#and being latinate it works about 70% of the time

[chekovsphaser]

"Armarinho" in English is "Haberdashery" and not, as I said earlier, "Armory", as in "I need to find a new armory because the one nearby didn't have the thing I wanted"

[liselke]

I love reading doctor who books. What the fuck is happening!!!!!!!

[atiny-for-life]

Ateez's Full Storyline Explained - BONUS

Masterlist

WORK

Based on the GOLDEN HOUR Intro which was released prior to the first teasers and is all about Atiny and Ateez's journey thus far, plus the lack of storyline queues in the music video itself, I believe this is one of those instances where the MV simply falls outside the storyline, much like Turbulence and The Real

I believe this time, it's because they were invited to Coachella and simply didn't have as much time to prepare for the album and get access to the sets they'd need to tell the story visually the way they wanted to which is something I talked about more here

However, let's still dive in and dig up some easter eggs and other fun little moments strewn throughout the video so we can appreciate it better!

Kicking things off is "maknae on top" Jongho buried in the dirt, playing the flute (which sounds like a clarinet) while the others stand around him, four out of seven holding spades and shovels

And it's not just that they felt justified in burying him with extra holes for his hands so he could play the flute, they also felt the need to do it right outside a motel in the middle of the desert

Giving the meaning of this album, this starting from a dirt-hole in the dessert setting could be a reference to Pirate King and Treasure which were both shot in the dessert way back when

If that's the case, it'd also make the red car more meaningful since Yunho also had one during Wave

From here, we move on to a roadside diner/shack situation where our boys are working the counter, preparing counterfeit money burgers

Inside, we can see a bunch of Ateez's awards (bragging rights), including a MAMA award, the Billboard #1 plaque and more, with TYUdeongi and Mito (the two little plushs) front and center

Next up, we've got Seonghwa rolling into town on an ostrich, carrying the flags of some of the countries they visited during last year's world tour while Yunho, San, and Yeosang are counting their money and drinking around a table outside the motel

The next clips show us Yunho reading a burning newspaper with the headline proclaiming something along the lines of "Anonymous Philanthropists Change [...]", likely referencing all the money they've been handing out at their diner

The scene is accompanied by the lyrics "Breaking News popping up no matter where I go" which is very reminiscent of 'Matz'

Wooyoung's vibing outside with a Mariachi band and Flamenco dancers (don't ask me why... I guess they're having a Latin American phase right now - let's see if they end up fluent in Spanish or Portuguese some time soon)

Up in the mountains, we've got them mining for gold far away from any visible mining shafts, and singing about geese laying golden eggs in Spanish (giving Aesop's Fable), followed by a line about building towers 24/7 in Korean (giving Billionaires' Row in Manhattan) before San eats the gold nugget he'd been holding (the effects of eating gold are not well studied, please do not attempt at home)

Next, we've got Yeosang cutting out counterfeit money with a large pair of scissors (we're already struggling with inflation, put those scissors down) while singing about being an introvert

He's in the same office Yunho was in earlier when he was reading the burning newspaper (I'm glad the place didn't burn down)

Moving on, we've got Mingi in the parking lot dressed very Willy Wonka-esque (Gene Wilder version)

He's sporting two pins on his coat - one which looks like a painter's palette and the other looking like a cross, somewhat reminiscent of the Maltese Cross (shoutout to Malta, I feel like no one ever talks about you) or the Iron Cross (popular in early 20th century Prussia)

Everyone's partying, it's raining counterfeit money, we've got car hydraulics in the back (it's been 70 years, I didn't think these were still popular) and our Flamenco dancers are back before we cut to Jongho in his hole, and back to Seonghwa on his ostrich which is now joined by some very talented, head bobbing, CGI chickens

Moving on, we find Hongjoong dancing in another parking lot, surrounded by his members and some strangers on golden bikes, all wearing sunglasses

In the lyrics, he's referencing The Real which strongly matches the vibe they're going for in this sequence, both in terms of costumes and with the general setting

Within the same rap verse, we also see Hongjoong in first parking lot where Wonka-Mingi was kicking off the party earlier

Here, he's dancing with two kids in costume (a chicken and a wrestler), while looking super delighted, just all around happy to be here, much like the guy on the bike we can see in the back (it's very wholesome)

We briefly cut away to a shot of a lone massive golden egg stranded on a deserted hill surrounded by some dry shrubs. Keep it in mind. We'll come back to it later.

Back in the office, Yeosang's happy with his robot chicken (Brian) which seems to be capable of laying golden eggs, going by the tall stack of them presented on his desk

While Yeosang's hogging the office, Yunho's off in some basement, taking the term "money laundering" far too literally as he pulls a stack of bills from a washing machine

Seonghwa, once again on his ostrich, now enters a gas station where Wooyoung fills up the bird by inputting a fuel pump in its side. We can now definitively confirm that this alternate universe is weird as hell.

Moving on to a miniature city, we've got our two main rappers attacking a money-monster with some ray guns ( because, on this ship, we're anti-capitalism)

They're wearing fur coats to match the lyrics, which may also be a throwback to Say My Name

Returning to the diner, we've got Jongho building a money burger abomination with some added CDs because, clearly, that's his favorite breakfast

And over in the kitchen, we've got head chef Hongjoong cooking up some hellfire concoction which is literally on fire but he doesn't care - he's still just making a noot-noot face and giving us a straightforward reference to Bouncy by cutting in some more green chili peppers

Honorable mention to Mingi's GTA reference

From there, we get some shots of Ateez gathered around the camera (Don't Stop End Credits style), a short scene of Seonghwa in the hydraulic car, many people's favorite clip of half-topless San twisting a valve or something near some desert oil rigs, and more, before we finally move on to Jongho in front of a food truck

The truck seems to go hand-in-hand with Ateez's roadside dinner since it also offers their famed money burgers

Next, we've got Yunho and Yeosang carefully watching an extra large golden egg in their office

After a few more super quick scenes flash by, it begins to crack before we return to the lone massive golden egg in the desert we saw earlier which now busts open and out pops Seonghwa

There are some Korean folktales about men being born from eggs, all of them rulers which were used to keep the myth alive that kings were picked by a higher power, not born the conventional way - I assume that's what's being referenced here

[lostdrarryfics]

THE BIG FIND 2023: Day 3

The Big Find is a 10-day long Drarry fic-finding marathon to celebrate the blog’s anniversary. Below is the Day 3 compilation of lost fics, both old and new, that we’ve been unable to find. Our aim is to get as much attention to these lost fics as possible, to help people finally find their missing fics! Anyone can participate by reblogging, reading through each list, providing additional fic details, and informing us the title, author, or link of a fic, and their respective number in the comment section. Happy finding!

3.1 It begins with Severus punishing Harry and Draco, because he is tired of their fighting and arguing, then he takes them to an empty classroom and forces them to say three things about themselves to each other, and so on several more times. I remember he leaves some kind of hologram girl as a mediator to make sure they don’t fight. And also that they end up taking over the classroom, they take things there to hang out and everything. In addition to the fact that on one occasion they fake a fight to extend their punishment and continue spending time together. 3.2 I have this scene stuck in my head. Draco fell asleep on the roof or on the ledge of the Hogwarts castle and he ends up falling off. Harry was flying on his broom when he saw Draco fall, and of course he catches him. I can’t remember what the rating or the length of the fic was but I know it’s from an Eighth Year fic fic is not Adventures of a Suicidal Gentleman by GallaPlacidia

FOUND! 3.3 the only detail I remember is that the boys end up switching wands. I think it was an 8th year fic and Draco’s wand doesn’t work for him anymore and I think at some point draco and harry have another confrontation like the one in 6th year and draco tries to curse harry and his wand just jumps out of his hand and he starts crying. And harry ends up convincing him to switch wands cause his holly wand doesn’t work as well for him as draco’s does.

3.4 8th year fic. Pansy (and Blaise I think) found some sort of blackmailing spell that allowed them to wander around the victim’s mind without being detected. They couldn’t choose what to see so they’d just have to hope they’d stumble upon something. They used it on draco and found out about him and harry being together secretly and used it against him.

3.5 This fic was read on AO3. I can remember very little, I’m sorry. I think it goes like this. Draco and Harry start dating, but the Prophet keeps publishing nasty things. Harry tells them straight out that he will destroy them if they don’t stop. Ofc they don’t, and Harry magically blows up/ levels the building by himself. It is possible they bought out the Prophet prior to blowing up the building.

3.6 looking for a drarry fic that i read a couple of years ago (although i think it was written quite a long time ago on LJ maybe?) it’s a pre-war fic where the malfoys come over to the light side and lucius malfoy trains harry and draco in how to duel. i think there is a basement in which they teach harry how to duel? particularly remember that once they learn as much as possible from L it will be narcissa’s turn because she’s actually the better dueller. i really liked the dynamics

3.7 I read a fanfic last year. But I think it was written somewhere between 2013-2016 (I know wide range but I truly can’t remember) Set in 8th year post war. Harry is the master of death and a character named “fate” who only he can see. Becomes somewhat of a companion to him as they learn to work together. Hermione and Ron believe Harry to have gone mad. Harry and Draco somehow end up having to share a private room. They find out later in the fic that they are soulmates because they saved each others lives 3 times during the war. It’s well of 100k words and had about 60-70 chapters. I read it on AO3. I think the title was a variation of Latin?

