#i think it would be very funny if they remained at 50/50 for the next 5 days

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

please its been like this for nearly a hundred votes,,,pokemon or toh fandom i dont care rise up

[isagrimorie]

[initial reactions]Star Trek Discovery 5x07 - Erigah

Again, another solid episode with good pacing and with an ensemble showing that’s been really great.

I love the whole negotiations thing between Federation/Starfleet and the Breen — this is what modern Trek is missing, the political negotiations and stand offs and I’m glad to see it again. One of the things I do love about this though is how Civilian ambassador/representative of the Federation is involved.

This was something that was missing in the negotiations between the Dominion and Starfleet. I love Sisko but he’s Starfleet, and speaking for the entire Federation didn’t feel right— it was very Stargate SG teams spoke for the whole of Earth thing that always bothered me.

T’rina also proved why Vulcans are formidable diplomats and that they’re not pushovers — the trick with the translation and precise translation was really Great. Especially after I finished watching Shogun where translation and precision of language was everything.

I love how Rayner’s background played into it and how that history helped with the current negotiation. Kelleruns are from the Gamma Quadrant, it makes sense why the Breen would be expanding in their direction.

Also, the Breen using Borg Green and black is really distracting to me, who is a fan of the Borg.

I love Michael’s instincts about this, it makes sense she thinks there’s more to this Erigah with L’ak. Everyone’s so shook about the Breen arriving that they’re going with their first instincts but Michael’s gamble almost worked… if not for these meddling kids.

—-

So, I just gotta say this okay?

I recognize that L’ak’s fate is really tragic but also — oh boy, Moll, your man was a Fail Boy. He hurt himself because he fell on his own knife — all Michael did was watch in disbelief as he fell on his own knife.

And then the next thing he did was over dosed himself trying to help Moll get away, all for nothing because it just ended up killing him.

Like — Dude. My man. You are not made for this adventurous life.

I guess that’s why you’re dead. Amazing.

L’ak lived as he died, a Boy Fail.

—-

Jett Reno remains cool but also baffling because is she, or is she not the Chief Engineer? Because B’Elanna and Geordie and even Scotty do go along their respective ships fixing things along but we also see them delegate and order around teams. And we haven’t really seen Reno do that yet.

On the other hand, SEVEN OF LIMES. LMAO. Seven would get a kick out of that —- or maybe she won’t. It’s so funny how Seven went from someone who can’t hold liquor, to someone with some sort of functional alcoholism, to getting a drink named after her. Our girl has Gone Through a Journey and survived 400 years.

Up next, BAD LANDS! And we’re finally going to see the Badlands the way the writers envisioned them. I hope we get to see what Deep Space Nine looks like!

Again, it’s a damned shame this is the last season for Discovery because they really found their pacing and their wheelhouse — 50 episodes in as most Trek shows have found their footing.

—

Nhaan! I missed Nhaan and her hardline security mentality that was missing on Discovery.

Unfortunately, her security officers still let Moll go, fortunately Moll didn’t go far.

I hope we get to see more of Nhaan. Also, are Owo, Detmer and Rhys not really here? I hope they appear soon.

[kataraslove]

i think it’s so funny how there were all these takes for years and years about how aang supposedly was abusive to katara in their marriage and how she was miserable the whole time and how he was an absent and negligent father who forced her to raise their children all alone (except for tenzin); yet their very first ever canon depiction as a married couple well in their 50s demonstrates to us that:

aang and katara were still by each other’s side

aang was eager to teach airbending culture to kids that had initially vandalized air temple island

they of course regularly consulted each other on parenting decisions

katara looked gorgeous and so strong with her muscles and southern water tribe furs

katara kind of canonically looks better than her husband in her 50s 😅 (and aang would agree too!)

but more importantly, their canon depiction highlights that the core of their relationship has fundamentally remained the same, in spite of all these years:

just like in the original series, aang still seeks out katara’s guidance the most.

just like in the original series, katara still cannot keep her hands to herself when it comes to aang (personal space? what personal space? adult katara has one arm on aang’s back, while the other touching his hand. that’s her babygirl avatar).

it’s almost like the portrayals of katara and aang in legend of korra are an incomplete, window frame of a story to a much larger story surrounding the next avatar. and that the writers acknowledge that the gaang story is in fact incomplete and are actively working to fill in the gaps in a more positive light. moral of the story is what they’re working on to fill in the gaps portrays something completely different than what we originally might have assumed from watching legend of korra. and if you continue to grapple onto your assumptions and treat it as canon fact, despite having clear material that refute this, then you’ll come to thoroughly be disappointed when your own assumptions, headcanons and interpretations are proven incorrect by the text.

[narwhalandchill]

Nuzlocke update wahoo

so uh it appears that precisely Because i was like. scared shitless going towards elesa. that it ended up just a straight fucking sweep that was Brutal 😭 to her. i overprepared Again

(tw: MASSIVE pokemon nerd moment)

bc like. i was there thinking abt worst case scenarios and how none of my new encounters since route 4 (darumaka, yamask, minccino, gothita, cottonee) seemed to leave me with any better options than what i had before aka. myyr the drilbur that cant even evolve for the level cap and just pray i hit those 1hkos on dig and that rock slide (better known as rock miss in some circles) hits emolga and that static and paralysis doesnt fuck me over. but then its like. even putting aside how i Dont want to lose this mon bc excadrill is so good. if myyr falls the answers i would have left against whichever elesas pokemon remained were still ehhh like. zip the herdier with eviolite and dig?? and emolga remains a problem still.

so yeah i was stressed tf out bc. bitch i remember elesa terrorizing me as a kid and that zebstrika never stopped being scary as hell. so i ended up just. looking up if theres maybe some well known and used nuzlocke strat there and. Well. not exactly but an ancient reddit thread had a comment w an Interesting suggestion

So. turns out theres an NPC on route 4 in black 2 that trades a cottonee for a petilil. a mon whose (stone) evolution . Happens to learn a very funny silly move . called quiver dance . within elesas level caps.

.....and im just. hey why the fuck not. so bye bye peony the cottonee it is. hello petulia the petilil (based NPC nickname btw thats so cute) who learns giga drain at lvl 26 and then with sun stone becomes lilligant who gets quiver dance at 28.

and you know what this girl has?????????????

atk reducing spd boosting nature and THIRTY-ONE IVs in special atk 💀💀💀 on a quiver dancer??????????? this is a weapon of mass destruction holy Shit. (her speed stat aint half bad either!!!!!)

