#and overall the rest of the music that is played live by people walking around the streets is so fucking good i am ascending

[the---hermit]

You know when you watch movies set in the past or fantasy movies, and when you get the epic pre-battle scenes you inevitably ask yourself why do they need all those drummers and stuff when all those men playing could be given a sword or something and be added to the troops? I am currently visiting a medieval festival and I just heard an exibition of war drums and I feel like I could run a half marathon. The drummers make so much sense.

[jowrites]

"If I buy a car, will you take me on late night drives?" - Part 1

Jake Sim x Fem!Reader. Where 2 neighbors befriend one another because of his dog, and she doesn't have any friends.

TW: Isolation(?), mentions of being a lone(r), mentions of parent death

Jake liked to think of himself as a disciplined man. When he had a goal and set his mind to it, nothing could stray him and he always managed to achieve it. He came from a good home, good family, he had good friends, and attended University and has a good job. He works hard. He worked incredibly hard to get the nice studio loft he had been dreaming of since he saw it. The location was perfect, near his University and by the College of Engineering where he was doing his internship. He was on cloud 9.

When he moved in he loved how quiet things were. The first week of moving in he wondered if he had a neighbor across the way or if the place was vacant and that's what made it so quiet. He figured that's what it had to be and every time he took his dog, Layla, out for a walk he would look at the door across the way and have this odd feeling that he wasn't alone. Because he wasn't.  One day, he came home later than usual and he heard the faint noise of music playing. He was familiar with the sound, it was “Cry” by Cigarettes After Sex which so happened to be one of his favorite artists. He stood outside his door just listening to the song, until suddenly the door across the hall swung open and one of the most beautiful people he had ever laid eyes on stood in front of him. 

She had a trash bag in her hands, her hair was tied up, glasses framed her face, and she was in a pink overalls and a white tank top. Her whole being was covered in paint. She stared at him before shrugging and walking to the trash shoot to dump her trash. Jake snapped out of his zone, amazed he did indeed have a neighbor he finally confirmed after being there for a month, he just had to get her name.

“So there IS someone that lives across from me,” he smiled.

“You talking to me?” she asked, stunned as she stopped in her tracks and looked around. 

“Well, we are the only 2 people here. I'm Jake, it's nice to meet you,” He held out his hand.

“Y/N. See ya!” And with that she waved goodbye and quickly went back inside and closed her door.

 Jake was left speechless. Did he do something wrong? Is she afraid of him? Maybe she just needs to warm up to him. He couldn't help but have her on his mind, and for the rest of the night she was flooding his mind. When he laid down to go to bed, he stared up at his ceiling with his neighbor across the way still on his mind. 

He didn't see her for another 2 weeks after that. He was so curious about her. Who was she? What did she do? Did she go to school? One thing he assumed was that she liked art or was an artist given she was literally covered in paint. One day, he opened his door to take Layla for a walk when he ran into her coming home. She had a duffel bag on her and Layla got out of his grip and ran straight to her.

“Layla, no!” He ran after his dog. Layla, was fine as his neighbor, knelt down on the floor petting the white creature. 

“Layla, I think he's talking to you,” He heard her say. “It’s okay, I don't like to listen either.”

“I'm sorry about her, she gets excited especially with new people,” he explained as he grabbed Layla’s leash.

“Hm. I love dogs, so you can stay I guess,” She stood up not taking her eyes off Layla. Jake tilted his head, finding it a bit odd but moved on.

“Ah, thank you for the approval,” He jokes.

“Really, thank your dog, she can stay, you're just a plus one. See ya around!” She waved before opening her door and closing it in his face. Did his dog just one up him with the pretty neighbor?

To Jake, it didn't seem like you were scared to speak to him, but you avoided him it seemed like. He also noticed how he almost disappeared when Layla was around, your attention fully on her and her only. This became a habit. Every so often Layla would escape and run to your door scratching or barking until you opened it. You would open the door and let her in only to close it in his face and not open it. The first time it happened Jake was mad, he thought you kidnapped his dog. 

“You can't just take someone's dog without permission! How do I know you're not going to harm her?” He voiced.

“Oh, I would never do that! We had some things to discuss. She's welcome anytime!” You smiled, finally reaching his eyes before going your way.

He got used to the way you were around him. He would let Layla go as it seemed she truly enjoyed your company and you hers. She was never harmed and always seemed to be around no more than 10 minutes at most. He would wait until you opened the door and you would be in a full conversation with the dog as if you two were actually speaking to one another. 

“You know, some people might think you're crazy for talking to a dog,” He had his arms across his chest.

“What do you mean a dog? Layla’s not a dog, she's a friend,” Again, you left Jake laughing at your words. Your mind stunned him.

There wasn't anything wrong with you, you just didn't have many friends and you lived a very isolated lifestyle with just you and your cats. You prefer the company of animals more to the company of people. After 4 months of this going on, you started talking to Jake more too. He wasn't so bad and he always seemed to try and stay on your good side which you appreciated. You didn't understand why he tried so hard, but he started understanding your language more and so I guess he was a nice neighbor. Then one night, everything changed for him and for you.

He came home late. It was actually very late but he got stuck with things at the University and so he was forced to stay longer. When he got home the moon was bright and the hall was dark. He was so focused on getting to Layla to check on her he almost missed your form leaning up against the windowsill at the end of the hall. When he opened his door, Layla immediately ran out and ran straight to you. It's like she knew something was wrong and when he approached you the tears down your face really struck a chord in his heart.

“Y/N? Are you okay?” He asked quietly, not wanting to disturb you.

“It's just SO sad! Isn't it sad, Layla?” You turned to the dog before crying again. He then realized your slurred words and concluded you were drunk.

“What’s sad?” He knelt down to your level, not once leaving your side.

“I don't have anyone to go on late night drives with,” you admitted. 

“Late night drives? You want to go on a late night drive?” He frowned, feeling confused but also wanted to understand more of what goes on in your head.

“I want to go on late night drives, but I have no one to take me,” You hiccuped clutching your cheeks in your hands.

“Well, I'll go with you,” He offered and your face perked up.

“You will!?! C-can you drive?” You asked him and he nodded.

“Yes, I have my license,” he chuckled. “My only problem is I don't have a car. I never needed one.”

“Oh no, that's not going to work. If I buy a car will you take me on late night drives?” You asked.

“Buy a car? You want to buy a car just to go on late night drives?” His eyebrows raised in disbelief. 

“Yes, yes I will. I want to go on late night drives, it's my dream,” you cried again leaning your head on his shoulder as he started comforting you.

“Well,” he cleared his throat. “If you buy a car, I'll take you on late night drives.”

And that's how it started. It was 4 nights later and Jake hadn't seen or heard from you so he assumed you were too drunk to remember. That was, until he heard a knock on his door at 10:30 PM at night, currently a Thursday and he was just about to go to bed. He opened his door to a very excited you. You were dressed in jeans with a black leather jacket and white tank underneath.  Your hair was down and you looked awake and ready for something.

“Oh, this is a cute look! It's time to go,” You held up a key, not just any key: a car key. 

Jake's mouth dropped, he was in the middle of brushing his teeth and he couldn't believe you were here in his presence being serious.

He ushered you to come inside as he quickly went to clean up his face and rinse his mouth. You took a look in his apartment and noticed how clean it was, neatly decorated and it smelled like cedarwood and grass. Layla came running to you and you quickly embraced her, giving her hugs and pets. You and Jake seemed to be the opposite but you didn't mind.

“You were ACTUALLY serious?” He asked you.

“I'm always serious, I never lie,” You said. 

“You ACTUALLY bought a car? Who are you? You're like this...this person I can't figure out,” He was in such disbelief, he really could not understand you.

“Well, I'm Y/N. I got a large inheritance after my parents died and I just bought a car, now let's go!” You hopped up in excitement. “You told me you would take me on a late night drives.”

Jake felt sad. He didn't know your life story or who you actually were but sharing little details here and there just made him want to embrace you even more. You were such an enigma to him, and now he was afraid that if he poked too much you would run away. 

“Okay, I did yeah. Let me get changed and we can go.”

And so that's how it started. Almost every night for 3 weeks straight you would come to him and say you wanted to go for a drive and he would take you. He learned you had your license but you hated driving. You prefer to be driven around and he didn't blame you. You don't go out much and he learned you have an Estate that you look after that's outside the city. He also learned you were indeed an artist and sold paintings to your parents wealthy elite friends and made a good living from that.

“Can I ask you something?” Jake spoke up. 

It was a Saturday night, almost 3 AM and you and Jake were out strolling around the City. 

“Whats up?” You looked over at him, giving him your attention.

“Where are your friends?” He asked. 

“I don't have any friends,” You said. 

“What do you mean? Like…at all?” He frowned.

“Well, if you count the people at my family's estate then they're all there. That's where they are,” You shrugged. “My butler I grew up with, he's more like an Uncle now.”

“You didn't have any friends at school?” He asked.

“I didn't go to school, I was tutored at home,” You said. “Well, you're my friend too, right?”

“Yeah, I guess I am,” He smiled looking over at you.

“Then you're right here. Here is where my friend is,” You smiled at him. “Oh, I miss Layla.”

Of course, Layla.

[the-witchy-housewife]

｡+*✧ 5 Witchy Ways To Make Your Home More Magickal ✧*+｡

This is an article from my website, The Witchy Housewife. You can read it at the source here or look under the cut to read it here on Tumblr. If you enjoy my work, please consider subscribing (at the bottom of this page) to receive articles as they're posted via e-mail, exploring the shop, leaving a tip, or reblogging this post. I run this all myself, so all support is greatly appreciated. 💜🔮✨

Most practicing witches, whether just starting out or involved for decades, have carved out a sacred space for themselves. It is rare, however, that I see that same level of attention given to the rest of the home. In doing so, we risk the stagnation of energies in just about every other room of the house and miss out on this beautiful flow dancing about room to room. Today, I would like to share five simple ways to make your entire home a more magickal place to live in.

1. Regularly cleanse, bless, and ward.

It is so important – both for the success of workings and the overall energetic wellbeing of the household – to have a regular routine of cleansing the home, refilling it with positive energies, and charging the wards that surround it. This habit breaks up energetic stagnation, deters lingering negative energies, and promotes a sacred feeling of warmth that permeates throughout the entire home. In addition, I think you will find that this sort of energetic housekeeping will improve the results of any future magickal workings performed within it. Not to mention, making a habit out of any sort of magickal working – cleansings included – will naturally “exercise” and improve your own magickal abilities overall.

For those new to the ideas of cleansing, blessing, and warding, this is how I generally define it: To cleanse is to rid a person, place, or thing (in this case, the home) of stagnant, unwanted, draining, counterproductive, or otherwise negative energies. After a cleansing is performed, a blessing may follow. In my opinion, blessing a space with more productive energies serves two purposes: To set the tone for desired future outcomes and to further deter negative energies from re-entering the space. With that said, to bless – again, as I define it – is to invite in and refill the recently-cleansed person, place, or thing with fresh, positive, intentional energies. And finally, to ward is to create an energetic protective barrier around the person, place, or thing as a more passive and longer-lasting preventative measure. Some people may also refer to this as bubbling or shielding, though different people may have different definitions for each.

Now personally, there are different cleansing rituals I use for different circumstances, but my most often used rituals take place monthly or as-needed when energies get too muddied.

