#I'll revisit and see what can be kept and what doesn't need to be here since this really is Ice's fic

[oathkeeperoxas]

wip wednesday

help, in the course of putting Ice through hell and back I accidentally started caring about Bradley; I will get this guy to realise his mistakes and come back a better person I swear 😤😤😤

She hasn’t gotten it yet. There’s still a furrow between her eyebrows as she tries to work out what he’s saying. “He knew Maverick, then?” 

“Yeah,” Rooster says, looking at the photos. There are only two that actually have Ice in them; one where he’s wearing his aviators and has a volleyball under one arm, Slider next to him with an arm slung around his shoulders. Both of them look smug as hell, sunburnt, triumphant, and young. The other is Rooster’s mom and Ice, sitting in nice clothes at a nice looking restaurant somewhere ��� Rooster doesn’t recognise the occasion. They’re both very young. 

There aren’t any pictures of Ice and Mav together. Rooster’s heart aches, a little bit. 

The pictures are too old for Phoenix to have seen them and immediately connected them to their Fleet Commander, even though everyone sees his official portrait pretty regularly. Here, in this house, Ice was just a man. His head throbs, and he blames the alcohol. Shouldn’t have gone so hard last night. 

“Uh, can you check out the back?” Rooster asks. “I’ll check upstairs to see if anyone’s home.” 

“Alright,” Phoenix says. “But if I run into someone who asks me what the hell I’m doing in the house, I’m throwing you under the bus.” 

“That’s fine,” Rooster says. “That’s fine. Yell if you find anything.”

He climbs the stairs unsteadily. All three bedroom doors are open, and he peers inside the spare first. The bed is made up, and empty. It’s been pushed to the side since Rooster last saw this room, and there’s a new huge desk taking up most of the space now, with files and paperwork neatly organised, and space for a laptop empty in front of a huge plush chair. No sign of anyone being there. The master room is next, and Rooster’s feet feel like they’ve been filled with lead as he walks towards it. Ice is probably inside, if he’s in the house. But if he’s in the house, why didn’t he answer the door?

Rooster thinks of him huddled in bed, unwilling to get out, just like Rooster had been unwilling to get out and face the day this morning. It makes something twist inside him; Ice sits in his mind as a pillar of steadfastness and practicality. He can’t fall apart. He’s the bedrock that everyone in his family always fell back on, when they were falling apart. Well, Rooster is in pieces now, and he needs someone to talk to – someone who will understand.

The bed is empty. 

He stares at it for too long. It’s made Navy neat, corners tucked in perfectly. There’s no mess in the room. It actually looks pretty much like what Rooster remembers it to be. Same layout. Same mess on Mav’s bedside table. Neat folders piled on Ice’s side. He doesn’t touch anything, but he steps inside. 

Here, finally, are the pictures that are missing from the entranceway. Old photos of Ice and Mav sitting next to each other on the lounge in the house Rooster grew up in, in front of their Christmas tree while a young Rooster tears into Christmas presents at their feet. His mom had always insisted that they come over Christmas morning, so they could spend time together as a family. He’d never appreciated that as a kid; had always taken it for granted. It’d only been after his mom had died that he’d realised how much warmth and life those mornings had brought out in the adults in his life, and how much he’d really loved them. Mav had insisted on a tree, the year she’d died, and Ice had tried his hand at all the food that she used to make for them, even though he didn’t really celebrate Christmas. 

There are others, too, though they all look like they were taken in the 90s. None are from after his mom died. He stares at one where they’re sprawled out on beach chairs, aviators on, grinning at the camera. Ice’s foot is pressed against Mav’s thigh; beside that, they’re not touching. If you didn’t know they were together – if this photo wasn’t literally in their bedroom – there would be nothing about it to suggest that they were more than friends. 

He peeks into the ensuite, dread pooling in his stomach for some reason he can’t name, but finds nothing there either. Everything is tidy and clean. The wardrobe has suits and uniforms hung up, and Mav’s preferred white shirts and jeans piled up on top of each other. Rooster vaguely wonders what Ice wears these days when he’s not in uniform. 

Feeling like he’s intruding now that he’s sure Ice isn’t here, he leaves the master bedroom to head to the last bedroom upstairs. The door is open, and his heart is in his throat as he slowly peers inside. 

It’s not how he left it. There are two dusty cardboard boxes on top of the storage box at the foot of his bed where he kept all his shoes. Ice was always tripping over them when he came in here, and would tell Rooster to clean up after himself. He nudges one flap of the cardboard box open to find some of his high school baseball trophies inside. He looks over to where he’d put them as a kid, on top of his desk – the desk is bare besides two more cardboard boxes, also dusty, also looking like they haven’t been touched in years. The rest of the room looks mostly untouched, like no one who lived here could bear to enter it. 

He escapes his old bedroom and goes down the stairs as fast as he can without tripping. His head doesn’t thank him, but his heart can’t take one more moment faced with what he’d given up. He heads into the backyard to find Phoenix chatting with someone over the back fence. It’s an older man, with tree trimmers in one hand, clearly standing on a ladder. There’s some branches and leaves on this side of the fence. 

“Hey, Rooster, you find anything?” Phoenix asks when he comes within yelling range. He shakes his head. 

“Are you looking for Tom?” the man asks. “I was asking this young woman how she knows him, but she won’t give me an answer.” 

“I don’t know any Tom,” Phoenix says, looking at Rooster. “I thought this was Mav’s house?” 

“Yes, we’re looking for Tom,” Rooster says, unable to answer Phoenix’s question with their audience. “Have you seen him?” 

“We don’t chat very often,” the man says. “He’s always busy with that army work.” Both Rooster and Phoenix cringe, but don’t correct him. “My name’s Dave; and who are you?” 

“Bradley,” Rooster says. Dave reaches down and Rooster awkwardly reaches up to shake his hand. “So have you seen Tom?” It’s weird to call Ice his actual name, but that’s clearly who this neighbour knows him as. 

“No,” Dave admits. “It’s usually pretty easy to know when he’s in – I can see the upstairs study, and boy does he work nights! But not always, and I know he travels often. My mother always told me to join the army, then I’d see the world–”

“I saw him yesterday,” Rooster interrupts, not interested in hearing the guy’s life story. “You haven’t seen him since then?” 

“No,” Dave says. “Why?” 

Rooster chews on his lip. Phoenix is still looking at him like he’s a puzzle she has to solve. 

“Did you know Captain Mitchell?” she asks Dave. “Uh, that is, Peter Mitchell?” 

“No,” Dave says, frowning at her. “Why would I?” 

“It’s his house,” she says, looking at Rooster again. “Right, Rooster?” 

“Yeah, on the title,” Rooster admits. “But I don’t think he spent a lot of time here.” 

“Do you mean that whippersnapper on the motorbikes?” Dave asks, shaking his head. “Always roaring about the streets when he came in. Usually late at night, too.” 

