by my side

musesfool

While this isn't thematic or plot-related or anything, I did remember one thing I wanted to comment on from PoH because it's probably the most relatable* Carl has ever been to me: ( minor spoiler )

*There's a post on tumblr that I think I've reblogged a couple of times, that notes that characters don't need to be relatable for me to enjoy them, but they do need to be resonant. This was a case where something was both. *g*

In more real world news, last I checked (earlier today), the MTA and the various railroad unions are still far apart on finalizing a new contract, so it's entirely possible there will be a strike starting on Saturday and the LIRR will stop running. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if there were an eleventh hour agreement to prevent that, but I also wouldn't be surprised if there weren't. In the face of this uncertainty, my boss made going into the office on Tuesday optional (and non-tenable if there is a strike, since she lives out on the island), so I have opted to not go in regardless. So all my cupcake baking will have to wait until next time. (I think our June in-office day is also currently non-tenable because it's a day when there will be an afternoon World Cup match and nobody wants to be in Manhattan during that, but especially around Penn Station or the Port Authority, as required by many commutes, but we'll see what happens when we get there.)

In other work news, they are scheduling our annual summer staff picnic someplace up in Dutchess County(?!) and everyone on my team is like, WTF? DNW! about it (it appears I will already be on PTO for it, so at least I'm well out of it). I also had some charter bus horror stories to share, from my own personal experience, so I hope the folks managing that have great intestinal fortitude, because managing transportation for large groups for an outing is the worst, and they're planning to do it from multiple locations. They're also requiring people show up for the busses at like 8:30 am and they won't leave from upstate to come home until 4 pm (the team planning this had to be talked down from making it 5 pm), and it's at least a 90 minute drive (longer to/from Brooklyn or Queens) and then you still have to commute home from the pickup/drop-off location. I think this is an even worse proposition than the Governor's Island location, which required a railroad > subway > ferry trip from me so I noped out of it repeatedly. The one time I went, many years ago now, was when it was from 1 - 4 pm at Riverside Park, which is super accessible by subway and also not a full day affair. It's also why I dislike corporate events on boats (which I have also had experience with) - you're just stuck for the length of the affair with no escape.

Anyway, now that I've fully exposed my asocial personality, I will hit post. *g*

*

Current Mood: surprised
Current Music: The Mets are...winning???

goodbyebird posting in

spankulert

01-06 absolute wonder woman (

retro_icontest Palette Generator)
07-15 the testament of ann lee
16-21 star wars

( You never realize how much you miss the sky until it is taken from you. )

Current Music: Taylor Swift - Karma

smallhobbit

My activity over the past month:

British Trust for Ornithology: I've reported Garden Bird Counts every week, except when on holiday. Numbers are now up, as the sparrows are finding insects on our plants, and the pigeons and magpies appreciate the water we provide. I've done 7 surveys for Birds in Green Spaces in two sites.

UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme: So far I've only managed one survey early last month. Whenever I've had the time the weather has not been too cold.

Butterfly Conservation: Butterflies for the New Millenium. 7 counts. Because this is not site specific - I add location when submitting the report - there's more opportunity simply to count the butterflies.

Maintenance: Regularly topping up the water bowls on not so rainy days. Emptied the bird feeder at the end of April to tie in with new guidelines - not that anything apart from the occasional pigeon was using it.

Sightings of note: Walking along the canal I spotted the swan on her nest with about 4 cygnets (exact number difficult to ascertain as she was on the opposite bank). In addition I saw 2 moorhens and a cormorant.

Other activities: I've signed up for 30 Days Wild 2026 with the Wildlife Trust and downloaded the planner. I've also signed up to vote for Britain's Favourite Butterfly.

musesfool

I finished Parade of Horribles earlier but I totally need to read it again because there's some stuff I don't think I actually understood. ( spoilers )

There were also definitely things I meant to highlight so I could talk about them but then I didn't and now my brain is just !!!! about everything, so I need to reread at a slightly slower pace.

We interrupt this post because I need to complain about some umpiring in this Mets-Tigers game - Baty didn't even touch his helmet and the umpire says he challenged the call (and lost, so the Mets are out of challenges) and they showed the replay and his hand stops at eye-level - he never touches his helmet! Ugh. That is some bullshit.