3.8 It was in Hogwarts and after 1st or 2nd Year I think. It was soulmate universe. Everyone has a soulmate with like marks. I think Drarry and hearts in green and red. The two also lived together I think. The special part is that Drarry are true mates. And when they touch their marks glow

FOUND! 3.9 I remember reading it back in 2018, but not sure where. It is a long fic and basically rewrites books 4-7 at Hogwarts. One of the main details I remember is that there was a ring of magic trees on Hogwarts grounds that took you to a secret grove if you walked through them properly, so Draco and Harry would spend a lot of their time there. At the end, they get married on Halloween and its a big deal to Harry because its the same day his parents died.

3.10 I remember reading a fic (a ‘longer short story’-length) which features a central scene, in which a strong Harry magically ties/paralyzes Draco and forces him to have sex. He feels Dracos arousal and although Draco begs him to stop, Harry continues giving Draco a handjob. Harry continues until Draco is about to cum, then stops. Draco begs him to go on, but Harry wouldn’t (‘you wanted me to stop’) and ‘de-paralyzes’ Draco. Draco masturbates to get to his ejaculation. I think, the scene was set in a classroom, maybe on a desk. It could have been tagged as powerful!Harry or magically powerful Harry and i read it on AO3 or FF.net.

3.11 Unfortunately I don’t remember much of the setting, but rather the dynamics between Harry and Draco. Draco finds out that Harry is gay and begins to fantasize about it. His fantasies focus on anal sex and: faeces! At first he feels disgusted and despises Harry for his alleged ‘dirty’ sexuality – if Harry is gay, he likes anal sex and thus he likes excrements. Gradually Draco becomes involved in these fantasies and his homophobic reflex loosens. He begins to like his fantasies and wants to have sex with Harry. This process is not a linear progress but a flip-flopping. The story had a medium length, it was not part of a larger series. I must’ve read it on AO3 or FF.net.

3.12 multi chapter war fic and some Slytherins (Draco and I think Blaise, Millie, Pansy and Greg) have defected to the Order. The Order has essentially imprisoned them in a safe house of sorts where order members go when they need a rest and some healing. They are not told of how the war is going but think that it’s not going well due to the number of injuries they see go through the house. Eventually, Harry shows up. Draco and Harry begin talking and even bed sharing at times, and eventually the order wins the war. The fic was kinda gritty and I believe explicit. More info: the one I’m after starts when the Slytherins are already in the safe house and they defect voluntarily. Harry doesn’t show up until way later. fic is not Wayward Slytherins by Aramarthiel

3.13 i think harry sets fire to a shop and he gets reprimanded by the aurors, so he gets sent to hogwarts for some kind of punishment (?) and draco is also there, maybe as a professor. it’s a pretty slow burn and draco is getting married to astoria but doesn’t in the end. harry is pretty hung up on ginny for most of the fic too

3.14 there was a small plot point where one of them got a tummy bug and then the other got a uti after doing stuff with them and they both talked about it after figuring out what happened. i think it was during hogwarts, and they were pretty comfortable with each other, and on a personal not it made the fix realistic and nice to me cause most fics dont really talk about bathroom stuff, just major plot. i read it several years ago so i have no idea if its still on ao3. i think it was multichapter i can’t remember if it was completed (probably?)

[lephamquynhnhu]

Panacea

Chapter 3: The last remnant of epics (First Half)

Dan Feng x Fem!Reader

WARNINGS/ TAGS: The reader has a default name, OOC, mentioned blood, violence. (This is a work of fanfiction, events are not aligned or relevant to the original work)

Word count: ~1k7

Summary: He met you on a drizzling day when hydrangea fully bloomed on its field. Amidst the sea of mild pastel petals, Dan Feng never thought the flowery domain that intertwined your fate was the precise thing withered with you. They said he was a dragon, a hero, a sinner, but never a person with love, hatred, sorrow, or joy like everyone else in this world. However, it was a demi-truth. He committed the cardinal sin because of you.

Note: Do you like...pain?

"The patient has been in a coma for 72 hours from being discovered. Hemoptysis with unknown cause and her condition refuse all drugs even cloudhymn does not meet the treat's purpose ." 

Dawn breaks at the East horizon, shining fragile sunbeams on a nightingale at your window, where eglantine baths in the late-winter breezes. The bird tilts its head toward a man who closes the medical file to sit beside your headboard. Its black eyes shimmer at the sight of Dan Feng slowly stroking your hand to check the pulse in serene silence. He now understands why you wear gloves all the time, to conceal these wrinkles that dedicate the unrecoverable illness. His cloudhymn failed to cure because all your living circuits were damaged, and ADN is no longer to repair. Imbibitor Lunae always knows that mortals are frail and short-lived, including you, but he refuses to give up on you this early. 

Therefore, he gambles his last hope in this brewing dose. A thin stream of smoke from your china cup leisurely dissolves into the air that swirls off his mind as the High Elder found your limp body sprawled onto the garden with blood had already dried and a pale complexion. His immovable spirit wavered for the first time when he realized none of the treatments adapted to your status. Initially, the Long Scion intended to hospitalize you at the Alchemistry Commission, yet a mysterious veil shrouded your identity, causing him to change his mind since Dan Feng attempted to search for records or used medicine as a reference to develop an appropriate method. He spotted a polaroid dyed in time hue and a small glass jar that lay neatly in the last drawer, which led to another surprising event after analyzing those items. 

The stagnated content in that container was an inhibitor serum that does not register in any medical history. As for your polaroid, five people stand at an old ruin, and four of them wear cheerful smiles on their vague faces when a center girl gives two peace signs with her indifferent look. Dan Feng could not tell if she was you since a sandy filter tainted the photo's plane, and most of her broken features were faint. Besides, the line "Memento mori" was written in sea penmanship on the verso, which intrigued his curiosity no less because it means "Remember that you [have to] die" in the Latin language.

However, Imbibitor Lunae takes a respite temporarily from his unbelievable hypothesis to prioritize your current problem. He only simulates 70 percent from the unclear formula in two days since your condition is on edge. Judging at purple veins spread over your face like a spider web indicates that the High Elder's acupuncture is about not sustaining the ebbing circumstance. Just as Dan Feng distraughtly caresses your wilt hand, the convulsion symptom breakthroughs the limit and takes control of your body. Ignoring the heat that overwhelms his mind and burns down his tongue, the Long Scion immediately drinks the brewing herbs to drench you. No words can describe his elated expression when your eyelids flutter open, and all the dreadful symptoms withdraw promptly as the medicine kicks in, restoring your ruddy complexion. 

Winter passed, Spring came, and another circular cycle of linear time started as your pear blossoms halo underneath the silver moonlight. All corners of the Shangri-La immerse into argent moonlit, which creates a luxuriant spectacle as you and Dan Feng sit on the terrace together for flower viewing. The ambiance brims with the sweet aroma of Spring's breath while ethereal petals litter the ground densely, woven like a florid rug. Looking at his space-out figure with the sheen liquid that gleamed beneath those green eyes, you cannot help but inquire about his tangled thoughts. The High Elder merely inhales a long exhalation and shakes his head to gulp down the mild spice of apricot wine. 

"Nothing, I will bottom it up even if it is poisonous." - Unchanging his visage, Dan Feng's chiseled Adam's apple bobbed up and down when he swallowed it, earning your joyful giggle. Undeniably, the High Elder possesses an awful sense of humor.

Fireflies start lighting their green phosphor glims in the epiphyllum bush to attract your concentration. It is rare to see them at this time because fireflies usually appear in the Summer season, and no exception to the Shangri-La. As a result, you want to catch some and contemplate your new moon cactus at a close distance. Imbibitor Lunae still nonchalantly refills his cup with his eyes fixed on your animated silhouette before a dark cloud flies through, obscuring the shining moon. 

Three deafening sounds reverberate through the house that seethes the vicinity as soon as the surroundings drown in darkness. In brief seconds, an unreversed upheaval occurs to change everything upside down. After the noise of his broken cup was the metal collision, and the sound of sharp tool stabbing in the wood followed up. 

"So, is it you? Bai Lin the tyranny?" - Dan Feng is the first person to raise his voice, arousing the sedate blank. Combined with the silken peary light engraving dark and bright contrasting plates on the Long Scion's face, the cyan orbs glow like cat eyes under his shadowy bangs. However, there is no sliver of hostility in his gaze. A shallow cut on his cheekbone gradually emerges in a thin scarlet line when the black cloud leaves, rendering the full moon. 

On the opposite side, a glimpse of the familiar figure materializes from a cyclone made of thousands of heavenly petals who points her sword toward him with a decisive look. Gripping the conceptual blade manifested by winds is Wrath of Mandala, which was once a replica of Three Grand Divine Weapons that is eligible to kill immortals. You eventually discard the camouflage to reveal your true identity and vigilantly stand still.