anyway i was still getting stressed abt it bc like. chances were in the actual fight if i lead w lilligant elesas emolga will just volt switch straight to zebstrika who has flame charge so i. unironically went to relic castle to get enough defense EVs to survive 3 flame charges if necessary too JSJSJSKSKDKSK and bc i didnt know (and did not look up at first) the IVs her team would have i just assumed worst case scenario aka all 31s meaning the initial damage calcs looked Way scarier

bc the way i was looking at this was just. ill obviously have to lead w lilligant (bc a sweeper needs to setup 1 to 2 qdances depending on how many turns i get before zebstrika is in) and have myyr who was originally meant to be the Star against elesa be more the. emolga cleanup crew and/or emergency hidden ace. And bc i actually fucking planned this shit all out so it Could Not Fail (or close to it)

scenario 1: emolga wastes a turn on like. pursuit before volt switching zebstrika in. i get 2 quiver dances up and just win (+2 boosted SpA giga drain from lvl 30 lilligant w miracle seed is just a 1hko every time. Yes i calced it). Almost unfairly easy

scenario 2: emolga volt switches immediately (most likely) and i only get one quiver dance. this means giga drain is 2hko against zebstrika. i will outspeed on the next turn bc petulia at +1 and then i take a flame charge (leaving me outsped w zebstrika at +1 speed). and whats scary is that while i would survive a crit flame charge on that turn (non crits are ez). i Would die to the second one afterward bc zebstrika is faster again. so then itd have to be like. myyr to the rescue. alternatively my giga drain Could high roll the dmg & get zebstrika into hyper potion range which means free quiver dance turn as elesa heals and we outspeed and win again.

but like. okay. these odds are acceptable. best case scenario petulia sweep worst case scenario petulia gets crit and myyr just needs to clean up a fairly scary +2 speed zebstrika thats Luckily below 50% hp. im also still giving zip the eviolite and teaching it dig so we have a 3rd hail mary in the back.

Anyway then i look up the actual in game IVs for bw2 gym leaders and in non-challenge mode theyre all set at 12 💀💀💀💀💀 so like. Scratch all this with the new IVs a +1 boosted giga drain is actually a roll for a 1hko not a guaranteed 2hko KSKSKAJEKSKSKDKEK which means even if i dont 1shot with just one quiver dance elesa Will heal and thats +2 boost.

so yeah i walk in to the gym slightly relieved slightly embarrassed of yet nonetheless taking some pride in my first foray to Proper big nuzlocker strategy planning and looking up damage strats (might be needing those in the future fr) . even if it was due to making way too scary assumptions abt elesas team stats lmao

anyway the fight itself was uhhh. Truly anticlimactic. emolga did volt switch on first turn but petulias +1 giga drain just Casually rolled the 1hko on zebstrika after all and then proceeded to eviscerate flaaffy and then i let myyr handle emolga just for some exp 💀💀💀

Anyway. Well if nothing else this is absolutely a teammate i will be utilizing again . Very soon in fact. Clay watch the fuck out ive created a monster.

Like did my girl calla (the OT NPC) even know what kinda godlike power she was casually handing to me there???? 😭😭 guess she rly wanted a whimsicott

but like. Hell yeah we continue after deathless elesa and with a new powerful companion thats a W for sure SHSKDKSKFKJS

current team btw (i kinda like these cards for a visual update of sorts tbh). fig evolved so i can finally stop looking at golbats ugly design <33 crobat is so much better man

[pbandjesse]

I am tired. It was a long and rainy day. But not a bad one.

I didn't sleep amazing. I had some very active dreams. It was like being in a video game and a lot of happening. When I woke up I didn't feel great. But we had a lot to do today.

I got dressed. Wore my layers then I had planned. I didn't realize it was going to be so rainy and wet. But I was fine. I couldn't find my boots? So I wore moccasins which I would never normally do in the rain but it was fine. We didn't have far to go.

James made me a half a peanut butter and jelly for breakfast. And I drank as much as I could. Water and milk. But I felt very bad this morning. A mixture of anxiety and nausea and just general upset. It was not an ideal way to start the day.

James drove us to my appointment. This was the Doppler only appointment and I was a little frustrated. I want to see baby. I want to know they are okay!

When we got there the office was dark? I checked and my appointment was at 8:50. And we got there at 8:30. And the office opened at 8. But then a nurse saw us and came and let us in. They just didnt turn the lights on because we were the first appointment.

We wouldn't have to wait long. And I got taken back first.

I did not feel good. Which made it easier to tell them what was wrong. My stomach issues. My nausea. My swollen parts. The pains u see my ribs. It's so hard to know what is normal pregnancy stuff and what is unusual or worrisome.

They brought James back to the room. And soon the doctor was there. And she was super sweet. She made me feel a lot better. She gave me a new prescription for zofran. And some suggestions for over the counter things. And a referral to a GI doctor. And then we got to hear baby.

It took a second to find her heartbeat. But when she found her it sounded strong. And then it went bloop because she was moving around and flipped. The doctor said that she's moving good and she pressed in my belly and said everything feels normal. And it helped make my anxiety feel better. Like it's still there. It seems to just be a condition of being a pregnant person. But still. It made me feel better to hear them. Even if I would have preferred to see them.

The doctor said I should start to feel her in the next month. Which is crazy. I wonder what that's going to be like. I've heard the begining called a flutter. And then it's like being kicked from the inside which sounds unpleasant. But it's still exciting to think about.

I got some blood taken. They gave me a flu shot. I felt pretty sick still but I was trying to remain positive.

We made the next appointment. And James paid our funny $3 balance. And then we were off. Back into the rain.

James would drive us home. And told me that they were hoping it was the last gross biking day for a bit. And when we got home I would lay down for a bit. James gave me a kiss and left.

I had planned on laying there until 1030. But then I decided I really really wanted McDonald's for breakfast. So I got myself together. Still couldn't find my boots. They ended up being in the car. I must have left them when I got back from the beach. I changed into them and headed to McDonald's.

I used the app. First time doing that. Was able to get two sandwiches so I would have one now and one later for lunch. This was a good move.

The drive into camp wasn't amazing because of the rain but it wasn't horrible either. I would stop at the post office to pick up a package I forgot about last week. I was worried they might have sent it back but thankfully it was still there.

I got to camp at 11. And Joe caught me as soon as I got out of my car. And asked me to come to the tool shed to see if I could use this box he found. But then he also showed me the kitten he found!

Slightly spicy and obviously terrified. I saw with them for a minute cooing but soon we would leave him be and went back to the office.

It was nice to see everyone. I got right to work printing some stuff off for my workshop tomorrow evening and started doing a little research and answering some emails. But there wasn't much for me to do until 130.

I asked Joe if the tool shed was unlocked. And if I could go hang out with the kitty. So that is exactly what I did.

Poor kitty was so freaked out. I tried just picking him up. No biting but a lot of scratching and hissing. Didn't hurt me but I put him back and tried a different approach.

I put some more towels in his cage and covered most of the top of the cage with another towel to give him the illusion of safety. And it took about a half hour of slowly moving my hands in and talking to him. And eventually I got him to let me pet him and scratch his ears and he eventually let me hold him for a second. But as soon as he got scared I put him back in and gave him a second. But eventually he let me hold him and clean his dirty eyes and nose. I realized he had a bobbed tail!! Big eyes, little ears, dirty nose, half a tail. He's the whole package. I'm calling him Bobbi. Not sure if he's a boy or girl yet but we need to find this little guy a home.

Me and James have the word out. And Meril may have a place through a friend. But nothing is guaranteed yet. Still working on it.

