#and who needs 2 be good a physics. not me bay bee | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mostlymalena · 16 days ago

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November 13th 2024 11:00pm

Dont forget I am 2 hours ahead of EST lmao.

Also my fucking right shift key is sticky now which is equally gross and annoying.

I finally have been keeping up with my day and thoughts by using fucking Siri of all god forsaken things. Poor girl writes down my thoughts while I'm in the middle of the street.

Locals go fucking crazy for ice cream day here. Ice cream day is when the local shop has a 2 for 1 deal and bitches go bonkers. It's good ice cream but nothing has beat that shop next to Ibis. Corn bread fucking ice cream makes me patriotic as hell.

Anyways to my thoughts:

Last night around 3:10am I asked Siri to write down the feeling of traveling and meeting new people and loving it but also the feeling, well more the realization how much I value the people I know. I love my friends and family. I love love love my house in Wilmington and my friend group. We are so pure and so good and it's everything I ever hoped for as a child. I love Zarate. I feel at home here. I am prettier here. I glow and I shine. I have never wished to be split down the middle but I wish that now.

Knowing how much I love my friends would not feel this good if I questioned if they felt the same. They remind me constantly and in so many loving ways. I don't think I could ever repay them and you know what they would never ask to be repaid. Love is so full and so dynamic and I wish for naught.

Traveling always makes me realize how valuable what I have is. How people might search for this and how I won't ever need to. I value my community, I am so protective over this. Maybe that is why I am so political. It matters what people in charge think about how my friends should be living.

I miss bay ugh.

I think this blog should be (and is) a reflection of my life not a documentation of the suffering of my mind. That is why all of the sappy shit stays in my physical journal. Loooootttaa Gracie stuff in that thing, maybe that's why it weighs my bag down when I walk down the streets. I miss her but not in a lovers way; it has morphed into something it was meant to be all along. We know each other's souls and that is something you cannot take back. I think us forcing it to be romantic the past four years was like forcing a bee and a wolf to be friends when we coexist perfectly by ourselves and still in the same life cycle and food chain. I belong with other wolves and I always thought honey was too sweet anyways. We both love flowers.

Another thing about moving here and becoming more aware is that I realized I should have been worse in Wilmington.

I should have been worse.

What was I doing. What was I so afraid of lmao. I knew this trip would change me; and I mean... it already has but this was a surprise. I won't be the same when I come back to Wilmington and I'm glad. How small Wilmington seems to me in the big world. How useless behaving is there. Tip-toeing around all these groups and their feelings and their reputations that don't mean anything to anyone.

Who cares. I thought I didn't but I realized in ways I did!

I think that is all I have right now I need to sleep.

Tomorrow we are going bikini shopping, working, fishing in the river, a party for a match that is on tomorrow. We head to Brazil monday and La Cofla all weekend. Busy all day everyday goodness.

I gotta remember to take some pics of myself to track how much I change and so people don't forget about what I look like lmao.

I've eaten as many empanadas as they let me. I have a daily limit. I chug mate all day as well which has me looking slimmer in my opinion. slay.

Good night for now.

#november 2024

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wolint · 21 days ago

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EVEN SATAN GOES TO CHURCH!

EVEN SATAN GOES TO CHURCH

Luke 13:10-18

There are many misunderstandings regarding Satan’s role in life and eternity, but one thing is for sure: if he’s not barred from entering heaven and the courts of God according to Job 1:6, he certainly isn’t barred from entering the church. This verse is also the earliest identification of Satan by name. Satan simply means “accuser,” which we all know he is. Many are misguided in assuming Satan fears going into church. Sadly, the church can be a camping ground for Satan and his minions. Shocker! Where else would he find materials to draw up his accusations from, if not from the “gathering of God’s people—the church”?

Satan goes to church and even serves in various departments to cause mischief, havoc, and destruction. There is a general assumption in this woman’s story: seeing that even though she goes to church regularly like so many of us do, she remained afflicted. An affliction of infirmity that lasted eighteen years. This woman was demonically possessed for eighteen long years. This just proves that there is no power in the church—it’s just a building. The power is in the name of Jesus and the word of God as our text scripture proves again. Though the demonic possession was physically manifesting in this woman, we were told twice that it was not the root cause of the ailment. Verse eleven tells us she was disabled by the spirit, while Jesus even tells us Satan had her bound, which was clearly the cause of her sickness.

Then we have Christians who believe that they can avoid Satan’s tricks if they do things in a certain way, go to church regularly, and do all the things they think a good Christian should do. But we know he was bold enough to try and tempt our Lord Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11.

We hear people lament their afflictions and challenges by telling God about all they do as if that alone is enough to keep the enemy at bay. This is a dangerous place to be. If the enemy is not stirring the bees’ nest in our lives, it means we aren’t important enough to warrant his time and he already has us where he wants us. But when he comes after us with all kinds of stuff, we should chin-up, chest-out, and focus on Christ because we are exactly where we should be.

As present as Satan is in church, so too is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of liberty according to 2 Corinthians 3:17, because anywhere the Spirit of God is, there is freedom. Going to church every week, Sunday and any other day is good, but until we encounter the word of truth, the Gospel of liberation, we will not see freedom, salvation, deliverance, and victory.

There is always a place of encounter, a time and place where the word of God locates and frees the oppressed as we see happen in verse ten. So many Christians within the church are under demonic attack and disabled by the spirit but are not even aware that they need the word of truth. The enemy’s plan is to use these deformities to separate and destabilise the body of Christ and our lives.

Running to church cannot save or deliver anyone. Handling the word of truth according to 2 Timothy 2:15 is what brings liberty and deliverance from oppression and possession because even Satan, our enemy, goes to church.

PRAYER: Oh Lord, help me to recognise that salvation and deliverance is only in your name and truth. Deliver me oh, Lord from disabling spirits in Jesus’ name, amen.

Shalom

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT’L PRAYER MIN.

#spotify #devotional #christianpost #women's ministry #biblestudy #biblestudy christianpost women's ministry #biblestudy christianpost 'women's ministry #conference #family #prayer meeting

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thewebcomicsreview · 5 years ago

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So I've been following this one guy who gives really good writing advice, but lately he's been: telling people it's OK to skip the Intermission in Homestuck; defending bad writing as a "structural issue" (those poor writers, it's not their fault they've structured their story / writing process in a bad way); priding himself on making a half-assed "unfinished-on-purpose" comic review. This person was my main source of writing advice, so I don't know where to turn to. Any recommendations?

The only other webcomic review guys I’m aware of are the Bad Webcomics Wiki, but if you think I’m too nice on writers, they might be up your speed anyway and oh my god they just posted a review of a SpiderForest comic. Guess it’s time for

The Webcomic Review Reviews Webcomic Reviews

So, this is a review of a SpiderForest comic called “The Guide to a Healthy Relationship” which is a comic about LGBT people, and it’s being reviewed by the Bad Webcomics Wiki, so obviously there’s going to be a whole bunch of slurs, so consider that a content warning and I’m putting the rest of this behind a ReadMore

This is going to be slightly disjointed because the BWW review is disjointed, but I’ll do my best

We’re already in some factual trouble right on line one, since TGtaHR is a traditional webcomic and not a long-scroll mobile-friendly webtoon, nor is it hosted on webtoons.com. Is this nitpicky? Maybe a little, but we’re off to a poor start here.

This comic is just under 200 pages.

I feel like if you’re going to write a big thing attacking a webcomic’s story, you should try to have some kind of understanding of what that story is. I know what the story of Sinfest is, and Sinfest is a confusing nightmare.

Okay, so maybe the reason you think this story is bad is because it’s 2deep4u.

So, in the space of about twenty pages, we learn that Apollo had a friend named Julian who killed himself, and then we cut ahead to Julian drinking on the job, going to a party, taking drunks, and waking up naked in the bathtub covered in beer bottles, and the living room is full of too-hot-for-tumblr passed-out drunks. The Bad Webcomics Wiki calls this “Softcore porn that is never brought up again”, because the Bad Webcomics Wiki is written by high school dropouts for an audience they presume has never read the comic proper.

This debauchery is never brought up again because it’s not relevant to the plot, it’s relevant to the character. Apollo is fucked up because his friend killed himself when he was a teenager, and he deals with being fucked up by retreating into sex, drugs, and rock and roll. That’s what’s being established here. Also being established if you’re paying attention: Apollo has scars on his chest.

In chapter 1, Apollo goes to a party, the entirety of which is dedicated to him walking around naked, and we get a bunch of obviously sexual shots of his dick, clearly catering to the author's gay fetish. His boss goes to his place to check on him, and it is revealed he is a hoarder. This never comes up again.

1. In this scene, there are two panels where you can see Apollo’s penis, one panel where you can see someone’s vomit-covered dick, and two panels where you can see a woman’s breasts. None of these panels of flacid dicks or sagging boobs are sexual, though. The dicks are unpowered, it doesn’t make a bit of difference guys, the balls are inert.

2. What the fuck is a “gay fetish” and how it different from just “being gay”.

3. I don’t know the author, even though we’re both in SpiderForest, so I don’t know where Dani The Carutor lies in the whole gender spectrum thingamabob, but I will note that “Dani” is usually short for Danielle. So maybe it’s not a safe assumption that the author is a man? I dunno. That’s just me, guessing people’s genders by screen name is hard, so I try not to lest I embarrass myself.

4.So, when you say Apollo is a “hoarder”, you link to a page showing his room is disgusting and covered in garbage

Is your takeaway from these panels....that Apollo is some kind of fanatic garbage collector? That his room is full of garbage because he actively works at having as much garbage as possible because he wants it?

There are a couple pages explaining Apollo's purple special snowflake eyes with some snowflake "disability".

Apollo has Ocular Albinism, which is a real condition that really exists, and really does give you purple eyes. It also gives you major vision problems, which are the context in which it gets brought up, because Apollo needs help crossing the road because he can’t see well enough in the light. So I don’t know what the scare quotes around “disability” are for. He can’t see. You could, if you were so inclined, connect this plot point with the way the chapter titles are named after mental conditions, and start to formulate some coherent critique with the seemingly cavalier way this comic uses disability, but that would require thought. It might even require research into difficult topics, because you’d ideally not want to make a fool of yourself talking about things you didn’t understand well enough to talk competently about.

Chapter 2 is the most pointless, as it is basically there to confirm what we already know so the author can insert a cringy buzzword (see image below)

Okay, so a couple of things

1. In what fucking universe is “tranny” an SJW buzzword? What the fuck are you even talking about?

2. Having the protagonist of your comic say someone is “smart, for a tranny” is like the least SJW thing you could possibly do.

3. Perhaps “Apollo is asking someone for help but casually insults her causing her to leave” is some kind of “character” moment? The author of this review is so /pol/-poisoned that they have no ability to understand “context” or “characterization” or basically any thing that exists.

4.Your list of the comic’s characters includes this bon mot:

So what the fuck? That’s so stupid I’d think it was an intentionally hypocritical joke if I had any reason to believe you were capable of it.

Chapter 3 is dedicated to revealing the boyfriend shit

I should point out that Apollo and Julian being boyfriends is something the BWW invented, the comic itself clearly states they were “best friends”, not boy friends. Couple of dudes being prudes.

Apollo believes that Julian faked his own death, which fucked up Apollo for years, and now that they’ve met each other Julian keeps ghosting him. Apollo’s motives for chasing Julian around are extremely clear.

That’s a scene transition, bay-bee!

Apollo finally gets ahold of Julian. Julian blows him off and Apollo gives up. There’s then a clear scene transition to Apollo, at a restaurant, talking about what we just saw. This is a perfectly clear scene transition, with a transitory panel and everything to indicate that this is the next day. It’s certainly more clear than Apollo waking up in jail in chapter 2 which you skipped over. Are you actually reading this comic at all?

You are such a fucking moron, holy shit.

Julian got beat up for being trans. It’s unclear if he’s actually trans or just a feminine-looking cis dude, but regardless it was bad enough to traumatize him and this all happened when he knew Apollo, who calls Julian his “best friend”, and says things like

There’s literally two dots here, and you’re unable to connect them. Galia even has the same hairstyle as Julian to make it visually obvious This Is What The Reference and you still missed it.

Julian and Apollo walk around the woods in their underwear for no reason whatsoever. Julian takes some drugs or something, and passes out?

Hm. Why does Julian go outside at night? I wonder if that’s explained in the comic?

Oh, I see. He went outside to smoke. But why did Apollo go outside at night?

Oh, he was looking out the window and saw Julian mysteriously go off into the woods. I guess that’s explained, too. I guess you just missed those pages

Julian takes some drugs or something, and passes out?

Huh, I wonder why Julian was asleep

Oh, he has Insomnia, so he took something called Halcion. I wonder what that is.

