#and yet I played it nonstop when I was 10 and still play it a lot at 16 it's too fun xD

[koka-mi]

I've wanted to post a video of me playing im@s shiny festa for a while!

Next Life was and still is my favorite song to play funky note so here's some gameplay of me playing it on master :3

[royalarchivist]

Cellbit: If it's bugged, I'll even like, watch your clip to see what happened with [spoiler] so we can fix it too.

Baghera: Oh yeah, I can send you a clip! I am gonna send you a clip. I just like, kiss [spoiler] for 10 minutes.

Cellbit: Oh. 😐 Yeah. Um, that sounds a little weird. 🫤

Baghera: That's my problem of– when I see a big monster, I don't run, I just go to the monster, you know?

Cellbit: Oh... yeah... Yeah, that's like, kind of a you thing. Like, that's kind of like your psychology problems, right?

Baghera: Yeah. I just like huge monsters that kills me, yep. Yeah, I think you saw it in your RPG, you know?

Cellbit: Whatever floats your boat, I guess. 🫥

[ Full (Uncensored) Transcript ↓ ]

—

Baghera: [Whispers in an echoing voice] Cellbit? I think I bugged your game! I don't know what to do! I cannot leave! Cellbo!!!

Cellbit: Hi!

Baghera: I think I bugged your game, but I'm good! [Laughs]

Cellbit: Oh. Wait, oh wait– Go ahead, what happened, what happened, what happened?

Baghera: I was like "I'm gonna play for 2 hours, it's gonna be so cool game–" it's like 50 hours game! [Laughs]

Cellbit: Yeah it is. Like, the median- the median time for people to- to finish it has been 18 hours.

Baghera: What the fu– No it's- it's an amazing game. I send you a message, I was so emotive, I was like, "Cellbit, you're so good with the game! Oh, I can't wait."

Cellbit: Oh yeah, I have to reply, I haven't read it yet 'cuz–

Baghera: AND YOU JUST DIDN'T REPLY TO ME! [Laughs]

Cellbit: It's been so fcking chaotic this- these last couple days–

Baghera: No, I know, I know–

Cellbit: It's nonstop work, 'cuz we're still fixing bugs, there's like feedback, uh...

Baghera: No no, I understand.

Cellbit: If it's bugged, I'll even like, watch your clip to see what happened with Goliath– [Struggling not to laugh] so we can fix it too.

Baghera: Oh yeah, I can send you a clip! I am gonna send you a clip. I just like, kiss Goliath for 10 minutes.

Cellbit: Oh. 😐

Baghera: Yeah.

Cellbit: Yeah. Um, that sounds a little weird. 🫤

Baghera: That's my problem of– when I see a big monster, I don't run, I just go to the monster, you know?

Cellbit: Oh... yeah... Yeah, that's like, kind of a you thing. Like, that's kind of like your psychology problems, right?

Baghera: Yeah. I just like huge monsters that kills me, yep. Yeah, I think you saw it in your RPG, you know?

Cellbit: Whatever floats your boat, I guess. 🫥

Baghera: Yeah, yeah.

[velteris]

I’ve seen a fair amount of posts complaining about this arc in Frieren and… we are all entitled to our own opinions etc which is why I will be launching into a Defense of Frieren’s Exam Arc :) Keeping it manga spoiler free since it seems like most of these complaints are from anime-only viewers.

For me the main draw of this arc is the world building. We’ve spent all this time with Frieren and Fern as our main perspectives on magic. Because it’s Frieren, the magics we’ve been hearing about have mostly been a little silly and sweet. But now we’re finding out that 1) “mage” is largely still a combat designation, and 2) Frieren and Fern are actually incredibly jack-of-all-trades when it comes to their magic repertoire. The “magic is visualisation” part is starting to be really leant into and we’re seeing more humans as well who seem to specialise in one magic (steel flowers, rocks, clones, ice and water…) It’s cool!! It’s objectively cool! I love being able to see this range that we wouldn’t have had otherwise! Also it’s fucking fantastic to see how much of a BEAST Fern really is when compared to other human mages. And she doesn’t even seem that aware of it.

Coupled with that is being able to see different people’s philosophies toward magic. I think a lot of viewers are kind of down about the sudden huge influx of side characters who they don’t really care about. But these philosophies—Land’s maximum wait-and-watch, Wirbel and Ubel’s vastly different approaches to killing—keep expanding the world and highlighting Frieren and Fern’s own perspectives. It’s soooo good seeing them react to situations not of their own making and people not of their own kind.

We get to see human society that isn’t a village in the middle of nowhere! We get to see Frieren being forced to socialise! We get to see Fern away from her emotional support elf! We get to see how society has changed since the demon king was defeated! I love that Himmel and co ushered in an era of peace, which it is, and yet the world is still full of conflicts. Truly the story continues after the hero is finished.

To address a few specific complaints I’ve seen brought up:

Frieren isn’t about all these nonstop shounen fights.

Agreed! Which is why it’s cool as hell that Frieren’s main badass shounen strategy is “sit very still for 10 hours”. That aside? There actually hasn’t been much actual fighting. You could probably count up the minutes in which actual spells are being cast and it’ll be something like 2 minutes max in the latest ep20. And that’s because it’s not about who beats who, it’s about the philosophies, the worldbuilding, the ways of thinking about magic. This is not a power-measuring contest, much as Genau would like to make it. And the random lucky draw-ness of the Stilles only plays further into that. It is possible to pass this exam without coming into conflict with others, and certainly without battles to the death. It hasn’t ever been about the shounen fights.

The good part of the show was about the delicate melancholy and that’s totally missing here.

I agree that it’s one of the strong points. But the thing with the melancholy is that it only works when juxtaposed against other moments. A story that’s composed of a bunch of unlinked wistful slice-of-life episodes will eventually fall apart because it has no momentum, no driving force. And ten years to Ende is too long to go without at least some conflict. Also, again, ten-hour bird meditation session?

Anyway, there’s melancholy, but how sad it would be if there was nothing but introspection and wistfulness. Frieren is bringing the memories of Himmel forward with her into the future. That means she has to be moving forward, forging new relationships with unrelated people, going into situations that she hasn’t been in before. A Frieren stuck in the past would be against the themes of the show, of remembering and yet moving on.

Why should I care about them spending ages trying to catch a bird?

You don’t like Stille? 🐤 fweet?

Actually I care lots about this funky thing. Indestructible and goes supersonic fast. That’s fucking hilarious. Bird that simply cannot be contained. Genau is a dick for setting up this kind of exam when, Your Honour, my client Stille does not deserve to be imprisoned.

Too many irrelevant side characters who it’s hard to care about, and they’re gonna be thrown away at the end anyway.

Again, it’s the worldbuilding. And also, mild spoilers for stuff that won’t be covered in the anime, but at least one of these side characters does come back and we get more delicious main character development as a result. Though frankly many of these characters are deeply compelling and interesting to me so I don’t rly get this complaint. Give me more Lawine.

Where’s Himmel? What do these exams have to do with the hero party? Frieren is good because of the links to the past.

Frieren is good because of the links to the past, which affect how Frieren responds to the present. The whole point of Frieren is that Frieren’s life continues. And through her new experiences, she comes to understand and reconnect to the emotions she didn’t realise she felt about her past. I don’t care what Himmel would think of the mage exams, I care what Frieren thinks of them now. And the answer is that she doesn’t really give a damn but she’s in here anyway because Fern strongarmed her into it, and then she was forced to adopt two more kids along the way, and all of that is something she never would have done if she was still hermiting in the Central Lands. Somehow we are still getting Himmel flashbacks anyway? So? He’s still haunting the narrative guys. Just because Frieren isn’t saying “that’s what Hero Himmel would do” out loud in these circumstances doesn’t mean his ghost isn’t here.

Even so, Frieren clearly recognises the name Serie. Do not fear. There is going to be more about links to the past.

I miss Stark.

Fair enough. It’s okay, he’s just on vacation rn. Having an appy juice.

It’s taking too long. The arc is too slow.

