#but now I'm finally back in the mood

[aro-tarot]

My Experience Getting Back into Tarot Journaling

Me: *sets up journaling page with washi, pictures, and stickers* Me: A cool page and a prompt to journal about sometime this month. That'll give me something to do later. Me: *immediately fills the page* Me: ... Me: So, I guess I'm going to pick another prompt and set up a page for that one as something to work on this month. Me: *repeats* Me: ...

[outlying-hyppocrate]

well. did you fucking miss me.

[mishkakagehishka]

I may have spent all my life until this moment wasting both mine and God's time, but from tomorrow on, for sure, i swear it, i will change my ways and be better. And it'll be different from all the other times i said the same thing🧎‍♀️

[shiliria]

Based on this post

[cjgladback]

For the first time in a long while, I got to go to a white elephant gift exchange this December! We had a low price ceiling and my practically wins out over any practical joke sensibilities every time, so on the designated shopping day I left my local overstock store with a nice chopstick set, some fancy (not at all mess-free) popcorn, and a dream.

When I was growing up, my mom was an intrepid homeschooling parent who loved event planning, valued cultural exploration, and had married into a Japanese family. Multiple times - sometimes in the setting of a multicultural fair, at least once as a kind of class party (with celebratory takeout at the end) - she faced teaching large groups of children how to use chopsticks quickly and with as little cost and cleanup as possible.

Her answer was popcorn! It's edible, so you get the full motion down, and lightweight but large enough for less coordinated sticks to pinch. It has tons of nubbins to grab and widely varied shapes to experiment with. Specifically, we used air-popped kernels, without oil or toppings, so when it gets overzealously crushed or bounces away and gets missed by a broom, it's basically biodegradable styrofoam.

What I'm saying is, this is my mom's fault. Other than the choice to draw so many hands in one afternoon on the same day as the party, while also baking a snack. That's all me. This primer was delivered in the format of a tiny booklet (if you look up an "eight page zine" that's also a method I learned from my mom, to turn single-sided misprints into notepads), with fewer jokes and tips than I'd have liked because I simply did not have time to transcribe a hashi rest fold or hairstyle. But reformatted (for Mastodon) it looks fairly respectable.

Lengthy image descriptions and full poster format under the cut.

[ID: A title page reads "How to Use Chopsticks" in all caps. The words "without too much mess" are between two straight, orange lines, which start with round points at the left, evoking chopsticks, and end in flared shapes of a silhouetted splash on the right. Below the lower line are the words "by CJ Gladback." All the text is in black, the background is white but appears light orange due to a repeating geometric watermark pattern of CJ's logo in orange overlaid on the whole image; her handle on most sites is included once on each of the following spreads: @cjgladback​

Next is the first spread of four illustrations with their instructions. On the left half of page are two line drawings of a right hand holding one and then two chopsticks, with the text, "The first stick rests on the side of your ring finger's nail and the flesh between your thumb and index finger. Your middle finger's pad holds it securely while it can slide against your thumb as your hand changes posture in use. The second stick is held between the knuckle of your thumb and the middle section of your index finger. This is the one you move to change angles; it may touch but doesn't really rest on the middle finger's tip." In orange, two arrows indicate the rest points for the first stick while small hashes emanate from the points pressed on the middle and ring fingertips and under the thumb's joint holding the top stick. On the right upper quadrant of the page is the text "Hold them close to parallel to scoop." A hand holds two sticks poked into a bowl of rice between the viewer and the palm; a series of parallel orange lines emphasize the space between the sticks. The remaining quadrant's text reads, "Press with your index finger to pinch firmly." This hand is holding an indistinct rounded shape in its chopsticks, with an orange arrow indicating the rotation of the index finger's tip to press the top stick's point toward the bottom's.

Next is the final spread of the pamphlet. The upper right text reads, "Practice with something medium sized and low mess like (air-popped) popcorn." A single piece of popcorn is held in disembodied chopsticks above a full popcorn bowl, with several kernels fallen to the surface below it. Text below reads, "Pick up your dishes to bring close to your mouth to scoop the harder to grab foods." An implied tilted bowl of food (fried rice or porridge with diced pieces) protrudes off the page, covering only the lower left corner. Close-up chopsticks have their points buried in the food and their lines fade out toward the right. The final black text, underlined by two orange chopstick shapes, reads, "but most of all, do what feels comfortable and eat well!" In orange in the lower right corner, the parenthetical "(and maybe knit a scarf)" is followed by a small orange drawing of a steaming bowl of noodles and sliced egg with a noodle line trailing toward two upward angled sticks with loopy hashes indicating knit fabric hanging from them.