Oh, it’s a prescription insomnia medication. And you shouldn’t take alcohol with it, wow Julian is dealing with a super pushy alcoholic I should file that information away for later, like how knowing Wellbutrin’s side effects in teenagers were critical to understand Drop Out. Luckily webcomics are comics, on the web, and I can look this up!

He is then woken up by the fatty side character punching him. Somehow, Julian destroyed the kitchen, even though he was passed out - this is never explained, and makes no fucking sense

Sigh.

So, here are some hints as to what happened.

Julian has bruises all over his body, which you have consistently failed to notice.

Daniel, Julian’s friendly boyfriend, has like no negative reaction whatsoever to Brandon, some random dude, punching Julian in the fucking face

He even takes Brandon’s side and basically implants the idea that Julian did it into Julian’s head, and that last panel is rather threatening.

Julian took insomnia medicine, and fell asleep, and then got wrongfully blamed for destroying the kitchen by Daniel, who know’s that Julian was passed out and couldn’t have done it. Who actually did destroy the kitchen is a mystery, but Daniel is the most likely culprit.

it transitions into this trippy bullshit with blood, and body horror, and Julian's hair is suddenly short

It’s short because it’s a flashback to when he was a teenager, and he had short hair when he was a teenager so that literate people are able to understand this without getting confuzzled.

Apollo turning into Daniel in this trippy dream sequence is also pretty relevant!

Also, we have random nudity and sexualization of this sick person.

No, we have reveals that he’s in worse physical shape than we thought.

By the way, in your character list, you describe Daniel as

Daniel (Side Character): He may as well be a wall. This guy has no personality whatsoever. No quirks, no interests, no purpose outside of causing superficial melodrama.

If you’ve made it all the way to this point and not picked up on Daniel being an abusive boyfriend and the primary antagonist of the story, you may be beyond hope.

The rest of the chapter is Julian being angsty, and SO ILL while everyone talks about how weird he is

Again, that’s very clearly and obviously not actually what’s happening in the story.

What’s happening isn’t “Julian is sick lol”, it’s “Daniel is working to turn everyone against Julian”. That’s why he destroyed the kitchen and blamed Julian for it; to ensure that the other boys all thought Julian was a nutjob and thus keep them from reaching out to Julian and providing Julian with a guide to a healthy relationship instead of the abusive one he’s currently in. Your inability to read even slightly between the lines isn’t just distressing in terms of your inability to think critically about stories, it’s maybe worrisome re your ability to think about the real world, too. How are you this dense? It’s like watching Star Wars and not picking up that the empire and the rebellion don’t like each other. No wonder you’re confused!

Chapter 5 is still in the works. It jumps the shark right away with Apollo getting drunk and sleeping with Julian's boyfriend. The author makes Apollo the guilty party and not the boyfriend

The comic is fairly clear that Daniel is the bad guy

This webtoon is so convoluted there is no saving it at this point. Each chapter is titled after some mental illness such as 'Monophobia', 'Anxiety', 'Psychosis'. You think they would have some thematic meaning with each chapter being about one of those things. Nope, they're just titled like that to show how EDGY this webtoon is! You can taste the cringe. Julian's mental shit has no rhyme or reason - he will act sick when the plot calls for it, and if it has anything to do with the chapter's title, it is also crazy inaccurate.

The author of this review somehow managed to read the entirety of The Guide to a Healthy Relationship without picking up that Daniel was an abuser. The comic thus seems convoluted to him because he thinks all the things happening are random events without rhyme or reason because he has completely failed to notice the whole plot, which is not subtle. Just....fucking staggering incompetence, as a critic.

Guess you’re stuck with me, anon.

#Anonymous #The Guide to a Healthy Relationship #bad webcomics wiki #The webcomic review reviews webcomic reviews

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jq37 · 5 years ago

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Saw someone ask drinkingdeadpeopletea this so: what are your favourite subclasses, schools, oaths etc within the primary classes?

Very flattered that you think my opinion on the matter is worth asking on the level of @drinkingdeadpeopletea‘s (and looking forward to checking out that list after I’m done with this one so I don’t subconsciously influence my answers).

I haven’t actually played too much D&D (not for lack of will) and I’ve never played for long enough to get a sub-class so this is all based on secondhand knowledge. That being said:

Wizard: Gotta be the School of Divination. Is there any sexier possible D&D action than telling your DM, “Actually you roll a Nat 1″? There is not. Portents are OP as hell and also an super cool way to translate an in game ability to an out of game mechanic.

Monk: Way of the Four Elements. I’m not gonna play a monk and then *not* be the Avatar. Are you kidding me? I will say though, not an official class but I really like Cobalt Soul monks. Smart jocks are my jam.

Ranger: Beastmaster. I want a pet. Next.

Barbarian: Totem Warrior and Zealot Barbarians both really appeal to me. I will never be free of my Animorph reading Power Rangers watching younger self that desperately wanted animal based powers and cared too much about wolves. But also, the concept of getting divine power and instead of using it in a very measured, traditional, Paladin/Cleric-y way, just SMASHING things? Just, like, sometimes god(s) needs a sniper and sometimes a bazooka is more in order? I love that concept.

Fighter: I can’t see myself playing a fighter because I’m not playing D&D to do things I could hypothetically do in real life* (verrrrrry hypothetically, lbr) so I’d probably go Eldritch Knight or Arcane Archer. I like Arcane Archers a lot because (1) hyper specific arrows are just cool and (2) I like that it acknowledges that some of the stuff going on with elven archery is straight magic BS. Like, come on. You’re telling me you did all those trick shots with just a normal weapon and no magic? That was all physics? Come on.

*Seriously, big ups to Jake and Lou on Hardwon and Fabian because I feel like fighters are basically as generically heroic as you can get so you really have to do a lot of character work to come up with something memorable. Especially Hardwon. I can’t believe how much I love Hardwon.

Cleric: I love clerics so much (actually, I love all the divine touched classes/subclasses but we don’t have time to unpack my psyche right now so, moving on). There are really so many good options. I’ve heard that clerics are a class people don’t like to play and people are always insisting clerics are good in a way that makes it seem like people are saying they aren’t, but are they saying that? They can hit, they can spell cast, they can heal. Where’s the downside? Now, I’m a big fan of the classic, divine golden healing light cleric which I guess would be a Life or Light domain cleric? But I can’t say that’s my favorite after being introduced to Trickery, Grave, City domain clerics this year. Like, those are all so good! I love that Jester’s a cleric who almost forgets she can heal people sometimes because half the time she’s Invoking Duplicity and spying on people. I love that Kingston gets his powers from just the entire city of NYC instead of a god. I love Caduceus just being this super chill dude who’s also like, “Yeah, death comes for us all.” (He’s like a not-neurotic Ned the Piemaker). Personally, I’d like to play a Knowledge Domain cleric. I don’t know how much utility they actually have but I love the flavoring (and I think it would probably help me unpack some of the aforementioned stuff we’re not getting into).

Rogue: I’m *dying* to be in a D&D Leverage style campaign. All heists all the time bay-bee! The Mastermind I think would be an ideal subclass for that. It’s all about the social interactions which is really what I play the game for (or what I would play the game for if I could get a game going. fingers crossed 2020 y’all.).

Paladin: See Cleric preamble re: divine powers. Anyway, I would love to see someone *else* play an Oath of Redemption Paladin but I would love to play an Oath of Vengeance Paladin. Like, I’m guessing it’s really easy to fall into edgelord traps playing a vengeance based character so idk if I’d do it well but I’d love to just go full Django for a campaign.

Bard: Oh man I’ve never played a bard but I wanna play a bard so bad. All of the options are so so good flavor-wise! I think I’d most likely play a College of Lore bard, but the College of Glamour is extremely cool.

Warlock: Celestial, no question. Doing a deal with the devil with God is hilarious to me. How is this different than being a Paladin/Cleric? Is it like, “OK God, I’m gonna take your powers but this is strictly a business relationship.” I want a cleric and a warlock to the same god in the same party. Like, “Ah yes, if it isn’t my beloved daughter, Cyndel and my employee Dragthar.” I love it.

Druid: Hey, I already told you I wanna be an Animorph (without all the trauma and horrors of war of course). Circle of the Moon all the way.

Sorcerer: Again, I’m a sucker for divine magic so Divine Soul has a lot of appeal (it also scratches that long dormant Percy Jackson obsession from middle school). I’d also like to try and handle the chaos of a Wild Magic sorcerer one of these days. I don’t know if I’d love it or hate it but it would be one of the two.

Artificer: I barely know what this is but I just looked it up and I’m gonna go with Artillerist because I saw the word canon a lot and I like any world where I have access to a magic canon and the ability, nay, the responsibility to use it.

#anon #asks #d&d #dimension 20 #not really but I assume that's why I was asked

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adore-holland · 5 years ago

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Under Renovation |T.H.| - Chapter 1

Pairing: Tom Holland x Celeb!Reader

Warning: Swearing? Angst.. Mentions of vomit

Word Count: 2162

Disclaimer!: This was written before we found out Tom has a girlfriend. Any similarities are purely coincidental.

A/N: Hope you enjoy! This was mostly just setup, trust me you’re gonna get some Tom stuff soon enough ;)

Teaser

Chapter 1:

The ceiling above you seems to move in new patterns every second. Dark circles and stripes race across the the white paint in the pitch black room. You can make out the sounds of loud music and laughing people out on the streets of London. It’s Friday night, and you’re laying at home, in your bed, following stupid patterns on your ceiling - What has your life come to?

With a groan, you run a sweaty hand down your face. You squeeze your eyes shut, hoping for the weird patterns to go away. No luck - the insides of your eyelids take over for your ceiling. If you could just tune out, disappear for a little bit.. get some sleep. As if on queue, you let out a yawn.

It’s the seventh night in a row, that you haven’t been able to fall asleep until the early hours of the morning, and your body is suffering from it. Large dark bags under your eyes, slumped shoulders and an almost complete loss of appetite.

You desperately turn on your side, pulling a pillow over your head, hoping to just get some peace and quiet. You squeeze your eyes shut, welcoming sleep like an old friend. Except, sleep seems to be mad at you. Because the quiet only fills up with memories of cheerful laughs, and whispered “I love you”’s. Something in your stomach tightens at the sound of his voice. You always thought his voice was perfect. Smooth like honey, dripping in the love you thought he held for you.

In all honesty, you had never told him how much you adored his voice. Well, he knew you loved it - and that the sound of his voice was enough to calm you down when the world was too overwhelming. What he didn’t know though, was just in what ways you loved it.��

No! No. You will not allow yourself to remember it… him. So you make a conscious decision to avoid any thought of the butterflies that went wild whenever he leaned in to whisper in your ear; or the way your heart would pick up speed for just a second whenever he said your name in whatever accent he felt like in that moment.

Fuck.

With whatever strength you have left in your exhausted body, you throw the pillow off of you, welcoming the loud sounds of London. You turn around to lay on your stomach, listening intently to the sounds of the partygoers, chasing away his voice. There’s a group, nearing your apartment complex down below. Your condo is high up, but the deep concentration allows you to hear snippets of the conversation.

“We should tell them…” The deep voice says with a concerned tone. You only hear the girl giggle as a reply. A conversation, so much like the ones you and Tom had so long ago. When you first got together, 3 years ago, you couldn’t figure out whether or not to announce to the world that you were a thing. Most nights discussing it were spent drunk, staring lovingly into each others eyes, forgetting the world, forgetting who there even was to tell. The two of you, together, were all that mattered in those moments.

Again! You want to scream out in frustration, but your throat is already sore from crying. You turn back around and quickly sit up. Your throat is tightening quickly, itching more and more every second. A silent yelp escapes you as you get up. Tears sting behind your eyes as you hurriedly make your way toward the bathroom. You make it to the toilet just in time, bile rises up your throat, and you throw up - pure stomach acid - you haven’t eaten enough lately to throw anything of substance up.

:)-(:

An incessant noise wakes you up. Your head is pounding, and as you slowly blink your eyes open you realise why your back hurts so much. You’re sat next to your toilet, leaning against the tile wall. Your legs are sleeping, folded in weird angles beneath you. You sigh deeply, leaning your head back against the wall and closing your eyes for a second. The noise returns and you realize it’s your phone ringing. Slowly untangling your sore limbs you fight to get up, and walk back into your bedroom. You take it one step at a time, the pounding in your head worsening with every sudden jolt up through your body.

“It’s y/n,” you mumble into your phone, rubbing your temple with the other hand, fruitlessly hoping to lessen the pain.

“Hey! Hi! You’re up.” It’s Matt, your agent. “You remember that movie you turned down a few weeks ago?” You barely get to reply before he continues. “Well, exciting news, they are coming back to you with the part. They truly believe you’re the perfect fit.”

