#agence de branding

[wolfkller]

louis is so fun and relatable precisely because he knows armand merked claudia and his penance is being miserable on purpose all the time

[thealexchen]

thoughts on LIS: Double Exposure?

This is probably gonna be my hottest take in awhile, but: I deeply dislike the idea of an official LiS1 direct sequel game existing. Excluding all my thoughts on the gameplay, story, Max's character, etc. I don't think a game like Double Exposure is necessary.

This isn't a new take either; back in 2020 I made a Reddit post saying I was glad we never got a continuation of Max and Chloe's story, because in order to have a plot, you have to have conflict. And to have conflict means your characters are forced to change or struggle in some way, and I simply wasn't interested in seeing that again. I never even read the comics. As long as Max and Chloe's future existed only in the fanbase's collective imagination and not in an officially licensed game, Pricefield could be as happy as I wanted and I wouldn't have to witness DN or D9's version of canon.

A lot of fans, including myself, are also confused and upset as to where Chloe could be in Double Exposure. Even if Chloe winds up having a surprise role, it would likely be too logistically difficult to write Chloe into one version of the story and not the other. Either way, DE is strongly pointing to Chloe no longer being the deuteragonist. If D9 was going to make a direct sequel with Max and Chloe, I could at least be intrigued by how they might write their dynamic and how they'd use Max's power in new and interesting ways. But instead there's... none of that. Chloe's nowhere to be seen and Max can't time travel anymore.

On a narrative level, Max and Chloe are the heart of the original Life is Strange. They represent the game's central relationship, and their very first interaction (Max saving Chloe's life) kicks off the entire story. Throughout the story, their dynamic advances the plot and mutually motivates their character arcs. You can't have LiS1 without either Max or Chloe; the story simply wouldn't exist without them. Now in DE, they don't even seem to be in each other's lives anymore. It's true, this series is meant to reflect universal feelings and experiences, which could include breakups, but the romantic catharsis of Pricefield as canon soulmates who defied time and space itself to stay together forever is something you can only get from the beauty of fiction. To jab DE's story with a dose of reality and go, "Eh, they grew apart. Shit happens," totally undermines everything the Bae ending stood for.

On a technical level, Max's rewind was an objectively brilliant game mechanic. LiS1 arrived onto the scene after Telltale had paved the way for the resurgence of choice-based, episodic games, but LiS1 totally reinvented the wheel by giving the player the option to go back and weigh each option before continuing, essentially save-scumming in-game. But the right choice was never that easy to determine, and Rewind brilliantly complemented Max's character arc of overcoming her indecision and learning to live with her choices. Not to mention, you could also use Rewind to solve puzzles, instead of the endless fetch quests the later games had. No other LiS game since then has given the player that kind of agency and interactivity. LiS2 had telekinesis, but the player couldn't use it, only Daniel. D9 tried with Backtalk and Empathy, but Max's Rewind was truly the narrative and gameplay jackpot that they haven't been able to recreate since.

So if you take away one half of the central relationship that made the first game so memorable, and the supernatural power/game mechanic that made it so fun to play... why even bring Max back at all? It just feels like D9 threw away their golden opportunity to build upon the major selling points of the first game and are only relying on name recognition of the Life is Strange "brand" and Max Caulfield.

What upsets me most of all about a direct sequel existing is that it proves that Life is Strange, as a series, now stands more for profits than originality. Life is Strange will always be an IP meant to make money for Square, I know that, but back when LiS1 was just a brand new episodic game, it stood out for how different it dared to be. In a landscape saturated with shooters, sexualized female characters, and casual misogyny, LiS1 instead featured a teenage girl in a contemporary setting that took her seriously and made her the hero of her story. Before it was a franchise, LiS wasn't concerned with the bottom dollar; it was a piece of art that just wanted to tell a thoughtful, unique story.

Whether you love it or hate it, Life is Strange 2 was an insanely risky follow-up to Life is Strange that refused to rely on the convenience of a direct sequel because Dontnod stuck to their artistic vision. Meanwhile, all of Deck Nine's games have leaned on the first game's following to generate interest (BtS being a direct prequel, TC bringing back Steph, and Wavelengths expanding on Steph's connection to Chloe, Rachel, and Arcadia Bay). In other words, all of the subsequent LiS games by D9 have played it very, very safe. It's worked like a damn charm because there are still elements I love about each game, but the basic principle is nostalgia-baiting fans. It's just that now, Double Exposure isn't hiding that nostalgia bait at all anymore and prioritizing profits over telling a unique story. It's sad to see that LiS has strayed so far from its risky, daring, original, and unique artistic beginnings.

Before I end, I'll say that I can't be too cynical about it all, nor do I want to be. Because I can't deny how much joy this whole series has brought me, too. LiS was what got me into narrative adventure games and pushed the boundaries of what a video game could be. If nothing else, I am truly thrilled that Hannah Telle got the chance to play Max again. D9's always been great at maintaining relationships with their actors, and the casts of their games always have consistently great chemistry. Getting recognized by Erika Mori on my own blog is still unbelievable and speaks to the amazing community that LiS has built. As you can see, I'm still posting and reblogging stuff about Double Exposure. And while I don't see myself buying or playing this game for myself, I know it'll keep all of us talking for awhile, and I still live for a good discussion.

Thank you for asking! And thank you for reading.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Louis de Pointe du Lac, as originally written, could be regarded as one of lit's most famous "also rans", someone who was originally positioned as Thee Tragic Figure of the series, only to be almost immediately superseded both in the readers' and the author's minds with Lestat. Like, you know Louis because of the original book, but Lestat is the one everyone talks about, Lestat drives the rest of the series, Lestat has all the best lines.

And the movie, as much as I personally don't like it, only sort of dug this further into the pop cultural understanding of the story. Brad Pitt is at his most "I am relying on pretty" boring and sulky; when there is a performance, it's largely annoying. And Tom Cruise... I mean, it's literally nothing next to what Sam Reid does in my mind, but it was at least very off-brand for him at the time, and he was doing SOMETHING, and he (and Kirsten Dunst) have the most iconic Moments, the camp, the arguably most memorable part of the movie (the very end with the Sympathy for the Devil cover playing us off).

So it's honestly SUCH a testament to the innovation of the show's writing and the brilliance of Jacob Anderson's performance that Louis has been reinvented, not only as a compelling protagonist, but as a character that is EASILY as complex and multilayered as more traditionally antiheroic/villainous types like Lestat and Armand and Claudia. He's more than the beautiful, tragic object of Lestat and Armand's affections, he's more than the guy telling us the story.

Louis is self-loathing and self-aggrandizing; he's victimized by Lestat, and he manipulates Lestat, very aware of his own emotional hold over him (might we note how much agency Louis had over Claudia's turning, and how Lestat in no way would've done that if not for Louis... and that act was arguably one of the most selfish in the series, if emotionally understandable). He's controlled by Armand, yet we get hints that he's actually quite dangerous and perhaps in some sort of self-delusion about just how dangerous he is (and Assad certainly plays Armand like he's nervous as fuck about Louis knowing the truth--and I don't think that's JUST about the possibility of Louis leaving him once he finds out).

Louis tells himself that he loved Claudia more than anything and that she was his "spark in the dark", when we see that in reality their relationship deteriorated over time and continued to do so, even after the person who was seemingly a wedge in their relationship was vanquished. We see hints, perhaps, that Claudia was no more the ideal daughter in his mind than Lestat was the ideal lover.

And that last scene in the premiere? When we're not sure who the "you" is? Sad and kind of horrifying, too. Because like--what will Louis do to Claudia to further his own love and obsessions? Who does Louis prioritize more--Claudia, Lestat, Armand? Maybe none of the above. Maybe himself and what or who he thinks will stave off his own loneliness, his need for love and validation and, yes, power.