Even though answering his question is the smoothing melody of your wind chime hanging on the porch, Imbibitor Lunae knows his hypothesis is correct. In millions of possibilities, the Long Scion never expected or believed that he would meet a phantom from the past who attempted to assassinate him like this. In brief moments, you took advantage of the darkness to fly daggers at his position, but Dan Feng neutralized the first one by throwing the cup and summoning his spear to counter the second one. Nevertheless, he failed to completely evade the last dagger due to the poison that affected his body. The High Elder wonders if you orchestrate this scheme from the beginning because this atropin agent originates from Datura Metel. Maybe he was the worm in your garden that you mentioned. Nonetheless, your apricot wine is innocent, but not his ceramic cup. 

"I ask of you, all of our memories are fake?" - Dan Feng exhales as blood cascades to his chin like a tear, feeling the paralysis sensation strike through to depress his central nervous system. 

"Whoever aware of Devourers of abominations...MUST DIE!" 

Avoiding to give him a direct answer, you hiss your carved motto and dash forward with the windy blade. Under the rousing battle of you and Imbibitor Lunae, pear blossom falling frenziedly as a downpour, those petals whirl around you two akin to a mad maelstrom when your masterful swordsmanship keeps tearing the air to pierce his defense. Like a death choreography under the flowery rain, sparklets flicker at your weapons crash underneath the bright moonlit, and the ground gets plowed every time your slashing form sweeps through. Staring into each other fiery eyes, you know the High Elder has reached his limit and is struggling to measure your intangible sword. Even in a weakened state, Dan Feng is still one of the most capable warriors, proving that the title Imbibitor Lunae is not a vainglory. Nevertheless, he cannot swing his spear as usual as the action slows down precisely 0.2 seconds due to the poison. Even with a small amount of poison, that condensed extraction is far enough to work well.

In finality, the balance battle skews to your side when you seize the opportunity to cast out his spear, causing it to fly aloft and implant into the mangled soil afterward. Imbibitor Lunae's irises squeeze to the limit when your sword tip awaits with the moon background.

"Those memories are real, and I rejoice to stay with the person named Dan Feng." - Your mind screams while darting forward, ready to bore a hole in his heart. Upon the force of the unparalleled wind that drives the High Elder's long locks thrown back when receiving a lethal strike with scattering petals disassociate. 

Amidst the poetic colonnade of pear blossom, time seems to stop flowing, and two people stand motionless as a long sword means to saber through the man's body, intending to strip him of permanent life. However, her sword tip barely grazes his chest. 

"Why...why you didn't dodge it when you were capable of?" - The voice nearly inaudible under your breath with the gaze downcast while Imbibitor Lunae remains silent with his solemn expression.

"If you dare not, I will lend you my strength." - Dan Feng abruptly grabs the conceptual weapon to stab it through. Flabbergasting at his decision, you pull back the blade instinctively, making the dripping blood from his hand follow the line to stagnate at your hilt. Finally, you unsummon the sword when you see a scarlet circle blooms on his attire. 

Kneeling on the ground, you blankly stare into the hollow voidness, and so does the High Elder, but he crunches down to pull you into an embrace. Biting your lips to prevent the honest desires from cascading like a waterfall, you want to resume staying by his side, and you also want to continue waking up by his side. 

"Your mission has ended for a long time, Bai Lin." - Dan Feng softly whispers behind and pats your head, his voice soothing the aching heart. It is a mystery why his hugging feels so gentle even after your death match. Although you are soon aware that this moment will come, tears compete to fall out of your eyes corners. An igniting sensation besieges the bridge nose when you helplessly cry on his shoulder. 

"Feng...please kill me or hand me over to the Yaoqing." - You weakly vocalize after a long serenity. Because life is sometimes tragic, we decide to sacrifice for something better. However, there are still shortcomings among his paragon virtues, and stubbornness is honorably one of them. 

"...You will die if you don't."

"A double coffin doesn't sound that bad."

"Fool." 

Ah, life is sometimes tragic.  

[zepskies]

Hi Zep! Buckle up because I have a number of picks for your ask game! How about 2, 10, 17, 40, 48, 55 and 70?

Hey Michelle! Hope you're having a lovely Sunday. ☀️💜

Omg these are amazing questions!!

Lmfao this is hilarious to me, but I actually had to think hard about this one. My pre-writing/outlining process is pretty methodical. However, I think the biggest time the narrative hijacked my hands was in Smoke Eater (firefighter!Dean x reader).

I had several scenes in the original outline that just weren't fitting right when I got to the drafting stage, to the point where I had to chuck them out entirely. Also, the whole murder mystery that's central to the narrative was complex to tease out, but that also took me by surprise when I was outlining!

I wasn't intending to go that route at first, but when I thought of including John Winchester and Cas as homicide detectives (drawing from my childhood obsession with Law & Order), it kind of just started coming to me.

So I usually have the premise of the idea before the title. It's gotten easier as I've become more experienced as a writer, but sometimes I just put a placeholder title that kind of encapsulates the idea before I come up with something better, then I start outlining/researching.

Often I get placeholder titles from songs/lyrics of what will likely give me inspiration for the story, and sometimes those titles stick!

Ooh another great question. 😂 Funnily enough, the ones that come to me off the top of my head are mostly from Break Me Down:

M.M. scoffed, with a subtle shake of his head.  “Nah, man,” he said ruefully. “That’s true motherfuckin’ love.”

And a fun one:

“Alert the media,” you said. “We’ve got the ultimate weapon against Soldier Boy: a slow ride on his dick.”

😂 This one also sticks out in my mind from the Midnight Espresso-verse - Devour Me (Part 2), as a playful one I was weirdly proud of lol:

“Question: do you consider yourself more of a tits or ass man?” you ask him. You’re half teasing, but still curious. Dean snorts at the question.  “More of a connoisseur,” he replies, smirking.  “Ah.” You nod sagely, and you point between him and yourself. “So this is like a ‘sample the menu’ situation.” Dean’s smirk deepens. “Sweetheart, you’re a goddamn buffet.”

Finally, this one from the imagine "You are Dean's one exception":

Oh man, that's very tough. I've been blessed to get some amazing feedback from you and others, and believe it or not, I do go back and reread comments and reblogs. It puts a smile on my face whether I'm having a bad day, or want to continue smiling on a good one. 💖

I think one of the best compliments I can receive, however, is that a story touched someone on an emotional level and somehow got them through a difficult time in their life, or is one of their "comfort stories." That's happened a few times, and it almost makes me cry every time. 🥲

I can also say that you, @chernayawidow, and @waynes-multiverse have given me some of the best feedback I've ever gotten on stories. Not just because the other two have made me cheese grin/nearly cry of laughter, but also because all of you are writers and have been able to tell me narratively (or on a character development level) what you liked about what I was doing in a story. As a writer, that kind of feedback is amazing as well. 💖💖

Also, some of my favorite feedback of all time has been on Midnight Espresso -- whether it's been people thanking me for the representation of the Hispanic/Latin culture, or sharing experiences with being plus-sized and how that's viewed in society. 💗

😬😬 Ahh guilty, lol. At the risk of sounding prideful, I think if you're doing it right, you should be writing the stories you want to write. So it stands to reason that you should be able to enjoy reading your own work. 💜

None on Tumblr, but unfortunately I do have a few on FF.net, which I don't even post on anymore, and maybe one or two on Ao3. Sometimes you just lose the drive to write for that fandom, especially if engagement is down. Sometimes you just move on to other things.

I'm a voracious editor. I believe good writing is also good editing -- that's just part of the process. So yes I guess I can be self-critical. lol

Sometimes I'll be rereading something, and I'll go in and edit it after it's already been posted for months, whether it's a typo, or a line that doesn't sound quite right for the character, or part of a scene that I think needs smoothing out. I guess I'm a bit of a perfectionist that way. 😅

Again, thank you so much for these questions, my friend!! I'm going to be sending you some too very soon. 😘

[jinkieswouldyoulookatthis]

Wincest Wednesdays

for @wincestwednesdays Sept 3rd prompt: Radio

on AO3

“You’re listening to KZSU Stanford at 90.1 FM. I’m Nicole and I’ll be your host for the next hour as we open the lines up for some dedications. This first one is going out to Brad from Angie…”

The coffee shop nearest to his dorm catered mainly to the college crowd and played the campus radio station at a volume that was loud enough to hear when the ambient clatter and hiss and chatter didn’t drown it out.

Sam had developed a habit of studying at a table in the corner, where he had the wall at his back and could see the entire place easily. His father’s voice was still too loud in his head to ignore, barking at him about situational awareness. 

But the noise, rather than being distracting, made it easier for him to focus. Like the act of filtering out the activity around him opened his mind up to remembering, cataloging, making connections in the information. Something about habits developed through childhood made them especially hard to shake, and even when he wasn’t trying to read or do school work in various cafes, diners, and restaurants, he would still need to tune out his brother. Dean who’d always had the tv or radio on, laughing or singing along, or sitting silent and brooding (which somehow was always louder to Sam than anything else).