“Matt… I don’t think I’m up for a movie right now.” You eyes glance to the side. You still need to remove the picture of you and Tom on your first christmas together from your nightstand. You squeeze your eyes shut, ignoring the pain it brings and the tears that well up.

“Honey.. I know you’re in a lot of pain right now, so I’m not gonna force you to say yes to anything. I’m just telling you that I believe this movie is a good idea for you. How about we go out for lunch a little later? Talk it over, you read some of the script and then you can decide?” There’s so much concern and care in his words, that you almost want to vomit at the sound. When did you become so fragile, that even Matt’s extreme tenderness brings you to tears?

You really don’t feel like lunch, but you know you need to get out of the house. And maybe having someone watching you eat will help you actually… eat something.

“Yeah. That sounds good.” Despite the complete lack of enthusiasm in your voice, Matt’s mood picks up all the same.

“Great! I’ll meet you at Louis’ Diner at 1 then?”

“No!” You startle yourself at your sudden outburst, but continue all the same. “Ehm… Sorry. Not Louis’ please. I’ll meet you at Little Bay.”

:)-(:

Despite your less than excellent mood, the weather cheers you up a bit. It’s warm; even for late spring. Yourself and Matt are sat outside, at a small table under a cute red parasol. Bees hum as they busy themselves with the flowers around you. It almost feels like the week you spent hiding in your apartment made you forget the peace people and life brings you.

“So… The movie is a musical about a dancer? I haven’t danced in ages.” 3 years to be exact. Your career picked up around the same time you started dating Tom, whose career also seemed to be on the up and up, and you just didn’t have time to continue dancing that intensively anymore. You loved it though - You danced before you could run, and your heart leaped at the excuse to get back to your roots.

“See, that’s where you’re perfect for the part! Because you CAN dance! But just like Lia Morrison in this story, something is stopping you. Due to a motorcycle accident with her fiancé, she broke her left leg and hip.” Matt smiles at you, bald head shining in the sunlight. His grey top clings to his muscular torso, and his dark arms work furiously in large movements, as if whatever signs he’s making with his hands will help you understand what he’s saying. You feel a small smile tug at your lips at the sight of him. Your heart jumps slightly at the feeling of a smile after so long.. until you remember the last time your heart jumped like that.. the last time you smiled.

“Yeah, I got that part. But it’s a love story?” The summary he gave wasn’t very useful, still you feel dumb asking questions you know he already gave you the answers to. But as much as you hate to admit it, the movie is starting to intrigue you. You had been quick to deny the part the last time Matt brought it to you. Two reasons especially made you turn it down.

1: Shooting starts in Los Angeles a few days before Tom gets off from shooting, so you wouldn’t get to spend any time with him.

2: You didn’t feel like doing a sex scene when you knew you would be attending the premiere, and watching it with Tom.

-Neither of those reasons are really a problem anymore.

“Yes! It is. So, the fiancé doesn’t get hurt. But he breaks up with Lia because she lets her injury consume her. She basically loses the will to fight for what she loves. She suddenly doesn’t wanna recover so she can dance again. She basically ends up catching herself ruining her own life, and then falls in love with her physical therapist.”

Something about the character, Lia, draws you in. You get the position she finds herself in, the devastation of losing something you thought you never could - brown eyes flash through your mind, a wide smile, hurried kisses. No.

You let out a small sigh, running a hand through your lose hair, searching Matt’s face for… something. “You really think I can do this?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course you can.” His smile is almost as wide as his face, and he blinks rapidly.

Old trick Matt. Instead of the usual laugh he used to lure out of you with said trick, you only huff out a small breath of air, and his smile drops immediately. His big hands find yours on the table. He holds your hands softly in his, slowly, tenderly rubbing his thumbs over the back of your hands. The feeling is comforting, familiar, and it makes your eyes sting with tears.

“Y/n.. I know what this part is asking of you is.. a lot. If you really can’t do it, no one will force you too.” His honey golden eyes hold so much care in them, that you feel your stomach coil at the sight. If only someone else were giving you that look. “But this pain.. it won’t last forever. The earth keeps rotating, and I just wanna make sure that you turn with it. This movie.. I know it brings back certain - memories -, but it isn’t about him. It feels like it is, I get that. But it’s about Lia getting more bent than ever before, but never breaking - And it’s about you, y/n, it’s about you, and the strength you and Lia share.”

Your head is spinning, everything he’s saying hits you like a stack of bricks. Not broken, but bent - but different all the same. You never subscribed to the idea of pulling your act together; the very idea would mean that you were responsible for spilling everywhere. You’re not. That doesn’t mean it isn’t still messy, or that it doesn’t drain you to clean up after someone else; even if the mess you.

Daniel and yours conversation pop up in your head. Strength comes from tearing the muscles, letting them heal, over and over again. This role.. this movie, you already know it’s gonna tear you apart, but you need it to.

“Yeah,” you manage to croak out your answer, and Matt squeezes your suddenly freezing hands, “Yeah, I wanna do it.” The tears in your eyes disappear as you say it. You draw in a deep breath, filling your lungs, and your head clears as a result. You can do this, it’s not a matter of convincing yourself. You can do this, not doubt about it. Tom Holland took a lot from you, but he won’t take everything.

“Great, I’ll contact them right away then.” He squeezes your hands one last time before standing up, phone in hand, and walking a few steps away to call the casting director. To pass the time you pick up your own phone, scrolling through your twitter feed. Your notifications are insane, more than a thousand mentions. Your brows furrow as you start scrolling through some of them. You don’t read most of them.. Tom is tagged too, and you don’t feel like seeing your fans shipping you.

You scroll mindlessly through them, until you come across one with a photo attached. Clicking it, you almost drop your phone. Tom is very visibly on a date with someone. His hand is in her back pocket as they walk close together. They’re looking at each other, eyes shining, smiles bright.. Her blond hair glistens in the sunlight, and he looks so happy - smile showing off the creases around his mouth you always poked to make him smile when he was sad. You don’t recognize her, and in a way you’re glad because of it.

A week. He broke up with you a week ago. You finally know why.

#Tom Holland x reader #Tom Holland imagine #Tom Holland Fanfic #tom holland x you #fanfiction #Under Renovation #Tom Holland Angst

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mizmahlia · 5 years ago

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Get to know me uncomfortably well!

I was tagged by my sis @donaldpiercesbae . Thanks, my dear. I loved your answers!!

1. What’s your middle name?

It rhymes with ‘bae’.

2. How old are you?

Older than a lot of folks around here, I reckon. (Mid-thirties.)

3. When is your birthday?

January the 26th

4. What’s your zodiac sign?

Aquarius. I’m stubborn, rebellious, and quirky.

5. What’s your favourite colour?

Clover green.

6. What’s your lucky number?

I don’t have one- I’ve never been superstitious in that capacity.

7. Do you have any pets?

I have a cat who’s a bit of an asshole named Oliver, who I love to pieces. And three days from now, I’ll be picking up a puppy. It’ll be almost six months to the day I suddenly lost my Milo.

8. Where are you from?

The United States of Dysfunction

9. How tall are you?

5’6” / 1.68 m

10. What shoe size are you?

I’m an 8.5 / 41-42

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Uh… it’s more than two dozen, but less than three dozen, I think.

12. What was your last dream about?

I don’t remember my dreams, unfortunately.

13. What talents do you have?

Procrastination, I can talk to pretty much anyone, I can play video games longer than is healthy, and I can sorta write.

14. Are you psychic in any way?

Not in the slightest and I am totally okay with that.

15. Favourite song?

None of Your Business by Salt N Pepa, Alone Together by Fall Out Boy, Broken by Lifehouse, Creep by Clint Mansell/Eliot Sumner

16. Favourite movie?

I can’t think of just one at the moment; but if it’s got Batman (or his friends/family) in it, it’s safe to say it’s on my list.

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

Someone I’m comfortable sharing my nerdy hobbies with, who can communicate, and who isn’t content with life as-is. (That means he wants to explore, try new things, strives to be a better person than he was yesterday, etc) To be cheesy, I want a partner in crime.

18. Do you want children?

Yes, but being 35 and having been single for 5+ years, I’m scared I’m running out of time.

19. Do you want a church wedding?

As someone who’s been married (and sadly, is divorced), I’ll be the first to tell you the venue isn’t nearly as important as people like to make you think it is. If I do it again, I’ll probably not do so in a church.

20. Are you religious?

No, but I consider myself a Christian.

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

I’ve been there as a visitor many times, but as a patient, thankfully I’ve only ever been to the emergency room.

22. Have you ever gotten in trouble with the law?

Nope! But I used to get rides home after cross country practices in the back of my friend’s mom’s police car.

23. Have you met any celebrities?

Yep! Karen Gillan, Richard Speight Jr, Sebastian Roche, Hugh Grant, Johan Santana (MLB pitcher), EJ Henderson (NFL player)

24. Baths or showers?

I love me a hot bath, but it’s usually a shower.

25. What colour of socks are you wearing?

I’m barefoot whenever possible, like right now.

26. Have you ever been famous?

LOL nope

27. What type of music do you like?

Just about anything!

28. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

Only in my bathtub

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

One. I have a neck problem, so I have a specific pillow I need to sleep with.

31. What position do you sleep in?

Curled up on my side.

32. How big is your house?

Three bedrooms, two floors, and an awesome living room.

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

Coffee and a granola or protein bar.

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

Several, and I honestly don’t see how/why it’s fun,.

35. Have you ever tried archery?

Yes, but I’m certainly no Roy Harper.

36. Favourite clean word?

Shenanigans

37. Favourite swear word?

Fuck and all of its derivatives

38. What’s the longest you’ve gone without sleeping?

30 hours, I think? 0/10, do not recommend.

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

Nope, and I’m okay with that. I find it a little creepy.

41. Are you a good liar?

Better than I have a right to be, and it bothers me.

42. Are you a good judge of character?

I think so, but then again, based on past experiences, I’m utterly terrible.

43. Can you do any other accents than your own?

I can do the stereotypical Minnesota one, though a lot of us don’t talk that way. But I’m terrible at trying to imitate accents, so no.

44. Do you have a strong accent?

I’ve been told by quite a few people I don’t sound like I’m from Minnesota. Make of that what you will. :)

45. What’s your favourite accent?

Irish, by far. I love that accent so much.

46. What is your personality type?

I don’t have a favorite type, but I generally prefer those who aren’t judgmental, arrogant assholes.

47. What’s your most expensive piece of clothing?

My wedding dress. It’s ludicrous how much they cost, and you wear it once.

48. Can you curl your tongue?

I certainly can!

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

A pierced innie.

50. Left of right handed?

Right-handed

51. Are you scared of spiders?

Is water wet?

52. Favourite food?

Peanut butter

53. Favourite foreign food?

Authentic Italian, not like the crap they call Italian here.

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

I’m somewhere in between. I’m clean, but somewhat disorganized.

55. Most used phrase?

“What the hell?”

56. Most used word?

“Damnit.”

57. How long does it take you to get ready?

Depends on the occasion- for more important things or when I want to go through all my steps, about an hour and fifteen minutes because I have long, thick hair. For class every day, about 15 minutes.

58. Do you have much of an ego?

I seriously hope not, but I’m not the best judge of that.

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

Neither because I don’t like lollipops.

60. Do you talk to yourself?

All the freakin’ time.

61. Do you sing to yourself?

In my car every day!

62. Are you a good singer?

Nope, but since I’m the only one who hears it, that’s okay!

63. Biggest fear?

Losing my parents or being alone for the rest of my life.

64. Are you a gossip?

I try not to be because gossip never helps anything or anyone.

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

L.A. Confidential.

66. Do you like long or short hair?

I like short hair, but I love long hair.

67. Can you name all 50 states in America?

I should hope so, since I live in the country.

68. Favourite school subject?

A tie between anatomy and microbiology.

69. Extrovert or introvert?

Introvert with some extroverted qualities.

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

Nope!

71. What makes you nervous?

Dentist appointments, waiting around at the starting line of a race I’ve never run before, flying.

72. Are you scared of the dark?

If it’s somewhere unfamiliar, sort of. Otherwise, no.

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

Depends on the mistake and the person.

74. Are you ticklish?

Everywhere and I absolutely hate it.

75. Have you ever started a rumour?

Not that I know of, no.

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

Several times and every time, I’ve hated it. I’m more comfortable as a worker bee, not the queen of the hive.

77. Have you ever drank underage?

LOL yes. My hometown had little to do other than that.

78. Have you ever done drugs?

Nothing that wasn’t prescribed. I’ve never been curious enough to try any.

79. Who was your first real crush?

A boy named Davey (his name is David) when I was a kid. He’s a year younger than me and loved Batman, riding bikes, and wanted to be a Navy fighter pilot. He had these gorgeous blue eyes and almost black hair.