My Monthly Cleansing Ritual: I perform this ritual on the first of each month. Any cleansing tools to be charged on the altar should be set at least a day before performing the cleansing. The morning of, weather permitting, open windows and play uplifting music or cleansing affirmations, frequencies, or subliminals of choice. Take a cleansing shower. Clean the home as you normally would. When physical cleaning is complete, use a smoke or spray cleansing blend of choice, walking with intention from room-to-room. Pay special mind to corners and doorways. I like to use sound cleansing – bells, drums, or even snapping your fingers will do – in these spaces to really ensure the breaking up of any “stuck” energies. If you are someone who performs banishing rituals, you may choose to do so now. At this point, I also take a moment to cleanse myself, particularly as an empath. I then tend to my wards by first taking a blessed salt blend around the perimeter of the property, followed by sitting at the center of the property and funneling my own energy into the ward. If you would prefer to instead bless first and ward after, feel free to do so. It is your ritual, after all. Regardless of which order you perform the ritual in, the blessing process may be a deeply personal one, so this is a step I suggest thinking on a bit rather than following to the letter. In my ritual, I use a spray with positive energy-promoting herbs (as well as herbs that may promote the intention I wish to set for the month) and follow up with prayer to my deities. If you’re interested in a more in-depth look at my Monthly Cleansing Ritual, I do have detailed instructions available on my Monthly Blessings Patreon.

My As-Needed Cleansing Ritual: This is essentially a truncated version of my monthly ritual. If the energies are something I’ve tracked in or absorbed too much of, I will take a cleansing shower first. Following this, perform your usual smoke or spray cleansing, focusing especially on any room(s) that may be the most abundant in the energy that brought about this need for an emergency cleanse. You may also like to perform a shorter version of your regular blessing ritual. Unless the situation is really dire, I will generally stick to my spray in this case.

In regards to the physical cleaning portion of this, I do have to recommend Grove Collaborative for cultivating a more natural-based cleaning cabinet. In the future, I’ll be looking into more do-it-yourself methods for cleaning essentials, as is part of the focus of this blog, but in the meantime – and for anything that may be too tedious to make – I really do love Grove.

And one final thought on the cleansing process before we move on: If nothing else, it would at least be worth it to regularly cleanse yourself. I’m afraid your floors (and your home overall) will never be clean if you are consistently tracking in the (energetic) mud.

2. Arrange altars around the home.

To some, an altar may just be some simple magickal workspace, but I tend to view an altar as a sort of energetic nexus – a point of focus in (or out of) the home enchanted with a specific intention. Having a variety of these energetic points all across the home can promote different energies in different places and act as a sort of battery for the mood you wish to set in any room you wish to set it. Here are just a few ideas for altars around your home:

• The Shrine Altar: A space dressed with statuary, artwork, trinkets, and offerings honoring the deity or deities you are devoted to in your practice. This is your place of divine worship.

• The Working Altar: A space with all the tools and dressings to make magick happen. This, combined with a Shrine, is what most people traditionally think of when referring to an altar.

• The Divination Altar: A space with all the tools and dressings for divination, spirit communication, and other sorts of communion that take place beyond the veil. You may wish to set aside a space here for your spirit guides and teachers to provide their own guidance.

• The Ancestor Altar: A space for maintaining connection with your ancestors. When decorating and leaving offerings, keep in mind the things that your ancestors would enjoy.

• The Protection Altar: A space for gathering protective energies to keep yourself, your loved ones, and your home safe from harm. Think of it as a battery specifically for your wards.

• The Hearth Altar: A space for inviting warm, positive energies into the home and transmuting any negative energies that may enter. Even better if you can get your family involved.

• The Prosperity Altar: A space for inviting wealth, prosperity, and abundance into the home. Similarly to the Hearth Altar, It’s a good idea to have this altar face the front door to act as a “greeter” to these energies, and you may even choose to combine them.

• The Creativity Altar: A space for encouraging a steady flow of inspiration. This is ideal if you have any sort of creative pursuits and/or are subject to frequent creative blockages.

• The Study Altar: A space for encouraging focus and memory retention. Perfect for a library or an office where lots of learning takes place. Rosemary would be an excellent addition here.

• The Garden Altar: A space in your garden for promoting the growth of your plants and bonding with the fae and genius loci native to your area.

3. Celebrate with the changing seasons.

When I was younger, much of the year was quite boring to me, and I found myself always pining for Hallowthanksmas to roll back around before returning yet again to “business as usual” come January 1st. I think an unfortunate amount of people operate this way, as well. It was only when I started observing and appreciating the year in full that my life turned around in a big way, and I began to realize there is always something to look forward to.

Whether this means celebrating the sabbats, the seasonal shifts, or your own set of scattered observations – you can make holiday magick a year-round experience just by opening your eyes to Gaia’s natural cycles. In addition, I think you’ll find that matching the energetic ebb and flow of the Earth will serve to optimize your success with spellwork overall. Very simply:

During the spring… New beginnings are abundant. Appreciate the budding flowers, the baby animals, and the fresh spring air. Start new projects and/or take on new endeavors.

During the summer… Passions are at their highest. Host bonfires and barbecues and let yourself live life. Soak up the energy of the sun and transmute it into raw motivation.

During the autumn… Our efforts may be harvested. Bathe in gratitude for the abundance of this beautiful planet. Review and appreciate all that you have done for yourself.

During the winter… The world is at rest. The cold decelerates the very flow of time. Take a much-needed break, and plan to return or renew come the first signs of spring.

Consider also bringing the outdoors in – particularly during the colder months when it is too difficult to spend a significant amount of time outside. Foraging with the local flora in your area and using your findings for food, medicine, and decor is an excellent way to become familiar with the cycle of the seasons as it functions in your very own neighborhood.

4. Ritualize your everyday routines.

We often don’t realize just how many rituals we perform each and every day – repetitive, but necessary, processes that lull us into a meditative state. There is opportunity here. In our day-to-day life, there are so many little pockets within our routines to tuck intention and purpose into. And why shouldn’t we? Here are just a few suggestions for enchanting your daily routine:

In the Morning: Do affirmation work upon waking or in the mirror. Alternatively, listen to affirmations or subliminal audio on your ride to work or while getting ready in the morning. Incorporate color and shape magick into your wardrobe – including any accessories, makeup, or nail care that you may do.

Throughout the Day: Enhance your meals with carefully chosen herbs to improve wellbeing or attract specific energies. After workouts, take a moment to meditate on advancing muscular growth or expelling fat from troublesome areas. Use showers as mini cleansing rituals or put oils/herbs in a bath to attract energies.

During the Night: Do affirmation work just before falling asleep. Keep a small (non-fragile) stone under your pillow to regularly fill with energies of gratitude. Set an intention for your dreams. Keep a dream sachet under your pillow to help with achieving lucidity. Diffuse oil for a specific intention to set the tone for your dreams or even to set the tone for the next day.

However you spend your days, consider altering your home’s decor room-by-room to cultivate a specific tone and energy depending on the daily rituals you perform there.

5. Build a garden you can bond with.

One of the things I love most about being a witch is the awareness that magick really is all around us. In my opinion, cultivating a garden is the best way to go about experiencing this, and it offers so much versatility. On a very basic level, a garden offers a wide variety of personally-selected plants that can be used for cooking, medicine, magick, decor, aroma, and so much more. On a deeper level, a garden offers the space to get to know the spirits of these plants as they thrive and flourish prior to receiving their gifts – and this, in turn, will improve upon many of your more subtle spiritual abilities.

And for those of you who don’t have much of a yard to work with at this time, keep in mind that plants in any pot – that require any amount of sun and attention – are still living beings. Lavender, for example, is one commonly-used plant in the craft that can be grown indoors.

Pinterest, for the record, is a great place to collect gardening information tailored to your tastes (among other things like recipes and crafting tutorials). And for the more daring, you may choose to expand your horizons by looking into things like food forests or guerrilla gardening (bonus points if it yields something edible).

Regardless of what endeavors you decide to take on, darling, I wish you the best of luck in making your home, your community, and your life more magickal. Many blessings to you.

[razrogue]

Describe your OC - Anaya Jefferson (Infamous)

For my @infamous-if OC, Lia Rose (her stage name)

🎶 - How do they sound? Describe their voice.

I'm strictly going to go for her singing voice (she is in a music band universe after all lol) and Kelela is closest to what I imagine for her.

👀 - How do they look like? Give an overall description of them

I made them in this picrew until I figure out a face claim. She's dyed her hair green since she was 13, has seven piercings - got her ears first pierced as a baby & got the rest of them between 14-16 (Seven went with her for her eyebrow at 16 and held her hand throughout). She's got deep brown skin, the biggest brown eyes to lose yourself in, big lips, is 5'7" tall, and usually wears her hair in braids, flat twists, a top bun, or a flat twist out (her natural hair is about mid back length). Besides Seven's initials on her right wrist, she has a butterfly tattoo on her right upper arm, the name of the first song she wrote (find the light) underneath the left side of her ribs, and a big bouquet of flowers on her left upper thigh. She definitely plans to get more, just hadn't decided on what else she wants yet.

💐 - Their favorite plant/flower

Her favorite flowers are coneflowers, zinnias, and peonies.

👗- Describe their style

Very boho for the most part. Flowy tops, crop tops, maxi skirts and dresses, wide leg pants, sweaters, sundresses, leggings, scarf wraps. She lives for cute comfort.

💌 - How would they react to a love letter?

Flattered and she'd cherish it. She's kept the handful she's received from people.

🤦‍♀️ - Something that continues to embarrass them to this day

When she first dyed her hair, she tried to do it alone and ended up not getting the color all over. Her parents decided to let her live with her patchy multi-toned hair but a friend's mom ended up helping her try to fix it. That led to her first set of braids to hide the issue. Whenever someone remembers her terrible first dye job, it still makes her embarrassed.

😊 - Something that always makes them smile

When she's writing songs and the words flow freely, when butterflies are all over the garden she has at home, first spoon of ice cream on a warm day, when her flat twist out turns out just right

💢 - How do they handle being annoyed?

Anaya usually lets most things slide but when she can't, she has to walk away and be alone. She might go outside and just walk for a bit or she'll go meditate for a bit. She knows annoyance can quickly escalate to anger for her so she tries to remove herself from the situation in order to prevent that.

🐕 - Favorite animal?

Lemurs & otters (thanks to nature shows growing up), rabbits, and cats

🥘 - Favorite food?

Grilled citrus salmon, oxtail with rice and peas, roasted sweet potatoes, red velvet cake, mint chocolate chip ice cream

🍸- Favorite drink?

Mango smoothies, honey citrus mint tea, pineapple serrano margaritas

🌹 - Do they have a signature scent? Perfume, shampoo or alike?

This is the closest I can think of for her signature scent as far as perfume. Her shampoo would smell like white pepper lavender or tobacco vanilla. Anaya's favorite scents can lean spicy or fresh/clean/herbaceous or a little woody.

🎳 - Do they have hobbies? If yes, what are they?

Painting, swimming, writing poetry, cycling, playing piano, writing songs, gardening, axe throwing

👤 - Do they enjoy being alone, or do they thrive around people better?

Anaya definitely thrives around people. Growing up like she did, her parents barely paid attention or were always absent, it affected her a lot so now she doesn't really like being on her own too much.

🍁 - Their favorite season and why?

Summer! Anaya's always loved being outside in the warmth and sunshine, getting to hang and practice with friends uninterrupted, and writing at night beneath a clear starry sky.

[skelletors]

MCYT as D&D Characters 5 - Philza

Part 5 of me turning MCYTs into playable D&D characters! Today, as you might’ve guessed, I’m taking a crack at the man, the myth, the legend, Philza Minecraft. And, of course, before we begin, the ground rules.

This will not be balanced and the builds may not be very good. This isn’t for the minmaxers (not that there's anything wrong with that), this is purely based on either stories these people have participated in or their overall persona on the internet

These characters will go up to level 20, but in no way do you have to play them to the max level to get all the mechanics that make up the character

There will be no homebrew in this build.

