#Jingle Ball Village

[popentertainment-concertphotos]

P1Harmony – Jingle Ball Village 2023 – KIA Forum – Los Angeles, CA – December 1, 2023  

Photos by Larisa Jiao © 2023

[popentertainmentconcertreviews]

Paul Russell, P1Harmony, GUNNAR, Charlieonnafriday, (G)I-DLE & Teddy Swims – Jingle Ball Village 2023 – KIA Forum – Los Angeles, CA – December 1, 2023  

It’s a rarity to hear roaring cheering while you’re still on your way to the concert venue. However, enthusiastic fans showed up strong for iHeartRadio 102.7 KIIS FM’s 2023 Jingle Ball Pre-Show — some even traveling from different countries and lining up since 5AM in order to catch a glimpse of their favorite artists on stage.

The annual pre-Jingle Ball event enlists the top up-and-coming artists to conduct a Q&A or perform on stage for a dedicated crowd full of fans.

Powerhouse vocalist Teddy Swims took to the stage first — serenading the audience with his soulful vocals that allowed for his raw talent to shine through. While Swims initially gained notoriety by uploading cover songs of classic hits onto YouTube in 2019, it didn’t take long for him to be signed to a label and grow on a massive global scale. Yet, he hasn’t forgotten his sincere appreciation for his fans, saying genuine thanks for coming out to see him sing.

To maintain the exciting momentum, K-pop girl group (G)I-DLE then came onto the stage for a special Q&A. Their incredible stage presence, ranging from striking their best badass poses to getting the fans to sing their hits, made everyone go wild. They freshly completed their second worldwide tour, the “I Am Free-ty World Tour,” spanning 18 countries this year, where they highlighted their meticulous choreography and catchy pop tunes.

Next up was up-and-comer, charlieonnafriday, a rising hip-hop songwriter that quickly amassed a dedicated fanbase on social media with his talent. His captivating energy on stage was apparent as he seamlessly switched between upbeat and more mellow songs that displayed his musical versatility as an artist. He recently was seen opening for Tate McRae’s “Are We Flying” tour and is embarking on his own European tour in April 2024.

Hitting the stage afterwards was California native, GUNNAR, a pop-rock newcomer that has nailed how to command the audience’s attention. He started his set by immediately launching off of the drum platform, jettisoning a few feet into the air all while strumming chords on his electric guitar. The energy for the rest of his set only increased from there. GUNNAR most recently opened for Maroon 5’s sold-out tour across Europe and the U.K.

South Korean boy band, P1Harmony, then proceeded to take the stage amidst a sea of diehard fans who raised up their handmade signs and threw up hearts with their fingers for their favorite group member. With their energetic and catchy tunes sung effortlessly by the group, accompanied by their impeccable dance moves in perfect sync, it’s no surprise P1Harmony has garnered such a large global fanbase with their talent.

Closing out the pre-Jingle Ball show was rapper and singer-songwriter Paul Russell, the ever-exuberant and charming performer that keeps you smiling throughout the entire performance. His energy impressively matched that of the crowd, as he delightfully ran across the stage to engage with all sides of the audience and invited everyone to sing along to the chorus of his songs. Russell first skyrocketed into the public eye when the snippet of his song, “Lil Boo Thang” went viral on TikTok in the summer of 2023. Since then, he was signed to Arista Records and has continued to release songs that infuse a mix of funk, pop, R&B, and hip-hop.

Keep your eye out for the 2024 Jingle Ball Pre-Show lineup for more opportunities to catch incredible emerging artists like these!

Larisa Jiao

Copyright ©2023 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: December 3, 2023.

[gallusrostromegalus]

Hello again, apologies if this has already been answered, but which captains get along the best? Any unlikely friendships within the gotei 13?

I did a post on some of the friendships in AEIWAM but I'd like to elaborate on a few of them so:

Less than a year after the events of Turn Back The Pendulum, Widower Sojun Kuchiki died, and a teenage Byakuya was orphaned.

Now, Byakuya wasn't totally alone in the world- he still had his grandfather and the rest of the Kuchiki clan, but that sort of ended up being the problem. Ginrei was massively overworked as captain of the 6th, and had to ask Byakuya to step into some of his late father's roles early, like taking a diplomatic trip to some of the clan's land holdings up North. A largely boring and scripted event, but an important one and good practice for the future Clan Head.

-So of course, it immediately went catastrophically sideways when a rival clan attacked and attempted to kidnap the Kuchiki heir, shutting down the portal system to prevent support from the Seireitei arriving in a timely manner. Young Byakuya, already doing poorly from the grief of losing his father, suddenly found himself alone in unfamiliar territory, surrounded by enemies and hopelessly outnumbered.

Unfortunately for the rival clan, just because the portals were down didn't mean that other shinigami weren't in the area.

The memory is burned indelibly into Byakuya's mind.

It was a blazingly hot, almost painfully bright bright summer afternoon, the sun gleaming off the blades of his would-be assassins. They were good, and had separated Byakuya from his retinue, but at least he had managed to buy time for the village and the rest of the diplomatic party to escape. He stood, panting, holding the blank asauchi sword that had not yet been called to host a zanpaktou spirit, between himself and the leader of the strike team. All around him, spears and Kido Spells were trained on his person. No escape. Nowhere to strike that wouldn't immediately get him killed.

Despite there not being a breath of wind in the valley where he stood, something was causing the Alarm Bell at the top of the valley to ring, making Byakuya look up-

The sun was behind the leader as he was saying something about how their contract didn't actually specify that they had to keep him *alive* so how about he be a good boy and come quietly before they decided he was more manageable dead, but Byakuya wasn't actually paying attention.

Behind the leader, the sun seemed to be having some kind of spontaneous Eclipse. Or at least, there was a dark spot in the middle of it that seemed to be rapidly expanding and surely that can't be righ-

Sharp

It wasn't even a word, more an impression in his mind that something was hurtling in his general direction with the intent to disembowel, and not even centuries of Noble Breeding to be stoic in the face of peril could stop Byakuya's entirely correct prey animal instinct to duck and cover.

The blast from the impact would have been enough to pin Byakuya to the ground anyway, given how it scattered half the strike team and the dust blinded the rest. Byakuya felt the interloper's feet strike the ground on either side of where he was curled into a defensive ball, and the string of invective was too fast to parse but the way his rough voice echoed in Byakuya's chest left no doubt to his meaning.

A swing of the Odachi from his impressive wingspan cleft three of the assailants in twain and mortally wounded a fourth. The headless corpse of the leader thudded to the ground behind him, vaporized from the neck up by the flying kick he'd taken to the head. There was a strange jingling noise, the bells of a child's toy, and one of the remaining assassins recognized the chime and spiky silhouette-

"SHIT! IT'S THAT SWORD BASTARD! THE ONE FROM NORTH 80!!"

The remaining assassins started to back up, and Byakuya peered up from where he was hiding under the protective stance of recently-appointed 11th Division Captain Zaraki Kenpachi.

"THAT'S CAPTAIN SWORD BASTARD TO YOU!" He roared back, bristling magnificently and the remainder of the strike team scattered.

Once satisfied they were fleeing and not regrouping, Zaraki reached down with his free hand and grabbed Byakuya by the collar, pulling him to his feet.

"Zaraki-Taicho?" He asked, almost not believing his luck. "How did you get here so fast? The portals are down and even Captain Yoru- Captain Fon's shunpo would take days to reach me from seireitei!?"

Slowly, Zaraki turned his head and actually looked down at the boy, single functioning eye blinking in confusion.

"Byakuya?" he asked, cocking his head sideways. "-The fuck are you doin' out here?"

"BYAKUSHI??" Yachiru shrieked with excitement, popping up from behind her father's shoulder, and scrambling over to climb into Byakuya's bewildered arms instead.

"I- I'm on a diplomatic inspection of land holdings for the Kuchiki Clan. Sir." Byakuya babbled, unconsciously settling Yachiru on his hip, still waiting for his heart to resume a regular pulse and not whatever this live-hummingbird-in-his-ribcage nonsense was.

Zaraki squinted, displeased with that answer. "...Didn't your dad die just last week? The fuck are you doing out here? You should be home mourning or something."

Byakuya's gaze flicked away from the captain, face wan and jaw tense. "I have. Duties." he winced.

"Hf." Zaraki grunted, still displeased, and Yachiru pulled a spare hair tie out of her kimono. "Whatever. Relatedly, where the fuck is 'here', actually? Also- We have a Portal system??" he asked, changing the subject gracelessly but with deep mercy.

"We are in Inuzka, the town inside the Kuchiki Clan's ancestral land holdings in North 41." he answered- Zaraki could stand to be more polite, but Byakuya had to admit he wasn't precisely out of line- He wasn't Clan Head yet, and even if he was, as a Captain, Zaraki still would outrank him. "If you didn't come here by the portals, you must have already been in the area... Forgive my impudence into prying, but what are you doing here? Eleventh Division exercises?"

"I'm fuckin' lost." Zaraki shugged, unbothered by the question. "Tryin' to go see family while they're done here for the summer and I thought I could just follow the Red River up to the headwaters and then I'd be close enough but I must've picked the wrong tributary..." He muttered, folding his arms into his Kosode and reaching out through the neck hole to scratch under his chin, contemplative.

Byakuya blinked in surprise. "I didn't know you HAD a famil-" He started, then slapped his hand over his mouth, mortified.

"HAH!" Zaraki's laugh rang through the empty street and he affectionately slapped Byakuya's shoulder. "Did you think I just fell out of the sky one day? 'Salright, I look like something that got tossed out of Heaven's garbage tip." he grinned, and Yachiru giggled as she braided Byakuya's hair.

"My apologies, sir." He mumbled, face flushed. "-Well, the Gotei-13 *had* a portal system but this was a very coordinated attempt to kidnap me and there was an agent in the Seireitei that sabotaged the portal system, preventing both a retreat and form help arriving. I got the villagers and my retinue safely through before they went down, but I'm not sure how I'm getting back..." he puzzled.

Zaraki frowned into the distance, the hand on Byakuya's shoulder rubbing a slow circle as he considered something. "These duties- sort of a 'go practice yer meetin' people manners' trip?"

"It was supposed to be a routine diplomatic excursion, yes." Byakuya nodded, confused. "I've been here before with- with my father, and we had planned to go together again, so it's not like this was dropped on me suddenly." he muttered.

Zaraki nodded. " 'S summer break for school right now, yeah? Yachiru starts school in September, when do you go back?"

"Um. The first week of September as well?" Byakuya blinked confused.

Zaraki tilted his head to peer down at Byakuya, and gave him a strange grin. "-And you know how to read a map, right?"

"Yes?" Byakuya huffed, starting to get annoyed at this strange interrogation.

Zaraki suddenly dropped into a crouch, single eye level with Byakuya's own, and the boy startled to see that his iris was a pale yellow, like a hawk. The Captain threw his arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close.

"...How d'ya feel about goin' on a REAL Diplomatic Mission?" he asked with a decidedly conspiratorial drawl.

"YEAH! COME SEE BA-SAMA!" Yachiru bounced in his arms with excitement, waving a handful of clover flowers he suspected were being incorporated into the braid.

Byakuya tilted his head sideways, hoping they would make more sense at a forty-five-degree angle.

***

Minutes later, the recently-installed Spirit Phone on Kuchiki Clan Head and 6th Division Captain Ginrei Kuchiki's desk rang.

The elderly head of the Kuchiki clan looked to his even more elderly commander, and then to the piebald clown that was now running the 12th division. Mayuri pressed a button on the strange device he'd hooked up to the Spirit Phone which would allow them to record and track the call, which whirred and clicked, and he listened for a moment into the earphones before giving Ginrei a thumbs-up. Yamamoto nodded as well, and with grave seriousness befitting a likely hostage situation, Ginrei picked up the receiver.

"Captain Ginrei Kuchiki speaking." He spoke, trying to keep the icy growl out of his voice and failing.

"Hi Grandpa!" Byakuya called cheerfully on the other end of the line.

"BYAKUYA?!" Ginrei yelped. "Are you alright? You need to get out of Inuzuka now! The Ozaki clan have-!"

"Oh no, no- they already attacked! I'm fine!" Byakuya interrupted him. "Captain Zaraki saved me!"

There was a moment of very confused silence.

"...Zaraki?" Yamamoto asked, stepping in to speak into the receiver as well. "What's he doing there?"

"You gave me leave to go see my family and tell them where I live now, remember Boss?" Zaraki grunted.

"HI JI-SAN!" Yachiru called as well.

"...Well that worked out nicely. What a stroke of good planning on my part." Yamamoto nodded and Mayuri rolled his eyes.

"I- Thank you, Zaraki-taicho." Ginrei said, bewildered but genuine. "...Where are you now?"