80. How many piercings do you have?

Three, but that will likely increase at some time.

81. Can you roll your R’s?

I should hope so; I studied Spanish for almost a decade.

82. How fast can you type?

According to a typing test I just took: 83 words/minute.

83. How fast can you run?

LOL not fast. Right now, I’d be lucky to break 9:30/mile.

84. What colour is your hair?

Medium brown with some grown-out balayage.

85. What colour are your eyes?

Like about 2% of the population, they’re green.

86. What are you allergic to?

Stupidity.

I recently developed an allergy to something, but I’m still trying to figure out what. I blame a trip to the state of Kansas.

87. Do you keep a journal?

I don’t, but I should. It really helped me work things out when I didn’t want to talk to someone.

88. What do your parents do?

They both still work, though I wish they would/could retire.

89. Do you like your age?

For the most part, yeah. I hated myself in my 20’s, but my 30’s have been so much better.

90. What makes you angry?

Intolerance, rude behavior, the Green Bay Packers, and the New York Yankees.

91. Do you like your own name?

Of course! It’s not a super common name.

92. Have you already thought about baby names? And if so, what are they?

I admit I have, but I’m not gonna share them.

93. Do you want a boy or girl for a child?

I’d like a healthy kid, plain and simple. Gender doesn’t matter.

94. What are your strengths?

I’m stubborn, persistent, and empathetic.

95. What are your weaknesses?

I’m stubborn, persistent, and empathetic.

96. How did you get your name?

A family friend’s first name is Molly and I got my aunt’s middle name.

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

Not that I know of or care.

98. Do you have any scars?

Physical or emotional?

99. Colour of your bedspread?

100. Colour of your room?

Plain ‘ol white.

I tag @rolodexthoughts . :)

#About Me #personal stuff

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illbedancingwithmyself · 6 years ago

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August 2016 - Meeks Bay to Crag Lake

Hey y’all, I’m digitizing my backpacking journals because the physical copy is always one spilled Gatorade away from being destroyed. Feel free to read or ignore!

First solo trip

Mileage: 10

Day 1: I’m stuffed with french toast that my sister made and feeling gross in the overcast, muggy weather. There are yellow jackets EVERYWHERE. The rain missed me, or I missed the rain, and I keep walking into sections of forest where the leaves are still dripping. It’s less oppressive once I really start climbing out of the valley. I was stopped by a forest ranger who was more concerned with how I planned on storing my food in this bear heavy area than with checking permits.

I hastily threw up my hammock and tarp in a less than ideal camp site at crag lake because the thunder overhead was freaking me out. It was still beautiful. When I went on a wander to cook dinner, I noticed a lot of VERY fresh bear scat. Then I noticed that the entire area was covered with thimbleberry plants. Made dinner (instant mash, packet of tuna. Hot cocoa.), and changed into my pajamas. I liked the Garcia bear canister despite the bulk.

Such a hot night! Still and starless. A family was camped across the lake on a huge granite platform, like a thrust stage in the lake. I learned how to lay at an angle in the hammock and got at least one REM cycle.

Day 2: I was woken up by the bee noise surrounding me from all sides, I shit you not. Weather was still unmoving and grey. I made breakfast, but didn’t finish my oats because the yellowjackets were so bothersome. I threw the full pot of oatmeal in the bottle holder of my pack and opted to eat a pro bar while I floated down the mountain. Dreamy downhill except for the bits where I had to wave my poles ahead of me to part the massive seas of yellowjackets.

I waited an hour for the trolley, returned the bear can I rented to the forest ranger station, then bought a huge strawberry ice cream cone and ate it on the beach.

It was a good trip but I need a bigger tarp!

#backpacking #desolation wilderness #crag lake #fat girls hiking #hiking #wilderness backpacking

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ilovedyouinsecret · 4 years ago

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I honestly don’t think I can overstate how fantastic of a writer you are. Even though I’ve read everything you’ve shared, I’m still blown away every time you publish something.

atop a hill with a gentle slope, where the meads of color give way to ferns and brownish shrubs, each with hundreds of white flowers. Rocks as tall as you lead towards the narrow bay that leads towards the sea.

Still, desolate, paralyzed—nothing but rock and dunes of blistering sand. They’d lain there a thousand years and would for a thousand more, and they glared at you through the window into your little house on the hill.

The fact that this conversation they have that just barely dances around their relationship and what they want, and their first (and as far as they know their last) kiss happens in a—or by a—house on a lush, green hill where things grow and thrive, and their relationship in some ways dies in a house on a sandy, desert hill makes me go absolutely nuts.

And so do the parallels of time in both chapters! The house on Tatooine frozen in time which is framed to be a sad thing because no one has lived there for 4 years and it’s been even longer since Reader had lived there, but here in chapter 2 Reader wants to be frozen in time because of where she is and who she’s with. (I feel like I’m not doing a very good job of wording this but I hope it makes at least a little bit of sense)

There just so much of chapter 1 (which I reread before writing this and STILL made me cry) that is...mirrored? Shadowed? In chapter 2 and whether it’s on purpose or not it really shows how strong of a writer you are.

I love your world-building in this chapter!

It’s spring on Ru V and like no spring you’ve seen before. On the left, sprawling meadows lie aflood with wildflowers—yellow, purple, orange, white, all swaying in the tall grass. On the right, the glistening Eastern sea and its pale horizon. But all around the sparrows and the wrens and the bees among the flowers, the crashing of the waves, and the gale off the water

“See there?” You point to a cliff a way up the coast with a single pear tree in bloom. “That’s where the Guardian rises, or it would be the Guardian on Coruscant. Here it’s the Sage, and this time of year he holds the moon in his hands.”

“It’s very important to the locals,” Obi-Wan cuts in. “They call it Hmin d’Rukke, the Hands of Fortune. Were it not for the quake, every home would be decorated in blue and white about now.”

I saw the Sage last night, with the moon in his hands. And I’ll never see him in the same way ever again.

As much as I love to write, world-building has always been a weak point for me, especially when it’s something completely original and especially when it’s a sort of one-time thing like this is (so far). So I really enjoy reading other people’s.You created a great backdrop that fit so well with what happened in this chapter. The physical introduction to Ru V was so wonderfully descriptive and I enjoyed that you gave more later on only when you needed to which helped focus the chapter more on feelings and what was being said while also keeping everything grounded.

The thing that stood out the most to me in this chapter is your interest, grasp, and connection(?)* to philosophy. It comes through so strongly in the dialogue and Reader’s inner dialogue. In the concept for this fic you said that WTI would be largely philosophical and it was one of the big things I was looking forward to in this story. I have not had a lot of interaction with philosophy in any “official” sense but I think it plays an important role in my area of study even if sociologists get really hard for empirical data, and how my own personal beliefs have evolved in the last three years. idk maybe I’ll take a philosophy class next year, who knows? In any case, that part of who you are really came through in this chapter whether or not it’s inspired by published theory or it’s you.

*(I feel like a normal person might use ‘passion’ but my mother hates the word because she thinks it’s used incorrectly way too often so I’ve pretty much dropped it from my vocabulary since finding that out alksdj.)

the cottage by the sea (wti ch. ii)

Pairing: Obi-Wan Kenobi x fem!Jedi!Reader Word Count: 2.5k Genre: bittersweet fluff/angst (nothing so heavy as ch. i) Summary: On the last day of your last mission together as Padawans, you and Obi-Wan process hitherto unacknowledged emotions: about life, and about each other. Warnings/Tags: no real warnings for this chapter. Obi-Wan is a bit of a know-it-all but he’s only 23. He’s learning. I’ve also mentioned my blatant abuse of ellipses before but. I’ve gone too far. Somebody stop her. A/N: I hope this chapter comes as a little reprieve from the angst of ch. i; I know it did for me. As always, any feedback is much appreciated! - aubrey 💕

Wanna tag? // Masterlist We the Indelible: concept // i // ii

Tags: @agent-catfish-kenobi, @mcu-padawan, @anakin-danvers, @ohhellokenobi, @wille-zarr, @cherrykenobi, @goldenkenobi, @acciokenobi, @lloveyouinsecret, @lazzwhile, @blue-space-porgs, @morganas-pendragons, @catsnkooks, @beskar-tano, @meshlamando, @kyjoraven, @roseofalderaan, @nobie, @kaminobiwan, @obi-bae-kenobi, @princessxkenobi, @captainrexstan, @liadamerondjarin, @hugmekenobi, @arianalilyblack, @likeshootingstarsinthenightsky, @theelvenvalkyrie, @carrobrumbrum, @alideetoo, @saltybreaddream

34 BBY

And a lovely cottage it is, though little and plain. Broken in some places following their largest earthquake in a quarter century—not nearly so damaged as the capitol where you’ve been assigned. It’s short but sturdy: atop a hill with a gentle slope, where the meads of color give way to ferns and brownish shrubs, each with hundreds of white flowers. Rocks as tall as you lead towards the narrow bay that leads towards the sea.

And you sit at the edge amidst its rhythmic bubbling, its percussive melody. It glints in the morning light just as it glinted under the moon and the stars just after. The night was cold and so is the dawn. Cold but fresh the breeze that tugs at your braid, and cold the water against your bare feet. But the sun is climbing and with it a bluer horizon and a bluer sea, and new warmth that mingles with the salt and sinks into your skin.

Your eyelids grow heavy in the growing heat. You’ve kept them peeled so long: memorizing each and every cloud with its gold and silver lining, every star to fade away, every short-lived role of the sea. Might you not let your eyes close? Let the wind wage war on gravity and blow you away to the daffodils beyond the hill. The water on the sand echoes loud in your ears. Behind you a wren is singing.

But another breeze sighs in your heart, in the Force, in your bones. Behind your closed lids, a breath off the sea and a whiff of saltwater. Or perhaps the scent of juniper and spiced tea, or perhaps even the low, sustained note on the cello. Your fists clench; your heart begins to race. New warmth washes over you: stronger than the sun, gentler than the moon. But you breathe deep and nudge yourself back into your sleepy meditation, levelling your energy in the Force.

“You remember I can feel you, yes? You’re not smooth—Aigh!”

It’s cold. It’s cold. You’ve been submerged in a bucket of ice. Or maybe shot; who’s to say?—you sputter and cough and wipe the saltwater out of your eyes.

“Obi-Wan—!” You’re blind, just a little, but there’s no mistaking the laughter behind you.

Keep reading

#i just really loved this #and it was so well written #these were just the things that i found easiest to put into real words and sentences #sw #writing #aubs tag

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hrrytomlinson · 8 years ago

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happy spring!! here are a bunch of fics I’ve enjoyed and loved reading throughout the month of april. I recommend that you read these great fics in may, if you haven’t already.

(all fics with a star are my favorites and if there are two stars then it was a favorite favorite)

1. Pour Your Heart Out (92k)

Louis is his soulmate. Or at least Harry thinks he is. Louis feels the same as Louis. But there are a lot of people named Louis in the world and this Louis might not be the Louis. It’s besides the point though, because Harry knows he can’t allow himself to get close to any boys. He just can’t and he’s told himself this multiple times. He has to simply stay away from Louis Tomlinson. But he can’t. Harry Styles can never stay away from Louis Tomlinson. It’s physically impossible for him to.

2. Love Endless (Path to Permanence) (241k)**

So now Louis' finally done the love thing, and it's already in jeopardy? Just his luck. Harry's evil twin is back, and that can't mean anything good. It never has. Even with the help of friends, will Harry and Louis be able to keep him at bay? And is Auron really who they should be worried out?

...Only one way to find out. [Book 2/4]

3. Like to Keep You Laughing (12k)*

Louis gasped. “Are you straight? Oh, I'm sorry, man. You should’ve just told me; I would’ve left you alone.”

“No, no, that’s not it," Harry said. "I like guys. I definitely like guys.”

“OK…”

“Louis, I’m ace.”

Louis snorted. “Kind of full of yourself, aren’t you?”

—

Or, the one where Louis is a frat boy who likes to hook up and Harry is someone who doesn't hook up ever.

4. Be With Me So Happily (42k)**

Harry Styles may have had his doubts at first, but by the time the gates to the elephant sanctuary came into view he was one hundred percent positive. Louis Tomlinson hated his guts. Like hated, hated. Like loathed-him-on-sight hated.

From what Harry could tell, he hadn’t even done anything close to insulting enough to warrant the disdain that was Louis Tomlinson’s default expression whenever he looked at Harry. It really wasn’t fair. Especially since he’d been lusting after the man from the second he’d laid eyes on that pretty, pretty face with those pretty, pretty eyes.

Or ... the one where Harry Styles has a bad reputation and a heart of gold, and Louis Tomlinson wishes he wasn't so enchanted by boys who looked like Disney characters and wore shirts with bumble bees on them [aka Louis is the director of the Styles Elephant Sanctuary and really doesn't want to babysit his funder's spoiled lay-about son for two months].