I will be using standard array for all of these characters (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) when determining the stats for these characters for my own ease of use.

Character Traits to Emulate:

Bird

Angel of Death

Old as hell

Anarchist

THE father figure

Race, Class, Background and Stats

Race: Protector Aasimar (There was a lot of debate on what race Phil would be, if he would be a full bird or more human, but I decided on Aasimar purely for the connection to celestials/gods in D&D canon. Plus, they live longer than the bird races and have some fun features!)

Ability Score Improvement: +2 to Charisma, +1 to Wisdom

Darkvision: You can see in the dark! Sick

Celestial Radiance: You’re resistant to necrotic and radiant damage

Healing Hands: You can heal people a number of hit points equal to your level once per long rest. Maybe use it on a particular pig to make sure he can keep standing…

Radiant Soul: Once per long rest, for a minute you gain the power of flight (a fly speed equal to your walking speed) and deal extra radiant damage on attacks.

Background: Far Traveler (I think this one fits the best with Phil and his connection to his hardcore world, where he’s generally implied to be from.)

Proficiencies: Insight, Perception, a musical instrument or game of your choice (let’s choose lute) and a language of your choice

Class: Ranger 11, Cleric 9 (This one may need some explanation, but the features Rangers get are just about getting knowledge about creatures quickly and fucking people up, which is a very Philza vibe. Cleric is for his connection to Mumza)

Stats

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 14

Constitution: 12

Intelligence: 13 

Wisdom: 15 + 1 = 16

Charisma: 8 + 2 = 10

The stat distribution is also somewhat self-explanatory, Phil isn’t really lacking in any stat but he’s definitely not the most charismatic and as a bird man, probably not the strongest. Not to worry, he definitely uses finesse weapons rather than heavy longbows.

Level 1: Ranger

Favored Enemy: You’re really good at tracking and know quite a bit about certain enemies. I’m not sure what Phil’s would be, maybe undead or something like that.

Deft Explorer: This is a more general replacement for the normal level 1 ability Natural Explorer. Natural Explorer makes you specialize in different areas but I think the more general expertise that comes with Deft Explorer makes more sense.

Expertise in one ability of your choice

Two more languages of your choice

Level 2: Ranger

Fighting Style: Dueling

You get a +2 to damage rolls with a weapon if you’re only holding that weapon

Spellcasting: You get some cool spells! Like Hunter’s Mark! To kill things better!

Level 3: Ranger

Primeval Awareness: You can expend a spell slot to become aware of the kind of creatures around you like abjurations, fiends, fey, undead, etc.

Sssssssssssssssssssssubclass time! The subclass being…

Monster Slayer! Fuck yeah, this subclass is exclusively about learning the weaknesses of your enemies and fucking shit up. It’s just better Hunter, I will not be taking criticism.

Hunter’s Sense: As an action, you can choose an enemy within 60ft of you and learn any immunities, resistances and vulnerabilities as long as they aren’t immune to divination. You can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus

Slayer’s Prey: As a bonus action, you can designate a creature within 60ft to be your victim. The first time each turn you hit the creature, you deal an extra 1d6 damage

Level 4: Ranger

ASI Time baby!

Level 5: Ranger

Extra Attack! Not much, but hey, you can hit shit more often

Level 6: Cleric

Time to finally go into those Cleric levels! Clerics are pretty fun, especially since they get their subclass at level one. That subclass, of course, being…

Death Domain!! There was a bit of debate between this and Grave Cleric, especially with how the two synergize with other members of SBI (especially a certain pig), but I chose Death Domain because it really is just a Cleric class for people who want to fuck shit up. Also, Death, Mumza, pretty obvious.

Bonus Proficiency: You get proficiency in martial weapons. Unnecessary, since Rangers already have proficiency in martial weapons, but I’m mentioning it just so I’m not skipping any features

At first level, you learn a necromancy spell from any spell list. And, when you cast a necromancy spell that targets one creature, you can target two within range and within five feet of each other

Level 7: Cleric

Channel Divinity! This is one of Clerics more fun features, and there are two options open to you. You can do this once per long or short rest.

Turn Undead! As an action, any undead within 30ft of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. If it fails, it must take it’s entire action to either run away or, if it cannot run away, take the dodge action

Touch of Death. This is something exclusive to Death Domain Clerics, and it's pretty fun. Whenever you make a melee attack, you can add necrotic damage equal to 5 + double your Cleric level

Level 8: Cleric

ASI Time! This time we’re adding a +2 to his Wisdom, bringing it to 18

Level 9: Cleric

Nothing special here but you have more spells!

Level 10: Ranger

Back to ranger baby! Rangers are so cool, they are my favorite class and if I can put my favorite CCs in the ranger class, I will

Deft Explorer Improvement: Walking speed increases by 5 (that’s 45ft for those of you keeping track) and you have a climbing and swimming speed equal to your walking speed! That’s also a 45ft fly speed, so good luck to anyone trying to escape you.

Level 11: Ranger

Supernatural Defense: Whenever an enemy makes you make a saving throw or escape a grapple, add a 1d6 to the roll. Helpful, especially with the grapple. You have a +0 to Strength, you’re not escaping anything

Level 12: Cleric

Destroy Undead: Basically an improvement to Turn Undead, if the undead you’re targeting is under a certain challenge rating, they’re instantly destroyed

ASI Time! We’re going to be adding another +2 to Wisdom, bringing it to 20

Level 13: Cleric

Inescapable Destruction: Necrotic damage dealt by Cleric spells/abilities ignore resistance to necrotic damage

Level 14: Ranger

Land’s Stride: Moving through non-magical difficult terrain costs you no extra movement, as well as being able to move through non-magical plants without taking any damage from hazards. You also have advantage on magical plant spells meant to impede movement

Level 15: Ranger

Nothing special here, but you get more ranger spells!

Level 16: Cleric

ASI Time! Now, we’re taking another feat, and it’s going to be Observant! With the observant feat, you gain a +1 to Wisdom, can read lips as well as a +5 to passive perception and investigation. And if Phil is one thing, it’s perceptive. Seriously, he could tell his eggs were being played by different admins on the QSMP insanely quickly, this fits so well.

Level 17: Cleric

Divine Strike: Your weapon attacks are infused with necrotic energy. 1d8 until 14th level, so effectively 2d8. Pretty sweet, and it fits perfectly, thematically speaking!

Level 18: Cleric

Nothing special here, unfortunately

Level 19: Ranger

Nature’s Veil: Briefly, you can turn invisible until your next turn a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus and regain all expended uses with a long or short rest. Kinda redundant with invisibility, but hey, could also free up spell slots

ASI Time! We’re going for Shadow Touched. You can add a +1 to Charisma, Intelligence or Wisdom, obviously we’re going for Wisdom. You also learn invisibility and another 1st level illusion or necromancy spell, and there are some fun ones out there. Seriously, do not discount 1st level spells, some of those things are broken. Also, I think it’s fun that both Phil and Wilbur have this feat, since they’re both touched by death. Also, Phil now has a 22 in Wisdom, so a +6. Fucking christ.

Level 20: Ranger

Magic User’s Nemesis: If an enemy is casting a spell within 60ft of you, you can effectively counterspell them by making them make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. You can only use this once per short or long rest, but it’s pretty nice to be able to counterspell if your allies can’t!

And that's pretty much it! I hope you enjoyed reading and let me know any requests for future mcyts, I accept requests for pretty much everyone

[calicodreamer]

Calico Reviews: Sun and Moon Show eps. 1-3

Welcome back to Calico rants about the Sun and Moon show to her tumblr page, because its to cringe to explain to people in real life.

We’re going to try to do at least three episodes a week, and then write down my notes so I can ramble about this to my Tumblr, become like, an actual content creator for the things that I like.

Does it count as spoilers for the show if its episodes 1-3? regardless, spoilers below

9:21 Montgomery Gator is the WORST Daycare ATTENDANT in VRCHAT

They have a Funny little intro right now! It's Cringe, and I would like them to not.

 I am looking forward to when they don’t. .

I had previously watched this episode during my trying to get all those juicy little lore bits by being picky and choosey with what I wanted to consume, and unluckily for me, there isn't a complete season one compilation for me to pick through

Moon, when we the audience are not looking through his perspective, hangs out in Vtuber form in the corner. We don’t see any of Sun's Vtuber model right now, but he does have one, so there's that.

Sun - upon the start of the video, is cleaning the day-care, Moon comes down to check on him. Sun is an upbeat happy guy, who is anxiously cleaning the day-care - this seems to be his only personality trait. Moon is snappy, uptight, and grumpy but overall quiet outside of when he is yelling, or being angry at Sun.

Sun has hired Monty the gator (Yes he’s here, no I don’t know why), for 1000$ dollars a second to look after the daycare for him for whatever reason. Why would they have this much money to afford to give it to Monty the gator?? Don’t ask me, they just do I guess. Moon hates Monty the Gator - this is a reasonable opinion of Monty the gator.

Moon has control of the bank account they have I guess.

Sun has to talk to Roxanne for whatever reason (Yes, Yes I do mean Roxanne wolf, No I don’t know why she’s here)

Monty sucks at his job - hence the title of the video. Monty is also an idiot, and happy music plays when he comes on screen, he also briefly thinks that Sun is a statue- this feels like Flanderization, even though this is an au, I hate that character choice, I wish they would not. 

Sun seems to be slightly intense about cleaning, he has a whole organization schedule. Moon can only be grumpy, I assume this is because Sun didn’t talk to him about anything he was doing that day, but eeeeeeeeeeeeeh - Moon stop being a dick to your brother.

There’s implied to be kids running around while everything happens, which is also concerning.

Monty leaves because Moon hates him for whatever reason, I dunno why. He was sent to get snacks and then doesn’t show up for the rest of the episode. I’m also glad Monty is gone, Fuck I hate this character.

Sun shows up, upset that Monty has messed everything up, Moon is largely apathetic to the whole situation. 

9:06 Sun and Moon MOVE to SPACE in VRCHAT

We are still intro-ing, I would still like us to not be. I have to forcibly remind myself that this channel is meant for kids every time the intro comes on, and that If I watch like five episodes a day I can get through this in 2 months.

I am not going to watch five episodes a day

They (The people) told me to watch this episode, You really don’t have to. Nothing of major importance here, but there is funny nonsense happening. 

Moon is starting a ponzi scheme I guess, or atleast is implied to have business deals with “Someone” or people? Idk between this and insisting how “Animatronic” they are I’m beginning to loose it.

Monty the gator is also here (For SOME reason), and he has a space station apartment building that he is using to actively kill people to get more money, they only reason Moon cares about it is because Sun spent 50,000,000 dollars on an apartment for Moon to live in, because he thinks Moon hates him (Poor baby), and wanted Moon to be able to have his own space.

Moon has to walk Sun through what sarcasm is a couple times. Sun you sweet precious baby. And remind him that No he doesn’t actually hate him, and would prefer to live with Sun

Moon goes to Monty to get the Money back

Monty doesn’t wanna give the money back

Moon threatens to expose him

Monty gives the money back.

Apparently Sun spent even more money on a tv sold to him by Monty

Oh boy howdy, I hope this character trait of Sun being gullible isn’t around long.

Other notes:

It's Directly stated that they have a bank account, and that Moon has enough money to buy himself a house for whatever reason? Why is he buying himself a house? I don’t know. Where did they get the bank account from? I don’t know. WHY DO THEY HAVE-

There's also apparently enough money on this account to afford a funky little space station apartment, and a house.

Moon invent things, why? Idk personality traits.