"I'm calling from the spirit phone in the town council building in Inuzuka." Byakuya explained. "If I may grandfather, about me getting home-"

"It's going to take at least three months to get the portals up and running again." Mayuri grunted, disappointed that he was not getting to test out his new spirit phone tracking invention.

"...Three months?" Yamamoto glared.

"Don't glare at me like that!" Mayuri huffed. "-With anybody else in charge a blast like that would have taken the system out for good, but *I* build in redundancies! Which are. also damaged. but not obliterated! Urahara hadn't backed up SHIT, if this had happened last year-!"

"Yeah, yeah- Hop to." Yamamoto waved.

"Well, since the portals aren't going to be working any time soon and I'm already more than halfway from the city- I had a thought." Byakuya spoke up, voice gentle and sentences clearly enunciated, making sure Ginrei could follow his logic. "It's an awful shame that the Land Holdings Assessment Meeting won't be held this year, but Zaraki-taicho's family is significantly farther north than I thought, and the journey there would take me through several very underrepresented districts-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT." Ginrei snarled. "I knew it was wrong to send you to the Holdings without an armed escort, I'm sending the Onmitsukido out to collect you this instant!"

"Now hold on a minute." Yamamoto cautioned him with a hand on his shoulder as there was a muffled noise on the other end of the line. "-I know you're worried but-"

"-He's a Kuchiki, ain't he?" Zaraki interrupted on the other end.

"Yes? Of course? What does that have to do with anything?" Ginrei demanded.

"-Future Head of The Clan and Captain, yeah?" Zaraki continued. "He's gonna have to deal with shit like this sooner rather than later. Already dealin' with it! Tryin' to hide him back in the compound won't teach the kid shit."

Ginrei sighed, pushing his glasses up to rub the bridge of his nose, perfectly aware of where this was going.

"He's not made of spun glass- hell, he'd forced the assassins into having to siege him to get to him when I showed up. Exactly the correct choice for the options and information he had- But I do think you're right that he still needs an armed escort while he's learnin'. I'm armed, and I'd be Escortin' him." Zaraki offered. "...Actually, he'd be escorting me, I'm lost as hell and Byakuya knows how to read a map. I get more time with my family, he gets- What'd ya call it?"

"It would be an Exceptionally Valuable Diplomatic Experience." Byakuya chimed in.

"Byakuya..." Ginrei groaned. They had coordinated and rehearsed this, Gods help him.

"While I appreciate your concern Grandfather, and no shame to the Onmitsukido, but recent events have shown that sufficiently motivated criminals will try their luck against them." The boy continued, undeterred. "...Wheras Captain Zaraki is well-known in these parts- to the point that the Ozaki Clan's would-be assassins scattered at his mere silhouette. I honestly think that 'Within Arm's Reach of The Current Kenpachi' is quite possibly the safest place I could be in all of Soul Society."

"Kid's got a point." Mayuri shrugged, prodding at his call-tracking device. "Even *I* had heard of him as a fighter when I was still on the outside, and I was operating clean on the other side of the Rukongai! The guards at The Maggot's Nest speculated that if he were ever to cross the law, he might not be arrested because they didn't think that hole could actually hold him. Rather natural that he ended up here- very literally nobody in the rukongai wants to cross blades with him anymore."

Ginrei fixed Mayuri with a horrified stare, gaze slowly shifting to Yamamoto.

"...You're both Captains and privy to classified information, but this does not leave this room." Yamamoto said, covering the receiver and glaring imperiously down at both men. "Zaraki's family, especially his Mother, is someone we very much need to stay on the good side of, and I am NOT going to interrupt communication between them, lest we suffer Her wrath."

"Captain Kurotsuchi was in prison?" Byakuya asked, voice muffled like he'd covered the receiver with his hand as well. "-Yeah, he heard 'a me and I heard 'a him, which is why I ask Akon and *Not Him* if I ever need anything out of the 12th." replied Zaraki.

"...Who is She?" Ginrei frowned. "-And if She is so dangerous, you think Byakuya is the person we want to send as a diplomat to Her?"

"What for?" Byakuya continued, curious. "-Operatin' without a license." Zaraki shrugged.

"How does your mouth feel after saying that, Captain Kuchiki?" Yamamoto asked, voice light and pleasantly curious in a way that belied extreme danger.

"It's f-" Ginrei started and stopped. There was an odd sensation in his mouth, a sting like he'd taken a sip of tea without letting it cool down. "...Why is my mouth burning?"

"You were present for the execution of traitor Soya Azashiro, yes?" Yamamoto smiled menacingly.

"Operating what?" Byakuya asked, puzzled. "-Or anesthetic." Zaraki elaborated. "...Ah." Byakuya winced.

"Yes, the sight and heat of the released form of the Sokyoku is not something I'll soon forget, but what does that have to do with..?" Ginrei stopped as a horrible, terrifying thought occurred to him.

"I still do not entirely understand how-" Yamamoto admitted, patting Ginrei on the shoulder. "But Kiko'o is both Captain Zaraki's Uncle, and quite submissive to his Big Sister."

Ginrei paled.

Mayuri frowned in confusion, trying to work out how that happened, biologically speaking. "-Did Zaraki fucking hatch out of an Egg?"

"You can ask him when he returns with young master Kuchiki!" Yamamoto grinned. "-But that said, you see why I will not do anything that would turn her attention to Seireitei."

"...I understand." Ginrei gulped. "-but he's just a boy!"

"Take heart- You've seen how fond and protective of children Zaraki is? By all accounts, it's something he picked up from Her. Byakuya's youth will serve us all well." Yamamoto explained, uncovering the recciver. "Let him go."

Ginrei grimaced, but nodded and lifted both pieces of the Spirit Phone to his face again.

"-was in prison too, but that's just because his family sucked ass and didn't realize talent when they saw it-" Zaraki was explaining on the other end.

"Byakuya?" Ginrei asked.

"Yes, grandfather?" Byakuya asked, Zaraki's voice stopping like he'd been physically shoved aside.

"This journey will take some time, and I am concerned about your schooling." Ginrei said, never one to give up ground.

"Winter comes early up there, we'll be home well before term starts!" Byakuya assured him. "Captain Zaraki suggested I write to you for your sanity while I was away, but I feel like it would be a legitimate academic exercise to write reports on the lesser-known districts for as well." he offered.

"That is very generous of you to offer, young Kuchiki. I would appreciate Zaraki-taicho's local knowledge of the area in those as well." Yamamoto added, grinning at Zaraki's audible groan on the other end.

Ginrei winced. "Promise to return home by the last week of august, and sooner should any disaster befall you."

"Oh yeah, anyone loses a limb or major internal organ we'll hoof it right back!" Zaraki said, managing to evoke the exact opposite of reassurance, and Ginrei hid his face in his hand.

"I promise." Byakuya said, voice soft and sincere. "I'll write often, and call when possible."

"...Please, take care, Hokushin." Ginrei begged, using the boy's nickname. Public displays of sentimentality were unacceptable, but... this was his only grandson, about to venture deep into the wilds with some maniac!

"I will, Ji-san. I'll be fine, I promise." Byakuya replied, returning the intimate nickname.

"Alright punk, we need to get moving before it gets dark." Zaraki interjected, ending the call with an unexpected social grace. "See you in August Old man!"

"Bye Kuchiki-ji! Bye Jii-san!" Yachiru called.

"Go in good health, and I look forward to both your reports!" Yamamoto dismissed them.

"Didn't catch that Boss, bad line-" Zaraki said, then abruptly hung up, negating any vague hopes Ginrei had about his diplomatic prowess.

"Oh gods- What have I done?" Ginrei cried, hanging up the phone and hiding his hands in his face.

"Well, you've agreed to let your only heir and grandson walk into the most violently uncivilized parts of the rukongai under the supervision of a violent maniac that was raised by birds, and a toddler!" Mayuri explained, unhelpfully.

"Don't you have a portal system you need to be repairing?" Yamamoto glared.

"I'm multi-tasking." the freak of unnatural sciences waved, fiddling with his newfangled 'textual communicator' device. "My point is, loathe as I am to agree with someone like Zaraki, he's got a point. If your little star is going to be captain someday he needs to learn to handle worse than this. He'll be fine, or he wasn't qualified in the first place."

"Keep that name out of your mouth, clown." Ginrei snarled.

"That's the spirit!" Mayuri cheered, pumping a not-totally-ironic fist. "Mind copying me on those reports? That shit's gonna be HILARIOUS."

"KUROTSUCHI! PORTALS!" Yamamoto barked and the captain of the 12th abruptly made himself scarce. The captain-general gently laid a hand on Ginrei's shoulder, and Ginrei placed his own atop it.

"I never had children of my own, so I cannot imagine the depth of your fear, but I can imagine it pains you." Yamamoto sighed. "But that was the right thing to do. He will be fine."

"He will. He has to be." Ginrei sighed, sitting back in his chair. "...though I fear that Zaraki's presence may presence may prove more educational to the boy than any of us intended."

***

"Just a tip for the future-" Zaraki sighed, turning to Byakuya after hanging up. "-once someone agrees to your demands, you don't offer additional incentives. That just makes it a worse deal for you."

"I know that!" Byakuya protested. "-the second he brought up my schooling I knew Grandfather agreed to the trip, but that was also him retreating to the tactical ground of controlling my schooling. The offer of reports was the Opening Salvo of the next battle."

"...Fought the old man a lot eh?" Zaraki cocked a heavy, bald brow at him.

"There are limited opponents for me to practice diplomatic sparring on." Byakuya shrugged. "...but yes, he is a prickly old sod."

Zaraki barked a laugh and shook Byakuya's shoulder affectionately. "Alright, where the fuck are we, actually?"

"We're... Here, in Inuzuka Village." Byakuya pointed to their location on the large map on the wall of the village hall. "I'm not sure where in North 80 your family is-"

"Way up here, on the coast." Zaraki pointed out. "So... Oh, we did pick the right tributary!"

"I told you so!" Yachiru rolled her eyes, adding more clovers to Byakuya's braid.

"Lessee- We should raid this place for anything useful first, but we need to get moving soon so we're somewhere high before it gets dark, but... Oh hey, is this Saikoro the place with the big gambling house?" Zaraki asked, tapping a point on the map just upriver.

"I believe so?" Byakuya nodded.

"...Ya wanna learn how to shark at pool?" Zaraki grinned the same conspiratorial grin.

This time, Byakuya nodded enthusiastically.

[sabrinasgallery]

★﹐sabrina carpenter: 102.7 kiss fm’s jingle ball village (2016)．﹗★

[rosierin]

Mischief & Manner│Miya Twins

Chapter II: The Forest Remembers

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Next summer couldn't have arrived soon enough. (Y/n) practically bounced in her seat as the bus to Kyoto came to a halt.

As expected, her grandfather hadn’t believed her when she told him about her encounter with the fox spirits of Fushimi Inari Shrine— how she had met them deep in the forest, how they had taken her hands and walked her home, how they had promised to wait for her return. Instead, he had simply smiled and nodded, humouring her as she recounted the story. She couldn’t really blame him. Sometimes, even she had trouble wrapping her head around the otherworldly encounter.

But when she mentioned that she planned to see them again, her grandfather had only chuckled and told her to thank them for bringing her home safely.

Little did he know, she fully intended to do just that.

Which accounted for the little brown satchel hanging low on her hip, packed with freshly made onigiri. They were stuffed with a variety of fillings— salted salmon, pickled plum, and more. Her mother had helped her shape the rice balls, and to (y/n)'s surprise, making perfect little triangles had proven far trickier than she had imagined. Still, she was pleased with how they had turned out.

When her mother asked who they were for, she had simply shrugged and said they were for the journey. After all, her mother would never believe the truth— that they were a gift for two fox spirits. And perhaps it was for the best. Like any parent, she didn’t take kindly to the thought of her daughter mingling with strangers, human or otherwise.

For now, it would remain her little secret.

“I’ll see you later!” she called after unpacking her things at her grandfather’s kominka. She kissed him on the cheek, carefully slung her bag over her shoulder, and hurried out the door, promising to be back before sundown, as always.

“Be careful!” he called after her. “And tell the spirits I said hello!”

She giggled. She’d have to keep that in mind.

Then she was off, practically skipping through the village, light-hearted and giddy at the thought of seeing the Kitsune again. She had imagined their reunion countless times from the moment she got home. She had even planned out her outfit— a long pastel sundress and sandals, perfect for a warm summer’s day. The midday sun shone down on her as she departed, waving at the villagers who smiled at her in passing.

She grinned. It was good to be back.

It took about twenty minutes before (y/n) finally reached the mouth of the forest.

The moment she stepped into the clearing, she felt it.