Whippersnapper, Phoenix mouths at him. Rooster feels his lips twitch, threatening to bend upwards. 

“Yeah, him,” Rooster says. 

“Oh, I think we talked once or twice,” Dave says. “He owns the place, you say? Never would have guessed!” 

“Look, can you keep an eye out for Tom?” Rooster asks. The unease that he’d felt upon standing on the porch of the house is nothing compared to his growing nausea. His gut is telling him something is wrong. If Ice isn’t here, then where is he?

[atamascolily]

I'll admit I did not pay much attention to the flowers in the infamous Flower Field scene on a structural level on my first time watching Rebellion. At first glance, I took them for rain lilies (Zephyranthes spp.); then, when they transformed and went to seed, I assumed they were meant to be dandelions, which form distinctive white puffballs that are known as "clocks" and which are said to grant wishes, both of which seemed thematically appropriate in context. At the time, I assumed botanical accuracy was less important to the animators than symbolism, and didn't think too much of it.

Then I went back and looked more closely, and realized I might have been wrong about all of that.

On closer inspection, these are not rain lilies or any other monocot bulb (which always have petals in multiples of 3, never 5). Nor are they members of the dandelion family (my next guess) despite having the anthers clustered in a similar ring at the center. So what other flower meets this criteria?

I did some more digging, and "Japanese anemone" kept coming up as a possible candidate, so I checked it out, and...

Look familiar? [Source].

Japanese anemones (Eriocapitella [Anemone] hupehensis and related hybrids) are members of the buttercup family; despite the common name, they are originally native to China, but have been grown in Japan for centuries.

Because of various evolutionary shenanigans the actual flowers are tiny and clustered in the center and the white "petals" are actually colorful sepals. Many cultivars have more than five, but these are close enough to pass for what we see on-screen if you squint even though they don't overlap in the animated version.

Anemones also have divided leaves very similar to what we see in other shots:

Even better, Japanese anemones also make white little puffball seedheads similar to dandelions!

Now in real life, these puffballs are not as round and blow away almost instantly, so they do not hold together like they do here, but neither do dandelions, for that matter. I think this is a case where "aesthetics and symbolism" won out versus pure realism.

I had thought the accelerated life cycle of Homura's flowers was an exaggeration, but it turns out that Japanese anemone seed heads can apparently unfold over the course of a single afternoon, so while this is still faster than real life, it's not as much of a stretch as I initially assumed.

So am I convinced these are meant to be Japanese anemones? I can certainly see the resemblance, but if so, I wish the animators had been slightly more true to life with the "petal" placement and with the floral height--the plants I have seen are usually 2-4 feet tall with somewhat staggered flower heights, while these are much shorter and with uniform height throughout. It's possible they may have been working from another anemone species/hybrid that doesn't quite map to the plants I know, or they may have just chosen to change it up as needed for convenience.

Currently filing this ID under "tentative yes, to be revisited if/when new evidence arrives".

I still think they should have gone with dandelions, though.

[punsmaster69]

5/JAN/20XX

well. it's his, but somehow i woke up with that stuffed bear on my bed.

he must've forgotten to get it.

also on the end of my bed was papyrus, but he got up sometime before me.

last night he wanted me to read to him, but also wanted for me to rest.

so he ended up falling asleep on the end of my bed.

thought about waking him, but he looked peaceful. (at first.) ended up tossin' my blanket over him instead.

but. it's on me now, so i suppose it was returned before long.

——

papyrus looked out the window and slowly sipped from his cup. coffee, for once.

i'd have asked what changed, but he's not very good at pretending to sleep. his restless inability to stay still after waking up in the middle of the night told me all i needed to know.

won't tell him that he kept me up as well.

"mornin'."

i stepped up to the window beside him.

"GOOD MORNING."

he did a double take when he looked at me.

"ONE OF YOUR EYES ARE BACK ON!"

"oh. sick."

rain patters against the window.

i can't stop my attention from following one droplet in particular, comparing it to the speed of the others as if they were racing.

"IT FEELS LIKE..."

"EVERY TIME AFTER SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOU, IT RAINS."

"just lucky, i guess."

"ARE WE SURE YOU'RE NOT ALLERGIC TO POOR ONCOMING WEATHER CONDITIONS?"

"that would be kinda rad."

"HOW IS THAT 'RAD'?"

"think about it."

"i'd make a killing as a weatherman."

"assuming the weather allergen didn't kill me first."

"YOU SUDDENLY COLLAPSE AND THEY JUST GO, 'OH, SANS IS DOWN. IT'S GONNA STORM TOMORROW.' "

"if it works it works."

i poured myself a coffee too, and pulled a chair up to the window. papyrus did the same, and we watched together as the rain took away what last bit of snow was still left.

"WE DIDN'T HAVE NEARLY ENOUGH TIME THIS YEAR."

"with the snow?"

"YEAH."

"at least it did snow at all."

"I MISS IT ALREADY."

"we can always revisit snowdin."

"IT'S DIFFERENT ON THE SURFACE."

"UP HERE IS SNOW THAT GLITTERS BEAUTIFULLY IN THE SUN; SNOW THAT VARIES IN CONSISTENCY FROM TIME TO TIME..."

"THAT'S THE KIND OF SNOW I WANT!!"

"i could point a flashlight at the at the stuff in snowdin. or throw some sparkles on it. might glitter then."

"NO..."

"and i could bring a hair dryer, to melt the snow a little of it so the texture's different."

"THAT'S JUST ENTIRELY WRONG."

"I DON'T WANT 𝙎𝙇𝙐𝙎𝙃."

"but it 𝘪𝘴 a different consistency."

"I DON'T WANT 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 KIND OF DIFFERENT."

"i don't 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸 what you mean then."

"DIFFERENT LIKE BETWEEN PACKING SNOW AND POWERED SNOW, I MEAN."

"......"

"wow. my brother is a snow expert."

"EXPERT??"

"snow 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳."

"HMMM..."

"I 𝘈𝘔 A CONNOISSEUR AT EVERYTHING, SO IT MUST BE TRUE."

"must be."

"DOES THIS MEAN I'LL HAVE TO START BEING PARTICULARLY PICKY ABOUT SNOW?"

"one is not given the connoisseur title for their accepting of just any old snow."

"THEN IN FUTURE, LEAVE IT TO MY DISCERNING EYESOCKETS TO IDENTIFY THE BEST SNOW!"

"i trust your sockets."

"....."

"with everything lately, i can't say i really trust my own."

"YOU'VE GOT A LIGHT BACK. THAT'S PROGRESS!"

"but i can't use powerful magic or i'll lose it again."

"THAT... IT'LL JUST TAKE TIME, I'M SURE."

"ONCE YOUR EYE HEALS, I'M CERTAIN IT'LL GO BACK EXACTLY TO THE WAY IT WAS!"

"and if it doesn't..."