But they do have a good dynamic going or whatever, and the voice acting for Moon is pretty good

17:51 Sun and Moon Play AMONG US in VRCHAT

THERE IS NO INTRO LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sun and Moon are playing among us, for some reason. With Some of the Funtime animatronics, Glamrock Chica, and Freddy - just regular old Freddy - he is here

Sun and Moon are canonically, Very Big boys, and have to crawl around the ship

This is just a Funny little episode, Nothing important lore wise happens here, but you do get more of Sun and Moons Dynamic. 

Sun walks around being anxious the entire time, and everything is too short for him to move around properly. Which is a shame that no ones drawn this scene yet because I think that would be hilarious - them just knuckle walking on the ground because they’re both too tall. 

“OMG YOU GUYS ARE CREEPILY WALKING EVERYWHERE!?!?”

“Bro, I am literally just trying to get around.”

Funtime Freddy has a stupid voice

also Funtime foxy what the fuck is up with your voice, I am literally begging you both not to show up again so I don’t have to hear you. I hate it.

Moon is so proud of himself for just doing anything - he could burn coffee and I'd still believe he was proud of himself

Moon has such a smug little voice and I’m 80% sure its all the deadpan tone he has when he’s not yelling. When he’s not being an edgy bastard he’s such a little goober. The dynamic between the two is very interesting, and I am HERE for it. 

Notable: Moon is Willing to Kill Sun, and kill for Sun without a second thought, Sun is willing to lie for his brother. Even to his own detriment. Sun is afraid of Moon to some degree in the episode? I'm not sure how much of a joke this is.

I am most certainly reading into it

Moon stop being an edgy goober for like, five seconds, I swear. The deadpan voice even makes him even better. I love him

Sun stop being Anxious challenge “level impossible”

This episode is just silly little filler, Not much of note happens.

Everyone is rabid, except for Sun who is a very good boy. I cannot wait to see him change that

Final thoughts:

So Overall, In the first three episodes. My favourite character is definitely Moon, mostly because I like his voice better. Sun and Moon definitely have some issues in their relationship, especially since Moon is grumpy, and Sun is constantly going out of his way to try and appease him most of the time.

Anyhow, hopefully this makes my watching of the series easier.

Previous post?:

[good-morning-isaac]

Isaac may have got swept up in his own thoughts while walking, but he just can’t help it. This whole situation is down right bizarre. He should be back home, asleep in bed, waiting for when he’ll get to see his friends again. And that thought alone made him sad enough, the fact his friends were likely miles from here with no idea he was missing yet. He might not get to hear them say good morning…

The radio host shakes his head free of gloominess. Instead he tries to think about more positive things, like all the interesting people he’s met here so far. Jeepers is an odd yet cute little fella, who knew cats can talk? Yuki seems cool too, even if she did throw rocks at him at first. There’s plenty he finds strange about her of course, but overall he thinks she’s a pretty rad person.

His internal monologue ends as he comes across a place lit up like a christmas tree.

[UNCANNY DINER]

Without further delay, Isaac walks forward and pushes the door open. A bell rings once, then twice again as the door closes behind him.

“Hello? Anybody in here?”, nothing but silence. The diner is empty up front, and something tells Isaac it’s the same in the back. He can’t help but sigh dejectedly, “there’s gotta be someone who lives in this crazy town”.

Glancing around once more, he notices a sweet smell coming from the counter. A part of him doesn’t believe his eyes. Isaac walks over and sure enough there’s a freshly baked pie sitting there, taunting him. Now that he thinks about it, he hasn’t had any food in awhile now. Oh he can’t just eat it though, what if someone was coming back for it? His stomach growls.

“…I’m sure just a little won’t hurt?”

He sits at the counter, picks up the fork laying beside the plate, and takes a bite. He almost immediately regrets it though. Face scrunching up in disgust, Isaac looks back down at the pie. Seemingly innocent golden crust surrounds a fork shaped hole filled with crimson red. Out of all the pie flavors, why did it have to be cherry?

Isaac pushes the rest of the pie away, he’s hungry, but not that hungry. Trying to distract himself from the sour taste in his mouth, he spots a jukebox sitting in the corner. “Jackpot!” Ecstatic over such a find, Isaac jumps out of his seat and rushes over to examine it. The jukebox is on, but the idea of trying to tear it apart on the slim chance its pieces can boost a signal breaks his very soul. So instead he starts choosing songs to play while he’s here. Really, this place is a gold mine considering their current situation. It has music and food! He’s gotta tell Yuki about this place.

A low growl echos through the diner.

…Right after he finds something to eat.

[ifuckinglovedinosaurssomuchjesus]

GODZILLA MOVIE MARATHON: Godzilla vs Megalon (1973)

Oh hey, remember when I was doing this? I am at the whim of my hyperfixations and, luckily, I'm in a Goji mood again. So it's time to pick up right where we left off a year ago and keep this marathon going.

We're deep in the champion series, where Godzilla movies were made every year for Toho's annual movie festivals, which meant cookie cutter scripts and shoe string budgets.

The script is pretty standard by this point, except with the aliens replaced by hilariously incompetent Atlantians. It gets the job done ok, it keeps itself relevant and is relatively entertaining, even if you're still spending most of the runtime waiting for a rubber suit monster to show up.

Speaking of monsters, the plot mainly revolves around a little robot by the name of Jet Jaguar. He spends most of the movie getting yanked around by whoever is in control of him till he inexplicably against consciousness and joins the battle for good. He's an obvious Ultraman rip-off, but he's also a cult favorite for his goofy design and his antics. He gets a lot of love from fans, Evangelion even references him in the Jet Alone episode, and it's easy to see why. He's not the strongest, but he's got spunk, character, and a catchy theme tune. You can't help but love him.

The same goes for the other debut creature, the titular Megalon. The Kaiju in this movie have so much personality, Megalon especially is super expressive. I love his child-like personality, where he gloats and taunts when he's winning but throws a tantrum when he isn't. He cackles and claps and slaps his butt, and despite having no facial expressions, he might as well be talking with how well the suit actor portrays his thoughts. My favorite is his obvious "what the hell" pose when Jet Jaguar and Godzilla escape his fire trap. He's also ridiculously pathetic, dumb as bricks, he ultimately gets knocked down by swallowing one of his own bombs. I love how he just lays there while Goji and JJ just stare at him with contempt. Even his final departure is hilarious with him face planting into a hole as it collapses onto him.

Gigan also makes his return, as cackling and sadistic as ever, and he matches Megalon's energy perfectly. They really do make a perfect duo, real team rocket energy of bumbling bafoons thinking they're badder than they actually are. Gigan's justification for being here is the best, the Atlantians straight up just call the cockroach aliens from the last movie and ask to borrow their monster. Sure, why not?

And of course, Godzilla is here too. He's a full on children's hero, accentuated by the goofy circus music that plays as he walks up to the battle. He's got some cool moments, like singlehandedly stomping both Megalon and Gigan when he first arrives and of course the iconic tail-slide kick.

Overall, many people lump this movie in with vs Gigan as the bottom of the barrel when it comes to the franchise, which I think is unfair. They're both similar movies in that they both live and die by the final battle. While vs Gigan had a really slow, boring fight that really didn't justify having to sit through the rest of the movie, vs Megalon has one of the most fun final battles in the series. If you can sit through the rather tediousn, but not all bad first hour of human plot, you get 20 minutes straight of some of the most expressive and enjoyable Kaiju action of the Showa era.

Interestingly, for some reason a US executive decided this was going to be the Godzilla movie to grab that American demographic, and it was marketed and distributed far more than nearly any film before it. While not an immediate success, it did result in this easily becoming the most common Godzilla outing in video rental stores and late night TV reruns. It shaped Godzilla's image in America more than any other film, for decades the name was synonymous with cheap costumes, goofy effects, and bad dubs. Even to this day, the Monsterverse's take on a heroic Godzilla fighting evil monsters has its roots going back here. Some people may hold resentment towards it for that, but for me personally, I really enjoyed it. It's not the best the Showa era has to offer, but it's certainly up there, so 7/10 seems fair to me.

[llyncooljones]

turn it off - twelve days of rowaelin '22

ao3 || masterlist || twelve days of rowaelin ‘22 masterlist || the silence 'verse masterlist

prompt: christmas lights.

word count: 1193

trigger warnings: language, allusions to war, guns/bombs

tag list: @live-the-fangirl-life @rowaelinismyotp  @fireheartwhitethorn4ever @elentiyawhitethorn @rowanaelinn @autumnbabylon @leiawritesstories @backtobl4ck @letstakethedawn @rowaelinscourt

the bar, late at night

Given it was ten minutes to midnight, on Christmas fucking Eve, Aelin could hardly breathe there were so many people, just everywhere. All the bar stools were filled, except for the freshly upholstered, red leather, gold accented bar stool. The one which sat front and centre of the long, dark wood bar top. The one which Rowan had specially designed and refurbished, just for, just so she would have a seat at the bar—always.

She had cried so many tears, happy tears, when he’d brought her to the bar early one morning and had her unwrap it. Her name was stitched on the back, and a little set of ropes blocked the stool off.

During its first week of existence at the bar, a man had sat himself on it, but was promptly escorted out with a snapped forearm due to Rowan’s favoured methods of—ahem—excusing clients from his bar.

Instead of boisterous locals and regulars, the bar was packed with the entire neighbourhood. There were families with their young, and there were groups of college-aged kids sneaking vodka from a flask one of them had brought along, and there were couples waving at babies—mouthing at one another about how it would be them next year, their baby being waved at.

It was a lovely atmosphere, everyone knew each other, and each person who walked through the front door received a greeting of cheers, and claps, and overall joy for their presence. Even Aelin herself, who had only been coming to the bar for a little while. Who had only been living in the neighbourhood for a little while. It seemed crazy to her, how easily the locals accepted her.

Rowan had introduced her to the rest of his Cadre, welcomed with hugs and smiles, by all but Lorcan. But she hadn’t expected much from him, he was notoriously rude and cruel upon first meeting.

Then she had mentioned a big-titted, vertically challenged brunette with the name Elide Lochan around him, and suddenly he wanted to know everything about her… friendship with the girl, and who the girl was, and if she’d ever consider visiting.

She had always known men were easy—but not that easy. Surely not a man with the level of combat experience Lorcan had, the emotional brick of a man that Lorcan Salvaterre was. Even his friends who had known him years and years and years, had never seen him act in such a way.

But it was ruined by one thing—and one thing only.

And she almost claimed it to be Lorcan, when Rowan cupped the apple of her cheek whilst he leant over the bar top and stared into her eyes, asking what had put such a long expression on her face.

She laughed numbly—irritated at The Thing—and made a comment about how he’d better not launch into one of his favourite ‘walked into a bar’ jokes. Because she had them memorised. And jotted down in the notes section of her phone. Ranked in six different ways—prepared for the day she could show him. (Likely their wedding, but that was still a way off).

He pulled her closer now, and Aelin was lost in the depth in his eyes, and the darkness they hid most days. But vulnerability never failed to show when she stared into them. “Aelin, I know you far too well to believe in the fact that nothing is bothering you. And you know me well enough, to know that I won’t let this go—not until I know the real reason.”

“Insatiable, I know. I know, Whitethorn.” She murmured quietly, slowly, as she felt the blood begin to drip from her ears, the music playing in the background murdering her ears. Doing more damage than any close-range shot could have ever done in a war zone.

She’d have to see a doctor soon, to check that the song playing truly hadn’t done any damage.

A kiss to her lips, and then a whispered, “So, why the long face?” followed by another kiss—this one the slightest bit indecent, a bribe, if she had ever seen one.

“The song.” She knew it would upset him, knew it. Because he had some strange, brain malfunction that made it so he loved the band currently playing, and especially loved the song currently playing. The song which made her ears bleed, and her eyes water, and her mouth dry up she hated it so much.