A hush fell over the forest. The trees stood tall, their leaves murmuring softly in the breeze, as if whispering a greeting just for her. Sunlight trickled through the arching branches in shifting ribbons as they appeared to stretch toward her, warming her skin like a familiar embrace.

It was almost as if the forest recognized her.

The wind coiled around her ankles, light as a cat’s tail, as if welcoming her back. And then, as if on cue, a gentle chime rang from the shrine nestled deep within the trees. It was soft— brief— like the quiet jingle of a bell when a door swings open. The sound drifted through the air, clear and high, like laughter.

Yes, the forest remembered her.

And if the forest remembered her, then surely, they did too.

But there was no sign of them.

(Y/n) slowed to a stop, a flicker of disappointment dimming her excitement. The Kitsune were nowhere to be seen. They weren’t standing by the red torii gates like last time, waiting for her. She chewed her lip in thought— then, suddenly, their words echoed in her mind.

"Only if ya find us."

Ah. Of course. They weren’t going to make this easy for her. If anything, it sounded as though they wanted to turn this into a game. It made sense— Kitsune were known for their mischief.

Unfortunately for them, (y/n) was no stranger to games of hide and seek. She had played more than enough rounds with her grandfather, giggling behind trees and ducking into corners of his old kominka.

Yes, she decided with growing confidence, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

She hiked her satchel up her shoulder with determination and stepped past the gates, eyes scanning the vast stretch of trees before her. The forest was just as endless as she remembered, the sun casting its golden touch across the winding paths, the air humming with the chirping of birdsong and the occasional rustle of unseen creatures. She kept her ears sharp, alert to every shift in the leaves, every flicker of movement between the trees.

A bird took flight nearby, its wings fluttering against the stillness, and (y/n) spun toward the sound, heart leaping. But as soon as she looked, it was already gone.

Her brows knitted together. Just how does one go about finding a Kitsune, anyway?

This wasn’t an ordinary game where the ones hiding simply stayed put, waiting to be found. These were Kitsune— cunning, playful, and undoubtedly a little unfair.

Still, she wasn’t about to give up that easily.

She cleared her throat, straightened her shoulders, and called, “Hello! It's me! If you are here, would you be so kind as to reveal yourselves?”

Silence.

She pursed her lips. Well, that was worth a try.

Her gaze flickered toward the endless rows of trees, uncertainty creeping in. There were so many places they could be hiding. And if she didn’t find them today, what happens then? The thought made her stomach twist unpleasantly.

No. She refused to accept that.

She had waited an entire year for this— spent countless nights imagining this very moment, dreaming of the things she would say, the way they would greet her. No matter how long it took, no matter how deep she had to search, she would find them.

A determined light sparked in her eyes.

Her fingers tightened around the strap of her satchel before slowly lifting to cover her eyes.

"One."

"Two."

"Three..."

The world dimmed into darkness, and without sight, her other senses sharpened.

Warmth kissed the back of her neck as she turned away from the sun. The air carried the faintest scent of incense from the shrine, mingling with the crisp green fragrance of the leaves.

"Four."

"Five."

"Six..."

Somewhere in the distance, a wind chime sang— a melodic, delicate note carried by the breeze. The rustling of the trees followed, a hush, as if the very forest was leaning in, listening.

"Seven."

"Eight."

"Nine..."

The wind stirred again, threading through her hair, rustling the fabric of her dress. The trees swayed in response, their leaves brushing against one another in a secret conversation. Did they know something she didn’t?

"Ten." She dropped her hands to her sides. "Ready or not, here I come!"

She opened her eyes, breathless with excitement. But what she did not expect to see was a small orb of blue light flickering just ahead.

It hovered like a wisp of fire, swaying gently in the air, yet it gave off no heat. When she reached out, fingers grazing the space around it, the little flame danced away, disappearing— only to reappear a few steps ahead. A delighted giggle escaped her. It was as if she were playing tag with a tiny, mischievous spirit. Perhaps this was the Kitsune's doing.

She took off after it, her steps light and eager as the glowing ember led her deeper into the forest. It wove between the trees, past moss covered trails, and over miniature mountains of rocks and fallen logs. Each time she lagged behind, the flame would wait, flickering expectantly before continuing its game of hide-and-seek. Then, without warning, it stopped.

She caught up, peering at it curiously as it wavered in place, pulsing like a heartbeat. Was this the end of the trail?

"Have I found you?" she called, her voice carrying through the trees.

Silence greeted her.

She tried again, tilting her head. "Miya? Are you there?"

This time, something stirred.

The blue flame gave one last, gentle flicker before vanishing into thin air. The air around her shifted, charged with something unseen. And then, before her, she noticed something she hadn't before— a cave, its entrance veiled by cascading vines, as though nature itself sought to keep it hidden.

Hesitation flickered in her mind, but curiosity outweighed it. Carefully, she reached forward, parting the curtain of vines. The cave yawned before her, shadowed and deep, but ahead, she could see it— light. A pale, silken glow pouring in from somewhere beyond. It beckoned her like a secret waiting to be uncovered.

With a racing heart, she stepped through.

The moment she emerged, the world transformed.

This was no longer the forest of Fushimi Inari Shrine.

A soft glow bathed everything in a golden shimmer, as if the very air was alive with magic, alight with the warmth of a thousand lanterns. Soaring willows, their bark a smooth, dusky gold, stood tall beneath an endless amber-lit sky. Their leaves, dipped in hues of copper and ruby, rustled softly. Fireflies blinked like fallen stars, trailing delicate paths of light through the stillness.

(Y/n) took a tentative step forward. The grass beneath her feet was plush, like stepping onto clouds warmed by the afternoon sun. She let out a breathless giggle and took another step, then another, past the glowing wildflowers, their petals shifting between shades of blue and silver, like moonlight woven into silk.

As she wandered deeper, the flowers along the path seemed to lean toward her, their colourful petals quivering ever so slightly. Their soft hum filled the air— not quite murmurs, not quite giggles, but something close. (Y/n) blinked. Were they… talking about her?

A sudden gust curled around her ankles, playful and warm. It swirled around her dress, sending the hem fluttering, then danced through her hair, messing up her neatly brushed locks. She swatted at it with a laugh. "Hey, stop that," she scolded lightly, pressing her hands over her satchel as the wind curiously tugged at the flap. "These aren't for you."

The breeze retreated, swirling away with what almost felt like a disappointed sigh. (Y/n) shook her head, still grinning, and continued on.

Somewhere in the distance, she heard the faint trickling of water. Curious, she followed the sound, weaving between the trees. The river came into view first, its surface gleaming like liquid crystal. It slid smoothly over polished stones, the current swishing softly as it made its way toward a larger body of water. She stepped carefully onto a few flat stones in the shallows, testing her balance before hopping to the next, as tiny fish darted beneath the surface, their scales catching the light like flecks of copper.

She hopped onto the last stone and landed in another patch of glowing wildflowers. They swayed as if startled, then huddled together, their soft hums turning into hurried murmurs. (Y/n) stifled another giggle.

Unlike the forest she had left behind, this place brimmed with wildlife. Hares darted through the flora, their fur adorned with gold from the firefly light. Squirrels leapt from branch to branch, their bushy tails brushing against the crimson leaves. But it was the foxes that caught her attention most. Sleek and red as embers, they prowled through the foliage, their movements graceful and fluid, And yet, when she passed, they stilled. Their watchful eyes gleamed like polished bronze, fixed intently on her, as if she were the most peculiar thing in this enchanted realm.

Then, she saw it.

The blue flame that had guided her danced ahead, flickering playfully before coming to a stop. And there, at the very heart of this world, stood a tree unlike any other.

A grand willow, its vast branches cascading down like golden silk, their tips grazing the surface of a tranquil lake. The water, impossibly clear, reflected the tree’s glow like molten amber, rippling gently with the movement of the leaves. Fireflies clustered around the branches, their timid glow turning the tree into something out of a forgotten myth.

A sweet smell floated around the air — a blend of flowers, honey and something richer, something ancient. The fragrance swirled around her, dizzying, lulling her deeper into this dreamlike haze, and for a moment, she thought that if she were to close her eyes, she might simply drift away, swallowed whole by this beautiful, ethereal world.

That is, until two familiar voices shattered the spell.

"Ya came," drawled one, his voice calm, steady.

"Took ya long enough," teased the other, unmistakably smug.

(Y/n)'s breath hitched. Her heart leaped with delight as she whirled toward the sound. And there they were— just as she remembered. Their fox-like ears twitched atop their heads, twin tails flicking behind them, and their masks— white with painted markings— hid their faces from view.

She gasped, hands clasping together. "Miya!"

The name rang through the clearing like a bell, bright and full of childlike joy. The Kitsune moved in perfect unison, hopping down from their perch with feline grace, landing lightly on the forest floor. The fireflies scattered briefly before settling again, their glow casting shifting patterns across their cloaked forms.

"In the flesh," the silver-haired one confirmed, his voice carrying a quiet sort of pride.

"Ya seem awfully chipper." The golden-haired one tilted his head, and though his expression remained hidden, the teasing lilt in his voice made it easy to imagine the grin beneath. "Didja miss us that much?"

(Y/n) couldn’t help but beam. "I did!" she admitted without hesitation. Then, her brows knit slightly as she recalled the strange blue flame that had led her here. "Although, I must say, I might not have made it if it weren’t for you. Was that little flame one of your tricks?"

The silver-haired Kitsune lifted a finger, and as if summoned by his will, the same blue flame flickered to life at his fingertip. It bobbed in the air, almost happily, as though pleased with itself. "Clever girl," he praised.

(Y/n) watched it, eyes wide with wonder.

The other Kitsune snickered. "Thought ya could use the help after last summer." His tails swished, clearly entertained. "Yer not the best at directions, are ya?"

Heat bloomed in her cheeks. She puffed them out slightly, indignant, but the knowing laughter in his voice made it impossible to be truly offended.

There was a rustling at her side, and before she could react, the silver-haired Kitsune was suddenly next to her. He peered down at the satchel dangling by her hip, tilting his head with quiet curiosity. His long ears brushed against her bare leg in the process, making her startle and take a small step back.

"O-Oh! That’s right!" she blurted, remembering. "I brought you something as thanks for escorting me home last year!"

His companion appeared beside him with a light hop, ears twitching in sync as she fumbled through her bag. Her fingers brushed against something, and with a triumphant smile, she pulled out a neatly packed box of homemade onigiri.

One of the Kitsune visibly perked up.

"I made these with my mother for you!" she announced brightly. But when neither of them responded right away— when she couldn't see their expressions behind those masks— her confidence wavered. Her grip faltered slightly, and she tucked the box closer to her chest. "A-Actually, maybe that was silly… do foxes even like rice?" she mumbled with an awkward smile. "You don’t have to eat them if you don’t want to—"

"They smell great."

The silver-haired Kitsune’s words were simple, but they made her heart flutter. She looked up at him, eyes brightening, and her uncertainty melted into a relieved smile. "You think so?" Hastily, she lifted the lid and held the box out toward them. "Please, help yourselves!"

"Don’t mind if I do," the silver-haired Kitsune declared as he and his partner each plucked an onigiri from the box.

That’s when it hit her.

They were about to eat. Meaning— they’d have to remove their masks. Meaning— she was going to see their faces!

She waited, holding her breath, but—

They simply slipped the food under their masks instead.

Her shoulders slumped.

The golden-haired Kitsune paused mid-chew. "What?"

"Bet she wanted us to take our masks off," the silver-haired one remarked, and for the first time, there was a hint of amusement in his voice. She’d started to think that tone was exclusive to the other fox— but apparently not.

"Was that rude of me?" she asked hesitantly.

They chuckled, both swallowing their food with ease.

"Nah. S’cute," the golden Kitsune said, and before she could react, his hand landed atop her head, ruffling her hair. She huffed, fussing over her now tousled locks, nodding begrudgingly. She decided not to question the remark— or the reason behind their masks. They must have their reasons, she supposed.

"How are the onigiri?" she asked instead.

"Delicious," came the answer— quicker than usual. It was the silver-haired Kitsune again, and as she peered at him, she caught sight of his twin tails swaying slightly, as if in contentment. "We get offerin's like this all the time, but yers are some of the best I’ve had in a while."

Flowers might as well have bloomed in her chest for how proud that made her feel. A guardian deity liked her cooking? Now, that was something to brag about.

"Ya sure love yer food, don’tcha?" the golden Kitsune teased, watching as the other finished his second helping. His voice was laced with mischief. "Surprised yer not fat yet."

The insult barely had time to settle before the silver-haired Kitsune smacked him upside the head.

"Shut yer trap. No one asked you."

