I think Lil Hater would not like Kid Leo v much upon first meeting him. Cause as soon as he knows a person is safe Leo is v touchy and wanting hugs and wanting to get as much info as possible out of this new person...and Lil Hater does not like talking about himself nd does not like cuddles with people he just met. However! Lil Hater would warm up to him and would probably enjoy listening to Leo talk about whatever nonsense he's got cookin' in that silly brain of his :)
I think Leo would not enjoy putting puzzles together or taking electronics apart BUT he would like playing card games, which Lil hater also enjoys! So they could play card games while Leo yaps :)
disclaimer: this post will be nearly incomprehensible im running a fever
i have been coming back to the same vague topic in my mind again and again in the last 3 days, with listening to "welcome to night vale" and all. the fact that it was made 14 years ago.
you see. quick info dump. im 21, i got my first device in 2012 (age 8) that i used for games, in 2013 i finally got youtube, in 2014 i started to join communities and fandom spaces... sort of. the first like actual enrolment in fandom was closer to 2015, with me being 11 respectively. by the standards of My days i was a kid with lots of access to the internet early on. maybe internet that a kid should not have had acces to. by todays standarts its, ofc, ridiculous which saddens me abit but not much
anyways.
2012 feels like- forever ago. like such SUCH a different time, and yet, there is NOTHING in wtnv that would make you go "ah i remember it was made in 2012 thats why this seems alien". in fact it is the opposite. it is so timeless literally the only times i remember it was made in 2012 is when the year is actually Mentioned on the podcast, or that one time when they alluded to all the young people still being on facebook. thats IT. it is So So good at being relatable and understandable after so much time. but then again, its not Really that much time, its just that for me it is. for millennials its just abit of a nostalgic time, and for my dad its just a vague "when you were still a tiny kid". my dad is 54 btw
but BUT. today i finally disided to read fanfiction with cecil and carlos because they have stolen my heart with their weirdness. and, expectedly, many popular fics were published in 2013-14, and its like... i started reading fanfiction properly in the end of2015-2016. and im considered an elder among My peers because, once again, im under the impression that not as much 11 yo kids read fanfiction in the mid tens as there are now. or they read self inserts or boyband fics idk but not having a hyperfix on cartoon gay people. and i mean OFC in 2015 there were MANY teens and pre teens writing and reading such things but like. only 2 people in my whole class? and for a kid from a small town their class and their playground is like half the world already. ANYWAYS
i am. reading this fanfiction. from 2013. as a 21 year old. and im going "huh why the fuck is it not much different from the works i read now????" because you see reader. logically ik its bs, but in my mind only cringe self inserts for gravity falls existed. in my mind all of the fanfiction was either Really weird kink that you learnt very early on to ignore or it was a self insert where you dated wendy or dipper written by the same 11 year olds as yiu were. so to know. that millenials wrote these brilliant and fun works already when i was a child-
and its like. i think this confusion is explained by the fact that in like 2018 when i was a teen already i read some works that were Old by that time (early 2010s) and they felt old. they felt like fanfiction that is not being written anymore
for wtnv its like. the only things betraying the illusion thats its not a contemporary fic is the date in the corner and some ways of tagging on ao3 that became dormant or whatever the word is. thats it.
im also as many 2001-2005 gen z's prone to romanticizing late 2000s and early 2010s. because the 2007 emos and 2010's hipsters were The Cool Older Guys when we were kids. like i love that time. and it feels magical. wdym you were an adult in 2013 thats when i first started watching funny cat videos on my own device. yk???
is this how 2015-2019 kids about like???? early 2020s??? do they look at hypercore and alts and all the frogs and think "man this is so cool sucks that i was a kid at the time"??? because thats weird to think about. im not old. i am not old im not even out of university yet. and 2013 was like 8 years ago at most why am i even talking about this
i was kinda super late to the dsmp game actually, by the time i was a fan most of the main lore was established and i think i really only experienced a handful of genuine dedicated lore streams from the ccs i was a fan of . i got into the dsmp through ranboo who i started out watching for their variety content in june of 2021, then i eventually started watching tubbo, tommy, and a list of others i am too embarrassed to mention ............... sometimes i do wonder if i would be into other things now if i had gotten into dsmp in 2020 instead of kpop
{ It is 2024 and I just saw someone mention and recommend the nerdy Do.ctor Wh.o band that I loved way back in like 2010. (And then all the scandals came out and ruined the nerd music scene for me, so that was fun.)
But like...damn. what year is it even that I'd see that band name after so long.