“We’re dropping way back into the 70’s on this next song with Foghat’s I’ll Be Standing By for Samantha from an anonymous caller. Ooh, watch out Samantha, this one’s giving off creeper vibes.”

~~~

“It’s Tuesday again, so you know what that means! Got a special song for that special someone? Our phone line is open for the next hour, 855-723-9010.”

“Triple shot, soy, flat white!” the barista announced as he slid a cup onto the pick-up counter. 

Sam scooped it up and headed back to his regular table. Sitting down he pulled out his class notes and laptop. He popped the lid off his coffee, so it would cool faster, and got to work. Handwriting in class then transcribing later into a Word doc helped cement the information in his memory, and digital notes were so much easier to search when he was studying for tests. By the time he was finished, he slugged down the rest of his coffee, which had been room temperature for a while now, and started to pack up to go to his next class.

“For our final dedication today Samantha’s anonymous 70’s rock fan is back! This time he’s requested Zeppelin’s Out On the Tiles. So, Samantha, this one’s for you.”

The driving opening riff hit hard and familiar as Sam pushed through the door and strode out onto the sidewalk. A surge of nostalgia smacked a smile on his face as he shoved his hands deep in his pockets and tried his best to look like he fit in.

~~~

“Third Tuesday in a row, we’ve got ourselves a regular caller. Samantha, if you’re out there, here’s Telegram Sam by T-Rex.”

~~~

“Oh, Samantha, we’re back in maudlin territory this week. Your anonymous friend requested Dylan’s If You See Her, Say Hello. Maybe check on the people you know, 10:15 in the morning seems a little early to be that drunk.”

Sam was taking both Latin and Greek this semester since he already had a solid grasp of basic Latin and he was taking it because it was a requirement for more advanced classes. He hadn’t been as well versed in Greek so he spent more time going over his notes and working on his translations. 

“Two requests in one show? I think I touched a nerve when I said he sounded drunk. Sam, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.”

