#blackbird is one my favourite books in general

[r7inyz]

hide and seek fazbear frights my beloved they can never make me hate u,,,,,

WHY AM I JUST NOW FINDING OUT HOW HATED HIDE AND SEEK IS!

It's my favorite story come on!

Please I looking for more hide and seek fans!

[thenwethrowitonthefire]

Fandom people you want to get to know better

Tagged by @harriet-bailes

3 Ships you like: Marith, Raeda, Catbirds (Laura/Shelley). (Bonus mention of Crowley/Aziraphale because I can't not mention them, but I think literally everyone already knew.)

First ship ever: believe it or not, but my having-identified-as-aroace-for-a-long-time-and-only-recently-realised-sapphic ass feels like they don't ship very much, I tend to just follow what I'm presented with and either like or dislike that, but I generally don't necessarily Will It one way or another. So going with the kind of definition of shipping where I myself wanted things in canon to go a certain way? Huntara/Perfuma. (I also love where canon ended up though!) The only other time I actively shipped was Laura/Shelley. (However if the definition of ship here is the first pairing I actively liked, the answer here would have been Neo/Trinity.)

Last song you heard: Benjamin Clementine - Ode From Joyce

Favourite childhood book: Tim de Merel. (The title means Tim the blackbird.) I've never been much of a reader and I don't think I necessarily grasped the full context of the book as a child, but it's basically a blackbird who leaves his nest/garden and has adventures all over the world. (I only recently realised the book is him writing letters to his parents about his adventures, even though the cover of the book is literally made to look like a postcard I feel like I missed that fact back then (I really was quite young when I read it). But it makes sense that that's why stories in the book were segmented the way they were. It worked perfectly for my audhd brain though.) I really liked the fact that the animals in the book were not made to be too human, they very much were still fully animal. I liked animals so much better than people (I didn't like people at all truth be told), which explains why it was one of the very few books I liked. (Another book I liked was about a really small human girl who had adventures in the animal world, I didn't necessarily like her, but I really liked the animals. It had great pictures, too.)

Currently reading: as I said, I don't really read. But a very nice book that's been laying next to my bed the last 2 years is Braiding Sweetgrass, which was a gift from a good friend. I've read a little bit of it, eventually I'll read more if it. I'm sure it's really good :) (Talking fanfic, I'm reading Seasons of Lilith - the story that follows after Answers For Mary. At the moment I'm also slow with reading fanfic though.)

Currently watching: nothing really, though I generally do tend to watch a lot of things. I'm a bit in-between things with so many shows having been cancelled. I just finished a rewatch of Sense8 though. I love it and it's extremely beautiful, but it's also rather more violence filled than where my current taste is at.

Currently consuming: warmth. (It's 9:30pm and I'm cold and tired. I had enough to eat with supper, so I'm enjoying some blankets now.)

Currently craving: peace, rest. Both personally and globally. (In daytime it'll be the same answer with the addition of candy, I've really been enjoying candy recently. I think my brain has been needing extra sugar.)

NO PRESSURE TAGS: @nobodyorlando @impromptugarrote @jyou-no-sonoko19 @tokyoterri2 @hydr0phius @confessions-of-ailu (< I still owe you a reply from my main blog - I'm so sorry it's taking me so long!)

Anyone else who wants to do this one, consider yourselves tagged by me! (Apologies if I tagged you and you've already done this.)

[littlebirdygirly]

Hi! I’m Milady Amethyst. (Or just “Milady,” if you wish, 😉)

And this is my blog!

Before we get started, there are some things you should know about me. I’ve always thought that meet-the-authors were cool, so to kick things off, why don’t we start one here!

(Feel free to ask me anything I may have missed on my “Ask Me Anything…” page! 😊)

My favourite movie(s):

🤍 Twilight!!

🤍 Kong: Skull Island

🤍 Pride and Prejudice (2005)

🤍 Snow White and the Huntsman

🤍 A Christmas Prince

My favourite tv show(s):

🤍 Gilmore Girls

🤍 Sherlock

🤍 Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

🤍 Once Upon a Time

My favourite book(s):

🤍 Villette by Charlotte Brontë

🤍 The Undoing of Saint Silvanus by Beth Moore

🤍 The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

🤍 Angel in the Woods by Rachel Starr Thomson

My favourite artist(s):

🤍 Lana Del Rey

🤍 Taylor Swift

🤍 Billie Eilish

🤍 Olivia Rodrigo

My comfort character(s):

🤍 Bucky Barnes

🤍 Wanda Maximoff

🤍 Rory Gilmore

My favourite aesthetic(s):

🤍 Dark Academia

🤍 Light Academia

(Honestly, just about anything academia)

My favourite weather:

🤍 Thunderstorms

My favourite season:

🤍 Autumn 🍂🍁🥮

I also live in Canada, have a blind and deaf cat named Denim, and love all things English and grammar, (even though my posts on here will surely beg to differ, 🙈😂).

I love comfy sweaters and walking barefoot, and I’m recently recovering from a horrible fear of spiders!

To anyone who understands this, I’m an enneagram type 2 and an ENFP on the Myers-Briggs.

I love coffee and tea, but am overcaffeinated easily, so I have to avoid them most of the time.

I like making a game out of people learning how to spell my irl full name. (It’s honestly quite amusing.)

And I absolutely LOVE creative writing (or any kind of writing in general, 🙈) which feeds my hope of becoming a thriving blogger and published author one day.

So, this is me! Welcome to my blog, and I’m so glad to start becoming a member of the community on here.

See you soon! 👋🏻

[dansnaturepictures]

21/04/21-Terrific Thursley: Part 1 of 2 (The story of the day and wildlife photos) “Colin” the Cuckoo, Redstart, Woodlarks, Dartford Warbler and more: 10 different pictures in this photoset to those I tweeted tonight 

We did another of the most anticipated of our day trips this week off and one of the key ones in our June week off of day trips last year, and go to Thursley Common in Surrey today. On our ninth trip here since first coming in 2017 we left Missy and my Mum’s partner at home and came with some foldable chairs to try and see the famous “Colin” the Cuckoo and sit in the field for as long as we needed in order to see the bird. We set off on our walk when at the common and took in the beautiful landscape with the sun in and out, we were especially enthused to notice the area with the vegetation appeared to be recovering nicely from the fire here last year. Due to a very high photo yield again today I am doing two blogs tonight with 10 different pictures to the ones I tweeted on Dans_Pictures so after this post I will do one with 10 landscape pictures I took today. As part of that it was special to hear a Curlew calling one of the endangered species that was feared for the most as a result of the fire, and we liked seeing a Linnet in a tree too.

We then arrived in the field and overlooked the area the Cuckoo comes to and feeds in a field, we had seen this bird twice before seeing him flying in 2018 and seeing him and getting pictures at the top of a tree here in 2019. Soon upon arrival as we sat down I was delighted to see a Woodlark yet again this year we have seen an incredible amount of these birds so far this year a bird I had only seen twice before 2021. Then after approaching half an hour with us sat comfortably in our chairs things really started to happen, first a pair of Chaffinches came down to the area which was nice to see they were regulars all afternoon I managed the second picture in this photoset among others of the female. Then the Redstart in the first picture in this photoset that I took today came and sat on one of the sticks we saw this one throughout the afternoon too and got cracking views of this such beautiful and bright red, black and grey bird.

In terms of the Cuckoo we needed to go from nought to sixty really as not only had we not seen one yet this year but we hadn’t heard one either a very a key part of experiencing a cuckoo in a year obviously in previous years I’d always heard Cuckoo before visiting Thursley at least and sometimes even seen one before this was the earliest Thursley visit we’d done in a year I think. Then things did start to happen with the Cuckoo. First we heard the bird at a distance. Then we heard him so much closer one as if by magic he was in a tree behind us and we saw him, our first Cuckoo of the year my 143rd species of 2021 and it was the second time my first Cuckoo of the year had been Colin of Thursley Common. It was surreal at this first moment and all afternoon to hear a Cuckoo calling so closely. It’s so pure and magical and almost unbelievable that you can actually hear it. I did find it almost sounded different close up but amazing. He then spectacularly flew right over us and checked out the area he comes before flying over into a nearer tree the other side. A magnificent view.

We were then thrilled and so over the moon as he had the first of two stints sitting and feeding whilst we were there for a truly magical few hours. It was phenomenal and sensational to be just metres away from one of our finest and most beautiful birds. It made us so happy it really was just a perfect 15-20 minutes. We got to make out this bird so well in the sun too for much of it and it was just incredible making out his distinctive markings and posture of the iconic Cuckoo and see him eat mealworms using this as a valuable chance to take photos including the third and fourth in this photoset that I took today. 

