#ed banger family

[marta-bee]

I've been thinking about the cleanup after Helene, and while the material needs are so very important, what I'm really grieving just now is the loss of place, and the loss of story that comes with it.

See, so much of Appalachia, at least the corner of southern Appalachia I'm familiar with, is bound up by an oral history, and it's situated in a certain place and in a nexus of particular people as your neighbors. Which isn't to say Southerners don't write, or that Appalachian Southerners in particular don't write. But somehow the story changes. There's an ineffable quality that I loved, hearing scandals and ghost stories and all sorts of local accountings shared at the church youth group camp-out or family BBQ's or over beers sitting on someone's back porch.

And now there's whole small towns, places that almost don't deserve that name, that are just gone and that probably aren't coming back, or if they are, they'll be different. It seems like such a small thing to be struck by. But it weighs heavy on my heart tonight.

So if I may offer some suggestions aside from donating to the recovery (which everyone absolutely should do if they can) : Read an Appalachian story.

The Bitter Southerner is a favorite podcast of mine, though they've not updated in years. The season two episodes "Progress, Heartbreak & Art: The TVA" and "Hillbillies Need No Elegy" seem particularly on point. And the TVA one tells the stories of some real bangers of local women. Just remembering those stories makes me smile.

I've not read it yet, but the way people talk about it in that second episode makes me think "Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy" (ed. Edward Karschner) is also worth a read. Just on general principles with J.D. Vance in the cultural bloodstream, but perhaps now more than ever.

"Talking Appalachian: Voice, Identity and Community" (Amy Clark) was more nonfiction than story, but still really interesting.

"Ghosts and Haunts from the Appalachian Foothills: Stories and Legends" (Linda Crider) has lots of good local history and .... what do we call urban legends when there's no urban at hand? rural legends? ... Particularly fun in this our season of the spooky.

"A Place Called District 12: Appalachian Geography and Music in The Hunger Games" (Thomas Paradis) This one I haven't read yet, but judging from this interview it might be interesting for people wanting to tap into the region through more fannish lenses.

Honestly, I'm grasping a little at straws here. If anyone has anything worth reading, please let me know so I can add it to the list.

Also, at the risk of being too flippant, I'm wondering if it might be time to take a crack at reading Vulgarweed's and htebazytook's "The Bone Fiddle." Not that there's ever a bad time, I suppose.

Seriously. Seek out these stories if you can, always but especially now, and if you have any good recommendations along those lines let me know.

[insteading]

So I've only watched 2.1, 2.2., and 2.3 once each so far, but I can already tell the music choices are going to wreck me this season. I figure lots of people will have things to say about the use of Kate Bush in 2.3, so I want to focus on the second movement of Beethoven's Symphony #7 in 2.2, "Red Flags."

First, this movement has been a banger since it existed: at its first performance, the audience demanded that the second movement be repeated after the symphony concluded. It's a funeral march, and per the notes accompanying the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie of Bremen's gorgeous recording, it was likely heard as responding to collective grief:

The premiere performance of Beethoven's Seventh was at a benefit concert in Vienna in December 1813 for wounded soldiers and their families. It came only two months after the Battle of Nations near Leipzig. The German name is "Völkerschlacht" (Slaughter of the Peoples), one of the most catastrophic wartime events in human history. It also marked the liberation from Napoleon's forces. The sad, beautiful quality of this piece makes it very different from the other three movements of Beethoven's Seventh. Endlessly mournful – but also uplifting, it is still played at funerals today.

For those of us who were in music school at a certain point in history, it is also the soundtrack for characters experiencing suicidal ideation, courtesy of the 1994 film Immortal Beloved.

Its use underpinning the conversation between Ed and Izzy is self-explanatory: Ed's way of expressing self-loathing is to goad the people around him to hurt him. He feels a kind of ambivalence toward his own life that we saw last in OFMD's pilot, where Stede cannot firmly answer Oluwande's question, "Do you want to live?!"

But we hear the first notes of Beethoven before that scene ever begins.

That the music begins here, rather than when Ed enters the hold to press Izzy into killing him, highlights as much as anything we've seen so far how traumatized Lucius is: not just by being pushed overboard, but by all the trafficking and abuse he experienced before encountering his former crewmates, which he barely starts to detail in this episode. "If I start, I don't know what's going to come out." The stories Lucius shares may have an over-the-top quality, but they're scored like tragedy.

[bemusedlybespectacled]

okay okay so I have seen the photos of The Nose Guy (and what appears to be Nose Guy prior to him losing his nose) and also speculation that Izzy falls in love with him or sells out the crew to him, and like, okay

I CANNOT believe that a fucking banger line like "you don't know the first thing about piracy: it's not about glory, it's about belonging to something" is NOT supposed to be an inspirational "fuck you, villain" bit. an "evil cannot comprehend good" bit. a "my friends are my power!" bit.

you know, one of these dealies:

like, think about the context here. they cannot be more obviously signalling that this guy is a villain - THE villain of season 2, like how the badmintons were for season 1 – on account of him being in the navy. like, we have already established that the navy represents oppression, homophobia, racism, and general dickishness. like, we have met one (1) halfway decent navy guy: everyone else has been absolute dicks to stede and the other pirates.

it doesn't make sense for Izzy to say that shit to any established character. Ed or any of his crew? No reason to say they're not real pirates. Stede or any of his crew? They already know that piracy is about found family. IT'S KIND OF THE THEME OF THE SHOW. If anything, figuring this out would be IZZY'S revelation that he learns from interacting more with the crew. Spanish Jackie??? Anne Bonny??? would Izzy seriously tell them that they don't know what piracy really is?

you know who it WOULD make sense to say that to? a villain who is either a) trying to manipulate Izzy into switching sides and failing, not getting that Izzy isn't going to be motivated by whatever glory he's promised, or b) trying to weasel his way onto the crew for evil reasons, not realizing that he's only showing more clearly how little he understands them.