~~~

“Another Tuesday, another dedication to Studious Samantha from your 70’s classic rock fanboy. So here’s Paranoid by Black Sabbath. Sam, your creeper’s got a nice voice but he seems to be going through a manic phase, watch out.”

~~~

“Okay, Samantha, this is the sixth week in a row and I gotta admit, I’m intrigued by your man’s musical choices. This week he’s dedicating Shame on the Moon by Bob Seger to you.”

Sam’s eyes went wide. It was the Seger song that finally made the pattern click. It had to be. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and punched in a number he knew by heart. It rang twice.

“Heya, Sammy.”

“Your mix tapes? First and last song on each?”

“Took you long enough. Hey, that Nicole sounds hot, think it’s just her voice or…”

“Jesus, Dean. Did you need something or have you really been calling up a college radio station DJ for a month and a half just to get my attention?”

“Just trying to have a little fun, shoulda known you be pissy about it.”

Sam rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose while Dean was quiet on the other end of the line.

Finally, Sam heard an irritated huff and then, “Whatever, man. Get back to studying, wouldn’t want to bother you.” 

The call disconnected.

Sam sighed and looked at the phone, like he couldn’t believe that was it. He dialed again and it went right to voicemail.

At the beep Sam simply said, “Jerk.” and hung up.

[made-this-cause-why-not]

Quick rant about ATYD because, the slander just does not make sense to me. It's not a perfect fic and people are allowed to not like it but some of the reasons for people not liking it are just so weird to me. Like- people don't like it because Sirius is sexist.... Sirius is a teenage boy. Do the people that say that hang out with teenage boys IRL? They are sexist and sometimes racists, pieces of shit- especially around their guy friends or girl they think 'are cool with it'. Also, it was the 70's. Like, do people not realize that a white, rich (like fully out of touch with reality, Billionaire with money dating back to the 15th century Rich), SEVERLY TRAUMATIZED cis guy from the 70's would be a piece of shit as a child. Like, as Sirius got older he would grow to regret all the fucked up stuff he said an take the time to actually apologize and stuff but we never saw that because he was 21 when he was imprisoned. He never even left his frat boy era. And then I have seen others be mad because they made Dorcas white. This is a complaint I have only seen from white people and as a Black mauraders fan, it literally does not matter. Like- Dorcas meadows is a character mentioned less than five times in the entire series, with her race being nothing more than a token black person that J.K shoved in The Order to prove it wasn't all white and that the HP world has diversity. Her being made white changes nothing in the plot. People also say that wolfstar is toxic in it, like this isn't a fic about two deeply traumatized boys with no role models or healthy relationships or base their own off of, other than Effie and Fleamont which they don't meet until they are like 13. Like, of course they are going to be toxic and fucked up- their entire lives have been fucked up. The only valid critique I have seen is the fact that the G word is used to describe the wolf packs. Granted, I didn't know that was a slur until 2021 or so, it's still a fucked up term to use. But yeah, I feel like people often say it's a bad work, which is fine if you just don't vibe with it, but the reasoning for not liking it makes me pause a little because 'what?'.

Edit: Forgot to say this but people also hate the characterization of Mary because she is oversexualized, to which I say: so is Sirius. Like, they are both sooooo fucking slutty and sleep around a bunch, the fact that people only talk about Mary in this light can be attributed to one of two things. Either A: grasping at straws, or B: Putting the weight on Remus's narration. Him being inexperienced for alot of his time as hogwarts would allow for any kiss or hookup seem like the end of the world for in his eyes and by reading with the grain I can understand that- but even then don't slut shame the black women and not the Black. "but mary lost her virginity at 14"- people get their sexual urges right as they hit puberty. Teens are horny. In the 7th grade my middleschool took an all day trip that used to be over night until two students got caught fucking in a cabin. 13 year old 7th graders. I am not saying it is right to loose your virginity at such a young age but it isn't unheard of.

Edit 2: Last edit I swear, but I just saw some one's post saying they didn't like how remus having a learning disability was for shits and gigs or that he did drugs and joined a gang. Firstly, remus having a learning disability is a beautiful metaphor for his lycanthropy and class. He is studying along side his friends, completely confused and just playing along to not give anything away. It doubles onto how isolated Remus must have felt and his whole problem with opening up to others. Also, the fact that Remus had to push himself so hard academically just to get the same grades as his rich friends who coast by on their name and the fact that they have been learning latin and french from tutors since they could walk- I mean, it's just chef's kiss. And, do people not realize that people in the real world do drugs? That a lot of people struggle with addiction and are more prone to said struggle when they grow up in a shitty environment with out learning proper ways to cope with the traumatic events? Remus was in a gang because he was surrounded by people who were in a gang- people who understood him more than James or Sirius did.

Like, I know that I can't really say this because I am a legal adult ranting on tumblr, but all of the slander just makes me want to tell people to go outside. Make friends irl- not mutuals. Touch grass, hand out with people you age. Like yes atyd isn't perfect but it was very much accurate to how real people would have been in the 70's and I personally prefer that to the babygirl-ification of every male character in Harry Potter to the points where they are almost caricatures of themselves

[facts-about-myths]

Pop culture VS folklore : Elementals

Elementals are a popular type of fantasy creature related, as their name suggests, to the elements. But how does their modern depiction compare to their centuries-old version ?

Elementals, made from the elements

Ah, elementals, a timeless classic... They're these big creatures whose body is made of some element like water, fire, air or earth, right ?

Well, in DnD, yes. In folklore... Not so much (the Jain Ekendriya might be close, but it's still not quite the same thing...).

So, where did that idea come from ? The DnD creators took some inspiration from the works of Michael Moorcock in the 70s, like Elric of Melniboné. Moorcock, one of the biggest names in fantasy at the time, probably got it in turn from the writings of Paracelsus, an important 16th century alchemist — or at least something derived from the Paracelsian tradition.

Elementals, from Paracelsus (or are they...?)

The four Paracelsian elementals are also a fairly popular theme in fantasy or esoteric circles now, so you might be familiar with them already. You know, the Gnomes and their silly red hats for earth, the winged Sylphs for air, the liquid Undines for water, and the reptilian Salamanders for fire... Feels familiar ?

...Except everything I just listed about them, apart from the names, is 100% wrong.

These descriptions, while popular, are erroneous and do not match what Paracelsus wrote at all. In fact, you shouldn't trust any book or source genuinely claiming that elementals like that are what Paracelsus was talking about, because it shows that they just... Never double-checked.

Then again, to be fair, the Paracelsian concept of elementals has been reused and distorted by people for centuries now, so it's not exactly a modern pop culture issue. But still, let's set the record straight : what did the man actually write about these creatures back in the 1500s ?

Elementals, from Paracelsus (for real this time)

Their names

First, elementals aren't even called "elementals" by Paracelsus. At some point, he calls them the Saganae (sometimes rendered as "Sagani", and maybe coming from the Latin saga or sagana, meaning "witch") but that word never really caught on.

He otherwise mostly describes them in vague terms like "the water-people", "the mountain-people", and so on. Over the years, he gave the elementals various names, sometimes even randomly switching in the same text (Undines being however consistently referred to as "Nymphs"). The terms we now use for them come from the two alternative sets of names Paracelsus lists in his Liber de nymphis :

One based on what folk were apparently calling them, which he personally found inaccurate (Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, Salamanders)

Another, which he found more fitting (Undines, Sylvestres, Gnomes, Vulcans)

Some of these come from previous legends or mythology (Ancient Greek Pygmies and nymphs, Roman god Vulcan, legends about the mythical salamander...). It does not necessarily mean that the elementals are the very same creatures featured in these legends (the Salamanders are very different from the magic lizard, but since both are said to live inside fire, a parallel between the two is made).

Others names, like "gnome", "undine" or "sylph", seem to have been coined by Paracelsus specifically for the elementals.

Those poor Sylphs...

The Sylphs might be the most mischaracterized of the four elementals. In fact, you can directly tell if someone has done any research on the subject by what they say about them : just searching the meaning of the word "sylph" would raise questions, as one would find that it comes from sylvestris, directly referring to the forest. Which doesn't make any sense, right ? Why the forest reference, if they are air elementals ?

Because they're not actually made of air or living in the sky. They're wild-men from the forest. If you hear anything about wings, clouds, abodes in the sky, or anything... You have left Paracelsian Sylph territory.

(But that's not even all : the words "sylph" and "sylphid" have now come to mean something ethereal, lithe and graceful... While the actual Sylphs are described are the total opposite...)

The 4 elemental chaos

To understand why air elementals would be forest people, you first need to understand the concept of chaos. The elementals aren't made of one of the 4 elements. They're creatures whose chaos is one of the 4 elements.

"Chaos" is, etymology-wise, the root of the word "gas". In this context, it's somewhat similar : as humans, our chaos is air, because we breathe air, and we move in air. The chaos of a fish is water, because it breathes and moves in water.

Elementals live inside their respective element, which is their chaos. They are able to move through it (gnomes can pass through stone for example), and aren't fit to survive in other chaos. Sylphs are, like humans, beings who breathe air and live in the air element.

(And in a way, it still makes sense, as forests do produce a big chunk of our oxygen...)

The elemental body

Although often mistaken for demons or ghosts, the elementals are regular beings of flesh and blood, not some kind of spirit, demon or mindless artificial being. They're born, they marry, have offspring and die, they eat, drink, sleep, poop, get sick. Each individual has their own personality, they are fully sentient and not particularly prone to evil.

However, unlike humans, their kind are not descendants of Adam (whose flesh was made from tangible earth), so their body is more subtle than ours. They're somewhat halfway between spirit and human, yet despite how humanlike they look, they lack an immortal soul (as opposed to humans).

The thicker the chaos, the more subtle the body of the species, and vice versa (so gnomes living in stone have a very subtle body, unlike humans who live in air and have a gross, tangible body).

How the elementals live

The elementals really aren't that different from us. They have their cultures, societies and rulers inside their own chaos. They have their own clothing and modesty taboos, although it doesn't necessarily line up with human ones.

They also have their own food and drink, which, while being their chaos' equivalent to our human foods and drinks, look different (except for Sylphs, who eat the plants of the forest like humans in the wilderness would). These foods and drinks are made of a special matter from the chaos that we can't see or comprehend. Each chaos has its own "soil" (usually earth, except for Gnomes, since to them, earth is like the air : instead, their soil is water), and the elementals grow their food from that soil and their element. They also have domestic animals, adapted to live in their chaos.