After he flew off he still called in the trees quite a bit, and the Woodlarks rather took over as two wandered into the feeding area and it was exceptional to be so close to this beautiful bird to it really was extraordinary to be so close to these as well I took the fifth picture in this photoset of the pair. The male Redstart stayed around the second of this species I had seen this year after Saturday’s female at Stanpit Marsh. Chaffinches stayed put for most of the afternoon and Robin, Blackbird and Carrion Crows made appearances eating some of the mealworms too. It was also great to hear Green Woodpecker and Curlew. Later on when the Cuckoo was back hearing Cuckoo and Curlew together was a dream natural moment.

“Colin” slipped on to the stick more subtly for the second stint we witnessed. It was amazing once again to see him, and this stint as the in and out sun lowered to create real nice light was longer and we even left with him still calling and showing from the nearer tree when we went which is always rewarding. We were so in aw as he flew from the branch to patches of mealworms on the ground and back, occasionally going up into the tree and then coming back again we were truly spoiled now. It was just so spectacular to see his shiny grey feathers and piercing eyes so close to us, there was one point he came so close to us as we’d moved around to put the sunlight behind us and it was one of the best experiences I had ever had with this stunning species. It was in the range to be some of my best ever photos not only of the bird but of any picture. I took the final five pictures in this photoset of the bird during this period. The first picture I took on Friday after clearing my memory card after burning my latest batch of pictures to a disk was of a Woodpigeon in the garden pretty close so when I flicked right through my photos on my camera when I got to the end of the latest batch of Cuckoos it slid into the Woodpigeon but I was as close to the Cuckoo and therefore it looked to my eyes as strong the pictures of this quite rare migrant as the one of a common garden bird did.

What he did differently this next time was called a lot and it was such a phenomenal experience again. I even managed to record him doing this on my phone as I have done with a Cuckoo before just before we left just for my personal use which I liked a different souvenir to the 24 photos I produced of him, both so precious for me. Well this week had things been different we could have been at one of the greatest places for nature in the country having one of the most intimate and amazing experiences of nature in this country with one of my favourite birds and maybe been on Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire, Wales and seeing the Puffins as we did have a holiday there booked this week which we postponed to next year. But I was absolutely getting just that with this extraordinary Cuckoo and the other top class wildlife today. It was the perfect way to enjoy this one of my favourite birds in my 10 year anniversary year of seeing my first some of my greatest and closest ever views and moments with a Cuckoo this was the stuff of dreams for sure. I have to say a key part too of why I just had so much fun this afternoon and felt so in aw of what was happening was at a safe social distance the people we got to talk to as well. Those who watch Colin a lot so gave us invaluable information about this special bird, this special reserve as well as helpful tips on how to get the best photos, Cuckoos and everyone else people who had never or rarely been before about the Cuckoos, Thursley and general nature topics. It was so much sheer fun had today, and all at no cost and in a safe way. What a day, one of my best this week, this year and ever! As the lowering sun coming out more and more created a great light evening we were stunned alongside some other birds to see another star of Thursey, another of my favourites and another I am having a brilliant year for the Dartford Warbler as we walked back seeing one fly and on the tops of vegetation. The icing on the cake. And it was nice to take pictures as I tweeted of the trees getting greener and greener outside when home and the Starlings gathering on the green again. As I said, my next post shall have some landscape picture I took today. 

Wildlife Sightings Summary for Thursley Common: My first of one of my favourite birds the Cuckoo this year, three more of my favourite birds the Dartford Warbler, Buzzard and Red Kite with two of the latter some great raptor experiences seeing them fly over the nice vantage point of the field we saw a Buzzard on the way in too, Kestrel in a raptor hat trick, Redstart, Woodlark, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Stonechat, Robin, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Grey Squirrel, Peacock butterfly briefly, bees and I heard Curlew and another of my favourite birds the Green Woodpecker. 

[siarven]

About Me Tag

Thanks for tagging me @kittensartswriting <333 :D I hope your job applications go well in these daunting times :’)

Name/Nickname: Jana

Gender: dragon genderqueer of some kind, she/they. quarantimes stole my gender :T

Star sign: taurus

Height: 172 cm

Time: 1:38PM now 9:00PM :’)

Birthday: 13 May

Favorite band/group: I have too many so these are just some of them. The Amazing Devil, The Mechanisms, Florence + the machine, twenty one pilots, Wardruna, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, Brothers of Metal

Favorite solo artist: Avi Kaplan, Sleeping at Last, Hozier, AURORA, Marko Hietala, Billie Eilish

Song stuck in your head: the totoro theme but the cute version the cockatiel sings XDDDD

Last movie: Soul <33333 ;W; I suspect it will be my fave film of this year

Last show: Wandavision

When did I create this blog: .... at the end of 2015

What do I post about? Mainly writing related things, inspo stuff, sometimes art if I remember to upload it :0

Other blogs: @siarvenart (art blog), @lirhin (memes/cats/book fandom blog), @moth-song-archives (TMA/podcast side blog)

Do I get asks: sometimes

Why I chose my url: siarven is my online handle in general :)

Average hours of sleep: ...... good question. ~7?

Lucky number: 13 mainly out of spite

Instrument: flute and piccolo in a wind band, also kinda singing but I was only in a choir for 2 years so now it’s just for me xD

What am I wearing: some tshirt, some sweater, some sweatpants :P

Dream job: concept artist / writer

Dream trip: visiting my Australian friend, also going properly hiking in Finland with Karkki (not just 2 days like last time :D), visiting my friends in southern Germany/writers’ meeting!!!, visiting my friends in the US and Brazil, .... generally having fun with friends in nature with a camera and binoculars, doesn’t really matter where :D

Favorite food: I like too many foods but salmon spinach lasagna like my mom makes it is possibly my favourite,,, yes i know it’s kinda basic given how many other incredible foods there are but. >:C ... tbh also half the dishes in my fave japanese restaurant AND okonomiyaki like my friend makes :D

Nationality: German

Favorite song: I can’t pick one and I’m not sorry: Change on the Rise by Avi Kaplan, Who are you, really? by Mikky Ekko, Child of Wonder, Eric Whitacre, Natural by Imagine Dragons, Sonera by Two Steps From Hell, It’s Alright by Mother Mother, creature by half-alive, A Stutter by Ólafur Arnalds & Arnór Dan, God’s Whisper by Raury, The Horror and the Wild, Farewell Wanderlust, Welly Boots, Battle Cries by the Amazing Devil, Fear not this night from the Guild Wars 2 OST, I hope your world is kind by AURI, Queendom by AURORA, Glitter & Gold by Barns Courtney, Church by Fall out Boy, Walk on Water by Thirty Seconds to Mars-- I will stop here XD

Last book I read: Blackbirds by @andtheotherwriter <333 I am deeply sorry that I’m not quite done yet (it’s def not bc of the story) but i had a case of reading-block and didn’t read anything for almost a month BUT I got back into it yesterday and shall finish binging it this week so I can scream properly :3 Or, audiobook book 1 (book of 3) of the prydain chronicles bc @ettawritesnstudies made me XD I really enjoy the series so far :DDD thanks :D

Top three fictional worlds: Roshar (Brandon Sanderson, Stormlight Archive), but honestly just the cosmere in general? I love his worldbuilding so much. Otherwise, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga, and yes I will just steal that :D even if i haven’t read it yet bc the film is already amazing and i cant wait to read the manga), Temerant (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Patrick Rothfuss)

I’m tagging @ardawyn @andtheotherwriter (as i’ve already tagged you anyways :P) @cosmicnuetral @face-first-into-flames @big-urchin-energy @astraeaillustrative if you want to <3

(etta i know you got tagged already by Karkki so idk say you got tagged by both of us or sth, or not XD)

[wistfulcynic]

For the bookish asks: 4,6,12,13,14, please

Dear anon, thank you for answering the call. I needed this.

4. Are you a fast or slow reader?

Ummm I'd say relatively fast, but it depends on what I'm reading. Sometimes I really like to sink into the language or the plot is complex and needs attention and so I read more slowly, other times I go pretty fast.

6. Are you the type of person who will read a book to the end whether you like it or not, or will you put it down straight away if you’re not feeling into it?

Nope, if I don't like a book I stop reading. There are so many things I'll never have time enough to read, the reading time I do have I intend to spend on things I enjoy.

12. Do you need to finish a book before you can move on to the next one, or will you have multiple books going at once?

Multiple, for sure. I need my reading material to suit my mood, so I have a book for when I am able to focus intensely and another for when I just need entertainment or distraction, and one for comfort. With favourites I've read many times I often just go through and read my favourite parts.