It’s only been three episodes… I’ve seen people going “it’s already been three episodes!” but what? Really? Is that considered an excessive amount of time now?? Given the amount of story covered I think it’s quite reasonable? There’s still 8 episodes to go in which we cover the remaining exam stages. Have some patience like Frieren. The payoffs are being set up; they’ll resolve before the end of the mage exam arc. In the meantime, let’s enjoy theorising about the soft magic system and hollering for full auto Fern.

[cococassey]

Ironically, after taking me out of years of kdrama slump, Lovely Runner is going to leave me with a worse slump sniff. This might even surpass any romance kdrama I've watched before as it's focused on the romance first and it didn't go off the rails on the 2nd half. Ryu Sun Jae, pls take responsibility, chuseyo.

Guys I'm still so not over it. As part of "Kidnap Sun Jae and Run" Addicts Anonymous, let me help you cope through this 10 step program:

1. Play OST nonstop

"I Think I Did" and "Sonaki" will definitely be 'memories embedded in my soul' for playing the OST nonstop from when I wake up until I sleep.

It's going to be a tragedy if Byeon Woo Seok doesn't sing any of these live on his upcoming fanmeets. Pls pls pls k-ent gods.

2. Rewatch from the start

Undoubtedly one of my comfort watches from now on. I knew it was going to be good when near end of ep 1, Younha's iconic "Umbrella" song started playing, Sun Jae was walking towards a crying Sol, held the blue umbrella to shield her while he's getting rained on. Aww. I'm so soft for these scenes. (Deja vu to Bogum's MDBC anyone?)

3. If time is limited, watch the last 10 mins of every ep where writer-nim always saves the fireworks till the end!

In ep 2, the OG "I Think I Did" started playing, where a smiling Sol held the yellow umbrella to Sun Jae, and he hopelessly fell for her, is now going down as one of the most iconic scenes in kdrama romance. I'm usually not a fan of instacrush. But their relationship naturally developed more when they got close, during that stretch of Sun Jae's swimming injury plot.

4. For masochists like me, rewatch all the times Sol rejects Sun Jae. Ugh it hurts, but it hurts so good. A lot of rejections, but these 2 scenes...

In ep 9, when college Sol drunkenly curses Sun Jae as "pabo" for always going back to her, when she just keeps on hurting him. But he can't help himself. Sniff.

In ep 12, the setup before that train scene, where Sol asks Sun Jae not to cry when she leaves him to go back to the future. Then cut to next day on the train when she tricks Sun Jae and leaves him alone on the train, and of course Sun Jae can't keep his promise and his tears fall. Simply drama magic.

5. Rewatch the kissing scenes!

Sadly, nothing quite matched that ep 8, very hooot kiss between the 2 now adult Sun Jae and Sol. Sol discovers Sun Jae still pines for her all these years, and Sol finally admitting to him about her true feelings, the pent up feelings for 15 years in that kiss...,whew (fans self)!

6. Rewatch all my fave scenes!

That cherry blossom proposal scene is one of the most beautifully shot ones I've ever seen, glad he axed the first one lol. And a picture of the future wedding scene though imaginary for now! It's our reward for suffering for 15 eps lol.

7. Read and like all LR related posts, bts, stills, fanart.

You know it's a hit when fanart is everywhere, and I can change to a new Sun Jae-Sol wallpaper everyday and bask on the gorgeousness of BWS .

By the way, that latest clip of the live watch with the cast and where BWS is crying in gratitude sniff. He knows his life is also changed forever by this drama. Deserving! I was always intrigued by BWS's looks before, and he really surprised me with his acting, he also has great comedic timing!

It's just rare nowadays that the drama has the whole package, I love the cast and their characters too.

8. Read and like all posts related to BWS and KHY, and the cast.

Kim Hye Yoon poured her heart out on this drama, she really carried it.

I didn't get to talk about the rest of the cast yet. At first, I was getting used to some of the 'over the top' comedy, but by that condom confusion scene, I was laughing too. I love that all of the cast is just going for it even if it's bonkers crazy. But my fave has to be adult celeb Sun Jae's assistant who has this hilarious deadpan face and delivery of lines, and always has that 'tsk tsk what a loser' look of scorn towards Sun Jae, when his boss is at his most embarassing lovesick self mwahah.

9. Recommend LR to every unsuspecting person, let's spread the addiction, and destroy their lives too lol!

10. If still not recovered, go back to step 1! Good luck!

[come-away-with-me87]

Modern Hearts Chapter 10

Chapter 9 here

******

You and Mic hailed a car, and began your descent downtown to the bar.  During the ride, you learned that he has a radio show called "Put Your Hands Up Radio" where he played nonstop music on Friday nights.  Tonight, obviously, he pre recorded his show so he could attend tonight's outing.  Mic had a fascinating persona, and you couldn't help but feel comfortable when you were around him.  He continued to talk more about his radio show, when the car pulled up in front of the bar.  You both paid the driver, got out of the car, and made your way inside.

The atmosphere inside of the bar was very dark and mysterious; you liked it.  It was absolutely packed in there, too, so you and Mic began walking around to see if anyone from your group was there yet.  You both walked around for several minutes until you found Nemuri sitting in a booth by herself; she waved over to the both of you to get your attention.  You slid into the booth, one of you on either side of Nemuri.  "Toshinori and Shouta running late?" you asked. "Ah, as it turns out, Toshinori isn't coming.  Which is fine, he can't drink anyway. I don't know where Shouta's at, hopefully he's on his way" she responded.

Mic stood up and said the first round was on him; he grabbed your orders and went over to the bar to grab the bartender's attention.  Before Mic came back, Shouta made his way to your booth, mumbling something about having to break up a fight between two students, which is why he was late.  "No worries, Eraser!" said Nemuri.  You smiled up at him, "hello, Shouta. I'm just happy you made it.  Mic is up the bar ordering our drinks if you want to grab a drink while he's up there."  Shouta took your advice and went up to the bar and stood next to Mic, who was still waiting for the bartender.

You took this opportunity to get a good look at Shouta; he was in all black, naturally.  He wasn't in his pro-hero gear tonight, though.  He had his ebony hair pulled back into a low ponytail, he was wearing a fitting v-neck long sleeve shirt, black jeans, and black boots.  He looked good.  Nemuri noticed you staring, and nudged you on the arm.  "Ohhh, someone has a crush!" she exclaimed.  You were glad it was dark in the bar because she couldn't see the blush creeping up on your face.  "No no, it's nothing like that," you responded, "it's just strange to see him as an adult now after knowing him as a child."  Nemuri just looked at you knowingly, saying, "okay, whatever you say, Y/N."

The conversation between you and Nemuri ended as quickly as it started as Mic and Shouta came back to the booth at that time.  Mic ordered some sort of girly-looking drink for himself. "What! It tastes good! Who cares how it looks?"  Shouta ordered himself a glass of whiskey on the rocks, and you and Nemuri both ordered glasses of white wine. Shouta sat down on the other side of Mic, so the order was Shouta, Mic, Nemuri and you.  Mic raised up his drink first and toasted, "to Y/N!  We're so happy to have you on our team!"  You all raised your glasses in return and cheered.  You couldn't help but smile; you felt like you were where you belonged.

The conversation and drinks flowed easily that night.  You were all progressively getting drunker as the night went on, and at that point, even Shouta seemed to be having a good time, grinning once in a while at something you said, or rolling his eyes at Mic for a silly joke he said.  You talked to them about life in America, and how their culture was so different than here in Japan.  Nemuri asked if you regret your decision at all, moving back to Japan.  You looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, "I don't.  America was great and all, and I made some good friends while I was there, but Japan is home to me."  Nemuri just smiled at you in response, "well, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're happy you came here."

You were telling them more about America when suddenly, two men approached your table.  One of the men was very tall and muscular, had crimson colored hair, and a scar going down the left side of his face.  The other man was shorter, looked younger, had golden-brown hair, but perhaps his most noticeable feature were his stunning red wings. The taller man said, "well, if it isn't Eraserhead, Present Mic, and Midnight. Getting a little drunk tonight, are we?"  Mic was the first to speak up, "what's up, Endeavor, Hawks? What are you guys doing here?"  "Nevermind that," said who you assumed was 'Hawks', "who is this lovely lady you have with you tonight?" he asked as he sat down next to you.  He was close, and you could see his beautiful golden brown eyes.