ESPECIALLY if it came AFTER Izzy has had his emotional journey, where like, maybe he WOULD have allied with the dude before, but not after spending so much time with the muppet crew that he has become muppetified. because then it would not only be in keeping with the theme of the show, but ALSO demonstrating Izzy's growth as a person.

AND NONE OF THAT MAKES SENSE IF HE GETS IN BED WITH THE GUY, LITERALLY OR FIGURATIVELY.

[iphisesque]

top 5 reasons to watch utena?

in no particular order:

the music: surprise bitch utena is a musical! aside from the intro, the ED, and zettai unmei mokushiroku, pretty much every episode has an original song, usually but not always during the duels (some of the most iconic being ammonite, missing link, and dona dona). the OST is also absolutely amazing, composed by j.a. seazer and featuring absolute bangers such as hikari sasu niwa and shi no aphrodite.

the character dynamics: i have said before that the characters of utena come in endlessly duplicated sets of three from the original akio matrix, with each character still maintaining their uniqueness: juri is a girlprince like utena, but she's closeted rather than oblivious; touga is an akio, but his youth and trauma prevent him from achieving his same position, and so on.

the symbolism: utena fans are perhaps right behind evangelion fans when it comes to annoyingly overanalyzing symbolism, and i love that for us — the colours and the car and the prince and the stars are pretty basic symbols, but others like the stopwatch and the animals and the hair and the cooking have broader interpretations, and it's fun to theorise about them.

the themes: much has been said about utena's commentary on gender and race and abuse and love and family and capitalism, and all that is present, but the most basic barebones message of utena is a coming-of-age one, about breaking free of societal demands for teens and young adults to find who you really want to be and what values you want to embody for yourself, which i found really inspiring on my first watch.

the cultural relevance: especially if you already like anime and shojo, you have been exposed to utena already, whether in direct reference or in inspiration: it's a cult classic of the magical girl and deconstructionist shojo genres, containing lots of references to previous genre cornerstones, and with its main creatives ikuhara and enokido as well as the rest of be-papas going on to work in more prestigious anime.

[lady-of-imladris]

Thank you for decorating my Christmas Tree! :)

Here are 12 Christmas Questions for you! 

No pressure: feel free to answer some, all, or even none. :) 

Favorite Christmas season activity?

Favorite Traditional Christmas song?

Favorite Modern Christmas song?

Favorite Christmas movie(s)?

Favorite Christmas episode (any tv show)?

Favorite food to eat or serve for the Christmas meal?

Favorite Christmas beverage or dessert? 

Most memorable Christmas gift you received as a child?

Best Christmas gift you ever gave to anyone?

If you have a Christmas tree, what’s your tree topper?

What’s your favorite version of Santa in a movie?

Which fictional character would you like to be caught under the mistletoe with?

OMG SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!! It was truly my joy to decorate your tree!

Favourite Christmas Season Activity: definitely baking!! I used to love going to Christmas Markets and drinking Punsch or Mulled Wine but that has become too crowded and expensive

Favourite Traditional Christmas Song: ok, confession time: I don't like Christmas songs 🙃 but if I had to choose any it would be Carol of the Bells, but Silent Night is also a Banger

Favourite Modern Christmas Song: I like Snowman by Sia

Favourite Christmas Movie(s): ok what I lack in enthusiasm for songs, I make up for with the movies!!! I LOVE CHRISTMAS MOVIES (except Love Actually, I despise that one) basically all the cheesy Netflix ones: The Knight before Christmas, A Christmas Prince, the one with Katie McGrath where idk the English title (is it a Christmas Princess??), and last week I watched one with an Alpaca Farmer???? I LOVE THEM ALL!!!!

Favourite Christmas Episode: ok so I don't really lime Christmas episodes bc whenever I binge a show and it's not Christmas, it feels REALLY odd. But I'd have to say it's from "The Royals" which was sadly cancelled long ago bc it's fun, kinda wholesome and packs a HUGE emotional gut-punch

Favourite food to eat/serve for the Christmas meal: my family switched traditions a while ago and it's probably important to know that in Austria, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th, in the evening. The 25th and 26th are for big family gatherings. SO.

On the 24th: your parents go to church, you and your siblings get SUPER FUCKING DRUNK on mulled wine. The food is Raclette (aka stuff with melted cheese on top)

On the 25th: first round of grandparents, my mom makes goose or duck with red cabbage and potato-dumplings. It is OF COURSE had with a nice glass of red wine. I dont like duck, red cabbage OR potato dumplings, so I have basically a whole bottle of red wine on an empty stomach in order to drown out my grandpa

On the 26th: rinse and repeat with the other side of the family, usually grandma cooks (yes, duck/goose, red cabbage, potato dumplings AGAIN) except my other side of the family is chill AF and my grandma's love language is cooking so she will literally make everyone who doesn't like what she's making a whole different meal!!!

Favourite Christmas beverage or dessert: as you can probably guess by now, anything red wine goes! I'm usually a white wine girly but not in December lol. Favourite dessert, there isn't really a traditional one, my grandma makes excellent cake and "Krapferl" (we Austrians are big on traditional baking stuff) and it's kinda mandatory to eat as many Krapferl as you possibly can for the whole month of December so by Christmas, everyone is tired of sweets lol

Most memorable Christmas gift I received as a child: nothing I really got from anyone in the family but a tiny little stray kitten made it's way into our house one year when I was like 7 and I ADORED this little angel so much

Best gift I ever gave: tbh I am shit at giving gifts. Last year I wanted to take my mom to the opera for Christmas but it was impossible to get tickets :( I think I won with the rest tho bc maybe you remember those IKEA tote bags that turn into backpacks (drømsack) and they were sold out everywhere, so I just diy-ed those and everyone loved them :)

Tree topper: we have REALLY boring ones and i am not capable of describing this in a nore elegant way but... Imagine a sparkly, gold, elongated butt plug. I am sorry

Favourite version of Santa in a movie: Santa is not a thing in Austria 🫣 but I'd say the cartoon Santa from Weihnachtsmann&co kg (i need to google the english title)

Which fictional character would I like to be caught under the mistletoe with: only one???