None of this is a criticism of the character. The show already did something SO good and SO smart by turning Louis from a white slave owner to a Black man with money and social standing, still so held back by the laws and environment of his day. Vampirism gave him agency, yet the show, in season one, showed the potential for Louis to still be the perpetual tragic victim (in episode five especially). And maybe they'll still slip up and do that.

But increasingly, with the reveal in the s1 finale and the s2 premiere, I think we're getting the implication that the thing Louis could be protecting himself from mentally (with some help from Armand--I don't think Louis's memory issues are all Vampire Magic, though) is something horrible that he did. A choice he made. Because Louis does have agency, and the narrative allows him to be someone with conflicted desires and a complicated sense of self. Someone who doesn't love PRETTILY. Someone who is manipulated and manipulates.

Like, I've joked about him being this kind of like vampiric Helen of Troy because of the allure he holds for powerful figures like Lestat and Armand, but I also think it's so powerful to explore the way that Louis uses that appeal and ALSO makes fucked up decisions on his own because he is... into being adored, frankly. Even if the people who adore him also hurt him. He gets caught up in his own romanticized retellings of his life story, whether heartfelt or tragic, because in those retellings he can pretend that he had no choice, he had no ability to say otherwise.

But like--Louis could have stopped that woman from being decapitated, potentially. Louis didn't have to walk away from human affairs. He chose to do so, just like he chose to beg Lestat to turn Claudia. Just like he chose to deny her Lestat's true death.

And I think there's like, an attempt to reckon with this in the unreliable narration of the books, but I also think that this is so dependent, in Anne Rice's version, on spinning to Lestat... That Louis's culpability and untruths are overshadowed by his Everything. Here, the story lets us soak in Louis's mind, and Jacob Anderson's performance really seals that. I find it so smart.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Analysis: Of Mice and Men (Cultural References)

Bindle: A bag, sack, or carrying device.

Bindle Stiff: Hobo; transient who carries his belongings in a sack.

Bunk House: A sleeping quarters intended for use by multiple people.

Talcum Powder: Very similar in texture to baby powder, talcum powder was used mainly after bathing or shaving.

Apple Box: A box used for storage or as a stepstool capable of holding a person's weight.

Scourges: A widespread affliction, an epidemic illness or the consequence of some natural disaster, like fire, flood, or a migration of locusts.

Pants Rabbits: A sexually transmitted disease, known as pubic lice.

Graybacks: The equivalent of ticks or lice.

Liniment: A topical cream for the skin that helps with pain or rashes.

Jerkline Skinner: Lead driver of a team of mules

Stable Buck: A derogatory name for an African-American man who works in the stables.

Stetson Hat: A famous brand of hats, especially cowboy hats.

‍Swamper: A general assistant; handyman.

Murray and Ready: An employment agency, specializing in farm work.

Work Slips: Proof that people had been hired to do a job.

Cultivator: A farming tool used to stir and soften the soil either before or after planting.

Cesspool: A well or pit filled with drainage or sewage.

Slough: A muddy or marshy area.

Tart: A woman who tempts men or who is sexually promiscuous.

Buck Barley: To throw large bags of barley on a truck.

Lynch: To illegally execute a person, generally applied to the hanging and/or burning of African-Americans in the south.

Slug of Whiskey: Equivalent to a hip flask of whiskey.

Gut Ache: A stomach ache.

Airedale: A type of dog, specifically Terrier.

Pulp Magazine: During the 1920s-1950s, inexpensive fiction magazines. From 1950 on, the term also came to represent mass market paperbacks.

Luger: The Luger pistol was an expensive, high maintenance weapon manufactured and used primarily in the German army.

Euchre: A card game played in England, Canada, and some parts of the U.S.

Two Bits: Twenty-Five cents.

Rag Rug: Rugs created from rags that were tied together by knots.

Kewpie Doll: A particular style of doll, one that was usually won at carnivals.

Phonograph: The first device for recording and playing sound, most specifically music.

Parlor House: Could be considered a restaurant, but more often parlor houses were brothels.

Hutches: A form of furniture, very similar to a wardrobe.

Welter: A boxer (refers to welterweight, a weight class in boxing).

Nail keg: A wooden barrel that could usually hold 100 pounds or more inside.

Russian Hill: Affluent residential neighborhood in San Francisco, California.

Travels with a Donkey: Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes (1879), one of Robert Louis Stevenson's earliest published works.

Varro: Marcus Terentius Varro (116-29 B.C.E.), Roman scholar/author and horticulturist.

Velasquez's Cardinal: Seventeenth-century painting by Spanish painter Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez.

Zane Grey: American adventure novelist (1872-1939).

Source ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[scotianostra]

Clifford Leonard Clark “Cliff” Hanley was born on October 28th 1922 in Glasgow.

Hanley was a journalist, novelist, playwright and broadcaster from Shettleston in the city’s East End, he was educated at Eastbank Academy.

His journalistic career began with a life of crime - reporting from the city courts for a local news agency. By the time he had graduated to the Daily Record, it was clear that he had an astonishingly versatile range. In particular, he loved the then hectic world of Glasgow show-business, reporting on the raft of theatres which still survived in the city in the 1960s.

On that scene Hanley was always more than a commentator and reviewer, his membership of Equity testifying to his skills on the speaking circuit, and to his talent as a lyricist. With the musician Ian Gourlay, he wrote some marvellously witty parodies of Scottish folk songs, substituting institutions like the Glasgow underground for Granny’s Hielan’ Hame.

Hanley’s hallmark was that brand of self-deprecating, but sharp, humour which ensures that no Glaswegian can entertain ideas above his station in the company of a fellow citizen.

Cliff Hanley’s childhood in Glasgow’s East End provided the material for his most celebrated novel, Dancing In The Street, a semi-autobiographical work which was much acclaimed on publication in the late 1950s. It is still considered one of the most engaging books about Glasgow, the grittier experiences always leavened and laced with Hanley’s irrepressible humour. Several other novels quickly followed to a similarly warm reception.

I know some of you will still be struggling to recall Hanley’s work, but he wrote the lyric for one of the most famous Scottish songs ever, putting the words to well known bagpipe tunes that we know as “Traditional” Hanley gave us the words to Scotland the Brave, which emerged as the de facto national anthem. It remained so for two decades before being supplanted by Flower Of Scotland, I still remember football matches where they played the tune at International matches as our national team anthem.

Of course, Cliff’s tongue-in-cheek verses were never designed for mass singing, as was evidenced by the confused expressions on the faces of the national soccer team when they struggled to get their bagpipes, heather and glens in the right order. But played at full tilt by a pipe band, the anthem struck the appropriate note of terror into the opposition.

For a while Hanley also worked in radio, but although he continued as a regular contributor, his career as a presenter was relatively short lived. In 1970, he was hired to work on Good Morning, Scotland, the flagship morning news programme, but fell foul of the accent police - at that time received pronunciation was still considered desirable. Thank god we still don’t adhere to the old rules, we would never have the likes of Lorraine Kelly, Dougie Henshall and Ken Stott using their own god given accents on TV

Hark when the night is falling

Hear! Hear the pipes are calling,

Loudly and proudly calling,

Down thro' the glen.

There where the hills are sleeping,

Now feel the blood a-leaping,

High as the spirits of the old Highland men.

Towering in gallant fame,

Scotland my mountain hame,

High may your proud standards gloriously wave,

Land of my high endeavour,

Land of the shining river,

Land of my heart for ever,

Scotland the brave.

High in the misty Highlands,

Out by the purple islands,

Brave are the hearts that beat

Beneath Scottish skies.

Wild are the winds to meet you,

Staunch are the friends that greet you,

Kind as the love that shines from fair maiden's eyes.

Towering in gallant fame,

Scotland my mountain hame,

High may your proud standards gloriously wave,

Land of my high endeavour,

Land of the shining river,

Land of my heart for ever,

Scotland the brave.