She blinked, startled at first— but as their bickering unfolded, it became clear there was no real heat behind it. They tossed insults back and forth like some kind of verbal juggling act, jabs flying with well-practiced ease. Watching them like this, it was hard not to think…

"Are you two brothers?" she asked, tilting her head.

The silver-haired Kitsune exhaled through his nose. "Unfortunately."

His golden-haired counterpart scoffed, crossing his arms. "Yeah? Well, yer a scrub."

And just like that, the argument started anew.

She laughed, heart feeling light. It was easy to forget, for a moment, that they weren’t just ordinary boys.

They were strange— so different from anyone she knew— yet so charming. Playful and sharp-tongued, but never truly mean. Even their arguments felt more like a game than anything serious. Part of her wondered if they actually enjoyed the back-and-forth.

Her gaze lingered on them as they moved through the forest, something about the way they carried themselves catching her eye. They stepped over roots without looking down, weaved through the trees without hesitation, as if it was second nature— even in the dim light. They barely made a sound.

Could it be? Were they truly spirits? If so, how much of the stories about Kitsune were true?

Her thoughts tumbled over each other, curiosity bubbling up until it finally spilled over.

“Can you shapeshift?”

The golden one held his head up, seeming proud. “Sure can."

“Can you turn invisible?”

“Mm.”

“How do you know this forest so well?”

"Ya sure ask a lotta questions," the silver-haired Kitsune pointed out.

"Do ya always talk this much?" the golden-haired one added. He hadn’t meant it in a harsh way, but the words still stung a little.

Her shoulders sagged as she smoothed down her skirt. “Talking is what I’m best at,” she admitted softly. "Conversations are the heart of—" She hesitated, trying to find the right words. 

The lessons from home played in her mind— how her mother praised the art of conversation, how her tutors emphasized eloquence and grace, how being articulate made her feel capable, important, valuable. "Conversations are important," she finished instead. "They're how people connect, how they learn about each other."

“Sounds borin’.” The golden one stretched his arms behind his head, tails flicking lazily.

His brother hummed in agreement. “We much prefer doin’ things rather than talkin’ about ’em. C’mon.”

Before she could ask what they meant, they both stepped away, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

(Y/n) gasped, spinning in place. “Miya?” she called hesitantly. Had they left her behind? A strange tightness settled in her chest.

Then, something rustled ahead. Two foxes— one silver, one gold— stood in the underbrush, eyes gleaming. Her breath caught as they took a single step forward— then another— until, right before her eyes, they rose onto their hind legs, their bodies stretching, shifting, fur melting away to reveal familiar robes and masks.

Her lips parted in awe.

“That answers yer first question,” the golden one said, clearly pleased with himself.

She clapped her hands together in delight. “That was amazing!”

The silver-haired Kitsune crossed his arms. “Next question?”

She blinked. “Oh! Can you turn invisible?”

The Kitsune exchanged glances before, once again, they vanished into thin air.

(Y/n) gasped. “H-Hey! Where did—”

A tap on her shoulder. She whirled around, but there was nothing. Then, a flick to her ear. She spun again. “That’s not fair!” she huffed.

Laughter echoed from nowhere, and then, just as quickly, they reappeared on either side of her. Their body language screaming smug.

“Gotta keep folks on their toes,” the golden one grinned behind the mask.

She pouted. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“Maybe,” his brother said, “but it was funny.”

She huffed but found herself smiling anyway. “Alright, then. Next question— how do you know this forest so well?”

They didn’t answer right away. Instead, they led her through the trees, stepping lightly over moss and roots, until they came upon a shrine nestled deep within the woods. The stone was worn but sturdy, fox statues standing guard at its entrance.

(Y/n) stepped closer, brushing fallen leaves from the inscription at its base. The carved letters were weathered, but she could still make them out: Dedicated to the twin spirits of the forest, who have watched over these lands for two hundred years.

Her breath caught. Two hundred years?

She turned to the Kitsune, eyes wide. “That’s you,” she whispered.

They didn’t confirm it aloud, but they didn’t deny it either. The way they stood, the way the wind stirred around them— it felt as though the shrine itself acknowledged them.

Her mind reeled. They had lived here for centuries, watching over the trees, the rivers, the very land she walked on. No wonder they knew the forest so well. It was their home in a way she could hardly begin to understand.

The weight of it settled on her, but before she could dwell too much, the golden one clapped his hands together. “Well, that’s enough serious talk. Time to go.”

"Go where?" she asked as the brothers turned.

"Nowhere."

"Everywhere."

The two shot each other a look.

(Y/n) huffed, brushing invisible dust off her skirt before trailing behind them. "That doesn’t make any sense."

The golden-haired Kitsune shot her a look over his shoulder, a playful lilt to his voice. "Sure it does. Just means we ain't got a plan. We just go where the wind takes us."

The silver-haired one shook his head. "Don't listen to him. We know this forest like the backs of our hands after all."

"Oh?" she said, raising a brow. "Then where are we going?"

A beat of silence.

"...Dunno yet."

She giggled despite herself.

They wandered through the forest, no real destination in mind, but the Kitsune moved with an easy confidence that made it seem as though they had one. (Y/n) trailed after them, careful to keep her pace measured. She was a lady, after all. Running around like a wild animal would be most unbecoming.

That thought didn’t seem to bother the brothers.

One moment, they were walking. The next, they took off, weaving through the trees with effortless grace. (Y/n) gasped. "H-Hey!"

The golden one turned his head, voiced laced mischief. "C'mon, slowpoke!"

She huffed, gathering her skirt before carefully picking up her pace. But the forest floor was uneven, roots and moss-covered stones threatening to trip her with every hurried step. She scowled as the brothers easily darted ahead, moving like the wind itself.

The silver one noticed her struggling first. He exhaled through his nose, as if already expecting what came next. "She's gonna trip," he muttered.

His brother grinned. "Not on my watch."

Before she could protest, (y/n) found herself lifted off the ground, her feet suddenly dangling mid-air. She squeaked. "Put me down!"

"Yer too slow," The golden fox snickered, effortlessly tossing her over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

"I do not need to be carried!"

"Sure ya do," he said, entirely too pleased with himself. "If ya wanna keep up, that is."

The silver fox, ever the voice of reason, sighed but didn’t intervene.

(Y/n) huffed, crossing her arms. She supposed there was little point in arguing.

Eventually, he set her down by a shallow river, its surface rippling like silver glass. The brothers waded through without hesitation, bare feet sinking into the cool water. (Y/n) remained on the riverbank, eyeing the water with uncertainty.

"Well?" The golden Kitsune called. "Ya comin' or what?"

She hesitated. "I— I can't. My shoes will get wet."

The silver Kitsune's impassive mask stared back at her. "So take 'em off."

She stiffened. "A lady does not walk around barefoot."

The gold fox snorted. "That so?" Without warning, he stomped down into the water, sending a splash right in her direction.

She gasped, stepping back. "You—!"

She had a feeling he was grinning. "Oops."

The silver fox, standing off to the side, merely shook his head. "Real mature."

His brother ignored him, tilting his head at (y/n) expectantly. "Well? Might as well step in now."

She wanted to refuse, she really did. But something about the way they stood there— completely at ease, untouched by the usual constraints of decorum— made her pause.

Hesitantly, she bent down and slipped off her shoes. The moment her feet touched the water, a small, delighted sound left her lips. It was cool, refreshing. A little thrilling.

The golden one proudly crossed his arms. "See? Told ya."

She tried to scowl but failed, her lips twitching upward.

Further along the path, they stopped beneath an old tree with sprawling branches. The Kitsune leapt onto the lower limbs with practiced ease, perching there as naturally as birds.

"Yer turn," the golden one said, peering down at her.

She folded her arms. "I don’t climb trees."

"Why not?"

She huffed. "Because— because I just don’t."

The silver one shrugged. "Suit yourself."

His brother, on the other hand, rested his chin in his hand, sounding far too entertained. "Bet ya can’t."

Her spine straightened. "I can," she insisted, glaring up at him.

"Then prove it."

A beat of silence.

Then, before she could talk herself out of it, (y/n) gripped the rough bark, hoisting herself up with as much grace as she could muster. It wasn’t easy, and her skirt certainly didn’t help, but eventually, she scrambled onto the lowest branch.

The gold Kitsune grinned behind the mask. "Not bad, princess."

She sniffed, trying to catch her breath. "Obviously."

The silver Kitsune smirked. "Hope ya ain’t scared of heights, though."

She blinked. "Why would I—"

Before she could finish, the two of them suddenly jumped.

She let out a startled squeak as they landed effortlessly on the ground below, looking up at her expectantly.

The golden one dusted off his hands. "C'mon, jump. We’ll catch ya."

She eyed the ground warily. "What if you don’t?"

The silver one hummed. "Guess we'll see."

That was not reassuring.

Still, she took a breath. Then, before she could hesitate any longer, she leapt.

True to their word, they caught her with ease.

The golden fox chuckled. "Told ya."

As the sky deepened into the soft hues of dusk, fireflies began to flicker to life, their golden lights blinking in the dimness. The Kitsune moved effortlessly among them, catching them between their fingertips before releasing them back into the air.

(Y/n) tried to do the same, but each time she reached out, the fireflies flitted away before she could catch them.

The quieter Kitsune observed her for a moment before speaking. "Yer bein’ too careful."

She frowned. "But if I'm not, I'll squish them."

The other shook his head. "Nah, ya gotta move with ‘em, not against ‘em."

With that, he caught one between his fingers, then carefully placed it in her hands. (Y/n) watched as it flickered, illuminating her palms.

Her lips parted in quiet awe.

The gold Kitsune ruffled her hair. "See? Ain't so hard."

By the time they neared the shrine, the sky had darkened into a deep indigo, the sun almost out of view. The stairs leading up to her grandfather’s home stood just ahead.

(Y/n) turned to them, a newfound excitement bubbling in her chest. "Do you want to come for dinner?"

She talked animatedly about what they were having, how her grandfather always told the best stories, how the food was always warm and filling. But when she reached the base of the shrine steps, she noticed they had stopped following.

She turned. “Miya?”

The Kitsune stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at her. For once, they were quiet.

The silver-haired one was the first to speak. “We can't."

The golden-haired one, for once, sounded serious. "We don’t leave the forest, princess."

She stared at them.

The silver Kitsune's gaze flickered up to the trees overhead. "This is our home."

She swallowed. “Oh.” Her heart clenched. For some reason, she didn’t like the thought of leaving them behind.

Still, she managed a small smile. "Then I'll see you tomorrow?"

Their ears twitched. “You’ll have to find us.”

She let out a soft giggle, turning to climb the steps. But as she reached the top, she glanced back.

They were still there, standing in the fading light, their twin tails flicking in the golden glow.

She carried that image with her all the way home.

Helloooo! Thank you so much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed c: This chapter had me giggling icl, super cute to write <33

Likes, comments & reblogs appreciated xx

Stay tuned!!

[foxes-that-run]

The lovebirds! Harry & Taylor’s night of romance ..down the pub

Daily Mirror - 13 Dec 2012 BY CLEMMIE MOODIE

Harry and Taylor pop down the pub for a Swifty.. then feed the birds together on beauty spot trip.

THAT Harry Styles is certainly getting all lovey-dovey with his new girlfriend. The One Direction Romeo took American superstar Taylor Swift to meet his mum after treating her to a meal at his local village pub on Tuesday night.

And yesterday they fed doves and swans together on a visit to a Lake District beauty spot.

Harry pulled out all the stops to impress multi Grammy award-winner Taylor on her visit.

After treating her to a slap-up meal at The Rising Sun in Derbyshire’s Peak District, the pair made their way home to his mum Anne – via Tesco.

At the supermarket, 18-yearold Harry splashed out £3.89 on a tub of VO5 hair styling wax while Taylor wandered down the aisles looking at the vegetables.

Last night pub manager Sarah Walker revealed the celebrity couple met up with Harry’s sister, Gemma, and her boyfriend at their local in Hope Valley.

Pub regular Gemma strolled in at 7.30pm just before Harry and Taylor arrived in his Range Rover Sport. After ordering a round of soft drinks, they sat in the window, next to the crackling log fire.

'Taylor said she loved being in Britain .. she’s a real honey' CAROL WALKER

The showbiz pair polished off a Yorkshire pudding and onion gravy starter, followed by roast turkey with all the trimmings for Harry and a whole lemon sole for his size-eight girlfriend.

Shunning the champagne, they stuck to non-alcoholic J2Os all evening. Taylor, who is 23 today, told pub-goers she was looking forward to the couple’s trip to Windermere in the Lake District and celebrating her birthday.

But it seems they will spend Christmas an ocean apart as Taylor revealed plans to fly home to Nashville to spend the festive season with her family.