At 1 me and Sarah would go get ready for programs. I originally was going to help with the horses but instead I helped her with critter talks. They would first send me to go find some toads but I wouldn't have any luck. I didn't want to show up empty handed so I collected some slugs.

I also saw so many good mushrooms. Which was very exciting for me. I didn't even photograph all of them!!

When I got to the nature building I put my slugs in the tank with the newts that Sarah caught. And we brought Rosie the snake, Sampson the box turtle, and Nellie the terrapin over to the lodge.

This group is adults. It's a retreat and they are always really nice. This is their 7th year I think doing this program. We did it a little more freeform. Having the animals on the tables and talking to the adults as they came up. There was lots of questions about the difference between turtles and tortoises and terrapins. Lots of pictures and holding the animals. We couldn't let anyone hold Rosie because she was going to start shedding soon and that can make her to stressed. So she was just climbing all over Sarah. In and out of her sweatshirt pocket. It was very cute.

And the adults were great. We had some lovely conversations and it was cool getting them to pet things they were a little scared of. It was really fun.

I misunderstood the schedule and we ended earlier then we were supposed to but no one seemed upset with us. I didn't realize until the very end of the day when I was talking to Elizabeth. Oops. But me and Sarah were pretty sure the animals were tired and so we got then back to their enclosures. I noticed that Sampson's tank did not have enough substrate and so I would dump a bunch of coconut fiber in and he immediately looked happier. It's not the most ideal substrate but it's fine for now. I would let the office know we needed more.

I would take the long root back. Taking pictures of the huge area of chicken of the woods mushrooms and some of the others along the way. The rain was picking up again when I got back to the office but it wouldn't last to long.

The last hour I was there I was just chilling. Doing a little research on some things. Had the rest of my snack. And then after checking in with Heather and Elizabeth about the plan tomorrow (I'm going to lead a painting project) I went home.

Traffic was pretty bad once I got down to the city. But I would get home around 430. I was starting to not feeling great but I held it together.

I opened the backdoor for Sweetp to run around. Checked on Crabcake. Put some stuff away. Put a frozen pizza in the oven. And the. James was home. I was very happy to see them.

They would jump into a few small things while I worked on collecting the materials for my workshop tomorrow. And ate the entire frozen pizza be ayse James didn't want any and I felt a bit like a black hole. And after that I would come upstairs to work on moving things around in the baby room. Which is coming together really nice. I have some ideas for the walls next. There is still some figuring out to do but it's a start.

James went to record their podcast after bringing me some apple cider and moving a chair to the basement for me. And after I got to the end of my energy I would get some water and lay down to watch TikToks for a bit.

Eventually I took a shower and washed my hair and thought about how we can better utilize storage in the bathroom. I want to do a reset on a lot of our storage stuff because it's all kind of a mess right now. I am hoping that I can do some of that on Thursday when I'm home for the backdoor install but we'll see how that day pans out.

Now I am in bed. Waiting for James to be done with their friends. And then I am hoping for sleep. Tomorrow I have the painting program at camp, followed by my evening workshop which is a sewing program. I am looking forward to it. I already have 8 people coming! I just hope that I feel well.

I hope you all have a great night. Love you all. Until tomorrow!

[dual-fantasy]

i also think chester is just. an untapped comedy market. if people even remember he exists they never talk about him. hes literally the funniest one and i stand by that. he fucking hates cameron back in his day they'd eat pure unfiltered radiation. cameron had a sip of diet coke and he was hospitalized. back in his day if you were thirsty you'd go to the swamp and suck the water out of the mud. cameron almost died cause he stepped in dirt. they hate each other(in a way. camerons scared of him. he wants cameron dead)

vito and svetlana try to be friends with cameron but any time they hang out he gets violently hurt. any amount of physical activity and he needs to be put on life support. the same goes for manitoba. hes trying to be friends with cameron but hes allergic to dirt and running. i think mal and cameron would actually be friends. in a special way. cam has to cover his ears and eyes whenever mal opens up twitter but other then that they tolerate each other. cameron got near a Scike Fight and was found barely breathing in a ditch 50 miles away. hes accident prone in a way thats literally impossible. he needs to be put back in the bubble. he was contained in there for a reason. putting cameron near any of the mutant maggots is like throwing a squeaky toy into a crowded dog park. he barely survives every social gathering. Grave Dog

so real people who don't write chester are cowards. it's peak comedy. back in his day there wasn't this fancy pronounce or anything there was only one gender and it belonged to the queen. Cameron gets into a car crash and he's like back in my day there wasn't cars or bikes you had to get onto all fours and crawl. they literally despise eachother so much. he looks at Cameron and starts shaking with rage and Cameron looks at him and starts shaking with fear. peak dynamic

Vito and Svetlana try to be nice. they try. they don't succeed but they do try. Svetlana tries the hardest but she also doesn't really care. she just doesn't like doing first aid because she finds it annoying. Vito and Manitoba dont want Cameron to get hurt but they have literally no idea how to do things without it being dangerous. Vito takes him to a repair shop and he gets flung into the wall and leaves a perfect outline of his body as he breaks it because he got hit by an opening car door. Manitoba asks him to go on a quick walk and ten hours later they just arrived at the beach and Cameron collapsed literally ten seconds in. Manitoba carried him the rest of the way there. mal is friends but in the way that someone on Roblox is mean to him and mal immediately doxxed and sends death threats to their family. Cameron has to remain completely unaware of this otherwise he'll get upset and his heart will explode.

Jo raised her voice at him one and he shriveled like paper in water. he accidentally trips into the scike fight and the next time they see him he's on the news for the most injury they've ever seen on a living human. just in general. maybe the bubble was good for him. now that he knows how to talk to people hes normal so maybe we can stop letting lightning accidentally crush every bone ever when he says hi. squeaky toy is right. please get him out of there it's so bad for him. they keep inviting him because it's funny but it's very bad for him

[auschizm]

NOT A MAN!!!

I am not a drop out! I completed my four years of HS as a whole while being forced out of school. There is a huge difference. I walked that stage and passed out from overwhelm in the car.

My college experience was not as successful but I am still persistent and getting it done with no support. I have not seen a four year university. no one even helped with the process of applying or going for a college visit. I choose a two year rather than a four year than would put me in debt for the next 50+ years. I was marked as an Undecided Associates of Science and that was changed from Associates of Science- Medical Research (oncology).

My previous semester I met someone from the theater district which is a block down from my community college. Turned out to be a college student and a local actor. Very beautiful and we similarly just kept to ourselves but still stayed present.

That anon is a 4year college first gen graduate. been back for over a year but not as close. They saw as little of my last 5 years as possible because of how I affected their first year. I do not get to apologize and neither of us receive closure to move on. Somehow they can still remain a third party to my life while lying about it and making it obvious.

They are going off a learned medical history. Not science. Not education. A LEARNED HISTORY!! My cousin has drug induced schizophrenia when his street marijuana was laced. My grandmother had psychosis and late stages of dementia. have you caught on to how I am being personified as a man and a mentally ill man because of my father’s family medical history. While on the flip side of that is heart disease, cancer, and narcissism. I have chronic neck and back pain and haven’t been to a neurologist in years so I could be living with a brain tumor or something of that nature.