Far off in sunlit places,

Sad are the Scottish faces,

Yearning to feel the kiss

Of sweet Scottish rain.

Where tropic skies are beaming,

Love sets the heart a-dreaming,

Longing and dreaming for the homeland again.

Towering in gallant fame,

Scotland my mountain hame,

High may your proud standards gloriously wave,

Land of my high endeavour,

Land of the shining river,

Land of my heart for ever,

Scotland the brave.

[tobiasdrake]

I love Trucy so much. Best sidekick. Yes, I said it. Yes, I know that's Maya blasphemy.

She is such a Wright it hurts.

Trucy is such a fantastic character. Not to mention a brilliant magician.

She fucking slipped a commercial into her magic trick. Trucy is destined to be a brilliant con artist some day.

Look at that smug face. She's a fucking pro. She carries this talent agency. I mean, someone has to when the only other employee is a subject of nepotism.

So smooth. Even when she's aggressively wrong.

Post-timeskip brings a bold new status quo to the franchise and Trucy is basically the face of that new status quo. She's the connective tissue between the new material and the old, simultaneously serving as a brand new major character to help define the new cast while also casting a new shade to Phoenix's character.

While being a confident, self-assured, and capable person with her own layers and story to tell, at that. Trucy is arguably the best thing that happened to this franchise post-AA3. And it was to the detriment of later games that they de-emphasized her.

[codename-mom]

Cookie jar

Summary: The team is on the field without Hotch who's on a leave for some days, but they have to call him anyway. Suddenly, something happens and everybody worry about Jack.

Characters: BAU team and Jack Hotchner

Contents: TW a child is hurt (but everything is fine) and a tiny bit of angst because Hotch can't be anything else but anxious.

This is a text written for the KidFic CM challenge organized by @imagining-in-the-margins.

PS : English is not my mother language so they are necessarily mistakes. Sorry about that.

___

The team had gathered in the room the police had assigned them – a cubbyhole, so to speak, cluttered with cardboard boxes and mops – and Derek dialed Hotch's cell phone number. The latter was on leave for a few days. His men were reluctant to call him when he did, so that he could enjoy his time away from Quantico to the full, but they had no choice. The first clues found in the field echoed those of an old case the director and Jason Gideon had worked on in the past. As the latter had vanished into thin air, they could only contact the former.

He picked up after several rings.

“Hotch?”

“One moment, he stopped him on the spot. Jack, I said no. I’m coming back.”

Morgan had put his phone on speaker so that everyone could follow the conversation, and so they all heard the TV gradually fading away, until it was almost muffled. They imagined he must have gone to his bedroom, or some other room where he could close the door behind him.

“What's the matter?” he asked, in an annoyed tone.

“Sorry to bother you,” apologized Emily, trying to appease him.

It wasn't certain that this impromptu call was the cause of his irritation, but if in doubt, it was best to try and smooth things over.

“Tell me,” he ordered, his intonation unchanged.

“We've potentially got a resurrected serial killer,” the ex-policeman attested.

“If I tell you: branding on the shoulder, chains on the ankles and whipping. Does it speak to you?” went on Dave, next to him.

A silence passed, during which he had to return to his memories.

“… Yes, but the culprit was sentenced to life.”

“Actually, he passed away last month, Derek clarified. But the last victim was killed on Monday.”

“His accomplice was released for good behavior last year, but his file disappeared, Prentiss explained from across the table. Can you remember his name?”

“I imagine you've already searched the digital archives for this information.”

“Affirmative, confirmed Penelope, who had come with them for the occasion. And there’s nothing. The guy just disappeared.”

The agency manager fell silent again. For a long time. The profilers stared at each other, tense.

“Hotch?” impatiently asked Morgan.

“Just a moment, I'm trying to remember, thundered his superior. His name was… De…”

A loud crash and a breaking glass could be heard in the background, and everyone froze as the giant shouted:

“Jack!”

A door opened and footsteps moved away from the handset. Clearly, the giant had left his phone behind. Tension gripped the whole group, their senses on the alert and their hearts pounding against their ribs. 

“Did we kill tiny-Hotch?” moaned Garcia, on the verge of tears.

In the distance, the voice of the father calling his son made them fear the worst. Then the little boy started screaming at the top of his lungs, and everyone shuddered.

“Apparently not,” ironized Emily, who wasn't putting up much more of a fight than her colleagues.

“What do I do? wondered Derek, unsettled by the situation. I hang up?”

“Maybe he'll come back to us,” Spencer stated uncomfortably.

“I don't think so,” objected JJ, listening intently to the distant din.

“Why?”

“This is clearly the cry of a child in real pain.”

As the only mother in the unit, they trusted her judgment without a hesitation.

“Well, maybe I'll hang up now,” voiced Morgan, ready to press the button.

“Wait,” advised Rossi.

Jack was still crying loudly, perhaps a little quieter than a few moments earlier, but more importantly, they noticed that the sound was now moving. And he grew weaker and weaker until he disappeared completely.

“It sounded a lot like a door slamming,” Prentiss claimed, her eyebrows furrowing.

“You can hang up now,” Dave confirmed.

Derek obeyed sighing. He hadn't expected such a turn of events and now felt guilty about what had just happened. He knew the kid a little and he was always delighted to see him, his eyes shining with admiration every time. Like his counterparts, he didn't know what had occurred, but feared that something grave had happened, which would leave neither the child nor its progenitor unscathed.

“It could have been worse,” pointed out JJ.

Everyone looked at her, bewildered.

“Are you kidding? Retorted the brunette. I don't know what’s going on, but it's serious enough that Hotch left with him.”

“Yes, but Jack was crying.”

“So what?” inquired Morgan, confused.

“That means he was conscious,” Reid attested confidently.

The man who had taken over the leadership of the team when Aaron was absent took a long breath and ordered his peers to get back to work in spite of everything. They worked with this question in the back of their minds: how was Jack doing? Based on the thin clue left by their superior, they searched, groped, and modified their profile until they found a certain Denis Porter, who turned out to be their unsub. All this in record time. Since they were in the neighboring state, they returned to the Quantico offices while it was still daylight. Immediately, the worry that had been nagging them all came back to mind, and synchronously, they looked at their phones. None of them had received a message, which didn't reassure them at all.

“Penelope, do you have any way of knowing which hospital he was admitted to?” inquired JJ.

“Why do you ask? teased her colleague, who immediately took to her keyboard. I'll do it right away, my little ones.”

She typed the toddler's first and last names into her search engine and the result appeared almost instantly on her screen. All gathered around the analyst in her colorful lair, they read the information at the same time.

“Let's go,” commanded Emily, leading the way.

A few minutes later, they jumped in two Bureau SUVs and headed for downtown Washington DC, following the itinerary on their GPS. They parked quickly and hurried to the reception desk. The nurse behind the counter was somewhat surprised to see the herd arrive, armed and determined, but was reassured to see Derek's warm smile. She directed them to the pediatric emergency room on the other side of the building. Together, they made their way through the corridors until they reached another admissions department, where they were given the room number.

They shared a similar fear at this moment. They dreaded discovering the state of the youngster and prayed the titan wasn’t ready to drop again. He'd already suffered enough; he didn't deserve to be in even worse shape. Morgan didn't have the courage to knock on the door, which was ajar but not wide enough for them to see what was going on inside. Rossi did it for him.

“Knock, knock!”

“Come in,” Hotch reacted, in his usual tone.

They took a few steps and saw the boy lying on a bed, in a hospital gown, his head turbaned, but grinning from ear to ear. His father was sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed, and a brief chuckle lifted the corner of his lips. Relieved, all the agents took Jack in their arms one after the other – except Spencer, who simply banged his fist against his. The girls added a kiss on his cheek and told him he was very brave. The effusive reunion over, Aaron declared:

“Denis Porter.”