And like ngl, their songs were a bop, I can still sing them off the top of my head. }
o'darwin ballroom dance au thoughts for you all cause i was at competition all weekend and then had a 6 hour car ride home
(basic ballroom info can be found at the end under the cut)
the three of them are all partners together and just switch out depending on the style. nat and alex do rhythm and latin, nat and kasey do standard, and alex and kasey do smooth. but if 3-person ballroom was a thing they'd be excellent at it (a side note - competitions do fun dances after each style and our last one was group latin, so my 3 coaches did it together and gave me this idea cause it was adorable) (want to be clear coaches are platonic friends this specifically was just very o'darwin coded)
alex styles his hair very casually, basically just the way it falls normally but aggressively hair sprayed into place. kasey slicks his back into a neat bun. kasey does nat’s hair for her, pulling it back in a twist back into a fancy ballroom bun with lil sparklies to accessorize
my former coach’s partner has a smooth jacket that’s - well idk if it’s actually velvet cause that’d be quite heavy for dance - but a velvet like texture and it’s subtly shiny under the lights and i imagine alex wearing that for smooth. paired with kasey, in something classic but maybe with some subtle detailing? rip
nat’s latin dress is black with gold detailing. the skirt is a high to low style and it’s super cute and bouncy. her standard dress is long and i wanna go royal blue. maybe red. or green. some bright royal shade. it’s got this beautiful full skirt and she has ribbons on cuffs she attaches to her wrists for certain dances. the dress has silver gemstone detailing on the bodice
they stay in a hotel for competitions and share soft sleepy kisses in the elevator up on the way back, heavy bags hanging off their shoulders. alex insists on carrying nat’s costumes for her (he’d carry her bag too but he doesn’t have enough arms for that)
cheering each other on from the sidelines and the two dancing always smile at their third when they hear/spot them
social dancing and nat is laughing while kasey twirls her all around, alex watching from the side, falling more in love with each laugh and smile from the two of them
falling into bed with each other, all soft hands and quiet giggles. they have passionate and rougher times too but in my head o’darwin are just so somft with each other. alex carefully taking nat’s shirt off and kissing each inch of bare skin he uncovers. kasey standing behind her with gentle hands on her hips, nosing at her neck. alex and kasey taking turns fucking nat and it’s different with both but just as good. alex getting his mouth on kasey and reveling in the sounds he makes
nat steals alex's sweatpants constantly. they fit better than kasey's so she steals his sweatshirts instead. kasey and nat steal each other's hair elastics, one of them always has one on hand
the three of them aren't like all over each other at competition, looking at them you might not guess they were romantically together rather than just dance partners, but you can tell they have a connection with each other through their dancing and know each other well. when partners actually like and know each other it shows and makes it that much better to watch. but if you paid close enough attention (not sure why anyone would but) you'd be able to see the quick kisses and gentle intimate moments between the three of them between rounds
now i'd put them in open, so they wouldn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn like us poor syllabus dancers (rip me), but if they were partners back then:
bb college alex and kasey partnering together kasey's first year (i put alex maybe a year older), and falling for each other towards the end of the year semester. they're never together, not really, but they've kissed and had sex and are close despite the complication of whatever it is their feelings are. kasey transfers schools after his freshman year and they're both devastated but they can't do a whole lot about it. they promise to keep in touch, but it's hard
at his new school, kase meets and partners up with natalie who's a freshman and new to ballroom. he's so shy and awkward around her at first, but he's patient and helps her learn. soon they become good friends and kasey gets less awkward. kasey is terrified to let himself fall for her after falling for alex, but he can't help it; nat is just so bright and delightful, and he finds himself spending hours outside of practice with her, just enjoying each other's company. nat - i don't wanna say wears him down cause that implies she pressured him, it's more she makes her own feelings known, respects his boundaries, and lets kasey sort his own feelings out on his time. together, they eventually decide to start dating, after kasey allows nat to kiss him late one night, saying he just wants to know, but really he's just too scared to say it outright. natalie is the one who asks if he'll be her official boyfriend. he agrees
anyway. back to 5am wake up times. comp starts at 8am, doors open at 7, and if you're in the first few rounds like they would be, that's when you arrive, hair and makeup already mostly ready if you can. nat and kasey staying together for their first competition and it's the first night they've spent together. they're bleary-eyed and exhausted, still new to their relationship, but there's sleepy kisses and gentle touches as they help each other get ready
they compete at bronze and do quite well, especially for natalie's first ever comp. i made my dear newcomer partner dance up to bronze because i've really danced too long to be in newcomer still, and she did great. anyway. it's a smaller comp, only one day. they don't place in anything, but they advance past the first round in every dance they compete, which is still very good
it's a long day for them both, but a fun one. a lot of time spent at ballroom competitions is standing around waiting for results. so there's a lot of that. they sit with the rest of their team ofc. it's a good bonding exercise
i have more thoughts but this is long enough as is so i'll stop for now cause it's nearly 2am and i really need to be asleep. i meant for this to just be headcanons and now it's gaining a plot. ah well
apologies if these don't make sense, i was awake for 20 hours straight sunday and wrote half of them in the car. i've been recovering since. also today i took a 2hr nap at 7pm and now here we are nearing 2am
ballroom basics for those who are very lost
ballroom is split into four styles for competitions:
smooth: american waltz, am tango, am foxtrot, am v waltz
latin: intl cha cha, intl rumba, samba, jive, paso doble
rhythm: am cha cha, am rumba, east coast swing, mambo, bolero
in the international dances, you aren't allowed to separate from your partner. you stay in frame - hands clasped basically - the whole time. in american style, you are allowed to separate. there's other differences to some, but that's the major one. rumba, foxtrot, and tango are the ones that are most different.