"WE'LL JUST HAVE TO COME UP WITH REALLY COOL FORMATIONS FOR YOUR REGULAR ATTACKS!"

he gave a bright smile.

papyrus' optimism made me feel a little better.

"HOW IS YOUR VISION DOING?"

"could be better."

"could be worse."

"IS IT STILL FUZZY?"

"from a distance."

"CAN YOU SEE ME RIGHT NOW?"

"yep."

"i can see the whipped cream on your face too."

"AH-?"

"WHOOPS."

"DO YOU WANT SOME IN YOUR COFFEE, TOO?"

"ehhh.."

"sure."

"why not?"

whipped cream mustaches sounded fun.

[boredwritergirl]

Day 30 - A Tale of Two Stars part 2

As much of a dumb joke as this is, I might revisit this later. IDK, something about Pearl interacting with ww1 versions of DC characters sounds kinda fun and i might want to explore that in more detail later

A Few Days after Pearl and Clark Kent parted ways, Pearl returned to the city to meet with her projectionist, who was about to drive his way out of town. But, Pearl managed to convince him to swing by her farm to pick up her things first.

As they drove past seemingly endless fields of wheat, Pearl noticed a wandering soldier along the road. As they tore through the dirt beside him, she tried to get a look at his face, his mask obscuring it. 

Pearl took a deep breath as she sat back, her heart sinking with grief, thinking about the possibility of her husband being on his way back home.

Clark noticed her irregular heart beat and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Pearl smiled, “Oh, it’s nothin.” she said halfheartedly, her mind still on that soldier.

As they arrived at her farm, Clark immediately got the impression that something was wrong, his super-senses immediately hearing the faint sound of something moving slightly in the basement. 

As Pearl ran inside, she commanded Clark to stay outside, much to his annoyance. But he decided to play along for now and used his x-ray vision to get a better look into the area. He could see the intense heartbeat of someone struggling downstairs, he could tell that it wasn't the struggle to indicate Immediate death or danger, so he decided to survey the rest of the house first. He noticed a normal heartbeat up on the top floor and the animals Appeared to be healthy enough on the top floor.

  As he noticed pearl walk up those steps, he used his super speed to dash all the way down stairs, where he found Pearl's mother barely alive. She had serious burn marks, some from fire, some from boiling water, both not enough to obscure the bruises she sustained from falling down the stairs. He knew he needed to get her to a doctor soon.

He picked her up and placed her gently onto a chair in the room. Clark looked directly into her eyes, calmly telling her, “I'm here to help. I'll take you to the hospital.”

But then as he looked up again, he could see the steady heart beat start to decline, he could tell that someone was dying and immediately rushed up the stairs to save him in less than an instant.

Seeing Pearl as she was in the middle of strangling her father to death, he immediately snatched the pillow out of her hand. He yelled at Pearl, “What are you doing?!”

There was a pause as Pearl was so shocked by his Sudden appearance that she struggled finding the right words at first. Her father, unable to speak or move on his own just sat there, fear in his eyes as he kept staring at his daughter.

“I-I… I couldn't just leave him there to die! I know he doesn't deserve this! But I don't deserve to be cooped up here neither!” Pearl cried, thick, ugly tears flowing down her cheeks.

“And what about your mother?” Clark asked with a Stern tone of voice. 

“That was an accident!” Pearl blurted out. “I didn't mean to! I never wanted nothing bad to happen to her, I just wanted to leave!!!”

Pearl kept crying and crying, running down the stairs and straight out her home, of course Clark had no issue keeping up with her.

“Pearl, you can't run away from something like this. Your parents need help, and if you can't take care of them yourself then you need to leave them with someone who can.”

“Then why don't you take care of them! You don't know what it's like! Having to slave away caring for two people who can never understand you, people that are either capable of shutting me down if they talk to me at all! I lived my whole life according to them, never being allowed to live my life! This dream was the only thing I had and I won't let anyone take that from me!” Pearl yelled as she was walking over to the barn, picking up the big, two handed ax by the barn doors.

Clark shrugged as he looked at her approaching him with that weapon. “Peal, put the ax down. Your parents need help… you need help.”

Pearl snarled at him as she raised the ax high above her head, “The only help I need is a ticket to Hollywood! And I won't let you tell a soul about any of this!”

Pearl swung her ax, her face scrunching up as she prepared to strike. But, Clark didn’t move a muscle, he let the blade hit him, cutting through his clothes, but the iron of the blade bent against his pecks, not leaving a scratch on him.

Pearl's eyes widened as she tried to process what just happened, her eyes glued to the bent, misshapen ax.

Clark grabbed the ax out of her hand, planting the hilt right into the ground before grabbing her. “I think I know someplace that might be able to help you. It’s pretty far away, but I’ve heard about an Asylum over in Gotham… maybe they’ll be able to help you, after we put your parents in a real hospital like they belong… I’m not sure where we’re going to get the money for all that, but we have to try."

[headstrongblake]

letter 83.

i wasn't lying when i said i was always going to want you. always going to love you. but it's a dull ache now. kinda like stubbing your toe. for a while it was pins and needles. i was screaming in pain the entire time on the inside but mostly, i forget it hurts now. i love you and i'm never going to claw my way back out of that, but it's fine now. i can breathe. imagine that. i can think about how you would say my name and not feel the slice of heartache, desperate to hear it again. i keep thinking, i've rebuilt myself from scratch so many times before, i've lived with entire pieces of me chipped away and i could do it again. you once said that i kept you busy....i think it's time i get back to being the girl who was like that. who brightened rooms. who laughed too loud. i miss her.

letter 14.

i woke up and for a moment i forgot you were gone. i woke up in the apartment and stretched out my arm for you. it's surreal those few moments. the in-between before it all comes back. the scene of me clinging to you. holding my tears somewhere in the hollow of my throat. me with my face buried into your neck, begging you not to do this. you and your shaking voice. i was trying to stop myself from letting you slip through my fingers, but you can't love me. you can't stay and i have to be okay with that. i don't stay at my dorm much anymore. it hurts too much. feels too far from kassy and nick. too far from bell. when i said you could have me, i meant it, so you're not allowed to say that you turned away because you didn't know. i keep waiting for there to be a light on at your condo again. keep waiting even when i tell nick to stop hoping. love shouldn't be a war like this. love shouldn't always be a fight, so how do i give it up? how do i stop?

letter 43.

i was supposed to be better, see, i was supposed to see photos of you without my hands shaking. i did the usual, i bled you out of my system, so close to the bone that i almost died - everything i had in me almost washed away with you. i said sorry and i said fuck you and i said goodbye. you were meant to stay gone. your banishment was heavy on my heart, on my fucking soul, because you were meant to stay gone. but then nick does what he does best. he controls. he manipulates. he hurts for you loudly just like i fucking do so what the fuck was i supposed to do when he said he'd go running after you? fuck, i wish i never left kassy or bell. i was supposed to be better because i stopped running back to you every time i could feel myself fall apart. stopped touching your memory as if you were what i needed to survive. how could i always be so fucking wrong every time? but i see love everywhere and though it doesn't mean i let it in each time; when you touched me, it sunk its foundations in, and when you revisited it for the next year, it grew. i didn't grow this love by myself. when you said those words, that was never my fault, only you and your carelessness, only you and your need to run. i know, grant, the feeling of being afraid to stay, but don't you dare blame this wreckage on me. if you didn't want me, you should have left. if you didn't want me, you should not have tried to stay.