The final image is the full booklet in its web format, with the three previous images from this post stacked vertically. Some orange lines have been added between what were pages in the print booklet, to aid reading flow. /end ID]

[eurovision-del]

Eurovision season is well under way! It’s only December but we already have our first song, and we’re going to get another one soon when Czechia select their entry. I waited to hear all the songs for the first time live at ESCZ, then went back to the studio cuts, and after a few days to get familiar with them, here’s what I think:  

Tom Sean – Dopamine Overdose

MYDY – Red Flag Parade

Lenny – Good Enough

Elly – The Angel’s Share

Tomas Robin – Out Of My Mind

Gianna Lei – Starlet

Aiko – Pedestal

My gut reaction after watching ESCZ was that unlike previous years we’re missing an obvious standout this year, since I enjoyed quite a lot of the songs equally, but actually I’ve come to think that MYDY are head and shoulders above the rest. Red Flag Parade is the most immediate of all the songs, designed to grab your attention with that dramatic opening, and it’s super catchy – it’s been in my head all week. The live performance had the clearest visual identity, The red marching band outfits are distinct and fit the song. The lead singer, Žofie, has fantastic energy and sells the attitude needed. Her vocals might not have been pitch perfect, but the sound system didn’t do anyone any favours, and it works fine for this style of music. However, while its catchiness is this song’s best quality, it’s also part of the reason why I didn’t rank it first – I’ve grown kind of tired of it just over the past week, and I’m not a huge fan of the melody in the chorus. By the third time it comes around, I want the song to be over already. It also kind of bothers me that the studio cut is censored – I understand it for the live version, but if you’re not even gonna say it in the studio cut, what’s the point of even writing a swear word at all?  

While I respect MYDY a lot, and think they have a great package, my actual favourite from this selection is Tom Sean’s Dopamine Overdose. It’s a little less in your face, but still energetic and memorable, the sort of dance music I vibe with. I’m not hugely keen on the ‘sweet like teriyaki’ line, but other than that I enjoy this song a lot. The performance was alright, Tom felt a little awkward at points, but I think the overall staging concept is solid. I really enjoyed how the dancers were used, though I think there’s a lot of potential to take it further and improve the choreography, it’s a good starting point.

Finally, I also really enjoyed Lenny’s performance of Good Enough. As a song, it’s alright. I enjoy the contrast between the stripped back opening and the second half where the instruments ramp it up and it becomes more of a power ballad, however I feel it takes too long to get there – I feel myself getting bored with the second verse. However, Lenny really impressed me, apparently she’s pretty established in the Czech music industry, and it comes across, she seems very experienced and professional. Her vocal at the start is very exposed by both the composition of the song and the ESCZ sound system, but it sounds great. Her rough voice really fits with this song and its jaded, mature tone.

I would be happy with any of these three songs representing Czechia at Eurovision this year. There really isn’t much separating them for me, I have issues with all of them but also plenty I enjoy. MYDY is probably Czechia’s best option with how catchy Red Flag Parade is, and the most realised concept in terms of performance, but I think the others also have decent performances with a lot of potential there too. With how close these songs are for me, I’ve decided not to vote, I’ll just wait and see what ends up winning!

[kingdomoftyto]

Just seeing this title + thumbnail from THIS channel has made my entire freaking weekend, hellooOOO

[fictionadventurer]

For the ask game:

Title: As Falls the Midnight Moon

Genre: fantasy (any sub-genre)

As Falls the Midnight Moon by Jodie Akres

In the secret-filled city of Verram, knowledge is power. Restia, the unassuming caretaker of the city's archives, knows this better than anyone, so when a thief gets away with a secret that could bring down an empire, Restia takes to the dark and winding city streets to track him down. Her journey entangles her with ruffians, gamblers, smugglers, and some of the most powerful men in the city, but she will do whatever it takes to track down the document before the moon sets.

[zincbot]

first workout after top surgery had me flying high all day

[lieutenantselnia]

I just wanted to let you know that I made a carrd for my self ship things! It includes an overview of my f/o's, a short description of my self-inserts as well as some information on their relationships :)

It's still a work in progress (e.g. not all s/is and relationships have pictures at the moment because I didn't manage to draw/design them yet), but I hope to expand it over time as my ideas develop.

I also made a few tiny changes to my pinned post. I mainly reorganised the f/o section. I was starting to look really cluttered unpleasant to read to me, hence I decided to make a carrd in the first place. In that way, I feel like I can include substantial information while still making look everything nice and keeping things organised.

[whatsagirltoblogabout]

I finished watching the Mentalist yesterday and I told myself that I was going to take some time to reset my sleep schedule. It's been completely shot to pieces by my inability to resist binge watching and also my whirlwind 5-day side job as an ALM on a very messy shoot, and I kept telling myself that I would get back to normal once I finished the Mentalist. So I literally sat there, after the credits rolled on the finale, and told myself that I was going to take a break, consume some fan content at a leisurely pace and get my sleep schedule back on track before starting another show. I was being so responsible about it. And then, a few hours later, I'm lying in bed and I get curious. Curiosity killed the cat, or in this case my sleep schedule. In a meager defense, I did have to get on my computer at like 1am to deal with a work emergency. But somehow that lead to me going to sleep around 3 after watching the pilot for White Collar. Why do I have literally zero self control? Why am I like this.