13. How do you chose which book to read next?

A lot depends on the kind of mood I'm in. Sometimes I'm looking for something very specific so I will search keywords on amazon or something, other times I'm just looking for a book that sounds fun. Then I might read reviews or recommendations from people who have similar taste to me. One of my absolute favourite books of the past ten years or so (World War Z, and OMG this book... I'm not generally into zombies at all but the way it's written is stunningly brilliant and so fascinating, clever and detailed and I just adore it) I chose completely at random because it was on offer.

14. What is your favourite children’s book?

I couldn't possibly choose just one. I really love children's literature, so much that I once considered doing a master's degree in it. Definitely a huge favourite when I was growing up and tbh still today is Anne of Green Gables. The whole series--it's fascinating to read something like that at various ages in your life and see how differently it hits. I still remember books like From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler and The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume and all of those, even though I haven't read them in decades. One children's book I still read regularly is Ella Enchanted, which I honestly think is one of the best fairy tale adaptations ever to exist. And for children's books that include a very obvious wink and nudge to the parents who will be reading them, I love the Petit Nicholas series. So funny, but I imagine the parents might laugh harder than the kids. There are a dozen others I'm forgetting, but that will do for now.

-

ASK ME THINGS ABOUT BOOKS

[literaticat]

Hi Jennifer, what were your favourite books as a child? Was your taste similar then to now?

I had a lot of favorite books!

Picture books: Maurice Sendak’s NUTSHELL LIBRARIES and WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE; LITTLE FUR FAMILY; Lobel’s FABLES, Mercer Mayer’s EAST OF THE SUN, WEST OF THE MOON; WHY MOSQUITOS BUZZ IN PEOPLE’S EARS; BREAD AND JAM FOR FRANCES; ARROW TO THE SUN;

Classics: I had a huge Grimm’s Fairy Tales that I was obsessed with, also I read a trillion classics - I had the entire Jr Illustrated Library, LITTLE PRINCESS, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES and HEIDI were my favs. I also was very into Kings and Queens of England (particularly Richard III and Henry VIII + wives), and had some Ladybird books on the subject, as well as a Ladybird book of Diana and Charles’s wedding that I looked at quite a lot!

Series: I liked 5 minute mysteries, Encyclopedia Brown, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, the Three Investigators - all Babysitters Club and all Sweet Valley High; I was also into a chapter book series from the UK called Marmalade Atkins by Andrew Davies, who went on to write things like the Pride and Prejudice Colin Firth adaptation, among many other fancy grownup film & TV properties.

MG: I loved FROM THE MIXED UP FILES; JENNIFER, HECATE; A PROUD TASTE FOR SCARLET AND MINIVER, and actually all Konigsburg books; BALLET SHOES and ALL the Noel Streatfeild books; WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND; ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY; HOUSE OF DIES DREAR; JANE-EMILY; IN THE YEAR OF THE BOAR AND JACKIE ROBINSON; the entire Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary oeuvre; anything Paula Danzinger or Paul Zindel, and this book nobody has read called THE GHOSTS by Antonia Barber. And I liked the Chronicles of Narnia, particularly LWW and VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER.

I also LOVED reference books - The dictionary (I had both Websters and a compact OED with a magnifying glass!), thesaurus, the Funk & Wagnall’s Encyclopedia, a lot of Time Life reference books about things like Ghosts, ESP, etc, and cultures around the world. I also greatly enjoyed reading cookbooks and was super into Atlases. And the Almanac! (Thanks, Carmen Sandiego!)

I also LOVED grownup romance novels and grownup books in general -- things like Judith Krantz and Danielle Steel were catnip for me when I was 10-12. I would steal my mom’s big books like The Godfather, Sophie’s Choice, Clan of the Cave Bear, Mists of Avalon, Valley of the Dolls. And one of my BFFs had a mom who read mass market romances about Highlanders and stuff by the bucketload from the Paperback Exchange, we read many of those! I also went through a big (unfortunate in retrospect) Xanth phase when I was 12.

The takeaways from this list: a) I would read anything that wasn’t nailed down, and my mom very much encouraged that, also I had a sister who was 10 years older than me and I clearly inherited a lot of her books, because most of these were already old by the time I was a kid! -- b) I was into ghosts, witches, spooky things, mysteries -- c) I liked history, folklore, and was something of a wee Anglophile -- d) I read all over the place -- I was reading grownup books, picture books and middle grade at the same time, and never “grew out” of any of them -- e) I was a nerd

I’d say all of those things are still pretty true! Except I am more of a scaredy-cat now.

[doctorhelena]

I was tagged by @katherinecooke, with whom I do have a lot in common, and some things not so much! :)

Dogs or cats? Dogs. I’m allergic to cats, but also I have to admit that I just like dogs better (although I would have nothing against cats if they didn’t make me so itchy and sneezy).

YouTube celebrities or normal celebrities? I don’t really follow either (I generally get my celebrity news by osmosis through people I follow on social media) but I am not sure I could actually name a YouTube celebrity, so I guess normal?

If you could choose to live anywhere, where would it be? Ideally, I’d like to live in a whole bunch of wildly different places around the world, for like, a year or two at a time. But, I do also really like where I live now (aside from the massive earthquake that’s supposed to arrive at some point, which I would prefer, in my ideal world, not to have looming).

Disney or Dreamworks? If I have to choose, Disney.

Favourite childhood TV show? I actually didn’t watch a lot of TV as a kid. There’s a big gap between Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and my teenage obsession with Star Trek: The Next Generation. Although, now that I think of it, my sister and I were pretty into Square One TV, particularly their “Mathnet” segment. We may possibly have written Mathnet proto-fanfic?

The movie you’re looking forward to in 2020? Wonder Woman 1984, and Black Widow. (And maybe the live action Mulan? I’m not sure about that one, but I do really like the animated version.)

Favourite book you read in 2019? I - don’t know? I think I have quarantine brain. I wish the library would keep a record of books I’ve checked out so I could jog my memory of what I read last year!

Marvel or DC? Marvel, although there are definitely DC things I like too.

If you chose Marvel, favourite member of the X-Men? I think I saw one of the X-Men movies, a long time ago? Okay, either Professor Xavier because I love Patrick Stewart, or Wolverine because he’s Canadian. 😛 

Night or day? I like both, but I’m definitely a night person.

Favorite Pok��mon? Pikachu? (who is also the only one whose name I know...)

Top 5 bands/artists? Gah, I’m so bad at picking favourites. Off the top of my head, five bands/artists I feel like listening to right now: Leonard Cohen, The Be Good Tanyas, The Barenaked Ladies, Liz Phair, Sarah McLachlan.

Top 10 books? I'm taking the pressure off myself and, rather than trying to figure out my top 10, I’m just listing the first 10 books I really like that come to mind (and cheating with series :)

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

The Martian by Andy Weir

The Oxford Time Travel series by Connie Willis

The Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy Sayers

Caravan by Dorothy Gilman (and her Mrs. Pollifax series)

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Top 4 movies? Four I could watch over and over again are A League of Their Own, Galaxy Quest, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Love, Actually

US or Europe? I don’t live in either!

Tumblr or Twitter? Tumblr

Favourite vacation destination? I want to go everywhere! But I do really love the week every summer my kids and I usually spend unplugged at Mom and Kids camp.

Favourite YouTuber? Whoever it was that put up all those episodes of The Crocodile Hunter my kids have been devouring this month? ;) (yeah, I know that’s not the intent of the question)

Favourite author? I love so many for different reasons. I don’t know how on earth I would pick just one.

Tea or coffee?  Tea. I like the smell of coffee, but I’ve never learned to like the taste (although, I can usually manage to choke it down if it’s an Irish Coffee. ;)

OTP? Currently, Peggy Carter / Steve Rogers. But I have a List. :)

Do you play an instrument or sing? I can sort of play the piano - I took organ lessons as a kid, and have improved my piano skills since my own kids started taking lessons and I started piggybacking along. :) I played the clarinet for 7 years in school, and occasionally I dig it out (I can still play it, but I have next to no embouchure endurance). I also play the guitar, although I mostly just finger-pick chords to sing along to (but I can play a few other things like Blackbird by the Beatles). And finally, I sing alto in an early music chamber choir (although, not right now!)

Tagging @teaandatale, @thesokovianaccords, @invidiosa, @buckywiththegoodhair86, @fanfic-bookworm, and @rixdottir

[raywritesthings]

A Tag Meme Thing

I was tagged by @zariadriannatomaz a fair bit ago, sorry this took me so long!