Nemuri spoke up this time, saying "Endeavor, Hawks, this is Y/N, she is the new librarian at the high school.  Y/N, this is Endeavor, or Enji Todoroki.  And the man sitting next to you is Hawks, or Keigo Takami."  Keigo took your hand in his, and placed a gentle kiss on the top of your hand.  Wow, this guy was smooth, and he knew it.  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Enji and Keigo," you finally said.  Keigo immediately spoke up, saying, "trust me, the pleasure is all mine."  You felt your cheeks getting hot, this guy really was smooth.  You don't know why you did it, but you quickly glanced over at Shouta, who was frowning down at his empty drink.  "I think I need another drink," he said grumpily before getting up and leaving the booth.

******

To be continued...

******

Tag list: @jaguarthecat ; @lili-pond ; @big-denki-energy

[jtownraindancer]

top 5 burn characters go

Good gods Anon this is evil. Only five!??? 😭💕

I spent like three days trying to make up my mind on this, and I'm still not satisfied, but as of the moment, in no particular order:

The Best Boys

Mr. William Guppy of Kenge & Carboy, Bleak House

He's awkward, he's manipulative, he has no real social skills to speak of, and he's in love. I actually really disliked this character when I first read the book circa 2011, but as Burn seems wont to do, I ended up being completely won over in the end. ^_^; His Guppy is expressive, less a comic relief and almost sympathetic. I mentioned in a conversation with @synthapostate about how Guppy is technically an antagonist, but he's played in such a way that you really can't see it (unlike the book). Also the camera is half in love with Burn this entire series, and it makes it very, very easy to fall in love with this dorky, curly-haired puppy of a man.

Dr. Hermann Gottlieb, Pacific Rim & Pacific Rim: Uprising

I could write sonnets about Hermann for how much I've come to love him. 😅 He's one of the Characters of All Time for me. From his passion, his stubborn resilience, and his sharp humor, to his unwavering loyalty for those he cares for and his ability to care so deeply, how could I not irrevocably fall for him? (Also singlehandedly the cause of the 2023 Burn Binge.) Hermann found his way into my heart from the very beginning, but I never realized how at home he had made himself until the day I turned around and he was patiently waiting for me to see him. I think I fell for him and Newt in the same fell swoop, and my love for both of them is unwavering.

Dr. Owen Harper, Torchwood

I've been in love with this bastard since 2013; I've been repressing that adoration for 10 years. I- I don't really remember the exact moment that my opinion of Owen shifted from extreme dislike to him carving a permanent place in my very being, but there it is. He's sarcastic, an incorrigible flirt, and has one of the biggest, kindest hearts I've ever come across in fiction. At the time, I was pre-Med, and I aspired to be half as compassionate a doctor as him. After Exit Wounds, I gave up Torchwood (I couldn't, not with Tosh gone too.), but I've slowly been dipping my toes back in via Burn's reading of some of the books & the Big Finish audios. It's been 10 years, yet I think I'm more in love with this bastard than I ever was before. (And okay, I admit, he might be my favorite-favorite ^_^;)

Sgt. Detective William Blore, And Then There Were None

Bill, Bill, Bill... He's a crooked cop, he's tired of everyone's nonsense, he's filled with regret, he's probably gay. Detective Blore is yet another classic lit character that I first met back in the late 20-aughts, early 2010s who I really didn't care for. Then 2023 rolls around, and not only did I come to love him in this adaptation, but I've ended up going on an Agatha Christie bender because of it. Burn made me... well love would be too strong a word, but I definitely rank Blore as "a poor little meow meow."

Major Edmund Hewlett, TURN

How could this list be at all complete without including my beloved major? (Just picking a gif for this made me realise how badly I've missed him. 🥺) Edmund is... How do I explain how much I adore this guy? How do I possibly pin down the levels of pride I have in his journey, in his growth, explain the way my heart aches at the twists and turns that will tear him apart and build him back even stronger? How do I possibly do justice in conveying how damn aspirational he is, how merciful, how delightful? I can't, really. He's a force of nature that one must experience for themselves. (And I need to resume my rewatch methinks~)

Runner-Ups

(or the characters who have been spinning in my brain nonstop like rotisserie chickens and absolutely deserve mention)

Ben Jarvis, Cheat

I... I have entire essays I want to write about this guy. I have theories I want to discuss, but as most of them are... I can't. Yet. Maybe soon? I- Anyway. Ben was a huge surprise, and definitely nowhere close to what I was expecting when I finally got around to watching this show. I would be lying to say it wasn't a pleasant surprise, and I absolutely love how Burn was able to do a lot of solo work this series, with a lot of focus on body language and his uncanny knack for killer expressions.

Jacko Argyle, Ordeal By Innocence

This... This beautiful little shit ♡ One of the first Burn movies I actively chose to seek out, my second in his Agatha Christie adaptations, and my first dive into gif making. And Jacko-! Oh, Jacko... You stole my heart then broke it in only a few, few precious moments of screentime and backstory. He haunts the entire film, he haunts me still, and I'm so glad I had the chance to meet him.

Martin, Up There

(Oh look yet another one of my gifs 😅)

Martin is absolutely one of my favourite characters, especially for his absolute growth during the film. He crawls out of his downward spiral, he finds himself again, and ultimately discovers that there can be life after death. He just- He's grumpy, he's beautifully sarcastic, he's depressed, he's loved, and he just- Seriously I love him. Martin feels like a friend who I haven't seen in an age, and it's always a good day to bump into him again.

Reverend Benedict Marley, Lark Rise to Candleford

I almost forgot my favourite clergyman??? D:

Benedict Marley came into my life just to shake my very foundations, send me on an existential journey of self discovery, and waited for me at the end of it all with a soft smile and encouraging words. He only had one episode in the show, but his story was so easily woven and understood, his humility humbled me, and in ways that make me almost afraid to admit aloud- I felt seen in a way that I ever so rarely am. I connected to him; I understand him. He has depths that I could hardly explain in a single paragraph, but I can say that- out of all these characters- my feelings are birthed more out of a very deep respect and admiration.

I can't say this list will stay the same- I'm far from through with Burn's portfolio- but for his on-screen roles, these guys firmly remain top-tier for me. :)

(If you'd like to hear about his voice work instead, please let me know; I could go on for Hours about some of those lads. ♡)

Thanks for the ask Anon, and if you haven't seen any of these yet, I definitely recommend them!

[geneeste]

🎶 when you get this, put 5 songs you actually listen to, then publish. Send this ask to 10 of your followers (positivity is cool) 🎶

This is a fantastic ask, and because I love music so much I'm giving you way more than you asked for. XD (I used to do music dumps on LJ, boy I miss that.)

Here's my top five most played, according to iTunes:

Fortress by Bear's Den And a coward might call it a conscience / and a liar might call it the truth / nothing could ever make me more frightened / than the thought of hurting you / how could I hurt you?

This one because I listened to it nonstop while I was writing Reclaim (I really should have called it The Fortress Remix).

Which Witch by Florence + The Machine I'm not beaten by this yet / you can't tell me to regret / been in the dark since the day we met / fire, help me to forget

This is is just so good, reminds me of Sam/Jack, and is (along with two other songs on this list) seminal songs on my playlist for the sequel to A Goddamn Blaze in the Dark. (A lot of these are going to be about that series, because I'm trying desperately to finish writing it.)

Wild Roses by Of Monsters and Men A serpent on a bed of leaves / in the month of May / what do you want me to say? / you keep me still when all I feel / is an aimless direction / when I think I'm losin' connection / I see you

One of the seminal songs for the sequel to AGDBITD. Also just very good.

No Light, No Light by Florence + The Machine No light, no light / in your bright blue eyes / I never knew daylight could be so violent / a revelation in the light of day / you can't choose what stays and what fades away / and I'd do anything to make you stay

This one I was surprised by because I don't think I ever put it on specifically, so if it's played a lot it's just by chance. Having said that, it is on my playlist for the sequel to AGDBITD, my Sam/Jack playlist, and my Faves playlist.

If U Love Me Now by MUNA There's me in the corner / throwing a fit, making a mess of it / don't you love me now? / there's me under the table / hiding from my lovers and my allies / don't you love me now? / it's just a hypothesis or test / that I should not exist / don't you love me now? / there's me in the doorway telling you, please / you should just let me leave / if you love me now

Oof, this one is just pure Sam from AGDBITD. But like, later. You'll see.