you won't see me again, that much i can promise you. but nick isn't going to stop. he never will. please don't prove me wrong. please, please don't forget who you have been. who you were here. please, don't hurt him.

letter 3.

you broke my heart and i'm still here, getting drunk and thinking about how much i miss you. i mean, i was doing this exact same thing since before you told me the truth, but at least back then i was still talking to you. i always knew i'd miss your voice but i didn't think this much. i didn't think after three days without you, i'd be scared i'll somehow forget you. i didn't think i'd miss the way you looked at me this much but i do. i haven't slept. i can't think straight. keep waiting. wishing. hoping you'll come back through the door. take me in your arms and tell me what a huge mistake you made. promise to love me the way you have... i know you burned us down and i’m better than any pile of ash but i’m still wishing i was holding your hand. that's the worst part about us isn't it? you hurt me...and i try to prove that you didn't really mean that. that you love me more than you hate yourself. i hope you know that i got drunk and all i could think about was wanting to crawl into bed under the covers with you. i slammed back those shots because i thought it might blur my heart a little, give me a chance to fucking breathe, but i still saw you. try telling that ache in my chest that it does not need to ache - it won’t listen to me...

all american universe | @thewholecrew

[pattywagon2go]

Train Talk Tuesday

Train Talk Tuesday: When I did that post on The Good, The Bad, and The Future of Amtrak, something that I should have mentioned was Amtrak's issues regarding rolling stock, since it's something that has become a bit of a larger issue concerning Amtrak's future plans. It's been bugging me ever since, so for this week I will be discussing some problems Amtrak has been having with rolling stock recently, and I'll discuss what the root of the problem is, along with how to (maybe) fix it.

Keen-eyed readers may recognize that this sounds similar to a much older post I did in the past, and this does touch on what the older post already covered. Normally I don't like rehashing topics for numerous posts, but due to that post being done when I was super burnt out and it being of fairly low quality to what I do now, I figured a revisit of this topic wouldn't hurt too much. I promise, this will not be the norm going forward.

Are we good? Okay then, all aboard the first Train Talk Tuesday post of 2024!

Now let's first get started by discussing what exactly is rolling stock, to get everyone up to speed.

Rolling stock is a term used to refer to the vehicles used on a railroad, for example, passenger cars, freight cars, locomotives, multiple units (both diesel and electric), etc. Basically anything that can run on the railroad falls under the term "rolling stock". Trains are simply different rolling stock connected together. Pretty simple, eh?

So now that we know what rolling stock is, what exactly is going on with Amtrak's rolling stock?

There's two main thorns Amtrak has been suffering from with their new order of rolling stock, being the new Acela trainsets and the new Siemens Charger locomotives.

New Acela

The Acela is a high-speed rail service that runs on the Northeast Corridor between Washington D.C. and Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. I won't get into too much detail as to the history of the Acela for the sake of time but what you need to know is it began revenue service in 2000 and it still continues to run to this day with its original trainset (pictured below), but in 2016 Amtrak gained a loan from the Federal Government to order the next gen Acela trainsets (pictured above).

Unfortunately the new Acela trainsets have been delayed due to numerous defects found during the testing phase, being squarely the fault of Alstom, the company who Amtrak paid to build the new Acela. These delays have pushed back the new Acela from a potential introduction date of 2022 all the way to sometime this year (2024). It's super disappointing to see how Alstom really dropped the ball hard on this trainset, especially since the old sets have been in use for over twenty years at this point, with it being well overdue for an overhaul.

Siemens Chargers

This one is a bit less known compared to the Acela, but it's still worth discussing as it's another example of Amtrak getting hamstrung by delays in rolling stock.

Similar to the Acela, the Siemens Charger locomotives are brand new locomotives built by Siemens to replace the aging GE Genesis locomotives (pictured below) that have been the backbone of Amtrak for decades now.

Unfortunately, the Chargers have been having teething issues for the Midwest services, which have kept the Chargers from being deployed across the country to replace the Genesis. The most notable issue was that in cold temperatures, the Charger would for some reason lose power, which would grind the entire train to a halt. It doesn't take a genius to know why that's a bad thing. (Good video talking about the issues here)

And unfortunately both of these delays have only forced Amtrak to stretch its aging fleet very thin, sometimes causing Amtrak to simply cancel trains due to a lack of available rolling stock. This will only cause more damage to Amtrak's reputation and it will just push people to fly or drive over taking the train.

So what exactly is causing both of these issues?

This is a very hard question to answer, mostly because I have no idea what its like to design rolling stock, but I do think I know the answer, and its because neither Siemens nor Alstom are domestic manufacturers.

Now, that may be a bit confusing, as both Alstom and Siemens have facilities here in the United States, along with companies like Stadler and Kawasaki, but that doesn't change that none of those companies were built up making rolling stock for the United States, and that's the big issue here.

Domestic manufacturers are incredibly important to a country trying to expand rail as domestic manufacturers are usually better at adapting at what will work for a country's rails better than an international manufacturer. There is a catch by this though, which is that said domestic manufacturer can easily go under very quickly if it puts out a lemon due to the hyperfocus on selling rolling stock only for the home country. Countries like Germany with Siemens, France with Alstom, and Switzerland with Stadler have supported their domestic manufacturers even if they make a lemon or two because they know how integral they are to the country as a whole. Unfortunately, this is something the United States didn't get, and as a result the United States lost both Budd Co. and the St. Louis Car Company, the former being the company which built all of Amtrak's current Amfleet coaches. Had Budd remained in operation to this day, I bet that Amtrak would have ordered new rolling stock from them instead, which would have been delivered with less delays due to Budd understanding what the United States is like and adjusting in the process. And this idea of supporting domestic companies isn't foreign at all, the U.S. does this with automobiles, where foreign built cars have tariffs put on them to make customers support domestic companies instead, due to their cheaper price.

So what can Amtrak do now?

Unfortunately, there really isn't much Amtrak can do. The only company left making rolling stock domestically is the Brookville Equipment Corporation, and while it is a good idea to throw lots of money their way to keep them afloat, I don't think Brookville would be able to fill Amtrak's order for new rolling stock, due to how large it is. The only thing Amtrak can reasonably do is continue pressing on with both Alstom and Siemens and have them eventually deliver the new rolling stock. The new rolling stock Amtrak has ordered is going to be a great help for Amtrak, that is something I am sure of, but the delays and the damage it has caused could have likely been avoided had Amtrak sought out a domestic manufacturer instead.