5. Walk on the Ocean (26k)**

The boy smirked. “So we’re really playing it this way, huh?”

Louis didn’t miss a beat. “We can play it anyway you want darling.” He dragged a finger along the soft inside of the man’s inner arm, earning a shudder as his nail scraped lightly against the sensitive skin there. He liked that he made him do that, wanted to do it again.

The other man stared down at Louis and searched his eyes. “Yeah. Ok,” he finally said, grinning widely. “My name is Harry.”

—

Harry is an on the rise rock star. Louis is as far from the music scene as a famous producer's son can get. They meet and everything changes.

6. Love is on the Radio (35k)

To win a pair of tickets to watch Manchester United playing, Louis may have possibly lied to Nick Grimshaw on the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show, asking Harry, his best friend, to be his boyfriend. Problem is - Harry has always been in love with Louis and so, this Valentine’s he’s gonna see his dreams come true, with a tiny bit of a twist, in order to watch the football team they have loved together since they were kids.

7. What’s Stopping You? (14k)**

That shirt was what held his attention again. How many other guys had the same shirt that H and Harry had, and – wait. H… Harry. Harry did yoga. So did H. They both had the same shirt, and had both gotten home ten minutes ago and were cooking dinner.

No way.

Louis looked at the picture again, and stared more closely at H’s lips. They were pink and pouty, with the lower lip a bit plumper than the top, just like Harry. And H had brown, curly hair that reached his shoulders, just like Harry.

Louis looked over at Harry, who was putting his hair back up into a bun as the kitchen was most likely getting warmer.

“Holy shit,” Louis whispered. Have I been flirting with my own roommate all this time?

---

Or, the one where Harry wants to get over his crush on Louis, so he makes a Grindr account to find someone new. Of course, Louis messages him, not realizing H's real identity. It only takes a few days for them to figure it out.

8. Come Away With Me (80k)*

Louis had such big plans. He wanted so much out of life, and so did Amy. Now Bridget is going to grow up without a mother, and she’s always going to wonder what it would be like if this hadn’t happened. He wonders if she’ll blame him for her mother’s death as she gets older, or if she’ll understand that this is just as painful for Louis as it is for her. Louis doesn’t know how he’s going to raise her on his own, because he’s a fantastic father, yes, but he’s always been the fun parent, and Amy was in charge of the rules. He doesn’t know how to make sure Bridget has everything she needs all the time, doesn’t know how to make her favorite meal or how to do that one braid she loves to have in her hair or how to teach her to be the best person she can be. He doesn’t know how to live without Amy, he doesn’t know what he’s going to do.

Or, Louis has to pick up the pieces of his and his daughter's life after his wife dies, and Harry is a beautiful stranger that just wants to help.

9. In the Night (19k)

“Papa?” Louis questions, quietly enough that he won’t wake Bridget again. “Where did she even learn that?”

“Um,” Harry breathes, staring down at Bridget’s sleeping face. He should’ve known that that was why she was asking. “I may have told her some other names for ‘dad’ when she asked me the other day,” he admits.

“Oh my god,” Louis chuckles, looking down at her.

“She’s never called me it before, though, and I didn’t even think she would,” he says, rushed.

“She wants you to be her dad so badly,” Louis whispers, the smile fading from his face. Harry glances down at Bridget, unable to help his smile at her sleeping face.

“Yeah,” he mutters, reaching up to push a piece of Bridget’s hair behind her ear. “So do I, to be honest.”

Or, the self-indulgent reversed pov and slight continuation of Come Away With Me.

10. Down the Backs of Table Tops (and Ticket Stubs in the Attic) (7k)**

There's only two of them stuck to the house now, two souls tied to the walls and floor and pipes and appliances. Two souls stuck in a world that's moved on without them. Well, two souls and a cat.

He holds up the red fabric for Harry to get a good look at."We're going to decorate!"

Harry thinks this might be an odd shut-ins version of retail therapy, and he looks to Grimmy for guidance on how to explain to Louis that this will not at all help his cause.

11. Carried Away Like Butterflies (17k)

“Actually…” Liam said, scratching his chin absently. “I have a friend who is moving to London soon.”

“Without anywhere to live? Who is it? Do I want them living in my home?!”

“You met him at my birthday party. Harry, from Cheshire. Remember? Really tight jeans, curly hair down to here?”

Realisation dawned on Louis, staring at Liam who was gesturing round about his nipples. Did he remember Harry? Did he remember Harry?

He remembered Harry’s square front teeth biting into his collarbone, and he remembered Harry moaning, loud and obscene with no provocation. He remembered Harry dropping to his knees at the edge of the bed and roughly pulling Louis closer. He remembered, vividly, Harry’s lovely plump lips wrapping around his-

“Lou?”

“Uh- what?” Louis said, startled. “Oh, yeah. Um, I think I remember him.”

—

It was probably a huge mistake for Louis to let his former One Night Stand move into his spare room, especially when said One Night Stand doesn't seem to remember him.

12. Wholehearted (77k)*

AU. When superstar singer and winner of The Voice Louis Tomlinson tweets “Nothing worse than waking up with no milk for a cuppa !! Gutted” he doesn’t expect someone to bring him some. And he really doesn’t expect that someone to have bright green eyes, long curly hair, and (fucking) dimples.

13. Tea and a Blowjob, In That Order (8k)*

“A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell,” Harry says primly, unfolding his napkin over his lap with an exaggerated gesture.

“Maybe not, but you’ve sure got a penchant for blabbing once you’ve had your arse beat,” Cara says.

14. Before We Evaporate (37k)*

Louis Tomlinson; executive chef and owner of his own five star restaurant, been voted one of the top chefs in London, and has won several awards for his work in the kitchen. He’s always dreamed of being on Chopped, but never believed it would actually happen. Until it does. Now that he’s officially made it onto the show, there’s one tall, curly haired distraction that might just ruin everything for him.

Or the kinda sorta enemies to lovers Chopped AU with far more smut than necessary.

15. Through Struggles, to the Stars (80k)**

Louis is a Starfleet captain trying to find his place in the universe. Harry is a prince just trying to do what's right.

A Star Trek-inspired AU.

16. You Really Got Me Now (6k)**

Louis is the best older brother anyone could ask for. He knows this because he's agreed to help chaperone his younger sister's school trip to Rome. As it turns out, Italy is full of surprises. Fizzy's Italian teacher is surprisingly hot, Rome is surprisingly interesting, and Louis is surprisingly falling in love with more than just the city.

17. The New Romantics (36k)*

After being blindsided and dumped by his boyfriend Isaac, Louis does the only thing he can do: wallow and mope. But when Harry tells Louis that karma’s going to get Isaac eventually, Louis decides karma isn’t moving fast enough. He takes matters into his own hands, and if he has to drag Harry into his schemes and seduction plans, then so be it.

Or a John Tucker Must Die AU featuring drunk dance sessions, bad disguises, and a seduction plan gone wrong.

18. Ain’t My Fault (6k)**

“Liam, M4M is for sex! You posted in a sex forum about your missing jacket.”

“It is not for sex!”

“It is. Trust me.”

“Well, if it helps me find my jacket then I don’t really see why it matters. Besides, someone already texted me about it. This Styles guy’s coming over in a bit to get it.”

“You invited the avocado man to come get his jacket at our flat after posting on a sex forum. Do you see where this is going?”

“I really don’t.”

“Someone is going to have to have sex with the avocado man!” Louis screeches, and Liam covers his ears.

AU. Liam posts an ad on the wrong section of Craigslist, Louis is pretty sure they’re gonna get murdered as a result, and Harry’s missing an avocado.

19. I Walk the Line (55k)**

Professor Louis Tomlinson is the leading researcher in his field. Harry Styles is Louis’ recently hired grad assistant. Sparks fly between them but something doesn’t add up when it comes to Harry, and Louis is determined to find out what.

What happens when everything Louis thought he knew comes crashing down around him? Is he doomed to repeat his past mistakes? Or will he learn to follow his heart and find a way to forge his own path, alongside someone he’s not sure he can trust, but who might just be the best thing to ever happen to him.

349 notes · View notes

wolint · 21 days ago

Text

EVEN SATAN GOES TO CHURCH!

EVEN SATAN GOES TO CHURCH

Luke 13:10-18

PRAYER: Oh Lord, help me to recognise that salvation and deliverance is only in your name and truth. Deliver me oh, Lord from disabling spirits in Jesus’ name, amen.

Shalom

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT’L PRAYER MIN.

#spotify #devotional #christianpost #women's ministry #biblestudy #biblestudy christianpost women's ministry #biblestudy christianpost 'women's ministry #conference #family #prayer meeting

0 notes

theoriginalblackwoman · 8 years ago

Photo

Willie Mae “Big Mamma” Thornton (December 11, 1926-July 25, 1984) -was an American rhythm-and-blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller’s “Hound Dog”, in 1952,[1] which became her biggest hit, staying seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart in 1953[2] and selling almost two million copies.[3] However, her success was overshadowed three years later, when Elvis Presley recorded his more popular rendition of “Hound Dog”.[4] Similarly, Thornton’s “Ball ‘n’ Chain” (written in 1961 but not released until 1968) had a bigger impact when performed and recorded by Janis Joplin in the late 1960s.

Thornton’s performances were characterized by her deep, powerful voice and strong sense of self. She tapped into a liberated black feminist persona, through which she freed herself from many of the expectations of musical, lyrical, and physical practice for black women.[5] She was given her nickname, “Big Mama,” by Frank Schiffman, the manager of Harlem’s Apollo Theater, because of her strong voice, size, and personality. Thornton used her voice to its full potential, once stating that she was louder than any microphone and didn’t want a microphone to ever be as loud as she was. She was known for her strong voice.[6] Joplin’s biographer Alice Echols said that Thornton could sing in a “pretty voice” but did not want to. Thornton said, “My singing comes from my experience.…My own experience. I never had no one teach me nothin’. I never went to school for music or nothin’. I taught myself to sing and to blow harmonica and even to play drums by watchin’ other people! I can’t read music, but I know what I’m singing! I don’t sing like nobody but myself.”[7]

Her style was heavily influenced by gospel music, which she grew up listening to at the home of a preacher, though her genre could be described as blues.[5] Thornton was quoted in a 1980 article in the New York TImes: “when I was comin’ up, listening to Bessie Smith and all, they sung from their heart and soul and expressed themselves. That’s why when I do a song by Jimmy Reed or somebody, I have my own way of singing it. Because I don’t want to be Jimmy Reed, I want to be me. I like to put myself into whatever I’m doin’ so I can feel it”.[8]

Thornton was famous for her transgressive gender expression. She often dressed as a man in her performances, wearing work shirts and slacks. She did not care about the opinions of others and “was openly gay and performed risque songs unabashedly.”[9] Improvisation was a notable part of her performance. She often entered call-and-response exchanges with her band, inserting confident and subversive remarks. Her play with gender and sexuality set the stage for later rock-and-roll artists’ plays with sexuality.[5]

Scholars such as Maureen Mahon have praised Thornton for subverting traditional roles of African-American women.[5] She added a female voice to a field that was dominated by white males, and her strong personality transgressed stereotypes of what an African-American woman should be. This transgression was an integral part of her performance and stage persona.[10] Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin admired her unique style of singing and incorporated elements of it in their own work. Her vocal sound and style of delivery are key parts of her style and are recognizable in Presley’s and Joplin’s work.[7]

Thornton’s birth certificate states that she was born in Ariton, Alabama,[11] but in an interview with Chris Strachwitz she claimed Montgomery, Alabama, as her birthplace, probably because Montgomery was better known than Ariton.[12] She was introduced to music in a Baptist church, where her father was a minister and her mother a singer. She and her six siblings began to sing at early ages.[13] Her mother died young, and Willlie Mae left school and got a job washing and cleaning spittoons in a local tavern. In 1940 she left home and, with the help of Diamond Teeth Mary, joined Sammy Greens Hot Harlem Revue and was soon billed as the “New Bessie Smith”.[12] Her musical education started in the church but continued through her observation of the rhythm-and-blues singers Bessie Smith and Memphis Minnie, whom she deeply admired.[14]

Thornton’s career began to take off when she moved to Houston in 1948. “A new kind of popular blues was coming out of the clubs in Texas and Los Angeles, full of brass horns, jumpy rhythms, and wisecracking lyrics.”[15] She signed a recording contract with Peacock Records in 1951 and performed at the Apollo Theater in 1952. Also in 1952, she recorded “Hound Dog” while working with another Peacock artist, Johnny Otis. The songwriters, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller,[4] were present at the recording, with Leiber demonstrating the song in the vocal style they had envisioned.[16][17] The record was produced by Leiber and Stoller. Otis played drums after the original drummer was unable to play an adequate part. It was the first recording produced by Leiber and Stoller. The record went to number one on the R&B chart.[18] The record made her a star, but she saw little of the profits.[19] On Christmas Day 1954 in a Houston, Texas theatre she witnessed fellow performer Johnny Ace, also signed to Duke and Peacock record labels, accidentally shoot and kill himself while playing with a .22 pistol.[8] Thornton continued to record for Peacock until 1957 and performed in R&B package tours with Junior Parker and Esther Phillips. Thornton originally recorded her song “Ball 'n’ Chain” for Bay-Tone Records in the early 1960s, “and though the label chose not to release the song…they did hold on to the copyright—which meant that Thornton missed out on the publishing royalties when Janis Joplin recorded the song later in the decade.”[14]

As her career began to fade in the late 1950s and early 1960s,[1] she left Houston and relocated to the San Francisco Bay area, “playing clubs in San Francisco and L.A. and recording for a succession of labels”,[14] notably the Berkeley-based Arhoolie Records. In 1965, she toured with the American Folk Blues Festival in Europe,[20] where her success was notable “because very few female blues singers at that time had ever enjoyed success across the Atlantic.”[21] While in England that year, she recorded her first album for Arhoolie, Big Mama Thornton – In Europe. It featured backing by blues veterans Buddy Guy (guitar), Fred Below (drums), Eddie Boyd (keyboards), Jimmy Lee Robinson (bass), and Walter “Shakey” Horton (harmonica), except for three songs on which Fred McDowell provided acoustic slide guitar.