Words could not describe how much she hated Coldplay, nor could words describe how she felt for their Christmas song, Christmas Lights. She hated it.

The barracks she had lived in one deployment—which had lasted over Christmas—had loved it. She was in the middle, had heard enough not to mind, but wasn’t ever going to request it. But on soldier, one man was obsessed. He loved the band, and he loved Christmas, so their Christmas song was his favourite to play.

And gods, did he play it often. He played it so often she could tell anyone during how many of the lyrics had bombs had gone off, how many of the words had finished with a gunshot being heard. She could tell all of these facts, and yet still it would not quite explain the hate she harboured for the song.

Something about it just grated on her; killed her in every sense but the literal one.

And she wasn’t sure how to explain it to her Coldplay-loving, Christmas-loving, Christmas Lights by Coldplay-loving boyfriend, who had never the other man she knew who ticked all three boxes the same. Rowan adored the band and their sound. He had a playlist of purely their music he would listen to in the bar when doing menial work.

“I don’t like the song.”

“You don’t… you don’t like the song?” he parroted back, a little affront in his tone, but an open look in his eyes. As if he was curious why but saw enough of himself in Aelin that he knew not to ask why. Knew he wouldn’t find out why unless Aelin felt it right to tell him.

He spun around to face the back of the bar, located his phone, and skipped the song, playing the next. Soothed by the lack of the Coldplay, Aelin hummed to herself, and spun a little on the cracked leather bar stool. “Why did you do that, just skip it. You didn’t need to, there was only a little left in the song—and I know you like it, so why did you? I was just being overdramatic.” The words tumbled from her, because she hated that because of her, and her own silly little hang-ups, Rowan’s experience might have been affected, or ruined.

“Aelin, I turned it off because I want what is best for you. You obviously have reasons for not liking it, and I know enough about what you’ve been through to know that the best thing for you is to not hear it. Regardless of whether I like the song. Don’t you know that by now, Fireheart?”

[youreignhere]

Mental Health & The Lack of Mental Health Care in the K-Pop Industry

The K-Pop Industry has helped brought forward the Greatest Performers, Dancers, Singers and Groups to this day. The industry is a Billion Dollar powerhouse for South Korea and has boosted the Nation’s connection to the World.

K-pop has played a huge role in Korea’s Tourism boost, the rising love for Korean Dramas and Movies being appreciated by International fans. With the growth of Korean Media, for example Youtube Videos by Korean Content Creators are being viewed by Foreign viewers, all of this contributing to the overall Economy of South Korea. While K-pop has only been around since the early 1990s, over 30 years old and it has changed the entire Music Industry for the better.

While K-Pop may have many great things, there are also a lot of dark sides within the K-Pop Industry as a whole. Today, we’ve decided to write a semi-well-researched rant about some things that we have a problem within the K-Pop Industry. Starting with the Overworking Crisis and the Lack of Mental Health Care in the K-Pop Industry.

Before we begin, feel free to like the blog and lease note, if you want to support or request a Blog Topic, please follow me here and Message us on Twitter. We will link all the sources used within the blog and in a Google Doc visible for all.

This Blog is also supported by affiliates as we’re not in a country that allows Stripe Pay, so Medium can’t support us. We are grateful for any comments, likes and shares even if you can’t support us financially.

Bare in mind, this post contains references to Suicide, Depression, and other Mental Health Disorders with references to Trauma. We will do our best to pay respect to the Names mentioned. May they all Rest in Power. Please continue with caution if this may trigger you in any way. After all, your mental health also matters and I will not fault you for finding something more comfortable to read.

Now, if you are still with me, let’s get into the nitty gritty.

Chapter One: Toxic Productivity in the K-Pop Industry

Before we delve into Mental Health, I would like to start with Toxic Productivity, or in simpler terms, Overworking. From what we have witnessed online and sometimes in person, Idols just collapsing after a performance or when the lights go down. They are so tired that they can barely stay standing or walk off a stage.

But what exactly is Overworking or in other words Toxic Productivity? And how has this become the norm in both Western & Asian Culture, specifically the K-Pop Industry?

Better Up dot com says that “Toxic productivity describes the drive to produce while neglecting other important aspects of our lives. We value productivity over everything else, like rest or quality time with loved ones.”

This has become Hustle Culture or that “Grind” Mindset that many on social media push to their audiences. While there is nothing wrong with working hard, working to the point of exhaustion, to the point where you forget or disregard your own needs or those that rely on you, is Toxic and even Physically Harmful.

Companies and even the media have pushed that “Grind” mindset for years but fortunately Millenials and Gen Z have picked up on the bullshit and many are fighting against the system or simply disregarding that system by refusing to work countless hours for barely minimum wage. But the sad fact is that companies don’t care that the Hustle mindset is Toxic or unhealthy, they only care about the revenue they can bring in the more their employees work and as you can tell, even the K-Pop Industry and Korea as a whole has companies like this.

Better Up goes on to state, “Productivity equals revenue, so companies want employees to value it as much as they do. This frame of mind is considered toxic because it’s culturally contagious. The more a society promotes overworking as valuable, the harder people work. And it can also have negative consequences like burnout and poorer relationships.”

Companies that encourage overworking have a special space in Hell. I am sure most of you guys reading think the same and feel the pain when your Fave rapper, singer, dancer or group is tired and obviously working too much. Especially after learning just how much Overworking or Toxic Productivity can Physically affect a person. Overworking of course leads to burning out- which let me tell you guys, is so horrible- but it is also proven to lead to adverse health problems, neck chest and back pains and even stroke to name just a few. Just take a look at this 2016 article reporting on some Idols who suffered the effects of Overworking.

At this point, I don’t even care if they have to put out that reality series or work on a new song. I’d much prefer if they took a week off, no actually. I want them to take an entire month off. I just want them to visit family, relax, don’t touch a lick of music or choreography. Have the free time to catch up on trends and just sleep. God, some of them just need to sleep for a month, shaking my head.

Sometimes, this isn’t the companies’ fault and more so the Idol/s pushing themselves too much, mentally and physically, all for the sake of their loving fans. Due to Korea and many times, Black & Asian, even Western Culture pushing this “Hard & Long Work Hours guarantees Success mentality”, ignoring the fact that Suicide has become rampant due to the pressure on many Teens or Young Adults in or out of the K-Pop Industry. With the stress to perform well academically starting at the young age of 10, it has been ingrained into many, in or out of the K-Pop Industry.

However, as we know, Overworking does more harm than good and I wish I could just grab certain Idols and just shake them until they see sense. I know at the end of the day, many of them choose the life of an Idol and are adults who can make decisions for themselves. I just don’t agree with some of their choices (that’s pretty fair too, not like they are going to care about what some stranger on a blog says lol).

If you have any experience with Toxic Productivity, please let me know in the comments, I would love to see everyone’s thoughts on this as a whole, because we pretty much see it everyday in our normal lives as well.

But before we head into the next chapter, I would like to take a moment to help you save money on the latest in K-Pop Merch. Please bear with me, as this Blog topic is going to get a bit deeper as we dive into Mental Health and I would like to make this a quick break as well as an opportunity for you, the reader.

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Chapter Two: Mental Health & Mental Health Care in the K-Pop Industry.

Let’s start with, What is Mental Health?

This is taken from our past blog, Everyone has Mental Health; The World Health Organization states, “Mental Health is an essential component in overall Health, as Mental Health decides our emotional, physical and social well-being. This can affect any person’s contribution to their environment and overall life.”

To put it in layman’s terms, Mental Health helps how we handle stress or anxiety, relate to others and topics, and determine our choices or behavior in life. The World Health Organization, or WHO continues to state that, “Mental Health is key at all stages of Life.”

Just like Physical Health, Mental Health is equally important for every person. However, it has been pushed aside in the media, education, and by society as a whole. Mental Health is never brought up when it can decrease your overall health just as much as diabetes or a stroke.

Just like you have Physical Health, everyone has Mental Health. Please feel free to read more about what is Mental Health on our Everyone has Mental Health Blog Here.

Mental Illness or Mental Health Disorders (they can be referred to as both) are classified as a or many significant disturbances in a person’s cognitive, emotional, and even physical behavior. As of a 2019 study from the World Health Organization, 1 in every 8 people globally is affected by Mental Illness. Making that an estimate of almost 1 Billion people worldwide (as of 2021) are directly affected by Mental Health in one way or the other.

Anxiety and Depression are the most common for Entrepreneurs and in this case Musicians or Idols. You can read more about the link to Mental Health Disorders and how it connects to Entrepreneurs from our blog post here. Toxic Productivity and Overworking also connects to Mental Health Disorders, as overworking is known to harm your physical and mental well being. Sadly, many Idols show symptoms of these and other Mental Illnesses and unfortunately, there are many times where no amount of fame or money can help ease that pain.

Remember, K-Pop Idols are many times put on harsh diets, told to look and act a certain way or their real personalities would not be liked. They are constantly put in the spotlight and have to conform to rigorous schedules, while many of them deal with Anxiety, Depression and low self-esteem or Self Hatred. Not to mention the mental pressure that Society and many fans place on them to be “perfect”.

With the fact that many K-pop Companies rarely care that much about Mental Health, much less their Idols’ mental health, not taking into consideration just how much toxic productivity, anxiety and depression can physically affect a human being. Causing them to spiral and fester for sometimes years, in absolute silence. Until they feel absolutely alone, even when surrounded by loving fans and a family like group. Suicide, seemed to be a last and, sadly many times, most pleasing option of a way out of the Industry and pain.

Considering how many Idols we have lost just in the past decade due to the lack of Mental Health Care and Mental Health Awareness in the K-Pop Industry. We may not have been able to save them all, but if at least one or few had the ability to get the professional help they deserved, then we may still have many of our loved ones with us. Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, would not have to mourn and Fans would not have to grieve.

Psychology and Psychiatry Professor, Lim Myung-Ho said, “For a long time, celebrities have mostly avoided meeting a psychiatrist or a psychological counselor as they were afraid that their health condition would somehow tarnish their image,”

We have lost brilliant and beautiful Lights, due to the fear that society has put on these human beings, as well as the lack of understanding for Mental Health or the resources to give Idols the help they deserve as human beings.

Thankfully, since the last decade, there’s been a rise in Mental Health Awareness in the K-Pop Industry and Korea as a whole. Many Idols or Musicians in the Industry, like Solo Star, AleXa and Lim Jaebeom, the Leader of Got7, have opened up about his Struggle with Depression and Mental Health. Groups like BTS, Stray Kids and Ateez are known for making music that addresses mental health struggles and societal pressures.

Personally, I think it’s time that K-Pop Companies implement Mental Health days for K-Pop Idols, as well as have some professionals within the company have weekly to monthly mandatory mental health sessions with whoever needs or wants counseling and help. Just like if an Idol was Physically sick and had to go on hiatus, then an Idol should be able to take Mental Health Days for their emotional and mental, as well as overall physical well being.

Professor Lim also thinks that there are easier ways, as in Online Counseling, especially considering how fast paced most Idol’s lives can be, it would make sense to have Online Counselors if Idols simply need to distress or vent on the go.

Cho Jung-Hwa, a Life Coach at Starship Entertainment, home of Monsta X, said in a telephone interview, “K-pop singers have managers, hair designers and makeup artists, but they often do not have any experts to resort to when they feel emotionally taxed,” she said. “If they can get some direct help from a mental health trainer or professional, they would feel much better.”

She made some good points and I would like to stress that for the Idols or Trainees, it should be a safe and open discussion so that they can feel less isolated and have less to carry on their shoulders.