So, conclusion time?

Going forward I hope that both Alstom and Siemens learn from this as to not cause many more delays for Amtrak. The new Amtrak Airo trainsets will be ordered through Siemens, so only time will tell if Siemens learned anything from the debacle with the Chargers. In the coming decades where Amtrak will need a lot more rolling stock to provide more service to Americans across the country, delays in rolling stock like these cannot become the norm. And I hope that sometime in the future the U.S. fosters a proper domestic rolling stock industry to help Amtrak with future orders. Until then, I guess people like you and me will continue to wait for Amtrak's new rolling stock to finish their long crawl to revenue service.

[jemariel]

@thehappyfangirl you sent me this! ty!

16. Do you re-read old fics? Is there a time in your writing you won’t go back to?

Sometimes. It depends on the fic and how I feel about it. Sometimes I need to get some distance from a story before I can enjoy rereading it; sometimes I just get bored because I reread it a million times in editing and I don't want to go through it again xD There are certain fics I'm very proud of that I do reread, but there are some from a few years ago that I don't reread anymore because I feel like my writing has changed too much and it doesn't sit right anymore. I keep seeing what I would do differently.

The biggest example of that has to be Lazarus Writing, and it's for such a silly reason. It was the last story I wrote in past tense. I had already started playing around with present tense, which is now my vast preference for both reading and writing. I can feel myself wanting to write in present tense and forcing myself to do past tense for whatever reason, and that, combined with my general strong preference now, just kind of makes me bounce off of it. Which is a shame, because I was really proud of that one when I wrote it and it has some interesting concepts that I would love to revisit. I sometimes daydream about rewriting that one from the ground up, but.... nah. That sounds like so much work for not much payoff. It can stand on its own.

17. What’s the best engagement/interaction/feedback you’ve received from someone who’s read your work?

That's a hell of a question. I've made some great friends through people reading my stories and coming to say hello, either here or on discord or just in the comments section. Like, real actual genuine friends of almost half a decade now. How do you quantify that?

I'll never forget the very first comment I got on a spn fic, though. Whoever that person was, they set the bar pretty high by telling me not only that they liked it, but what they liked about it. I won't say it's the reason I kept writing for this fandom, but as a brand new fish in this extremely large ocean, back before I had any friends or followers or any kind of "Fandom Presence," it was a very warm welcome that I never forgot.

Thanks for the questions!

[ask me Deep Writer Questions]

[hallofboredoom]

Is it True?

Nanami x G/N Reader

Domestic life Nanami

Very loving and comforting Nanami, getting cheated on, rough sex, breeding, nipple play, lovely Nanami, dirty talk, pull out, compliments.

You find out your boyfriend is cheating on you, heartbroken you call up your long time friend Nanami for some comfort...you definitely get your comfort along with some long time confessions.

You layed on your couch, sobbing softly as you re-read the text messages your friend had sent you. They were pictures of messages and videos that your boyfriend had sent to another person. Some of the text messages things like, "I can't wait to see you ;)" and "I had such a fun time last night. I hope you can revisit soon <3." Reading them made you sick but yet you kept re-reading them, still in shock that your boyfriend had been seeing another person behind your back.

Defeated, you left the chat and went to your contacts, you only knew one person who could cheer you up no matter the circumstances. Nanami, a long time friend of yours that you had known since high school. You silently hoped he wasn't busy with work and that you weren't disturbing him.

You held the phone close to your ear, still sniffling softly as you listened to the phone ring; eventually he picked up. "Hello" You heard his deep voice say into the phone, you cleared your voice softly and responded, "Hi Nanami." "Do you need something?" He asked. "Uhm yeah. If it isn't too bothersome could you come by my place, I got some bad info as few hours ago and it's really bothering me." You muttered into the phone, sniffling softly after and rubbing your eyes. "Are you home?" "Mmhm" you responded. "I'll be there in 20 minutes. Try to take care of yourself ok?" His said, voiced laced with concerned. "I will. I promise. See you soon." He hummed back and hung up.

You smiled and set the phone down. You wiped your eyes again and set up a little, your rubbed your forehead, feeling a headache forming after you cried for so long. You got slowly from the couch and walked to the bathroom, grabbing some ibuprofen from the cabinet. You brushed your hair quickly then walked to your room; you changed into some comfy but better looking clothes than your pajamas then went back to the living room, dazing out while watching TV.

After some time you were wakend from your daze by a knock at your door, even though you entrusted Nanami with a key to your apartment he always knocked instead. You stood up and made your way to the door, opening it you slighty smiled at the figure in your doorway. You stepped out of the way of the door and let him in. You watched as he took off his shoes and coat then opened his arms towards you, you gladly went into them, hugging him tightly.

Nanami gently patted your head and you let go, he looked down at you concerned, "Your eyes are puffy, were you crying? Are you going to tell me what happened? Do you need me to do something." Nanamk instantly starting bombarding you with questions and you could here the slight worry in his voice. "I'm ok. I uh found out my boyfriend was cheating on me, it's been going for a while and I was none the wiser.' You sighed, rubbing your nose a little as you sniffled.

Nanami nodded, "I understand. Is there anything you need me to do?" You half shook your head, "Can we just like cuddle on the couch and watch a movie or talk about something?" Nanami nodded again, "Of course, anything you need." He responded. You walked towards the couch, Nanami close behind you. You both sat down, you moved closer to Nanami and he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you closer to his chest. "I hope I didn't bother you at work." Nanami shook his head, "Don't worry about my work, I can finish what I need to do tomorrow or later this evening."

You nodded at his response, "If you say so." You looked up at Nanami who then looked down at you, "If it doesn't bother you, can you explain more of what happened with your boyfriend?" Nanami asked, "Yeah. One of my friends texted me earlier this morning with about 30 pictures of text messages and pictures of the person he cheated on me with and him together. He didn't even pull clichè things like, 'I'll be home late' or stuff like that. He did right right under my nose. The text messages were worse, it was sickening to read. They constantly texted and whenever I asked he always had a good excuse. I guess he's done this a few times or learned some other way but I'm starting to get over it, just a little."

You smiled softly, messing with the fabric of your shirt. Nanami hummed softly, "Have you texted him at all?" You nodded, "Uh yeah. I told him I saw all the things you sent them then just left it at that. He hasn't responded." Nanami glared down at your phone on the table, "Hmm. Ok." You turned your body a little so you could more easily look up at Nanami, you noticed he lightly mumbling something under his breath. You couldn't hear exactly what he was saying but when he noticed you were looking up at him he stopped. "You ok?" You asked, "Yes I'm fine. Just thinking about some stuff." You hummed softly. "Like what? Work?" He shook his head, "Then what are you thinking about." You asked, "You."