Hmmm I'm gonna say Emily Prentiss from Criminal Minds Evolution, specifically in the red coat

If you have made it this far into the post: WOW have a cookie 🍪

[songsofprotestpeacerevolution]

MAX BARSKIH Don't F@ck With Ukraine

Ukrainian pop star Max Barskih‘s last single, released in a more peaceful time — November 2021, to be precise — was a vaguely Ed Sheeran-esque breakup ballad called “Tequila Sunrise,” complete with a video where he danced shirtless atop a barroom table. Three months later, Russian troops invaded his country. “We were hearing bombs and attacks almost every hour or two,” he says.

Barskih canceled a planned tour of Russia, where he had a huge fan base. After a dangerous journey to help his family get safely abroad, he returned home to Kyiv, where he joined the Ukrainian army. In his free time, he also recorded a new, and very different single, with proceeds going to the Ukrainian military: It’s a whisper-rapped EDM banger called “Don’t Fuck With Ukraine,” complete with massed voices singing a line plucked from the real-life war: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”  https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/dont-fuck-with-ukraine-max-barskih-army-russia-1344499/

[somegrumpynerd]

hello! for the music ask game: 5 13 23 29 :D

Hello!! :D

5:A song that needs to be played LOUD

Okay loud needs to be subjective here because I'm like a chronically quiet person, like I regularly scare my family and coworkers because nobody can hear me coming no matter what I do lol But I think Year 300 by Busted is a song that feels loud, if that makes sense? Also Caramelldansen so you can lie down on the floor and blast it lol

13:One of your favorite 80’s songs

Oh man I love so many 80s songs, it's like my speciality when we play music games so I have to not go nuts with this one...

Okay I have to pick Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears for Fears cause it's my favourite song, I really like Your Love by The Outfield (it's the one that sounds like Ed from Ed, Edd n Eddy is singing it lol), and of course The Classic

23:A song that you think everybody should listen to

Okay there are two answers to this

The first one is Time Stand Still by Rush (or the cover by Dan from game grumps, which is the one that gets stuck in my head) because it's been haunting me ever since I heard it and it's so meaningful. It's about how quick life goes and wanting to stop and enjoy it a little longer, and it makes me think of how much I miss my brother but it's such a beautiful song.

The other answer, because I am silly to my core, is Dragon Slayer by NSP because it's just entirely goofy and I love it.

29:A song that you remember from your childhood

Y'know what??? Barbie Girl. That was a banger when I was like 4 and it's still a banger now. Also Man, I Feel Like A Woman by Shania Twain. Fun fact! I thought my mother was Shania Twain when I was very small because she liked her songs and dressed kinda similarly and announced this to her in the middle of a shop one day. It should not have taken me so long to realise I was faceblind lol

Thank you for all these, they're fun to try and answer!! ^^

[night-ah-ahks]

you thought my rtc was niche? check this out—

QSMP SPIES ARE FOREVER AU

Forever as Curt Mega

Maxo as Owen Carvour

Philza as Tatiana Slozhno

Pac as Barb Larvernor

Vegetta as Deadliest Man Alive

Felps as Cynthia Houston

Foolish as The Informant (Susan)

EXPLANATIONS (and spoilers) BELOW THE CUT

okay so this is a 4maxo au technically—

Because in this musical, Curt and Owen are lovers buuuuut Curt kills Owen on accident and then Owen comes back as DMA (aka as Vegetta which I also logic-ed out because DMA and Owen are the only British accent folks in this show and q!Vegetta has a reputation for being a little bloodthirsty)

also in this show, Curt thinks he gets a crush on Tatiana (he is gay so that was not a crush) and I equate that to the whole Philever saga (also q!Philza as Tati makes me sad because Tatiana has to ditch her family for their safety and she becomes a young assassin and it kinda reminds me of Passerine which ik this isn’t dsmp but that is RIGHT THERE)

anyways watch this show it’s a banger

[adracat]

G-Witch Episode 13 - Second Cour Start

It's been awhile! I'm positively jittery to break down this episode. Let's start with that banger OP change shall we?

I love the imagery in this shot in particular. It's interesting that we see Suletta start in shadow, slowly moving to the light throughout. The symbolism is obviously framing Miorine as the light she seeks (edeleth flashbacks anyone?) Oh and the boys have a brief cameo. Yeesh Guel looks like a defeated wreck. 5lan has weird prominence so I wonder if he'll be something after all. Maybe a heel turn? Antagonist at least judging from the glimpse of Pharact. Shaddiq certainly will be.

Aerial Rebuild my beloved. I love her so much and she looks so stylish in action. But woof, I feel bad for Earth House. They're deeply affected by the terrorist attack, and cringe at the violence involved with duels. Great detail!

Meanwhile, Suletta's persistent cheeriness is a stark contrast. They're puzzled she can remain so blithe about it. Shame they don't know our poor little tomato head has been brainwashed by mother dearest. More on that later.

Miorine on the other hand is going through the wringer. We only see her briefly but it says so much about her mindset. She's dressed in a black business suit, as if already mourning her father and preparing to take his place at Benerit. It's not surprising she's neglecting herself while she watches her father, but you hate to see it.

Prospera: You did the right thing brutally liquidizing that guy, Suletta. Very smart. Another way? Don't be silly. Murder is always ethical.

Lol. Lmao. Ugly crying. You're going to need so much therapy.

I saw this in the promos but it's still crazy they just stroll into the episode like this. This episode humanizes them, which is nice. You glean nuggets of character from Sophie especially. She's an endearing terrorist if nothing else. The detail of naming her stuffed animals her family, the sister moniker for Suletta-- it paints a lonely portrait of a girl desperate for familial connection.

Norea is interesting too, stoic but blatantly disdainful of the luxuries Spacians take for granted. Clean air/water, plentiful vegetation, and even general happiness. All things Earthians lack.