In 1966, Thornton recorded her second album for Arhoolie, Big Mama Thornton with the Muddy Waters Blues Band – 1966, with Muddy Waters (guitar), Sammy Lawhorn (guitar), James Cotton (harmonica), Otis Spann (piano), Luther Johnson (bass guitar), and Francis Clay (drums). She performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1966 and 1968. Her last album for Arhoolie, Ball n’ Chain, was released in 1968. It was made up of tracks from her two previous albums, plus her composition “Ball and Chain” and the standard “Wade in the Water”. A small combo including her frequent guitarist Edward “Bee” Houston provided backup for the two songs. Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company’s performance of “Ball 'n’ Chain” at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and the release of the song on their number one album Cheap Thrills renewed interest in Thornton’s career.[5]

By 1969, Thornton had signed with Mercury Records, which released her most successful album, Stronger Than Dirt, which reached number 198 in the Billboard Top 200 record chart. Thornton had now signed a contract with Pentagram Records and could finally fulfill one of her biggest dreams. A blues woman and the daughter of a preacher, Thornton loved the blues and what she called the “good singing” of gospel artists like the Dixie Hummingbirds and Mahalia Jackson. She had always wanted to record a gospel record, and with the album Saved (PE 10005), she achieved that longtime goal. The album includes the gospel classics “Oh, Happy Day,” “Down By The Riverside,” “Glory, Glory Hallelujah,” “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” “Lord Save Me,” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “One More River” and “Go Down Moses”.[12]

By then the American blues revival had come to an end. While the original blues acts like Thornton mostly played smaller venues, younger people played their versions of blues in massive arenas for big money. Since the blues had seeped into other genres of music, the blues musician no longer needed impoverishment or geography for substantiation; the style was enough. While at home the offers became fewer and smaller, things changed for good in 1972, when Thornton was asked to rejoin the American Folk Blues Festival tour. She thought of Europe as a good place for her, and, with the lack of engagements in the United States, she agreed happily. The tour, beginning on March 2. brought Thornton to Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, where it ended on March 27 in Stockholm. With her on the bill were Eddie Boyd, Big Joe Williams, Robert Pete Williams, T- Bone Walker, Paul Lenart, Hartley Severns, Edward Taylor and Vinton Johnson. As in 1965, they garnered recognition and respect from other musicians who wanted to see them.[12]

In the 1970s, years of heavy drinking began to damage Thornton’s health. She was in a serious auto accident but recovered to perform at the 1973 Newport Jazz Festival with Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson (a recording of this performance, The Blues—A Real Summit Meeting, was released by Buddha Records). Thornton’s last albums were Jail and Sassy Mama for Vanguard Records in 1975. Other songs from the recording session were released in 2000 on Big Mama Swings. Jail captured her performances during mid-1970s concerts at two prisons in the northwestern United States.[12] She was backed by a blues ensemble that featured sustained jams by George “Harmonica” Smith and included the guitarists Doug Macleod, Bee Houston and Steve Wachsman; the drummer Todd Nelson; the saxophonist Bill Potter; the bassist Bruce Sieverson; and the pianist J. D. Nicholson. She toured intensively through the United States and Canada, played at the Juneteenth Blues Fest in Houston and shared the bill with John Lee Hooker.[12] She performed at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1979 and the Newport Jazz Festival in 1980. In the early 1970s, Thornton’s sexual proclivities became a question among blues fans.[15] Big Mama also performed in the “Blues Is a Woman” concert that year, alongside classic blues legend Sippie Wallace, sporting a man’s three-piece suit, straw hat, and gold watch. She sat at stage center and played pieces she wanted to play, which were not on the program.[22] Thornton took part in the Tribal Stomp at Monterey Fairgrounds, the Third Annual Sacramento Blues Festival, the Los Angeles Bicentennial Blues with BB King and Muddy Waters. She was a guest on an ABC-TV special hosted by the actor Hal Holbrook joined by Aretha Franklin and toured through the club scene. She was also part of the award-winning PBS television special Three Generations of the blues with Sippie Wallace and Jeannie Cheatham.[12]

Thornton was found dead at age 57 by medical personnel in a Los Angeles boarding house[23] on July 25, 1984. She died of heart and liver disorders due to her longstanding alcohol abuse. She had lost 255 pounds (116 kg) in a short time as a result of illness, her weight dropping from 350 to 95 pounds (159–43 kg).[14]

Literature: Spörke, Michael: Big Mama Thornton - The Life And Music. Jefferson: McFarland, 2014. ISBN 978-0-7864-7759-3

During her career, Thornton was nominated for the Blues Music Awards six times.[5] In 1984, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. In addition to “Ball 'n’ Chain” and “They Call Me Big Mama,” Thornton wrote twenty other blues songs. Her “Ball 'n’ Chain” is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list of the “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll”.[18]

It wasn’t until Janis Joplin covered Thornton’s “Ball 'n’ Chain” that it became a huge hit. Thornton did not receive compensation for her song, but Joplin gave her the recognition she deserved by having Thornton open for her. Joplin found her singing voice through Thornton, who praised Joplin’s version of “Ball 'n’ Chain”, saying, “That girl feels like I do.”[24]

Thornton subsequently received greater recognition for her popular songs, but she is still underappreciated for her influence on the blues and soul music.[25] Thornton’s music was also influential in shaping American popular music. The lack of appreciation she received for “Hound Dog” and “Ball 'n’ Chain” as they became popular hits is representative of the lack of recognition she received during her career as a whole.[26]

Many critics argue that Thornton’s lack of recognition in the music industry is a reflection of an era of racial segregation in the United States, both physically and in the music industry.[5][26] Scholars suggest that Thornton’s lack of access to broader audiences (both white and black), may have been a barrier to her commercial success as both a vocalist and a composer.[5][26]

The first full-length biography of Thornton, Big Mama Thornton: The Life and Music, by Michael Spörke, was published in 2014.[12]

In 2004, the nonprofit Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, named for Thornton, was founded to offer a musical education to girls from ages eight to eighteen.[5]

youtube

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mama_Thornton

#black history #black herstory #willie mae thornton #big mamma thornton #rhythm #blues #singer #songwriter #black woman #black history month #hounddog #motheroftheblues

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michaelfallcon · 6 years ago

Text

The Essential Sprudge 2018 Holiday Gift Guide

It’s here! The 2018 holiday season is finally here, and with it, a swarm of gift guides great and cheap, big and small, for you and not even remotely for you at all.

Here at Sprudge holiday gift guides are a long-running tradition, dating back to the internet’s earlier, simpler, arguably less evil times. To kick the Guidesapalooza off this year, we tapped three of our favorite regular contributors: Jenn Chen, Zac Cadwalader, and Anna Brones. We asked them some very simple questions: What moves you? What coffee gifts would you give to a loved one? Does this spark joy?

Read on to find out, and happy holiday-ing from all of us at Sprudge.

Image by Sam Lee.

Handmade Mug and Dripper by Sam Lee

There is something particular about drinking coffee out of a handmade mug, something that helps to turn it from routine into ritual. San Francisco-based artist and ceramicist Sam Lee creates beautiful everyday objects, including those made for making and drinking coffee, and I love her style. Her work is simple yet stunning, like in the V60 dripper, glazed to balance the texture of both the smooth glaze and the rough ceramic. Any morning would be made just a little more beautiful with Lee’s work in it. – Anna Brones

Photo courtesy Umeshiso.

Rainbow Cupping Spoon

Born out of a desire to empower themselves and other marginalized folks in the industry at the cupping table, Umeko Motoyoshi created the Rainbow Spoon project. Their store, Umeshiso, has a wide array of pins, cupping spoons, and stickers for your favorite coffee professional. Sold as a single spoon or a set of six, these rainbow spoons offer a perfect bowl depth for a dip and slurp. The spoons are offered on a sliding scale basis to reflect the store’s inclusive mission. Choose to pay the at-cost fee or a few dollars more to contribute back into the project. – Jenn Chen

Terroir Coffee Chocolate and Coffee Blossom Honey

Coffee gifts don’t always have to be coffee. They can also be chocolate and honey. Coffee chocolate and coffee honey. From Terroir—the sister company of Onyx Coffee Lab—comes two tasty sweets cultivated on actual coffee farms. The cacao comes from one of three origins—Colombia, Uganda, and Guatemala—and each bean-to-bar dark chocolate is made with coffee from the same farm. The honey is from Finca El Apiario in Guatemala, produced by bees who only pollinate coffee blossoms. Not only are these products really tasty (I eat the honey on my morning yogurt daily), they are also providing auxiliary revenue streams for the farmers producing them. It’s a great coffee gift for non-coffee people that brings in additional money to the coffeelands. Win win win. – Zac Cadwalader

Image via Snow Peak.

Field Barista kit from Snow Peak

There’s a clear intersection between outdoor lovers and coffee drinkers, and Japanese lifestyle brand Snow Peak caters to the nature enthusiasts who want to ensure that their coffee game is as strong outside as it is at home. The brand’s Field Barista kit is the ultimate in outdoor coffee brewing setup, including a dripper, grinder, and kettle. You don’t have to opt for the entire set, each piece can be purchased separately. The dripper is cone shaped—which will keep your filters from collapsing—and disassembles to fit in a small bag, and the grinder’s handle easily folds down, which makes packing easier. The weight of the kit makes it geared at the kind adventures that include a base camp, or just a morning coffee brew in the local park, as opposed to journeys where weight is a consideration, but if you’ve got the whole set, you just might start to prefer brewing in your backyard to your kitchen counter. – Anna Brones

Photo courtesy Standart.

Standart Subscription

Creative types will appreciate an annual subscription (four issues) to Standart, a beautiful independent print magazine (and 2017 Sprudgie Award winner) dedicated to the art of coffee. The stories, illustrations, and photographs within its pages cover a wide range of global issues and perspectives. You’ll just as easily read a profile with a barista champion right after a piece exploring tasseography, the art of reading tea and coffee leaves. Content is at the forefront in Standart and there’s something for everyone. The subscription is available globally and comes with a bag of coffee roasted exclusively for subscribers. – Jenn Chen

Courtesy of Agate Publishing

Craft Coffee: A Manual

Getting into coffee can be intimidating. It feels like there is an entire lexicon to memorize just to learn how to make a pour-over. Luckily, there is Craft Coffee: A Manual by Jessica Easto. Easto is “not a coffee person,” as she described to Sprudge in our interview with her earlier this year, and that’s the perspective she brings to the pages of Craft Coffee. With the help of her husband and “coffee person” Andreas Willhoff, Easto covers just about everything you need to know to get started on your coffee journey, including: brewing basics, equipment, processing, and step-by-step guides for making coffee with 10 different brewing devices. It’s all the coffee info, none of the intimidation. – Zac Cadwalader

Image by Lindsey Shea.