I do not act how others want me to so of course something extremely has to be wrong with me.

if you like people yelling at you, putting words in your mouth and actions on you when you know none of that is true and none of that relates to you. Go ahead, but that’s not me and whoever is telling you this is wrong and not me either.

I’m tired of being dehumanized. I’m tired of being ignored and left in silence. I’m tired of being the toxic one when everybody else around me is literally toxic and everyone is telling you that I am toxic and there’s something wrong with me when in reality they’re not facing their own shit. in reality, they’re just telling you my shit in place of them not facing their own shit.

I’m tired of all this. I wish you never came out to my fucking Tumblr because this has been a nightmare ever since and you think it’s a joke you think it’s funny and so you keep doing it and honestly, I’m fucking tired of it so go find something better to do yourself. go downplay someone else’s mental health and neurodivergence. Go find someone else to invalidate someone else who will put up with your shit because this is disgusting. I never thought that this would happen I thought you were a better person I thought you were someone different.

what the fuck is this?

What the fuck is wrong with you?

I don't know who you are, what this is about or why you are sending this to me, so whatever you think I've written at or about you definitely wasn't directed at you at all.

[justmultifandom]

Kidge summer event 2023

Day 19: Sunscreen

This is a modern AU and some characters speaks a little of Italian.

For Keith, the warm beaches of Florida were something he would never get used to, even though he'd spent most of his summer vacations there since he was a child. All those people and those sociable people who walked on the sand and played with the water put a feeling of sadness in his chest, knowing that he didn't completely belong there. In all those years he hadn't spoken to anyone who hadn't been his father or the guy who sold popsicles and cocktails in the kiosk at the beginning of the beach, let alone making friends and playing volleyball or other crap together. But lucky for him, that was supposed to be the last year he was forced to travel from Texas to Florida for his father's stupid job. As soon as he turned eighteen in October, he would move into Shiro's apartment until he found a proper one.

He took a deep breath, looking at the clear sky and the wind slightly moving the cloth that he had placed over the umbrella to shelter from the sun. Looking around, he saw two people arriving next to him: the first was a woman who spoke and gesticulated as she planted their green and fluorescent orange umbrella right next to his, while the second was a girl who followed what he thought was the mother, with a frown on her face.

"Matt è a giocare con quei ragazzi, tu stai qui e mettiti la crema. Ti scotterai": Said the woman, taking her daughter by the wrist and making her sit on a towel, she looked for something in the straw bag she had brought.

“Oh no! Ho scordato la crema in albergo. Tu stai qua ”: she ordered, pointing to the little girl that she had remained sitting, to then leave. Keith hadn't understood anything of that conversation, but he had reasoned that the family was foreign and that something had happened. He sat down on the towel, taking another deep breath and looking back at the neighbor's umbrella: short auburn hair, a light green bikini and a straw hat, her foot pattering in the sand in a nervous twitch as she waited.

“Do you have a cream 50?”: She asked, in a very strange accent, speaking again when she got no answer: “Oi! I'm talking to you"

"With me?": Keith nervously moved his gaze, looking into her almost golden eyes under the reflection of the sun.

“Yes, with you”: she repeated: “Do you have a cream 50?”

“A cream- what?”: he asked, not understanding.

“Oh…um…a cream you put on your skin to protect yourself from the sun…?”: she explained, gesturing. Keith widened his eyes, understanding what she meant. He took some sunscreen from a plastic bag and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she hummed in a strange accent that didn't sound American at all. But, as he had noted earlier, she was a foreigner.

“Are you Spanish?” He asked, watching her slather sunblock on her thin limbs and pale belly.

“Italian”: she replied, giving him the cream back with a warm smile: “Are you American?”

"From Texas": Keith replied, suddenly feeling sociable with her and curious, sensing the impulse to want to know more from that girl: "What brings you to Florida?"

"An Italian can't go on vacation to America?": she laughed and, God, that was the most beautiful and harmonious laugh he had ever heard: "You? Why Florida?”

"The company where my father works always changes buildings in the summer, so I'm forced to come with him": he replied, lying down again.

"My father stayed at the hotel, he had an important work call": she explained: "So we are both in the club of working parents also in the summer?"

“True”: Keith smiled, looking down at her again: “A question, but how old are you?”

“Fifteen”: she replied, with a snort: “You gave them to me less, right?”

He nodded, “I thought you were about eleven or twelve. How old do you think I am?”

"Mmmm…. Bho…”: she stopped to think: “Twenty years… Are you a paedophile?”

"No!": he blushed with embarrassment, while she raised her hands with a rather funny expression: "I'm almost eighteen!"

They both laughed as Keith thought about how strange everything that had just happened was. Talking to a stranger, let alone a girl, was already a small accomplishment, but he was nothing short of scary how comfortable he felt around her.

“Would you give me your number?”: he asked her, blushing slightly and looking at her. Her expression was no different from his.

“Do you seriously want to ask a stranger's number?”: She giggled, taking a small notebook and writing something in it, she tore the paper and handed it to her.

"You are not a stranger!"

"Yes!"

“I know enough about you!”

“Pff..”: she rolled her eyes laughing.

"Trust me, I'm not like Lance!": he insisted, seeing her slightly confused: "He's a friend of mine from Texas who literally asks every girl he meets to go out”

“Ahhh…”: she exclaimed, laughing again: “Got it!”

“I just… I feel comfortable when I'm with you and I don't know why…”: Keith tried to explain: “And it doesn't happen often so… I thought maybe we could talk again…”

“For me it's ok”: she shrugged: “Call me anytime, emo boy”

"I'm not emo!"

“And that mullet?”

“What do you all have against my haircut?!”

She laughed again, the laugh that seemed to him like the most beautiful music he had ever heard. She was only interrupted by her mother's call.

“Katie! Andiamo, mettiti la crema, ora!": the woman exclaimed: "I told you ten times to sunbathe one afternoon so you won't turn red like a tomato on vacation!"

“Having pale skin really sucks”: the girl whispered to him, just before the woman sat next to her.

“I understand you”: he replied, still whispering.

“L’ho già messa. Il mio… amico me l’ha prestata”: she said, pointing at him and speaking again in her original language. Keith didn't know exactly what they were saying, but he had a slight and vague idea.

"Beh... Lo hai almeno ringraziato?": the woman finished with a severe look.

“Sì mamma!”: she hummed: “Thanks… um… your name?”

She had just whispered the last sentence.

“Keith”: He replied, still in a whisper: “You're welcome um… what's your name?”

“Katie…”: she laughed silently: “Pidge for friends”

"You're welcome, Pidge"

[lawlietscaramels]

This may be a weird request, but I wanted to combine one of my favorite anime’s with one of my favorite mythical creatures so here we go lol. Sfw please! Also I hope all who are reading this have a nice day and God bless!