“Yes, we found him,” Dave replied, squeezing his shoulder.

“Good.”

He didn't have the expression of someone satisfied with their work. He still looked distressed.

“What happened?” said JJ, asking aloud the question they'd all been asking themselves.

“Mister wanted a cookie. I pointed out to him that it wasn't the right time, but he waited until my back was turned to take one.”

“And?” bounced Prentiss.

“Well, he had his cookie. A lot of cookies. And the jar itself.”

The adults' gaze swiveled towards the injured boy, who gave them his best little rascal smile. He had no regrets about what he'd done. Some of the visitors felt sorry for him, once again showering him with hugs, while the others shook their heads in disappointment.

“Concussion?” continued JJ.

“It’s what we’re waiting to see. He has been under observation since 3:30 p.m.”

They reflexively glanced at their watches. He had been here for almost three hours.

“He looks okay, Derek remarked as he sat down on the bed next to him. Right, buddy?”

“Yeah.”

“Tomorrow you'll be a hero at school,” affirmed Rossi, leaning against the bedposts.

“Yeah!” exulted Jack, proudly.

“Because he took a cookie jar to the forehead?” judged Emily, eyebrows furrowed.

“Scars,” Reid whispered, in a tone of obviousness.

“… Guys...” sighed the three women in unison, as they saw the same victorious expression on the faces of their male comrades.

Someone knocked on the door and a nurse entered, a little disconcerted to see so many people in the room.

“Mr. Hotchner?”

“Yes,” responded the interested party, rising to his feet.

“Can you come with me for a moment?”

Instinctively, he turned to his offspring and met his irises.

“We'll look after him, Hotch, Penelope reassured him, having grasped the source of his apprehension. Go.”

His teammates nodded in support, and Aaron very gently kissed his son on his bandaged forehead before leaving the room. Without them needing to ask, the hero of the day began to tell them all about his adventures, dwelling on unimportant details, forgetting the end of some of his sentences to go back and move on to something else, and surely exaggerating certain facts. All this with boundless energy and plenty of grand gestures that definitely appeased them about his state of health.

However, Morgan saw the nurse pass by again in the other direction out of the corner of his eye and was puzzled not to see Hotch reappear immediately afterwards. He waited a little longer, in vain. He apologized to his fellows and returned to the corridor. He discovered the giant a few yards away, leaning against the wall, a document in his hand. His pupils turned towards the ground, he seemed lost. Derek felt a vise tighten around his throat. What if…?

“Trouble?”

“What? gasped the manager, rudely jolted from his thoughts. No. This is the exit voucher. Everything is fine.”

The former policeman relaxed.

“So why the long face?”

The agency head lowered his nose, dodging his gaze, before sighing. Then he lifted his chin and turned his dark irises on him.

“… How did your mother do it?”

“To what?” he reacted, taken aback by this private question.

“To raise three children on her own into perfect adults.”

He couldn't help but burst out laughing, even though his interlocutor had spoken very seriously. At least he understood why he looked so downcast when all the indicators were green. As usual, the ex-prosecutor scourged himself for not having been able to protect a loved one, when there was no reason to do so.

“I'm not sure she'd say that,” he joked to lighten the mood.

“You arrest serial killers and, from what I've seen, your sisters don't seem to be into organized crime.”

Seen like that, indeed, his mother had done a very good job of keeping them on the straight and narrow. But that didn't mean the road wasn't full of bumps.

“Hotch, what happened was an accident, as it happens in every family in the world. I did the same stunt when I was a kid and, obviously, I'm fine.”

It was the truth. He himself had taken a tin of candy on the corner of his skull when he was a little older than the director's son. He had climbed onto a chair and then onto the kitchen counter before stretching out to grab the object of his desire, which his mother had placed as high up in the room as possible. In the end, he found himself in the emergency room with a huge lump on his forehead. The images were no longer so clear in his mind, but he still remembered his mother's concern as she brought him unconscious to the hospital. The same expression of anguish and guilt appeared on his neighbor's face.

“Hotch, Jack's moving, he's talking, and he's got clearance to get out of here. So, everything is okay.”

“Then why do I feel like the worst father in the world?” he retorted, not daring to look up.

He almost replied that it was because he had very low self-esteem, but restrained himself to give him a more consensual, but no less correct answer.

“You were scared for him, it’s normal.”

“But it's not just that, he despaired, peeling himself away from the wall to walk down the corridor. I constantly asking for help. To Jessica, to Haley’s mother, to my own mother… even JJ. I’m incapable of taking care of him all by myself.”

Morgan was touched despite himself by the disarray of his opposite, who was still struggling to adapt to his new life as a single father. Not being in his situation, he couldn't really give him advice, but could always try to make him see reason.

“Hotch, I think all parents ask other people for help. My mother would ask other women in the neighborhood for advice, and some of them would even babysit us. Your mother must have done the same thing, JJ does and I'm pretty sure Haley did too. You're no more incapable than anyone else.”

He and his sisters had spent entire afternoons and weekends at their aunts' so that their mother could work or simply have time for herself, and none of her children had had the audacity to reproach her in any way.

“… I wish I could be as sure as you are.”

Derek rolled his eyes and held back from kicking his butt. His propensity for only seeing the glass as half empty annoyed him to no end, but he tempered his urge to strangle him by reminding himself that the context wasn't helping either. So, he chose a gentler method.

“Does Jack smile?”

“What?” exclaimed Aaron, raising his nose.

“Do you see Jack smiling?”

“Yes.”

“Laugh?”

“Yes.”

“Does he tell you he loves you? Without you having to tell him beforehand or giving him something he wanted?”

“Yes.”

“So, everything is good.”

The giant analyzed the exchange they had just had, and his subordinate saw his features gradually relax. He fixed his gaze in his again and, with a pale smile, said:

“… Thank you.”

Morgan's lips stretched warmly, and he laid a hand on his shoulder in return. The two men then went to the little boy's room, where his father told him the good news.

___

This idea jumped in my head after my first watch of season 5 and this dialogue between Derek and Hotch, where Derek has decided to write his own report to leave more free time for him to take care of Jack (because he knows what it is to be a single parent).

That scene was so cute, that I needed to imagine another peaceful moments between the two of them. Because we all know that they appreciate each other more than they will confess it. Because boys are boys...

[jordiethepoolfloatie]

Resources to help

Palestine:

Operation Olive Branch (operating mainly on IG and Tiktok @operationolivebranch) is an organisation directly helping Palestinian families on the ground. They have a list of verified gofundme campaigns as well as many other ways to help if you are unable to donate.

Let’s Talk Palestine (@letstalkpalestine on IG) is an educational organisation providing thorough information about the history of Palestine and the events of the g€noc!de, as well as daily updates on the cause. A great resource to get educated.

UNRWA is the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, an official UN organisation providing aid in Gaza. Their funding has been cut by many countries recently, and while some have resumed, the operation of UNRWA is continuously facing difficulties. Israeli settlers and troops are blocking the border crossings, limiting the aid getting into Gaza.

BOYCOTT brands that support this g€noc!de! You can find the list of boycotted brands and reasons of boycott on bdsmovement.net as well as www.boycotzionism.com.

Keep talking. Keep sharing. Keep bearing witness. Keep donating.

DR Congo

Friends of The Congo (@congofriends on IG) is a human rights and advocacy organization educating people on the dire situation Congolese people are subjected to. They also provide ways to donate to thise affected by the inhumane confitions of cobalt mining and the attacks of Rwandan troops (funded by EU)

Focus Congo (@focuscongo on IG) is a Congo and Germany based human rights organisation. They provide both education and ways to donate and get involved in helping the people of the DRC.