Since they can see through their chaos like we do in air, the elementals can all see the sun, the moon and the stars above them, just like us. They have days and nights, summers and winters like us, but their weather is slightly different, as it doesn't rain or snow inside the other chaos the same way as here.

Marriage and children

Elementals don't generally interact with the other three elemental peoples, but some of them can marry and have children with humans (which usually happens with female Undines). The children will be human, inheriting a soul from Adam through their human father. The Undine mother will also gain a soul in the process, and with it, access to the afterlife.

Paracelsus mentions that — not clarifying whether it's about the Undines only or about all elementals, but we can assume that it's about the water-people — they have a lot more females than males, which are very rare, and that this is why they actively seek human males. He mentions groups of Nymphs gathering together and constructing a place in the chaos of humans, the Venusberg, a cave where they wait for men. Their leader, the most beautiful, is the "Venus". While eternally young and very long-lived, that Venus will eventually die and be replaced by another Venus.

Each elemental kind has both males and females, so they can reproduce among themselves. However, it will produce monstrous offspring from a new race, bearing no resemblance to the parents, and also devoid of a soul. Among these monsters are sirens, giants and dwarves.

How could elementals still exist, then, if they're mortal and create other races when they attempt to reproduce ?

In his Astronomia Magna, Paracelsus writes that the elementals are actually born from nature itself : their father is the firmament — the sky and the stars within it, and their mother is their own element — fire, water, earth or air.

Undines / Nymphs 💧

Not literally made of water or a mermaid.

Look exactly like humans, and dress and behave like them

Live in rivers, they can interact with humans when they come near the water

Can speak the human language

Their unions produce different creatures, like mermaids or sea monks

Females often marry humans and have children with them, gaining a soul. If their human husband offends them near water, they disappear in it. But if the husband marries another wife, the Undine comes back and kills him

Sylphs / Sylvestres 🍃

Actually woodland beings living in forests and not any type of winged creature or spirit made of air or living in the clouds.

Humanoid. Taller, stronger and coarser than humans, but more shy

Live in forests, eat the plants of the forest

Cannot speak the human language but can understand it

Their unions produce different creatures, like giants

Sometimes marry humans, but this is way rarer than Undine/human marriages

Gnomes / Pygmies 🪨

Not the same as the garden gnomes with red hats despite sharing a name.

Humanoid, smaller than humans (about half their height)

Live in mountains, in caves and in mines

Can speak human languages, like Undines

Can see through stone and pass through it

Have a lot of money, since they have the ability to create money as they wish

Their unions produce different creatures, like dwarves

Very rarely marry humans, but often agree to serve them (as long as the human keeps their word and treats them well). Give humans money. If their human master offends them, they vanish.

Salamanders / Vulcans 🔥

Not the same as the mythical reptile living in fire despite sharing a name.

Humanoid, very thin and slender. They look all fiery, and are often mistaken for ghosts

Live inside volcanoes (they're sometimes called Aetnici, which would translate as "the Etnaeans", from Mt Etna), and we can sometimes hear them yelling, hammering and working inside

Very rarely speak, but technically able to

Create all treasures with the fire under mountains (these treasures are then kept by Undines in water, Gnomes in the earth, and Sylvestres on the surface, waiting to be discovered by humans)

Their unions create different creatures, like will-o'-the-wisps

Never marry humans, but can serve them. A lot of them get possessed by the devil (as can be any elemental or human) and seek the company of witches. Because of this, they're seen as dangerous for humans, despite not being inherently "evil" as a species.

Sources :

Maliszewski, James. "It's Elementary." Dnd.wizards.com, 20 Apr. 2012 [Internet Archive, web.archive.org/web/20141204010745/http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/its-elementary.]

Kahn, Didier. "La question des êtres élémentaires chez Paracelse.", Les Confins Incertains de la Nature, by Roberto Poma, Maria Sorokina & Nicolas Weill-Parot, Vrin, 2021.

Paracelsus. Four Treaties of Theophrastus von Hohenheim, called Paracelsus, translated by C. Lilian Temkin, George Rosen, Gregory Zilboorg & Henry E. Sigerist, Johns Hopkins Press, 1941.

[ncisfranchise-source]

Wilmer Valderrama, the 44-year-old actor best known for roles such as Fez in the sitcom “That ‘70s Show” and Special Agent Nicholas Torres on the drama series “NCIS,” has immersed himself into the activewear business.

The actor, entrepreneur, activist and fitness enthusiast has introduced a new active lifestyle brand for women and men called E.P.U., which stands for E Pluribus Unum, which is Latin for “out of many, one.”

“I Iove the fashion industry and it’s something that I really have been paying attention to, and have been so fascinated by the people who create fashion,” Valderrama said in a telephone interview Friday.

The collection features unisex T-shirts, tanks, crew neck sweaters, sweatpants and sweatshirts, along with men’s and women’s hoodies and joggers and women’s crop T-shirts and tanks.

Sizes range from XS to 2XL, with prices going from $25 to $75. The garments are crafted from 100 percent French terry cotton. The socks, duffel, unisex T-shirt, unisex, tanks, and women’s crop T-shirt are all made in the U.S., while the rest is made in Vietnam and India.

E.P.U. has forged a direct partnership with the USO (United Service Organizations) with a portion of sales benefiting their mission of strengthening the well-being of service members and their families. Valderrama, who is a global ambassador for USO, has been on more than 45 USO tours around the world and his time with the troops inspired him to give back to the men and women who serve to protect the country — and the people they leave at home.

Valderrama said he’s no stranger to the fashion industry. About 10 years ago he was involved in a casual brand for two years called Calavena, which sold in stores such as Saks, Kitson and Barneys. The brand no longer exists.

This time he decided to get into active sportswear for several reasons. First, he realized early on in his career that fitness was something that “not only helped the mental strengthening of the ups and downs of the industry,” but allowed him to look ahead to what roles I wanted to play next. “From Fez and having to transform into a person who could play a cop, it’s part of the transforming process,” he said.

In that journey, he created the hashtag #MyHouraDay, where he would do something active and share it on social media. His followers around the globe started giving their own answers such as “Going for a run,” or “Going for a Swim.”

Further, Valderrama has been inspired by athletes such as cross trainer Mat Fraser and snowboarder and skateboarder Shaun White, who are friends of his. “We’re always talking about mental strengthening, and when you’re out there trying to be number one, what is that mentality?” Valderrama said.

As a global ambassador to USO, Valderrama will bring friends along, talk to the troops and design and host big stage performances with comedians, musicians and DJs. “I’ve been to almost every base around the world. I’ve been to Iraq, Afghanistan, [South] Korea, Germany, Lithuania, you name it, I’ve been at that base,” he said. He began realizing the commonality of the military and what he loves so much.

“Part of their every day is how much they prioritize fitness. Fitness was an extension of their daily routines,” he said. He said he made it part of what he does professionally. “My workouts weren’t negotiable, they weren’t hobbies. [At] 4:30 in the morning, I get up and I’m going to the gym, and then I go to work. It’s part of my workflow. That mentality started creating this mental strengthening that I was not expecting. I always had the bug to go back to fashion. And all of a sudden, I was like, ‘What if?’”

He believed that he could take everything he learned from traveling the world with the military, and the inspiration from his athlete friends to create a brand that infused that kind of community for mental strengthening. Inspired by retro fashion from the 1950s and 1960s and Double RL hoodies and sweatpants, he felt he could create a brand that looked cool and functioned well. They designed the looks to be worn to the gym for a boxing workout or cross-fit training, as well as great travel outfits and clothes that can slip off easily for the pool.

Since today’s generation likes to discover brands on their own, he is selling E.P.U. through an online store, epuhq.com, as well as Instagram and Facebook.

One of his main objectives is to build a community. By donating part of the proceeds to USO, he’d like to be part of building USO Centers around the world and creating programs for veterans and their families. He pointed out that USO is a nonprofit and not government-supported, so it relies on donations.

“This is very much a passion project of mine, and I want to be as bold as possible in supporting these programs. And then the big thing is we build mental strengthening facilities,” he said.

Valderrama, who owns his Los Angeles-based company 100 percent, said he’d eventually like to launch accessories, socks, gloves to work out in, shoes, water-resistant products, weighted-vests and his own equipment.

Asked how he finds the time to run this business, while pursuing an acting career, he said, “There’s always time. If you have something in front of you that’s a priority, the schedule somehow molds into a place that you also have time for it. I have literally daily calls on this. We have photo shoots.…We have tons of community-building content around this,” he said.

“It’s a big undertaking, when they say cut, I start making calls,” Valderrama said. So far, he’s working with eight or nine full-time people in digital, social media and distribution.

Valderrama declined to divulge how much volume he anticipates he’ll do in the first year. “We’re hoping that we sell out very quickly and go right into the next phase. The internal testing that we’ve done has been received incredibly. People love how simple it is,” he said. He anticipates the tracksuits will be a bestseller.

The collection’s color palette is the official colors of the different branches of the military such as red and yellow for the U.S. Marines, green for the U.S. Army and blue for the U.S. Air Force.

Valderamma said he never got a chance to serve in any of these military branches since he got his first big break in TV when he was 18 years old.

He recalled that he became interested in USO years ago when he was walking through an airport and two members of the military came up to him and asked to speak to him. They said that after a long day of doing what they do, they trade “That ‘70s Show” DVDs like they’re baseball cards. “’And we laugh. It really helps and thank you,’” they told him. Valderrama immediately called his agent and said he’d like to show up at their bases. “In two seconds, they sent me out on a USO tour,” he said.

For the collection, he worked with “a design guru who helped scramble what was in his head,” and his fiancée, Amanda Pacheco, who was their fit model and gave suggestions on the women’s fit. To promote the brand, he plans community workouts to show who’s supporting the brand and what the brand is physically doing in real time.

Valderrama was born in Miami but grew up in Venezuela until the age of 13 or 14, when his family moved back to the U.S. and settled in Los Angeles. His father is Venezuelan and his mother is Colombian.

Next week, he will start taping the 22nd season of “NCIS,” which averages 6.5 million to 7 million viewers live every Monday night on Paramount+ and has about 12 million to 13 million viewers overall every week, he said. Valderrama’s next project is a “Zorro” adaptation for Disney, which is in development and he stars and serves as executive producer.

The actor has also written his first book, a memoir entitled “An American Story: Everyone’s Invited,” (HarperCollins) which will be published Sept. 17. “The memoir is a tribute to my family by bringing me to the U.S., and showing me the road and allowing me to walk it. I was able to take the American dream and make it something that belonged to my life,” he said. When he came to the U.S. at around 14 years old, he didn’t know how to speak English. “And by the age of 18, I’m booking ‘That ‘70s Show.'”