Do you think you could write a Death Note scenario where L (and if you want to add any of the other characters you can too!) finds out that the reader (who is a member of the task force) is a werewolf? However they aren’t naturally evil or aggressive in any way, but they are afraid that people would become afraid of them or try to capture them if the world found out. Since many stories focus on werewolves being bloodthirsty monsters. So they try to hide it. What would L think of them? Would he be afraid of them? How would he find out? Would he help them keep their secret or would he tell the others about it? Would the reader give him a strawberry if he kept it a secret?

Werewolf! ╾ L

reminder to all I don't write sexual NSFW. (Well, I suppose I am a risk of writing gory NSFW.) but I'm pretty sure this ask was sent before I wrote of α and β, so, yeah, nonsexual is all I write :P

Content warning: menstrual cycle & L being weird about it mentioned in dot points 2 & 3.

　★━━─・‥…━━━☆

Werewolves watch out, because if you think L won't notice that one of the very few people he's working with is conspicuously absent every month... you are dead wrong

Though, if our werewolf is liable to have a menstrual cycle, L is probably going to assume it's something to do with that.

Until he gets weirded out that it's only one day, not two or three, and starts tracking your mood, and then........ it doesn't always seem to align. Suspicious.

So.

I wonder what you would do, actually, if you were trying to hide werewolvishness from L? It'd be hard. You'd probably have to leave the building entirely, because mans got cameras, but that'd be quite suspicious too.

All this to say, the wolf is not in the bag for long. (like. like letting the cat out of the bag. but. werewolf. i think I'm funny)

Though, even having had to acknowledge the existence of Shinigami, I think L is likely to kind of hide from the logical conclusion of "werewolf" as long as he can. His world has already been tipped on his head. What's next, fairies? Money at the end of rainbows? Unicorns? Well, those things aren't as bad as werewolves or gods of death.

All that to say, he wouldn't let himself come to the conclusion until he actually saw you in wolf form. I think he'd shriek, kick your nose, and climb onto something.

he's so silly. i love him.

Anyway. L is definitely wary.

He probably wouldn't say scared, as much for pride as for anything else, but he also figures if he hasn't been violently attacked yet it's unlikely an animal much stronger than he is trying to trick him when it can use brute strength.

After being reassured and calming down – which only happens once you are in human form and he's 50 metres away from you – L is very curious. He asks 1001 questions.

He also understands why you'd want to keep it secret. Anybody would have a bad reaction to a werewolf, right? He wouldn't tell others – except maybe Watari and the Task Force, though for the latter he'd strongly encourage you to do it. It's not smart to be a dangerous-looking wolf around men with guns, you know. But apart from that, it's your secret.

L remains very curious. Every day he seems to have a new question.

What about vampires? Sirens?

Does your fur shed? We might need to keep you outside.

Do you ever eat raw meat? Does it make you sick in human form, or is your body as strong as a wolf's either way?

I think the reader should really give L a strawberry cheesecake for keeping a secret like this.

But yes! Terrified initially, but in the end reasonable. I was initially going to say he'd probably confine you, and he'd definitely do this if there was any possibility of the werewolf in question attacking someone or losing their human-mind, but thinking over it while writing I figured 1) he couldn't overpower a wolf haha and 2) if there was no reason to, he wouldn't want to. It's not very nice. If there was reason he would, of course. Safety above all else.

This was fun, thanks for the ask!

　★━━─・‥…━━━☆

𝖎𝖋 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖎𝖙 ˏˋ⋆˖⁺˖⁀➷ 𝖕𝖑𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖊 𝖗𝖊𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖌 + 𝖋𝖔𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜

[solarwynd]

https://www.tumblr.com/solarwynd/734669586321096704/giving-the-members-just-a-year-to-fine-tune-their?source=share

I agree with you completely but I'd just like to bring up one point. On the face of it Hybe + the members are all promoting a BTS return because they know that's their cash cow and yes the members probably have some emotional attachment to the group but internally I'm sure Hybe knows there's a chance BTS' return may not be as glorious as they hope which is why I believe they're hedging their bets by promoting Jungkook to hell so that he can be the new BTS once he's back if the old one doesn't work out.

ARMYs aren't that loyal - a bunch of them didn't turn up for chapter 2 at all, many of the ones who are remaining are chart obssessed or casual fans. I have doubts about how many of them will last for 18 months. The BTS of today just doesn't have that spark or special sauce they used to have. I think it's a 50-50 chance they'll be able to regain their audience over their next cb. They're also getting old - in 18 months are members like Jin and RM and Tae going to want to keep doing choreos like Run BTS when they looked like they were over it pre hiatus? Also ARMYs can gush about being accepting of the members wanting to date but a bunch of them subconsciously like the image of all of them being single and obsessed with each other. Are members like Jin and Yoongi who'll be pushing mid 30s once they're back really going to stay single and not start families themselves? ARMYs expect everything to return to its 2018 format once they're back but I doubt these adult men are going to want to do variety shows like run bts (not the song) regularly once they're back. Some members already look worse for wear without makeup and I don't think that's going to get better either and we know a lot of fans are just here for their looks. Another bunch of fans are just going to wander off and become stans of younger groups who'll still act like crack heads on camera. When Weverse said Jungkook was going to be the breakout star and the only solid reason they cited was his age - I think there's some truth in that being a major reason by he's the labels chosen one.

I think they'll keep the whole group thing going but I think theres going to be a fundamental shift happening once they're back. Solo projects are definitely here to stay and I'm really glad Jimin had such a good experience with Face because he's going to definitely carry that over to his future projects. If he had put out something like Layover or Golden before he left, I might be tempted to just give up on him and this whole kpop thing completely. Anyway all this rambling just to say that I think Hybe are going to project that chapter 2 was just a blip and things will be back to pure group work in 2025 but I'm almost sure that the reality is solo work is here to stay.

Mmm armys are loyal just when it comes to jk specifically. lol. The amount of account on twitter who were on “rest” prior to seven dropping and all of a sudden popped back up for that release? I mean I always knew that would be the case cause a lot of armys are just diet solos who refuse to admit it in public, but for it to be so blatant without anyone calling it out is funny.

I know that the kpop system really doesn’t allow for idols to age into their careers but artists who perform past the age of 30 exist. There’s so many artists in the western industry that are in bts’ age group or older that have flourishing careers, married and or have kids. Yoongi will be 32 and Jin will be 31 when they get out. That’s still very young. Some of y’all really have to dead that way of thinking that anybody past 29 isn’t vital enough to invest into. And imo, genuine armys have never been fickle in regards to bts getting older, that’s always been on akagaes or the people who never really had any serious attachment to the group and turned into kpop stans. Even now, jk akagaes are mad because he’s giving up “the best years of his life” to go back to the group. Which already shows me they see him as expendable. People with that mindset that idols are only worth stanning while they’re in their 20’s were never in it past superficial reasons to begin with and not the type of fans I’d want the person I stan to have anyway.

BTS getting older doesn’t mean they’re gonna be completely different people. Their personalities might change a little based on new experiences, they already have compared to when they were younger, but at the core, I don’t think they will change for the most part. And hybe’s narrative that they’re trying to hitch onto jk being the most viable since he’s the youngest will always be silly. There’s only a 5 year gap between jin and jk at the eldest and barely 2 between jk, th and jimin at the youngest. That’s nowhere near big enough a gap for anyone to buy into that.