There has been progress, for example, KQ Entertainment allowed Song Mingi, Main Rapper and Co-Writer for Ateez, time off for his Mental Health due to Psychological Anxiety, from late 2020 to 2021 (a total of 8 months). While KQ is still a Family like and small Entertainment Company (that is still flawed), I would like to see this more, from Companies like JYP, Starship, Cube Entertainment and even Hybe.

“Celebrities are generally more impressionable than non-celebrities,” Lim Myung- Ho said. “They often take the brunt of the emotional labor too, because they frequently conceal their genuine emotions in front of the public. In the short run, having a regular mental health check-up may seem unnecessary, but in the long run, it will help the K-pop companies’ financial success by ensuring the mental stability of their stars.”

I would like to mention that SHINEE’s Jonghyun has a foundation in his Memory, created by his mother, that aims to help Idols and Trainees with their Mental Health. I highly suggest checking it out here and seeing how you can support them or even visit if you are going to Korea or in Korea. I have to admit, that is one strong and amazing woman, to take her loss and try and make some changes in the Industry for other Idols and trainees. I wish her the best and all my love to the Shawols reading this.

You can probably tell by now, there’s still a long way to go, but I am glad to see some progress at least. I sincerely hope that those gone too soon are finally resting easy, seeing the growth and recognition that K-Pop has achieved and knowing that their art, their music will live on in the hearts of K-Pop fans worldwide. I just wish that it didn’t have to take, the passing of many amazing beings or the abuse of Idols, as well as countless backlash from fans, for it to finally start to have changes within the Industry.

Chapter Three: What can we do as Fans?

Kpop fans hold a lot of power; We can literally make or break an Idol’s or Groups career. I would honestly prefer to use that power for advocacy.

You have the power to raise awareness for these topics in the K-Pop Industry. Your favorite Idol is overworking and the rest of the group is tired but they continue to put out that reality show. Start a hashtag, bring up the topic to other fans or members of the community. Discuss it in groups and forums.

Remember Toxic Productivity does more harm than good so remind Idols that they are human too and not just a form of entertainment to us. Raise Awareness in respectful ways like starting a Twitter account and sharing your ideas or events with like minded individuals. Check out the Shiny Foundation, in honor of the late Jonghyun from SHINEE. Do your research and advocate for Mental Health Days or Mental Health care as a whole for Korea and Kpop Idols.

Raise Awareness in respectful ways like starting a Twitter account and sharing your ideas or events with like minded individuals. Do your research and advocate for Mental Health Days or Mental Health care as a whole for Korea and K-pop Idols. Support Idol from Companies like KQ or Starship Entertainment, that allow their Idols the time & resources needed to mend their mental state.

Highlight Speakers on the topic of Mental Health in Kpop, like BTS, Jay B and recently Beomhan the Ex-F M Trainee that Spoke up on his own Mental Health Struggles.

Show support to content creators that touch on topics like this. Follow and share their content to bring more eyes on the issues. Share this blog with your friends and fellow fans to help bring more eyes and start discussions. Try making your own content, be it blogs on Tumblr, Tweets on Twitter (yes I am still gonna call it twitter) and Videos on Tik Tok or Youtube to bring more awareness on these less spoken about necessities in the industry.

If you get a chance to meet your Idols at fan meets or on a fan call, quickly speak to them about your own experiences with mental health, how they helped inspire you. Let your fave Idols know that they are not alone. That they and their feelings do matter.

So, what do you think? Should K-pop Idols and Trainees be allowed Mental Health Days and have access to mental health care? Did anything else I mentioned stand out to you, tell me what in the comments.

That was probably a lot, but this will be separated into more parts because I would like to talk about homophobia, racism, abuse and other issues in the K-Pop Industry soon!

If you like how this sounds so far, please feel free to check out my blog on Medium or Tumblr and follow for more. If you’d like to get more information on Mental Health you can read my post here.

That’s all for now, I will see when I see you. Remember, you can always, Reign Here.

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Notes

All of the graphics in this blog were created by myself in Canva Pro, or taken from our Pinterest.

The links for any more sources and videos are here in this google document.

This Blog post does include affiliates as I’m not in a country that allows Stripe Pay, so Medium (where this is crossposted) can’t support me. You can save money on stationery supplies and K-Pop Merch using the link here!

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Feel free to correct or critique (respectfully) and I’ll edit any errors with links, information and grammar.

[horseshoehate]

Phish Degrees of Separation

a/n: this is my first Phish & Community fan fiction. there may be another one coming at a later date, I haven't decided yet.

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As the study group walked around campus, they noticed some new faces. Jeff's attention was immediately drawn to a group of hippies setting up a tent near the quad. "Hey, Britta," he said, "you think they're Phish fans?"

Britta rolled her eyes. "You know Jeff, just because they're hippies doesn't mean they like Phish."

"Actually, I do like Phish," a voice from behind them said. They turn to see Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, Jon Fishman, and Page McConnell, all wearing Greendale Community College t-shirts.

"Wait, you guys are Phish!" Britta exclaimed.

"That's us," Trey replied with a smile.

"They're fish?" Troy said to himself, "They look human to me!"

The study group was ecstatic to meet the band and invited them to their study room to hang out. As they settled in, Jeff couldn't help but be skeptical. "So, what brings you guys to Greendale?"

"Well, we wanted to go back to school and get our degrees," Mike explained. "And we heard Greendale has a pretty relaxed admissions policy."

"Plus, we wanted to get away from all the crazy fans," Fishman added. "It's nice to be in a place where people don't constantly ask us to play our most famous song, You Enjoy Myself. I don't know about the rest of the guys, but boy, was I getting tired of it!"

"But don't you guys already have degrees from Goddard College?" Abed asked

"Well, now that's a funny story," Page started, "we actually all misplaced our degrees and the registrar refuses to reissue them on account of the constant flood of Phish fan mail they get sent. Admittedly, some of it is jarringly inappropriate."

"You all misplaced your degrees?" Jeff asked in shock.

"Weeeeeeelllllll," Mike said, "not to point fingers or anything, but the reason we lost them is that, during a particularly heated jam session, Fish's drumsticks broke and so he grabbed the nearest items to use as makeshift sticks to play out the song. They happened to be our degrees. He accidentally flung them out of an open window and into a nearby pond."

Fishman added sadly, "Despite our best efforts to retrieve them, our degrees sank to the bottom of the pond, never to be seen again."

"And so we enrolled here, at Greendale." said Page.

Still squinting in disbelief, Jeff asked "Well, if you're such great musicians with some massive cult following, why do you need degrees anyways?"

Sighing, Trey explained, "Well, the state council of Vermont passed a new law requiring all musicians based in the state performing in public venues to hold at least an associate's degree in music theory or performance, in order to improve the overall quality of live music in the area. We would have faced fines out the wazoo!"

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Abed, Annie, and Troy offered to help Phish navigate Greendale's bureaucracy to get their degrees. They started by going to the Dean's office to ask for a waiver of certain requirements.

The Dean, delighted to have famous musicians on campus, agreed to help them. The band thanked him, but the Dean's stipulation was yet to be announced.

"A-ha! Well, I've just gotten the numbers and enrollment is up 200% since it was announced on Leonard's Twitter that you were attending here." the Dean said.

"Oh, that's great. I'm glad we could help." Trey said with a soft smile.

"Not as happy as I am that we don't actually have to stay here." said Mike under his breath.

"About that," said the Dean.

Mike narrowed his eyes.

"I'm going to need one more thing from all of you actually." the Dean said, pausing, "I need you all to live on campus for the rest of the semester and live like Greendale students."

Immediately, the band began protesting.

"Now, now, I'm still offering you all degrees by the end of this semester, but you just need to make Greendale seem fun and exciting to be at! I want you all attending classes and participating in activities. I need you to become part of the student body and endear youselves to the students. No if's, and's, or but's!." the Dean said with finality, "This is the greatest recruitment tool I've ever been given as a dean, and I won't have it taken away from me!"

The band quickly became a fixture around campus, often jamming in the quad or playing impromptu shows in the cafeteria. The entire student body was enamored with their laid-back attitude and unique musical style. Slowly, the band became just another part of Greendale's colorful tapestry.

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One day, a college student named Max was walking to class when he saw Mike Gordon walking towards him. Max was a huge Phish fan and was ecstatic to meet one of his musical idols. He approached Mike and nervously said, "Hey man, I love your music! Can I get a picture with you?"

Mike smiled and agreed, he was always very generous to his fans. But as Max fumbled to get his phone out, he accidentally dropped it and it shattered on the ground. Max was devastated. But Mike just laughed and said, "Don't worry about it, man. I've got something even better."

Mike then proceeded to pull out a tiny keychain that played the bass line from "Down With Disease" whenever you pressed the button. He clicked it and placed it in Max's hands. Max was stunned and left speechless.

As Mike walked away, he hummed to himself, oblivious to Max's disappointment.

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One day, a student named Dave was walking to class when he saw Jon Fishman walking towards him. Dave was a huge Phish fan and couldn't believe his eyes. Fish approached him and said, "Hey man, do you have the time?"

Dave, trying to play it cool, responded, "Uh, yeah, it's 11:36."

Fish nodded and thanked him, then walked away.

Dave was thrilled and couldn't believe what had just happened. He went to his class, but couldn't focus on anything else. From that day on, Dave thought about that everywhere he went and every time someone asked him the time, he would tell the story of how Jon Fishman himself had also once asked him the time also.

Years later, Dave would see Fish again at a Phish concert and tried to thank him for the interaction, but Fish didn't remember him at all, and just stared blankly when Dave brought it up. Oh well, at least he still had his memory of the time that Jon Fishman asked him what time it was.

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One day, Brett was walking around campus when he saw Trey Anastasio walking towards him. Brett, being a huge Phish fan, was starstruck and didn't know what to say. As Trey got closer, Brett blurted out, "Hey Trey, I love your music! Can you play 'You Enjoy Myself' for me right now?" After all, Trey did have a guitar with him, so it wasn't that unusual of a request, right?

Trey smiled and said, "Sure thing!" as he set down his guitar, revealing it to be made entirely of cardboard. It was now apparent that this was some sort of project for one of his classes. He then proceeded to beatbox and make weird mouth noises for a few seconds, causing Brett to look on in confusion.

He looked at Trey, bewildered, as he continued to beatbox. He didn't know what to do or say, so he just stood there awkwardly. Trey didn't seem to notice or care that Brett was so uncomfortable, and just kept on with his beatboxing.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Trey finished his impromptu performance and looked up at Brett. "How was that?" he asked, grinning expectantly and awaiting Brett's approval.

Brett didn't know how to respond, so he just awkwardly said, "Uh, yeah, that was... great."

Trey laughed and said, "Thanks, man! I'm always happy to please a fan!"

And with that, he picked up his cardboard guitar and walked off, leaving Brett standing there, still in shock at what had just happened.

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One day in the cafeteria, a student named Jake was standing behind Page McConnell in line at the campus deli. Page was trying to order a sandwich, but he seemed to be struggling with the menu.

"Uh, can I get the, fuckin', uh, turkey club with uh, no, tomato?" Page fumbled.

The deli worker said cheerily, "Sure thing. Would you like any dressing on that?"

Page looked panicked, as if this was an entirely unexpected question, and he said, "Uh, what kind of dressing do you have?"

The deli worker replied, "We have mayo, mustard, or ranch."

Page thought for a moment, and said "Hmm, I don't know. What do you think, man?" and he turned to Jake.

Jake (caught off guard) blurted out, "Uh, I don't know, man. Maybe try the ranch?"

Page, horrified that somebody would suggest ranch, turned to the deli worker and said, "Yeah, okay, I'll go with the mustard."