You were taken aback, but tried to act normal, he was thinking of you? But that's normal you just told him about your now past relationship. "What about me if you don't mind me asking." You asked, lightly messing around the sleeve of his button-up shirt. "Well I guess about you and me. Now that you're single I'm gonna say something that's been on my mind for a while. Can you sit up for this?" You nodded, heart starting to race at the thought, what was he going to tell you? Was it bad? Was it good?

Nanami fixed his sleeves and tie then cleared his throat. "I've been sitting on this for quite a while but everytime I went to you something got in the way." Nanami sighed softly, "I like you. A lot. I've always thought of you as a great friend but I would like to think of this relationship as something more." You stared at Nanami, speechless, you slowly began to nod. "I..I would really like that too." Nanami put a hand on his heart and then held his arms open again. "Thank goodness."

You fell into his arms, smiling against his chest. "Can I kiss you?" You asked as you looked up at him. He nodded and moved up, kissing him. It took you both a second to fully get into it but once you did, you sat their for ages. Eventually you both pulled away, "I have a request. But only if you really want too." You nodded at him, "Of course. What is it." You asked, "Allow me to take you mind off of what happened earlier." You felt heat run to your cheeks at Nanami's response, you figured you knew what way but just to be sure you asked, "In what way.", "Based on your reaction I think you know what way."

You nodded a bit, "That's fine by me. I've been kind of pent up lately if I'm being honest." Nanami grunted, his hands starting to caress your body, groping as he did. His hands slowly started to move up your shirt, caressing and groping at your chest and nipples. You moaned softly, leaning in and kissing him again. You slowly started to grind your hips against Nanami's, the feeling of arousal crowding your mind.

Nanami pushed up against you, groaning softly against your lips. He pulled away from the kiss and started kissing your neck, "You have such pretty skin." He mumbled against your skin; you lifted your neck up as he continued to kiss, moving his way down your collar bone and then your chest. He slowly removed your shirt, pulling it over your head.

Nanami pulled back for a few moments, seemingly to be admiring your body. You felt a slight heat in your cheeks as you did. His hands moved down your waist as began to kiss your skin again, working his way down. Soon he was at your waist, he looked up at you, "May I?" Glancing towards your shorts; you nodded allowing him to take off your shorts and underwear.

Nanami sat back up, then moves two of his fingers towards your lips. You hesitantly opened your mouth, swallowing his fingers inside. Nanami felt his cock harden, straining against his pants as he watched you suck on his fingers. He wanted your mouth futherdown but he was more focused on pleasuring you.

He slowly began to pull his fingers out of your mouth. "You look so pretty." Nanami mumbled, moving his fingers towards your hole. He looked up at you again, silently asking for your permission. You nodded and began to push in one of his fingers. You moaned softly as he did, your back arching slightly off the couch.

Nanami used his other hands and let his cock out of his pants, relieving the tightness within them. He groaned softly and started to move his finger. You moaned more and after a while you moved your hips against his other finger. Nanami looked up at you and nodded, adding another finger inside of you. He stretched you out, moving his fingers in and out.

After stretched you for a while, Nanami pulled his fingers out, "Are you ready sweetheart?" He asked, rubbing his socks slowly. You nodded in response, "Please Nanami." Your soft plee did it for him and he was already lining his cock up with your hole. Nanami slowly began to push him, both of your moaning as he did. You leaned your head back against the pillow as he bottomed out.

Nanami panted softly, waiting for you to get adjusted. After a few moments you nodded up at him. Nanami nodded back and began to thrust; he moved slowly at first but began to pick up pace. Both of your groaning and making and you wrapped your arms around Nanami's neck as his speed was increasing.

Nanamk leaned down into your ear, "I love you. I really truly mean it." He said into your ear. You whined softly, his comment causing you to closer. "I...I love you too Nanami. But you have to really...promise me that it's true." He mumbled back, gripping at his back.

Nanami nodded, "I promise. Anything..you want me to do to prove...it I will do." Nanami answered, panting and groaning between his words. You buried your head in his neck, approaching your orgasm. You could tell Nanami was too as he speed increased more and his pace was becoming more erratic. Soon enough, you came, tightly gripping Nanami inside and out as you did, your moans releasing into his chest.

He soon after pulled out his cock and rubbed it virgously until he came, groaning loudly as he did. Nanami pulled back away from you, the both of you heavily panting. After Nanami mostly regained his breath he leaned towards you, kissing your forehead. "I promise you my love is true and I'll never let you forget it."

A/N: Finally pushed out this one. Had been sitting in my notes for days and I finally finished it. Fairly proud of the final product. Again. Any comments or suggestions are welcome as well as requests 💖💖

[westernchords]

2020: a replay & reflection

so... here we are at the near end of a very long, unsettling & strange year. and at this particular moment in time, spotify has released its 2020 wrapped feature, an annual highlight for gay people everywhere (self VERY included). since the world is very large & this is a personal blog with a limited scope, i'll talk about what i know best: the view from my corner of the musical world.

i only had two songs in common with any previous year -- i wish i missed my ex by mahalia & sugar by brockhampton (... i know, the heartache is loud already,)

4 unique rain asmr audios made it into my top 15 (they help me sleep lolol)

show tunes was my #4 most listened to genre and yet not a single one made it into my top 100. (i'm pretty sure it was all of my late night waitress sing alongs)

i discovered 1,012 new artists and 162 new genres

all very fun and interesting things! however, in looking at this year, there are two things to discuss that are most important: the amount of time i spent listening to music (111,989 minutes) and my top song, fake mona lisa. let's discuss both.

on time: in short, music means a lot to me. in long, i mean that music has been central to my life for as long as i can remember. i think of my church choir and my mother singing eartha kitt and corrine bailey rae in the kitchen, my father's surprise talents at piano when he would play in chapel, and how i like to make up little ditties to sing for my dog or while i cook or to solely entertain myself. if one was to take a look at my journals, each entry is annotated with the song i was listening to or suited my mood at the time i was writing. at any moment, i am capable of revisiting the emotional landscape of old memories all set to the very soundtrack that holds that particular past closest.

i still remember plucking violin strings at 5, how i used to stack music books so i could sit up straight on my piano bench because i was too short at 7, picking up woodwinds in highschool and letting my best friend act as conductor, and now, singing endlessly- day in and day out, because it makes me feel like i am traveling home. i think of creole folk songs that connect me to my family, my diaspora. i remember the favorite songs and artists of people i don't know anymore, but still. it stays with me. my friend cj says i have a great emotional sensitivity to music, but more so, music simply connects to every cornerstone of who i am. the creation of it, the listening, the love of it. the constancy.

music is integral to my daily routine and life. since i was 13, maybe younger, i have always believed that the first song i hear in a day sets the tone so i always try to play something i love and makes me feel joyful to start off on the right foot. i will do this my entire life. every day is permeated by sound and the data shows it. 111,989 minutes is almost 3 months straight. this doesn't even count soundcloud listens or youtube tracks or music i play on my own. this felt fitting. music, this year in particular, has been a salve to both new and old hurt. and maybe i am picking at my scabs, but 2020 has amplified so much anger and shame and fear and despite that, there is so much joy in art. music is a balm for the world, it is poetry in its own right.