Author Name: RayWrites or RayWritesThings on either AO3 or FFN, and of course raywritesthings here.

Fandom You Write For: Mostly Arrow at the moment, some HP and I’ve been giving some of my old DW WIPs a look over, trying to get my mojo back there. Little bit of this and that when the mood (or prompt) strikes me.

Most Popular One-Shot: By kudos , hits and comments, it is You’re Not Marrying Me, Sunshine!, my very first Doctor/Donna fic I ever wrote and am fortunately still very fond of. Second is Linked, an “Eleven-Fifty-Nine” fix-it Lauriver story I wrote a while back which delved into some of the deep abandonment issues Laurel still has and also featured a good bit of John Constantine. 

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: By kudos, hits and comments, it is Lost In Translation, a soulmate AU for Doctor/Donna that I started with jut based on a tiny idea about how alien languages might complicate that trope which became something far better simply because of the love people showed for it. Second is Blackbird: In the Dead of Night, an AU starting pre-season 1 of Arrow where Dinah Drake Lance (the Alex Kingston character) does something drastic as a result of her search for Sara.

I think what this tells us is that the Doctor/Donna fandom is generous and enthusiastic in their support of fandom content creators, and I’m very grateful.

Favourite Story You Wrote: Favorite? Really? That’s like asking to choose which kid! Man, I really don’t know. I always start off loving an idea when I put it down to paper (why else write it?) regardless of how it turns out. I really don’t know if I can answer this one. That’s hard. I love a lot of them still for different reasons.

Story You Were Nervous to Post: Undoubtedly the first part of Blackbird. I was worried people would feel like I was unfairly bashing Dinah Drake Lance and, especially, Sara, which wasn’t really my intention. I more just wanted to explore a what-if where the already dysfunctional elements of the Lance family got dialed up to 20 thanks to an impossible choice the mother felt forced into. A lot of my AUs explore different directions for various characters (Tommy especially I rarely write the same way twice), so it’s less a statement on who I think they are, but rather what I think might happen if they were a certain way. But Fortunately people seem content to hate Arrow’s Dinah Drake Lance and they seemed to accept and trust that I have a larger character arc for Sara planned for the rest of the series, so thank you all very much. Additionally, there’s a Doctor/Donna idea I began what is probably years ago now and have yet to post because I wanted the whole thing written that I am definitely nervous about posting in the eventuality that it is finished. It’s an AU from the end of “Turn Left” featuring a Rose who’s just a little more desperate to have the Doctor back and a Doctor who actually remembers that he said the dimension cannons were bad back in season 2, if that gives anybody the vague idea. Plus some Awesome Donna, cause she always is.

How Do You Choose Your Titles: Uhhhhh badly? As anyone who’s listened to me rant about my writing process knows, coming up with the title is the part I hate most. I borrow from songs, other books, tv and movies, generic sayings, ask other people to title it. Every once in a while I know what the title is right from the start (Blackbird was one of those, Stories to Tell another).

How Many of Your Stories Are:

Complete: 151 out of 155

In-Progress: 4 out of 155 (one of which will be completed in four weeks; one of which is most likely abandoned; the other two I’m just waiting on some inspiration)

Coming Soon: Infinite?? Seriously, if you could see my army of google docs...

Upcoming Story You’re Most Excited to Write: That’s hard to say, because I become excited about each one as I work on it. And I cycle through what I’m working on a lot (Probably why nothing ever gets published...). If you’re on the discord servers I frequent, you probably have a good idea of what I’m excited about.

Do You Accept Prompts: Yes, I do! I try to get to all of them, though a lot of times the inspiration is key. Apologies if I have ever not answered someone’s prompt before.

I tag @colorofmymindposts, @basmathgirl, @unusual-raccoon @okoriwadsworth

[purplesurveys]

707

Do you think you're clever? I can be but I wouldn’t say it’s a dominant personality trait. Did you wear socks today? No, I haven’t worn socks since the last day I went to school :/ Can you remember how you celebrated your 10th birthday? I don’t remember how the whole day went but I do have a photo of me on that day. We were in our old house then and I was at the dining area smiling with my cake, surrounded by my mom and sister.

Know any magic tricks? Nah I can’t perform any of them. Do you sleep well most nights? These days I certainly do. They’ve suspended online classes, and acads is really the main thing taking up my time (and head) most days until recently. Without that I’m just sleeping, eating, and having random bursts of productivity everyday.

Are your nails painted? No. Is there somebody you know that you really don't trust? Yeah I have a couple of orgmates that are a little sketchy. I also dunno if I can trust my mom in the bigger scheme of things - we’re just not close like that. Is there music in your head right now? No need to have it playing in my head, I already have a lo-fi livestream playing on YouTube at the moment. When's the last time you baked a cake? Grade 6 when we baked a rainbow cake in home economics. What time was it half an hour ago? 7:26 PM. Did you ever play cowboys and indians when you were growing up? I have no idea what that game is. Probs an American thing? Can anyone confirm? When did it last rain? My dad said it drizzled earlier this afternoon, but I wouldn’t know because I was taking a nap. The last time it rained and I caught it was two nights ago. Would you like to become a dancer? I would love to be able to dance gracefully and call myself a dancer, but I wouldn’t want it to be my Number One Agenda, as in joining contests or have it be my whole career and stuff. It’ll be nice to simply have it as a hobby. What colour is the bathroom of your house painted? The top half of the wall is white, the bottom half consists of light brown tiles. Which country is to the north of your home country? Taiwan. Name one person of the same sex as you you wouldn't mind doing: My girlfriend. Haaaaah you thought. What is the most gory film you've seen? Evil Dead, but I’ve only seen the 2013 reboot. Is there anybody that you know that you just feel really sorry for? Yeah I guess, like my uncle for stubbornly never getting his life back on track. I’ve been done waiting for him to get better. Do you like the Austin Powers films? I’ve never seen any one of them, even the one Beyoncé is in.

Where is the worst place you have ever travelled to? All the places I’ve been to have been wonderful and it wouldn’t feel right to tag one of them as the ‘worst’ because all the trips have been paid for by my parents lmao. But the one trip that didn’t exactly turn out the way we would’ve wanted it to was Caramoan in Camarines Sur. It was raining almost the entire time, so the scenario was either 1) the rain messed with the cable signal and we only had one channel every time we were in the cabin or 2) we had to make do with being rained on whenever we wanted to go out to the beach. It was also in the middle of nowhere, so we didn’t have internet. Ever fallen down a hole? Nope. That’s one of the scenarios I’m particularly afraid of. Do you like to read poetry? No I hate having to. I’ve never understood poems. What's your preferred frozen snack? Other than ice cream? Idk, frozen fries maybe? Those hit differently. Is rap music overrated? I’d say some are, but rap generally has a rich underground culture as well so I wouldn’t say all of it is overrated. Do you work better in a clean or messy environment? That doesn’t matter to me. I care more about how warm/cold it is, because I can’t start working anywhere I find too hot or else I’ll feel too sluggish. Do you know any vegans? Only from the internet. Filipinos are big meat eaters so it’s hard to find resources for if you want to become vegan. There are vegan food stalls but they’re VERY few and far between, and they’re typically situated in hipper, more cosmopolitan parts of the city since veganism isn’t a known concept here. Earphones or headphones? Earphones. Do you like bananas? Eugh no. What's a film you've seen that confused you? Interstellar confuses me to this day. But I loved it a lot and I enjoyed the premise, and that’s what matters to me. Do you ever wear black lipstick? I don’t think I’ve ever worn it before. You can take any illegal drug without any bad consequences, which one? That’s a really dark question but uh... I’d go with meth because idk, Breaking Bad? I certainly wouldn’t want to try heroin though. What is next to your bed? I have a drawer with my clothes and other knickknacks on one side, and a chest with a bunch of memorabilia and old books I’ve had since I was a kid on the other side. Are your fingernails dirty? Nope. What would you change about yourself appearence-wise? I’d straighten my front teeth and make my teeth in general smaller. I’d also have some hair grow on my left eyebrow because I permanently damaged the hair growth there by plucking too much as an anxiety habit. How long do you normally spend in the shower? Depends on how relaxed I need to feel. If I’m showering for school it takes me 4-5 minutes. If it’s been hot all day like in the summer I’d take up to 15. When's the last time somebody called you "baby"? Sometime today, I don’t exactly remember when. Have you ever had to keep something important from your family? Like... my 4-year same-sex relationship? Yup. Don't you think things feel much better after a good cry? The things that made me cry don’t get better or automatically get fixed, but it’s always nice to give myself a break and to let everything out. Do you think the UK should keep its monarchy? I honestly don’t know enough about their system to confidently form an opinion about it. My only contribution to this conversation is that the royal family does interest me and I know more trivia about them than the average person should hahahahaha. True or false: you'd do Mila Kunis. I’d do her character in Friends with Benefits but like I don’t really feel that way for IRL Mila, mostly cos I’d rather do wholesome stuff with her hahaha. Which colour would you rather have your hair: pink, grey or green? Green > grey > pink. Don't you just hate the sound of people eating? NOOOOOOO are you kidding. Mukbang ASMRs are my faveeeeeee. What's your favourite music video? Meh I don’t really watch music videos. Is it your aim to be perfect? About the things I do, yeah. I’m not obsessed about having *everything* be perfect, even stuff I have no control over.. Ever climbed to the top of a mountain? No. That’s on my bucket list though. Have you ever fell for someone believing you could "fix" them? No. That’s never been a reason I’ve had feelings for someone. Someone's paying for a fancy dinner, where do you eat and who do you take? BLACKBIRD. I’ve wanted to try it for a while now but Makati is a bitch to get to + their food would literally take away two weeks’ worth of my allowance. I’d take Gab with me for sure. Can you honestly say you are truly happy with your life? Not right now, but I’m not hopeless about it either. Can you paint well? I can’t paint at all. Describe a picture of yourself that you hate: The candid ones are the ones I end up hating the most. If you could keep any animal as a pet, which would you choose? Just all the dogs would be fine, thanks. Something you did in the past that you're embarrassed about: I was bidding Gab’s dad goodbye because he was leaving to meet up with his friends or something. Anyway my shoes chose to be slippery that day and I completely tripped the whole way walking over to him and I even unconsciously grabbed onto his arm to keep myself from falling flat on my face. I AM WINCING JUST TYPING THIS OUT PLS SEND HELP Would you rather play a good or an evil character in a play? Evil. It’d be easier acting that way. Do you like porridge? It’s alright. I mostly avoid it because it was all I ate for breakfast from when I was 4 up to when I was 10, and I’m so so sick of the taste and texture by now.