BOYCOTT big tech companies profiting from the g€n0c!de olin Congo: Dell, Apple, Tesla, Microsoft etc. This does not mean to throw away your electronics. But you do not need the new iPhone just because it’s new. Buy refurbished tech, and generally take good care of the elevtronic devices you already own.

BOYCOTT conflict minerals such as gold, silver and diamonds.

Sudan

SAPA is the Sudanese American Physicians Association, a medical organisation providing medical care on the ground to displaced Sudanese people. You can donate to fund their medical supplies.

Let’s Talk Period Sudan (@letstalkperiodsudan) is a women’s rights organisation providing affordable reusable menstrual pads for Sudanese women and girls, addressing the ongoing women’s health crisis in Sudan amidst the war.

@sudan.updates on IG is a great resource to learn about what is going on in Sudan.

Most importantly: keep your humanity. Keep caring. Don’t turn away. If all of these horrors being committed around the world terrify and upset you, that just means you are a human being with empathy.

[merelyroleplayers]

Now playing in the Main House

Act Two of Five: Search this house from bottom to top!

Coming next on 22 October – Peggy, the Crooked (Vigil Backstage)

Programme notes

This production contains strong language, drug use, gunfire, and gory fantasy violence.

Luvvie alert! We simply must introduce you to The Thorne Files, a fellow Monster of the Week actual play podcast detailing the exploits and mysteries explored by agents of Thorne Investigations, a paranormal investigations agency, in 1952.

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Peggy Tailor: The prodigal daughter of a local family that dabbles in fey frolicking and organised crime, back in town to lay low after a grift gone horribly wrong.

Calistarius Softbinding: A local horror writer with a cult following, who sponsored the construction of a whole new wing of Sherrydown’s library. Calistarius Softbinding is a nom de plume.

Ed Kincaid: A once promising, now disgraced MI5 agent assigned to investigate the more … esoteric threats reported to the national security hotline.

Jinny Greenteeth: Proprietor of the Grove of Oddities, a tacky Sherrydown tourist attraction. In a past life, Jinny was branded a witch after a series of drownings in her Lancashire village.

Department of Omissions (DO, DoOm): The UK government department tasked with preventing harm to citizens from supernatural phenomena. Severely defunded under Tory austerity policies and currently prioritising major urban population centres.

Sherrydown, Brackshire: A historic English market town. One of the first towns to lose its DoOm office.

Omission effect: The rejection of certain beings and phenomena by long-term memory. Recently lifted.

Credits

COMPERE: Matt Boothman

STARRING:

Ellie Pitkin as Peggy Tailor, the Crooked

Chris Buxey as Calistarius Softbinding, the Expert

Chris MacLennan as Ed Kincaid, the Professional

Josh Yard as Jinny Greenteeth, the Spellslinger

with Chris Starkey as Cameron Jarvis

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Monster of the Week, designed by Michael Sands

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Matt Boothman

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

Find us

On Instagram @MerelyRoleplayers

On Tumblr @merelyroleplayers

www.MerelyRoleplayers.com

[theiconicmeghanmarkle]

We are honored to announce that WME now represents Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex in all areas.

The agency will be focusing on building out her business ventures across multiple facets of the agency and its broader ecosystem, including film & television production, brand partnerships & more.

This, coupled with the piece about Oscar De La Renta, has some folks wondering if we'll soon see Meghan at an upcoming event decked out in Oscar De La Renta as an official brand ambassador. 🤞🏽

[ncisfranchise-source]

The NCIS franchise continues to expand—but not every show can last nearly as long as the mothership. Hawai’i, currently in its third season, will be ending with the May 6 episode.

“I was shocked” by the news of its cancellation, NCIS star Rocky Carroll tells TV Insider. “Less than two weeks ago, I was doing a talk show with Vanessa Lachey and LL COOL J. We were all sitting around celebrating being a part of the NCIS universe. You never know what the motivating factors are, but I’m hoping that those characters, because we still have the mothership as we call it, we still have NCIS: Sydney, and who knows, those characters may turn up. I mean, LL COOL J’s character came from Los Angeles and was in Hawai’i. So who’s to say that Vanessa Lachey’s character wouldn’t show up somewhere in the NCIS universe again?”

There are at least two more series coming, the Origins prequel about a younger Gibbs (played by Austin Stowell, with Mark Harmon narrating) and Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo reprising their roles of Tony and Ziva in an untitled spinoff. “I’m thrilled about [the expansion], and I think it’s a real testament to the staying power and the commitment of CBS Paramount to have this show be sort of the staple that we now have a brand that’s expanding,” Carroll says. “It’s like the Marvel universe now. New audiences, new generations of audiences can now have their show that they can say, ‘Yeah, I’ve been with it since season one,’ like the diehards from NCIS who are 22 years in now.”

With Carroll playing the director of the agency, while neither Tony nor Ziva remains with NCIS, it would be quite easy for him to appear in a video check-in, right? “It’s funny you should mention it. I just did a podcast with Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo, and we had a chat about that, and I said, ‘Who knows? Sometimes the director may need to come in and check in on you kids because you’re on the other side of the world here,'” shares Carroll. “That would be kind of fun. Video check-in would be nice. I’d like to see their faces when Vance just walks into the room.”

RELATED

'NCIS' Aftershow: Wilmer Valderrama Teases Torres' Influence on Knight

But is there a spinoff he’d like to see in the franchise? He points out that there are divisions of the agency that have been introduced, like the REACT team. “The thing that made NCIS so interesting to begin with is [creator] Don Bellisario picked a federal agency that most people had no idea what NCIS stood for or what it was,” Carroll notes. “There’s all these other parts of this federal agency that you could focus on as opposed to just NCIS: Costa Rica—which wouldn’t be bad. I wouldn’t mind having Vance’s retirement job being a director in a small office in Costa Rica somewhere.”

Not every attempt at a spinoff has been a success; Los Angeles Season 4 introduced Red, the mobile unit, but that wasn’t ordered to series. “There’s never any guarantee,” according to Carroll. “But the universe has this solid footing now that you can take a chance, take a leap of faith, and say, ‘Well, let’s try it and see what happens.’ You know that the universe is still going to be safe, still going to exist.”

After all, NCIS is still going, even three seasons after its lead, Mark Harmon, exited. “There were star-driven shows in the ’70s and the ’80s. It was the name above the title and then the show.” Carroll recalls. “But now what CBS had done—and Harmon was a big factor in this, too, he always wanted the agency to be the star of the show. And CBS has been successful with other shows like CSI; once Billy Petersen left CSI, people thought, ‘Well, he was the main character behind it,’ but the show still had life after that. Because it was about the agency. And I think that’s one of the things that CBS does pretty much better than anybody else.”

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Cut off from his religious, metaphysical and transcendental roots, man is lost; all his actions become senseless, absurd, useless.

- Eugene Ionesco

Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books by decree in 1586, it is the second oldest university press after Cambridge University Press.

Last year the University Press announced it would be changing its branding and logo which had served it so well and was iconic the world over. The new branding was designed by an agency named Superunion with refinements by typographer and logo designer Rob Clarke.

The new logo featured Oxford’s name and an icon showing the turning pages of a book forming the ‘O’ of the popular university press. It represented Oxford’s heritage as a print publisher, and its transformation to a future of multi-format content publishing. Or so they say.

The old OUP logo had the university coat of arms in which was the Latin quote: Dominus illuminatio mea. This is Latin for 'The Lord is my light’. It is the incipit (or opening words) of Psalm 27 from which the motto of the university was taken.

That motto has been in use there since at least the second half of the sixteenth century, and it appears in the coat of arms of the university. The origins of the motto shdes light (no pun intended) on the origins of the mission of the university as it was back then. Roman Catholic priest and theologian Ivan Illich explained that ancient university motto was being formulated around a time when scientists were progressively replacing the concept of vision as a gaze radiating from the pupil by the concept of vision as the retinal perception of an image formed by reflected sunlight. Illich wrote, “To interpret De oculo morali, the relationship of things to God "who is light" must be understood. This is the century (i.e. the thirteenth century) suffused by the idea that the world rests in God's hands, that it is contingent on Him. This means that at every instant everything derives its existence from his continued creative act. Things radiate by virtue of their constant dependence on this creative act. They are alight by the God-derived luminescence of their truth.”