Jake immediately felt burning shame as his face turned red. He had made a grave error and now Page would never ask him for sandwich advice again.

The deli worker said, "Okay, coming right up!"

As they waited for their sandwiches, Page consciously avoided Jake's eye line. After Page recieved his sandwich, he walked to his table. His sandwich was immensely disappointing.

"I guess I should have gone with the ranch." he sighed.

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On Halloween night, the band invited the study group, along with a few other select friends, to a secret Phish show to be played on Greendale's campus. The group was excited to see their new friends in action, but became hesitant when they realized the show is being held in the abandoned Greendale Asylum.

As they made their way through the dark, creepy halls, they heard strange noises and see unsettling sights. Suddenly, a figure jumped out from behind a corner, causing everyone to scream in terror. It was just the Dean, dressed as Jon Fishman for the Halloween show. Relieved but still a little shaken, the group settled in for the concert.

It was an exciting and heady concert, but halfway through the second set, as the band launched into an evil rendition of "David Bowie," things start to get even weirder. The walls began to shake, and the floor started to tilt. Suddenly, the band was sucked into a strange, swirling vortex and transported to an alternate dimension.

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In this new dimension, everything was just a little bit off. For instance, instead of coffee, the locals drank a beverage called "mud juice" made from dirt and water. They also noticed that all the stop signs were actually green. Additionally, there were no televisions or computers, but everyone spent their free time listening to radio dramas and playing board games. Even though the differences seemed bizarre to the band, the locals didn't seem to find anything unusual about their way of life. It was all very foreign and surreal to the band, but the strangest difference of all was the absence of jam bands.

They soon realized that in this dimension, music is still a big part of life, but jam bands simply didn't exist. No long, improvised jams or extended guitar solos. Instead, every song is a tightly controlled four minutes or less, and this rule is strictly enforced.

As the group explored this bizarre new world, they come across a street performer playing a guitar. They asked him to play some Phish, but he looked at them like they were crazy. "I've never heard of them," he says. "But I can play you some nice, short tunes if you'd like!"

Turning away from the man, Page says in a hushed tone, "Well guys, this may be our scariest Halloween show yet!"

[therecordconnection]

Ranting and Raving: "New Guru" by Vulfpeck

Did you ever hear the one about the eight guys that walked into a sauna all wearing silly red hats? So, these eight guys all walk into a sauna and then they start playing funk music...

That's the closest thing to a punchline that I've got.

If you're unfamiliar with Vulfpeck, let me catch you up to speed real fast. They're a funk outfit founded in 2011 by multi-instrumentalists Jack Stratton and Theo Katzman, keyboardist Woody Goss, and bassist Joe Dart. They had a meteoric rise through their impressive musicianship, humor, and cleverly shot and edited music videos on Youtube, most of which are just captured performances of the band playing their songs in what looks like your grandmother's living room (see: their video for the song "Dean Town".) Over the years, they've added to their roster with guitarist Cory Wong (not to be confused with the Vulfpeck song "Cory Wong") alto sax player Joey Dosik, and sometimes lead singer Antwaun Stanley. In their time, they've released several EPs, six albums, and a live album of their sold out show at Madison Square Garden back in 2019. In short, they've been groovin' for quite a while and their status as funk masters is nothing to scoff at.

On November 25th, 2022, after a roughly two year hiatus and a slew of side projects featuring the various members, the Vulf pack finally reconvened–with the aforementioned silly hats and in a sauna of all places–and began posting videos of them playing songs that would eventually be found on their latest album, Schvitz, which was released on December 30th. They are all worth your time, but one song on the album in particular gripped me the first time I heard it and is still just as wonderful after the three-hundred and eightieth time. That song would be "New Guru."

This song has claimed the top spot for my favorite Vulfpeck song and it's the one I plan to use to introduce people to this group for the rest of time.

Contrary to what you might think, the haze you see in the video (posted above) isn't coming from the sauna. It's actually from the heat coming off the groove of this song. Everything about this just hits. It's groovy, it's funky, it's fun, it's got a bit of disco in there that makes this fun to dance to. It's got all eleven herbs and spices and even some of the ones they don't tell you about. It's tight, it's concise, it's utterly fantastic and every single member of this band once again reminds you why they're some of the best out there right now.

I think it's appropriate that this song came out when it did (December 8th) because that's around the time everybody starts seeing an onslaught of corny social media posts that talk about all the changes and possibilities and good things people are manifesting for with the start of the new year. Most of those end up being complete bunk and I'm aware of that cynical view. We make New Year resolutions we know deep down we're never going to fully commit to keeping and after about a week into January the excitement of the new year dies away and we settle back into the same old dull routine. Once more, from the top.

Then this song came along and rattled my cage. I heard this song for the first time and I threw that cynical view into the garbage bin. It was mostly based on the lyrics for this song, which are some of the best that the band has ever presented. The lyrics fit the overall themes and ideas that you find creeping around at New Years, welcome and embrace the new, throw away and reject the old and broken. "I gotta say no no (no no) / To those old clichés / I gotta say go, go (Go, go) / To this brand new way." For a song on an album that came out two days before the ball dropped, I imagine the ideas presented on the song weren't lost on the band.

But it isn't just the lyrics that are great, it never truly is. To me, a song's message becomes great when it's in the hands of a performer that can really sell it. And Vulfpeck has that with their secret weapon: the stellar vocals and dynamite performance that Antwaun Stanley delivers on this track. Stanley has been the featured vocalist on many of my favorite Vulfpeck songs ("1612" and "Funky Duck" are two good ones that showcase just how good he is) and now I get to add his work on "New Guru" to the top of that list, because I'll tell you right now, he makes this entire song really shine.

This is the closest Vulfpeck will probably ever get to taking you to church. In a strange way, the sauna robes give off the look of makeshift church choir robes and Antwuan's delivery has the feel of an uplifting song you might hear in a church service... if that church presented music that was solely devoted to the funk. To me, the bridge and the third verse is where I get that vibe the most. Here they are in full:

When there's wrinkles in your sleeves You take off your shirt and you steam it When there's dishes piled high in the sink You get out the sponge and you start cleanin' All the menial tasks distract from the fact That there's a hole in your soul like a wall has a crack You put off the repairs, pretend they're not there And you failed to address the mess 'cause you're scared So you look for a source to carry the weight To lighten the load of a soul gone astray To wake you up and get you through the day To cut through the brush, show you the way

These lyrics are a bit silly and would sound dreadfully corny if left in the wrong hands, but thankfully, they're in Antwuan's hands. He presents these words with such authenticity, such genuineness, such love and care and grace that you buy what he's selling. I did the minute I heard it. The use of something silly like putting off household chores juxtaposed with all too real feelings of facing things head on and finding fulfillment in your life just creates pure magic. It's about seeking salvation and hopefully finding it. It also explains why people would get tricked into following false leads and con artists that offer nothing of real value. Everybody wants to be shown the way and find the answer to their plights, regardless of what they might be. If "patience has left you feeling miles away" or you found out you were lied to or you found that "hope is a fugitive that's on the run," Vulfpeck offer one simple answer: "Find you a new guru."

But, if you'd rather have a comparison that has no ties to religion, Antwuan performs this song similar to the way Maurice White from Earth, Wind & Fire delivered messages tinged with spirituality. The lyrics definitely fit the kind of message Maurice would've enjoyed and hyped up, the chorus especially. Hell, the groove on the chorus is pure Earth, Wind & Fire at their funkiest. It's such an infectious earworm (which is fitting, because the track before "New Guru" on Schvitz has a song sung from the point of view of an earworm, brilliantly called "Earworm".) It's a repetitive chorus, but a damn good one nonetheless. You hear it once and you just keep singing along with it (and keep singing it long after you've heard it.) The harmonies between Antwuan, Theo Katzman (who is drumming on this one), Joey Dosik, and the song's co-writer Jacob Jefferies all blend well together and just add to that infectious quality. It fucking hits and it's just such a fun song that's so well done, plain and simple.

One final aspect that I think adds flavoring to this song is Vulfpeck's trademark humor, which is here on full display, both in the video and the song itself. The silly red hats that look like the famous cone hats from DEVO's "Whip It" video were already mentioned, but other little bits include the video choosing odd moments to zoom in on things (like the close ups of Antwuan's face about 50 seconds in, Joey singing background vocals all the way in the back at 1:14, the camera following only Antwuan's hand at 2:29, etc.) and Cory Wong and Joe Dart both sneaking in the famous riff from "Dueling Banjos," of all things, during the third verse (it's at 1:58, Cory himself has a comment on the video that just says "dueling banjos quote made the cut." Ridiculously smooth.) However, the funniest part, arguably the part that keeps me coming back, is near the tail end of the song, when Antwuan asks the band for a key change ("Come on, y'all, take it up for me") only to immediately go back on that ("My bad, bring that down, bring that down.") It's such a little thing, but it puts a smile on my face and it makes me laugh every time I listen to this song. To make it clear, this is both on the album and video. The video adds even more humor by having Antwuan give Theo a thumbs up after the band brings it down, as if they're saying to each other, "We got it back on track now."

What Vulfpeck have done on "New Guru," and Schvitz as a whole, is something special. The band has provided such a fun and feel good song that feels right for this moment in time. Ever since the 2020s started it feels like we've been living with nothing but darkness (and there's been a lot of darkness these last few years...) but the pack are back to remind us that there is still fun to be had. We can still look towards the new with bright eyes and anticipation. We can find new hope and new things get excited about that will keep us going and help us find the answers we seek.

If you were looking for something uplifting to start off 2023, it ain't gettin' much better than this. What "New Guru" provides is a wonderful lesson and a damn fun song to keep us going through continued darkness.

So say no no to those old clichés and say go go to the brand new way. May the new gurus you find in 2023 show you the way and put the light back in your soul. And above all else:

Take care of one another. It's gonna be another crazy year.

[girltomboy]

I'm on here reblogging ass and dick but I forgot to make a post about my holiday 😭 once again I have mixed feelings about it! The beach town we went to was almost unwalkable and full of cars everywhere - why the fuck are you as a tourist moving around a beach town in your fucking car?? GET OFF YOUR ASS AND TAKE SOME STEPS JFC. But it had a Lidl which made our lives, budget, and vacation sooo much easier. The beach was about 20 mins from our hotel, but the walk there was not the most pleasant because of the lack of trees and the abundance of cars. So we had to spend time preparing to go to the beach by putting on sunscreen everywhere and carrying bottles of water each time (I hated carrying my floatie too 😭 #cantswim). Nightlife was nonexistent, one night we got snacky and went in search of a 24/7 corner store to buy some chips and a carton of juice, but the vibes were hellish. Idk if it was just me, but I felt unsafe and paranoid, it was dark almost everywhere, there was nobody around except for a few people our age, and the store we found was empty, tiny, white fluorescent lights and no music playing, clerk staring at us, 2 name brand products to choose from. I felt like in Marina's Obsessions, I whispered to my bf "we need to get the hell out of here stat" and he grabbed a bag of pizza puffs and we went back home. I felt stupid afterwards and overall was totally disappointed that we didn't go to the beach at night at all the whole week. Especially since we had a full moon that would have been 100% visible and bright above the sea... :( And aside from a bracelet I bought from a man selling old trinkets on the sidewalk I didn't buy anything 🤣 like souvenirs or trinkets or gifts, nada. Idk why I had extra anxiety about being in a shop and getting watched by the seller. I hate that so much and idk how to get over it. Anyway I'm only complaining but I swear we had fun even though we spent a lot of time in the hotel room lmfao - we're vacationers not travelers. We got stoned, watched TV, napped a lot. We had really beautiful weather all week, it was just perfect for being in the sea. On the one rainy day we had the sea was so calm and clear, it was the most beautiful experience to float in the waves while it was raining. I missed walking on the beach and feeling the hot sand underneath my feet so much. And sunbathing, and feeling the warm sun on my belly. That's so healing. Salt in my hair and the breeze on my body after being in the sea for hours. Walking again after floating in the water and then lying in bed resting after a beach day. Watching my bf stare at the sea and the waves as they crash at his feet is so endearing I love it every time. Oh and the beach after sunset. The pink sky reflecting in the water and mixing with its blue, the seagulls, the sound of sea shells cracking beneath our feet. We found some really good food places but all of them were self-serving and that's not a problem but I did wish we could have gone to a real restaurant at least once. I really enjoyed people-watching on the beach though. So many old people having fun and swimming together. It was very sweet. And on the way home I befriended this lady and her family in the train station - we were all gonna take the same trains. And she was really lovely, so funny and friendly and gorgeous. And of course so was her husband who adored her. I wish I had asked her more things. But still so grateful for all of it.