Has anybody ever lied to you just to impress you? Idk, probably. Strangest gift you ever received: Don’t think I’ve ever received anything I was genuinely baffled by. But I try not to be like that - all gifts are gifts so I’m always grateful whenever someone gives me one. Do most people annoy you? Nah. But 14 year old Robyn taking surveys would probably say yes just to sound edgy :/ Don't you think you should really be doing something more productive? Idk man we’re in the middle of a global health crisis. I think being productive shouldn’t be a priority for once. Have you ever felt really out of place? Yesssssss this was me when I was trying to apply for AIESEC. The crowd was just too different and I didn’t last long in the application process. What's your favourite shade of blue? Royal and sky blue. Do you have any odd phobias? I used to be afraid of watching advertisements at night, but I think it’s mostly gone now. What's the longest you've gone without sleep? 18-20 hours maybe. I don’t let myself pull all-nighters. When was the last time you just wanted to be left alone? Earlier this noon when I felt disrespected by my dad. Do you believe in karma? Sure. Can you remember a world before iPods? Nope. Google says the first iPod came out in 2001, and I don’t remember being 3 years old or younger. When was the last time it was sunny? This morning. Would you like to be photographed by Terry Richardson? I’ve never heard of him but I checked Google just now and apparently he’s been an asshat to his subjects? So no. Smoke? Yes please I so have been needing one throughout this quarantine. I ran out of puffs for my vape pen which is even worse. Would you rather have a lazy day or a day of being really busy? I’ve had 31+ lazy days now. I wouldn’t mind a busy day. Do you like the way that spoken French sounds? I don’t get to hear it all that much but it was spoken so beautifully in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, so I guess I’m alright with it for the most part. I just don’t like the times it comes from the throat and it sounds a bit like hawking. D: But maybe it’s just a cultural thing - Filipino isn’t throaty at all so when we hear sounds like that we’re just not used to it. What's the best film soundtrack? As stupid as the storylines were, they really made sure the Twilight Saga soundtracks SLAPPED. Bon Iver, St. Vincent, Muse, Death Cab for Cutie, The Black Keys, Florence + The Machine, PARAMORE?????? They weren’t fucking around. Interstellar and Gone with the Wind also had amazing scores. Where did you go on your last date? My informal first date with Gabie was at a museum + this quaint Italian place in Greenbelt that has since closed. My legit first date with her was at a Bonchon LMFAOOOOOOOOOO Do people find you "cute"? Not really... only my girlfriend calls me that. Who does the best remixes? Eh not a fan. What is most of your money spent on? Gas, food, dates.

[esotheria-sims]

50 OC QUESTIONS - Phillip Gladwyn

Got another tag from @blackswan-sims (thank you!), and since I felt inspired, I decided to do the meme again but with another sim. As a relative newcomer to my sim collection, Phillip’s never had the ‘privilege’ to be the subject of his own questionnaire… so I figured it was high time I changed that. ;)

01. How old is your sim? He’s 14 y/o at the start of the BaCC.

02. When is your sim’s birthday? April 5.

03. What is your sim’s zodiac sign? Aries.

04. What is your sim’s ethnicity? Wyvern’s Bayer, human. Though there are rumors going round that his mother is of supernatural origin…

05. Does your sim have any nicknames? He didn’t have one until recently. The servants always addressed him as “young master” and his mother just called him by his full name… but since he started hanging out with Marcus, the latter nicknamed him Phil. He’s still getting used to being called that, but he likes it. It’s a nice change of pace from the usual boring formalities.

06. Do they have a job?

Heir of the noble house of Gladwyn, but I don’t think that really qualifies as a job?

07. Where does your sim live? Wyvern’s Bay, duh.

08. Who does your sim live with? The household used to be larger, but… right now, it’s just him, his mother, and Selina, their young housemaid.

09. What environment did your sim grow up in? (strict, loving, cold etc.) It was, uh… interesting. He was born into nobility and had a very privileged upbringing, but it was kind of… lonely. His father died when he was just an infant and his mother was always too busy with other things to pay him much mind, so the only real company he could count on was that of his elderly governess and the other servants (when they had spare time, which they rarely did). When he got a little older, he’d spend a lot of time just wandering around by himself, looking for  trouble  adventures. He didn’t know any other kids his age, so he mostly hung out with the townspeople - farmers, merchants, craftsmen… whoever would have him. He doesn’t do that as much anymore (he’s a grown man now, after all), but he remembers those times fondly, and he’s still good friends with some of the townsfolk (like Tom Wagamese, for example).

10. What is your sim’s favourite food? Meat, meat, and more meat! He’s a carnivore to boot. If he had to pick a favorite, though, it’d be venison.

11. What is your sim’s favourite drink? Pale Ale. Yes, it’s alcohol, and yes, he’s underage, but it’s easy enough to steal some from the kitchen when he feels like having a pint. Not like his mother bothers to monitor him.

12. If they have one what is your sim’s favourite color? Black and red.

13. Does your sim believe in any clichés? (love at first sight etc.) “Blood runs thicker than water”, but his reaction to the saying will vary greatly depending on which parent it is you’re comparing him to.

14. What is your sim’s sexuality? Heterosexual.

15. What is your sim’s gender identity? Male.

16. Is your sim type a or type b? Type A… I guess?

17. Is your sim introverted or extroverted? Extroverted.

18. What is your sim’s favourite woohoo position? If asked he’d probably have a whole lot to say about it, but truthfully? He’s never woohooed before so it’d all be just empty talk.

19. Is your sim a pet person? If so what is their favourite animal? He’s never owned a pet, even though he quite likes animals. His favorites are horses, dogs, and foxes.

20. Does your sim have a best friend? Marcus Blackbird! Seriously, that kid is a blessing. 

21. What is/was your sim’s favourite school subject? He doesn’t go to school as such, but rather, he has private tutors who take care of his education. His favorite subjects are Heraldry and Wyvern’s Bay History.

22. Is/was your sim a high, mid or low achiever in school? He’s far from a stellar student, but he does all right. He puts in just enough effort to meet his tutors’ expectations, but no more than that. 

23. Are they planning to go or have they already been to college? No. Pursuing higher education is not something he’s particularly interested in.

24. What are your sim’s political beliefs? Like everyone in the Bay, he’s loyal to the Queen.

25. What is one thing your sim wants to do before they die? He’s always fantasized about doing some great, heroic deed (e.g. slaying a dragon).