on fake mona lisa: so .. i am kind of obsessed with this song. fifteen hours worth of listening, i text my friends i'll join the video call soon - i just need one more replay, i got high and played this song while lying in the middle of a meadow and experienced more emotions than i had had in a very long time, my friends lovingly tease me about it so it's sort of like a character trait now, kind of obsessed. my turning to this song was the sort of romance that i didn't anticipate, but fell very hard into and, if you know me, you know that's my favorite kind. let's get into why: when dedicated side b came out, i was heartbroken. there's really no other way to put it. i was alone, back in my childhood bedroom, and harboring a reopened wound from past relationships that maybe had never closed in the first place. i was in this strange, melancholic knee-deep-in-emotions place & if you're an avid CRJ fan, you recognize that's a place she knows and sings about well.

as a song, fake mona lisa tends to be one of carly's more lyrically opaque tracks. which is fine, i'm a storyteller at heart, i'll craft my own narrative. (and honestly, there wasn't much legwork here.) without doing a full blown analysis, here are pieces that i find important to note about the song lyrically and resonate most with me -- big or small.

(transcription at bottom)

what i'm basically saying is that this song is about risk and young love and sex. its about secrets, cheap thrills, fast & easy desires, and the fantastical euphoria of a dead-end-but-still-fun “we're young so what's the matter,“ relationship. (very reminiscent of LA hallucinations, imo) and to me, someone who has been in and out of this same subset of emotional affairs, fake mona lisa stuck with me. vegas is a city of high risk, high reward- where else to chase that superficial, unattainable someone? more so, the song gives you the understanding that the relationship doesn't last, but that was not what carly ever truly wanted out of it. fake mona lisa is, at its core, about over indulgence in pleasure as a stand in for actual love + commitment, something i am oft to do myself & only did more of after dedicated side b dropped. i latched onto the slow and simmering exposition into glittery pre-chorus, starlit imagery, shiny-faraway vocals, and frankly, there was no competition for my song of the year. the song is a dream. i love it and i know what that says about me, but i stand by it. 

dedicated side b, especially fake mona lisa, carried me through the healing process of heartbreaks that crystallized into many other things- indulgence, desire, risk, short lived romances, secrets, joy, kisses i should've kept to myself, spontaneous dance breaks, tears, etc., it is an album about love, recovery, and returning to the self. fake mona lisa is just my favorite stop on a long train ride to an okay-ness with aspects of romance (both with the self and others) that i am still figuring out the messy, rose-tinted, contours of.

and sonically? i just adore the key of d minor.

as a last touch point, fake mona lisa was only the tip of the iceberg of songs  i obsessed over about not-exactly-ideal romances. again and again and again, heartbreak anthems appeared in my top 100, a deviation from my typical warmth towards romantic sentiments that appeared in past years. instead, there is a sense of love-at-a-distance, a painting yourself as the object of desire, a severed attachment, a not wanting to commit at all (see let's be friends, heartbeat, want you in my room, all by crj ... all appearing on the list.) however, much of what appeared celebrated love and having tremendous, special, struck by cupid, feelings. it's all there. what i'm saying is that carly rae jepsen writes music for lovestruck people- both lucky and not so much, hopeless or hopeful -- you name it. she writes about how you can fall in love with almost anyone, soundtracks for the highs of the first throes of intimacy, the first (and last) kiss, the shared moments between two people when they are each other's whole world, and the palpable distance of heartache, separation, and the landscape between. 

she writes as though she is both eros and psyche, armed with arrows of cascading melodies, tipped with a salve for suppressing+healing+amplifying heartbreak, and lyrics so intimate and dreamy, you really can't help but believe in love with the way she speaks of it. love is a venture from shame, a fantasy that is more real than anything else, tender and kind, pleasurable, and escapable into. the world is better in it, the world is better because of it. in carly rae jepsen's discography, love is the defining pillar of experience. a northern star and guiding principle. it is the only thing, no matter what form. & frankly? i cant help but agree.

as a final note, in hanif wills-abdurraqib's emotion review for MTV, carly rae jepsen's public displays of affection, he says this:

thats all for now. bye 2020.

- august

///

transcription of my notes:

verse 1:

city/star light imagery

i am known for wearing a star stamp on my cheek

infatuation & attraction

paints a photo of a starlet and her lover, a fair weather affair

pre-chorus:

always waiting fro a chance the object of desire

a high from love, addictive pleasures

chorus:

sex & art & risk taking (art synonymous with beauty. + seduction)

she knows she cant handle this in a real way, but wants it

desire vs/& (in conjunction with) pain

verse 2:

an idealistic worldview, hoping for the best, always somewhere else not present. 

dreamy lyrics + dreamy state of mind, cloudy even.

specifically the words fake mona lisa:

contrast, beautiful yet fully acknowledged to be unreal/superficial

a stand in for “real art“ aka “real love“

[zombiiesque]

Nocturne Alchemy Halloween 2019 - Part One

Originally published 10/8/2019

Hey y'all, and happy Halloween month! October is, bar none, my favorite time of the year, even though it's a little ridiculously hot here in Florida. It took me forever to decide what I wanted, but I finally picked up some treats from Nocturne Alchemy's Halloween 2019 release, and I want to share my thoughts on those, and maybe cover briefly what I have that appears in the Resurgence section, as well. So let's dive right in, shall we?

What did I wind up choosing? A pretty good selection, having tested everything, I don't think there's a single one that isn't going to work! I picked out Pirate's Rum for Jody, but I haven't tested it on him yet, so we'll skip that for now. The rest of what I got was Blood, Blood Queen, Blackout, Vampire Bourbon Patchouli Bat, and The Mummy Returns - as it turns out, I have an aged bottle of that, so I'm probably going to swap my new bottle. They sent me Mummy's Spirit as a prize from a contest I won on the business page on Facebook, and the free sample was the brand new PC scent, Halloween 2020. That's a pretty exciting set!

Blood – Kashmir (Studio Limited), Pipe Tobacco accord, Caramel Oudh (NA Studio), Black Patchouli leaves, Palo Santo essential oil, Italian Bergamot, Italian Pine resin, Frankincense Resin, Myrrh wood and Bastet’s Musk. Oh, this is intense. It's almost a little scary, and these are notes that are right in my wheelhouse. That was my first thought when I put this on my skin - but then it warms and melds, and ooooof - it's captivating. Apply this lightly - a little goes a very long way. Right away, I get the palo santo, and then it sort of melts into this caramel oudh and tobacco. I love NA's tobacco, and I don't have much of it, so I really, really wanted this one. I'm getting almost a leather feel at first, but that stage doesn't last very long. If I sniff really hard, I can pick out the pine, Kashmir (a deep red musk), patchouli, and resins while it's still wet. Once it starts drying though, as I mentioned before, it really all melds together. It's got a slightly unisex feel, and I really want to try this one on my fiance, I think it would be amazing on a man. But he is going to have to share it, if he likes it - I love this entirely too much to give it up. Oh my gosh, it's so dark and sexy, I can't stop huffing my wrists. This is an inky fall night, the moon up high and bright in the sky. There's a chill in the air, but a huff of smoke from someone's pipe - and there's a bonfire in the distance. You're wrapped up nice and warm though. And holy bats do you smell amazing. It lasts quite a while, too. I got a solid 10+ hours out of it. I kept catching whiffs of it that had me trying to figure out what it was before I remembered what I was wearing. Yeah, love this one.