Armys will never be content with the idea of bts being in relationships, but I do feel that with th and jk the reaction will always be more visceral than the other members because those two are the ones that armys have constructed the y/n fantasy around. I know armys hate jennie, but regardless of who the woman th ended with would’ve been, they’d still be uneasy. No matter how armys try to distance themselves from being different than the average kpop stan, they’re really not.

It’s perfectly normal to not like some of music someone you are a fan of puts out but the thought of potentially throwing in the towel on them after one album is kinda strange to me. Especially if it’s their debut. Like I can see if it was a jk or th situation where those two have made it clear that they’re not in tune with solo artistry or in jk’s case, not caring about it at all, but I don’t think that’ll ever be the case with jimin. His ear for music is too good and he’s too meticulous about his craft. If face hadn’t turned out as good as it had, at least I’d know that jimin has the drive and artistic capabilities to execute an album so I’d definitely allow him the room to grow musically.

Solo work will continue because even while in the group, rapline were able to put out mixtapes. Now will I solo work post chapter 2 will be in the same vein with focused promotion and comeback maps or if it’ll be more like mono or D2 I don’t know. But chapter 2 does feel like a blip because honestly what came out of it? Rapline have already shown their artistic prowess in the past so it’s not like they were giving anything new there. So ultimately it was really meant for vocal line to display what they could do, yet jimin was really the only one out of the 4 that put out anything significant of artistic value. (barring that jin only had the opportunity to put out a single.) It actually did the exact opposite for some of the members in regards to what chapter 2 was initially supposed to be about which was growth. Some either stuck to the same M.O or just flat out did nothing. And being told to expect their best and evolved selves when they get back together as a group, when only 3/7 have proven range as artists is so anticlimactic in a way.

Everything just seems so trivial because they were still on a timer even when they were supposed to be on break. I don’t have any genuine excitement for their reunion either like I did before all this. I mean I’ll certainly tune into their comeback, but jimin’s really the only one I’m seriously interested in anymore.

[lazlolullaby]

Immortal King Edmund AU

(aka the secret 10th option of the Dark Prince Eugene poll that I just thought of today.)

tl:dr. Edmund is the chill selfless immortal to foil with Gothel’s controlling selfish immortal. Eugene isn’t his son he’s his second cousin yada yada times removed.

He’s lived in his Castle for a long time, giving Rapunzel an opportunity to help someone like her. He’s loyal to his job like Cassandra is, which causes her to rethink her life choices. He’s actually responsible but also still has his quirks, which shows Lance that he doesn’t have to shy away from his obligations to live a happy life

you know. just overthinking things and mushing them into an emotional arc that could have worked in the show.

here’s a ficlet for an immortal who’s just “some guy.” under the cut. Never had a plan in his head or wanted to hurt nobody, just wanted to do his family proud.

The Moonstone can grant people immortality; making their aging stop, their skin as hard as the Black Rocks, and keep their minds clear as moonlight. Edmund’s father had discovered the Moonstone and shared it’s power with his entire village.

The immortal villagers build a Castle to live in together, to protect themselves and the Moonstone from those who would want to use it for evil.

But immortal doesn’t really mean unkillable. After some well-meaning and not well-meaning magic hunters, people who leave the light of the Moonstone, and just plain accidents, the Castle becomes silent, the mortal people having left to their own relatively safer villages.

The only ones that remain immortal are Edmund, Adira, Hector, and Quirin.

They decided to paint the Moonstone as a powerful artifact that’s too dangerous to use. They are still in contact with their mortal subjects, but in a few generations, the full truth is lost.

Edmund had a plan in place where in 50 or so years he would “die” and make Quirin the next King, then swap to someone else. That happened a few times, and Edmund even let himself be an “advisor” for a new bloodline for a few decades before faking his death and moving to a nearby village. Rinse and repeat if needed.

No one really recognizes him until someone finds the old paintings in the Castle. (to be fair, they don’t have instant cameras, just paintings that could take hours, if not days, filled with symbolism even and no one really comes to the Castle to look at the paintings, really!)

There’s a whole revolution to get “the rightful heir” back on the throne. It’s a comedy of errors almost. If he wasn’t concerned about people dying in the pointless fight, he’d find it very funny. (He’ll laugh about it one day. one day, in an empty Castle with only caws answering back.)

Edmund is back in the spotlight, with guards and people and the ever present knowledge that he won’t age like them. He caught the eye of some lovely women and thought about children, not for the first or last time in his long life.

But what legacy could he leave - if he doesn’t ever leave?

That’s what drove him to attack the Moonstone, to remove the blessing-curse-blessing. The truth, as always, was hidden from his advisors, hidden from the mortals with their short lives and vivid minds. The Moonstone is out of control - he would say.

Quirin called him out on his fears. Took the people he swore to protect away. Adira left after always leaving to go search here and there. Hector - he actually thinks Hector believes he died.

It doesn’t matter. The village - his home, it’s gone. It was buried underneath the Castle, the wood decayed a hundred times over. He can’t go back to a full Castle, or even a half-full one. It was just him.

(Despite how certain he was alone, he was wrong. People sent letters. He wrote back, when he didn’t feel like time was slipping through his fingers.)

The next 50 years were agonizing yet brief. Lonesomeness and grief and guilt swirled in his head. If he swears he writes it all down, maybe he can rest. (he barely rests.)

People break in for shelter. He attracts a village again. Gets a horse. Some people believe he's a ghost. (He lets them think it until they try to banish him.) He doesn't really talk to them. Doesn't reach out with the only hand he has left. There's a deluge of letters - a Princess of Corona and a merry band of friends. Requests to not attack.

(Of course he attacks, that’s half the fun!)

The one that stayed behind on the gondola was almost expected. A sacrifice play. Edmund paused, waiting for him to speak. People tend to fall into a few camps when pleading for their lives. He wondered what this - dashing rogue as he read about - would do.

“Oh, thank heavens you’re okay.” Sarcasm. Then. "What are you waiting for?"

Ah. Resignation. Contrition. Most aren't sorry to be searching for a powerful magical item, just sorry to be caught. He was good company for a Princess.

“Oh. You know. Fate. Destiny.” Edmund says. “You look familiar...oh!” he pulls out his reminder. An old, crinkled wanted poster with a teenager on it.

(Some villagers give him moral quandaries, like say a young boy who can’t survive without thieving. Keeps his mind sharp.)

“What. That’s the perfect poster!” the man cries.

And thus begins his relationship with a Eugene Fitzherbert.

He invites him inside, and gives his friends the whole tour. His speech that he’s given time and time again, tweaked for the ages. They stay, and when night falls and he settles his bedroll against the door to the Moonstone.

The Moonstone talks. whispers and says that her counterpart is here - that she’ll be leaving soon. Edmund gets up and does his rounds.

(he’s not sure, but the Stones hold onto words, things that others say.)

Eugene’s voice echoes.