26. Does your sim have a favourite TV show (cable) and/or movie? There’s no electricity in Wyvern’s Bay, bruh.

27. Is your sim a Netflix viewer? If so what are their top 3 shows. See 26.

28. Does your sim like books? Surprisingly enough, yes. He mostly sticks to non-fiction and history books, though he also likes to read poetry (but that’s not something he likes to advertise around, because… reasons)

29. Does your sim enjoy video games, if so what is their favourite one and do they play on PC or console? See 26.

30. What is your sim’s personal style? He dresses much in the same way most Wyvern’s Bay gentry dresses, though he’s also known to “dress down” sometimes and disregard dress code in favor of comfort (or shock value. Bonus points if he can get his snob mother to scold him for his poor choice of attire)

31. Does your sim have a lucky charm? Nah. He doesn’t believe in such baloney.

32. Is your sim religious? See 31. x’D

33. What kind of music does your sim listen to and who is their favourite artist? Whatever is being played on their house piano at the time. He thinks music is okay, but he doesn’t have a strictly formed opinion on it. 

34. Is your sim a festive person? If so what’s their favourite holiday? No, he finds celebrations of any kind to be a nuisance.

35. What is your sim’s favourite type of weather? Sunny, but not too warm.

36. Does your sim prefer to start fights or finish them? Start fights, definitely. xD He’s kind of hot-headed.

37. Does your sim have a dream job? To become a knight of the realm.

38. Does your sim have any siblings? No, he’s an only child.

39. Does your sim get along with their family? Hmmm, delicate subject. He isn’t particularly close with his mother, and he only knows his late father through tales so he’s kind of created this romanticized, idealized picture of him in his head.

40. What is your sim’s favourite hobby? Riding, fencing, training in general. Oh, and card games (*cough* gambling *cough*)

41. What does your sim look for in a romantic partner? She’d have to be fierce, passionate and, yeah, quite beautiful. Preferably with long dark hair, stunning eyes, a nice body… Phillip’s the visual type, okay?

42. What is a secret about your sim? I mentioned how he secretly enjoys reading poems, right? Well, he also writes them from time to time. And no, he won’t show them to you or to anyone, so don’t even bother asking. 

43. What is a wish your sim has? To grow up to be as brave, noble, and respected as his lord father.

44. What is a flaw your sim has? He’s got a short fuse and tends to explode easily. He’s also stubborn as… well, as a ram. xD

45. How do others generally perceive your sim? Stony, haughty, a bit intimidating. But once you get past this initial facade, he reveals himself as a cheerful, humorous and good-natured fellow.

46. Does your sim have a greatest achievement? His best is yet to come! 

47. If they have one, what is your sim’s greatest regret? Never knowing his father. :/

48. Does your sim have a favourite emoji? What is this “emoji” nonsense you speak of?

49. Does your sim use simstagram? What is this “simstagram” nonsense you speak of?

50. What is the last text your sim sent (and who did they text)? “Text”?… You mean, as in letters? He doesn’t have a penfriend, if that’s what you’re asking.

[slothssassin]

I was tagged by the lovely @briarfox13 to answer these questions, thank you!

I won’t tag anyone this time cause I think I’ve already tagged everyone I know^^

What is your all-time favourite film and why?

I have two favourite movies and since they’re quite different, I don’t really know which one I like better. One is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - I just love the HP franchise so much, the third book is one of my favs and the movie is so well made! There are a lot of tiny details I love, the camera perspective and movement is great and the whole atmosphere is just beautiful! The other film I love is Cloud Atlas. The story is amazing and delivers such a meaningful message. And just like HP3, it’s so well made and full of little details.

Do you have a large or small family?

Very small! Only one aunt and no cousins :D

Best holiday ever?

I did a tour by train through Europe a few years ago and discovered a lot of great places. Lagos in Portugal must’ve been my absolute favourite! Surfing on Fuerteventura last year was pretty cool too though. And of course my annual family vacation at the Baltic Sea :)

Favourite animal?

Hmm cats, blackbirds and crows, sloths... I just love animals in general.

Last thing you looked up?

The lyrics to “He’s a Demon, he’s a Devil, he’s a Doll”

What are your hobbies?

Playing games, drawing, reading, watching nature, spending time with my family, crafting things

Last TV show you watched?

South Park

Favourite chocolate flavour?

Dark chocolate

Favourite game quest ever and why?

Oh wow, no idea, there are so many great quests :D I really enjoyed Nick Valentine’s personal quest in Fallout 4 cause he’s a very interesting character. Then Priority: Mars in ME3 cause hey, I get Kaidan back! The whole “Assault on Dragon Keep” DLC for Borderlands 2 is so funny to play as well. And I’m pretty sure there are quests in Dragon Age I forgot about but loved.

Cats or dogs?

I really love both, but if I had to choose, then cats.

[comeondowntosouthparkrpg-blog]

Allison Mertz

Is she still wearing glitter all over her face?

Allison has been accepted! Send in your blog ASAP.

out of character info

Name/Alias: sam(ael) Pronouns: she/ he / they / them Age: 20 Join Our Discord: hella ( exhausted n queer#8766 ) Timezone: est Activity: 5 bc work n stuff Triggers: n / a Password: jimmy can fast pass my ass Character that you’re applying for: “Kinder Vamp” Allison Mertz Favourite ships for your character: Allison / chemistry

in character info

Full name: Allison Verona Mertz Birthday: December 19th Sexuality, gender, pronouns: Heterosexual – questioning, cis female, she / her Age and grade: 15, freshman Faceclaim: Meghann Preddy / @sugoimeg on instagram

Appearance:

Head / face: Allison’s face just exudes innocence. She has big, honey colored – often concealed by colored contacts – doe eyes framed with thick black lashes and sharp eyebrows above. Her features are delicate and feminine – she has a button nose, full lips, rosy cheeks, and a heart shaped face. Her pale skin has few imperfections, she doesn’t have much acne, but she does have moles and freckles scattered about – however, they’re pretty light, making them barely noticeable if you’re not standing close to her. When she smiles, she has soft dimples and pearly teeth with caps over her canines to make them look like they’re longer and sharper. Her hair is naturally black – however, over the years, her purple highlights have started to cover more of her thick locks. The purple fades often – sometimes looking pink-ish, but she tries her best to keep up on dying her hair. She has a deviated septum – this makes it so she can hardly ever smell and breathing through her nose is a struggle.

Body: Allison didn’t grow much since her younger years, topping off at only five feet tall. She’s stayed relatively thin over the years, and if you look at her torso, you can faintly see her bones.   She is actually very anemic – she gets dizzy a lot ( sometimes she even faints ) and craves medium rare steak. Her porcelain skin gets cuts and bruises quite easily, so it’s not unusual for you to see a few cuts or bruises on her at any given time. She has a pear-shaped figure, meaning that her hips are wider than her waist and shoulders.She has a lot of moles and freckles on her body, most of them are pretty light, but there are still a few dark ones. On her ankle, she has a dark birthmark that looks like a big bite mark.

Style: Allison is very into dark and muted colors, so it’s safe to say that her wardrobe isn’t that bright or colorful. On a normal day, you can see her in a pair of dark jeans, combat boots, a simple dark shirt, and a cardigan or jacket / hoodie of some sort. She doesn’t like wearing skirts or dresses much, because she strongly dislikes showing off her legs, as she often gets random bruises from going about, and isn’t comfortable showing them off. In the warmer months, showing off her midriff isn’t an issue for her. She has prescription glasses, but hardly ever wears them in public. In style terms, she can be described as edgy, in a classic way, but still comfortable, and more than willing to accessorize. Allison is the type of person to hang chains from her belt loops, and decorate her book bag with pins.

Personality:

Allison is generally a sweet and bubbly girl – but, that’s not to say she can’t be a bitch at times, particularly when provoked. She’s very opinionated, so sometimes her words don’t always come out the way she wants them to. What I mean is that she’s kind of a passive aggressive brat – unless she likes you, then of course she’ll tell you exactly what she thinks, in a assertive, rather than undertone based way. When it comes to emotions, she doesn’t really know what to do about them. She tends to isolates herself until they go away – or if she’s around people she trusts, she’ll try and distract herself with them or ask them for advice. Most of the time, she tries her best to conceal her feelings and show everyone her best self.

She’s a very intelligent kid – it’s more book smarts than street smarts – and she earns mostly a’s and b’s. Despite that, she isn’t the fastest learner, her best work takes the practice from revision. Taking the extra time to study so she can keep up with other students, she has an intense phobia of failure. Even though the young girl knows she’s pretty smart, she’s very insecure about her knowledge. She will often beat herself up over getting things wrong as she hates messing up. Her smarts are more rooted in her hardworking and studious habits, something she tries her best to work towards, and gets upset when she fails at.