Anyway! Overall ( spoilers )

Oh, now this umpire just fucked the Tigers on a pitch clock violation, so I guess it evens out? Idk idk.

One last DCC thing: ( I guess this is obliquely a spoiler )

Again, anyway, I will reread and then have more to say, I'm sure. Right now, my brain is soup. However, one thing I will always remember is ( spoiler )

*

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Mets losing to the Tigers

musesfool

Things, and also, stuff:

- NEW DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL TODAY!!! 🙌 🙌 🙌

- I did cancel the expensive hardcover in favor of the kindle edition and stupidly didn't think to check when the ebook actually becomes available. At midnight last night, I was refreshing my order page but the book was not yet available. A quick search revealed that Amazon releases things at midnight Pacific time, which I guess makes sense considering the location of their headquarters, and it saved me from staying up past my bedtime reading, but I was a little disappointed.

- Needless to say, not a whole lot of work got done today because I was READING. Luckily, I only had one meeting and that meeting doesn't require written notes, so...I answered emails and teams chats, but was otherwise glued to the book. ( minor spoiler from early on ) I'm sure I will have much more to say once I'm done reading. *g*

- Speaking of DCC, I learned the other day that the Avs' goalie, Wedgewood, is a fan (apparently he is a BookTok-er? or something?) and also last month, the Avs did a DCC-themed pet adoption night at which their mascot dressed up as Carl and all the potential adoptees were named after characters in the books. I can only imagine what the majority of people in that arena, who probably haven't read the books, thought was happening.

- Speaking of hockey, I am now kind of torn between rooting for the Habs and the Sabres, mostly because of Martin St Louis and being reminded about Mother's Day 2014 and also that if the Habs won it all there would be no White House invite to be grossed out by. I still think it's going to be Canes vs Avs in the end, and I guess I'd be rooting for the Canes, but that is a very unappealing final, imo.

- Once hockey is done, I will be able to catch up on SO MUCH TV: new seasons of Deadloch, For All Mankind, and Paradise, plus that surprise episode of The Bear that dropped last week and that new season (coming June 25th!), plus I still haven't watched s2 of Andor or Poker Face, and there's a new season of My Life Is Murder, as well! And I need to catch up on Abbott Elementary, too, and finish my Orphan Black rewatch. It is a lot!

*

Current Mood: excited
Current Music: At the Beach, In Every Life - Gigi Perez

anr

Put Your Hands in My Hair and Pull Me Down (1101 words) by anr
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage Sex
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Characters: Original Female Character, Original Male Character
Additional Tags: Alpha/Omega, Older Brother/Younger Sister - Freeform, first heat, hands in hair, Sex, Knot, Omegaverse, Incest, Sibling Incest, Underage Sex - Freeform
Summary: He knows how fast this can spiral, how thin the line can be between control and chaos.

He has to leave.

(But he doesn't.)

Current Mood: indescribable
Current Music: Tara MacLean - Silence

anr

Allegheny (1101 words) by anr
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Mandalorian (TV), Star Wars - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Din Djarin/Bo-Katan Kryze
Characters: Bo-Katan Kryze, Din Djarin
Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 03, Mutual Pining
Summary: Din says, carefully, "if you want."

Her chest tightens because she does want.

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Gabby Barrett - The Good Ones

anr

I've Got a Hundred Thrown-Out Speeches I Almost Said to You (1231 words) by anr
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Game of Thrones (TV), A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jon Snow/Sansa Stark
Characters: Jon Snow, Sansa Stark
Additional Tags: Season/Series 01, Mutual Pining, Touch, hand kiss, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Missing Scene
Summary: He will never see her again, he knows. Not once he's at the Wall.

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Taylor Swift - The Archer

musesfool

Yesterday, I made both these and these lemon cupcakes. I did both with a whisk and I liked that they didn't require the stand mixer.

The first ones were quite different than a typical lemon cupcake recipe - they had ricotta and honey in them, and I used this fancy lemon honey I had and I think that was a mistake. The cupcakes domed brilliantly, but had a weird aftertaste I did not like and the only thing I can think that could cause it was that honey. I otherwise used sour cream instead of creme fraiche, and olive oil for vegetable oil, but neither of those things should have caused the weird aftertaste. So maybe I'll eventually work my way back to that recipe (chosen because I have ricotta in my fridge that needs using up) and use clover honey and see how they are.