It seems the Oxford University Press, in all its wisdom, threw out hundreds of years of tradition in the name of digital transformation to advance knowledge to all fours corners of the globe. In other words just another bland soulless corporate entity. As one critic said Oxford had gone from ‘maybe god will read your book, but no one else’ to ‘look here’s a visual representation of the drain your book will disappear down’.

[sschmendrick]

ok i've been meaning to send this ask all day but never caught the time. I see so much haikyuu on your blog lately! Tell me more! (funny thing is we are doing a rewatch at home too!) tell me your story and EVERYTHING you want. And also!!!! i can see you shipping hinata and kenma?

OK ok, strap yourself in because I cannot guarantee that this will make any sense. But I’ll do my best.

To be off to a great start, I do not remember how I got into Haikyuu. One day it wasn’t and the next it was. From pictures I have I can say that I was into Haikyuu in my last year of middle school (so 2015-2016). By then I already had mangas but I’m pretty sure I was first attracted to it by the anime so I’d already seen the first season (and maybe the second too) and I had started buying the mangas.

(I shall put a read more here cause this post is LONG, beware!!)

Pictured below is one of my productions during my mandatory stage de troisième. I was in a graphic design agency and I was shy so I’d eat real fast at lunch time and use the rest of the time drawing and my supervisor saw me one day and offered to give me an exercise around it that would make me both enjoy what I was doing and also understand more stuff about graphic design. He was awesome. He really went with all my little cringe interests and encouraged me. The exercise he gave me was to create a cover for Haikyuu. I had a lot of fun with the lettering, understanding the dimensions and everything. He then made me create a brand, understanding why brands are called what they are, making my own logo, and then I worked on one of their (maybe) projects.

(top is the cover I did, the second one is what I was working on when he gave me the assignment, last on is me being crazy and drawing yaoi in a room full of adults at 14 and them going good job, you wanna keep drawing ?)

Yes I already had a favourite character but it will become more apparent soon. I got really into volleyball because Haikyuu made it look so cool. I was never a sports guy so it was really hard to want to have fun while being so bad with endurance and athleticism. All I had to my name was my flexibility because of dancing for years. Once again I think I was very lucky with the people I met. My PE teacher was really nice and could have just let me skip the class but he didn’t. Wait no, this needs more context. I didn’t have many friends in middle school. I spent the first year with nobody. The second year someone approached me and more or less dragged me in the world of people and friends (once again, I met an amazing person that was just selflessly nice to me). She got me speaking to people and I met my friends through her. My best friend from elementary had abandoned me in a matter of days after we started middle school so I felt very awkward in all situations. Anyway, I had a few people I hung out with but that was about it. I wasn’t exactly the bestest of friends with them but they accepted me even if I was awkward and didn’t talk much. They all knew each other for a while and were much closer (and popular), so when PE would come around I didn’t have anyone to pair up with. SO, my teacher instead of turning a blind eye offered to help me with the volley practice (this was in quatrième (before last year of middle school) if I remember right ? but it must not have been before I learned about haikyuu). He took the time to make me practice everything and explain everything and honestly I think that helped a lot with my general technique cause otherwise there’s a lot I would not have understood or just learned wrong and would have to readjust when I got to high school.

Back to last year of middle school. My mind has been overtaken by Haikyuu cause it’s brilliant. I dabble in cosplay and I have no money I can use to buy an aliexpress one (yes the dreaded website but we would go there at the time haha) but I want to cosplay Haikyuu. Lucky me, I have found a group of cosplayer on Paris for the next Paris Manga that’s doing Haikyuu ! I was so pumped up. And they didn’t have my character but they did have his partner so we were all excited about it :) My parents were not very thrilled about it all because I was still just 14 and they were mostly adults but my mom still helped me make my own jersey! I still have it but I’m 100% sure it doesn’t fit anymore :’) Here is me starting to fall for the sport and the cosplay progress pictures I still have

(still so proud of it, I did everything by hand !! and last pic is me with a volley ball cause I was a little deranged already)

Yes I was Akaashi, I loved that character. Acting all polite but an overthinker much with a dash of mischievous and admiration for the people around him. Also nothing grand about him like so many of the characters, but he could still hold up with them. I think I have somewhere on my computer a picture of our group but first I don’t know where it is and second you can only see my face on it so I have no picture of my finished cosplay haha. The con was amazing, I had so much fun with these people, we started hanging out a little more often and going to all the anime cons around Paris as a group and we did more group cosplays. I loved it. However at this con I lost my phone and it was in February so when I needed my dad to come pick me up I had to wait for 45 minutes in short shorts and a thin jersey :’)

After that I kept enjoying Haikyuu as one does, and high school started. Oh high school, a lot happened there. First thing I did was being reborn ! And even though it wasn’t much and only social it helped me be a little more free already. Free enough to allow myself to pursue a certain sport I was looking forward to. Yeah I got the volleyball bug. I was so happy my high school had a volleyball “club” and the first day of it we were only two. It was me and another guy, even smaller than me, who had also loved Haikyuu but we didn’t talk much about it. He was just as fired up about it as I was and we really pushed each other to become better. I don’t know what he’s become now but I hope he kept playing volleyball.

Anyway we were off to a great start with…two players. But still our coach/PE teacher was kind enough to teach us. We managed to have a few more people to come now and then but it was rough the first year. In my three years (well two but that’ll come later) we never had 6 “full time” people in the club so any kind of competition, even to get completely massacred by the other teams, was out of the question sadly. We would play on a concrete court ! It was REALLY rough haha ! But these courts were situated in a sort of closed courtyard space that was surrounded by school buildings and on the top floor were the Prepa classes (preparatory classes to get in higher education schools like engineering private schools for anyone not French reading this). Unlike the rest of my classmates, they liked playing volleyball. They were soooo tall compared to us but they would play with us and teach us some stuff and they were really good compared to us. Thanks to them we got the actual practice we needed cause you can’t learn enough by just playing 3x3 or worse 2x2 with people who can barely keep the ball in play (I was one of these people, I get to trash talk past me).

In my first year of high school I was taking riding lessons at the military school since we wouldn’t be able to go to our family’s house village with the more apparent divorce and moving out and other difficulties. It was an experience and I don’t regret doing it but it wasn’t a great place. I stopped the next year. And then…then I have memory problems. I cannot remember if it was during my second or last year of high school that I did it, but I would say it was during my second year of high school, that I entered an outside volleyball club. It was a Sunday lesson, it was all adults and it was for beginners. We would mostly do matches but sometimes they would focus on serves or hitting (I only remember one lesson about it though lol). It was super cool, I got to play volleyball on the Wednesday with my school club, whenever at lunch break when the Prepa were playing, and the Sundays at my outside club. By then, I don’t think I was reading or watching much of Haikyuu. I think I might have gotten my adhd ass hooked on something else while waiting for the next season and I had fallen in love with volleyball for the playing not just Haikyuu by then. Also something that I’m working on (and I’ve noticed it has gotten better already) is that I have a hard time appreciating watching people do something I love (usually a sport) as much as I appreciate doing the sport. For example, I never enjoyed watching any horse jumping competition even though I love doing it. I think it might come from the fact that I am bad at the things I love and therefore cannot truly appreciate what’s going on. As of right now I watch volleyball matches and rallies and really enjoy it.