Like most girls her age, Allison strives to be liked and validated by her peers and even of her elders ( aka the older kids ). She does her best to be nice to mostly everyone – offering her friendship to those who she feels are worthy, or who she thinks is just plain interesting. For instance, she still doesn’t smoke cigarettes, but due to seeking validation and sequentially falling into the trap of peer pressure, she started smoking weed. Flora was the root provider, and instigator of this. Which in turn, helps with her chronic migraines.

History:

One freezing December night, young Olive Mertz went into labor, her husband Xavier by her side at all times. The birth didn’t go as planned, halfway through, the baby girl got stuck. The doctors had no choice other than to transition into an emergency caesarean section ( c-section ). Thankfully, there weren’t any other complications, and the birth went well. Olive and Xavier decided to name their new baby girl Allison Verona Mertz.

Allison was a pretty abnormal baby. She was quiet most of the time – hardly ever waking her parents up out of their sleep – and was very calm. She never got along well with most other children, so Olive didn’t take her out much, trying her best not to upset her little angel. Since she was an only child, she got almost all of her mother and father’s attention – and they were guilty of spoiling her with gifts and almost anything she wanted. When she hit the age of four, her parent’s marriage started to fall apart bit by bit.

Of course, Allison was young and didn’t really understand what was happening between her parents – but she knew that it wasn’t good. Olive and Xavier got into arguments almost daily. The quarrels were rarely about anything in particular that would cause problems – such as neglect or affairs – no, it was mostly little things that the two found annoying about each other. Maybe one day, Olive would hear the smack of Xavier’s lips as he ate, and she’d put up with it for mere seconds before bursting out in anger. Allison would often go to her room and occupy herself with drawing or writing – trying her best to not pay attention to the screaming adults downstairs.

Around a year after the arguments started, she started school. Allison felt out of place in Kindergarten, but quickly found a group of people that were willing to take her in; The South Park Vampire Society. The group comforted her during hard times and made her feel at home. They were like her second family. She loved them with every fiber of her being. She dealt with the disgusting taste of clamato juice just to feel like she was a part of something. The vampires were her happy place – they felt like home.

Five years of the constant arguments had passed before the two got divorced. Once Allison understood what they were going through, she was actually happy that they’d gotten away from each other. Not long after the split, Olive and Xavier had started a custody battle over Allison. She bounced between her parents houses, which exhausted her mentally. In order to ease her mind from all of this, she began taking piano lessons and writing poetry.

Two years after the custody battle started, it had ended. Olive and Xavier settled for joint custody – meaning that Allison would be spending the weekdays with Olive and she’d spend the weekends with Xavier. When Allison’s twelfth birthday came along, Olive decided to get her a pet – at first, Allison requested getting a bat, but her mother wasn’t too keen on that – instead she got a Brewer’s Blackbird.

Now, she’s fifteen and much happier than she used to be, from utilizing healthy coping mechanisms, and healthier habits, her stress levels have lowered and she’s pleased with her living situation. She’s kind of a ( not-so-secret ) weeb, from using anime as an escape from her problems, like when she’s too drained to play piano or write poetry.

Sample paragraph:

It was the end of the day and many students were rushing the leave the school, but Allison stayed behind. Today, she was going to try something new – something that scared her out of her wits. She was going to share her poetry. She’d contacted the leader of the poetry club earlier in the week, she was told to come by to check out the club before she officially decided to join – and she was doing just that.

Allison took a seat beside the one person she was familiar with there – Bloodrayne, or rather, Katie Gelson. The club leader stood before the rest of the members and began to speak. “Today, instead of working on something new, we’ll share something we’ve already written. Each member will stand where I am, and read their poetry. I’ll go first.” They said with a gentle smile. One by one, each member read a piece of their poetry, and then it was Allison’s turn.

“Allison, come on up.” The leader spoke. She obeyed and went before the rest of the members with a piece of paper in her shaky hands. She examined the faces of the members who were waiting for her to read the words on the paper. Her eyes landed on Katie, who just gave a nod and a barely noticeable smile. She nodded to herself and began,

“Somewhere, tucked away in the vastness of it all, hidden between the horizon and the sea, there exists a world where you are loving ‘the one who got away’, where the words you never allowed yourself to say flow freely between your teeth. There exists a realm where everything you’ve done, you’ve done differently. It’s where you chose happiness. Maybe you’re much more joyful there – but that’s not the point. Maybe, just maybe, despite the regret, despite everything, you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Right here, right now.”

The members shared a quiet applause. Allison felt like she was going to burst out in tears, but she didn’t. She just smiled sweetly and went back to her seat, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves.

Maybe this is where she was supposed to be.

Headcanons:

♡  She still doesn’t drink coffee; she usually goes for tea or hot cocoa.

♡  She loves the vampires dearly – and still goes to meetings and stays active in the vampire society.

♡  She has a lisp, even without her fangs in. She actually considered getting her teeth permanently sharpened to look like a vampires, but she decided against it because it was way too expensive.

♡  She also still writes poetry and plays piano at school. In fact, she really likes classic literature and poetry, she’s in the photography club and the poetry club.

♡  She has a pet Brewer’s Blackbird named Echo. Originally, she wanted a bat, but her mother is was very against it ( as mentioned in history ) – so she got a blackbird. Echo is now three years old. She’s also very protective of Echo, and doesn’t usually resort to violence, but if you hurt her birdie, she’ll probably try to stab you.

♡  She loves cop dramas and true crime shows, she really enjoys the mystery behind them, and the suspense leading up to the grand reveal.

♡  Her dream job is to own a funeral home and be the head mortician.

♡  She used to have one of the biggest crushes on Dougie O’Connell – the feelings have mostly dissolved.

♡  Her aforementioned chronic headaches have lead to having to take time off of school, and will often impair her vision.

Anything else: i hope i meet the requirements this time!! thank you for the second chance and putting up with my shit!! ♡♡

[dansnaturepictures]

14/01/2021-Lakeside and sky scenes out the back 

I took the first picture in this photoset of raindrops on the window today as I worked whilst trying to take a picture of the nice sky outside after a shower, something I did manage too with photos I tweeted tonight on Dans_Pictures. Its always interesting to observe and capture the raindrops on the window normally a macro lens subject for me I by accident as I was using that for the sky scenes took it with my new general lens today and it came out okay still I thought. This was a nice way to use the shower conditions of early today. 

Weather that had dried up by the time I took my Lakeside Country Park daily exercise walk, I took the second picture in this photoset of one of the many House Sparrows that are always about in numbers in the bushes by the entrance which was nice. Walking on I managed the third and fourth pictures in this photoset of a really nice bit of light in the sky emerging over the landscape and some nice catkins. I was then thrilled to see one Mute Swan flying from the northern path over the lake as they do a lot, and indeed funnily enough as I photographed one of the pair doing five years ago today from consulting my Facebook memories. I was then so pleased to see the other swan right above across the path where it did a circuit of flight, and I took the fifth picture in this photoset of it as well as one other which I tweeted. Its always good to take pictures of the spectacular sight of flying swans and once again I have started early, a brilliant wildlife moment on my walk today. 

I went on to take the sixth, seventh and eighth pictures in this photoset on my walk of various views on another day of photos I was pleased with. 

In the last five or ten minutes of the walk I was lucky to see so much more wildlife. Great Crested Grebes and co. on the lakes and four Cormorants flying over the country park ultimately, I had got one as a from the house tick on Tuesday flying over Lakeside seen from my room following a handful of sightings of this bird at Lakeside still a fair turn up for the books towards the end of 2020 and this was a sure sign of them really moving into the area now. Quite logical for a place with so much water for these birds that whilst traditionally and naturally coastal are common inland. 