Sarah, 37, said: “Taylor said she was loving being in Britain and she also seemed to like being in the country.

“And she was excited about her birthday and about flying home for Christmas. She said she didn’t mind the cold, but it will be a lot warmer in Nashville. They were both lovely and she’s a honey.”

After posing for pics and signing diners’ menus, Harry and Taylor settled the bill – which came in at just over £100 along with a handsome tip.

Yesterday, the tactile couple, who have now been dating for a month, enjoyed an afternoon feeding the swans and doves on Lake Windermere.

One swan even pecked at the brand- new £ 995 Burberry handbag Taylor was carrying – a birthday gift from her new beau – as the country singer gamely batted the creature away.

Giggling as they then fed the birds in the town centre, they were also spotted outside the Pandora jewellery shop by store manager Claire Dibbs.

Claire, 24, told the Mirror: “I was hyperventilating – I just never expected to see them.

“Taylor introduced herself – she was really lovely. She said they were just here for the day and I think they were there with his parents. She had a lot of bags from Beatrix Potter World. I saw some cuddly toys poking out of the top of the bag.

“They’d done a lot of shopping. Taylor said she loved the area and said it was really pretty.” Harry and Taylor first met in America i n April when Harry was on tour with One Direction.

After going on a couple of ‘secret dates’, they reportedly split up after the heartthrob was spotted kissing American model Emma Ostilly in New Zealand. But they were spotted dating in New York’s Central Park recently.

The date came hours before One Direction’s sell-out gig in front of 20,000 fans at the Madison Square Garden. The loved-up singers gazed into each others eyes, stopping to chat to some kids and to watch the sea lions at the zoo.

And last week the rumours they were an item were confirmed when she flew him in her private jet from New York to London to attend the Jingle Bell Ball at London’s O2 arena.

Harry ditched the rest of his bandmates to spend a few hours with her on the flight, while the others flew back to the UK on a domestic flight.

[sapphicseasapphire]

More child of mountains 🥺

More Cryptid Wild??? I will happily oblige.

I’ve already shared quite a bit about him! But here’s some things that I may have left out:

Wild is not as sensitive to changes in temperate has he is in canon. Since he’s a spirit made mostly of light, it takes a lot for him to feel cold or hot. He hangs out in hot springs because then he can actually feel something, and he can be found in Hebra just vibing in the snow for the same reason.

While it’s rare, he does change his clothes from time to time. Mostly, he wears armor to assist him with stealth, since he’s pretty terrible at it on his own. When he walks, it jingles like little bells. Like a Blupee! (This absolutely freaks Sky out, as he has Silent Realm trauma). The first time he ever changed out of his ruined Champion’s Tunic was to infiltrate the Yiga Clan Hideout. He wore the Sheikah set to be quieter and stole the Thunder Helm for the Gerudo without any consequence.

(He may also wear clothes to cover his glowing skin if needed. But in his own era, he doesn’t hang out in villages enough to need that. He’s rarely seen. And if anyone does see him, they know better than to approach. And in any other era, he relies on Hyrule’s glamour to hide him).

SPEAKING OF THE YIGA. This is not really Wild lore, but it’s IMPORTANT. The Yiga are not smart enough to connect the dots. They have no idea that the Child of the Mountains is the very same fallen hero that they’re out to kill. When Wild stole the Thunder Helm, they assumed that it was just one of Hylia’s pesky little spirits messing with them (which is pretty much the truth, to be fair). They fully 100% believe that the Hylian Champion Link is dead and has been for the past century (which is, again, true). Because of this, they are on the lookout for the new hero. They believe that since Link died a century ago and they’re still working to bring Ganon back, a new hero will be born to stop them. Their plan is to kill the new Link before he can pose a threat.

Even though the hero still exists. They’re… a little dumb, I guess, but they’re not technically wrong.

Cryptid Wild is family with every single spirit in the game. Koroks? Little siblings. Blupees? Little siblings. The Great Deku Tree is a father figure to him and the Lord of the Mountain is very close to him. The dragons are a little scatterbrained but he likes to hang out with them anyway. And Fairies! They may not be spirits, but they’re just little balls of spiritual magic and so Wild makes an effort to know every single one of them. He loves them.

He uses any/all pronouns. (More like he doesn’t have pronouns. Not a single one. He’s never heard of them before. I mostly use he/him for Wild since the Hyruleans of his era will typically use those pronouns in their stories but you must know that Wild legitimately does not care). He’s also aro/ace but he needs companionship. Poor lil guy can’t stand being alone, and while human presence overwhelms him sometimes, he’s super friendly around spirits. Any spirit. Looking at you, Wars.

Alright that was very long but I hope this is what you were looking for haha!

[magenta-racer]

Commission Art - Snowy Radish

Ayeeee artwork done by my friend, AnaLee94, who just opened commissions! So glad I could finally order a drawing from her, she's a great artist. 🥰

Raditz sharing a tender moment with Suno in Jingle Village. Their relationship is ambiguous at first, Suno first meets him wounded at the woods near her village, when she goes out to hunt, and Raditz only sees her as an inferior being to toy with. He tries teasing, messing with and tempting her, then gets amused as she dodges his advances and refuses him, though she starts getting attracted to him. The game of cat and mouse backfired on him, however, because he grew attached to her. Reazling this, Raditz fled her village without telling her, then decides to gather the Dragon Balls in order to get a wish to get back at Vegeta and Nappa for abandoning him.

It backfires again because he got defeated by Piccolo. Once again, he was back at Suno's place, the only one who he trusted to nurse him back to health, while still struggling to understand and accept his feelings for a human, specially after all the losses he suffered in his life. Sadly, Raditz only accepts his feelings when it's too late: Vegeta and Nappa arrive on Earth, and upset by Raditz's failure at gathering the magical orbs, they kill Suno as a punishment. This made something inside Raditz completely break, he was hellbent on getting his revenge from then on.

Suno gets brought back by Porunga after Frieza Saga, thankfully, but that doesn't ease Raditz's vendetta. Despite having her back and opening up about his feelings for her, Raditz is still determined to make Vegeta pay for everything he took away from him. Suno becomes his balance, and he's deeply grateful for having her in his life, Raditz would have likely lost himself completely if it weren't for her. She gets greatly frustrated and disappointed by his screw ups, though can't bring herself to hate him, even though it could be warranted sometimes. The things she puts up with for the man she loves. 😂

That's the summary of how their relationship came to be. 🤭 My AU is based on this fanfic, Dragon Ball Z: The Catalyst, which is totally worth checking out! :D

(Also, it's funny how Raditz's outfit reminds me of Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 8. 👀)

Art © AnaLee94.

Raditz and Suno are from Dragon Ball franchise © Akira Toriyama/Toei Animation.

[sgtsmilies]

Cave Story Is Not a Metroidvania

I've hit my breaking point. After years of bumping into references to Cave Story, the 2006 indie darling classic as a Metroidvania, I feel the need to set the record straight, if only for my own mental well-being. Please, when I play an indie platformer on Steam with the Metroidvania tag I need to know whether it's lying to me or not. I'm Smilies, and today I will be talking about this stupid subgenre that I love.

In August 6, 1986, the world was changed forever. Metroid was released for the Famicon Disk System in Japan. A charming little game, you control an android(?) named Samus Aran in a 2d-platformer environment, flipping around and shooting little monsters, and the titular Metroids.

In a space that would become filled with 2d platformers, including Ninja Gaiden, Mega Man, Shatterhand (look it up), and Castlevania, which had come out just prior, Metroid would define itself by its interesting exploration mechanics, in contrast to the level-based structures held by most other games at the time.

In Metroid, you explore an open-ended world with road blocks, while obtaining major upgrades such as the Morph Ball to explore small crawlspaces, bombs to destroy tiles, and so on. Essentially, as you grow in power, the world opens up and provides more to explore. Each player has a unique experience finding items and exploring areas in an order unique to them. I'm weaving a narrative here and those of you with more history knowledge than me will probably be able to find reasonable earlier examples that could be described as a Metroidvania. But, hey, Metroid is literally in the name, so I'm gonna start there.

The name itself, [Metroid][Vania] is commonly believed to have come from a portmanteau of Metroid's sequel, Super Metroid for the Super Famicom/Nintendo, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, for the Playstation. Both maintain this structure: collecting power ups grants access to new areas, which you find via exploration. In general, in my opinion, you'll find games that follow the Castlevania mold more than the Metroid one: while Metroid's progression blockers can be somewhat contrived (for example: green doors only opening for Power Bombs, or blocks that only break if you destroy them with particular power-ups) Castlevania's are generally diagetic (for example: the Mist Form power up granting you the ability to move through steel grates). Castlevania-inspired Metroidvanias include indie games such as Timespinner and Hollow Knight, while the most notable Metroid-inspired Metroidvania I can think of would be Axiom Verge. Obviously, this is a generalization, but it is the general trend I observed.

Now that we've gone over all that, let's talk about Cave Story. Cave Story follows the, uh… story of a little android guy who wakes up in a cave, collects weapons, power-ups and upgrades (including health upgrades which look remarkably like Samus', and even play a similar jingle!), and explores seemingly open-ended areas which are occasionally connected to one another. It's also got a map viewer for areas you're in to help with exploration.

"Smilies, you dumb cretin!" you might be saying, "That sounds a lot like a Metroidvania!" but let me finish!! The important thing here is Cave Story's level structure. You start the game in the First Cave, a small linear section to acquaint you with the controls and acquire a weapon. You then take a teleporter to the Egg Corridor, then the Bushlands, then the Sand Zone. At the end of the Sand Zone, you are sent against your will to the Labyrinth, which leads directly to the Core. After destroying the core, you get access to the Living Waterway. After returning to Mimiga Village through the Waterway, you head through Egg Corridor again, which has been devastated, before reaching the Outer Wall, then the Plantation, then the Last Cave, then the Balcony, then (should you have unlocked it) the Sacred Grounds where you can defeat the final boss and beat the game.

That's right, Cave Story is completely linear. It's a game in which the areas you explore are winding and fit together to form a mostly-contiguous structure of a sort, but the order in which you explore them is set in stone and experienced the same by every player barring different endings ending the game earlier than others. You even frequently warp directly to levels without having to navigate to them first.

At the same time, Cave Story can feel like a Metroidvania. As previously mentioned, the health upgrades are deliberately evocative of Metroid's. It even has a missile weapon that you can upgrade the capacity for! But it's not a Metroidvania, it can't be. The missiles are optional, they don't blow anything up other than enemies, they don't break walls, etc. Honestly, there's only really two actual upgrade to your capabilities beyond getting more devastating ways to kill your foes. The Air Tank lets you breathe under water, and the Booster provides air mobility. That being said, neither really unlock any new areas, beyond completely optional upgrades. The air mechanic is rarely utilized before the Living Waterway, and you obtain the Air Tank immediately prior to that area. And the Last Cave is designed to be impossible without the Booster 2.0 (and has an easier version if you did not obtain it).

I call these games, ones that invoke Metroidvania aesthetics but don't really commit to their mechanics, Metroidvania-lites, in reference to the oft maligned Roguelite genre(?) but I'm not entering that minefield (yet).

To me, the mechanics that define a Metroidvania more than anything else is the collection of items and the exploration of areas in a non-defined order. While some may inherently be required to be explored before the others, there is no set order. It's also defined by how the game is not fully explorable at the start. You gain abilities, the abilities unlock areas, those areas unlock new abilities, and so on. I'm actually pretty ambivalent to the games being 2d platformers. I think that Metroid Prime (the first one, at least, I dunno about the rest) is a Metroidvania despite being a first-person shooter. I also think that you could easily make the argument for both of the NES Zelda games, which might be a controversial take! Either way, it doesn't really matter where you stretch it to as long as it hits the right notes, and Cave Story most certainly does not.

Disclaimer: I love both Cave Story AND Metroidvanias. Cave Story not being a Metroidvania is not a problem with it per se. I just think they're both different things that I like separately.

[cryptid-killjoy]

"Please do. Consider it done." Dale would be on a mission to help with solar engines now if it was the last thing he did. That's how Dale was.

"Pshhhah. No you're not. You know you're all lovable like that." He said like it was so obvious and she was just playing.

As for Santa's sleigh. "Good idea. I'd love to see you grill Santa. That would be fascinating and hilarious. I love watching you talk smart shit on people. Just don't say I didn't warn ya if he combats you with wild shit like molecular jingle bells or Xray tinsel as if that makes any sense. Weird shit happens in Christmas Town. But he's not getting away with not going down your chimney. He owes you now. Ima make sure he gets you back retroactive. I'll see what's up."

"I'll tell you what. You get me a pink surfboard I'll let you straighten my hair." It was a silly comment. Hopefully one he wouldn't live to regret one day.