Last year of high school rolls around the corner and…our PE teacher/coach tells us that they are closing the club down cause we aren’t enough and she would rather not run from our practice to the badminton’s practice (that she also coaches) and only work with the badminton’s club. After all they had the regional and potential national champions there meanwhile we had no hope of ever participating in a competition. And I had learned at my last lesson at my outside club that since we weren’t enough coming to the practice they would close down their beginner lesson. It was a bit of a shock to go from two practice per week to none at all. I missed volleyball. I accepted to participate at the badminton’s practices (cause it’s also a sport I like but at leisure, not on a competitive level, and less than volleyball) but it was just to keep me doing something. What happened though is I got to choose which sports I wanted for my BAC (high school diploma) since I was in a club the year prior and I chose the one with volleyball and I aced that. I only resented the top players of our group a little cause it wasn’t their sport at all but since they were pretty athletic and good at sports in general they had no problem being good at it when it took me sooooo long :’) yes I am petty.

Then I don’t know what the heck happened. Well yes I know but I don’t know why when I arrived in Montreal in my school I didn’t try to get into the volleyball club. Anyway, I didn’t play for a whiiiiile, years ! And the only reason I did again was because my best friend’s parents ( @nyaoi-warrior ) invited me to play with them and their friends when I visited. I was bad at communicating when I was playing in France (I often forget to say “j’ai”) but this was in Czech Rep, and we couldn’t communicate in English. It was HARD but I had so much fun !! My team lost all of the sets but it was so cool :D

Recently I was looking for something in my old stuff in the basement of the building. I didn’t find it but what I did find were my old Haikyuu manga. And oh god the flame it awoken in me. So anyway here is me a few weeks later with a volley ball in my hands, I’ve found a place I can sneak in just for the end of the year and I’ve been looking at clubs I can enter (and hopefully get better and then do some competition).

Now more about Haikyuu. What an amazing sports manga/anime it is. Of course, with the protagonist being a spiker most people when they start volleyball because of Haikyuu want to spike. I was lucky enough to be in the tall half of my year in high school but now I am tiny compared to most volleyball players. And a thing I love in volleyball I quickly discovered is diving for the ball. I’d be running far back or on the side, sliding until my knees burn to keep that ball in play. I thank Haikyuu for giving each role a time in the spotlight in almost every game they play, cause with what we learned in my school club or outside club I would never have heard of the libero. Ofc when you play for leisure having a libero is a bit meh but now I know that if I ever want to play competitive this is the role I should gun for (or maybe setter but I’m still pretty small so idk).

I just finished watching the season 4 recently and I’m on my way to catch up, and then finish with the scans (and then buying the mangas too). I got spoiled about what happens at the nationals after season 4 and what happens after, the time skip etc but just in the grand lines and I’m fine with that. I don’t think that it takes away from it too much. And (IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AFTER/DURING TIME SKIP DON’T READ BUT ALSO WE WON’T HAVE A FULL TIME SKIP ANIMATED SO IF YOU’RE JUST WATCHING THE ANIME I’D SAY MIGHT AS WELL READ IT BUT ALSO IT’S EVERYWHERE SO YOU MIGHT KNOW IT ALREADY) I freaking love Hinata in Brazil. It’s very funny to me too cause here is this little dude who got me into volleyball, with whom I had an anime-level betrayal and tragedy with my clubs, and now I’m learning Portuguese because of my Brazilian friends and I wanna go to Brazil and HE WENT TOO ?? That was hilarious to me. Maybe I should look into beach volleyball hehehe.

About the ships; I started with the “basic” ones, the most obvious ones that come from the strong bonds and non-stop interactions and how they are shown as more or less pairs by the manga/anime (so kagehina, asanoya, daisuga, bokuaka, etc etc etc) but I am a multi shipper now. I don’t know I have a much more relaxed approach to shipping now, especially for big casts where there isn’t clear cut villains, same with one piece. They all have great relationships with everyone around them and I like many of them. And yeah I stumbled upon kenhina recently and I really like their dynamic. I love kagehina just as much, and also the hilarious way Hinata seems to fascinate all setters. I have seen some really funny tsukkihina fanarts too. I’ve put a lot of stuff in my queue so you got some yakunoya coming soon as well haha. Also from what I’ve heard (haven’t got to see it yet) (yes the premiere was Sunday and it’s only out today) that the movie has big kenhina energy so I’m here for it.

This little red-head guy just makes me so happy. I’m so glad I got to discover one of, if not my favourite sport out there (and that says a lot coming from a horsegirl) and I want to keep it in my life. I’m asking around for clubs and selections and I hope I am accepted. And I’ll be celebrating my birthday watching Olympic volleyball matches :D

OH ! Another thing. During my intensive studying period for my current school’s diploma, I was with friends and before we started studying each morning we would put on music or some kind of stuff, and we put anime opening blind tests and one of them had the first Haikyuu opening (which is still my favourite cause yk…it’s the one that started it all) and I was hit with a wall of memories…yeah :’)

I think that’s all I might have forgotten a few things, I don’t know at this point.

I can’t believe you got me writing more about volleyball, in English, in 2 hrs than I’ve written for my THESIS in a WEEK. This is 5 word pages WITHOUT THE PICTURES.

[lifewithchronicpain]

Shortages of opioid pain medication in the U.S. appear to be worsening, with no apparent action from the FDA or DEA to ease the suffering of patients left in uncontrolled pain or going into withdrawal.

Last week the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) added another widely used painkiller to its drug shortage list: oxycodone/acetaminophen tablets, which are more widely known under the brand names Percocet and Endocet. The medication is typically prescribed for moderate to severe pain.

The ASHP reports that five drug makers are either running low or have exhausted their supply of oxycodone/acetaminophen in 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10mg tablets. Amneal, Major and Rhodes did not provide ASHP with a reason for the shortage, while Camber and KVK-Tech said they were “awaiting DEA quota approval for active ingredient.” Amneal, Camber and KVK-Tech said the tablets were on back order with no estimated resupply date. Major and Rhodes said additional supplies were expected in mid-September or early August, respectively. Limited supplies and doses of oxycodone/acetaminophen tablets are still available from other drug manufacturers...

...At PNN, we hear from readers almost daily about opioid shortages. “I am now past my usual fill date,” said Rick Martin, a retired pharmacist in Las Vegas who lives with chronic back pain. “My CVS pharmacist manager told me that she was told by their wholesaler that hydrocodone won't be available until the middle of August.” Martin said pharmacists at Walgreens, Smith’s and Sav-on have also told him they were out of oxycodone and hydrocodone tablets. “It's been spotty for 6 months but now seems entrenched. I got switched to tramadol. Not as effective, but I can just barely get by. I've heard that's what doctors are doing. Tramadol or Tylenol with codeine,” he told PNN.

Steve Keating, another Las Vegas resident, has been taking oxycodone for chronic neck pain after his vehicle was rear-ended by another driver. He had no problems getting his prescription refilled at either Walgreens or CVS, until last month. Now he is out of pain medication. “I began having withdrawal symptoms. No one seems to care,” said Keating, who turns 73 this month. “The pharmacy recommendations were to obtain tramadol, which I've tried in the past and found ineffective. I cannot take opiates with acetaminophen as it upsets my stomach.

“It seems that there is a huge gap between prescribers, pharmacies and whatever governmental agencies are involved. Do these governmental idiots not realize how important the medication we've been prescribed for months or years is to give us some degree of a better quality of life?” (Read full article at link)

None of this, absolutely none of this, stops people from dying from illicit fentanyl. It just punishes people in pain.