[scarletcomet]

my therapist literally always cancels on me when i need therapy the most

[clumsyclifford]

first off after rereading a good portion of your fics, I have a question to ask. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF TEA. because that is a consistently reoccurring theme in your fics and hell I am NOT complaining just very curious now because you are very clearly invested in tea ajcjjsnxnxncnl

SECOND!!!!!!!!! DID YOU HEAR THAT ALL TIME LOW IS RELEASING A NEW SINGLE ON OCTOBER SEVENTH?!?! IM SO FUCKING EXCITED BELLA OMFG. THE LAST NEW ORIGINAL SONG WE GOT WAS IN 2021!!!!! (I’m not counting Blinding Lights. They could have chosen ANY song and they did blinding lights. I’m.) (AND PALAYE ROYALE IS RELEASING THEIR ALBUM ON MY BIRTHDAY AAAAAAA)

ANYWAY I seem to have a habit of commenting on your fics a ton and then not touching them for a while and then you go and reply to them and immediately my brain goes SHES ALIVE ITS TIME TO LET HER KNOW I STILL EXIST MUAHAHHAGAHA and I go and leave like +200 more comments and I kNOW you said it’s not annoying but ankxksjxnnx

ANYWAY ANYWAY I HOPE YOURE HAVING A REALLY GOOD DAY BELLA <33333

HFDLKJG i will happily tell you !!! i only ever drink one kind of tea: english breakfast with milk and sugar. i probably put more sugar than a normal human being is supposed to put, but i stand by my decisions. as a matter of fact i am drinking this exact kind of tea right now at this moment

yes!!! i saw !!!! and ghsfhgdslgdkmgj i agree so hard with the blinding lights comment they could have literally covered any song in the world and. they. and they went with blinding lights. they went with blinding lights. i haven't even listened to it under protest. exciting about palaye royale though ! i don't listen to them but mazel tov to you. maisie also just announced that she's releasing a song on october 7th so it's gonna be a good day for music

dsfgdklj well your commenting habit is great i enjoy it so carry on as you were fldkghgdh and thank you for the well wishes sol, my day started pretty bad but has slowly gotten better

[propelbottle]

sorry for being a downer y'all it's just been such a shit week

[humanmorph]

btw if anything whack (read: extremely wild) happens in palisade tell me. just if not what

[h4ndwr1tten]

inspired by a tiktok

imagine you and satoru had gotten into an argument. it's already been at least two hours since it—satoru has seemed to move on, but you're still mad and sensitive.

both of you are in bed by now. satoru watches some reality show on the tv while you mindlessly scrolled through tiktok with your back facing him. satoru sighs, then the tv is shut off. he turns to you and attempts to speak to you.

"goodnight, sweets," he chirps, sounding as positive as he could, hoping it would show that he's moved on and that he's okay with you. "i love you."

you don't respond, not because you didn't love him, but you still weren't in the mood to speak. he knew you loved him though, right?

"i love you," he repeats louder, waiting for you to return those three words. again, no response.

he puts his hand around your waist to steady himself as he tries to take a peek at your face with a smile. "hello? i love—"

"i love you! can you stop?!" you snap, shrugging him off you and furrowing your brows at him. although you finally said it, satoru looks anything but relieved and satisfied. the grin he wore to try and make things better faded, his face falling and his eyes softening.

you turned away from him once again and he followed suit, pulling the covers up to his cheeks. he mutters, although a little muffled, "not right now you don't."

it's quiet after. the way you snapped at him and the way his expression morphed into one of hurt and his comment made you feel extremely guilty. were you being petty and holding the argument over his head? you don't even remember what you had argued about.

you quit basking in your guilt and sigh, shutting off your phone and turning over to him. you think he's asleep, but his breathing hasn't evened out. propping yourself up on one arm, you peer over at his face. your hand is on his bicep, gently rubbing up and down. he pretends to be asleep, but you know he can hear you.

"i'm sorry, 'toru. that was really mean of me. i love you so much. we can talk tomorrow, 'kay?" you whisper, placing a lingering kiss to his cheek. you give him a few more pecks as well as another apology before laying down and wrapping your arm around his waist.

you kiss his shoulder blade as you spoon him, then feel his hand run over the one on his stomach. he turns over to face you, making sure your arm never leaves its place on him. you both stare at each other for a minute, apologies being exchanged in the silence and through your eyes. satoru kisses your forehead and you lean into him a little more. he leaves one last kiss on your lips and holds you a little tighter.

"i love you, meanie."