The Halloween season was always a big deal in their family. Coming to Delta's ball was something different to do. All in all he hadn't in any way ever pictured himself spending a large portion of time with GoGo touring his old stomping grounds from the city to the swamps. It was nostalgic and cathartic all at the same time. Somehow, he felt like he was growing tighter with GoGo for it too.

By the time he was trying to help her imagine what Laveau Estate used to look like he'd gotten sidetracked in a piece of history left behind.

"Atv's were awesome out here. We lived on them. We had so many little spots to meet up all over the property. It's how we traveled."

Ewok Village was way out in the distant trees to the side so it made sense parts of this could have survived considering everything from the house back burned.

Once he decided he was going to climb up the tree there was no turning back. Dale did not forget his bottle. He had a partial in his hand when he jogged. He did not however carry the gun.

"Well, drink some more if you need to. Don't worry. I got this. I know what I'm doing."

Then he took his shirt off. He tore it with his teeth into strips and wrapped pieces around his palms for grips and to prevent splinters. Then he peeled some off and offered her some. "Take it or leave it. Your choice." Then he started to roll and rip his shirt in a way that would make its length longer and seem more like rope after he tied some knots in it to give it some strength. It was a never leaves his bedroom Dale ever looked like he knew anything about the outdoors moment. All the talk did actually come from somewhere. They were standing in where it all came from. "Here. Tie this around your waist. I won't let you fall. We'll be tethered together."

This was a dizzying perspective to look up and try to see the platforms it was so high. She could try to play tough and refuse the tether and Dale would let it go. He wouldn't force her, but he was trying to do the right thing like he would have for any of his brothers or his sister in this situation.

"You asked earlier if I always play big brother. I avoided what you said. I guess it took me off guard. The answer is yes, if and only if I care enough about someone. Put on the tether. Just don't think I'm so brother that I'm going to stop calling you hot."

"Won't stop me from doing risky shit though." He wiggled his brow before taking his big hike of his leg and hoist of his arms to pull himself up. "Oh fuck." Yeah this was going to hurt. He groaned out. He nearly forgot he was hurt. Car accident. Oops. Okay. He was going to buck this up and grit his teeth and get up to that hut. "Mind over matter bitches. Here we go." Then go Dale go, off he went hand over hand, legs gripped tree bark, feet would hike branches when they could.

He'd point GoGo to follow in his footsteps and warn her if any steps seemed unsafe, so she knew not to take the same path. A deer stand for hunting is usually placed about 25 feet high in a tree. This had to be two or three times that in aged mature trees not that they ever actually measured them. That's how the zip lines were so far with such heights too. That's almost like climbing straight up five to six basketball poles if stacked on top of one another. GoGo liked speed and that was good thing in this case. Slow and steady was good but so was not stopping. Sometimes thinking too long would cause vertigo. It was best to just go go go. Keep pacing even if the pace was slow and deliberately careful. Luckily, GoGo was an athletic girl so he had every faith she could handle it. If anything his injuries could slow him down.

As a team, they could do it. He'd end up on the floor of the old covered platform and to his surprise it wasn't completely empty.

"Woah."

He almost got distracted by some items left behind when he realized he should look over and make sure GoGo was up and fine. "You good?"

He asked while looking at his own hands for damage and peeled back the grips thinking this was going to be fun to get back down.

Then he ducked low into the doorway of the hut and it was like a time warp to him. This one hut was all that survived of the whole estate. The other platform or two didn't hold any treasures. This was a singular hidden treasure, and he was thankful he looked up. Thank you swamp birds.

Though there wasn't a whole lot to see considering there was nothing down below this felt like so much. He touched the walls like he'd found ancient cave hieroglyphs where there was worn out children's handwriting in sharpie marker. Chip and Dale, River, Scout and Piper. Piper's was the name in color, purple marker of course.

There were some random trinkets that looked wind scattered over time all gathered to the same side where blustery days would whirl items away from the entrance. A dirty blanket full of leaves, spilled markers and the soup can they used to use like a pencil holder. There were gemstones that clung to the floor that looked like same bling from the side of the homemade pencil holder once covered in bling. Dale picked up a bling and pushed it against an empty spot on the can where it clearly had fallen from. It wouldn't stick anymore. It fell right back off. He shrugged and smiled and dropped the can back on the floor.

"Piper made that."

The blanket looked gross to touch so weather worn, faded, and most likely been wet surely at some point. Who knew? But he picked it up anyway and shook it off out the entranceway. It was still grody but picking it up uncovered an actual treasure box.

"That's Scout's."

He spared no time in opening it. It was like any little girl's jewelry box with a ballerina that could twirl only hers had been personalized. The ballerina had been replaced with a little robot instead. Her daddy knew what she liked. The ballerina was still inside. Its head was decapitated.

It made Dale smile to see it. "We should take this back to her." He picked up the ballerina body. "A victim of some of Piper's first guillotines." It was bringing out genuine smiles.

He pointed at the names on the wall. "When we wrote those. It wasn't random. It was a pact. We were all up here. Piper only got to stay sometimes, and we'd all be sad whenever she had to go back to her island. She had to hide from her world. You know her as this powerful person that runs a country. We knew her as this scared girl we had to protect that hid from the whole world. She wanted to be like us. Have brothers and sisters. Scout was crying because we never knew how long it was going to be till we got to see them again. I think River and Chip were arguing about something and it was making Piper upset. I can't remember. So, we made the promise. Family forever. She made us repeat some big, long thing I'd never remember in a million years. I do remember she said Chip and River weren't allowed to fight when she came over. Nobody could. Not when she was here. She barely got to come over. She didn't want to waste it fighting. We all signed the wall. Family forever. Spit in our hands and shook on it like the Little Rascals."

He couldn't help but keep laughing.

"Piper was quite the peacekeeper now that I'm thinking about it. If anyone had beef, they'd stare each other down if she was around because of that pact. Usually, it was something stupid anyway and we'd forget to fight about it later after she left. She was the absent cousin sort of sibling that isn't really related at all but was more family than anyone in the world."

There was only one other thing in the box, a folded piece of paper. He picked it up out from under the ballerina and carefully unfolded it.

"Oh wow. Look at this." He sat down against the edge of the wall. His legs were tired after all that climbing. "It's one of Scout's young attempts at map making. It's the lay of the land. See? Like I was saying." It was in pencil. It was faded, but it was all there. "The garden. The houseboat by the river. It's all labeled. Oh, right. Look, she even has Dad's tunnels. He used to disappear on us when he was upset, but he was usually just under the ground down here."

There was an open hollow in the tunnel system labeled torture chamber and another labeled misery rock. Though Dale would not explain it to GoGo one was where Jetsam took it his victims while the other was where Flotsam went to sulk in depression and contemplate his suicidal ideation. No, Dale was not in the mood to explain how his younger sister was aware enough to draw such things. He just kept smiling because it was truly a literal key to his past life. What a find. He pulled his phone from his pocket and took a few pictures of it in case Scout confiscated this one and he didn't get to see it again. He knew she was possibly seeing it now if she wasn't asleep. But most the windows were dark behind his eyes. Something told him he had this one as a secret for just a little while.

Other than that, was some remnants of old junk food wrappers aged by the weather.

"Oh, and see this, this is the art garage. This is where Dad organized his garbage when we went dumper diving, aka treasure hunting. We had a shed for everything. This one was for hanging meat after hunting. This is the one we called the vet's office where we doctored the animals." He kept pointing them out even though they were labeled. "Where Chip raised his bats. The bat cave. Ha. It was flower pots." It just made him happy to do so. He started to lean against her as he did it.

The night started to get quiet, and he became aware of the sounds of nature around them. It was the sound of their old home. "I remember this sound." He closed his eyes and just listened for a bit. Swamp sounds were different than the bush in New Zealand.

"I wonder if any of these markers work?" He picked one up. "Dry as a bone. Piece of shit." He laughed at it and picked up another getting creative pouring some of the alcohol into the cap. "Let it soak a minute. It'll get the juices of that marker flowing again." Then he pointed at the wall. "You should sign it. I may not know all the shit we all repeated that day, but I know what it meant, and you're one of us. I can just tell."

The very few times that GoGo had heard Cinderella come up in conversation, it was all with negative things to say. So yeah, she went for the insult, which thankfully Dale seemed to agree with. And even gave her some top secret Laveau info.

“Well, I was thinking of experimenting in solar-power engines, and that can get pricy, I’ll let you know,” She said, taking Dale’s offer to heart. Though now that brought about an interesting question - could zombie-wolves even cry? Was it possible to even get diamonds from those droopy tearducts? They would have to see.

She hadn’t felt weird about her belch in the first place. She was so used to either being alone or being around the Laveaus that she didn’t get self-conscious about such things. It was like what Dale did now - usually they were rated. Hers was around a 5, and Dale generously didn’t give hers an out-loud rating. Anything under a six didn’t deserve one.

‘Have you ever considered how completely awesome you are that we love you?’

That was .. something to think about for sure.

“I’m just still surprised you all love me,” She admitted, this time feeling a little .. embarrassed? Bashful? No, not quite, it didn’t feel like an endearing feeling. More .. uncomfortable. But maybe Dale would understand. It wasn’t like GoGo had a lot of friends when the Laveaus moved to town, no one lining up to ask her to prom so she was able to ask Dale, and well - her parents - but that was a topic best saved for later.

“You better prove it,” She said. “Because Santa never reached me, and I think I have some choice words to say to him about that. Also - I bet there’s an engine in his sled, you can’t get the speed to go around the world in one night from just flying reindeer, fuck that. I’m going to find out exactly what kind of engine he has.”

And just like that, she’d believe that there was a Santa in this Christmas world without any proof, only because Dale said so. She learned a long time ago not to underestimate the family, and that most of the crazy shit that they were saying was true. Werewolves and ghosts, moving metals and zombie cities. They probably could, and most likely have, gotten her pretty good with some of their stories, that she’d just buy into because why not? The world was a lot stranger than she had originally thought.

“I shoulda kept the zombie arm,” She sighed, realizing she no longer had a weapon.

She laughed again as he analyzed his costume. “Sorry, not sorry, but you completely do look like you would be that kind of guy. You’d be right at home with a bright pink surfboard and -” She laughed once more, an image striking her. “Gotta straighten your hair so you can let those blonde highlights shine.”

It felt like that scene in Mulan, where everyone is singing ‘A Girl Worth Fighting For’ and it’s all a merry journey until they reach the canyon of bodies. It stopped being so happy-go-lucky, actually seeing where his house had once been. She went up the road as far as it went and then parked right at the end of it, slowly getting out of the car as well. She held onto the top of the door, ready to dart back in if there was any movement of zombies. But it felt so silent, there was barely a rustling of leaves.

There weren’t any bodies but there was no hint that there had ever been a house there at all either.

There wasn’t much to see, other than a gorgeous landscape, but she tried to visualize it. It was hard to see anything other than the current New Zealand house, but perched out here, just because of how much the Laveaus had customized their house. It was so them, it was weird to picture anything else. But damn this was a good plot of land.

“ATVs would have been wicked out here,” She said, imagining the speed that someone could get out here, with such long stretches. It could hold a damn racetrack.

And then he was running. She just managed to catch sight of the back of his shirt before she chased after him, her bare feet against the grass, heels shed long ago. Luckily, from all of the football and track she had done in high school, she was quick, and was able to catch up without losing too much of her breath.

She was once again unsurprised. An ewok village. And he was going to go rushing in.

“I don’t know if I’m drunk enough for this,” She curled her nose. But then seeing that Dale was going to go no matter what, she conceded. She was lamenting not bringing the bottle with her. “Just don’t fall on me, my bony ass won’t be much of a cushion.”