Ebb Filter by GDS Cloth Goods

Coffee is a product that centers around origin, but while we focus on where our coffee comes from, we don’t always apply the same principles to our brewing equipment. For the coffee drinker who cares about how things are made and where they’re from, Ebb Filter is the perfect gift. This reusable filter is made from organic cotton grown in Texas, processed and woven into fabric in the Carolinas and sewn into final product the Bay Area by GDS Cloth Goods. The filters come in a variety of sizes to fit all types of brew methods, and are wrapped in biodegradable packaging. – Anna Brones

Courtesy of Melodrip

Melodrip

Buying gadgets for a coffee tinkerer can be a tall order because 1) geeky gear is often prohibitively expensive and 2) what even is that thing and how does it make coffee? For those wanting to gift something brewing-related that won’t break the bank, look no further than the Melodrip. Essentially just a dispersion screen on a stick, the Melodrip allows you to drastically cut down on the amount of agitation in the brewing process, which leads to a cleaner cup of coffee, according to the creators. After a successful Kickstarter campaign (of which I backed with my own actual dollars), the Melodrip is now in full production and available for purchase for a cool $45. – Zac Cadwalader

Photo courtesy IWCA.

Charitable Donation

A thoughtful gift for the coffee lover who doesn’t want any physical products, a charitable donation in their name goes a long way to supporting the communities who create your morning brew. Did you know that over 80% of women newly diagnosed with cervical cancer live in developing countries and that 70% of coffee farm laborers are women? Grounds for Health provides cervical cancer screenings at coffee farms. For a more general contribution to the coffeelands, the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) works in 22 countries to empower women at the local community level. And if you’d like to invest in the next generation of farmers, Coffee Kids works with young farmers on business training and seed capital. – Jenn Chen

via It’s A Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod World

Commandante Hand Grinder

I have more hand grinders than I care to mention in polite company, but whenever I go out of town and need a way to pulverize some whole beans, the Commandante manual grinder is always the one I bring with me. Besides being one of the most aesthetically pleasing grinders on the market—just look at all that wood grain!—the German-engineered Commandante is the perfect mix of portable and dependable, making it the ideal suitcase (or day pack) companion. At $250, this isn’t exactly a small gift, but, speaking from opinion here, it’s worth every penny. – Zac Cadwalader

Coffee Isn’t Rocket Science by Sebastien Racineux and Chung-Leng Tran

Have you ever been asked by friends and family how to make better coffee at home? Get them this book. Coffee Isn’t Rocket Science by Sebastien Racineux and Chung-Leng Tran (both co-owners of Hexagone Cafe in Paris) is a well-rounded guide to better understanding and making coffee. For the newly coffee acquainted, it’s a helpful tool for navigating the world of coffee, the kind of book that can always be kept close to the coffee brewing equipment. And for well-versed coffee lovers, it’s a fun resource to include in your coffee library, particular for those moments when you forget some of the basic details of the drink you love. – Anna Brones

Kaffe Box Subscription

Sometimes the best coffee gift is simply just coffee. For those who want to gift coffee but don’t know what is “good,” a subscription is always a solid place to start. As an American who makes primarily filter coffee, I have yet to find a subscription service more up my alley than Norway’s Kaffe Box. Each month, the subscription service works with a different Scandinavian roaster to deliver light-roasted coffee directly to your doorstep. Past roasters include big names like Tim Wendelboe, La Cabra, The Coffee Collective, and Koppi as well as lesser-known micro-roasters like Jacobsen og Svart, Nord, and Talor & Jorgen. To me, this is THE subscription service for lighter-roast filter coffee drinkers. But if you are buying for someone who is an espresso drinker or likes more developed coffees, Trade Coffee is where I would start. – Zac Cadwalader

Via Seal Press.

“So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo

A New York Times bestseller and book that transcends any industry lines, “So You Want to Talk About Race” is a must-read for the well-meaning ally. The book isn’t about coffee, yet like any industry built on colonialism and capitalism, race is inextricably tied to coffee. Oluo breaks down key concepts in a straightforward manner and provides the reader with tangible ways to talk about race. This is a great place to start for those who find themselves saying things like, “But what can I do?” and “I don’t know what that means” after listening to the Black Coffee podcast episodes. – Jenn Chen

The post The Essential Sprudge 2018 Holiday Gift Guide appeared first on Sprudge.

The Essential Sprudge 2018 Holiday Gift Guide published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee

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mrwilliamcharley · 6 years ago

Text

The Essential Sprudge 2018 Holiday Gift Guide

It’s here! The 2018 holiday season is finally here, and with it, a swarm of gift guides great and cheap, big and small, for you and not even remotely for you at all.

Read on to find out, and happy holiday-ing from all of us at Sprudge.

Image by Sam Lee.

Handmade Mug and Dripper by Sam Lee

Photo courtesy Umeshiso.

Rainbow Cupping Spoon

Terroir Coffee Chocolate and Coffee Blossom Honey

Image via Snow Peak.

Field Barista kit from Snow Peak

Photo courtesy Standart.

Standart Subscription

Courtesy of Agate Publishing

Craft Coffee: A Manual

Image by Lindsey Shea.

Ebb Filter by GDS Cloth Goods

Courtesy of Melodrip

Melodrip

Photo courtesy IWCA.

Charitable Donation

via It’s A Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod World

Commandante Hand Grinder

Coffee Isn’t Rocket Science by Sebastien Racineux and Chung-Leng Tran

Kaffe Box Subscription

Via Seal Press.

“So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo

The post The Essential Sprudge 2018 Holiday Gift Guide appeared first on Sprudge.

from Sprudge https://ift.tt/2r5Levs

0 notes

jq37 · 6 years ago

Note

well. that was it.

**spoilers for prompocalypse part 2**

Y'all this is it. The end-end. The last recap, at least for Fantasy High.

I honestly could have gotten this up yesterday but I wanted to give myself a hot sec before it was really over.

But, no way out but through. Let’s get to it.

We start back up right where we left off with no break in between. Cast still freaking, Brennan still gaping.

“What the Fuck.” –Brennan 2019

Anyway, Kristen once again appears in corn heaven and she’s very not chill about it. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. On the plus side, she runs into Doreen in heaven who is young and hot again (which I’m sure Fig would appreciate knowing) and also apologizes for her traumatizing speech to Adaine during her death.

Helio playing beer pong. I wonder if that was always a facet of his personality or if Brennan just decided to yes-and all of Ally’s suggestions of him being a frat bro.

The angels being like, “Please be nice to God. He’s our dad,” was kinda adorable.

“Why are you dressed like a weird stripper?”/“It’s too hot in here. He’s the sun!”

So while the gang has been living out Breakfast Club + Stranger Things, Aguefort has been Weekend and Bernie’s-ing Heaven apparently. I want to say wild, but tbh that’s pretty on brand for him. The wild part is that he was able to knock out GOD. Like, how even?

Aguefort tells Kristen that Sol is one god of many and she says, “Cool, I always thought that,” as if this is new information but, living in a D&D world, shouldn’t she definitively know that already? Like, the gods in fantasy worlds are pretty blatant about letting their presence be known and there are clerics/paladins who aren’t Heleoic but still have powers.

OK I have a bone to pick with Ms. Kristen Applebees. You get a chance to talk to the primordial source of all divine power and magic and you (1) ask who you’re allowed to bone and (2) create a TERRIBLE god. Just truly TRASH. She created a reaction gif god. It’s not even a physical representation of the concept. Like, I thought she meant something like Yass from Wreck it Ralph 2 but no. Just a literal Yes! Like, you can trash talk Helio when you come up with something better, girl. Also, wild that you can just…walk into a room and do that. Like you have to knock out Sol first but still. Wild.

“You’ve created a new deity and already you’re fed up with it. I would say that’s par for the course.”

I low key thought Kristen was going to get the option to deify herself. I think because I had just rewatched The Gamers: Dorkness Rising and that figures in to the plot. But, thinking about it, she wouldn’t have gone for that I don’t think.

Aguefort flipping out at Kristen saying that friendship is the greatest magic of all, and rightfully so. That’s BS.

Since when does Kristen have dog tags?

Anyway, as we all suspected, the chronomancy line from episode 1 wasn’t a random line of dialogue, it was a chekhov’s gun.

I mentioned this in an earlier post. Brennan didn’t seem too concerned that the party was wiping and I think this is why. I think he had two paths for this fight to take. In one, Riz successfully rolled for police and like 6 helpful NPCs plus his mom show up. That’s enough to beat the dragon without dying and Aguefort shows up having Die Hard-ed his way out of heaven. In the other, Kristen dies, goes to heaven, and basically that same series of events happens. Chronomancy saves the day. I think he was shocked because the roll dovetailed so perfectly with the story beat.

“Is Arthur Aguefort black? Hell yes. My brotha.” Gonna be honest, I basically had that same reaction when they showed his character portrait in ep 1.

Kristen and Arthur jump back into the battle and Arthur gets possessed by Mr. Gibbons. I guess he’s just been hanging around as a ghost this whole time? Because this seems to lend credence to the theory that that’s who possessed Fig in the arcade but didn’t we see him go to the afterlife (which, I have a question about that too later). But I feel like that must have been Brennan’s way of sidelining him for the fight so they didn’t have like a level 20 wizard making it too easy.

“Oh, and Jawbone!” Murph loses it.

Jawbone stuck in Goldenhoard’s mouth like that meme of the dog smiling, stuck in a fence.

Gorthalax is like, “I don’t feel great sleeping next to this dude.” Fig meanwhile is all, “I wanna sleep between his legs.” She says this at least twice.

So everyone just have a freaking picnic and takes a nap in the middle of this fight. Can’t say I saw that coming exactly.

Fabian tries to stab Dayne, who is already dead, during the time stop.

“What the fuck do they teach you at this school?”

“Are you talking about the time thing or–”/“Yeah Gorgug! The time thing!.”

“We’re gonna kill this motherfucker, sweetie.”

I love Sklonda so much.

Jawbone is a salad guy.

OK so I know people were shipping Sklonda and Gilear and it was like, “But how would that work with the height difference?” so Brennan, the absolute madman, decides to pair her with the GIANT DEMON???

Adaine about Gilear: Cucked again.

Everyone treating the DRAGON like a JUNGLE GYM.

“It’s basically Jeb Bush’s Campaign.” Ally, with the fury of 1000 suns: EXCUSE ME?

“I bless, [Riz], your mom, and [Fabian.] Are you the only ones with vendettas?”

“I think we’re all pretty blessed.” Gorgug/Zac is so good.

Adaine, who has all the wisdom and intelligence points of the entire party at the moment: You need to stay safe because the reason that we died is that you died.

The shot that shows everyone on the giant dragon and then the foreground fuzzes out and shows Adaine a safe distance away in the background is hilarious.

Ice guitar pick. Sweet.

Yeah, Siobhan really shoulda got healing potions out of her jacket, not the freaking wand. Hilarious. The only thing helpful about that was it hinted he was vulnerable to frost damage which they could have guessed.

I wonder what Brennan had in his notes about the freaking city in Adaine’s jacket. It’s wild they weren’t more curious about that.

I low key loved Emily buffing Murph the whole fight.

“Hell yes Sklonda!”

Ragh: Giving a gay pride speech./Adaine, who doesn’t want to get knocked out again: STAB HIM IN THE DICK DUDE.

And, speaking of, OWWW.

Fig shapeshifting to Dayne. The hell Emily!

And another eye gouging.

Fabian is incapable of doing a single thing without doing some ridiculous parkour stunt first.

Kristen,not twenty minutes after Riz said it would be crazy to go inside the dragon: Can I climb inside the dragon’s mouth? (Adaine: KRISTEN!)

Gorgug saving Skonda and Riz going, “Thanks for saving my mom!” from across the room.

Brennan is narrating the epic final battle and what cool thing everyone is doing and Kristen is just being digested.

Riz was my second choice for the coup de grace until it turned out that Kal ate his dad and then he was my first choice. Riz!!!!

What a badass moment for him. The image of him casting a shadow on the wall is super dope.

Everyone flipping off Kal as he dies.

Riz and Sklonda are making dragon casserole bay-bee!

MURPH FAILS WITH BARDIC INSPIRATION AND BLESS AT A 12 DC.

Aguefort. What a chaos monster.

“I fucked that bird! It is my paramour!”

Hold up, hold up, hold up. Did Kristen’s freaking Yes god kick Sol out of his own freaking heaven? WHAT?

I love that what Adaine got out of this experience was, “Wait, so my powers are bullshit?”

“Everything in this world is bullshit, Ms. Abernant.” Preach.

“So is the sun just a yes now?”/“Maybe.”

Literally 6 cop NPCs. Like they all seem like they’re morons but I’m sure it would have helped!

“Fuck it dude, it’s worth asking.”

“Are you my dad?”/“I was about to ask you the very same thing.”/“What?”

“TAKE HIS EYE. CUT OUT HIS EYE. YOU WANT ME TO BITE IT OUT FOR YOU?”

Brennan really likes the word bud.

Freak the fuck out all the time and just fuck things up.

They got their ice cream later! And Adaine says thank you to Basrar, even though he’s not even there.

Adaine as the 7 freed maidens (way to go Sandra-Lynn) are re-killing Goldenhoard: Us and them are the only good students.