I also saw a Green Woodpecker yet again in the vast grassy area so perfect for them in the area north of the steam railway station there are so many of them about here lately being noticed by many people which is brilliant. I then spotted the Redwing in the ninth picture in this photoset fly into a tree. A brilliant Redwing view here for a second day running, one week on from some pictures of them I took at Riverside Park on my birthday a week ago today a very close view. Its been nice to see Redwings more than once this week. I have known these are here in winter for a long time seeing many on my New Year’s Day year list foundation laying walks, but with them migrated when I began working from home on a brilliant run of hot sunny spring weather as the pandemic hit the UK I had come to look forward to the Redwings and Fieldfare too as it happened as my next lunch time walks project back in the autumn. I think it was first seeing them and then wondering if I could see one on New Year’s Day, I didn’t this year and if I’m honest the Redwings at Lakeside have been less widespread across the park slightly and I’ve possibly seen slightly less whilst just seeing one of these in this urban country park is amazing. And in terms of my project whilst I got a picture I was pleased with and a really close view of a Fieldfare in late October it never really took off in terms of seeing Redwings as much as say I have done with Green Woodpeckers and Great Crested Grebes, Chiffchaffs in the spring, other animals like butterflies and dragonflies day to day and more. But like I say just getting any view of them is really quite something. A big part of the focus on Redwings was to try and get a photo of one I’d never done that on this site in all the years I’ve seen them here, and I only really had a record shot one not the best quality if I’m honest as 2020 went on. But today I wonder whether I’ll see them consistently now, their food the berries seem to be mostly in the very east of the park an area that I don’t always come every day when walking. But at least I did manage to get a picture of a quality I am quite happy with of this majestic and beautiful bird today.

There were three main moments of note in between working this afternoon and onto this evening, seeing a beautiful Buzzard flying out of my window the first bird of prey I’ve seen from my room for a little while something I love with birds I love I start my a raptor a day lockdown daily photo tweeting thread tomorrow after the first one focusing on my past photos of mammals came to an end tonight I really enjoyed doing it its helped me through the lockdown days so far as my a butterfly a day originally did in the first lockdown and it did again alongside a flower, bird and general insect a day in lockdown 2.0 and taking the tenth and final picture in this photoset of one of the best sky scenes I have seen this year which I was thrilled to capture and found brilliant to watch. Then I made the most once I finished work at 5pm (on time this time, or thereabouts!) of having Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin’s brilliant book ‘Back to Nature how to love life - and save it’ which I got for Christmas and am loving reading at the moment. Just like Chris’ book ‘Fingers in the Sparkle Jar’ which I found so insightful and special I am engrossed in this book, by having half an hour’s or so reading and a cup of tea before doing my photos. It really helped to get me away from a screen between logging off of the work device and onto my own a good thing to do at this time of year. I am finding the book very comprehensive of exploring the life we have around us and the threats and what we need to do to improve things for the planet for far. I am about half way through the book and very charmed by it so it really was a nice bridge between my day and evening which I hoped I could do when I got the book so I enjoyed this today. 

Wildlife Sightings Summary: Three of my favourite birds the Great Crested Grebe, Buzzard and Green Woodpecker, Redwing, Blackbird, Robin, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Pied Wagtail, Starling, House Sparrow, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Mallard, Moorhen, Coot and Mute Swan.

[scarletttjphotography2022]

Positionality and Photographer Biographies- Chevron Hasset and Alex Monteith

Recently we looked at how important who you are is to the photos you take. Photography and Art in general is very personal. What we like visually and what stories we want to tell all stem from who we are. Our position in the world shapes how we see it. 

Chevron Hasset’s biography is a really good example of how to say a lot about your position in a small amount of words. He talks about his past (where he is from, his ancestry- where his people are from), and themes in his work (whanaungatanga, identity, colonialism, indigenous history). You can see how these translate visually in his photographs, which are mostly portraits. 

In contrast, Alex Montheith’s photographer bio is much more stripped back. It doesn't go into her personal identity much, apart from the basics- where she was born, what she did before photography, where she studied. It’s also written in a brief, short-hand kind of style.

The style that these photographer biographies are written and what they’ve chosen to include or leave out says as much about their work as what they’ve written.

Above: stills from Alex Monteith’s ‘Composition with RNZAF 3 Squadron Exercise Blackbird for three-channel video installation’, 2010. 

Alex’s work features a lot of aircrafts which I think her concise, practical bio really compliments. On the other hand, Chevron’s bio is much more wordy and feels like its dealing with less tangible things, like emotions and personal history. His work features a lot of people together and their dynamics with each other and place.

Above: Chevron Hasset, commercial work

Even Chevron’s commercial work feels very human and centres around dynamics and human feeling. I think his bio really captures this. 

Below: My current bio (below it is more my personal statement). For me, it’s important I mention both Mt Roskill and Waiheke as both places are very significant to me. I moved to town when I was seven, but I still consider Waiheke home. My brothers grew up there and a lot of my good friends are from there. I’m a very sentimental person and I spent quite a few years after we moved feeling very lonely and homesick. Now I’ve been in Mt Roskill so long and feel sentimental about it here too. Both places are my home. More often these days though I realise that it is the people who make your sense of home as much as a place. When you have friends and family who understand you everywhere they are becomes a place you can belong. People are very important to me, and I like photos with people in them, like portraits and fashion photography. I’m very close with my grandma and maybe because of all the old family stories she tells, I’m often thinking about my ancestors and how family history and the past shapes a person today. Women who Run with the Wolves is one of my favourite books. It interprets elements of life through fairytales. I’ve always loved stories but ever since first reading this especially I keep returning to folklore and magical fairytale imagery some way or another.

[dontdowhatisayandnobodygetshurt]

I was tagged by the WONDERFUL AMAZING @myriadimagines!! Thank you, Sam, this was really fun!! ^_____^ <3

NAME: Matthias. (I sTiLl GeT tO sAy ThAt *HAPPY SCREAMING* :’D ^____^ )

STAR SIGN: FISHY MCFISH FISH (Pisces.)

HEIGHT: 5′4 (in Australia we use centimetres but I always grew up with inches????? my family is really weird. XD)

WHAT’S YOUR MIDDLE NAME: Chance.

PUT YOUR ITUNES ON SHUFFLE. WHAT’S THE FIRST FOUR SONGS THAT POPPED UP? Blackbird (Glee cover... it’s one of my Mum’s favourite songs ^-^) I’m a Believer by Smash Mouth (yea I like it unironically) Burned Out by Dodie Clark Sick Boy by The Chainsmokers.

GRAB THE BOOK NEAREST TO YOU AND TURN TO PAGE 23. WHATS LINE 17? “Nina had managed to slip it from the chain the lawyer always wore around his neck, then tucked it beneath an empty oyster shell for Wylan to whisk into the kitchen.” (Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo)

EVER HAD A SONG OR POEM WRITTEN ABOUT YOU? Absolutely not. XD

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PLAYED AIR GUITAR? *clears throat* Like.... last night... maybe??? ^__^”

WHO IS YOUR CELEBRITY CRUSH? Honestly, nobody. I’ve never had a celebrity crush, ever. XD I just crush on fictional people and - only if they’re equally out of my league and uninterested in me - real people. XD

WHAT’S A SOUND YOU HATE AND A SOUND YOU LOVE A dog crying, especially a yelp... I hate that noise, it’s so heart-wrenching. D’: And I really love the sound of rain on the roof, or the pavement... honestly water in general, waves or rain or running water.... it’s very calming! <3

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS? Abso-fucking-lutely, my dude, I have seen some SHIT. X’D

HOW ABOUT ALIENS? I think it’s very, very arrogant of us to believe that we are alone... especially in space, which is infinite. You roll a die infinite times and you’ll roll a 20 many times in creating life, no matter how perfect the conditions for it have to be.

DO YOU DRIVE? YUP!!! Working on getting my license now!! ^___^

IF SO HAVE YOU EVER CRASHED? Not yet!!! But I’m sure I’ll fuck up eventually!!! :DDDDDD

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (prequel to Crooked Kingdom, PLEASE READ THEM THEY’RE SO SO GOOD!!! <3 )

DO YOU LIKE THE SMELL OF GASOLINE? Is it... weird that it’s kind of yes?? I dunno it reminds me of when I was little and I’d be in the garage with my dad and he’d lift me up onto the bench and then we’d listen to music while he worked... so, good memories, not necessarily the smell itself?? XD <3

WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU SAW? Uhhhhhhh.... I think it was Spider-Man: Homecoming again.... O.o

DO YOU HAVE ANY OBSESSIONS RIGHT NOW? I just downloaded Hollow Knight on my Switch so I think I’m gonna be playing that for a while... does that count?? XD <3 And I’ve gotten back in to my photography lately so, that too!! <3

DO YOU TEND TO HOLD GRUDGES AGAINST PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE YOU WRONG? I hold grudges like Jessica Jones holds alcohol. :) For real though it depends... but yeah I’d say I definitely hold on to grudges, I don’t really mean to it just... happens. :///

IN A RELATIONSHIP? *hYSTERICAL LAUGHTER* Bold of you to assume anyone can deal with my annoying prone-to-messing-literally-everything-up ass, let alone want to!! X’D

I tag the FAVOURITE-ST OF ALL BEANS @steverogershield and @tiredngaybois!! <3 :DDDDD <3