[popentertainment-concertphotos]

Paul Russell – Jingle Ball Village 2023 – KIA Forum – Los Angeles, CA – December 1, 2023  

Photos by Larisa Jiao © 2023

[brookston]

Holidays 12.7

Holidays

Armed Forces Flag Day (India)

Blue Marble Day

Christmas Jumper Day (UK)

Cypress Tree Day (French Republic)

Day of Local Self-Government (Ukraine)

Dia de las Velitas (Day of the Little Candles; Colombia)

Enlightenment Day

Ferry Floss Day (UK)

Fetes de l’Escalade (Scaling or Climbing Day; Switzerland)

Finance Employees Day (Tajikistan)

Flag Land Base Day (Scientology)

Gramophone Day

Hang a Wreath Day

Heavy Snow Day (Chinese Farmer’s Calendar)

Hermitage Day (Saint Petersburg, Russia)

Human Rights Day (Kiribati)

International Civil Aviation Day (UN)

International FAFO Day

International Free Assange Day

Letter Writing Day

Memorial Day (East Timor)

National Day (Myanmar)

National FAFO Day

National Fire Safety Day

National Heroes’ Day (East Timor)

National Illinois Day

National Joy Day

National Judith Day

National Letter Writing Day

National Rina Day

National Slime Day

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Spider-Woman Day

Spitak Earthquake Remembrance Day (Armenia)

Students’ Day (Iran)

Ukrainian Headscarf Day (Ukraine)

World Kamishibai Day

World TTTS Awareness Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Marshmallow Peeps Day

National Cotton Candy Day [original date, moved to 6.11; also 7.31]

National Prosciutto Day

Independence & Related Days

Delaware Statehood Day (#1; 1787)

Farrar Republic (Declared; 2016) [unrecognized]

Fraughtia (Declared; 2012) [unrecognized]

Ivory Coast Republic (from France; 1960)

1st Saturday in December

Bath & Body Works’ Candle Day [1st Saturday]

Bike Shop Day [1st Saturday]

Chester Greenwood Day (Inventor of Earmuffs; Farmington, Maine) [1st Saturday]

Coats and Toys for Kids Day [1st Saturday]

Crate Day (New Zealand) [1st Saturday]

Earmuff Day [1st Saturday]

Global Fat Bike Day [1st Saturday]

International Lolita Day [1st Saturday]

International Spirit of the Game [1st Saturday]

National Christmas Tree Day (Canada) [1st Saturday]

National Pinochle Day [1st Saturday]

National Play Outside Day [1st Saturday of Every Month]

National Rhubarb Vodka Day [1st Saturday]

National Small Business Day (UK) [1st Saturday]

National Tree Planting Day (Zimbabwe) [1st Saturday]

Sandwich Saturday [Every Saturday]

Satyr's Day (Silenus, Greek God of Beer Buddies and Drinking Companions) [1st Saturday of Each Month]

Six For Saturday [Every Saturday]

SKYWARN Recognition Day [1st Saturday]

Sleep Over Saturday [1st Saturday of Each Month]

Small Business Saturday (UK) [1st Saturday]

Social Saturday [1st Saturday of Each Month]

Sourdough Saturday [1st Saturday of Each Month]

Spaghetti Saturday [Every Saturday]

World Pear Day [1st Saturday]

Weekly Holidays beginning December 7 (1st Full Week of December)

None Known

Festivals Beginning December 7, 2024

Belle Grove Plantation Festive Christmas Tea (Middletown, Virginia)

Between the Bluffs Frothbite Beer & Bites Fest (La Crosse, Wisconsin)

Christmas at the Castle (Wickford, Rhode Island) [thru 12.8]

Christmas Festival and Parade (Benton, Louisiana)

Christmas in Salem House Tour (Salem, Massachusetts) [thru 12.8]

Christmas in the Country (Eagle Creek, Oregon)

Christmas Kick-off (Eagle River, Wisconsin)

Christmas on the Prairie (West Fargo, North Dakota)

Dominion Energy Christmas Parade (Richmond, Virginia)

European Film Awards (Lucerne, Switzerland)

Holiday Cheers at Winehaven! (Chisago City, Minnesota) [thru 12.8]

Holiday Fineries at the Wineries (New Paltz, New York) [thru 12.8 & 12.14-15]

Holidays in the Vineyards (Livermore, California) [thru 12.8]

Holiday Yule Log Bonfire & Holiday Marketplace (Norfolk, Virginia)

Indio International Tamale Festival (Indio, California) [thru 12.8]

Jingle Bell Ball (London, United Kingdom) [thru 12.8]

Julebyen Christmas Village (Knife River, Minnesota) [thru 12.8]

Lawrence Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade (Lawrence, Kansas)

Lighted Farm Implement Parade (Sunnyside, Washington)

Minco Honey Festival (Minco, Oklahoma)

Norwegian Christmas (Decorah, Iowa)

Norwich Winterfest Parade (Norwich, Connecticut)

Olde Mistick Village Holiday Carnival (Mystic, Connecticut)

Oxnard Tamale Festival (Oxnard, California)

Oz Comic-Con (Melbourne, Australia) [thru 12.8]

Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade (Palm Springs, California)

Pioneer Christmas (Litchfield, Minnesota)

Santa By The Sea (Westport, Washington)

Ventura Winter Wine Walk & Holiday Street Fair (Ventura, California)

Whirling Dervish Festival [Şeb-i Arûs] (Konya, Turkey) [thru 12.17]

Winter Market (Longmont, Colorado) [thru 12.8]

Feast Days

Aemilianus (Greek Church)

Ambrose of Milan (Christian; Saint) [Italy]

Bhairava Ashtami (Indian Goddess of Soma) [8th Lunar Day of Kartik]

Bodhi Season, Day 7 (Buddhism; Secular Date) [Leading Up to 12.8] (a.k.a. ... 

Principles: Enso

Secular: Bodhi Day Eve

Eightfold Path: Awakened Mindfulness and Concentration

The Heart Sutra: Kintsugi (Golden Repair)

Bradley (Positivist; Saint)

Bruma II (Pagan)

Day of Mourning for Dingle-Fritter, Gooseberry Humple, Tiger-Get-By, LoveFolding, but not Zimber-Quattor (Shamanism)

Eutychian (Christian; Saint)

Eve of the Immaculate Conception

Fara (Christian; Saint)

Feast of All Monsters (Church of the SubGenius)

Festival of Primordial Beings

Flag Day (India)

Flag Land Base Day (Scientology)

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Artology)

Haloia of Demeter (Pagan)

Hanukkah (Judaism) [begins at sundown]

Holiday from Death Day (Pastafarian)

Josepha Rossello (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Joyce Cary (Writerism)

Kateryna Bilokur (Artology)

Katsuya Terada (Artology)

Leigh Brackett (Writerism)

Maria Giuseppa Rossello (Christian; Saint)

Quema del Diablo (Burning of the Devil; Guatemala)

Rosita (Muppetism)

Sabinus of Spoleto (Christian; Saint)

Still Not Dead Day (Pastafarian)

Stuart Davis (Artology)

The Time of Pleasant Gossiping (Celtic Book of Days)

Time to Get Serious about the Holidays Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Willa Cather (Writerism)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 23 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [23 of 24]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [23 of 24]

Historically Unlucky Day [11 of 11]

Historically Bad Day (Cicero assassinated, Pearl Harbor attack & 4 other tragedies) [11 of 11]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 56 of 60)

Very Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [56 of 60]

Premieres

Abbott Elementary (TV Series; 2012)

Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (TV Mini-Series; 1986)

Bad Day at Flat Rocky or A Record in Bullwinkle’s Blot (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S6, Ep. 326; 1964)

The Bells of St. Mary’s (Film; 1945)

Brokeback Mountain (Film; 2005)

Canine Patrol (Disney Cartoon; 1945)

Dominique, by The Singing Nun (Song; 1963)

Edward Scissorhands (Film; 1990)

The Fisherman (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1931)

A Flintstone Christmas (Hanna-Barbera Animated TV Special; 1977)

Frosty the Snowman (Animated TV Special; 1969)

The Golden Compass (Film; 2007)

The Gondoliers, by Gilbert & Sullivan (Comic Opera; 1889)

The Grifters (Film; 1990)

Hallelujah, by Leonard Cohen (Song; 1984)

Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture, by Johan Huizinga (Science Book; 1938)

I’m Not There (Film; 2007)

It’s Greek to Me-ow! (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1961)

Jamboree (Rock & Roll Film; 1957)

Kung Fu Fighting, by Carl Douglas (Song; 1974)

The Librarians (TV Series; 2014)

The Long Tomorrow, by Leigh Brackett (Novel; 1955)

Mary Queen of Scots (Film; 2018)

Mozart and Salieri, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Opera; 1898)

New Kin in Town, by The Eagles (Song; 1976)

Ocean’s Eleven (Film; 2001)

The Pink Panther in: A Pink Christmas (DePatie-Freleng Animated TV Special; 1978)

Resign Your Fate to a 52nd State or Moosylvania (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S6, Ep. 325; 1964)

Rock! Rock! Rock! (Rock & Roll Film; 1956)

Rosemary, played live by the Gratefull Dead (Song; 1968) [Only Time It’s Played Live]

Santa’s Surprise (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1947)

(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay, recorded by Otis Redding (Song; 1967)

The Spinach Overture (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1935)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Film; 1979)

2010: The Year We Make Contact (Film; 1984)

The Water-Method Man, by John Irving (Novel; 1972)

Wild Life, by Paul McCartney & Wings (Album; 1971)

The World’s Fastest Indian (Film; 2005)

Today’s Name Days

Ambrosius, Benedikte (Austria)

Ambrozije, Sabina, Urban (Croatia)

Ambrož (Czech Republic)

Agathon (Denmark)

Piine, Sabiine (Estonia)

Sampsa (Finland)

Ambroise (France)

Ambros, Benedikte, Farah (Germany)

Amvrosios (Greece)

Ambrus (Hungary)

Ambrogio (Italy)

Anta, Antonija, Dzirkstīte, Tonija (Latvia)

Ambraziejus, Daugardas, Tautė (Lithuania)

Hallfrid, Hallstein (Norway)

Agaton, Ambroży, Marcin, Ninomysł (Poland)

Filofteia (Romania)

Ekaterina (Russia)

Ambróz (Slovakia)

Ambrosio (Spain)

Angela, Angelika (Sweden)

Ambrose (Ukraine)

Ambrose, Ambrosine, Jasmin, Jasmine, Jazlyn, Jazmin, Jazmine, Yasmeen, Yasmin, Yasmine, Yazmin (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 342 of 2024; 24 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of Week 49 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Ngetal (Reed) [Day 14 of 28]

Chinese: Month 11 (Bing-Zi), Day 7 (Yi-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 6 Kislev 5785

Islamic: 5 Jumada II 1446

J Cal: 12 Black; Fryday [12 of 30]

Julian: 24 November 2024

Moon: 40%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 6 Bichat (13th Month) [Sauveur / Volta]

Runic Half Month: Jara (Year) [Day 1 of 15]

Season: Autumn or Fall (Day 76 of 90)

Week: 1st Full Week of December

Zodiac: Sagittarius (Day 16 of 30)

Calendar Changes

Jara (Year) [Half-Month 24 of 24; Runic Half-Months] (thru 12.21)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 12.7

Holidays

Armed Forces Flag Day (India)

Blue Marble Day

Christmas Jumper Day (UK)

Cypress Tree Day (French Republic)

Day of Local Self-Government (Ukraine)

Dia de las Velitas (Day of the Little Candles; Colombia)

Enlightenment Day

Ferry Floss Day (UK)

Fetes de l’Escalade (Scaling or Climbing Day; Switzerland)

Finance Employees Day (Tajikistan)

Flag Land Base Day (Scientology)

Gramophone Day

Hang a Wreath Day

Heavy Snow Day (Chinese Farmer’s Calendar)

Hermitage Day (Saint Petersburg, Russia)

Human Rights Day (Kiribati)

International Civil Aviation Day (UN)

International FAFO Day

International Free Assange Day

Letter Writing Day

Memorial Day (East Timor)

National Day (Myanmar)

National FAFO Day

National Fire Safety Day

National Heroes’ Day (East Timor)

National Illinois Day

National Joy Day

National Judith Day

National Letter Writing Day

National Rina Day

National Slime Day

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Spider-Woman Day

Spitak Earthquake Remembrance Day (Armenia)

Students’ Day (Iran)

Ukrainian Headscarf Day (Ukraine)

World Kamishibai Day

World TTTS Awareness Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Marshmallow Peeps Day

National Cotton Candy Day [original date, moved to 6.11; also 7.31]

National Prosciutto Day

Independence & Related Days

Delaware Statehood Day (#1; 1787)

Farrar Republic (Declared; 2016) [unrecognized]

Fraughtia (Declared; 2012) [unrecognized]

Ivory Coast Republic (from France; 1960)

1st Saturday in December

Bath & Body Works’ Candle Day [1st Saturday]

Bike Shop Day [1st Saturday]

Chester Greenwood Day (Inventor of Earmuffs; Farmington, Maine) [1st Saturday]

Coats and Toys for Kids Day [1st Saturday]

Crate Day (New Zealand) [1st Saturday]

Earmuff Day [1st Saturday]

Global Fat Bike Day [1st Saturday]

International Lolita Day [1st Saturday]

International Spirit of the Game [1st Saturday]

National Christmas Tree Day (Canada) [1st Saturday]

National Pinochle Day [1st Saturday]

National Play Outside Day [1st Saturday of Every Month]

National Rhubarb Vodka Day [1st Saturday]

National Small Business Day (UK) [1st Saturday]