And here comes the Benerit brigade to make their lives worse. I sense super fun times ahead ;-; I do wonder what the endgame for Dawn of Fold is though. They must know attacking Delling would result in violent retaliation. Hm, something to think about.

Good for Nika standing up for herself and Earth House! Sophie and Norea's simple school life might be over soon as it began. Rather audacious they thought murdering a girl on campus wouldn't be noticed lol. Suletta was so dashing protecting her friend 🥺 She may be highly impressionable but she's a good egg. Next episode, it'll be a duel for Nika's life! I can't wait~

And omg Miorine figured it out. This makes the quick fic I wrote canon compliant! Very pleased we solved that misunderstanding quickly.

This is worrisome though. What really is Quiet Zero and why is Delling convinced it'll bring peace? And what will come of Prospera using Mio to further it? Nothing good, I wager.

But enough of all that dire stuff. Let's discuss the phenomenal ED

The first thing that came to mind when seeing this is Utena. What we see here is Suletta and Aerial serving as the Duelist and Witch respectively. It's incredibly smart to have Aerial in the role of unwilling servant/collaborator both for Utena parallels but also for The Tempest. She can't break free from her servitude, trapped as Arial is as a servant of Prospero and Anthy to Akio. Utena/Suletta is the one who struggles against delusion and misguided beliefs. GOD IT'S SO GOOD Y'ALL

The ED is so romantic too, I'm going to faint. They way they look at each other, even Mio who visibly seems uncertain. And the way their joined hands tremble in the last shot? You can feel Suletta's desperation. That collection of Suletta's is so ominous and witchy too. Reminds me of PMMM. (Also confirms Eri clones in Aerial?? Maybe) This season is off to a rocking start <3

[littencloud9]

What a fun ask game... https://www.tumblr.com/littencloud9/745747249151311872/hello-can-i-ask-from-this-ask-game?source=share

How about for BSD, SK8, and Skip & Loafer....

hi again! here u gooo

bungo stray dogs 🤎🤍

Favorite Character: ranpo <3

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: DAMN. either yosano’s backstory arc, the sky casino arc, or the guild arc. i also love the episode when the café master was taken and the agency went apeshit lol. and lucy’s introduction ep was fantastic too! WAIT ALSO in untold origins, you are but a child is one of my fav bsd lines EVER and the entire scene was so great 🫶🫶

Character I Think is Underrated: lucy my beloved

Character I Think is Overrated: can i say dazai. and fyodor. but mostly dazai (squishing him tho)

Favorite Ship/Pairing: im ngl it might actually be kunichuu now… but i also love sskk 🫶

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: i love the ADA found family, and the symbolism in bsd is also SO good. especially in the endings! wait yes i also love the op and eds a lot (i have s1 ending on loop genuinely) and the way character dynamics are explored is so captivating. my fav dynamics are definitely ranpo and yosano, sskk, tachihara and the hd/pm, and ranpo and fukuzawa. ignoring bsd’s questionable plot i genuinely do love it a lot hahaa

-

sk8 the infinity 🛹♾️

Favorite Character: reki and langa (they are a set do not separate)

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: the scene where langa won the match against adam and he leapt into reki’s arms and everyone just piled onto them. yes. but also the beach episode haha

Character I Think is Underrated: miya!

Character I Think is Overrated: nobody lol theyre all my blorbos

Favorite Ship/Pairing: renga <3

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: the found family is truly found family-ing. also the op is a BANGER. and i just love the overall colours and vibes and how creative everyone’s skateboards are. and the outfits! langa’s beach episode outfit stays in my head rent free

-

skip and loafer 🌸👞

Favorite Character: yuzuki!! 🥹🫶

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: this one is HARD but im gonna say the sleepover episode where the girls were all together and bonding

Character I Think is Underrated: mika! im surprised there isnt more content for her because her character is captivating to me

Character I Think is Overrated: no one tbh i think everyone deserves the love they get

Favorite Ship/Pairing: yuzumako 🫶 but shimamitsu is fantastic too haha

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: i love that this show is so kind to its characters. it understands that they’re all just teens trying to figure things out. with mitsumi’s hesitance over love (esp in comparison to fumi), mika’s jealousy, shima being so guarded etc. ut defines maybe you weren’t unlovable maybe you were just 15. also the FRIENDSHIPS!! they’re all so heartfelt and full of love i feel all fluffy thinking about it 💛💛

[activatebutterflyshield]

Music part of my brain is having a field day mates. Present history is:

1. Multiple instances of Fernando - ABBA, decently spread out

2. Quite a few instances of Enchanté - Dirt Poor Robins, stacked on top of each other in bunches of 3 or 4

3. Exactly 2 instances of We Didn’t Start The Fire - Billy Joel, as well as 2 instances of the Fall Out Boy version

4. At least two instances of bloody hecking Discord’s Smallest Violin - Who the hell do I say the artist is? The AJR discord? Sure why not

5. 1 instance of Les Miserables Choral Medley - Arr. Ed Lojeski, SATB

6. 1 instance of The Oh Hellos Family Christmas Album Mvmt 4 Every Bell on Earth Will Ring - The Oh Hellos, yes, this is a very Christian Christmas song, no, I don’t care, it’s one hell of a banger and it’s not too hard to ignore all the Jesus

Looking back at this why did I write it like a SCP encounter log

[owlmoonboi]

Dear future self,

I am writing you this letter hoping that you live to see the day when you not only read this letter but write a response.

Let me tell you a few things about ourselves. We are an eighteen who’ll be turning nineteen in June. I am suffering with depression and an eating disorder but hopefully by the time you read this I am better.

We are waiting to attend an acting course we’ll start in June but first we have to attend classes for a course in April. It’s exciting the idea of acting. We are also interested in modeling. Kind of funny the idea of someone with an ED wanting to model but it happens all the time. We have always loved attention and being dramatic. If you have to live life at least make it interesting. Hopefully one day someone will be happily watching me on the big screen. I think it’s possible. I like to believe in myself, my goals and dreams. Dreams or goals which some people like to call them are a good thing to have. They are the steps you climb to get to the top. Dreams are like clouds they may shift but that doesn’t stop you from seeing a clear picture.