Gorgug’s nat20! What a WILD time for the dice to give that to him.

“You gotta ask. I ask everyone if they’re my dad.”

Gorgug’s dad (Gorbag) has just as low an intelligence score as his son. It’s hilarious but also sweet.

THE VULTURE

I thought that Digby and WIlma just found Gorgug in the woods? Maybe I’m not remembering right. I would guess that was their version of the stork story but they straight up told him what docking was so…

“Do any other federal agents want to step to Arthur Aguefort on the grounds of his school?”

The Aguefort way!

I wonder what Sam has to say about her former BFF selling her out like that and also getting murdered.

It seems like Gorgug was put on the guest list for hell by accident (his relieved reaction was adorable) but I thought that was orc heaven?

Interesting Gorthalax still has pull in hell when he’s a high school coach now.

BILL BILL BILL BILL BILL BILL

How did he watch the fight? Do they have pay per view in hell?

“I doubt Cathilda will end up here.”

Bill is just such a maniac. I love him so much. I wanna say I can’t believe that killing the devil dril tweet was serious but I can. It’s Bill.

Bill and Fabian having a casual convo in HELL.

Oh my God, Fabian’s mom stabbed Bill’s eye out and he proposed on the spot. No wonder Fabian is so into Aelwen. It’s in his DNA.

What a dope ship.

I can’t believe Emily tricked me into thinking that her end speech wasn’t in service to some nonsense. She held it together for so long but I should have known bc it’s EMILY.

“Young lady, I have no idea who that is and I’m telling you right now yes. I will make whoever that person is vice principal.”

Adaine: Uhhhh….we should find Zayn.

Aww, Zayn’s parents were also terrible elves.

Unwanted Wingwoman Kristen Applebees

lol at Adaine casting Ray of Sickness on everyone suggesting she date ghost Zayne. Great callbacks to the early eps all around.

Don’t @ me, but Adaine w/ a ghost boyfriend who also had terrible elf parents might be kinda sick.

“Tomorrow, we’re gonna start training you on how to actually swordfight.” Uhhh, I kinda love Fabian’s mom now?

She literally hasn’t been sober in 15 years. Icon.

“I didn’t know you spoke Tornado.”

Siobhan’s late season tendency to just flip things/people off is hilarious.

Wild that Adaine’s parents just legit DITCHED her that hard and she was like, f ‘em. Clean break.

“She’s helping me spread something.”

Gorgug has so many friends now!!!!!

Lol, Fabian’s whole journey has just been about becoming captain of the Owlbears.

Riz got his PI License.

Lou and Fabian immediately being so mad at the idea of his mom (Hallariel?) getting with Gilear. Emily/Fig having an equal but opposite reaction.

“Mama, I will kill this man.”/“I’ll kill you first, it’s not up to you.”

Sandra-Lynn gets with Jawbone. Did Brennan just roll to pair up everyone?

Also, the group is almost all related or quasi-related now. Gorthalax got with Sklonda which makes Fig and Riz sorta siblings. Gilear got with Hallariel making Fig and Fabian sorta siblings. Jawbone sorta adopted Adaine and he got with Sandra-Lynn, again making Adaine kinda siblings with Fig. Plus Fig claimed Gorgug as a sibling a lot of eps ago and if Kristen sticks with Tracker then she’ll marry into this mess. Crazy!

Fabian totally dipping on the sequel hook because he’s gonna be busy trying to break Aelwen out of jail.

I’ve been keeping up with the fanart but there was some in here I hadn’t seen and it was super dope!

I’m so glad we had the after epilogue-epilogue. It was a very nice send-off.

Adaine using her oracle authority to get Zayn back into school! She’s so good.

Lol and she helped Basrar so he can grant other wishes. I love that this is the NPC that she decided she was going all in for.

Riz and Adaine join AV club! Idk why I love that detail.

Riz cutting off Adaine’s very good question about her jacket w/ his PI talk.

“They’re our rivals.”/“Into it.”

“Is ‘The Ball’ not your real name?” I love Fabian so much.

Zac doing Gorgug’s excited crack-y teenage voice when he’s just concentrating on that and not playing the game is so adorable. He’s just so sweet and enthusiastic and a good kid.

“Guess that tin flower worked, huh?” I cry.

I love that Gorgug’s happy ending is basically just that he has friends now. And that’s literally all he wanted starting out.

“FIG! GO TO BARD CLASS!”

Aww, Ragh and Gorgug are friends now.

I knew it! I at some point pitched the idea of Ragh ending up with one of the AV guys so he would be w/ someone who had enough intelligence to keep him from dying and I’m 90% sure it��s somewhere on my blog but I can’t be bothered to find it right now. But anyway, he’s in the lgbt club w/ Ragh and Kristen so it’s def a possibility!

“My bitch sister? Don’t you fucking dare.” (lol, if that happens then the group will be even more related)

Fabian considering recruiting the Cubbys for his rescue attempt of Aelwen.

“Gilear!” I love that Fig loves Gilear now but still calls him by his first name.

And that was Fantasy High!

I have at least two more posts in the hopper: And epilogue retrospective type deal and also the official JQ37 ranking of all the adults in Fantasy High.

Thanks for sticking with me this far you guys. I can’t draw to save my life and I don’t really do fic so this is the one little way I can contribute to this thing I love so much.

It’s been real and I’ll see you all soon for an epilogue because, no surprise, I have more things to say.

#fantasy high #asks #anon #Anonymous

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glamodasite · 7 years ago

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Banter Babe: Ellis Brooklyn’s Bee Shapiro

What’s your beauty vibe? Is there such a beauty vibe as a mood ring? I’m constantly changing up my look. My makeup beauty goals would probably be Katie Jane Hughes. I’m obsessed with her Instagram account. She does so many cool color and texture combos without looking like she’s wearing a pound of makeup. Also, she does a lot of glitter shades on the eye, and I’m a sucker for anything twinkly.

What’s the first beauty product you owned and loved? My mom was – and still is – obsessed with skincare so I feel like I’ve been using beauty products in some way, shape, or form since I was born. I remember whipping up lanolin oil hair masks in second grade and I also did egg white facials. I’m also part of the Lip Smacker generation. I had five different flavors in elementary school, including my fave: Dr. Pepper. I was also obsessed with Love’s Baby Soft fragrance. The first makeup product I was most into, though, was my black kohl eyeliner from Wet n’ Wild. I was 12 and I would wait until I got to school (so my mom wouldn’t see) and then spend some 10 minutes each day putting on gobs of it. I grew up in Seattle so I thought I was doing the grunge look justice — the important word here is “thought.” It might not have been my best beauty moment but I’m still a big fan of eyeliner, so it really was love.

What’s your favorite beauty treatment splurge? I had a facial from Nichola Joss recently, and I swear my face looked lifted for a week afterwards. I’m a huge proponent of massage in general and she’s best known for this inner mouth massage that hurts so good. She’s also just an immensely talented, lovely person so I absolutely believe in karma and good vibes and all of that.

What’s your daily makeup routine — and how long does it take? I have a 3-year-old and a 19-month-old, so I have gotten very good at putting on makeup in five minutes. That said, I don’t skimp. If it’s the weekend, I’ll skip foundation and might just do a tinted sunscreen. I like the radiant one from Ever or the Skinceuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense, which is so reliable. But if I’m headed to work, then I like a longwear foundation. The Dior Forever is really good, and I like the MAC Pro Longwear nourishing formula. They each have a color that works very well for me. I dot that on with a damp Beauty Blender so it’s still relatively sheer. I almost always wear eye makeup. I have virtually nonexistent eyelashes, so mascara is a must. My go-to lately is Lancome’s Monsieur Big. It’s like Too Faced’s Better Than Sex, but with a less clunky brush. Eyeshadows might be my favorite color product. I have palettes for days. Also Tom Ford just put out some glittery beauties via his Extreme line. I use a black liquid liner on top and a soft kohl or gel eyeliner on the bottom, like the one from Smashbox. For liquid, I’m fairly agnostic, but I do like the Lancome Artliner and Cle de Peau has one that has two different brush ends, thick and thin, which is nice. I might contour with CLE’s bronzy cushion compact; Charlotte Tilbury’s Bronze and Glow is good for days I’m on the oilier side because it’s a powder. I have a bunch of Chanel blushes in a variety of shades, and I’ll dust a tiny bit on just on the tops of my cheeks. For lips, I generally go for a lighter neutral color by day. The new Dior Lacquer Plump is so good—like a stain but not so drying. Brows take me the longest. Lately, I’ve been using two different pencils by Benefit. One has a wide, long tip and the other is very precise and made for drawing in hairs. I also am very into fragrance (obviously!). Since starting my line, Ellis Brooklyn, I pretty much only wear my own. I’m currently over the moon for our new Fawn scent. It’s neroli, coconut milk, amber, lily of the valley; it’s my highbrow-yet-delicious summer scent.

What’s your daily skincare routine? Lately, I start with Skinceuticals Replenishing Cleanser, which is gentle yet gets the job done. Then I’m big on the layering scene. I can always leave a layer off. If it’s pretty mild out, I might just stick to a hyaluronic-based serum. The Innisfree Intensive Rehydrating Serum is so good for the price. Skinceuticals also has a bunch of really great serums. If it’s harsh or dry out, I might layer a cream on. I love the Avene A-Oxitive line. I’m also a huge fan of the Avene Cicalfate Restorative Skin Cream when my skin is on the fritz. At night, I do the same cleanser situation but might also use the Klorane Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover. It’s super effective without being too oily. I’ll go back to the serum and then do an oil instead of a cream. I avoid silicones when I can at night. I think silicones are okay in moderation, but too many skincare products these days over-rely on them. Also, you really don’t need a silicone unless you’re out in the elements. I’ve been into the Elemis Superfoods Oil. Also, the Elemis Pro Collagen Eye Serum is so lovely and sinks in right away.

I’m also a big-time masker. I’m really loving the M-61 Fast Blast Facial Mask lately, which is like a blast of vitamin C in just 2 minutes. At night, I like the Glow Recipe Watermelon Sleeping Mask. If I’m not using the sleeping mask, there are a plethora of glycolic/lactic peeling options out there.

Age gracefully or filler and botox, please and thanks? Currently just aging but definitely considering filler and Botox. With the two kids and the fact I’m turning 37 this year, Mama looks tired. I also discovered all these tiny eye lines recently. It’s like they appeared out of nowhere.

What product do you buy in bulk? Aquaphor. I use it for my kids and myself. For awhile, I tried to eliminate all petroleum jelly and mineral oil from the products our family uses, but then my youngest had very bad eczema and Aquaphor, along with Mustela’s Stelatopia line, was the only thing that worked. I find it one of the best multi-use products, ever.

What’s your save-the-day hair product and why? I am so impressed with the Miriam Quevedo Glacial White Caviar Hydra-Pure Shampoo. After I had my second baby, my scalp would not stop itching. I literally tried everything from scalp masks to scrubs to sulfate-free, etc. This is the only thing that made my scalp stop itching. It’s super gentle, gets the job done, and has some sort of magic (albeit expensive magic) that rebalances your scalp’s flora.

I also really like the Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair hair mask. It smells delicious and really does the job without weighing hair down too much.

Who is responsible for your hair – cut and color? I actually get my hair cuts all over New York. I’m constantly testing out different stylists for my New York Times work. My most recent cut is by Arsen Gurgov. It’s very good because he didn’t over-layer and it’s growing out well.The best cut I ever got, though, was by the master, Serge Normant. I currently don’t have my hair colored, but I am very tempted to go crazy blonde one day.

Best piece of beauty advice you’ve received? This one came from my mom: Don’t focus on being the most beautiful because there will always be someone more beautiful than you out there. Instead, make the most of what you have and then don’t think too much about it.

Who is your beauty icon, and why? Probably Francoise Hardy, but since I will never look like that — I’ve never been good at that effortless French look anyway — I’ve sort of given up on the whole beauty icon business. Instead, I sort of have my muses of the moment. I’m currently super into Fernanda Ly and also the Japanese model, Kozue Akimoto.

What’s your least favorite beauty trend/ look? The angry brow. It’s the one that’s most in your face lately. I’m actually very much in favor of a strong brow but I’ve been seeing so many pairs of angry brows on the subway. What may look decent on Instagram may just look scary in real life.

If you could only do one beauty treatment on the weekly, what would it be and why? A massage, hands down. It just re-centers everything and gets the blood going without doing a workout.

What’s your best kept beauty secret? If you want to keep breakouts at bay before a big event, drink a shot of aloe every morning. Don’t go for the sweetened stuff, go buy a big bottle of straight aloe juice from Whole Foods. The stuff is disgusting but I swear it works.

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— Bee Shapiro, founder of Ellis Brooklyn and New York Times writer.

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