These are the last five songs I added to my Sam/Jack playlist (which often doubles as my AGDBITD playlist when I don't want to include the 90s songs, LOL):

Face Down In The Moment by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats You keep waiting on the night / you keep waiting on your pain / and every moment that you wait now / is a moment slipped away / I think you're gonna have to come out and face / all the fear you can't explain / and all your life, you've been face down / now it's time for you to see

Okay, so there are actually, in total, 3 sequels to AGDBITD and I'm working on them all simultaneously (because of course I am). This song reminds me deeply of the third sequel, for reasons I can't tell you. XD

God Needs The Devil by Jonah Kagen Mm, mm, I'm in love / in a nightmare, please don't wake me up / got a bad case of making bad love / it's who I am, not who I was / but that's life, boy, what can you do? / I need someone, and I need 'em soon / I called the doc and got new shoes / but all roads still lead back to you

Another one that reminds me of the last AGDBITD sequel. For reasons.

(midnight) by Lewis Watson We ran to the border line / where the northern lights flew over us / another cold midnight / but I could lay right here forever / and in distant skies / beyond the trees and rolling hills / we watched the city die / but I could lay right here forever

Just a good, solid Sam/Jack song.

Destroy Destroy Destroy by Transviolet I didn't come here to beg you for what is mine / gun to my head, we've been here a thousand times / and you're scared to death 'cause I'm seeing red / with eyes known to set fires / and I didn't come here to beg you for what is mine

This one reminds of the second sequel to AGDBITD. Again, for reasons. I'm so mean. It's also just a banger.

Your Design by Grace Mitchell Keep calm, color in the lines / no grey, only black and white / big eyes little appetite / long run on a short line / I've been pushed into overtime / it all turned on me on a dime / kind heart with a filthy mind / somebody tell me this is real life

I'm sorry to keep doing this to you, but it's a great song for the second AGDBITD sequel. And of course it's just a excellent song.

Finally, the last five songs I added to my Faves playlist:

Here & Now (Alternative Version) by clay pigeon I could have been your victory, I'll probably be your loss Could have been everything you wished I was not Or every grave detail running through your head Could have been that picture you keep above your bed But I'm here and now

I love a melancholy breakup song.

Heal by Sleeping At Last As I grow older, I hold tighter to a world hell-bent on change / I'd be lyin' if I told you that I wasn't afraid / in the currency of memory, nothing costs more than pain / but you remind me fourteen thousand days or so I'm still okay / you remind me that my body was born to heal / you remind me that my body was born to heal over time / you remind me that my body was born to heal before it dies / you remind me

In the grand tradition of Ryan O'Neal ripping one's heart from one's chest, putting it back better, and making it as though nothing happened, there's this song.

You (feat. Hermanos Gutiérrez) by RY X I woke up falling / and press into your side / your body's an ocean / pull me into your tides

RX Y is a really interesting band in that their songs are often more about the actual instrumentals than the lyrics. This is one of those.

Gone With Your Ghost by Black Match Did I make you happy / or was it pretend? / you know that you had me / but you jumped the fence / did I make you happy / or was it pretend? / 'cause all that we had just / slipped through my hands / gone with your ghost

Another fantastic breakup song. Also a good one for the third sequel to AGDBITD. Oops! Forget I said that.

Cover To Cover by Nathan Ball Take your time / turn back to the lie where I'm hoping to find you / if only to feel bad / there's no need to feel bad / see your eyes, two stars in the night / and my mind's taking over / time is a healer / this time it's hurting

Yet another fabulous breakup song. A companion to Gone With Your Ghost, if you will. Ahem.

[mikasa-imadebiscults]

Hiii,I hope you’re doing well today! If your match-ups are still open,I’d like to request one. If it’s not too much to ask,could I request a JJK + Demon Slayer + AOT matchup? If not,just JJK + Demon Slayer is fine! Thank you in advance.

• About me:

Appearance-wise,I have a pale skin tone and rosy cheeks (people always assume I’m blushing when really it’s just how my face naturally looks 🥲) I have medium length wavy brunette hair,greenish eyes and I’m 5’5 but am a bit on the chubbier side. When it comes to fashion,I personally love to wear anything that is cozy yet cute! Occasionally I’ll wear something that is considered “fashionable” if I really feel like it. Personality-wise,I am an ISFJ and a Hufflepuff with my zodiac sign being Cancer. I have a rather shy and hushed personality at first,wanting to be polite and friendly enough while still maintaining some distance. If you’re able to get to know me more however,I’ll begin to break out of my shell,just enough to be noticeable. For an example,I’ll become less shy and awkward about things and more so comfortable enough to act more like myself. If we’re close friends,I can be: talkative,friendly,passionate,loyal,supportive,funny,and maybe even a little bit teasing! I tend to be the friend that people go to for advice,because I’m quite nonjudgmental and can take on a more mature mindset when being asked to share my thoughts on something. Despite my nonjudgmental nature,I can be honest and blunt about things if need be,because I’d rather be the kind of friend that is 100% real with you and tells you what you need to hear rather than what you’d want to hear. On the more negative side to my personality,I’m overly emotional and prone to taking things too personally. I’m also a huge over-thinker,getting overly anxious about things without giving myself the time to think or relax for a second. I’m a natural perfectionist and a people pleaser that tries to avoid confrontation as much as possible,and I struggle with self-confidence myself as well. I have a low social battery and tend to exhaust myself from being around people for a long time period,which makes me prefer hanging out with people one-on-one instead of in groups. I don’t like to be in large crowds either,it overwhelms me when things get too loud and crowded.

• Likes:

Video games,animanga,food,music,shopping,cute aesthetics,sleeping,TV shows or movies,writing,reading,photography,baking,and animals!

•Dislikes:

Weather that is too hot or too cold,loud or abrupt noises,insects,when things are disorganized,rude and disrespectful behavior…

• Love language:

Quality time and words of affirmation (with a sprinkle of physical touch on my behalf)

—

By the way,I would prefer an adult male matchup. And I apologize if I included too much text,but thank you again and have a great day. Take care! ❤️

(HELLO, DON’T WORRY IT’S NOT TOO MUCH TEXT. I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS AND TAKE CARE TOO!!)

I match you with..

Gojo Satoru

- Teases you about your rosy cheeks but not in a mean way though.

- He’ll break you out of your shell very quickly and after that the both of you will be talking all the time nonstop.

- You two get really competitive when playing games together. Y’all make bets like whoever wins gets the last of the snacks.

- When he’s feeling curious, he likes to sneakily read what you write about.

- When he finds out that you have low self confidence he’ll compliment you much more, hoping and praying that it will help you.

- If you tease him a little bit, he’ll reciprocate 10 times more.

- You two will have competitions on who can make the other laugh the most.

- He tries to reassure you the best he can even though he’s not the best at using his words. He tries to distract you from your problems such as taking you out to eat, shopping, etc.

- Points out animals he sees when you two are walking.

Armin Arlert

- When the both of you are alone he likes to kiss both of your cheeks and smile whenever he sees your smile.

- Words of affirmation is his specialty. If you’re ever feeling down, upset, angry, frustrated, or discouraged about something, he’ll be there to reassure you no matter what the problem is.

- A big fan of hand holding, but only if you’re okay with it and you’re not uncomfortable.

- If you two are at a party he always keeps an eye on you and scan to see any little signs of discomfort on you.

- He helps you organize things whenever stuff gets super unorganized.

- He likes to listen to you talk about the books that you read.

- There’s a photo album that he made that has lots of pictures of you and him together.

- If you’re having a bad day he’ll cook you some of your favorite meals.

- He tries to help you with your overthinking and emotions by coming up with different solutions.

Giyuu Tomioka

- He loves it when you talk to him, he enjoys your company and he’s glad that you’re here with him.

- He wants to know more about your interests so he asks for manga and anime recommendations so he can watch it and talk to you about it without being confused.

- He loves listening to you talk about your interests with such passion.

- Often times you two will just sit on the couch and watch your favorite shows while eating food.

- One time the both of you fell asleep listening to music in your room.