Our favourite song at the moment is out of a few songs. We love Mars by YungBlud, Beautiful Things by Benson Boone, End of Beginning by Djo and Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls. Iris is such a banger.

At the moment our hair is dyed alight brown/dark blonde or a sandy blonde. The colour is kinda nice. It’s cut short but we like short hair. I used to prefer a long floppy front but that is just no longer it. I wonder what colour it will be by the time you read this. I’m thinking next time I dye my hair I might dye it red since it is Autumn but I haven’t made up my mind. It’s not only making up my mind but also I tend to be lazy when it comes to dying our hair. I mean I always get my older to dye it which isn’t the point but we have been known for having terrible roots. It’s not completely our fault. Usually about two weeks after being dyed the roots are already noticeable but that’s how it is when you have dark brown hair. Dark hair does have advantages such as if we ever want laser we can get it. Not that we mind body hair. I mean it’s just hair on your body. I know it literally says that in the name but still that is all it is.

I hope by the time this is read I am happy and living a good life. I want to save some more money since I want you to travel. I think it would be nice to go overseas. Of course home is nice but I don’t want to stay in Australia forever. I want to see the rest of the world. America specifically Hollywood is where all the movie magic happens do I’ll have to end up moving there. I also hope that by the time you read this I am doing the acting course. I hope to be going well with it. We like the idea of getting an internship so remember that. We have to build a good resume. At the moment it is not very good. I as do want you to start doing some volunteer work since I think it’s important to give to the community. It also helps to build that resume like I was just saying.

Most of all I just hope you get the chance to read this. Remember no matter what our family is always there for support no matter his much you may argue with our father. I think children are made to argue with their parents or at least fathers no but he is honestly a good man.

I write this with lots of love. It is very important to love ourself and always be kind to ourselves.

Sincerely

You know who you are

[thesinglesjukebox]

LENIN - "INTIRAYMI"

Next, from Jessica, a Peruvian house banger with layers...

[7.46]

Jessica Doyle: Don't worry about the backstory yet, there's no rush. Let's start by enjoying a party jam whose ambition shows in its structure: in an era of two-minute songs and dance tracks with no actual rhythm, "Intiraymi" has not only the required bouncy chorus that ends with "ĄEs un carnaval!" but a distinct repeated pre-chorus and a distinct bridge during which to gear up for the final dance. Also, let's face it, this is the best use of strings in a K-pop or K-pop-adjacent song since the legendary "The Ghost of Wind." Even the song's more subtle touches -- that Lenin ends the initial rounds of the chorus on a lower note, so it has more impact when he doubles himself going higher at the end -- work in its favor. Okay, now we can throw in the backstory: Lenin Tamayo Pinares is the son of an Andean folksinger and native speaker of Quecha, and not only a self-produced musician but one committed to using contemporary Andean music as an agent of collective empowerment for indigenous minorities (and hopefully getting an undergraduate thesis done on the topic while he's at it). Fun is fun, and "Intiraymi" is well-crafted, contagious fun no matter how little time you want to invest in it, but you do need a little bit of context to understand why I want this man to realize all of his ambitions and then some. [9]

Nortey Dowuona: "This is not only a positive message," he said of his music. "It's a battle." [10]

Taylor Alatorre: If I were to listen to this without looking any further into Quechua culture, I'd have to guess that the Intiraymi is basically akin to a Copa América celebration. Lenin shows more interest here in creating sounds with cross-border appeal than in putting centuries of suppressed history on display, as is fully his right. Those violin breaks act as tethers to a living past rather than dusted-off artifacts of an ancient one, more evocative of extended family gatherings than Inca and Chanka glories. The sense of forced fun is never entirely absent, but that's something it has in common with family gatherings as well. [6]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Intiraymi is a (Southern Hemisphere) Winter Solstice festival, so it feels appropriate to review "Intiraymi" as I experience the Northern Hemisphere equivalent. This is a banger for the shortest day of the year, a concentrated, poised delivery of hooks that eventually folds into a giddy, delirious fit of ecstasy. [8]

Ian Mathers: Of course, there are only so many combinations of different letters out there; when different languages share the same character sets, you're going to get some weird and/or funny overlaps. Which explains why someone going by Lenin is singing the praises of an Incan festival for the sun god. He's got an interesting background, but I don't have the context to know how significant the subject matter here is. But that's all kind of just background; I don't even need the subtitles to tell that the chorus is celebrating some sort of carnival, and infectiously so. [7]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: An ebullient little house-pop charmer. It's a bit too cheery for my tastes, but those strings are something to celebrate. [5]

Brad Shoup: LENIN's very unsweaty take on K-pop is the draw for sure, but dig that chorus: it sounds like Suede. [7]

Michelle Myers: When you're a K-Pop fan, everything starts to sound like idol music. Tate McRae? She's K-Pop. Ed Sheeran? Totally K-Pop. Nu Metal? That's just Ateez with guitars. But Lenin Tamayo is different. He's purposefully trying to make music that sounds like the Peruvian equivalent of an early 2010s Kenzie banger. [8]

Frank Kogan: This is excitement from the start, the danceable violin riff and the floor beats coming in, a melody with punch and lilt, and on from there: fiddle breaks, sensitive idol star interludes, absolutely sing-a-long-able chorus. His voice is as small as Hilary Duff's, and the wails are more gestured at than actually wailing; so he's getting by on brains more than vocal cords. That's not bad at all, if the arrangements and songwriting get the music to go where he wants it, which they emphatically do here. [7]

Kayla Beardslee: It's so hard to go wrong with a rousing piano-house banger, and this one certainly doesn't! [7]