collegiate competitions have two levels: syllabus and open
syllabus: there's a specific list of moves you are allowed to do at each level. the levels go newcomer, bronze, silver, gold.
open: you can basically do what you want. there are no specific guidelines to the steps you can do. within reason, i mean, you can't just start doing an entirely separate dance. this is when it gets really fun to watch. the levels go novice, pre-champ, champ.
some competitions will let you cross-register, which basically means you can compete at multiple levels. many also compete different styles at different levels, allowed at all competitions, because learning that many dances well is quite difficult and takes a lot of time.
after newcomer dances will start being paired. so if you compete one, you must compete the other. common ones at bronze are intl waltz/quickstep, am waltz/tango, and cha cha/rumba. those were all paired at my competition this past weekend. starting in gold, they'll put three or four dances paired. at open, all dances are paired. so for example, a standard event in all open levels would include intl waltz, tango, foxtrot, and quickstep. each couple would have to dance all four. then separately they would have a syllabus v waltz event, which is open to anyone.
though hosted and mostly attended by college teams, anyone is allowed to enter a collegiate competition. once you get to the higher levels, especially open, most dancers are not still college students. you can't get that good in four years, so if they are college-age they would've had to start beforehand. those who don't register with a team are generally just put in as unaffiliated. schools are registered under the school. coaches can register through the school they coach for as well, if they register together. my coaches have done both. this doesn't really make a difference. mostly just a way of organization more than anything. we still claim my former coach as our own despite her now living and working in a different state and coaching a different team with her partner. we don't like him. i digress.
i hope this helped anyone if you bothered to read it
I feel like we talk a lot about how Stede was uncomfortable with what's going on with Ed at the privateering academy but not a lot about how much he was thinking about Mary.
I think this is the only time we see him talk about his family while awake besides about the painting? And he's clearly trying to process his being reported dead and why Mary would do it. He's thinking about her on the beach before Ed finds him (pretty sure) and when Ed proposes running away together.
I'm not sure what my point is but it seems important to keep in mind re: him going home. Like nothing bad would have happened-- no one would have died, Ed wouldn't have given up his freedom, his family wouldn't consider him as good as dead-- if he'd just stayed home and tried harder like Mary wanted, like God's perfect little monster rich boy should have. So he goes back, maybe with the thought of undoing everything bc of shock, but certainly to prevent further harm.
One of my favorite (and most self-indulgent) things that I wrote was Sirius nerding out over space. Because I'm a little soft for Sirius being in love with the stars even though he hates the family that took their names for their own. And because I love the stars, and it's easy for me to nerd out with him.
All of the facts that he rattled off about the constellation Lupus are true. It really does contain multitudes. One of the nebulae he waxes poetic about is IC-4406: the Retina Nebula (which was not so named back then and I'm sad about it.) It's beautiful, and he would not have known just how much because the technology wasn't quite there yet.
And the supernova remnant? That's true too. SM-1006, and it is actually from the brightest supernova on record AND occurred on May 1st, 1006... 992 years to the day before Remus spent his last day on Earth in canon (something which I conveniently ignore but for the sake of symbolism bears mentioning because he, like that star, did not go quietly.) And yes, supernovas join comets in the lists of starry portents of doom (see previous point as to why I was having a mental breakdown over this lol.)
Anyway. I just love stars and I love talking about stars and I'm still kicking myself over being too much of a coward to take astronomy when I had the chance in college (because *math*, but I took chemistry instead which is -- wait for it -- also math. But I still snuck in a paper about Vera Rubin and dark matter so I think I still win in the end haha.) But yeah, anyone that reads my work might just end up with a random dissertation on something snuck in there somewhere and I hope y'all are okay with that lmao.
Aahh, I really don’t mean to complain, but sometimes I get a bit sad about the fact that being a blog with quite a lot of invested followers and interaction (both amazing things in itself!) means that I can’t always be fully true to my own personal opinions or preferences anymore on here. Or I mean, I could, but it would be sure to a) disappoint/hurt some people, and b) spark a debate that I’m not looking for and that will entail a lot of careful navigating on my part, if I don’t want to deeply offend anyone or their comfort characters.
I don’t know, I’ll just see an amazing, smaller blog reblog a post that I totally agree with and want to reblog too, or I’ll see them make some pointed comments in the tags that I’d like to make as well, but I know that if I did, some people would be hurt and/or yell at me 😅 Neither of which I want to achieve! Actually, come to think of it, I definitely did this to myself by always trying to be diplomatic, open-minded and tolerant, but annoyingly, those are things I also genuinely value a lot lol.
By the way, I know all of this sounds vague as hell, which is a case in point, I guess 😂 But just to be clear, I’m just talking about opinions on characters or plotlines etc, not on anything like, human rights related, or anything like that. In that regard I am perfectly happy to express my actual opinions and I don’t care if that offends anyone, because if it does, they’re assholes anyway lol. But yeah, mostly just interpretations of/views on certain characters and stories.
No idea what I’m trying to achieve with this post but I just thought I’d share my thoughts with you, for anyone who’s interested ❤️