- Whenever there’s a loud and abrupt noise he always turns to look at you to make sure that you’re okay.

- He kills bugs for you so you won’t get grossed out or scared.

- Sometimes on a rare occasion he smiles at your jokes.

- He can relate to the low social battery so he understands when you’re feeling exhausted from all the socializing of the day.

Masterlist

[achy-boo]

The Traumatic Past of The Solace Brothers

Tw: Child Neglect, abuse, bullying, happy life turn into a nightmare, murder of their mother, attempted murder, run away from home.

AN: This is Lysander's POV

"I thought we had a perfect life. However I was wrong."

Isidore and I came from a big family of 10, three brothers, three sisters, mother, father..and me and Isidore. I was one of the oldest siblings and yet only Isidore and 4 others trusted me while the others..they just brushed me off as the child with no emotions. My mother is nice while my father is a man who had time for the others but not me and Isidore. It does hurt when time goes by, it does not hurt anymore. I still have my siblings but I never let Isidore out of my life..I can not. And I never knew why. I had a deeper bond with Isidore than anyone in my family. My mother..she was kind, gentle and charming. She made a lot of friends and nobody hated her. My father..he is ruthless, stern and strict. He has very few close friends and he gets jealous very easily. Day by Day, I noticed that my mother and father argue constantly in the living room. My father accused my mother of cheating again. This is never new to any of us since my mother is very loyal to him and him alone. 

But..I noticed that Isidore and I were abused by my father and most of our siblings for defending our mother. The abuse is not bad at first then slowly it gets worse until one of us nearly dies by the abuse. I was disappointed and I rebelled against my father’s wishes to be just like him. And I got into arguments with my father way more than any of my siblings. One night, my father attacked me but lucky Isidore screamed before he murdered me. I still have those stitches to this day. My mother takes the abuse from her husband and children for us..she never wanted us to be hurt like she did. Isidore and I cried to her whenever we saw her bleeding but she comforted us saying that we are her children..none of our siblings is worth her time and effort. It seems they are dead to her but she still stayed for me and Isidore.

The arguments got worse..there are sounds of our father throwing things and yelling at my mother along with my siblings. I grew to despise my father and siblings as Isidore grew more violent with his words and attacks. Life at home was normal here..until..THEY killed her..my mother with blunt force trauma. I was numb..Isidore was numb. Everyone was numb. We all started to notice the atmosphere in the house turning..dull and still. One of my older sisters rushed towards our parents’ room and came back reading my mother’s diary out loud, revealing that our mother is loyal this whole time..and she has a life of being a nanny, a baby sister and a waitress. We all just stood there while we all processed the information. My father and my siblings look at us..then worsen the abuse. I..had enough..WE had enough..we want them gone. GONE from our lives. We grabbed the money from the safe in the basement when everyone was asleep and ran away together. We both used our skills in our abusive household to be where we are right now. My name is Lysander Solace, the head leader of a secret organization. The older brother of Isidore Solace. The follower of Jasper, The Aeon of Dreams. Let me ask you something: Would you tell anyone about the past of Isidore and I? 

Little notes of Lysander and Isidore: Lysander was forced to play the piano by their father nonstop until he had to go to the hospital. Isidore has a bloodthirty side after they both witness the mother was killed in front of them. A trigger that unfortunately happen.

AN: I chose the song Phantom Pain because it reminds me of how the Solace brother's mother protected them until her demise. This song is damn sad and I cried 6 times because of this.

@dxmoness @yevene @mewpangxin @zhengbobatw @primordixl @hsr-texts (I wanna add you because you seem nice :> ) @lxdymoon0357 @crownxie @xphantasmagoriax (You deserve this too :>) @inkybloom-luv

[gilliebee]

nine (9) people you'd like to know better

I got tagged by the wonderful @five4boarding and tumblr never gives me a little +1 notification icon when I get tagged in anything (like any other type of note would, so I don’t get it!!), so I live in fear that I’m always gonna miss these BUT I caught this one at least 👉😎👉

Last song: during my morning walk I randomly remembered the catchiest depression bop and then remembered the first time I looked up the guy's wiki and saw that he played hockey and I was like you're telling me a knife-footed ice-gremlin sang this???? (swiss juniors but still high level for his age bracket I think?) Anyway... Tomorrow May Not Be Better (specifically this version https://open.spotify.com/track/0V1quXmlVC6eH5kcfYPWEW ) by Bastian Baker still slaps to this very day 😌👌

Currently watching: My longstanding guilty pleasure is docs/commentary videos about any and all scams, particularly mlms/pyramid schemes. So it should come as no surprise that my brand new guilty pleasure is debt confessions/financial audits on youtube 🙈 I've been been watching a few by caleb hammer whose gimmick is that he gordon ramsey style shames people who come in with their financial records and he's like hey. why do you have $120,000 in consumer debt? why did you finance an ipad for your literal infant child?? why have you spent 30 dollars multiple times a day every day at dunkin for the last 3 months??? (the last one is an exaggeration but the first two I have seen LOL). His thumbnails are wretched I hate them so, so much, and his advice of living spartan-like for a few years to dig yourself out of the hole is ehhh maybe good in theory but generally not exactly...practical. And I think going cold turkey when you're used to constant impulse buying is basically a recipe for just eventually losing control and going on a bender. But. I'm nosy and love hearing about how people be spending their money so that's the best part of the videos for me lol

Currently reading: haven't picked up something new yet BUT I juuuust finished An Unauthorised Fan Treatise which was SO GOOD I literally slammed it nonstop for two days until I finished it. It's formatted like a rpf conspiracy theory livejournal where a fangirl of a supernatural-drama show compiles evidence that the two lead actors are secretly dating. BUT it's noted that the livejournal has been submitted as evidence into for a murder trial so y'know TWISTS AND TURNS lol. There's just something about the format that really compels me, idk I already love reading primers and conspiracies for hrpf couples that I literally have zero investment in and never will- I just enjoy the way the girlies spin a good narrative. (and also watching video essays about the uhhh less casual to super trainwreck ones like the whole larry fiasco even though I never got into 1D, as well as general fandom fiascos like msscribe and snapewives etc etc IT'S ALL SO FASCINATING TO ME 🍿👀) So it was a really natural fit for me to read in a fictional setting. And it's free to read! https://gottiewrites.com/2019/10/14/31/

Current obsession: I’m a hobbyist game maker so at all times I am rotating little bits of character development, experimental mechanics, aesthetics, ui design etc etc in my brain but it becomes much more mentally consuming during the off-season bc god knows when bruins hockey is live it is Featured Live 24/7 In My Brain. But for now... my OCs on my mind 😌💭

tagging (if you want to): OH NO I’M SO BASHFUL I NEVER KNOW WHO TO TAG IN THESE 🫣🫣🫣 uh uh uhh maybe @ghostgeno @alavenderleaf @tylerbertuzzi @reavenedges-lies @krugstrash if y’all are so inclined?? but also no pressure no pressure again I’m just NOSY hehe

[omniuravity]

Ranking all of the songs in Helluva Boss:

This list will not include songs in the Pilot (The Jingle and Oh Millie), minor songs (the Teacher's Song, My World Is Burning Down Around Me), or Just Look My Way (cause I haven't seen the video yet)

Here's the list! From least to most favorite.

19. Chaz Time (S2 Ep3)

It was a short song and honestly not a good song. I do like Chaz's voice though.

18. Mustang Dong (S1 Ep3)

It's a good song, but there are better songs.

17. Crashin' A Muthafuckin' Wedding (S2 Ep3)

It kind of reminds me of Before He Cheats, Church Bells, and I Don't Even Know Her Name. It's definitely a badass Millie song.

16. Til the Day We Die (S2 Ep2)

This is just a worse version of "Oh Millie". It's not bad, just not really good.

15. Striker's Song (Sweet Victory) (S1 Ep5)

This song has always just been eh to me. It's not a bad song, but I'm honestly not a fan.

14. The Ballad of Striker (S2 Ep4)

I like this a little more then Sweet Victory, but it's not really as good.

13. Stolas Sings (S2 Ep1)

This is probably the weakest song sang by Stolas. It's definitely heartbreaking, but it is not as strong as Stolas' other songs.