Aaron Bergstrom: The Inca had a pretty advanced understanding of astronomy. Based on the ruins they left behind, we know they could calculate the solstices with an impressive level of precision. They knew they lived in a clockwork universe, that the days would get shorter until a calculable date, after which they would start to get longer again. And yet, despite this scientific certainty, they still devoutly observed the Inti Raymi, a nine-day festival around the winter solstice dedicated to worshipping the sun god Inti. It's possible there were a few people in those crowds who gave themselves over fully to the supernatural, who worried that they days would keep getting shorter forever unless they properly demonstrated their devotion, but I think most people knew that the sun would return no matter what. That didn't make the Inti Raymi any less important to them. The return of the sun demands celebration, regardless of how your personal cosmology explains it. Anyway, I've been playing this song a lot lately. Today is the shortest day of the year. Tomorrow will be five seconds longer. I'm not saying I caused that, but I'm also not going to stop playing the song. Praise Inti. [9]

Will Adams: How refreshing for a cry of "es un carnaval!" to actually sound like it. How crucial it is for dance-pop bangers to be a little cheesy. [7]

Katherine St Asaph: Power in cheese. [7]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 158 Rundown

Spy X Family: So the season starts out with a banger as Yor gets shot in the butt and has to avoid doing butt stuff. Loid thinks she’s just in a really bad mood like that episode of Ed Edd and Eddy where Ed gets a rock stuck in his shoe, I do think it’s fun that the two immediately think they did something wrong whenever anything happens, like they’re basically always off but it’s quite considerate in their own ways. I feel like this could’ve been solved if Yor just said she threw out her back lifting boxes at work but then we wouldn’t have an episode and it’s a comedy so it’s alright. But yeah Yor eventually drinks some poison from one of her enemies that ends up solving her butt troubles (this is way funnier because we’re talking about Yor’s butt instead of her back or anything) and Anya has to stop the guy from building a bomb, somehow reading his mind about how to build it and doing it before he has a chance to even get there and setting up several Satoko Hojo-level traps along the way, no clue how the timeline of that works but point being it’s pretty awesome and she scares the guy off. Yor’s feeling better (until the morning at least) and they have a nice date where Anya finally stops tailing them and just fucking crashes it. I also kinda like that Yor has an immunity to poisons from her job as an assassin and Yuri basically became Shizuo Heiwajima from eating her cooking all his life so like it runs in the family but for two separate reasons. Seems like we’re back to the light stuff with mild idiot plots for comedy after the back half of season 1 had several heavier arcs in a row, personally I like more of the ones that at least make some logical sense and take up a whole episode as opposed to the ones that are half an episode with the clearly telegraphed gags and this one was probably half and half.

Inuyasha: So Naraku’s sitting there like ‘okay that was definitely Kikyo’s arrow that nearly killed me so she’s still alive so let’s smoke her out real quick before she keeps this shit up’. Kohaku’s doing his best to pretend to still be a coma victim and not reveal he’s regained his memories but Naraku and Hakudoshi are sharp enough they’ve probably already figured it out because despite not disobeying them he’s not doing great hiding his emotions or anything. Inuyasha goes to look for Kikyo but doesn’t find her and because Kagome can’t take that on faith despite her supposed character development last time she gives him like five Sits for no reason only for everyone to complain about how she’s being mistreated. Usually I love Kagome but this is something that happens throughout the series where the girls are abusive and sometimes it’s more warranted than others but sometimes it’s just for nothing and it’s a little psychotic, like I get it’s for comedy and like half the time it’s filler stuff the anime snuck in to add more gags to a scene because from what I know the manga supposedly does have the characters get less abusive towards each other as things go on and relationships progress and they have less of their gag spats. So yeah on to the main plot, Hakudoshi and Kohaku unleash a plague of Demon Rats on the world and like they steal the Infinite Rat Box from its master and just kinda… leave it open? Like idk why the Rat Master wasn’t doing that to begin with since there seems to be no downside to havening infinite rats but I guess he was rather weak and didn’t want to draw attention to himself or have someone destroy the box. It’s actually a moment where Miroku gets to be MVP because destroying them only makes more rats so he gets to play Human Vacuum Cleaner and suck them up since Naraku doesn’t have enough Saimyosho to give the whole rat horde an escort I guess. It’s kind of funny because Kohaku brings up this being how to smoke Kikyo out and Hakudoshi’s like ‘oh right that’s what we were doing, I was just having fun unleashing plagues on the world’ like he fucking forgot the mission and was just enjoying being rat boi. Kikyo’s smarter than that though and finds a way to lure the rats out without giving herself away and creates a big fuck off spirit tree for them all to climb while Inuyasha and Kagome head to the tree and Sango and Miroku try to find the Infinite Rat Box now that the stream is more focused. Sango eventually finds Kohaku in front of the box as he’s contemplating if saving the five guys the rats haven’t killed yet is worth blowing his cover with Naraku (it’s not) and Sango gets to play the ‘I have to kill Kohaku even though I decided last time it was best to let him live’ game for like the fifth times because character development in this series is a sequence of small circles.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Yusuke meets with Yomi and his proposal is one that’s kind of beautiful in its simplicity, and also the most Yusuke thing that could’ve happened: he wants to have another tournament. This time the winner will be the ruler of Demon World no questions asked and it simultaneously stops a bloody war and dissolves all the complicated allegiance shit Mukuro and Yomi had been planning, like Yusuke just snapped Game of Thrones in half and made it into DBZ and it’s kinda great. The beautiful thing about it is Demon World is a Might Makes Right place so if any of the kings refuse to participate they’ll look weak, Yusuke wrapped them in the Chains of Command without even trying. Kurama breaks off ties with Yomi to fight on his own side (not sure how that’ll affect him being blackmailed into his mom being murdered but we’ll see I guess) and Yomi eventually agrees too though he’s secretly hedging his bets with his kingdom’s fighters fighting in his name, while also growing his own little Meruem/Cell child that’s supposed to be ridiculously strong to cheat more. Still, a bunch of Raizen’s old sparring partners come to visit his grave and tell Yusuke about how they live more peacefully now after seeing Raizen literally die to avoid killing humans and Yusuke gets a measure of respect for him in  a way you only can by learning about how someone else sees someone you know, so that’s pretty cool even if Raizen’s backstory is still the stupidest shit. The power levels of all Raizen’s old drinking buddies doing a Half Blood Prince ending into the air gives Yomi and Yomi Jr. battle boners and they both decide to only go in for themselves after all. I can see why people would be mad about what was set up as a big convoluted Pirates of the Carribean arc of allegiances just turning into another Tournament arc but I kinda love it, like the power of Yusuke’s big dumb pride and confidence overthrowing centuries of ridiculous plotting and scheming is pretty cool.  