“I’ve got an idea - the Minister said that his mind fades with the moon, right? His memories come and go. It’ll take two months, tops. I can get him and the Moonstone out of here.”

“two months?”

“He’s been here for over 300 years. that we know of. He’s not you, it’s not going to take 2 days and a lantern festival.” a sigh, “but I’m not going to do it if you don’t agree to it.”

Edmund gets context for what it is in the morning.

Eugene finds him looking up at the stained glass windows. “You know - meeting you, kind of feels like destiny brought me here.” and he spins a tale of orphan Eugene, with a charm from his world-traveling mother. Something he recognized, vaguely, as a graduation gift for his trainees. The supposition that - he, Edmund, was Eugene’s long lost father.

(there were no children born after the Moonstone was used. only people brought into the fold, adopted or married, bonds forged by familiarity, not blood. it - was acceptable. But he would never see a face like his father’s ever again.)

But fate must have intervened, because in that moment, Eugene did look much like his favorite cousin Levi.

So with Eugene reaching out - Edmund reached back. Gently prodded to come back into the world. They opened up to each other much like the Moonstone would open up to Rapunzel.

(then it was stolen, which - he supposed was a whole other kettle of fish. Cassandra - wanted to be a guard, right? Let her play, try on his clothes. She was mortal, he was not. He could wait until she was done.)

Traveling was as difficult and rewarding as he remembered. Corona was just as strange as he thought it was.

Unlike the Moonstone, the Sundrop Flower was embedded in the water cycle. It's magic passively infecting the land of Corona. The rivers - never poisoned or diseased. The animals - strangely intelligent. The people - content, pleasant and energetic even in old age. Quirin, who had been drinking it - suddenly sporting grey hairs and a new son. (He keeps calling the child Jordan despite his protests - it's not his fault that he shared a face of an uncle from centuries ago.)

Eugene - King of Corona in all but name - looks at him. "I talked to Quirin. You knew.” his face hardens. “Why are you here?”

"Feels like destiny brought me here." Edmund says wistfully.

“That was a horse you rode across an entire continent.” and his mouth curls into a smile. “Dad.”

[nickgerlich]

Rome Where You Want To

Proving once again that a good meme should never go unnoticed, we have yet another company jumping into the ephemeral fray of “hot today, gone tomorrow” trends. Thanks to a TikTok phenomenon focusing on a supposed male preoccupation with the Roman Empire, Panera has repackaged what it already has and bundled those items into a like-named promotional menu.

And, just like Heinz Ketchup and its Seemingly Ranch juggernaut, Panera has also proved there is nothing new under the sun. The folks at the corporate kitchen are minding their business, while the marketing folks have been spin doctoring.

As we do.

The meme had its origins on Instagram in 2022, and was implicitly poking a little fun at the usual gender differences. Men, as the trope goes, are often in a distant space, pondering war, pestilence, and, according to the meme, the Roman Empire. Why the meme’s originator chose the Roman Empire is debatable. Perhaps it is because the Roman Empire was so far-flung and powerful that it just captures the fancies of the male mind.

Or, perhaps it is just that, as men age, it is not uncommon for them to fall in love with more esoteric subjects, like history, often the history of a very specific object, era, or otherwise. I will seize the opportunity to vouch for this, as once I turned 50, I fell head-over-heels in love with old roads. It started with Route 66, and has since expanded to all the old roads in the US.

Don’t ask why; I just do. Forget the Romans, because I’m more interested in where humans once went. Just yesterday I was deeply engrossed in a Facebook side-chat about dating roadside rubbish. And I don’t mean dating in a romantic kind of way.

“How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” Well, Panera wants you to think of several menu mainstays similarly. That’s another way of saying “often.”

But just like with Heinz, the shelf life of this meme, which is already in its second iteration and having jumped from Insta to TikTok, will not last long. It was funny the first few times, but that kind of buzz wears off quickly. It’s the bottle rocket du jour, little different from clothing and hair fads that had their season in the sun. Just look back at old photos, and tell me if you didn’t cringe a bit when you saw yourself sporting an asymmetric hairdo while wearing skater fashions. Trust me, it gets worse as you get older. Next year, we’ll probably wonder what the big deal was with the Romans.

As for the menu items, the only one that is remotely “Roman” would be the Caesar’s Salad, but the remaining choices are the things that have been menu favorites for years. And that is precisely the hope of the campaign.

The media attention that Panera has received is, of course, priceless. You can’t begin to pay for all the news items, social media posts, and so forth, that Panera has enjoyed while basking in the spotlight. It almost makes you wonder why others didn’t do likewise.

Come December, though, they better have dropped this. The Roman Empire will be as stale and moldy as that loaf of sour dough you bought at the grocery a few days ago. Strike while the iron is hot, or don’t strike at all. And long before it goes completely cold, put it away.

Well done, Panera. I may not be thinking about you or those menu items, but I am thinking the PR buzz you generated is a menu item that all businesses dream about. Served hot, of course.

Dr “I Prefer The Roaming Empire” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[occult-roommates]

Farewell to Brindleton Bay

At around midnight, the Marrons were gonna take a flight back home to Puerto Rico, while Yamuna and Tamara were gonna remain in Brindleton Bay until the end of the summer. The werewolves family luggage were all packed already and they were ready to go, but as it was only the early afternoon, they simply enjoyed their last moment in the chalet.

Lupe: Tamara has such a nice body in spite of her age, to think I used to look like that before I had kids. Yamuna: You are still very attractive, screw those who make you feel otherwise. Lupe: Aw, thank you. Yamuna: See, if Tam had a thing for Boris, I always had a little thing for you. Funny, we did agreed that if we were all still together at 50, we would try to convince you two into a foursome. I mean...it ain't happening now but we sometime still joke about it. Lupe: Uh?? Yamuna: But I mean, if Sandalio is down. Who know, we might try getting creative with his prosthetic leg. Lupe: You are now making me uncomfortable...

That's when Lupe noticed two people walking down the road, a young man and an older woman. Has the man had green hair, he likely was some sort of occult such as a spellcaster or a merman...That or he had dyed them...Anyway, Lupe stopped paying attention to them, they're just people passing by...or are they?

Yamuna: Ah, that weird bitch again. Lupe: You know her? Yamuna: Yes, her name is Gwenn or something. Very controversial spellcastress. She claims she wanna bring peace between human and spellcasters, but really she's more like a cult leader than anything. You know, Tam's mom was a spellcastress, and she joined her group when Tam was a child, and this is the reason why they don't talk anymore. It sounded like a good idea to her, her husband and daughter were human which was seen even more poorly in the spellcasting community back then than it is today...Turned out it very much was not a good idea. Lupe: Yeah, to me it sounds like she's fighting for a noble cause. Yamuna: Well, even noble cause can be used for evil. There's a lot of rumors going around and very little concrete facts, but one that is confirmed is she made humans pay to be in her association, saying the money would be given to help young struggling spellcasters, but instead she ran away with the money. Since that event the group is no longer really active but they still have some very strong believers, like Tam's mom sadly. Lupe: And who is that man with her? And what are these two doing here? Yamuna: Wish I could give you an answer here...