Blackout – NA Chypre accord (labdanum, oakmoss, lavender, patchouli and neroli), Jasmine Absolute, NA Oudh, Bastet Amber Absolute, Mandarin, Clove and Amber accord. Blackout is a stunner of a chypre. This is darkly gothic, and it feels almost....dangerous. Hah! I love it. Chypres are an interesting group for me, most of the time I love them, but sometimes there's a floral that can turn up a little weird on my skin? That's definitely not happening here. If you took a look at the notes and were worried about the jasmine, mandarin, or clove - I spent a full two days with Blackout, and I'm just not able to truly pick them out. When I first put it on, while wet, there's a slight hint of a spicy floral, but it just melts into something deeper and darker so quickly, I can't get a handle on what the florals would be. This is just so smooth and sophisticated. If Blackout was a True Blood character, it would be Eric. Hah! I'm not sure if I could pick out my favorite between this, Blood, and Blood Queen, as I love them all - they're wildly different - but I think if I were pressured, it would be Blackout. The oakmoss is perfection here, I find it to be the most noticeable note in the chypre accord. Since that's a particular favorite of mine from NA, I'm happy to see it star here. This is so starkly beautiful. There's almost a coldness here, but it's drawing me in - it's very appealing. I think that Blood and Blood Queen are very warm scents, but Blackout is just .... chilly.

Blood Queen – Wild Black Currant, Cemetery Musk, Santalum White (Studio Limited), Kashmir (Studio Limited), Black Musk, Blood Wine accord, Black Violet and Lilac essence. Blood Queen is just so purple and wild! I had a hard time choosing what I was going to order to go along with Blackout and Vampire Bourbon Patchouli Bat. I finally settled on Blood, but I kinda was looking hard at Skeletonic, as I adore woody scents - I might have to go back for it, but the notes for Blood Queen just kept pulling me in. This is definitely a me scent, and so I plopped it in my cart and didn't look back. I think I expected the Kashmir, which is a deep, sexy, rich red musk, to kind of be the star here. And it's here, don't get me wrong. Kashmir and Black Musk are not musks that will ever be described as shy, but though I get both of them, they're playing so well with the other notes - like a dance. It's mesmerizing. On my skin, the wine and Cemetery Musk play supporting roles. There's a sweetness and fullness that they add to Blood Queen. Primarily, though, this perfume is a fruity floral musk - and a stunner. This is a come hither, slinky, sultry, masterpiece. Not shy, even a little bit. The blackcurrant is juicy and sweet - it's a good counter for the dark florals of violet and lilac. I usually avoid florals, but I really like how they play darkly with the musks and fruit. If Blackout is Eric, I'm calling Blood Queen Pam. *wink* It lasts forever on my skin, too. A solid 8 to 10 hours!

Mummy’s Spirit – Green Matcha Tea, Violet, Egyptian Blue Chamomile Essential Oil, Egyptian Papyrus essential oil, Egyptian Musk and Egyptian Red Musk and NA Limestone Amber. This was the bottle that I won in a contest NA had on their business page, and they picked out for me. I actually was kind of drooling over the description of it already, because I do love that papyrus note, and their green teas. Naturally, I love this one. It's bright and fresh and crisp, and the green tea is gorgeous here. It's been so, so hot here in Florida - we're missing fall by a long shot. This is a great transitional scent - I can definitely see wearing it as it gets colder, but I wore it a few days in a row when it was over 90 degrees and it was lovely then, also. This is a lighter scent - it needed a couple of applications throughout the day, but I suspect the more it ages, it will get a little more longevity, because I've noticed that's a pattern with scents that start out lighter from NA. Just worth mentioning it as something to be aware of, in terms of a review. For me, I don't mind reapplying - I usually take scent with me wherever I go. But I'll be looking forward to see how this one is going to play out with age, as I already love it. It's quite different from the others that I chose myself, but it's definitely something I'll be reaching for often. I don't get a lot of the violet, so it must be a background note. The chamomile lends a light herbal tone, adding to the overall "green" feel of Mummy's Spirit. I don't get a lot of the violet, but I think on my skin it adds a softly sweet contrast against the green, herbal feel of the tea and chamomile.

Vampire Bourbon Patchouli Bat – Golden and Black Patchouli essential oils slow-drip blended into our Bourbon Vanille Absolute, Sugared Vanilla pods with hints of Oak and Hinoki wood. This one was my first choice - I knew absolutely I was going to get it. And it was an instant win, right out of the mailbox. This is warm and cozy, but at the same time, dead sexy and darkly slinky. The slightly boozy vanilla against the patchouli is perfectly balanced - and I am totally getting the oak and hinoki wood, so that's really awesome, I was hoping I'd be able to smell that in the mix! I feel like the woods really help keep that balance here, because the Bourbon Vanille is quite a rich note, along with the sugared vanilla. The long drydown on this is an almost spicy, plush, slightly narcotic vanilla, balanced with a dark, resinous, herbal patchouli. This isn't your hippie grandma's patchouli scent, by a long shot. This is elegant and polished. It would be a great date night scent - but at the same time, it's cozy and inviting, and I'd wear this to go stomping in the fall leaves in a sweater and jean jacket. I'd also wear it to dinner with my guy. If you were even thinking about Vampire Bourbon Patchouli Bat, do yourself a favor - go pick it up. Yesterday. Word in the fan run Facebook group, the House of NA Tent, is super positive - I think it's the fan favorite of NAlloween 2019.

You know what? I've been thinking about it. I think Blood would be Alcide. *wink*

Edit: At the risk of repeating myself, I'm going to throw a blanket statement out for all of these - I cannot wait to see what they're going to be like with some aging. I accidentally bought a bottle of The Mummy Returns, and I already had one from last year. The fresh bottle is truly a gorgeous scent, but that aged bottle? Wow. So just bear that in mind, my impressions are from bottles I've only had about a week. It's going to be fun to revisit them next Halloween!

Okay, that's going to wrap it up for today. I'm going to go ahead and do a second half, and cover Halloween 2020 (YESSSS) and the Resurgence that I have, including my beautifully aged bottle of The Mummy Returns. The Resurgence reviews are posted here, if you would like to take a look! Thanks for joining me, y'all!