Jujutsu Kaisen: Gojo and Geto beat their big fights from the cliffhanger off-screen and are formally introduced to Riko who’s a bit of a chunni but I guess that’s kinda how you have to do this kind of character, like if you’re sending a demure quiet girl to her death it’s kinda both more sad because she’s just accepting it but also less sad because she makes less of an impact so this is probably how it has to be by writing law. Megumi’s dad’s just bumming around gambling on random shit, he seems to be trying an Arkham City approach and waiting for everyone else to bombard Gojo and Geto with assaults so they get tired and have divided attention but they seem to be literally having no problem with anyone and literally made a big criminal organization go defunct off-screen. Still we get a neat little fight of Geto owning an old man and Riko’s maid crushing a paper bag man’s dick with a mop so that’s fun, plus Gojo uses his still incredibly undefined powers to own the rest of paper bag man’s clones though he shows he hasn’t fully mastered the big kamehameha thing yet so he’s stuck on Almighty Push and Almighty Pull mode, also Riko’s maid has been kidnapped so uhh yeah that’s not good.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: So… Scott’s dead, short series right? The mini-boss guy is for some reason surprised that turning a guy into coins doesn’t make Ramona want to date him and kinda kills the party vibe but I guess you don’t self-identify as evil and devote yourself to stalking a single girl you dated for two weeks in high school by having social skills. Ramona dyes her hair a new color and heads over to Scott’s funeral where Knives Out is kinda mad about her being there since while she didn’t really have anything to do with his death she is the manic pixie ignition switch that got him punched into coins so she has a full Gorillaz makeover to show how angry she is. Also Envy Adams is there and she’s a model I’m guessing based on the billboards but also Scott’s ex and a weird Ragyo Kiryuin knockoff because she has an entourage and sparkles everywhere. Also I’m noticing that you kind of have to use someone’s full name whenever they mention someone like you use their first and last name even when they know who you’re talking about. Anyway Envy upstages a fucking funeral and for some reason they had an open casket funeral just to show off the fucking coins Scott got turned into so yeah it’s a fucking shitshow. The Evil Exes all get invited to their own lair and #1 is like ‘hey bro I just killed the protagonist so I should be in charge’ and #7 is just like ‘fuck you bro get out of here with your midboss vibes’ and also apparently one of them is dating Envy? Like if you’re currently dating someone why are you in an self-proclaimed evil league to win back another separate girlfriend? Is dating in-universe Lady Gaga just an automatic poly relationship? Anyway Gideon and Matt fight and they do this cool Tekken/Soul Calibur stage transfer thing where each part of the fight is in a different thematic location and both of them equally look like they’re fucking up at various points but Matt has magic Stand User cheerleader girls and Gideon’s… kinda good with swords I guess? So yeah, Stand Powers win and Gideon signs Kaibacorp over to Matt so he can fully Starscream it up and fuck things up with his new leadership position and ungodly amounts of wealth that Gideon probably shouldn’t have agreed to wager over a fight, like betting the League was probably enough. Ramona’s probably a bit more broken up about a guy she knew for two days dying but she did kinda get him involved in some supervillain shit on accident and her having seven exes in her early twenties does suggest she’s the type of person to fall for people easily. So yeah we end the episode with a suggestion from right out of Futurama that Scott’s still alive and only the woman he loves can help find him, I’ve seen this one it turns out Ramona was in a coma and she got all the space bee venom while Scott lives with a hole in his gut.  

Ranking of Kings: Okay as much as I’ve been ragging on the filler season, this one does actually answer a question I’ve been looking forward to: finding out how Hilling assembled her squad and recruited Ann, like it still amounts to ‘fight bandits’ with just the names and places changing like one of those Radiant Quests in Skyrim like half the stories have been this season but yeah it’s cool to see more of Hilling’s backstory back when she was just the white mage of a Frieren-esque party and Ann is cool but it’s still not much to talk about. The second story is about Daida learning healing magic and finally getting the hang of it after pushing Bojji off a comedically well-hidden cliff that’s like five feet from where they were playing. I like the detail that Bojji was initially going to meet his snake friends since he was hissing to call snakes before Daida jumped him but yeah otherwise pretty paint by numbers and kinda makes the big reveal of Daida’s magic during the climax of last season less surprising given half the cast should already know he has it but okay.

Vinland Saga: Thorfinn and Einar get properly acquainted and honestly for being a slave it sounds like a prtty good deal, they get their own plot and get to sell off what they grow and they’re free once they earn more than they were sold for. Like the guy’s using slaves to expand his farm and I get you can’t really do that indefinitely without recouping costs somewhere and the land is completely untended and this may turn out to be way more impossible than it looks but still kinda on the boat that this is a very doable deal if there aren’t any surprises (there will almost certainly be surprises). Thorfinn’s about as talkative as he was as a kid so Einar doesn’t get much out of him except advice to keep his head down about some of the local assholes and Einar gets too much of a boner for one of the local girls to remember to tell them off so it all works out. Meanwhile we get introduced to the lord’s son who’s kind of a whiny jackass but they also do a decent job of showing things from his side and how the expectations put on him weigh on him and how everyone just seems him as an extension of his dad and he’s caught up in the warrior pride BS that Thorfinn was on back in the day, it’s a good combo of wanting to punch him in the face but understanding why he’s like that. Einar gives us the usual ‘war bad’ speech but most importantly he tells Thorfinn about how the Danes burned down his village and it gives him a chance to reflect on when he was doing the burning and pillaging.