No really, what were Gwenn and Adem doing here...

Prev - Next

[because-its-eurovision]

the ebu is discussing jury reforms!! they really said if käärijä didn't win the whole system is fucked lmaooo

This ask has been sitting in my inbox for a couple of months now because I wasn't sure how to answer. I've been a defender of the 50/50 jury system and still am. Many eurofans change their stance on juries based on if they help their favourites to succeed on a certain year or don't, and I try to avoid being hypocritical like that.

As to Käärijä, what happened was to be expected from the beginning even if the predictability doesn't make it any less painful. His vocals were and are weak because he is a rapper, not a trained singer, and juries are expected to pay attention to that. It was also not a surprise that all juries won't go for funny, goofy and colourful performances when they are looking for something that ticks all the boxes of the best entry of the year.

I still do think that juries fill their role as the quality control of Esc. In my opinion 2006-2008 was the absolute worst era of the contest with all the cheap gimmicks, weak vocals and joke entries with the only purpose to gather televotes. What does bother me though is the certain bias juries tend to have against and for certain countries: favouring Sweden and Malta while treading Poland, Finland and Norway. I do not have any solution for that, but I really hope we won't return to the televote only era.

Because Sweden is hosting next year, there are most likely some changes coming to the contest again and I'm very much not looking forward to Esc getting more and more Swedified and Mellofied. If they make any changes in the voting sequence remains to be seen, but I really doubt SVT would suggest getting rid of juries considering Sweden's last two victories were thanks to jury vote.

[ooc-themis-cattails]

School is NOT fun if you are gifted. I don't know what kind of person thinks high school is "the best time of your life," but it's sure not gifted kids.

We were bored out of our minds in the same prison hell as the rest of you, and the only difference is that we were the ones who got beat up and had no allies. It was never the cool teachers that liked you, but the unpopular ones, the ones that everyone knew picked their nose and flung the boogers at the class (though you have never actually seen it happen yourself). They would come up to you in the cafeteria in front of everyone and act like you were their best buddy, and you would want to die and sink into the floor. The cool teachers liked the funny kids, not the smart kids. When you got praised by Mr. Yorty, you wanted to disappear.

Being called smart wasn't fun; that was the opening reassurance of parent-teacher conferences before they tore into you for being inattentive or absent-minded (to you the teachers are repeating old lessons you've heard before), "not a team player" (it's hard to assign partners outside your skill level), "time waster" (because you doodled on your worksheet when you finished early), and whatever other personal flaws you might happen to have. Everyone knew you were smart. Teachers pointed it out to you so often, it was like being told you're exceptionally short or tall-- you know, you know, it's meaningless. You're not eager to hear that or interested in hearing that. All you want is for the day to pass so you can go home. As for friends, you had a choice of like 3 people who were also smart and who you could trust not to be jealous of you. One of them is an asshole, and another one you can't stand to be around because their BO makes you ill. Maybe you and the remaining kid will be friends, if you're compatible and lucky. You might not even be the same gender. You'll be friends anyway, even if your parents aren't happy about it; you can't afford to be picky. Sometimes there'd be a new kid, but even if you spent the first day being their new friend, the next day they learned you were unpopular and turned against you and made fun of you. You learned not to make friends easily or trust anyone. It was pretty lonely and you never knew when everyone's fun game was going to be picking on you for the rest of the day.

Parent/teacher expectations scaled to their skill level. I don't know what non-gifted kids' parents expect of them. Mine wanted me to get on the highest honour roll (requiring all A's) because the fact that I was always on the honour roll (requiring one A and no less than a C) wasn't interesting or meaningful because it had always been true forever. If you don't have to work hard, then everyone expects you to work VERY hard, because they know you didn't work to be good, and yet they can't help seeing you as a hard worker because you're good. If your parents ever promise you a reward, they're not asking you for an A on the exam, they're asking for a 4.0 GPA. Do gifted kids have to work hard for that? Yes, we are not born knowing the exports of Urugay, and we don't like doing 50 math problems any more than you do. Did we get better jobs than you? We did not. We are all working call centers and retail and service jobs. The kids who grew up to have good jobs were the ones who were maybe a bit above average, had amazing social skills, and could make employers like them and believe in them.

is there a word for “i was instantly good at a lot of things as a quote-unquote gifted child, and, as a result, i was able to skate by without ever being taught how to actually learn a new skill, and now that i’m an adult trying to learn new things that i can’t be good at instantaneously, i don’t have the patience or knowledge to improve on them, because skills that don’t come naturally to me just make me angry because i lived off instant gratification my whole childhood due to not ever being challenged intellectually or taught basic learning skills?” asking for a friend

[novoplata]

Fashun overhaul.

Since starting my current job seven months ago and transitioning into the corporate world, I've been rethinking my fashion sense and how I should dress up (thanks to two workplace dress code notices in my honour). My fashion sense has remained largely unchanged since my late 20s/early 30s. I've lived in denim shorts (and all shorts in general), tank tops and flip flops or sundresses and ballet flats for the past decade or so. As much as I hated receiving a written notice due to my dressing, it did make me think about whether I should start dressing more conservatively to suit my age. In my four years of working in a digital marketing agency, my dress code to work was athleisure wear/gym wear. That was one of the best parts about the job: being able to wear the same clothes I wear to work to the gym afterwards, and saving loads of time on laundry and detergent! Alas, things have to change to make way for growth. And change I must! Denim haul. I love shopping as much as the next woman, but I find shopping for jeans especially dreadful, which explains the last time I bought myself jeans was in 2017. 2016-2017 was the year that most people starteded re-embracing the higher-rised jeans. I loved my Levi's Demi Curve jeans but they were low-rise jeans and unless I wore a looser top, the trace of my muffin top would be out there for the world to see. I find shopping for jeans at a physical store and trying them out in the fitting room to be exhausting. Zalora.com was my online mall of choice and my go-to brand was Dorothy Perkins. Just type 'petite jeans' and enter!

This pair of DP Darcy jeans in dark indigo is really flattering!

Loved them so much that I got the same jeans in a lighter wash.

After getting two pairs of ripped jeans, I decided to get a grey one without the rips. This pair's called the Frankie jeans, which is more of a pair of jeggings than jeans. When I gave away my old Demi Curve jeans, I decided to get two new pairs of jeans as replacements. The jeans were from Uniqlo, and just like how it is with any fast-fashion brands, they were sold out pretty quickly. I just got them last week, and they were already sold out today. But then, I wasn't quite satisfied. I thought I might as well replace my old Levi's with another two pairs of good-quality Levi's.

Enter the Levi's 501s original cropped. Very comfy! I can see myself wearing them when I'm 50.

And finally, the best-selling Levi's ribcage ankle jeans, which had YouTube influencers singing their high praises. Getting older feels funny sometimes. Before putting out an outfit for the day, I've started asking myself, "Would a 40-year-old wear this?" Nonetheless, growing older is a privilege and an opportunity to explore fashion in a different sense. Here's to becoming a cool older lady and embracing age gracefully.