[i4juni]

𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨: meet the kang family and their dynamics

areum is more of yumi's mom than her own mother.

grandma areum basically raised yumi and her brother as her mother worked nightshifts at the hospital.

her mom got home at 6-7 AM, heading straight to sleep while yumi & her brother woke up at 7 to make it to school on time. because of this, her grandma was the one who woke them up, made breakfast and got them all ready for school.

her grandma basically took the role of her mother.

when yumi moved to seoul because of her training, she begged her grandma to move with her as she wasn't supposed to move away with them. and fortunately for her, her grandma moved with her.

yumi sees grandma areum as her mom as she's never had that special connection with her actual mom.

her grandma was and still is her confident, whenever yuyu ran into problems she would go to her grandma for help. and being the wise woman she is, she gave her the best advice.

areum made sure yumi's desires were always made reality, even if it went against her mom's whishes.

for example, yujun (yumi's brother) had always been interested in cars and motorcycles. Yumi being the little sister she was, she wanted to be like her big brother and so badly wanted to go to races. her mom was not in favor of that, saying that it was a boy's thing and that girl's things were modeling, dancing, etc.

but, areum saw how disappointed her granddaughter was and decided to take her to these races behind her mom's back.

Yumi is eternally grateful with her grandma because if she didn't bring her to those yumi would have never found out her passion for cars and motorcycles.

Yumi loves her grandmother very much and always tries to visit her in between schedules.

she's taken her members with her when visiting her grandma and she absolutely adores them.

now whenever yumi's grandma calls her, she asks how the members are doing.

the members lovingly call her enha-grandma.

oh boy, where do we even start with them.

for context, arin had yumi at the young age of 22 ( having her brother when she was barely 18 ). her father was never in the picture, leaving when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant.

his excuse? he was only willing to stay for one kid. he told arin he would only stay if she gave up yumi to which she said no after much convincing from her mother.

but him leaving was honestly for the best, as his and arin's relationship was very turbulent and toxic. they would fight almost daily and it would sometimes be so bad that areum had to get involved to de-escalate the situation.

because of her work, yumi barely saw her mother. this strained their relationship from the very start.

added to this, arin always had felt resentment towards her daughter since, in her eyes, yumi was the reason her boyfriend left. as time passed, she also grew resentful of her son.

this resulted in arin always acting cold, stoic and even hostile towards her daughter.

because of this, yumi had always looked of the approval and love from her mother. she was always seen doing little crafts and favors for her mother. she just wanted her mother to acknowledge her.

when yumi was 5, she got noticed by a well-known clothing brand. they offered a lot of money to have yumi model a toddler clothing line they had just launched, being blinded by the money, arin agreed.

after being a model for that brand, she was noticed by a modeling agency and they quickly tried to sign the toddler. yet again, blinded by the money and not thinking about the repercussions that modeling at a young age could bring, arin accepted.

it was only then, that arin started to treat yumi less coldly. arin saw her as the thing that could bring her the money she desperately needed.

being desperate for money, arin started to control what yumi ate and make her go on extreme diets for her age, just to please the modeling company and be what they thought "would sell".

this affected yumi very badly and caused her to have an unhealthy relationship with food. she still suffers with this.

apart from this, arin was very restrictive with her daughter. she'd never let yumi play with her brothers cars or action figures as a child. she said they're “boys things” and that she should stick with modeling and dancing ( which both were very imposed onto her ).

as yumi grew older, she noticed how toxic her mother was and started to pull back from her. she realized that she would never be enough for her and that her mother only saw her as a source of cash.

she knew that if she still was in contact with her mother, her mental health would deplete and she would go back to the dark place she was her entire childhood. so, when she moved in with enhypen, she took the opportunity and went little to no contact with her mother.

and arin didn't bat an eye, she didn't even notice how her child didn't contact her. with the money yumi brought to the table after all those years of modeling, arin was able to quit her nursing job and start a small jewelry store. said store slowly but surely started to grow and it's a well-known store now in seoul.

her mother will only call to give her backhanded compliments and ask for money whenever the store goes on a low.

yumi has tried to deny her the money multiple times but her mother always manipulates her into it.

the members know some of this ( only way yumi has told them so far ) and they always make sure that her mother's calls are hung up. they know how arin made yumi's life miserable and don't want any of it to come back.

omg these two are literally inseparable.

even before yumi was born, yujun would be stuck at the hip with his mother as he tried to hear her sister in her belly.

when his sister was born, yujun was ecstatic. he was the first one to see her at the hospital and instantly wanted to hold her.

as they grew older, they became even more close. they bonded over their mother's coldness towards them ( yujun was also a victim of this. arin only saw him as the star athlete of the family, bringing her attention for being his mother. )

when older ( between the ages of 5/6 & 8/9 ) they started to develop a tom & jerry type of relationship. they would tease each other to no end and even prank one another.

they enjoyed spending time together like that, even if it was unusual.

yujun was always yumi's bodyguard. at school everyone knew that if you messed with yumi, you'd be messing with her older brother.

since he was always the tallest of his class, he had that intimidating factor and would scare away any kids that would make fun of yumi. he'd also scare away any of yumi's crushes because of this lmao.

speaking of crushes, they'd literally make each other's life's so difficult whenever they knew they liked somebody.

once, yujun told the boy yumi was currently talking to that if he ver hurt his sister he'd make him disappear. safe to say, that boy never spoke to yumi again. in retaliation, yumi told the girl yujun was interested in that he was talking to five other girls.

that made them so mad at each other that they didn't speak with one another for almost three weeks.

yumi is his number one one supporter at his volleyball games. she always makes time for them, even if her schedule is packed. even if he doesn't say it, yujun appreciates it so much.

but don't be fooled, he will always go to the first show of her comebacks. he is always spotted in the crowd of at least one of the groups shows each comeback.

yujun was also the main defender of yumi with their mother. whenever he noticed arin was being rude towards his sister he would quickly shut it down. he never ever let their mother speak down to his sister.

he also sneaked her out of the house to go see street car races ( he had his contacts ). she would always smile so brightly when she got the chance to see it.

the members have met him a couple of times and really like him. yujun has also told them that if they do anything to hurt yuyu that he'd actually kill them. they were very intimidated by him at the start because of this.

even though they bicker and annoy each other, they'd literally kill for each other.

taglist ( open ): @seolboba, @flowerjun, @lost-leopard-beanie, @itszeni

[melbmemories]

1978 Launch of Big M.

Big M flavoured milk was launched in Victoria with overtly sexy imagery of milk running down the cleavage of girls in skimpy bikinis. It competed directly with Coca Cola as a cool teenage drink. The four initial flavours were Chocolate, Banana, Iced Coffee and Strawberry, followed later in the year by Blueberry. The equivalent drink in NSW was Moove, launched the same year.

Big M was introduced in January 1978. It marked the beginning of branded milk products in Victoria after the Victorian Dairy Industry Authority (VDIA)had replaced the Victorian Milk Board. The force behind the innovations was Chairman Des Cooper, along with his marketing manager Peter Granger.

The commercial was created by the George Patterson advertising agency in Melbourne – then the largest agency in town. By March, it was reported that Big M had claimed 13 per cent of the non-alcoholic beverage market and had reached $1.5 million in gross sales. In 1978 the VDIA also announced sponsorship of the VFL Little League and the Big M Melbourne Marathon.

The soft drink companies reacted to the challenge, threatening to pull their fridges out of milk bars if Big M was displayed next to their products. Retailers had long sold products including cream and fruit juices from the fridges they rented from companies such as Cadbury Schweppes, but it seems the popularity of Big M had prompted a re-think. The Dairy Industry Authority promised to replace any confiscated fridges.

The campaign to promote the new product significantly increased overall milk sales, benefiting dairy farmers who had been going through difficult times.

The trademark was sold in 2000 and the brand was marketed by Lion Pty Limited which was, in turn, owned by Kirin Holdings in Japan. Lion controlled the Pura, Dairy Farmers, Dare, Farmers Union, Classic, Big M and Masters brands of flavoured milk in Australia. In January 2021, the Lion Dairy and Drinks business was sold to Bega Cheese, putting the brands back in Australian hands.

by Tony Beyer