[starjxsung]

Hi Star!! Please don't apologize for being away! We all have life and I know you've been going through some health challenges and work has been hectic - I just hope you're doing well and taking care 💕 sounds like life is putting you through it a bit and I just wanna let you know we're here to listen (or at least I know I am 💗) and that we care so so so much about you!!! School is going well!! I'm actually so hyped for the term. Overall I enjoy my courses. Plant Biology and Forest Ecology my beloved - I LOVE plant ID. All the labs for Forest Ecology are outside in the forest at my uni and for our final lab exam we have to memorize how to ID 70 indicator plants and their latin names and soil moisture and soil nutrients just from their branches - it'll be a fun challenge! One of my profs is WORLD FAMOUS for her research and I freaked out when I found out she was my prof. I also have been keeping in touch with a couple of profs from last year and it's been so great chatting with them - they said I could maybe TA their courses next year 👀 I've also been making an effort to make more friends and introduce myself - I've found a lot of people I met last year we kinda were just class friends and not really friends friends which is fine because that happens - I just wanna get to know more people and make more friends and find those I really click with. So far a few from last year I've still found to have stuck around which is nice :) I've also met some really nice new friends and it makes me so happy (some not so nice but that's okay I just won't try talking to them anymore haha). TW: S3xual assault???

urgh south africa guy. guess what! hasn't messaged me since my last update abt him. so like. welp. I'm actually happy that he hasnt now. like at the time i was like :((( . but now im like good fcking riddance bro. blocked! basically i went back and analysed things and realized yeah he was taking advantage of me and emotionally manipulating me. literally conditioned me to have sex with him??? like in conversations we had literally before we were anything. literally wanna throw up everytime i think about any ounce of time i spent with him even if it was just standing there. like. idk i finally talked it all out with a friend who was on the south africa trip too (she had her own situation with another dude on the trip - he fucking followed her to prague??? whole other messed up story.......) anyways, i realizsed that the whole situation was fcked up and he didn't care abt me at all and was prolly also just keeping me around cause he fetishizes asian women!! yay!!! idk i feel very physically used. which feels gross. tryna decide if I feel like this is borederline SA idk processing it all cause guess who has trauma and repressed it the whole time and was thinking everything was fine!! I could bring up a lot more sht that happened but im not really feeling like typing it out or thinking about it. I just. i cant help but feel its my fault for being stupid and naive :( even tho many people have told me its not. its just hard not to :( anyways, on a brighter note i forgot if i mentioned this in my europe update but so like i made friends with another kid on the norway tour thing. he was a fun kid to hang out with and mess around with. hes like 5 years younger than me tho. tbh was very mature tho. anyways, thought we wouldnt talk each other ever again after. but we had exchanged discords so we could message during the trip abt like when to go to the pool n sht. anyways, we ended up messaging little by little. and then like having convos. and turns out we are like almost identical people. just . living thousands of km apart and in different countries and like 5 year age difference. like i have two youngers brothers. and hes the same age as my youngest brother. and he feels like another younger brother to me now its so adorable. he'll share stuff with me and like its so easy to converse and hes so sweet??? anyways, literally makes my days better. adorable kid. i could tell you all the ways hes become my third brother but it's a lot lol. Love you lots Star 💕 make sure you're taking breaks! I don't want your eyes to die trying to work on fics and things!! xoxo 🌱

HI MY LOVE…… I missed you so much and I missed getting your little updates !! When I tell you I got SO EXCITED getting this one fkfickjdkdkfkfkdkd there’s so much to unpack I’m so stoked !! I’m doing okay (just hating everything related to my job) but I’m pulling thru and I think in a few weeks I’ll feel a little more like myself again :’)

Okay your classes sound SO COOL???? I can’t tell you that be able to memorize the Latin names of any plants bc that sounds hard as hell but THAT’S SO COOL….. also your professor being world famous is literally the coolest thing ever???? Isn’t it SO exciting when you have a well known professor 😭 I had a professor who was the man behind the “little baby ice cream” commercials (that rly weird one of the guy eating ice cream off his head…. It’s kinda scary??) and when I tell you I FLIPPEDDDDD WHEN HE TOLD ME….. like I had so much to ask him and pick his brain about kjsjckdkdjdkfjfj also I’m so glad you’re making so many friends! It’s somehow so much harder to make friends in college than you’d think bc people are so focused on their studies & just keeping to themselves. But when you find people you really click with it’s truly the best feeling :’) side note if we met in a class I just know we’d be besties like in another universe I just know we’re in a plant class together and we get in trouble for talking too much LMFAOOO

anyways I’m really sorry to hear about South Africa guy :( I was truly rooting for you guys and I’m so disappointed to hear he just seems like another loser who used you for sex. Honestly I was in a super similar situation with the first guy I ever “dated” and had a serious relationship with. We agreed to be a fwb arrangement but to still stay exclusive to each other bc otherwise it’d just feel icky. Which I knew deep down I didn’t want because I just wanted to be with him, but I feel like we’re really susceptible to just settling for any version of a man we can get, just so that we don’t lose them. Of course this turned into a full year of me being at his beck and call whenever he wanted a sexual favor, and sending like thousands of pics whenever he wanted them. He’d literally ask me to leave family functions and send pics/vids of myself no matter where I was. In hindsight it was fucking disgusting and I think it really fucked me up sexually & emotionally and I just wish I could go back and grab myself by the shoulders and YELLLL at fact that I ever agreed to be that with him 😭 you can’t blame yourself for this unfolding though, you did the best you could with what you were emotionally able to handle at the time, and unfortunately you both had different wants out of this relationship. He didn’t deserve you in the slightest and he’ll just do this to the next girl who shows him a modicum of attention. You are truly such a fantastic, beautiful, SMART, wonderful girl and you deserve so much better than the lousy cards these guys deal you. Take time to heal and make sure you’re ready to be in another relationship when you’re ready, but know what this isn’t the defining point of what you’re worth or meant for. There are only better things and experiences and people still waiting for you, and dumping that loser guy is just another step forward for you. I’m proud of you for understanding your worth and acknowledging this might just be a trauma response. You’re not a loser, you’re not naive, and you do NOTTTT deserve someone who’s just around to fetishize your existence. You only deserve the best, most unconditional love and attention 💓

I’m so glad you did get a friend out of the trip though !! That sounds like the plot of some coming of age film LOL I hope you guys continue to stay friends for a long time! Sometimes you find friendship where you least expect it 🫶

I love you so so so much my angel, please take it easy and be kind to yourself. What you’ve been through hasn’t been easy, but remember you’re also crushing it in college, you traveled the world and you’re an amazing artist. And no shitty man will ever take that away from you !!!! You deserve someone who matches your energy !!!!! Your aura is like +100000 at any given moment don’t ever forget it 🌱💓🫶 I LOVE U.

[sound-art-text]

Sound at the 59th Venice Biennale (2022)

I'm afraid this years' collating of works relating to sound and listening will be an emergency run through as I only have a couple of days here unfortunately. Hoping for a longer stay and more comprehensive blog next time!

BRAZIL

Was all ears, literally. We entered through one. A strange red fabric balloon greeted us, then dramatically began to expand, and expand, until it filled the whole room and visitors had to run away or risk being crushed into the walls. Artist Jonathas de Andrade explores idioms related to the body. A fun experience.

AUSTRALIA

A 200-day performance by Marco Fusinato.

FRANCE

Not all related to sound, yet a turntable spins in the corner and attention to the sonic feels very present. A gorgeous, theatrical, sound-full, cinematic installation by Zineb Sedira. The work is about 'the drive to make militant films in the 1960s and ’70s', considering her historical ties to France, Algeria and the UK.

GREAT BRITAIN The winner of the Golden Lion this year, Sonia Boyce presents 'Feeling Her Way'. On entering the pavilion, up the grand neo-classical staircase, we're met with a large video installation, which then continues in every room. Women of colour, singing - improvising, together - solo. A wall of memorabilia, crowdsourced, honouring female black and brown musicians. Important work, and a wonderful archive. I wish I loved it. But why are these on-screen singers in Abbey Road studios, perhaps the most expensive and exclusive studios in the world? What's all the gold and glitz about? The politics of the work feels unresolved to me.

PHILIPPINES

A chant from the Cordillera region, translated into musical notation by the artist Gerardo Tan painting with squid ink on his tongue.

UZBEKISTAN

Abror Zufarov and Charli Tapp present a sleekly designed space with an evolving sound installation, in homage to the work of scientist Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (an anagram of his Latin-translated name gave us 'algorithm') and highlighting contributions towards technological developments from outside the West.

BELGIUM

Francis Alyss shows us children playing, utterly delightful in their games and calls. In this one, children are calling in a tone that mosquitoes are sensitive towards - they adjust their wingbeats to harmonise with the kids. Happily, Alyss has made all these videos available here.

[solarianvulpine]

Did you know that, in the late 70's, there was a violent rally held by angry rock fans in which they blew up disco records to "kill the disco movement" in response to it's place in both gay liberation and afro/latino empowerment plus their belief that it was destroying rock and roll?

Discotheque originated in french nightclubs in the twenties, thirties, and fourties. However, it was the mid seventies that brought about a strong American take on the genre. Disco was growing in the underground club, bar, and punk scene. Featuring rhythmic drums and african influenced beats, it was rapidly gaining popularity in the dance scene and massively outselling rock and roll. Rockers felt that switching up musically to sell better was synonymous with selling out. Plus why would they bother? They said that disco was a mindless fad compared to their superior lyrical work and sound.

For a few years the conflict of genre built tensions. Producers wanted more and more disco funk. Bringing about an age of gay liberation and putting black and brown artists in the spotlight, featuring openly queer black artists like Sylvester and Martha wash. Rock was being called on much less. It all came to a head in July of 1979.

"Disco Demolition Night" took place at Chicago's Comiskey Park between baseball games on July 12, 1979. It was organized by radio host and dj Steve Dahl. Calling for the death of disco, the end of the "musical disease." Dahl claims it was nothing but a harmless stunt; continuously denying its racist and homophobic nature.

The day after the event Dahl hosted his usual morning broadcast. He began by reading the headlines reporting the previous night's events, mocking the coverage, saying, "I think for the most part everything was wonderful. Some maniac cohos got wild, went down on the field. which you shouldn't have done. Bad little cohos"*