12. Juggling Iz Cool (S2 Ep7)

I love Tom Cardy, so this might be a little biased. However, this is a good song. I just wish it was longer.

11. Regular Joe (S2 Ep5)

I'm honestly not that big of a fan of the Millie songs, but it is pretty good. I have been waiting for Millie's character development, and this episode never really gave it to me.

10. You Got The Power (Millie's Big Show) (S2 Ep5)

This song intercut with the fight between Blitzø, Moxxie, Barbie, and the teen is really good. It is a pretty good song.

9. Crooked (S2 Ep7)

I wish this was higher cause I love Fizz and Ozzie. However, I still really like this as one of the only love songs that isn't sang by Moxxie and Millie.

8. Vacay to Bonetown (S1 Ep3)

I love this song despite it being so short, it's still a good song.

7. Moxxie's Bad Trip (S1 Ep6)

This song is thematically strong being intercut with both Moxxie and Blitzø's hallucinations. Moxxie struggles with his fear of rejection, but so does Blitzø. Moxxie's hallucination being themed after Phantom of the Opera also makes it slightly better.

6. Klown Bitch (S2 Ep7)

Episode 7 of Season 2 has some of the best songs in the entire show. I'm honestly glad this song was played in the credits cause it was so good! It kind of reminds me of KDA.

5. Cotton Candy (S1 Ep8)

I love Kesha! Also this song is a great representation of Bee as a character. I think Cotton Candy was also a great way to set the scene of Bee's party.

4. Look At This! (S2 Ep6)

Might be a little biased because I love Alex Brightman, but this is just a really good song. The ending also cracks me up every time.

3. You Will Be Okay (S1 Ep2)

This song is basically More Than Anything before More Than Anything Existed. This song is what sold me on Stolas' new voice actor. I legit cried when I first heard this song.

2. House of Asmodeus (S1 Ep7)

I love the different parts of this song. It's a good cap to the end of the season. It's one of my all time favorites.

1. 2 Minutes Notice (S2 Ep7)

I think we've all had a shitty boss we wish we could sing this song to. I listened to this song nonstop for weeks after this episode came out.

[hazygrains]

September 3 – 4, 2022

This trip finally pushed through after planning it for quite a while! We, bisprins, wanted to spend our time together away from the city, but I honestly couldn’t remember how we all ended up agreeing to go to the inflatable island. Can I just say that this was one of the most exhausting yet, at the same time, relaxing trips I had experienced? First off, the weather was already bad, days before this trip. The southwest monsoon being enhanced by the tropical typhoon and some unforeseen circumstances made us almost back out, but screw it, we still pushed through, rain or shine. So the day before our trip, we decided to just meet up at the office. Most of us were scheduled to work from home that day, so we all just went to the office after our shift. We also wanted to meet up with the tech team that was in the office and celebrated our officemate’s birthday.

September 2, 2022 – Friday | Ry‘s birthday celebration + office Friday socials

We spent a few hours bonding with everyone, then around 8 pm, we decided to go ahead and travel to Zambales. On our way out of the office, Ems decided to go out with us and go home. It was funny because we were supposed to just drop her off at her place, but then she asked us where we were going and if she could also come, and we all agreed. We accompanied her to her condo to pack for like 5-10 minutes. It was way too sudden and crazy! We love spontaneity!

We arrived around 2 am at Jhaey‘s place in Zambales. We were all drained from the travel, so after we freshened up, we called it a day. We woke up around 6 am because the time slot we booked for the inflatable island was the earliest, 8 am. We still needed to travel from Zambales to Olongapo, which was like an hour’s drive away. We were all regretting our life decisions at this point. Lol! We arrived past our scheduled time, but the management agreed to move it to 9 am. The weather was gloomy, and it was raining every now and then. The downside of this weather was that the rain turned the sea water brown and murky, and there were trash strewn about. Srsly gross! Anyhoo, we took the Sprinkle pass, and that was an hour access to the floating island. Thank goodness, we took just the hour pass because dannnng, it felt like we were there for so long. We wanted our time to end already. It was fun, though. We all slipped and fell in the water. But yes, never again.

After the exhausting activity, Jhaey brought us to this authentic Korean restaurant somewhere in Subic. We were all famished! And that moment was the highlight of my day. It was by far the best k-restau I’ve ever been to! Super yummy, reasonable prices, and large servings. Can’t wait to go back there! We went back to Zambales after that scrumptious brunch. We caught up on lost sleep, and since it was raining nonstop that day, we decided to just rest, spend time together. We didn’t even bother drinking, but we still played question card games for deeper conversations. And talked about everything and nothing ’til the wee hours.

Our itinerary wasn’t followed due to the weather. We were supposed to try the new pizza place near Jhaey’s and also visit Mapanuepe Lake, but oh well. We just stayed at the beachfront and grabbed lunch/celebrated Marnie‘s birthday before we went back to the jungle. We still made the most of our time, and I was happy to spend my weekend with these beautiful people. ♡

P.S. We had work the next day and most of us called in sick. This trip was definitely one for the books.

The following days after this trip were tough for me and my family. I had an emergency when we were on our way home from Zambales. I went straight to the hospital when we arrived in the metro. Mama’s heart wasn’t doing well, and she was brought to the hospital. She underwent an angiogram procedure, and the doctor suggested doing a bypass operation because she has three clogged arteries. She’s still recovering and is doing somewhat okay now. My siblings and I are still asking for politicians/government’s financial help. A lot has already helped, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Her coronary bypass operation is scheduled for January next year. I hope everything goes well.

[flownintothesun]

 ⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───    𝟏𝟑. 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬?

                              ⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬. ( @imprvdente )

**Disclaimer : I'm not sure how 'weird' all of these will be, but they'll at least be headcanons and I shall do my best to make them silly if I can think of them !!

𝐈. 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐗

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── When Francis gets super duper flustered, he starts hiccuping. It's a very big tell and it's super cute. He'll try to stave it off or hold it back, and then it ends up shaking his whole body. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever and he has a glorious strawberry-red blush to match. So, if you make him hiccup, that means you're doing something to fluster him (good on you). Not that Fish would ever do that, nope, not ever. This headcanon was developed when my dear @olivierperrier was still active.

𝐈𝐈. 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐌𝐂𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐘

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── In the rare verse where Westley has actually gotten to grow up with his mam on the farm in Scotland — he has an ongoing feud with a rooster named 'The Colonel'. It started when he was a tot and was chased around nonstop. Doris (his mam, @batteredoptimist 's lovely) tried very very hard not to laugh. The rooster lived to a ripe old age and when he was gone, Westley cried, but still curses his name.

𝐈𝐈𝐈. 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍 𝐆𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── One of Marin's earliest (and only, depending on verse) memories of her mam is of her red hair, and of her singing in Scottish Gaelic to her. Song is a big influence in Marin's life. In quite a few of her verses now, I headcanon her to (unknowingly) be half-siren, if the verse allows for magic. She loves to sing, and it calms everyone around her. Also, no matter the verse, she wears a thistle necklace that her mam gave to her when she was very young. (For more siren!Marin headcanons, click the link.)

𝐈𝐕. 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐎 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐈

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── Hm, at first glance, this Italian badass has no flaws or weaknesses. In fact, he looks like he belongs on the cover of a Harlequin romance book — shirtless and sweaty and sexy all pressed up against some girl. There's just one thing preventing that from happening. Mariano is scared shitless of horses. Why? We don't know. He just told me one day, I laughed, we rolled with it. 11/10 will swear in full Italian fear and will try to play it off. Also, all of those things like 'don't break your spaghetti in front of an Italian. Yeah. True.

𝐕. 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐗

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── Probably my newest headcanon (not necessarily a weird one because of all the muses on tumblr, Luci's probably the most underdeveloped of my OCs) is that Luci has heterochromia, meaning that her eyes are different colors. One is a lovely shade of blue-grey (like her mother's), and it leaks into the other eye before turning a soft shade of brown (like her father's).

𝐕𝐈. 𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍 𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐋𝐑𝐀𝐒

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── Enjolras is one I haven't gotten to write with a ton to develop yet, so I don't have a multitude of headcanons for him. What I do have is a little more tragic than it is 'weird' or 'funny'. For all of the ways he strives to help the underdog, and the poor — Enjolras himself was born into the upper class and a very wealthy family. In school, he learned of the struggles of the people in the streets and kind of tried to martyr himself down to their level to join the fight and use his voice. He cut off his parents and no longer sees them or acknowledges them. Nevertheless, both of his parents love him and want him to come home.