I think the second recipe is going to be my go-to for lemon for now. The batter is a super weird texture - it looked like curdled custard, or maybe bad cafeteria scrambled eggs - but the cupcakes are moist and lemony, though I guess the real test will be how they taste tomorrow, since if I'm taking them to work, I'll bake them on Sunday and bring them to the office on Tuesday, so they have to be good for that long. I made this strawberry cream cheese frosting this afternoon, but it wasn't stiff enough to pipe (not a euphemism) since I only used 2 cups of powdered sugar (and still think it is pretty sweet), so I just dipped the cupcakes into it. (I also did not make strawberry puree, I used 3 tbsps of seedless strawberry jam instead.) The tang of the cream cheese goes well with lemon and also helps cut through the sweetness of the frosting, so it worked pretty well, I thought. Next week, though, I plan to make strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream, which is much less sweet. We'll see how it goes.

I also tried to make homemade bbq sauce but I did not like how it tasted at all, so I didn't use it. Next time maybe I will try something that has no tomato base at all. Regardless, I cooked both racks of ribs and they were delicious and I will be eating ribs all week. I also made my own cole slaw dressing again, and this time I liked it better because I added onion and garlic powder - it is mind-boggling to me that the recipe doesn't include that and the first time around I just let it go but come on. Season your food!

So this weekend was delicious but so fucking messy - I ended up with egg yolk, bbq sauce, frosting, lemonade, and hot pork juice (not a euphemism!!! the ribs cook for 3 hours wrapped in foil and then for the last hour you take the foil off and it is a precarious situation!) on my shirt, but not all at the same time, thankfully.

*

Current Mood: satisfied
Current Music: Inside the NBA

smallhobbit

My current TBL list has shot up to 28, plus I pre-order. Audible had a couple of sales, one for series and one mega sale which I took full advantage of. So this will take me well into next year, especially as a number belong to series which I'm listening to and which are unavailable in the library and it was cheaper to buy and audio copy than a second hand one.

Here's the titles I've listened to in the last couple of months:

Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Croft read by Gordon Griffin
An Inspector French mystery, which I'd been planning on reading for a while (British Library Crime Classics series). Two bodies are discovered on a deserted yacht in the middle of the English Channel. French has to work out who killed them, why and how. Slightly long-winded but an interesting mystery. I wasn't completely surprised at the eventual murderer.

A Curiously Convenient Demise by Hannah Hendy read by Jenny Funnell
Next in the Dinnerlady Detectives series. An entertaining listen with an enjoyable cast of characters.

Calamity in Kent by John Rowland read by Peter Wickham
Another British Library Crime Classics series. A clever impossible crime, but the narrator (in the story, not the reader) annoyed me, stating every chapter he was a newspaper reporter, which, if you hadn't realised that by halfway through the book you clearly couldn't have been paying any attention.

A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith read by Matthew Lloyd Davies
This had been in my TBL since last year, as I'd seen a lot of recommendations for it. I enjoyed it, and may well read the next in the series at some point. I knew the solution to one of the mysteries by about halfway through and towards the end had my suspicions as to the other.

Murder on Milverton Square by G B Ralph read by Philip Battley
I had put this on my list as being set in New Zealand and a cosy mystery - i.e. ideal for listening while driving. The protagonist Addison Harper is a bit of an idiot, but I enjoyed the story overall. I was thinking I'd listen to more, but since the next three stories all have Harper being the one to find a dead body and being the main suspect, I won't be - for me that plot works once not several times.

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and he goes down swinging

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the way you hold your knife, the way we danced til three

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Hazbin Hotel Fanmix: Unknown Reciprocation (IGNORED OBSESSION)

and the mets put the hammer down

#123

Wildlife - May

he did not challenge

and i heard about the twister that lives inside your heart

FIC: Put Your Hands in My Hair and Pull Me Down (Original Work)

FIC: Allegheny (Star Wars, The Mandalorian)

FIC: I've Got a Hundred Thrown-Out Speeches I Almost Said to You (Game of Thrones)

they're in trouble going forward

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