National Tree Planting Day (Zimbabwe) [1st Saturday]

Sandwich Saturday [Every Saturday]

Satyr's Day (Silenus, Greek God of Beer Buddies and Drinking Companions) [1st Saturday of Each Month]

Six For Saturday [Every Saturday]

SKYWARN Recognition Day [1st Saturday]

Sleep Over Saturday [1st Saturday of Each Month]

Small Business Saturday (UK) [1st Saturday]

Social Saturday [1st Saturday of Each Month]

Sourdough Saturday [1st Saturday of Each Month]

Spaghetti Saturday [Every Saturday]

World Pear Day [1st Saturday]

Weekly Holidays beginning December 7 (1st Full Week of December)

None Known

Festivals Beginning December 7, 2024

Belle Grove Plantation Festive Christmas Tea (Middletown, Virginia)

Between the Bluffs Frothbite Beer & Bites Fest (La Crosse, Wisconsin)

Christmas at the Castle (Wickford, Rhode Island) [thru 12.8]

Christmas Festival and Parade (Benton, Louisiana)

Christmas in Salem House Tour (Salem, Massachusetts) [thru 12.8]

Christmas in the Country (Eagle Creek, Oregon)

Christmas Kick-off (Eagle River, Wisconsin)

Christmas on the Prairie (West Fargo, North Dakota)

Dominion Energy Christmas Parade (Richmond, Virginia)

European Film Awards (Lucerne, Switzerland)

Holiday Cheers at Winehaven! (Chisago City, Minnesota) [thru 12.8]

Holiday Fineries at the Wineries (New Paltz, New York) [thru 12.8 & 12.14-15]

Holidays in the Vineyards (Livermore, California) [thru 12.8]

Holiday Yule Log Bonfire & Holiday Marketplace (Norfolk, Virginia)

Indio International Tamale Festival (Indio, California) [thru 12.8]

Jingle Bell Ball (London, United Kingdom) [thru 12.8]

Julebyen Christmas Village (Knife River, Minnesota) [thru 12.8]

Lawrence Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade (Lawrence, Kansas)

Lighted Farm Implement Parade (Sunnyside, Washington)

Minco Honey Festival (Minco, Oklahoma)

Norwegian Christmas (Decorah, Iowa)

Norwich Winterfest Parade (Norwich, Connecticut)

Olde Mistick Village Holiday Carnival (Mystic, Connecticut)

Oxnard Tamale Festival (Oxnard, California)

Oz Comic-Con (Melbourne, Australia) [thru 12.8]

Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade (Palm Springs, California)

Pioneer Christmas (Litchfield, Minnesota)

Santa By The Sea (Westport, Washington)

Ventura Winter Wine Walk & Holiday Street Fair (Ventura, California)

Whirling Dervish Festival [Şeb-i Arûs] (Konya, Turkey) [thru 12.17]

Winter Market (Longmont, Colorado) [thru 12.8]

Feast Days

Aemilianus (Greek Church)

Ambrose of Milan (Christian; Saint) [Italy]

Bhairava Ashtami (Indian Goddess of Soma) [8th Lunar Day of Kartik]

Bodhi Season, Day 7 (Buddhism; Secular Date) [Leading Up to 12.8] (a.k.a. ... 

Principles: Enso

Secular: Bodhi Day Eve

Eightfold Path: Awakened Mindfulness and Concentration

The Heart Sutra: Kintsugi (Golden Repair)

Bradley (Positivist; Saint)

Bruma II (Pagan)

Day of Mourning for Dingle-Fritter, Gooseberry Humple, Tiger-Get-By, LoveFolding, but not Zimber-Quattor (Shamanism)

Eutychian (Christian; Saint)

Eve of the Immaculate Conception

Fara (Christian; Saint)

Feast of All Monsters (Church of the SubGenius)

Festival of Primordial Beings

Flag Day (India)

Flag Land Base Day (Scientology)

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Artology)

Haloia of Demeter (Pagan)

Hanukkah (Judaism) [begins at sundown]

Holiday from Death Day (Pastafarian)

Josepha Rossello (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Joyce Cary (Writerism)

Kateryna Bilokur (Artology)

Katsuya Terada (Artology)

Leigh Brackett (Writerism)

Maria Giuseppa Rossello (Christian; Saint)

Quema del Diablo (Burning of the Devil; Guatemala)

Rosita (Muppetism)

Sabinus of Spoleto (Christian; Saint)

Still Not Dead Day (Pastafarian)

Stuart Davis (Artology)

The Time of Pleasant Gossiping (Celtic Book of Days)

Time to Get Serious about the Holidays Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Willa Cather (Writerism)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 23 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [23 of 24]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [23 of 24]

Historically Unlucky Day [11 of 11]

Historically Bad Day (Cicero assassinated, Pearl Harbor attack & 4 other tragedies) [11 of 11]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 56 of 60)

Very Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [56 of 60]

Premieres

Abbott Elementary (TV Series; 2012)

Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (TV Mini-Series; 1986)

Bad Day at Flat Rocky or A Record in Bullwinkle’s Blot (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S6, Ep. 326; 1964)

The Bells of St. Mary’s (Film; 1945)

Brokeback Mountain (Film; 2005)

Canine Patrol (Disney Cartoon; 1945)

Dominique, by The Singing Nun (Song; 1963)

Edward Scissorhands (Film; 1990)

The Fisherman (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1931)

A Flintstone Christmas (Hanna-Barbera Animated TV Special; 1977)

Frosty the Snowman (Animated TV Special; 1969)

The Golden Compass (Film; 2007)

The Gondoliers, by Gilbert & Sullivan (Comic Opera; 1889)

The Grifters (Film; 1990)

Hallelujah, by Leonard Cohen (Song; 1984)

Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture, by Johan Huizinga (Science Book; 1938)

I’m Not There (Film; 2007)

It’s Greek to Me-ow! (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1961)

Jamboree (Rock & Roll Film; 1957)

Kung Fu Fighting, by Carl Douglas (Song; 1974)

The Librarians (TV Series; 2014)

The Long Tomorrow, by Leigh Brackett (Novel; 1955)

Mary Queen of Scots (Film; 2018)

Mozart and Salieri, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Opera; 1898)

New Kin in Town, by The Eagles (Song; 1976)

Ocean’s Eleven (Film; 2001)

The Pink Panther in: A Pink Christmas (DePatie-Freleng Animated TV Special; 1978)

Resign Your Fate to a 52nd State or Moosylvania (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S6, Ep. 325; 1964)

Rock! Rock! Rock! (Rock & Roll Film; 1956)

Rosemary, played live by the Gratefull Dead (Song; 1968) [Only Time It’s Played Live]

Santa’s Surprise (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1947)

(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay, recorded by Otis Redding (Song; 1967)

The Spinach Overture (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1935)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Film; 1979)

2010: The Year We Make Contact (Film; 1984)

The Water-Method Man, by John Irving (Novel; 1972)

Wild Life, by Paul McCartney & Wings (Album; 1971)

The World’s Fastest Indian (Film; 2005)

Today’s Name Days

Ambrosius, Benedikte (Austria)

Ambrozije, Sabina, Urban (Croatia)

Ambrož (Czech Republic)

Agathon (Denmark)

Piine, Sabiine (Estonia)

Sampsa (Finland)

Ambroise (France)

Ambros, Benedikte, Farah (Germany)

Amvrosios (Greece)

Ambrus (Hungary)

Ambrogio (Italy)

Anta, Antonija, Dzirkstīte, Tonija (Latvia)

Ambraziejus, Daugardas, Tautė (Lithuania)

Hallfrid, Hallstein (Norway)

Agaton, Ambroży, Marcin, Ninomysł (Poland)

Filofteia (Romania)

Ekaterina (Russia)

Ambróz (Slovakia)

Ambrosio (Spain)

Angela, Angelika (Sweden)

Ambrose (Ukraine)

Ambrose, Ambrosine, Jasmin, Jasmine, Jazlyn, Jazmin, Jazmine, Yasmeen, Yasmin, Yasmine, Yazmin (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 342 of 2024; 24 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of Week 49 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Ngetal (Reed) [Day 14 of 28]

Chinese: Month 11 (Bing-Zi), Day 7 (Yi-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 6 Kislev 5785

Islamic: 5 Jumada II 1446

J Cal: 12 Black; Fryday [12 of 30]

Julian: 24 November 2024

Moon: 40%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 6 Bichat (13th Month) [Sauveur / Volta]

Runic Half Month: Jara (Year) [Day 1 of 15]

Season: Autumn or Fall (Day 76 of 90)

Week: 1st Full Week of December

Zodiac: Sagittarius (Day 16 of 30)

Calendar Changes

Jara (Year) [Half-Month 24 of 24; Runic Half-Months] (thru 12.21)

[maharghaideovate]

Beyond the Textbook: Real-World Marketing Challenges Confronted by Symbiosis Students

Do you remember the days when marketing centered around catchy jingles and flashy billboards? Well, those days have long gone, my friends. In this age of digital marketing, marketing has really become a whole new ball game, and the students at Symbiosis Distance Learning Center are coming out all guns blazing. The Rural Revolution: Marketing Smartphones to Village India First off, we have a…

[newmusicradionetwork]

Hello Sister Unleashes Teenage Angst in Cathartic New Single “Empty Motive”

Hello Sister is back with a mighty anthem, channeling raw indie rock energy to confront the sting of betrayal.  “Empty Motive” explodes with the frustration and confusion of a teenage friendship gone wrong. The song explores a broken friendship among teenagers, a situation familiar to many youths. “Empty Motive” captures the hurt and anger of being treated poorly without cause, with lyrics that declare, “I’ve done nothing wrong; your motives are empty.” Hello Sister delivers a message of empowerment for young listeners. Their new track serves as a powerful release for anyone needing to vent their frustrations, whether it’s blasting through headphones or singing along at the top of their lungs. With its commanding lyrics and undeniably catchy melody, “Empty Motive” aims to inspire listeners to break free from toxic friendships and embrace their self-worth. Hello Sister expresses their passion for the song: “We poured our hearts into ‘Empty Motive,’ and we hope it resonates with everyone who listens. It’s a song about finding your strength and knowing your worth, and we can’t wait for you all to experience it!” This talented trio of sisters is having a blast playing their own instruments and creating music together. Stay updated by following Hello Sister on all social media and digital streaming platforms at @hellosistermusic. Stream and Listen to Hello Sister’s original song “Empty Motive” Here. Click Here for the newly released video. About Hello Sister: Driven by multi-talented siblings Grace, (lead vocals, keyboards and bass), Gabriella (background vocals and guitar) and Scarlett (background vocals and drums), Hello Sister is a pop-rock band with a unique, infectious sound. Their music blends authentic musicianship with high-energy performances, creating a captivating experience for audiences. Growing up near Orlando, FL, Hello Sister honed their musical skills at a young age, releasing their debut EP, “Three by Three,” in 2021. That same year, their original song “Middle Schooler” was showcased on America’s Got Talent, launching them into the spotlight. Inspired by their musical father and artists like Avril Lavigne, Paramore, and Taylor Swift, Hello Sister’s vibrant pop-rock sound is driving their rise to stardom. In December 2023, Hello Sister delivered a spectacular performance at the iconic iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in New York City. Their win as Open For An Icon at the event demonstrated that Hello Sister is not just an opening act—they’re the emerging talents stealing the show. Further solidifying their musicianship, Dove Haircare chose Hello Sister’s dynamic rendition of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” for their global campaign, “Beauty of Damage.” This exciting collaboration marks a significant milestone for the band, propelling them further into the spotlight. Hello Sister has rocked stages like EPCOT at Walt Disney World, the Special Olympics, and the Toyota Centers Outdoor Concert Series, along with appearances at the Super Girl Surf Pro Festival, SunFest and other notable events. Beyond music, Hello Sister is passionate about giving back, supporting some of their favorite charitable causes such as hospitals with Seacrest Studios, an initiative of the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, Musicians On Call, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Give Kids The World Village among many others. Read the full article

[magenta-racer]

Commission Art - Hospitality

Amazing artwork I commissioned from @star10world!

This is meant to be after the battle between Raditz, Goku and Piccolo. Raditz is able to make it out alive, but is heavily injured and collapses near Jingle Village. When Suno goes out to hunt that day, she finds him, gets worried about his condition and takes him to her village to get the wounds treated.

Raditz is having a hard time understanding why she's so kind towards a stranger, even less the strange foods she offers him. He's planning to leave and destroy the village when he's recovered anyway, so might as well enjoy his stay, right? Not like a certain redhead can change his mind… 👀

The food she's offering here is chocolate salami, a typical Russian dessert. 😋

Art © @star10world.

Raditz and Suno are from Dragon Ball franchise © Akira Toriyama.