To my understanding Steve Dahl never renounced his feelings towards disco nor has he shown any remorse for his actions. Seeing as he still sells merchandise featuring the event on his website. Including hats and tshirts commemorating the night of 7-12-79.

Rolling Stone Critic Dave Marsh attended the event and wrote at the time, "Your most paranoid fantasy about where the ethnic cleansing of the rock radio could ultimately lead... white males 18 to 34 are the most likely to see disco as the product of homosexuals, black and latins, and therefore they're the most likely to respond to appeals to wipe out such threats to their security."

Fans rushed the field brandishing tshirts and banners stating "Disco Sucks." A notable phrase used in connection to the movement to kill disco. Still heard in passing to this day. The phrase may seem harmless today noting that we use "sucks" so casually. It is worth noting that at the time it was new slang; directly and intentionally homophobic. It is often forgotten exactly what we're accusing the subject of sucking.

The effects of Demolition Night swiftly radiated out into the media production circuit. Sending Disco back underground to the safe havens of queer clubs and bars, like the loft and stonewall, as well as the subterranean punk spaces of their origin.

Today it's commonly believed that disco's popularity did die in 1979. Producers, studios, and clubs started rebranding the genre as "dance" music. Even pioneers of disco became disillusioned with the genre noting that media producers had oversaturated disco sound, wringing out any cultural significance it had at the start. Making way for hip-hop, pop, and punk.

However, dancing to the selections of DJs had integrated into culture in major urban centers. As an activity it wasn't going anywhere. With the inability to capitalize on it the culture discovered a new lease of life, free of the labeling and profiteering. Disco may have been dead, but its influence was alive and well.

To learn more:

A more extensive account of the culture and history can be found in this book "Love Saves the Day" by Tim Lawrence.

I also recommend this playlist curated by the Woody Guthrie memorial museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma during their exhibit of the same name earlier this summer. Exploring the history and sound of disco.

TL;DR - Disco was major to gay and poc empowerment. Then a bunch of people rioted and blew up disco records at a baseball game leading to the decline of Disco's popularity in mainstream media.

*Coho - noun; a person or thing that shows the existence or direction of a trend - (another definition is a kind of salmon but i have the feeling that would be inaccurate as funny as it may be)

[cleoenfaserum]

JOSEPH W. SARNO, THE HISTORICAL FILM FIGURE OF SEXPLOITATION OF THE 60's & 70's

Joseph W. Sarno was an American film director and screenwriter. born on March 15, 1921. He grew up in Amityville on Long Island and died of natural causes on April 26, 2010 at the age of 89 in his native New York City. Sarno married Peggy Steffans, who was younger than he and was a non-sex performing actress and costumer in some of his films, and they had a son.

Sarno emerged from the semi-pornographic sexploitation film genre of the 1950s & 1960s; he had written and directed approximately 75 theatrically released feature films in the sexploitation, softcore and hardcore genres as well as a number of shot-on-video features for the 1980s hardcore video market.

Sarno, was considerad a pioneer in the genre of sexploitation film.

A Life in Dirty Movies is a 2013 Swedish documentary about Sarno and his wife, and their attempt to make one last film.

940-1 LINK https://ok.ru/video/1115493894694

SEXPLOITATION FILM

What is it?

A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films. The term "sexploitation" has been used since the 1940s.

Moonlighting Wives (1966).

940-2 LINK: https://ok.ru/video/4932160785094

In USA, exploitation films were generally exhibited in urban grindhouse theatres, which were the precursors to the adult movie theaters of the 1970s and 1980s that featured hardcore pornography content. In Latin America (most notably in Argentina), exploitation and sexploitation films had meandering and complex relations with both moviegoers and government institutions: they were sometimes censored by democratic (but socially conservative) administrations and/or authoritarian dictatorships (especially during the 1970s and 80s), and at other times they enjoyed an important success at the box office.

Among his best-known films in the genre is Sin in the Suburbs (1964), which is about wife swapping, ...

940-3 LINK: https://ok.ru/video/4506488277662

The term soft-core is often used to designate non-explicit sexploitation films after the general legalisation of hardcore content. Nudist films are often considered to be subgenres of the sex-exploitation genre as well. "Nudie" films and "Nudie-cuties" are associated genres.

Beginning in 1968, Sarno's work became somewhat more explicit, predicting the emergence of soft-core. His breakthrough feature Inga (1968) ...

940-4 LINK: https://ok.ru/video/2527643372093

... was one of the first X-rated films released in the United States. Other noteworthy soft-core features include All the Sins of Sodom (1968), 

940-5 LINK https://ok.ru/video/4642191968926

Critical reputation

Singled out for praise by critic Andrew Sarris during the 1970s, Sarno's work has been acknowledged in recent years by tributes at the New York Underground Film Festival, the Torino Film Festival in Turin, Italy, the Cinémathèque Française in Paris, and The Andy Warhol Museum.

Sarno has had a tribute at the British Film Institute in London and has given an honorary lecture at Lund University in Sweden.

His career is being researched for a comprehensive biography by film historian Michael J. Bowen.

Virgile Iscan interviewed Joe Sarno and his wife shortly before Sarno's death in 2010. The interviews appear in Iscan's documentary The Divine Joe Sarno.

Filmography

Deep Inside (1968)

940-6 link https://ok.ru/video/6550569880222

Joseph W. Sarno - Wikipedia

[windsweptinred]

Thank you to @tickldpnk8 and @just-cosmere-fan for tagging me. 😁

Currently Reading

You know I answered a question very similar to this not long since. And the book pile on my bedside table hasn't changed much 🙈. But fanfic wise, after some chats about ships last week (one with your good self @tickldpnk8). I've been revisiting his soggyness Dream on A03, but reading ships with him I haven't delved into yet. And I have found it utterly fascinating how his overall character (besides being a hot mess) is presented. And how his dynamic with his partner changes from ship to ship. In Dreamling, generally Dream is usually presented one flick away from shattering, while Hob is on standby, with duck tape and super glue , shit together and the man's got this! In Corintheus, which I've been having a riot with, Dream is usually presented far more in control and eldritch, while the Corinthian does his homicidal, sex fiend version of pulling at his pigtails for reassurance and love. With Dream x Calliope, they're protryaed on a much more even playing field emotionally, they both know each other, and yet are also rediscovering each other. So there's an interesting mix of hesitance and the complete assurance of knowing someone as well as you would know your spouse. It's a beautiful ship. I'm going to try some Dream x Lucienne next. But I'm really loving seeing this full picture of Dream you get from seeing him from every angle shipping wise. Highly recommended!

Favourite Colour

Red. One of the few areas in my life where I have an out and out favourite in anything. 😅 But red. I dress in it, I deck my wall in it. Pretty much any gift I'm ever given is it....It's a surefire path to me loving it.

Last Song

The Weary Kind by Ryan Bingham. It's the theme to the movie Crazy Heart. If you ever have a few spare minutes... Give it a listen. It's a stunning song that never fails to stir the emotions.

Last Movie

The house that dripped blood. It's a 70s horror/comedy and my god it was so truly bad it was epic. Once scene featured satanic monks going from singing something diabolical in Latin to singing Daisy, Daisy... The other had Vincent Price telling someone to piss off. 😆 My absolute favorite was the local pub rendition of five gold rings but about murder victims. 🤣😂

Sweet/Spicy/Savoury

Any. It really depends on my mood and what I'm craving. But I'm generally a sweet touth. If I go spice, I go burn all my taste buds along with it spice. And savoury, well I'm English. If it doesn't have a pie, sausage or slab of meat, is it even food? 😅

Currently working on

Oh, well this is a tricky one to answer. I don't really class myself an official fanfic writer, or fan artist... Or fandom analyst. I'm just an overgrown, excitable toddler of a fan. Who blerbs and doodles with abandon 😅. But, I guess things that could be classed as WIPs 🤔. My young Destiny AU. I want to explore how the relationship between Destiny, Death and Dream differed at such an early age, maybe throw in the Archangels for the funsies. I'm sat doodling a little Daniel pic... My quest to cover him in dandelions (and the Corinthian 😏) continues! So that. And I really need to revisit my Time!hob Night! Dream AU stuff. I just always seem to get distracted by something else. I'd like to revisit Desunity as I feel I've been ignoring them as of late. Probably some more Destiny stuff is to come as he's taken up residence as my current muse. I still have no idea how that happened. 😆. And I really really want to hyper focus in on Death at some point. I'm all for the campaign to give that Endless a girlfriend!

Tag 5 mutuals you want to get to know @misanthropic-geek @moon-andstardust @maelstroms-blog @pettydreamer and @marvagon ☺️

[thebranchesofshe]

Julius Ambrose Flood

"Every time I sit down, I get so drowsy. Must be something in the water. It's hard work, but it's the Lord's work, and I love it."

Three words: lonely, desperate, injured.

Date of Birth: January 1, 1935

Actual Date of Birth: January 1, 1900

Age as of Chapter I: 35 (or 70)

Height: 6'3"

Occupation: Priest.

Gender: everything and nothing, but don't worry about it.

Orientation: gay asexual.

Background: Irish Catholic, originally from Marquette, Michigan. Father was a funeral director. Middle child, has 6 sisters and 1 brother. Grew up in relative comfort. Has lived in a monastery in rural France and several shitty apartments in Boston and Manhattan.

Favorite Treat: strawberry jell-o.

Favorite Book: God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut.

Favorite Film: Midnight Cowboy.

What Brings Him to Decaelo: Job transfer.

Veteran?: Yes.

Which war?: Depends on who's asking. Korea if he's lying, the Great War if he's being truthful.

What is his burden?: a lot of things. His war wound and his curse, mostly.

What curse?: He can be killed, but he can't die. He will heal. The problem is people tend to want to kill him, and he is very killable. It starts like an itch, then a whisper, then a shout. The longer you let it fester, and the more you're around him, the worse it gets.

Is there a way to break it?: Yes and no. If you give in and kill him, or you make a gesture of kindness, the itch goes away. He ages, but very slowly. The more beloved he is, the more naturally he ages, but his aging will never be as fast as yours or mine. The deck is stacked against him. People get the itch when they encounter him. He could pass the curse to someone else, but he chooses not to.

But sometimes...: he wants to.

That sounds awful: because it is.

What did he do to deserve that?: he reached out to someone who couldn't bear it anymore. Whether he deserved it or not is out of the question.

His friends?: Maynard. His oldest friend. They lived together for a long time like husband and wife (Julius was the wife).

Will he have any more?: he hopes so.

Enemies?: not yet, but there will be.

Anything else?: he speaks English, French, Latin, and enough German to ask where the trains are. He has tritanopic color blindness, but he paints anyway. He is an avid and obsessive diarist. He's an old man who never got to be young. He likes pop music. Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer makes him cry. He smokes menthol Chesterfield 100s. He probably has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. He is a functioning alcoholic and smokes a pack of menthols every day.

What does he look like?: he is tall and thin and pale with a delicate and somewhat feminine face, black hair, and black eyes. He walks with a pronounced limp.

In my head, he's a Hamish Linklater type. I wanted to do terrible things to a Linklater priest after watching Midnight Mass, but Julius quickly became his own character. That being said, he's still quite Hamish-y in the face.

One more thing. Who is Julie?: I don't know what you're talking about. Don't worry about it.