[anuj1985]

10 Simple Ways to Relieve Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety are common issues that many people face in their daily lives. Finding effective ways to manage and relieve these feelings is crucial for maintaining overall well-being. Here are ten simple and practical methods to help alleviate stress and anxiety. By integrating these strategies into daily life, you can effectively manage and reduce stress, enhancing your well-being and resilience.  Here is a comprehensive guide how to reduce stressand anxiety effectively.

1. Exercise Regularly

Regular physical activity is one of the most effective ways to combat stress and anxiety. Exercise releases endorphins, which are natural mood lifters. It also helps improve sleep, reduce tension, and boost self-esteem. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, such as walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling, most days of the week. Even short bursts of activity, like a quick walk around the block, can make a significant difference.

2. Practice Mindfulness and Meditation

Mindfulness and meditation involve focusing your attention on the present moment, which can help reduce stress and anxiety. Mindfulness practices include deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, and guided imagery. Meditation can be as simple as sitting quietly and focusing on your breath. Apps like Headspace and Calm offer guided meditation sessions that can help you get started.

3. Maintain a Healthy Diet

What you eat can have a profound impact on your mood and stress levels. A balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains can help stabilize blood sugar levels and improve overall health. Avoid excessive caffeine and sugar, which can exacerbate anxiety. Incorporating foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon and walnuts, and those rich in magnesium, such as spinach and almonds, can also help manage stress.

Please Read More - how to live a healthy lifestyle

4. Get Adequate Sleep

Lack of sleep can significantly increase stress and anxiety. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. Establish a regular sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Create a restful environment by keeping your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. Avoid screens and stimulants like caffeine before bedtime to improve sleep quality.

5. Connect with Others

Social support is essential for managing stress and anxiety. Spend time with friends and family, or talk to someone you trust about your feelings. Sometimes, simply sharing your concerns can help you feel more understood and less alone. If you’re feeling isolated, consider joining a club, taking a class, or participating in community activities to meet new people and build connections.

6. Practice Relaxation Techniques

Incorporating relaxation techniques into your daily routine can help you manage stress and anxiety. Techniques such as deep breathing exercises, yoga, and tai chi combine physical movement with mental focus and deep breathing, promoting relaxation. Even a few minutes of deep breathing exercises can help calm your mind and reduce stress.

7. Manage Your Time Effectively

Poor time management can lead to increased stress and anxiety. Prioritize your tasks by making a list of what needs to be done and tackling high-priority items first. Break larger projects into smaller, more manageable steps, and set realistic deadlines. Avoid procrastination by staying organized and focused. Allow yourself some buffer time between tasks to avoid feeling rushed.

Please Read More - five tips for choosing your friends wisely

8. Engage in Hobbies and Leisure Activities

Engaging in activities you enjoy can provide a distraction from stress and help you relax. Whether it’s reading, gardening, painting, playing a musical instrument, or cooking, make time for hobbies and interests that bring you joy. These activities can serve as a mental break and allow you to recharge, making it easier to handle stressors.

9. Limit Exposure to Stressors

While some stressors are unavoidable, you can control your exposure to others. Limit your intake of news and social media if they contribute to your stress. Set boundaries with people who drain your energy or cause you anxiety. Learn to say no to additional responsibilities when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Creating a balanced environment with fewer stressors can help you feel more in control and less anxious.

10. Seek Professional Help

If stress and anxiety become overwhelming and interfere with your daily life, consider seeking professional help. Therapists and counselors can provide support and teach coping strategies tailored to your specific needs. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is particularly effective for treating anxiety and stress. In some cases, medication may be prescribed to help manage symptoms. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a healthcare provider if you need help.

[the-hindu-times]

MAD COOL - MADRID 10th-13th JULY 2024

MAD COOL FESTIVAL REVEALS IMPROVEMENTS FOR ITS 2024 EDITION.

After the active participation of thousands of attendees in our consumer poll (both qualitative and quantitative) and with the firm intention of listening to their needs and continually raising the standard of quality and comfort, we aim to implement a series of significant changes. These changes are geared towards enhancing the overall experience for everyone. To achieve this, Mad Cool Festival organization has developed several substantial improvements for the 2024 edition at the Iberdrola Music venue.

REDUCTION OF CAPACITY

In order to enhance the overall audience experience, Mad Cool Festival will reduce its capacity. This will improve the flow of people both inside and outside the venue, providing more space for movement between stages and fewer queues.

6 STAGES

Another change for the upcoming edition is the reduction in the number of stages. Previously there were a total of 8 stages, which will be reduced to 6 in 2024. This adjustment will play a key role in the distribution and flow of movement at the festival. It also aims to minimise schedule clashes, ensuring audiences get to watch more of what they love. The stage reduction will also help reduce sound bleed across the stages, enhancing the live experience for all artists and fans.

NEW LAYOUT

The decrease in capacity and the reduction of stages will allow for an efficient reconfiguration of the festival site layout. An effective redesign of the venue will improve crowd flow, accessibility and comfort, providing a more relaxing and enjoyable experience at the festival from start to finish each day.

MORE BATHROOM FACILITIES

Mad Cool 2024 will have more bathrooms in more places than before, meaning more choice, less queuing and less walking to get to them.

FESTIVAL EXTENSION

To reduce scheduling conflicts and mitigate sound bleed between stages, we have decided to extend the festival to 4 days. This decision aims to create a more comfortable and enjoyable experience for fans and their favourite artists.

ADDITIONAL WATER SUPPLY POINTS

There will be an increase in free water supply points to allow all attendees to refresh and stay hydrated all around the festival site.

MORE RELAXING AREAS

The Mad Cool Festival will implement more spaces for all to relax and rest in shaded areas all around the site.

IMPROVEMENTS IN ACCESSIBLE AREAS

Mad Cool Festival remains committed to improving accessibility, seeking to facilitate an experience that allows all individuals with disabilities and/or functional diversity to enjoy the festival to the fullest. The festival organisers are actively working on implementing these improvements.

INCREASED WRISTBAND CHARGING POINTS

To continue to improve the successful implementation of wristband charging points, there will be a greater number of charging points around the festival site, with more staff at each point.

BARS EXPANSION

The next festival edition will feature an extension of bar space and an increase in staff at all bars. The number of overall bars will also be increased, providing all areas adjacent to stages with independent bars,offering a more choice and comprehensive service across all areas of the venue.

FESTIVAL SCREENS

The 2024 edition will increase the number and dimensions of screens to make sure audiences don’t miss any of the on stage action.

FOOD COURT

There will be a relocation and expansion of the restaurant area to provide a more comfortable gastronomic experience. Additionally, the number of food points will increase, prioritising product quality and collaborating with local producers to promote sustainability.

Mad Cool Festival positions itself, once again, in collaboration with institutions, entities, and associations, as an open and creative space that goes beyond music, art, and culture. It has established itself as a hub for cultural development at the European level, making Madrid a global musical and cultural reference, attracting quality tourism to contribute value and visibility to the Villaverde area.

[notreallyherebuteverywhere]

Notes App #1 Self Reflect

***

What is a man without desires

A soulless being

No self

No ambitions

A mere corpse, maybe?

What makes me human?

I am extremely mundane, I love coloring books, I like art and have a passion for music, I like scary movies and love the smell of perfume. I like walks around the park, staring at people at the park, I am fond of animals- small ones, I love cats.

All normal things that make me no different from the rest of the world.

That makes me human

That makes me boring

Lately, there has been a feeling deep inside me, a strong sense of dissatisfaction, a feeling of disgust to this mundane self. I want to do something different, something big. I think of ways I could make myself different from the rest, I could dye or cut my hair, maybe travel to a different continent, start a new career, make myself a better writer but in the end

All my thoughts are human

All somewhat useless

Plain boring

I am currently 25 years old and my life has been nothing but ordinary. I have a job and do my everyday tasks quite diligently, I do what am told and one of those days during spreadsheet time and coffee-in the middle of a brainstorming of things I have to do at work and things that would make me different from the rest of the population, I thought of the occult- the forbidden- but to be frank, I don't think that is real, a year or so ago I wanted a friend, I realized I don't really know a lot of people, so I tried to summon a few creatures and for my dissatisfaction, not a single one showed up. It made me feel a little sad to think I am not being worthy of a demonic contract- all I could think about was how silly the whole occult thing is, on top of that, I had killed an animal and wasted its life over nothing plus how expensive books and tools to summon demons actually are-It was expensive! and in the end, after all that effort, not a single demon showed up! I gave it up. It is behind me the whole thought of making friends with a monster.

Oh, but how fun it would be though, to have your own servant and to enjoy a life of power, if it could be possible for a human to become a monster, I believe that would be easier- perhaps cheaper! I write down formulas and drink my coffee. I hate my job, just like everyone else.

The thought I had earlier persisted in my head for a couple hours. If it is possible to become a powerful monster, I think that could be the answer to my delirium, to my boredom, so I look into it

r/Monsters

Who are they? What makes them? and How to be one?

r/HumanMonsters

The topic of what now is my new fond interest, redditors say a monster is a killer, someone who goes above and beyond their humanity to inflict pain in others, to take their lives in the end but some people don't even do that, they become more of a psychological type, overall just mere criminals

hmm

I am familiar with killers, with psychos, but in the end, would becoming a killer make me different? I would still be a human and doing something that has been done before

in the end, what do I desire? I loose track of my goals quickly, the feeling is persistent

so I give it another day to think and set a new goal

How to become less human?

+++

To lose my humanity, I started it off by making myself feel hopeless in the world. I watched videos on different topics, politics and poverty, how it is possible to end it and why we as a society don't. I am familiar with these things but you see, humans do not spend their lives thinking about the inequalities in the world, because we are selfish. We know about them, we see homeless people all the time and do nothing about it, so I made myself the goal of thinking about these things constantly, to feel empathetic, to make myself angry at the world and to keep up with my goal, I decided to quit my job, now I am not just thinking about these things I am now in a way part of them.

I cut down my meals, and before bed I would watch mutilation videos and play a recording of screams I found online to disrupt my sleep, inflicting nightmares will affect my sleep schedule and I will slowly go insane, and so I decide to do this for a month, and see if then, when everything seemed hopeless and I had corrupted my soul, maybe then I would be vulnerable enough to achieve the courage to do something unthinkable and within a month the time to commit my first crime arrived.

***

writer's note// HI Tumblr! I thought of a lil' story while working// our MC here is sick of having a repetitive lifestyle and starts to think of ways to escape their boredom, overall I wanted to go with a self-reflective deep in thought POV! I will try to continue this series as of right now this is all my brain though of so far ^_^// I see 7 notes on my sukuna x yuji story, it makes me happy to know people liked it! Hopefully, whoever reads this one, may enjoy it as well.