𝐕𝐈𝐈. 𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐗-𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍-𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐎𝐑

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── Henry is also a bit of a sad case, I think. Please mind that I have not seen the movie and it's been about a year since my last reread of the book — but I think that when his father died, he very nearly tried to run away and become a stage actor (think Shakespeare type thing) and writer in his father's memory. I actually have a verse for this. However, when his mother shut down, and Bea started coping in unhealthy ways — instead of pursuing grief in the way his heart called him to do so — he internalized everything and was there for everyone else instead.

[bike42]

Tuesday July 4, 2023

Happy Fourth of July!  I’m delighted, for the 3rd time in my life, to be in a National Park on July 4th (2012 Glacier, 2014 Yellowstone, 2023 Glacier)!  For me, being immersed in a National Treasure like this is better than fireworks!

We had heavy rain last night after we’d returned to the tent, and awoke to an overcast moist morning.  Breakfast was a warm dish of rice with sugar, cinnamon and probably canned apples - it was warm and someone else planned and prepared it!

Apparently, the campsite Todd and the Rawhousers’ ended up with had a river run through it and they were drenched overnight.  Due to that, we had a later start (10:30a).  Jeff and I shook out our tent the best we could, but it felt 5 pounds heavier today!  We hung out at the food prep site and chatted with other hikers while we waited for the others to get packed up.

The weather cleared up, but forecast said storms after 3:30p so that kept us moving along today.  We followed the Belly River, stopping at a beautiful waterfall (Dawn Mist).  We took several “pack off” breaks including time for delayering.  My feet were just a bit damp when we started (same socks as yesterday) but they didn’t feel bad or cause any trouble.  I actually felt great all day and hiked close to Todd who is a nonstop wealth of information - plants, animals, park history, etc.  We sure hit the jackpot again with our guide!

We forded Mokawanis River, most of us walking barefoot using poles to steady ourselves.  The water was refreshingly cold, the bottom was flat pebbles, and the current was strong.  We ate a lunch of peanut butter on pita with dried bananas and enjoying the river, flowing out of Copsey Lake (named for the first Ranger at Glacier).  He named these other lakes as well:  Elizabeth, Sue, Helen and Margaret (not after daughters according to Todd).  While we were eating lunch another Glacier Guide came by with some of his group.  Apparently, some in his group struggled yesterday so he changed his permit to stay two nights to allow R&R for the group, and several of them were out just for a short day trip.  Both he and Todd had been baseball pitchers and got into a rock skipping duel, the likes of which I’d never seen!

We saw several other couples, but we’re off the CDT and Alternate CDT routes now for a couple of days.  We arrived at our camp at the foot of Glenn’s Lake (foot) a little after 3pm.  It was nice to get to camp and get everything dried out!  Also to have time to chill out. 

There is just one other couple at this camp, a really nice couple from Boulder.  They went out into the lake, which prompted Tam and I to try to take a quick dip.  The lake had a very long shallow portion, so by the time we’d walked out to the deeper water, we were already frozen!  We dipped up to our shoulders, which took all the bravery I could muster!  We walked out quickly and toweled off, feeling like pins and needles, yet very refreshing!!

We had an early dinner @ 5:30pm.  Afterwards, Jeff and I played a game of Cribbage but mosquitoes made us stop at one game (our box of cards was destroyed from being in the bottom of my pack, but Todd had a set of cards).  Tam and Dan were down at the lake in search of a moose and came back reporting beaver sighting!  We were just about to turn in, but we went to the lake with the others and we were entertained by a busy momma beaver (obvious teats) - eating willows along the shore just a little ways from us.  She seemed to know we were there, but ignored us.  After she swam away Todd walked through there and then she slapped her tail.

As we retired, the predicted rain hadn’t happened yet, just some rumblings in the distance.  I read for a bit, and at 9:30p - the storm came with gusto: thunder, lightning and heavy rain.  I put in my ear plugs, covered my eyes with my mask and snuggled into my sleeping bag (still a little chilled from my lake dip).

6.35 miles, 542 ft elevation gain, 4 hours

[mmhaterade]

2023 Hater's Guide to the NCAA South Region.

1. Alabama (29-5). Nate “Quaker” Oats has a long way to go before his squad graduates to levels of orchestrated murder and cover-ups not seen since the 2003 Baylor squad – but buddy, we are getting close! Let me recap: their best player has yet to face any discipline for delivering a gun to his (now former) teammate, who committed a murder shortly after. As a result of the shooting, there’s now a five-year-old who will grow up without a mother because apparently “nobody fights without guns anymore.” The response from the university, athletic department, and head coach has been – at best – tone deaf and at worse, embarrassingly trite. Now, their fans are wearing shirts reading “Killin’ our way through the SEC in ’23.” Nuke this entire state from orbit – it’s the only way to be sure.

2. Arizona (28-6). They always manage to have a solid team despite their location in the middle of a desert. You know, playing basketball in a desert offers a lot of difficulties. Number one being, you’re playing basketball in a desert.

3. Baylor (22-10). During an external review of how the university handled sexual assaults, a final report stated Baylor administrators actively discouraged reporting of sexual assaults, the athletic department continually failed to address sexual assault and high-ranking school officials suppressed reports of 52 (!) rapes and sexual misconduct incidents between 2011-14. FIFTY-TWO. Like most institutions of higher education, Baylor is more interested in protecting their brand than their students. Cocaine Bear is 100% based on the daring and exhilarating adventures of Baylor live mascots (Buckshot and Juan) rampaging through Waco!

4. Virginia (25-7). If we wanted to watch the most boring brand of basketball ever, we would have invited the Wisconsin Badgers to this tournament. Virginia will always be the school for students not racist enough to get into Mississippi or Tennessee but too white to go anywhere else (looking at you, Sam Hauser). 

5. San Diego State (27-6). Every year we are forced to read a myriad number of stories detailing how experienced (read: old) this team is, or how “it’s finally the Aztecs’ year!” Until this team employs traditional Aztec warfare strategies – capturing their opponents to sacrifice them in religious rituals -- you can count on them never making the second weekend of the tournament.

6. Creighton (21-12). Stop trying to make Creighton happen. It’s never going to happen. These idiot fans practically rioted when the basketball team hired a black head coach. For the last twenty years they’ve sported a full erection for white three-point shooters who can’t play defense. You might as well root for a team of IT project managers playing basketball while wearing those inflatable dinosaur costumes; they have the exact same chance of making the round of 32 as Creighton.

7. Missouri (24-9). The Tigers have not won a conference championship in 30 years. 96% of their fans pronounce the state name as “misery.” That is the perfect way to describe living in this state. Can you name one relevant historical “moment” about Mizzou basketball? Don’t bother checking the internet; their Wikipedia page is just a list of their records against Big 12 and SEC schools. This school has no redeeming value, every single one of their 24 wins could be defined as “empty,” and I would rather drink battery acid than watch them play.

8. Maryland (21-12). The charter member of the ACC will never be accepted as a member of the Big Ten, but oh wow, look at these bags of money we got from TV networks! Oh, well we guess you can join. Where do I start with these people? 

Kevin Willard ain’t it. This guy bitched nonstop the one year the Big Ten played their conference tournament in NYC. He still looks like a penis in a suit.

The women’s team is tougher than the men’s team six days a week and twice on Sunday. 

People usually riot when they are angry about something; these idiots do so when their teams win key games.

They had a student group called “The Turgeonites” who dressed up as…their head coach? 

This program’s glory days ended before the ink could dry on Gary Williams’ retirement papers. 

9. West Virginia (19-14). It’s hard for me to like anything Buzz Williams has done during his career traveling to various backwoods outposts of college basketball, but this moment of him dancing to “Take Me Home, Country Roads” on the WVU logo after a Marquette win in 2012 was incredible. Fuck Bob Huggins and his stool; get this guy a Lazy Boy recliner already. West Virginia recently gave Huggins’ stool a degree because its IQ is better than 2/3 of the student body.