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 8 Ep. 109: Birthday Angst

Next time the clearly pregnant Peachy saw his family was on a trip to the art museum in Mt. Komorebi to celebrate August’s birthday.

This would have been a combined celebration, like all their previous birthdays, but pregnant sims didn’t age so August would be aging up alone. It felt unnatural to watch his “twin” become an adult without him, but Peachy did his best to put on a happy face for his nearest and dearest.

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Social media and phone calls had ensured no one had to pretend to be surprised when the obviously pregnant Peachy shared photos from their recent ultrasound. His parents’ excitement to get a first glimpse of their grandbaby helped him feel better about not entering adulthood that night with August.

Spotting Tori and Toni chatting across the room he went to say hello and got a shock when they told him that they were all going to be parents at around the same time. Toni and Manny had successfully attempted to conceive, while Tori and Miguel had ended up expecting quite by accident.

Their imperceptibly rounded stomachs brought back all Peachy’s insecurities about his own body. Combined with his angst over not aging up he felt suddenly close to tears and barely managed to choak out congratulations before excusing himself to go look for a place to calm down in private.

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While Peachy was searching for a quiet spot downstairs to collect himself, Jack was upstairs trying to help a fellow father-to-be.

Miguel was even older than Jack and not dealing well with the prospect of becoming a dad. He told his friend that until recently there hadn’t really been room at the farm for a baby, and as fatherhood had never been high on his list of priorities Miguel had been fine with that.

After Ed and Kori moved out, he and Tori had decided it was a little to late to take that leap. They’d both been shocked when the birth control she’d been using forever failed, though she was adjusting to the idea much faster than he was, which in a way made things that much harder.

Jack couldn’t really relate, but he did his best to help Miguel see the bright side, and by the time Steven called them all to gather for cake felt like he’d soothed the other older dad-to-be’s worries at least a little.

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Everyone sang the birthday song and spun their noisemakers as August blew out the candles.

Even Peachy mustered a smile for his twin, working hard to mask his lingering sadness and not bring down his brother on his special day.

After cake and ice cream they said their goodbyes and headed their separate ways, with Gabby and Hope promising that the next celebration on the calendar would be a banger of a baby shower for all three of the new parents-to-be.

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The party, and the accompanying emotional turmoil, had worn at least one of the three expectant sims at the party out. By the time they got home Peachy was dying to change into some comfy PJs and snuggle with his spouse before bed.

As soon as they were settled Peachy poured out his heart to his husband. It seemed so wrong that August had become an adult without him, and it wasn’t fair that Tori and Toni had cute little baby bumps when he was already roughly the size of a barge!Jack tried to validate Peachy’s feelings. He didn’t have any siblings and couldn’t imagine having to watch a sim Peachy had grown up in sync with suddenly moving on without him. As for the cousins, he reminded his husband what the doctor had told them regarding natural variations in bodies and sizes, and successfully lightened the mood with a corny sentiment of affection.

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Before they headed off to sleep Jack gathered Peachy into his arms from behind and told him how lucky he felt to have him and their baby in his life.

He knew he couldn’t fix everything, but he promised to make pregnancy and parenthood a wonderful experience for them both.

As usual, Jack’s strong arms and unwavering love helped Peachy feel better about his situation. His changing body and family situation were important steps in their journey together, and with Jack by his side he knew he could weather this storm and any others that came along, now and in the future.

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Want To See More? View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[echidnana]

1-4, 13, and 14 for Minori and Haruka!!!! sorry if this is to much btw 😭 -finny 🩷 + asher ❤️‍🔥

HUGS YOU. DONT EVEN WORRY we are in such a mmj mood this is awesome.

under a cut because it got pretty long!!

1. Gender/sexuality headcanon!

🧡 Minori: aspec cis lesbian! she literally never really had a realization, she's just never been interested in boys.

💙 Haruka: aspec agender transfem lesbian! she's also intersex and came out as transfem pretty young, it's not a secret but it's also something most people don't know about her

2. Disability headcanon!

🧡 Minori: hypermobility + autistic! she has joint pain frequently and spends a lot of time warming up to minimize pain and make dancing easier

💙 Haruka: autistic + dissociative + (canon) ED! growing up in the public eye she sort of developed a necessary detachment from herself in order to cope with it. even though she absolutely loves being an idol, it did leave negative impacts on her.

3. Any appearance headcanons (piercings, hair, style, skintone, etc.)!

🧡 Minori: we hc Minori as mixed! she's darker skinned and has freckles + curly hair. we also like her hair being slightly more orange than brown!

💙 Haruka: she has a few piercings! not a ton, but maybe lobes and a cartilage one. also she likes having shorter hair + sometimes an undercut in the summer! we also hc her as Chinese <3

4. Favorite focus event song!

🧡 Minori: DREAM PLACE by EasyPop. this is so hard because all Minori songs are absolute bangers, but dear me as I was back then is our favorite Minori event and the song is so funky

💙 Haruka: If by Yurrycanon. we feel like it fits her vibe the best! but ai no material is a close second, it's so graceful

13. A (non-PRSK) song you associate with the character or would like to see them cover!

🧡 Minori: Heart Attack by LOONA/Chuu. idk it has Minori vibes!!! and she'd sound so cute singing it!!

💙 Haruka: Can't Be Right by ZUTOMAYO. ok this is based on vibes because we don't know what the lyrics are about but we think Haruka would sound AMAZING singing it. another good one is freely tomorrow by mitchie m!

14. Random headcanon!

🧡 Minori: likes law/attorney dramas! we like to think she played ace attorney- maya fey is her favorite character :)

💙 Haruka: isn't bothered by insects at all! she finds them cute and interesting- she's usually the one to take bugs out of the house in her family + friend group

project sekai character ask game