10. Utah State (26-8). Between 2000-2010, the Aggies amassed the fourth most wins in college basketball behind Duke, Kansas, and Gonzaga, but nobody noticed because…it’s Utah. The campus boasts the oldest continuously operating college of business in the West. They are too busy claiming they invented fry sauce (ketchup + mayonnaise mixed together) and catching powder to pay attention to a bouncing orange ball.

11. NC State (23-10). It’s OK if you’ve forgotten about this school, what with their proximity to Duke and North Carolina – Chapel Hill. The Wolfpack have not won their conference since 1989 and their conference tournament since 1987. In the late 80’s, the program – led by Jim Valvano, now known as “Jimmy V” – was accused of grade fixing, lowered or waived entrance requirements for athletes, frequent drug use by athletes (hey, it was the 80s), and the selling of sneakers and game tickets for spending money. Look, those Cookout burgers and milkshakes weren’t going to buy themselves. Any school that boasts Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson as alumni can be rocketed straight into the Mariana Trench.

12. Charleston (31-3). They’ve had a nice season and are a bit under-seeded here but miss me with this team as a popular upset pick; four appearances in the last quarter century have netted a 1-4 record. Pat Kelsey seems like a genuinely nice guy though. Charleston is the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and their most famous alumni are “not good enough to be a Wayans brother” Orlando Jones and Erick Avari, a guy you vaguely recognize but HAVE NEVER HEARD HIS NAME UNTIL NOW.

13. Furman (27-7). Yes, this is a real basketball team – with uniforms, too! The always entertaining Eye on College Basketball podcast noted that this school should adopt FurMan – just a hairy beast – as their mascot, and I’ll never not think of that now. Fun fact: the university was closed from 1861-1866 so most students could enlist with Confederate forces during the Civil War. Cannon fodder indeed.

14. UCSB (27-7). What is a Gaucho and why has this university chosen a folk symbol of…Argentina as their mascot? Apparently, a gaucho is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. I usually laugh out loud when I think about horses, solely because of this skit. It was a horse.

15. Princeton (21-8). I fully expected this spot to belong to Yale and had a great writeup by longtime Hater’s Guide contributor CW. Everyone wants to pick these paper tigers because a long, long time ago they managed to upset UCLA in the first round 43-41. While you ponder that blindness-inducing final score, read the writeup on Yale anyway:

Yale. It’s always a question about who is smarter: Harvard or Yale students? Well, this story should answer that question. Harvard Pranks Yale With Hilarious Fake Admissions Tour. Harvard students buy Yale sweatshirts then march onto the Yale campus where they pose as tour guides. It’s not entirely clear how they do this without the notice of the Yale admissions staff (Editor’s note: they are dumb), but in the video, they attack a group of a half dozen prospective students and their parents and proceed to give a spiel that makes Yale sound far inferior. “Yale is in many ways Harvard’s little, perhaps less successful sister,” says one fake tour guide, who goes on to make fun of the excessive amount of Gothic architecture on campus. “Yale students are stupider than Harvard students, Yale students are not as successful as Harvard students, Yale students are not as attractive as Harvard students,” he says, while the touring families look on, weirdly unfazed. Even the potential Yale students are trash.

16. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (23-10) / Southeast Missouri State (19-16). Neither of these teams has a snowball’s chance in Hell of upsetting Alabama, so when picking a rooting interest here, just think about where you would rather live – Corpus Christi, Texas, or Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Missouri just scares me for no other reason than a lot of people got their heads blown off in Ozark. At least in Corpus Christi you have actual beaches on a nice body of water -- the Mississippi River doesn’t count, you savages.

[peakwealth]

PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC BABY

Detail, National Museum, Songkhla, Thailand. February 2023

. . .

RETURN TO ASIA, THREE YEARS LATER (1)

. . .

You blow into Southeast Asia, your head spinning with worry about the war in Ukraine, about inflation, about the decay of democracy and about the climate crisis of course. And then, nothing. It is as if those things didn't apply once you are in Asia. As if they weren't for real. Bad dreams that only happened to old countries full of old people.

If there is any existential angst about the climate here, it is hard to detect. Granted, the afternoons may be getting a little hot, but these are the tropics after all and you just turn up the aircon. Problem solved. Why agonise over it?

As for Ukraine, where is that?

Aside from Japan and South Korea, countries in this part of the Asia still consider themselves 'under construction'. They are free to industrialize, to build new cities, oil and container terminals, airports, motorways, whatever. China's growth may have slowed recently, but the Asian frenzy of development is not over yet. Forests are still being cleared (1), thermal power plants are being built. Solar farms and wind turbines are not yet a common sight around here. More than 90 % of electricity in peninsular Malaysia comes from fossil fuel, mostly coal. Malaysia is 'losing' forest cover at a suicidal rate. (2) The clock isn't ticking loud enough.

. . .

Mural, backstreet, Hanoi, Vietnam. February 2023

I had never seen a actual Rolls Royce SUV until yesterday when one pulled up across the street. It looked a little chunky for such an exalted limousine but out stepped an elegant women in green. She was met by an attendant, in black, who had been standing by on the sidewalk with a parasol. Together they hurried up the few stairs to the door of the imposing Lavender-by-Chang Luxury Spa in Saigon's third arrondissement.

Such is Saigon today.

To think that the USA waged war to prevent Vietnam falling into Communist hands.

The pursuit and display of conspicuous affluence remains a no-brainer in Saigon, just as it is elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Status seeking is everywhere, it is manic and it drives development. Nothing symbolizes it better than having a limo, black as a matter of course, preferably a Mercedes-Benz S Class parked in front of a luxury hotel. (A Rolls or Bentley may be a touch over the top.)

Back in the eighties, I witnessed how the infatuation with lurid wealth took root in China. Soon it spread all over the neighbourhood. Vietnam may have come a little late to the party but it has made up for it in sheer get-rich enthusiasm. Consumed as it is with the unrelenting fantasy of luxury and ostentation, life in Vietnam can appear far from zen. But, clearly, this is not how it is perceived here.

Today Vietnam has one of the fastest growing economies anywhere. The country is hoping to multiply incomes by a factor of eight by the year 2050, raising the GDP from not quite USD 4000 to USD 35 000 per person and per year. For now, the economy is expanding by around 8 - 10 % a year. That translates into gogo capitalism. In practical terms: Saigon is drowning in nonstop traffic and the air pollution is off the scale.

The question is if anyone cares? When Greta Thunberg, the West's favourite climate activist, reminds us that "the house is on fire", it cannot be assumed that her words resonate much in Asia.

. . .

Low lying land south of Saigon. February 2023.

It is no secret that Vietnam is a country particularly exposed to climate change, particularly to rising sea levels. A large part of the south, around the Mekong delta, is projected to be under water by the end of the century. Encroaching salinity is a further threat to agricultural production, beginning with all-important rice cultivation in the delta.

Even though Vietnam has formally committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, there is little sign yet that the economy can or will be rewired for decarbonization. An analysis by the global consulting firm PcW found that the country had no net-zero policy in place at the end of 2021. Nor did any large corporation. Vietnam also remains one of the top-ten coal power generating countries in the world.

Like neighbouring countries, it is dragging its feet, waiting for foreign funding to implement greener climate policies. The logic is that since the West caused climate change to begin with, it should pay for the damage control.

Asia is looking for 'non-disruptive' ways to meet climate targets. You can interpret that as business as usual or else as a gentle energy transition that will create new opportunities for growth rather than interfere with it. Dire predictions about rising temperatures and how they will depress economic output have not as yet been, well, internalized.

In the meantime, the economy motors ahead. Limiting growth, lifting the foot off the pedal of progress and affluence is not a popular concept here. The music must keep playing, 24/7.

____________________________________________ (1) Vietnam enjoys a grace period to stop deforestation until 2030.

(2) source: www.globalforestwatch.org

See, as an example:  https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/?analysis=eyJzaG93QW5hbHlzaXMiOnRydWUsImhpZGRlbiI6ZmFsc2V9&map=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%3D%3D&mapMenu=eyJzZWFyY2giOiJtYWxheXNpYSJ9&menu=eyJtZW51U2VjdGlvbiI6IiIsImRhdGFzZXRDYXRlZ29yeSI6IiJ9